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leopard

(Encyclopedia)leopard, large carnivore of the cat family, Panthera pardus, widely distributed in Africa and Asia. It is commonly yellow, buff, or gray, patterned with black spots and rings. The rings, unlike those ...

skunk

(Encyclopedia)skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. The scent gl...

bear, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)bear, large mammal of the family Ursidae in the order Carnivora, found almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. Bears have large heads, bulky bodies, massive hindquarters, short, powerful limbs,...

Reconstruction

(Encyclopedia)Reconstruction, 1865–77, in U.S. history, the period of readjustment following the Civil War. At the end of the Civil War, the defeated South was a ruined land. The physical destruction wrought by t...

Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Abel, Sir Frederick Augustus, 1826–1902, English chemist, an authority on explosives. He was professor of chemistry at the Royal Military Academy (1851–55) and chemist to the War Dept. and governm...

Cumberland Presbyterian Church

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland Presbyterian Church, branch of the Presbyterian Church in the United States founded in 1810. In 1906 many of its congregations were united with the main body of the church. It began as a re...

Isle La Motte

(Encyclopedia)Isle La Motte īl lə mŏt [key], island and village, 6 mi (9.7 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, in Lake Champlain, NW Vt. The French chose the island as the site for Fort Ste Anne (built 1666), the f...

gum tree

(Encyclopedia)gum tree, name for the eucalyptus (see myrtle) in Australia and for several other trees, e.g., the sweet gum, of the family Hamamelidaceae (witch hazel family), and the black gum or tupelo in North Am...

Groppi, James

(Encyclopedia)Groppi, James, 1931–85, American Roman Catholic cleric and political activist, b. Milwaukee. Groppi, who grew up in the Milwaukee slums, attended St. Francis' Seminary and was ordained in 1960. In 1...

Galloway

(Encyclopedia)Galloway, region, Dumfries and Galloway, SW Scotland. It formerly was divided between the now abolished counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. The Rhinns, or Rinns, of Galloway is a rocky do...