Saturday, April 11, 2015

How About Those Cows...?

I have to admit that cows have always been a bit of a mystery to me. I don't know why, tough.

I never had a cow or even been around them much, but I like 'em OK. It seems to me that they are, for the most part, always calm and peaceful. Watching them graze always made me feel a little more at peace with the world. Still, there seems to be an air of mystery around them, as this article from Listverse shows.

Cows Always Face North Or South While Eating



Most people don’t give much thought to grazing cows, but when a team of scientists went through thousands of Google Earth’s satellite images of cows, they stumbled upon a detail that we have missed for millennia: Cows will stand along the Earth’s magnetic poles—facing north and south—whenever they’re grazing or resting. The pattern remained consistent regardless of wind or other factors, and nobody’s quite sure why.

While some animals are known to contain an internal compass, this is the first time it’s been found in a large mammal. Another weird thing is that the nearer they are to the poles, the less accurate they get with the orientation. Scientists don’t know if the phenomenon is related to navigation or some miscalculated attempt at warding off predators, though it appears that it may have a purpose because of the consistency with which it was observed among cows across six continents. The phenomenon may have an effect on agricultural production, as cows made to stay in an east-west orientation must be affected in some way, though nobody can say how.

Like I said, I like cows but I really don't know much about them. We really don't have a lot of cows around Houston...at least, not in the city limits!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Rain is expected again today.

8 comments:

Mamahen said...

Well darn..wish I had known this a few years ago.....would loved to check it out...No one. around here has cows these days either. Kitchen is always nice :))

Anonymous said...

I didn't know about this and I have cows just outside my cottage :-) But I live rather much north so it might not show that well here :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

Chickenmom said...

Have plenty of cows around here - will have to bring my compass to see if it's true! The sun is finally out
today! I'll bring the Dunkins.

Gorges Smythe said...

They face north just so they'll know when their shadow isn't to either side so they can know that it's lunch time. The ones facing south are just checking out what the others are eating. (Glad I could clear that up for you.)

JO said...

So will they spend millions of dollars trying to figure this out? Interesting but how useful is it. Money for research is needed in so many other areas. Do I sound cranky? Better fill my cup fast haha.

We will be getting some rain tonight.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mamahen...
Guess you'll have to go find some cows somewhere. That's what I have to do!

Thanks for stopping by today!



Hey Christer...
You'll have to let us know if you find out for sure.

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Phyllis...
Be sure tolet us know what you find out. That would be interesting, for sure!

Thanks for dropping by today.



Hey Gorges...
We really appreciate that explanation and glad you could set us straight!

Many thanks for stopping by today!



Hey Jo...
I wouldn't worry about sounding cranky this morning. I'm the same way!

Thanks for coming over this morning!

Dizzy-Dick said...

OK, now I am going to have look at cows more often to verify this. I have never heard of that before, although cows are good weather predictors.

HermitJim said...

Hey Dizzy...
Seems like there is much more to that bovine behavior than we ever knew.

Thanks for coming over today!