Octopus Mirror Test 2 - VIEWER REQUEST 

Could be dangerous for the octopus for sure but if it was mounted properly, there might be a way. I second this idea if it can be applied safely. What an underrated suggestion you have there!

That is an excellent suggestion. It may be a different test I am thinking of but I thought the mirror test did involve the animal being able to circle the mirror to establish the non-existence of the image as a physical form. To me it looked like he was convinced the mirror was just another partition he could get around/behind and he didn't even stop to think about an alternative. It is possible his reaction would have been very different if he had been able to reach behind and thus be forced to think about it in non-survival terms. @Ash Boucher I think sandwiching the mirror between two half-height (or width) partitions would be safe while still giving access to both sides.

I don't think it recognizes itself. It keeps trying to get behind the mirror

I think that would be an interesting experiment, if you can keep from him breaking it, and just see what happens.

That would probably cause lots of confusion within the octopus and I wanna see it!!! Reminds me of when the people of the North Sentinel Islands were shown a mirror and thought people were really inside of it.

Darebird Congrats for them acknowledging your request!! :) I hope they continue with more tests on this with the mirror! Someone else mentioned giving the animal the ability to see behind the mirror too, so he could tell that it wasn't another octopus inside the mirror.

time to invent touch screen gestures for eight arms

I would strongly recommend reading the books Children of Time and Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Children of Ruin in particular deals a lot with the intelligence and capabilities of octopuses, and it's a fantastic read!

Is there a touchscreen that works underwater, or while very wet?

I would like to see if they could solve a RubiksCube ^^ !

Mikael Nilsson First you would have to convey the idea that each side needs to be one color...

But even from his barrel he still keeps an eye out.

Good point. He was reaching behind it like...."You don't feel how I look. What are you?"

Excellent question

She knows she is looking at herself

@hhhk20 I agree that "disappointment" is a rather complex feeling that requires unspecific expectation, curiosity. I do not see how you can be sure this creature is incapable of it.

@hhhk20 Dissapointment is simply a disconnect between expectation and reality. I'd guess most conscious life forms experience it in there own way, though they probably don't sit around and dwell on it hours after it's occured.

You are seeing things that aren't there. There is no reason to think he ever expected it not to be another octopus.

The poor thing is frustrated and bored. He is not a toy for your enjoyment.

@@Theguys1 It's not enjoyment. It's learning/teaching. This is one of Earth's animals that we know is "smart". Unfortunately or not, it lives in the ocean where we cannot and so has evolved for that environment. Think of space (the final frontier kind). The ocean and space have a lot in common and a lot not in common. Humans cannot live there. Will only land creatures evolve to leave their planets or will water based creatures also be able to evolve to leave their planets? It's a huge question! Humans evolved because they stopped living moment by moment/day by day. What do you think would happen if sea creatures no longer had worries about food, shelter or danger? It took homo sapiens hundreds of thousands of years to learn to farm, but homo sapiens weren't really less smart than we are now. We built foundations from which to grow with each generation. The Earth warmed and cooled, warmed and cooled even as homo sapiens created civilization(s). And, yet, there is no known civilization over 20,000 years old/ago. Why? Aren't you curious? Does the octopus know it's a mirror? Does the octopus know he is being watched by more than 7K humans (RU-vid views)? Do humans know if they're being watched? ...

@@Theguys1 its a living creature NOT a thing, bastard

Oh Come on you negative people. The Flight or Fight response inhibits the evolution of the conciousness in animals. Too busy trying to stay alive to live and learn. You live In a box just like the Octopus (living breathing creature) just like us, yes I get that. If you actually view the Octopus as an equal to yourself, you would understand why a safe atmosphere allows the species to have the freedom to learn. I see what I see when I comment. I'm not here to discuss the politics of this, I'm here to observe the Octopus and learn.

Yes, so does he understand that's an image of himself and not another guy behind a glass ?

Yeah, he sems to try to find a way behind it. It would be interresting to let him see both sides of the mirror.

@@bobiboulon Exactly what I suggested.

I saw a bunch of funny videos of cats reacting to their reflection so I tried it with mine. She just walked up to the mirror and looked behind it saw nothing and went back to her sleepy spot lol..... I often wonder with their different eye mechanics, do they actually see a reflection or something else? remember: we made mirrors so WE could see our reflection.....our eyes work diff than many other animals.....

They should put the mirror in the middle of the tank so the octopus can see the other side of it.

TheSaOk Dat boyz, got talent!

TheSaOk 😂😂😂

I think that they might be incredibly bored there after all the stimuli and social interaction they get during their testing of us - erm... or are we testing them? It is often hard to tell... LOL

Sigh the tank they use is only for testing so they have actual tanks for them they just test with that one

Actually, I think that the centre do do a lot of rehab-release work.

That was SO cute Lisa! Good one girl! ☝🏆👏🍂🍃 🍁

He is a sad amusement toy to be played with by humans.

Have you read the Octolab Mission statement? They study octopus behavior to foster better understanding of and education about the species. That is a huge part of conservation. You might educate yourself before opening your mouth and inserting your foot.

Baaaaaahahahahaha as he wags his tail. I laughed too hard at , thank you

Lisa Adolf - we know, calm down. It’s still sad to see an intelligent creature in a cage or tank.

promophobe69 I concur!

Agreed. I think it could have been a combo of 2 and 3. They like to turn things over and "taste" them.

I think that he was underestimated in this test. His initial reaction seemed to be "Oh no, not another god damned transparent partition!" That would demonstrate memory, expectation, and assumption. He really needed access to the other side to shake the expectation and actually make him think about it. The camera behind him also seemed to keep distracting him from the test.

Octopuses can see with their arms as well, so that may be a part of the equation as well.

@@johnrickard8512 No they can't.

Well... how to put a Mark on a eight armed bunch of living pudding, which is not water-soluble XD

@@BT-uq3qw Ow!! How about just giving him something he could hold/putting something around a tentacle, like a hair scrunchie?

a name a name Bro. Staple? What is wrong with you. Please use empathy in life. It was created in you for a reason.

@@Miesrabe they use sunscreen that sticks on Dolphins. They can do it on an octopus

a name a name Hey everyone. ^ This clown is pro-ethni¢ ¢leansing and thinks we should do tests on innocent animals that cause them pain to appease our curiosity! Aren’t we lucky to share the planet with this asshole??

Yes yes YES!!! Please do that, it would make these videos even more addictive than they already are :D

I was only a few months old, i just got the ability to see so they showed me the mirror.

J S Do you really have to make condescending comments? I have noticed you doing that to some people on this video platform. 😡

Sending 8 legged/armed hugs; especially to JS . . . 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗 . . . Lighten up, everyone and enjoy this wonderful channel. Be kind, please. And I support your First Amendment right to retort w/any language you'd prefer. lol. Peace.

@@JS-ox3ql lol . . . thanks for expressing yourself. It's your Constitutional right to do so! LOL. Didn't mean to trigger you, sir, madam, ??? Were eight hugs not sufficient. as a cathartic?

@@JS-ox3ql From your photo, looks like you're already taken. If you're one of those kids . . . um . . . sorry, no thanks.

New Message, Word!

Same 😑😆

I just live with octopus hair. It reaches out and samples my food, flops into my coffee, hoards things and attempts to spawn new hair topped creatures. It also makes an aggressive display in the presence of mirrors. I know this because my friends say, 'No, it looks fine!' from a safe distance.

It does seem like that would have been an evolutionary plus.

ME TOO! >rubs bald head and wanders off wiping away tears of mourning< :(

@@BT-uq3qw That would probably be too much and overstress the poor thing.

@@BT-uq3qw I don't disagree that it would be interesting, but I'm glad you understand why it might be seen as wrong to overly stress and intelligent creature in such a way.

Vixen 525 how old are you? This sterile tank is sensory torture for this being. He is not a toy for your amusement. Find out where this is located...I cannot get a response.

a name a name oh My God, are you intentionally hoping to torture this animal? Let’s try the experiment on you! This animal is not a toy for your amusement....next you’ll be killing small animals to see how they die. Shame on you.

@@Theguys1 Did it ever occur to you they might move it to this tank temporarily during experiments for the purpose of easy observation? You know, a very commonly used tactic when working with animals for science?

@Thomas Paine Are you asking me....ask the.Norway president

Firebug this animal is not a toy for your amusement. The sterile tank is torture for this animal. Let’s find out where this located...I can’t get a response.

@@Theguys1 You obviously know nothing about the safety and care of octopuses.Your comment makes you sound like some sort of violent fanatic who 'liberates' animals violently and illegally by dumping them en-mass into inappropriate environments causing massive ecological damage to scores of species including the 'saved' ones. Of course you can't get a response; you sound like you want to firebomb their cars, terrorise their children, and murder their family pets.

Benjamin Webb he is trapped in a sterile tank. He is not a toy for your amusement. I am trying to find out where this is located, but no response.

I agree everything looks better in its environment. Your fighting an up hill battle, you cant protect everything on your own. Tell me would you gladly take his place not as a show of your pride, but him being a creature of this earth and you being a creature of this earth, like a cousin.

Cee Talltree I agree. I also think they should put one colored object in the background, as it may help with a faster recognition of self-awareness?

How real mirror tests work is they put a mark on the animal on a spot they can’t see without the mirror (usually on the face somewhere). If the animal investigates the spot after seeing themselves on the mirror it proves that they understand the reflection is themself.

@@thegrandtickler2907 brought up lots in these comments but figured I'd say something here. It seems very unlikely to me that the actual spot test would work on these particular animals, not from any lack of intelligence, but just from how touch oriented they are. There isnt really a part of an octopus that they aren't physically aware of, and it would probably feel whatever was applied long before they saw it in a mirror.

He seemed to act different around his reflection though. I think while he may not have fully realised what was happening the pieces were beginning to fit together in his head. At first he plops on the mirror and moves around a bit, then he stays still. Then he backs off and spends a while thinking. Then he goes back and tries to get behind the mirror. So I think he realised something was off, even if he didn't fully understand.

He has company - lol - I have never seen one of these vids where the octopus was completely alone in the filming tank. Humans are also company for these curious animals. The constant presence of another octopus would only cause territory/mating anxiety; they are not generally herd animals. Encounters between them in such close quarters have to be carefuly managed. As far as I have learned; a bored octopus is one who dismantles his tank and turns up in the cafeteria, eating your sandwich from the tuperware box you hid at the back of the fridge. ;) I expect that the 'living tanks' have additional 'toys' to keep them occupied. A stressed octopus often self-harms so if it looks healthy it is probably not unhappy.

Octopodes are usually solitary outside of mating.

Thanks... didn’t know. Incredible, bright creatures.

@@drsharkboy6568 they arent really solitary though, each of their legs has its own brain tissue, and if ever one of those tentacles is too much of an asshole, the octopus will just rip it off and grow a new one

It is not the same octopus that they filmed recently.

This is not a toy for your amusement. Nor is it a scientific experiment. The sterile tank is sensory deprivation for this sentient being. The site will not tell me where they are located. Why? It’s pretty obvious...animal welfare would shut this down. Where, by the way is the water pump and oxygen source. Who knows if it’s even proper salt water. Do you find excitement in pulling wings off flies? I suppose that’s your next proposed experiment on living things.

@@Theguys1There is something sad about watching these intelligent beings being put through these tests so we can be amused.

When I was a little girl I started talking to a Mynah bird at the zoo, and it kept repeating after me. After a while I got upset and started crying b3cause I thought it was mocking me! Every time I asked it’s name, it said “What’s your name?”. 😅😂🤣

Yes, just less crunchy. And they have less eyes.

Gender Woman Ew

And they have snakes as their arms... And arms all around their mouth... Must have Italian ascent...

Yeah, would be interesting to have the mirror where he could go behind it. Perhaps now he thinks he's looking at another octopus thru a piece of glass.

@@debdrake6786 He does.

Scientists secretly put a colour dot on the animal in question. If they check out the dot, they are aware it's themselves in the mirror.

@@MrCmon113We have to know if he would remove the red dot, on an area that is visible without the mirror. And the mirror had to be visible from all sides, so he can check if there is anther octopus. I am pretty sure he doesn't know what a mirror is.

I think if he knows what it is you can see his nerves with a device that beeps if he is reacting to it I don't know the name of this device though

Taylor S if you “love” him, you would realize he is trapped in a sterile tank. He is not a toy for your amusement. I am trying to find out where this is located, but no response.

@@Theguys1 i also love the giraffe and i love the sky ... you're on the same video as i am, why don't you take your righteous comment and go save the octopus that's in this video since you have an issue with my admiration for a species ✌🏽

2:45 That sound isn't in the music. That's the octopus knocking the living heck out of that mirror.

Atlas WalkedAway would that be considered an attack then?

@@ThisIsYourOnlyWarning I would sure think so. There's people in other comments arguing that it wasn't because he didn't change color, but it takes a lot of effort to create an impact under water, probably way more if your body is made of 8 soft, seemingly drunk tentacles. So I'd say this was an intentional attempt at intimidation through force.

@@AtlasReburdened It was after he thought about it for 4 minutes! I think it was another attempt to understand. Also they're quite strong although it may not look it

On their homepage they say the animals are kept in large and stimulating tanks and are only put into these empty aquariums for the experiments.