1.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Dog
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The domestic dog is a member of genus Canis that forms part of the wolf-like canids, and is the most widely abundant carnivore. The dog and the extant gray wolf are sister taxa, with modern wolves not closely related to the wolves that were first domesticated, the dog was the first domesticated species and has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Their long association with humans has led dogs to be attuned to human behavior. Dogs vary widely in shape, size and colours, dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This influence on society has given them the sobriquet mans best friend. The term domestic dog is used for both domesticated and feral varieties. The English word dog comes from Middle English dogge, from Old English docga, the term may possibly derive from Proto-Germanic *dukkōn, represented in Old English finger-docce. The word also shows the familiar petname diminutive -ga also seen in frogga frog, picga pig, stagga stag, wicga beetle, worm, the term dog may ultimately derive from the earliest layer of Proto-Indo-European vocabulary. In 14th-century England, hound was the word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype of hound. It is believed this dog type was so common, it became the prototype of the category hound. By the 16th century, dog had become the general word, the word hound is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *kwon-, dog. This semantic shift may be compared with in German, where the corresponding words Dogge, a male canine is referred to as a dog, while a female is called a bitch. The father of a litter is called the sire, and the mother is called the dam, the process of birth is whelping, from the Old English word hwelp, the modern English word whelp is an alternate term for puppy. A litter refers to the offspring at one birth which are called puppies or pups from the French poupée, doll. The term dog typically is applied both to the species as a whole, and any male member of the same. An adult female is a bitch, in some countries, especially in North America, dog is used instead due to the vulgar connotation of bitch. An adult male capable of reproduction is a stud, an adult female capable of reproduction is a brood bitch, or brood mother. Immature males or females are pups or puppies, a group of pups from the same gestation period is a litter
4.
Bear
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Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, with the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They may be diurnal or nocturnal and have an excellent sense of smell, despite their heavy build and awkward gait, they are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers. Bears use shelters, such as caves and logs, as their dens, most species occupy their dens during the winter for a period of hibernation. Bears have been hunted since prehistoric times for their meat and fur, they have used for bear-baiting and other forms of entertainment. With their powerful physical presence, they play a prominent role in the arts, mythology, in modern times, bears have come under pressure through encroachment on their habitats and illegal trade in bear parts, including the Asian bile bear market. The IUCN lists six species as vulnerable or endangered, and even least concern species. The poaching and international trade of these most threatened populations are prohibited, Bear taxon names such as Ursidae and Ursus come from Latin Ursus/Ursa, he-bear/she-bear. The female first name Ursula, originally derived from a Christian saints name, in Switzerland, the male first name Urs is especially popular, while the name of the canton and city of Bern is derived from Bär, German for bear. The Germanic name Bernard means bear-brave, bear-hardy, or bold bear, the Old English name Beowulf is a kenning, bee-wolf, for bear, in turn meaning a brave warrior. The family Ursidae is one of nine families in the suborder Caniformia, or doglike carnivorans, Bears closest living relatives are the pinnipeds, canids, and musteloids. Modern bears comprise eight species in three subfamilies, Ailuropodinae, Tremarctinae, and Ursinae, the earliest members of Ursidae belong to the extinct subfamily Amphicynodontinae, including Parictis and the slightly younger Allocyon, both from North America. These animals looked very different from bears, being small and raccoon-like in overall appearance. Parictis does not appear in Eurasia and Africa until the Miocene, european genera morphologically are very similar to Allocyon, and to the much younger American Kolponomos, are known from the Oligocene, including Amphicticeps and Amphicynodon. The raccoon-sized, dog-like Cephalogale is the member of the subfamily Hemicyoninae. The subfamily includes the younger genera Phoberocyon, and Plithocyon, a Cephalogale-like species gave rise to the genus Ursavus during the early Oligocene, this genus proliferated into many species in Asia and is ancestral to all living bears
5.
North Carolina
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North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain
6.
Brindle
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Brindle is a coat coloring pattern in animals, particularly dogs, cattle, guinea pigs, and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as tiger-striped, although the pattern is more subtle than that of a tigers coat. The streaks of color are irregular and usually darker than the color of the coat. This coloration looks very similar to tricolor, and can be distinguished only at close range, dogs of this color are often described as trindle. It can also occur in combination with merle in the points, or as a brindle merle, in such as the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. The dark markings are black or the gray or brown. It is not uncommon for a brindled Cairn Terrier to become more black or silver as it ages. Brindle is an old variety in guinea pigs and they are difficult to breed to perfection, as the black and red hairs should intermingle evenly all over. Brindle guinea pigs fur type is Abyssinian, in some horses the pattern seems to be inherited, indicating that one or more genes are responsible. One heritable brindle pattern in a family of American Quarter Horses was identified in 2016, the Brindle1 phenotype has an X-linked, semidominant mode of inheritance. Female horses with this gene have a coat pattern, plus hairs from the stripes have a different texture as well as color, less straight. Male horses have sparse manes and tails but do not show a striped coat texture pattern, Brindle coloring consists of irregular stripes extending vertically over the horses body and horizontally around the legs. Brindle horses can also have a dorsal stripe and it usually does not affect the head and legs as much as the body, with the heaviest concentrations of brindling being on the neck, shoulders and hindquarters. The coloring has been documented in the past, at the Zoological Museum of the Academy of Science in Leningrad, a Russian cab horse of brindle coloring from the early 19th century was mounted and put on display due to its rarity. The brindling pattern found in horses could be described as vertical stripes that are found along the neck, back, hindquarters, the horses head is usually a solid color and is not affected by the striping. The brindling pattern has no effect on points on horses. Some brindle-colored horses are more eye-catching than others, with this rare coat pattern there is a base coat that covers the entire body of the horse. This base coat color can be any color, recorded examples have been bay, chestnut, palomino, and dun
7.
Conformation show
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Such shows are useful to breeders as a means of evaluating dogs for breeding purposes. Many breeders even consider championship a prerequisite for breeding, the first modern conformation dog show was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, in June 1859, and the only breeds scheduled were pointers and setters. A conformation dog show is not a comparison of one dog to another, Dog show judges attempt to identify dogs who epitomize the published standards for each breed. This can be challenging, because some judgements must necessarily be subjective, judges are generally certified to judge one or several breeds, usually in the same group, but a few all-breed judges have the training and experience to judge large numbers of breeds. Dogs compete at dog shows to earn points or certification towards championship titles, the Kennel Club system, which is also used by the Australian National Kennel Council and in other countries, is considered the most difficult to earn a title under. At certain shows designated as Championship shows, the top bitch and dog in each breed will be awarded a Challenge Certificate, the number of CCs on offer for each breed is decided by the Kennel Club in advance, so opportunities to gain a title are limited. In the US and Canada, each time a dog wins at some level of a show, the number of points varies depending on what level within a show the win occurs, how many dogs are competing, and whether the show is a major or minor. The exact number of points needed to gain a championship varies depending on the club offering the title. At the lowest level, dogs are divided by breed, each breed is divided into classes based on sex and, sometimes, age. Males are judged first, then females, at the next level they are divided by group. At the final level, all dogs compete together under a specially trained all breed judge, Best of Breed is the title given to the dog who has been judged the best representative specimen of its breed at a conformation show. Some kennel clubs divide some breeds into varieties based on specific traits, in single-breed shows, however, the Best of Variety winners may compete for Best of Breed. The term Best of Breed or Variety is often used to both titles. Each breed or variety is divided into classes based on sex, dogs are judged first, in their age classes. Within one breed, there are puppies, mature male dogs, at some events, usually single-breed or novelty shows, there may be a baby puppy class which is usually contested after the adult classes as a ploy to keep spectators interested. The winners of all classes in each sex compete for Challenge Dog and Challenge Bitch and this is for fairness, as one class may contain a stronger field of specimens of the breed. If the judge believes that this is the case, the Challenge Dog and Reserve Challenge Dog, for example, from the two finalists is selected Best of Breed. The runner-up is deemed Best of Opposite Sex, there is then a run-off in which the second best individual in the sex division of the winner is brought back to stand against the Best of Opposite Sex for the title of Runner-up to Best of Breed
8.
Hound
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A Hound is a type of dog, used by hunters to track or chase prey. Hounds can be contrasted with gundogs, which assist hunters by identifying the location of prey and/or recovering shot quarry, the hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. They have either a sense of smell or great speed. There are three types of hound, with several breeds within each type, Sighthounds, which follow prey predominantly by speed and these dogs are fast and assist hunters in catching game—fox, hare, deer and elk. Scenthounds, which follow prey or others by tracking its scent and these dogs have endurance but are not fast runners. The remaining breeds of hound follow their prey using both sight and scent, difficult to classify as they are neither sighthound nor scent hound and this may not include all hound-type dogs. Breed Groups Dog type Hound Group Hunting dog Scent hound Sighthound Sighthound & Pariah Group
9.
Basset Hound
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The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog of the hound family, as well as one of six recognized Basset breeds in France. The Basset is a scent hound that was bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the Bloodhound, the name Basset is derived from the French word bas, meaning low, with the attenuating suffix -et meaning small, together meaning rather low. Basset Hounds are usually bicolours or tricolours of standard hound colouration, in this article, Basset is used to distinguish the modern breed from other basset-type dogs. Bassets are large, short, solid and long, with curved sabre tails held high over their long backs, an adult dog weighs between 20 and 35 kilograms. This breed, relative to size, is heavier-boned than any other and this breed, like its ancestor the Bloodhound, has a hanging skin structure, which causes the face to occasionally look sad, this, for many people, adds to the breeds charm. The dewlap, seen as the loose, elastic skin around the neck, and its neck is wider than its head. This, combined with the skin around its face and neck means that flat collars can easily be pulled off. The looseness of the results in the Bassets characteristic facial wrinkles. The Bassets skull is characterised by its large dolichocephalic nose, which is only to the Bloodhound in scenting ability. The coat of a Basset is medium-short, smooth and hard, any true hound colour is acceptable in Basset Hounds, and no one colour is preferred over any other. The source of colour is the E Locus, which has four alleles, EM, EG, E, the EM, E and e alleles are present in the Basset Hounds. The E allele allows for the production of red and black pigments, so is present with the majority of colour patterns in Basset Hounds. Red and Lemon colours are caused by the e allele of MC1R, the e allele is recessive, so red and lemon dogs are homozygous e/e. Lemon dogs are lighter in colour than Reds, but the mechanism that dilutes phaeomelanin in this instance is unknown. No black hairs will be present on either Red or Lemon dogs, if there are any black hairs, the dog is officially a tricolour. The EM allele produces a black mask on the face that may extend up around the eyes and this pattern is most easily seen on Mahogany dogs, although any Basset colour pattern may express the EM allele, except for red and white or lemon and white due to e/e. Many Bassets have a clearly defined white blaze and a tip to their tail
10.
Beagle
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The Beagle is a breed of small-sized hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The Beagle is a scent hound, developed primarily for hunting hare, with a great sense of smell and their tracking instinct, the Beagle is employed as detection dog for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. The Beagle is intelligent but single-minded and it is a popular pet due to its size, good temper, and lack of inherited health problems. Beagles have been depicted in culture since Elizabethan times in literature and paintings, and more recently in film, television. Snoopy of the comic strip Peanuts has been promoted as the worlds most famous beagle, Dogs of similar size and purpose to the modern Beagle can be traced in Ancient Greece back to around the 5th century BC. Xenophon, born around 430 BC, in his Treatise on Hunting or Cynegeticus refers to a hound that hunted hares by scent and was followed on foot. Small hounds are mentioned in the Forest Laws of Canute which exempted them from the ordinance which commanded that all dogs capable of running down a stag should have one foot mutilated, in the 11th century, William the Conqueror brought the Talbot hound to Britain. The Talbot was a white, slow, deep-throated, scent hound derived from the St. Hubert Hound which had been developed in the 8th century. At some point the English Talbots were crossed with Greyhounds to give them an extra turn of speed, long extinct, the Talbot strain probably gave rise to the Southern Hound which, in turn, is thought to be an ancestor of the modern-day Beagle. From medieval times, beagle was used as a description for the smaller hounds. Small enough to fit in a pocket or saddlebag, they rode along on the hunt, the larger hounds would run the prey to ground, then the hunters would release the small dogs to continue the chase through underbrush. Elizabeth I referred to the dogs as her singing beagles and often entertained guests at her royal table by letting her Pocket Beagles cavort amid their plates, 19th-century sources refer to these breeds interchangeably and it is possible that the two names refer to the same small variety. Standards for the Pocket Beagle were drawn up as late as 1901, by the 18th century two breeds had been developed for hunting hare and rabbit, the Southern Hound and the North Country Beagle. The Southern Hound, a tall, heavy dog with a square head, though slow, it had stamina and an excellent scenting ability. The North Country Beagle, possibly a cross between an offshoot of the Talbot stock and a Greyhound, was bred chiefly in Yorkshire and was common in the northern counties and it was smaller than the Southern Hound, less heavy-set and with a more pointed muzzle. It was faster than its southern counterpart but its abilities were less well developed. As fox hunting became increasingly popular, numbers of types of hound diminished. The beagle-type dogs were crossed with larger breeds such as Stag Hounds to produce the modern Foxhound, the beagle-size varieties came close to extinction but some farmers in the South ensured the survival of the prototype breeds by maintaining small rabbit-hunting packs
