Titled, “Cats Blackie & Brownie Catching Squirts of Milk During Milking at Arch Badertscher’s Dairy Farm,” before the invention of the internet, this comical photo was widely considered of the most popular images of its time. Shot by famed photographer Nat Farbman back in the early 1950s, this photograph was first introduced to the public after its publication in Life magazine.
With subjects including livestock, a smiling farmer, nutritious and fresh, warm milk, and — of course — a cute little cat, this photo is the epitome of life of the farm in the U.S. Despite the sobering fact that cats are actually lactose intolerant, all facts aside, all facts aside, it comes as no surprise that the image is considered a classic photograph of American farm life.
The Transparent, Glass-winged Butterfly
Below sits the Greta Oto butterfly, more commonly known as the glass winged butterfly. Though native to Central and South America, most present in areas of Mexico, Panama, and Colombia, the glass-winged butterfly has been known to migrate as far north as Texas and Florida. As seen in this image, the glass-winged butterfly is most known for its uniquely transparent wings, a phenomenon caused by the glassy-looking tissue between the insects’ veins, which is the result of its lack of the colored scales found in most other species of butterfly. It is because of these see-through wings it nearly impossible for its predators—majorly birds—to track this butterfly when in flight.
Amazingly, the glass winged butterfly’s camouflage is activated upon flight, during which time its flapping, transparent wings essentially become invisible. Though this evolutionary disappearing tactic is not always successful, thankfully this butterfly has a backup strategy up its wing. This secondary act to dissuade predators—majorly birds—involves capturing toxins found in certain flowers, which ultimately give the butterfly a largely unpleasant taste to those predators attempting to make the Greta Oto its next meal.
A Rare Shot of the Secluded Clouded Leopard
Take it in while you can—the clouded leopard is notoriously known to keep to itself, preferring to live deep within the wild and rainy forest habitats of Southeast Asia (including parts of China and the Himalayan foothills), and very much out of sight from the rest of the world. This animal's unique and prized pelt has led to the widespread poaching of its skin, teeth, bones, and meat—which is commonly used in several traditional medicines as a substitution for tiger. Despite its name, it is not actually closely related to the leopard.
In actuality, this species is the smallest of the species of “big cats.” It is the clouded leopard that bridges the evolutionary gap that links the ‘big cats’ (includes jaguars, lions, snow leopards, tigers and snow leopards) to the “small cats,” or the group of cats that includes the cheetah, ocelot, lynx, cougar, along with the domestic house cat. First officially recorded by scientists as a species back in 1921, today the clouded leopard exists just as mysteriously as it did nearly 200 years ago.
What’s Cuter Than a Mini Horse? A baby Mini Horse, of Course
What could possibly be cuter than a miniature horse? A baby miniature horse, of course! The lifespan of a mini horse ranges from 25 to 35 years, outliving the full-grown horse by an average of five years. As pictured below, this baby Appaloosa miniature horse won’t grow any taller than 38 inches.
Any taller and this miniature horse ceases to be a mini horse and is instead classified as a Shetland pony. And while this height cut-off is seemingly simple, still there is no unanimous consensus as to when exactly a miniature horse is no longer a miniature horse.
Look Deep Into My Eyes…The absolutely Mesmerizing Eyes of the Ghost Glass Frog
Captivating us in the below photo is the amazing Limon ghost glass frog of Central America. The largest of the glass frogs in Central America, this type of glass frog has a uniquely translucent body, with a mostly opaque, bright emerald green back, and an extremely pale underside. Believe it or not, the inner organs of this frog species can actually be seen through its translucent skin. But what sets this glass frog apart from all other frogs of its kind? Its bulbous, forward-facing eyes, defined by their horizontally slit-like pupils and blue-streaked sclera.
Found in humid foothill forests anywhere from southern Nicaragua, all the way down to northern west Colombia, as well as a small area in northern Ecuador, this species of frog, while presently listed as a “Least Concern” species, similar to a number of other amphibians, faces an extreme threat from habitat loss.