These Are The Only 8 Animals That Can Recognize Themselves In The Mirror (besides Humans)

A few years ago, Bunny, a popular TikTok star, looked in the mirror and asked, “Who is this?” Press the auxiliary instrument and AAC buttons with your hands. The video of her reflecting on her existence triggers a series of hilarious flashbacks that suggest she is going through an existential crisis.

But aside from its comedic value, the rabbit's potential existential crisis has also reignited the scientific debate: Can dogs pass the "mirror test"?

It uses what scientists call the mirror test to determine an animal's ability to recognize itself visually, which is considered a sign of intelligence in animals. It was developed in 1970 by psychologist Gordon Gallup and involves placing a visual cue, such as a red spot, on the body of an animal. Scientists observe what happens when an animal is placed in front of a mirror by observing the animal's reaction to and from the mirror. When an animal passes the mirror test, it will usually change its body position to better see the mark on its body and pay more attention to that part of the body. This indicates that the animal knows something else about its reflection.

Regardless of Brown's arguments, preliminary scientific evidence suggests that dogs do not recognize themselves in a mirror. But while dogs are still a matter of debate, there are eight animals that scientists say pass the mirror test. This indicates that these animals are among the most self-aware species on Earth and may be intellectually equal to humans.

Chimpanzees, as humans' closest animals, have long been known for their striking physical and mental similarity to humans. In fact, in 1970, researcher Gordon Gallup Jr. tested the ability of chimpanzees to recognize each other.

“After prolonged exposure to their mirror image, the red-haired chimpanzee showed that it could recognize its own reflection,” Gallup writes in Science.

Gallup selected two wild-born chimpanzees, both of whom are "juvenile" females "less exposed" to mirrors or reflective surfaces. It is interesting to note how glass influenced these styles. Gallup describes the animals as "making funny faces in front of a mirror, blowing soap bubbles and directing slices of food with their mouths while looking at the reflection." He then euthanized the chimp and dyed it red. When they arrived, both of them focused on the red marks that they could only see in the mirror.

"Nine bonobos were presented with alternating reflective and non-reflective glass faces," the scientists wrote in a 1994 article in the International Journal of Primatology . The study involved a standard mirror test in which bonobos were given a mirror and their reactions observed.

The researchers continue: “The monkeys showed more interest in the mirror, and the immature animals showed a higher frequency of actions and a more negative outlook than the adults. Four animals used a mirror to examine parts of their bodies that they could not see.” Bonobos are self-aware.

In 1993, Francine Patterson and Wendy Gordon wrote an article for a major book on great apes. His paper, The Gorilla Personality Case, included a list of mirror tests performed on Koko, then a 20-year-old gorilla, perhaps the most famous gorilla of all for its ability to learn signs. language.

" We performed a similar mirror test on Koko, which showed for the first time that gorillas are capable of self-knowledge, " the researchers said . Understandably, Koko recognizes the edited photo as his own.

In 1981, the mirror experience was established as a sign of the ability of animals to recognize themselves in a mirror. Books by Gordon J.

"While most primates seem unable to recognize that their behavior is the source of the mirror behaviour, the current study reiterates previous reports showing that chimpanzees and orangutans are able to recognize themselves," the researchers said.

While studying two male dolphins, the researchers found that they were able to respond when they were tagged in the glass. These responses include turning the head, squinting, and delaying approaching a mirror. In particular, these dolphins seem to have the ability to recognize themselves earlier than other animals given the mirror test.

"Our results show that independent behavior emerges in dolphins at seven months of age, much earlier than humans and chimpanzees, " the researchers said . “Both dolphins showed largely independent glass-eating behavior after minimal glass contact, and both passed post-labeling tests.”

In 2006, three Asian elephants were put on display at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Scientists placed visual markers on the heads of elephants.

Here we report the successful study of MSR in elephants and the striking similarities in mirror response evolution in monkeys, dolphins and elephants. "These parallels indicate complex cognitive changes associated with complex socialization and cooperation."

In 2019, weedfish, a small tropical reef fish, became the first fish to pass the mirror test.

"When a fish receives a color marker in the modified marker test, it scratches its body in front of a mirror in an attempt to remove the marker, but does not respond to clear or colored markings in the absence of a mirror, " the researchers explain . .

In 2008, Eurasian magpies were the first non-mammal animals to pass the mirror test, raising questions about the neuroscience of self-identification.

"Our results demonstrate visual self-perception in a non-mammalian species for the first time," the researchers said. "They suggest that key components of human self-awareness evolved independently in different segments of vertebrates over different evolutionary histories."