Surprising Animal Smarts: Veronika the Cow’s Actions Go Viral
When Veronika picked up tools to scratch hard-to-reach spots, scientists took notice, marking a rare moment that challenges long-held beliefs about livestock cognition.
A cow has landed in the same chat as crows and chimpanzees, and it happened on an Alpine farm, not in a lab. Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown kept as a pet in southern Austria, was filmed lifting sticks, rakes, and a deck brush to scratch places she cannot reach. The clip travelled fast across feeds, becoming part of Trending Updates. Surprise first, then serious curiosity.
How Veronika Changed The Conversation On Cattle Smarts
Behaviour researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna reviewed owner footage and then ran structured sessions to test intent. Across seven observation rounds, Veronika showed repeated, goal-driven tool use, including 76 meaningful instances reported in coverage. Reports describe her using the bristled end for tougher areas, then flipping to the smooth handle for sensitive places like the belly and udder. The moment was widely shared in an AP post on X.
Why This Counts As Tool Use, Not A Lucky Accident
The pattern stayed stable. Grip changed, angle changed, pressure changed, and the tool choice matched the body area. That steady matching is the evidence, not the spectacle. In repeated sessions, the action looked planned, not random.
Veronika would pick up an object, adjust it mid-use, and continue until the itch point was reached. The behaviour also showed consistency across different tools, which matters because accidental contact usually disappears when the object changes.
What Comes Next After The Viral Clip
Researchers point to her long life and open surroundings as possible reasons this behaviour surfaced, which raises questions about what routine livestock settings fail to notice. The paper is available in Current Biology.
