# document

id: c27aacccfd340d0d5a34930cf1a49099
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1838
content:
"Despite its reputation as a fussy eater, the koala is more generalist than some other marsupial species, such as the greater glider. Since eucalypt leaves have a high water content, the koala does not need to drink often;:\u200a74\u200a its daily water turnover rate ranges from 71 to 91 ml/kg of body weight. Although females can meet their water requirements by eating leaves, larger males require additional water found on the ground or in tree hollows.:\u200a231\u200a When feeding, a koala holds onto a branch with hind paws and one forepaw while the other forepaw grasps foliage. Small koalas can move close to the end of a branch, but larger ones stay near the thicker bases.:\u200a96\u200a Koalas consume up to 400 grams (14 oz) of leaves a day, spread over four to six feeding sessions.:\u200a187\u200a Despite their adaptations to a low-energy lifestyle, they have meagre fat reserves and need to feed often.:\u200a189\u200aBecause they get so little energy from their diet, koalas must limit their energy use and sleep or rest 20 hours a day.:\u200a93\u200a They are predominantly active at night and spend most of their waking hours feeding. "


id: cf983d9780d1ff21af3692aa6b9d014f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1976
content:
"They typically eat and sleep in the same tree, possibly for as long as a day.:\u200a39\u200a On very hot days, a koala may climb down to the coolest part of the tree which is cooler than the surrounding air. The koala hugs the tree to lose heat without panting. On warm days, a koala may rest with its back against a branch or lie on its stomach or back with its limbs dangling.:\u200a93\u201394\u200a During cold, wet periods, it curls itself into a tight ball to conserve energy.:\u200a39\u200a On windy days, a koala finds a lower, thicker branch on which to rest. While it spends most of the time in the tree, the animal descends to the ground to move to another tree.:\u200a94\u200a The koala usually grooms itself with its hind paws, but sometimes uses its forepaws or mouth.:\u200a97\u201398\n\n=== Social spacing ===\n\nKoalas are asocial animals and spend just 15 minutes a day on social behaviours. In Victoria, home ranges are small and have extensive overlap, while in central Queensland they are larger and overlap less."


id: 6e9c8b574132e10667d5873872f2fc8d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 993
content:
":\u200a98\u200a Koala society appears to consist of \"residents\" and \"transients\", the former being mostly adult females and the latter males. Resident males appear to be territorial and dominate others with their larger body size. Alpha males tend to establish their territories close to breeding females, while younger males are subordinate until they mature and reach full size.:\u200a191\u200a Adult males occasionally venture outside their home ranges; when they do so, dominant ones retain their status.:\u200a99\u200a When a male enters a new tree, he marks it by rubbing his chest gland against the trunk or a branch; males have occasionally been observed to dribble urine on the trunk. This scent-marking behaviour probably serves as communication, and individuals are known to sniff the base of a tree before climbing.:\u200a54\u201356\u200a Scent marking is common during aggressive encounters. Chest gland secretions are complex chemical mixtures\u2014about 40 compounds were identified in one analysis\u2014that vary in composition and concentration with the season and the age of the individual.\n\nAdult males communicate with loud bellows\u2014low pitched sounds that consist of snore-like inhalations and resonant exhalations that sound like growls. "


id: 5562854d192142ff05de61b42fa3c44a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 721
content:
"These sounds are thought to be generated by unique vocal organs found in koalas. Because of their low frequency, these bellows can travel far through air and vegetation.:\u200a56\u200a Koalas may bellow at any time of the year, particularly during the breeding season, when it serves to attract females and possibly intimidate other males. They also bellow to advertise their presence to their neighbours when they enter a new tree.:\u200a57\u200a These sounds signal the male's actual body size, as well as exaggerate it; females pay more attention to bellows that originate from larger males. Female koalas bellow, though more softly, in addition to making snarls, wails, and screams. These calls are produced when in distress and when making defensive threats. Young koalas squeak when in distress. As they get older, the squeak develops into a \"squawk\" produced both when in distress and to show aggression. When another individual climbs over it, a koala makes a low grunt with its mouth closed. Koalas make numerous facial expressions. When snarling, wailing, or squawking, the animal curls the upper lip and points its ears forward. During screams, the lips retract and the ears are drawn back. "


id: f5e5717ba29e125d1fe9e53b0e85b340
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2377
content:
"Females bring their lips forward and raise their ears when agitated.:\u200a102\u201305\u200aAgonistic behaviour typically consists of squabbles between individuals climbing over or passing each other. This occasionally involves biting. Males that are strangers may wrestle, chase, and bite each other.:\u200a102\u200a In extreme situations, a male may try to displace a smaller rival from a tree. This involves the larger aggressor climbing up and attempting to corner the victim, which tries either to rush past him and climb down or to move to the end of a branch. The aggressor attacks by grasping the target by the shoulders and repeatedly biting him. Once the weaker individual is driven away, the victor bellows and marks the tree.:\u200a101\u201302\u200a Pregnant and lactating females are particularly aggressive and attack individuals that come too close. In general, however, koalas tend to avoid energy-wasting aggressive behaviour.:\u200a191\n\n=== Reproduction and development ===\n\nKoalas are seasonal breeders, and births take place from the middle of spring through the summer to early autumn, from October to May. Females in oestrus tend to hold their heads further back than usual and commonly display tremors and spasms. "


id: a3915796275c5987b23e810c0d955a16
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1536
content:
"However, males do not appear to recognise these signs and have been observed to mount non-oestrous females. Because of his much larger size, a male can usually force himself on a female, mounting her from behind, and in extreme cases, the male may pull the female out of the tree. A female may scream and vigorously fight off her suitors but will submit to one that is dominant or is more familiar. The bellows and screams that accompany matings can attract other males to the scene, obliging the incumbent to delay mating and fight off the intruders. These fights may allow the female to assess which is dominant.:\u200a58\u201360\u200a Older males usually have accumulated scratches, scars, and cuts on the exposed parts of their noses and their eyelids.:\u200a192\u200aThe koala's gestation period lasts 33\u201335 days, and a female gives birth to a single joey (although twins occur on occasion). As with all marsupials, the young are born while at the embryonic stage, weighing only 0.5 g (0.02 oz). However, they have relatively well-developed lips, forelimbs, and shoulders, as well as functioning respiratory, digestive, and urinary systems. "


id: baeb5839be9078eb434f27b51fd9f4bb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1758
content:
"The joey crawls into its mother's pouch to continue the rest of its development.:\u200a61\u200a Unlike most other marsupials, the koala does not clean her pouch.:\u200a181\u200aA female koala has two teats; the joey attaches itself to one of them and suckles for the rest of its pouch life.:\u200a61\u200a The koala has one of the lowest milk energy production rates, relative to body size, of any mammal. The female makes up for this by lactating for as long as 12 months.:\u200a62\u200a At seven weeks of age, the joey's head grows longer and becomes proportionally large, pigmentation begins to develop, and its sex can be determined (the scrotum appears in males and the pouch begins to develop in females). At 13 weeks, the joey weighs around 50 g (1.8 oz) and its head has doubled in size. The eyes begin to open and fine fur grows on the forehead, nape, shoulders, and arms. At 26 weeks, the fully furred animal resembles an adult and begins to poke its head out of the pouch."


id: 732fe9f2f6f470e9b33a27ac263a2c4a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1039
content:
":\u200a63\n\nAs the young koala approaches six months, the mother begins to prepare it for its eucalyptus diet by predigesting the leaves, producing a faecal pap that the joey eats from her cloaca. The pap is quite different in composition from regular faeces, resembling instead the contents of the caecum, which has a high concentration of bacteria. Eaten for about a month, the pap provides a supplementary source of protein at a transition time from a milk to a leaf diet.:\u200a235\u200a The joey fully emerges from the pouch for the first time at six or seven months of age, when it weighs 300\u2013500 g (11\u201318 oz). It explores its new surroundings cautiously, clinging to its mother for support. By nine months, it weighs over 1 kg (2.2 lb) and develops its adult fur colour. Having permanently left the pouch, it rides on its mother's back for transportation, learning to climb by grasping branches.:\u200a65\u201366\u200a Gradually, it spends more time away from its mother, who becomes pregnant again after 12 months when the young is now around 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). "


id: 2214a360ca1a2bcc019111dbd513a5b4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 183
content:
"Her bond with her previous offspring is permanently severed and she no longer allows it to suckle, but it will continue to live near her for the next 6\u201312 months.:\u200a66\u201367\u200aFemales become sexually mature at about three years of age and can then become pregnant; in comparison, males reach sexual maturity when they are about four years old, although they can produce sperm as early as two years.:\u200a68\u200a While the chest glands can be functional as early as 18 months of age, males do not begin scent-marking behaviours until they reach sexual maturity. Because the offspring have a long dependent period, female koalas usually breed in alternate years. Favourable environmental factors, such as a plentiful supply of high-quality food trees, allow them to reproduce every year.:\u200a236\n\n=== Health and mortality ===\nKoalas may live from 13 to 18 years in the wild. While female koalas usually live this long, males may die sooner because of their more hazardous lives.:\u200a69\u200a Koalas usually survive falls from trees and immediately climb back up, but injuries and deaths from falls do occur, particularly in inexperienced young and fighting males."


id: 4f845adfa87c7ad157e6ff3a45358b3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 646
content:
":\u200a72\u201373\u200a Around six years of age, the koala's chewing teeth begin to wear down and their chewing efficiency decreases. Eventually, the cusps disappear completely and the animal will die of starvation. Koalas have few predators; dingos and large pythons may prey on them; birds of prey (such as powerful owls and wedge-tailed eagles) are threats to young. Koalas are generally not subject to external parasites, other than ticks in coastal areas. Koalas may also suffer mange from the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, and skin ulcers from the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans, but neither is common. Internal parasites are few and largely harmless.:\u200a71\u201373\u200a These include the tapeworm Bertiella obesa, commonly found in the intestine, and the nematodes Marsupostrongylus longilarvatus and Durikainema phascolarcti, which are infrequently found in the lungs. In a three-year study of almost 600 koalas admitted to the Australian Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland, 73.8% of the animals were infected with at least one species of the parasitic protozoal genus Trypanosoma, the most common of which was T. irwini.Koalas can be subject to pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria,:\u200a74\u201375\u200a which can cause keratoconjunctivitis, urinary tract infection, and reproductive tract infection."


id: c77b40c232fdfe2f3ef8de6928a82da0
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1896
content:
":\u200a229\u201330\u200a Such infections are widespread on the mainland, but absent in some island populations.:\u200a114\u200a The koala retrovirus (KoRV) may cause koala immune deficiency syndrome (KIDS) which is similar to AIDS in humans. Prevalence of KoRV in koala populations suggests a trend spreading from the north to the south of Australia. Northern populations are completely infected, while some southern populations (including Kangaroo Island) are free.The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow movements and the flammability of eucalypt trees.:\u200a26\u200a The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches, where it is vulnerable to intense heat and flames. Bushfires also fragment the animal's habitat, which restricts their movement and leads to population decline and loss of genetic diversity.:\u200a209\u201311\u200a Dehydration and overheating can also prove fatal.:\u200a80\u200a Consequently, the koala is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Models of climate change in Australia predict warmer and drier climates, suggesting that the koala's range will shrink in the east and south to more mesic habitats.\n\n"


id: 576f9035e66e9731c5504efa249d03ea
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 742
content:
"== Human relations ==\n\n=== History ===\n\nThe first written reference to the koala was recorded by John Price, servant of John Hunter, the Governor of New South Wales. Price encountered the \"cullawine\" on 26 January 1798, during an expedition to the Blue Mountains, although his account was not published until nearly a century later in Historical Records of Australia.:\u200a8\u200a In 1802, French-born explorer Francis Louis Barrallier encountered the animal when his two Aboriginal guides, returning from a hunt, brought back two koala feet they were intending to eat. Barrallier preserved the appendages and sent them and his notes to Hunter's successor, Philip Gidley King, who forwarded them to Joseph Banks. Similar to Price, Barrallier's notes were not published until 1897.:\u200a9\u201310\u200a Reports of the first capture of a live \"koolah\" appeared in The Sydney Gazette in August 1803. Within a few weeks Flinders' astronomer, James Inman, purchased a specimen pair for live shipment to Joseph Banks in England. They were described as 'somewhat larger than the Waumbut (Wombat)'. These encounters helped provide the impetus for King to commission the artist John Lewin to paint watercolours of the animal. "


id: 32afd65782577386f2b9790e51e5092
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 364
content:
"Lewin painted three pictures, one of which was subsequently made into a print that was reproduced in Georges Cuvier's Le R\u00e8gne Animal (The Animal Kingdom) (first published in 1817) and several European works on natural history.:\u200a12\u201313,\u200a45\u200aBotanist Robert Brown was the first to write a detailed scientific description of the koala in 1803, based on a female specimen captured near what is now Mount Kembla in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Austrian botanical illustrator Ferdinand Bauer drew the animal's skull, throat, feet, and paws. Brown's work remained unpublished and largely unnoticed, however, as his field books and notes remained in his possession until his death, when they were bequeathed to the British Museum (Natural History) in London. They were not identified until 1994, while Bauer's koala watercolours were not published until 1989.:\u200a16\u201328\u200a British surgeon Everard Home included details of the koala based on eyewitness accounts of William Paterson, who had befriended Brown and Bauer during their stay in New South Wales.:\u200a33\u201336\u200a Home, who in 1808 published his report in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, gave the animal the scientific name Didelphis coola."


id: 36656969c0842687c6e0031571ff3f1c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 410
content:
":\u200a36\nThe first published image of the koala appeared in George Perry's (1810) natural history work Arcana.:\u200a37\u200a Perry called it the \"New Holland Sloth\" on account of its perceived similarities to the Central and South American tree-living mammals of the genus Bradypus. His disdain for the koala, evident in his description of the animal, was typical of the prevailing early 19th-century British attitude about the primitiveness and oddity of Australian fauna::\u200a40\u200a ...  the eye is placed like that of the Sloth, very close to the mouth and nose, which gives it a clumsy awkward appearance, and void of elegance in the combination ... they have little either in their character or appearance to interest the Naturalist or Philosopher. As Nature however provides nothing in vain, we may suppose that even these torpid, senseless creatures are wisely intended to fill up one of the great links of the chain of animated nature ...\n\nNaturalist and popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala in his three-volume work The Mammals of Australia (1845\u20131863) and introduced the species, as well as other members of Australia's little-known faunal community, to the general British public."


id: 813f89f31965d69bea5f194c850e1efb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1188
content:
":\u200a87\u201393\u200a Comparative anatomist Richard Owen, in a series of publications on the physiology and anatomy of Australian mammals, presented a paper on the anatomy of the koala to the Zoological Society of London. In this widely cited publication, he provided the first careful description of its internal anatomy, and noted its general structural similarity to the wombat.:\u200a94\u201396\u200a English naturalist George Robert Waterhouse, curator of the Zoological Society of London, was the first to correctly classify the koala as a marsupial in the 1840s. He identified similarities between it and its fossil relatives Diprotodon and Nototherium, which had been discovered just a few years before.:\u200a46\u201348\u200a Similarly, Gerard Krefft, curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney, noted evolutionary mechanisms at work when comparing the koala to its ancestral relatives in his 1871 The Mammals of Australia.:\u200a103\u2013105\u200aThe first living koala in Britain arrived in 1881, purchased by the Zoological Society of London. As related by prosecutor to the society, William Alexander Forbes, the animal suffered an accidental demise when the heavy lid of a washstand fell on it and it was unable to free itself. "


id: 32f94e83efb2bdc5ca508972372e0092
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 368
content:
"Forbes used the opportunity to dissect the fresh female specimen, thus was able to provide explicit anatomical details on the female reproductive system, the brain, and the liver\u2014parts not previously described by Owen, who had access only to preserved specimens.:\u200a105\u201306\u200a Scottish embryologist William Caldwell\u2014well known in scientific circles for determining the reproductive mechanism of the platypus\u2014described the uterine development of the koala in 1884, and used the new information to convincingly place the koala and the monotremes into an evolutionary time frame.:\u200a111\n\n=== Cultural significance ===\n\nThe koala is well known worldwide and is a major draw for Australian zoos and wildlife parks.  It has been featured in advertisements, games, cartoons, and as soft toys.:\u200aix\u200a It benefited the national tourism industry by over an estimated billion Australian dollars in 1998, a figure that has since grown.:\u200a201\u200a In 1997, half of the visitors to Australia, especially those from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, sought out zoos and wildlife parks; about 75% of European and Japanese tourists placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see."


id: d609941852b606a9bd6b8b2b7f2b9f4d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2035
content:
":\u200a216\u200a According to biologist Stephen Jackson: \"If you were to take a straw poll of the animal most closely associated with Australia, it's a fair bet that the koala would come out marginally in front of the kangaroo\".:\u200aix\u200a Factors that contribute to the koala's enduring popularity include its childlike body proportions and teddy bear-like face.:\u200a3\u200aThe koala is featured in the Dreamtime stories and mythology of Indigenous Australians. The Tharawal people believed that the animal helped row the boat that brought them to the continent.:\u200a21\u200a Another myth tells of how a tribe killed a koala and used its long intestines to create a bridge for people from other parts of the world. This narrative highlights the koala's status as a game animal and the length of its intestines.:\u200a17\u200a Several stories tell of how the koala lost its tail. In one, a kangaroo cuts it off to punish the koala for being lazy and greedy.:\u200a28\u200a Tribes in both Queensland and Victoria regarded the koala as a wise animal and sought its advice. Bidjara-speaking people credited the koala for turning barren lands into lush forests."


id: 700cc5cbe8e8fd2ad2a206a7386b2cd8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1004
content:
":\u200a41\u201343\u200a The animal is also depicted in rock carvings, though not as much as some other species.:\u200a45\u201346\u200aEarly European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a prowling sloth-like animal with a \"fierce and menacing look\".:\u200a143\u200a At the beginning of the 20th century, the koala's reputation took a more positive turn, largely due to its growing popularity and depiction in several widely circulated children's stories.:\u200a162\u200a It is featured in Ethel Pedley's 1899 book Dot and the Kangaroo, in which it is portrayed as the \"funny native bear\".:\u200a144\u200a Artist Norman Lindsay depicted a more anthropomorphic koala in The Bulletin cartoons, starting in 1904. This character also appeared as Bunyip Bluegum in Lindsay's 1918 book The Magic Pudding.:\u200a147\u200a Perhaps the most famous fictional koala is Blinky Bill. Created by Dorothy Wall in 1933, the character appeared in several books and has been the subject of films, TV series, merchandise, and a 1986 environmental song by John Williamson."


id: e10f5707e56d64f51de7eb03fc6e5b24
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2174
content:
":\u200a149\u201352\u200a The first Australian stamp featuring a koala was issued by the Commonwealth in 1930.:\u200a164\u200a A television ad campaign for Australia's national airline Qantas, starting in 1967 and running for several decades, featured a live koala (voiced by Howard Morris), who complained that too many tourists were coming to Australia and concluded \"I hate Qantas\". The series has been ranked among the greatest commercials of all time.The song \"Ode to a Koala Bear\" appears on the B-side of the 1983 Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet single Say Say Say.:\u200a151\u200a A koala is the main character in Hanna-Barbera's The Kwicky Koala Show and Nippon Animation's Noozles, both of which were animated cartoons of the early 1980s. Food products shaped like the koala include the Caramello Koala chocolate bar and the bite-sized cookie snack Koala's March. Dadswells Bridge in Victoria features a tourist complex shaped like a giant koala:\u200a155\u201358\u200a and the Queensland Reds rugby team has a koala as its mascot.:\u200a160\u200a The Platinum Koala and Australian Silver Koala coins feature the animal on the reverse and Elizabeth II on the obverse.\n\n"


id: 103845cabf71042cfef465e0a27befb8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1
content:
"The drop bear is an imaginary creature in contemporary Australian folklore featuring a predatory, carnivorous version of the koala. This hoax animal is commonly spoken about in tall tales designed to scare tourists. While koalas are typically docile herbivores, drop bears are described as unusually large and vicious marsupials that inhabit treetops and attack unsuspecting people (or other prey) that walk beneath them by dropping onto their heads from above.\n\n=== Koala diplomacy ===\nPrince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, visited the Koala Park Sanctuary in Sydney in 1934 and was \"intensely interested in the bears\". His photograph, with Noel Burnet, the founder of the park, and a koala, appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald. After World War II, when tourism to Australia increased and the animals were exported to zoos overseas, the koala's international popularity rose. "


id: 80af72c398946b0efe3002349b55cc7f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1184
content:
"Several political leaders and members of royal families had their pictures taken with koalas, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry, Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Pope John Paul II, US President Bill Clinton, Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and South African President Nelson Mandela:\u200a156\u200aAt the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit, hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, many world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama were photographed holding koalas. The event gave rise to the term \"koala diplomacy\", which then became the Oxford Word of the Month for December 2016.\nThe term also includes the loan of koalas by the Australian government to overseas zoos in countries such as Singapore and Japan, as a form of \"soft power diplomacy\", like the \"panda diplomacy\" practised by China.\n\n== Conservation issues ==\n\nThe koala was originally classified as Least Concern on the Red List, and reassessed as Vulnerable in 2014. In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland, the species was listed under the EPBC Act in February 2022 as endangered by extinction. "


id: d74e9b56004839b000c6040437b38455
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2048
content:
"The described population was determined in 2012 to be \"a species for the purposes of the EPBC Act 1999\" in Federal legislation.Australian policymakers had declined a 2009 proposal to include the koala in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. In 2012, the Australian government listed koala populations in Queensland and New South Wales as Vulnerable, because of a 40% population decline in the former and a 33% decline in the latter. A 2017 WWF report found a 53% decline per generation in Queensland, and a 26% decline in New South Wales. The koala population in South Australia and Victoria and appear to be abundant; however, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) argued that the exclusion of Victorian populations from protective measures was based on a misconception that the total koala population was 200,000, whereas they believed in 2012 that it was probably less than 100,000. AKF estimated in 2022 that there could be as few as 43,000 individuals. This is compared with 8 to 10 million at the start of the 20th century.The koala was heavily hunted by European settlers in the early 20th century,:\u200a121\u2013128\u200a largely for its thick, soft fur. "


id: cedf437e549addff7c4402ab208b92ef
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1962
content:
"More than two million pelts are estimated to have left Australia by 1924. Pelts were in demand for use in rugs, coat linings, muffs, and as trimming on women's garments.:\u200a125\u200a The first successful efforts at conserving the species were initiated by the establishment of Brisbane's Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Sydney's Koala Park Sanctuary in the 1920s and 1930s. The owner of the latter park, Noel Burnet, became the first to successfully breed koalas and earned a reputation as the foremost contemporary authority on the marsupial.:\u200a157\u2013159\u200aOne of the biggest anthropogenic threats to the koala is habitat destruction and fragmentation. In coastal areas, the main cause of this is urbanisation, while in rural areas, habitat is cleared for agriculture. Native forest trees are also taken down to be made into wood products.:\u200a104\u2013107\u200a In 2000, Australia ranked fifth in the world by deforestation rates, having cleared 564,800 hectares (1,396,000 acres).:\u200a222\u200a The distribution of the koala has shrunk by more than 50% since European arrival, largely due to fragmentation of habitat in Queensland. "


id: 47d083289d83863c7a8ff269d855f435
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 578
content:
"Nevertheless, koalas live in many protected areas.While urbanisation can pose a threat to koala populations, the animals can survive in urban areas provided enough trees are present. Urban populations have distinct vulnerabilities: collisions with vehicles and attacks by domestic dogs. To reduce road deaths, government agencies have been exploring various wildlife crossing options, such as the use of fencing to channel animals toward an underpass, in some cases adding a ledge as a walkway to an existing culvert. Dogs kill about 4,000 animals every year. Injured koalas are often taken to wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres. In a 30-year retrospective study performed at a New South Wales koala rehabilitation centre, trauma (usually resulting from a motor vehicle accident or dog attack) was found to be the most frequent cause of admission, followed by symptoms of Chlamydia infection.\n\n"


id: 56d20871f1a6474d0b754d302e492551
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 735
content:
"== See also ==\nFauna of Australia\nList of monotremes and marsupials of Australia\nSam (koala), a female koala known for being rescued during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nArkive \u2013 images and movies of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus\nAnimal Diversity Web \u2013 Phascolarctos cinereus\niNaturalist crowdsourced koala sighting photos (mapped, graphed)\nKoala Science Community\n\"Koala Crunch Time\" \u2013 an ABC documentary (2012)\n\"Koalas deserve full protection\"\nCracking the Koala Code \u2013 a PBS Nature documentary (2012)\nThe Aussie Koala Ark Conservation Project"


id: 1d52883d0c5c8d8789755afee29507ed
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 146
content:
"The black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps) is a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama. Although primatologists such as Colin Groves (1989) follow Kellogg and Goldman (1944) in treating A. fusciceps as a separate species, other authors, including Froelich (1991), Collins and Dubach (2001) and Nieves (2005) treat it as a subspecies of Geoffroy's spider monkey.The two subspecies are:\nAteles fusciceps fusciceps - northwestern Ecuador.\nAteles fusciceps rufiventris - southwest Colombia to eastern Panama.A. f. fusciceps lives in tropical and subtropical humid forests between 100 and 1,700 metres (330 and 5,580 ft) above sea level.  It lives in population densities of 1.2 monkeys per square kilometer. A. f. rufiventris lives in dry forests, humid forests and cloud forests, and can live up to 2,000 to 2,500 metres (6,600 to 8,200 ft) above sea level.A. f. fusciceps has a black or brown body and a brown head.  A. f. rufiventris is entirely black with some white on its chin.  The black-headed spider monkey is one of the larger New World monkeys. The head and body length, excluding tail, typically ranges between 39.3 and 53.8 cm (15.5 and 21.2 in). "


id: 693de073aad2fb7499e9429709514b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 936
content:
"The prehensile tail is between 71.0 and 85.5 cm (28.0 and 33.7 in). On average, males weigh 8.89 kilograms (19.6 lb) and females weigh 8.8 kilograms (19 lb).  The brain weighs 114.7 g (4.05 oz).The black-headed spider monkey is arboreal and diurnal. It moves by climbing and brachiation. When mating, females may consort with a male for up to three days, or else mate with several males.  Mating occurs with the male and female face to face, and can last for five to 10 minutes.  The gestation period is between 226 and 232 days. The infant rides on its mother's back for 16 weeks, and is weaned at 20 months. Females attain sexual maturity at 51 months; males at 56 months. Females give birth every three years.The black-headed spider monkey is considered to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to an estimated population loss of more than 50% over 45 years (2018-2063), from hunting and human encroachment on its range of habitation.Captive black-headed spider monkeys have been known to live more than 24 years.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References =="


id: 83d2eb13457e80a3eaa4d65380571b9a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1224
content:
"The blue-streaked lory (Eos reticulata) is also known as the blue-necked lory. It is a medium-sized parrot (31 cm), which is found on the Tanimbar Islands and Babar in the southern Moluccas.\n\n== Appearance ==\nThe blue-streaked lory is about 31 centimetres (12 in) in length, including the tail. They weigh between 145 and 155 grams (5.1 and 5.5 oz).Adults of both sexes look the same \u2013 this is called sexually monomorphic.Most of the bird's general plumage is bright red. Against this intense red background, there are scattered electric blue feathers near the ears and on the nape of the neck, which is where the bird gets its name. From the area to the base of the neck, there is an indigo-violet stripe. The lower part of the nape of the neck, to the top of the back, is a bluish black. The main part of the back, as well as the rump, is red. Wing coverts and flights are red with black tips. The upper part of the tail feathers are a reddish black, and the underside of the tail is a muted red. The iris of the eye is orange-red. "


id: b4cc61c5bdb040bc8e5fd959989fcf7a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1697
content:
"The beak is sharply curved, short, and bright red-orange. The feet are medium gray, and the claws are black.\n\n== Social ecology ==\nThere are estimated to be between 100,000 and 500,000 blue-streaked lories in the wild.While their diet in the wild is unknown, it is thought to be similar to that of most lories and lorikeets, with pollen, nectar, fruit, and some insects making up the vast bulk of the ingesta.These lories are known as one of the louder species, and when kept in captivity, people's neighbors who desire quiet might be disturbed or annoyed by the bird's penetrating voice. The call is described as a shrill series of screeches in succession, or singular screeches.Social and gregarious, these birds travel in noisy flocks of up to ten individuals when possible.The bird's lifespan in captivity is reported to be 28\u201332 years.The usual clutch of eggs is 2, but in exceptional circumstances, 3 eggs may be laid. In commercial aviculture for breeding, it is very important to set up compatible pairs, to prevent harm to one member of the pair.Incubation time is 25 days, and from the time of hatching, the time to fledge is approximately 12 weeks.\n\n"


id: 441693a8703d62e20d087a92f7b04392
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 536
content:
"== Threats ==\nMain threats to the bird in the wild are habitat degradation (logging, forest extirpation to plant palms or other monocultures) and trapping for the pet trade.The birds have a restricted and small range, but because the population is not fragmented, it is not severely threatened.Both primary, old growth forest and replacement, or secondary, forest are preferred habitats. These parrots will live in mangrove forests as well as on human managed lands such as coconut plantations.\n\n== Legal status ==\nThe IUCN lists these parrots as Near Threatened. For international trade, this parrot is listed as CITES Appendix II, which means that commercial trade must be done with special permits.\n\n== Relationship with humans ==\nThe bird is tame and playful when they have been raised by humans in captivity. Wild caught birds, being wild, are shy. The bird readily adapts to life in captivity.\n\n== Taxonomic note ==\nThere are no subspecies; only the nominate race is recognized.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\nJuniper & Parr (1998) Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World; ISBN 0-300-07453-0.\n\"Species factsheet: Eos reticulata\". BirdLife International (2008). Retrieved 20 March 2009.\n\n"


id: 1bb0d4fe997bccb5451164deb50be878
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 127
content:
"The boa constrictor (scientific name also Boa constrictor), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family Boidae, found in tropical South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive. Four subspecies are currently recognized. This article focuses on the species Boa constrictor as a whole, and on the nominate subspecies B. c. constrictor.\n\n== Common names ==\nThough all boids are constrictors, only this species is properly referred to as a \"boa constrictor\"\u2014a rare instance of an animal having the same common English name and scientific binomial name.\nAll subspecies are referred to as \"boa constrictors\", and are part of a diverse group of New World boas referred to as \"red-tailed\" boas, comprising species of both Boa constrictor and Boa imperator. Within the exotic pet trade, it is also known as a \"BCC\", an abbreviation of its scientific name, to distinguish it from other boa species, such as Boa imperator or \"BCI.\""


id: 9f5bbf957bacb30b6cee87b3971b83e5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1491
content:
"Other common names include chij-chan (Mayan), jiboia (Latin American), and macajuel (Trinidadian).\n\n== Subspecies ==\nSeveral subspecies of Boa constrictor have been described, but many of these are poorly differentiated, and further research may redefine many of them. Some appear to be based more on location, rather than biological differences. Boa imperator, Boa nebulosa and Boa sigma have been elevated to full species status.\n\nSeveral other subspecies have been described at different times, but currently, these are no longer considered to be subspecies by many herpetologists and taxonomists. They include:\n\nB. c. amarali Stull, 1932\nB. c. melanogaster Langhammer, 1983: a nomen dubium.\n\n== Description ==\n\n=== Size and weight ===\nThe boa constrictor is a large snake, although it is only modestly sized in comparison to other large snakes, such as the reticulated python, Burmese python, or the occasionally sympatric green anaconda, and can reach lengths from 3 to 13 ft (0.91 to 3.96 m) depending on the locality and the availability of suitable prey. Clear sexual dimorphism is seen in the species, with females generally being larger in both length and girth than males. "


id: 9c3fcd3a4da76aac5c37aaf1a404e7bf
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1465
content:
"The usual size of mature female boas is between 7 and 10 ft (2.1 and 3.0 m) whereas males are between 6 and 8 ft (1.8 and 2.4 m). Females commonly exceed 10 ft (3.0 m), particularly in captivity, where lengths up to 12 ft (3.7 m) or even 14 ft (4.3 m) can be seen. The largest documented non-stretched dry skin is deposited at Zoologische Staatssammlung M\u00fcnchen (ZSM 4961/2012) and measures 14.6 ft (4.45 m) without head. A report of a boa constrictor growing up to 18.5 ft (5.6 m) was later found to be a misidentified green anaconda.The boa constrictor is a heavy-bodied snake, and large specimens can weigh up to 27 kg (60 lb). Females, the larger sex, more commonly weigh 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 lb). Some specimens of this species can reach or possibly exceed 45 kg (100 lb), although this is not usual.The size and weight of a boa constrictor depends on subspecies, locale, and the availability of suitable prey. "


id: 854d02f0840299b7ce593eca99d196e7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1237
content:
"B. c. constrictor reaches, and occasionally tops, the averages given above, as it is one of the relatively large subspecies of Boa constrictor.Other examples of sexual dimorphism in the species include males generally having longer tails to contain the hemipenes and also longer pelvic spurs, which are used to grip and stimulate the female during copulation. Pelvic spurs are the only external sign of the rudimentary hind legs and pelvis and are seen in all boas and pythons.\n\n=== Coloring ===\n\nThe coloring of boa constrictors can vary greatly depending on the locality. However, they are generally a brown, gray, or cream base color, patterned with brown or reddish-brown \"saddles\" that become more pronounced towards the tail. This coloring gives B. constrictor species the common name of \"red-tailed boas.\"The coloring works as a very effective camouflage in the jungles and forests of its natural range.\nSome individuals exhibit pigmentary disorders, such as albinism. Although these individuals are rare in the wild, they are common in captivity, where they are often selectively bred to make a variety of different color \"morphs\". "


id: 1b9aedc5b84ccc94ac47b7401c627e20
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 125
content:
"Boa constrictors have an arrow-shaped head with very distinctive stripes on it: One runs dorsally from the snout to the back of the head; the others run from the snout to the eyes and then from the eyes to the jaw.\n\nBoa constrictors can sense heat via cells in their lips, though they lack the labial pits surrounding these receptors seen in many members of the family Boidae. Boa constrictors also have two lungs, a smaller (non-functional) left and an enlarged (functional) right lung to better fit their elongated shape, unlike many colubrid snakes, which have completely lost the left lung.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nDepending on the subspecies, Boa constrictor can be found through South America north of 35\u00b0S (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Argentina), and many other islands along the coasts of South America. An introduced population exists in extreme southern Florida, and a small population on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands now appears to be reproducing in the wild.\nThe type locality given is \"Indiis\"\u2014a mistake, according to Peters and Orejas-Miranda (1970).B. "


id: cf550cfd7ce3c33c1606c4b5c6b6d744
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1967
content:
"constrictor flourishes in a wide variety of environmental conditions, from tropical rainforests to arid semidesert country. However, it prefers to live in rainforest due to the humidity and temperature, natural cover from predators, and vast amount of potential prey. It is commonly found in or along rivers and streams, as it is a very capable swimmer. Boa constrictors also occupy the burrows of medium-sized mammals, where they can hide from potential predators.\n\n== Behavior ==\n\nBoa constrictors generally live on their own and do not interact with any other snakes unless they want to mate. They are nocturnal, but they may bask during the day when night-time temperatures are too low. As semi-arboreal snakes, young boa constrictors may climb into trees and shrubs to forage; however, they become mostly terrestrial as they become older and heavier. Boa constrictors strike when they perceive a threat. Their bite can be painful, especially from large snakes, but is rarely dangerous to humans. Specimens from Central America are more irascible, hissing loudly and striking repeatedly when disturbed, while those from South America tame down more readily. "


id: ff865278fbac3139991710dbda5ae78b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2483
content:
"Like all snakes, boa constrictors in a shed cycle are more unpredictable, because the substance that lubricates between the old skin and the new makes their eyes appear milky, blue, or opaque so that the snake cannot see very well, causing it to be more defensive than it might otherwise be.\n\n=== Hunting and diet ===\n\nTheir prey includes a wide variety of small to medium-sized mammals and birds. The bulk of their diet consists of rodents, but larger lizards and mammals as big as monkeys, wild pigs and ocelots are also reported to have been consumed. Young boa constrictors eat small mice, birds, bats, lizards, and amphibians. The size of the prey item increases as they get older and larger.\nBoa constrictors are ambush predators, so they often lie in wait for an appropriate prey to come along, then they attack a moment before the prey can escape. However, they have also been known to actively hunt, particularly in regions with a low concentration of suitable prey, and this behavior generally occurs at night. The boa first strikes at the prey, grabbing it with its teeth; it then proceeds to constrict the prey until death before consuming it whole. "


id: e75033b0a83e3336457e19b9bf997320
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2222
content:
"Unconsciousness and death likely result from shutting off vital blood flow to the heart and brain, rather than suffocation as was previously believed; constriction can interfere with blood flow and overwhelm the prey's usual blood pressure and circulation. This would lead to unconsciousness and death very quickly. Their teeth also help force the animal down the throat while muscles then move it toward the stomach. It takes the snake about 4\u20136 days to fully digest the food, depending on the size of the prey and the local temperature. After this, the snake may not eat for a week to several months, due to its slow metabolism.\n\n=== Reproduction and development ===\n\nBoa constrictors are viviparous, giving birth to live young. They generally breed in the dry season\u2014between April and August\u2014and are polygynous; thus, males may mate with multiple females. Half of all females breed in a given year, and a larger percentage of males actively attempt to locate a mate. Due to their polygynous nature, many of these males will be unsuccessful. As such, female boas in inadequate physical condition are unlikely to attempt to mate, or to produce viable young if they do mate. "


id: 9c48efa406bcea0ff5a3ac355fa8679b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1466
content:
"Reproduction in boas is almost exclusively sexual. In 2010, a boa constrictor was shown to have reproduced asexually via parthenogenesis. The Colombian rainbow boa (Epicrates maurus) was found to reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis resulting in production of WW female progeny. The WW females were likely produced by terminal automixis (see Figure), a type of parthenogenesis in which two terminal haploid products of meiosis fuse to form a zygote, which then develops into a daughter progeny. This is only the third genetically confirmed case of consecutive virgin births of viable offspring from a single female within any vertebrate lineage. In 2017, boa constrictors, along with Boa imperators and Burmese pythons, were found to contain a new set of sex determining chromosomes. Males were discovered to contain a pair of XY sex determining chromosomes, while females have a XX pair. This is the first time snakes were thought to contain male heterogamety, and since then has been found in ball pythons (Python regius) as well.During the breeding season, the female boa emits pheromones from her cloaca to attract males, which may then wrestle to select one to breed with her. "


id: 87ba5d52baddfcc49eba42ba456181fc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1269
content:
"During breeding, the male curls his tail around the female's and the hemipenes (or male reproductive organs) are inserted. Copulation can last from a few minutes to several hours and may occur several times over a period of a few weeks. After this period, ovulation may not occur immediately, but the female can hold the sperm inside her for up to one year. When the female ovulates, a midbody swell can be noticed that appears similar to the snake having eaten a large meal. The female then sheds two to three weeks after ovulation, in what is known as a post-ovulation shed which lasts another 2\u20133 weeks, which is longer than a normal shed. The gestation period, which is counted from the postovulation shed, is around 100\u2013120 days. The female then gives birth to young that average 15\u201320 in (38\u201351 cm) in length. The litter size varies between females but can be between 10 and 65 young, with an average of 25, although some of the young may be stillborn or unfertilized eggs known as \"slugs\". The young are independent at birth and grow rapidly for the first few years, shedding regularly (once every one to two months). "


id: 20e28808ddf801c9c8cae51225e0278c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 174
content:
"At 3\u20134 years, boa constrictors become sexually mature and reach the adult size of 6\u201310 feet (1.8\u20133.0 m), although they continue to grow at a slow rate for the rest of their lives. At this point, they shed less frequently, about every 2\u20134 months.\n\n== Captivity ==\nThis species does well in captivity, usually becoming quite tame. It is a common sight in both zoos and private reptile collections. Though still exported from their native South America in significant numbers, they are widely bred in captivity. When kept in captivity, they are fed mice, rats, rabbits, chickens, and chicks depending on the size and age of the individual. Captive life expectancy is 20 to 30 years, with rare accounts over 40 years, making them a long-term commitment as a pet. The greatest reliable age recorded for a boa constrictor in captivity is 40 years, 3 months, and 14 days. This boa constrictor was named Popeye and died in the Philadelphia Zoo, Pennsylvania, on April 15, 1977. "


id: e74878cb6486fde0f9a2edbb62aadf9a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2221
content:
"Proper animal husbandry is the most significant factor in captive lifespan; this includes providing adequate space, correct temperatures and humidity, and suitable food items.Up to 41.5% of captive boas test positive for eosinophilic inclusion bodies.\n\n== Economic significance ==\nBoa constrictors are very popular within the exotic pet trade and have been both captured in the wild and bred in captivity. Today, most captive boa constrictors are captive-bred, but between 1977 and 1983, 113,000 live boa constrictors were imported into the United States. These huge numbers of wild-caught snakes have put considerable pressure on some wild populations. Boa constrictors have also been hunted for their meat and skins, and are a common sight at markets within their geographic range. After the reticulated python, boa constrictors are the snake most commonly killed for snakeskin products, such as shoes, bags, and other items of clothing. In some areas, they have an important role in regulating the opossum populations, preventing the potential transmission of leishmaniasis to humans. In other areas, they are often let loose within the communities to control the rodent populations.\n\n"


id: b5afeb476152f892efa37a823f1f9285
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1707
content:
"== Conservation ==\nAll boa constrictors fall under CITES and are listed under CITES Appendix II, except B. c. occidentalis, which is listed in CITES Appendix I.In some regions, boa constrictor numbers have been severely hit by predation from humans and other animals and over-collection for the exotic pet and snakeskin trades. Most populations, though, are not under threat of immediate extinction; thus, they are within Appendix II rather than Appendix I.Boa constrictors may be an invasive species in Florida.\n\n== See also ==\nDaletvirus boae\n\n== Notes ==\n\n== References =="


id: a0cf9f07d707c1f1a8c724beca969da2
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1506
content:
"The Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) is an Old World monkey found in the high canopy forests in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and western C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. Named for its white brow which is said to resemble the bow of the Roman goddess Diana, this black-grey guenon has a white throat, crescent-shaped browband, ruff and beard.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nTwo taxa formerly considered subspecies of the Diana monkey have recently been elevated to full species status: the roloway monkey (C. roloway) is found in C\u00f4te d'Ivoire and Ghana, and the Dryas monkey (C. dryas) found in the DR Congo.\n\n== Distribution ==\nThis species can be found in West Africa, from Sierra Leone to C\u00f4te d'Ivoire.\n\n== Habitat ==\nThe Diana monkey is found in the primary forests, and does not thrive in secondary forests.  The species is regarded as endangered by the IUCN as well as by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the chief dangers to them being habitat destruction (they are now virtually confined to coastal areas) and hunting for bushmeat.\n\n"


id: aa25342c37006e20fc58d19654e627b1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1600
content:
"== Description ==\nThe Diana monkey ranges from 40 to 55 cm in length, excluding its tail, which is of a uniform 3\u20134 cm diameter and 50\u201375 cm long. Adults weigh between 4\u20137 kg.\nThey are generally black or dark grey, but have a white throat, crescent-shaped browband, ruff and beard; the browband gave the species its common name, since it was held to resemble the crescent on the brow of the goddess Diana. The monkeys' underarms are also white, and they have a white stripe down their thighs, while the backs of their thighs, and their lower backs, are a chestnut colour. Apart from the browband, ruff and beard, and some fringes on their limbs, their fur is rough and tough.\n\n== Biology and behavior ==\nIndividual Diana monkeys may live for up to 20 years. This monkey is active during the day. It feeds at all levels of the canopy, and rarely comes down to the ground. Diana monkeys retreat to the upper levels of the trees at night, though they do not make nests. "


id: 4b9131d8b7a4be543e2ad207fdeb30df
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 609
content:
"They feed mainly on fruit and insects, but also take flowers, young leaves, and invertebrates, and are in turn preyed on by the crowned hawk-eagle, the leopard, the common chimpanzee, and humans.\nThe Diana monkey is a noisy presence in the forest. Its marked coloration allows a wide range of visual social signals. Female Diana monkeys produce specific alarm calls, alert calls and contact calls depending on the differences in predator fauna, suggesting that the flexibility of female calls are better than that of males. Other forest residents such as the yellow-casqued hornbill are able to discriminate these and take appropriate action.Diana Monkeys communicate both to local group members and distant competitors with different kind of alarm sounds. Diana Monkeys produce loud noises to make other monkeys aware of leopards or other competitors in their area.\nGroups consist of a single male with a number of reproducing females and their infants. In good conditions, adult females reproduce annually. Gestation lasts about 5 months, and the young nurse for a further 6 months. Normally, only a single infant is born. "


id: 340c69edd56cbbab65464b9d138d2f07
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 383
content:
"Although the young are born in a fairly well-developed condition, with open eyes and able to grasp their mothers, at least in zoo conditions, Diana monkey mothers appear anxious and possessive, rarely letting young infants leave them. As infants grow, however, they become very playful. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at an age of about 3 years. Daughters remain in their mothers' social groups, while males leave their natal groups shortly before attaining sexual maturity.\n\n== Human relevance ==\nLike most primates, Diana monkeys can carry diseases that can be communicated to humans, like yellow fever and tuberculosis. Native tribes in the tropical forest of West Africa poach Diana monkeys, which are sold as luxury meat and seen as a commodity.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nMedia related to Cercopithecus diana at Wikimedia Commons"


id: 7d20338a2ab327022a3ecc8ded7bdc82
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1147
content:
"The sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being considered pests. A highly intelligent bird, they are well known in aviculture, although they can be demanding pets.\n\n== Distribution ==\nIn Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be found widely in the north and east, ranging from the Kimberley to as far south as Tasmania, but avoiding arid inland areas with few trees. They are numerous in suburban habitats in cities such as Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. Except for highland areas, they occur throughout most of New Guinea and on nearby smaller islands such as Waigeo, Misool and Aru, and various islands in the Cenderawasih Bay and Milne Bay.\nThere are four recognised subspecies:\n\n=== Introduced species ===\nWithin Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos of the nominate race have also been introduced to Perth, which is far outside the natural range. Outside Australia, they have been introduced to Singapore, where their numbers have been estimated to be between 500 and 2000. They have also been introduced to Palau and New Zealand. "


id: 87a0ef1f1da5aadf8cbdbebbb732d02b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1268
content:
"In New Zealand, the introduced populations may number less than 1000. This species has also been recorded as established in Hawaii and from various islands in Wallacea (e.g. Kai Islands and Ambon), but it is unclear if it has managed to become established there.\n\n== Description ==\n\nSulphur-crested cockatoos are 44\u201355 cm (17.5\u201321.5 in) long, with the Australian subspecies larger than subspecies from New Guinea and nearby islands. The plumage is overall white, while the underwing and -tail are tinged yellow. The expressive crest is yellow. The bill is black, the legs are grey, and the eye-ring is whitish. Males typically have almost black eyes, whereas the females have a more red or brown eye, but this requires optimum viewing conditions to be seen. The differences between the subspecies are subtle. C. g. fitzroyi is similar to the nominate race but lacks the yellow on the ear tufts and has slightly blueish skin around the eye. "


id: 4924330c43f8b9fd41f780b1bf82a925
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 589
content:
"C. g. eleonora is similar to  C. g. fitzroyi but is smaller and has broader feathers in the crest, and C. g. triton is similar to C. g. eleonora except it has a smaller bill.It is similar in appearance to the three species of corellas found in Australia. However, corellas are smaller, lack the prominent yellow crest and have pale bills. In captivity, the sulphur-crested cockatoo is easily confused with the smaller yellow-crested cockatoo or the blue-eyed cockatoo with a differently shaped crest and a darker blue eye-ring.\n\n== Behaviour ==\n\nSulphur-crested cockatoos' distinctive raucous calls can be very loud, which is a result of an adaptation in order to travel through the forest environments in which they live, including tropical and subtropical rainforests. These birds are naturally curious, as well as very intelligent. They have adapted very well to European settlement in Australia and live in many urban areas.\nBeing intelligent, in Sydney, Australia they have learned how to open garbage bins as a source of food. The behavior spreads among the birds by imitation. "


id: 14ffabdf085965d932dd01823bc0fd99
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 57
content:
"In captivity some will spontaneously dance to music with a variety of unique moves.These birds are very long-lived, and can live upwards of 70 years in captivity, although they only live to about 20\u201340 years in the wild. They have been known to engage in geophagy, the process of eating clay to detoxify their food. These birds produce a very fine powder to waterproof themselves instead of oil as many other birds do.\nThe sulphur-crested cockatoo is a seasonal breeder in Australia; little is known about its breeding behaviour in New Guinea. In southern Australia the breeding season is from August to January, whereas in northern Australia the season is from May to September. The nest is a bed of wood chips in a hollow in a tree. Like many other parrots it competes with others of its species and with other species for nesting sites. Two to three eggs are laid and incubation lasts between 25\u201327 days. Both parents incubate the eggs and raise the nestlings. The nestling period is between 9 and 12 weeks, and the young fledglings remain with their parents for a number of months after fledging.Sulphur-crested cockatoos have range of visually observable expressions. "


id: 3977565c9290c863e89750a597751f94
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 438
content:
"A 2009 study involving an Eleonora cockatoo (the subspecies Cacatua galerita eleonora) named Snowball found that sulphur-crested cockatoos are capable of synchronizing movements to a musical beat. Sulphur-crested cockatoos use facial expressions (with their feathers) to indicate positive emotions.Species that feed on the ground are very vulnerable to predator attack. The cockatoo has evolved a behavioural adaptation to protect against this: whenever there is a flock on the ground, there is at least one high up in a tree (usually a dead tree), keeping guard. This is so well known that it has even entered Australian slang: a person keeping guard for sudden police raids on illegal gambling gatherings is referred to as a cockatoo or cocky for short.\n\n== Pest status ==\n\nIn some parts of Australia, sulphur-crested cockatoos can be very numerous, and may cause damage to cereal and fruit crops and newly planted tree seedlings, as well as soft timber on houses and outdoor furniture. Consequently, they are sometimes shot or poisoned as pests. A government permit is required for any culling, because the birds are a protected species under the Australian Commonwealth Law.\n\n"


id: 80a5a94235c80dacaad163ba4e0d8493
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1183
content:
"== Aviculture ==\nSulphur-crested cockatoos may no longer be imported into the United States as a result of the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA). However, they have been bred in captivity, with Eleonora and Triton cockatoos the most common subspecies seen in aviculture in the USA and Europe. They are socially demanding pets and have a natural desire to chew wood and other hard and organic materials. They are also loud, often unleashing loud squawks or piercing screeches. They may also make aggressive, unpredictable movements which can frighten people and animals unaware of the accompanying affection.\nOne cockatoo called Fred was still alive at 100 years of age in 2014. Cocky Bennett of Tom Ugly's Point in Sydney was a celebrated sulphur-crested cockatoo who reached an age of 100 years or more. He had lost his feathers and was naked for much of his life, and died in the early years of the twentieth century. His body was stuffed and preserved after death. "


id: 5b3944d4497ec965e1e827714ef449d6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 789
content:
"Another 'cocky', born in 1921 and residing in Arncliffe with his owner Charlie Knighton, was 76 years old in the late 1990s.Sulphur-crested cockatoos, along with many other parrots, are susceptible to psittacine beak and feather disease, a viral disease, which causes birds to lose their feathers and grow grotesquely shaped beaks. The disease occurs naturally in the wild, and in captivity.\n\n== References ==\n\n=== Bibliography ===\n\n=== Further reading ===\nFlegg, Jim (2002). Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide. Sydney: Reed New Holland. ISBN 1-876334-78-9.\nHiggins, Peter J., ed. (1999). \"Cacatua galerita Sulphur-crested Cockatoo\" (PDF). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to dollarbird. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 163\u2013176. ISBN 978-0-19-553071-1.\n\n== External links ==\n\nSulphur-crested cockatoo videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection\nPhotograph of \"Cocky\" Bennett, 115 years old in this photo State Library of Victoria\nSCC research program run out of the Sydney Botanical Gardens\nSulphur-Crested Cockatoos Guide: Housing - Breeding - Feeding"


id: 2e13d48a6252a06de3a34a7834d39a6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 310
content:
"The chital or cheetal (Axis axis; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species  native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, male chital reach 90 cm (35 in) and females 70 cm (28 in) at the shoulder. While males weigh 70\u201390 kg (150\u2013200 lb), females weigh around 40\u201360 kg (88\u2013132 lb). It is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and antlers are present only on males. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. The antlers, three-pronged, are nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long.\n\n== Etymology ==\nThe vernacular name \"chital\" (pronounced ) comes from c\u012btal (Hindi: \u091a\u0940\u0924\u0932), derived from the Sanskrit word citrala (\u091a\u093f\u0924\u094d\u0930\u0932), meaning \"variegated\" or \"spotted\". The name of the cheetah has a similar origin. Variations of \"chital\" include \"cheetal\" and \"cheetul\". Other common names for the chital are Indian spotted deer (or simply the spotted deer) and axis deer.\n\n"


id: 5b718af2837dfe0c174e7a0fe41fbc6c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 792
content:
"== Taxonomy and phylogeny ==\nThe chital was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777 as Cervus axis. In 1827, Charles Hamilton Smith placed the chital in its own subgenus Axis under the genus Cervus. Axis was elevated to generic status by Colin P. Groves and Peter Grubb in 1987. The genus Hyelaphus was considered a subgenus of Axis. However, a morphological analysis showed significant differences between Axis and Hyelaphus. A phylogenetic study later that year showed that Hyelaphus is closer to the genus Rusa than Axis. Axis was revealed to be paraphyletic and distant from Hyelaphus in the phylogenetic tree; the chital was found to form a clade with the barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii) and the Schomburgk's deer (Rucervus schomburgki). The chital was estimated to have genetically diverged from the Rucervus lineage in the Early Pliocene about 5 million years ago. The following cladogram is based on a 2006 phylogenetic study:\nFossils of extinct Axis species dating to the early to Middle Pliocene were excavated from Iran in the west to Indochina in the east. "


id: bf99fdeb1895684b23139c588731e488
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1807
content:
"Remains of the chital were found in the Middle Pleistocene deposits of Thailand along with sun bear, Stegodon, gaur, wild water buffalo and other living and extinct mammals.\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe chital is a moderately sized deer. Males reach up to 90\u2013100 cm (35\u201339 in) and females 65\u201375 cm (26\u201330 in) at the shoulder; the head-and-body length is around 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in). While immature males weigh 30\u201375 kg (66\u2013165 lb), the lighter females weigh 25\u201345 kg (55\u201399 lb). Mature stags can weigh up to 98\u2013110 kg (216\u2013243 lb).The tail, 20 cm (7.9 in) long, is marked by a dark stripe that stretches along its length. The species is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and antlers are present only on males.The dorsal (upper) parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. A conspicuous black stripe runs along the spine (back bone). The chital has well-developed preorbital glands (near the eyes) with stiff hairs. It also has well-developed metatarsal glands and pedal glands located in its hind legs. "


id: 3663fce8ac7a77a57b06789f855df2c1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 409
content:
"The preorbital glands, larger in males than in females, are frequently opened in response to certain stimuli.Each of the antlers has three lines on it. The brow tine (the first division in the antler) is roughly perpendicular to the beam (the central stalk of the antler). The antlers, three-pronged, are nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long. Antlers, as in most other cervids, are shed annually. The antlers emerge as soft tissues (known as velvet antlers) and progressively harden into bony structures (known as hard antlers), following mineralisation and blockage of blood vessels in the tissue, from the tip to the base. A study of the mineral composition of the antlers of captive barasinga, chital, and hog deer showed that the antlers of the deer are very similar. The mineral content of the chital's antlers was determined to be (per kg) 6.1 mg (0.094 gr) copper, 8.04 mg (0.1241 gr) cobalt, and 32.14 mg (0.4960 gr) zinc.Hooves measure between 4.1 and 6.1 cm (1.6 and 2.4 in) in length; hooves of the fore legs are longer than those of the hind legs. The toes taper to a point. The dental formula is 0.1.3.33.1.3.3, same as the elk. "


id: 9708970308e355c35ebb32d495e9d82
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1410
content:
"The milk canine, nearly 1 cm (0.39 in) long, falls off before one year of age, but is not replaced by a permanent tooth as in other cervids. Compared to the hog deer, the chital has a more cursorial build. The antlers and brow tines are longer than those in the hog deer. The pedicles (the bony cores from which antlers arise) are shorter, and the auditory bullae are smaller in the chital. The chital may be confused with the fallow deer. Chital have several white spots, whereas fallow deer usually have white splotches. Fallow also have palmate antlers whereas chital have 3 distinct points on each side. The chital has a prominent white patch on its throat, while the throat of the fallow deer is completely white. The biggest distinction is the dark brown stripe running down the chital's back. The hairs are smooth and flexible.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe chital ranges over 8\u201330\u00b0N in India and through Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The western limit of its range is eastern Rajasthan and Gujarat. "


id: 2636994e183f2510972f6d8b71a14a4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 222
content:
"The northern limit is along the Terai belt of the foothills of the Himalaya and from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal through to Nepal, northern West Bengal and Sikkim and then to western Assam and the forested valleys of Bhutan, which are below an elevation of 1,100 m (3,600 ft). The eastern limit of its range is through western Assam to the Sunderbans of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Andaman and Nicobar Islands  and Sri Lanka are the southern limits. Chital occur sporadically in the forested areas throughout the rest of the Indian peninsula. Within Bangladesh, it currently only exists in the Sundarbans and some ecoparks situated around the Bay of Bengal, as it became extinct in the central and north-east of the country.\n\n=== Australia ===\nThe chital was the first species of deer introduced into Australia in the early 1800s by Dr. John Harris, surgeon to the New South Wales Corps, and he had about 400 of these animals on his property by 1813. These did not survive, and the primary range of the chital is now confined to a few cattle stations in North Queensland near Charters Towers and several feral herds on the NSW north and south coasts. "


id: 5524530e34a27e43f042c8a642ed965c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 717
content:
"While some of the stock originated from Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the Indian race likely is also represented.\n\n=== The United States ===\nIn the 1860s, axis deer were introduced to the island of Molokai, Hawaii, as a gift from Hong Kong to King Kamehameha V. The deer were introduced to Lanai, another of the Hawaiian Islands, soon afterward and are now plentiful on both islands. The deer were introduced to Maui island in the 1950s to increase hunting opportunities. Because the deer have no natural predators on the Hawaiian islands, their population is growing 20 to 30% each year, causing serious damage to agriculture and natural areas.Releasing them on the island of Hawaii was planned, as well, but this was abandoned after pressure from scientists over damage to landscapes caused by the deer on other islands. In 2012, deer were spotted on the island of Hawaii; wildlife officials believe people had flown the deer by helicopter and transported them by boat onto the island. In August 2012, a helicopter pilot pleaded guilty to transporting four axis deer from Maui to Hawaii. Hawaiian law now prohibits \"the intentional possession or interisland transportation or release of wild or feral deer."


id: 94ea49784ecd774a9cba0588db420d1d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1385
content:
"\"In 1932, axis deer were introduced to Texas. In 1988, self-sustaining herds were found in 27 counties, located in Central and South Texas. The deer are most populous on the Edwards Plateau, where the land is similar to that of India.\n\n=== Croatia ===\nChital of unknown origin were introduced to the island of Brijuni in 1911. They also live on Rab Island, and the population on the two islands comprised about 200 individuals as of 2010. Attempts by hunters to introduce the species to the mainland of Croatia were unsuccessful.\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\nChital are active throughout the day. In the summer, time is spent in rest under shade, and the sun's glare is avoided if the temperature reaches 80 \u00b0F (27 \u00b0C); activity peaks as dusk approaches. As days grow cooler, foraging begins before sunrise and peaks by early morning. Activity slows down during midday, when the animals rest or loiter about slowly. Foraging recommences by late afternoon and continues till midnight. They fall asleep a few hours before sunrise, typically in the forest which is cooler than the glades. "


id: 43da9f60df6d7e7f84f32dc42957f189
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 534
content:
"These deer typically move in a single file on specific tracks, with a distance of two to three times their width between them, when on a journey, typically in search of food and water sources. A study in the Gir National Park (Gujarat, India) showed that chital travel the most in summer of all seasons.When cautiously inspecting its vicinity, the chital stands motionless and listens with rapt attention, facing the potential danger, if any. This stance may be adopted by nearby individuals, as well. As an antipredator measure, chital flee in groups (unlike the hog deer that disperse on alarm); sprints are often followed by hiding in dense undergrowth. The running chital has its tail raised, exposing the white underparts. The chital can leap and clear fences as high as 1.5 m (4.9 ft) but prefers to dive under them. It stays within 300 m (980 ft) of cover.A gregarious animal, the chital forms matriarchal herds comprising an adult female and her offspring of the previous and the present year, which may be associated with individuals of any age and either sex, male herds, and herds of juveniles and mothers. "


id: 526a681db017c74385feb5abf7f7f8cd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 682
content:
"Small herds are common, though aggregations of as many as 100 individuals have been observed. Groups are loose and disband frequently, save for the juvenile-mother herd. Herd membership in Texas is typically up to 15; herds can have five to 40 members in India. Studies in the Nallamala Hills (Andhra Pradesh, India) and the Western Ghats (western coast of India) showed seasonal variation in the sex ratio of herds; this was attributed to the tendency of females to isolate themselves ahead of parturition. Similarly, rutting males leave their herds during the mating season, hence altering the herd composition. Large herds are most common in monsoon, observed foraging in the grasslands.Predators of chitals include Indian wolves, Bengal tigers, Asiatic lions, leopards, pythons, dholes, Indian pariah dogs, bears, and crocodiles. Fishing cats, jungle cats, foxes, golden jackals and eagles target juveniles. Males are less vulnerable than females and juveniles.A vocal animal, the chital, akin to the North American elk, gives out bellows and alarm barks. Its calls are, however, not as strong as those of elk or red deer; they are mainly coarse bellows or loud growls. Bellowing coincides with rutting. "


id: 2cf014e6e4bd05d3f409b05530d16cc2
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 296
content:
"Dominant males guarding females in oestrus make high-pitched growls at less powerful males. Males may moan during aggressive displays or while resting. Chital, mainly females and juveniles, bark persistently when alarmed or if they encounter a predator. Fawns in search of their mother often squeal. The chital can respond to the alarm calls of several animals, such as the common myna and langurs.Marking behaviour is pronounced in males. Males have well-developed preorbital glands (near the eyes). They stand on their hind legs to reach tall branches and rub the open preorbital glands to deposit their scent there. This posture is also used while foraging. Urine marking is also observed; the smell of urine is typically stronger than that of the deposited scent. Sparring between males begins with the larger male displaying his dominance before the other; this display consists of hissing heading away from the other male with the tail facing him, the nose pointing to the ground, the ears down, the antlers upright, and the upper lip raised. The fur often bristles during the display. The male approaches the other in a slow gait. "


id: f2016d0dd0877884f82cdbf510629445
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2336
content:
"Males with velvet antlers may hunch over instead of standing erect as the males with hard antlers. The opponents then interlock their horns and push against each other, with the smaller male producing a sound at times which is louder than that produced by sambar deer, but not as much as the barasinga's. The fight terminates with the males stepping backward, or simply leaving and foraging. Fights are not generally serious.Individuals may occasionally bite one another. Common mynas are often attracted to the chital. An interesting relationship has been observed between herds of chital and troops of the northern plains grey langurs, a widespread South Asian monkey. Chital benefit from the langurs' eyesight and ability to post a lookout from trees, while the langur benefit from the chital's strong sense of smell, both of which help keep a check on potential danger. The chital also benefit from fruits dropped by langurs from trees such as Terminalia bellirica and Phyllanthus emblica. The chital has been observed foraging with sambar deer in the Western Ghats.\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nGrazers as well as browsers, the chital mainly feed on grasses throughout the year. "


id: 823d623ae428bde75fd88d5c11b8ba9e
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1206
content:
"They prefer young shoots, in the absence of which, tall and coarse grasses are nibbled off at the tips. Browse forms a major portion of the diet only in the winter-October to January-when the grasses, tall or dried up, are no longer palatable. Browse includes herbs, shrubs, foliage, fruits, and forbs; Moghania species are often preferred while browsing. Fruits eaten by chital in the Kanha National Park (Madhya Pradesh, India) include those of Ficus species from January to May, Cordia myxa from May to June, and Syzygium cumini from June to July. Individuals tend to group together and forage while moving slowly. Chital are generally silent when grazing together. Males often stand on their hindlegs to reach tall branches. Water holes are visited nearly twice daily, with great caution. In the Kanha National Park, mineral licks rich in calcium and phosphorus pentoxide were scraped at by the incisors. Chital also gnaw bones and fallen antlers for their minerals. Males in velvet indulge in such osteophagia to a greater extent. Chital in the Sunderbans may be omnivores; remains of red crabs have been found in the rumen of individuals.\n\n"


id: 29bcaa7717be2ed9965bebd7e2fd7233
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 262
content:
"=== Reproduction ===\n\nBreeding takes place throughout the year, with peaks that vary geographically. Sperm is produced year-round, though testosterone levels register a fall during the development of the antlers. Females have regular oestrus cycles, each lasting three weeks. The female can conceive again two weeks to four months after the birth. Males sporting hard antlers are dominant over those in velvet or those without antlers, irrespective of their size. Courtship is based on tending bonds. A rutting male fasts during the mating season and follows and guards a female in oestrus. The pair does several bouts of chasing and mutual licking before copulation.The newborn is hidden for a week after birth, a period much shorter than most other deer. The mother-fawn bond is not very strong, as the two get separated often, though they can reunite easily as the herds are cohesive. If the fawn dies, the mother can breed once again so as to give birth twice that year. The males continue their growth till seven to eight years. The average lifespan in captivity is nearly 22 years. "


id: a19f1c66ee26f2d9e969406bd6ac371b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1516
content:
"The longevity in the wild, however, is merely five to ten years.The chital is found in large numbers in dense deciduous or semievergreen forests and open grasslands. The highest numbers of chital are found in the forests of India, where they feed upon tall grass and shrubs. Chital have been also spotted in Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan, which has the only remaining natural sal (Shorea robusta) forest in the country. They do not occur at high altitudes, where they are usually replaced by other species such as the sambar deer. They also prefer heavy forest cover for shade and avoid direct sunlight.\n\n== Conservation status ==\nThe chital is listed on the IUCN Red List as least concern \"because it occurs over a very wide range within which there are many large populations\". Currently, no range-wide threats to chitals are present, and they live in many protected areas. However, population densities are below ecological carrying capacity in many places due to hunting and competition with domestic livestock. Hunting for the deer's meat has caused substantial declines and local extinctions. "


id: d45b6514fa24aa1f1b5b93f39a285c31
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2017
content:
"The axis deer is protected under Schedule III of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and under the Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974 of Bangladesh. Two primary reasons for its good conservation status are its legal protection as a species and a network of functioning protected areas.The chital has been introduced to the Andaman Islands, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Alabama, Point Reyes National Seashore in California, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Texas in the United States, and the Veliki Brijun Island in the Brijuni Archipelago of the Istrian Peninsula in Croatia.With effect from 2 August 2022, the European Union added the chital to the list of invasive alien species and banned its import into the EU.\n\n== See also ==\nSri Lankan axis deer\nSambar deer\nBarasingha\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nData related to Axis axis at Wikispecies"


id: 11a88615c81fbc2bf94ae5b54c563c22
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 13
content:
"The orange-winged amazon (Amazona amazonica), also known locally as orange-winged parrot and loro guaro, is a large  amazon parrot. It is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America, from Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil. Its habitat is forest and semi-open country. Although common, it is persecuted as an agricultural pest and by capture for the pet trade (over 66,000 captured from 1981 to 1985). It is also hunted as a food source. Introduced breeding populations have been reported in Puerto Rico and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe orange-winged amazon was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus amazonicus. Linnaeus cited the 1760 description by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. Brisson used the French name \"Le Perroquet Amazone\" and the Latin name later used by Linnaeus, Psittacus amazonicus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. "


id: ad6d8d2d728f73d9f768f9d01dc1c9be
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1621
content:
"The orange-winged amazon is now one of around 30 species placed in the genus Amazona that was introduced by the French naturalist Ren\u00e9 Lesson in 1830. The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.\n\n== Description ==\nThe orange-winged amazon is a mainly green parrot about 33 cm (13 in) long and weighing about 340 g. It has blue and yellow feathers on its head which varies in extent between individuals. The upper mandible is partly horn colored (gray) and partly dark-gray. It has orange feathers in the wings and tail, which can be seen when in flight. The male and female are identical in external appearance.\n\n== Behavior ==\n\n=== Diet and feeding ===\nThe orange-winged amazons are noisy birds and makes loud, high-pitched screams. It eats fruit, seeds, nuts, blossoms, leaf buds, and berries, including the fruit of palm trees and sometimes cocoa, mangoes, and oranges. It roosts communally in palm and other trees, and large numbers can be seen at the roost sites at dawn and dusk. It is becoming common as a feral bird in the Miami, Florida area, and there are colonies in London, England.\n\n"


id: 1d867fda09c0b3a1b50a0f19a8674ad4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 147
content:
"=== Breeding ===\n\nThe orange-winged amazon nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and there are usually three or four in a clutch. The female incubates the eggs for about 26 days and the chicks leave the nest about 60 days after hatching.The orange-winged amazon has been introduced to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where it has been observed successfully hybridizing with a feral scaly-headed parrot (Pionus maximiliani) and also attempting to breed with feral monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) and rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), even involving itself in the former species' unusual nest-building behaviour.\n\n== References ==\n\n=== Further reading ===\nBirds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.\nffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.\n\"National Geographic\"  Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6.\nHandbook of the Birds of the World Vol 4, Josep del Hoyo editor, ISBN 84-87334-22-9.\n\"National Audubon Society\" The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley, ISBN 0-679-45122-6.\n\n== External links ==\n\n\"Amazon Parrots\" - Faze magazine"


id: d04e10b7e563fe82ed9f319357393110
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1978
content:
"The scarlet macaw (Ara macao) is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of the Neotropics. Its range extends from south-eastern Mexico to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil in lowlands of 500 m (1,600 ft) (at least formerly) up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as well as the Pacific island of Coiba. Formerly, it ranged north to southern Tamaulipas. In some areas, it has suffered local extinction because of habitat destruction, or capture for the parrot trade, but in other areas, it remains fairly common. It is the national bird of Honduras. Like its relative the blue-and-yellow macaw, the scarlet macaw is a popular bird in aviculture as a result of its striking plumage.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe scarlet macaw was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Psittacus macao. "


id: feba50b9662b21a6d1a999cb14cf8776
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2472
content:
"The scarlet macaw is now placed in the genus Ara (Lac\u00e9p\u00e8de, 1799), one of 6 genera of Central and South American macaws.The two subspecies can be recognized by size and color detail in the feathers on the wings:\nA. m. macao (Linnaeus, 1758): South American scarlet macaw, the nominate subspecies. In the wings the medium and secondary coverts have green tip.\nA. m. cyanopterus Wiedenfeld, 1995: North Central American scarlet macaw. The Central American scarlet macaw is larger and has blue on its wings instead of green.\n\n=== Genetics ===\nIn May 2013, it was announced that a team of scientists, led by Dr. Christopher M. Seabury and Dr. Ian Tizard of Texas A&M University had sequenced the complete genome of the scarlet macaw. Based on this genome, species-specific microsatellite genetic markers were developed to aid genetic studies throughout the range of the species.\n\n== Description ==\nIt is about 81 centimeters (32 in) long, of which more than half is the pointed, graduated tail typical of all macaws, though the scarlet macaw has a larger percentage of tail than the other large macaws. The average weight is about 1 kilogram (2 lb 3 oz). "


id: 85854768b395dbc32a62159e88a6ca84
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1240
content:
"The plumage is mostly scarlet, but the rump and tail-covert feathers are light blue, the greater upper wing coverts are yellow, the upper sides of the flight feathers of the wings are dark blue as are the ends of the tail feathers, and the undersides of the wing and tail flight feathers are dark red with metallic gold iridescence. Some individuals may have green in the wings.\n\nThere is bare white skin around the eye and from there to the bill. Tiny white feathers are contained on the face patch. The upper mandible is mostly pale horn in color and the lower is black. Juveniles have dark eyes; adults have light yellow eyes.\nIt is frequently confused with the slightly larger green-winged macaw, which has more distinct red lines in the face and no yellow in the wing.\nScarlet macaws make very loud, high and sometimes low-pitched, throaty squawks, squeaks and screams designed to carry many kilometers to call for their groups.\nThe scarlet macaw can live up to 75 or even 90 years in captivity, although a more typical lifespan is 40 to 50 years.\n\n"


id: fa6ce3d55d3464a36f255a353061ec4e
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2420
content:
"== Behavior ==\nA typical sighting is of a single bird or a pair flying above the forest canopy, though in some areas flocks can be seen. They often gather at clay licks. Scarlet macaws communicate primarily through raucous honks; however, vocal communication is highly variable, and captive macaws are known to be adept mimics of human speech.\n\n=== Feeding ===\nWild scarlet macaws feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, flowers and nectar.They also love to eat insects and larvae. They are seen feeding heavily on bugs, snails and foliage. Snails and bugs are great source of protein, as they need additional protein during breeding seasons.\nIn Costa Rica's Central Pacific they have learned to feed on introduced Teak trees (Tectona grandis) and Almond Beach Trees (Terminalia sp). The local non-profit organizations have planted hundreds of those trees along the coastline from Tarcoles River basin to Esterillos Beach which had helped increase the population drastically. The combined efforts and the correct ecotourism has also an important role in the conservation of such majestic birds. Tour companies along the Tarcoles River and its mangroves have bet on the importance of birdwatching as an asset for the growth on its population.\n\n"


id: 9b6510be77fff100852ad9d222ce1c89
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1457
content:
"=== Breeding ===\n\nWhile comparatively docile at most times of the year, scarlet macaws may be formidably aggressive during periods of breeding. Scarlet macaws are monogamous birds, with individuals remaining with one partner throughout their lives. The hen lays two or three white eggs in a large tree cavity. The female incubates the eggs for about five weeks, and the chicks fledge from the nest about 90 days after hatching and leave their parents about a year later. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at five years of age.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe South American range is extensive and covers the  Amazon  forest, extending to Peru east of the Andes, to Bolivia. In Bolivia, it is very present in the Aquicuana Reserve, located in the Beni Department, near the city of Riberalta, the Capital of the Bolivian Amazon.\n\nIn Central America, the range extends from extreme eastern and southern Mexico and Panama through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize, the island of Coiba and infrequently on the mainland of Panama, and in Costa Rica in isolated regions on the Pacific Coast; the Nicoya Peninsula the Carara National Park and Peninsula de Osa.\n"


id: 52090e3c3930080f72e0639ecf3b1504
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 679
content:
"The scarlet macaw has escaped or been deliberately released in to Florida, but there is no evidence that the population is breeding and may only persist due to continuing releases or escapes.Scarlet macaws inhabit humid lowland subtropical rain forests, open woodlands, river edges, and savannas.\n\n== Conservation status ==\n\nThe habitat of scarlet macaws is also considered to have the greatest latitudinal range for any bird in the genus Ara, as the estimated maximum territorial range covers 6,700,000 km2. Nevertheless, the scarlet macaw's habitat is fragmented, and the bird is mostly confined to tiny populations scattered throughout its original range in Middle America. However, as they still occur in large numbers over most of their original range in South America, the species is classified by IUCN as least concern. Its wild population is currently estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 individuals.\n\nCommercial international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) is prohibited by the bird's listing under CITES Appendix 1 due to predation for the pet and cage bird trade.  Both subspecies are listed by USFWS as endangered.\n\n== Aviculture ==\nThe scarlet macaw is an early example of a parrot breeding in captivity. "


id: b616f567b716aa152fee613adec3f0a3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1713
content:
"Captive breeding occurred in Northern Mexico at Paquime (also called Casas Grandes) and very likely Southwest New Mexico Mimbres Valley in the 11th century. Breeding pens, perches, bones, and eggshell fragments have been uncovered. The straightforward nature of scarlet macaw breeding and the value of their plumes in trade created a market for trade wherein the animals were used in religious rites north to the Colorado Plateau region.Today the scarlet macaw is found worldwide in captivity, but is best represented in captivity in the Americas. Captive techniques developed from the pet trade have positively affected wild populations: in areas with low macaws populations, the \"extra\" babies that typically die in the nest may be reared by humans hands and released into the wild to bolster the population, as has been done by the Tambopata Macaw Project. Their captive diet, egg incubation, assisted hatching, hand rearing, co-parenting, parent-rearing, fledgling, maturation, and breeding are well understood within the avicultural community (AFA Watchbird magazine).\n\n== See also ==\nThe Ara Project (macaw reintroduction)\nThe Macaw Society\nList of macaws\nIago (Disney)\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nScarlet Macaw in-depth research article.\n"


id: bfda6d8eeb2f0e08e23d61e416df377b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1812
content:
"Tambopata Macaw project long term research project in south east Peru\nWorld Parrot Trust Parrot Encyclopedia \u2014 Species Profiles\nScarlet macaw videos on the Internet Bird Collection\nPage of photographs of Scarlet and green-winged macaws at a clay lick from Parrots International\nScarlet macaw photo on PBase\nStamps (15 countries) with RangeMap\nAra macao conservation and reintroduction in Costa Rica\nScarlet macaw in illegal traffic in Nicaragua\nThe Scarlet Macaw Genome Project\nScarlet macaw information Archived 2020-10-30 at the Wayback Machine"


id: 42025d630f0c487d55726b4b24a51322
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 521
content:
"The Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) is one of the three species of orangutans. Critically Endangered, and found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also found in Sumatra. Its common name is based on two separate local words, \"orang\" (\"people\" or \"person\") and \"hutan\" (\"forest\"), derived from Malay, and translates as 'person of the forest'.\n\n== Description ==\n\nMale Sumatran orangutans grow to about 1.7 m (5.6 ft) tall and 90 kg (200 lb), while females are smaller, averaging 90 cm (3.0 ft) and 45 kg (99 lb). Compared to the Bornean species, Sumatran orangutans are thinner and have longer faces; their hair is longer with a paler red color.\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\n\nCompared with the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan tends to be more frugivorous and especially insectivorous. Preferred fruits include figs and jackfruits. It will also eat bird eggs and small vertebrates. Sumatran orangutans spend far less time feeding on the inner bark of trees.\nWild Sumatran orangutans in the Suaq Balimbing swamp have been observed using tools. "


id: dc6145e0fa354157f3470e05018b4990
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2109
content:
"An orangutan will break off a tree branch that is about a foot long, snap off the twigs and fray one end with its teeth. The orangutan will use the stick to dig in tree holes for termites. They will also use the stick to poke a bee's nest wall, move it around and catch the honey. In addition, orangutans use tools to eat fruit. When the fruit of the Neesia tree ripens, its hard, ridged husk softens until it falls open. Inside are seeds that the orangutans enjoy eating, but they are surrounded by fiberglass-like hairs that are painful if eaten. Tools are created differently for different uses. Sticks are often made longer or shorter depending on whether they will be used for insects or fruits. If a particular tool proves useful, the orangutan will often save it. Over time, they will collect entire \"toolboxes\". A Neesia-eating orangutan will select a five-inch stick, strip off its bark, and then carefully collect the hairs with it. Once the fruit is safe, the ape will eat the seeds using the stick or its fingers. "


id: 1d372e8892a6fa2bbf9499d84a82932b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 145
content:
"Although similar swamps can be found in Borneo, wild Bornean orangutans have not been seen using these types of tools.\n\nNHNZ filmed the Sumatran orangutan for its show Wild Asia: In the Realm of the Red Ape; it showed one of them using a simple tool, a twig, to pry food from difficult places. There is also a sequence of an animal using a large leaf as an umbrella in a tropical rainstorm.\nAs well as being used as tools, tree branches are a means of transportation for the Sumatran orangutan. The orangutans are the heaviest mammals to travel by tree, which makes them particularly susceptible to the changes in arboreal compliance. To deal with this, their locomotion is characterized by slow movement, long contact times, and an impressively large array of locomotors postures. "


id: 5afcc98a8f42c7f8050ad7b72aaa3a83
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 786
content:
"Orangutans have even been shown to utilize the compliance in vertical supports to lower the cost of locomotion by swaying trees back and forth and they possess unique strategies of locomotion, moving slowly and using multiple supports to limit oscillations in compliant branches, particularly at their tips.The Sumatran orangutan is also more arboreal than its Bornean cousin; this could be because of the presence of large predators, like the Sumatran tiger. It moves through the trees by quadrumanous locomotion and semibrachiation.As of 2015, the Sumatran orangutans species only has approximately 7,000 remaining members in its population. The World Wide Fund for Nature is thus carrying out attempts to protect the species by allowing them to reproduce in the safe environment of captivity. However, this comes at a risk to the Sumatran orangutan's native behaviors in the wild. While in captivity, the orangutans are at risk to the \"Captivity Effect\": animals held in captivity for a prolonged period will no longer know how to behave naturally in the wild. "


id: 89b8491f03a06b2083b36c138f9c7c6a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1287
content:
"Being provided with water, food, and shelter while in captivity and lacking all the challenges of living in the wild, captive behaviour becomes more exploratory in nature.A repertoire of 64 different gestures in use by orangutans has been identified, 29 of which are thought to have a specific meaning that can be interpreted by other orangutans the majority of the time. Six intentional meanings were identified: Affiliate/Play, Stop action, Look at/Take object, Share food/object, Co-locomote and Move away. Sumatran orangutans do not use sounds as part of their communication, which includes a lack of audible danger signals, but rather base their communication on gestures alone.\n\n=== Life cycle ===\n\nThe Sumatran orangutan has five stages of life that are characterized by different physical and behavioral features. The first of these stages is infancy, which lasts from birth to around 2.5 years of age. The orangutan weighs between 2 and 6 kilograms. An infant is identified by light pigmented zones around the eyes and muzzle in contrast to darker pigmentation on the rest of the face as well as long hairs that protrude outward around the face. "


id: 910d87f8ac25ddd5ba1b09e0ef7c1eed
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1355
content:
"During this time, the infant is always carried by the mother during travel, it is highly dependent on the mother for food, and also sleeps in the mother's nest. The next stage is called juvenile-hood, and takes place between 2.5 and 5 years of age. The orangutan weighs between 6 and 15 kilograms, and does not look dramatically different from an infant. Although it is still mainly carried by the mother, a juvenile will often play with peers and make small exploratory trips within the vision of the mother. Towards the end of this stage, the orangutan will stop sleeping in the mother's nest and will build its own nest nearby. From the ages of 5 to 8 years of age, the orangutan is in an adolescent stage of life. The orangutan weighs around 15\u201330 kilograms. The light patches on the face start to disappear, and eventually the face becomes completely dark. During this time, orangutans still have constant contact with their mothers, yet they develop a stronger relationship with peers while playing in groups. They are still young and act with caution around unfamiliar adults, especially males. "


id: d387388387004b0cf933efdbfbb87408
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2007
content:
"At 8 years of age, female orangutans are considered fully developed and begin to have offspring of their own. Males, however, enter a stage called sub-adulthood. This stage lasts from 8 to around 13 or 15 years of age, and the orangutans weigh around 30 to 50 kilograms. Their faces are completely dark, and they begin to develop cheek flanges. Their beard starts to emerge, while the hair around their face shortens, and instead of pointing outwards the face flattens along the skull. This stage marks sexual maturity in males, yet these orangutans are still socially undeveloped and will still avoid contact with adult males. Finally, male Sumatrans orangutans reach adulthood at 13 to 15 years of age. They are extremely large animals, weighing between 50 and 90 kilograms, roughly the weight of a fully grown human. They have a fully grown beard, fully developed cheek callosities, and long hair. These orangutans have reached full sexual and social maturity and now only travel alone.Female Sumatran orangutans typically live 44\u201353 years in the wild, while males have a slightly longer lifespan of 47\u201358 years. "


id: fc10c4064fdac82a600b543debb5e56d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2437
content:
"Females are able to give birth up to 53 years of age, based on studies of menopausal cycles. Both males and females are usually considered healthy even at the end of their lifespans and can be identified as such by the regular abundance of hair growth and robust cheek pads.\n\nThe Sumatran orangutan is more social than its Bornean counterpart; groups gather to feed on the mass amounts of fruit on fig trees. The Sumatran orangutan community is best described as loose, not showing social or spatial exclusivity. Groups generally consist of female clusters and a preferred male mate. However, adult males generally avoid contact with other adult males. Subadult males will try to mate with any female, although mostly unsuccessfully, since mature females are easily capable of fending them off. Mature females prefer to mate with mature males. Usually, there is a specific male in a group that mature females will exhibit preference for. "


id: f3f449425e0b354d29f67758290be89d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2353
content:
"Male Sumatran orangutans sometimes have a delay of many years in the development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as cheek flanges and muscle mass.Males exhibit bimaturism, whereby fully flanged adult males and the smaller unflanged males are both capable of reproducing, but employ differing mating strategies to do so.The average interbirth rates for the Sumatran orangutan is 9.3 years, the longest reported among the great apes, including the Bornean orangutan. Infant orangutans will stay close to their mothers for up to three years. Even after that, the young will still associate with their mothers. Both the Sumatran and Bornean orangutans are likely to live several decades; estimated longevity is more than 50 years. The average of the first reproduction of P. abelii is around 15.4 years old. There is no indication of menopause.Nonja, thought to be the world's oldest orangutan in captivity or the wild at the time of her death, died at the Miami MetroZoo at the age of 55. Puan, an orangutan at Perth Zoo, is believed to have been 62 years old at the time of her death, making her the oldest recorded orangutan. "


id: f5a15afc97a2405a3336ecbae4dde8f7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2375
content:
"The current oldest orangutan in the world is believed to be Bella, a female orangutan at the Hagenbeck Zoo, who is 61 years of age.\n\n=== Diet ===\nSumatran orangutans are primarily frugivores, favoring fruits consisting of a large seed and surrounded by a fleshy substance, such as durians, lychees, jackfruit, breadfruit, and fig fruits. Insects are also a huge part of the orangutan's diet; the most consumed types are ants, predominantly of the genus Camponotus (at least four species indet.). Their main diet can be broken up into five categories: fruits, insects, leaf material, bark and other miscellaneous food items. Studies have shown that orangutans in the Ketambe area in Indonesia ate over 92 different kinds of fruit, 13 different kinds of leaves, 22 sorts of other vegetable material such as top-sprouts, and pseudo-bulbs of orchids. Insects included in the diet are numbered at least 17 different types. Occasionally soil from termite mounds were ingested in small quantities. When there is low ripe fruit availability, Sumatran orangutans will eat the meat of the slow loris, a nocturnal primate. Water consumption for the orangutans was ingested from natural bowls created in the trees they lived around. "


id: c5743f7a1d0a6bed779ae01461a39446
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1878
content:
"They even drank water from the hair on their arms when rainfall was heavy.\n\n==== Meat-eating ====\n\nMeat-eating happens rarely in Sumatran orangutan, and orangutans do not show a male bias in meat-eating. Research in the Ketambe area reported cases of meat-eating in wild Sumatran orangutans, of which nine cases were of orangutans eating slow lorises. The research shows, in the most recent three cases of slow lorises eaten by Sumatran orangutan, a maximum mean feeding rate of the adult orangutan for an entire adult male slow loris is 160.9 g/h and, of the infant, 142.4 g/h. No cases have been reported during mast years, which suggests orangutans take meat as a fallback for the seasonal shortage of fruits; preying on slow loris occurs more often in periods of low fruit availability. Similar to most primate species, orangutans appear to only share meat between mother and infants.\n\n== Genomics ==\nOrangutans have 48 chromosomes. The Sumatran orangutan genome was sequenced in January 2011, based on a captive female named Susie. "


id: 5aa0d4e0f09ef26e8d23be6f8345ee9d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 783
content:
"Following humans and chimpanzees, the Sumatran orangutan has become the third extant hominid species to have its genome sequenced.The researchers also published less complete copies from ten wild orangutans, five from Borneo and five from Sumatra. The genetic diversity was found to be lower in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) than in Sumatran ones (Pongo abelii), despite the fact that Borneo is home to six or seven times as many orangutans as Sumatra. The comparison has shown these two species diverged around 400,000 years ago, more recently than was previously thought. The orangutan genome also has fewer rearrangements than the chimpanzee/human lineage.\n\n== Conservation ==\n\n=== Threats ===\nSumatrans encounter threats such as logging (both legal and illegal), wholesale conversion of forest to agricultural land and oil palm plantations, and fragmentation by roads. Oil companies use a method of deforestation to re-use land for palm oil. This land is taken from the forest in which Sumatran orangutans live. "


id: 7a0b38d8d39cab1830a26c405b80d43c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1122
content:
"An assessment of forest loss in the 1990s concluded that forests supporting at least 1,000 orangutans were lost each year within the Leuser Ecosystem alone.As of 2017, approximately 82.5% of the Sumatran orangutan population was strictly confined to the northernmost tip of the island, in the Aceh Province. Orangutans are rarely, if ever, found south of the Simpang Kanan River on Sumatra's west side or south of the Asahan River on the east side. The Pakpak Barat population in particular is the only Sumatran population predicted to be able to sustain orangutans in the long run, given the current effects of habitat displacement and human impact.While poaching generally is not a huge problem for the Sumatrans, occasional local hunting does decrease the population size. They have been hunted in the Northern Sumatra in the past as targets for food; although deliberate attempts to hunt the Sumatrans are rare nowadays, locals such as the Batak people are known to eat almost all vertebrates in their area. Additionally, the Sumatrans are treated as pests by Sumatran farmers, becoming targets of elimination if they are seen damaging or stealing crops. "


id: defa651658b498ef0a63641172c6efa
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2142
content:
"For commercial aspects, hunts for both dead or live specimens have also been recorded as an effect of the demand by European and North American zoos and institutions throughout the 20th century.Sumatran orangutans have developed a highly functioning cardiovascular system. However, with this development of hugely improved air sacs in their lungs, air sacculitis has become more prevalent among orangutans in this species. Air sacculitis is similar to streptococcal infection, e.g. strep throat in Homo sapiens. The bacterial infection is becoming increasing common in captive orangutans, due to the fact that they are exposed to the human strain of Streptococcus in captivity. At first, both strains are treated and cured with antibiotics along with rest. Yet, in 2014, a Sumatran orangutan, ten years in captivity, was the first of its species to die from Streptococcus anginosus. This remains the only known case, but raises the question of why the known human cure for Streptococcus was ineffective in this case.\n\n=== Conservation status ===\n\nThe Sumatran orangutan is endemic to the north of Sumatra. In the wild, Sumatran orangutans only survive in the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), the northernmost tip of the island. "


id: 7278fe12844c2cf30bb4ae3a091d8157
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1033
content:
"The primate was once more widespread, as they were found farther to the south in the 19th century, such as in Jambi and Padang.\nThere are small populations in the North Sumatra province along the border with NAD, particularly in the Lake Toba forests. A survey in the Lake Toba region found only two inhabited areas, Bukit Lawang (defined as the animal sanctuary) and Gunung Leuser National Park. Bukit Lawang is a jungle village, 90 kilometers northwest of Medan, situated at the eastern side of Gunung Leuser National Park. An orangutan sanctuary was set up here by a Swiss organisation in the 1970s to attempt to rehabilitate orangutans captured from the logging industry. The rangers were trained to teach the orangutans vital jungle skills to enable them to reintegrate into the forest, and provided additional supplementary food from a feeding platform. "


id: 83d0e115a14c2d57e3c3502cfd9b1bdb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1223
content:
"However, within the last few years supplementary feeding has ceased as the orangutan rehabilitation program has been deemed a success, the orangutans having been fully rehabilitated, and the jungle (or the remaining part of) is now at saturation point, so the sanctuary no longer accepts new orphaned orangutans.The species has been assessed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000. From 2000-2008 it was considered one of \"The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates.\"A survey published in March 2016 estimates a population of 14,613 Sumatran orangutans in the wild, doubling previous population estimates. A survey in 2004 estimated that around 7,300 Sumatran orangutans still live in the wild. The same study estimates a 20,552 km2 occupied area for the Sumatran orangutans, of which only an approximate area range of 8,992 km2 harbors permanent populations. Some of them are being protected in five areas in Gunung Leuser National Park; others live in unprotected areas: northwest and northeast Aceh block, West Batang Toru river, East Sarulla and Sidiangkat. A successful breeding program has been established in Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park in Jambi and Riau provinces.\n"


id: 93a13fa737a4336f51a39e7089489cae
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1374
content:
"Two strategies that are recently being considered to conserve this species are 1) rehabilitation and reintroduction of ex-captive or displaced individuals and 2) the protection of their forest habitat by preventing threats such as deforestation and hunting. The former was determined to be more cost efficient for maintaining the wild orangutan populations, but comes with longer time scale of 10\u201320 years. The latter approach has better prospects for ensuring long-term stability of populations. This type of habitat conservation approach has been pursued by the World Wide Fund for Nature, who joined forces with several other organizations to stop the clearing of the biggest part of remaining natural forest close to the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park.In addition to the above extant wild populations, a new population is being established in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (Jambi and Riau Provinces) via the re-introduction of confiscated illegal pets. This population currently numbers around 70 individuals and is reproducing. However it has been concluded that forest conservation costs twelve times less than reintroducing orangutans into the wild, and conserves more biological diversity.Orangutans have large home ranges and low population densities, which complicates conservation efforts. "


id: 8a155d7ad7ec4de196237e96041e6dde
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1295
content:
"Population densities depend to a large degree on the abundance of fruits with soft pulp. Sumatran orangutan will commute seasonally between lowland, intermediate, and highland regions, following fruit availability. Undisturbed forests with broader altitudinal range can thus sustain larger orangutan populations; conversely, the fragmentation and extensive clearance of forest ranges breaks up this seasonal movement. Sumatra currently has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world.\n\n== See also ==\n\nFauna of Indonesia\nMountain gorilla\nBonobo\n\n== References ==\n\n== Sources ==\nGroves, C. P. (2005).  Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.\n\n== External links ==\n\nSumatran Orangutan Society\nSumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme\nOrangutan Foundation Info on project in Aceh\nThe Orangutan Conservancy\nARKive \u2013 images and movies of the Sumatran orang-utan (Pongo abelii)\nView the orangutan genome on Ensembl.\nView the ponAbe2 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser."


id: 296dc112a19ed6491fec77fafb54c48d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 259
content:
"The red-legged seriema  (Cariama cristata), also known as the crested cariama  and crested seriema, is a mostly predatory terrestrial bird in the seriema family (Cariamidae), included in the Gruiformes in the old paraphyletic circumscription but recently placed in a distinct order: Cariamiformes (along with three extinct families).\nThe red-legged seriema is widely distributed in South America, occurring in central and eastern Brazil through eastern Bolivia and Paraguay to Uruguay and central Argentina (south to La Pampa).Like the black-legged seriema, farmers often use them as guard animals to protect poultry from predators and sometimes human intruders.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe red-legged seriema was described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae. He coined the binomial name Palamedea cristata. The red-legged seriema is now the only species placed in the genus Cariama that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The specific epithet cristata is Latin for \"crested\", \"plumed\" or \"tufted\". "


id: b2d7e1e079f8e7383047c94fc04940d3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1677
content:
"The German naturalist Georg Marcgrave used the Latin word Cariama for the red-legged seriema in his Historia naturalis Brasiliae, which was published in 1648.The name is derived from the Portuguese word seriema, which comes from a Tupi word corresponding to \u00e7ariama, derived from the words \u00e7aria (crest) and am (raised).\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe red-legged seriema is around 75 to 90 centimetres (30 to 35 in) long and weighs about 1.5 to 2.2 kilograms (3.3 to 4.9 lb), with long legs, necks, and tails. The males are slightly larger than females. It has a greyish-brown plumage, finely barred and vermiculated with dark brown and black; pale brown on the head, neck, and breast; white on belly. The long, broad outer tail has a subterminal black band and a white tip. It has a reddish beak and very long, salmon-coloured legs. The eyes are yellow. Soft feathers emerge from the base of the bill to form a distinctive fan-shaped crest.Many other characteristics are shared with the black-legged seriema (Chunga burmeisteri), the only other living member of its family. Some of these traits are discussed in the Cariamidae article.\n\n"


id: 4e48e9f843a3decdd820f53398748d67
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 635
content:
"== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe red-legged seriema inhabits most of central and eastern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern and southeastern Bolivia, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina. It is found at elevations up to 6,600 feet (2,000 m).The red-legged seriema prefers grassland habitat to any other. Though it likes to inhabit lush meadows near rivers, it will not readily move into wetlands or crop fields. It frequents semi-open and fairly dry areas such as thorny scrub and semi-arid woodland regions, savannas and ranchlands, and also hilly grasslands near wooded areas. This species is very typical in Caatinga, Cerrado and Chaco.\n\n== Behavior and ecology ==\nSeriemas are wary, territorial, and diurnal birds. Generally, the red-legged seriema is sedentary, although there are reports of temperature-related migrations. It is typically seen singly or in pairs, but occasionally in groups of up to four individuals, apparently families. It usually walks on the ground and can easily run faster than a human in its habitat. "


id: 1c6ea0b08718fb4774b068a27972a2b1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 138
content:
"It will flee a car on foot at speeds up to 25 km/h (15 mph) before flying.Territorial defense may involve agonistic confrontation between individuals, initially characterized by full vocalization duets followed by short runs and flights towards intruders, alternated with claws and beak attacks. In one conflict between two birds, they jumped at each other feet-first, keeping their balance by flapping.This species typically nests on low trees or bushes, so that adults are able to reach the nest from the ground by short hops or flutters rather than by flying.\n\n== Vocalization ==\nFull vocalization by the seriema is mainly done at dawn and to a lesser extent, during at dusk. It can also occur irregularly at other times of day.The song has a quality described as \"a cross between 'the serrated bark of a young dog and the clucking of turkeys'\". At the loudest part of the song, the bird has its neck bent so its head is touching its back. Both members of a pair as well as young down to the age of two weeks sing; often one member of a family starts a song just as another finishes, or two sing simultaneously. "


id: ca384596e85e254fcc1b12622f1b7828
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1919
content:
"The song can be heard several kilometers away; in Emas National Park, Brazil, in 1981\u20131982, observers often heard four red-legged seriemas or groups singing at once.The full song consists of three sections:\n\nRepeated single notes at constant pitch (1,200 to 1,300 Hz) and duration but increasing tempo\nRepeated two- or three-note subphrases of slightly higher pitch with increasing tempo\nSubphrases of up to 10 notes, shorter ones rising in pitch and longer ones falling, two-subphrase combinations increasing in number of notes and tempo and then decreasing in tempo.Their song was notably sampled by Boards of Canada on their track \"Happy Cycling\" on their debut album Music Has the Right to Children, which was taken from the Vangelis album La F\u00eate Sauvage.\n\n== Diet ==\nRed-legged seriemas are omnivorous, probably eating prey in response to its abundance. Diets mainly consist of arthropods (such as grasshoppers, beetles, ants and spiders), insect larvae, lizards, amphibians, snakes, rodents and other small vertebrates; occasionally, corn (Zea) grains and other crops, wild fruits and tree gum. "


id: d89aa5339bb887536ee305ecab551496
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2055
content:
"In captivity, and probably even in the wild, eggs and chicks of other bird species are also eaten.Typically feeds alone or in pairs, seasonally in small family groups; forages walking steadily, looking for food on the ground or in low vegetation. Foraging birds sometimes stays obscured due to cryptic plumage colours. It grabs small vertebrates in its beak and beats them against the ground before dismembering them with its beak and claws.\nDuring a long term study in Arcos municipality, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a research team placed a camera trap at one of 44 seriema nests in their study area. On 29 September 2018 it recorded a 20 minute video of an adult killing one of three nestlings, eating part of it, and allowing the other two nestlings to feed on the carcass. It was the first documented parental infanticide and cannibalism by the species in the wild though it had been observed in a captive individual. The researchers note that very few red-legged seriema broods fledge three young and speculate that the third nestling serves as reserve food for the other two in times of stress.\n\n== Reproduction ==\nSeriemas are monogamous. "


id: 6afe7f17fa56c800ba9fca1405bd386f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 955
content:
"In the wild, the breeding season correlates to the rainy months of February to July in the northeast of Brazil, September to January in central Brazil and November to December in Argentina.During the breeding season, the male, more intimidating or forcing himself on the female, spreads out his wings laterally, moving them forward and displaying the contrasting arrangement of the flight feathers, a pattern similar to that of certain birds of prey, such as the African secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius). The display is often followed by a strut in front of the female, with the head pointing and the crest lifted. The male also gives food (from the normal diet) to the female. Both birds call, thereby reinforcing the bond between them as well as establishing the territories of the pair. Copulation takes place on the ground.Typically, 2\u20133 white, softly spotted eggs are laid. Incubation is done by both sexes, lasting 24\u201330 days. The chicks are coated with long, light brown feathers and are fed by both parents; initially, they weigh around 40\u201360 g (1.4\u20132.1 oz). At around 14 days of age, the chicks are able to leave their nests. "


id: c925a6145feb2561af5214f003adac54
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1910
content:
"At this time, the chick is able to make a call similar to the adult vocalization, although very faint, to attract the parents' attention to itself. Adult plumage is obtained in 4\u20135 months.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links =="


id: a2a33737b413c67411602e9be4486133
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1531
content:
"Dyscophus guineti, the false tomato frog or the Sambava tomato frog, is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical swamps, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.\nDescription, The Dyscophus guineti male frogs are yellowish, and in size 60-65mm. The female frogs are red- orange often with many small reticulations, in size 90-95mm. Some of these frogs have an Odontoma which are tumors from a tooth that also contain tissue. These cause bad tooth eruption and displacement of erupted teeth. Another aspect which concerns these frogs is the way they capture their prey using their tongues and mouth.  It is based on how close their prey is to them, the way they capture it changes.  If their prey is smaller and at an azimuthal location of less than 40A degrees, they will aim their heads at the prey and not their tongues.  If their prey is larger and at an azimuthal location greater than 40A then they proceed to aim both their head and tongue at their prey.  "


id: 283ee69d5569230ae247fb4df972fe99
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 242
content:
"The process when the prey is larger is better known as hydrostatic elongation.  The dysciphus guinteti also has tongue movements sperate of the lower jaw which changes their speed, momentum, and projection of their tongue in different situations.\n\n== References ==\n\n== Sources ==\nAmeyZoo: Frogs that are commonly kept as pets\nGiulia Tessa, Fabio M. Guarino, Jasmin E. Randrianirina & Franco Andreone (2011) Age structure in the false tomato frog Dyscophus guineti from eastern Madagascar compared to the closely related D. antongilii (Anura, Microhylidae), African Journal of Herpetology, 60:1, 84\u201388, DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2011.561881."


id: 84a13fdb7479c23dcdba7f1858a1bcc8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1229
content:
"The violet turaco, also known as the violaceous plantain eater (Musophaga violacea), is a large turaco, a group of African otidimorphae.\n\n== Characteristics ==\nThese are unmistakable birds, but shy and often inconspicuous in the treetops. They are approximately 48 cm (19 in) long, including a long tail and a 4 cm (1.6 in) bill. They boast a winglength of 21 cm (8.3 in) and weigh approximately 360 g. The plumage is glossy violet, except for the yellow forehead, chestnut crown and white ear coverts; the bill is thick and red. In flight, the violet turaco's crimson primary flight feathers contrast with the violet plumage. The red colour in the wings is typical of turacos.\n\n== Habitat ==\nIt is resident in West Africa, and has an extremely large range from Senegal through to the Nigeria, with an isolated population in Chad and Central African Republic. It occurs in tropical savannas, wetlands, woodlands and forests.\n\n== Diet ==\nDiet consists of fruit, and they are quite partial to figs, but they will also eat leaves, buds, flowers, insects, snails and slugs.\n\n== Reproduction ==\nCooperative breeding behavior has been observed in captivity in this species. "


id: 3f3b7523f6ba14aab50ac3e4b5e203b8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 498
content:
"The female lays two eggs in a flimsy tree platform nest.\n\n== Threats ==\nThis species is locally common, but is vulnerable to trapping for the pet trade in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana.\n\n== Behavior ==\nTuracos are social birds, travelling in flocks of around ten to twelve individuals. They are not strong fliers but they can run quickly through the branches. Violet turaco has a loud cooroo-cooroo call.\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\nBirds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1 Violaceous plantain eater (Musophaga violacea) http://www.torontozoo.com/explorethezoo/AnimalDetails.asp?pg=436\n\n== External links ==\n\nExtract of an article about Violaceous Touracos  on International Touraco Society website.\nFact sheet from Toronto Zoo: http://www.torontozoo.com/Animals/details.asp?AnimalID=436"


id: c64b6305863df4f619bbea07605b6a3b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1887
content:
"The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body length is around 24\u201335 cm (9.4\u201313.8 in), and the weight is typically between 0.62 and 0.97 kg (1.4 and 2.1 lb). The coat is light grey to yellowish-brown with alternate, poorly-defined light and dark bands on the back. Meerkats have foreclaws adapted for digging and have the ability to thermoregulate to survive in their harsh, dry habitat. Three subspecies are recognised.\nMeerkats are highly social, and form packs of two to 30 individuals each that occupy home ranges around 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) in area. There is a social hierarchy\u2014generally dominant individuals in a pack breed and produce offspring, and the nonbreeding, subordinate members provide altruistic care to the pups. Breeding occurs around the year, with peaks during heavy rainfall; after a gestation of 60 to 70 days, a litter of three to seven pups is born.\nThey live in rock crevices in stony, often calcareous areas, and in large burrow systems in plains. "


id: 5930d589e18bdd88e5ee2ca141ab88c1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 757
content:
"The burrow systems, typically 5 m (16 ft) in diameter with around 15 openings, are large underground networks consisting of two to three levels of tunnels. These tunnels are around 7.5 cm (3.0 in) high at the top and wider below, and extend up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) into the ground. Burrows have moderated internal temperatures and provide a comfortable microclimate that protects meerkats in harsh weather and at extreme temperatures.\nMeerkats are active during the day, mostly in the early morning and late afternoon; they remain continually alert and retreat to burrows when sensing danger. They use a broad variety of calls to communicate among one another for different purposes, for example to raise an alarm on sighting a predator. Primarily insectivorous, meerkats feed heavily on beetles and lepidopterans, arthropods, amphibians, small birds, reptiles, and plant material in their diet.\nCommonly living in arid, open habitats with little woody vegetation, meerkats occur in southwestern Botswana, western and southern Namibia, northern and western South Africa; the range barely extends into southwestern Angola. With no significant threats to the population, the meerkat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. "


id: a5b921d4f488d98fad86a5c0b55de6d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1558
content:
"Meerkats are widely depicted in television, movies and other media.\n\n== Etymology ==\nThe word 'meerkat' derives from the Dutch name for a kind of monkey, which in turn comes from the Old High German mericazza, possibly as a combination of meer ('lake') and kat ('cat'). This may be related to the similar Hindi: \u092e\u0930\u094d\u0915\u091f (markat, or monkey), deriving from Sanskrit, though the Germanic origin of the word predates any known connections to India. The name was used for small mammals in South Africa from 1801 onward, possibly because the Dutch colonialists used the name in reference to many burrowing animals. The native South African name for the meerkat is 'suricate', possibly deriving from the French: surikate, which in turn may have a Dutch origin. In Afrikaans the meerkat is called graatjiemeerkat or stokstertmeerkat; the term mierkatte or meerkatte can refer to both the meerkat and the yellow mongoose (Afrikaans: rooimeerkat). In colloquial Afrikaans mier means 'ant' and kat means 'cat', hence the name probably refers to the meerkat's association with termite mounds.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\n\nIn 1776, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber described a meerkat from the Cape of Good Hope, giving it the scientific name Viverra suricatta. "


id: 1abb09f2c3c5bbb68f84650bfe994a55
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 116
content:
"The generic name Suricata was proposed by Anselme Ga\u00ebtan Desmarest in 1804, who also described a zoological specimen from the Cape of Good Hope. The present scientific name Suricata suricatta was first used by Oldfield Thomas and Harold Schwann in 1905 when they described a specimen collected at Wakkerstroom. They suggested there were four local meerkat races in the Cape and Deelfontein, Grahamstown, Orange River Colony and southern Transvaal, and Klipfontein respectively. Several zoological specimens were described between the late 18th and 20th centuries, of which three are recognised as valid subspecies:\nS. s. suricatta (Schreber, 1776) occurs in southern Namibia, southern Botswana, and South Africa.\nS. s. majoriae Bradfield, 1936 occurs in central and northwestern Namibia.\nS. s. iona Crawford-Cabral, 1971 occurs in southwestern Angola.\n\n== Phylogeny and evolution ==\nMeerkat fossils dating back to 2.59 to 0.01 million years ago have been excavated in various locations in South Africa. A 2009 phylogenetic study of the family Herpestidae split into two lineages around the Early Miocene (25.4\u201318.2 mya)\u2014eusocial and solitary mongooses. The meerkat belongs to the monophyletic eusocial mongoose clade along with several other African mongooses: Crossarchus (kusimanse), Helogale (dwarf mongoose), Liberiictis (Liberian mongoose) and Mungos (banded mongoose). "


id: cd8bf2eb896555c4d7fac9c55ce23947
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1946
content:
"The solitary mongoose lineage comprises two clades including species such as Meller's mongoose (Rhynchogale melleri) and the yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata). The meerkat genetically diverged from the rest of the clade 22.6\u201315.6 mya. The phylogenetic relationships of the meerkat are depicted as follows:\n\n== Characteristics ==\n\nThe meerkat is a small mongoose of slim build characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail and a brindled coat pattern. It is smaller than most other mongooses except the dwarf mongooses (genus Helogale) and possibly Galerella species. The head-and-body length is around 24\u201335 cm (9.4\u201313.8 in), and the weight has been recorded to be between 0.62\u20130.97 kg (1.4\u20132.1 lb) without much variation between the sexes (though some dominant females can be heavier than the rest). The soft coat is light grey to yellowish brown with alternate, poorly-defined light and dark bands on the back. Individuals from the southern part of the range tend to be darker. The guard hairs, light at the base, have two dark rings and are tipped with black or silvery white; several such hairs aligned together give rise to the coat pattern. "


id: 8315e8bbf25359408c1cdc6b908f274c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1219
content:
"These hairs are typically between 1.5 and 2 cm (0.59 and 0.79 in), but measure 3\u20134 cm (1.2\u20131.6 in) on the flanks. Its head is mostly white and the underparts are covered sparsely with dark reddish-brown fur, with the dark skin underneath showing through. The eyes, in sockets covering over 20% of the skull length, are capable of binocular vision. The slim, yellowish tail, unlike the bushy tails of many other mongooses, measures 17 to 25 cm (6.7 to 9.8 in), and is tipped with black. Females have six nipples. The meerkat looks similar to two sympatric species\u2014the banded and the yellow mongooses. The meerkat can be told apart from the banded mongoose by its smaller size, shorter tail and bigger eyes relative to the head; the yellow mongoose differs in having a bushy tail and lighter coat with an inner layer of yellow fur under the normal brown fur.The meerkat has 36 teeth with the dental formula of 3.1.3.23.1.3.2. It is well adapted for digging, movement through tunnels and standing erect, though it is not as capable of running and climbing. "


id: 1fb4f91079506ea8d24121af725814d2
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 163
content:
"The big, sharp and curved foreclaws (slightly longer than the hindclaws) are highly specialised among the feliforms, and enable the meerkat to dig efficiently. The black, crescent-like ears can be closed to prevent the entry of dirt and debris while digging. The tail is used to balance when standing upright. Digitigrade, the meerkat has four digits on each foot with thick pads underneath.The meerkat has a specialised thermoregulation system that helps it survive in its harsh desert habitat. A study showed that its body temperature follows a diurnal rhythm, averaging 38.3 \u00b0C (100.9 \u00b0F) during the day and 36.3 \u00b0C (97.3 \u00b0F) at night. As the body temperature falls below the thermoneutral zone, determined to be 30\u201332.5 \u00b0C (86.0\u201390.5 \u00b0F), the heart rate and oxygen consumption plummet; perspiration increases sharply at temperatures above this range. Additionally, it has a basal metabolic rate remarkably lower than other carnivores, which helps in conserving water, surviving on lower amounts of food and decreasing heat output from metabolic processes. During winter, it balances heat loss by increasing the metabolic heat generation and other methods such as sunbathing.\n\n"


id: 179d0d96340b1de11dae7ebd8c79dea5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 83
content:
"== Ecology and behaviour ==\n\nThe meerkat is a social mammal, forming packs of two to 30 individuals each comprising nearly equal numbers of either sex and multiple family units of pairs and their offspring. Members of a pack take turns at jobs such as looking after pups and keeping a lookout for predators. Meerkats are a cooperatively breeding species\u2014typically the dominant 'breeders' in a pack produce offspring, and the nonbreeding, subordinate 'helpers' provide altruistic care for the pups. This division of labour is not as strictly defined as it is in specialised eusocial species, such as the breeder-worker distinction in ants. Moreover, meerkats have a clear dominance hierarchy with older individuals having a higher social status. A study showed that dominant individuals can contribute more to offspring care when fewer helpers were available; subordinate members increased their contributions if they could forage better.Packs live in rock crevices in stony areas and in large burrow systems in plains. A pack generally occupies a home range, 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) large on average but sometimes as big as 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi), containing many burrows 50 to 100 m (160 to 330 ft) apart, of which some remain unused. "


id: 276f2464dd93979c8f861f0127748208
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 232
content:
"A 2019 study showed that large burrows towards the centre of a range are preferred over smaller ones located near the periphery; this was especially the case with packs that had pups to raise. A pack may shift to another burrow if the dominant female has little success finding prey in an area. The area near the periphery of home ranges is scent marked mostly by the dominant individuals; there are communal latrines, 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi) large, close to the burrows. Packs can migrate collectively in search of food, to escape high predator pressure and during floods.Meerkats are highly vigilant, and frequently survey their surroundings by turning their heads side to side; some individuals always stand sentry and look out for danger. Vocal communication is used frequently in different contexts; for instance repetitive, high-pitched barks are used to warn others of predators nearby. They will generally retreat to their burrows for safety, where they will remain until the danger is gone. They stick their heads out of burrows to check the area outside, still barking. Mobs of meerkats fiercely attack snakes that may come near them. "


id: 2c6bbf87c3f1a94baa86b3271d161271
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 293
content:
"Raptors such as bateleurs, martial eagles, tawny eagles, and pale chanting goshawks are major aerial predators; on the ground, meerkats may be threatened by bat-eared foxes, black-backed jackals, and Cape foxes.\n\n=== Social behaviour ===\nEncounters between members of different packs are highly aggressive, leading to severe injuries and often deaths; 19% of meerkats die by conspecific violence, which is the highest recorded percentage among mammals. Females, often the heaviest ones, try to achieve dominance over the rest in many ways such as fierce competition or taking over from the leader of the pack. A study showed that females who grew faster were more likely to assert dominance, though males did not show such a trend. Males seeking dominance over groups tend to scent mark extensively and are not submissive; they often drive out older males in a group and take over the pack themselves. Subordinate individuals face difficulties in breeding successfully; for instance, dominant females often kill the litters of subordinate ones. As such, subordinate individuals might disperse to other packs to find mates during the breeding season. Some subordinate meerkats will even kill the pups of dominant members in order to improve their own offspring's position. "


id: 4aeb49d8203af05b41dd09526af15a2d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 603
content:
"It can take days for emigrants to secure entry into other packs, and they often face aversion from the members. Males typically succeed in joining existing groups; they often inspect other packs and their burrow systems in search of breeding opportunities. Many often team up in 'coalitions' for as long as two months and travel nearly 5 km (3.1 mi) a day on twisted paths. Dispersal appears to be less common in females, possibly because continuing to stay within a pack can eventually win them dominance over other members. Dispersed females travel longer than coalitions, and tend to start groups of their own or join other similar females; they aim for groups of emigrant males or those without a breeding female. Subordinate females, unlike subordinate males, might be ousted from their packs, especially in the latter part of the dominant female's pregnancy, though they may be allowed to return after the birth of the pups.\n\n=== Burrowing ===\n\nMeerkat burrows are typically 5 m (16 ft) in diameter with around 15 openings, though one of dimensions 25 by 32 m (82 by 105 ft) with as many as 90 holes has been reported. "


id: 2f89e091304f5f50941b7b3f6e6466f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 325
content:
"These large underground networks comprise two to three levels of tunnels up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) into the ground; the tunnels, around 7.5 cm (3.0 in) high at the top, become broader after descending around a metre. The entrances, 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter, are created by digging at an angle of 40 degrees to the surface; the soil accumulated as a result can slightly increase the height of burrow sites. 'Boltholes' are used for a quick escape if dangers are detected. While constructing or renovating burrows meerkats will line up to form a continuous head-to-tail chain, break the soil into crumbs with their foreclaws, scoop it out with their forepaws joined and throw it behind them between their hindlegs.Outside temperatures are not reflected at once within burrows; instead there is usually an eight-hour lag which creates a temperature gradient in warrens, so that burrows are coolest in daytime and warmest at night. "


id: 33b47eab7cc582bc9f8b52a284a99542
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 378
content:
"Temperatures inside burrows typically vary between 21 and 39 \u00b0C (70 and 102 \u00b0F) in summer and \u22124 and 26 \u00b0C (25 and 79 \u00b0F) in winter; temperatures at greater depths vary to a much lesser extent, with summer temperatures around 22.6 to 23.2 \u00b0C (72.7 to 73.8 \u00b0F) and winter temperatures around 10 to 10.8 \u00b0C (50.0 to 51.4 \u00b0F). This reduces the need for meerkats to thermoregulate individually by providing a comfortable microclimate within burrows; moreover, burrowing protects meerkats in harsh weather and at extreme temperatures. Consequently, meerkats spend considerable time in burrows; they are active mainly during the day and return to burrows after dark and often to escape the heat of the afternoon. Activity peaks during the early morning and late afternoon. Meerkats huddle together to sleep in compact groups, sunbathe and recline on warm rocks or damp soil to adjust their body temperatures.Meerkats tend to occupy the burrows of other small mammals more than constructing them on their own; they generally share burrows with Cape ground squirrels and yellow mongooses. Cape ground squirrels and meerkats usually do not fight for space or food. "


id: 595f1a1352d57b0d4aed3dc560f8e599
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 761
content:
"Though yellow mongooses are also insectivores like meerkats, competition for prey is minimal as yellow mongooses are less selective in their diet. This association is beneficial to all the species as it saves time and efforts spent in making separate warrens. Many other species have also been recorded in the meerkat burrows, including African pygmy mice, Cape grey mongooses, four-striped grass mice, Highveld gerbils, rock hyraxes, slender mongooses, South African springhares and white-tailed rats.\n\n=== Vocalisations ===\n\nMeerkats have a broad vocal repertoire that they use to communicate among one another in several contexts; many of these calls may be combined by repetition of the same call or mixing different sounds. A study recorded 12 different types of call combinations used in different situations such as guarding against predators, caring for young, digging, sunbathing, huddling together and aggression.Short-range 'close calls' are produced while foraging and after scanning the vicinity for predators. 'Recruitment calls' can be produced to collect meerkats on sighting a snake or to investigate excrement or hair samples of predators or unfamiliar meerkats. 'Alarm calls' are given out on detecting predators. "


id: 18e470505e5700e1f60ec7f47dcda09b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 94
content:
"All these calls differ in their acoustic characteristics, and can evoke different responses in the 'receivers' (meerkats who hear the call); generally the greater the urgency of the scenario in which the call is given, the stronger is the response in the receivers.This indicates that meerkats are able to perceive the nature of the risk and the degree of urgency from the acoustics of a call, transmit it and respond accordingly. For instance, upon hearing a terrestrial predator alarm call, meerkats are most likely to scan the area and move towards the source of the call, while an aerial predator alarm call would most likely cause them to crouch down. A recruitment call would cause receivers to raise their tails (and often their hair) and move slowly towards the source.The complexity of calls produced by different mongooses varies by their social structure and ecology. For instance eusocial mongooses such as meerkats and banded mongooses use calls in a greater variety of contexts than do the solitary slender mongooses. Moreover, meerkats have more call types than do banded mongooses. "


id: 8e1431482ff1f13537acd08216e791ee
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1323
content:
"Meerkat calls carry information to identify the signaling individual or pack, but meerkats do not appear to differentiate between calls from different sources. The calls of banded mongooses also carry a 'vocal signature' to identify the caller.\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nThe meerkat is primarily an insectivore, feeding heavily on beetles and lepidopterans; it can additionally feed on eggs, amphibians, arthropods (such as scorpions, to whose venom they are immune), reptiles, small birds (such as the southern anteater-chat), plants and seeds. Captive meerkats include plenty of fruits and vegetables in their diet, and also kill small mammals by biting the backs of their skulls. They have also been observed feeding on the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii. Meerkats often eat citron melons and dig out roots and tubers for their water content.Mongooses spend nearly five to eight hours foraging every day. Like other social mongooses, meerkats in a pack will disperse within 5 m (16 ft) of one another and browse systematically in areas within their home range without losing visual or vocal contact. Some individuals stand sentry while the rest are busy foraging. "


id: 52cf6d53d58a91583b079277dc1b41e7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 685
content:
"Meerkats return to an area only after a week of the last visit so that the food supply is replenished sufficiently. They hunt by scent, and often dig out soil or turn over stones to uncover hidden prey. Meerkats typically do not give chase to their prey, though they may pursue geckos and lizards over several metres. Food intake is typically low during winter.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\n\nMeerkats breed throughout the year with seasonal peaks, typically during months of heavy rainfall; for instance, maximum births occur from January to March in the southern Kalahari. Generally only dominant individuals breed, though subordinate members can also mate in highly productive years. Females become sexually mature at two to three years of age. Dominant females can have up to four litters annually (lesser for subordinate females), and the number depends on the amount of precipitation. Mating behaviour has been studied in captive individuals. Courtship behaviour is limited; the male fights with his partner, getting hold of her by her snout. "


id: c394e7e79f02b71757d8df5009a77172
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1853
content:
"He will grip the nape of her neck if she resists mounting, and hold her down by grasping her flanks during copulation.After a gestation of 60 to 70 days, a litter of three to seven pups is born. Pups weigh around 100 g (3.5 oz) in the first few days of birth; the average growth rate for the first three months is 4.5 g (0.16 oz) per day, typically the fastest in the first month. A 2019 study showed that growth and survival rates of pups might decrease with increase in temperature.Infants make continuous sounds that resemble bird-like tweets, that change to a shrill contact call as they grow older. Young pups are kept securely in a den, from where they emerge after around 16 days, and start foraging with adults by 26 days. The nonbreeding members of the pack help substantially with juvenile care, for instance they feed the pups and huddle with them for warmth. "


id: 7393336004ebc196c00cb8944b7d26a6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1045
content:
"A study showed that nearly half of the litters of dominant females, especially those born later in the breeding season were nursed by subordinate females, mostly those that were or recently had been pregnant.Sex biases have been observed in feeding; for instance, female helpers feed female pups more than male pups unlike male helpers who feed both equally. This is possibly because the survival of female pups is more beneficial to female helpers as females are more likely to remain in their natal pack. Some helpers contribute to all activities more than others, though none of them might be specialised in any of them. Sometimes helpers favour their own needs over those of pups and decide not to feed them; this behaviour, known as \"false-feeding\", is more common when the prey is more valued by the meerkat.The father remains on guard and protects his offspring, while the mother spends a lot of time foraging to produce enough milk for her young. Mothers give out shrill, repetitive calls to ensure their pups follow them and remain close together. Unable to forage themselves, young pups vocalise often seeking food from their carers. "


id: bd53df463d6c5d5869ecd98665939952
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1782
content:
"Like many species, meerkat pups learn by observing and mimicking adult behaviour, though adults also engage in active instruction. For example, meerkat adults teach their pups how to eat a venomous scorpion by removing the stinger and showing the pups how to handle the creature. The mother runs around with prey in her mouth, prompting her pups to catch it. Pups become independent enough to forage at around 12 weeks of age. Meerkats are estimated to survive for five to 15 years in the wild; the maximum lifespan recorded in captivity is 20.6 years.Females appear to be able to discriminate the odour of their kin from that of others. Kin recognition is a useful ability that facilitates cooperation among relatives and the avoidance of inbreeding. When mating occurs between meerkat relatives it often results in negative fitness consequences (inbreeding depression), that affect a variety of traits such as pup mass at emergence from the natal burrow, hindleg length, growth until independence and juvenile survival. These negative effects are likely due to the increased homozygosity or higher genetic similarity among individuals that arise from inbreeding and the consequent expression of deleterious recessive mutations.\n\n"


id: 9082af1a7956f536186d313e49781f3b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1348
content:
"== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nThe meerkat occurs in southwestern Botswana, western and southern Namibia, northern and western South Africa; the range barely extends into southwestern Angola. It lives in areas with stony, often calcareous ground in a variety of arid, open habitats with little woody vegetation. It is common in savannahs, open plains and rocky areas beside dry rivers in biomes such as the Fynbos and the Karoo, where the mean yearly rainfall is below 600 mm (24 in). The average precipitation reduces to 100 to 400 mm (3.9 to 15.7 in) towards the northwestern areas of the range. It prefers areas with short grasses and shrubs common in velds, such as camelthorn in Namibia and Acacia in the Kalahari. It is absent from true deserts, montane regions and forests. Population densities vary greatly between places, and are significantly influenced by predators and rainfall. For instance, a study in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, where predation pressure is high, recorded a lower mean meerkat density relative to a ranch with lower occurrence of predators; in response to a 10% decrease in rainfall over a year, the density fell from 0.95 to 0.32/km2 (2.46 to 0.83/sq mi).\n\n"


id: 9b0cd9cb6f4d148cca23ecb449c52b7c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1456
content:
"== Threats and conservation ==\n\nThe meerkat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List; the population trend appears to be stable. There are no significant threats except low rainfall, which can lead to deaths of entire packs. Research has shown that temperature extremes have negative impacts on Kalahari Desert meerkats. Increased maximum air temperature is correlated with decreased survival and body mass in pups, perhaps as a result of dehydration from water loss during evaporative cooling or decreased water content in food, or from the heavier metabolic costs of thermoregulation on hot days. Higher temperatures are also associated with increased rates of endemic tuberculosis infection; this may be due to decreased immune function resulting from physiological stress, as well as increased male emigration rates observed during heat waves.Meerkats occur in several protected areas such as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the Makgadikgadi Pan. The Kalahari Meerkat Project, founded by Tim Clutton-Brock, is a long-term research project run by four different research groups that focuses on understanding cooperative behaviour in meerkats. It began in the Gemsbok National Park but was shifted to the Kuruman River Reserve in 1993.\n\n== Interactions with humans ==\n\nMeerkats are generally tame animals. "


id: 82198f0a870e14dd8dbc5f0c2875cfa4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1203
content:
"However, they are unsuitable as a pet as they can be aggressive and have a strong, ferret-like odour. In South Africa meerkats are used to kill rodents in rural households and lepidopterans in farmlands. Meerkats can transmit rabies to humans, but yellow mongooses appear to be more common vectors. It has been suggested that meerkats may even limit the spread of rabies by driving out yellow mongooses from their burrows; meerkats are generally not persecuted given their economic significance in crop protection, though they may be killed due to rabies control measures to eliminate yellow mongooses. Meerkats can also spread tick-borne diseases.Meerkats have been widely portrayed in movies, television and other media. A popular example is Timon from the Lion King franchise, who is an anthropomorphic meerkat. Meerkat Manor (2005\u20132008), a television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films that was aired on Animal Planet, focused on groups of meerkats in the Kalahari that were being studied in the Kalahari Meerkat Project.\n\n== See also ==\n\nThe Meerkats, a 2008 documentary feature film\nCompare the Meerkat\nEusociality\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\nMacdonald, D. (1999). Meerkats. London: New Holland Publishers.\nRoss-Gillespie, A.; Griffin, A. S. (2007). \"Meerkats\" (PDF). "


id: c2d30fe11ae4dc1bad0af96dfd28165b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1844
content:
"Current Biology. 17 (12): R442\u2013R443. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.045. PMID 17580068.\nClutton-Brock, T.; Manser, M. Meerkats of the Kalahari: Expedition briefing (PDF) (Report). University of Cambridge. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2007.\nCandea, M. (2010). \"\"I fell in love with Carlos the meerkat\": Engagement and detachment in human-animal relations\". American Ethnologist. 37 (2): 241\u2013258. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2010.01253.x.\n\n== External links ==\n\n\"Meerkat\". Animal Diversity, University of Michigan."


id: ca80b6b9425caacb26cf0f9fa2bd2105
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1923
content:
"The laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light-blue patch on the wing coverts. The underparts are cream-white and the tail is barred with rufous and black. The plumage of the male and female birds is similar. The territorial call is a distinctive laugh that is often delivered by several birds at the same time, and is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve a jungle setting.The laughing kookaburra is native to eastern mainland Australia, but has also been introduced to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania, and Western Australia. It occupies dry eucalypt forest, woodland, city parks and gardens. This species is sedentary and occupies the same territory throughout the year. It is monogamous, retaining the same partner for life. A breeding pair can be accompanied by up to five fully grown non-breeding offspring from previous years that help the parents defend their territory and raise their young. The laughing kookaburra generally breeds in unlined tree holes or in excavated holes in arboreal termite nests. "


id: a3af8ad963ba2e2f393a4138f74640af
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1537
content:
"The usual clutch is three white eggs. The parents and the helpers incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. The youngest of the three nestlings or chicks is often killed by the older siblings. When the chicks fledge they continue to be fed by the group for six to ten weeks until they are able to forage independently.A predator of a wide variety of small animals, the laughing kookaburra typically waits perched on a branch until it sees an animal on the ground and then flies down and pounces on its prey. Its diet includes lizards, insects, worms, snakes, mice and it is known to take goldfish out of garden ponds.\nThe International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classed the laughing kookaburra as a species of least concern as it has a large range and population, with no widespread threats.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe laughing kookaburra was first described and illustrated (in black and white) by the French naturalist and explorer Pierre Sonnerat in his Voyage \u00e0 la nouvelle Guin\u00e9e, which was published in 1776. He claimed to have seen the bird in New Guinea. "


id: 68e880e5af92492cde9d38a0a596cc11
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 931
content:
"In fact Sonnerat never visited New Guinea and the laughing kookaburra does not occur there. He probably obtained a preserved specimen from one of the naturalists who accompanied Captain James Cook to the east coast of Australia. Edme-Louis Daubenton and Fran\u00e7ois-Nicolas Martinet included a coloured plate of the laughing kookaburra based on Sonnerat's specimen in their Planches enlumin\u00e9es d'histoire naturelle. The plate has the legend in French \"Martin-pecheur, de la Nouvelle Guin\u00e9e\" (Kingfisher from New Guinea).In 1783, the French naturalist Johann Hermann provided a formal description of the species based on the coloured plate by Daubenton and Martinet. He gave it the scientific name Alcedo nov\u00e6 Guine\u00e6. The current genus Dacelo was introduced in 1815 by the English zoologist William Elford Leach, and is an anagram of Alcedo, the Latin word for a kingfisher. The specific epithet novaeguineae combines the Latin novus for new with Guinea, based on the erroneous belief that the specimen had originated from New Guinea. "


id: 59bb6c56d0efde2530715f85899ae585
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 766
content:
"For many years it was believed that the earliest description was by the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert and his scientific name Dacelo gigas was used in the scientific literature, but in 1926 the Australian ornithologist Gregory Mathews showed that a description by Hermann had been published earlier in the same year, 1783, and thus had precedence.  The inaccurate impression of geographic distribution given by the name in current usage had not by 1977 been considered an important enough matter to force a change in favor of D. gigas.In the 19th century this species was commonly called the \"laughing jackass\", a name first recorded (as Laughing Jack-Ass) in An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales by David Collins which was published in 1798. In 1858 the ornithologist John Gould used \"great brown kingfisher\", a name that had been coined by John Latham in 1782. Another popular name was \"laughing kingfisher\". The names in several Australian indigenous languages were listed by European authors including Go-gan-ne-gine by Collins in 1798, Cuck'anda by Ren\u00e9 Lesson in 1828 and Gogera or Gogobera by George Bennett in 1834. "


id: b4b1ffcee1eb9e6f0c7627a50ca62ff5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1695
content:
"In the early years of the 20th century \"kookaburra\" was included as an alternative name in ornithological publications, but it was not until 1926 in the second edition of the Official Checklist of Birds of Australia that the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union officially adopted the name \"laughing kookaburra\". The name comes from Wiradjuri, an endangered Aboriginal language.The genus Dacelo contains four kookaburra species of which the rufous-bellied kookaburra and the spangled kookaburra are restricted to New Guinea and islands in the Torres Straits. The blue-winged kookaburra and the laughing kookaburra are both widespread in Australia.Two subspecies are recognised:\nD. n. novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) \u2013 the nominate subspecies, east Australia, Tasmania and introduced into southwest Australia\nD. n. minor Robinson, 1900 \u2013 Cape York Peninsula south to Cooktown\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe laughing kookaburra is the largest species of kingfisher, outsizing even the giant kingfisher in body mass. It is a stout, stocky bird 41\u201347 cm (16\u201319 in) in length, with a large head, prominent brown eyes, and a long and robust bill. The sexes are very similar, although the female is usually larger and has less blue to the rump than the male. "


id: 6fa6ff9117bb4ede486ab131f197b517
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 999
content:
"The male weighs 196\u2013450 g (6.9\u201315.9 oz), mean 307 g (10.8 oz) and the female 190\u2013465 g (6.7\u201316.4 oz), mean 352 g (12.4 oz). They have a white or cream-coloured body and head with a dark brown stripe across each eye and more faintly over the top of the head. The wings and back are brown with sky blue spots on the shoulders. The tail is rusty reddish-orange with dark brown bars and white tips on the feathers. The heavy bill is black on top and bone-coloured on the bottom. The subspecies D. n. minor has a similar plumage to the nominate but is smaller in size.The laughing kookaburra can be distinguished from the similarly sized blue-winged kookaburra by its dark eye, dark eye-stripe, shorter bill and the smaller and duller blue areas on the wing and rump. Male blue-winged kookaburras also differ in having a barred blue and black tail.\n\n=== Call ===\n\nThe name \"laughing kookaburra\" refers to the bird's \"laugh\", which it uses to establish territory among family groups. "


id: d81b204ea2fa0415ae84a4aa6715e56b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2051
content:
"It can be heard at any time of day, but most frequently at dawn and dusk.This species possesses a tracheo-bronchial syrinx, which creates two sources of vibrations so it can produce two frequencies at the same time with multiple harmonics. The laughing kookaburras call is made through a complex sound production system, by forcing air from the lungs into the bronchial tubes. While the structure for producing calls is present from an early age, the kookaburra\u2019s song is a learned behavior. The breeding pair within a riot of kookaburra teach the fledglings to produce the signature laughing call after the young have left the nest. The adult male will sing a short portion of the call while the offspring mimics this call, usually unsuccessfully. The singing lessons tend to last two weeks before the fledgling can properly sing and take part in crepuscular choral songs. Once mastered, the young can join in crepuscular chorus songs that aid in establishing territory.\n\nOne bird starts with a low, hiccuping chuckle, then throws its head back in raucous laughter: often several others join in. "


id: 39083c230ab16c148bfeebb841b97a7b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 433
content:
"If a rival tribe is within earshot and replies, the whole family soon gathers to fill the bush with ringing laughter. The laughing chorus has 5 variable elements: 1. \"Kooa\"; 2. \"Cackle\"; 3. \"Rolling\", a rapidly repeated \"oo-oo-oo\"; 4. Loud \"Ha-ha\"; followed by 5. Male's call of \"Go-go\" or female's call of \"Gurgle\".  Hearing kookaburras in full voice is one of the more extraordinary experiences of the Australian bush, something even locals cannot ignore; some visitors, unless forewarned, may find their calls startling.\nThose calls are produced to attract/guard mates, establish and maintain the social hierarchy, and declare and defend a territory, as their calls are more often correlated with aggressiveness. Calls are utilized as neighbor/kin recognition to exhibit that groups are still inhabiting a territory. These calls also demonstrate to receivers that highly coordinated groups are of better quality and health. Acoustic communication between laughing kookaburras increases 2\u20133 months before the breeding season, September to January, because male aggression also increases.The duetting call requires higher levels of cooperation within the group. "


id: 7732f4dda4ffc97b4d44e8cc723983f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1094
content:
"The coordination of calls amongst kookaburras has been hypothesized to strengthen the main long-term pair bond and may have evolved as a mechanism to solidify the group\u2019s bonds since it is energetically costly to learn a new song. Neighboring groups exhibit degrees of cooperation as well since chorus songs between neighbors are delivered without any overlap, alternating between groups.\n\n==== Other forms of acoustic communication ====\nSquawking is another common form of acoustic communication in D. novaeguineae that is used in a slew of different contexts. Laughing kookaburras have been noted to squawk when nesting, exhibiting submissive behavior, and when fledglings are waiting to be fed. Laughing kookaburras have a greater repertoire of calls than other kookaburra species like the Blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) that produces two simple types of calls: \u201cbarks\u201d and \u201chiccups\u201d. This large range of calls is highlighted through cadencing, intonation, and frequency modulations that allow more detailed information to be conveyed.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe laughing kookaburra is native to eastern Australia and has a range that extends from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Cape Otway in the south. "


id: 88b6ce93b6634e1eefe749b42cb1106a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1278
content:
"It is present on both the eastern and the western sides of the Great Dividing Range. In the south the range extends westwards from Victoria to the Yorke Peninsula and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.It has been introduced into many other areas probably because of its reputation for killing snakes. In December 1891, the Western Australian parliament included 'Laughing Jackass' in the schedule of strictly preserved Australian native birds in the Game Bill, moved by Horace Sholl, member for North District. He described it as native of the North West.  His nomination is, therefore, certainly a reference to the blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii), not the laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). The Game Act, 1892 (Western Australia), \"An Act to provide for the preservation of imported birds and animals, and of native game,\" provided that proclaimed Australian native birds and animals listed in the First Schedule of the Act could be declared protected from taking. Laughing Jackass was one of 23 Australian native bird species named in the schedule. Laughing kookaburras from Eastern States were released near Mullewa in around 1896 and over the following decade hundreds of birds were imported from Victoria and released around Perth. "


id: 23ab6082c4ab54ddb3e14e29711e8b31
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 194
content:
"By 1912 breeding populations had been established in a number of areas. The present range in Western Australia is southwest of a line joining Geraldton on the west coast and Hopetoun on the south coast. In Tasmania the laughing kookaburra was introduced at several locations beginning in 1906. It now mainly occurs northeast of a line joining Huonville, Lake Rowallan, Waratah and Marrawah. It was introduced on Flinders Island in around 1940, where it is now widespread, and on Kangaroo Island in 1926.In the 1860s, during his second term as governor of New Zealand, George Grey arranged for the release of laughing kookaburras on Kawau Island. The island lies in the Hauraki Gulf, about 40 km (25 mi) north of Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand. It was thought that the introduction had been unsuccessful but in 1916 some birds were discovered on the adjacent mainland. It now breeds in a small region on the western side of the Hauraki Gulf between Leigh and Kumeu.The usual habitat is open sclerophyll forest and woodland. It is more common where the understory is open and sparse or where the ground is covered with grass. Tree-holes are needed for nesting. "


id: 5c3d338e7526f83170ea046e5e143b9d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 799
content:
"It also occurs near wetlands and in partly cleared areas or farmland with trees along roads and fences. In urban areas it is found in parks and gardens. The range of the laughing kookaburra overlaps with that of the blue-winged kookaburra in an area of eastern Queensland that extends from the Cape York Peninsula south to near Brisbane. Around Cooktown the laughing kookaburra tends to favour areas near water while the blue-winged kookaburra keeps to drier habitats.\n\n== Behaviour ==\n\nKookaburras occupy woodland territories (including forests) in loose family groups, and their laughter serves the same purpose as a great many other bird calls\u2014to mark territorial borders. Most species of kookaburras tend to live in family units, with offspring helping the parents hunt and care for the next generation of offspring.\n\n=== Breeding ===\n\nDuring mating season, the laughing kookaburra reputedly indulges in behaviour similar to that of a wattlebird. The female adopts a begging posture and vocalises like a young bird. The male then offers her his current catch accompanied with an \"oo oo oo\" sound. However, some observers maintain that the opposite happens \u2013 the female approaches the male with her current catch and offers it to him. "


id: 42709ff1bc73b225f9da3da263c81353
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 522
content:
"Nest-building may start in August with a peak of egg-laying from September to November. If the first clutch fails, they will continue breeding into the summer months.The female generally lays a clutch of three semi-glossy, white, rounded eggs, measuring 36 mm \u00d7 45 mm (1.4 in \u00d7 1.8 in), at about two-day intervals. Both parents and auxiliaries incubate the eggs for 24\u201326 days. Hatchlings are altricial and nidicolous, fledging by day 32\u201340.  If the food supply is not adequate, the third egg will be smaller and the third chick will also be smaller and at a disadvantage relative to its larger siblings. Chicks have a hook on the upper mandible, which disappears by the time of fledging. If the food supply to the chicks is not adequate, the chicks will quarrel, with the hook being used as a weapon. The smallest chick may even be killed by its larger siblings. If food is plentiful, the parent birds spend more time brooding the chicks, so the chicks are not able to fight.\n\n"


id: 701f6b70ccde9f7e0a98891607f2f074
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1006
content:
"=== Feeding ===\n\nKookaburras hunt much as other kingfishers (or indeed Australasian robins) do, by perching on a convenient branch or wire and waiting patiently for prey to pass by. Common prey include mice and similar-sized small mammals, a large variety of invertebrates (such as insects, earthworms and snails), yabbies, small fish, lizards, frogs, small birds and nestlings, and most famously, snakes.  Small prey are preferred, but kookaburras sometimes take large creatures, including venomous snakes, much longer than their bodies. When feeding their young, adult laughing kookaburras will make \u201cChuck calls\u201d, which are deep, guttural calls that differ significantly from their daily chorus songs.\n\n=== Visual Displays ===\nTo further enhance territorial behavior, kookaburras will partake in two types of aerial displays: trapeze and circular flights. Trapeze flights are aptly named after the swooping motion that neighboring kookaburras will make towards one another in midair when defending territory. During trapeze flights, an individual from each riot will perch on branches bordering the others\u2019 territory and fly back and forth between trees within their established home range and trees bordering neighboring kookaburras territory. "


id: 87e896299aa50441f645cf3092535ab0
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1271
content:
"These displays have been observed to last up to a half an hour and are usually accompanied by calls from the sender and members of that individual's riot. Circle flights are initiated when an individual circumnavigates a neighboring territory by flying over the area and then quickly invading neighboring territory. Once inside the neighboring territory, the individual will fly in circles around the other kookaburras inhabiting the area, which results in a typical laughing call or squawking depending on whether the neighbors\u2019 dominance status. Flight displays are useful for communicating over long distances, but other forms of visual signals can be effective for short-range communication.\nClose range visual signals can be used to convey aggression or indicate incoming threats to the flock. Aggressive posturing is used as a warning before attacking, a signal that is commonly received by foreign kookaburras encroaching on another groups\u2019 territory. Laughing kookaburras will splay out their wings and propel their head forward while shaking their tail feathers to exhibit dominance and ward off intruders. The aggressive posturing is followed up by chasing off the unwanted individual before attacking. "


id: 4635e947d677fe0003213f406f1161c7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 559
content:
"Visual displays are also used to communicate vigilance and the presence of threats via alert postures. D. novaeguineae will open its beak, ruffle up the feathers surrounding its cap, and angle their heads towards the direction of the threat. Depending on the urgency of the threat, alarm postures may be followed by loud laugh-like calls to warn other members of the flock.\n\n== Relationship with humans ==\nLaughing kookaburras are a common sight in suburban gardens and urban settings, even in built-up areas, and are so tame that they will often eat out of a person's hands, and allow them to rub their bellies. It is not uncommon for kookaburras to snatch food out of people's hands without warning, by swooping in from a distance. People often feed them pieces of raw meat. Laughing kookaburras are often kept in zoos.\nThe kookaburra is also the subject of a popular Australian children's song, the \"Kookaburra\" which was written by Marion Sinclair in 1934.Recordings of this bird have been edited into Hollywood movies for decades, usually in jungle settings, beginning with the Tarzan series in the 1930s, and more recently in the film The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).\n\n"


id: 31cfc056f9c679bec776ed4b49d87d3f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 355
content:
"== Conservation status ==\n\nThe population density of the laughing kookaburra in Australia varies between 0.04 and 0.8 birds/ha depending on the habitat. Assuming an average of 0.3 birds/ha the total population may be as large as 65 million individuals. However, this may represent a severe over-estimate since the population of the laughing kookaburra seems to be undergoing a marked decline with Birdata showing a 50% drop in sightings from 2000 to 2019, and a drop in the reporting rate from 25% to 15% over the same period. The population in New Zealand is relatively small and is probably less than 500 individuals. Given the extended range and the large stable population, the species is evaluated as of \"least concern\" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\nLegge, Sarah (2004). Kookaburra: King of the Bush. Collingwood Vic, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 978-0-643-09063-7.\nParry, Veronica A. (1970). Kookaburras. Melbourne: Lansdowne Press. ISBN 978-0-7018-0290-5.\n\n== External links ==\n\nXeno-canto: audio recordings of the laughing kookaburra\nPhotos, audio and video of laughing kookaburra from Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library\nRecordings of laughing kookaburra from Graeme Chapman's sound library"


id: f880b88b6673b7740e03c947841e0981
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2402
content:
"The yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) also known as the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo, is a medium-sized (about 34-cm-long) cockatoo with white plumage, bluish-white bare orbital skin, grey feet, a black bill, and a retractile yellow or orange crest. The sexes are similar.\nThe yellow-crested cockatoo is found in wooded and cultivated areas of East Timor and Indonesia's islands of Sulawesi and the Lesser Sundas. It is easily confused with the larger and more common sulphur-crested cockatoo, which has a more easterly distribution and can be distinguished by the lack of pale yellow coloring on its cheeks (although some sulphur-cresteds develop yellowish patches). Also, the yellow-crested cockatoo's crest is a brighter color, closer to orange. The citron-crested cockatoo, which is a subspecies of the yellow-crested cockatoo, is similar, but its crest is clearly orange.The yellow-crested cockatoo's diet consists mainly of seeds, buds, fruits, nuts, and herbaceous plants.\n\n"


id: 33af4c7c0ed4c65289a390811c3f09a1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 377
content:
"== Taxonomy ==\n\nAccording to the International Ornithological Congress, 6 subspecies have been recognized:\nC. s. sulphurea (nominate subspecies) (Gmelin, JF, 1788) \u2013 Sulawesi and nearby smaller islands\nC. s. abbotti (Abbott's yellow-crested cockatoo) (Oberholser, 1917) \u2013  Masalembu Islands\nC. s. djampeana Hartert, E, 1897 \u2013 Tanah Jampea\nC. s. occidentalis Hartert, E, 1898 \u2013 Lesser Sundas from Lombok to Alor (thereby restricting C. p. parvula to Timor)\nC. s. parvula (Timor yellow-crested cockatoo) (Bonaparte, 1850) \u2013 Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Timor, and various other islands in the Lesser Sundas\nC. s. citrinocristata (citron-crested cockatoo) (Fraser, 1844) \u2013 SumbaPreviously, only 4 of these were recognized, but djampeana and occidentalis were recognized in 2022 based on a 2014 phylogenetic study. The subspecies paulandrewi, thought to be endemic to the Tukangbesi Islands and also recognized in the 2014 study, is not recognized by the IOC.\n\n== Breeding ==\nThe yellow-crested cockatoo nests in tree cavities. The eggs are white and usually two in a clutch. The incubation is shared by both parents. The eggs are incubated for about 28 days and the chicks leave the nest about 75 days after hatching.\n\n== Status and conservation ==\n\nThe yellow-crested cockatoo is critically endangered. "


id: 70209411e3fc3ffe5b4413dfc75146cc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1007
content:
"Numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage-bird trade. Between 1980 and 1992, over 100,000 of these birds were legally exported from Indonesia, yet a German proposal submitted to CITES to move it to Appendix I was not approved. It has since been moved to Appendix I. The current population is estimated at fewer than 2,500 individuals and is thought to be declining in number.The subspecies C. s. abbotti is found only on the island of Masakambing. Its population on this tiny island (about 5 km2 or 1.9 mi2) had fallen to 10 as of June and July 2008. The decline results from trapping and logging, especially of mangrove (Avicennia apiculata) and kapok trees.Several national parks provide protection of their habitat, including Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park on Sulawesi, Komodo National Park on Komodo Island, the national parks of Manupeu Tanah Daru and Laiwangi Wanggameti on Sumba, and the Nino Konis Santana National Park in East Timor (Timor-Leste).\n\n== Introduced population ==\nAn introduced population of these birds is found in Hong Kong. "


id: e7e5b19b11ed97295297796cd2e334f8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2229
content:
"They are a common sight across the densely populated area on both sides of the harbour, easily spotted in the woods and public parks in the north and west of Hong Kong Island. The large group has apparently developed from a number of caged birds that have been released into the Hong Kong area over many years. An often repeated story is that Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young released the Government House's entire bird collection \u2013 including a large number of yellow-crested cockatoos \u2013 hours before surrendering Hong Kong to Japanese troops in December 1941.  Historians and conservation biologists in Hong Kong have found no evidence to corroborate this story, and believe that Hong Kong's yellow-crested cockatoo population is made up of escaped pets. The earliest record of an escaped pet yellow-crested cockatoo comes from 1959.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nARKive - images and movies of the yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea)\nmytoos.com - information on cockatoos in captivity\nBirdLife Species Factsheet\nRed Data Book"


id: ec8c8620d17b3b2b2be7a53c4bae6266
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2275
content:
"The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) is a medium-sized wading bird. It is  the only living species in the genus Scopus and the family Scopidae. The species and family was long thought to sit with the Ciconiiformes but is now placed with the Pelecaniformes, and its closest relatives are thought to be the pelicans and the shoebill. The shape of its head with a long bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, which has given this species its name after the Afrikaans word for hammerhead. It is a medium-sized waterbird with brown plumage. It is found in Africa, Madagascar and Arabia, living in a wide variety of wetlands, including estuaries, lakesides, fish ponds, riverbanks, and rocky coasts. The hamerkop is a sedentary bird that often shows local movements.\nThe hamerkop takes a wide range of prey, mostly fish and amphibians, but shrimps, insects and rodents are taken too. Prey is usually hunted in shallow water, either by sight or touch, but the species is adaptable and will take any prey it can. The species is renowned for its enormous nests, several of which are built during the breeding season. "


id: f30088857690dc0b7fc107f0080b58bd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2346
content:
"Unusually for a wading bird the nest has an internal nesting chamber where the eggs are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs, and raise the chicks.\nThe species is not globally threatened and is locally abundant in Africa and Madagascar, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as being of least concern.\n\n== Taxonomy and systematics ==\nThe hamerkop was first described by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 in his landmark Ornithologia which was published two years after the tenth edition of Carl Linnaeus' Systema Naturae. The species was subsequently described and illustrated by French polymath Comte de Buffon. When the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae in 1788 he included the hamerkop and cited the earlier authors. He placed the species in the genus Scopus that had been introduced by Brisson and coined the binomial name Scopus umbretta.Brisson's names for bird genera were widely adopted by the ornithological community despite the fact that he did not use Linnaeus' binomial system. "


id: eb9269e2a2c8779812d141f078ad7111
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2263
content:
"The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature  ruled in 1911 that Brisson's genera were available under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, so Brisson is considered to be the genus authority for the hamerkop. The generic name, Scopus, is derived from the Ancient Greek skia for shadow. The specific name umbretta is modified from the Latin for umber or dark brown.The hamerkop is sufficiently distinct to be placed in its own family, although the relationships of this species to other families has been a longstanding mystery. The hamerkop was usually included in the Ciconiiformes, but is now thought to be closer to the Pelecaniformes. Recent studies have found that its closest relatives are the pelicans and shoebill. Although the hamerkop is the only living member of its family, one extinct species is known from the fossil record. Scopus xenopus was described by ornithologist Storrs Olson in 1984 based on two bones found in Pliocene deposits from South Africa. "


id: 44e53dfd074afcb9334ba699feeadaea
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 543
content:
"Scopus xenopus was slightly larger than the hamerkop and Olson speculated based on the shape of the tarsus that the species may have been more aquatic.The hamerkop is also known as the hammerkop, hammerkopf, hammerhead, hammerhead stork, umbrette, umber bird, tufted umber, or anvilhead.\n\n=== Subspecies ===\nTwo subspecies are recognized - the widespread nominate race S. u. umbretta and the smaller of West African S. u. minor, described by George Latimer Bates in 1931. Two other subspecies have been proposed. S. u. bannermani of south west Kenya is usually lumped with the nominate race. Birds in Madagascar have been suggested to be distinct, in which case they would be placed in the subspecies S. u. tenuirostris. That proposed subspecies was described by Austin L. Rand in 1936. It has also been suggested that birds near the Kavango River in Namibia may be distinct, but no formal description has been made.\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe hamerkop is a medium-sized waterbird,  standing 56 cm (22 in) high and weighing 470 g (17 oz), although the subspecies  S. u. minor is smaller. Its plumage is a drab brown with purple iridescence on the back; S. u. minor is darker. "


id: ff6480e751c8ed32a1303d3001c005b8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2481
content:
"The tail is faintly barred with darker brown. The sexes are alike and fledglings resembled adults. The bill is long, 80 to 85 mm (3.1\u20133.3 in), and slightly hooked at the end. It resembles the bill of a shoebill, and is quite compressed and thin, particularly at the lower half of the mandible. The bill is brown in young birds, but becomes black by the time a bird fledges.\n\nThe neck and legs are proportionately shorter than those of similar looking Pelecaniformes. The bare parts of the legs are black and the legs are feathered only to the upper part of the tibia. The hamerkop has, for unknown reasons, partially webbed feet. The middle toe is comb-like (pectinated) like a heron's. Its tail is short and its wings are big, wide, and round-tipped; it soars well, although it does so less than the shoebill or storks. When it does so, it stretches its neck forward like a stork or ibis, but when it flaps, it coils its neck back something like a heron. Its gait when walking is jerky and rapid, with its head and neck moving back and forth with each step. "


id: ed0333889d69fbb31f28d4726667063d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2281
content:
"It may hold its wings out when running for extra stability.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe hamerkop occurs in Africa south of the Sahara, Madagascar, and coastal south-west Arabia.  It requires shallow water in which to forage, and is found in all wetland habitats, including rivers, streams, seasonal pools, estuaries, reservoirs, marshes, mangroves, irrigated land such as rice paddies, savannahs, and forests. In Tanzania, it has also recently begun to feed on rocky shores.  In Arabia, it is found in rocky wadis with running water and trees. Most are sedentary within their territories, which are held by pairs, but some migrate into suitable habitat during the wet season only. The species is very tolerant of humans and  readily feeds and breeds in villages and other human-created habitats.\n\n== Behaviour and ecology ==\nThe hamerkop is mostly active during the day, often resting at noon during the heat of the day. They can be somewhat crepuscular, being active around dusk, but are not nocturnal as has sometimes been reported.\n\n=== Social behaviour and calls ===\nThe hamerkop is mostly silent when alone, but is fairly vocal when in pairs or in groups. "


id: 9121d05771ee536ff50507e9efe8e964
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1356
content:
"The only call it usually makes when alone is a flight-call, a shrill \u201cnyip\u201d or \u201ckek\u201d. In groups, vocalisations include a range of calls including cackles and nasal rattles. One highly social call is the \"yip-purr\" call. This call is only made in a social context, when at least three birds, but up to 20 are gathered in a flock. Birds start by giving a number of \"yip\" calls, eventually giving way to purring notes. This call is made with the neck extended and sometimes accompanied by wing flapping, and becomes more vigorous when larger numbers of birds are present.Another common social behaviour is \"false mounting\", in which one bird stands on top of another and appears to mount it, but they do not copulate. This behaviour has been noted between both mated pairs and unmated birds, and even between members of the same sex and in reversed mountings, where females mount males. Because of this, the behaviour is thought to be social and not related to the pair bond. Dominant birds may signal to subordinates by opening their bills slightly and erecting their crests, but the species is not very aggressive in general towards others of its species. "


id: fd580eab71fe71db4a5443c720b6393b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2453
content:
"Birds in groups also engage in social allopreening when in groups. One bird presents its face of back of the head to the other to be preened.\n\n=== Food and feeding ===\n\nThis species normally feeds alone or in pairs, but also feeds in large flocks sometimes. It is a generalist, although amphibians and fish form the larger part of its diet. The diet also includes shrimp, insects, and rodents. The type of food they take seems to vary by location, with clawed frogs and tadpoles being important parts of the diet in East and Southern Africa and small fish being almost the only prey taken in Mali. Because it is willing to take a wide range of food items and also take very small prey, it is not resource-limited and only feeds for part of the day.The usual method of hunting is to walk in shallow water looking for prey. Prey is located differently depending on circumstances; if the water is clear, it may hunt by sight, but if the water is very muddy, it  probes its open bill into water or mud and shuts it. "


id: cd072b412edbebdccde7b1256eb54fd8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1939
content:
"It may shuffle one foot at a time on the bottom or suddenly open its wings to flush prey out of hiding. Prey caught in mud is shaken before swallowing to clean it, or if available, taken to clearer water to do so. The species also feeds while in flight. A bird flies slowly low over the water with legs dangling and head looking down, then dipping feet down and hovering momentarily when prey is sighted. The prey is then snatched with the bill and swallowed in flight. This method of hunting can be very successful, with one birds catching prey on 27 of 33 attempts during one 45-minute session. It is also opportunistic, and feeds on swarming termites when they conduct their nuptial flights, snatching as many as 47 alates (flying termites) in five minutes.This species has been recorded foraging for insects flushed by grazing cattle and buffalo, in a manner similar cattle egrets, and has been observed fishing off the backs of hippopotamuses. "


id: 4d956e3f6a8e4097654cda4da26b54cc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 628
content:
"It has also been recorded feeding in association with banded mongooses; when a band of mongooses began hunting frogs in dried mud at the side of a pool of water a pair of hamerkops attended the feeding group, catching frogs that escaped the mongooses.\n\n=== Breeding ===\n\nThe strangest aspect of hamerkop behaviour is the huge nest, sometimes more than 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) across, and strong enough to support a man's weight. When possible, it is built in the fork of a tree, often over water, but if necessary, it is built on a bank, a cliff, a human-built wall or dam, or on the ground. A pair starts by making a platform of sticks held together with mud, then builds walls and a domed roof. A mud-plastered entrance 13\u201318 cm (5.1\u20137.1 in) wide in the bottom leads through a tunnel up to 60 cm (24 in) long to a nesting chamber big enough for the parents and young. Nests have been recorded to take between 10 and 14 weeks to build, and one researcher estimated that they would require around 8,000 sticks or bunches of grass to complete. "


id: f4398a580cbec2f0df8c220dcb9dee78
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2359
content:
"Nesting material may still be added by the pair after the nest has been completed and eggs have been laid. Much of the nesting material added after completion is not sticks, but an odd collection of random items including bones, hide, and human waste.\n\nPairs of hamerkop are compulsive nest builders, constructing three to five nests per year whether they are breeding or not. Both members of the pair build the nest, and  the building of nests may have a function in creating or maintaining the pair bond between them. Barn owls and eagle owls may force them out and take over the nests, but when the owls leave, the pair may reuse the nest. Owls may also use abandoned nests, as may snakes, small mammals such as genets, and various birds, and weaver birds, starlings, and pigeons may attach their nests to the outside. A few reports exist of hamerkops nesting close together, including in Uganda, where 639 nests were seen in an area of 8 km2 (3.1 sq mi); even if each pair had made seven nests, this would mean 80 pairs were nesting in that area. "


id: 5f2702aa1e0d670b2816580ccd891878
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 838
content:
"The species is not treated as colonial, as it does not habitually nest close together, but is not thought to be highly territorial, either. Even where pairs have home ranges that are more spread out those home ranges overlap and are the boundaries are poorly defined.Breeding happens year-round in East Africa, and in the rest of its range, it peaks at different times, with a slight bias towards the dry season. Pairs engage in a breeding display, then copulate on the nest or on the ground nearby. The clutch consists of three to seven eggs which start chalky white, but soon become stained. The eggs measure 44.5 mm \u00d7 33.9 mm (1.75 in \u00d7 1.33 in) on average, and weight around 27.8 g (0.98 oz), but considerable variation is seen. Egg size varies by season, by the overall size of the clutch, and from bird to bird. Both sexes incubate the eggs, but  the female seems to do the most of the work. "


id: 300acc38c12426e7bfee02f44d093a1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 334
content:
"Incubation takes around 30 days from the first egg being laid to hatching, eggs are laid with intervals of one to three days, and they hatch asynchronously.Both parents feed the young, often leaving them alone for long times. This habit, which is unusual for wading birds, may be made possible because of the thick nest walls. The young hatch covered with grey down. By 17 days after hatching, their head and crest plumage is developed, and in a month, their body plumage. They first leave the nest around 44 to 50 days after hatching, but continue to use the nest for roosting at night until they are two months old.\n\n== Relationship with humans ==\nMany legends exist about the hamerkop. In some regions, people state that other birds help it build its nest. The \u01c0Xam informants of Wilhelm Bleek said that when a hamerkop flew and called over their camp, they knew that someone close to them had died.It is known in some cultures as the lightning bird, and the Kalahari Bushmen believe or believed that being hit by lightning resulted from trying to rob a hamerkop's nest. "


id: 43e9bab4457e8dac17419b375c5ba993
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 535
content:
"They also believe that the inimical god Khauna would not like anyone to kill a hamerkop. According to an old Malagasy belief, anyone who destroys its nest will get leprosy, and a Malagasy poem calls it an \"evil bird\". Such beliefs have given the bird some protection. A south African name Njaka meaning \"rain doctor\" is derived from its habit of calling loudly prior to rain.Scopus, a database of abstracts and citations for scholarly journal articles, received its name in honour of this bird, as did the journal of the East African Natural History Society, Scopus.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nHamerkop videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection\nHamerkop - The Atlas of Southern African Birds"


id: 57154ff2206716e32bc9c039b864205b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 737
content:
"The African penguin (Spheniscus demersus), also known as Cape penguin or South African penguin, is a species of penguin confined to southern African waters. Like all extant penguins, it is flightless, with a streamlined body and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat. Adults weigh an average of 2.2\u20133.5 kg (4.9\u20137.7 lb) and are 60\u201370 cm (24\u201328 in) tall. The species has distinctive pink patches of skin above the eyes and a black facial mask. The body's upper parts are black and sharply delineated from the white underparts, which are spotted and marked with a black band.\nThe African penguin is a pursuit diver and feeds primarily on fish and squid. Once extremely numerous, the African penguin is declining rapidly due to a combination of several threats and is classified as endangered. It is a charismatic species and is popular with tourists. Other vernacular names of the species include black-footed penguin and jackass penguin, due to the species' loud, donkey-like noise, although several related species of South Jackass penguins produce the same sound. They can be found along the coast of South Africa and Namibia.\n\n"


id: 95d17e8bfd761eec120fdaac19daf39f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1397
content:
"== Taxonomy ==\nIn 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the African penguin in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name \"The Black-Footed Penguins\". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on two preserved specimens that had been brought to London. He suspected that they had been collected near the Cape of Good Hope. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the African penguin with the wandering albatross in the genus Diomedea. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Diomedea demersa and cited Edwards' work. The African penguin is now placed with the banded penguins in the genus Spheniscus that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The genus name Spheniscus is from Ancient Greek word \u03c3\u03c6\u03ae\u03bd (sph\u0113n) meaning \"wedge\" and is a reference to the animal's thin, wedge-shaped flippers. "


id: 8e2657984d2391dd21d156847c3e9458
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1326
content:
"The specific epithet demersus is Latin meaning \"plunging\" (from demergere meaning \"to sink\").Banded penguins are found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere with the Humboldt penguin and Magellanic penguins found in southern South America and the Gal\u00e1pagos penguin found in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. All are similar in shape, colour and behaviour.\n\n== Description ==\n\nAfrican penguins grow to 60\u201370 cm (24\u201328 in) tall and weigh between 2.2\u20133.5 kg (4.9\u20137.7 lb). The beak length of the African penguin varies, usually growing between 20\u201330 cm (8-11 in). They have a black stripe and black spots on the chest, the pattern of which is unique to each penguin, like human fingerprints. The sweat glands above the eyes cool the birds' blood and as the temperature rises, increased blood flow causes the glands to get pinker. This species exhibits slight sexual dimorphism; the males are slightly larger than the females and have longer beaks. Juveniles do not possess the bold, delineated markings of the adult, but instead have dark upperparts that vary from greyish-blue to brown; the pale underparts lack both spots and the band. The beak is more pointed than that of the Humboldt penguin. "


id: bde56371574e4bfc865a0c162545e526
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1787
content:
"The African penguin's colouring is a form of protective colouration known as countershading. The white undersides of the birds are difficult to spot by predators under the water and the penguins' black backs blend in with the water when viewed from above.\nAfrican penguins resemble and are thought to be related to the Humboldt, Magellanic and Gal\u00e1pagos penguins. African penguins have a very recognisable appearance, with a thick band of black that is in the shape of an upside-down horseshoe. They have black feet and black spots that vary in size and shape between individuals. Magellanic penguins share a similar bar marking that often confuses the two; the Magellanic has a double bar on the throat and chest, whereas the African has a single bar. These penguins have the nickname \"jackass penguin\", which comes from the loud penguin noises they make.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe African penguin is only found on the south-western coast of Africa, living in colonies on 24 islands between Namibia and Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It is the only penguin species that breeds in Africa and its presence gave name to the Penguin Islands.\n\n"


id: 36954da074fc46c2cb66a7983bf4bf07
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 412
content:
"Two colonies were established by penguins in the 1980s on the mainland near Cape Town, namely Boulders Beach near Simon's Town and Stony Point in Betty's Bay. Mainland colonies likely became possible only in recent times due to the reduction of predator numbers, although the Betty's Bay colony has been attacked by leopards. The only other mainland colony is in Namibia, but it is not known when it was established.\nBoulders Beach is a tourist attraction due to the beach, swimming and the penguins. The penguins will allow people to approach them as close as a meter.\nBreeding populations of African penguins are being kept in numerous zoos worldwide. No colonies are known outside the southwestern coast of Africa, although vagrants (mostly juveniles) may occasionally be sighted beyond the normal range.\n\n=== Population ===\nRoughly 4 million African penguins existed at the beginning of the 19th century. Of the 1.5 million African penguins estimated in 1910, only some 10% remained at the end of the 20th century. "


id: 4d4929034587dd54c9fdeb18facbeba6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 626
content:
"African penguin populations, which breed in Namibia and South Africa, have declined by 95% since pre-industrial times.Today, their breeding is largely restricted to 24 islands from Namibia to Algoa Bay, South Africa, with the Boulders Beach colony being an exception to this rule.\nThe total population fell to approximately 150,000\u2013180,000 in 2000. Of those, 56,000 belonged to the Dassen Island colony and 14,000 to the Robben Island colony. The colony at Dyer Island in South Africa fell from 46,000 in the early 1970s to 3,000 in 2008.In 2008, 5,000 breeding pairs were estimated to live in Namibia.\nIn 2010, the total African penguin population was estimated at 55,000. At the rate of decline seen from 2000 to 2010, the African penguin is expected to be extinct in the wild by 2026.In 2012, about 18,700 breeding pairs were estimated to live in South Africa, with the majority on St. Croix Island in Algoa Bay.The total breeding population across both South Africa and Namibia fell to a historic low of about 20,850 pairs in 2019.\n\n"


id: 5e5b60b16d06e8ad2783ba1a6ba11135
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 825
content:
"== Behaviour ==\n\n=== Diet ===\nAfrican penguins forage in the open sea, where they feed on pelagic fish such as sardines and anchovies (specifically the Southern African anchovy) and marine invertebrates such as squids and small crustaceans, primarily krills and shrimps. Penguins normally swim within 20 km (12 mi) of the shore. A penguin may consume up to 540 grams (1.19 lb) of prey every day, but this may increase to over 1 kg (2.2 lb) when raising older chicks.Due to the marked decline of sardines in the waters near its habitat, African penguins' diet has shifted towards anchovies to some extent, although available sardine biomass is still a notable determinant of penguin population development and breeding success. While a diet of anchovies appears to be generally sufficient for the penguins, it is not ideal due to anchovies' lower concentrations of fat and protein. The Penguin's diet changes throughout the year; as in many seabirds, it is believed that the interaction of diet choice and breeding success helps the penguins maintain their population size. "


id: 98ed9815e2d7f72688ee36aafe432917
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1426
content:
"Although parent penguins are protective of their chicks, they will not incur nutritional deficits themselves if food is scarce and hunting requires a greater time or energy commitment. This may lead to higher rates of brood loss under poor food conditions.\nWhen foraging, African penguins carry out dives that reach an average depth of 25 m (82 ft) and last for 69 seconds, although a maximum depth of 130 m (430 ft) and duration of 275 seconds has been recorded.\n\n=== Breeding ===\n\nThe African penguin is monogamous; it breeds in colonies and pairs return to the same site each year. It has an extended breeding season, with nesting usually peaking from March to May in South Africa and November to December in Namibia. A clutch of two eggs are laid either in burrows burrowed in guano or nests in the sand under boulders or bushes. Incubation is undertaken equally by both parents for around 40 days. At least one parent guards the chicks for about one month, whereafter the chicks join a cr\u00e8che with other chicks and both parents spend most of the day foraging in the sea.\n"


id: 614c91524c49c3525996a3e346fec7f6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 867
content:
"Chicks fledge at 60 to 130 days, the timing depending on environmental factors such as the quality and availability of food. The fledged chicks then go to sea on their own, where they spend the next one to nearly two years. They then return to their natal colony to moult into adult plumage.When penguins moult, they are unable to forage in the sea as their new feathers are not yet waterproof; therefore, they fast over the entire moulting period. African penguins typically take around three weeks to molt and lose about half of their body weight by burning up their fat reserves in the process.African penguins spend most of their lives at sea until it comes time for them to lay their eggs. Females remain fertile for about 10 years. Due to high predation on the mainland, African penguins will seek protection on offshore islands, where they are safer from larger mammals and natural challenges. These penguins usually breed during the winter when temperatures are cooler. African penguins often will abandon their eggs if they become overheated in the hot sun and abandoned eggs never survive the heat. The eggs are three to four times bigger than chicken eggs. "


id: f52bcc789b3db29f8a783a1da97c5e07
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2369
content:
"Ideally, the eggs are incubated in a burrow dug into the guano layer (which provides suitable temperature regulation), but the widespread human removal of guano deposits has rendered this type of nest unfeasible in many colonies. To compensate, penguins burrow holes in the sand, nest under rocks or bushes or make use of nest boxes if they are provided. The penguins spend three weeks on land caring for their offspring, after which chicks may be left alone during the day while the parents forage. The chicks are frequently killed by predators or succumb to the hot sun. Parents usually feed hatchlings during dusk or dawn.\nIn 2015, when foraging conditions were favourable, more male than female African penguin chicks were produced in the colony on Bird Island. Male chicks also had higher growth rates and fledging mass and therefore may have higher post-fledging survival than females. This, coupled with higher adult female mortality in this species, may result in a male-biased adult sex ratio and may indicate that conservation strategies focused on benefiting female African penguins may be necessary.\n\n"


id: c277b7f77c131c65100a6066f5c7a3a6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1837
content:
"=== Predation ===\nThe average lifespan of an African penguin is 10 to around 25 years in the wild and up to 30 in captivity.The primary predators of African penguins at sea include sharks and fur seals. While nesting: kelp gulls, Cape genets, mongooses, caracals and domestic cats and dogs may prey on the penguins and their chicks. Mortality from terrestrial predators is higher if penguins are forced to breed in the open in the absence of suitable burrows or nest boxes.\n\n== Threats and conservation ==\n\n=== Historical exploitation ===\nAfrican penguin eggs were considered a delicacy and were still being eaten and collected for sale as recently as the 1970s. In the 1950s, they were being collected from Dassen Island and sold in nearby towns. In 1953, 12,000 eggs were collected. In the late 1950s, some French chefs expressed interest in recipes including African penguin eggs collected from the islands off the west coast of South Africa and placed annual orders for small quantities. "


id: baa2f3f05e6202685f025243da6320a0
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1754
content:
"In the mid 1960s, eggs were collected in the thousands and sold by the dozen, with each customer limited to two dozen eggs in total.The practice of collecting African penguin eggs involved smashing those found a few days before a collecting effort to ensure that only freshly laid eggs were sold. This added to the drastic decline of the African penguin population around the Cape coast, a decline which was hastened by the removal of guano from islands for use as fertiliser, eliminating the burrowing material used by penguins.\n\n=== Oil spills ===\nPenguins remain susceptible to pollution of their habitat by petrochemicals from spills, shipwrecks and cleaning of tankers while at sea. Accounts of Africa penguins impacted by oil date back to the 1930s. African penguins' exposure to oil spills is both chronic (higher frequency small discharges of oil at sea) and acute (rare maritime disasters where large volumes of oil are released in a single event). Penguins of many species have been impacted by oil spills across the southern hemisphere.\nIn 1948, the tanker Esso Wheeling sank, subsequently oiling and killing thousands of penguins of the Dyer Island colony. "


id: 24ca1e7fbe75fa569e1cdc6098a5096d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 216
content:
"In 1953, dead penguins were among a range of dead birds, fish and other marine life that washed ashore after the tanker Sliedrecht was holed and spilled oil near Table Bay. In 1971, the SS Wafra oil spill impacted the African penguin colony of Dyer Island. In 1972, oil spilt following the Oswego-Guardian and Texanita collision oiled roughly 500 penguins. In 1975, newspapers reported that oil pollution from shipwrecks and the pumping of bilges at sea had killed tens of thousands of African penguins. At the time, the Dassen Island colony was being passed by 650 oil tankers each month because the Suez Canal had become blocked with wrecked vessels, thus increasing maritime traffic past the Cape of Good Hope.In 1979, an oil spill prompted the collection and treatment of 150 African penguins from St. Croix Island near Port Elizabeth. "


id: 127b56de6a7acf60b6e54cdd692d8cba
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 25
content:
"The animals were later released at Robben Island and four of them promptly swam back to St. Croix Island, surprising scientists.In 1983, the exposure of penguins of Dassen Island to the oil slick from the Castillo de Bellver was also a topic of concern given the penguins' conservation status at the time, but owing to the prevailing wind and current, only gannets were oiled.\n\n==== 1994 MV Apollo Sea disaster ====\nAfrican penguin casualties were significant following the sinking of the MV Apollo Sea and a subsequent oil slick in 1994. 10,000 penguins were collected and cleaned, of which less than half survived.\n\n==== 2000 MV Treasure crisis ====\nDisaster struck on 23 June 2000, when the iron ore tanker MV Treasure sank between Robben Island and Dassen Island, South Africa. It released 400\u20131,000 tonnes (390\u2013980 long tons; 440\u20131,100 short tons) of fuel oil, causing an unprecedented coastal bird crisis and oiling 19,000 adult penguins at the height of the best breeding season on record for this vulnerable species. The oiled birds were brought to an abandoned train repair warehouse in Cape Town to be cared for. "


id: 90989ada815dd47a734ef722c00d6ad0
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1349
content:
"An additional 19,500 un-oiled penguins were removed from Dassen Island and other areas before they became oiled and were released about 800 kilometres east of Cape Town. This gave workers enough time to clean up the oiled waters and shores before the birds could complete their long swim home (which took the penguins between one and three weeks). Some of the penguins were named and radio-tracked as they swam back to their breeding grounds. Tens of thousands of volunteers helped with the rescue and rehabilitation process, which was overseen by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) and took more than three months to complete. "


id: 4fc0b7cfc5e72def9650144003f90365
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 650
content:
"This was the largest animal rescue event in history; more than 91% of the penguins were successfully rehabilitated and released \u2013 an amazing feat that could not have been accomplished without such a tremendous international response.Due to the positive outcome of African penguins being raised in captivity after tragedies such as the Treasure oil spill, the species is considered a good \"candidate for a captive-breeding programme which aims to release offspring into the wild\"; however, worry about the spread of new strains of avian malaria is a major concern in the situation.Bringing the birds inland led to the exposure of penguins to parasites and disease vector such as mosquitoes carrying avian malaria, which has caused 27% of the rehabilitated penguin deaths annually.\n\n==== 2016 & 2019 Port of Ngqura ====\nSmall scale oil spills (of less than 400 litres (110 US gal)) have occurred at the Port of Ngqura since bunkering activities started there in 2016. Bunkering is a ship refuelling process that can result in oil spills and oil slicks entering the water. "


id: 3b3d1a9d3ce7b2d8d727bd2013427c94
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 457
content:
"Hundreds of African penguins have been harmed following these spills due to the port's close proximity to penguin rookeries on St. Croix Island and seabird habitat on neighbouring Jahleel and Brenton Islands.\n\n=== Competition with fisheries ===\nCommercial fisheries of sardines and anchovy, the two main prey species of the penguins, have forced these penguins to search for prey farther offshore, as well as having to switch to eating less nutritious prey. Restricting commercial fishing near colony sites such as Robben Island for short periods (3 years) was shown to markedly improve penguin breeding success. Longer closure periods and closures near other colonies are being evaluated.\n\n=== Conservation status ===\nThe African penguin is one of the species to which the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) applies. In September 2010, it was listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. As of 2018, the African penguin is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. Its population is approximately 50,000 birds and declining.\n\n=== Mediation efforts ===\nMany organisations such as: SANCCOB, Dyer Island Conservation Trust, SAMREC and Raggy Charters with the Penguin Research Fund in Port Elizabeth are working to halt the decline of the African penguin. "


id: 996396c1e4913230022b39dfe38458b5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1436
content:
"Measures include: monitoring population trends, hand-rearing and releasing abandoned chicks, establishing artificial nests and proclaiming marine reserves in which fishing is prohibited. Some colonies (such as on Dyer Island) are suspected to be under heavy pressure from predation by Cape fur seals and may benefit from the culling of individual problem animals, which has been found effective (although requiring a large amount of management effort) in trials.Established in 1968, SANCCOB is currently the only organisation mandated by the South African government to respond to crises involving seabirds along South Africa's coastline and is internationally recognised for the role it played during the MV Treasure oil spill. A modelling exercise conducted in 2003 by the University of Cape Town's FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology found that rehabilitating oiled African penguins has resulted in the current population being 19% larger than it would have been in the absence of SANCCOB's rehabilitation efforts.In February 2015, the Dyer Island Conservation Trust opened the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary (APSS) in Gansbaai, South Africa. The centre was opened by then-Department of Tourism minister Derek Hanekom and will serve as a hub for seabird research carried out by the Dyer Island Conservation Trust. "


id: 8d290dca863516b82f5338f53da9ce22
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1316
content:
"The centre will also run local education projects, host international marine volunteers and seek to improve seabird handling techniques and rehabilitation protocols.\n\n== Captivity ==\n\nAfrican penguins are a commonly seen species in zoos across the world. Because they do not require particularly low temperatures, they are often kept in outside enclosures. They adapt fairly well to this captive environment and are rather easy to breed compared to other species of the family. In Europe, the breeding programme EAZA is regulated by Artis Royal Zoo in the Netherlands, whilst in the United States the SSP programme is cooperatively managed by the AZA. The idea is to create a backup captive population, as well as to aid in the conservation of the population in its natural habitat. Between 2010 and 2013, American zoos spent $300,000 on in situ (wild population) conservation.\n\n"


id: bec5405f97b5a2e2c78a553cbdc752ef
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1799
content:
"== See also ==\nEndangered species\nWildlife of South Africa\n\n== Gallery ==\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nCalifornia Academy of Sciences Live African Penguin Cams\nImages and movies of the African penguin on ARKive\nAfrican penguins from the International Penguin Conservation website\nAfrican penguins at the Toronto Zoo\nDyer Island Conservation Trust\nAfrican Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary\nAfrican penguins on Boulders Beach, south of Cape Town\nFitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology: Conserving Benguela endemic seabirds"


id: 58ce690d152d9951df14c88b51fc9810
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 754
content:
"The Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argentina, and Brazil. Birds are sometimes reported at large in Western Europe, especially Britain, but it is a popular species in falconry and these records almost invariably all refer to escapes from captivity.\nThe name is derived from the Greek para, meaning beside, near or like, and the Latin buteo, referring to a kind of buzzard; uni meaning once; and cinctus meaning girdled, referring to the white band at the tip of the tail. John James Audubon gave this bird its English name in honor of his ornithological companion, financial supporter, and friend Edward Harris.The Harris's hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of tolerant groups, while other raptors often hunt alone. Harris hawks' social nature has been attributed to their intelligence, which makes them easy to train and have made them a popular bird for use in falconry.\n\n"


id: 6502f6ae89853b1cc5a63fca80211717
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 900
content:
"== Description ==\n\nThis medium-large hawk is roughly intermediate in size between a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Harris's hawks range in length from 46 to 59 cm (18 to 23 in) and generally have a wingspan of about 103 to 120 cm (41 to 47 in). These hawks have a brownish plumage, reddish shoulders and tail feathers with a white base and white tip.They exhibit sexual dimorphism with the females being larger by about 35%. In the United States, the average weight for adult males is about 701 g (1.545 lb), with a range of 546 to 850 g (1.204 to 1.874 lb), while the adult female average is 1,029 g (2.269 lb), with a range of 766 to 1,633 g (1.689 to 3.600 lb). They have dark brown plumage with chestnut shoulders, wing linings, and thighs, white on the base and tip of the tail, long, yellow legs and a yellow cere. The vocalizations of the Harris's hawk are very harsh sounds.The lifespan of the Harris's Hawk is 10-\u201312 years in the wild, 20\u201325 years in captivity.\n\n"


id: 7e76e9d85cc7eefa13c10f43504f2cd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1157
content:
"=== Juvenile ===\n\nThe juvenile Harris's hawk is mostly streaked with buff, and appears much lighter than the dark adults. When in flight, the undersides of the juveniles' wings are buff-colored with brown streaking. They can look unlike adults at first glance, but the identical chestnut plumage is an aid for identification.\n\n=== Subspecies ===\nThere are three subspecies of the Harris's hawk:\n\nP. u. superior: found in Baja California, Arizona, Sonora, and Sinaloa. P. u. superior was believed to have longer tails and wings and to be more blackish than P. u. harrisi. However, the sample size of the original study was quite small, with only five males and six females. Later research has concluded that there is not as strong a physical difference as was originally assumed. Other ecological differences, such as latitudinal cline were also brought up as arguments against the validity of the subspecies segmentation.\nP. u. harrisi: found in Texas, eastern Mexico, and much of Central America.\nP. u. unicinctus: found exclusively in South America. It is smaller than the North American subspecies.\n\n"


id: 3a95f4dcba9be5568dc8b479f6072011
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 449
content:
"== Distribution and habitat ==\nHarris's hawks live in sparse woodland and semi-desert, as well as marshes (with some trees) in some parts of their range (Howell and Webb 1995), including mangrove swamps, as in parts of their South American range. Harris's hawks are permanent residents and do not migrate. Important perches and nest supports are provided by scattered larger trees or other features (e.g., power poles, woodland edges, standing dead trees, live trees, and boulders, and saguaros).The wild Harris's hawk population is declining due to habitat loss; however, under some circumstances, they have been known to move into developed areas.\n\n== Behaviour ==\nThis species occurs in relatively stable groups. A dominance hierarchy occurs in Harris's hawks, wherein the mature female is the dominant bird, followed by the adult male and then the young of previous years. Groups typically include from two to seven birds. Not only do birds cooperate in hunting, they also assist in the nesting process. No other bird of prey is known to hunt in groups as routinely as this species.\n\n=== Breeding ===\n\nThey nest in small trees, shrubby growth, or cacti. "


id: 61e72eb75742ad6b0f3c0bdb737ef235
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 870
content:
"The nests are often compact, made of sticks, plant roots, and stems, and are often lined with leaves, moss, bark and plant roots. They are built mainly by the female. There are usually two to four white to blueish white eggs sometimes with a speckling of pale brown or gray. The nestlings start out light buff, but in five to six days turn a rich brown.Very often, there will be three hawks attending one nest: two males and one female. Whether or not this is polyandry is debated, as it may be confused with backstanding (one bird standing on another's back). The female does most of the incubation. The eggs hatch in 31 to 36 days. The young begin to explore outside the nest at 38 days, and fledge, or start to fly, at 45 to 50 days. The female sometimes breeds two or three times in a year. Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. "


id: dadb05d181ee734318266518fd79a8e3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2090
content:
"Nests are known to be predated by coyotes (Canis latrans), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) and flocks of common ravens (Corvus corax), predators possibly too formidable to be fully displaced by the Harris's hawk's cooperative nest defenses. No accounts show predation on adults in the United States and the Harris's hawk may be considered an apex predator, although presumably predators like eagles and great horned owls would be capable of killing them. In Chile, black-chested buzzard-eagles (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) are likely predators.\n\n=== Feeding ===\n\nThe diet of the Harris's hawk consists of small creatures including birds, lizards, mammals, and large insects. Because it often hunts in groups, the Harris's hawk can also take down larger prey. Although not particularly common, the Harris's hawk may take prey weighing over 2 kg (4.4 lb), such as adult jackrabbits, great blue heron (Ardea herodias) and half-grown wild turkeys (Meleagris gallapavo). The desert cottontail (Syvilagus auduboni), the leading prey species in the north of the Harris's hawk's range, usually weighs 800 g (1.8 lb) or less. "


id: be580e5872b02ee749dda35dcefaa25e
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1797
content:
"Undoubtedly because it pursues large prey often, this hawk has larger and stronger feet, with long talons, and a larger, more prominent hooked beak than most other raptors around its size. Locally, other buteonine hawks, including the ferruginous hawk, the red-tailed hawk and the white-tailed hawk also hunt primarily cottontails and jackrabbits, but each are bigger, weighing about 500 g (18 oz), 300 g (11 oz) and 200 g (7.1 oz), respectively, more on average than a Harris's hawk.In the Southwestern United States, the most common prey species (in descending order of prevalence) are desert cottontail (Syvilagus auduboni), eastern cottontail (Syvilagus floridanus), black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), ground squirrels (Ammopsermophilus spp. and Spermophilus spp.), woodrats (Neotoma spp.), kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.), pocket gophers (Geomys and Thomomys spp.), Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii), scaled quail (C. squamata), northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), desert spiny lizards (Sceloporus magister), and skinks (Eumeces spp.)In the tropics, Harris's hawks have adapted to taking prey of several varieties, including those like chickens and European rabbits introduced by man. In Chile, the common degu (Octodon degus) makes up 67.5% of the prey.\n\n"


id: 2265f46172128bd3d97560c57e2b81dc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 185
content:
"=== Hunting ===\nWhile most raptors are solitary, only coming together for breeding and migration, Harris's hawks will hunt in cooperative groups of two to six. This is believed to be an adaptation to the lack of prey in the desert climate in which they live. In one hunting technique, a small group flies ahead and scouts, then another group member flies ahead and scouts, and this continues until prey is bagged and shared. In another, all the hawks spread around the prey and one bird flushes it out. Harris's hawks will often chase prey on foot, and are quite fast on the ground and their long, yellow legs are adapted for this, as most hawks don't spend as much time on the ground. Groups of Harris's hawks tend to be more successful at capturing prey than lone hawks, with groups of two to four individuals having ~10% higher success rates per extra individual.\n\n"


id: debb7151578563611b67c604e9a16b2a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2138
content:
"== Relationship with humans ==\n\n=== Falconry ===\nSince about 1980, Harris's hawks have been increasingly used in falconry and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are one of the easiest to train and the most social.Trained Harris's hawks have been used to remove an unwanted pigeon population from London's Trafalgar Square, and from the tennis courts at Wimbledon.Trained Harris's hawks have  been used for bird abatement by falconry experts in Canada and the United States at various locations including airports, resorts, landfill sites, and industrial sites.\n\n=== In art ===\nJohn James Audubon illustrated the Harris's hawk in The Birds of America (published in London, 1827\u201338) as Plate 392 with the title \"Louisiana Hawk -Buteo harrisi\". The image was engraved and colored by the Robert Havell, London workshops in 1837. The original watercolor by Audubon was purchased by the New York History Society where it remains to this day (January 2009).\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nPeregrine Fund page on Harris' hawk\nHarris's hawks in falconry (videos, Photo album, articles) (in Italian)\nHarris' hawks hunting in pack (video)\n\n=== Historical material ===\nJohn James Audubon.  "


id: 72b2179363ea000c64878dee5676fd15
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1035
content:
"\"Louisiana Hawk\", Ornithological Biography volume 5 (1839).  Illustration from Birds of America octavo edition, 1840."


id: d22b40f4916be7047c1b310043f5421d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1996
content:
"The great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and  Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.\nThe great white pelican has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (IUCN). It is listed under Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Annexure I under the EU Birds Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds, and Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. It is also listed within 108 Special Protection Areas in the European Union. It occurs within 43 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in its European range. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is applied.\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe great white pelican is a huge bird\u2014only the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans. "


id: ee42408932f2e51b54bd02348802b720
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2292
content:
"It measures 140 to 180 cm (55 to 71 in) in length with a 28.9 to 47.1 cm (11.4 to 18.5 in) enormous pink and yellow bill, and a dull pale-yellow gular pouch. The wingspan measures 226 to 360 cm (7 ft 5 in to 11 ft 10 in), the latter measurement being the highest among extant flying animals outside of the great albatross. The adult male measures about 175 cm (69 in) in length; it weighs from 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lb)  and larger races from the Palaearctic are usually around 11 kg (24 lb), with few exceeding 13 kg (29 lb). It has a bill measuring 34.7 to 47.1 cm (13.7 to 18.5 in). The female measures about 148 cm (58 in) in length, and is considerably less bulky, weighing 5.4 to 9 kg (12 to 20 lb), and has a bill that measures 28.9 to 40.0 cm (11.4 to 15.7 in) in length. In Lake Edward, Uganda, the average weight of 52 males was found to 11.45 kg (25.2 lb) and in 22 females it was 7.59 kg (16.7 lb). "


id: c5dbc2403a4ec88dbe93cf1104039e19
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1880
content:
"In South Africa, the average weight of males was 9.6 kg (21 lb) and of females was 6.9 kg (15 lb). Thus the sexual dimorphism is especially pronounced in this species (perhaps the greatest known in any extant pelican), as at times the male can average more than 30% more massive than the female. The great white pelican rivals the kori bustard, which has even more pronounced sexual dimorphism, as the heaviest flying bird to reside in Africa (both averaging perhaps slightly heavier than the cape vulture and the wattled crane). There are a small few slightly heavier flying birds in the Eurasian portions of the range. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 60 to 73 cm (24 to 29 in), the tail 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 8.3 in), and the tarsus 13 to 14.9 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long. Standard measurements from different areas indicate that pelicans from the Western Palaearctic are somewhat larger than those from Asia and Africa.\nThe male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak. "


id: eccfa4ae8f9aabddbe2d737e28e9d74d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2279
content:
"The plumage is predominantly white except on remiges, with a faint pink tinge on the neck and a yellowish base on the foreneck. The primary feathers are black, with white shafts at the bases, occasionally with paler tips and narrow fringes. The secondary feathers are also black, but with a whitish fringe. The upperwing coverts, underwing coverts, and tertials are white. The forehead is swollen and pinkish skin surrounds the bare, dark eyes having brown-red to dark brown irides. It has fleshy-yellow legs and pointed forehead-feathers where meeting the culmen. In breeding season, the male has pinkish skin while the female has orangey skin on its face. The bill is mostly bluish grey, with a red tip, reddish maxilla edges, and a cream-yellow to yolk-yellow gular pouch. The white plumage becomes tinged-pink with a yellow patch on the breast, and the body is tinged yellowish-rosy. It also has a short, shaggy crest on the nape. The white covert feathers contrast with the solid black primary and secondary feathers. The legs are yellow-flesh to pinkish orange. "


id: e5e3a67cbaa5ece929846905f2b436ed
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2214
content:
"Both male and female are similar, but the female is smaller and has brighter orange facial skin in the breeding season.The juvenile has darker, brownish underparts that are palest at the rump, center of the belly, and uppertail coverts. The underwing coverts are mostly dull-white, but the greater coverts are dark and there is a dark brownish bar over the lesser coverts. The rear tertials upperwing coverts mostly have paler tips with a silvery-grey tinge on the greater secondary coverts and tertials. It has dark flight feathers, and brown-edged wings. The head, neck, and upperparts, including the upperwing coverts, are mostly brown\u2014this is the darkest part of the neck. The facial skin and the bill, including its gular pouch, are greyish to dusky greyish. The forehead, rump, and abdomen are white, and its legs and feet are grey. Its blackish tail occasionally has a silvery-grey tinge. Its underparts and back are initially browner and darker than those of the Dalmatian pelican, and the underwing is strongly patterned, similar to the juvenile brown pelican.The great white pelican is distinguished from all other pelicans by its plumage. "


id: d3e665f6b99014a32a90e346408a23ac
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2015
content:
"Its face is naked and the feathering on its forehead tapers to a fine point, whereas other species are completely feathered. In flight, the white underwing with black remiges of the adult are similar only to those of the American white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos), but the latter has white inner secondary feathers. It differs from the Dalmatian pelican in its pure white \u2013 rather than greyish-white \u2013 plumage, a bare pink facial patch around the eye, and pinkish legs. The spot-billed pelican (P. philippensis) of Asia is slightly smaller than the great white pelican, with greyish tinged white plumage, and a paler, duller-colored bill. Similarly, the pink-backed pelican (P. rufescens) is smaller, with brownish-grey plumage, a light pink to off-grey bill, and a pinkish wash on the back.The bird is mostly silent but has a variety of low-pitched lowing, grunting, and growling calls. The flight call is a deep, quiet croak., while at breeding colonies, it gives deep moooo calls.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\n\nThe breeding range of the great white pelican extends to Ethiopia, Tanzania, Chad, northern Cameroons, and Nigeria in Africa, and has been observed or reported breeding in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. "


id: 46048cf6b66e120ca8271bc36ae5047f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 556
content:
"In the 1990s, 6,700 to 11,000 breeding pairs in 23 to 25 breeding sites, were found in the Palearctic region. A 1991 study noted about 3,070 to 4,300 pairs were present in the Soviet Union. Only two breeding colonies are located in the Mediterranean basin, one having 250 to 400 pairs in Turkey and the other having 50 to 100 pairs in northern Greece. The breeding colony at Lake Rukwa, Tanzania is the largest known breeding colony in Africa, followed by the Lake Shala, Ethiopia colony which is probably of crucial importance to the species in Africa.\nThe African population of about 75,000 pairs of the great white pelican is resident. The ones breeding in the Palearctic region are migrants, although it is possible that the majority of the western Palearctic populations stop-over in Israel during their autumn migration. The migration routes are only partially known. Migratory populations are found from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan during the breeding season. More than 50% of Eurasian great white pelicans breed in the Danube Delta in Romania. They also prefer staying in the Lakes near Burgas, Bulgaria and in Srebarna Lake in Bulgaria. "


id: e0fbaf1e56c214fe1514bd61640c292c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2172
content:
"The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November. Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Northern populations migrate to China, India, Myanmar, with stragglers reaching Java and Bali in Indonesia. These are birds that are found mostly in lowlands, though in East Africa and Nepal may be found living at elevations of up to 1,372 m (4,501 ft).Overall, the great white pelican is one of the most widely distributed species. Although some areas still hold quite large colonies, it ranks behind the brown pelican and possibly the Australian pelican in overall abundance. Europe now holds an estimated 7,345\u201310,000 breeding pairs, with over 4,000 pairs that are known to nest in Russia. During migration, more than 75,000 have been observed in Israel and, in winter, over 45,000 may stay in Pakistan. In all its colonies combined, 75,000 pairs are estimated to nest in Africa. "


id: ede6da659dcd6e3b43aa2eb1b18ae895
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2287
content:
"It is possibly extinct in Serbia and Montenegro, and regionally extinct in Hungary.Great white pelicans usually prefer shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Well scattered groups of breeding pelicans occur through Eurasia from the eastern Mediterranean to Vietnam. In Eurasia, fresh or brackish waters may be inhabited and the pelicans may be found in lakes, deltas, lagoons and marshes, usually with dense reed beds nearby for nesting purposes. Additionally, sedentary populations are found year-round in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert although these are patchy. In Africa, great white pelicans occur mainly around freshwater and alkaline lakes and may also be found in coastal, estuarine areas. Beyond reed beds, African pelicans have nested on inselbergs and flat inshore islands off of Banc d'Arguin National Park.\n\n== Behavior ==\n\nThe great white pelican is highly sociable and often forms large flocks. It is well adapted for aquatic life. The short strong legs and webbed feet propel it in water and aid a rather awkward takeoff from the water surface. In flight, it is an elegant soaring bird, with the head held close to and aligned with the body. Its flight consists of a few slow wingbeats followed by a glide. "


id: c8dd7f14535d01d23bf0da9619fc3925
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1908
content:
"Once aloft, the long-winged pelicans are powerful fliers, however, and often travel in spectacular linear, circular, or V-formation groups.\n\n=== Feeding ===\n\nThe great white pelican mainly eats fish. It leaves its roost to feed early in the morning and may fly over 100 km (62 mi) in search of food, as has been observed in Chad and in Mogode, Cameroon. It needs from 0.9 to 1.4 kg (2.0 to 3.1 lb) of fish every day, which corresponds to around 28,000,000 kg (62,000,000 lb) annual fish consumption at the largest colony of the great white pelican, on Tanzania's Lake Rukwa (with almost 75,000 birds). Fish targeted are usually fairly large ones, in the 500\u2013600 g (1.1\u20131.3 lb) weight range, and are taken based on regional abundance. Common carp are preferred in Europe, mullets in China, and Arabian toothcarp in India. In Africa, often the commonest cichlids, including many species in the Haplochromis and Tilapia genera, seem to be preferred.The pelican's pouch serves simply as a scoop. As the pelican pushes its bill underwater, the lower bill bows out, creating a large pouch which fills with water and fish. "


id: d4dca97dc56d72f12c96b39ca42807a5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2022
content:
"As it lifts its head, the pouch contracts, forcing out the water but retaining the fish. A group of 6 to 8 great white pelicans gather in a horseshoe formation in water to feed together. They dip their bills in unison, creating a circle of open pouches, ready to trap every fish in the area. Most feeding is cooperative and done in groups, especially in shallow waters where fish schools can be corralled easily, though they may also forage alone as well.Great white pelicans are not restricted to fish, however, and are often opportunistic foragers. In some situations, they eat chicks of other birds, such as the well documented case off the southwest coast of South Africa. Here, breeding pelicans from the Dassen Island prey on chicks weighing up to 2 kg (4.4 lb) from the Cape gannet colony on Malgas Island. Similarly, in Walvis Bay, Namibia the eggs and chicks of Cape cormorants are fed regularly to young pelicans. The local pelican population is so reliant on the cormorants, that when the cormorant species experienced a population decline, the numbers of pelicans appeared to decline as well.They also rob other birds of their prey. "


id: 3404eadfb1657539ee596b9d64399029
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 382
content:
"During periods of starvation, they also eat seagulls and ducklings. The gulls are held under water and drowned before being eaten headfirst. A flock of captive great white pelicans in St James's Park, London is well known for occasionally eating local pigeons, despite being well-fed.\n\n=== Breeding ===\n\nThe breeding season commences in April or May in temperate zones, is essentially all year around in Africa and runs February through April in India. Large numbers of these pelicans breed together in colonies.\nNest locations vary: some populations make stick nests in trees but a majority, including all those that breed in Africa, nest exclusively in scrapes on the ground lined with grass, sticks, feathers and other material.The female can lay from 1 to 4 eggs in a clutch, with two being the average. Incubation takes 29 to 36 days. The chicks are naked when they hatch but quickly sprout blackish-brown down. The young are cared for by both parents.  The colony gathers in \"pods\" around 20 to 25 days after the eggs hatch. The young fledge at 65 to 75 days of age. Around 64% of young successful reach adulthood, attaining sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years of age.\n\n"


id: c79108b364aa44093726af48587c178d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1897
content:
"=== Predators ===\nWhile white pelicans are often protected from bird-eating raptors by virtue of their own great size, eagles, especially sympatric Haliaeetus species, may prey on their eggs, nestlings, and fledglings. Occasionally, pelicans and their young are attacked at their colonies by mammalian carnivores, such as jackals and lions. As is common in pelicans, the close approach of a large predaceous or unknown mammal, including a human, at a colony will lead the pelican to abandon its nest in self-preservation. Additionally, crocodiles, especially Nile crocodiles in Africa, readily kill and eat swimming pelicans.\n\n== Status and conservation ==\nSince 1998, the great white pelican has been rated as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This is because it has a large range \u2013 more than 20,000 km2 (7700 mi2) \u2013 and because its population is thought not to have declined by 30% over ten years or three generations, which is not a rapid enough decline to warrant a vulnerable rating. However, the state of its overall population is not known, and although it is widespread, it is not abundant anywhere. "


id: dbff41892db184c15678b80e4b276fc7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2102
content:
"It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. It is listed under the Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, Appendix II of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and Annexure I of the EU Birds Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. It occurs within 43 Important Bird Areas in its European range, and is listed within 108 Special Protection Areas in the European Union. This species is often kept in captivity in zoos or in semi-wild colonies such as that in St. James's Park, London. The ancestors of this colony were originally given to Charles II by the Russian ambassador in 1664 which initiated the tradition of ambassadors donating the birds.Today, because of overfishing in certain areas, white pelicans are forced to fly long distances to find food. Great white pelicans are exploited for many reasons. Their pouch is used to make tobacco bags, their skin is turned into leather, the guano is used as fertiliser, and the fat of its young is converted into oils for traditional medicine in China and India. "


id: f0ddeb12ace5d9bcf8b8b2c60862f282
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2325
content:
"In Ethiopia, great white pelicans are shot for their meat. Human disturbance, loss of foraging habitat and breeding sites, as well as pollution are all contributing to the decline of the great white pelican. Declines have been particularly notable in the Palaearctic.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\n(Great) White Pelican Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds\nBirdLife species factsheet for Pelecanus onocrotalus\n\"Pelecanus onocrotalus\". Avibase.\n\"Great white pelican media\". Internet Bird Collection.\nGreat white pelican photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)\nInteractive range map of Pelecanus onocrotalus at IUCN Red List maps\nAudio recordings of Great white pelican on Xeno-canto.\nEducational article with video about Great White Pelican"


id: c3a0a34aa8adf1b37bd72b3f9148a16f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1854
content:
"The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. Syncerus caffer caffer, the Cape buffalo, is the typical subspecies, and the largest one, found in Southern and East Africa. S. c. nanus (the forest buffalo) is the smallest subspecies, common in forest areas of Central and West Africa, while  S. c. brachyceros is in West Africa and S. c. aequinoctialis is in the savannas of East Africa. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head referred to as a \"boss\".  It is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous animals on the African continent, and according to some estimates it gores, tramples, and kills over 200 people every year.\nThe African buffalo is not an ancestor of domestic cattle and is only distantly related to other larger bovines. Its unpredictable temperament may have been part of the reason that the African buffalo has never been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the water buffalo. Natural predators of adult African buffaloes include lions, hyenas, and crocodiles. As a member of the big five game, the Cape buffalo is a sought-after trophy in hunting.\n\n"


id: dc280d890a23d3f48f037a8d8b0814dd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2104
content:
"== Description ==\n\nThe African buffalo is a very robust species. Its shoulder height can range from 1.0 to 1.7 m (3.3 to 5.6 ft) and its head-and-body length can range from 1.7 to 3.4 m (5.6 to 11.2 ft). The tail can range from 70 to 110 cm (28 to 43 in) long. Compared with other large bovids, it has a long but stocky body (the body length can exceed the wild water buffalo, which is heavier and taller) and short but thickset legs, resulting in a relatively short standing height. Cape buffaloes weigh 425 to 870 kg (937 to 1,918 lb) (males weigh about 100 kg (220 lb) more than females). In comparison, African forest buffaloes, at 250 to 450 kg (600 to 1,000 lb), are only half that size. Its head is carried low; its top is located below the backline. The front hooves of the buffalo are wider than the rear, which is associated with the need to support the weight of the front part of the body, which is heavier and more powerful than the back.\nSavannah-type buffaloes have black or dark brown coats with age. "


id: 9211771188d94acadfeae6e2709c3b5b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1365
content:
"Old bulls often have whitish circles around their eyes and on their face. Females tend to have more-reddish coats. Forest-type buffaloes are 30-40% smaller, reddish brown in colour, with much more hair growth around the ears and with horns that curve back and slightly up. Calves of both types have red coats.\nA characteristic feature of the horns of adult male African buffalo (southern and eastern populations) is that the bases come very close together, forming a shield referred to as a \"boss\".  From the base, the horns diverge downwards, then smoothly curve upwards and outwards and in some cases inwards and or backwards. In large bulls, the distance between the ends of the horns can reach upwards of one metre (the record being 64.5 inches 164 cm). The horns form fully when the animal reaches the age of 5 or 6 years old, but the bosses do not become \"hard\" until it reaches the age of 8 to 9 years old. In cows, the horns are, on average, 10\u201320% smaller, and they do not have a boss. "


id: 7243755b1c2efe3afe8aedb41687c6f1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1028
content:
"Forest-type buffalo horns are smaller than those of the savanna-type buffaloes from Southern and East Africa, usually measuring less than 40 centimetres (16 in), and are almost never fused.\n\n== Subspecies ==\n\n== Ecology ==\nThe African buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa. It lives in savannas, swamps and floodplains, as well as mopane grasslands, and the forests of the major mountains of Africa. This buffalo prefers a habitat with dense cover, such as reeds and thickets, but can also be found in open woodland. While not particularly demanding in regard to habitat, they require water daily, and so they depend on perennial sources of water. Like the plains zebra, the buffalo can live on tall, coarse grasses. Herds of buffalo mow down grasses and make way for more selective grazers. When feeding, the buffalo makes use of its tongue and wide incisor row to eat grass more quickly than most other African herbivores. Buffaloes do not stay on trampled or depleted areas for long.\nOther than humans, African buffaloes have few predators and are capable of defending themselves against (and killing) lions. "


id: 7d00919e6867811fbe066fcb3697f1ad
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1146
content:
"Lions do kill and eat buffaloes regularly, and in some regions, the buffaloes are the lions' primary prey. It often takes several lions to bring down a single adult buffalo, and the entire pride may join in the hunt. However, several incidents have been reported in which lone adult male lions have successfully brought down adult buffaloes. The average-sized Nile crocodile typically attacks only old solitary animals and young calves, though they can kill healthy adults. Exceptionally large, old male crocodiles may become semi-habitual predators of buffaloes.  The cheetah, leopard, African wild dog and spotted hyena are normally a threat only to newborn calves, though larger clans of hyenas have been recorded killing cows (mainly pregnant ones) and, on rare occasions, full-grown bulls. Large packs of wild dogs have been observed to hunt calves and sick adults.\n\n=== Diseases ===\nThe African buffalo is susceptible to many diseases, including those shared with domestic cattle, such as bovine tuberculosis, corridor disease, and foot and mouth disease. As with many diseases, these problems remain dormant within a population as long as the health of the animals is good. "


id: 7651e88d6d49ffe3d15707978dbca1a5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1080
content:
"These diseases do, however, restrict the legal movements of the animals and fencing infected areas from unaffected areas is enforced. Some wardens and game managers have managed to protect and breed \"disease-free\" herds which become very valuable because they can be transported. Most well-known are Lindsay Hunt's efforts to source uninfected animals from the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Some disease-free buffaloes in South Africa have been sold to breeders for close to US$130,000.\n\n== Social behavior ==\n\nHerd size is highly variable. The core of the herds is made up of related females, and their offspring, in an almost linear dominance hierarchy.  The basic herds are surrounded by subherds of subordinate males, high-ranking males and females, and old or invalid animals.\nAfrican buffaloes engage in several types of group behavior. Females appear to exhibit a sort of \"voting behavior\". During resting time, the females stand up, shuffle around, and sit back down again. They sit in the direction they think they should move. After an hour of more shuffling, the females travel in the direction they decide. "


id: 42cd0d650d84630e5e527b7974996d66
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 527
content:
"This decision is communal and not based on hierarchy or dominance.When chased by predators, a herd sticks close together and makes it hard for the predators to pick off one member. Calves are gathered in the middle. A buffalo herd responds to the distress call of a threatened member and tries to rescue it. A calf's distress call gets the attention of not only the mother, but also the herd. Buffaloes engage in mobbing behavior when fighting off predators.  They have been recorded killing lions and chasing lions up trees and keeping them there for two hours, after the lions have killed a member of their group. Lion cubs can get trampled and killed. In one videotaped instance, known as the Battle at Kruger, a calf survived an attack by both lions and a crocodile after intervention of the herd.\nMales have a linear dominance hierarchy based on age and size. Since a buffalo is safer when a herd is larger, dominant bulls may rely on subordinate bulls and sometimes tolerate their copulation. The young males keep their distance from the dominant bull, which is recognizable by the thickness of his horns.\n\n"


id: c46511896aa03d91c3da3b202db9280a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1864
content:
"Adult bulls spar in play, dominance interactions, or actual fights. A bull approaches another, lowing, with his horns down, and waits for the other bull to do the same thing. When sparring, the bulls twist their horns from side to side. If the sparring is for play, the bull may rub his opponent's face and body during the sparring session. Actual fights are violent but rare and brief. Calves may also spar in play, but adult females rarely spar at all.\nDuring the dry season, males split from the herd and form bachelor groups. Two types of bachelor herds occur: ones made of males aged four to seven years and those of males 12 years or older. During the wet season, the younger bulls rejoin a herd to mate with the females. They stay with them throughout the season to protect the calves. Some older bulls cease to rejoin the herd, as they can no longer compete with the younger, more aggressive males. The old bachelors are called dagga boys (\"mud covered\"), and are considered the most dangerous to humans.\n\n=== Vocalizations ===\nAfrican buffaloes make various vocalizations. Many calls are lower-pitched versions of those emitted by domestic cattle. "


id: e1ceb4dbd2578f4d22e85c4bcc1da4b5
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2181
content:
"They emit low-pitched, two- to four-second calls intermittently at three- to six-second intervals to signal the herd to move. To signal to the herd to change direction, leaders  emit \"gritty\", \"creaking gate\" sounds. When moving to drinking places, some individuals make long \"maaa\" calls up to 20 times a minute. When being aggressive, they make explosive grunts that may last long or turn into a rumbling growl. Cows produce croaking calls when looking for their calves. Calves make a similar call of a higher pitch when in distress. When threatened by predators, they make drawn-out \"waaaa\" calls. Dominant individuals make calls to announce their presence and location. A version of the same call, but more intense, is emitted as a warning to an encroaching inferior. When grazing, they make various sounds, such as brief bellows, grunts, honks, and croaks.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\nAfrican buffaloes mate and give birth only during the rainy seasons. Birth peak takes place early in the season, while mating peaks later. A bull closely guards a cow that comes into heat, while keeping other bulls at bay. This is difficult, as cows are quite evasive and attract many males to the scene. "


id: 6400bf679336d5538316b0461730d452
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 888
content:
"By the time a cow is in full estrus, only the most dominant bull in the herd/subherd is there.\nCows first calve at five years of age, after a gestation period of 11.5 months. Newborn calves remain hidden in vegetation for the first few weeks while being nursed occasionally by the mother before joining the main herd. Older calves are held in the centre of the herd for safety. The maternal bond between mother and calf lasts longer than in most bovids. That bonding ends when a new calf is born, and the mother then keeps her previous offspring at bay with horn jabs. Nevertheless, the yearling follows its mother for another year or so. Males leave their mothers when they are two years old and join the bachelor groups. Young calves, unusually for bovids, suckle from behind their mothers, pushing their heads between the mothers' legs.\n\n== Relationship with humans ==\n\n=== Status ===\nThe current status of the African buffalo is dependent on the animal's value to both trophy hunters and tourists, paving the way for conservation efforts through anti-poaching patrols, village crop damage payouts, and CAMPFIRE payback programs to local areas.\n"


id: e0ba833682e605a0e8efcb198841ff19
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2164
content:
"The African buffalo is listed as Near threatened by the IUCN, with a decreasing population of 400,000 individuals. While some populations (subspecies) are decreasing, others will remain unchanged in the long term if large, healthy populations continue to persist in a substantial number of national parks, equivalent reserves and hunting zones in southern and eastern Africa.\"In the most recent and available census data at continental scale, the total estimated numbers of the three savanna-type African buffalo subspecies (S. c. caffer, S. c. brachyceros and S. c. aequinoctialis) are at 513,000 individuals.In the past, numbers of African buffaloes suffered their most severe collapse during the great rinderpest epidemic of the 1890s, which, coupled with pleuro-pneumonia, caused mortalities as high as 95% among livestock and wild ungulates.Being a member of the big five game group, a term originally used to describe the five most dangerous animals to hunt, the Cape buffalo is a sought-after trophy, with some hunters paying over $10,000 for the opportunity to hunt one. The larger bulls are targeted for their trophy value, although in some areas, buffaloes are still hunted for meat.\n\n"


id: 987757fd8c15c18d9897d5e1bf84a53b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1422
content:
"=== Attacks ===\nOne of the \"big five\" African game, it is known as \"the Black Death\" or \"the widowmaker\", and is widely regarded as a very dangerous animal. According to some estimates, it gores and kills over 200 people every year. African buffaloes are sometimes reported to kill more\npeople in Africa than any other animal, although the same claim is also made of hippopotamuses and crocodiles. These numbers may be somewhat overestimated; for example, in the country of Mozambique, attacks, especially fatal ones, were much less frequent on humans than those by hippos and, especially, Nile crocodiles. In Uganda, on the other hand, large herbivores were found to attack more people on average than lions or leopards and have a higher rate of inflicting fatalities during attacks than the predators (the African buffalo, in particular, killing humans in 49.5% of attacks on them), but hippos and even elephants may still kill more people per annum here than buffaloes.  African buffaloes are notorious among big-game hunters as very dangerous animals, with wounded animals reported to ambush and attack pursuers.\n\n"


id: 8a100b87bbce5e2448aa7bb936072a14
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1293
content:
"== See also ==\nAnoa\nGaur\nZebu, the common type of domestic cattle from India: the gaur may have contributed to some zebu breeds.\nWild water buffalo\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\nMelletti M. and Burton J. (eds). 2014. Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour of Wild Cattle. Implications for Conservation (Cambridge University Press). http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/life-sciences/animal-behaviour/ecology-evolution-and-behaviour-wild-cattle-implications-conservation\nEcology and Behaviour of the African Buffalo \u2013 Social Inequality and Decision Making (Chapman & Hall Wildlife Ecology & Behaviour)\nHuffman, B. 2006. The ultimate ungulate page. UltimateUngulate.com. Retrieved January 9, 2007.\nNowak, R.M. and Paradiso, J.L. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-2525-5\n\n== External links ==\n\nVideo:Battle Kruger\nNo attribution required Free African buffalo Images\nAfrican buffalo images\n\"Buffalo, the name of two species of the true oxen\" . The American Cyclop\u00e6dia. 1879."


id: f0117372a1fcf3e98a42763a3675ad94
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2313
content:
"The Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dromedary. Its population of 2 million exists mainly in the domesticated form. Their name comes from the ancient historical region of Bactria.Domesticated Bactrian camels have served as pack animals in inner Asia since ancient times. With its tolerance for cold, drought, and high altitudes, it enabled the travel of caravans on the Silk Road. Bactrian camels, whether domesticated or feral, are a separate species from the wild Bactrian camel, which is the only truly wild (as opposed to feral) species of camelid in the Old World.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nThe Bactrian camel shares the genus Camelus with the dromedary (C. dromedarius) and the wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus). The Bactrian camel belongs to the family Camelidae. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first European to describe the camels: In his 4th century BCE History of Animals he identified the one-humped Arabian camel and the two-humped Bactrian camel. "


id: 52e784ca7a4367da64621d658e97da39
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 687
content:
"The Bactrian camel was given its current binomial name Camelus bactrianus by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication Systema Naturae.In 2007, Peng Cui (of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and colleagues carried out a phylogenetic study of the evolutionary relationships between the two tribes of Camelidae: Camelini \u2013 consisting of the three Camelus species (the study considered the wild Bactrian camel as a subspecies of the Bactrian camel) \u2013 and Lamini \u2013 consisting of the alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the llama (L. glama) and the vicu\u00f1a (V. vicugna). The study revealed that the two tribes had diverged 25 million years ago (early Miocene), notably earlier than what had been previously estimated from North American fossils. Speciation began first in Lamini as the alpaca came into existence 10 million years ago. Nearly 2 million years later, the Bactrian camel and the dromedary emerged as two independent species. "


id: d98d3f8a788d71702c8074eac0222bc2
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2074
content:
"However, the fossil record suggests a far more recent divergence between the Bactrian camel and the dromedary because despite a moderately rich fossil record of camelids, no fossil that fits within this divergence is older than middle Pleistocene (about 0.8 Ma).The Bactrian camel and the dromedary often interbreed to produce fertile offspring. Where the ranges of the two species overlap, such as in northern Punjab, Iran and Afghanistan, the phenotypic differences between them tend to decrease as a result of extensive crossbreeding between them. The fertility of their hybrid has given rise to speculation that the Bactrian camel and the dromedary should be merged into a single species with two varieties. However, a 1994 analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene revealed that the species display 10.3% divergence in their sequences.\n\n=== Differences from wild Bactrian camels ===\nThe wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) was first described by Nikolay Przhevalsky in the late 19th century and has now been established as a distinct species from the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus).\n"


id: dc42f9e744eef8d4a0ec3923e413b0bc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2106
content:
"Zoological opinion nowadays tends to favour the idea that C. bactrianus and C. dromedarius are descendants of two different subspecies of C. ferus (Peters and von den Driesch 1997: p. 652) and there is no evidence to suggest that the original range of C. ferus included those parts of Central Asia and Iran where some of the earliest Bactrian remains have been found. In particular, a population of wild Bactrian camel has been discovered to live within a part of the Gashun Gobi region of the Gobi Desert. This population is distinct from domesticated herds both in genetic makeup and in behavior.As many as three regions in the genetic makeup are distinctly different from Bactrian camels, with up to a 3% difference in the base genetic code. However, with so few wild camels, what the natural genetic diversity within a population would have been is not clear.Another difference is the ability of these wild camels to drink saltwater slush, although whether the camel can extract useful water from it is not yet certain. Domesticated camels are unable to drink such salty water.\n\n"


id: 340ea06ac21c3feb26fd7b42083f31bb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 384
content:
"== Description ==\n\nThe Bactrian camel is the largest mammal in its native range and is the largest living camel while being shorter at the shoulder than the dromedary. Shoulder height is from 160 to 180 cm (5.2 to 5.9 ft) with the overall height ranging from 230 to 250 cm (7.5 to 8.2 ft), head-and-body length is 225\u2013350 cm (7.38\u201311.48 ft), and the tail length is 35\u201355 cm (14\u201322 in). At the top of the humps, the average height is 213 cm (6.99 ft).\n\nBody mass can range from 300 to 1,000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb), with males weighing around 600 kg, and females around 480 kg. Its long, wooly coat varies in colour from dark brown to sandy beige. A mane and beard of long hair occurs on the neck and throat, with hairs measuring up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long.\nThe shaggy winter coat is shed extremely rapidly, with huge sections peeling off at once, appearing as if sloppily shorn. The two humps on the back are composed of fat (not water as is sometimes thought). The face is typical of a camelid, being long and somewhat triangular, with a split upper lip. "


id: d5e2a2cf44b0038553028f0fc99fffbf
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2033
content:
"The long eyelashes, along with the sealable nostrils, help to keep out dust in the frequent sandstorms which occur in their natural range. The two broad toes on each foot have undivided soles and are able to spread widely as an adaptation to walking on sand. The feet are very tough, as befits an animal of extreme environments.\n\n== Natural habitat ==\nThese camels are migratory, and their habitat ranges from rocky mountain massifs to flat arid desert, stony plains, and sand dunes. Conditions are extremely harsh \u2013 vegetation is sparse, water sources are limited and temperatures are extreme. The coat of the Bactrian camel can withstand cold as low as \u221230 \u00b0C (\u221222 \u00b0F) in winter to 50 \u00b0C (122 \u00b0F) in summer. The camels' distribution is linked to the availability of water, with large groups congregating near rivers after rain or at the foot of the mountains, where water can be obtained from springs in the summer months, and in the form of snow during the winter.\n\n== Life history ==\n\nBactrian camels are exceptionally adept at withstanding wide variations in temperature, ranging from freezing cold to blistering heat. "


id: 95a1689456bd6e5d024cf71e1f9261f4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1393
content:
"They have a remarkable ability to go without water for months at a time, but when water is available they may drink up to 57 liters at once. When well fed, the humps are plump and erect, but as resources decline, the humps shrink and lean to the side. When moving faster than a walking speed, they pace, by stepping forwards with both legs on the same side (as opposed to trotting, using alternate diagonals as done by most other quadrupeds). Speeds of up to 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph) have been recorded, but they rarely move this fast. Bactrian camels are also said to be good swimmers. The sense of sight is well developed and the sense of smell is extremely good. The lifespan of Bactrian camels is estimated at up to 50 years, more often 20 to 40 in captivity.\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nBactrian camels are diurnal, sleeping in the open at night and foraging for food during the day. They are primarily herbivorous. With tough mouths that can withstand sharp objects such as thorns, they are able to eat plants that are dry, prickly, salty or bitter, and can ingest virtually any kind of vegetation. "


id: cf634f1c53f1aa261c91057473725523
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1969
content:
"When other nutrient sources are not available, these camels may feed on carcasses, gnawing on bones, skin, or various different kinds of flesh. In more extreme conditions, they may eat any material they find, which has included rope, sandals, and even tents. Their ability to feed on a wide range of foods allows them to live in areas with sparse vegetation. The first time food is swallowed, it is not fully chewed. The partly masticated food (called cud) goes into the stomach and later is brought back up for further chewing.\nBactrian camels belong to a fairly small group of animals that regularly eat snow to provide their water needs. Animals living above the snowline may have to do this, as snow and ice can be the only forms of water during winter, and by doing so, their range is greatly enlarged. The latent heat of snow and ice is big compared with the heat capacity of water, forcing animals to eat only small amounts at a time.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\n\nBactrian camels are induced ovulators \u2013 they ovulate after insemination (insertion of semen into the vagina); the seminal plasma, not the spermatozoa, induces ovulation. "


id: eba2eeca46fdc691c963b3644c078831
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2264
content:
"Ovulation occurs in 87% of females after insemination: 66% ovulate within 36 hours and the rest by 48 hours (the same as natural mating). The least amount of semen required to elicit ovulation is about 1.0 ml.Males during mating time are often quite violent and may bite, spit, or attempt to sit on other male camels. The age of sexual maturity varies, but is usually reached at 3\u20135 years. Gestation lasts around 13 months. One or occasionally two calves are produced, and the female can give birth to a new calf every other year. Young Bactrian camels are precocial, being able to stand and run shortly after birth, and are fairly large at an average birth weight of 36 kg (79 lb). They are nursed for about 1.5 years. The young calf stays with its mother for three to five years, until it reaches sexual maturity, and often helps raise subsequent generations for those years. Wild camels sometimes breed with domesticated or feral camels.\n\n== Genome ==\nThe Bactrian Camels Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium provides a C. bactrianus ferus genome using next generation sequencing.\n\n== Relationship to humans ==\n\nThe Bactrian camel was domesticated circa ~4,500 BCE. "


id: ea044264c8c560020254da6b3ae61a6f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2244
content:
"The dromedary is believed to have been domesticated between 4000 BCE and 2000 BCE in Arabia. As pack animals, these ungulates are virtually unsurpassed, able to carry 170\u2013250 kg (370\u2013550 lb) at a rate of 47 kilometres (29 mi) per day, or 4 kilometres per hour (2.5 mph) over a period of four days. The species was a mainstay of transportation on the Silk Road. Furthermore, Bactrian camels are frequently ridden, especially in desertified areas. In ancient Sindh, for example, Bactrian camels of two humps were initially used by the rich for riding. The camel was later brought to other areas such as Balochistan and Iran for the same purpose.\nBactrian camels have been the focus of artwork throughout history. For example, western foreigners from the Tarim Basin and elsewhere were depicted in numerous ceramic figurines of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618\u2013907).\n\n=== United States imports ===\nBactrian camels were imported to the U.S. several times in the mid- to late 1800s, both by the U.S. military and by merchants and miners, looking for pack animals sturdier and hardier than horses and mules. "


id: 3c50c676f08667b52e61e9a5631a7afb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 471
content:
"Although the camels met these needs, the United States Camel Corps was never considered much of a success. Having brought two shipments of fewer than 100 camels to the U.S., plans were made to import another 1,000, but the US Civil War interrupted this. Most surviving camels of these endeavors, both military and private, were merely turned loose to survive in the wild. As a result, small feral herds of Bactrian camels existed during the late 19th century in the southwest deserts of the United States.\n\n=== Documentaries ===\nThe Story of the Weeping Camel is a 2003 Mongolian documentary/story about a family of nomadic shepherds trying to get a white calf accepted by his mother, which rejected him after a difficult birth.\n\n=== Military use ===\nThe Indian Army uses these camels to patrol in Ladakh. It was concluded that after carrying out trials and doing a comparative study with a single-humped camel brought from Rajasthan that the double-humped camel is better suited for the task at hand. Colonel Manoj Batra, a veterinary officer of the Indian Army, stated that the double-humped camel \"are best suited for these conditions. "


id: 369cc18335163dba2f806a4b8b9910eb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 413
content:
"They can carry loads of 170 kilograms (370 lb) at more than 17,000 feet (5,200 m) which is much more than the ponies that are being used as of now. They can survive without water for at least 72 hours.\"== Gallery ==\n\n== Footnotes ==\n\n== See also ==\nBactria\nCamel\nList of animals with humps\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\n\"Camelus bactrianus\". Animal Diversity project. University of Michigan.\nHandwerk, Brian (3 December 2002) [November 2002]. \"Wild Bactrian camels critically endangered, group says\". National Geographic.\n\"Wild camel protection foundation\".\nSneddon, Aaron. Bactrian Camels at the Highland Wildlife Park, Scotland. flickr.com (images).\n\"'New' camel lives on salty water\". BBC. 6 February 2001. \u2013 BBC announces discovery of camels in the Gashun Gobi region"


id: 54f1e2a0b6bf495e80e0a324431887f3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 714
content:
"The scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah), also known as the scimitar-horned oryx and the Sahara oryx, is a Oryx species that was once widespread across North Africa. In 2000, it was declared extinct in the wild on the IUCN Red List.\nA captive bred group was released into an acclimation enclosure within the Ouadi Rim\u00e9-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve in 2016, then reintroduced into the wild. An additional 21 individuals were released into the acclimation enclosure in 2017. The first ones to be relocated were released into the wild in 2016 and have adapted well to their surroundings. In 2017, another herd of 75 scimitar-horned oryxes arrived in an operation led by Chad's Ministry of Environment and Fisheries and the Sahara Conservation Fund. In 2021, 60 new calves were born, bringing the number in the wild to about 400. This particular oryx can survive for months or even years without drinking water. A grazing animal, it derives most of its daily moisture intake from plants.\nThe scimitar oryx has a long taxonomic history since its scientific description in 1816 by Lorenz Oken, who named it Oryx algazel. This antelope stands a little more than 1 m (3.3 ft) at the shoulder. "


id: 2ec9a56be63d9d299a671693152e06e3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 320
content:
"The males weigh 140\u2013210 kg (310\u2013460 lb) and the females weigh 91\u2013140 kg (201\u2013309 lb). The coat is white with a red-brown chest and black markings on the forehead and down the length of the nose. The calves are born with a yellow coat without distinguishing marks; their coats change to adult coloration at 3\u201312 months old.\nThe scimitar oryx formed herds of mixed sexes of up to 70 members, usually guided by the bulls. They inhabited semideserts and deserts and were adapted to live in extreme heat, with their efficient cooling mechanism and very low requirement of water. Scimitar oryx feed on foliage, grasses, succulent plants, and plant parts during the night or early morning. Births peak between March and October. After a gestation of 8-9 months, one calf is born. Soon after, the female has a postpartum estrus.\nThe decline of the scimitar oryx population began as a result of climate change during the Neolithic period, and later it was hunted extensively for its horns. Today, it is bred in captivity in special reserves in Tunisia, Morocco, and Senegal, and on private exotic animal ranches in the Texas Hill Country. "


id: 2faa6a3a68531b51998a59191b599600
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 330
content:
"In 2016, a reintroduction program was launched and currently a small herd has been successfully reintroduced in Chad.The scimitar oryx was domesticated in Ancient Egypt and is believed to have been used as food and sacrificed as offerings to gods. Wealthy people in Ancient Rome also bred them. The use of their valuable hides began in the Middle Ages. The unicorn myth may have originated from sightings of a scimitar oryx with a broken horn.The scimitar oryx was the emblem of the ancient Egyptian Oryx nome and today is the animal symbol of the Sahara Conservation Fund.\n\n== Taxonomy and naming ==\nThe scimitar oryx is a member of the genus Oryx and the family Bovidae. German naturalist Lorenz Oken first described it in 1816, naming it Oryx algazel. The nomenclature has undergone various changes since then, with the introduction of names such as Oryx tao, O. leucoryx, O. damma, O. dammah, O. bezoarticus, and O. ensicornis. In 1826, Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar used the name Oryx ammah for the species. "


id: ffa7a9e14cfb2f4bbcdf96706eeae33
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2487
content:
"A year later, the name Oryx leucoryx came into use, but as this was a synonym of the Arabian oryx (then called Oryx beatrix), it was abandoned, and Oryx algazel was accepted once more. Over 100 years later in 1951, Sir John Ellerman and Terence Morrison-Scott found that the name Oryx algazel was also ineligible for use. Finally, in January 1956, the International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature accepted Oryx dammah as the scientific name. No more changes have been made since then, though many papers published after 1956 created confusion by using names such as O. gazella tao.Its scientific name, Oryx dammah, is derived from: Ancient Greek \u1f44\u03c1\u03c5\u03be (orux), meaning a gazelle or antelope (originally a pickaxe); Latin damma (fallow deer or antelope); and Arabic dammar (sheep). The scimitar oryx is named for its horns, which resemble scimitars. Its common name in English is \"scimitar-horned oryx\", or simply \"scimitar oryx\".\n\n== Genetics and evolution ==\n\nThe scimitar oryx has 58 chromosomes - one pair of large submetacentric autosomes and 27 acrocentric autosomal pairs. The X and Y chromosomes are the largest and smallest acrocentrics. "


id: 1fa7966546ed673566d4672d81473fe7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 162
content:
"The first molecular study of this species (published in 2007) observed genetic diversity among European, North American, and some other captive groups. Divergence was found within the mitochondrial DNA haplotypes, and was estimated to have taken place between 2.1 and 2.7 million years ago. Population increases occurred about 1.2 and 0.5 million years ago.In another study, intended to note genetic differences between Oryx species, karyotypes of Oryx species and subspecies \u2013 namely O. gazella, O. b. beisa, O. b. callotis, O. dammah, and O. leucoryx \u2013 were compared with the standard karyotype of Bos taurus. The number of autosomes in all karyotypes was 58. The X and Y chromosomes were conserved in all five species.\n\n== Physical description ==\n\nThe scimitar oryx is a straight-horned antelope that stands just over 1 m (3.3 ft) at the shoulder. The males weigh 140\u2013210 kg (310\u2013460 lb) and the females 91\u2013140 kg (201\u2013309 lb). The body measures 140\u2013240 cm (55\u201394 in) from the head to the base of the tail. The tail is 45\u201360 cm (18\u201324 in) long and ends with a tuft. "


id: 96ca2688c1de00246787c1ac9973c6cf
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1404
content:
"They are sexually dimorphic with males being larger than females.Its coat is white with a red-brown chest and black markings on the forehead and down the length of the nose. The coat reflects the sun's rays, while the black portions and the tip of the tongue provide protection against sunburn. The white coat helps to reflect the heat of the desert. Calves are born with yellow coats and lack distinguishing marks, which appear later in life. Their pelage changes to adult coloration at 3\u201312 months old.Both male and female oryxes have horns, with the females' being more slender. The horns are long, thin, and symmetrical, and curve backward (a distinctive feature of this species); they can reach 1.0 to 1.2 m (3 ft 3 in to 3 ft 11 in) in both sexes. The hollow walls of the horns are so thin that they can easily break. The female's udder has four teats. The large, spreading hooves are well adapted to allow these antelopes to walk on the sand of their dry habitats. A scimitar oryx can live as long as 20 years. "


id: 547f7ac8676deb14977debd53f34d4a6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 707
content:
"At Smithsonian National Zoo, a female oryx died at 21, an exceptional age since females generally have a lifespan of about 15 years.\n\n== Diseases and parasites ==\nThe scimitar oryx can be infected with cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium in the phylum Apicomplexa. A study in 2004 revealed that C. parvum or similar organisms infected 155 mammal species, including the scimitar oryx. An analysis in 2005 found Cryptosporidium parasites in stool samples from 100 mammals, including the scimitar oryx. Oocysts of a new parasite, Eimeria oryxae, have been discovered in the feces of a scimitar oryx from Zoo Garden in Riyadh. In France, Streptococcus uberis was isolated for the first time in an oryx. It had caused vegetative endocarditis in the animal, leading to fatal congestive heart failure.\n\n== Ecology and behavior ==\nThe scimitar oryx was a very sociable animal and traveled in herds of two to 40 individuals, generally, led by a dominant bull. This species once gathered in groups of several thousand for migration. During the wet season, they migrated north into the Sahara. Scimitar oryx are diurnal. "


id: 215d34e9d972cf64dd93e8e42c981e66
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 179
content:
"In the cool early mornings and evenings, they rest under trees and shrubs, or if neither is available, they dig depressions in the soil with their hooves and rest there. Males fight often, but not for long and not violently. Predators, such as lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, golden jackals, vultures, and Cape hunting dogs, mostly kill weak and young oryx.\n\n=== Adaptations ===\n\nWith a metabolism that functions at the high temperatures prevalent in their habitats, scimitar oryxes need less water for evaporation to help conduct heat away from the body, enabling them to go for long periods without water. They can allow their body temperatures to rise to almost 46.5 \u00b0C (115.7 \u00b0F) before beginning to perspire. In times of ample supply, oryx can use fluid loss through urination and feces to lower their body temperatures to below 36 \u00b0C (97 \u00b0F) at night, giving more time before reaching maximum body temperature the following day. They can tolerate high temperatures that would be lethal to most mammals. "


id: 2b532a74716ac5e12378760b1a700506
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 275
content:
"They have a network of fine blood vessels that carries  blood from the heart to the brain, passing close to the nasal passage, thus allowing the blood to cool by up to 3 \u00b0C (5 \u00b0F) before reaching the brain, which is one of the more heat-sensitive organs of the body.\n\n=== Diet ===\nThe habitat of the scimitar oryx in the wild was steppe and desert, where they ate foliage, grass, herbs, shrubs, succulent plants, legumes, juicy roots, buds, and fruit. They can survive without water for 9-10 months because their kidneys prevent water loss from urination \u2013 an adaptation to desert habitats. They can get water from water-rich plants such as the wild melon (Citrullus colocynthis) and Indigofera oblongifolia and from the leafless twigs of Capparis decidua. In the night or early morning, they often search for plants such as Indigofera colutea, which produce a hygroscopic secretion that fulfills water requirements. They eat tuft grasses such as Cymbopogon schoenanthus after rains, but they normally prefer more palatable grasses, such as Cenchrus biflorus, Panicum laetum, and Dactyloctenium aegyptium. "


id: c9cf6da1e4f54c3bd3602305d55d5c3f
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1916
content:
"When the dry season begins, they feed on the seedpods of Acacia raddiana, and during the dry season, they rely on perennial grasses of genera such as Panicum (especially Panicum turgidum) and Aristida, and browse plants such as Leptadenia species, Cassia italica, and Cornulaca monacantha.\n\n=== Reproduction ===\n\nBoth males and females reach sexual maturity at 18-24 months of age. Births peak between March and October. Mating frequency is greater when environmental conditions are favorable. In zoos, males are sexually most active in autumn. The estrous cycle lasts roughly 24 days, and females experience an anovulatory period in spring. Periods between births are less than 332 days, showing that the scimitar oryx is polyestrous.Courting is done by means of a mating circle; the male and female stand parallel to one another, facing in opposite directions, and then circle around each other until the female allows the male to mount from behind. If the female is not ready to mate, she runs away and circles in the reverse direction. Pregnant females leave the herd for a week, give birth to the calf, and mate again during their postpartum estrus; thus, they can produce one calf a year. "


id: a86c736ec0cd2f44a48799a96bcb3058
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1583
content:
"Gestation lasts about nine months, after which a single calf is born, weighing 10\u201315 kg (22\u201333 lb). Twin births are very rare - only 0.7% of the births observed in one study. Both mother and calf return to the main herd within hours of the birth. The female separates herself from the herd for a few hours while she nurses the calf. Weaning starts at 3.5 months, and the young become fully independent around 14 weeks old.\n\n== Habitat and distribution ==\nThe scimitar oryx once inhabited grassy steppes, semideserts and deserts in a narrow strip of central north Africa (Niger and Chad). It was reintroduced in Libya. It was widespread on the fringes of the Sahara, mainly in subdesert steppe, the grassy zone between the real desert and the Sahel, an area characterized by an annual rainfall of 75\u2013150 mm (3.0\u20135.9 in). In 1936, a single herd of 10,000 scimitar oryxes was seen in the steppe area of Chad. By the mid-1970s, Chad was home to more than 95% of the world population of this species.\n\n"


id: c21d9cb77d9ea5a33bd788627f13cca2
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1831
content:
"== Status and conservation ==\n\nFollowing the Neolithic Subpluvial, around 7500 to 3500 BC, the \"green Sahara\" became dry and the scimitar oryx's population began to decline due to a loss of suitable habitat.  This was further exacerbated by humans who hunted the scimitar oryx for both its meat and horns.  The northern population was already almost lost before the 20th century.  With the introduction of horses and firearms during the 20th century, nomadic hunters were able to decimate populations. The decline of the southern population accelerated as Europeans began to settle the area and hunt them for meat, hides, and horn trophies. French involvement in World War II and the civil war in Chad that started in the 1960s are thought to have caused heavy decreases of the species through an increase in hunting for food. Roadkill, nomadic settlements near watering holes (the oryx's dry-season feeding places), and introduction of cattle and firearms for easy hunting have also reduced numbers.The IUCN lists the scimitar oryx as regionally extinct in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, and the Western Sahara, and has assessed it as EW since 2000. "


id: 9a6866262001ebc1ee1cb2e90e73e9f7
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1448
content:
"Reports of sightings in Chad and Niger remain unsubstantiated, despite extensive surveys carried out throughout Chad and Niger from 2001 to 2004 in an effort to detect antelopes in the Sahel and the Sahara. At least until 1985, 500 scimitar oryxes were estimated to be surviving in Chad and Niger, but by 1988, only a few individuals survived in the wild.A global captive-breeding program now exists for the scimitar oryx. In 2015, about 1,750 captives were managed as part of breeding programs; at the program's peak, up to 11,000 were kept in Texas farms and 4,000 were held in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Reintroduction plans involve fenced-in herds in Bou-Hedma National Park (1985), Sidi Toui National Park (1999) and Oued Dekouk National Park (1999) in Tunisia; Souss-Massa National Park (1995) in Morocco; and Ferlo Faunal Reserve (1998) and Guembeul Wildlife Reserve (1999) in Senegal.Chad is currently leading a project to reintroduce the species in Ouadi Rim\u00e9-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve, with the support of the Sahara Conservation Fund and the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi. At 78,000 km2 \u2013 equivalent to the size of Scotland- Ouadi Rim\u00e9 Ouadi Achim is one of the world's largest protected areas. "


id: 149e1ae50160b7e01d49cdc1760b82da
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 53
content:
"The first group was released at the beginning of 2016 in an acclimation enclosure and then fully released in the wild in the rainy season. That group was made of 21 animals, which by the beginning of 2017 had already produced a calf, the first birth in the wild for more than 20 years. A second group comprising six males and eight females was placed in the acclimation enclosure on 21 January 2017.The Marwell Zoo in Hampshire and the Edinburgh Zoo have also worked in partnership with ZSL to help reintroduce captive-bred scimitar oryx to their former natural ranges.  The Tunisian reintroductions began in 1985 with 10 scimitar oryx from the Marwell and Edinburgh Zoos (co-ordinated by ZSL). In 1999 and 2007, Marwell co-ordinated the release of scimitar oryx into three more protected areas within their former historic range.\n\n== In culture ==\n\n=== Ancient times ===\nIn ancient Egypt, scimitar oryxes were domesticated and tamed, possibly to be used as offerings for religious ceremonies or as food. They were called ran and bred in captivity. In ancient Rome, they were kept in paddocks and used for coursing, and wealthy Romans ate them. "


id: bbce13cebfcc122b3c72e88132bf113e
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1767
content:
"The scimitar oryx was the preferred quarry of Sahelo-Saharan hunters. Its hide is of superior quality, and the king of Rio de Oro sent 1,000 shields made of it to a contemporary in the Middle Ages. Since then, it has been used to make ropes, harnesses, and saddlery.\n\n=== Unicorn myth ===\nThe myth of the one-horned unicorn may have originated from sightings of injured scimitar oryxes; Aristotle and Pliny the Elder held that the oryx was the unicorn's \"prototype\". From certain angles, the oryx may seem to have one horn rather than two, and given that its horns are made from hollow bone that cannot be regrown, if a scimitar oryx were to lose one of its horns, for the rest of its life it would have only one.\n\n=== Modern times ===\nIn 2015, Yellow Nose, a scimitar oryx that lives in Portland, Oregon, escaped and startled hikers in Forest Park. The following day, he was caught and returned home.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\nMedia related to Oryx dammah at Wikimedia Commons\nData related to Oryx dammah at Wikispecies\nOryx dammah at Encyclopedia of Life\nhttps://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/environment/2021/12/22/abu-dhabi-sends-critically-endangered-animals-to-chad/?outputType=amp"


id: b517fc1f8e29d6aaad690bd6a99dffcc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1699
content:
"The lechwe, red lechwe, or southern lechwe (Kobus leche) is an antelope found in wetlands of south-central Africa.\n\n== Range ==\nThe lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats, and Bangweulu Wetlands. The species is fairly common in zoos and wild animal farms.\n\n== Description ==\nAdult lechwe typically stand 90 to 100 cm (35 to 39 in) at the shoulder and generally weigh from 50 to 120 kg (110 to 260 lb), with males being larger than females. They are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but exact hue and amount of blackish on the front legs, chest and body varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral horns are vaguely lyre-shaped and borne only by males. The hind legs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes to ease long-distance running on marshy soil.\n\n== Habitats ==\nLechwe are found in marshy areas where they are an important herbivore of aquatic plants. They use the knee-deep water as protection from predators. "


id: 20bc3baa427cf1592b049f8acb6f2a41
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 170
content:
"Their legs are covered in a water-repellant substance which allows them to run quite fast in knee-deep water. Lechwe are diurnal. They gather in herds which can include many thousands of individuals. Herds are usually all of one sex, but during mating season they mix.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\n\n=== Subspecies ===\n\nFour subspecies of the lechwe have been recognized.\nCommon red lechwe (Kobus leche leche) (Gray, 1850) - Widely distributed in the wetlands of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.\nKafue Flats lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) (Haltenorth, 1963) - It is confined within the Kafue Flats (seasonally inundated flood-plain on the Kafue River, Zambia).\n\u2020 Roberts' lechwe (Kobus leche robertsi) (Rothschild, 1907) - Formerly found in northeastern Zambia, now extinct. Also called the Kawambwa lechwe.\nBlack lechwe (Kobus leche smithemani) (Lydekker, 1900) - Found in the Bangweulu region of Zambia.In addition, the Upemba lechwe (Kobus anselli) and the extinct Cape lechwe (Kobus venterae) are also considered subspecies by some authorities (as Kobus leche anselli and Kobus leche venterae).Although related and sharing the name \"lechwe\", the Nile lechwe (K. megaceros) is consistently recognized as a separate species.\n\n== Reproduction ==\nLechwe mate during rain seasons of November to February. "


id: 6034e22881f281bb7daf2f6ba10b980d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 855
content:
"They have a gestation period of seven to eight months so a majority of calves are born from July to September.  Although rare, hybrids between lechwe and waterbuck have been observed.\n\n== References ==\n\n== External links ==\n\nARKive - images and movies of the black lechwe (Kobus leche smithemani)"


id: 94bf1d94f02e07078c3200661913fb
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1384
content:
"The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, often with devastating effects on local biodiversity. Its decline in its native range due to myxomatosis, rabbit calicivirus, overhunting and habitat loss has caused the decline of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti). It is known as an invasive species because it has been introduced to countries on all continents with the exception of Antarctica, and has caused many problems within the environment and ecosystems; in particular, European rabbits in Australia have had a devastating impact, due in part to the lack of natural predators there.\nThe European rabbit is well known for digging networks of burrows, called warrens, where it spends most of its time when not feeding. Unlike the related hares (Lepus spp.), rabbits are altricial, the young being born blind and furless, in a fur-lined nest in the warren, and they are totally dependent upon their mothers. "


id: 59ef01d7a24d9f61db1897bd3d0b9f9b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 768
content:
"Much of the modern research into wild rabbit behaviour was carried out in the 1960s by two research centres. One was the naturalist Ronald Lockley, who maintained a number of large enclosures for wild rabbit colonies, with observation facilities, in Orielton, Pembrokeshire. Apart from publishing a number of scientific papers, he popularised his findings in a book The Private Life of the Rabbit, which is credited by Richard Adams as having played a key role in his gaining \"a knowledge of rabbits and their ways\" that informed his novel Watership Down. The other group was the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, where numerous studies of the social behavior of wild rabbits were performed. Since the onset of myxomatosis, and the decline of the significance of the rabbit as an agricultural pest, few large-scale studies have been performed and many aspects of rabbit behaviour are still poorly understood.\n\n== Naming and etymology ==\nBecause of its non-British origin, the species does not have native names in English or Celtic, with the usual terms \"cony\" and \"rabbit\" being foreign loanwords. \"Rabbit\" is also pronounced as rabbidge, rabbert (North Devon) and rappit (Cheshire and Lancashire). "


id: db39fd7986ae4072598464132a44c070
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2094
content:
"More archaic pronunciations include rabbette (15th-16th centuries), rabet (15th-17th centuries), rabbet (16th-18th centuries), rabatte (16th century), rabytt (17th century) and rabit (18th century). The root word is the Walloon rabett, which was once commonly used in Li\u00e8ge. Rabett itself is derived from the Middle Dutch robbe, with the addition of the suffix -ett.The term \"cony\" or \"coney\" antedates \"rabbit\", and first occurred during the 13th century to refer to the animal's pelt. Later, \"cony\" referred to the adult animal, while \"rabbit\" referred to the young. The root of \"cony\" is the old French connil or counil, of which the Norman plural was coniz, and later conis. Its forerunner is the Greek \u03ba\u03cd\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2, from which the Latin cuniculus is derived. The origin of \u03ba\u03cd\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 itself is unclear: \u00c6lian, who lived during the third century, linked the word to Celtiberian and later authors relate it to its Basque name unchi; Varo and Pliny connected it to cuneus, which refers to a wedge, thus making reference to the animal's digging ability.The species' dwelling place is termed a warren or cony-garth. \"Warren\" comes from the Old English wareine, itself derived from the Old French warenne, varenne, or garenne. "


id: 1cbdf9908647e8e64f0b3db31f0630a3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 141
content:
"The root word is the Low Latin warenna, which originally signified a preserve in general, only to be later used to refer specifically to an enclosure set apart for rabbits and hares. \"Cony-garth\" derives from the Middle English conygerthe, which may be a compound of connynge+erthe (cony+earth). The term stems from the Old French conniniere or coninyere, and later conilliere. The root word is the Low Latin cunicularia, the feminine form of the adjective cunicularius, which pertains to the rabbit.\n\n== Taxonomy ==\nOriginally assigned to the genus Lepus, the European rabbit was consigned to its own genus in 1874 on account of its altricial young, its burrowing habits, and numerous skeletal characters. It is superficially similar to the North American cottontails (Sylvilagus) in that they are born blind and naked, have white flesh, and little sexual dimorphism. However, they differ in skull characteristics, and cottontails do not habitually construct their own burrows as the European rabbit does. Molecular studies confirm that the resemblance between the two is due to convergent evolution, and that the European rabbit's closest relatives are the hispid hare, the riverine rabbit, and the Amami rabbit. "


id: debe814925324b7f0b7657011b93759c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2139
content:
"The oldest known fossils attributed to the modern European rabbit species are around 0.5 Ma old (Middle Pleistocene).The cladogram is from Matthee et al., 2004, based on nuclear and mitochondrial gene analysis.\n\n=== Subspecies ===\nAs of 2005, six subspecies are recognised by MSW3. Genetic studies undertaken in 2008, however, indicate only two subspecies, O. c. algirus and O. c. cuniculus, with a hybrid zone connecting the two populations in central Iberia.\n\n== Description ==\n\nThe European rabbit is smaller than the European hare and mountain hare, and lacks black ear tips, as well as having proportionately shorter legs. An adult European rabbit can measure 40 centimetres (16 in) in length, and weigh 1,200\u20132,000 grams (2.6\u20134.4 lb). The hind foot measures 8.5\u201310 cm (3.3\u20133.9 in) in length, while the ears are 6.5\u20137.5 cm (2.6\u20133.0 in) long from the occiput.Size and weight vary according to food and habitat quality, with rabbits living on light soil with nothing but grass to feed on being noticeably smaller than specimens living on highly cultivated farmlands with plenty of roots and clover. Pure European rabbits weighing 5 kg (11 lb) and upwards are uncommon, but are occasionally reported. "


id: 79e69e2c549adbf8bc82e286f13e7c9
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1119
content:
"One large specimen, caught in February 1890 in Lichfield, was weighed at 2.8 kilograms (6 lb 2 oz). Unlike the brown hare, the male European rabbit is more heavily built than the female. The penis is short, and lacks a baculum and true glans.The fur of the European rabbit is generally greyish-brown, but this is subject to much variation. The guard hairs are banded brown and black, or grey, while the nape of the neck and scrotum are reddish. The chest patch is brown, while the rest of the underparts are white or grey. A white star shape is often present on kits' foreheads, but rarely occurs in adults. The whiskers are long and black, and the feet are fully furred and buff-coloured. The tail has a white underside, which becomes prominent when escaping danger. This may act as a signal for other rabbits to run.Moulting occurs once a year, beginning in March on the face and spreading over the back. The underfur is completely replaced by October\u2013November. The European rabbit exhibits great variation in colour, from light sandy, to dark grey and completely black. Such variation depends largely on the amount of guard hairs relative to regular pelage. "


id: 1408b84a3ab3f8a3583fbaf959ba8fe6
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 45
content:
"Melanists are not uncommon in mainland Europe, though albinoes are rare.\n\n== Life history and behaviour ==\n\n=== Social and territorial behaviours ===\nThe European rabbit lives in warrens that contain 2-10 other individuals living in smaller groups to ensure greater breeding success. Territoriality and aggression contribute greatly to the rabbits' maturation process, and help ensure survival of the population. Females tend to be more territorial than males, although the areas most frequented by females are not defended. Territories are marked with dung hills. The size of the species' home range varies according to habitat, food, shelter, cover from predators, and breeding sites, though it is generally small, encompassing about 0.3-0.7 hectares. Except during times of low rabbit density and abundance of high-quality food, male ranges tend to be larger than those held by females. The European rabbit rarely strays far from its burrow; when feeding on cultivated fields, it typically only moves 25 m away from its burrow, and rarely 50 m. It may, however, move as far as 500 m after an abrupt change in environment, such as a harvest. "


id: 89c62a717d6399c3ae64e136d7ddf926
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1288
content:
"This behaviour may be an antipredator adaptation, as rabbits in areas where predators are under rigorous control may move three times further from their burrows than those in areas without predator management.The European rabbit is a gregarious animal, which lives in stable social groups centred around females sharing access to one or more burrow systems. Social structures tend to be looser in areas where burrow construction is relatively easy. Dominance hierarchies exist in parallel for both bucks and does. Among bucks, status is determined through access to does, with dominant bucks siring the majority of the colony's offspring. The dominant does have priority access to the best nesting sites, with competition over such sites often leading to serious injury or death. Subordinate does, particularly in large colonies, typically resort to using single-entrance breeding spots far from the main warren, thus making themselves vulnerable to fox or badger predation.\n\n=== Reproduction and development ===\nIn the European rabbit's mating system, dominant bucks exhibit polygyny, whereas lower-status individuals (both bucks and does) often form monogamous breeding relationships. "


id: 1ef36532c8acbf10dacec04cc2682902
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 156
content:
"Rabbits signal their readiness to copulate by marking other animals and inanimate objects with an odoriferous substance secreted though a chin gland, in a process known as \"chinning\". Though male European rabbits may sometimes be amicable with one another, fierce fights can erupt among bucks during the breeding season, typically January to August. A succession of litters (usually three to seven kittens each) are produced, but in overpopulated areas, pregnant does may lose all their embryos through intrauterine resorption. Shortly before giving birth, the doe constructs a separate burrow known as a \"stop\" or \"stab\", generally in an open field away from the main warren. These breeding burrows are typically a few feet long and are lined with grass and moss, as well as fur plucked from the doe's belly. The breeding burrow protects the kits from adult bucks and predators.The gestation period of the European rabbit is 30 days, with the sex ratio of male to female kits tending to be 1:1. Greater maternal investment over male offspring may result in higher birth weights for bucks. "


id: ebd17f78f1e5cd363a3e346d3032fd4c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2266
content:
"Kits born to the dominant buck and doe\u2014which enjoy better nesting and feeding grounds\u2014tend to grow larger and stronger and to become more dominant than those born to subordinate rabbits. Not uncommonly, European rabbits  mate again immediately after giving birth, with some specimens having been observed to nurse previous young whilst pregnant.Female European rabbits nurse their kits once a night, for only a few minutes. After suckling is complete, the doe seals the entrance to the stop with soil and vegetation. In its native Iberian and southern French range, European rabbit young have a growth rate of 5 g (0.18 oz) per day, though such kittens in non-native ranges may grow 10 g (0.35 oz) per day. Weight at birth is 30\u201335 g (1.1\u20131.2 oz) and increases to 150\u2013200 g (5.3\u20137.1 oz) by 21\u201325 days, during the weaning period. European rabbit kits are born blind, deaf, and nearly naked. The ears do not gain the power of motion until 10 days of age, and can be erected after 13. The eyes open 11 days after birth. At 18 days, the kittens begin to leave the burrow. "


id: ea17ea455aa290293acfa8a79886d104
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2247
content:
"Sexual maturity in bucks is attained at 4 months, while does can begin to breed at 3-5 months.\n\n=== Burrowing behaviour ===\nThe European rabbit's burrows occur mostly on slopes and banks, where drainage is more efficient. The burrow entrances are typically 10\u201350 cm in diameter, and are easily recognisable by the bare earth at their mouths. Vegetation growth is prevented by the constant passing and repassing of the resident rabbits. Big burrows are complex excavations which may descend to depths of several feet. They are not constructed on any specified plan, and appear to be enlarged or improved as a result of the promiscuous activity of several generations. Digging is done by pulling the soil backwards with the fore feet and throwing it between the hind legs, which scatter the material with kicking motions. While most burrows are dug from the outside, some warrens feature holes dug from the inside, which act as emergency exits when escaping from predators below ground. These holes usually descend perpendicularly to 3\u20134 feet, and their mouths lack the bare-earth characteristic of burrow entrances. "


id: 478d7b1156fb528b492bb0131ea36b7b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 576
content:
"While kits sleep in chambers lined with grass and fur, adults sleep on the bare earth, likely to prevent damp, with warmth being secured by huddling. Although both sexes dig, does do so more skillfully, and for longer periods.\n\n=== Communication ===\nThe European rabbit is a relatively quiet animal, though it has at least two vocalisations. The best-known is a high treble scream or squeal. This distress call has been likened to the cry of a piglet. This sound is uttered when in extreme distress, such as being caught by a predator or trap. During the spring, bucks express contentment by emitting grunting sounds when approaching other rabbits. These grunts are similar to shrill hiccups, and are emitted with the mouth closed. Aggression is expressed with a low growl.\n\n== Ecology ==\n\n=== Habitat ===\nThe European rabbit's ideal habitat consists of short grasslands with secure refuge (such as burrows, boulders, hedgerows, scrub, and woodland) near feeding areas. It may dwell up to treeline, as long as the land is well-drained and shelter is available. "


id: 7d61a815d50c39e26511b6748b1e04bc
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1149
content:
"The size and distribution of its burrow systems depend on the type of soil present; in areas with loose soil, it selects sites with supporting structures, such as tree roots or shrubs to prevent burrow collapse. Warrens tend to be larger and have more interconnected tunnels in areas with chalk than those in sand. In large coniferous plantations, the species only occurs on peripheral areas and along fire breaks and rides.\n\n=== Diet ===\nThe European rabbit eats a wide variety of herbage, especially grasses, favouring the young, succulent leaves and shoots of the most nutritious species, particularly fescues. In mixed cultivated areas, winter wheat is preferred over maize and dicotyledons. During the summer, the European rabbit feeds on the shortest, and therefore less nutritious grass swards, thus indicating that grazing grounds are selected through antipredator considerations rather than maximising food intake. In times of scarcity, the rabbit increases its food intake, selecting the parts of the plant with the highest nitrogen content. Hungry rabbits in winter may resort to eating tree bark. Blackberries are also eaten, and captive-bred European rabbits have been fed on fodder consisting of furze and acorns, which can lead to considerable weight gain. "


id: 247ba46d2b255f69c669c54dd429a2af
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 213
content:
"The European rabbit is a less fussy eater than the brown hare; when eating root vegetables, the rabbit eats them whole, while the hare tends to leave the peel. Depending on the body's fat and protein reserves, the species can survive without food in winter for about 2\u20138 days. Although herbivorous, cases are known of rabbits eating snails.Like other leporids, the European rabbit produces soft, mucus-covered faecal pellets, which are ingested directly from the anus. The soft pellets are produced posterior to the colon in the hind gut soon after the excretion of hard pellets and the stomach begins to fill with newly grazed food. The soft pellets are filled with protein-rich bacteria, and pass down to the rectum in glossy clusters. The rabbit swallows them whole, without perforating the enveloping membrane.\n\n=== Predators ===\nThe European rabbit is prey to many different predatory species. Foxes, dingoes, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, and dogs kill both adult and young rabbits by stalking and surprising them in the open, but relatively few rabbits are caught this way, as they can quickly rush back to cover with a burst of speed. "


id: 10e56a0a03ed756659131d0e0669b231
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 6
content:
"Further, evidence from a study in Spain suggests they may avoid areas where the recent scat of predators which have eaten rabbit is detected. Both foxes and badgers dig out kittens from shallow burrows, with the latter predators being too slow to catch adult rabbits. Both wild and domestic cats can stalk and leap upon rabbits, particularly young specimens leaving their burrows for the first time. Wildcats take rabbits according to availability; in eastern Scotland, where rabbits are abundant, they can make up over 90% of the wildcats' diet. Most domestic cats are incapable of killing healthy, full-grown adults, but will take weak and diseased ones. Does can be fiercely protective of their kits, having been observed to chase away large cats and mustelids, including ferrets, stoats, and weasels. However, rabbits typically run from mustelids, and may fear them innately. Cases are known of rabbits becoming paralysed with fear and dying when pursued by stoats or weasels, even when rescued unharmed.The European rabbit makes up 85% of the polecat's diet, and its availability is important to the success of breeding female mink. "


id: 6fe2f32361f60c932593f2e7d30dd8a4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1001
content:
"Brown rats can be a serious threat to kittens, as they will reside in rabbit burrows during the summer, and attack them in groups. Although many birds of prey are capable of killing rabbits, few are strong enough to carry them. Large species, such as golden and sea eagles, may carry rabbits back to their nests, while small eagles, buzzards, and harriers struggle to do so. Hawks and owls typically only carry off very small kits.\n\n=== Diseases and parasites ===\nThe European rabbit is the only species fatally attacked by myxomatosis. The most lethal strain has a five-day incubation period, after which the eyelids swell, with the inflammation quickly spreading to the base of the ears, the forehead, and nose. At the same time, the anal and genital areas also swell. During the last stages of the disease, the swellings discharge a fluid rich in viral material, with death usually following on the 11th-12th day of infection. In Britain, the primary carrier of myxomatosis is the flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi, while in Australia it is mosquitoes.\n"


id: 85e3320df9f93b52803f361c99dda0d3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1244
content:
"Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), also known as viral haemorrhagic disease or rabbit calicivirus disease in Australia, is specific to the European rabbit, and causes lesions of acute necrotising hepatitis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and haemorrhaging, mainly in the lungs. Susceptible specimens may die within 30 hours of infection. Most rabbits in the UK are immune to RHD, due to exposure to a weaker strain.\n\n== Human relationship with rabbits ==\n\nRecent research has shown that all European rabbits carry common genetic markers and descend from one of two maternal lines. These lines originated between 12,000 and 6.5 million years ago when glaciers isolated two herds, one on the Iberian Peninsula and the other in Southern France. Humans likely began hunting rabbits as a food source, but further research needs to be done to verify this. Little comprehensive evidence of the relationship of humans with European rabbits is documented until the medieval period.Humans' relationship with the European rabbit was first recorded by the Phoenicians prior to 1000 BC, when they termed the Iberian Peninsula i-Shaphan-\u00edm (literally, the land of the hyraxes). This phrase closely resembles related modern Hebrew: I (\u05d0\u05d9) meaning island and shafan (\u05e9\u05e4\u05df) meaning hyrax, plural shfan\u00edm (\u05e9\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd). "


id: 2bdff67246ae238873c8d2f913adf9ee
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 283
content:
"Phoenicians called the local rabbits 'hyraxes' because rabbits resemble hyraxes in some ways, and hyraxes are native to Phoenicia, unlike rabbits. Hyraxes, like rabbits, are not rodents. One theory states that the Romans converted the phrase i-Shaphan-\u00edm, with influence from the Greek Spania, to its Latin form, Hispania, which evolved in all the Iberian languages - into Castilian Espa\u00f1a, Portuguese Espanha, Catalan Espanya (English \"Spain\"), and such other variations in modern languages. Different views have been voiced on the precise meaning of shafan, but the balance of opinion appears to indicate that the hyrax is indeed the intended meaning.Like the Phoenicians, neither the later Greek nor Roman colonizers had a specific name for the rabbit, because the species is not native to Greece and Italy (though it is present there nowadays). They commonly called it \"small hare\" and \"small digging hare\", in contrast to the European hare, which is larger and doesn't make burrows. "


id: 75fcb0ced0cefcfe66dd94c79f62ecb8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1079
content:
"Catullus used the name cuniculus (a latinization of the Iberian word kiniklos and the etymological origin of the Castilian name conejo, Portuguese coelho and Catalan conill, and the old English name, coney), and referenced its abundance in Celtiberia by calling this region cuniculosa, i.e. rabbit-ridden.The European rabbit is the only rabbit species that has been domesticated and all 305 global rabbit breeds\u2014 from Netherland Dwarf to Flemish Giant\u2014 are descendants of the European rabbit. Rabbits are an example of an animal that can be treated as a food, a pet, or a pest by different members of the same culture. In some urban areas, infestations of feral European rabbits (descended from pets) have become a problem. Helsinki, for example, host to one of the northernmost populations of the species, had an estimated 2,500 European rabbits at the end of 2006, doubling to 5,000 by autumn 2007. In Iceland, populations of O. cuniculus are found in urban Reykjavik as well as in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. In Finland, the introduced European rabbit vies with the native lagomorphs: the European hare and the mountain hare.\n\n"


id: 37ecba07aa3e448409076d5a8fe7289
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 419
content:
"=== As an introduced species ===\n\nThe European rabbit has been introduced as an exotic species into several environments, often with harmful results to vegetation and local wildlife, making it an invasive species. The first known mention of the rabbit as an invasive species (and possibly the first documented instance of an invasive species ever) was made in regard to the introduction of the rabbit to the Balearic Islands after the Roman conquest of the first century BCE. According to both Strabo and Pliny the Elder, the multiplying rabbits caused famines by destroying crop yields and even collapsed trees and houses with their burrowing. The inhabitants petitioned Augustus for help, who sent troops to curb the rabbit population with the help of ferrets.Other locations where the European rabbit was introduced include Great Britain; the Hawaiian Islands of Laysan Island (in 1903) and Lisianski Island; Oceania's Macquarie Island; Washington's Smith Island and San Juan Island (around 1900 and later spreading to the other San Juan Islands); several islands off the coast of Southern Africa (including Robben Island); and Australia and New Zealand. The two accounts over the introduction of rabbits in Ukraine are conflicting. "


id: 8e2098800a8bd24e4d4d606e16729ea
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1325
content:
"One holds that the species was brought there in the early 20th century by Austrian nobleman Graf Malokhovsky, who released them on his estate near the Khadzhibey Estuary, while another holds that rabbits were first brought to Kherson from Switzerland in 1894-1895 by landowner Pinkovsky.\n\n==== In the British Isles ====\nThe European rabbit is widespread in both Great Britain, Ireland, and most islands, except for Isles of Scilly, R\u00f9m, Tiree, and some small Scottish islands, such as Gunna, Sanday, and most of the Treshnish Isles. It was likely first brought to Britain by the Normans after the 1066 conquest of England, as no pre-Norman British allusions to the animal have been found. The rabbit was nonetheless scarce or absent throughout most of England a short time afterwards, as warrens are not mentioned in the Domesday Book or any other 11th-century documents. Rabbits became well known, but not necessarily accepted members of British fauna between the 12th and 13th centuries, with the first real evidence of their presence consisting of a number of bones from the midden of Rayleigh Castle, which was occupied from the 11th-13th centuries. "


id: 2f5a026c7dbbd31d4d6a6b957bd62c7e
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 324
content:
"The first references to rabbits in Ireland occur roughly at the same time as English ones, thus indicating another Norman introduction. They had become plentiful, probably at a local level, by the 13th century, as indicated by an inquisition of Lundy Island made in 1274 describing how 2,000 rabbits were caught annually. Subsequent allusions in official documents became more frequent, with the species later becoming an important food item in feasts.Increases in truly wild populations occurred slowly, primarily in the coastal areas and lowland heaths of Breckland and Norfolk. Notable population increases occurred after 1750, when changes in agricultural practices created favourable habitat, and increasing interest in game management resulted in intensive predator control campaigns. Although now common in the Scottish lowlands, the species was little known in Scotland before the 19th century. Until then, it was confined to portions of the Edinburgh district at least as far back as the 16th century, certain islands and the coastal sand dunes of the Scottish mainland. Although unknown in Caithness in 1743, the species became well established there by 1793. "


id: f085b3c1302a31da4c1e4acd06e5eccd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2320
content:
"Myxomatosis entered Britain from France in 1953, and reached Ireland by 1954, prompting the RSPB to set up \"mercy squads\" meant to euthanise myxomatous rabbits. Major myxomatosis outbreaks still occur in Britain, peaking twice annually in during spring and especially in the late summer or autumn periods, though immunity has reduced the mortality rate from 99% to 5-33%.Between 1996 and 2018, rabbit numbers fell by 88% in the east Midlands, 83% in Scotland, and 43% across the whole of the UK. Numbers are still falling (in 2021). Pip Mountjoy, Shifting Sands project manager at Natural England said, \"They (rabbits) are actually an endangered species in their native region on the Iberian peninsula. It's surprising for people that rabbits are important in some ecosystems. We think of them as a pest but in Britain they are a keystone species \u2013 they act as landscape managers and a lot of other species rely on them.\"The Shifting Sands project aims to encourage landowners to create safe habitats for rabbits, consisting of piles of branches placed near existing rabbit warrens. "


id: 53631b0829f0d40a780e9e1b1d3eb1b8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 692
content:
"Species that depend in rabbits' grazing habits include purple milk vetch, rare spring sedge, spring speedwell, prostrate perennial knawel, caterpillars of the lunar yellow underwing moth, stone curlew, and the large blue butterfly.\n\n==== In Australia ====\n\nTwenty-four specimens of the European rabbit were introduced to Australia in 1859 by estate owner Thomas Austin in Victoria. Their descendants multiplied and spread throughout the country due to the lack of natural predators, a conducive habitat (provided by widespread farming), and the mild Australian winters that allowed year-round breeding. Australia's native equivalent, the bilby, was quickly pushed out by the invasive rabbit. (The bilbies are endangered, but are now making a comeback due to government protection.)Between 1901 and 1907, Australia built an immense \"rabbit-proof fence\" to halt the westward expansion of the infestation. The European rabbit, however, can not only jump very high, but also burrow underground, making fencing essentially futile.\nDuring the 1950s, the intentional introduction of a virus that causes myxomatosis provided some relief in Australia, but not in New Zealand, where the insect vectors necessary for the spread of the disease were not present. Myxomatosis can also infect pet rabbits (the same species). "


id: 6f28f7c58af40783369122f9bb925b4b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 994
content:
"Today's remaining feral rabbits in Australia are largely immune to myxomatosis. A second deadly rabbit virus, rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD), has been cleared in Australia as a biological control agent and has already killed millions of the European rabbits there. RHD was also introduced\u2014illegally\u2014 in New Zealand with less success due to improper timing.\n\n==== In Chile ====\nThe exact date on which the European rabbit was introduced into Chile is unknown, though the first references to it occur during the mid-18th century. By the 19th century, several authors referred to the presence of both rabbits and rabbit hutches in central Chile. The importation and breeding of rabbits was encouraged by the state, as rabbits were seen as cheap sources of food for peasants. Whether or not their escape into the wild was intentional is unknown, but warnings over the dangers of feral rabbits were raised during the early 20th century, and the species had propagated dramatically by the late 1920s in central Chile, Tierra del Fuego, and the Juan Fern\u00e1ndez Islands. "


id: cf6e6a1af3375f3ee7c662a02b95f3c4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1971
content:
"In the 1930s, the state sought to tackle the rabbit problem by banning fox hunting, though it was later discovered that indigenous South American foxes rarely preyed on rabbits, preferring native species. In modern times, the European rabbit problem has not been resolved definitively, though a deliberate outbreak of myxomatosis in Tierra del Fuego successfully reduced local rabbit populations. The species remains a problem in central Chile and on Juan Fern\u00e1ndez, despite international financing.\n\n=== Domesticated rabbits ===\n\nThe European rabbit is the only rabbit to be widely domesticated, for food or as a pet. It was first widely kept in ancient Rome, where fetal rabbits were known as laurices and considered a delicacy, and has been refined into a wide variety of breeds during and since the Middle Ages.\nDomesticated rabbits have mostly been bred to be much larger than wild rabbits, though selective breeding has produced a range of sizes from \"dwarf\" to \"giant\", which are kept as food animals and pets across the world. They have as much color variation among themselves as other livestock and pet animals. "


id: 14e8c0d0e07cb6bee93acd427b7d4755
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 56
content:
"Their fur is prized for its softness; today, Angora rabbits are raised for their long, soft fur, which is often spun into yarn. Other breeds are raised for the fur industry, particularly the Rex, which has a smooth, velvet-like coat and occurs in a wide variety of colors and sizes.\n\n=== Meat and fur ===\nIn the United Kingdom, rabbit was a popular food source for the poorer classes. Among wild rabbits, those native to Spain were reputed to have the highest meat quality, followed by those in the Ardennes. As rabbits hold very little fat, they were hardly ever roasted, being instead boiled, fried, or stewed.The pelt of the rabbit is heavier and more durable than the hare's. Marshall calculated that the value of the skin in proportion to the carcass was greater than that of the sheep and ox. Its fur is primarily used for felting or hats. It is also dyed or clipped, and sold as imitations of more valuable furbearers, such as fur seal. Although cheap and easily acquired, rabbit fur has little durability.\n\n"


id: dfe13db9994cd00c1f6b88e2095c89ab
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2153
content:
"=== Conservation status ===\n\nThough the European rabbit thrives in many of the locations where it was introduced, in its native Iberia, populations are dwindling. In 2005, the Portuguese Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests classified O. cuniculus in Portugal as \"near threatened\", while in 2006, Spanish authorities (SECEM) reclassified it in Spain as \"vulnerable\". In 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reclassified O. cuniculus in Spain, Portugal, and France as \"endangered\", due to the extent of recent declines. However, worldwide, the species is endangered.\n\n== See also ==\n\nCuniculture, on the practice of breeding and raising the domesticated version of the European rabbit\nList of breeds of the domesticated version of the European rabbit\n\n== References ==\n\n=== Bibliography ===\n\n== External links ==\nMedia related to Oryctolagus cuniculus at Wikimedia Commons\nData related to Oryctolagus cuniculus at Wikispecies\nView the rabbit genome in Ensembl\nView the oryCun2 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser."


id: 4a9c46d5e158dd0281e6480a89a52867
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 601
content:
"Morelia spilota, commonly referred to as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are described; ITIS lists six, the Reptile Database six, and the IUCN eight.\n\n== Description ==\n\nM. spilota is a large species of python in the genus, reaching between 2 and 4 m (6.6 and 13.1 ft) in length and weighing up to 15 kg (33 lb). M. s. mcdowelli is the largest subspecies, regularly attaining lengths of 2.7\u20133.0 m (8.9\u20139.8 ft). M. s. variegata is the smallest subspecies, typically 120\u2013180 cm (3.9\u20135.9 ft) in length. The average adult length is roughly 2 m (6.6 ft). However, one 3-year-old captive male M. s. mcdowelli, measured in Ireland, was found to exceed 396 cm (12.99 ft). Males are typically smaller than females; in some regions, females are up to four times heavier. The head is triangular with a conspicuous row of thermoreceptive labial pits.\nThe colouring of M. spilota is highly variable, ranging from olive to black with white or cream and gold markings. "


id: b93b44459a77cf111fc1264de9a013e9
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1742
content:
"The patterning may be roughly diamond-shaped or have intricate markings made up of light and dark bands on a background of gray or a version of brown.\n\n== Reproduction ==\nThe species is oviparous, with females laying 10\u201350 eggs at a time. Afterward, females coil around the eggs to protect them and keep them warm through using muscular contractions to generate heat. This type of maternal care, which is typical for pythons, ceases once the hatchlings have emerged.\n\n== Behaviour ==\nDifferences in activity are noted throughout various subspecies; as a whole, the species is generally active during both daytime and nighttime, although the subspecies M. s. variegata is noted to be primarily nocturnal. Carpet pythons favor arboreal living conditions, although they can also be found on the ground, and they commonly use open spaces to bask.\n\n== Diet ==\nCarpet pythons kill prey by constriction. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, birds, and lizards. Incidents of carpet pythons devouring domestic cats and small dogs have been reported.\n\n== Distribution and habitat ==\nThe species is found throughout mainland Australia, with the exception of the arid centre and the western regions. "


id: ee5bc573f608be5778e68f2354e7523c
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2294
content:
"It is widely distributed throughout the forest regions of Southwest Australia.  It is also found in Indonesia (southern Western New Guinea in Merauke Regency), Papua New Guinea (southern Western Province, the Port Moresby area of Central Province), and on Yule Island. The type locality given is \"Nouvelle-Hollande\" [Australia].It occurs in a wide variety of habitats, from the rainforests of northeastern Queensland (M. s. cheynei) through the River Red Gum/Riverbox woodlands of the Murray and Darling Rivers (M. s. metcalfei), to the arid, treeless islands of the Nuyts Archipelago off the South Australian west coast (M. s. imbricata). It is also found in temperate grasslands with hot and dry weather. It is often found near human habitation, where it performs a useful service by eating rats and other vermin. M. spilota is known to occur in areas that receive snowfall.\n\n== Conservation ==\nM. spilota is not threatened as a species. The nominate subspecies, M. s. spilota, is listed as threatened with extinction in Victoria. The subspecies M. s. imbricata is regarded as near threatened in Western Australia, due to loss of habitat.\n\n== Captivity ==\nThis species is a popular pet among snake enthusiasts. "


id: 713fb6dec0165eccf2155c583348853d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1020
content:
"Some forms can be more irascible than others, such as M. s. mcdowelli and M. s. variegata. Forms that tend to be more even tempered include M. s. spilota and M. s. metcalfei.  Although they can be nippy as hatchlings, most grow into docile adults. However, care must be taken when feeding, as these snakes have a strong \"feeding response\" that can be mistaken for aggression.\nThe care requirements can be generalized for all subspecies. The subspecies M. s. spilota, the cold-weather diamond python, has some separate requirements and habits. As medium to large snakes, carpet pythons need a proportionately sized enclosure that allows for climbing as well as crawling around on the ground. They generally require moderately high basking temperature and moderate humidity. Captive specimens are normally fed live or frozen (defrosted to room temperature) rats or mice, but it is considered best practice to offer a varied diet which includes other types of rodents and birds to create more balanced nutrition. "


id: 7c22df93c3a014d01219712d186fcdb4
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1139
content:
"Young carpet pythons can be fed every 1\u20132 weeks, but adults have slower metabolisms and should be fed every 2\u20134 weeks depending on body condition.With good care, the carpet python is capable of living up to 30 years.\n\n== Subspecies ==\nThe geographic distribution and common names can be summarised as the following, although M. s. imbricata is missing:\n\n=== Hybrids ===\nMorelia spilota X viridis\n\n== Naming and taxonomy ==\nThe first description of M. spilota was by Lac\u00e9p\u00e8de (1804), who placed it in the genus Coluber as Coluber spilotus. The species has since been described by various authors as containing a number of subspecies and hybrids; these have also been known by various informal names. The attempted arrangement of taxa in this, and other, Australasian Pythonidae has produced numerous synonyms. The discreet and roaming habits of this species have produced a low number of recorded specimens, giving inadequate sample numbers to support descriptions of a taxon's morphology. This is the case with proposed names which are sometimes cited, such as the Papuan Morelia spilota harrisoni (Hoser), despite being unaccepted or invalid. "


id: 86304a8ef6a89c954bd9b20abab32bf1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1250
content:
"Common names are regional variants of carpet and diamond python or snake.The following is an incomplete list of synonyms:\n[Coluber] Arges - Linnaeus, 1758\n[Coluber] Argus - Linnaeus, 1766\nColuber spilotus - Lac\u00e9p\u00e8de, 1804\n[Python] punctatus - Merrem, 1820\n[Coluber (Natrix)] Argus - Merrem, 1820\n[Vipera (Echidna)] Spilotes - Merrem, 1820\nPython Peronii - Wagler, 1828\nPython spilotes - Gray In G. Grey, 1841\nMorelia punctata - Gray, 1842\nMorelia argus - A.M.C. Dum\u00e9ril & Bibron, 1844\nMorelia spilotes - Gray, 1849\nM[orelia]. argus var. "


id: c18aba2bdd3f1831df94a1906aee3bd8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1825
content:
"fasciolata - Jan In Jan & Sordelli, 1864\nPython spilotes - Boulenger, 1893\n[Python spilotes spilotes] - Werner, 1909\nPython spilotes macrospila - Werner, 1909\nMorelia argus - Loveridge, 1934\nMorelia argus - Stull, 1935\nMorelia spilotes spilotes - Worrell, 1961\nMorelia argus argus - Stimson, 1969\nPython spilotes - McDowell, 1975\n[Python spilotus spilotus] - L.A. Smith, 1981\nMorelia spilota - Cogger, Cameron & Cogger, 1983\nMorelia spilota - Underwood & Stimson, 1990\nMorelia spilota spilota - Barker & Barker, 1994\n\n== References ==\n\n== Further reading ==\n\n== External links ==\nData related to Morelia spilota at Wikispecies\nMedia related to Morelia spilota at Wikimedia Commons\n\nDPIPWE (2012) Carpet Python (Morelia spilota) PDF \u2014 Detailed description and pest risk assessment \u2014 Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment. Hobart, Tasmania."


id: 7b54fd09fb299f63f44da36effa36
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1132
content:
"The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative the bonobo was more commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee, this species was often called the common chimpanzee or the robust chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister taxon to the human lineage and is humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is larger and more robust than the bonobo, weighing 40\u201370 kg (88\u2013154 lb) for males and 27\u201350 kg (60\u2013110 lb) for females and standing 120 to 150 cm (3 ft 11 in to 4 ft 11 in).\nThe chimpanzee lives in groups that range in size from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forage in much smaller groups during the day. "


id: 4c7a703576ad5a74e572d895a3055075
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 618
content:
"The species lives in a strict male-dominated hierarchy, where disputes are generally settled without the need for violence. Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools, modifying sticks, rocks, grass and leaves and using them for hunting and acquiring honey, termites, ants, nuts and water. The species has also been found creating sharpened sticks to spear small mammals. Its gestation period is eight months. The infant is weaned at about three years old but usually maintains a close relationship with its mother for several years more.\nThe chimpanzee is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Between 170,000 and 300,000 individuals are estimated across its range. The biggest threats to the chimpanzee are habitat loss, poaching, and disease. Chimpanzees appear in Western popular culture as stereotyped clown-figures and have featured in entertainments such as chimpanzees' tea parties, circus acts and stage shows. They are sometimes kept as pets, though their strength, aggressiveness, and unpredictability makes them dangerous in this role. Some hundreds have been kept in laboratories for research, especially in America. Many attempts have been made to teach languages such as American Sign Language to chimpanzees, with limited success.\n\n"


id: a53d14ae0f132033d3cba0e5c1dca505
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1551
content:
"== Etymology ==\nThe English word chimpanzee is first recorded in 1738. It is derived from Vili ci-mpenze or Tshiluba language chimpenze, with a meaning of \"ape\". The colloquialism \"chimp\" was most likely coined some time in the late 1870s. The genus name Pan derives from the Greek god, while the specific name troglodytes was taken from the Troglodytae, a mythical race of cave-dwellers.\n\n== Taxonomy and genetics ==\nThe first great ape known to Western science in the 17th century was the \"orang-outang\" (genus Pongo), the local Malay name being recorded in Java by the Dutch physician Jacobus Bontius. In 1641, the Dutch anatomist Nicolaes Tulp applied the name to a chimpanzee or bonobo brought to the Netherlands from Angola. Another Dutch anatomist, Peter Camper, dissected specimens from Central Africa and Southeast Asia in the 1770s, noting the differences between the African and Asian apes. The German naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach classified the chimpanzee as Simia troglodytes by 1775. Another German naturalist, Lorenz Oken, coined the genus Pan in 1816. The bonobo was recognised as distinct from the chimpanzee by 1933.\n\n=== Evolution ===\n\nDespite a large number of Homo fossil finds, Pan fossils were not described until 2005. "


id: 243f471cdcd229ba63ce5cbbc618eed8
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 206
content:
"Existing chimpanzee populations in West and Central Africa do not overlap with the major human fossil sites in East Africa, but chimpanzee fossils have now been reported from Kenya. This indicates that both humans and members of the Pan clade were present in the East African Rift Valley during the Middle Pleistocene.DNA evidence suggests the bonobo and chimpanzee species separated from each other less than one million years ago (similar in relation between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals). A 2017 genetic study suggests ancient gene flow (introgression) between 200 and 550 thousand years ago from the bonobo into the ancestors of central and eastern chimpanzees. The chimpanzee line split from the last common ancestor of the human line around six million years ago. Because no species other than Homo sapiens has survived from the human line of that branching, both chimpanzee species are the closest living relatives of humans; the lineage of humans and chimpanzees diverged from gorillas (genus Gorilla) about seven million years ago. "


id: 7d7a5f667affc5d233f6f17e77fa0d9d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1150
content:
"A 2003 study argues the chimpanzee should be included in the human branch as Homo troglodytes and notes \"experts say many scientists are likely to resist the reclassification, especially in the emotionally-charged and often disputed field of anthropology\".\n\n=== Subspecies and population status ===\n\nFour subspecies of the chimpanzee have been recognised, with the possibility of a fifth:\nCentral chimpanzee or the tschego (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with about 140,000 individuals existing in the wild.\nWestern chimpanzee (P. troglodytes verus), found in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Ghana with about 52,800 individuals still in existence.\nNigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (P. troglodytes ellioti (also known as P. t. vellerosus)), that live within forested areas across Nigeria and Cameroon, with 6000\u20139000 individuals still in existence.\nEastern chimpanzee (P. troglodytes schweinfurthii), found in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Zambia, with approximately 180,000\u2013256,000 individuals still existing in the wild.\nSoutheastern chimpanzee, P. troglodytes marungensis, in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. "


id: 3c40c3d45a00aea00db6eddf57748a03
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 469
content:
"Colin Groves argues that this is a subspecies, created by enough variation between the northern and southern populations of P. t. schweinfurthii, but it is not recognised by the IUCN.\n\n=== Genome ===\n\nA draft version of the chimpanzee genome was published in 2005 and encodes 18,759 proteins, (compared to 20,383 in the human proteome). The DNA sequences of humans and chimpanzees are very similar and the difference in protein number mostly arises from incomplete sequences in the chimp genome. Both species differ by about 35 million single-nucleotide changes, five million insertion/deletion events and various chromosomal rearrangements. Typical human and chimpanzee protein homologs differ in an average of only two amino acids. About 30% of all human proteins are identical in sequence to the corresponding chimpanzee protein. Duplications of small parts of chromosomes have been the major source of differences between human and chimpanzee genetic material; about 2.7% of the corresponding modern genomes represent differences, produced by gene duplications or deletions, since humans and chimpanzees diverged from their common evolutionary ancestor.\n\n== Characteristics ==\n\nAdult chimpanzees have an average standing height of 150 cm (4 ft 11 in). "


id: 2e63e55817a0a5324180603041a09570
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 311
content:
"Wild adult males weigh between 40 and 70 kg (88 and 154 lb) with females weighing between 27 and 50 kg (60 and 110 lb). In exceptional cases, certain individuals may considerably exceed these measurements, standing over 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) on two legs and weighing up to 136 kg (300 lb) in captivity.The chimpanzee is more robustly built than the bonobo but less than the gorilla. The arms of a chimpanzee are longer than its legs and can reach below the knees. The hands have long fingers with short thumbs and flat fingernails. The feet are adapted for grasping, and the big toe is opposable. The pelvis is long with an extended ilium. A chimpanzee's head is rounded with a prominent and prognathous face and a pronounced brow ridge. It has forward-facing eyes, a small nose, rounded non-lobed ears, a long mobile upper lip. Additionally, adult males have sharp canine teeth. Chimpanzees lack the prominent sagittal crest and associated head and neck musculature of gorillas.Chimpanzee bodies are covered by coarse hair, except for the face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. Chimpanzees lose more hair as they age and develop bald spots. "


id: 752733ea669817c3b6eb5dfb75dec0b0
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1069
content:
"The hair of a chimpanzee is typically black but can be brown or ginger. As they get older, white or grey patches may appear, particularly on the chin and lower region. The skin may range from pale to dark, though females develop swelling pink skin when in oestrus.Chimpanzees are adapted for both arboreal and terrestrial locomotion. Arboreal locomotion consists of vertical climbing and brachiation. On the ground, chimpanzees move both quadrupedally and bipedally. These movements appear to have similar energy costs. As with bonobos and gorillas, chimpanzees move quadrupedally by knuckle-walking, which probably evolved independently in Pan and Gorilla. The physical strength of chimps is around 1.5 times greater than humans due to higher content of fast twitch muscle fibres, one of the chimpanzee's adaptations for climbing and swinging. According to Japan's Asahiyama Zoo, the grip strength of an adult chimpanzee is estimated to be 200 kg (441 lb), while other sources claim figures of up to 330 kg (727 lb).\n\n== Ecology ==\n\nThe chimpanzee is a highly adaptable species. It lives in a variety of habitats, including dry savanna, evergreen rainforest, montane forest, swamp forest, and dry woodland-savanna mosaic. "


id: 9fbcadfe7e446d9e8d681b3da9e420bd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1496
content:
"In Gombe, the chimpanzee mostly uses semideciduous and evergreen forest as well as open woodland. At Bossou, the chimpanzee inhabits multistage secondary deciduous forest, which has grown after shifting cultivation, as well as primary forest and grassland. At Ta\u00ef, it is found in the last remaining tropical rain forest in Ivory Coast. The chimpanzee has an advanced cognitive map of its home range and can repeatedly find food. The chimpanzee builds a sleeping nest in a tree in a different location each night, never using the same nest more than once. Chimpanzees sleep alone in separate nests except for infants or juvenile chimpanzees, which sleep with their mothers.\n\n=== Diet ===\n\nThe chimpanzee is an omnivorous frugivore. It prefers fruit above all other food items but also eats leaves, leaf buds, seeds, blossoms, stems, pith, bark, and resin. A study in Budongo Forest, Uganda found that 64.5% of their feeding time concentrated on fruits (84.6% of which being ripe), particularly those from two species of Ficus, Maesopsis eminii, and Celtis durandii. In addition, 19% of feeding time was spent on arboreal leaves, mostly Broussonetia papyrifera and Celtis mildbraedii. "


id: b78915ea38535f1ccb220578c577ba8b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1728
content:
"While the chimpanzee is mostly herbivorous, it does eat honey, soil, insects, birds and their eggs, and small to medium-sized mammals, including other primates. Insect species consumed include the weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda, Macrotermes termites, and honey bees. The red colobus ranks at the top of preferred mammal prey. Other mammalian prey include red-tailed monkeys, infant and juvenile yellow baboons, bush babies, blue duikers, bushbucks, and common warthogs.Despite the fact that chimpanzees are known to hunt and to collect both insects and other invertebrates, such food actually makes up a very small portion of their diet, from as little as 2% yearly to as much as 65 grams of animal flesh per day for each adult chimpanzee in peak hunting seasons. This also varies from troop to troop and year to year. However, in all cases, the majority of their diet consists of fruits, leaves, roots, and other plant matter. Female chimpanzees appear to consume much less animal flesh than males, according to several studies. "


id: a59d79bfa91a93da0e232782b6517f44
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1556
content:
"Jane Goodall documented many occasions within Gombe Stream National Park of chimpanzees and western red colobus monkeys ignoring each other despite close proximity.Chimpanzees do not appear to directly compete with gorillas in areas where they overlap. When fruit is abundant, gorilla and chimpanzee diets converge, but when fruit is scarce gorillas resort to vegetation. The two apes may also feed on different species, whether fruit or insects. Chimpanzees and gorillas 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=== Mortality and health ===\n\nThe average lifespan of a chimpanzee in the wild is relatively short, usually less than 15 years, although individuals that reach 12 years may live an additional 15 years. On rare occasions, wild chimpanzees may live nearly 60 years. Captive chimpanzees tend to live longer than most wild ones, with median lifespans of 31.7 years for males and 38.7 years for females. The oldest known male captive chimpanzee to have been documented lived to 66 years, and the oldest female, Little Mama, was over 70 years old.Leopards prey on chimpanzees in some areas. "


id: c1f6cb7b80c27242602b1658c981f750
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1830
content:
"It is possible that much of the mortality caused by leopards can be attributed to individuals that have specialised in chimp-killing. Chimpanzees may react to a leopard's presence with loud vocalising, branch shaking, and throwing objects. There is at least one record of chimpanzees killing a leopard cub after mobbing it and its mother in their den. Four chimpanzees could have fallen prey to lions at Mahale Mountains National Park. Although no other instances of lion predation on chimpanzees have been recorded, lions likely do kill chimpanzees occasionally, and the larger group sizes of savanna chimpanzees may have developed as a response to threats from these big cats. Chimpanzees may react to lions by fleeing up trees, vocalising, or hiding in silence.\n\nChimpanzees and humans share only 50% of their parasite and microbe species. This is due to the differences in environmental and dietary adaptations; human internal parasite species overlap more with omnivorous, savanna-dwelling baboons. The chimpanzee is host to the louse species Pediculus schaeffi, a close relative of P. humanus, which infests human head and body hair. By contrast, the human pubic louse Pthirus pubis is closely related to Pthirus gorillae, which infests gorillas. "


id: 93d758e8d048d4730662ba21c6193cc1
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1376
content:
"A 2017 study of gastrointestinal parasites of wild chimpanzees in degraded forest in Uganda found nine species of protozoa, five nematodes, one cestode, and one trematode. The most prevalent species was the protozoan Troglodytella abrassarti.\n\n== Behaviour ==\nRecent studies have suggested that human observers influence chimpanzee behaviour. One suggestion is that drones, camera traps, and remote microphones should be used to record and monitor chimpanzees rather than direct human observation.\n\n=== Group structure ===\n\nChimpanzees live in communities that typically range from around 20 to more than 150 members but spend most of their time traveling in small, temporary groups consisting of a few individuals. These groups may consist of any combination of age and sexes. Both males and females sometimes travel alone. This fission-fusion society may include groups of four types: all-male, adult females and offspring, adults of both sexes, or one female and her offspring. These smaller groups emerge in a variety of types, for a variety of purposes. "


id: b7d88ec0f5476436202f71ffbbeea23b
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1733
content:
"For example, an all-male troop may be organised to hunt for meat, while a group consisting of lactating females serves to act as a \"nursery group\" for the young.At the core of social structures are males, which patrol the territory, protect group members, and search for food. Males remain in their natal communities, while females generally emigrate at adolescence. Males in a community are more likely to be related to one another than females are to each other. Among males, there is generally a dominance hierarchy, and males are dominant over females. However, this unusual fission-fusion social structure, \"in which portions of the parent group may on a regular basis separate from and then rejoin the rest,\" is highly variable in terms of which particular individual chimpanzees congregate at a given time. This is caused mainly by the large measure of individual autonomy that individuals have within their fission-fusion social groups. As a result, individual chimpanzees often forage for food alone, or in smaller groups, as opposed to the much larger \"parent\" group, which encompasses all the chimpanzees which regularly come into contact with each other and congregate into parties in a particular area.\n\n"


id: b05868315018d19ca153e39f16e4207a
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1655
content:
"Male chimpanzees exist in a linear dominance hierarchy. Top-ranking males tend to be aggressive even during dominance stability. This is probably due to the chimpanzee's fission-fusion society, with male chimpanzees leaving groups and returning after extended periods of time. With this, a dominant male is unsure if any \"political maneuvering\" has occurred in his absence and must re-establish his dominance. Thus, a large amount of aggression occurs within five to fifteen minutes after a reunion. During these encounters, displays of aggression are generally preferred over physical attacks.Males maintain and improve their social ranks by forming coalitions, which have been characterised as \"exploitative\" and based on an individual's influence in agonistic interactions. Being in a coalition allows males to dominate a third individual when they could not by themselves, as politically apt chimpanzees can exert power over aggressive interactions regardless of their rank. Coalitions can also give an individual male the confidence to challenge a dominant or larger male. The more allies a male has, the better his chance of becoming dominant. However, most changes in hierarchical rank are caused by dyadic interactions. "


id: e43be4bbd0da4e5b023c547ae4b82eb3
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 2196
content:
"Chimpanzee alliances can be very fickle, and one member may suddenly turn on another if it is to his advantage.\n\nLow-ranking males frequently switch sides in disputes between more dominant individuals. Low-ranking males benefit from an unstable hierarchy and often find increased sexual opportunities if a dispute or conflict occurs. In addition, conflicts between dominant males cause them to focus on each other rather than the lower-ranking males. Social hierarchies among adult females tend to be weaker. Nevertheless, the status of an adult female may be important for her offspring. Females in Ta\u00ef have also been recorded to form alliances. While chimpanzee social structure is often referred to as patriarchal, it is not entirely unheard of for females to forge coalitions against males. There is also at least one recorded case of females securing a dominant position over males in their respective troop, albeit in a captive environment. Social grooming appears to be important in the formation and maintenance of coalitions. "


id: cf97dbdc6996ee54660223d596cde9cd
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1974
content:
"It is more common among adult males than either between adult females or between males and females.Chimpanzees have been described as highly territorial and will frequently kill other chimpanzees, although Margaret Power wrote in her 1991 book The Egalitarians that the field studies from which the aggressive data came, Gombe and Mahale, used artificial feeding systems that increased aggression in the chimpanzee populations studied. Thus, the behaviour may not reflect innate characteristics of the species as a whole. In the years following her artificial feeding conditions at Gombe, Jane Goodall described groups of male chimpanzees patrolling the borders of their territory, brutally attacking chimpanzees that had split off from the Gombe group. A study published in 2010 found that the chimpanzees wage wars over territory, not mates. Patrols from smaller groups are more likely to avoid contact with their neighbours. Patrols from large groups even take over a smaller group's territory, gaining access to more resources, food, and females. "


id: 73799340868e5cdc547233859fbcea4d
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1044
content:
"While it was traditionally accepted that only female chimpanzees immigrate and males remain in their natal troop for life, there are confirmed cases of adult males safely integrating themselves into new communities among West African chimpanzees, suggesting they are less territorial than other subspecies.\n\n=== Mating and parenting ===\n\nChimpanzees mate throughout the year, although the number of females in oestrus varies seasonally in a group. Female chimpanzees are more likely to come into oestrus when food is readily available. Oestrous females exhibit sexual swellings. Chimpanzees are promiscuous: during oestrus, females mate with several males in their community, while males have large testicles for sperm competition. Other forms of mating also exist. A community's dominant males sometimes restrict reproductive access to females. A male and female can form a consortship and mate outside their community. In addition, females sometimes leave their community and mate with males from neighboring communities.These alternative mating strategies give females more mating opportunities without losing the support of the males in their community. Infanticide has been recorded in chimpanzee communities in some areas, and the victims are often consumed. Male chimpanzees practice infanticide on unrelated young to shorten the interbirth intervals in the females. "


id: c4fb78926b3f1388edfa68a33b965885
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1871
content:
"Females sometimes practice infanticide. This may be related to the dominance hierarchy in females or may simply be pathological.Copulation is brief, lasting approximately seven seconds. The gestation period is eight months. Care for the young is provided mostly by their mothers. The survival and emotional health of the young is dependent on maternal care. Mothers provide their young with food, warmth, and protection, and teach them certain skills. In addition, a chimpanzee's future rank may be dependent on its mother's status. Newborn chimpanzees are helpless. For example, their grasping reflex is not strong enough to support them for more than a few seconds. For their first 30 days, infants cling to their mother's bellies. Infants are unable to support their own weight for their first two months and need their mothers' support.When they reach five to six months, infants ride on their mothers' backs. They remain in continual contact for the rest of their first year. When they reach two years of age, they are able to move and sit independently and start moving beyond the arms' reach of their mothers. By four to six years, chimpanzees are weaned and infancy ends. "


id: c2b69ac55581140ecf20ab25ce385145
created_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
updated_at: 2022-12-12 16:43:09
content_type: text
index: document
vector_id: 1842
content:
"The juvenile period for chimpanzees lasts from their sixth to ninth years. Juveniles remain close to their mothers, but interact an increasing amount with other members of their community. Adolescent females move between groups and are supported by their mothers in agonistic encounters. Adolescent males spend time with adult males in social activities like hunting and boundary patrolling. A captive study suggests males can safely immigrate to a new group if accompanied by immigrant females who have an existing relationship with this male. This gives the resident males reproductive advantages with these females, as they are more inclined to remain in the group if their male friend is also accepted.\n\n=== Communication ===\n\nChimpanzees use facial expressions, postures, and sounds to communicate with each other. Chimpanzees have expressive faces that are important in close-up communications. When frightened, a \"full closed grin\" causes nearby individuals to be fearful, as well. Playful chimpanzees display an open-mouthed grin. Chimpanzees may also express themselves with the \"pout\", which is made in distress, the \"sneer\", which is made when threatening or fearful, and \"compressed-lips face\", which is a type of display. When submitting to a dominant individual, a chimpanzee crunches, bobs, and extends a hand. "


