Why Can Newborn Animals Walk But We Can't?

A baby's 'first steps' are considered a milestone. But why do infants take months to walk when other newborn species can in one day?


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A Unifying Model For Timing Of Walking Onset In Humans And Other Mammals
"The onset of walking is a fundamental milestone in motor development of humans and other mammals, yet little is known about what factors determine its timing. Hoofed animals start walking within hours after birth, rodents and small carnivores require days or weeks, and nonhuman primates take months and humans approximately a year to achieve this locomotor skill. Here we show that a key to the explanation for these differences is that time to the onset of walking counts from conception and not from birth, indicating that mechanisms underlying motor development constitute a functional continuum from pre- to postnatal life."

Are Our Big Brains The Reason Newborns Can't Walk?
"A HORSE can walk within an hour after birth. A newborn baboon baby can cling to its mother's hair while she jumps through the trees. Even among our closest evolutionary relatives-chimpanzees and bonobos-babies are far more agile than their human counterparts. That's because humans are born with brains that are largely immature, leaving babies with little control over their movements. This uniquely human attribute is the result of a lengthy evolutionary battle between big brains and narrow pelvises."

Becoming Human: The Evolution Of Walking Upright
"Walking on two legs distinguished the first hominids from other apes, but scientists still aren't sure why our ancestors became bipedal"

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[tylerstokes]

Imagine giving birth then your baby starts jogging through the hospital.

[Master_Therion]

I always assumed it was because we are born lazy, turns out we are all born stupid.

[burntfiletmignon]

Studies show there is a 100% chance you're reading this

[TeamTwiistz]

Because Humans are born premature. Seems to be the answer to all these "Baby Questions".

[joshmarcum]

Harder to balance with only two legs to walk on. Not four.

[Mladjasmilic]

Humans after birth can swim and hang from tree, because their grip is strong enough.

[lazyperfectionist]

"You have to walk before you can run, crawl before you can walk, and make it through a pelvis before you can crawl."
But of course, between the making-it-through-a-pelvis stage and the crawling stage comes the stage and the sitting-up stage. Don't forget about these.

[shanicebrown]

I think the delay in such ' basic' developmental processes provides a greater opportunity for parent-child bonding too.

[bikelambo]

3 - 6 million years ago??? the earth isn't even that old. it's 6, 000 years old. anyways disliked this video, reported and unsubscribed.

[Gears_Starting]

I would like to point out that we, as humans, are animals also. I think that the title should be changed a bit. I think it should read "Why Can Other Newborn Animals Walk, but We Can't?"

[christopherdiedrich]

yeah, without even watching this, my best guess would be that we never have had to quickly learn out of the need to survive like many animals in the wild

[InTooDeeep]

he said 3 - 6 million years ago when its only 2016 how is that possible?

[Wildlifesupernannyfan]

Imagine if a baby was born and starts to stand up, walks and runs around the hospital ward.

[oscarwilde]

You know, all if this could be solved if we just ripped out of our mommas like xenomorphs.

[tylerhammonds]

I have a question he said our ancestors are monkeys right? if we were made from monkeys how are monkeys not developing into humans nowadays 🤔

[smokesparkdragonfly]

My mom says i was running before i was walking. I stood up, and my big head propelled me forward, so to keep upright, i ran *straight out the door into traffic*

[LoboSetsUrGirlOnFire]

I love this channel I learn something new when I watch this channel....

[BunnyFett]

Very informative, and a weird ending gift.

[RJTheHero]

It's a shame that some people aren't born with the ability to comprehend logic and reasoning. :(

[TheGeckoNinja]

i just assumed it was because balancing on 4 legs is way easier cause you're less likely to fall over on all 4 legs, while balancing on 2 limbs is tougher cause we actually have to keep balancing when we stand up and that require more time for the brain to get the hang of balancing on 2 limbs.

for example standing up on 2 legs you lean forward nothing is holding up leaning backward nothing is holding you up, you will fall in both directions, 2 legs keep you up from 2 sides

animals with 4 legs they are fully balanced since they can lean in any direction and not fall cause they have legs in place on all 4 directions, for us if we wanna not fall in the other 2 directions we have to adjust our footing to stay balanced in said directions