18 Cute Photos of Baby Animals to Make You Smile [LIST]

Captured in Gold Harbor, South Georgia, this cute photo shows several baby King Penguins looking out to sea.
FUN FACT: King Penguins have four layers of feathers, to help keep them warm in the cold climates where they breed.

This sweet photo was snapped near Spitsbergen, the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. 
FUN FACTS: Polar bear cubs are usually born in November or December, and remain in the den with their mother until she breaks through the snow and ice that has covered the door at the end of the winter. 

Snuggled up next to its mother in the desert sand, this baby camel looks pretty pleased to have its picture taken.
FUN FACT: Baby camels are born without humps, and only develop them once they start eating solid food.

This family photo of Southern Mountain Cavies (microcavia australis)  was shot in Punto Tombo, Argentina.
FUN FACT: The Southern Mountain Cavy is the guinea pig of South America.

The talented photographer responsible for this shot, noted that the mother crocodile had just protected her baby from a man who got too close - and was rewarded with this sweet reptilian kiss.
FUN FACT: Crocodiles have such keen hearing that they can hear their babies calling from inside the eggs.

As far as baby animal photos go - this is one of the cutest. A three-day-old baby giraffe stands next to its mother.
FUN FACT: Baby giraffes can stand within half an hour of birth, and can actually run alongside their family after only 10 hours.

Shot on film, this picture shows a cheetah and her cub, mid-romp in the African landscape.
FUN FACT: The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal, reaching speeds of up to 113km/h. What’s more, they can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just three seconds.

Also known as killer whales, the orcas in this photo are coming up for air. 
FUN FACT: Orca calves nurse for 5 to 10 seconds at a time, several times an hour until the baby whale is around one year of age.

In this beautiful photo from the Tsavo National Park, Kenya, a mother and baby impala watch on as the sun sets, casting a red glow over the savanna.
FUN FACT: Male impalas make a loud, guttural noise that sounds like a cross between a lion’s roar and a dog’s bark.

A talented Canadian photographer snapped this lovely photo of a Sandhill Crane teaching her baby how to search for food.
FUN FACT: Sandhills are the most common of the world’s cranes, mainly found in North America.

From Fleet Pond, Hampshire in the UK, this photo shows a tender moment between a mother duck and her duckling.
FUN FACT: You probably knew that a baby duck is called a duckling and an adult female is a hen or a duck - but did you know that an adult male is called a drake? And what about a group of ducks? That’s a raft, a team or a a paddling.

The photographer couldn’t believe his luck when he spied this baby Spotted Eagle owl poking out from her mother’s feathers.
FUN FACT: Owl chicks start moving out of the nest at five weeks old, and learn to fly at six weeks.

You didn’t think snails could be cute, did you? 
FUN FACT: Snails are born with very soft shells, which harden and expand as they grow. The more spirals a snail has, the older it is.

This beautiful mother-child photo was captured in Mount Leuser National Park, Indonesia.
FUN FACT: The Sumatran Orangutans pictured here are an endangered species - there are only an estimated 6,000 left in the world.

This two-year-old bear cub walked himself right up next to the photographer’s campsite in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.
FUN FACT: Grizzly bear cubs are blind, hairless and toothless at birth - and they’re usually born in pairs.

In this baby animal action shot, the English Sparrow chick on the bottom just received a seed from his father, and the chick on top wants one, too!
FUN FACT: Unlike many other species, both the mother and the father take care of sparrow eggs and chicks.

From the Minneriya National Park, Sri Lanka, this photo shows a baby elephant on a mission to keep up with the adults.
FUN FACT: Elephants are super sensitive, caring animals - they have even been found to express self-awareness, compassion, altruism and play. In fact, if a baby elephant complains, the entire family will touch and caress it to make it feel better. 

These adorable newborn monkeys were spotted in India’s Matheran ranges.
FUN FACT: Much like their human cousins, monkey babies spend a lot of their time playing - when they’re not being carried around by mom or dad.

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