Truely social animals come together and normally stick together out of necessity and preference. I understand what you are trying to say but in your honest scientific opinion, what is the case more likely to be? Environmental changes driving these animals together, or their need for companionship?

In Asia, in areas where food is in high quantity (ie; A garbage dump), you will find numerous varanus salvators in one small area feeding together. How often do you think you would see that on the coast line of a riverbank or lake? The food abundancy is the force driving them together, not their need for company.

Winter brings reptiles who live in temperate climates together. The need to gather in dens to be able to survive the winter. It is their need to brumate that brings them together, not because they want to make some new buddies. In those dens you will also find other species that normally do not come into contact with eachother otherwise.

Murrindindi,
No one said reptiles are inferior to mammals. In some ways, I think they are superior to most mammalian species. They are just very different. They did not evolve certain types of behavior because they never needed to. They do not need to live in groups to survive. Mothers do not need to keep then safe for any length of time or teach them how to hunt. It is proven that eptiles are much more instinct driven than mammals are. That is why reptiles can thrive with no social structure.

I know they can learn to associate objects and sounds with food (or what some would call reward). Now is this actual intelligence or is it a survival mechanism that just about every living vertibrate has? Also, being aware of you surroundings in not a sign of intelligence. When you are an apex predator you need to be aware of your surroundings. When you are an animal that get preyed upon by apex predators, you need to be aware of your surroundings. It is needed for survival. However being aware of your surroundings does not make you self aware. Self recognition is an indicator of higher intelegence.

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