Veronika the Tool-Using Cow

Veronika, a cow living in Austria, learned around 2016 to pick up branches from the ground and use them to scratch hard-to-reach parts of her body.

In 2026, scientists tested her and confirmed that she can use tools on purpose and flexibly. This made her the first scientifically documented case of tool use by cattle.

Veronika can even use different ends of a brush depending on the spot she wants to scratch. Researchers do not think she is a one-of-a-kind “cow genius.” Instead, they suspect that her unusually free living conditions may have allowed her to show thinking abilities in cattle that people had not appreciated before.