Every animal on earth is capable of loving and caring and the animals in the following photos prove it. These animals taking care of their young will melt your heart by how cute they are.

Just like humans, they will do everything to protect their young including risking their lives if their offspring are in danger. Please enjoy these wonderful photos of animals in nature being the cute parents that they are.

#1. Opossum mother and her young.

#2. Mother swan takes her cygnets under her wings.

#3. Polar bear playing with her cub.

#4. A father bird protecting his young.

#5. Mother giraffe having a moment with her calf.

#6. A tiny fox playing with his dad.

#7. A grizzly bear swimming with her cub.

#8. A beautiful lioness tickling her smiling cub.

#9. Baby elephant hugging her older brother.

#10. Mother sea otter and her adorable baby.

#11. A stunning bird sharing some motherly love with her young.

#12. Two lionesses watching over an adorable little cub.

#13. Young plover birds sheltered by their mother.

#14. Mother hippo swimming with her new calf.

#15. A tiny grass mouse enjoying a snack with mommy.

#16. Baby alligators spending time with mom.

#17. Adult penguins huddling together to shelter their young from the cold wind.

#18. A baby tiger getting a kiss from mom.

#19. A cute bear cub spending the day with his dad.

#20. A baby pangolin taking a rest on his mommy.

#21. A grizzly mom getting a kiss from her adorable cub.

#22. Adorable Polar Bear Family

Everyday is pile on a parent day for these polar bear cubs! Did you know that polar bears have black skin underneath their coat of thick fur? Their fur appears white but it is actually transparent, reported by World Wildlife. For evolutionary reasons, polar bears have white fur so they can blend into their arctic surroundings.

#23. A Family of Gentle Giants

As you may already know, elephants are highly emotionally intelligent creatures. According to Green Global Travel, when a baby elephant complains, the entire elephant family will go over to soothe the baby elephant by touching and caressing it. How sweet!

#24. The Gentle Long-Legged Family

This baby giraffe is showered with all the love and attention from its family as it is most likely an only child. Most giraffes usually only have one baby at a time.

#25. Caught in a Storm

These cute baby owls are caught in an aggressive storm while their mother is most likely out searching for their next meal. At least they have each other to keep warm!

#26. A Pungent Trio

This pungent family of three offers a smelly encounter if they are scared or feel threatened. They sure are cute though!

#27. Pretty in Stripes

What a good looking family! Tigers are the only cats with stripes. They even have stripes on their skin, states Animal Planet.

#28. Follow the Leader

These five baby penguins are safely protected by their parents. Penguin parents raise their young until they are strong enough to hunt for themselves. Penguins are one of the few animal species where both the male and female are involved with the nest preparation and raising their chicks.

#29. A Happy Hippo Family

This happy (and probably hungry) hippo family are so photogenic! Don’t be fooled by a hippo’s chubby size and stumpy legs, they can outrun most humans. They are quite fast on land and water.

#30. A Fierce Looking Family

This is one family you don’t want to mess with. According to Africa Geographic, a lion’s roar can be heard from up to 5 miles away!

#31. Playful Beluga Whales

Check out this family of beluga whales playfully blowing bubble rings! You may think the whales are playing but blowing bubbles is a form of communication. Reported by Mental Floss, matching bubble rings blown by a pair of whales is connected to social bonding behaviors.

#32. Beautiful German Shepherd Family

This is one smart family! Known for their intelligence and loyalty, there’s a reason why German Shepherds are often police dogs, bomb dogs and war heroes.

#33. The Fastest Family

Meet the fastest land animal family in the world! These spotted felines can accelerate from 0 to 100km/hr in just 3 seconds, reported by One Kind Planet.

#34. Paw Holding Duo

The rumors are true! While sea otters sleep–often a mother and her pup–they hold each other’s paws to keep from floating away. So cute!

#35. Napping on Mama

Napping on a parent are the best kind of naps. Thanks ma!

#36. A Colorful Bunch

This radiant mama bird is keeping her babies safe and warm under her wings.

#37. A Litter of Alligators

Who knew baby alligators could be so cute? We still wouldn’t want to be around those long snapping jaws though!

#38. No Ugly Ducklings Here

Pile on to mama, kids! Fun Fact: Swans often mate for life.

#39. A Family of Fake Bears

With their cute and fuzzy round features, Koalas are often thought to be related to the bear family. According to National Geographic, koalas are actually marsupials because they carry their newborn in their pouch for the first 6 months.

#40. A Proud Mama

A proud mama Dalmatian poses with her barely spotted pups!

#41. A Family of Gophers

Baby Gopher: Hey, let me in! I want some love too.

#42. Gorilla Babies

These adorable gorilla babies are probably thinking about their next banana feast.

#43. Cuteness Overload

This panda bear family is cuteness overload.

#44. Mob of Penguin

Protecting the young is their main objective!

#45. The Lamb Clan

Happily frolicking in a field of green is the place to be.

#46. Family of Fluff

This may be the cutest puppy family out there. They’re so fluffy!

#47. Mama Cat and Her Kitten

This mama cat is teaching her baby the ins and outs on how to effectively destroy window blinds. Their ultimate goal is to annoy their humans and show them love every now and then.

#48. Women Who Roar

A lioness is always on the lookout. After all, they are the main hunters of their pride.

#49. Family of Capybaras

This adorable family of Capybaras can grow to be as large as dogs, reported by Live Science. They are the world’s largest rodents!

#50. Grizzly Salmon Hunters

Hunting for salmon helps grizzly bears last through the long winters ahead. According to Bear Smart, grizzly bears may consume up to 90lbs of food a day!

#51. Baby Sea Turtle Family

How many baby sea turtles can pile on?

#52. Mischievous Polar Bear Cub

This mischievous polar bear cub is up to no good!

#53. The Ribbet Duo

Wonder what these two fellas are laughing about?

#54. Squeaky Prairie Dogs

To the human ears, prairie dog communication sounds like a bunch of high-pitched squeaky noises. The vocabulary of prairie dogs is more advanced than any other animal language that’s been decoded, reported by World Wildlife. In recent research, they found that their “…calls can covey incredibly descriptive details. Prairie dogs can alert one another, for example, that there’s not just a human approaching their burrows, but a tall human wearing the color blue.” Pretty incredible!

#55. Anteater-Back Ride

According to Wildscreen Arkive, anteaters feed on termites, ants and bees. Yum!

#56. Baby Sloth Party

Can baby sloths be any cuter? Those big round eyes and little snouts make all the cooing sounds come out.

#57. Family of Friendly Giants

Rhinos are some of the largest mammals in the world and are known for their giant horns grown from their snouts. Believe it or not, these friendly giants only feast on plants!