The Smartest Animals On The Planet

"Extraordinary tales of the natural world's cleverest creatures"--Cover.

We have all heard talk of the intelligence of dolphins, elephants or great apes, or even, in different ways, ants and bees. But what is this intelligence all about? How do we know which animals are smart, and how do they use this superior intelligence? Written by one of the world's authorities in this field, this riveting book cover the themes of tool use, language, communication, imitation and social learning, numerical abilities, social cognition, emotion, self-recognition and awareness, drawing together the most recent and remarkable global research relating to almost every "smart" species. Fully illustrated, and including step-by-step illustrations to show experiments and observations both in the field and in captivity, Covering the core themes of, this book delivers cutting-edge scientific research about a topic fascinating to anyone interested in the natural world.

Our human brains took us all around the globe and even into space. But we are not the only clever creatures on the planet. Some animals are so smart that we don't even know the extent of their intelligence. How do some animals play? How do they use tools? How do they solve problems? How do they communicate? How do their excellent memories work? Smart Animals features octopuses navigating mazes, rats outsmarting lab experiments, dolphins naming each other, orangutans solving riddles, elephants holding a grudge for decades, and many more. Get ready for the most marvelous and mind-blowing masterminds from our animal kingdom!

Scientists have been surprised to find how smart some animals are. Many species can communicate, learn, and solve problems. The Smartest Animals in the World teaches readers about chimpanzees, African gray parrots, bottlenose dolphins, and octopuses, and how these animals express their intelligence.

A New York Times bestseller: "A passionate and convincing case for the sophistication of nonhuman minds." —Alison Gopnik, The Atlantic Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition—in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos—to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we’ve underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal’s landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal—and human—intelligence.

Which animal can find its way through a maze and even learn shortcuts? And which animal is so smart it lets cars do the hard work of cracking open its food?