Each time, Veronica used her tongue to pick up the broom and place it in her mouth, pressing it between her teeth for a steady hold. This enabled her to scratch hard-to-reach areas on the back half of her body with the broom. Veronica appears to prefer the brush end over the stick end (i.e., using different properties of the same object for different tasks) although which end she uses depends on the region of the body. For example, she used the brush end to scratch her upper body using a scrubbing motion, while using the stick end to scratch more sensitive lower areas such as her udders and abdominal skin flaps using precisely targeted gentle forward pushes. He also anticipated the need to adjust his grip.
The authors conclude that this behavior demonstrates “goal-directed, context-sensitive tooling” as well as versatility in her tool-use anticipation and fine-motor targeting. Veronica’s scratching behavior is likely motivated by a desire to relieve the itch caused by insect bites, but her open, complex environment and regular interactions with humans, compared to most animals, enabled her unusual cognitive abilities to emerge.
The implication is that this kind of technical problem-solving is not limited to species with big brains and hands or beaks. “[Veronika] did not make tools like the cow in Gary Larson’s cartoon, but did select, adjust, and use one with remarkable dexterity and flexibility,” the authors wrote. “Perhaps the real absurdity lies not in imagining a cow using a tool, but in believing that such a thing could never exist.”
DOI: Current Biology, 2025. 10.1016/j.cube.2025.11.059 (About DOI).
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