Smartest Animals in The World

Rats often inhabit places close to human settlements, and are often kept as pets. They are intelligent, they like playing with toys and are different from those rats which live in wilderness. Since they are often used in laboratory researches, it was noted that they easily and quickly find holes and shortcuts. A recent research has shown that brown rats are aware of their own thinking processes, which, until then, was considered a characteristic typical only to man. Now we understand why, in Chinese culture, rats are so appreciated for their resourcefulness and shrewdness.

Dolphins are one of the most beloved animals. In terms of intelligence,they are just behind humans and chimpanzees, and in front of all the other creatures. They demonstrate the awareness that, until recently, was attributed only to humans. Recent magnetic resonance recordings have shown that the size of their brains is four to five times larger in proportion to the size of their bodies, and compared to the brains of the animals of the similar body size. Size is not everything, but there are two other features that prove the intelligence of these mammals. First, various characteristics of neocortex - responsible for emotional processing of data and for advanced forms of intention expressing,are widespread among dolphins. Second, observance of their behavior has shown that their reactions are similar to human’s, including: recognition of their reflection in the mirror, mastering of certain actions, communication based on movements and understanding of abstract concepts.Unfortunately, this means that those dolphins in water parks are subject to psychological damage and even serious mental disorders.

Orangutans inhabit broadly scattered communities and they form strong social connections. Mothers stay with their youngs for years in order to teach them all the necessary surviving skills. It was noted that they use tools in nature, e.g. they use sticks for digging holes, scratching or fighting. In captivity they learned to open tins to take the fruit packed inside. Tests have shown that they can communicate with people by using symbol tiles to make simple sentences.

Elephants first appeared in Africa about 23 million years ago. At that time dominant herbivores were horses. Through centuries, elephants have evolved into extremely large herbivores, which was the consequence of their struggle with horses for the same food. They are famous for their ability to use various tools in nature, while they are obedient quick – learners in captivity. Elephants have more brain cells per square centimeter than any other species of animals, which explains their capability to learn and remember. They are also very curious and well-behaved, they clean their food before eating it. What sets them apart from other animals is their compassion and concern towards their own, and other species, and this indicates well-developed intelligence.

In scholarly circles, it is widely believed that crows are smarter than primates. Their intelligence demonstrated itself in many ways during researches. What they are famous for is their ingenuity in food providing. They are smart enough to make a hook out of a wire in order to catch worms closed in a plastic box. It was noticed that they throw nuts on the streets patiently waiting for a car to crash the shell, after which they would fly down and pick up what’s theirs. Moreover, in order to pick up their food safely, they would wait for some pedestrian to press the green light on the traffic light. It is proven that crows use several different dialects when communicating, they also play games and perform tricks.

Pigs have been proven to be highly intelligent animals, even more intelligent than dogs. Their intelligence is compared to the intelligence of a three-year old child. Scientists of Pennsylvania University tried to teach pigs to play certain computer games which could show their ability to solve problems. It was concluded that pigs mastered fundamental aspects of the games as fast as chimpanzees. Their memory lasts for three years, their extremely sensitive sense of smell made them one of the best truffle finders, their ability to adjust themselves to number of conditions ensured their survival through centuries, and the fact that they can be easily trained made them one of the most beloved pets.

This forest animal easily adapted to life with people thanks to its amazing abilities. Good memory, speed, craftiness and knavery are just a few survival skills that characterize these creatures. The fact that they collect food for winter days speaks for itself. Besides that, they often act out hiding food when faced with possible thieves, and this proves an advanced level of intelligence. Since they live close to people, they often manage to find food in people’s gardens ,sometimes eradicating all the plants, which shows their ingenuity. Pet squirrels recognize their owners and come to call, which shows their learning ability.

It is considered that pigeons were domesticated 3000 years BC. Many people think of these birds as of “flying rats” because of their ability to spread illnesses. Still, they are extremely clever. As many scientific experiments have shown, pigeons use their experience and are quick learners. They can recognize hundreds of images after a period of several years, they are able to recognize their own reflection in the mirror, they can learn series of movements, and they can detect small differences between two objects. Quite fascinating!

Although still not explored enough, octopus is one of the smartest inhabitants of the sea. Octopus is an excellent hunter due to its secret weapon-an ink bag which is hidden inside its body. When faced with the enemy it releases the ink to confuse the opponent, and it also releases the substance that numbs the sense of smell, so the opponents are not able to feel its presence. It has a fantastic short-term memory, it can solve problems, it can play and change its body color to match the color of seabed.

The first place belongs to the animals most similar to humans-both physically and intellectually. Chimpanzees can make tools and use them for finding food. They developed a strategy of hunting, which requires mutual cooperation. They are also able to learn the language of signs and communicate with people. Maybe the most amazing ability of these creatures is the ability to communicate their own ideas by using various objects and symbols.It is believed that their intelligence developed thanks to their life in arranged communities ran by strict rules.