smartanimals

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Octopus

The Octopus is a highly intelligent creature, not an animal the average person would think of off the top of their head when mentioning intelligent animals. It has been proven that the octopus able to hold both short & long term memory.
Baby octopus' spend minimal time with their parent & thus learn very little behaviour from them.

Laboratory experiments have been done on baby octopus and have determined that an octopus can be trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns.

The octopus has a highly complex nervous system, with only part of it localised in their brain. Even without input from the octopus' brain, they can perform an abundance of complex movements.

Some octopus have been recorded for taking used coconut shells and manipulating them into shelters for themselves.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF AN OCTOPUS THAT CAN PICK WINNERS???

Paul the Oracle Octopus is world famous for its picking of the winners of world cup finals. Paul’s fame is due to his continued success at picking the winners from one of two boxes both placed in his tank with a flag of the competing team and a piece of food inside. To find out more about Paul, take a look at this quick video:

- Nat

Rio the Smart Sea Lion

If A equals B, and B equals C, then it follows logically that A equals C, and even that C equals A. Most humans know that, sort of. So does Rio.

Rio, a seven-year-old California sea lion living at the University of California at Santa Cruz, thinks like a human. After learning to pair the silhouette of a crab with that of a tulip, and then the tulip with a radio, Rio makes a logical leap: she matches the crab with the radio. It may seem a small thing, but it is a basic kind of logical thinking. And Rio is the first nonhuman animal that is known to display it.

Rio even managed to do backwards transitivity, that is, she was capable of associating the elements in reverse order, too. That might not sound especially hard to you, but then again you aren't a sea lion. They tested Rio with 90 different shapes (30 in each category) and tried to see if she could go back and forth between them. She aced the test.

Oh, and here's the best part. They tested her again 10 years later, just for kicks, and she still remembered everything she learned in the original experiment. I can't even remember what the previous entry on this blog was about.

No other animal has yet matched Rio’s performance, according to Schusterman (Rio’s trainer, animal behaviorist Ronald Schusterman of UCSC and California State University at Hayward). But that doesn’t mean sea lions are smarter than dolphins or chimpanzees. I’m convinced that many animals have this ability, says Schusterman. They just haven’t been tested along these lines.

Apart from their intelligence, they exhibit habits and behaviours just like dogs or cats, have a look at the clips below and be astounded by how tame, friendly and intelligent they are

- Michael

Professor Rat

Who would have thought that the animal we squeal when spotted would be smart and intelligent? Rats are one of the most studied and experimented animals on the planet. They have been research and test subjects for numerous famous and influential physiological studies. The reason for this is that a rat’s psychology is similar to humans and they are great for comparison.

All rats learn new behaviors and tricks very easily. Studies have found that rats possess metacognition, which has previously only been documented in humans and some primates. Metacognition refers to "higher order thinking that involves active control over the thinking processes involved in learning" (Wikipedia). For examples, activities such as planning how to approach a given learning task and evaluating progress towards the completion of a task are of a metacognitive nature.


Rats have an amazing sense of smell and hearing. They have been trained to detect land mines and bombs. Recent research and technology has suggested that rats can even smell and identify human sputum samples infected with tuberculosis. These animals are incredible at solving mazes. Rats are social creatures and display signs of remorse, excitement, loss, and stress. They also dream in a very similar way as humans.


Next time you call again for pest control, rethink about what animal you are actually dealing with because they may not be pests after all.


- Carolina

Intelligent Crows

Crows may not only be the smartest birds, but possibly more intelligent than even chimpanzees.

Certain species of crows have shown remarkable intelligence not seen elsewhere in birds. New Caledonian crows are known for their tool making. In one test a crow was observed bending a piece of straight wire into a hook to lift a bucket of food from a vertical pipe; it had never been exposed to wire before.

These crows also make tools out of grass and sticks to probe for insects in trees, and have even been seen dropping nuts on to busy streets so the heavy cars would crack them. Even more amazing, the crows would then fly down to intersections and only cross into the street with pedestrians to retrieve the nuts safely.

Crows also exhibit complex social behaviours, particularly seen in the common raven. Young ravens tend to make a large fuss when feeding on a carcass in order to attract other juveniles so they can feed in the safety of a group. Adults on the other hand stay whisper quiet when feeding so as not to attract uninvited guests.

Like parrots, ravens are capable of mimicking almost any sound they hear, including human speech. They use this ability both to mock and confuse other animals, even mimicking the call of a coyote or wolf to attract them to a carcass that is too thick for the raven to open itself. 

- Ammar

Devious and Cunning Squirrels

Most squirrels display an impressive array of tricks and strategies that help them survive. For starters, these clever creatures are essentially woodland animals that have adapted to living alongside humans, eating out of bird-feeders, flower gardens and whatever food might be lying around. They are also able to store and cache food for leaner times, and then find their hidden morsels many months later. They may also pretend to hide food in order to confuse potential thieves, which researchers believe shows an advanced level of cunning and intellect.

"Now it turns out that grey squirrels are even more devious than anyone realised.

To protect their winter food stocks from potential thieves, they put on an elaborate show of burying non-existent nuts and seeds, a study has shown.

Scientists say the fake burials are designed to confuse any rival squirrels, birds or humans who might be watching.

The level of deception has astonished animal experts who say it shows a rare form of animal cunning and intelligence.

The original UK article may be found at

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-508696/Cunning-squirrels-make-bogus-burials-nuts-seeds-fool-onlookers.html#ixzz25J5Pn5gD

I laughed out loud when I read this article, it even goes on to talk about an experiment in which people raided these fake burials, the response from the squirrels was astounding - they buried more fake food stocks, this time at an increased amount as there are more people raiding,suggesting that the creatures were becoming even more deceptive as a reaction to the raids!

 Grey squirrel watching. New research shows how squirrels can quickly learn from watching their peers, particularly if it relates to stealing food.

               Evidence shows that squirrels are most devious and cunning when they are out to get food, have a look at the video below

 On a side note.....:Islamic Republic's intelligence agents allege rodents were carrying advanced Western spy gear http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3425130,00.htmlComments after reading this " HAHAHAHAHA"  - Michael

Chimps Outperform Humans at Memory

Young chimps can beat adult humans in a task involving remembering numbers. It is the first time chimps - and young ones, have outperformed humans at a cognitive task.

Three adult female chimps, their three 5-year-old offspring, and university student volunteers were tested on their ability to memorise the numbers 1 to 9 appearing at random locations on a touch screen monitor.

The chimps had previously been taught the ascending order of the numbers. Using ability akin to photographic memory, the young chimps were able to memorise the location of the numerals with better accuracy than humans performing the same task.

During the test, the numerals appeared on the screen for 650, 430 or 210 milliseconds, and were then replaced by blank white squares.

While the adult chimps were able to remember the location of the numbers in the correct order with the same or worse ability as the humans, the three adolescent chimps outperformed the humans. 

The youngsters easily remembered the locations, even at the shortest duration, which does not leave enough time for the eye to move and scan the screen. This suggests that they use a kind of eidetic or photographic memory.

- Ammar

Elephant Intelligence

Elephant intelligence is a concept humans have been studying closely especially with the rise of elephant attacks. This blog is not about the elephant at the circus that can throw a ball or balance on their front legs.

This blog is about all elephants and how they may be as smart and emotional as humans.

Here are some interesting reasons on why elephants may be as smart as we are:

1. Elephants use tools such as rocks and sticks found in their natural environment and not just for playing. For example, they use sticks to scratch themselves, shoo away flies and as a weapon to confront enemies. Elephants have used large rocks to short circuit electric fences.

2. When an elephant loses a loved one, they mourn. Elephants mourn by touching the body, watching over the body and making mournful-sounding noises for days. Elephants remember the spot a loved one died and when revisited they pause and exhibit signs of mourning. Similar to how humans mourn at a cemetery.

3. Elephants are self aware and recognize themselves when placed in front of a mirror. Most animals don't recognize themselves in mirror and either seem uninterested or fear it is another animal in front of them. An elephant with a smudge on its face will try to rub it off when it sees the smudge in the reflection.

The above points are no different to what we do as human so maybe elephants are as smart as humans and that the rise of elephant attacks in nothing more than post traumatic disorder and depression.Emotions we as humans would experience if we were hunted or our habitat taken away from us.

- Carolina

The Genius Parrot

When a parrot says something like "hi", "I love you" or "f@#% off", you obviously assume that it doesn't really know what it's saying - they're just mimicking human words in the same way that they'd copy the sound of a barking dog, or even (as some parrot owners know) a cell phone ringing.

Alex the Parrot was different, though: he could correctly identify 50 different shapes, recognize numbers up to six, distinguish seven colors, and understand qualities such as bigger, smaller, same, and different. By the end of his life, he was getting closer to grasping the concept of nothingness.

Alex didn’t just associate a word with a specific object but he could generalize which is usually something only humans can only do. For example, when shown various keys, he could recognize that they were thing and even point out differences in size and colour.

That bird behaves more like a human than half the people we saw on the subway this morning. One day, as Dr. Irene was closing up the lab, Alex said goodbye by telling her to "be good." Irene replied by saying "I love you," to which Alex answered, "I love you too." He then asked: "You'll be in tomorrow?" Irene assured him that, yes, he'd see her tomorrow.

The next morning, Alex was dead.

- Ammar

Intelligent Pigs

Pigs are a lot more intelligent than you think, their intelligence is rated as being higher than that of dogs and of a three year old child. They have a cognitive ability is quite sophisticated with a fabulous ability to understand how mirrors work, and can use this to distinguish where food is. Pigs are also brilliant at remembering where their foods stores are kept. Learning a new routine is a relatively easy task for pigs, thus circus tricks such as jumping hoops, to bow, make sounds on command are tricks pigs can pick up on in a relatively short period of time –faster than dogs can. The dexterity of a pig’s snout is phenomenal, as it enables the pig to scout around for difficult sources of food.

Whoever thought that pigs could play video games, but it’s true they can! Within 2-3 weeks of age a pig can learn their name respond when called. Grunting sounds made by pigs are their way of communicating with one another. Pigs generally from a few hours old have an instinct to keep their toileting area far away from their living or eating area.

 - Natalie

 

Dolphin Intelligence

Dolphins are one of the most intelligent animals, so how smart are they? Here are a few facts, have a read and judge for yourself

1. The dolphin Moko in New Zealand has been observed guiding a female Pygmy Sperm Whale together with her calf out of shallow water where they had stranded several times.

Moko Saves Pygmy Whales

2. They have also been seen protecting swimmers from sharks by swimming circles around the swimmers or charging the sharks to make them go away.

3. Dolphins also display culture, something long believed to be unique to humans (and possibly other primate species).

4. In May 2005, a discovery in Australia found Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) teaching their young to use tools. They cover their snouts with sponges to protect them while foraging.

5.Bottlenose dolphins use a superior hunter technique "mud-ring feeding"

Mud Ring Feeding

6. Dolphins are social, living in pods of up to a dozen individuals. In places with a high abundance of food, pods can merge temporarily, forming a superpod, such groupings may exceed 1,000 dolphins. Individuals communicate using a variety of clicks, whistle-like sounds and other vocalizations

It is similarities of humans to dolphins are uncanny, resembalances such as having a sense of culture, passing useful skills on to their young, having a language to communicate with (scientists also theorise that if dolphins did have vocal cords like humans they would be able to learn the human language relatively easily) and a super hunting techique, does all of this not sound similar to the human civilization when we were still young?

- Michael

Tillman the Skateboarding Bulldog

When I try skateboarding, instead of riding smoothly with my feet on the board, I end up flat on my face on the ground; due to my lack of balance and skill.

There are many professional skateboarders in this world including Tillman - the skateboarding dog from the USA. Yes, you read right -- Tillman the skateboarding dog. He is an extremely talented bulldog that has broken world record for the Fastest Skateboarding Dog at 100 meters in 19.678 seconds.

It's not just a dog balancing on a skateboard it is much more than that. Tillman can push himself, take turns using his body and even does tricks. Tillman's owners, Ron Davis, doesn't even need to carry the skateboard around for him; Tillman carries it in his mouth everywhere he goes!

What else do we know about this smart bulldog? Well, Tillman's favourite toy is obviously his skateboard, and he loves to eat apples. Tillman also enjoys snowboarding and surfing! 

All professional sports people have a way to prepare for a competition, including Tillman! His owner Ron Davis states that "Tillman's ritual before he skates is to chew on each wheel. I think it's a way of lubing them up and checking the tire pressure". What an effort Tillman makes, considering that he has no proper hands to help him.

Enjoy the video below

- Carolina