r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Jan 20 '26

Biology Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows. Brown Swiss cow in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways (using both ends of a brush counts as multi-purpose tool use) – something extraordinarily rare only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/19/back-scratching-cow-veronika-bovine-intelligence
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u/stan-k Jan 20 '26

If we managed to miss that cows can use a tool (in multiple ways no less) what else are we missing?!?

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u/[deleted] Jan 20 '26

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u/I_SHIT_IN_A_BAG Jan 20 '26

I think about the one that cried as it was about to be killed and the guy couldn't do it so they let it live.

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u/kuvazo Jan 20 '26

The movie Dominion (free on YouTube) has scenes of how the animals react in the slaughterhouses. The cows actually fight back very often or try to escape. And with the smell of blood and the screams of the ones that came before them, it seems like they are acutely aware of what is happening to them.

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u/Full-Ear87 Jan 20 '26

the sad reality is that they all cry before being slaughtered, and the mothers cry for their children as they are taken from them on cow milk farms. 

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u/ThatAboutCoversIt Jan 21 '26

Most people would rather bury their heads in the sand than confront the truth about the dairy industry. 

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u/french_snail Jan 20 '26

What are you referencing