Cat, Horse, Greyhound..........which.........

[BrandNewGuy]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My interpretation of Darwinism, is that animals

> who are predators/carnivorous tend to be the most

> successful at survival and consequently are higher

> up the food chain.

Well, a predator that's too 'successful' wipes out its prey and becomes extinct, so prey and predator live in a dynamic co-existing state. There's no reason to think of a lion as more 'successful' than a wildebeest in terms of surviving and thriving.

[KidKruger]

....a bit like humans are doing then.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Cockroaches are extremely successful as a species - that's a kind of intelligence perhaps. Judged in terms of carving out a very nice life for themselves, cats are at the top though. Get waited on hand and foot, entirely on their own terms.

[Jeremy]

rahrahrah Wrote:

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> Cockroaches are extremely successful as a species - that's a kind of intelligence perhaps.

I'd disagree... evolution has given them instincts and physical characteristics needed to thrive, but I don't see how that could be interpreted as intelligence.

[KidKruger]

all the species are as intelligent as they need to be, surely ?

They've been around for millions of years and are the success stories, by definition.

The only obvious flawed species is man, an example of what happens when a species of life gets too intelligent - it all goes to pot when a species starts wondering why they exist, inventing 'ju-ju man in the sky' stories, then devising ways to exterminate huge nos of people, whilst destroying the air we breathe, land/waters we eat from and stockpiling nuclear waste that has no chance of being stored safely for 20,000 years, let alone the 250,000 years required. Ends in tears I'm afraid.

[Earl Aelfheah]

"...Humans have been deceiving themselves for thousands of years that they're smarter than the rest of the animal kingdom, despite growing evidence to the contrary, according to University of Adelaide experts in evolutionary biology"

http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news67182.html

[Earl Aelfheah]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> rahrahrah Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Cockroaches are extremely successful as a

> species - that's a kind of intelligence perhaps.

>

> I'd disagree... evolution has given them instincts

> and physical characteristics needed to thrive, but

> I don't see how that could be interpreted as

> intelligence.

Yeah, you're right of course it's not intelligence. I guess what I mean is that to the extent that intelligence is just an adaptation designed to give us a competitive advantage.. we're not massively more successful than a cockroach in our ability to survive and replicate ourselves over generations. Their simplicity / efficiency could be seen as superior (depending on how you want to look at it).

[Louisa]

Spiders are the most successful species in terms of numbers, longevity, hunting and survival skills. They thrive in both hot and cold climates, and are blood thirsty predators who rarely go hungry.

Louisa.

[Earl Aelfheah]

Dolphins and Whales are meant to be a bit swotty.

[*Bob*]

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> "...Humans have been deceiving themselves for

> thousands of years that they're smarter than the

> rest of the animal kingdom, despite growing

> evidence to the contrary, according to University

> of Adelaide experts in evolutionary biology"

> http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news67182.html

That's the problem with academia.. you keep having to try and invent things to 'discover'.

One wonders how many pages of the learned paper were spun-out over the deep insights gained by observing a cat meowing at an empty bowl.

[Earl Aelfheah]

.. and crows are smart, although they don't half go on about it.

[Earl Aelfheah]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> rahrahrah Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > "...Humans have been deceiving themselves for

> > thousands of years that they're smarter than

> the

> > rest of the animal kingdom, despite growing

> > evidence to the contrary, according to

> University

> > of Adelaide experts in evolutionary biology"

> > http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news67182.html

>

>

> That's the problem with academia.. you keep having

> to try and invent things to 'discover'.

>

> One wonders how many pages of the learned paper

> were spun-out over the deep insights gained by

> observing a cat meowing at an empty bowl.

:-)

[Earl Aelfheah]

Looking at the 'animals get their own back' thread, I'd like to nominate sharks.

[BrandNewGuy]

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> .. and crows are smart, although they don't half

> go on about it.

 

[Otta]

Haha, I watched a recent series on BBC about sharks. Some types of shark are bloody clever.

[phobic3000]

edit - oh yeah someone already mentioned crows, whoops!

Crows are pretty smart.

 

[uncleglen]

I was under the impression from research years ago that rats are intelligent....they make me cringe though. My son cheerfuly informs me that cockroaches will survive nuclear devastation

[Earl Aelfheah]

All the urban foxes leaving the countryside clearly saw which way the election was going. Politically astute animal the fox.

[Jah Lush]

rahrahrah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Dolphins and Whales are meant to be a bit swotty.

Which reminds me.