Test Your Knowledge Of Animal Intelligence With This Fact-Packed Quiz!

Mason Zimmer|Animals|13 Oct 2023

Why do scientists think gorillas are smarter than our ancestors?

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A female Gorilla named Fatou eats fruit received to mark her 66th birthday at the Berlin Zoo on April 13, 2023.
Retry Correct Incorrect According to the University of Pretoria in South Africa, our three million-year-old ancestors (known as Australopithecines) were found to have smaller blood vessels in their brains than modern gorillas. As Professor Roger Seymour explained, larger blood vessels translate to a need for greater blood flow to the brain. Scientists can then use these blood vessels to conclude that gorillas had a higher metabolic rate, which also suggests more cognitive ability.
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Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images
Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

Why do scientists think gorillas are smarter than our ancestors?

  • Gorilla brains they need more blood flow than our ancestors did
  • Gorilla brains are larger than our ancestors
  • Gorillas wiped out the last members of that ancestor species
  • Archaeologists found that the gorilla’s tools are more sophisticated
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