A Google search for animals with Down syndrome yields pages upon pages of articles, videos, and images purporting to depict inspiring or paws-itively adorable creatures with this genetic disorder that results in various physical and mental disabilities.A few of the specific animals with Down syndrome that frequently appear on the internet have even attracted their own quasi-followings online. Chief among them may be Kenny the tiger, a rare white cat rescued from an unethical breeder in 2002 by Arkansas Turpentine Creek Wildlife Reserve, where he lived until his death in 2008.White tigers are extremely rare to begin with and Kenny was particularly unique because, in addition to his beautiful white coat, he suffered from genetic facial deformities including an abnormally short snout and wide face.This giraffe numbers among the scores of animals with Down syndrome or so the internet would have you believe.Then, online publishers and social media users took a look at Kennys face and made a rather large jump to the conclusion that he had Down syndrome.In fact, it takes some careful scrolling through Google results before you see pages that are publishing the truth: the notion of animals with Down syndrome is almost completely fallacious.The Truth About Animals With Down SyndromeKenny the tiger, a supposed animal with Down syndrome.In truth, Kennys deformities are the result of generations of inbreeding rather than the kind of chromosomal mutation that accounts for Down syndrome in humans.Because white tigers like Kenny are so rare in nature yet so desired for their unique fur, most that are alive today are the result of aggressive breeding programs that make heavy use of inbreeding between white tigers in order to try and keep the white fur trait alive.The American Zoological Association actually banned these kinds of breeding practices in 2011, stating that:Breeding practices that increase the physical expression of single rare alleles (i.e., rare genetic traits) has been clearly linked with various abnormal, debilitating, and, at times, lethal, external and internal conditions and characteristics.Despite the sad truth about Kenny having long since been known, many still mistakenly believe he had Down syndrome. One online video about Kenny and his supposed Down syndrome (a video that mocks the condition, no less) has more than 1.2 million views:And Kenny is far from the only feline to be falsely advertised as having Down syndrome.Otto the kitten became an internet sensation in his home country of Turkey. When the tiny cat passed away at only a little more than two months old in 2014, online publishers reported that his early death was related to the effects of Down syndrome.hurriyetdailynews.comOtto the kittenTheres just one problem: Cats of any kind, like virtually all animals, are unable to develop Down syndrome.The Explanations For These AnimalsEach human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes and Down syndrome appears in people affected by a genetic mutation that gives them three copies of chromosome 21.The genetic makeup of non-human animals is too different from that of humans to conclude that the duplication of the same chromosome would have identical effects to the ones observed in humans. Furthermore, many animals dont even have chromosome 21; cats, for example, have only 19 pairs of chromosomes. The animals with Down syndrome plastered all over the internet actually have various conditions that may merely produce certain characteristics similar to those produced by Down syndrome in humans. Kenny the tigers wide-set eyes and short snout were caused by inbreeding, Otto the kittens abnormal facial features were never definitively explained but may have been caused by a genetic mutation or a hormone deficiency, and so on. wimp.comA lion with facial abnormalities that is widely, and mistakenly, said to number among animals with Down syndrome.Quasi-Down Syndrome In ApesWhile the notion of animals with Down syndrome is a myth, apes are the one animal that seems to sometimes exhibit a genetic defect at least comparable to Down syndrome. Apes have 24 pairs of chromosomes as opposed to humans 23 and some apes have been diagnosed with having an extra copy of chromosome 22, which is similar to chromosome 21 in humans.mundo.comA chimp with facial deformities due to a genetic defect.According to a study from 2017, one chimpanzee with an extra chromosome 22 experienced growth defects, heart problems, and some of the other symptoms common in human Down syndrome.Nevertheless, the researchers only went so far as to state that this chimps condition was analogous to Down syndrome, not that it was Down syndrome. Furthermore, this case was only the second recorded instance of this particular chromosomal defect in a chimpanzee and researchers are still unsure of much about this disorder.Either way, whether chimp or kitten or tiger, the animals with Down syndrome you might find on the internet are not what online publishers claim them to be.After this look at the mistaken belief in animals with Down syndrome, have a look at Earths strangest creatures and its ugliest animals.The post Can Animals Have Down Syndrome? Inside The Truth Behind This Viral Internet Story appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Ankhesenamun was born Princess Ankhesenpaaten sometime around 1350 B.C., the third of six daughters born to King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. For over three thousand years, much of her life has been a mystery, a fascinating patchwork of bizarre facts and strange omissions.Though her story is remarkable in its own right, its Ankhesenamuns half-brother who catapulted her to historical prominence: King Tutankhamun, or King Tut, is the most famous Egyptian pharaoh on the planet because of his intact, treasure-laden tomb found in 1922.Wikimedia CommonsAnkhesenamun, King Tuts wife, shown on the right giving flowers to her husband.And Ankhesenamun was his wife. Yes, you read that right: Ankhesenamun was both King Tuts half-sister and his wife.It was a different world. Egypt was experiencing dramatic religious upheaval, and a dynasty hung in the balance. Incestuous marriages among the ruling class was common.In fact, Ankhesenamuns marriage to Tutankhamun might not have been her first inter-family marriage or even her last.The Religious Upheaval That Made A Dynasty DisappearWikimedia CommonsStatues of Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, at the Neues Museum in Berlin.Incest made sense to the ruling families of Ancient Egypt. Their power came with its own mythos; many believed or at least publicly claimed they were descended from gods.Inter-family marriages, then, were about keeping a sacred bloodline pure. They also concentrated power in the royal familys hands, effectively delegitimizing other contenders for the throne.With no understanding of genetics, they were incapable of grasping the dangers of incest and they paid the price. Though his parentage is uncertain, many point to Tutankhamun as a victim of inbreeding, citing evidence of a clubfoot and other serious congenital health issues in his remains. Some have argued his parents were likely full siblings.It was a fate Ankhesenamun was destined to share.Historians have discovered compelling evidence that the mysterious royal lady might, as a third daughter of the pharaoh, have served as a bride for her father, Akhenaten, after Queen Nefertiti died but before she was married to her brother Tutankhamun.Wikimedia Commons A depiction of Akhenaten and his family.She wasnt alone; historians believe that Akhenaten may have tried to conceive children with Ankhesenamuns older sisters. The stories on the walls of family tombs suggest those pregnancies ended in miscarriage and death.Akhenaten and his dynasty in general were in a particularly vulnerable position, which is perhaps one reason he felt securing a wide field of heirs was important.Their difficulties were entirely of his making. Akhenaten was in the process of overhauling centuries of Egyptian religious tradition in a stunning and unprecedented move toward monotheism.Flickr / Richard MortelAkhenaten, Nefertiti, and their daughters are displayed under the rising image of Aten, the sun disc.Though history tells us what he did, few records remain to help us understand why Akhenaten turned his back on the old gods and embraced Aten, the sun-disc, as the supreme being for Egyptians to worship.It was a decision that had the potential to undermine the entire Egyptian power structure, and it was particularly dangerous because it dismantled the authority of the priests, who were a powerful faction in their own right. Without their support, the royal family found itself increasingly friendless.Ankhesenamun Marries Tutankhamun And The Old Gods Are RestoredWikimedia Commons Ankhesenamun on the right, King Tut on the left, this time in shiny gold and full color.The move away from Amun-Ra and the rest of the Egyptian pantheon, gradual at first, had a dramatic effect on the Egyptian state.With the priests disenfranchised, control passed to the army and the central government; bureaucracy reigned and bred corruption.And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the greatest religious revolution in centuries came to an end: Akhenaten died and Tutankhamun came to power.Precariously placed and with little time to consolidate power, a young Tutankhamun wed his teenage sister, Ankhesenamun, and together they quickly retreated from their fathers radical religion.Pressured, perhaps, by the priests who were a vital pillar of royal power, they changed their own names. Tutankhaten, meaning the living image of Aten, changed the suffix in his name to Amun, swapping his fathers sun-disc for the traditional sun god of the Egyptian pantheon. Ankhesenamun, formerly Ankhesenpaaten, followed suit.Just like that, the great transformation Akhenaten had begun raising Aten, building new temples with the bones of the old, striking out Amun-Ras name and prohibiting worship of the old pantheon was over.But peace still proved elusive.The Brief And Unstable Reign Of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun, Egypts Royal TeenagersWikimedia CommonsA depiction of King Tut with a cane on the walls of his tomb.It was a frightening time; both the king and queen were very young and in charge of running the entire country. Tut and his bride initially relied on powerful advisors to govern the ancient nation a policy that may have eventually proved their undoing.Tuts time as king wasnt the happiest. His mummy suggests he was frail and plagued by illness a hypothesis corroborated by the discovery of hundreds of ornate canes in his famous tomb.Heirs might have stabilized Tuts reign, and evidence supports the idea that he and Ankhesenamun tried without success to have children. The mummies of two female fetuses, five to eight months in age, were found in King Tuts tomb.Genetic testing possible because of the royal embalmers skill confirms the unborn daughters belong to Tut and a nearby mummy, most likely Ankhesenamun.It also reveals that the older of Tuts unborn daughters, if brought to term, would have suffered from Sprengels deformity, spina bifida, and scoliosis. Once again, the royal family of Egypt suffered at the hands of genetic disorders they couldnt understand.Tuts reign, though famous, was brief. He died young, at 19, in what historians for many years imagined to be a dramatic accident.Inspired by the pictures of a healthy young man riding a chariot across the sides of Tuts casket and around his tomb, some historians hypothesized a chariot race gone wrong, which would have explained the fracture in his leg and damage to his pelvis. Infection, they imagined, set in and led to death by blood poisoning.Wikimedia CommonsA depiction of King Tut riding on a war chariot.Others, noticing bone fragments in the royal mummys skull, postulated a blow to the head perhaps murder by a scheming advisor or relative.Further analysis, however, rendered this unlikely; Tuts skull was intact, and the bone had actually chipped off a vertebrae in his neck damaged that probably occurred some 3,000 years after his death when Howard Carters 1922 team pried off his gold death mask.The latest thinking on Tuts death blames an infection that resulted from a fracture in his left thigh not the result of a chariot accident, since the king, with a number of physical impairments, probably could not have raced. His immune system, weakened from several bouts of malaria, couldnt fight the infection.Regardless of how it happened, the result was the same: Ankhesenamun was left to fend for herself.What Happened To Ankhesenamun After Tut Died?Wikimedia Commons Howard Carter opening King Tuts sarcophagus in 1922.King Tuts wife may have next married Ay, a powerful advisor who was close to both her and Tut perhaps because he was also her grandfather. But the historical record is unclear.There is good reason to believe that life after Tuts death was difficult and frightening for Ankhesenamun.She may have been the author of an undated letter to Suppiluliumas I, the king of the Hittites. In the letter, an unidentified royal woman makes a desperate plea for the Hittite leader to send her a new husband; her old husband is dead, she says, and she has no children.The letters author needed someone to be king of Egypt, and it didnt matter if that someone came from Egypts chief military rival as long as he stepped in to save her kingdom.Suppiluliumas I agreed to send Zannanza, a Hittite prince. But Egyptian forces, perhaps loyal to Ay, killed Zannanza at the border of Egypt. Rescue never came.Wikimedia CommonsA statue of Ankhesenamun and King Tut at Luxor.Ankhesenamun disappears from the historical record sometime between 1325 and 1321 B.C. an absence that to historians signals her death. Because no one knows what happened to her, scholars have sometimes referred to King Tuts wife as Egypts Lost Princess.But it isnt only time that has fragmented her story. Ankhesenamuns role in one of Ancient Egypts most contentious periods was lost deliberately, excised from the annals of history by the new dynasty that rose to power just decades later.Backed by the priests, the new rulers branded the sun-disc worshiper Akhenaten a heretic and scrubbed him and his immediate descendants from the list of pharaohs, sealing their tombs and consigning their stories to 3,000 years of silence.After learning about Ankhesenamun, King Tuts wife and sister, check out these shocking cases of famous incest throughout history. Then, read about Charles II of Spain, who was so ugly he scared off two wives.The post Inside The Tragic Life Of Ankhesenamun, The Wife Of Tutankhamun appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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Istanbul famous for its bustling markets, unique architecture, and vibrant culture, there is one more feature of this Mediterranean capital that deserves a share of the spotlight, and that is the street cats. Largely considered to be part of the community, inhabiting busy squares, shops, train stations, and mosques, these free-roaming felines belong to no one and everyone, with much of their needs being met by the community at large. However, there are several charities dedicated to providing healthcare and neutering services to the inhabitants of Catstanbul, without whom disease, injury, and overpopulation could easily tip the balance from peaceful cohabitation to a public health crisis.Capturing the unique spirit and lives of Istanbuls street cats has been a long-standing passion for Sami Uan. The 43-year-old map engineer moved to the Turkish capital in 2011, and within a year, he had embarked on a photographic journey that would lead to the publication of his book Kedi (cat in Turkish) in 2018, and more recently, a collaboration with Hoxton Mini Press for their Cat book in 2025.Uans images have also been featured in calendars published by various animal welfare organizations as a charitable contribution.Istanbuls cats are an integral part of the citys identity. I have been documenting their lives on the streets for over a decade. I take great pride in supporting the protection of street animals through my photography, says Uan. It is always a pleasure to see these feline stories resonate with international audiences.Seeing firsthand the beauty of the relationship between Istanbul and her cats, Uan is well aware of the vital role that animal welfare organizations play. Organizations such as Yedikule Hayvan Barna (Yedikule Animal Shelter).[Yedikule Animal Shelter] is a volunteer-driven sanctuary in Istanbul that provides care for thousands of animals, and their mission aligns perfectly with the spirit of my project.With hundreds of images in his collection to choose from, we asked Uan to share some of his favorite images with us, and now we can share them with you! All Images bySami UanDid You Know? Our brand-new posts are rounded up and included in our weekly emails. Dont miss out on the latest sign up for our newsletter below!

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