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In many cultures, elephants are seen as a symbol of wisdom and are known for having an excellent memory. They have the largest brains of all land animals and their intelligence is evident in their ability to learn, use tools and even in their sense of humour.

They are very social animals and although they live in herds, they spend their lives in pairs devoted to a best friend. These friendships between elephants are well-known, but in an elephant sanctuary in the United States, an unusual friendship blossomed.

Tarra, an Asian elephant, chose Bella, a dog, as her best friend. The odd pair loved spending all their time together, eating, sleeping and playing. Then one day, Bella had an accident. For the entire three weeks it took her to recover, Tarra waited outside the sanctuary office. She was free to wander the 2200 acres but she was loyal to her friend and chose to wait for her to get better. It just shows us how animals don't consider differences when they choose their friends.

We use the word 'birdbrain' for people who aren't very clever, but just because birds have small brains it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't intelligent, especially crows. Some crows make tools for finding food. They think about what tool they need and look for it. If they cannot find the right shape, they make the tool themselves by cutting bits of wood from trees, leaves or grass. They even store their tools in a safe place to use at a later time. Another thing they hide is food. Crows in Japan are clever enough to leave nuts on the road at traffic lights so that cars will run over them and crack their open. And amazingly, crows have been filmed using food scraps for fish bait. They drop the scraps into the sea to attract fish and catch them. Pretty smart thinking for such a small brain!