Scientists Find Cows Tend to Orient North-South
Category: General NewsPosted: August 26, 2008 10:30AM
Author: Nemo
German scientists have released the results of a new study indicating cows tend to orient themselves in a roughly north-south direction when grazing and resting. Using satellite images from Google Earth, the researchers counted 8,510 cows from over 300 herds worldwide and found that roughly two thirds of the animals were lined up on a more or less north-south axis, suggesting cows may have a sense of magnetic direction. Because the pictures were taken on generally clear days and at different times of the day, environmental effects were minimized. The resolution of the images was not detailed enough to determine which end of the animal was pointing north, however. Growing up on a farm we had lots of cows and I can't ever remember noticing this particular phenomenon. Not that anyone would have really cared about it to tell you the truth, which leads me to agree with one observation from the article and that is the research has no practical value whatsoever.
