LOL, does a near death experience qualify as reaching our death beds?
If the goal of all life is to survive, and that is a component of your "yardstick for intelligence" I've already beat the odds once by surviving cancer and now I use every means at my disposal (education, whole foods, etc., I will admit to a few vices however) to keep from ever going down that road again. But qwark, I really don't perceive that as particularly intelligent, just being resourceful, that's all.