Austrian researchers were surprised: Veronika the cow used the brush to gnaw creatively

In Austrian the research has found new information about the ability of cattle to use tools. A cow named Veronika knows how to creatively use a brush to scratch, it turns out Current Biology – from the study published by science magazine in January.

Researchers at the Veterinary University of Vienna placed a brush in front of a cow and hypothesized that it would use the brush head to scratch hard-to-reach areas.

The researchers had not been able to predict that the use of the tool would depend significantly on which area of ​​the body Veronika wanted to shred. It knew how to choose the right brush head according to the area of ​​the body. The cow used a rough brush head for the upper body skin areas and a smooth stick head for more sensitive areas such as the udders. It also knew how to use different moves for different areas.

Veronika used the brush with her mouth and changed her grip anticipating which end of the brush would be needed next.

The researchers considered the use of the cow to be systematic. Veronika used the tools 76 times during about ten test sessions.

Such the use of a tool, where the same object is utilized in different ways for different tasks, has previously been observed consistently only in chimpanzees, the researchers say. Advanced use of tools has also been observed in Asian elephants, for example.

According to the researchers, this has not been tested on cattle before, and there has been little research on their information processing abilities anyway.

According to the researchers, Veronika’s case shows that even a cow can, under the right conditions, be able to solve problems creatively with the help of tools.