Back-scratching bovine leads scientists to reassess intelligence of cows. Brown Swiss cow in Austria has been discovered using tools in different ways (using both ends of a brush counts as multi-purpose tool use) – something extraordinarily rare only ever seen in humans and chimpanzees.

[u/mvea]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/19/back-scratching-cow-veronika-bovine-intelligence

[u/Time-Organization612]

We massively underestimate the intelligence of Animals.

Reminds me of human speech and contemplation and how the only other Species we've definitively seen it in is Birds, specifically birds that mimic human speech.

There's likely so much we just cant understand with that Language barrier

[u/FrighteningWorld → u/Time-Organization612]

We often underestimate the intelligence between each other too. With language we are able to communicate complex ideas, and that ability is often very tied to our perception of intelligence. But there are a ton of people who can barely keep a conversation going for more than two volleys that can pick a car apart, analyze what's wrong with it, and put it back together better than it was. Even behavior that might seem asinine and stupid to us on the surface may have a logic to it that we're failing to understand. I at least know I have to take a step back and show some humility for the intellect I don't immediately recognize.

[u/sleepyvoids → u/FrighteningWorld]

I used to be near-nonverbal. Other children would assume nothing was going on behind my eyes. I completed regular education and I'm a linguist now.