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Mirror reactions in a zoo colony of Cebus monkeys
Author(s) -
Collinge Nancy E.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/zoo.1430080111
Subject(s) - biology , mirror image , zoology , physiology , mathematics , geometry
The extensive research investigating the reactions of a number of species of nonhuman primates to their mirror images has revealed that monkeys have never been observed to react with self‐directed behaviors, as have some species of higher apes. The intermittent exposure of captive Cebus monkeys to a mirror over a 5‐week period produced species‐specific social reactions to the mirror, supporting the suggestion that at least in some instances the monkeys were viewing their mirror image as a conspecific. The variability in the duration and expression of mirror‐directed behaviors observed in the study appeared to be related to the age and past experience of the monkeys. The duration of mirror viewing of subadults was over twice that of the adults, while the young, hand‐reared animals exhibited more manipulative and fewer social behaviors than did the young animals raised in the zoo. The average viewing time of the zoo colony decreased substantially over the course of the study but the monkeys were still spending an appreciable time at the mirror after 5 weeks.