The smartest animals on the planet

Who wouldn’t be happy to take another look at beautiful animals? Therefore, we are not only talking about cute creatures, but also the smartest of them.

10th place – Pigeons

Although pigeons are considered “sky mice”, they are very smart. During the experiment, pigeons were taught to distinguish paintings by Picasso and Monet, and later they did so without any problems. And then they were able to notice the difference between other artists: expressionists and cubists.

9th place – Rats

Yes, these street residents are actually very smart. Therefore, they are often used for research purposes. The ability of mice to learn from experience has been used in numerous experiments testing their cognitive abilities and logical thinking.

8th place – Bonobos

Bonobos are one of the few species that live in matriarchal societies. They are also highly intelligent animals, closely related to humans, and show empathy even towards strangers.

In experiments, bonobos performed a task that resulted in another bonobo receiving a reward. When no other monkeys were nearby, the bonobos were almost always unable to complete the task. It is assumed that this happens because they are only motivated when they need to help another monkey.

7th place – Octopuses

Octopuses are master escape artists; Some even escape enclosures and swim back into the wild. However, their escape is not that surprising, considering their brain-to-body ratio is higher than that of other known invertebrate species.

6th place – African gray parrots

African gray parrots are considered one of the most intelligent species on the planet, rivaling even monkeys. In some areas they exceed the abilities of five-year-old children.

African gray parrots can use deductive reasoning to solve problems such as determining which of two cups contains a food reward. More advanced versions of the same test revealed the parrots’ ability to think logically. In one such experiment, test subject Griffin outperformed five-year-olds when it came to understanding the concepts of certainty and probability.

5th place – Elephants

Elephants are extremely intelligent. They can remember specific migration routes and where to find water along the way. They can also distinguish different groups of hunters (including different groups of humans) by their scent and sounds.

In some cases, elephants are known to manipulate the environment to achieve their goals. For example, Kandula, an elephant kept at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., used a block of wood as a stool to reach fruit that was out of his reach.

4th place – Chimpanzee

Many hours of research have been devoted to better understanding the cognitive abilities of chimpanzees. As a result, we can easily say that chimpanzees are one of the most intelligent species in the world. Chimpanzees can recognize themselves in mirrors, an important component of abstract thinking. Moreover, they can recognize themselves in videos, a skill that people acquire around the age of four.

3rd place – Pigs

The intelligence of pigs surprises many people. They are so smart that they can play rudimentary video games. This was proven by four pigs at the Purdue University Animal Welfare Research Center. The game used a joystick to manipulate a point hitting the wall. The pigs received a reward after hitting the wall. All four pigs showed spectacular results.

2nd place – Ravens

Partly because of their intelligence, ravens are associated with omens in many cultures. They have planning skills that young children do not have. One study found that crows were able to select a key that could be used to open a special box containing a reward from among a variety of other objects. They were able to find the correct key 90 percent of the time.

1st place – Dolphins

We think it’s no secret that dolphins are incredibly smart animals. They have high capacities for both learning and imitation. Dolphins use mud to create traps and sponges to protect themselves from coral while searching for food, demonstrating their ability to use tools and modify their environment. Pods of dolphins are known to change where and when they hunt to adapt to or avoid new human activities such as construction.