But even bears are no match for the elephant, the undisputed olfactory champion. With 1,948 receptor genes, it more than doubles the 811 of dogs. Niimura points out that their dexterous trunk, an extraordinary nose, also functions like a hand, so these animals are continually exploring the world through smell.
Bears also surpass dogs and are thought to have the widest-ranging sense of smell. Even though their brains are two-thirds smaller than ours, their sense of smell is over 2000 times better. For instance, a polar bear can smell a sexually receptive female bear from as far as one hundred miles away.
According to a study, Elephants have the finest and probably the sharpest sense of smell ever recorded in a particular species. They can recognize all kinds of odors in their environment. This is owing to their nearly 2,000 distinct genes dedicated to the sense of smell.
Bear. According to the number of scent receptors, the bear has the best sense of smell of all terrestrial mammals. Black bears have been observed to travel 18 miles in a straight line to a food source, while grizzlies can find an elk carcass when it's underwater and polar bears can smell a seal through 3 feet of ice.
Even bloodhounds, dogs so famous for their sense of smell that they're used to track missing people, don't smell as well a black bear. It is estimated that black bears' sense of smell is about seven times greater than a bloodhound's. A black bear's sense of smell is so good that it's difficult to measure.
Whitetail Deer have up to 297 million olfactory receptors compared to humans with just 5 million and dogs with 220 million. Whitetail deer's sense of smell is nearly 1/3 greater than that of a canine or dog. A deer can detect the odor of approaching danger several hundred yards away.
Both of these lead to the conclusion of a superior olfactory system. In comparison, canines have 872 functional genes and a large olfactory tract. It is known that canine olfactory sensory organs are superior to humans, but now there is research suggesting swine have a superior olfactory system to canines (cite).
For instance, poodles, Maltese and the Bichon Frise are all virtually odorless dogs. However, perhaps the most notable slight-smelling dog is the Basenji. It has a very smooth and short coat which does not trap in the usual canine odor.
In fact, it has been estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people.
Eagles. All birds of prey have excellent long-distance vision, but eagles stand out. They can see clearly about eight times as far as humans can, allowing them to spot and focus in on a rabbit or other animal at a distance of about two miles.
Dog Sense of Smell vs.
Head-to-head, how do the noses of cats and dogs compare? Dogs win the battle of the olfactory receptors, with an average of 300 compared to 200 in cats. But recent studies have shown that cats have the upper paw when it comes to the ability to distinguish between similar scents.
The sense of smell
However, scientists have found that the noses of cats are more sensitive than dogs. It was found that out of the three types of scent receptors, the one responsible (V1R) for the distinguishing between scents are more in cats than dogs.
Experts who have studied dogs and their sense of smell have concluded that dogs can't necessarily smell the emotion that is fear. They can, however, detect smells and see movements and body postures that may help them sense when a person is nervous, anxious, or afraid.
When it comes to distinguishing color, a dog's normal vision is most like a person who has red-green color blindness. Having said that, no further degrees of color blindness have been recorded in dogs.
Ultimately, whether cats or dogs are more intelligent remains inconclusive. Though some data point to dogs displaying greater levels of social intellect, more research is required to settle the debate between cat lovers and dog lovers.
Researchers at the University of St Andrews have found that elephants are remarkably perceptive when it comes to recognising the degree of danger posed by different groups of individuals.
Changes in odors may convey where the dog went, what he ate, and what he did. In addition to chemical communication, there is another purpose to sniffing rear ends. Dogs smell rear ends as a calming mechanism. Performing this innate ritual soothes them and serves as a stress reliever.
Interestingly enough, they can, and dogs can be trained to sniff out bugs as well! In particular, beg bugs are often detected by dogs.
People want companion pets because their affection and neediness remind us of human babies. Most domestic cats and dogs love to be around their owners. The more popular small pets, such as rabbits, ferrets, rats, and guinea pigs, also display a high degree of affection.
Citrus scents top the list of smells your dog probably hates. The scent of lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits is strong and unpleasant for your dog. For this reason, you can use citrus scents as a dog repellant in off-limits parts of the house. Their noses are irritated by the strength of citrus.
Gas leaks, garlic breath, skunks in the neighborhood—ah, the scent of thiols. The human nose is particularly sensitive to these sulfur-containing compounds, which is no surprise given that they are often associated with things to avoid.
Humans are more sensitive to the smell of geosmin than sharks are to the smell of blood. A shark can smell one part of blood per billion parts of water, whereas humans can smell geosmin at 5 parts per trillion.