Brush stroke

Animal intelligence is as fascinating as the AI powering chatbots. Researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna and Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest have revealed the capability of “Gifted Word Learner” dogs.

“We found that these dogs can learn the names of new toys when they listen to their owners interact,” Shany Dror, a postdoctoral researcher at the two universities, said, ABC News reported. “So, they can kind of eavesdrop on their owners’ conversation and pick up new words, new object labels from this.”

In findings published in a peer-reviewed study, Dror cited the case of a seven-year-old Border Collie named Basket, which can retrieve even a MetroCard used for paying subway train fares on command, according to ABC News.

The researchers validated the ability of Basket and nine other GWL dogs by exposing them to toys while their owners talked about the items with another person, without involving the pets.

Seven of the dogs tested in the experiment successfully learned the names of their new toys in just eight minutes.

Meanwhile, another group of researchers found that cows are also intelligent. A Brown Swiss cow on an Austrian farm named Veronika was the focus of a report published in Current Biology on 19 January.

Cows usually rub against trees, rocks or wooden planks to scratch themselves, but Veronika does it differently, according to the study.

The cow picks up a floor brush with a long handle and uses its bristled end to reach and scratch the rear parts of her body, said Antonio Osuna-Mascaró, a cognitive biologist at the Messerli Research Institute of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, according to Science News.

Veronika also uses the non-bristled end to scratch her belly and udder. It is unclear how the cow figured it out, but “somehow Veronika learned to use tools, and she’s doing something that other cows simply can’t,” Osuna-Mascaró said, Science News reported.