It’s an evolutionary explanation for why we find small, wet-eyed pups so appealing, and may be what drives us (and other animals) to care for the orphaned young of other species. More recent research supports Lorenz’s belief that the appeal transfers across the species divide – that the same psychological mechanism is involved in spotting and appreciating the cuteness of babies, puppies and kittens alike. For species whose young are born needy and reliant on their parents, attracting kind and caring attention might make all the difference for survival. These included a large cranium and eyes small nose and mouth plump body and chubby, squeezable cheeks. In the 1940s, the Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz – who became world famous for demonstrating that baby goslings would bond to and follow the first moving thing they saw, whether that be mother goose or Lorenz himself – outlined what he called the “Kindchenschema” (baby schema): a number of features common among babies of different species that elicit a positive response from humans. The quality of “universal cuteness” that Gethings alludes to is something that has been carefully studied. Gethings captures his babies at the sweetest spots of all: a creamy lamb standing four-square, its spindly legs braced shakily against the ground a donkey foal whose ears are entirely out of proportion to its dainty velveteen muzzle a duckling dressed in primrose yellow fuzz, caught mid-quack. It’s really fascinating.”įrom a piglet to a hairy hog, and a dinky donkey to a wild jenny. There’s a sweet spot after a few days when they can stand up, open their eyes, show that first bit of life. Too young, and they can’t support themselves. “They’ve got to be really young, but not too young. It took a little while to zoom in on exactly what makes baby animals so engaging, he tells me. With people there’s more going on, a subtext.” They don’t understand language, but they understand body language and the way you are with them. “With animals, I feel in control, more fully present.
Previous projects have included human subjects – such as 2018’s Do You Look Like Your Dog?, in which an Afghan hound needs to be matched to his windswept, long-haired owner – but increasingly Gethings finds himself gravitating towards animal-only work. Gethings, who is based in London, grew up in Lancashire, and worked for the photographer Terry O’Neill for a decade before striking out on his own as one of Britain’s finest animal portrait photographers.
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