How intelligent are dolphins?
A. The short answer to this is that we do not know. There is no reliable method to measure intelligence in humans across cultures, so it is not surprising that comparing humans, dolphins, apes, dogs, etc. is impossible. There are some indications of their potential: they are fast learners and can generalize (which is also true of pigs, BTW). Also they can learn to understand complicated language-like commands (which is also true of the great apes).
Dolphins are one of the most intelligent species in the animal kingdom, and one example of their intelligence can be found in their use of echolocation. Discover how dolphins use echolocation to determine the size, density and distance of an object with help from an aquarium’s curator in this free video on facts about dolphins. Expert: Robert E. Rose Contact: www.miamiseaquarium.com Bio: Robert E. Rose has worked as a trainer at Sea World, as a director of animal training at Ocean World, and as a director of animal training at the Miami Seaquarium.
The short answer to this is that we do not know. There is no reliable method to measure intelligence in humans across cultures, so it is not surprising that comparing humans, dolphins, apes, dogs, etc. is impossible. There are some indications of their potential: they are fast learners and can generalize (which is also true of pigs, BTW). Also they can learn to understand complicated language-like commands (which is also true of the great apes).
Intelligence is defined as 1 a) the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge, b) the faculty of thought and reason. More simply put, it is the ability to learn, understand, or deal with new or trying situations; and the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment. It is also defined as the ability to think abstractly. Quantification of intelligence is difficult to do, and it is especially difficult to compare across species. We can say from experience that dolphins are fast learners and seem to be able to generalize some of the information they learn. However, to date there is no evidence to suggest that dolphins or any other living species is as intelligent as humans. Contrary to popular belief, brain size is not an indicator of intelligence.
