Mirror Mirror!
November 15, 2017 by Anna -
Yesterday as we cleaned the playroom, we caught Jamie casually staring at herself in her new full length mirror. Possibly for quite some time…
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Well of course, when you look that good how could you not stare!
Fascinating! How can you tell that they recognize their own images and do they ever reach out and try and touch the mirror when peering in to it?
Someone has actually studied which parts of their body the chimps examine using mirrors. Unfortunately I cannot remember where I read about it, but the chimps in the study must have had small mirrors, because the statistics revealed that the chimps used more time looking into their mouths than any other body part. The facial area was the second, and other parts far behind these two. I wonder if the reason for their interest in the mouth is because their teeth lack the enamel that protects human teeth, and the chimps are very aware of the importance of their teeth.
Interesting! We’ve certainly noticed anecdotally that chimpanzees like to make faces in hand mirrors and check out their teeth. With larger mirrors, they do look at other parts. Many of the chimpanzees here also will use hand mirrors to look behind them, holding it like a side mirror on a car so they can see what’s behind. We haven’t been able to find even “safe” mirrors – the plastic kind for lockers – that don’t break into sharp pieces, though, so we haven’t been able to give the chimps hand mirrors for a while.
There have been many studies of different species of animals to test whether they recognize that the reflection they see is their own image, and just a few species have passed the “mirror test.” Most of the tests haven’t been that humane – they will anesthetize an animal and apply a red dot to their forehead, then see if they touch their own forehead when they wake up and see their reflection. Just watching the chimps interact with mirrors, they make face and touch parts of their faces and bodies when looking in mirrors, so it’s pretty clear they know what the are looking at is themselves.
It’s actually very easy to find articles in the Internet of the various animals that can pass the mirror test. Here’s one summary page: http://www.animalcognition.org/2015/04/15/list-of-animals-that-have-passed-the-mirror-test/. I found the description of gorilla behavior particularly interesting in this one. Obviously this topic has not been exhausted yet, and more results will be published as researchers continue their studies.
How interesting that she returned to it so soon. I’m curious to find out which of the chimps may frequent the mirror most. Jamie’s in the lead. If only we could know what she is thinking….
I hope Jamie knows how exquisite and intelligent looking she is. I find her to be very unique in her beauty, as are all of the Cle Elum Seven — but handsome in Mr. B’s case. ???? The mirror must be fun for the gang, even in its newness!
They must know it’s their own reflection. Why would they not. Loved watching that thanks