The study of animal intelligence has developed enormously over the last decade. Herons `fish' using twigs as bait, monkeys add and subtract, dolphins hunt in groups to outwit prey, ravens solve complex puzzles. Steering clear of sentimental attempts to equate animals with humans, Stephen Budiansky shows us how superbly well-adapted animal `intelligence' is for the survival of animals - large and small, wild and domestic - in the evolutionary contest. We can thus learn a true respect for their remarkable evolutionary heritage on Earth.