Author: lachesismutus

Keywords: Black Bears Cubs Momma Bear Baby Bear Gatlinburg TN Rare Sighting

Added: January 1, 2010

Ever since the 1968 Winter Olympic Games, in Grenoble, France, there was an official mascot for every Olympic Games introduced. This first mascot, although deemed unofficial, was named Schuss and was a stylized skier. It was available as a small toy and on a pin, there was no plush toy and is somewhat recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Not so the nameless red jaguar on a Mayan pyramid, which was peddled during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. The first official mascot of the Olympic Games was the dachshund Waldi, designed for the notorious 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, when 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists.

In 1980, when the World Paralympic Games were held in Arnhern in the Netherlands, unnamed pair of squirrels was the first mascot ever designed specifically for the Paralympics. At that time, the Paralympic Games were still called the World Disabled Games, because the consensus with the International Olympic Committee was not yet agreed upon.

The next time someone thought to include a mascot specifically designed for the Paralympic Games would be at the 1988 Summer Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Two Asian black bears were depicted as the representation for the image an artist conjured when faced with the challenge, unfortunately the actual artist is unknown, but the bears were named the Komduri.

The latest instance of the Paralympics, the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, which took place in Beijing, China, provided the world with a multi colored cow as the mascot, named Fu Niu LeLe. The cartoon cow’s name would literally translated mean as much as Lucky Ox Happy. According to the official statement of the organizer, the inspiration derives from the “farming cultivation culture of the ancient Chinese civilization”; furthermore several attributes are descriptive of cows with this Asian nation, such as determination, optimism, positivity, diligence, realism and persistence.
In 2007 already, the mascots for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were jointly introduced, something that has happened for the first time in history. The mascot designated for the Paralympics is a mythical creature of the Canadian legends called Sumi. The mascots for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were created by the same team, Vicki Wong and Michael Murphy of Meomi Design, a small design company from Vancouver, Canada and Los Angeles, California, United States.

Sumi is, according to legends, a guardian spirit that features the legs of a black bear, the wings of the thunderbird and wears a hat of the orca whale. The face is more of a cuddly plush bear and apparently he has hot cocoa listed as his favorite drink.

Author: wjmetcalf

Keywords: exum exum mountain guides grand teton scrithe wjmetcalf hv20 jenny lake black bears black bear cubs mpeg streamclip adobe premiere elements M2T

Added: September 20, 2009