The Standard American Variety
By Diana Tierney

This creature is commonly found in many different climates through out the world, and each species is unique to their own environment. In this essay we will focus on the species typically found in North America, to be specific the United States.

Watching this creature in her native environment can create a bit of a problem for the observer. It seems the subject does not have a tendency to stay in the same place for very long; she continuously moves from one location to the next in a frantic “busy-bee” state. Luckily though our observer is able to track these magnificent creatures based upon their appearance. In most cases our subject is female in gender and her physical appearance varies from subject to subject. Some of them have very long fur, others short. Weight varies from female to female along with her ethnicity. Many times you will find her holding one of her offspring on her hip. Though the whelp is crying and doing everything with in its power to turn the mother's attention upon it, the mother is unwavering. She remains focused upon all of the different places she must go and tasks she must complete.

Let us take a look at a typical day in her world.

In the morning she will awaken before the rest of the family; many times before the sun has even risen. She then goes to the designated feeding area to prepare food for the family to eat before they begin their daily activities. This is a great opportunity to watch her multi-task. Our subject is excellent at this skill. While she is cooking the breakfast for her family over the fires, she is simultaneously preparing the next meal of the day for the cubs. These meals unfortunately are not as elaborate but still show her ingenuity. They consist of two pieces of bread with a filling substance placed in between them. This substance is usually a slivered meat of some sort or -- a favorite of many cubs -- a nut and fruit mixture. She then places them into designated bags systematically, along with a container filled with a beverage and small snack like treats.

Meanwhile the rest of the family is waking and coming into the designated eating area to partake of the meal she prepared for them. Once this has been accomplished she then sets about the task of making sure each family member dresses and has all of their supplies needed for the day. Usually the Alpha male is able to handle this on his own. However, there is occasion where he feels the need to ask for her assistance. The Alpha male leaves in the morning forcing our subject to fend for herself during daylight hours.

Once the cub's food and supplies are in order, she then ushers them out of the    more >>