Polar Bears Essay Example for Free

Polar Bears Essay Class: Ursidae. 9bPhysical characteristics: Bears have big heads, round ears, small eyes that face forward, very short tails, and stocky legs. They are plantigrade, walking on the heels and soles of their feet like humans do. Each paw has five curved claws that are not retractable, or cannot be pulled back. Habitat: The polar bear habitats encompass the entire Arctic region. Polar bears have adapted to be able to live in the water and on land. Unlike other bear species, the polar bear are excellent swimmers, and have been spotted more than 100 miles away from land or ice. The polar bear habitat is that of the entire Arctic region. Life cycle: Female polar bears reach sexual maturity at about four to five years. Male polar bears reach sexual maturity at about six years. Breeding takes place from March to June on the sea ice, but most occurs during April and May. During the breeding season, males and females find each other by congregating in the best seal-hunting habitats. Male polar bears have been seen following the tracks of breeding female polar bears for more than 100 km Competition for females is intense. Females breed about once every three years; therefore, there are about three adult males to every breeding female. Before mating, a female polar bear may be accompanied by several males. The males fight fiercely among themselves until the strongest or largest male succeeds in chasing the others away. Dominant males may succeed in mating with several females in a season. Females have babies in the den while hibernating. Polar bears life span is about 15-18 years. Prey: The Polar bear’s main prey is the Arctic seal which is a rich source of high-fat blubber. They have a very interesting way of catching their prey. A Polar bear would make a breathing hole somewhere in the middle of a vast ice expanse. Seals would often come out of these holes to breath. The Polar bear would patiently lie on its stomach with its mouth near the hole, waiting for any unfortunate seal to appear. This wait could sometimes last for several hours before a Polar bear could have his meal. Polar bears also prey on bearded seals and harp seals. When this prey is difficult to find, Polar bears would attack young walrus, narwhal, fish, seabirds and eggs. Species status: Polar bears were added to the list of threatened species because polar bears are vulnerable to this loss of habitat. Hunting of polar bears as a food source by certain native people and trade in native handicrafts made from polar bears will also continue. However, importing polar bear products from Canada (where trophy hunting is legal) will be banned. Pollution from man-made kills polar bears also Use for humans past and present- pas was they were hunted for food and fur. Present still hunted but also hunted for trophies but that has been banned Interesting facts: Polar bear cubs learn to freeze and remain still while their mother hunts. If they move, the mother disciples them, with a whack to the head. A polar bears fur is not white!! It is hollow. The fur reflects light. The hollow fur also traps the suns heat to help keep the polar bear warm. Known as the king of the artic.

H. G. Wells: His Life and Philosophies Essay -- Authors

H. G. Wells had rather extreme views in every respect. He was a prominent Fabian for some time and upheld many socialistic ideas that many still have a problem with. His views on human nature were pessimistic, the future was an eventual disappointment, but his writing is the kind that can capture the attention of many people from all ages and walks of life and draw attention to his ideas—which he did to great effect. What makes these books so fascinating? To answer questions such as these, it is imperative to know about the life of the man behind the books. Herbert George Wells was born on September 21, 1866 into a lower middle class family. He worked hard as both a student and assistant to multiple jobs before moving to London with a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Science. It was here that he was introduced to â€Å"Darwin’s Bulldog†, the eminent biologist T. H. Huxley, a man whose opinions helped shape Wells’ own for the rest of his life. Instead of becoming a biologist as recommended by Huxley, he became instead a teacher, and overworked himself until he fell into very bad health. On the doctor’s orders, he went to the south coast of England to rest until he ran out of money and returned to London. It was around this time that he met Frank Harris, editor of the â€Å"Saturday Review† newspaper, and began his careers as both a novelist and a journalist. Throughout the rest of his life he wrote steadily, averaging a little more than a book per year. In following his writing, one can see four distinct styles emerging throughout it all. At the beginning he went through a science-fiction phase containing books such as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and the Invisible Man. The second phase contained his â€Å"humorous Dickensian novel... ... has accomplished. This was H. G. Wells. Works Cited Belloc, Hilaire. "A Companion to Mr. Wells's "Outline of History"." Twentieth Century Literary Criticism: Volume 6. Detroit, Michigan: Book Tower, 1982. 522. Print. Haynes, Roslynn D. "Wells Scientific Background: Scientist or Visionary?" Twentieth Century Literary Criticism: Volume 6. Detroit, Michigan: Book Tower, 1982. 522. Print. "H. G. Wells." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Nd. Web. 17 Febuary, 2012. Verne, Jules. "Jules Verne at Home." Twentieth Century Literary Criticism: Volume 6. Detroit, Michigan: Book Tower, 1982. 522. Print. Wells, H. G. The Time Machine. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1978. Print. —. The War of the Worlds. Aerie Books Ltd., 1993. Print. "Wells, Herbert George." Twentieth Century Authors; A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature: First Edition. Np. 1942. Print.

A Team in a Slump

For someone who is not much of a sports fan as he claims himself to be, Richard Cohen is the most unlikely person to write about the parallelisms of a Knicks’ season and the Iraq War.For Cohen, a game and a war must   both be won.   He disagrees with Vince Lombardi with the latter’s famous quote that winning is not the only thing.   He is more in agreement with Henry Ford about learning more from failures than in successes.Cohen cited the New York Knicks as having the highest paid players in the league, including those who sit it out in crucial games.   The bench warmers have $53 million contracts.   He thinks the figure to be pretty expensive for a ball club finishing at the bottom notch of the Eastern Conference.Cohen likewise called to mind Gil Hodges of the Dodgers who performed below expectations in 1952 and was for an uncomfortable length of time on such a sudden decline, or on a slump.   Hodges was well-loved, extremely good and quite strong.   But as most people would say then, things happen.   Things were not always within one’s control.The Cohen essay is also about George W. Bush once the owner of the Texas Rangers.   Owning a ball club before, Cohen believes that Bush should have known that as in the case of the Knicks, money nor power, does not a winner make.  Ã‚     In Iraq, even with all its resources America is ineffective.   It is like the Knicks on a slump.Cohen wrote, â€Å"It’s not the bench that needs to be replaced.   It’s the front office.†Ã‚   The reason for the defeat is not because the players or the soldiers are not that good, it is more of the person owning the ball club or the commander in chief from whom the orders are coming being incapable of leading his team to victory.   What it takes to win, the man in charge should know.This may be a different way to look at the much-debated Iraq War, at a sports angle with   a sports analysis on the side.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rich ard Cohen, from his own admission is an occasional sports fan.For the most part of his essay, one would not easily find a connection between a team in a slump and a protracted war, between a former ball club owner and a president who calls the shots in Iraq.   For the average American who has a home team to root for he would understandably like to separate his sports from his politics.   As for Cohen, he should shoot from another angle.Works CitedCohen, Richard. â€Å"A Team in a Slump.† 20 April 2006.   Washington Post Writers Group. 15 May 2007

Essay Undoing Stereotypes in the Movie, Dances With Wolves

Undoing Stereotypes in the Movie, Dances With Wolves Hollywood has helped create and perpetuate many different stereotypical images of the different races in the world. Those stereotypes still continue to affect the way we think about each other today and many of those stereotypes have been proven to be historically inaccurate. The movie Dances With Wolves, directed by actor Kevin Costner, does an excellent job in attempting to promote a greater acceptance, understanding, and sympathy towards Native American culture, instead of supporting the typical stereotype of Native Americans being nothing but brutal, blood thirsty savages. The film Dances With Wolves focuses mainly on one man named Jon Dunbar and his growing relationship†¦show more content†¦He was first shot with about four or five arrows until he was hanging on to life by a thread and then they scalped him. You then see the Pawnee Indians carrying off their new trophy, which was a piece of Timmons head. Another scene was when the camera first introduced the Indians into the movie by focusing in on a human skeleton that had an arrow stuck in the abdomen. Through scenes such as these, we are given an impression that the stereotypes about Indians being savages were indeed true. These ideas are changed as the movie begins to take a 180-degree turn and begins to focus on helping the viewer understand what the Indians were really all about. The Lakota tribe was very humane and had fairly strong familial bonds. It wasnt easy to be accepted by their tribe at first but once you were accepted then you were considered to be one of the family. In the film, Jon Dunbar tries to make friends with the Lakota Indians but is unsuccessful at first. Being a very persistent and kind hearted man he slowly gains the acceptance of the tribe. The first witness of this is when some tribesmen pay a visit to Jon Dunbars soldiers fort. To welcome them and to show them that he wanted to get to know them, he introduces them to coffee and sugar and even lets the tribe take some home. In return, an Indian named Kicking Bird, gives Jon some buffalo hides as a gift. This exchange of gifts showed that the Indians did have a sense of manners and trust. Also the