Tool User
Manipulating rocks, sticks, or shells to crack hard shells, probe tree hollows, or solve foraging puzzles.
Blue Jay
A crested jay that can imitate the scream of a Red-shouldered Hawk. In one Virginia study, blue jays cached 133,000 acorns from one stand of oaks.
Chimpanzee
DNA letters about 1.23% different from a human's, tool kits that vary from community to community, and Machiavellian troop politics.
Common Raven
The oversized scavenger that caches food out of rivals' sight, guards the stash when it might be seen, and is less willing to pull its weight after a partner cheats.
Kea (Alpine Parrot)
A mountain parrot that matched human infants and chimpanzees on a probability test, and was persecuted as a sheep killer for over a century.
Sea Otter
The densest fur of any mammal, a rock tucked under one arm, and a keystone predator that stops urchins from overgrazing kelp forests.
Tufted Capuchin
A stocky Amazon monkey that smashes fruit its jaws cannot crack, or opens it with a piece of branch.