Belugas are highly intelligent marine mammals with intricate communication systems and strong social bonds. Now, new research suggests that the toothed whales are also self-aware. According to a study published May 20 in the journal PLOS One, some belugas appear to recognize themselves in mirrors, a feat that puts them on a small but growing list of nonhuman species capable of self-recognition.
"Belugas demonstrate a high level of self-awareness and a sense of self," study co-author Diana Reiss, a cognitive psychologist at Hunter College, City University of New York, tells IFLScience. "This level of consciousness also includes the comprehension that the mirror can be used as a tool to view oneself."
Since the 1970s, researchers have shown that chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, bottlenose dolphins, Asian elephants, Eurasian magpies, cleaner wrasse fish and now belugas can also recognize themselves in mirrors. Broadly speaking, the capability seems to be a hallmark of species that are social and empathetic.
Reiss and her colleagues tested mirror self-recognition among four captive belugas housed at the New York Aquarium of the Wildlife Conservation Society. In one of the pool's windows, the scientists installed a two-way mirror. Then, they set up a camera to record the creatures' interactions with the shiny new object.
During their first encounter with their own reflections, the belugas started by clapping their jaws and jerking their heads upward. It was as if they thought they were face-to-face with another whale, rather than their own reflection. Then, they began moving their heads around — nodding them up and down, moving them in semicircles and shaking them horizontally. Researchers describe these as "contingency testing" behaviors designed to test whether the whale in the mirror was mimicking them.
During their second session, they continued approaching the mirror but began exhibiting new behaviors. They looked at themselves, peered inside their own mouths, watched themselves do barrel rolls, and flapped their pectoral fins.
The researchers also drew marks on parts of the creatures' bodies that the whales couldn't see unless they looked in the mirror. One whale swam laps with her marked side facing the mirror and even pressed the mark up against it. To the researchers, these behaviors were enough to provide further evidence of her ability to recognize herself in a mirror.
The discovery not only adds to scientists' understanding of beluga cognition but may also help bolster efforts to protect the species. The researchers hope this and other discoveries will increase empathy and concern for cetaceans — the group that includes dolphins, whales and porpoises — leading to strong global protections.