Top 10 Dumbest Animals in the World
Welcome to this article about the Top 10 Dumbest Animals in the World: all you need to know!
The animal kingdom contains almost two million species. Some are intelligent, while others are slothful. Humans, are arguably a synthesis of both.
True, we are moronic, but not as dumb as the following animals. It is not that they lack intelligence or smarts in comparison to other animals. However, their actions and behaviour are so illogical it appears unbelievably foolish.
If you believed that only humans were capable of acting terribly dumb, as if there was a great gulf in their brains, you are sorely mistaken! Yes! There are some animals that aren’t very smart and do things that impact their survival ability. If you’re itching to know which animals make up the top 10 dumbest animals in the world list, then look no further because you’ve come to the right place!
Jump to any section on dumbest animals that you are interested in below:
1. Panda Bear
One of the world’s rarest bear species is the giant panda. Ailuropoda melanoleuca, often known as the panda bear or simply the panda. It has a vivid black-and-white coat and a hefty frame, making it a distinctive species. In order to differentiate it from the red panda, a neighbouring musteloid, the ‘big panda’ term is sometimes used.
The giant panda is a folivore, consuming over 99% of its food in the form of bamboo shoots and leaves. Pandas may also eat various grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the manner of birds, rodents, or carrion when the need arises in the natural world. Some zoos might feed them natural ingredients, as well as food that has been made.
They’re adorable, to say the least. They are, nevertheless, incredibly dumb. Scoring themselves a spot on the top 10 dumbest animals in the world list. Even though pandas are carnivores, they prefer to eat plants instead of other animals. Pandas, on the other hand, are among the world’s least romantic creatures.
Unless we take action, they will become extinct. They are already an endangered species. In addition, pandas have a poor record of raising and caring for their young. Female pandas have been known to kill their young because they are so fed up with them.
2. Turkey
Industrial farming has made domestic turkeys affordable because of the amount of flesh they produce, making them a popular form of fowl in temperate regions around the world. Young domestic turkeys are known as poults or turkeylings, and the females are referred to as hens. There are two distinct names for male turkeys in North America and the United Kingdom toms and stags.
Domestic feathered turkeys account for the vast majority of those raised in the United States, but brown or feathered turkeys are also raised. The snood and the wattle are the fleshy protrusions on the top and bottom of the beak, respectively. An early misidentification with an unrelated species introduced to Europe through Turkey resulted in the English-language name for this species.
Gallopovus is a Latin word that translates to ‘chicken peacock’, which is also a turkey name. One of the world’s most dumb creatures, the domestic turkey, is in fact a tamed species. Sometimes, they die in the rain as a result of their preference for drinking rainwater. Even when it’s raining, they can’t help but stare at the sky. Life is tough when you’re part of the top 10 dumbest animals in the world list.
Tenetic torticollar spasms, a genetic disorder that causes them to gaze incessantly at the sky, even when it’s raining. In order to satisfy their need for reproduction, male turkeys sometimes engage in intercourse with female turkeys’ decapitated heads.
3. Jerboa
This family of desert rats, known as Dipodidae, is found throughout North Africa and Asia. Most of their habitat is in dry, scorching deserts. Jerboas can run up to 15mph (24 km/h) when pursued. A small owl species (Athene noctua) feeds on some Central Asian species.
Jerboas, in general, have good hearing, which they use to stay safe from predators who hunt at night. A jerboa’s average lifespan is six years. To avoid predators, Jerboas use their bipedal locomotion to jump, skip, and run, all of which are characterised by rapid and unpredictable changes in speed and direction.
The British Amy used jerboa as a mascot for their 7th Armoured Brigade, which was surprising to many people. Predators are put off by the creature’s unusual jumping style. However, they aren’t particularly adept at concealing or sifting through garbage for food.
4. Ostrich
Ostriches are one of the largest, flightless birds in the world today. Other birds that cannot fly are emus and kiwis. Ostriches are typically found in Africa, roaming in flocks of up to 50 birds. Ostriches can weigh up to 320 lb (145kg). It’s small wings and sheer weight make flying impossible.
Where they cannot fly, ostriches make up for travel by running. Ostriches can sprint up to 43mph (70km/h) and can run at a constant speed of 31 mph (50km/h). When ostriches cannot outrun their predator, they use their powerful legs to kick at the predator. Despite being on the list of top 10 dumbest animals in the world, ostriches do not stick their heads in the ground to render them ‘invisible’ as popular belief has it.
What does cut them out for this list, is that when they are confronted with a threat and cannot run away or kick at their predators they flop onto the ground with their heads outstretched in front of them. The grey/pink/peach colouring of their heads and neck blends in with the sand creating the illusion that their heads are stuck in the ground. The bird however, thinks it is invisible to the threat.
5. Sloths
Sloths are part of the Folivora suborder, a forest-dwelling group of Neotropical arboreal xenarthran. In the tropical jungles of South and Central America, these slow-moving creatures spend much of their time hanging upside down from the branches. They have a lot in common with anteaters, which are part of the xenarthran order Pilosa and have a common ancestor.
Caused by electrical wires and poachers, Costa Rica has recorded the bulk of sloth deaths in the country. In addition to providing a surprising barrier to human hunters, their claws hold them in position while hanging upside-down in a tree, and they often do not tumble down even if shot from below.
Sloths are being marketed as pets as a result of animal trafficking. They do not, however, make good pets due to their specialised ecosystem. There are few animals that are as slow and dumb as sloths. No wonder they have a spot on the top 10 dumbest animals in the world list. In the nearby trees, they spend much of their time sleeping, although they never defecate there. Every week, they descend to the ground to perform their duties and then ascend again.
Climbers have been known to mistake their own limbs for tree branches, causing them to fall and die as a result.
6. Koala
The Koala, or sometimes incorrectly called a koala bear, is a forest-dwelling, plant-eating mammal native to Australia. Koalas were misidentified as bears or monkeys by early European immigrants in Australia. Koalas are still wrongly referred to as ‘koala bears’ by the general public. However, koalas are essentially marsupials, more strongly tied to wombats as well as kangaroos than to koala bears.
Because of its huge head, round, fluffy ears, and spoon-shaped nose, only found on Australia’s eastern and southern coasts, the koala is easy to recognise. Koalas can reach 24 to 33 inches or 60 to 85cm, and weigh between 9 and 33 pounds. The animal comes in a range of colours, from silver-gray to dark chocolate brown. Koalas in the north are distinct from those in the south, both in size and colour. There is some debate as to whether or not these populations are distinct subspecies.
The majority of Koalas’ diet consists of eucalypt leaves, but they can also be found in trees belonging to other genera, such as Acacia, Allocasuarina, Callitris, Leptospermum, and Melaleuca. There are around 600 species of eucalyptus, but the Koala has a strong preference for around 30 of these. They prefer species with a high protein content and low fibre and lignin content, respectively.
The brain-to-body ratio of a Koala is the smallest among animals. In Australia, you’ll find these adorable creatures. Koalas’ main meal, low-nutrient eucalyptus leaves, requires the development of four stomachs in the animals. Furthermore, they have no idea about health care. Koalas are thought to be infected with chlamydia in the ninetieth percentile. They may even starve to death if they are unable to identify their own food earning themselves a spot on the top 10 dumbest animals in the world list.
7. Kakapo
Huge, flightless, nocturnal, and ground-dwelling, the Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is an indigenous New Zealand parrot of the Strigopoidea superfamily. New Zealand is home to the Kakapo, a parrot owl. Parrots are thought to be some of the smartest animals in the world, the Kakapo however is one of the top 10 dumbest animals in the world. As soon as it spots a predator, it freezes in fear and does not try to flee. Berries only appear once every four years, which is when the bird prefers to eat them.
The Kakapo, however, is a poor breeder. In order to entice females, males clear a mating space and issue a booming cry to lure them. As a result, the female can’t reach the mating region since her cry reverberates so widely, making it nearly impossible. Today, there are just around 150 of them left in the world.
It has a distinctive face disc, a huge grey beak, short legs, large feet, and comparatively short wings and tail. Among parrots, it is the only flightless parrot, the biggest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, noticeably sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low base metabolic rate, and no male parental support, which means it is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. According to a recent study, it may be one of the world’s oldest birds.
8. Cane toad
Cane toads, Bufo marinus (Rhinella marina), have a poor reputation in Australia because they are strong, heavy-built amphibians. These toads are an invasive species in Australia, decimating the country’s fragile ecosystems and unique biodiversity in the process. Toads are as dumb as they can be, and cane toads are no exception.
A lot of the time, you’ll witness them humping on everything from snakes and lizards to mice and salamanders. As far as they’re concerned, they’ll even hump a runaway female toad. Toads can produce up to 30,000 eggs at once. The cane toad has been used in a variety of commercial and non-commercial contexts, including pest control.
The Embera-Wounaan tribe traditionally ‘milked’ toads in their usual habitat in South America for their venom, which was then used as an arrow poison. The Olmecs may have employed the poisons as entheogens.
In Peru, the toad has been targeted as a food source and is eaten after the skin and parotoid glands have been carefully removed as this is particularly poisonous. Toad meat, when prepared correctly, is high in omega-3 fatty acids and thus beneficial.
9. Slow loris
Nycticebus, the nocturnal strepsirrhine monkey genus that includes the Slow Lorises, is home to various species of Slow Lorises. From Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the east, and from Yunnan Province in China in the north to Java in the south, they can be found all over Southeast Asia and its neighbouring regions.
Slow Lorises tend to spend most of the night foraging alone, but little is known about their social structure. During the day, sluggish lorises normally sleep alone, but this does happen on occasion. Adults’ home ranges may overlap greatly, and males’ tend to be greater than females’.
In the absence of firsthand research on the genus, primatologist Simon Bearder hypothesised that Slow Loris social behaviour is comparable to that of the Potto, another nocturnal monkey. In order to protect themselves from predators, the slow and medium Lorises each have their own unique defence system. It’s virtually impossible to tell they’re there because their slow, deliberate movement barely disturbs the foliage. It’s a matter of seconds before they stop moving, and they don’t move at all after that.
Slow lorises are known as ‘malu malu’, or ‘shy one’, in Indonesia because they freeze and hide their faces when approached.
10. Flamingo
Wading birds in the family Phoenicopteridae, includes Flamingos. There are four species of Flamingo in North America (including the Caribbean), as well as two species that are endemic to the continents of Africa and Asia, the greater and lesser Flamingos. There is something endearing about Flamingos.
They have two legs, but prefer to use only one of them most of the time. Only one of their legs is used as a resting place. It is also an example of their foolishness because they try to catch fish with their beaks flipped upside down in the water.
The reason for this fishing technique is unclear, but the act itself lends itself to classifying these birds as one of the top 10 dumbest animals in the world. Flamingos are a favourite subject for the people of the Bahamas, and they frequently represented them in their work.
The national bird of the Bahamas is the Flamingo. It was thought that the Flamingo’s fat might treat tuberculosis in the Andes. Flamingo lawn ornaments are popular in the United States.
How to know if animal is dumb or intelligent
Animal intelligence is frequently extolled. Dolphins are more intelligent than most humans. Using sign language, Koko the Gorilla could tell you how much she loved you. The problem is that we’re just like animals. In every group, there is at least one person who appears to be simply plain dumb.
However, this is always the case for animals. Because they have a brain doesn’t imply that they have mental agility. Among the creatures on the top 10 dumbest animals in the world are those that prove beyond a reasonable doubt that animals are as dumb, naive and narcissistic as humans.
The three categories of intelligence experts look for when trying to decide what defines an animal’s intelligence is: instinct, adaptable intelligence and obedient intelligence.
Natural survival strategies are taken into account when assessing an animal’s instinctive intelligence. Herding, hunting, retrieving, or any other sort of labour are all examples of domesticated habits that an animal may have.
Adaptive intelligence refers to an animal’s ability to adjust to new surroundings and learn new tasks or habits on their own, as well as how rapidly they can learn new skills.
Obedient involves an animal’s ability to solve problems on its own. This intelligence determines the ease with which various animals may be trained and the frequency with which the training is remembered by the animals.
The more intelligent an animal becomes, the more it can correctly perform what it has been taught. A truly dumb animal is only prepared to listen to or learn instructions about 25% of the time.
Summary on Top 10 Dumbest Animals in the World
However, animals are adapted to live in the wild and not be taught human-like intelligence skills by humans. Rather, their intelligence is defined by the combination of skills and abilities that allow the specific animals to live and thrive in its specific environment. Unfortunately, the animals on this list of top 10 dumbest animals in the world are not particularly clever at surviving in their environments.
