NOVA – S41 E19 : Inside Animal Minds: Who's the Smartest?

NOVA
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What makes an animal smart? What forces of evolution drive brains to become more complex? Many scientists believe the secret lies in our relationships. Throughout the animal kingdom, some of the cleverest creatures—including humans—seem to be those who live in complex social groups, like dolphins, elephants, and apes. Could the skills required to keep track of friend and foe make animals smarter? To find out, NOVA goes inside the social lives of some of the smartest animals on the planet. Off the coast of Florida, we see dolphins team up to catch fish by whipping up a wall of muddy water that drives the meal right into their companions’ waiting mouths. It seems that the dolphins are working together to plan their hunt. But are they really? Biologists go on a quest to decipher the secrets of animal societies, from the seas of the Caribbean to the plains of Africa. Do dolphins and elephants have “language?" Do chimps have a sense of fairness? And are any animals besides ourselves capable of feeling empathy?

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Cast

Harrison Ford
as Narrator
John Lithgow
as Narrator
Keith David
as Narrator
Stacy Keach
as Narrator
Susan Sarandon
as Narrator (voice)
John Hurt
as Narrator
Liev Schreiber
as Narrator (voice)
Oliver Platt
as Narrator
Shirley Henderson
as Mileva Maric
Roy Scheider
as Narrator
Samuel West
as Humphry Davy
Joe Morton
as Narrator
Stockard Channing
as Narrator (voice)
Jim Carter
as Narrator
Derek Jacobi
as Voice of Ernest Shackleton
Frances O'Connor
as Emma Darwin
Simon Callow
as Galileo
Jay O. Sanders
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Ian Holm
as Narrator (voice)
Anton Lesser
as Voltaire
Scott Handy
as Isaac Newton
Corey Johnson
as Narrator
Julian Rhind-Tutt
as Antoine Lavoisier
Henry Ian Cusick
as Charles Darwin
Aidan McArdle
as Albert Einstein
Craig Sechler
as Narrator
Tony Robinson
as Younger Ernie
Joseph Campanella
as Narrator (voice)
Neil Ross
as Narrator
Nigel Bennett
as Sir Charles Lyell
Darri Ingolfsson
as Godfred Hansen
Steven Robertson
as Michael Faraday
Eric Meyers
as Narrator

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