Top 15 Dumbest Animals In The World (Updated 2023)

If you look at the animal kingdom, then you will see that there are millions of animal species, half of which you don’t even know about. And although most animals are intelligent, more than humans, like a dolphin. But there are a lot of animals who are just dumb. 

Don’t think that we are crazy in saying an animal is dumb because maybe they lack the grey matter in their brain or are less intelligent. 

But they appear dumb by just the way they act and behave in the wild. Their behavior and actions are often so illogical compared to other animals that they seem like the dumbest animals in the world. 

So if you are curious about the animals on this list, then keep on scrolling, where we listed down the dumbest animals. 

How To Know If An Animal Is Dumb Or Intelligent?

You might be wondering what constitutes an animal to be dumb, is it the size of their brain or something else entirely? 

The animals we have listed down here are not by the size of their brain but by whether they use their brain at all or not. Because some of the actions of these animals suggest that they don’t use their brain at all and hence are categorized as dumb. 

The three main criteria that experts take into account while assessing the intelligence of an animal are adaptable intelligence, obedient intelligence, and, foremost, instinct. 

To survive in the wild, there are certain survival strategies that animals adapt to show their intelligence and creativity, whether it’s during hunting, herding, or even retrieving. How well an animal adapts in the wild is very important to judge the animal’s intelligence. 

So keeping in mind these certain criteria, we have created our list of the dumbest animals in the world. 

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Top 15 Dumbest Animals In The World

So, if you wanna know which are the dumbest animal in the world, then just keep on scrolling; that way, you will understand our rationale for putting them here on the list. 

1. Ostrich

The first member on the list is the largest bird in the world, the Ostrich. These giants have a prehistoric look to them, with a height of 9 ft. The best thing about these birds is that they are super fast runners with their long skinny legs. 

Being flightless birds, their long necks and legs are also their weapon of attack as well. These Ostriches don’t seem like dumb animals, but when they are in danger, they somehow forget all about their huge size and large kicking legs. 

When faced with danger, other than running and hiding, even attacking with their sharp claws, these Ostriches push their heads on the ground. That way, these Ostriches think they become invisible, and the predator can’t see them anymore. 

Their head is just 1/10th the size of their body, so pushing their head inside the ground in front of danger is not a great disguise; at least, that’s what it seems like. 

2. Panda Bear

Yes, Pandas are definitely the cutest animal in the world, but they are dumb at the same time. Since these pandas are an endangered species, they are not so into sex as they are into eating bamboo. 

However, it’s funny how pandas are fascinated with bamboo since they are originally carnivore animals. Maybe they forget that aspect of their nature most of the time. 

3. Turkey

Turkey’s are just wide-eyed dim-witted birds who are in an eternal state of confusion. These birds ooze the word dumb. 

Turkey owners said that these so-called “birds of courage” prefer drinking water falls downwards, so they love the rain. 

But don’t be fooled into thinking they are drinking the rainwater; they just love to stare at the sky, even at times for half an hour. 

4. Jerboa

The not-so-rodent, like Jerboa, is rather bizarre-looking; they are known to have great speed. And that is their only quality since their hyper-speed quality is what saves their lives from most predators. In front of danger, they just run from one corner to another. 

Seeing this bizarre behavior, even the predator might not understand what is happening. Other than running away, they just run around in the same place. 

5. Goblin Shark

The Black sheep of the shark family, these sharks are sluggish, poor swimmers, and have poor eyesight. This shark gives a bad name to its shark cousins. 

These sharks are not as good predators as other sharks, they are too lazy to hunt for food and depend on crabs, fishes, squids, and mollusks. As Jaws fans, we are disappointed. 

6. Sloth

The main thing about sloths is that they are more lazy than they are dumb. Don’t immediately think of Sid the sloth from Ice Age when I say dumb sloths. 

So by nature, sloths are really slow-moving creatures, the only time they move a little fast is when they have to pee in the shrubs. 

7. Koala

Although most of you may find koalas very cute, though not cuddly, they are often categorized as one of the dumbest animals in the world. The reason being these cute little creatures are violent when it comes to eucalyptus leaves; they want it by hook or by crook. 

The koalas act like drug addicts when they don’t have eucalyptus leaves and even start tearing off each other. The dumb part is, Eucalyptus is not even that good for them; they can’t even digest the leaves. 

8. Kakapo

There is no doubt that the Kakapo made it in this list as the dumbest animals in the world. These are large birds and basically ground-dwellers since they can’t fly. The kakapo doesn’t care at all about their own life since they will stand still in front of danger. 

They won’t just stand but actually freeze in one place without even blinking; they would just wait for death to happen. Animals usually have a fight or flight reaction in front of danger, but for the kakapo, it’s more like welcoming death with open arms. 

9. Norwegian Lemmings

As the saying goes, “large things come in small packages,” the Norwegian lemmings think they are the same. Growing only as tall as 6 ft, these rodents tend to attack animals much bigger than them. Such as big cats, birds of prey, and also big dogs like bullmastiffs. 

10. Killdeer

Here is another bird that shows a quite dumb reaction in daily life, making themselves easy prey for the predators. These birds run around while screaming to alert the predators of their whereabouts. 

Their calling and screaming draw a lot of attention to themselves than needed. And when they are faced with danger, they run towards it again, screaming, rather than going in the opposite direction. 

11. Cane Toads

The reason why we categorized Cane toads as dumb is that they don’t know how to recognize their predators from their mates. These species of toads are known to hump everything in their sight, like lizards, mice, and salamanders. 

They won’t even leave the poor snakes alone, they will hump them as well; if that’s not dumb, I don’t know what is.  If they have to, they will even hump a poor female runaway toad as well. 

12. Flamingo

The flamingoes are beautiful and majestic creatures and one of the most stunningly beautiful birds in the world. But in the wild, they are the example of  “beauty with no brains.” 

These flamingoes are called dumb because although having two perfectly fine legs, they tend not to use them both and just use 50% of the legs at a time. But that is not the only reason they are tagged as dumb. 

Flamingoes tend to hunt for fish and other underwater creatures by putting their head inside the water and in an upside-down manner. Their beak is flipped backward when they hunt for food. 

13. Northern Fulmar Chicks

These northern fulmar chicks are often called dumb because of the weird defense mechanism that they use to scare off predators. Being great gliders even during the storm, these birds should be tough, but their defense mechanism is projectile vomiting at their predators.

Their vomit contains an acidic and oily substance that the predators can’t get off themselves. And if the predator is a bird, they are not able to fly off with that oily substance on them. 

14. Slow Loris

There are not many solid reasons why slow loris are known as dumb animals. But it is common for animals to think of their own safety when they are in a vulnerable state; that is what is lacking in a slow loris. 

Since they are nocturnal animals, they sleep the whole day, but that’s not the problem. The problem is they sleep the whole day in plain sight, making it easier for predators to attack them. No wonder they are slowly becoming endangered. 

15. Secretary Birds

The only reason why a secretary bird is tagged as a dumb bird is because of its unusual physical shape and size. The bird has unusually long legs for a bird that can fly. 

They have the legs of a stork and the head of an eagle, looking like a mixture of many different birds. The secretary birds are just the dumbest-looking animals.

16. Giraffes:

The really long legs of giraffes, anyway, make these creatures look comic. These animals have long necks, and people assume it’s because it helps them eat leaves from the tall branches of trees. But the thing is, giraffes are natives of East Africa, and there are a very limited number of tall trees in this area. 

Plus, it does seem like giraffes are pretty much quiet, with little or nothing to say, letting people assume that they are dumb. While giraffes are definitely quiet animals, they do communicate with grunts and moans, but due to their frequency, it’s nearly impossible to hear them. 

17. Komodo Dragon:

Although Komodo dragons do look like they have appeared straight out of a sci-fi movie yet, based on their looks, it is assumed that these creatures are just dumb. Komodo dragons are a part of the lizard family – in fact, the largest family member, and can be mostly found in Indonesia. 

In the whole animal kingdom, these animals have the dirtiest mouths. In reality, they can actually deliver enough bacteria and E Coli to kill others with a single bite. In a single meal, these creatures can eat upto 80 percent of their total body weight. 

They are so dumb that they do not know when to actually stop eating – plus, the additional weight can actually slow these dumb animals down tremendously. 

Wrapping Up!

There you go, that was our list of dumbest animals in the world, but are these animals really dumb, or are we dumb not to understand them? 

Statistically, there are more dumb and stupid humans than animals, so you can choose which is the dumb species. So if you think the article was fun and informative, then give us a like and comment down below. 

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