World's Smartest Animals: How Brainy Are These Creatures?

While human beings are known to be exceptionally intelligent, this does not mean that other animals are any less extraordinary in that regard. In fact, some animals exhibit unique tool usage, ability to form complex relationships, and object permanence. All of these are key facets of intelligence.

World's Smartest Animals

Many species would not have survived if not for their intellectual capacities. Here are some of the smartest animals in the entire world:

Orangutans

According to A-Z Animals, orangutans are list-toppers due to their capacity to learn sign language, use tools, and follow through with complicated social structures. Such capacities are very similar to those chimpanzees, but orangutans are different due to their capacity to reason about a particular situation.

The Orangutan Conservancy notes that these animals exhibit physical signs of intellectual capacity, including tool use to solve problems, insight, spatial memory, classification, mental maps, advance planning, and innovation. They also exhibit intelligence in a social aspect through coalitions, alliances, deception, reconciliation, mediation, empathy, teaching, language, and culture.

In comparison to other animals, orangutans exhibit the highest level of tool use. They can even learn how to use nails and hammers. A-Z Animals adds that these creatures even learned how to use a hose.

Bottlenose Dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins are also incredibly smart creatures. Compared to its other dolphin relatives, the bottlenose has the biggest brain in terms of size. It is also the only type of dolphin that does not have fused cervical vertebrae, which enables the creatures to nod their heads like humans.

Earth.com adds that these creatures also have a language of some sort that they use to interact with their fellow species. Apparently, bottlenose dolphins make use of whistles the same way humans use names, according to a study. Researchers also recently found out that bottlenose dolphins situated in the Black Sea can construct sentences that contain up to five words.

Chimpanzees

While orangutan DNA has a 97% similarity to that of humans, chimpanzees break the record at 98%. These creatures are expert users of tools and have been observed to resourcefully make the most of available items.

Interestingly, scientists have observed that adult chimpanzees teach the younger ones how to use sign language. What was notable about the feat is that no human intervention or prompt spurred the activity, per A-Z Animals. The adults just taught the children on their own and used the language for communication within the group.

Elephants

Aside from boasting of their remarkable memory, elephants can also boast of their intelligence. Their social structures are quite complex, and they have been seen joining funeral ceremonies.

Elephants also navigate tools and try to treat themselves. In fact, according to A-Z animals, these creatures consume certain tree leaves to heal themselves and even cause labor.

Just recently, an elephant in a zoo was documented peeling a ripe banana using its trunk. Experts think that the creature learned the behavior merely by observing the zookeepers do it.

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