Khaberni - From time to time, reports and videos appear of individual cases of cows displaying capabilities that seem different and contrary to the stereotypical image of them as an animal not known for intelligence. For instance, a 13-year-old domesticated cow in Austria named "Veronica" uses brooms to scratch her back, behavior that is considered a form of tool use, which is a general sign of intelligence in animals.
However, a study by researchers from the University of Tours in France published in the journal "PLOS One" goes beyond these individual cases to test cow intelligence from another angle, namely the recognition of humans and distinguishing between them. It reveals astonishing results related to cows showing a visual preference for unfamiliar human faces, and their ability to associate the known person's voice with the correct face.
During the study, the researchers collected data from 32 cows of the "Prim' Holstein" breed, originating in the Netherlands and most common in milk production in France, where a single cow during lactation can produce about 22,000 pounds of milk.
The team displayed videos of familiar and unfamiliar male faces without sound to the cows, measuring how long the animals looked at the video. The goal was to determine what is known as "cross-modal recognition," or the cognitive ability to recognize the same thing through more than one sense.
The researchers also showed videos of familiar and unfamiliar human faces along with a voice that matches one of the men, with each man speaking the same sentence, and they measured the cows' heart rates during the viewing to see if they responded emotionally to these clips.
Stunning Results in Discrimination
The cows showed no fear of the silent videos but stared at the unfamiliar faces longer. According to the researchers, this staring indicates the animals' ability to differentiate between known and unknown faces.
When the video was paired with sound, the cows spent more time looking at the video when the sound matched the visible face. This suggests that cows are able to associate the face with the correct sound of the known person, a behavior also observed in some large predatory animals in captivity with their caretakers.
Based on heart rate measurements, neither sound (familiar or unfamiliar) showed a clear effect on the cows' emotional response.
The researchers note that videos and sound recordings do not represent a direct and complete interaction with humans, but the results show that cows are capable of distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar people, and recognizing humans through both face and voice.
The researchers recommend conducting future studies to understand how cows interact with specific individuals more precisely, which could help improve animal welfare.
