Top 10 Smartest Animals in the World

Rats, dolphins, elephants, pigs - dozens of different animals claim to be the smartest. But there is still no certainty.

The problem is that scientists still have a poor understanding 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 one to solve difficult problems together, the ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and find a way out of confusing labyrinths, speech are all possible criteria.

However, there are animals in the world that in some types of intellectual activity are at least equal to humans, and sometimes even superior to them.

10.Pigeons

Pigeons are placed in the top tenth position. The natural mind of these birds is developed in such a way that they are able to recognize a mirror image, as well as store a lot of information in memory, which they somehow reproduce in the future. For many years, pigeons have been used to convey postal messages. Based on this fact, we can talk about the unique mental abilities of pigeons.

9.Pigs

Among all animals, pigs were placed in ninth place. In some ways, pigs are far superior in intelligence to dogs and cats. They can be trained without any problems and can also perform a large number of simple tricks and exercises. The biological clock in pigs is perfectly developed. For all these advantages, pigs are ranked ninth in the ranking of the smartest animals in the world.

By constantly caring for pigs, they will know exactly what time to feed. If there is a delay, then the animals begin to grunt and show their displeasure. Previously, many scientists have proven that in addition to their intelligence, pigs are distinguished by strong nervousness. With a small hand clap, the entire flock of pigs freezes and waits for something.

Orangutan

The intelligence of these red-haired primates is often underestimated. Although many scientists actually believe that orangutans are much smarter than chimpanzees and bonobos.

Like many primates, orangutans make use of their environment. Often creating homemade umbrellas from tree leaves and a variety of specialized hunting tools.

In addition, these monkeys can be taught sign language. So do other primates such as gorillas and chimpanzees.

What's even more interesting is that orangutans, unlike any other known species other than humans, are capable of "calculated reciprocity." Which involves the exchange of “goods” between two individuals over time.

8.Squirrels

In the ranking of the smartest animals on the planet, squirrels are in eighth place. Their main feature is that they are almost not afraid of people. This fact is evidenced by the fact that squirrels prefer to settle near people's houses. When a person starts feeding a squirrel, it gets used to it and will keep coming back in the future. This speaks of her intelligence and intelligence.

If the squirrels cannot eat everything at once, they will hide the food until better times. Before the winter period, they create several dozen different caches of food. Throughout the winter, they remember each of them, which also shows their intelligence and survival skills.

What is meant by intelligence

The question of to what extent different animals have intelligence has haunted the minds of scientists for more than a millennium, starting with Aristotle, who lived in the 5th century BC.

Important! Before drawing any conclusions, let’s understand what is meant by the term “animal intelligence.”

Researchers have identified a number of mental properties that cannot be explained by instincts, by which one can judge the intelligence of animals. Here are the main ones:

thinking,
ability to learn,
communication skills
self-identification
memory and intuition,
knowledge of geography, spatial orientation,
use of tools.

Highly developed living beings in life are influenced by emotions and motives that determine their behavior and acquisition of experience. Some of them surprise us with the logic of their actions, planning their actions, finding a way out of difficult situations, and the ability to communicate with animals of other species and with humans.

This is interesting! What is the connection between living and inanimate nature - diagram and examples

7.Crows

The crow is the smartest bird in the world. They are distinguished by excellent intelligence. Thieves, even if given the right opportunity, can steal various things from a person. If a crow chick communicates with a person, it becomes tame and at the same time its level of intelligence increases. When hunting, crows fly into flocks to gain an advantage over the enemy. These characteristics of birds allowed them to be included in the ranking of animals with great mental abilities.

When stealing other people's eggs, several individuals act simultaneously. During this raid, one of the birds distracts the enemy, while the second one steals the egg. When the bird manages to find a nut, it understands the need to crack it. To do this, the crow rises to a height and carefully drops the nut onto a hard surface. In any case, when obtaining food, each crow will show ingenuity.

Primates

The similarity between humans and monkeys in terms of genetic parameters is 96-97%. For a long time, scientists have been studying their memory properties and amazing learning ability. The most intelligent among monkeys is the chimpanzee species. They communicate with members of their community using unique sound designs and gestures.

In addition, these representatives of anthropoids are able to use opportunistic tools in the form of stones and sticks, for example, to obtain food. Like people, wild monkeys start internecine wars for the possession of food areas, choosing grooms and brides from other tribal communities in order to avoid degeneration. Raised and brought up in human society, a chimpanzee can be ahead of the iQ of primary school children in matters of ingenuity.

6.Rats

In this rating, rats occupy sixth position. Their main feature is the ability to bypass the mousetrap, take the prey and at the same time stay alive. According to scientists, rats have a collective mind, which will allow animals to survive even in extreme conditions. When hunting in packs, there is always a leader with scouts, whose goal is to taste the food for poison or poison. If the rats died, then other members of the pack will ignore food offered in the future.

Bees have dance battles

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We owe honey bees “swarm intelligence” - when up to 50 thousand “workers” unite to make democratic decisions.

When the hive becomes too crowded in the spring, scout bees go in search of a new home. If they disagree about the place to build the future hive, they argue their position in a civilized way: by dancing.

Each scout performs a "wave dance" for his fellow scouts, attempting to convince them of the merits of his chosen location.

And the more enthusiasm the scout puts into his dance, the better the place he is offered. The rest of the colony “votes with their bodies”: they fly to a preferred location and join in the dance until one of the potential houses turns into the number one bee disco in the area. Oh, if only decisions in politics were made this way...

5.Cats

Cats are on the same list as the smartest animals in the world. In their intelligence and skills, they are comparable to dogs and are in no way inferior to them. They can understand human speech, perform certain tasks intuitively, and are also extremely cautious. They can win without any problems in an unequal battle with a strong opponent.

Cats in extreme situations can show ingenuity and also carry out certain human commands. We are well trained; you only need to take a few lessons to consolidate the acquired skills and abilities.

Octopuses are masters of escape

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Yes, this is true - sea creatures skillfully open screw-top jars, squeeze through the narrowest cracks and often “escape” from aquariums.

For example, Otto, the German aquarium octopus, generally threw stones at glass and splashed water on ceiling lamps to dim annoying bright lights (this happened more than once). Add the invention of coconut shell shelters to the octopus's track record and don't deny that the moment will come when cephalopods will take over the world one day.

4.Dogs

Among the many animals, dogs have always been one of those who were close to humans, and in this rating they are in fourth position. Of all the breeds, Border Collies and Poodles are considered the smartest. The structure of the mind allows a dog to remember several hundred different gestures and words. They can also count to five and solve simple problems involving adding or dividing numbers.

With constant training, these animals can distinguish between different images and pictures. They have a unique instinct with which they can understand how a person will act now. Some dogs are observed to be able to cross the road in specially designated areas.

Raccoons pick locks

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If you are planning to rob any animal, you will definitely need the services of raccoons. In a bizarre 1908 study by ethologist H. B. David, raccoons picked complex locks in less than 10 attempts! They did this again and again, even when the locks were rearranged and turned upside down.

And a series of experiments conducted from the 60s to the 90s showed that raccoons have impeccable memory and are able to recall solutions to problems three years ago.

Another interesting fact: thanks to their wide range of hearing, raccoons can hear earthworms moving underground (how this information will help in your heist is up to you).

3.Dolphins

The inhabitants of the underwater world were placed in third position in the ranking. These animals raise their offspring for a fairly long period of time. They prefer to live in communities and learn to work together. The main feature of dolphins is their ability to repeat the actions of people or other animals.

Dolphins love to look at their reflection in the mirror and can recognize themselves in it. They can be trained without any problems, and use a creative approach when performing tricks. At long distances, dolphins communicate with each other through a system of sound signals. They can recognize their relatives by just one whistle. Much like how people distinguish each other's speech.

The abilities of dolphins allow them to imitate various sounds of other animals and simple human words. Scientists have proven that dolphins have a much larger number of convolutions in their brains compared to the human brain. Dolphins are constantly awake. This is due to the fact that both hemispheres work alternately, which allows them to never sleep, in the usual sense, and be active throughout the day.

Interesting fact:
The brain of an adult dolphin weighs almost 300 grams more than a human and has twice as many convolutions. Dolphins live up to 75 years.

Chickens recognize shapes and colors

STEPHEN SIMPSON/GETTY IMAGES

Even though chickens may sometimes seem like unintelligent creatures, they are actually not. They can even differentiate between certain shapes and colors!

According to Melissa Couga, author of How to Speak Chicken, A Kid's Guide to Keeping Chickens, chickens were once taught to distinguish shapes from each other - circle, square, triangle and rectangle.

They always chose the desired figure from several, regardless of its location. When a particular figure was removed, the chickens looked for it in bewilderment and did not peck the others. When they brought it back, they hit it with their beak, just as they were taught.”

2.Elephants

The bishops are located in position number two. Among all mammals, they are among the largest on the planet. They may seem childish and clumsy, with a passive attitude towards everything that happens around them. This impression is not correct. Historians and scientists say with confidence that elephants, compared to other animals, are superior in intelligence and wit. Elephants show care and respect to their relatives. If one of the family members died, they do not leave the body for several days, and after that they throw various leaves or branches over the corpse, imitating the funeral process. Having offended an elephant, it is better not to catch his eye again, because they have a good memory, both for faces and for events.

Elephants have excellent hearing and musical sensitivity. They can be trained and trained without any problems; for this reason, in many circus programs these animals are one of the main participants in the show. Many elephants can even play football or draw. They are also used as a means of transportation in various countries.

Interesting:
» The height of elephants reaches 2.7 meters, and their weight is up to 5 tons. The largest elephant recorded in Angola in 1956 is considered to be the largest. His height was 4.2 m and his weight was 12 tons.
“These animals have the largest ears on the planet among all living creatures.
» The mass of an elephant’s brain is almost four times that of a human brain and is 5 kg.
» Adult elephants sleep standing up, only cubs sleep on their sides.
» Capable of reaching speeds over short distances of up to 40 km/h.
» Heart rate is 28 beats per minute.

Sun Bear

This endangered bear species is from Southeast Asia. Probably the smartest, but also the smallest bear on the planet. These animals are omnivores and often inventive. Especially when they get their own food.

Unfortunately, due to deforestation, many sun bears have been bred in captivity over the past few years. But it has allowed people to observe this ultimately elusive animal more closely.

Some of these bears were trained to use a touch screen computer. In general, sun bears are skilled problem solvers. Capable of finding solutions to complex puzzles, something only primates can do.

1.Monkeys

The smartest animal in the world is a monkey, or rather a chimpanzee. Due to the fact that nature gave monkeys a brain similar to humans, they can be considered the most intelligent representatives of the fauna. They communicate with each other without problems thanks to a system of gestures. Some individuals have language skills. To get food, monkeys use various devices. They recognize their own mirror image without any problems. Scientists have proven that the intelligence of a monkey corresponds to the intelligence of a three-year-old child.

It is also worth mentioning some species of animals that were not included in the rating, but whose intellectual abilities deserve attention.

Octopuses

. They live at the bottom. Not only a hole or a crack in the rocks, but also boxes, tires and even boots can serve as a home for them. They love cleanliness in their home, so they regularly clean it, and put leftover food in a certain place nearby. They are nocturnal. They are quite timid and try to hide when danger approaches. They have a means of defense against enemies similar to that of lizards. If the tentacles are pinched, the animal can get rid of it by strong muscle contraction. Octopuses are the most intelligent invertebrate animals in the world. This conclusion can be drawn by looking at their abilities. They distinguish geometric shapes, distinguish a horizontal rectangle from a vertical one, etc. They are able to recognize people and even get used to and stop being afraid of the person who feeds them. Trainable.

Cichlids

. They are considered the smartest fish in the world. For the following reasons: their behavior has individual characteristics; have the ability to remember and recognize their owner (in aquarium species); caring for the offspring, so after spawning the female collects the eggs in her mouth, where they remain until the fry appear, the protection of the offspring does not end there; if the fry are in danger, the female collects them again in her mouth and hides.

Cockatoo parrots

. Of all the animals on the planet, they have the greatest ability to imitate human speech. Moreover, this is not a blind reproduction of what they heard earlier and remembered, because parrots can use words quite appropriately. They can also be trained to perform various tricks and even dance.

Goats and sheep

. There is an opinion that these animals are not particularly intelligent. This is fundamentally wrong. We can say that they are overly timid, but they are definitely not stupid. They have a good memory. They remember and distinguish faces and voices very well. In some cases, they can show ingenuity.

Ants

. Without a doubt, it can be said that ants are the smartest insects in the world. Their colonies have complex social structures, where everyone performs specific tasks. Ants build a large (relative to their size) and complex home, one might say an ant city. They carry out military operations against other ants, using strategy. They capture other individuals as slaves. They use other insects and plants for their own purposes, entering into symbiosis

The mental abilities of animals are limited and incommensurate with those of humans. But man, no matter how developed he is, is inferior in some respects to animals.

Pet rating

Let's dwell on the pets included in the category - the smartest pets .

Horses

Horses have a significant brain volume, most of it coordinating movements. Let us characterize the mental properties of horses that indicate the presence of intelligence:

visual memory based on developed reflexes, horses remember people, the road, the surrounding area well,
loyalty and devotion. A horse can be as loyal as a dog and faithfully serve its owner all its life. ,
well trained. This property of horses is evidenced by their work in the circus, the police when dispersing crowds, participation in racing, sports games in polo and competitions in show jumping and dressage.

Horses are used to not thinking about life, trusting their owner, and in the herd, the main stallion or mare.

Sheep

Zoologists who conducted experiments on sheep assure that they are not stupid creatures. Let's judge the level of the sheep's intelligence by their intelligence indicators:

the ability to remember the faces of people surrounding animals and fellow animals, distinguishing them in a large flock. They can retain learned information in their minds for about three years , which indicates their excellent memory .
They have the ability to distinguish the shapes of different geometric shapes and colors. They quickly navigate among the feeders by color, distinguish full ones from empty ones,
can hide pain, enduring until the last, so as not to show their weakness to predators.

Sheep are social animals, accustomed to a herd lifestyle, expressed in uncomplaining obedience to the leader and man.

Pigs

What qualities helped the pig take an honorable place in the ranking of intellectuals of the animal world:

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