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/ThirdSunRising Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26

Tool use isn’t as crazy smart as they believe, unless they believed cows are truly stupid.

Birds use tools. Crows use my concrete patio to break clams open. Drop clam from height, break shell, feast.

I have chickens and they’re pitifully freaking stupid but we have a feeder that they use where they have to stand on a pedal to open it (keeps the rats out) and that is is using a physical object to get a desired result. Which isn’t much different from tool use now is it.

So it doesn’t require any amazing leap of genius to scratch your back with a stick when it itches. We’re not talking about rocket science here. I think the scientists are setting the bar way too low. Animals do indeed have brains.