{"id":30034,"date":"2023-07-13T09:55:25","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T07:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=148092"},"modified":"2023-07-13T10:38:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T08:38:33","slug":"top-10-smartest-animals-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/top-10-smartest-animals-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 smartest animals in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Animal intelligence is a difficult thing to judge, but it\u2019s clear we aren\u2019t the only smart species roaming this Earth. <\/p>

By Patrick Pester\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 13 July 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The animal kingdom is filled with brainiacs. We find behaviours previously thought to be unique to humans reflected in distantly related species and see animals using their brains like a superpower.<\/p>\n

In fact, there\u2019s such a great variety of brilliant minds that it\u2019s very difficult to compare them.\u00a0Scientists don\u2019t spend their time ranking animals by intelligence and there isn\u2019t an IQ test suitable for every species even if they tried.<\/p>\n

That said, we\u2019d like to highlight some of the contenders for the smartest animals that have emerged from scientific research.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that most experiments to test animal intelligence are based on what humans can do, not what animals need to learn to survive.<\/p>\n

So, caveats done, here\u2019s a list of some really smart animals.<\/p>\n

1. Chimpanzees<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Photo credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Chimpanzees and bonobos are fiercely intelligent creatures with complex social hierarchies. That\u2019s not really surprising, considering they share 98.7 per cent of their DNA with humans.<\/p>\n

Chimpanzees are famous for their great variety of tool use<\/a> and both species are excellent problem solvers.<\/p>\n

The Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp found that bonobos <\/a>were better at solving puzzles than chimpanzees, beating them in intelligence tests<\/a>. However, this appeared to be largely down to the persistence of one individual bonobo.<\/p>\n

Behavioural biologist Jeroen Stevens noted at the time that most of the bonobos and chimps understood the puzzles but weren\u2019t equally motivated to solve them.<\/p>\n

2. Dolphins\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Photo credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Dolphins are quick learners that can mimic human behaviour, solve problems, teach others and demonstrate self-awareness.<\/p>\n

Both whales and dolphins have larger brains than humans \u2013 though humans have a higher brain-to-body ratio \u2013 and they have the power to locate objects through sound with echolocation.<\/p>\n

Researchers have also documented dolphins playing around to entertain themselves, including using shells and other ocean objects as toys.<\/p>\n

Finally, they have sophisticated communication systems<\/a>. Some dolphin species even use disincentive name-like whistles to identify each other.<\/p>\n

3. Octopuses\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Photo credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Octopuses are the eight-armed Houdinis of the animal kingdom with a remarkable ability to escape human confinement.<\/p>\n

There are stories of octopuses figuring out how to break out of tanks and even squirt water at overhead lights to turn them off. But people who have worked with octopuses say it\u2019s not just that they\u2019re smart. They\u2019re aware.<\/p>\n

Philosopher Stefan Linquist, who once studied octopus behaviour in a lab, previously said<\/a>: \u201cWhen you work with fish, they have no idea they are in a tank, somewhere unnatural. With octopuses, it is totally different. They know that they are inside this special place, and you are outside it. All their behaviours are affected by their awareness of captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Dogs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Photo credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

We all know how smart our pets can be. Dogs and cats let us know what they want and seemingly manipulate us into getting their own way.<\/p>\n

Researchers discovered in 2017 that dogs have twice the number of neurons<\/a> in their cerebral cortexes than cats, which should give them a cognitive advantage and confirm anecdotal reports that dogs are easier to train.<\/p>\n

The Frontiers in Neuroanatomy<\/em> study also found that based on neurons, racoons should also have similar capabilities to dogs. But don\u2019t worry, cat owners, the study highlighted the need for systematic cognitive capacity comparisons across all three animals before ruling dogs are the smartest pet.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n