Mastodawn

The BEST tool I inherited from my father's toolbox. #tooluse

@perkinsy Thirty years ago my cat Straaltje discovered how to attract my attention in the kitchen when out of reach. She knew where to jump from the counter on a loose board so that I would feel it (I am #deaf). That board can also be considered a #tool. Lots of examples like these, it is us humans which are to stupid to recognize it. #tooluse #animals #tooling #animalstudies

flaberenne Jan 22

So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special?

by Helen Pilcher / via The Guardian

#Animal #ToolUse #smart

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/21/cows-sticks-humans-grooming-minds

So a cow can use a stick to scratch its backside. When will we learn that humans are really not that special?

Veronika’s improvised grooming device has caused great surprise – but that tells us more about humans than cows, says science writer Helen Pilcher

The Guardian

Stefan F. Wirth Jan 22

RE: https://biologists.social/@jekely/115926352021625708

#Tooluse in #bovids so far was underestimated until a recent #scientific #study highlighted Austrian #cow #Veronika and her #flexible #purposeful self-#scrarching tool handling. Indicating that further studies might show similar potentials also in other #Bovidae taxa.
The authors A. J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg (2026) published their findings in #CurrentBiology.
© This text #StefanFWirth Berlin 2026

Reference:

A. J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg (2026)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.059

Dave J Jan 21

First-ever flexible #ToolUse seen in a #cow suggests livestock are smarter than believed | #ScientificAmerican https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-ever-flexible-tool-use-seen-in-a-cow-suggests-livestock-are-smarter/ #science #animal #intelligence

First-ever flexible tool use seen in a cow suggests livestock are smarter than believed

A pet cow named Veronika uses tools in a surprisingly sophisticated way—possibly because she has been allowed to live her best life

Scientific American

pandora (on Sharkey)Jan 21

Meet Veronika, 13, an Austrian Swiss beauty with caramel hair and huge friendly eyes, who deftly uses a broom to scratch her back and butt.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01597-0

#cows #ToolUse #ToolUseInAnimals

ResearchBuzz: Firehose Jan 20

Ars Technica: Meet Veronika, the tool-using cow. “Her owner, Witgar Wiegele, is an organic farmer and baker who keeps the cow as a pet. With Wiegele’s permission, they conducted a series of randomized trials with a deck scrub broom, chosen for its asymmetrical shape, placed in different orientations. The pair recorded 76 instances of Veronika using the broom over seven sessions of ten trials.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/20/ars-technica-meet-veronika-the-tool-using-cow/

Ars Technica: Meet Veronika, the tool-using cow

Ars Technica: Meet Veronika, the tool-using cow. “Her owner, Witgar Wiegele, is an organic farmer and baker who keeps the cow as a pet. With Wiegele’s permission, they conducted a series of r…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

Egbert Jan 20

Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow: Current Biology

#tooluse #cow

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01597-0

Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬Jan 19

A pet #cow named Veronika can scratch her own back with a broom — the first scientifically documented case of #tooluse in #cows, researchers say.

This tool-using cow defies expectations for #bovine braininess
Veronika uses a long-handled brush to scratch her back and other out-of-reach body parts
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/tool-using-cow-cognition-scratch
https://archive.ph/2u7Ej

This tool-using cow defies expectations for bovine braininess

Veronika the cow uses a brush as a tool to scratch herself, revealing rare problem-solving skills and expanding what we know of tool use in animals.

Science News

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Alexander J. Stein Jan 19

(2/2) … Tool use offers a stringent test of cognitive flexibility. The flexible #tooluse by a cow invites a reassessment of livestock cognition: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #cow #cognition #ethics #animalrights

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