When we measure intelligence in non-human-centric ways, we discover that all species of animals are very intelligent.
For centuries, human culture has measured the intelligence of Nonhuman Animals using a biased ruler. Standard assessments of cognitive ability have traditionally rewarded skills that humans happen to excel at (such as abstract symbolic language, tool use, self-recognition in mirrors, or arithmetical calculations) while completely ignoring all the problem-solving abilities required to survive in the wild. Testing nonhuman animals against human benchmarks is unfair and fundamentally unhelpful. A bee who fails a human literacy test or a whale who cannot solve an algebraic equation is not unintelligent. The test itself is irrelevant to their existence.
Intelligence should be defined as the ability of a system that can process information to effectively solve problems that the system would encounter in normal circumstances. All animals are sentient beings, which means they are living examples of such information-processing systems, as they have senses to capture information from the environment, a nervous system (central or otherwise) to process and assess this information, and they are faced with all sorts of complicated problems they must solve to survive and prosper (from finding the right food to avoiding predators).
Therefore, we should test bees with bee problems, not human problems, and whales with whale problems, not human problems. Under this evolutionary approach, every single species that has successfully evolved and survived is intelligent, as its members overcome the specific environmental challenges that matter to them. While individual variation exists within any group, the persistent existence of a species for millions of years proves that its collective cognitive framework is fully tailored to the problems produced by the ecosystems where they evolved (with whatever changes they underwent). Let’s see some examples of this across the Animal Kingdom.
Mammals Solving Complex Physical Problems
One example of Nonhuman Animal intelligence could be found in the behaviour of sperm whales. Sperm whales face the immense challenge of locating scattered, fast-moving prey in the pitch-black depths of the abyssal zone, thousands of metres below the ocean surface. To solve this problem, they use an intricate system of echolocation generated by their spermaceti organ. They emit a rhythmic series of directional clicks and process the returning echoes to construct a precise, four-dimensional mental map of their surroundings in total darkness, and then use their brain to figure out what is where. Humans cannot navigate or hunt in deep ocean trenches without submarines or sonar computers, but a sperm whale processes this incoming acoustic data instantaneously using their own nervous system.
Another example can be found in the skies, where microbats demonstrate a parallel cleverness when solving the high-speed problem of airborne hunting. Foraging bats flying through a dense forest at night must track a single moth while simultaneously avoiding branches, leaves, and other flying mammals. They accomplish this by emitting ultrasonic pulses and analysing the Doppler shift, frequency modulation, and time delay of the returning sound waves. They alter the frequency of their calls as they close in on their prey, increasing the pulse rate to create a high-resolution “acoustic terminal buzz” right before capture. To process this barrage of sensory input in real time while making split-second aerodynamic adjustments requires cognitive processing speeds that easily outmatch human unassisted sensory and cognitive capabilities.
Fish Cognitive Solutions
Fishes (we write in veganised language, so we use “fishes” as plural of fish) live in aquatic environments that demand sophisticated spatial memory, social navigation, multiple predator avoidance, and tactical planning. Tilapias, who are social freshwater fishes native to African lakes and rivers, are a good example of complex problem-solving. In their natural habitats, tilapias form intricate social hierarchies and navigate crowded aquatic spaces. A male tilapia must construct a precise circular nest in the substrate and defend his territory from rivals. To do this without constantly engaging in costly physical fights, he reads non-contact territorial displays and assesses the physical condition and dominant status of neighbouring males. Females move between these territories, evaluating multiple environmental and social variables before selecting a mate. Furthermore, many tilapia species practice mouthbrooding, where a female incubates her eggs and young fry inside her mouth to protect them from predators. She must manage her own respiration and suppress her feeding instincts for extended periods to ensure her children survive.
Archerfishes are another good example of aquatic intelligence. They solve the problem of needing to hit a small, moving insect perched on a leaf several feet above the water’s surface using a precise squirt of water. To achieve this, they calculate the dynamic refraction of light as it passes from air to water, which bends the visual image of their target. They adjust the volume and velocity of the water jet ejected from their mouths so that the water gathers into a heavy droplet right before impact. This creates maximum kinetic energy to knock the insect off the branch. Even more impressively, they calculate the parabolic trajectory of the falling insects before they hit the water, and they swim instantly to the exact spot where they will land to beat competing fishes. This is a rapid and highly accurate computational solution to an environmental problem that humans could only calculate using optics equations and measuring devices.
The Wisdom of Invertebrates
If we move beyond vertebrate animals, the argument that intelligence requires a human-like brain structure completely collapses. Invertebrates possess radically different nervous systems, yet they display some of the most remarkable problem-solving strategies on the planet. The octopuses, for instance, carry two-thirds of their neurons in their arms rather than in their centralised brain. This decentralised nervous system allows each arm to explore, taste, and manipulate objects semi-independently while coordinating with the central brain.
A wild octopus encounters constant environmental threats from predators and faces the challenge of securing hard-to-reach prey in shifting coral reefs. To solve the problem of defence, wild octopuses have been observed collecting discarded coconut shell halves from the seafloor, carrying them underneath their body across open stretches of sand, and then assembling them into a protective spherical shelter when danger approaches. This requires spatial planning, an understanding of assembly, dextrous ability, and the foresight to carry an object that has no immediate purpose for future protection. When hunting, octopuses can figure out how to open complex natural barriers or navigate intricate underwater crevices, and they can adjust their flexible body and change their skin colour and texture instantaneously to match their surroundings for camouflage.
In the insect world, social bees are a very good example of collective and individual cognitive power. A foraging honeybee faces the classic mathematical problem known in computer science as the “Travelling Salesperson Problem“: finding the shortest possible route between multiple locations to conserve energy. A honeybee routinely visits hundreds of flowers scattered across several square kilometres, calculates the optimal travel sequence to minimise flight distance, and navigates back to the hive using the sun as a compass, even when the sun is obscured by clouds (they can read polarised light in the sky).
Once back at the hive, she solves the problem of communicating these spatial coordinates to her sisters through the “waggle dance“. By running in a figure-eight pattern and vibrating her body, she translates three-dimensional spatial vectors (distance, angle relative to the sun, and quality of the food source) into a symbolic code that other bees read in the dark. If a storm approaches or a barrier is placed in her path, she recalculates her flight plan on the fly.
Testing a bee or an octopus on their ability to perform human tasks would be nonsensical. Within their respective worlds, their ability to process incoming information and successfully execute dynamic solutions proves that intelligence is a universal tool of sentient life.
