Animals World

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Welcome to Animal World, this series in which we examine animals' behaviour in their natural habitats. This week, we're turning our attention to some of the smartest animals on the planet. Here to help us is wildlife expert and animal rights campaigner, Dr. Roger Matthews. Thank you for joining us, Dr. Matthews. Thank you for inviting me. Dr. Matthews, if humans are intelligent, then chimpanzees must be intelligent too, because they share 98% of the same genes as humans. Is that right? Yes, it is. And when you spend time with chimpanzees, you can see how close they are to humans in so many ways. They embrace and kiss and hug each other, and they laugh when they're playing. They experience adolescence and develop powerful mother and child bonds. They are also similar to humans in that they attack and kill rival gangs of chimpanzees when they want to extend their territory. Oh, that really is quite shocking. I thought chimps were like humans, but nicer. It's the same with dolphins. When you think of dolphins, words like friendly, gentle, playful, intelligent come to mind. Well, they are undoubtedly intelligent. Dolphins have large brains and they have a number of things in common with humans and chimpanzees. They form stable communities and live in social groups, and they're totally dependent on their parents during childhood. But they're also good at defending themselves and can be quite competitive with one another. When they want to show who's boss or keep other males away from a female, they can be quite aggressive. If we could come nearer to home, Dr. Matthews, what about the animals we see every day around us? Right. Let's think about farm animals. Which do you think are the least intelligent? Um, least intelligent. Cows maybe, or no. Sheep. Right. Sheep have the reputation for being stupid because they follow the crowd and, frankly, they don't look very bright. However, scientific research shows that they've been seriously undervalued for their intelligence. Sheep are capable of learning. In intelligence tests, they perform at a level very similar to monkeys, and they can recognise people and respond when you call their name. So sheep are, in fact, quite intelligent animals. Extraordinary. It proves that it isn't the animals that look intelligent that are intelligent. Look at owls. We call them wise, but it's a common misconception. Owls are not very clever at all. Yes, things are not always as they appear. Now, before we go any further, there's a question I'd like to ask. Which are smarter? Dogs or cats? Well, cats seem to have strong personalities, while dogs can be rather silly. But in fact, dogs have bigger brains. Their brains have been developing for centuries, while cats' brains have remained unchanged since they were first domesticated by the ancient Egyptians. Why is that? It's down to one simple fact. Dogs are more social than cats, and the more social the animal, the bigger the brain, and therefore the smarter the animal. If you think about it, dogs come when you call and spend a lot of time trying to please their owner. They're used as rescue dogs, police dogs, guide dogs. Cats, on the other hand, are loners. Ah, I'm going to defend cats here. Dogs do tricks because they've been trained to come when you call their name, or to fetch the ball and things like that. I'm sure my cat could do that if she wanted to, but she's too independent to do tricks, and she doesn't need the approval of humans like dogs do. Well, everybody thinks their own pet is the smartest. I've got a goldfish, and I'm sure he can tell the time. Thank you very much, Dr Matthews. In future, I won't judge an animal on what it looks like. Next week, we're talking about elephants. But until then, goodbye.