When you see a mirror, you see yourself. This seemingly basic ability demonstrates whether an animal being possesses self-awareness. Humans, great apes, dolphins, elephants, and magpies are also said to pass Gordon Galoup’s famous "mirror test."
It’s still debatable whether our pets like dogs, cats, or rabbits have that same ability. But from what countless pet owners have seen, gazing at yourself is quite a trend in the house animal kingdom. Bored Panda compiled a list of the most adorable little pets looking at their reflections, as if they were telling them: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the furriest of them all?” We may not know the reason for such behavior, but at least we know the motif.
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Find Someone Who Looks At You The Way My Cat Looks At Himself In The Mirror
I Caught My Cat Staring At Himself In The Mirror Looking Like A Renaissance Painting.
The Importance Of A Selfie Angle
When we look into a mirror, we recognize that the image we’re looking at is our own. Psychologists see it as a special mental act which requires sophisticated aspects of our consciousness. Interestingly, the ability to be self-aware of one's reflection is not something we’re born with. It’s only between the age of 18 and 24 months that babies begin to understand what it is that they’re seeing in the mirror.
The mirror self-recognition test has been applied to animals since its inception in the 1970s and has been considered to be the gold standard indicating whether a living being is self-aware or not. While very few animals and primates have showed signs of self-awareness and passed mirror tests, our beloved dogs have failed it.
According to The Cut, “They do not seem to know, or perhaps they don’t really care, what is going on with the mirror’s scentless, two-dimensional representation of a dog.”
Looking In The Mirror
Owl Sees Himself In The Mirror
Kill Them. Kill Them All.
However, many scientists feel skeptical about whether the mirror test is the right indication of animal consciousness. For example, the primatologist Frans de Waal argues that self-awareness should be understood as a broader concept. “I cannot imagine that a cat or a dog—even though they don’t recognize themselves in the mirror—I find it hard to imagine that they have no awareness of themselves,” he said.
And while in human developmental psychology, the mirror represents a significant threshold in our sense of self, animal minds don’t necessarily work like the human mind. Not every animal is attuned to social intelligence so deeply like us, and not every animal perceives the world in its visual dimension. Dogs, for example, could have failed the mirror test because their primary instrument of perception is smell.
Looking In The Mirror
"I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, And Gosh Darnit, People Like Me"
My Cat Thinks My Makeup Mirror Is Mesmerizing
Baby Otter Looking At The Mirror
My Rabbit Does This Every Day. Not Sure What He's Thinking About…
I read somewhere that rabbits should be in pairs because they get lonely. In some countries you have to buy certain pets In pairs, like Guinea pigs and it’s actually illegal not to.
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hes thinking about how he needs to get a new bottle'o'beer. the old one's out and now he's depressed thinking about bungelica. (or whatever her name is)
Can't y'all just go an beat the bush to get them? Here in the US, we have images of Oz as being overrun by wild rabbits, like giant ants in underground warrens, and children sent out regularly with sticks to hit them. Of course, y'all know how behind-the-times were are up here...
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When people are too stupid to realize they are mistreating their pet, by keeping it alone... And then finding it "funny" that their lonely pet is searching for another bunny in the mirror.
He might be wondering when you're going to pick the bottle up and make the bed.
It's the mirror of Erised!! It shows you your deepest desires, "but gives us nor knowledge or truth, men have wasted away in front of it"
hes thinking about how he needs to get a new bottle'o'beer. old ones out, now hes depressed
He appears to have drunk alot and be wondering what he did with his life.
Roscoe Gets It
Daily Ritual To Connect With The Mirror Cat
Then She Licked The Mirror Because It Seemed Like There Was A Nice Dog In It :)
Looking In The Mirror
The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known
If you see the reflection of the dog from your angle, that mean the dog is looking at you though the mirror as well.
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Sad Mirror Cat
Looking In The Mirror
I Sees You
My Dog Has Discovered Her First Mirror. She Keeps Rolling Her Ball To The "Other Dog" And Whining Because She Wants To Play
Standing Cat Looking In Mirror
My Chinchilla Saw Himself For The First Time In The Mirror Today
Your chinchilla looks very sweet. That may be the calmest I've ever seen a chinchilla.
Identity Crisis
"I Don't Even Know Who I Am Anymore"
He Already Knows How Pretty He Is
He Kept Looking Into The Mirror For Quite A While, Seems Really Depressed About The New Look After Shaving.
My cat used to do this when we would get him his summer cut. He’d keep looking in the mirror as if he couldn’t quite believe we had done this to him again. He really was more comfortable in the summer in 100+-degree temps without all the floof.
Happens After Ever Bath She Gets. She Goes To The Sink, Stands Up, Paws Down, And Looks At Herself In The Mirror.
Put This Mirror On The Bedside Table And Renly Couldn’t Handle It
Note: this post originally had 131 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I had a foster kitten, and one night heard her hissing and spitting and growling out of nowhere! She was only 7/8 weeks old and the most docile little hand reared ball of fluff. I turned the light on and she'd caught sight of herself in the mirror and was not impressed with this "intruder"!
Our kitten Lola, was exactly the same, she kept trying to attack the predator (herself, of course) that kept attacking her
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A mirror is one of the most important devices to use in order to gauge the intelligence of a subject's "Self-Awareness". A creature with "Self-Awareness" is at the upper scale of an animal's intelligence.
Most animals are unable to recognize themselves in a mirror. Many primates, certain magpie species, and I think dolphins can. I remember watching a clip in philosphy class about Koko the gorilla; she was holding her kitty friend in front of a mirror and was trying to get the cat to look at its reflection. It looked everywhere except at the mirror
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Great song! I usually get the “Green Acres” tv show theme song stuck in my head.
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My dog got into my daughter's boyfriend's stash and ate a bunch of edibles. He got so high and stared at his reflection with the biggest smile for the longest time. You could just see the trip happening.
I loved every single one. Why does Bored Panda shorten this kind of post? I don’t like seeing that I missed out on 101 images. It said at the end of the article that it was shortened from 131 pictures to only 30. We need more joy in this world!
If you click on the words "131 images" at the end, it usually shows them all. Enjoy!
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I've shown my cat his reflection in the mirror and he was like, meh. Show him something edible, like birds or fish on the computer and he wants in.
I had a foster kitten, and one night heard her hissing and spitting and growling out of nowhere! She was only 7/8 weeks old and the most docile little hand reared ball of fluff. I turned the light on and she'd caught sight of herself in the mirror and was not impressed with this "intruder"!
Our kitten Lola, was exactly the same, she kept trying to attack the predator (herself, of course) that kept attacking her
Load More Replies... A mirror is one of the most important devices to use in order to gauge the intelligence of a subject's "Self-Awareness". A creature with "Self-Awareness" is at the upper scale of an animal's intelligence.
Most animals are unable to recognize themselves in a mirror. Many primates, certain magpie species, and I think dolphins can. I remember watching a clip in philosphy class about Koko the gorilla; she was holding her kitty friend in front of a mirror and was trying to get the cat to look at its reflection. It looked everywhere except at the mirror
Load More Replies... Great song! I usually get the “Green Acres” tv show theme song stuck in my head.
Load More Replies... My dog got into my daughter's boyfriend's stash and ate a bunch of edibles. He got so high and stared at his reflection with the biggest smile for the longest time. You could just see the trip happening.
I loved every single one. Why does Bored Panda shorten this kind of post? I don’t like seeing that I missed out on 101 images. It said at the end of the article that it was shortened from 131 pictures to only 30. We need more joy in this world!
If you click on the words "131 images" at the end, it usually shows them all. Enjoy!
Load More Replies... I've shown my cat his reflection in the mirror and he was like, meh. Show him something edible, like birds or fish on the computer and he wants in.
