Scientists Discover Cows Point North

Dr Sabine Begall and colleagues from the University of Duisburg-Essen have discovered that cows tend to point north. The researchers studied deer in the Czech Republic and looked at thousands of images of cattle on Google Earth. The animals tended to face north when eating or resting. "We conclude that the magnetic field is the only common and most likely factor responsible for the observed alignment," the scientists wrote in an article. I guess cows will become the must-have item for long-distance hikers now. Having an edible compass would come in handy if you get lost.

Comments

better article

[800DeadCCs]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7575459.stm
This one also states that the herd orientation is different around the South Atlantic Anomaly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_Anomaly
Probably due to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetite
And can't forget us.. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=49775

Re:You too can be an armchair scientist.

[Paradise Pete]

I don't see why you would think that considering sunlight is not a "scientific" conjecture, but anyway, from TFA:

.

Huge variations in the wind direction and sunlight in the areas where the beasts were found meant that the scientists were able to rule out those factors as being responsible for the direction they were facing.

Re:You too can be an armchair scientist.

[twoallbeefpatties]

Huge variations in the wind direction and sunlight in the areas where the beasts were found meant that the scientists were able to rule out those factors as being responsible for the direction they were facing.

Thanks for playing our game! Please accept this consolation prize - RTFA: The Home Game! Now you can play RTFA right from the comfort of your own television set!

Re:Thanks, Slashdot!

[77Punker]

The picture is actually related to the article, since the cow has a map of Earth on her side, with North at her top!

Re:You too can be an armchair scientist.

[gregbot9000]

All cows have a magnet in their belly, it is a little known fact outside of ranching, but true. It is fed to them by farmers to collect any pieces of iron that might be left in fields from wire and machines. It may be that these are most comfortable to the cow when facing north.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_magnet

Not correct.

[M0b1u5]

Sorry - these guys should have spoken to some paraglider or hang glider pilots before their study. What they would have been told is that at wind speeds exceeding about 5 knots at ground level, cows and horses put their tails into the wind, and keep their heads downwind.

I have used cow-filled paddocks as excellent wind socks on numerous occasions: if cows are NOT aligned in any particular direction, then I know winds are lighter than 5 knots, and I look for other tell-tales of wind direction (smoke, or dust mainly).

At over 5 knots though, cows are extremely reliable, and I have never suffered a downwind landing after checking the cow-orientation of a nearby field.