![]() ![]() A fox, coming on a nest of baby bunnies, and so having an immediate choice amongst many might be swayed. So the idea would hinge on the word "available" in your example. (Dog taking care of baby deer).Ĭompared to hunger, however, this would be a minimal force indeed. See "bunny" as prey, and "human" as predator.Īlso notice that many animals will adopt immature examples of other species. I'm also dubious about the premise that baby bunnies are cuter than kittens. Nocturnal and crepuscular animals need large eyes animals with large brains have large heads. It seems more likely that those characteristics would be affected by other selection pressures. Most mammals depend more on smell, so they would presumably be put off from eating a prey animal if it smelled like their young instead.Ĭuteness depends on certain characteristics, like large heads and large eyes. Humans are very vision-oriented, so we respond to babies that look cute. A moment's hesitation won't do the prey any good if it's a helpless baby that can't use it to run away, or if it's dependent on a mother that just got eaten. If prey could put off predators by looking cute, the selection pressure to be cute would affect adult prey animals more than babies. That's not much to set against the developmental requirements that affect selection pressures on a baby animal. Only mother mammals with young would be affected, only if the prey animals resemble their own young, and only if the resemblance involves the characteristics the predator uses to recognize its own young. No troll, bots, spam, or harassment.ĭo you have a more specific scientific question? Try /r/AskScience Do you have a question on a science-fiction universe? Try /r/AskScienceFiction This subreddit is a subsidiary of AskScience and the same rules of civility apply. Arguments that run counter to well-established scientific concepts may be removed. We are happy to discuss controversial topics, but we expect users to maintain some level of scientific integrity. Sources, especially peer-reviewed, are always helpful and appreciated. Posts and comments that are unrelated to science, promoting pseudoscience or are unscientific in nature will be removed. Help users work through questions they're unsure how to phrase for /r/AskScienceĭiscuss broader questions pertaining to science or scientific fields We also:ĭiscuss reading material or other educational topicsĬontinue tangential discussions that start on /r/AskScience r/AskScienceDiscussion is the place to ask any question you have about being a scientist, what's new in a field, or what's going to happen in a field. Welcome to /r/AskScienceDiscussion, help the subreddit grow by subscribing! ![]()
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