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%
February 9, 2026
1,712
52
3.04%
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1:45Now PlayingAn 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."
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