It’s been more than 8,000 years since humans first domesticated cows. But it wasn’t until last month that somebody noticed a defining feature of cattle at rest: Like the needle on a compass, they tend to point north.
German scientists analyzed 308 herds that had been photographed by Google Earth. According to the researchers, nearly two thirds had a north-south orientation, which strongly suggests that livestock are sensitive to magnetic fields. (Bats, birds, and turtles are, too.) It’s not clear why these animals would want to point themselves toward the poles. But the scientists speculate that future research will uncover magnetic sensitivity in many other species — including, perhaps, our own.
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