March 3, 2026

Cows use tools now

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac presents five stories: Austrian researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna document a Swiss Brown cow named Veronica deliberately using sticks and a long-handled brush to scratch herself, meeting the scientific definition of tool use. Off the coast of Baja California, underwater photographers and free divers rescue a devil ray (mobula ray) severely entangled in a buoy line from a shark fisherman while sharks circle nearby; after being freed, the ray swims away and returns for a close pass described as a “thank you” circle. Don, a 100-year-old Royal Marines veteran who landed in the first wave at Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, receives France’s Legion of Honor, fulfilling what he called the last missing medal. Strong Island Animal Rescue League works to rehome more than 450 domesticated white pet rats found in a home; with help from a local animal hospital, many are treated for mites, eye infections, bite wounds, and other issues, about 10 are euthanized, and over 200 are placed in permanent or temporary homes. In Rhode Island, lawmakers debate ending the Mr. Potato Head specialty license plates after Hasbro’s move to Boston; the plates cost about $40 with roughly half donated to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, prompting concern about impacts on food programs.

00:12 Cow Uses Tools
01:01 Devil Ray Rescue
01:49 D-Day Veteran Honored
02:26 Hundreds of Pet Rats
03:15 Mr Potato Head Plates

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Callaroga Shark Media. Hi there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

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good news stories and a watch out. The Great cow

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Takeover is about to begin. Austrian researchers have documented what

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they say is the first confirmed case of a cow

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using tools. Let's write a cow using tools. This is Veronica,

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a Swiss brown cow using tools. Researchers from the University

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of Veterinary Medicine Vienna observed Veronica the brown cow deliberately

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using sticks and brushes to scratch herself. Scientists say that

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meets the scientific definition of tool use. The researchers tell

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us about a decade ago, Veronica began picking up pieces

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of wood and later progressed to using a long handled brush.

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She has consistently demonstrated preference and control using the brush

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end on thicker areas of skin and a handle end

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on more sensitive spots. Good news for a mobula array

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off the coast of Baja California. The array was rescued

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by underwater photographers and free divers. The ray had become

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severely entangled in a rope. As if that wasn't bad enough,

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several sharks were circling nearby. The ray was found more

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than thirty feet below the surface, trapped in a booie line,

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believed to belong to a shark fisherman. Mobular rays, you

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may know them as flying razor devil rays, are smaller

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than the giant manta rays. Seven divers worked in shifts

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to carefully cut away the rope. One of the divers

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said it was completely entangled. The rope was going around

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almost every part of the ray. The animal was panicking

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at first, trying to swim free, but then it seemed

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to understand that it was stuck. Once freed, the ray

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swam away and came back and did a thank you circle.

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The diver said, she came right between us, close to

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our face, as it really felt like a moment of acknowledgment.

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One of the last surviving veterans of D Day has

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fulfilled a final wish after receiving a medal. Don is

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one hundred years old. He was formally awarded France's Legion

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of Honor. Don had joined the Royal Marines at age

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seventeen and served in the first wave of landings at

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Juno Beach on June sixth, nineteen forty four. For decades,

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he really spoke about D Day and he believed because

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he was seventeen, he was too young back then to

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qualify for the Legion of Honor. Never applied. Recently, after

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sharing a story with a fellow former marine, they figured

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it out. Don said, it's the last one missing from

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my medals. It would make all the places I've been

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and what I've done complete. Here is an interesting one.

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I don't even know what to say. I'll just tell

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you the story. Animal rescue volunteers are working to rehome

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hundreds of pets. Okay, that's good, we should rehome the pets.

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They are pet rats. More than four hundred and fifty

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domesticated white rats were found in a home and sent

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to Strong Island Animal Rescue League. One of the rescuers said,

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what makes it challenging catching rats is that they're in

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the walls, They're everywhere. This is a unique situation. We

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haven't add something like this ever. The rescue group partnered

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with a local animal hospital to treat the animals. Many

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had mites, eye infections, bite wounds, and other health problems.

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That's said, they only had to euthanize about ten rats.

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More than two hundred o rats have already been placed

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into permanent or temporary homes. Good luck to the rats

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in Well. I'm not sure this is good news. Why

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is this on the show? John, I don't know. Just

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roll with it. So in the Rhode Island they had

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mister potato Head license plates. They might be getting rid

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of those. Why Hasbro has decided to move out of

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Rhode Island. Two straight lawmakers were questioning whether or not

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Rhode Island should continue to offer the mister potato Head

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specialty license plate. The Hasbros Are moving to Boston at

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the end of the year, ending nearly seventy years in Pawtucket.

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Under legislation, the Rhode Island DMV would stop issuing the

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Mister potato Head plates, which costs around forty dollars, but

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roughly half that fee is donated to the Rhode Island

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Community Food Bank. State Representative Brian Newberry said, there's no

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reason we should be advertising their products on our license plate.

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May seem trivial, it's a matter of self respect. The

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Mister potato Head license plates were first issue in two

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thousand and two to mark mister potato Head's fiftieth anniversary.

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The design shows mister potato Head holding a sign for

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the Rhode Island Community Food Bank with the message help

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End Hunger. Lou Pryor lives in the state and helps

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distribute food donations and says, my concern is any cuts

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into the food programs or goun affect some people. If

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you don't like the plates, don't buy them. But it's

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making money for the state. Let it. Those are your

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five good news stories for today. You have an awesome day.