title: "Lefteris Gialousis" content: Lefteris Gialousis Lefteris Gialousis (; born 18 July 1985 in Heraklion, Crete) is a Greek football defender, who plays for Irodotos. Gialousis began his career playing with local Heraklion side Irodotos, in the Gamma and Delta Ethniki. After three-and-a-half seasons with Irodotos, the more prominent Heraklion clubs had taken notice of his performances, and during the winter transfer window of the 2006–07 season Gialousis signed with Greek Super League club Ergotelis. Gialousis did however not make an appearance for the club in the season. In the 2007–08 season, Gialousis made his Super League debut on 16 February 2008, playing all


title: "Dave Skrien" content: the 1961 season after an 0–6–1 start. In his six seasons as the Lions head coach, Skrien's teams had a record of 42–47–5 and played in two Grey Cup Games, playing in Vancouver but losing to Hamilton in 1963 (BC's first Grey Cup appearance), and then winning the 1964 Grey Cup (52nd) by defeating Hamilton in Toronto. He also won the Annis Stukus Trophy in 1963 as the CFL coach of the year. With journalist Dick Beddoes, he wrote the book "Countdown to Grey Cup" which chronicled the 1964 championship season. Skrien was fired in 1967 after an 0–5 start.


title: "Cannabis in the United Kingdom" content: Cannabis in the United Kingdom Cannabis in the United Kingdom is illegal for recreational use as a Class B drug. In 2004 cannabis was made a Class C drug with less severe penalties but it was moved back to Class B in 2009. Medical use of cannabis was legalised in November 2018. Cannabis is widely used as an illegal drug in the UK, while other strains lower in THC (commonly called hemp) have been used industrially for over a thousand years for fibre, oil and seeds. Cannabis has been restricted as a drug in the United Kingdom since 1928, though


title: "H-1 upgrade program" content: number of UH-1Y acquisitions was also set at 123. Full-rate production was approved in late 2008. On September 30, 2008, Bell received a contract for Lot 5 H-1 aircraft. These 15 aircraft in Lot 5 include 11 UH-1Ys and four AH-1Zs, bringing the total contracted number to 49 upgraded H-1 aircraft for the Marine Corps: 37 UH-1Ys and 12 AH-1Zs. At that time, the company had delivered 20 upgraded H-1 helicopters: 14 UH-1Ys and six AH-1Zs. On March 27, 2009, the Navy Department ordered 16 Lot 6 H-1 helicopters. The 16 aircraft in Lot 6 include five AH-1Zs and 11


title: "Order of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay" content: is topped by a Sun of May in silver or gold. Order of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay The Order of the Republic is a national award of Uruguay. The order was instituted in the year 1985 by the civilian-military administration that ruled the Republic of Uruguay. After the transition from the civilian-military administration in 1985, the order fell into disuse. Some sources claim that the order had one single grade; that of a Grand Cross. Others state that there are crosses of a Commander and a silver cross of a Knight in existence. The blue and white cross has


title: "Willoughby D. Miller" content: fermentation of sugars could dissolve teeth in the laboratory. Bacteria had been observed inside carious dentin by Underwood and Miles in 1881, and these researchers also proposed that bacterial acids were necessary for removing the mineral of teeth. It was against this background that Miller developed his oral microbiological research, soon becoming appointed Professor of Operative Dentistry at the University of Berlin. He worked in the microbiological laboratory of Robert Koch in Berlin and began numerous research projects that introduced modern biological principles to dentistry. In 1890 Miller formulated the chemo-parasitic theory of caries (tooth decay). This theory held that


title: "Torre dei Lamberti" content: Torre dei Lamberti The Torre dei Lamberti is a 84 m high tower in Verona, northern Italy. Construction of the tower was started in 1172. In May 1403 the top of the tower was struck by lightning, but the restoration works didn't start until 1448 and took 16 years. During that time, the tower was enlarged: The more recent sections can be recognized today by the use of different materials (such as marble). The large clock was added in 1779. The tower has two bells: the "Marangona" signals fires, work times, and the hours of the day, while the largest,


title: "Torre dei Lamberti" content: called "Rengo", is used to call the population to arms or to invoke the city's councils. Torre dei Lamberti The Torre dei Lamberti is a 84 m high tower in Verona, northern Italy. Construction of the tower was started in 1172. In May 1403 the top of the tower was struck by lightning, but the restoration works didn't start until 1448 and took 16 years. During that time, the tower was enlarged: The more recent sections can be recognized today by the use of different materials (such as marble). The large clock was added in 1779. The tower has two


title: "Balsamorhiza sagittata" content: Balsamorhiza sagittata Balsamorhiza sagittata is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower tribe of the aster family known by the common name arrowleaf balsamroot. It is widespread across western Canada and much of the western United States. A specimen was collected by explorer and botanist Meriwether Lewis near Lewis and Clark Pass in 1806. The plant's native range extends from British Columbia and Alberta in the north, southward as far as northern Arizona and the Mojave Desert of California, and as far east as the Black Hills of South Dakota. It grows in many types of habitat


title: "Balsamorhiza sagittata" content: from mountain forests to grassland to desert scrub. It is drought tolerant. This is a taprooted perennial herb growing a hairy, glandular stem 20 to 60 centimeters tall. The branching, barky root may extend over two meters deep into the soil. The basal leaves are generally triangular in shape and are large, approaching 50 centimeters in maximum length. Leaves farther up the stem are linear to narrowly oval in shape and smaller. The leaves have untoothed edges and are coated in fine to rough hairs, especially on the undersides. The inflorescence bears one or more flower heads. Each head has


title: "Balsamorhiza sagittata" content: a center of long yellowish tubular disc florets and a fringe of bright yellow ray florets, each up to 4 centimeters long. The fruit is a hairless achene about 8 millimeters long. Grazing animals find the plant palatable, especially the flowers and developing seed heads. All of the plant can be eaten. It can be bitter and pine-like in taste. Many Native American groups, including the Nez Perce, Kootenai, Cheyenne, and Salish, utilized the plant as a food and medicine. The seeds were particularly valuable as food or used for oil Under the name Okanagan Sunflower, it is the official


title: "Balsamorhiza sagittata" content: flower emblem of the city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Balsamorhiza sagittata Balsamorhiza sagittata is a North American species of flowering plant in the sunflower tribe of the aster family known by the common name arrowleaf balsamroot. It is widespread across western Canada and much of the western United States. A specimen was collected by explorer and botanist Meriwether Lewis near Lewis and Clark Pass in 1806. The plant's native range extends from British Columbia and Alberta in the north, southward as far as northern Arizona and the Mojave Desert of California, and as far east as the Black Hills


title: Watermelon content: Watermelon Citrullus lanatus is a plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, a vine-like (scrambler and trailer) flowering plant originating in West Africa. It is cultivated for its fruit. The subdivision of this species into two varieties, watermelons ("Citrullus lanatus" (Thunb.) var. "lanatus") and citron melons ("Citrullus lanatus" var. "citroides" (L. H. Bailey) Mansf.), originated with the erroneous synonymization of "Citrullus lanatus" (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai and "Citrullus vulgaris" Schrad. by L.H. Bailey in 1930. Molecular data including sequences from the original collection of Thunberg and other relevant type material, show that the sweet watermelon ("Citrullus vulgaris" Schrad.) and the bitter


title: Watermelon content: wooly melon "Citrullus lanatus" (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai are not closely related to each other. Since 1930, thousands of papers have misapplied the name "Citrullus lanatus" (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai for the watermelon, and a proposal to conserve the name with this meaning was accepted by the relevant nomenclatural committee and confirmed at the International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen. The bitter South African melon first collected by Thunberg has become naturalized in semiarid regions of several continents, and is designated as a "pest plant" in parts of Western Australia where they are called pig melon. Watermelon ("Citrullus lanatus") is a


title: Watermelon content: scrambling and trailing vine in the flowering plant family Cucurbitaceae. The species was long thought to have originated in southern Africa, but this was based on the erroneous synonymization by L. H. Bailey (1930) of a South African species with the cultivated watermelon. The error became apparent with DNA comparison of material of the cultivated watermelon seen and named by Linnaeus and the holotype of the South African species. There is evidence from seeds in Pharao tombs of watermelon cultivation in Ancient Egypt. Watermelon is grown in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide for its large edible fruit, also known as


title: Watermelon content: a "watermelon", which is a special kind of berry with a hard rind and no internal division, botanically called a "pepo". The sweet, juicy flesh is usually deep red to pink, with many black seeds, although seedless varieties have been cultivated. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled and the rind is edible after cooking. Considerable breeding effort has been put into disease-resistant varieties. Many cultivars are available that produce mature fruit within 100 days of planting the crop. In Botswana, this is known as lerotse and an ingredient in the local dish bogobe jwa lerotse. Former names: The


title: Watermelon content: watermelon is an annual that has a prostrate or climbing habit. Stems are up to 3 m long and new growth has yellow or brown hairs. Leaves are 60 to 200 mm long and 40 to 150 mm wide. These usually have three lobes which are themselves lobed or doubly lobed. Plants have both male and female flowers on 40-mm-long hairy stalks. These are yellow, and greenish on the back. This plant is listed on the Threatened Species Programme of the South African National Biodiversity Institute. The watermelon is a large annual plant with long, weak, trailing or climbing stems


title: Watermelon content: which are five-angled (five-sided) and up to long. Young growth is densely woolly with yellowish-brown hairs which disappear as the plant ages. The leaves are large, coarse, hairy pinnately-lobed and alternate; they get stiff and rough when old. The plant has branching tendrils. The white to yellow flowers grow singly in the leaf axils and the corolla is white or yellow inside and greenish-yellow on the outside. The flowers are unisexual, with male and female flowers occurring on the same plant (monoecious). The male flowers predominate at the beginning of the season; the female flowers, which develop later, have inferior


title: Watermelon content: ovaries. The styles are united into a single column. The large fruit is a kind of modified berry called a "pepo" with a thick rind (exocarp) and fleshy center (mesocarp and endocarp). Wild plants have fruits up to in diameter, while cultivated varieties may exceed . The rind of the fruit is mid- to dark green and usually mottled or striped, and the flesh, containing numerous pips spread throughout the inside, can be red or pink (most commonly), orange, yellow, green or white. The bitter wooly melon was formally described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1794 and given the name


title: Watermelon content: "Momordica lanata". It was reassigned to the genus "Citrullus" in 1916 by Japanese botanists Jinzō Matsumura and Takenoshin Nakai. The sweet watermelon was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and given the name "Cucurbita citrullus". It was reassigned to the genus "Citrullus" in 1836 by the German botanist Heinrich Adolf Schrader. The bitter wooly melon is the sister species of "Citrullus ecirrhosus" Cogn. from South African arid regions, while the sweet watermelon is closer to "Citrullus mucosospermus" (Fursa) Fursa from West Africa and populations from Sudan. The watermelon is a flowering plant that originated in northeast Africa, where it


title: Watermelon content: is found growing wild." Citrullus colocynthis" has sometimes been considered to be a wild ancestor of the watermelon; its native range extends from north and west Africa to west India. Evidence of the cultivation of both "C. lanatus" and "C. colocynthis" in the Nile Valley has been found from the second millennium BC onward, and seeds of both species have been found at Twelfth Dynasty sites and in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. In the 7th century, watermelons were being cultivated in India, and by the 10th century had reached China, which is today the world's single largest watermelon producer.


title: Watermelon content: The Moors introduced the fruit into Spain and there is evidence of it being cultivated in Córdoba in 961 and also in Seville in 1158. It spread northwards through southern Europe, perhaps limited in its advance by summer temperatures being insufficient for good yields. The fruit had begun appearing in European herbals by 1600, and was widely planted in Europe in the 17th century as a minor garden crop. European colonists and slaves from Africa introduced the watermelon to the New World. Spanish settlers were growing it in Florida in 1576, and it was being grown in Massachusetts by 1629,


title: Watermelon content: and by 1650 was being cultivated in Peru, Brazil and Panama, as well as in many British and Dutch colonies. Around the same time, Native Americans were cultivating the crop in the Mississippi valley and Florida. Watermelons were rapidly accepted in Hawaii and other Pacific islands when they were introduced there by explorers such as Captain James Cook. Seedless watermelons were initially developed in 1939 by Japanese scientists who were able to create seedless triploid hybrids which remained rare initially because they did not have sufficient disease resistance. Seedless watermelons became more popular in the 21st century, rising to nearly


title: Watermelon content: 85% of total watermelon sales in the United States in 2014. Watermelons are tropical or subtropical plants and need temperatures higher than about to thrive. On a garden scale, seeds are usually sown in pots under cover and transplanted into well-drained sandy loam with a pH between 5.5 and 7, and medium levels of nitrogen. Major pests of the watermelon include aphids, fruit flies and root-knot nematodes. In conditions of high humidity, the plants are prone to plant diseases such as powdery mildew and mosaic virus. Some varieties often grown in Japan and other parts of the Far East are


title: Watermelon content: susceptible to fusarium wilt. Grafting such varieties onto disease-resistant rootstocks offers protection. The US Department of Agriculture recommends using at least one beehive per acre (4,000 m per hive) for pollination of conventional, seeded varieties for commercial plantings. Seedless hybrids have sterile pollen. This requires planting pollinizer rows of varieties with viable pollen. Since the supply of viable pollen is reduced and pollination is much more critical in producing the seedless variety, the recommended number of hives per acre (pollinator density) increases to three hives per acre (1,300 m per hive). Watermelons have a longer growing period than other melons,


title: Watermelon content: and can often take 85 days or more from the time of transplanting for the fruit to mature. Farmers of the Zentsuji region of Japan found a way to grow cubic watermelons by growing the fruits in metal and glass boxes and making them assume the shape of the receptacle. The cubic shape was originally designed to make the melons easier to stack and store, but cubic watermelons may be triple the price of normal ones, so appeal mainly to wealthy urban consumers. Pyramid-shaped watermelons have also been developed and any polyhedral shape may potentially be used. A number of


title: Watermelon content: cultivar groups have been identified: DNA data reveal that "C. lanatus" var. "citroides" Bailey is the same as Thunberg's bitter wooly melon, "C. lanatus" and also the same as "C. amarus" Schrad. It is not a form of the sweet watermelon "C. vulgaris" and not closely related to that species. The citron melon or "makataan" - a variety with sweet yellow flesh that is cultivated around the world for fodder, and the production of citron peel and pectin. "C. caffer" Schrad. is a synonym of "C. amarus" Schrad. The variety known as "tsamma" is grown for its juicy white flesh.


title: Watermelon content: The variety was an important food source for travellers in the Kalahari Desert. Another variety known as "karkoer" or "bitterboela" is unpalatable to humans, but the seeds may be eaten. A small-fruited form with a bumpy skin has caused poisoning in sheep. This is Linnaeus's sweet watermelon; it has been grown for human consumption for thousands of years. This West African species is the closest wild relative of the watermelon. It is cultivated for cattle feed. Additionally, other wild species have bitter fruit containing cucurbitacin. "C. colocynthis" (L.) Schrad. ex Eckl. & Zeyh., "C. rehmii" De Winter, and "C. naudinianus"


title: Watermelon content: (Sond.) Hook.f. The more than 1200 cultivars of watermelon range in weight from less than 1 kg to more than ; the flesh can be red, pink, orange, yellow or white. Charles Fredric Andrus, a horticulturist at the USDA Vegetable Breeding Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, set out to produce a disease-resistant and wilt-resistant watermelon. The result, in 1954, was "that gray melon from Charleston". Its oblong shape and hard rind made it easy to stack and ship. Its adaptability meant it could be grown over a wide geographical area. It produced high yields and was resistant to the most


title: Watermelon content: serious watermelon diseases: anthracnose and fusarium wilt. Others were also working on disease-resistant varieties; J. M. Crall at the University of Florida produced "Jubilee" in 1963 and C. V. Hall of Kansas State University produced "Crimson sweet" the following year. These are no longer grown to any great extent, but their lineage has been further developed into hybrid varieties with higher yields, better flesh quality and attractive appearance. Another objective of plant breeders has been the elimination of the seeds which occur scattered throughout the flesh. This has been achieved through the use of triploid varieties, but these are sterile,


title: Watermelon content: and the cost of producing the seed by crossing a tetraploid parent with a normal diploid parent is high. Today, farmers in approximately 44 states in the United States grow watermelon commercially. Georgia, Florida, Texas, California and Arizona are the United States' largest watermelon producers. This now-common fruit is often large enough that groceries often sell half or quarter melons. Some smaller, spherical varieties of watermelon—both red- and yellow-fleshed—are sometimes called "icebox melons". The largest recorded fruit was grown in Tennessee in 2013 and weighed . In 2016, global production of watermelons was 117 million tonnes, with China alone accounting


title: Watermelon content: for 68% of the total. Secondary producers with more than 1% of world production included Turkey, Iran, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Algeria, the United States, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, and Kazakhstan. Watermelons are a sweet, popular fruit of summer, usually consumed fresh in slices, diced in mixed fruit salads, or as juice. Watermelon juice can be blended with other fruit juices or made into wine. The seeds have a nutty flavor and can be dried and roasted, or ground into flour. In China, the seeds are eaten at Chinese New Year celebrations. In Vietnamese culture, watermelon seeds are consumed during the Vietnamese New


title: Watermelon content: Year's holiday, "Tết", as a snack. Watermelon rinds may be eaten, but most people avoid eating them due to their unappealing flavor. They are used for making pickles, sometimes eaten as a vegetable, stir-fried or stewed. The Oklahoma State Senate passed a bill in 2007 declaring watermelon as the official state vegetable, with some controversy about whether it is a vegetable or a fruit. "Citrullis lanatus", variety "caffer", grows wild in the Kalahari Desert, where it is known as tsamma. The fruits are used by the San people and wild animals for both water and nourishment, allowing survival on a


title: Watermelon content: diet of tsamma for six weeks. In Southern Russia, they are sometimes preserved by fermenting them together with sauerkraut, much like the apples. Watermelon fruit is 91% water, contains 6% sugars, and is low in fat (table). In a 100 gram serving, watermelon fruit supplies 30 calories and low amounts of essential nutrients (table). Only vitamin C is present in appreciable content at 10% of the Daily Value (table). Watermelon pulp contains carotenoids, including lycopene. The amino acid citrulline is produced in watermelon rind. Watermelon Citrullus lanatus is a plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, a vine-like (scrambler and trailer)


title: "African bush elephant" content: African bush elephant The African bush elephant ("Loxodonta africana"), also known as the African savanna elephant, is the larger of the two species of African elephants, and the largest living terrestrial animal. These elephants were previously regarded as the same species, but the African forest elephant has been reclassified as "L. cyclotis". The bush elephant is much larger in height and weight than the forest elephant, while the forest elephant has rounder ears and a trunk that tends to be more hairy. The adult bush elephant has no predators other than humans. While the most numerous of the three extant


title: "African bush elephant" content: elephant species, its population continues to decline due to poaching for ivory and destruction of habitat. Elephants are social animals, traveling in herds of females and adolescents, while adult males usually live alone. The desert elephant or desert-adapted elephant is not a distinct species of elephant, but are African bush elephants that live in the Namib and Sahara deserts. The African bush elephant and the African forest elephant were once considered to be a single species, but recent genetic studies have revealed that they are separate species and split 2 to 7 million years ago. A detailed genetic study in


title: "African bush elephant" content: 2010 confirmed that the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant are distinct species. By sequencing DNA of 375 nuclear genes, scientists determined that the two species diverged around the same time as the Asian elephant and the woolly mammoth, and are as distinct from one another as those two species are from each other. , conservation organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), had not distinguished between the two species of African elephants for purposes of assessing their conservation status. , the IUCN Red


title: "African bush elephant" content: List classified African elephants as a whole as vulnerable species and the Central African elephant population (forest elephants) as endangered. Another possible species or subspecies formerly existed; although formally described it has not been widely recognized by the scientific community. The North African elephant ("L. a. pharaohensis"), also known as the Carthaginian elephant or Atlas elephant, was the animal famously used as a war elephant by Carthage in its many wars with Rome. The African bush elephant has several distinct features which sets them apart from other similar species. They are generally larger than the African forest elephant, which has


title: "African bush elephant" content: rounder ears and straighter tusks. The bush elephant is known to have a concave back with stocky legs and a thickset body, compared to the Asian elephant who has a convex back. The African bush elephant's trunk has more than 40,000 muscles and tendons that allows them to lift heavy objects. They also tend to have dull brownish-grey skin that is wrinkly with black bristly hairs, large ears, and a long and flattened tail. The skull of the African elephant is very large, making up twenty-five percent of its total body weight. The estimated population size is near 300,000, and


title: "African bush elephant" content: they usually live up to 70 years in age when in the wild. However, in captivity, they tend to only live up to 65 years. African elephants utilize their long trunks and four large molars to break down and consume a large bulk of plants, shrubs, twigs, and branches. In particular, they use their trunks to strip leaves, break branches, dismantle tree bark, unearth roots, drink water, and even bathe. Without their trunks, these elephants would find their everyday routine of bathing, drinking, and eating considerably more difficult. Their molars, aiding in the consumption and digestion process, measures nearly 10


title: "African bush elephant" content: cm wide and 30 cm long, gradually withering away until the age of 15. Towards the age of 30, their baby teeth, also known as their milk teeth, are replaced by a new set which are substantially larger and stronger. As these elephants age, their teeth undergo two more stages of growth, ages 40 and 65-70, until the animal eventually dies from an inability to appropriately feed. The African bush elephant is the largest and heaviest land animal on Earth, being up to tall at the shoulder and in weight (a male shot in 1974, near Mucusso, southern Angola). On


title: "African bush elephant" content: average, males are about tall at the shoulder and in weight, while females are much smaller at about tall at the shoulder and in weight. Elephants attain their maximum stature when they complete the fusion of long-bone epiphyses, occurring in males around the age of 40 and females around the age of 25. Their large size means that they must consume around 50 gallons of water every day in order to stay hydrated. Birthing of the African bush elephant hits its highest point just before the rainy season of each year. Females carry their young in the womb for about


title: "African bush elephant" content: 22 months, known as the gestation period, and they normally give birth every five years. When born, calves can almost immediately walk to maximize their chances of survival, however they tend to be dependent on their mother for a few years after birth. Newborns tend to weigh around 90–120 kg, but the average weight is around 100 kg. Females also tend to reach sexual maturity at age 10, but they are most fertile from ages 25 to 45. The mating system of the African bush elephant includes females and males both pairing with several others at a time, also known


title: "African bush elephant" content: as polygamy. The African bush elephant can first reproduce at the age of 9.5 years. Generation length of the African bush elephant is 25 years. Mating happens when the female becomes receptive, an event that can occur anytime during the year. When she is ready, she starts emitting infrasounds to attract the males, sometimes from kilometers away. The adult males start arriving at the herd during the following days and begin fighting, causing some injuries and even broken tusks. The female shows her acceptance of the victor by rubbing her body against his. They mate, and then both go their


title: "African bush elephant" content: own way. After 22 months of gestation (the longest among mammals), the female gives birth to a single 90-cm-high calf which weighs more than 100 kg. The baby feeds on the mother's milk until the age of five, but also eats solid food from as early as six months old. Just a few days after birth, the calf can follow the herd by foot. African bush elephants have long tusks, up to in length, which are used to help them adapt to their surroundings. They use their tusks for digging, fighting, marking, and feeding, and can lift objects up to


title: "African bush elephant" content: . Less-aggressive elephants are known to have larger tusks, being that they will be less likely to break them since they would use their tusks in a less damaging way. The bush elephant also uses their large, flat ears to create air currents. These air currents allow them to reduce their body heat and cool off during hot seasons of the year. Another cooling technique that is used is their trunk to squirt water over its body or throw dirt onto their backs to reduce sun and insect exposure. Their trunk, along with their mouth, also allows them breathe and


title: "African bush elephant" content: pick up food or heavy objects. Although they spend most of their time roaming to look for food, they can communicate over long distances and use vocalizations that even humans cannot hear. Other ways that the elephants communicate is through changes in posture and positure and positions of the body. They present visual signals and messages through body movement, along with smell to remain in contact with other herd members. Females and their young live in herds of 6 to 70 members. A herd is led by the eldest female, called the matriarch. Males leave the herd upon adolescence to


title: "African bush elephant" content: form bachelor herds with other males of the same age. Older males lead a solitary life, approaching female herds only during the mating season. Nevertheless, elephants do not get too far from their families and recognize them when re-encountered. Sometimes, several female herds can blend for a time, reaching even hundreds of individuals. The matriarch decides the route and shows the other members of the herd all the water sources she knows, which the rest can memorize for the future. The relations among the members of the herd are very tight; when a female gives birth, the rest of the


title: "African bush elephant" content: herd acknowledges it by touching her with their trunks. When an old elephant dies, the rest of the herd stays by the corpse for a while. The famous elephant graveyards are false, but these animals have recognized a carcass of their species when they found one during their trips, and even if it was a stranger, they formed around it, and sometimes they even touched its forehead with their trunks. Male elephants experience musth, a period of extreme aggression and sexual behavior accompanied with high testosterone levels, lasting a period of 1 month or less. A bull in musth has


title: "African bush elephant" content: been known to attack anything which disturbs him including his family members, humans, and other passive animals such as giraffes and rhinoceros. In one case, a young male African bush elephant has been witnessed killing a rhinoceros during musth. The African bush elephant is a very active and social mammal, since they are constantly on the move in search of food. Males often fight with each other during mating season, however they are considered to be very loving and caring toward relatives. Bush elephants also have strong social bonds, and when their herds are faced with danger, they tend to


title: "African bush elephant" content: form a close, protective circle around the young calves. The elephants also tend to use their trunks to engage in physical greetings and behaviors. Bush elephants are found in Sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola. While they inhabit primarily plains and grasslands, they can also be found in woodlands, dense forests, mountain slopes, oceanic beaches, and semi-arid deserts. They range from altitudes of sea-levels to high mountains. Increasing fragmentation of habitat is an ongoing threat to their survival. The African bush elephant is herbivorous. Its diet varies according to its habitat; elephants living in forests, partial


title: "African bush elephant" content: deserts, and grasslands all eat different proportions of herbs and tree or shrubbery leaves. Elephants inhabiting the shores of Lake Kariba have been recorded eating underwater plant life. To break down the plants it consumes, the African bush elephant has four large molars, two in each mandible of the jaw. Each of these molars is wide and long. This species typically ingests an average of of vegetable matter daily, which is defecated without being fully digested. That, combined with the long distances it can cover daily in search of more food, contributes notably to the dispersion of many plant seeds


title: "African bush elephant" content: that germinate in the middle of a nutrient-filled feces mound. Elephants rip apart all kind of plants, and knock down trees with the tusks if they are not able to reach the tree leaves. Elephants also drink great quantities of water, over per day. African elephants browse and scavenge in order to sustain their health and massive body weight. As water becomes scarce, African elephants utilize their trunks, feet, and tusks to dig holes in dry streams and lake beds to obtain fresh water. Due to climatic change, the diet of the African bush elephant will vary throughout the year.


title: "African bush elephant" content: During seasons of prolonged rain, the diet of these elephant's mainly consists of grass, berries, and vegetables. During seasons of prolonged drought, African elephants will browse and consume dry leaves, small shrubs, exposed roots, and withered tree bark, accounting for up to 70 percent of their diet. Due to their massive size, the consumption of every plant component, including dry leaves, small twigs, large branches, and other types of shrubs, are edible. In particular, African elephants find specific nutrients such as fatty acids and sodium through different sources of tree bark and salt licks. The adult African bush elephant generally


title: "African bush elephant" content: has no natural predators due to its great size, but the calves (especially the newborns) or juveniles that are vulnerable to attacks by lions (especially in the drought months) and crocodiles, and (rarely) to leopard and hyena attacks. Exceptions to this rule were recorded in Botswana’s Chobe National Park, where even adult African bush elephants were attacked and consumed by lions. Between 1993 and 1996, lions successfully attacked 74 elephants, 26 were older than nine years, and one a bull of over 15 years. In the same park, lions killed eight elephants in October 2005 that were aged between one


title: "African bush elephant" content: and 11 years, two of them older than eight years. Aside from that, lions in Chobe have been observed for some time taking both infants (23% of elephant kills) and juveniles. Predation, as well as drought, contribute significantly to infant mortality. The newborn elephant, known as a calf, will normally stray from the herd at birth, placing themselves and their populations into a relatively low number for their species. Over the years, certain regions in Africa have been known to contain an abundant amount of the elephant carcasses. These graveyards are overpopulated by lions and hyenas who prowl and forage


title: "African bush elephant" content: for the remains of an elephant corpse. Humans are the elephant's major predator. They have been hunted for meat, skin, bones, and tusks. Trophy hunting increased in the 19th and 20th centuries, when tourism and plantations increasingly attracted sport hunters. In 1989, hunting of the African bush elephant for ivory trading was forbidden, after the elephant population fell from several million at the beginning of the 20th century to fewer than 700,000. Trophy hunting continues today. The population of African bush elephants was halved during the 1980s. Scientists then estimated, if no protective measures were taken, the wild elephant would


title: "African bush elephant" content: have been extinct by 1995. The protection the elephant now receives has been partially successful, but despite increasingly severe penalties imposed by governments against illegal hunting, poaching is still common. CITES still considers this species as threatened with extinction. The African bush elephant is categorized as a high-risk endangerment animal, with the constant threat of poaching and predators on the rise. With the high demand for ivory in Eastern Asia, the black-market trade network has left the species close to extinction. Poachers target the elephant's tusk for the ivory, and in some cases remove the tusk while the elephant is


title: "African bush elephant" content: still alive. CITES reports the black market is believed to be the main culprit for targeting around 17,000 elephants in various areas. Currently the species has been pushed further into reaching the stage of extinction. Poaching of the elephant has dated back all the way to the years of 1970 and 1980, which was considered the largest killings in history. Unfortunately, the species is placed in harm's way due to the limited conservation areas provided in Africa. In most cases, the killings of the African bush elephant have occurred near the outskirts of the protected conservation sites. There has also


title: "African bush elephant" content: been cases of poaching the African bush elephant for meat, which has also led to its decline. Areas found mostly in Central and Western Africa contain the greatest decline in the African bush elephants. IUCN's statistical data concludes, the population has taken a great decline of 111,000. Human interference plays a major role in the drastic decline of the elephant species. Vast areas, making up Sub-Saharan Africa, were transformed to agricultural and infrastructure use. The sudden disturbance among these areas leave the elephants without a stable habitat and limits their ability to roam freely. Large corporations associated with commercial logging


title: "African bush elephant" content: and mining have stripped apart the land, giving poachers easy access to the African bush elephant. As human development grows, the human population faces the trouble of contact with the elephant's more frequently, due to the species desperate need for food and water. Farmers residing in nearby areas trouble with the African bush elephants rummaging through their crops. In many cases, the elephants are killed instantly as they disturb a village or forage upon a farmer's crop. The dramatic decline of the African bush elephant has resulted in various legal protections taking place in several states of Africa. Census reports


title: "African bush elephant" content: show between the years of 2007 and 2014 there has been a decrease of 30% in the elephant's population. The current rate at which the population is declining, leaves researchers to believe every year the African bush elephant will decline by 8%. Certain measures focus primarily on encouraging habitat management and protection with legal action. These legal protections restrict the species from being harmed by poachers and other wildlife threats. Regions known as Range states, are responsible for ensuring certain areas inhabited by the species are preserved. The decline of the species was brought to attention worldwide in 1989. During


title: "African bush elephant" content: this time, officials placed a ban stating the elephants could no longer be hunted for the ivory found in their tusks. Currently, many conservation areas are limited, and at least 70% of the species' range resides in areas which are not protected by the law. The population of the African bush elephants continues to gradually decrease. It has been reported that their current rate of decline is eight percent per year, mostly due to poaching. In most parts of the world this species is labeled as an endangered. Since 2004, the IUCN Red List considered the elephants to be an


title: "African bush elephant" content: vulnerable species. On average scale there is a decline of 200,000 elephants based on the sudden increase of human populations occupying the habitats of the species. Estimates show the entire species could possibly go extinct in a decade. The debate of whether the species should fall under the classes Appendix I or Appendix II species has been argued between several regions. If a given region determines the African bush elephant to be Appendix I all international trade will be prohibited, but if the species is placed under Appendix II officials will only monitor and limit the amount of elephants traded


title: "African bush elephant" content: in the black market. Areas found in Gabon and Congo are considered to contain the largest number of the African bush elephant population, while in parts of Central African Republic, the species is entirely wiped out. The IUCN monitors the elephant's population regularly to understand what conservation methods are effective and the distribution among the population. The decline is beginning to show greatly across various countries, which leaves the existence of the population in question. While the species is designated as vulnerable, conditions vary somewhat by region between East and Southern Africa. The populations in Southern Africa are thought to


title: "African bush elephant" content: be increasing at 4% per annum whilst other populations are decreasing In 2006, an elephant slaughter was documented in southeastern Chad by aerial surveys. A series of poaching incidents, resulting in the killing of over 100 elephants, was carried out from May to August, 2006 in the vicinity of Zakouma National Park. This region has a decades-old history of poaching of elephants, which has caused the population of the region, which exceeded 300,000 in 1970, to drop to about 10,000 today. The African bush elephant officially is protected by Chadian government, but the resources and manpower provided by the government


title: "African bush elephant" content: (with some European Union assistance) have proven insufficient to stop the poaching. Human encroachment into or adjacent to natural areas where the African bush elephant occurs has led to recent research into methods of safely driving groups of elephants away from humans, including the discovery that playback of the recorded sounds of angry honey bees are remarkably effective at prompting elephants to flee an area. African bush elephant The African bush elephant ("Loxodonta africana"), also known as the African savanna elephant, is the larger of the two species of African elephants, and the largest living terrestrial animal. These elephants were


title: Brachiosaurus content: and undescribed material has been mentioned from several other sites. In 1883, farmer Marshall Parker Felch, a fossil collector for the American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, reported the discovery of a sauropod skull in Felch Quarry 1, near Garden Park, Colorado. The skull was found in yellowish white sandstone, near a long cervical vertebra, which was destroyed during an attempt to collect it. The skull was catalogued as YPM 1986, and sent to Marsh at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, who incorporated it into his 1891 skeletal restoration of "Brontosaurus" (perhaps because Felch had identified it as belonging to


title: "Two Knights from Brooklyn" content: with only one when they started their business in 1928. During the ceremony, Corbett is asked by his newly hired young secretary, Lucy Gibbs, how he and his partner managed to achieve this goal, and there is a flashback to 1928, when McGuerin pursued the woman who would later become his wife, burlesque performing artist Sadie O'Brien (Grace Bradley). This part of the story is fetched from the other previous movie: "Taxi, Mister". While McGuerin's interest in Sadie increases, her alluring appearance also catches the eyes of notorious gangster Louis Glorio (Sheldon Leonard), and the two men become rivals in


title: "Tara Mine" content: the original crushing and grinding plant, became operational in October 2009. Tara Mine Tara Mines is a zinc and lead mine near Navan, County Meath, Ireland. Tara is an underground mine where the orebody lies between 50 and 900 metres below the surface in carbonate-hosted lead-zinc ore deposits. The deposit was discovered in 1970 by Derek Michael Romer while working for Pat Hughes' Northgate Exploration. Development started in 1973 and production began in 1977. Tara Mine is operated by Boliden. It is the largest zinc mine in Europe and the ninth largest in the world producing 200,000 tonnes of zinc


title: "David Leavitt (banker)" content: from the foundations remains today following an 1885 fire. David Leavitt died at the home of his son Edward in Manhattan on December 30, 1879, at age 88. His wife predeceased him, dying in 1867 at age 76 at the couple's Great Barrington estate. Leavitt was a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, where he had worshipped for a half-century. While in Great Barrington, Leavitt attended the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington. David Leavitt and his wife had an only daughter, Elizabeth Leavitt Howe, whose son and grandson became New Jersey bankers and lived at "Fieldhead",


title: "Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen" content: Depeaux collection, consisting in paintings donation in 1909, places it at the forefront of French provincial museums for Impressionism.x The drawings exhibition room houses over 8000 pieces spanning from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions as well as odd contemporary art exhibitions. In 2006, the museum offered eight exhibitions, including the "Masterpieces of Florence Museums", which raised the number of visitors from 87,000 to 154,000. Permanent collections are exhibited in 60 rooms. The museum receives some funding from sponsorship. In 2007, its acquisition budget was €150 000 a year. The present director is Laurent


title: Ejaculation content: the penis." In contrast to those test subjects, Kinsey noted "In other males the semen may be propelled from a matter of some inches to a foot or two, or even as far as five or six and (rarely) eight feet". Masters and Johnson report ejaculation distance to be no greater than . During the series of contractions that accompany ejaculation, semen is propelled from the urethra at , close to . Most men experience a refractory period immediately following an orgasm, during which time they are unable to achieve another erection, and a longer period again before they are


title: "Russian Empire" content: the world. Poland was punished by losing its distinctive political and judicial rights, with Russianization imposed on its schools and courts. In 1854–55 Russia lost to Britain, France and Turkey in the Crimean War, which was fought primarily in the Crimean peninsula, and to a lesser extent in the Baltic. Since playing a major role in the defeat of Napoleon, Russia had been regarded as militarily invincible, but against a coalition of the great powers of Europe, the reverses it suffered on land and sea exposed the decay and weakness of Tsar Nicholas' regime. When Tsar Alexander II ascended the


title: "Russian Empire" content: Autocrat of All the Russias", the fundamental laws were remodeled by removing the word "unlimited". While the emperor retained many of his old prerogatives, including an absolute veto over all legislation, he equally agreed to the establishment of an elected parliament, without whose consent no laws were to be enacted in Russia. Not that the regime in Russia had become in any true sense constitutional, far less parliamentary. But the "unlimited autocracy" had given place to a "self-limited autocracy". Whether this autocracy was to be permanently limited by the new changes, or only at the continuing discretion of the autocrat,


title: "Saturn V" content: to transport them was by barge. The S-IC, constructed in New Orleans, was transported down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. After rounding Florida, it was then transported up the Intra-Coastal Waterway to the Vehicle Assembly Building (originally called the Vertical Assembly Building). This was essentially the same route which would be used later by NASA to ship Space Shuttle External Tanks. The S-II was constructed in California and thus traveled to Florida via the Panama Canal. The third stage and Instrument Unit could be carried by the Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy and Super Guppy, but could also


title: "Virgin Killer" content: and some people found that offensive". Their 1979 album "Lovedrive" featured a "bizarre artwork" that depicts "a woman on the back seat of a car with bubblegum over her breast". Both covers were replaced by an alternative design. Vocalist Klaus Meine explains that the band's penchant for controversial cover art stems from a desire "to go over the edge" and not "to offend some people or make the headlines [as] that would be stupid", contrasting guitarist Rudolf Schenker's earlier statement, "We're using this only to get attention." In a 2010 interview Meine commented on the cover art again stating: Back


title: Wireball content: but does not catch a home run ball, it is a triple. If the batter throws the ball under the wire it is a strike. As in baseball, foul balls count as strikes for the first two, but you cannot foul-out. The rules vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. The ball is thrown hard and high above the wires. The closer the batter can get to a vertical trajectory the better. It is not unusual for the batter to stand almost directly below the wire. The game is more fun and easier if a group of wires is used (two or


title: "Didith Reyes" content: criminal conviction for violating the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Law. Reyes later worked as a receptionist and stylist at a hair salon. In 2002, she returned to show business with a featured role in the GMA Network drama anthology "Magpakailanman". She was supposed to revive her singing career in 2008. She was survived by her son Arvi, from her previous marriage to Victor Reyes. Three days before she died on December 10, 2008 at Biñan, Laguna, Reyes claimed to have sustained injuries after having been sideswiped by a vehicle. She died in her sleep at the home of a


title: "Storey Hall" content: both the historical and traditional aspects of the former Hibernian Hall to create a complex and daring building. Storey Hall could be said to represent the Deconstructivism strain of postmodern architecture, and contrasts for instance with the more ordered and facade of RMIT Building 8 on the other side of Storey Hall. The Storey Hall refurbishment was one of the first buildings in Melbourne to use computer and digital fabrication, necessary to produce the complex yet mathematical elements of the architecture. RAIA National Interior Architecture Award, 1996 RAIA Victorian Architecture Medal, 1996 RAIA William Wardell Award for Institutional Architecture, 1996


title: "Antoine Galiot Mandat de Grancey" content: words of Adolphe Thiers "to the cause by his energy and his lights". His remarks leave no doubt as to his fidelity to the king: His ideas favouring a constitutional monarchy arose from those close to the king. Madame Campan, whose father was a friend of Mandat, answered Louis XVI's question "Who is this Mandat who at this moment commands the National Guard?" by saying "Sire, he is the most faithful of your subjects, but with much loyalty and very little intelligence. He is in the interests of the Constitution.". The National Guard's attitude in 1792 was less loyal than


title: "Cerastium fontanum" content: Cerastium fontanum Cerastium fontanum, also called mouse-ear chickweed, common mouse-ear, or starweed, is a species of mat-forming perennial or, rarely, annual plant. It is native to Europe but introduced elsewhere. Its identifying characteristics are tear-shaped leaves growing opposite one another in a star pattern, hairy leaves, and small white flowers. Mouse-ear chickweed typically grows to 4"-8" tall and spreads horizontally along the ground via the formation of roots wherever the stem falls over and contacts the ground. "Cerastium fontanum" is a low growing plant covered with small hairs which are not sticky, that is, without glandular tips. The erect flowering


title: "Cerastium fontanum" content: stems up to 45 cm long and leaves, opposite, up to 20 mm long without stalks. It has prostrate branches which do not bear flowers. The petals are shorter than the sepals or a little longer and are deeply divided. The flowers have 10 stamens with 5 styles. It is common in grassland and along roadsides. It is common throughout Great Britain and Ireland. "Cerastium" is derived from the Greek word for 'horned', in reference to the shape of its fruit capsule. "Fontanum" means 'of fountains', 'of springs', or 'of fast-running streams'. It is a cognate with 'fountain' and 'font'.


title: "Jonny Blu" content: official contacted the EAP Program to ask about hiring non-Chinese Americans as translators. Blu and a friend, the only non-Chinese Americans who were fluent in Chinese, were chosen. After returning to the US, Blu worked part-time for the Office of White House Advance, organizing events and motorcade for President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. He also worked for Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev as a personal escort for three days at a Global Green USA Convention in 2000. In 2000, after returning from studying in China and graduating from UCLA, Blu was in a Monterey Park, California, music store


title: "Tenoroc High School" content: Tenoroc High School Tenoroc High School (THS) is a public secondary school in Lakeland, Florida. The current principal is Jason Looney, and is assisted by four Assistant principals, Bradley Hardesty, Haley Mason, Summer Fisher and Brandi Blanchard. The School Board of Polk County established Tenoroc to relieve overcrowding problems at Lakeland High School, Lake Gibson High School, Auburndale High School, and Lake Region High School. It is also one of the more technologically advanced schools owned by the School Board of Polk County and hosts a specialized learning center known as "Power Academy." Power Academy is a 4-year training program


title: "MacLennan v MacLennan" content: MacLennan v MacLennan MacLennan v MacLennan 1958 S.C. 105; 1958 S.L.T. 12 (Outer House, Court of Session, Scotland) was a civil law case that required the court to determine if artificial insemination constituted adultery. Mr and Mrs MacLennan were married in August 1952 but their marriage was not a success. The couple separate shortly afterwards and Mrs MacLennan went to U.S.A. In July 1955 she had a baby girl. Mr MacLennan sued for divorce citing adultery. Mrs MacLennan defended this action and claim she had conceived the child through artificial insemination not through adultery. The Court of Session was faced


title: "John Casey (Chuck)" content: his handler, Casey shows little reaction despite it being one of the first times Chuck directly stands up to him. Casey also keeps a "Chuck diary", which he keeps hidden in his Buy More locker. Chuck later admits to being a fan of Casey's work. Casey is forced to face a painful chapter from his past when Chuck flashes on a list of Russian mobsters staying in Los Angeles, and one of the names, Ilsa Trinchina, points directly to "Sugar Bear," a name Chuck realizes was her pet name for Casey. Chuck innocently teases Casey over it and Casey's temper


title: "Nathan Winograd" content: in 1999. Despite many challenges with the open-admission shelter with an aging building and a financial deficit, Winograd stated that killing stopped immediately: "We reduced killing by 75% while reducing disease rates and deaths in kennel by over 90% from the model I inherited. At the same time, we went from a $124,000 a year deficit to a $23,000 surplus as the animal lovers of Tompkins County rewarded our efforts with tremendous financial generosity." Winograd states that Tompkins County had become the first no kill community in the U.S., "saving 100% of healthy and treatable animals, and 100 percent of


title: "Last Chance Harvey" content: no big surprises, but in the age of Internet dating, the prospect of two strangers trying this valiantly to connect in public carries a dash of romantic heroism . . . These two deserved the intimate incandescence of their own "Before Sunrise", rather than the slightly generic sentimentality of a cross-Atlantic "Marty". But Hoffman and Thompson are each good enough to bring out a glow in the other." Marjorie Baumgarten of the "Austin Chronicle" said, "With its thin plot and its title character an American abroad in London, "Last Chance Harvey" comes across as something like a "Before Sunrise" for


title: "Real number" content: Real number In mathematics, a real number is a value of a continuous quantity that can represent a distance along a line. The adjective "real" in this context was introduced in the 17th century by René Descartes, who distinguished between real and imaginary roots of polynomials. The real numbers include all the rational numbers, such as the integer −5 and the fraction 4/3, and all the irrational numbers, such as (1.41421356..., the square root of 2, an irrational algebraic number). Included within the irrationals are the transcendental numbers, such as (3.14159265...). In addition to measuring distance, real numbers can be


title: "Lightning rod" content: Lightning rod A lightning rod (US, AUS) or lightning conductor (UK) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground through a wire, instead of passing through the structure, where it could start a fire or cause electrocution. Lightning rods are also called finials, air terminals or strike termination devices. In a lightning protection system, a lightning rod is a single component of the system. The lightning rod requires a connection to earth to perform


title: "Lightning rod" content: its protective function. Lightning rods come in many different forms, including hollow, solid, pointed, rounded, flat strips or even bristle brush-like. The main attribute common to all lightning rods is that they are all made of conductive materials, such as copper and aluminum. Copper and its alloys are the most common materials used in lightning protection. The principle of the lightning rod was first detailed by Benjamin Franklin in Pennsylvania in 1749, who in the subsequent years developed his invention for household application (published in 1753) and further improvements towards a reliable system around 1760. As buildings become taller, lightning


title: "Lightning rod" content: becomes more of a threat. Lightning can damage structures made of most materials, such as masonry, wood, concrete and steel, because the huge currents and voltages involved can heat materials to high temperature, causing a potential for fire. A lightning conductor may have been intentionally used in the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk. The spire of the tower is crowned with a metallic rod in the shape of a gilded sphere with spikes. This lightning rod is grounded through the rebar carcass, which pierces the entire building. The Nevyansk Tower was built between 1721 and 1745, on the orders of industrialist


title: "Lightning rod" content: Akinfiy Demidov. The Nevyansk Tower was built 28 years before Benjamin Franklin's experiment and scientific explanation. However, the true intent behind the metal rooftop and rebars remains unknown. The church tower of many European cities, which was usually the highest structure in the city, was likely to be hit by lightning. Early on, Christian churches tried to prevent the occurrence of the damaging effects of lightning by prayers. Peter Ahlwardts ("Reasonable and Theological Considerations about Thunder and Lightning", 1745) advised individuals seeking cover from lightning to go anywhere except in or around a church. There is an ongoing debate over


title: "Lightning rod" content: whether a "metereological machine", invented by Premonstratensian priest Prokop Diviš and erected in Přímětice near Znojmo, Moravia (now Czech Republic) in June 1754, does count as an individual invention of the lightning rod. Diviš's apparatus was, according to his private theories, aimed towards preventing thunderstorms altogether by constantly depriving the air of its superfluous electricity. The apparatus was, however, mounted on a free-standing pole and probably better grounded than Franklin's lightning rods at that time, so it served the purpose of a lightning rod. After local protests, Diviš had to cease his weather experiments around 1760. In what later became


title: "Lightning rod" content: the United States, the pointed lightning rod conductor, also called a lightning attractor or Franklin rod, was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1749 as part of his groundbreaking exploration of electricity. Although not the first to suggest a correlation between electricity and lightning, Franklin was the first to propose a workable system for testing his hypothesis. Franklin speculated that, with an iron rod sharpened to a point, Franklin speculated about lightning rods for several years before his reported kite experiment. This experiment, it is said, took place because he was tired of waiting for Christ Church in Philadelphia to be


title: "Lightning rod" content: completed so he could place a lightning rod on top of it. In the 19th century, the lightning rod became a decorative motif. Lightning rods were embellished with ornamental glass balls (now prized by collectors). The ornamental appeal of these glass balls has been used in weather vanes. The main purpose of these balls, however, is to provide evidence of a lightning strike by shattering or falling off. If after a storm a ball is discovered missing or broken, the property owner should then check the building, rod, and grounding wire for damage. Balls of solid glass occasionally were used


title: "Lightning rod" content: in a method purported to prevent lightning strikes to ships and other objects. The idea was that glass objects, being non-conductors, are seldom struck by lightning. Therefore, goes the theory, there must be something about glass that repels lightning. Hence the best method for preventing a lightning strike to a wooden ship was to bury a small solid glass ball in the tip of the highest mast. The random behavior of lightning combined with observers' confirmation bias ensured that the method gained a good bit of credence even after the development of the marine lightning rod soon after Franklin's initial


title: "Lightning rod" content: work. The first lightning conductors on ships were supposed to be hoisted when lightning was anticipated, and had a low success rate. In 1820 William Snow Harris invented a successful system for fitting lightning protection to the wooden sailing ships of the day, but despite successful trials which began in 1830, the British Royal Navy did not adopt the system until 1842, by which time the Imperial Russian Navy had already adopted the system. In the 1990s, the 'lightning points' were replaced as originally constructed when the Statue of Freedom atop the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. was


title: "Lightning rod" content: restored. The statue was designed with multiple devices that are tipped with platinum. The Washington Monument also was equipped with multiple lightning points, and the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor gets hit by lightning, which is shunted to ground. A "lightning protection system" is designed to protect a structure from damage due to lightning strikes by intercepting such strikes and safely passing their extremely high currents to ground. A lightning protection system includes a network of air terminals, bonding conductors, and ground electrodes designed to provide a low impedance path to ground for potential strikes. Lightning protection systems


title: "Lightning rod" content: are used to prevent or lessen lightning strike damage to structures. Lightning protection systems mitigate the fire hazard which lightning strikes pose to structures. A lightning protection system provides a low-impedance path for the lightning current to lessen the heating effect of current flowing through flammable structural materials. If lightning travels through porous and water-saturated materials, these materials may literally explode if their water content is flashed to steam by heat produced from the high current. This is why trees are often shattered by lightning strikes. Because of the high energy and current levels associated with lightning (currents can be


title: "Lightning rod" content: in excess of 150,000 amps), and the very rapid rise time of a lightning strike, no protection system can guarantee absolute safety from lightning. Lightning current will divide to follow every conductive path to ground, and even the divided current can cause damage. Secondary "side-flashes" can be enough to ignite a fire, blow apart brick, stone, or concrete, or injure occupants within a structure or building. However, the benefits of basic lightning protection systems have been evident for well over a century. Laboratory-scale measurements of the effects of [any lightning investigation research] do not scale to applications involving natural lightning.


title: "Lightning rod" content: Field applications have mainly been derived from trial and error based on the best intended laboratory research of a highly complex and variable phenomenon. The parts of a lightning protection system are air terminals (lightning rods or strike termination devices), bonding conductors, ground terminals (ground or "earthing" rods, plates, or mesh), and all of the connectors and supports to complete the system. The air terminals are typically arranged at or along the upper points of a roof structure, and are electrically bonded together by bonding conductors (called "down conductors" or "downleads"), which are connected by the most direct route to


title: "Lightning rod" content: one or more grounding or earthing terminals. Connections to the earth electrodes must not only have low resistance, but must have low self-inductance. An example of a structure vulnerable to lightning is a wooden barn. When lightning strikes the barn, the wooden structure and its contents may be ignited by the heat generated by lightning current conducted through parts of the structure. A basic lightning protection system would provide a conductive path between an air terminal and earth, so that most of the lightning's current will follow the path of the lightning protection system, with substantially less current traveling through


title: "Lightning rod" content: flammable materials. A controversy over the assortment of operation theories dates back to the 18th century, when Benjamin Franklin himself stated that his lightning protectors protected buildings by dissipating electric charge. He later retracted the statement, stating that the device's exact mode of operation was something of a mystery at that point. Originally, scientists believed that such a lightning protection system of air terminals and "downleads" directed the current of the lightning down into the earth to be "dissipated". However, high speed photography has clearly demonstrated that lightning is actually composed of both a cloud component and an oppositely charged


title: "Lightning rod" content: ground component. During "cloud-to-ground" lightning, these oppositely charged components usually "meet" somewhere in the atmosphere well above the earth to equalize previously unbalanced charges. The heat generated as this electric current flows through flammable materials is the hazard which lightning protection systems attempt to mitigate by providing a low-resistance path for the lightning circuit. No lightning protection system can be relied upon to "contain" or "control" lightning completely (nor thus far, to prevent lightning strikes entirely), but they do seem to help immensely on most occasions of lightning strikes. Steel framed structures can bond the structural members to earth to


title: "Lightning rod" content: provide lightning protection. A metal flagpole with its foundation in the earth is its own extremely simple lightning protection system. However, the flag(s) flying from the pole during a lightning strike may be completely incinerated. The majority of lightning protection systems in use today are of the traditional Franklin design. The fundamental principle used in Franklin-type lightning protections systems is to provide a sufficiently low impedance path for the lightning to travel through to reach ground without damaging the building. This is accomplished by surrounding the building in a kind of Faraday cage. A system of lightning protection conductors and


title: "Lightning rod" content: lightning rods are installed on the roof of the building to intercept any lightning before it strikes the building. In telegraphy and telephony, a lightning arrester is a device placed where wires enter a structure, in order to prevent damage to electronic instruments within and ensuring the safety of individuals near the structures. Lightning arresters, also called surge protectors, are devices that are connected between each electrical conductor in a power or communications system, and the ground. They help prevent the flow of the normal power or signal currents to ground, but provide a path over which high-voltage lightning current


title: "Lightning rod" content: flows, bypassing the connected equipment. Arresters are used to limit the rise in voltage when a communications or power line is struck by lightning or is near to a lightning strike. In overhead electric transmission (high-tension) systems, one or two lighter gauge conductors may be mounted to the top of the pylons, poles, or towers not specifically used to send electricity through the grid. These conductors, often referred to "static", "pilot" or "shield" wires are designed to be the point of lightning termination instead of the high-voltage lines themselves. These conductors are intended to protect the primary power conductors from


title: "Lightning rod" content: lightning strikes. These conductors are bonded to earth either through the metal structure of a pole or tower, or by additional ground electrodes installed at regular intervals along the line. As a general rule, overhead power lines with voltages below 50 kV do not have a "static" conductor, but most lines carrying more than 50 kV do. The ground conductor cable may also support fibre optic cables for data transmission. In some instances, these conductors are insulated from direct bonding with earth and may be used as low voltage communication lines. If the voltage exceeds a certain threshold, such as


title: "Lightning rod" content: during a lightning termination to the conductor, it "jumps" the insulators and passes to earth. Protection of electrical substations is as varied as lightning rods themselves, and is often proprietary to the electric company. Radio mast radiators may be insulated from the ground by a gap at the base. When lightning hits the mast, it jumps this gap. A small inductivity in the feed line between the mast and the tuning unit (usually one winding) limits the voltage increase, protecting the transmitter from dangerously high voltages. The transmitter must be equipped with a device to monitor the antenna's electrical properties.


title: "Lightning rod" content: This is very important, as a charge could remain after a lightning strike, damaging the gap or the insulators. The monitoring device switches off the transmitter when the antenna shows incorrect behavior, e.g. as a result of undesired electrical charge. When the transmitter is switched off, these charges dissipate. The monitoring device makes several attempts to switch back on. If after several attempts the antenna continues to show improper behavior, possibly as result of structural damage, the transmitter remains switched off. Ideally, the underground part of the assembly should reside in an area of high ground conductivity. If the underground


title: "Lightning rod" content: cable is able to resist corrosion well, it can be covered in salt to improve its electrical connection with the ground. While the electrical resistance of the lightning conductor between the air terminal and the Earth is of significant concern, the inductive reactance of the conductor could be more important. For this reason, the down conductor route is kept short, and any curves have a large radius. If these measures are not taken, lightning current may arc over a resistive or reactive obstruction that it encounters in the conductor. At the very least, the arc current will damage the lightning


title: "Lightning rod" content: conductor and can easily find another conductive path, such as building wiring or plumbing, and cause fires or other disasters. Grounding systems without low resistivity to the ground can still be effective in protecting a structure from lightning damage. When ground soil has poor conductivity, is very shallow, or non-existent, a grounding system can be augmented by adding ground rods, counterpoise (ground ring) conductor, cable radials projecting away from the building, or a concrete building's reinforcing bars can be used for a ground conductor (Ufer ground). These additions, while still not reducing the resistance of the system in some instances,


title: "Lightning rod" content: will allow the [dispersion] of the lightning into the earth without damage to the structure. Additional precautions must be taken to prevent side-flashes between conductive objects on or in the structure and the lightning protection system. The surge of lightning current through a lightning protection conductor will create a voltage difference between it and any conductive objects that are near it. This voltage difference can be large enough to cause a dangerous side-flash (spark) between the two that can cause significant damage, especially on structures housing flammable or explosive materials. The most effective way to prevent this potential damage is


title: "Lightning rod" content: to ensure the electrical continuity between the lightning protection system and any objects susceptible to a side-flash. Effective bonding will allow the voltage potential of the two objects to rise and fall simultaneously, thereby eliminating any risk of a side-flash. Considerable material is used to make up lightning protection systems, so it is prudent to consider carefully where an air terminal will provide the greatest protection. Historical understanding of lightning, from statements made by Ben Franklin, assumed that each "lightning rod" protected a cone of 45 degrees. This has been found to be unsatisfactory for protecting taller structures, as it


title: "Lightning rod" content: is possible for lightning to strike the side of a building. A modeling system based on a better understanding of the termination targeting of lightning, called the Rolling Sphere Method, was developed by Dr Tibor Horváth. It has become the standard by which traditional Franklin Rod systems are installed. To understand this requires knowledge of how lightning 'moves'. As the step leader of a lightning bolt jumps toward the ground, it steps toward the grounded objects nearest its path. The maximum distance that each step may travel is called the "critical distance" and is proportional to the electric current. Objects


title: "Lightning rod" content: are likely to be struck if they are nearer to the leader than this critical distance. It is standard practice to approximate the sphere's radius as 46 m near the ground. An object outside the critical distance is unlikely to be struck by the leader if there is a solidly grounded object within the critical distance. Locations that are considered safe from lightning can be determined by imagining a leader's potential paths as a sphere that travels from the cloud to the ground. For lightning protection, it suffices to consider all possible spheres as they touch potential strike points. To


title: "Lightning rod" content: determine strike points, consider a sphere rolling over the terrain. At each point, a potential leader position is simulated. Lightning is most likely to strike where the sphere touches the ground. Points that the sphere cannot roll across and touch are safest from lightning. Lightning protectors should be placed where they will prevent the sphere from touching a structure. A weak point in most lightning diversion systems is in transporting the captured discharge from the lightning rod to the ground, though. Lightning rods are typically installed around the perimeter of flat roofs, or along the peaks of sloped roofs at


title: "Lightning rod" content: intervals of 6.1 m or 7.6 m, depending on the height of the rod. When a flat roof has dimensions greater than 15 m by 15 m, additional air terminals will be installed in the middle of the roof at intervals of 15 m or less in a rectangular grid pattern. The optimal shape for the tip of a lightning rod has been controversial since the 18th century. During the period of political confrontation between Britain and its American colonies, British scientists maintained that a lightning rod should have a ball on its end, while American scientists maintained that there


title: "Lightning rod" content: should be a point. , the controversy had not been completely resolved. It is difficult to resolve the controversy because proper controlled experiments are nearly impossible, but work performed by Charles B. Moore, et al., in 2000 has shed some light on the issue, finding that moderately rounded or blunt-tipped lightning rods act as marginally better strike receptors. As a result, round-tipped rods are installed on most new systems in the United States, though most existing systems still have pointed rods. According to the study, In addition, the height of the lightning protector relative to the structure to be protected


title: "Lightning rod" content: and the Earth itself will have an effect. The charge transfer theory states that a lightning strike to a protected structure can be prevented by reducing the electrical potential between the protected structure and the thundercloud. This is done by transferring electric charge (such as from the nearby Earth to the sky or vice versa). Transferring electric charge from the Earth to the sky is done by installing engineered products composed of many points above the structure. It is noted that pointed objects will indeed transfer charge to the surrounding atmosphere and that a considerable electric current can be measured


title: "Lightning rod" content: through the conductors as ionization occurs at the point when an electric field is present, such as happens when thunderclouds are overhead. In the United States, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) does not currently endorse a device that can prevent or reduce lightning strikes. The NFPA Standards Council, following a request for a project to address Dissipation Array[tm] Systems and Charge Transfer Systems, denied the request to begin forming standards on such technology (though the Council did not foreclose on future standards development after reliable sources demonstrating the validity of the basic technology and science were submitted). The theory


title: "Lightning rod" content: of early streamer emission proposes that if a lightning rod has a mechanism producing ionization near its tip, then its lightning capture area is greatly increased. At first, small quantities of radioactive isotopes (radium-226 or americium-241) were used as sources of ionization between 1930 and 1980, later replaced with various electrical and electronic devices. According to an early patent, since most lightning protectors' ground potentials are elevated, the path distance from the source to the elevated ground point will be shorter, creating a stronger field (measured in volts per unit distance) and that structure will be more prone to ionization


title: "Lightning rod" content: and breakdown. AFNOR, the French national standardization body, issued a standard, NF C 17-102, covering this technology. The NFPA also investigated the subject and there was a proposal to issue a similar standard in the USA. Initially, an NFPA independent third party panel stated that "the [Early Streamer Emission] lightning protection technology appears to be technically sound" and that there was an "adequate theoretical basis for the [Early Streamer Emission] air terminal concept and design from a physical viewpoint".) The same panel also concluded that "the recommended [NFPA 781 standard] lightning protection system has never been scientifically or technically validated


title: "Lightning rod" content: and the Franklin rod air terminals have not been validated in field tests under thunderstorm conditions." In response, the American Geophysical Union concluded that "[t]he Bryan Panel reviewed essentially none of the studies and literature on the effectiveness and scientific basis of traditional lightning protection systems and was erroneous in its conclusion that there was no basis for the Standard." AGU did not attempt to assess the effectiveness of any proposed modifications to traditional systems in its report. The NFPA withdrew its proposed draft edition of standard 781 due to a lack of evidence of increased effectiveness of Early Streamer


title: "Lightning rod" content: Emission-based protection systems over conventional air terminals. Members of the Scientific Committee of the International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP) have issued a joint statement stating their opposition to Early Streamer Emission technology. ICLP maintains a web page with information related to ESE and related technologies. Still, the number of buildings and structures equipped with ESE lightning protection systems is growing as well as the number of manufacturers of ESE air terminals from Europe, Americas, Middle East, Russia, China, South Korea, ASEAN countries, and Australia. Lightning strikes to a metallic structure can vary from leaving no evidence—except, perhaps, a small


title: "Lightning rod" content: pit in the metal—to the complete destruction of the structure. When there is no evidence, analyzing the strikes is difficult. This means that a strike on an uninstrumented structure must be visually confirmed, and the random behavior of lightning renders such observations difficult. There are also inventors working on this problem, such as through a lightning rocket. While controlled experiments may be off in the future, very good data is being obtained through techniques which use radio receivers that watch for the characteristic electrical 'signature' of lightning strikes using fixed directional antennas. Through accurate timing and triangulation techniques, lightning strikes


title: "Lightning rod" content: can be located with great precision, so strikes on specific objects often can be confirmed with confidence. The energy in a lightning strike is typically in the range of 1 to 10 billion joules. This energy is released usually in a small number of separate strokes, each with duration of a few tens of microseconds (typically 30 to 50 microseconds), over a period of about one fifth of a second. The great majority of the energy is dissipated as heat, light and sound in the atmosphere. Lightning protection for aircraft is provided by mounting devices on the aircraft structure. The


title: "Lightning rod" content: protectors are provided with extensions through the structure of the aircraft's outer surface and within a static discharger. Protection systems for use in aircraft must protect critical and non-critical electronic equipment. Aircraft lightning protection provides an electrical path having a plurality of conductive segments, continuous or discontinuous, that upon exposure to a high voltage field form an ionization channel due to the system's breakdown voltage. Various lightning protection systems must reject the surge currents associated with the lightning strikes. Lightning protection means for aircraft include components which are dielectrics and metallic layers applied to the ordinarily lightning-accessible surfaces of composite


title: "Lightning rod" content: structures. Various ground connection means to the layers comprises a section of wire mesh fusing the various layers to an attachment connecting the structure to an adjacent ground structure. Composite-to-metal or composite-to-composite structural joints are protected by making the interface areas conductive for transfer of lightning current. Some aircraft lightning protection systems use a shielded cable system. These systems consist of one or more conductors enclosed by a conductive shield. The cable has both conductors of one end connected to a grounding element. This is intended to provide protection from electromagnetic interference. Such systems reduce the electromagnetically induced voltage in


title: "Lightning rod" content: a shielded conductor. This is intended to provide protection against induced electromagnetic interference from lightning. This network provides a normally-high impedance which breaks down to a very low impedance in response to a momentary voltage surge electromagnetically induced in the shield. This establishes a conductive path between the shield and ground. Any surge voltage from lightning creates a current through the cable. This results in an electromagnetic field of the opposite direction, which cancels or reduces the magnitude of the electromagnetic field within the shielded cable. A lightning protection installation on a watercraft comprises a "lightning protector" mounted on the


title: "Lightning rod" content: top of a mast or superstructure, and a "grounding conductor" in contact with the water. Electrical conductors attach to the protector and run down to the conductor. For a vessel with a conducting (iron or steel) hull, the grounding conductor is the hull. For a vessel with a non-conducting hull, the grounding conductor may be retractable, attached to the hull, or attached to a centerboard. Some structures are inherently more or less at risk of being struck by lightning. The risk for a structure is a function of the size (area) of a structure, the height, and the number of


title: "Lightning rod" content: lightning strikes per year per mi² for the region. For example, a small building will be less likely to be struck than a large one, and a building in an area with a high density of lightning strikes will be more likely to be struck than one in an area with a low density of lightning strikes. The National Fire Protection Association provides a risk assessment worksheet in their lightning protection standard. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) lightning risk-assessment comprises four parts: loss of living beings, loss of service to public, loss of cultural heritage, and loss of economic value.


title: "Lightning rod" content: Loss of living beings is rated as the most important and is the only loss taken into consideration for many nonessential industrial and commercial applications. The introduction of lightning protection systems into standards allowed various manufactures to develop protector systems to a multitude of specifications. There are multiple international, national, corporate and military lightning protection standards. Lightning rod A lightning rod (US, AUS) or lightning conductor (UK) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to


title: "Red fox" content: Red fox The red fox ("Vulpes vulpes") is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included among the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species". The red fox originated from


title: "Red fox" content: smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of carnivory. Apart from its large size, the red fox is distinguished from other fox species by its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings, including albinos and melanists. Forty-five subspecies are currently recognised, which are divided into two categories: the large northern foxes, and the small, basal southern foxes of Asia and North Africa. Red


title: "Red fox" content: foxes are usually together in pairs or small groups consisting of families, such as a mated pair and their young, or a male with several females having kinship ties. The young of the mated pair remain with their parents to assist in caring for new kits. The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits, game birds, reptiles, invertebrates and young ungulates. Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten sometimes. Although the red fox tends to kill smaller predators, including other fox species, it is vulnerable to attack from larger predators, such as wolves, coyotes, golden


title: "Red fox" content: jackals and medium- and large-sized felines. The species has a long history of association with humans, having been extensively hunted as a pest and furbearer for many centuries, as well as being represented in human folklore and mythology. Because of its widespread distribution and large population, the red fox is one of the most important furbearing animals harvested for the fur trade. Too small to pose a threat to humans, it has extensively benefited from the presence of human habitation, and has successfully colonised many suburban and urban areas. Domestication of the red fox is also underway in Russia, and


title: "Red fox" content: has resulted in the domesticated red fox. Females are called vixens, and young cubs are known as kits. Although the Arctic fox has a small native population in northern Scandinavia, while the corsac fox's range extends into European Russia, the red fox is the only fox native to Western Europe, and so is simply called "the fox" in colloquial British English. The word "fox" comes from Old English, which derived from Proto-Germanic *"fuhsaz". Compare with West Frisian "foks", Dutch "vos", and German "Fuchs". This, in turn, derives from Proto-Indo-European *"puḱ-" 'thick-haired; tail'. Compare to the Hindi "pū̃ch" 'tail', Tocharian B


title: "Red fox" content: "päkā" 'tail; chowrie', and Lithuanian "paustìs" 'fur'. The bushy tail also forms the basis for the fox's Welsh name, "llwynog", literally 'bushy', from "llwyn" 'bush'. Likewise, from "rabo" 'tail', Lithuanian "uodẽgis" from "uodegà" 'tail', and Ojibwa "waagosh" from "waa", which refers to the up and down "bounce" or flickering of an animal or its tail. The scientific term "vulpes" derives from the Latin word for fox, and gives the adjectives "vulpine" and "vulpecular". The red fox is considered a more specialised form of "Vulpes" than the Afghan, corsac and Bengal foxes in the direction of size and adaptation to carnivory;


title: "Red fox" content: the skull displays much fewer neotenous traits than in other species, and its facial area is more developed. It is, however, not as adapted for a purely carnivorous diet as the Tibetan fox. The species is Eurasian in origin, and may have evolved from either "Vulpes alopecoides" or the related Chinese "V. chikushanensis", both of which lived during the Middle Villafranchian. The earliest fossil specimens of "V. vulpes" were uncovered in Baranya, Hungary dating from 3.4-1.8 million years ago. The ancestral species was likely smaller than the current one, as the earliest red fox fossils are smaller than modern populations.


title: "Red fox" content: The earliest fossil remains of the modern species date back to the mid-Pleistocene in association with the refuse of early human settlements. This has led to the theory that the red fox was hunted by primitive humans as both a source of food and pelts. Red foxes colonised the North American continent in two waves: during or before the Illinoian glaciation, and during the Wisconsinan glaciation. Gene mapping demonstrates that red foxes in North America have been isolated from their Old World counterparts for over 400,000 years, thus raising the possibility that speciation has occurred, and that the previous binomial


title: "Red fox" content: name of "Vulpes fulva" may be valid. In the far north, red fox fossils have been found in Sangamonian deposits in the Fairbanks District and Medicine Hat. Fossils dating from the Wisconsian are present in 25 sites in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Although they ranged far south during the Wisconsinan, the onset of warm conditions shrank their range toward the north, and have only recently reclaimed their former American ranges because of human-induced environmental changes. Genetic testing indicates two distinct red fox refugia exist in North America, which have been separated since


title: "Red fox" content: the Wisconsinan. The northern (or boreal) refugium occurs in Alaska and western Canada, and consists of the large subspecies "V. v. alascensis", "V. v. abietorum", "V. v. regalis", and "V. v. rubricosa". The southern (or montane) refugium occurs in the subalpine parklands and alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, the Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada. It encompasses the subspecies "V. v. macroura", "V. v. cascadensis", and "V. v. necator". The latter clade has been separated from all other red fox populations since the last glacial maximum, and may possess unique ecological or physiological adaptations. Although European foxes were introduced to


title: "Red fox" content: portions of the United States in the 1900s recent genetic investigation indicates an absence of European fox haplotypes in any North American populations. Also, introduced eastern red foxes have colonized southern California, the San Joaquin Valley, and San Francisco Bay Area, but appear to have mixed with the Sacramento Valley red fox "V. v. patwin" only in a narrow hybrid zone. In addition, no evidence is seen of interbreeding of eastern red foxes in California with the montane Sierra Nevada red fox "V. v. necator" or other populations in the Intermountain West (between the Rocky Mountains to the east and


title: "Red fox" content: the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges to the west. , 45 subspecies are recognised. In 2010, another distinct subspecies, which inhabits the grasslands of the Sacramento Valley, "V. v. patwin", was identified through mitochondrial haplotype studies. Substantial gene pool mixing between different subspecies is known; British red foxes have crossbred extensively with foxes imported from Germany, France, Belgium, Sardinia, and possibly Siberia and Scandinavia. However, genetic studies suggest very little differences between red foxes sampled across Europe. Lack of genetic diversity is consistent with the red fox being a highly vagile species, with one red fox covering in under a


title: "Red fox" content: year's time. Red fox subspecies in Eurasia and North Africa are divided into two categories: Red foxes living in Middle Asia show physical traits intermediate to the northern and southern forms. The red fox has an elongated body and relatively short limbs. The tail, which is longer than half the body length (70 per cent of head and body length), is fluffy and reaches the ground when in a standing position. Their pupils are oval and vertically oriented. Nictitating membranes are present, but move only when the eyes are closed. The forepaws have five digits, while the hind feet have


title: "Red fox" content: only four and lack dewclaws. They are very agile, being capable of jumping over fences, and swim well. Vixens normally have four pairs of teats, though vixens with seven, nine, or ten teats are not uncommon. The testes of males are smaller than those of Arctic foxes. Their skulls are fairly narrow and elongated, with small braincases. Their canine teeth are relatively long. Sexual dimorphism of the skull is more pronounced than in corsac foxes, with female red foxes tending to have smaller skulls than males, with wider nasal regions and hard palates, as well as having larger canines. Their


title: "Red fox" content: skulls are distinguished from those of dogs by their narrower muzzles, less crowded premolars, more slender canine teeth, and concave rather than convex profiles. Red foxes are the largest species of the genus "Vulpes". However, relative to dimensions, red foxes are much lighter than similarly sized dogs of the genus "Canis". Their limb bones, for example, weigh 30 percent less per unit area of bone than expected for similarly sized dogs. They display significant individual, sexual, age and geographical variation in size. On average, adults measure high at the shoulder and in body length with tails measuring . The ears


title: "Red fox" content: measure and the hind feet . Weights range from , with vixens typically weighing 15–20% less than males. Adult red foxes have skulls measuring , while those of vixens measure . The forefoot print measures in length and in width, while the hind foot print measures long and wide. They trot at a speed of , and have a maximum running speed of . They have a stride of when walking at a normal pace. North American red foxes are generally lightly built, with comparatively long bodies for their mass and have a high degree of sexual dimorphism. British red