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One Way To Protect Cattle From Predators? Paint Eyes On Their Butts. Really
Conservation scientists at UNSW have trialled painting eyes on cattle butts in Botswana to protect them from African lions.
Culture & Entertainment
It’s not easy being a cow living among African lions in Botswana. After all, there’s always the threat you could soon be a big cat’s meal.
UNSW conservationists have found an effective, low-cost way to protect cattle from their predators and help lions coexist with livestock and farmers.
In a piece of “psychological trickery,” scientists have trialled painting eyes on local cattle butts.
The idea is that the intimidating eyes will trick the lions into thinking they’ve been spotted, causing them to abandon the hunt.
“As protected conservation areas become smaller, lions are increasingly coming into contact with human populations, which are expanding to the boundaries of these protected areas,” says Dr Neil Jordan, a conservation biologist from UNSW’s Centre for Ecosystem Science.
The lions eat livestock, such as cattle, which negatively impacts the livelihood of the subsistence farmers living in these rural areas. With no non-lethal way to prevent the attacks, the farmers often turn to deadly force, shooting or poisoning the lions in retaliation.