7 months ago
Cow Demonstrates Tool Use in Stimulating Environment
A cow named Veronika in Austria has shown that she can use a brush to scratch herself, which is something cows usually don't do.
Scientists who studied her say that it's not just because she's super smart, but because she lives in a place where she can try new things without much danger.
This helps her learn to use tools.
The researchers also talked about how different animals, like parrots and primates, use tools in different ways.
They think that studying animals like Veronika can help us understand them better and maybe even change how we take care of farm animals.
Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow, uses a deck brush to scratch herself, demonstrating tool use.
Researchers Alice Auersperg and Antonio Osuna-Mascaro studied Veronika and published their findings in Current Biology.
The stimulating environment and lack of predation pressure allowed Veronika to develop this behavior.
Tool use is more common in animals that have repeated opportunities to interact with objects and face recurring problems.
Studying animal cognition can lead to better farming practices and a shift in how livestock are perceived.
- Who
- Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow, and researchers Alice Auersperg and Antonio Osuna-Mascaro
- What
- Veronika uses a deck brush to scratch herself, demonstrating tool use
- Where
- In the Austrian village of Nötsch
- When
- Recently, with the study published in the journal Current Biology
- Why
- The stimulating environment and repeated opportunities for interaction with objects enabled this behavior
Key facts
- Animal
- Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow
- Location
- Austrian village of Nötsch
- Tool Used
- Deck brush
- Researchers
- Alice Auersperg and Antonio Osuna-Mascaro
- Journal
- Current Biology
- Key Factor
- Stimulating environment
- Commonality
- Tool use in varied animals
- Research Impact
- Potential changes in farming practices
Quotes
Antonio Osuna-Mascaro
Researcher from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna
“The surrounding environment can matter enormously. Tool use rarely emerges simply because an animal is cognitively capable in principle; it also requires repeated opportunities to interact with suitable objects, a clear functional benefit, and conditions in which exploration is not excessively risky or costly. In other words, cognitive capacity may be necessary, but environmental conditions often determine whether that capacity is expressed.”
indianexpress.com
“There are both shared elements and important differences. Across taxa, tool use tends to emerge when animals face recurring problems that objects can help solve efficiently, such as extractive foraging, body maintenance, or accessing difficult resources. Access to suitable materials and repeated opportunities to practice are also critical.”
indianexpress.com
