In Austria, there is a cow that figured out she can scratch her own back after she was given a broom. Researchers studied the cow and confirmed the use of a tool after 70 trials.
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| Veronika the Austrian cow scratching her back with a broom |
One cow no longer needs to wait for its human owner to give it a good back scratch. In fact, she has been improving her technique for at least nine years.
Austrian Cow Can Scratch Her Own Back with a Deck Broom
Meet Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss brown cow in Austria that knows how to pick up a broom and use it to scratch her own back, making her a very intelligent cow.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, Veronika is the "first documented case of cattle using tools like humans."
Her owner, Witgar, says that Veronika has been doing this for at least nine years now, and it first started out with tree branches. She has also figured out how to use different parts of the broom depending on the location and severity of any given itch.
Scientists Studied Veronika Using a Tool for 70 Trials & Published the Findings
Antonio Osuna-Mascaró and Alice Auersperg, two scientists from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna studied Veronika, noting that the cow chose when to switch between the broom handle and the bristles on the head of the broom, depending on the area it was trying to scratch.
When the scientists first heard about Veronika, they wanted to come see it for themselves and in fact studied Veronika over 70 trials. They were able to confirm that Veronika, the cow, was intentionally using a broom to achieve a specific goal. Their findings were published in the journal, Current Biology, on January 19, 2026.
Osuna-Mascaró said that "Veronika is very friendly" and "has a close bond with Witgar...not only does Witgar prepare and sell bread, he also distributes it around the area. It was interesting to see Veronika watching every passing car with interest and trying to guess if the driver was Witgar...if she thought it was him, she would 'Moo' with all her might."
Osuna-Mascaró said this:
"There are about 1.5 billion cows and bulls in the world, and we are only now starting to recognize that they are able to use tools."
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| Quote from researcher on cows using tools |
He also said:
"Perhaps the real absurdity lies not in imagining a tool-using cow, but in assuming such a thing could never exist." -Antonio Osuna-Mascaró
VIDEO: Inside Edition "Cow Uses Broom To Scratch Her Own Back in Austria"
Inside Edition posted the video story (seen below) about Veronika using a broom to scratch her own back.
VIDEO: "Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow"
The next video was published by the scientists Antonio Osuna-Mascaró and Alice Auersperg.
Current Biology. "Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow." 19 January 2026.
Inside Edition on YouTube, reported by Mara Montalbano
Fossbytes on Facebook.
Fossbytes on Facebook.
Smithsonian Magazine. "A Cow Named Veronika Can Scratch Her Back With a Broom. Watch the Video Scientists are Calling the First Documented Evidence of Cattle Using Tools." 20 January 2026.
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