# Why don't animals recongise reflections as themselves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 12, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948 "2004-06-12T06:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/1 "2004-06-12T06:23:50Z")
Budgies seem to love playing with themselves in the mirror, dogs seem to bark at themselves like they are the enemy. Why cant animals recongise their own reflections as them, like humans can? ---
**Author:** ![Teelo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Teelo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teelo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/2 "2004-06-12T06:30:47Z")
Watching a budgie play with himself in a mirror gives us humans a warm fuzzy feeling because its so darn cute. I think thats why its there. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/3 "2004-06-12T06:34:55Z")
Some animals can. Experiments with chimpanzees clearly show that they understand that the reflection represents _them_, and they react to it accordingly. Some experiments indicate dolphins are similarly self-aware, but the results of these are less than perfectly clear. There was a documentary on PBS some time back called “The Monkey in the Mirror” (maybe a _Nova_ episode), which covereed the chimp experiments in some depth. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/4 "2004-06-12T06:36:40Z")
> [@LuckySevens](#): > > Dogs seem to bark at themselves like they are the enemy. Not mine. When he first saw a mirror, he was startled, but then again, so would anyone who had never seen or heard of a mirror. Now he walks by it without a glance. So does my other dog. ---
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/5 "2004-06-12T06:45:56Z")
> [@Bad News Baboon](#): > > Not mine. > When he first saw a mirror, he was startled, but then again, so would anyone who had never seen or heard of a mirror. > > Now he walks by it without a glance. So does my other dog. maybe its an intelligence thing then? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/6 "2004-06-12T07:21:53Z")
> [@Bad News Baboon](#): > > Not mine. > When he first saw a mirror, he was startled, but then again, so would anyone who had never seen or heard of a mirror. > > Now he walks by it without a glance. So does my other dog. Dogs and cats and maybe most of the ‘lower’ animals depend quite a bit on smell - the image doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/7 "2004-06-12T07:27:44Z")
There are very few mirrors in nature and very few instances where such a skill would be useful. For most animals, it probably just wasn’t a trait that was selected for. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/8 "2004-06-12T17:06:01Z")
My cats are apparently learners. When Tank was a kitten, she would look nonchalantly at the full length mirror and, while looking elsewhere, reach around the back of the mirror to find the cat on the other side. This would push the mirror into her face (attacking her) and she’d start over. Jake, our younger, will use the mirror to see around corners. He’s a smart one. The dog never thought the mirror was anything special. Scientists do use this as one test for intelligence, don’t they? Kids of a certain age don’t recognize themselves, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/9 "2004-06-12T17:32:29Z")
Uhhhhhhh, WTF is a budgie? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/10 "2004-06-12T17:37:31Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Uhhhhhhh, WTF is a budgie? [A budgie](http://www.daisy.co.nz/images/budgie.jpg). Also called a parakeet. I had one once. They can learn to say a few words and short phrases; I had one once that learned to say “Good bird!”. ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/11 "2004-06-12T19:54:23Z")
> [@Bad News Baboon](#): > > Not mine. > When he first saw a mirror, he was startled, but then again, so would anyone who had never seen or heard of a mirror. > > Now he walks by it without a glance. So does my other dog. Same here. The only time my dog barked at the mirror thinking it was another dog was when he had a fever, which is a good indication that he is well aware of his reflection in the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/12 "2004-06-12T21:53:12Z")
I’d say most dogs recognize the nature of a reflection. Otherwise, it’d be common wisdom that you can’t have a full-length mirror if you have a dog, and that simply isn’t the case. For that matter, wild dogs would be uncomfortable with reflection of themselves while drinking from a still pool (i.e. they wouldn’t think there was a dog _in_ the water, but they’d think there was an unfamiliar dog around, perhaps behind them - a reflection may be him, but it isn’t a dog he’s made friends with) ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/13 "2004-06-13T00:08:31Z")
Two of our cats and our dog just ignore mirrors. The lizard got upset and ran back and forth as if unsure what to do about that other lizard behind the glass (we blocked the mirror within an hour, since it upset her so). However, our 9 month old kitten, after a period of intense curiosity and experimentation, seems to have figured it out. He’ll look at himself, and he makes eye contact with me when we’re both looking in the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/14 "2004-06-13T00:32:02Z")
My sister once had a cat who was stone deaf. She (the cat, not my sister) would sit in front of a mirror and take note of what was in the reflection so she couldn’t be sneaked up on. She definitely understood that the mirror showed real stuff that was in back of her. ---
**Author:** ![Ludicrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Ludicrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludicrous)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/15 "2004-06-13T03:01:38Z")
I own a pocket parrot (grey-cheecked parakeet) and he is reflection aware. He always ignores his reflection whereas a real bird in the room would drive him nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/16 "2004-06-13T10:28:40Z")
My dog will make eye contact with me through the mirror. If I call him and he can’t see me directly, he’ll look via the mirror, I think it suggests he has some understanding of what’s going on, but maybe not full understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/17 "2004-06-13T10:56:07Z")
I think being able to recognise yourself in a mirror is called being “self aware”. For a long time, humans thought they were the only ones, [but apparently we’re not.](http://ar.vegnews.org/self_aware.html) Putting an animal in front of a mirror is the test. It kinda tests to see if the animal recognises itself as an actual individual and realises that it’s looking at itself. Cheers, Engine ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-animals-recongise-reflections-as-themselves/249948/18 "2004-06-13T12:54:45Z")
Here’s a bit more detail about “self-awareness” experiments - quite a clever method: ([from here](http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/rr2004/res0404a.htm)) > [@](#): > > An animal (such as a chimpanzee, a gorilla, or an orangutan) is left in a room to become familiarized with a mirror. After a period of time, the animal is anesthetized, and a dot of paint is placed on its forehead. The creature then is allowed to wake, and the mirror is brought back to see if the animal notices that it now has a dot of paint on its forehead. Most animals will take no notice of the dot, and will continue to treat the image in the mirror as if it were another animal. But certain ape subjects instantly recognize themselves in the mirror, and touch their foreheads as if they know that: (a) the forehead in question is their own; and (b) they do not normally have a dot on their forehead. Most animals in the experiment did not recognize or care about the spot on their forehead, but a few did.