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Image depicting Zoo installs mirrors for animals

Zoo installs mirrors for animals!

Recommended for Preparatory Grades

At a zoo in Australia, animals were shown their own reflections for the first time. The goal was to get the animals to act like wild animals.

In the wild, animals would see their own reflections when they looked into a large body of water. The authorities at the zoo give the animals the same experience by putting up mirrors.

Zookeepers make sure that the animals have a choice about whether or not to take part. They also watch how the animals react and change the activity for each animal if they need to.

They use the information they’ve learned about the species and the people they work with to make the lives of the animals in their care better and better.

Key Facts!

  • At the Werribee Open Range Zoo in Victoria, Australia, animals saw their own reflections for the first time.
  • Some of the animal enclosures at the zoo have mirrors in them.
  • At the zoo, mirrors were put next to koalas, parrots, monkeys, and leopard tortoises.
  • The goal is to challenge the animals’ thinking and help them get along with each other.
  • One way that experience could be made to happen at the zoo was with the help of mirrors.
  • Animal experts say that some species, like monkeys, are smart enough to be able to look in a mirror and recognise themselves. The vervet monkey is one of these species.
  • Some animals, like koalas and parrots, may see their reflection as another member of their own species.
  • Because of this, the reflections can make people do things like investigate, make noise, or gather together.
  • This is a natural thing for them to do when their territories overlap in the wild, and it can help some social species learn important group behaviours.
  • The zoo gives the animals different enrichment activities, like using the mirrors, so they can learn new things and face different challenges.

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Watch a video

Check out a virtual safari tour at the Werribee Open Range Zoo in Australia.

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