Although most people wouldn't typically associate extreme intelligence with animals,
that is a bit of a misconception. While they are obviously not able to match the
computational and meta cognitive power of the human brain there are certain things
some animals specialize in for which their minds are uniquely adapted. In some
ways you could say they are smarter (or more functional) than even humans at
performing these tasks.
Our Planet's Smartest Animals. Enjoy! :)
Squids are some of the most intelligent invertebrates, or species without spinal
cords, that exist on the planet. Their brain structure is similar to that of humans,
and also like humans, they are very curious about their environment. They also
have the ability to learn new skills, communicate with one another and use tools
to keep themselves busy or to protect themselves.
Baboons are some of the fiercest monkeys out there, taking on their enemies and
humans with little fear. Besides their harsh demeanor, these monkeys are extremely
sharp and use visual communication to alert other monkeys against a threat or
available food sources. They also engage in vocal exchanges to determine
relations of dominance between individuals.
Sea lions are famous for balancing balls on their nose and jumping through hoops,
but the tricks they perform at the zoo do no justice to their level of intelligence.
Sea lions are able to understand commands through sign language, to recognize
relationships between different stimuli and then to communicate those connections
to their peers. They may even be able to make logical deductions between different
commands.
These big red monkeys are some of the most intelligent primates due to their
sophisticated tool manufacturing skills and their ability to closely imitate
human actions. Each night, orangutans construct elaborate sleeping nests from wood and
branches in their surrounding using tools of their own making. It's also
possible that these monkeys have a capacity for advanced symbolic language.
Despite what you may think, pigeons are some of the smartest bird brains out there.
They have the capacity to split their attention between different stimuli, to learn
complex response sequences and have a photographic memory more advanced than most
humans. Some studies suggest that pigeons are able to remember images of people
and places throughout the course of their lives.
Crows also have a highly developed photographic memory, are able to communicate to
identify threats and food sources and have advanced problem solving capabilities.
Crows will use whatever is available to them in their surroundings to complete
the task at hand, and their determination is astonishing.
Sheep are often deemed timid and pea-brained animals, but their IQ levels are close
to those of cows and pigs. Sheep can recognize individual human faces and remember
them for years. They can also differentiate between emotional states through an
individual's facial expressions and have excellent problem-solving abilities. They
are even able to recognize the voices of other sheep and lambs according to their
intonation, which signals their age.
Raccoons are some of nature's most resourceful rodents, with advanced problem-solving
abilities and complex social relationships between them. Some studies suggest that
raccoons may be able to remember solutions to tasks they carried out in the past
for up to three years, and have capabilities for understanding complex principles
mainly through their sense of touch.
One of the most cherished animals by humans, horses are also some of the most
intelligent in nature. They are able to conduct advanced cognitive tasks and
overcome mental challenges in the procurement of food and in social situations.
They also have similar spatial discrimination abilities to humans and impressive
problem solving skills, which explains why some horses are even able to open the
locks that keep them in their pens.
These Old World Asian monkeys can adapt to many different habitats, including human
communities. These monkeys live in human communities in India, where they are
considered sacred. They are also known for displaying what seem to be suicidal
tendencies as well as planned group attacks.
Falcons, much like pigeons, were used in antiquity as messengers and to convey
reconnaissance. They are adept at following commands and have excellent photographic
and territorial memories. However, they are renowned for advanced hunting abilities
and their exception vision, which has an acuity of 2.6 times that of a normal human.
Believe it or not, rats are some of the smartest creatures out there. The structure
of their brains nearly matches those of humans, which is one reason why these rodents
are used for neurological testing for a number of serious diseases. They are also
quick and adept learners and are extremely prosocial, demonstrating surprising
altruistic and kind behavior, like freeing other rats from cages.
Even during the time of the ancient Greeks, owls were seen as intelligent animals.
While this may appear to be true due to pre conceived notions about their
'wisdom' this is the 'burst your bubble' list item. Sad to say, most owls actually
fall into the lower range of bird intelligence. However, they still deserve
plaudits for a different reason - their amazingly sharp senses. The owl's enormous
eyes deliver excellent stereoscopic vision even in very dim light.
Those who have cats as pets know that these animals are skilled at hunting. They are
agile and they possess incredible sensory ability and though they're not nearly as
trainable as dogs, they are extremely adept at learning new skills.
These little squirrel nut-collectors are surprising extraordinarily intelligent. They are
able to exhibit advanced motor skills in the gathering and storing of food. They
are able to remember for months, and possibly even years, where they store their
food and are able to signal to other squirrels where the food is located.
Among the world's most intelligent animals, elephant brains are larger than any
land animal and are similar in structure and complexity to human brains. They have
just as many neurons as humans do and are able to exhibit a wide variety of emotions
and reactions, such as grief, altruism, use of tools and cooperation.
The octopus is the smartest invertebrate (beating the squid at his game), with
advanced memory systems that exhibit capacities for short and long-term memory.
Octopi have highly complex nervous systems and are skilled hunters with unique
strategies for finding food.
Dog intelligence has been observed and noted by scientists over centuries, and is
categorized into three categories: instinctive intelligence, adaptive intelligence
and working/obedience intelligence. Instinctive intelligence includes the skills
like hunting and guarding that the breed of dog is born with, adaptive intelligence
means dogs are able to solve complex problems on their own, and working intelligence
refers to dogs' ability to learn from humans.
The largest animals on our planet, whales are also some of the smartest. Whales'
communicate and coordinate their activities in pods (their social groups) using
complex sounds and indications. They also engage in cross-species cooperation in
order to find food, even seeking to help out beached or whales in danger. Lastly,
they are uniquely self-aware of their behavior and engage in individualistic
complex thinking.
We've all heard or seen parrots that can talk, but how do they do it? Parrot's
ability for speech is not necessarily related to their mimicking capacity, but
rather to their excellent memories. They are even able to answer and solve complex
problems without previously being fed the correct answer, and to distinguish
between faces and human behavior.
According to a number of biologists, dolphin's intelligence may be at a comparable
level to human intelligence. They have advanced levels of comprehension, self-recognition,
symbols for different body parts and numerical values, discriminating and matching
abilities, as well as the capacity to monitor their behavior and the behavior of
others.
It may seem like pigs are best at eating grub, but some studies suggest that a
middle aged pig can be as smart as a three year-old human! Pigs have the ability
to adapt to complex environments as well as the ability to learn new skills easily.
There has to be a reason why Babe is a pig, and not a dog!
Monkeys have the capacity in some ways to think like humans. They are altruistic
towards each other and care deeply for the welfare of their group members. They
can manipulate their environment and utilize tools in order to help the community
accomplish certain tasks. By and large they are often considered to be the smartest
primate and therefore one of the smartest animals in the world.
For those of you who Want More FUN - Visit The Shangy Fun List! Variety is the
spice of life! The Shangy Fun List is an ezine packed full of Poems, Inspirational and
Heart Warming Stories. Jokes from G to slightly R, and Anything else that just
might make you SMILE! Join In The Free FUN!! ... :)
SHANGRALA'S
-To SHANGRALA-
