What is the name of the smartest monkey? Planet of the Intelligent Apes

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The world of primates is fraught with many mysteries that humans are trying to solve. It is mammals that arouse genuine interest among naturalists, because they are considered the closest relatives of humans. It is worth noting that every year scientists discover up to 10 new species of primates, so we still have a lot of interesting things to learn about these amazing animals.

We are in Bright Side. ru We have collected for you a selection of facts, discoveries and opinions from scientists who reveal the secret veil that protects humans from the animal world.

Monkeys are born in the same way as humans

More recently, a group of Japanese scientists found that the birth of babies in monkeys is similar to that of humans. Chimpanzee babies emerge from the birth canal facing away from their mother, not the other way around. Although it was previously believed that this method and posture of birth was developed by human ancestors in the process of evolution. By the way, most often the role of obstetrician is performed by the male.

• Pregnancy in monkeys lasts 8–9 months.
• 59 years is how long the female chimpanzee Gamma lived. Today she is considered the record holder for the longest life expectancy among the great apes.

They are social animals

Chimpanzees, as well as similar species of animals from the class of mammals, prefer to live in society. Their group pastime is reminiscent of our usual life, where the elders look after the younger ones, someone gets food, and someone is engaged in education. But at the same time, murders and violence against fellow humans also occur in their society.

• The closest relatives or best “friends” of the deceased females take care of the orphaned cubs.
• Modern apes have 32 teeth, just like humans.

Self-admiration is their main hobby

Chimpanzees are one of the few animals that recognize themselves in the reflection of mirrors. And this explains the craving of other brethren for narcissism: primates spend most of their time creating beauty.

• Chimpanzees and gorillas are the most intelligent animals in the world, contrary to popular belief about the mental abilities of dolphins.

Gorilla Koko understands the meaning of 2,000 words of English. And her IQ level is 95. These indicators correspond to the average level of human intelligence.

Chimpanzees are humans' closest relatives

Every year, scientists conduct research, the essence of which is to find out about the similarities between chimpanzees and humans. The latest results revealed that the absolute similarity between the DNA of the subjects was less than 90%, although according to earlier studies the “identity” was 95%.

• Monkeys will never be able to evolve into humans due to the destroyed ecological habitat of these animals.

Monkeys and humans are the only animals that do not tolerate ultraviolet radiation well.

They know more about comfort than you can imagine

Most primates use available means to make life easier. For example, chimpanzees use plain paper or large leaves rolled into thin tubes to clean their ears and nails. They also create tools for everyday life - this could be a device for crushing nuts or a self-sharpened spear for hunting.

• Monkeys can get AIDS, but they will never get ARVI.

Almost all representatives of the primate order know how to brush their teeth. Female mothers teach this skill to their cubs from birth.

The birth of twins or triplets is very rare

Like humans, most monkeys give birth to only one baby. This is due to the fact that newborns are absolutely helpless for several months, so they can survive only under the close supervision of both parents or a social group. It is worth noting that childhood for these animals lasts 4 years, and female gorillas are considered the best mothers.

• The tallest apes are gorillas. The average height of males fluctuates around 170 cm.
• The smallest primates are pygmy marmosets. Their height is only 12 cm.

Super-intelligent chimpanzees so far only exist in films, like the recent "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." In real life, monkeys are still just very smart animals. Just how smart are they?

The first evidence that chimpanzees have the rudiments of strong intelligence was obtained in the 60s of the last century in Gombe, Tanzania. Now famous anthropologist Jane Goodall conducted observations of a group of chimpanzees and witnessed their ability to use improvised tools when obtaining food (chimpanzees made sticks for catching termites). Until this point, making tools was considered the privilege of only Homo sapiens.

Since then, decades of study have revealed that our closest relatives can also learn and communicate using sign language, hunt prey with spears, and even pass simple memory tests.

On the picture Francine "Penny" Patterson(left) asks the gorilla using sign language Coco Isn't she hungry? The photograph is dated May 21, 1976. Coco tells her with gestures that she is hungry.

Gorilla Koko was born in 1971 and today she is the most sociable of primates. Her sign vocabulary consists of more than a thousand characters and she can understand about two thousand words of spoken English. At the same time, she can start a conversation with a person herself, since she is interested in communicating with people.
Her IQ level fluctuates between 75 and 95 points, while among people 100 points is already considered normal for full development.

The next photo shows a researcher Sue Savage-Rumbout(Sue Savage-Rumbaugh) hugs a chimpanzee named Kanzi at the Atlanta Language Research Center. Kanzi has just successfully completed one of the language texts.

Kanzi was born in 1980 and is now the most famous "talking" monkey in the world. He was the first chimpanzee to learn sign language as he grew older, as small children typically do. Greatapetrust.org also reports that he was the first chimpanzee to construct new phrases and sentences that required specific responses. Moreover, Kenzi has established himself as a master at stone processing and creating tools from stones.

The next photo shows an orangutan Azi points with a finger at the symbol representing an apple after being shown a piece of an apple. Photo taken in 1996 at the Brain Institute in Washington.

Azi can represent his thoughts with abstract symbols on the keyboard panel and understands the individuality of each individual. He knows how to use logic in actions. There are about 70 characters in the orangutan dictionary, each of which has its own graphic image. Moreover, they do not resemble the object denoting it.

New photo shows an adult female gorilla in the national park Congo uses a stick in his hands to measure the depth level. The moment was captured by researchers in 2005.

Then this was the first evidence that gorillas can use tools. Previously, only chimpanzees, bonobo chimpanzees and orangutans were observed creating and using improvised tools. Scientists believed that gorillas had simply lost such skills. In the end, they can break the nuts simply with their fist without stones and get termites without sticks by simply breaking the termite mound.

In this photo there is an anthropologist Jill Prutz holds a spear in his hands. produced by a wild chimpanzee in 2007. Prutz, along with other researchers, observed the life of chimpanzees in Senegal and there, for the first time in history, chimpanzees were evidenced making tools for hunting other animals.

In total, in 2007, a group of chimpanzees were recorded making sticks and spears for hunting mammals 22 times. The latter was also a kind of discovery. Many people previously believed that chimpanzees did not eat meat. They hunted, in particular, smaller species of primates.

The last photo shows a chimpanzee Ayumi takes a test with mixed numbers. Photo taken in 2007 at the Institute for Primate Research in Tokyo (Japan).

One memory test used two young chimpanzees against two humans. The monkeys prevailed, which casts doubt on the assurances of many scientists that humans are superior to monkeys in all cognitive parameters.

Wildlife Conservation Society's Breuer notes that apes are better at navigating memory tests than humans, solving them much faster and in a completely different way.

We know that primates are highly trainable. It turns out that in addition to them, pigs are quite smart, dogs understand humans very well, and dolphins confirm their mental abilities.

Pigs are smart animals

Among domestic animals, the smartest, no matter how surprising it may seem, are pigs. Their level of intelligence is comparable to that of dogs and cats. Moreover, by performing certain tasks, pigs confirm that they are superior in mental abilities to cats and dogs.

They quickly understand how a mirror works and enjoy looking at their reflection. However, scientists cannot answer whether pigs identify their reflection with themselves, as monkeys do, or not.

It is known that pigs quickly get used to a certain daily routine. They sense time and begin to worry shortly before feeding. They are also easy to train. The pig can be called one of the cleanest animals. If there is a clean, dry place, it will never lie on a dirty one. In the United States, it is not uncommon to see pigs as pets.

Understanding dogs

It is known that the dog was domesticated approximately ten thousand years ago. Dogs are called the most understanding animals. They are able to distinguish two hundred and fifty words and gestures, understand counting to five, and are even capable of performing simple mathematical operations.

Sometimes it seems that the dog understands literally everything that the owner tells it, but this is an illusion. In fact, she does not understand, but perceives our speech. Knowing more than two hundred words, this animal is not able to understand them in a sentence, or to link the meaning of several such words into one whole. A person's friend is able to grasp the emotional coloring of what was said and understand the intonation.

A dog's mind lags behind a human's by a huge distance, however, the feelings of this animal are the same as those of a human. When making a decision, the dog is primarily guided by its feelings. It is known that the more the owner and the dog are emotionally connected, the more it “understands” its owner.

How intelligent are dolphins?

Much has been written about dolphins and their intelligence. It is believed that they are the smartest animals. In the mid-twentieth century, when their study and training began, the results obtained surprised researchers, trainers and scientists. Some have expressed the opinion that their intelligence is comparable to that of a human being.

It is known that the average weight of a human brain is one kilogram, four hundred grams, and the average weight of an adult dolphin’s brain is one kilogram, seven hundred grams. Their brains have twice as many convolutions, but there are far fewer neurons per cubic centimeter than in a primate brain. The dolphin never sleeps completely. In this his brain is completely unique. Either his left or his right hemisphere sleeps, alternately.

Dolphins have a very complex language. Man has recently learned to partially understand it. Like people, dolphins live a social life. In order to teach her children all the features of life in dolphin society, the female takes care of them for several years after birth.

What can monkeys learn?

Among the ten most intelligent animals on the planet, the first six places are occupied by primates - gibbons, chimpanzees, orangutans, monkeys, baboons and gorillas. This list was compiled by biologist Edward Wilson. The most intelligent among primates, in his opinion, is the chimpanzee.

Primates have very complex and large brains. They are capable of building a complex culture, and even have some control over their environment. As a result of long-term observations, it became clear that all primates communicate freely with members of their own species, which indicates the development of certain language skills.

Experiments aimed at discovering what can be taught to monkeys have yielded many interesting findings. Those primates who were not afraid of snakes were taught to be afraid of them. To do this, they were forced to listen to scary and loud sounds made by snakes. The most amazing thing is that the monkeys, who were not afraid of snakes, but observed the fear of other monkeys, also began to be afraid of them.

Scientists have proven that a monkey, like a human, can be taught to swim well. It is known that monkeys such as chimpanzees enthusiastically imitate humans. They can easily learn to eat with a knife and fork.

Many species of primates are able to learn to speak sign language, which is used by deaf and mute people. They can master several dozen characters in just a few months.

The smartest animal in the world

There are several opinions regarding which animal in the world is the smartest. Opinions were divided. Most often, monkeys are considered the smartest, with chimpanzees and gorilla in first place. But the abilities of orangutans have not yet been sufficiently studied, however, there is an assumption that they may well displace even chimpanzees.

Another opinion is that the smartest animal is the dolphin. There are grounds for such a conclusion. Firstly, they have twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex as humans. Well, secondly, dolphins know how to control their brains much better than humans. After all, none of the living beings is able to force either the right or the left hemisphere to work.

But the smartest person in the world turned out to be a woman...
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Chimpanzee Washoe

In the list of the most intelligent animals, apes come first. But even among the monkeys themselves, there can sometimes be “outstanding personalities” who have such exceptional abilities that one can involuntarily recognize in these animals the presence of intelligence close to human. In October 2007, at the age of 42, the world-famous, most intelligent monkey, the chimpanzee Washoe, the first representative of primates to “speak” sign language, died. This incredibly smart monkey lacked only one thing for full communication: a larynx and vocal cords not given by nature.

Gorilla Coco

At the end of the 60s of the last century, the first successful experiments appeared on teaching monkeys to communicate with people through gestures used by deaf and dumb people. The Gardner spouses became persistent researchers in this, and Washoe was their first and best student. Already in the first year of her life, she was able to master more than thirty signs of Amslen (American language of the deaf and dumb), and by the age of three her vocabulary had reached 130 characters. Smart Washoe could even make up sentences and create names for new objects, and after the birth of her cub, she began to teach him the language she knew to communicate with people.

The Gardners' research amazed everyone so much that it prompted scientists to conduct similar experiments on a wide scale. Thus, Dr. Penny Patterson from San Francisco studied 25 “talking” monkeys, of which the gorilla Koko was the most talented. This most intelligent monkey “spoke” fluently in a thousand characters, and understood about 2 thousand symbols. Coco really “reasoned,” “begged,” “sweared,” so she deservedly received the nickname “professor.” Incredible memories like Coco's were confirmed by the thinking abilities of monkeys.

Experiments with monkeys

For the first time, experiments with monkeys began to be carried out in the early 20s of the 20th century, with the help of which they tried to find out whether monkeys were capable of truly thinking, like people. There is a well-known experiment by the German psychologist Köhler, during which a chimpanzee, after several failures when trying to get a banana from above, placed an additional box and did what she wanted. In the 1930s, the smartest monkey was the famous chimpanzee Gua, who taught the son of the psychologists Kellogg all monkey habits.

But when trying to “talk” to ordinary monkeys, the “talking” monkeys always failed. It is difficult to judge whether this indicates the low intelligence of some monkey representatives and the highly developed thinking of others. But research on the presence of intelligence in monkeys is still being conducted today. Washoe's descendants now live in a colony of "talking monkeys" that was founded by Roger Fouts in 1993 in Ellensburg. At the Washington Institute for the Study of Chimpanzee-Human Communication, scientists are identifying the ability of chimpanzees to “talk” and think.

Yerkish language

From recent experiments conducted with bonobo chimpanzees, it became known that these monkeys can communicate with the experimenter using a computer in the Yerkishe language. The computer keys display the symbols of this language and the monkeys can communicate with each other using “lexigrams.”

What do the most intelligent monkeys “talk” about? Here, for example, is one of these conversations (chimpanzees Kanzi and Bonbonishi), recorded on one of the walks. Bonbonisha was horrified to discover the dog's tracks and showed on the Amslen:

Dog tracks!!!
“No, it’s a squirrel,” Kanzi answered.
- No, dog!
- There are no dogs here.
- No. I know for sure that they are here. There are a lot of dogs in sector "A". The other monkeys told me.

Yulia Misyura, Samogo.Net

Man is surrounded by numerous representatives of the animal world, often surprising with their skills and intelligence. Scientists have tried to determine the smartest animal in the world. Which of our “smaller brothers” has the greatest intelligence?

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What is meant by intelligence

The question is to what extent do different animals have intelligence, excites the minds of scientists for more than one millennium, starting with Aristotle, who lived in the 5th century BC.

Important! Before drawing any conclusions, let’s understand what is meant by the term “animal intelligence.”

Researchers have identified a number of mental properties that cannot be explained by instincts, by which one can judge the intelligence of animals. Here are the main ones:

• thinking;
• ability to learn;
• communication skills;
• self-identification;
• memory and intuition;
• knowledge of geography, spatial orientation;
• use of tools.

Highly developed living beings in life are influenced by emotions and motives that determine their behavior and experience. Some of them surprise us with the logic of their actions, planning their actions, finding a way out of difficult situations, and the ability to communicate with animals of other species and with humans.

Mammals with highly developed intelligence

The class of mammals on the planet has more than 4 thousand species. Let's try to figure out which of the inhabitants of the wild is the smartest

Squirrels

Among the numerous representatives of the animal world, squirrels occupy 8th position in the ranking of the smartest animals, thanks to the following qualities:

• communicative animals are often choose habitats near populated areas, boldly take food from human hands;
• the furry animal is characterized by long-term planning, associated with preparing supplies for the winter, he collects much more than he can eat and hides it in various hiding places (you never know);
• possessing phenomenal memory and orientation, squirrels remember where the food storage is located for more than 2 months.
• Another important quality of nimble animals is cunning. Feeling threatened, they may pretend to bury the treasure in one place, while they themselves hide it in another.
• The presence of thinking in squirrels is confirmed by observations of how they steal food. This is a logically constructed chain of actions: waiting, predicting the reaction of a potential victim, capturing food, accompanied by a quick jump and running away.

Rats

There are about 70 varieties in the world. Research by scientists has shown that in terms of ability, rats are ahead of squirrels and are among the ten most intelligent animals with many abilities:

• abstract thinking and cunning. The rat will be able to cope with any mousetrap and, using various operations, pull out the prey;
• the ability to concentrate in case of danger, showing instant reaction and physical abilities: jump over any obstacle more than 1 meter, climb a vertical wall and swim across a body of water more than 800 meters wide;
• communication with similar creatures in the ultrasonic range, changing the frequency of sound signals. A large vocabulary in rats is manifested by the presence of screams with different meanings.
• collective intelligence and division of responsibilities in a pack. Rats always have a leader and scouts who try their food to see if it is poisoned, sacrificing their lives for the sake of their relatives.

Take note! Rats adapt to and recognize the various poisons used to kill them.

In rats, a number of other unique features. Among the recent discoveries of scientists are the properties to see dreamsand react with laughter to funny situations that bring them closer to human intelligence.

Dolphins

The triumvirate of the smartest mammals opens with representatives of cetaceans - dolphins. These mammals have a set of unique abilities that indicate them as intelligent beings:

• collectivism and raising offspring. They live in small flocks, doing collective work. The female mother spends several years teaching her cubs how to behave in dolphin society;
• ability to imitate: can copy the manners of humans and the habits of other animals;
• identification. They love to show off in front of the mirror, recognizing themselves;
• training and training. They are easy to learn and even show creativity on their own when performing tricks;
• communication. They communicate with each other by giving sound signals even over long distances. Relatives are recognized by whistling, they can imitate simple human words, bird chirping and various sounds.

Interesting! The dolphin brain consists of two hemispheres that sleep in turns, so these mammals are awake around the clock.

In India, the abilities of dolphins were recognized at the state level, recognizing them personalities, what caused ban on dolphinariums exploiting these thinking beings .

Elephants

Even the ancient Greek scientist Aristotle, observing elephants, recognized that they were superior to other animals “in wit and intelligence.” Why are elephants surprised if they are placed in second position in the ranking of the smartest animals:

• tender care for the offspring, education and transfer of one’s skills to the cubs;
• can be friends and empathize. When someone close to him dies, the elephant may not leave the deceased for days, and then arranges a funeral for him, throwing branches and leaves over the corpse;
• long term memory. He remembers faces and events throughout his life, remembers insults, avenging them;
• easy to learn, performing various circus tricks, can play football, sing along to music, draw;
• has abstract thinking. An experiment was conducted to see if an elephant could reach high-hanging food using available means. After several attempts, the elephant came up with the idea to substitute a nearby cube and, standing on it, took out the food.

Pet rating

Let's look at the pets included in the category - smartest pets.

Horses

Horses have a significant brain volume, most of it coordinating movements. Let us characterize the mental properties of horses that indicate the presence of intelligence:

• visual memory, based on developed reflexes, horses remember people, the road, and the surrounding area well;
• loyalty and devotion. A horse can be as loyal as a dog and faithfully serve its owner all its life. ;
• well trained. This property of horses is evidenced by their work in the circus, the police when dispersing crowds, participation in racing, sports games in polo and competitions in show jumping and dressage.

Horses are accustomed to not thinking about life, trusting their owner, and in the herd, the main stallion or mare.

Sheep

Zoologists who conducted experiments on sheep assure that they are not stupid creatures. Let's judge the level of the sheep's intelligence by their intelligence indicators:

• the ability to remember the faces of people surrounding animals and fellow animals, distinguishing them in a large flock. They can retain learned information in their minds for about three years., which indicates their excellent memory ;
• They have the ability to distinguish the shapes of different geometric shapes and colors. They quickly navigate among the feeders by color and distinguish between full and empty ones;
• can hide pain, enduring until the last, so as not to show their weakness to predators.

Sheep are social animals, accustomed to a herd lifestyle, expressed in uncomplaining obedience to the leader and man.

Pigs

What qualities helped the pig take an honorable place in the ranking of intellectuals of the animal world:

• orientation in time. Adaptation to the daily routine allows them to remember feeding times; when lunch is delayed, they begin to express dissatisfaction with loud grunting;
• perfectly oriented in space and any labyrinth;
• intelligence and learning ability. In the process of training, they master the performance of simple tricks;
• all pigs have good long-term memory. This especially applies to wild boars, which will not bite at the same bait.

Speaking about the mental abilities of pigs, he argued that they are not compromised even by dogs.

Cats

Among animals, cats are ranked fifth in intelligence. These cute furry creatures have their own minds and can compete with dogs in intelligence:

• understand human speech, recognize human intonations and can imitate them;
• have a good memory, intelligence, curiosity and ingenuity - these are integral features of cats. They can figure out how to open a door, get an object, learn to carry out a number of commands;
• Yuri Kuklachev’s cat show clearly demonstrates their talents and ability to learn;
• The cat family shows a wide range of feelings towards humans - affection, tenderness, affection and even hatred, expressing an aggressive attitude towards offenders.

Dogs

• have excellent memory and can remember up to 250 words and gestures, understanding their meaning;
• gorgeous learning ability helps to master counting to 5, perform various commands, recognize dogs in photographs and recognize up to 200 toys and objects by names;
• thanks to instinct and intuition they notice the slightest changes in a person’s mood and well-being;
• dogs have a sense of humor, can parody human facial expressions and gestures, as proven by scientists at Harvard University.

Loyalty and devotion to the owner speaks of a developed consciousness and the depth of their feelings.

Take note! The top three breeds that top the ranking of intelligent dogs are Border Collies, Poodles and German Shepherds.

Who is smarter - comparative analysis

Scientists' debate about which animal is the smartest has not stopped for many years. Let's try to understand this issue using comparative tables.

Dog or rat

Intelligence assessment criteria	dogs	rats
1. Thinking		Does not understand a person, but can build a logical chain of actions
2. Ability to learn	Well trained	No
3. Communication skills	Communicates with humans and other dogs	Build a hierarchy in their community
4. Self-identification		No
5. Memory	good	good
6. Intuition	Feels the mood of the owner. Anticipates disaster	An earthquake is detected two days in advance. Abandon ships in advance
7. Knowledge of geography	Can run several kilometers from home and find its way back	Not studied

Conclusion: based on the parameters of the table, the dog wins in the “animal intelligence” category, although if we take other abilities, the question will remain open.

Dog or monkey

Intelligence assessment criteria	dog	monkey
Thinking	Understand individual words and commands	There is logical thinking
Ability to learn	Well trained	Easy to learn
Communication skills		Communicate in their environment and with people
Self-identification	Recognizes a dog in the mirror, but does not identify with himself	Some species recognize themselves in the mirror
Memory	Remembers and distinguishes more than 250 objects	Remembers and understands up to 500 words and geometric shapes.
Use of tools	No	Use tools
Knowledge of geography	Finds the way home	Within the habitat

Conclusion: In this table the score is 1:0 in favor of the monkey

Dolphin or monkey

Intelligence assessment criteria	dolphins	monkey
Thinking	Understand sequences in artificial language. Understands commands and gestures.	High level of logical thinking
Ability to learn	They love to learn	Easy to learn
Communication skills	Communication within a species using special sounds	They have their own language of communication with each other
Self-identification	Recognize themselves in the mirror	Some species recognize themselves
Memory	good	Excellent
Using tools	No	Can create temporary tools
Knowledge of geography	Yes	Within the environment

Conclusion: when determining who is smarter - a monkey or a dolphin, based on the table, the scales tip in favor of the jungle inhabitant.

Who takes place after the person

The greatest genetic similarity to humans, amounting to 98%, is possessed by monkeys, which together with humans belong to the family of primates. By nature they are endowed with a brain similar in volume and functions to that of a human. It has been proven that monkeys are the most intelligent mammals on the planet after humans.

For what mental capabilities do monkeys occupy the palm among intelligent animals:

• possess logical thinking at the level of a three-year-old child. Able to build complex compositions from objects;
• communicate with relatives using a special language and gestures. They control their environment, creating a certain way of life in the pack;
• have good memory and intelligence. Having adapted to living next to a person, they can easily deceive and rob him;
• all primates learn well and copy the behavior of humans. They are caring parents, raising their offspring, teaching their young the skills necessary in life;
• use tools to obtain food, which puts monkeys above all mammals in terms of development.

Chimpanzee is the leader of the rating

The first place in the ranking of all biologists is occupied by chimpanzees, whose habits and character traits are similar to humans. The dwarf species of chimpanzee, called the bonobo, is the smartest monkey in the world, in its psychological and behavioral qualities it is 99.4% close to humans:

• knows how to empathize, help others, show feelings of joy and anger;
• monkeys of this species can make and use more than 26 types of tools, from sticks for picking out termites to stone hammers;
• Their memory and learning ability is expressed in the understanding of human speech. A bonobo monkey can be taught to understand up to 3 thousand words. While conducting experiments, scientists were shocked by the results. When first hearing the command: “take out the chair” or “soap the ball,” the bonobo performed these actions;

Conclusion

Humanity recognizes the intelligence of animals, the smartest animals are studied. For now, the bonobo chimpanzee is on the top step of the pedestal, but perhaps when scientists are able to develop IQ tests for animals, leadership will pass to another living creature.