Scientists have found out who is still smarter

Among all the pets, perhaps, it is the dogs and cats that cause the greatest interest among scientists. They live with a person from ancient times, benefit him and simply delight with their presence, so they rightfully earned the status of their favorite pets.

Researchers studying the intellectual capabilities of dogs, cats, and other animals have more than once set up various experiments involving pets. For example, experts from Oxford University (Great Britain) found that dogs have larger brain sizes compared to body weight than cats. According to scientists, this is due to the fact that dogs belong to a group of mammals that lead a more social lifestyle, they often hunt in groups and live in packs. While representatives of the cat family are often individualists leading a solitary lifestyle, they rarely communicate with their relatives. According to the researchers, socialization and close intragroup connections contribute to the formation of new skills and the development of the brain.

But scientists from the University of Vanderbilt (USA) investigated this issue from a different perspective. They counted the number of neurons in the cerebral cortex in dogs, cats, and several other animal species. It turned out that the conclusions of American scientists are also not in favor of feline superiority in intelligence. It turned out that in the cerebral cortex of cats there are 250 million neurons, while their eternal rivals for human love have much more - 530 million. The crown of evolution of nature, of course, is man. According to scientists, it is the number of neurons in the cerebral cortex that affects the animal’s ability to draw conclusions based on past experience and solve more complex, multi-stage tasks.

In addition to cats and dogs, another US pet, a raccoon, participated in the experiment. It turned out that this agile animal is not inferior to dogs in terms of neuron level, although it has smaller brain sizes compared to them.

But fans of badgers and murziks should not be upset. The fact is that there is a lot of data indicating that cats in some respects are superior to dogs in terms of intelligence. It has been observed that cats are more careful and prudent, which allows them to survive in various dangerous situations. In addition, a lively mind, cunning and observation allow cats to manipulate people and achieve the desired result.