Last week I had the opportunity to observe parents and children feeding and petting baby animals. I wondered why baby animals give us such joy when we watch them run and play, so I did a little searching to try to answer my question: Why are baby animals so cute?

I actually found sites, animalhow.com and lifegate.com, to explain “cuteness”. Apparently, we are drawn to baby animals’ big eyes, large heads, small faces, squat limbs, soft skin, funny gaits, and playful behavior as they learn to walk, and eat, and explore their new worlds. There is a scheme, called the “baby schema” which explains why we feel such positive emotions when looking at baby animals.