Hobbies And Interests
Great Apes
The ability to cooperate, communicate by manipulating symbols and use tools puts great apes at or near the top of the smart animal list, right behind humans. Chimpanzees and gorillas can use sign language to communicate original thoughts to a human, or to another ape. The great apes also display some ability to analyze problems, and to work together to find a solution.
Marine Mammals
Dolphins and some species of whale communicate in a complex language, use tools and may be able to recognize themselves in a mirror. They also display an ability to learn from humans. For example, dolphins can follow verbal and physical cues in order to perform complex tricks. This may seem unimpressive when you consider that your pet dog can do the same thing, but unlike dogs, dolphins can perform very sophisticated and time-consuming tasks in response to a single cue or command. They can also teach these tasks to other dolphins.
Elephants
Elephants are able to display empathy, cooperate, create tools and maintain a high level of hygiene, which shows biologists that these highly social animals have an above-average intellect. For example, an elephant will pick up a stick and use it to scratch himself, instead of relying on his trunk. Their ability to find and use tools, and to teach other elephants to use them, is comparatively rare in the animal kingdom.
Crows and Ravens
You may be familiar with Aesop's story about the thirsty crow who saw a half-full pitcher, but couldn't reach the water to get a drink. After giving the problem some thought, he put pebbles in the bottom of the pitcher to raise the water level. While this story is fictional, crows and ravens do seem to use similar forms of reasoning to solve problems. For instance, they will place an edible nut in the street, and wait for a car to run it over and crack its shell. Crows can also create and use tools, and find clever ways to open various types of containers.