Mirrors and Animals
Only a few animal species have been shown to have the ability to recognize themselves in a mirror, most of them mammals. Experiments have found that the following animals are able to pass the mirror test:
- All great apes:
- Humans. Humans tend to fail the mirror test until they are about 18 months old, or what psychoanalysts call the "mirror stage".
- Bonobos
- Chimpanzees
- Orangutans
- Gorillas. Initially, it was thought that gorillas did not pass the test, but there are now several well-documented reports of gorillas (such as Koko) passing the test.
- Bottlenose dolphins
- Orcas
- Elephants
- European Magpies
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Famous quotes containing the words mirrors and, mirrors and/or animals:
“Our age is very cheap and intelligible. Unroof any house, and you shall find it. The well-being consists in having a sufficiency of coffee and toast, with a daily newspaper; a well glazed parlor, with marbles, mirrors and centre-table; and the excitement of a few parties and a few rides in a year.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Of course great hotels have always been social ideas, flawless mirrors to the particular societies they service.”
—Joan Didion (b. 1935)
“From the oyster to the eagle, from the swine to the tiger, all animals are to be found in men and each of them exists in some man, sometimes several at the time. Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls. God displays them to us to give us food for thought.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)