A donkey is stupid and a fox is smart. However? The fox isn’t in this top 7. And the donkey isn’t the dumbest either. Which animal then?
Crows can do puzzles
Crows hide their food and still find it. They even remember how long it can be stored underground. Also, most crows are very social: they work together to obtain food and seem to be able to put themselves in the perspective of others. The flip-flopped crow is a top-notch puzzle solver . The animal takes a long stick with a short stick to access some food. Or he bends a wire into a hook.
Elephant has good memory
The elephant is best known for its good memory. They manage to find a water source where the animals were years ago. They are very compassionate towards members of their own group and even other species. Elephants also mourn. When an elephant dies, the herd really says goodbye. An elephant in Blijdorp used branches as tools to obtain fresh leaves. Others use a leaf blower .
Dolphins are cunning
Dolphins are extremely smart, playful and sociable, but also very cunning at times. They can form gangs that ruthlessly harass and even torture others. They recognize themselves in the mirror and understand the pointing of an object by a person. They use characteristic sounds to call each other, which researchers liken to names. When they have to solve a puzzle together to get fish, they chatter away. Are they sometimes conferring?
Chimpanzee makes tools
This monkey is closest to humans, along with its cousin, the bonobo. Chimpanzees use tools to gather food. In fact, they sometimes make those tools themselves. They strip a branch and make a sharp point so that they can stick the stick in a termite mound. Chimpanzees can use symbols to explain things. And they do bookkeeping: if I can eat with you twice, you can come twice for a snack
Octopus communicates well
Could the dolphin be the smartest sea creature? Or the octopus? The mollusk opens a jar with its arms, escapes from nets and when bored, plays with whatever it finds in its environment. He also knows how to use his finds usefully: the octopus makes a shelter out of two half coconuts. The animals have a good short-term and long-term memory. By changing color, they communicate with each other. Because they live so deep in the ocean, octopuses can probably do a lot more than we know.
Bee can count and dance
A bee brain is as small as a sesame seed. And yet the animals are super smart. They understand that two is more than one and understand the concept of ‘zero’. Even higher mathematics master the insects. PostNL uses software to calculate the best route along all delivery addresses for parcels, bees calculate the shortest route along hundreds of flowers by heart. And by performing a bee dance for their congeners, they tell their fellow bees where to find the nectar.
Smart and social: the rat
Maybe it’s because scientists have studied it so extensively in the lab, but we know for sure that the rat is very smart. He can free himself from a mousetrap, find the way out of mazes and use his nose to detect danger. Rats are also very social. Thanks to these qualities, he has conquered all continents except Antarctica.
And the dumbest: the kakapo
Stupidity is of course difficult to compare, but one of the most stupid animals is the kakapo. This parrot is known to frequently forget how heavy it is, causing it to plop down on take-off. He can’t fly at all. He also walks unsuspectingly towards his enemies. For a long time there were no natural enemies in New Zealand, where the bird lives. Since the settlers introduced dogs, rats and stoats, the kakapo population has shrunk considerably.