Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) – Can great apes recognize themselves when looking in a mirror? A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig is currently investigating this question. The gorillas, bonobos, orangutans and gibbons at Frankfurt Zoo are also taking part in the study, a spokeswoman said on Thursday.
Kathrin Kopp, the project’s head of study, pointed out that not only humans but also animals are interested in their reflection. So far, however, only a few species, notably the great apes, have shown signs of recognizing themselves. However, according to the information, studies on self-recognition in the mirror were often only carried out with a few individuals of a species.
The same methods will be used for all groups of monkeys studied in the project. The gorillas, bonobos, orangutans and gibbons are given the opportunity to look at a large full-length mirror attached to a pane from the outside or with several unbreakable hand mirrors distributed in the enclosure over several days in different ways. The behavior of the animals is filmed by several cameras and then evaluated. The data collection in the participating zoos will continue for a few months, it said.
