# document

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"Fossils of extinct Pliocene species of similar size to the modern Komodo dragon, such as Varanus sivalensis, have been found in Eurasia as well, indicating that they fared well even in environments containing competition, such as mammalian carnivores, until the climate change and extinction events that marked the beginning of the Pleistocene.Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA shows the Komodo dragon to be the closest relative (sister taxon) of the lace monitor (V. varius), with their common ancestor diverging from a lineage that gave rise to the crocodile monitor (Varanus salvadorii) of New Guinea. A 2021 study showed that during the Miocene, Komodo dragons had hybridized with the ancestors of the Australian sand monitor (V. gouldii), thus providing further evidence that the Komodo dragon had once inhabited Australia. Genetic analysis indicates that the population from northern Flores is genetically distinct from other populations of the species.\n\n== Description ==\n\nIn the wild, adult Komodo dragons usually weigh around 70 kg (150 lb), although captive specimens often weigh more. "


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"According to Guinness World Records, an average adult male will weigh 79 to 91 kg (174 to 201 lb) and measure 2.59 m (8.5 ft), while an average female will weigh 68 to 73 kg (150 to 161 lb) and measure 2.29 m (7.5 ft). The largest verified specimen in captive was 3.13 m (10.3 ft) long and weighed 166 kg (366 lb), including its undigested food. The largest wild specimen had a length 3.04 m (10.0 ft), a snout-vent length (SVL) 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) and a mass of 81.5 kg (180 lb) excluding stomach contents. The heaviest reached a mass in 87.4 kg (193 lb).  The study noted that weights greater than 100 kg (220 lb) were possible but only after the animal had consumed a large meal.\n\nThe Komodo dragon has a tail as long as its body, as well as about 60 frequently replaced, serrated teeth that can measure up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in length. Its saliva is frequently blood-tinged because its teeth are almost completely covered by gingival tissue that is naturally lacerated during feeding. It also has a long, yellow, deeply forked tongue. "


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"Komodo dragon skin is reinforced by armoured scales, which contain tiny bones called osteoderms that function as a sort of natural chain-mail. The only areas lacking osteoderms on the head of the adult Komodo dragon are around the eyes, nostrils, mouth margins, and pineal eye, a light-sensing organ on the top of the head. Where lizards typically have one or two varying patterns or shapes of osteoderms, komodos have four: rosette, platy, dendritic, and vermiform. This rugged hide makes Komodo dragon skin a poor source of leather. Additionally, these osteoderms become more extensive and variable in shape as the Komodo dragon ages, ossifying more extensively as the lizard grows. These osteoderms are absent in hatchlings and juveniles, indicating that the natural armor develops as a product of age and competition between adults for protection in intraspecific combat over food and mates.\n\n=== Senses ===\n\nAs with other varanids, Komodo dragons have only a single ear bone, the stapes, for transferring vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the cochlea. This arrangement means they are likely restricted to sounds in the 400 to 2,000 hertz range, compared to humans who hear between 20 and 20,000 hertz. "


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"They were formerly thought to be deaf when a study reported no agitation in wild Komodo dragons in response to whispers, raised voices, or shouts. This was disputed when London Zoological Garden employee Joan Procter trained a captive specimen to come out to feed at the sound of her voice, even when she could not be seen.The Komodo dragon can see objects as far away as 300 m (980 ft), but because its retinas only contain cones, it is thought to have poor night vision. It can distinguish colours, but has poor visual discrimination of stationary objects.As with many other reptiles, the Komodo dragon primarily relies on its tongue to detect, taste, and smell stimuli, with the vomeronasal sense using the Jacobson's organ, rather than using the nostrils. With the help of a favorable wind and its habit of swinging its head from side to side as it walks, a Komodo dragon may be able to detect carrion from 4\u20139.5 km (2.5\u20135.9 mi) away. It only has a few taste buds in the back of its throat. Its scales, some of which are reinforced with bone, have sensory plaques connected to nerves to facilitate its sense of touch. "


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"The scales around the ears, lips, chin, and soles of the feet may have three or more sensory plaques.\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\nThe Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places and typically lives in dry, open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most active in the day, although it exhibits some nocturnal activity. Komodo dragons are solitary, coming together only to breed and eat. They are capable of running rapidly in brief sprints up to 20 km/h (12 mph), diving up to 4.5 m (15 ft), and climbing trees proficiently when young through use of their strong claws. To catch out-of-reach prey, the Komodo dragon may stand on its hind legs and use its tail as a support. As it matures, its claws are used primarily as weapons, as its great size makes climbing impractical.For shelter, the Komodo dragon digs holes that can measure from 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 9.8 ft) wide with its powerful forelimbs and claws. Because of its large size and habit of sleeping in these burrows, it is able to conserve body heat throughout the night and minimise its basking period the morning after. "


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"The Komodo dragon hunts in the afternoon, but stays in the shade during the hottest part of the day. These special resting places, usually located on ridges with cool sea breezes, are marked with droppings and are cleared of vegetation. They serve as strategic locations from which to ambush deer.\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nKomodo dragons are apex predators. They are carnivores; although they have been considered as eating mostly carrion, they will frequently ambush live prey with a stealthy approach. When suitable prey arrives near a dragon's ambush site, it will suddenly charge at the animal at high speeds and go for the underside or the throat.Komodo dragons do not deliberately allow the prey to escape with fatal injuries but try to kill prey outright using a combination of lacerating damage and blood loss. They have been recorded as killing wild pigs within seconds, and observations of Komodo dragons tracking prey for long distances are likely misinterpreted cases of prey escaping an attack before succumbing to infection.\nKomodo dragons eat by tearing large chunks of flesh and swallowing them whole while holding the carcass down with their forelegs. "


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"For smaller prey up to the size of a goat, their loosely articulated jaws, flexible skulls, and expandable stomachs allow them to swallow prey whole. The undigested vegetable contents of a prey animal's stomach and intestines are typically avoided. Copious amounts of red saliva the Komodo dragons produce help to lubricate the food, but swallowing is still a long process (15\u201320 minutes to swallow a goat). A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully that the tree is knocked down. A small tube under the tongue that connects to the lungs allows it to breathe while swallowing.After eating up to 80% of its body weight in one meal, it drags itself to a sunny location to speed digestion, as the food could rot and poison the dragon if left undigested in its stomach for too long. Because of their slow metabolism, large dragons can survive on as few as 12 meals a year. After digestion, the Komodo dragon regurgitates a mass of horns, hair, and teeth known as the gastric pellet, which is covered in malodorous mucus. "


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"After regurgitating the gastric pellet, it rubs its face in the dirt or on bushes to get rid of the mucus.\n\nThe eating habits of Komodo dragons follow a hierarchy, with the larger animals generally eating before the smaller ones. The largest male typically asserts his dominance and the smaller males show their submission by use of body language and rumbling hisses. Dragons of equal size may resort to \"wrestling\". Losers usually retreat, though they have been known to be killed and eaten by victors.The Komodo dragon's diet is wide-ranging, and includes invertebrates, other reptiles (including smaller Komodo dragons), birds, bird eggs, small mammals, monkeys, wild boar, goats, pigs, deer, horses, and water buffalo. Young Komodos will eat insects, eggs, geckos, and small mammals, while adults prefer to hunt large mammals. Occasionally, they attack and bite humans. Sometimes they consume human corpses, digging up bodies from shallow graves. This habit of raiding graves caused the villagers of Komodo to move their graves from sandy to clay ground, and pile rocks on top of them, to deter the lizards. "


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"The Komodo dragon may have evolved to feed on the extinct dwarf elephant Stegodon that once lived on Flores, according to evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond.The Komodo dragon drinks by sucking water into its mouth via buccal pumping (a process also used for respiration), lifting its head, and letting the water run down its throat.\n\n=== Saliva ===\nAlthough previous studies proposed that Komodo dragon saliva contains a variety of highly septic bacteria that would help to bring down prey, research in 2013 suggested that the bacteria in the mouths of Komodo dragons are ordinary and similar to those found in other carnivores. Komodo dragons have good mouth hygiene. To quote Bryan Fry: \"After they are done feeding, they will spend 10 to 15 minutes lip-licking and rubbing their head in the leaves to clean their mouth ... Unlike people have been led to believe, they do not have chunks of rotting flesh from their meals on their teeth, cultivating bacteria.\""


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"Nor do Komodo dragons wait for prey to die and track it at a distance, as vipers do; observations of them hunting deer, boar and in some cases buffalo reveal that they kill prey in less than half an hour.The observation of prey dying of sepsis would then be explained by the natural instinct of water buffalos, who are not native to the islands where the Komodo dragon lives, to run into water after escaping an attack. The warm, faeces-filled water would then cause the infections. The study used samples from 16 captive dragons (10 adults and six neonates) from three US zoos.\n\n=== Antibacterial immune factor ===\nResearchers have isolated a powerful antibacterial peptide from the blood plasma of Komodo dragons, VK25. Based on their analysis of this peptide, they have synthesized a short peptide dubbed DRGN-1 and tested it against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. Preliminary results of these tests show that DRGN-1 is effective in killing drug-resistant bacterial strains and even some fungi. It has the added observed benefit of significantly promoting wound healing in both uninfected and mixed biofilm infected wounds.\n\n"


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"=== Venom ===\n\nIn late 2005, researchers at the University of Melbourne speculated the perentie (Varanus giganteus), other species of monitors, and agamids may be somewhat venomous. The team believes the immediate effects of bites from these lizards were caused by mild envenomation. Bites on human digits by a lace monitor (V. varius), a Komodo dragon, and a spotted tree monitor (V. scalaris) all produced similar effects: rapid swelling, localised disruption of blood clotting, and shooting pain up to the elbow, with some symptoms lasting for several hours.In 2009, the same researchers published further evidence demonstrating Komodo dragons possess a venomous bite. MRI scans of a preserved skull showed the presence of two glands in the lower jaw. The researchers extracted one of these glands from the head of a terminally ill dragon in the Singapore Zoological Gardens, and found it secreted several different toxic proteins. The known functions of these proteins include inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, leading to shock and loss of consciousness in envenomated prey. "


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"As a result of the discovery, the previous theory that bacteria were responsible for the deaths of Komodo victims was disputed.Other scientists have stated that this allegation of venom glands \"has had the effect of underestimating the variety of complex roles played by oral secretions in the biology of reptiles, produced a very narrow view of oral secretions and resulted in misinterpretation of reptilian evolution.\"According to these scientists \"reptilian oral secretions contribute to many biological roles other than to quickly dispatch prey.\"These researchers concluded that, \"Calling all in this clade venomous implies an overall potential danger that does not exist, misleads in the assessment of medical risks, and confuses the biological assessment of squamate biochemical systems.\"Evolutionary biologist Schwenk says that even if the lizards have venom-like proteins in their mouths they may be using them for a different function, and he doubts venom is necessary to explain the effect of a Komodo dragon bite, arguing that shock and blood loss are the primary factors.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\n\nMating occurs between May and August, with the eggs laid in September. "


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"During this period, males fight over females and territory by grappling with one another upon their hind legs, with the loser eventually being pinned to the ground. These males may vomit or defecate when preparing for the fight. The winner of the fight will then flick his long tongue at the female to gain information about her receptivity. Females are antagonistic and resist with their claws and teeth during the early phases of courtship. Therefore, the male must fully restrain the female during coitus to avoid being hurt. Other courtship displays include males rubbing their chins on the female, hard scratches to the back, and licking. Copulation occurs when the male inserts one of his hemipenes into the female's cloaca. Komodo dragons may be monogamous and form \"pair bonds\", a rare behavior for lizards.Female Komodos lay their eggs from August to September and may use several types of locality; in one study, 60% laid their eggs in the nests of orange-footed scrubfowl (a moundbuilder or megapode), 20% on ground level and 20% in hilly areas. The females make many camouflage nests/holes to prevent other dragons from eating the eggs. "


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"Clutches contain an average of 20 eggs, which have an incubation period of 7\u20138 months. Hatching is an exhausting effort for the neonates, which break out of their eggshells with an egg tooth that falls off before long. After cutting themselves out, the hatchlings may lie in their eggshells for hours before starting to dig out of the nest. They are born quite defenseless and are vulnerable to predation. Sixteen youngsters from a single nest were on average 46.5 cm long and weighed 105.1 grams.Young Komodo dragons spend much of their first few years in trees, where they are relatively safe from predators, including cannibalistic adults, as juvenile dragons make up 10% of their diets. The habit of cannibalism may be advantageous in sustaining the large size of adults, as medium-sized prey on the islands is rare. When the young approach a kill, they roll around in faecal matter and rest in the intestines of eviscerated animals to deter these hungry adults. Komodo dragons take approximately 8 to 9 years to mature, and may live for up to 30 years.\n\n"


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"==== Parthenogenesis ====\n\nA Komodo dragon at London Zoo named Sungai laid a clutch of eggs in late 2005 after being separated from male company for more than two years. Scientists initially assumed she had been able to store sperm from her earlier encounter with a male, an adaptation known as superfecundation. On 20 December 2006, it was reported that Flora, a captive Komodo dragon living in the Chester Zoo in England, was the second known Komodo dragon to have laid unfertilised eggs: she laid 11 eggs, and seven of them hatched, all of them male. Scientists at Liverpool University in England performed genetic tests on three eggs that collapsed after being moved to an incubator, and verified Flora had never been in physical contact with a male dragon. After Flora's eggs' condition had been discovered, testing showed Sungai's eggs were also produced without outside fertilization. On 31 January 2008, the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, became the first zoo in the Americas to document parthenogenesis in Komodo dragons. The zoo has two adult female Komodo dragons, one of which laid about 17 eggs on 19\u201320 May 2007. "


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"Only two eggs were incubated and hatched due to space issues; the first hatched on 31 January 2008, while the second hatched on 1 February. Both hatchlings were males.Komodo dragons have the ZW chromosomal sex-determination system, as opposed to the mammalian XY system. Male progeny prove Flora's unfertilized eggs were haploid (n) and doubled their chromosomes later to become diploid (2n) (by being fertilized by a polar body, or by chromosome duplication without cell division), rather than by her laying diploid eggs by one of the meiosis reduction-divisions in her ovaries failing. When a female Komodo dragon (with ZW sex chromosomes) reproduces in this manner, she provides her progeny with only one chromosome from each of her pairs of chromosomes, including only one of her two sex chromosomes. This single set of chromosomes is duplicated in the egg, which develops parthenogenetically. Eggs receiving a Z chromosome become ZZ (male); those receiving a W chromosome become WW and fail to develop, meaning that only males are produced by parthenogenesis in this species.\n"


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"It has been hypothesised that this reproductive adaptation allows a single female to enter an isolated ecological niche (such as an island) and by parthenogenesis produce male offspring, thereby establishing a sexually reproducing population (via reproduction with her offspring that can result in both male and female young). Despite the advantages of such an adaptation, zoos are cautioned that parthenogenesis may be detrimental to genetic diversity.\n\n=== Encounters with humans ===\n\nAttacks on humans are rare, but Komodo dragons have been responsible for several human fatalities, in both the wild and in captivity. According to data from Komodo National Park spanning a 38-year period between 1974 and 2012, there were 24 reported attacks on humans, five of them fatal. Most of the victims were local villagers living around the national park.\n\n== Conservation ==\n\nThe Komodo dragon is classified by the IUCN as Endangered and is listed on the IUCN Red List. The species' sensitivity to natural and man-made threats has long been recognized by conservationists, zoological societies, and the Indonesian government. Komodo National Park was founded in 1980 to protect Komodo dragon populations on islands including Komodo, Rinca, and Padar. "


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"Later, the Wae Wuul and Wolo Tado Reserves were opened on Flores to aid Komodo dragon conservation.Komodo dragons generally avoid encounters with humans. Juveniles are very shy and will flee quickly into a hideout if a human comes closer than about 100 metres (330 ft). Older animals will also retreat from humans from a shorter distance away. If cornered, they may react aggressively by gaping their mouth, hissing, and swinging their tail. If they are disturbed further, they may attack and bite. Although there are anecdotes of unprovoked Komodo dragons attacking or preying on humans, most of these reports are either not reputable or have subsequently been interpreted as defensive bites. Only very few cases are truly the result of unprovoked attacks by atypical individuals who lost their fear of humans.Volcanic activity, earthquakes, loss of habitat, fire, tourism, loss of prey due to poaching, and illegal poaching of the dragons themselves have all contributed to the vulnerable status of the Komodo dragon. "


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"A major future threat to the species is climate change via both aridification and sea level rise, which can affect the low-lying habitats and valleys that the Komodo dragon depends on, as Komodo dragons do not range into the higher-altitude regions of the islands they inhabit. Based on projections, climate change will lead to a decline in suitable habitat of 8.4%, 30.2%, or 71% by 2050 depending on the climate change scenario. Without effective conservation actions, populations on Flores are extirpated in all scenarios, while in the more extreme scenarios, only the populations on Komodo and Rinca persist in highly reduced numbers. Rapid climate change mitigation is crucial for conserving the species in the wild. Other scientists have disputed the conclusions about the effects of climate change on Komodo dragon populations.Under Appendix I of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), commercial international trade of Komodo dragon skins or specimens is prohibited. Despite this, there are occasional reports of illegal attempts to trade in live Komodo dragons. "


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"The most recent attempt was in March 2019, when Indonesian police in the East Java city of Surabaya reported that a criminal network had been caught trying to smuggle 41 young Komodo dragons out of Indonesia. The plan was said to include shipping the animals to several other countries in Southeast Asia through Singapore. It was hoped that the animals could be sold for up to 500 million rupiah (around US$35,000) each. It was believed that the Komodo dragons had been smuggled out of East Nusa Tenggara province through the port at Ende in central Flores.In 2013, the total population of Komodo dragons in the wild was assessed as 3,222 individuals, declining to 3,092 in 2014 and 3,014 in 2015. Populations remained relatively stable on the bigger islands (Komodo and Rinca), but decreased on smaller islands, such as Nusa Kode and Gili Motang, likely due to diminishing prey availability. On Padar, a former population of Komodo dragons has recently become extinct, of which the last individuals were seen in 1975. It is widely assumed that the Komodo dragon died out on Padar following a major decline of populations of large ungulate prey, for which poaching was most likely responsible.\n\n"


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"=== In captivity ===\n\nKomodo dragons have long been sought-after zoo attractions, where their size and reputation make them popular exhibits. They are, however, rare in zoos because they are susceptible to infection and parasitic disease if captured from the wild, and do not readily reproduce in captivity. The first Komodo dragons were displayed at London Zoo in 1927. A Komodo dragon was exhibited in 1934 in the United States at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., but it lived for only two years. More attempts to exhibit Komodo dragons were made, but the lifespan of the animals proved very short, averaging five years in the National Zoological Park. Studies were done by Walter Auffenberg, which were documented in his book The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor, eventually allowed for more successful management and breeding of the dragons in captivity. As of May 2009, there were 35 North American, 13 European, one Singaporean, two African, and two Australian institutions which housed captive Komodo dragons.A variety of behaviors have been observed from captive specimens. Most individuals become relatively tame within a short time, and are capable of recognising individual humans and discriminating between familiar and unfamiliar keepers. "


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"Komodo dragons have also been observed to engage in play with a variety of objects, including shovels, cans, plastic rings, and shoes. This behavior does not seem to be \"food-motivated predatory behavior\".Even seemingly docile dragons may become unpredictably aggressive, especially when the animal's territory is invaded by someone unfamiliar. In June 2001, a Komodo dragon seriously injured Phil Bronstein, the then-husband of actress Sharon Stone, when he entered its enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo after being invited in by its keeper. Bronstein was bitten on his bare foot, as the keeper had told him to take off his white shoes and socks, which the keeper stated could potentially excite the Komodo dragon as they were the same colour as the white rats the zoo fed the dragon. Although he survived, Bronstein needed to have several tendons in his foot reattached surgically.\n\n"


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"== See also ==\n\nList of largest extant lizards\nAsian water monitor\nKomodo Indonesian Fauna Museum and Reptile Park\nPapua monitor (Varanus salvadorii), a monitor lizard often asserted to be the longest extant lizard\nToxicofera, a hypothetical clade encompassing all venomous reptiles, including the Komodo dragon\nVaranus priscus (formerly known as Megalania prisca), a huge extinct varanid lizard of Pleistocene Australia\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\nAttenborough, David (1957). Zoo Quest for a Dragon. London: Lutterworth Press.\nAuffenberg, Walter (1981). The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-0621-5.\nBurden, W. Douglas (1927). Dragon Lizards of Komodo: An Expedition to the Lost World of the Dutch East Indies. New York, London: G.P. Putnum's Sons.\nEberhard, Jo; King, Dennis; Green, Brian; Knight, Frank; Keith Newgrain (1999). Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. Malabar, Fla: Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-57524-112-8.\nLutz, Richard L; Lutz, Judy Marie (1997). Komodo: The Living Dragon. Salem, Or: DiMI Press. ISBN 978-0-931625-27-5.\n\n== External links ==\nMedia related to Varanus komodoensis (category) at Wikimedia Commons\nData related to Varanus komodoensis at Wikispecies"


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"The red-fronted macaw (Ara rubrogenys) is a parrot endemic to a small semi-desert mountainous area of Bolivia. It is a critically endangered species; it has been successfully bred in captivity, and is available, if not common, as a pet. It is also sometimes known in the literature as Lafresnaye's macaw, named for the French ornithologist Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric de Lafresnaye, who was one of the first to describe the species.\n\n== Description ==\nThe red-fronted macaw is 55\u201360 cm (21.5\u201323.5 in) long. It is mostly green, and has a red forehead, a red patch over the ears and bright red to orange edged under wing coverts. It has an area of pinkish skin around the eyes extending to the beak. It has red at the bend of wings and blue primary wing feathers.\n\n== Range and habitat ==\nThe red-fronted macaw is native to a small mountainous area of south-central Bolivia situated about 200 km west of Santa Cruz, in the department of the same name, where the climate is medium altitude semi-desert. The natural vegetation consists mostly of cactus (large and small) and thorny trees and scrub. The climate is semi arid with cold nights and hot days. "


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"Rain comes in infrequent heavy storms. It is unusual in that it is the only macaw to inhabit such a climatic zone. Most macaws nest in holes in large trees, however here there are no very large trees in its range so it nests in vertical fissures in cliff faces. The bird has been captured for the pet trade in the past and killed by local farmers because it raids their crops.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nRed-fronted macaw videos on the Internet Bird Collection\nStamps (for Bolivia)\nRed-fronted macaw photo gallery VIREO\nWild macaws (Bolivia section)"


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"The black lemur (Eulemur macaco) is a species of lemur from the family Lemuridae.  Like all lemurs, it is endemic to Madagascar. Originally, the species was thought to have two subspecies, Eulemur macaco macaco and Eulemur macaco flavifrons, both of which were elevated to species status by Mittermeier et al. in 2008 to Eulemur macaco and Eulemur flavifrons respectively. The most startling difference between the two species is the eye colour; Eulemur flavifrons, the blue-eyed black lemur, has blue eyes, while Eulemur macaco, the black lemur, has brown or orange eyes, and also has ear tufts.Both species live in northwest Madagascar. The black lemur occurs in moist forests in the Sambirano region of Madagascar and on nearby islands. The blue-eyed black lemur is restricted to the Sahamalaza Peninsula and adjacent forests. There are reports of the two species hybridizing where their ranges overlap in Manongarivo Special Reserve.\n\n== Physical description ==\n\nThe black lemur is between 90 and 110 centimeters in length, of which 51\u201365 centimeters are tail. Weight typically ranges between 1.8 and 2.0 kilograms. The black lemur displays sexual dimorphism in coloration. "


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"Males have black or dark chocolate fur, while females' fur is of a lighter brown color, generally medium brown, chestnut brown or even orange-brown. Males have large black ear tufts, while females have large white ear tufts.\nThe only other Eulemur species that occurs within the range of the black lemur is the common brown lemur, which overlaps with the black lemur at the extreme southern and eastern edge of its range, and the red-bellied lemur, on the Tsaratanana Massif. The common brown lemur and the red-bellied lemur have different coloration and do not show the extreme sexual dimorphism of the black lemur, making confusion between the black lemur and the other species unlikely.\n\n== Diet ==\n\nThe black lemur primarily eats fruit, which makes up an estimated 78% of its diet. The ripeness of this fruit is vital to the lemur's diet. Other foods eaten include flowers, leaves, fungi, some invertebrates and, especially during the dry season, nectar.\n\n== Behavior ==\nThe black lemur lives in both primary and secondary forest. It is active both during the day and at night. "


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"It forages in both the upper and middle canopy, especially at night, and during the day it also forages in the understory. In degraded habitats, it also forages on the ground and may even eat soil.The black lemur lives in groups of 2 to 15 members, including approximately equal numbers of males and females. Average group size is about 10 members, although the average may be smaller for E. m. flavifrons. Females are dominant over males, although intragroup fighting is rare.Groups have home ranges of about 3.5 to 7 hectares. Ranges overlap considerably, and population density can reach 200 individuals per square kilometer.Black lemurs also have a habit of picking up and biting at toxic millipedes. The toxins are usually not fatal to the lemurs and they try to stimulate the millipede to release its toxins in self-defence. Once this is achieved the black lemur will rub the millipede around its body to get the toxins on its fur. It is believed that they do this to help repel insects with the millipedes poison.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\nMating usually takes place in April and May. During mating season, antagonism between males increases, and males sometimes roam between groups. "


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"After a gestation of about 125 days, a single infant is usually born between late August and early October. Females typically give birth for the first time at two years of age.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nARKive - images and movies of the black lemur (Eulemur macaco)"


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"The Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca), also known commonly as the spur-thighed tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. Testudo graeca is one of five species of Mediterranean tortoises (genera Testudo and Agrionemys). The other four species are Hermann's tortoise (T. hermanni), the Egyptian tortoise (T. kleinmanni), the marginated tortoise (T. marginata), and the Russian tortoise (A. horsfieldii). The Greek tortoise is a very long-lived animal, achieving a lifespan upwards of 125 years, with some unverified reports up to 200 years.\n\n== Geographic range ==\nThe Greek tortoise's geographic range includes North Africa, Southern Europe, and Southwest Asia. It is prevalent in the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus (from Anapa, Russia, to Sukhumi, Abkhazia, Georgia, to the south), as well as in other regions of Georgia, Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan.\n\n== Evolution ==\nThe oldest known definitive fossil is from the Early Pliocene of Greece, but specimens referred to as Testudo cf. graeca are known from the Late and Middle Miocene in Greece and Turkey.\n\n== Characteristics ==\nThe Greek tortoise (T. g. ibera) is often confused with Hermann's tortoise (T. hermanni ). However, notable differences enable them to be distinguished.\n\n"


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"== Subspecies ==\n\nThe division of the Greek tortoise into subspecies is difficult and confusing. Given their huge range over three continents, the various terrains, climates, and biotopes have produced a huge number of varieties, with new subspecies constantly being discovered. Currently, at least 20 subspecies are published:\n\nT. g. graeca (North Africa and South Spain)\nT. g. soussensis (South Morocco)\nT. g. marokkensis (North Morocco)\nT. g. nabeulensis - Tunisian tortoise (Tunisia)\nT. g. cyrenaica (Libya)\nT. g. ibera (Turkey)\nT. g. armeniaca - Armenian tortoise (Armenia)\nT. g. buxtoni (Caspian Sea)\nT. g. terrestris (Israel/Lebanon)\nT. g. zarudnyi (Iran/Azerbaijan)\nT. g. whitei (Algeria)\nT. g. floweri (Jordan)This incomplete listing shows the problems in the division of the species into subspecies. The differences in form are primarily in size and weight, as well as coloration, which ranges from dark brown to bright yellow, and the types of flecks, ranging from solid colors to many spots. Also, the bending-up of the edges of their carapaces ranges from minimal to pronounced. So as not to become lost in the number of subspecies, recently, a few tortoises previously classified as T. graeca have been assigned to different species, or even different genera.\n"


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"The genetic richness of T. graeca is also shown in its crossbreeding. Tortoises of different form groups often mate, producing offspring with widely differing shapes and color. Perhaps the best means of identification for the future is simply the place of origin.\nThe smallest, and perhaps the prettiest, of the subspecies, is the Tunisian tortoise. It has a particularly bright and striking coloration. However, these are also the most sensitive tortoises of the species, so they cannot be kept outdoors in temperate climates, as cold and rainy summers quickly cause the animals to become ill. They are also incapable of long hibernation.\nAt the other extreme, animals from northeastern Turkey are very robust, such as Hermann's tortoise. The largest specimens come from Bulgaria. Specimens of 7 kg (15 lb) have been reported. In comparison, the Tunisian tortoise has a maximum weight of 0.7 kg (1.5 lb). T. graeca is also closely related to the marginated tortoise (T. marginata). The two species can interbreed, producing offspring capable of reproduction.\n\n== Sexing ==\nMales of T. graeca differ from females in six main points. Firstly, they are generally smaller. "


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"Their tails are longer than females and taper to a point evenly, and the cloacal opening is farther from the base of the tail. The underside is somewhat curved, while females have a flat shell on the underside. The rear portion of a male's carapace is wider than it is long. Finally, the posterior plates of the carapace often flange outward.\n\n== Mating and reproduction ==\n\nIn T. graeca, immediately after waking from hibernation, the mating instinct starts up. The males follow the females with great interest, encircling them, biting them in the limbs, ramming them, and trying to mount them. During copulation, the male opens his mouth, showing his red tongue and making squeaking sounds.\nDuring mating, the female stands still, bracing herself with her front legs, moving the front part of her body to the left and right in the same rhythm as the male's cries. One successful mating will allow the female to lay eggs multiple times. When breeding in captivity, the pairs of females and males must be kept separate. If multiple males are in a pen, one takes on a dominant role and will try to mate with the other males in the pen. "


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"If more males than females are in a pen, the males might kill each other to mate with the females.\nOne or two weeks before egg laying, the animals become notably agitated, moving around to smell and dig in the soil, even tasting it, before choosing the ideal spot to lay the eggs. One or two days before egg laying, the female takes on an aggressive, dominant behavior, mounting another animal as for copulation and making the same squeaking sound the male produces during copulation. The purpose of this behavior is to produce respect in the tortoise community so that the female will not be disturbed by the others during egg laying. Further details of egg-laying behavior are the same as those detailed for the marginated tortoise.\n\n== Trade ==\nThe Greek tortoise is commonly traded as a pet in source countries such as Morocco and Spain, despite the illegality of this trade. This can lead to an unsustainable removal of wild individuals for the local pet trade and for export. Also, welfare concerns exist with this trade, as the animals are not properly housed when being sold, causing a high rate of mortality in captivity.\n\n"


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"== Food ==\nIn captivity, the Greek tortoise loves dandelion leaves and other leafy plants. However, although they also enjoy eating lettuce, it is not recommended to them due to having a lack of nutrients that the tortoises need to survive.\n\n== See also ==\nList of reptiles of Italy\nMediterranean tortoise\nTimothy (tortoise)\nJackson ratio\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nEuropean Tortoises. (in German).\nBroasca Testoasa Greaca - Testudo graeca. (in Romanian)."


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"The wrinkled hornbill or Sunda wrinkled hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus) is a medium-large hornbill which is found in forest in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.\n\nThe wrinkled hornbill is around 70 cm long, and has a very large bill that is fused to the skull. It has mainly black plumage, a blue eye-ring, and a broadly white or rufous-tipped tail. The male and female have different head and bill patterns. Males have bright yellow feathers on the auriculars, cheeks, throat, neck-sides and chest, but these areas are black in the female, except for the blue throat. The bill of the male is yellow with a red base and casque, and a brownish basal half of the lower mandible. The bill and casque of the female is almost entirely yellow.\nThis is a forest species and eats mainly fruit, such as figs, although it will also eat small animals such as frogs and insects. Wrinkled hornbills do not drink, but get the water they need from their food. Their call is a harsh \"Kak-kak\", or a deep \"Row-wow\" which can be heard for miles.\nThese birds are monogamous and remain in a pair for life. "


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"They use holes found in trees for nests, and the female will plaster over the entrance with mud and droppings, leaving a nesting mother and her chicks only a small hole, too small for them to exit. They are fed exclusively by the male, who regurgitates food for them. After several months, when the chicks are ready, the female will break out of her nest.\nWrinkled hornbills were first bred in captivity in 1988. Heavy deforestation in their forest habitat has led them to be uplisted from near threatened to endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2018.\n\n== Notes ==\n\n== References ==\nHonolulu Zoo\nMalay government site\nCoraciiformes Taxon Advisory Group\n\n== External links ==\nMedia related to Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus at Wikimedia Commons\n\nJurong Bird Park, Singapore"


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"The East African oryx (Oryx beisa), also known as the beisa is a species of antelope from East Africa. It has two subspecies: the common beisa oryx (Oryx beisa beisa) found in steppe and semidesert throughout the Horn of Africa and north of the Tana River, and the fringe-eared oryx (Oryx beisa callotis) south of the Tana River in southern Kenya and parts of Tanzania. In the past, some taxonomists considered it a subspecies of the gemsbok (Oryx gazella), but they are genetically distinct; the diploid chromosome count is 56 for the beisa and 58 for the gemsbok. The species is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.\n\n== Description ==\nThe East African oryx stands just over a metre at the shoulder and weighs around 175 lb (79 kg). It has a grey coat with a white underside, separated from the grey by a stripe of black, with black stripes where the head attaches to the neck, along the nose, and from the eye to the mouth and on the forehead. The mane is small and chestnut-coloured; the ringed horns are thin and straight. They are found on both sexes and typically measure 75\u201380 cm (30\u201331 in). "


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"Comparably, the gemsbok has an entirely black tail, a black patch at the base of the tail, and more black on the legs (including a patch on the hindlegs) and lower flanks. The smaller Arabian oryx is overall whiter with largely dark legs.\n\n== Behaviour ==\nEast African oryx live in semidesert and steppes, where they eat grasses, leaves, fruit and buds. They are able to store water by raising their body temperatures (so as to avoid perspiration). They gather in herds of five to 40 animals, often with females moving at the front and a large male guarding from the rear. Some older males are solitary. Radio tracking studies show the solitary males are often accompanied for brief periods by breeding-condition females, so it is probable they are executing a strategy to maximise their chances of reproduction.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References =="


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"The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been introduced to several other countries, including New Zealand, the United Kingdom (in England and Scotland), Ireland, the Isle of Man, France and Germany.\n\n== Description ==\n\nRed-necked wallabies are distinguished by their black nose and paws, white stripe on the upper lip, and grizzled medium grey coat with a reddish wash across the shoulders. They can weigh 13.8 to 18.6 kilograms (30 to 41 lb) and attain a head-body length of 90 centimetres (35 in), although males are generally bigger than females. Red-necked wallabies are very similar in appearance to the black-striped wallaby (Notamacropus dorsalis), the only difference being that red-necked wallabies are larger, lack a black stripe down the back, and have softer fur. Red-necked wallabies may live up to nine years.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nRed-necked wallabies are found in coastal scrub and sclerophyll forest throughout coastal and highland eastern Australia, from Bundaberg, Queensland to the South Australian border; in Tasmania and on many of the Bass Strait islands. "


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"It is unclear which of the Tasmanian islands have native populations as opposed to introduced ones.\nIn Tasmania and coastal Queensland, their numbers have expanded over the past 30 years because of a reduction in hunting pressure and the partial clearing of forest to result in a mosaic of pastures where wallabies can feed at night, alongside bushland where they can shelter by day. For not altogether clear reasons, they are less common in Victoria.\n\n== Behaviour ==\n\nRed-necked wallabies are mainly solitary but will gather together when there is an abundance of resources such as food, water or shelter. When they do gather in groups, they have a social hierarchy similar to other wallaby species. A recent study has demonstrated that wallabies, as other social or gregarious mammals, are able to manage conflict via reconciliation, involving the post-conflict reunion, after a fight, of former opponents, which engage in affinitive contacts. Red-necked wallabies are mainly nocturnal. They spend most of the daytime resting.A female's estrus lasts 33 days. During courting, the female first licks the male's neck. The male will then rub his cheek against the female's.  Then the male and female will fight briefly, standing upright like two males. "


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"After that they finally mate. A couple will stay together for one day before separating. A female bears one offspring at a time; the young stay in the pouch for about 280 days, whereafter females and their offspring stay together for only a month. However, females may stay in the home range of their mothers for life, while males leave at the age of two. Also, red-necked wallabies engage in alloparental care, in which one individual may adopt the child of another. This is a common behavior seen in many other animal species like wolves, elephants, humans, and fathead minnows.\n\n=== Diet ===\nRed-necked wallabies diets consists of grasses, roots, tree leaves, and weeds.\n\n== Subspecies ==\nThere are two or three subspecies.\n\n"


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"N. r. banksianus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825) - red-necked wallaby [Australian mainland]\nN. r. rufogriseus (Desmarest, 1817) sensu lato - Bennett's wallaby, which is sometimes replaced by:\nN. r. fruticus (Ogilby, 1838) [Tasmania]\nN. r. rufogriseus (Desmarest, 1817) sensu stricto [Bass Strait, King Island]The Tasmanian subspecies, Notamacropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, usually known as Bennett's wallaby, is smaller (as island subspecies or species often are), has longer, darker and shaggier fur, and breeds in the late summer, mostly between February and April. They have adapted to living in proximity to humans and can be found grazing on lawns in the fringes of Hobart and other urban areas.\nThe mainland Australian subspecies, Notamacropus rufogriseus banksianus, usually known as the red-necked wallaby, breeds all year round. Captive animals maintain their breeding schedules; Tasmanian females that become pregnant out of their normal season delay birth until summer, which can be anywhere up to 8 months later.\n\n== Introductions to other countries ==\n\nThere are significant introduced populations in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. In 1870, several Bennett's wallabies were transported from Tasmania to Christchurch, New Zealand. "


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"Two females and one male from this stock were later released at Te Waimate, the property of Waimate's first European settler Michael Studholme.  The year 1874 saw them freed in the Hunters Hills, where over the years their population has dramatically increased. Bennett's wallabies are now resident on approximately 350,000 ha of terrain in the Hunters Hills, including the Two Thumb Range, the Kirkliston Range and the Grampians. They have been declared an animal pest in the Canterbury Region and land occupiers must contain the wallabies within specified areas. Bennett's wallaby is now widely regarded as a symbol of Waimate.\nThere are also small colonies in England in the Peak District (Now extinct), Derbyshire (Now extinct), and the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex (Population Unknown). These were established ca. 1900. There are also other sightings frequently spotted in West Sussex and Hampshire and recently YouTuber 'Wildlife With Cookie' found a population in an unknown part of England not associated with the previous mentioned locations. He also went on to locate Wallabies with Albinism in Kenilworth, WarwickshireThere is a small colony of red-necked wallabies on the island of Inchconnachan, Loch Lomond in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. "


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"This was founded in 1975 with two pairs taken from the Whipsnade Zoo, and had risen to 26 individuals by 1993.There is a group of red-necked wallabies living wild on the Isle of Man, which are the descendants of numerous escapes from a wildlife park on the island in the 1960s and 1970s. A 2017 study by estimated their number in the vicinity of the wildlife park to be 83 individuals, including a very small number of Parma wallaby.The Baring family, who owned Lambay Island (250 ha (620 acres)), off the eastern coast of Ireland introduced red-necked wallabies to the island in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s, the red-necked wallaby population at the Dublin Zoo was growing out of control. Unable to find another zoo to take them, and unwilling to euthanize them, zoo director Peter Wilson donated seven individuals to the Barings. The animals have thrived since then and the current population is estimated to be between 30 and 50.In France, in the southern part of the Forest of Rambouillet, 50 km (31 mi) west from Paris, there is a wild group of around 50\u2013100 Bennett's wallabies. "


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"This population has been present since the 1970s, when some individuals escaped from the zoological park of \u00c9manc\u00e9 after a storm.In Germany, around 10 wallabies live as a wild population in the federated state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since 2001.In October 2014, three captive Bennett's wallabies escaped into the wild in northern Austria and one of them roamed the area for three months before being recaptured, surprisingly surviving the harsh winter there. The case attracted media attention, as it humorously defeated the popular slogan \"There are no kangaroos in Austria.\"== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nUK Wallaby Sightings\n\n== Further reading =="


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"Gorillas are herbivorous,  predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.\nGorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres, weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The Eastern gorilla is distinguished from the Western by darker fur colour and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35\u201340 years in the wild. The oldest gorilla known is Fatou (b. 1957), who is still alive at the advanced age of 65 years.\nGorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. "


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"The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.\nThere are thought to be around 316,000 western gorillas in the wild, and 5,000 eastern gorillas. Both species are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN; all subspecies are classified as Critically Endangered with the exception of the mountain gorilla, which is classified as Endangered. There are many threats to their survival, such as poaching, habitat destruction, and disease, which threaten the survival of the species. However, conservation efforts have been successful in some areas where they live.\n\n== Etymology ==\n\nThe word \"gorilla\" comes from the history of Hanno the Navigator (c.  500 BC), a Carthaginian explorer on an expedition to the west African coast to the area that later became Sierra Leone. "


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"Members of the expedition encountered \"savage people, the greater part of whom were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom our interpreters called Gorillae\". It is unknown whether what the explorers encountered were what we now call gorillas, another species of ape or monkeys, or humans. Skins of gorillai women, brought back by Hanno, are reputed to have been kept at Carthage until Rome destroyed the city 350 years later at the end of the Punic Wars, 146 BC.\nThe American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage and naturalist Jeffries Wyman first described the western gorilla in 1847 from specimens obtained in Liberia. They called it Troglodytes gorilla, using the then-current name of the chimpanzee genus.  The species name was derived from Ancient Greek  \u0393\u03cc\u03c1\u03b9\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9 (gorillai)  'tribe of hairy women', as described by Hanno.\n\n== Evolution and classification ==\nThe closest relatives of gorillas are the other two Homininae genera, chimpanzees and humans, all of them having diverged from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago. Human gene sequences differ only 1.6% on average from the sequences of corresponding gorilla genes, but there is further difference in how many copies each gene has. "


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"Until recently, gorillas were considered to be a single species, with three subspecies: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. There is now agreement that there are two species, each with two subspecies. More recently, a third subspecies has been claimed to exist in one of the species. The separate species and subspecies developed from a single type of gorilla during the Ice Age, when their forest habitats shrank and became isolated from each other.Primatologists continue to explore the relationships between various gorilla populations. The species and subspecies listed here are the ones upon which most scientists agree.\nThe proposed third subspecies of Gorilla beringei, which has not yet received a trinomen, is the Bwindi population of the mountain gorilla, sometimes called the Bwindi gorilla.\nSome variations that distinguish the classifications of gorilla include varying density, size, hair colour, length, culture, and facial widths. Population genetics of the lowland gorillas suggest that the western and eastern lowland populations diverged around 261 thousand years ago.\n\n== Characteristics ==\n\nWild male gorillas weigh 136 to 227 kg (300 to 500 lb), while adult females weigh 68\u2013113 kg (150\u2013250 lb). "


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"Adult males are 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 11 in) tall, with an arm span that stretches from 2.3 to 2.6 m (7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in). Female gorillas are shorter at 1.25 to 1.5 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 11 in), with smaller arm spans. Colin Groves (1970) calculated the average weight of 42 wild adult male gorillas at 144 kg, while Smith and Jungers (1997) found the average weight of 19 wild adult male gorillas to be 169 kg. Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks due to the characteristic silver hair on their backs reaching to the hips. The tallest gorilla recorded was a 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) silverback with an arm span of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in), a chest of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), and a weight of 219 kg (483 lb), shot in Alimbongo, northern Kivu in May 1938. The heaviest gorilla recorded was a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) silverback shot in Ambam, Cameroon, which weighed 267 kg (589 lb). "


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"Males in captivity can be overweight and reach weights up to 310 kg (683 lb).\n\nThe eastern gorilla is more darkly coloured than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or greyish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints.\nTheir eye colour is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.\nGorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. "


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"A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans. Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population.Studies have shown gorilla blood is not reactive to anti-A and anti-B monoclonal antibodies, which would, in humans, indicate type O blood. Due to novel sequences, though, it is different enough to not conform with the human ABO blood group system, into which the other great apes fit.A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017. "


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"Ozzie was 61 years old at the time of his death in January 2022.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nGorillas have a patchy distribution. The range of the two species is separated by the Congo River and its tributaries. The western gorilla lives in west central Africa, while the eastern gorilla lives in east central Africa. Between the species, and even within the species, gorillas live in a variety of habitats and elevations. Gorilla habitat ranges from montane forest to swampland. Eastern gorillas inhabit montane and submontane forests between 650 and 4,000 m (2,130 and 13,120 ft) above sea level.Mountain gorillas live in montane forests at the higher end of the elevation range, while eastern lowland gorillas live in submontane forests at the lower end. In addition, eastern lowland gorillas live in montane bamboo forests, as well as lowland forests ranging from 600\u20133,308 m (1,969\u201310,853 ft) in elevation. Western gorillas live in both lowland swamp forests and montane forests, at elevations ranging from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). "


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"Western lowland gorillas live in swamp and lowland forests ranging up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft), and Cross River gorillas live in low-lying and submontane forests ranging from 150\u20131,600 m (490\u20135,250 ft).\n\n== Ecology ==\n\n=== Diet and foraging ===\n\nA gorilla's day is divided between rest periods and travel or feeding periods. Diets differ between and within species. Mountain gorillas mostly eat foliage, such as leaves, stems, pith, and shoots, while fruit makes up a very small part of their diets. Mountain gorilla food is widely distributed and neither individuals nor groups have to compete with one another. Their home ranges vary from 3 to 15 km2 (1.2 to 5.8 sq mi), and their movements range around 500 m (0.31 mi) or less on an average day. Despite eating a few species in each habitat, mountain gorillas have flexible diets and can live in a variety of habitats.\n\nEastern lowland gorillas have more diverse diets, which vary seasonally. Leaves and pith are commonly eaten, but fruits can make up as much as 25% of their diets. "


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"Since fruit is less available, lowland gorillas must travel farther each day, and their home ranges vary from 2.7 to 6.5 km2 (1.0 to 2.5 sq mi), with day ranges 154\u20132,280 m (0.096\u20131.417 mi). Eastern lowland gorillas will also eat insects, preferably ants. Western lowland gorillas depend on fruits more than the others and they are more dispersed across their range. They travel even farther than the other gorilla subspecies, at 1,105 m (0.687 mi) per day on average, and have larger home ranges of 7\u201314 km2 (2.7\u20135.4 sq mi). Western lowland gorillas have less access to terrestrial herbs, although they can access aquatic herbs in some areas. Termites and ants are also eaten.\nGorillas rarely drink water \"because they consume succulent vegetation that is comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew\", although both mountain and lowland gorillas have been observed drinking.\n\n=== Nesting ===\n\nGorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations of branches and leaves about 2 to 5 ft (0.61 to 1.52 m) in diameter and are constructed by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on the ground. "


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"The young nest with their mothers, but construct nests after three years of age, initially close to those of their mothers. Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic. Nest-building by great apes is now considered to be not just animal architecture, but as an important instance of tool use.Gorillas make a new nest to sleep on daily and do not use the previous one. This even if remaining in the same place. Usually, they are made an hour before dusk, to be ready to sleep when night falls. Gorillas sleep longer than humans, an average of 12 hours per day.\n\n=== Threats and competition ===\nOne possible predator of gorillas is the leopard. Gorilla remains have been found in leopard scat, but this may be the result of scavenging. When the group is attacked by humans, leopards, or other gorillas, an individual silverback will protect the group, even at the cost of his own life. Gorillas do not appear to directly compete with chimpanzees in areas where they overlap. When fruit is abundant gorilla and chimpanzee diets converge, but when fruit is scarce gorillas resort to vegetation. "


id: 78b9b5ab85736316a05eef1c4da4579e
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"The two apes may also feed on different species, whether fruit or insects. Gorillas and chimpanzees usually ignore or avoid each other when feeding on the same tree, but coalitions of chimpanzees have been observed attacking families of gorillas including silverbacks and killing infants.\n\n== Behaviour ==\n\n=== Social structure ===\n\nGorillas live in groups called troops. Troops tend to be made of one adult male or silverback, with a harem of multiple adult females and their offspring. However, multiple-male troops also exist. A silverback is typically more than 12 years of age, and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back, which comes with maturity. Silverbacks have large canine teeth that also come with maturity. Both males and females tend to emigrate from their natal groups. For mountain gorillas, females disperse from their natal troops more than males. Mountain gorillas and western lowland gorillas also commonly transfer to second new groups.Mature males also tend to leave their groups and establish their own troops by attracting emigrating females. However, male mountain gorillas sometimes stay in their natal troops and become subordinate to the silverback. "


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"If the silverback dies, these males may be able to become dominant or mate with the females. This behaviour has not been observed in eastern lowland gorillas. In a single male group, when the silverback dies, the females and their offspring disperse and find a new troop. Without a silverback to protect them, the infants will likely fall victim to infanticide. Joining a new group is likely to be a tactic against this. However, while gorilla troops usually disband after the silverback dies, female eastern lowlands gorillas and their offspring have been recorded staying together until a new silverback transfers into the group. This likely serves as protection from leopards.\n\nThe silverback is the centre of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites, and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Younger males subordinate to the silverback, known as blackbacks, may serve as backup protection. Blackbacks are aged between 8 and 12 years and lack the silver back hair. The bond that a silverback has with his females forms the core of gorilla social life. "


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"Bonds between them are maintained by grooming and staying close together. Females form strong relationships with males to gain mating opportunities and protection from predators and infanticidal outside males. However, aggressive behaviours between males and females do occur, but rarely lead to serious injury. Relationships between females may vary. Maternally related females in a troop tend to be friendly towards each other and associate closely. Otherwise, females have few friendly encounters and commonly act aggressively towards each other.Females may fight for social access to males and a male may intervene. Male gorillas have weak social bonds, particularly in multiple-male groups with apparent dominance hierarchies and strong competition for mates. Males in all-male groups, though, tend to have friendly interactions and socialise through play, grooming, and staying together, and occasionally they even engage in homosexual interactions. Severe aggression is rare in stable groups, but when two mountain gorilla groups meet the two silverbacks can sometimes engage in a fight to the death, using their canines to cause deep, gaping injuries.\n\n=== Reproduction and parenting ===\n\nFemales mature at 10\u201312 years (earlier in captivity), and males at 11\u201313 years. "


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"A female's first ovulatory cycle occurs when she is six years of age, and is followed by a two-year period of adolescent infertility. The estrous cycle lasts 30\u201333 days, with outward ovulation signs subtle compared to those of chimpanzees. The gestation period lasts 8.5 months. Female mountain gorillas first give birth at 10 years of age and have four-year interbirth intervals. Males can be fertile before reaching adulthood. Gorillas mate year round.Females will purse their lips and slowly approach a male while making eye contact. This serves to urge the male to mount her. If the male does not respond, then she will try to attract his attention by reaching towards him or slapping the ground. In multiple-male groups, solicitation indicates female preference, but females can be forced to mate with multiple males. Males incite copulation by approaching a female and displaying at her or touching her and giving a \"train grunt\". Recently, gorillas have been observed engaging in face-to-face sex, a trait once considered unique to humans and bonobos.\n\nGorilla infants are vulnerable and dependent, thus mothers, their primary caregivers, are important to their survival. "


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"Male gorillas are not active in caring for the young, but they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters. The silverback has a largely supportive relationship with the infants in his troop and shields them from aggression within the group. Infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first five months and mothers stay near the silverback for protection. Infants suckle at least once per hour and sleep with their mothers in the same nest.Infants begin to break contact with their mothers after five months, but only for a brief period each time. By 12 months old, infants move up to five m (16 ft) from their mothers. At around 18\u201321 months, the distance between mother and offspring increases and they regularly spend time away from each other. In addition, nursing decreases to once every two hours. Infants spend only half of their time with their mothers by 30 months. They enter their juvenile period at their third year, and this lasts until their sixth year. At this time, gorillas are weaned and they sleep in a separate nest from their mothers. After their offspring are weaned, females begin to ovulate and soon become pregnant again. "


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"The presence of play partners, including the silverback, minimizes conflicts in weaning between mother and offspring.\n\n=== Communication ===\n\nTwenty-five distinct vocalisations are recognised, many of which are used primarily for group communication within dense vegetation. Sounds classified as grunts and barks are heard most frequently while traveling, and indicate the whereabouts of individual group members. They may also be used during social interactions when discipline is required. Screams and roars signal alarm or warning, and are produced most often by silverbacks. Deep, rumbling belches suggest contentment and are heard frequently during feeding and resting periods. They are the most common form of intragroup communication.For this reason, conflicts are most often resolved by displays and other threat behaviours that are intended to intimidate without becoming physical. As a result, fights do not occur very frequently. The ritualized charge display is unique to gorillas. "


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"The entire sequence has nine steps: (1) progressively quickening hooting, (2) symbolic feeding, (3) rising bipedally, (4) throwing vegetation, (5) chest-beating with cupped hands, (6) one leg kick, (7) sideways running, two-legged to four-legged, (8) slapping and tearing vegetation, and (9) thumping the ground with palms to end display.A gorilla's chest-beat may vary in frequency depending on its size. Smaller ones tend to have higher frequencies, while larger ones tend to be lower. They also do it the most when females are ready to mate.\n\n== Intelligence ==\n\nGorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko, have been taught a subset of sign language. Like the other great apes, gorillas can laugh, grieve, have \"rich emotional lives\", develop strong family bonds, make and use tools, and think about the past and future. Some researchers believe gorillas have spiritual feelings or religious sentiments. They have been shown to have cultures in different areas revolving around different methods of food preparation, and will show individual colour preferences.\n\n=== Tool use ===\n\nThe following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society in September 2005. "


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"Gorillas are now known to use tools in the wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabal\u00e9-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was recorded using a stick as if to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst fishing in the swamp. This means all of the great apes are now known to use tools.In September 2005, a two-and-a-half-year-old gorilla in the Republic of Congo was discovered using rocks to smash open palm nuts inside a game sanctuary. While this was the first such observation for a gorilla, over 40 years previously, chimpanzees had been seen using tools in the wild 'fishing' for termites. Nonhuman great apes are endowed with semiprecision grips, and have been able to use both simple tools and even weapons, such as improvising a club from a convenient fallen branch.\n\n== Scientific study ==\nAmerican physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage obtained the first specimens (the skull and other bones) during his time in Liberia. "


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"The first scientific description of gorillas dates back to an article by Savage and the naturalist Jeffries Wyman in 1847 in Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, where Troglodytes gorilla is described, now known as the western gorilla. Other species of gorilla were described in the next few years.\n\nThe explorer Paul Du Chaillu was the first westerner to see a live gorilla during his travel through western equatorial Africa from 1856 to 1859. He brought dead specimens to the UK in 1861.The first systematic study was not conducted until the 1920s, when Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural History traveled to Africa to hunt for an animal to be shot and stuffed. On his first trip, he was accompanied by his friends Mary Bradley, a mystery writer, her husband, and their young daughter Alice, who would later write science fiction under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr. After their trip, Mary Bradley wrote On the Gorilla Trail. She later became an advocate for the conservation of gorillas, and wrote several more books (mainly for children). "


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"In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Robert Yerkes and his wife Ava helped further the study of gorillas when they sent Harold Bigham to Africa. Yerkes also wrote a book in 1929 about the great apes.\nAfter World War II, George Schaller was one of the first researchers to go into the field and study primates. In 1959, he conducted a systematic study of the mountain gorilla in the wild and published his work. Years later, at the behest of Louis Leakey and the National Geographic, Dian Fossey conducted a much longer and more comprehensive study of the mountain gorilla. When she published her work, many misconceptions and myths about gorillas were finally disproved, including the myth that gorillas are violent.\nWestern lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla) are believed to be one of the zoonotic origins of HIV/AIDS. The SIVgor Simian immunodeficiency virus that infects them is similar to a certain strain of HIV-1.\n\n=== Genome sequencing ===\nThe gorilla became the next-to-last great ape genus to have its genome sequenced. The first gorilla genome was generated with short read and Sanger sequencing using DNA from a female western lowland gorilla named Kamilah. "


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"This gave scientists further insight into the evolution and origin of humans. Despite the chimpanzees being the closest extant relatives of humans, 15% of the human genome was found to be more like that of the gorilla. In addition, 30% of the gorilla genome \"is closer to human or chimpanzee than the latter are to each other; this is rarer around coding genes, indicating pervasive selection throughout great ape evolution, and has functional consequences in gene expression.\"Analysis of the gorilla genome has cast doubt on the idea that the rapid evolution of hearing genes gave rise to language in humans, as it also occurred in gorillas.\n\n== Captivity ==\n\nGorillas became highly prized by western zoos since the 19th century, though the earliest attempts to keep them in captive facilities ended in their early death. In the late 1920s the care of captive gorillas significantly improved. Colo (December 22, 1956 \u2013 January 17, 2017) of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was the first gorilla to be born in captivity.Captive gorillas exhibit stereotypic behaviors, including eating disorders \u2014 such as regurgitation, reingestion and coprophagy \u2014 self-injurious or conspecific aggression, pacing, rocking, sucking of fingers or lip smacking, and overgrooming. "


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"Negative vigilance of visitor behaviors have been identified as starting, posturing and charging at visitors. Groups of bachelor gorillas containing young silverbacks have significantly higher levels of aggression and wounding rates than mixed age and sex groups.The use of both internal and external privacy screens on exhibit windows has been shown to alleviate stresses from visual effects of high crowd densities, leading to decreased stereotypic behaviors in the gorillas. Playing naturalistic auditory stimuli as opposed to classical music, rock music, or no auditory enrichment (which allows for crowd noise, machinery, etc. to be heard) has been noted to reduce stress behavior as well. Enrichment modifications to feed and foraging, where clover-hay is added to an exhibit floor, decrease stereotypic activities while simultaneously increasing positive food-related behaviors.Recent research on captive gorilla welfare emphasizes a need to shift to individual assessments instead of a one-size-fits-all group approach to understanding how welfare increases or decreases based on a variety of factors. Individual characteristics such as age, sex, personality and individual histories are essential in understanding that stressors will affect each individual gorilla and their welfare differently.\n\n"


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"== Conservation status ==\n\nAll species (and subspecies) of gorilla are listed as endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. All gorillas are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that international export/import of the species, including in parts and derivatives, is regulated. Around 316,000 western lowland gorillas are thought to exist in the wild, 4,000 in zoos, thanks to conservation; eastern lowland gorillas have a population of under 5,000 in the wild and 24 in zoos. Mountain gorillas are the most severely endangered, with an estimated population of about 880 left in the wild and none in zoos. Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade. Gorillas are closely related to humans, and are susceptible to diseases that humans also get infected by. In 2004, a population of several hundred gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped out by the Ebola virus. A 2006 study published in Science concluded more than 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. "


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"The researchers indicated in conjunction with commercial hunting of these apes, the virus creates \"a recipe for rapid ecological extinction\". In captivity, its also been observed that gorillas can also be infected with COVID-19.Conservation efforts include the Great Apes Survival Project, a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme and the UNESCO, and also an international treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats, concluded under UNEP-administered Convention on Migratory Species. The Gorilla Agreement is the first legally binding instrument exclusively targeting gorilla conservation; it came into effect on 1 June 2008. Governments of countries where gorillas live placed a ban on their killing and trading, but weak law enforcement still poses a threat to them, since the governments rarely apprehend poachers, traders and consumers that rely on gorillas for profit.\n\n== Cultural significance ==\n\nIn Cameroon's Lebialem highlands, folk stories connect people and gorillas via totems; a gorilla's death means the connected person will die also. This creates a local conservation ethic. Many different indigenous peoples interact with wild gorillas. Some have detailed knowledge; the Baka have words to distinguish at least ten types of gorilla individuals, by sex, age, and relationships. "


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"In 1861, alongside tales of hunting enormous gorillas, the traveller and anthropologist Paul Du Chaillu reported the Cameroonian story that a pregnant woman who sees a gorilla will give birth to one.In 1911, the anthropologist Albert Jenks noted the Bulu people's knowledge of gorilla behaviour and ecology, and their gorilla stories. In one such story, \"The Gorilla and the Child\", a gorilla speaks to people, seeking help and trust, and stealing a baby; a man accidentally kills the baby while attacking the gorilla. Even far from where gorillas live, savannah tribes pursue \"cult-like worship\" of the apes. Some beliefs are widespread among indigenous peoples. The Fang name for gorilla is ngi while the Bulu name is njamong; the root ngi means fire, denoting a positive energy. From the Central African Republic to Cameroon and Gabon, stories of reincarnations as gorillas, totems, and transformations similar to those recorded by Du Chaillu are still told in the 21st century.Since gaining international attention, gorillas have been a recurring element of many aspects of popular culture and media. They were usually portrayed as murderous and aggressive. Inspired by Emmanuel Fr\u00e9miet's Gorilla Carrying off a Woman, gorillas have been depicted kidnapping human women. "


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"This theme was used in films such as Ingagi (1930) and most notably King Kong (1933). The comedic play The Gorilla, which debuted in 1925, featured an escaped gorilla taking a woman from her house. Several films would use the \"escaped gorilla\" trope including The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942), The Gorilla Man (1943), Gorilla at Large (1954) and the Disney cartoons The Gorilla Mystery (1930) and Donald Duck and the Gorilla (1944).Gorillas have been used as opponents to jungle-themed heroes such as Tarzan and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, as well as superheroes. The DC comics supervillain Gorilla Grodd is an enemy of the Flash. Gorillas also serve as antagonists in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. More positive and sympathetic portrayals of gorillas include the films Son of Kong (1933), Mighty Joe Young (1949), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Instinct (1999) and the 1992 novel Ishmael. Gorillas have been featured in video games as well, notably Donkey Kong.\n\n"


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"== See also ==\nBili ape\nGorilla (advertisement)\nGorilla suit\nGreat Ape Project\nHarambe \u2013 a captive gorilla, shot while interacting with a child who fell into his zoo enclosure, who became a popular internet meme\nInternational Primate Day\nList of individual apes\nList of fictional apes\nMonkey Day\n\n== References ==\n\n=== Literature cited ===\n\n== External links ==\n\nAnimal Diversity Web \u2013 includes photos, artwork, and skull specimens of Gorilla gorilla\nPulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting International Gorilla Conservation Programme (Video)\nPrimate Info Net Gorilla Factsheet Archived 22 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine \u2013 taxonomy, ecology, behavior and conservation\nSan Diego Zoo Gorilla Factsheet \u2013 features a video and photos\nWorld Wildlife Fund: Gorillas \u2013 conservation, facts and photos\nGorilla protection \u2013 Gorilla conservation\nWelcome to the Year of the Gorilla 2009\nVirunga National Park \u2013 The Official Website for Virunga National Park, the Last Refuge for Congo's Mountain Gorillas\nHuman Timeline (Interactive) \u2013 Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).\n"


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"Genome of Gorilla gorilla, via Ensembl\nGenome of Gorilla gorilla (version Kamilah_GGO_v0/gorGor6), via UCSC Genome Browser\nData of the genome of Gorilla gorilla, via NCBI\nData of the genome assembly of Gorilla gorilla (version Kamilah_GGO_v0/gorGor6), via NCBI"


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"The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus, or Canis lupus lupus, Spanish and Portuguese : Lobo ib\u00e9rico), is a subspecies of grey wolf. It inhabits the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, which includes northwestern Spain and northern Portugal. It is home to 2,200-2,700 wolves which have been isolated from mixing with other wolf populations for over a century. They form the largest wolf population in Western Europe.Due to population controls and damage to livestock, Iberian wolves were, as of September 2021, the only Western European subspecies of wolf whose hunting remained legal, yet only in Spain. Nonetheless, very few hunting permits were given every year, strictly north of the Douro river. Along with the difficulty of their hunt by virtue of their vigilant nature and the rarity of their sightings, they were strongly desired by many European hunters as a big-game trophy.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe Iberian wolf Canis lupus signatus Cabrera 1907 is classified as Canis lupus lupus by Mammal Species of the World. Some authors claim that the south-eastern Spanish wolf, last sighted in Murcia in the 1930s, was a different subspecies called Canis lupus deitanus. It was even smaller and more reddish in color, without dark spots. "


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"Both subspecies were nominated by the Spanish-born zoologist \u00c1ngel Cabrera in 1907.\nThe Iberian wolf's skull morphometrics, mtDNA, and microsatellites differ from other European wolves. In 2016, a study of mitochondrial DNA sequences of both modern and ancient wolves indicated that in Europe, the two most genetically distinct haplotypes form the Italian wolf, and separately, the Iberian wolf.\nThe National Center for Biotechnology Information/Genbank lists the Iberian wolf under Canis lupus signatus.In 2020, a genomic study of Eurasian wolves found that the populations of the Dinaric Alps-Balkan Mountains region, the Iberian peninsula, and Italy diverged from each other 10,500 years ago followed by negligible gene flow between them. Their long-term isolation may explain the morphological and genetic differences between them.\n\n== Description ==\n\nCabrera identified two types of wolves living in Spain. In comparison, C. l. lupus had a pale, undefined stroke on the cheek that contrasts with the white on the throat; C. l. signatus had a white stroke on the cheek that joins the white throat and with a reddish snout; and C. l. deitanus was much smaller and with more colouring than the wolves to the north. "


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"C. l. signatus is described by Cabrera as being 140\u2013180 cm in head and body length, and 70\u201380 cm height at the shoulders.The Iberian wolf differs from the more common Eurasian wolf with its slighter frame, white marks on the upper lips, the dark marks on the tail, and a pair of dark marks in its front legs that give it its subspecies name, signatus (\"marked\"). The subspecies differentiation may have developed at the end of the Pleistocene Ice Ages due to the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula when glacier barriers grew in the Pyrenees and eventually reached the Gulf of Biscay in the west and the Mediterranean in the east.\nHeight is 70\u201390 cm and body length 110\u2013140 cm. Females weigh 25\u201335 kg while Males weigh 35\u201355 kg.\n\n== Diet ==\nThe Iberian wolf lives in small packs. It is considered to be beneficial because it keeps the population of wild boars stable, thus allowing some respite to the endangered capercaillie populations which suffer greatly from boar predation. It also eats rabbits, roe deer, red deer, ibexes and even small carnivores and fish.\n\n"


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"== Distribution and conservation ==\nWolf populations strongly declined across Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries largely due to human persecution, and by the end of the Second World War they had been eradicated from all of Central Europe and almost all of Northern Europe. Their population decline continued until the 1960s, with isolated populations surviving in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Finland. Wolf populations have commenced recovering naturally since then.\n\nThe Iberian wolf consists of over 2,000 individuals in over 350 packs distributed across 140,000 km2.\nTheir densities in some regions are among the highest in Europe, with up to 7 wolves/100 km2. In 2018, a study identified that this wolf could be categorised into 11 genetic groups. Four groups were identified in the Portuguese regions of Alto Minho, Alto Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes, and one group located south of the Douro river. "


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"Seven groups were identified in the Spanish regions of western Galicia, eastern Galicia, western Asturias, central Asturias, eastern Asturias, south-eastern Asturias, and Castilla y Le\u00f3n.Until the 1930s, Iberian wolves were relatively spread throughout Portugal, but destruction of habitat, loss of wild ungulates and the persecution by humans made it lose most of its territory (from around 44,100 km2 in 1900\u20131930, to only 16,300 km2 in 2002\u20132003) though populations have grown to about 29,000 km2 since.Some Spanish naturalists and conservationists such as F\u00e9lix Rodr\u00edguez de la Fuente called for the end of the hunting and the protection of the animal. Today, the hunting of wolves is banned in Portugal, and in Spain since 2021. The 2003 census estimated the total Iberian population to be 2,000 wolves. Wolves have been reported as returning to Navarre and the Basque Country and to the provinces of Extremadura, Madrid, and Guadalajara. A male wolf was found recently in Catalonia, where the last native wolf was killed in 1929. However, this animal was not a member of the Iberian subspecies, but an Italian wolf (C. l. italicus) migrating from France. "


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"As of 2013, an estimated 300 individuals remain in Portugal.In October 2013, Ecologists in Action called for an urgent review of the Iberian wolf census, which may overestimate their numbers. Later that month, wolf association Lobo Marley sent 198,000 signatures calling for the animal's protection to the European Parliament Committee on Petitions. Over a few weeks in September and October 2013, about 30 puppies and young wolves were killed by hunters in Asturias, Le\u00f3n, and Cantabria.Although hunting is banned in Portugal, about 45% of wolf deaths are due to human activities, including illegal hunting. Calling the rate unsustainable, 10 organisations signed a statement requesting stronger protection.\n\n=== Southern population ===\n\nSierra Morena is a system of rugged mountain ranges in the south of the Iberian Peninsula where a very small wolf population has lived in isolation for half a century. A breeding pair of wolves was last sighted in 2013, however an extensive survey in 2016 could not find a breeding population. The DNA of a road-killed wolf from 2003 indicated high levels of inbreeding and 30% of the genome being that of dog. "


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"It is thought that as the population of these wolves declined, the inability to find a mate led to inbreeding and hybridization with dogs. The wolves in this region may now be extinct.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nMedia related to Canis lupus signatus at Wikimedia Commons\n\nIberian wolves in Spain\nGrupo Lobo\n\"Wild\" Iberian wolf disputed as a tame wolf"


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"Meller's duck (Anas melleri) is a species of the dabbling duck genus Anas. It is endemic to eastern Madagascar. Although a population was established on Mauritius in the mid-18th century, this is on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and competition by feral domestic ducks. The species name of this species is after the botanist Charles James Meller, and its generic name is from the Latin for \"duck\".\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe Meller's duck resembles a large female mallard. At 55\u201365 centimetres (22\u201326 in), it averages slightly larger than a mallard and is at the top size for the genus Anas. However, as opposed to most mallard relatives, they lack a supercilium. The speculum feathers are green as in some of its relatives, but unlike in these, it is bordered white as in the mallard. Its body is dark brown with narrow paler fringes to feathers on upper parts and wider fringes on lower parts.  Its bill is pale grey, with dark patches at the base, and is larger than normal. Its feet and legs are orange.\n\n"


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"== Behaviour ==\nMeller's duck breeds apparently during most of the year except May\u2013June on Madagascar, dependent on local conditions; the Mauritian population has been recorded to breed in October and November. Unlike most of their closer relatives\u2014with the exception of the African black duck\u2014they are fiercely territorial during the breeding season; furthermore, pairs remain mated until the young are independent.\n\n== Conservation ==\nThis species is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN Red List. The Lac Alaotra wetlands, where historically the largest number of these birds was to be found, have suffered habitat destruction on a large scale in the latter half of the 20th century, and local waterbird populations have declined dramatically. The Madagascar pochard was rediscovered in 2006, though not in the Lac Alaotra area.The conservation of this species was long hampered by its\u2014entirely erroneous, see below\u2014dismissal as a variant of the mallard which deserved no special interest. Due to its drab plumage and territorial habits, this species is not very popular among aviculturalists, although it reproduces readily in captivity like most ducks if enough space and good habitat are provided. "


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"Although a captive breeding program exists (part of the European Endangered Species Programme), the species is not very often kept in zoos either; it can be more frequently seen in Europe, such as in EEP members Cologne Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Durrell Wildlife Park, and Z\u00fcrich Zoo.\n\n== Relations ==\nDue to the outward similarity of Meller's duck to the female mallard, it was commonly placed close to that species. Based on records of quasi-forced hybridization under unnatural conditions, it was even proposed to be a mere color morph of the mallard.Nowadays, it is regarded as one of the most distinct species in the mallard group, based on behavioural and mtDNA D-loop sequence comparisons. Its closest relatives is apparently the yellow-billed duck, another early divergence of the mallard clade, in which these species and the African black duck are basal, but the exact relationships of Meller's and the yellow-billed ducks to that species are fairly obscure. (The dates in these studies are probably far too recent in the face of the Early Pleistocene fossil record of mallards and the crude methodology used to arrive at the estimate.)== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nBirdLife Species Factsheet\nPhoto at mangoverde.com"


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"The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula. These regions provide habitats with the advantage for this species of fewer natural predators than central or southern Africa where other baboons reside. The hamadryas baboon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians and appears in various roles in ancient Egyptian religion, hence its alternative name of 'sacred baboon'.\n\n== Description ==\nApart from the striking sexual dimorphism (males are nearly twice as large as females, which is common to most baboons) this species also shows differences in coloration among adults.  Adult males have a pronounced cape (mane and mantle), silver-white in color, which they develop around the age of ten, while the females are capeless and brown all over. Their faces range in color from reddish to tan to a dark brown.Males may have a body measurement of up to 80 cm (31 in) and weigh 20\u201330 kg (44\u201366 lb); females weigh 10\u201315 kg (22\u201333 lb) and have a body length of 40\u201345 cm (16\u201318 in). "


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"The tail adds a further 40\u201360 cm (16\u201324 in) to the length, and ends in a small tuft. Infants are very dark brown or black in coloration and lighten after about one year. Hamadryas baboons reach sexual maturity at about 4 years for females and between 5 to 7 years for males.\n\n== Local and indigenous names ==\nIn Tigrinya language: \u130b\u12cd\u1293 (gawina). In Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0631\u064f\u0628\u064e\u0651\u0627\u062d (Al Robah).\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\nThe Hamadryas baboon's range extends from the Red Sea in Eritrea to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. It is also native to the Sarawat Mountains of southwestern Arabia, in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is locally extinct in Egypt. The hamadryas baboon lives in arid areas, savannas, and rocky areas, requiring cliffs for sleeping and finding water. Like all baboons, the hamadryas baboon is omnivorous and is adapted to its relatively dry habitat. During the wet seasons, the baboon feeds on a variety of foods, including blossoms, seeds, grasses, wild roots, bark and leaves from acacia trees. During the dry season, the baboons eat leaves of the Dobera glabra and sisal leaves. "


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"Hamadryas baboons also eat insects, spiders, worms, scorpions, reptiles, birds, and small mammals, including antelope.The baboon's drinking activities also depend on the season. During the wet seasons, the baboon do not have to go far to find pools of water. During the dry seasons, they frequent up to three permanent waterholes. Baboons rest at the waterholes during midafternoon and also dig drinking holes only a short distance from natural waterholes.\n\n=== Group organization ===\n\nThe Hamadryas baboon has an unusual four-level social system called a multilevel society. Most social interaction occurs within small groups called one-male units or harems containing one male and up to 10 females, which the males lead and guard.  A harem often includes a younger \"follower\" male that may be related to the leader.  Two or more harems unite repeatedly to form clans.  Within clans, males are close relatives of one another and have an age-related dominance hierarchy.  Bands are the next level.  Two to four clans form bands of up to 400 individuals which usually travel and sleep as a group.  Males rarely leave their bands, and females are occasionally transferred or traded between bands by males. "


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"Bands may fight with one another over food or territory, and the adult male leaders of the units are the usual combatants. Bands also contain solitary males that are not harem leaders or followers and move freely within the band. Several bands may come together to form a troop, usually at sleeping cliffs.\n\n=== Group behavior ===\n\nThe hamadryas baboon is unusual among baboon and macaque species in that its society is strictly patriarchal.  The males limit the movements of the females, herding them with visual threats and grabbing or biting any that wander too far away.  Males sometimes raid harems for females, resulting in aggressive fights. Many males succeed in taking a female from another's harem, called a \"takeover\".  Visual threats are usually accompanied by these aggressive fights. This would include a quick flashing of the eyelids accompanied by a yawn to show off the teeth. As in many species, infant baboons are taken by the males as hostages during fights. However, males within the same clan tend to be related and respect the social bonds of their kin. In addition, females demonstrate definite preferences for certain males, and rival males heed these preferences. "


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"The less a female favors her harem males, the more likely she will be successfully taken by a rival. Young males, often \"follower\" males, may start their own harems by maneuvering immature females into following them. The male may also abduct a young female by force. Either way, the male will mate with the female when she matures. Aging males often lose their females to followers and soon lose weight and their hair color changes to brown like a female. While males in most other baboon species are transferred away from their male relatives and into different troops, male hamadryas baboons remain in their natal clans or bands and have associations with their male kin.Hamadryas baboons have traditionally been thought of having a female transfer society with females being moved away from their relatives of the same sex. However, later studies show female baboons retain close associations with at least some female kin. Females can spend about as much time with other females as they do with the harem males, and some females will even interact with each other outside of their harems. "


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"In addition, it is not uncommon for females of the same natal group to end up in the same harem.  Females can still associate and help their extended families despite their interactions being controlled by the harem males.Females within a harem do not display any dominance relationships as seen in many other baboon and macaque species. The harem males suppress aggression between the females and prevent any dominance hierarchies from arising. Despite this, some social differences between the females occur. Some females are more socially active and have a stronger social bond with the harem male. These females, known as the \"central females\", stay in closer proximity to the harem male than the other females. Females that spend most of their time farther from the harem male are called \"peripheral females\".\n\n=== Reproduction and parenting ===\n\nLike other baboons, the hamadryas baboon breeds aseasonally. The dominant male of a one-male unit does most of the mating, though other males may occasionally sneak in copulations, as well.  Females do most of the parenting. They nurse and groom the infant and one female in a unit may groom an infant that is not hers. "


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"Like all baboons, hamadryas baboons are intrigued by infants and give much attention to them. Dominant male baboons prevent other males from coming into close contact with their infants. They also protect the young from predators. The dominant male tolerates the young and will carry and play with them. When a new male takes over a female, she develops sexual swellings which may be an adaptation that functions to prevent the new male from killing the offspring of the previous male. When males reach puberty, they show a playful interest in young infants.  They will kidnap the infants by luring them away from their harems and inviting them to ride on their backs. This is more often done by \"follower\" males. This kidnapping can lead to dehydration or starvation for the infant. The harem leader would retrieve the infants from their kidnappers, which is mostly an act to protect their offspring.\n\n=== Thermoregulation ===\nBecause bipedalism is thought to help reduce thermoregulatory stress, research has investigated how baboons deal with water restriction and thermal loads as quadrupeds. Using implanted data loggers and simulated desert conditions, researchers found baboon internal temperatures increased significantly with water deprivation. "


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"When water was given to baboons, their internal temperatures dropped quickly. Therefore, it seems that access to water helps baboons maintain homeothermy and that water restrictions are a major threat to this species. However, baboons can maintain their plasma volume during water deprivation due to an increase in blood colloid osmotic pressure (COP). Hamadryas baboons do this by increasing albumin synthesis. This helps baboons retain fluids when their bodies are experiencing dehydration.\n\n== In culture ==\n\nHamadryas baboons often appear in ancient Egyptian art, as they were considered sacred to Thoth, a major and powerful deity with many roles that included being the scribe of the gods. Astennu, attendant to Thoth, is represented as a hamadryas in his roles as recorder of the result of the Weighing of the Heart and as one of the four hamadryas baboons guarding the lake of fire in Duat, the ancient Egyptian underworld. A predynastic precursor to Astennu was Babi, or \"Bull of the Baboons\", a bloodthirsty god said to eat the entrails of the unrighteous dead. "


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"Babi was also said to give the righteous dead continued virility, and to use his penis as the mast of a boat to convey them to the Egyptian paradise.\nSometimes, Thoth himself appears in the form of a hamadryas (often shown carrying the moon on his head), as an alternative to his more common representation as an ibis-headed figure. Hapi, one of the Four Sons of Horus that guarded the organs of the deceased in ancient Egyptian religion, is also represented as hamadryas-headed; Hapi protected the lungs, hence the common sculpting of a stone or clay hamadryas head as the lid of the canopic jar that held the lungs and/or represented the protection of the lungs. Hamadryas baboons were revered because certain behaviors that they perform were seen as worshiping the sun.\n\n=== Modern art ===\nThe Grand Babouin sacr\u00e9 \"hamadryas\" is among Rembrandt Bugatti's most celebrated sculptures.\n\n== Threats and conservation ==\nTransformation of field and pastureland represents the main threat to the hamadryas baboon; its only natural predators are the striped hyena, spotted hyena, and a diminishing number of African leopards that can still be found in the same area of distribution. "


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"The IUCN Red List listed this species as \"least concern\" in 2008. No major range-wide threats exist at present, although locally it may be at risk through loss of habitat due to major agricultural expansion and irrigation projects. The species occurs in the proposed Yangudi Rassa National Park, the Harar Wildlife Sanctuary, and a number of wildlife reserves in the lower Awash valley and in northern Eritrea.\n\n== References ==\n\n=== Cited sources ===\nAbegglen, J. J. (1984). On Socialization in Hamadryas Baboons. Blackwell University Press. ISBN 978-0838750179.\nAerts, Raf (2019). Forest and woodland vegetation in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien. In: Nyssen J., Jacob, M., Frankl, A. (Eds.). Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains - The Dogu'a Tembien District. SpringerNature. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6. Retrieved 18 June 2019.\nAmann, Alexis L.; Pines, Mathew; Swedell, Larissa (2017). \"Contexts and consequences of takeovers in Hamadryas baboons: Female parity, reproductive state, and observational evidence of pregnancy loss\". American Journal of Primatology. 79 (7): e22649. doi:10.1002/ajp.22649. PMID 28395395.\nButynski, T. (2013). The Mammals of Africa. Bloomsbury. pp. 221\u2013224.\nGippoliti, S. (2019). \"Papio hamadryas\". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T16019A17953082. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T16019A17953082.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.\nGroves, C. P. (2005). \"Species Papio hamadryas\".  "


id: 8064cd2ed3fda5071443a58b22c2d3d0
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"In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 166\u2013167. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.\nKummer, H. (1968). Social Organisation of Hamadryas Baboons. A Field Study. Basel and Chicago: Karger, and University Press. ISBN 978-3-8055-0286-3.\nKummer, H. (2001). \"A Male Dominated Society: The Hamadryas Baboon of Cone Rock, Ethiopia\".  In MacDonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 376-377. ISBN 9780816042678.\nMitchell, Duncan; Fuller, Andrea; Maloney, Shane K. (1 May 2009). \"Homeothermy and primate bipedalism: Is water shortage or solar radiation the main threat to baboon (Papio hamadryas) homeothermy?\". Journal of Human Evolution. 56 (5): 439\u2013446. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.03.003. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 19394679.\nPines, Mathew; Saunders, Julian; Swedell, Larissa (2011). \"Alternative routes to the leader male role in a multilevel society: follower vs. solitary male strategies and outcomes in Hamadryas baboons\". American Journal of Primatology. 73 (7): 679\u2013691. doi:10.1002/ajp.20951. PMID 21433048. S2CID 23157894.\nSchreier, A.; Swedell, L. (2009). \"The Fourth Level of Social Structure in a Multi-Level Society: Ecological and Social Functions of Clans in Hamadryas Baboons\". American Journal of Primatology. 71 (11): 1\u20138. doi:10.1002/ajp.20736. PMID 19670312. S2CID 205329272.\n"


id: a0e0c2872cd8c89f92d20b78e6cb7f9c
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"Sigg, H; Stolba, A; Abegglen, JJ; Dasser, V (1982). \"Life history of hamadryas baboons: Physical development, infant mortality, reproductive parameters and family relationships\". Primates. 23 (4): 473\u2013487. doi:10.1007/BF02373959. S2CID 43216549.\nStammbach, E (1987). \"Desert, forest, and mountain baboons: Multilevel societies\".  In Smuts, B; Cheney, D; Seyfarth, R; Wrangham, R (eds.). Primate societies. University of Chicago Press. pp. 112\u2013120. ISBN 0226767167.\nSt\u00e4dele, Veronika; Van Doren, Vanessa; Pines, Mathew; Swedell, Larissa; Vigilant, Linda (2015). \"Fine-scale genetic assessment of sex-specific dispersal patterns in a multilevel primate society\". Journal of Human Evolution. 78: 103\u2013113. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.019. PMID 25466516.\nSt\u00e4dele, Veronika; Pines, Mathew; Swedell, Larissa; Vigilant, Linda (2016). \"The ties that bind: Maternal kin bias in a multilevel primate society despite natal dispersal by both sexes: Maternal Kin Bias in Hamadryas Baboons\". American Journal of Primatology. 78 (7): 731\u2013744. doi:10.1002/ajp.22537. PMID 26890431. S2CID 3809679.\nSwedell, L (2002). \"Affiliation among females in wild hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas)\". International Journal of Primatology. 23 (6): 1205\u20131226. doi:10.1023/A:1021170703006. S2CID 8928750.\nSwedell, L (2002b). \"Ranging Behavior, Group Size and Behavioral Flexibility in Ethiopian Hamadryas Baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas)\". Folia Primotal. 73 (2\u20133): 95\u2013103. doi:10.1159/000064787. PMID 12207056. S2CID 46813558.\nSwedell, L; Tesfaye, T (2003). "


id: 362b93b08c8c6b01c9b8411ed07e1a7d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 407
content:
"\"Infant Mortality After Takeovers in Wild Ethiopian Hamadryas Baboons\". American Journal of Primatology. 60 (3): 113\u2013118. doi:10.1002/ajp.10096. PMID 12874842. S2CID 19252971.\nSwedell, L; Saunders, J (2006). \"Infant Mortality, Paternity Certainty, and Female Reproductive Strategies in Hamadryas Baboons\".  In Swedell, L; Leigh, SR (eds.). Reproduction and Fitness in Baboons: Behavioral, Ecological, and Life History Perspectives. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. New York: Springer. pp. 19\u201351. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-33674-9. ISBN 978-0-387-30688-9.\nSwedell, Larissa; Saunders, Julian; Schreier, Amy; Davis, Brittany; Tesfaye, Teklu; Pines, Mathew (2011). \"Female \"dispersal\" in Hamadryas baboons: Transfer among social units in a multilevel society\". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 145 (3): 360\u2013370. doi:10.1002/ajpa.21504. PMID 21469076.\nSwedell, L (2015). Strategies of Sex and Survival in Hamadryas Baboons: Through a Female Lens. Pearson Prentice Hall. doi:10.4324/9781315662671. ISBN 9781315662671. OCLC 925332690.\nSwedell, L; Schreier, A (2009). \"Male aggression towards females in hamadryas baboons: Conditioning, coercion, and control\".  In Muller, MW; Wrangham, RW (eds.). Sexual Coercion in Primates and Humans: An Evolutionary Perspective on Male Aggression Against Females. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 244\u2013268. ISBN 978-0674033245.\nTeller, Matthew (1 November 2012). \"The Happy Ones\". Saudi Aramco World. Retrieved 10 December 2018.\nZinner, D; Deschner, T (2000). "


id: a0383301b5f7ff50853a5cc7835c5c8f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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index: document
vector_id: 1501
content:
"\"Sexual swellings in female hamadryas baboons after male take-overs: 'Deceptive' swellings as a possible female counter-strategy against infanticideticide\". American Journal of Primatology. 52 (4): 157\u2013168. doi:10.1002/1098-2345(200012)52:4<157::AID-AJP1>3.0.CO;2-L. PMID 11132110. S2CID 24281749.\nZurovsky, Y.; Shkolnik, A.; Ovadia, M. (1 September 1984). \"Conservation of blood plasma fluids in hamadryas baboons after thermal dehydration\". Journal of Applied Physiology. 57 (3): 768\u2013771. doi:10.1152/jappl.1984.57.3.768. ISSN 8750-7587. PMID 6490462.\n\n== External links ==\n\nView the hamadryas baboon genome in Ensembl"


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"The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear's range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, Finland, the Balkans, the Picos de Europa and the Carpathian region (especially Romania), Iran, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries.While the brown bear's range has shrunk, and it has faced local extinctions across its wide range, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a total estimated  population in 2017 of 110,000. "


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"As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN, though the large sizes of both bears may be a disadvantage due to increased competition with humans. Populations that were hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries are the Atlas bear of North Africa and the Californian, Ungavan and Mexican populations of the grizzly bear of North America. Many of the populations in the southern parts of Eurasia are highly endangered as well. One of the smaller-bodied forms, the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear of central Italy is one of several currently isolated populations of the Eurasian brown bear and is believed to have a population of just 50 to 60 bears.\n\n== Evolution and taxonomy ==\nThe brown bear is sometimes referred to as the bruin, from Middle English. This name originated in the fable History of Reynard the Fox translated by William Caxton from Middle Dutch bruun or bruyn, meaning brown (the color). "


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"In the mid-19th century United States, the brown bear was termed \"Old Ephraim\" and sometimes as \"Moccasin Joe\".The scientific name of the brown bear, Ursus arctos, comes from the Latin ursus, meaning \"bear\", and from \u1f04\u03c1\u03ba\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 arktos, the Greek word for bear.\n\n=== Generalized names and evolution ===\nBrown bears are thought to have evolved from Ursus etruscus in Asia. The brown bear, per Kurten (1976), has been stated as \"clearly derived from the Asian population of Ursus savini about 800,000 years ago; spread into Europe, to the New World.\"A genetic analysis indicated that the brown bear lineage diverged from the cave bear species complex approximately 1.2\u20131.4 million years ago, but did not clarify if U. savini persisted as a paraspecies for the brown bear before perishing. The oldest fossils positively identified as from this species occur in China from about 0.5 million years ago. Brown bears entered Europe about 250,000 years ago and North Africa shortly after. Brown bear remains from the Pleistocene period are common in the British Isles, where it is thought they might have outcompeted cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). "


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"The species entered Alaska 100,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 13,000 years ago. It is speculated that brown bears were unable to migrate south until the extinction of the much larger giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus).Several paleontologists suggest the possibility of two separate brown bear migrations: inland brown bears, also known as grizzlies, are thought to stem from narrow-skulled bears which migrated from northern Siberia to central Alaska and the rest of the continent, while Kodiak bears descend from broad-skulled bears from Kamchatka, which colonized the Alaskan peninsula. Brown bear fossils discovered in Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky and Labrador show that the species occurred farther east than indicated in historic records. In North America, two types of the subspecies Ursus arctos horribilis are generally recognized\u2014the coastal brown bear and the inland grizzly bear; these two types broadly define the range of sizes of all brown bear subspecies.\n\n=== Scientific taxonomy ===\n\nThere are many methods used by scientists to define bear species and subspecies, as no one method is always effective. Brown bear taxonomy and subspecies classification has been described as \"formidable and confusing,\" with few authorities listing the same specific set of subspecies. "


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"Genetic testing is now perhaps the most important way to scientifically define brown bear relationships and names. Generally, genetic testing uses the word clade rather than species because a genetic test alone cannot define a biological species. Most genetic studies report on how closely related the bears are (or their genetic distance). There are hundreds of obsolete brown bear subspecies, each with its own name, and this can become confusing; Hall (1981) lists 86 different types, and even as many as 90 have been proposed. However, recent DNA analysis has identified as few as five main clades which contain all extant brown bears, while a 2017 phylogenetic study revealed nine clades, including one representing polar bears. As of 2005, 15 extant or recently extinct subspecies were recognized by the general scientific community.As well as the exact number of overall brown bear subspecies, its precise relationship to the polar bear also remains in debate. The polar bear is a recent offshoot of the brown bear. "


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"The point at which the polar bear diverged from the brown bear is unclear, with estimations based on genetics and fossils ranging from 400,000 to 70,000 years ago, but most recent analysis has indicated that the polar bear split somewhere between 275,000 and 150,000 years ago. Under some definitions, the brown bear can be construed as the paraspecies for the polar bear.DNA analysis shows that, apart from recent human-caused population fragmentation, brown bears in North America are generally part of a single interconnected population system, with the exception of the population (or subspecies) in the Kodiak Archipelago, which has probably been isolated since the end of the last Ice Age. These data demonstrate that U. a. gyas, U. a. horribilis, U. a. sitkensis and U. a. stikeenensis are not distinct or cohesive groups, and would more accurately be described as ecotypes. "


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"For example, brown bears in any particular region of the Alaska coast are more closely related to adjacent grizzly bears than to distant populations of brown bears, the morphological distinction seemingly driven by brown bears having access to a rich salmon food source, while grizzly bears live at higher elevation, or further from the coast, where plant material is the base of the diet. The history of the bears of the Alexander Archipelago is unusual in that these island populations carry polar bear DNA, presumably originating from a population of polar bears that was left behind at the end of the Pleistocene, but have since been connected with adjacent mainland populations through movement of males, to the point where their nuclear genomes are now more than 90% of brown bear ancestry.Brown bears are apparently divided into five different clades, some of which coexist or co-occur in different regions.\n\n=== Hybrids ===\n\nA grizzly\u2013polar bear hybrid (known either as a pizzly bear or a grolar bear) is a rare ursid hybrid resulting from a crossbreeding of a brown bear and a polar bear. It has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. "


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"In 2006, the occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a strange-looking bear that had been shot in the Canadian Arctic, and seven more hybrids have since been confirmed in the same region, all descended from a single female polar bear. Previously, the hybrid had been produced in zoos and was considered a \"cryptid\" (a hypothesized animal for which there is no scientific proof of existence in the wild).\nAnalyses of the genomes of bears have shown that introgression between species was widespread during the evolution of the genus Ursus, including the introgression of polar bear DNA introduced to brown bears during the Pleistocene.\nA bear shot in autumn 1986 in Michigan, US, was thought by some to be a grizzly/American black bear hybrid, due to its unusually large size and its proportionately larger braincase and skull. DNA testing was unable to determine whether it was a large American black bear or a grizzly bear.\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe brown bear is the most variable in size of modern bears. The typical size depends upon which population it is from, and most accepted subtypes vary widely in size. "


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"This is in part due to sexual dimorphism, as male brown bears average at least 30% larger in most subtypes. Individual bears also vary in size seasonally, weighing the least in spring due to lack of foraging during hibernation, and the most in late fall, after a period of hyperphagia to put on additional weight to prepare for hibernation. Therefore, a bear may need to be weighed in both spring and fall to get an idea of its mean annual weight.\n\nThe normal range of physical dimensions for a brown bear is a head-and-body length of 1.4 to 2.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 9 ft 2 in) and a shoulder height of 70 to 153 cm (2 ft 4 in to 5 ft 0 in). The tail is relatively short, as in all bears, ranging from 6 to 22 cm (2.4 to 8.7 in) in length. "


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"The smallest brown bears, females during spring among barren-ground populations, can weigh so little as to roughly match the body mass of males of the smallest living bear species, the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), while the largest coastal populations attain sizes broadly similar to those of the largest living bear species, the polar bear. Interior brown bears are generally smaller than is often perceived, being around the same weight as an average lion, at an estimate average of 180 kg (400 lb) in males and 135 kg (298 lb) in females, whereas adults of the coastal populations weigh about twice as much. The average weight of adult male bears from 19 populations, from around the world and various subspecies (including both large- and small-bodied subspecies), was found to be 217 kg (478 lb) while adult females from 24 populations were found to average 152 kg (335 lb).\n\n=== Color ===\n\nBrown bears are often not fully brown. They have long, thick fur, with a moderately long mane at the back of the neck which varies somewhat across the types. "


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"In India, brown bears can be reddish with silver-tipped hairs, while in China brown bears are bicolored, with a yellowish-brown or whitish collar across the neck, chest and shoulders. Even within well-defined subspecies, individuals may show highly variable hues of brown. North American grizzlies can be dark brown (almost black) to cream (almost white) or yellowish-brown and often have darker-colored legs. The common name \"grizzly\" stems from their typical coloration, with the hairs on their back usually being brownish-black at the base and whitish-cream at the tips, giving them their distinctive \"grizzled\" color. Apart from the cinnamon subspecies of the American black bear (U. americanus cinnamonum), the brown bear is the only modern bear species to typically appear truly brown. The winter fur is very thick and long, especially in northern subspecies, and can reach 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 in) at the withers. The winter hairs are thin, yet rough to the touch. The summer fur is much shorter and sparser and its length and density varies geographically.\n\n=== Cranial morphology and size ===\n\nAdults have massive, heavily built concave skulls, which are large in proportion to the body. The forehead is high and rises steeply. "


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"The projections of the skull are well developed when compared to those of Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus): the latter have sagittal crests not exceeding more than 19\u201320% of the total length of the skull, while the former have sagittal crests comprising up to 40\u201341% of the skull's length. Skull projections are more weakly developed in females than in males. The braincase is relatively small and elongated. There is a great deal of geographical variation in the skull, and presents itself chiefly in dimensions. Grizzlies, for example, tend to have flatter profiles than European and coastal American brown bears. Skull lengths of Russian brown bears tend to be 31.5 to 45.5 centimetres (12.4 to 17.9 in) for males, and 27.5 to 39.7 centimetres (10.8 to 15.6 in) for females. The width of the zygomatic arches in males is 17.5 to 27.7 centimetres (6.9 to 11 in), and 14.7 to 24.7 centimetres (5.8 to 9.7 in) in females. Brown bears have very strong teeth: the incisors are relatively big and the canine teeth are large, the lower ones being strongly curved. The first three molars of the upper jaw are underdeveloped and single crowned with one root. "


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"The second upper molar is smaller than the others, and is usually absent in adults. It is usually lost at an early age, leaving no trace of the alveolus in the jaw. The first three molars of the lower jaw are very weak, and are often lost at an early age. The teeth of brown bears reflect their dietary plasticity and are broadly similar to other bears, excluding the two most herbivorous living bears, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), which have blunt, small premolars (ideal for grinding down fibrous plants) compared to the jagged premolars of ursid bears that at least seasonally often rely on flesh as a food source. The teeth are reliably larger than American black bears, but average smaller in molar length than polar bears. Brown bears have the broadest skull of any extant ursine bear; only the aforementioned most herbivorous living bears exceed them in relative breadth of the skull. "


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"Another extant ursine bear, the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), has a proportionately longer skull than the brown bear and can match the skull length of even large brown bear subtypes, presumably as an aid for foraging heavily on insect colonies for which a long muzzle is helpful as an evolved feature in several unrelated mammalian groups.\n\n=== Claws and feet ===\n\nBrown bears have very large and curved claws, those present on the forelimbs being longer than those on the hind limbs. They may reach 5 to 6 centimetres (2.0 to 2.4 in) and may measure 7 to 10 centimetres (2.8 to 3.9 in) along the curve. They are generally dark with a light tip, with some forms having completely light claws. Brown bear claws are longer and straighter than those of American black bears (Ursus americanus). The claws are blunt, while those of a black bear are sharp. Due to their claw structure, in addition to their excessive weight, adult brown bears cannot typically climb trees as well as both species of black bear, although in rare cases adult female brown bears have been seen in trees. "


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"The claws of a polar bear are also quite different, being notably shorter but broader with a strong curve and sharper point, presumably both as an aid to traveling over ice (sometimes nearly vertically) and procuring active prey. The paws of the brown bear are quite large. The rear feet of adult bears have been found to typically measure 21 to 36 cm (8.3 to 14.2 in) long, while the forefeet tend to measure about 40% less in length. All four feet in average sized brown bears tend to be about 17.5 to 20 cm (6.9 to 7.9 in) in width. In large coastal or Kodiak bear males, the hindfoot may measure up to 40 cm (16 in) in length, 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in width, while outsized Kodiak bears having had confirmed measurements of up to 46 cm (18 in) along their rear foot. Brown bears are the only extant bears with a hump at the top of their shoulder, which is made entirely of muscle, this feature having developed presumably for imparting more force in digging, which is habitual during foraging for most bears of the species and also used heavily in den construction prior to hibernation. "


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"The brown bear's strength has been roughly estimated as 2.5 to 5 times that of a human.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nBrown bears were once native to Europe, much of Asia, the Atlas Mountains of Africa, and North America, but are now extirpated in some areas, and their populations have greatly decreased in other areas. There are approximately 200,000 brown bears left in the world. The largest populations are in Russia with 120,000, the United States with 32,500, and Canada with around 25,000. Brown bears live in Alaska, east through the Yukon and Northwest Territories, south through British Columbia and through the western half of Alberta. The Alaskan population is estimated at a healthy 32,000 individuals. In the lower 48 states, they are repopulating slowly, but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains.\n"


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content:
"In Europe, in 2010, there were 14,000 brown bears in ten fragmented populations, from Spain (estimated at only 20\u201325 animals in the Pyrenees in 2010, in a range shared between Spain, France and Andorra, and some 210 animals in Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and Le\u00f3n, in the Picos de Europa and adjacent areas in 2013) in the west, to Russia in the east, and from Sweden and Finland in the north to Romania (5000\u20136000), Bulgaria (900\u20131200), Slovakia (with about 600\u2013800 animals), Slovenia (500\u2013700 animals) and Greece (with Karamanlidis et al. 2015 estimating >450 animals) in the south.\nIn Asia, brown bears are found primarily throughout Russia, thence more spottily southwest to parts of the Middle East, including almost all parts of Kurdistan, to as far south as southwestern Iran, and to the southeast in Northeast China. Brown bears are also found in Western China, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. They can also be found on the Japanese island of Hokkaid\u014d, which holds the largest number of non-Russian brown bears in eastern Asia with about 2,000\u20133,000 animals.This species inhabits the broadest range of habitats of any living bear species.\n"


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"They seem to have no altitudinal preferences and have been recorded from sea level to an elevation of 5,000 m (16,000 ft) (the latter in the Himalayas). In most of their range, brown bears generally seem to prefer semiopen country, with a scattering of vegetation that can allow them a resting spot during the day. However, they have been recorded as inhabiting every variety of northern temperate forest known to occur.\n\n=== Conservation status ===\nWhile the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a Least concern species by the IUCN, with a total population of approximately 200,000. As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN. However, the California grizzly bear, Ungava brown bear, Atlas bear and Mexican grizzly bear, as well as brown bear populations in the Pacific Northwest, were hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered. The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is very rare and it has been extirpated from more than half of its historic range. "


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"One of the smallest-bodied subspecies, the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear in central Italy is believed to have a population of just 50\u201360 bears.\n\n== Behavior and life history ==\n\nThe brown bear is often described as nocturnal. However, it frequently seems to peak in activity in the morning and early evening hours. Studies have shown that activity throughout the range can occur at nearly any time of night or day, with bears who dwell in areas with more extensive human contact being more likely to be fully nocturnal. Furthermore, yearling and newly independent bears are more likely to be active diurnally and many adult bears in low-disturbance areas are largely crepuscular. In summer through autumn, a brown bear can double its weight from the spring, gaining up to 180 kg (400 lb) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not full hibernators and can be woken easily, both sexes like to den in a protected spot during the winter months. "


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"Hibernation dens may consist of any spot that provides cover from the elements and that can accommodate their bodies, such as a cave, crevice, cavernous tree roots, or hollow logs.Brown bears have one of the largest brains of any extant carnivoran relative to their body size and have been shown to engage in tool use (e.g., using a barnacle-covered rock to scratch its neck), which requires advanced cognitive abilities. This species is mostly solitary, although bears may gather in large numbers at major food sources (e.g.,  open garbage dumps or rivers holding spawning salmon) and form social hierarchies based on age and size. Adult male bears are particularly aggressive and are avoided by adolescent and subadult males, both at concentrated feeding opportunities and chance encounters. Female bears with cubs rival adult males in aggression and are much more intolerant of other bears than single females. Young adolescent males tend to be least aggressive and have been observed in nonantagonistic interactions with each other. "


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"Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing off canines, muzzle twisting and neck stretching to which a subordinate will respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down. During combat, bears use their paws to strike their opponents in the chest or shoulders and bite the head or neck.\n\n=== Communication ===\n\nSeveral different facial expressions have been documented in brown bears. The \"relaxed-face\" is made in everyday activities and has the ears pointed to the sides and the mouth closed or slackly open. During social play, bears makes \"relaxed open-mouth face\" in which the mouth is open, with a curled upper lip and hanging lower lip, and the ears alert and shifting. When looking at another animal at a distance, the bear makes an \"alert face\" as the ears are cocked and alert, the eyes wide open but the mouth is closed or only open slightly. The \"tense closed mouth face\" is made with the ears laid back and the mouth closed and occurs when the bear feels threatened. "


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"When approached by another individual, the animal makes a \"puckered-lip face\" with a protruding upper lip and ears which go from cocked and alert when at a certain distance to laid back when closer or when retreating. The \"jaw gape face\" consists of an open mouth with visible lower canines and hanging lips while the \"biting face\" is similar to the \"relaxed open-mouth face\" except the ears are flattened and the eyes are wide enough to expose the sclera. Both the \"jaw gape face\" and the \"biting face\" are made in aggression and bears switch between them.Brown bears also produce various vocalizations. Huffing occurs when the animal is tense while woofing is made when alarmed. Both sounds are produced by exhalations though huffing is harsher and is made continuously (two per second). Growls and roars are made in aggression. Growling is harsh and guttural and can range from a simple grrr to a rumble. A rumbling growl can escalate into a roar when the bear is charging. Roaring is described as \"thunderous\" and can travel 2 km (1.2 mi). Mothers and cubs wanting physical contact will bawl, which is heard as waugh!, waugh!.\n\n"


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"=== Home ranges ===\nBrown bears usually occur over vast home ranges; however, they are not highly territorial. Several adult bears often roam freely over the same vicinity without issue, unless rights to a fertile female or food sources are being contested. Males always cover more area than females each year. Despite their lack of traditional territorial behavior, adult males can seem to have a \"personal zone\" in which other bears are not tolerated if they are seen. Males always wander further than females, due to both increasing access to females and food sources, while females are advantaged by smaller territories in part since it decreases the likelihood of encounters with male bears who may endanger their cubs. In areas where food is abundant and concentrated, such as coastal Alaska, home ranges for females are up to 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi) and for males are up to 89 km2 (34 sq mi). Similarly, in British Columbia, bears of the two sexes travel relatively compact home ranges of 115 km2 (44 sq mi) and 318 km2 (123 sq mi). "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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"In Yellowstone National Park, home ranges for females are up to 281 km2 (108 sq mi) and up to 874 km2 (337 sq mi) for males. In Romania, the largest home range was recorded for adult males (3,143 km2, 1214 sq mi). In the central Arctic of Canada, where food sources are quite sparse, home ranges range up to 2,434 km2 (940 sq mi) in females and 8,171 km2 (3,155 sq mi) in males.A study of male-inherited Y chromosome DNA sequence found that brown bears, over the past few 10,000 years, have shown strong male-biased dispersal. That study found surprisingly similar Y chromosomes in brown bear populations as far apart as Norway and coastal Alaska, indicating extensive gene flow across Eurasia and North America. Notably, this contrasts with genetic signals from female-inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), where brown bears of different geographic regions typically show strong differences in their mtDNA, a result of female philopatry.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\n\nThe mating season is from mid-May to early July, shifting later the further north the bears are found. Being serially monogamous, brown bears remain with the same mate from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. "


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"Outside of this narrow time frame, adult male and female brown bears show no sexual interest in each other. Females mature sexually between the age of four and eight years of age, with an average age at sexual maturity of 5.2\u20135.5 years old, while males first mate about a year later on average, when they are large and strong enough to successfully compete with other males for mating rights. Males will try to mate with as many females as they can; usually a successful one mates with two females in a span of one to three weeks. The adult female brown bear is similarly promiscuous, mating with up to four, rarely even eight, males while in heat and potentially breeding with two males in a single day. Females come into oestrus on average every three to four years, with a full range of 2.4 to 5.7 years. The urine markings of a female in oestrus can attract several males via scent. Paternity DNA tests have shown that littermates do not share the same father in up to 29% of litters. "


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"Dominant males may try to sequester a female for her entire oestrus period of approximately two weeks, but usually are unable to retain her for the entire time. Copulation is vigorous and prolonged and can last up to an hour, although the mean time is about 23\u201324 minutes.\n\nMales take no part in raising their cubs \u2013 parenting is left entirely to the females. Through the process of delayed implantation, a female's fertilized egg divides and floats freely in the uterus for six months. During winter dormancy, the fetus attaches to the uterine wall. The cubs are born eight weeks later while the mother sleeps. If the mother does not gain enough weight to survive through the winter while gestating, the embryo does not implant and is reabsorbed into the body. There have been cases of brown bears with as many as six cubs, although the average litter size is one to three, with more than four being considered uncommon. There are records of females sometimes adopting stray cubs or even trading or kidnapping cubs when they emerge from hibernation (a larger female may claim cubs away from a smaller one). "


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"Older and larger females within a population tend to give birth to larger litters. The size of a litter also depends on factors such as geographic location and food supply. At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless and hairless and may weigh from 350 to 510 g (0.77 to 1.12 lb), again reportedly based on the age and condition of the mother. They feed on their mother's milk until spring or even early summer, depending on climate conditions. At this time, the cubs weigh 7 to 9 kg (15 to 20 lb) and have developed enough to follow her over long distances and begin to forage for solid food.\n\nThe cubs are fully dependent on the mother and a close bond is formed. During the dependency stage, the cubs learn (rather than inherit as instincts from birth) survival techniques, such as which foods have the highest nutritional value and where to obtain them; how to hunt, fish and defend themselves; and where to den. "


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"Increased brain size in large carnivores has been positively linked to whether a given species is solitary, as is the brown bear, or raises their offspring communally, thus female brown bears have relatively large, well-developed brains, presumably key in teaching behavior. The cubs learn by following and imitating their mother's actions during the period they are with her. Cubs remain with their mother for an average of 2.5 years in North America, uncommonly being independent as early as 1.5 years of age or as late as 4.5 years of age. The stage at which independence is attained may generally be earlier in some parts of Eurasia, as the latest date which mother and cubs were together was 2.3 years, most families separated in under two years in a study from Hokkaido and in Sweden most cubs on their own were still yearlings. Brown bears practice infanticide, as an adult male bear may kill the cubs of a another. When an adult male brown bear kills a cub, it is usually because he is trying to bring the female into oestrus, as she will enter that state within two to four days after the death of her cubs. "


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"Cubs flee up a tree, if available, when they see a strange male bear and the mother often successfully defends them, even though the male may be twice as heavy as she, although females have been known to die in these confrontations.\n\n=== Dietary habits ===\n\nThe brown bear is one of the most omnivorous animals in the world and has been recorded as consuming the greatest variety of foods of any bear. Throughout life, this species is regularly curious about the potential of eating virtually any organism or object that they encounter. Food that is both abundant and easily accessed or caught is preferred. Their jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits. Their diet varies enormously throughout their differing areas based on opportunity.\nDespite their reputation, most brown bears are not highly carnivorous, as they derive up to 90% of their dietary food energy from vegetable matter. They often feed on a variety of plant life, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns and pine cones, as well as fungi such as mushrooms. Among all bears, brown bears are uniquely equipped to dig for tough foods such as roots, bulbs and shoots. "


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"They use their long, strong claws to dig out earth to reach the roots and their powerful jaws to bite through them. In spring, winter-provided carrion, grasses, shoots, sedges, moss and forbs are the dietary mainstays for brown bears internationally. Fruits, including berries, become increasingly important during summer and early autumn. Roots and bulbs become critical in autumn for some inland bear populations if fruit crops are poor. They will also commonly consume animal matter, which in summer and autumn may regularly be in the form of insects, larvae and grubs, including beehives. Bears in Yellowstone eat an enormous number of moths during the summer, sometimes as many as 40,000 Army cutworm moths in a single day, and may derive up to half of their annual food energy from these insects. Brown bears living near coastal regions will regularly eat crabs and clams. In Alaska, bears along the beaches of estuaries regularly dig through the sand for clams. This species may eat birds and their eggs, including almost entirely ground- or rock-nesting species. The diet may be supplemented by rodents or similar smallish mammals, including marmots, ground squirrels, mice, rats, lemmings and voles. "


id: a475c02fa371a754f615bc3c7ba36a9e
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"With particular regularity, bears in Denali National Park will wait at burrows of Arctic ground squirrels hoping to pick off a few of the 1 kg (2.2 lb) rodents.In the Kamchatka peninsula and several parts of coastal Alaska, brown bears feed mostly on spawning salmon, whose nutrition and abundance explain the enormous size of the bears in these areas. The fishing techniques of bears are well-documented. They often congregate around falls when the salmon are forced to breach the water, at which point the bears will try to catch the fish in mid-air (often with their mouths). They will also wade into shallow waters, hoping to pin a slippery salmon with their claws. While they may eat almost all the parts of the fish, bears at the peak of spawning, when there is usually a glut of fish to feed on, may eat only the most nutrious parts of the salmon (including the eggs and head) and then indifferently leave the rest of the carcass to scavengers, which can include red foxes, bald eagles, common ravens and gulls. Despite their normally solitary habits, brown bears will gather rather closely in numbers at good spawning sites. "


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"The largest and most powerful males claim the most fruitful fishing spots and bears (especially males) will sometimes fight over the rights to a prime fishing spot.\n\nBeyond the regular predation of salmon, most brown bears are not particularly active predators. While perhaps a majority of bears of the species will charge at large prey at one point in their lives and most eat carrion, many predation attempts start with the bear clumsily and half-heartedly pursuing the prey and end with the prey escaping alive. On the other hand, some brown bears are quite self-assured predators who habitually pursue and catch large prey items. Such bears are usually taught how to hunt by their mothers from an early age. Large mammals preyed on can include various ungulate species such as elk, moose, caribou, muskoxen and wild boar, When brown bears attack these large animals, they usually target young or infirm ones, as they are easier to catch. Typically when hunting (especially with young prey), the bear pins its prey to the ground and then immediately tears and eats it alive. It will also bite or swipe some prey to stun it enough to knock it over for consumption. "


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"To pick out young or infirm individuals, bears will charge at herds so the slower-moving and more vulnerable individuals will be made apparent. Brown bears may also ambush young animals by finding them via scent. When emerging from hibernation, brown bears, whose broad paws allow them to walk over most ice and snow, may pursue large prey such as moose whose hooves cannot support them on encrusted snow. Similarly, predatory attacks on large prey sometimes occur at riverbeds, when it is more difficult for the prey specimen to run away due to muddy or slippery soil. On rare occasions, while confronting fully-grown, dangerous prey, bears kill them by hitting with their powerful forearms, which can break the necks and backs of large creatures such as adult moose and adult bison. They also feed on carrion, and use their size to intimidate other predators, such as wolves, cougars, tigers, and American black bears from their kills. Carrion is especially important in the early spring (when the bears are emerging from hibernation), much of it comprising winter-killed big game. "


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"Cannibalism is not unheard of, though predation is not normally believed to be the primary motivation when brown bears attack each other.When forced to live in close proximity with humans and their domesticated animals, bears may potentially predate any type of domestic animal. Among these, domestic cattle are sometimes exploited as prey. Cattle are bitten on the neck, back or head and then the abdominal cavity is opened for eating. Plants and fruit farmed by humans are readily consumed as well, including corn, wheat, sorghum, melons and any form of berries. They will also feed at domestic bee yards, readily consuming both honey and the brood (grubs and pupae) of the honey bee colony. Human foods and trash or refuse is eaten when possible. When an open garbage dump was kept in Yellowstone, brown bears were one of the most voracious and regular scavengers. The dump was closed after both brown and American black bears came to associate humans with food and lost their natural fear of them.\n\n=== Interspecific predatory relationships ===\n\nAdult bears are generally immune to predatory attacks except from tigers and other bears. "


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"Siberian tigers prefer preying on young Ussuri brown bears, but smaller adult female brown bears outside their dens may also be taken, generally when lethargic from hibernation. Of 44 recorded encounters between the two predators, 20 resulted in confrontations; in 50% of these, the bears were killed, in 27% the tigers were killed, and 23% of the cases ended with both animals surviving and parting ways. Some bears emerging from hibernation seek out tigers in order to steal their kills. Some large brown bears may actually benefit from the tiger's presence by appropriating tiger kills that the bears may not be able to successfully hunt themselves and follow tiger tracks. Geptner et al. (1972) stated bears are generally afraid of tigers and change their path after coming across tiger trails. In the winters of 1970\u20131973, Yudakov and Nikolaev recorded 1 case of brown bear showing no fear of the tigers and another case of brown bear changing path upon crossing tiger tracks. Other researchers have observed bears following tiger tracks for various reasons.Brown bears regularly intimidate wolves to drive them away from their kills. "


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"In Yellowstone National Park, bears pirate wolf kills so often, Yellowstone's Wolf Project director Doug Smith wrote, \"It's not a matter of if the bears will come calling after a kill, but when.\"Despite the high animosity between the two species, most confrontations at kill sites or large carcasses end without bloodshed on either side. Though conflict over carcasses is common, on rare occasions, the two predators tolerate each other on the same kill. To date, there is a single case of fully-grown wolves being killed by a grizzly bear. Given the opportunity, however, both species will prey on the other's cubs. Conclusively, the individual power of the bear against the collective strength of the wolf pack usually results in a long battle for kills or domination.\nIn some areas, grizzly bears also regularly displace cougars from their kills. Cougars kill small bear cubs on rare occasions, but there was one report of a bear killing a cougar of unknown age and condition between 1993 and 1996. "


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"Smaller carnivorous animals, including coyotes, wolverines, lynxes, and any other sympatric carnivores or raptorial birds, are dominated by grizzly bears and generally avoid direct interactions with them, unless attempting to steal scraps of food. However, wolverines have been persistent enough to fend off a grizzly bear as much as ten times their weight off a kill. There is one record of a golden eagle preying on a brown bear cub.Brown bears usually dominate other bear species in areas where they coexist. Due to their smaller size, American black bears are at a competitive disadvantage to grizzly bears in open, unforested areas. Although displacement of black bears by grizzly bears has been documented, actual interspecific killing of black bears by grizzlies has only occasionally been reported. Confrontation is mostly avoided due to the black bear's diurnal habits and preference for heavily forested areas, as opposed to the grizzly's largely nocturnal habits and preference for open spaces. Brown bears may also kill Asian black bears, though the latter species probably largely avoids conflicts with the brown bear, due to similar habits and habitat preferences to the American black species. "


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"They will eat the fruit dropped by the Asian black bear from trees, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb.  Improbably, in the Himalayas Brown bears are reportedly intimidated by Asian black bears in confrontations.There has been a recent increase in interactions between brown bears and polar bears, theorized to be caused by climate change. Brown and grizzly bears have been seen moving increasingly northward into territories formerly claimed by polar bears. They tend to dominate polar bears in disputes over carcasses, and dead polar bear cubs have been found in brown bear dens.\n\n=== Longevity and mortality ===\n\nThe brown bear has a naturally long life. Wild females have been observed reproducing up to 28 years of age, which is the oldest known age for reproduction of any ursid in the wild. The peak reproductive age for females ranges from four to 20 years old. The lifespan of brown bears of both sexes within minimally hunted populations is estimated at an average of 25 years. The oldest wild brown bear on record was nearly 37 years old. "


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"The oldest recorded female in captivity was nearly 40 years old, while males in captivity have been verified to live up to 47 years, with one captive male possibly attaining 50 years of age.While male bears potentially live longer in captivity, female grizzly bears have a greater annual survival rate than males within wild populations per a study done in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Annual mortality for bears of any age is estimated at 10% in most protected areas; however, the average annual mortality rate rises to an estimated 38% in hunted populations. Around 13% to 44% of cubs die within their first year even in well-protected areas. Mortality rates of 75\u2013100% among the cubs of any given year are not uncommon. Beyond predation by large predators including wolves, Siberian tigers and other brown bears, starvation and accidents also claim the lives of cubs. Studies have indicated that the most prevalent source of mortality for first-year cubs is malnutrition. By the second and third years of their lives, the annual mortality rate among cubs in the care of their mothers drops to 10-15%.Even in populations living in protected areas, humans are still the leading cause of mortality for brown bears. "


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"The largest amount of legalized brown bear hunting occurs in Canada, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Alaska. Hunting is unregulated in many areas within the range of the brown bear. Even where hunting is legally permitted, most biologists feel that the numbers hunted are excessive considering the low reproduction rate and sparse distribution of the species. Brown bears are also killed in collisions with automobiles, which is a significant cause of mortality in the United States and Europe.\n\n== Relationship with humans ==\n\n=== Conflicts between bears and humans ===\n\nBrown bears usually avoid areas where extensive development or urbanization has occurred, unlike the smaller, more inoffensive American black bear which can adapt to peri-urban regions. Under many circumstances, extensive human development may cause brown bears to alter their home ranges. High road densities (both paved and gravel roads) are often associated with higher mortality, habitat avoidance and lower bear density. However, brown bears can easily lose their natural cautiousness upon being attracted to human-created food sources, such as garbage dumps, litter bins and dumpsters. Brown bears may even venture into human dwellings or barns in search of food as humans encroach on bear habitats. "


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"In other areas, such as Alaska, dumps may continue to be an attractant for brown bears. In different parts of their distribution, brown bears sometimes kill and eat domesticated animals. The saying \"A fed bear is a dead bear\" has come into use to popularize the idea that allowing a bear to scavenge human garbage, such as trash cans and campers' backpacks, pet food, or other food sources that draw the bear into contact with humans, can result in the bear's death. Results of a 2016 study performed in a southeastern British Columbian valley indicate that areas where attractive bear food and concentrated human settlements overlap, human-bear conflict can create an ecological trap resulting in a lower apparent survival rate for brown bears, as well as attracting additional bears and thereby causing overall population declines.When brown bears come to associate human activity with a \"food reward\", they are likely to continue to become emboldened; the likelihood of human-bear encounters increases, as they may return to the same location despite relocation. "


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"Relocation of the bear has been used to separate the bear from the human environment, but it does not address the problem of the bear's newly learned association of humans with food or the environmental situations which created the human-habituated bear. \"Placing a bear in habitat used by other bears may lead to competition and social conflict, and result in the injury or death of the less dominant bear.\"Yellowstone National Park, a reserve located in the western United States, contains prime habitat for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and due to the enormous number of visitors, human-bear encounters are common. The scenic beauty of the area has led to an influx of people moving into the area. In addition, because there are so many bear relocations to the same remote areas of Yellowstone, and because male bears tend to dominate the center of the relocation zone, female bears tend to be pushed to the boundaries of the region and beyond. As a result, a large proportion of repeat offenders, bears that are killed for public safety, are females. This creates a further depressive effect on an already-endangered subspecies. "


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"The grizzly bear is officially described as \"Threatened\" in the U.S.. Although the problem is most significant with regard to grizzlies, these issues affect the other types of brown bears as well.In Europe, part of the problem lies with shepherds; over the past two centuries, many sheep and goat herders have gradually abandoned the more traditional practice of using dogs to guard flocks, which have concurrently grown larger. Typically, they allow the herds to graze freely over sizeable tracts of land. As brown bears reclaim parts of their range, they may eat livestock as sheep and goats are relatively easy for a bear to kill. In some cases, the shepherds shoot the bear, thinking their livelihood is under threat. Many are now better informed about the ample compensation available and will make a claim when they lose livestock to a bear. Another issue in several parts of their range in Europe is supplemental feeding stations where various kind of animal carrion is offered, which are set up mainly in Scandinavia and eastern Europe both to support the locally threatened species and so humans can enjoy watching bears that may otherwise prove evasive. "


id: b329eaaa878783b3c4f9ef70986e9ffe
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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"Despite that most stations were cautiously set in remote areas far from human habitations, some brown bears in such areas have become conditioned to associate humans with food and become excessively bold \"problem bears\". Also, supplemental feeding appears to cause no decrease in livestock predation.\n\n=== Bear encounters and attacks ===\n\nBrown bears seldom attack humans on sight and usually avoid people. In Russia, it is estimated that 1 in 1,000 on-foot encounters with brown bears results in an attack. They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and may attack if they are surprised or feel threatened. There are an average of two fatal attacks by bears per year in North America. In Scandinavia, there are only four known cases since 1902 of bear encounters which have resulted in death. The two most common causes for bear attack are surprise and curiosity. Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears are much less likely to attack. Despite their boldness and potential for predation if the bear is hungry, polar bears rarely attack humans, because they are infrequently encountered in the Arctic sea. "


id: cdac216c9ec2fcf96c783ef9bbf5d10c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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"Aggressive behavior in brown bears is favored by numerous selection variables. Increased aggressiveness also assists female brown bears in better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age. Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, being responsible for 70% of brown bear-caused human fatalities in North America.Sows with cubs account for many attacks on humans by brown bears in North America. Habituated or food-conditioned bears can also be dangerous, as their long-term exposure to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness and, in some cases, to associate humans with food. Small parties of one or two people are more often attacked by brown bears than large groups, with only one known case of an attack on a group of six or more. In that instance, it is thought that due to surprise, the grizzly bear may not have recognized the size of the group. In the majority of attacks resulting in injury, brown bears precede the attack with a growl or huffing sound. In contrast to injuries caused by American black bears, which are usually minor, brown bear attacks more often tend to result in serious injury and, in some cases, death. "


id: 19663ea974b6c5a48eb85237bb70bb32
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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content:
"Brown bears seem to confront humans as they would when fighting other bears: they rise up on their hind legs, and attempt to \"disarm\" their victims by biting and holding on to the lower jaw to avoid being bitten in turn. Due to the bears' enormous physical strength, even a single bite or swipe can be deadly as in tigers, with some human victims having had their heads completely crushed by a bear bite. Most attacks occur in the months of July, August and September, the time when the number of outdoor recreationalists, such as hikers or hunters, is higher. People who assert their presence through noises tend to be less vulnerable, as they alert bears to their presence. In direct confrontations, people who run are statistically more likely to be attacked than those who stand their ground. Violent encounters with brown bears usually last only a few minutes, though they can be prolonged if the victims fight back. "


id: b76933fe30b5b92ffe742bc538fd5489
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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content:
"In Alberta, two common behaviors by human hunters, imitating the calls of deer to attract them and carrying ungulate carcasses, seem to court aggressive behavior and lead to a higher rate of attack from grizzly bears.Attacks on humans are considered extremely rare in the former Soviet Union, though exceptions exist in districts where they are not as often pursued by hunters. East Siberian brown bears, for example, tend to be much bolder toward humans than their shyer, more persecuted European counterparts. The delineation in Eurasia between areas where aggressiveness of brown bears tends to increase is the Ural Mountains, although the brown bears of eastern Europe are somewhat more aggressive than those of western Europe. In 2008, a platinum mining compound in the Olyotorsky district of northern Kamchatka was besieged by a group of 30 bears, who killed two guards and prevented workers from leaving their homes. 10 people a year on average are killed by brown bears in Russia, more than all the other parts of the brown bear's international range combined, although Russia also holds more brown bears than all other parts of the world combined. "


id: b7d568c0af25700914da963357541317
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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content:
"In Scandinavia, only three fatal attacks were recorded in the 20th century.In Japan, a large brown bear nicknamed \"Kesagake\" (\u8888\u88df\u61f8\u3051, \"kesa-style slasher\") made history for causing the worst brown bear attack in Japanese history at Tomamae, Hokkaid\u014d during numerous encounters during December 1915. It killed seven people and wounded three others (with possibly another three previous fatalities to its credit) before being gunned down after a large-scale beast-hunt. Today, there is still a shrine at Rokusensawa (\u516d\u7dda\u6ca2), where the event took place in memory of the victims of the incident.Within Yellowstone National Park, injuries caused by grizzly attacks in developed areas averaged approximately one per year during the 1930s through to the 1950s, though it increased to four per year during the 1960s. They then decreased to one injury every two years during the 1970s. Between 1980 and 2002, there have been only two human injuries caused by grizzly bears in a developed area. Although grizzly attacks were rare in the backcountry before 1970, the number of attacks increased to an average of approximately one per year during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. "


id: 9f62cc00c0b000709dc5d07f5fecd40b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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"In Alberta, from 1960 to 1998, the number of attacks by grizzly bears ending in injury were nearly three times more common than attacks ending in injury by American black bears, despite the American black bear being an estimated 38 times more numerous in the province than the grizzly bear.\n\n=== History of defense from bears ===\n\nA study by U.S. and Canadian researchers has found bear spray to be more effective at stopping aggressive bear behavior than guns, working in 92% of studied incidents versus 67% for guns. Carrying pepper spray is highly recommended by many authorities when traveling in bear country; however, carrying two means of deterrent, one of which is a large caliber gun, is also advised. Solid shotgun slugs, or three buckshot rounds, or a pistol of .44 caliber or more is suggested if a heavy hunting rifle is not available. Guns remain a viable, last resort option to be used in defense of life from aggressive brown bears. Too often, people do not carry a proper caliber weapon to neutralize the bear. According to the Alaska Science Center, a 12-gauge shotgun with slugs has been the most effective weapon. "


id: dd8d97272da8a20a4f91596e882d5564
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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"There have been fewer injuries as a result of only carrying lethal loads in the shotgun, as opposed to deterrent rounds. State of Alaska Defense of Life or Property (DLP) laws require one to report the kill to the authorities and salvage the hide, skull and claws. A page at the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources website offers information about how to \"select a gun that will stop a bear (12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle)\".Campers are often told to wear bright-colored red ribbons and bells and carry whistles to ward off bears. They are told to look for grizzly bear dung in camping areas and be careful to carry the bells and whistles in those areas. Grizzly bear dung is difficult to differentiate from American black bear dung, as diet is in a constant state of flux depending on the availability of seasonal food items. If a bear is killed near camp, the bear's carcass must be adequately disposed of, including entrails and blood, if possible. Failure to move the carcass has often resulted in it attracting other bears and further exacerbating a bad situation. Moving camps immediately is another recommended method.\n\n"


id: b8f35d3bcfb4704179081fa84931f873
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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vector_id: 1740
content:
"=== Culture ===\n\nBrown bears often figure into the literature of Europe and North America, in particular that which is written for children. \"The Brown Bear of Norway\" is a Scottish fairy tale telling the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned into a bear and who managed to get him back into a human form by the force of her love and after many trials and difficulties. With \"Goldilocks and the Three Bears\", a story from England, the Three Bears are usually depicted as brown bears. In German-speaking countries, children are often told the fairytale of \"Snow White and Rose Red\"; the handsome prince in this tale has been transfigured into a brown bear. In the United States, parents often read their preschool age children the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to teach them their colors and how they are associated with different animals.The Russian bear is a common national personification for Russia (as well as the former Soviet Union), despite the country having no appointed national animal. The brown bear is Finland's national animal.The grizzly bear is the state animal of Montana. "


id: 65d36f73b00ec980a5a0f016b12eceb7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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"The California golden bear is the state animal of California. Both animals are subspecies of the brown bear and the species was extirpated from the latter state.\nThe coat of arms of Madrid depicts a bear reaching up into a madro\u00f1o or strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) to eat some of its fruit, whereas the Swiss city of Bern's coat of arms also depicts a bear and the city's name is popularly thought to derive from the German word for bear. The brown bear is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5 kuna coin, minted since 1993.\nThe Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has a brown bear mascot named Berni. The Chicago National Football League (NFL) franchise is named the Bears. In this context, no differentiation between American black and brown bears is needed. The school mascot for Bob Jones University, Brown University, Cornell University, George Fox University, the University of Alberta, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Riverside, and numerous American high schools is the brown bear.\n"


id: bf4ed3389fd77c31e52a784611ade1f5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:08
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vector_id: 1802
content:
"In the town of Prats de Moll\u00f3, in Vallespir, French Catalonia, a \"bear festival\" (festa de l'\u00f3s) is celebrated annually at the beginning of spring, in which the locals dress up as bears, cover themselves with soot or coal and oil and \"attack\" the onlookers, attempting to get everyone dirty. The festival ends with the ball de l'\u00f3s (bear dance).\n\n== See also ==\nList of fatal bear attacks in North America\nSankebetsu brown bear incident\n\n== References ==\n\n== Notes ==\n\n== Bibliography ==\nHeptner V.G.; Sludskii, A.A. (1992). Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 2. Leiden u.a.: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-08876-4.\nVaisfeld, M.A. and Chestin I. E., ed. (1993). Bears: Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Asian Black Bear. Distribution, ecology, use and protection (in Russian and English). Moscow: Nauka. ISBN 978-5020035676.\n\n== External links ==\n\nBrown Bear profile from National Geographic\nBear Hunting Altered Genetics More Than Ice Age Isolation\nAncient Fossil Offers New Clues To Brown Bears Past"


id: cf798baae56f3e7fc94f1ab6bd158604
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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vector_id: 1972
content:
"The pond slider (Trachemys scripta) is a species of common, medium-sized, semiaquatic turtle. Three subspecies are described, the most recognizable of which is the red-eared slider (T. s. elegans), which is popular in the pet trade and has been introduced to other parts of the world by people releasing it to the wild. Hatchling and juvenile pond sliders have a green upper shell (carapace), yellow bottom shell (plastron), and green and yellow stripes and markings on their skin. These patterns and colors in the skin and shell fade with age until the carapace is a muted olive green to brown and the plastron is a dull yellow or darker. Some sliders become almost black with few visible markings.\nThe carapace is oval with a bit of rounding and a central crest with knobs, but these features soften and fade with age, adults being smoother and flatter. For determining an adult slider's sex, males typically have much longer front claws than adult females, while females usually have shorter, more slender tails than males. Their lifespans range from 20 to 50 years.\n\n== Etymology ==\nThe origin of the name slider stems from the behavior of these turtles when startled. "


id: f3f538ef76845f2ce72e4d07f8ed30f6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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vector_id: 2354
content:
"Groups of sliders, sometimes quite large, as well as many other types of less abundant freshwater turtles, are often seen basking and sunning on logs, branches, and vegetation at or even well above the water's surface, but they readily and quickly scramble if they sense danger, shooting back in and darting away to safety underwater.\n\n== Distribution ==\nPond sliders are native to the south-central and southeastern United States and northern Mexico.\n\n== Invasive species ==\nIn the 1900s, many pond sliders were captured for sale. In the 1950s, millions of turtles were being farmed and shipped abroad as part of the pet trade.\nThese turtles often compete with native species for food, habitat, and other resources. Eventually, they bully many native species out of basking sites, where sunlight (and warmth) is available for the species. When basking, pond sliders commonly bask on birds' nests, thereby killing the eggs. They also prey on young birds.\nTurtles that were raised in captivity can develop diseases that are unfamiliar to native species, which can be harmful. Turtles raised in captivity are often released because they become too much to handle or grow bigger than expected. Not uncommonly, they also escape.\n"


id: 3c7a230633dab9a818821dc9eb62215f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"Conservationists have warned owners of turtles to not release them into the wild. Many states also have passed legislation to control the possession and release of pond sliders. Two states have completely banned the sale of these turtles.\nIn Europe, T. script is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.\n\n== Subspecies ==\n\nT. s. scripta \u2013 yellow-bellied slider\nT. s. elegans \u2013 red-eared slider\nT. s.  troostii \u2013 Cumberland sliderHybridization between yellow-bellied and red-eared sliders is not uncommon where the ranges of the two subspecies overlap.\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\nFritz, Uwe; Hava\u0161, Peter (2007-10-31). \"Checklist of Chelonians of The World\" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-01. Retrieved 2010-12-29.\n\"Invasive Species Initiative\". InvasiveSpeciesInitiative.com. Jenny Burger. Retrieved 25 March 2018.\n\"Habitat Attitude\". Habitatattitude.net. Retrieved 27 March 2018.\n\n== External links ==\nJ. Servan et C. Arvy, \"The introduction of Trachemys scripta in France. A new competitor for the European pond turtles\". Bull. Fr. P\u00eache Piscic. "


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"Number 344-345, 1997\nDewey, T. and T. Kuhrt. (2002). \"Trachemys scripta\" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed July 29, 2008 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Trachemys_scripta.html.\nRhudy, Robyn  \"Sliders\" (On-Line), Accessed April 29, 2009. at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/sliders.htm"


id: 3b1dc296249e8fb6bccc3606a70848c9
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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vector_id: 456
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"The reticulated python (Malayopython reticulatus) is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wide distribution. In several countries in its range, it is hunted for its skin, for use in traditional medicine, and for sale as pets.It is an excellent swimmer, has been reported far out at sea, and has colonized many small islands within its range.\nLike all pythons, it is a non-venomous constrictor. Adult humans have been killed (and in at least two reported cases, eaten) by reticulated pythons.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe reticulated python was first described in 1801 by German naturalist Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider, who described two zoological specimens held by the G\u00f6ttingen Museum in 1801 that differed slightly in colour and pattern as separate species\u2014Boa reticulata and Boa rhombeata. The specific name, reticulatus, is Latin meaning \"net-like\", or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex color pattern. The generic name Python was proposed by French naturalist Fran\u00e7ois Marie Daudin in 1803. "


id: a9315b7d2c2492076f49d81b1575fdb5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"American zoologist Arnold G. Kluge performed a cladistics analysis on morphological characters and recovered the reticulated python lineage as sister to the genus Python, hence not requiring a new generic name in 1993.In a 2004 genetics study using cytochrome b DNA, Robin Lawson and colleagues discovered the reticulated python as sister to Australo-Papuan pythons, rather than Python molurus and relatives. Raymond Hoser erected the genus Broghammerus for the reticulated python in 2004, naming it after German snake expert Stefan Broghammer, on the basis of dorsal patterns distinct from those of the genus Python, and a dark mid-dorsal line from the rear to the front of the head, and red or orange (rather than brown) iris colour. In 2008, Lesley H. Rawlings and colleagues reanalysed Kluge's morphological data and combined it with genetic material, and found the reticulated clade to be an offshoot of the Australo-Papuan lineage as well. "


id: 4ce77cfbfedc21b44b923932c2d7ae3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"They adopted and redefined the genus name Broghammerus.However, this and numerous other names by the same author were criticized by several authors, who proposed ignoring them for the purposes of nomenclature. R. Graham Reynolds and colleagues subsequently described the genus Malayopython for this species and its sister species, the Timor python, calling the Timor python M. timoriensis. Hoser has since said that the Malayopython name is a junior synonym of Broghammerus, thus it should not be recognized by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Neither of these proposed reclassifications has been recognized by the ITIS, but Malayopython has been recognized by a number of subsequent authors and the Reptile Database.\n\n=== Subspecies ===\nThree subspecies have been proposed:\n\nM. r. reticulatus (Schneider, 1801) \u2013 Asiatic reticulated python\nM. r. jampeanus Auliya et al., 2002 \u2013 Kayaudi reticulated python or Tanahjampean reticulated python, about half the length, or according to Auliya et al. (2002), not reaching much more than 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length. Found on Tanahjampea in the Selayar Archipelago south of Sulawesi. Closely related to M. r. reticulatus of the Lesser Sundas.\nM. r. saputrai Auliya et al."


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", 2002 \u2013 Selayer reticulated python, occurs on Selayar Island in the Selayar Archipelago and also in adjacent Sulawesi. This subspecies represents a sister lineage to all other populations of reticulated pythons tested. According to Auliya et al. (2002) it does not exceed 4 m (13 ft 1 in) in length.The latter two are dwarf subspecies. Apparently, the population of the Sangihe Islands north of Sulawesi represents another such subspecies, which is basal to the P. r. reticulatus plus P. r. jampeanus clade, but it is not yet formally described.The proposed subspecies M. r. \"dalegibbonsi\", M. r. \"euanedwardsi\", M. r. \"haydnmacphiei\", M. r. \"neilsonnemani\", M. r. \"patrickcouperi\", and M. r. \"stuartbigmorei\" have not found general acceptance.\n\n== Characteristics ==\n\nThe reticulated python has smooth dorsal scales that are arranged in 69\u201379 rows at midbody. Deep pits occur on four anterior upper labials, on two or three anterior lower labials, and on five or six posterior lower labials.The reticulated python is the largest snake native to Asia. "


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"More than a thousand wild reticulated pythons in southern Sumatra were studied, and estimated to have a length range of 1.5 to 6.5 m (4 ft 11 in to 21 ft 4 in), and a weight range of 1 to 75 kg (2 lb 3 oz to 165 lb 6 oz). Reticulated pythons with lengths more than 6 m (19 ft 8 in) are rare, though according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the only extant snake to regularly exceed that length. One of the largest scientifically measured specimens, from Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was measured under anesthesia at 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in), and weighed 59 kg (130 lb 1 oz) after not having eaten for nearly 3 months.The specimen once widely accepted as the largest-ever \"accurately\" measured snake, that being Colossus, a specimen kept at the Highland Park Zoo (now the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the 1950s and early 1960s, with a peak reported length of 8.7 metres (28 ft 7 in) from a measurement in November 1956, was later shown to have been substantially shorter than previously reported. "


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"When Colossus died on 14 April 1963, its body was deposited in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. At that time, its skeleton was measured and found to be 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m) in total length, and the length of its fresh hide was measured as 23 ft 11 in (7.29 m) \u2013 both measurements being significantly shorter than what had been previously estimated in 1956. The hide tends to stretch from the skinning process, thus may be longer than the snake from which it came \u2013 e.g., by roughly 20\u201340% or more. The previous reports had been constructed by combining partial measurements with estimations to compensate for \"kinks\", since completely straightening an extremely large live python is virtually impossible. Because of these issues, a 2012 journal article concluded, \"Colossus was neither the longest snake nor the heaviest snake ever maintained in captivity.\"Too large to be preserved with formaldehyde and then stored in alcohol, the specimen was instead prepared as a disarticulated skeleton. The hide was sent to a laboratory to be tanned, but it was either lost or destroyed, and now only the skull and selected vertebrae and ribs remain in the museum's collection. "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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vector_id: 1914
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"Considerable confusion exists in the literature over whether Colossus was male or female (females tend to be larger).\nNumerous reports have been made of larger snakes, but since none of these was measured by a scientist nor any of the specimens deposited at a museum, they must be regarded as unproven and possibly erroneous. In spite of what has been, for many years, a standing offer of a large financial reward (initially $1,000, later raised to $5,000, then $15,000 in 1978 and $50,000 in 1980) for a live, healthy snake 30 ft (9.14 m) or longer by the New York Zoological Society (later renamed as the Wildlife Conservation Society), no attempt to claim this reward has ever been made.The colour pattern is a complex geometric pattern that incorporates different colours. The back typically has a series of irregular diamond shapes flanked by smaller markings with light centers. In this species' wide geographic range, much variation of size, colour, and markings commonly occurs.\nIn zoo exhibits, the colour pattern may seem garish, but in a shadowy jungle environment amid fallen leaves and debris, it allows them to virtually disappear. "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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content:
"Called disruptive colouration, it protects them from predators and helps them to catch their prey.The huge size and attractive pattern of this snake has made it a favorite zoo exhibit, with several individuals claimed to be above 20 ft (6.1 m) in length and more than one claimed to be the largest in captivity. However, due to its huge size, immense strength, aggressive disposition, and the mobility of the skin relative to the body, it is very difficult to get exact length measurements of a living reticulated python, and weights are rarely indicative, as captive pythons are often obese. Claims made by zoos and animal parks are sometimes exaggerated, such as the claimed 14.85 m (48 ft 9 in) snake in Indonesia which was subsequently proven to be about 6.5\u20137 m (21 ft 4 in \u2013 23 ft 0 in) long. "


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"For this reason, scientists do not accept the validity of length measurements unless performed on a dead or anesthetized snake that is later preserved in a museum collection or stored for scientific research.A reticulated python kept in Kansas City, Missouri, named \"Medusa\" is considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the longest living snake ever kept in captivity. In 2011 it was reported to measure 7.67 m (25 ft 2 in) and weigh 158.8 kg (350 lb 2 oz).Dwarf forms of reticulated pythons also occur, from some islands northwest of Australia, and these are being selectively bred in captivity to be much smaller, resulting in animals often referred to as \"super dwarfs\". Adult super dwarf reticulated pythons are typically between 1.82 and 2.4 m (6 ft 0 in and 7 ft 10 in) in length.\n\n"


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"== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nThe reticulated python is found in South and Southeast Asia from the Nicobar Islands, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, east through Indonesia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago (Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands, the Natuna Islands, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Maluku, Tanimbar Islands) and the Philippines (Basilan, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Samar, Tawi-Tawi). The original description does not include a type locality. The type locality was restricted to \"Java\" by Brongersma (1972).Three subspecies have been proposed, but are not recognized in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. The color and size can vary a great deal among the subspecies described. Geographical location is a good key to establishing the subspecies, as each one has a distinct geographical range.\nThe reticulated python lives in rainforests, woodlands, and nearby grasslands. It is also associated with rivers and is found in areas with nearby streams and lakes. An excellent swimmer, it has even been reported far out at sea and has consequently colonized many small islands within its range. "


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"During the early years of the 20th century, it is said to have been common even in busy parts of Bangkok, sometimes eating domestic animals.\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nAs with all pythons, the reticulated python is an ambush predator, usually waiting until prey wanders within strike range before seizing it in its coils and killing by constriction. Its natural diet includes mammals and occasionally birds. Small specimens up to 3\u20134 m (9 ft 10 in \u2013 13 ft 1 in) long eat mainly small mammals such as rats, other rodents, mouse-eared bats, and treeshrews, whereas larger individuals switch to prey such as small Indian civet and binturong, primates, pigs, and deer weighing more than 60 kg (132 lb 4 oz). As a rule, the reticulated python seems able to swallow prey up to one-quarter its own length and up to its own weight. Near human habitation, it is known to snatch stray chickens, cats, and dogs on occasion.\nAmong the largest documented prey items are a half-starved sun bear of 23 kg (50 lb 11 oz) that was eaten by a 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in) specimen and took some 10 weeks to digest.\n"


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"At least one case is reported of a foraging python entering a forest hut and taking a child.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\nThe reticulated python is oviparous. Adult females lay between 15 and 80 eggs per clutch. At an optimum incubation temperature of 31\u201332 \u00b0C (88\u201390 \u00b0F), the eggs take an average of 88 days to hatch. Hatchlings are at least 61 cm (2 ft) in length.\n\n== Danger to humans ==\n\nThe reticulated python is among the few snakes that prey on humans. On April 9, 2015, the species was added to the Lacey Act list in the United States, prohibiting import and interstate transport due to its \"injurious\" history with humans. Attacks on humans are not common, but this species has been responsible for several reported human fatalities, in both the wild and captivity. Considering the known maximum prey size, a full-grown reticulated python can open its jaws wide enough to swallow a human, but the width of the shoulders of some adult Homo sapiens can pose a problem for even a snake with sufficient size. "


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"Reports of human fatalities and human consumption (the latest examples of consumption of an adult human being well authenticated) include:\n\nA report of a visit of Antonio van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company, to the Banda Islands in 1638, includes a description of an enslaved woman who, when tending to a garden on the volcanic island of Gunung Api, was strangled by a snake of \"24 houtvoeten\" (slightly over seven meters) in length, and then swallowed whole. The snake, having become slow after ingesting such a large prey, was subsequently shot by Dutch soldiers and brought to the Governor-General to be looked at, with its victim still inside. Although the species was not named, the only snake found in Banda matching this description is the reticulated python.\nIn early 20th-century Indonesia: On Salibabu island, North Sulawesi, a 14-year-old boy was killed and supposedly eaten by a specimen 5.17 m (17 ft 0 in) in length. Another incident involved a woman reputedly eaten by a \"large reticulated python\", but few details are known.\n"


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"In the early 1910s or in 1927, a jeweller went hunting with his friends and was apparently eaten by a 6 m (19 ft 8 in) python after he sought shelter from a rainstorm in or under a tree. Supposedly, he was swallowed feet-first, perhaps the easiest way for a snake to actually swallow a human.\nIn 1932, Frank Buck wrote about a teenaged boy who was eaten by a pet 25 ft (7.6 m) reticulated python in the Philippines. According to Buck, the python escaped, and when it was found, a human child's shape was recognized inside the snake, and turned out to be the son of the snake's owner.\nAmong a small group of Aeta negritos in the Philippines, six deaths by pythons were said to have been documented within a period of 40 years, plus one who died later of an infected bite.\nIn September 1995, a 29-year-old rubber tapper from the southern Malaysian state of Johor was reported to have been killed by a large reticulated python. The victim had apparently been caught unaware and was squeezed to death. "


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"The snake had coiled around the lifeless body with the victim's head gripped in its jaws when it was stumbled upon by the victim's brother. The python, reported as measuring 23 ft (7.0 m) long and weighing more than 300 lb, was killed soon after by the arriving police, who shot it four times.\nIn October 2008, a 25-year-old woman appeared to have been killed by a 13-foot (4.0 m) pet reticulated python. The apparent cause of death was asphyxiation. The snake was later found in the bedroom in an agitated state.\nIn January 2009, a 3-year-old boy was wrapped in the coils of a 18 ft (5.5 m) pet reticulated python, turning blue. The boy's mother, who had been petsitting the python on behalf of a friend, rescued the toddler by gashing the python with a knife. The snake was later euthanized because of its wounds.\nIn December 2013, a 59-year-old security guard was strangled to death while trying to capture a python near the Bali Hyatt, a luxury hotel on Indonesia's resort island. The incident happened around 3 am as the 4.5-m (15-ft) python was crossing a road near the hotel. "


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"The victim had offered to help capture the snake, which had been spotted several times before near the hotel in the Sanur, Bali, area and escaped back into nearby bushes.\nIn March 2017, the body of Akbar Salubiro, a 25-year-old farmer in Central Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, was found inside the stomach of a 7 m (23 ft 0 in) reticulated python. He had been declared missing from his palm tree plantation, and the people searching for him found the python the next day with a large bulge in its stomach. They killed the python and found the whole body of the missing farmer inside. This was the first fully confirmed case of a person being eaten by a python. The process of retrieving the body from the python's stomach was documented by pictures and videos taken by witnesses.\nIn June 2018, a 54-year-old Indonesian woman in Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, was killed and eaten by a 23-ft python. The woman went missing one night while working in her garden, and the next day, a search party was organized after some of her belongings were found abandoned in the garden. "


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"The python was found near the garden with a large bulge in its body. The snake was killed and carried into town, where it was cut open, revealing the woman's body completely intact. A video of the snake being gutted was posted online.\nIn June 2020, a 16-year-old Indonesian boy was attacked and killed by a 7 m (23 ft 0 in) long python in Bombana Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The incident took place near a waterfall at Mount Kahar in Rumbia sub-district. The victim was separated from his four friends in the woods. When he screamed, his friends came to help and found him encoiled by a large python. Villagers came to help and managed to kill the snake using a parang machete. However, the victim had already suffocated.\nIn October 2022, a 52-year-old woman rubber sap tapper in Terjun Gajah village, Betara Subdistrict, West Tanjung Jabung Regency, Jambi, Indonesia, was killed and eaten by a 6 metres (19.68-ft) python. Zahara went to tap rubber sap on Sunday 23 October 2022 and did not return home after sunset. "


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"After being reported missing for a day and night a search party was organised, and in Monday morning they have discovered a large python  with bulge in its body in a jungle near the rubber plantation. The villagers immediately killed and dissected the python only to discover the body of the missing woman inside. Villagers were alarmed, fearing there might be more large python lurking in the rubber plantation, since previously two goats were reported missing by farmers.\n\n== In captivity ==\n\nIncreased popularity of the reticulated python in the pet trade is due largely to increased efforts in captive breeding and selectively bred mutations such as the \"albino\" and \"tiger\" strains. It can make a good captive, but keepers should have previous experience with large constrictors to ensure safety to both animal and keeper. Although its interactivity and beauty draws much attention, some feel it is unpredictable. It does not attack humans by nature, but will bite and possibly constrict if it feels threatened, or mistakes a hand for food. While not venomous, large pythons can inflict serious injuries, sometimes requiring stitches.\n\n"


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"== In popular culture ==\nIn Moonraker (1979), a reticulated python suffocates James Bond (Roger Moore), but Bond kills the snake with a hypodermic pen.\n\n== See also ==\nList of largest snakes\nBurmese python\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nReticulated python life history at Reticulatedpython.info . Accessed 7 November 2009\nPython reticulatus at ReptileExpert.org. Accessed 22 August 2011.\nReticulated python at Answers.com. Accessed 12 September 2007.\nStudy of man-eating snakes: Snakes are predators on, prey of, and competitors with primates Cornell Chronicle Online. Accessed 22 December 2011.\n25 ft World's Longest Snake\nPython swallows Indonesian man whole Fox News"


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"The bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate. Bongos are characterised by a striking reddish-brown coat, black and white markings, white-yellow stripes and long slightly spiralled horns. They are the only tragelaphid in which both sexes have horns. They have a complex social interaction and are found in African dense forest mosaics. Native to Africa, they are the third-largest antelope in the world.The western or lowland bongo, T. e. eurycerus, faces an ongoing population decline, and the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group considers it to be Near Threatened on the conservation status scale.The eastern or mountain bongo, T. e. isaaci, of Kenya, has a coat even more vibrant than that of T. e. eurycerus. The mountain bongo is only found in the wild in a few mountain regions of central Kenya. "


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"This bongo is classified by the IUCN Antelope Specialist Group as Critically Endangered, with fewer individuals in the wild than in captivity (where it breeds readily).In 2000, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the USA (AZA) upgraded the bongo to a Species Survival Plan participant and in 2006 added the Bongo Restoration to Mount Kenya Project to its list of the Top Ten Wildlife Conservation Success Stories of the year. However, in 2013, it seems, these successes have been compromised by reports of possibly only 100 mountain bongos left in the wild due to logging and poaching.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe scientific name of the bongo is Tragelaphus eurycerus, and it belongs to the genus Tragelaphus and family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1837. The generic name Tragelaphus is composed of two Greek words: trag-, meaning a goat; and elaphos, meaning deer. The specific name eurycerus originated from the fusion of eurus (broad, widespread) and keras (an animal's horn). The common name \"bongo\" originated probably from the Kele language of Gabon. "


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"The first known use of the name \"bongo\" in English dates to 1861.Bongos are further classified into two subspecies: T. e. eurycerus, the lowland or western bongo, and the far rarer T. e. isaaci, the mountain or eastern bongo, restricted to the mountains of Kenya only. The eastern bongo is larger and heavier than the western bongo. Two other subspecies are described from West and Central Africa, but taxonomic clarification is required. They have been observed to live up to 19 years.\n\n== Appearance ==\n\nBongos are one of the largest of the forest antelopes. In addition to the deep chestnut colour of their coats, they have bright white stripes on their sides to help with camouflage.\nAdults of both sexes are similar in size. Adult height is about 1.1 to 1.3 m (3.6 to 4.3 ft) at the shoulder and length is 2.15 to 3.15 m (7.1 to 10.3 ft), including a tail of 45\u201365 cm (18\u201326 in). Females weigh around 150\u2013235 kg (331\u2013518 lb), while males weigh about 220\u2013405 kg (485\u2013893 lb). "


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"Its large size puts it as the third-largest in the Bovidae tribe of Strepsicerotini, behind both the common and greater elands by about 300 kg (660 lb), and above the greater kudu by about 40 kg (88 lb).Both sexes have heavy spiral horns; those of the male are longer and more massive. All bongos in captivity are from the isolated Aberdare Mountains of central Kenya.\n\n=== Coat and body ===\n\nThe bongo sports a bright auburn or chestnut coat, with the neck, chest, and legs generally darker than the rest of the body. Coats of male bongos become darker as they age until they reach a dark mahogany-brown colour. Coats of female bongos are usually more brightly coloured than those of males. The eastern bongo is darker in color than the western and this is especially pronounced in older males which tend to be chestnut brown, especially on the forepart of their bodies.\nThe pigmentation in the coat rubs off quite easily; anecdotal reports suggest rain running off a bongo may be tinted red with pigment. The smooth coat is marked with 10\u201315 vertical white-yellow stripes, spread along the back from the base of the neck to the rump. "


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"The number of stripes on each side is rarely the same. It also has a short, bristly, brown ridge of dorsal hair from the shoulder to the rump; the white stripes run into this ridge.\nA white chevron appears between the eyes, and two large white spots grace each cheek. Another white chevron occurs where the neck meets the chest. The large ears are to sharpen hearing, and the distinctive coloration may help bongos identify one another in their dark forest habitats. Bongos have no special secretion glands, so rely less on scent to find one another than do other similar antelopes. The lips of a bongo are white, topped with a black muzzle.\n\n=== Horns ===\n\nBongos have two heavy and slightly spiralled horns that slope over their backs, and like many other antelope species, both male and female bongos have horns. Bongos are the only tragelaphids in which both sexes have horns. The horns of bongos are in the form of a lyre and bear a resemblance to those of the related antelope species of nyalas, sitatungas, bushbucks, kudus and elands.\n"


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"Unlike deer, which have branched antlers shed annually, bongos and other antelopes have pointed horns they keep throughout their lives. Males have massive backswept horns, while females have smaller, thinner, and more parallel horns. The size of the horns range between 75 and 99 cm (29.5 and 39 in). The horns twist once.\nLike all other horns of antelopes, the core of a bongo's horn is hollow and the outer layer of the horn is made of keratin, the same material that makes up human fingernails, toenails and hair. The bongo runs gracefully and at full speed through even the thickest tangles of lianas, laying its heavy spiralled horns on its back so the brush cannot impede its flight. Bongos are hunted for their horns by humans.\n\n== Social organization and behavior ==\n\nLike other forest ungulates, bongos are seldom seen in large groups. Males, called bulls, tend to be solitary, while females with young live in groups of six to eight. Bongos have seldom been seen in herds of more than 20. Gestation is about 285 days (9.5 months), with one young per birth, and weaning occurs at six months. Sexual maturity is reached at 24\u201327 months. "


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"The preferred habitat of this species is so dense and difficult to operate in, that few Europeans or Americans observed this species until the 1960s.\nAs young males mature and leave their maternal groups, they most often remain solitary, although rarely they join an older male. Adult males of similar size/age tend to avoid one another. Occasionally, they meet and spar with their horns in a ritualised manner and it is rare for serious fights to take place. However, such fights are usually discouraged by visual displays, in which the males bulge their necks, roll their eyes, and hold their horns in a vertical position while slowly pacing back and forth in front of the other male. They seek out females only during mating time. When they are with a herd of females, males do not coerce them or try to restrict their movements as do some other antelopes.\nAlthough mostly nocturnal, they are occasionally active during the day. However, like deer, bongos may exhibit crepuscular behaviour. Bongos are both timid and easily frightened; after a scare, a bongo moves away at considerable speed, even through dense undergrowth. "


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"Once they find cover, they stay alert and face away from the disturbance, but peek every now and then to check the situation. The bongo's hindquarters are less conspicuous than the forequarters, and from this position the animal can quickly flee.\nWhen in distress, the bongo emits a bleat. It uses a limited number of vocalisations, mostly grunts and snorts; females have a weak mooing contact-call for their young. Females prefer to use traditional calving grounds restricted to certain areas, while newborn calves lie in hiding for a week or more, receiving short visits by the mother to suckle.The calves grow rapidly and can soon accompany their mothers in the nursery herds. Their horns grow rapidly and begin to show in 3.5 months. They are weaned after six months and reach sexual maturity at about 20 months.\n\n"


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"== Ecology ==\n\n=== Distribution and habitat ===\nBongos are found in tropical jungles with dense undergrowth up to an altitude of 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) in Central Africa, with isolated populations in Kenya, and these West African countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan.\n\nHistorically, bongos are found in three disjunct parts of Africa: East, Central and West. Today, all three populations' ranges have shrunk in size due to habitat loss for agriculture and uncontrolled timber cutting, as well as hunting for meat.\nBongos favour disturbed forest mosaics that provide fresh, low-level green vegetation.   Such habitats may be promoted by heavy browsing by elephants, fires, flooding, tree-felling (natural or by logging), and fallowing. Mass bamboo die-off provides ideal habitat in East Africa. They can live in bamboo forests.\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nLike many forest ungulates, bongos are herbivorous browsers and feed on leaves, bushes, vines, bark and pith of rotting trees, grasses/herbs, roots, cereals, and fruits.\nBongos require salt in their diets, and are known to regularly visit natural salt licks. "


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"Bongos are also known to eat burnt wood after a storm, as a rich source of salt and minerals. This behavior is believed to be a means of getting salts and minerals into their diets. This behavior has also been reported in the okapi. Another similarity to the okapi, though the bongo is unrelated, is that the bongo has a long prehensile tongue which it uses to grasp grasses and leaves.\nSuitable habitats for bongos must have permanent water available. As a large animal, the bongo requires an ample amount of food, and is restricted to areas with abundant year-round growth of herbs and low shrubs.\n\n== Population and conservation ==\nFew estimates of population density are available. Assuming average population densities of 0.25 animals per km2 in regions where it is known to be common or abundant, and 0.02 per km2 elsewhere, and with a total area of occupancy of 327,000 km2, a total population estimate of around 28,000 is suggested. Only about 60% are in protected areas, suggesting the actual numbers of the lowland subspecies may only be in the low tens of thousands. "


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"In Kenya, their numbers have declined significantly and on Mount Kenya, they were extirpated within the last decade due to illegal hunting with dogs. Although information on their status in the wild is lacking, lowland bongos are not presently considered endangered.\nBongos are susceptible to diseases such as rinderpest, which almost exterminated the species during the 1890s. Tragelaphus eurycerus may suffer from goitre. Over the course of the disease, the thyroid glands greatly enlarge (up to 10 x 20 cm) and may become polycystic. Pathogenesis of goiter in the bongo may reflect a mixture of genetic predisposition coupled with environmental factors, including a period of exposure to a goitrogen. Leopards and spotted hyenas are the primary natural predators (lions are seldom encountered due to differing habitat preferences); pythons sometimes eat bongo calves. Humans prey on them for their pelts, horns, and meat, with the species being a common local source for \"bush meat\". Bongo populations have been greatly reduced by hunting, poaching, and animal trapping, although some bongo refuges exist.\n"


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"Although bongos are quite easy for humans to catch using snares, many people native to the bongos' habitat believed that if they ate or touched bongo, they would have spasms similar to epileptic seizures. Because of this superstition, bongos were less harmed in their native ranges than expected. However, these taboos are said no longer to exist, which may account for increased hunting by humans in recent times.\n\n=== Zoo programmes ===\n\nAn international studbook is maintained to help manage animals held in captivity. Because of its bright colour, it is very popular in zoos and private collections. In North America, over 400 individuals are thought to be held, a population that probably exceeds that of the mountain bongo in the wild.\nIn 2000, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) upgraded the bongo to a Species Survival Plan participant, which works to improve the genetic diversity of managed animal populations. The target population for participating zoos and private collections in North America is 250 animals. Through the efforts of zoos in North America, a reintroduction to the population in Kenya is being developed.\n"


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"At least one collaborative effort for reintroduction between North American wildlife facilities has already been carried out. In 2004, 18 eastern bongos born in North American zoos gathered at White Oak Conservation in Yulee, Florida for release in Kenya. White Oak staff members traveled with the bongos to a Mount Kenya holding facility, where they stayed until being reintroduced.\n\n=== Conservation ===\nIn the last few decades, a rapid decline in the numbers of wild mountain bongo has occurred due to poaching and human pressure on their habitat, with local extinctions reported in Cherangani and Chepalungu hills, Kenya.\nThe Bongo Surveillance Programme, working alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service, have recorded photos of bongos at remote salt licks in the Aberdare Forests using camera traps, and, by analyzing DNA extracted from dung, have confirmed the presence of bongo in Mount Kenya, Eburru and Mau forests. The programme estimate as few as 140 animals left in the wild \u2013 spread across four isolated populations. Whilst captive breeding programmes can be viewed as having been successful in ensuring survival of this species in Europe and North America, the situation in the wild has been less promising. Evidence exists of bongo surviving in Kenya. "


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"However, these populations are believed to be small, fragmented, and vulnerable to extinction.\nAnimal populations with impoverished genetic diversity are inherently less able to adapt to changes in their environments (such as climate change, disease outbreaks, habitat change, etc.). The isolation of the four remaining small bongo populations, which themselves would appear to be in decline, means a substantial amount of genetic material is lost each generation. Whilst the population remains small, the impact of transfers will be greater, so the establishment of a \"metapopulation management plan\" occurs concurrently with conservation initiatives to enhance in situ population growth, and this initiative is both urgent and fundamental to the future survival of mountain bongo in the wild.\nThe western/lowland bongo faces an ongoing population decline as habitat destruction and hunting pressures increase with the relentless expansion of human settlement. Its long-term survival will only be assured in areas which receive active protection and management. At present, such areas comprise about 30,000 km2, and several are in countries where political stability is fragile. So, a realistic possibility exists whereby its status could decline to Threatened in the near future.\n"


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"As the largest and most spectacular forest antelope, the western/lowland bongo is both an important flagship species for protected areas such as national parks, and a major trophy species which has been taken in increasing numbers in Central Africa by sport hunters during the 1990s. Both of these factors are strong incentives to provide effective protection and management of populations.\n\nTrophy hunting has the potential to provide economic justification for the preservation of larger areas of bongo habitat than national parks, especially in remote regions of Central Africa, where possibilities for commercially successful tourism are very limited.The eastern/mountain bongo's survival in the wild is dependent on more effective protection of the surviving remnant populations in Kenya. If this does not occur, it will eventually become extinct in the wild. The existence of a healthy captive population of this subspecies offers the potential for its reintroduction.\n\n"


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"=== Groups supporting bongo conservation in Kenya ===\nIn 2004, Dr. Jake Veasey, the head of the Department of Animal Management and Conservation at Woburn Safari Park and a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums Population Management Advisory Group, with the assistance of Lindsay Banks, took over responsibility for the management and coordination of the European Endangered Species Programme for the eastern bongo. This includes some 250 animals across Europe and the Middle East.\nAlong with the Rothschild giraffe, the eastern bongo is arguably one of the most threatened large mammals in Africa, with recent estimates numbering less than 140 animals, below a minimum sustainable viable population. The situation is exacerbated because these animals are spread across four isolated populations. Whilst the bongo endangered species program can be viewed as having been successful in ensuring survival of this species in Europe, it has not yet become actively involved in the conservation of this species in the wild in a coordinated fashion. "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"The plan is to engage in conservation activities in Kenya to assist in reversing the decline of the eastern bongo populations and genetic diversity in Africa, and in particular, applying population management expertise to help ensure the persistence of genetic diversity in the free ranging wild populations.\n\nTo illustrate significance of genetic diversity loss, assume the average metapopulation size is 35 animals based on 140 animals spread across four populations (140/4=35). Assuming stable populations, these populations will lose 8% of their genetic diversity every decade. By managing all four populations as one, through strategic transfers, gene loss is reduced from 8% to 2% per decade, without any increase in bongo numbers in Kenya. By managing the European and African populations as one \u2013 by strategic exports from Europe combined with in situ transfers, gene loss is reduced to 0.72% every 100 years, with both populations remaining stable. If populations in Kenya are allowed to grow through the implementation of effective conservation, including strategic transfers, gene loss can be effectively halted in this species and its future secured in the wild.\n"


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"The initial aims of the project are:\n\nThrough faecal DNA analysis, estimate the genetic diversity of the remaining wild bongos and calculate the relatedness of the isolated wild populations.\nMore accurately estimate the total population of wild bongos through faecal DNA analysis, camera trapping, and transect surveying.\nThrough direct sampling, estimate the genetic diversity of the captive bongo population and calculate its relatedness with the remaining isolated wild populations.\nCollect DNA samples from western bongos to calculate the relatedness of the two subspecies.\nFund rangers to collect the above data in Kenya, enhance the degree of protection afforded to and level of understanding of the eastern bongos' ecological needs.\nTo realise such a metapopulation management plan, work with local communities is essential to reverse the decline and allow for the implementation of a transfer strategy. A substantial proportion of wild genetic diversity likely will have already been lost.If effective protection were implemented immediately and bongo populations allowed to expand without transfers, then this would create a bigger population of genetically impoverished bongos. These animals would be less able to adapt to a dynamic environment. Whilst the population remains small, the impact of transfers will be greater. "


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"For this reason, the 'metapopulation management plan' must occur concurrently with conservation strategies to enhance in situ population growth. This initiative is both urgent and fundamental to the future survival of the mountain bongo in the wild.\nIn 2013, SafariCom telecommunications donated money to the Bongo Surveillance Programme to try to keep tabs on what are thought to be the last 100 eastern bongos left in the wild in the Mau Eburu Forest in central Kenya, whose numbers are still declining due to logging of their habitat and illegal poaching.Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy runs a bongo rehabilitation program in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The Conservancy aims to prevent extinction of the bongo through breeding and release back into the wild.\n\n== Status ==\nThe IUCN Antelope Specialist Group considers the western or lowland bongo, T. e. eurycerus, to be Lower Risk (Near Threatened) and the eastern or mountain bongo, T. e. isaaci, of Kenya, to be Critically Endangered. These bongos may be endangered due to human environmental interaction, as well as hunting and illegal actions towards wildlife.\nCITES lists bongos as an Appendix III species, only regulating their exportation from a single country, Ghana. "


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"It is not protected by the US Endangered Species Act and is not listed by the USFWS.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nARKive \u2013 images and movies of the bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus)\nWWF\nTragelaphus eurycerus\nEast African Bongo\nBongos: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation\nThe Bongo Repatriation to Mount Kenya Project\nThe International Bongo Foundation\nTragelaphus eurycerus at Animal Diversity Web"


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"Livingstone's turaco (Tauraco livingstonii) is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae, which was named for Charles Livingstone, the brother of David Livingstone.\nIt is distributed through the subtropical lowlands of southeastern Africa. It has an isolated population in Burundi, and is besides found from southern Tanzania to eastern and southern Malawi, eastern Zimbabwe, widely in Mozambique and along the subtropical coast of South Africa.\nBy appearances and behaviour it has much in common with the Knysna turaco of South Africa, and Schalow's turaco which replaces it on the plateau regions to the west of its range.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References =="


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"The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph) with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being 93 and 98 km/h (58 and 61 mph), and as such has evolved specialized adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. It typically reaches 67\u201394 cm (26\u201337 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in and 4 ft 11 in). Adults weigh between 21 and 72 kg (46 and 159 lb). Its head is small and rounded, with a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Four subspecies are recognised.\nThe cheetah lives in three main social groups: females and their cubs, male \"coalitions\", and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females. "


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"The cheetah is active  during the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kg (88 lb), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles. The cheetah typically stalks its prey to within 60\u201370 m (200\u2013230 ft), charges towards it, trips it during the chase and bites its throat to suffocate it to death. It breeds throughout the year. After a gestation of nearly three months, a litter of typically three or four cubs is born. Cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores such as hyenas and lions. They are weaned at around four months and are independent by around 20 months of age.\nThe cheetah occurs in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain ranges in the Sahara and hilly desert terrain in Iran. The cheetah is threatened by several factors such as habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases. "


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"Historically ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East and to central India, the cheetah is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern and northwestern Africa. In 2016, the global cheetah population was estimated at 7,100 individuals in the wild; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In September 2022, they were reintroduced to India after being extinct in the country for 70 years. In the past, cheetahs were tamed and trained for hunting ungulates. They have been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation.\n\n== Etymology ==\nThe vernacular name \"cheetah\" is derived from Hindustani Urdu: \u0686\u06cc\u062a\u0627 and Hindi: \u091a\u0940\u0924\u093e (\u0107\u012bt\u0101). This in turn comes from Sanskrit: \u091a\u093f\u0924\u094d\u0930\u092f (Chitra-ya) meaning 'variegated', 'adorned' or 'painted'. In the past, the cheetah was often called \"hunting leopard\" because they could be tamed and used for coursing. The generic name Acinonyx probably derives from the combination of two Greek words: \u1f01\u03ba\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 (akinitos) meaning 'unmoved' or 'motionless', and \u1f44\u03bd\u03c5\u03be (onyx) meaning 'nail' or 'hoof'. A rough translation is \"immobile nails\", a reference to the cheetah's limited ability to retract its claws. "


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"A similar meaning can be obtained by the combination of the Greek prefix a\u2013 (implying a lack of) and \u03ba\u1fd1\u03bd\u03ad\u03c9 (k\u012bn\u00e9\u014d) meaning 'to move' or 'to set in motion'. The specific name jubatus is Latin for 'crested, having a mane'.A few old generic names such as Cynailurus and Cynofelis allude to the similarities between the cheetah and canids.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\n\nIn 1777, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber described the cheetah based on a skin from the Cape of Good Hope and gave it the scientific name Felis jubatus. Joshua Brookes proposed the generic name Acinonyx in 1828. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock placed the cheetah in a subfamily of its own, Acinonychinae, given its striking morphological resemblance to the greyhound and significant deviation from typical felid features; the cheetah was classified in Felinae in later taxonomic revisions.In the 19th and 20th centuries, several cheetah specimens were described; some were proposed as subspecies. An example is the South African specimen known as the \"woolly cheetah\", named for its notably dense fur\u2014this was described as a new species (Felis lanea) by Philip Sclater in 1877, but the classification was mostly disputed. "


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"There has been considerable confusion in the nomenclature of cheetahs and leopards (Panthera pardus) as authors often confused the two; some considered \"hunting leopards\" an independent species, or equal to the leopard.\n\n=== Subspecies ===\nIn 1975, five subspecies were considered valid taxa: A. j. hecki, A. j. jubatus, A. j. raineyi, A. j. soemmeringii and A. j. venaticus. In 2011, a phylogeographic study found minimal genetic variation between A. j. jubatus and A. j. raineyi; only four subspecies were identified. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and recognised these four subspecies as valid. Their details are tabulated below:\n\n== Phylogeny and evolution ==\nThe cheetah's closest relatives are the cougar (Puma concolor) and the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi). Together, these three species form the Puma lineage, one of the eight lineages of the extant felids; the Puma lineage diverged from the rest 6.7 mya. "


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"The sister group of the Puma lineage is a clade of smaller Old World cats that includes the genera Felis, Otocolobus and Prionailurus.The oldest cheetah fossils, excavated in eastern and southern Africa, date to 3.5\u20133 mya; the earliest known specimen from South Africa is from the lowermost deposits of the Silberberg Grotto (Sterkfontein). Though incomplete, these fossils indicate forms larger but less cursorial than the modern cheetah. Fossil remains from Europe are limited to a few Middle Pleistocene specimens from Hundsheim (Austria) and Mosbach Sands (Germany). Cheetah-like cats are known from as late as 10,000 years ago from the Old World. The giant cheetah (A. pardinensis), significantly larger and slower compared to the modern cheetah, occurred in Eurasia and eastern and southern Africa in the Villafranchian period roughly 3.8\u20131.9 mya. In the Middle Pleistocene a smaller cheetah, A. intermedius, ranged from Europe to China. The modern cheetah appeared in Africa around 1.9 mya; its fossil record is restricted to Africa.Extinct North American cheetah-like cats had historically been classified in Felis, Puma or Acinonyx; two such species, F. studeri and F. trumani, were considered to be closer to the puma than the cheetah, despite their close similarities to the latter. "


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"Noting this, palaeontologist Daniel Adams proposed Miracinonyx, a new subgenus under Acinonyx, in 1979 for the North American cheetah-like cats; this was later elevated to genus rank. Adams pointed out that North American and Old World cheetah-like cats may have had a common ancestor, and Acinonyx might have originated in North America instead of Eurasia. However, subsequent research has shown that Miracinonyx is phylogenetically closer to the cougar than the cheetah; the similarities to cheetahs have been attributed to convergent evolution.The three species of the Puma lineage may have had a common ancestor during the Miocene (roughly 8.25 mya). Some suggest that North American cheetahs possibly migrated to Asia via the Bering Strait, then dispersed southward to Africa through Eurasia at least 100,000 years ago; some authors have expressed doubt over the occurrence of cheetah-like cats in North America, and instead suppose the modern cheetah to have evolved from Asian populations that eventually spread to Africa. "


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"The cheetah is thought to have experienced two population bottlenecks that greatly decreased the genetic variability in populations; one occurred about 100,000 years ago that has been correlated to migration from North America to Asia, and the second 10,000\u201312,000 years ago in Africa, possibly as part of the Late Pleistocene extinction event.\n\n== Genetics ==\nThe diploid number of chromosomes in the cheetah is 38, the same as in most other felids. The cheetah was the first felid observed to have unusually low genetic variability among individuals, which has led to poor breeding in captivity, increased spermatozoal defects, high juvenile mortality and increased susceptibility to diseases and infections. A prominent instance was the deadly feline coronavirus outbreak in a cheetah breeding facility of Oregon in 1983 which had a mortality rate of 60%\u2014higher than that recorded for previous epizootics of feline infectious peritonitis in any felid. The remarkable homogeneity in cheetah genes has been demonstrated by experiments involving the major histocompatibility complex (MHC); unless the MHC genes are highly homogeneous in a population, skin grafts exchanged between a pair of unrelated individuals would be rejected. "


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"Skin grafts exchanged between unrelated cheetahs are accepted well and heal, as if their genetic makeup were the same.The low genetic diversity is thought to have been created by two population bottlenecks from c. 100,000 years and c. 12,000 years ago, respectively. The resultant level of genetic variation is around 0.1\u20134% of average living species, lower than that of Tasmanian devils, Virunga gorillas, Amur tigers, and even highly inbred domestic cats and dogs.\n\n=== King cheetah ===\n\nThe king cheetah is a variety of cheetah with a rare mutation for cream-coloured fur marked with large, blotchy spots and three dark, wide stripes extending from the neck to the tail. In Manicaland, Zimbabwe, it was known as nsuifisi and thought to be a cross between a leopard and a hyena. In 1926 Major A. Cooper wrote about a cheetah-like animal he had shot near modern-day Harare, with fur as thick as that of a snow leopard and spots that merged to form stripes. He suggested it could be a cross between a leopard and a cheetah. "


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"As more such individuals were observed it was seen that they had non-retractable claws like the cheetah.In 1927, Pocock described these individuals as a new species by the name of Acinonyx rex (\"king cheetah\"). However, in the absence of proof to support his claim, he withdrew his proposal in 1939. Abel Chapman considered it a colour morph of the normally spotted cheetah. Since 1927 the king cheetah has been reported five more times in the wild in Zimbabwe, Botswana and northern Transvaal; one was photographed in 1975.In 1981, two female cheetahs that had mated with a wild male from Transvaal at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre (South Africa) gave birth to one king cheetah each; subsequently, more king cheetahs were born at the centre. In 2012, the cause of this coat pattern was found to be a mutation in the gene for transmembrane aminopeptidase  (Taqpep), the same gene responsible for the striped \"mackerel\" versus blotchy \"classic\" pattern seen in tabby cats. The appearance is caused by reinforcement of a recessive allele; hence if two mating cheetahs are heterozygous carriers of the mutated allele, a quarter of their offspring can be expected to be king cheetahs.\n\n"


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"== Characteristics ==\n\nThe cheetah is a lightly built, spotted cat characterised by a small rounded head, a short snout, black tear-like facial streaks, a deep chest, long thin legs and a long tail. Its slender, canine-like form is highly adapted for speed, and contrasts sharply with the robust build of the genus Panthera. Cheetahs typically reach 67\u201394 cm (26\u201337 in) at the shoulder and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in and 4 ft 11 in). The weight can vary with age, health, location, sex and subspecies; adults typically range between 21 and 72 kg (46 and 159 lb). Cubs born in the wild weigh 150\u2013300 g (5.3\u201310.6 oz) at birth, while those born in captivity tend to be larger and weigh around 500 g (18 oz). Cheetahs are sexually dimorphic, with males larger and heavier than females, but not to the extent seen in other large cats. Studies differ significantly on morphological variations among the subspecies.The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff (darker in the mid-back portion). The chin, throat and underparts of the legs and the belly are white and devoid of markings. "


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"The rest of the body is covered with around 2,000 evenly spaced, oval or round solid black spots, each measuring roughly 3\u20135 cm (1.2\u20132.0 in). Each cheetah has a distinct pattern of spots which can be used to identify unique individuals. Besides the clearly visible spots, there are other faint, irregular black marks on the coat. Newly born cubs are covered in fur with an unclear pattern of spots that gives them a dark appearance\u2014pale white above and nearly black on the underside. The hair is mostly short and often coarse, but the chest and the belly are covered in soft fur; the fur of king cheetahs has been reported to be silky. There is a short, rough mane, covering at least 8 cm (3.1 in) along the neck and the shoulders; this feature is more prominent in males. The mane starts out as a cape of long, loose blue to grey hair in juveniles. Melanistic cheetahs are rare and have been seen in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 1877\u20131878, Sclater described two partially albino specimens from South Africa.The head is small and more rounded compared to other big cats. Saharan cheetahs have canine-like slim faces. "


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"The ears are small, short and rounded; they are tawny at the base and on the edges and marked with black patches on the back. The eyes are set high and have round pupils. The whiskers, shorter and fewer than those of other felids, are fine and inconspicuous. The pronounced tear streaks (or malar stripes), unique to the cheetah, originate from the corners of the eyes and run down the nose to the mouth. The role of these streaks is not well understood\u2014they may protect the eyes from the sun's glare (a helpful feature as the cheetah hunts mainly during the day), or they could be used to define facial expressions. The exceptionally long and muscular tail, with a bushy white tuft at the end, measures 60\u201380 cm (24\u201331 in). While the first two-thirds of the tail are covered in spots, the final third is marked with four to six dark rings or stripes.The cheetah is superficially similar to the leopard, which has a larger head, fully retractable claws, rosettes instead of spots, lacks tear streaks and is more muscular. Moreover, the cheetah is taller than the leopard. "


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"The serval also resembles the cheetah in physical build, but is significantly smaller, has a shorter tail and its spots fuse to form stripes on the back. The cheetah appears to have evolved convergently with canids in morphology and behaviour; it has canine-like features such as a relatively long snout, long legs, a deep chest, tough paw pads and blunt, semi-retractable claws. The cheetah has often been likened to the greyhound, as both have similar morphology and the ability to reach tremendous speeds in a shorter time than other mammals, but the cheetah can attain much higher maximum speeds.\n\n=== Internal anatomy ===\n\nSharply contrasting with the other big cats in its morphology, the cheetah shows several specialized adaptations for prolonged chases to catch prey at some of the fastest speeds reached by land animals. Its light, streamlined body makes it well-suited to short, explosive bursts of speed, rapid acceleration, and an ability to execute extreme changes in direction while moving at high speed. "


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"The large nasal passages, accommodated well due to the smaller size of the canine teeth, ensure fast flow of sufficient air, and the enlarged heart and lungs allow the enrichment of blood with oxygen in a short time. This allows cheetahs to rapidly regain their stamina after a chase. During a typical chase, their respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. Moreover, the reduced viscosity of the blood at higher temperatures (common in frequently moving muscles) could ease blood flow and increase oxygen transport. While running, in addition to having good traction due to their semi-retractable claws, cheetahs use their tail as a rudder-like means of steering that enables them to make sharp turns, necessary to outflank antelopes which often change direction to escape during a chase. The protracted claws increase grip over the ground, while rough paw pads make the sprint more convenient over tough ground. The limbs of the cheetah are longer than what is typical for other cats its size; the thigh muscles are large, and the tibia and fibula are held close together making the lower legs less likely to rotate. "


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"This reduces the risk of losing balance during runs, but compromises the cat's ability to climb trees. The highly reduced clavicle is connected through ligaments to the scapula, whose pendulum-like motion increases the stride length and assists in shock absorption. The extension of the vertebral column can add as much as 76 cm (30 in) to the stride length.\n\nThe cheetah resembles the smaller cats in cranial features, and in having a long and flexible spine, as opposed to the stiff and short one in other large felids. The roughly triangular skull has light, narrow bones and the sagittal crest is poorly developed, possibly to reduce weight and enhance speed. The mouth can not be opened as widely as in other cats given the shorter length of muscles between the jaw and the skull. A study suggested that the limited retraction of the cheetah's claws may result from the earlier truncation of the development of the middle phalanx bone in cheetahs.The cheetah has a total of 30 teeth; the dental formula is 3.1.3.13.1.2.1. The sharp, narrow carnassials are larger than those of leopards and lions, suggesting the cheetah can consume larger amount of food in a given time period. "


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"The small, flat canines are used to bite the throat and suffocate the prey. A study gave the bite force quotient (BFQ) of the cheetah as 119, close to that for the lion (112), suggesting that adaptations for a lighter skull may not have reduced the power of the cheetah's bite. Unlike other cats, the cheetah's canines have no gap behind them when the jaws close, as the top and bottom cheek teeth show extensive overlap; this equips the upper and lower teeth to effectively tear through the meat. The slightly curved claws, shorter and straighter than those of other cats, lack a protective sheath and are partly retractable. The claws are blunt due to lack of protection, but the large and strongly curved dewclaw is remarkably sharp. Cheetahs have a high concentration of nerve cells arranged in a band in the centre of the eyes, a visual streak, the most efficient among felids. This significantly sharpens the vision and enables the cheetah to swiftly locate prey against the horizon. The cheetah is unable to roar due to the presence of a sharp-edged vocal fold within the larynx.\n\n"


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"=== Speed and acceleration ===\n\nThe cheetah is the world's fastest land animal. Estimates of the maximum speed attained range from 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph). A commonly quoted value is 112 km/h (70 mph), recorded in 1957, but this measurement is disputed. In 2012, an 11-year-old cheetah (named Sarah) from the Cincinnati Zoo set a world record by running 100 m (330 ft) in 5.95 seconds over a set run, recording a maximum speed of 98 km/h (61 mph).Contrary to the common belief that cheetahs hunt by simply chasing its prey at high speeds, the findings of two studies in 2013 observing hunting cheetahs using GPS collars show that cheetahs hunt at speeds much lower than the highest recorded for them during most of the chase, interspersed with a few short bursts (lasting only seconds) when they attain peak speeds. In one of the studies, the average speed recorded during the high speed phase was 53.64 km/h (33.3 mph), or within the range 41.4\u201365.88 km/h (25.7\u201340.9 mph) including error. The highest recorded value was 93.24 km/h (57.9 mph). "


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"The researchers suggested that a hunt consists of two phases\u2014an initial fast acceleration phase when the cheetah tries to catch up with the prey, followed by slowing down as it closes in on it, the deceleration varying by the prey in question. The peak acceleration observed was 2.5 m/s (8.2 ft/s), while the peak deceleration value was 7.5 m/s (25 ft/s). Speed and acceleration values for a hunting cheetah may be different from those for a non-hunter because while engaged in the chase, the cheetah is more likely to be twisting and turning and may be running through vegetation. The speeds attained by the cheetah may be only slightly greater than those achieved by the pronghorn at 88.5 km/h (55.0 mph) and the springbok at 88 km/h (55 mph), but the cheetah additionally has an exceptional acceleration.One stride of a galloping cheetah measures 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft); the stride length and the number of jumps increases with speed. During more than half the duration of the sprint, the cheetah has all four limbs in the air, increasing the stride length. Running cheetahs can retain up to 90% of the heat generated during the chase. "


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"A 1973 study suggested the length of the sprint is limited by excessive build-up of body heat when the body temperature reaches 40\u201341 \u00b0C (104\u2013106 \u00b0F). However, a 2013 study recorded the average temperature of cheetahs after hunts to be 38.6 \u00b0C (101.5 \u00b0F), suggesting high temperatures need not cause hunts to be abandoned.The running speed of 71 mph (114 km/h) of the cheetah was obtained as an result of a single run of one individual by dividing the distance traveled for time spent. The run lasted 2.25 seconds and was supposed to have been 73 m (240 ft) long, but was later found to have been 59 m (194 ft) long. It was therefore discredited for a faulty method of measurement.\nCheetahs have subsequently been measured at running at a speed of 64 mph (103 km/h) as an average of three runs including in opposite direction, for a single individual, over a marked 200 m (220 yd) course, even starting the run 18 m (59 ft) behind the start line, starting the run already running on the course. "


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"Again dividing the distance by time, but this time to determine the maximum sustained speed, completing the runs in an average time of 7 seconds. Being a more accurate method of measurement, this test was made in 1965 but published in 1997.\nSubsequently with GPS-IMU collars, running speed was measured for wild cheetahs during hunts with turns and maneuvers, and the maximum speed recorded was 58 mph (93 km/h) sustained for 1\u20132 seconds. The speed was obtained by dividing the length by the time between footfalls of a stride.\n\n== Ecology and behaviour ==\nCheetahs are active mainly during the day, whereas other carnivores such as leopards and lions are active mainly at night; These larger carnivores can kill cheetahs and steal their kills; hence, the diurnal tendency of cheetahs helps them avoid larger predators in areas where they are sympatric, such as the Okavango Delta. In areas where the cheetah is the major predator (such as farmlands in Botswana and Namibia), activity tends to increase at night. This may also happen in highly arid regions such as the Sahara, where daytime temperatures can reach 43 \u00b0C (109 \u00b0F). "


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"The lunar cycle can also influence the cheetah's routine\u2014activity might increase on moonlit nights as prey can be sighted easily, though this comes with the danger of encountering larger predators. Hunting is the major activity throughout the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. Groups rest in grassy clearings after dusk. Cheetahs often inspect their vicinity at observation points such as elevations to check for prey or larger carnivores; even while resting, they take turns at keeping a lookout.\n\n=== Social organisation ===\n\nCheetahs have a flexible and complex social structure and tend to be more gregarious than several other cats (except the lion). Individuals typically avoid one another but are generally amicable; males may fight over territories or access to females in oestrus, and on rare occasions such fights can result in severe injury and death. Females are not social and have minimal interaction with other individuals, barring the interaction with males when they enter their territories or during the mating season. Some females, generally mother and offspring or siblings, may rest beside one another during the day. "


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"Females tend to lead a solitary life or live with offspring in undefended home ranges; young females often stay close to their mothers for life but young males leave their mother's range to live elsewhere.Some males are territorial, and group together for life, forming coalitions that collectively defend a territory which ensures maximum access to females\u2014this is unlike the behaviour of the male lion who mates with a particular group (pride) of females. In most cases, a coalition will consist of brothers born in the same litter who stayed together after weaning, but biologically unrelated males are often allowed into the group; in the Serengeti 30% members in coalitions are unrelated males. If a cub is the only male in a litter he will typically join an existing group, or form a small group of solitary males with two or three other lone males who may or may not be territorial. In the Kalahari Desert around 40% of the males live in solitude.Males in a coalition are affectionate toward each other, grooming mutually and calling out if any member is lost; unrelated males may face some aversion in their initial days in the group. "


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"All males in the coalition typically have equal access to kills when the group hunts together, and possibly also to females who may enter their territory. A coalition generally has a greater chance of encountering and acquiring females for mating, however, its large membership demands greater resources than do solitary males. A 1987 study showed that solitary and grouped males have a nearly equal chance of coming across females, but the males in coalitions are notably healthier and have better chances of survival than their solitary counterparts.\n\n=== Home ranges and territories ===\nUnlike many other felids, among cheetahs, females tend to occupy larger areas compared to males. Females typically disperse over large areas in pursuit of prey, but they are less nomadic and roam in a smaller area if prey availability in the area is high. As such, the size of their home range depends on the distribution of prey in a region. In central Namibia, where most prey species are sparsely distributed, home ranges average 554\u20137,063 km2 (214\u20132,727 sq mi), whereas in the woodlands of the Phinda Game Reserve (South Africa), which have plentiful prey, home ranges are 34\u2013157 km2 (13\u201361 sq mi) in size. "


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"Cheetahs can travel long stretches overland in search of food; a study in the Kalahari Desert recorded an average displacement of nearly 11 km (6.8 mi) every day and walking speeds ranged between 2.5 and 3.8 km/h (1.6 and 2.4 mph).Males are generally less nomadic than females; often males in coalitions (and sometimes solitary males staying far from coalitions) establish territories. Whether males settle in territories or disperse over large areas forming home ranges depends primarily on the movements of females. Territoriality is preferred only if females tend to be more sedentary, which is more feasible in areas with plenty of prey. Some males, called floaters, switch between territoriality and nomadism depending on the availability of females. A 1987 study showed territoriality depended on the size and age of males and the membership of the coalition. The ranges of floaters averaged 777 km2 (300 sq mi) in the Serengeti to 1,464 km2 (565 sq mi) in central Namibia. In the Kruger National Park (South Africa) territories were much smaller. A coalition of three males occupied a territory measuring 126 km2 (49 sq mi), and the territory of a solitary male measured 195 km2 (75 sq mi). "


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"When a female enters a territory, the males will surround her; if she tries to escape, the males will bite or snap at her. Generally, the female can not escape on her own; the males themselves leave after they lose interest in her. They may smell the spot she was sitting or lying on to determine if she was in oestrus.\n\n=== Communication ===\n\nThe cheetah is a vocal felid with a broad repertoire of calls and sounds; the acoustic features and the use of many of these have been studied in detail. The vocal characteristics, such as the way they are produced, are often different from those of other cats. For instance, a study showed that exhalation is louder than inhalation in cheetahs, while no such distinction was observed in the domestic cat. Listed below are some commonly recorded vocalisations observed in cheetahs:\n\nChirping: A chirp (or a \"stutter-bark\") is an intense bird-like call and lasts less than a second. Cheetahs chirp when they are excited, for instance, when gathered around a kill. Other uses include summoning concealed or lost cubs by the mother, or as a greeting or courtship between adults. "


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"The cheetah's chirp is similar to the soft roar of the lion, and its churr as the latter's loud roar. A similar but louder call ('yelp') can be heard from up to 2 km (1.2 mi) away; this call is typically used by mothers to locate lost cubs, or by cubs to find their mothers and siblings.\nChurring (or churtling): A churr is a shrill, staccato call that can last up to two seconds. Churring and chirping have been noted for their similarity to the soft and loud roars of the lion. It is produced in similar context as chirping, but a study of feeding cheetahs found chirping to be much more common.\nPurring: Similar to purring in domestic cats but much louder, it is produced when the cheetah is content, and as a form of greeting or when licking one another. It involves continuous sound production alternating between egressive and ingressive airstreams.\nAgonistic sounds: These include bleating, coughing, growling, hissing, meowing and moaning (or yowling). A bleat indicates distress, for instance when a cheetah confronts a predator that has stolen its kill. "


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"Growls, hisses and moans are accompanied by multiple, strong hits on the ground with the front paw, during which the cheetah may retreat by a few metres. A meow, though a versatile call, is typically associated with discomfort or irritation.\nOther vocalisations: Individuals can make a gurgling noise as part of a close, amicable interaction. A \"nyam nyam\" sound may be produced while eating. Apart from chirping, mothers can use a repeated \"ihn ihn\" is to gather cubs, and a \"prr prr\" is to guide them on a journey. A low-pitched alarm call is used to warn the cubs to stand still. Bickering cubs can let out a \"whirr\"\u2014the pitch rises with the intensity of the quarrel and ends on a harsh note.Another major means of communication is by scent\u2014the male will often investigate urine-marked places (territories or common landmarks) for a long time by crouching on his forelegs and carefully smelling the place. Then he will raise his tail and urinate on an elevated spot (such as a tree trunk, stump or rock); other observing individuals might repeat the ritual. Females may also show marking behaviour but less prominently than males do. "


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"Among females, those in oestrus will show maximum urine-marking, and their excrement can attract males from far off. In Botswana, cheetahs are frequently captured by ranchers to protect livestock by setting up traps in traditional marking spots; the calls of the trapped cheetah can attract more cheetahs to the place.Touch and visual cues are other ways of signalling in cheetahs. Social meetings involve mutual sniffing of the mouth, anus and genitals. Individuals will groom one another, lick each other's faces and rub cheeks. However, they seldom lean on or rub their flanks against each other. The tear streaks on the face can sharply define expressions at close range. Mothers probably use the alternate light and dark rings on the tail to signal their cubs to follow them.\n\n=== Diet and hunting ===\n\nThe cheetah is a carnivore that hunts small to medium-sized prey weighing 20 to 60 kg (44 to 132 lb), but mostly less than 40 kg (88 lb). Its primary prey are medium-sized ungulates. "


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"They are the major component of the diet in certain areas, such as Dama and Dorcas gazelles in the Sahara, impala in the eastern and southern African woodlands, springbok in the arid savannas to the south and Thomson's gazelle in the Serengeti. Smaller antelopes like the common duiker are a frequent prey in the southern Kalahari. Larger ungulates are typically avoided, though nyala, whose males weigh around 120 kg (260 lb), were found to be the major prey in a study in the Phinda Game Reserve. In Namibia cheetahs are the major predators of livestock. The diet of the Asiatic cheetah consists of chinkara, desert hare, goitered gazelle, urial, wild goats and livestock; in India cheetahs used to prey mostly on blackbuck. There are no records of cheetahs killing humans. Cheetahs in the Kalahari have been reported feeding on citron melons for their water content.Prey preferences and hunting success vary with the age, sex and number of cheetahs involved in the hunt and on the vigilance of the prey. "


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"Generally only groups of cheetahs (coalitions or mother and cubs) will try to kill larger prey; mothers with cubs especially look out for larger prey and tend to be more successful than females without cubs. Individuals on the periphery of the prey herd are common targets; vigilant prey which would react quickly on seeing the cheetah are not preferred.Cheetahs hunt primarily throughout the day, sometimes with peaks at dawn and dusk; they tend to avoid larger predators like the primarily nocturnal lion. Cheetahs in the Sahara and Maasai Mara in Kenya hunt after sunset to escape the high temperatures of the day. Cheetahs use their vision to hunt instead of their sense of smell; they keep a lookout for prey from resting sites or low branches. The cheetah will stalk its prey, trying to conceal itself in cover, and approach as close as possible, often within 60 to 70 m (200 to 230 ft) of the prey (or even farther for less alert prey). Alternatively the cheetah can lie hidden in cover and wait for the prey to come nearer. "


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"A stalking cheetah assumes a partially crouched posture, with the head lower than the shoulders; it will move slowly and be still at times. In areas of minimal cover the cheetah will approach within 200 m (660 ft) of the prey and start the chase. The chase typically lasts a minute; in a 2013 study, the length of chases averaged 173 m (568 ft), and the longest run measured 559 m (1,834 ft). The cheetah can give up the chase if it is detected by the prey early or if it can not make a kill quickly. Cheetahs catch their prey by tripping it during the chase by hitting its rump with the forepaw or using the strong dewclaw to knock the prey off its balance, bringing it down with much force and sometimes even breaking some of its limbs.Cheetahs can decelerate dramatically towards the end of the hunt, slowing down from 93 km/h (58 mph) to 23 km/h (14 mph) in just three strides, and can easily follow any twists and turns the prey makes as it tries to flee. "


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"To kill medium- to large-sized prey, the cheetah bites the prey's throat to suffocate it, maintaining the bite for around five minutes, within which the prey stops struggling. A bite on the nape of the neck or the snout (and sometimes on the skull) suffices to kill smaller prey. Cheetahs have an average hunting success rate of 25\u201340%, higher for smaller and more vulnerable prey.Once the hunt is over, the prey is taken near a bush or under a tree; the cheetah, highly exhausted after the chase, rests beside the kill and pants heavily for five to 55 minutes. Meanwhile, cheetahs nearby, who did not take part in the hunt, might feed on the kill immediately. Groups of cheetah devour the kill peacefully, though minor noises and snapping may be observed. Cheetahs can consume large quantities of food; a cheetah at the Etosha National Park (Namibia) was found to consume as much as 10 kg (22 lb) within two hours. However, on a daily basis, a cheetah feeds on around 4 kg (8.8 lb) meat. "


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"Cheetahs, especially mothers with cubs, remain cautious even as they eat, pausing to look around for fresh prey or for predators who may steal the kill.Cheetahs move their heads from side to side so the sharp carnassial teeth tear the flesh, which can then be swallowed without chewing. They typically begin with the hindquarters, and then progress toward the abdomen and the spine. Ribs are chewed on at the ends, and the limbs are not generally torn apart while eating. Unless the prey is very small, the skeleton is left almost intact after feeding on the meat. Cheetahs might lose 10\u201315% of their kills to large carnivores such as hyenas and lions (and grey wolves in Iran). To defend itself or its prey, a cheetah will hold its body low to the ground and snarl with its mouth wide open, the eyes staring threateningly ahead and the ears folded backward. This may be accompanied by moans, hisses and growls, and hitting the ground with the forepaws. Cheetahs have rarely been observed scavenging kills; this may be due to vultures and spotted hyena adroitly capturing and consuming heavy carcasses within a short time.\n\n"


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"=== Reproduction and life cycle ===\n\nCheetahs are induced ovulators and can breed throughout the year. Females can have their first litter at two to three years of age. Polyestrous, females have an oestrus (\"heat\") cycle is 12 days long on average, but it can vary from three days to a month. A female can conceive again after 17 to 20 months from giving birth, or even sooner if a whole litter is lost. Males can breed at less than two years of age in captivity, but this may be delayed in the wild until the male acquires a territory. A 2007 study showed that females who gave birth to more litters early in their life often died younger, indicating a trade-off between longevity and yearly reproductive success.Urine-marking in males can become more pronounced when a female in their vicinity comes into oestrus. Males, sometimes even those in coalitions, fight among one another to secure access to the female. Often one male will eventually win dominance over the others and mate with the female, though a female can mate with different males. "


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"Mating begins with the male approaching the female, who lies down on the ground; individuals often chirp, purr or yelp at this time. No courtship behaviour is observed; the male immediately secures hold of the female's nape, and copulation takes place. The pair then ignore each other, but meet and copulate a few more times three to five times a day for the next two to three days before finally parting ways.After a gestation of nearly three months, a litter of one to eight cubs is born (though those of three to four cubs are more common). Births take place at 20\u201325 minute intervals in a sheltered place such as thick vegetation. The eyes are shut at birth, and open in four to 11 days. Newborn cubs might spit a lot and make soft churring noises; they start walking by two weeks. Their nape, shoulders and back are thickly covered with long bluish grey hair, called a mantle, which gives them a mohawk-type appearance; this fur is shed as the cheetah grows older. "


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"A study suggested that this mane gives a cheetah cub the appearance of a honey badger, and could act as camouflage from attacks by these badgers or predators that tend to avoid them.Compared to other felids, cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to several predators during the first few weeks of their life. Mothers keep their cubs hidden in dense vegetation for the first two months and nurse in the early morning. The mother is extremely vigilant at this stage; she stays within 1 km (0.62 mi) of the lair, frequently visits her cubs, moves them every five to six days, and remains with them after dark. Despite trying to make minimal noise, she cannot generally defend her litter from predators. Predation is the leading cause of mortality in cheetah cubs; a study showed that in areas with a low density of predators (such as Namibian farmlands) around 70% of the cubs make it beyond the age of 14 months, whereas in areas like the Serengeti National Park, where several large carnivores exist, the survival rate was just 17%. Deaths also occur from starvation if their mothers abandon them, fires, or pneumonia because of exposure to bad weather. "


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"Generation length of the cheetah is six years.Cubs start coming out of the lair at two months of age, trailing after their mother wherever she goes. At this point the mother nurses less and brings solid food to the cubs; they retreat away from the carcass in fear initially, but gradually start eating it. The cubs might purr as the mother licks them clean after the meal. Weaning occurs at four to six months. To train her cubs in hunting, the mother will catch and let go of live prey in front of her cubs. Cubs' play behaviour includes chasing, crouching, pouncing and wrestling; there is plenty of agility, and attacks are seldom lethal. Playing can improve catching skills in cubs, though the ability to crouch and hide may not develop remarkably.Cubs as young as six months try to capture small prey like hares and young gazelles. However, they may have to wait until as long as 15 months of age to make a successful kill on their own. At around 20 months, offspring become independent; mothers might have conceived again by then. Siblings may remain together for a few more months before parting ways. "


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"While females stay close to their mothers, males move farther off. The lifespan of wild cheetahs is 14 to 15 years for females, and their reproductive cycle typically ends by 12 years of age; males generally live as long as ten years.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nCheetahs appear to be less selective in habitat choice than other felids and inhabit a variety of ecosystems; areas with greater availability of prey, good visibility and minimal chances of encountering larger predators are preferred. They seldom occur in tropical forests. Cheetahs have been reported at elevations as high as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). An open area with some cover, such as diffused bushes, is probably ideal for the cheetah because it needs to stalk and pursue its prey over a distance. This also minimises the risk of encountering larger carnivores. Unlike the big cats, the cheetah tends to occur in low densities typically between 0.3 and 3.0 adults per 100 km2 (39 sq mi)\u2014these values are 10\u201330% of those reported for leopards and lions.Cheetahs in eastern and southern Africa occur mostly in savannas like the Kalahari and Serengeti. "


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"In central, northern and western Africa cheetahs inhabit arid mountain ranges and valleys; in the harsh climate of the Sahara, cheetahs prefer high mountains, which receive more rainfall than the surrounding desert. The vegetation and water resources in these mountains supports antelopes. Iranian cheetahs occur in hilly terrain of deserts at elevations up to 2,000\u20133,000 m (6,600\u20139,800 ft), where annual precipitation is generally below 100 mm (3.9 in); the primary vegetation in these areas is thinly distributed shrubs, less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall.\n\n=== Historical range ===\n\nIn prehistoric times, the cheetah was distributed throughout Africa, Asia and Europe. It gradually fell to extinction in Europe, possibly because of competition with the lion. Today the cheetah has been extirpated in most of its historical range; the numbers of the Asiatic cheetah had begun plummeting since the late 1800s, long before the other subspecies started their decline. "


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"As of 2017, cheetahs occur in just nine per cent of their erstwhile range in Africa, mostly in unprotected areas.In the past until the mid-20th century, the cheetah ranged across vast stretches in Asia, from the Arabian Peninsula in the west to the Indian subcontinent in the east, and as far north as the Aral and Caspian Seas. A few centuries ago the cheetah was abundant in India, and its range coincided with the distribution of major prey like the blackbuck. However, its numbers in India plummeted from the 19th century onward; Divyabhanusinh of the Bombay Natural History Society notes that the last three individuals in the wild were killed by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh of Surguja (a man also noted for holding a record for shooting 1,360 tigers) in 1947. The last confirmed sighting in India was of a cheetah that drowned in a well near Hyderabad in 1957. In Iran there were around 400 cheetahs before World War II, distributed across deserts and steppes to the east and the borderlands with Iraq to the west; the numbers were falling because of a decline in prey. In Iraq, cheetahs were reported from Basra in the 1920s. "


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"Conservation efforts in the 1950s stabilised the population, but prey species declined again in the wake of the Iranian Revolution (1979) and the Iran\u2013Iraq War (1980\u20131988), leading to a significant contraction of the cheetah's historical range in the region.The first survey of cheetah populations in Africa by Norman Myers in 1975 estimated a population of 15,000 individuals throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The range covered most of eastern and southern Africa, except for the desert region on the western coast of modern-day Angola and Namibia. In the following years, as their natural habitat has been modified dramatically, cheetah populations across the region have become smaller and more fragmented.\n\n=== Present distribution ===\nThe cheetah occurs mostly in eastern and southern Africa; its presence in Asia is limited to the central deserts of Iran, though there have been unconfirmed reports of sightings in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan in the last few decades. The global population of cheetahs was estimated at nearly 7,100 mature individuals in 2016. The Iranian population appears to have decreased from 60 to 100 individuals in 2007 to 43 in 2016, distributed in three subpopulations over less than 150,000 km2 (58,000 sq mi) in Iran's central plateau. "


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"The largest population of nearly 4,000 individuals is sparsely distributed over Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. Another population in Kenya and Tanzania comprises about 1,000 individuals. All other cheetahs occur in small, fragmented groups of less than 100 individuals each. Populations are feared to be declining.\n\n== Threats ==\nThe cheetah is threatened by several factors, like habitat loss and fragmentation of populations. Habitat loss is caused mainly by the introduction of commercial land use, such as agriculture and industry. It is further aggravated by ecological degradation, like bush encroachment, which is common in southern Africa. Moreover, the species apparently requires a sizeable area to live in as indicated by its low population densities. Shortage of prey and conflict with other species such as humans and large carnivores are other major threats. The cheetah appears to be less capable of coexisting with humans than the leopard. With 76% of its range consisting of unprotected land, the cheetah is often targeted by farmers and pastoralists who attempt to protect their livestock, especially in Namibia. Illegal wildlife trade and trafficking is another problem in some places (like Ethiopia). "


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"Some tribes, like the Maasai people in Tanzania, have been reported to use cheetah skins in ceremonies. Roadkill is another threat, especially in areas where roads have been constructed near natural habitat or protected areas. Cases of roadkill involving cheetahs have been reported from Kalmand, Touran National Park, and Bafq in Iran. The reduced genetic variability makes cheetahs more vulnerable to diseases; however, the threat posed by infectious diseases may be minor, given the low population densities and hence a reduced chance of infection.\n\n== Conservation ==\nThe cheetah has been classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN; it is listed under Appendix I of the CMS and Appendix I of CITES. The Endangered Species Act enlists the cheetah as Endangered.\n\n=== In Africa ===\n\nUntil the 1970s, cheetahs and other carnivores were frequently killed to protect livestock in Africa. Gradually the understanding of cheetah ecology increased and their falling numbers became a matter of concern. The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre was set up in 1971 in South Africa to provide care for wild cheetahs regularly trapped or injured by Namibian farmers. By 1987, the first major research project to outline cheetah conservation strategies was underway. "


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"The Cheetah Conservation Fund, founded in 1990 in Namibia, put efforts into field research and education about cheetahs on the global platform. The CCF runs a cheetah genetics laboratory, the only one of its kind, in Otjiwarongo (Namibia); \"Bushblok\" is an initiative to restore habitat systematically through targeted bush thinning and biomass utilisation. Several more cheetah-specific conservation programmes have since been established, like Cheetah Outreach in South Africa.The Global Cheetah Action Plan Workshop in 2002 laid emphasis on the need for a rangewide survey of wild cheetahs to demarcate areas for conservation efforts and on creating awareness through training programs. The Range Wide Conservation Program for Cheetah and African Wild Dogs (RWCP) began in 2007 as a joint initiative of the IUCN Cat and Canid Specialist Groups, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Zoological Society of London. National conservation plans have been developed successfully for several African countries. In 2014, the CITES Standing Committee recognised the cheetah as a \"species of priority\" in their strategies in northeastern Africa to counter wildlife trafficking. "


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"In December 2016 the results of an extensive survey detailing the distribution and demography of cheetahs throughout the range were published; the researchers recommended listing the cheetah as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.The cheetah was reintroduced in Malawi in 2017.\n\n=== In Asia ===\n\nIn 2001, the Iranian government collaborated with the CCF, the IUCN, Panthera Corporation, UNDP and the Wildlife Conservation Society on the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) to protect the natural habitat of the Asiatic cheetah and its prey. In 2004, the Iranian Centre for Sustainable Development (CENESTA) conducted an international workshop to discuss conservation plans with local stakeholders. Iran declared 31 August as National Cheetah Day in 2006. The Iranian Cheetah Strategic Planning meet in 2010 formulated a five-year conservation plan for Asiatic cheetahs. The CACP Phase II was implemented in 2009, and the third phase was drafted in 2018.During the early 2000s scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad) proposed a plan to clone Asiatic cheetahs from Iran for reintroduction in India, but Iran denied the proposal. "


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"In September 2009, the Minister of Environment and Forests assigned the Wildlife Trust of India and the Wildlife Institute of India with examining the potential of importing African cheetahs to India. Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary were suggested as reintroduction sites for the cheetah because of their high prey density. However, plans for reintroduction were stalled in May 2012 by the Supreme Court of India because of a political dispute and concerns over introducing a non-native species to the country. Opponents stated the plan was \"not a case of intentional movement of an organism into a part of its native range\". On 28 January 2020, the Supreme Court allowed the central government to introduce cheetahs to a suitable habitat in India on an experimental basis to see if they can adapt to it. In July 2022, it was announced that eight cheetahs would be transferred from Namibia to India in August. In 2020, India signed a memorandum of understanding with Namibia as part of Project Cheetah. Eight cheetahs have been donated by Namibia that will be introduced to the Kuno National Park. The eight cheetahs were released into Kuno on September 17th, 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.\n\n"


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"== Interaction with humans ==\n\n=== Taming ===\nThe cheetah shows little aggression toward humans, and can be tamed easily, as it has been since antiquity. The earliest known depictions of the cheetah are from the Chauvet Cave in France, dating back to 32,000\u201326,000 BC. According to historians such as Heinz Friederichs and Burchard Brentjes, the cheetah was first tamed in Sumer and this gradually spread out to central and northern Africa, from where it reached India. The evidence for this is mainly pictorial; for instance, a Sumerian seal dating back to c.\u20093000 BC, featuring a long-legged leashed animal has fueled speculation that the cheetah was first tamed in Sumer. However, Thomas Allsen argues that the depicted animal might be a large dog. Other historians, such as Frederick Zeuner, have opined that ancient Egyptians were the first to tame the cheetah, from where it gradually spread into central Asia, Iran and India.In comparison, theories of the cheetah's taming in Egypt are stronger and include timelines proposed on this basis. Mafdet, one of the ancient Egyptian deities worshiped during the First Dynasty (3100\u20132900 BC), was sometimes depicted as a cheetah. "


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"Ancient Egyptians believed the spirits of deceased pharaohs were taken away by cheetahs. Reliefs in the Deir el-Bahari temple complex tell of an expedition by Egyptians to the Land of Punt during the reign of Hatshepsut (1507\u20131458 BC) that fetched, among other things, animals called \"panthers\". During the New Kingdom (16th to 11th centuries BC), cheetahs were common pets for royalty, who adorned them with ornate collars and leashes. The Egyptians would use their dogs to bring the concealed prey out in the open, after which a cheetah would be set upon it to kill it. Rock carvings depicting cheetahs dating back to 2000\u20136000 years ago have been found in Twyfelfontein; little else has been discovered in connection to the taming of cheetahs (or other cats) in southern Africa.Hunting cheetahs are known in pre-Islamic Arabic art from Yemen. Hunting with cheetahs became more prevalent toward the seventh century AD. In the Middle East, the cheetah would accompany the nobility to hunts in a special seat on the back of the saddle. Taming was an elaborate process and could take a year to complete. "


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"The Romans may have referred to the cheetah as the leopardos (\u03bb\u03b5\u03bf\u03c0\u03ac\u03c1\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2) or leontopardos (\u03bb\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03cc\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2), believing it to be a hybrid between a leopard and a lion because of the mantle seen in cheetah cubs and the difficulty of breeding them in captivity. A Roman hunting cheetah is depicted in a 4th century mosaic from Lod, Israel. Cheetahs continued to be used into the Byzantine period of the Roman empire, with \"hunting leopards\" being mentioned in the Cynegetica (283/284 AD).In eastern Asia, records are confusing as regional names for the leopard and the cheetah may be used interchangeably. The earliest depiction of cheetahs from eastern Asia dates back to the Tang dynasty (7th to 10th centuries AD); paintings depict tethered cheetahs and cheetahs mounted on horses. Chinese emperors would use cheetahs and caracals as gifts. In the 13th and the 14th centuries, the Yuan rulers bought numerous cheetahs from the western parts of the empire and from Muslim merchants. According to the Ming Shilu, the subsequent Ming dynasty (14th to 17th centuries) continued this practice. Tomb figurines from the Mongol empire, dating back to the reign of Kublai Khan (1260\u20131294 AD), represent cheetahs on horseback. "


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"The Mughal ruler Akbar the Great (1556\u20131605 AD) is said to have kept as many as 1000 khasa (imperial) cheetahs. His son Jahangir wrote in his memoirs, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, that only one of them gave birth. Mughal rulers trained cheetahs and caracals in a similar way as the western Asians, and used them to hunt game, especially blackbuck. The rampant hunting severely affected the populations of wild animals in India; by 1927, cheetahs had to be imported from Africa.\n\n=== In captivity ===\n\nThe first cheetah to be brought into captivity in a zoo was at the Zoological Society of London in 1829. Early captive cheetahs showed a high mortality rate, with an average lifespan of 3\u20134 years. After trade of wild cheetahs was delimited by the enforcement of CITES in 1975, more efforts were put into breeding in captivity; in 2014 the number of captive cheetahs worldwide was estimated at 1730 individuals, with 87% born in captivity.Mortality under captivity is generally high; in 2014, 23% of the captive cheetahs worldwide died under one year of age, mostly within a month of birth. Deaths result from several reasons\u2014stillbirths, birth defects, cannibalism, hypothermia, maternal neglect, and infectious diseases. "


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"Compared to other felids, cheetahs need specialised care because of their higher vulnerability to stress-induced diseases; this has been attributed to their low genetic variability and factors of captive life. Common diseases of cheetahs include feline herpesvirus, feline infectious peritonitis, gastroenteritis, glomerulosclerosis, leukoencephalopathy, myelopathy, nephrosclerosis and veno-occlusive disease. High density of cheetahs in a place, closeness to other large carnivores in enclosures, improper handling, exposure to public and frequent movement between zoos can be sources of stress for cheetahs. Recommended management practices for cheetahs include spacious and ample access to outdoors, stress minimisation by exercise and limited handling, and following proper hand-rearing protocols (especially for pregnant females).Wild cheetahs are far more successful breeders than captive cheetahs; this has also been linked to increased stress levels in captive individuals. In a study in the Serengeti, females were found to have a 95% success rate in breeding, compared to 20% recorded for North American captive cheetahs in another study. On 26 November 2017, a female cheetah gave birth to eight cubs in the Saint Louis Zoo, setting a record for the most births recorded by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. "


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"Chances of successful mating in captive males can be improved by replicating social groups such as coalitions observed in the wild.\n\n=== In culture ===\n\nThe cheetah has been widely portrayed in a variety of artistic works. In Bacchus and Ariadne, an oil painting by the 16th-century Italian painter Titian, the chariot of the Greek god Dionysus (Bacchus) is depicted as being drawn by two cheetahs. The cheetahs in the painting were previously considered to be leopards. In 1764, English painter George Stubbs commemorated the gifting of a cheetah to George III by the English Governor of Madras, Sir George Pigot in his painting Cheetah with Two Indian Attendants and a Stag. The painting depicts a cheetah, hooded and collared by two Indian servants, along with a stag it was supposed to prey upon. The 1896 painting The Caress by the 19th-century Belgian symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff is a representation of the myth of Oedipus and the Sphinx and portrays a creature with a woman's head and a cheetah's body.\n\n"


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"Two cheetahs are depicted standing upright and supporting a crown in the coat of arms of the Free State (South Africa).In 1969, Joy Adamson, of Born Free fame, wrote The Spotted Sphinx, a biography of her pet cheetah Pippa. Hussein, An Entertainment, a novel by Patrick O'Brian set in the British Raj period in India, illustrates the practice of royalty keeping and training cheetahs to hunt antelopes. The book How It Was with Dooms tells the true story of a family raising an orphaned cheetah cub named Dooms in Kenya. The 2005 film Duma was based loosely on this book. The animated series ThunderCats had a character named \"Cheetara\", an anthropomorphic cheetah, voiced by Lynne Lipton. Comic book heroine Wonder Woman's chief adversary is Barbara Ann Minerva alias The Cheetah.The Bill Thomas Cheetah American racing car, a Chevrolet-based coupe first designed and driven in 1963, was an attempt to challenge Carroll Shelby's Shelby Cobra in American sports car competition of the 1960s. Because only two dozen or fewer chassis were built, with only a dozen complete cars, the Cheetah was never homologated for competition beyond prototype status; its production ended in 1966. "


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"In 1986, Frito-Lay introduced Chester Cheetah, an anthropomorphic cheetah, as the mascot for their snack food Cheetos. The Mac OS X 10.0 was code-named \"Cheetah\".\n\n== See also ==\nList of largest cats\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\nMills, M. G. L. & Mills, M. E. J. (2017). Kalahari Cheetahs: Adaptations to an Arid Region. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-871214-5.\nSeidensticker, J. & Lumpkin, S. (1991). Great Cats, Majestic Creatures of the Wild. London: Merehurst. ISBN 9781853911897.\n\n== External links ==\n\n\"Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus\". IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.\n\"Cheetah Conservation Fund\".\n\"Acinonyx jubatus\". Biodiversity Heritage Library.\n\"Acinonyx jubatus\". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.\n\"Fake flies and cheating cheetahs: measuring the speed of a cheetah\". Australian Broadcasting Corporation."


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"The Goeldi's marmoset or Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii) is a small, South American New World monkey that lives in the upper Amazon basin region of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. It is the only species classified in the genus Callimico, and the monkeys are sometimes referred to as \"callimicos\". The species takes its name from its discoverer, Swiss-Brazilian naturalist Emil August Goeldi.Goeldi's marmosets are blackish or blackish-brown in color and the hair on their head and tail sometimes has red, white, or silverly brown highlights. Their bodies are about 8\u20139 inches (20\u201323 cm) long, and their tails are about 10\u201312 inches (25\u201330 cm) long. They weigh about 0.4835 Kg in captivity and 0.500 Kg in the wild. Their digits have claw like nails except for the hallux, which serve for clinging, scansorial travel, and to extract food from trees.\n\n== Taxonomy and Evolution ==\nGoeldi's marmoset was first described in 1904, making Callimico one of the more recent monkey genera to be described. In older classification schemes it was sometimes placed in its own family Callimiconidae and sometimes, along with the marmosets and tamarins, in the subfamily Callitrichinae in the family Cebidae. "


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"More recently, Callitrichinae has been (re-)elevated to family status as Callitrichidae.Molecular phylogenetics shows that C. goeldii evolved from an ancestral callitrichine and shares this origin with marmosets making them sister taxa. One evolutionary argument to account for their differences, states that C. goeldii conserves primitive traits such as single births and a third molar lost in many marmosets. Alternatively, another evolutionary argument indicates that Callimicos came from a two-molar marmoset and reintroduced the remote traits, which in either case selectively give them the ability to access to different resources and occupy different niches. Similarities in delayed embryonic development and secondary limb-bone ossification between C. goeldii and marmosets are evidence of their close evolutionary relationship.\n\n== Reproduction ==\nFemales reach sexual maturity at 8.5 months, males at 16.5 months. The gestation period lasts from 144 to 159 days. Callimicos studied in captivity in North America and Europe for near 40 years have shown to produce on average 3.5 offspring during their lifetime. However, 30% of the females and 45% of the males observed in these settings never reproduced.Unlike other New World monkeys, they have the capacity to give birth twice a year. "


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"Biannual births occur regularly in captivity and less consistently in the wild and are attributed to postpartum estrus that allows the female to be ready to reproduce soon after parturition. The availability of fungus -an important food source for C. goeldii- throughout the year also contributes to these multiple births.The mother carries a single baby monkey per pregnancy, whereas most other species in the family Callitrichidae usually give birth to twins. These singleton births provide the offspring with longer maternal care and weaning delay that results in faster growth rates and in turn earlier sexual maturity than the other marmosets.\n\n== Infant Care ==\nFor the first 2\u20133 weeks the mother acts as the primary caregiver after which the father and the helpers, who are often the siblings, share many of the responsibilities. "


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"However, mothers in the wild have been observed giving their babies to other members of the troop as early as 10 days after parturition, which is late for other marmosets.At birth, Callimicos offspring weigh 10% the weight of their mother\u2019s whereas the twinning marmosets weight double that amount, which explains the delay in allocare in C. goeldii since it is not as crucial as it is for its counterparts. Cooperative care in callitrichines is therefore necessary to help mothers recover from gestation, parturition, and lactation as well as to share the energetic cost of carrying the infant among the helpers and the father.Caregivers must also provide food to the infants when they turn 4 weeks of age. The task of food provisioning includes tolerance to food robbing since infants are at a stage of learning how to forage by themselves. Also at week 4, mothers stop nursing in the wild, but that behaviour is believed to be influenced by the presence of the observers and therefore, it is suspected that nursing resumes when humans are not present. Whereas C. goeldii in captivity, nursing extends until the infant is 8-15 weeks old. "


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"Thus, the offspring will be weaned when it becomes about 63 days of age.  There is no difference between male and female helpers on the amount of involvement on infant care. Even juvenile C. goeldii participate as active caregivers.Infants are carried entirely during the first month and 63% of the time on the next month. They do not leave their guardian side until they become 2.5 months of age and around 3 months old, they are rarely carried, but locomotive independence comes more forcibly than voluntarily. Females outnumber males by 2 to 1. The life expectancy in captivity is about 10 years.\n\n== Development ==\nFrom birth to about 18 months old, callimicos grow faster than other marmosets in part because the energy they would otherwise invest on thermal regulation and activity costs if they were not carried by their mothers is instead directed to growth. Likewise, a longer lactation period is also responsible for a faster development. Growth rate and weight gain is similar in both male and female infants and juveniles.\n\n"


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"== Distribution and Habitat ==\nCallimicos\u2019 geographic distribution extends from the Colombian Amazon in the Rio Caquet\u00e1 to the Peruvian Amazon down to the western Brazilian Amazon and into the Pando department of northwestern Bolivia. Its presence on the Ecuadorian Amazon has yet to be confirmed. The distribution of this species is patchy, and its density seems to be dependent on its polyspecific associations with tamarins.Sightings of callimicos have been made at the base of the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes in Colombia in the Department of Putumayo along the Putumayo and Caquet\u00e1 rivers.In Peru, to the north of the country, they occur in the Pucacuro National Reserve close to the Tigre River, where they are known as Chichi by residents in the area. To the south, they are found at the Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n y Capacitaci\u00f3n R\u00edo Los Amigos (CICRA), the Manu National Park, and the Concesi\u00f3n de Conservaci\u00f3n Rodal Semillero Tahuamanu (CCRST), as well as at areas adjacent to the two later ones. "


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"Callimicos were also spotted near the Yurua River and Sierra del Divisor in groups of 3 to 12 individuals each.Some of the records were obtained by trapping during the 70s and 80, and on one of those occasions, the group was brought for breeding at the Centro de Conservaci\u00f3n y Reproduci\u00f3n de Primates in Iquitos. Provisioning in stationary sites and playbacks that mimicked their vocalizations and that of tamarines with whom they associate were also employed to attract them.In Brazil, they occur in the south-west Amazon of the state of Acre in Brazil, over the Serra do Divisor south near Juru\u00e1 river, into the Greg\u00f3rio river at the state of Amazonas, to the Laco river, further south to the upper Pur\u00fas and in the Madeira basin near the Abun\u00e3 river in the state of Rond\u00f4nia. High densities of this species have been recorded in the Pando department in Bolivia.Goeldi's marmosets prefer to forage in dense scrubby undergrowth; perhaps because of this, they are rare, with groups living in separate patches of suitable habitat, separated by miles of unsuitable flora. In the wet season, their diet includes fruit, insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, and snakes. "


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"In the dry season, they feed on fungi, the only tropical primates known to depend on this source of food. They live in small social groups (approximately six individuals) that stay within a few feet of one another most of the time, staying in contact via high-pitched calls. They are also known to form polyspecific groups with tamarins such as the white-lipped tamarin and brown-mantled tamarin.  This is perhaps because Goeldi's marmosets are not known to have the X-linked polymorphism which enables some individuals of other New World monkey species to see in full tri-chromatic vision.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nMedia related to Callimico goeldii at Wikimedia Commons\nData related to Callimico at Wikispecies\nData related to Callimico goeldii at Wikispecies\nARKive - images and movies of the Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii)\nPress release on recent research on Goeldi's monkey by scientists at the University of Washington\nPrimate Info Net Callimico goeldii Factsheet\nPictures of Goeldi's Monkey"


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"The rosy-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis), also known as the rosy-collared or peach-faced lovebird, is a species of lovebird native to arid regions in southwestern Africa such as the Namib Desert. Loud and constant chirpers, these birds are very social animals and often congregate in small groups in the wild. They eat throughout the day and take frequent baths. Coloration can vary widely among populations. Plumage is identical in males and females. Lovebirds are renowned for their sleep position in which they sit side-by-side and turn their faces in towards each other. Also, females are well noted to tear raw materials into long strips, \"twisty-tie\" them onto their backs, and fly substantial distances back to make a nest. These birds are common in the pet industry.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nIt was described by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1818. It was originally named Psittacus roseicollis but later moved to the genus Agapornis with the other lovebirds.\nTwo subspecies are recognised:\nAgapornis roseicollis, (Vieillot, 1818)Agapornis roseicollis catumbella, B.P. "


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"Hall, 1952 - Angola\nAgapornis roseicollis roseicollis, (Vieillot 1818) - Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa\n\n== Description ==\nThe rosy-faced lovebird is a fairly small bird, 17\u201318 cm long, with an average wing length of 106 mm and tail length of 44\u201352 mm. Wild birds are mostly green with a blue rump. The face and throat are pink, darkest on the forehead and above the eye. The bill is horn-coloured, the iris is brown, and the legs and feet are grey. The pink of the A. r. roseicollis is lighter than that of the A. r. catumbella. Juvenile birds have a pale pink face and throat, a greenish fore crown and crown, and the beak has a brownish base.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe rosy-faced lovebird inhabits dry, open country in southwest Africa. Its range extends from southwest Angola across most of Namibia to the lower Orange River valley in northwest South Africa. It lives up to 1,600 metres above sea level in broad-leaved woodland, semi-desert, and mountainous areas. It is dependent on the presence of water sources and gathers around pools to drink.\n"


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"Escapes from captivity are frequent in many parts of the world and feral birds dwell in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, where they live in a variety of habitats, both urban and rural. Some dwell in cacti and others have been known to frequent feeders in decent-sized flocks. Temperatures in Arizona regularly exceed 40\u00b0C and the feral lovebirds have been observed perching in large numbers on air-conditioner vents in order to remain cool. Although they have been observed in the wild in Puerto Rico, they are probably the result of escaped pets, and no reproduction has been recorded.\n\n=== Status and conservation ===\nPopulations have been reduced in some areas by trapping for the pet trade. However, numbers may have increased in other areas due to human creation of new water sources and the building of artificial structures which provide new nesting sites. Because of this, the species is classed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).\n\n== Behaviour in the wild ==\n\nThe rosy-faced lovebird has various harsh, shrieking calls.\n\n=== Feeding ===\nThe diet consists mainly of seeds and berries. When food is plentiful, the birds may gather in flocks containing hundreds of individuals. "


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"They can sometimes be pests in agricultural areas, feeding on crops such as millet.\n\n=== Breeding ===\n\nLovebirds are monomorphic, meaning the male and\nfemale of the species look alike. The nest is built in a rock crevice or within a compartment of the large communal nests built by sociable weavers. Man-made structures such as the roofs of houses may also be used. A total of 4-6 eggs are laid between February and April. They are dull white and measure 23.5 mm by 17.3 mm. They are incubated for about 23 days. The young birds fledge after 43 days.\n\n== Aviculture ==\nRosy-faced lovebirds are one of the more common parrots kept in captivity, because of their small size and ease of care and breeding. The birds are kept alone or in pairs , although due to their social requirements, they are best kept in pairs. They can be aggressive, and tend to bond towards an individual, either human or avian, and may not get on well with other people or pets. Two lovebirds may not always get along, and may have to be separated, and lovebirds should not be kept with smaller species of birds. Lovebirds require daily exercise.\n\n"


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"Captive bred birds\n\n=== Mutations ===\n\nRosy-faced lovebirds have the widest range of colour mutations of all the Agapornis genus. Generally speaking, these mutations fall into the genetic categories of dominant, codominant, recessive, and sex-linked recessive. While this seems fairly straightforward, it can quickly become confusing when a single specimen has multiple examples of these mutational traits.\n\nColour varieties in aviculture\n\n== Arts ==\nRosy-faced lovebirds' true love is the source of artistic inspiration.\n\n== References ==\n\n=== Citations ===\n\n=== Cited texts ===\nForshaw, Joseph M. (2006). Parrots of the World; an Identification Guide. Illustrated by Frank Knight. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09251-6.\n\n=== General references ===\n\"Species factsheet: Agapornis roseicollis\". BirdLife International (2008). Retrieved 9 July 2008.\nBurt, D.W.; White, S.J. (July 2007). \"Avian Genomics in the 21st Century\". Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 117 (1\u20134: Avian Genomics in Evolution, Agriculture and Health): 6\u201313. doi:10.1159/000103159. ISBN 978-3-8055-8338-1. PMID 17675839. S2CID 23593471.\nRosy-faced Lovebird Bird Observations, Jan\u2013Dec, 2003\u20132011, eBird.org\nLuft, Stefan (2007). Parrots of Africa (1st ed.). Norderstedt, Germany: Books On Demand. ISBN 978-3-8334-8445-2. OCLC 176931136.\n\n"


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"== External links ==\n\nPeach Faced Lovebird mutation information Information on PFLB mutations\nPeach-faced Lovebird Range Expansion Data in Greater Phoenix, Arizona\nAfrican Love Bird Society An international organization dedicated to the keeping, breeding, and showing of Love Birds.\nRosy-faced lovebird - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds."


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"Panthera leo melanochaita is a lion subspecies in Southern and East Africa. In this part of Africa, lion populations are regionally extinct in Lesotho, Djibouti and Eritrea, and are threatened by loss of habitat and prey base, killing by local people in retaliation for loss of livestock, and in several countries also by trophy hunting. Since the turn of the 21st century, lion populations in intensively managed protected areas in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe have increased, but declined in East African range countries. In 2005, a Lion Conservation Strategy was developed for East and Southern Africa.Results of a phylogeographic study indicate that lion populations in southern and eastern Africa are forming a major clade distinct from lion populations in West Africa, Central Africa and Asia. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group subsumed lion populations according to the major clades into two subspecies, namely P. l. leo and P. l. melanochaita. Within P. l. melanochaita three subclades are clearly distinguishable. "


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"One from northeastern Africa, another one from southwestern Africa and a third one from southeastern Africa.The type specimen for P. l. melanochaita was a black-maned lion from the Cape of Good Hope, known as the Cape lion. Phylogeographic analysis of lion samples from Gabon and the Republic of the Congo indicate their close genetic relation to P. l. melanochaita samples from Namibia and Botswana. It has been referred to as the Southern lion, Southern African lion and the 'southern subspecies'.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\n\nFelis (Leo) melanochaitus was the scientific name proposed by Charles Hamilton Smith in 1842 who described a lion specimen from South Africa's Cape Province. "


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"In the 19th and 20th centuries, several naturalists described zoological specimens from Southern and East Africa and proposed the following subspecies:\n\nFelis leo somaliensis (Noack 1891), based on two lion specimens from Somalia\nFelis leo massaicus (Neumann 1900), based on two lions killed near Kibaya and the Gurui River in Kenya\nFelis leo sabakiensis (L\u00f6nnberg 1910), based on two male lions from the environs of Mount Kilimanjaro\nFelis leo roosevelti (Heller 1913), a lion from the Ethiopian Highlands presented to Theodore Roosevelt\nFelis leo nyanzae (Heller 1913), a lion skin from Kampala, Uganda\nFelis leo bleyenberghi (L\u00f6nnberg 1914), a male lion from the Katanga Province of Belgian Congo\nLeo leo hollisteri (Joel Asaph Allen 1924), a male lion from the area of Lime Springs, Sotik on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria\nLeo leo krugeri (Austin Roberts 1929), an adult male lion from the Sabi Sand Game Reserve named in honour of Paul Kruger\nLeo leo vernayi (Roberts 1948), a male lion from the Kalahari collected by the Vernay-Lang Kalahari Expedition\nPanthera leo webbensies Ludwig Zukowsky 1964, two lions from Somalia, one in the Natural History Museum, Vienna that originated in Webi Shabeelle, the other kept in a German zoo that had been imported from the hinterland of Mogadishu.\n"


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"Dispute over the validity of these purported subspecies continued among naturalists and curators of natural history museums until the early 21st century.\nIn the 20th century, some authors supported the view of the Cape lion being a distinct subspecies. In 1939, the American zoologist Allen also recognized F. l. bleyenberghi, F. l. krugeri and F. l. vernayi as valid subspecies in Southern Africa, and F. l. hollisteri, F. l. nyanzae and F. l. massaica as valid subspecies in East Africa.Pocock subordinated the lion to the genus Panthera in 1930, when he wrote about Asiatic lions. Ellerman and Morrison-Scott recognized only two lion subspecies in the Palearctic realm, namely the African P. l. leo and the Asiatic P. l. persica. Various authors recognized between seven and 10 African lion subspecies. Others followed the classification proposed by Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, recognizing two subspecies including one in Africa.In the 1970s, the scientific name P. l. vernayi was considered synonymous with P. l. krugeri. In 1975, Vratislav Maz\u00e1k hypothesized that the Cape lion evolved geographically isolated from other populations by the Great Escarpment. In the early 21st century, Maz\u00e1k's hypothesis about a geographically isolated evolution of the Cape lion was challenged. "


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"Genetic exchanges between populations in the Cape, Kalahari and Transvaal Province regions and farther east are considered having been possible through a corridor between the Great Escarpment and the Indian ocean.In 2005, the authors of Mammal Species of the World recognized P. l. bleyenberghi, P. l. krugeri, P. l. vernayi, P. l. massaica, P. l. hollisteri and P. l. nyanzae as valid taxa. In 2016, IUCN Red List assessors subsumed all African lion populations to P. l. leo. Two lion subspecies are now recognised:\nP. l. melanochaita is understood as comprising lion populations in the contemporary Southern and East African range countries,\nP. l. leo comprises lion populations in North, West and Central Africa and Asia.Genome-wide data of a wild-born historical lion sample from Sudan clustered with P. l. leo in mtDNA-based phylogenies, but with a high affinity to P. l. melanochaita. This result indicates that the taxonomic position of lions in Central Africa may require revision.\n\n=== Phylogeny ===\n\nSince the beginning of the 21st century, several phylogenetic studies were conducted to aid clarifying the taxonomic status of lion samples kept in museums and collected in the wild. "


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"Scientists analysed between 32 and 480 lion samples from up to 22 countries. Results of genetic analyses indicate that the species comprises two main evolutionary groups, one in Southern and East Africa, and the other in the northern and eastern parts of its historical range. These groups genetically diverged between 50,000 and 200,000 years ago. It was assumed that tropical rainforest and the East African Rift constituted major barriers between the two groups.Lion samples from Gabon's Bat\u00e9k\u00e9 Plateau National Park and Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Republic of the Congo were found to be genetically closely related to lion samples from Namibia and Botswana.\nA phylogenetic analysis of lion samples from Africa and Asia showed that they shared a common ancestor probably between 98,000 and 52,000 years ago. Samples from West Africa shared alleles with samples from Southern Africa, and samples from Central Africa shared alleles with samples from Asia. This indicates that Central Africa was a melting pot of lion populations after they had become isolated. They possibly migrated through corridors in the Nile Basin during the early Holocene.\n\n"


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"=== Overlap between subspecies ===\n\nAmong six samples of captive lions from Ethiopia, five clustered with samples from East Africa, but one with samples from the Sahel. For a subsequent phylogeographic study, eight wild lion samples from the Ethiopian Highlands were included in the DNA sequencing analysis using 194 lion samples from 22 countries. Four of these samples clustered with samples from Central Africa, and four with samples from East Africa, indicating that the Great Rift Valley, Ethiopia was not a complete barrier to gene flow. Southeastern Ethiopia is therefore considered a genetic admixture zone between Central and East African lions.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nIn East and Southern Africa, lion populations declined in:\n\nIn Ethiopia, where lion populations declined since at least the early 20th century due to trophy hunting by Europeans, killing of lions by local people out of fear, for illegal sale of skins and during civil wars. As of 2009, between seven and 23 lions were estimated to live in Nechisar National Park located in the Ethiopian Highlands. This small protected area is encroached by local people and their livestock. In 2012, lions were documented in cloud forest habitat of Kafa Biosphere Reserve.\n"


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"Somalia since the early 20th century. Intensive poaching since the 1980s and civil unrest posed a threat to lion persistence.\nUganda to near extinction in the 20th century. In 2010, the lion population in Uganda was estimated at 408 \u00b1 46 individuals in three protected areas including Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley National Parks. Other protected areas in the country probably host less than 10 lions. Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park form a contiguous population with lions in Virunga National Park.\nKenya in the 1990s due to poisoning of lions and poaching of lion prey species. At least 108 lions were killed between 2001 and 2006 in the Amboseli\u2212Tsavo West\u2212Tsavo East National Park network. As of 2006, there were an estimated 675 lions in the Tsavo national parks, out of the 2,000 total in Kenya. Between 2004 and 2013, lion guardians around Amboseli National Park identified 65 lions in an area of 3,684 km2 (1,422 sq mi). Lion populations in Kenya and Tanzania are fragmented over 17 patches ranging in size from 86 to 127,515 km2 (33 to 49,234 sq mi).\n"


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"Rwanda and Tanzania due to killing of lions during the Rwandan Civil War and ensuing refugee crisis in the 1990s. A small population was present in Rwanda's Akagera National Park, estimated at 35 individuals at most in 2004. Lions were reintroduced to this national park in 2015.\nMalawi and Zambia due to illegal hunting of prey species in protected areas.\nBotswana due to intensive hunting and conversion of natural habitats for settlements since the early 19th century. In Northern Tuli Game Reserve, 19 lions died between 2005 and 2011 due to poaching, trophy hunting and snaring.\nNamibia due to massive killing of lions by farmers since at least the 1970s. In 2010, the small and isolated lion population in the Kalahari was estimated at 683 to 1,397 individuals in three protected areas, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the Kalahari Gemsbok and Gemsbok National Parks.\nSouth Africa since the early 19th century in the Natal and Cape Provinces south of the Orange River, where the Cape lion population was eradicated by 1860. A few decades later, lions in the Highveld north of the Orange River were also eradicated. "


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"In Transvaal, lions occurred historically in the Highveld as well, but were restricted to eastern Transvaal's Bushveld by the 1970s. Between 2000 and 2004, 34 lions were reintroduced to eight protected areas in the Eastern Cape Province, including Addo Elephant National Park. In Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, 18 lions were trophy hunted and 11 euthanized between 2005 and 2011.Contemporary lion distribution and habitat quality in East and Southern Africa was assessed in 2005, and Lion Conservation Units (LCU) mapped. Between 2002 and 2012, educated guesses for size of populations in these LCUs ranged from 33,967 to 32,000 individuals. The LCUs Ruaha\u2212Rungwa, Serengeti\u2212Mara, Tsavo\u2212Mkomazi and Selous in East Africa, as well as Luangwa, Kgalagadi, Okavango\u2212Hwange, Mid\u2212Zambezi, Niassa and Greater Limpopo in Southern Africa are currently considered lion strongholds. These LCUs host more than 500 individuals each, and the population trend is stable there as of 2012.\n\n=== North East African clade ===\n\nLions, which can be grouped into the northeastern clade are found in Somalia, Northern Kenya and Ethiopia, with a larger hybridization zone to the Northern lion subspecies (P. l. leo) in Ethiopia.\n\n"


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"=== South East African clade ===\n\nLions, which can be grouped into the southeastern clade are found in Southern Kenya, Western DRC, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, southern Namibia and South Africa, with a larger hybridization zone to the southwestern lion clade in the Kruger National Park area (Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park). The classification of lions in Uganda is not clarified, since there were no samples included in the most comprehensive recent study.\n\n=== South West African clade ===\n\nLions, which can be grouped into the southwestern clade are found in Angola, Northern Namibia, Northern Botswana and western Zimbabwe, extending southeast into the Tuli block. a There is a larger hybridization zone to the southeastern clade around the Kruger National Park.\n\n== Characteristics ==\n\nThe lion's fur varies in colour from light buff to dark brown. It has rounded ears and a black tail tuft.\n\n=== Size and weight ===\nAverage head-to-body length of male lions is 2.47\u20132.84 m (8 ft 1 in \u2013 9 ft 4 in) with a weight ranging from 150\u2013225 kg (331\u2013496 lb) averaging 187.5 kg (413 lb) in Southern Africa and 145.4\u2013204.7 kg (321\u2013451 lb) averaging 174.9 kg (386 lb) in East Africa. "


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"Females average 83\u2013165 kg (183\u2013364 lb) in Southern Africa and 90\u2013167.8 kg (198\u2013370 lb) in East Africa.\nMales in northern Kruger National Park weighed 200.01 kg (440.9 lb) on average, whereas females weighed 143.52 kg (316.4 lb) on average, and males in southern Kruger National Park weighed 186.55 kg (411.3 lb) on average and females weighed 118.37 kg (261.0 lb), though there was an outbreak of tuberculosis in southern park at the time.\nSkeletal muscles make up 58.8% of the lion's body weight.The largest known lion measured 3.35 m (11.0 ft) in length and weighed 375 kg (825 lb). An exceptionally heavy male lion near Mount Kenya weighed 272 kg (600 lb). The longest wild lion reportedly was a male shot near Mucusso National Park in southern Angola in 1973. In 1936, a man-eating lion shot in 1936 in eastern Transvaal weighed about 313 kg (690 lb), and was considered to have been one of the heaviest wild lions. In 1963, two lions in Tanzania weighed 320 and 360 kg (700 and 800 lb) after killing several livestock.\n\n"


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"=== Manes ===\n\nIn the 19th and 20th centuries, lion type specimens were described on the basis of their mane size and colour. Mane colour varies from sandy, tawny, isabelline, light reddish yellow to dark brown and black. Mane length varies from short to extending to knee joints and under the belly.\nLions without a mane were observed in the Tsavo area.Mane development is related to age: older males have more extensive manes than younger ones; manes continue to grow up to the age of four to five years, long after lions become sexually mature. Males living in the Kenyan highlands above elevations of 800 m (2,600 ft) develop heavier manes than lions in the more humid and warmer lowlands of eastern and northern Kenya. Average ambient temperature, nutrition and testosterone influence the colour and size of the mane. Its length is an indicator for age and fighting ability of the lion. In Serengeti National Park, female lions favour males with dense and dark manes as mates.\n\n=== White lion ===\n\nWhite lions have occasionally been encountered in and around South Africa's Kruger National Park and the adjacent Timbavati Private Game Reserve. "


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"Their whitish fur is a rare morph caused by a double recessive allele. It has normal pigmentation in eyes and skin. They were removed from the wild in the 1970s, thus decreasing the white lion gene pool. Nevertheless, 17 births have been recorded in five different prides between 2007 and 2015. White lions were selected for breeding in captivity. They have been bred in South African camps for use as trophies to be killed during canned hunts.\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\nIn Serengeti National Park, monitoring of lion prides started in 1966.\nBetween 1966 and 1972, two observed lion prides comprised between seven and 10 females each. Females had litters once in 23 months on average.\nLitters contained two to three cubs. Of 87 cubs born until 1970, only 12 reached the age of two years. Cubs died due to starvation in months when large prey was not available, or following take-over of the prides by new males. Male lions in coalitions are closely related.\nBetween 1974 and 2012, 471 coalitions comprising 796 male lions entered a study area of 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi). "


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"Of these, 35 coalitions included male lions that were born in the area but had left and returned after about two years of absence. Nomadic coalitions became resident at between 3.5 and 7.3 years of age.The lion population of Selous Game Reserve has been surveyed since 1996. Lion prides avoided acacia woodlands and preferred habitats near water courses with short grasses, where also prey species gathered. Two or more prides shared home ranges.In Kavango\u2013Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, lions have been monitored since 1999. In 2003, 50 lions were radio-collared in Hwange National Park and tracked until 2012. Results show that adult male and female lions preferred grassland and shrubland habitat, but avoided woodlands and areas with high human density. By contrast, subadult dispersing male lions avoided grasslands and shrublands, but moved in human-dominated areas to a larger extent. Hence, dispersing lions are more vulnerable to coming into conflict with humans than adult lions.\nIn the semi-arid savanna of Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, 19 lions were radio-collared and tracked between 2002 and 2007. "


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"Both female and male lions moved foremost within 2 km (1.2 mi) of waterholes in all seasons.Lions living near ranches in the vicinity of Tsavo East National Park consisted of three prides, two pairs and a single lion in 2002.\n\n=== Hunting and diet ===\n\nLions usually hunt in groups and prey foremost on ungulates such as gemsbok (Oryx gazella), Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), common eland (Tragelaphus oryx), greater kudu (T. strepsiceros), nyala (T. angasii), roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus), sable antelope (H. niger), plains zebra (Equus quagga), bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus), common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), hartebeest (Alcephalus buselaphus), common tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), kob (K. kob) and Thomson's gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii). Their prey is usually in the range of 190\u2013550 kg (420\u20131,210 pounds). In the Serengeti National Park, lions were observed to also scavenge on carrion of animals that were killed by other predators, or died from natural causes. They kept a constant lookout for circling vultures, apparently being aware that vultures indicate a dead animal.\n"


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"Faeces of lions collected near waterholes in Hwange National Park also contained remains of climbing mice (Dendromus) and common mice (Mus).In Botswana's Chobe National Park, lions also prey on young and subadult African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana). They successfully attacked 74 elephants between 1993 and 1996, of which 26 were older than nine years, and one bull over 15 years old. In October 2005, a pride of up to 30 lions killed eight African bush elephants that were between four and eleven years old.\n\n=== Attacks on humans ===\nSeveral cases of lion attacking people have been documented:\n\nIn the 1890s, two Tsavo Man-Eaters attacked workers during the building of the Uganda Railway. Their skulls and skins are part of the zoological collection of the Field Museum of Natural History. The total number of people killed is unclear, but allegedly 135 people fell victim to these lions in less than a year before Colonel Patterson killed them.\nThe Njombe lions were a lion pride in Njombe in former Tanganyika, which are thought to have preyed on 1,500 to 2,000 people. They were killed by George Gilman Rushby.\n"


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"Between 1990 and 2004, lions killed more than 560 people in Tanzania, mostly during harvest season in crop fields and in areas where natural prey is scarce.\nIn February 2018, lions killed a suspected poacher near Kruger National Park.\nIn February 2018, Kevin Richardson took three lions for a walk at Dinokeng Game Reserve in South Africa. A lioness pursued an impala for at least 2 km (1.2 mi), and  killed a young woman near her car.\nIn July 2018, human remains were found in the lion enclosure of a privately owned reserve in South Africa. They were suspected to have been rhino poachers, as they had a high-powered rifle with a silencer, an axe and wire cutters.\n\n== Threats ==\n\nIn Africa, lions are threatened by pre-emptive killing or in retaliation for preying on livestock. Prey base depletion, loss and conversion of habitat have led to a number of subpopulations becoming small and isolated. Trophy hunting has contributed to population declines in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is the primary cause for a decline of lion populations in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve and Katavi National Park. "


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"Although lions and their prey are officially protected in Tsavo National Parks, they are regularly killed by local people, with over 100 known lion killings between 2001 and 2006.Between 2008 and 2013, bones and body parts from at least 2621 individual lions were exported from South Africa to Southeast Asia, and another 3437 lion skeletons between 2014 and 2016. Lion bones are used to replace tiger bones in traditional Asian medicines. Private game ranches in South Africa also breed lions for the canned hunting industry.In 2014, seven lions in Ikona Wildlife Management Area were reportedly poisoned by a herdsman for attacking his cattle. In February 2018, the carcasses of two male and four female lions were found dead in Ruaha National Park, and were suspected to have died of poisoning.In 2015 and 2017, two male lions, Cecil and his son Xanda, were killed by trophy hunters in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.Uncontrolled bushfires and hunting of lions and prey species in Zambia's Kafue National Park make it difficult for the lion population to recover. Cub mortality in particular is high.\n\n== Conservation ==\n\nAfrican lions are included in CITES Appendix II. "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"Today, lion populations are stable only in large protected area complexes. IUCN regional offices and many wildlife conservation organisations cooperated to develop a Lion Conservation Strategy for Eastern and Southern Africa in 2006. The strategy envisages to maintain sufficient habitat, ensure a sufficient wild prey base, make lion-human coexistence sustainable and reduce factors that lead to further fragmentation of populations.\nLocal communities in several Southern African lion range countries generate significant income through wildlife tourism, which is a strong incentive for their support of conservation measures.Establishing corridors between protected areas is important for facilitating dispersal of lions. Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and Central Kalahari Game Reserve are key dispersal areas in Southern Africa.\n\n=== In captivity ===\n\nAt the beginning of the 21st century, the Addis Ababa Zoo kept 16 adult lions. "


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"It is assumed that their ancestors, five males and two females, were caught in southwestern Ethiopia as part of a zoological collection for Emperor Haile Selassie I.In 2006, eight captive lions were registered under the name P. l. massaicus, and 23 as P. l. nubicus from Tanzania by the International Species Information System; about 100 captive lions were registered  as P. l. krugeri, which derived from lions captured in South Africa.In 2012, samples of lions kept at Sana'a Zoo in Yemen were found to cluster with those of lions from East and Southern Africa.\n\n== Cultural significance ==\n\nThe lion is an animal symbol in shamanistic rituals of the Nuer people. In other East African cultures, it symbolizes laziness. Scars inflicted by lions are regarded as a sign of courage among the Masai people.\nThe name 'Simba' is a Swahili word for the lion, which also means 'aggressive', 'king' and 'strong'.\n\n== Regional names ==\nLion populations in Southern and East Africa were referred to by several regional names, including Katanga lion, Transvaal lion, Kalahari lion, Southeast African lion, and Southwest African lion, Masai lion, Serengeti lion, Tsavo lion and Uganda lion. "


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"It has also been referred to as 'Eastern-Southern African lion', 'Southern lion', and as 'southern subspecies'.\n\n== See also ==\nWild cats in Africa: African leopard  \u00b7  African golden cat  \u00b7  Caracal  \u00b7  Serval  \u00b7  African wildcat  \u00b7  Sand cat  \u00b7  Black-footed cat  \u00b7  Cheetah\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nCarrington, D. (2018). \"Lion poaching: the brutal new threat to Africa's prides\". The Guardian.\n\"Lion (Panthera leo ssp. melanochaita)\". ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System. 2016.\n$0.5m funding to stop the decline in the population of African lions\nWhat Will It Take to Save the East African Lion from Extinction? Hunting or Herding?\nLions in East Africa\nRecovering population of Zimbabwean African lions show low genetic diversity\nPetaPixel, September 2018: Lioness Steals Photographer\u2019s Canon DSLR and Gives It to Her Cubs\nNational Geographic Wildlife Watch, June 2018: As Tigers Become Rarer, Poachers Are Targeting Lions\nLobengula the South African guardian lion\nWhat Happened to Angola\u2019s 1,000 Lions?\n"


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"Holding the line for lions in Mozambique\nGiant Lions Once Prowled East Africa, 200,000-Year-Old Skull Reveals\nBBC Earth: Lions take down an adult elephant\nThe Savuti Lions of the Chobe National Park\nA Zambian lion stirs\nShamba the South African lion\nKnown for escapes, South African lion becomes a father"


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"The black-capped squirrel monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) is a species of New-World monkey native to the upper Amazon basin in Bolivia, western Brazil and eastern Peru. They weigh between 365 and 1135 grams and measure, from the head to the base of the tail, between 225 and 370mm. Black-capped squirrel monkeys are primarily tree-dwelling and are found in both native and plantation forests as well as some farmed areas near running water. Their diet is omnivorous and mostly consists of flowers, fruit, leaves, nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids, eggs and small vertebrates. They mostly live in female-dominated troops of around 40 to 75 monkeys, with males having been observed to disperse to live in all-male troops after reaching sexual maturation. Their current conservation status according to the IUCN is 'Least Concern'. The species belongs to the genus Saimiri and has two subspecies, S. b. boliviensis (the Bolivian squirrel monkey) and S. b. peruviensis (the Peruvian squirrel monkey).\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe black-capped squirrel monkey displays sexual dimorphism, with males normally weighing between 550 and 1135 grams and females weighing between 365 and 750 grams. Infants typically weigh between 80 and 140 grams when they are born. "


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"Adults of the species measure in length (from the head to the base of the tail) between 250 and 370mm for males and 225 and 295mm for females. The coat of the monkey is short, soft and dense, and the majority of the fur covering the back of the monkey is a grey to olive-brown hue, while the undersides are typically white, yellow or ochre. The head is characteristically black with white arches over the eyes. The tail is the same colour as the body with a black tufted tip and is not prehensile; it usually measures around 350 to 425mm.Physically, the black-capped squirrel monkey is very similar to a number of other species of squirrel monkey, but is distinguishable from other species by a number of features. The most noticeable of these are the dark black cap and the white \u2018Roman type\u2019 arch pattern over the monkey's eyes, which is more narrow and rounded than the \u2018Gothic type\u2019 arch pattern over the eyes of the other species. The tail of the \u2018Roman type\u2019 species is also narrower than that of the \u2018Gothic type\u2019.\n\n"


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"== Evolution ==\nSaimiri boliviensis is thought to have diverged from the Saimiri genus approximately 1.5 million years ago. It has been hypothesised that this diversification occurred due to environmental changes in the Pleistocene period which allowed for thicker vegetation to appear in the Amazonian rainforest.\n\n=== Fossils ===\nSeveral different fossils have been linked to the genus Saimiri through examinations of their dental and cranial morphology, including the Early Miocene fossil Dolichocebus which was discovered  in Gaiman, Argentina and dated to around 20.5 million years ago, and the Middle Miocene fossil of the genus Neosaimiri discovered in La Venta, Colombia, which has been dated to between 12.1 and 12.5 million years ago.\n\n=== Taxonomic classification ===\nOriginally all squirrel monkeys were considered to be of the same species; they were first divided into two different \u2018types\u2019 - \u2018Roman\u2019 and \u2018Gothic\u2019 - in Paul D. Maclean's article \u2018Mirror Display in the Squirrel Monkey, Saimiri sciureus\u2019, published in 1964. Many different opinions on the taxonomic classification of Saimiri boliviensis as a separate species have been published, however various studies conducted by several researchers have concluded that Saimiri boliviensis is one of at most seven different species of Saimiri. "


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"Based on the geographical distribution and the morphological and behavioural characteristics of the specimens studied, Hershkovitz proposed the existence of Saimiri boliviensis as a distinct species with two sub-species, Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis and Saimiri boliviensis peruviensis. Based on cranial measurements and coat colouring, Thorington proposed Saimiri sciureus boliviensis as a sub-species of Saimiri sciureus. Another prominent report published in 1993 supports Thorington's classification, however after further investigation into the genetic characteristics of the monkey a more recently published report concludes that Hershkovitz's description is the most accurate. "


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"The dispute over the taxonomic and genetic classification of the black-capped squirrel monkey has become increasingly relevant with regards to their use in biomedical research, due to the fact that hybridisation may have an effect on the reproductive capabilities of the monkey, and has the potential to cause a differentiation in its susceptibility to certain pathogens and infections.Alternative or previously proposed taxonomic names include:\nSaimiri sciureus boliviensis\nCallithrix boliviensis (monkeys from Bolivia)\nCallithrix entomophagus  (monkeys from Tef\u00e9, Brazil)\nSaimiri boliviensis nigriceps (monkeys from Cosnipata, Peru)\nSaimiri boliviensis pluvialis (monkeys from the Rio Jurua in Brazil)\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nSaimiri displaying the characteristic \u2018Roman arch\u2019 facial pattern of the black-capped squirrel monkey have been documented throughout most of Bolivia, northern Peru, and between the Jurua and Purus Rivers in Brazil. They are found in lowland tropical rainforests near water in densely forested and swampy regions. "


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"They are predominantly arboreal, and while they utilise all levels of the forests they have been observed to keep mostly to the lower canopies for the purposes of travel and foraging It has been proposed that matrilineal troops of Saimiri boliviensis are formed due to an abundance of fruit and insects present in their habitat, which is not present in the habitats of other species of the Saimiri genus.\n\n== Biology ==\nSaimiri boliviensis are mostly arboreal but will occasionally also be found on the forest floor. They are diurnal and have been observed to be most active during the early to mid-morning, before resting for one or two hours in the afternoon, followed by another period of activity from the early afternoon to evening.\n\n=== Social systems ===\nThe black-capped squirrel monkey is found in female dominated troops of around 45 to 75 monkeys, unlike its relative the Common squirrel monkey which habitually lives in male dominated troops of around 15 to 50.  Similar to most other species of monkeys, female Saimiri boliviensis will remain in the troop into which they are born, while males are more likely to be excluded by more dominant females.  "


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"When they reach sexual maturity, male Black-capped squirrel monkeys will disperse from their natal troop into smaller all-male groups, and will eventually join a larger mixed-sex troop, often together with other males from the all-male group. Black-capped squirrel monkey troops display high levels of aggression between females. Female monkeys will often compete with other female members of the troop to determine access to resources, however it has been observed that despite heavy competition for food they still prefer to live in large groups in order to reduce the likelihood of predation.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\n\nA Black-capped squirrel monkey will typically reach sexual maturation at around 3 years of age for females and 5 years of age for males. The yearly reproductive cycle of mature Saimiri has been observed by several researchers to be affected by a number of environmental factors, including the cycles of rainfall and levels of illumination in their habitat. The mating season coincides with the dry season, and will typically result in a single infant being born to each mother. "


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"It has been suggested that adult female monkeys are more receptive to environmental cues for the mating season to begin, and the response in males is in part attributed to behavioural and scent cues from the females.  During the mating season, males of the species will gain a large amount of subcutaneous upper body fat, leading to what is known as a \u2018fatted\u2019 appearance. It has also been observed that the testosterone levels of monkeys of the Bolivian and Peruvian species are noticeably higher during the mating season than those of other species of male Saimiri from Guayana. Males will become more irritable and aggressive, fight more frequently for the purpose of achieving dominance within the troop, and engage in genital display towards less dominant males. It has been observed in both natural and laboratory settings that the hierarchy of the troop may change up to as often as three times in a month, and this will often result in highly aggressive fights which may lead to the complete exclusion of younger adult males from the troop. "


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"The scent and behavioural cues of a female monkey assist a male in his judgement of whether or not she will be receptive to his approach and attempt at mating with her. If she is not receptive, the female, sometimes with the aid of other nearby females, will usually chase the male away. Consorting and copulation between a male and female monkey may last between one minute and over an hour depending on the presence of other monkeys and the environment in which it takes place. The gestation period of the monkey has been estimated to last between 160 and 170 days. During the first week following its birth, an infant monkey will cling to its mother's back and will seldom move or be attended to by the mother unless it is in some way in need of assistance.\n\n=== Communication ===\nSquirrel monkeys have been found to be some of the most vocal primates, with a large range of different types of calls documented throughout their lifespan. "


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"Commonly used sounds include \u2018chucks\u2019, a variety of purrs and squawks elicited during the birthing and mating seasons, chirps and peeps used for alarm or attention, as well as aggressive screaming and \u2018barking\u2019. Infant Black-capped squirrel monkeys tend to vocally communicate much more than adults. The most common form of infant communication is a number of different \u2018peeps\u2019, which begin to occur most frequently at around 2 months of age when the infant starts to spend more time away from its mother. After maturation, the most commonly used call for adult females is a variety of \u2018chucks\u2019, used to maintain contact in dense vegetation where visual identification is not possible.\n\n=== Food and foraging ===\nBlack-capped squirrel monkeys are omnivorous. A typical squirrel monkey diet includes fruits, insects, eggs, small vertebrates, arachnids, leaves, flowers, nuts, seeds, and rarely fungi; however it has been observed that they prefer insects to fruit. Mature Saimiri spend most of the day foraging. They will begin foraging at around 60 to 40 minutes before sunrise and will spend the first part of the day actively feeding on fruits and any insects they are able to hunt while foraging for fruit. "


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"They will then adopt more sedate feeding behaviours and spend the rest of the day resting and hunting for more insects.  Often, when food is not scarce, they will stop and rest for an hour or two in the middle of the day when it is too hot to continue. When fruits are scarce, squirrel monkeys have been reported to consume Ascopolyporus, a fungus that is parasitic on scale insects which are parasitic to local bamboo species. Researchers formulate that this is done as an alternative food source during dry seasons.\n\n=== Locomotion ===\nBlack-capped squirrel monkeys are mostly found in trees and will often leap 1\u20132 metres between branches. They are capable of moving swiftly through dense vegetation at a four-legged walk or run with diagonal sequence footfalls (wherein the hind leg on one side will touch down followed by the foreleg of the opposite side). They will occasionally adopt a stationary bipedal stance at ground level while foraging. The monkey's tail is usually used for balance, or by infants to secure them to their mother's tail or abdomen.\n\n"


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"== Conservation status ==\nThe black-capped squirrel monkey population has been listed as being of \u2018Least Concern\u2019 by the IUCN, despite population numbers being in a general state of decline. It has been determined that the black-capped squirrel monkey is adapts easily to changes or potential threats to its environment, and is not subject to high levels of hunting by humans. According to the IUCN, the main threats to the habitat of the monkey are agricultural and aquacultural uses of their habitat, and the use of the monkey's biological resources for purposes such as hunting, trapping, logging and wood harvesting.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nSaimiri boliviensis boliviensis genome in Ensembl\nView the saiBol1 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser."


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"The  black-casqued hornbill (Ceratogymna atrata) or black-casqued wattled hornbill, is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae.\nIt is widely spread across the African tropical rainforest.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nAudio file of the sounds of the black casqued hornbill Freesound"


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"The burrowing parrot (Cyanoliseus patagonus), also known as the burrowing parakeet or the Patagonian conure, is a species of parrot native to Argentina and Chile.  It belongs to the monotypic genus Cyanoliseus, with four subspecies that are currently recognized.\nThe burrowing parrot is unmistakable with a distinctive white eye ring, white breast marking, olive green body colour, and brightly coloured underparts. Named for their nesting habits, burrowing parrots excavate elaborate burrows in cliff faces and ravines in order to rear their chicks. They inhabit dry, open country up to 2000 m in elevation. Once abundant across Argentina and Chile, burrowing parrot populations have been in decline due to exploitation and persecution.\n\n== Taxonomy, phylogeny and systematics ==\n\nThe burrowing parrot was first described in 1818 by Louis Pierre Vieillot as Psittacus patagonus. The genus was later renamed Cyanoliseus by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854.The burrowing parrot is the only member of the genus Cyanoliseus, making it monotypic. Together with other genera of long-tailed New World parrots, Cyanoliseus is a part of the Tribe Arini, which in turn is a part of the subfamily Arinae, or Neotropical parrots, in the family of true parrots, Psittacidae. "


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"The closest relative of the burrowing parrot is thought to be the Nanday parakeet.There are four recognized subspecies, however the subspecies C. p. conlara is considered doubtfully distinct:\nC. p. patagonus (Vieillot) is the nominate subspecies found in central to southeast Argentina, with some migrants reaching southern Uruguay\nC. p. andinus (Dabbene and Lillo) is found in northwest Argentina, from Salta to San Juan. Plumage is duller than the nominate C. p. patagonus, with much fainter markings. This population is estimated to be approximately 2000 individuals.\nC. p. conlara (Nores and Yzurieta) can be found in San Luis, between the ranges of C. p. patagonus and C. p. andinus, and is visually similar to C. p. patagonus except for a darker breast, suggesting that C. p. conlara may be a hybrid instead of a distinct subspecies\nC. p. bloxami (Olson), formerly C. p. byroni, also known as the Greater Patagonian Conure, is the Chilean sub-population. Formerly occurring from Atacama to Valdiva, now this subspecies is restricted to isolated populations in central Chile in O'Higgins, Maule and Atacama. "


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"Unlike the nominate subspecies, the white breast markings of this subspecies are prominent and extend across the whole breast, and the yellow underparts and red abdomen are much brighter. It is larger in size than C. p. patagonus at 315-390g. Populations are currently estimated at 5000-6000 individuals.Another subspecies, C. p. whitleyi (Kinnear), was described but has since been determined to be an aviary hybrid between a burrowing parrot and a species from the genus Aratinga or possibly Primolius.A study on mitochondrial DNA in burrowing parrots suggests that the species originated in Chile, the Argentinian populations arising during the Late Pleistocene from \"a single migration event across the Andes, which gave rise to all extant Argentinean mitochondrial lineages\". The Andes represent a strong geographical barrier, thus isolating the Chilean population, which were found to be genetically and phenotypically distinct from the Argentinian populations. This study found no support for C. p. conlara as a subspecies, and instead suggests a hybrid zone between the  C. p. patagonus and C. p. andinus ranges where C. p. conlara represents the hybrid phenotype.\n\n"


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"== Description ==\nAdults measure 39\u201352 cm in length, with a wingspan of 23\u201325 cm and a long, graduated tail that can range from 21 to 26 cm. Burrowing parrots are slightly sexually dimorphic, with males being slightly larger and weighing approximately 253-340 g, while females weigh 227-304 g, making it the largest member of the group of New World parakeet species commonly known as conures.The burrowing parrot is a distinctive parrot; it has a bare, white eye ring and post-ocular patch, its head and upper back are olive-brown, and its throat and breast are grey-brown with a whitish pectoral marking, which is variable and rarely extends across the whole breast. The lower thighs and the center of the abdomen are orange-red, and it is thought that the extent and hue of the red plumage indicates the quality of the individual as a breeding partner and parent. The lower back, upper thighs, rump, vent and flanks are yellow, and the wing coverts olive green. The tail is olive green with a blue caste when viewed from above and brown from below. The burrowing parrot has a grey bill and yellow-white iris with pink legs. "


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"Immature birds look like adults but with a horn coloured upper mandible patch and a pale grey iris.While both sexes look visually similar to the human eye, the burrowing parrot is sexually dichromatic. Males tend to have significantly redder and larger abdominal red patches, and both sexes look different under UV light, with males have brighter green feathers and females having brighter blue feathers.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe burrowing parrot can be found in much of Argentina, and there are isolated populations in central Chile. In the winter, birds in central and southern Argentina may migrate north as far as southern Uruguay, making them austral migrants, while Chilean birds migrate vertically down slope to avoid colder altitudes. Movements in the populations of northwestern Argentina are also known to occur according to food availability.The burrowing parrot prefers dry, open country, particularly in the vicinity of water courses, up to 2000 m in elevation. Habitats include montane grassy shrubland, Patagonian steppes, arid lowland, woodland savanna, and the plains of the Gran Chaco. They may also inhabit farmland and the edges of urban areas.\n\n"


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\n=== Diet ===\nThe diet of the burrowing parrot comprises seeds, berries, fruits, and possibly vegetable matter, and they can be seen feeding on the ground or in trees and shrubs. Their diet varies seasonally, with fruit consumption peaking during Argentina's summer (December\u2013February), where one study found that fruit makes up 2% of their crop contents in November\u2013December, 74% in January, 25% in February, 35%,in March and 8% in April. Specifically, burrowing parrots have been observed feeding on the fruit from various species such as the red crowberry (Empetrum rubrum), Chilean palo verde (Geoffroea decorticans), Lycium salsum, pepper trees (Schinus sp.), Prosopis sp., Discaria sp., as well as cacti. In the winter, the burrowing parrot feeds predominantly on seeds from cultivated crops and wild plants such as thistles, as well as the Patagonian oak (Nothofagus obliqua) and the Carboncillo (Cordia decandra) in the Chilean foothills.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\nBest known for its nesting habits, the burrowing parrot excavates industrious burrows in limestone or sandstone cliff faces, often in ravines. "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"These burrows can be as much as 3 m deep into a cliff-face, connecting with other tunnels to create a labyrinth, ending in a nesting chamber. Breeding pairs will reuse burrows from previous years but may enlarge them. They nest in large colonies, some of the largest ever recorded for parrots, which is thought to reduce predation. The parrots tend to select larger, taller ravines, allowing for larger colonies and higher burrows and resulting in higher breeding success.In the absence of acceptable ravines or cliffs to use as nesting sites, burrowing parrots will use anthropogenic substrates such as quarries, wells and pits. Rarely, they have been known to nest in tree cavities.Studies have shown that burrowing parrots are both socially and genetically monogamous. The breeding season begins in September, and eggs are laid up to December, with two up to five eggs laid per clutch. The incubation period is 24\u201325  days, where the female is the sole incubator while the male provides for her. Eggs hatch asynchronously, and mortality is higher for fourth and fifth chicks in a clutch. Both parents care for the chicks. "


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created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"Chicks begin to fledge in late December until February, approximately eight weeks after hatching, and the fledglings depend on their parents for up to four months.\n\n=== Thermoregulation ===\nIn order to cope with an unpredictable climate, burrowing parrots increase their body mass and decrease their basal metabolic rate (BMR) in the winter in order to conserve energy, insulate against cold ambient temperatures and to survive reductions in food availability, in concurrence with other birds found in the southern hemisphere.\n\n== Status and relationship to humans ==\n\nThe burrowing parrot currently has a conservation status of least concern according to the IUCN Red List, however populations are currently declining, due to exploitation for the wildlife trade and persecution as a crop pest. In Chile, the burrowing parrot (specifically, the C. p. bloxami subspecies) is on the national vertebrate red list. It is currently listed under Appendix II of CITES, allowing for international trade. Due to their nesting habits, they are particularly vulnerable to human disturbances and habitat degradation.The burrowing parrot was officially named as a crop pest in Argentina in 1984, leading to increased persecution. "


id: 5eccd70b8ed886f36b08f45d43180523
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"Their status as a crop pest has excluded them protection under Argentina's ban on wildlife trade, however the province of R\u00edo Negro has deemed population reductions sufficient and banned hunting and trade of the burrowing parrot as of 2004. Studies have shown that the effects of crop predation by burrowing parrots is economically insignificant. Additionally, birds of the Chilean subspecies (C. p. bloxami) have been hunted for feast-day in Chile.The Mapuche people of the province of Neuqu\u00e9n in the Patagonian Andes celebrate the annual fledging of burrowing parrots with a festival.\n\n=== Aviculture ===\nThe burrowing parrot, commonly called the Patagonian conure in aviculture, is a popular companion parrot. It is known for being playful, gentle and affectionate with humans, even cuddly when tame - it can also learn to talk and mimic sounds from its environment. As a large parakeet, it requires plenty of living space and the opportunity to fly on a regular basis in order to thrive. The maximum verified lifespan for this species in captivity is 19.5 years, however plausible claims of burrowing parrots living up to 34.1 years have also been reported.The subspecies typically found in aviculture is the nominate ssp."


id: f3e92977b19a2bba68e2968635120eb9
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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", Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus - also known as the lesser Patagonian conure. Tens of thousands of burrowing parakeets were previously removed from the wild and exported for the pet trade, however most birds available for purchase as pets are captive-bred at present.\n\n== References ==\nMedia related to Cyanoliseus patagonus at Wikimedia Commons\n\n== External links ==\n\nBurrowing Parrot Project"


id: e193f845c55ebf1a6030e3b3e9457eec
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"The siamang (, also UK: ; Symphalangus syndactylus) is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching 1 m (3.3 ft) in height, and weighing up to 14 kg (31 lb). It is the only species in the genus Symphalangus. Fossils of siamangs dates back to the Middle Pleistocene.Two features distinguish the siamang from other gibbons. First, two digits on each foot\u2014the second and third toes\u2014are partially joined by a membrane, hence the specific name syndactylus, from the Ancient Greek \u03c3\u03cd\u03bd, sun-, \"with\" + \u03b4\u03ac\u03ba\u03c4\u03c5\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2, daktulos, \"finger\". Second, a large gular sac (throat pouch), found in both males and females of the species, can be inflated to the size of the siamang's head, allowing it to make loud, resonating calls or songs.\nTwo subspecies of the siamang may exist. If so, they are the nominate Sumatran siamang (S. s. syndactylus) and the Malaysian siamang (S. s. continentis, in Malay peninsula). Otherwise, the Malaysian individuals are only a population. "


id: 5936064387609dd0054f3415054a527
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"The siamang occurs sympatrically with other gibbons; its two ranges are entirely within the combined ranges of the agile gibbon and the lar gibbon.\nThe siamang can live to around 40 years in captivity.While the illegal pet trade takes a toll on wild populations, the principal threat to the siamang is habitat loss in both Indonesia and Malaysia. The palm oil production industry is clearing large swaths of forest, reducing the habitat of the siamang, along with those of other species, such as the Sumatran tiger.\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe siamang has long, dense, shaggy hair, which is the darkest shade of all gibbons. The ape's long, gangling arms are longer than its legs. The average length of a siamang is 90 cm; the largest they have ever grown is 150 cm. The face of this large gibbon is mostly hairless, apart from a thin mustache.\n\n"


id: 94a4cb453c66ac66b6441ddc408b9f1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe siamang inhabits the forest remnants of Sumatra Island and the Malay Peninsula, and is widely distributed from lowland forest to mountain forest\u2014even rainforest\u2014and can be found at altitudes up to 3800 m. It lives in groups of up to six individuals (four individuals on average) with an average home range of 23 hectares. Their day ranges are substantially smaller than those of sympatric Hylobates species, often less than 1 km. The siamang's melodious singing breaks the forest's silence in the early morning after the agile gibbons' or lar gibbons' calls. The siamangs in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula are similar in appearance, but some behaviors differ between the two populations.\n\n== Ecology and behaviour ==\n\n=== Diet ===\nThe siamang eats mainly various parts of plants. The Sumatran siamang is more frugivorous than its Malayan relative, with fruit making up to 60% of its diet. The siamang eats at least 160 species of plants, from vines to woody plants. Its major food source is figs (Ficus spp. The siamang prefers to eat ripe rather than unripe fruit, and young rather than old leaves. It eats flowers and a few animals, mostly insects. "


id: 53b0acb085f6dc009edeca6e811f56e5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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content:
"When the siamang eats large flowers, it eats only the corollae (petals), but it eats all parts of smaller flowers, with the small fruit collected in its hand before being consumed. When it eats big and hard seeds or seeds with sharp edges, it peels out the fruit flesh and throws away the seed. Although its diet consists of substantial portions of fruit, it is the most folivorous of all members of Hylobatidae. As it is also the largest gibbon, it fits well with the general primate dietary trend in which larger primates tend to be more folivorous.\n\n=== Demography and population ===\nA group of siamangs normally consists of an adult dominant male, an adult dominant female, with offspring, infants, and sometimes a subadult. The subadult usually leaves the group after attaining the age of 6\u20138 years; subadult females tend to leave the group earlier than subadult males. Siamang gestation period is between 6.2 and 7.9 months; after the infant is born, the mother takes care of the infant for the first year of its life. "


id: b27630851db007e8b0befe426cf3dbeb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
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"Siamang males tend to offer more paternal care than do other members of the family Hylobatidae, taking up a major role in carrying an infant after it is about 8 months old. The infant typically returns to its mother to sleep and nurse. The infant begins to travel independently from its parents by its third year of life.Siamangs are generally known to have monogamous mating pairs, which have been documented to spend more time in close proximity to each other, in comparison to other gibbon species. Both monogamous and polyandrous groups, though, are found in South Sumatra. In studying these populations, infants belonging to monogamous groups were found to receive more overall male care than infants in the polyandrous groups. This reduced care is most likely due to reduced certainty of paternity in these groups.Habitat disturbance affects siamang group composition; it is varied in age-sex structure between intact forest and burnt, regrown forest. The burnt, regrown forest population contained more adult and subadults than the intact forest population, which had more infants, small juveniles, and large juveniles. Infant survival rates in burnt, regrown forest groups are lower than in intact forest groups. "


id: 350161c24ebe5d8e041eedd8fd414ca1
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"The number of individuals in the latter is higher than in the former. The siamang in disturbed forests live in small groups and have a density lower than in intact forests because of lack of food resources and trees for living.\nIn the 1980s, the Indonesian population of the siamang in the wild was estimated to be 360,000 individuals. This figure may be less in the 21st century: Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is the third-largest protected area (3,568 km2) in Sumatra, of which roughly 2,570 km2 remain under forest cover inhabited by 22,390 siamangs (in 2002 censuses). In Sumatra, the siamang prefers to inhabit lowland forest between 500 and 1000 m above sea level.\n\n=== Behaviour ===\nThe siamang tends to rest for more than half of its waking period from dawn to dusk, followed by feeding, moving, foraging, and social activities. It takes more rest during midday, taking time to groom others or to play. During resting time, it usually uses a branch of a large tree, lying on its back or belly. Feeding behaviors, foraging, and moving are most often in the morning and after resting. "


