Ma Xiaozan, Jin Yuan, Luo Bo, Zhang Guiquan, Wei Rongping, Liu Dingzhen
Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
Anim Cogn. 2015 May;18(3):713-21. doi: 10.1007/s10071-015-0838-4. Epub 2015 Jan 22.
Mirror self-recognition (MSR), i.e., the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror, is considered a potential index of self-recognition and the foundation of individual development. A wealth of literature on MSR is available for social animals, such as chimpanzees, Asian elephants and dolphins, yet little is known about MSR in solitary mammalian species. We aimed to evaluate whether the giant panda can recognize itself in the mirror, and whether this capacity varies with age. Thirty-four captive giant pandas (F:M = 18:16; juveniles, sub-adults and adults) were subjected to four mirror tests: covered mirror tests, open mirror tests, water mark control tests, and mark tests. The results showed that, though adult, sub-adult and juvenile pandas exposed to mirrors spent similar amounts of time in social mirror-directed behaviors (χ(2) = 0.719, P = 0.698), none of them used the mirror to touch the mark on their head, a self-directed behavior suggesting MSR. Individuals of all age groups initially displayed attacking, threatening, foot scraping and backwards walking behaviors when exposed to their self-images in the mirror. Our data indicate that, regardless of age, the giant pandas did not recognize their self-image in the mirror, but instead considered the image to be a conspecific. Our results add to the available information on mirror self-recognition in large mammals, provide new information on a solitary species, and will be useful for enclosure design and captive animal management.
镜像自我识别（MSR），即从镜子中识别自己的能力，被认为是自我识别的一个潜在指标和个体发展的基础。关于MSR，已有大量针对黑猩猩、亚洲象和海豚等群居动物的文献，但对于独居哺乳动物物种的MSR却知之甚少。我们旨在评估大熊猫是否能在镜子中认出自己，以及这种能力是否随年龄而变化。对34只圈养大熊猫（雌性：雄性 = 18:16；幼年、亚成年和成年）进行了四项镜像测试：遮盖镜子测试、开放镜子测试、水印对照测试和标记测试。结果表明，尽管成年、亚成年和幼年大熊猫在面对镜子时用于社交性镜向行为的时间相似（χ(2) = 0.719，P = 0.698），但它们都没有利用镜子触摸自己头上的标记，而这种自我导向行为表明存在MSR。所有年龄组的个体在镜子中看到自己的影像时最初都会表现出攻击、威胁、刮脚和向后走的行为。我们的数据表明，无论年龄大小，大熊猫都不能在镜子中认出自己的影像，而是将其视为同种个体。我们的结果增加了关于大型哺乳动物镜像自我识别的现有信息，提供了关于独居物种的新信息，并将有助于圈舍设计和圈养动物管理。
