Yeah, yesterday was a downer for news from the National Zoo. I’ve been told by several people that I may or may not have ruined their Thursday afternoons by passing along the news that a red panda cub died. (I’m just the conduit, people.) Add in the fact that our beloved Tai Shan is celebrating his fifth birthday so far away, and one can be excused for feeling a little blue about our current quota of cute.

But never fear — there’s relief on the way! The little critters to the right are the latest addition to the Zoo’s small mammal menagerie. Two greater Madagascar hedgehog tenrecs were born at the Zoo on June 10; the seventh litter produced by their productive parents. Now, look: we realize that hedgehogs may not possess the cuddliness factor of pandas and other such furry beasts. But try and read this excerpt from the Zoo’s website and not feel like you need to be taking care of these things right now:

At birth, tenrecs have tiny soft spines, which are modified hairs, that harden over time. Their eyes remain closed until the babies are about 14 days old. They start to eat solid food at about a month and will be weaned by the time they’re six to eight weeks old.

Aww.

But in the interest of completely washing away my reputation as the bearer of bad animal news, here’s the ultimate palate-cleanser: a solid minute and a half of the Zoo’s cute-as-all-get-out clouded leopard cubs “showing off their adorable cub cuteness” while they get used to their enclosure. This is jaw-droppingly delightful.

So, everyone feeling better now?