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Started By
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Zebra Cows Repel Flies and Win Ig Nobel Prize
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:22 am
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:22 am
https://www.the-scientist.com/zebra-cows-repel-flies-and-win-ig-nobel-prize-73483
quote:
The 2025 Ig Nobel prize in biology honored Japanese researchers who discovered that black cows painted with vertical white stripes were less desirable to biting flies than their counterparts that didn’t look like zebras.2 This work, led by Tomoki Kojima, a researcher at the Aichi Agricultural Research Center, may offer a more environmentally friendly way (than pesticides) to repel cattle pests. The researchers’ findings also support a leading theory on why zebras evolved stripes, an open question in wildlife research.
quote:
To test this hypothesis, Kojima’s team recruited three black cows (Wagyu cows are often black). They painted one with white stripes, one with black stripes, and left one unpainted. The researchers touched up the painted cows’ stripes every morning for three consecutive days. Kojima's team noted that freehand painting of zebra stripes only took about five minutes per cow.
For 30 minutes twice a day (in the morning and evening), the researchers observed the cows and counted fly-repelling behaviors, such as head throws, leg stamps, and tail flicks. At the end of each observation period, the team took pictures of the cows so they could count the numbers of flies that landed on the cows' bodies and legs.
quote:
Since Kojima’s work came out in 2019, Japanese farmers have put their unusual method to the test. Kojima’s team chose short-lasting paint in their experiment so they could easily switch between treatments on each cow, but the farmers used paint that could last for more than a month.
“I don’t think there are potential health hazards [from paint],” Kojima said, as researchers and farmers commonly paint cattle to be able to identify them from a distance. He added, “[Painting] is a cheap, easy, and animal welfare-friendly method.”
“I was skeptical at first, but I was really surprised that no insects came,” a cattle farmer said in their three-year survey response, reported by the Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun in 2024. “There was no bullying from other cows, which I was worried about.”
This post was edited on 9/19/25 at 9:36 am
12
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:23 am to Shexter
That's pretty cool!
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:26 am to SallysHuman
Black, white or striped, who cares. Just give me the beef.
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:28 am to Shexter
Next question... are the existence of stripes the repelling factor or does the chemical composition of the paint repel the flies?
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:29 am to Shexter
they carry their penalty flags in their ears?
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:32 am to Shexter
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:32 am to Shexter
They failed to mention the paint has Deet in it….
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:32 am to SallysHuman
quote:
Next question... are the existence of stripes the repelling factor or does the chemical composition of the paint repel the flies?
I've never seen flies going after an open can of paint so...
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:37 am to SallysHuman
quote:
Since Kojima’s work came out in 2019, Japanese farmers have put their unusual method to the test. Kojima’s team chose short-lasting paint in their experiment so they could easily switch between treatments on each cow, but the farmers used paint that could last for more than a month.
“I don’t think there are potential health hazards [from paint],” Kojima said, as researchers and farmers commonly paint cattle to be able to identify them from a distance. He added, “[Painting] is a cheap, easy, and animal welfare-friendly method.”
“I was skeptical at first, but I was really surprised that no insects came,” a cattle farmer said in their three-year survey response, reported by the Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun in 2024. “There was no bullying from other cows, which I was worried about.”
I'd think any fumes would evaporate in a few days
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:38 am to Shexter
quote:
animal welfare-friendly method.”
aren't these cows being fattened up for the slaughter?
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:42 am to Shexter
quote:
There was no bullying from other cows, which I was worried about.”
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:44 am to Shexter
And just like that, LSU fans quit eating beef.
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:52 am to Shexter
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:55 am to Shexter
Needs some metal flake.
Posted on 9/19/25 at 9:58 am to Shexter
COWBRAAAAAAAAA!!!
Posted on 9/19/25 at 11:08 am to Shexter
I guess the next step is to try to cross breed zebra's and cows?
Posted on 9/19/25 at 11:33 am to Shexter
So, do the cows stand around chewing a weed, spitting, and then asking the new cow what he's in for?
Posted on 9/19/25 at 1:18 pm to Shexter
quote:
Zebra Cows
I love the casual racism of the modern O-T.
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