Bovidae

I've identified my bovine-heartedness since the early 2020s. This, of course, isn't limited to the usual image of a bovine animal — domestic cattle. I count each and every species, from the giant eland, to the wisent, to the dall sheep, to the banteng.

While I'm comfortable with the Bovidae family duly accounting for everything, I have a pretty significant affinity for non-bovine ungulates, particularly the donkey and Camelus genus. I also personally include legendary bovines such as the unicorn, minotaur, and hircocervus.

This manifests similarly to my experience being a therianthrope, although I wouldn't call myself a cladotherian. I experience shifts, instincts, longing, and self-recognition. My fursona is a greater kudu; my "truesona", although equine, is also a hooved grazing animal. I often wish I could walk on real cloven hooves that mirror the set I can feel upon my own feet.

It stands to prove that animal-heartedness can be, and very often is, a significant part of one's alterhumanity — standing beside a therianthropic self, rather than in its shadow. I see bovine creatures as something I wish I could be, rather than something I already am. I am inspired by the bovid, especially the bull(ock) for his character and his long, intertwined history with humankind. Without these influences, I wouldn't be who I am today.

I wouldn't reject the theory that my personal affinity with the bovine is connected to being a tiger; a paratype, of sorts. As the tigress and the bull will chase the other 'til the ends of the Earth — locked into their interconnected struggle.