Adorable animals
Nothing delights the world quite like baby animals... or should we say "Bei Bei" animals? The National Zoo's newest Giant Panda cub had a press conference on December 14, 2015, and he now has the world eating from the palm of his paw.
During the press availabilty event, Bei Bei was so relaxed that he fell asleep and even drooled on an examination table. At nearly four months old, Bei Bei weighed more than 17 pounds and was gaining about a pound a week. He's bigger than his older siblings were at the same age. And clearly, his cute factor is enormous.
Giant panda cub
In this September 14, 2015 photo, zookeepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington prepared to weigh Bei Bei at around three weeks of age.
Born to Mei Xiang on August 22, 2015 and weighing 1.9 pounds, he was named Bei Bei, which means "precious treasure," by first lady Michelle Obama and Chinese first lady Madame Peng Liyuan during a zoo visit on September 25, 2015. Bei Bei's smaller twin brother passed away a week after their birth.
The rarest members of the bear family, Giant Pandas are endangered with only about 1,826 left in the wild... all the more reason to root for Bei Bei.
Baby elephant shower
In May 2016, Singapore's Night Safari got an adorable surprise in the form of this baby Asian elephant, born early (after 19 months, as opposed to the typical 22) and ready to seize the day. It joined its fellow elephants in the exhibit in June, weighing 460 pounds. Among its favorite activities is sloshing around in the play pool.
Panda-monium
On June 22, 2015, the Detroit Zoo welcomed an adorable baby red panda, named Tofu.
With fewer than 10,000 of these animals left on Earth, everyone was pretty happy to see her.
Sweet Tofu
Born to mother Ta-Shi and father Shifu, Tofu made her public debut on September 23, 2015.
Ta-Shi, pictured at left here with her cub, is 10 years old. Her mate, Shifu, is 6.
Baby's grand entrance
"Ta-Shi took her time bringing her adorable baby girl out into public view, but it was worth the wait," Scott Carter, Chief Life Sciences Officer for the Detroit Zoological Society, said in a news release. "We're happy to welcome Tofu to the Detroit Zoo and to contribute to the captive population of this threatened species."
Red pandas
Found in the forests of the Eastern Himalayas, red pandas have thick russet fur and are only slightly larger than the average domestic cat.
Red pandas are considered a vulnerable species, threatened by deforestation and poaching. Sadly, they are frequently also caught in traps meant for other animals.
Eye to eye
A bar-headed goose walks with one of her day-old chicks at the Zoo of Servion near Lausanne, Switzerland, May 27, 2009.
Cuddly cubs
Newborn triplet jaguar cubs are seen at the Tierpark Zoo in Berlin on May 19, 2009. The three cubs were born on April 16, 2009, and are named Atiero, Jumanes and Valdivia.
Baby steps
Newborn baby elephant Kai-Mook takes her first steps together with her mother Phyo Phyo, right, half sister May Tagu, second left, and aunt Yu Yu Yin at the elephant residence at the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium, Tuesday May 19, 2009. Kai-Mook was born on May 17, 2009.
Hitching a ride
An Aotus lemurinus, known as an owl monkey, carries its one-month-old baby on its back after it was born in captivity at the zoo in Medellin, Colombia, Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
Adorable animals
A two-week-old Bornean Orangutan named Iznee, left, is seen in the arms of her mother, Sarikei, inside their enclosure at Chester Zoo in Chester, England, Monday, May 18, 2009. Iznee is the first orangutan born at the zoo in 10 years.
Adorable animals
Giraffe calf Shani is seen with her father Naruk, left, and mother Kibaya, right, at the Berlin Zoo on Friday, May 15, 2009. Shani was born on May 3.
Adorable animals
A seven-week-old bonobo baby hangs onto its' mother, Lisa, as she grooms another bonobo at the Cincinnati Zoo on Thursday, May 7, 2009, in Cincinatti.
Adorable animals
A Konik foal is seen with its mare at the Geltinger Birk nature reserve near Nieby, Germany, on Thursday, May 7, 2009.
Bear hug
Wilbaer, left, a 16 months old polar bear, plays with his mother Corinna in the Wilhelma zoo in Stuttgart, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2009.
Adorable animals
Two-day-old ostrich chicks sit at an ostrich farm in Hohenfelde, northern Germany, on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
Hatch batch
A nest of baby robins begins to hatch in a nest in a bush by the White House Press Room at the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2009.
The long and short of it
An emu chick is seen walking next to its father's legs in the Berlin Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Friday, April 24, 2009. The emu hatched on April 14, 2009.
New addition
An infant male gorilla is seen in the gorilla habitat area at the San Francisco Zoo Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009, in San Francisco. The baby gorilla was born on Dec. 8, 2008.
Baby tiger
Antares, a Siberian tiger cub, is seen during a presentation to the media at the Berlin Zoo in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008. The tiger baby was born on Monday, June 23, 2008.
Family affair
Two Canada Geese walk with seven newborn geese Sunday, April 27, 2008, in Baltimore.
Newborn zebra
A newborn zebra, 3 days-old and yet to be named, stands with its mother Yoko at a zoo in Lima, Peru, on Friday, March 14, 2008.
Little lemur
This photo provided by the Vincennes zoo, outside Paris, from Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008, shows a newborn male Propitheque named Kibongo. Kibongo was born on Dec. 24, 2007. This type of lemur is indigenous to Madagascar.
Sneaking a peek
A newborn Rothschild giraffe is pictured together with its mother in an enclosure at the zoo in Rapperswil, Switzerland, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007. The baby was born the day before.
Motherly nudge
A two-day-old male black rhinoceros baby stands next to his mother Tanda, 14, at the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007. The newborn rhinoceros is the first rhinoceros to be born in captivity in Israel in 15 years.
Polar bear cub
Flocke the polar bear cub crawls around, exploring its box at Tiergarten Zoo in Nuremberg on Monday, Feb. 4, 2008. The bear was born in December 2007.