Beluga whales may recognise themselves after 98-session study

In the quiet pools of the New York Aquarium, a groundbreaking experiment was unfolding. It was 2001, and a team of scientists was about to test a question that had long fascinated researchers: could beluga whales, the white Arctic cetaceans known for their expressive faces and complex social lives, recognise themselves in a mirror?Over the course of several months, four female beluga whales, three adults named Kathy, Marina and Natasha, and Natasha’s 7-year-old daughter, Maris, were exposed to a large two-way plexiglass mirror and a transparent control surface. The researchers recorded and analysed their behavioural responses across 98 mirror sessions. What they found would add belugas to a rare and exclusive list of animals capable of mirror self-recognition (MSR), a cognitive skill long regarded as a sign of self-awareness. The research article titled 'Evidence for mirror self-recognition in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)' was published in May 2026 on Plos.one Journals.The mirror test and its significanceA widely used test of self-awareness in animals is the mirror test, first developed by psychologist Gordon Gallup in 1970. The premise is pretty simple. If an animal can r...