Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. While the polar bear is mostly carnivorous, and the giant panda feeds almost entirely on bamboo, the remaining six species are omnivorous with varied diets.

With the exception of courting individuals and mothers with their young, bears are typically solitary animals. They are generally diurnal, but may be active during the night (nocturnal) or twilight (crepuscular), particularly around humans. Bears possess an excellent sense of smell and, despite their heavy build and awkward gait, are adept runners, climbers, and swimmers. In autumn, some bear species forage large amounts of fermented fruits, which affects their behaviour. Bears use shelters, such as caves and burrows, as their dens; most species occupy their dens during the winter for a long period (up to 100 days) of sleep similar to hibernation.

Bear (surname)

Bear is a surname which may refer to:

See also

Bears (film)

Bears is a 2014 nature documentary film about a family of brown bears living in the coastal mountain ranges of Alaska. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey and narrated by John C. Reilly, Bears was released theatrically by Disneynature on April 18, 2014, making it the studio's seventh nature documentary.

Plot

An Alaskan brown bear mother named Sky gives birth to two cubs named Amber and Scout in her den on a mountain slope. When April comes the bears will be ready to leave the den. As the bears leave the oncoming summer brings with it a threat of avalanches. Fortunately the bears are able to avoid disaster. Upon reaching the lush valley below, the cubs meet the other bears, some of which pose a threat to the cubs; among these bears are Magnus, a big healthy male, and Chinook, an older male. The family works together to survive the spring, with Sky keeping the cubs safe from Tikaani, a pesky gray wolf. The cubs get to know how to defend themselves in encounters with Tikaani. Also the family must stay clear of the frequent dominance fights between Magnus and Chinook.

Dolphin

Dolphins are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic marine mammals. They are an informal grouping within the order Cetacea, excluding whales and porpoises, so to zoologists the grouping is paraphyletic. The dolphins comprise the extant families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the new world river dolphins), and Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins). There are 40 extant species of dolphins. Dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulates, and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago.

Dolphins range in size from the 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) long and 50 kilograms (110 lb) Maui's dolphin to the 9.5 metres (31 ft) and 10 metric tons (11 short tons) killer whale. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the males are larger than females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not quite as flexible as seals, some dolphins can travel at 55.5 kilometres per hour (34.5 mph). Dolphins use their conical shaped teeth to capture fast moving prey. They have well-developed hearing − their hearing, which is adapted for both air and water, is so well developed that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water.

Dolphins (cricket team)

The Sunfoil Dolphins are a franchise cricket team representing the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. They take part in the Sunfoil Series first class competition, the Momentum 1 Day Cup and Ram Slam T20 Challenge limited overs competitions. The team's home venues are Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban and the Pietermaritzburg Oval in Pietermaritzburg.

They are the only side in South Africa that did not merge several provincial teams together to form the side when the franchise system was introduced into South African domestic cricket..

Playing kit

The Dolphins play in black shirts and black trousers with green trim during limited overs competitions.

Sponsors

Sunfoil are the Dolphins' primary shirt sponsors, with local radio station ECR 94.5FM their associate sponsor.

Honours

Squad

Players with international caps are listed in bold.

2015 Squad per Cricinfo (plus amateurs who have played in 2014/15 and 15/16 seasons)

Dolphins (M. C. Escher)

Dolphins also known as a Dolphins in Phosphorescent Sea is a woodcut print by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher. This work was first printed in February, 1923. Escher had been fascinated by the glowing outlines of ocean waves breaking at night and this image depicts the outlines made by a school of dolphins swimming and breaching ahead of the bow of a ship. The glow was created by bioluminescent dinoflagellates.

Sources