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Painted eyes on cows backsides prevent attack


Still Waters

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The predation of livestock by carnivores, and the retaliatory killing of carnivores as a result, is a major global conservation challenge. Such human-wildlife conflicts are a key driver of large carnivore declines and the costs of coexistence are often disproportionately borne by rural communities in the global south.

While current approaches tend to focus on separating livestock from wild carnivores, for instance through fencing or lethal control, this is not always possible or desirable. Alternative and effective non-lethal tools that protect both large carnivores and livelihoods are urgently needed.

In a new study we describe how painting eyes on the backsides of livestock can protect them from attack.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-lions-cattle-eyes-backsides.html

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A new take on ‘ eyes in the back of your head’.  If it works, why not?

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From the article linked in the OP: "Although eye patterns are common in many animal groups, notably butterflies, fishes, amphibians, and birds, no mammals are known to have natural eye-shaped patterns that deter predation. In fact, to our knowledge, our research is the first time that eye-spots have been shown to deter large mammalian predators."

Yep, eyes-on-the-back-of-your-head is a technique (of uncertain effectiveness) for discouraging Australian magpies from swooping:https://blog.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/how-to-avoid-being-swooped-by-a-magpie/

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This brings up a question that has bugged me from time to time.  How do animals know that eyes are for seeing?  Just because they see doesn't mean everything does.  How do they know that specific organs provide sight?  They can determine what teeth and claws are for by seeing them in action, but to know they're being seen they would have to know what eyes are for.

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21 minutes ago, Big Jim said:

This brings up a question that has bugged me from time to time.  How do animals know that eyes are for seeing?  Just because they see doesn't mean everything does.  How do they know that specific organs provide sight?  They can determine what teeth and claws are for by seeing them in action, but to know they're being seen they would have to know what eyes are for.

By watching other animals. When they see something they c*** their heads. pupils dilate and their whole body tenses up when danger is near. It's strictly a survival  mechanism they learn from birth.

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2 hours ago, Michelle said:

When they see something they c*** their heads.

Autocensor makes no allowance for context.  

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they have been doing this in india for years. sorry if its news to all you youngsters.

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Would this also prevent me from being attacked by wildlife :rofl:

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2 minutes ago, pbarosso said:

they have been doing this in india for years. sorry if its news to all you youngsters.

Yes indeed,im sure people in other countries do as well.

They put mask faces on the back of their heads because they know tigers and leopards are ambush predetors,and won't attack if they think the prey is looking at it.

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9 hours ago, Big Jim said:

This brings up a question that has bugged me from time to time.  How do animals know that eyes are for seeing?  Just because they see doesn't mean everything does.  How do they know that specific organs provide sight?  They can determine what teeth and claws are for by seeing them in action, but to know they're being seen they would have to know what eyes are for.

They are in a survival setting. There is no school to teach them. Perhaps knowledge overtime 

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The googly ones kept falling off.

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18 hours ago, Big Jim said:

This brings up a question that has bugged me from time to time.  How do animals know that eyes are for seeing?  Just because they see doesn't mean everything does.  How do they know that specific organs provide sight?  They can determine what teeth and claws are for by seeing them in action, but to know they're being seen they would have to know what eyes are for.

How does a stick bug know that looking like a stick disguises them or a butterfly have markings to the scare birds off or a fake coral snake knows to look poisonous and how would any animal would even know a coral snake was poisonous? IMO - I believe it to be an instruction set built in to the "life engine" to perpetuate life.  Beware of the thought police coming for your posts on this website.

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42 minutes ago, TripGun said:

How does a stick bug know that looking like a stick disguises them or a butterfly have markings to the scare birds off or a fake coral snake knows to look poisonous and how would any animal would even know a coral snake was poisonous? IMO - I believe it to be an instruction set built in to the "life engine" to perpetuate life.  Beware of the thought police coming for your posts on this website.

Camouflage and body types don't have to be thought about or reacted to, critters are just born that way.  They would result from natural selection, bugs that look like sticks get eaten less than bugs that look like bugs.  But to look at another creature and know that out of all the features you see, ears, paws, nose, etc. it is the eyes that perceive you, that takes some sort of knowledge.  Just one of the little things I'm likely to puzzle over.

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