The 10 Most Forgetful Animals With the Worst Memory

Have you ever wondered which animals are the most forgetful or have the worst memories? You might think you have the worst memory, but you’re nothing compared to the animals on our list. One particular animal has a short-term memory of only two seconds! Follow along to discover the ten most forgetful animals with the worst memories.

1. Chimpanzees

Although in no particular order, the first animal on our list is the chimpanzee. While chimpanzees are known for their incredible intelligence, they can be very forgetful creatures. Chimpanzees have an average short-term memory span of about 20 seconds. Don’t let this fool you or confuse you though! Chimpanzees are very intelligent and social. They can even sometimes outperform humans in tests.

2. Bees

Next on our list are bees. Bees are likely one of the most forgetful animals in the world. These wonderful flying insects are beneficial but also have very short memories, sometimes as short as 2.5 seconds. However, bees have excellent memory, although it works differently from human memory. They are very reward-based and food-motivated, returning to locations with known food. The attention span of a bee may depend on the specific type.

3. Hamsters

While hamsters can find their way through mazes and are adorable pets, they don’t have the best memory. They have an average short-term memory span of 2 to 3 seconds. Hamsters though can learn and memorize long-term information. These small rodents are smart and may memorize basic everyday objects and routines. They react to their owners and their favorite foods. Typically though, their ability to remember long-term memories is linked to survival. Experts are still conducting studies to understand hamsters and their memory/intelligence.

4. Seals

Next on our list of the most forgetful animals in the world are seals. These lovely aquatic animals are intelligent and highly social. Despite their intelligence, they have poor short-term memory spans. According to the University of Southern Denmark, seals have a short-term memory of approximately 18 seconds. Although seals have poor short-term memory abilities, their long-term memory spans are incredible! Seals can even learn to mimic humans talking.

5. Snakes

If you’re fast enough to get away from an angry snake, you’re in luck, these scaly animals have poor short-term memory spans. They may not remember you! Snakes have limited short-term memory and poor memory at all. They can identify scents, but won’t remember a memory associated with the scent. The information they remember is all due to the need for survival.

6. Turkeys

You’ll always remember spotting a colorful and large wild turkey, but that turkey won’t remember you. Turkeys have awful memories and are one of the most forgetful animals in the world. They have very limited short-term memories and strange forgetful tendencies. Wild turkeys aren’t the smartest either. They may even return to the same place twice, even after encountering danger. However, they have excellent hearing and eyesight and use these senses to survive. Interestingly, turkeys have a poor sense of smell.

7. Sloths

Another forgetful animal species is the sloth. Sloths are extremely slow and forgetful. They have poor memory-making skills and bad eyesight. Although they have poor short-term memory, sloths have excellent spatial memory. Sloths are also slow to react. Their poor short-term memory and vision problems sometimes cause them to mistake their arm for a tree branch.

8. Ostriches

Ostriches are large birds, with incredibly small heads and long necks. They are easy to identify and hard to miss, but did you know that they also have awful short-term memory? These incredibly forgetful birds have a short-term memory of only 10 seconds. This means that they can almost immediately forget their need to run or hide from predators. Ostriches are also not very intelligent. They have brains the size of a walnut. Their eyes are larger than their brains!

9. Giraffes

You won’t believe the next forgetful animal on our list. Giraffes often symbolize peace, gentleness, and wisdom, but did you know that these long-necked animals have awful short-term memories? On average, a giraffe has a short-term memory span of up to 30 seconds. 

10. Baboons

Baboons are extremely social and intelligent animals. Research indicates that they have large long-term memory capacities, but their short-term memories are poor. These incredible animals are forgetful, but also intelligent enough to learn languages and behaviors. Although they struggle with short-term memory making, baboons excel in problem-solving and social reasoning tasks. They also form large families and social bonds speaking to their emotional intelligence.

Summary of the 10 Most Forgetful Animals With the Worst Memory

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Christopher R Mazza