For many years, there was no debate about the superiority of humans over the animal kingdom. But things have changed – fortunately, in fact – and we now learn more about the ability of many animals to understand that they are an individual entity in their own right. Let’s focus on self-aware animals.
Intelligence is not the property of humans. The challenge was to prove this in a scientifically sound manner. Since the 1970s, there has been a test based on the confrontation of the animal with its image in a mirror, with a situation and the application of a mark on its body to see if it reacts to it. This allows us to know better if animals are aware of themselves or not.
Being so close to Man in their genetic capital and physiology, it would be surprising that the orangutans would not be aware of themselves with such intelligence. Many apes have this ability to recognize themselves in a mirror, but not everyone. The Gorillas are also capable of this, but only partly. Orangutans, in contrast, can recognize themselves completely and are fully aware of themselves.
Discussion about this post