Austrian Cow Uses Tools Like a Chimp, Stuns Scientists

Veronika the cow just rewrote what scientists thought they knew about animal intelligence.

The 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow living in rural Austria doesn't just use tools to scratch herself. She manipulates a deck brush with stunning precision, gripping it with her tongue and teeth, switching between the bristled end for tough skin and the smooth handle for sensitive areas, and adjusting her pressure based on which body part she's scratching.

This isn't simple behavior. It's what researchers call "multipurpose tool use," and outside of humans, only chimpanzees have been consistently documented doing it.

Cognitive biologist Alice Auersperg from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna knew immediately this was special when she saw video of Veronika. Her colleague Antonio Osuna-Mascaró spent an entire summer observing the friendly cow, who loves watching for her owner Witgar Wiegele's car and mooing enthusiastically when she spots him.

Over dozens of trials, the researchers discovered Veronika uses the brush exclusively on hard-to-reach spots like her rump, loin, udder and belly. She started teaching herself years ago using fallen tree branches, then refined her technique when Wiegele provided better tools like sticks and rakes.

Why This Inspires

Veronika probably isn't a bovine Einstein. The researchers believe most cows might have this potential, but they need the right conditions to show it.

As a companion animal in an idyllic Austrian village, Veronika has lived more than a decade in a stimulating, enriching environment. She's had time, space, and opportunity to explore and problem-solve. Most livestock live much shorter lives in factory farms without access to objects they can manipulate or environments that challenge their minds.

"This is fantastic!" says primatologist Jill Pruetz, who owns two companion cows herself. After seven years living close to Claire and Edith, she's gained deep respect for bovine intelligence, though even she's impressed by Veronika's precision.

The findings, published in Current Biology, hint that complex problem-solving abilities might have ancient evolutionary roots across many species. These capabilities just need the right circumstances to emerge.

Veronika's story isn't just about one clever cow. It's a window into the hidden potential of animals we've long underestimated, simply because we've never given them the chance to show us what they can do.