Step 1 – Writing Assignment and Research
The first video I watched was called, “Is Elephant Self Aware and Conscious?” This video explored an elephant’s ability to recognize itself in a mirror reflection, a skill very few animals in the world have. There are multiple steps to achieving true recognition. The first step being social behavior. This is the animal’s initial reaction to their reflection, whether that be aggression, disinterest, or fascination. The second step is test behavior. The elephants move in different directions to determine why this “other animal” is moving the same way they are. The next step is self-directed behavior. This is when the animal realizes the reflection is their own and begins exploring different parts of their body that they have never seen before. Lastly, to test whether or not the elephant truly understands that it is their own reflection in the mirror, we use the mark test. A white mark is drawn on the top of the elephant’s forehead to see if they will recognize that it is on themselves and not just on the reflection. In this experiment, the elephant completely understood and began wiping the white mark away prior to looking in the mirror. This video helped put into perspective how much we underestimate the complexity of different species’ minds.
The second video I watched was called, “That’s One Smart Bird | Animal All-Stars.” This video tested a kea bird’s intelligence by putting it through a series of scientific experiments. The bird was tested in figuring out the different ways to get a nut out of a plexi box. Each test the bird prevailed. Similar to the first one, this video showed that there is more to an animal’s mind than we would naturally expect.
The last video I watched was called, “Scientists Analyze Dolphin Communication | Inside the Animal Mind | BBC Earth.” The scientists in the video studied the communication between different dolphins through a series of procedures and data collection processes.
Step 2 – Thesis
The complexity behind the minds of different animals is being explored and tested day after day. We continue to discover important information regarding the physical and mental aspects of animals that change our understanding of their level of intelligence. These connections animals have to the human race could bring us closer to a world where we can successfully communicate with different species of animals.