The concept of animal beauty explicates human cognitive abilities (cross-culturally in agreement) to subjectively perceive, evaluate, and categorize animals. The perception is determined by objective animal qualities such as size, shape, color, pattern, similarity to humans or familiar objects, and behavior.
The perception of animal beauty projects into the qualities of human life, such as recreation activities (bird-watching, fishing, hunting, and attending zoos and wildlife reserves), happiness, friendship, and pet keeping, as well as animal welfare and conservation.