If there is one infallible truth about the internet, it's that pets pretty much rule. Just about everyone online likes pictures and videos of cute animals, whether they will admit to it, or not. There are entire websites devoted to cute animals, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a site that does not at least occasionally feature a furry friend with a clever caption. In fact, one of the most successful web networks to date is the popular Cheezburger Network, and the feather in that site's cap is none other than the ubiquitous LOL Cat blog.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some of the cutest, funniest, and most viral animal-themed videos of 2012. We're not saying that your heart is a lump of toxic sludge if you don't like these adorable animals... but we're not ruling it out, either.
Courtesy of YouTubeIn a video released by the A video from the Chengdu Panda Base, four completely adorable, rolly-polly Panda bears play on a slide. The video was released in order to raise awareness of Chengdu Panda Awareness Week in June of 2012.
Courtesy of YouTubeThis cute little Beagle has absolutely no clue what to do with this lemon. He tries to bite it, but its sour taste surprises him, which makes him pause before trying to bite it again. It's just darn cute no matter how you look at it, but dog-lovers will especially enjoy this clip.
Courtesy of YouTubePoor Henri is one sad French cat. In fact, you might even say Henri is having a bit of an existential crisis in his series of videos, but that doesn't stop us from laughing as he bemoans his fate of being a house cat. The videos are made in a black and white film noire style, in French, with English subtitles. This particular video was so popular that it won
"Best Cat Video On The Internet" at the Internet Cat Video Film Festival in Minneapolis on Thursday. (Apparently, there is such a thing! Who knew?)
Courtesy of YouTubeThe story goes, six baby wild boars, who happen to be incredibly cute, were found abandoned in the forest near Berlin, Germany. They were taken to an animal sanctuary, where they were quickly adopted by an unlikely surrogate mother, Baby, the French Bulldog. Awwwww.
Courtesy of YouTubeSmitty's owner came home from work and flipped on the TV, only to discover that his dog was utterly mesmerized by the talking dogs in the movie, Marmaduke. Too cute!
Courtesy of YouTubeThree sweet little baby bears got stuck in a dumpster overnight. They couldn't climb out, and the mama bear couldn't get them out, so she sat by the dumpster all night listening to them cry. Enter these resourceful, helpful humans with a ladder and a pickup truck! We love a happy ending.
Courtesy of YouTubeThere's a reason why "plays" and "friends" are in air-quotes, and it's because even though Buttermilk the goat is so, so, so cute... she's kind of an a-hole. In this clip, we see her frolicking in her yard, having a great time kicking, jumping on, and knocking over her fellow goats.
Courtesy of YouTubeTwo beautiful kittens just hanging out, watching some tennis on TV. The synchronized head movements and alert expressions made us want to go out and adopt a pair of kittens immediately.
Courtesy of YouTubeFifteen seconds into this :24 long clip, we see why they call him, "Evil Penguin." What a jerk.
Courtesy of YouTubeWatch as a bunny rabbit plays with his pink balloon. He just loves it! In fact, he might love it a bit
too much, as the last ten seconds of this brief clip show. Oops!
