Read More: Do you drink coffee every day? Then you have this mysterious bacteria in your gut (and you didn’t even know it)<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThe team filmed dozens of these sessions. They found that Veronika chose how to use each part of the broom depending on the body area she wanted to reach. The stiff bristles went on the thick skin of her back, while the smooth wooden handle touched more sensitive zones such as the belly and udder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scientists call this kind of behavior tool use when an animal intentionally grabs an external object to achieve a clear goal, in this case scratching an itch. Because Veronika uses different parts of the same broom for different purposes, the study describes it as flexible, multipurpose tool use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Veronika,](\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/veronika-cow-broom-tool-use-austria.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Innovation in the Field: Veronika demonstrates advanced cognitive skills by using a wooden stick as a multipurpose tool for grooming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy this challenges ten thousand years of assumptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Humans have shared fields and barns with cattle for at least ten thousand years, mainly seeing them as sources of meat, milk, leather, or pulling power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: Beneath the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New York, there is a freshwater \u201cbank\u201d that could supply the city for 800 years. This has been confirmed by drilling 400 meters below the seabed<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThe new findings suggest that during all that time we may simply not have been paying close enough attention to what cows are capable of when they have time, space, and objects to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osuna-Mascar\u00f3 notes that the behavior shows cows can innovate in their use of tools and that people have largely ignored this potential. He has called it surprising to discover such a skill only now, after so many generations of living side by side with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What it means for how we see farm animals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Until recently, multipurpose tool use was thought to belong almost entirely to humans and a handful of primates such as chimpanzees, which use twigs to fish for termites or stones to crack nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veronika\u2019s broom work puts cattle into that very select group, at least in terms of what they can potentially do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: Goodbye to the 24-hour day: from this date onwards, days on Earth will last 25 hours<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIndependent experts say this is not just a cute anecdote. Evolutionary biologist Marc Bekoff argues that the case supports the idea that cows are sensitive beings with advanced mental skills, and that Veronika probably reflects a wider, underestimated intelligence in cattle rather than a one in a million genius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this may feel distant from daily life, until you remember how many dairy and beef products pass through a typical grocery cart. If cows can plan, experiment, and solve problems in this way, it adds another layer to ongoing debates about farm animal welfare and how much mental stimulation they should have in barns and feedlots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could other cows be using tools when no one is watching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is an important catch. Veronika is only one cow. Researchers are careful to say that the study proves the capacity exists but does not tell us how common this behavior might be in the global cattle population, which numbers in the billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, the team suspects that other cows might show similar creativity if they live longer lives, have closer contact with humans, and get access to objects they can manipulate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have encouraged farmers and vets to share any footage of animals using sticks, brushes, or tools in inventive ways, which could help reveal just how often this kind of thing happens out in the fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main study has been published in Current Biology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veronika is a Swiss Brown cow who lives in the village of N\u00f6tsch im Gailtal in southern Austria, where organic … <\/p>\n
Innovation in the Field: Veronika demonstrates advanced cognitive skills by using a wooden stick as a multipurpose tool for grooming.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Why this challenges ten thousand years of assumptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Humans have shared fields and barns with cattle for at least ten thousand years, mainly seeing them as sources of meat, milk, leather, or pulling power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: Beneath the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of New York, there is a freshwater \u201cbank\u201d that could supply the city for 800 years. This has been confirmed by drilling 400 meters below the seabed<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThe new findings suggest that during all that time we may simply not have been paying close enough attention to what cows are capable of when they have time, space, and objects to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osuna-Mascar\u00f3 notes that the behavior shows cows can innovate in their use of tools and that people have largely ignored this potential. He has called it surprising to discover such a skill only now, after so many generations of living side by side with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What it means for how we see farm animals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Until recently, multipurpose tool use was thought to belong almost entirely to humans and a handful of primates such as chimpanzees, which use twigs to fish for termites or stones to crack nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veronika\u2019s broom work puts cattle into that very select group, at least in terms of what they can potentially do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: Goodbye to the 24-hour day: from this date onwards, days on Earth will last 25 hours<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIndependent experts say this is not just a cute anecdote. Evolutionary biologist Marc Bekoff argues that the case supports the idea that cows are sensitive beings with advanced mental skills, and that Veronika probably reflects a wider, underestimated intelligence in cattle rather than a one in a million genius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this may feel distant from daily life, until you remember how many dairy and beef products pass through a typical grocery cart. If cows can plan, experiment, and solve problems in this way, it adds another layer to ongoing debates about farm animal welfare and how much mental stimulation they should have in barns and feedlots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could other cows be using tools when no one is watching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is an important catch. Veronika is only one cow. Researchers are careful to say that the study proves the capacity exists but does not tell us how common this behavior might be in the global cattle population, which numbers in the billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, the team suspects that other cows might show similar creativity if they live longer lives, have closer contact with humans, and get access to objects they can manipulate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have encouraged farmers and vets to share any footage of animals using sticks, brushes, or tools in inventive ways, which could help reveal just how often this kind of thing happens out in the fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main study has been published in Current Biology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veronika is a Swiss Brown cow who lives in the village of N\u00f6tsch im Gailtal in southern Austria, where organic … <\/p>\n
Read More: Goodbye to the 24-hour day: from this date onwards, days on Earth will last 25 hours<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIndependent experts say this is not just a cute anecdote. Evolutionary biologist Marc Bekoff argues that the case supports the idea that cows are sensitive beings with advanced mental skills, and that Veronika probably reflects a wider, underestimated intelligence in cattle rather than a one in a million genius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this may feel distant from daily life, until you remember how many dairy and beef products pass through a typical grocery cart. If cows can plan, experiment, and solve problems in this way, it adds another layer to ongoing debates about farm animal welfare and how much mental stimulation they should have in barns and feedlots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Could other cows be using tools when no one is watching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is an important catch. Veronika is only one cow. Researchers are careful to say that the study proves the capacity exists but does not tell us how common this behavior might be in the global cattle population, which numbers in the billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even so, the team suspects that other cows might show similar creativity if they live longer lives, have closer contact with humans, and get access to objects they can manipulate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have encouraged farmers and vets to share any footage of animals using sticks, brushes, or tools in inventive ways, which could help reveal just how often this kind of thing happens out in the fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main study has been published in Current Biology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veronika is a Swiss Brown cow who lives in the village of N\u00f6tsch im Gailtal in southern Austria, where organic … <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Veronika is a Swiss Brown cow who lives in the village of N\u00f6tsch im Gailtal in southern Austria, where organic … <\/p>\n