this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2024
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I was NOT expecting ants to be on that list.
I was however almost certain that crows or some other corvid would be.
I was also surprised to not see any feline animals listed as I've personally seen footage of big cats realizing they're looking at a reflection.
I wonder how exactly they conducted these studies as they said the results of certain tests could've been altered by human presence.
Why would a human need to be physical present to conduct a test? Wouldn't simply placing a mirror nearby and setting up a camera completely negate that factor?
Either way an interesting read. I love reading studies on animal intelligence, especially studies that show animals are more self aware than most humans give them credit for.
I suspect it isn't that the test can't be done in the wild, simply that it hasn't been. There's some logistical issues to marking, releasing, and observing animals in the wild without being noticed that I expect makes working with captive animals an easier first step.
That's fair, I'm sure there are several factors not mentioned in the article. I suppose I was thinking too plainly. My mind immediately went to things like trail cameras or drones to capture footage with no human interference. But like you said there's logistical issues to deal with.
All those types of questions should be answered in the research paper. Assuming there is one, and you can access it.
For a lot of articles your local library can sometimes help and barring that reach out to the authors. They can share their own work with whomever they please and are often happy to do so.