You can always count on pet photos to deliver your dose of the warm and fuzzies. But if you add animal parents and their younglings to the equation, expect the adorable levels to be a few notches higher.
Take a look at these photos to see what we mean. You’re about to see what pure love between cute critters looks like, whether it’s a mama dog nursing her newborn pups or a mother swan cuddling her babies.
This list is one of our many pieces showing love for animals. Scroll through it and have a nice feel-good moment.
#1 A Happy Family
Image credits: Sport-Inner
#2 In Istanbul, A Stray Cat Mom Took Her Baby To The ER. Doctors And Paramedics Helped The Baby And Took Them To A Vet
Image credits: belkigeliryarin
#3 A Family Meowed On My Door And I Adopted Them
Image credits: ericadias
Similar to humans, maternal instincts are strong among animals like sloth bears. According to the India-based non-profit organization Wildlife SOS, sloth bears carry their cubs all day until age two.
Leopards are the same way. They are very protective of their younglings, who depend on their mothers for basic needs like food, protection, and shelter for the first couple of years of their lives.
#4 Pups Learning Important Life Skills From Mama
#5 Today Our Cat Gave Birth To 4 Kittens, And Her Blissful, Exhausted Face While Hugging Her Baby Is One Of The Most Beautiful Things I've Seen
Image credits: pajser92
#6 The Joy On The Baby's Face
Image credits: hdofu
Biparental care likewise exists in the animal kingdom, but the roles are sometimes reversed. For water birds like jacanas, the male does most of the work, which includes protecting their territory, looking for food, and teaching their younglings survival skills.
The female, meanwhile, has several mates and is not at all involved in raising their offspring.
#7 Koala Mom And Her Son After Being Rescued From The Fires In Australia
Image credits: AustralianReptilePark
#8 Kiwi And His Goth Wife Have Four Beautiful Half-Goth Babies
Image credits: painthands
#9 The Protective Shells Of Baby Pangolins Are Very Soft When They Are Young, So The Mothers Curl Around Their Bodies To Protect Them
Image credits: Owlatmydoor
It’s almost a similar case with emperor penguins. The fathers usually gather food and teach their young to survive harsh weather conditions. The mothers leave the colony to allow their male counterparts to keep the eggs warm.
The division of parental labor among barn owls is more similar to that of humans. The males are hunter-gatherers, while the females nurture and incubate the eggs.
#10 First Family Photo. Santa Barbara Zoo
Image credits: x_cnja
#11 Dad Meeting His Kiddos
Image credits: ataylorm
#12 This Baby Hippo Has A Very Supportive Mom
Image credits: b12ftw
Alloparenting also happens between animals. Female elephants, being matriarchal in nature, usually become foster parents to newcomers.
Similarly, rhesus macaque monkeys form social bonds with each other and can quickly build familial relationships with orphaned babies.
#13 Fed Mama Cat One Time, And The Next Day She Brought Her Baby And Husband For Dinner
Image credits: stylishjoker1439
#14 Baby Lamb
Image credits: AgentKGB
#15 One Very Proud Mom
Image credits: bhbosshogg
We’d also like to hear from you, readers. Do you see similarities between human and animal parenting? How close or far apart are they? Let’s liven up the comments section!
#16 Our Cat Ada Gave Birth 2 Days Ago
Image credits: redfirearne
#17 Hi There, Little Guy
Image credits: won-an-art-contest
#18 Mother And One Of Her Sons
Image credits: loulouminidachshund
#19 Family Trip
Image credits: SueGrant
#20 Fantastic Fox Family
Image credits: RROORRYY
#21 These Three Tawny Frogmouth Birds
Image credits: WIRES.wildlife.rescue
#22 My Cat Is A Very Proud Mom
Image credits: _Olive_Oils_
#23 My Local Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Had A Box Of Cats Dropped Off At Their Door, And These Babies Were Inside
Image credits: beckybeckybeckybecky
#24 "This Is How We Do It"
Image credits: b12ftw
#25 Babies Leaving Their Nest
Image credits: we-vegotmagictodo
#26 The Stray I’ve Been Feeding For Months Came To The House To Have Her Babies! First Family Photoshoot
Image credits: Important-Specific31
#27 Ends Up That She Wasn't Fat After All
Image credits: Tokingbudz
#28 Sweet First-Time Mama Cat
Image credits: Samiisfine
#29 Good Job, Momma. We Weren’t Expecting 3
Image credits: scubasmac
#30 Cutie
Image credits: riuttahighland
#31 3-Week-Old Sumatran Orangutan At The Philly Zoo, Looking Up At Mama
Image credits: phillyzoo
#32 Mom Is Taking Care Of The Little Boys, And Dad Is Checking On Mom
Image credits: SOSXrayPichu
#33 They’re Both Moms. Had Litters At The Same Time, And They Take Turns Feeding The Babies
Image credits: missquit
#34 We Just Announced The Birth Of 4 New Asian Lion Cubs To Mother Gira And Father Shanto. These Adorable Four Were Born 8 Weeks Ago
Image credits: fotawildlife
#35 Mom And Her Child In My Garage
Image credits: Weird_With_A_Beard
#36 Mom And 13 Baby Ducks
Image credits: Proud_Pug
#37 The Strongest Bond
Image credits: Heizilina
#38 Mom's Love
Image credits: Gavb898
#39 Happy Mom With Her Puppies
#40 Proud Parents
Image credits: GeniusToker
#41 Baby Donkey Kissing Mom Hours After Birth
Image credits: reddit.com
#42 Everyday Is A Parents' Day
Image credits: domiinikk4
#43 Mama Cat Desperately Protects Her Children During The Heavy Rain
Image credits: yLOedElQfsyMXmK
#44 Being A Mom Is Hard
Image credits: ShinySmooph
#45 Smiling Dashi And Her Daughters Pippa And Bow Bow
Image credits: thesweetclothing
#46 Adorable
Image credits: JoyceWhiteVance
#47 "Look Human, The Baby I Made"
Image credits: tkmt0629
#48 Here's A Mama And Her Twins About 20 Minutes After They Were Born
Image credits: funsizepotato
#49 I Really Like This Picture I Took Of A Calf With Her Mom
Image credits: Modern-Moo
#50 My Pet Cow Had A Calf For The First Time Today, She Seems To Be A Pretty Good Mom
Image credits: Modern-Moo
