Cows know you by face and voice: Study uncovers their remarkable intelligence

Cows know how to distinguish familiar people from strangers by associating voice and face: the new study that revolutionizes our view of cattle.

Cows have long been considered routine animals, guided above all by their instincts. However, new international research has once again turned this view on its head: cows are capable of recognizing human faces and associating a voice with the right person. A complex cognitive ability which, up until now, was attributed almost exclusively to species considered far more evolved.

The study, published in the scientific journal PLOS One, was carried out by a group of researchers from Inrae in Nouzilly, France, led by scientist Océane Amichaud. The results add an important piece to the growing list of intelligent behaviors observed in cattle in recent years.

Experimenting with video, sound and heart rate

In order to reach these conclusions, the researchers observed 32 cows of the Prim'Holstein breed, animals which are accustomed to daily contact with humans. The cows were subjected to a series of very specific visual and sound tests. They watched soundless videos of familiar and unfamiliar people, while the scientists recorded the length of time each face was stared at. In a second step, the video recordings were supplemented by audio of human voices, creating either correct or deliberately "false" associations between face and voice.

The results surprised the experts themselves: the cows looked longer at unfamiliar faces, a sign that they were able to distinguish familiar people from those they had never seen before. The second part of the experiment proved even more interesting: when the voice corresponded to the right face, the animals kept their attention on the screen for longer, proving their ability to integrate visual and auditory information.

During the experiment, their heart rate was also monitored in order to understand whether the cattle reacted emotionally to images or sounds. Here, no significant difference between reactions to known and unknown people was observed.

Intelligence far more advanced than expected

This research is part of a scientific trend which, in recent months, has redefined the relationship between humans and cattle. Back in January, another study published in Current Biology documented the case of a cow capable of deliberately using a brush as a tool, a behavior rarely observed outside the world of primates.

According to the authors, this new discovery demonstrates that cows possess a sophisticated capacity for cross-modal recognition, that is, the ability to link different stimuli (in this case, sight and hearing) that belongs to the same person.

Why this discovery could change breeding practices

Understanding how cows perceive humans is more than just a scientific curiosity. Experts point out that these findings could have concrete repercussions on animal welfare, by reducing stressful situations. If cows are really able to distinguish between people who care for them, the way they are treated on a daily basis could have a far more profound influence on their well-being than previously imagined.

Source : PLOS One