Why do cows have spots?

Question

Looking for a real agricultural answer here. Of all cows that I have seen, not one has identical spots...was one cow originally white and one black cow breed together making a spotted cow? Or was it used for camouflages in the early days? What's your take?

All you milk enthusiasts!

Answer 1

In the 1950s, this Russian guy Belyaev, did a long term study on the effects of artificial selection (domestication) on foxes.  His hypothesis was that the selection for acceptable behavioural traits (i.e. tameness) was linked genetically to physiological changes.  There are a number of traits linked with domestication, such as piebald (spotty) coat colour and floppy ears.  Indeed, after many generations of selecting the least aggressive, most curious, approachable foxes, they began to develop floppy ears, curly tails, spotted coats, etc.

Looking across a number of domesticated animals - pigs, goats, horses, dogs, cats ... cows ... we can note a similar pattern of physical changes that appear with the developing "tameness" of a species.

Thus, cows are spotty because of artificial selection.  This likely started as selection for tame, easily manipulated individuals, and then escalated to selection specifically for physical characteristics, as particular lineages of cows became distinct and bred true for whichever desired trait (in this case spots).

Answer 2

why do zebras have stripes

Answer 3

good question