Is there any scientific reason why baby animals are cuter than adult animals?

Question

This may seem like a silly question, but maybe there actually is a reason. My theory is that if they are cute to us, then perhaps they look healthy to adult animals of the same species. This way, the mother animal can weed out any of their offspring that isn't quite as "cute," thus providing a healthier population of their species through further generations. That's just a theory, but I'd like to hear the opinions of others.

Answer 1

babies are cute for survival purposes.

Only babies that somehow cause us to want to take care of them will live. We are hard-wired to respond to them.

And crying? It's no accident that people will do almost anything to get a crying baby to stop... It's the most disturbing sound in the world- and there's a billion years of natural selection behind that particular noise, and our response to it!

But that's how they get care when they need it. And being cute helps us decide to help them instead of harming them to stop the noise.

Answer 2

I think it is a case of pure innocense. Imagine a baby being born: There are many different theories on that aswell but lets keep to the subject @ hand shall we? Imagine instead the way we as humans and with having natural built in instincts, see a newborn with having a clean slate so we see no ugliness, although I have seen many ugly little children, usually though we convince ourselves that even those select few are cute in their own way. Maybe this is because we see that clean slate unconsciously and this in turn puts a justify to the means. But then imagine these cute "clean-slated" newborns grown into adult hood. Along with their growing bodies their slates are beginning to fill with their everyday works. And if you think about it, when you see a nice all-around person you see their cuteness, don't you? Well enough blabbering, cause I could go on and on and I am sure you don't want to hear a montonous drone do you? Lol. Well I will end on a quote my mama used so many times....."Two ugly people usually make a pretty baby".

Answer 3

There isn't a scienfitic fact for why infant animals are attractive. It has to do with the fact that they are too little to escape us, fear us, ect. In their innocence, they trust us. They don't know the dangers of Humans, other animals, or their parents. They aren't old enoguh to know.. so they are still in their infant and innocent state where they're still learning, therefore they are trusting, and dependant.

It also has to do with the fact that their eyes are often large and take up a good size portion of their face, making them look even more attractive.

It has nothing to do with health, because animals don't look for other animals or healthy babies from how "cute" they are. A mother cat, dog, or otherwise have strong maternal instincts and can sense when there is something wrong with their baby, because even sick baby animals are cute. It has to do with the scent they give off.

Life isn't about looks, it's about survival of the fittest, and only the fittest and strongest youngsters will mature to adulthood. No sick, but deathly attractive baby is going to make it to adult status just from looks. The animal world relys on health, strength, and survival, not how cute or pretty another animal is.

Humans see these features as "cute" and thats why we're attracted to them, but the maternal and paternal parents of these animals aren't looking for the same things in a baby animal we are. We look for big eyes and big heads, and rely on looks. Baby animals are so "cute" because they aren't developed. All their features are small, except for a few, such as eyes which never grow, which is why their born with big eyes.

Amimals on the other hand, have more instinctual properties and rely on their instincts to weed out the week offspring and keep only the stronger infants.

Answer 4

The theory I learned was that we are all (including most higher mammals) hard wired to be attracted to small creatures with big heads and big eyes. When we see something like that (especially for women), we want to pick it up and take care of it. This explains why if you show a group of women (from pretty much ANY culture) a picture of a cute baby mammal, they will all say "Awwww!" It's a survival mechanism that helps form the first attachments between mothers & babies. Women just can't resist tiny little critters with big heads & big eyes.!

It's not just us, either. Although you won't find predators nurturing prey, or vice versa, you will find cats nurturing puppies, or cows raising fawns. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen, especially with sterile females. I recently read in a paper about a dog in a zoo somewhere that was nurturing a baby tiger. If it was just a matter of culling the less healthy offspring, we wouldn't raise children with congenital defects, and we do raise them.

Answer 5

I've read about a study into "baby cuteness". Certain traits in babies such as large eyes and disproportionally big/round heads have been identified as being "cute" to most people in the population. The theory is that we are programmed to find helplessness infants "cute" and therefore be more willing to go out of our way to keep them safe, therefore guaranteeing the perpetuation of the species.

Answer 6

Yes, it is probably all about genetics and natural selection. We are more protective and nurturing of "cute" babies, who are probably healthier than ones that don't look so good. This would ensure the most fit offspring survive. Same idea with why we are attracted to good looking people: good looks= good health and a better chance of healthy offspring.

Answer 7

There was a study done recently on "cute" baby animals. I don't recall what the outcome was, but I'm sure you could look it up. I heard it on the news about a month or so ago. There is reasoning behind "cute", and also what different people perceive as cute.

Answer 8

Yes. I saw a feature on TV about this very thing.

There is even a name for it. It is called "The Baby Factor".
The babies are born with huge eyes, so they appear cute, EVEN to animals.
I don't know why they call it "the baby factor", instead of "the cute factor" but they do.

This insures that the mother will take care of her CUTE little babies.
Animals recognize "CUTE", just like WE do.

It was a fascinating show but I can't remember what channel or show that was. I wish I could.

As far as they have observed, most mothers take care of all of their babies equally.
Only occasionally, will a mother disregard one of her young.

That happens in the human kingdom as well.
No one knows why.

Answer 9

I agree 100% with your theory. All baby animals do look a lot cutier than adults. That is the only way i can think of could tell if something is healthy.

Answer 10

One observation: Take a look at animals in profile. Compare babies with adult images. Note that animals with a snout or long faces have much shorter features when they are very young. Check it out with cats, dogs, horses, elephants, etc.

Could it be that the shorter the snout, the more human in appearance? The more human in looks, the cuter the animal?

Answer 11

i'm no longer a scientist or something like that, yet I heard that, whilst organisms are decrease than a particular age, we've an instinct that tells us that they are actually not enemies, by way of fact they are too youthful to reason harm. it quite is the explanation why you pay attention some thoughts approximately e.g. searching canines who observed a little one deer. They knew it grew to become into too youthful to develop up by employing itself. so they took care of it, and now that's area of their team. yet whilst the animal meets an organism after that "susceptible" age, it's going to see it as an enemy. i do no longer know the proper factors approximately it, yet that's what I heard. desire I helped slightly :$