Do cows prefer spending time with women than men? This study says yes

'Cow cuddling' is proving to be an increasingly popular therapeutic activity for people suffering from stress or anxiety. — Photo: ProfessionalStudioImages/Getty Images, via ETX DailyUp

It may sound surprising, but "cow cuddling" is proving to be an increasingly popular therapeutic activity for people suffering from stress or anxiety. But these four-legged mammals may not interact in the same way with men as with women, according to a study published in the journal Human-Animal Interactions.

The authors of this study, Katherine Compitus and Sonya Bierbower, conducted an experiment with 11 people – five women, five men and one young girl – aged between 13 and 79. They were each asked to interact with two castrated male Holstein bulls for at least 45 minutes. The animals, both around a year old, were raised on a small sanctuary farm in Goshen, New York.