10 Smartest animals in the world

1. Chimpanzees

Many researchers discover that chimps can learn a lot of thing that others can’t. Using symbols and teaching them to other chimps is only one of them.  They also understand aspects of human language, including concepts of number and numerical sequence as well as some relational syntax. Chimpanzees make tools and use them to acquire foods, for social displays.  Above all, chimpanzees have a better memory than any other creature, including humans.  They are analytical and good in solving problem, clearly capable of insight and complex “cognitive performance” in both the captivity and in wild, and particularly adept at analyzing relative relationships. After all these traits, sharing 96% of their DNA with ours, chimpanzees deserve to top our list as the smartest animal in the world.

2. Dolphins

Social, live in pods of up to a dozen, communicate using a varity of whistles, clicks, and other vocalizations. Interesting and impressive thing about dolphins is that they can sleep with only one brain hemisphere in slow-wave sleep at a time, which means they have the ability to keep half of their brain awake and the other half asleep, maintaining enough consciousness to breathe and to watch for possible predators and other threats. Most dolphins have acute eyesight and they can hear frequencies ten times or more above the upper limit of adult human hearing. Also, their teeth function as an antenna to receive incoming sound and to pinpoint the exact location of an object. Dolphins use tools in their environment for a variety of purposes, such as using bait to catch bigger fish. That’s why they are excellent at hunting. They also know how to solve puzzles, work together, think abstractly, follow instructions, learn from previous experiences, and the female dolphins will pass all the tricks of the dolphin trade on to their calves. They can learn an impressive array of behavioral commands by human trainers. Today, they are known to be used by number of military for various purposes from finding mines to rescuing lost or trapped humans or delivering messages between ships.

3. Elephants

In Asian culture elephants are a symbol of wisdom and are famed for their memory and intelligence. Indeed, they have an incredible memory or better say, they remember everything. If a person has hurt the elephant in the past, it stays in its memory for a long time. Similarly, the elephants also remember their friends who have been kind to them. They follow the same migratory paths and know where to find water and other landmarks, even if they haven’t been to those places in years. Elephants are thought to be highly altruistic animals that will even aid other species, including humans. They have one of the most closely knit societies of any living species. When an elephant is hurt, other elephants will aid them. Also, they are sensitive fellow animals where if a baby complains, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it. Recent studies showed that elephants can also mimic sounds they hear. Like some other species, elephants are able to produce abstract art by using their trunks to hold brushes. Also, they are able to spend a lot of time working on problems and able to radically change their behavior. Elephants are capable of communication, empathy, grief, self-recognition and compassion. They cry, work, play, laugh and use tools from their environment. There is more to say about elephant’s intelligence, but this is enough for concluding that elephant is one of the smartest animals on planet.

4. Rhesus Monkeys

Rhesus monkeys are known for intelligence and considered to be the most widespread genus in the world, apart from humans. They have been widely used in medical and biological research. They have a remarkable memory, the ability to learn new things, and make their own decisions. Rhesus monkeys use very similar facial expressions and understood by humans. They are social animals and they can plan attacks together. Their vocal systems are sophisticated and similar to vocal system of human beings.

5. Dogs

Dogs intelligence is ability to think, learn and solve problems. They learn tricks and commands very easily. Dogs can communicate with each other, us and other animals in many ways, such as barking and use of body language. They can also understand over 150 words and intentionally deceive people and other dogs to get treats. They can empathize with us and understand our moods and know when we need to be alone or when we want some companionship. Many dog breeds, like German shepherds, Rottweilers, Labrador retrievers, Poodles, Border collies, Doberman Pinschers and some others are known for their intelligence  primarily because of their obedience. And of course, there is no need to talk about their loyalty. According to a research, dogs can also count up to four or five and they can notice errors in simple computations, like 1+1=3 or 1+1=1.

6. Whales

Whales are social beings and they have a complex form of communication with each other across long distances. Scientists have found spindle cells in the brains of large whales. It is believed that spindle cells play an important role in experiencing love and emotions, and they had previously been found only in the brains of humans and the great apes. Whales have a unique appeal to the human spirit and they are unmatched in their ability to invoke of awe and wonder. Their emotions are mostly observed in case a family member dies. Other studies have shown that whales can solve problems and use tools and also to show grief and joy. Whales are excellent team players when they hunt and together they are capable of executing a particular strategy with precision.

7. African grey parrot

African Grey Parrot can imitate human speech and communicate through plenty of calls and songs. They don’t just imitate human speech, but they also mimic household noises and other voices. One kind of the parrots is capable of identifying 50 different objects, numbers up to 6. Well known African Grey Parrot is Alex who was part of a 30 year study. When his researcher showed signs of annoyance, he would actually say “I’m sorry”. The parrots possess an enormous ability to pick up on our feelings, moods, thoughts and energy, and they force us to face ourselves because they reflect in their behavior what is going on around and in us.

8. Rats

When it comes to conducting tests linked to intelligence, drug abuse and learning, rats are a popular choice due to their high intelligence, aggressiveness, ingenuity, and adaptability. Their psychology seems to be similar to humans. They have amazing senses of hearing and smell and have been trained to sniff out land mines and bombs, in the place of dogs. Also, they are excellent at mazes; they will learn a maze by trial and error, but once they learned, they can repeat the maze with less or no error. When you give a rat a treat, you are reinforcing a behavior. If the same behavior is reinforced regularly at the onset and intermittently further down the line, they will continue the behavior. Rats are very social creatures that have very complex relationships with people and other rats. It has been proven that rats dream, in very similar way as humans. They dream about what something they have done that day and you can see them moving as they dream.

9. Crows and Ravens

With many similarities between them, these large black birds both have the ability to use different tools, count, distinguish between shapes, and perform a variety of difficult tasks. Their intelligence is mainly observed through the activity of avoiding predators and finding food. Understanding of social hierarchy also makes the ravens and crows intelligent. They can also mimic a variety of different voices, like parrots, and they understand the concept of play. In order to gain more food and protection for themselves, these birds can manipulate others.

10. Ants

Maybe it seem a bit odd, but ants are considered to be one of the most intelligent animals. They are social insects and their societies have communication between individuals, division of labour and an ability to solve complex problems. They communicate with each other using pheromones; they use the soil surface to leave their pheromone trails that other ants can follow. Some ant species use “propaganda pheromones” to confuse enemies and make them fight among themselves. Quite clever, isn’t it? Many animals can learn behaviours by imitation but ants are only group apart from mammals where interactive teaching has been observed. Foraging ants travel distances of up to 700 ft from their nest and usually find their way back using scent trails.