Abstract

Animal comparative cognition is an extraordinary source of insights into our mind. Evolution provided animals with a wide variety of tools for survival and every single organism thus survives its own way. Big or small, with few neurons packed or a lot layered, brains and behaviors are incredibly various and amazing. Ranging from pigeons as superb statisticians to ants as deft farmers and even to amoebas as urban designers, I will tell you some of my favorite animal stories. When all will be said and done, I hope you will be convinced that our species and our intelligence is not such different or special with respect to the ones of the other living animals.