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In many Western cultures, the owl is often regarded as a symbol of wisdom. But when you stop to think about it, wouldn’t a more fitting bird for that title be the crow?

If you’re not convinced now, we’re pretty sure you will be after seeing what clever strategy this particular crow uses to crack open an acorn! 

Perhaps you remember that fable about a crow which comes upon a pitcher with water in the bottom. The water is too low to reach, however, the crow continuously drops pebbles into the vessel until the water is high enough to drink. This tale illustrates the crow’s resourceful behavior and the association we have with this bird as one of the cleverest animals in the world.

Another display of the crow’s superior intellect was recently observed by one Japanese Twitter user, who was able to capture the unexpected scene in a series of photos. When a crow finds a tasty acorn, what method does it use to crack open the nut? Well, the answer may surprise you!

“After this crow finished drinking some water from the pond, it picked up a nearby acorn and steadily tried to crack it open. Then it approached me and began to bang the acorn against my foot! The crow took off as soon as it broke open Σ（￣□￣;）”

That’s right, the photographer’s foot! Here’s the series of pictures in full-size: 

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▼How often does this happen to you?

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What did some Japanese Twitter users have to say about the unusual spectacle? 

“It’s gotten to the point where they’ll use even humans.”

“Supposedly, crows can recognize faces because they’re so smart!”

“It’s smarter than me…”

“The cuteness is inescapable.”

“Maybe those socks intrigued it?”

“It reminds me of Toto in Studio Ghibli’s The Cat Returns.”

“I often hear that crows are clever, but I didn’t know they could be so tame.”

“Please hire me, crows!”

We’re not so sure that crows are smart enough to take on full-time employees, but hey, who knows who’ll be ruling the world 100 years from now…

Source/Images: Hamusoku, Twitter (@hatthefumy)