A new British "invisibility cloak" infra-red system, Adaptiv, makes it possible to disguise military vehicles as large animals such as cows, even while moving. This has the potential during warfare to get a lot of animals killed, just to play safe.

A six-legged cow born in Cambodia was donated to monks in Cambodia by her owner, who feared that her extra appendages were an ill omen. She has been named Cham Leck, which roughly translates to Bad Luck, and seems happy and healthy for the most part. You can see a picture at Sky News.

Personally, I'd rather see a six-legged cow than be one.

Livestock judges -- who, I'm guessing, are predominantly male ?
prefer cows with big, round, firm udders. The judges are not
interested in cows with droopy udders, even if these cows are
smarter and have nicer personalities. On Saturday nights, when
the big-udder cows are basking in the glamour of the livestock
show, the droopy-udder cows are back in the barn, alone, quietly
chewing on Danielle Steel novels.

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In celebration of the festival of Eid al-Adha, Muslims sacrifice cows, sheep, goats, and bulls, whose meat is given to the poor. In Istanbul today, the bulls weren't going to take it anymore and broke out, running loose through the city.
More than 600 people were injured either attempting to sacrifice, or trying to capture the escaped animals.

PETA has threatened to file suit in contest of the "Happy Cow" commercial claims. Sponsored by the California Milk Advisory board, the commercials pitch the slogan: "Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California".

PETA argues that the life of the cows is far removed from the lush rolling pastureland depicted in the campaign's television advertisments.

In Cambodia, folks are flocking to visit a brown cow thought to have miraculous healing powers. Flowers, incense and water are given to her as offerings and she then obliges by licking those who want her help. Her slobbery treatment is claimed to have restored mobility and cured a variety of sicknesses. Yahoo News have a few more details.

USA Today has an article, Bull, bear show up together in ads for trading about the use of furries in advertisements. and their effectiveness I got a grin from the following quote:

Such icons "are an easier, more palatable way for people to accept they've lost half their money."

In Interview with a Humanoid (NYTimes, free registration required), Nicholas Kristof writes about a human-animal crossbreed that was new to me (Cow-human), and about our post-human future.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. -- Residents in a Marion County, Fla., neighborhood said an aggressive pack of wild boars is terrorizing their neighborhood, according to Local 6 News.

"I saw a pig looking in the window," resident Edwin Aundrea said. "It spotted me when I tried to chase him away and it chased me in the house."

But it gets worse!

Massai tribesmen in Kenya have only recently heard about the Sept 11th attacks on the US. To express sympathy they have given 14 cows, which they consider the most valued possession, to the people of the US. A US embassy near Tanzania received this ceremonial gift, and is not sure what to do with them.

Additional details are provided online by the BBC

On Saturday, a cow broke free of its slaughterhouse pen, somehow climbed an eight foot fence, and has eluded Cincinnati police since that time. They've used night scopes, helicopter surveillance, and thermal imaging, but to no avail. The cow has even foiled traps set around the city, taking the bait and running.

Cows in India are being given ID cards in an effort to stop cattle smugglers from Bangladesh.

Okay, a bit of a stretch for news, but this story on the Boston Globe's Boston.com site tells the strange tale of a wallet, a cow, a bunch of hay, and how they're all linked together somewhere in Japan...

This seems to be the month for weird animal stories. ABC News posted a story about a dairy in Wisconsin with 21 cloned cows. The headline and opening paragraphs make it sound as if the company is going to start shipping the dairy products out any day now. Scroll down and you'll see that all the company has done is commission some studies to determine whether there is a difference between the milk from the cloned cows and that from cows made the old-fashioned way.

Go read about the man who had a cow fall on him in a coffee shop. No, I'm not kidding. This is almost as weird as the one about the cow falling out of the airplane, though I can't remember if that one was true or not.