I saw a headline on MSN about the smartest animal species… of course I had to click that link!
The article compared signs of human intelligence — like making tools, solving problems, self-awareness, and more — with animal behaviors. Humans are the top of the list of the smartest species (at least as far as we know).
Next on the list of smartest animals came chimpanzees. Humans and chimps share a lot of the same genomes — and chimp behavior demonstrates that some of that is shared intelligence. Among documented intelligent behaviors in chimps are:
- Making and using tools
- Hunting in organized groups
- Empathy and altruism
- Self-awareness
Next on the list of the smartest animals came dolphins. Marine mommas teach their children to use tools. Dolphins in captivity demonstrate creativity, too!
Back to land for the third smartest animal: the elephant. Elephants have been caught consoling each other and helping other species. And they’re self-aware: researchers have documented elephants that recognize themselves in a mirror! Very few species recognize themselves in a mirror (humans, great apes, dolphins, and elephants).
What other species made the list?
- Cephalopods like octopi, squids, and cuttlefish. A cephalopod’s brain is much like a human brain, with wrinkly lobes and different regions for processing different information. Observations have shown that cephalopods are curious creatures who don’t much like being bored.
- Crows — these scavengers are quite crafty, making tools from twigs and other debris in order to grab food from hard-to-reach places. Researchers believe that younger crows learn tool-making by watching their elders.
- Squirrels are devious little rodents. Studies have shown that some squirrels make 3D maps to remember where they hide food stashes; other studies have caught squirrels disguising their scent to fool predators.
- Pigs who were trained to use a computer cursor could distinguish between drawings they had seen before and drawings they were seeing for the first time. The pigs learned the trick almost as quickly as chimpanzees did!
I’m pleased to report that a few domesticated animals made the list of the ten smartest animals, too. Some experiments have shown that dogs can read non-verbal cues to find food; others show that canines can understand the difference between a picture of a dog and a picture of inanimate objects. As for our feline friends, they may be just as smart (though less willing to perform on command) as our pups.