Editing User:Raven/ignore me (section)

=== Dominance hierarchy ===

[[File:Oman_bullfighting_(2).jpg|thumb|Spectators in [[Oman]] watch a fight between bulls.]]

Cattle live in a [[dominance hierarchy]]. This is maintained in several ways. Cattle often engage in mock fights where they test each other's strength in a non-aggressive way. [[Licking]] is primarily performed by subordinates and received by dominant animals. Mounting is a playful behavior shown by calves of both sexes and by bulls and sometimes by cows in estrus,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://extension.psu.edu/animals/dairy/health/reproduction/insemination/ec402/signs-of-heat |title=Signs of Heat (Heat Detection and Timing of Insemination for Cattle) |website=Heat Detection and Timing of Insemination for Cattle (Penn State Extension) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105161839/http://extension.psu.edu/animals/dairy/health/reproduction/insemination/ec402/signs-of-heat |archive-date=5 November 2016 }}</ref> however, this is not a dominance related behavior as has been found in other species.<ref name="Reinhardt1986"/> Dominance-associated aggressiveness does not correlate with rank position, but is closely related to rank distance between individuals.<ref name="Reinhardt1986" /> The horns of cattle are [[Honest signal|used]] in mate selection. Horned cattle attempt to keep greater distances between themselves and have fewer physical interactions than hornless cattle, resulting in more stable social relationships.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Knierim |first1=U. |last2=Irrgang |first2=N. |last3=Roth |first3=B.A. |year=2015 |title=To be or not to be horned–consequences in cattle |journal=Livestock Science |doi=10.1016/j.livsci.2015.05.014 |volume=179 |pages=29–37}}</ref> In calves, agonistic behavior becomes less frequent as space allowance increases, but not as group size changes, whereas in adults, the number of agonistic encounters increases with group size.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kondo |first1=S. |last2=Sekine |first2=J. |last3=Okubo |first3=M. |last4=Asahida |first4=Y. |year=1989 |title=The effect of group size and space allowance on the agonistic and spacing behavior of cattle. |journal=[[Applied Animal Behaviour Science]] |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=127–135 |doi=10.1016/0168-1591(89)90040-3}}</ref>

Dominance relationships in semi-wild highland cattle are very firm, with few overt aggressive conflicts: most disputes are settled by [[agonistic behavior|agonistic]] (non-aggressive, competitive) behaviors with no physical contact between opponents, reducing the risk of injury. Dominance status depends on age and sex, with older animals usually dominant to young ones and males dominant to females. Young bulls gain superior dominance status over adult cows when they reach about 2 years of age.<ref name="Reinhardt1986"/>