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how do you refer to a bovine without knowing its gender?

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Did you just answer your question... IN THE SAME QUESTION IN WHICH YOU ASKED THE QUESTION?

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Well if you refer to a gender neutral bovine animal as a bovine then yes. This also includes buffalo though so it might not be universally accepted. So, you could say, that is a bovine animal, but is it a cow/bull/ox or is it a buffalo?

I will rephrase, how do you refer to a cow/bull/ox in a gender neutral fashion without including other bovine ruminants? Or, who cares.