have any of you notice how smart animals are getting?

i noticed almost 10 years ago that animals would just freak out and act like animals but recently animals for some reason behave more human like.

an experience i had:

>saw a deer last night
>startled him by playing music loud
>we both look at each other
>i wave
>he acknowledged and continued eating grass
>left

is there anybody that can explain the change or is it just me?