history

Believe it or not but it turns out the very first cat memes were created over 100 years ago, thanks to a photographer named Harry Whittier Frees. Harry Whittier Frees dressed up cats and posed them with props, just the way one would photograph a human. He basically did what people do today before it was cool. 

Frees was born in 1879, Reading, Pennsylvania. In an interview with LIFE magazine, it was told he took his first "lolcat" photo completely by accident! The year was 1906 when his family gathered for dinner and brought a paper hat. They passed around the hat from head to head until it was placed on the head of Frees' cat. At that moment he took a photo of a cat with a hat. The source mentions how admired the shot was so he began to take more photos of cats in outfits and props. 

These photographs were taken in the early 1900s with a camera speed of 1/5th a second. As as we all know, cats (especially kittens) move constantly. Especially when you're trying to take a picture of them! So you can imagine how difficult it must have been and reportedly, two-thirds of the negatives had to discarded due to their blurriness. 

Honestly, it just makes the following images that much more impressive! Feast your eyes on the world's earliest cat memes: 

This a groundbreaking scientific breakthrough! After 20 years of trying to increase the cheetah population, there might be hope for their species yet! 

Columbus Zoo, Ohio, has reported that two cheetah cubs (a male and female) were born February 19th, 2020. The birth is thanks to a procedure that took place at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. For the first time in history, US scientists were able to delivery two cubs via vitro fertilisation (IVF), using a surrogate cheetah.

The surrogate mother, Izzy, is a three-year-old cheetah who carried the eggs harvested from six-year-old Kabibi, and sperm from a cheetah at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas. 

Timeline of the historical procedure according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo website:

• Nov. 14 and 18: The female cheetahs were given hormone injections to develop mature follicles.
• Nov. 19: Eggs (oocytes) were taken from Izzy and Kibibi. Neither had reproduced previously.
• Nov. 19: Semen from male cheetah thawed and eggs fertilized.
• Nov. 21: Team implanted nine embryos in Isabelle (Izzy) and six in second cheetah, Ophelia. A typical cheetah gestation is 93 days.
• Dec. 23: Izzy was confirmed pregnant via ultrasound, which appeared to show two cubs. The ultrasound confirmed that Ophelia was not pregnant.
• Feb. 16: Izzy's care providers begin an around-the-clock video birth watch
• Feb. 19: Cubs born

How amazing is that? Thanks to all the hard working scientists who are keeping these beautiful creature from going extinct! 

Story via CBS News

Researchers in Alberta, Canada discovered new species of tyrannosaur - a 79-million-year-old tyrannosaur named Thanatotheristes degrootorum — which means "reaper of death". The fearsome predator lived 79 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period.

Ever wonder how cats became domesticated? Or why on Earth humans decided to bring in the adorable and small predators into our homes in the first place? You've come to the right place! 

Tumblr user, Koryos, who studies animal behavior, has written this extremely informative post about how the once-mighty predatory now sits indoors pampered. 

It's actually quite fascinating and Koryos has done a wonderful job of explaining it so well!

Get ready to learn!  

You are probably not surprised to hear that dogs have been helping people with disabilities for centuries. Twitter page @DisabilityHistory takes a look back at art and photos that reveal all the good things done by these good boys many years ago. It has been suggested that the earliest surviving illustration of a guide dog from Western Europe dates to the late fifteenth century.  But there are actually several earlier depictions of guide dogs that survive in medieval manuscripts.      

This is amazing! Delaware is making history as the first and only no-kill animal shelter state in the country! According to Best Friends Animal Society, a non-profit animal welfare organization. for a state to be recognized as "no-kill," it must achieve a 90% save rate for all the animals that enter -- and Delaware did that. 

Brandywine Valley SPCA, which has three locations in Delaware and cares for more than 14,000 animals each year, have multiple programs implemented on how they achieved this no-kill status!

You've probably never heard of him, but you've almost definitely seen his photographs. I'm talking about Walter Chandoha, the American photographer, cat dad and husband, who photographed cats for most of his life and was the virtually the pioneer of cat photography. Here is his story. 

What an accomplishment! Thanks to these adorable furry companions, Thomas Panek was able to partake and complete the New York Half Marathon, making him the first blind person to ever do so! See the images from the marathon below:

These incredible photos were taken way way back and the stories behind them will make you laugh, cry or just miss those good old days. Via: Klyker