For generations, scientists considered the use of tools to be the defining separation between humans and animals.
This, apparently, would come as a shock to Veronika the cow.
Because the Swiss brown cow has taught itself how to scratch its hard-to-reach places using a broom.
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According to biologist Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaro, Veronika is the first cow to use tools.
And when studied in a paddock at its home in Austria, it varied its use based on its needs.
When it needed a harder scrub, it would use the stiffer-bristled end.
For a softer touch, it would flip it around and use the rounded tip of the broom.
"The only well-documented case of something comparable comes from chimpanzees, on those – also rare – occasions when they fish for termites by combining the functions of the two opposite ends of the same stick," Osuna-Mascaro told the BBC.
Tool use among primates has been well-documented and studied, but despite how close they are to humans, cows have not been given the same treatment.
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"It is important to know that cows have the capacity to innovate in their use of tools and to use them flexibly, because this sends a strong message about how biased we have been regarding cows' intelligence and their capabilities," Osuna-Mascaro said.
Veronika's life isn't that of the typical cow.
The Swiss brown is a pet rather than part of a herd.
Osuna-Mascaro said he wanted to hear from other people who have witnessed cows using tools.
"The key element is this: grabbing a free-moving object and using it as an extension of oneself in order to reach targets that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to reach," he said.
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So scratching their heads on a fencepost doesn't count.
The notion that only humans could use tools was debunked in 1960.
When observing chimpanzees, the late anthropologist Jane Goodall noticed them using stalks of grass to fish out insects to eat from termite mounds.
Since then, tool use has been observed in certain types of fish, birds, reptiles and octopuses.
Elephants, sea otters, mongooses, honey badgers and other mammals have also been spotted using tools.
Osuna-Mascaro's findings have been published in the latest issue of Current Biology.
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