There has been an evolutionary advantage in animals’ mind over the past few centuries. It is often argued that whether animals are born with certain intellectual abilities or they obtain them through training. To my mind, some creatures have a strong numeracy since they are born while others might learn through training.
Some creatures, specifically mammals which is also called as primates tend to have some intellectual capabilities since they are born: counting, distinguishing between geometrical shapes and numbers. A compelling example would be the experiment by Professor Brannon and her team on rhesus monkeys and humans. They are showed some geometrical objects, and their job was to choose which side has more objects. The test results were practically identical and the conclusion was that monkeys tend to make errors like humans when objects are close in number. Some critics, however, argue that those animals might be relying on impulse, not numeracy. According to the research conducted at University of Padova on mosquitofish which typically try to join as big shoal as they can, it was found that they can differentiate up to 16 shapes only when the ratio is 2:1. These examples show that humans are not only the creatures to have intellectual abilities.
However, it is not true to say all of these cognitive abilities are innate, since experience and practice also play an important role. This is because some animals can learn through reward-based learning. Entimologist Jurgen Tautz, for example, decided to train bees and place 2 chambers at the end of the corridor. One of the chambers contained sugar water which bees like and the other was empty. Bees quickly learnt to match shapes with correct chambers, however, their mathematical prowess was limited: they can discriminate up to 4 shapes but failed 5 and 6 shapes. Another pertinent example would be circus animals which are rewarded for every single movement they learn. These cases suggest that although some abilities are innate, practice and experience can significantly develop them.
In conclusion, although some animals are born with some cognitive skills, I firmly believe that training and experience play more crucial role.