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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 6256125" data-attributes="member: 19675">Well, I know of one gator that, after getting a mouthful of chicken (its usual food) still in its feeder's hand, let go.  Instead of dragging the caretaker in, it let go.  It passed on a big, easy meal in favor of a dependable food supply.Furthermore, as of 2013, we now have confirmation of tool use/baiting in hunting by alligators and crocodiles.  Scientists have recorded the use of twigs and sticks by crocodiles & alligators to lure birds...only during birds' nesting seasons:AndAs for sharks, Allison Kock, marine biologist, had this to say of sharks to Smithsonian: In addition, some species have been observed using cooperative tactics to herd prey, which they then take turns feeding upon.IOW, neither is just muscle and teeth.Now, the fact that we're only just now recognizing higher intellectual functions in these alpha predators says something about recognizing alien intelligence in general.  I mean, these creatures are from the same global ecosystem.  We share a lot in common with them.  But we don't recognize their minds fully.Doing that with aiiens face to face will be at least as difficult...But we'll go into such an encounter expecting intelligence assuming we've seen the by products of their existence- radio or other EMF emissions, space travel, the presence of rare molecules in their planetary spectroscopic signatures, etc.</blockquote>