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Mirror test suggests that elephants are self-aware

In other words, they recognize their reflections as themselves, and aren't fooled into thinking another elephant is present. This is apparently quite rare in animals.

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From:

ladyofshallnot.livejournal.com

Cats must be the least self-aware animals on earth.

From:

valles-uf.livejournal.com

...Not even close. I mean, sure, they're fuzzy little psycopathic killing machines, and not the sharpest tools in the shed, but anything that's capable of getting bored has to be at least a little brighter than the average earthworm.

Hm. There could be plot elements in that little fact of feline psychology - starting with Nuku Nuku, but definitely including Merle and Mikoto. Hmmm.

Ja, -n
(does not believe that liking cats obligates him to avoid realizing that obligate carnivores are not nice critters)

From:

aquadulcis.livejournal.com

I wouldn't say it was rare necessarily, just a measure of intelligence. By responding to your reflection in an appropriate way (like fixing your hair, apparently) you prove that you can problem solve. A smarter animal would wave an appendage once or twice and figure out that the reflection was mirroring their behaviour. It's not the be-all and end-all though, birds are far better with tools (crows and eagles mainly) and I'm not sure they recognise their reflections.

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[Linkspam] Elephants and mirrors

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