Dogs Are Smarter Than Cats
A study by Oxford University scientists finds that contrary to common belief, the intelligence of dogs has evolved at a greater rate than the intelligence of cats over millions of years. Researchers identified a link between the size of an animal’s brain in relation to the rest of its body and how socially active the animals is, concluding that social animals are required to “think” more and so develop larger brains.
This study analyzed data on the brain and body size of over 500 species of living and fossilized mammals finding that over time, the brains of monkeys, horses, dolphins, camels, and dogs have grown the most. Groups of mammals with relatively larger brains tend to live in stable social groups, while the brains of more solitary mammals grew much more slowly over the same time period. Researchers hypothesize that this correlation exists because social animals need to think more.
COMPANION ANIMALSSusanne Shultz, et. al, Oxford University, 2010 International
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