Name: Highland cows.<\/p>\n
Age: More than 1,000 years old.<\/p>\n
Appearance: Unholy hybrid of Boris Johnson and delivery bicycle.<\/p>\n
But they\u2019re cows, yeah? A tough and hardy breed known for its shaggy coat and upturned horns.<\/p>\n
Where can I see these fine creatures? The question is: where can you not see them?<\/p>\n
I can think of lots of places. I can\u2019t see any right now. The answer is: Hothfield Heathlands nature reserve, near Ashford in Kent<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not exactly surprised a nature reserve in Kent hasn\u2019t got cattle bred to weather the forbidding climate of the Scottish Highlands. Oh, they\u2019ve got them. You just can\u2019t see them.<\/p>\n Why not? They don\u2019t want you to. They\u2019re hidden.<\/p>\n In that case, why have them in the first place? They were brought in to restore and maintain the reserve through wild grazing.<\/p>\n And why are they hidden? To protect them from influencers.<\/p>\n Influencers? Videos of the cows went viral on TikTok, prompting a flood of visitors to the reserve.<\/p>\n That\u2019s good, isn\u2019t it? Unfortunately people were trying to take selfies with the cows, even attempting to stroke them. Kent Wildlife Trust, which manages the site, warned visitors to keep at least 10 metres away, but it didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n So they hid them? \u201cWe\u2019re sad to say we\u2019ve made the decision to remove the cows at Hothfield Heathlands, at least for the time being,\u201d reads a post<\/a> on its website. \u201cWhen under pressure, the cows can become distressed.\u201d<\/p>\n Cattle that have survived the Highlands for centuries, stressed out by social media. That\u2019s the best-case scenario, according to the post. \u201cWorst case, they could start to react out of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody\u2019s gonna complain about a few influencers getting pronged, are they? You never know \u2013 people will complain about anything.<\/p>\n This is Moo Deng all over again. If you\u2019re referring to the cute baby pygmy hippo<\/a> whose viral appeal in 2024 led to global fame, throngs of visitors and harassment, then yes, it\u2019s like that, but in Kent, and with cattle.<\/p>\n Is this the first time Highland cows have had this effect on people? No. There\u2019s something about their shaggy fringes that captivates the public. Posts with the hashtag #highlandcow have reportedly reached millions of people<\/a>.<\/p>\n