Angina

Animal skills and intelligence. Animal and human intelligence

This eight-armed creature lies motionless, as if petrified, in a stone nest of the seabed. Only occasionally one of the hands, wriggling as if in impatience, seems to feel the space above the octopus’s shelter. Suddenly his body quickly, throwing up sand and small stones, takes off from its place. Several tentacles tightly captured the victim. But what the octopus holds in its arms is not something that can be eaten with appetite - not crab or fish. He took possession of a white plastic ball.

The octopus learned to grab this object only by observing the actions of its fellow tribesmen sitting in neighboring nests, and they were trained by biologists to grab the ball. And our hero began to exactly copy their behavior. If it were in the ocean, the octopus would not pay any attention to the inedible plastic. Dr. G. Fiorito, the head of the group at the Zoological Station of Naples, where the experiment was carried out, was extremely surprised by the ability of his subject to “know science.”

In animals with developed intelligence, the ability to visually learn has been noticed for a long time. Pigeons of one of the species (Ringeltauben) in their youth only begin to feed on acorns if they see how the older ones do it, swallowing large oak fruits. A group of young Japanese tailless macaques closely watches an old female as she washes sweet potato tubers from the soil in a stream. And then they will do the same. There are other examples of this kind.

However, previously scientists believed that those animals that spend their lives in families and communities benefit from learning from their elders. In others, the ability to visually learn has been lost during evolution. They thought the same about octopuses, who do not know their parents and spend their lives alone. And recent experiences in Naples have overturned these ideas.

Study in in this case means for an animal to try something new and then repeat the situation. Some researchers evaluate this ability as an indication of the intelligence inherent in animals. But what is intelligence? Scientists begin to argue as soon as it comes to human intelligence, but assessing this concept in relation to animals complicates the matter even more. Dr. L. von Fersen from Nuremberg offers the following formulation: “Intelligence is the result of higher than usual processing of information and the construction of a number of phenomena.” In addition to visual learning, the assessment of intelligence also includes the ability to use tools and express oneself.

Not only people far from science, but also specialists were amazed to learn that a chimpanzee named Kanzi, a pupil of S. Savage-Rumbaug, who devoted herself to the study of primates, mastered the language of symbols without the help of people. There is a manifestation of intelligence! But when the gyrfalcon takes a stone in its beak to throw it high altitude into an ostrich's nest and break the eggs lying there, none of the animal behavior experts talk about the bird's intelligence, although it practiced many times before it learned to hit a nest with a stone from a height.

Meanwhile, in order to appreciate much of what “our smaller brothers” can do, it would often be necessary to use such terms that apply only to people as “thinking” or “draw a conclusion.” However, the fear of receiving ironic views in response prevents scientists from saying these words out loud.

Here is an example that speaks volumes about the legitimacy of such terms. In the fenced space of a large corral, the leader mare of the horse herd taught her charges to resist the enemy, although she had no prior experience in fighting a predator. She was just naturally smart - after all, she became the leader of the herd. Scientists from the Berlin Institute of Zoology kept a herd of Przewalski's horses, the only wild horse species in the world, in the vicinity of Brandenburg. The purpose of the experiments is to find out how, after a hundred years of stay in the zoological garden, these horses will behave in the wild.

The idea was for a large dog, given the appearance of a wolf, to attack the horses in the enclosure. As soon as the collie dog, disguised as a steppe predator, was released inside the enclosure, towards the herd, the horses, sensing danger, became agitated, and when the “wolf” approached about ten meters, the herd scattered. "The horses became frightened and behaved accordingly - chaotic and uncoordinated," says Dr. K. Scheibe, leader of the experiment.

The experiments were repeated, and the researchers saw that the leader of the herd began to gather animals and, in full view of the “wolf,” prepare them for defense. And now, as soon as the “wolf” was launched into the corral, the horses gathered into a herd and stood in a defensive position: they formed a ring, with their heads inward, and their powerful hind legs outward, so that a fatal blow awaited the approaching enemy. The leader awakened in the herd an instinct that had fallen asleep in captivity. This is what horses usually do when there are foals in the herd - they are hidden inside the ring. When there are only adult animals in the herd, they, rallying in twos or threes, go on the offensive against the predator. This time, scientists had to rescue the “predator” from a dangerous situation.

Learning and heredity are two components underlying human development. But the same can be said about learning in the animal world. “Individual learning and genetic inclinations act together and cannot be separated,” is the conclusion of ethologists. Scientists take advantage of animals' desire to learn in their experiments. In the corresponding experiments, they feel for the mysterious presence of intelligence in “our smaller brothers.” Acting under the slogan: “First teach the animal, then it will show what it can do,” they are trying to find the mechanism of perception and memory.

Tommy the sea lion from the dolphinarium in Münster (Germany), for example, learns under the guidance of Dr. K. Denhard to distinguish drawn figures from the same ones, but shown in a mirror image. The figures resemble the letters T and the Latin L, with rectangles attached to them. For the experiment, at the edge of the pool there are shields with these signs and three monitors with buttons that Tommy can press with his nose. At the beginning of the experiment, scientists show Tommy a figure in a direct image on the central monitor - for five seconds. Then both side monitors turn on. On one, a mirror image of the same figure appears, on the other, the first figure appears, but slightly rotated. If Tommy correctly points to the rotated image, he gets a fish as a reward.

The sea lion coped with this task brilliantly. He proved that primate animals are capable of recognizing not only abstract signs in an inverted position, but also their mirror image.

The time required for a sea lion to remember the first, original, drawing increases depending on the angle at which this drawing is shown to it. Exactly the same slowdown occurs in humans. Dr. K. Denhard concluded that sea lions can recall images of what they see from memory. Until now, only humans were endowed with this ability. Moreover, pigeons can recognize a person they know in a photograph, even if his facial features are altered by cosmetics.

Most scientists studying the mental abilities of animals today agree that humans and animals can be compared if we have strictly defined intellectual abilities in mind. These biologists reject attempts to rank everyone according to "general intelligence" - with humans first. Just recently this would have been unthinkable. Previous generations of naturalists placed animals in stages based solely on the history of the development of the genus, and only looked for parallels with humans. “The biggest mistake of past researchers was the universal fixation of species on this “ladder” of intelligence. There was not even an attempt to abstract from comparisons with humans and look for a general definition of intelligence,” says Professor O. Breidbach from Jena.

The concept of evolution previously prompted scientists to believe in this purposeful process, supposedly capable of transforming low-organized animals with simple brains into other animals with more developed brains. It turned out that at the lowest level in the hierarchy of life there are fools, at the top levels there are smart people. Since a person considers himself the pinnacle of creation, he involuntarily compares the behavior of other individuals with his ideas and his capabilities. “To this day, anthropocentric thinking dominates in people’s minds,” states Professor I. Huston from Dusseldorf. “But this is easily refuted.”

Evolution did not develop in a straight line, as previously thought. She followed many paths, and each such path meant a combination of various combinations of environmental conditions with the interests of one type or another. It doesn’t matter who it is - an ant, a hyena or a cod, each animal meets the conditions that its living space provides it. And not only in the physical sense, but also in the intellectual sense, they must optimally meet the needs of the survival of the species in a given ecological niche.

A few months ago, supporters of the existence of so-called superbrains in some highly developed mammals received a severe blow. Professor O. Gurturkun from the University of Bochum, examining the brain of a dolphin - this recognized intellectual, discovered: its brain contains less nerve cells(in relation to its size) than the brain of an ordinary rat. This discovery may be the basis for understanding the results of another study, which found that it took several months of training for a dolphin to learn the difference between simple graphic symbols - an ellipse, a triangle and a square. These animals are masters in acrobatics, geniuses in identifying the sources of sounds. But in the field of geometric orientation - and until now it has served as a criterion of high intelligence for animals - dolphins can be considered underdeveloped.

On the other hand, even very primitive creatures with brains the size of a pinhead are capable of amazing actions. By the way, the brain of insects is easier to study because it is not as complex as the brain of mammals. Therefore, it is easier to discover the methods that insects use to process information.

As researchers Dr. L. Chittka from the University of Würzburg and Dr. K. Gaigor from the Free University of Berlin have established, bees can count. In the first experiment, biologists placed four objects in front of the bees at equal distances from each other, and placed a feeder between the third and fourth. After flying, the bees learned that after the third object a sweet syrup awaited them. Then the scientists changed the experiment: sometimes they moved some objects away from each other, sometimes they placed them between them additional items. But instead of flying chaotically in disorientation, the bees regularly began looking for a feeder behind the third object. That is, they counted three objects to get the long-awaited syrup. “The behavior of bees indicates a certain intelligence,” the researchers concluded.

One of the important mysteries of nature is the different rates of variation of species during the process of evolution. For example, rats, bees, fruit flies and bumblebees can acquire new properties in just a few generations that respond to changing environmental conditions. A classic example is the so-called Hong Kong flu virus. Every year it spreads almost throughout the globe, and every year in a modified form. These examples undeniably indicate that during the change, not all genetic possibilities available to a given species are completely exhausted.

In the evolutionary process, therefore, it is unprofitable to be too smart, that is, to exhaust the entire stock of genetic inclinations without leaving any reserve, Dr. Chittka comes to this opinion. “But we want to know why this is so,” the scientist concludes. To answer the question, he plans to breed subspecies of “super-stupid” and “super-smart” bumblebees and develop a special test for them to determine intelligence. The test should show what shortcomings will be revealed in “super-intelligent” bumblebees, which process a lot of information.

So, attempts to find out the meaning of intelligence in animals have so far brought not much. However, the details of these attempts were surprising. Perhaps one fine day researchers will come to the conclusion that man, as the crown of creation, according to some parameters, should receive retirement.

G. Alexandrovsky
“Science and Life” No. 6, 1999

There are two main ways to assess animal intelligence. One is to measure behavior and the other is to study the brain. In the past, both of these approaches were based on the idea that there is a linear progression in development from lower, non-intelligent animals, characterized by relatively simple brains, to higher, intelligent animals, whose brains are complex. Surveying the entire animal kingdom as a whole, we would seem to find confirmation of this impression (see Chapter 11), but when we become more closely acquainted with certain special cases, we discover many obvious deviations here. And these are not exceptions to the general rule, but a consequence of the fact that evolution did not proceed linearly, but gave many branches, at each of which adaptation to its own complex occurs external conditions. Thus, animals can be quite complex in some respects and quite simple in others. However, animals of different species can achieve the same degree of complexity, being on different branches of the evolutionary tree.

When comparing the brains of animals of different species, one can expect that there is a certain relationship between the relative size of any particular structure and the degree of complexity of behavior that is governed by that structure. The more an animal uses a certain feature of its behavior in the process of adaptation to the environment, the greater will be the number of neurons and their interconnections in the corresponding areas of the brain. This is easy to see when comparing specialized brain structures, such as those associated with various sensory processes. It is much more difficult to understand the case when we have to consider areas of the brain more generally functional purpose, since they can be increased due to the fact that different species of animals were exposed to different pressures selection (Jerison, 1973).

Many traditional ideas regarding the evolution of the vertebrate brain have been challenged. For example, contrary to popular beliefs, it turned out that in the evolutionary series fish-reptiles-birds-mammals there is no progressive increase in relative brain sizes, and in the sequence lampreys-sharks-bony fish-amphibians-reptiles-birds-mammals there is no increase in relative sizes forebrain(Jerison, 1973). Indeed, the relative size of the forebrain is almost identical in some sharks and mammals (Northcutt, 1981). It has long been believed that the telencephalon of sharks and teleosts is primarily associated with the sense of smell, but it is now believed that the olfactory representation in this brain region is no greater in non-mammalian animals than in mammals (Hodos, 1982). The idea that lower vertebrates have an undifferentiated forebrain has also been questioned (Hodos, 1982).

Trying to understand our understanding of animal intelligence in the light of modern neuroanatomy, Hodos (1982) comes to the following conclusion:

“If we come across signs of intelligence in representatives of the animal world and correlate them with the degree of development nerve structures, we must abandon the linear, hierarchically organized models that dominate both types of research. We should adopt a more general definition of intelligence than one that is "tied" to a person's needs and values. We must accept the fact that the history of evolution is characterized by divergence and non-linearity, and we cannot expect smooth transitions from one large taxon to another. Finally, we cannot afford to let our knowledge of the central nervous system mammals created any biases in our search for neural correlates of intelligence in other classes of vertebrates. Unless we change our thinking in this way, we seem to have little hope of moving any further in

our attempts to understand the relationships between the human psyche and the animal psyche and their corresponding neural substrates.”

Now let's return to the question of how one can assess the intelligence of an animal by its behavior. Since Binet developed tests to determine intellectual level humans, significant progress has been made in their improvement and improvement. This progress was due primarily to the fact that it became possible to evaluate various tests by comparing the results of these tests with the subsequent successes of the subjects in the learning process. Modern intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are much more accurately able to predict how far someone will advance. this person in the field of intellectual achievements. However, many difficulties remain, especially when trying to compare general intelligence people who have different levels culture. Assessing the intelligence of animals is much more difficult because there is no way to test the validity of a test and because animals of different species vary greatly in their ability to perform a given activity.

Until recently, the assessment of animal intelligence was mainly based on the study of those abilities that are usually considered an indicator of human intelligence. A modern IQ test includes various sections designed to assess a person's memory, arithmetic and logical abilities, language abilities and concept formation. As we have already seen, pigeons seem to have an amazing ability to form concepts such as water, tree and man. Should we consider this a sign of great intelligence? In discussing the linguistic abilities of animals, we have come to the conclusion that man's abilities in this respect are far superior to those of any animal, even a well-trained one.

But what does this mean? Significant superiority of human intelligence or its high specialization in terms of language use?

To compare the intellectual abilities of animals belonging to various types, it is difficult to come up with a test that is not biased in one way or another. Many of the previous tests for determining an animal's problem-solving ability were unreliable (Warren, 1973). Sometimes the same test, carried out on animals of the same species, gave completely different results, depending on the type of equipment used.

Many attempts have been made to find out whether animals can cope with tasks that require learning some general decision rule. Animals can be taught to choose from a group of offered objects the one that matches the model. Primates quickly learn to solve this kind of problem, but pigeons need much more attempts to do this. Harry Harlow (1949) developed a test to measure an animal's ability to follow rules and make correct judgments. Instead of testing monkeys on a single task of simple visual discrimination (Fig. 27.1, A), Harlow presented them with a series of tests in which they had to follow the same rule to solve the problem. For example, an animal can be presented with a series of discrimination tasks of this type, as shown in Fig. 27.1, B. Although different objects were used in each task, the decision rule was the same: the food reward in each case (within a given task) was always under the same object, regardless of its position. If, as a sequence of such similar problems is presented, the animal solves them better and better, then in this case they say that it has formed learning installation(learning set).

As can be seen from Fig. 27.1, when studying the ability of animals to learn

Rice. 27.1. A series of discrimination tasks that have been used to investigate set learning. A. Simple discrimination (the arrow shows the correct choice: the object under which there is food). B. Inverse problem (the animal's solution must be the opposite of what was correct in the previous problem). IN. Conditional task (you need to choose one object if both objects are gray, and another if both objects are white). G. Matching task (the animal must choose an object that matches the sample located on the left side of the tray). D. Dissimilarity task (you need to choose the object that is different from the other two). (After Passingham, 1981.)

the fact that the general solution rule is the same for a whole set of problems and that in order to obtain the correct solution one must be guided by a single principle, one can use various types tasks. Critics of this technique have noted that the ability of animals of various species to develop learning attitudes depends greatly on the way the tests are administered (Hodos, 1970). However, even with these critics in mind, it seems to be true that animals of different species do differ in their ability to form learning attitudes (Passingham, 1981). When different species of animals were ranked according to the rate at which their responses improved when presented with similar tasks in succession, their rank could be guessed based on an index of brain development

(Ridell, 1979; Passingham, 1982). Using this index, the number of nerve cells in the brain that are redundant in relation to those necessary for the regulation of somatic functions is assessed (Jerison, 1973). So, it appears that tests similar to those for human intelligence can be developed to assess the intelligence of animals, and these tests can distinguish between the mental abilities of animals of different species.

Rice. 27.2. Formation of the visual discrimination learning set in mammals. The percentage of correct answers in the second trial when solving each problem as a function of the number of proposed problems. (After Passingham, 1981.)

unlike cats, they improve their performance much more quickly when solving a series of object discrimination problems if they have had prior experience in solving reversible tasks, that is, tasks in which the reinforced choice of item was periodically changed (Warren, 1974). These two types of problems are solved based on general principles, which macaques and chimpanzees are able to use, while cats lack this ability. Similar differences between cats and monkeys can be noted in the case of experiments with solving problems on dissimilarity, in which the animal must choose an unpaired one from a group of objects (Warren, 1965). Critics of these experiments argue that they are inevitably conducted in such a way that it is easy for animals of one species to perform them, but difficult for animals of another species (Macphail, 1982). But even if the differences described are taken seriously, they reflect only one aspect of intellectual performance, and it is not surprising that macaques and great apes perform well on tests designed to determine human IQ, since they are all primates.

There are two main ways to assess animal intelligence. One is to measure behavior and the other is to study the brain. In the past, both of these approaches were based on the idea that there is a linear progression in development from lower, non-intelligent animals, characterized by relatively simple brains, to higher, intelligent animals, whose brains are complex. Surveying the entire animal kingdom as a whole, we seem to find confirmation of this impression (see Chapter 11), but when we become more closely acquainted with certain special cases, we discover many obvious deviations here. And these are not exceptions to the general rule, but a consequence of the fact that evolution did not proceed linearly, but gave many branches, at each of which adaptation to its own set of external conditions occurs. Thus, animals can be quite complex in some respects and quite simple in others. However, animals of different species can achieve the same degree of complexity, being on different branches of the evolutionary tree.

When comparing the brains of animals of different species, one can expect that there is a certain relationship between the relative size of any particular structure and the degree of complexity of behavior that is governed by that structure. The more an animal uses a certain feature of its behavior in the process of adaptation to the environment, the greater will be the number of neurons and their interconnections in the corresponding areas of the brain. This is easy to see when comparing specialized brain structures, such as structures associated with various sensory processes. It is much more difficult to understand the case when one has to consider brain regions of more general functional purpose, since they may be increased due to the fact that different animal species have been subjected to different selection pressures (Jerison, 1973).

Many traditional ideas regarding the evolution of the vertebrate brain have been challenged. For example, contrary to popular beliefs, it turned out that in the evolutionary series fish-reptiles-birds-mammals there is no progressive increase in relative brain sizes, and in the sequence lampreys-sharks-bony fish-amphibians-reptiles-birds-mammals there is no increase in relative sizes forebrain (Jerison, 1973). Indeed, the relative size of the forebrain is almost identical in some sharks and mammals (Northcutt, 1981). It has long been believed that the telencephalon of sharks and teleosts is primarily associated with the sense of smell, but it is now believed that the olfactory representation in this brain region is no greater in non-mammalian animals than in mammals (Hodos, 1982). The idea that lower vertebrates have an undifferentiated forebrain has also been questioned (Hodos, 1982).

Trying to comprehend our understanding of animal intelligence in the light of modern data from neuroanatomy, Hodos (1982) comes to the following conclusion: “If we encounter signs of intelligence in representatives of the animal world and correlate them with the degree of development of neural structures, we must abandon linear, hierarchically organized models that dominate both types of research. We should adopt a more general definition of intelligence than one that is "tied" to a person's needs and values. We must accept the fact that evolutionary history is characterized by divergence and nonlinearity, and we cannot expect smooth transitions from one large taxon to another. Finally, we cannot allow our knowledge of the mammalian central nervous system to bias us in our search for neural correlates of intelligence in other classes of vertebrates. Unless we change our thinking in this way, we seem to have little hope of making any further progress in our attempts to understand the relationships between the human psyche and the animal psyche and their corresponding neural substrates.”

Now let's return to the question of how one can assess the intelligence of an animal by its behavior. Since Binet developed tests to determine a person's intellectual level in 1905, significant progress has been made in improving and improving them. This progress was due primarily to the fact that it became possible to evaluate various tests by comparing the results of these tests with the subsequent successes of the subjects in the learning process. Modern intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are much more accurately able to predict how far a given person will advance in the field of intellectual achievement. However, many difficulties remain, especially when trying to compare the general intelligence of people with different levels of culture. Assessing the intelligence of animals is much more difficult because there is no way to test the validity of a test and because animals of different species vary greatly in their ability to perform a given activity.

But what does this mean? Significant superiority of human intelligence or its high specialization in terms of language use?

To compare the intellectual abilities of animals belonging to different species, it is difficult to come up with a test that would not be biased in one sense or another. Many of the previous tests for determining an animal's problem-solving ability were unreliable (Warren, 1973). Sometimes the same test, carried out on animals of the same species, gave completely different results, depending on the type of equipment used.

Many attempts have been made to find out whether animals can cope with tasks that require learning some general decision rule. Animals can be taught to choose from a group of offered objects the one that matches the model. Primates quickly learn to solve this kind of problem, but pigeons need much more attempts to do this. Harry Harlow (1949) developed a test to measure an animal's ability to follow rules and make correct judgments. Instead of testing the monkeys on a single task of simple visual discrimination (Fig. 27.1, 4), Harlow gave them a series of tests in which they had to follow the same rule to solve the problem. For example, an animal can be presented with a series of discrimination tasks of this type, as shown in Fig. 27 L,B. Although different objects were used in each task, the decision rule was the same: the food reward in each case (within a given task) was always under the same object, regardless of its position. If, as a sequence of such similar problems is presented, the animal solves them better and better, then in this case they say that it has formed learning installation(learning set).

As can be seen from Fig. 27.1, in studying the ability of animals to learn that the general decision rule is the same for a whole set of problems and that a single principle must be guided to obtain the correct solution, different types of problems can be used. Critics of this technique have noted that the ability of animals of various species to develop learning attitudes depends greatly on the way the tests are administered (Hodos, 1970). However, even with these critics in mind, it seems to be true that animals of different species do differ in their ability to form learning attitudes (Passingham, 1981). When different species of animals were ranked according to the rate at which their responses improved when presented with similar tasks in succession, their rank could be guessed based on an index of brain development (Ridell, 1979; Passingham, 1982). Using this index, the number of nerve cells in the brain that are redundant in relation to those necessary for the regulation of somatic functions is assessed (Jerison, 1973). So, it appears that tests similar to those for human intelligence can be developed to assess animal intelligence, and these tests can distinguish between the mental abilities of animals of different species.

Rice. 27.1. A series of discrimination tasks that have been used to investigate set learning. A. Simple discrimination (the arrow shows the correct choice: the object under which there is food). B. Inverse problem (the animal's solution must be the opposite of what was correct in the previous problem). IN. Conditional task (you need to choose one object if both objects are gray, and another if both are white). G. Matching task (the animal must choose an object that matches the sample located on the left side of the tray). D. Dissimilarity task (you need to choose the object that is different from the other two). (After Passingham, 1981.)

The view that such tests represent a true measure of intelligence is supported by evidence that performance on these tests correlates with measures of brain size. Similar results were obtained when using tests of another type, presented in Fig. 27.1. For example, it has been shown that rhesus macaques and chimpanzees, unlike cats, improve their performance much more quickly in solving a series of object discrimination tasks if they have had prior experience in solving reversible tasks, that is, tasks in which the reinforced choice of item was periodically changed (Warren, 1974). These two types of problems are solved on the basis of general principles that macaques and chimpanzees are able to use, while cats lack this ability. Similar differences between cats and monkeys can be noted in the case of experiments with solving problems on dissimilarity, in which the animal must choose an unpaired one from a group of objects (Warren, 1965). Critics of these experiments argue that they are inevitably conducted in such a way that it is easy for animals of one species to perform them, but difficult for animals of another species (Macphail, 1982). But even if the differences described are taken seriously, they reflect only one aspect of intellectual performance, and it is not surprising that macaques and great apes perform well on tests designed to determine human IQ, since they are all primates.

Rice. 27.2. Formation of the visual discrimination learning set in mammals. The percentage of correct answers in the second trial when solving each problem as a function of the number of proposed problems. (After Passingham, 1981.)

10Animal and human intelligence

Human intelligence

Intelligence (from Latin intellectus - knowledge, understanding, reason) - the ability of thinking, rational cognition. This is the Latin translation of the ancient Greek concept nous (“mind”) and in its meaning it is identical to it.

The modern definition of intelligence is the ability to carry out the process of cognition and to effectively solve problems, in particular when mastering a new range of life tasks. Therefore, it is possible to develop the level of intelligence, as well as to increase or decrease the efficiency of human intelligence. Often this ability is characterized in relation to tasks encountered in a person’s life. For example, in relation to the task of survival: survival is the main task of a person, the rest for him are only those arising from the main one, or to tasks in any field of activity.

The essential qualities of human intelligence are inquisitiveness and depth of mind, its flexibility and mobility, logic and evidence.

Curiosity- the desire to comprehensively understand this or that phenomenon in significant respects. This quality of mind underlies active cognitive activity.

Depth of mind lies in the ability to separate the important from the secondary, the necessary from the accidental.

Flexibility and agility of mind- a person’s ability to widely use existing experience, quickly explore objects in new connections and relationships, and overcome stereotyped thinking.

Logical thinking characterized by a strict sequence of reasoning, taking into account all the essential aspects of the object under study, all its possible relationships.

Evidence thinking is characterized by the ability to use right moment such facts and patterns that convince of the correctness of judgments and conclusions.

Critical thinking presupposes the ability to strictly evaluate the results of mental activity, subject them to critical evaluation, discard a wrong decision, and abandon initiated actions if they contradict the requirements of the task.

Breadth of thinking- the ability to cover the issue as a whole, without losing sight of the initial data of the corresponding task, to see multiple options in solving the problem.

Scientists of various specializations have long been studying human intelligence and intellectual capabilities. One of the main questions facing psychology is the question of whether intelligence is innate or formed depending on the environment. This question, perhaps, concerns not only intelligence, but here it is especially relevant, because intelligence and creativity (non-standard solutions) acquire special value in our age of universal high-speed computerization.

Nowadays we especially need people who are capable of thinking outside the box and quickly, who have high intelligence, to solve the most complex scientific and technical problems, and not only to maintain super-complex machines and automatic machines, but also to create them.

IQ and creativity

Since the end of the 19th century, a variety of quantitative methods assessment of intelligence, degree of mental development - using special tests and a certain system of their statistical processing in factor analysis.

Intelligence quotient (abbreviated IQ), an indicator of mental development, the level of existing knowledge and awareness, established on the basis of various test methods. IQ is attractive because it allows you to quantify the level of intellectual development.

The idea of quantitatively determining the level of intellectual development of children using a test system was first developed by the French psychologist A. Binet in 1903, and the term was introduced by the Austrian psychologist W. Stern in 1911.

While most intelligence tests have primarily measured verbal ability and, to some extent, the ability to deal with numerical, abstract, and other symbolic relationships, it has become clear that they have limitations in measuring ability in a variety of activities.

Currently, tests for determining abilities are complex; among them, the Amthauer test of the structure of intelligence is the most famous. The benefits of the practical application of this test, or more precisely, knowledge of the degree of development of certain intellectual capabilities of a person, makes it possible to optimize the interaction between the manager and the performer in the process of work.

A high IQ (above 120 IQ) does not necessarily accompany creative thinking, which is very difficult to assess. Creative people are able to act non-standard methods, sometimes contrary to generally accepted laws, and get good results, make discoveries.

The ability to achieve such extraordinary results in unconventional ways is called creativity. Not only do creative people with creativity solve problems in non-standard ways, but they also generate them themselves, struggle with them and as a result solve them, i.e. They find the lever that can “turn the globe over.”

However, lateral thinking is not always creative, it is often just original, so it is really difficult to define creative thinking, much less quantify it.

Animal intelligence

Intelligence in animals is understood as a set of higher mental functions, which include thinking, the ability to learn and communicate. It is studied within the framework of cognitive ethology, comparative psychology and animal psychology.

History of the development of ideas about animal intelligence

The ability of animals to think has been the subject of debate since ancient times. Aristotle, back in the 5th century AD, discovered the ability to learn in animals and even assumed that animals have intelligence. The beginning of serious scientific research The intellectual abilities of animals, as well as their psyches in general, were laid down by Charles Darwin in his book “The Origin of Species and Natural Selection.” His student John Romens continued his study, which resulted in the book Animal Minds. Romens's approach is characterized by anthropomorphism and lack of attention to methodological rigor. Animal Minds is based on in some cases, which seemed worthy of attention to the author, his readers or friends, and not through systematic, targeted observation.

Proponents of this “anecdotal approach” have been severely criticized by the scientific community, mainly due to the unreliability of the method. At the beginning of the 20th century, the exact opposite approach was firmly and permanently established in the sciences of animal behavior. This was associated with the emergence of the scientific school of behaviorism. Behaviorists gave great value scientific rigor and precision of the methods used. But at the same time, they basically excluded the possibility of studying the psyche of animals. One of the founders of behaviorism is Conwy Lloyd Morgan, a British psychologist. He, in particular, owns the famous rule known as the “Canon of Morgan”.

... this or that action cannot in any case be interpreted as the result of the manifestation of any higher mental function if it can be explained on the basis of the presence in the animal of an ability occupying a lower level on the psychological scale

Intellectual abilities of animals

The intellectual abilities of animals other than humans include the ability to solve non-trivial behavioral problems (thinking). Intellectual behavior is closely related to other forms of behavioral components, such as perception, manipulation, learning and instincts. The complexity of a behavioral act is not a sufficient basis for recognizing the presence of intelligence in an animal. The complex nest-building behavior of some birds is determined by innate programs (instincts). The main difference between intellectual activity is plasticity, which can significantly increase the chances of survival in rapidly changing environmental conditions.

The development of intelligence can be evidenced by both behavior and the structure of the brain.

The key features of language as a communicative system are development in the process of socialization, the arbitrary nature of signs, the presence of grammar and openness. Animal communication systems correspond to individual features of language. An example is the well-known bee dance. The form of its elements (waggling, moving in a circle) are separated from the content (direction, distance, characteristics of the food source).

Although there is evidence that some talking birds are able to use their imitative abilities for the needs of interspecific communication, the actions of talking birds (mynas, macaws) do not meet this definition.

One approach to studying animal language is experimental teaching of an intermediary language. Similar experiments involving great apes have gained great popularity. Since, due to anatomical and physiological characteristics, monkeys are not able to reproduce the sounds of human speech, the first attempts to teach them human language failed.

Mathematical ability

According to modern ideas, the foundations of mathematical abilities in humans and animals have a common basis. Although animals are unable to operate with abstract mathematical concepts, they can confidently estimate and compare the number of different objects. Similar abilities have been noted in primates and some birds, in particular ravens. Moreover, primates are capable of performing arphimetic operations.

The validity of Morgan's canon, as well as the importance of scrupulous evaluation of methods, is well illustrated by the story of Clever Hans, a horse who demonstrated exceptional mathematical abilities. Clever Hans was able to perform mathematical calculations and tap out the answer with his hoof. For thirteen years, Hans publicly demonstrated his abilities (including in the absence of his owner, which excluded the possibility of training), until in 1904 Oskar Pfungst became mute. Oskar Pfungst did not establish that the horse responded to the examiners' subtle movements.

Portman scale

It all started with the work of Professor A. Portman from the Zoological Institute of Basel (Switzerland). Based on the latest scientific data, Portman created the so-called “mind scale,” which in turn ranked all living inhabitants of the planet in places according to their intelligence.

And this is what happened: in first place, undoubtedly, is a man (214 points), and in second place is a dolphin (195 points). The third place was unconditionally taken by the elephant (150 points), and our younger brothers- the monkeys took only fourth place, earning only 63 points. They are followed by the zebra (42 points), giraffe (38 points), fox (28 points) and so on. The hippopotamus turned out to be the least intelligent in terms of intelligence, according to the Portman scale - it scored only 18 points.

Dolphins

Many argue that dolphins are worthy of attention, and their intelligence is ahead of humans. It has been proven that dolphins have abstract thinking, identify themselves with the image in the mirror and have a well-developed and still not really studied signal system.

A dolphin named Polorus Jack "worked" for twenty-five years... as a pilot in New Zealand. He guided ships through the most dangerous straits so professionally that ship captains trusted him much more than professional human pilots.

Another celebrity is the dolphin Taffy, who first worked for a long time as a postman, guide and tool carrier in an American underwater expedition. Then the smart dolphin was hired by rocket scientists. He successfully completed tasks related to searching in the ocean and delivering spent rocket stages to the shore.

A couple of years ago, scientists brought several dolphins that had just been caught in the ocean to a marine aquarium near Miami and placed them with already domesticated individuals, separating them with a partition just in case. According to the watchmen, noise was heard from the aquarium all the next night - it was the old-timers striking up a conversation with the new arrivals. Moreover, the dolphins communicated through the partition without seeing each other.

Imagine the surprise of the scientists when in the morning they discovered that the newcomers already knew perfectly well and perfectly performed all the tricks that their previously caught brothers had previously learned.

In third place, according to the Portman scale, are elephants. Here, first of all, I would like to note the wonderful memory of these mighty animals. For the rest of their lives they remember people who treated them badly or, conversely, well, but also even the area in which an event worth remembering took place.

Scientists have identified at least seventy different signals that elephants exchange. They, like whales, primarily communicate through low-frequency noises that are inaudible to the human ear. And so researchers, using special equipment, including special microphones, found that elephants have a very fine ear for music. There is a known case where an elephant was trained to recognize and respond accordingly to twelve musical melodies. And despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since the last training, the elephant still continues to recognize the songs it once learned.

Elephants often take care of humans on their own initiative. Several children who were on the beach of Phuket Island (Thailand) during the flood managed to escape because they were led to safety by an elephant. The animal was tame and very popular among tourists. He was brought ashore every day to entertain the children. When a huge wave covered the beach, all the children who could fit on the back of the animal climbed there, and the elephant very quickly left the dangerous place without any drivers, taking the children to a safe zone.

Elephants also have an amazing similarity with humans - they never forget their dead. Having discovered the bones of their fellow tribesman, gnawed by hyenas, elephants become extremely excited: they pick up the remains with their trunks and carry them for some time from place to place. Sometimes they lightly step on the bones and begin to gently roll them along the ground, as if saying goodbye to a deceased friend.

Monkeys

But monkeys are similar to us not only in social aspects. For a long time, perhaps the smartest monkey in the world, a chimpanzee named Moya, lived at the University of Washington. From the moment Moya was born, scientists began to treat her like a mute human baby, and soon achieved interesting results. A few years later, Moya easily communicated with her mentors using sign language for the deaf and dumb, having at the same time a hundred and eighty words and concepts in stock. The chimpanzee knew how to count, loved to dress in human clothes, always choosing bright colors, and had a kind, easy-going character. Moya lived twenty-nine years, which is a long time for a monkey, and died of old age. But the experiment didn't end there. The university now cares for four more chimpanzees, whose store of human knowledge is already much higher than that of the famous Moya.

It's funny that the capabilities of monkeys are not at all limited to the ability to communicate in sign language and mastery of simple arithmetic. Not long ago, scientists discovered that baboons have... a penchant for programming! Under sensitive human guidance, a group of experimental baboons mastered the BASIC 3.0 programming language in a short time.

Monkeys have learned to change on their own software settings and file options. Moreover, it was enough to show the baboon the path to the picture he was interested in once, and in the future he could get to it on his own, while remembering up to seven levels in the menu.

Interestingly, as soon as the monkey became able to independently press keys or use a computer menu, its status among its relatives increased sharply.

Beavers work in shifts

In one Wyoming gorge, American scientists discovered a dam six meters high and 10 m wide. But this is not the limit - the largest of all known beaver dams was found in American state New Hampshire near the town of Berlin. At least 40 beaver families took part in its construction, and the length of the dam reached 1200 m! How beavers “agree” among themselves about who should do what remains unclear. Building and repairing dams requires the efforts of many animals. Beavers work in shifts, and each “shift” consists of a small group of individuals. And some beavers generally like to work alone, but at the same time clearly adhere to the overall plan.

How pigs learn

The pig, which was smaller and weaker than the rest, was given a place where food could be found, and then a competitor pig was involved in the experiment. The knowledgeable pig would usually head straight for the food bucket, while the unaware pig would walk around inspecting the empty buckets. The competitor pig then learned to follow the aware pig to the food bucket. She apparently understood that the knowledgeable pig knew something that she could also use. When she approached the bucket, thanks to her larger size, she simply pushed the aware pig away from it and ate the food. The knowledgeable pig then began to behave in such a way as to minimize the chances of the competing pig. She did not go straight to the food bucket, but tried to approach it when the competing pig was out of sight.

There are two explanations for this behavior. Either the knowledgeable pig could have anticipated the presence of a competitor, indicating the beginnings of thinking, or its behavior was the result of experience gained through trial and error.

10..1.intelligence of animals. It is generally accepted that intellectual behavior is the pinnacle of animal mental development. Numerous experiments have proven that intellectual activity is characteristic only of higher vertebrates, but, in turn, is not limited to primates. It should be remembered that the intellectual behavior of animals is not something isolated, out of the ordinary, it is only one of the manifestations of a single mental activity with its innate and acquired aspects. According to K. Fabry, “...intellectual behavior is not only closely connected with various forms of instinctive behavior and learning, but is itself composed (on an innate basis) of individually variable components of behavior. It is the highest result and manifestation of individual accumulation of experience, a special category of learning with its inherent qualitative features. Therefore, intelligent behavior gives the greatest adaptive effect... during sudden, rapid changes in the environment.”

The main prerequisite for the development of intelligence is manipulation. This primarily applies to monkeys, for whom this process serves as a source of the most complete information about the properties and structure of the objective components of the environment. During manipulation, especially when performing complex manipulations, the experience of the animal’s activities is generalized, generalized knowledge about the objective components of the environment is formed, and it is this generalized motor-sensory experience that forms the main basis of the intelligence of monkeys. During manipulation, the animal receives information simultaneously through a number of sensory channels, but the combination of skin-muscular sensitivity of the hands with visual sensations is of predominant importance in monkeys. In addition, the examination of the object of manipulation involves the sense of smell, taste, tactile sensitivity of the perioral vibrissae, and sometimes hearing. Animals receive complex information about an object as a single whole with different qualities. This is precisely the meaning of manipulation as the basis of intellectual behavior.

Of primary importance for intellectual behavior are visual generalizations, also well represented in higher vertebrates. According to experimental data, in addition to primates, visual generalization is well developed in rats, some carnivorous mammals, and among birds - in corvids. In these animals, visual generalization is often close to the abstraction characteristic of mental processes.

Another element of intellectual behavior aimed at motor sphere, has been studied in detail in vertebrates using the problem box method. Animals are forced to solve complex subject problems, find the sequence of unlocking various locks and latches in order to get out of the cage or get to a treat. It has been proven that higher vertebrates solve objective problems much worse than problems based on the use of locomotor functions. This can be explained by the fact that the mental activity of animals is dominated by the cognition of spatial relationships, which they comprehend with the help of locomotor actions. Only in monkeys and some other mammals, due to the development of manipulative activity, locomotor actions cease to dominate; animals abstract more easily and, accordingly, solve objective problems better.

An important prerequisite for intellectual behavior, according to K. Fabry, is the ability to widely transfer skills to new situations. This ability is fully developed in higher vertebrates, although it manifests itself in different animals to varying degrees. The main laboratory experiments in this direction were carried out on monkeys, dogs and rats. According to K. Fabry, “the abilities of higher vertebrates for various manipulations, broad sensory (visual) generalization, for solving complex problems and transferring complex skills to new situations, for full orientation and adequate response in a new environment based on previous experience are the most important elements of intelligence animals. And yet, in themselves, these qualities are still insufficient to serve as criteria for the intelligence and thinking of animals.”

What are the main criteria for the intelligent behavior of animals? One of the main features of intelligence is that during this activity, in addition to the usual reflection of objects, a reflection of their relationships and connections also occurs. This was presented in rudimentary forms even during the formation of complex skills. Any intellectual action consists of at least two phases: the preparation phase of the action and the implementation phase of the action. It is the presence preparation phases is a characteristic feature of intellectual action. According to A.N. Leontiev, intelligence first arises where the process of preparing the opportunity to carry out a particular operation or skill arises.

During the experiment, one can clearly distinguish the main phases of intellectual action. For example, a monkey takes a stick and the next moment uses it to push a banana towards itself, or it first builds a pyramid of empty boxes in order to pick a bait suspended from the ceiling from a rope. N.N. Ladygina-Kots studied in detail in chimpanzees the process of preparing and even making tools necessary for solving a technically simple task - pushing bait out of a narrow tube. As the chimpanzees watched, bait was placed into the tube in such a way that it could not be reached simply with your fingers. Simultaneously with the tube, the animal was given various items, suitable for pushing out feed. After some improvement was made to the object used to obtain food, the experimental monkey completely (though not always immediately) coped with all the tasks assigned.

In all these experiments, two phases of intellectual action are clearly visible: the first, preparatory phase - preparing the tool, the second phase - getting the bait with the help of this tool. The first phase, without connection with the next phase, is devoid of any biological meaning. Second phase – activity implementation phase – in general, it is aimed at satisfying a certain biological need of the animal (in the described experiments - food).

Another important criterion of intellectual behavior is the fact that when solving a problem, the animal does not use one stereotypically performed method, but tries different methods that are the result of previously accumulated experience. Animals try not to perform different actions, but different operations, and ultimately can solve a problem in different ways. For example, you can build a pyramid out of boxes to pick a hanging banana, or you can take the box apart and try to knock down the treat with separate planks. The operation ceases to be rigidly connected with the activity that meets a specific task. This is what makes intelligence noticeably different from any, even the most complex, skills. Since the intellectual behavior of animals is characterized by a reflection of not just the objective components of the environment, but reflects the relationships between them, here the operation is transferred not only according to the principle of similarity of things (for example, barriers) with which it was connected, but also according to the principle of similarity of relationships, connections things she responds to.

Despite the high level of development, the intelligence of mammals, in particular monkeys, has clear biological limitations. Along with other forms of behavior, it is entirely determined by the way of life and biological patterns, beyond which the animal cannot step. This is shown by numerous observations of great apes in nature. Thus, chimpanzees build rather complex wicker nests in which they spend the night, but they never build even the simplest rain shelters and get mercilessly wet during tropical downpours. In natural conditions, monkeys rarely use tools, preferring, if necessary, to obtain more accessible food than to waste time and effort on obtaining hard-to-reach food.

The limitations of intellectual behavior were also shown in numerous experiments conducted by Ladygina-Kots on apes. For example, a male chimpanzee sometimes made stupid mistakes when using objects provided to him to push bait out of a pipe. He tried to push a piece of plywood into the pipe, despite the obvious discrepancy between its width and the diameter of the pipe, and began to nibble it only after a number of such unsuccessful attempts. According to Ladygina-Cotes, chimpanzees “are not able to immediately grasp the essential features in a new situation.”

Even the most complex manifestations of ape intelligence ultimately represent nothing more than the application in new conditions of a phylogenetically developed method of action. Monkeys are able to attract fruit to themselves with a stick only because in natural conditions they often have to bend down a branch with a fruit hanging on it. It is the biological conditioning of all mental activity of monkeys, including anthropoids, that is the reason for the limitations of their intellectual abilities, the inability to establish a mental connection between ideas alone and their combination into images. The inability to mentally operate with ideas leads monkeys to the inability to understand true cause-and-effect relationships, since this is only possible with the help of concepts that are completely absent in monkeys, like all other animals.

Meanwhile, at this stage of the development of science, the problem of animal intelligence has not been sufficiently studied. Essentially, detailed experimental studies have so far been carried out only on monkeys, mainly higher ones, while the possibility of intellectual actions in other vertebrates has practically not been confirmed by evidentiary experimental data. At the same time, it is a mistake to believe that intelligence is inherent only to primates. Most likely, objective research by future animal psychologists will help shed light on this difficult but very interesting issue.

Ethological adaptations represent all behavioral responses aimed at the survival of individuals and, therefore, the species as a whole. Such reactions are:

Behavior when searching for food and a sexual partner,

Pairing,

Feeding offspring

Avoiding danger and protecting life in the event of a threat,

Aggression and threatening postures,

Kindness and many others.

Some behavioral reactions are inherited (instincts), others are acquired throughout life ( conditioned reflexes). U various organisms the ratio of instinctive and conditioned reflex behavior is not the same. For example, in invertebrates and lower chordates, instinctive behavior predominates, and in higher mammals (primates, carnivores), conditioned reflex behavior predominates. Highest level behavioral adaptability, based on the mechanisms of higher nervous activity, available in humans.

Particularly important are adaptations that protect the offspring from enemies.

Caring for offspring can be manifested in different shapes. Many fish guard eggs laid between stones, actively driving away and biting approaching potential enemies. Azov and Caspian gobies lay eggs in holes dug in the bottom and then guard them throughout their development. The male stickleback builds a nest with an exit and an entrance. Some American catfish stick their eggs to their belly and carry them on them throughout their development. Many fish hatch eggs in their mouths or even in their stomachs. During this time, the parent does not eat anything. The hatched fry stay close to the female (or male, depending on the species) for some time and, when in danger, hide in the mouth of the parent. There are species of frogs in which the eggs develop in a special brood pouch on the back or in the vocal sacs of the male.

The greatest safety of the offspring is achieved, obviously, in cases where the embryos develop in the mother's body. Fecundity in these cases decreases, but this is compensated by an increase in the survival rate of the young.

In arthropods and lower vertebrates, the resulting larvae lead an independent lifestyle and do not depend on their parents. But in some cases, parental care for their offspring manifests itself in the form of providing them with food. The famous French naturalist J.A. Fabre was the first to describe this behavior in solitary wasps. Wasps attack beetles, spiders, crickets, praying mantises, and caterpillars of various butterflies, immobilize them by plunging their sting directly into the nerve nodes, and lay eggs on them. Hatching wasp larvae are provided with food: they feed on the tissues of a living victim, grow and then pupate.

The described examples of care for offspring in arthropods and lower vertebrates occur in a very small number of species. In most cases, fertilized eggs are abandoned to their fate. This explains the very high fertility of invertebrates and lower vertebrates. A large number of descendants in conditions of high extermination of juveniles serves as a means of struggle for the existence of the species.

Much more complex and diverse forms of care for offspring are observed in higher vertebrates. Complex instincts and the ability to individually learn allow them to raise offspring with much greater success. Thus, birds lay fertilized eggs in special structures - nests, and not just in the external environment, as all species of lower classes do. The eggs develop under the influence of the heat imparted to them by the body of the parents, and do not depend on the accidents of the weather. Parents protect the nest from enemies in one way or another. The hatched chicks are not left to fend for themselves, but are fed and protected for a long time. All this dramatically increases the efficiency of reproduction in birds.

Forms of behavior in mammals reach the highest degree of development. This also manifests itself in relation to the cubs. The animals not only feed their offspring, but also teach them how to catch prey. Even Charles Darwin noted that predatory animals teach their cubs to avoid dangers, including hunters.

Thus, individuals with more advanced forms of caring for offspring survive in greater numbers and pass on these traits further by inheritance.

Species adaptations are discovered when analyzing a group of individuals of the same species; they are very diverse in their manifestation. The main ones are various congruences, the level of mutability, intraspecific polymorphism, the level of abundance and optimal population density.

Congruences represent all morphophysiological and behavioral features that contribute to the existence of a species as an integral system. Reproductive congruences ensure reproduction. Some of them are directly related to reproduction (correspondence of genital organs, adaptations to feeding, etc.), while others are only indirect (various signal signs: visual - mating attire, ritual behavior; sound - birdsong, roar of a male deer during the rut and others; chemical - various attractants, for example, insect pheromones, secretions from artiodactyls, cats, dogs, etc.).

Congruences include all forms of intraspecific cooperation, constitutional, trophic and reproductive. Constitutional cooperation is expressed in the coordinated actions of organisms in unfavorable conditions which increase the chances of survival. In winter, bees gather in a ball, and the heat they generate is spent on joint warming. At the same time, the most high temperature will be in the center of the ball and individuals from the periphery (where it is colder) will constantly strive there. Thus it happens constant movement insects and together they will survive the winter safely. Penguins also cluster in a close group during incubation, sheep during cold weather, etc.

Trophic cooperation consists of the union of organisms for the purpose of obtaining food. Joint activities in this direction makes the process more productive. For example, a pack of wolves hunts much more efficiently than an individual. At the same time, in many species there is a division of responsibilities - some individuals separate the chosen victim from the main herd and drive it into ambush, where their relatives are hiding, etc. In plants, such cooperation is expressed in joint shading of the soil, which helps retain moisture in it.

Reproductive cooperation increases reproductive success and promotes the survival of offspring. In many birds, individuals gather on lekking grounds, and in such conditions the search for a potential partner is easier. The same thing happens at spawning grounds, rookeries of pinnipeds, etc. The likelihood of pollination in plants increases when they grow in groups and the distance between individual individuals is small.

Mutability - represents the frequency of mutations per unit of time (number of generations) and per gene. Each type has its own frequency, which is determined by the level of stability genetic material and resistance to mutagens. Mutations make populations heteromorphic and provide material for selection. Both excessively high and insufficient mutability are dangerous for the species. In the first case, there is a threat to the integrity of the species, and in the second, it is impossible for selection to take place.

Intraspecific polymorphism determines the unique combination of alleles in different individuals. The cause of polymorphism is sexual reproduction, which provides combinative variability, and mutations that change the substrate of heredity. Maintaining intraspecific polymorphism ensures the stability of the species and guarantees its existence in different conditions environment.

The population level determines the extreme values of the number of individuals of a species. A decrease in numbers below a threshold level leads to the death of the species. This is due to the impossibility of meeting partners, disruption of intraspecific adaptation, etc. An excessive increase in numbers is also detrimental, since it undermines the food supply, contributes to the accumulation of sick and weakened individuals in the population, and in some this leads to the development of stress.

The optimal population density shows the specific features of the coexistence of individuals for each species. Many organisms prefer a solitary lifestyle and meet only to mate. This is how, for example, tigers, leopards, male elephants, etc. behave. Others have a strong instinct for collectivity, so they need high numbers. For example, the most numerous groups among vertebrates were formed by American passenger pigeons, whose flocks numbered billions (!) of individuals. After their numbers were undermined by humans, passenger pigeons stopped reproducing and the species disappeared.

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A huge number of beautiful animals live on our planet. Scientists and specialists have been trying for a long time to determine who is the smartest among them?.

Today is the first part of our big review according to Animal Planet.

10th place: Rats

Yes, yes, we were not mistaken. Usually, when you hear the word “rat,” the image of a gray, unpleasant creature with long tail. In criminal jargon, a “rat” is a person who steals from his own people. But read the next few paragraphs and perhaps you will change your mind about these very smart animals.

They are always where we are. They feed on what we left behind. We may not even notice them, but they are here and building their dark kingdoms right under our feet. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. And they are not going anywhere. This is a well-oiled machine for conquering the world.

It has long been known that rats are among the most intelligent animals. As an example, let’s give a story from the head of one of the branches of the famous Moscow Eliseevsky store, Larisa Darkova.

It all started with the fact that rats managed to steal eggs without breaking them. For a long time surveillance was carried out, unnoticed by these gray rodents, in the basements of Eliseevsky. And this is what turned out. “In order not to damage the fragile shell,” says Larisa Darkova, “these clever people came up with the following: one rat lies on its back and rolls a chicken egg with its muzzle into the hollow formed on its stomach. At this time, another “accomplice” grabs her by the tail, and thus they drag the egg into the hole.”

Humanity has been waging war against rats for centuries, but we cannot win. Some biologists are confident that gray rats have a collective mind that controls the actions of each individual individual. This hypothesis explains a lot: the speed with which gray rodents dealt with other species, and the success in their fight against people.

It is the collective mind that helps rats avoid inevitable death. The well-known phrase “rats fleeing a sinking ship” has behind it numerous officially recorded cases of rats leaving doomed ships in advance. Another example is earthquakes, which, according to scientists, cannot be accurately predicted. And the rats simply leave the city a day or two before tremors that could destroy buildings. Perhaps the rat hivemind is able to see the future better than us humans.

Rats have a clear hierarchy. In addition to the leader and subordinates, there are also so-called “scouts” in rat society. Thanks to this, all the efforts of mankind in inventing ingenious mousetraps and rat poisons are coming to naught. The suicide bombers “appointed” by the leader go on reconnaissance and try poisoned baits. Having received the SOS signal, the remaining members of the rat pack stop paying attention to poisonous products. And the “kamikazes” sit in their holes and drink water, trying to wash out their stomachs. The same is true with traps. If rats notice their relative in a trap, the flock will immediately leave the dangerous place.

The whole point is that, unlike a person, a rat never steps on the same rake twice, and therefore it is practically indestructible.

We may hate these gray rodents, but when you recognize their abilities, a feeling of respect automatically arises. The rat is a true superorganism, capable of living and thriving in almost any environment, the vitality of which has been developed over 50 million years.

They perfectly climb almost any surface, pipes and trees, can climb steep brick walls, crawl into a hole the size of a five-ruble coin, run at speeds of up to 10 km/h, swim and dive well (there is a known case when a rat swam 29 kilometers) .

When biting, a rat's teeth develop a pressure of 500 kg/sq.cm. This is enough to chew through the bars of the grill. A wild rat in an aggressive state can jump to a height of up to 2 meters. Rats can survive in absolutely extreme conditions, in which other animals would probably die. So, these, in general, heat-loving animals can live in refrigerators at a temperature of minus 17 degrees and even reproduce.

Rats, these practically invisible, nimble and intelligent creatures, are not afraid of a clumsy two-legged man, who, over many millennia of war, has not come up with anything smarter than a simple mousetrap.

9th place: Octopus

No. 9 on our list of the smartest animals is octopus is one of the smartest sea creatures. They can play, recognize different shapes and patterns (such as colored light bulbs), solve puzzles, navigate mazes, and have short-term and long-term memory. As a sign of respect for the intelligence of octopuses, some countries in the world have even passed laws requiring the use of anesthesia before performing operations on them.

Octopuses are invertebrates, and the closest species to them are squid and cuttlefish. In total, there are more than 200 species of different octopuses in the world that inhabit the seas and oceans of the Earth.

Octopuses are skilled hunters, acting from ambush. Open battle is not for them. This attack tactic also serves as a defense for the octopus itself. If necessary, the octopus throws out a cloud of ink, which disorients the predator attacking it. Octopus ink not only allows the owner to hide from sight, but also temporarily deprives the predator of its sense of smell. Maximum speed The octopus's movement is just over 30 km/h, but they can maintain this pace for a very short period of time.

Octopuses are very curious, which is usually associated with intelligence. In nature, they sometimes build their shelter houses from stones - this also indicates a certain intellectual level.

However, octopuses cannot realize that glass is transparent. This is proven by the following simple experiment: we give the octopus a treat in the form of his favorite crab, but in a “package” - a glass cylinder without a top lid. He can continue for a very long time in fruitless attempts to get food, knocking his body against the walls of a transparent vessel, although all he had to do was climb the glass 30 centimeters, and he would freely penetrate through the open top of the cylinder to the crab. But it is enough for his tentacle to accidentally jump over the top edge of the glass vessel once, and he develops a conditioned reflex. Just one successful attempt is enough, and now the octopus knows exactly how to get the crab from behind the glass.

Octopus tentacles perform irreplaceable functions:

they crawl on tentacles along the bottom;
carry heavy loads;
build nests with tentacles;
open shellfish shells;
attach their eggs to stones;
They also perform guard duty.

The upper pair of hands is intended for feeling and examining surrounding objects. Octopuses use longer tentacles as attack weapons. When attacking prey or defending against an enemy, they try to grab the enemy with them. In “peaceful” times, “combat” arms turn into legs and serve as stilts when moving along the bottom.

The development of organs in animals that they can use as simple tools leads to the formation of a more complex brain.

Various experiments show that octopuses have an excellent memory. And the “intelligence” of an animal is primarily determined by the ability of its brain to remember experiences. When everything is in order with memory, the next step is intelligence, which helps to draw conclusions from the experience gained.

Over the past 10 years, the most advanced experiments on the behavior of octopuses have been carried out by sea station in Naples. Scientists have found that Octopuses are trainable. They They can distinguish geometric shapes just as well as elephants and dogs.- a small square from a larger one, a rectangle shown vertically and horizontally, a white circle from a black one, a cross and a square, a rhombus and a triangle. For making the right choice, the octopuses were given goodies; for a mistake, they received a weak electric shock.

Octopuses are easily hypnotized, which indicates a fairly high organization of his brain. One of the methods of hypnosis is to hold an octopus in the palm of your hand for some time with its mouth up, the tentacles should hang down. When an octopus is hypnotized, you can do whatever you want with it - it doesn't wake up. You can even throw it, and it will fall lifeless, like a piece of rope.

These intelligent marine animals are still poorly understood, but scientists are constantly discovering new and impressive abilities of octopuses.

8th place: Dove

Pigeons in large quantities can be found in all major cities, and most of us consider these birds to be “bad” creatures that get under our feet. But numerous scientific experiments show that these are very smart birds. For example, pigeons can remember and recognize hundreds of different images over many years.

The most common and well-known pigeon is the rock pigeon (lat. columba livia) - a bird whose homeland is considered to be Europe. A group of scientists from the Japanese Keio University showed through experiments that rock pigeons are able to recognize themselves in the mirror better than small children. Before these studies, it was believed that only humans, primates, dolphins and elephants had such abilities.

The experiments were carried out as follows. The pigeons were shown 3 videos simultaneously. The first video showed them in real time (i.e. a mirror), the second showed their movements a few seconds ago, and the third was recorded several hours before the present moment. The birds made a choice with their beaks, pointing in a certain direction. According to the results of these tests, it turned out that pigeons remember their actions with a delay of up to 5-7 seconds.

Pigeons can be trained to perform a sequence of movements and distinguish two objects with small differences - quite impressive for a simple pest.

In Tsarist Russia, pigeons were valued no less than large farm animals. Noble families bred their own breeds of pigeons, and these birds were a source of special pride and were passed on through generations.

The useful skills of pigeons have always been valued. For example, these birds' ability to find their way home and fly quickly made it possible to use them to transmit mail.

7th place: Belka

This nimble animal has a brain the size of a large pea. However, research shows that squirrels have excellent spatial orientation, have extraordinary intelligence and phenomenal memory, and can think and analyze.

Thanks to their intelligence and ability to survive, squirrels can be found everywhere. They have penetrated almost every corner of the globe. Squirrels are everywhere. From alpine marmots on snowy mountain peaks to squirrels living in the hot Kalahari Desert in South Africa. Subterranean squirrels - prairie dogs and chipmunks - have entered the underground space. Squirrels have penetrated all cities. AND The most famous of the squirrels is the gray one.

One of the well-known distinctive features of squirrels is their ability to store nuts for the winter. Squirrels do not hibernate and must find up to 3,000 hidden nuts to survive. They bury some types of nuts in the ground, others hide them in tree hollows. This work requires incredible effort.

Thanks to their phenomenal memory, squirrels can remember the location of a nut 2 months after they buried it. Fantastic! Try hiding 3,000 coins. We guarantee that in a month you will be able to find only the one that is in your wallet.

Squirrels also have their own thieves, who decide not to get nuts, but wait and watch from ambush until other squirrels begin to bury their winter food. But for every action there is a counteraction. If the squirrel notices that they are starting to follow it, it pretends to bury the food. While the thief is wasting time on an empty hole, the squirrel transfers his nut to another, more secret place. Isn't this the best proof that squirrels have intelligence?

Planning and remembering the correct route to food is vital. Brain and memory test: At the top of the wall there are 2 round holes, both with doors that open in one direction. One leads to a dead end that will force the squirrel to start over, and the twisted tube - a more difficult path - leads to nuts. Question: Will the squirrel choose the right hole?

Research shows that squirrels have excellent spatial orientation, and even from the ground they can see which hole leads to the nuts. Squirrels without hesitation fit into the desired hole leading to food.

The ability to pave the way, dexterity, phenomenal ingenuity, spatial orientation and lightning speed - this is the secret of the success of squirrels on our planet.

Very often, squirrels are considered pests. After all, they chew everything they can and cannot.

6th place: Pigs

Despite their reputation for being gluttonous and always dirty creatures (they'll find dirt everywhere), pigs are actually very intelligent animals. Whether domestic or wild, pigs are known for their ability to adapt to different environmental conditions.

American zoologist E. Menzel believes that in terms of the development of their own language, pigs occupy second place among animals after monkeys. Pigs respond well to music, for example, they can grunt to the beat of the melody.

Thanks to high intelligence pigs are highly stressed. Piglets are very attached to their mothers, and if they are separated, especially in early age, they experience this very painfully: the piglet does not eat well and loses a lot of weight.

The greatest stress for pigs is moving from one place to another. It is not for nothing that Academician Pavlov stated that the pig is the most nervous of the animals surrounding humans.

Some scientists claim that a pig's intelligence is approximately matches the intelligence of a three year old child. In terms of learning ability, pigs are at least at the level of cats and dogs, and often surpass them. Even Charles Darwin believed that pigs were at least as intelligent as dogs.

Conducted various intelligence tests among the pigs. In one test, the feeder was connected to a computer. A cursor was displayed on the monitor screen, which could be moved using a joystick. Also, a special area was shown on the monitor: if you hit it with the cursor, the feeder automatically opens and food pours out. Amazingly, the pigs were excellent at controlling the joystick and moved the cursor to the right place! Dogs cannot repeat this experiment and are inferior to pigs in intelligence.

Pigs have a fantastic sense of smell! They are, for example, used as truffle finders - underground mushrooms - in France. Pigs were used to find mines during the war; trained sniffer pigs easily cope with the search for various drugs.

In terms of blood composition, digestive physiology and some other physiological characteristics, pigs are very close to humans. Only monkeys are closer. That is why donor material taken from pigs is often used in transplantology. Many pig organs are directly or indirectly used in the treatment of dangerous human diseases, and their gastric juice is used in the manufacture of insulin. A pig often suffers from the same diseases as a person, and it can be treated with almost the same drugs in the same doses.

5th place: Crows

Crows are incredibly intelligent animals. Scientists believe that their analytical thinking abilities are on par with those of great apes.

Crows are extremely adaptive and are exceptionally adapted to living around humans. Our actions force them to adapt in new ways every time. Crows don't survive with us, they thrive. They are found everywhere on the planet except Antarctica and parts of South America. And throughout the entire territory you are unlikely to meet crows further than 5 km from a human dwelling.

We are finding more and more evidence that crows are very, very smart. Their brain size is the same proportion as that of a chimpanzee. There are plenty of examples various manifestations their intelligence.

understands better than many people, which means red and green lights when crossing the street. Crows living in the city collect nuts from trees and place them on the roadway under the wheels of passing cars to open the shells. Then they wait patiently, waiting for the necessary light, return to the road and take their shelled nuts. An impressive example of innovation in the animal kingdom! The important thing is not that the crows learned to do this, but something else is important. This method was first observed in crows about 12 years ago in Tokyo. After this, all the crows in the area adopted this method. Crows learn from each other - that's a fact!

Another incredible study was carried out with a crow from New Caledonia. On this island, crows use twigs to pick insects from the bark of trees. In the experiment, a crow tried to get a piece of meat from a narrow glass tube. But the crow was given not the usual stick, but a piece of wire. She had never had to deal with this kind of material before. In front of the amazed researchers, the crow independently bent the wire into a hook using its paws and beak, and then took out the bait with this device. At this moment, the experimenters fell into ecstasy! But the use of tools is one of higher forms animal behavior, indicating their ability for intelligent activity.

Another example from Sweden. Researchers noticed that crows wait for fishermen to cast their fishing rods into the water, and when they move away, the crows fly in, reel in the fishing rod and eat the fish that was bait.

We can talk endlessly about the intelligence of crows. These observations were made at the University of Washington and indicate crows have amazing memory. Here the researchers had to catch a pair of crows flying around the area. The students went out, caught the birds with a net, measured them, weighed them, and then released them back. And they could not forgive such an attitude towards themselves! Subsequently, the crows flew up to those students as they walked across campus and shit on them, flew around in a flock, in short, ruined their lives in every possible way. This went on for a week. Then this continued for a month. And after the summer holidays...

Author Joshua Klein has been studying crows for more than 10 years. To confirm the presence of intelligence in these birds, he decided to conduct a rather complex experiment. In short, he created a special vending machine and put it in the field, and scattered coins around. The machine was filled with nuts, and to get them, you need to throw a coin into a special slot. Surprisingly, the crows figured out this task quite quickly, picked up the coins, dropped them into the slot and received nuts.

We know a lot about the species that are disappearing from the planet as a result of human habitat expansion, but no one pays attention to the species that are alive and thriving. In Moscow alone there are about 1 million crows. These smartest representatives of birds have perfectly adapted to the human environment.

4th place: Elephant

These are not just lumbering giants with big ears and good memory. The philosopher Aristotle once said that the elephant is “an animal that excels others in wit and intelligence.”

With a mass of more than 5 kg, the elephant's brain is larger than that of any other land animal, but small compared to the total body mass: only ~0.2% (in chimpanzees - 0.8%, in humans about 2%). Based on this, one might think that elephants are quite stupid animals. But the evidence suggests that relative brain size may not be an accurate measure of intelligence.

Elephants are animals that are good know how to show their emotions, both positive and negative. Their “facial expressions” consist of movements of the head, ears and trunk, with which the elephant can express all sorts of, often subtle, shades of good or bad mood.

Elephants are extremely caring and sensitive to other members of their group, as well as other species, which is considered a very advanced form of intelligence. For example, elephants feel very deeply the loss of someone from the herd. They can gather near a dead body for several days. There have been recorded cases of “funerals” when elephants covered their dead comrades with a layer of vegetation.

Elephants incredible good memory . Elephants remember a person who treated them well or badly all their lives. There are many examples when the owner offended the elephant, and only years later the elephant took revenge on him, and sometimes even killed him.

As we already know, use of tools animals directly points to capacity for intelligent activity. To determine this, the following studies were conducted at the Washington Zoo. In the elephant enclosure, fruits and young bamboo shoots were hung high on a tree. The animals, standing on the ground, could not reach them even with their trunks. Not far from this place, the researchers placed a cube-shaped stand and began to observe...

At first, the elephant simply moved the cube around the enclosure, and in fairness it should be noted that he did not immediately figure out what to do: the experiment had to be repeated 7 times. And suddenly inspiration descended on the elephant: he got up, went straight to the cube, pushed it to the place where the treat was hanging and, standing on it with his front legs, took it out with his trunk. After that, even when the cube was out of reach, the elephant used other objects - a car tire and a large ball.

Elephants are believed to have good ear for music and musical memory, and are also able to distinguish melodies from three notes. In general, these huge animals are amazing artists. They are also well known for their ability to draw on the ground while holding a stick with their trunk. In Thailand, they even made an attraction where several Thai elephants painted abstract drawings in front of spectators. True, it is unknown whether the elephants actually understood what they were doing.

3rd place: Orangutans

Apes are considered the most intelligent creatures on Earth after humans. Of course, people are biased in this matter, but the mental capabilities of great apes are difficult to deny. So, In 3rd place on the list of the smartest animals is the orangutan. or “forest man” (orang - “man”, hutan - “forest”).

They have high culture and durable social connections. Females stay with their children for many years, teaching them everything they need to survive in the forest. For example, orangutans cleverly use leaves as umbrellas from the rain, or remember places where different times years the trees bear fruit. By the age of 10 years, an orangutan can taste and identify more than 200 species of different edible plants.

Great apes, such as chimpanzees and orangutans, are able to recognize themselves in the mirror, while most animals react to their image in the mirror as if they were another individual.

If intelligence is defined as the ability to solve various problems, then orangutans in this sense have no equal in the animal world.

Researchers have often observed orangutans using tools in the wild. So, one male figured out to use a “pole” left by a man as a spear. He climbed onto the branches hanging over the water and tried to pierce the fish swimming below with a stick.

True, he failed to catch fish in this way, but this impressive example using a spear to catch fish is just one illustration of the high intelligence of orangutans.

2nd place: Dolphins

Dolphins appeared on Earth several tens of millions of years earlier than humans, and they are smarter than almost any creature on the planet.

Like other most intelligent animals, female dolphins stay with their children for many years, passing on their knowledge and experience to them. Much of the behavior of dolphins is passed on “through generations.”

Dolphins can use tools, which, as we already know, is a sign of intelligence. Thus, researchers observed a female dolphin who taught her dolphins to look for food, after putting a sea sponge on her nose so as not to get hurt or burned by a stone fish, which has poisonous spines on its back.

Dolphins are very social animals. They are characterized by self-awareness and division into separate individuals, who, moreover, think about the future. Research shows that dolphin "society" is complex social structure and consists of individuals who cooperate with each other to solve complex problems, obtain food, etc. In addition, dolphins pass on new behavioral traits and acquired skills to each other.

Dolphins have very well developed imitation behavior. They easily remember and repeat the actions of both their brothers and other individuals from the animal world.

Dolphins are one of the few animals that not only recognize themselves in the mirror, but can also use it to “examine” parts of their body. This ability was previously discovered only in humans, monkeys, elephants and pigs. The ratio between brain and body sizes in a dolphin is second only to that of a human and is much larger than that of a chimpanzee. Dolphins have convolutions similar to convolutions. human brain, which also indicates the presence of intelligence.

Dolphins love an exploratory approach to everything; they quickly assess the situation and adapt their behavior to it, being well aware of what is happening.

When preparing various attractions with dolphins, it was noticed that they are not only capable of following commands, but can also take a creative approach to the process, and in addition to the necessary movements, invent and add their own tricks with objects (balls, hoops, etc.).

Dolphins remember sounds much better than pictures. Thanks to this, they can distinguish each other well by whistling. The range of sounds in which a dolphin can communicate is very wide - from 3,000 Hz to 200,000 Hz. Each dolphin knows the individuals from its pod by voice and has its own personal “name”. With the help of whistles of different lengths, tonality and melody, dolphins communicate with each other. So, one dolphin, without seeing the other, can “tell” which pedal needs to be pressed in order to open the feeder and get fish.

Dolphins' ability to imitate is widely known. They can imitate the chirping of birds and the creaking of a rusty door. Dolphins can even repeat some words or laughter after a person.

A fact that not everyone knows: the Japanese still eat intelligent dolphins, killing them by the thousands.

1st place: Chimpanzee

These apes are leaders in tool use. Thus, during observations of chimpanzees in the savannah in southeastern Senegal, more than 20 cases of these animals using 26 different tools, from stone hammers to sticks for picking out termites, were recorded.

But the most amazing thing was to watch the production and use of half-meter copies. Chimpanzees didn't just break off branches required length and thickness, but also cleared them of leaves and smaller branches, peeled off the bark and sometimes even sharpened the tip of the tool with their teeth.

Anthropologists from the Universities of Iowa and Cambridge, during research in 2005-2006, first discovered how chimpanzees used spears to hunt other vertebrates, and all this is strikingly reminiscent of the early steps of Homo sapiens on his path to becoming a dexterous hunter.

Just like orangutans, dolphins, elephants, chimpanzees are able to recognize themselves in the mirror, and not see another individual in it.

Another impressive example of the presence of intelligence in chimpanzees. When scientists set the monkeys the task of getting a nut from the bottom of a firmly fixed plastic test tube, some of the monkeys (14 out of 43 individuals) guessed that if they put water in their mouths from a tap and spit it out into a narrow neck, the nut would rise to the surface. 7 chimpanzees completed this task to a victorious end and got to the nut. In addition to chimpanzees, researchers working at an ape sanctuary in Uganda and at the Leipzig Zoo conducted similar experiments on gorillas. However, none of the gorillas managed to lift the nut. to the surface by transferring water in the mouth from the tap to the test tube.

Moreover, in this matter chimpanzees turned out to be smarter than children. Scientists conducted the same experiment with several groups of children: 24 four-year-old children and the same number of six and eight years old. Only instead of a tap, the children were given watering cans so that they would not have to carry water with their mouths. Four-year-old children performed worse than chimpanzees: only two out of 24 completed the task. The highest success rate, as expected, was found in 8-year-old children: 14 out of 24.

However, we will not overestimate the abilities of these monkeys, although the genetic similarity between humans and chimpanzees is so great that it was even proposed to combine them into one genus Homo.

That's it for our review 10 Smartest Animals on Earth according to Animal Planet has come to an end.

The criterion is the encephalization coefficient (shown in parentheses next to each animal name).

This tooth-crushing scientific term is intended to approximately characterize the development of the animal’s intelligence.

The encephalization index is used to identify development trends, as well as the potential capabilities of various species.

Sheep (0.7)

In 10th place is a sheep! The animal was domesticated about 8,000 years ago in the Middle East. The sheep does not show high intelligence and it will not be possible to communicate with it using sign language. A clear outsider.

Horse (0.8)

Horses have an excellent memory. Also, these animals are excellent at developing and strengthening conditioned reflexes. This is what it is based on practical use horses.

Cat (0.9)

Some researchers believe that the intelligence of cats is close to the intelligence of two-year-old children. Cats are able to adopt some behavior of their owners and adapt to it.

Squirrel (1.0)

The squirrels nestled comfortably between the cats and dogs. Thanks to their intelligence, they have learned to survive well in wild environment. Researchers have discovered that brave eared animals even dry mushrooms for the winter.

Squirrels are real gurus in the field of preserving supplies for the winter. Don't know how to preserve nuts? Share them with the squirrels. It’s not a fact that they will return it, but they will definitely keep it.

Dog (1,2)

Psychological researchers Elliston Reid and John Pillay from Wofford College in Spartanburg were able to train a border collie named Chaser to verbally perceive over 1,000 objects.

The dog can also classify the functions and shapes of objects, which is comparable to intellectual abilities three year old child.

African elephant (1.4)

The brain of an African elephant weighs about 5 kg. This is a record. A whale has a smaller brain than an elephant! Scientists believe that elephants can experience grief, joy, and compassion; Cooperation, self-awareness, and playfulness are developed.

Research has shown that elephants are superior to humans at tracking multiple objects in space. There has already been ample evidence of elephant altruism towards other species, such as rescuing dogs.

These massive giants observe funeral rituals, honoring their dead kin.

Gorilla (1.6)

The intelligence of gorillas is an order of magnitude lower than that of chimpanzees. But gorillas have developed primitive communication, which is based on 16 sound combinations. Some gorillas have learned sign language.

Marmoset (1.8)

This animal lives in the forests of the Amazon. Marmosets are quite common and are not endangered. The ratio of brain volume to body volume in primates is one of the largest.

Chimpanzee (2.2)

Chimpanzees have learned to communicate using sign language. They are able to use words in a figurative sense, they can create new concepts by combining known words, for example: “lighter” = “bottle” + “match”.

A distinctive feature of chimpanzees is their sense of humor. These monkeys actively use tools and also recognize themselves in the mirror. In addition to using tools, chimpanzees learned to create primitive tools.

For example, they make special sticks for catching ants.

Large dolphin (5.2)

And now a surprise: it turns out that In humans, the encephalization coefficient is 7.6. People are not that far from dolphins. What can a dolphin do? Much.

The dolphin learned to correlate the image of its body with the structure of the human body using analogies. Able to understand new sequences in artificial language.

Able to generalize rules and construct abstract concepts. Parses symbols for different parts of the body. Understands pointing gestures. Recognizes himself in the mirror.