Cuteness Overload: Adorable Baby Animals

Why are baby animals of almost any species in this world undeniably adorable? A-Z Animals is a site based on academic research and carefully sourced facts. However, there are some things science simply cannot explain, such as our love for baby animals! Unless your heart is made of stone, the following photos of babies across an array of species are sure to elicit a few ooohs and aaaaaahs. Because we just can’t fathom how these little critters can be so darn cute!

Sassy Sea Turtles

Female sea turtles lay up to 100 eggs at a time. When the tiny turtles hatch, they do so almost simultaneously so their large numbers can overwhelm predators. Baby sea turtles navigate to the ocean using the beach’s downward slope and the reflection of the moon and stars on the water.

Enchanting Wolf Pups

Wolf babies, called pups, are born deaf and blind like dogs and weigh only one pound (450 g). Wolves are pack animals, so pups are protected and cared for by different members of the pack until they transition to full-fledged members between 7-10 months of age. While your average wolf may trot along at 5 miles per hour, they have been known to sprint close to 40 MPH when there is food on the line.

Darling Baby Ducks (aka Ducklings)

Baby ducks, called ducklings, hatch within 28-35 days. Ducklings can identify objects based on shape and color. They are very affectionate little cuties covered in fluffy down that will be replaced by feathers in a few short weeks. Ducklings remain under their mother’s care for 50-60 days before fledging, or striking out on their own.

Glorious Baby Elephants

An elephant baby, or calf, can walk within a few hours of being born. And though twins are not unheard of, elephants usually give birth to one calf at a time. This should come as no surprise, considering an elephant calf can weigh as much as 300 pounds and be 3 feet tall! And the trials and tribulations of motherhood are only beginning for these magnificent beasts who will care for their young for 2-10 years!

Tentative Baby Hippos

These adorable calves are born weighing between 50-110 pounds (23-50 kg), after a gestation period of eight months. The calf will share a close bond with its mother for seven to eight years, or around the time they are sexually mature. Hippos live in groups of 10-30 known as bloats, herds, or pods. A fully grown hippopotamus can eat over 75 pounds of grass in a single night. A pet hippo would beat mowing the lawn, but where would they sleep?

Sweet Baby Bunny Rabbits

A baby rabbit is called a kit, a male rabbit is called a buck, and a female is a doe. Born blind and hairless, these little marvels are self-sufficient, no longer relying on their mother in 3-4 weeks. A female rabbit in the wild will bear between 4-84 kits in a year, divided among as many as 7 litters. Rabbits are herbivores that eat grass, flowers, and leafy plants.

Charming Baby Sloths

Whether you call them infants, pups, or slowbies, there’s no getting around how stinking cute a baby sloth is. Sloths are known for being slow, but I choose to believe they just enjoy the world around them more than most! The real reason sloths are slow is that they have an extremely low-calorie diet, mainly consisting of leaves. They move slowly to conserve energy. Slowbies will stay with their mothers for 6 months before striking out on their own, though they will remain within shouting distance and continue to communicate.

Adorable Baby Puppies

Dogs are born without teeth, but just like me and you (and other mammals) they grow a set of baby teeth that are eventually replaced by their adult teeth. By 6 months old, dogs usually have the teeth they’ll use for the rest of their lives.

Winsome Baby Piglets

Pigs are very intelligent animals. They can be trained to respond to their name by the time they are two weeks old! Pigs are also very affectionate critters who love to snuggle. Piglets weigh about 2 pounds at birth, but double their weight in the first week! And though they have a reputation for being dirty, pigs are very clean animals. When given the choice, even wee little piglets will not go to the bathroom where they eat or sleep.

Wise Baby Owls

Unlike many birds, owls do not make noise when they fly, thanks to their unusually large wings. Baby owls, called owlets, begin to fly at different ages depending on the species, but most have taken flight from within a few short weeks.

Enchanting Baby Hedgehog

Hedgehogs have around 6,000 quills on their backs! Babies are called hoglets and need warmth and solitude. Hoglets are tiny, weighing only 0.3-0.5 ounces (10-15 g). These spikey little mammals are blind and deaf at birth and have no quills. A momma hedgehog may have as many as seven hoglets in a litter.

Gorgeous Baby Gorilla

Baby gorillas, known as infants, love to swing, roll down hills, wrestle, and even tickle each other for fun. Infants weigh about 4 pounds (1.8kg) and have similar care requirements to human infants. However, gorilla infants develop more quickly, and by age three are quite independent.

Enchanting Baby Goat

Most baby goats, called kids, have a twin! Kids are born with sensitive lips which they use to discover the world. These sweet babies will begin to run and jump when they are a week old! Goats are social animals, and kids like to be held and cuddled.

Nimble Young Giraffe

Newborn giraffes are called calves. Born at around 6 feet (1.8 m) and 150 pounds (68 kg), these babies are the size of a grown human! As if that’s not big enough, the calf will double in size within its first year! Giraffe calves are generally singletons, though in rare cases twins are delivered. Calves will be independent before their second birthday.

Curious Fawn

The bleating sound that baby deer, called fawns, make when trying to locate their mothers or feeling upset sounds like crying because it is. Most fawns are born in the spring weighing between 6-8 pounds (2.7-3.6 kg). The white spots on their coats are for camouflage. Fawns will remain with their mothers for about a year before striking out on their own.

Happy Calves

Depending on their breed a baby cow, called a calf, weighs between 65-90 pounds (30-40 kg) at birth. Within moments of their birth, calves can stand and suckle. Calves are active and playful and have been known to enjoy playing with toys, just like little humans!

Super Fluffy Baby Chicks

Is there anything more precious than a sweet little cottony-soft baby chick? Chickens evolved from dinosaurs and are the closest living relatives to the T. Rex. Chicks can respond to sounds and communicate with their mothers before hatching, and they may peep before they even hatch!

Curious Baby Kittens

Looking at these adorable little fur balls you would never guess that they share 95.6% of their DNA with the tiger! Kittens are blind and deaf for the first weeks of life. They are born with blue eyes because they have not yet begun to produce pigments. However, by the time the kitten is a year old their permanent eye color is established.