More than 20 years ago, four female beluga whales were kept together at the New York Aquarium of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Three of these belugas ( Delphinapterus leucas ) – Kathy, Marina, and Natasha – were captured from the wild, and the fourth, Maris , was born to Natasha at the aquarium in 1994. This offered scientists – including marine mammal expert and cognitive psychologist Diana Reiss – a rare opportunity to conduct a mirror test of self-recognition on the whales. This