If humans have fingerprints, what do cows have?

Narrabri-based scientist Dr Bec Thistlethwaite will contribute a fortnightly column to The Courier on the science in our daily lives. Readers are invited to send their science questions in to Dr Bec via [email protected]

If humans have fingerprints, what do cows have? Asks Annabelle, age 10.

Just like humans have unique fingerprints, primates (like gorillas and monkeys) and even koalas have their own distinctive prints.

Cows may not have fingers or hooves with unique prints, but they do have a quirky identifier called a nose print.

Each cow’s nose has a unique pattern of bumps and ridges!

This isn’t just a cow thing – dogs, horses, cats, and many other four-legged friends have their own special nose prints, and birds have unique patterns on their feet.

The science behind nose prints is especially advanced with cattle.

Research shows that no two nose prints are identical, making them incredibly useful for identifying individual cows.

Scientists are even developing facial recognition systems for cattle, similar to smartphone technology.

These systems analyse a cow’s nose pattern with impressive accuracy—up to 99.11 per cent!

This approach is not only precise but also reduces stress for the animals by minimising human handling.

For solid-coloured cattle, where its tough to tell them apart, nose prints could be a game-changer particularly in cases of theft or missing ear tags.

A cow’s nose pattern stays consistent throughout its life.

Even as cows age and their noses grow, the unique grooves and ridges remain the same.

Deep learning models – super smart computer programs that learn from lots of data – could make this technology even better.

By quickly and accurately analysing nose prints, these models could significantly benefit the livestock industry.

The goal is to make this technology user-friendly, so farmers can easily integrate it into their daily routines.

When science and industry collaborate to make this technology user-friendly, it could be a win-win for farmers and their livestock.