There's something oh-so-soothing about baby animals. Tiny paws, oversized eyes, and ears they are yet to grow into. They wobble when they walk, squeak when they're supposed to roar, and stare at the world with eyes so big they look like they could pop at any moment.
Animal babies are mother nature's way of telling us that pockets of joy do still exist. Even if they're sometimes wrapped in feathers, fur, or the occasional layer of mud.
These teeny-weeny floofballs have the ability to melt even the iciest of human hearts. It's a phenomenon backed up by science. Research shows that looking at adorable, helpless creatures triggers our nurturing instincts and gives our brains a boost of feel-good chemicals. Instant emotional therapy that could result in a trip to the local shelter to adopt one or four baby animals that you never knew you needed.
If you're having a rough day, prepare for an emotional reset. Bored Panda has gathered together the most ridiculously cute baby animal pics for you to stare at when everything gets too much. So sit back, relax, keep scrolling and feel the tension slowly start to melt away.
#1 A Baby Fox Showed Up To Say Hi At My Grandmother's House
Image credits: Vechrotex
#2 Moo Moo Everyone
Image credits: NoMap3080
You might know that the biggest animal on earth is the blue whale. But what do you think the tiniest is? Maybe an ant? Or a flea? Apparently, it's neither of those. According to experts, the world's most minute creatures are myxozoans.
"All of us at some point in our life cycle have tiny stages, but when we're mature, we're complex multicellular animals," explains Beth Okamura, a professor at the Natural History Museum in London. "That's not the case for Myxozoa. When they mature, they're still single cells."
#3 Our Sweet Emmett The Otter
Image credits: newhousewildliferescue
#4 Baby Skunk Fell Asleep In My Hand Yesterday As I Returned It To Its Burrow
Not a pet. My son found it in the driveway. I’ve seen its mother on the hill above my house, always in the same spot. Figured it was where they lived, and I was right; there was another baby sleeping outside a hole in the ground. It ran into it when I approached, so I set its sibling down next to where it was sleeping. It ran inside.
Image credits: Sweatyrando
#5 Cutest Baby Elephant
Image credits: thissrilankangirl
According to the University of Hawaii, myxozoans can be up to 100 times smaller than a grain of sand. Or as small as 0.02 millimeter (20 micrometers) across as adults.
And if you're wondering what exactly they are, Science Direct defines them as aquatic parasitic animals, adding that they were probably derived from jellyfish.
"With 2,402 species described, many have a two-host lifecycle, involving a fish and an annelid worm or bryozoan," reads the site. "For example, Ceratomyxa shasta is a virulent myxosporean parasite of salmon and trout in the Pacific Northwest."
#6 Baby Boy
I found him all alone; he's still in his milking phase, can't be older than one month.
Image credits: my-mr
#7 First Family Photo - Santa Barbara Zoo
He was 6 feet at birth. His dad (on the right) is a little over 16 feet tall!
Image credits: x_cnja
#8 This Duck Used To Come To My Porch For Food. Recently, She Brought Her Babies. I've Been Watching Them Grow Up
Image credits: reddit.com
Okamura says that most myxozoan species produce infectious water-borne spores. "Cells from these spores invade and develop inside both vertebrate hosts, such as fish, and invertebrate hosts, like annelid worms," explains the expert.
Some myxozoans infect the gallbladders of Amazon fish and "grow" into worm-like creatures with unicellular bodies, adds the sciencedirect.com site. A few can cause diseases in their hosts, but mostly these tiny animals are harmless.
#9 I Think This Is The Only Time She's Stood Still For Me To Take A Photo. Baby Socks
Image credits: YellowPosty
#10 Applesauce, He’s Got Pointy Ears Now
I feel like he’s grown and ready to pack his bags and leave the house. He’s changed so much. Someone tell him to slow down!
Image credits: Beccalov3
#11 Babies Are Healthy And Hanging Out With New Friends
Their mom passed away, and I brought them to a wildlife sanctuary. I get weekly updates.
Image credits: TheLeener
In terms of mammals, the prize for the tiniest apparently goes to both the Etruscan shrews and bumblebee bats. Bumblebee bats grow to a length of around 1.1 to 1.3 inches. And have a wingspan of around 6 inches. While the shrews can reach a mighty 2 inches long.
#12 My Coworker Brought Her Day-Old Lamb Into Work
Lamb was rejected by mum.
Image credits: Spnvettech
#13 Remember Kiwi & His Goth Girlfriend? Well, Now She's His Goth Wife, And They Have 4 Beautiful Half Goth Babies
Image credits: painthands
#14 Look At This Adorable Shelter Bunny
Image credits: Substantial_Buddy780
#15 Really Cute
Image credits: reddit.com
#16 Miss Stripey Has Been Taken Into Custody
She has the cutest nose!
Image credits: Exidor
#17 Happy Sleeping Baby Wombat
Image credits: MissFlowerFox
#18 About 7 Months Ago, I Posted About Having Rescued This Baby From A Hoarder. She Is 9 Months Old Today. She’s Doing Amazing
She knows how to tug my heartstrings to get what she wants.
Image credits: graypupon
#19 A Baby Squirrel Saved, Now She’s Demanding Peanuts
Image credits: fantasizeava
#20 Ctrl C + Ctrl V
Image credits: Merumi0906
#21 Butterscotch, 2 Days Old And Already Stealing My Heart
Image credits: baroness_of_ripley
#22 Baby Pandas
Image credits: Joshua Doubek
#23 Baby Anteater
Image credits: ZOO Łódź
#24 One Of My Babies. Name Ideas? I Love Her Teeny Little Ears
Image credits: LilH0neyBunny
#25 Teeny Tiny Itty-Bitty Froggo
Image credits: fauxofkaos
#26 Sleeping Baby Tiger At Animalia Park, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Image credits: procopio
#27 One Of Our Baby Raccoon Rescues Is Waving "Hello"
My wife has her wildlife rehabilitation license in Florida, and the doctor at the veterinarian clinic she works at sees wildlife pro bono, so we often have all sorts of wildlife in our home. The patients we have eventually "graduate" to another local rehabilitator who has much more space and resources than we do, but sometimes we get to facilitate a release.
Image credits: EvolutionDG
#28 Baby Racoons Nursing On My Deck
Image credits: walgreensfan
#29 Found A Baby Hawk At Work Today
Image credits: gaigemeister
#30 Adorale Baby Dingos
Image credits: Australian Dingo Foundation
#31 With Parenting, It Gets Thrown Into The Pool And Covered In Mud, So It Was Looking Pretty Exhausted. The Photo Shows It After Taking A Little Break And Getting Wiped Down
Image credits: hirakawazoo
#32 Our Little Beagle! Meet Belle
Image credits: Opposite-Tricky
#33 Javelina Baby
We’re still getting javelina babies (also called “reds”) this time of year. If separated from their mothers and the herd, it can be touch-and-go for a few weeks because they’re pretty sensitive to the cold. For these adorable (but feisty!) babes, a heat source is a must for survival. Depending on their age at arrival, we offer a warm incubator, ceramic heat lamps, heating pads, or heated mats in their enclosures until they’re several months old and ready for life with a new herd. Oh, and they all get a cuddle buddy!
Image credits: southwestwildlife
#34 Throwback To Nutmeg And Ginger As Babies. They Were Absolutely Adorable Back Then
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#35 My Sweet Foster Babies, Featuring Their Round Kitty Tums
Image credits: reddit.com
#36 Baby Daisy
Image credits: AmalgamationOfBeasts
#37 Does Anyone Know Roughly How Old This Baby Squirrel Is?
We found this baby squirrel out on a road nearby, it was attempting to climb a wall and kept falling, it was holding its arm up, and holding it with its other arm, and also making a high pitched squealing noise, so we decided to take it back to help it, as it seemed hurt, and it was freezing cold and raining heavily outside. It has started to learn to climb from what it seems, so I’m thinking it’s possibly between 8-10 weeks old.
Image credits: tmarsh2
#38 Aww Baby Long Neck
Image credits: flawed1
#39 Baby Rough Green Snake
Image credits: dhensonjazz
#40 My Sister's Cat Had Kitten And Oh My Lord. Please Heal Your Hearts With Me And These Babies
Image credits: Nice_Bake
#41 Whacchu Lookin' At, Peasant?
Image credits: bergerdani
#42 I Moved In Recently With My Friend, Right After She Got A Puppy
He is the absolute sweetest thing in the world.
Image credits: bratty_bunnybby
#43 Baby Dolls
Image credits: cheesethechameleon
#44 So Much Cuteness
Image credits: phillyzoo
#45 Bunnies
A mama rabbit decided to have her babies in one of our garden pots!
Image credits: BlueLord100
#46 Parents Decided To Get Some Pygmy Goats
Image credits: Mighalla
#47 Baby Squirrel
I found it on my terrace; it fell from its nest. I put it back and haven’t seen it in some time, so I think the mother moved to another place.
Image credits: AssortedRendition
#48 Baby Turtle
Image credits: AngelaMichellex
#49 I’m Not Going Through My Dog’s Baby Pics And Crying, You Are
She’s a border collie, a German Shepard, and lots of different terrier breeds.
Image credits: pillow_talk_00
#50 A Baby Miniature Horse We Have At Our Rescue Right Now
His name is Shadow, he was an auction pull, and he is 6-8 months old. He isn't adoptable yet because he has something going on with his back end, probably why he was dumped at an auction.
Image credits: Reinylane
#51 Kinder Is 2 Weeks Old Today
We named her after a chocolate brand we have in Spain called Kinder because of her color, and also she is as edible as this sweets.
Image credits: linichi62
#52 She Is So Tiny. My Cow Betty Had Her First One This Morning. Perfect Job. Perfectly Healthy Baby. She's Little Bitty But Bounding Around Already
Image credits: GoreonmyGears
#53 Please Enjoy These 3 Babies
Image credits: Book-Dragoness
#54 Baby Barred Owls In Vermont
Image credits: Chuckleski212
#55 My Girlfriend Surprised Me With A Private Blind Date With This Little Guy For My Birthday. Meet Waru, The Baby Wombat
Image credits: reddit.com
#56 The Cutest Babies
Image credits: Carako
#57 Shhh, Baby Sleeping
Image credits: robindastore
#58 My Lovely Babies, Custard And Cream
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#59 Sometimes The Smallest Things Are What Take Up The Most Space In Your Heart
Image credits: DeliciousFee2201
#60 Two Days Old
The first babies of the year arrived two days ago… two twin girls.
Image credits: sofakingwright
#61 Female Puppy For Adoption In Bangalore
Image credits: flycat_01
#62 My Girlfriends Cat Had Babies. Aren’t They Cute?
Image credits: mufasis
#63 Baby Borb Does Around
Image credits: theMediocreOptimist
#64 Baby Deer Licking It's Little Chops
We are feeding the fawn because its mother left it for 2 days. Poor thing was screaming.
Image credits: SaintAcid
#65 Trespassing And Resisting Arrest
This guy was found trespassing in the garden and had to be detained in a sheepskin cell.
Image credits: gimlet_prize
#66 My Pet Cow Chunk Had Her Baby, Chip, 4 Weeks Ago. She Is Such A Good Mother
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#67 Proud Mama! Sarra With Her Triplets She Gave Birth To Earlier Today
Patagonian mara. They are a type of large rodent that is native to Argentina. They are in the same family as capybara and guinea pigs.
Image credits: texasrigger
#68 This Baby Raccoon That Lives Next Door To Me
Image credits: pacificcactus
#69 Sweet Little Baby Found In A Stack Of Lumber On A Job Site
She’s being picked up by a wild animal rehab and release org called “Keepers of the Wild.”
Image credits: IamSkudd
#70 Hello Darling
Met this cute baby boy at petco. He was on his way to help teach a school about different animals.
Image credits: ATLgirl
#71 Attic Babies. All Were Reunited With Mom
Image credits: reddit.com
#72 Baby Toucan Fell Asleep While Eating A Blueberry. This Is Propane The Chestnut-Eared Aracari
Image credits: aviculturist
#73 I Heard Whimpering Within The Tall Grass In My Yard. It Was A Baby Fawn
Nobody will touch or harm this little beauty, it’s safe as can be on my land!
Image credits: JustTom1
#74 Being A Puppy Is Hard Work
Image credits: Dazzling-Growth9573
#75 My Donkey Odessa Had Her Baby
Image credits: Cold-Guarantee3049
#76 A Baby Elephant Showing Off His Stick
Image credits: mkelly_photography
#77 Stray Baby Found On Bridge, Before & After Flea Bath
Image credits: dry_soup
#78 Baby Kit
Image credits: mepperina
#79 Four Of My Babies
Image credits: Mysterious_Syrup_319
#80 1, 2, 3 And 4 Dragons. Just Picked Up My Second Pair Of Red-Eyed Crocodile Skinks, All 4 CB
Image credits: Tobias-Thomassen
#81 These Little Babies Are Living Under My Porch
They’re at the age where they’re starting to explore I guess. I saw mama bun last night so I know they’re being fed. My dog and ducks are super interested in them so everytime I come outside with them, I see one and gently put them back under the porch for safety, at least until they’re a bit bigger. They can explore safely when my dog is inside and my ducks are in their enclosure. They’re just so adorable, figured everyone would enjoy a good bun pic.
Image credits: taysmurf
#82 Feeding Schedule For Bottle Babies?
Mama has not been able to stand from a case of pregnancy toxemia, so these two have been bottle fed from day one. Currently, we get up around 1 to 2 am for a night feeding. How long will that be necessary, or does anyone do that besides us?
Image credits: Bulky-Level4492
#83 Found A Baby Snapper
Central Maine, a huge storm came through, and it’s still raining. We’re in drought conditions currently. Got him to the stream, he’s good.
Image credits: Gramurai
#84 My New Baby
Image credits: Monix1
#85 Baby Zelda
Image credits: JCat313
#86 Wooly Coat Husky Puppy
He has one blue eye, so we named him after David Bowie.
Image credits: Liamloans6763
#87 Hands You A Lemon. I Mean A Handful Of Baby Hams
Image credits: Sylrax
#88 Look At All Those Chickens
Image credits: JoyceWhiteVance
#89 A Young Gosling That Was Out With It's Parents For A Swim
Image credits: Raephstel
#90 Our Newborn Baby Goats
Image credits: WalterTheGoodestBoy
#91 Meet Frankie - The Bestest Baby Sketti (5-Month-Old Hognose Snake)
Right now, we’re slowly acclimating her to us holding her and feeding her. We’ve had her for about a month.
Image credits: gingerwithspice
#92 Reba And Her Baby Rosemary. Look At That Tongue
Image credits: HoofandHornFarm
#93 My Day-Old Baby Girl
Image credits: foreveralready
#94 Cute Dama Gazelle Calve
Image credits: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
#95 Baby Dean Clearly Loves Scratches
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#96 Puppy Girl - 4 Weeks
Image credits: reddit.com
#97 Just Got My First Stinky Noodle Baby After Wanting One For Years
Image credits: creamiepuffs
#98 Why Do These Babies Look Nothing Like Their Mothers
Image credits: Great_Coast_8377
#99 Baby Keets Enjoying The Warmth Of My Boyfriend’s Hands
Image credits: looodara
#100 Adorable Crabby Friend
Image credits: Tacocat1147
#101 Claire With Both Colobus Babies
Colobus monkeys are born completely white with pink skin, but gradually their coat will develop the coloration of a full adult colobus monkey of black and white at around four to six months of age.
Image credits: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
#102 Baby Blue Fledgling With A Big Personality
That face says it all... pure discontent with a side of sass! Honestly, this little grump has stolen my heart.
Image credits: Downtown_Cut8439
#103 I Found This Baby In My Bathroom Stall And Released Him Outside
Image credits: mouthfullofsnakes
#104 I Really Like This Picture I Took Of A Calf With Her Mom
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#105 This Is My Baby Pink Belly Sideneck. No Name Yet. Any Suggestions?
Image credits: WaylonSlithers
#106 Hello To Miggins. This Is Our Baby Boy Miggins (8 And A Bit Weeks), Here He Was Trying To Look Innocent Before Trying To Bite My Toes
He's settling in well and really starting to be confident and loving. He was a little shy at first but he's already coming out of his shell and is already following and trying to get attention from me and my partner all the time.
Image credits: Maysonator
#107 Milk Mustache In The Morning
Image credits: jmarcoz
#108 Some Cute Photos Of Baby Missy. She’s Growing Into A Big Girl
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#109 What Should I Name Baby Girl?
Image credits: catsblep
#110 My Friend’s Baby Cobra Hatching
Image credits: depressedsinnerxiii
#111 I Am A Shelter Vet Tech And Met A Baby Named Oat
Image credits: MegaNymphia
#112 My Baby Boy, Born Just A Couple Hours Ago
Image credits: Dear_Worker_1183
#113 Is This Armadillo Old Enough To Be On It's Own?
I know they're not ideal to touch, but little dude was rolling through my yard, and I didn't want my pitbull to get him.
Image credits: blueberrybunny24
#114 This Little Guy Was Born Yesterday And I Think He’s Adorable
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#115 Two Of The Babies That I Produced This Year
Image credits: valdezie74
