Pet Cow in Austria Becomes First Documented Case of Tool Use in Cattle

A pet cow in the Austrian Alps has been documented using a tool, researchers report in the journal Current Biology, a first for cattle. The 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow, Veronika, picks up a deck brush with her mouth and uses the bristled end to scrub her thick-skinned back and the smooth handle to scratch her sensitive underside, according to Scientific American and National Geographic.

Veronika lives with the family of Witgar Wiegele, an organic farmer and baker, in Nötsch im Gailtal, Austria, Scientific American reported. The study was led by Antonio Osuna-Mascaro, a postdoctoral researcher, and cognitive biologist Alice Auersperg, both at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. National Geographic said Auersperg learned of the cow after her book on animal tool use prompted pet owners to send in reports, including a video of a cow scratching with a rake.

To test what she was doing, the researchers placed a deck brush at random positions near Veronika and recorded which end she grabbed and which body part she scratched, National Geographic reported. Scientific American said they analyzed dozens of trials. She used the bristled end on thick-skinned areas such as the rump and loin and the handle on the udder and belly, varying how hard she scratched, according to Scientific American and Science Focus. She manipulated the brush by lifting it with her tongue and holding it with her teeth, Scientific American said.

The authors describe the behavior as multipurpose tool use, in which different properties of a single object serve different functions. Scientific American reported that such use has been consistently documented in nonhuman animals only in chimpanzees. The team concluded that her behavior meets the strict definition of tool use: intentionally grasping an object and directing its working end at a target to achieve a mechanical result, according to National Geographic.

Veronika began scratching herself with sticks at about age 3 and refined her skills over about nine years, National Geographic reported. National Geographic said summer horse flies on the property likely motivated her. Scientific American reported she began with fallen branches and that Wiegele later gave her sticks and rakes.

Outside scientists welcomed the work. Robert Shumaker, an evolutionary biologist and president of the Indianapolis Zoo who was not involved in the study, told National Geographic, “There’s absolutely no question that this is tool use,” and noted that other domesticated hoofed animals, including water buffalo and goats, are known tool users. Primatologist Jill Pruetz of Texas State University called the work “fantastic” and said it illustrates the need for enrichment for the welfare of cattle, Scientific American reported.

The researchers were cautious about what the finding means. “We don’t believe that Veronika is the Einstein of cows,” Osuna-Mascaro said, according to Scientific American. He and Auersperg argue that other cows could develop similar skills given objects and time, and that scientists have overlooked livestock. The study covers one animal in an unusually enriched setting, unlike most livestock, which Scientific American noted often live in impoverished conditions. The article also cited anecdotal reports of tool use in cattle in South Asia that have not been formally studied.

About 1.5 billion cattle live worldwide and have lived alongside people for at least 10,000 years, Scientific American noted. Both outlets connected the finding to Gary Larson’s 1982 “Far Side” cartoon “Cow Tools,” which joked that cows cannot make or use tools. Osuna-Mascaro invited reports of undocumented animal tool use, National Geographic said.