One of the quirkiest elements of owning a pet, any kind of pet, is that it does not seem to recognize itself in the mirror. Very few animals can make their own reflection in a mirror. In a bid to understand this better, a Melbourne zoo has decided to include some mirrors in with their animals. The aim? To try and gauge their response and understand what they think they see.
The Werribee Open Range Zoo has decided to go down the route of using mirrors for a week-long study experiment. The aim is to try and give the animals a form of entertainment and to also try and understand their reactions when they spot themselves/others in the mirror.
The belief is that most animals never have to face up against their own reflection, as natural mirrors are not exactly a common thing. Therefore, by monitoring how animals respond to seeing themselves, we can better educate ourselves on animals and their typical reactions to the things they see as they walk around our world.
That is a highly entertaining study and one that should provide some illuminating answers for anyone involved. It will also help to show the unicity and variety within various animal species. This West Melbourne zoo came up with the idea to try and give the animals a bit of extra enjoyment and entertainment in their life. So, far, the responses have been quite illuminating.
Most animals only ever spot themselves in water reflections, but looking in a mirror is a much clearer image for an animal to spot. The insight so far is that some animals have responded by things like pulling different facial expressions. Others pull off different looks, and some simply recognize their own image and get on with their day. Others spot their own reflection and assume it is another member of their species.
So far, we have not learned a huge deal – as more mirror week events take place, though, the information gleaned could become very interesting indeed.