Animal intelligence is obviously relative to what part they play in the ecosystem. such as rats, they show there ability to adapt and find food where most animals couldnt go they are social animals and quite friendly rased as pets. now the smarter creature Chinchillas brought up from south america. there role in nature is much the same but there inteligence is greater.

Examples
When you try to pick up a-
rat the rat responds but does not fight you picking it up as it recognizes if it recognizes you as a social creature in the family.

chinchilla-reacts to which way your hand is what motion your taking and the position of your fingers and if your hand is face up or down. it will react in many ways

1. it will recognize who you are first sniff touch and yes even taste to see if your edible.

2.it will recognize the motion and shape of the hand if your motion and shape is that of face up it will recognize you as not a threat.

3. it will recognize face down hand as a threat to the creature being picked up (rather captured)

3 it doesnt not recognize a closed hand as it has no purpose to them.

4.they also know what hand motion means you are gonna scratch them.

rats will recognize smells and familar circumstances and preform tricks that are taught it

chinchillas will not preform tricks unless bribed with its most favorate treat rasins(like choclate to them)
even then only limited tricks
however they will preform tricks on there own for you guessed it not treats. they will preform tricks for attention! known tricks
backflips over large objects laying upside down!! and whining

with all this info let me quickly go over the purposes of each animal in there own habitat

rats: are made to solve problems and dispose of waste they will eat anything that smells like food and live in social comunities. they will preform impossible feats to get food. there teeth regrow and they must constantly chew(have been known to chew threw concrete blocks.) creating smaler items for easyier break down

chinchillas: much the same as rats they have teeth that constantly grow they live in social communities, and they also will do impossible feats for rasins(but not anything) chinchillas will not eat everything infact there diet is very slim grass hay grain(they will not eat most friuts and vegetables. apples and rasins are among the few they will eat. they will not eat grapes.)

so as we see they are much the same creatures put on earth by whoever for much teh same reason but except to live in different places. and the chinchilla has proven time and time again it is more intelligent so ecosystem functionality has something to do with intelligence but so also does species and brain size.

quote by adam "Most creatures have the intellect required to fulfill the needs of their niche in the ecosystem. This a chicken is no more "stupid" than a fly of a crocodile. It simply isn't reaonable to say a chicken is stupid, if it performs everything it needs to as a chicken." i agree completely no animal can be considered dumb if the said animal does its job in the ecosystem. but animals of the same species or animals with the same job which are similar to the animal and be smarter but it doesnt make the other animal dumb.

Also weather an animal is carnivorous,obnivorous, or herbivorous determines its intelegence.

Usually carnivors are smarter than herbivors. But obnivors are different. They can very more widely but on average obnivors are the smartest.

People are obnivors we can eat a large variety of foods from plants to animals.

Of course if we need to we can eat all plants or all animals but its healthier to have a varied diet.:D

nit pick : it's omnivorous, ie "omni"=all

and not omnivores are the smartest usually, but opportunists, which often happen to be omnivores.

Originally posted by ydoc16
Animal intelligence is obviously relative to what part they play in the ecosystem.

Every yeast should be able to vote.