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Abnormally Intelligent Animals From History Who Acted More Like Humans
From a baboon that held a paying job for nearly a decade to assassin elephants, some beasts have shown just how capable they can be
Humans have accomplished amazing things throughout history. Civilizations have grown and fallen all because of the talents and feats of various people. Although they don’t get the same level of attention, there have also been some pretty amazing animals that have been trained so well they literally take on the functionality of humans, including these three.
Jack the Baboon: Most people understand that non-human primates are some of the most intelligent and adaptable creatures in the world. This was epitomized by Jack, a Chacma baboon, who served as an incredibly useful service animal for double leg amputee and railway signalman James Wide of South Africa towards the end of the 19th century. The animal was so smart and skilled that Jack literally became a paid railroad employee.
Wide often had to jump between cars in his job duties for the Cape Town-Port Elizabeth Railway. Unfortunately, he suffered an accident that led to the loss of both legs and being confined to a wheelchair and then restrictive braces and prosthetics. Still needing to work, not having the use of his legs was very difficult, until he obtained Jack from a nearby market after being impressed with his perceived intelligence. In short order he began training Jack to operate railway signals and make his own work a little less taxing.
Learning from hand motions and whistles, Jack embarked on being the hardest working employee the railroad had, changing signals and delivering keys to conductors. Over time, he even did some things automatically, given the repetitious nature of some of the tasks.
The baboon proved remarkably proficient at correctly changing the signals under Wide’s direction but that didn’t stop from alarm being generated from passengers who gulped hard after seeing Jack doing what they assumed was a necessary human function. An official investigation was launched but Jack was found to be so good at what he did (it was later said he never made a single mistake in his career) that he was allowed to continue and…
