Ad茅lie penguins seem to have passed a portion of the mirror test, in which animals that see their reflection in a mirror appear to recognise that they are seeing themselves and not another individual. The researchers who ran this experiment say the findings suggest these penguins may have a degree of self-awareness, but others aren鈥檛 convinced.
The mirror test, developed in the 1970s, traditionally includes marking an area of the animal鈥檚 body, such as the forehead, and seeing if the animal then touches or investigates the mark in its reflection. Only a handful of animals have passed the test, including some primates, dolphins, Asian elephants, horses and manta rays.
A team of researchers led by聽Prabir Ghosh Dastidar at India鈥檚 Ministry of Earth Sciences tested the reactions of wild Ad茅lie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) living on Svenner Island in East Antarctica under three different scenarios. In the first trial, the researchers corralled three randomly selected penguins in a three-sided cardboard enclosure with two mirrors, where they observed the birds spending extended periods of time inspecting their reflections.
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The researchers say the penguins focused on the mirror and they engaged in 鈥渆xploration of their self-images鈥�. This included behaviours such as rapid movements of their heads, flippers or of their bodies.
In the second challenge, a separate group of four penguins underwent a similar test 鈥� this time with a paper disc attached to the mirror obstructing the bird鈥檚 view of their head and upper body. The penguins were more physically agitated than in the previous trial and began pecking the stickers, which the authors say may be an attempt to remove the obstruction.
鈥淭here could also be alternative explanations, such as a discomfort generated by the failure to see the eyes of the image, any penguin image, not necessarily their own,鈥� says at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in India.
In the third and final test, the team placed coloured bibs around the necks of five penguins. The birds continued to examine their reflection without any apparent attempts to touch or remove the bibs. The recognition of a foreign object or marking on an animal鈥檚 body is a key criterion of the mirror test, but the penguins seemed unaware of the bibs.
The results fail to convince at Emory University in Georgia, who wasn鈥檛 involved in the work. 鈥淲hen they gave the penguins bibs in front of the mirror, the birds did not direct their attention specifically to the bibs, which suggests they don鈥檛 connect their mirror image with themselves,鈥� says de Waal.
at the University at Albany in New York, who developed the original mirror test and was not involved in the work, is also sceptical. 鈥淢ore often than not, the interpretations that are offered are based on impressions and intuition,鈥� says Gallup. 鈥淧enguins may indeed be capable of self-recognition, but it would require a lot more serious science than what is contained in this paper.鈥�
Reference: bioRxiv, DOI:
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