Scientists and avid dog owners have long debated what traits and tendencies make some animals smarter or more intelligent than others, but in recent years, the lines have become increasingly blurred as animal researchers apply various intelligence tests to a wider range of creatures.
Earlier this year, 40 researchers from leading universities around the world New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, Recent studies have shown that many more animals may be conscious than previously thought, claiming that there is “strong scientific support” for consciousness in mammals and birds. The researchers say there is a “realistic possibility” that other less obvious vertebrates, such as reptiles, amphibians and fish, as well as cephalopods and other animals without spines, are also conscious.
Here we look at some of the ways, from more familiar to less familiar, that animals are forcing scientists to rethink consciousness and cognition.
elephant
Elephants are widely considered to be among the most intelligent mammals outside of primates. Very large brain Mammals with huge long noses and strong social bonds Mourning for the dead was observedElephants are known for their long memory spans and are adept at problem solving and using tools. Outside of the wild, humans have taken advantage of elephants’ skills and characteristics and used them as circus performers. Other studies have shown that elephants Duplicate each other’s calls With extremely high accuracy. In 2006, the Bronx Zoo’s elephants Recognize yourself in the mirrorIt’s a key sign that researchers associate with self-awareness.
dog
Dog owners are often just as eager as new parents to praise their pets’ intelligence. And at the species level, science says there’s good reason for them to be so pleased. While the exact level of measurable intelligence varies by breed and individual, researchers say some dogs are You can learn the meanings of more than 100 words to some extent.The dog, We implicitly underestimate human emotions And you can Reported to show signs of jealousyResearchers think that at least some of their intelligence is likely a by-product of evolving alongside humans for thousands of years.
pig
Pigs remain one of the most intelligent animals commonly consumed by humans around the world. I used a mirror to observe the pig. They observe their surroundings and eventually search for food. Recently, a family of Visayan warthogs They have been reported to have been observed using sticks as nest building tools.This is a behavior that has never been observed before. Some of the most striking recent studies on pigs have been published in the journal Frontiers of Psychology In 2021, researchers at Pennsylvania State University Taught a pig to use a joystick to play basic video games.
Dolphin
While there is no standard way to “rank” animals by intelligence, dolphins would rank near the top of any scale, close to humans. Published in the journal Physics and MathematicsThey claim that dolphins communicate with each other using a highly complex series of sounds that resemble words or sentences. Unlike other animals, dolphins observed rarely interrupt each other. Hunting alongside Brazilian fishermen And reportedly Helping swimmer after shark attackPart of the reason for this marine mammal’s remarkable intelligence is Extraordinary brain size to body weight ratioThis is the second largest brain of any animal after humans, and in terms of pure size, the bottlenose dolphin’s brain is larger than a human’s.
Parrot
Parrots are well known for repeating human words out loud.Sometimes it ends in an embarrassing way) The depth of their intelligence is much broader: Recent studies have found that parrots can thrive at logic games. Typically confuses a 5-year-oldSome birds have even figured out how to communicate using modern videoconferencing technology. Researchers from Northeastern University, MIT, and the University of Glasgow recently trained 18 parrots to communicate with each other using a specially designed tablet. Whenever a parrot rang a bell, the zookeeper would show the parrot a screen on the tablet showing photos of other parrots it had previously video chatted with. The parrots repeatedly requested to chat with their far-away friends.
Crow
Crows have always been good at grasping numbers and other signs of intelligence that were once thought to be only achievable by humans. A study from the University of Tübingen found that crows I can count out loud to fourThis ability may result from a particularly large forebrain, which is associated with statistical inference. Although tool use is often associated with mammals, some crows can fashion sticks into hooked tools. And they collect insects from the trees..
octopus
Octopuses, perhaps more than any other animal, have been the study, articleand Book This emphasises the seemingly familiar yet totally alien intelligence: in captivity, octopuses are said to be able to distinguish between humans, and have been observed spraying ink at people they dislike. Watch as ink is sprayed onto a light bulb To darken their environment, the eight-armed mollusks are also notoriously inquisitive and mischievous: In 2009, a two-spotted octopus that lived at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium was accused of turning a valve and immersing itself in water. 200 gallons of seawater leaked into the facility..
Wild octopuses are some of nature’s most shape-shifting animals. Octopuses and other cephalopods have the ability to change shape. Instantly change your skin color and tone This is to blend in with their surroundings and avoid predators.
Bumblebee
Along with ants, bumblebees have often confounded critics who try to exclude insects from discussions of animal intelligence. In 2016, researchers at Queen Mary, University of London wrote: A bumblebee pulls a string to get a rewardEven more amazingly, other bees have learned to do the same task simply by watching their peers. The bees also understand surprisingly subtle counting techniques. It is said that he understands the concept of zero.or none of these are typically only observed in humans, parrots, and apes.
crayfish
Crayfish, a close relative of the more widely known lobster, may exhibit signs of anxiety that can be treated with drugs like Valium. Although the ancient-looking sea creatures have been around for hundreds of millions of years, scientists previously didn’t think they were intelligent enough to be considered sentient.
Researchers at the University of Bordeaux A 2014 study cast doubt on that assumption. So the researchers exposed a group of subjects to an electric field, intended to induce a potentially anxiety-inducing experience. After the electric shock, the crayfish were placed in separate tanks with dark and light areas. While crayfish normally prefer dark areas, the subjects who received the shock completely avoided the light areas. When the researchers examined these crayfish further, they found that they produced high levels of serotonin, a hormone produced in other species that tries to combat anxiety. Even more interesting, the researchers injected these crayfish with an anti-anxiety drug, which ultimately overcame their inability to explore the light areas of the tank.
Cleaner Lass
At first glance, the common wrasse, an abundant species of coral reef fish with an average body length of just 4 inches, doesn’t seem like a strong candidate for a spot on any list of most intelligent animals. But researchers say it seems to be able to pass the mirror mark test, one of the most widely used experiments to see if an animal can recognize itself. Even dogs can. Typically this test fails.
Research Group write PLOS Biology The researchers placed 10 fish in a tank with a mirror. Most of the fish immediately assumed their reflection was another animal, but a few began spending more time looking at their own reflection in the mirror. They even swam upside down and engaged in other behaviors that were unusual for their species. When the researchers labeled the fish with brown spots, some of them seemed to recognize their reflection and even tried to rub them off.
