cub

Cheetahs - fierce and adorable all at once. There's something about them that overrides any sense of logic and makes you want to hug them. And you know what? Since they're one of the friendliest and most affectionate big cats, if you become a good enough friend of one, you might just be able to do it. 

And since today is the international cheetah day, and we love these adorable big kitties so, so much, we couldn't not celebrate it with you. So we've brought you the most wholesome cheetah pics and memes that we've seen that truly represent these big-hearted animals the way they deserve. 

Us humans take months, sometimes over a year to take our first steps, while many animals only ever take a couple minutes. But some animal babies are capable of even more than that, like these tiny totally safe-to-cuddle bear cubs who have already perfected the art of climbing trees at their tini-tiny age. 

It's an experience every tiny bear cub will go through at some point in their lives, and not only is it insanely impressive, it is also incredibly cute. So, take a look at these pawdoable bear cubs taking their first steps (up a tree) with their mommies there to help and protect them and enjoy your heart melting of cute. 

We've an update about one of the most positive stories to come out of 2020, and the update is just as wholesome as the original story. The (tiny) giant panda cub that was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo three weeks ago has finally gotten a name, and it is the most appropriate and cutest name of all. Xiao Qi Ji is his name in Chinese, but it translates to 'little miracle' in English. 

The little giant panda has gone absolutely viral in the past couple of weeks after a video of his miraculous birth was released by the zoo, and since the world fell in love with the cub, the zoo decided to let the world participate in naming him. Of course, the internet does not disappoint when it comes to baby animals. 

We were given a choice of 4 names, and after three weeks and nearly 135,000 votes that have been cast, the adorable name 'little miracle' was chosen. The long waiting period was not an accident, it is part of Chinese tradition to wait 100 days before naming the cub. We wish the little cub luck and prosperity, and for his mother, Mei Xiang, to have many more adorable healthy cubs in the future!

Story via The Associated Press.

Wholesome interspecies animal friendships is one of everyone's favorite things, and today, tumblr is giving us a look into one of the cutest ones - cheetahs and doggos. It's a classic tumblr story, where one meme leads to an entire legendary thread that began with simple wholesome and adorable facts about how sweet cheetahs are and somehow turned into an appreciation post for cheetahs an puppies. 

It's a thread that gets better and better the more you read it, and it's so heartwarmingly good, we had to share it with you. May this bring as much joy into your day as it always does to ours and as much as these doggos bring to these cheetah cubs. 

Our hearts may just burst completely wide open and there's nothing that can be done about it. It's a phenomenon called cuteness overload and this cub has all those characteristics in the making. 

We've seen dogs frolicking in autumn leaves, heck we've seen cats enjoying the beautiful Fall weather, but lion cubs? Lion cubs in piles of fallen leaves and attacking them? Well, never have we ever seen anything so precious! 

Autumn is still here, and these photos are the only things keeping us warm right now. With winter right around the corner, we think we could all use these heartwarming images to help us brace for the inevitable cold. 

It's National Hug A Bear Day! And we here at Cheezburger are celebrating! Now, it's important to remember that you should actually go out and hug a bear. That is a bit dangerous at the end of the day, no matter how cute and cuddly bears may appear. 

No, National Hug A Bear Day is actually a day that refers to teddy bears and is meant to celebrate hugging! Yeah, you heard right. On this day, you aren't supposed to go out and hug actual bears. The way to celebrate National Hug A Bear day is by hugging your teddy bear, or by hugging your friend's teddy bear, or giving a big ol' 'bear hug' to one of your friends or family members. 

That doesn't mean that actual bears shouldn't be celebrated, of course, since bears are unbearably awesome. So, since we can't come give y'all bear hugs right now, as a compromise, we've decided to give you an adorable collection of some of the most teddy bear-like looking bear cubs instead.

Unlikely animal friendships are always heartwarming to see, but this one is extra special. 

Last April, 28-year-old Pauline Ashanolla from the Isle of Wight came across a 6-month-old fox cub. The fox was "alone, frightened and very poorly" when she found it. It was either abandoned or Orphaned, and Paulina, with a heart of gold, decided to rescue the fox, and took it into her care. Since then, she has put her everything into taking care of this fox, who she named Marley. She fed it kitten milk day and night every 90 minutes, going as far as to give up her dream of being a dog groomer to take care of the cub and watch it grow and prosper. 

In an almost magical turn of events, the 4-year-old bulldog - Ernie - that Paulina has became best friends with the little fox, and the two of them are now best of friends. "They do everything together, they're inseparable," told Paulina to DailyMail. "They play with each other all day, they sleep together every night, they go for walks together."

They truly are a real life recreation of Disney's Fox and the Hound, and it is so pure and beautiful. Check out pictures of these best friends hanging out and pictures of Marley as a baby fox bellow!

Story by DailyMail.

A 3.75 pound mountain lion cub was rescued by firefighters from the California wildfires and is now being treated in the Oakland Zoo. This small cub was discovered in an area the Zogg Wildfire burned through, orphaned and with severe burns. Luckily, the lion was taken into immediate care and is doing much, much better today, eating on its own and acting all fierce and feisty. 

A terrifying story with a happy ending. Three years ago, a six week old Bengal tiger cub was rescued from a wildlife trafficking attempt at a San Diego area border crossing. Today, the fully grown tiger, Moka, is living happily with another rescued tiger named Nola.

Moka was discovered in the floorboard of a sports car driven by an 18-year-old man who was attempting to smuggle the tiger from Tijuana through the U.S.-Mexico border. As reported by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and Border Report, the passenger under whose legs the cub was hidden had at first said that it was "just a cat." The driver, Luis Valencia, when questioned, claimed that he had bought the tiger in Tijuana after seeing someone walking it on a leash and wanted to keep it as a pet. Later, of course, it was discovered that both statements were false, and Luis was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges.

The cub was taken to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and had a surgery that saved his life. At the time, his weight was less than that of the average house cat - just 6 pounds. His name, Moka, means "chance" in Bengali and was given to him as a way of commemorating the story of his discovery. There, he got to meet Rakan, "a Sumartan tiger cub whose mother was unable to care for him," and together they grew up, played, wrestled, and pounced, becoming stronger and happier.

After a few months of care, still only a few months old, Moka was moved into an animal sanctuary called Lions, Tigers & Bears east of San Diego where he met Nola from Louisiana - another now fully grown tiger who was rescued as a cub.

The founder and director of Lions, Tigers & bears, Bobbi Brink, told Border Report that "[Moka and Nola] were both the same age, so they made great roommates, now they're best of friends," as well as that "[h]e's kind of shy but Nola is his strength. She'll be the first one to go out and check out something then slowly but surely he'll be right behind her," and no ending could make us happier.

Take a look at pictures of Moka from three years ago, over the first three months at the safari (with Rakan!) and today below.