Sometimes the best discoveries in science are those that arise from accidents. Such a serendipitous event has happened at UC Davis as scientists have realized that the cows that are located on the fields near La Rue seem to have a preference for resting on mounds of dirt, rather than on flat ground.
This accidental observation led to some more scientific experiments being conducted. If you move the mounds, the cows will move to the new location and if you make the mounds bigger, more cows move to the mounds. UC Davis researchers then tested the cows for levels of stress hormones and found that cows that spend more time on the mounds appear to be more relaxed than other cows The research, to be published in the journal Animal Behaviour, might point the way to how to increase milk production by 'introducing varied topographic features within their natural grazing environment'.
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