Because I feel the need for something adorable today… here’s an unlikely pair sure to melt your heart. When this tiger cub had to be separated from its biological mother due to flooding after a hurricane, this chimp became his adoptive mother and began caring for him as if he was her own. How cute are these two?

Animals adopt babies that need mothers, too, and sometimes even those of another species. This article has a few other adorable adoptive animal mothers and their “kids.” I know, I know – they’re just cute pics of animals, but it reminds me that adoption is a universal theme and not limited to mankind. When it comes to caring for an orphaned baby, love in the Animal Kingdom knows no boundaries. And that makes me smile.

All children deserve loving mothers and fathers that have the time, compassion, desire, maturity, resources, and the will to care for them. Sadly, sometimes that is not the baby or child’s biological family. But that’s where adoptive families step in. I’m excited and proud to be a future one. If only I was as cute as this chimp!