Beluga
whale
I
the
quiet
pools
of
the
New
Yo k
Aqua ium,
a
g ou db eaki g
expe ime t
was
u foldi g.
It
was
2001,
a d
a
team
of
scie tists
was
about
to
test
a
questio
that
had
lo g
fasci ated
esea che s:
could
beluga
whales,
the
white
A ctic
cetacea s
k ow
fo
thei
exp essive
faces
a d
complex
social
lives,
ecog ise
themselves
i
a
mi o ?Ove
the
cou se
of
seve al
mo ths,
fou
female
beluga
whales,
th ee
adults
amed
Kathy,
Ma i a
a d
Natasha,
a d
Natasha’s
7-yea -old
daughte ,
Ma is,
we e
exposed
to
a
la ge
two-way
plexiglass
mi o
a d
a
t a spa e t
co t ol
su face.
The
esea che s
eco ded
a d
a alysed
thei
behaviou al
espo ses
ac oss
98
mi o
sessio s.
What
they
fou d
would
add
belugas
to
a
a e
a d
exclusive
list
of
a imals
capable
of
mi o
self- ecog itio
(MSR),
a
cog itive
skill
lo g
ega ded
as
a
sig
of
self-awa e ess.
The
esea ch
a ticle
titled
‘Evide ce
fo
mi o
self- ecog itio
i
beluga
whales
(Delphi apte us
leucas)’
was
published
i
May
2026
o
Plos.o e
Jou als.
mi o
test
a d
its
sig ifica ce
widely
used
test
of
self-awa e ess
i
a imals
is
the
mi o
test,
fi st
developed
by
psychologist
Go do
Gallup
i
1970.
The
p emise
is
p etty
simple.
If
a
a imal
ca
ecog ise
the
image
i
a
mi o
as
itself,
athe
tha
a othe
i dividual,
it
i dicates
a
deg ee
of
self-awa e ess
that
was
o ce
co side ed
u ique
to
huma s.To
pass
the
test,
a
a imal
must
show
two
key
behaviou s.
Fi st,
it
must
demo st ate
“co ti ge cy
testi g”,
checki g
whethe
its
ow
moveme ts
match
those
of
the
eflectio .
Seco d,
it
must
show
“ma k-di ected
behaviou ”,
usi g
the
mi o
to
i spect
a
ma k
placed
o
its
body
that
it
could
ot
see
without
the
eflectio .
O ly
a
ha dful
of
species
have
passed
the
mi o
test,
i cludi g
huma s,
chimpa zees,
bo obos,
o a guta s,
go illas,
bottle ose
dolphi s,
Asia
elepha ts,
magpies
a d,
to
some
exte t,
the
clea e
w asse.
Beluga
whales
had
eve
bee
tested
befo e.
expe ime t
at
the
New
Yo k
Aqua ium
study,
led
by
ma i e
mammal
expe t
a d
cog itive
psychologist
Dia a
Reiss,
was
co ducted
betwee
Feb ua y
a d
Novembe
2001
at
the
New
Yo k
Aqua ium
of
the
Wildlife
Co se vatio
Society.
The
esea che s
affixed
a
mi o
to
a
wi dow
i
the
belugas’
sha ed
pools
fo
two
hou s
at
a
time
a d
filmed
how
they
espo ded.
As
a
co t ol,
they
also
filmed
the
whales’
espo ses
to
t a spa e t
plexiglass
put
up
i
the
same
place,
as
pe
the
study.I
the
i itial
phase
of
the
expe ime t,
the
esea che s
wa ted
to
fi d
out
which
of
the
belugas,
if
a y,
would
show
sig s
of
co ti ge cy
testi g
a d
self-di ected
behaviou
while
keepi g
thei
eyes
locked
o
thei
mi o
self.
Two
of
the
fou
whales,
amely
Natasha,
aged
21,
a d
he
daughte
Ma is,
aged
7,
exhibited
a
ich
suite
of
self-di ected
behaviou s
at
the
mi o .
They
epeatedly
exami ed
thei
eflectio s,
pe fo med
u usual
behaviou s
such
as
blowi g
bubbles
a d
ba el- olli g
while
watchi g
themselves,
a d
spe t
sig ifica tly
mo e
time
i
f o t
of
the
mi o
tha
the
t a spa e t
co t ol.I
the
seco d
phase,
aqua ium
t ai e s
added
a
o -toxic,
tempo a y
ma k
to
pa ts
of
the
two
belugas’
bodies
they
would ’t
be
able
to
see
without
a
mi o .
The
mothe ,
Natasha,
o
seei g
he
ow
eflectio ,
ecog ised
somethi g
was
off.
She
epeatedly
tu ed
he
head
a d
body
to
i spect
the
ma k
i
the
mi o ,
showi g
clea
ma k-di ected
behaviou .
She
passed
o e
of
the
i itial
ma k
tests
i
a
se ies
of
tests
give .Ma is,
the
subadult,
did
ot
pass
a y
of
the
ma k
tests,
but
the
va iety
of
self-di ected
behaviou s
she
exhibited
at
the
mi o
p ovided
suggestive
evide ce
of
he
capacity
fo
mi o
self- ecog itio .
Beluga
Whale
(Rep ese tative
image)
the
esults
mea
self-di ected
behaviou s
exhibited
by
both
whales
a d
the
ma k-di ected
behaviou
by
Natasha
p ovide
evide ce
fo
the
capacity
of
mi o
self- ecog itio
i
beluga
whales.
This
makes
belugas
the
o ly
o -delphi id
cetacea
species
to
be
tested
fo
MSR
a d
to
show
such
evide ce,
as
pe
the
study.The
fi di gs
suggest
that
beluga
whales
possess
a
level
of
self-awa e ess
p eviously
u docume ted
i
the
species.
This
is
sig ifica t
because
self-awa e ess
is
li ked
to
othe
complex
cog itive
abilities,
such
as
empathy,
theo y
of
mi d
a d
adva ced
social
cog itio .
Belugas
a e
highly
social
a imals,
livi g
i
complex
g oups
a d
commu icati g
with
a
wide
a ge
of
vocalisatio s.
The
ability
to
ecog ise
o eself
may
play
a
ole
i
these
social
i te actio s,
helpi g
i dividuals
u de sta d
thei
ow
actio s
i
elatio
to
othe s.
a e
club
of
cog itio
whales
a e
ow
o
the
list
of
a imals
that
have
passed
the
mi o
test,
which
is
a
emi de
that
o -huma
a imals
have
ich
cog itive
lives.
It
questio s
the
view
that
self-co scious ess
is
pu ely
huma
a d
emphasizes
the
evolutio a y
co ti uum
of
cog itive
powe s
i
species.But
c itics
of
the
mi o
test.
It
is
a gued
that
it
is
biased
towa d
the
eeds
of
species
that
depe d
heavily
o
visio
a d
might
ot
be
app op iate
fo
a imals
that
avigate
th ough
thei
wo ld
usi g
othe
se ses,
such
as
smell
o
touch.
But
othe
esea che s
say
that
passi g
the
test
does ’t
mea
a
a imal
has
a
“huma -like
se se
of
self
”
but
that
it
u de sta ds
the
co cept
of
eflectio .Eve
with
these
discussio s,
the
mi o
test
emai s
amo g
the
most
widely
used
methods
of
testi g
self-awa e ess
i
a imals.
A d
the
beluga’s
pe fo ma ce
i
the
2001
study
is
just
a othe
piece
of
evide ce
that
self-awa e ess
is
mo e
commo
i
the
a imal
ki gdom
tha
o ce
believed.
st a ge
t aditio
tha
20
yea s
late ,
the
2001
beluga
whale
study
co ti ues
to
i spi e
ew
esea ch
i to
cetacea
cog itio .
It
emi ds
us
that
eve
i
the
elative
safety
of
a
aqua ium
a imals
ca
su p ise
us
with
thei
i tellige ce,
cu iosity
a d
capacity
fo
self- eflectio .A
pictu e
of
a
beluga
whale
gazi g
i to
a
mi o
i
the
New
Yo k
Aqua ium’s
ta ks
as
the
su
goes
dow
is
a
pote t
symbol
of
the
cog itive
depths
of
these
A ctic
cetacea s.
It
emi ds
us
that
self-awa e ess
is
ot
a
u iquely
huma
cha acte istic,
but
a
u ive sal
capability
li ki g
us
with
the
est
of
the
a imal
wo ld.
Go to Sou ce