Tom Leslie
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scitomm.bsky.social
Tom Leslie
@scitomm.bsky.social
Editor and staff writer at IFLScience.
Last week I had the privilege of speaking with @auersperga.bsky.social and @biotay.bsky.social about a very talented cow. She's called Veronika, she's fabulous and she's currently getting a lot of well-deserved attention. Here's my piece for @iflscience.com:

www.iflscience.com/we-didnt-eve...
“We Didn't Even Think About Looking”: Broom-Wielding Veronika Shows Tool Use In Cows Isn't So Absurd After All
Veronika the cow is the first documented example of flexible, multipurpose tool use in cattle – and she’s also a very good girl.
www.iflscience.com
January 20, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Tom Leslie
Cow Tools!

We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them

It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS

Here I describe our study

(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 5:26 PM
My first piece for @iflscience.com, covering a neat bit of #palaeogenomics where researchers sequenced a woolly rhino genome from tissue found inside the stomach of a mummified wolf!

Many thanks to @jcchacond.bsky.social for walking me through the details:

www.iflscience.com/we-need-to-d...
"We Need To Do Some Genetics On This": Woolly Rhino Genome Recovered From Ancient Wolf Pup Stomach In World First
The animal's DNA suggests the species kept up a healthy population until just before it was wiped out – seemingly due to climate change.
www.iflscience.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:05 PM