Problem-Solving Vertebrates

Lately, Veronica, the Swiss Brown cow,
living in a small town in Austria, has
captivated the internet. At first, scientists
didn’t believe the owner, Witgar Wiegele,
when he told them Veronica used a tool.

The scientists investigated, witnessed
the feat. The cow picks up a stick
or a broom with her tongue, holds it
in her mouth, scratches hard-to-reach
parts of her body, uses different tools
for her tender bits and sturdy parts.

The scientists did tests, over and over again,
and Veronica didn’t disappoint. The headlines
then, “Cow Astonishes Scientists” and “Tool
Using Cow Challenges What We Know about
Farm Animal Intelligence.” Maybe bumper
stickers will be next: “Remember Veronica!”

In tenth-grade Biology, we began
our study of multicellular organisms
by dissecting a worm. We gathered
a metal tray, forceps, tiny scissors,
probes, and pins, and we scooped up
a rubbery chemical-preserved specimen.

I don’t remember wearing gloves or safety
glasses. I do remember the internal organs,
intestine, esophagus, nerves, heart, and skin
so carefully spread apart and pinned down.

Frog dissection, a different story.
I examined mouth, belly, and fingers,
uncomfortably noticing their similarity
to my own. The frog’s leg muscles,
taut, striated, eventually skinless,
and revealing strength needed to push
through water, a troubling discovery,
given how much I loved to swim.