The Science of Cute (Warning: Cute Animal Pics Incoming)

My dog Scamp, the goodest of good boys. Author's own

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that you love cute animals?

Awesome you've come to the right place. Next question, do you want to know why they evolved to become cute?

Even if your answer to that second question was no, you should keep reading, I'm sure there's more than enough cuteness here to keep you satisfied.

So without further ado, here's my list of the 5 cutest animals in the world (based on a comparison of Google search results, so don't blame me if your favourite wasn't included), and an explanation of why they became so cute.

5. Sea Otters

They're fluffy, they hold hands and they have a favourite rock. Really what's not to love about sea otters?

The hand holding is cute, but it also serves a vital purpose. Sleeping out in the ocean means these otters can easily drift off. Holding hands allows families to form a raft that stays together. They've also been known to wrap themselves in seaweed, which anchors them down... but for obvious reasons this strategy isn't as cute.

Come on they even hold hands, what's not to love about these guys? Image credit: Joe Robertson (Flickr)

Now quick question, did you ever have a pet rock?

Well so do sea otters. Many of them have a favourite rock that they store in pockets (loose flaps of skin, they haven't quite learnt how to wear pants yet). They use this rock to crack open various types of shellfish, helping them get to the sweet deliciousness inside.

Bonus fact: Some sea otters actually have purple(-ish) skeletons due to chemicals in sea urchins, their favourite snack.

For more information on otters click here.

4. Red panda

They're fun, they're mischievous, and they've totally earned their place on this list.

The mischievousness of these mini 'pandas' is all down to their natural curiosity. Red pandas love to investigate and climb things, which has led to the occasional jailbreak.

One red panda named Yin once made a daring escape from her home in Norfolk Zoo, dashing up a tree in broad daylight and simply hopping out of her enclosure (to the surprise of many onlookers). After this, the zoo quickly installed an electric fence in the hopes of keeping her inside the enclosure.

Yin's response?

Simply find a higher branch and hop over again. Red pandas are notorious for these escapes (you can find more examples here).

Look at that cheeky tongue-poke, it's adorable. Image credit: Christian Mehlführer (Wikimedia Commons)

Click here to learn more about red pandas.

3. Quokka

With a smile this sweet the quokka was a guaranteed member of this list

Awww look at that happy smile. Image credit: Gadgetgirl (Flickr)

So I know I promised I'd explain why quokkas 'smile'... But I have some bad news. In all my searches, I came up with nothing. It seems we just don't know yet.

People in the past have assumed that maybe it's because they're stupid. A few problems with this, it doesn't explain why they smile (like at all), and more importantly it's just dead wrong. A study by Clive Wynne and Ian McLean found that despite past assumptions, marsupials are actually incredibly smart, and these guys are definitely no exception.

So sorry guys, this one will have to remain a mystery, but you can find out more about the quokka here.

2. Fennec fox

No self-respecting cuteness list is ever complete without these guys.

You can't help but instantly fall in love with them, and I think we can all tell it's because of those gorgeous ears.

"Don't mind me, I'm just taking a little nap". Image credit: Yvonne N (Flickr)

This one is pretty simple so I'll try to wrap it up quick (that way you have more time to scroll through fennec fox pics). The fennec fox lives in scorching hot desserts, so losing heat is a key component of their survival. Any extremities like limbs, ears and noses are very easy to cool off, they are constantly losing heat to the environment. So by increasing the 'amount' of ear they have, this fox manages to keep its cool in the dessert.

That's why you'll notice that many animals in hot environments come equipped with massive ears (eg. elephants).

Here's the link to the Google images page for fennec foxes (you know you wanted it), and to find out more about these adorable foxes click here.

1. Literally any baby animal ever

Okay this one is slightly cheating. There's no 'baby' species, but baby animals are still pretty cute and they came up so much in my search for the cutest animal that I felt they deserved this.

Do you think this puppy is cute? Obviously the answer is yes. Image credit: Daniel Stockman (Flickr)

First, what do we find cute about them?

There's actually a word for what we find cute about babies: Kinderschema (A German word which roughly translates into 'child pattern'). Yes that's right, Germany was the pioneer of 'cuteness' science. 

These 'cuteness criteria' include.

• Large head relative to body size

• Large, protruding forehead (as weird as it seems, this is actually a feature we find cute)

• Large eyes relative to the face

• Round, protruding cheeks

• Rounded head and body

Essentially we're hardwired to find anything that indicates youth, vulnerability, or harmlessness to be cute. It makes sense for humans to have this hard-wiring, our babies are absolutely hopeless, they can't even hold their heads up without our help.

It just so happens that this programming is so set into our brain that we're willing to expand it to anything that fits our 'cuteness criteria', hence why other baby animals are also adorable.

If you have a favourite for cutest animal that didn't make this list, please leave a comment below, and If you tell me what you find cutest about them, I'll do some research to try to let you know why they developed that trait.