Who has the best sense of smell among animals? Animals have one of the best senses of smell and smell.
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Which animal has the most good sense of smell? Let's try to figure it out
April 19, 2014In general, according to scientists, almost all animals by nature are able to distinguish odors much better than is typical for us humans. However, have you ever thought about which animal has the best sense of smell? Who can be said to be absolute record holder in this area?
Let's try to figure it out together.
In the world of smells. general information
All animals of the class mammals have good developed sense of smell. It is especially sensitive in dogs, which have more than 125 million olfactory receptors in their noses. It’s hard to believe, and it’s completely unrealistic to imagine such a quantity. Although this is precisely why specially trained hunting dogs are able to smell game at a distance of about a kilometer.
Few people realize that horses can smell even small amounts of impurities in water. It’s not for nothing that they say that a horse will never drink contaminated water.
However, which animal has the best sense of smell? A racehorse? U watchdog? Or maybe domestic cat? No no and one more time no.
Scientists have proven that the most common moth can openly “boast” of its sense of smell. Why? The fact is that males can recognize a female by smell even at a distance of 11 kilometers!
Absolute champion
It should be noted that moths, like butterflies, never feed on carpets or fur coats. This is done by caterpillar larvae.
The moth menu is so diverse that these insects are even divided into different kinds, whose names indicate their taste preferences: clothes moth, fur, carpet, felt, etc. There are even those who eat through force plastic film, paper and synthetic fabrics.
In addition to the well-known smell of mothballs, moths do not like the smells of newspapers, toilet soap, in particular with a floral smell, and orange peel. Although she can smell such a scent from afar, she is unlikely to be tempted.
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Noble representative of the equid order
Our ancestors didn’t even bother looking for an answer to the question of who has the most better sense of smell. They knew this for sure. It was by the horse that they learned to check quality drinking water from one source or another. If she drank, her owners also scooped up water without any problems.
In general, thanks to its excellent sense of smell, a horse can easily determine the slightest excitement of the rider, as well as the state of alcohol intoxication. It is believed that the smell of blood can literally make her go crazy.
But this is far from the only organ of touch that is excellently developed in horses.
Experts say that every horse has the ability to see the world in color, although for most representatives of the fauna kingdom this is physically impossible.
A horse's hearing is so sensitive that it can easily distinguish all kinds of emotions in a person's voice. Horses also prefer cheerful or soothing music. But they don’t like loud music, like rock music.
The secret of a true friend
Probably even a baby will answer the question of which animal has the best sense of smell if you ask him to choose from among his pets. Well, of course, the dog. This a pet will smell a sausage or a tasty piece of meat, even if you manage to hide it at the bottom of the bag.
But that's not all. Did you know that it is quite possible to teach a dog to drive a car? It sounds incredible, but it turns out that these animals took part in a test drive of cars, and some of them, upon completion, not only learned to drive in a straight line, but even to turn!
By the way, it has been scientifically proven that if a dog wags its tail to the left, it thus lets its relatives know about a possible dangerous situation.
The dog, like a person, distinguishes between certain colors, yellow and blue, for example. But green and red are not perceived by them, since in the eyes of dogs there is no “cone” that is responsible for these colors.
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In general, according to scientists, almost all animals by nature are able to distinguish odors much better than is typical for us humans. However, have you ever thought about which animal has the best sense of smell? Who can be said to be the absolute record holder in this area?
Let's try to figure it out together.
In the world of smells. general information
All animals of the mammalian class have a well-developed sense of smell. It is especially sensitive in dogs, which have more than 125 million olfactory receptors in their noses. It’s hard to believe, and it’s completely unrealistic to imagine such a quantity. Although this is precisely why specially trained hunting dogs are able to smell game at a distance of about a kilometer.
Few people realize that horses can smell even small amounts of impurities in water. It’s not for nothing that they say that a horse will never drink contaminated water.
However, which animal has the best sense of smell? A racehorse? At the watchdog? Or maybe a domestic cat? No no and one more time no.
Scientists have proven that the most common moth can openly “boast” of its sense of smell. Why? The fact is that males can recognize a female by smell even at a distance of 11 kilometers!
Absolute champion
It should be noted that moths, like butterflies, never feed on carpets or fur coats. This is done by caterpillar larvae.
The menu of moths is so diverse that these insects are even divided into different species, the names of which indicate their taste preferences: clothes moth, fur moth, carpet moth, felt moth, etc. There are even some that forcefully eat plastic film, paper and synthetic fabrics.
In addition to the well-known smell of mothballs, moths do not like the smells of newspapers, toilet soap, in particular with a floral smell, and orange peel. Although she can smell such a scent from afar, she is unlikely to be tempted.
Noble representative of the equid order
Our ancestors didn’t even bother looking for an answer to the question of who has the best sense of smell. They knew this for sure. It was by looking at the horse that they learned to check the quality of drinking water from one source or another. If she drank, her owners also scooped up water without any problems.
In general, thanks to its excellent sense of smell, a horse can easily detect the slightest excitement of the rider, as well as the state of alcohol intoxication. It is believed that the smell of blood can literally make her go crazy.
But this is far from the only organ of touch that is excellently developed in horses.
Experts say that every horse has the ability to see the world in color, although for most representatives of the fauna kingdom this is physically impossible.
A horse's hearing is so sensitive that it can easily distinguish all kinds of emotions in a person's voice. Horses also prefer cheerful or soothing music. But they don’t like loud music, like rock music.
The secret of a true friend
Probably even a baby will answer the question of which animal has the best sense of smell if you ask him to choose from among his pets. Well, of course, the dog. This pet will smell a sausage or a tasty piece of meat, even if you manage to hide it at the bottom of the bag.
But that's not all. Did you know that it is quite possible to teach a dog to drive a car? It sounds incredible, but it turns out that these animals took part in a test drive of cars, and some of them, upon completion, not only learned to drive in a straight line, but even to turn!
By the way, it has been scientifically proven that if a dog wags its tail to the left, it thus lets its relatives know about a possible dangerous situation.
The dog, like a person, distinguishes between certain colors, yellow and blue, for example. But green and red are not perceived by them, since in the eyes of dogs there is no “cone” that is responsible for these colors.
Perhaps everyone has noticed that women are able to detect subtle odors of perfumes and seasonings in dishes; they sometimes easily recognize flowers by their smell without even seeing them. There are women who use their sense of smell to determine that a downpour will soon begin. But men do not have this ability. What's the secret?
The sense of smell is the oldest human sense. Previously, it controlled 90% of human life, just like in animals. Nowadays, a person receives 2% of information through smell, while through vision - 90%, through hearing - 5%. But these two percent play a very important role.
The human olfactory system has enough complex structure. In the upper part of the nasal cavity there is an area with olfactory receptors that perceive odor and convert it into a nerve impulse sent to the brain. The center of smell in the brain is connected with the centers of other senses and, thanks to them, working together, smell is an essential addition to the basic information received from other analyzers: visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile. Those 2% of information received through the sense of smell can play a decisive role: in front of you there may be a person pleasant in all respects, but if you don’t like his smell, then all communication with him will come to naught, and even all his virtues will be seen by you as shortcomings.
A person can distinguish about 10,000 different odors, and a dog's nose can distinguish about half a million. The sensitivity of the nose is amazing. According to the acuity of smell, all living beings are divided into 3 groups:
- anosmatics (they do not smell at all; dolphins are an example);
- macrosmatics (they have an excellent sense of smell; these include predators and rodents);
- microsmatics (their ability to perceive odors is below average). The person belongs to the third group.
The ability to capture odors depends on many factors. The first is the amount of olfactory epithelium in the nose (the number of olfactory receptors). In humans, this figure is 10 million, and it is the same for both men and women. For comparison, dogs have over 200 million olfactory receptors! Therefore, it is not in vain that they say that everything that smells can be found with the help of dogs. Secondly, the quantity is important nerve cells in the olfactory bulb (bulb of touch) - the primary link of the center of smell. Primary information processing occurs in the onion. And this is where the differences in the olfactory ability of different genders. Women have more neurons in the olfactory center than men. Researchers from Federal University Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) was determined absolute number cells in the olfactory bulbs, and then the number of neurons. The study found that women have 43% more cells in their olfactory bulbs than men. When counting neurons, the difference reached 50%. The scientists do not claim that their work is clear evidence that the number of cells determines the superiority of the olfactory ability in women. However, according to study leader Roberto Lenta, it seems logical to assume that larger number neurons in the olfactory bulb corresponds to a higher sensitivity to odors. In addition, the researchers made another observation: Since the number of brain cells increases only slightly throughout life, women are apparently already born with them. Plus, women have more associative connections in their brains connecting different brain centers, so they quickly recognize odors, unlike men, who take longer to do so.
Even if a person receives relatively little information through the sense of smell, its importance is difficult to overestimate. With the help of smell, we unconsciously identify people who are pleasant to us. Thanks to the influence of smell, we recover faster and feel better (just remember aromatherapy). We learn to decipher smells and control them (perfumes), while forgetting that it is the smell that controls us. It is not without reason that they say that losing the ability to perceive smells means losing something very necessary, something as important as the taste of life.
In general, according to scientists, almost all animals by nature are able to distinguish odors much better than is typical for us humans. However, have you ever thought about the sense of smell? Who can be said to be the absolute record holder in this area?
Let's try to figure it out together.
In the world of smells. general information
All animals of the mammalian class have a well-developed sense of smell. It is especially sensitive in dogs, which have more than 125 million in their noses. This is hard to believe, and it is completely unrealistic to imagine such a number. Although this is precisely why specially trained hunting dogs are able to smell game at a distance of about a kilometer.
Few people realize that horses can smell even small amounts of impurities in water. It’s not for nothing that they say that a horse will never drink contaminated water.
However, which animal has the best sense of smell? A racehorse? At the watchdog? Or maybe a domestic cat? No no and one more time no.
Scientists have proven that the most common moth can openly “boast” of its sense of smell. Why? The fact is that males can recognize a female by smell even at a distance of 11 kilometers!
Absolute champion
It should be noted that moths, like butterflies, never feed on carpets or fur coats. This is done by caterpillar larvae.
The menu of moths is so diverse that these insects are even divided into different species, the names of which indicate their taste preferences: fur, carpet, felt, etc. There are even some that forcefully eat plastic film, paper and synthetic fabrics.
In addition to the well-known smell of mothballs, moths do not like the smells of newspapers, toilet soap, in particular with a floral smell, and orange peel. Although she can smell such a scent from afar, she is unlikely to be tempted.
Noble representative of the equid order
Our ancestors didn’t even bother looking for an answer to the question of who has the best sense of smell. They knew this for sure. It was by looking at the horse that they learned to check the quality of drinking water from one source or another. If she drank, her owners also scooped up water without any problems.
In general, thanks to its excellent sense of smell, a horse can easily detect the slightest excitement of the rider, as well as the state of alcohol intoxication. It is believed that the smell of blood can literally make her go crazy.
But this is far from the only one that is excellently developed in horses.
Experts say that every horse has the ability to see the world in color, although for most representatives of the fauna kingdom this is physically impossible.
A horse's hearing is so sensitive that it can easily distinguish all kinds of emotions in a person's voice. Horses also prefer cheerful or soothing music. But they don’t like loud music, like rock music.
The secret of a true friend
Probably even a baby will answer the question of which animal has the best sense of smell if you ask him to choose from among his pets. Well, of course, the dog. This pet will smell a sausage or a tasty piece of meat, even if you manage to hide it at the bottom of the bag.
But that's not all. Did you know that it is quite possible to teach a dog to drive a car? It sounds incredible, but it turns out that these animals took part in a test drive of cars, and some of them, upon completion, not only learned to drive in a straight line, but even to turn!
By the way, it has been scientifically proven that if a dog wags its tail to the left, it thus lets its relatives know about a possible dangerous situation.
The dog, like a person, distinguishes between certain colors, yellow and blue, for example. But green and red are not perceived by them, since in the eyes of dogs there is no “cone” that is responsible for these colors.