It's all about the birds and the bees...and the cows?

I've heard of animal magnetism, but this is ridiculous. It's long been known that birds use the Earth's magnetic field to guide their migrations. But apparently cows have some kind of internal compass as well. And how was this discovered? Through the collective knowledge of generations of farmers? By comprehensive study by veterinarians?

No. By using Google Earth.

Knowing that small mammals, like bats, also have a magnetic sense, a group of researchers decided to see if large mammals, particularly domestic cattle. To figure it out, they looked at more than 8,500 Google Earth images, and found that cows tend to face either north or south.

No one knows precisely how this happens, how cattle and other animals "know" north and south from east and west (the researcher ruled out solar position in the sky as an influencing factor), but it may be that this "sixth sense" is widespread in the animal kingdom.

So think about it...you might have your own little GPS in your brain. But that still probably wouldn't keep you from getting lost on the streets of Boston...where Rt. 93 South and Rt. 95 North are the same road.

Candid cow closeup by flickr user wYnand!.