If you happen to get lost in the countryside without a compass, don’t panic. According to German scientists, you can determine your direction by observing herds of livestock.
Have you ever noticed that these herds always tend to face a specific direction? Images from Google Earth show that cattle and buffalo tend to align along a north-south axis, with their heads facing north.
Wild deer exhibit similar behavior, but hunters have overlooked this phenomenon for thousands of years.
Many scientists believe that the Earth’s magnetic field may influence animal behavior.
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Livestock tend to face north while grazing and resting. |
In reality, the Earth is a giant magnet, with its north and south poles located near the geographic poles. Many animals—including birds and salmon—use the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation during migration. Some studies have also shown that bats, a type of mammal, can navigate using the magnetic field.
Dr. Sabine Begall and her team from the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) conducted research on livestock to investigate whether they could orient themselves based on the Earth’s magnetic field. They collected images of 8,510 cattle and buffalo across 308 pastures worldwide using Google Earth. The animals were captured in various positions: grazing, lying down, standing in groups, and nursing. Since all images were taken from satellites, it was challenging to find high-resolution images. The experts couldn’t distinguish between the heads and tails of the animals, but they noted that they tended to align along a north-south axis.
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Deer are always oriented along the north-south direction. Image: BBC. |
“In Africa and South America, the orientation of livestock shows a slight difference. Instead of facing north-south, they often face northeast or southwest. We know that the magnetic field in Africa and South America is much weaker than in other areas,” Sabine stated.
The research results ruled out the hypothesis that the position of the sun and wind direction affect the standing posture of animals.
The research team also recorded the position of 2,974 wild deer at 277 locations in the Czech Republic. They found that about two-thirds of them always faced north while eating and sleeping, while the remaining ones faced south. According to Sabine, this could be a behavior that helps deer cope with predators.
“We conclude that the Earth’s magnetic field is the main factor causing livestock to tend to face north. This explains why their ancestors could undertake migrations of thousands of kilometers from Africa to Asia and Europe,” Sabine said.
