Moscow  - Farmers in Russia's Far East have outfitted their heifers with special furry bras to protect their udders as temperatures hit 50 degrees below zero.

Local residents in the Russian region of Yakutia say if they don't sew such mono-bras for the cows, their milking nipples may suffer frostbite in the drastic temperatures.

"The bras, or - in Yakutian - "sialdbas", are made from a triangle of thick fabric lined with rabbit fur. Three straps are sewn onto the bra, two of which are tied around the cows' waist and the third to the tail," one resident, Natalia Semyenova, was quoted by news agency Ria-Novosti as saying. (dpa)