i-cows: can intimidating eye patterns painted onto cows reduce lion attacks?

My experience so far is that farmers are very interested in the idea and willing to try anything. The farmers I have spoken to on the ground were particularly keen on the idea because it is low cost and so has a chance of being sustainable beyond the life of the project/experiment. It doesn't rely on technology and great expense, and is rather passive, which is of value in the farming context. There is much to be said for local solutions to local problems, with experience passed down, but I'm not aware of anyone having had this idea before in or outside of the communities there. Perhaps this is because many livestock-carnivore conflicts elsewhere around the world don't involve ambush predators (though many do), and actualy in the areas in which we are currently working, livestock farming is a relatively new development.

Thanks Susanne. Absolutely agree. Habituation may be an issue down the line, but to allow variation in eye design is one reason I've favoured painting over more permanent marking. Also some of the areas where this could be most effectively used is in corridors between protected areas; potential corridors consisting of livestock areas that are currently effectively closed by lion-livestock conflict. Allowing lions to move through these areas without getting into habitual livestock killing en route. These transients/dispersers will be less likely to become habituated in the short time they take to pass through. Second, some but not all of the areas where this might be used have a healthy prey-base, and conserving this is also a key challenge in reducing lion-livestock predation. Thanks for your support and interest!

Thanks for your support! Hopefully we can test it out.

Thanks- I'm excited to see the results too.

Thanks Bob- I very much hope so!

Thanks! Let's hope it comes good.

Hey- thanks Alex. We need creative solutions to destructive problems! I really appreciate your support. N

Hey Rebecca- thanks so much for the support. Please share widely and spread the news. We HAVE to test this! N

Hi Jonathan. Thank you so much for backing our project

Hi Jonathan. Thank you so much for backing our project. Lions see well in blue and green, but contrast is likely to be particularly important. We're experimenting with best contrast, so black on white cows works well but brown cows are tricky. Yellow looks good to us but perhaps white may be more effective. Something else to try. Thanks again and please do share with others if you can. N

Thanks for your support. Watch this space and please share the project as widely as you can. It's all or nothing platform here. :-)