"Happy Cows from Brzostowo"

Brzostowo – the World of Happy Cows

In the summer time, while driving along the high banks of the Biebrza river after 4 p.m., it is worth to stop in Brzostowo to see a unique show, the crossing of the river by about a 200-strong herd of cows.
 

The situation of the cows is unique here in that the cowsheds and meadows are located on opposite sides of the river, so cows have to cross the river to graze.
 

In the morning the whole herd gathers at the river bank. The cows gradually submerge themselves in the water. When they cannot feel the ground any more and only their heads are seen above the water, a great loud collective mooing is heard. However, when the brave animals reach the other side, they have a large part of the National Park at their disposal. Thus, they graze on the fresh Biebrza meadow grass at will, and often ruminate in the water, belly-deep. No-one guards them, neither man nor dog, and they are not hobbled, tethered or fenced. Instead, they can graze as far as they want. Still, as the day passes, their milk begins to grow heavy and the cows, driven by the need to be milked, cross the river back to the other side. Each cow knows its own shed and always finds it.
 

A similar spectacle is to be seen in Targonie Wielkie, where the Ślina river joins the Narew.

Brzostowo – a Living River

The evening spectacle of cows crossing the river attracts crowds of watchers and photographers. The show is truly idyllic in its profound harmony: elks between cows in one herd, wild geese crying more loudly than their tame cousins, tourist kayaks bumping into local punts; village children swimming behind the cows, holding their tails, terns trying to find something to eat among all the stirred-up water, a herd of half-wild horses causing a cloud of dust to rise in the setting sun, cranes with their loud call gathering for the night, a tractor with a hay wagon stuck in the middle of the ford, a tourist who has put up a lounger in the water and is reading a book, not paying attention to the spectacle – that is truly a living river, a picture that will remain in your memory.

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