Numbuk wrote:
Only a handful of animals on the planet are self-aware at that level (and most of them are great apes). But dolphins certainly join that elite group.
Humans, bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, elephants, macaques, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, and magpies. (yes, a bird.)
Interestingly, humans fail the self-awareness test until about 18 months old. (No idea what age the other animals manage to pass it...although apparently not every macaque, gorilla or magpie passes even as an adult. Some of those species are more self aware than others.)
I'm not sure if bottlenose dolphins are actually smarter than all other dolphins, they're just more heavily tested.