we’re laughing but the only animals to display self awareness in mirrors are humans, apes, dolphins, and elephants. this is actually super remarkable
The cool part is that as time goes on domestic animals are just going to get smarter and smarter, because we value these traits in them. And, as evolution shows us, if a trait is beneficial in an environment (humans being the environment) it is more likely to survive and be passed on.
May your Monday be motivated like these baby sting rays attempting to scale their window
*your Monday, whatever it may be
For anyone curious, this is a very common behavior among stingrays in aquariums. Stingrays normally flutter along the bottom of the water, and they rarely, if ever, encounter steep walls. When it finds the side of the tank, a stingray in an aquarium simply keeps going as though the tank wall is the bottom of the tank. This is why you see rays in touch tanks coming up to the surface and sticking out a little bit- they’re programmed for “swim along solid surface”. It’s not going to do them any harm, it’s not stressful, it’s just what they do.
In other words, these lil guys, who do not have swim bladders to keep them still in the water, are probably pretty confused as to why they keep sliding along the ground. They can’t just hover in place like most fish do.
BettSplendens Tumblr Evac 