I once spotted a cow standing in a field, facing north, then northeast, then north, then northwest, then north. I thought it was lost, but it turns out it was just calibrating its internal compass.
Some researchers, like cow whisperers with Google Earth, decided to investigate this phenomenon. They spent their days analyzing 8,510 satellite images of cows and deer, probably wondering if they’d accidentally wandered into a virtual farm simulator where the animals were the ones holding the map.
Turns out, these animals aren’t just chewing their cud, they’re aligning with the Earth’s magnetic field like furry, four-legged compass needles. It’s like they’re all part of some secret bovine cult, worshipping the magnetic north.
The researchers ruled out wind and sun as factors. I guess the cows weren’t just trying to get a better tan or avoid bad hair days. They checked out 308 pastures worldwide, which is more travel than most cows do in a lifetime.
They even looked at deer beds in the snow. Imagine being the guy whose job it is to measure deer butt prints. That’s a conversation starter at parties.
This whole magnetic alignment thing isn’t new for some animals. Birds, turtles, and salmon have been doing it for years. It’s like they’re all part of a secret club, and now cows and deer got their membership cards.
The scientists want to dig deeper into this. I bet they’re hoping to develop a cow-based GPS system. “Turn left at the next grazing Holstein.”
Oh, and apparently humans might have this magnetic sense too. So the next time you wake up with your head pointing north, don’t worry. You’re not crazy, you’re just magnetically aligned. Maybe that’s why I always sleep better in a north-south position. Or maybe it’s just because that’s how my bed fits in the room.
Read More
[1] https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Zoo_p058/zoology/animals-earth-magnetic-field
[2] https://www.kpax.com/news/a-wilder-view/a-wilder-view-how-animals-use-earths-magnetic-field
[3] https://phys.org/news/2020-05-animals-earth-magnetic-field.html
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoreception
[5] https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/ediacaran-fauna-magnetic-field-collapse-604132/
[6] https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/do-animals-use-magnetic-field-orientation
[7] https://escholarship.org/content/qt05m0c3g0/qt05m0c3g0.pdf
[8] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-80611-8
3 comments
I’d love to read some responses to this. Any far-fetched extrapolations?
Here’s one: I am the only one in my huge family to have an abysmal sense of direction. Seriously, it’s to the point of disability. I recently read that some ornithologist–do you remember this article, Xeno–discovered what they think is a fluid in the skulls of birds that helps guide them around the planet. Am I short on this fluid? Are you?
Which mammals have more of it? What does your sense of direction or connection to the magnetic forces of the earth say about who you are and the personality that you’ve formed? Your talents?
Can you picture a society 100 years in the future in which roads, walkways and buildings are aligned, ala feng shui, to take advantage of, and ut us in the proper place of the earth’s magnetic fields?
So fun to imagine this stuff.
I thought it was super cool that on one Star Trek episode Spock should have been blinded by something, but we learn that Vulcans have a second eyelid which descends to protect them from a certain level of strong light. That’s just Science Fiction, of course, but I like the idea that we too have some very real hidden senses.
Awesome. Xeno, your site rocks.