I pondered on the definitions of the words I use to try and capture this pattern I'm seeing also Jees, whether or not there was a better set. When we look at these terms they initially seem completely at odds with each other in this material dimension that we live in. Intellect is much easier to understand than spirituality, being a simple process of acquiring and applying knowledge and skill. Spirituality on the other hand isn't so easily defined for most, but I think if we use the textbook as being pertaining to the spirit or soul rather than physical or material, it becomes clearer.

When I was looking at intelligence averages by region across the world I could also see that areas like Asia with higher intelligence averages also have greater propensity for more developed spiritual practices, where areas like Africa where intelligence averages are low have a higher propensity for superstition and "Godless" society. Countries who fell into the middle of these groups were more inclined to have higher percentages of population participating or "believing" in organised religious groups, as opposed to self defining spiritual practices. Because of the disparity between the societies it doesn't just all come down to economics.

So as we look down through the castes of the animal kingdom we see less and less of traits like empathy and compassion and primal instincts become more prevalent. With the gentler traits come the social structures you were talking about DR.

Could this indicate to us that creatures like elephants and dolphins with known high intelligence, (and even apes and dogs to some extent, being that there are higher examples in these species) have a spiritual existence known to themselves?

With this in mind, and theoretically that all species are improving/becoming smarter via evolution, it might indicate a biological path to enlightenment. The possibility that the whole subset of our physical universe is geared to moving consciousness to a higher/ deeper understanding of existence is incredible.