A new study has demonstrated that chicks are born with the knowledge to flee from predators rather than learning it from experience. New-born chicks also know to slow down or stop moving (freeze) to avoid being noticed when a predator is far away. The study demonstrated that these responses do not require learning but are known by the chick before it is born.
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“Our results show that at the beginning of life animals are well equipped to cope with threats present in their environment, they possess some predispositions that help them to survive.”
-Dr. Elisabetta Versace, co-author of the study, Queen Mary University of London
Journal Reference: Marie Hébert, Elisabetta Versace, Giorgio Vallortigara. Inexperienced preys know when to flee or to freeze in front of a threat. PNAS, 2019.
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