The Mirror Test For Non Apes and Elephants

[n.s.]

I would be willing to try this test with my cat, if anyone can think of something I can put on his forehead that won't stain or stick to his fur.

[Hoover]

I was under the impression that the elephant didn't get it the first time it saw itself in the mirror.

I'm also curious as to how the dolphins passed this test. I didn't think they could reach their head with their flippers.

[PairTheBoard]

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Good question/no idea;-) Coaching, experience, practice and "help" might help, but...

...it is also worth noting that dogs and cats often appear to not even notice their own reflections in a mirror. Try it a few times with a few cats and dogs when you get the chance, it should be interesting. Male birds, on the other hand, occasionally attack house windows (during mating season?) and seem to be fighting their own reflections. This is not to be confused with accidents where birds die after trying to fly through a window that they apparently did not see, thereby knocking themselves unconscious.

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I saw a thing somewhere about a bird that has been flying into the same window over and over again for, I don't know, years or something. He just gets back up, flies back to his perch and when he's recuperated enough does it again.

PairTheBoard

[David Sklansky]

All I'm asking is has someone tried to help along the animals that failed, most notably smaller monkeys, with a prop or by holding them.

[TimTimSalabim]

Monkey and the Mirror Video

[WelshMackem]

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I saw a thing somewhere about a bird that has been flying into the same window over and over again for, I don't know, years or something. He just gets back up, flies back to his perch and when he's recuperated enough does it again.

PairTheBoard

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I really must get round to untaping that packet of birdseed from my window.

[Tardi]

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it is also worth noting that dogs and cats often appear to not even notice their own reflections in a mirror

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It seems to me dogs and cats are intelligent enough, it is simply a hardware problem for them. That is to say the way their vision works and how they scan their environment and stuff like that.

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I've seen cats "attack" at their image in the mirror, not all cats do this but some (I think something 25% for what I've seen). Also some cats show lots of interest in moving images in television but not all. Haven't seen any dogs do these things though.

[A_C_Slater]

The problem with dogs and many other mammals is that they "look" at that world mostly through smell rather than sight. They know another dog isn't there because they don't smell another dog. They probably don't even think to make a connection with what they may be seeing with their eyes when looking in a mirror. It would be like us trying to identify ourselves by our scent. If someone held up an old shirt of yours could you recognize it merely by its smell?

[George Rice]

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Is there a 'better' test for animal intelligence ?

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I don't know about tests, but the story I told a couple of months ago demonstrates an animal using reasoning.

Sorry David, not on topic, but you may be getting there in future posts.

Cat Story

[A_C_Slater]

On a related note crows have been reported to be seen dropping walnuts onto highways. They wait for cars to run over the walnuts shell so that they can get to the nut inside.