Auroch
From Wild Southwest Wiki
Aurochs are a variety of cattle found throughout the Southwest. The descendants of pre-war domestic cattle they have reverted to a much larger and heavier form, similar to the ancient aurochs of Europe.
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Appearance
Aurochs are much larger than their pre-war kin, fully grown bulls being around three metres long and two metres tall at the shoulder. Both males and females have horns, which (in dominant males) can span up to 150 centimetres. Both sexes are extremely shaggy and muscle bound. Colours range from black to reddish brown.
Wild Aurochs
Wild aurochs roam in herds across the semi-arid lands between the states and the settlements. The typical herd numbers from twenty to thirty, with one dominant bull. There are few creatures willing to prey on aurochs, but if the herd is threatened any calves will be herded into the center while the cows circle protectively. The dominant bull will attempt to ward off the attacker with a threat display - if this fails the bulls will charge the threat, trampling and goring with hooves and horns.
Travelers unlucky enough to provoke wild aurochs are advised to back away slowly without making any sudden moves until the bull loses interest.
Domesticated Aurochs
Domesticated aurochs - in addition to providing milk, meat, leather and manure - fill many of the niches once occupied by horses. Aurochs pull ploughs and carts and power several types of machinery. Most of the work is done by castrated males, called bullocks. Riding aurochs is possible - although they don't make very good mounts (hooking one up to a two wheeled buggy is more common).
Auroch cows produce almost twice the milk of a pre-war cow. The milk is also richer and more nutritious - this is thought to be an adaption to the Winter.
Auroch vs Aurochs
While the original European "aurochs" was both a singular and plural (one aurochs many aurochs) the word as used in the Southwest is a plural (one auroch, many aurochs).
