Big-Eyed Animals And How They Tug At Our Heartstrings (PHOTOS)

Why do we naturally gravitate toward animals and cartoon characters with big eyes?

We're just hardwired that way.

Because our babies have large eyes compared to their head, humans have developed an affinity for anything with big peepers. So we've collected pictures of members of the animal kingdom with super-large eyes to test this theory. Are they all adorable? Or are some of them just a little freaky?

Slender Loris

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You have to love the Slender Loris. Especially since it loves to be tickled. Its cousin the slow loris is also squeal-worthy cute. Their big eyes are for hunting insects at night. Its population in the wild is declining due to logging, development, and farming.

Slender Loris

You have to love the Slender Loris. Especially since it loves to be tickled.

Its cousin the slow loris is also squeal-worthy cute.

Their big eyes are for hunting insects at night. Its population in the wild is declining due to logging, development, and farming.

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Slender Loris

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Comments

[ptrgamb]

07:06 PM on 10/18/2010

The Meerkat is painfully adorable.

[abuja19]

06:42 PM on 10/18/2010

The 1999 edition of the Guinness book of world records has a photo of the tarsier. To this day, that picture still haunts me.

[LogicalMathMan]

02:08 AM on 10/18/2010

Why are the monkeys called 'owl monkeys', and the owls not called 'monkey owls'? How do you think the monkeys feel? We must report this to the ASPCA.

[tjbv]

01:35 AM on 10/18/2010

Big Eyed Beans from Venus!

[Southrnbelle]

03:34 PM on 10/17/2010

I like the meercat the best.

Wish you all could see my cat, Whinnie, great big beautiful eyes and the sweetest heart.

[LogicalMathMan]

02:09 AM on 10/18/2010

The meerkat is cool.

So, about this cat of yours.....does the owner have a sweet heart?

[Southrnbelle]

06:42 PM on 10/18/2010

The Sweetest.

[RhiannonRings]

11:48 AM on 10/17/2010

That squirrel did not have big eyes!

[Chlowina]

07:44 PM on 10/17/2010

Take his acorn away from him and you'll see big eyes. :~)

[missouriwatcher]

08:50 PM on 10/17/2010

Yep; when he grabs his acorn back, in addtion to some finger meat. ;-)

[RhiannonRings]

10:55 PM on 10/17/2010

Heehee!

[johnjohn1234]

10:52 AM on 10/17/2010

Yoda too.

Oh, wait, they named the tarsier, close enough.

[triplettam]

04:46 AM on 10/17/2010

I don't know. That goldfish looks like Peter Lorre with fins. Not adorable. And the frog? What about flies. They've got real big eyes.

[kareemachan]

01:05 PM on 10/17/2010

Loved the way the frog looked like it had been dipped in blue ink.

[FrankyBoy2]

04:38 AM on 10/17/2010

chihuahuas should be on the list.

[triplettam]

04:42 AM on 10/17/2010

Except they're so yippy. Just kidding. My favorite dog was half chihuahua. They're cool. But the bigger the eyes, the harder the bite.

[FrankyBoy2]

10:34 AM on 10/17/2010

mine is all bark and no bite, except if she sees a cat, she loathes cats.

[KIVPossum]

04:34 AM on 10/17/2010

I don't consider the grey squirrel's eyes that big.

[bryce05]

08:50 AM on 10/17/2010

I know, I don't get that.

[LogicalMathMan]

02:11 AM on 10/18/2010

I've seen a woman's eyes get bigger than that...just sayin'. She then ran away with my credit card.

[deluk]

04:25 AM on 10/17/2010

Red squirrels are cuter than grey squirrels.

[KIVPossum]

04:34 AM on 10/17/2010

Yes

[BannedInBoston]

01:52 AM on 10/17/2010

Cute? Lemurs look like mind-controlling _aliens. (I like 'em anyway....)

[carnitine]

12:22 AM on 10/17/2010

Fascinating animals, it sucks that capitalism is destroying this planet and the animal life on it. If wall street people and bankers were being killed and verge of extinction i would like that.

[BannedInBoston]

01:58 AM on 10/17/2010

They're not an endangered species (unfortunately), that's for sure....

[DaneAZ]

12:07 AM on 10/17/2010

I want a Loris!

[SirenForSanity]

11:13 PM on 10/16/2010

Ooooh...I want blueorangered frogs in my yard.

[SmartladyDem]

12:10 AM on 10/17/2010

They are beautiful, it's too bad they are so toxic;http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/poison-frog/

[SirenForSanity]

12:21 AM on 10/17/2010

oh well....guess I'll settle for the tree frogs and toads I already have around.

[kareemachan]

01:06 PM on 10/17/2010

Just don't lick 'em! ;-)