Déjà moo: cows can recognise the faces of people they know
A recent study has found that cows can recognize familiar human faces and match them with familiar voices. Researchers observed that cows spent more time looking at unfamiliar faces compared to those they recognized. This ability suggests that cows have a higher level of cognitive processing and can distinguish between individual humans.
- ▪Cows can recognize familiar human faces and match them to familiar voices.
- ▪The study involved 32 Prim'Holstein cows and used video footage of human faces.
- ▪Cows spent more time looking at unfamiliar faces, indicating they can distinguish between known and unknown individuals.
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Déjà moo: cows can recognise the faces of people they know Cattle possess the ability to distinguish familiar humans and can also match voices they recognise to the right faces, scientists have found The study found that cows spend longer looking at a new face compared with one they recognisedChristophe MAITRE/INRAE Kaya Burgess, Science Correspondent Wednesday May 20 2026, 7.00pm BST, The Times Listen 0:00 / • 3:29 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save Prefer us on Google From a cow’s point of view, do all humans look and sound alike? In bovine eyes, do the two-legged creatures who breed and keep cattle all blur together into an indistinguishable mass of humanity? It turns out that cows can recognise familiar human faces and match them to familiar voices.
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