Can an animal recognize itself? It is an interesting question. And to answer it, scientists came up with an experiment years ago: the mirror test. In this test, stickers are plac on the body of an animal, in places that it cannot see without the help of a mirror. The animal is then plac in a room with mirrors and it is observ whether it realizes that the marking is on its own body. This can be conclud, for example, when the animal tries to touch the marking on its body – which is only visible in the mirror – or tries to remove it from its body.
You might think this is a watertight experiment. But strangely enough, the experiment produces very mix results.
Shortcomings
And researchers have long suspect that the mirror test has major shortcomingsFirst of all, the assumption that the animal is physically able and willing to touch certain parts of its body – which it cannot see itself. That may be data library of telegram feasible for an animal with arms and hands, but if the animal has fins or wings, for example, the test requires some extra creativity if you are going to mark the animal’s body.
A second requirement (for a reliable mirror test, .) is that the animal must be genuinely interest in touching and studying the markings on its body.” In short: there are a few catches to the classic mirror test. “
Smell
And the mirror test is not really suitable for snakes either, researchers now write in the journalBecause these animals are នៅក្នុងពិភព ទីផ្សារឌីជីថល ដែលមានល្បឿនលឿន យុទ្ធសាស្ត្រ និង ot very visually orient, but are guid by their sense of smell instead. In order to determine whether they are able to recognize themselves, the scientists therefore ar numbers tri a different approach. They collect a number of eastern garter snakes and ball pythons and did not put them in front of the mirror, but instead present them with cotton pads.
