The mirror test is often used to try and determine if animals have self recognition. If they recognise it is them in the mirror, they will react to a change in their appearance. But for snakes, sight is not the primary sense, so scientists have had to get a bit more creative.

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Main Paper References:

Freiburger T, Miller N, Skinner M. 2024. Olfactory self-recognition in two species of snake. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 291:20240125. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0125.

Other Links/Mentions:

Maggie Koerth-Baker. 2010. Kids (and Animals) Who Fail Classic Mirror Tests May Still Have Sense of Self. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/kids-and-animals-who-fail-classic-mirror/

Fejervarya cancrivora call by Zaharil Dzulkafly from: AmphibiaWeb - Fejervarya cancrivora

Crocodile sister hero: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-69002147.amp 

Editing and Music:

Podcast edited by Alex – https://www.fiverr.com/alexanderroses

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com