Saturday, July 16, 2016

Science As Art

Scientists are painting eyes on cows’ butts to stop lions getting shot
Less crazy than it sounds.


Scientists have come up with a solution that will reduce the number of lions being shot by farmers in Africa - painting eyes on the butts of cows.

It sounds a little crazy, but early trials suggest that lions are less likely to attack livestock when they think they’re being watched - and less livestock attacks could help farmers and lions co-exist more peacefully.
It's not quite a happy face, but cow butt emojis might become a thing.


Or maybe those lions are art critics, and reject this as being "real art".

At any rate, if this continues to work, it's a breakthrough.

9 comments:

Phoenix said...

Hmmm...I suspect a Nobel prize looming.

Steven Satak said...

I am glad to see something common-sense like this coming along. Sure, looks silly, but joking aside, someone is actually doing something positive about this besides bending it to suit their own political Narrative.

Greg said...

How could this be used as political Narrative!?

Steven Satak said...

Oh, the whole business of people shooting lions, poaching, stuff like that, tends to be fodder for folks who have a beef with the climate, or overpopulation, or even the guns that are used to kill the lions... stuff like that. This seems like a pretty sensible approach and a nice, low-key solution to the farmer's problem - and the lion's problem!

Greg said...

Ya great solution! Still don't get how it could possibly be linked to politics or any of the more specific examples you mentioned but who knows some people get worked up for nothing

Robert Coble said...

Now if they can just figure out a way to incorporate that methane gas catalytic converter into the design. . . A "tow-fer": save the big kitties; save the planet!

Robert Coble said...

Aw, screw these dyslexic fingers: that should read "TWO-fer".

Anonymous said...

PICS and VID
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3675414/British-scientist-stops-lions-hunting-cattle-Botswana-painting-faces-behinds.html

Yosef

CJ said...

@Greg: "Still don't get how it could possibly be linked to politics"

Because some people believe that government should get first shot at fixing any problem, and that bottom-up solutions like this are blatant attempts at pre-empting the obvious need to legislate the problem away.