Somebody hiking at one of my favorite parks was charged by a large cow on the trail there.

I hike the same trails all the time — I’ve walked right through crowds of large bulls and had no trouble with ’em whatever. One time I came to gate with about six bulls on one side, and about six cows on the other; I’m guessing the guys’ grunts translated to, “so, you graze here often?” (The great shame of modern animal husbandry — from a bull’s perspective — is that no rancher with a lick of sense will let bulls anywhere near his prize cows … all breeding is done by artificial insemination. )

My hunch is that people’s cow run-ins happen either because the person scares the cow and causes it to act defensively (vs. its preferred choice, running away), or because the person is scared and the cow exacts her revenge for a lifetime of humiliating retreats (I sense a “Chicken Run” spinoff here).