Mementos, Notes, and Fragments

Here’s the thing about lions: They typically attack their prey from the back. Here’s the thing about cows: Their eyes are in the front. And here’s the thing about African ranchers whose cows are killed by lions: They often turn around and kill lions, any lions, poisoning or shooting them to protect their herds. Good if you’re a cow, not good if you’re a lion or preservationist trying to keep decreasing lion populations from decreasing further.

Enter Dr. Neil Jordan, an ecologist with the University of New South Wales and Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia, who theorized that predators might be deceived with a clever masquerade. He and his team painted eyes on the backsides of cows in northern Botswana, painted others with crosses, and left still others untouched. Over the four-year study, the results were remarkable. Fifteen