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Scientific American 60 Second Science.

I'm Suzanne Bard.

In Botswana,

farmers graze their cattle at the edge of the Okavango Delta.

The region is teeming with wildlife, including hungry predators, with a taste for beef.

Lions and leopards in particular are ambush predators.

They often rely on the element of surprise to creep up and take down their prey.

University of New South Wales Conservation biologist Neil Jordan.

Livestock losses can be crippling to some of these farmers

and the subsequent retaliatory killing of predators in response to that

is a major cause of population decline in large carnivals.

But what if there were a simple thing farmers could do to cut their losses?

The idea came about of painting eyes on the back sides of cows to trick lions and leopards into thinking they've been seen by their would-be prey, and once seen they often abandon the hunt.

This visionary solution was inspired by nature.

A variety of species have evolved eyespot markings that thwart deadly adversaries.

Some frog dairiers feature eyespots, as do the back ends of some fish.

Jordan's colleague Cameron Radford.

Probably the most famous example is on butterflies and moths.

They have ice spots in their wings and these deter predators such as birds from attacking them.

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