People who inhabit almost the entire planet consider themselves the most intelligent on it, capable of developing and achieving success. But few people think that some animals also have high mental abilities. Scientists have long been interested in the question of which animal is the smartest? After all, some of them simply amaze with their intellectual abilities, which consist in the ability to count and speak, in the ability to earn their living with the help of improvised means. Yes, and you can train an animal a lot, the main thing is to make an effort and patience.
Top smartest animals
Rats are in 10th place. These creatures are characterized by a collective mind that controls the actions of each individual. It helps to avoid death from, for example, poisoned baits. Rats are excellent at moving on any surface. They can survive at -17 OC and still keep reproducing.
9th place is taken by octopuses. These creatures are able to play, distinguish shapes and patterns, solve riddles, and navigate labyrinths. They possess short-term and long-term memory, while easily amenable to hypnosis. In nature, they often erect stoneshelter houses.
The 8th place in the list of the most intelligent animals on the planet belongs to pigeons. Birds easily remember and recognize thousands of images; this memory is retained by them for many years. These birds can recognize their image in a mirror. Pigeons are excellent at finding their way home, and their speed of flight makes them useful for delivering mail.
7th place is occupied by proteins. The size of the brain of this nimble animal is the size of a large pea, it allows them to perfectly navigate in space, have a brilliant intellect and a rare memory. They are able to think and analyze. So, squirrels do not hibernate until they find about 3,000 nuts. After 2 months, they can remember the location of the nut.
Pigs, known for their ability to adapt to different conditions, occupy an honorable 6th position. They are able to respond to music by grunting to the rhythm of the sound. However, pigs are very susceptible to stressful situations: for example, if a baby piglet is separated from its mother. The intelligence of a pig approximately corresponds to the mind of a three-year-old child, and in terms of learning ability these animals are at the level of cats and dogs. These creatures have a wondrous flair that people use to search for truffles or various drugs. The physiological characteristics of pigs allow them to be used as donor material for humans.
5th place is occupied by crows. They are incredibly smart creatures. They perfectly understand the meaning of the red and green signal.traffic lights, have an amazing memory and learn from each other. Birds collect nuts, put them on the road under the wheels of a car in order to open the shell, and use twigs to get insects from the bark of trees.
What are the smartest animals? Definitely elephants! They are ranked 4th. These are not just awkward giants with huge ears and a good memory. The mass of their brain is more than 5 kg. Elephants demonstrate their emotions with the movements of their head, ears and trunk, expressing this or that mood. Elephants are very sensitive and caring towards their group and other animals. For example, they are very worried about the loss of a member of the herd, spending many days at the body, covering the deceased with vegetation. In addition, these giants have a good musical ear and memory, distinguishing melodies consisting of three notes.
Who is in 3rd place? Considering the question of what are the smartest animals on Earth, you can not ignore the orangutans. These great apes (sometimes called "forest people") are highly cultured and socially connected. Females take care of their offspring for many years, teaching them survival skills. By the age of 10, these animals can taste and identify more than 200 species of edible plants. Orangutans use tools in the wild and are able to recognize themselves in mirror images.
2nd place is rightfully occupied by dolphins. Having appeared on Earth tens of millions of years earlier than humans, dolphins are much more intelligent than almost all creatures. They easily remember and repeat the actions of their brothers, they can performcommands, come up with tricks with objects, distinguish the voices of a flock, imitate the chirping of birds, the rattle of a door hinge, and even repeat some words or human laughter.
The chimpanzee is on the top of the list of the smartest animals around us. These great apes are leading in the manufacture and use of tools. In the matter of ingenuity, they are much smarter than children. These monkeys are able to build complex figures, are able to control their environment and communicate with animals of their own kind using certain "language constructions".