Monkeys
The spearheads of the 10 very intelligent animals of the world are anthropomorphic monkeys.
Modern primates are very smart. They can communicate in sign language, and the most capable – with the help of graphic symbols: in the 1980s, a male bonobo Kanza learned 500 words in this way.
From most animals, primates understand that they see their reflection in a mirror.
Monkeys grieve when their relatives die. Some representatives of the species even have a sense of humor. Monkeys have their own culture and communication system.
Chimpanzees use tools and make their own carcasses. To make a spear, they take a branch of the required length, clean it of leaves and bark and sharpen the tip with their teeth. In one study on tool making and use, adult orangutans performed better than children.
These smart animals live in large groups and form strong social bonds, which may be the key to their developed cognitive skills. Females stay with their cubs for many years, teaching them everything they need to survive. The most intelligent animals of the planet tenderly take care of their offspring and pass on all their knowledge and skills to them.
Dolphins are on the list of 10 very intelligent animals
According to the ratio of brain and body mass, a dolphin could claim the title of the most intelligent: in this it is second only to a human and ahead of a chimpanzee. American neurobiologist Laura Marino found out that these mammals have more cerebral convolutions than humans.
The largest dolphins are killer whales. They developed a strategy for hunting different animals.
Killer whales are one of the most social animals on the planet. They live in herds where matriarchy prevails. All persons are tied to each other, and the young and healthy take care of the old and sick. Flocks of dolphins can be observed in the world’s oceans, where they surf, race, jump, circle, whistle, and hunt.
Female dolphins stay with their young for several years, teaching them all the tricks they know themselves. In their environment, dolphins even use tools and can learn a large set of commands. In fact, the US Navy taught bottlenose dolphins to find explosive mines under water.
Elephant
Elephants are also included in 10 very intelligent animals. Elephants have the largest brain – it weighs more than 5 kg. It contains 257 billion neurons, which is also three times more than in the average human brain. And although this is only 0.2% of body weight, they surpass many animals on Earth in terms of intelligence. Elephants have developed facial expressions, they perfectly express emotions and can even cry.
Recognize themselves in the mirror, which means the presence of self-awareness – understanding who I am and what I look like.
Elephants are elegant, cultured, interesting and have a good memory. So much so that they can recognize up to 30 relatives by the smell of their urine, which turns out to be useful for tracking each other.
Huge creatures can cooperate and sympathize with each other.
Elephants easily solve everyday tasks – for example, they store water by digging holes before it rains. And then they are covered with bark so that the water does not evaporate.
Rats are also on the list of 10 very intelligent animals
Despite the small and not the most complex brain, rats are smart and resourceful. Gray rodents often surprise with non-standard behavior in difficult situations, recognize poison and traps, do not repeat their mistakes, find a way out of mazes and solve puzzles.
Rats can express and recognize emotions. If necessary, they easily learn math.
There are crows in the list of 10 very intelligent animals
Scientists believe that the intellectual abilities of crows are no worse than those of primates.
In 2020, the birds were offered a number of tests for monkeys, and they did well with mathematical problems and demonstrated developed social skills.
In everyday matters, crows are very inventive – for example, they throw nuts under the wheels of cars to break them.
Crows also demonstrated the ability to create tools (for example, bend a piece of wire to make a hook for grabbing meat), identify people and animals that might pose a threat, and understand analogies. One study even compared the reasoning ability of 7-year-old children.
In addition, crows communicate in complex, population-specific dialects and play games and pranks with each other.
Ravens are loyal friends. If someone from the pack is injured, his relatives will take care of him until he fully recovers. Also, crows are considered faithful spouses until death itself.
Dogs
The mental abilities of dogs are compared to the intelligence of 2-year-old children.
A Canadian cynologist believes that dogs can remember 165 words.The smartest ones – 250 words. Tests showed that dogs can count up to 5 and perfectly solve spatial tasks. They find things, the shortest routes.
Four-legged dogs demonstrate basic emotions (joy, anger, disgust) and know how to trick – during play they deceive other dogs or people.
Representatives of the most intellectual breeds serve in the police, army, rescue people, take care of children.
Cats
Scientists calculated that cats have 250 million neurons in the brain – half as many as dogs. But this does not mean that they are much stupider, it’s just that they are more difficult to study. Independent creatures reluctantly participate in experiments, but they understand human gestures and facial expressions no worse than dogs.
Cats are able to store information for up to 10 years. Retrieve it from memory: remembering landmarks. They can find their way home. A developed intelligence is evidenced by a cat’s boundless curiosity and interest in new things. Like people who see dreams with a complex plot.
Pigs
Scientists believe that guinea pigs are not inferior to other pets in terms of ingenuity. They deserve their place among the smartest animals on the planet. They are perfectly oriented in space, have long-term memory. Use about 20 sounds for communication.
In terms of intelligence, Charles Darwin compared pigs to dogs. They are better at some tasks. In one of the experiments, the piglet the cursor with the help of a joystick. The cursor hit a certain area, feed was poured into the feeder.
Squirrels
Despite having a brain the size of a pea, squirrels have a phenomenal memory. They can orient themselves in space and analyze the situation. To survive the winter, they have to bury approximately 3,000 acorns and nuts. They can mention the location of each of them even after several months. To search for shelter, rodents use different tactics and easily switch between them.
Squirrels are one of the most cunning animals in the world. They show ingenuity to protect soybean supplies. He noticed that she was being watched, she was pretending to hide food. And then he transfers it to the second hiding place.
Octopus
The list of 10 very intelligent animals also includes an octopus. This animal is the smartest among invertebrates. The octopus has the most complex nervous system. And the highest ratio of brain to body mass. They build shelters from stones, shells, coconut shells, steal fish from fishermen,
lids and fasteners of containers are opened. If desired, they are taken out of any tank. Octopus Otto from the aquarium in Coburg threw stones to break the glass.
His relative from New Zealand escaped from the aquarium into the sea through the sewer.
In addition, cephalopods know how to play, distinguish geometric figures, solve non-standard tasks. They also recognize people and even become attached to them.