Veronika, a 13-year-old cow in Austria who has demonstrated using different ends of a wooden broom to scratch different parts of her body, according to what’s itching where. Photo Credit: A.J. Osuna-Mascaró and A.M.I. Auersperg. Video: Necrobioarchetype
Animals AustriaA Cow Just Rewrote the Rules of Animal Intelligence
A cow in Austria has become the first scientifically documented case of a cattle species using tools, demonstrating flexible problem-solving by using a broom to scratch different parts of her body.
“This should motivate us to look at livestock animals differently,” said Dr Alice Auersperg, cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.
During seventy observed trials in 2025, the thirteen-year-old cow, Veronika, used a broom seventy-six times, choosing the bristled end for tough skin on her back and the wooden handle for more sensitive areas like her belly. Scientists say this flexible, goal-directed behaviour meets the strict definition of tool use, previously documented in only a few animals, such as chimpanzees, elephants, and crows, and suggests that farm animals may possess far more cognitive capacity than long assumed.
