A boy fires blanks from a Kalashnikov rifle, during Maslenitsa celebrations, or Shrovetide, to say farewell to winter in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Maslenitsa is a traditional Russian and Belarusian holiday marking the end of winter that dates back to pagan times. (Photo by Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

Ground personnel tend to actress Yulia Peresild after the landing of the Soyuz MS-18 reentry capsule with herself and director Klim Shipenko of the “Vyzov” (The Challenge) film crew as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky on board, in steppes southeast of Jezkazgan, Kazakhstan on October 17, 2021. (Photo by Sergei Savostyanov/TASS)

Albert is not the happiest looking kitty in the world. Even Tard the Grumpy Cat looks more cheerful. Well… maybe not cheerful. But at least Tard doesn’t have a look of menace and a desire to kill in his eyes. What could have caused a kitty to wear such a stern look all the time? It might be the fact that he’s all curly. Almost no one likes to stand out too much, and maybe Albert is no exception. Despite his menacing appearance, Albert’s owner claims that he’s a very polite cat and plays nicely with children. Though it is hard to believe at first glance, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, even when we’re looking at a cat.

Few people haven’t heard about the ancient city of Persepolis, which lies at the foot of the Mountain of Mercy (Kuh-I-Rahmat). In ancient times, Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Regretfully, it was burned by the Greeks in 330 BC after they looted the immense treasure of this city. It is said that Greeks needed 5,000 camels and 20,000 mules to carry all the treasures from Persepolis. The only thing of Persepolis that has survived the wear of time is the ginormous stone terrace 530 by 330 meters adorned by elaborate stone sculptures. It is amazing how intricately detailed some of the sculptures are, despite the fact that they were created many centuries ago.

“The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a U.S. organization that specializes in rescuing and caring for large predators which are being ill-treated, for which their owners can no longer care, or which might otherwise be euthanized. Created in 1980, The Wild Animal Sanctuary is situated on 720 acres (291 ha) of grassland near Keenesburg, Colorado North of Denver, and has helped over 1,000 animals since it first opened. As of 2010, it was home to over 290 animals”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Rescued brown and black bears feed at The Wild Animal Sanctuary on October 20, 2011 in Keenesburg, Colorado. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A mother bear takes a dip in the water to cool off in the warm summer sun but refuses to leave her three youngsters behind – so they climb aboard her back. (Photo by Jon Langeland/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Female Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters watch on as they release a bear into the wild in the Gara Mountains near the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on March 4, 2018, after Iraqi Kurdish Animal rights activists from a local NGO rescued it from a private home. (Photo by Safin Hamed/AFP Photo)