From the octopus that stole fish from a tank to the monkeys that blackmail tourists for treats: How scientists have discovered the astonishing masterminds of the animal kingdom

From the octopus that stole fish from a tank to the monkeys that blackmail tourists for treats: How scientists have discovered the astonishing masterminds of the animal kingdom By Christopher Stevens For The Daily Mail Published: 19:00 EDT, 14 August 2024 | Updated: 19:41 EDT, 14 August 2024 e-mail View comments Clever Hans, a performing horse, drew amazed crowds wherever he went. With his owner Wilhelm, a maths teacher, he put on incredible displays of arithmetic, beating out the answer to sums with his hooves. Hans even appeared to be able to read, though sceptics insisted the horse was merely responding to signals given by Wilhelm, touring Germany before the First World War .

However the trick was done, neither the animal nor the teacher would have been surprised by news this month that horses are more intelligent than previously guessed. Researchers at Nottingham Trent University taught 20 horses to touch cards with their noses in return for treats. A system of lights was added: if the light was on, the treat was withheld.

All the horses quickly learned not to touch a lit card – which demonstrates, in psychological jargon, ‘an internal model of the world’. Smart though they undoubtedly are, horses are not the most intellectually gifted creatures in the animal kingdom. In fact, they’re not even in our top ten .

. . Cunning Crows These South Pacific birds also known as the New Caledonian Crow (pictured understanding water displacement) are known to be quite the prob.