>
> The most intelligent animals are (undoubted?) the big apes (chimps,
> gorillas, orangs, bonobos...). These are fruit-eaters or herbivores.
> Whales (including dolphins, orcas, blue whales etc) have *big* brains,
> therefore they are accredited a high intelligence. They are eating fish
> or plancton (depending on their size).

Amadeus, this is absolutely not right. Big apes (and small ones for that
matter) eat meat. They will eat anything from small rodents to apes of
 other species. And not a little either, male chimps can eat up to 450
grams of meat a day, females and lower in rank males get less meat.
Insects, larvae you name it, apes eat it!

I think the question if whales, sharks, cats or tigers are intelligent
is non-comparible. They could have a whole set of values we know nothing
about.  When I think of dolphins or parrots (who are supposed to have
the brain of a 4 year old child) I cannot compare. They live in a
different sort of environment then we do and their sort of intelligence
can be unmeasurable to us.

All I know is that humans as a species have technical intelligence that
gave them a headstart in controlling their environment. We have arts
that are considered a sign of civilization.
Yet we are not bright enough to realise destruction of that same
environment for money is shortterm thinking.
Animals won't think about that either as they can eat all their sources
and themselves into extinction.  Caring for our young ones is a form of
instinctive intelligence we share with primates and most other animals.
Somehow I doubt if we are indeed more intelligent and what price we pay
for it.
But eating meat, breastfeeding, a social system, dominance of males over
females are present characteristics in both humans and apes. When you
look at bodylanguage there is not a lot of difference between them and us.

Christy