A Mathematical Model for the Dynamics and Synchronization of Cows

I've wondered about this plenty, though I was hoping for a simpler model:

We formulate a mathematical model for daily activities of a cow (eating, lying down, and standing) in terms of a piecewise affine dynamical system. We analyze the properties of this bovine dynamical system representing the single animal and develop an exact integrative form as a discrete-time mapping. We then couple multiple cow "oscillators" together to study synchrony and cooperation in cattle herds. We comment on the relevant biology and discuss extensions of our model. With this abstract approach, we not only investigate equations with interesting dynamics but also develop interesting biological predictions. In particular, our model illustrates that it is possible for cows to synchronize \emph{less} when the coupling is increased.

For the pointer I thank Michael F. Martin.  Here is a claim that cows tend to align north-south.  Here is further discussion.

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