It's a known rule of Cute Math that the size of an animal is inversely proportional to how freaking adorable it is. Case in point: the bite-sized western pond turtles at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.

The hatchlings are part of an ongoing effort to reinforce the population of the species after massive coastal deforestation, disease and predation led to their near extinction in the early 1990s. The Western Pond Turtle Recovery project aims to foster a large number of the animals in captivity until they are big enough to be released into the wild, where hungry bullfrogs (who down the baby turtles like popcorn chicken) pose a particular threat.

Right now, the turtles are about the size of a quarter (we know -- squeee!) but by next summer, when they're due to be released into the wild, they should be big enough to hold their own. (We're just relieved to have some happy tiny-animal news to help wash away the pain of losing six-inch-tall muntjac deer Rupert earlier this month.)

Remember: The exception to the Size/Cuteness Ratio Rule is the the Chubby Clause. Check out some ludicrously cute, huggably tubby animals in our gallery of Obeasts below (and click here to send us pictures of your own fat cats and doughy dogs).



Obeasts

    Xu Jirong holds his fat cat at home in Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province.

    Xu's nine-year-old pet weighs 15 kilograms and that its waist measures around 77 centimeters.

    This cat's more than a little bit of a couch potato.

    Flickr

    This big guy's name is Hercules. He got stuck in his neighbor's pet door while trying to steal some dog food and had to be rescued by the Humane Society.

    AP

    Is it just us, or does that dog look scared?

    AP

    "Stop standing next to me, you're making me look fat."

    Getty Images

    This labrador--named Chubby Charlie--was forced to go on a crash diet after ballooning to 168 pounds.

    AP

    This big boy is a little down in the dumps. Perhaps it's the high carb diet?

    Flickr

    These fat monkeys live in a tiny enclosure in a Japanese park. Around 30 percent of the monkeys that live in the park are overweight due to overfeeding by visitors.

    AP

    There's fat pigs, and then there's fat pigs.

    AP