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

internet was down where I live from late Sunday until late Tuesday, after I went to sleep. So I missed the newest episode of strange animals, but will listen as soon as my headphones recharge. @KateShaw has made a great episode on the gaur, the swamp wallaby, and the tahkin. I've no idea why the swamp wallaby fits in with the other two.

https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/2025/09/29/episode-452-rare-wallabies-and-two-hoofed-beasts/

#mammals
#bovids
#wallaby
#swamps
#moo

This looks quite significant, tracking mesowear patterns in #fossil #bovids to show no big shift from woodland to grassland around 1.7 Ma in southern Africa.

'All deposits exhibit similar mesowear scores, consistently reflecting a stronger grazing than browsing signal. Findings do not support a transition from woodlands to grasslands ca. 1.7 Ma. Instead, they are consistent with a heterogeneous landscape that remained unchanged from 3.2 to 1.3 Ma'

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018225004845