What Animals Are the Smartest

We have already told our readers about champions among animals in different spheres — who runs the fastest, who hears the best, and who has the sharpest eye. However, one nomination went unnoticed: the smartest.

We at 5-Minute Crafts decided to fix this and made a list of the smartest animals in the world.

Pigs

The intellect of pigs can be compared to that of dogs or cats. However, the ability to solve issues or find a way out of difficult situations is developed better in pigs. Pigs can quickly understand how mirrors work and use them. Pigs have about 20 different sounds for communication, and pig mothers sing songs to their cubs while they feed on milk. Moreover, pigs can show empathy, which is a very rare feature in the animal world.

Octopuses

Octopuses are taking the lead position on intellect among invertebrates. Experiments have shown that they have both short-term and long-term memory. The octopus is the only member of its type that uses a variety of tools to complete tasks. It was also noticed that octopuses can intentionally splash water on the objects outside of their aquarium to damage them.

Crows

Crows also use some tools. In particular, they can understand that placing small stones into a container with water increases its level. Crows can use their personal experience to predict what will happen in the future. They can distinguish human faces and store them in their memory for years. During conflicts with other animals, crows are able to use complex group tactics.

Elephants

These big animals are often spoken about when it comes to good memory. In addition, elephants are capable of altruistic behavior — for example, a female elephant can perform very selfless acts for the sake of children or her herd. Also, elephants have learned to eat certain plants when there is a need to stimulate the onset of labor.

Doves

Doves distinguish their reflection in mirrors and can recognize certain people for many months or even years. It was for this reason that they were used as mail birds. Pigeons can distinguish not only real people but also 2 people in a picture. They can also distinguish all the letters of the alphabet.

Rats

Despite the fact that these rodents are not close to humans in terms of evolution and have small brains, the intellect of rats functions similarly to humans. Rats can navigate complex mazes, solve multi-step puzzles, and memorize different routes. Also, rats are very social animals, and they get sad when they are alone. Rats are capable of making decisions based on their knowledge and taking into account things they don’t know.

Dolphins

Perhaps you’ve already heard that dolphins are very smart. For example, when looking for food, dolphins can tear off pieces of sea sponge and wrap them around their “bottlenose” to prevent abrasions. Dolphins can recognize their partner after a 20-year break, they can recognize themselves in mirrors and notice changes in their body, and they are easily trained. Dolphins have their own language that they use when communicating with dolphins of their species. When meeting other dolphins, they can switch to a so-called “common language.”

Chimpanzees

The DNA of chimpanzees is 98% identical to that of a human. These animals are able to use various objects to do what they want and also use psychological tricks while communicating with each other — for example, they can manipulate others. It’s also been noticed that in chimpanzee families, parents who taught sign language were teaching it to their cubs of their own will without any human intrusion.