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If lost in pasture, check the beef

RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

The Associated Press

Latest comment posted at 9:31 PM EST 09/09/08

Satellite photos show that most of them are likely to be oriented in a north-south direction ...Read the full article

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  1. Dennis sinneD from Calgary, Canada writes:

    Freaky...
  2. Billiam Smith from Montreal, Canada writes: Ummm... yeah. Has anyone considered that they're just orienting themselves to maximize sun exposure, so that their flanks are facing east-west? Definitely passes the Occam's Razor test better than the magnetism theory.
  3. Quellcrist Falconer from Canada writes: Billiam: Well, go test your idea then.
  4. Keystone Provincial from NOT Winnipeg, Canada writes: How udderly fascinating.
  5. Peter Walker from Canada writes: Absolutely udderly rubbish.

    They orient themselves to the current weather. In the 30's, it was believed in Aviation circles in Eastern canada - where the Examiners were - that cows always faced East. It was pointed out to them that in Western canada IF the cattle did that, they would freeze their "privates off".
    So, a flight was arranged immediately to check that out, and the "law of the eastern facing cattle" was thrown out of the window.

    I congratulate the fact that at the time the satellite picture was taken, all the cattle appeared to be facing the same way, BUT IF there was a strong westerly wind blowing, I'll guarantee that the cattle would be facing a different way!!

    True Udderly Bull s**t.
  6. Stewart Pid from Canada writes: What is udder BS is that this is considered "research" by supposedly intelligent folks.
    I wonder if the N-S cows make tastier burgers than the E-W variety?
  7. Ed Op from Canada writes: Ridiculous.

    Billam's completely right. Orienting to the sun is a much simpler explanation. The fact that they orient when it's cloudy doesn't mean a thing. Cows go out to the same pasture every day don't they? So, when it's cloudy they just go out and face the same way they always do (at least the ones who like to face north south). Magnetic sense. Give me a break! And what would the evolutionary advantage of that be?

    Non-science.
  8. Kan Tankerous from Tronna, Canada writes:

    Magnetic sense?

    No.

    Bovine intervention?

    Yes.

    Cattle are generally Moo-nies anyway.
  9. Scenic Sask! from Canada writes: It's a bit early (late?) for an April Fools joke isn't it?? Generally cattle align with the wind direction.

    Peter Walker is right - Absolutely udder rubbish.
  10. Iain's Opinion from Canada writes: I don't know about you folks but I have a cow or two in my closet, some of my best friends actually. They face N/S becasue they are trying to warm their butts which they have been sitting on, on the cold wet grass, no cushions see?. Since they can't reach around to dry off ....
  11. Pierre living in China from Brampton, Canada writes: Just one quick observation. Cattle turn their hind to the wind in cold weather, not their head as mentioned in the article. Turning their head to the wind would occur in hot weather.
  12. Paul Bowler from Canberra, Australia writes: I always thought that cattle turned their hinds to the prevailing winds, irrespective of season, to cool their posteriors, from which issue forth copious quantities of semi-liquid and gaseous warm products! Is it not postulated that the biggest cause of global warming is in fact the expulsion of these warm gaseous products by the bovine masses? And the study (or at least the report on it) did not mention whether any of the observations include cattle in the southern hemisphere, where things are different!!
  13. Nom De Plume from Victoria, Canada writes: Hasn't anyone ever heard of "herd mentality". Our studies show that it's most likely a single "alpha" steer in each herd that orients itself north south and that all the others quickly follow suit. These "alpha leader bovines" all tend to have acute sensitivity to the earth's magnetic field, although some "faux alphas" have been found to actually own compasses which they conceal from their farmer owners. It's a mystery how they obtained these devices, but there is an alleged link between crop circles and these compass carrying cows. Some believe that aliens are quietly infiltrating the bovine population. And yes it's true that methane from cattle flatulence is far and away the largest source of greenhouse gas on the planet today. Wouldn't it be ironic if global warming was all just a slow and steady plot by extraterrestials to use cattle flatulence to alter the climate and slowly eliminate humans without having to even fire a single burst from their death ray weapons. Food for thought.
  14. John Breukelaar from Canada writes: They cows feel more comfortable when their stomach magnets are aligned
  15. D BARTA from Canada writes: - Yo, Nom De: Tinfoil hat a little tight to-day......
  16. Tim Fromhere from Mexico writes: This research actually confirms what people have known intuitively for ages. It explains why looks may be compared to the north end of a cow going south, but never to the east end of a cow going west.
  17. Scenic Sask! from Canada writes: .......and "Yo Nom de" - Alpha STEER? Do you know what a steer is?? There's nothing alpha about "it". Now if there was a BULL in the pasture he might be facing north if that was where he might find the south end of a cow.
  18. Mark A from Toronto, Canada writes: When I was a kid I had a book called the Compass in your Nose. It listed all kinds of interesting facts about humans. The title fact indicated that people have a small metallic deposit in our noses which acts like a compass and gives us a sense of direction (or they would if we were actually in tune with our bodies). Birds and other migratory animals have a similar sense of north and south so it is certainly not out of the question that cows possess this 'compass' as well.

    The question is, if they are indeed aligning themselves north-south because of this compass (and not the wind as others have suggested) why are they doing so?

    If they are aligning themselves with the wind it certainly seems odd to me (although I'm no expert on cows or wind) that the wind is blows in a N-S direction so much more often than in an E-W direction ... everywhere in the world.

    It's a mystery that should be looked into - not because it will yield information that will necessarily be practical or applicable, but just because its all mysteries beg to be solved.
  19. Dave Roberts from Toronto, Canada writes: They authors could probably make their conclusion if they tested bovines from around the world to see if they align toward magentic north. This would be especially useful where the magentic declination between true north and magnetic north is significant.
  20. Farm Boy from Belfast, United Kingdom writes: I'm just not in the moood for this.
  21. John McMortimer-Boyles from An Undisclosed Underground Location Safe From Nuclear Attack, Canada writes: Billiam Smith from Montreal, Canada writes: "Ummm... yeah. Has anyone considered that they're just orienting themselves to maximize sun exposure, so that their flanks are facing east-west?"

    May I suggest someone didn't read the whole article. To wit, the following paragraph comes from about 2/3 of the way down.

    "The research team noted that in very windy conditions cattle tend to face the wind, and they have been known to seek out the sun on cold days. But the scientists said they were able to discount weather effects in the study by analyzing clues such as the position of the sun, based on shadows."
  22. Edwin Green from NS, Canada writes: their is a old question why does a man turn his back to the stove answer so his tea kittle dont boil over that might applie to the cows ha ha
  23. Prairie Boy from Canada writes: Too many PhD's, too little science.
  24. M Anderson from Canada writes: Unfortunately the story failed to mention which way the cow usually faced. Now if I was to use my cow as a compass I would surely like to know which end is north :)
  25. Luke Powell from Vancouver, Canada writes: Since everyone decided to base their criticisms on the report on the research rather than the article itself, I'd like to point out a few things:

    1) Billiam Smith, Peter Walker, etc. suggest that orientation has to do with local weather, prevailing wind conditions, and orientation relative to the sun. The study revealed that these (and other) local conditions were not significant in determining the orientation of cows.

    2) Dave Roberts suggests that a confirmation may be found by analysing areas with high magnetic declinations. This was indeed done, and magnetic north was a better predictor of cow orientation than true north.

    3) Paul Bowler suggests that the location of a particular pasture may influence the results. Images were in fact taken from various places around the world, including the southern hemisphere.

    In the future, please don't rely on a report like this to judge the quality of the research. It wouldn't have been accepted for publication in the first place if the criticisms you all put forward were valid.
  26. Dave Roberts from Toronto, Canada writes: "Dave Roberts suggests that a confirmation may be found by analysing areas with high magnetic declinations. This was indeed done, and magnetic north was a better predictor of cow orientation than true north."

    Where is that mentioned in the article?
  27. Luke Powell from Vancouver, Canada writes: Dave Roberts from Toronto, Canada writes: "Dave Roberts suggests that a confirmation may be found by analysing areas with high magnetic declinations. This was indeed done, and magnetic north was a better predictor of cow orientation than true north."

    Where is that mentioned in the article?

    -------------

    It's addressed in the actual published research article (in PNAS), but not mentioned in this AP article.
  28. Nom De Plume from Victoria, Canada writes: Whats really amusing is that some of you buffoons don't know a tongue in cheek comment when you read it. I remain mystified as to why this even get's printed by the G&M and find that I simply want to take it from the sublime to the ridiculous by way of commentary. Of course there's always some agricultural type from Sask who feels he needs to eductae me on the difference between a Steer and a Bull. What he doesn't realize is that a Steer sounds more likley to have a sense of direction than a Bull - unless it's a BUM steer of course. And D Barta sounds like he thinks I'm not kidding at all - so I wonder what other jokes he might not be getting !
  29. A Cynic from Canada writes: Nom De Plume from Victoria, I recognized it right away, and want to thank you for adding some humour to my day! To hell with those who can't have a laugh when it's offered free to them. I appreciate you!
  30. Ed Op from Canada writes:

    And why is this a "Physics" story according to the Globe's editors anyway?
  31. Open Mike from Canada writes: The reason why they point their heads upwind is directly related to the fact that they produce so much methane and who'd want to be downwind of that? More seriously, one way to test the N-S orientation hypothesis is to see whether they align themselves more randomly during solar storms when highly-charged particles from the sun blows the earth's geomagnetic field to pieces. That disruption might also account for 'mysteriously' disoriented flocks of homing pigeons.
  32. Jim **** from Canada writes: After all the above discussion, I still find this interesting. In my hilly, windy, cold, sunny part of the country I find it hard to believe that two thirds of cattle would orient themselves to the magnetic field, given their responsiveness to other factors, including the direction from which the next feed wagon might be coming.

    I'll keep my eyes open.

    Why would they.... Why would they....

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