Cows may be smarter than we thought. This one uses a brush to scratch herself.

Cows itch, just like us. They rub their rumps against trees and fences. Some farmers even put out bristled posts so cattle can scratch themselves. But Veronika the cow takes things into her own hands. Or rather: into her mouth. Plop a long brush in front of her and the 13-year-old cow will curl her tongue around the wooden handle and bring it to her mouth. Holding it horizontally between her teeth, Veronika swings her head to the side to rub the bristled end along her back.

Veronika wasn’t trained to do this. Scientists say it’s the first experimentally verified instance of cattle using a tool. The discovery suggests we’ve been underestimating the potential cognitive ability of cattle, a domesticated animal that humans have lived alongside for millennia for milk and meat.

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The findings, published Monday in the journal Current Biology, add to the growing list of animals capable of using tools, an ability once thought to be a hallmark of humanity. The star of the study lives in Austria. Her owner is Witgar Wiegele, a farmer and baker who keeps her as a pet. When Veronika was about 4 years old, Wiegele noticed she sometimes picked up sticks.

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In a series of trials, the researchers placed a deck brush in front of Veronika in a random orientation. With a camera rolling, the cow picked up the brush to scratch herself 76 times, positioning it with her tongue before securing it in her teeth. Occasionally, she’d readjust her grip by releasing the brush and picking it back up again to get the right orientation.

Unexpectedly, in what the researchers said was another potential sign of higher cognition, Veronika appeared to use different parts of the same tool for different purposes. She largely used the bristled end of the brush to forcefully scratch her upper body, while she used the smooth end to more gently rub the sensitive skin on her udder and belly flap.

https://wapo.st/4qxV99v

free, should be


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