Nation & World

Our favorite cute animal photos from 2015

Originally published December 22, 2015 at 7:57 amUpdated December 22, 2015 at 8:10 am

Male baby orangutan Dalai (bottom) lies in the arms of its mother Daisy (top) in the zoo in Dresden, Germany, July 30, 2015. One week ago the female orangutan gave birth to Dalai and has since then recovered from the birth in camera. EPA/ARNO BURGI

A handout picture made available by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) on September 3, 2015 shows a wooly Merino sheep, in Canberra, Australia, 02 September 2015. The RSPCA has called in a top shearer to trim a sheep which has evaded a haircut so long its life could be in danger. A bushwalker spotted the incredibly woolly sheep outside Canberra and called the RSPCA which mounted a rescue mission. EPA/RSPCA

One-week-old Somali wildass foal plays with his mother at the zoo in Hanover, Germany, August 28, 2015. The Hanover Zoo presented the youngest foal of the rare Somali wildass species. EPA/PETER STEFFEN

An ornate horned frog (Ceratophrys ornata) at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, October 4, 2015. The Ueno Zoological Gardens is the oldest zoo in Japan. Founded in 1882, it is now home to over 3,000 animals from some 400 different species. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON

A newly born Zebra baby stands next to her mother at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, August 28, 2015. The baby Zebra was born during the morning hours of August 28, 2014 and its sex and name is still unknown. EPA/FILIP SINGER

Kai, a six week old tiger cub is walked on a leash at Tiger Island in the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia, September 7, 2015. Kai was the first tiger in seven years to be born at Dreamworld and the fourth litter to be born at Tiger Island which opened 20 years ago. EPA/DAVE HUNT

A squirrel looks for food in a cemetery in Munich, Germany, October 27, 2015. EPA/SVEN HOPPE

Flamingos are in flight as they arrive to the shores of Kuwait, November 20, 2015. EPA/RAED QUTENA

A carp (Cyprinus carpio) opens its mouth in hope for feed in pond at Palmengarten botanical garden in Frankfurt a Main, Germany, November 23, 2015. The freshwater fish is a traditional Christmas dish in central Europe. EPA/FRANK RUMPENHORST

An elk stands with its tongue hanging out and urinates in its wintry snowed-covered game enclosure near Messstetten, Germany, November 25, 2015. EPA/FELIX KAESTLE

A photo shows four 6-week old kitten siblings curiously looking up to the photographer as they jointly occupy a laundry basket in a garden in Sieversdorf, Germany, June 21, 2015. EPA/PATRICK PLEUL

A mandrill licks an iced fruit in Ouwehands Dierenpark (Ouwehands Zoo) in Rhenen, Netherlands, June 30, 2015. The animals in the zoo get some refreshments to cool them down, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees Celsius. EPA/PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW

baby aardvark next to her mother Kvida at Prague Zoo, Czech Republic, August 17, 2015. The baby aardvark is 23 days old. EPA/FILIP SINGER

Four week old baby Black and White Colobus Monkey ‘Halle’ holds on to her mother Safi at the National Zoo in Canberra, Australia, July 2, 2015. EPA/LUKAS COCH

Max, an Eagle Owl weighing 1.9 kilograms, is measured during a photo-call at the annual weigh-in at London Zoo in London, Britain, August 26, 2015. Every animal that is in the zoo is weighed and measured and the statistics recorded so the data can be shared with zoos across the world. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Two alpacas cool off in a pool of water in the zoo in Berlin, Germany, July 3, 2015. EPA/STEPHANIE PILICK

A new-born female square-lipped rhinoceros approaches its mother Keren at the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, August 24, 2015. The yet unnamed rhino was presented to the public as part of a special breeding program of the Safari. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

One albino lion cub (R) and one albino tiger cub (L) are introduced in the Parque Loro Zoo, in San Andres Cholula, Puebla state, Mexico, August 7, 2015. The Zoo recently registered the birth of three albino lions and two albino tigers. EPA/Francisco Guasco

A young boxer breed dog named Fred with a stick in his muzzle on a Sunday morning walk in Bydgoszcz, Poland, August 2, 2015. EPA/TYTUS OMIJEWSKI

A newborn harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) baby takes a swim in the Nyiregyhaza Animal Park in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, July 17, 2015. The seal mother, Bobe, gave birth to the eight kilograms heavy and sixty centimeters long baby after a ten and a half months pregnancy. EPA/ZSOLT CZEGELDI

Tigress Cara, pictured at the Marianne Friebe animal sanctuary in Ruesselsheim, Germany, August 1, 2015. Cara was discovered in Italy, in a cage that was much too small and nursed back to health at the animal sanctuary in Ruesselsheim. Now she is moving to the big-cat center at Massweiler. EPA/FREDRIK VON ERICHSEN

Two Indian gharials are seen in their basin in the Prague zoo, Czech Republic, August 26, 2015. In the 1970s the gharial came to the brink of extinction and even now remains on the critically endangered list. Prague zoo is the only Europe zoo breeding them. EPA/FILIP SINGER

African penguins swim near Burghers walk in Simonstown, South Africa, August 28, 2015. The city of Cape Town has placed a ban on dogs along Burghers Walk after eight penguins were found dead last week. The African penguin is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) with a steady decline in their numbers over the past decade. EPA/NIC BOTHMA

A newborn gorilla baby is held in the arms of its mother Kathi at the zoo in Hannover, Germany, November 13, 2015. Three days after the tragic death of a baby gorilla at the Hanover zoo, another small gorilla has entered the world. EPA/JULIAN STRATENSCHULTE

A lady pug looks towards the camera at the International Pug Meet in Berlin, Germany, August 29, 2015. EPA/OLIVER MEHLIS

Hobby breeder Bernd Schwadwald checks the molars of a horse at the horse market in Havelberg, Germany, September 3, 2015. Around 500 horses are for sale this year, at the largest market for second-hand horses in Germany. 200,000 visitors are expected at the market, which runs until 6 September EPA/JENS WOLF

Two Barbary apes at the animal park which city authorities want to close, in Burg Stargard, Germany, September 8, 2015. EPA/STEFAN SUAER

A stand-up fight between two kangaroos in a field near Coffs Harbour, Australia, September 9, 2015 captured during the Rally Australia. Ambiance during the shakedown of Coates Hire Rally Australia 2015, Coffs Harbour, New south Wales, Australia, September 9, 2015. EPA/REPORTER IMAGES

A picture made available on September 11, 2015 shows a group of young seals waiting to be fed at the seal sanctuary in Norden, Germany, July 22, 2015. EPA/CARMEN JASPERSEN

A hippo at Tbilisi Zoo, in Tbilisi, Georgia, September 13, 2015. Tbilisi Zoo reopened after June 13 flooding which destroyed the zoo and killed 19 people. EPA/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE

An archive picture made available on September 15, 2015 of pigs on a pig farm in Kiev region, Ukraine, September 6, 2010. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

A sea turtle is seen before being released by members of the Bali Marine Police at a beach in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, September 17, 2015. Marine Police released some 40 sea turtles after they were seized from illegal poachers. EPA/MADE NAGI

Sheep are split to their owners after a summer on the alp, after a summer on the alp, in Vals, canton of Grisons, Switzerland, September 17, 2015. EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER

Cows decorated with flowers and bells are led down to the valley during the traditional ‘Entlebucher Alpabfahrt’ – the ceremonial return of cattle from the high altitude pastures to the valley in autumn – in Schuepfheim, canton Lucerne, central Switzerland, September 26,2015. EPA/URS FLUEELER

A Greater Flamingo preens itself at the Wolrd of Birds sanctuary in Cape Town, South Africa October 6, 2015. The World of Birds in Hout Bay is the largest bird park in Africa. Over three thousand birds, monkeys and small animals of four hundred different species are able to be viewed in walk through enclosures. EPA/NIC BOTHMA

A Stuttering Barred Frog is held at their renovated enclosure ‘World of Frogs’ at the Melbourne Zoo in Melbourne, Australia, September 18, 2015. Many populations of Stuttering frogs have disappeared in the wild and Melbourne Zoo is breeding the southern form of the species to prevent extinction. EPA/TRACEY NEARMY

A Golden Mantled Rosella sits on a branch at the World of Birds wildlife sanctuary in Cape Town, South Africa, October 6, 2015. This sanctuary is the largest bird park in Africa with over three thousand birds, monkeys and small animals of four hundred different species in walk through enclosures that attract tens of thousands of international visitors each year. EPA/NIC BOTHMA

Four month old snow leopard cubs (Pantheria uncia) explore their habitat as they make their public appearance at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois, USA, October 7, 2015. The cubs is were born on June 16, 2015. The litter is the second one for Sarani and her 5-year-old mate, Sabu. According to a release, snow leopards are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization. A leading snow leopard conservation organization, the Snow Leopard Trust, estimates population numbers of this elusive cat to be between 4,000 and 6,500 remaining in the wild. They are native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Eight-year-old alpha male Claudius roars in the Wildpark Eekholt wildlife park near Grossenaspe, Germany, September 25, 2015. The rutting period, during which the hierarchy among the deer is decided, runs until the end of October. The animals are more active than usual at this time, in particular at dusk and dawn, when they pose a danger on the roads. EPA/CARSTEN REHDER

A Lhasa Apso waits for its turn during the International Dog Show in Komarom, 85 kms west of Budapest, Hungary, October 11, 2015. EPA/CSABA KRIZSAN

A young lion snarls in Basel zoo, Switzerland, October 14, 2015. Zoo Basel supports the Big Life Foundation, which works in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem in Kenya to protect the Lions. The Zoo is also a participant in the EAZA Endangered Species Breeding Program for African Lions. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

A calf goes outside for the first time, accompanied by its mother, in the giraffe enclosure at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 22, 2015. EPA/ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN

A white Bengal tiger cubs is seen in her enclosure at the MaganZOO private zoo in Felsolajos, some 80 kms south of Budapest, Hungary, October 26, 2015. The zoo’s two female cubs, who were born in May, got a male tiger from France recently. EPA/JANOS BUGANY

A polar bear enjoys a cool bath at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, July 17, 2015. Temperatures may rise up to 38 degrees this weekend. EPA/GEORG HOCHMUTH

A squirrel carries a walnut in its mouth on a tree in Fuerstenwalde, Germany, November 14, 2015. EPA/PATRICK PLEUL

Keju, a seven-month-old Bornean orangutan, takes a nap of the shoulders of her new foster mother, Madu, a 32-year-old Sumatran orangutan at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, November 11, 2015. The pair were introduced to each other on October 18, after Keju was rejected by her birth mother at a zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite the fact Madu does not have any natural offspring, she is now raising her fourth surrogate orangutan child. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

Meerkats (suricata suricatta) sit in their enclosure in the zoo in Basel, Switzerland, November 10, 2015. EPA/GEORGIOS KEFALAS

A camel is lead from a trailer near Radio City Music Hall as animals arrive for the first day of rehearsals for their part in the living nativity scene that is part of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show in New York, New York, USA, November 5, 2015. The camels and other animals appear on stage during the show which runs from November 13, 2015 – January 3, 2016. EPA/JUSTIN LAN

The red panda ‘Luri’ in the Opel Zoo in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany, October 30, 2015. The Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens), also known as the lesser panda or the red cat bear, lives predominately in the Himalayas at heights of up until 4,800 meters. EPA/ALEXANDER HEINL

A young wild boar stands amid cattle in Moerel, Germany, October 28, 2015. The wild boar was accepted by the cattle herd as part of it. EPA/MARKUS SCHOLZ

A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel at the 13th International Pedigree Dog Show in Erfurt, Germany, June 20, 2015. EPA/SEBASTIAN KAHNERT

A palm-sized baby ray in its ‘Kindergarten Aquarium’ at AquaDom & Sea Life in Berlin, Germany, June 17, 2015. Five little two and three-month-old undulate rays, born in Sea Life Koenigswinter, are now being raised with young cat sharks in the ‘Kindergarten Aquarium’ until they can move into the large undulate ray tank in a few months. The slots above the mouth that look like eyes are gills on the animal’s underbelly. When fully-grown these endangered animals reach a range of one meter. EPA/JENS??KALAENE

Baby chimpanzee Dayo sleeps on the back of its mother on a warm spring Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

In this Jan. 22, 2015, file photo, a Gentoo penguin feeds its baby at Station Bernardo O’Higgins in Antarctica. “To understand many aspects in the diversity of animals and plants it’s important to understand when continents disassembled,” said Richard Spikings, a research geologist at the University of Geneva. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

A Betta fish or Siamese fighting fish is displayed for sale at a shop in Yen Phu village, Hanoi, Vietnam, June 5, 2015. Feeding and selling colorful betta fish with long beautiful flowing fins has been a traditional job for many families in the village in Hanoi for years. EPA/LUONG THAI LINH

Baby cheetahs explore an open-air enclosure for the first time at the zoo in Rostock, Germany, June 15, 2015. EPA/JENS BUETTNER

Four white lion cubs, born two weeks ago, are seen in a basket at the Taigan Safari Park, in Belogorsk, about 50 km (31 miles) east of Simferopol, Crimea, Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The newly born white lion cubs were shown to the media for the first time Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alexander Polegenko)

A Sunday, May 3, 2015 photo shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry taking a selfie with a baby elephant while touring the Sheldrick Center Elephant Orphanage at the Nairobi National Park, in Nairobi, Kenya. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

A bee approaches a blooming almond tree in Erfurt, central Germany, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. The weather forecast predicts temperatures up to 26 Celsius (79F) in Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

A dog named Lucky gets a ride on the back of his owner as the man swims at the beach of the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A three-days old bonobo baby sleeps on the belly of its mother Kutu in the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, July 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2015 file photo, Sahara, a rare red-haired female Hamadryas Baboon holds 3 weeks old dark-furred baby in the Ramat Gan Safari Park near Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first time in decades that one of these light-furred primates has given birth at the zoo. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

One of the 247 endangered African penguin chicks being rehabilitated at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coast birds (SANCCOB) in Cape Town, South Africa, November 19, 2015. These penguins were admitted to SANCCOB since the start of ?
‘chick season’ in late October. SANCCOB is requesting the public to help rehabilitate these penguin chicks through donations or by adopting a ‘Christmas chick’ from SANCCOB. The penguins will undergo a rehabilitation program before being released back into the ocean. The African penguin is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) with a steady decline in their numbers over the past decade. EPA/NIC BOTHMA

A sheep bahs to the photographer’s camera as some 650 sheep are driven down to the valley after a summer on the alp in Vals, canton of Grisons, Switzerland, September 17, 2015. EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER

Owls are spotted sitting in hollow nest in Patan, Nepal, November 18, 2015. EPA/NARENDRA SHRESTHA

Get your chuckles and ‘awws’ in with our cute animal gallery.

By

Courtney Riffkin

Seattle Times photo staff

Courtney Riffkin: 206-464-2203 or criffkin@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @SeaTimesPhoto.