Cow astonishes scientists with rare use of tools

Nithavela · Jan 21, 2026

Cow astonishes scientists with rare tool use

The discovery suggests cows may have far greater cognitive abilities than previously assumed.

www.bbc.com

Scientists are rethinking what cattle are capable of after an Austrian cow named Veronika was found to use tools with impressive skill.
The discovery, reported by researchers in Vienna, suggests cows may have far greater cognitive abilities than previously assumed.
Veronika, a cow living in a mountain village in the Austrian countryside, has spent years perfecting the art of scratching herself using sticks, rakes, and brooms.
Word of her behaviour eventually reached animal intelligence specialists in Vienna, who found Veronika used both ends of the same object for different tasks.

Warden_of_the_Storm · Jan 21, 2026

Gary Larson was not wholly far off then.

askesis · Jan 21, 2026

A cow could write a treatise on vegetarianism, and I would still eat a steak. Pray for me.

Nithavela · Jan 21, 2026

askesis said:
A cow could write a treatise on vegetarianism, and I would still eat a steak. Pray for me.

I wouldn't feel too bad about that. The cow would probably eat you as well, if given the chance.

essentialsaltes · Jan 22, 2026

askesis said:
A cow could write a treatise on vegetarianism, and I would still eat a steak. Pray for me.

sjastro · Jan 22, 2026

Scientists have trained cows how to put on gumboots and walk around in them.

askesis · Jan 22, 2026

essentialsaltes said:
View attachment 375587

That's impressive. Fine. No more steak. Just Chicken Marsala.

askesis · Jan 22, 2026

Nithavela said:
I wouldn't feel too bad about that. The cow would probably eat you as well, if given the chance.

Did you just call me a vegetable?

Hans Blaster · Jan 22, 2026

sjastro said:
Scientists have trained cows how to put on gumboots and walk around in them.

This cow is a stunt performer with an Equity card. You can tell that the actors in a cow suit have been replaced by a stunt cow as those are real cow legs. No particularly realistic as two-guys-in-a-cow-suit, Messrs. Z-A-Z. A letdown after they'd previously used a real inflatable airline pilot.

sjastro · Jan 22, 2026

Hans Blaster said:
This cow is a stunt performer with an Equity card. You can tell that the actors in a cow suit have been replaced by a stunt cow as those are real cow legs. No particularly realistic as two-guys-in-a-cow-suit, Messrs. Z-A-Z. A letdown after they'd previously used a real inflatable airline pilot.

Shirley you must be joking.

Hans Blaster · Jan 22, 2026

sjastro said:
Shirley you must be joking.

I'm not joking, and don't call me Shirley.

Tuur · Jan 24, 2026

FWIW:

Cows will figure out how to turn on a spigot and get water. Horses, too. Problem is that while they figure out how to turn a spigot on, they never turn it off...

FireDragon76 · Friday at 7:06 AM

This doesn't surprise me. Intelligence as we recognize it is the result of embodiment, and tool use may actually be the most foundational, practical use of something analogous to logic.

durangodawood · Friday at 8:17 AM

Tuur said:
FWIW:

Cows will figure out how to turn on a spigot and get water. Horses, too. Problem is that while they figure out how to turn a spigot on, they never turn it off...

Why would they turn it off anymore than theyd turn off a nearby creek?

The Liturgist · 2026-01-31T07:39:44-0600

durangodawood said:
Why would they turn it off anymore than theyd turn off a nearby creek?

Precisely - they understand the what but not the how.

askesis said:
That's impressive. Fine. No more steak. Just Chicken Marsala.

I’ll happily eat octopi despite their known intelligence. That said I was, in 2007, unable to bring myself to eat rabbit at an Italian restaurant known for it; if I were there now I would have done it, however. But not during a fasting season or on Wednesday or Friday.

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Cow astonishes scientists with rare use of tools

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