Monkey In The Mirror

Animals with head implants sometimes turned themselves upside down or adjusted mirrors to get a better view. These monkeys avidly use mirrors to examine and groom their heads and to inspect there bodys. The new study was inspired by observations in Populin’s lab of two monkeys using mirrors to inspect head implants given for brain studies. In one experiment, five adult male rhesus monkeys were videotaped during five one-hour periods in cages that held small mirrors attached from the outside. Monkeys used the mirror to touch and groom themselves around the implant and to inspect their genitals.