# Do cows really have an inner compass? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373 "2008-08-27T01:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/1 "2008-08-27T01:05:20Z")
[This article](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2623809/Cows-point-north-thanks-to-in-built-compasses.html) states that a study has found cows and deer tend to face north. They go on to conclude that cow and deer have a vestigial compass mechanism, like a redendant version of that which is found in birds. On a brief read of the article I observed that every single country studied was located in the northern hemisphere. From this, I propose the alternative theory that cows and deer don’t like to stare directly at the sun, so tend to turn away from it while grazing. I concede that there may be some evolutionary benefit for a cow compass, migration for example. The “turn from the sun” explanation is much simpler though. So, does anybody know? Are there any other studies that have shown anything like this before? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/2 "2008-08-27T01:37:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cider Depot] I observed that every single country studied was located in the northern hemisphere. From this, I propose the alternative theory that cows and deer don’t like to stare directly at the sun, so tend to turn away from it while grazing. [/QUOTE] Some research seems to indicate that in many areas the sun moves across the sky during the day - in some cases finishing far from where it started. So turning away from the sun could result in facing both east and west, as well as north. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/3 "2008-08-27T01:42:03Z")
I think you missed something when you came up with your “face away from the sun” theory- cows have eyes already, which are probably more effective at keeping them facing the right way than a vestigial compass. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/4 "2008-08-27T01:43:25Z")
[Discussion started yesterday.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=480909) ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/5 "2008-08-27T01:53:49Z")
deleted ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/6 "2008-08-27T02:17:35Z")
Actually, I think there’s some merit to your there. A cow starts off facing south. The sun comes up, and they turn slightly west … then a little more … until by mid-morning they’re facing due west. Slightly after noon, they turn slightly more northern and so on, until shortly before sunset their back is to the sun and they’re facing due east. Cows in the southern hemisphere do the same thing, with a slight alteration. They start out facing generally north, sun rises in the east, they turn to the west, sun sets in the west, they’re facing to the east. Which is evidence of a fact that’s been circulating on the Internet for years – cows in the northern hemisphere circle clockwise, while cows in the southern hemisphere circle cownter-clockwise. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/7 "2008-08-27T02:23:10Z")
[QUOTE=Rythmdvl] Which is evidence of a fact that’s been circulating on the Internet for years – cows in the northern hemisphere circle clockwise, while cows in the southern hemisphere circle cownter-clockwise. [/QUOTE] Ah yes, the Cowiolis effect. ---
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/8 "2008-08-27T02:23:47Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] Some research seems to indicate that in many areas the sun moves across the sky during the day - in some cases finishing far from where it started. So turning away from the sun could result in facing both east and west, as well as north. [/QUOTE] I read that research too. However further research has shown that in those same cases, when observed from the northern hemisphere the passage of the sun is exclusively across the southern sky. The article states that the cows **tend** to face north. It doesn’t state that they are lined up like magnets. Which is a shame, because that would be cool. Similarly, aerial imagery tends to be be taken closer to midday, to avoid long shadows, and another lighting issues such as that one called night. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/9 "2008-08-27T03:11:54Z")
Horses in a pasture will normally stand with their back to the wind. Especially in rainy or snowy weather. I have frequently brought our horses inside from a rainy day, and their chest is largely dry, because they kept their back to the wind & rain. Here in Minnesota, winds come predominately from the West & Northwest. So our horses spend much of their time facing east or southeast. Not due to any ‘internal compass’, just keeping their butts to the wind. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/10 "2008-08-27T03:56:09Z")
[QUOTE=Cider Depot] … when observed from the northern hemisphere the passage of the sun is exclusively across the southern sky. [/QUOTE] Not so. The further north you go, the more north the summer sun appears at both sunrise and sunset. At, say, 60 degrees north, the midsummer sun rises just a bit east of due north, and sets just a bit west of north - it travels most of the way around the horizon during the course of a day. Above the arctic circle, it travels all the way around the horizon. But the number of cows that far north tends to be limited. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/11 "2008-08-27T04:10:18Z")
The study showed that cows face towards _magnetic_ north/south not the actual poles. That discounts the sun hypothesis. ---
**Author:** ![puppygod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@puppygod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puppygod)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/12 "2008-08-27T08:07:05Z")
Well, we don’t know for sure. But there are clues, that it is possible. 1. There are animals that have magnetic sense (including avians, but not confirmed yet for mammals). 2. Some mammals behavior can be explained by magnetoreception (like aforementioned cows and deer, but also some of bats and whales navigation skills). 3. Some mammals (most notably platypus) have electroreceptors - and there is a reason we talk about electromagnetism as a whole. 4. Some studies suggest that there are small magnetite deposits in human skulls - which might or might not be related to magnetoreception. Coincidence? Maybe, we ar not sure yet. But it’s certainly possible that at least some mammals have some form of magnetic sense. As story of vomeronasal organ in humans show, there is still a lot of thing we don’t know or aren’t sure about anatomy and receptory organs. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/13 "2008-08-27T08:20:22Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] The study showed that cows face towards _magnetic_ north/south not the actual poles. That discounts the sun hypothesis. [/QUOTE] Do you have access to a better more detailed report that says this? Because the articles I’ve seen don’t say this specifically. They do say the images from which they were working were too lacking in detail to even tell whether the cows were facing north or south. Given that, I’d be surprised if they could tell whether the cow were aligned with magnetic or true north/south, given that the variation is only a matter of less than 20 degrees (mostly much less). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/14 "2008-08-27T13:48:45Z")
I see an awful lot of complicated explanations here on a badly done study that has a lot of generalized assumptions by a single person that decided a certain explanation fit his observations without proving that his theory has any merit beyond being fodder for sensational journalism. or Horse pucky! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/15 "2008-08-27T18:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] Some research seems to indicate that in many areas the sun moves across the sky during the day - in some cases finishing far from where it started. So turning away from the sun could result in facing both east and west, as well as north. [/QUOTE] [:dubious:](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/wink.gif) Cite? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/16 "2008-08-27T18:44:25Z")
Well blood is largely made up of iron, and iron is magnetic. I am not a biologist, but I have heard that a “sixth sence” organic mechanism using the magnetic properties of iron used to explain many directional and homing behavior. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/17 "2008-08-27T18:52:59Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] Do you have access to a better more detailed report that says this? Because the articles I’ve seen don’t say this specifically. They do say the images from which they were working were too lacking in detail to even tell whether the cows were facing north or south. Given that, I’d be surprised if they could tell whether the cow were aligned with magnetic or true north/south, given that the variation is only a matter of less than 20 degrees (mostly much less). [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Both cattle and deer faced a more magnetic north-south direction rather than geographic north-south, (Earth’s magnetic poles do not line up perfectly with the North and South Poles). From [here.](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26395876/) ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/18 "2008-08-27T19:27:04Z")
[QUOTE=wolfman] Well blood is largely made up of iron, and iron is magnetic. [/QUOTE] The iron in hemoglobin is [not ferromagnetic](http://www.csicop.org/si/2006-04/magnet-therapy.html). I think I read in C&E News that birds sense magnetic fields through a molecule that is a ground state triplet, but I can’t find the article again. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/19 "2008-08-28T10:33:08Z")
Are there any plans to start a messenger business using "Homing Cows? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373/20 "2008-08-28T13:14:49Z")
No, but I have plans to start a business selling magnetic herding equipment. By generating a localized magnetic field, I can keep the cows moving in any direction I please without the hassle of fences, or men on horses with ropes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cows-really-have-an-inner-compass/461373.md?page=2)