I happened to come across two articles yesterday saying that a number of animals seem to have some sort of built-in compass. The Economist article "Magnetism and behavior: animal attraction" talks about how scientists used Google Earth to look at photos of grazing animals around the world. They found that to minimize wind chill and maximize the sun's heat, cows in cold weather stand pointing directly north-south. Termites also build their mounds north-south to maximize heat from the sun, according to a piece in The Atlantic. Mole rats (so cute!) apparently use magnetism to find their way around their elaborate burrows, even though they're blind. Scientists think that the little bits of magnetite in the corneas of mole rats may be responsible for their remarkable sense of direction.
Animals are pretty amazing.
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