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Whales and dolphins (cetaceans) live in tightly-knit social groups, have complex relationships, talk to each other and even have regional dialects -- much like human societies. A major new study has linked the complexity of Cetacean culture and behavior to the size of their brains.

Credit: The Alex Foundation Alex, an African grey parrot who died 5 years ago and was known for his ability to use English words, also understood a great deal about numbers. In a new study in this month's Cognition, scientists show that Alex correctly inferred the relationship between cardinal and ordinal numbers, an ability that has not previously been found in any species other than humans. After learning the cardinal numbers—or exact values—of one to six, Alex was taught the ordinal values (the position of a number in a list) of seven and eight—that is, he learned that six...

Whales and dolphins deserve 'human rights' because of their intelligence Whales and dolphins should get "human rights" to life and liberty because of mounting evidence of their intelligence, a group of conservationists and experts in philosophy, law and ethics have argued. Published: 6:01PM BST 23 May 2010 Japan, Norway and Iceland, the main whaling nations, oppose arguments that would outlaw hunting or even keeping the mammals in marine parks. They have long said there is no real evidence that they are smarter, for instance, than cows or pigs. But participants at a University of Helsinki conference said a growing number...

Scientist Irene Pepperberg was about to board a plane for Tucson, Ariz., when a peevish reservations clerk refused to let her on with a bird cage. No matter that her avian companion, "Alex Pepperberg," the famous African Grey parrot, had his own ticket — and the papers to prove he was a valuable research subject and TV celebrity. "And I suppose you ordered him a meal?" the agent sniped, after being overruled by a supervisor. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Pepperberg said without missing a beat. "He's getting the fruit plate."

Alex is known for showing the world just how smart African Grey parrots are…and he’s known for breaking barrier after barrier in the world of animal intelligence. But now he’s achieved a feat that no other animal has ever achieved, a feat that we believe will wow the world—and it’s a feat he accomplished all by himself! Dr. Pepperberg’s newest paper, “Ordinality and Inferential Abilities of a Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus),” has just been published in this month’s Journal of Comparative Psychology. This paper outlines Alex’s newest achievement in number comprehension. We think it will amaze you as much as...