Reptiles may not be known for their brains, but some are cleverer than you might think
Unfortunately the words ‘intelligent’ and ‘reptile’ are not found in the same sentence. Yet several reptiles are equipped with problem-solving capabilities that are more typical of birds and mammals.
For example, red-footed tortoises can solve mazes efficiently to find food rewards, while Evermann’s anoles are able to work out how to retrieve food from sealed containers – a behaviour that bears no relationship to their natural hunting method.
Most remarkably, bearded dragons can not only work out how to access food hidden behind sliding doors, but they can learn the skill by watching others do it, an ability only otherwise observed in great apes and parrots.
Main image: Red-footed tortoise © Getty Images