If you were going to make a birdhouse out of wood, you would probably use tools (something that helps do a task). A saw to cut the wood and a hammer to pound nails. Humans use tools every day to make tasks easier. Do other animals use tools? Yes!
Chimpanzees and crows use twigs to get insects out of holes. In 2023, a wolf was recorded using a rope to pull a crab trap to shore.
Is there another animal to add to the list? Yes, cows! Recently, scientists observed a Swiss Brown dairy cow named Veronika use a broom to scratch her skin. Veronika is a pet. Her owner first noticed that she used sticks to scratch herself.
Then, she was given a broom. The broom had a handle on one end. It had bristles (coarse hair or fiber) on the other end. Scientists watched how she used the broom for two weeks.
Many times, Veronika picked up the handle of the broom in her mouth. Then she used the bristles at the other end to scratch the thick skin on her back and sides. Sometimes, she picked up the broom at the bristle end and used the handle to scratch the thinner skin on her belly.
Scientists believe Veronika purposely used an item, the broom, to carry out a specific task, scratching her back and belly. This meets the definition of tool use by an animal.
What Do You Think? How does using objects as tools help animals?
Photo Credit: (t)Jose B. Ruiz/Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo, (b)javarman/Shutterstock
