Zoometeorological aspects of cattle's behaviour under grazing conditions

Abstract

The aim of this review is to present some aspects of zoometeorology in the context of cattle behaviour. In the
time of a running research programme, our goal is to provide a summary of the environmental factors
affecting on behaviour of Hungarian Grey Cattle (HGC) under range conditions. The HGC is a traditional,
local cattle breed has been evolving under harsh conditions on rangelands, with a tendency to demonstrate
undomesticated behavioural patterns. These, however have been ameliorated with domestication. As we
studied this breed’s daily life, without human interference, a number of questions arose regarding the
environment’s impact on the animal’s behaviour. Therefore, alongside our behavioural studies, we have
started compiling literature studies of zoometeorological factors affecting cattle behaviour under natural
conditions. We have found a very complex interdisciplinary approach, including principles of meteorology,
ethology, pharmacology, physics and agronomy. This publication aims to present effects in the context of
animal behaviour and also help to evaluate our research results on the behaviour of HGC under range grazing
conditions.