We all have our occasional bad days when we need a good pick-me-up. And if you’re a longtime Bored Panda reader, you know that adorable animal photos are a source of instant good vibes.
Today, we’re back with more photos that tug on the heartstrings in the best way possible. These wholesome pictures are from the Blessed Images Facebook group, where over 700,000 members share snapshots of furry creatures being their cute selves.
As always, we’ve picked the most endearing ones to put a smile on your face. Hopefully, this list can make your day better.
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Ever wondered why looking at pet photos makes you feel good all of a sudden? Research has shown that doing so improves your well-being.
To test this, University of Maryland professor Dr. Jennifer Golbeck had 1,880 participants take the Patient Evaluation of Emotional Comfort Experienced (PEECE) survey. It’s a 12-item questionnaire that measures a person’s well-being.
Each statement begins with “I feel,” followed by certain aspects that determine a person’s mood, whether it’s relaxed, in control, energized or informed. Participants then rate each feeling on a scale of 1 to 5 (lowest to highest).
Dr. Golbeck then divided the participants into two groups. One spent five minutes looking at adorable dog pictures. The other group spent the same amount of time reading tweets from US President Donald Trump.
As Dr. Golbeck revealed in an article for Psychology Today, those who read Trump’s tweets showed a decline in their well-being score, from 3.27 before reading to 2.08 after. Conversely, those who looked at dog photos felt an improvement from 3.27 to 3.81.
Picture 1: Chicken Impostor--Picture 2: Coup & uprising of Void Chicken, rightful ruler of the nest.
Sure, they look all cute and friendly now, but in a minute they're going to get puffy and spiky and things are going to get ugly...and painful.
But what exactly is it about photos of adorable animals that make us feel better? As science journalist Dana Smith, PhD, points out in an article for Medium, it activates both the emotion and reward circuits. This is especially true if you’re looking at photos of your own pets.
Smith also mentioned a link between the human brain’s response to cute animals and evolution and procreation. In her article, she alluded to a study suggesting that younglings, in particular, trigger the baby schema.
Since kittens and puppies have large eyes and small bodies that represent an infant human, we innately want to approach, care for, and protect them.
“Those traits are naturally rewarding to people,” she wrote.
Now that you have an idea of why looking at adorable animal photos makes us feel good, we’d like to hear from you. Do you have any heartwarming pet photos to share? Drop them in the comments section!
Jungle Book alternate ending: Baloo and Shere Khan eat Mowgli and end up BFFs.
Just outside of the pic. Seriously. They're a famous trio of animals collectively known as BLT, rescued from a d**g dealer's menagerie. Their names are Baloo, Leo, and Shere Khan.
Load More Replies...The tiger is like, "yep, I am friends with a bear. I am that badass." And the bear is like, "look at my kitty!"
This is literally Baloo and Shere Khan (Leo the Lion is not pictured here), from Noah's Ark Animal Shelter in Georgia. Leo the Lion was also part of the trio and he died in 2016. Shere Khan died in 2018. I got to see all three before their passing. They were taken from d**g dealers in 2001. They were cubs being raised together. When they got to Noah's Ark, they were separated because they were "natural predators" to each other and the shelter thought they would kill each other as they grew. Well, that caused further trauma on the 3 on top of all the physical and health trauma they had already been through so they were put back together and lived their remaining years that way. They could never be released back into the wild because of the trauma they suffered while being with the d**g dealers. Yes, they were all best friends with each other. Seeing them was amazing.
When Russians get their kids a teddy bear & a kitty cat for Christmas 🎄
This is what it was like in The Garden before... before... well, you know.
Jesus Christ I'm starting to get really depressed now - these animals should not be together and not kept like this. It's a sad fact that there are more tigers kept as pets in the US than there are in the wild. If they have to be in captivity for some reason they should be allowed to live as naturally as possible and not used as playthings for humans
Another capy fren?! Are these all pets? I love them immensely but I'm a bit concerned because they really shouldn't be pets.
As a parent of a wiener dog and know how they are always “there” why not put them to work.
Those are some big shoes to fill, if I want to be like mom and dad.
And now we know the reason the chicken crossed the road...to kick that noisy damn dog's a*s.
I was having a bad day but then I got a message and looked at these and they made my day better!
I was having a bad day but then I got a message and looked at these and they made my day better!