Cows painted as zebras in an experiment to reduce horse fly bites

A team of scientists from Japan recently painted a few cows with the "Zebra" stripes in order to establish the fact that such an experiment would lead to a reduction in horse fly bites and the cows could act as successful substitutes as pests repellents, as per international reports. The researchers then clicked pictures of the painted side to analyse and count the number of bites each of the cows endured. 

The "Zebra" stripes experiment

According to reports, the cows with black stripes and cows with no stripes endured 110 bites in about half an hour. Meanwhile, the test subjects with the black and white stripes were bitten 60 times in the same time period. It was stated that the Zebra stripes were exquisite in nature and that helped in sending away the problem causing insects. In addition to these above-mentioned reports, it has been proven that insects and flies are more attracted to black and white stripes. 

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Side-effects of reasearch

The cows being used as test subjects may have a negative impact on their owners too. It has been said that the insects biting the cows cause a hindrance in the animal's grazing and feeding patterns which has led to a financial loss in the cattle industry.
A scientist stated that since the cows were not capable of fending off the insects, they used a lot of energy by grouping together that in turn increased the risk of injury and heat stress. 

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An environment-friendly experiment

The experiment has also been termed as environment-friendly as the paint is said to fade away in a span of a few days. Although, with the effect lasting only a few days, owners will have to paint their cows a lot of times in a single week to witness the best results. The researchers conducting this experiment stated that substituting paint with pesticides will benefit the environment and health of animals and humans alike with a hope that the scientific "art" project will bear positive results. 

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