7 of the smartest animals in the world

The problem is that scientists still have a poor idea of what intelligence is and by what parameter to evaluate it. Brain size, the ability to perform complex mathematical calculations, developed social skills that allow us to solve difficult problems together, the ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and find a way out of tangled mazes, speech are all possible criteria.

However, there are animals in the world that in some types of intellectual activity are at least equal to man, and sometimes even surpass him.

1. Chimpanzee

Several years ago, a chimpanzee named Ayumu beat Japanese students on a test of memorization, a nation renowned for perseverance and scrupulousness in learning.

Casting a fleeting glance at the screen, lasting only 210 milliseconds (faster than blinking), Ayumu remembers the sequence of numbers displayed on it. And when they are covered with white squares, it unmistakably restores them in the correct order. How the testing took place can be seen in this video.

Curiously, the students were unable to surpass Ayuma even after a lot of training.

Let's say Ayumu is a genius. But other chimpanzees are also very smart. So, The Chimp That Learned Sign Language has long known that these monkeys are able to communicate in sign language. They can also use Chimps Use Tools to Hunt Mammals to use improvised items as tools. For example, spears are made from sticks for hunting other mammals.

2. Elephants

These giants have the largest Elephants Have The Most Neurons. Why Aren’t They The Smartest Animals? the brain and, accordingly, the largest number of neurons among land animals. That is, if we assume that intelligence is related to the size of the brain (in fact, not), elephants would be unequivocal champions in intelligence.

Additionally, elephants have impressive cognitive abilities Fact or Fiction ?: Elephants Never Forget. For example, these giants recall their fellow tribesmen, human faces and events with confidence and in the smallest detail even decades later. And they can also track the location of several relatives at the same time.

Imagine walking into a large store during Christmas sales. How much effort it takes to keep track of four or five family members who come with you! And elephants easily do this trick with 30 relatives.

Richard Byrne Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, for ScientificAmerican

Elephants are also among those rare animals that are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. That is, they have self-awareness - an understanding of who I am and how I look (by the way, babies up to a year and a half are deprived of this quality). These mammals know how to cooperate with each other, that is, to solve life problems together. And they love to play, which also testifies to high intelligence.

3. Dolphins

Dolphins have more than 10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Brain than humans. In theory, this means that the brains of these animals can store and process more information than the average human. How it is in practice is not yet entirely clear. But dolphins do display many intelligent traits.

These mammals recognize themselves in the mirror and are aware of their position in society: they clearly understand who they are, what group they belong to, and have an idea of subordination. They empathize with their packmates: they cheer up those who are sad or sick, and have fun with those who are happy.

And dolphins are also able to masterly imitate - for example, they accurately copy Dolphins imitate human actions of the movement of a human trainer. And this is a difficult skill that requires serious intellectual effort, which these mammals are apparently quite capable of.

4. Ravens

Common ravens, along with jays, are the smartest Crows and jays top bird IQ scale among birds. But crows can bypass mammals by their quick wits.

Thus, New Caledonian crows living in the Pacific region of France are able to establish and understand causal relationships no worse than children aged 5-7 years. Using the Aesop's Fable Paradigm to Investigate Causal Understanding of Water Displacement by New Caledonian Crows.

The smartest animals on the planet: crows

In a series of experiments, these birds demonstrated This Amazing Video Reveals How Smart Crows Really Are how to use Archimedes' law. They threw stones into a vessel with water so that it rose and made it possible to grab a piece of food floating on the surface.

5. Rats

In Chinese culture, the rat is respected for its cunning and resourcefulness. And laboratory experiments confirm these qualities: rodents easily find a way out of the most intricate labyrinths and solve complex logic puzzles to get to the coveted piece of food.

Some researchers are so impressed with the talents of the bare-tailed that they bluntly state Rats Can Be Smarter Than People: rats are sometimes smarter than people. For example, tests were carried out where it was required to generalize previously obtained information and, on the basis of this, draw a conclusion whether a new object is “bad” or “good”. In them, the rodents showed the best More complex brains are not always better: rats outperform humans in implicit category-based generalization by implementing a similarity-based strategy result than student volunteers.

Rats can also express emotions Facial Indicators of Positive Emotions in Rats and recognize The Emotional Lives of Rats: Rats Read Pain in Others’Faces from their relatives, show sympathy. And when needed, Rats respond where it counts is easy to learn calculus skills.

6. Dogs

Their intelligence researchers compare Dogs as Smart as 2-year-old Kids with the intelligence of a two-year-old child. This conclusion is made on the basis of vocabulary: the average dog knows 165 words and concepts, and the smartest ones know up to 250 words, while the thesaurus of a healthy child starts. Should I be concerned that my 2-year-old doesn't say many words and is hard to understand? with 50 words.

In many ways, dogs are more human-like than any other animal species, including some primates, according to A Review of Domestic Dogs' (Canis Familiaris) Human-Like Behaviors: Or Why Behavior Analysts Should Stop Worrying and Love Their Dogs researchers.

Dogs are even more advanced when it comes to arithmetic. They can Dogs’Intelligence On Par With Two-year-old Human, Canine Researcher Says count to 4-5 and perform calculations within these limits. Children acquire such skills only at 3-4 years old Dogs Are Smarter Than Toddlers, IQ Tests Show.

7. Cats

Their intelligence is difficult to study, because cats are too independent and participate in experiments only as long as they are in the mood. But this independence in itself can be a sign of an extraordinary mind.

According to The Cat-vs.-Dog IQ Debate Revisited experts, cats have twice as many neurons in their cerebral cortex as dogs. This means that murkas have more possibilities for processing and storing information. In addition, the famous feline curiosity may indicate a high level of intelligence.

Cats are so smart that they seem to share intelligence with their owners. At least researchers from the University of Bristol (England) found the UK domestic cat and dog population larger than thought that cat owners are more likely to have an advanced degree or professional qualifications than dog lovers. Although, of course, this statistical pattern has other, deeper and not fully understood reasons. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence.

But getting a cat is still worth it. Let not for the sake of the mind, but for the sake of other health benefits. However, this is a completely different story.