14 Animals That Have A Highly Developed Sense Of Smell
The sense of smell is one of the many senses that animals have. It enables living beings to recognize and analyze molecules that are floating in the air. These get through the nasal passages into the olfactory bulb, where the olfactory receptor proteins are located. From here the information reaches the brain.
Each type of receptor can recognize a substance, but by combining several receptors it is possible to smell an infinite number of substances. Animals with a highly developed sense of smell have it thanks to the large number of genes that encode the various receptor proteins.
The African elephant has the best sense of smell
The African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ) is the animal with the best sense of smell. This mammal inhabits at least 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, being a migratory animal, it can live in many habitats, from dense forests to beaches.
Today the different populations of these animals are fragmented. However, the number of specimens seems to be increasing thanks to work in nature conservation.
According to the aforementioned study , the African elephant has around 1,948 genes that are responsible for the configuration of the olfactory receptors.
This highly developed sense of smell is probably due to its long trunk, which it uses like a hand. The receptors are not in the trunk, but in the head.
However, with it he is looking for food and since he is so far from his eyes he needs a good sense of smell. On the other hand, this strong sense of smell could have something to do with the elephants’ good memories.
Rats and mice
Rats and mice are nocturnal rodents. In general, animals living this way have poor eyesight and a highly developed sense of smell.
This may be due to the fact that seeing is not so important in the dark and other senses such as hearing, thermal reception or the sense of smell are used instead.
The rats have 1,207 olfactory genes and the mice have 1,130. Indeed, there is one type of rat, the African giant hamster rat ( Cricetomys gambianus ), that can be trained to detect and detect land mines.
Cows
Next on the list of animals with a highly developed sense of smell are cows with 1,186 olfactory genes. It’s so good that you can smell it more than 10 kilometers away.
This characteristic is very useful for a herbivorous animal, as it has to perceive threatening predators when they are still far away.
Nowadays, after the wild aurochs ( Bos primigenius ) were tamed about 10,000 years ago, cows are protected by humans. In the past, however, they needed such strategies to escape predators.
Horses
Just like cows , horses need a good sense of smell because they are prey. The horses have 1,066 olfactory genes.
With this instinct, they can even find water if it is below the surface. This is especially useful for horses that live in deserts as they need a lot of water to survive.
These animals also use their sense of smell to make friends and recognize mares in heat through urine or dung.
The dog’s sense of smell
We’ve heard so much about dogs’ sense of smell that we actually expected it to be at the top of the list. However, dogs “only” have 811 olfactory genes. This may seem very little compared to the elephant, but a dog still has more than twice as many as humans who only have 396 of these genes.
Although dogs have fewer genes than other animals, what makes them special is that their olfactory receptors are incredibly sensitive. Because of this, they are able to differentiate smells so precisely that they can detect cancer in the early stages.
Guinea pig
Guinea pigs are rodents that are well known as pets, but also as test animals in laboratories. They come from Peru, where they are also part of the local cuisine.
They have 796 olfactory genes and use their sense of smell to recognize each other. Therefore, if you have a pet guinea pig, it is very important not to use soap before touching it, otherwise it will not be able to smell your natural scent.
More animals with a highly developed sense of smell
Finally, here is a list of other animals and living beings that also have a highly developed sense of smell. This list is arranged according to the degree of development of the sense of smell in descending order, i.e. it starts with the animal with the most developed sense of smell:
- Chinese softshell turtle.
- Western clawed frog.
- Person.
- Chimpanzee.
- Dwarf monkey.
- Rabbits.
- Orangutan.
