Human beings are conscious of the presence, thoughts and feelings of another creature. They have the ability to learn, to reason and solve problems. They have language and use it to express complex ideas that are certainly signs of intelligence. Some other creatures from the animal kingdom are also blessed with the sense of intelligence. The list of top ten most intelligent animals in the world is given below.
10
Cats
Cats are valued by humans for companionship, and for their ability to hunt rats and other pests. Cats have flexible bodies, very quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. They can hear sounds that are too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small animals. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans. Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species, and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations. Cats are known for their cleanliness, as they spend many hours licking their coats.
9
Squirrels
Squirrels display an impressive array of tricks and strategies that help them survive. Squirrels are basically woodland animals that have adapted to living alongside humans. You may find them eating out of bird feeders, flower gardens and whatever food might be left lying around by humans. They are also able to store food for times it is not abundantly available. Squirrels can interpret the intentions of others, though it could just be a case of learned behavior. This animal’s determined persistence and impeccable memory have made it the competitor of gardeners. They may also pretend to hide food in order to confuse potential thieves, which researchers believe shows an advanced level of cunning and intellect.
8
Ants
Being the smallest members of the animal kingdom, ants do not have a larger brain. The complex society and the communication system followed by the ants are very tricky and fascinating. For every human on Earth there are 1.5 million ants in 12000 species. Ants evolved in the era when the dinosaurs were still roaming on Earth. Ants started farming 50 million years before humans. They cultivate fungus in leaves and then eat them. The trick is collectively known as fungus farming. Ants form well planned colonies that can be thousands of miles in length. Each ant colony has a unique chemical identity through which they recognize strangers. They travel by following the pheromone chemical laid by the scout ant who is in charge of finding the food. It is interesting to say that each ant will lay trails for the following ants. Ants can carry objects 50 times greater than their body because they have thick muscles in proportion to body size.
7
Crows
Crows are one of the most common bird species in the world. Being fearless of human presence and with a mysterious inborn intelligence, they are on the top of the list of smartest animals that even make trouble for humans. They use their matchless intelligence to generate tricks for finding food and building nest. Crows make closer observations on the human world to find food. They used different tools like stones and pebbles to attack predators in the world of birds.
6
Octopus
Octopuses are the most intelligent and sensitive creatures among invertebrates. They use tricks for sensing the presence of enemies. They are the only creature in invertebrates that use tools and who have the ability to change the shapes of their body in many away to avoid predators. Octopuses release a black ink type fluid at the time it discovered by others; this has the ability to dull the sense of smell.
5
Dogs
Dogs are the ever-faithful companions of human. They have an excellent sense of smell, learning ability and power to defend them. They have faster learning ability from surroundings and have a high degree of understanding. Most intelligent dogs can locate their home from distant places and their brain can identify millions of types of scents. They even have the ability to respond to commands from their owners.
4
Whales
Being very large in size it becomes a very difficult task to train whales. At the same time the social behavior, communication techniques and imitation power shown by whales make them one of the most intelligent animals. Sperm whales have larger brains than any other living things. They have intellectual abilities through the presence of spindle cells within the brain. They are extremely social: they travel and hunt in groups.
3
Elephant
Elephants have the largest brain as compared to any other land animal. They show extreme social and intelligent behaviors. Elephants are also faithful companions of humans. They can recognize hundreds of individual sounds and can mimic a wide range too. They also have the intelligence to use different tools for finding food.
2
Dolphins
Dolphins are world’s third most intelligent animal in the world. Dolphin’s brain is large relative to its body size so humans make use of intelligence of dolphins for solving many of the mysteries across the world’s waters. They can express different types of emotions and have better learning capability from the surroundings. At resting time only one side of the dolphin’s brain sleeps and the other side helps keep them aware about any potential threats. Dolphins are the only marine animals that pass the mirror test.
1
Apes (Gorillas & Chimpanzees)
Apes are the second most intelligent living organism in the world after humans. The family of apes includes chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas and bonobos. Apes follow extreme social life and express different types of emotions. They have great communication power and they have the ability to learn from their surroundings. It is observed by many scientists that the DNA of gorillas shows similarity with humans. They make homes for themselves, find food and defend enemies by using tools.