Why do we find giant pandas so cute Super Cute Animals Preview BBC

In the wild, the eye-catching black and white actually breaks up the panda's silhouette in the snowy forest and makes the eyes look bigger, more threatening to rivals and predators. But the illusion has the complete opposite effect on us. So why have we fallen for these oversized features? Well bizarrely, it's all down to our own biology. Big eyes trigger exactly the same emotional response in us as when we see the panda's oversized head and that's really because of the way that we respond when we see our own babies. We're all born with these big heads and big eyes and when we see those features, our nurturing, caring instincts spring into action. At the sight of Bao Bao's big baby-like head, blood rushes to our midbrain, part of the brain's pleasure centre. A flood of dopamine is released, one of the hormones produced when we fall in love. This chemical reaction creates emotions. It's what makes us go all gooey. Psychologists call it the cute response and the cute response is so powerful, primitive and deep-rooted that it can be triggered when we see those features in other species, in animals. Our love of the panda is down to our evolutionary hardwiring. We just can't help it.