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Posted by PlaceboGazebo 6 days ago

Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow(doi.org)
75 points | 13 comments
Meegul 2 hours ago|

    ________________________________________
  / "We report here our experimental        \
  | demonstration of flexible egocentric     |
  | tooling in a pet cow (Bos taurus),       |
  | Veronika, who uses a deck brush to self- |
  | scratch. Across randomized trials, she   |
  | preferred the bristled end but switched  |
  | to the stick end when targeting softer   |
  | lower-body areas. This adaptive          |
  | deployment of tool features reveals      |
  | multi-purpose tool use not previously    |
  \ reported in non-primate mammals."       /
    ----------------------------------------
           \   ^__^
            \  (oo)\_______
               (__)\       )\/\
                   ||----w |
                   ||     ||
ronsor 26 minutes ago|
Finally an appropriate time to use cowsay!
mikewarot 55 minutes ago||
The Wikipedia page about tool use by non humans started me down a rabbit hole that lead to this delightful video of Stoffel the Honey Badger who clearly understands tool use.[2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_use_by_non-humans

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36UNSoJenI

mitchell_h 26 minutes ago||
I'm a small time cattle rancher and raise a few pigs per year. Also friends with many fellow ranchers. My only response to this is entirely "duh". Cows and pigs maybe dumb, but they figure things out with trial and error at an amazing rate.
hypertexthero 2 hours ago||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_tools
m_w_ 41 minutes ago|
^^ A lovely gateway to the world of single panel comics, really enjoyed the Solar Sands video on the topic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4npsyTE-m_k)
hmartiniano 15 minutes ago||
Someone should nominate the authors for an ig Nobel prize.
elil17 2 hours ago||
I feel that the tool lacked something in sophistication
ChrisArchitect 6 days ago||
Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46681153
stefanka 2 hours ago|
Love the video. And Veronika
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