Are Animals Really That Smart?

Big Picture Science

ENCORE You own a cat, or is it vice versa? Family friendly felines have trained their owners to do their bidding. Thanks to a successful evolutionary adaptation, they rule your house.

Find out how your cat has you wrapped around its paw. And it’s not the only animal to outwit us. Primatologist Frans de Waal shares the surprising intellectual capabilities of chimps, elephants, and bats. In fact, could it be that we’re simply not smart enough to see how smart animals are?

Plus, the discovery of a fossilized dinosaur brain. Were those lumbering lizards more clever than we thought?

Guests:

• Alex Liu – Paleontologist, University of Cambridge, U.K.
• Abigail Tucker – Author of The Lion in the Living Room: How Housecats Tamed Us and Took Over the World
• Frans de Waal – Primatologist, psychologist, Emory University, and author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

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