Cow Elk Being Groomed by Starlings; Point Reyes National Seashore
This cow is being cleaned of parasites by some starlings. She’s also ear-tagged. She has a yellow tag in her right ear that is numbered “85” and a silver tag in her left ear that is numbered “8527.” I don’t know why the tags were put on her, but she may have been tagged when the Park Service was experimenting with birth control in the late 90s. If so, she’s quite old. All I do know for sure is that I see her a lot and she sees me a lot. When I’m upwind of her that nose gets a real workout.
It’s hard to tell from this little jpeg, but it appears that the starling on the cow’s head is missing toes on its right foot.
