5 Animals That Are Smarter Than You Think

Many animals are well-known for their intelligence. Animal cognitive science has shown how octopuses and . But give either animal a standard IQ test, and they'll probably score a 0. Their illiteracy doesn't help.

It's easy to see why the intelligence of non-human creatures can't be measured using human metrics. After all, an octopus has no need for a calculator, but it does tackle challenges in its marine environment with incredible creativity and reasoning. For instance, a 2011 study observed an octopus skillfully navigate a maze with a tentacle to find food, much like it would have to probe through crevices in a reef while hunting. And while chimpanzees , their powerful canine teeth serve them to win a fight, as well. Humans don't have dexterous tentacles nor a mouth full of deadly dentition, so we've filled a specific niche that can distort our perception of what being "smart" really means. 

Thus, when we remove our anthropocentric bias from the definition of intelligence, a vast variety of animal species emerge as smarter than we originally thought. Even the classically-cited animals, like chimps and orcas, may surprise you with their adeptness at problem-solving and awareness. Other species display skills in using tools and teaching, such as the orangutan and the raven.

Here, we explore the diverse ways that non-human animals prove to possess surprising intellect. 

The comprises 89 species of porpoises, whales, and true dolphins. That includes some of the most iconic marine mammals, like the humpback whale, the bottlenose dolphin, and the orca. It also includes the blue whale — the largest animal to have ever existed.

Interestingly, Cetacea has given rise to several of the smartest animals ever studied. For a long time, the intelligence of these aquatic creatures was believed to be related to their large brains. However, contemporary research has called into question

Nonetheless, the cetacean brain certainly gives clues for the reasons why they're so smart. For example, the most neocortical neurons out of any mammal. Such neurons make up , the part of the brain responsible for cognition, spatial reasoning, motor control, and language. Cetaceans have been observed forming complex social relationships, vocalized communication, and e.

The cetacean that truly stands out as the brainiest, however, is the bottlenose dolphin, which has been using tools. For example, they'll wrap sponges around their snouts to protect themselves from getting injured when digging for food in the sea floor. They'll also sometimes carry conch shells while , possibly to use as a shovel.

Reports of bottlenose dolphins engaging in "" also indicate their intelligence. Some , seemingly just for the fun of it, and they may . Other studies have explored the immense capacity for communication among bottlenose dolphins, with the species demonstrating communicative abilities with both human beings and with other bottlenose dolphins via song-like whistling. Such behavior is eerily similar to that of humans, and high intelligence is the feasible explanation. 

It's hard to argue against the claim that human beings are the smartest animals on Earth. After all, we created the concept of intelligence, so it's fair to take the crown. Yet the species with perhaps the best shot of usurping the throne are our closest relatives.

Humans are one of eight extant species within (Hominidae) family. We share this branch of the evolutionary tree with three species of orangutan, two species of gorilla, and two species of Pan (the chimpanzee and bonobo). That last one has proved to possess a high intelligence for decades.

In fact, we share 98% of our DNA with chimps and bonobos, and the cognitive parallels are clear.

For instance, chimpanzees have evolved to use tools. Examples include creating toothpicks to fish termites from holes and using rocks to crack open nuts. They've even been observed wielding stones as weapons. Other intelligent behaviors include teaching, complex social coordination, vocal and signed communication, and .

Other non-human great apes are intelligent too, but none has surpassed chimps. For example, o have been observed both using tools and manufacturing them, honing leaves to make umbrellas and branches to make back scratchers. One captive was even taught to create a stone axe. However, chimps discovered stone tools on their own,

Another trait that chimps share with humans is inquisitiveness. We humans like to explore, even without the promise of a reward. Chimps seem to do this as well. , chimps prove to be far more persistent than other animals. Does that suggest an intrinsic desire to solve a task just for the satisfaction of completing it? It's certainly possible.

Crows and ravens have flown their way into our cultural consciousness through songs, symbolism, and stories. Their intelligence is also well-recognized, as accounts of crows being able to count birthed the alliterative phrase ." But although the ability of crows to count is debated, the animal's intellect is not.

Birds in the genus , with no distinct taxonomic difference between their names. Thus, the word crow is often used as a blanket term to refer to any Corvus species, of which .

The , which includes . The Corvidae family's only rival on the intelligence scale is the Psittaciformes .

But within the Corvus genus, one species has stood out as the cleverest of the bunch: crows. For a stark example,  regularly use sticks as tools to probe holes for food. Captive individuals have even been observed bending wires into careful hook shapes to poke into curved insect tunnels.

Another remarkable example of crow intelligence can be seen in a film segment hosted by the legendary David Attenborough. The clip shows a carrion crow placing hard nuts in the path of traffic to crack them. The urbanite crows even appear to prefer pedestrian crossings, waiting for the stoplight to change before collecting their meal.

Examples of crow intelligence like these abound, and each one is as fascinating as the last. In fact, crows out-perform dogs and cats in certai such as the challenge of determining which container shapes can fit food in them.

If crows prove anything, it's that "bird-brained" doesn't mean stupid.

Man's best friend may be smarter than you think. While Canis familiaris might not score as highly as chimps and dolphins in cognitive tests, the species still shows remarkable cognitive skills in the , , , and even .

The archeological record suggests that dogs were t, with the earliest evidence going as far back as 15,000 years ago. The symbiotic relationship between these early canines and Homo sapiens shaped the Canis familiaris brain over time to synchronize with our means of survival. And because Homo sapiens (literally ) are so clever, so too did dogs adapt to our complex social structures and language. Dogs' ability to learn spoken words is obvious. Many dog owners teach their pets simple commands like "sit," "stay," "heel," and "lay down." But professional dog trainers take vocalized commands to another level, teaching their dogs dozens of different auditory cues. .

One study from 2003 revealed how dogs can associate objects with words in a brief period of time. The  around while stating the object's name, leaving the test dogs to watch. Once they instructed the dog to retrieve the newly-named object, the dogs consistently retrieved it. Even though canine cognition has been studied extensively, dogs continue to surprise us. Stray dogs in Moscow have been observed system, and a to get to the local dog park. There's even evidence that dogs possess a "theory of mind," assessing what from their different vantage points.

Maybe the old adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks isn't true.

The intelligence of octopuses is especially exciting, since these mollusks are so distinct from the vertebrates that dominate most lists of intelligent animals. Indeed, an octopuses' nervous system is alien compared to our own, containing nine different brains alongside three different hearts.

In basic terms, , or ganglia, located at the base of each one of their eight tentacles. Their ninth brain is equally foreign to us mammals, wrapping around the esophagus in a doughnut shape. One might expect such a bizarre nervous system would fail to achieve anything remotely intelligent, but such is not the case.

In fact, the octopuses' class Cephalopoda contains some of the most intelligent animals on Earth. It includes squids, cuttlefish, and octopuses, and it boasts the most complex and  among invertebrates. 

But the octopus stands out among the cephalopods as the brainiest of the bunch. 

It's been observed using tools, such as and to use as a venomous shield and weapon. Octopuses have also shown remarkable puzzle-solving skills, with various studies recording and remembering the solutions to puzzles. 

Octopuses and other cephalopods are living proof that our human mammalian brains aren't the end-all-be-all for intelligence. The fact that such distantly related species can display such incredibly advanced cognitive abilities means perhaps our reign as the smartest animals isn't as guaranteed as we might like to believe.