Posted on 01/15/2009 2:30:24 PM PST by BGHater
Swedish bovine earth-moving experiment ends in disappointment
Swedish scientists have disappointingly discovered that cows do not have "an innate ability to detect natural disasters", thereby thwarting any possibility of deploying bovine imminent earthquake detectors in seismic hotspots.
According to The Local, researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) fitted "advanced GPS sensors and animal monitoring devices" to eight ruminants in Skåne and then checked out how they behaved during a quake which shook southern Sweden on the morning of 16 December last year.
The results proved shattering for the SLU team. Researcher Anders Herlin explained that, despite being a mere five kilometres from the epicentre, "only two of the eight cows bearing the monitoring equipment stood up during or a minute before the tremors began".
The sobering report continues: "Two other cows were already standing, while another two were lying down before, during, and after the quake. One cow actually sat down at the exact second that the earth began shaking, and the eighth cow’s equipment malfunctioned, leaving researchers in the dark about its reaction to the quake."
Herlin said: “Very little, almost nothing, points to the cows having any advance awareness of or feeling the effects of the earthquake. One can probably say that, as a species, cows are not the world’s most earthquake-sensitive animals.” ®
Well there is still plenty of reports of dogs, horses and birds that seemed to indicate that they knew something was coming.. who knows?
Does this study taking into account for cow-tipping?
It’s true. Animals can sense earthquakes.
Utterly cool.
Plenty of reports does not make a fact. However, the cows knew it was not a severe problem so what was the reason to panic. LOL
I don’t know if this is satire or not. However, why cows? I think dogs or birds may be more sensitive to changes in nature...
They actually don’t know that there’s a quake until they feel the earth mooove.
We were three miles from the epicenter of the Northridge quake in 1994, and our cat sat in his “safe spot” the entire day before and would not move even to eat. He did it once before, too, so we knew a bad one was coming.
Well, I’m glad we answered that important question. I wonder if ants can detect earthquakes? Maybe we need to spend another few hundred thousand researching that.
Penguins can time-travel though. I've heard "various reports of numerous incidents."
Although, it may have been the same incident happening at multiple times, considering.
Ram’s bladders may be employed to prevent earthquakes, however.
I suppose next they’ll tell us that groundhogs can’t predict the onset of spring...
“Cows can’t detect earthquakes: Official”
I’m relieved, because if they could, they’d probably want a raise.
Ok, so why chose to monitor the earthquake detection prowess of COWS vs. some other species? I’d bet good money it was for all the wrong reasons. Most likely, they found that the domesticated cow was the only animal slow enough and docile enough to endure their monitoring equipment and not damage it.
Have you ever spent any time around cows? Insects may not be as bright but I challenge you to name a dumber mammal than the domesticated bovine.
OTOH, they can be tasty if grilled to a nice medium rare.
In think you mean, “Udderly cool.”
Our dog knew an earthquake was going to occur two hours before it happened. She started barking and acting strangely for no apparent reason. Something she had never done before or since.
They cant predict earthquakes, their crap is causing global warming, and their meat is making people fat, I think we should exterminate them all together.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.