1.
Species
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In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
2.
King penguin
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The king penguin is a large species of penguin, second only to the emperor penguin in size. There are two subspecies, A. p. patagonicus and A. p. halli, patagonicus is found in the South Atlantic, King penguins eat small fish, mainly lanternfish, and squid. They are less reliant on krill and other crustaceans than most Southern Ocean predators, on foraging trips king penguins repeatedly dive to over 100 metres, and have been recorded at depths greater than 300 metres. King penguins breed on the islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia. The king penguin stands at 70 to 100 cm tall and weighs from 9.3 to 18 kg, males are slightly larger than females. The mean body mass of adults from Marion Island was 12.4 kg for 70 males and 11.1 kg for 71 females, another study from Marion Island found that the mean mass of 33 adults feeding chicks was 13.1 kg. Thus the average weight of the penguin is similar or just slightly higher than that of the largest living flying birds. Both species have colorful markings along the side of their lower mandible, once fully molted of its heavy dark brown down, the juvenile king penguin resembles the adult but is somewhat less colorful. King penguins breed on islands between 45 and 55°S, at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing, macquarie Island has around 70,000 pairs. The non-breeding range is known due to vagrant birds having been recorded from the Antarctic peninsula as well as South Africa, Australia. The Nature Protection Society released king penguins in Gjesvær in Finnmark, birds were reported in the area several times in the 1940s though none have been seen since 1949. The current maximum dive recorded is 343 metres in the Falkland Islands region, the king penguin dives to depths of 100–300 meters, spending around five minutes submerged, during daylight hours, and less than 30 metres at night. The majority of dives undertaken by king penguins are flat-bottomed, that is and they have been described as U-shaped or W-shaped, relating to the course of the dive. The bird dives in a V-shaped or spike pattern in the remaining 12% of dives, other penguins dive in this latter foraging pattern in contrast. Observations at Crozet Islands revealed most king penguins were seen within 30 km of the colony, using the average swimming speed, Kooyman estimated the distance travelled to foraging areas at 28 km. Its average swimming speed is 6. 5–10 km/h, on shallower dives under 60 m, it averages 2 km/h descending and ascending, while on deeper dives over 150 m deep, it averages 5 km/h in both directions. King penguins also porpoise, a technique used to breathe while maintaining speed
3.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
4.
Norwegian Army
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Norway achieved full independence in 1905, and in the first century of its short life has contributed to three major conflicts, World War II, the Cold War and the War on Terror. The Norwegian Army currently operates in Northern Norway and in Afghanistan as well as in Eastern Europe, the Army is the oldest of the service branches, established as a modern military organization in 1628. The Army participated in wars during the 17th, 18th and 19th century as well, after the Kalmar War broke out in 1611, the Danish king tried to revive the volunteer leidang, with dire results. As the Norwegian citizenry had not been armed or trained in the use of arms for nearly three centuries they were not able to fight, the soldiers had to participate in military drills, while providing supplementary labor to the local community when not in active service. During the war of 1643–45, the Norwegian army performed well while its Danish counterpart flopped, as a result, large areas had to be ceded to Sweden. In 2008 the army faced criticism from within for only being able to only one district in Oslo in the event of a national invasion. German ceased to be the language of command in the army in 1772. With the outbreak of the Napoleonic wars, Denmark-Norway and Sweden tried to remain neutral, by 1807, Denmark-Norway was formally at war with Britain. As the Napoleonic era drew to a close, the allies decided to award Norway to Sweden in 1814. This union lasted until 1905, during which time the Norwegian Army retained a separate entity within the joint kingdom, financial budgeting, recruitment, regimental organization and uniforms were all independent of their Swedish counterparts. The basis for recruitment for the Norwegian Army was initially one of conscription for up to five years by lot drawn amongst rural recruits only, a framework was provided by regular soldiers or hvervede, enlisted as long-service volunteers. As with other armies of the period, the payment of a substitute to serve in place was permitted. This system was replaced by one of universal conscription introduced in 1854, in 1884 the basis of service was further modified with the training period being reduced to 90 days. The regulars of the hvervede were reduced to a cadre of officers, ncos. In June 1905 the Storting unilaterally dissolved the 91-year-old union with Sweden, after a short but tense period during which both armies were mobilized, Sweden agreed to the peaceful dissolution of the union. Though nominally a neutral nation during World War I, Norway was in the position of being dependent on the warring sides for its trade. Coal from Britain was needed to keep the country going, and Norway had thus to agree that each shipload of coal leaving Britain be matched with incoming Norwegian cargoes such as copper ore and this attracted the attention of German submarines. By 1920 the army of Norway was a national militia, service was universal and compulsory, liability commencing at the age of 18 and continuing till the age of 56
5.
Colonel-in-chief
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Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in a military regiment. It is in use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiments patron. The position was used in the armies of several European monarchies. A Colonel-in-Chief has a ceremonial role in their regiment. The Norwegian Army has taken a more whimsical approach to the position, historically a Colonel-in-Chief was the ceremonial head of a regiment, usually a member of a European countrys royal family. The practice extends at least back to 1740 in Prussia when Frederick II held that position in the newly created Garde du Corps, an elite heavy cavalry regiment. By the late 19th Century the designation could be given to the children of royalty, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II carried the title to an extreme, holding it in literally dozens of German and Austro-Hungarian, British, Russian, and Portuguese regiments. In addition, his mother, wife, son, and daughters were also full or deputy Colonels-in-Chief of various units, in modern usage, the Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment is its patron, who has a ceremonial role in the life of the regiment. They do not have a role, or the right to issue orders. The chief purpose of the Colonel-in-Chief is to maintain a link between the regiment and the royal family. Some artillery regiments have a Captain-General instead of a Colonel-in-Chief, Colonels-in-Chief are appointed at the invitation of the regiment. While it is traditional for a royal personage to hold the position, as of 2015, most Colonels-in-Chief in the British Army are members of the British royal family. These exceptions, however, do not change the raison dêtre of the post, the role has spread to other armies in the Commonwealth of Nations, at least in countries which have royal families
6.
Military mascot
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Military mascot refers to a pet animal maintained by a military unit as a mascot for ceremonial purposes or as an emblem of that unit. It may also be referred to as a pet or regimental mascot. It differs from an animal in that it is not employed for use directly in warfare as a weapon or for transport. The custom of adopting mascots originated from troops bringing a pet to war, some regimental mascots, such as those of most British infantry regiments, represent their home counties history. Regiments of the British Army have long been prone to adopt members of the world as their mascots, dogs, goats. When the custom of having regimental mascots first started is not clear, some mascots in the British Army are indicative of the recruiting area of a regiment, such as the Derbyshire Ram, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Irish Wolfhounds and Welsh Goats. British Army mascots are classified as regimental pets or regimental mascots. The former are unofficial mascots since they are not recognized by the Army, while the latter are official mascots, official British Army mascots are entitled to the services of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, as well as quartering and food at public expense. It costs the Army the equivalent of $55,000 a year for the upkeep of official mascots, There are also mascots whose upkeep are borne by the regiment or unit itself. They are unofficial mascots which are referred to as regimental pets. The Army is keen in preserving the distinction between pets kept by the soldiers and official mascots of the regiments, the case for official mascot recognition is presented before the Army Honours and Distinction Committee. By getting an official status, the mascot will receive a number, assume a proper rank, with prospects of promotion. There are three rules set down in 1953 that need to be hurdled to get official mascot status, first, the regiment must comply with the welfare guidelines issued by the Army Veterinary Corps to ensure that the mascot is properly fed and housed. Second, the regiments Commanding Officer must give approval before the case goes to the Army Honours, a total of seventeen ceremonial pets are kept by eleven Army regiments, but only ten are recognized as official regimental mascots by the Army. It is a jealously guarded by those who have it. So far, the animals that have made the grade of official regimental mascot are the horse, pony, wolfhound, goat, ram, a Welsh Mountain Pony named Emrys. A Welsh Mountain Pony was selected to reflect the Regiment’s Welsh heritage, the Mascots full title is 16851959 Tpr Emrys Forlan Jones. His number embodies the years of formation for the Queens Bays and Kings Dragoon Guards, Emrys means The Immortal One in Welsh and is a name steeped in Welsh history and mythology
Norway
Norwegian Army
Brigadier, Colonel-in-Chief and mascot
