Fox — Fox is a name applied to any one of roughly 27 species of small to medium-sized Canidaes in the tribe Vulpini, with sharp features and a bushy tail or brush. By far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), although various species are found on almost every continent. The presence of …

Desman — The Desmans or tribe Desmanini are one of several tribes of the mole family Talpidae. This tribe consists of two species of aquatic or semi-aquatic insectivores found in Europe. Both species are considered to be vulnerable. They have webbed paws and their front paws are not designed for digging. The Russian Desman (Desmana moschata) is a small semi-aquatic …

Beaver — Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe. They are the only living members of the family Castoridae, which contains a single genus, Castor. Genetic research has shown the European and North American beaver populations to be distinct species and that hybridization is unlikely. Beavers are best known for their natural trait of building dams in …

Bear Brown — The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a mammal of the order carnivora distributed throughout the Northern hemisphere. Weighing up to 130–700 kg (290-1,500 pounds), the larger races of brown bear tie with the Polar bear as the largest extant land carnivores. It is sometimes referred to poetically as the bruin, from Middle English, based on the name …

Tumbleweed — Tumbleweed (also known as Salsola, Saltwort or Russian thistle) is a genus of herbs, subshrubs, shrubs and small trees in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Africa, Asia, and Europe; they typically grow on flat, often dry and/or somewhat saline soils, with some species in saltmarshes. Recent genetic studies have however shown that the genus as traditionally circumscribed is …

Saint-John’s-Wort — St John’s wort used alone refers to the species Hypericum perforatum, also known as Tipton’s Weed or Klamath weed, but, with qualifiers, is used to refer to any species of the genus Hypericum. Therefore, H. perforatum is sometimes called Common St John’s wort to differentiate it. The species of Hypericum have been placed by some in the family …

Tupolev Tu-22M — The Tupolev Tu-22M (NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, swing wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Soviet Union. Significant numbers remain in service with the Russian Air Force. Development The Tupolev Tu-22 had not proved particularly successful, in some respects being inferior to the earlier Tu-16. Its range and takeoff performance, in …

Stealth Aircraft — Stealth aircraft are aircraft that use stealth technology to avoid detection by employing a combination of features to interfere with radar as well as reduce visibility in the infrared, visual, audio, and radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Development of stealth technology likely began in Germany during World War II. Well-known modern examples of stealth aircraft include the United …

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 — The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in daylight. The MiG-15 also served as the …

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 — The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed “balalaika”, from the aircraft’s planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek (English: pencil) by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage. Early versions are considered second generation jet fighters, …