The cattle in all of the herds had been inspected on the
property where the observations were to be performed 10
days before the commencement of observations so that
they were observed some considerable time after their
habituation to the paddock. In each herd, observations
were carried out over three morning and three afternoon
sessions over a period of approximately 3 weeks. The
morning sessions began as soon as the animals could be
clearly seen through binoculars (approximately 06:00 h)
until 12:00 h. The afternoon sessions began at 12:00 h and
ended when the cattle could no longer be clearly seen
through the binoculars (approximately 18:00 h). Observers
took care to not be seen by the cattle by using natural
cover or distance from the animals to achieve this. If rain
occurred during any of the observations periods, the whole
period was disregarded and the observations carried out at a later date. Weather data were recorded at the Agricultural
Research Centre, Trangie at 09:00 h and 15:00 h.