Study Documents Cow Using Broom as Tool, Challenging 'Far Side' Comic Premise
By
Tomte
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Summary
A study published in Current Biology documents a pet Brown Swiss cow named Veronika using a deck broom as a scratching tool, meeting the scientific definition of tool use. This challenges the humorous premise from Gary Larson's 'Far Side' comics that cows are too daft to use tools, demonstrating that cows can indeed manipulate external objects to achieve goals.
Key quotes
· 4 pulleda study published today in Current Biology demonstrates a cow named Veronika effectively using a deck broom as a scratching tool
satisfying the scientific definition of tool use as 'the manipulation of an external object to achieve a goal via a mechanical interface'
The 'Far Side' Had It All Wrong—Cows Really Can Use Sophisticated Tools: Upending Gary Larson's premise that cows are too daft to use tools
Veronika is a pet Brown Swiss cow (Bos taurus) kept as a companion by a farmer
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