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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Adam Hinterthuer. Got a minute?

Don't be fooled by those big bovine¹ eyes and the mouth slowly chewing cud—cows have a magnetic personality. At least that’s the claim made by German researchers in the August 26th issue of the Proceedings² of the National Academy of Sciences. Using Google Earth images, the scientists looked down on over 8,000 cattle around the world. And, when grazing or resting, cows tended to face either magnetic north or south.

The researchers combined field observations with the satellite data and discovered that herds³ of both deer and cattle tend to align⁴ themselves north-south. Factors like wind and the angle of the sun had little bearing on how the animals stood. More often than not, like needles of a compass, heads swiveled northward⁵. While it’s been known that birds, bees and fish use the earth’s magnetic fields for orientation⁶, this study is the first to point to a magnetic sense in large mammals. The scientists speculate that this behavior may allow the animals to stay spatially⁷ oriented. In case danger lurks⁸ and a cow needs to make any sudden…moos.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Adam Hinterthuer .