What are the 10 smartest animals on Earth? We thought about it and made a list. So, without further ado, let’s start the countdown!
# 10 Smartest Animal on Earth: Raccoon
Raccoons may gravitate towards trash, but they are also very smart. In the early 20th century, research by ethologist H.B. David proved that raccoons are skilled lock-breakers who can easily recognize moving or rotating devices! Trash Pandas also boast incredible memories and can memorize puzzle solutions for up to three years!
Interesting fact about the raccoon
Raccoons have such a keen hearing that they can distinguish between underground worms. Click here to learn more about raccoons.
# 9 The smartest animal on earth: bees
With a team of 50,000 working shoulder to shoulder, democratic decision making and delegation of authority are vital. And it is these qualities that support the life and prosperity of honeybees. Ingenious insects have perfected the art of collaboration, making it to our list of the smartest animals on Earth.
They are also non-violent – another indicator of IQ. For example, when scout bees disagree about new hive locations, they dance instead of fighting to the death! How civilized – and fun!
Interesting fact about honey bees
Today honey bees are found all over the world. However, scientists believe that they originated in Southeast Asia, where wild honey can still be found in the forests. Click here to learn more about honey bees.
# 8 The smartest animal on Earth: the octopus
Once upon a time there was an octopus named Otto in a German aquarium. Soft and cold, Otto disliked bright light, so he took matters into his … tentacles … and sprayed water over the top lamps to close them! Otto also threw stones into a glass when he was not feeling famous and wanted to be alone. Octopuses, they are just like us!
Otto is not the only smart octopus. This species has proven time and time again that they are masters of puzzle solving and escape from captivity.
Interesting fact about octopuses
Octopuses are the smartest invertebrates, that is, animals without a backbone on the planet. Click here to learn more about octopuses.
# 7 The smartest animal on Earth: pigeons
Have you ever played a memory game? The winner picks the most tiles, best remembering where everything is on the board. Guess what? If you’ve ever played flashback with a pigeon, you probably would have lost a lot! Research has shown that pigeons can hold over 700 images in their heads at once!
Moreover, before the electronic era, when telegrams were fantastic fiction, the military used pigeons to send messages between posts. Basically, pigeons are Mother Nature’s GPS droids.
Interesting fact about pigeons
Pigeons mate for life and usually look after two chicks at the same time.
6. The smartest animal on Earth: pigs.
Pigs are very smart. They easily navigate mazes, understand emotions, learn sign languages and even have best friends with whom they prefer to spend time! Believe it or not, little dirt lovers are smarter than human babies! The fact is that piglets master self-awareness faster than babies. Plus the piglets know their names by two weeks! It takes people several months.
Interesting fact about the pig
Despite their filthy reputation, pigs are clean animals, preferring cold weather to hot ones. Click here to learn more about pigs.
# 5 The smartest animal on Earth: dolphins
In humans, the brain-to-body ratio is 1/40; dolphins have 1/50. What does it mean? Well this is di
ff
icult. But for our list of the smartest animals on Earth, that means dolphins are very smart.
Dolphins are so smart that they can imitate humans – and they can even cheat! Kelly, a dolphin researcher at the Mississippi Marine Mammal Laboratory, tricked her way into more treats during a reward-for-action exercise. During the observation period, dolphins were taught by trainers to exchange pieces of garbage in aquariums for food. Kelly figured it out pretty quickly and bypassed the system, tearing her trash into several pieces to double her culinary rewards!
Interesting fact about dolphins
Dolphins are the national animal of Greece.
# 4 Smartest Animal on Earth: Ravens
Isaac Newton of Birding World, the crows know physics! Okay, they may not understand binomial theorems, but they understand how water displacement works, which is much more than other animals can do! Ravens also build new flyovers to avoid the friendly descents of humans who hunt crows during migration season.
Interesting fact about the raven
A group of crows coming together is called “killing crows.”
# 3 The smartest animal on Earth: the elephant
Elephants are among the largest land mammals and are also some of the smartest animals on Earth! Pachyderms are known to have incredible memory. Not only can they remember the hundreds of kilometers long watering routes, but they also recognize each other after years of separation.
Take Jenny and Shirley, for example, who both ended up in an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. The moment their eyes met, the two women made the elephantine equivalent of running towards each other with their arms wide open. It turned out that 22 years ago, they briefly went to the circus together!
Interesting fact about elephants
Like humans, elephants are one of the few species on Earth that can look in the mirror and be aware that they are looking at themselves. Click here to learn more about elephants.
# 2 The smartest animal on Earth: chimpanzee
Chimpanzees are very similar to humans. They learn verbal languages, mourn the death of loved ones, and make tools. Just like in humans, their intellectual abilities are determined by both genetic factors and environmental factors. To find out more about our wonderful cousins, visit the Jane Goodall Foundation website.
Interesting fact about chimpanzees
Chimpanzee DNA shares 95 to 98 percent of human DNA. Click here to learn more about chimpanzees.
# 1 The smartest animal on Earth: humans
We don’t want to brag, but people take the smartest animal cake. We have excellent reasoning abilities and can manipulate the environment in amazing ways. However, if humans could communicate better with other animals, we might simply find that they think we are the dumbest species on Earth!
Human fun fact
A person produces enough saliva per year to fill two baths. Click here to learn more about people.
This is our list of the 10 smartest animals on Earth. Does your choice match ours? Next: 15 laziest animals on Earth.