As I’m sure you pandas all know, there’s nothing better than a precious photo of a curled up kitten or a video of a puppies frolicking in the grass. As humans, it makes sense to view human babies as heartwarming creatures that must be protected at all costs, from an evolutionary perspective, but why do we view the offspring of other species in the same way? Well, according to Angela Saini at BBC Earth, “There are deep psychological reasons why humans find babies of all species so cute.” Scientists believe that the nurturing instincts we feel towards precious, tiny babies of our own species also extends to any creatures that even vaguely resemble them.

"People are also animals, and our infants and young children – like the infants and young of most species – have certain consistent traits," David Barash, psychology professor at the University of Washington, who studies human and animal behavior, told the BBC. We can’t help but want to protect them, want to boop their little noses and want to cuddle with them.

Ethologist and zoologist Konrad Lorenz first proposed the idea that all babies have certain characteristics that we’re drawn to in 1943. These traits include large heads, chubby cheeks, high foreheads, a small nose and mouth and round bodies. Lorenz described this “baby schema” as something that we just can’t help but be drawn to. Apparently, baby chimps and monkeys attract big crowds at zoos because their behavior is similar to human infants, and even the way that baby elephants clumsily waddle around might remind us of toddlers learning how to walk.

Unsurprisingly, this irresistible urge to cuddle and care for little ones, even of the animal variety, can be traced back to evolution as well. “Any predisposition to be especially benevolent toward critters that meet the ‘baby schema’ is likely to be strongly favored by natural selection," Barash told the BBC. 

According to Eloise Stark, who works in the psychiatry department at the University of Oxford and studies parent-child interactions, even simply seeing something cute can have a lasting impression on us. “We know that [when we see a young animal or child] there is a really fast burst of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in reward," she told the BBC. "We think this early activity biases the brain towards processing the cute stimulus – for example, by making sure we give it our full attention. The effect of this may be to approach the infant or cute animal, wanting to pick it up or look after it."

I recently adopted a two-month-old puppy, and I have to admit that she is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. And she knows that; I tell her daily. But one of the reasons why she is so precious in my eyes, despite the fact that she has destroyed my duvet and eaten my retainer, is because she is just so curious. Especially when we first adopted her, everything was new to her, and sitting out on the balcony watching cars and birds go by was the most exciting thing she could possibly imagine. An older dog might ignore me while I brush my teeth or put laundry in the washing machine, but she wants to be right in on the action. Sniffing around, giving confused looks and testing the limits of what she’s allowed to play with. While she’ll still be a precious dog a year from now, it might not be as adorable watching her calmly sit on the floor while I vacuum, rather than chasing it around out of curiosity.  

When it comes to how adorable we find other species, we are more inclined to find mammals precious than, for example, a snake. As Bethan Bell pointed out in a piece for the BBC, we view other animals through the lens of being human, even if our views are completely irrelevant in another context. A puppy might look welcoming to cuddles than a baby bird, so we’ll be more inclined to find the puppy cute. And dolphins, which are mammals, are widely considered much cuter than sharks, who seem to have “a cruel mouth and mean eyes,” despite the fact that they share some similar features. It does not necessarily have to do with the fact that sharks are more dangerous either, as many people find baby lions and tigers absolutely precious as well.    

I personally have always been one of those people who feels immense “puppy fever” when looking at a cute dog, but seeing a cute baby does nothing for me. I want to hold and cuddle every dog I see, but I would happily never hold a human baby. But there might be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why some of us prefer fluffy fur babies to actual human ones. “Animals like dogs and cats have been essentially bred to look like babies,” Morten Kringelbach, Professor of neuroscience at the Universities of Oxford and Aarhus, told Science Focus. “They have the big eyes, they have the big ears. When you see them, your brain is thinking ‘this could be a baby’. And it’s only later on, by the time you already have reacted, you say ‘oh, that's not a baby. But maybe I should still look anyway!'”

While you might love all animals equally, there are some that are known for being particularly precious, especially when they’re first born. In fact, animals that grow up to be threatening might be even cuter when they’re babies, as we don’t expect to want to cuddle up next to a tiny hippo! Animals Around the Globe published a list of some of their absolute favorite precious baby animals, and number one is the red panda. These little creatures look more like tiny foxes or raccoons than bears, and their bodies are full of adorable fluff even when they’re young. Baby giraffes are undeniably cute as well. It’s so silly to see them when they’re tiny, and their little horns don’t even stand up until a few hours after they’ve been born.  

There’s no denying that baby bunnies are adorable as well. These little fluff balls can fit into your palms when first born, and the size of their heads compared to their tiny bodies just might melt your heart! Another popular favorite baby animal is the elephant. These mighty creatures are tiny, wobbly and playful in their youth, and their giant ears and long legs will make anyone smile. Even at birth, however, baby elephants likely weigh more than you do, coming in at a whopping 200-300 pounds (or 90-136 kilos) when they’re born. I’d love to play with one, but I wouldn’t want it to accidentally step on my toes!

Baby deer are certainly one of the world’s cutest baby animals as well. I’ve seen many of them in Texas in the springtime, when mamas would leave their tiny babies hidden in a bush in my front yard to go gather food and then return to pick them up later. Their long, clumsy legs, the adorable white speckles on their backs and the tiny squeaks they make melted my heart plenty of times. Plus, at that age, they’re just as friendly as a puppy and will be happy to follow you around. As hard as it is to resist, however, it’s important not to touch them to ensure you don't leave your own scent on the precious babies! 

If you’re an animal lover like me, these photos have likely brought you more dopamine than anything else you’ve experienced in the past week. We hope you’re all having a lovely time enjoying these precious pics, and feel free to share in the comments below which baby animals you find most adorable. Keep upvoting the photos that melt your heart, and then if you can handle even more pics that will cause you to smile uncontrollably, you can find another Bored Panda article featuring precious animals right here!