Yes sadly with some of these experiments (really smart dolphins, talking parrots, extra intelligent apes) it is that particular animal which is above average.

Yes sadly with some of these experiments (really smart dolphins, talking parrots, extra intelligent apes) it is that particular animal which is above average. Other animals can't learn everything that the one "high IQ" animal can. So when that animal dies the experiment cannot be repeated and the research is pretty much over until they find another smart animal to work with. So many of these animal experiments are very non-repeatable both in theory and in practice.