The Toronto Zoo figured out that people like baby animals

The Toronto Zoo has done really, really well this year by capitalizing on the near-universal soft spot for cuddly baby animals. (The mild winter helped, too. But it was mostly the baby animals.) A recent staff report suggests this little guy and this wee thing, along with baby penguins and white lion cubs, all helped boost attendance by 46 per cent for the beginning of this year, compared with the first five months of 2011. Zoo board chairman Joe Torzsok attributed the boost to the zoo’s unconventional marketing campaign (we guess he means that weird “cute fight” music video), but told the Toronto Sun that the work isn’t done: “We can’t rest on our laurels, we still have six months left to go this year.” Zoo animals, you heard the man—better start your baby making. [Toronto Sun]