THEY could well be the world’s smelliest magnets. Grazing cows tend to align north-south, according to a new study of 308 herds based on satellite photos from Google Earth.
The animals’ orientation suggests that, like migratory birds, sea turtles and monarch butterflies, they can sense the Earth’s magnetic field, says Hynek Burda, a biologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany.
Even rookie cowboys know that cattle in a herd tend to align themselves in the same general direction. Some researchers have argued that the animals are basking in the sun, avoiding wind, or huddling together to stay warm. Yet…
