Researcher paints eyes on African cow rumps to prevent lion attack.

African lions and leopards are at risk from farmers retaliating over killed cattle, and an Australian scientist is trying to help.The beef herds are valuable in Botswana which is why conservation biologists are keen to minimize these wildlife/livestock conflicts. Tricking a lion into believing it has been spotted as it creeps up to attack a cow, could just save its life from angry cattle herders.Dr Neil Jordan is from Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo and the University of New South Wales where he lectures. He is working with farmers and the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust to further explore promising research that is changing the way lions and leopards look at cattle as prey. By painting intimidating eye-patterns on the behinds of cows, researchers hope to trick the big cats into thinking they have been seen.Dr Jordan calls this "psychological trickery"."Lions and leopards are ambush predators that rely on the element of surprise to sneak up and take down their prey. A small study of eye painting was conducted last year involving a beef cattle herd of 62 head.It showed promising signs.None of 23 cows that had eyes painted on their rumps were attacked, yet three of the 39 unpainted cows were killed by lions in a three month period. Continue