Animal Wonders

5 ANIMALS MOST LIKELY TO DISCOVER THE SECRET OF FIRE

In Japan a troop of macaque monkeys now has an alpha female as its leader;  on the ocean floor, the Pacific barrel-eye fish has telescopic eyes set in its see-through head.  What more surprises does the animal world hold?  Could there be some animals that are on the brink of learning how to control fire?  Here are the leading candidates…

DOLPHINS

There is little doubt that dolphins are among the brainiest animals out there; according to whales.org, they have the ability to solve problems and are innovative.  What more do you need if you are going to work out the secret of fire? Well, perhaps you need to live somewhere other than the sea which is not usually listed alongside heat and fuel as a necessary ingredient of fire.  Best to put dolphins down as a ‘maybe’ for now.

OCTOPUSES

Really clever, really smart.  Also really wet.  So see above.

CROWS (and STARLINGS)

Now these are smart cookies.  If you ever find yourself in a park near a rubbish bin stuffed with left-over fast food cartons, just sit tight and watch.  If a pigeon approaches the bin, it will scatter all the litter randomly and desperately peck away in a totally unstructured manner, leaving all the trash spread over a wide area.  A crow, in contrast, will assess the situation and select with surgical precision the precise Big Mac box that it wishes to dine on.  Despite this demonstrable intelligence, crows don’t seem to be all that bothered about starting fires.  As they live in nests made of dry twigs this is perhaps a good thing.  In fact, we can’t rule out the possibility that they have worked out how to start fires but have decided not to use the knowledge until they can make nests out of concrete instead.

Starlings are incredible mimics.  As of yet, we don’t have evidence of them even making crackling noises to emulate the sound of a fire, but if it happens, it would be a start.  However, they are famous for reproducing ringtones of phones and appear to be nowhere near producing their own handsets yet, so this could be a forlorn hope.

CHIMPANZEES

Another very sharp tool in natures’ box.  In fact they can make their own tools, which is a big plus. They can also recognise themselves in a mirror, so they can practise posing for the inevitable photo shoot when they hit on the secret of fire.  Could they make one of those clicky things that waiters light candles with?  And then look at themselves using it in the mirror?   Or would they be better off making tools like fire extinguishers first, just in case?  After all they live in forests full of trees and other combustibles.

PIGS

Pigs are great.  According to thoughtco.com, they can find their way round mazes, can work out their reflections at an earlier age than humans and can even play video games.  If necessity is the mother of invention, this suggests that pigs have jumped a stage and won’t be getting pyrotechnical any time soon.  After all, if you can reach the top level on Grand Auto Theft, why sweat about getting a fire lit?

CONCLUSION

For the time being, humans will retain their monopoly over fire.  If one of the above candidates had to be selected as the most likely to succeed, perhaps it is the chimpanzee.  They would find it easiest to strike a match on a rough surface, certainly at arm’s length.  A crow would have to use its beak, which means if it did strike a match it might set light to its head.  And crows are too clever to do that.