Which is the most intelligent animal?

Question

Off the top of me 'ead, I'd say dog, monkey or dolphin. Maybe an ant too. But has this ever been proven?

Answer 1

According to Edward O. Wilson, a behavioral biologist (scientist who studies the behavior of animals), the ten most intelligent animals are the following:

1. Chimpanzee (two species)
2. Gorilla
3. Orangutan
4. Baboon (seven species, including drill and mandrill)
5. Gibbon (seven species)
6. Monkey (many species, especially the macaques, the patas, and the Celebes black ape)
7. Smaller-toothed whale (several species, especially killer whale)
8. Dolphin (many of the approximately eighty species)
9. Elephant (two species)
10. Pig

Source: Wallace, Irving. The Book of Lists #2, p. 104.

Answer 2

Humans o'course! Do you see monkeys, ants or dolphins making computors?

Of the three mentioned though, it's a dolphin.

Answer 3

Wikipedia says:
"Different animals seem to have different kinds of cognitive processes, which are better understood in terms of the ways in which they are cognitively adapted to their different ecological niches, than by positing any kind of hierarchy.

When examining intelligence separating instinct from higher thought is almost impossible to effectively quantify, though it is an important component for effective comparison between species, most importantly for comparing it to the human species as a point of reference. Thus the question inevitably arises of whether or not a given animal is reacting to certain stimuli through deliberate cognitive reasoning, or by instinctual drive.

Despite ambitious claims, evidence of unusually high human-like intelligence among cetaceans is patchy, partly because the cost and difficulty of carrying out research with marine mammals mean that experiments frequently suffer from small sample sizes and inadequate controls and replication. Octopuses have also been reported to exhibit a number of higher-level problem-solving skills, but cephalopod intelligence apparently hasn't been sufficiently researched, as the validity of most findings is still contested. Of the parrot family, the African Grey Parrot is understood to be the most intelligent."☺

Answer 4

Dolphins and Monkey's have been stated in numerous journals as having very high intelligence.

Answer 5

Certainly not homo sapiens. He is just the one with the most developed brain (as far as we can for the moment ascertain).

You should define ‘intelligence’ first!

No other animal destroys its habitat as successfully as humans do.

If we stick to ’animals’, I would also go for dolphin or monkey, not dog.

Ask about the ‘wisest animal’: it’s probably the cat!

Answer 6

My vote goes with the dolphin.

Answer 7

1. Homo sapiens sapiens (that's us)
2. Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee)

We're biased, and so instead of saying "most intelligent" the question we're really asking is, "which animal has the most human-like intelligence?"

Answer 8

None of the animals you listed have an internet upon which to pose their questions. I suggest you rethink your question along the lines of the animal at your keyboard.

Answer 9

its the dolphin they say...
proved too...but i would say even monkeys do have intelligence almost upto the humans..after all we are their descendants..according to Mr. Darwin...

Answer 10

The dog!