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All animals have intelligence.
People, though, “judge” their intellect based purely on the human paradigm.

Animals can transcend their own limitations and linguistic barriers and learn *our* language yet we can not decipher theirs beyond a rudimentary “wanna go outside bark” type of communication.

The terrapins do not surprise me at all.

I have a colony of ants in my lane that have “connected” with me which is really surprising considering the war humans usually wage upon them.

Every summer, I take out treats for them, usually in the form of finely crushed peanut butter Ritz Bitz.

Whatever they’re doing with their busy little ant lives comes to an immediate halt and they *all* start marching back to the anthills in anticipation of a delicious snack.

They do not display the usual “human avoidance” behavior; indeed, they crowd around me in happy expectation.

Once I’ve doled out the crumbs to their various mounds, I will sit for a while and watch them carry their bounty back underground.

I especially enjoy the adults bringing the tiny babies up from the underground chambers in order to teach them how to gather food.

I got into this rather accidentally via a book which stated that ants build their mounds over electro-magnetic “lines of force” underground.

When the mounds are clearly marked with pale tan crumbs, they form a nearly perfect sine wave in my driveway.

I hope that I never lose my “child like wonder” at all the tiny miracles the good Lord has placed *everywhere* on this plant.

[and everything is a miracle, if people only took the time to bother to look around...or below them]

If you haven't read them already, I highly recommend any of the books by Temple Grandin, the animal behavior expert. She points out that the parts of the brain which control emotions in human beings are nearly identical to those in other mammals. Mammals really do have emotions or feelings which can be understood by people who pay attention. This is especially true of social animals like dogs which have facial expressions and body language to communicate their emotions. Yet people used to vivisect dogs, claiming that "they have no feelings."

We see people in this thread commenting with amusement about numerous turtles being smashed on the road. Box turtles are territorial; they will roam endlessly if removed from their "homes." That's intelligence of a sort, as is the ability of salamanders to know where there is a vernal pool and how to get there in the dark, then return home. Yet we see people referring to salamanders as "garden vermin!" Salamanders aren't vermin; they are completely harmless, beneficial creatures, as a turtles (even snappers are shy and will avoid people if they can). I'm afraid that some conservatives are so hostile to the environmental movement, which has been infiltrated and subverted by the Left, that they overreact and think that love of nature is inherently bad. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As for arthropods, I am amazed at the way a spider will often turn towards you when disturbed, then stop as if "thinking" and waiting to see what you will do. With all our technology, we cannot create a robot with the capabilities of a spider or salamander. These creatures deserve our respect.