Tag: Manta ray

As humans pour their intellect into machines and anxiously await the day artificial intelligence stands on the podium as the smartest being on Earth, we may be overlooking another contender: animal intelligence. In fact, research into animal cognition might shift your concern from AI induced job loss to a more immediate threat - world domination by octopus. Animal intelligence studies once took a very human centric approach. We judged a dolphin’s smarts by how well it could mimic our abilities, like counting to three. But of course a dolphin’s anatomy isn’t built to say “one, two, three,” it is built to produce clicks that let it echolocate objects with incredible precision. I’ve never met a human that can do that! Fortunately, animal intelligence research has come a long way. There is no longer one single test for “intelligence”. Instead, scientists focus on how well an animal solves problems within its own unique environment, a far more meaningful measure of what it means to be smart in the wild.  The Cunning Octopus  Octopuses could not live a more drastically different life to us humans. Yet, the way they approach problem solving and their incredible adaptability to their environment is undeniably intelligent. They are famously cheeky, using their nine brains to tackle life like no other. They are masters of disguise, going beyond simple camouflage, they can contort their bodies to convincingly mimic the shape and demeanor of other, more dangerous animals. Take the mimic octopus for example: it changes shape and colour to resemble unappetizing creatures like lionfish, sea snakes, flat fish or jellyfish. Like all great actors octopuses also use props from their surroundings to aid in their disguise. The veined octopus for example picks up two halves of a coconut shell and creeps along the seafloor, encased in the