‘Veronika’ Is the First Cow Known to Use a Tool

Justice for Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson: A team of scientists has observed, for the first time, a cow using a tool in a flexible manner. The ingenuity of “Veronika,” as the animal is called, shows that cattle possess enough intelligence to manipulate elements of their environment and solve challenges they would otherwise be unable to overcome.

Veronika is a pet cow in Austria. Her owners don’t use her for meat or milk production. Nor was she trained to do tricks; on the contrary, for the past 10 years she has developed the ability to find branches in the grass, choose one, hold it

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