Why are Ranchers Painting Eyes on the Rear End of Their Cows?
Sometimes it's the simplest solution that works the best.
Case in point, cattle farmers in Botswana have been trying to come up with a way to protect their cows from attacks by such animals as lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas. It's low-hanging fruit for these predators. They just sneak behind the unsuspecting bovine and the steak buffet is open.
According to a report in Newser, researchers at the University of South Wales came up with a plan to stop these onslaughts. The idea sounds like it could have come from the innocent logic of a 6-year-old, but it's downright ingenious...and it's working.
The solution?
Draw eyes on the backside of the cow. As we reported on the Merrell in the Morning Show, apparently, these predators do not like to attack animals that are looking at them. A cow that can see an approaching lion or leopard would still not be able to put up much of a fight, but, for some reason, these carnivores just can't process that. In tests done on several herds, none of the cows with 'hiney eyes' have been attacked.
I've never been on safari, but if ever go I might just invest in shirts that have pictures of eyes on the back of them. For now, I guess I could go test that theory at Ellen Trout Zoo.