It is generally known that dogs have a great sense of smell, more developed than that of humans. What is the cause of a dog’s olfactory superiority? The answer lies in the number of scent receptors in a dog’s nose. By some estimates, humans have 5-6 million scent receptors, but dogs have anywhere between 200 and 300 million receptors (“8 Dog Nose Facts” par. 3; “How to Unleash Your Dog’s Superior Sense of Smell” par. 2)! For this reason, dogs have long been prized for their ability to detect scents with amazing accuracy and have been used for search and rescue and bomb detection operations (“How to Unleash Your Dog’s Superior Sense of Smell” par. 2). Do you know other animals that have amazing sensory abilities that surpass those of humans?

References:

• “How to Unleash Your Dog’s Superior Sense of Smell:” https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/how-to-unleash-your-dogs-super-sense-of-smell/
• “8 Dog Nose Facts You Probably Didn’t Know:” https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/5-dog-nose-facts-you-probably-didnt-know

Image Source: http://cdn.akc.org/content/article-body-image/beagle_smell_body_image.jpg

Fact Author: Durga I.

Fact Editor: Ace