cows as compasses

Next time you're lost, and clouds are obscuring the position of the sun, perhaps you should look a little closer to ground to work out which way to go.

Scientists studying high resolution images on Google Earth of cattle and deer grazing believe that they have spotted an interesting phenomenon. It appears that a large number of grazing animals naturally align themselves, so that they are standing in a North-South direction. The scientists say that they have ruled out Sun position and wind direction as affecting factors.

It has long been thought that many migratory animals such as birds and fish use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate, however, 'magnetic sense' has never previously been studied in cattle.

Not everyone was impressed by the research results - a Scottist farmer interviewed by the BBC scoffed at the idea. "I've never noticed that my cows all face the same way," he said.

A beauty content - for nuns!

"You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad?" and, "Being ugly is not a requirement for becoming a nun," said the Rev. Antonio Rungi in recent interviews with the BBC and CNN.

Rungi was speaking about an internet beauty contest - 'Miss Sister 2008' - for nuns, which he hopes to run in September. He draws the line at naughty bikinis, but the contestants will be able to choose whether to send photos of themselves with their head modestly covered, or not.

Internet users will then be able to vote, and choose the eventual winners. The contest has drawn criticism from Catholic organisations, which say that it belittles the role of nuns, but Rungi has defended his idea, saying that the original idea came from the nuns he works with.

UPDATE: Rungi cancelled his beauty contest on the 26th Aug, after incurring the displeasure of church elders.

The tortoise and the dog - an unusual race?

Recently, a skateboarding dog in Guangzhou, China, became famous when a photograph of him taking a spin on his wheels hit the news.
His owner told reporters that the dog become hooked on the sport whilst watching his son (the owner's son!) skateboarding with his friends.

Now another animal on wheels has made the headlines. This time, it's a tortoise in a zoo in Jerusalem, Israel. The African Spurred Tortoise had become paralysed in her hind legs. After trying in vain to diagnose the cause of her paralysis, zookeepers came up with an innovative idea to keep her active.

They designed a platform with wheels, which they strap her on, for a few hours a day. The tortoise is able to drag herself around on the contraption using her forelegs.