# Which animal is the smartest?

> Neuron counts say one thing, party tricks say another. Fourteen species, and the ones with the best reputation are not always the ones with the best evidence.

*By YPB Team · Published August 13, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/which-animal-is-the-smartest*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Chimpanzee**
   Our closest living relative, capable of tool use, tactical deception and short-term memory feats that beat most humans.
2. **Bottlenose Dolphin**
   Marine mammal that recognises itself in mirrors, names itself with signature whistles and hunts cooperatively.
3. **African Grey Parrot**
   Parrot famous for using hundreds of words in context rather than parroting them back.
4. **Orangutan**
   Great ape that builds nests, uses leaf tools and solves puzzles with unusual patience.
5. **African Elephant**
   Long-memoried herd animal that mourns its dead and passes migration routes down generations.
6. **Crow**
   Corvid that bends wire into hooks, plans several steps ahead and remembers human faces for years.
7. **Octopus**
   Invertebrate with neurons spread through its arms, known for opening jars and escaping tanks.
8. **Pig**
   Farm animal that learns joystick video games and outperforms dogs on some problem-solving tests.
9. **Dog**
   Domestic dog, carrying roughly 530 million cortical neurons and an unmatched talent for reading human gestures.
10. **Cat**
   Domestic cat, with about 250 million cortical neurons and a well-documented refusal to perform on demand.
11. **Orca**
   Apex predator with distinct hunting cultures and dialects passed between pods.
12. **Raccoon**
   Urban problem-solver that beats latches, lids and bins that were designed to stop it.
13. **Horse**
   Herd animal that reads human facial expressions and remembers people who treated it well.
14. **Squirrel**
   Rodent that caches thousands of nuts and fakes burials when it suspects it is being watched.

Tags: science, animals, dogs, cats, intelligence