{"id":244342,"date":"2026-04-24T05:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/244342\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T05:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:37:09","slug":"florida-zoo-captures-adorable-moment-when-a-newborn-baby-sloth-meets-his-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/244342\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida zoo captures adorable moment when a newborn baby sloth meets his dad"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the best things about house pets is that few of us expect them to be smart<\/a>. There are the occasional owners who rigorously train their dogs, but most of us are perfectly happy with friendly, dumb pets\u2014as long as they love us unconditionally and like to snuggle. However, every now and then, they surprise us and reveal just how smart they really are<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Extending to the wider world of animals<\/a>, most people simply have no idea how intelligent some species can be. It\u2019s honestly mind-boggling.<\/p>\n

A recent viral Reddit thread<\/a> asked people about the \u201ccreepiest\u201d signs of intelligence they\u2019d ever seen. Though the prompt didn\u2019t specify animals, countless users chimed in with moments when they witnessed an animal do something so smart it made their jaws drop. It can even be a little unsettling.<\/p>\n

1. The canine empath<\/p>\n

\u201cI was dog-walker when my daughter was a baby, and I had one dog who absolutely understood every word I said. \u2026 If she didn\u2019t want to do something, such as cross the street to a trash can, you just had to explain why it was necessary and she\u2019d cooperate.<\/p>\n

One time she got irritated because I wasn\u2019t feeling well and was walking super slowly. She kept tugging on the leash til I finally told her I was feeling sick. She immediately lead me to a bench and sat there, totally calm, for like 10 minutes before leading me back home again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dogs can\u2019t speak English, but they pick up on far more than you might realize. The smartest ones can learn hundreds of words, and many can even recognize when you\u2019re speaking gibberish<\/a> (or another language). They\u2019re also exceptionally good at picking up on human nonverbal cues.<\/p>\n

Put it all together, and it can sometimes seem like they understand everything you\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n

2. The guard crows<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been feeding this family of 5 crows for years. They have gotten comfortable enough with me that they\u2019ll come get snacks while I\u2019m still sitting next to the food. I can call them with a specific whistle I use just for them, and they make a rattle noise (that sounds like the Predator) with me to thank me for food.<\/p>\n

One late night I hear this horrible loud screeching. It woke me up, so I ran outside to see what it was. There was a guy trying to break into a window in my house and the 5 crows were dive bombing him screaming as loud as they could. He ran away. \u2026 So I guess I have guard-crows now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crows are not only sneaky-brilliant, but they can also become your best buds<\/a> if you treat them well. According to MIT Technology Review<\/a>, \u201cA 2020 study published in Science found that crows can think about their own thoughts. They can also recognize individual human faces, associate them with friendliness or danger, and pass that knowledge along to their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re cool with the local murder of crows, word may just spread.<\/p>\n

3. Puzzling crows<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing a crow solve a puzzle box in seconds after watching it once gave me chills, it felt like it was actually thinking things through. Stuff like that makes you realize some animals are way smarter than we usually give them credit for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crows are thought to be about as intelligent as a 5- to 7-year-old<\/a> human child. Not only can they make friends, but they can also invent and use tools, solve puzzles<\/a>, and maybe even count. By all accounts, they\u2019re among the smartest animals in the world, and they may be hanging out in your backyard right now.<\/p>\n

4. The magpie truce<\/p>\n

\u201cI ended up working as an adult really close to my family home I lived in since I was born. The area has always been occupied by Magpies which swoop at you all through summer. For those who don\u2019t know, it\u2019s terrifying.<\/p>\n

At work there was an injured Magpie that we fed and took care of for ages. When it got better enough to roam, it \u2018told\u2019 all the other magpies in the area and since then, about a decade ago, all the magpies in the area never swooped any of us who worked at the store again. And Alfred the magpie used to fly beside me when I\u2019d ride my bike to work! And on the way back too, to make sure I was safe. So insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though notoriously territorial and \u201cswoopy,\u201d magpies, like crows, can remember human faces<\/a>. They can form strong bonds with humans who are friendly and helpful to them.<\/p>\n

5. The dog that needed thumbs<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dog starts barking at the door so I open it to see what\u2019s going on. there\u2019s a border collie sitting there waiting. I go to check on the dog and he gets up and walks a bit away, sits and stares at me. I follow him. this goes on till I\u2019m in front of a house in my neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Collie stares at the doorbell. I ring it. no one answers. collie stares at the door. I knock, no answer. dog gets up and walks to the side gate and stares at me and then up at the latch. I open the gate for the dog. the dog walks into the back yard, turns around, sits and stares at me and then at the open gate. I close the gate and watch the dog relax. dog used me for my thumbs and wouldn\u2019t even let me pet him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dogs frequently turn to humans for help<\/a> in tough situations\u2014it\u2019s in their nature. When an owner or friendly human isn\u2019t around, they\u2019ll even seek out a stranger for a helping hand. It\u2019s a distinctly social brand of genius.<\/p>\n

6. The sneaky octopus<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard of an octopus who would break out of its tank at night and eat the crabs in a neighbouring tank. The aquarium staff didn\u2019t understand how the crabs kept getting eaten until they watched cctv and saw what the octopus was doing. Creepy thing is, the octopus knew to replace the lids and return to its own tank. That must mean it understood the need for deception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Variations of this story have been going around for years. It\u2019s even a plot point in the popular novel Remarkably Bright Creatures.<\/p>\n

While the original source is difficult to verify, the story isn\u2019t all that far-fetched. Octopuses are extremely gifted escape artists, able to solve puzzles, unscrew jars, and navigate mazes. They also seem to possess a strong understanding of what others\u2014prey, humans, and other octopuses\u2014may be thinking, and they have been known to use intentional deception<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. The silent Border Collie<\/p>\n

\u201cWas at a party and had a sudden mid conversation realization that we were all standing uncomfortably close to each other. My buddies border collie had slowly herded us all to the center of the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herding is an instinct hardwired into the Border Collie. Needless to say, it can take some owners by surprise just how eerily good they are at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will never remove herding instinct from a Border Collie and neither should you want to,\u201d writes trainer Sarah Hedderly at DingBatt Dog Training<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8. The ham dog<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad\u2019s German Shepherd figured out how to open the fridge, take out one slice of ham, and close it again. We only caught him because my dad set up a camera thinking my brother was sneaking food at night. The dog looked directly at the camera once and never did it again while we were home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to octopuses, dogs understand deception<\/a>. They can sometimes tell when a human is lying to them and have even been shown to distinguish between an honest mistake and an outright lie. In turn, they can be pretty sneaky themselves.<\/p>\n

9. The dog that found its way home<\/p>\n

Move over, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot necessarily creepy, but I have no explanation for it \u2013 I\u2019ve told this story before but when our dog was maybe 6 months old we took her to the groomers for the first time. My wife took her there in a taxi, she was lying on the floor the entire way with no way to see out. She had never been to that area before, and it was about 4 miles from our apartment, which itself was on the third floor of an apartment block. We get a call about 30 min later saying our dog had jumped a gate and ran out of the groomer, everyone\u2019s freaking out, she\u2019s a labradoodle but still a puppy, and she\u2019s alone and scared in central London in the middle of the day.<\/p>\n

We started searching and my wife was inconsolable so I said maybe she should wait at home \u2013 she got there and our dog was sitting on our doorstep on the third floor, happy as Larry, just chilling her beans. She had jumped a 4 foot fence, got out of a locked door, then ran across 4 miles of central London traffic, crossing at least one highway, through streets she\u2019d never been to or even seen, and got home around 25 minutes after she left the groomers.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may be hard to believe, but dogs can follow a scent for miles. In one widely reported case, a dog returned to its owner after an 11-mile journey. Bonnie Beaver, executive director of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists and a professor at Texas A&M University, told Time<\/a>, \u201cAn eleven-mile distance is actually not terribly long for a dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

10. The cozy pup<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dog knows how to turn on my wife\u2019s heated blanket, and he knows he likes it on the 2 setting. He will change it to the 2 setting if she has it warmer or colder.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the different things dogs can learn to do never cease to amaze. They can operate appliances, dial a telephone, and apparently even use a heated blanket. What\u2019s creepy\u2014in the best way\u2014is that your dog may know things you don\u2019t even realize it knows. Like humans, dogs can learn remarkably well through observation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing to watch documentaries or learn in school about the brilliance of dolphins, crows, and even ordinary house dogs. But seeing surprising displays of animal intelligence for yourself can be downright eerie, in the coolest way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the best things about house pets is that few of us expect them to be smart.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[107654,107655,107656,107657,92941,28,30,29,107658,107659,107660,107661,44637,2663,4624,49982],"class_list":{"0":"post-244342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-popular_source-pageview","9":"tag-adorable-animals","10":"tag-alligator-farm","11":"tag-animal-reserve","12":"tag-baby-animals","13":"tag-florida","14":"tag-florida-headlines","15":"tag-florida-news","16":"tag-sloth-birth","17":"tag-sloth-dad","18":"tag-sloth-mom","19":"tag-sloth-parents","20":"tag-sloths","21":"tag-st-augustine","22":"tag-wildlife","23":"tag-zoo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}