Big Cats + Mirror Vid

One popular experiment by animal behaviorists is the mirror test. An animal is shown themselves in a mirror and scientists watch to see if the animal recognizes itself. This is a similar slanted argument to the ones that proved cats didn't see color. They do. But they do not hunt by color the way primates and birds do.

Cats don't identify other cats by sight, so the question of them self-identifying by sight is a moot one when as used to determine their intelligence. However, it is interesting that they mostly identify the mirror as something interesting, it startles them, and they are aware of something (someone) inside of it. I believe some of the "funny" reactions are actually attempts to figure out if the cat inside the mirror is real. And I am intrigued by the tiger that rubs against her companion as she looks into the mirror. I wonder if she is figuring out the mirror concept, by relating it to other objects. That would be a worthwhile test to construct.