A Cow In Austria Has Learned To Use A Broom To Scratch Herself, Stunning Scientists

January 25, 2026

An Austrian cow is changing what scientists thought they knew about animal intelligence — and the internet can’t stop watching.

Researchers in Vienna have documented something never seen before in cattle: intentional, skilled tool use. The star of the discovery is Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow living in a mountain village in the Austrian countryside, who has spent years perfecting a clever way to scratch herself using everyday objects like sticks, rakes, and even brooms.

Veronika / Credit: A.J. Osuna-Mascaró

What truly amazed scientists wasn’t just that Veronika used tools—but how she used them.

When she needed a deep scratch on tougher areas like her back, she chose the bristle end of a broom. But for more sensitive spots, such as her underbelly, she flipped the broom and used the smooth handle instead. In other words, Veronika didn’t just grab a tool—she selected the right end for the job.

This kind of flexible, multipurpose tool use is extremely rare in the animal kingdom and had never been documented in cows before. According to Dr. Antonio Osuna-Mascaro of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, the findings were completely unexpected.

“We were not expecting cows to be able to use tools, and we were not expecting a cow to use a tool as a multipurpose tool,” Osuna-Mascaro said. “Until now this has only been consistently reported in chimpanzees.”

The discovery suggests cows may have far greater cognitive abilities than previously assumed—and Veronika is leading the way, one perfectly chosen scratch at a time.

Watch the video below: