In terms of the food for thought chain , cows do n’t rank very in high spirits . In Botswana , top predators like lion and leopard take regular bovine repast , frustrating farmers and prompting them to take bearing at Leo to render to protect their cows ruck .
There may be a better way . It involvespaintinga pair of eyes on the cows ' rearward ends .
That ’s according to a newstudypublished inCommunications biological science , which demonstrated that cows sporting the confusing paint business stood a best hazard of stay alive . To prove the hypothesis , a squad of researchers led by ecologist Neil Jordan of the University of New South Wales in Sydney , Australia , and Taronga Western Plains Zoo recruited 2061 cows in Botswana between 2015 and 2018 and split them into three groups . A test group of 683 cows had eyes painted on their buttocks , while 543 cows had cross gull , and the remain control radical of 835 was get out unmarked .
fantastically , none of the cows with the middle were killed by predators . The grouping with cross Deutschmark saw four deaths , and the control grouping 15 deaths , mostly from lion attack .
Why did the eyes prove to be a deterrent ? Lions are ambush predators , preferring stealing to sneak up on their target . If they consider they ’re being discern by the “ eye ” on the moo-cow ’s rearward end , they ’ll opt to wait for a more inviting objective . It ’s adefenseseen elsewhere in nature , where butterfly , fish , and birds have “ eyes ” that discourage predators . ( It works with humans , too . In a 2012study , signs placed near bike racks that featured a distich of eyes reduced theft . )
Researchers are n’t trusted what would bump if all cattle had a second pair of eyes . The mathematical group in the study were mix together , and it ’s possible the vulture who pounced on the unmarked cows might just go beforehand and attack the painted cows if there were no other options in front of them . They might also learn about the distraction over time . But at nowadays , this simple and inexpensive trick might prove useful for farmers looking to outwit their predatory neighbour .
[ h / tSmithsonian ]
