More than 50,000 people are living in cramped temporary shelters in the area of Mount Merapi in central Java, after the volcanology office banned them from returning to their villages located in a 10-kilometre danger zone.

In four different locations close to the refugee camps, tents for cows are also set up in a vast open field.

Most of them have been wounded by hot ash and debris from the Tuesday's biggest eruption, and some have been brought there for safety.

Eruptions from the 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) peak near Yogyakarta continued Friday after a massive blast earlier this week that left 34 people dead.

Veterinarians are available to take care of the wounded livestock.

Mujirah, 42, who lives in Pelemsari village, only six kilometres away from the volcano's peak, and like many Indonesians uses only one name, hoped that her six cows will recover soon.

"They are the only source of my income," she told AFP as she patted a four-year-old cow suffering from burns.

"My cows lost appetite, they don't want to eat as they are still traumatised with the eruption," she said.

A large white cow lay weakly on the ground refusing to consume fresh grass scattered around it.

Kristianti, a veterinarian from the provincial livestock office, said that about 1,400 cows were evacuated to safety.

"We need to take care of the wounds as people here really depend for their livelihoods on the cows," she told AFP as she sprayed medicine on a wound.

"Besides being a source of income, the cows are also their investment. They usually sell their cows for their children's school entrance fees," she added.

Wakinah, a 50-year-old woman, had to take an emergency decision Friday morning to sell her two cows at very low price.

She evacuated them to the shelter a day earlier to get treatment from experts, but their condition deteriorated due to an infection.

"My cows are the only income for my family's life but I have no choice but to sell them," the mother of two told AFP.

She said that she will keep the money and will buy younger cows if the volcano calms down.

"If everything is back to normal, I'll buy a younger one as its price is more affordable," she said adding that she only got 7.5 million rupiah (800 dollars) for each of her beasts, instead of the normal price of 10 million rupiah each.

But some refugees refused to shelter their cows in the safe shelter, choosing instead to make visits to the mountain, risking their own lives, to protect their livestock.

Manto Suyatno, 60, owns eight cows -- they are all safe so far -- and prefers them to stay in his village, seven kilometres from the summit, despite the threat from the volcano.

"It's better to keep my cows at the top. They have been familiarised with the surroundings," he said.

"I have no problem to feed them so far. Security guards at the checkpoint allow me to visit my cows as they really have to eat everyday."

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