Many behavioral researchers consider that ability to be a hallmark of complex intelligence.
Simonet presented her finding at last week's international conference on Animal Intelligence and Social Complexity. Elephants are just surprising all of us. Human infants, in fact, seem somewhat confused by mirror images until about the age of 18 months, leading development psychologists to suggest very young babies tend to see themselves and their mothers as part of the same unit. A scientist paints spots on an animal's face and then allows it to see its reflection in a mirror. If the animal recognizes itself, it tries to clean itself, while watching the face in the mirror.