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While the capacity to manipulate tools has long distinguished early humans from other species, recent observations show that domesticated cows may also harness simple objects to achieve specific goals.
Veronika the cow first entered scientific discourse when a video of her scratching herself with a rake was forwarded to animal‑intelligence researchers at the University of Vienna. Although similar footage had circulated online before, this was the first time the behavior could be studied in a natural setting with controlled conditions.
So, like… that tool use in a boviid, isn’t it? pic.twitter.com/0SjzhFIO2E
— Swamp_Ape_Science (@SouthApe) September 26, 2025
Researchers documented that Veronika did more than simply scrape herself. Presented with a deck brush, she deliberately selected the tool’s side—using bristles for her back and rump and the blunt handle for her softer belly—demonstrating foresight and purposeful manipulation. These findings, published in Current Biology, suggest that Veronika’s behavior meets key criteria for tool use: intentionality, planning, and the selection of an appropriate instrument.
The earliest formal record of tool use in wildlife dates to 1939, when Edna Fisher observed sea otters employing rocks to pry open mussel shells. The concept gained broader traction after Jane Goodall’s 1971 observation of chimpanzees using twigs to extract termites, sparking a surge of studies across primates and other taxa.
In marine ecosystems, dolphins have been seen covering their rostrums with sea sponges while foraging on the seafloor. Terrestrial examples include Asian and African elephants using branches to clear obstacles, and the famed honey badger in South Africa employing rocks, rakes, and a self‑made mud ramp to escape enclosures.
Defining animal tool use can be challenging. While a horse rubbing a post to scratch itself might appear similar to Veronika’s behavior, the nuances of intentionality differ. Likewise, cases such as baboons hurling rocks at predators are widely accepted as tool use, whereas antlions and archer fish throwing sand or water at prey occupy more ambiguous categories. Veronika’s clear planning and selective use of a brush invite a reevaluation of everyday livestock as potential tool‑using species.
