Cows Really Can Use Sophisticated Tools
Nautilus | Science Connected • • science
Key Points:
- A study published in Current Biology documents a Brown Swiss cow named Veronika using a deck broom as a scratching tool, meeting the scientific criteria for tool use.
- Veronika manipulated the broom with her mouth, selecting different ends to scratch various parts of her body consistently across multiple trials, indicating intentional and adaptive behavior.
- This egocentric tool use, directed at herself, is a notable cognitive achievement previously unreported in mammals other than primates.
- The findings challenge assumptions about livestock intelligence, suggesting that cows possess greater cognitive flexibility than previously recognized, potentially influenced by prolonged human interaction.
- Researchers emphasize that observations of companion animals like Veronika may reveal underestimated abilities in domesticated species such as cows, sheep, and
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