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Elephants can recognise their own reflection, showing
self-awareness seen before only in humans, great apes and bottlenose
dolphins, scientists say.
US researchers made the discovery by studying the behaviour of Asian elephants in front of a tall mirror.
One of the animals repeatedly touched a white cross
painted on her forehead - a classic test used to assess mirror
self-recognition in […]
Elephants can recognise their own reflection, showing
self-awareness seen before only in humans, great apes and bottlenose
dolphins, scientists say.
US researchers made the discovery by studying the behaviour of Asian elephants in front of a tall mirror.
One of the animals repeatedly touched a white cross
painted on her forehead - a classic test used to assess mirror
self-recognition in children and apes.
The study is reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“We see highly complex behaviours such as self awareness
and self-other distinction in intelligent animals with well-established
social systems,” said Joshua Plotnik, from the Yerkes National Primate
Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
“The social complexity of the elephant, its well-known
altruistic behaviour and, of course, its huge brain, made the elephant
a logical candidate species for testing in front of a mirror.”
Technorati Tags: Elephants, animal intelligence
