Dorothy Fragaszy, professor emerita in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ department of psychology, spoke with Science about the first documented case of tool use in cattle.
An Austrian cow named Veronika grabs objects like a stick or broom in her mouth and uses them to scratch her itches, behavior previously seen only in humans and chimpanzees.
While experts don’t always agree on what counts as tool use, Fragaszy, who studies monkey behavior, says this certainly does.
“I’m so glad someone found this,” Fragaszy said. “I think this will make scientists pay a lot more attention to cows and other livestock.”