At 9:47 AM +1200 4/21/02, Brian Swale wrote:
I see Wayne Harridge asked re: "Dairy Farm in Suburbia", "Why do cows
always face in the same direction?" (TOPE Landscape) Probably better to
comment here than beneath the photo.
As far as I know it is a precursor to Social Security before Human Beans
were invented. Sheep do the same.
You will usually find they all face up-wind. I.e. they have the wind in their
face. That's all the better to smell predators coming from that direction. (So
predators know to come from behind if they are to have a better chance for a
successful attack)
If you are part of a group, it's better to stay together. By facing the same
direction, the group does not disperse as it would if they all
grazed in random
directions. Moreover, they can maintain eye-contact and also quickly see if
another is alarmed by one thing or another. Thus the herd behaves as a kind
of network organism. There maybe other advantages too, such as all moving
to un-grazed pasture minus fresh cow-pats together. Pre-fences, that is. Old
habits die hard. FWIW. Brian
I guess around here the cows have too many generations of predator-free living
behind them. They tend to face in whatever direction they please,
maybe little bit aligned with their nearest neighbors but pretty
random over a field. Horses tend to align more, since if a predator
came they would actually be able to do something about it.
paul guess I'm going to have to go out and get proof
--
Paul Wallich pw@xxxxxxxxx
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