There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
I've been trying to learn/write about animals with the most powerful/sensitive/whatever versions of various senses, and comparing them to humans.
Regarding the sense of smell, it seems elephants and bears are likely among the best out there, but I haven't been able to find a lot of concrete science on olfactory comparisons between different species (maybe I'm just bad at searching for it). There is some research on limited numbers of animals measuring things like the number of olfactory receptors they have, or their functional olfactory receptor genes, but I haven't been able to find much that actually demonstrates how well such numbers correlate with observed behavior (e.g., actually testing animals' ability to distinguish odors or follow very faint smells).
I'd love any help and insight you have into animals with the best and/or most interesting noses and senses of smell. Really, any cool anecdotes about animal noses in general would probably be very interesting to learn!