I ran across some fascinating research a few years back that clearly showed that octopi have problem-solving intelligence, and can "imagine" slightly complex tool-using procedures before executing them. In some ways, an octopus is as smart as a dog or some monkeys. Who would have figured?
Less surprising, I've seen Orangutans demonstrate complex problem-solving and tool-using capability, as well as creativity... they are REALLY smart! :yes:
I think a lot of animals have a different psychology from ours, but more than we give them credit for. If you compare animal brains and human brains, you find that, due to a clear evolutionary process, we HAVE their brains within our brains; we have simply added a few more "higher" areas to the brain. A lot of our behavior is actually driven by the "lower" brain that we share with animals, including some of the emotional centers. In many ways, animals and men are the same, except that we are a bit more intelligent and complicated, better able to do abstract thinking, and a few things like complex calculations and speech. We are most likely the only creatures that "beat ourselves up" with past regrets and torture ourselves with worries about the distant future. But animals probably have a consciousness that in at least some respects mirrors our own.
I think ongoing research will show that animals are a lot more intelligent and capable than man has traditionally given them credit for.
