Skip to main content

Story: Atmosphere

Methane maker

Image
Methane maker

Methane is one of the three most important gases that cause the earth’s lower atmosphere to warm. It is produced by cud-chewing animals, such as cows and sheep, as part of their normal digestive process. The average New Zealand dairy cow produces 90 kilograms of methane per year, mainly by burping.

Using this item

GNS Science

Reference: CN45566/11

by Lloyd Homer

Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Bill Allan, Katja Riedel, Richard McKenzie, Sylvia Nichol and Tom Clarkson, Atmosphere – Greenhouse gas measurements in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6148/methane-maker (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bill Allan, Katja Riedel, Richard McKenzie, Sylvia Nichol and Tom Clarkson, published 2 March 2009.