For decades, dolphins and dogs have competed for the title of the smartest animal in the world. But which of the two is actually smarter? And can these two very different species really be compared? Two difficult questions that Justin Gregg, a researcher with the Dolphin Communication Project and co-editor of the academic journal Aquatic Mammals, tries to answer.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
For decades, i dolphins and dogs competed for the title of the smartest animal in the world. But which of the two is actually smarter? And can these two very different species really be compared? Two difficult questions to which he tries to answer Justin Gregg, a researcher with the Dolphin Communication Project and co-editor of the academic journal Aquatic Mammals.
Dolphins, with their sociability, theirs communication skills and their playfulness, are widely regarded as the second most intelligent of all animals after humans. However, the past few years have seen a growing interest in canine cognition. Researchers in some tests have shown that dogs can outwit both great apes and dolphins. So what does the latest science say? Could dogs be the intellectual rivals of dolphins?
“There is a lot of evidence on greater ability of dogs to decipher communicative intentions of a person compared to primates, ”says Laurie R. Santos, a psychologist at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, who studies primates and dogs to shed light on the human mind.
This ability, rare in the animal kingdom, makes them one of the few species capable of understand people. Unlike dogs, however, dolphins are acute and complex problem solvers, they know how to recognize themselves in the mirror, so they have avery high self-awareness.
Who wins, then? Simply there is no point in making comparisons. Because we are relying on our abilities to evaluate the intelligence of other species, while each, of intelligence, has its own, it's just different from ours. Intelligence tests are also plagued by cultural bias. Every animal thinks differently, but that doesn't mean they do it less intelligently. The answer to the initial question, therefore, is: it depends on the point of view.
Roberta Ragni
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