Researchers in Austria have documented what appears to be the first cow known to use tools.
Scientists observed a Swiss brown cow named Veronika pick up a broom with her mouth and then use it to scratch her back.
Her owner says she’s actually been doing it for years. She uses the broom to scratch hard-to-reach spots. The bristled end of the broomstick is for tougher skin and the handle is for more sensitive areas.
Biologists say the observation could reshape how we think about farm animal intelligence explaining that the behavior was clearly intentional and showed real problem‑solving ability.
“The findings highlight how assumptions about livestock intelligence may reflect gaps in observation rather than genuine cognitive limits,” says Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.
[YouTube: LaVanguardia] [Eureka News]
