Lead: In mid-January 2026 researchers in Vienna began documenting an unusual case of tool use by an Austrian cow named Veronika. The 13-year-old brown Swiss, kept as a companion animal by farmer Witgar Wiegele in Nötsch im Gailtal, was filmed picking up a deck brush and using its ends selectively to reach itchy patches. Field trials led by veterinarians and cognition researchers recorded repeated, deliberate tool use, prompting scientists to reconsider assumptions about cattle problem-solving and manual dexterity.
Key takeaways
- Veronika, a 13-year-old brown Swiss cow in Nötsch im Gailtal, Austria, was observed using a deck brush as a tool to scratch hard-to-reach areas.
- Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna ran seven sessions of 10 trials each and recorded 76 instances of tool use during testing.
- Field trials showed Veronika adjusted the brush with her tongue, gripped it with her teeth, and switched between the bristled and smooth ends depending on the body area being scratched.
- Scientists describe the behaviour as multi-purpose tool use — a level of flexibility rarely documented outside great apes and a few bird species.
- The observations and ensuing paper were reported in Current Biology and reported publicly on 19 January 2026, sparking calls for broader study of cattle cognition.
- Researchers caution results derive from a single, unusually aged and well-stimulated individual, so generalisation to all cattle requires further evidence.
Background
Cattle have long been viewed primarily through agricultural and production lenses, with limited formal attention paid to their cognitive capacities. Comparative cognition research has historically focused on species such as chimpanzees, corvids, dolphins and octopuses, where tool use and complex problem-solving are well documented. That emphasis has contributed to a cultural stereotype that livestock are comparatively dull — a perception reinforced, jokingly, by Gary Larson’s 1982 Far Side cartoon about “cow tools.”
In recent decades ethologists and animal-welfare scientists have challenged narrow assumptions about farmed species, showing memory, social recognition and emotional complexity in cows. Nonetheless, convincing demonstrations of intentional tool use in livestock have been scarce, so a repeatable, well-documented case carries particular weight for both science and husbandry practices. The setting for Veronika’s observations — a small organic farm in Carinthia where she lives as a companion animal — differs markedly from intensive production environments, which matters when interpreting what the behaviour reveals about the species at large.
Main event
Witgar Wiegele, an organic farmer and baker near the Italian border, had long noticed Veronika playing with sticks and responding to family voices. When he began offering pieces of wood and later a deck brush, he observed the cow using those items to reach itchy patches on her back and flanks. Wiegele’s early recordings reached researchers in Vienna, who recognised the potential significance and arranged systematic field trials.
Veterinary cognition researchers Dr Antonio Osuna Mascaró and Alice Auersperg attended the site with a deck brush and designed a simple test battery to see whether the cow’s behaviour amounted to deliberate tool use. Across seven sessions of 10 trials each, Veronika repeatedly picked up the brush, repositioned it when needed — sometimes using her tongue — and applied different parts of the tool to different areas.
Observers recorded 76 separate instances in which Veronika employed the brush to scratch otherwise inaccessible spots. The cow favoured the bristled end for thick-skinned areas on her back but switched to the smooth handle when scratching more sensitive lower regions such as the belly or udder, demonstrating selective and context-appropriate use of the same object.
Analysis & implications
The case challenges assumptions about the limits of bovine manual competence and behavioural flexibility. Multi-purpose tool use — choosing and using different parts of a single implement for distinct tasks — is a high bar in comparative cognition and has been reliably shown mainly in chimpanzees among nonhuman animals. Veronika’s pattern of selection, adjustment and functional deployment suggests capacities for problem solving and motor coordination that merit closer attention.
From a practical perspective, the findings raise questions about how environment, age and social context shape behavioural repertoires in farmed animals. Veronika is older than most production cattle and lives in a relatively enriched setting; both factors could have facilitated exploration and learning. If similar abilities exist more widely in cattle, housing and enrichment practices in agriculture may need to be re-evaluated for animal welfare and management outcomes.
For researchers, the observation opens new lines of inquiry: systematic surveys of tool-like behaviour in diverse cattle populations, controlled experiments to rule out inadvertent human prompting, and neurological or developmental studies to map cognitive mechanisms. However, scientists emphasise caution: one well-documented individual cannot establish species-wide claims, and replication in varied conditions is essential before rewriting standard views of bovine cognition.
Comparison & data
| Subject | Age | Trials | Tool-use instances | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veronika (brown Swiss) | 13 years | 7 sessions × 10 trials | 76 | Deck brush; multi-end use observed |
The table summarises the primary empirical outcome from the field testing. While the numeric count (76) demonstrates repeated behaviour, it does not by itself identify the learning pathway or prevalence across populations. Comparative datasets for multi-purpose tool use remain sparse outside primates and a few bird taxa, so direct numerical comparisons are limited.
Reactions & quotes
“It was a cow using an actual tool,”
Dr Antonio Osuna Mascaró, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (researcher)
Osuna Mascaró and colleagues framed the observation as clear, repeatable tool use rather than accidental handling. Their team immediately set up trials after seeing the initial footage, interpreting Veronika’s adjustments and end-selection as evidence of goal-directed behaviour.
“I was naturally amazed by her extraordinary intelligence,”
Witgar Wiegele (farmer, owner)
Wiegele emphasised the animal’s responsiveness to family voices, previous play with sticks, and the local, low-intensity setting that likely afforded the cow time and opportunity to experiment with objects.
Unconfirmed
- How Veronika originally acquired the behaviour — whether through individual innovation, copying from another animal, or inadvertent human prompting — remains unproven.
- Whether similar tool-use capacities are common among other cattle breeds or are primarily found in aged, enriched individuals is unknown.
- The influence of the farm environment and past interactions with humans on Veronika’s behaviour has not been fully disentangled.
Bottom line
Veronika’s documented use of a deck brush to reach and alleviate itches provides a clear, replicable instance of intentional tool use in a domestic bovine. The observation does not prove that all cattle possess this ability, but it demonstrates that the behavioural and cognitive repertoire of cows can include flexible, goal-directed manipulation of objects.
The more important outcome is a research and welfare agenda: expand systematic observation of livestock behaviour, design controlled experiments to test for spontaneous innovation, and consider how housing and enrichment influence expression of complex behaviours. If further studies confirm widespread capacity for such problem solving, the scientific, ethical and practical implications for how society treats and manages cattle could be substantial.
Sources
- The Guardian (news report)
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (official research institution)
- Current Biology (peer-reviewed journal)