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People tend to feel overly secure at the top of the food chain. We take for granted the fact that we are the smartest animals on the planet without even thinking about what makes us different. Is it object consistency, the ability to plan, the use of tools, or the fact that we are building complex social relationships? Other animal species possess some of these traits, and some exhibit all of them. Read on as we discuss the 10 smartest animals in the world.
# 10 The smartest animals are rats
It’s no coincidence that rats have been used as laboratory animals for years. Although they have small and relatively undeveloped brains, their minds function very much like a human’s, and the structure of the brain is also comparable. They have the ability to figure out mazes, memorize routes and complete complex multi-step tasks.
Rats are also social animals. When left alone, they begin to show signs of depression and loneliness. These psychological and social differences explain why rats are among the smartest animals around.
# 9 The smartest animals are pigeons
Ironically, pigeons are next on our list and are colloquially known as “flying rats.” The reasons for their inclusion here differ significantly. Pigeons have been shown to recognize their own reflection, which exhibits a complex sense of self-awareness. They have the ability to recognize specific people and places over months and even years. It is because of this memory that pigeons have been used for centuries to transmit messages over long distances. Pigeons can recognize all letters of the English alphabet and even recognize the difference between two people in pictures.
# 8 The smartest animals are crows
Ravens are another very intelligent animal species that were also used as messengers, just like pigeons. They can use complex group tactics against other animals, such as flanking maneuvers. Ravens can also learn speech and have an impressive memory. Researchers have documented cases of crows changing migration patterns to avoid dangerous areas, and crows were even caught memorizing trash routes and schedules to more effectively steal a bite from trucks!
Crows have the largest brains of all bird species and have shown the ability to recognize human faces. They can also use tools despite the apparent lack of hands and arms; In fact, the New Caledonian crow makes a knife to separate leaves and grass more easily. The same species also uses hook and line to reach hard-to-reach food sources. Here are some more interesting facts about crows.
# 7 The smartest animals are pigs
Pigs barely overtook dogs on our list of the 10 smartest animals. While dogs have intelligence comparable to that of toddlers, pigs have much higher intelligence levels. They can understand the concept of reflection in as little as six weeks; It takes several months for human children to do this.
Pigs also have about 20 different sounds that they use to communicate, and mother pigs sing to their babies while they feed. Pigs react to emotions and even show empathy when needed, which is an extremely rare trait in the animal kingdom. More facts about pigs can be found on this page.
# 6 The smartest animals are octopuses
The octopus is the only invertebrate to make our list of the smartest animals in the world. As the only member of its class listed here, you might ask, how smart is the octopus? Captured octopuses have been seen using high-level planning with multiple steps to escape from captivity, and others are capable of damaging objects even outside of their tank by deliberately spraying them with water repeatedly. They even throw stones at glass and open screw-top jars. These cephalopods are deceivingly smart!
5. The smartest animals are African gray parrots.
The African gray parrot ranks first on the list of the smartest animals. As smart as a five-year-old, it is estimated that these parrots not only learn human speech, but can also master an impressively large vocabulary (up to hundreds of words). In addition, African grays understand spatial reasoning, recognize and identify shapes and colors, and can even be trained in the relationship between greater and lesser, different and the same, and greater and lesser.
A popular pet, the African gray parrot is found at home around the world, but it is native to the rainforests of Central Africa. Here you can find interesting facts about all kinds of parrots.
# 4 The smartest animals are elephants
Elephants are often cited for their long memory, but they are also some of the smartest animals around. Elephants have a complex social structure, and they have witnessed participation in the funeral rituals of deceased family members, as well as mourning their loss. Elephants also use tools and take medicine; they will eat the leaves of
ce
rtain plants to cure disease and even induce labor!
They are also one of the very few animals that do altruistic deeds. Most animals lack the ability to process the abstract thinking required for such actions. Elephants will sacrifice themselves if they believe it will allow the rest of the herd or their children to escape to safety. Read more interesting facts about elephants here.
# 3 The smartest animals are chimpanzees
Our closest genetic relative ranks third on this list of the smartest animals. Chimpanzees share 98% of their DNA with human DNA and are native to sub-Saharan Africa. They are expert tool users, and chimpanzees have been seen improvising tools from the available items to do what they want. These great apes also use psychological methods; in their families, they will manipulate others to accomplish certain tasks.
A unique fact about chimpanzees is that scientists have found adult family members teaching their young sign language. The most interesting part of this discovery is that there was no human interaction or clue; Chimpanzees took it upon themselves to teach sign language to children, and they used it to communicate in a group. Find out more about chimpanzees here!
# 2 The smartest animals – bottlenose dolphins
Many people think that bottlenose dolphins are the smartest animals, but it comes in second on this list. How smart is a dolphin? It honestly depends on the circumstances; more than eight species of dolphins live here, but only the bottlenose dolphin made its way here. They have the largest brain size of any of their relatives, and are the only dolphins without the fused cervical vertebrae that allow them to make these human nodding head movements.
In addition to being easy to train, dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors, notice unfamiliar markings on their bodies in reflection, recognize images on television, and have an impressive memory. Dolphins have memorized their partner’s calls after more than 20 years of separation. The two most impressive reasons why bottlenose dolphins rank high on this list are truly mind-boggling. They have a language specific to their species, and they switch to “common language” to communicate when meeting other dolphin species, and they’ve even witnessed collaboration with other species like humans and false killer whales to hunt more efficiently!
# 1 The smartest animals are orangutans
The orangutans came first here for a very interesting reason. Like chimpanzees, the orangutan can use tools, learn sign language, and have complex social structures that include rituals. What really sets them apart is their cognitive ability to understand why a certain action is being performed. In captivity, the orangutan was taught to use tools and build a simple structure; When it was released into the wild, researchers watched the same orangutan improvise tools from what could be found and then build a similar structure to shelter from the rain.
It’s no surprise that the orangutan is so smart considering that it shares over 97 percent of its DNA with humans. Their tool utilization is superior to that of other animal species. They can be trained to use a hammer and nails, and orangutans have even learned to use a hose to pump fluids. Native to Indonesia, they are unfortunately endangered due to loss of habitat.
And this is our list of the smartest animals on Earth. Next: 10 of the world’s best animals that mate for life
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