Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer

Posted on by

Cattle grazing near Campti

Grazing and resting cattle and deer orient themselves toward magnetic north, according to analysis of satellite images. This has apparently never been noticed by herdsmen or hunters, the researchers say. via PNAS.

Now, as to why in the world this might be…

4 thoughts on “Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer”

  2. Well, I guess it’s sort of amazing in that there isn’t any obvious survival reason for cows to be able to find north. On the other hand, my first thought was: birds not only can identify north and south, they can navigate to the same breeding and feeding grounds year after year.

    Like

  3. That was why, in my post, I asked why in the world it might be. And I find it curious that no one had ever noticed it before, given that we have worked closely with cattle for aeons.

    Like

  4. A careful re-reading of the article reveals that it only claims cattle and deer align themselves north-south, not that they all face north. This might be less noticeable. Could there be something about cattle and deer physiology that makes them less stable when oriented with the rotation of the earth rather than 90 degrees away?

    Like

Comments are closed.