Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow

    ________________________________________
  / "We report here our experimental        \
  | demonstration of flexible egocentric     |
  | tooling in a pet cow (Bos taurus),       |
  | Veronika, who uses a deck brush to self- |
  | scratch. Across randomized trials, she   |
  | preferred the bristled end but switched  |
  | to the stick end when targeting softer   |
  | lower-body areas. This adaptive          |
  | deployment of tool features reveals      |
  | multi-purpose tool use not previously    |
  \ reported in non-primate mammals."       /
    ----------------------------------------
           \   ^__^
            \  (oo)\_______
               (__)\       )\/\
                   ||----w |
                   ||     ||

I'm a small time cattle rancher and raise a few pigs per year. Also friends with many fellow ranchers. My only response to this is entirely "duh". Cows and pigs maybe dumb, but they figure things out with trial and error at an amazing rate.

The Wikipedia page about tool use by non humans started me down a rabbit hole that lead to this delightful video of Stoffel the Honey Badger who clearly understands tool use.[2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_use_by_non-humans

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36UNSoJenI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_tools

I feel that the tool lacked something in sophistication

Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46681153

Love the video. And Veronika

Someone get this cow Clawdbot. Cowdbot.

cow tools.

I love you, Veronica!