• Question: How intelligant are animals brains and how do they think

    Asked by wasp520muon on 19 Dec 2024. This question was also asked by safe520muon.
    • Photo: Rachel Findlay-Robinson

      Rachel Findlay-Robinson answered on 19 Dec 2024:

      I think that it really depends on the animal – some animals are very very clever and have very intelligent brains, so can do things like solve puzzles and use tools – crows are very good at learning to use sticks as tools and solve puzzles. Other animals have very tiny brains so might not be able to do things like solve puzzles, but they are still clever enough to get away from things that might eat them and find food. Even jellyfish, which don’t even have a brain, have been shown to learn to avoid bumping into things that they did before!

Comments

  • Photo: melissau

    melissau commented on :

    As humans we define intelligence as being able to work out complicated problems but for animals this might not be necessary (I can’t think of a reason why fish might need to solve complex mathematical equations for example) What’s just as important as intelligence for many animals is sentience – their capacity to have feelings and emotions – so for example, animals feeling happy or sad, enjoying company of other animals, being able to ‘play’ and make choices about their daily life. Different animal species can demonstrate these in many ways and for domesticated animals where people make decisions about their way of life, we need to understand their behaviour to help us be aware of their feelings and preferences in order to help them have a good life.