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I always thought the mirror test / mark test was a pretty well established test for self awareness, and several animals pass it. It's not particularly fringe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_test

Actually, this is called into question in the fine article:

> (Incidentally, Gallup's mirror test — removing a paint splotch from your face while looking at a mirror — is not an adequate test of self awareness, even though it is touted as such. We have seen patients who vehemently claim that their reflection in the mirror is "someone else" yet they pass the Gallup test!)

The point is that awareness testing is not a fringe part of animal behavioral studies. This would be a potential area of research for mainstream animal behavior study (paired mirror tests).

Not an expert, but it's certainly something that's actively researched... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-awareness#Animals

Why would you need the fringe sciences to support the current scientific consensus on something? It's like you're asking for crazy physicists to prove that a feather and hammer will fall at the same speed in a vacuum. Everybody knows that.