Life for a fish might seem simple at first glance, but much like the oceans they call home, there are untold depths beneath the surface!
We still have so much to learn about marine animals and how they experience their watery world – but already there is an exciting body of scientific evidence revealing them to be inquisitive, intelligent, and emotionally complex individuals.
Keep reading for some fascinating facts that will make you see why fish and other marine animals belong in the sea (instead of on the dinner table!).
1. They are forward-thinking and resourceful
Fish have been shown to outperform even monkeys, chimps, and orangutans on complex foraging tasks, demonstrating their remarkable capacity for planning and problem solving.
In fact, their learning abilities are far more sophisticated than most people realise – they can even use tools! This is particularly significant when you consider that tool use was once thought to be exclusive to humans.
For example, blackspot tuskfish have cracked the case when it comes to opening up molluscs to eat – they hit them against rocks to pop them open. And what’s more, many of them do so the exact same way, which scientists believe could point to this being a skill that generations of parent tuskfish have passed down to their offspring.