Soon, a group of curious monkeys swung through the trees and landed nearby. The first to notice the mirror was a young male named Koko. He tilted his head, stared at the shiny surface, and then jumped back with wide eyes.
There, staring right at him, was another monkey… or so he thought.
He screeched loudly, puffed up his chest, and charged at the mirror. But instead of scaring the “intruder” away, he collided with the reflection and fell backward in shock. The other monkeys howled with laughter—well, their version of it—and rushed over to see what had happened.
Next came a female monkey named Lala. She crept up cautiously, then reached out a hand to touch the glass. Her reflection did the same. She yanked her hand back and looked around nervously, as if asking the others, “Did you see that?!” The troop gathered in a circle around the mirror, watching their copies mimic every move.
Suddenly, one of the younger monkeys made a funny face. His mirror version did the same. That triggered chaos.
Some monkeys started baring their teeth in fake anger, trying to scare the mirror-monkeys away. Others tried to groom their reflections, thinking it was a new friend. One even gave the mirror a little kiss—then got angry when the “other monkey” didn’t respond. A few jumped up and down, slapped the ground, and even threw sticks at the mirror.
The most dramatic moment came when the troop’s alpha male, Bonto, arrived. He walked in like a king, full of pride and confidence. When he saw his reflection, he froze. He narrowed his eyes and let out a deep, threatening grunt.
Without warning, he charged the mirror full speed!
Crash!
The mirror wobbled but didn’t break. Bonto stared at it, confused and slightly embarrassed. He sniffed around the edges and finally realized it wasn’t a rival—it was just… something shiny and strange.
The chaos eventually settled down. Some monkeys lost interest, others sat and stared at their reflections for a while, making funny faces or playing peek-a-boo. One even brought a fruit and tried to share it with the mirror monkey.
By the end of the day, the troop had turned what started as confusion and anger into fun, play, and endless curiosity. And for the humans quietly watching from a distance, it was one of the funniest and most unexpected behavior studies they had ever seen.
