The new research shows that dolphins have the longest memory yet known in any species other than people. Elephants and chimpanzees are thought to have similar abilities, but they haven't yet been tested, said study author Jason Bruck, an animal behaviorist at the University of Chicago.
As humans, we pride ourselves on our impressive brain power, but when it comes to memory, we've got rivals. Squirrels, elephants and dolphins are just three animals with amazing memory capabilities.
A comparable study on chimpanzees found that bees had the worst memory, with a recall duration of just 2.5 seconds. Also earning bees a spot on the list of top 10 animals with the worst memory in the world.
It's a common saying that elephants never forget. But the more we learn about elephants, the more it appears that their impressive memory is only one aspect of an incredible intelligence that makes them some of the most social, creative, and benevolent creatures on Earth.
“Many animals—mammals such as mice, squirrels, dogs, elephants, and chimpanzees, as well as most if not all birds—have excellent 'semantic' memory,” Tulving writes on his faculty webpage. “That is, they are capable of conscious learning of facts about the world.
"Dogs forget an event within two minutes," reported National Geographic, citing a 2014 study performed on various animals from rats to bees. Other animals have long-term memories, such as dolphins, but dogs don't seem to have a long-term memory that lasts much beyond those two minutes.
Unlike an average human brain that can barely recall a vivid scene from the last hour, chimps have a photographic memory and can memorize patterns they see in the blink of an eye. Sea lions and elephants can remember faces from decades ago.
Animals that don't need sleep (bullfrogs and dolphins) Animals that don't need rebound sleep after using up all their energy (bees) Animals that show harmful side effects from sleep deprivation (humans)
Yes BUT they remember differently than we do (or than we think they do). Cats have better overall memories than dogs (dogs short-term memory last only a few minutes while cats can last up to 16 hours) – but they are also more selective regarding how they act on these memories.
There are a number of marine species that outlive humans, and the mammal species that holds the record for longevity is the bowhead whale, which can live for 200 years - or more.
CHIMPANZEES. RECKONED to be the most-intelligent animals on the planet, chimps can manipulate the environment and their surroundings to help themselves and their community.
Chimpanzees
This research has firmly established that chimps are one of the most intelligent species on earth.
The sperm whale has the biggest brain of any animal species, weighing up to 20 pounds (7 to 9 kilograms). Larger brains don't necessarily make a smarter mammal.
To date, there's only one species that has been called 'biologically immortal': the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii. These small, transparent animals hang out in oceans around the world and can turn back time by reverting to an earlier stage of their life cycle.
While mammals and birds possess the prerequisite neural architecture for phenomenal consciousness, it is concluded that fish lack these essential characteristics and hence do not feel pain.
Sturdy turtles
Slow and steady really does win the race. Turtles have been known to live for centuries, and researches have found that their organs don't seem to break down over time. The New York Times reports that turtles might even be able to live indefinitely if they are able to avoid predators and disease.
#1 Dogs. First on our list of the top 10 friendliest animals in the world is man's best friend – dogs.
According to the Independent, honey badgers have been described in the Guinness Book of Records as the "most fearless animal in the world" and can even fight off much larger predators like lions and hyenas.
Kangaroos, for example, just keep growing and growing until they die. Most fish, amphibians, lizards, and snakes are also indeterminate growers. Until something, disease, a predator, or old age-takes them down, these animals know no bounds when it comes to size.
The marine mammals can remember each other's signature contact whistles—calls that function as names—for more than 20 years, the longest social memory ever recorded for a nonhuman animal, according to a new study.
The researchers concluded that the dogs were using episodic-like memory to repeat their owner's actions, even an hour after they first observed them. This suggests that dogs are doing way more than living in the moment. They are forming memories all the time and are able to recall them when needed.
If they are hurt, do they harbor anger, resentment, and negative feelings in their canine psyche? Yes, in some capacity, dogs remember something negative that caused them harm. Dogs growl at certain people, wag for others, and snarl at a dog who barked at them one time on a walk.