There are lots of beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring animals out there. But some are just simply cute!
Why is it that we find some animals cuter than others? The answer has evolutionary roots. Humans are biologically programmed to pay attention to babies – our own babies that is. The way they grab our attention is a key evolutionary adaptation of both the baby and us to ensure their survival and our reproductive success.
It is thought that animals that in some way resemble human babies can grab our attention in the same way, as a spill over of attention and affection from our own children. The key attributes seem to be big eyes, large heads compared to bodies, a small mouth, chubby cheeks, and a round body.
These universally appealing attributes are known as the baby schema, and animals that have these trigger our nurturing instincts . Many baby animals share these features, which is why we so often find baby animals adorable, even if their adult versions are less so. There are however some animals that retain their cuteness even as adults, like those on this list.
1) Red panda (Ailurus fulgens)
Found in the eastern Himalayas and into southwest China, despite the name this adorable little mammal bears very little relation to the other pandas found in China, in that they are not even bears.
Though sharing some traits with giant pandas, such as their elongated wrist bones or “false thumbs” that they use for grasping bamboo, red pandas are in fact the only members of their taxonomic family, Ailuridae.
This family is part of the mustelid group, which also contains skunks, weasels, badgers, and raccoons. Even in spite of their ridiculous levels of cuteness, red pandas are not always treasured in a way that benefits them.
They are classed as endangered in part because their skin, fur, claws, and even tails are highly prized for use in traditional medicine and local cultural ceremonies, thus poaching is a major threat.
2) Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
Although a hugely popular aquarium pet, these curious amphibians are far from numerous in the wild, found only at three sites in the southern part of Mexico City, central Mexico. They were once more widespread in the region, but much of their former habitat has been destroyed, in part by the Spanish settlers who drained many lakes following the conquest of the Aztec Empire, in the 1500s, but also more recently by encroaching urbanisation and the resulting water pollution.
Members of the salamander order, Axolotl are unusual amongst their relatives in that they mature without undergoing metamorphosis, retaining their gills and other aquatic traits into adulthood. There are four common colour types that axolotl are found in, but perhaps the most well recognised (and the cutest) is the Leucistic form – pale with hot-pink feathery gills and beady black eyes.
3) Japanese Snow Fairy (Aegithalos c. caudatus)
This subspecies of long-tailed tit found in Hokkaido Japan, are so cute and whimsical looking that they have inspired their own special name. These round balls of fluff are a particularly striking and charming population of a bird species that is common throughout Europe and Asia. The pure white plumage on its head has led to them being affectionately known as ‘snow fairies’ or Shima-enaga in Japanese. Long tailed tits are cooperative breeders, meaning that adult relatives aside from the parents also pitch in with raising chicks.
4) Rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda)
You may be surprised to see an insect on a cutest animal list, but that’s only because you haven’t seen this moth yet! This pretty little silk moth can be found across the eastern and northern United States and in some regions of Canada. As the name suggests it is known for its attractive pink colouration, as well as its wooly yellow body.
Also given away by the name, these moths primarily feed on the leaves of the maple tree. These trees are their hosts throughout their development, providing leaves to for adults to lay their eggs on, as well as for the newly hatched caterpillars to grow fat on. Once they need to pupate they will do so in the soil beneath the same tree.
5) Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda)
The smallest of all the world’s foxes (of which there are 12 species), this charming canid is a sand-dweller, native to the deserts of North Africa. Its most distinctive, and perhaps cutest, feature are its oversized ears. These ears do in fact have a very important function, helping to radiate out their body heat and keeping them cool, in searing temperatures that can reach as much as 50 degrees Celsius. Other adaptations it possesses to this extreme environment include are long sand-coloured fur that reflects sunlight in the day and keeps it warm and insulated in the cold nights, as well as fluffy paws that act as sand-shoes and protect their feet from the hot ground.
6. Desert rain frog (Breviceps macrops)
It would be hard for an animal to look (and sound) sillier than this rotund little frog. Like the fennec fox it is a desert-dweller, but this time found in southern Africa. Its native habitat is the strip of sandy shore between the sea and the sand dunes.
This is a harsh environment, very dry and characterised by strong winds. Desert rain frogs are fossorial meaning that they are adapted to burrowing and, unusually for a frog, underground living, rather than in any water. Fascinatingly they also forgo the tadpole stage of most frogs, emerging as froglets straight from the egg.
Perhaps they deserve a place on our weirdest frogs list?
7) Pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis)
More land-based than their larger river-dwelling hippo cousins, these rotund hippos can be found in the forests and swamps of West Africa. In addition to being rare, with as few as 2000 mature individuals left in the wild, they are both shy and nocturnal, making them pretty hard to find.
Unlike common hippos, who live in large groups, pygmy hippos are more solitary, either living alone or in small groups. The major threats faced by pygmy hippos are habitat loss due to deforestation, and hunting for their meat. They are classified as Endangered by the IUCN.
8) Pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus)
Another pygmy species on our list (does smaller equal cuter?), this adorable arboreal animal is the smallest of the six extant sloth species. It was only recognised as a species in its own right in 2001, previously being classed amongst the Brown-throated sloths.
This little population of pygmy three-toed sloths is only found on Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small isolated island in the Caribbean which has been separate from mainland Panama for about 9,000 years. It is thought that this population of sloths evolved in a different direction from its mainland relatives after the island broke away, becoming distinctly smaller through an evolutionary process called insular dwarfism.
This is the name for the phenomenon of animals evolving to have a smaller body size when their range is limited to a small environment, such as an island. This is part of what is known as island syndrome, wherein when mainland animals colonise islands, small species tend to evolve to be larger, and large species tend to evolve to be smaller.
9) Quokka (Setonix brachyurus)
This marvellous marsupial might win the award for the friendliest looking animal out there, and they act friendly too! Due to their few natural predators and lack of territoriality they have little fear of humans and are generally happy to approach and interact.
A selfie with a quokka has become a highlight of any visit to their Rottnest Island home. Sadly however some people take these opportunities to interact too far, and the local authority have had to enforce sizeable fines for feeding quokkas human food that can easily make them sick.
10) Flapjack octopus (Opisthoteuthis californiana)
Although the sea contains many weird, wonderful, and perhaps ugly species, there is cuteness to be found there too! These adorable little blobs are a species of umbrella octopus native to the northern and northeastern Pacific Ocean.
Umbrella octopuses are so named for their characteristic web of skin between their arms that makes them look like an opened umbrella as they undulate through the water. Adding to their cuteness these octopuses also have a small pair of fins on their mantle that look like little ears!
This article by Leoma Williams was first published by Discover Wildlife on 18 September 2024. Lead Image: Rottnest Island is best known for its quokka population. The native mammal is found in very few parts of Australia.
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