In a paper published today in the journal Current Biology, researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, report the first experimental evidence that a cow (Bos taurus) can use a single object as a multipurpose tool, selecting different parts of it depending on the task at hand. The subject of the study, a pet Swiss Brown cow named Veronika, learned to manipulate a deck scrub broom to scratch parts of her own body that were otherwise difficult to reach. Over a series of controlled trials, she did not merely use the object indiscriminately; instead, she adjusted how she used it depending on the sensitivity of the body region she was targeting.
Veronika’s tooling technique. Image credit: Antonio Osuna-Mascaró & Alice Auersperg, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.059.
Veronika is not farmed for meat or milk. She is a long-lived Swiss Brown cow who has been kept as a companion animal by Witgar Wiegele, an organic farmer and baker with a strong appreciation for animals who regards her as part of the family.
Over ten years ago, Wiegele noticed that Veronika would occasionally pick up sticks and use them to scratch herself.
“The findings highlight how assumptions about livestock intelligence may reflect gaps in observation rather than genuine cognitive limits,” said Dr. Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.
In a series of controlled trials, Dr. Auersperg and her colleague, Dr. Antonio Osuna-Mascaró, presented a deck brush on the ground in a random orientation.
The researchers recorded which end Veronika selected and which body region she targeted.
Across repeated sessions, they found that her choices were consistent and functionally appropriate for the body regions she targeted.
“We show that a cow can engage in genuinely flexible tool use,” Dr. Osuna-Mascaró said.
“Veronika is not just using an object to scratch herself.”
“She uses different parts of the same tool for different purposes, and she applies different techniques depending on the function of the tool and the body region.”
The scientists found that Veronika typically prefers the bristled end of a deck brush when scratching broad, firm areas such as her back.
However, when targeting softer and more sensitive regions of her lower body, she switches to the smooth stick end.
In addition, she adjusts how she handles the tool.
Veronika’s upper-body scratching involves wide, forceful movements, while her lower-body scratching is slower, more careful, and highly controlled.
Tool use is defined as the manipulation of an external object to achieve a goal through mechanical means.
The authors found that Veronika’s behavior meets this definition and goes a step further, describing it as flexible, multi-purpose tool use, meaning that different features of the same object are used to achieve distinct functional outcomes.
Such multi-purpose tool use is extraordinarily rare and, outside of humans, has previously been documented convincingly only in chimpanzees.
“Because she is using the tool on her own body, this represents an egocentric form of tool use, which is generally considered less complex than tool use directed at external objects,” Dr. Osuna-Mascaró said.
“At the same time, she faces clear physical constraints, as she must manipulate tools with her mouth.”
“What is striking is how she compensates for these limitations, anticipating the outcome of her actions and adjusting her grip and movements accordingly.”
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Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg. 2026. Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow. Current Biology 36 (2): R44-R45; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.059
