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Meet Veronika, The Cow Which Uses A Brush To Scratch Itself | Watch
Meet Veronika, The Cow Which Uses A Brush To Scratch Itself | Watch
Meet Veronika, a brown cow from a quiet mountain village in Austria who has quietly rewritten what scientists thought they knew about cattle. Using sticks, rakes and even deck brushes, Veronika has mastered the art of scratching herself so precisely that researchers now say she is the first cow ever documented to use tools.
Veronika does not scratch at random. She picks up objects with her tongue, grips them firmly in her mouth, and carefully guides them to the exact spot she wants to reach. When using a deck brush, she chooses the bristled end to scratch her thick back, but switches to the smooth handle when targeting her softer, more sensitive belly.
In a new study published in the journal Current Biology, scientists from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna concluded that Veronika's behaviour clearly qualifies as tool use. Despite around 10,000 years of humans living alongside cattle, this is the first time such behaviour has been scientifically documented in a cow.
The researchers say the finding shows that cows are far more intelligent than commonly believed and suggests that other cows could develop similar skills if given the right conditions.
Veronika first caught scientists' attention after cognitive biologist Alice Auersperg published a book on tool use in animals. Soon after, she began receiving emails from people claiming their pets were using tools.
“I got all of those emails from people saying things like ‘my cat is using the Amazon box as a tool. It's her new house,'" Auersperg was quoted as saying by the National Geographic Magazine. One message, however, stood out: a video showing a cow lifting a rake and scratching her backside with it.
“It seemed really interesting," Auersperg said. “We had to take a closer look," she was quoted as saying by the National Geographic.
Auersperg and her colleague Antonio Osuna-Mascaró soon travelled to Veronika's home, where they found a cow living what they describe as an unusually enriched life.
Owned by a baker named Witgar Wiegele, Veronika has spent her 13 years roaming a scenic pasture filled with sticks and tools. Each summer, horse flies plague the area, and the researchers believe the need to scratch itchy bites likely drove her innovation.
To qualify as tool use, an animal must intentionally grasp an object and direct its functional end toward a target to achieve a goal, Auersperg explained.
To test this, the researchers placed a deck brush on the ground in random positions and observed Veronika's response. What they saw surprised them.
“Her tongue rolled out like a carpet," Auersperg said. “The tip of her tongue was like a really dexterous index finger… She held the brush very stably, turned her neck, and started scratching herself. It was really, really amazing," she was quoted as saying by the magazine.
After dozens of trials, the researchers concluded that Veronika's actions were deliberate and controlled.
“We don't think that Veronika is the Einstein of cows," Osuna-Mascaró said. “We think that her conditions are special enough for her to be able to express herself in a way that other cows simply can't," he said.
According to her owner, Veronika began experimenting with sticks at the age of three and has refined her technique over nearly a decade — proof, scientists say, that given time, space and curiosity, cows may be capable of much more than we ever imagined.
Source: News18
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