Bovine Feng Shui

Not sure why, but I found this interesting:

Talk about animal magnetism, cows seem to have a built-in compass.

No bull: Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world.

Most cattle that were grazing or resting tended to align their bodies in a north-south direction, a team of German and Czech researchers reports in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And the finding held true regardless of what continent the cattle were on, according to the study led by Hynek Burda and Sabine Begall of the faculty of biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.

"The magnetic field of the Earth has to be considered as a factor," the scientists said.

This challenges scientists to find out why and how these animals align to the magnetic field, Begall said in an interview via e-mail.

"Of course, the question arises whether humans show also such a spontaneous behavior," she said, adding, what "consequences does it have for their health."

Comments

[Matt]

No theory of economics is fundamental unless the same effect can be found in a herd of cows. But this research poses the opposite problem!

[odograph]

http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf013/sf013p09.htm

In a series of tests involving many subjects, blindfolded humans have been taken far afield and then asked, while still blindfolded, to point "home" and north. The results were surprising. Sense of direction was not lost despite long journeys. Furthermore, tests after removal of the blindfolds showed a marked deterioration of the directionfinding ability. The attachment of magnets and simulated magnets to the subjects proved that the magnets upset di-rection-finding capabilities. The controls with brass "magnets" retained their magnetic sense.

[Jeff]

The article is missing a very important variable ... what are the cows grazing on and at what times of the day? Longer grasses will tend to lean towards the sun. The thought is that it would probably be easier to eat the grass from a north/south position if the grass is leaning in an east/west position.

[Michael Hsu]

You idiot! It has nothing to do with magnetism sensor in cows. It's the eyes dummy. Sun rises in the east and sets in the west. The cows align themselves so that they can see the sun.

[Mike Mayer]

Anyone consider cow magnets? Many cows have them in their stomachs to keep ferrous metal (nails, nuts, bolts, chunks of barbed wire) from passing any further into their digestive tract. Seems to me there's a connection here. See: http://www.magnetsource.com/Solutions_Pages/cowmags.html

[robert]

regardless of magnetic sensors or not. Its still interesting that they align themselves in a north south direction.

It likely more related to the sun orientation then feeling the north pole direction.

[Moo Moomerson]

Most cows are in the northern hemisphere. The sun is almost always to their south. They are most likely shielding their eyes from the sun or warming their butts when facing north. Wolves attack form the south so the sun isn't in their eyes. Maybe cows remember this and face south when lying around.

[odograph]

Come on guys, if pigeons do it, and humans do it, and cows do it ... might there not be a general ability here?

It doesn't have to be a strong ability to be general. It might just be a gentle, perhaps sometimes fallible, aid to our navigation.

[Annyomus]

DUH!!! Doesn't scientist know, that all cows have very high IRON source in their meat body? Usually red meats are in high of Irons. Make sense, high strong Iron link easy to make a compass guide.

[Tim Haab]

Why am I having so much trouble figuring out who is serious and who is joking?

[reason]

The earth's magnetic field reverses fairly frequently (in geological time). So any magnetic effect here can at best distinguish roughly between north/south east/west. How did they control for the effect of the sun (which is more obviously important and which cows have observed since birth)?

[reason]

"Magnetic" terminets allign their nest north/south in order to stop them overheating.