Scientists watched beluga whales at a New York aquarium. A whale named Natasha moved her body in front of a mirror. She stretched her neck and spun around. Her daughter Maris did the same things. A new study says both whales showed they knew the mirror was showing themselves. This is called mirror self-recognition. Only a few animals can do this. Humans can do it when they are about two years old. Some apes, elephants, and dolphins can also recognize themselves in mirrors.
To do the test, researchers put a small mark on a spot the whale could only see in the mirror. If the whale touched the mark while looking at the reflection, it meant she knew the reflection was her. The researchers used waterproof lipstick for the mark. They also did tests without any mark. The whales only showed special behaviors after they got marked. Only Natasha and Maris were interested in the mirror. The other two whales did not care about it.
Sources: arstechnica.com / plosone.org
The words in bold are from the article.
| 1. whales | a. displayed |
| 2. watched | b. observed |
| 3. marked | c. reflection |
| 4. mirror | d. research |
| 5. test | e. tagged |
| 6. passed | f. marine mammals |
| 7. study | g. succeeded |
| 8. showed | h. felt |
| 9. touched | i. curious |
| 10. interested | j. trial |
1.f 2.b 3.e 4.c 5.j 6.g 7.d 8.a 9.h 10.i