Animal Minds: Intelligence

The documentary below is the first episode of a three-part series on the question of animal minds: do they even have them? Are non-human animals intelligent? Can they reason or use logic? Can they grasp abstract concepts? Do they have problem-solving skills? Can they be innovative? Can they understand and use syntactical grammar? Do they have a sense of self?

Join this team of scientists and animals (including Alex the parrot, who sadly died earlier this year) on a quest to understand the intelligence of the animal mind. Among those interviewed are Jane Goodall, famous for her work with chimpanzees (click here to see more videos of her), and Euan Macphail, whose skepticism about animal intelligence provides a nice balance for those of us who find the notion of animal intelligence just too exciting to deny.

To see a truly fascinating and inspiring video about the intelligence of bonobo chimps, check out this awesome TEDTalk presentation by Susan Savage-Rumbaugh.
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