Who’s the Smartest? A Look at the Most Intelligent Animals on Earth

octopus
Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock.com

Written by Heather Hall

Updated: January 31, 2025

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What are the 10 smartest animals on Earth? Though it’s debatable, some of the animals on this list have impressive skills when it comes to learning, understanding, memory, communication, problem-solving, spatial awareness, self-awareness, and collaboration. Some animals have even mastered the art of deception.

We tend to think of animals as leading a pretty simple existence, and it’s mind-blowing to discover what many creatures are capable of. So, without further ado, let the countdown begin!

#10 Raccoon

Raccoon holding a red flower.
Raccoons are excellent lock pickers that can remember puzzle solutions for up to three years.

Raccoons may gravitate to the garbage, but they’re also super smart. In the early 20th century, research conducted by ethologist H.B. David proved that raccoons are expert lock pickers who can easily recognize moved or rotated devices. They also boast incredible memories and can remember puzzle solutions for up to three years! 

Raccoons learn at a faster rate than other animals and are thought to be smarter than dogs and even toddlers. They are excellent at adapting their behavior and learning new things. Raccoons have been seen using tools, washing their food, and using their own vocal language.

#9 Bees

Honey bee perched on a purple and yellow flower.
Honey bees live in colonies of up to 50,000 individuals who work together to keep the hive going.

When a team is comprised of 50,000 individuals working shoulder to shoulder, democratic decision-making and delegation are vital- and it’s those qualities that keep honey bees alive and thriving. The genius insects have perfected the art of cooperation, landing them on our smartest animals on Earth list.

Bees have been studied extensively and scientists are amazed at their intelligence. Bees can perform simple arithmetic, communicate in dance language, and have a rich emotional life. They exhibit complex behaviors and social structures, which are indicative of advanced cognitive abilities.

They’re also non-violent, another intelligence indicator. For example, when scout bees disagree about new hive locations, they have a dance-off instead of fighting to the death!

#8 Octopus

An octopus in a body of water.
Octopuses are experts at solving puzzles and escaping captivity.

Once upon a time, an octopus named Otto lived at a German aquarium. Mellow and chill, Otto wasn’t fond of the facility’s bright lights, so he took matters into his own tentacles…and sprayed water on the overhead lamps to short-circuit them!

Otto isn’t the only intelligent octopus. Individuals of this species have proven time and again that they’re masters at solving puzzles and escaping captivity. 

It sure doesn’t hurt to have nine brains, one in each arm, and a central brain to coordinate everything. Octopuses have been seen using tools often, walking on stilts, planning elaborate defense systems, solving puzzles, playing tricks, and recognizing human faces.

#7 Pigeons

Three pigeons standing on a sidewalk. One pigeon's wings are outstretched.
Pigeons have excellent memories and are capable of holding over 700 images in their heads at a time.

Have you ever played a memory game? Imagine matching the most tiles by best remembering where everything is on a board. Well, guess what? If you ever played this game with a pigeon, you’d probably lose and lose hard. A study revealed that pigeons can hold over 700 images in their heads at a time!

Moreover, before the electronic age, when telegrams were a sci-fi fantasy, militaries used pigeons to ferry messages between posts. Basically, pigeons are Mother Nature’s GPS droids.

#6 Pigs

Two pigs sleeping in a pen.
Pigs can navigate mazes, understand emotions, learn sign languages, and have best friends.

Pigs are super smart. They easily navigate mazes, understand emotions, learn sign languages, and even have best friends with whom they prefer to spend time. Believe it or not, baby pigs are smarter than baby humans! Point of fact: piglets master self-awareness faster than infants. Plus, little pigs know their names by two weeks old! It takes humans a few months.

Pigs are considered the fifth most intelligent animal in the world, even more intelligent than dogs. Pigs are capable of playing video games, have an excellent memory, and are highly social. They have been measured to have a very complex cognitive system and are capable of spatial learning and problem-solving.

#5 Dolphins

False killer whale, the fourth-largest dolphin, with its head out of the water.
Dolphins can learn how to mimic humans.

Humans have a 1/40 brain-to-body-size ratio; dolphins have a 1/50 one. What does that mean? Well, it’s complicated. But for our smartest animals on Earth list, it means dolphins are wicked intelligent.

Dolphins are so smart they can mimic humans — and they even know how to cheat! Kelly, a research dolphin at the Marine Mammal Studies lab in Mississippi, hoodwinked her way into more treats during an action-reward drill. During the observational period, trainers taught the dolphins to exchange pieces of trash in their tanks for food. Kelly caught on pretty quickly and gamed the system by ripping her trash into multiple parts to double her culinary rewards!

Dolphins are the second smartest animal in the world, with humans being the first. They have complex problem-solving brains and are even capable of understanding abstract problems. Dolphins are often seen communicating through language, exhibiting social lives and self-awareness, and even planning for the future.

#4 Crows

Two crows mid-flight.
Crows can plan new flyover paths during the migratory season to avoid hunters.

The Isaac Newtons of the bird world, crows know physics! Okay, they may not be proficient in binomial theorems, but they understand how water displacement works, which is a lot more than other animals can do! Crows also plot new flyover paths to avoid trigger-friendly humans that hunt crows during migratory season. 

These birds have been known to remember faces they see for many years, mimic sounds, speak their own language, use tools, plan ahead, and solve complex problems. Crows are thought to be as smart as a 7-year-old child.

#3 Elephant

An elephant eating leaves.
Elephants can recognize each other after years of separation.

Elephants rank among the largest terrestrial mammals, and they’re also some of the smartest animals on Earth! Famously, pachyderms have incredible memories. Not only can they remember watering hole routes hundreds of kilometers long, but they also recognize each other after years of separation.

Take, for example, Jenny and Shirley, who both ended up in a Tennessee elephant sanctuary. The moment their eyes locked, the two ladies did the elephant equivalent of running toward each other with arms wide open. It turned out they had briefly traveled in a circus together 22 years earlier!

#2 Chimpanzee

A baby chimpanzee holding the face of an adult chimpanzee while holding onto a tree branch.
Chimpanzees can learn verbal languages, mourn lost loved ones, and even make tools.

Chimpanzees are a lot like humans. They learn verbal languages, mourn the passing of loved ones, and make tools. Also like humans, their intellectual prowess is determined by both genetic factors and environmental ones. To learn more about our remarkable cousins, head over to the Jane Goodall Foundation website.

Chimps can recognize themselves in the mirror, learn sign language, use symbols for objects and combine them into a language, and make their own tools.

#1 Humans

Multiple humans smiling
Humans have been determined to be the most intelligent animal.

We don’t mean to boast, but humans take the smartest animal cake. We have superior reasoning abilities and can manipulate environments in astounding ways. However, if humans were better able to communicate with other animals, we might just discover they think we’re the dumbest species on Earth! 


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About the Author

Heather Hall

Heather Hall is a writer at A-Z Animals, where her primary focus is on plants and animals. Heather has been writing and editing since 2012 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, Heather enjoys hiking, gardening, and trail running through the mountains with her dogs.

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