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Thursday, May 31, 2007
Experimental confirmation: Cows can't fly
Today's front page story in L'Express was the freak and tragic accident which killed 14 heifers, which plunged 200 metres to their death from a cliff in their summer pasture above Buttes, Switzerland, southwest of Fourmilab.
In order to reach the cliff, the cows had to break through the fence confining them, cross 300 metres to a second fence, break through that as well, then continue another 600 metres through the forest before arriving at the “jumping off point”. One can only speculate as to the cause; the most likely hypothesis is that the cows were chased by one or more dogs. Lynx are present in this region, but although they do attack sheep, they have never been known to stampede cows. There are no confirmed sightings of wolves in the Jura. According to a police spokesman quoted in the article, “all possibilities remain open”, so the UFO hypothesis can't be ruled out at this time. Five cows which did not jump were found wandering in the forest adjacent to the cliff; the usually placid animals were described as frightened.
Posted at May 31, 2007 21:12