Comment Humans are animals too (Score 2) 23
Makes sense, so many other animals have ways of perceiving the world that kick in as soon as they're born, baby turkeys for example know as soon as they venture out for the first time which plants to eat and which not to eat, and even which snake species they should stay farther away from than others or which raptor call they should freeze for. This is just one example but there are countless out there which seem mind-blowing to us at first, but then consider the fact that these bits and pieces of knowledge have been selected for millions and millions of years, and it makes sense for any trait that gives a young animal a better sense of its surroundings earlier to be very valuable. The animals also don't have to be animals we consider to be more intelligent, this phenomena exists across the board, it doesn't matter if you're talking about a turkey or a rhino or a deer.
Of course, there is a possibility that the young just heavily mirror and pay attention to their mother as soon as they're born, and that certainly happens too and is a big part of the learning curve, but the sheer amount of knowledge about their surroundings that they possess from birth is absolutely incredible, and makes you wonder about "instinctive" feelings we experience subconsciously such as that strange feeling you get when you're around someone who doesn't appear creepy in any way but just is, or perhaps even the feeling of being watched. IMO, knowledge from birth is one of the most fascinating topics in biology, and we have A LOT to learn.