In a stunning twist, Veronika, a brown swiss cow from Nötsch im Gailtal, Austria, has proven to be a tool-using prodigy. This groundbreaking finding upends our perennial and benign stereotypes about bovine IQ. In a stunning setting that would be a fitting backdrop for “The Sound of Music,” Veronika has already left ecologists from the University of Veterinary Medicine starry-eyed. She’s mastered the art of back scratching, with a broom!
Nötsch im Gailtal, famous for its breathtaking alpine landscapes, sets the perfect stage for Veronika’s incredible stunts. Witgar Wiegele witgar.wiegele@univie.ac.at Her owner first noticed Veronika playing with sticks. This quirky behavior motivated her to get creative in figuring out ways to get a good scratch. During this period, Veronika progressed from hammering nails into boards to using a broom at a high level of proficiency and coordination.
Veronika’s active tool use 76 times over the course of seven long observation days. In each session we did ten trials, a true testament to her commitment and rigorous commitment. She builds a custom broom and learns to modify it to her advantage. This exemplifies not only her creativity but her innovative approach to how tools are used. We found that Veronika in particular greatly preferred the bristled end of the broom for scratching, but used the handle end quite effectively.
Second—and in addition to her prodigious selection skills—Veronika showed impressive adaptability in her process. Filling an unusual gap Sturdy’s primary function was to joyfully re-enchant breakfast, even if the broom fell at the wrong angle, which it often did. Then she clamped it closed with her teeth, exhibiting an unexpected degree of cow ingenuity.
Osuna Mascaró, a biologist who participated in the study, commented about how important their finding is.
“What this tells us is that cows have the potential to innovate tool use, and we have ignored this fact for thousands of years.” – Osuna Mascaró
Mascaró said he was blown away by what they found. It was a stark reminder, he said, that the scientific community has underestimated what cows can do for far too long.
“It’s shocking that we’re only discovering this now.” – Osuna Mascaró
Mascaró wanted to make clear that she is not the new “einstein of cows.”
“We don’t believe that Veronika is the Einstein of cows,” – Osuna Mascaró
Guiding face-to-face encounters Wiegele expressed his own amazement at Veronika’s intelligence and the lessons that animals can teach humanity when it comes to patience and gentleness.
“I was naturally amazed by her extraordinary intelligence and thought how much we could learn from animals: patience, calmness, contentment, and gentleness,” – Witgar Wiegele
At first skeptical, Mascaró assumed that Veronika’s choice of tools had been a fluke.
“At the beginning I thought this was the result of a mistake. Perhaps Veronika was not careful enough when selecting her tool for self-scratching,” – Osuna Mascaró
As the observations went on, it became evident that Veronika was purposefully using the broom as a form of self-scratch.
Veronika’s talents are not limited to just stirring interest. They contest what are arguably our underlying assumptions about animal intelligence, creativity, and ingenuity. This new research indicates that humans aren’t the only animals with such untapped potential.
The world-class team of scientists now studying Veronika is working to fully understand and utilize her unique talents. Broadly, their goal is to learn more about cows’ cognitive abilities, particularly with respect to problem-solving. This study expands concepts of animal intelligence and it challenges us to reconsider the ways we think about and treat animals.