Cows make annual pilgrimage to greener pastures in southern France

SAINT-COME-D’OLT, France (Reuters) - Wearing colorful headdresses, floral decorations and large bells around their necks, herds of cows headed up toward the Aubrac Plateau in southern France over the weekend in an annual trip toward greener pastures for the summer months.

Each year, farmers from around the area in the elevated Massif Central region organize festivities to mark the occasion when the animals leave the valley, where they spend winter, for better quality grass higher up in the mountains.

Some of the Aubrac cows, which are known for their hardiness, travel some 60 km (40 miles) for the trip.