The Most Clever Animals

We always assume most animals are pretty dumb but actually they are not and some animals are very clever and quite smart. This Hubpage features the Top 5 Smartest Animals and also a few close runners up are featured too. The animals in this list are all very clever but it is possible I may also miss a smart animal or two so this list may not be 100% scientifically correct but is pretty accurate! If I do miss a fantastically smart animal off the list, please leave a comment and this article will have some of the cleverest animals in the world!

Animals show intelligence in many ways and some of the factors include: social groups, their own language, teamwork and problem solving among other things. This list also obviously excludes humans so no comment saying "human beings are the smartest!"

The Top 5 Smartest Animals are:

We don't tend to think of pigs as a very intelligent animal and when using the word "pig" to describe each other - we take it as an insult like Piggy in Lord of the Flies.  However we often underestimate pig intelligence levels and pigs are in some ways more intelligent than babies and chimpanzees!  

Pigs are very good at adapting to their environment and know that to cool down they should roll in the mud, which also keeps away pests but it does smell too! Pigs also have a very good sense of direction and learn from watching each other. 

Pigs also lead good social lives and interact with each other in surprising ways.  Mother pigs sing to their piglets and also out smart each other!

Elephants are also very intelligent animals and are not just giants. For a start, elephant brains are massive and are bigger than humans weighing over 5kg! Again, they care for each other and help each other out. Elephants also have a very good memory and can find water from miles away and somehow just know where it is.

Elephants are also the only species apart from human beings and Neanderthals that appear to have a death ritual, showing grief. Elephants actually touch the bones and cover them up, in effect burying them. This shows high intelligence levels.

Opposite to this, elephants also play and have ever been able to create abstract art, most likely by remembering the brush strokes.  Look below and you will see an incredible video!!

Useful link

Elephant intelligence

As most people know, great apes are considered our closest relatives and the cleverest creatures after humans. Orangutans have a strong system of communication and a strong culture. Orangutans also use tools like rocks in the wild to help them. They have a very good social life!

Female Orangutans also stay with their young and teach them for many years.

Dolphins are incredible animals which are both beautiful but also highly intelligent.  In the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams says Dolphins are the second most clever animal after mice!

Firstly, dolphins are highly social animals and live together in groups of up to a dozen (12). Dolphins also have their own language and communicate using clicks, whistles and other noises again showing they are very clever. 

Dolphins also play together and love to jump as you can often see in zoos and other places.  If I could be any animal, I think I would choose to be a dolphin - I just love them!

Chimpanzees are another great ape and are famously considered the most intelligent animals (after humans) and for good reason. Chimpanzees can: make and use tools, communicate with each other and even learn sign language to communicate with humans, hunt together and can solve advanced problems.

So Chimpanzees are highly intelligent animals!

There are many smart animals and some obviously missed the list. Here are some of the runners up!

• Mice
• Cats
• Dogs
• Crows