Nothing is cooler than seeing a dolphin jump out of the water or ride along in front of a boat. Dolphins have been popularized within the last few decades as being very social mammals not only within their pods, but towards humans as well. And not only are they awesome, but they're super smart as week. But are they really…?

Dolphin jumping out of water, Dolphin Research Center

Dolphins have showed off their intelligence in both their natural habitats and in captivity. Their large brain capacity at first seems to be the cause of this intelligence, but there are many skeptics that don't think they're as smart as they seem. Some researchers believe that dolphins have only developed large brains in order to help them retain body heat- it has title to do with higher cognitive functions. Even though many believe dolphins are smarter than many other mammals due to their advanced behaviors, these researchers believe that they aren't that special. For example, pigeons and octopi have been able to complete some of the same tasks that dolphins can. But hey, that doesn't mean that this one guy's view is correct and they aren't awesome anyway.

This doesn't mean that dolphins aren't smart, because they are; I mean they're definitely not as smart as us, but they're a few steps up compared to some other organisms. Dolphins have shown off their creativity in both the wild and captivity. They are known to be able to mimic other dolphins as well as they trainers. These guys are highly developed in this area, as they repeat behaviors that yield some sort of reward. This can be anything from jumping out of the water, painting, or even solving puzzles set up to them by their trainers. They are then able to pass down these behaviors to another dolphin, showing that they do have high levels of intelligence.

Dolphin painting at Dolphin Research Center, Meghan Pentak

Another behavior they display is when they hunt, as they are very social mammals. Dolphins often swim in large groups and then surround the fish, forming a barrier in which they can't escape. Some other dolphins have been known to push the fish into shallow waters, trapping them as they have no other way to go. Another hunting technique is to use mud rings, in which an individual dolphin will chase down fish and trap them by using their tails to kick up mud, forming a ring of mud around their prey.

Dolphins jumping at Dolphin Research Center, Meghan Pentak

But besides this, dolphins are also known to have fun! In the wild they have been seen playing games of catch by tossing fish and turtles back and forth, as well as them playing tag with one another. Another really awesome thing that they do is riding whales! Dolphins have created a game out of swimming onto a whales nose, which then breaches. The dolphin will slide all the way down the whale and back into the water, repeating this game over and over. So between dolphins being able to understand commands, having creative hunting techniques, and being able to have fun, how can you say dolphins aren't smart?