Which animal has the best nose?

That the animals have better smell from humans is a given, however some scientists argue that it is also a matter of practice. But who has the best sense of smell in the animal kingdom?

Does a large proboscis mean a strong sense of smell?

Elephants have the largest nose in the animal kingdom. But does that mean they also have an acute sense of smell? Yes true! Elephants have more than 2,000 olfactory receptors. This gives pachyderms a place on the podium of super-olfactory winners, but not victory!

The amazing potential of dogs

Whether it is drugs, corpses or even in the case of COVID-19, the noses of dogs are far superior to those of humans with proper training. Dogs’ noses have 200 million olfactory cells, so they can smell up to 300 times a minute.

Rats can smell

For many years, the giant rat Magawa detected buried mines in Cambodia. Magawa only needed 20 minutes to cover 200 square meters. Characteristic advantage of rodents: due to their weight, the mines do not fire when they pass over them.

Lack of smell? No problem

Many times animals with the help of smell answer important questions for their survival. Dolphins, however, smell absolutely nothing. And yet they survive thanks to the sonar, the sound detector they have, thus detecting and emitting ultrasound.

A matter of practice the “smell”

Humans have only about 20 million olfactory cells. Researcher Hanns Hatt reports that a thorough study of perfumes and practice can make the human nose unrivaled. Typical examples are perfumers or sommelier.

It always smells right!

Here is the winner: With about one billion olfactory cells, the European eel Anguilla can detect a drop of perfume in an amount of water three times the size of Lake Constance. This helps it find food and be guided in the water.

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