The world is home to thousands of cute animals, and narrowing them down to one list is hard. But sometimes there’s nothing more heart warming than looking at their cute photos.

If you’re having one of those days, need a distraction, or just need more cute, cuddly animals in your life, than this is for you.

Depending on where you are on the planet, some of these adorable animals might be completely unknown to you. Lets take a look at the 50 cutest animals from all over the world.

Red Panda

Red pandas are fluffy mammals that spend 90% of their lives in trees. They are mostly found in the forests of the Himalayas.

Sadly, due to the loss of trees and bamboo due to deforestation they have been classified as endangered by the IUCN.

Miniature Pig

Mini pigs are any small breed of domestic pig that have been selectively bred to be smaller in stature. While the practice is questionable, there’s no denying how cute they are.

Pigs are highly intelligent, curious and affectionate animals and sometimes kept as pets.

Quokka

Quokka are small wallabies about the size of a cat that are native to Australia. They are famous for cute selfies, and due to their always happy adorable appearance.

Quokka skulls have small jaws and protruding teeth that make them look as if they are constantly smiling.

Shima Enaga

Shima enaga are fluffy white little birds that look like white cotton balls, or marshmellow. This subspecies of the long-tailed tit is only found on Japan’s second-largest island, Hokkaido.

Four-toed Hedgehog

There are seventeen species of hedgehog found throughout Europe, Asia and Africa – and all of them are cute. However, in particular the four-toed hedgehog, sometimes called the african pygmy hedgehog is especially adorable.

These creatures are found in central and eastern Africa and has been domesticated and kept as a pet in various countries.

Otter

Otters are well-known semi aquatic mammals, that are in the same family as weasels and badgers, and perhaps wouldn’t ordinarily be considered as ‘cute’.

But did you know they ‘hold hands’ while sleeping, so they don’t float away from each other?

It doesn’t get much more adorable that that!

Slow Loris

Regarded as one of the cutest animals on the planet, the slow loris is also one of the most surprising – they are the only venomous primate in the world.

They are small ‘lemur-like’ primates with large eyes, that live in trees in the rainforests of Southeast Asia.

Harp Seal

The harp seal is a species of seal native to the north Atlantic and Arctic ocean. Harp seal pups have a pure white coat, with pure black eyes.

As they mature, their fluffy white fur is replaced with a silver-gray fur.

Capybara

Capybaras are the worlds largest rodent, and look like giant guinea pigs.

They live on the edge of rivers in South America and have been called “moving chairs”, as birds, rabbits and even monkeys like to sit on them.

Pygmy Jerboa

Jerboas are a group of jumping rodents found in Northern Africa, eastern Europe, and Asia. They have a quirky kangaroo-like appearance, with long back legs and tails, and tiny forearms.

The pygmy jerboa is tied as the smallest rodent in the world and measures up to 4.3 cm in body length and found only in Pakistan and maybe Afghanistan.

Honduran White Bat

The honduran white bat is also known as the Caribbean white tent-making bat and is a pygmy species of bat, which has white fur and leaf-shaped nose and ears.

They nest together upside down on the bottom of heliconia plant leaves.

Lop-eared Rabbit

Lop rabbits are any rabbits with ears that droop down, rather than remaining erect. Some lop-eared rabbits have been deliberately bred for exaggerated ear length, which is cute but can be detrimental to the rabbits health.

The longest ears on a rabbit was given to an English Lop with ears that measured 79 cm (31 inches!).

Patagonian Mara

The Patagonian mara is a large desert rodent that inhabits the arid steppes of Argentina. Its appearance is like a cross between a rabbit and a guinea pig.

Mara clans can be as large as 70 strong, containing 33 pups at any one time.

Sand Cat

The sand cat is a small wild cat that lives in the sandy deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, Middle East and Central Asia.

They live in underground dens during the day when it’s hot, and despite their adorable looks, are able to hunt and consume venomous snakes for their dinner.

Koala

It wouldn’t be much of a cute list, without the koala. Koalas are unique animals native to Australia where they are the only living species of their family.

Because their eucalypt diet has limited nutrients and calories, koalas spend most of their time eating – or sleeping, for up to 20 hours a day!

Pygmy Marmoset

Pygmy marmosets are the tiniest monkey species in the world and live in the Amazon. They are cute and fluffy and sometimes called ‘finger monkeys’.

Sadly like many animals in the Amazon, they are heavily threatened by deforestation and are classified by the ICUN as vulnerable.

Pink Fairy Armadillo

The pink fairy armadillo, or ‘pichiciego’ – is a desert-adapted mammal with a ‘pink’ bony armor shell, that is native to central Argentina. It’s the tinniest species of armadillo in the world.

They are elusive and rarely ever seen by humans, and among the least known and studied armadillo species.

Desert Rain Frog

The desert rain frog is a plump species of frog found in the sand dunes of Namibia and South Africa. This bulbous little frog likes to squeak when upset, which makes them even more endearing.

This is likely a product of someone stressing the animal for the camera, so it’s not something to encourage, but there is a cuteness that comes from an animal so tiny being so furious.

Tarsier

The tarsier (pronounced TAR-see-er) are small primates found only in the islands of Southeast Asia. With their velvety fur, small size, and very large eyes – they are at the very top of the cute list.

Despite their cute looks, the tarsier is venomous and poisonous. However, tarsiers are known for being bashful and easily distressed.

Bilby

Often described as Australia’s Easter Bunny, the bilby is a medium-sized burrowing marsupial with a long nose and a resplendent set of ears.

Lemming

Lemmings are small rodents that only live in the Northern Hemisphere. They are infamous for mass suicide, though this is a myth.

They are round and fluffy and have a high pitched squeak to ward off threats, which is quite adorable.

Bat-Eared Fox

The bat-eared fox is a cute little fox species with enormous dish-like ears that lives on the plains of Eastern and Southern Africa eating termites and fooling around.

Emperor Penguin

Emperor penguin are a species of penguin that lives exclusively in Antarctica and are the largest of all penguins. Their chicks are very cute, with thick fluffy hair.

At around 7 weeks old these young penguins form groups called “creches”, and crowd together for warmth and easy supervision by their parents.

Dumbo Octopus

The Dumbo octopus has been labelled by many as the cutest octopus out there. They are so named because of the Dumbo the elephant ear-like fins that protrude from the sides of their heads.

Echidna

Echidnas are sometimes referred to as ‘spiny anteaters‘, and their unusual appearance and characteristics have fascinated scientists for hundreds of years.

What makes them even cuter, is that baby echidnas are called ‘puggles’.

Galago

Galagos are also known as bush babies and are small nocturnal primates that live in Africa. They have large eyes, bat-like ears and have remarkable jumping ability.

Wombat

Wombats are a species of marsupial endemic to Australia and the surrounding islands. They live in forests, mountains and heathlands.

While they are classified as least concern by the IUCN, they are not as common as they used to be and have been protected under Australian law due to their cultural significance.

Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine

The cute prehensile-tailed porcupine spends most of its time in the rainforest canopy across central and south America.

These porcupines get their name from their their prehensile tail, which allow them to grasp when climbing trees and use it to hang upside down.

Siberian Flying Squirrel

The siberian flying squirrel is the only flying squirrel species in Europe, where it resides in both Finland and Estonia.

They are cute little furballs with huge black eyes and can glide hundreds of metres between trees.

Final Thoughts

What is the cutest animal in the world? And what really makes an animal cute?

Various studies have shown it’s often size, or size of their features (such as eyes), age, hair or human-like expression, and playfulness. ¹

But like beauty, cuteness is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. Some may find insects, snakes and reptiles cute, and others may find them scary!

We’re adding super cute and adorable animals to Fact Animal constantly. If there’s a particular cute animal you’d like to see covered, then get in touch.

1. Angela Saini, “The Code For Cuteness“, BBC Eath.