Cow Tools

A new landmark paper has revealed that problem-solving using tools is not a trait restricted to apes and birds, despite common conceptions of animal intelligence. An Austrian cow was able to strategically scratch herself with a broom, as published in the Current Biology journal on January 19th.  

The footage has quickly gone viral, with many viewers likening it to the cartoon “Cow Tools” from The Far Side by Gary Larson, which became a prominent internet meme in the late 2010s. 

Researchers at the University of Vienna placed a broom in front of a cow named Veronika and observed how she utilised it. Veronika was able to form a stable grip to hold the broom in her mouth by using her tongue to position it between her teeth. She then used the broom to scratch hard-to-reach areas on her body, indicating an ability to use tools in a goal-directed manner. 

What’s more, the end of the broom Veronika used was dependent on the body part she was trying to scratch: the brush end was used for the upper body to provide sufficient friction, while the stick end was used for more delicate areas such as the udders, allowing for more precise aiming. 

Until now, similar use of a single tool for multiple functions had only been consistently seen in chimpanzees, making this a significant new discovery. Anecdotal observations of tool use in other hooved mammals such as horses have been recorded, but Veronika’s case marks the first time this behaviour has been experimentally verified in cows.  

Study authors Antonio Osuna-Mascaró and Alice Auersperg also highlight that cattle intelligence has been underestimated throughout history due to mind-denial biases associated with the consumption of meat. “The findings highlight how assumptions about livestock intelligence may reflect gaps in observation rather than genuine cognitive limits,” says Auersperg.