Amna Nawaz
Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos

Meet Veronica, the cow who taught herself to use tools

Posted

February 9, 2026

Views

1,712

Likes

52

Engagement

3.04%

Search the Record

Indexed

Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.

Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.

Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line

YouTube Description

as posted by the channel

An Austrian cow named Veronika is surprising scientists with her ability to deliberately use a tool — specifically, picking up a broom with her mouth to scratch her back.

"Despite millennia of domestication for productivity, livestock have been almost entirely excluded from discussions of animal intelligence. Veronika's case challenges this neglect," researchers wrote in their study, which was published last month in Current Biology. "Perhaps the real absurdity lies not in imagining a tool-using cow, but in assuming such a thing could never exist."

(William Brangham's handle) has more.

Horizons from PBS News, dives into the science, health, technology and environmental issues making headlines each week. Visit the PBS News website to watch this week's episode.

Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desjardins

Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters

PBS News podcasts

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS News at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Guests & Subjects Covered

An AustrianCurrent Biology PerhapsWilliam Brangham'sPBS NewsWatch PBS NewsPBS News HourHere's The DealLisa Desjardins Subscribe

Sentinel Indexing in Progress

Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.

All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.

Meet Veronica, the cow who taught herself to use tools · Amna Nawaz · Sentinel