Synopses & Reviews
How animals communicate and learn -- sometimes better than humans do, actually.
This fascinating book, written by a world authority on animal intelligence, brings together the cumulative research on the comparative intelligence levels of nonhuman smart species. Sally Boysen reveals how these intelligent animals communicate, learn behavior, show feelings and emotions and, for some species, how they use tools, count and sometimes pick up a foreign language.
Fully illustrated with photographs and step-by-step graphics, the book draws on data from historical and current experiments and observations to examine intelligence in the great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans) and in a surprising list of other species, including sea otters, eagles, elephants, dolphins, birds, bees, beetles, rats, raccoons and parrots.
The book's chapters are:
Comparing Animal Skills and IntelligenceAnimal Tool UseCommunication in AnimalsImitation and Social LearningSocial Cognition and EmotionSelf-recognition and AwarenessNumerical Abilities in AnimalsAnimals and Human Nonverbal Language.
The Smartest Animals on the Planet is a beautiful, authoritative and up-to-date presentation on the remarkable intelligence of the animal kingdom.