Another Top 10 Intelligent Animals

There sure are a lot of intelligent creatures to be found on this big rock we call home. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for Another Top 10 Intelligent Animals.

For this list, we’ll be looking at even more creatures from planet earth that exhibit signs of above average intelligence. And, as with our original list, humans will not be considered.

#10: Foxes

There’s good reason for the old expression “sly as a fox”. Though their intelligence has earned them a bad rep, at least with farmers - whose chickens they are notorious for stealing - foxes should be admired for their resourcefulness, and their social and emotional intelligence. Cunning hunters with a knack for problem solving, foxes will adapt to new environments to find food, and have been known to outwit baited traps. But their smarts don’t begin and end there. They use an estimated 28 different vocal sounds to communicate, 8 of which are used only with their cubs. Affectionate parents - foxes are more than just chicken snatchers.

#9: Squirrels

They might appear a little skittish, but don’t mistake being high-strung for a lack of intelligence. Wouldn’t you be stressed out if you had to save up enough food to last all winter? Squirrels are incredibly smart critters. So smart in fact that some experts think of them as North America's monkey. Studies have found them to be brilliant problem solvers, who use logic and reasoning to access even the most secure food. According to a 2007 study published in “Animal Behaviour,” they actually create decoy caches by pretend burying food if they think another squirrel is watching. Clever!

#8: Cats

We might think of them as our pets, but who’s really in charge in cat-human relationships? Though they’ve been domesticated, cats remain stubborn, independent creatures. They can still be total needy cuddle-monsters, but they aren’t necessarily obedient. One would be remiss to confuse a lack of compliance with a lack of brains though. Cats have great memories, and have been shown, when tested, to be able to recall things from up to 10 years prior. The reality is, their inherent aloofness makes them hard to test accurately, but according to some mid-2010s, albeit limited research, cats test almost as well to dogs.

#7: Pigeons

With their unfocused stare, the species many think of as “winged-rats” don’t make a stellar first impression as far as intelligence is concerned. Bothersome though they might be to motorists and pedestrians, pigeons are quite smart. Tested by researchers at the University of Tokyo, these birds actually outperformed 3 year old children in certain areas of cognitive development. They were quickly able to distinguish between recorded footage of themselves, and a reflection. Even more impressive, according to research done at the University of Iowa, is they’ve been found capable of organizing images into as many as 16 categories. Time to rethink how we use the term “bird brain”.

#6: Wolves

Forget the fairy tales and folklore, wolves don’t need to huff and puff or dress up as grandma to find a meal - they’ve got the cunning they need to get the job done without theatrics. As pack animals, wolves demonstrate incredible coordination when hunting. In order to catch their prey, they work together as an organized group, one that is forced to communally make decisions based on the ever-changing variables they face while stalking their prey. While hunting and in research settings, wolves have proven to be incredibly competent problem solvers. Wolves also display incredible social intelligence with their complex hierarchical group structures.

#5: Ants
Ants demonstrate coordination the likes of which few species can compete, including humans. For decades, researchers have been giving credit to the colony itself, as if each ant is just a mindless drone simply following evolutionary instinct. However, contemporary research is changing that mentality towards our little insect friends. In reality, each individual ant displays jaw-dropping levels of intelligence considering their tiny size. Not only do they have remarkable memories for locations and paths, but also they are highly adaptive to change and excellent at evaluating risk. Those brains might be small, but they’re mighty.

#4: Whales

Whales already have a lot going for them, but we need to add “highly intelligent” to the list. Sperm whales have the largest brain on the planet, and though size doesn’t always matter, in the sperm whale’s case… it likely does. Due to their colossal size and inconvenient habitat, we haven’t had nearly enough opportunity to study sperm, gray and humpback whale species, but we surmise that their vocalizations, or songs, convey dense, multi-layered messages packed with information. In fact, it’s been discovered that whale brains contain spindle neurons, brain cells associated with high-level emotional intelligence, which have only otherwise been found in humans and primates.

#3: Octopuses
When Jane Goodall first brought the use of tools by primates to public attention in 1960, people couldn’t believe it. But guess what? Octopuses do it too! These oceanic alien-looking creatures have been observed collecting, cleaning out and assembling coconut shells into makeshift shelters. They even build themselves little walls out of stones and debris for protection when inhabiting cave-like spaces. That’s not all though. Cephalopods have a reputation for escaping their enclosures in aquariums, and finding creative ways to do it. If you ask philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith at least, octopuses are intelligent beings that genuinely engage with us.

#2: Dogs

There’s a reason people love their dogs - they're great, loyal allies. Subservience isn’t always synonymous with intelligence, but in the case of dogs… it IS. Not only are our four-legged friends incredibly adept at learning tricks, gobut also they can handle more complex tasks like drug-identification, arson investigation and guiding the blind. There's more to dog intelligence than obedience and the ability to perform jobs - they are emotionally intelligent too. They have been shown to feel emotions like anxiety, jealousy, shame or anticipation. Most remarkable however, is their ability to read emotion in the facial expressions of humans, an essential trait in any good friend.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Hamsters
- Ravens
- Monitor Lizards

#1: Orcas [aka Killer Whales]

While technically classified as a “toothed whale”, the orca has proven so intelligent that it deserves its own spot – it’s also the largest of what's known as the oceanic dolphin family. And unlike with many of their larger brethren, it’s a creature we’ve had ample opportunity to study up close. And you know what? They’re damn smart, and probably too smart for captivity. In fact, after the sperm whale, they have the second heaviest brain. Playful, curious problem solvers, killer whales are known to mimic behaviour, and toy with humans, and are creative hunters. Most impressively, according to findings published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, orcas might actually be smart enough to learn to speak dolphin if they’d been previously in contact with those types of aquatic mammals.