14 Animals That Have Astonishing Levels of Intelligence

Animals never cease to amaze us. Just when we believe we know everything about them, we discover amazing new facets of their personality and intelligence. Each species has a different form of intellect, which helps it survive in the wild or acts as a bridge to interact with humans and other animals. For example, it used to be believed that sheep are not very bright. But it turned out that they have an excellent memory for remembering faces. The giant octopus, pigs, certain species of fish, among others, have capabilities that can leave us with our mouths open in astonishment.

At the awesome.club, we are fascinated by animals. So we are always on the lookout for new news about them. That’s why today we want to share with you new interesting facts about some of the most curious species that exist.

Close relatives of us humans, monkeys are very smart. From childhood, they learn to use nature’s tools to get food or to protect themselves from the rain. When in captivity, they develop human-like abilities. And among apes, bonobos are among the most prominent. Kanzi, a 39-year-old bonobo, is known worldwide for having the ability to communicate with his caregivers using hundreds of symbols that represent words. He learned them in the same way as children, having contact with language.

In general, pigs are very sociable animals. Some breeds are even chosen as pets. Vietnamese pigs have proven to have an extra skill: they hide food in secret places and, over time, remember exactly where they are. In addition, they use simulation to prevent other animals from finding their treasures and eating them. And, if necessary, they use “tools” to dig the ground and recover what they have hidden.

Some species of this family live in Lake Tanganyika, located in Africa. It turned out that they can tell familiar fish from unfamiliar ones by recognizing facial patterns. In fact, they spend more time tracking invaders than they do with conspecifics.

This bird, native to western North America, has an extraordinary memory. It is able to remember where it left the food, memorizing up to 200 different places and which food it hid in each place.

It is known that dogs are very intelligent. Particularly, the border collie breed has great memory skills. An example is Chase, a dog considered “the smartest in the world” because he could remember 1,020 nouns, the most extensive vocabulary that has been tested so far on dogs. Sadly, Chase died in July of this year.

They are one of the largest land mammals in existence. Their brain capacity is impressive and helps them remember where to find water, locate their own relatives and even people who rescued them. It has also been discovered that they can mimic human speech and use tools. In a zoo in Korea lives a specimen capable of understanding “hello”, “sit down”, “good” and “good” — of course, when these words are pronounced in Korean.

Titis monkeys are found in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest. In their environment, they are very cooperative, so much so that they share food and call each other to know where they are.

In the bird kingdom, crows are among the most intelligent animals, especially those from New Caledonia. They are skilled tool makers. For example, they might dig using a stick that they’ve made a hook at the end of. They can also prepare for future events by storing long-used “tools”.

Scientists say they are the most human-like primates. Among their many skills, orangutans learn different skills within their group, such as protecting themselves from the rain using a natural umbrella made from branches and leaves. Such knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation. Research has found that they are also able to “talk” with their relatives about the past.

When you think of intelligent animals, the dolphin is the first that usually comes to mind. But bottlenose dolphins go further. Babies acquire knowledge through play, just like children. Thanks to this, they learn, for example, to hunt. Another skill they incorporate is recognizing themselves in a mirror, which shows they are aware of themselves.

Sulfur crested cockatoos are beautiful and playful. They dance to the beat of the music, synchronizing their steps with the different musical notes of a song.

We may not consider octopuses to be an intelligent species, as we have no contact with them in their natural state. However, they are. Experts show that they can learn to open jars, figure out how to get out of a maze or imitate the behavior of animals in their environment. Octopuses have been seen using coconut shells as armor; as they do not have a hard shell that protects them from predators, they imitate some crustaceans and oysters.

These birds (as well as Brazilian parrots) are capable of imitating the human voice. Recent research has shown that gray parrots are also capable of reasoning to find food, as a three-year-old would.

One study found that sheep are able to recognize each other and remember the faces of others they’ve lived with, even if they don’t see each other for a long time. They can even detect the subtlest changes in bird flocks, which alert them to potential danger.

What animal do you consider the most intelligent? Which of the aforementioned capabilities surprised you the most? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section!