A penguin species may have just joined the elite club of animals that recognize themselves in the mirror.
A dozen Adélie penguins in East Antarctica will undergo a series of mirror tests in early 2020 to establish whether or not they are self-aware. In two of three studies, the tuxedo-wearing birds were able to recognize themselves.
The biorxiv.org paper published online last month stated, “Several individuals from the waddle appeared to be simultaneously attracted to their images and stood relatively still, staring intently at the images for several seconds each, but making no attempts to either touch their images or reach out behind the mirror.”
Individual and group tests were conducted on the birds, and the duration of the exercises was allegedly short enough to prevent the birds from becoming restless.
In the first experiment, mirrors were put at the ends of a cardboard box to observe the reactions of three penguins. As they focused on their reflection, the penguins did not display hostility or touch the mirror, according to the researchers.
In another experiment, scientists placed a sticker on the mirrors to determine if the penguins would peck at it in an attempt to view themselves more clearly. And they did peck.
The authors of the study noted, “We interpret the directed pecking of the subject penguins on the circular sticker as attempts to remove the barrier, maybe motivated by a desire to restore the images that they had just seen in the mirror.”
“Furthermore, we hypothesize that such a behavioral motive may imply a restlessness that was manifested when they were subsequently unable to see their faces in the mirror — a possible reflection of their underlying self-awareness.”
The results of a third experiment in which colored bibs were fastened to the penguins’ necks baffled the researchers. They did not appear to be aware. The Dutch-American primatologist Frans de Waal disagreed with this conclusion.
“When they handed the penguins bibs in front of a mirror, the birds did not focus their attention on the bibs,” de Waal told New Scientist. “This shows that they do not associate their mirror image with themselves.”
Scientists wanted to determine if placing a sticker on a mirror would agitate penguins.
Who among the penguins has the highest degree of self-awareness?
According to reports, the test penguins were freed from their enclosures when the studies concluded.
Given their inherent propensity to immerse themselves in socially complex, networked lifestyles within communal rookeries, the authors believe that Adélie penguins may possess a sense of self-identity and subjective self-awareness.
In the 1970s, American psychologist Gordon Gallup Jr. created the mirror test for animals. The self-awareness of primates, elephants, bottle-nosed dolphins, and humans has been demonstrated.
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