I hope you have all recovered by now from celebrating—no, not the Superbowl—but all the wild parties in honor of Darwin Day on February 12. This is the day we acknowledge the brilliant scientist, Charles Darwin (born 1808) who taught us how species evolve and how humans are merely cousins to flatworms and orangutans and not to an entirely separate family of angels or something.

Mark Twain once wrote that humans are the only animals that blush—or need to. Blushing may be a higher evolutionary trait—but probably not one unique to humans. Anybody who has ever given their dog a bad haircut has seen the utter embarrassment and shame in their pet’s eyes once they realized they now look like a total dork and all other dogs will laugh at them. They hide behind the couch, refuse to eat, even whimper in disbelief that you, who are suppose to be their friend, would mistreat them like this.

Not so many years ago, scientists tried to define humans as the only animals that used tools. Since then, the world has had to revise that definition. It’s a wonder we are still surprised to find examples of tool-using animals. Just recently Veronika, a brown cow from Austria was seen picking up sticks with her mouth to scratch her various itchy parts, no doubt expecting that this moment of personal hygiene was private. But Witgar Wiegele, her owner reported Veronika’s activity to the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna which shamelessly intruded on Veronika’s intimate moments, providing her with various other sticks and brooms etc. which she used in new and logical ways to scratch herself while the scientists took notes.

Anybody who imagines that using tools is some kind of built-in evolutionary ability all humans possess has never been to Menards and watched an employee try to explain to a mystified customer how to tighten a pipe and how turning it the other way makes it come apart and squirt water all over their basement floor. “Righty-tightey, lefty-loosey. Got it?” “Uh, so let me get this straight….” (You know what? Just let Veronika do it.)

Farmers know that cows are smart. Toss a beach ball into a pasture and wait for some cow to reinvent the game of soccer, joyfully kicking it around the field with remarkable skill and agility. A cow will study latch mechanisms and learn to quickly open gates that the farmer himself has difficulty with. Cows learn human routines. Nobody has to tell them when it’s time to come home or time to eat. Cows are sociable. They make friends with dogs and ducks.

Other animals regularly use tools. Octopuses scoot around with coconut shells on their backs for protection. Herons will use bread as bait to catch fish. Some dolphins use sponges to protect their noses against the sharp coral. Otters crack shellfish with rocks and will carry their favorite rock in a special place under their arm—for years!

Maybe Veronika is an especially smart (and itchy) cow. But that’s all the more reason to treat her with respect. And, for heaven’s sake—give the girl some privacy.