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A back scratching bovine has forced scientists to reassess the intelligence of cattle.
Veronika, a brown Swiss cow from the Austrian village of Carinthia, shocked researchers with the first documented case of a cow working out how to scratch itself with a stick.
The clever creature also recognises family members’ voices and hurries to meet them when called.
Witgar Wiegele, an organic farmer and baker who has kept Veronika as a pet for more than 10 years, said she began playing with wooden sticks with her mouth before she started to scratch herself.
‘I was naturally amazed by her extraordinary intelligence and thought how much we could learn from animals: patience, calmness, contentment, and gentleness,’ he said.
A paper published on January 19 in the journal Current Biology describes what scientists say is the first recorded case of tool use in a pet cow, suggesting that cattle may be more cognitively capable than previously thought.
Dr Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, saidL ‘The findings highlight how assumptions about livestock intelligence may reflect gaps in observation rather than genuine cognitive limits.’
The behaviour first attracted scientific attention when it was filmed and shared with Dr Auersperg.
‘When I saw the footage, it was immediately clear that this was not accidental,’ she said.
‘This was a meaningful example of tool use in a species that is rarely considered from a cognitive perspective.’
Dr Auersperg and her colleague Antonio Osuna-Mascaró, a post-doctoral researcher, travelled to observe Veronika and carry out tests.
In a series of controlled trials, they placed a deck brush on the ground in random orientations and recorded which end Veronika chose and which part of her body she targeted.
Across repeated sessions, her choices were consistent and suited to the body regions she was scratching.
‘We show that a cow can engage in genuinely flexible tool use,’ said Mr Osuna-Mascaró.
‘Veronika is not just using an object to scratch herself. She uses different parts of the same tool for different purposes, and she applies different techniques depending on the function of the tool and the body region.’
The researchers found that she typically used the bristled end of the brush on broad, firm areas such as her back. When scratching softer and more sensitive areas of her lower body, she switched to the smooth handle.
She also changed how she moved the object. Upper-body scratching involved wide, forceful movements, while lower-body scratching was slower, more careful and highly controlled, the researchers say.
Tool use is defined as manipulating an external object to achieve a goal through mechanical means. The researchers say Veronika’s actions meet this definition and go further.
They describe her behaviour as flexible, multi-purpose tool use, meaning different features of the same object are used to achieve different outcomes.
Outside humans, such behaviour is documented in relatively few animal species, with great apes like chimpanzees the most sophisticated.
‘Because she is using the tool on her own body, this represents an egocentric form of tool use, which is generally considered less complex than tool use directed at external objects,’ Mr Osuna-Mascaró said.
‘At the same time, she faces clear physical constraints, as she must manipulate tools with her mouth. What is striking is how she compensates for these limitations, anticipating the outcome of her actions and adjusting her grip and movements accordingly.’
The study represents the first documented case of tool use in cattle and the first evidence of flexible, multi-purpose tool use in the species.
The researchers suggest Veronika’s unusual life circumstances may have played a key role. Most cows do not live as long, do not experience open and complex environments, and are rarely able to interact with a range of objects.
Her long lifespan, daily contact with humans and access to a varied physical landscape may have created the conditions needed for exploratory behaviour.
The team is keen in hearing from other farmers to learn how widespread such behaviour might be.
‘Because we suspect this ability may be more widespread than currently documented,’ Mr Osuna-Mascaró said. ‘We invite readers who have observed cows or bulls using sticks or other handheld objects for purposeful actions to contact us.’
Gary Larson’s 1982 Far Side cartoon, Cow Tools, featured a cow standing behind a table of shoddily crafted items.
It confused readers, including his mother, forcing him to explain: ‘While I have never met a cow who could make tools, I felt sure that if I did, they [the tools] would lack something in sophistication and resemble the sorry specimens shown.’
The researchers had a message for Larson.
‘Veronika did not fashion tools like the cow in Gary Larson’s cartoon, but she selected, adjusted, and used one with notable dexterity and flexibility,’ the researchers wrote.
‘Perhaps the real absurdity lies not in imagining a tool-using cow, but in assuming such a thing could never exist.’
