Article 72YJH Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows

Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows

by
Ian Sample Science editor
from Science | The Guardian on (#72YJH)

Brown Swiss in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways - something only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees

Scientists have been forced to rethink the intelligence of cattle after an Austrian cow named Veronika displayed an impressive - and until now undocumented - knack for tool use.

Witgar Wiegele, an organic farmer and baker from a small town in Carinthia near the Italian border, keeps Veronika as a pet and noticed that she occasionally played with sticks and used them to scratch her body.

Continue reading...
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://feeds.theguardian.com/theguardian/science/rss
Feed Title Science | The Guardian
Feed Link https://www.theguardian.com/science
Feed Copyright Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2026
Reply 0 comments