A British-American team of scientists [co-author Mason Porter is pictured here] has produced a study called A Mathematical Model for the Dynamics and Synchronisation of Cows. They were driven partly by the intellectual challenge, and at least a little by an EU council directive, which mandates “that cattle housed in groups should be given sufficient space so […]
Tag: sheep
Slovakian Shepherds, and Hunters & Butchers
When you hobnob with Slovakian shepherds, don’t mention wolves. A new study called Mitigating Carnivore-Livestock Conflict in Europe: Lessons from Slovakia, says: “Compared to other sectors of society shepherds had the most negative attitudes, particularly towards wolves.” Wolves are again roaming the forests of Slovakia. They were almost wiped out in the mid-20th century, then reappeared […]
Where and Why Sheep Split Up
To know why certain sheep cling to each other while others split off on their own, a person would need to know the size of the group, and also something about the personalities of the individual sheep. Scientists at the Macaulay Institute in Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, sought this very knowledge when they looked at the loiterings […]
Sheep and aardvarks, together at last
This study is one of the few that explicitly mentions both sheep and aardvarks in its title: “Counting Sheep is a Good Way to get to Sleep, but The Occasional Aardvark Will Wake You Up: How a Salient Event Improves Performance,” Veksler, B. Z., Gray, W. D., Proceedings of the 30th Annual Meeting of the […]