Happy Thanksgiving! As we celebrate what we’re thankful for this year, let’s not forget how awesome our planet is—and all its roaming creatures, big and small. We tend to take our precious wildlife for granted to the point that most species have already reached endangered or extinction levels. With that in mind, we’re thankful for these 500px photographers who’ve brilliantly captured, not just the most adorable of the animal kingdom, but also how vulnerable and precious these creatures are, especially in the early stages of their development.
Scroll down, and enjoy these 35 baby animal images. Tip: They could help ease some of the stress of prepping for Thanksgiving tonight. (Warning: cute overload ahead!)
“Polar bear cubs in the middle of a chase. Hudson bay, Churchill Area, Manitoba, Canada.”
“Only three days earlier we were fortunate to witness this tigress bringing out her cubs for the first time and cross a large open field – the cubs were terrified of a herd of blesbok and fled back towards the den three times. As their mother was already used to our vehicle, the cubs were soon very relaxed with our presence and they gave us some good performances almost every day.”
“Baby meerkats, Kalahari Desert, Botswana.”
“Bonobo pup.”
“Baby giraffe.”
“Arctic fox kits.”
“A baby Burrowing Owl practices some early flight calisthenics in the morning.”
“An elephant calf playing in the rain.”
“Feeding them formula every couple of hours, via a syringe; cleaning them, keeping them warm with warm bottles and blankets – as they can’t control their body temperature at this tender age.”
“This baby hippo was not ready to accept a flock of red-billed ox-peckers hitching a ride on it’s back!”
“An opportunistic fox kit leaps into the air in an attempt to tackle its unsuspecting sibling. These energetic little critters are just now leaving the den for the first time since birth. With all this new room to roam , they waste no time, and are soon up to their playful antics. This behavior of wrestling and playing with their siblings plays a critical role in their development. These tiny kits will be adult sized in only 6 months, and will be sent off into the world to fend for themselves.”
“There is nothing more incredible than watching a whole clutch of turtle hatchlings dig themselves out of their nest, scuttle over the beach, and take their first swim. It is a spectacle that I will never forget.”
“Sea turtle first swim out to sea to begin their own cycle of maturing and reproducing.”
“A zebra foal full of energy racing playing and cavorting around the planes as young foals do.”
“A young sub adult male lying on the side of a grassy termite mound, yawns after waking from an afternoon nap to find most of the pride already moving on deeper into the plains in search of the buffalo herd as the sun lowers on another great day in the Okavango Delta.”
“Newborn reindeer.”
“This image was taken when the baby black skimmers were just a couple of days old. They are amazing little creatures and are up and about a few hours after birth.”
“Black swan baby.”
“Little owl.”
“Baby Rhino running!”
“A newborn fawn in a meadow at Shenandoah National Park.”
“Two 6 month old Red Panda cubs.”
“The San Joaquin Kit Fox pup was just a few weeks old. Look at the size of the leaves compared to his body. I almost fainted and dropped my camera due to the cuteness overload when this little guy showed up.”
“It was fun to watch them playing!”
“Newborn puppy.”
“Puppy of West Siberian Laika.”
“Don’t let anyone tell you that hyenas cannot be cute. The correct vernacular is ‘cub’, but I’m happy with ‘pup’.”
“Baby kangaroo joey.”
“Family of dolphins.”
“A young Gentoo Penguin exercises its wings – Antarctic Peninsula.”
“I was walking around looking for the best composition for a long exposure shot when I suddenly saw something in the corner of my eye. As I looked down it took me a couple of seconds to realize that I was standing just about two meters away from this adorable baby penguin!”
“30/8/2014: Day four in the Maasai Mara, we had the privilege of spending a little time and photographing these beautiful Cheetah cubs.”
“Icelandic foal.”
“Lamb & Livestock Guardian Puppy ‘Akita'”
To see more newborn and young animals (which we couldn’t all fit in here), visit 500px.
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