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+The Afghan Hound is a hound distinguished by its thick, fine, silky coat, and a tail with a ring curl at the end. The breed is selectively bred for its unique features in the cold mountains of Afghanistan. Its local name is Tāžī Spay (Pashto: تاژي سپی) or Sag-e Tāzī (Dari: سگ تازی). Other names for this breed are Tāzī, Balkh Hound, Baluchi Hound, and Barakzai Hound.The American Kennel Club (AKC) describes the breed as among the most eye-catching of all. The Afghan Hound is an "aloof and dignified aristocrat of sublime beauty." Despite their regal appearance, the Afghan possesses an "endearing streak of silliness and a profound loyalty."Admired since ancient times for their beauty, the Afghan Hound's distinctive coat has purpose for the breed. Its shag was developed as protection from the harsh montane climate. Their huge paw-pads served as shock absorbers on the rocky terrain.
+
+History
+The Afghan Hound has been identified as a basal breed that predates the emergence of the modern breeds in the 19th century. It is most closely related to the Saluki.
+Connections with other types and breeds from the same area may provide clues to the history. A name for a desert coursing Afghan Hound, Tazi (Sag-e-Tazi), suggests a shared ancestry with the very similar Tazy breed from the Caspian Sea area of Russia and Turkmenistan. Other types or breeds of similar appearance are the Taigan from the mountainous Tian Shan region on the Chinese border of Afghanistan, and the Barakzay, or Kurram Valley Hound.There are at least 13 types known in Afghanistan, and some are being developed (through breeding and record keeping) into modern purebred breeds.Once out of Afghanistan, the history of the Afghan Hound breed became entwined with that of the very earliest dog shows and the Kennel Club (UK). Various sighthounds were brought to England in the 1800s by army officers returning from British India and were exhibited at dog shows, which were then just becoming popular, under various names, such as Barukzy hounds. They were also called "Persian Greyhounds" by the English, in reference to their own indigenous sighthound.One dog in particular, Zardin, was brought in 1907 from India by Captain John Barff. Zardin became the early ideal for the breed type still referred to as the Persian Greyhound. Zardin was the basis of the writing for the first breed standard in 1912, but this breeding cycle was stopped by World War I.
+Out of the longhaired sighthound types known in Afghanistan, two main strains make up the modern Afghan Hound breed. The first were a group of hounds brought to Scotland from Balochistan by Major and Mrs. G. Bell-Murray and Miss Jean C. Manson in 1920, and they are known as the Bell-Murray strain. These dogs were of the “steppe” or “desert” type and were less heavily coated.The second strain was a group of dogs from a kennel in Kabul owned by Mrs. Mary Amps, which she shipped to England in 1925. She and her husband came to Kabul after the Afghan war in 1919, and the foundation sire of her kennel (named Ghazni) in Kabul was a dog that closely resembled Zardin. Her Ghazni strain were the more heavily coated mountain type. Most of the Afghans in the United States were developed from the Ghazni strain from England. The first Afghans in Australia were imported from the United States in 1934, also of the Ghazni strain. The mountain and steppe strains became mixed into the modern Afghan Hound breed, and a new standard was written in 1948, which is still used today.The Afghan Hound can also come with a much more "patterned" coat. This descends from the Bell-Murray's and the Ghazni lines, and is displayed in much lighter feathering of coat, deeper saddle (often actually looking like a saddle) and much shorter hair on the face and neck. It is believed that these particular Afghan Hounds were a product of much hotter parts of the country.The beauty of Afghan Hound dogs caused them to become highly desirable show dogs and pets, and they are recognised by all of the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world. One of the Amps Ghazni, Sirdar, won BIS at Crufts in 1928 and 1930. An Afghan Hound was featured on the cover of Life Magazine, November 26, 1945. Afghan Hounds were the most popular in Australia in the 1970s, and won most of the major shows. An Afghan Hound won Best in Show (BIS) at the 1996 World Dog Show in Budapest. Afghan Hounds were BIS at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1957 and again in 1983. That win also marked the most recent win at Westminster for breeder-owner-handler, Chris Terrell.The Afghan Hound breed is no longer used for hunting, although it can be seen in the sport of lure coursing.On August 3, 2005, Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk announced that his team of researchers had become the first team to successfully clone a dog, an Afghan Hound named Snuppy. In 2006 Hwang Woo-Suk was dismissed from his university position for fabricating data in his research. Snuppy, nonetheless, was a genuine clone, and thus the first cloned dog in history.
+
+Description
+The dogs in this breed occur in many different coat colors.  A study that mapped the genes of Afghan Hounds and discussed the effect of genes on coat colour in the breed was published in the Journal of Heredity in 2010.The Afghan Hound is tall, standing in height 61–74 cm (24–29 in) and weighing 20–27 kg (44–60 lb). The coat may be any colour, but white markings, particularly on the head, are discouraged; many individuals have a black facial mask. A specimen may have a beard on the lower jaw, this is known as a "mandarin". Some Afghan Hounds are almost white, but parti-color hounds (white with islands of red or black) are penalized in the AKC standard, but not by the FCI.Their long, fine-textured coat requires considerable care and grooming. The long topknot and the shorter-haired saddle on the back of the dog are distinctive features of the Afghan Hound coat. The high hipbones and unique small ring on the end of the tail are also characteristics of the breed.The temperament of the typical Afghan Hound can be aloof and dignified, but happy and clownish when playing. This breed, as tends to be the case with sighthounds, has a high prey drive and may kill small animals and livestock. Genomic studies have pointed to the Afghan Hound as one of the oldest of dog breeds.The breed has a reputation among dog trainers of having a relatively slow "obedience intelligence"; Stanley Coren, in his book The Intelligence of Dogs, ranked the breed last among 138 breeds mentioned in ability to understand and obey commands, requiring more than 80 repetitions to understand a new command and obeying on the first command less than 25% of the time. Coren noted that Afghan Hounds were consistently ranked among the least obedient dog breeds among all of the trainers he consulted, with a majority (121 out of 199) ranking the Afghan Hound in the lowest ten breeds out of 133 listed.
+
+Variants
+Khalag Tazi
+The Khalag Tazi is a variety of the Afghan Hound introduced to Europe in 1920, when an Indian Army officer, Major G Bell-Murray, brought some animals back from Afghanistan.
+
+Bakhmull
+Bakhmull (also Bakhmull Tazi or Tazi Bakhmull, also called the Aboriginal Afghan Hound) is a long-haired variety of sighthound. It has been bred mostly in Russia and claimed to represent an Afghan Hound aboriginal to Afghanistan. In Pashto the word bakhmull means "velvet", applied in reference to the dog's silky coat, which is rather abundant and long on the whole body, except the "saddle" (middle to lower back), front parts of all four legs, and the muzzle. Its color is always fawn, ivory, or white, with a darker "saddle", thus it produces an impression of a (yellowish) dog whose coat color matches the khaki sandstone and limestone of the Hindu Kush mountain landscape and deserts. The following colors are not permissible: red, red with white spots, black, and black with white spots.Since the 1980s, the centre of Bakhmull breeding has been Russia, beginning in Moscow, then spreading to various other places in the CIS. The foundation stock was brought to Russia in the 1970s by military men returning from Afghanistan. Natalia Gherasiova (a breeder, of the Blue Dale el Bark Bakhmull kennel, and dog show judge) established the National Bakhmull Club, affiliated with the Russian Federation for Hunting Dogs (RFOS) and Russian Kynological Federation (RKF). A breed standard was first published in 1985, and a shared RFOS–RKF revision was produced in 1997.Bakhmulls hunt solo and in couples. Although its coat is long, it does not require much grooming. Paws are well protected from injuries by "feathering" (thick additional paw fur). Its long, velvety coat and its stamina makes more suitable than many breeds for harsh weather. The breed standard calls for "aristocratic gait and a beautiful head with gazelle-like ... eyes". The eyes should be large, brown, slanting upwards, and of almond shape, with rims outlined black. Black coloration is required on the nose and lips for both white and fawn bakhmulls. The dog's height should be between 68–73 centimetres (27–29 in), 65–70 centimetres (26–28 in) for bitches. The height at the withers is 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 in) higher than at the croup.
+
+Health
+Lifespan
+In various surveys conducted within the UK, Afghan Hounds were shown to have an average lifespan of about 12 years, similar to other breeds of their size. In the 2004 UK Kennel Club survey, the most common causes of death were cancer (31%), old age (20%), cardiac (10.5%), and urologic (5%). Those that died of old age had a median lifespan of 12 years, with 12% living to at least 14.
+
+Health concerns
+Major health issues are allergies, cancer, and hip dysplasia. Sensitivity to anesthesia is an issue the Afghan Hound shares with the rest of the sighthound group, as sighthounds have relatively low levels of body fat. Afghan Hounds are also among the dog breeds most likely to develop chylothorax, a rare condition which causes the thoracic ducts to leak, allowing large quantities of chyle fluid to enter the dog's chest cavity. This condition commonly results in a lung-lobe torsion (in which the dog's lung twists within the chest cavity, requiring emergency surgery), due to the breed's typically deep, "barrel"-shaped chest. If not corrected through surgery, chylothorax can ultimately cause fibrosing pleuritis, or a hardening of the organs, due to scar tissue forming around the organs to protect them from the chyle fluid. Chylothorax is often fatal.Among other health problems are laryngeal paralysis, dilated cardiomyopathy (twice as common in males as females), and dermatological issues such as testosterone-responsive dermatosis of male dogs (often seen in castrated males), nasal depigmentation (also known as Dudley nose), and skin tumours. Afghans are also prone to Central diabetes insipidus (CDI), hypothyroidism and tricholemmoma, a rare condition which mainly affects older dogs in the Middle Ages. Ocular conditions that can occur include medial canthal pocket syndrome (breed predisposition due to shape of head), corneal dystrophy, cataract and generalized progressive retinal atrophy (GPRA). Afghan myelopathy (causing pelvic limb ataxia) is sometimes reported.
+
+In popular culture
+Pablo Picasso said that his 1967 statue located in Chicago's Daley Plaza represented the head of an Afghan Hound named Kabul.
+The Afghan hound has been represented in multiple animated feature films and TV shows, including Universal Pictures' Balto (Sylvie), Disney's Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (Ruby), Hasbro Studios's Pound Puppies (Twiggy) and ABC Kids' Bluey (Indy). An Afghan hound also appeared in the movies One Hundred and One Dalmatians, 101 Dalmatians, 102 Dalmatians, and 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure. Other examples include Prince Amir of Kinjan from What-a-Mess, Persia from Road Rovers, Burt from Foofur, and Brainy Barker from Krypto the Superdog. Malory Archer in the show Archer also had an Afghan hound named Duchess at some point in her childhood.
+In the 1941 novel Between the Acts, Virginia Woolf uses an Afghan hound named Sohrab to represent aspects of one of the book's human characters.The Afghan Hound features prominently in the avant-garde music video of popular French band M83's, "Set in Stone (M83 Remix)".An Afghan Hound was also featured on the cover of the 1967 (45 rpm) single "Have Some More Tea/Victor Henry's Cool Book" by British psychedelic rock band The Smoke.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Saluki
+
+References
+Further reading
+Afghan Hounds (The World of Dogs) Race L., publisher Kingdom Books, PO Box 15, Waterlooville PO7 6BQ, 1999, England, 240 pages, ch 4, pages 81–83, contributed by Natalia Ghersiova, Russia.
+Encyclopedia "Russian Hunting". Scientific edition, publisher "Big Russian Encyclopedia", 1998, pp. 11–12, 187–188
+Indigenous Lop Eared SightHounds From Central Africa To China By Dr. Dominique de Caprona (C) de Caprona 2011
+The reviving and breeding of the ancient Bakhmuul breed from Afghanistan in Russia was appreciated in the US and several respective articles were published in the world known The Afghan Hound Review International Issue November–December 1992 p. 128
+"Two Afghan Hound Breeds In Russia!" The Afghan Hound Review July–August 1995 pp. 102, 104 "The Russian Scene" and in The Afghan Hound Review May–June 2002 pp. 22, 24, 26, 28  "Aboriginal Afghan Hounds".
+
+External links
+
+Afghan Hound at Curlie – An active listing of Afghan Hound links.
+Afghan Hound – Full Breed Profile
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diff --git a/data/animals/African chameleon.txt b/data/animals/African chameleon.txt
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+The African chameleon  or Sahel chameleon  (Chamaeleo africanus) is a species of chameleon native to the Sahel and Nile Valley, with an introduced population present in Greece. An average size may be around 34 cm (13 in) long, including its tail.
+
+Range
+Chamaeleo africanus is found in much of the Sahel, from Mali and Mauritania to Sudan. Its range also extends north along the Nile to Egypt, although it might have been introduced there. From Egypt, the species has been brought to the Peloponnese. It lives in dry savanna.
+
+Description
+The African chameleon is a slow-moving, laterally flattened species growing to a maximum length of 46 cm (18 in). It has bulbous eyes which can move independently of each other and a prehensile tail. It is very similar in appearance to the common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) but has no flaps at the back of its head and is rather larger. It is often green with many black spots, but like other chameleons, is capable of changing its colour. It has a large bony casque on its head. It has long limbs, and the male has tarsal spurs.
+
+Behaviour
+The African chameleon is usually found on the lower branches of trees, on shrubs and on reeds (Phragmites). It grasps its support with its four-toed feet, a pair of toes on either side of the branch, and its tail, and remains stationary or advances slowly and stealthily. It feeds mainly on insects which it catches by suddenly extending its sticky-tipped tongue. It may also eat small lizards or fledgling birds. The female descends to the ground to breed and lays a clutch of up to seventy eggs in an underground nest. These take about three months to hatch and the young chameleons take a year or more to reach maturity.
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/African crocodile.txt b/data/animals/African crocodile.txt
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+The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and central regions of the continent, and lives in different types of aquatic environments such as lakes, rivers, swamps, and marshlands. Although capable of living in saline environments, this species is rarely found in saltwater, but occasionally inhabits deltas and brackish lakes. The range of this species once stretched northward throughout the Nile River, as far north as the Nile Delta. Generally, the adult male Nile crocodile is between 3.5 and 5 m (11 ft 6 in and 16 ft 5 in) in length and weighs 225 to 750 kg (500 to 1,650 lb). However, specimens exceeding 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) in weight have been recorded. It is the largest freshwater predator in Africa, and may be considered the second-largest extant reptile in the world, after the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Size is sexually dimorphic, with females usually about 30% smaller than males. The crocodile has thick, scaly, heavily armoured skin.
+Nile crocodiles are opportunistic apex predators; a very aggressive crocodile, they are capable of taking almost any animal within their range. They are generalists, taking a variety of prey. Their diet consists mostly of different species of fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. They are ambush predators that can wait for hours, days, and even weeks for the suitable moment to attack. They are agile predators and wait for the opportunity for a prey item to come well within attack range. Even swift prey are not immune to attack. Like other crocodiles, Nile crocodiles have a powerful bite that is unique among all animals, and sharp, conical teeth that sink into flesh, allowing a grip that is almost impossible to loosen. They can apply high force for extended periods of time, a great advantage for holding down large prey underwater to drown.Nile crocodiles are relatively social. They share basking spots and large food sources, such as schools of fish and big carcasses. Their strict hierarchy is determined by size. Large, old males are at the top of this hierarchy and have first access to food and the best basking spots. Crocodiles tend to respect this order; when it is infringed, the results are often violent and sometimes fatal. Like most other reptiles, Nile crocodiles lay eggs; these are guarded by the females and males, making the Nile crocodiles one of few reptile species whose males contribute to parental care. The hatchlings are also protected for a period of time, but hunt by themselves and are not fed by the parents.The Nile crocodile is one of the most dangerous species of crocodile and is responsible for hundreds of human deaths every year. It is common and is not endangered, despite some regional declines or extirpations.
+
+Etymology and naming
+The binomial name Crocodylus niloticus is derived from the Greek κρόκη, kroke ("pebble"), δρῖλος, drilos ("worm"), referring to its rough skin; and niloticus, meaning "from the Nile River". The Nile crocodile is called timsah al-nil in Arabic, mamba in Swahili, garwe in Shona, ngwenya in Ndebele, ngwena in Venda, kwena in Sotho and Tswana, and tanin ha-yeor in Hebrew. It also sometimes referred to as the African crocodile, Ethiopian crocodile, and common crocodile.
+
+Taxonomy
+Although no subspecies are currently formally recognized, as many as seven have been proposed, mostly due to variations in appearance and size noted in various populations throughout Africa. These have consisted of C. n. africanus (informally named the East African Nile crocodile), C. n. chamses (the West African Nile crocodile), C. n. cowiei (the South African Nile crocodile), C. n. madagascariensis (the Malagasy or Madagascar Nile crocodile, regionally also known as the croco Mada, which translates to Malagasy crocodile), C. n. niloticus (the Ethiopian Nile crocodile; this would be the nominate subspecies), C. n. pauciscutatus (the Kenyan Nile crocodile) and C. (n.) suchus (now widely considered a separate species).In a study of the morphology of the various populations, including C. (n.) suchus, the appearance of the Nile crocodile sensu lato was found to be more variable than that of any other currently recognized crocodile species, and at least some of these variations were related to locality. For example, a study on Lake Turkana in Kenya (informally this population would be placed in C. n. pauciscutatus) found that the local crocodiles have more osteoderms in their ventral surface than other known populations, and thus are of lesser value in leather trading, accounting for an exceptionally large (possibly overpopulated) local population there in the late 20th century. The segregation of the West African crocodile (C. suchus) from the Nile crocodile has been supported by morphological characteristics, studies of genetic materials and habitat preferences. The separation of the two is not recognized by the IUCN as their last evaluations of the group was in 2008 and 2009, years before the primary publications supporting the distinctiveness of the West African crocodiles.
+
+Evolution
+Although originally thought to be the same species as the West African crocodile, genetic studies using DNA sequencing have revealed that the Nile crocodile is actually more closely related to the crocodiles of the Americas, namely the American (C. acutus), Cuban (C. rhombifer), Morelet's (C. moreletii), and Orinoco crocodiles (C. intermedius). The fossil species C. checchiai from the Miocene in Kenya was about the same size as the extant African Nile crocodiles and shared similar physical characteristics to this specific species.At one time, the fossil species Rimasuchus lloydi was thought to be the closest relative of the Nile crocodile, but more recent research has indicated that Rimasuchus, despite its very large size (about 20–30% bigger than a Nile crocodile with a skull length estimated up to 97 cm (38 in)), is more closely related to the dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) among living species. Two other fossil species from Africa retained in the genus Crocodylus appear to be closely related to the Nile crocodile: C. anthropophagus from Plio-Pleistocene Tanzania and C. thorbjarnarsoni from Plio-Pleistocene Kenya. C. anthropophagus and C. thorbjarnarsoni were both somewhat larger, with projected total lengths up to 7.5–7.6 m (24 ft 7 in – 24 ft 11 in). As well as being larger, C. anthropophagus and C. thorbjarnarsoni, as well as Rimasuchus spp., were all relatively broad-snouted, indicating a specialization at hunting sizeable prey, such as large mammals and freshwater turtles, the latter much larger than any in present-day Africa. Studies have since shown these other African crocodiles to be only more distantly related to the Nile crocodile.Below is a cladogram based on a 2018 tip dating study by Lee & Yates simultaneously using morphological, molecular (DNA sequencing), and stratigraphic (fossil age) data, as revised by the 2021 Hekkala et al. paleogenomics study using DNA extracted from the extinct Voay.
+
+Characteristics and physiology
+Adult Nile crocodiles have a dark bronze colouration above, with faded blackish spots and stripes variably appearing across the back and a dingy off-yellow on the belly, although mud can often obscure the crocodile's actual colour. The flanks, which are yellowish-green in colour, have dark patches arranged in oblique stripes in highly variable patterns. Some variation occurs relative to environment; specimens from swift-flowing waters tend to be lighter in colour than those dwelling in murkier lakes or swamps, which provides camouflage that suits their environment, an example of clinal variation. Nile crocodiles have green eyes. The colouration also helps to camouflage them; juveniles are grey, multicoloured, or brown, with dark cross-bands on the tail and body. The underbelly of young crocodiles is yellowish green. As they mature, Nile crocodiles become darker and the cross-bands fade, especially those on the upper-body. A similar tendency in coloration change during maturation has been noted in most crocodile species.Most morphological attributes of Nile crocodiles are typical of crocodilians as a whole. Like all crocodilians, for example, the Nile crocodile is a quadruped with four short, splayed legs, a long, powerful tail, a scaly hide with rows of ossified scutes running down its back and tail, and powerful, elongated jaws. Their skin has a number of poorly understood integumentary sense organs that may react to changes in water pressure, presumably allowing them to track prey movements in the water. The Nile crocodile has fewer osteoderms on the belly, which are much more conspicuous on some of the more modestly sized crocodilians. The species, however, also has small, oval osteoderms on the sides of the body, as well as the throat. The Nile crocodile shares with all crocodilians a nictitating membrane to protect the eyes and lachrymal glands to cleanse its eyes with tears. The nostrils, eyes, and ears are situated on the top of the head, so the rest of the body can remain concealed under water. They have a four-chambered heart, although modified for their ectothermic nature due to an elongated cardiac septum, physiologically similar to the heart of a bird, which is especially efficient at oxygenating their blood. As in all crocodilians, Nile crocodiles have exceptionally high levels of lactic acid in their blood, which allows them to sit motionless in water for up to 2 hours. Levels of lactic acid as high as they are in a crocodile would kill most vertebrates. However, exertion by crocodilians can lead to death due to increasing lactic acid to lethal levels, which in turn leads to failure of the animal's internal organs. This is rarely recorded in wild crocodiles, normally having been observed in cases where humans have mishandled crocodiles and put them through overly extended periods of physical struggling and stress.
+
+Skull and head morphology
+The mouths of Nile crocodiles are filled with 64 to 68 sharply pointed, cone-shaped teeth (about a dozen less than alligators have). For most of a crocodile's life, broken teeth can be replaced. On each side of the mouth, five teeth are in the front of the upper jaw (premaxilla), 13 or 14 are in the rest of the upper jaw (maxilla), and 14 or 15 are on either side of the lower jaw (mandible). The enlarged fourth lower tooth fits into the notch on the upper jaw and is visible when the jaws are closed, as is the case with all true crocodiles. Hatchlings quickly lose a hardened piece of skin on the top of their mouths called the egg tooth, which they use to break through their eggshells at hatching. Among crocodilians, the Nile crocodile possesses a relatively long snout, which is about 1.6 to 2.0 times as long as broad at the level of the front corners of the eyes. As is the saltwater crocodile, the Nile crocodile is considered a species with medium-width snout relative to other extant crocodilian species.In a search for the largest crocodilian skulls in museums, the largest verifiable Nile crocodile skulls found were several housed in Arba Minch, Ethiopia, sourced from nearby Lake Chamo, which apparently included several specimens with a skull length more than 65 cm (26 in), with the largest one being 68.6 cm (27.0 in) in length with a mandibular length of 87 cm (34 in). Nile crocodiles with skulls this size are likely to measure in the range of 5.4 to 5.6 m (17 ft 9 in to 18 ft 4 in), which is also the length of the animals according to the museum where they were found. However, larger skulls may exist, as this study largely focused on crocodilians from Asia. The detached head of an exceptionally large Nile crocodile (killed in 1968 and measuring 5.87 m (19 ft 3 in) in length) was found to have weighed 166 kg (366 lb), including the large tendons used to shut the jaw.
+
+Biting force
+The bite force exerted by an adult Nile crocodile has been shown by Brady Barr to measure 22 kN (5,000 lbf). However, the muscles responsible for opening the mouth are exceptionally weak, allowing a person to easily hold them shut, and even larger crocodiles can be brought under control by the use of duct tape to bind the jaws together. The broadest snouted modern crocodilians are alligators and larger caimans. For example, a 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) was found to have a notably broader and heavier skull than that of a Nile crocodile measuring 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in). However, despite their robust skulls, alligators and caimans appear to be proportionately equal in biting force to true crocodiles, as the muscular tendons used to shut the jaws are similar in proportional size. Only the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) (and perhaps some of the few very thin-snouted crocodilians) is likely to have noticeably diminished bite force compared to other living species due to its exceptionally narrow, fragile snout. More or less, the size of the tendons used to impart bite force increases with body size and the larger the crocodilian gets, the stronger its bite is likely to be. Therefore, a male saltwater crocodile, which had attained a length around 4.59 m (15 ft 1 in), was found to have the most powerful biting force ever tested in a lab setting for any type of animal.
+
+Size
+The Nile crocodile is the largest crocodilian in Africa, and is generally considered the second-largest crocodilian after the saltwater crocodile. Typical size has been reported to be as much as 4.5 to 5.5 m (14 ft 9 in to 18 ft 1 in), but this is excessive for actual average size per most studies and represents the upper limit of sizes attained by the largest animals in a majority of populations. Alexander and Marais (2007) give the typical mature size as 2.8 to 3.5 m (9 ft 2 in to 11 ft 6 in); Garrick and Lang (1977) put it at from 3.0 to 4.5 m (9 ft 10 in to 14 ft 9 in). According to Cott (1961), the average length and weight of Nile crocodiles from Uganda and Zambia in breeding maturity was 3.16 m (10 ft 4 in) and 137.5 kg (303 lb). Per Graham (1968), the average length and weight of a large sample of adult crocodiles from Lake Turkana (formerly known as Lake Rudolf), Kenya was 3.66 m (12 ft 0 in) and body mass of 201.6 kg (444 lb). Similarly, adult crocodiles from Kruger National Park reportedly average 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in) in length. In comparison, the saltwater crocodile and gharial reportedly both average around 4 m (13 ft 1 in), so are about 30 cm (12 in) longer on average, and the false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) may average about 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in), so may be slightly longer, as well. However, compared to the narrow-snouted, streamlined gharial and false gharial, the Nile crocodile is more robust and ranks second to the saltwater crocodile in total average body mass among living crocodilians, and is  considered to be the second-largest extant reptile. The largest accurately measured male, shot near Mwanza, Tanzania, measured 6.45 m (21 ft 2 in) and weighed about 1,043–1,089 kg (2,300–2,400 lb). Another large male measuring 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) in total length (Cott 1961) was among the largest Nile crocodiles ever recorded. It was estimated to weigh 1,082 kg (2,385 lb).
+
+Size and sexual dimorphism
+Like all crocodiles, they are sexually dimorphic, with the males up to 30% larger than the females, though the difference is considerably less compared to some species, like the saltwater crocodile. Male Nile crocodiles are about 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in) longer on average at sexual maturity and grow more so than females after becoming sexually mature, especially expanding in bulk after exceeding 4 m (13 ft 1 in) in length. Adult male Nile crocodiles usually range in length from 3.3 to 5.0 m (10 ft 10 in to 16 ft 5 in) long; at these lengths, an average sized male may weigh from 150 to 750 kg (330 to 1,650 lb). Very old, mature ones can grow to 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) or more in length (all specimens over 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) from 1900 onward are cataloged later). Large mature males can reach 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) or more in weight. Mature female Nile crocodiles typically measure 2.2 to 3.8 m (7 ft 3 in to 12 ft 6 in), at which lengths the average female specimen would weigh 40 to 250 kg (88 to 551 lb).An old male individual, named "Big Daddy", housed at Mamba Village Centre, Mombasa, Kenya is considered to be one of the largest living Nile crocodiles in captivity. It measures 5 m (16 ft 5 in) in length and weighs 800 kg (1,800 lb). In 2007, at the Katavi National Park, Brady Barr captured a specimen measuring 5.36 m (17 ft 7 in) in total length (with a considerable portion of its tail tip missing). The weight of this specimen was estimated to be 838 kg (1,847 lb), making it one of the largest crocodiles ever to be captured and released alive. The bulk and mass of individual crocodiles can be fairly variable, some animals being relatively slender, while others being very robust; females are often bulkier than males of a similar length. As an example of the body mass increase undergone by mature crocodiles, one of the larger crocodiles handled firsthand by Cott (1961) was 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in) and weighed 414.5 kg (914 lb), while the largest specimen measured by Graham and Beard (1973) was 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) and weighed more than 680 kg (1,500 lb). One of the largest known specimens from South Africa, caught by J.G Kuhlmann in Venda, which was 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) long weighed 905.7 kg (1,997 lb). On the other hand, another individual measuring 5.87 m (19 ft 3 in) in length was estimated to weigh between 770–820 kg (1,700–1,800 lb). In attempts to parse the mean male and female lengths across the species, the mean adult length was estimated to be reportedly 4 m (13 ft 1 in) in males, at which males would average about 280 kg (620 lb) in weight, while that of the female is 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in), at which females would average about 116 kg (256 lb). This gives the Nile crocodile somewhat of a size advantage over the next largest non-marine predator on the African continent, the lion (Panthera leo), which averages 188 kg (414 lb) in males and 124 kg (273 lb) in females, and attains a maximum known weight of 313 kg (690 lb), far less than that of large male crocodiles.Nile crocodiles from cooler climates, like the southern tip of Africa, may be smaller, reaching maximum lengths of only 4 m (13 ft 1 in). A crocodile population from Mali, the Sahara Desert, and elsewhere in West Africa reaches only 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) in length, but it is now largely recognized as a separate species, the West African crocodile.
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+Distribution and habitat
+The Nile crocodile is presently the most common crocodilian in Africa, and is distributed throughout much of the continent. Among crocodilians today, only the saltwater crocodile occurs over a broader geographic area, although other species, especially the spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) (due to its small size and extreme adaptability in habitat and flexibility in diet), seem to actually be more abundant. This species’ historic range, however, was even wider. They were found as far north as the Mediterranean coast in the Nile Delta and across the Red Sea in Israel, Palestine and Syria. The Nile crocodile has historically been recorded in areas where they are now regionally extinct. For example, Herodotus recorded the species inhabiting Lake Moeris in Egypt. They are thought to have become extinct in the Seychelles in the early 19th century (1810–1820). Today, Nile crocodiles are widely found in, among others, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Angola, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sudan, South Sudan, Botswana, and Cameroon. The Nile crocodile's current range of distribution extends from the regional tributaries of the Nile in Sudan and Lake Nasser in Egypt to the Cunene river of Angola, the Okavango Delta of Botswana, and the Olifants river in South Africa.Isolated populations also exist in Madagascar, which were supposed to have likely colonized the island very recently, after the extinction of the endemic crocodile Voay within the last 2000 years. However in 2022 a skull of Crocodylus from Madagascar was found to be around 7,500 years old based on radiocarbon dating, suggesting that the extinction of Voay post-dates the arrival of Nile crocodiles on Madagascar. Nile Crocodiles occur in the western and southern parts of Madagascar from Sambirano to Tôlanaro. They have been spotted in Zanzibar and the Comoros in modern times, but occur very rarely.The species was previously thought to extend in range into the whole of West and Central Africa, but these populations are now typically recognized as a distinct species, the West African (or desert) crocodile. The distributional boundaries between these species were poorly understood, but following several studies, they are now better known. West African crocodiles are found throughout much of West and Central Africa, ranging east to South Sudan and Uganda where the species may come into contact with the Nile crocodile. Nile crocodiles are absent from most of West and Central Africa, but range into the latter region in eastern and southern Democratic Republic of Congo, and along the Central African coastal Atlantic region (as far north to Cameroon). Likely a level of habitat segregation occurs between the two species, but this remains to be confirmed.
+Nile crocodiles may be able to tolerate an extremely broad range of habitat types, including small brackish streams, fast-flowing rivers, swamps, dams, and tidal lakes and estuaries. In East Africa, they are found mostly in rivers, lakes, marshes, and dams, favoring open, broad bodies of water over smaller ones. They are often found in waters adjacent to various open habitats such as savanna or even semi-desert but can also acclimate to well-wooded swamps, extensively wooded riparian zones, waterways of other woodlands and the perimeter of forests. In Madagascar, the remnant population of Nile crocodiles has adapted to living within caves. Nile crocodiles may make use of ephemeral watering holes on occasion. Although not a regular sea-going species as is the American crocodile, and especially the saltwater crocodile, the Nile crocodile possesses salt glands like all true crocodiles (i.e., excluding alligators and caimans), and does on occasion enter coastal and even marine waters. They have been known to enter the sea in some areas, with one specimen having been recorded 11 km (6.8 mi) off St. Lucia Bay in 1917.
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+Invasive potential
+Nile crocodiles have been recently captured in South Florida, though no signs that the population is reproducing in the wild have been found. Genetic studies of Nile crocodiles captured in the wild in Florida have revealed that the specimens are all closely related to each other, suggesting a single source of the introduction. This source remains unclear, as their genetics do not match samples collected from captives at various zoos and theme parks in Florida. When compared to Nile crocodiles from their native Africa, the Florida wild specimens are most closely related to South African Nile crocodiles. It is unknown how many Nile crocodiles are currently at large in Florida. The animals likely were either brought there to be released or are escapees.
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+Behaviour
+Generally, Nile crocodiles are relatively inert creatures, as are most crocodilians and other large, cold-blooded creatures. More than half of the crocodiles observed by Cott (1961), if not disturbed, spent the hours from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. continuously basking with their jaws open if conditions were sunny. If their jaws are bound together in the extreme midday heat, Nile crocodiles may easily die from overheating. Although they can remain practically motionless for hours on end, whether basking or sitting in shallows, Nile crocodiles are said to be constantly aware of their surroundings and aware of the presence of other animals. However, mouth-gaping (while essential to thermoregulation) may also serve as a threat display to other crocodiles. For example, some specimens have been observed mouth-gaping at night, when overheating is not a risk. In Lake Turkana, crocodiles rarely bask at all through the day, unlike crocodiles from most other areas, for unknown reasons, usually sitting motionless partially exposed at the surface in shallows, with no apparent ill effects from the lack of basking on land.
+In South Africa, Nile crocodiles are more easily observed in winter because of the extensive amount of time they spend basking at this time of year. More time is spent in water on overcast, rainy, or misty days. In the southern reaches of their range, as a response to dry, cool conditions that they cannot survive externally, crocodiles may dig and take refuge in tunnels and engage in aestivation. Pooley found in Royal Natal National Park that during aestivation, young crocodiles of 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) total length would dig tunnels around 1.2 to 1.8 m (3 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in) in depth for most, with some tunnels measuring more than 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in), the longest there being 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in). Crocodiles in aestivation are lethargic, entering a state similar to animals that hibernate. Only the largest individuals engaging in aestivation leave the burrow to sun on the warmest days; otherwise, these crocodiles rarely left their burrows. Aestivation has been recorded from May to August.Nile crocodiles usually dive for only a few minutes at a time, but can swim under water up to 30 minutes if threatened. If they remain fully inactive, they can hold their breath for up to 2 hours (which, as aforementioned, is due to the high levels of lactic acid in their blood). They have a rich vocal range and good hearing. Nile crocodiles normally crawl along on their bellies, but they can also "high walk" with their trunks raised above the ground. Smaller specimens can gallop, and even larger individuals are capable of occasional, surprising bursts of speed, briefly reaching up to 14 km/h (8.7 mph). They can swim much faster, moving their bodies and tails in a sinuous fashion, and they can sustain this form of movement much longer than on land, with a maximum known swimming speed of 30 to 35 km/h (19 to 22 mph), more than three times faster than any human.
+Nile crocodiles have been widely known to have gastroliths in their stomachs, which are stones swallowed by animals for various purposes. Although this is clearly a deliberate behaviour for the species, the purpose is not definitively known. Gastroliths are not present in hatchlings, but increase quickly in presence within most crocodiles examined at 2–3.1 m (6 ft 7 in – 10 ft 2 in) and yet normally become extremely rare again in very large specimens, meaning that some animals may eventually expel them. However, large specimens can have a large number of gastroliths. One crocodile measuring 3.84 m (12 ft 7 in) and weighing 239 kg (527 lb) had 5.1 kg (11 lb) of stones in its stomach, perhaps a record gastrolith weight for a crocodile. Specimens shot near Mpondwe on the Semliki River had gastroliths in their stomach despite being shot miles away from any sources for the stones; the same holds true for specimens from Kafue Flats, Upper Zambesi and Bangweulu Swamp, all of which often had stones inside them despite being nowhere near stony regions. Cott (1961) felt that gastroliths were most likely serving as ballast to provide stability and additional weight to sink in water, this bearing great probability over the theories that they assist in digestion and staving off hunger. However, Alderton (1998) stated that a study using radiology found that gastroliths were seen to internally aid the grinding of food during digestion for a small Nile crocodile.Herodotus claimed that Nile crocodiles have a symbiotic relationship with certain birds, such as the Egyptian plover (Pluvianus aegyptius), which enter the crocodile's mouth and pick leeches feeding on the crocodile's blood, but no evidence of this interaction actually occurring in any crocodile species has been found, and it is most likely mythical or allegorical fiction. However, Guggisberg (1972) had seen examples of birds picking scraps of meat from the teeth of basking crocodiles (without entering the mouth) and prey from soil very near basking crocodiles, so felt it was not impossible that a bold, hungry bird may occasionally nearly enter a crocodile's mouth, but not likely as a habitual behaviour.
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+Hunting and diet
+Nile crocodiles are apex predators throughout their range. In the water, this species is an agile and rapid hunter relying on both movement and pressure sensors to catch any prey unfortunate enough to present itself inside or near the waterfront. Out of water, however, the Nile crocodile can only rely on its limbs, as it gallops on solid ground, to chase prey. No matter where they attack prey, this and other crocodilians take practically all of their food by ambush, needing to grab their prey in a matter of seconds to succeed. They have an ectothermic metabolism, so can survive for long periods between meals. However, for such large animals, their stomachs are relatively small, not much larger than a basketball in an average-sized adult, so as a rule, they are anything but voracious eaters. Young crocodiles feed more actively than their elders, according to studies in Uganda and Zambia. In general, at the smallest sizes (0.3–1 m (1 ft 0 in – 3 ft 3 in)), Nile crocodiles were most likely to have full stomachs (17.4% full per Cott); adults at 3–4 m (9 ft 10 in – 13 ft 1 in) in length were most likely to have empty stomachs (20.2%). In the largest size range studied by Cott, 4–5 m (13 ft 1 in – 16 ft 5 in), they were the second most likely to either have full stomachs (10%) or empty stomachs (20%). Other studies have also shown a large number of adult Nile crocodiles with empty stomachs. For example, in Lake Turkana, Kenya, 48.4% of crocodiles had empty stomachs. The stomachs of brooding females are always empty, meaning that they can survive several months without food.The Nile crocodile mostly hunts within the confines of waterways, attacking aquatic prey or terrestrial animals when they come to the water to drink or to cross. The crocodile mainly hunts land animals by almost fully submerging its body under water. Occasionally, a crocodile quietly surfaces so that only its eyes (to check positioning) and nostrils are visible, and swims quietly and stealthily toward its mark. The attack is sudden and unpredictable. The crocodile lunges its body out of water and grasps its prey. On other occasions, more of its head and upper body is visible, especially when the terrestrial prey animal is on higher ground, to get a sense of the direction of the prey item at the top of an embankment or on a tree branch. Crocodile teeth are not used for tearing up flesh, but to sink deep into it and hold on to the prey item. The immense bite force, which may be as high as 5,000 lbf (22,000 N) in large adults, ensures that the prey item cannot escape the grip. Prey taken is often much smaller than the crocodile itself, and such prey can be overpowered and swallowed with ease. When it comes to larger prey, success depends on the crocodile's body power and weight to pull the prey item back into the water, where it is either drowned or killed by sudden thrashes of the head or by tearing it into pieces with the help of other crocodiles.
+Subadult and smaller adult Nile crocodiles use their bodies and tails to herd groups of fish toward a bank, and eat them with quick sideways jerks of their heads. Some crocodiles of the species may habitually use their tails to sweep terrestrial prey off balance, sometimes forcing the prey specimen into the water, where it can be more easily drowned. They also cooperate, blocking migrating fish by forming a semicircle across the river. The most dominant crocodile eats first. Their ability to lie concealed with most of their bodies under water, combined with their speed over short distances, makes them effective opportunistic hunters of larger prey. They grab such prey in their powerful jaws, drag it into the water, and hold it underneath until it drowns. They also scavenge or steal kills from other predators, such as lions and leopards (Panthera pardus). Groups of Nile crocodiles may travel hundreds of meters from a waterway to feast on a carcass. They also feed on dead hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius) as a group (sometimes including three or four dozen crocodiles), tolerating each other. Much of the food from crocodile stomachs may come from scavenging carrion, and the crocodiles could be viewed as performing a similar function at times as do vultures or hyenas on land. Once their prey is dead, they rip off and swallow chunks of flesh. When groups are sharing a kill, they use each other for leverage, biting down hard and then twisting their bodies to tear off large pieces of meat in a "death roll". They may also get the necessary leverage by lodging their prey under branches or stones, before rolling and ripping.The Nile crocodile possesses unique predation behavior characterized by the ability of preying both within water, where it is best adapted, and out of it, which often results in unpredictable attacks on almost any other animal up to twice its size. Most hunting on land is done at night by lying in ambush near forest trails or roadsides, up to 50 m (170 ft) from the water's edge. Since their speed and agility on land is rather outmatched by most terrestrial animals, they must use obscuring vegetation or terrain to have a chance of succeeding during land-based hunts. In one case, an adult crocodile charged from the water up a bank to kill a bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) and instead of dragging it into the water, was observed to pull the kill further on land into the cover of the bush. Two subadult crocodiles were once seen carrying the carcass of a nyala (Tragelaphus angasii) across land in unison. In South Africa, a game warden far from water sources in a savannah-scrub area reported that he saw a crocodile jump up and grab a donkey by the neck and then drag the prey off. Small carnivores are readily taken opportunistically, including African clawless otters (Aonyx capensis)
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+Interspecific predatory relationships
+Living in the rich biosphere of Africa south of the Sahara, the Nile crocodile may come into contact with other large predators. Its place in the ecosystems it inhabits is unique, as it is the only large tetrapod carnivore that spends the majority of its life in water and hunting prey associated with aquatic zones. Large mammalian predators in Africa are often social animals and obligated to feed almost exclusively on land. The Nile crocodile is a strong example of an apex predator. Outside water, crocodiles can meet competition from other dominant savannah predators, notably big cats, which in Africa are represented by lions, cheetahs, and leopards. In general, big cats and crocodiles have a relationship of mutual avoidance. Occasionally, if regular food becomes scarce, both lions and the crocodile will steal kills on land from each other and, depending on size, will be dominant over one another. Both species may be attracted to carrion, and may occasionally fight over both kills or carrion. Most conflicts over food occur near the water and can literally lead to a tug-of-war over a carcass that can end either way, although seldom is there any serious fighting or bloodshed between the large carnivores. Intimidation displays may also resolve these conflicts. However, when size differences are prominent, the predators may prey on each other.
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+Reproduction
+On average, sexual maturity is obtained from 12 to 16 years of age. For males, the onset of sexual maturity occurs when they are about 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) long and mass of 155 kg (342 lb), being fairly consistent. On the other hand, that for females is rather more variable, and may be indicative of the health of a regional population based on size at sexual maturity. On average, according to Cott (1961), female sexual maturity occurs when they reach 2.2 to 3 m (7 ft 3 in to 9 ft 10 in) in length. Similarly, a wide range of studies from southern Africa found that the average length for females at the onset of sexual maturity was 2.33 m (7 ft 8 in). However, stunted sexual maturity appears to occur in populations at opposite extremes, both where crocodiles are thought to be overpopulated and where they are overly reduced to heavy hunting, sometimes with females laying eggs when they measure as small as 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) although it is questionable whether such clutches would bear healthy hatchlings.According to Bourquin (2008), the average breeding female in southern Africa is between 3 and 3.6 m (9 ft 10 in and 11 ft 10 in). Earlier studies support that breeding is often inconsistent in females less than 3 m (9 ft 10 in) and clutch size is smaller, a female at 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in) reportedly never lays more than 35 eggs, while a female measuring 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) can expect a clutch of up to 95 eggs. In "stunted" newly mature females from Lake Turkana measuring 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in), the average clutch size was only 15. Graham and Beard (1968) hypothesized that, while females do continue to grow as do males throughout life, that past a certain age and size that females much over 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) in length in Lake Turkana no longer breed (supported by the physiology of the females examined here); however, subsequent studies in Botswana and South Africa have found evidence of nesting females at least 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in) in length. In the Olifants River in South Africa, rainfall influenced the size of nesting females as only larger females (greater than 3 m (9 ft 10 in)) nested during the driest years. Breeding females along the Olifants were overall larger than those in Zimbabwe. Most females nest only every two to three years while mature males may breed every year.During the mating season, males attract females by bellowing, slapping their snouts in the water, blowing water out of their noses, and making a variety of other noises. Among the larger males of a population, territorial clashes can lead to physical fighting between males especially if they are near the same size. Such clashes can be brutal affairs and can end in mortality but typically end with victor and loser still alive, the latter withdrawing into deep waters. Once a female has been attracted, the pair warble and rub the undersides of their jaws together. Compared to the tender behaviour of the female accepting the male, copulation is rather rough (even described as "rape"-like by Graham & Beard (1968)) in which the male often roars and pins the female underwater. Cott noted little detectable discrepancy in the mating habits of Nile crocodiles and American alligators. In some regions, males have reportedly mated with several females, perhaps any female that enters his claimed territory, though in most regions annual monogamy appears to be most common in this species.
+Females lay their eggs about one to two months after mating. The nesting season can fall in nearly every month of the year. In the northern extremes of the distribution (i.e. Somalia or Egypt), the nesting season is December through February while in the southern limits (i.e. South Africa or Tanzania) is in August through December. In crocodiles between these distributions egg-laying is in intermediate months, often focused between April and July. The dates correspond to about a month or two into the dry season within that given region. The benefits of this are presumably that nest flooding risk is considerably reduced at this time and the stage at which hatchlings begin their lives out of the egg falls roughly at the beginning of the rainy season, when water levels are still relatively low but insect prey is in recovery. Preferred nesting locations are sandy shores, dry stream beds, or riverbanks. The female digs a hole a few metres from the bank and up to 0.5 m (20 in) deep, and lays on average between 25 and 80 eggs. The number of eggs varies and depends partially on the size of the female. The most significant prerequisites to a nesting site are soil with the depth to permit the female to dig out the nest mound, shading to which mother can retire during the heat of the day and access to water. She finds a spot soft enough to allow her to dig a sideways slanted burrow. The mother Nile crocodile deposits the eggs in the terminal chamber and packs the sand or earth back over the nest pit. While, like all crocodilians, the Nile crocodile digs out a hole for a nest site, unlike most other modern crocodilians, female Nile crocodiles bury their eggs in sand or soil rather than incubate them in rotting vegetation. The female may urinate sporadically on the soil to keep it moist, which prevents soil from hardening excessively. After burying the eggs, the female then guards them for the three-month incubation period. Nests have been recorded seldom in concealed positions such as under a bush or in grasses, but normally in open spots on the bank. It is thought the Nile crocodile cannot nest under heavy forest cover as can two of the three other African crocodiles because they do not use rotting leaves (a very effective method of producing heat for the eggs) and thus require sunlight on sand or soil the surface of the egg chamber to provide the appropriate warmth for embryo development. In South Africa, the invasive plant Chromolaena odorata has recently exploded along banks traditionally used by crocodiles as nesting sites and caused nest failures by blocking sunlight over the nest chamber.When Nile crocodiles have been entirely free from disturbance in the past, they may nest gregariously with the nest lying so close together that after hatching time the rims of craters are almost contiguous. These communal nesting sites are not known to exist today, perhaps being most recently recorded at Ntoroko peninsula, Uganda where two such sites remaining until 1952. In one area, 17 craters were found in an area of 25 yd × 22 yd (75 ft × 66 ft), in another 24 in an area of 26 yd × 24 yd (78 ft × 72 ft). Communal nesting areas also reported from Lake Victoria (up until the 1930s) and also in the 20th century at Rahad River, Lake Turkana and Malawi. The behaviour of the female Nile crocodile is considered unpredictable and may be driven by the regional extent of prior human disturbance and human persecution rather than natural variability. In some areas, the mother crocodiles will only leave the nest if she needs to cool off (thermoregulation) by taking a quick dip or seeking out a patch of shade. Females will not leave nest site even if rocks are thrown at her back and several authors note her trance-like state while standing near nest, similar to that of crocodiles in aestivation but not like any other stage in their life-cycle. In such a trance, some mother Nile crocodiles may show no discernable reaction even if pelted with stones. At other times, the female will fiercely attack anything approaching their eggs, sometimes joined by another crocodile which may be the sire of the young. In other areas, the nesting female may disappear upon potential disturbance which may allow the presence of both the female and her buried nest to escape unwanted detection by predators. Despite the attentive care of both parents, the nests are often raided by humans and monitor lizards or other animals while she is temporarily absent.At a reported incubation period of about 90 days, the stage is notably shorter than that of the American alligator (110–120 days) but slightly longer than that of the mugger crocodile. Nile crocodiles have temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), which means the sex of their hatchlings is determined not by genetics as is the case in mammals and birds, but by the average temperature during the middle third of their incubation period. If the temperature inside the nest is below 31.7 °C (89.1 °F), or above 34.5 °C (94.1 °F), the offspring will be female. Males can only be born if the temperature is within that narrow range. The hatchlings start to make a high-pitched chirping noise before hatching, which is the signal for the mother to rip open the nest. It is thought to be either difficult or impossible for hatchlings to escape the nest burrow without assistance, as the surface may become very heavy and packed above them. The mother crocodile may pick up the eggs in her mouth, and roll them between their tongue and the upper palate to help crack the shell and release her offspring. Once the eggs hatch, the female may lead the hatchlings to water, or even carry them there in her mouth, as female American alligators have been observed doing.
+Hatchling Nile crocodiles are between 280 and 300 mm (11 and 12 in) long at first and weigh around 70 g (2.5 oz). The hatchlings grow approximately that length each year for the first several years. The new mother will protect her offspring for up to two years, and if there are multiple nests in the same area, the mothers may form a crèche. During this time, the mothers may pick up their offspring either in their mouths or gular fold (throat pouch) to keep the babies safe. The mother will sometimes carry her young on her back to avoid natural predators of the small crocodiles, which can be surprisingly bold even with the mother around. Nile crocodiles of under two years are much more rarely observed than larger specimens, and more seldom seen than the same age young in several other types of crocodilian. Young crocodiles are shy and evasive due to the formidable array of predators that they must face in sub-Saharan Africa, spending little time sunning and moving about nocturnally whenever possible. Crocodiles two years old and younger may spend a surprising amount of time on land, as evidenced by the range of terrestrial insects found in their stomachs, and their lifestyle may resemble that of a semi-aquatic mid-sized lizard more so than the very aquatic lives of older crocodiles. At the end of the two years, the hatchlings will be about 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) long, and will naturally depart the nest area, avoiding the territories of older and larger crocodiles. After this stage, crocodiles may loosely associate with similarly sized crocodiles and many enter feeding congregations of crocodiles once they attain 2 m (6 ft 7 in), at which size predators and cannibal crocodiles become much less of a concern. Crocodile longevity is not well established, but larger species like the Nile crocodile live longer, and may have a potential average life span of 70 to 100 years, though no crocodilian species commonly exceeds a lifespan of 50 to 60 years in captivity.
+
+Natural mortality of young Nile crocodiles
+An estimated 10% of eggs will survive to hatch and a mere 1% of young that hatch will successfully reach adulthood. The full range of causes for mortality of young Nile crocodiles is not well understood, as very young and small Nile crocodiles or well-concealed nests are only sporadically observed. Unseasonable flooding (during nesting which corresponds with the regional dry season) is not uncommon and has probably destroyed several nests, although statistical likelihood of such an event is not known. The only aspect of mortality in this age range that is well studied is predation and this is most likely the primary cause of death while the saurians are still diminutive. The single most virulent predator of nests is almost certainly the Nile monitor. This predator can destroy about 50% of studied Nile crocodile eggs on its own, often being successful (as are other nest predators) in light of the trance-like state that the mother crocodile enters while brooding or taking advantage of moments where she is distracted or needs to leave the nest. In comparison, perenties (Varanus giganteus) (the Australian ecological equivalent of the Nile monitor) succeeds in depredating about 90% of freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnsoni) eggs and about 25% of saltwater crocodile nests. Mammalian predators can take nearly as heavy of a toll, especially large mongooses such the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the north and the water mongoose in the south of crocodile's range. Opportunistic mammals who attack Nile crocodile nests have included wild pigs, medium-sized wild cats and baboon troops. Like Nile monitors, mammalian predators probably locate crocodile nests by scent as the padded-down mound is easy to miss visually. Marabou storks sometimes follow monitors to pirate crocodile eggs for themselves to consume, although can also dig out nests on their own with their massive, awl-like bills if they can visually discern the nest mound.Predators of Nile crocodiles eggs have ranged from insects such as the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) to predators as large and formidable as spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Unsurprisingly, once exposed to the elements as hatchlings, the young, small Nile crocodiles are even more vulnerable. Most of the predators of eggs also opportunistically eat young crocodiles, including monitors and marabous, plus almost all co-existing raptorial birds, including vultures, eagles, and large owls and buzzards. Many "large waders" are virulent predators of crocodile hatchlings, from dainty little egrets (Egretta garzetta) and compact hamerkops (Scopus umbretta) to towering saddle-billed storks (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), goliath herons and shoebills (Balaeniceps rex). Larger corvids and some non-wading water birds (i.e. pelicans) can also take some young Nile crocodiles. Mammalian carnivores take many hatchlings as well as large turtles and snakes, large predatory freshwater fish, such as the African tigerfish, the introduced largemouth bass, and possibly bull sharks, when they enter river systems. When crocodile nests are dug out and the young placed in water by the mother, in areas such as Royal Natal National Park predators can essentially enter a feeding frenzy. It may take a few years before predation is no longer a major cause of mortality for young crocodiles. African fish eagles can take crocodile hatchlings up to a few months of age and honey badgers can prey on yearlings. Once they reach their juvenile stage, large African rock pythons and big cats remain as the only predatory threat to young crocodiles. Perhaps no predator is more deadly to young Nile crocodiles than larger crocodiles of their own species, as, like most crocodilians, they are cannibalistic. This species may be particularly dangerous to their own kind considering their aggressive dispositions. While the mother crocodile will react aggressively toward potential predators and has been recorded chasing and occasionally catching and killing such interlopers into her range, due to the sheer number of animals who feed on baby crocodiles and the large number of hatchlings, she is more often unsuccessful at deflecting such predators.
+
+Environmental status
+Conservation organizations have determined that the main threats to Nile crocodiles, in turn, are loss of habitat, pollution, hunting, and human activities such as accidental entanglement in fishing nets. Though the Nile crocodile has been hunted since ancient times, the advent of the readily available firearm made it much easier to kill these potentially dangerous reptiles. The species began to be hunted on a much larger scale from the 1940s to the 1960s, primarily for high-quality leather, although also for meat with its purported curative properties. The population was severely depleted, and the species faced extinction. National laws, and international trade regulations have resulted in a resurgence in many areas, and the species as a whole is no longer wholly threatened with extinction. The status of Nile crocodiles was variable based on the regional prosperity and extent of conserved wetlands by the 1970s. However, as is the case for many large animal species whether they are protected or not, persecution and poaching have continued apace and between the 1950s and 1980s, an estimated 3 million Nile crocodiles were slaughtered by humans for the leather trade. In Lake Sibaya, South Africa, it was determined that in the 21st century, persecution continues as the direct cause for the inability of Nile crocodiles to recover after the leather trade last century. Recovery for the species appears quite gradual and few areas have recovered to bear crocodile populations, i.e. largely insufficient to produce sustainable populations of young crocodiles, on par with times prior to the peak of leather trading. Crocodile 'protection programs' are artificial environments where crocodiles exist safely and without the threat of extermination from hunters.
+An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 individuals occur in the wild today. The IUCN Red List assesses the Nile crocodile as "Least Concern (LR/lc)". The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) lists the Nile crocodile under Appendix I (threatened with extinction) in most of its range; and under Appendix II (not threatened, but trade must be controlled) in the remainder, which either allows ranching or sets an annual quota of skins taken from the wild. The Nile crocodile is widely distributed, with strong, documented populations in many countries in eastern and southern Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This species is farmed for its meat and leather in some parts of Africa. Successful sustainable-yield programs focused on ranching crocodiles for their skins have been successfully implemented in this area, and even countries with quotas are moving toward ranching. In 1993, 80,000 Nile crocodile skins were produced, the majority from ranches in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Crocodile farming is one of the few burgeoning industries in Zimbabwe. Unlike American alligator flesh, Nile crocodile meat is generally considered unappetizing although edible as tribes such as the Turkana may opportunistically feed on them. According to Graham and Beard (1968), Nile crocodile meat has an "indescribable" and unpleasant taste, greasy texture and a "repellent" smell.The conservation situation is more grim in Central and West Africa presumably for both the Nile and West African crocodiles. The crocodile population in this area is much more sparse, and has not been adequately surveyed. While the natural population in these areas may be lower due to a less-than-ideal environment and competition with sympatric slender-snouted and dwarf crocodiles, extirpation may be a serious threat in some of these areas. At some point in the 20th century, the Nile crocodile appeared to have been extirpated as a breeding species from Egypt, but has locally re-established in some areas such as the Aswan Dam. Additional factors are a loss of wetland habitats, which is addition to direct dredging, damming and irrigation by humans, has retracted in the east, south and north of the crocodile's range, possibly in correlation with global warming. Retraction of wetlands due both to direct habitat destruction by humans and environmental factor possibly related to global warming is perhaps linked to the extinction of Nile crocodiles in the last few centuries in Syria, Israel and Tunisia. In Lake St. Lucia, highly saline water has been pumped into the already brackish waters due to irrigation practices. Some deaths of crocodiles appeared to have been caused by this dangerous salinity, and this one-time stronghold for breeding crocodiles has experienced a major population decline. In yet another historic crocodile stronghold, the Olifants River, which flows through Kruger National Park, numerous crocodile deaths have been reported. These are officially due to unknown causes but analysis has indicated that environmental pollutants caused by humans, particularly the burgeoning coal industry, are the primary cause. Much of the contamination of crocodiles occurs when they consume fish themselves killed by pollutants. Additional ecological surveys and establishing management programs are necessary to resolve these questions.
+The Nile crocodile is the top predator in its environment, and is responsible for checking the population of mesopredator species, such as the barbel catfish and lungfish, that could overeat fish populations on which other species, including birds, rely. One of the fish predators seriously affected by the unchecked mesopredator fish populations (due again to crocodile declines) is humans, particularly with respect to tilapia, an important commercial fish that has declined due to excessive predation. The Nile crocodile also consumes dead animals that would otherwise pollute the waters.
+
+Attacks on humans
+Much of the hunting of and general animosity toward Nile crocodiles stems from their reputation as a man-eater, which is not entirely unjustified. Despite most attacks going unreported, the Nile crocodile along with the saltwater crocodile is estimated to kill hundreds (possibly thousands) of people each year, which is more than all other crocodilian species combined. While these species are much more aggressive toward people than other living crocodilians (as is statistically supported by estimated numbers of crocodile attacks), Nile crocodiles are not particularly more likely to behave aggressively to humans or regard humans as potential prey than saltwater crocodiles. However, unlike other "man-eating" crocodile species, including the saltwater crocodile, the Nile crocodile lives in close proximity to human populations through most of its range, so contact is more frequent. This combined with the species' large size creates a higher risk of attack. Crocodiles as small as 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) are capable of overpowering and successfully preying on small apes and hominids, presumably including children and smaller adult humans, but a majority of fatal attacks on humans are by crocodiles reportedly exceeding 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in length.In studies preceding the slaughter of crocodiles for the leather trade, when there were believed to be many more Nile crocodiles, a roughly estimated 1,000 human fatalities per annum by Nile crocodiles were posited, with a roughly equal number of aborted attacks. A more contemporary study claimed the number of attacks by Nile crocodiles per year as 275 to 745, of which 63% are fatal, as opposed to an estimated 30 attacks per year by saltwater crocodiles, of which 50% are fatal. With the Nile crocodile and the saltwater crocodile, the mean size of crocodiles involved in non-fatal attacks was about 3 m (9 ft 10 in) as opposed to a reported range of 2.5–5 m (8 ft 2 in – 16 ft 5 in) or larger for crocodiles responsible for fatal attacks. The average estimated size of Nile crocodiles involved in fatal attacks is 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in). Since a majority of fatal attacks are believed to be predatory in nature, the Nile crocodile can be considered the most prolific predator of humans among wild animals. In comparison, lions, in the years from 1990 to 2006, were responsible for an estimated one-eighth as many fatal attacks on humans in Africa as were Nile crocodiles. Although Nile crocodiles are more than a dozen times more numerous than lions in the wild, probably fewer than a quarter of living Nile crocodiles are old and large enough to pose a danger to humans. Other wild animals responsible for more annual human mortalities either attack humans in self-defense, as do venomous snakes, or are deadly only as vectors of disease or infection, such as snails, rats and mosquitos.Regional reportage from numerous areas with large crocodile populations nearby indicate, per district or large village, that crocodiles often annually claim about a dozen or more lives per year. Miscellaneous examples of areas in the last few decades with a dozen or more fatal crocodile attacks annually include Korogwe District, Tanzania, Niassa Reserve, Mozambique and the area around Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia. Despite historic claims that the victims of Nile crocodile attacks are usually women and children, there is no detectable trends in this regard and any human, regardless of age, gender, or size is potentially vulnerable.  Incautious human behavior is the primary drive behind crocodile attacks. Most fatal attacks occur when a person is standing a few feet away from water on a non-steep bank, is wading in shallow waters, is swimming or has limbs dangling over a boat or pier. Many victims are caught while crouching, and people in jobs that might require heavy usage of water, including laundry workers, fisherman, game wardens and regional guides, are more likely to be attacked. Many fisherman and other workers who are not poverty-stricken will go out of their way to avoid waterways known to harbor large crocodile populations.Most biologists who have engaged in months or even years of field work with Nile crocodiles, including Cott (1961), Graham and Beard (1968) and Guggisberg (1972), have found that with sufficient precautions, their own lives and the lives of their local guides were rarely, if ever, at risk in areas with many crocodiles. However, Guggisberg accumulated several earlier writings that noted the lack of fear of crocodiles among Africans, driven in part perhaps by poverty and superstition, that caused many observed cases of an "appalling" lack of caution within view of large crocodiles, as opposed to the presence of bold lions, which engendered an appropriate panic. Per Guggisberg, this disregard (essentially regarding the crocodile as a lowly creature and thus non-threatening to humans) may account for the higher frequency of deadly attacks by crocodiles than by large mammalian carnivores. Most locals are well aware of how to behave in crocodile-occupied areas, and some of the writings quoted by Guggisberg from the 19th and 20th century may need to be taken with a "grain of salt".
+
+See also
+Pansteatitis
+
+Notes
+References
+External links
+
+ Media related to Crocodylus niloticus at Wikimedia Commons
+"Nile crocodile" at the Encyclopedia of Life 
+Multimedia information from National Geographic Kids site
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+African elephants are members of the genus Loxodonta comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (L. africana) and the smaller African forest elephant (L. cyclotis). Both are social herbivores with grey skin, but differ in the size and colour of their tusks and in the shape and size of their ears and skulls.
+Both species are considered at heavy risk of extinction on the IUCN Red List; as of 2021, the bush elephant is considered endangered and the forest elephant is considered critically endangered. They are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching for the illegal ivory trade is a threat in several range countries as well.
+Loxodonta is one of two extant genera of the family Elephantidae. The name refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of their molar teeth. Fossil remains of Loxodonta species have been excavated in Africa, dating to the Middle Pliocene.
+
+Taxonomy
+The first scientific description of the African elephant was written in 1797 by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, who proposed the scientific name Elephas africanus.Loxodonte was proposed as a generic name for the African elephant by Frédéric Cuvier in 1825. This name refers to the lozenge-shaped enamel of the molar teeth, which differs significantly from the rounded shape of the Asian elephant's molar enamel.
+An anonymous author used the Latinized spelling Loxodonta in 1827. Anonymous was recognized as authority by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature in 1999.Elephas (Loxodonta) cyclotis was proposed by Paul Matschie in 1900, who described three African elephant zoological specimens from Cameroon whose skulls differed in shape from elephant skulls collected elsewhere in Africa. In 1936, Glover Morrill Allen considered this elephant to be a distinct species and called it 'forest elephant'; later authors considered it to be a subspecies. Morphological and genetic analyses have since provided evidence for species-level differences between the African bush elephant and the African forest elephant.In 1907, Richard Lydekker proposed six African elephant subspecies based on the different sizes and shapes of their ears. They are all considered synonymous with the African bush elephant.A third species, the West African elephant, has also been proposed but it needs confirmation. It is thought that this lineage has been isolated from the others for 2.4 million years.
+
+Extinct African elephants
+Between the late 18th and 21st centuries, the following extinct African elephants were described on the basis of fossil remains:
+
+North African elephant († Loxodonta africana pharaohensis) proposed by Paulus Edward Pieris Deraniyagala in 1948 was a specimen from Fayum in Egypt.
+† Loxodonta atlantica was proposed as Elephas atlanticus by Auguste Pomel in 1879 based on a skull and bones found in Ternifine, Algeria.
+† Loxodonta exoptata proposed by Wilhelm Otto Dietrich in 1941 was based on teeth found in Laetoli, Tanzania.
+† Loxodonta adaurora proposed by Vincent Maglio in 1970 was a complete skeleton found in Kanapoi, Kenya.
+† Loxodonta cookei proposed by William J. Sanders in 2007 based on teeth found in the Varswater Formation at Langebaanweg, South Africa.
+
+Phylogeny
+Analysis of nuclear DNA sequences indicates that the genetic divergence between African bush and forest elephants dates 2.6 – 5.6 million years ago. The divergence between the Asian elephant and the woolly mammoths is estimated 2.5 – 5.4 million years ago, which strongly supports their status as distinct species. The African forest elephant was found to have a high degree of genetic diversity, perhaps reflecting periodic fragmentation of their habitat during the climatic changes in the Pleistocene.
+Gene flow between the two African elephant species was examined at 21 locations. The analysis revealed that several African bush elephants carried mitochondrial DNA of African forest elephants, indicating they hybridised in the savanna-forest transition zone in ancient times. However, despite the hybiridisation at the contact zone between the two species, there appears to have been little effective gene flow between the two species since their initial split.DNA from the European straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) indicates that the extinct elephant genus Palaeoloxodon is more closely related to African elephants than to Asian elephants or mammoths. Analysis of the genome of P. antiquus also shows that Palaeloxodon extensively hybridised with African forest elephants, with the mitochondrial genome and over 30% of the nuclear genome of P. antiquus deriving from L. cyclotis, with this ancestry being closer to modern west African populations than to central African populations of forest elephants.
+
+Description
+Skin, ears, and trunk
+African elephants have grey folded skin up to 30 mm (1.2 in) thick that is covered with sparse, bristled dark-brown to black hair. Short tactile hair grows on the trunk, which has two finger-like processes at the tip, whereas Asian elephants only have one. Their large ears help to reduce body heat; flapping them creates air currents and exposes the ears' inner sides where large blood vessels increase heat loss during hot weather. The trunk is a prehensile elongation of its upper lip and nose. This highly sensitive organ is innervated primarily by the trigeminal nerve, and thought to be manipulated by about 40,000–60,000 muscles. Because of this muscular structure, the trunk is so strong that elephants can use it for lifting about 3% of their own body weight. They use it for smelling, touching, feeding, drinking, dusting, producing sounds, loading, defending and attacking. Elephants sometimes swim underwater and use their trunks as snorkels.
+
+Tusks and molars
+Both male and female African elephants have tusks that grow from deciduous teeth called tushes, which are replaced by tusks when calves are about one year old. Tusks are composed of dentin, which forms small diamond-shaped structures in the tusk's center that become larger at its periphery. Tusks are primarily used to dig for roots and strip the bark from trees for food, for fighting each other during mating season, and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from 23 to 45 kg (51–99 lb) and can be from 1.5 to 2.4 m (5–8 ft) long. They are curved forward and continue to grow throughout the elephant's lifetime.The dental formula of elephants is 1.0.3.30.0.3.3 × 2 = 26. Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 5 kg (11 lb) and measures about 30 cm (12 in) long. As the front pair wears down and drops out in pieces, the back pair moves forward, and two new molars emerge in the back of the mouth. Elephants replace their teeth four to six times in their lifetimes. At around 40 to 60 years of age, the elephant loses the last of its molars and will likely die of starvation which is a common cause of death. African elephants have 24 teeth in total, six on each quadrant of the jaw. The enamel plates of the molars are fewer in number than in Asian elephants.
+
+Size
+The African bush elephant is the largest terrestrial animal. Cows are 2.2–2.6 m (7.2–8.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 2,160–3,232 kg (4,762–7,125 lb), while bulls are 3.2–4 m (10–13 ft) tall and weigh 4,700–6,048 kg (10,362–13,334 lb). Its back is concave-shaped, while the back of the African forest elephant is nearly straight.
+The largest recorded individual stood 3.96 metres (13.0 ft) at the shoulder, and is estimated to have weighed 10,400 kg (22,900 lb). The tallest recorded individual stood 4.21 m (13.8 ft) at the shoulder and weighed 8,000 kg (18,000 lb).The African forest elephant is smaller with a weight of up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) and a shoulder height of 1.8–2.4 m (5 ft 11 in – 7 ft 10 in) in females and 2.4–3 m (7 ft 10 in – 9 ft 10 in) in males. It is the third largest terrestrial animal.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+African elephants are distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa, where they inhabit Sahelian scrubland and arid regions, tropical rainforests, mopane and miombo woodlands. African forest elephant populations occur only in Central Africa.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+Sleeping pattern
+Elephants are the animals with the lowest sleep times, especially African elephants. Their average sleep was found to be only 2 hours in 24-hour cycles.
+
+Family
+Both African elephant species live in family units comprising several adult cows, their daughters and their subadult sons. Each family unit is led by an older cow known as the matriarch. African forest elephant groups are less cohesive than African bush elephant groups, probably because of the lack of predators.When separate family units bond, they form kinship or bond groups. After puberty, male elephants tend to form close alliances with other males. While females are the most active members of African elephant groups, both male and female elephants are capable of distinguishing between hundreds of different low frequency infrasonic calls to communicate with and identify each other.Elephants use some vocalisations that are beyond the hearing range of humans, to communicate across large distances. Elephant mating rituals include the gentle entwining of trunks.The bulls were believed to be solitary animals, becoming independent once reaching maturity. New research suggests that bulls maintain ecological knowledge for the herd, facilitating survival when searching for food and water, which also benefits the young bulls who associate with them. Bulls only return to the herd to breed or to socialize; they do not provide prenatal care to their offspring, but rather play a fatherly role to younger bulls to show dominance.
+
+Feeding
+While feeding, the African elephant uses its trunk to pluck leaves and its tusk to tear at branches, which can cause enormous damage to foliage. Fermentation of the food takes place in the hindgut, thus enabling large food intakes. The large size and hindgut of the African elephant also allows for digestion of various plant parts, including fibrous stems, bark and roots.
+
+Intelligence
+African elephants are highly intelligent. They have a very large and highly convoluted neocortex, a trait they share with humans, apes and some dolphin species. They are amongst the world's most intelligent species. With a mass of just over 5 kg (11 lb), the elephant brain is larger than that of any other terrestrial animal. The elephant's brain is similar to a human brain in terms of structure and complexity; the elephant's cortex has as many neurons as that of a human brain, suggesting convergent evolution.Elephants exhibit a wide variety of behaviours, including those associated with grief, learning, mimicry, art, play, a sense of humor, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory and possibly language. All of these behaviors point to a highly intelligent species that is thought to be equal with cetaceans and primates.
+
+Reproduction
+African elephants are at their most fertile between the ages of 25 and 45. Calves are born after a gestation period of up to nearly two years. The calves are cared for by their mother and other young females in the group, known as allomothering.African elephants show sexual dimorphism in weight and shoulder height by age 20, due to the rapid early growth of males. By age 25, males are double the weight of females; however, both sexes continue to grow throughout their lives.
+Female African elephants are able to start reproducing at around 10 to 12 years of age, and are in estrus for about 2 to 7 days. They do not mate at a specific time; however, they are less likely to reproduce in times of drought than when water is plentiful. The gestation period of an elephant is 22 months and fertile females usually give birth every 3–6 years, so if they live to around 50 years of age, they may produce 7 offspring. Females are a scarce and mobile resource for the males so there is intense competition to gain access to estrous females.
+Post sexual maturity, males begin to experience musth, a physical and behavioral condition that is characterized by elevated testosterone, aggression and more sexual activity. Musth also serves a purpose of calling attention to the females that they are of good quality, and it cannot be mimicked as certain calls or noises may be. Males sire few offspring in periods when they are not in musth. During the middle of estrus, female elephants look for males in musth to guard them. The females will yell, in a loud, low way to attract males from far away. Male elephants can also smell the hormones of a female ready for breeding. This leads males to compete with each other to mate, which results in the females mating with older, healthier males. Females choose to a point who they mate with, since they are the ones who try to get males to compete to guard them. However, females are not guarded in the early and late stages of estrus, which may permit mating by younger males not in musth.Males over the age of 25 compete strongly for females in estrus, and are more successful the larger and more aggressive they are. Bigger males tend to sire bigger offspring. Wild males begin breeding in their thirties when they are at a size and weight that is competitive with other adult males. Male reproductive success is maximal in mid-adulthood and then begins to decline. However, this can depend on the ranking of the male within their group, as higher-ranking males maintain a higher rate of reproduction. Most observed matings are by males in musth over 35 years of age. Twenty-two long observations showed that age and musth are extremely important factors; "… older males had markedly elevated paternity success compared with younger males, suggesting the possibility of sexual selection for longevity in this species.": 287 Males usually stay with a female and her herd for about a month before moving on in search of another mate. Less than a third of the population of female elephants will be in estrus at any given time and the gestation period of an elephant is long, so it makes more evolutionary sense for a male to search for as many females as possible rather than stay with one group.
+
+Threats
+Both species are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching for the illegal ivory trade is a threat in several range countries as well. The African bush elephant is listed as Endangered and the African forest elephant as Critically Endangered on the respective IUCN Red Lists.Based on vegetation types that provide suitable habitat for African elephants, it was estimated that in the early 19th century a maximum of 26,913,000 African elephants might have been present from the Sahel in the north to the Highveld in the south. Decrease of suitable habitat was the major cause for the decline of elephant populations until the 1950s. Hunting African elephants for the ivory trade accelerated the decline from the 1970s onwards. The carrying capacity of remaining suitable habitats was estimated at 8,985,000 elephants at most by 1987.
+In the 1970s and 1980s, the price for ivory rose, and poaching for ivory increased in particular in Central African range countries where access to elephant habitats was facilitated by logging and petroleum mining industries.
+Between 1976 and 1980, about 830 t (820 long tons; 910 short tons) raw ivory was exported from Africa to Hong Kong and Japan, equivalent to tusks of about 222,000 African elephants.The first continental elephant census was carried out in 1976. At the time, 1.34 million elephants were estimated to range over 7,300,000 km2 (2,800,000 sq mi).
+In the 1980s, it was difficult to carry out systematic surveys in several East African range countries due to civil wars.
+In 1987, it was estimated that the African elephant population had declined to 760,000 individuals. In 1989, only 608,000 African elephants were estimated to have survived.
+In 1989, the Kenyan Wildlife Service burned a stockpile of tusks in protest against the ivory trade.When the international ivory trade reopened in 2006, the demand and price for ivory increased in Asia. In Chad's Zakouma National Park, more than 3,200 elephants were killed between 2005 and 2010. The park did not have sufficient guards to combat poaching and their weapons were outdated. Well organized networks facilitated smuggling the ivory through Sudan.
+The government of Tanzania estimated that more than 85,000 elephants were lost to poaching in Tanzania between 2009 and 2014, representing a 60% loss.
+In 2012, a large upsurge in ivory poaching was reported, with about 70% of the product flowing to China.
+China was the biggest market for poached ivory but announced that it would phase out the legal domestic manufacture and sale of ivory products in May 2015.Conflicts between elephants and a growing human population are a major issue in elephant conservation. Human encroachment into natural areas where bush elephants occur or their increasing presence in adjacent areas has spurred research into methods of safely driving groups of elephants away from humans. Playback of the recorded sounds of angry Western honey bees has been found to be remarkably effective at prompting elephants to flee an area. Farmers have tried scaring elephants away by more aggressive means such as fire or the use of chili peppers along fences to protect their crops.
+
+Conservation
+In 1986, the African Elephant Database was initiated with the aim to monitor the status of African elephant populations. This database includes results from aerial surveys, dung counts, interviews with local people and data on poaching.In 1989, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora listed the African elephant on CITES Appendix I. This listing banned international trade of African elephants and their body parts by countries that signed the CITES agreement. Hunting elephants is banned in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal. After the ban came into force in 1990, retail sales of ivory carvings in South Africa have plummeted by more than 95% within 10 years.
+As a result of the trade ban, African elephant populations recovered in Southern African range countries.The African Elephant Specialist Group has set up a Human-Elephant Conflict Task Force with the aim to develop conflict mitigation strategies.In 2005, the West African Elephant Memorandum of Understanding was signed by 12 West African countries. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals provided financial support for four years to implement the West African Elephant Conservation Strategy, which forms the central component of this intergovernmental treaty.
+In 2019, the export of wild African elephants to zoos around the world was banned, with an exception added by the EU to allow export in "exceptional cases where … it is considered that a transfer to ex-situ locations will provide demonstrable in-situ conservation benefits for African elephants". Previously, export had been allowed in Southern Africa with Zimbabwe capturing and exporting more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012.It was found that elephant conservation does not pose a trade-off with climate change mitigation. Although animals typically cause a reduction of woody biomass and therewith above-ground carbon, they foster soil carbon sequestration.
+
+In culture
+Many African cultures revere the African elephant as a symbol of strength and power. It is also praised for its size, longevity, stamina, mental faculties, cooperative spirit, and loyalty. Its religious importance is mostly totemic. Many societies believed that their chiefs would be reincarnated as elephants. In the 10th century, the people of Igbo-Ukwu in Nigeria buried their leaders with elephant tusks.South Africa uses elephant tusks in their coat of arms to represent wisdom, strength, moderation and eternity.In the western African Kingdom of Dahomey, the elephant was associated with the 19th century rulers of the Fon people, Guezo and his son Glele. The animal is believed to evoke strength, royal legacy, and enduring memory as related by the proverbs: "There where the elephant passes in the forest, one knows" and "The animal steps on the ground, but the elephant steps down with strength." Their flag depicted an elephant wearing a royal crown.
+
+As National Symbols
+The coat of arms of the Central African Republic features the head of an elephant in the upper left quadrant of the shield. The version of the coat of arms of Guinea used from 1958 to 1984 featured a golden elephant in the centre of the shield. The coat of arms of Ivory Coast features the head of an elephant as the focal point of the emblem. The coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo has two elephants supporting the shield. The coat of arms of Eswatini has an elephant and a lion supporting the shield.
+
+See also
+Africa's Elephant Kingdom
+Indian elephant
+List of individual elephants
+Sri Lankan elephant
+Sumatran elephant
+
+Notes
+References
+External links
+
+"Loxodonta africana". Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. 2020.
+Elephant Information Repository Archived 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine – An in-depth resource on elephants
+"Elephant caves" of Mt Elgon National Park
+ElephantVoices – Resource on elephant vocal communications
+Amboseli Trust for Elephants – Interactive web site
+Another Elephant – A hub for saving the elephants.
+David Quammen (2008). "Family ties – The elephants of Samburu". National Geographic Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 August 2008.
+EIA 25 yrs investigating the ivory trade, reports etc
+EIA (in the USA) reports etc
+International Elephant Foundation
+[1]
+[2]
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diff --git a/data/animals/African grey.txt b/data/animals/African grey.txt
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+The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), also known as the Congo grey parrot, Congo African grey parrot or African grey parrot, is an Old World parrot in the family  Psittacidae. The Timneh parrot (Psittacus timneh) once was identified as a subspecies of the grey parrot, but has since been elevated to a full species.
+
+Taxonomy
+The grey parrot was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other parrots in the genus Psittacus and coined the binomial name Psittacus erithacus. Linnaeus erroneously specified the type locality as "Guinea": the locality was later designated as Ghana in West Africa.  The genus name is Latin for "parrot". The specific epithet erithacus is Latin and is derived from the Ancient Greek  εριθακος (erithakos) for an unknown bird that was said to mimic human sounds, perhaps the black redstart. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.The Timneh parrot was formerly treated as a subspecies of the grey parrot but is now considered to be a separate species based mainly on the results from a genetic and morphological study published in 2007. Although Linnaeus placed all the parrots known to him in the genus Psittacus, only the grey parrot and the Timneh parrot are now assigned to this genus.
+
+Description
+The grey parrot is a medium-sized, predominantly grey, black-billed parrot. Its typical weight is 400 g (14 oz), with an approximate length of 33 cm (13 in), and a wingspan of 46–52 cm (18–20+1⁄2 in). The grey colour on the head and wings is generally darker than its body. The head and body feathers have slight white edges. The tail feathers are red.
+Due to selection by parrot breeders, some grey parrots are partly or completely red. Both sexes appear similar. The colouration of juveniles is similar to that of adults, but typically their eyes are dark grey to black, in comparison to the yellow irises around dark pupils of the adult birds, and their undertail coverts are tinged with grey. Adults weigh 418–526 g (14+3⁄4–18+1⁄2 oz).Grey parrots may live for 40–60 years in captivity, although their mean lifespan in the wild appears to be shorter—approximately 23 years. They start breeding at an age of 3–5 years and lay 3-5 eggs per brood.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The grey parrot is native to equatorial Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Congo, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The species is found inside a range from Kenya to the eastern part of the Ivory Coast. Current estimates for the global population are uncertain and range from 630,000 to 13 million birds. Populations are decreasing worldwide. The species seems to favor dense forests, but can also be found at forest edges and in more open vegetation types, such as gallery and savanna forests.A population study published in 2015 found that the species had been "virtually eliminated" from Ghana with numbers declining 90 to 99% since 1992. They were found in only 10 of 42 forested areas, and three roosts that once held 700–1200 birds each, now had only 18 in total. Local people mainly blamed the pet trade and the felling of timber for the decline. Populations are thought to be stable in Cameroon. In the Congo, an estimated 15,000 are taken every year for the pet trade, from the eastern part of the country, although the annual quota is stated to be 5,000.Grey parrots have escaped or been deliberately released into Florida, U.S., but no evidence indicates that the population is breeding naturally.
+
+Behaviour and ecology in the wild
+Little is known about the behaviour and activities of these birds in the wild. In addition to a lack of research funding, it can be particularly difficult to study these birds in wild situations due to their status as prey animals, which leads them to have rather secretive personalities. It has been shown that wild greys may also imitate a wide variety of sounds they hear, much like their captive relatives. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two greys sound-recorded while roosting reportedly had a repertoire of over 200 different calls, including nine imitations of other wild bird songs and one of a bat.
+
+Feeding
+Grey parrots are mainly frugivorous, with most of their diet consisting of fruit, nuts, and seeds, including oil palm fruit. They sometimes also eat flowers and tree bark, as well as insects and snails. In the wild, the grey parrot is partly a ground feeder.
+
+Breeding
+Grey parrots are monogamous breeders who nest in tree cavities. Each mated pair of parrots needs their own tree for their nest. The hen lays three to five eggs, which she incubates for 30 days while being fed by her mate. The adults defend their nesting sites.Grey parrot chicks require feeding and care from their parents in the nest. The parents take care of them until 4–5 weeks after they are fledged. Young leave the nest at the age of 12 weeks. Little is known about the courtship behaviour of this species in the wild. They weigh 12–14 g (7⁄16–1⁄2 oz) at hatching and 372–526 g (13+1⁄8–18+1⁄2 oz) when they leave their parents.
+
+Conservation
+Natural predators for this species include palm-nut vultures and several raptors. Monkeys target eggs and the young for food.Humans are by far the largest threat to wild grey populations. Between 1994 and 2003, more than 359,000 grey parrots were traded on the international market. Approximately 21% of the wild population was being harvested every year. Mortality rates are extremely high between the time they are captured and they reach the market, ranging from 60 to 66%. This species also is hunted for its meat and for its body parts, which are used in traditional medicines. As a result of the extensive harvest of wild birds, in addition to habitat loss, this species is believed to be undergoing a rapid decline in the wild and therefore, has been rated as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.In October 2016, the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) extended the highest level of protection to grey parrots by listing the species under Appendix 1, which regulates international trade in the species.In 2021, the Kenyan government held a short amnesty, during which grey parrot owners could pay a fee to obtain a permit for their birds and facilitate legal ownership. Following the expiry of this time period, it is now illegal to own this species without a permit.
+
+In captivity
+The species is common in captivity and regularly kept by humans as a companion parrot, prized for its ability to mimic human speech, which makes it one of the most popular avian pets. An escaped pet in Japan was returned to his owner after repeating the owner's name and address.Grey parrots are notorious for mimicking noises heard in their environment and using them tirelessly. They are highly intelligent birds, needing extensive behavioral and social enrichment as well as extensive attention in captivity or else they may become distressed. Feather plucking is a common symptom seen among such distressed grey parrots, affecting up to 40% of captive individuals. They may also be prone to behavioural problems due to their sensitive nature. Social isolation hastens stress and aging.The grey parrot is a highly social species which relies on a flock-type structure, even when raised in captivity. Because they are so dependent on the other birds within their flock, much of their speech and vocal ability is acquired through interaction with the humans with whom they reside. Both wild and captive parrots have been shown to use contact calls, which allow them to interact with their flock mates and communicate information about their location, detection of predators, availability of food, and safety status. In addition, contact calls are used to form strong social bonds with their flock mates, or in the case of captive greys, with their human housemates. In captivity, they have been shown to display communicative competence, meaning they not only use human language correctly, but also in such a way that is appropriate for the social situation which they are in.
+
+Diet
+In captivity, they may be fed bird pellets, a variety of fruits such as pear, orange, pomegranate, apple, and banana, and vegetables such as carrot, cooked sweet potato, celery, fresh kale, peas, and green beans. They also need a source of calcium.
+
+Disease
+Grey parrots in captivity have been observed to be susceptible to fungal infections, bacterial infections, nutritional insufficiency, malignant tumors, psittacine beak and feather disease, tapeworms, and blood-worms. Young grey parrots are more commonly infected by psittacine beak and feather disease than adults. Infected birds show symptoms such as loss of appetite, fluffy feathers, sluggishness, and reduced walking abilities due to brittle bones.Grey parrots are more likely to have rhinitis, an inflammatory and infectious disease of the nasal cavity. Birds may exhibit signs like wheezing, sneezing, nasal snuffling, and swelling or occlusion of the nares. Treatment options include gentle debridement and nasal irrigation.
+
+Intelligence and cognition
+Grey parrots are highly intelligent and are considered by many to be one of the most intelligent species of psittacines. Many individuals have been shown to perform at the cognitive level of a four- to six-year-old human child in some tasks. Several studies have been conducted, indicating a suite of higher-level cognitive abilities. Experiments have shown that grey parrots can learn number sequences and can learn to associate human voices with the faces of the humans who create them. It has been reported that grey parrots are capable of using existing known English words to create new labels for objects when the bird does not know the name of the object. For example "banerry" ("banana" + "cherry") for "apple", "banana crackers" for "dried banana chips" or "yummy bread" for "cake".The American scientist Irene Pepperberg's research with Alex the parrot showed his ability to learn more than 100 words, differentiating between objects, colours, materials and shapes. Pepperberg spent several decades working with Alex, and wrote numerous scientific papers on experiments performed, indicating his advanced cognitive abilities. One such study found that Alex had the ability to add numbers as well as having a zero-like concept, similar to that of young children and apes.In addition to their striking cognitive abilities, grey parrots have displayed altruistic behavior and concern for others. Researchers found that while blue-headed macaws were unlikely to share a nut with other members of their own species, grey parrots would actively give their conspecific partner a nut, even if it meant that they would not be able to get one themselves. When the roles were reversed, their partners were overwhelmingly likely to return the favor, foregoing their own nut to their partner's benefits. This indicates not only a display of selflessness but also an act of reciprocity.
+A 2012 study demonstrated that captive grey parrots have individual musical preferences. When presented with the opportunity to choose between two different pieces of music via a touch screen monitor located in their cage, the two birds in the test consistently chose different songs, to which they then danced and sang along. Some pet grey parrots have also been observed using the music feature of smart speakers (such as Alexa or Amazon Echo) to verbally request playback of specific favored songs.Some research has shown that foot preference can be linked to the number of words a particular parrot may know and use. Researchers found that grey parrots who prefer to use their right foot showed a marked increase in the number of words within their lexicon as compared to parrots who were left-footed. Scientists postulate that parrots may have lateralization of brain function, much like mammals do.
+In two murder trials, one in 1993 and another in 2017, there was consideration to use the deceased victim's pet grey parrot's "testimony" as evidence due to the pet parrot's witnessing and repeating the victim's last words. In the 1993 murder trial of Gary Joseph Rasp, the defendant was accused of murdering Jane Gill. Public defender Charles Ogulnik wanted to use Jane's pet grey parrot Max as evidence to prove Gary's innocence due to Max repeating Jane's last words "Richard, no, no, no!". In the 2017 murder trial of Glenna Duram, the defendant is accused of murdering her husband Martin Duram. The prosecutor was exploring the possibility of using the couple's pet parrot Bud as evidence when Bud kept repeating Martin's last words "Don't fucking shoot."
+
+Mutations
+Grey mutations occur naturally in the wild, such as the Blue Ino (albino), the Incomplete Ino, and the Blue varietals. The Blue Ino is all white. The Incomplete Ino has light pigmentation. The Blue has a white tail.
+Breeders from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia have bred greys intensively since the 1800s. These bred varieties include the Red Pied, F2 Pied, Grizzles, Ino, Incomplete, Parino, Lutino, Cinnamon, and Red Factor. South African bird breeder Von van Antwerpen and New Zealand partner Jaco Bosman selected F2 Pieds and created the first Red Factor Greys. They are rare, may be predominantly red-pigmented, and vary in price depending upon the extent of the red plumage displayed.
+
+History
+The domestication of grey parrots has a history dating to 2000 B.C., depicting native birds in Egyptian hieroglyphics as pets. They were used for values by the Greeks and the Romans who kept them in birdcages. The grey parrots, due to recent years of illegal trading, have been classified as Endangered in 2016 by the IUCN Red List.
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Psittacus erithacus at Wikimedia Commons
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+The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet and by a lack of dewclaws. It's estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990.The species is a specialised diurnal hunter of ungulates, which it captures by using its stamina and cooperative hunting to exhaust them. Its natural competitors are lions and spotted hyenas: the former will kill the dogs where possible whilst the latter are frequent kleptoparasites.Like other canids, the African wild dog regurgitates food for its young but also extends this action to adults as a central part of the pack's social unit. The young have the privilege of feeding first on carcasses.
+The African wild dog has been respected in several hunter-gatherer societies, particularly those of the San people and Prehistoric Egypt.
+
+Etymology and naming
+The English language has several names for the African wild dog, including African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, and painted lycaon. Though the name African wild dog is widely used, ‘wild dog’ is thought by conservation groups to have negative connotations that could be detrimental to its image; one organisation promotes the name ‘painted wolf’, 
+whilst the name ‘painted dog’ has been found to be the most likely to counteract negative perceptions.
+
+Taxonomic and evolutionary history
+Taxonomy
+The earliest written reference for the species appears to be from Oppian, who wrote of the thoa, a hybrid between the wolf and leopard, which resembles the former in shape and the latter in colour. Solinus's Collea rerum memorabilium from the third century AD describes a multicoloured wolf-like animal with a mane native to Ethiopia.The African wild dog was scientifically described in 1820 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck after examining a specimen from the coast of Mozambique. He named the animal Hyaena picta, erroneously classifying it as a species of hyena. It was later recognised as a canid by Joshua Brookes in 1827 and renamed Lycaon tricolor. The root word of Lycaon is the Greek λυκαίος (lykaios), meaning ‘wolf-like’. The specific epithet pictus (Latin for ‘painted’), which derived from the original picta, was later returned to it, in conformity with the International Rules on Taxonomic Nomenclature.Paleontologist George G. Simpson placed the African wild dog, the dhole and the bush dog together in the subfamily Simocyoninae on the basis of all three species having similarly trenchant carnassials. This grouping was disputed by Juliet Clutton-Brock, who argued that other than dentition too many differences exist among the three species to warrant classifying them in a single subfamily.
+
+Evolution
+The African wild dog possesses the most specialized adaptations among the canids for coat colour and diet and for pursuing its prey through its cursorial (running) ability. It has a graceful skeleton, and the loss of the first digit on its forefeet increases its stride and speed. This adaptation allows it to pursue prey across open plains for long distances. The teeth are generally carnassial-shaped and its premolars are the largest relative to body size of any living carnivoran with the exception of the spotted hyena. On the lower carnassials (first lower molars), the talonid has evolved to become a cutting blade for flesh-slicing, with a reduction or loss of the post-carnassial molars. This adaptation also occurs in two other hypercarnivores – the dhole and the bush dog. The African wild dog exhibits one of the most varied coat colours among the mammals. Individuals differ in patterns and colours, indicating a diversity of the underlying genes. The purpose of these coat patterns may be an adaptation for communication, concealment or temperature regulation. In 2019 a study indicated that the lycaon lineage diverged from Cuon and Canis 1.7 million years ago through this suite of adaptations, and these occurred at the same time as large ungulates (its prey) diversified.The oldest African wild dog fossil dates back to 200,000 years ago and was found in HaYonim Cave, Israel. The evolution of the African wild dog is poorly understood owing to the scarcity of fossil finds. Some authors consider the extinct Canis subgenus Xenocyon as ancestral to both the genus Lycaon and the genus Cuon,: p149  which lived throughout Eurasia and Africa from the Early Pleistocene to the early Middle Pleistocene. Others propose that Xenocyon should be reclassified as Lycaon. The species Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri shared the African wild dog's absent first metacarpal (dewclaw), though its dentition was still relatively unspecialised. This connection was rejected by one author because C. (X.) falconeri lacks metacarpal, which is a poor indication of phylogenetic closeness to the African wild dog, and the dentition was too different to imply ancestry.Another ancestral candidate is the Plio-Pleistocene L. sekowei of South Africa on the basis of distinct accessory cusps on its premolars and anterior accessory cuspids on its lower premolars. These adaptions are found only in Lycaon among living canids, which shows the same adaptations to a hypercarnivorous diet. L. sekowei had not yet lost the first metacarpal absent in L. pictus and was more robust than the modern species, having 10% larger teeth.The African wild dog genetically diverged from other canid lineages 1.74 to 1.7 million years ago and is thought to be isolated from gene transfer with other canid species.
+
+Admixture with the dhole
+The African wild dog has 78 chromosomes, the same number as species of the genus Canis. In 2018 whole genome sequencing was used to compare the dhole (Cuon alpinus) with the African wild dog. There was strong evidence of ancient genetic admixture between the two species. Today their ranges are remote from each other; however during the Pleistocene era the dhole could be found as far west as Europe. The study proposes that the dhole's distribution may have once included the Middle East, from where it may have admixed with the African wild dog in North Africa. However there is no evidence of the dhole having existed in the Middle East or North Africa.
+
+Subspecies
+As of 2005, five subspecies are recognised by MSW3:
+Although the species is genetically diverse, these subspecific designations are not universally accepted. East African and Southern African wild dog populations were once thought to be genetically distinct, based on a small number of samples. More recent studies with a larger number of samples showed that extensive intermixing has occurred between East African and Southern African populations in the past. Some unique nuclear and mitochondrial alleles are found in Southern African and northeastern African populations, with a transition zone encompassing Botswana, Zimbabwe and southeastern Tanzania between the two. The West African wild dog population may possess a unique haplotype, thus possibly constituting a truly distinct subspecies. The original Serengeti and Maasai Mara population of painted dogs is known to have possessed a unique genotype, but these genotypes may be extinct.
+
+Description
+The African wild dog is the bulkiest and most solidly built of African canids. The species stands 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) at the shoulders, measures 71 to 112 cm (28 to 44 in) in head-and-body length and has a tail length of 29 to 41 cm (11 to 16 in). Adults have a weight range of 18 to 36 kg (40 to 79 lb). On average, dogs from East Africa weigh around 20–25 kg (44–55 lb) while in southern Africa, males reportedly weighed a mean of 32.7 kg (72 lb) and females a mean of 24.5 kg (54 lb). By body mass, they are only outsized amongst other extant canids by the gray wolf species complex. Females are usually 3–7% smaller than males. Compared to members of the genus Canis, the African wild dog is comparatively lean and tall, with outsized ears and lacking dewclaws. The middle two toepads are usually fused. Its dentition differs from that of Canis by the degeneration of the last lower molar, the narrowness of the canines and proportionately large premolars, which are the largest relative to body size of any carnivore other than hyenas. The heel of the lower carnassial M1 is crested with a single, blade-like cusp, which enhances the shearing capacity of the teeth, thus the speed at which prey can be consumed. This feature, termed "trenchant heel", is shared with two other canids: the Asian dhole and the South American bush dog. The skull is relatively shorter and broader than those of other canids.The fur of the African wild dog differs significantly from that of other canids, consisting entirely of stiff bristle-hairs with no underfur. Adults gradually lose their fur as it ages, with older individuals being almost naked. Colour variation is extreme, and may serve in visual identification, as African wild dogs can recognise each other at distances of 50–100 m (160–330 ft). Some geographic variation is seen in coat colour, with northeastern African specimens tending to be predominantly black with small white and yellow patches, while southern African ones are more brightly coloured, sporting a mix of brown, black and white coats. Much of the species' coat patterning occurs on the trunk and legs. Little variation in facial markings occurs, with the muzzle being black, gradually shading into brown on the cheeks and forehead. A black line extends up the forehead, turning blackish-brown on the back of the ears. A few specimens sport a brown teardrop-shaped mark below the eyes. The back of the head and neck are either brown or yellow. A white patch occasionally occurs behind the fore legs, with some specimens having completely white fore legs, chests and throats. The tail is usually white at the tip, black in the middle and brown at the base. Some specimens lack the white tip entirely, or may have black fur below the white tip. These coat patterns can be asymmetrical, with the left side of the body often having different markings from the right.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+African wild dogs once ranged across much of sub-Saharan Africa, being absent only in the driest deserts and lowland forests. The species has been largely exterminated in North and West Africa, and its population has greatly reduced in Central Africa and northeast Africa. The majority of the species' population now occurs in Southern Africa and southern East Africa; more specifically in countries such as Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. However, it is hard to track where they are and how many there are because of the loss of habitat. A stable population comprising more than 370 individuals is present in South Africa, particularly the Kruger National Park.The African wild dog inhabits mostly savannas and arid zones, generally avoiding forested areas. This preference is likely linked to the animal's hunting habits, which require open areas that do not obstruct vision or impede pursuit. Nevertheless it will travel through scrub, woodland and montane areas in pursuit of prey. Forest-dwelling populations have been identified, including one in the Harenna Forest, a wet montane forest up to 2,400 m (7,900 ft) in altitude in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. At least one record exists of a pack being sighted on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. In Zimbabwe the species has been recorded at altitudes of 1,800 m (5,900 ft). In Ethiopia they have been found at high altitudes; several live wild dog packs have been sighted at altitudes of 1,900 to 2,800 m (6,200 to 9,200 ft), and a dead individual was found in June 1995 at 4,050 m (13,290 ft) on the Sanetti Plateau.The species is very rare in North Africa, and the remaining populations may be of high conservation value since they are likely to be genetically distinct from other African wild dog populations. The African wild dog is mostly absent in West Africa, with the only potentially viable population occurring in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park. African wild dogs are occasionally sighted in other parts of Senegal, Guinea and Mali. In Central Africa the species is extinct in Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo. The only viable populations occur in the Central African Republic, Chad and especially Cameroon. The African wild dog is distributed patchily in East Africa, having been eradicated in Uganda and much of Kenya.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Social and reproductive behaviour
+The African wild dog have strong social bonds, stronger than those of sympatric lions and spotted hyenas; thus, solitary living and hunting are extremely rare in the species. It lives in permanent packs consisting of two to 27 adults and yearling pups. The typical pack size in the Kruger National Park and the Maasai Mara is four or five adults, while packs in Moremi and Selous contain eight or nine. However, larger packs have been observed and temporary aggregations of hundreds of individuals may have gathered in response to the seasonal migration of vast springbok herds in Southern Africa. Males and females have separate dominance hierarchies, with the latter usually being led by the oldest female. Males may be led by the oldest male, but these can be supplanted by younger specimens; thus, some packs may contain elderly male former pack leaders. The dominant pair typically monopolises breeding. The species differs from most other social carnivorans in that males remain in the natal pack, while females disperse (a pattern also found in primates such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and red colobuses). Furthermore, males in any given pack tend to outnumber females 3:1. Dispersing females join other packs and evict some of the resident females related to the other pack members, thus preventing inbreeding and allowing the evicted individuals to find new packs of their own and breed. Males rarely disperse, and when they do, they are invariably rejected by other packs already containing males. Although arguably the most social canid, the species lacks the elaborate facial expressions and body language found in the gray wolf, likely because of the African wild dog's less hierarchical social structure. Furthermore, while elaborate facial expressions are important for wolves in re-establishing bonds after long periods of separation from their family groups, they are not as necessary to African wild dogs, which remain together for much longer periods. The species does have an extensive vocal repertoire consisting of twittering, whining, yelping, squealing, whispering, barking, growling, gurling, rumbling, moaning and hooing.African wild dog populations in East Africa appear to have no fixed breeding season, whereas those in Southern Africa usually breed during the April–July period. During estrus, the female is closely accompanied by a single male, which keeps other members of the same sex at bay. The copulatory tie characteristic of mating in most canids has been reported to be absent or very brief (less than one minute) in African wild dog, possibly an adaptation to the prevalence of larger predators in its environment. The gestation period lasts 69–73 days, with the interval between each pregnancy being 12–14 months typically. The African wild dog produces more pups than any other canid, with litters containing around six to 16 pups, with an average of 10, thus indicating that a single female can produce enough young to form a new pack every year. Because the amount of food necessary to feed more than two litters would be impossible to acquire by the average pack, breeding is strictly limited to the dominant female, which may kill the pups of subordinates. After giving birth, the mother stays close to the pups in the den, while the rest of the pack hunts. She typically drives away pack members approaching the pups until the latter are old enough to eat solid food at three to four weeks of age. The pups leave the den around the age of three weeks and are suckled outside. The pups are weaned at the age of five weeks, when they are fed regurgitated meat by the other pack members. By seven weeks, the pups begin to take on an adult appearance, with noticeable lengthening in the legs, muzzle, and ears. Once the pups reach the age of eight to 10 weeks, the pack abandons the den and the young follow the adults during hunts. The youngest pack members are permitted to eat first on kills, a privilege which ends once they become yearlings. African wild dogs have an average lifespan of about 10 to 11 years in the wild.When separated from the pack, an African wild dog becomes depressed and can die as a result of broken heart syndrome.
+
+Male/female ratio
+Packs of African wild dogs have a high ratio of males to females. This is a consequence of the males mostly staying with the pack whilst female offspring disperse and is supported by a changing sex-ratio in consecutive litters. Those born to maiden females contain a higher proportion of males, second litters are half and half and subsequent litters biased towards females with this trend increasing as females get older. As a result, the earlier litters provide stable hunters whilst the higher ratio of dispersals amongst the females stops a pack from getting too big.
+
+Sneeze communication and ‘voting’
+Populations in the Okavango Delta have been observed ‘rallying’ before setting out to hunt. Not every rally results in a departure, but departure becomes more likely when more individual dogs ‘sneeze’. These sneezes are characterized by a short, sharp exhale through the nostrils. When members of dominant mating pairs sneeze first, the group is much more likely to depart. If a dominant dog initiates, around three sneezes guarantee departure. When less dominant dogs sneeze first, if enough others also sneeze (about 10), then the group will go hunting. Researchers assert that wild dogs in Botswana "use a specific vocalization (the sneeze) along with a variable quorum response mechanism in the decision-making process [to go hunting at a particular moment]".
+
+Inbreeding avoidance
+Because the African wild dog largely exists in fragmented, small populations, its existence is endangered. Inbreeding avoidance by mate selection is a characteristic of the species and has important potential consequences for population persistence. Inbreeding is rare within natal packs. Inbreeding may have been selected against evolutionarily because it leads to the expression of recessive deleterious alleles. Computer simulations indicate that all populations continuing to avoid incestuous mating will become extinct within 100 years due to the unavailability of unrelated mates. Thus, the impact of reduced numbers of suitable unrelated mates will likely have a severe demographic impact on the future viability of small wild dog populations.
+
+Hunting and diet
+The African wild dog is a specialised pack hunter of common medium-sized antelopes. It and the cheetah are the only primarily diurnal African large predators. The African wild dog hunts by approaching prey silently, then chasing it in a pursuit clocking at up to 66 km/h (41 mph) for 10–60 minutes. The average chase covers some 2 km (1.2 mi), during which the prey animal, if large, is repeatedly bitten on the legs, belly, and rump until it stops running, while smaller prey is simply pulled down and torn apart.African wild dogs adjust their hunting strategy to the particular prey species. They will rush at wildebeest to panic the herd and isolate a vulnerable individual, but pursue territorial antelope species (which defend themselves by running in wide circles) by cutting across the arc to foil their escape. Medium-sized prey is often killed in 2–5 minutes, whereas larger prey such as wildebeest may take half an hour to pull down. Male wild dogs usually perform the task of grabbing dangerous prey, such as warthogs, by the nose.
+A species-wide study showed that by preference, where available, five prey species were the most regularly selected, namely the greater kudu, Thomson's gazelle, impala, Cape bushbuck and blue wildebeest. More specifically, in East Africa, its most common prey is the Thomson's gazelle, while in Central and Southern Africa, it targets impala, reedbuck, kob, lechwe and springbok, and smaller prey such as common duiker, dik-dik, hares, spring hares, insects and cane rats. Staple prey sizes are usually between 15 and 200 kg (33 and 441 lb), though some local studies put upper prey sizes as variously 90 to 135 kg (198 to 298 lb). In the case of larger species such as kudu and wildebeest, calves are largely but not exclusively targeted. However, certain packs in the Serengeti specialized in hunting adult plains zebras weighing up to 240 kg (530 lb) quite frequently. Another study claimed that some prey taken by wild dogs could weigh up to 289 kg (637 lb). This includes African buffalo juveniles during the dry season when herds are small and calves less protected. Footage from Lower Zambezi National Park taken in 2021 showed a large pack of wild dogs hunting an adult, healthy buffalo, though this is apparently extremely rare. One pack was recorded to occasionally prey on bat-eared foxes, rolling on the carcasses before eating them. African wild dogs rarely scavenge, but have on occasion been observed to appropriate carcasses from spotted hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, lions, and animals caught in snares.Hunting success varies with prey type, vegetation cover and pack size, but African wild dogs tend to be very successful: often more than 60% of their chases end in a kill, sometimes up to 90%. An analysis of 1,119 chases by a pack of six Okavango wild dogs showed that most were short distance uncoordinated chases, and the individual kill rate was only 15.5 percent. Because kills are shared, each dog enjoyed an efficient benefit–cost ratio.Small prey such as rodents, hares and birds are hunted singly, with dangerous prey such as cane rats and Old World porcupines being killed with a quick and well-placed bite to avoid injury. Small prey is eaten entirely, while large animals are stripped of their meat and organs, leaving the skin, head, and skeleton intact. The African wild dog is a fast eater, with a pack being able to consume a Thomson's gazelle in 15 minutes. In the wild, the species' consumption is 1.2–5.9 kg (2.6–13.0 lb) per African wild dog a day, with one pack of 17–43 individuals in East Africa having been recorded to kill three animals per day on average.Unlike most social predators, African wild dogs will regurgitate food for other adults as well as young family members. Pups old enough to eat solid food are given first priority at kills, eating even before the dominant pair; subordinate adult dogs help feed and protect the pups.
+
+Enemies and competitors
+Lions dominate African wild dogs and are a major source of mortality for both adults and pups. Population densities are usually low in areas where lions are more abundant. One pack reintroduced into Etosha National Park was wiped out by lions. A population crash in lions in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area during the 1960s resulted in an increase in African wild dog sightings, only for their numbers to decline once the lions recovered. As with other large predators killed by lion prides, the dogs are usually killed and left uneaten by the lions, indicating the competitive rather than predatory nature of the lions' dominance. However, a few cases have been reported of old and wounded lions falling prey to African wild dogs. On occasion, packs of wild dogs have been observed defending pack members attacked by single lions, sometimes successfully. One pack in the Okavango in March 2016 was photographed by safari guides waging "an incredible fight" against a lioness that attacked a subadult dog at an impala kill, which forced the lioness to retreat, although the subadult dog died. A pack of four wild dogs was observed furiously defending an old adult male dog from a male lion that attacked it at a kill; the dog survived and rejoined the pack.African wild dogs commonly lose their kills to larger predators. Spotted hyenas are important kleptoparasites and follow packs of African wild dogs to appropriate their kills. They typically inspect areas where wild dogs have rested and eat any food remains they find. When approaching wild dogs at a kill, solitary hyenas approach cautiously and attempt to take off with a piece of meat unnoticed, though they may be mobbed in the attempt. When operating in groups, spotted hyenas are more successful in pirating African wild dog kills, though the latter's greater tendency to assist each other puts them at an advantage against spotted hyenas, which rarely work cooperatively. Cases of African wild dogs scavenging from spotted hyenas are rare. Although African wild dog packs can easily repel solitary hyenas, on the whole, the relationship between the two species is a one-sided benefit for the hyenas, with African wild dog densities being negatively correlated with high hyena populations. Beyond piracy, cases of interspecific killing of African wild dogs by spotted hyenas are documented. African wild dogs are apex predators, only fatally losing contests to larger social carnivores. When briefly unprotected, wild dog pups may occasionally be vulnerable to large eagles, such as the martial eagle, when they venture out of their dens.
+
+Threats and conservation
+The African wild dog is primarily threatened by habitat fragmentation, which results to human–wildlife conflict, transmission of infectious diseases and high mortality rates. Surveys in the Central African Republic's Chinko area revealed that the African wild dog population decreased from 160 individuals in 2012 to 26 individuals in 2017. At the same time, transhumant pastoralists from the border area with Sudan moved in the area with their livestock.The African Wild Dog Conservancy, a non-profit, 501(c)(3), non-governmental organization, began working in 2003 to conserve the African wild dog in northeastern and coastal Kenya, a convergence zone of two biodiversity hotspots. This area largely consists of community lands inhabited by pastoralists. With the help of local people, a pilot study was launched confirming the presence of a population of wild dogs largely unknown to conservationists. Over the next 16 years, local ecological knowledge revealed this area to be a significant refuge for wild dogs and an important wildlife corridor connecting Kenya’s Tsavo National Parks with the Horn of Africa in an increasingly human-dominated landscape. This project has been identified as a wild dog conservation priority by the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group.
+
+In culture
+Ancient Egypt
+Depictions of African wild dogs are prominent on cosmetic palettes and other objects from Egypt's predynastic period, likely symbolising order over chaos and the transition between the wild and the domestic dog. Predynastic hunters may have identified with the African wild dog, as the Hunters Palette shows them wearing the animals' tails on their belts. By the dynastic period, African wild dog illustrations became much less represented, and the animal's symbolic role was largely taken over by the wolf.
+
+Ethiopia
+According to Enno Littmann, the people of Ethiopia's Tigray Region believed that injuring a wild dog with a spear would result in the animal dipping its tail in its wounds and flicking the blood at its assailant, causing instant death. For this reason, Tigrean shepherds used to repel wild dog attacks with pebbles rather than with edged weapons.
+
+San people
+The African wild dog also plays a prominent role in the mythology of Southern Africa's San people. In one story, the wild dog is indirectly linked to the origin of death, as the hare is cursed by the moon to be for ever hunted by African wild dogs after the hare rebuffs the moon's promise to allow all living things to be reborn after death. Another story has the god Cagn taking revenge on the other gods by sending a group of men transformed into African wild dogs to attack them, though who won the battle is never revealed. The San of Botswana see the African wild dog as the ultimate hunter and traditionally believe that shamans and medicine men can transform themselves into wild dogs. Some San hunters will smear African wild dog bodily fluids on their feet before a hunt, believing that doing so will give them the animal's boldness and agility. Nevertheless the species does not figure prominently in San rock art, with the only notable example being a frieze in Mount Erongo showing a pack hunting two antelopes.
+
+Ndebele
+The Ndebele have a story explaining why the African wild dog hunts in packs: in the beginning, when the first wild dog's wife was sick, the other animals were concerned. An impala went to hare, who was a medicine man. Hare gave Impala a calabash of medicine, warning him not to turn back on the way to Wild Dog's den. Impala was startled by the scent of a leopard and turned back, spilling the medicine. A zebra then went to Hare, who gave him the same medicine along with the same advice. On the way, Zebra turned back when he saw a black mamba, thus breaking the gourd. A moment later a terrible howling was heard: Wild Dog's wife had died. Wild Dog went outside and saw Zebra standing over the broken gourd of medicine, so Wild Dog and his family chased Zebra and tore him to shreds. To this day, African wild dogs hunt zebras and impalas as revenge for their failure to deliver the medicine that could have saved Wild Dog's wife.
+
+In media
+Documentary
+A Wild Dog's Tale (2013), a single painted dog (named Solo by researchers) befriends hyenas and jackals in Okavango, hunting together. Solo feeds and cares for jackal pups.
+The Pale Pack, Savage Kingdom, Season 1 (2016), was the story of Botswana African wild dog pack leaders Teemana and Molao written and directed by Brad Bestelink, and narrated by Charles Dance premiered on National Geographic.
+Dynasties (2018 TV series), episode 4, Produced by Nick Lyon: Tait is the elderly matriarch of a pack of painted wolves in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park. Her pack is driven out of their territory by Tait's daughter, Blacktip, the matriarch of a rival pack in need of more space for their large family of 32. Their combined territory also shrunk over Tait's lifetime due to the expansion of human, hyena and lion territories. Tait leads her family into the territory of a lion pride in the midst of a drought, with Blacktip's pack in an eight month long pursuit. When Tait died, the pack was observed performing a rare "singing", the purpose of which is unclear.
+
+See also
+African Wild Dog Conservancy
+Botswana Wild Dog Research Project
+Harnas Wildlife Foundation
+Institute of Zoology
+Painted Dog Conservation
+Wildlife Conservation Network
+
+Explanatory notes
+References
+Further reading
+Van Lawick, H. & Goodall, J. (1971). Innocent Killers. Houghton Mifflin Company Boston
+
+External links
+
+painteddog.org, Painted Dog Conservation Website
+painteddog.co.uk/, Painted Dog Conservation United Kingdom Website
+African Wild Dog Conservancy
+African Wild Dog Watch
+Wild Dog conservation in Zimbabwe
+Namibia Nature Foundation Wild Dog Project: Conservation of African wild dogs in Namibia
+[1] at African Wildlife Foundation
+The Zambian Carnivore Programme
+Save the African wild dog
+Wildentrust.org
+Painted Dog Conservation (conservation organization)
+Photos, videos and information from ARKive
+ibream wild dog project
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+Airedale is a valley, or dale, in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is named after the River Aire, which flows through it. The upper valley, from Malham Cove to Airton, is known as Malhamdale, named after the village of Malham. At Airton the valley widens and becomes Airedale proper. The river flows past Skipton on to Keighley, Bingley, Shipley, and Leeds. 
+Airdale, in conjunction with the Ribble Valley, provides low-altitude passes from Yorkshire to Lancashire through the Aire Gap. It is therefore an important transport route and was a strategically important area historically.
+
+History
+The upper Aire valley was formed 12,000 years ago by a retreating glacier. A moraine formed in the Cononley area and the lake stretched as far north as Gargrave. Colonisation by man developed later on, especially during the Iron Age. The peoples that occupied the Aire Valley (and much of north eastern England) were called Brigantes by the Romans.Transport improved in the 18th and 19th centuries with the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The railways arrived from the 1830s onwards and during the twentieth century the roads were vastly improved in the valley.
+Airedale was formerly wholly within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
+
+Description
+The upper valley is within the Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Dales National Park. From Aire Springs the river flows past Skipton and Keighley, through Bingley, Saltaire, Shipley and into Leeds. Up until this point the river is essentially swift flowing and fed by streams and becks.
+The broad definition of Airedale includes all the areas adjacent to the River Aire and its tributaries. The Aire Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP), which takes into account all the becks and streams that feed the river, lists the Worth Valley and most of Bradford City as part of Airedale. Similarly, the Airedale Partnership's Masterplan, which is sponsored by Bradford Council, shows the same boundaries as the Aire CFMP.
+
+Geology
+The upper section between Malham and Skipton is largely upfaulted Carboniferous limestone. The middle section between Skipton and Knottingley is peat and gritstone, with steep valley walls crested with moorland prevalent between Skipton and Shipley. The sandstone deposits between Skipton and Leeds have characterised the buildings within this part of Airedale, whilst the deposits of Limestone, Coal, Fireclay and Ironstone fuelled industrial developments.
+
+Tourism
+Airedale is notable for several tourist sites and the World Heritage Site of Saltaire village. Other attractions include The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, Bingley Five Rise Locks, The Shipley Glen Tramway, East Riddlesden Hall, Rodley Nature Reserve, Kirkstall Abbey, The Royal Armouries (Leeds), St Aidan's Nature Reserve and Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve.
+
+Industry
+Many of the former woollen and cotton mills of the dale have been demolished or converted into housing. The heavy industry east of Leeds is still in existence and two of the three coal fired powers stations in the lower section take their water from the River Aire. Industry that lies alongside the Aire includes Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax power stations, Eggborough Saint Gobain glassworks, Stolze and Allied Glass in Knottingley and Kellingley Colliery.
+Leeds City Council have an enterprise zone that covers 400 acres of regenerated land along the Aire Valley from the city centre up to junction 45 of the M1 (known as Gateway 45). This houses several manufacturing and food companies.
+
+Eponyms
+The names Aire and Airedale are associated with many things and areas. Most notable in the valley are Airedale General Hospital, Aireborough (a region comprising mostly Wharfedale towns) and Airedale, a suburb of Castleford.
+The area gives its name to the Airedale Terrier, the largest of the terrier group of dogs. They were first bred in the area in the nineteenth century.
+
+
+== References ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/American alligator.txt b/data/animals/American alligator.txt
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+The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the genus Alligator, and is larger than the only other living alligator species, the Chinese alligator.
+Adult male American alligators measure 3.4 to 4.6 m (11.2 to 15.1 ft) in length, and can weigh up to 500 kg (1,100 lb), with unverified sizes of up to 5.84 m (19.2 ft) and weights of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) making it the second largest member of the family Alligatoridae, after the black caiman. Females are smaller, measuring 2.6 to 3 m (8.5 to 9.8 ft) in length. The American alligator inhabits subtropical and tropical freshwater wetlands, such as marshes and cypress swamps, from southern Texas to North Carolina. It is distinguished from the sympatric American crocodile by its broader snout, with overlapping jaws and darker coloration, and is less tolerant of saltwater but more tolerant of cooler climates than the American crocodile, which is found only in tropical and warm subtropical climates.
+American alligators are apex predators and consume fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Hatchlings feed mostly on invertebrates. They play an important role as ecosystem engineers in wetland ecosystems through the creation of alligator holes, which provide both wet and dry habitats for other organisms. Throughout the year (in particular during the breeding season), American alligators bellow to declare territory, and locate suitable mates. Male American alligators use infrasound to attract females. Eggs are laid in a nest of vegetation, sticks, leaves, and mud in a sheltered spot in or near the water. Young are born with yellow bands around their bodies and are protected by their mother for up to one year.The conservation status of the American alligator is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Historically, hunting had decimated their population, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed their numbers to increase and the species was removed from endangered status in 1987. The species is the official state reptile of three states: Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
+
+Taxonomy
+The American alligator was first classified by French zoologist François Marie Daudin as Crocodilus mississipiensis in 1801. In 1807, Georges Cuvier created the genus Alligator; the American alligator and the Chinese alligator are the only extant species in the genus. They are grouped in the family Alligatoridae with the caimans. The superfamily Alligatoroidea includes all crocodilians (fossil and extant) that are more closely related to the American alligator than to either the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) or the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).
+
+Phylogeny
+Members of this superfamily first arose in the late Cretaceous, about 100–65 million years ago (Mya). Leidyosuchus of Alberta is the earliest known fossil, from the Campanian era 83 to 72 Mya.  Fossil alligatoroids have been found throughout Eurasia, because bridges across both the North Atlantic and the Bering Strait connected North America to Eurasia about 66 to 23 Mya.
+Alligators and caimans split in North America during the late Cretaceous, and the caimans reached South America by the Paleogene, before the closure of the Isthmus of Panama during the Neogene period, from about 23 to 2.58 Mya. The Chinese alligator likely descended from a lineage that crossed the Bering land bridge during the Neogene. Fossils identical to the existing American alligator are found throughout the Pleistocene, from 2.5 million to 11.7 thousand years ago. In 2016, a Miocene (about 23 to 5.3 Mya) fossil skull of an alligator was found at Marion County, Florida. Unlike the other extinct alligator species of the same genus, the fossil skull was virtually indistinguishable from that of the modern American alligator. This alligator and the American alligator are now considered to be sister taxa, meaning that the A. mississippiensis lineage has existed in North America for over 8 million years.The alligator's full mitochondrial genome was sequenced in the 1990s, and it suggests the animal evolved at a rate similar to mammals and greater than birds and most cold-blooded vertebrates. However, the full genome, published in 2014, suggests that the alligator evolved much more slowly than mammals and birds.
+
+Characteristics
+Domestic American alligators range from long and slender to short and robust, possibly in response to variations in factors such as growth rate, diet, and climate.
+
+Size
+The American alligator is a relatively large species of crocodilian. On average, it is the largest species in the family Alligatoridae, with only the black caiman being possibly larger. Weight varies considerably depending on length, age, health, season, and available food sources. Similar to many other reptiles that range expansively into temperate zones, American alligators from the northern end of their range, such as southern Arkansas, Alabama, and northern North Carolina, tend to reach smaller sizes. Large adult American alligators tend to be relatively robust and bulky compared to other similar-length crocodilians; for example, captive males measuring 3 to 4 m (9 ft 10 in to 13 ft 1 in) were found to weigh 200 to 350 kg (440 to 770 lb), although captive specimens may outweigh wild specimens due to lack of hunting behavior and other stressors.Large male American alligators reach an expected maximum size up to 4.6 m (15 ft 1 in) in length and weighing up to 500 kg (1,100 lb), while females reach an expected maximum of 3 m (9 ft 10 in). However, the largest free-ranging female had a total length of 3.22 m (10 ft 7 in) and weighed 170 kg (370 lb). On rare occasions, a large, old male may grow to an even greater length.
+
+Largest
+During the 19th and 20th centuries, larger males reaching 5 to 6 m (16 ft 5 in to 19 ft 8 in) were reported. The largest reported individual size was a male killed in 1890 on Marsh Island, Louisiana, and reportedly measured at 5.84 m (19 ft 2 in) in length, but no voucher specimen was available, since the American alligator was left on a muddy bank after having been measured due to having been too massive to relocate. If the size of this animal was correct, it would have weighed about 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). In Arkansas, a man killed an American alligator that was 4.04 m (13 ft 3 in) and 626 kg (1,380 lb). The largest American alligator ever killed in Florida was 5.31 m (17 ft 5 in), as reported by the Everglades National Park, although this record is unverified. The largest American alligator scientifically verified in Florida for the period from 1977 to 1993 was reportedly 4.23 m (13 ft 11 in) and weighed 473 kg (1,043 lb), although another specimen (size estimated from skull) may have measured 4.54 m (14 ft 11 in). A specimen that was 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) long and weighed 458.8 kg (1,011.5 lb) is the largest American alligator killed in Alabama and has been declared the SCI world record in 2014.
+
+Reported sizes
+Average
+American alligators do not normally reach such extreme sizes. In mature males, most specimens grow up to about 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) in length, and weigh up to 360 kg (790 lb), while in females, the mature size is normally around 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in), with a body weight up to 91 kg (201 lb). In Newnans Lake, Florida, adult males averaged 73.2 kg (161 lb) in weight and 2.47 m (8 ft 1 in) in length, while adult females averaged 55.1 kg (121 lb) and measured 2.22 m (7 ft 3 in). In Lake Griffin State Park, Florida, adults weighed on average 57.9 kg (128 lb). Weight at sexual maturity per one study was stated as averaging 30 kg (66 lb) while adult weight was claimed as 160 kg (350 lb).
+
+Relation to age
+There is a common belief stated throughout reptilian literature that crocodilians, including the American alligator, exhibit indeterminate growth, meaning the animal continues to grow for the duration of its life. However, these claims are largely based on assumptions and observations of juvenile and young adult crocodilians, and recent studies are beginning to contradict this claim. For example, one long-term mark-recapture study (1979–2015) done at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center in South Carolina found evidence to support patterns of determinate growth, with growth ceasing upon reaching a certain age (43 years for males and 31 years for females).
+
+Sexual dimorphism
+While noticeable in very mature specimens, the sexual dimorphism in size of the American alligator is relatively modest among crocodilians. For contrast, the sexual dimorphism of saltwater crocodiles is much more extreme, with mature males nearly twice as long as and at least four times as heavy as female saltwater crocodiles. Given that female American alligators have relatively higher survival rates at an early age and a large percentage of given populations consists of immature or young breeding American alligators, relatively few large mature males of the expected mature length of 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) or more are typically seen.
+
+Color
+Dorsally, adult American alligators may be olive, brown, gray, or black. However, they are on average one of the most darkly colored modern crocodilians (although other alligatorid family members are also fairly dark), and can be reliably be distinguished by color via their more blackish dorsal scales against crocodiles. Meanwhile, their undersides are cream-colored. Some American alligators are missing or have an inhibited gene for melanin, which makes them albino. These American alligators are extremely rare and almost impossible to find in the wild. They could only survive in captivity, as they are very vulnerable to the sun and predators.
+
+Jaws, teeth, and snout
+American alligators have 74–80 teeth. As they grow and develop, the morphology of their teeth and jaws change significantly. Juveniles have small, needle-like teeth that become much more robust and narrow snouts that become broader as the individuals develop. These morphological changes correspond to shifts in the American alligators' diets, from smaller prey items such as fish and insects to larger prey items such as turtles, birds, and other large vertebrates. American alligators have broad snouts, especially in captive individuals. When the jaws are closed, the edges of the upper jaws cover the lower teeth, which fit into the jaws' hollows. Like the spectacled caiman, this species has a bony nasal ridge, though it is less prominent. American alligators are often mistaken for a similar animal: the American crocodile. An easy characteristic to distinguish the two is the fourth tooth. Whenever an American alligator's mouth is closed, the fourth tooth is no longer visible. It is enclosed in a pocket in the upper jaw.
+
+Bite
+Adult American alligators held the record as having the strongest laboratory-measured bite of any living animal, measured at up to 13,172 N (1,343.2 kgf; 2,961 lbf). This experiment had not been, at the time of the paper published, replicated in any other crocodilians, and the same laboratory was able to measure a greater bite force of 16,414 N (1,673.8 kgf; 3,690 lbf) in saltwater crocodiles; notwithstanding this very high biting force, the muscles opening the American alligator's jaw are quite weak, and the jaws can be held closed by hand or tape when an American alligator is captured. No significant difference is noted between the bite forces of male and female American alligators of equal size. Another study noted that as the American alligator increases in size, the force of its bite also increases.
+
+Movement
+When on land, an American alligator moves either by sprawling or walking, the latter involving the reptile lifting its belly off the ground. The sprawling of American alligators and other crocodylians is not similar to that of salamanders and lizards, being similar to walking. Therefore, the two forms of land locomotion can be termed the "low walk" and the "high walk". Unlike most other land vertebrates, American alligators increase their speed through the distal rather than proximal ends of their limbs. In the water, American alligators swim like fish, moving their pelvic regions and tails from side to side. During respiration, air flow is unidirectional, looping through the lungs during inhalation and exhalation; the American alligator's abdominal muscles can alter the position of the lungs within the torso, thus shifting the center of buoyancy, which allows the American alligator to dive, rise, and roll within the water.
+
+Distribution
+American alligators, being native both to the Nearctic and Neotropical realms, are found in the wild in the Southeastern United States, from the Lowcountry in South Carolina, south to Everglades National Park in Florida, and west to the southeastern region of Texas. They are found in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Some of these locations appear to be relatively recent introductions, with often small but reproductive populations. Louisiana has the largest American alligator population of any U.S. state. In the future, possible American alligator populations may be found in areas of Mexico adjacent to the Texas border. American alligators have been naturally expanding their range into Tennessee, and have established a small population in the southwestern part of that state via inland waterways, according to the state's wildlife agency. They have been extirpated from Virginia, and occasional vagrants from North Carolina wander into the Great Dismal Swamp.
+
+Conservation status
+American alligators are currently listed as least concern by the IUCN Red List, even though from the 1800s to the mid-1900s, they were being hunted and poached by humans unsustainably. In 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pronounced the American alligator fully recovered.Historically, hunting and habitat loss have severely affected American alligator populations throughout their range, and whether the species would survive was in doubt. In 1967, the American alligator was listed as an endangered species (under a law that was the precursor Endangered Species Act of 1973), since it was believed to be in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.Both the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and state wildlife agencies in the South contributed to the American alligator's recovery. Protection under the Endangered Species Act allowed the species to recuperate in many areas where it had been depleted. States began monitoring their American alligator populations to ensure that they would continue to grow. In 1987, the USFWS removed the animal from the endangered species list, as it was considered to be fully recovered. The USFWS still regulates the legal trade in American alligators and their products to protect still endangered crocodilians that may be passed off as American alligators during trafficking.American alligators are listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning that international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) is regulated.
+
+Habitat
+They inhabit swamps, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes.  A lone American alligator was spotted for over 10 years living in a river north of Atlanta, Georgia. Females and juveniles are also found in Carolina Bays and other seasonal wetlands. While they prefer fresh water, American alligators may sometimes wander into brackish water, but are less tolerant of salt water than American crocodiles, as the salt glands on their tongues do not function. One study of American alligators in north-central Florida found the males preferred open lake water during the spring, while females used both swampy and open-water areas. During summer, males still preferred open water, while females remained in the swamps to construct their nests and lay their eggs. Both sexes may den underneath banks or clumps of trees during the winter.In some areas of their range, American alligators are an unusual example of urban wildlife; golf courses are often favoured by the species due to an abundance of water and a frequent supply of prey animals such as fish and birds.
+
+Cold tolerance
+American alligators are less vulnerable to cold than American crocodiles. Unlike an American crocodile, which would immediately succumb to the cold and drown in water at 45 °F (7 °C) or less, an American alligator can survive in such temperatures for some time without displaying any signs of discomfort. This adaptiveness is thought to be why American alligators are widespread further north than the American crocodile. In fact, the American alligator is found farther from the equator and is more equipped to handle cooler conditions than any other crocodilian. When the water begins to freeze, American alligators go into a period of brumation; they stick their snouts through the surface, which allows them to breathe above the ice, and they can remain in this state for several days.
+
+Ecology and behavior
+Basking
+American alligators primarily bask on shore, but also climb into and perch on tree limbs to bask if no shoreline is available. This is not often seen, since if disturbed, they quickly retreat back into the water by jumping from their perch.
+
+Holes
+American alligators modify wetland habitats, most dramatically in flat areas such as the Everglades, by constructing small ponds known as alligator holes. This behavior has qualified the American alligator to be considered a keystone species. Alligator holes retain water during the dry season and provide a refuge for aquatic organisms, which survive the dry season by seeking refuge in alligator holes, so are a source of future populations. The construction of nests along the periphery of alligator holes, as well as a buildup of soils during the excavation process, provides drier areas for other reptiles to nest and a place for plants that are intolerant of inundation to colonize. Alligator holes are an oasis during the Everglades dry season, so are consequently important foraging sites for other organisms. In the limestone depressions of cypress swamps, alligator holes tend to be large and deep, while those in marl prairies and rocky glades are usually small and shallow, and those in peat depressions of ridge and slough wetlands are more variable.
+
+Prey
+Bite and mastication
+The teeth of the American alligator are designed to grip prey, but cannot rip or chew flesh like teeth of some other predators (such as canids and felids), and depend on their gizzard, instead, to masticate their food. The American alligator is capable of biting through a turtle's shell or a moderately sized mammal bone.
+
+Tool use
+American alligators have been documented using lures to hunt prey such as birds. This means they are among the first reptiles recorded to use tools. By balancing sticks and branches on their heads, American alligators are able to lure birds looking for suitable nesting material to kill and consume. This strategy, which is shared by the mugger crocodile, is particularly effective during the nesting season, in which birds are more likely to gather appropriate nesting materials. This strategy has been documented in two Florida zoos occurring multiple times a day in peak nesting season and in some parks in Louisiana. The use of tools was documented primarily during the peak rookery season when birds were primarily looking for sticks.
+
+Aquatic vs terrestrial
+Fish and other aquatic prey taken in the water or at the water's edge form the major part of American alligator's diet and may be eaten at any time of the day or night. Adult American alligators also spend considerable time hunting on land, up to 160 feet (50 m) from water, ambushing terrestrial animals on trailsides and road shoulders. Usually, terrestrial hunting occurs on nights with warm temperatures. When hunting terrestrial prey, American alligators may also ambush them from the edge of the water by grabbing them and pulling the prey into the water, the preferred method of predation of larger crocodiles.
+.
+Additionally, American alligators have recently been filmed and documented killing and eating sharks and rays; four incidents documented indicated that bonnetheads, lemon sharks, Atlantic stingrays, and nurse sharks are components of the animal's diet. Sharks are also known to prey on American alligators, in turn, indicating that encounters between the two predators are common.
+
+Common
+American alligators are considered an apex predator throughout their range. They are opportunists and their diet is determined largely by both their size and age and the size and availability of prey. Most American alligators eat a wide variety of animals, including invertebrates, fish, birds, turtles, snakes, amphibians, and mammals. Hatchlings mostly feed on invertebrates such as insects, insect larvae, snails, spiders, and worms, as well as small fish and frogs. As they grow, American alligators gradually expand to larger prey. Once an American alligator reaches full size and power in adulthood, any animal living in the water or coming to the water to drink is potential prey. Most animals captured by American alligators are considerably smaller than itself. A few examples of animals consumed are largemouth bass, spotted gar, freshwater pearl mussels, American green tree frogs, yellow mud turtles, cottonmouths, common moorhens, and feral wild boars. Stomach contents show, among native mammals, muskrats and raccoons are some of the most commonly eaten species. In Louisiana, where introduced nutria are common, they are perhaps the most regular prey for adult American alligators, although only larger adults commonly eat this species. It has also been reported that large American alligators prey on medium-sized American alligators, which had preyed on hatchlings and smaller juveniles.If an American alligator's primary food resource is not available, it will sometimes feed on carrion and non-prey items such as rocks and artificial objects, like bottle caps. These items help the American alligator in the process of digestion by crushing up the meat and bones of animals, especially animals with shells.
+
+Large animals
+Other animals may occasionally be eaten, even large deer or feral wild boars, but these are not normally part of the diet. American alligators occasionally prey on large mammals, such as deer, but usually do so when fish and smaller prey levels go down. Rarely, American alligators have been observed killing and eating bobcats, but such events are not common and have little effect on bobcat populations. Although American alligators have been listed as predators of the Nilgai and the West Indian manatees, very little evidence exists of such predation. In the 2000s, when invasive Burmese pythons first occupied the Everglades, American alligators have been recorded preying on sizable snakes, possibly controlling populations and preventing the invasive species from spreading northwards. However, the python is also known to occasionally prey on alligators, a form of both competition and predation.
+American alligator predation on Florida panthers is rare, but has been documented. Such incidents usually involve a panther trying to cross a waterway or coming down to a swamp or river to get a drink. American alligator predation on American black bears has also been recorded.
+
+Domestic animals
+Occasionally, domestic animals, including dogs, cats, and calves, are taken as available, but are secondary to wild and feral prey. Other prey, including snakes, lizards, and various invertebrates, are eaten occasionally by adults.
+
+Birds
+Water birds, such as herons, egrets, storks, waterfowl and large dabbling rails such as gallinules or coots, are taken when possible. Occasionally, unwary adult birds are grabbed and eaten by American alligators, but most predation on bird species occurs with unsteady fledgling birds in late summer, as fledgling birds attempt to make their first flights near the water's edge.
+
+Fruit
+In 2013, American alligators and other crocodilians were reported to also eat fruit.
+Such behavior has been witnessed, as well as documented from stomach contents, with the American alligators eating such fruit as wild grapes, elderberries, and citrus fruits directly from the trees. Thirty-four families and 46 genera of plants were represented among seeds and fruits found in the stomach contents of alligators. The discovery of this unexpected part of the American alligator diet further reveals that they may be responsible for spreading seeds from the fruit they consume across their habitat.
+
+Cooperative hunting
+Additionally, American alligators engage in what seems to be cooperative hunting. One observation of cooperative hunting techniques was where there are pushing American alligators and catching American alligators and they were observed taking turns in each position. Another observation said that about 60 American alligators gathered in an area and would form a semicircle with about half of them and would push the fish closer to the bank. Once one of the American alligators caught a fish another one would enter into its spot, and it would take the fish to the resting area. This was reported to have occurred two days in a row.
+
+In Florida and East Texas
+The diet of adult American alligators from central Florida lakes is dominated by fish, but the species is highly opportunistically based upon local availability. In Lake Griffin, fish made up 54% of the diet by weight, with catfish being most commonly consumed, while in Lake Apopka, fish made up 90% of the food and mostly shad were taken; in Lake Woodruff, the diet was 84% fish and largely consists of bass and sunfish. Unusually in these regions, reptiles and amphibians were the most important nonpiscivore prey, mostly turtles and water snakes. In southern Louisiana, crustaceans (largely crawfish and crabs) were found to be present in the southeastern American alligators, but largely absent in southwestern American alligators, which consumed a relatively high proportion of reptiles, although fish were the most recorded prey for adults, and adult males consumed a large portion of mammals.In East Texas, diets were diverse and adult American alligators took mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates (e.g. snails) in often equal measure as they did fish.
+
+Vocalizations
+Mechanism
+An American alligator is able to abduct and adduct the vocal folds of its larynx, but not to elongate or shorten them; yet in spite of this, it can modulate fundamental frequency very well. Their vocal folds consists of epithelium, lamina propria and muscle. Sounds ranged from 50 to 1200 Hz. In one experiment conducted on the larynx, the fundamental frequency depended on both the glottal gap and stiffness of the larynx tissues. As the frequency increases, there's high tension and large strains. The fundamental frequency has been influenced by the glottal gap size and subglottal pressure and when the phonation threshold pressure has been exceeded, there will be vocal fold vibration.
+
+Calls
+Crocodilians are the most vocal of all non-avian reptiles and have a variety of different calls depending on the age, size, and sex of the animal. The American alligator can perform specific vocalizations to declare territory, signal distress, threaten competitors, and locate suitable mates. Juveniles can perform a high-pitched hatchling call (a "yelping" trait common to many crocodilian species' hatchling young) to alert their mothers when they are ready to emerge from the nest. Juveniles also make a distress call to alert their mothers if they are being threatened. Adult American alligators can growl, hiss, or cough to threaten others and declare territory.
+
+Bellowing
+Both males and females bellow loudly by sucking air into their lungs and blowing it out in intermittent, deep-toned roars to attract mates and declare territory. Males are known to use infrasound during mating bellows. Bellowing is performed in a "head oblique, tail arched" posture. Infrasonic waves from a bellowing male can cause the surface of the water directly over and to either side of his back to literally "sprinkle", in what is commonly called the "water dance". Large bellowing "choruses" of American alligators during the breeding season are commonly initiated by females and perpetuated by males. Observers of large bellowing choruses have noted they are often felt more than they are heard due to the intense infrasound emitted by males. American alligators bellow in B flat (specifically "B♭1", defined as an audio frequency of 58.27 Hz), and bellowing choruses can be induced by tuba players, sonic booms, and large aircraft.
+
+Lifespan
+American alligators typically live to the age of 50, and possibly over 70 years old. Males reach sexual maturity at around 11.6 years, and females at around 15.8 years. Although it was originally thought that American alligators never stop growing, studies have now found that males stop growing at around the age of 43 years, and females stop growing at around the age of 31 years.
+
+Reproduction
+Breeding season
+The breeding season begins in the spring. On spring nights, American alligators gather in large numbers for group courtship, in the aforementioned "water dances". The female builds a nest of vegetation, sticks, leaves, and mud in a sheltered spot in or near the water.
+
+Eggs
+After the female lays her 20 to 50 white eggs, about the size of a goose egg, she covers them with more vegetation, which heats as it decays, helping to keep the eggs warm. This differs from Nile crocodiles, which lay their eggs in pits. The temperature at which American alligator eggs develop determines their sex (see temperature-dependent sex determination). Studies have found that eggs hatched at a temperature below 88.7 °F or a temperature above 94.1 °F will produce female offspring, while those at a temperature between 90.5 °F to 92.3 °F will produce male offspring. The nests built on levees are warmer, thus produce males, while the cooler nests of wet marsh produce females. The female remains near the nest throughout the 65-day incubation period, protecting it from intruders. When the young begin to hatch — their "yelping" calls can sometimes even be heard just before hatching commences — the mother quickly digs them out and carries them to the water in her mouth, as some other crocodilian species are known to do.
+
+Young
+The young are tiny replicas of adults, with a series of yellow bands around their bodies that serve as camouflage. Hatchlings gather into pods and are guarded by their mother and keep in contact with her through their "yelping" vocalizations. Young American alligators eat small fish, frogs, crayfish, and insects. They are preyed on by large fish, birds, raccoons, Florida panthers, and adult American alligators. Mother American alligators eventually become more aggressive towards their young, which encourages them to disperse. Young American alligators grow 3–8 in (7.6–20.3 cm) a year and reach adulthood at 6 ft (1.8 m).
+
+Parasites
+American alligators are commonly infected with parasites. In a 2016 Texas study, 100% of the specimens collected were infected with parasites, and by at least 20 different species of parasites, including lung pentastomids, gastric nematodes, intestinal helminths. When compared to American alligators from different states there was no significant difference in prevalence.
+
+Interactions with exotic species
+Nutria were introduced into coastal marshes from South America in the mid-20th century, and their population has since exploded into the millions. They cause serious damage to coastal marshes and may dig burrows in levees. Hence, Louisiana has had a bounty to try to reduce nutria numbers. Large American alligators feed heavily on nutria, so American alligators may not only control nutria populations in Louisiana, but also prevent them spreading east into the Everglades. Since hunting and trapping preferentially take the large American alligators that are the most important in eating nutria, some changes in harvesting may be needed to capitalize on their ability to control nutria.Recently, a population of Burmese pythons became established in Everglades National Park. Substantial American alligator populations in the Everglades might be a contributing factor, as a competitor, in keeping the python populations low, preventing the spread of the species north. While events of predation by Burmese pythons on any sizable American alligators have been observed, no evidence of a net negative effect has been seen on overall American alligator populations.
+
+Indicators of environmental restoration
+American alligators play an important role in the restoration of the Everglades as biological indicators of restoration success. American alligators are highly sensitive to changes in the hydrology, salinity, and productivity of their ecosystems; all are factors that are expected to change with Everglades restoration. American alligators also may control the long-term vegetation dynamics in wetlands by reducing the population of small mammals, particularly nutria, which may otherwise overgraze marsh vegetation.  In this way, the vital ecological service they provide may be important in reducing rates of coastal wetland losses in Louisiana. They may provide a protection service for water birds nesting on islands in freshwater wetlands. American alligators prevent predatory mammals from reaching island-based rookeries and in return eat spilled food and birds that fall from their nests. Wading birds appear to be attracted to areas with American alligators and have been known to nest at heavily trafficked tourist attractions with large numbers of American alligators, such as the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Attacks on humans
+American alligators are capable of killing humans, but fatal attacks are rare. Mistaken identity leading to an attack is always possible, especially in or near cloudy waters. American alligators are often less aggressive towards humans than larger crocodile species, a few of which (mainly the Nile and saltwater crocodiles) may prey on humans with some regularity. Alligator bites are serious injuries, due to the reptile's sheer bite force and risk of infection. Even with medical treatment, an American alligator bite may still result in a fatal infection.As human populations increase, and as they build houses in low-lying areas, or fish or hunt near water, incidents are inevitable where humans intrude on American alligators and their habitats. Since 1948, 257 documented attacks on humans in Florida (about five incidents per year) have been reported, of which an estimated 23 resulted in death. Only nine fatal attacks occurred in the United States throughout the 1970s–1990s, but American alligators killed 12 people between 2001 and 2007. An additional report of alligator attacks showed a total of 376 injuries and 15 deaths recorded all from 1948 to 2004, leading this to an increase of the alligator population. In May 2006, American alligators killed three Floridians in less than a week. At least 28 fatal attacks by American alligators have occurred in the United States since 1970.
+
+Wrestling
+Since the late 1880s, alligator wrestling has been a source of entertainment for some. Created by the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes prior to the arrival of Europeans, this tourism tradition remains popular despite criticism from animal-rights activists.
+
+Farming
+Today, alligator farming is a large, growing industry in Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana. These states produce a combined annual total of some 45,000 alligator hides. Alligator hides bring good prices and hides in the 6- to 7-ft range have sold for $300 each. The market for alligator meat is growing, and about 300,000 pounds (140,000 kg) of meat are produced annually. According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, raw alligator meat contains roughly 200 Calories (840 kJ) per 3-oz (85-g) portion, of which 27 Calories (130 kJ) come from fat.
+
+Culture and film
+The American alligator is the official state reptile of Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Several organizations and products from Florida have been named after the animal.
+"Gators" has been the nickname of the University of Florida's sports teams since 1911. In 1908, a printer made a spur-of-the-moment decision to print an alligator emblem on a shipment of the school's football pennants. The mascot stuck, and was made official in 1911, perhaps because the team captain's nickname was Gator. Allegheny College and San Francisco State University both have Gators as their mascots, as well.The Gator Bowl is a college football game held in Jacksonville annually since 1946, with Gator Bowl Stadium hosting the event until the 1993 edition. The Gatornationals is a NHRA drag race held at the Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville since 1970.
+
+See also
+Chinese alligator, the other living species of alligator
+Muja, the oldest living alligator in captivity, lived in Belgrade Zoo, Serbia
+Saturn, an alligator that survived the destruction of the Berlin Zoological Garden during World War II
+The Alligator People
+Gatorland
+Brazos Bend State Park
+Sewer alligator
+
+References
+External links
+Crocodilian Online Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
+Photo exhibit on alligators in Florida from State Archives of Florida
+Why the Gulf Coast needs more big alligators
+Alligator bellows and hisses Archived March 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine – sound clips from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
+View the allMis1 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser.
+
+Further reading
+Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-VI. (Alligator mississippiensis, p. 290).
+Daudin FM (1802). Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles; Ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon; et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs sociétés savantes. Tome Second [Volume 2]. 432 pp. Paris: F. Dufart. ("Crocodilus mississipiensis [sic]", new species, pp. 412–416). (in French and Latin).
+Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 Plates, 207 Figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Alligator mississippiensis, p. 170 + Plate 13 + photographs on pp. 166–167, 465).
+Smith, Hobart M.; Brodie, Edmund D., Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Alligator mississippiensis, pp. 208–209).
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+The American black bear (Ursus americanus), also known as the black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. The American black bear is an omnivore, with a diet varying greatly depending on season and location. It typically lives in largely forested areas, but will leave forests in search of food, and is sometimes attracted to human communities due to the immediate availability of food.
+The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the American black bear as a least-concern species, due to its widespread distribution and a large population estimated to be twice that of all other bear species combined. Along with the brown bear (Ursus arctos), it is one of only two modern bear species not considered by the IUCN to be globally threatened with extinction.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Despite living in North America, American black bears are not closely related to brown bears and polar bears; genetic studies reveal that they split from a common ancestor 5.05 million years ago (mya). American and Asian black bears are considered sister taxa and are more closely related to each other than to the other modern species of bears. According to recent studies, the sun bear is also a relatively recent split from this lineage.A small primitive bear called Ursus abstrusus is the oldest known North American fossil member of the genus Ursus, dated to 4.95 mya. This suggests that U. abstrusus may be the direct ancestor of the American black bear, which evolved in North America. Although Wolverton and Lyman still consider U. vitabilis an "apparent precursor to modern black bears", it has also been placed within U. americanus.The ancestors of American black bears and Asian black bears diverged from sun bears 4.58 mya. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya. The earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asian species, though later specimens grew to sizes comparable to grizzly bears. From the Holocene to the present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size, but this has been disputed because of problems with dating these fossil specimens.The American black bear lived during the same period as the giant and lesser short-faced bears (Arctodus simus and A. pristinus, respectively) and the Florida spectacled bear (Tremarctos floridanus). These tremarctine bears evolved from bears that had emigrated from Asia to the Americas 7–8 mya. The giant and lesser short-faced bears are thought to have been heavily carnivorous and the Florida spectacled bear more herbivorous, while the American black bears remained arboreal omnivores, like their Asian ancestors. The American black bear's generalist behavior allowed it to exploit a wider variety of foods and has been given as a reason why, of these three genera, it alone survived climate and vegetative changes through the last Ice Age while the other, more specialized North American predators became extinct. However, both Arctodus and Tremarctos had survived several other, previous ice ages. After these prehistoric ursids became extinct during the last glacial period 10,000 years ago, American black bears were probably the only bear present in much of North America until the migration of brown bears to the rest of the continent.
+
+Hybrids
+American black bears are reproductively compatible with several other bear species and occasionally produce hybrid offspring. According to Jack Hanna's Monkeys on the Interstate, a bear captured in Sanford, Florida was thought to have been the offspring of an escaped female Asian black bear and a male American black bear. In 1859, an American black bear and a Eurasian brown bear were bred together in the London Zoological Gardens, but the three cubs that were born died before they reached maturity. In The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Charles Darwin noted:
+
+In the nine-year Report it is stated that the bears had been seen in the zoological gardens to couple freely, but previously to 1848 most had rarely conceived. In the reports published since this date three species have produced young (hybrids in one case), ...
+A bear shot in autumn 1986 in Michigan was thought by some to be an American black bear/grizzly bear hybrid, due to its unusually large size and its proportionately larger brain case and skull. DNA testing was unable to determine whether it was a large American black bear or a grizzly bear.
+
+Subspecies
+Sixteen subspecies are traditionally recognized; however, a recent genetic study does not support designating some of these, such as the Florida black bear, as distinct subspecies. Listed alphabetically according to subspecific name:
+
+Distribution and population
+Historically, American black bears occupied the majority of North America's forested regions. Today, they are primarily limited to sparsely settled, forested areas. American black bears currently inhabit much of their original Canadian range, though they seldom occur in the southern farmlands of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; they have been extirpated on Prince Edward Island since 1937. The total Canadian black bear population is between 396,000 and 476,000, based on surveys taken in the mid-1990s in seven Canadian provinces, though this estimate excludes American black bear populations in New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. All provinces indicated stable populations of American black bears over the last decade.The current range of American black bears in the United States is constant throughout most of the Northeast and within the Appalachian Mountains almost continuously from Maine to northern Georgia, the northern Midwest, the Rocky Mountain region, the West Coast and Alaska. However, it becomes increasingly fragmented or absent in other regions. Despite this, American black bears in those areas seem to have expanded their range during the last decade, such as with recent sightings in Ohio, Illinois, and southern Indiana. Sightings of itinerant American black bears in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and southwestern Wisconsin are common. In the spring of 2019, biologists with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources confirmed documentation of an American black bear living year-round in woodlands near the town of Decorah in northeastern Iowa, believed to be the first instance of a resident black bear in Iowa since the 1880s.Surveys taken from 35 states in the early 1990s indicate that American black bears are either stable or increasing, except in Idaho and New Mexico. The overall population of American black bears in the United States has been estimated to range between 339,000 and 465,000, though this excludes populations from Alaska, Idaho, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, whose population sizes are unknown. In the state of California, there are an estimated 25,000-35,000 American black bears, making it the largest population of the species in the contiguous United States.As of 1993, known black bear populations in Mexico have existed in four areas, though knowledge on the distribution of populations outside those areas has not been updated since 1959. Mexico is the only country where the American black bear is classified as "endangered".There have been several sightings quite far away from where the American black bear is normally found, such as western Nebraska.There are about 1,500 bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The population density is about two per square mile. They inhabit all elevations in the area.
+
+Habitat
+Throughout their range, habitats preferred by American black bears have a few shared characteristics. They are often found in areas with relatively inaccessible terrain, thick understory vegetation and large quantities of edible material (especially masts). The adaptation to woodlands and thick vegetation in this species may have originally been due to the American black bear having evolved alongside larger, more aggressive bear species, such as the extinct giant short-faced bear and the still-living grizzly bear, that monopolized more open habitats and the historic presence of larger predators, such as Smilodon and the American lion, that could have preyed on American black bears. Although found in the largest numbers in wild, undisturbed areas and rural regions, American black bears can adapt to surviving in some numbers in peri-urban regions, as long as they contain easily accessible foods and some vegetative coverage.In most of the contiguous United States, American black bears today are usually found in heavily vegetated mountainous areas, from 400 to 3,000 m (1,300 to 9,800 ft) in elevation. For American black bears living in the American Southwest and Mexico, habitat usually consists of stands of chaparral and pinyon juniper woods. In this region, bears occasionally move to more open areas to feed on prickly pear cactus. At least two distinct, prime habitat types are inhabited in the Southeastern United States. American black bears in the southern Appalachian Mountains survive in predominantly oak-hickory and mixed mesophytic forests. In the coastal areas of the Southeast (such as Florida, the Carolinas and Louisiana), bears inhabit a mixture of flatwoods, bays and swampy hardwood sites.
+In the northeastern part of the range (the United States and Canada), prime habitat consists of a forest canopy of hardwoods such as beech, maple, birch and coniferous species. Corn crops and oak-hickory mast are also common sources of food in some sections of the Northeast; small, thick swampy areas provide excellent refuge cover largely in stands of white cedar. Along the Pacific coast, redwood, Sitka spruce and hemlocks predominate as overstory cover. Within these northern forest types are early successional areas important for American black bears, such as fields of brush, wet and dry meadows, high tidelands, riparian areas and a variety of mast-producing hardwood species. The spruce-fir forest dominates much of the range of the American black bear in the Rockies. Important non-forested areas here are wet meadows, riparian areas, avalanche chutes, roadsides, burns, sidehill parks and subalpine ridgetops.
+In areas where human development is relatively low, such as stretches of Canada and Alaska, American black bears tend to be found more regularly in lowland regions. In parts of northeastern Canada, especially Labrador, American black bears have adapted exclusively to semi-open areas that are more typical habitat in North America for brown bears (likely due to the absence there of brown and polar bears, as well as other large carnivore species).
+
+Description
+Build
+The skulls of American black bears are broad, with narrow muzzles and large jaw hinges. In Virginia, the total length of adult bear skulls was found to average 262 to 317 mm (10.3 to 12.5 in). Across its range, the greatest skull length for the species has been reportedly measured from 23.5 to 35 cm (9.3 to 13.8 in). Females tend to have slenderer and more pointed faces than males. Their claws are typically black or grayish-brown. The claws are short and rounded, being thick at the base and tapering to a point. Claws from both hind and front legs are almost identical in length, though the foreclaws tend to be more sharply curved. The paws of the species are relatively large, with a rear foot length of 13.7 to 22.5 cm (5.4 to 8.9 in), which is proportionately larger than other medium-sized bear species, but much smaller than the paws of large adult brown, and especially polar, bears. The soles of the feet are black or brownish and are naked, leathery and deeply wrinkled. The hind legs are relatively longer than those of Asian black bears. The vestigial tail is usually 4.8 inches (120 mm) long. The ears are small and rounded and are set well back on the head.
+American black bears are highly dexterous, being capable of opening screw-top jars and manipulating door latches. They also have great physical strength; a bear weighing 120 pounds (54 kg) was observed turning flat rocks weighing 310 to 325 pounds (141 to 147 kg) by flipping them over with a single foreleg. They move in a rhythmic, sure-footed way and can run at speeds of 25 to 30 miles per hour (40 to 48 km/h). American black bears have good eyesight and have been proven experimentally to be able to learn visual color discrimination tasks faster than chimpanzees and just as fast as domestic dogs. They are also capable of rapidly learning to distinguish different shapes such as small triangles, circles and squares.
+
+Size
+American black bear weight tends to vary according to age, sex, health and season. Seasonal variation in weight is very pronounced: in autumn, their pre-den weight tends to be 30% higher than in spring, when black bears emerge from their dens. American black bears on the East Coast tend to be heavier on average than those on the West Coast, although American black bears follow Bergmann's rule and bears from the Northwest are often slightly heavier than the bears from the Southeast. Adult males typically weigh between 57–250 kg (126–551 lb), while females weigh 33% less at 41–170 kg (90–375 lb).In the state of California, studies have indicated that the average mass is 86 kg (190 lb) in adult males and 58 kg (128 lb) in adult females. Adult American black bears in Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Alaska were found to average 87.3 kg (192 lb) in males and 63.4 kg (140 lb) in females, whereas on Kuiu Island in southeastern Alaska (where nutritious salmon are readily available) adult American black bears averaged an estimated 115 kg (254 lb). In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, adult males averaged 112 kg (247 lb) and adult females averaged 47 kg (104 lb) per one study. In one of the largest studies on regional body mass, bears in British Columbia averaged 73.7 kg (162 lb) in 89 females and 103.1 kg (227 lb) in 243 males. In Yellowstone National Park, a population study found that adult males averaged 119 kg (262 lb) and adult females averaged 67 kg (148 lb). Black bears in north-central Minnesota averaged 70 kg (150 lb) in 163 females and 125 kg (276 lb) in 77 males. In New York, the two sexes reportedly average 136 kg (300 lb) for males, and 72.6 kg (160 lb) for females. It was found in Nevada and the Lake Tahoe region that American black bears closer to urban regions were significantly heavier than their arid-country dwelling counterparts, with males near urban areas averaging 138 kg (304 lb) against wild-land males which averaged 115.5 kg (255 lb) whereas peri-urban females averaged 97.9 kg (216 lb) against the average of 65.2 kg (144 lb) in wild-land ones. In Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, adults reportedly averaged 125 to 128 kg (276 to 282 lb). Adults typically range from 120 to 200 cm (47 to 79 in) in head-and-body length, and 70 to 105 cm (28 to 41 in) in shoulder height. The typically small tail is 7.7–17.7 cm (3.0–7.0 in) long. Although they are the smallest bear species in North America, large males exceed the size of other bear species, except the brown bear and the polar bear.The biggest wild American black bear ever recorded was a male from New Brunswick, shot in November 1972, that weighed 409 kg (902 lb) after it had been dressed, meaning it weighed an estimated 500 kg (1,100 lb) in life and measured 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in) long. Another notably outsized wild American black bear, weighing in at 408 kg (899 lb) in total, was the cattle-killer shot in December 1921 on the Moqui Reservation in Arizona. The record-sized American black bear from New Jersey was shot in Morris County December 2011 and scaled 376.5 kg (830 lb). Even larger, the most massive American black bear recorded in Pennsylvania (one of six weighing over 363 kg (800 lb) shot in the last 15 years in the state) weighed in at 399 kg (880 lb) and was shot in November 2010 in Pike County. The North American Bear Center, located in Ely, Minnesota, is home to the world's largest captive male and female American black bears. Ted, the male, weighed 431–453.5 kg (950–1,000 lb) in the fall of 2006. Honey, the female, weighed 219.6 kg (484 lb) in the fall of 2007.
+
+Pelage
+The fur is soft, with dense underfur and long, coarse, thick guard hairs. The fur is not as shaggy or coarse as that of brown bears. American black bear skins can be distinguished from those of Asian black bears by the lack of a white blaze on the chest and hairier footpads. Despite their name, American black bears show a great deal of color variation. Individual coat colors can range from white, blonde, cinnamon, light brown or dark chocolate brown to jet black, with many intermediate variations existing. Silvery-gray American black bears with a blue luster (this is found mostly on the flanks) occur along a portion of coastal Alaska and British Columbia. White to cream-colored American black bears occur in the coastal islands and the adjacent mainland of southwestern British Columbia. Albino individuals have also been recorded.: 141  Black coats tend to predominate in moist areas such as Maine, New England, New York, Tennessee, Michigan and western Washington. Approximately 70% of all American black bears are black, though only 50% of American black bears in the Rocky Mountains are black. Many American black bears in northwestern North America are cinnamon, blonde or light brown in color and thus may sometimes be mistaken for grizzly bears. Grizzly (and other types of brown) bears can be distinguished by their shoulder hump, larger size and broader, more concave skull.In his book The Great Bear Almanac, Gary Brown summarized the predominance of black or brown/blonde specimens by location:
+
+Behavior and life history
+American black bears have eyesight and hearing comparable to that of humans. Their keenest sense is their sense of smell, which is about seven times more sensitive than a domestic dog's. American black bears are excellent and strong swimmers, swimming for pleasure and to feed (largely on fish). They regularly climb trees to feed, escape enemies and hibernate. Four of the eight modern bear species are habitually arboreal (the most arboreal species, the American and Asian black bears and the sun bear, being fairly closely related). Their arboreal abilities tend to decline with age. They may be active at any time of the day or night, although they mainly forage by night. American black bears living near human habitations tend to be more extensively nocturnal, while those living near brown bears tend to be more often diurnal.American black bears tend to be territorial and non-gregarious in nature. However, at abundant food sources (e.g. spawning salmon or garbage dumps), they may congregate and dominance hierarchies form, with the largest, most powerful males dominating the most fruitful feeding spots. They mark their territories by rubbing their bodies against trees and clawing at the bark. Annual ranges held by mature male American black bears tend to be very large, though there is some variation. On Long Island off the coast of Washington, ranges average 5 sq mi (13 km2), whereas on the Ungava Peninsula in Canada ranges can average up to 1,000 sq mi (2,600 km2), with some male bears traveling as far as 4,349 sq mi (11,260 km2) at times of food shortages.American black bears may communicate with various vocal and non-vocal sounds. Tongue-clicking and grunting are the most common sounds and are made in cordial situations to conspecifics, offspring and occasionally humans. When at ease, they produce a loud rumbling hum. During times of fear or nervousness, bears may moan, huff or blow air. Warning sounds include jaw-clicking and lip-popping. In aggressive interactions, black bears produce guttural pulsing calls that may sound like growling. Cubs squeal, bawl or scream when anxious and make a motor-like humming sound when comfortable or nursing. American black bears often mark trees using their teeth and claws as a form of communication with other bears, a behavior common to many species of bears.
+
+Reproduction and development
+Sows usually produce their first litter at the age of 3 to 5 years, with those living in more developed areas tending to get pregnant at younger ages. The breeding period usually occurs in the June–July period, though it can extend to August in the species' northern range. The breeding period lasts for two to three months. Both sexes are promiscuous. Males try to mate with several females, but large, dominant ones may violently claim a female if another mature male comes near. Copulation can last 20–30 minutes. Sows tend to be short-tempered with their mates after copulating. The fertilized eggs undergo delayed development and do not implant in the female's womb until November. The gestation period lasts 235 days and litters are usually born in late January to early February. Litter size is between one and six cubs, typically two or three. At birth, cubs weigh 280–450 g (0.62–0.99 lb) and measure 20.5 cm (8.1 in) in length. They are born with fine, gray, down-like hair and their hind quarters are underdeveloped. They typically open their eyes after 28–40 days and begin walking after 5 weeks. Cubs are dependent on their mother's milk for 30 weeks and will reach independence at 16–18 months. At the age of 6 weeks, they attain 900 g (2.0 lb), by the age of 8 weeks they reach 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) and by the age of 6 months they weigh 18 to 27 kg (40 to 60 lb). They reach sexual maturity at the age of 3 years and attain their full growth at the age of 5 years.
+
+Longevity and mortality
+The average lifespan in the wild is 18 years, though it is quite possible for wild individuals to survive for more than 23 years. The record age of a wild individual was 39 years, while that in captivity was 44 years. The average annual survival rate for adult American black bears is variable, ranging from 86% in Florida to 73% in Virginia and North Carolina. In Minnesota, 99% of wintering adult bears were able to survive the hibernation cycle in one study. Remarkably, a study of American black bears in Nevada found that the amount of annual mortality of a population of bears in wilderness areas was 0%, whereas in developed areas in the state this figure rose to 83%. Survival in subadults is generally less assured. In Alaska, only 14–17% of subadult males and 30–48% of subadult females were found in a study to survive to adulthood. Across the range, the estimated number of cubs who survive past their first year is 60%.With the exception of the rare confrontation with an adult brown bear or a gray wolf pack, adult American black bears are not usually subject to natural predation. However, as evidenced by scats with fur inside of them and the recently discovered carcass of an adult sow with puncture marks in the skull, American black bears may occasionally fall prey to jaguars in the southern parts of their range. In such scenarios, the big cat would have the advantage if it ambushed the bear, killing it with a crushing bite to the back of the skull. American black bear cubs tend to be more vulnerable to predation than adults. Known predators of bear cubs have included bobcats, coyotes, cougars, gray wolves, brown bears and other bears of their own species. Many of these will stealthily snatch small cubs right from under the sleeping mother. There is a single record of a golden eagle snatching a yearling cub. Once out of hibernation, mother bears may be able to fight off most potential predators. Even cougars will be displaced by an angry mother bear if they are discovered stalking the cubs. Flooding of dens after birth may also occasionally kill newborn cubs. However, in current times, American black bear fatalities are mainly attributable to human activities. Seasonally, thousands of American black bears are hunted legally across North America to control their numbers, while some are illegally poached or trapped unregulated. Auto collisions also may claim many American black bear lives annually.
+
+Hibernation
+American black bears were once not considered true or "deep" hibernators, but because of discoveries about the metabolic changes that allow American black bears to remain dormant for months without eating, drinking, urinating or defecating, most biologists have redefined mammalian hibernation as "specialized, seasonal reduction in metabolism concurrent with scarce food and cold weather". American black bears are now considered highly efficient hibernators. The physiology of American black bears in the wild is closely related to that of bears in captivity. Understanding the physiology of bears in the wild is vital to the bear's success in captivity.The bears enter their dens in October and November, although in the southernmost areas of their range (i.e. Florida, Mexico, the Southeastern United States), only pregnant females and mothers with yearling cubs will enter hibernation. Prior to that time, they can put on up to 14 kg (30 lb) of body fat to get them through the several months during which they fast. Hibernation in American black bears typically lasts 3–8 months, depending on regional climate.Hibernating American black bears spend their time in hollowed-out dens in tree cavities, under logs or rocks, in banks, caves, or culverts and in shallow depressions. Although naturally made dens are occasionally used, most dens are dug out by the bear itself. Females have been shown to be pickier in their choice of dens in comparison to males.During their time in hibernation, an American black bear's heart rate drops from 40 to 50 beats per minute to 8 beats per minute and the metabolic rate can drop to a quarter of the bear's (nonhibernating) basal metabolic rate (BMR). These reductions in metabolic rate and heart rate do not appear to decrease the bear's ability to heal injuries during hibernation. Their circadian rhythm stays intact during hibernation. This allows the bear to sense the changes in the day based on the ambient temperature caused by the sun's position in the sky. It has also been shown that ambient light exposure and low disturbance levels (that is to say, wild bears in ambient light conditions) directly correlate with their activity levels. The bear keeping track of the changing days allows it to awaken from hibernation at the appropriate time of year to conserve as much energy as possible.The hibernating American black bear does not display the same rate of muscle and bone atrophy relative to other nonhibernatory animals that are subject to long periods of inactivity due to ailment or old age. A hibernating American black bear loses approximately half the muscular strength compared to that of a well-nourished, inactive human. The bear's bone mass does not change in geometry or mineral composition during hibernation, which implies that the bear's conservation of bone mass during hibernation is due to a biological mechanism. During hibernation American black bears retain all excretory waste, leading to the development of a hardened mass of fecal material in the colon known as a fecal plug. A special hormone, leptin, is released into the bear's systems to suppress appetite. The retention of waste during hibernation (specifically in minerals such as calcium) may play a role in the bear's resistance to atrophy.The body temperature of the American black bear does not drop significantly, like other mammalian hibernators (staying around 35 °C (95 °F)) and they remain somewhat alert and active. If the winter is mild enough, they may wake up and forage for food. Females also give birth in February and nurture their cubs until the snow melts. During winter, American black bears consume 25–40% of their body weight. The footpads peel off while they sleep, making room for new tissue.
+Many of the physiological changes an American black bear exhibits during hibernation are retained slightly post-hibernation. Upon exiting hibernation, bears retain a reduced heart rate and basal metabolic rate. The metabolic rate of a hibernating bear will remain at a reduced level for up to 21 days after hibernation. After emerging from their winter dens in spring, they wander their home ranges for two weeks so that their metabolism accustoms itself to the activity. In mountainous areas, they seek southerly slopes at lower elevations for forage and move to northerly and easterly slopes at higher elevations as summer progresses.
+The time that American black bears emerge from hibernation varies. Factors affecting this include temperature, flooding, and hunger. In southern areas, they may wake up in midwinter. Further north, they may not be seen until late March, April, or even early May. Altitude also has an effect. Bears at lower altitudes tend to emerge earlier. Finally, mature males tend to come out earliest, followed by immature males and females, and lastly mothers with cubs. Mothers with yearling cubs are seen before those with newborns.
+
+Dietary habits
+Generally, American black bears are largely crepuscular in foraging activity, though they may actively feed at any time. Up to 85% of the American black bear's diet consists of vegetation, though they tend to dig less than brown bears, eating far fewer roots, bulbs, corms and tubers than the latter species. When initially emerging from hibernation, they will seek to feed on carrion from winter-killed animals and newborn ungulates. As the spring temperature warms, American black bears seek new shoots of many plant species, especially new grasses, wetland plants and forbs. Young shoots and buds from trees and shrubs during the spring period are also especially important to American black bears emerging from hibernation, as they assist in rebuilding muscle and strengthening the skeleton and are often the only digestible foods available at that time. During summer, the diet largely comprises fruits, especially berries and soft masts such as buds and drupes. During the autumn hyperphagia, feeding becomes virtually the full-time task of American black bears. Hard masts become the most important part of the American black bear's diet in autumn and may even partially dictate the species' distribution. Favored masts such as hazelnuts, oak acorns and whitebark pine nuts may be consumed by the hundreds each day by a single American black bear during the fall. During the fall period, American black bears may also habitually raid the nut caches of tree squirrels. Also extremely important in fall are berries such as huckleberries and buffalo berries. American black bears living in areas near human settlements or around a considerable influx of recreational human activity often come to rely on foods inadvertently provided by humans, especially during summertime. These include refuse, birdseed, agricultural products and honey from apiaries.The majority of the American black bear's animal diet consists of insects, such as bees, yellow jackets, ants, beetles and their larvae. American black bears are also fond of honey and will gnaw through trees if hives are too deeply set into the trunks for them to reach it with their paws. Once the hive is breached, the bears will scrape the honeycombs together with their paws and eat them, regardless of stings from the bees. American black bears that live in northern coastal regions (especially the Pacific Coast) will fish for salmon during the night, as their black fur is easily spotted by salmon in the daytime. Other bears, such as the white-furred Kermode bears of the islands of western Canada, have a 30% greater success rate in catching salmon than their black-furred counterparts. Other fish, including suckers, trout and catfish, are readily caught whenever possible. Although American black bears do not often engage in active predation of other large animals for much of the year, the species will regularly prey on mule and white-tailed deer fawns in spring, given the opportunity. Bears may catch the scent of hiding fawns when foraging for something else and then sniff them out and pounce on them. As the fawns reach 10 days of age, they can outmaneuver the bears and their scent is soon ignored until the next year. American black bears have also been recorded similarly preying on elk calves in Idaho and moose calves in Alaska.Predation on adult deer is rare, but it has been recorded. They may even hunt prey up to the size of adult female moose, which are considerably larger than themselves, by ambushing them. There is at least one record of a male American black bear killing two bull elk over the course of six days by chasing them into deep snow banks, which impeded their movements. In Labrador, American black bears are exceptionally carnivorous, living largely off caribou, usually young, injured, old, sickly or dead specimens, and rodents such as voles. This is believed to be due to a paucity of edible plant life in this sub-Arctic region and a local lack of competing large carnivores (including other bear species). Like brown bears, American black bears try to use surprise to ambush their prey and target the weak, injured, sickly or dying animals in the herds. Once a deer fawn is captured, it is frequently torn apart alive while feeding. If it is able to capture a mother deer in spring, the bear frequently begins feeding on the udder of lactating females, but generally prefers meat from the viscera. American black bears often drag their prey to cover, preferring to feed in seclusion. The skin of large prey is stripped back and turned inside out, with the skeleton usually left largely intact. Unlike gray wolves and coyotes, American black bears rarely scatter the remains of their kills. Vegetation around the carcass is usually matted down by American black bears and their droppings are frequently found nearby. American black bears may attempt to cover remains of larger carcasses, though they do not do so with the same frequency as cougars and grizzly bears. They will readily consume eggs and nestlings of various birds and can easily access many tree nests, even the huge nests of bald eagles. American black bears have been reported stealing deer and other game from human hunters.
+
+Interspecific predatory relationships
+Over much of their range, American black bears are assured scavengers that can intimidate, using their large size and considerable strength, and if necessary dominate other predators in confrontations over carcasses. However, on occasions where they encounter Kodiak or grizzly bears, the larger two brown subspecies dominate them. American black bears tend to escape competition from brown bears by being more active in the daytime and living in more densely forested areas. Violent interactions, resulting in the deaths of American black bears, have been recorded in Yellowstone National Park.American black bears do occasionally compete with cougars over carcasses. Like brown bears, they will sometimes steal kills from cougars. One study found that both bear species visited 24% of cougar kills in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, usurping 10% of the carcasses. Another study found that American black bears visited 48% of cougar kills in summer in Colorado and 77% of kills in California. As a result, the cats spend more time killing and less time feeding on each kill.American black bear interactions with gray wolves are much rarer than with brown bears, due to differences in habitat preferences. The majority of American black bear encounters with wolves occur in the species' northern range, with no interactions being recorded in Mexico. Despite the American black bear being more powerful on a one-to-one basis, packs of wolves have been recorded to kill black bears on numerous occasions without eating them. Unlike brown bears, American black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills. Wolf packs typically kill American black bears when the larger animals are in their hibernation cycle.There is at least one record of an American black bear killing a wolverine (Gulo gulo) in a dispute over food in Yellowstone National Park. Anecdotal cases of alligator predation on American black bears have been reported, though such cases may involve assaults on cubs.At least one jaguar (Panthera onca) has been recorded to have attacked and eaten a black bear: "El Jefe", the jaguar famous for being the first jaguar seen in the United States in over a century.
+
+Relationships with humans
+In folklore, mythology and culture
+Indigenous
+American black bears feature prominently in the stories of some of America's indigenous peoples. One tale tells of how the black bear was a creation of the Great Spirit, while the grizzly bear was created by the Evil Spirit. In the mythology of the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian people of the Northwest Coast, mankind first learned to respect bears when a girl married the son of a black bear chieftain. In Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw mythology, American black and brown bears became enemies when Grizzly Bear Woman killed Black Bear Woman for being lazy. Black Bear Woman's children, in turn, killed Grizzly Bear Woman's children. The Navajo believed that the Big Black Bear was chief among the bears of the four directions surrounding Sun's house and would pray to it in order to be granted its protection during raids.Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan is named after a Native American legend, where a female bear and her two cubs swam across Lake Michigan to escape a fire on the Wisconsin shore. The mother bear reached the shore and waited for her cubs, but they did not make it across. Two islands mark where the cubs drowned, while the dune marks the spot where the mother bear waited.
+
+Anglo-American
+Morris Michtom, the creator of the teddy bear, was inspired to make the toy when he came across a cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt refusing to shoot an American black bear cub tied to a tree. The fictional character Winnie-the-Pooh was named after Winnipeg, a female American black bear cub that lived at the London Zoo from 1915 until her death in 1934. An American black bear cub, who in the spring of 1950 was caught in the Capitan Gap Fire, was made into the living representative of Smokey Bear, the mascot of the United States Forest Service.Terrible Ted was a de-toothed and de-clawed American black bear who was forced to perform as a pro wrestler and whose "career" lasted from the 1950s to the 1970s. The American black bear is the mascot of the University of Maine and Baylor University, where the university houses two live American black bears on campus.
+
+Attacks on humans
+Although an adult bear is quite capable of killing a human, American black bears typically avoid confronting humans. Unlike grizzly bears, which became a subject of fearsome legend among the European settlers of North America, black bears were rarely considered overly dangerous, even though they lived in areas where the pioneers had settled.
+American black bears rarely attack when confronted by humans and usually only make mock charges, emit blowing noises and swat the ground with their forepaws. The number of attacks on humans is higher than those by brown bears in North America, but this is largely because black bears considerably outnumber brown bears. Compared to brown bear attacks, aggressive encounters with American black bears rarely lead to serious injury. Most American black bear attacks tend to be motivated by hunger rather than territoriality and thus victims have a higher probability of surviving by fighting back rather than submitting. Unlike female brown bears, female American black bears are not as protective of their cubs and rarely attack humans in the vicinity of the cubs. However, occasionally such attacks do occur. The worst recorded attack occurred in May 1978, in which an American black bear killed three teenagers fishing in Algonquin Park in Ontario. Another exceptional attack occurred in August 1997 in Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park in British Columbia, when an emaciated American black bear attacked a mother and child, killing the mother and a man who intervened. The bear was shot while mauling a fourth victim.The majority of attacks happened in national parks, usually near campgrounds, where the bears had habituated to close human proximity and food. Of 1,028 incidents of aggressive acts toward humans, recorded from 1964 to 1976 in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 resulted in injury and occurred mainly in tourist hot spots where people regularly fed the bears handouts. In almost every case where open garbage dumps that attracted American black bears were closed and handouts ceased, the number of aggressive encounters dropped. However, in the Liard River Hot Springs case, the bear was apparently almost fully dependent on a local garbage dump that had closed and so was starving to death. Attempts to relocate American black bears are typically unsuccessful, as the bears seem able to return to their home range, even without familiar landscape cues.
+
+Livestock and crop predation
+A limitation of food sources in early spring and wild berry and nut crop failures in summer may contribute to American black bears regularly feeding from human-based food sources. These bears often eat crops, especially during autumn hyperphagia when natural foods are scarce. Favored crops include apples, oats and corn. American black bears can do extensive damage in areas of the northwestern United States by stripping the bark from trees and feeding on the cambium. Livestock depredations occur mostly in spring. Although they occasionally hunt adult cattle and horses, they seem to prefer smaller prey such as sheep, goats, pigs and young calves. They usually kill by biting the neck and shoulders, though they may break the neck or back of the prey with blows with the paws. Evidence of a bear attack includes claw marks and is often found on the neck, back and shoulders of larger animals. Surplus killing of sheep and goats are common. American black bears have been known to frighten livestock herds over cliffs, causing injuries and death to many animals; whether or not this is intentional is not known. Occasionally American black bears kill pets, especially domestic dogs, which are most prone to harass a bear. It is not recommended to use unleashed dogs to deter bear attacks. Although large, aggressive dogs can sometimes cause a bear to run, if pressed, angry bears often turn the tables and end up chasing the dogs in return. A bear in pursuit of a pet dog can threaten both canid and human lives.In British Columbia, a group of American black bears were used as guard animals to protect a marijuana plantation.
+
+Hunting
+The hunting of American black bears has taken place since the initial settlement of the Americas. The first piece of evidence dates to a Clovis site at Lehner Ranch, Arizona. Partially calcined teeth of a 3-month old black bear cub came from a roasting pit, suggesting the bear cub was eaten. The surrounding charcoal was dated to the Early Holocene (10,940 BP). Black bear remains also appear to be associated with early peoples in Tlapacoya, Mexico. Native Americans increasingly utilized black bears during the Holocene, particularly in the late Holocene upper Midwest, e.g., Hopewell and Mississippian cultures.Some Native American tribes, in admiration for the American black bear's intelligence, would decorate the heads of bears they killed with trinkets and place them on blankets. Tobacco smoke would be wafted into the disembodied head's nostrils by the hunter that dealt the killing blow, who would compliment the animal for its courage. The Kutchin typically hunted American black bears during their hibernation cycle. Unlike the hunting of hibernating grizzly bears, which was fraught with danger, hibernating American black bears took longer to awaken and hunting them was thus safer and easier. During the European colonisation of eastern North America, thousands of American black bears were hunted for their meat, fat and fur. Theodore Roosevelt wrote extensively on American black bear hunting in his Hunting the Grisly and other sketches, in which he stated,
+
+in [a black bear] chase there is much excitement, and occasionally a slight spice of danger, just enough to render it attractive; so it has always been eagerly followed.
+He wrote that American black bears were difficult to hunt by stalking, due to their habitat preferences, though they were easy to trap. Roosevelt described how, in the southern states, planters regularly hunted American black bears on horseback with hounds. General Wade Hampton was known to have been present at 500 successful American black bear hunts, two-thirds of which he killed personally. He killed 30 or 40 American black bears with only a knife, which he would use to stab the bears between the shoulder blades while they were distracted by his hounds. Unless well trained, horses were often useless in American black bear hunts, as they often bolted when the bears stood their ground. In 1799, 192,000 American black bear skins were exported from Quebec. In 1822, 3,000 skins were exported from the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1992, untanned, fleshed and salted American black bear hides were sold for an average of $165.In Canada, American black bears are considered as both a big game and furbearer species in all provinces, save for New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories, where they are only classed as a big game species. There are around 80,900 licensed American black bear hunters in all of Canada. Canadian black bear hunts take place in the fall and spring and both male and female bears can be legally taken, though some provinces prohibit the hunting of females with cubs, or yearlings.Currently, 28 of the U.S. states have American black bear hunting seasons. Nineteen states require a bear hunting license, with some also requiring a big game license. In eight states, only a big game license is required to hunt American black bears. Overall, over 481,500 American black bear hunting licenses are sold per year. The hunting methods and seasons vary greatly according to state, with some bear hunting seasons including fall only, spring and fall, or year-round. New Jersey, in November 2010, approved a six-day bear-hunting season in early December 2010 to slow the growth of the American black bear population. Bear hunting had been banned in New Jersey for five years before that time. A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll found that 53% of New Jersey voters approved of the new season if scientists concluded that American black bears were leaving their usual habitats and destroying private property. Men, older voters and those living in rural areas were more likely to approve of a bear hunting season in New Jersey than women, younger voters and those living in more developed parts of the state. In the western states, where there are large American black bear populations, there are spring and year-round seasons. Approximately 18,000 American black bears were killed annually in the U.S. between 1988 and 1992. Within this period, annual kills ranged from six bears in South Carolina to 2,232 in Maine.
+According to Dwight Schuh in his Bowhunter's Encyclopedia, American black bears are the third most popular quarry of bowhunters, behind deer and elk.
+
+Meat
+American black bear meat had historically been held in high esteem among North America's indigenous people and colonists. American black bears were the only bear species the Kutchin hunted for their meat, though this constituted only a small part of their diet. According to the second volume of Frank Forester's Field Sports of the United States, and British Provinces, of North America:
+
+The flesh of the [black] bear is savoury, but rather luscious, and tastes not unlike pork. It was once so common an article of food in New-York as to have given the name of Bear Market to one of the principal markets of the city.
+Theodore Roosevelt himself likened the flesh of young American black bears to that of pork, and not as coarse or flavorless as the meat of grizzly bears. The most favored cuts of the American black bear's meat are concentrated in the legs and loins. Meat from the neck, front legs and shoulders is usually ground into minced meat or used for stews and casseroles. Keeping the fat on tends to give the meat a strong flavor. As American black bears can have trichinellosis, cooking temperatures need to be high in order to kill the parasites.American black bear fat was once valued as a cosmetic article that promoted hair growth and gloss. The fat most favored for this purpose was the hard white fat found in the body's interior. As only a small portion of this fat could be harvested for this purpose, the oil was often mixed with large quantities of hog lard. However, animal rights activism over the last decade has slowed the harvest of these animals; therefore the lard from American black bears has not been used in recent years for the purpose of cosmetics.
+
+See also
+List of fatal bear attacks in North America
+
+References
+Further reading
+Brown, Gary (1993). The Great Bear Almanac. Lyons & Burford. ISBN 978-1-55821-210-7.
+Craighead, Lance (2000). Bears of the World. Voyageur Press. pp. 63–80. ISBN 978-0-89658-503-4.
+Powell, Roger A. (1997). Ecology and Behaviour of North American Black Bears: Home Ranges, Habitat, and Social Organization. Chapman & Hall. ISBN 978-0-412-57990-5.
+
+External links
+
+ Data related to Ursus americanus - (American black bear) at Wikispecies
+Wildlifeinformation.org: American Black Bear Conservation Action Plan
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+++ b/data/animals/American chameleon.txt	
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+Anolis carolinensis or green anole (US:  ) (among other names below) is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. A small to medium-sized lizard, the green anole is a trunk-crown ecomorph and can change its color to several shades from brown to green.
+Other names include the Carolina anole, Carolina green anole, American anole, American green anole, North American green anole and red-throated anole. It is commonly called chameleon in the southeastern United States and sometimes referred to as the American chameleon (typically in the pet trade) due to its color-changing ability; however, it is not a true chameleon.
+
+Description
+The green anole is a small to medium-sized lizard, with a slender body. The head is long and pointed with ridges between the eyes and nostrils, and smaller ones on the top of the head. The toes have adhesive pads to facilitate climbing. They exhibit sexual dimorphism, the males being fifteen percent larger. Adult males within a population can be classified within a heavyweight and a lightweight morph. The male dewlap (throat fan) is three times the size of the female's and bright orange to pink, whereas that of the female is lighter in color. The dewlap is usually pink for Anolis carolinensis (more orange-red in A. sagrei) and is very rarely present in females. The color of the dewlap is variable and different from the lizard eye to the human eye. Green anoles are thought to be capable of seeing a larger range of the UV spectrum, and that the dewlap reflects ultraviolet light for attracting mates. Female anoles do, however, often have a dorsal line down their back. Extension of the dewlap from the throat is used for communication. Males can form a pronounced dorsal ridge behind the head when displaying or when under stress. Females and juveniles have a prominent white stripe running along their spine, a feature most males lack.Adult males are usually 12.5–20.3 cm (4.9–8.0 in) long, with about 60-70% of which is made up of its tail, with a body length up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) and can weigh from 3–7 g (0.11–0.25 oz).
+
+Coloration and color morphs
+Colour varies from brown to green and can be changed like many other kinds of lizards, but anoles are closely related to iguanas and are not true chameleons. Although A. carolinensis is sometimes called an 'American chameleon', true chameleons do not naturally occur in the Americas, and A. carolinensis is not the only lizard currently in its area of distribution capable of changing colour. In contrast, many species of true chameleons display a greater range of color adaptation, though some can hardly change color at all.Typical coloration for a green anole ranges from bright green to dark brown, with little variation in between. The color spectrum is a result of three layers of pigment cells or chromatophores: the xanthophores, responsible for the yellow pigmentation; cyanophores, responsible for the blue pigmentation, and melanophores, responsible for the brown and black pigmentation. The anole changes its color depending on mood, level of stress, activity level and as a social signal (for example, displaying dominance). Anolis carolinensis takes darker coloration as its base color at the beginning of the breeding season when it is generally cooler, and the adult males change their body coloration to more greenish when they need to advertise their territorial possession. Although often claimed, evidence does not support that they do it in response to the color of the background (camouflage). Whether they do it in response to temperature (thermoregulation) is less clear, with studies both supporting it and contradicting it. Changing color while under a sharply contrasting shadow can cause a "stencil effect", where the outline of the shadow is temporarily imprinted in the animal's coloration (see image in gallery, below). When stressed—while fighting, for example—the skin just behind the lizard's eyes may turn black independently from the rest of the animal's coloration, forming "postocular spots".
+A lack in one of the pigment genes causes color exceptions. These color mutations are also called phases. The rare blue-phased green anole lacks xanthophores, which results in a blue, rather than red, often pastel blue, anole. These specimens have become popular recently in the pet trade market. When the anole is completely lacking xanthophores, it is said to be axanthic and the animal will have a completely pastel- or baby-blue hue. They are extremely rare—usually produced in one of every 20,000 individual anoles in the wild. Another phase is the yellow-phased green anole, which lacks cyanophores. Colonies of these rare color-phased anoles have been reported, but anoles with these color mutations rarely live for long, since the green color provides camouflage for hunting down prey, as well as hiding from predators.
+
+Taxonomy
+Anolis carolinensis is a species of the large lizard genus Anolis within the family Dactyloidae (anole lizards). Within the genus, thirteen species have been identified as a distinct clade, referred to as the Anolis carolinensis series. This group are mid-sized trunk crown anoles with large conspicuously elongated heads and extreme levels of sexual dimorphism. The species was named by Friedrich Siegmund Voigt (1781 - 1850) in 1832.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+This species is native to North America, where it is found mainly in the subtropical southeastern parts of the continent. Anoles are the most abundant on the Atlantic Coastal Plains in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and on the Gulf Coast in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, where they extend inland as far as Texas Hill Country and the DFW Metroplex;  they have also been recorded in Tamaulipas, Mexico, but it is mostly likely an introduction. In the Carolinas, they are found on the coastal plains as far north as False Cape in Virginia, and in the southern piedmont of North Carolina, but throughout South Carolina, while in Georgia they are widespread except in the Blue Ridge region.The species has been introduced into various locales in the Pacific and the Caribbean: Hawaii, the Ogasawara Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Bahamas, Anguilla, Palau, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as the Canary Islands.  In 2005 they were recognized and listed as an invasive alien species in the Ogasawara Islands of Japan for causing insect population collapse. They have been sighted in Orange County and San Diego County of southern California, with sightings in San Diego going at least as far back as 1993.A. carolinensis is arboreal in nature but may be seen on the ground and frequently seen on shrubs in the low country of the Carolinas. However, it can live in cities like Atlanta with little trouble  so long as there is plentiful vegetation and bugs to eat.  One can observe them on steps, trellises, and railings adjacent to foliage; on particularly hot summer days they may seek to cool off on indoor walls or on wrap around porches of older buildings, and in the former case can simply be captured in a shoebox and gently placed outdoors.  It is common on roadsides, the edges of forests where there are shrubs and vines, but also construction sites having abundant foliage and sunlight. Their preferred habitat is open pine communities with a greater shrub density, it may harbor a greater abundance of anoles  where they are able to watch for prey and intruders coming into their territory.
+
+Conservation
+Although not threatened as a species, Carolina anoles increasingly struggle with competition from introduced anole species, such as the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), also known as the Bahamian anole. This competition happened to be an interesting model for evolutionary studies, as it illustrates the process of adaptation. When A. sagrei first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s, the Carolina anole mostly ceded ground-level territories and were relegated to a very different ecosystem high in the treetops.  On occasion, more aggressive Carolina anole individuals may still be seen closer to the ground. Currently, A. carolinensis is abundant in its area of distribution and is able to thrive in disturbed areas, so it is not considered threatened, but A. sagrei may represent a developing threat in some areas.
+
+Relationships and hybridization
+A. carolinensis has been found to regularly hybridize with a closely related species, Anolis porcatus (the Cuban green anole), in Southern Florida, where A. porcatus has been introduced.  A 2022 study found there to be asymmetric introgression of certain A. porcatus alleles within the population of hybrid individuals, three of which were found to be significantly associated with environmental variables indicative of urbanization. It remains uncertain as to how this admixture of invasive alleles to the Carolina anole will affect the conservation of the species going forward. Not all admixture from invasive populations should be viewed as a negative outcome, and adaptive introgression as a result of hybridization with an ecologically robust invasive population might facilitate the long-term survival of native populations otherwise unable to adapt to human impact on the environment.
+
+Behavior
+Male anoles are strongly territorial creatures.  Some have even been witnessed fighting their own reflections in mirrored glass. The male will fight other males to defend his territory. On sighting another male, the anole will compress his body, extend the dewlap, inflate a dorsal ridge, bob his head and attempt to chase the rival away. If the rival male continues to approach, anoles will fight by biting and scratching each other. Studies have also shown that there is a positive correlation between bite-force and the size of the individual's dewlap.
+One study showed that heavyweights had 50% higher testosterone concentrations than lightweights during the breeding season. It seems that disproportionally larger heads and dewlaps may be correlated to higher bite forces of heavyweights. Those with darker colorations will choose lower perch sites compared to their lighter conspecifics. For heavyweight males of the same size the one with the higher bite force wins disputes more frequently.
+Adult female anoles have much smaller dewlaps that they rarely use during encounters with other anoles and never use during courting. Serious injury is rare, but males often carry numerous scars on their heads and faces, especially during the mating season. Their territories, which are about 1 m3 (35 cu ft), usually include two to three females.The Carolina anole is diurnal and active throughout the year, peaking in spring and fall. Winter activity is dependent on sun and temperature.
+
+Diet
+An anole's diet consists primarily of small insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, flies, butterflies, moths, cockroaches, small beetles, and other arthropods, including spiders, as well as occasionally feeding on various molluscs, grains, and seeds. Although anoles have been observed preying upon smaller reptiles such as juvenile skinks, this is not thought to be typical behavior. Many people who keep these lizards as pets feed them mealworms, grubs, maggots, and small crickets.
+
+Predators
+Major predators include the broadhead skink, snakes, birds, and in urban habitats, cats. Like many lizards, anoles display autotomic tails, which wiggle when broken off. This distracts the predator and helps the anole to escape. A new tail then starts to develop. The new tail, however, containing cartilage rather than bone, will typically not grow back to the same length as the first one, and may exhibit a marked difference in color and texture from the rest of the animal. Green anoles will also try to escape predators by climbing vertical walls, trees, fences, or any vertical surface they can find. This ability is possible due to their enlarged toe pads and great climbing ability.Anoles are parasitized by some species of sarcophagid flies, including Lepidodexia blakeae. Adult flies will deposit eggs on live anoles, and the fly larvae develop inside the lizard until they emerge from a wound and pupate into adult flies in sediment. Infection is often fatal, with mortality rates possibly as high as 90%.
+
+Reproduction
+The typical breeding season for Carolina anoles starts as early as April and ends in late September, gonadal activity being largely regulated by photoperiod, enlarging in spring as the weather warms up and days lengthen, and then regressing in late summer.During this time, the males patrol their territory and the most brilliant displays of these creatures can be seen. Males defend their territory and females from rivals, while courting the females with elaborate displays of extending their brightly colored dewlaps while bobbing up and down, almost doing a dance. The dewlap is also used to ward off other males. The male courts and pursues a female until the two successfully mate. Usually, when the female is ready to mate, she may let the male catch her, at which point he will grasp her by biting a fold of her skin behind her neck. The male will then position his tail underneath the female's tail near her vent. Males have two sex organs, known as hemipenes, which are normally kept within the body, but are everted from his vent for mating. Males seem to alternate between the left and right hemipenis on successive matings.The female matures one ovarian follicle at a time, the ovaries alternating in production. The sight of a courting male induces ovarian development, sexual receptiveness and then ovulation. About two to four weeks following mating, the female lays her first clutch of eggs, usually one or two in the first clutch. She can produce an egg every two weeks during the breeding season, until about 10 eggs have been produced. However, she can store sperm for up to eight months following mating. She then buries the soft-shelled eggs in a shallow depression in soft soil, leaf litter, compost, rotting wood, or even a hole in a nearby tree. Eggs average 12.5 mm (0.49 in) by 9.3 mm (0.37 in) in size.
+The eggs are left to incubate by the heat of the sun, and if successful, will hatch in about five to seven weeks (30–45 days) from late May to early October. The incubate temperature has to be 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. On hatching, the hatchlings are 52–67 mm (2.0–2.6 in) in length.The hatchlings must fend for themselves, as they are not cared for by either parent. The young hatchlings must be wary of other adult anoles in the area, as well as larger reptiles and mammals, which could eat them. Younger anoles differ from adults in having less obvious head ridges, a wider head and shorter tail. They mature in about eight months.
+
+Captivity
+Carolina anoles' nervous natures makes it advisable not to attempt to handle them very often; despite this, Carolina anoles are popular pets. Individual animals may or may not adapt readily to cage life. Care must be taken to ensure the animals receive the support they need to adapt to captivity and live full and enriching lives;  an adequately sized enclosure, as well as the appropriate plants and substrate material, are beneficial to the health of captive Carolina anoles.
+A well-cared for green anole can be expected to live for up to 10 years, with longer being possible.
+
+Genomics
+This species has been chosen as a model reptile for genomics by the National Human Genome Research Institute  genome sequencing program. It was selected because of the ease and low cost of laboratory breeding and evolutionary value of the diversity of the genus. In 2011, the complete genome of this lizard was sequenced and published in Nature. Before its genome was published, only mammals and three bird species had been sequenced among amniotes. The draft genome sequence is 1.78 Gb (compared with 2.0–3.6 Gb mammalian and 0.9–1.3 Gb avian genome assemblies), of which 27% are mobile elements such as LINEs.  A total of 17,472 protein-coding genes and 2,924 RNA genes were predicted from the A. carolinensis genome assembly.
+
+Gallery
+References
+O'Bryant, E. L., & Wade, J. (2001). Development of a sexually dimorphic neuromuscular system involved in green anole courtship behavior. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 58(6), 362–369. https://doi.org/10.1159/000057577
+
+External links
+
+Anole genome sequencing project at NCBI
+"Anolis carolinensis" at the Encyclopedia of Life 
+"Breeding green anoles (Anolis carolinensis) in captivity"
+Green anole care sheet
+View the green anole genome in Ensembl.
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diff --git a/data/animals/American coot.txt b/data/animals/American coot.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/American coot.txt	
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+The American coot (Fulica americana), also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step which facilitates walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts. The oldest known coot lived to be 22 years old.The American coot is a migratory bird that occupies most of North America. It lives in the Pacific and southwestern United States and Mexico year-round and occupies more northeastern regions during the summer breeding season. In the winter they can be found as far south as Panama. Coots generally build floating nests and lay 8–12 eggs per clutch. Females and males have similar appearances, but they can be distinguished during aggressive displays by the larger ruff (head plumage) on the male. American coots eat primarily algae and other aquatic plants but also animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) when available.The American coot is listed as “Least Concern” under the IUCN conservation ratings. Hunters generally avoid killing American coots because their meat is not as sought after as that of ducks.American coots display several interesting breeding habits; mothers will preferentially feed offspring with the brightest plume feathers, which has resulted in coot chicks having brightly ornamented plumage which becomes drabber as they age. American coots are also susceptible to conspecific brood parasitism and have evolved mechanisms to differentiate their offspring from those of parasitic females.
+
+Taxonomy and systematics
+The American coot was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other coots in the genus Fulica and coined the binomial name Fulica americana. Gmelin based his description on the "Cinereous coot" from North America that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds.Two subspecies are recognised:
+F. a. americana Gmelin, JF, 1789 – southeast Alaska and Canada to Costa Rica and the West Indies
+F. a. columbiana Chapman, 1914 – Colombia and north EcuadorThe Caribbean coot, a color morph of the American coot is now included with the nominate subspecies.Coot fossils from the Middle Pleistocene of California have been described as Fulica hesterna but cannot be separated from the present-day American coot. However, the Pleistocene coot Fulica shufeldti (formerly F. minor), famously known as part of the Fossil Lake fauna, quite possibly was a paleosubspecies of the American coot (as Fulica americana shufeldti) as they only differed marginally in size and proportions from living birds. Thus, it seems that the modern-type American coots evolved during the mid-late Pleistocene, a few hundred thousand years ago.The American coot's genus name, Fulica, is a direct borrowing of the Latin word for "coot". The specific epithet americana means "America".
+
+Description
+The American coot measures 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length with a wingspan of 58 to 71 cm (23 to 28 in). Adults have a short, thick, white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes. Males and females look alike, but females are smaller. Body mass in females ranges from 427 to 628 g (0.941 to 1.385 lb) and in males from 576 to 848 g (1.270 to 1.870 lb). Juvenile birds have olive-brown crowns and a gray body. They become adult-colored around 4 months of age.
+
+Frontal shield and callus
+The American coot is recognized by its white frontal shield with a red spot connecting its eyes. The size of the frontal shield depends on season and mating status. During the winter season, birds have smaller, 'shrunken' shields. During breeding season, birds are recorded to have swelled shields. Birds that are permanently paired or mated have larger shields as well.
+According to a 1949 coverage by Gordon W. Gullion, the reddish-brown spot on the frontal shield is not considered a part of the frontal shield despite its proximity to the shield. It is known as the callus. This is due to the fact that it does not completely cover the maxilla, or jawbone, of the coot. It also differs in color and texture from the shield.
+
+Vocalizations
+The American coot has a variety of repeated calls and sounds. Male and female coots make different types of calls to similar situations. Male alarm calls are puhlk while female alarm calls are poonk. Also, stressed males go puhk-cowah or pow-ur while females call cooah.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+American coots are found near water reed-ringed lakes and ponds, open marshes, and sluggish rivers. They prefer freshwater environments but may temporarily live in saltwater environments during the winter months.The American coot's breeding habitat extends from marshes in southern Quebec to the Pacific coast of North America and as far south as northern South America. Birds from temperate North America east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the southern United States and southern British Columbia. It is often a year-round resident where water remains open in winter. The number of birds that stay year-round near the northern limit of the species' range seems to be increasing.Autumn migration occurs from August to December, with males and non-breeders moving south before the females and juveniles. Spring migration to breeding ranges occurs from late February to mid-May, with males and older birds moving North first. There has been evidence of birds travelling as far north as Greenland and Iceland.
+
+Caribbean coot
+Coots resident in the Caribbean and Greater and Lesser Antilles lack the red portion of the frontal shield, and were previously believed to be a distinct species, the Caribbean coot (Fulica caribaea). In 2016, due to research showing that the only distinguishing characteristic between American and Caribbean coots, the presence or absence of red in the frontal shield, was not distinct to Caribbean coots as some American coots, in locations where vagrancy from Caribbean populations was highly unlikely, had fully white shields and, therefore, there was no way to reliably distinguish the species, and there was no evidence of Caribbean and American coots engaging in assortative mating, the American Ornithological Society lumped the Caribbean coot as a regional variation of the American coot.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+The American coot is a highly gregarious species, particularly in the winter, when its flocks can number in the thousands. When swimming on the water surface, American coots exhibit a variety of interesting collective formations, including single-file lines, high density synchronized swimming and rotational dynamics, broad arcing formations, and sequential take-off dynamics.
+
+Feeding
+The American coot can dive for food but can also forage and scavenge on land. Their principal source of food is aquatic vegetation, especially algae. Yet they are omnivorous, also eating arthropods, fish, and other aquatic animals.  During breeding season, coots are more likely to eat aquatic insects and mollusks—which constitute the majority of a chick's diet.
+
+Breeding
+The coot mating season occurs during May and June. Coot mate pairings are monogamous throughout their life, given they have a suitable territory. A typical reproductive cycle involves multiple stages: pairing, nesting, copulation, egg deposition, incubation, and hatching.
+The American coot typically has long courtship periods. This courtship period is characterized by billing, bowing, and nibbling. Males generally initiate billing, which is the touching of bills between individuals. As the pair bond becomes more evident, both males and females will initiate billing only with each other and not other males or females. After a pair bond is cemented, the mating pair looks for a territory to build a nest in. A pair bond becomes permanent when a nesting territory is secured. Copulation behavior among coot pairs always falls under the same general pattern. First the male chases the female. Then, the female moves to the display platform and squats with her head under the water. The male then mounts the female, using his claws and wings to balance on the female's back while she brings her head above the water. Sexual intercourse usually takes no longer than two seconds.
+
+Nests
+The American coot is a prolific builder and will create multiple structures during a single breeding season. It nests in well-concealed locations in tall reeds. There are three general types of structures: display platforms, egg nests and brood nests.
+
+Display platforms are used as roosting sites and are left to decompose after copulation.
+Egg nests are typically 30 cm (12 in) in diameter with a 30–38 cm (12–15 in) ramp that allows the parents to enter and exit without tearing the sides of the nests. Coots will often build multiple egg nests before selecting one to lay their eggs in.
+Brood nests are nests that are either newly constructed or have been converted from old egg nests after the eggs hatch, becoming larger egg nests.Since American coots build on the water, their structures disintegrate easily and have short life spans. Egg and brood nests are actually elaborate rafts, and must be constantly added to in order to stay afloat. Females typically do the most work while building.
+
+Egg-laying and clutch size
+Females deposit one egg a day until the clutch is complete. Eggs are usually deposited between sunset and midnight. Typically, early season and first clutches average two more eggs than second nestings and late season clutches. Early season nests see an average of 9.0 eggs per clutch while late clutches see an average of 6.4 eggs per clutch. There is an inverse relationship between egg weights and laying sequence, wherein earlier eggs are larger than eggs laid later in the sequence. It is possible to induce a female coot to lay more eggs than normal by either removing all or part of her clutch. Sometimes, a female may abandon the clutch if enough eggs are removed. Coots, however, do not respond to experimental addition of eggs by laying fewer eggs.The American coot is a persistent re-nester, and will replace lost clutches with new ones within two days of clutch-loss during deposition. One study showed that 68% of destroyed clutches are eventually replaced. Re-nested clutches are typically smaller than original clutches by one or two eggs, but this could be attributed to differences in time and habitat quality instead of food or nutrient reserves and availability.
+Younger females reproduce later in the season and produce smaller eggs than older females. Their offspring are also smaller. However, there is no difference in clutch size between older and younger females as there is in other avian species.
+
+Incubation and hatching
+Incubation start time in the American coot is variable, and can begin anywhere from the deposition of the first egg to after the clutch is fully deposited. Starting incubation before the entire clutch has been laid is an uncommon practice among birds. Once incubation starts it continues without interruption. Male and female coots share incubation responsibility, but males do most of the work during the 21-day incubation period. Females will begin to re-nest clutches in an average of six days if clutches are destroyed during incubation.Hatch order usually follows the same sequence as laying order. Regardless of clutch size, eight is the typical maximum size of a brood. Egg desertion is a frequent occurrence among coots because females will often deposit more than eight eggs. Brood size limits incubation time, and when a certain number of chicks have hatched the remaining eggs are abandoned. The mechanism for egg abandonment has not yet been discovered. Food resource constraints may limit the number of eggs parents let hatch, or the remaining eggs may not provide enough visual or tactile stimulation to elicit incubation behavior. An American coot can be forced to hatch more eggs than are normally laid. These additional offspring, however, suffer higher mortality rates due to inadequacy in brooding or feeding ability.
+
+Maternal effects
+Hormones that are passed down from the mother into the egg affect offspring growth, behavior, and social interactions. These nongenetic contributions by the mother are known as maternal effects. In the American coot, two levels of androgen and testosterone variation have been discovered—within-clutch and among-clutch variation. Within the same clutch, eggs laid earlier in the sequence have higher testosterone levels than eggs laid later in the sequence. Females that lay three clutches deposit more androgens into their yolks than females who lay only one or two clutches.
+
+Brood parasitism
+The American coot has a mixed reproductive strategy, and conspecific brood parasitism is a common alternative reproductive method. In one 4-year study, researchers found that 40% of nests were parasitized, and that 13% of all eggs were laid by females in nests that were not their own. Increasing reproductive success under social and ecological constraints is the primary reason for brood parasitism. Floater females without territories or nests use brood parasitism as their primary method of reproduction, if they breed at all. Other females may engage in brood parasitism if their partially complete clutches are destroyed. Conspecific brood parasitic behavior is most common among females trying to increase their total number of offspring. Food supply is the limiting factor to chick survival and starvation is the most common cause of chick morbidity. Parasitic females bypass the parental care constraint of feeding by laying additional parasitic eggs in addition to their normal nest.When a parasitic female lays her egg in a host female's nest, the host female experiences a deposition rate of two eggs per day. Host females may recognize parasitic eggs when the egg deposition pattern deviates from the traditional one egg per day pattern. The occurrence of brood parasitism may be influenced by the body size of the potential parasitic female relative to the potential host female. Parasitic females are generally larger than their host counterparts, but on average, there is no size difference between the parasite and the host.The American coot, unlike other parasitized species, has the ability to recognize and reject conspecific parasitic chicks from their brood. Parents aggressively reject parasite chicks by pecking them vigorously, drowning them, preventing them from entering the nest, etc. They learn to recognize their own chicks by imprinting on cues from the first chick that hatches. The first-hatched chick is a reference to which parents discriminate between later-hatched chicks. Chicks that do not match the imprinted cues are then recognized as parasite chicks and are rejected.Chick recognition reduces the costs associated with parasitism, and coots are one of only three bird species in which this behavior has evolved. This is because hatching order is predictable in parasitized coots—host eggs will reliably hatch before parasite eggs. In other species where hatching order is not as reliable, there is a risk of misimprinting on a parasite chick first and then rejecting their own chicks. In these species, the cost of accidentally misimprinting is greater than the benefits of rejecting parasite chicks.
+
+Chick ornaments
+The first evidence for parental selection of exaggerated, ornamental traits in offspring was found in American coots. Black American coot chicks have conspicuously orange-tipped ornamental plumes covering the front half of their body that are known as “chick ornaments” that eventually get bleached out after six days. This brightly colored, exaggerated trait makes coot chicks more susceptible to predation and does not aid in thermoregulation, but remains selected for by parental choice. These plumes are not necessary for chick viability, but increased chick ornamentation increases the likelihood that a chick will be chosen as a favorite by the parents. Experimental manipulation of chick ornamentation by clipping the bright plumes has shown that parents prefer ornamented chicks over non-ornamented ones.
+
+Predation
+The American coot is fairly aggressive in defense of its eggs and, in combination with their protected nesting habitat, undoubtedly helps reduce losses of eggs and young to all but the most determined and effective predators. American crows, black-billed magpies and Forster's tern can sometimes take eggs. Mammalian predators (including red foxes, coyotes, skunks and raccoons) are even less likely to predate coot nests, though nests are regularly destroyed in usurpation by muskrats. Conversely, the bold behavior of immature and adult coots leads to them falling prey with relative regularity once out of the breeding season. Regular, non-nesting-season predators include great horned owls, northern harriers, bald eagles, golden eagles, American alligators, bobcats, great black-backed and California gulls. In fact, coots may locally comprise more than 80% of the bald eagle diet.
+
+In culture
+On the Louisiana coast, the Cajun word for coot is pouldeau, from French for "coot", poule d'eau – literally "water hen". Coot can be used for cooking; it is somewhat popular in Cajun cuisine, for instance as an ingredient for gumbos cooked at home by duck hunters.The bird is the mascot of the Toledo Mud Hens Minor League Baseball team.
+
+Conservation and threats
+The American coot is listed under "least concern" by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. They are common and widespread, and are sometimes even considered a pest. They are rarely the targets of hunters since their meat is not considered to be as good as that of ducks; although some are shot for sport, particularly in the southeastern United States. Because they are found in wetlands, scientists use them to monitor toxin levels and pollution problems in these environments.
+
+References
+Cited sources
+Jobling, James A. (2009). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, UK: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
+
+External links
+
+American Coot – Fulica americana – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter.
+American Coot Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
+"American Coot media". Internet Bird Collection.
+American Coot photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
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+The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, northern lobster, Canadian Reds, or Maine lobster. It can reach a body length of 64 cm (25 in), and a mass of over 20 kilograms (44 lb), making it not only the heaviest crustacean in the world, but also the heaviest of all living arthropod species. Its closest relative is the European lobster Homarus gammarus, which can be distinguished by its coloration and the lack of spines on the underside of the rostrum. American lobsters are usually bluish green to brown with red spines, but several color variations have been observed.
+
+Distribution
+Homarus americanus is distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America, from Labrador in the north to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the south. South of New Jersey, the species is uncommon, and landings in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina usually make up less than 0.1% of all landings. A fossil claw assigned to Homarus americanus was found at Nantucket, dating from the Pleistocene.  In 2013, an American lobster was caught at the Farallon Islands off the coast of California. It has been introduced to Norway and potentially Iceland.
+
+Description
+Homarus americanus commonly reaches 200–610 millimetres (8–24 in) long and weighs 0.45–4.08 kilograms (1–9 lb) in weight, but has been known to weigh as much as 20 kg (44 lb), making this the heaviest crustacean in the world. Together with Sagmariasus verreauxi, it is also the longest decapod crustacean in the world; an average adult is about 230 mm (9 in) long and weighs 680 to 910 g (1.5 to 2 lb). The longest American lobsters have a body (excluding claws) 64 cm (25 in) long. According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest crustacean ever recorded was an American lobster caught off Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing 20.1 kg (44.4 lb).The closest relative of H. americanus is the European lobster, Homarus gammarus. The two species are very similar, and can be crossed artificially, although hybrids are unlikely to occur in the wild since their ranges do not overlap. The two species can be distinguished by several characteristics:
+The rostrum of H. americanus bears one or more spines on the underside, which are lacking in H. gammarus.
+The spines on the claws of H. americanus are red or red-tipped, while those of H. gammarus are white or white-tipped.
+The underside of the claw of H. americanus is orange or red, while that of H. gammarus is creamy white or very pale red.
+
+Head
+The antennae measure about 51 mm (2 in) long and split into Y-shaped structures with pointed tips. Each tip exhibits a dense zone of hair tufts staggered in a zigzag arrangement. These hairs are covered with multiple nerve cells that can detect odors. Larger, thicker hairs found along the edges control the flow of water, containing odor molecules, to the inner sensory hairs. The shorter antennules provide a further sense of smell. By having a pair of olfactory organs, a lobster can locate the direction a smell comes from, much the same way humans can hear the direction a sound comes from. In addition to sensing smells, the antennules can judge water speed to improve direction finding.
+Lobsters have two urinary bladders, located on either side of the head. Lobsters use scents to communicate what and where they are, and those scents are in the urine. They project long plumes of urine 1–2 meters (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) in front of them, and do so when they detect a rival or a potential mate in the area.
+
+Thorax
+The first pair of pereiopods (legs) is armed with a large, asymmetric pair of claws. The larger one is the "crusher", and has rounded nodules used for crushing prey; the other is the "cutter" or "gripper", which has sharp inner edges and is used for holding or tearing the prey. Whether the crusher claw is on the left side or right side of its body determines whether a lobster is left or right handed.
+
+Coloration
+The normal coloration of Homarus americanus is bluish green to brown with red spines due to a mixture of yellow, blue, and red pigments that occur naturally in the shell. On rare occasions these colors are distorted due to genetic mutations or conditions creating a spectacle for those who catch them. In 2012 it was reported that there has been an increase in these "rare" catches due to unclear reasons. Social media influence making reporting and sharing more accessible to a drop in predator populations have been suggested as possible reasons. The lobsters mentioned below thus usually receive media coverage due to their rarity and eye appeal.
+
+Life cycle
+Mating only takes place shortly after the female has molted and her exoskeleton is still soft. The female releases a pheromone which causes the males to become less aggressive and to begin courtship, which involves a courtship dance with claws closed. Eventually, the male inserts spermatophores (sperm packets) into the female's seminal receptacle using his first pleopods; the female may store the sperm for up to 15 months.The female releases eggs through her oviducts, and they pass the seminal receptacle and are fertilized by the stored sperm. They are then attached to the female's pleopods (swimmerets) using an adhesive, where they are cared for until they are ready to hatch. The female cleans the eggs regularly and fans them with water to keep them oxygenated. The large telolecithal eggs may resemble the segments of a raspberry, and a female carrying eggs is said to be "in berry". Since this period lasts 10–11 months, berried females can be found at any time of year. In the waters off New England, the eggs are typically laid in July or August, and hatch the following May or June. The developing embryo passes through several molts within the egg, before hatching as a metanauplius larva. When the eggs hatch, the female releases them by waving her tail in the water, setting batches of larvae free.
+The metanauplius of H. americanus is 8.5 mm (1⁄3 in) long, transparent, with large eyes and a long spine projecting from its head. It quickly molts, and the next three stages are similar, but larger. These molts take 10–20 days, during which the planktonic larvae are vulnerable to predation; only 1 in 1,000 is thought to survive to the juvenile stage. To reach the fourth stage – the post-larva – the larva undergoes metamorphosis, and subsequently shows a much greater resemblance to the adult lobster, is around 13 mm (1⁄2 in) long, and swims with its pleopods. At this stage, the lobster's claws are still relatively small so they rely primarily on tail-flip escapes if threatened.After the next molt, the lobster sinks to the ocean floor and adopts a benthic lifestyle. It molts more and more infrequently, from an initial rate of ten times per year to once every few years. After one year it is around 25–38 mm (1–1.5 in) long, and after six years it may weigh 0.45 kilograms (1 lb). By the time it reaches the minimum landing size, an individual may have molted 25–27 times, and thereafter each molt may signal a 40%–50% increase in weight, and a 14% increase in carapace length. If threatened, adult lobsters will generally choose to fight unless they have lost their claws.
+
+Ecology
+The American lobster thrives in cold, shallow waters where there are many rocks and other places to hide from predators. It typically lives at a depth of 4–50 m (13–164 ft), but can be found up to 480 m (1,570 ft) below the surface.
+
+Diet
+The natural diet of H. americanus is relatively consistent across different habitats. It is dominated by mollusks (especially mussels, clams and snails), echinoderms and polychaetes, although a wide range of other prey items may be eaten, including other crustaceans (such as crabs), brittle stars, cnidarians and small fish. It will also feed on dead animals, as well as algae and eelgrass. Since lobsters sometimes eat their own molted shell, they were thought to be cannabalistic, but this has never been recorded in the wild. Lobsters in Maine have been shown to gain 35–55% of their calories from herring, which is used as bait for lobster traps. Only 6% of lobsters entering lobster traps to feed are caught.
+
+Diseases
+Bacterial
+Gaffkaemia or red-tail is an extremely virulent infectious disease of lobsters caused by the bacterium Aerococcus viridans. It only requires a few bacterial cells to cause death of otherwise healthy lobsters. The "red tail" common name refers to a dark orange discoloration of the ventral abdomen of affected lobsters. This is, in fact, the hemolymph or blood seen through the thin ventral arthrodial membranes. The red discoloration comes from astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment exported to the blood during times of stress. The same sign is also seen in other diseases of lobsters and appears to be a nonspecific stress response, possibly relating to the antioxidant and immunostimulatory properties of the astaxanthin molecule.
+Epizootic shell disease is a bacterial infection which causes black lesions on the lobsters' dorsal carapaces, reducing their saleability and sometimes killing the lobsters.Limp lobster disease caused by systemic infection by the bacterium Vibrio fluvialis (or similar species) causes lobsters to become lethargic and die.
+
+Parasitic
+Paramoebiasis is an infectious disease of lobsters caused by infection with the sarcomastigophoran (amoeba) Neoparamoeba pemaquidensis. This organism also causes amoebic gill disease in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Infection occurs throughout the tissues, causing granuloma-like lesions, especially within the ventral nerve cord, the interstices of the hepatopancreas and the antennal gland. Paramoebiasis is strongly suspected to play a prominent role in the rapid die-off of American lobsters in Long Island Sound that occurred in the summer of 1999.
+
+Environmental
+Excretory calcinosis in American lobsters in Long Island Sound was described in 2002. The disease causes mineralized calculi to form in the antennal glands and gills. These cause a loss of surface area around the gills, and the lobster eventually asphyxiates. Several reasons have been proposed for the cause of a recent outbreak of the disease. The most generally attributed factor is an increased duration of warmer temperatures in the bottom of the Long Island Sound.Plastic pollution is harmful for American lobsters. Consumption of microplastic particles may be deadly to early-stage larvae. For later stage larvae, oxygen consumption rate decreases with high level of microplastic fibers.
+
+Taxonomy
+The American lobster was first described by Thomas Say in 1817, with a type locality of "Long-branch, part of the coast of New Jersey". The name Say chose – "Astacus marinus" – was invalid as a junior homonym of Astacus marinus Fabricius, 1775, which is in turn a junior synonym of Homarus gammarus. The American lobster was given its current scientific name of Homarus americanus by Henri Milne-Edwards in his 1837 work Histoire naturelle des Crustacés ("Natural History of the Crustacea"). The common name preferred by the Food and Agriculture Organization is "American lobster", but the species is also known locally as the "northern lobster", "Maine lobster" or simply "lobster".
+
+As food
+American lobsters are a popular food. They are commonly boiled or steamed. Hard-shells (lobsters that are several months past their last molt) can survive out of water for up to four or five days if kept refrigerated. Soft-shells (lobsters that have only recently molted) do not survive more than a few hours out of water. Lobsters are usually cooked alive, which may be illegal in certain areas and which some people consider inhumane.One common way of serving lobster 'tail' (actually the abdomen) is with beef, known as surf and turf. Lobsters have a greenish or brownish organ called the tomalley, which, like the liver and pancreas in a human, filters out toxins from the body. Some diners consider it a delicacy, but others avoid it because they consider it a toxin source; dislike eating innards; or are put off by its texture and appearance, that of a grainy greenish paste.A set of nutcrackers and a long, thin tool for pulling meat from inaccessible areas are suggested as basics, although more experienced diners can eat the animal with their bare hands or a simple tool (a fork, knife or rock). Eating a lobster can get messy, and most restaurants offer a lobster bib. Meat is generally contained in the larger claws and tails, and stays warm quite a while after being served. There is some meat in the legs and in the arms that connect the large claws to the body. There is also some small amount of meat just below the carapace around the thorax and in the smaller legs.
+
+North American lobster industry
+Most lobsters come from the northeastern coast of North America, with the Atlantic Provinces of Canada and the U.S. state of Maine being the largest producers. They are caught primarily using lobster traps, although lobsters are also harvested as bycatch by bottom trawlers, fishermen using gillnets, and by scuba divers in some areas. Maine prohibits scuba divers from catching lobsters; violations are punishable by fines of up to $1000. Maine also prohibits the landing of lobsters caught by bottom trawlers and other "mobile gear". Massachusetts offers scuba divers lobster licenses for a fee, and they are only available to state residents. Rhode Island also requires divers to acquire a permit.
+Lobster traps are rectangular cages made of vinyl-coated galvanized steel mesh or wood, with woven mesh entrances. These are baited and lowered to the sea floor. They allow a lobster to enter, but make it difficult for the larger specimens to turn around and exit. This allows the creatures to be captured alive. The traps, sometimes referred to as "pots", have a buoy floating on the surface, and lobstermen check their traps between one and seven days after setting them. The inefficiency of the trapping system has inadvertently prevented the lobster population from being overfished. Lobsters can easily escape the trap, and will defend the trap against other lobsters because it is a source of food. An estimated 10% of lobsters that encounter a trap enter, and of those that enter 6% will be caught.
+
+United States
+In the United States, the lobster industry is regulated. Every lobster fisher is required to use a lobster gauge to measure the distance from the lobster's eye socket to the end of its carapace: if the lobster is less than 3.25 inches (83 mm) long, it is too young to be sold and must be released back to the sea. There is also a legal maximum size of 5 in (130 mm) in Maine, meant to ensure the survival of a healthy breeding stock of adult males, but in parts of some states, such as Massachusetts, there is none. Also, traps must contain an escape hole or "vent", which allows juvenile lobsters and bycatch species to escape. The law in Maine and other states dictates a second large escape hole or "ghost panel" must be installed. This hole is held shut through use of degradable clips made of ferrous metal. Should the trap become lost, the trap eventually opens, allowing the catch to escape.To protect known breeding females, lobsters caught carrying eggs are to be notched on a tail flipper (second from the right, if the lobster is right-side up and the tail is fully extended). Following this, the female cannot be kept or sold, and is commonly referred to as a "punch-tail" or as "v-notched". This notch remains for two molts of the lobster exoskeleton, providing harvest protection and continued breeding availability for up to five years.
+
+Canada
+In Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for the governance of fisheries under the authority of the Fisheries Act. The governance structure also includes various other acts, regulations, orders and policies. American Lobster is fished in Canada by lobster licence holders hailing from ports located in provinces on Canada's east coast. Lobster is Canada's most valuable seafood export, worth over CAD$2 billion in 2016.
+
+Management
+American lobster tends to have a stable stock in colder northern waters, but gradually decreases in abundance moving southward. To manage lobster populations, more regulations and restrictions, geared towards achieving sustainable populations, are implemented gradually southward.
+
+Genetics
+Currently there is no published genome for the American lobster, although a transcriptome was published in 2016.
+
+See also
+Crustaceans portal
+
+References
+Further reading
+Francis Hobart Herrick (1911). Natural History of the American Lobster. Fishery Bulletin. Vol. 747. Government Printing Office.
+Jan Robert Factor, ed. (1995). Biology of the Lobster: Homarus americanus. Academic Press. ISBN 9780122475702.
+Trevor Corson (2004). The Secret Life of Lobsters. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-055558-0.
+
+External links
+"American lobster". NOAA FishWatch. 22 June 2023.
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+The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius UK:  or US: ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Somalian Camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus Camelus, with one hump on its back.
+It is the tallest of the three species of camel; adult males stand 2.2–3.6 m (7 ft 3 in – 11 ft 10 in) at the shoulder, while females are 1.7–1.9 m (5 ft 7 in – 6 ft 3 in) tall. Males typically weigh between 400 and 690 kg (880 and 1,520 lb), and females weigh between 300 and 540 kg (660 and 1,190 lb).
+The species' distinctive features include its long, curved neck, narrow chest, a single hump (compared with two on the Bactrian camel and wild Bactrian camel), and long hairs on the throat, shoulders and hump. The coat is generally a shade of brown. The hump, 20 cm (7+7⁄8 in) tall or more, is made of fat bound together by fibrous tissue.
+Dromedaries are mainly active during daylight hours. They form herds of about 20 individuals, which are led by a dominant male. They feed on foliage and desert vegetation; several adaptations, such as the ability to tolerate losing more than 30% of its total water content, allow it to thrive in its desert habitat. Mating occurs annually and peaks in the rainy season; females bear a single calf after a gestation of 15 months.
+The dromedary has not occurred naturally in the wild for nearly 2,000 years. It was probably first domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula about 4,000 years ago, or in Somalia where there are paintings in Laas Geel that figure it from 5,000 to 9,000 years ago. In the wild, the dromedary inhabited arid regions, including the Sahara Desert. The domesticated dromedary is generally found in the semi-arid to arid regions of the Old World, mainly in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and a significant feral population occurs in Australia. Products of the dromedary, including its meat and milk, support several North African tribes; it is also commonly used for riding and as a pack animal.
+
+Etymology
+The common name "dromedary" comes from the Old French dromedaire or the Late Latin dromedarius. These originated from the Greek word dromas, δρομάς (ο, η) (GEN (γενική) dromados, δρομάδος), meaning "running" or "runner", used in Greek in the combination δρομάς κάμηλος (dromas kamelos), literally "running camel", to refer to the dromedary. The first recorded use in English of the name "dromedary" occurred in the 14th century. The dromedary possibly originated in Arabia or Somalia and is therefore sometimes referred to as the Arabian or East African camel. The word "camel" generally refers either to the dromedary or the congeneric Bactrian; the word came into English via Old Norman, from the Latin word camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), ultimately from a Semitic source akin to Hebrew גמל (gamál) and Arabic جمل‎ (jamal).
+
+Taxonomy and classification
+The dromedary shares the genus Camelus with the Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus) and the wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus). The dromedary belongs to the family Camelidae. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (4th century BC) was the first to describe the species of Camelus. He named two species in his History of Animals; the one-humped Arabian camel and the two-humped Bactrian camel. The dromedary was given its current binomial name Camelus dromedarius by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication Systema Naturae. In 1927, British veterinarian Arnold Leese classified dromedaries by their basic habitats; the hill camels are small, muscular animals and efficient beasts of burden; the larger plains camels could be further divided into the desert type that can bear light burdens and are apt for riding, and the riverine type – slow animals that can bear heavy burdens; and those intermediate between these two types.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 – consisting of the three Camelus species (the study considered the wild Bactrian camel as a subspecies of the Bactrian camel) – and Lamini, which consists of the alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the llama (L. glama) and the vicuña (V. vicugna). The study showed the two tribes had diverged 25 million years ago (early Miocene), earlier than previously estimated from North American fossils.
+The dromedary and the Bactrian camel often interbreed to produce fertile offspring. Where the ranges of the species overlap, such as in northern Punjab, Persia, and Afghanistan, the phenotypic differences between them tend to decrease as a result of extensive crossbreeding. The fertility of their hybrid has given rise to speculation that the dromedary and the Bactrian camel should be merged into a single species with two varieties. However, a 1994 analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene showed the species display 10.3% divergence in their sequences.
+
+Genetics and hybrids
+The dromedary has 74 diploid chromosomes, the same as other camelids. The autosomes consist of five pairs of small to medium-sized metacentrics and submetacentrics. The X chromosome is the largest in the metacentric and submetacentric group. There are 31 pairs of acrocentrics. The dromedary's karyotype is similar to that of the Bactrian camel.Camel hybridization began in the first millennium BC. For about a thousand years, Bactrian camels and dromedaries have been successfully bred in regions where they are sympatric to form hybrids with either a long, slightly lopsided hump or two humps – one small and one large. These hybrids are larger and stronger than their parents – they can bear greater loads. A cross between a first generation female hybrid and a male Bactrian camel can also produce a hybrid. Hybrids from other combinations tend to be bad-tempered or runts.
+
+Evolution
+The extinct Protylopus, which occurred in North America during the upper Eocene, is the oldest and the smallest-known camel. During the transition from Pliocene to Pleistocene, several mammals faced extinction. This period marked the successful radiation of the Camelus species, which migrated over the Bering Strait and dispersed widely into Asia, eastern Europe and Africa. By the Pleistocene, ancestors of the dromedary occurred in the Middle East and northern Africa.The modern dromedary probably evolved in the hotter, arid regions of western Asia from the Bactrian camel, which in turn was closely related to the earliest Old World camels. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the dromedary foetus has two humps, while in the adult male an anterior vestigial hump is present. A jawbone of a dromedary that dated from 8,200 BC was found in Saudi Arabia on the southern coast of the Red Sea.In 1975, Richard Bulliet of Columbia University wrote that the dromedary exists in large numbers in areas from which the Bactrian camel has disappeared; the converse is also true to a great extent. He said this substitution could have taken place because of the heavy dependence on the milk, meat and wool of the dromedary by Syrian and Arabian nomads, while the Asiatic people domesticated the Bactrian camel but did not have to depend upon its products.
+
+Characteristics
+The dromedary is the tallest of the three camel species. Adult males range in height between 1.8 and 2.4 m (5.9 and 7.9 ft) at the shoulder; females range between 1.7 and 1.9 m (5.6 and 6.2 ft). Males typically weigh between 400 and 690 kg (880 and 1,520 lb); females range between 300 and 540 kg (660 and 1,190 lb). The distinctive features are its long, curved neck, narrow chest and single hump (the Bactrian camel has two), thick, double-layered eyelashes and bushy eyebrows. They have sharp vision and a good sense of smell. The male has a soft palate (dulaa in Arabic) nearly 18 cm (7.1 in) long, which he inflates to produce a deep pink sac. The palate, which is often mistaken for the tongue, dangles from one side of the mouth and is used to attract females during the mating season.The coat is generally brown but can range from black to nearly white. Leese reported piebald dromedaries in Kordofan and Darfur in Sudan. Piebald coloration in some camels is thought to be caused by the KITW1 allele of the KIT gene, though there is likely at least one other mutation that also causes white spotting. The hair is long and concentrated on the throat, shoulders and the hump. The large eyes are protected by prominent supraorbital ridges; the ears are small and rounded. The hump is at least 20 cm (7.9 in) high. The dromedary has long, powerful legs with two toes on each foot. The feet resemble flat, leathery pads. Like the giraffe, dromedaries move both legs on one side of the body at the same time.Compared with the Bactrian camel, the dromedary has a lighter build, longer limbs, shorter hairs, a harder palate and an insignificant or absent ethmoidal fissure. Unlike the camelids of the genus Lama, the dromedary has a hump, and in comparison has a longer tail, smaller ears, squarer feet, and a greater height at the shoulder. The dromedary has four teats instead of the two in the Lama species.
+
+Anatomy
+The cranium of the dromedary consists of a postorbital bar, a tympanic bulla filled with spongiosa, a well-defined sagittal crest, a long facial part and an indented nasal bone. Typically, there are eight sternal and four non-sternal pairs of ribs. The spinal cord is nearly 214 cm (84 in) long; it terminates in the second and third sacral vertebra. The fibula is reduced to a malleolar bone. The dromedary is a digitigrade animal; it walks on its toes, which are known as digits. It lacks the second and fifth digits. The front feet are 19 cm (7.5 in) wide and 18 cm (7.1 in) long; they are larger than the hind feet, which measure 17 cm (6.7 in) wide and 16 cm (6.3 in) long.
+The dromedary has 22 milk teeth, which are eventually replaced by 34 permanent teeth. The dental formula for permanent dentition is 1.1.3.33.1.2.3, and 1.1.33.1.2 for milk dentition. In the juvenile, the lower first molars develop by 12 to 15 months and the permanent lower incisors appear at 4.5 to 6.5 years of age. All teeth are in use by 8 years. The lenses of the eyes contain crystallin, which constitutes 8 to 13% of the protein present there.The skin is black; the epidermis is 0.038–0.064 mm (0.0015–0.0025 in) thick and the dermis is 2.2–4.7 mm (0.087–0.185 in) thick. The hump is composed of fat bound together by fibrous tissue. There are no glands on the face; males have glands that appear to be modified apocrine sweat glands that secrete pungent, coffee-coloured fluid during the rut, located on either side of the neck midline. The glands generally grow heavier during the rut, and range from 20 to 115 g (0.71 to 4.06 oz). Each cover hair is associated with an arrector pilli muscle, a hair follicle, a ring of sebaceous glands and a sweat gland. Females have cone-shaped, four-chambered mammary glands that are 2.4 cm (0.94 in) long with a base diameter of 1.5 cm (0.59 in). These glands can produce milk with up to 90% water content even if the mother is at risk of dehydration.
+The heart weighs around 5 kg (11 lb); it has two ventricles with the tip curving to the left. The pulse rate is 50 beats per minute. The dromedary is the only mammal with oval red blood corpuscles, which facilitates blood flow during dehydration. The pH of the blood varies from 7.1 to 7.6 (slightly alkaline). The individual's state of hydration and sex and the time of year can influence blood values. The lungs lack lobes. A dehydrated camel has a lower breathing rate. Each kidney has a capacity of 858 cm3 (52.4 cu in), and can produce urine with high chloride concentrations. Like the horse, the dromedary has no gall bladder. The grayish violet, crescent-like spleen weighs less than 500 g (18 oz). The triangular, four-chambered liver weighs 6.5 kg (14 lb); its dimensions are 60 cm × 42 cm × 18 cm (24 in × 17 in × 7 in).
+
+Reproductive system
+The ovaries are reddish, circular and flattened. They are enclosed in a conical bursa and have the dimensions 4×2.5×0.5 cm (1.57×0.98×0.20 in) during anestrus. The oviducts are 25–28 cm (9.8–11.0 in) long. The uterus is bicornuate. The vagina is 3–3.5 cm (1.2–1.4 in) long and has well-developed Bartholin's glands. The vulva is 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) deep and has a small clitoris. The placenta is diffuse and epitheliochorial, with a crescent-like chorion.The penis is covered by a triangular penile sheath that opens backwards; it is about 60 cm (24 in) long. The scrotum is located high in the perineum with the testicles in separate sacs.  Testicles are 7–10 cm (2.8–3.9 in) long, 4.5 cm (1.8 in) deep and 5 cm (2.0 in) wide. The right testicle is often smaller than the left. The typical mass of either testicle is less than 140 g (0.31 lb); during the rut the mass increases from 165 to 253 g (0.364 to 0.558 lb). The Cowper's gland is white, almond-shaped and lacks seminal vesicles; the prostate gland is dark yellow, disc-shaped and divided into two lobes.
+The camel epididymis interstitium revealed several blood vessels harboring special regulatory devices such as the spiral arteries, spiral veins, and throttle arterioles.
+
+Health and diseases
+The dromedary generally suffers from fewer diseases than other domestic livestock such as goats and cattle. Temperature fluctuations occur throughout the day in a healthy dromedary – the temperature falls to its minimum at dawn, rises until sunset and falls during the night. Nervous camels may vomit if they are carelessly handled; this does not always indicate a disorder. Rutting males may develop nausea.The dromedary is prone to trypanosomiasis, a disease caused by a parasite transmitted by the tsetse fly. The main symptoms are recurring fever, anaemia and weakness; the disease is typically fatal for the camel. Brucellosis is another prominent malady. In an observational study, the seroprevalence of this disease was generally low (2 to 5%) in nomadic or moderately free dromedaries, but it was higher (8 to 15%) in denser populations. Brucellosis is caused by different biotypes of Brucella abortus and B. melitensis. Other internal parasites include Fasciola gigantica (trematode), two types of cestode (tapeworm) and various nematodes (roundworms). Among external parasites, Sarcoptes species cause sarcoptic mange. In a 2000 study in Jordan, 83% of the 32 camels studied tested positive for sarcoptic mange. In another study, dromedaries were found to have natural antibodies against the rinderpest and ovine rinderpest viruses.In 2013, a seroepidemiological study (a study investigating the patterns, causes and effects of a disease on a specific population on the basis of serologic tests) in Egypt was the first to show the dromedary might be a host for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). A 2013–14 study of dromedaries in Saudi Arabia concluded the unusual genetic stability of MERS-CoV coupled with its high seroprevalence in the dromedary makes this camel a highly probable host for the virus. The full genome sequence of MERS-CoV from dromedaries in this study showed a 99.9% match to the genomes of human clade B MERS-CoV. Another study in Saudi Arabia showed the presence of MERS-CoV in 90% of the evaluated dromedaries and suggested that camels could be the animal source of MERS-CoV.
+Fleas and ticks are common causes of physical irritation. Hyalomma dromedarii is especially adapted to arid conditions, changing its moulting process to complete more or all of its life cycle on a single host if stressed, and having an unusually wide host range. The larvae are not well understood but their questing phase is assumed to occur during the winter, which is also when rain arrives. The nymphs infest the host mostly in January, then the adults May to September. In a study in Egypt, H. dromedarii was dominant in dromedaries, comprising 95.6% of the adult ticks isolated from the camels. In Israel, the number of ticks per camel ranged from 20 to 105. Nine camels in the date palm plantations in Arava Valley were injected with ivermectin, which is not effective against Hyalomma tick infestations. Larvae of the camel nasal fly Cephalopsis titillator can cause possibly fatal brain compression and nervous disorders. Illnesses that can affect dromedary productivity are pyogenic diseases and wound infections caused by Corynebacterium and Streptococcus, pulmonary disorders caused by Pasteurella such as hemorrhagic septicemia and Rickettsia species, camelpox, anthrax, and cutaneous necrosis caused by Streptothrix and deficiency of salt in the diet.
+
+Ecology
+The dromedary is diurnal (active mainly during daylight); free-ranging herds feed and roam throughout the day, though they rest during the hottest hours around noon. The night is mainly spent resting. Dromedaries form cohesive groups of about 20 individuals, which consist of several females led by a dominant male. Females may also lead in turns. Some males either form bachelor groups or roam alone. Herds may congregate to form associations of hundreds of camels during migrations at the time of natural disasters. The males of the herd prevent female members from interacting with bachelor males by standing or walking between them and sometimes driving the bachelor males away. In Australia, short-term home ranges of feral dromedaries cover 50 to 150 km2 (19 to 58 sq mi); annual home ranges can spread over several thousand square kilometres.Special behavioral features of the dromedary include snapping at others without biting them and showing displeasure by stamping their feet. They are generally non-aggressive, with the exception of rutting males. They appear to remember their homes; females, in particular, remember the places they first gave birth or suckled their offspring. Males become aggressive in the mating season, and sometimes wrestle. A 1980 study showed androgen levels in males influences their behavior. Between January and April when these levels are high during the rut, they become difficult to manage, blow out the palate from the mouth, vocalize and throw urine over their backs. Camels scratch parts of their bodies with their legs or with their lower incisors. They may also rub against tree bark and roll in the sand.Free-ranging dromedaries face large predators typical of their regional distribution, which includes wolves, lions and tigers.
+
+Diet
+The dromedary's diet consists mostly of foliage, dry grasses and desert vegetation – mostly thorny plants. A study said the typical diet of the dromedary is dwarf shrubs (47.5%), trees (29.9%), grasses (11.2%), other herbs (0.2%) and vines (11%). The dromedary is primarily a browser; forbs and shrubs comprise 70% of its diet in summer and 90% of its diet in winter. The dromedary may also graze on tall, young, succulent grasses.In the Sahara, 332 plant species have been recorded as food plants of the dromedary. These include Aristida pungens, Acacia tortilis, Panicum turgidum, Launaea arborescens and Balanites aegyptiaca. The dromedary eats Acacia, Atriplex and Salsola when they are available. Feral dromedaries in Australia prefer Trichodesma zeylanicum and Euphorbia tannensis. In India, dromedaries are fed with forage plants such as Vigna aconitifolia, V. mungo, Cyamopsis tetragonolaba, Melilotus parviflora, Eruca sativa, Trifolium species and Brassica campestris. Dromedaries keep their mouths open while chewing thorny food. They use their lips to grasp the food and chew each bite 40 to 50 times. Its long eyelashes, eyebrows, lockable nostrils, caudal opening of the prepuce and a relatively small vulva help the camel avoid injuries, especially while feeding. They graze for 8–12 hours per day and ruminate for an equal amount of time.
+
+Biology
+Adaptations
+The dromedary is specially adapted to its desert habitat; these adaptations are aimed at conserving water and regulating body temperature. The bushy eyebrows and the double row of eyelashes prevent sand and dust from entering the eyes during strong windstorms, and shield them from the sun's glare. The dromedary is able to close its nostrils voluntarily; this assists in water conservation. The dromedary can conserve water by reducing perspiration by fluctuating the body temperature throughout the day from 31 to 41.7 °C (87.8 to 107.1 °F). The kidneys are specialized to minimize water loss through excretion. Groups of camels avoid excess heat from the environment by pressing against each other. The dromedary can tolerate greater than 30% water loss, which is generally impossible for other mammals. In temperatures between 30 and 40 °C (86 and 104 °F), it needs water every 10 to 15 days. In the hottest temperatures, the dromedary takes water every four to seven days. This camel has a quick rate of rehydration and can drink at 10–20 L (2.2–4.4 imp gal) per minute. The dromedary has a rete mirabile, a complex of arteries and veins lying very close to each other which uses countercurrent blood flow to cool blood flowing to the brain. This effectively controls the temperature of the brain.The hump stores up to 80 lb (36 kg) of fat, which the camel can break down into energy to meet its needs when resources are scarce; the hump also helps dissipate body heat. When this tissue is metabolized, through fat metabolization, it releases energy while causing water to evaporate from the lungs during respiration (as oxygen is required for the metabolic process): overall, there is a net decrease in water. If the hump is small, the animal can show signs of starvation. In a 2005 study, the mean volume of adipose tissues (in the external part of the hump that have cells to store lipids) is related to the dromedary's unique mechanism of food and water storage. In case of starvation, they can even eat fish and bones, and drink brackish and salty water. The hair is longer on the throat, hump and shoulders. Though the padded hooves effectively support the camel's weight on the ground, they are not suitable for walking on slippery and muddy surfaces.
+
+Reproduction
+Camels have a slow growth rate and reach sexual maturity slower than sheep or goat. The age of sexual maturity varies geographically and depends on the individual, as does the reproductive period. Both sexes might mature by three to five years of age, though successful breeding could take longer. Camels are described as atypical seasonal breeders; they exhibit spermatogenesis throughout the whole year with a reduction in spermatogenesis during the nonbreeding season compared to that in the
+breeding season (Zayed et al., 1995). The breeding season in Egypt is during spring; the spring months. Mating occurs once a year, and peaks in the rainy season. The mating season lasts three to five months, but may last a year for older animals.During the reproductive season, males splash their urine on their tails and nether regions. To attract females they extrude their soft palate – a trait unique to the dromedary. As the male gurgles, copious quantities of saliva turns to foam and covers the mouth. Males threaten each other for dominance over the female by trying to stand taller than the other, making low noises and a series of head movements including lowering, lifting and bending their necks backward. Males try to defeat other males by biting the opponent's legs and taking the head between his jaws. Copulation begins with foreplay; the male smells the female's genitalia and often bites her there or around her hump. The male forces the female to sit, then grasps her with his forelegs. Camelmen often aid the male insert his penis into the female's vulva. The male dromedary's ability to penetrate the female on his own is disputed, though feral populations in Australia reproduce naturally. Copulation takes from 7 to 35 minutes, averaging 11 to 15 minutes. Normally, three to four ejaculations occur. The semen of a Bikaneri dromedary is white and viscous, with a pH of around 7.8.A single calf is born after a gestation period of 15 months. Calves move freely by the end of their first day. Nursing and maternal care continue for one to two years. In a study to find whether young could exist on milk substitutes, two male, month-old camels were separated from their mothers and were fed on milk substitutes prepared commercially for lambs, and they grew to normal weights for male calves after 30 days. Lactational yield can vary with species, breed, individual, region, diet, management conditions and lactating stage. The largest quantity of milk is produced during the early period of lactation. The lactation period can vary between nine and eighteen months.Dromedaries are induced ovulators. Oestrus may be cued by the nutritional status of the camel and the length of day. If mating does not occur, the follicle, which grows during oestrus, usually regresses within a few days. In one study, 35 complete oestrous cycles were observed in five nonpregnant females over 15 months. The cycles were about 28 days long; follicles matured in six days, maintained their size for 13 days, and returned to their original size in eight days. In another study, ovulation could be best induced when the follicle reaches a size of 0.9–1.9 cm (0.35–0.75 in). In another study, pregnancy in females could be recognized as early as 40 to 45 days of gestation by the swelling of the left uterine horn, where 99.5% of pregnancies were located.
+
+Range
+Its range included hot, arid regions of northern Africa, Ethiopia, the Near East, and western and central Asia. The dromedary typically thrives in areas with a long dry season and a short wet season. They are sensitive to cold and humidity, though some breeds can thrive in humid conditions.
+The dromedary may have been first domesticated in Somalia or the Arabian Peninsula about 4,000 years ago. In the ninth or tenth century BC, the dromedary became popular in the Near East. The Persian invasion of Egypt under Cambyses in 525 BC introduced domesticated camels to the area. The Persian camels were not well-suited to trading or travel over the Sahara; journeys across the desert were made on chariots pulled by horses. The dromedary was introduced into Egypt from south-western Asia (Arabia and Persia). The popularity of dromedaries increased after the Islamic conquest of North Africa. While the invasion was accomplished largely on horseback, new links to the Middle East allowed camels to be imported en masse. These camels were well-suited to long desert journeys and could carry a great deal of cargo, allowing substantial trans-Saharan trade for the first time. In Libya, dromedaries were used for transport and their milk and meat constituted the local diet.
+Dromedaries were also shipped from south-western Asia to Spain, Italy, Turkey, France, Canary Islands, the Americas and Australia. Dromedaries were introduced into Spain in 1020 AD and to Sicily in 1059 AD. Camels were exported to the Canary Islands in 1405 during the European colonisation of the area, and are still extant there, especially in Lanzarote and to the south of Fuerteventura. Attempts to introduce dromedaries into the Caribbean, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil were made between the 17th and 19th centuries; some were imported to the western United States in the 1850s and some to Namibia in the early 1900s, but presently they exist in small numbers or are absent in these areas.In 1840, about six camels were shipped from Tenerife to Adelaide, but only one survived the journey to arrive on 12 October that year. The animal, a male called Harry, was owned by the explorer John Ainsworth Horrocks. Harry was ill-tempered but was included in an expedition the following year because he could carry heavy loads. The next major group of camels were imported into Australia in 1860, and between 1860 and 1907 10 to 12 thousand were imported. These were used mainly for riding and transport.
+
+Current distribution of captive animals
+In the early 21st century, the domesticated dromedary is found in the semi-arid to arid regions of the Old World.
+
+Africa
+Africa has more than 80% of the world's total dromedary population; it occurs in almost every desert zone in the northern part of the continent. The Sahel marks the southern extreme of its range, where the annual rainfall is around 550 mm (22 in). The Horn of Africa has nearly 35% of the world's dromedaries; most of the region's stock is in Somalia, followed by Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia (as of the early 2000s). According to the Yearbook of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for 1984, eastern Africa had about 10 million dromedaries, the largest population of Africa. Western Africa followed with 2.14 million, while northern Africa had nearly 0.76 million. Populations in Africa increased by 16% from 1994 to 2005.
+
+Asia
+In Asia, nearly 70% of the population occurs in India and Pakistan. The combined population of the dromedary and the Bactrian camel decreased by around 21% between 1994 and 2004. The dromedary is sympatric with the Bactrian camel in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and central and southwestern Asia. India has a dromedary population of less than one million, with most (0.67 million) in the state of Rajasthan. Populations in Pakistan decreased from 1.1 million in 1994 to 0.8 million in 2005 – a 29% decline. According to the FAO, the dromedary population in six countries of the Persian Gulf was nearly 0.67 million in 2003. In the Persian Gulf region the dromedary is locally classified into breeds including Al-Majahem, Al-Hamrah, Al-Safrah, Al-Zarkah and Al-Shakha, based on coat colour. The UAE has three prominent breeds: Racing camel, Al-Arabiat and Al-Kazmiat.
+
+Feral population
+Feral dromedary populations occur in Australia, where they were introduced in 1840. The total dromedary population in Australia was 500,000 in 2005. Nearly 99% of the populations are feral, and they have annual growth rate of 10%. Most of the Australian feral camels are dromedaries, with only a few Bactrian camels. Most of the dromedaries occur in Western Australia, with smaller populations in the Northern Territory, Western Queensland and northern South Australia.
+
+Relationship with humans
+The strength and docility of the dromedary make it popular as a domesticated animal. According to Richard Bulliet, they can be used for a wide variety of purposes: riding, transport, ploughing, and trading and as a source of milk, meat, wool and leather. The main attraction of the dromedary for nomadic desert-dwellers is the wide variety of resources they provide, which are crucial for their survival. It is important for several Bedouin pastoralist tribes of northern Arabia, such as the Ruwallah, the Rashaida, the Bani Sakhr and the Mutayr.Camel urine and camel milk are used for medicinal purposes.
+
+Riding camels
+Although the role of the camel is diminishing with the advent of technology and modern means of transport, it is still an efficient mode of communication in remote and less-developed areas. The dromedary has been used in warfare since the 6th century BC. It is particularly prized for its capability to outrun horses in the deserts. Record of its use during the time of Alexander the Great indicate that the animal could cover up to 50 miles per day for a week and they could go for up to a month without water. An account by Aurelian also cited that, in her escape to Euphrates, Zenobia used a dromedary to outrun her pursuers after she was defeated at Palmyra.The dromedary also remains popular for racing, particularly in the Arab world. Riding camels of Arabia, Egypt and the Sahara are locally known as the Dilool, the Hageen, and the Mehara respectively; several local breeds are included within these groups.The ideal riding camel is strong, slender and long-legged with thin, supple skin. The special adaptations of the dromedary's feet allow it to walk with ease on sandy and rough terrain and on cold surfaces. The camels of the Bejas of Sudan and the Hedareb, Bilen, and the Tigre people of Eritrea and the Anafi camel bred in Sudan are common breeds used as riding camels.
+According to Leese, the dromedary walks with four speeds or gaits: walk, jog, fast run and canter. The first is the typical speed of walking, around 4 km/h (2.5 mph). Jog is the most common speed, nearly 8–12 km/h (5.0–7.5 mph) on level ground. He estimated a speed of 14–19 km/h (8.7–11.8 mph) during a fast run, by observing northern African and Arabian dromedaries. He gave no speed range to describe the canter, but implied it was a type of gallop that if induced could exhaust the camel and the rider. Canter could be used only for short periods of time, for example in races.The ideal age to start training dromedaries for riding is three years, although they may be stubborn and unruly. At first the camel's head is controlled, and it is later trained to respond to sitting and standing commands, and to allow mounting. At this stage a camel will often try to escape when a trainer tries to mount it. The next stage involves training it to respond to reins. The animal must be given loads gradually and not forced to carry heavy loads before the age of six. Riding camels should not be struck on their necks, rather they should be struck behind the right leg of the rider. Leese described two types of saddles generally used in camel riding: the Arabian markloofa used by single riders and the Indian pakra used when two riders mount the same camel.
+
+Baggage and draught camels
+The baggage camel should be robust and heavy. Studies have recommended the camel should have either a small or a large head with a narrow aquiline nose, prominent eyes and large lips. The neck should be medium to long so the head is held high. The chest should be deep and the hump should be well-developed with sufficient space behind it to accommodate the saddle. The hindlegs should be heavy, muscular and sturdy. The dromedary can be trained to carry baggage from the age of five years, but must not be given heavy loads before the age of six. The hawia is a typical baggage saddle from Sudan. The methods of training the baggage camels are similar to those for riding camels.Draught camels are used for several purposes including ploughing, processing in oil mills and pulling carts. There is no clear description for the ideal draught camel, though its strength, its ability to survive without water and the flatness of its feet could be indicators. It may be used for ploughing in pairs or in groups with buffaloes or bullocks. The draught camel can plough at around 2.5 km/h (1.6 mph), and should not be used for more than six hours a day – four hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. The camel is not easily exhausted unless diseased or undernourished, and has remarkable endurance and hardiness.
+
+Dairy products
+Camel milk is a staple food of nomadic tribes living in deserts. It consists of 11.7% solids, 3% protein, 3.6% fat, 0.8% ash, 4.4% lactose and 0.13% acidity (pH 6.5). The quantities of sodium, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, niacin and vitamin C were relatively higher than the amounts in cow milk. However, the levels of thiamin, riboflavin, folacin, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, vitamin A, lysine, and tryptophan were lower than those in cow milk. The molar percentages of the fatty acids in milk fat were 26.7% for palmitic acid, 25.5% oleic acid, 11.4% myristic acid and 11% palmitoleic acid. Camel milk has higher thermal stability compared with cow milk, but it does not compare favourably with sheep milk.Daily milk yield generally varies from 3.5 to 35 kg (7.7 to 77.2 lb) and from 1.3% to 7.8% of the body weight. Milk yield varies geographically and depends upon the animals' diet and living conditions. At the peak of lactation, a healthy female would typically provide 9 kg (20 lb) milk per day. Leese estimated a lactating female would yield 4 to 9 L (0.88 to 1.98 imp gal) besides the amount ingested by the calf. The Pakistani dromedary, which is considered a better milker and bigger, can yield 9.1–14.1 kg (20–31 lb) when well-fed. Dromedaries in Somalia may be milked between two and four times a day, while those in Afar, Ethiopia, may be milked up to seven times a day.The acidity of dromedary milk stored at 30 °C (86 °F) increases at a slower rate than that of cow milk. Though the preparation of butter from dromedary milk is difficult, it is produced in small amounts by nomads, optimized at 22.5% fat in the cream. In 2001, the ability of dromedary milk to form curd was studied; coagulation did not show curd formation, and had a pH of 4.4. It was much different from curd produced from cow milk, and had a fragile, heterogeneous composition probably composed of casein flakes. Nevertheless, cheese and other dairy products can be made from camel milk. A study found bovine calf rennet could be used to coagulate dromedary milk. A special factory has been set up in Nouakchott to pasteurise and make cheese from camel milk. Mystical beliefs surround the use of camel milk in some places; for example, it may be used as an aphrodisiac in Ethiopia.
+
+Meat
+The meat of a five-year-old dromedary has a typical composition of 76% water, 22% protein, 1% fat, and 1% ash. The carcass, weighing 141–310 kg (311–683 lb) for a five-year-old dromedary, is composed of nearly 57% muscle, 26% bone and 17% fat. A seven-to-eight-year-old camel can produce a carcass of 125–400 kg (276–882 lb). The meat is bright red to a dark brown or maroon, while the fat is white. It has the taste and texture of beef. A study of the meat of Iranian dromedaries showed its high glycogen content, which makes it taste sweet like horse meat. The carcasses of well-fed camels were found to be covered with a thin layer of good quality fat. In a study of the fatty acid composition of raw meat taken from the hind legs of seven one-to-three years old males, 51.5% of the fatty acids were saturated, 29.9% mono-unsaturated, and 18.6% polyunsaturated. The major fatty acids in the meat were palmitic acid (26.0%), oleic acid (18.9%) and linoleic acid (12.1%). In the hump, palmitic acid was dominant (34.4%), followed by oleic acid (28.2%), myristic acid (10.3%) and stearic acid (10%).
+Dromedary slaughter is more difficult than the slaughter of other domestic livestock such as cattle because of the size of the animal and the significant manual work involved. More males than females are slaughtered. Though less affected by mishandling than other livestock, the pre-slaughter handling of the dromedary plays a crucial role in determining the quality of meat obtained; mishandling can often disfigure the hump. The animal is stunned, seated in a crouching position with the head in a caudal position and slaughtered. The dressing percentage – the percentage of the mass of the animal that forms the carcass – is 55–70%, more than the 45–50% of cattle. Camel meat is often eaten by African camel herders, who use it only during severe food scarcity or for rituals. Camel meat is processed into food items such as burgers, patties, sausages and shawarma. Dromedaries can be slaughtered between four and ten years of age. As the animal ages, the meat grows tougher and deteriorates in taste and quality. In Somalian and Djiboutian culture, the dromedary is a staple food and can be found in many recipes and dishes.
+A 2005 report issued jointly by the Ministry of Health (Saudi Arabia) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention details five cases of bubonic plague in humans resulting from the ingestion of raw camel liver. Four of the five patients had severe pharyngitis and submandibular lymphadenitis. Yersinia pestis was isolated from the camel's bone marrow, from the jird (Meriones libycus) and from fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis) captured at the camel's corral.
+
+Camel hair, wool and hides
+Camels in hot climates generally do not develop long coats. Camel hair is light, and has low thermal conductivity and durability, and is thus suitable for manufacturing warm clothes, blankets, tents, and rugs. Hair of highest quality is typically obtained from juvenile or wild camels. In India, camels are clipped usually in spring and around 1–1.5 kg (2.2–3.3 lb) hair is produced per clipping. In colder regions one clipping can yield as much as 5.4 kg (12 lb). A dromedary can produce 1 kg (2.2 lb) wool per year, whereas a Bactrian camel has an annual yield of nearly 5–12 kg (11–26 lb). Dromedaries under the age of two years have a fine undercoat that tends to fall off and should be cropped by hand. Little information about camel hides has been collected but they are usually of inferior quality and are less preferred for manufacturing leather.
+
+See also
+Camel urine
+List of animals with humps
+National symbols of Saudi Arabia
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Camelus dromedarius". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
+Could Emirati camels hold the key to treating venomous snake bites?
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+The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox that belongs to the family of Canidae, native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is also used as camouflage. It has a large and very fluffy tail. In the wild, most individuals do not live past their first year but some exceptional ones survive up to 11 years. Its body length ranges from 46 to 68 cm (18 to 27 in), with a generally rounded body shape to minimize the escape of body heat.
+The Arctic fox preys on many small creatures such as lemmings, voles, ringed seal pups, fish, waterfowl, and seabirds. It also eats carrion, berries, seaweed, and insects and other small invertebrates. Arctic foxes form monogamous pairs during the breeding season and they stay together to raise their young in complex underground dens. Occasionally, other family members may assist in raising their young. Natural predators of the Arctic fox are golden eagles, Arctic wolves, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes, and grizzly bears.
+
+Behavior
+Arctic foxes must endure a temperature difference of up to 90–100 °C (160–180 °F) between the external environment and their internal core temperature. To prevent heat loss, the Arctic fox curls up tightly tucking its legs and head under its body and behind its furry tail. This position gives the fox the smallest surface area to volume ratio and protects the least insulated areas. Arctic foxes also stay warm by getting out of the wind and residing in their dens. Although the Arctic foxes are active year-round and do not hibernate, they attempt to preserve fat by reducing their locomotor activity. They build up their fat reserves in the autumn, sometimes increasing their body weight by more than 50%. This provides greater insulation during the winter and a source of energy when food is scarce.
+
+Reproduction
+In the spring, the Arctic fox's attention switches to reproduction and a home for their potential offspring. They live in large dens in frost-free, slightly raised ground. These are complex systems of tunnels covering as much as 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) and are often in eskers, long ridges of sedimentary material deposited in formerly glaciated regions. These dens may be in existence for many decades and are used by many generations of foxes.
+Arctic foxes tend to select dens that are easily accessible with many entrances, and that are clear from snow and ice making it easier to burrow in. The Arctic fox builds and chooses dens that face southward towards the sun, which makes the den warmer. Arctic foxes prefer large, maze-like dens for predator evasion and a quick escape especially when red foxes are in the area. Natal dens are typically found in rugged terrain, which may provide more protection for the pups. But, the parents will also relocate litters to nearby dens to avoid predators. When red foxes are not in the region, Arctic foxes will use dens that the red fox previously occupied. Shelter quality is more important to the Arctic fox than the proximity of spring prey to a den.The main prey in the tundra are lemmings, which is why the white fox is often called the "lemming fox". The white fox's reproduction rates reflect the lemming population density, which cyclically fluctuates every 3–5 years. When lemmings are abundant, the white fox can give birth to 18 pups, but they often do not reproduce when food is scarce. The "coastal fox" or blue fox lives in an environment where food availability is relatively consistent, and they will have up to 5 pups every year.Breeding usually takes place in April and May, and the gestation period is about 52 days. Litters may contain as many as 25 (the largest litter size in the order Carnivora). The young emerge from the den when 3 to 4 weeks old and are weaned by 9 weeks of age.Arctic foxes are primarily monogamous and both parents will care for the offspring. When predators and prey are abundant, Arctic foxes are more likely to be promiscuous (exhibited in both males and females) and display more complex social structures. Larger packs of foxes consisting of breeding or non-breeding males or females can guard a single territory more proficiently to increase pup survival. When resources are scarce, competition increases and the number of foxes in a territory decreases. On the coasts of Svalbard, the frequency of complex social structures is larger than inland foxes that remain monogamous due to food availability. In Scandinavia, there are more complex social structures compared to other populations due to the presence of the red fox. Also, conservationists are supplying the declining population with supplemental food. One unique case, however, is Iceland where monogamy is the most prevalent. The older offspring (1-year-olds) often remain within their parent's territory even though predators are absent and there are fewer resources, which may indicate kin selection in the fox.
+
+Diet
+Arctic foxes generally eat any small animal they can find, including lemmings, voles, other rodents, hares, birds, eggs, fish, and carrion. They scavenge on carcasses left by larger predators such as wolves and polar bears, and in times of scarcity also eat their feces. In areas where they are present, lemmings are their most common prey, and a family of foxes can eat dozens of lemmings each day. In some locations in northern Canada, a high seasonal abundance of migrating birds that breed in the area may provide an important food source. On the coast of Iceland and other islands, their diet consists predominantly of birds. During April and May, the Arctic fox also preys on ringed seal pups when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. They also consume berries and seaweed, so they may be considered omnivores. This fox is a significant bird-egg predator, consuming eggs of all except the largest tundra bird species.Arctic foxes survive harsh winters and food scarcity by either hoarding food or storing body fat subcutaneously and viscerally. At the beginning of winter, one Arctic fox has approximately 14740 kJ of energy storage from fat alone. Using the lowest BMR value measured in Arctic foxes, an average sized fox of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) would need 471 kJ/day during the winter to survive. In Canada, Arctic foxes acquire from snow goose eggs at a rate of 2.7–7.3 eggs/h and store 80–97% of them. Scats provide evidence that they eat the eggs during the winter after caching. Isotope analysis shows that eggs can still be eaten after a year, and the metabolizable energy of a stored goose egg only decreases by 11% after 60 days; a fresh egg has about 816 kJ. Eggs stored in the summer are accessed the following spring prior to reproduction.
+
+Adaptations
+The Arctic fox lives in some of the most frigid extremes on the planet, but they do not start to shiver until the temperature drops to −70 °C (−94 °F). Among its adaptations for survival in the cold is its dense, multilayered pelage, which provides excellent insulation. Additionally, the Arctic fox is the only canid whose foot pads are covered in fur. There are two genetically distinct coat color morphs: white and blue. The white morph has seasonal camouflage, white in winter and brown along the back with light grey around the abdomen in summer. The blue morph is often a dark blue, brown, or grey color year-round. Although the blue allele is dominant over the white allele, 99% of the Arctic fox population is the white morph. Two similar mutations to MC1R cause the blue color and the lack of seasonal color change. The fur of the Arctic fox provides the best insulation of any mammal.The fox has a low surface area to volume ratio, as evidenced by its generally compact body shape, short muzzle and legs, and short, thick ears. Since less of its surface area is exposed to the Arctic cold, less heat escapes from its body.
+
+Sensory modalities
+The Arctic fox has a functional hearing range between 125 Hz–16 kHz with a sensitivity that is ≤ 60 dB in air, and an average peak sensitivity of 24 dB at 4 kHz. Overall, the Arctic foxes hearing is less sensitive than the dog and the kit fox. The Arctic fox and the kit fox have a low upper-frequency limit compared to the domestic dog and other carnivores. The Arctic fox can easily hear lemmings burrowing under 4-5 inches of snow. When it has located its prey, it pounces and punches through the snow to catch its prey.The Arctic fox also has a keen sense of smell. They can smell carcasses that are often left by polar bears anywhere from 10 to 40 km (6.2 to 24.9 mi). It is possible that they use their sense of smell to also track down polar bears. Additionally, Arctic foxes can smell and find frozen lemmings under 46–77 cm (18–30 in) of snow, and can detect a subnivean seal lair under 150 cm (59 in) of snow.
+
+Physiology
+The Arctic fox contains advantageous genes to overcome extreme cold and starvation periods. Transcriptome sequencing has identified two genes that are under positive selection: Glycolipid transfer protein domain containing 1 (GLTPD1) and V-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 2 (AKT2). GLTPD1 is involved in the fatty acid metabolism, while AKT2 pertains to the glucose metabolism and insulin signaling.The average mass specific BMR and total BMR are 37% and 27% lower in the winter than the summer. The Arctic fox decreases its BMR via metabolic depression in the winter to conserve fat storage and minimize energy requirements. According to the most recent data, the lower critical temperature of the Arctic fox is at −7 °C (19 °F) in the winter and 5 °C (41 °F) in the summer. It was commonly believed that the Arctic fox had a lower critical temperature below −40 °C (−40 °F). However, some scientists have concluded that this statistic is not accurate since it was never tested using the proper equipment.About 22% of the total body surface area of the Arctic fox dissipates heat readily compared to red foxes at 33%. The regions that have the greatest heat loss are the nose, ears, legs, and feet, which is useful in the summer for thermal heat regulation. Also, the Arctic fox has a beneficial mechanism in their nose for evaporative cooling like dogs, which keeps the brain cool during the summer and exercise. The thermal conductivity of Arctic fox fur in the summer and winter is the same; however, the thermal conductance of the Arctic fox in the winter is lower than the summer since fur thickness increases by 140%. In the summer, the thermal conductance of the Arctic foxes body is 114% higher than the winter, but their body core temperature is constant year-round.
+One way that Arctic foxes regulate their body temperature is by utilizing a countercurrent heat exchange in the blood of their legs. Arctic foxes can constantly keep their feet above the tissue freezing point (−1 °C (30 °F)) when standing on cold substrates without losing mobility or feeling pain. They do this by increasing vasodilation and blood flow to a capillary rete in the pad surface, which is in direct contact with the snow rather than the entire foot. They selectively vasoconstrict blood vessels in the center of the foot pad, which conserves energy and minimizes heat loss. Arctic foxes maintain the temperature in their paws independently from the core temperature. If the core temperature drops, the pad of the foot will remain constantly above the tissue freezing point.
+
+Size
+The average head-and-body length of the male is 55 cm (22 in), with a range of 46 to 68 cm (18 to 27 in), while the female averages 52 cm (20 in) with a range of 41 to 55 cm (16 to 22 in). In some regions, no difference in size is seen between males and females. The tail is about 30 cm (12 in) long in both sexes. The height at the shoulder is 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in). On average males weigh 3.5 kg (7.7 lb), with a range of 3.2 to 9.4 kg (7.1 to 20.7 lb), while females average 2.9 kg (6.4 lb), with a range of 1.4 to 3.2 kg (3.1 to 7.1 lb).
+
+Taxonomy
+Vulpes lagopus is a 'true fox' belonging to the genus Vulpes of the fox tribe Vulpini, which consists of 12 extant species. It is classified under the subfamily Caninae of the canid family Canidae. Although it has previously been assigned to its own monotypic genus Alopex, recent genetic evidence now places it in the genus Vulpes along with the majority of other foxes.
+It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758 as Canis lagopus. The type specimen was recovered from Lapland, Sweden. The generic name vulpes is Latin for "fox". The specific name lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek λαγώς (lagōs, "hare") and πούς (pous, "foot"), referring to the hair on its feet similar to those found in cold-climate species of hares.Looking at the most recent phylogeny, the Arctic fox and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) diverged approximately 3.17MYA. Additionally, the Arctic fox diverged from its sister group, the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), at about 0.9MYA.
+
+Origins
+The origins of the Arctic fox have been described by the "out of Tibet" hypothesis. On the Tibetan Plateau, fossils of the extinct ancestral Arctic fox (Vulpes qiuzhudingi) from the early Pliocene (5.08–3.6 MYA) were found along with many other precursors of modern mammals that evolved during the Pliocene (5.3–2.6 MYA). It is believed that this ancient fox is the ancestor of the modern Arctic fox. Globally, the Pliocene was about 2–3 °C warmer than today, and the Arctic during the summer in the mid-Pliocene was 8 °C warmer. By using stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of fossils, researchers claim that the Tibetan Plateau experienced tundra-like conditions during the Pliocene and harbored cold-adapted mammals that later spread to North America and Eurasia during the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million-11,700 years ago).
+
+Subspecies
+Besides the nominate subspecies, the common Arctic fox, V. l. lagopus, four other subspecies of this fox have been described:
+
+Bering Islands Arctic fox, V. l. beringensis
+Greenland Arctic fox, V. l. foragoapusis
+Iceland Arctic fox, V. l. fuliginosus
+Pribilof Islands Arctic fox, V. l. pribilofensis
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The Arctic fox has a circumpolar distribution and occurs in Arctic tundra habitats in northern Europe, northern Asia, and North America. Its range includes Greenland, Iceland, Fennoscandia, Svalbard, Jan Mayen (where it was hunted to extinction) and other islands in the Barents Sea, northern Russia, islands in the Bering Sea, Alaska, and Canada as far south as Hudson Bay. In the late 19th century, it was introduced into the Aleutian Islands southwest of Alaska. However, the population on the Aleutian Islands is currently being eradicated in conservation efforts to preserve the local bird population. It mostly inhabits tundra and pack ice, but is also present in Canadian boreal forests (northeastern Alberta, northern Saskatchewan, northern Manitoba, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador) and the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. They are found at elevations up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level and have been seen on sea ice close to the North Pole.The Arctic fox is the only land mammal native to Iceland. It came to the isolated North Atlantic island at the end of the last ice age, walking over the frozen sea. The Arctic Fox Center in Súðavík contains an exhibition on the Arctic fox and conducts studies on the influence of tourism on the population. Its range during the last ice age was much more extensive than it is now, and fossil remains of the Arctic fox have been found over much of northern Europe and Siberia.The color of the fox's coat also determines where they are most likely to be found. The white morph mainly lives inland and blends in with the snowy tundra, while the blue morph occupies the coasts because its dark color blends in with the cliffs and rocks.
+
+Migrations and travel
+During the winter, 95.5% of Arctic foxes utilize commuting trips, which remain within the fox's home range. Commuting trips in Arctic foxes last less than 3 days and occur between 0–2.9 times a month. Nomadism is found in 3.4% of the foxes, and loop migrations (where the fox travels to a new range, then returns to its home range) are the least common at 1.1%. Arctic foxes in Canada that undergo nomadism and migrations voyage from the Canadian archipelago to Greenland and northwestern Canada. The duration and distance traveled between males and females is not significantly different.
+Arctic foxes closer to goose colonies (located at the coasts) are less likely to migrate. Meanwhile, foxes experiencing low-density lemming populations are more likely to make sea ice trips. Residency is common in the Arctic fox population so that they can maintain their territories. Migratory foxes have a mortality rate >3 times higher than resident foxes. Nomadic behavior becomes more common as the foxes age.In July 2019, the Norwegian Polar Institute reported the story of a yearling female which was fitted with a GPS tracking device and then released by their researchers on the east coast of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard group of islands. The young fox crossed the polar ice from the islands to Greenland in 21 days, a distance of 1,512 km (940 mi). She then moved on to Ellesmere Island in northern Canada, covering a total recorded distance of 3,506 km (2,179 mi) in 76 days, before her GPS tracker stopped working. She averaged just over 46 km (29 mi) a day, and managed as much as 155 km (96 mi) in a single day.
+
+Conservation status
+The Arctic fox has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. However, the Scandinavian mainland population is acutely endangered, despite being legally protected from hunting and persecution for several decades. The estimate of the adult population in all of Norway, Sweden, and Finland is fewer than 200 individuals. Of these, especially in Finland, the Arctic fox is even classified as critically endangered, because even though the animal was pacified in Finland since 1940, the population has not recovered despite that. As a result, the populations of Arctic fox have been carefully studied and inventoried in places such as the Vindelfjällens Nature Reserve (Sweden), which has the Arctic fox as its symbol.
+The abundance of the Arctic fox tends to fluctuate in a cycle along with the population of lemmings and voles (a 3- to 4-year cycle). The populations are especially vulnerable during the years when the prey population crashes, and uncontrolled trapping has almost eradicated two subpopulations.
+The pelts of Arctic foxes with a slate-blue coloration were especially valuable. They were transported to various previously fox-free Aleutian Islands during the 1920s. The program was successful in terms of increasing the population of blue foxes, but their predation of Aleutian Canada geese conflicted with the goal of preserving that species.The Arctic fox is losing ground to the larger red fox. This has been attributed to climate change—the camouflage value of its lighter coat decreases with less snow cover. Red foxes dominate where their ranges begin to overlap by killing Arctic foxes and their kits. An alternative explanation of the red fox's gains involves the gray wolf. Historically, it has kept red fox numbers down, but as the wolf has been hunted to near extinction in much of its former range, the red fox population has grown larger, and it has taken over the niche of top predator. In areas of northern Europe, programs are in place that allow the hunting of red foxes in the Arctic fox's previous range.
+As with many other game species, the best sources of historical and large-scale population data are hunting bag records and questionnaires. Several potential sources of error occur in such data collections. In addition, numbers vary widely between years due to the large population fluctuations. However, the total population of the Arctic fox must be in the order of several hundred thousand animals.The world population of Arctic foxes is thus not endangered, but two Arctic fox subpopulations are. One is on Medny Island (Commander Islands, Russia), which was reduced by some 85–90%, to around 90 animals, as a result of mange caused by an ear tick introduced by dogs in the 1970s. The population is currently under treatment with antiparasitic drugs, but the result is still uncertain.
+The other threatened population is the one in Fennoscandia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Kola Peninsula). This population decreased drastically around the start of the 20th century as a result of extreme fur prices, which caused severe hunting also during population lows. The population has remained at a low density for more than 90 years, with additional reductions during the last decade. The total population estimate for 1997 is around 60 adults in Sweden, 11 adults in Finland, and 50 in Norway. From Kola, there are indications of a similar situation, suggesting a population of around 20 adults. The Fennoscandian population thus numbers around 140 breeding adults. Even after local lemming peaks, the Arctic fox population tends to collapse back to levels dangerously close to nonviability.The Arctic fox is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, preventing it from being imported into the country.
+
+See also
+Arctic rabies virus
+
+References
+Further reading
+Nowak, Ronald M. (2005). Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 0-8018-8032-7.
+
+External links
+
+State of the Environment Norway: Arctic fox
+Smithsonian Institution – North American Mammals: Vulpes lagopus
+
+Photo Gallery by islandsmyndir.is
+Photos of Arctic fox on Sealife Collection
+https://www.britannica.com/animal/Arctic-fox
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diff --git a/data/animals/Bouvier des Flandres.txt b/data/animals/Bouvier des Flandres.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9bca702ea5c104410a1628ea2705661b9ba8d981
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/Bouvier des Flandres.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+The Bouvier des Flandres is a herding dog breed originating in Flanders, Belgium. They were originally used for general farm work including cattle droving, sheep herding, and cart pulling, and nowadays as guard dogs and police dogs, as well as being kept as pets. 
+The French name of the breed means, literally, "Cow Herder of Flanders", referring to the Flemish origin of the breed. Other names for the breed are Toucheur de Boeuf (cattle driver), Vlaamse Koehond (Flemish cow dog), and Vuilbaard (dirty beard).
+
+History
+The monks at the Ter Duinen monastery were among the earliest known dog breeders in Flanders. The bouviers bred by them are recorded as having been bred from imports such as Irish wolfhounds and Scottish deerhounds with local farm dogs, until a breed considered to be the predecessor of the modern Bouvier des Flandres was obtained. This became a working dog with the strength and temperament to perform herding, guard cattle, and even pull cargo carts, and to withstand the local weather conditions due to its thick coat. The breed's practical use became antiquated after the invention of the automobile, when cattle were more practically transported by trucks.Historically, the ear cropping and tail docking could have been done for practical reasons, avoiding accidental amputations in the course of work, or to indicate the dog was working stock and not a pet subject to taxation.
+Up until the early 20th century, the breed was not completely defined, with three variants: Paret, Moerman or Roeselare, and Briard. Conflict between the proponents of these three variants held the breed's development back. In 1912 and 1913, several local kennel clubs recognized standards for Bouviers; however they usually had different standards for the Roeselare and other variants.World War I nearly caused the breed to disappear, due to the devastation that came over its region of origin and the fact that the dogs were used for military purposes. Indeed, Nic, a male trained as a trench dog who served during the war and was a perennial winner at dog shows after the war, is considered to be the founder of the early Bouvier des Flandres breed.A unified Bouvier des Flandres standard was created in 1936 by a joint French-Belgian committee. However, World War II again endangered the breed's existence. Due to these setbacks, progress was slowed, and it was not until 1965 that the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) breed standard, as agreed to by several minor kennel clubs, was adopted.
+
+Description
+Appearance
+The Bouvier is a rough-coated dog of rugged appearance. It gives the impression of size and strength without clumsiness. The head is accentuated by a "heavy beard" and "mustache". Although the practice of cropping both ears and tail are now mostly cosmetic, tails were originally docked to prevent injuries caused by herding and cart-pulling. The practice of cosmetic docking is currently opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association.In the area of origin (Flanders, Belgium) cropping was made illegal in 2006. The weight of males ranges from 80 to 120 pounds or 36 to 54 kilograms, slightly lighter on average for females. They are built with a thick double coat, which can be fawn, black, grey brindle, or "pepper and salt" in color. Bouviers are sometimes considered non-shedding, but still do lose hair, like all dogs. Most of the hair that they lose is caught within the double coat which results in matting. They require weekly brushing and combing to maintain their coat. In addition to weekly brushing, the coat should be trimmed approximately every 3–5 weeks if it is to be a show dog.
+
+Temperament
+Bouviers des Flandres are gentle, rational, even-tempered, loyal, and protective by nature. The breed's particular blend of characteristics makes them good family pets, as well as effective guard dogs. Bouviers are easily trainable watch dogs who learn commands relatively fast. However, Bouviers learn best when repetition is limited. Boredom from repetition can hinder their training and learning ability.
+Bouviers possess some sophisticated traits, such as complex intelligence and accountability.
+They require well-balanced training that remains consistent in nature. Without being harsh, it is important to consistently make the dog aware that the owner will remain the "boss". This breed needs an experienced owner to prevent dominance and over-protectiveness problems. Dogs that are poorly trained can become inappropriately dominant towards humans. An unsocialized Bouvier can become fearful and problematic when introduced to a new and uncomfortable situation for them.
+Bouviers should be socialized well, preferably starting at an early age, to avoid shyness, suspiciousness, and being overly reserved with strangers (although the breed is naturally aloof with strangers). Protecting the family when in danger is not something that needs to be taught, nor is it something one can train out of them. They can coexist well with children. Obedience training should start when they are young. They are usually good with other dogs if they are raised with them from puppyhood. Bouviers can be aggressive if the owners are not clear and assertive enough to communicate what is problematic. Bouviers do not fully mature both mentally and physically until around the age of 2–3 years old.
+
+Activities
+Bouviers des Flandres can compete in dog agility trials, carting, obedience, dog showmanship, Schutzhund, tracking, and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Bouviers exhibiting basic herding instincts can then be trained to compete in herding trials.
+
+Notable Bouviers des Flandres
+Belco, the dog that accompanied Edmee Bowles to America when she fled occupied Belgium and who was the foundation stud of her kennel Clos du Cereberes at Belco Farm in Pennsylvania.
+Soprano de la Thudinie, the post-war foundation stud of Justin Chastel's de la Thudinie kennel in Belgium and the most prominent ancestor of the modern type of Bouvier des Flandres.
+Lucky, owned by United States President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan.
+Patrasche, the dog found by a boy named Nello in A Dog of Flanders, is often asserted to be a Bouvier des Flandres.
+Max and his mate Madchen and their puppies, fictional characters featured in W.E.B. Griffin's Presidential Agent series.
+Isabelle du Monceau de Bergendal, a character within the Strike Witches series, has a Bouvier des Flandres as her familiar animal.
+Gretel, a Bouvier des Flandres, is the dog of Dr. Robert Romano on ER.
+Kirie, a young female Bouvier, is owned by criminal police officer Gereon Rath, the protagonist of Volker Kutscher's series of detective novels set in the 1930s Berlin. Originally belonging to a murdered Belgian actress, Kirie is adopted by Rath in  The Silent Death , the second novel in the series, and remains his companion until her death in  Olympia, the eight installment.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+
+References
+External links
+
+Bouvier des Flandres at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Dandie Dinmont.txt b/data/animals/Dandie Dinmont.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2d29d08509488e19292ab30dc98ce650c1567d09
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+++ b/data/animals/Dandie Dinmont.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+A Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a small Scottish dog breed in the terrier family. The breed has a very long body, short legs, and a distinctive topknot of hair on the head. They are friendly but tough, and are suitable for interaction with older children. There are breed-specific health concerns: they can be affected by spinal problems due to their elongated body, and the breed is affected by canine cancer at a higher than average rate.
+The breed is named after a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Guy Mannering. This character, Dandie Dinmont, is thought to be partly based on James Davidson, who is credited as the originator of the modern breed. Davidson's dogs descended from earlier terrier-owning families, including the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland.
+There are three breed clubs in the UK supporting the breed, although it is registered as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club due to its low number of puppy registrations per year.
+
+History
+The breed originates from the dogs being used in the Anglo-Scottish border country. During the 1600s, they were used for hunting badgers and otters. Whilst their ultimate origin remains unknown, dogs owned by the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland in the early 1700s are thought to have been involved in their early origins.These dogs may have been a type of Border Terrier, although other theories exist including the idea that they are a cross between Scottish Terriers and Skye Terriers. The head of this family was Willie "Piper" Allan, who was born in nearby Bellingham. He kept dogs for the hunting of otters. Lord Ravensworth once hired Allan to remove the otters from the pond in Eslington Park. Lord Ravensworth attempted to purchase one of Allan's dogs after he successfully removed the otters, which Allan refused.Allan died on 18 February 1779, and his dogs passed into the care of his son James. James's son eventually inherited the dogs and sold a dog named Old Pepper to Mr Francis Sommer who came from Town Yetholm on the Scottish side of the border. Old Pepper was descended from one of Willie Allan's dogs who had worked Lord Ravensworth's manor.The breed remained relatively unknown outside of the Borders until 1815 when Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering was published. Scott spent time in the area whilst the Sheriff of Selkirk learned of the prowess of these types of specialist terriers for working both fox and otter. When he wrote Guy Mannering, he included a character by the name of Dandie Dinmont who owned a number of terriers named Pepper and Mustard after the colours of their coats. The Dinmont character was partly based on the real life farmer and terrier owner, James Davidson, who too used the generic terms of Pepper and Mustard for his dogs depending on their coats. Davidson's dogs came from a variety of sources including the dogs of the Allan, Anderson and Faas families. Davidson documented his breeding, and he has been accepted as the originator of the modern breed.
+Some interbreeding with other breeds took place in the mid-1800s, which may have introduced Dachshund blood into the breed, although certain breeders maintained pure-bred lines. The Dachshund theory was first introduced by John Henry Walsh under the pseudonym of "Stonehenge" in the 1880s, and was denied by many breeders of that era. By the mid-1800s, the breed was known as the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, and became sought after for hunting after Scott's writings were published. They remain the only dog breed to have been named after a fictional character. Around this time the breed had some involvement in the development of the Bedlington Terrier.
+The Kennel Club formed in 1873 and, at the Fleece Hotel at Selkirk, Scottish Borders on 17 November 1875, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club (DDTC) was formed, becoming the third oldest breed club for dogs in the world. Lord Melgund was the society's first president, while E Bradshaw Smith was the first vice president. Breeders Hugh Dalziel and William Stachen were also involved in the formation of the club. The breed standard was created by William Wardlaw Reid, another founding member of the club, with it was agreed to a year later at another meeting of the club. A club show was held for the first time in Carlisle in 1877. Shows after this were held in conjunction with other clubs on a yearly basis until 1928 when it moved to the Market Hall in Carlisle, where with the exception of during the Second World War, the shows continued to be held until 1982. Shows continued to be held in the general area until 2001 when they moved south to Cheshire and Lancashire.The DDTC is not the only breed club in the UK. For a while several breed clubs were created in Scotland, but none lasted particularly long except for the Scottish Dandie Dinmont Terrier Society which merged into the DDTC in 1929. Today, in addition to the DDTC, there are also the Southern Dandie Dinmont Terrier Society, and for Scotland, the Caledonian Dandie Dinmont Club.
+The breed was first registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1888. The Dandie Dinmont Terrier was recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) in 1918. During the Second World War many kennels were dispersed and the dogs destroyed, due to both the lack of food caused by rationing and that of manpower. Following the war several kennels led the way to re–establishing the breed including the Bellmead Kennels, located first in Surrey before later moving to Old Windsor. Dandies continued to be bred up at Bellmead up until the early 1990s, when it passed into the hands of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.In 2006, the Kennel Club recognised the Dandie Dinmont Terrier as one of the rarest dog breeds native to the British Isles, putting it on a new list of Vulnerable Native Breeds. The breeds chosen for this list were those who originated in the UK and Ireland, but had less than 300 puppy registrations per year. One particularly low period was between July and September 2003, when only 21 puppies were registered, of which 18 were male. Overall that year, only 90 puppies were registered in the UK, compared to 9,823 for the West Highland White Terrier. Additionally numbers had dropped to low levels in America as well, with the AKC registering only 75 puppies in the same time period. Following work after 2006, the Dandie Dinmont registration numbers improved slightly, with 151 puppies registered with the Kennel Club in 2010, the highest number for any year in the previous ten years. Of other breeds of native terrier, only the Skye, Sealyham, Manchester and Glen of Imaal Terriers have lower registration figures.
+
+Description
+The breed has short legs, with an elongated body. Unusually among Scottish terrier breeds, it has pendulous ears. The neck is muscular, having developed from the breed's use against larger game. The typical height at the withers is 8–11 inches (20–28 cm), and they can weigh anywhere between 18–24 pounds (8.2–10.9 kg).While the Dandie generally is a hardy breed, it may have issue climbing stairs. They have a silky coat which forms a topknot on top of the dog's head. The Dandie Dinmont Terrier has a similar body shape to the Skye Terrier, but the Skye's coat is thicker and longer.The coat comes in two colour ranges, pepper and mustard. Pepper ranges from dark blueish black to very light silvery gray; mustard can vary from reddish brown to fawn, with the head appearing to be almost white. Typically, the legs and feet are of a darker colour with the lighter colour on the body slowly blending into that on the legs. The depth of the coat can reach up to 2 inches (5.1 cm). The colour of the coat is usually set by the time the dog reaches eight months of age, but the Dandie Dinmont Terrier will continue to mature physically until around two years old.
+
+Temperament
+The breed is tough but usually friendly and is suitable for older children. It makes both a good companion and a guard dog but is among the most docile of the terrier breeds; they are usually quite undemanding of their owners. However they are known for their ability to dig large holes in a short space of time. They can be trained to be good with cats but should not be trusted around smaller animals such as hamsters or rats. They are described as being "very game", in that they are prone to challenging other animals, including foxes, and in some cases other dogs.
+
+Health
+Due to the breed's elongated body, there can be back problems within the breed, specifically with intervertebral discs in the dog's back. These discs can sometimes slip out of place, resulting in spinal disc herniation. Symptoms depend on what part of the dog's back is affected; they can include weakness, paralysis, and/or loss of bladder control.They are described as at higher risk for extra-hepatic congenital porto-systemic shunts. As a concerted effort has been made to breed out genetic abnormalities, there are no especially common conditions affecting the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. However, minor problems affecting the breed can include hypothyroidism, primary closed angle glaucoma and Cushing's syndrome. In order to combat glaucoma in the breed, the breed clubs recommend that Dandies should have a procedure called a gonioscopy performed on them at regular intervals throughout their lives. The Dandie is also at slightly higher risk of canine cancer than average. The average life expectancy of a Dandie Dinmont Terrier is 11–13 years.
+
+References
+
+Specific
+
+General
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diff --git a/data/animals/Doberman.txt b/data/animals/Doberman.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c76ebba4748e2bdbdbe1faa90f84a4872f5859d7
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+The Dobermann is a German breed of medium-large domestic dog of pinscher type. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Louis Dobermann, a tax collector. It has a long muzzle and – ideally – an even and graceful gait. The ears were traditionally cropped and the tail docked, practices which are now illegal in many countries.
+The Dobermann is intelligent, alert and tenaciously loyal; it is kept as a guard dog or as a companion animal. In Canada and the United States it is known as the Doberman Pinscher.
+
+History
+Dobermanns were first bred in the 1880s by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, a tax collector who ran a dog pound in Apolda, in Thuringia in central Germany. With access to dogs of many breeds, he got the idea to create a breed that would be ideal for protecting him. He set out to breed a new type of dog that would exhibit impressive stamina, strength, and intelligence. Five years after Dobermann's death, Otto Goeller, one of the earliest breeders, created the National Doberman Pinscher Club and is considered to have perfected the breed, breeding and refining them in the 1890s.
+The breed is believed to have been created from several different breeds of dogs that had the characteristics that Dobermann was looking for. The exact ratios of mixing, and even the exact breeds that were used, remain uncertain, although many experts believe that the Dobermann Pinscher is a combination of several breeds including the Beauceron, German Pinscher, Rottweiler and Weimaraner. The single exception is the documented crossing with the Greyhound and Manchester Terrier. It is also widely believed that the old German Shepherd was the single largest contributor to the Dobermann breed. Philip Greunig's The Dobermann Pinscher (1939) describes the breed's early development by Otto Goeller, who helped to establish the breed. The American Kennel Club believes the breeds utilized to develop the Dobermann Pinscher may have included the old shorthaired shepherd, Rottweiler, Black and Tan Terrier and the German Pinscher.After Dobermann's death in 1894, the Germans named the breed Dobermann-pinscher in his honor, but a half century later dropped the word 'pinscher' on the grounds that this German word for 'terrier' was no longer appropriate. The British did the same a few years later; now the US and Canada are the only countries who continue to use Pinscher and have dropped an "n" from Dobermann's surname.During World War II, the United States Marine Corps adopted the Doberman Pinscher as its official war dog, although the Corps did not exclusively use this breed in the role.
+In 2013 a list of breeds by annual number of registrations, based on a survey of member clubs of the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, placed the Dobermann 26th, with 20941 new registrations per year. Statistics compiled by the American Kennel Club for 2009 placed the Doberman Pinscher 15th, with 10233 registrations in that year.
+
+Appearance
+World breed standards are published by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, or FCI (World Canine Organisation), on the advice of the IDC (International Dobermann Club), which is the Dobermann breed's governing council and has 36 countries in its member list. To become a world champion, dogs are judged to FCI standards. The American Kennel Club has its own standards, as do some other countries, although most still adhere to FCI standards. The breed standard describes the Dobermann as a dog of medium size that is also strong and muscularly built. In order to be eligible to meet these standards, the body of the Dobermann should appear to be almost square.
+The dog was originally intended as a guard dog, so males typically have a muscular and intimidating appearance. Females are usually thinner, but should not be spindly.
+The AKC breed standard differs from the FCI standards, with the latter being an often larger and heavier dog. This has led some to argue that Dobermanns and Doberman Pinschers should be considered and evaluated differently.
+
+Size and proportions
+Although the breed standards vary among kennel and breed clubs, most follow the standard set by the FCI, which describes the size of male dogs as 68 to 72 centimetres (27 to 28 in) at the withers; The Kennel Club in the UK quotes 69 centimetres (27 in) as being ideal. The size of female dogs, according to the same standards, is 63 to 68 centimetres (25 to 27 in), with 65 centimetres (26 in) being ideal. The Dobermann has a square frame; its length should equal its height to the withers and the length of its head, neck, and legs should be in proportion to its body.The standards for the weight of the Dobermann are also described by the FCI. The ideal dog must be of a sufficient size for an optimal combination of strength, endurance and agility. The ideal weight of male dogs is described as 40–45 kilograms (88–99 lb) and the ideal weight of female dogs is described to be 32–35 kilograms (71–77 lb).
+
+Color
+Two different color genes exist in the Dobermann: one for black (B) and one for color dilution (D). There are nine possible combinations of these alleles, which can result in four different color phenotypes: black, blue, red, and fawn (Isabella). The traditional and most common color occurs when both the color and dilution genes have at least one dominant allele (i.e., BBDD, BBDd, BbDD or BbDd) and is commonly referred to as black, black and rust, or black and tan. The red, red rust, or brown coloration occurs when the black gene has two recessive alleles but the dilution gene has at least one dominant allele (i.e., bbDD, bbDd). The blue Dobermann has the color gene with at least one dominant allele and the dilution gene with both recessive alleles (i.e., BBdd or Bbdd). The fawn coloration is the least common, occurring only when both the color and dilution genes have two recessive alleles (i.e., bbdd). Thus, the blue color is a diluted black, and the fawn color is a diluted red.
+Expression of the color dilution gene is a disorder called Color Dilution Alopecia, a kind of canine follicular dysplasia. Although not life-threatening, these dogs can develop skin problems.In 1976, a "white" Doberman Pinscher was whelped and was subsequently bred to her son, who was also bred to his litter sisters. This tight inbreeding continued for some time to allow the breeders to "fix" the mutation. This severe inbreeding not only intensified the production of "white" dogs, it also amplified their health problems. White Dobermans are not recognized within professional breeders and continue to be reproduced by unethical breeders marketing them as rare in order to charge more for an animal that would never win a show competition. The white colored Doberman is prone to suffer long term medical conditions ranging from: poor hearing or complete deafness, poor vision or complete blindness, behavioral/temperament issues, cancers (predominately skin cancer), amongst others. White/Albino Dobermanns are actually a cream color with white markings, blue eyes, and pink nose. Although this is consistent with albinism, the proper characterization of the mutation is currently unknown. The animals are commonly known as tyrosinase-positive albinoids, lacking melanin in oculocutaneous structures. This condition is caused by a partial deletion in the SLC45A2 gene.
+
+Tail
+The Dobermann's natural tail is fairly long, but individual dogs often have a short tail as a result of docking, a procedure in which the majority of the tail is surgically removed shortly after birth.
+The practice of docking has been around for centuries and is older than the Dobermann as a breed. The historical reason for docking is to ensure that the tail does not get in the way of the dog's work. However, docking has always been controversial. Docking and cropping (see below) have been written out of the Breed Standard by FCI and IDC, and dogs born after 2016 will not be allowed to participate in FCI or IDC shows without a full tail and natural ears. This is mirrored in most EU and Commonwealth countries. In the UK, dogs with docked tails have been banned from show for a number of years and the practice is now illegal for native born dogs. Veterinary Certificates are required as proof to avoid prosecution on imported animals. It has also been made illegal in many other European countries, as well as Australia. The AKC standard for Doberman Pinschers includes a tail docked near the 2nd vertebra.
+
+Ears
+Dobermanns often have their ears cropped, a procedure that is thought to be done for functionality for both the traditional guard duty and effective sound localization. According to the Doberman Pinscher Club of America, ears are "normally cropped and carried erect". Like tail docking, ear cropping is illegal in many countries and has never been legal in some Commonwealth countries.
+
+Intelligence
+Canine intelligence is an umbrella term that encompasses the faculties involved in a wide range of mental tasks, such as learning, problem-solving, and communication. The Doberman Pinscher has been ranked amongst the most intelligent dog breeds in experimental studies and expert evaluations. Psychologist Stanley Coren ranks the Dobermann as the 5th most intelligent dog in the category of obedience command training, based on the selective surveys answered by experienced trainers (as documented in his book The Intelligence of Dogs). Additionally, in two studies, Hart and Hart (1985) ranked the Doberman Pinscher first in the same category, and Tortora (1980) gave the Dobermann the highest rank in general trainability. Although methods of evaluation differ, studies have consistently shown that the Doberman Pinscher, along with the Border Collie, Standard Poodle, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, and Rottweiler, are the most trainable breeds of dog.
+
+Aggression
+Although they are considered to be working dogs, Dobermanns are often stereotyped as being ferocious and aggressive. As a personal protection dog, the Dobermann was originally bred for these traits: it had to be large and intimidating, fearless, and willing to defend its owner from attackers (especially from other guard dogs), but sufficiently obedient and restrained to do so only on command. These traits served the dog well in its role as a personal defense dog, police dog, or war dog, but were not ideally adapted to a companionship role. The Dobermann's aggression has been toned down by modern breeders over the years. Therefore, today's Dobermanns are known to have a much more even and good-natured temperament, as well as extreme loyalty, high intelligence, and great trainability. The modern Dobermann is known to be energetic, watchful, fearless, and obedient.
+They can easily learn to respect and protect their owners and are therefore considered by many to be excellent guard dogs. Given that they are properly socialized from a young age, they are generally sociable toward familiar humans and can also be sociable with other dogs. However, Dobermanns do rank among the more-likely breeds to show aggressive behaviour toward strangers and other dogs, though they are not among the most likely to do so. They are highly unlikely to show aggressive behaviour toward their owners.
+There is some evidence that Doberman Pinschers in North America have a calmer and more even temperament than their European counterparts because of the breeding strategies employed by American breeders. Because of these differences in breeding strategies, different lines of Doberman Pinschers have developed different traits. Although many contemporary Doberman Pinschers in North America are gentle and friendly to strangers, some lines are bred more true to the original personality standard.The personality of the Doberman Pinscher is known to be unique. There is a great deal of scientific evidence that Doberman Pinschers have a number of stable psychological traits, such as certain personality factors and intelligence. As early as 1965, studies have shown that there are several broad behavioral traits that significantly predict behavior and are genetically determined. Subsequently, there have been numerous scientific attempts to quantify canine personality or temperament by using statistical techniques for assessing personality traits in humans. These studies often vary in terms of the personality factors they focus on and in terms of ranking breeds differently along these dimensions. One such study found that Doberman Pinschers, compared to other breeds, rank high in playfulness, average in curiosity/fearlessness, low on aggressiveness, and low on sociability. Another such study ranked Doberman Pinschers low on reactivity/surgence and high on aggression/disagreeableness and openness/trainability.In addition to the studies of canine personality, there has been some research to determine whether there are breed differences in aggression. In a study published in 2008, aggression was divided into four categories: aggression directed at strangers, owner, strange dogs, and rivalry with other household dogs. This study found that the Doberman Pinscher ranked relatively high on stranger-directed aggression, but extremely low on owner-directed aggression. The Doberman Pinscher ranked as average on dog-directed aggression and dog rivalry. Looking only at bites and attempted bites, Doberman Pinschers rank as far less aggressive towards humans and show less aggression than many breeds without a reputation (e.g., Cocker Spaniel, Dalmatian, and Great Dane). This study concluded that aggression has a genetic basis, that the Dobermann shows a distinctive pattern of aggression depending on the situation and that contemporary Doberman Pinschers are not an aggressive breed overall.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 1979 and 1998, the Doberman Pinscher was involved in attacks on humans resulting in fatalities less frequently than several other dog breeds such as Pit bulls, German Shepherd Dogs, Rottweilers, Husky-type dogs, wolf-dog hybrids and Alaskan Malamutes. According to this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, one of the most important factors contributing to dog bites is the level of responsibility exercised by dog owners.
+
+Health
+The Dobermann's lifespan is about 10–13 years on average. The breed is prone to a number of health concerns. Common serious health problems include dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), cervical vertebral instability (CVI), von Willebrand's disease (a bleeding disorder for which genetic testing has been available since 2000), and prostatic disease. Less serious common health concerns include hypothyroidism and hip dysplasia. Canine compulsive disorder is also common. Studies have shown that the Doberman Pinscher suffers from prostatic diseases (such as bacterial prostatiti, prostatic cysts, prostatic adenocarcinoma, and benign hyperplasia), more than any other breed.
+Dilated cardiomyopathy is a major cause of death in Dobermanns. This disease affects the breed more than any other. Nearly 40% of DCM diagnoses are for Dobermann Pinschers, followed by German Shepherds at 13%. More recent studies based on European dogs, however, has indicated that DCM affected rates are much higher for this population than their American relatives: around 58% of European Dobermanns will develop DCM within their lifetime. Research has shown that the breed is affected by an attenuated wavy fiber type of DCM that affects many other breeds, as well as an additional fatty infiltration-degenerative type that appears to be specific to Dobermann Pinscher and Boxer breeds.
+This serious disease is likely to be fatal in most Dobermanns affected.Roughly a quarter of Dobermann Pinschers who develop cardiomyopathy die suddenly from seemingly unknown causes, and an additional fifty percent die of congestive heart failure. Among female Dobermanns, the sudden death manifestation of the disease is more common, whereas males tend to develop congestive heart failure. In addition to being more prevalent in Dobermanns, this disease is also more serious in the breed. Following a diagnosis, the average non-Dobermann has an expected survival time of 8 months; for Dobermann Pinschers, however, the expected survival time is less than two months. Although the causes for the disease are largely unknown, there is evidence that it is a familial disease inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Investigation into the genetic causes of canine DCM may lead to therapeutic and breeding practices to limit its impact.
+
+Notable Dobermanns
+Graf Belling v. Grönland: first registered Dobermann, in 1898.
+First Dobermann registered with the American Kennel Club, 1908
+Cappy, a Dobermann who saved the lives of 250 U.S. Marines when he alerted them to Japanese soldiers. Another Dobermann named Kurt became the first K-9 casualty, 23 July, when he was mortally wounded by a Japanese grenade. Kurt was the first to be buried in what would become the War Dog Cemetery and he is the dog depicted in bronze sitting quiet but alert atop the World War II War Dog Memorial. Cappy, Kurt and 23 other Dobermanns whose names are inscribed on the memorial, died fighting with the US Marine Corps against Japanese forces on Guam in 1944.
+Ch. Rancho Dobe's Storm: consecutive Westminster Best in Show (1952, 1953).
+Bingo von Ellendonk: first Dobermann to score 300 points (perfect score) in Schutzhund.
+Ch. Borong the Warlock: won his championship title in three countries, including 230 Best of Breed, 30 Specialty Show "bests", six all-breed Best in Show, and 66 Working Groups. He was the only Dobermann ever to have won the Doberman Pinscher Club of America National Specialty Show three times, and in 1961 five Dobermann specialists judged him Top in the breed in an annual Top Ten competition event.
+Tunga: Female Doberman Pinscher police dog in Karnataka India, who is famous for uncovering more than 50 murders and 60 thefts including one case where she ran more than 12 km to catch the murderer.
+
+Notes
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/Dungeness crab.txt b/data/animals/Dungeness crab.txt
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+The Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) is a species of crab inhabiting eelgrass beds and water bottoms along the west coast of North America. It typically grows to 20 cm (7.9 in) across the carapace and is a popular seafood. Its common name comes from Dungeness Spit, United States, which shelters a shallow bay inhabited by the crabs.
+
+Description
+The carapace widths of mature Dungeness crabs may reach 10 inches, or 25.4 centimeters, but are typically 6–7 inches, or approximately 15–18 centimeters. They are a popular delicacy, and are the most commercially important crab in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the western states generally. The annual Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival is held in Port Angeles, Washington each October.Dungeness crabs have a wide, long, hard shell, which they must periodically moult to grow; this process is called ecdysis. They have five pairs of legs, which are similarly armoured, the foremost pair of which ends in claws the crab uses both as defense and to tear apart large food items. The crab uses its smaller appendages to pass the food particles into its mouth. Once inside the crab's stomach, food is further digested by the "gastric mill", a collection of tooth-like structures. M. magister prefers to eat clams, other crustaceans and small fish, but is also an effective scavenger. Dungeness crabs can bury themselves completely in the sand if threatened.
+
+Life cycle and ecology
+Mature female crabs generally molt between May and August, and mating occurs immediately after the female has molted and before the new exoskeleton hardens. Males are attracted to potential mates by pheromones present in the urine of females. Upon locating an available female, the male initiates a protective premating embrace that lasts for several days. In this embrace, the female is tucked underneath the male, oriented such that their abdomens touch and their heads face each other. Mating occurs only after the female has molted, and the female signals her readiness to molt by urinating on or near the antennae of the male. The female extrudes the eggs from her body several months later; however, they remain attached under her abdomen for three to five months until they hatch. Young crabs are free-swimming after hatching, and go through five larval stages before reaching maturity after about 10 molts or two years.
+Juvenile crabs develop in eelgrass beds and estuaries where salinity levels tend to be low. The hyposaline conditions of the estuaries are lethal to some of the crab's symbionts, such as Carcinonemertes errans which consumes a brooding female's live eggs. Dungeness crabs surveyed in Coos Bay were less likely to be infected by C. errans and have fewer worms present on their carapace when inhabiting less saline waters farther inland.
+
+Distribution
+The Dungeness crab is named after Dungeness, Washington, which is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Sequim and 15 miles (24 km) east of Port Angeles. Its typical range extends from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Point Conception, near Santa Barbara, California, while it is occasionally found as far south as Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico.A genetic analysis of adult Dungeness crabs indicated that there is one population across the California Current System, but it is likely that interannual variation in physical oceanographic conditions (such as ocean circulation patterns) influence larval recruitment among regions, causing genetic diversity to change through time.
+
+Culinary use
+The Dungeness crab is considered a delicacy in the United States and Canada.  Long before the area was settled by Europeans, Indigenous peoples throughout the crustacean's range had the crab as a traditional part of their diet and harvested them every year at low tide. The flesh has what is considered to be a delicate flavour and slightly sweet taste. Today they are an integral part of the cuisines of California, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest and traditionally feature in dishes like Crab Louie  or Cioppino.
+About one-quarter of the crab's weight is meat. Dungeness crabs can typically be purchased either live or cooked. Many cook live crabs by simply dropping them into boiling salt water, waiting for a boil to return, and then allowing it to continue for 15 minutes, after which time the crabs are removed and placed into cold water to cool, and then cleaned. Another method of preparing crab is called half backing. Half backing is done by flipping the crab upside down and chopping it in half (from head to "tail"), after which the guts and gills can be scooped or hosed out. Many consider half backing to be superior to cooking the entire crab, because the meat is not contaminated by the flavor or toxins of the guts. Furthermore, half backed crabs boil faster or can be quickly steamed instead of boiled. Two common tools for removing crab meat from the shell are a crab cracker and a shrimp fork. Sometimes, a cleaver, mallet, or small hammer is used for cracking Dungeness crab, but the use of these devices is not recommended, as the integrity of the meat may be compromised by the impact.
+
+Sustainability
+Seafood Watch has given the Dungeness crab a sustainable seafood rating of "Good Alternative" to overfished species or fish that is farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment. In 2014, 53 million pounds worth $170 million were harvested.A 2020 study funded by NOAA showed that larval crabs are being affected by ocean acidification caused by lowered pH levels resulting in a higher concentration of hydrogen ions.
+
+"State crustacean" designation in Oregon
+In 2009, after lobbying from schoolchildren at Sunset Primary School in West Linn, Oregon, and citing its importance to the Oregon economy, the Oregon Legislative Assembly designated the Dungeness crab as the state crustacean of Oregon.
+
+References
+Notes
+
+Further reading
+
+Dixon, Kirsten (2003). The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook: Culinary Adventures in the Wilderness. Anchorage, AK: Alaska Northwest Books. ISBN 978-0-88240-562-9. OCLC 51855528.
+Hibler, Jane (1991). Dungeness Crabs and Blackberry Cobblers: the Northwest Heritage Cookbook. New York, NY: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-394-57745-6. OCLC 24430394.
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diff --git a/data/animals/English springer.txt b/data/animals/English springer.txt
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+The English Springer is a breed of gun dog in the Spaniel group traditionally used for flushing and retrieving game. It is an affectionate, excitable breed with a typical lifespan of twelve to fourteen years. They are very similar to the Welsh Springer Spaniel and are descended from the Norfolk or Shropshire Spaniels of the mid-19th century; the breed has diverged into separate show and working lines. The breed suffers from average health complaints. The show-bred version of the breed has been linked to "Rage syndrome", although the disorder is very rare. It is closely related to the Welsh Springer Spaniel and very closely to the English Cocker Spaniel; less than a century ago, springers and cockers would come from the same litter. The smaller "cockers" were used in woodcock hunting while their larger littermates were used to flush, or "spring", other game birds. In 1902, The Kennel Club recognized the English Springer Spaniel as a distinct breed. They are used as sniffer dogs on a widespread basis. The term Springer comes from the historic hunting role, where the dog would flush (spring) birds into the air.
+
+Description
+The English Springer Spaniel is a medium-sized compact dog. Its coat is moderately long with feathering on the legs and tail. It is a well proportioned, balanced dog with a gentle expression. This breed represents perhaps the greatest divergence between working and show lines of any breed of dog. A field-bred dog and a show-bred dog appear to be different breeds but are registered together. The gene pools are almost completely segregated and have been for at least 70 years. A field-bred dog would not be competitive in a modern dog show, while a show dog would not have the speed or stamina to succeed in a field trial.The English Springer Spaniel field-bred dogs tend to have shorter, coarser coats than show-bred dogs. The ears are less pendulous. Field-bred dogs are wiry and have more of a feral look than those bred for showing. The tail of the field-bred dog may be docked a few inches in comparison to the show dog.  Field-bred dogs are selected for their sense of smell, hunting ability, and response to training rather than appearance.Show dogs have longer fur and more pendant ears, dewlaps and dangling flews. The tail is docked to a short stub in those countries that permit docking. They are generally more thickly boned and heavier than field-bred springers.The English Springer Spaniel is similar to the English Cocker Spaniel and at first glance, the only major difference is the latter's smaller size. However English Springers also tend to have shorter, and higher-set ears than English Cockers. Springers also tend to have a longer muzzle; their eyes are not as prominent, and the coat is less abundant. The major differences between the Welsh Springer and the English Springer are that the Welsh have more limited colors and tend to be slightly smaller.
+
+Coat and colors
+Field-bred dogs tend to have shorter, coarser coats than the longer furred show-bred dogs. They normally only shed in summer and spring months but shed occasionally in the autumn. The coat comes in black or liver (dark brown) with white markings or predominantly white with black or liver markings; Tricolour: black and white or liver and white with tan markings, usually found on eyebrows, cheeks, inside of ears and under the tail. Any white portion of the coat may be flecked with ticking.
+
+Sizes
+Males in the show dog line are typically approximately 19 to 21 inches (48 to 53 cm) at the withers and weigh 40 to 60 lb (18 to 27 kg). According to the UK Breed Standard, the English Springer Spaniel should be 20 inches (51 cm) at the withers. The females should be 18 to 20 inches (46 to 51 cm) and usually 35 to 55 lb (16 to 25 kg). Working types can be lighter in weight and finer in bone.
+
+Temperament
+The typical Spaniel is friendly, eager to please, quick to learn and willing to obey. In the right circumstances, it can be an affectionate and easy-going family dog. Its alertness and attentiveness make it a good hunting companion. A typical Springer Spaniel will often choose one person in the family to be most loyal to and stick with that person as much as possible; they are often referred to as a "velcro dog". The English Springer Spaniel ranks 13th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs and is considered an excellent working dog. It has exceptional stamina and needs moderate amounts of activity, to focus its mind and to provide exercise, although this is different for each dog.  Its long-legged build makes it among the fastest of the spaniels.
+It is a sociable breed that enjoys the company of children and handles the company of other pets well. The hunting breed may not get along well with cats, however. If left alone for too long, they can become destructive and mischievous through boredom.
+
+Health
+The English Springer Spaniel has a typical lifespan of 10.5 to 15 years. As in most breeds, some health problems are more likely to occur. Hip dysplasia and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) (a degeneration of the retina causing vision loss leading to blindness) are two such diseases for which veterinarians are working on genetic markers to determine carriers. Another problem can be elbow dysplasia. Retinal dysplasia (RD), which can cause blindness and Phosphofructokinase deficiency (PFK), which is a genetic deficiency that impairs the ability of cells using carbohydrates for energy are two other hereditary conditions for which both lines of the English springer spaniel should be screened before breeding. Health issues are usually similar in both types of English Springer however phosphofructokinase deficiency, in particular, can appear more in field lines, however, carriers in show lines have been identified.As with most spaniels and floppy-eared dogs, they are prone to ear infections. There are several types of common infections, and treatment typically includes oral antibiotics and cleaning the ear canal daily with a solvent that will also leave the ear in an acidic state to slow the growth of yeast and bacteria. Other health problems include autoimmune diseases, which include allergies and other sensitivities to the environment. They can also be susceptible to various eye problems including inward or outward curling eyelashes or even an additional row of eyelashes, all of which can require corrective surgery.English Springer Spaniels tend to gain weight easily, and owners need to be careful about their food consumption. The English Springer Spaniel weight ranges from 44 to 45 pounds. A healthy Springer Spaniel should eat about 1,350 calories per day.
+
+History
+The English physician John Caius described the spaniel in his book the Treatise of Englishe Dogs published in 1576. His book was the first work to describe the various British breeds by function. By 1801, Sydenham Edwards explained in the Cynographia Britannica that the land spaniel should be split into two kinds, the Springing, Hawking Spaniel, or Starter; and the Cocking or Cocker Spaniel.At this point, both cocker spaniels and springer spaniels were born in the same litters. The purpose of the breed was to serve as a hunting dog. The smaller cockers were used to hunt woodcock, while their larger littermates, the springer spaniels, would "spring"—or flush—the gamebird into the air where a trained falcon or hawk would bring it to the handler.Many spaniel breeds were developed during the 19th century, and often named after the counties in which they were developed, or after their owners, who were usually nobility. Two strains of larger land spaniel were predominant and were said to have been of "true springer type." These were the Norfolk and the Shropshire spaniels, and by the 1850s, these were shown under the breed name of Norfolk spaniel.In January 1899, the Spaniel Club of England and the Sporting Spaniel Society held their trials together for the first time. Three years later, in 1902, a combination of the physical standard from the Spaniel Club of England and the ability standard from the Sporting Spaniel Society led to the English Springer Spaniel breed being officially recognized by the English Kennel Club. The American Kennel Club followed in 1910. In 1914, the first English Field Champion was crowned, FTC Rivington Sam, whose dam was a registered cocker spaniel, Rivington Riband. Sam is considered one of the foundation sires for modern field lines.
+
+Skills
+An English Springer Spaniel is foremost a game bird flushing dog. There are several skills that breeders train the dog to perform for their occupation.
+Retrieve to Hand Most hunters and all hunt test or field trial judges require that a dog deliver a bird to hand, meaning that a dog will hold the bird until told to give it to the hunter directly.
+Soft Mouth Springers are taught to deliver game with a soft mouth, meaning he does not puncture it with his teeth. The game should always be fit for the table. If a springer damages the bird, it may be hard-mouthed. This is a serious fault, but it can be difficult to determine whether it may have been genetic or caused by poor training methods. Breeders generally avoid using any springer that is hard-mouthed.
+Quarter A flushing spaniel's primary role is often as a game bird flushing dog. Dogs must work in a zig-zag pattern in front of the hunter seeking game birds. The dog is taught to stay within gun range to avoid flushing a bird outside shooting distance. This pattern is one of the primary criteria used to judge a dog in a field trial.
+Scenting Having the ability to scent game is of vital importance to the hunter. A springer should have a good nose in both wet and dry conditions. A dog with a good nose will learn to use the wind as it quests for game, ever adjusting its pattern according to the nuances of the wind.
+Flushing The springer should have a positive flush. It should not hesitate or point when encountering game. Some field trial dogs will often get airborne during a flush. This is exciting to watch but is not necessary to win. Most hunters prefer that their dog not flush in that style, as it can present a risk to the dog.
+Hup This is the traditional command to sit and stay. When hupped the dog can be given direction called by the handler. The ability to hup a dog actively working a running bird allows the handler and any gunners to keep up without having to run.
+Follow Hand Signals Game bird hunting involves pursuing wild game in its native habitat. Gun dogs must investigate likely covers for game birds. The dog must be responsive to hand signals for the hunter to be able to direct the dog into areas of particular interest.
+Steady When hunting game birds, a flushing dog should be steady to wing and shot, meaning that he sits when a bird rises or a gun is fired. He does this to mark the fall and to avoid flushing other birds when pursuing a missed bird.
+Blind Retrieve An adequately trained and experienced working springer can be expected to use all of the aforementioned attributes to be conducted by hand, whistle and command to a position whereby an unmarked lost game bird can be picked and retrieved to hand.
+
+Detection dog
+The Springer Spaniel is used as a sniffer dog. Notable search dogs have included Buster, a Dickin Medal recipient, Royal Army Veterinary Corps arms and explosives search dog serving with the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in Iraq, for finding an extremist group's hidden arsenal of weapons and explosives. Another example is Jake, aka Hubble Keck People's Dispensary for Sick Animals Gold Medal and Blue Cross Animal Hospital Medal recipient, a London Metropolitan Police explosives search dog. He was deployed at Tavistock Square, Russell Square and King's Cross following the 7 July 2005 London bombings.The Springer is not limited to detecting explosives. Other varied uses for the Springer can include sniffing out bumblebee nests, illegal immigrants, blood and the superbug C. difficile. Springers are used for drug detection in the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Isle of Man, Ireland, Canada CBSA and Qatar.The Springer Spaniel is also used as a search and rescue dog by mountain rescue and Lowland Rescue teams, where their willingness to work and cover rough terrain makes them an excellent choice. 
+
+English Springer Spaniel
+
+Notable English Springer Spaniels
+Awarded the Dickin Medal for conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving in military conflict:
+
+Theo
+BusterAwarded the PDSA Gold Medal for animal bravery:
+
+GhillieAwarded the PDSA Order of Merit
+
+Max
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Hunting dog
+Sporting Group
+Cocker Spaniel
+Mountain Rescue
+
+References
+External links
+
+English Springer Spaniel at Curlie
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+The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
+It was originally bred as a herding dog, for herding sheep. It has since been used in many other types of work, including disability assistance, search-and-rescue, police work, and warfare. It is commonly kept as a companion dog, and according to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale had the second-highest number of annual registrations in 2013.
+
+History
+During the 1890s, attempts were being made to standardise dog breeds. Dogs were being bred to preserve traits that assisted in their job of herding sheep and protecting their flocks from predators. In Germany this was practised within local communities, where shepherds selected and bred dogs. It was recognised that the breed had the necessary skills for herding sheep, such as intelligence, speed, strength and keen senses of smell. The results were dogs that were able to do such things, but that differed significantly, both in appearance and ability, from one locality to another.To combat these differences, the Phylax Society was formed in 1891 with the intention of creating standardised development plans for native dog breeds in Germany. The society disbanded after only three years due to ongoing internal conflicts regarding the traits in dogs that the society should promote; some members believed dogs should be bred solely for working purposes, while others believed dogs should be bred also for appearance. While unsuccessful in their goal, the Phylax Society had inspired people to pursue standardising dog breeds independently.
+With the rise of large, industrialised cities in Germany, the predator population began to decline, rendering sheepdogs unnecessary. At the same time, the awareness of sheepdogs as a versatile, intelligent class of canine began to rise. Max von Stephanitz, an ex-cavalry captain and former student of the Berlin Veterinary College, was an ex-member of the Phylax Society who firmly believed dogs should be bred for working. He admired the intelligence, strength and ability of Germany's native sheepdogs, but could not find any one single breed that satisfied him as the perfect working dog.In 1899, von Stephanitz was attending a dog show when he was shown a dog named Hektor Linksrhein. Hektor was the product of few generations of selective breeding and completely fulfilled what von Stephanitz believed a working dog should be. He was pleased with the strength of the dog and was so taken by the animal's intelligence, loyalty, and beauty, that he purchased him immediately. After purchasing the dog he changed his name to Horand von Grafrath and von Stephanitz founded the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (Society for German Shepherd Dogs). Horand was declared to be the first German Shepherd Dog, and was the first dog added to the society's breed register. In just a few decades of the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde's establishment, the breed became one of the world's most popular and numerous, a position it has maintained to this day. By 1923, the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde claimed 50,000 dues-paying members in more than 500 branches in Germany alone.Horand became the center-point of the breeding programs and was bred with dogs belonging to other society members that displayed desirable traits and with dogs from Thuringia, Franconia, and Württemberg. Fathering many pups, Horand's most prolific was Hektor von Schwaben. Hektor was inbred with another of Horand's offspring and produced Heinz von Starkenburg, Beowulf, and Pilot, who later sired a total of 84 pups, mostly through being inbred with Hektor's other offspring. This inbreeding was deemed necessary in order to fix the traits being sought in the breed. Beowulf's progeny also were inbred and it is from these pups that all German Shepherds draw a genetic link. It is believed the society accomplished its goal mostly due to von Stephanitz's strong, uncompromising leadership and he is therefore credited with being the creator of the German Shepherd Dog.During the first half of the twentieth century, the breed came to be strongly identified with Imperial and Nazi Germany, because of its association with purity and militarism. German Shepherds were coveted as "germanische Urhunde", being close to the wolf, and became very fashionable during the Nazi era. Adolf Hitler acquired a German Shepherd named "Prinz" in 1921, during his years of poverty, but he had been forced to lodge the dog elsewhere. However, she managed to escape and return to him. Hitler, who adored the loyalty and obedience of the dog, thereafter developed a great liking for the breed. Hitler kept several more of the breed, including Blondi, who was among several dogs in the 'Führerbunker' during the Battle of Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Dogs played a role in Nazi propaganda by portraying Hitler as an animal lover. Preparing for his suicide, Hitler ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test a cyanide capsule on Blondi, and the dog died as a result. Erna Flegel, a nurse who worked at the emergency casualty station in the Reich Chancellery stated in 2005 that Blondi's death had affected the people in the bunker more than Eva Braun's suicide. German Shepherds were also used widely as guard dogs at Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust.When the German Shepherd was introduced to the United States it was initially a popular dog. But as the dogs' popularity grew, it became associated as a dangerous breed owned by gangsters and bootleggers. The reputation of the German Shepherds as a dangerous breed had grown to such an extent that it was briefly banned to import them in Australia in 1929. Potential legislation was even considered to require that all German shepherds in South Australia be sterilised.
+
+Naming
+The breed was named Deutscher Schäferhund, by von Stephanitz, literally translating to "German Shepherd Dog".  At the time, all other herding dogs in Germany were referred to by this name; they thus became known as Altdeutsche Schäferhunde, or old German herding dogs.
+The direct translation of the name was adopted for use in the stud-book; however, at the end of the First World War, it was believed that the inclusion of the word "German" would harm the breed's popularity, due to the anti-German sentiment of the era. The breed was officially renamed by the UK Kennel Club to "Alsatian Wolf Dog", after the French region of Alsace bordering Germany.Eventually, the appendage "wolf dog" was dropped, after numerous campaigns by breeders who were worried that becoming known as a wolf-dog hybrid would affect the breed's popularity and legality. The name Alsatian remained for five decades, until 1977, when successful campaigns by dog enthusiasts pressured the British kennel clubs to allow the breed to be registered again as German Shepherds. The word "Alsatian" once appeared in parentheses as part of the formal breed name of the American Kennel Club and was removed in 2010.
+
+Description
+German Shepherds are medium to large-sized dogs. The breed standard height at the withers is 60–65 cm (24–26 in) for males, and 55–60 cm (22–24 in) for females. German Shepherds can reach sprinting speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
+Shepherds are longer than they are tall, with an ideal proportion of 10 to 8+1⁄2. The AKC official breed standard does not set a standard weight range. They have a domed forehead, a long square-cut muzzle with strong jaws and a black nose. The eyes are medium-sized and brown. The ears are large and stand erect, open at the front and parallel, but they often are pulled back during movement. A German Shepherd has a long neck, which is raised when excited and lowered when moving at a fast pace as well as stalking. The tail is bushy and reaches to the hock.German Shepherds have a double coat which is close and dense with a thick undercoat. The coat is accepted in two variants: medium and long. The gene for long hair is recessive, and therefore the long-haired variety is rarer. Treatment of the long-haired variation differs across standards; it is accepted but does not compete against standard-coated dogs under the German and UK Kennel Clubs while it can compete with standard-coated dogs, but is considered a fault, in the American Kennel Club. The FCI accepted the long-haired type in 2010, listing it as the variety b, while the short-haired type is listed as the variety a.Most commonly, German Shepherds are either tan/black or red/black. Most colour varieties have black masks and black body markings which can range from a classic "saddle" to an overall "blanket". Rarer colour variations include sable, pure-black, pure-white, liver, silver, blue, and panda varieties. The all-black and sable varieties are acceptable according to most standards; however, the blue and liver are considered to be serious faults and the all-white is grounds for instant disqualification from showing in conformation at All Breed and Specialty Shows.
+
+Intelligence
+German Shepherds were bred specifically for their intelligence. In a list of breeds most likely to bark as watchdogs, Stanley Coren ranked the breed in second place. Coupled with their strength, this trait makes the breed desirable as police, guard and search and rescue dogs, as they are able to quickly learn various tasks and interpret instructions better than other breeds.
+
+Temperament
+German Shepherds are moderately active dogs and are described in breed standards as self assured. The breed is marked by a willingness to learn and an eagerness to have a purpose. They are curious, which makes them excellent guard dogs and suitable for search missions. They can become overprotective of their family and territory, especially if not socialised correctly. They are not inclined to become immediate friends with strangers. German Shepherds are highly intelligent and obedient, as well as protective of their owners.
+
+Aggression and biting
+A 2020 literature review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that from 1971 to 2018, of all pure breed dogs in the United States, the German Shepherd was responsible for the most bites severe enough to require hospital treatment.While an Australian report from 1999 provides statistics showing that German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack a person in some Australian locales, once their popularity is taken into account, the percentages of attacks by German Shepherds drops to 38th.According to the National Geographic Channel television show Dangerous Encounters, the bite of a German Shepherd has a force of over 1,060 newtons (238 lbf) (compared with that of a Rottweiler, over 1,180–1,460 newtons (265–328 lbf), a Pit bull, 1,050 newtons (235 lbf), a Labrador Retriever, of approximately 1,000 newtons (230 lbf), or a human, of approximately 380 newtons (86 lbf)).
+
+Modern breed
+The modern German Shepherd breed is criticised by experts for straying away from Max von Stephanitz's original ideology that German Shepherds should be bred primarily as working dogs and that breeding should be strictly controlled to eliminate defects quickly.: 6  He believed that, above all else, German Shepherds should be bred for intelligence and working ability.
+
+Controversy
+The Kennel Club, in the United Kingdom, is involved in a dispute with German Shepherd breed clubs about the issue of soundness in the show strain of the breed. Some show strains have been bred with an extremely roached topline (back) that causes poor gait in the hind legs.
+The issue was raised in the BBC documentary, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, which said that critics of the breed describe it as "half dog, half frog". An orthopaedic vet remarked on footage of dogs in a show ring that they were "not normal".
+The Kennel Club's position is that "this issue of soundness is not a simple difference of opinion, it is the fundamental issue of the breed's essential conformation and movement." The Kennel Club has decided to retrain judges to penalise dogs with  these problems.The Kennel Club also recommends testing for haemophilia and hip dysplasia, other common problems with the breed.
+
+Variants
+East-European Shepherd
+The East-European Shepherd is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in the former Soviet Union with the purpose of creating a larger, more cold-resistant version of the German Shepherd. It lacks the physical deformities bred into western show lines of German Shepherds and has become one of Russia's most popular dog types.
+
+King Shepherd
+The King Shepherd is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in the United States, its breeders hoping to rectify the physical deformities that have been bred into the original breed.
+
+Shiloh Shepherd
+The Shiloh Shepherd is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in the United States. It was developed in the 1970s and 1980s to correct behavioural and conformational issues that have been bred into modern German Shepherds, and was bred for its large size, length of back, temperament and soundness of hips. It has been recognised since 1990 by the American Rare Breed Association.
+
+White Shepherd
+The White Shepherd is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in the United States. White-coated German Shepherds were once banned from registration in their native Germany, but in the United States and Canada the coloration gained a following and a breed club was formed specifically for white German Shepherds, calling their variety the White Shepherd. The variety is recognised as a separate breed by the United Kennel Club.
+
+White Swiss Shepherd Dog
+The White Swiss Shepherd Dog (French: Berger Blanc Suisse, German: Weisser Schweizer Schäferhund, Italian: Pastore Svizzero Bianco) is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in Switzerland. It descends from the American White Shepherds; the first stud dog of what was to become the breed was an American dog born in 1966 and imported to Switzerland. The variety was recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as a separate breed in 2003, and it is now recognised by a number of national kennel clubs.
+
+Use as a working dog
+German Shepherds are a popular selection for use as working dogs. They are known for being easy to train and good for performing tasks and following instructions. They are especially well known for their police work, being used for tracking criminals, patrolling troubled areas and detection and holding of suspects. Additionally, thousands of German Shepherds have been used by the military. These military working dogs (MWD) are usually trained for scout duty, and they are used to warn soldiers to the presence of enemies or of booby traps or other hazards. German Shepherds have also been trained by military groups to parachute from aircraft or as anti-tank weapons. They were used in World War II as messenger dogs, rescue dogs and personal guard dogs. A number of these dogs were taken home by foreign servicemen, who were impressed by their intelligence.The German Shepherd is one of the most widely used breeds in a wide variety of scent-work roles. These include search and rescue, cadaver searching, narcotics detection, explosives detection, accelerant detection and mine detection dog, among others. They are suited for these lines of work because of their keen sense of smell and their ability to work regardless of distractions.
+At one time the German Shepherd was the breed chosen almost exclusively to be used as a guide dog for the visually impaired. When formal guide dog training began in Switzerland in the 1920s under the leadership of Dorothy Eustis, all of the dogs trained were German Shepherd females. An experiment in temperament testing of a group of Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds showed that the Retrievers scored higher on average in emotional stability, ability to recover promptly from frightening situations, cooperative behaviour and friendliness; while the German Shepherds were superior in aggression and defensive behaviour. These results suggested that Labrador Retrievers were more suited to guide dog work while German Shepherds were more suited to police work.Currently, Labradors and Golden Retrievers are more widely used for this work, although there are still German Shepherds being trained. In 2013, about 15% of the dogs trained by Guide Dogs of America were German Shepherds, while the remainder are Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in the United Kingdom trains some German Shepherds, while the comparable organisation in the US only trains Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and crosses between these breeds.German Shepherds are still used for herding and tending sheep grazing in meadows next to gardens and crop fields. They are expected to patrol the boundaries to keep sheep from trespassing and damaging the crops. In Germany and other places these skills are tested in utility dog trials also known as Herdengebrauchshund (HGH) herding utility dog trials.One Mexican German Shepherd, Zuyaqui, was dissected and his body put on display at the Sedena's "Narco Museum" in Mexico. He is regarded to be the dog who has captured the most drugs in Mexican police and military history.
+
+Numbers
+When the UK Kennel accepted registrations in 1919, 54 German Shepherds were registered. By 1926 this number had grown to over 8000. The breed gained international recognition after the end of World War I. Returning soldiers spoke highly of the breed and animal actors Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart popularised the breed further. The first German Shepherd Dog registered in the United States was Queen of Switzerland. Her offspring had defects as the result of poor breeding, which caused the breed to decline in popularity during the late 1920s.Popularity increased again after Sieger Pfeffer von Bern became the 1937 and 1938 Grand Victor in American Kennel club dog shows, only to have another decline at the conclusion of World War II, due to anti-German sentiment. Popularity increased gradually until 1993, when they became the third most popular breed in the United States. As of 2016, the German Shepherd is the second most popular breed in the US. It is typically among the most frequently registered breeds in other countries. It was the third-most registered breed by the American Kennel Club in 2020, and seventh-most registered breed by The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom in 2016.
+
+Health
+Many common ailments of the German Shepherd are a result of the inbreeding practised early in the breed's life. One such common ailment is hip and elbow dysplasia which may cause the dog to experience pain later on in life and may cause arthritis. A study conducted by the University of Zurich found that 45% of the police working dogs were affected by degenerative spinal stenosis, although a small sample size was used. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals found that 19.1% of German Shepherd are affected by hip dysplasia. There are, however, ways to help prevent hip dysplasia, including getting a pup from a good breeder, keeping it on a healthy diet, and limiting the amount of jumping or rough play. German Shepherds have low frequency of ear infections, since this breed is well known for hyperactivity of its cerumen-producing glands. According to a recent survey in the UK, the median life span of German Shepherds is 10.95 years, which is normal for a dog of their size.
+Degenerative myelopathy, a neurological disease, occurs with enough regularity specifically in the breed to suggest that the breed is predisposed to it. A very inexpensive DNA saliva test is now available to screen for degenerative myelopathy. The test screens for the mutated gene that has been seen in dogs with degenerative myelopathy. A small study in the UK showed 16% of young asymptomatic German Shepherds to be homozygous for the mutation, with a further 38% being carriers. Now that a test is available the disease can be bred out of breeds with a high preponderance. The test is only recommended for predisposed breeds, but can be performed on DNA samples from any dog, collected through swabbing the inside of the animal's cheek with a sterile cotton swab. Prospective German Shepherd buyers can now request the test from the breeder or buy from a breeder who is known to test their dogs.German Shepherds have a higher-than-normal incidence of Von Willebrand disease, a common inherited bleeding disorder, and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), a degenerative disease of the pancreas. It is estimated that 1% of the UK population of German Shepherds has this disease. Treatment is usually provided in the form of pancreatic supplements taken with food.
+
+Skeletal health and supplementation
+Musculoskeletal disorders are debilitating conditions that are often associated with genetic makeup, malnutrition, and stress-related events. Some breeds like the German Shepherd, are predisposed to a variety of different skeletal disorders, including but not limited to: canine hip dysplasia, Cauda equina syndrome, and osteoarthritis. These conditions can be a result of poor breeding or induced by intense exercise and poor diet.
+Canine hip dysplasia (CHD) is an orthopaedic condition resulting from abnormal development of the hip joint and surrounding tissue causing the instability and partial dislocation of the hip joint, resulting in pain, inflammation, lameness, and potentially osteoarthritis of the joint. German Shepherds are genetically predisposed to CHD and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Germany found its prevalence estimated to be approximately 35% of veterinary cases associated with the disorder.Osteoarthritis is one of the main contributors of musculoskeletal pain and disabilities that commonly affect German Shepherds. Mechanical stress, oxidative damage and inflammatory mediators combine to induce the gradual degeneration of the articular cartilage in the joint, resulting in reduced muscle mass, pain, and locomotion.Feeding a well-balanced diet designed for large breeds like the German Shepherd to ensure adequate growth rates and proper maintenance of musculoskeletal health is essential. Dietary energy levels should be monitored and controlled throughout all life stages and activity levels of the German Shepherd to assist in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal disorder symptoms. Several dietary factors play a crucial role in maintaining skeletal health and are described as follows:
+Appropriate calcium levels are vital in developing a strong skeletal system and aid in preventing orthopaedic diseases like Canine Hip Dysplasia. Furthermore, the ratio of calcium and phosphorus must be balanced and at a recommended ratio of 1.2:1 to ensure proper bone development and structure. Imbalances in calcium and phosphorus levels can result in various skeletal complications. Excess phosphorus can produce lesions in bones whereas excessive calcium can lead to hypocalcaemia and result in excess bone deposition, interfering with normal bone development. In extreme circumstances of insufficient calcium intake, bone resorption can occur due to the body withdrawing calcium deposits from the skeletal frame as a last resort to fulfill dietary needs.Omega-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been shown to be highly effective in the prevention of cartilage catabolism in in vitro models, suggesting that its supplementation in food could aid in decreasing the symptoms of osteoarthritis in German Shepherds. Furthermore, EPA and DHA inhibit key regulators of the inflammatory process and suppress their activation which can help alleviate pain and reduce inflamed joints associated with many skeletal disorders. Ensuring an appropriate ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids of approximately 5:1 is very important for inflammation processes. Animals source, specifically marine life such as fish, krill, and mussels, and plant sources such as flaxseed, soybean and canola oil, are particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids.Glucosamine is an amino-monosaccharide that naturally occurs in all tissues, particularly in articular cartilage of joints and from the biosynthesis of glucose. Natural synthesis of glucosamine occurs in the extracellular matrix of articular cartilage in joints. However, as a result of damage to the joint or cartilage, there is decreased ability to synthesize glucosamine resulting in the deterioration of the joint, and supplementation is required. Clinical trials of long term administration of glucosamine in German Shepherds have reduced symptoms of degenerative joint disease and accelerated cartilage healing. Anti-inflammatory effects of glucosamine are believed to contribute to the reduction of pain, promote joint recovery and mobility, and prevent further cartilage degradation. Similarly, chondroitin supplementation is proposed to have comparable results in inhibiting degradative enzymes within the cartilage matrix to reduce the effects of osteoarthritis, but further research is required to assess long term benefits.Vitamins such as A and D also have crucial roles in bone development and maintenance by regulating bone and calcium metabolism. Adequate levels should be incorporated into a German Shepherd diet to promote a healthy musculoskeletal system.
+
+In popular culture
+German Shepherds have been featured in a wide range of media.
+In 1921 Strongheart became one of the earliest canine film stars, and was followed in 1922 by Rin Tin Tin, who is considered the most famous German Shepherd. Both have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Batman's dog Ace the Bat-Hound appeared in the Batman comic books, initially in 1955, through 1964. From 1964 onwards, his appearances have been sporadic.
+A German Shepherd named Inspector Rex is the star of an Austrian Police procedural drama program of the same name, which won many awards, where German Shepherd Rex assists the Vienna Kriminalpolizei homicide unit. The show was aired in many languages.Kántor was a famous and very successful police dog in Hungary in the 1950s and early 1960s. After his death his story was fictionalised by two crime novels by Rudolf Szamos, titled Kántor Investigates and Kántor in the Big City. A five-part thriller series for television titled Kántor was produced in 1975, which was loosely based on the actual dog's story, setting the events more than a decade after the real Kántor died. It became one of the staple productions of Hungarian television history, making German Shepherds the most popular dog breed in the country ever since. The taxidermy mount of Kántor's body is on display at the Police Museum in Budapest.
+
+Notable individual German Shepherds
+The dog on which the breed was founded
+Horand von Grafrath (January 1, 1895 – after 1899), considered the first German Shepherd and the genetic basis for modern German Shepherds
+In film, television and fiction
+Strongheart (1 October 1917 – 24 June 1929), featured in Hollywood films of 1921–1927
+Rin Tin Tin (September 1918 – 10 August 1932), Rin Tin Tin Jr., and Rin Tin Tin III, featured in Hollywood films of 1922–1947
+Thunder the Dog (7 September 1921 – after October 1928), featured in Hollywood films of 1923–1927
+Silver Streak (born 1924), featured in Hollywood films of 1924–1928
+Lightning, grandson of Strongheart, featured in Hollywood films of 1934–1938
+Ace the Wonder Dog, featured in Hollywood films and serials of 1938–1946
+Rex the Wonder Dog, fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe 1952–present
+Ace the Bat-Hound, fictional partner of Batman in DC Comics 1955–present
+Joe, protagonist in the NBC television series Run, Joe, Run in 1974–1975
+Won Ton Ton, protagonist of the 1976 comedy film Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, a spoof of Rin Tin Tin
+Koton, sometimes identified as Rando, police dog later featured in the 1989 film K-9 with James Belushi
+Rex, protagonist of the Austrian-Italian comedy-drama television series Inspector Rex of 1994–2015, and remakes in other countries
+Pets of political figures
+Blondi (1941 – 29 April 1945), Hitler's pet on which he tested the cyanide capsules he later consumed to commit suicide, killing her
+Champ (11 November 2008 – 19 June 2021), Commander (born 1 September 2021), and Major (born 17 January 2018), pets of US President Joe Biden
+Major, police dog later kept as a pet of United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt while he was in office, which bit a United States senator and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1933 while living at the White House
+PDSA Dickin Medal recipients (for military and civil defence service dogs)Awards in the original 1943–1949 series for service in the Second World War
+Antis (1939–1953), 28 January 1949 for war service in North Africa and England and post-war assistance in an escape from communist Czechoslovakia
+Bing, a.k.a. Brian (c. 1943 – October 1955), 29 March 1947 for service with the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion paratroopers
+Irma, 12 January 1945 for rescuing people trapped under destroyed buildings in civil defence service in the London Blitz
+Jet (21 July 1942 – 18 October 1949), 12 January 1945 for rescuing people trapped under destroyed buildings in civil defence service in the London Blitz
+Rex, April 1945 for locating casualties in thick smoke in burning buildings in civil service in England
+Rifleman Khan, 27 March 1945 for rescuing a drowning soldier in November 1944 in the Netherlands in the Battle of Walcheren Causeway, an engagement of the Battle of the Scheldt
+Thorn, 2 March 1945 for locating air-raid casualties in thick smoke in a burning building in civil service
+After revival of the medal in 2000
+Apollo (c. 1992 – 2006), 5 March 2002 on behalf of all search and rescue dogs that served at the World Trade Center site and the Pentagon in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York City, United States
+Lucca (c. 2003 – 20 January 2018), 5 April 2016 for service with the United States Marine Corps of 2006–2012 in two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan for explosives and insurgent detection until injured by an IED
+Lucky (service c. 1950), 6 February 2007 for anti-insurgency service with the Royal Air Force against the Malayan National Liberation Army in the Malayan Emergency in 1949–1952 (the only surviving dog of a four-dog team)
+Sam (died 2000), 14 January 2003 for service in April 1998 in apprehending a gunman and in crowd control during protection of refugees in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps of the British Army in the Bosnia and Herzegovina conflict
+PDSA Gold Medal recipients (for non-military dogs)Ajax, 11 June 2013 for service in the civil guard that saved lives by detection of an ETA bomb near a guard barracks site on the Spanish island of Majorca in 2009 under dangerous circumstances
+Anya, 6 July 2010 for service as a British police dog in defending an officer from a knife attack in January 2008
+Ellie and Jones (Shepherd mixes), 22 August 2013 for saving their owner who collapsed and lost consciousness due to diabetic shock in November 2010
+Finn (born March 2009), 6 May 2018 for service as a police dog in a knife attack on a police officer in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, on 5 October 2016
+Gage (died 13 July 2010), 22 August 2013 (posthumously) for service as a police dog in a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, defending an officer in an attack by a man with a rifle (in which the dog was killed)
+Other military, police, search-and-rescue, and institutional guard dogs
+Gabi, 1980s guard dog at the Belgrade Zoo that protected a security guard and the public by fighting with an escaped jaguar
+Kántor, police dog in Hungary in the 1950s and early 1960s, later portrayed in fictionalized versions for novels and television
+Lex (1999 – March 25, 2012), used by the United States Marine Corps in Iraq and later adopted by the family of a soldier who died in a rocket attack while serving as his handler
+Mancs (1994–2006), earthquake search and rescue dog of Miskolc, Hungary, that helped rescue a 3-year-old girl who had spent 82 hours under ruins of a 1999 earthquake in Turkey
+Nemo A534 (died December 1972), served in battle in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War
+Rajah, performing and unofficial police dog in New Zealand, suggested as a candidate replacement for Rin Tin Tin in films
+Trakr (c. 1994 – April 2009), Canadian police dog that discovered the last survivor of the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York City, United States
+Zuyaqui (died 2000s), used by Mexican military and police forces for detection of illegal drugs
+
+Notes
+References
+Citations
+Bibliography
+Further reading
+External links
+
+Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde e.V.—The original registrar of the German Shepherd
+"German Shepherd Dog". Dogs 101. Animal Planet. Archived from the original (Video) on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
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+The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum,  HEE-lə) is a species of venomous lizard native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is a heavy, slow-moving reptile, up to 56 centimetres (22 in) long, and it is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. Its venomous close relatives, the four beaded lizards (all former subspecies of Heloderma horridum) inhabit Mexico and Guatemala. The Gila monster is sluggish in nature, so it is not generally dangerous and very rarely poses a real threat to humans. However, it has a fearsome reputation and is sometimes killed in spite of the species being protected by state law in Arizona.
+
+History
+The name "Gila" refers to the Gila River Basin in the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico, where the Gila monster was once plentiful. Heloderma means "studded skin", from the Ancient Greek words helos (ἧλος), "the head of a nail or stud", and derma (δέρμα), "skin". Suspectum comes from the describer, paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope. At first, this new specimen of Heloderma was misidentified and considered to be a northern variation of the beaded lizard already known to live in Mexico. He suspected that the lizard might be venomous due to the grooves in the teeth.
+The Gila monster is the largest extant lizard species native to North America north of the Mexican border. Its snout-to-vent length ranges from 26 to 36 cm (10 to 14 in). The tail is about 20% of the body size, and the largest specimens may reach 51 to 56 cm (20 to 22 in) in total length. Body mass is typically in the range of 550 to 800 g (1.21 to 1.76 lb). They appear strong in their body structure with a stout snout, massive head, and "little"-appearing eyes, which can be protected by a nictitating membrane.The Gila monster has four close living relatives, all of which are beaded lizards. There are three species in Mexico: Heloderma exasperatum, Heloderma horridum and Heloderma alvarezi, as well as another species in Guatemala: Heloderma charlesbogerti.The evolutionary history of the Helodermatidae may be traced back to the Cretaceous period (145 to 166 million years ago), when Gobiderma pulchrum and Estesia mongolensis were present. The genus Heloderma has existed since the Miocene, when H. texana lived. Fragments of osteoderms from the Gila monster have been found in Late Pleistocene (10,000 to 8,000 years ago) deposits near Las Vegas, Nevada. Because the helodermatids have remained relatively unchanged morphologically, they are occasionally regarded as living fossils. Although the Gila monster appears closely related to the monitor lizards (varanids) of Africa, Asia, and Australia, their wide geographical separation and distinct features indicate that Heloderma is better placed in a separate family.
+
+Skin
+The scales of the head, back, and tail contain little pearl-shaped bones (osteoderms) similar to those found in the beaded lizards from further south. The scales of the belly are free from osteoderms. Female Gila monsters go through a total shed lasting about 2 weeks before depositing their eggs. The dorsal part is often shed in one large piece. Adult males normally shed in smaller segments in August. The young seem to be in constant shed. Adults have more or less yellow to pink colors on a black surface. Hatchlings have a uniform, simple, and less colorful pattern. This drastically changes within the first 6 months of their lives. Hatchlings from the northern area of the species' distribution have a tendency to retain most of their juvenile pattern.
+The heads of males are very often larger and more triangular-shaped than in females. The length of the tail of the two sexes is statistically very similar, so it does not help in differentiation of the sexes. Individuals with stout tail ends occur in both nature and under human breeding.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The Gila monster is found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, across a range including Sonora, Arizona, and parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. No records have been given from Baja California. They inhabit scrubland, succulent desert, and oak woodland, seeking shelter in burrows, thickets, and under rocks in locations with a favorable microclimate and adequate humidity. Gila monsters rely heavily on the use of shelters and spend much of their time dwelling there. Often times these shelters are in rocky areas in Navajo Sandstone and basaltic lava flows. Gila monsters depend on water resources and can be observed in puddles of water after a summer rain. They avoid living in open areas, such as flats and open grasslands.
+
+Ecology
+Gila monsters spend 90% of their lifetime underground in burrows or rocky shelters. They are active in the morning during the dry season (spring and early summer). The lizards move to different shelters every 4–5 days up to the beginning of the summer season. By doing so, they optimize for a suitable microhabitat. Later in the summer, they may be active on warm nights or after a thunderstorm. They maintain a surface body temperature of about 30 °C (86 °F). Close to 37 °C (99 °F), they are able to decrease their body temperature by up to 2 °C (3.6 °F) by an activated, limited evaporation via the cloaca. One study investigating a population of Gila monsters in southwestern Utah noted that the lizard's activity peaked from late April to mid June. The average distance traveled during their bouts of activity was 210 metres (690 ft), but on occasion some lizards would travel distances greater than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). During the Gila monster's active season of approximately 90 days, only ten days were spent active. Gila monsters are slow sprinters, but they have relatively high endurance and maximal aerobic capacity (VO2 max) compared to other lizards. They are preyed upon by coyotes, badgers and raptors. Hatchlings are preyed on by snakes, such as kingsnakes (Lampropeltis sp.).
+
+Diet
+The Gila monster's diet consists of a variety of food items – small mammals (such as young rabbits, hares, mice, ground squirrels, and other rodents), small birds, snakes, lizards, frogs, insects, other invertebrates, carrion, and the eggs of birds, lizards, snakes, and tortoises. Three to four extensive meals in spring are claimed to give them enough energy for a whole season. They can store fat in their tails and therefore do not need to eat often. Nevertheless, they feed whenever they come across suitable prey. Young Gila monsters can swallow up to 50% of their body weight in a single meal. Adults may eat up to one third of their body weight in one meal.The Gila monster uses its extremely acute sense of smell to locate prey. The strong, two-ended tipped tongue, which is pigmented in black-blue colors, picks up scent molecules to be transferred to the opening of the Jacobson organ around the middle of the upper mouth cavern.
+Prey may be crushed to death if large, or eaten alive, most of the time head first, and helped down by muscular contractions and neck flexing. After food has been swallowed, the Gila monster may immediately resume tongue flicking and search behavior for identifying more prey such as eggs or young in nests. Gila monsters are able to climb trees, cacti, and even fairly straight, rough-surfaced walls.
+
+Venom
+Pioneer beliefs
+In the Old West, the pioneers believed a number of myths about the Gila monster, including that the lizard had foul or toxic breath and that its bite was fatal. The Tombstone Epitaph of Tombstone, Arizona, wrote about a Gila monster that a local person caught on May 14, 1881:
+
+This is a monster, and no baby at that, it being probably the largest specimen ever captured in Arizona. It is 27 inches long and weighs 35 lb. It was caught by H. C. Hiatt on the road between Tombstone and Grand Central Mill, and was purchased by Messrs. Ed Baker and Charles Eastman, who now have it on exhibition at Kelley's Wine House, next door above Grand Hotel, Allen Street. Eastern people who have never seen one of these monsters should not fail to inspect his Aztecship, for they might accidentally stumble upon one some fine day and get badly frightened, except they know what it is.
+On May 8, 1890, southeast of Tucson, Arizona Territory, Empire Ranch owner Walter Vail captured and thought he had killed a Gila monster. He tied it to his saddle and it bit the middle finger of his right hand and would not let go. A ranch hand pried open the lizard's mouth with a pocket knife, cut open his finger to stimulate bleeding, and then tied saddle strings around his finger and wrist. They summoned Dr. John C. Handy of Tucson, who took Vail back to Tucson for treatment, but Vail experienced swollen and bleeding glands in his throat for sometime afterward.Dr. Handy's friend, Dr. George Goodfellow of Tombstone, was among the first to research the actual effects of Gila monster venom. Scientific American reported in 1890, "The breath is very fetid, and its odor can be detected at some little distance from the lizard. It is supposed that this is one way in which the monster catches the insects and small animals which form a part of its food supply – the foul gas overcoming them." Goodfellow offered to pay local residents $5.00 for Gila monster specimens. He bought several and collected more on his own. In 1891, he purposely provoked one of his captive lizards into biting him on his finger. The bite made him ill and he spent the next five days in bed, but he completely recovered. When Scientific American ran another ill-founded report on the lizard's ability to kill people, he wrote in reply and described his own studies and personal experience. He wrote that he knew several people who had been bitten by Gila monsters, but had not died from the bite.
+
+Venom delivery
+The Gila monster produces venom in modified salivary glands at the end of its lower jaws, unlike snakes, whose venom is produced in glands behind the eyes. The Gila monster lacks strong musculature in glands above the eyes; instead, in Heloderma, the venom is propelled from the gland via a tubing to the base of the lower teeth and then by capillary forces into two grooves of the tooth and then chewed into the victim. The teeth are tightly anchored to the jaw (pleurodont). Broken and regular replacement teeth have to wait every time to go into position in a determinate "wavelike" sequence. They change/replace their teeth during their entire life. The Gila monster's bright colors might be suitable to teach predators not to bother this "painful" creature. Because the Gila monster's prey consists mainly of eggs, small animals, and otherwise "helpless" prey, the Gila monster's venom is thought to have evolved for defensive rather than for hunting use.
+
+Toxicity
+The venom of a Gila monster is normally not fatal to healthy adult humans. No reports of fatalities have been confirmed after 1930, and the rare fatalities recorded before that time occurred in adults who were intoxicated by alcohol or had mismanaged the treatment of the bite. The Gila monster can bite quickly and may not release the victim without intervention. If bitten, the victim may attempt to fully submerge the lizard in water, pry the jaws open with a knife or stick, or physically yank the lizard free. While pulling the lizard directly increases risk of severe lacerations from the lizard's sharp teeth, it may also mitigate envenomation. Symptoms of the bite include excruciating pain, edema, and weakness associated with a rapid drop in blood pressure.
+YouTuber Coyote Peterson described the bite as "like hot lava coursing through your veins" and claimed it was "the worst pain [he] had ever experienced". It is generally regarded as the most painful venom produced by any vertebrate.More than a dozen peptides and other substances have been isolated from the Gila monster's venom, including hyaluronidase, serotonin, phospholipase A2, and several kallikrein-like glycoproteins responsible for the pain and edema caused by a bite, without producing a compartment syndrome. Four potentially lethal toxins have been isolated from the Gila monster's venom, which cause hemorrhage in internal organs and exophthalmos (bulging of the eyes), and helothermine, which causes lethargy, partial paralysis of the limbs, and hypothermia in rats. Some are similar in action of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), which relaxes smooth muscle and regulates water and electrolyte secretion between the small and large intestines. These bioactive peptides are able to bind to VIP receptors in many different human tissues. One of these, helodermin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of lung cancer.
+
+Toxins and drug research
+The constituents of H. suspectum venom that have received the most attention from researchers are the bioactive peptides, including helodermin, helospectin, exendin-3, and exendin-4. Exendin-4, which is specific for H. suspectum, has formed the basis of a class of medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists.
+In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug exenatide (marketed as Byetta) for the management of type 2 diabetes. It is a synthetic blueprint of the protein exendin-4, isolated from the Gila monster's venom. In a 3-year study with people with type 2 diabetes, exenatide showed healthy sustained glucose levels. The effectiveness is because the lizard protein is 53% identical to glucagon-like peptide-1 analog (GLP-1), a hormone released from the human digestive tract that helps to regulate insulin and glucagon. Using a sophisticated injection formula with sustained release of the drug, the lizard protein remains effective much longer than the human hormone. This helps diabetics keep their blood glucose levels under control for a week by a single injection. Exenatide also slows the emptying of the stomach and causes a decrease in appetite, contributing to weight loss.The antidiabetic exenatide (Byetta) from the venomous Gila monster is also an example of a medical value of venom peptides, targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).
+
+Life cycle
+The Gila monster emerges from brumation in early March. Gila monsters sexually mature at 4–5 years old. It mates in April and May. The male initiates courtship by flicking his tongue to search for the female's scent. If the female rejects his advances, she will bite him and chase him away. When successful, copulation has been observed in captivity to last from 15 minutes to two and a half hours. There is only a single record of attempted mating outside of a shelter. The female lays eggs at the end of May into June. A clutch may consist of up to six (rarely up to eight) eggs. The incubation in captivity lasts about 5 months, depending on the incubation temperature. The hatchlings are about 16 cm (6.3 in) long and can bite and inject venom as soon as they are hatched.
+The egg development and hatching time of young in the wild has been a subject of ongoing speculation. The first model stated that youngsters hatch in fall and stay underground. The second theory postulated a nearly developed embryo remains inside the egg over winter and hatches in spring. Hatchlings (weight about 35 g (1.2 oz)) are observed at the end of April to early June.
+Discussions of the exact egg development and hatching cycle of the Gila monster came to an abrupt and unexpected end on October 28, 2016, when a backhoe was digging at the outer walls of a house in a suburb of northern Tucson. The backhoe extracted a nest of a female Gila monster with five eggs in the process of hatching. The Gila monster is now known to hatch near the end of October and immediately proceed into hibernation without surfacing. They then appear on the surface from May through June the following year when prey should be abundant.
+In summer, Gila monsters gradually spend less time on the surface to avoid the hottest part of the season; occasionally, they may be active at night. Females that have laid eggs are exhausted and thin, fighting for survival, and have to spend extra effort to "reconstitute". The brumation of Gila monsters begins in October. Gila monsters can live up to 40 years in captivity, though rarely.
+Little is known about the social behavior of Gila monster, but it has been observed engaging in male to male combat, in which the dominant male lies on top of the subordinate one and pins it with its front and hind limbs. While fighting, both lizards arch their bodies, pushing against each other and twisting around in an effort to gain the dominant position. A “wrestling match” ends when the pressure exerts their forces, although bouts may be repeated. These bouts are typically observed in the mating season. Males with greater strength and endurance are thought to enjoy greater reproductive success. Although the Gila monster has a low metabolism and one of the lowest lizard sprint speeds, it has one of the highest aerobic scope values (the increase in oxygen consumption from rest to maximum metabolic exertion) among lizards, allowing it to engage in intense aerobic activity for a sustained period of time.
+
+Conservation status
+Gila monsters are listed as near threatened by the IUCN. They are listed as "Apparently Secure" by NatureServe.In 1952, the Gila monster became the first venomous animal to be given legal protection. They are now protected in all states of their distribution. International trade in the species is regulated under Appendix II of CITES.
+
+Relocation
+"Possibly the greatest threat to the continued existence of helodermatids is the man-made destruction of their habitat as the land is developed for construction or to create more cultivable land." Gila monsters found in these situations and relocated – with best intentions – up to 1.2 km (0.75 mi)  away, return to where they were found within 2 months and at great effort. This is up to five times the normal energy use than if they had not been removed, which uses up their energy stores unnecessarily. The same is true for animals relocated to appropriate habitats. Besides this, they also become more exposed to predators. Therefore, the process of simple relocation is "naïve" and potentially dangerous for both the relocated animals and existing populations and for the inhabitants of the region where the resettlement is taking place. If relocating the lizards further away, they might be totally disoriented, thus their survival is still very questionable. A more successful strategy would be, for example, if the new "settlers" were offered intensive education about this species (e.g., limited toxicity, lifestyle) with the aim of tolerating the reptile or even being proud of having this unique "roommate" in one's own neighborhood.In 1963, the San Diego Zoo became the first zoo to successfully breed Gila monsters in captivity. In the last two decades, experienced breeders have shared their knowledge and expertise to give advice to other herpetologists on overcoming the difficulties in Heloderma reproduction under human care.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Though the Gila monster is venomous, it poses little threat to humans due to its sluggish nature. Nevertheless, it has a fearsome reputation and is often killed by humans. Myths that have formed about the Gila monster include that the animal's breath is toxic enough to kill humans, that it can spit venom like a spitting cobra, that it can leap several feet in the air to attack, and that the Gila monster did not have an anus and therefore expelled waste from its mouth, the source of its venom and "fetid breath" (likely stemming from the fact that its venom in fact has an intense, specific smell). Among Native American tribes, the Gila monster had a mixed standing. The Apache believed its breath could kill a man, and the Tohono O'Odham and the Pima believed it possessed a spiritual power that could cause sickness. In contrast, the Seri and the Yaqui believed the Gila monster's hide had healing properties. The Navajo/Dine believe the Gila monster was the first medicine man.
+
+In popular culture
+The Gila monster starred as a monster in the film The Giant Gila Monster (though the titular monster was actually portrayed by a Mexican beaded lizard). It played a minor role in the motion picture The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. In Brock Brower's 1971 novel The Late Great Creature, fictional horror movie star Simon Moro is presented as famous for playing the reptilian werewolf-like Gila Man. The 2011 animated film Rango featured a Gila monster as an Old West outlaw named Bad Bill, voiced by Ray Winstone.The Gila monster has also seen usage as a mascot and state symbol. The official mascot of Eastern Arizona College located in Thatcher, Arizona, is Gila Hank, a gun-toting, cowboy hat-wearing Gila monster.  In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights selected a Gila monster named Chance as their official mascot. In 2019, the state of Utah made the Gila monster its official state reptile.In 2023, Australian band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard released a single titled "Gila Monster" from their album PetroDragonic Apocalypse, with the album's artwork featuring a Gila monster on its cover art and heavily within the album's concept narrative.
+
+Gallery
+References
+Further reading
+Beck, Daniel D. (2005). Biology of Gila Monsters and Beaded Lizards. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24357-9.
+Bogert, Charles M.; Rafael Martin del Campo (1956). The Gila Monster and its allies: the relationships, habits, and behavior of the lizards of the Family Helodermatidae. New York: Bull. Amer. Mus. Natur. Hist. 109:1–238. p. 238. Online .pdf
+Capula, Massimo; Behler (1989). Simon & Schuster's Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of the World. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-69098-1.
+Carmony, Neil B.; Brown, David (1991). Gila Monster: Facts and Folklore of America's Aztec Lizard. Silver City, NM: High-Lonesome Books. ISBN 0-944383-18-1.
+Cogger, Harold; Zweifel, Richard (1992). Reptiles & Amphibians. Sydney, Australia: Weldon Owen. ISBN 0-8317-2786-1.
+Ditmars, Raymond L (1933). Reptiles of the World: The Crocodilians, Lizards, Snakes, Turtles and Tortoises of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. New York: Macmillan. p. 321.
+Freiberg, Dr. Marcos; Walls, Jerry (1984). The World of Venomous Animals. New Jersey: TFH Publications. ISBN 0-87666-567-9.
+Roever, J. M.; Hiser, Iona Seibert (1972). The Gila Monster. Austin, Tex: Steck-Vaughn Co. ISBN 0-8114-7739-8.
+Schwandt, Hans-Joachim (2019). heloderma.net The Gila Monster Heloderma suspectum, Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt/Main, ISBN 978-3-89973-441-6
+Stebbins, Robert (2003). Western Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-98272-3.
+Stephan F. K. Schaal; Krister T. Smith; Jörg Habersetzer (2018). Messel – An Ancient Greenhouse Ecosystem. Frankfurt am Main: Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut. ISBN 978-3-510-61411-0.
+
+External links
+ Data related to Heloderma suspectum at Wikispecies
+ Media related to Heloderma suspectum at Wikimedia Commons
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diff --git a/data/animals/Ibizan hound.txt b/data/animals/Ibizan hound.txt
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+The Ibizan Hound (Spanish: podenco ibicenco, Catalan: ca eivissenc) is a lean, agile dog of the hound family. There are two hair types of the breed: smooth and wire. The more commonly seen type is the smooth. Some consider there to be a third type, long, but the longhair is most likely a variation of the wire.
+
+Description
+Looks
+The Ibizan Hound is an elegant and agile breed, with an athletic and attractive outline and a ground-covering springy trot. Though graceful in appearance, it has good bone girth and is a rugged/hardy breed. Its large upright ears — a hallmark of the breed — are broad at the base and frame a long and elegant headpiece. The neck is long and lean. It has a unique front assembly with well laid-back shoulders and relatively straight upper arm. Coming in both smooth and wire-coated varieties, their coat is a combination of red and white with the nose, ears, eye rims, and pads of feet being a light tan color. Its eyes are a striking amber color and have an alert and intelligent expression. The Ibizan may range in height, depending on which Standard you follow, from 22 to 29 in (56 to 74 cm) and weigh from 45 to 65 lb (20 to 29 kg), males being larger than females.
+
+Temperament
+Ibizan Hounds are intelligent, active, and engaging by nature. They rank 53rd in Stanley Coren's book The Intelligence of Dogs, considered average working/obedience intelligence, but many Ibizan owners enjoy recounting a multitude of examples of their problem-solving abilities. They are true "clowns" of the dog world, delighting in entertaining their people with their antics. Though somewhat independent and stubborn at times, they do take well to training if positive methods are used, but they will balk at punitive training methods. They are generally quiet but will alarm bark if necessary, so they make good watch dogs. They are sensitive hounds, and very good around children and other dogs alike. They generally make good house dogs but are active and athletic, therefore need a lot of daily exercise. They do not make good kennel dogs. Ibizan hounds are sweet, but they are very stubborn and independent.
+Ibizan Hounds are "escapologists": they are able to jump incredible heights from a standstill, so they need very tall fences. They also have been known to climb, and many can escape from crates and can open baby gates and even locks. They have a strong prey drive, therefore they cannot be trusted off leash unless in a safely enclosed area. Once off the leash, they might not come back for a long time. A hound that knows where its home is and the surrounding area will usually return unscathed.
+
+Health
+The Ibizan Hound is typical of the hound group in that it rarely suffers from hereditary illness. Minor health concerns for the breed include seizures and allergies; very rarely, one will see axonal dystrophy, cataract, retinal dysplasia and deafness in the breed. Ibizan Hound owners should have their dogs' eyes tested by a veterinarian before breeding. CERF and BAER testing is recommended for the breed.  Ibizan Hounds are sensitive to barbiturate anesthesia, and typically live between 12 and 14 years.
+
+History
+DNA analysis indicates that the breed was formed recently from other breeds.The Ibizan Hound is similar in function and type to several breeds, such as the Pharaoh Hound, the Cirneco dell'Etna, the Portuguese Podengo, and the Podenco Canario. The Ibizan Hound is the largest of these breeds, classified by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as primitive types.
+
+Use
+This breed originates in the island of Ibiza and has been traditionally used in the Catalan-speaking areas of Spain, and France where it was known under the name of le charnigue, to hunt rabbits and other small game. The Ibizan Hound is a fast dog that can hunt on all types of terrain, working by scent, sound and sight. Hunters run these dogs in mostly female packs, with perhaps a male or two, as the female is considered the better hunter.
+Traditionally a farmer may have one dog and a very well off farmer two dogs to catch rabbits for food. However, in the last twenty years it is seen as a sport where between five and fifteen dogs can be seen in the chase of one rabbit.
+The Ibizan Hound authority Miquel Rosselló has provided a detailed description of a working trial which characterises their typical hunting technique and action, strikingly illustrated with action photos by Charles Camberoque which demonstrate hunt behaviour and typical hunt terrain. 
+While local hunters will at times use one dog or a brace, and frequently packs of six to eight or as many as fifteen, the working trial requires an evaluation of one or two braces. A brace is called a colla. The couples should be tested on at least two to five rabbits (not hares), without the use of any other hunting aid. An inspection and evaluation of the exterior, fitness, character and obedience of the dogs is recommended prior to the hunt. 
+The trial is qualified as having 5 parts. The dogs should show: (1) careful tracking and scenting of the rabbit, without being distracted in the least, 0-30 points; (2) correct signalling of the game, patient stand, strong jump into the air, obedience 0-10 points; (3) chase, giving tongue, speed, sureness, anticipation 0-30 points; (4) putting the game to cover at close quarters, listening, waiting, obedience, correct attack 0-10 point; and (5) good catch, or correct indication of the game's location, retrieval, obedience 0-20 points.
+Individual dogs are expected to show a great degree of discipline, obedience and co-operation. They should be extremely agile, have good speed and a powerful vertical jump from a stationary position in rough and often heavily covered ground. They should have excellent scent-tracking abilities, give tongue at the right time when approaching the game closely, and otherwise be silent so that they can locate the game by sound.
+In the United States, the Ibizan Hound is frequently competed in lure coursing through the AKC and ASFA, and also competes in LGRA straight racing and NOTRA oval track racing.  Some parts of the country also use them for coursing live prey, generally jackrabbits.
+The Ibizan Hound breed is recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, Continental Kennel Club, American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, Kennel Club of Great Britain, Canadian Kennel Club, National Kennel Club, New Zealand Kennel Club, Australian National Kennel Council, America's Pet Registry, and American Canine Registry. It was fully recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1979.
+
+In folk culture
+According to journalist Norman Lewis, when an owner no longer wants to own one of these dogs (having too much of an appetite, for instance), it is considered very bad luck to kill the dog. Instead, they release the dog on the other side of the island, so that someone else might 'adopt' the animal.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+
+References
+External links
+Sighthound Sanctuary & Animal Services
+Ibizan Hound Photos
+Charles Camberoque: photos of Ibizans at work
+Video: How Ibizans hunt
+Ibizan Hound Club (Eivissa)
+Norwegian Ibizan Hound Club
+Swiss Ibizan Hound Club
+German Ibizan Hound Club Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
+Ibizan Hound Rescue in Spain
+Ibizan Hounds in the UK
+Additional information on the German language Wikipedia.(In German: "Podenco Ibicenco")
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diff --git a/data/animals/Indian cobra.txt b/data/animals/Indian cobra.txt
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+The Indian cobra (Naja naja), also known commonly as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra, a venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent, and is a member of the "big four" species that are responsible for the most snakebite cases in India.It is distinct from the king cobra which belongs to the monotypic genus Ophiophagus. The Indian cobra is revered in Hindu mythology and culture, and is often seen with snake charmers. It is a protected species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
+
+Taxonomy
+The generic name and the specific epithet naja is a Latinisation of the Sanskrit word nāga (नाग) meaning "cobra".The Indian cobra is classified under the genus Naja of the family Elapidae. The genus was first described by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768.  The species Naja naja was first described by the Swedish physician, zoologist, and botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus Naja was split into several subgenera based on various factors, including morphology, diet, and habitat. Naja naja is part of the subgenus Naja, along with all the other species of Asiatic cobras, including Naja kaouthia, Naja siamensis, Naja sputatrix, and the rest.
+Naja naja is considered to be the prototypical cobra species within the subgenus Naja, and within the entire genus Naja. All Asiatic species of Naja were considered conspecific with Naja naja until the 1990s, often as subspecies thereof. Many of the subspecies were later found to be artificial or composites. This causes much potential confusion when interpreting older literature.
+
+Local names
+The Indian cobra or spectacled cobra, being common in South Asia, is referred to by a number of local names deriving from the root of Naga.
+For Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages:
+
+Phetigom (ফেতিগোম) in Assamese
+Gokhra (গোখরো) in Bengali
+Naag (नाग) in Hindi,
+Fetaar (फेटार) in Awadhi
+Gehuan (गेहुंअन)in Magahi and Bhojpuri
+Domi (डोमी) in Chhattisgarhi
+Naag (નાગ) in Gujarati
+Nagara Haavu (ನಾಗರ ಹಾವು)  in Kannada
+Moorkkan (മൂര്‍ഖന്‍) in Malayalam
+Naag (नाग) in Marathi
+Gokhara Saapa (ଗୋଖର ସାପ) or Naaga Saapa (ନାଗ ସାପ) in Odia
+Naya (නයා) or Nagaya (නාගයා) in Sinhalese
+Nalla pambu (நல்ல பாம்பு) or Nagapambu (நாகப்பாம்பு) in Tamil
+నాగు పాము (Nagu Paamu) in Telugu
+Saanp ( سانپ/sɑ̃ːp/) in Urdu
+
+Description
+The Indian cobra is a moderately sized, heavy-bodied species. This cobra species can easily be identified by its relatively large and quite impressive hood, which it expands when threatened.
+Many specimens exhibit a hood mark. This hood mark is located at the rear (dorsal surface) of the Indian cobra's hood. When the hood mark is present, it consists of two circular ocelli patterns connected by a curved line, evoking the image of spectacles.This species has a head which is elliptical, depressed, and very slightly distinct from the neck. The snout is short and rounded with large nostrils. The eyes are medium in size and the pupils are round. The majority of adult specimens range from 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9 ft) in length. Some specimens, particularly those from Sri Lanka, may grow to lengths of 2.1 to 2.2 metres (6.9 to 7.2 ft), but this is relatively uncommon.
+The Indian cobra varies tremendously in colour and pattern throughout its range. The ventral scales or the underside colouration of this species can be grey, yellow, tan, brown, reddish or black. Dorsal scales of the Indian cobra may have a hood mark or colour patterns. The most common visible pattern is a posteriorly convex light band at the level of the 20th to 25th ventrals. Salt-and-pepper speckles, especially in adult specimens, are seen on the dorsal scales.
+Specimens, particularly those found in Sri Lanka, may exhibit poorly defined banding on the dorsum. Ontogenetic colour change is frequently observed in specimens in the northwestern parts of their geographic range (southern Pakistan and northwestern India). In southern Pakistan, juvenile specimens may be grey in colour and may or may not have a hood mark. Adults on the other hand are typically uniformly black in colour on top (melanistic), while the underside, outside the throat region, is usually light.
+Patterns on the throat and ventral scales are also variable in this species. The majority of specimens exhibit a light throat area followed by dark banding, which can be 4–7 ventral scales wide. Adult specimens also often exhibit a significant amount of mottling on the throat and on the venter, which makes patterns on this species less clear relative to patterns seen in other species of cobra. With the exception of specimens from the northwest, there is often a pair of lateral spots on the throat where the ventral and dorsal scales meet. The positioning of these spots varies, with northwestern specimens having the spots positioned more anterior, while specimens from elsewhere in their range are more posterior.
+
+Scalation
+Dorsal scales are smooth and strongly oblique. Midbody scales are in 23 rows (21–25), with 171–197 ventrals. There are 48–75 divided subcaudals and the anal shield is single. There are seven upper labials (3rd the largest and in contact with the nasal anteriorly, 3rd and 4th in contact with the eye) and 9-10  lower labials (small angular cuneate scale present between 4th and 5th lower labial), as well as one preocular in contact with internasals, and three postoculars. Temporals are 2 + 3.
+
+Similar species
+The Oriental rat snake Ptyas mucosa is often mistaken for the Indian cobra; however, this snake is much longer and can easily be distinguished by the more prominent ridged appearance of its body. Other snakes that resemble Naja naja are the banded racer Argyrogena fasciolata and the Indian smooth snake Wallophis brachyura. Also, the monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia) may be confused with Naja naja; however, the monocled cobra has an "O"-shaped pattern on the back of the hood, while the Indian cobra has a spectacles-shaped pattern on its hood. Confusions may exist with Caspian cobra (Naja oxiana), as some Indian cobra specimens without a hood mark are sometimes confused with N. oxiana, where these two species coexist in Pakistan and northern India, and are both the only true non-spitting cobras in Asia. Although some Caspian cobra specimens can be quite dark, they are never fully black like the Indian cobra. N. oxiana normally has several dark bands under the throat, whereas in the black phase of N. naja from Pakistan, almost the entire throat is black.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The Indian cobra is native to the Indian subcontinent and can be found throughout India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and southern Nepal. In India, it may or may not occur in the state of Assam, some parts of Kashmir, and it does not occur at high altitudes of over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and in extreme desert regions. In Pakistan, it is absent in most of Balochistan province, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, desert areas elsewhere and the Northern Areas. The most westerly record comes from Duki, Balochistan in Pakistan, while the most easterly record is from the Tangail District in Bangladesh. As this species has been observed in Drosh, in the Chitral Valley, it may also occur in the Kabul River Valley in extreme eastern Afghanistan. There's been at least one report of this species occurring in Bhutan.The Indian cobra inhabits a wide range of habitats throughout its geographical range. It can be found in dense or open forests, plains, agricultural lands (rice paddy fields, wheat crops), rocky terrain, wetlands, and it can even be found in heavily populated urban areas, such as villages and city outskirts, ranging from sea level to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in altitude. This species is absent from true desert regions. The Indian cobra is often found in the vicinity of water. Preferred hiding locations are holes in embankments, tree hollows, termite mounds, rock piles and small mammal dens.
+
+Reproduction
+Indian cobras are oviparous and lay their eggs between the months of April and July. The female snake usually lays between 10 and 30 eggs in rat holes or termite mounds and the eggs hatch 48 to 69 days later. The hatchlings measure between 20 and 30 centimetres (8 and 12 in) in length. The hatchlings are independent from birth and have fully functional venom glands.
+
+Venom
+The Indian cobra's venom mainly contains a powerful post-synaptic neurotoxin and cardiotoxin. The venom acts on the synaptic gaps of the nerves, thereby paralyzing muscles, and in severe bites leading to respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. The venom components include enzymes such as hyaluronidase that cause lysis and increase the spread of the venom. Envenomation symptoms may manifest between fifteen minutes and two hours following the bite.In mice, the preferred LD50 value is estimated to be 0.56 mg/kg via subcutaneous injection (SC). However, there's a wide range of potency for this species, ranging from 0.22 mg/kg (in Pakistani N. naja karachiensis) to 0.84 mg/kg (Indian specimens). Minton (1974) reported a value of 0.29 mg/kg SC for specimens from northwest India, along with an average venom yield per bite range between 170 and 250 mg (dry weight). In another study, the average venom yield was 169 mg and a maximum yield of 610 mg (both were dry weights of milked venom). Though it is responsible for many bites, only a small percentage are fatal if proper medical treatment and antivenom are given. Mortality rates for untreated bite victims can vary from case to case, depending upon the quantity of venom delivered by the individual involved. According to one study, it is approximately 20–30%, but in another study involving victims who were given prompt medical treatment, the mortality rate was only 9%. In Bangladesh, it is responsible for most of the snake bite cases.
+The Indian cobra is one of the big four snakes of South Asia which are responsible for the majority of human deaths by snakebite in Asia. Polyvalent serum is available for treating snakebites caused by these species. Zedoary, a local spice with a reputation for being effective against snakebite, has shown promise in experiments testing its activity against cobra venom.The venom of young cobras has been used as a substance of abuse in India, with cases of snake charmers being paid for providing bites from their snakes. Though this practice is now seen as outdated, symptoms of such abuse include loss of consciousness, euphoria, and sedation.As of November 2016, an antivenom is currently being developed by the Costa Rican Clodomiro Picado Institute, and the clinical trial phase is in Sri Lanka.
+
+Envenomation and Clinical Manifestation
+Indian cobras (N. naja) earliest clinical manifestation of systemic envenoming was drowsiness, which occurred in 60% of cases starting at 30 minutes (severe bites) post-envenomation to 3 hours post bite. Difficulty in opening the eyes, speaking, opening the mouth, moving the lips and swallowing followed 1 – 4 hours later. Ptosis developed 1.6 – 6 hours post bite in all cases of systemic envenoming. General weakness was usually the last symptom to develop, followed by paralysis of the muscles in severe cases. Three patients developed respiratory paralysis and were given artificial respiration; 2 recovered and 1 died. The fatal case developed respiratory paralysis about 10 minutes before reaching hospital and patient became comatose; tracheostomy and artificial respiration were performed immediately and antivenom was administered intravenously. Patient survived for 8 days but finally died. The outstanding feature of systemic envenoming is paralysis of the muscles due to rapid action of neurotoxin at the myoneural junction. Respiratory paralysis may occur within 3 – 4 hours in severe cases.
+Indian cobra bites are very common in many parts of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and throughout their range in South Asia. Hundreds of individual case reports have been published in books and journals over the past century. It is astonishing, however, that no large prospective study of patients with proven bites by N. naja has been undertaken and reported. In a survey of snakebites in India, 91.4% of cases were bitten by an unidentified snake. Of the 6.1% of identified venomous snakes responsible for bites, 40% were N. naja. As with bites by N. kaouthia and N. oxiana, patients may show manifestations of systemic neurotoxic envenoming or local envenoming or both, although N. oxiana bites produce noticeable symptoms of envenomation more rapidly and prominent neurotoxicity (severe flaccid paralysis) is more common amongst patients bitten by N. oxiana. A woman bitten by N. oxiana in northwestern Pakistan suffered prominent neurotoxicity and died while en route to the closest hospital nearly 50 minutes after envenomation (death occurred 45–50 minutes post envenomation).Local necrosis was described after cobra bites in India in the 1860s and up to the 1920s but this was apparently forgotten until Reid's work in Malaysia. Severe local pain and swelling may begin almost immediately after the bite. The pain persists while swelling and tenderness extend up the bitten limb, sometimes spreading to the adjacent trunk. Darkening of the necrotic area of skin and blistering are apparent by about the third day with a characteristic putrid smell typical of necrotic cobra bites in Africa and Asia. Early systemic symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and a feeling of lassitude, drowsiness and intoxication. "Many subjects describe their drowsiness as if they had imbibed large quantities of some potent intoxicant." Neurotoxic symptoms begin with ptosis (the patient puckers their brow, contracting the frontalis muscle, attempting to raise the eyelids or tilts the head back so as to see beneath the drooping upper lids), profuse viscid saliva, inability to clear secretions, sagging of the jaw or inability to open the mouth and progression to respiratory paralysis. It is not clear from the available literature whether the proportion of patients developing neurotoxicity and necrosis is different from that in patients bitten by N. kaouthia.Between 1968 - 1974, clinical observations were made on 20 cases of cobra bites in Thailand. Most of the patients came from the rural health centres and the cobra responsible for the bite was identified as Naja naja (Indian cobra). All 20 patients developed systemic envenoming. Antivenom for cobra bite was administered intravenously together with symptomatic and supportive treatment; 19 patients survived and 1 died from cerebral anoxia.The outstanding feature of systemic envenoming is paralysis of the muscles due to rapid action of neurotoxin at the myoneural junction. Respiratory paralysis may occur within 3 – 4 hours in severe cases. Drowsiness is the first symptom, but it is difficult to assess because it is a subjective symptom. All of the cases developed ptosis 1.5 – 6 hours post bite. Since ptosis is easy to detect it is a valuable clinical sign for early diagnosis of systemic envenoming due to cobra bite. Restlessness, irregular breathing, and mental confusion usually developed before respiratory paralysis, indicating that they are significant early clinical signs of impending respiratory failure. It is important for clinicians to recognize the early signs of respiratory failure. Cases which show signs of systemic envenoming require antivenom. If some hours have elapsed since the bite the antivenom may be less successful. In general, 100 ml. of antivenom should be given in the first 30 minutes. If there is no distinct clinical improvement within 1 hour the dose should be repeated. Tracheostomy and artificial respiration are essential in cases of respiratory failure. Necrosis is the outstanding feature of local envenoming. Most patients were bitten on foot while working in rice fields. Authors recommended the wearing of shoes or boots while working, and that persons bitten by a snake apply a firm ligature above the bite and go to the nearest health centre or hospital.
+
+Genome
+Previous cytogenetic analysis revealed the Indian cobra has a diploid karyotype of 38 chromosomes, compromising seven pairs of macro-chromosomes, 11 pairs of micro-chromosomes and one pair of sexual chromosomes. Using next-generation sequencing and emerging genomic technologies, a de novo high-quality N. naja reference genome was published in 2020. The estimated size of this haploid genome is of 1.79 Gb, which has 43.22% of repetitive content and 40.46% of GC content. Specifically, macro-chromosomes, which represent 88% of the genome, have 39.8% of GC content, while micro-chromosomes, that represent only 12% of the genome, contain 43.5% of GC content.
+
+Synteny analysis
+Synteny analysis between the Indian cobra and the prairie rattlesnake genome revealed large syntenic blocks within macro, micro, and sexual chromosomes. This study allowed the observation of chromosomic fusion and fission events that are consistent with the difference in chromosome number between these species. For example, chromosome 4 of the Indian cobra shares syntenic regions with chromosomes 3 and 5 of the rattlesnake genome, indicating a possible fusion event. Besides, chromosomes 5 and 6 of the Indian cobra are syntenic to rattlesnake chromosome 4, indicating a possible fusion event between these chromosomes.On the other hand, by performing whole-genome synteny comparison between the Indian cobra and other reptilian and avian genomes, it was revealed the presence of large syntenic regions between macro, micro, and sexual chromosomes across species from these classes, which indicates changes in chromosome organization between reptile and avian genomes and is consistent with their evolutionary trajectories.
+
+Gene organization
+Using protein homology information and expression data from different tissues of the cobra, 23,248 protein-coding genes, 31,447 transcripts, and 31,036 proteins, which included alternatively spliced products, where predicted from this genome. 85% of these predicted proteins contained start and stop codon, and 12% contained an N-terminal secretion signal sequence, which is an important feature in terms of toxins secretion from venom glands.
+
+Venom gland genes
+Further studies on gene prediction and annotation of the Indian cobra genome identified 139 toxin genes from 33 protein families. These included families like three-finger toxins (3FTxs), snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMP), cysteine-rich secretory venom proteins and other toxins including natriuretic peptide, C-type lectin, snake venom serine proteinase (SVSP), Kunitz and venom complement-activating gene families, group I phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and one cobra venom factor (CVF) gene. These major toxin gene families in the Indian cobra are mostly found in the snake's macro-chromosomes, which differs from Crotalus virides (rattlesnake) that presents them in its micro-chromosomes, and is indicative of the differences in their venom evolution. Besides, comparison of venom gland genes between the Indian cobra and C. virides, identified 15 toxin gene families that are unique to the Indian cobra, which included cathelicidins and phospholipase B-like toxins.
+
+Venom gland transcriptome and toxin gene identification
+Analysis of transcriptomic data from 14 different tissues of the Indian cobra identified 19,426 expressed genes. Out of these genes, 12,346 belonged to the venom gland transcriptome, which included 139 genes from 33 toxin gene families. Additionally, differential expression analysis revealed that 109 genes from 15 different toxin gene families were significantly up-regulated (fold change > 2) in the venom gland and this included 19 genes that were exclusively expressed in this gland.These 19 venom specific toxins (VSTs) encode the core effector toxin proteins and include 9 three-finger toxins (out of which six are neurotoxins, one cytotoxin, one cardiotoxin and one muscarinic toxin), six snake venom metalloproteinases, one nerve growth factor, two venom Kunitz serine proteases and a cysteine-rich secretory venom protein. Additionally to these VSTs, other accessory venom proteins (AVPs) were also found to be highly expressed in the venom gland such as: cobra venom factor (CVF), coagulation factors, protein disulfide isomerases, natriuretic peptides, hyaluronidases, phospholipases, L-amino acid oxidase (LAAO), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and 5' nucleotidases.This transcriptomic data together with the information provided by the high quality Indian cobra genome generated by Susyamohan et al., 2020 suggest that these VSTs together with AVPs form the core toxic effector components of this venomous snake, which induce muscular paralysis, cardiovascular dysfunction, nausea, blurred vision and hemorrhage after snake bite.The identification of these genes coding for core toxic effector components from the Indian cobra venom may allow the development of recombinant antivenoms based in neutralizing antibodies for VST proteins.
+
+Popular culture
+There are numerous myths about cobras in India, including the idea that they mate with rat snakes.Rudyard Kipling's short story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" features a pair of Indian cobras named Nag and Nagaina, the Hindi words for male and female snake, respectively.
+
+Hinduism
+The Indian cobra is greatly respected and feared, and even has its own place in Hindu mythology as a powerful deity. The Hindu god Shiva is often depicted with a cobra called Vasuki, coiled around his neck, symbolizing his mastery over "maya" or the world-illusion. Vishnu is usually portrayed as reclining on the coiled body of Adishesha, the Preeminent Serpent, a giant snake deity with multiple cobra heads. Cobras are also worshipped during the Hindu festival of Nag Panchami and Nagula Chavithi. When killed by humans, it is usually cremated with milk and ghee along with a cloth by Hindus.
+
+Snake charming
+The Indian cobra's celebrity comes from its popularity with snake charmers. The cobra's dramatic threat posture makes for a unique spectacle, as it appears to sway to the tune of a snake charmer's flute. Snake charmers with their cobras in a wicker basket are a common sight in many parts of India only during the Nag Panchami or Naagula Chavithi festival. The cobra is deaf to the snake charmer's pipe, but follows the visual cue of the moving pipe and it can sense the ground vibrations from the snake charmer's tapping. Sometimes, for the sake of safety, the cobra will either be venomoid or the venom will have been milked prior to the snake charmer's act. The snake charmer may then sell this venom at a very high price. In the past Indian snake charmers also conducted cobra and mongoose fights. These gory fight shows, in which the snake was usually killed, are now illegal.
+
+Heraldry
+Indian cobras were often a heraldic element in the official symbols of certain ancient princely states of India such as Gwalior, Kolhapur, Pal Lahara, Gondal, Khairagarh and Kalahandi, among others.
+
+Gallery
+References
+External links
+
+Serpents in Indian culture An article on Biodiversity of India website.
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+The Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia.Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild population has declined by at least 50% since the 1930s to 1940s, i.e. three elephant generations. The Asian elephant is threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.
+
+Characteristics
+In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level. Indian elephants reach a shoulder height of between 2 and 3.2 m (6.6 and 10.5 ft), weigh between 2,000 and 5,000 kg (4,400 and 11,000 lb), and have 19 pairs of ribs. Their skin colour is lighter than that of E. m. maximus with smaller patches of depigmentation, but darker than that of E. m. sumatranus. Females are usually smaller than males, and have short or no tusks.The largest Indian elephant was 3.43 m (11.3 ft) high at the shoulder. In 1985, two large elephant bulls were spotted for the first time in Bardia National Park, and named Raja Gaj and Kanchha. They roamed the park area together and occasionally visited female herds. Raja Gaj stood 3.43 m (11.3 ft) tall at the shoulder and had a massive body weight. His forehead and domes were more prominent than in other Asian bull elephants. His appearance has been compared to that of a Stegodon and mammoth due to his high bi-domed shaped head.Indian elephants have smaller ears, but relatively broader skulls and larger trunks than African elephants. Toes are large and broad. Unlike their African cousins, their abdomen is proportionate with their body weight but the African elephant has a large abdomen as compared to the skulls.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The Indian elephant is native to mainland Asia: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is regionally extinct in Pakistan. It inhabits grasslands, dry deciduous, moist deciduous, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. In the early 1990s, the estimated wild populations included:
+27,785–31,368 in India, where populations are restricted to four general areas:in the Northwest – at the foot of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, ranging from Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary to the Yamuna River;
+in the Northeast – from the eastern border of Nepal in northern West Bengal through western Assam along the Himalaya foothills as far as the Mishmi Hills, extending into eastern Arunachal Pradesh, the plains of upper Assam, and the foothills of Nagaland, to the Garo Hills of Meghalaya through the Khasi Hills, to parts of the lower Brahmaputra plains and Karbi Plateau; isolated herds occur in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and in the Barak Valley districts of Assam:
+in the central part – in Odisha, Jharkhand, and in the southern part of West Bengal, with some animals wandering into Chhattisgarh;
+in the South – eight populations are fragmented from each other in northern Karnataka, in the crestline of Karnataka–Western Ghats, in Bhadra–Malnad, in Brahmagiri–Nilgiris–Eastern Ghats, in Nilambur–Silent Valley–Coimbatore, in Anamalai–Parambikulam, in Periyar–Srivilliputhur, and one in Agasthyamalai;
+100–125 in Nepal, where their range is restricted to a few protected areas in the Terai along the border with India. In 2002, estimates ranged from 106 to 172 resident and migratory elephants, with most of them in Bardia National Park;
+150–250 in Bangladesh, where only isolated populations survive in the Chittagong Hills;
+250–500 in Bhutan, where their range is limited to protected areas in the south along the border with India;
+4,000–5,000 in Myanmar, where populations are highly fragmented, and occur in the northern ranges and Arakan Yoma in western, Pegu Yoma of central Myanmar, Tenasserim and Shan State;2,500–3,200 in Thailand, mainly in the mountains along the border with Myanmar, with smaller fragmented populations occurring in the peninsula in the south;
+2,100–3,100 in Malaysia;
+500–1,000 Laos, where they remain widely but patchily distributed in forested areas, both in the highlands and lowlands;
+200–250 in China, where they survive only in the prefectures of Xishuangbanna, Simao, and Lincang of southern Yunnan;
+250–600 in Cambodia, where they primarily inhabit the mountains of the south-west and in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri Provinces;
+70–150 in the southern parts of Vietnam.
+
+Elephant corridors
+There are a total of 138 state elephant corridors, 28 interstate corridors and 17 international state corridors where Indian elephant populations are found. The table below enlists the corridors.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+Elephants are classified as megaherbivores and consume up to 150 kg (330 lb) of plant matter per day. They are generalist feeders, and both grazers and browsers. In a study area of 1,130 km2 (440 sq mi) in southern India, elephants were recorded to feed on 112 different plant species, most commonly of the order Malvales, and the legume, palm, sedge and true grass families. They graze on the tall grasses, but the portion consumed varies with season. When the new flush appears in April, they remove the tender blades in small clumps. Later, when grasses are higher than 0.5 m (1.6 ft), they uproot entire clumps, dust them skilfully and consume the fresh leave tops, but discard the roots. When grasses are mature in autumn, they clean and consume the succulent basal portions with the roots, and discard the fibrous blades. From the bamboos, they eat seedlings, culms and lateral shoots. During the dry season from January to April, they mainly browse on both leaves and twigs preferring the fresh foliage, and consume thorn bearing shoots of acacia species without any obvious discomfort. They feed on the bark of white thorn and other flowering plants, and consume the fruits of wood apple, tamarind, kumbhi and date palm.
+In Nepal's Bardia National Park, elephants consume large amounts of the floodplain grass, particularly during the monsoon season. They browse more in the dry season with bark constituting a major part of their diet in the cool part of that season. During a study in a tropical moist mixed deciduous forested area of 160 km2 (62 sq mi) in Assam, elephants were observed to feed on about 20 species of grasses, plants and trees. Grasses such as Imperata cylindrica and Leersia hexandra constituted by far the most predominant component of their diet.
+The movement and habitat utilisation patterns of an elephant population were studied in southern India during 1981–83 within a 1,130 km2 (440 sq mi) study area. The vegetation types of this area encompasses dry thorn forest at 250 to 400 m (820 to 1,310 ft), deciduous forest at 400 to 1,400 m (1,300 to 4,600 ft), stunted evergreen forest and grassland at 1,400 to 1,800 m (4,600 to 5,900 ft). Five different elephant clans, each consisting of between 50 and 200 individuals had home ranges of between 105 km2 (41 sq mi) and 320 km2 (120 sq mi), which overlapped. They preferred habitat where water was available and food plants were palatable. During the dry months of January to April, they congregated at high densities of up to five individuals per km2 in river valleys where browse plants had a much higher protein content than the coarse tall grasses on hill slopes. With the onset of rains in May, they dispersed over a wider area at lower densities, largely into the tall grass forests, to feed on the fresh grasses, which then had a high protein value. During the second wet season from September to December, when the tall grasses became fibrous, they moved into lower elevation short grass open forests. The normal movement pattern could be upset during years of adverse environmental conditions. However, the movement pattern of elephants in this region has not basically changed for over a century, as inferred from descriptions recorded during the 19th century.In the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve three elephant clans had overall home ranges of 562 km2 (217 sq mi), 670 km2 (260 sq mi) and 799 km2 (308 sq mi) in the beginning of the 1990s. During three years of survey, their annual home ranges overlapped to a large extent with only minor shifts in the home ranges between years.
+
+Conservation
+The pre-eminent threats to Asian elephants today are habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, which are driven by an expanding human population, and lead in turn to increasing conflicts between humans and elephants when elephants eat or trample crops. Loss of significant extents of elephant range and suitable habitat continues; their free movement is impeded by reservoirs, hydroelectric projects and associated canals, irrigation dams, numerous pockets of cultivation and plantations, highways, railway lines, mining and industrial development.Poaching of elephants for ivory is a serious threat in some parts of Asia. Poaching of tuskers impacts on sex ratios that become highly female biased; genetic variation is reduced, and fecundity and recruitment may decline. Poaching has dramatically skewed adult sex ratios in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, where between 1969 and 1989 the adult male:female sex ratio changed from 1:6 to 1:122.Elephant conservation in northern West Bengal has been set back due to high-levels of human–elephant conflict and elephant mortality owing to railway accidents. The railway track between Siliguri and Alipurduar passes through 74 km (46 mi) of various forest divisions. Every day, 20 trains run on this track at high speeds. Elephants that pass through from one forest patch to another dash against the trains and die. A total of 39 dead elephants were reported during the period of 1958 to 2008, of which ten were reported killed between 2004 and 2008.In Bangladesh, forested areas that served as prime elephant habitat have undergone drastic reduction, which had a severe impact on the wild elephant population. Habitat loss and fragmentation is attributed to the increasing human population and its need for fuel wood and timber. Illegal timber extraction plays a significant role in deforestation and habitat degradation. As a result of the shrinking habitat, elephants have become more and more prone to coming into direct conflict with humans.In Myanmar, demand for elephant ivory for making tourist items is higher than ever before. The military government shows little interest in reducing the ivory trade, while the elephants in the country have become the silent victims. After the worldwide ivory ban, prices of raw ivory in the country skyrocketed from $76 a kilo for large tusks in 1989/90 to over $200 a kilo by the mid-1990s. Foreign tourists are responsible for the massive rise in price of ivory tusks which fuels the illegal killing of elephants. There is also a sizeable trade in ivory chopsticks and carvings, smuggled by traders from Myanmar into China.Young wild-born elephants are removed from their mothers in Myanmar for use in Thailand's tourism industry. Mothers are often killed in the process, and calves are placed alongside unrelated cows to suggest they are with their mothers. The calves are often subjected to a 'breaking in' process, which may involve being tied up, confined, starved, beaten and tortured, as a result of which two-thirds may perish.Electrocution due to contact with electric poles and transformers has been reported as another major threat to elephants in India, with an estimated 461 elephants having been electrocuted between 2009 and 2017.For disease risk, see Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus.
+
+Project Elephant
+Project Elephant was launched in 1992 by the Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forests to provide financial and technical support of wildlife management efforts by states for their free ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants. The project aims to ensure long-term survival of viable conservation reliant populations of elephants in their natural habitats by protecting the elephants, their habitats and migration corridors. Other goals of Project Elephant are supporting research of the ecology and management of elephants, creating conservation awareness among local people, providing improved veterinary care for captive elephants.
+
+Culture
+The Indian elephant is a cultural symbol throughout its range in Asia. It appears in various Asian religious traditions and mythologies. The elephants are treated positively and are sometimes revered as deities, often symbolising strength and wisdom. In Thailand, it is the national animal. In India, it has been designated the national heritage animal (the tiger being the national animal). The Indian elephant is also the state animal of the Indian states of Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala and Odisha. It is the national animal of Laos.
+
+See also
+Elephants in Thailand
+Elephants in Kerala culture
+Sri Lankan elephant
+Sumatran elephant
+Borneo elephant
+Syrian elephant
+Javan elephant
+Mela shikar
+African elephant
+List of individual elephants
+
+References
+Further reading
+Sanderson, G. P. (1907). Thirteen years among the wild beasts of India: their haunts and habits from personal observation: with an account of the modes of capturing and taming elephants. John Grant, Edinburgh. 8th edition in 2000 by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi. ISBN 81-206-1464-X. ISBN 978-81-206-1464-2
+
+External links
+
+Animal Diversity Web: Elephas maximus Asiatic elephant
+Honolulu Zoo: Indian Elephant
+Paintings of Indian Elephants
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+The Irish Setter (Irish: sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term Irish Setter is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred Red Setter recognised by the Field Dog Stud Book.
+
+Description
+Appearance
+The coat is moderately long, silky, and of a red or chestnut colour. It requires frequent brushing to maintain its condition and keep it mat-free.  The undercoat is abundant in winter weather, and the top coat is fine. Their coats should also feather in places such as the tail, ears, chest, legs, and body. Irish Setters range in height from 24 to 28 inches (61 to 71 cm), males weigh 65 to 75 lb (29 to 34 kg) and females 55 to 65 lb (25 to 29 kg). The FCI Breed Standard for the Irish Setter stipulates males stand 23 to 26.5 inches (58 to 67 cm) tall, and females be 21.5 to 24.5 inches (55 to 62 cm) tall.
+Irish Setters are deep chested dogs with small waists. An Irish Setter's life expectancy tends to be around 11 to 12 years.
+
+Temperament
+Irish Setters get along well with children and other dogs and will greet visitors enthusiastically.  Even though they do well with household pets, small animals may pose a problem for this breed, as they are a hunting breed.  Some Irish Setters may have problems with cats in the house, and may be too boisterous with small children.  As the FCI, ANKC and UK Standards state, the breed should be "Demonstrably affectionate."  As a result, Irish Setters make excellent companion animals and family pets.Irish Setters are an active breed, and require long, daily walks and off-lead running in wide, open spaces.  They are, however, a breed with a tendency to 'play deaf,' so careful training on mastering the recall should be undertaken before allowing them off-lead.
+
+Irish Setters enjoy having a job to do. Lack of activity will lead to a bored, destructive, or even hyperactive dog. This is not a breed that can be left alone in the backyard for long periods of time, nor should they be. Irish Setters thrive on constant human companionship. Irish Setters respond swiftly to positive training and are highly intelligent.
+Though they are usually alert to their surroundings, Irish Setters are not well-suited as guard dogs, as they are not a naturally assertive breed.
+Irish Setters are also widely used as therapy dogs in schools and hospitals. Therapy dogs are permitted in hospitals with special permission and can visit patients on the assigned floors. In schools the dogs may be used to create a calming and relaxed environment. A child may read to a dog without being corrected or judged.
+
+Irish Setter
+
+History
+One of the first references to the 'Setter,' or setting dog, in literature can be found in Caius's De Canibus Britannicus, which was published in 1570 (with a revised version published in 1576).  Translated from the original Latin, the text reads:
+
+The Dogge called the Setter, in Latine, Index: Another sort of Dogges be there, serviceable for fowling, making no noise either with foote or with tongue, whiles they follow the game.  They attend diligently upon their Master and frame their condition to such beckes, motions and gestures, as it shall please him to exhibite and make, either going forward, drawing backeward, inclinding to the right hand, or yealding toward the left.  When he hath founde the byrde, he keepeth sure and fast silence, he stayeth his steppes and will proceed no further, and weth a close, covert watching eye, layeth his belly to the grounde and so creepth forward like a worme.  When he approaches neere to the place where the byrde is, he layes him downe, and with a marcke of his pawes, betrayeth the place of the byrdes last abode, whereby it is supposed that this kind of dogge is calles in Index, Setter, being in deede a name most consonant and agreeable to his quality."
+It would be incorrect to assume the dog described above in any way resembles the Irish Setter (or any setter) as we know the breed today. Caius was referring to a type of setting spaniel, most likely now extinct. The description of the work undertaken by this early pillar of the breed resembles the working behaviour of modern Irish Setters. Of this early dog, Caius went on to write: "The most part of theyre skinnes are white, and if they are marcked with any spottes, they are commonly red, and somewhat great therewithall." If this is the case, it is safe to assume the solid red colouring of today's Irish Setter came about by selective breeding practices.
+Further reference to setters in early literature can be found in The Country Farme by Richard Surflet and Gervase Markham, published in 1616.  They wrote: "There is also another sort of land spannyels which are called Setters."It is clear that, by the early 18th Century, the type of dog known as the 'setter' had come into its own right. It is also clear the Irish had begun actively breeding their own type. For example, the de Freyne family of French Park began keeping detailed stud records in 1793. Other prominent landed Irish gentry also known to have been breeding setter lines at the same time include Lord Clancarty, Lord Dillon, and the Marquis of Waterford.
+It was noted as early as 1845 that setters in Ireland were predominantly either red, or, according to Youatt, "...very red, or red and white, or lemon coloured, or white patched with deep chestnut." Clearly, the preference for a solid red-coloured dog was having an effect on the appearance of the typical Irish-bred setter.
+The breed standard for the modern Irish Setter was first drawn up by the Irish Red Setter Club in Dublin and approved on 29 March 1886. It consisted of a 100-point scale, with a given number of points awarded for each of the dog's physical attributes. The points system was later dropped; however, aside from some minor changes, the standard remains largely unchanged today in most countries where the breed is formally recognised.
+
+History
+
+Uses
+The Irish Setter was bred for hunting, specifically for setting or locating and pointing upland gamebirds. They are a tireless, wide-ranging hunter, and well-suited to fields and wet or dry moorland terrain. Using their excellent sense of smell to locate the mark (or bird), the Irish Setter will then hold a pointing position, indicating the direction in which the bird lies hidden.
+The Irish Setter was brought to the United States in the early 19th century.
+In 1874, the American Field put together the Field Dog Stud Book and registry of dogs in the United States was born. This Field Dog Stud Book is the oldest pure-bred registry in the United States. At that time, dogs could be registered even when bred from sires and dams of different breeds. At about this time, the Llewellin Setter was bred using blood lines from the Lavarack breeding of English Setter and, among other breeds, bloodlines from native Irish Setters. Around the same time, the red Irish Setter became a favourite in the dog show ring.
+Not all Irish Setters of the late 19th century were red, the American Kennel Club registered Irish Setters in a myriad of colours. Frank Forester, a 19th-century sports writer, described the Irish Setter as follows: "The points of the Irish Setter are more bony, angular, and wiry frame, a longer head, a less silky and straighter coat that those of the English. His colour ought to be a deep orange-red and white, a common mark is a stripe of white between the eyes and a white ring around the neck, white stockings, and a white tage to the tail."
+The Setter that was completely red, however, was preferred in the show ring and that is the direction that the breed took. Between 1874 and 1948, the breed produced 760 conformation show champions, but only five field champions.
+In the 1940s, Field and Stream magazine put into writing what was already a well-known fact. The Irish Setter was disappearing from the field and an outcross would be necessary to resurrect the breed as a working dog. Sports Afield chimed in with a similar call for an outcross. Ned LaGrande of Pennsylvania spent a small fortune purchasing examples of the last of the working Irish Setters in America and importing dogs from overseas. With the blessing of the Field Dog Stud Book, he began an outcross to red and white field champion English Setters. The National Red Setter Field Trial Club was created to test the dogs and to encourage breeding toward a dog that would successfully compete with the white setters. Thus the modern Red Setter was born and the controversy begun.
+Prior to 1975, a relationship existed between the American Kennel Club and the Field Dog Stud Book in which registration with one body qualified a dog for registration with the other. In 1975 the Irish Setter Club of America petitioned the American Kennel Club to deny reciprocal registration, and the request was granted. It is claimed, by critics of the move, that the pressure was placed on the American Kennel Club by bench show enthusiasts who were unappreciative of the outcrossing efforts of the National Red Setter Field Trial Club, as well as some field trialers from the American Kennel Club after a series of losses to Field Dog Stud book red setters. Working Irish Setter kennels today field champion dogs that claim lines from both the Field Dog Stud Book and the American Kennel Club.
+
+Irish Setter
+
+Working Red Setter
+The modern Red Setter is smaller than its bench-bred cousin. While show dogs often reach 70 lb (32 kg), the Working Red Setter is generally around 45 lb (20 kg). The coat is less silky and the feathering is generally shorter. The colour is lighter, with the working dog found in russet and fawn colours. The Red Setter often has patches of white on its face and chest as the Irish Setter of old did. There have been efforts to rekindle the field abilities of the true type Irish by a handful of dedicated breeders in California and elsewhere with some success.  More than a dozen American Kennel Club Dual Champion Irish Setters have been made, evidence of the dog's native ability when proper traits are selectively sought in breeding.
+
+Health
+Irish Setters tend to be a relatively healthy breed. Problems that have been noted in Irish Setters include
+hip dysplasia, cancer, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), epilepsy, entropion, hypothyroidism, hyperosteodystrophy, gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat), osteosarcoma, Von Willebrand's disease, patent ductus arteriosus, canine Leukocyte adhesion deficiency (CLAD) and celiac disease.
+Irish Setters are now one of the few breeds for which genetic tests have been developed to detect the presence of both CLAD and PRA (RCD-1).
+Gluten intolerance in Irish Setters is a naturally occurring genetic disorder that is the result of a single autosomal recessive locus. At around 6 months of age, Irish Setters with this condition will develop an increased immune cell presence and a decrease in absorption within the small intestine when fed a gluten containing diet. These effects lead to further damage of the small intestine as well as malnutrition and diarrhea. Irish Setters that are fed a gluten free diet have been shown to be exempt from any effects associated with gluten intolerance.
+
+Miscellaneous
+Ireland's national bus and coach operator Bus Éireann uses the Irish Setter as its corporate logo.
+
+Notable setters
+Alex the Dog from the Stroh's beer commercials (half Irish Setter, half Golden Retriever)
+Big Red, book and film character
+Chauncey, fictional dog of Duck Phillips in Mad Men
+Garry Owen, pet of Maine Governor Percival Proctor Baxter
+King Timahoe (1968–1979), pet of Richard Nixon, a 56th birthday gift from his White House staff in January 1969.
+Kojak, fictional dog in the Stephen King novel The Stand
+Mike, pet of US President Harry Truman
+Milord, a red Setter which was Alexander II, Tsar of Russia's favourite dog
+Molly, a red setter featured in the John Dies at the End series.
+Peggy Brown, a female Irish setter, the pet of Finnish Air Force Fighter Squadron 24 in World War II
+Plunkett, the only Irish setter depicted in George Earl's mythical painting of "A Field Trial in the Eighties"
+Redbeard, owned by younger Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock
+Seamus, owned by Mitt Romney.
+Shamus, an anthropomorphic male Irish setter in Mary Poppins Returns.
+Shannon, pet of Beach Boy Carl Wilson, whose death became the subject of the 1976 song by a friend, Henry Gross.
+T-Bone, mascot for the Pace University Setters sports teams.
+Thunder, first mascot for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds sports teams.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+
+References
+Further reading
+Raymond O'Dwyer. (2008). The Irish Red Setter: Its History, Character and Training. Cork University Press. ISBN 978-0-9535353-9-2.
+
+External links
+
+Irish Setter at Curlie
+Irish Setter Dogs
+ Irish Setters UK & Ireland Website - www.irishsetter.org.uk
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+The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 m (9.8 ft), and weighing up to 70 kg (150 lb).
+As a result of their size, Komodo dragons are apex predators, and dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. Komodo dragons' group behavior in hunting is exceptional in the reptile world. The diet of Komodo dragons mainly consists of Javan rusa (Rusa timorensis), though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion. Komodo dragons also occasionally attack humans.
+Mating begins between May and August, and the eggs are laid in September; as many as 20 eggs are deposited at a time in an abandoned megapode nest or in a self-dug nesting hole. The eggs are incubated for seven to eight months, hatching in April, when insects are most plentiful. Young Komodo dragons are vulnerable and dwell in trees to avoid predators, such as cannibalistic adults. They take 8 to 9 years to mature and are estimated to live up to 30 years.
+Komodo dragons were first recorded by Western scientists in 1910. Their large size and fearsome reputation make them popular zoo exhibits. In the wild, their range has contracted due to human activities, and is likely to contract further from the effects of climate change; due to this, they are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. They are protected under Indonesian law, and Komodo National Park was founded in 1980 to aid protection efforts.
+
+Taxonomic history
+Komodo dragons were first documented by Europeans in 1910, when rumors of a "land crocodile" reached Lieutenant van Steyn van Hensbroek of the Dutch colonial administration. Widespread notoriety came after 1912, when Peter Ouwens, the director of the Zoological Museum of Bogor, Java, published a paper on the topic after receiving a photo and a skin from the lieutenant, as well as two other specimens from a collector.The first two live Komodo dragons to arrive in Europe were exhibited in the Reptile House at London Zoo when it opened in 1927. Joan Beauchamp Procter made some of the earliest observations of these animals in captivity and she demonstrated their behaviour at a scientific meeting of the Zoological Society of London in 1928.The Komodo dragon was the driving factor for an expedition to Komodo Island by W. Douglas Burden in 1926. After returning with 12 preserved specimens and two live ones, this expedition provided the inspiration for the 1933 movie King Kong. It was also Burden who coined the common name "Komodo dragon". Three of his specimens were stuffed and are still on display in the American Museum of Natural History.The Dutch island administration, realizing the limited number of individuals in the wild, soon outlawed sport hunting and heavily limited the number of individuals taken for scientific study. Collecting expeditions ground to a halt with the occurrence of World War II, not resuming until the 1950s and 1960s, when studies examined the Komodo dragon's feeding behavior, reproduction, and body temperature. At around this time, an expedition was planned in which a long-term study of the Komodo dragon would be undertaken. This task was given to the Auffenberg family, who stayed on Komodo Island for 11 months in 1969. During their stay, Walter Auffenberg and his assistant Putra Sastrawan captured and tagged more than 50 Komodo dragons.Research from the Auffenberg expedition proved enormously influential in raising Komodo dragons in captivity. Research after that of the Auffenberg family has shed more light on the nature of the Komodo dragon, with biologists such as Claudio Ciofi continuing to study the creatures.
+
+Etymology
+The Komodo dragon is also sometimes known as the Komodo monitor or the Komodo Island monitor in scientific literature, although these names are uncommon. To the natives of Komodo Island, it is referred to as ora, buaya darat ('land crocodile'), or biawak raksasa ('giant monitor').
+
+Evolutionary history
+Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA shows the Komodo dragon to be the closest relative (sister taxon) of the Australian lace monitor (V. varius), with their common ancestor diverging from a lineage that gave rise to the crocodile monitor (Varanus salvadorii) of New Guinea. A 2021 study showed that during the late Miocene, the ancestors of Komodo dragons had hybridized with the common ancestor of Australian sand monitors (including V. spenceri, V. gouldii, V. rosenbergi and V. panoptes).Fossils from Queensland demonstrate that the Komodo dragon was once present in Australia, with fossils spanning from the Early Pliocene (~3.8 million years ago) to the Middle Pleistocene. The oldest records of the Komodo dragon on Flores date to around 1.4 million years ago, during the Early Pleistocene. Genetic analysis indicates that the population from northern Flores is genetically distinct from other populations of the species.
+
+Description
+In the wild, adult Komodo dragons usually weigh around 70 kg (150 lb), although captive specimens often weigh more. According to Guinness World Records, an average adult male will weigh 79 to 91 kg (174 to 201 lb) and measure 2.59 m (8.5 ft), while an average female will weigh 68 to 73 kg (150 to 161 lb) and measure 2.29 m (7.5 ft). The largest verified specimen in captive was 3.13 m (10.3 ft) long and weighed 166 kg (366 lb), including its undigested food. The largest wild specimen had a length 3.04 m (10.0 ft), a snout-vent length (SVL) 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) and a mass of 81.5 kg (180 lb) excluding stomach contents. The heaviest reached a mass in 87.4 kg (193 lb).  The study noted that weights greater than 100 kg (220 lb) were possible but only after the animal had consumed a large meal.
+The Komodo dragon has a tail as long as its body, as well as about 60 frequently replaced, serrated teeth that can measure up to 2.5 cm (1 in) in length. Its saliva is frequently blood-tinged because its teeth are almost completely covered by gingival tissue that is naturally lacerated during feeding. It also has a long, yellow, deeply forked tongue. Komodo dragon skin is reinforced by armoured scales, which contain tiny bones called osteoderms that function as a sort of natural chain-mail. The only areas lacking osteoderms on the head of the adult Komodo dragon are around the eyes, nostrils, mouth margins, and pineal eye, a light-sensing organ on the top of the head. Where lizards typically have one or two varying patterns or shapes of osteoderms, komodos have four: rosette, platy, dendritic, and vermiform. This rugged hide makes Komodo dragon skin a poor source of leather. Additionally, these osteoderms become more extensive and variable in shape as the Komodo dragon ages, ossifying more extensively as the lizard grows. These osteoderms are absent in hatchlings and juveniles, indicating that the natural armor develops as a product of age and competition between adults for protection in intraspecific combat over food and mates.
+
+Senses
+As with other varanids, Komodo dragons have only a single ear bone, the stapes, for transferring vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the cochlea. This arrangement means they are likely restricted to sounds in the 400 to 2,000 hertz range, compared to humans who hear between 20 and 20,000 hertz. They were formerly thought to be deaf when a study reported no agitation in wild Komodo dragons in response to whispers, raised voices, or shouts. This was disputed when London Zoo employee Joan Procter trained a captive specimen to come out to feed at the sound of her voice, even when she could not be seen.The Komodo dragon can see objects as far away as 300 m (980 ft), but because its retinas only contain cones, it is thought to have poor night vision. It can distinguish colours, but has poor visual discrimination of stationary objects.As with many other reptiles, the Komodo dragon primarily relies on its tongue to detect, taste, and smell stimuli, with the vomeronasal sense using the Jacobson's organ, rather than using the nostrils. With the help of a favorable wind and its habit of swinging its head from side to side as it walks, a Komodo dragon may be able to detect carrion from 4–9.5 km (2.5–5.9 mi) away. It only has a few taste buds in the back of its throat. Its scales, some of which are reinforced with bone, have sensory plaques connected to nerves to facilitate its sense of touch. The scales around the ears, lips, chin, and soles of the feet may have three or more sensory plaques.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+The Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places and typically lives in dry, open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most active in the day, although it exhibits some nocturnal activity. Komodo dragons are solitary, coming together only to breed and eat. They are capable of running rapidly in brief sprints up to 20 km/h (12 mph), diving up to 4.5 m (15 ft), and climbing trees proficiently when young through use of their strong claws. To catch out-of-reach prey, the Komodo dragon may stand on its hind legs and use its tail as a support. As it matures, its claws are used primarily as weapons, as its great size makes climbing impractical.For shelter, the Komodo dragon digs holes that can measure from 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 9.8 ft) wide with its powerful forelimbs and claws. Because of its large size and habit of sleeping in these burrows, it is able to conserve body heat throughout the night and minimise its basking period the morning after. The Komodo dragon stays in the shade during the hottest part of the day and hunts in the afternoon. These special resting places, usually located on ridges with cool sea breezes, are marked with droppings and are cleared of vegetation. They serve as strategic locations from which to ambush deer.
+
+Diet
+Komodo dragons are apex predators. They are carnivores; although they have been considered as eating mostly carrion, they will frequently ambush live prey with a stealthy approach. When suitable prey arrives near a dragon's ambush site, it will suddenly charge at the animal at high speeds and go for the underside or the throat.Komodo dragons do not deliberately allow the prey to escape with fatal injuries but try to kill prey outright using a combination of lacerating damage and blood loss. They have been recorded as killing wild pigs within seconds, and observations of Komodo dragons tracking prey for long distances are likely misinterpreted cases of prey escaping an attack before succumbing to infection. Most prey attacked by a Komodo dragon reputedly suffer from said sepsis and will later be eaten by the same or other lizards.Komodo dragons eat by tearing large chunks of flesh and swallowing them whole while holding the carcass down with their forelegs. For smaller prey up to the size of a goat, their loosely articulated jaws, flexible skulls, and expandable stomachs allow them to swallow prey whole. The undigested vegetable contents of a prey animal's stomach and intestines are typically avoided. Copious amounts of red saliva the Komodo dragons produce help to lubricate the food, but swallowing is still a long process (15–20 minutes to swallow a goat). A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully that the tree is knocked down. A small tube under the tongue that connects to the lungs allows it to breathe while swallowing.After eating up to 80% of its body weight in one meal, it drags itself to a sunny location to speed digestion, as the food could rot and poison the dragon if left undigested in its stomach for too long. Because of their slow metabolism, large dragons can survive on as few as 12 meals a year. After digestion, the Komodo dragon regurgitates a mass of horns, hair, and teeth known as the gastric pellet, which is covered in malodorous mucus. After regurgitating the gastric pellet, it rubs its face in the dirt or on bushes to get rid of the mucus.
+The eating habits of Komodo dragons follow a hierarchy, with the larger animals generally eating before the smaller ones. The largest male typically asserts his dominance and the smaller males show their submission by use of body language and rumbling hisses. Dragons of equal size may resort to "wrestling". Losers usually retreat, though they have been known to be killed and eaten by victors.The Komodo dragon's diet is wide-ranging, and includes invertebrates, other reptiles (including smaller Komodo dragons), birds, bird eggs, small mammals, monkeys, wild boar, goats, pigs, Javan rusa deer, horses, and water buffalo. Young Komodos will eat insects, eggs, geckos, and small mammals, while adults prefer to hunt large mammals. Occasionally, they attack and bite humans. Sometimes they consume human corpses, digging up bodies from shallow graves. This habit of raiding graves caused the villagers of Komodo to move their graves from sandy to clay ground, and pile rocks on top of them, to deter the lizards. During the Pleistocene, before humans introduced its modern prey, the Komodo dragons likely primary prey was dwarf species of Stegodon (a member of Proboscidea, related to elephants).The Komodo dragon drinks by sucking water into its mouth via buccal pumping (a process also used for respiration), lifting its head, and letting the water run down its throat.
+
+Saliva
+Although previous studies proposed that Komodo dragon saliva contains a variety of highly septic bacteria that would help to bring down prey, research in 2013 suggested that the bacteria in the mouths of Komodo dragons are ordinary and similar to those found in other carnivores. Komodo dragons have good mouth hygiene. To quote Bryan Fry: "After they are done feeding, they will spend 10 to 15 minutes lip-licking and rubbing their head in the leaves to clean their mouth ... Unlike people have been led to believe, they do not have chunks of rotting flesh from their meals on their teeth, cultivating bacteria." Nor do Komodo dragons wait for prey to die and track it at a distance, as vipers do; observations of them hunting deer, boar and in some cases buffalo reveal that they kill prey in less than half an hour.The observation of prey dying of sepsis would then be explained by the natural instinct of water buffalos, who are not native to the islands where the Komodo dragon lives, to run into water after escaping an attack. The warm, faeces-filled water would then cause the infections. The study used samples from 16 captive dragons (10 adults and six neonates) from three US zoos.
+
+Antibacterial immune factor
+Researchers have isolated a powerful antibacterial peptide from the blood plasma of Komodo dragons, VK25. Based on their analysis of this peptide, they have synthesized a short peptide dubbed DRGN-1 and tested it against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. Preliminary results of these tests show that DRGN-1 is effective in killing drug-resistant bacterial strains and even some fungi. It has the added observed benefit of significantly promoting wound healing in both uninfected and mixed biofilm infected wounds.
+
+Venom
+In late 2005, researchers at the University of Melbourne speculated the perentie (Varanus giganteus), other species of monitors, and agamids may be somewhat venomous. The team believes the immediate effects of bites from these lizards were caused by mild envenomation. Bites on human digits by a lace monitor (V. varius), a Komodo dragon, and a spotted tree monitor (V. timorensis) all produced similar effects: rapid swelling, localised disruption of blood clotting, and shooting pain up to the elbow, with some symptoms lasting for several hours.In 2009, the same researchers published further evidence demonstrating Komodo dragons possess a venomous bite. MRI scans of a preserved skull showed the presence of two glands in the lower jaw. The researchers extracted one of these glands from the head of a terminally ill dragon in the Singapore Zoological Gardens, and found it secreted several different toxic proteins. The known functions of these proteins include inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, leading to shock and loss of consciousness in envenomated prey. As a result of the discovery, the previous theory that bacteria were responsible for the deaths of Komodo victims was disputed.Other scientists have stated that this allegation of venom glands "has had the effect of underestimating the variety of complex roles played by oral secretions in the biology of reptiles, produced a very narrow view of oral secretions and resulted in misinterpretation of reptilian evolution." According to these scientists "reptilian oral secretions contribute to many biological roles other than to quickly dispatch prey." These researchers concluded that, "Calling all in this clade venomous implies an overall potential danger that does not exist, misleads in the assessment of medical risks, and confuses the biological assessment of squamate biochemical systems." Evolutionary biologist Schwenk says that even if the lizards have venom-like proteins in their mouths they may be using them for a different function, and he doubts venom is necessary to explain the effect of a Komodo dragon bite, arguing that shock and blood loss are the primary factors.
+
+Reproduction
+Mating occurs between May and August, with the eggs laid in September. During this period, males fight over females and territory by grappling with one another upon their hind legs, with the loser eventually being pinned to the ground. These males may vomit or defecate when preparing for the fight. The winner of the fight will then flick his long tongue at the female to gain information about her receptivity. Females are antagonistic and resist with their claws and teeth during the early phases of courtship. Therefore, the male must fully restrain the female during coitus to avoid being hurt. Other courtship displays include males rubbing their chins on the female, hard scratches to the back, and licking. Copulation occurs when the male inserts one of his hemipenes into the female's cloaca. Komodo dragons may be monogamous and form "pair bonds", a rare behavior for lizards.Female Komodos lay their eggs from August to September and may use several types of locality; in one study, 60% laid their eggs in the nests of orange-footed scrubfowl (a moundbuilder or megapode), 20% on ground level and 20% in hilly areas. The females make many camouflage nests/holes to prevent other dragons from eating the eggs. Clutches contain an average of 20 eggs, which have an incubation period of 7–8 months. Hatching is an exhausting effort for the neonates, which break out of their eggshells with an egg tooth that falls off before long. After cutting themselves out, the hatchlings may lie in their eggshells for hours before starting to dig out of the nest. They are born quite defenseless and are vulnerable to predation. Sixteen youngsters from a single nest were on average 46.5 cm long and weighed 105.1 grams.Young Komodo dragons spend much of their first few years in trees, where they are relatively safe from predators, including cannibalistic adults, as juvenile dragons make up 10% of their diets. The habit of cannibalism may be advantageous in sustaining the large size of adults, as medium-sized prey on the islands is rare. When the young approach a kill, they roll around in faecal matter and rest in the intestines of eviscerated animals to deter these hungry adults. Komodo dragons take approximately 8 to 9 years to mature, and may live for up to 30 years.
+
+Parthenogenesis
+A Komodo dragon at London Zoo named Sungai laid a clutch of eggs in late 2005 after being separated from male company for more than two years. Scientists initially assumed she had been able to store sperm from her earlier encounter with a male, an adaptation known as superfecundation. On 20 December 2006, it was reported that Flora, a captive Komodo dragon living in the Chester Zoo in England, was the second known Komodo dragon to have laid unfertilised eggs: she laid 11 eggs, and seven of them hatched, all of them male. Scientists at Liverpool University in England performed genetic tests on three eggs that collapsed after being moved to an incubator, and verified Flora had never been in physical contact with a male dragon. After Flora's eggs' condition had been discovered, testing showed Sungai's eggs were also produced without outside fertilization. On 31 January 2008, the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, became the first zoo in the Americas to document parthenogenesis in Komodo dragons. The zoo has two adult female Komodo dragons, one of which laid about 17 eggs on 19–20 May 2007. Only two eggs were incubated and hatched due to space issues; the first hatched on 31 January 2008, while the second hatched on 1 February. Both hatchlings were males.Komodo dragons have the ZW chromosomal sex-determination system, as opposed to the mammalian XY system. Male progeny prove Flora's unfertilized eggs were haploid (n) and doubled their chromosomes later to become diploid (2n) (by being fertilized by a polar body, or by chromosome duplication without cell division), rather than by her laying diploid eggs by one of the meiosis reduction-divisions in her ovaries failing. When a female Komodo dragon (with ZW sex chromosomes) reproduces in this manner, she provides her progeny with only one chromosome from each of her pairs of chromosomes, including only one of her two sex chromosomes. This single set of chromosomes is duplicated in the egg, which develops parthenogenetically. Eggs receiving a Z chromosome become ZZ (male); those receiving a W chromosome become WW and fail to develop, meaning that only males are produced by parthenogenesis in this species.
+It has been hypothesised that this reproductive adaptation allows a single female to enter an isolated ecological niche (such as an island) and by parthenogenesis produce male offspring, thereby establishing a sexually reproducing population (via reproduction with her offspring that can result in both male and female young). Despite the advantages of such an adaptation, zoos are cautioned that parthenogenesis may be detrimental to genetic diversity.
+
+Encounters with humans
+Attacks on humans are rare, but Komodo dragons have been responsible for several human fatalities, in both the wild and in captivity. According to data from Komodo National Park spanning a 38-year period between 1974 and 2012, there were 24 reported attacks on humans, five of them fatal. Most of the victims were local villagers living around the national park.
+
+Conservation
+The Komodo dragon is classified by the IUCN as Endangered and is listed on the IUCN Red List. The species' sensitivity to natural and human-made threats has long been recognized by conservationists, zoological societies, and the Indonesian government. Komodo National Park was founded in 1980 to protect Komodo dragon populations on islands including Komodo, Rinca, and Padar. Later, the Wae Wuul and Wolo Tado Reserves were opened on Flores to aid Komodo dragon conservation.Komodo dragons generally avoid encounters with humans. Juveniles are very shy and will flee quickly into a hideout if a human comes closer than about 100 metres (330 ft). Older animals will also retreat from humans from a shorter distance away. If cornered, they may react aggressively by gaping their mouth, hissing, and swinging their tail. If they are disturbed further, they may attack and bite. Although there are anecdotes of unprovoked Komodo dragons attacking or preying on humans, most of these reports are either not reputable or have subsequently been interpreted as defensive bites. Only very few cases are truly the result of unprovoked attacks by atypical individuals who lost their fear of humans.Volcanic activity, earthquakes, loss of habitat, fire, tourism, loss of prey due to poaching, and illegal poaching of the dragons themselves have all contributed to the vulnerable status of the Komodo dragon. A major future threat to the species is climate change via both aridification and sea level rise, which can affect the low-lying habitats and valleys that the Komodo dragon depends on, as Komodo dragons do not range into the higher-altitude regions of the islands they inhabit. Based on projections, climate change will lead to a decline in suitable habitat of 8.4%, 30.2%, or 71% by 2050 depending on the climate change scenario. Without effective conservation actions, populations on Flores are extirpated in all scenarios, while in the more extreme scenarios, only the populations on Komodo and Rinca persist in highly reduced numbers. Rapid climate change mitigation is crucial for conserving the species in the wild. Other scientists have disputed the conclusions about the effects of climate change on Komodo dragon populations.Under Appendix I of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), commercial international trade of Komodo dragon skins or specimens is prohibited. Despite this, there are occasional reports of illegal attempts to trade in live Komodo dragons. The most recent attempt was in March 2019, when Indonesian police in the East Java city of Surabaya reported that a criminal network had been caught trying to smuggle 41 young Komodo dragons out of Indonesia. The plan was said to include shipping the animals to several other countries in Southeast Asia through Singapore. It was hoped that the animals could be sold for up to 500 million rupiah (around US$35,000) each. It was believed that the Komodo dragons had been smuggled out of East Nusa Tenggara province through the port at Ende in central Flores.In 2013, the total population of Komodo dragons in the wild was assessed as 3,222 individuals, declining to 3,092 in 2014 and 3,014 in 2015. Populations remained relatively stable on the bigger islands (Komodo and Rinca), but decreased on smaller islands, such as Nusa Kode and Gili Motang, likely due to diminishing prey availability. On Padar, a former population of Komodo dragons has recently become extirpated, of which the last individuals were seen in 1975. It is widely assumed that the Komodo dragon died out on Padar following a major decline of populations of large ungulate prey, for which poaching was most likely responsible.
+
+In captivity
+Komodo dragons have long been sought-after zoo attractions, where their size and reputation make them popular exhibits. They are, however, rare in zoos because they are susceptible to infection and parasitic disease if captured from the wild, and do not readily reproduce in captivity. The first Komodo dragons were displayed at London Zoo in 1927. A Komodo dragon was exhibited in 1934 in the United States at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., but it lived for only two years. More attempts to exhibit Komodo dragons were made, but the lifespan of the animals proved very short, averaging five years in the National Zoological Park. Studies were done by Walter Auffenberg, which were documented in his book The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor, eventually allowed for more successful management and breeding of the dragons in captivity. As of May 2009, there were 35 North American, 13 European, one Singaporean, two African, and two Australian institutions which housed captive Komodo dragons.A variety of behaviors have been observed from captive specimens. Most individuals become relatively tame within a short time, and are capable of recognising individual humans and discriminating between familiar and unfamiliar keepers. Komodo dragons have also been observed to engage in play with a variety of objects, including shovels, cans, plastic rings, and shoes. This behavior does not seem to be "food-motivated predatory behavior".Even seemingly docile dragons may become unpredictably aggressive, especially when the animal's territory is invaded by someone unfamiliar. In June 2001, a Komodo dragon seriously injured Phil Bronstein, the then-husband of actress Sharon Stone, when he entered its enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo after being invited in by its keeper. Bronstein was bitten on his bare foot, as the keeper had told him to take off his white shoes and socks, which the keeper stated could potentially excite the Komodo dragon as they were the same colour as the white rats the zoo fed the dragon. Although he survived, Bronstein needed to have several tendons in his foot reattached surgically.
+
+See also
+List of largest extant lizards
+Asian water monitor
+Komodo Indonesian Fauna Museum and Reptile Park
+Papua monitor (Varanus salvadorii), a monitor lizard often asserted to be the longest extant lizard
+Toxicofera, a hypothetical clade encompassing all venomous reptiles, including the Komodo dragon
+Varanus priscus (formerly known as Megalania prisca), a huge extinct varanid lizard of Pleistocene Australia
+
+References
+Further reading
+Attenborough, David (1957). Zoo Quest for a Dragon. London: Lutterworth Press.
+Auffenberg, Walter (1981). The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-0621-5.
+Burden, W. Douglas (1927). Dragon Lizards of Komodo: An Expedition to the Lost World of the Dutch East Indies. New York, London: G.P. Putnum's Sons.
+Eberhard, Jo; King, Dennis; Green, Brian; Knight, Frank; Keith Newgrain (1999). Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. Malabar, Fla: Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-57524-112-8.
+Lutz, Richard L; Lutz, Judy Marie (1997). Komodo: The Living Dragon. Salem, Or: DiMI Press. ISBN 978-0-931625-27-5.
+Westwood, Brett (28 August 2018). "Natural Histories: Komodo Dragon" (Audio (28 minutes)). BBC Radio. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
+
+External links
+ Media related to Varanus komodoensis (category) at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Varanus komodoensis at Wikispecies
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+Lhasa (; Standard Tibetan: ལྷ་ས [l̥ɛː˥˥.sa˥˥], lit. 'Place of Gods') is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa City is equivalent to the administrative borders of Chengguan District (simplified Chinese: 城关区; traditional Chinese: 城關區; pinyin: Chéngguān Qū), which is part of the wider prefectural Lhasa City.
+Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining and, at an altitude of 3,656 metres (11,990 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world.  The city has been the religious and administrative capital of Tibet since the mid-17th century. It contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka Palaces.
+
+Toponymy
+Lhasa literally translates to "place of gods" (ལྷ lha, god; ས sa, place) in the Tibetan language. Chengguan literally translates to "urban gateway" (Chinese: 城关; pinyin: Chéngguān) in the Chinese language. Ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa (ར་ས), which meant "goat's place", as it was a herding site. The name was changed to Lhasa, which means "place of gods", upon its establishment as the capital of Tibet, and construction of the Jokhang temple was completed, which housed a holy statue of the Buddha. Lhasa is first recorded as the name, referring to the area's temple of Jowo, in a treaty drawn up between China and Tibet in 822 C.E. In some old European maps, where Tibet is depicted, a town under the name Barantola can be come up with; this town has mostly been suggested to be Lhasa, at other times to refer to modern Bulantai/Boluntay in the western part of the Qinghai province.
+
+History
+By the mid 7th century, Songtsen Gampo became the leader of the Tibetan Empire that had risen to power in the Yarlung Tsangpo River (whose lower reaches in India is known as the Brahmaputra River) Valley. After conquering the kingdom of Zhangzhung in the west, he moved the capital from the Chingwa Taktsé Castle in Chongye County (pinyin: Qióngjié Xiàn), southwest of Yarlung, to Rasa (Lhasa) where in 637 he raised the first structures on the site of what is now the Potala Palace on Mount Marpori.
+In CE 639 and 641, Songtsen Gampo, who by this time had conquered the whole Tibetan region, is said to have contracted two alliance marriages,  firstly to a Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal, and then, two years later, to Princess Wencheng of the Imperial Tang court. Bhrikuti is said to have converted him to Buddhism, which was also the faith attributed to his second wife Wencheng. In 641 he constructed the Jokhang (or Rasa Trülnang Tsulagkhang) and Ramoche Temples in Lhasa in order to house two Buddha statues, the Akshobhya Vajra (depicting the Buddha at the age of eight) and the Jowo Sakyamuni (depicting Buddha at the age of twelve), respectively brought to his court by the princesses.  Lhasa suffered extensive damage under the reign of Langdarma in the 9th century, when the sacred sites were destroyed and desecrated and the empire fragmented.A Tibetan tradition mentions that after Songtsen Gampo's death in 649 C.E., Chinese troops captured Lhasa and burnt the Red Palace. Chinese and Tibetan scholars have noted that the event is mentioned neither in the Chinese annals nor in the Tibetan manuscripts of Dunhuang. Lǐ suggested that this tradition may derive from an interpolation. Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa believes that "those histories reporting the arrival of Chinese troops are not correct."From the fall of the monarchy in the 9th century to the accession of the 5th Dalai Lama, the centre of political power in the Tibetan region was not situated in Lhasa. However, the importance of Lhasa as a religious site became increasingly significant as the centuries progressed. It was known as the centre of Tibet where Padmasambhava magically pinned down the earth demoness and built the foundation of the Jokhang Temple over her heart. Islam has been present since the 11th century in what is considered to have always been a monolithically Buddhist culture. Two Tibetan Muslim communities have lived in Lhasa with distinct homes, food and clothing, language, education, trade and traditional herbal medicine.
+By the 15th century, the city of Lhasa had risen to prominence following the founding of three large Gelugpa monasteries by Je Tsongkhapa and his disciples. The three monasteries are Ganden, Sera and Drepung which were built as part of the puritanical Buddhist revival in Tibet. The scholarly achievements and political know-how of this Gelugpa Lineage eventually pushed Lhasa once more to centre stage.
+The 5th Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), unified Tibet and moved the centre of his administration to Lhasa in 1642 with the help of Güshi Khan of the Khoshut. With Güshi Khan as a largely uninvolved overlord, the 5th Dalai Lama and his intimates established a civil administration which is referred to by historians as the Lhasa state. The core leadership of this government is also referred to as the Ganden Phodrang, and Lhasa thereafter became both the religious and political capital. In 1645, the reconstruction of the Potala Palace began on Red Hill. In 1648, the Potrang Karpo (White Palace) of the Potala was completed, and the Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time onwards. The Potrang Marpo (Red Palace) was added between 1690 and 1694. The name Potala is derived from Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the Dalai Lama's divine prototype, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The Jokhang Temple was also greatly expanded around this time. Although some wooden carvings and lintels of the Jokhang Temple date to the 7th century, the oldest of Lhasa's extant buildings, such as within the Potala Palace, the Jokhang and some of the monasteries and properties in the Old Quarter date to this second flowering in Lhasa's history.
+By the end of the 17th century, Lhasa's Barkhor area formed a bustling market for foreign goods. The Jesuit missionary, Ippolito Desideri reported in 1716 that the city had a cosmopolitan community of Mongol, Chinese, Muscovite, Armenian, Kashmiri, Nepalese and Northern Indian traders. Tibet was exporting musk, gold, medicinal plants, furs and yak tails to far-flung markets, in exchange for sugar, tea, saffron, Persian turquoise, European amber and Mediterranean coral. The Qing dynasty army entered Lhasa in 1720, and the Qing government sent resident commissioners, called the Ambans, to Lhasa. In November 11 of 1750, the murder of the regent by the Ambans triggered a riot in the city that left more than a hundred people killed, including the Ambans. After suppressing the rebels, Qing Qianlong Emperor reorganized the Tibetan government and set up the governing council called Kashag in Lhasa in 1751. 
+
+In January 1904, a British expeditionary force invaded and captured Lhasa during the British expedition to Tibet. The expedition's leader, Sir Francis Younghusband negotiated the Convention Between Great Britain and Tibet with the remaining Tibetan officials after the Dalai Lama had fled to the countryside. The treaty was subsequently repudiated and was succeeded by a 1906 Anglo-Chinese treaty. All Qing troops left Lhasa after the Xinhai Lhasa turmoil in 1912.
+By the 20th century, Lhasa, long a beacon for both Tibetan and foreign Buddhists, had numerous ethnically and religiously distinct communities, among them Kashmiri Muslims,Ladakhis, Sikh merchants, and Chinese traders and officials. The Kashmiri Muslims (Khache) trace their arrival in Lhasa to the Muslim saint of Patna, Khair ud-Din, contemporary with the 5th Dalai Lama. Chinese Muslims lived in a quarter to the south, and Newar merchants from Kathmandu to the north of the Barkhor market. Residents of the Lubu neighbourhood were descended from Chinese vegetable farmers who stayed over after accompanying an Amban from Sichuan in the mid-nineteenth century; some later intermarried with Tibetan women and spoke Tibetan as their first language.  The city's merchants catered to all kinds of tastes, importing even Australian butter and Scottish whisky. In the 1940s, according to Heinrich Harrer:-
+
+'There is nothing one cannot buy, or at least order. One even finds the Elizabeth Arden  specialties, and there is a keen demand for them. . .You can order, too, sewing machines, radio sets and gramophones and hunt up Bing Crosby records.' After the establishment of Communist Chinese People's Republic of China, "(...) the People's Liberation Army (PLA) invaded the country in 1950. In March 1959, an uprising centered on the capital, Lhasa, prompted a massive crackdown, during which the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), fled into exile." Such markets and consumerism came to an abrupt end after the arrival of Chinese government troops and administrative cadres in 1950.  Food rations and poorly stocked government stores replaced the old markets, until the 1990s when commerce in international wares once more returned to Lhasa, and arcades and malls with a cornucopia of goods sprang up.Of the 22 parks (lingkas) which surrounded the city of Lhasa, most of them over half a mile in length, where the people of Lhasa were accustomed to picnic, only three survive today: the Norbulingka, Dalai Lama's Summer Palace, constructed by the 7th Dalai Lama; a small part of the Shugtri Lingka, and the Lukhang. Dormitory blocks, offices and army barracks are built over the rest.
+The Guāndì miào (關帝廟) or Gesar Lhakhang temple was erected by the Amban in 1792 atop Mount Bamare 3 kilometres (2 miles) south of the Potala to celebrate the defeat of an invading Gurkha army.The main gate to the city of Lhasa used to run through the large Pargo Kaling chorten and contained holy relics of the Buddha Mindukpa.Between 1987 and 1989, Lhasa experienced major demonstrations, led by monks and nuns, against the Chinese Government. After Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, Lhasa was mandated by the government to undergo economic liberalization. All government employees, their families and students were forbidden from practicing their religion, while monks and nuns were not allowed to enter government offices and the Tibet University campus. Subsequent to the introduction of the economic development policies, the influx of migrants has dramatically altered the city's ethnic mix in Lhasa.In 2000 the urbanised area covered 53 square kilometres (20 sq mi), with a population of around 170,000. Official statistics of the metropolitan area report that 70 percent are Tibetan, 24.3 are Han, and the remaining 2.7 Hui, though outside observers suspect that non-Tibetans account for some 50–70 percent. Among the Han immigrants, Lhasa is known as 'Little Sichuan'.
+
+Geography
+Lhasa has an elevation of about 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and lies in the centre of the Tibetan Plateau with the surrounding mountains rising to 5,500 m (18,000 ft). The air only contains 68 percent of the oxygen compared to sea level. The Lhasa River, also Kyi River or Kyi Chu, a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River (Brahmaputra River), runs through the southern part of the city. This river, known to local Tibetans as the "merry blue waves", flows through the snow-covered peaks and gullies of the Nyainqêntanglha mountains, extending 315 km (196 mi), and emptying into the Yarlung Zangbo River at Qüxü, forms an area of great scenic beauty. The marshlands, mostly uninhabited, are to the north. Ingress and egress roads run east and west, while to the north, the road infrastructure is less developed.
+
+Administration
+Chengguan District is located on the middle reaches of the Lhasa River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, with land that rises to the north and south of the river.
+It is 28 kilometres (17 mi) from east to west and 31 kilometres (19 mi) from north to south.
+Chengguan District is bordered by Doilungdêqên District to the west, Dagzê County to the east and Lhünzhub County to the north. 
+Gonggar County of Lhoka (Shannan) Prefecture lies to the south.Chengguan District has an elevation of 3,650 metres (11,980 ft) and covers 525 square kilometres (203 sq mi).
+The urban built-up area covers 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi).
+The average annual temperature of 8 °C (46 °F).
+Annual precipitation is about 500 millimetres (20 in), mostly falling between July and September.
+The term "Chengguan District" is the administrative term for the inner urban area or the urban centre within a prefecture, in this case the Prefectural-city of Lhasa. Outside of the urban area much of Chengguan District is mainly mountainous with a near nonexistent rural population.
+Chengguan District is at the same administrative level as a county.
+Chengguan District of Lhasa was established on 23 April 1961. 
+It currently has 12 fully urban subdistricts.
+
+Climate
+Owing to its very high elevation, Lhasa has a borderline cool semi-arid (Köppen: BSk)/monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwb) using the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm with frosty winters and mild summers, yet the valley location protects the city from intense cold or heat and strong winds. Monthly possible sunshine ranges from 53 percent in July to 84 percent in November, and the city receives nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight annually. It is thus sometimes called the "sunlit city" by Tibetans. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of −0.3 °C (31.5 °F) and the warmest month is June with a daily average of 16.7 °C (62.1 °F), though nights have generally been warmer in July. The annual mean temperature is 8.8 °C (47.8 °F), with extreme temperatures ranging from −16.5 to 30.8 °C (2 to 87 °F). Lhasa has an annual precipitation of 458 millimetres (18.0 in) with rain falling mainly in July, August and September. The driest month is December at 0.3 millimetres (0.01 in) and the wettest month is August, at 133.5 millimetres (5.26 in). Summer is widely regarded the "best" of the year as rains come mostly at night and Lhasa is still sunny during the daytime.
+
+Demographics
+Demographics in the past
+The 11th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica published between 1910 and 1911 noted the total population of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity was about 30,000, A census in 1854 made the figure 42,000, but it is known to have greatly decreased afterwards. Britannica noted that within Lhasa, there were about a total of 1,500 resident Tibetan laymen and about 5,500 Tibetan women. The permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000). The city's residents included traders from Nepal and Ladakh (about 800), and a few from Bhutan, Mongolia and other places. The Britannica noted with interest that the Chinese had a crowded burial-ground at Lhasa, tended carefully after their manner and that the Nepalese supplied mechanics and metal-workers at that time.In the first half of the 20th century, several Western explorers made celebrated journeys to the city, including William Montgomery McGovern, Francis Younghusband, Alexandra David-Néel, and Heinrich Harrer. Lhasa was the centre of Tibetan Buddhism as nearly half of its population were monks, Though this figure may include monks from surrounding monasteries who travelled to Lhasa for various celebrations and were not ordinarily resident there.
+The majority of the pre-1950 Chinese population of Lhasa were merchants and officials. In the Lubu section of Lhasa, the inhabitants were descendants of Chinese vegetable farmers, some of whom married Tibetan wives. They came to Lhasa in the 1840s–1860s after a Chinese official was appointed to the position of Amban.According to one writer, the population of the city was about 10,000, with some 10,000 monks at Drepung and Sera monasteries in 1959. Hugh Richardson, on the other hand, puts the population of Lhasa in 1952, at "some 25,000–30,000—about 45,000–50,000 if the population of the great monasteries on its outskirts be included."
+
+Contemporary demographics
+The total population of Lhasa Prefecture-level City is 521,500 (including known migrant population but excluding military garrisons). Of this, 257,400 are in the urban area (including a migrant population of 100,700), while 264,100 are outside. Nearly half of Lhasa Prefecture-level City's population lives in Chengguan District, which is the administrative division that contains the urban area of Lhasa (i.e. the actual city).
+The urban area is populated by ethnic Tibetans, Han, Hui and other ethnic groups. The 2000 official census gave a total population of 223,001, of which 171,719 lived in the areas administered by city street offices and city neighborhood committees. 
+133,603 had urban registrations and 86,395 had rural registrations, based on their place of origin.
+The census was taken in November, when many of the ethnic Han workers in seasonal industries such as construction would have been away from Tibet, and did not count the military.
+A 2011 book estimated that up to two-thirds of the city's residents are non-Tibetan, although the government states that Chengguan District as a whole is still 63% ethnic Tibetan. As of 2014, half of Tibet's Han population resided in the district, where bilingual or wholly Chinese teaching was common in the schools.
+
+Economy
+Competitive industry together with feature economy play key roles in the development of Lhasa. With the view to maintaining a balance between population growth and the environment, tourism and service industries are emphasised as growth engines for the future.
+Many of Lhasa's rural residents practice traditional agriculture and animal husbandry. Lhasa is also the traditional hub of the Tibetan trading network. For many years, chemical and car making plants operated in the area and this resulted in significant pollution, a factor which has changed in recent years. Copper, lead and zinc are mined nearby and there is ongoing experimentation regarding new methods of mineral mining and geothermal heat extraction.
+Agriculture and animal husbandry in Lhasa are considered to be of a high standard. People mainly plant highland barley and winter wheat. The resources of water conservancy, geothermal heating, solar energy and various mines are abundant. There is widespread electricity together with the use of both machinery and traditional methods in the production of such things as textiles, leathers, plastics, matches and embroidery. The production of national handicrafts has made great progress.
+
+With the growth of tourism and service sectors, the sunset industries which cause serious pollution are expected to fade in the hope of building a healthy ecological system. Environmental problems such as soil erosion, acidification, and loss of vegetation are being addressed. The tourism industry now brings significant business to the region, building on the attractiveness of the Potala Palace, the Jokang, the Norbulingka Summer Palace and surrounding large monasteries as well the spectacular Himalayan landscape together with the many wild plants and animals native to the high altitudes of Central Asia. Tourism to Tibet dropped sharply following the crackdown on protests in 2008, but as early as 2009, the industry was recovering. Chinese authorities plan an ambitious growth of tourism in the region aiming at 10 million visitors by 2020; these visitors are expected to be domestic. With renovation around historic sites, such as the Potala Palace, UNESCO has expressed "concerns about the deterioration of Lhasa's traditional cityscape."
+Lhasa contains several hotels. Lhasa Hotel is a 4-star hotel located northeast of Norbulingka in the western suburbs of the city. Completed in September 1985, it is the flagship of CITS's installations in Tibet. It accommodates about 1000 guests and visitors to Lhasa. There are over 450 rooms (suites) in the hotel, and all are equipped with air conditioning, mini-bar and other basic facilities. Some of the rooms are decorated in traditional Tibetan style. The hotel was operated by Holiday Inn from 1986 to 1997 and is the subject of a book, The Hotel on the Roof of the World. Another hotel of note is the historical Banak Shöl Hotel,  located at 8 Beijing Road in the city. It is known for its distinctive wooden verandas. The Nam-tso Restaurant is located in the vicinity of the hotel and is frequented especially by Chinese tourists visiting Lhasa.
+Lhasa contains several businesses of note. Lhasa Carpet Factory,  a factory south of Yanhe Dong Lu near the Tibet University, produces traditional Tibetan rugs that are exported worldwide. It is a modern factory, the largest manufacturer of rugs throughout Tibet, employing some 300 workers. Traditionally Tibetan women were the weavers, and men the spinners, but both work on the rugs today.
+The Lhasa Brewery Company was established in 1988 on the northern outskirts of Lhasa, south of Sera Monastery and is the highest commercial brewery in the world at 11,975 feet (3,650 m) and accounts for 85 percent of contemporary beer production in Tibet. The brewery, consisting of five-story buildings, cost an estimated US$20–25 million, and by 1994, production had reached 30,000 bottles per day, employing some 200 workers by this time. Since 2000, the Carlsberg group has increased its stronghold in the Chinese market and has become increasingly influential in the country with investment and expertise. Carlsberg invested in the Lhasa Brewery in recent years and has drastically improved the brewing facility and working conditions, renovating and expanding the building to what now covers 62,240 square metres (15.3 acres).
+
+Architecture and cityscape
+Lhasa has many sites of historic interest, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery and Norbulingka. The Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the Norbulingka are UNESCO world heritage sites. However, many important sites were damaged or destroyed mostly, but not solely, during China's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Many have been restored since the 1980s.
+The Potala Palace, named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara, was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama. After the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the government converted the palace into a museum. The site was used as a meditation retreat by King Songtsen Gampo, who in 637 built the first palace there in order to greet his bride Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang dynasty of China. Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. The palace underwent restoration works between 1989 and 1994, costing RMB55 million (US$6.875 million) and was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.
+
+The Lhasa Zhol Pillar, below the Potala, dates as far back as circa 764 CE. and is inscribed with what may be the oldest known example of Tibetan writing. The pillar contains dedications to a famous Tibetan general and gives an account of his services to the king including campaigns against China which culminated in the brief capture of the Chinese capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an) in 763 CE during which the Tibetans temporarily installed as Emperor a relative of Princess Jincheng Gongzhu (Kim-sheng Kong co), the Chinese wife of Trisong Detsen's father, Me Agtsom.
+Chokpori, meaning  'Iron Mountain',  is a sacred hill, located south of the Potala. It is considered to be one of the four holy mountains of central Tibet and along with two other hills in Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet.", Chokpori (Vajrapani), Pongwari (Manjushri), and Marpori (Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara). It was the site of the most famous medical school Tibet, known as the Mentsikhang, which was founded in 1413. It was conceived of by Lobsang Gyatso, the "Great" 5th Dalai Lama, and completed by the Regent Sangye Gyatso (Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho) shortly before 1697.
+Lingkhor is a sacred path, most commonly used to name the outer pilgrim road in Lhasa matching its inner twin, Barkhor. The Lingkhor in Lhasa was 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long enclosing Old Lhasa, the Potala and Chokpori hill. In former times it was crowded with men and women covering its length in prostrations, beggars and pilgrims approaching the city for the first time. The road passed through willow-shaded parks where the Tibetans used to picnic in summer and watch open air operas on festival days. New Lhasa has obliterated most of Lingkhor, but one stretch still remains west of Chokpori.
+
+The Norbulingka palace and surrounding park is situated in the west side of Lhasa, a short distance to the southwest of Potala Palace and with an area of around 36 hectares (89 acres), it is considered to be the largest man made garden in Tibet.
+It was built from 1755. and served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas until the 14th's self-imposed exile. Norbulingka was declared a 'National Important Cultural Relic Unit", in 1988 by the State council.  In 2001, the Central Committee of the Chinese Government in its 4th Tibet Session resolved to restore the complex to its original glory. The Sho Dun Festival (popularly known as the "yogurt festival") is an annual festival held at Norbulingka during the seventh Tibetan month in the first seven days of the Full Moon period, which corresponds to dates in July/August according to the Gregorian calendar.
+The Barkhor is an area of narrow streets and a public square in the old part of the city located around Jokhang Temple and was the most popular devotional circumambulation for pilgrims and locals. The walk was about one kilometre (0.6 miles) long and encircled the entire Jokhang, the former seat of the State Oracle in Lhasa called the Muru Nyingba Monastery, and a number of nobles' houses including Tromzikhang and Jamkhang. There were four large incense burners (sangkangs) in the four cardinal directions, with incense burning constantly, to please the gods protecting the Jokhang. Most of the old streets and buildings have been demolished in recent times and replaced with wider streets and new buildings. Some buildings in the Barkhor were damaged in the 2008 unrest.
+The Jokhang is located on Barkhor Square in the old town section of Lhasa.  For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace," and a spiritual centre of Lhasa. This temple has remained a key center of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries. The circumambulation route is known as the "kora" in Tibetan and is marked by four large stone incense burners placed at the corners of the temple complex.  The Jokhang temple is a four-story construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. The architectural style is based on the Indian vihara design, and was later extended resulting in a blend of Nepalese and Tang dynasty styles. It possesses the statues of Chenresig, Padmasambhava and King Songtsan Gampo and his two foreign brides, Princess Wen Cheng (niece of Emperor Taizong of Tang) and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and other important items.
+Ramoche Temple  is considered the most important temple in Lhasa after the Jokhang Temple. Situated in the northwest of the city, it is east of the Potala and north of the Jokhang, covering a total area of 4,000 square meters (almost one acre). The temple was gutted and partially destroyed in the 1960s and its famous bronze statue disappeared. In 1983 the lower part of it was said to have been found in a Lhasa rubbish tip, and the upper half in Beijing. They have now been joined and the statue is housed in the Ramoche Temple, which was partially restored in 1986, and still showed severe damage in 1993. Following the major restoration of 1986, the main building in the temple now has three stories.
+
+The Tibet Museum in Lhasa is the official museum of the Tibet Autonomous Region and was inaugurated on October 5, 1999. It is the first large, modern museum in the Tibet Autonomous Region and has a permanent collection of around 1000 artefacts, from examples of Tibetan art to architectural design throughout history such as Tibetan doors and construction beams. It is located in an L-shaped building west of the Potala Palace on the corner of Norbulingkha Road. The museum is organized into three main sections: a main exhibition hall, a folk cultural garden and administrative offices.The Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was unveiled in the Potala Square in May 2002 to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, and the work in the development of the autonomous region since then. The 37-metre-high concrete monument is shaped as an abstract Mount Everest and its name is engraved with the calligraphy of former CCP general secretary and PRC president Jiang Zemin, while an inscription describes the socioeconomic development experienced in Tibet in the past fifty years.There are four mosques in and around Lhasa. The earliest mosque, called Khache Lingka, dates to 1650 and is located west of the city, and consists of two compounds. The Lhasa Great Mosque is the most prominent and built by the early 1700s. The Dokdé Mosque, north of Lhasa, has an adjacent cemetery and is dated to 1716. The fourth mosque, commonly known as "Small Mosque" (but also Barkor or Rapsel Alley Mosque) was built in the early 1900s.
+
+Culture
+Music and dance
+There are some night spots that feature cabaret acts in which performers sing in Chinese, Tibetan, and English. Dancers wear traditional Tibetan costume with long flowing cloth extending from their arms. There are a number of small bars that feature live music, although they typically have limited drink menus and cater mostly to foreign tourists.
+
+Education
+There are 2 universities of Tibet University and Tibet Tibetan Medical University and 3 special colleges of Lhasa Teachers College, Tibet Police College and Tibet Vocational and Technical College in the Lhasa city.Tibet University (Tibetan: བོད་ལྗོངས་སློབ་གྲྭ་ཆེན་མོ་) is the main university of Tibet Autonomous Region. Its campus is located in Chengguan District, Lhasa, east of the city-centre. A forerunner was created in 1952 and the university was officially established in 1985, funded by the Chinese government. About 8000 students are enrolled at the university. Tibet University is a comprehensive university with the highest academic level in Tibet Autonomous Region. It is a member of the prestigious Project 211, and is sponsored under the Double First Class Disciplines initiative.
+
+Transport
+Rail
+Lhasa has been served by rail since 2006, when the Qinghai–Tibet Railway opened for passenger operations. Reaching an elevation of 5,072 metres above sea level, the Qinghai-Tibet railway is the world's highest railway by elevation. It connects Lhasa with Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, some 2,000 km (1,200 mi) away, and ultimately links Lhasa with other major cities with China's extensive railway network. Five trains arrive at and depart from Lhasa railway station each day. Train number Z21 takes 40 hours and 53 minutes from Beijing West, arriving in Lhasa at 13:03 every day. Train Z22 from Lhasa to Beijing West departs at 15:30 and arrives in Beijing at 08:20 on the third day, taking 40 hours, 50 minutes. Trains also arrive in Lhasa from Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou, Xining, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other cities. To counter the problem of altitude differences giving passengers altitude sickness, extra oxygen is pumped in through the ventilation system and available directly on each berth with close open control by a flap for convenience of passenger, and personal oxygen masks are available on request. Within the soft sleeper cabins there are 64 seats per train, which have an electrical plug for electronics.Lhasa is also connected to the second largest city in Tibet, Xigazê, by rail service, since 2014.
+A third railway, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, which links Lhasa with Nyingchi County and into the interior ultimately terminating in Chengdu, began construction in June 2015.For onward rail travel in South Asia, the closest major station in India is New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri in West Bengal.  However, extension of the Indian railway system to Sikkim will make it easier for onward connections through the South Asian railway network. There are preliminary plans to link Lhasa by rail with Kathmandu.As per a Chinese Tibetan spokesperson, extension of this rail line to Kathmandu with tunnelling under Mount Everest was, as of 2015, expected to be completed by 2020.
+
+Air
+Lhasa Gonggar Airport (IATA: LXA), built in 1965, is the aviation hub of Tibet. It is located south of the city proper. It takes around half an hour to get there by car via the Lhasa Airport Expressway; prior to the completion of the expressway in 2011, the trip to the airport took over an hour. As of 2014, there are daily flights serving major Chinese cities including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, and there are also occasional scheduled services to Kathmandu in Nepal. Lhasa Airport is the hub of Tibet Airlines, which offers regional services to other destinations in Tibet such as Nyingchi, Ngari Prefecture, Shigatse, and Qamdo.
+
+Road
+The Qinghai–Tibet Highway (part of G109) runs northeast toward Xining and eventually to Beijing and is the most-used road in Tibet. The Sichuan–Tibet Highway (part of G318) runs east towards Chengdu and eventually to Shanghai. G318 also runs west to Zhangmu on the Nepal border. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (G219) runs north from Lhasa to Yecheng, and then to Xinjiang. This road is rarely used due to the lack of amenities and petrol stations. A new 37.68 kilometres (23.41 mi), four-lane highway between Lhasa and the Gonggar Airport was built by the Transportation Department of Tibet at a cost of RMB 1.5 billion. This road is part of National Highway 318 and starts from the Lhasa railway station, passes through Caina Township in Qushui County, terminating between the north entrance of the Gala Mountain Tunnel and the south bridgehead of the Lhasa River Bridge, and en route goes over the first overpass of Lhasa at Liuwu Overpass.
+
+Maritime
+The closest seaports are Kolkata and Haldia in West Bengal, India. The Nathu La pass offers Chinese companies access to the port of Kolkata (Calcutta), situated about 1,100 km (680 mi) from Lhasa, for trans-shipments to and from Tibet.
+
+Sports
+The Lhasa Stadium, which has a capacity of 20,000, is located in Lhasa. It is used mostly for football matches.
+
+See also
+List of twin towns and sister cities in China
+McLeod Ganj
+Leh, India
+Mustang, Nepal
+Drapchi Prison or Lhasa Prison No.1
+The Lhasa Atlas
+
+References
+Citations
+Sources
+Further reading
+Desideri (1932). An Account of Tibet: The Travels of Ippolito Desideri 1712-1727. Ippolito Desideri. Edited by Filippo De Filippi. Introduction by C. Wessels. Reproduced by Rupa & Co, New Delhi. 2005
+Le Sueur, Alec (2013). The Hotel on the Roof of the World – Five Years in Tibet. Chichester: Summersdale. ISBN 978-1-84024-199-0. Oakland: RDR Books. ISBN 978-1-57143-101-1
+
+External links
+Media related to Chengguan District, Lhasa at Wikimedia Commons
+People's Government of Chengguan District, Lhasa Official Website Archived 2015-10-07 at the Wayback Machine (in Chinese)
+Lhasa Nights art exhibition
+Grand temple of Buddha at Lhasa in 1902, Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection
+Tibet Travel Permit
+ Gombojab Tsybikov, Lhasa and Central Tibet, 1903.
+"Lhasa" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
+
+Maps and aerial photos
+Map central Lhasa
+Old map of central Lhasa from 1959
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+The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate, and the most internationally-recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to the island of Madagascar, where it is endangered. Known locally in Malagasy as maky ([makʲ] , spelled maki in French) or hira, it ranges from gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous, as well as the most adapted to living terrestrially of the extant lemurs.
+The ring-tailed lemur is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals.  It is also a female-dominant species, a commonality among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. Mutual grooming is another vital aspect of lemur socialization (as with all primates), reaffirming social and familial connections, while also helping rid each other of any potential insects. Ring-tailed lemurs are strictly diurnal, being active exclusively during daylight hours. Due to this lifestyle, they also sunbathe; the lemurs can be observed sitting upright on their tails, exposing their soft, white belly fur towards the sun. They will often also have their palms open and eyes gently closed. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on their sense of smell, and territorial marking, with scent glands, provides communication signals throughout a group’s home range. The glands are located near the eyes, as well as near the anus. The males perform a unique scent-marking behavior called spur-marking, and will participate in stink fights by dousing their tails with their pheromones and “wafting” it at opponents. Additionally, lemurs of both sexes will scent-mark trees, logs, rocks or other objects by simply rubbing their faces and bodies onto it, not unlike a domestic cat.
+As one of the most vocal primates, the ring-tailed lemur uses numerous vocalizations, including calling for group cohesion and predator alarm calls. Experiments have shown that the ring-tailed lemur, despite the lack of a large brain (relative to simiiform primates), can organize sequences, understand basic arithmetic operations, and preferentially select tools based on functional qualities.
+Despite adapting to and breeding easily under captive care (and being the most popular species of lemur in zoos worldwide, with more than 2,000 captive-raised individuals), the wild population of ring-tailed lemur is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List, due to habitat destruction, local hunting for bushmeat and the exotic pet trade. As of early 2017, the population in the wild is believed to have crashed to as low as 2,000 individuals due to these reasons, making them far more critically endangered. Local Malagasy farmers and logging industries frequently make use of slash and burn deforestation techniques, with smoke being visible on the horizon on most days in Madagascar, in an effort to accommodate livestock and to cultivate larger fields of crops.
+
+Etymology
+Although the term "lemur" was first intended for slender lorises, it was soon limited to the endemic Malagasy primates, which have been known as "lemurs" ever since. The name derives from the Latin term lemures, which refers to specters or ghosts that were exorcised during the Lemuria festival of ancient Rome. According to Carl Linnaeus's own explanation, the name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of the slender loris. Being familiar with the works of Virgil and Ovid and seeing an analogy that fit with his naming scheme, Linnaeus adapted the term "lemur" for these nocturnal primates. However, it has been commonly and falsely assumed that Linnaeus was referring to the ghost-like appearance, reflective eyes, and ghostly cries of lemurs. It has also been speculated that Linnaeus may also have known that some Malagasy people have held legends that lemurs are the souls of their ancestors, but this is unlikely given that the name was selected for slender lorises from India. The species name, catta, refers to the ring-tailed lemur's cat-like appearance.  Its purring vocalization is similar to that of the domestic cat.Following Linnaeus's species description, the common name "ring-tailed maucauco" was first penned in 1771 by Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant, who made note of its characteristic long, banded tail. (The term "maucauco" was a very common term for lemurs at this time.) The now universal English name "ring-tailed lemur" was first used by George Shaw in his illustrated scientific publication covering the Leverian collection, which was published between 1792 and 1796.
+
+Evolutionary history
+All mammalian fossils from Madagascar come from recent times. Thus, little is known about the evolution of the ring-tailed lemur, let alone the rest of the lemur clade, which comprises the entire endemic primate population of the island.  However, chromosomal and molecular evidence suggest that lemurs are more closely related to each other than to other strepsirrhine primates.  For this to have happened, it is thought that a very small ancestral population came to Madagascar via a single rafting event between 50 and 80 million years ago. Subsequent evolutionary radiation and speciation has created the diversity of Malagasy lemurs seen today.
+
+According to analysis of amino acid sequences, the branching of the family Lemuridae has been dated to 26.1 ±3.3 mya while rRNA sequences of mtDNA place the split at 24.9 ±3.6 mya.  The ruffed lemurs are the first genus to split away (most basal) in the family, a view that is further supported by analysis of DNA sequences and karyotypes.  Additionally, Molecular data suggests a deep genetic divergence and sister group relationship between the true lemurs (Eulemur) and the other two genera: Lemur and Hapalemur.The ring-tailed lemur is thought to share closer affinities to the bamboo lemurs of the genus Hapalemur than to the other two genera in its family. This has been supported by comparisons in communication, chromosomes, genetics, and several morphological traits, such as scent gland similarities.  However, other data concerning immunology and other morphological traits fail to support this close relationship. For example, Hapalemur species have short snouts, while the ring-tailed lemur and the rest of Lemuridae have long snouts. However, differences in the relationship between the orbit (eye socket) and the muzzle suggest that the ring-tailed lemur and the true lemurs evolved their elongated faces independently.The relationship between the ring-tailed lemur and bamboo lemurs is the least understood. Molecular analysis suggests that either the bamboo lemurs diverged from the ring-tailed lemur, making the group monophyletic and supporting the current two-genera taxonomy, or that the ring-tailed lemur is nested in with the bamboo lemurs, requiring Hapalemur simus to be split off into its own genus, Prolemur.The karyotype of the ring-tailed lemur has 56 chromosomes, of which four are metacentric (arms of nearly equal length), four are submetacentric (arms of unequal length), and 46 are acrocentric (the short arm is hardly observable).  The X chromosome is metacentric and the Y chromosome is acrocentric.
+
+Taxonomic classification
+Linnaeus first used the genus name Lemur to describe "Lemur tardigradus" (the red slender loris, now known as Loris tardigradus) in his 1754 catalog of the Museum of King Adolf Frederick.  In 1758, his 10th edition of Systema Naturae listed the genus Lemur with three included species, only one of which is still considered to be a lemur while another is no longer considered to be a primate. These species include: Lemur tardigradus, Lemur catta (the ring-tailed lemur), and Lemur volans (the Philippine colugo, now known as Cynocephalus volans).  In 1911, Oldfield Thomas made Lemur catta the type species for the genus, despite the term initially being used to describe lorises.  On January 10, 1929, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) formalized this decision in its publication of Opinion 122.The ring-tailed lemur shares many similarities with ruffed lemurs (genus Varecia) and true lemurs (genus Eulemur), and its skeleton is nearly indistinguishable from that of the true lemurs. Consequently, the three genera were once grouped together in the genus Lemur and more recently are sometimes referred to as subfamily Lemurinae (within family Lemuridae).  However, ruffed lemurs were reassigned to the genus Varecia in 1962, and due to similarities between the ring-tailed lemur and the bamboo lemurs, particularly in regards to molecular evidence and scent glands similarities, the true lemurs were moved to the genus Eulemur by Yves Rumpler and Elwyn L. Simons (1988) as well as Colin Groves and Robert H. Eaglen (1988).  In 1991, Ian Tattersall and Jeffrey H. Schwartz reviewed the evidence and came to a different conclusion, instead favoring to return the members of Eulemur and Varecia to the genus Lemur.  However, this view was not widely accepted and the genus Lemur remained monotypic, containing only the ring-tailed lemur.  Because the differences in molecular data are so minute between the ring-tailed lemur and both genera of bamboo lemurs, it has been suggested that all three genera be merged.Because of the difficulty in discerning the relationships within family Lemuridae, not all authorities agree on the taxonomy, although the majority of the primatological community favors the current classification.
+In 1996, researchers Steven Goodman and Olivier Langrand suggested that the ring-tailed lemur may demonstrate regional variations, particularly a high mountain population at Andringitra Massif that has a thicker coat, lighter coloration, and variations in its tail rings. In 2001, primatologist Colin Groves concluded that this does not represent a locally occurring subspecies.  This decision was later supported by further fieldwork that showed that the differences fell within the normal range of variation for the species.  The thicker coat was considered a local adaptation to extreme low temperatures in the region, and the fading of the fur was attributed to increased exposure to solar radiation.  Additional genetic studies in 2000 further supported the conclusion that population did not vary significantly from the other ring-tailed lemur populations on the island.
+
+Anatomy and physiology
+The ring-tailed lemur is a relatively large lemur.  Its average weight is 2.2 kilograms (4.9 lb). Its head–body length ranges between 39 and 46 cm (15 and 18 in), its tail length is 56 and 63 cm (22 and 25 in), and its total length is 95 and 110 cm (37 and 43 in).  Other measurements include a hind foot length of 102 and 113 mm (4.0 and 4.4 in), ear length of 40 and 48 mm (1.6 and 1.9 in), and cranium length of 78 and 88 mm (3.1 and 3.5 in).The species has a slender frame and narrow face, fox-like muzzle.  The ring-tailed lemur's trademark—a long, bushy tail—is ringed in alternating black and white transverse bands, numbering 12 or 13 white rings and 13 or 14 black rings, and always ending in a black tip.  The total number of rings nearly matches the approximate number of caudal vertebrae (~25). Its tail is longer than its body and is not prehensile.  Instead, it is only used for balance, communication, and group cohesion.The pelage (fur) is so dense that it can clog electric clippers. The ventral (chest) coat and throat are white or cream. The dorsal (back) coat varies from gray to rosy-brown, sometimes with a brown pygal patch around the tail region, where the fur grades to pale gray or grayish brown. The dorsal coloration is slightly darker around the neck and crown. The hair on the throat, cheeks, and ears is white or off-white and also less dense, allowing the dark skin underneath to show through. The muzzle is dark grayish and the nose is black, and the eyes are encompassed by black triangular patches.  Facial vibrissae (whiskers) are developed and found above the lips (mystacal), on the cheeks (genal), and on the eyebrow (superciliary).  Vibrissae are also found slightly above the wrist on the underside of the forearm.  The ears are relatively large compared to other lemurs and are covered in hair, which has only small tufts if any.  Although slight pattern variations in the facial region may be seen between individuals, there are no obvious differences between the sexes.Unlike most diurnal primates, but like all strepsirrhine primates, the ring-tailed lemur has a tapetum lucidum, or reflective layer behind the retina of the eye, that enhances night vision.  The tapetum is highly visible in this species because the pigmentation of the ocular fundus (back surface of the eye), which is present in—but varies between—all lemurs, is very spotty.  The ring-tailed lemur also has a rudimentary foveal depression on the retina.  Another shared characteristic with the other strepsirrhine primates is the rhinarium, a moist, naked, glandular nose supported by the upper jaw and protruding beyond the chin.  The rhinarium continues down where it divides the upper lip.  The upper lip is attached to the premaxilla, preventing the lip from protruding and thus requiring the lemur to lap water rather than using suction.
+
+The skin of the ring-tailed lemur is dark gray or black in color, even in places where the fur is white.  It is exposed on the nose, palms, soles, eyelids, lips, and genitalia.  The skin is smooth, but the leathery texture of the hands and feet facilitate terrestrial movement.  The anus, located at the joint of the tail, is covered when the tail is lowered.  The area around the anus (circumanal area) and the perineum are covered in fur.  In males, the scrotum lacks fur, is covered in small, horny spines, and the two sacs of the scrotum are divided.  The penis is nearly cylindrical in shape and is covered in small spines, as well as having two pairs of larger spines on both sides.  Males have a relatively small baculum (penis bone) compared to their size.  The scrotum, penis, and prepuce are usually coated with a foul-smelling secretion.  Females have a thick, elongated clitoris that protrudes from the labia of the vulva.  The opening of the urethra is closer to the clitoris than the vagina, forming a "drip tip".Females have two pairs of mammary glands (four nipples), but only one pair is functional.  The anterior pair (closest to the head) are very close to the axillae (armpit).  Furless scent glands are present on both males and females.  Both sexes have small, dark antebrachial (forearm) glands measuring 1 cm long and located on the inner surface of the forearm nearly 25 cm (9.8 in) above the wrist joint.  (This trait is shared between the Lemur and Hapalemur genera.) The gland is soft and compressible, bears fine dermal ridges (like fingerprints), and is connected to the palm by a fine, 2 mm–high, hairless strip.  However, only the male has a horny spur that overlays this scent gland.  The spur develops with age through the accumulation of secretions from an underlying gland that may connect through the skin through as many as a thousand minuscule  ducts. The males also have brachial (arm) glands on the axillary surface of their shoulders (near the armpit). The brachial gland is larger than the antebrachial gland, covered in short hair around the periphery, and has a naked crescent-shaped orifice near the center.  The gland secretes a foul-smelling, brown, sticky substance. The brachial gland is barely developed if present at all in females.  Both sexes also have apocrine and sebaceous glands in their genital or perianal regions, which are covered in fur.Its fingers are slender, padded, mostly lacking webbing, and semi-dexterous with flat, human-like nails.  The thumb is both short and widely separated from the other fingers.  Despite being set at a right angle to the palm, the thumb is not opposable since the ball of the joint is fixed in place.  As with all strepsirrhines, the hand is ectaxonic (the axis passes through the fourth digit) rather than mesaxonic (the axis passing through the third digit) as seen in monkeys and apes.  The fourth digit is the longest, and only slightly longer than the second digit.  Likewise, the fifth digit is only slightly longer than the second.  The palms are long and leathery, and like other primates, they have dermal ridges to improve grip.  The feet are semi-digitigrade and more specialized than the hands.  The big toe is opposable and is smaller than the big toe of other lemurs, which are more arboreal.  The second toe is short, has a small terminal pad, and has a toilet-claw (sometimes referred to as a grooming claw) specialized for personal grooming, specifically to rake through fur that is unreachable by the mouth.  The toilet-claw is a trait shared among nearly all living strepsirrhine primates.  Unlike other lemurs, the ring-tailed lemur's heel is not covered by fur.
+
+Dentition
+The ring-tailed lemur has a dentition of 2.1.3.32.1.3.3 × 2 = 36, meaning that on each side of the jaw it has two incisors, one canine tooth, three premolars, and three molar teeth.  Its deciduous dentition is 2.1.32.1.3 × 2 = 24.  The permanent teeth erupt in the following order: m 1/1 (first molars), i 2/2 (first incisors), i 3/3 (second incisors), C1 (upper canines), m 2/2 (second molars), c1 (lower canines), m 3/3 (third molars), p 4/4 (third premolars), p 3/3 (second premolars), p 2/2 (first premolars).Its lower incisors (i1 and i2) are long, narrow, and finely spaced while pointing almost straight forward in the mouth (procumbent).  Together with the incisor-shaped (incisiform) lower canines (c1), which are slightly larger and also procumbent, form a structure called a toothcomb, a trait unique to nearly all strepsirrhine primates.  The toothcomb is used during oral grooming, which involves licking and tooth-scraping.  It may also be used for grasping small fruits, removing leaves from the stem when eating, and possibly scraping sap and gum from tree bark.  The toothcomb is kept clean using a sublingual organ—a thin, flat, fibrous plate that covers a large part of the base of the tongue.  The first lower premolar (p2) following the toothcomb is shaped like a canine (caniniform) and occludes the upper canine, essentially filling the role of the incisiform lower canine.  There is also a diastema (gap) between the second and third premolars (p2 and p3).The upper incisors are small, with the first incisors (I1) space widely from each other, yet closely to the second incisors (I2).  Both are compressed buccolingually (between the cheek and the tongue).  The upper canines (C1) are long, have a broad base, and curve down and back (recurved).  The upper canines exhibit slight sexual dimorphism, with males exhibiting slightly larger canines than females.  Both sexes use them in combat by slashing with them.  There is a small diastema between the upper canine and the first premolar (P2), which is smaller and more caniniform than the other premolars.  Unlike other lemurs, the first two upper molars (M1 and M2) have prominent lingual cingulae, yet do not have a protostyle.
+
+Ecology
+The ring-tailed lemur is diurnal and semi-terrestrial. It is the most terrestrial of lemur species, spending as much as 33% of its time on the ground. However it is still considerably arboreal, spending 23% of its time in the mid-level canopy, 25% in the upper-level canopy, 6% in the emergent layer and 13% in small bushes. Troop travel is 70% terrestrial.Troop size, home range, and population density vary by region and food availability. Troops typically range in size from 6 to 25, although troops with over 30 individuals have been recorded. The average troop contains 13 to 15 individuals. Home range size varies between 6 and 35 hectares (15 and 86 acres). Troops of the ring-tailed lemur will maintain a territory, but overlap is often high. When encounters occur, they are agonistic, or hostile in nature. A troop will usually occupy the same part of its range for three or four days before moving. When it does move, the average traveling distance is 1 km (0.62 mi). Population density ranges from 100 individuals per 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi) in dry forests to 250–600 individuals per km2 in gallery and secondary forests.The ring-tailed lemur has both native and introduced predators. Native predators include the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), the Madagascar harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus), the Madagascar buzzard (Buteo brachypterus) and the Madagascar ground boa (Acrantophis madagascariensis). Introduced predators include the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), the domestic cat and the domestic dog.
+
+Geographic range and habitat
+Endemic to southern and southwestern Madagascar, the ring-tailed lemur ranges further into highland areas than other lemurs.  It inhabits deciduous forests, dry scrub, montane humid forests, and gallery forests (forests along riverbanks). It strongly favors gallery forests, but such forests have now been cleared from much of Madagascar in order to create pasture for livestock. Depending on location, temperatures within its geographic range can vary from −12 °C (10 °F) at Andringitra Massif to 48 °C (118 °F) in the spiny forests of Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve.This species is found as far east as Tôlanaro, inland towards the mountains of Andringitra on the southeastern plateau, among the spiny forests of the southern part of the island, and north along the west coast to the town of Belo sur Mer.  Historically, the northern limits of its range in the west extended to the Morondava River near Morondava.  It can still be found in Kirindy Mitea National Park, just south of Morondava, though at very low densities.  It does not occur in Kirindy Forest Reserve, north of Morondava.  Its distribution throughout the rest of its range is very spotty, with population densities varying widely.The ring-tailed lemur can be easily seen in five national parks in Madagascar: Andohahela National Park, Andringitra National Park, Isalo National Park, Tsimanampetsotse National Park, and Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park.  It can also be found in Beza-Mahafaly Special Reserve, Kalambatritra Special Reserve, Pic d'Ivohibe Special Reserve, Amboasary Sud, Berenty Private Reserve, Anja Community Reserve, and marginally at Kirindy Mitea National Park.  Unprotected forests that the species has been reported in include Ankoba, Ankodida, Anjatsikolo, Anbatotsilongolongo, Mahazoarivo, Masiabiby, and Mikea.Within the protected regions it is known to inhabit, the ring-tailed lemur is sympatric (shares its range) with as many as 24 species of lemur, covering every living genus except Allocebus, Indri, and Varecia.  Historically, the species used to be sympatric with the critically endangered southern black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata editorum), which was once found at Andringitra National Park; however, no sightings of the ruffed lemur have been reported in recent years.
+In western Madagascar, sympatric ring-tailed lemurs and red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) have been studied together. Little interaction takes place between the two species. While the diets of the two species overlap, they eat in different proportions since the ring-tailed lemur has a more varied diet and spends more time on the ground.
+
+Diet
+The ring-tailed lemur is an opportunistic omnivore primarily eating fruits and leaves, particularly those of the tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica), known natively as kily. When available, tamarind makes up as much as 50% of the diet, especially during the dry, winter season. The ring-tailed lemur eats from as many as three dozen different plant species, and its diet includes flowers, herbs, bark and sap. It has been observed eating decayed wood, earth, spider webs, insect cocoons, arthropods (spiders, caterpillars, cicadas and grasshoppers) and small vertebrates (birds and chameleons). During the dry season it becomes increasingly opportunistic.
+
+Behavior
+Social systems
+Troops are classified as multi-male groups, with a matriline as the core group. As with most lemurs, females socially dominate males in all circumstances, including feeding priority. Dominance is enforced by lunging, chasing, cuffing, grabbing and biting. Young females do not always inherit their mother's rank and young males leave the troop between three and five years of age. Both sexes have separate dominance hierarchies; females have a distinct hierarchy while male rank is correlated with age. Each troop has one to three central, high-ranking adult males who interact with females more than other group males and lead the troop procession with high-ranking females. Recently transferred males, old males or young adult males that have not yet left their natal group are often lower ranking. Staying at the periphery of the group they tend to be marginalized from group activity.
+For males, social structure changes can be seasonal. During the six-month period between December and May a few males migrate between groups. Established males transfer on average every 3.5 years, although young males may transfer approximately every 1.4 years. Group fission occurs when groups get too large and resources become scarce.In the mornings the ring-tailed lemur sunbathes to warm itself. It faces the sun sitting in what is frequently described as a "sun-worshipping" posture or lotus position. However, it sits with its legs extended outward, not cross-legged, and will often support itself on nearby branches. Sunning is often a group activity, particularly during the cold mornings. At night, troops will split into sleeping parties huddling closely together to keep warm.Despite being quadrupedal the ring-tailed lemur can rear up and balance on its hind legs, usually for aggressive displays. When threatened the ring-tailed lemur may jump in the air and strike out with its short nails and sharp upper canine teeth in a behaviour termed jump fighting. This is extremely rare outside of the breeding season when tensions are high and competition for mates is intense. Other aggressive behaviours include a threat-stare, used to intimidate or start a fight, and a submissive gesture known as pulled-back lips.Border disputes with rival troops occur occasionally and it is the dominant female's responsibility to defend the troop's home range. Agonistic encounters include staring, lunging approaches and occasional physical aggression, and conclude with troop members retreating toward the center of the home range.
+
+Olfactory communication
+Olfactory communication is critically important for strepsirrhines like the ring-tailed lemur. Males and females scent mark both vertical and horizontal surfaces at the overlaps in their home ranges using their anogenital scent glands. The ring-tailed lemur will perform a handstand to mark vertical surfaces, grasping the highest point with its feet while it applies its scent. Use of scent marking varies by age, sex and social status. Male lemurs use their antebrachial and brachial glands to demarcate territories and maintain intragroup dominance hierarchies. The thorny spur that overlays the antebrachial gland on each wrist is scraped against tree trunks to create grooves anointed with their scent. This is known as spur-marking.In displays of aggression, males engage in a social display behaviour called stink fighting, which involves impregnating their tails with secretions from the antebrachial and brachial glands and waving the scented tail at male rivals.Ring-tailed lemurs have also been shown to mark using urine.  Behaviorally, there is a difference between regular urination, where the tail is slightly raised and a stream of urine is produced, and the urine marking behavior, where the tail is held up in display and only a few drops of urine are used.  The urine-marking behavior is typically used by females to mark territory, and has been observed primarily at the edges of the troop's territory and in areas where other troops may frequent.  The urine marking behavior also is most frequent during the mating season, and may play a role in reproductive communication between groups.
+
+Auditory communication
+The ring-tailed lemur is one of the most vocal primates and has a complex array of distinct vocalizations used to maintain group cohesion during foraging and alert group members to the presence of a predator.  Calls range from simple to complex.  An example of a simple call is the purr (), which expresses contentment.  A complex call is the sequence of clicks, close-mouth click series (CMCS), open-mouth click series (OMCS) and yaps () used during predator mobbing. Some calls have variants and undergo transitions between variants, such as an infant "whit" (distress call) transitioning from one variant to another ().The most commonly heard vocalizations are the moan () (low-to-moderate arousal, group cohesion), early-high wail () (moderate-to-high arousal, group cohesion), and clicks () ("location marker" to draw attention).
+
+Breeding and reproduction
+The ring-tailed lemur is polygynandrous, although the dominant male in the troop typically breeds with more females than other males. Fighting is most common during the breeding season. A receptive female may initiate mating by presenting her backside, lifting her tail and looking at the desired male over her shoulder. Males may inspect the female's genitals to determine receptiveness. Females typically mate within their troop, but may seek outside males.The breeding season runs from mid-April to mid-May. Estrus lasts 4 to 6 hours, and females mate with multiple males during this period.  Within a troop, females stagger their receptivity so that each female comes into season on a different day during the breeding season, reducing competition for male attention. Females lactate during the wet season, from December through April, when resources are readily available. Females gestate during the dry season, from May through September, when resources are low. Females give birth during seasons where resources, such as flowers, are in peak. Gestation lasts for about 135 days, and parturition occurs in September or occasionally October.  In the wild, one offspring is the norm, although twins may occur. Ring-tailed lemur infants have a birth weight of 70 g (2.5 oz) and are carried ventrally (on the chest) for the first 1 to 2 weeks, then dorsally (on the back).The young lemurs begin to eat solid food after two months and are fully weaned after five months. Sexual maturity is reached between 2.5 and 3 years. Male involvement in infant rearing is limited, although the entire troop, regardless of age or sex, can be seen caring for the young. Alloparenting between troop females has been reported. Kidnapping by females and infanticide by males also occur occasionally. Due to harsh environmental conditions, predation and accidents such as falls, infant mortality can be as high as 50% within the first year and as few as 30% may reach adulthood.  The longest-lived ring-tailed lemur in the wild was a female at the Berenty Reserve who lived for 20 years. In the wild, females rarely live past the age of 16, whereas the life expectancy of males is not known due to their social structure.  The longest-lived male was reported to be 15 years old.  The maximum lifespan reported in captivity was 27 years.
+
+Cognitive abilities and tool use
+Historically, the studies of learning and cognition in non-human primates have focused on simians (monkeys and apes), while strepsirrhine primates, such as the ring-tailed lemur and its allies, have been overlooked and popularly dismissed as unintelligent. A couple of factors stemming from early experiments have played a role in the development of this assumption. First, the experimental design of older tests may have favored the natural behavior and ecology of simians over that of strepsirrhines, making the experimental tasks inappropriate for lemurs. For example, simians are known for their manipulative play with non-food objects, whereas lemurs are only known to manipulate non-food objects in captivity. This behaviour is usually connected with food association. Also, lemurs are known to displace objects with their nose or mouth more so than with their hands.  Therefore, an experiment requiring a lemur to manipulate an object without prior training would favor simians over strepsirrhines. Second, individual ring-tailed lemurs accustomed to living in a troop may not respond well to isolation for laboratory testing. Past studies have reported hysterical behaviour in such scenarios.The notion that lemurs are unintelligent has been perpetuated by the view that the neocortex ratio (as a measure of brain size) indicates intelligence. In fact, primatologist Alison Jolly noted early in her academic career that some lemur species, such as the ring-tailed lemur, have evolved a social complexity similar to that of cercopithecine monkeys, but not the corresponding intelligence. After years of observations of wild ring-tailed lemur populations at the Berenty Reserve in Madagascar and as well as baboons in Africa, she more recently concluded that this highly social lemur species does not demonstrate the equivalent social complexity of cercopithecine monkeys, despite general appearances.Regardless, research has continued to illuminate the complexity of the lemur mind, with emphasis on the cognitive abilities of the ring-tailed lemur. As early as the mid-1970s, studies had demonstrated that they could be trained through operant conditioning using standard schedules of reinforcement. The species has been shown to be capable of learning pattern, brightness, and object discrimination, skills common among vertebrates. The ring-tailed lemur has also been shown to learn a variety of complex tasks often equaling, if not exceeding, the performance of simians.More recently, research at the Duke Lemur Center has shown that the ring-tailed lemur can organize sequences in memory and retrieve ordered sequences without language. The experimental design demonstrated that the lemurs were using internal representation of the sequence to guide their responses and not simply following a trained sequence, where one item in the sequence cues the selection of the next. But this is not the limit of the ring-tailed lemur's reasoning skills. Another study, performed at the Myakka City Lemur Reserve, suggests that this species along with several other closely related lemur species understand simple arithmetic operations.Since tool use is considered to be a key feature of primate intelligence, the apparent lack of this behavior in wild lemurs, as well as the lack of non-food object play, has helped reinforce the perception that lemurs are less intelligent than their simian cousins. However, another study at the Myakka City Lemur Reserve examined the representation of tool functionality in both the ring-tailed lemur and the common brown lemur and discovered that, like monkeys, they used tools with functional properties (e.g., tool orientation or ease of use) instead of tools with nonfunctional features (e.g., color or texture). Although the ring-tailed lemur may not use tools in the wild, it can not only be trained to use a tool, but will preferentially select tools based on their functional qualities. Therefore, the conceptual competence to use a tool may have been present in the common primate ancestor, even though the use of tools may not have appeared until much later.
+
+Conservation status
+In addition to being listed as endangered in 2014 by the IUCN, the ring-tailed lemur has been listed since 1977 by CITES under Appendix I, which makes trade of wild-caught specimens illegal. Although there are more endangered species of lemur, the ring-tailed lemur is considered a flagship species due to its recognizability. As of 2017, only about 2,000 ring-tailed lemurs are estimated to be left in the wild, making the threat of extinction far more serious for them than previously believed.
+Three factors threaten ring-tailed lemurs. First and foremost is habitat destruction.  Starting nearly 2,000 years ago with the introduction of humans to the island, forests have been cleared to produce pasture and agricultural land. Extraction of hardwoods for fuel and lumber, as well mining and overgrazing, have also taken their toll.  Today, it is estimated that 90% of Madagascar's original forest cover has been lost. Rising populations have created even greater demand in the southwest portion of the island for fuel wood, charcoal, and lumber. Fires from the clearing of grasslands, as well as slash-and-burn agriculture destroy forests.  Another threat to the species is harvesting either for food (bushmeat), fur clothing or pets. Finally, periodic drought common to southern Madagascar can impact populations already in decline.  In 1991 and 1992, for example, a severe drought caused an abnormally high mortality rate among infants and females at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve.  Two years later, the population had declined by 31% and took nearly four years to start to recover.The ring-tailed lemur resides in several protected areas within its range, each offering varying levels of protection. At the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, a holistic approach to in-situ conservation has been taken.  Not only does field research and resource management involve international students and local people (including school children), livestock management is used at the peripheral zones of the reserve and ecotourism benefits the local people.Outside of its diminishing habitat and other threats, the ring-tailed lemur reproduces readily and has fared well in captivity.  For this reason, along with its popularity, it has become the most populous lemur in zoos worldwide, with more than 2500 in captivity as of 2009.  It is also the most common of all captive primates.  Ex situ facilities actively involved in the conservation of the ring-tailed lemur include the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina, the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City, Florida, and the Madagascar Fauna Group headquartered at the Saint Louis Zoo.  Due to the high success of captive breeding, reintroduction is a possibility if wild populations were to crash.  Although experimental releases have met success on St. Catherines Island in Georgia, demonstrating that captive lemurs can readily adapt to their environment and exhibit a full range of natural behaviors, captive release is not currently being considered.Ring-tailed lemur populations can also benefit from drought intervention, due to the availability of watering troughs and introduced fruit trees, as seen at the Berenty Private Reserve in southern Madagascar.  However, these interventions are not always seen favorably, since natural population fluctuations are not permitted.  The species is thought to have evolved its high fecundity due to its harsh environment.
+
+Cultural references
+The ring-tailed lemur is known locally in Malagasy as maky (pronounced [ˈmakʲi̥], and spelled maki in French) or hira (pronounced [ˈhirə] or colloquially [ˈir]).  Being the most widely recognized endemic primate on the island, it has been selected as the symbol for Madagascar National Parks (formerly known as ANGAP).  The Maki brand, which started by selling T-shirts in Madagascar and now sells clothing across the Indian Ocean islands, is named after this lemur due to its popularity, even though the company's logo portrays the face of a sifaka and its name uses the French spelling.The first mention of the ring-tailed lemur in Western literature came in 1625 when English traveller and writer Samuel Purchas described them as being comparable in size to a monkey and having a fox-like long tail with black and white rings. Charles Catton included the species in his 1788 book Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta, calling it the "Maucauco" and regarding it as a type of monkey.A Ring-tailed lemur named Dotty regularly appeared with Jonny Morris on the BBC television programme Animal Magic.The species was further popularized by the Animal Planet television series Lemur Street, as well as by the character King Julien in the animated Madagascar film and TV franchise. The ring-tailed lemur was also the focus of the 1996 Nature documentary A Lemur's Tale, which was filmed at the Berenty Reserve and followed a troop of lemurs.  The troop included a special infant named Sapphire, who was nearly albino, with white fur, bright blue eyes, and the characteristic ringed tail.A Ring-tailed lemur played a role in the 1997 comedy film Fierce Creatures, starring John Cleese, who has a passion for lemurs. Cleese later hosted the 1998 BBC documentary In the Wild: Operation Lemur with John Cleese, which tracked the progress of a reintroduction of black-and-white ruffed lemurs back into the Betampona Reserve in Madagascar. The project had been partly funded by Cleese's donation of the proceeds from the London premier of Fierce Creatures.
+
+Notes
+References
+Literature cited
+External links
+
+Official ring-tailed lemur species survival plan
+Ring-tailed Lemur: Lemur catta – Tree of Life Project
+ARKive – images and movies of the ring-tailed lemur
+Primate Info Net Lemur catta Factsheet
+Lemur Conservation Foundation: ring-tailed lemurs
+Nature: A Lemur's Tale
+PBS: In the Wild: Operation Lemur with John Cleese
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diff --git a/data/animals/Maltese dog.txt b/data/animals/Maltese dog.txt
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+Maltese dog refers both to an ancient variety of dwarf, white-coated dog breed popular in Ancient Rome and generally associated also with the island of Malta, and to a modern breed of similar dogs in the toy group, genetically related to the Bichon, Bolognese, and Havanese breeds. The precise link, if any, between the modern and ancient species is not known. Nicholas Cutillo suggested that Maltese dogs might descend from spitz-type canines, and that the ancient variety probably was similar to the latter Pomeranian breeds with their short snout, pricked ears, and bulbous heads. These two varieties, according to Stanley Coren, were perhaps the first dogs employed as human companions.The modern variety traditionally has a silky, pure-white coat, hanging ears and a tail that curves over its back, and weighs up to 3–4 kg (7–9 lb). The Maltese does not shed. The Maltese is kept for companionship, ornament, or competitive exhibition.
+
+Maltese dogs in antiquity
+The old variety of Maltese appears to have been the most common or favourite pet, or certainly household dog, in antiquity. Dogs of various sizes and shapes are depicted on vases and amphorae. On one Attic amphora from about 500 BC, excavated at Vulci in the nineteenth century and now lost, an illustration of a small dog with a pointed muzzle is accompanied by the word μελιταῖε, melitaie.Numerous references to these dogs are found in Ancient Greek and Roman literature. Ancient writers variously attribute its origin either to the island of Malta in the Mediterranean, called Melita in Latin, – a name which derives from the Carthaginian city of that name on the island, Melite – or to the Adriatic island of Mljet, near Corfu and off the Dalmatian coast of modern Croatia, also called Melita in Latin. The uncertainty continues, but recent scholarship generally supports the identification with Malta.In Greece in the classical period a variety of diminutive dog (νανούδιον/nanoúdion -"dwarf dog")  was called a Μελιταῖον κυνίδιον (Melitaion kunídion, "small dog from Melita"). In its unusual smallness it was variously likened to martens (ἴκτις/iktis) or pangolins.  The word "Melita" in this adjectival form, attested in Aristotle, refers to the island of Malta, according to Busuttil.  The Cynic philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, Aristotle's contemporary, according to the testimony of Diogenes Laertius, referred to himself as a "Maltese dog" (κύων.. Μελιταῖος/kúōn Melitaios). A traditional story in Aesop's Fables contrasts the spoiling of a Maltese by his owner, compared to life of the toilsome neglect suffered by the master's ass. Envious of the spoiling attentions lavished on the pup, the ass tries to frolic and be winsome also, in order to enter his master's graces and be treated kindly, only to be beaten off and tethered to its manger.Around 280 BCE,  the learned Hellenistic poet Callimachus, according to Pliny the Elder writing in the Ist century CE, identified Melite – the home of this ancient dog variety – as the Adriatic island, rather than Malta. Conversely, the poem Alexandra ascribed to his equally erudite contemporary Lycophron, which is now thought to have been composed around 190 BCE, also alludes to the island of Melite, but identified it as Malta. Strabo, writing in the early first century AD, attributed its origin to the island of Malta.Aristotle's successor Theophrastus (371 – c. 287 BC), in his sketch of moral types, Characters, has a chapter on a type of person who exercises a petty pride in pursuing a showy ambition to be particularly fastidious in his taste (Μικροφιλοτιμία/mikrophilotimía).  One feature he identifies with this character type is that if his pet dog dies he will erect a memorial slab commemorating his "scion of Melita."  Athenaeus, in his voluminous early 3rd century CE Deipnosophistae (12:518-519), states that it was a characteristic of the Sicilian Sybarites, notorious for the extreme punctiliousness of their refined tastes, to delight in the company of owl-faced jester-dwarfs and Melite lap-dogs (rather than in their fellow human beings), with the latter accompanying them even when they went to exercise in the gymnasia.The Romans called them catuli melitaei. During the first century, the Roman poet Martial wrote descriptive verses to a lap dog named "Issa" owned by his friend Publius. It has been claimed that Issa was a Maltese dog, and that various sources link this Publius with the Roman Governor Publius of Malta,  but nothing is known of this Publius, other than that he was an unidentified friend of Paulus, a member of Martial's literary circle.
+
+The Maltese in modern times
+Dog genomic experts state that despite the rich history of the ancient breed, the modern Maltese, like many other breeds, cannot be linked by pedigree to that ancient genealogy, but, rather, emerged in the Victorian era by regulating the crossing of existing varieties of dog to produce a type that could be registered as a distinct breed. The Maltese and similar breeds such as the Havanese, Bichon and Bolognese, are indeed related, perhaps through a common ancestor resulting from a severe bottleneck when a handful of petite canine varieties began to be selected for mating around two centuries ago.In his work Insulae Melitae Descriptio, the first history of its kind, Abbé Jean Quintin, Secretary to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, wrote in 1536 that, while classical authors wrote of Maltese dogs, which perhaps might formerly have been born there, the local Maltese people of his time were no longer familiar with the species.John Caius, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, writing of women's chamber pets, canes delicati  such as the Comforter or Spanish Gentle, stated that they were known as "Melitei" hailing from Malta, though the species he describes were actually Spaniels, perhaps of the recently imported King Charles Spaniel type. A variation of the latter was the Blenheim toy dog, bred by the Marlborough family, with its distinctive white and chestnut mantle. Red and white mantled varieties of these toy pets, the King Charles or Oxfordshire Blenheim breeds, were all the fashion in the 17th.century, down through the early decades of the 19th.century.In 1837 Edwin Landseer painted The Lion Dog from Malta: The Last of his Tribe, a portrait of a dog named Quiz, a petite flossy white creature poised next to a huge Newfoundland dog, commissioned by Queen Victoria as a birthday present for her mother, the Duchess of Kent, whose dog it was. According to John Henry Welsh, shortly after Landseer's canvases, the London fancy of toy dog enthusiasts took to importing exemplars of the Chinese spaniel, with their short faces and snub noses, and crossbred these with pugs and bulldogs to select for puppies with a longer "feather" or fleecing on their ears and limbs. Some time later, the London market began to deal in what were called "Maltese" dogs. These had no known connection to that island, and one of the breeders, T. V. H. Lukey, associated with the English mastiff, stated that his own Maltese strain was imported from the Manilla Islands in 1841.A strain of this type was accepted as a distinct class at the Agricultural Hall Show in Islington in 1862, when a breeder, R. Mandeville, took first prize and continued to do so in subsequent years. From 1869 to 1879, Mandeville swept the board of most shows in Birmingham, Islington, the Crystal Palace, and Cremorne Gardens, and his kennels were considered to have furnished the finest strain for subsequent Maltese breeding. From the 19th. century onwards, the requirement emerged for the Maltese to have an exclusively white coat. Despite the unknown provenance, by the close of the century, the dog-expert William Drury noted that nearly all English writers of that period associated the breed with Malta, without adducing any evidence for the claim.A white dog was shown as a "Maltese Lion Dog" at the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City in 1877. From that time they were occasionally crossed with poodles, and a stud book, based on the issue of two females, was established in 1901. By the 1950s, this registry counted roughly 50 dogs in its pedigree table. The Maltese was recognised as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1888. It was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale under the patronage of Italy in 1955.
+
+Characteristics
+The coat is dense, glossy, silky and shiny, falling heavily along the body without curls or an undercoat. The colour is pure white, however a pale ivory tinge or light brown spotting is permitted. Adult weight is usually 3–4 kg (7–9 lb). Females are about 20–23 cm (8–9 in) tall, males slightly more. It behaves in a lively, calm, and affectionate manner.
+The Maltese does not shed. Like other white dogs, it may show tear-stains.
+
+Use
+The Maltese is kept for companionship, for ornament, or for competitive exhibition. It is ranked 59th of 79 breeds assessed for intelligence by Stanley Coren.
+
+See also
+Lap dog
+List of dog breeds
+
+Notes
+Citations
+Sources
+
+
+== External links ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/Newfoundland.txt b/data/animals/Newfoundland.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/Newfoundland.txt
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+Newfoundland and Labrador ( NEW-fən(d)-lənd ... LAB-rə-dor, -⁠land ..., locally  NEW-fən-LAND ...; French: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of 405,212 square kilometres (156,500 sq mi). In 2023, the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 533,710. The island of Newfoundland (and its smaller neighbouring islands) is home to around 94 per cent of the province's population, with more than half residing in the Avalon Peninsula. Labrador borders the province of Quebec, and the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lies about 20 km (12 mi) west of the Burin Peninsula.
+According to the 2016 census, 97.0 per cent of residents reported English as their native language, making Newfoundland and Labrador Canada's most linguistically homogeneous province. A majority of the population is descended from English and Irish settlers, giving Newfoundland its reputation as "the most Irish place outside Ireland."St. John's, the capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, is Canada's 22nd-largest census metropolitan area and it is home to about 40% of the province's population. St. John's is the seat of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the province's highest court, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal.
+Until 1949, the Dominion of Newfoundland was a separate dominion in the British Empire. In 1933 the House of Assembly of the self-governing dominion voted to dissolve itself and to hand over administration of Newfoundland and Labrador to the British-appointed Commission of Government. This followed the suffering caused by the Great Depression and Newfoundland's participation in World War I. On March 31, 1949, it became the 10th and newest province to join the Canadian Confederation as "Newfoundland". On December 6, 2001, the Constitution of Canada was amended to change the province's name from "Newfoundland" to "Newfoundland and Labrador".
+
+Names
+The name "New founde lande" was uttered by King Henry VII about the land explored by Sebastian and John Cabot. In Portuguese, it is Terra Nova (while the province's full name is Terra Nova e Labrador), which literally means "new land" and is also the French name for the province's island region (Terre-Neuve). The name "Terra Nova" is in wide use on the island (e.g. Terra Nova National Park). The influence of early Portuguese exploration is also reflected in the name of Labrador, which derives from the surname of the Portuguese navigator João Fernandes Lavrador.Labrador's name in the Inuttitut/Inuktitut language (spoken in Nunatsiavut) is Nunatsuak (ᓄᓇᑦᓱᐊᒃ), meaning "the big land" (a common English nickname for Labrador). Newfoundland's Inuttitut/Inuktitut name is Ikkarumikluak (ᐃᒃᑲᕈᒥᒃᓗᐊᒃ), meaning "place of many shoals". Newfoundland and Labrador's Inuttitut/Inuktitut name is Ikkarumikluak aamma Nunatsuak.
+Terre-Neuve et Labrador is the French name used in the Constitution of Canada. However, French is not widely spoken in Newfoundland and Labrador and is not an official language at the provincial level.
+
+Geography
+Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, situated in the northeastern region of North America. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical parts: Labrador, connected to mainland Canada, and Newfoundland, an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands.Newfoundland has a roughly triangular shape. Each side is about 400 km (250 mi) long, and its area is 108,860 km2 (42,030 sq mi). Newfoundland and its neighbouring small islands (excluding French possessions) have an area of 111,390 km2 (43,010 sq mi). Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N.Labrador is also roughly triangular in shape: the western part of its border with Quebec is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, and the rest belongs to Quebec. Most of Labrador's southern boundary with Quebec follows the 52nd parallel of latitude. Labrador's extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a short border with Nunavut on Killiniq Island. Labrador also has a maritime border with Greenland. Labrador's land area (including associated small islands) is 294,330 km2 (113,640 sq mi). Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06% of Canada's area, with a total area of 405,720 km2 (156,650 sq mi).
+
+Geology
+Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland. Gros Morne National Park has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site. The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland's west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains.The north-south extent of the province (46°36′N to 60°22′N), prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province.
+
+Climate
+Newfoundland, in broad terms, has a cool summer subtype, with a humid continental climate attributable to its proximity to water — no part of the island is more than 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean. However, Northern Labrador is classified as a polar tundra climate, and southern Labrador has a subarctic climate. Newfoundland and Labrador contain a range of climates and weather patterns, including frequent combinations of high winds, snow, rain, and fog, conditions that regularly made travel by road, air, or ferry challenging or impossible.
+Monthly average temperatures, rainfall levels, and snowfall levels for four locations are shown in the attached graphs. St. John's represents the east coast, Gander the interior of the island, Corner Brook the west coast of the island and Wabush the interior of Labrador. Climate data for 56 places in the province is available from Environment Canada.The data for the graphs is the average over 30 years. Error bars on the temperature graph indicate the range of daytime highs and night time lows. Snowfall is the total amount that fell during the month, not the amount accumulated on the ground. This distinction is particularly important for St. John's, where a heavy snowfall can be followed by rain, so no snow remains on the ground.
+Surface water temperatures on the Atlantic side reach a summer average of 12 °C (54 °F) inshore and 9 °C (48 °F) offshore to winter lows of −1 °C (30 °F) inshore and 2 °C (36 °F) offshore. Sea temperatures on the west coast are warmer than Atlantic side by 1–3 °C (approximately 2–5 °F). The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer temperatures a little lower on the coast than inland. The maritime climate produces more variable weather, ample precipitation in a variety of forms, greater humidity, lower visibility, more clouds, less sunshine, and higher winds than a continental climate.
+
+History
+Early history and the Beothuks
+Dorset culture
+Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9,000 years. The Maritime Archaic peoples were sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic. They prospered along the Atlantic Coast of North America from about 7000 BC to 1500 BC. Their settlements included longhouses and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, using as currency white chert, a rock quarried from northern Labrador to Maine. The southern branch of these people was established on the north peninsula of Newfoundland by 5,000 years ago. The Maritime Archaic period is best known from a mortuary site in Newfoundland at Port au Choix.The Maritime Archaic peoples were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset culture (Late Paleo-Eskimo) who also occupied Port au Choix. The number of their sites discovered on Newfoundland indicates they may have been the most numerous Aboriginal people to live there. They thrived from about 2000 BC to 800 AD. Many of their sites were on exposed headlands and outer islands. They were more oriented to the sea than earlier peoples, and had developed sleds and boats similar to kayaks. They burned seal blubber in soapstone lamps.
+Many of these sites, such as Port au Choix, recently excavated by Memorial archaeologist, Priscilla Renouf, are quite large and show evidence of a long-term commitment to place. Renouf has excavated huge amounts of harp seal bones at Port au Choix, indicating that this place was a prime location for the hunting of these animals.
+The people of the Dorset culture (800 BC – 1500 AD) were highly adapted to a cold climate, and much of their food came from hunting sea mammals through holes in the ice. The massive decline in sea ice during the Medieval Warm Period would have had a devastating effect upon their way of life.
+
+Beothuk settlement
+The appearance of the Beothuk culture is believed to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to Newfoundland around 1 AD. The Inuit, found mostly in Labrador, are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 AD and spread eastwards across the High Arctic tundra reaching Labrador around 1300–1500. Researchers believe the Dorset culture lacked the dogs, larger weapons and other technologies that gave the expanding Inuit an advantage.The inhabitants eventually organized themselves into small bands of a few families, grouped into larger tribes and chieftainships. The Innu are the inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, i.e. most of what is now referred to as northeastern Quebec and Labrador. Their subsistence activities were historically centered on hunting and trapping caribou, deer and small game. Coastal clans also practiced agriculture, fished and managed maple sugar bush. The Innu engaged in tribal warfare along the coast of Labrador with Inuit groups that had large populations.The Miꞌkmaq of southern Newfoundland spent most of their time on the shores harvesting seafood; during the winter they would move inland to the woods to hunt. Over time, the Miꞌkmaq and Innu divided their lands into traditional "districts". Each district was independently governed and had a district chief and a council. The council members were band chiefs, elders and other worthy community leaders. In addition to the district councils, the Miꞌkmaq tribes also developed a Grand Council or Santé Mawiómi, which according to oral tradition was formed before 1600.
+
+European contact
+By the time European contact with Newfoundland began in the early 16th century, the Beothuk were the only indigenous group living permanently on the island. Unlike other groups in the Northeastern area of the Americas, the Beothuk never established sustained trading relations with European settlers. Their interactions were sporadic, and they largely attempted to avoid contact. The establishment of English fishing operations on the outer coastline of the island, and their later expansion into bays and inlets, cut off access for the Beothuk to their traditional sources of food.In the 18th century, as the Beothuk were driven further inland by these encroachments, violence between Beothuk and settlers escalated, with each retaliating against the other in their competition for resources. By the early 19th century, violence, starvation, and exposure to tuberculosis had decimated the Beothuk population, and they were extinct by 1829.The oldest confirmed accounts of European contact date from a thousand years ago as described in the Viking (Norse) Icelandic Sagas. Around the year 1001, the sagas refer to Leif Erikson landing in three places to the west, the first two being Helluland (possibly Baffin Island) and Markland (possibly Labrador). Leif's third landing was at a place he called Vinland (possibly Newfoundland). Archaeological evidence of a Norse settlement was found in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.There are several other unconfirmed accounts of European discovery and exploration, one tale of men from the Channel Islands being blown off course in the late 15th century into a strange land full of fish, and another from Portuguese maps that depict the Terra do Bacalhau, or land of codfish, west of the Azores. The earliest, though, is the Voyage of Saint Brendan, the fantastical account of an Irish monk who made a sea voyage in the early 6th century. While the story became a part of myth and legend, some historians believe it is based on fact.
+In 1496, John Cabot obtained a charter from English King Henry VII to "sail to all parts, countries and seas of the East, the West and of the North, under our banner and ensign and to set up our banner on any new-found-land" and on June 24, 1497, landed in Cape Bonavista. Historians disagree on whether Cabot landed in Nova Scotia in 1497 or in Newfoundland, or possibly Maine, if he landed at all, but the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom recognise Bonavista as being Cabot's "official" landing place. In 1499 and 1500, Portuguese mariners João Fernandes Lavrador and Pêro de Barcelos explored and mapped the coast, the former's name appearing as "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period.Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the area John Cabot visited in 1497 and 1498. Subsequently, in 1501 and 1502 the Corte-Real brothers, Miguel and Gaspar, explored Newfoundland and Labrador, claiming them as part of the Portuguese Empire. In 1506, king Manuel I of Portugal created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. João Álvares Fagundes and Pêro de Barcelos established seasonal fishing outposts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1521, and older Portuguese settlements may have existed. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, provided with letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I, landed in St. John's in August 1583, and formally took possession of the island.
+
+European settlement and conflict
+Sometime before 1563 Basque fishermen, who had been fishing cod shoals off Newfoundland's coasts since the beginning of the sixteenth century, founded Plaisance (today Placentia), a seasonal haven which French fishermen later used. In the Newfoundland will of the Basque seaman Domingo de Luca, dated 1563 and now in an archive in Spain, he asks "that my body be buried in this port of Plazençia in the place where those who die here are usually buried". This will is the oldest-known civil document written in Canada.
+Twenty years later, in 1583, Newfoundland became England's first possession in North America and one of the earliest permanent English colonies in the New World when Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed it for Elizabeth I. European fishing boats had visited Newfoundland continuously since Cabot's second voyage in 1498 and seasonal fishing camps had existed for a century prior. Fishing boats originated from Basque country, England, France, and Portugal.
+In 1585, during the initial stages of Anglo-Spanish War, Bernard Drake led a devastating raid on the Spanish and Portuguese fisheries. This provided an opportunity to secure the island and led to the appointment of Proprietary Governors to establish colonial settlements on the island from 1610 to 1728. John Guy became governor of the first settlement at Cuper's Cove. Other settlements included Bristol's Hope, Renews, New Cambriol, South Falkland and Avalon (which became a province in 1623). The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke in 1638.
+Explorers quickly realized the waters around Newfoundland had the best fishing in the North Atlantic. By 1620, 300 fishing boats worked the Grand Banks, employing some 10,000 sailors; many continuing to come from the Basque Country, Normandy, or Brittany. They dried and salted cod on the coast and sold it to Spain and Portugal. Heavy investment by Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, in the 1620s in wharves, warehouses, and fishing stations failed to pay off. French raids hurt the business, and the weather was terrible, so he redirected his attention to his other colony in Maryland. After Calvert left, small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke made good use of the facilities. Kirke became the first governor of Newfoundland in 1638.
+
+Triangular Trade
+A triangular trade with New England, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role. 
+By the 1670s, there were 1,700 permanent residents and another 4,500 in the summer months.This trade relied upon the labour of enslaved people of African descent. Salted cod from Newfoundland was used to feed the enslaved persons of African descent on plantations in the West Indies. Products typically associated with Newfoundland such as molasses and rum (Screech), were produced by the enslaved persons of African descent on plantations in the West Indies, and shipped to Newfoundland and England on merchant ships. Some merchants in Newfoundland enslaved persons of African descent such as St. John's merchant, Thomas Oxford. John Ryan, merchant and publisher of the Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser, who resided in New Brunswick and Newfoundland, freed his enslaved servant Dinah, upon his death in Newfoundland in 1847, notably after the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.Notably, the Kirke brothers who were merchants in the triangular trade, brought Olivier Le Jeune to New France, where he was sold in 1629.
+In 1655, France appointed a governor in Plaisance (Placentia), the former Basque fishing settlement, thus starting a formal French colonization period in Newfoundland as well as a period of periodic war and unrest between England and France in the region. The Miꞌkmaq, as allies of the French, were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst and fought alongside them against the English. English attacks on Placentia provoked retaliation by New France explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville who during King William's War in the 1690s destroyed nearly every English settlement on the island. The entire population of the English colony was either killed, captured for ransom, or sentenced to expulsion to England, with the exception of those who withstood the attack at Carbonear Island and those in the then remote Bonavista.
+After France lost political control of the area after the Siege of Port Royal in 1710, the Miꞌkmaq engaged in warfare with the British throughout Dummer's War (1722–1725), King George's War (1744–1748), Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and the French and Indian War (1754–1763). The French colonization period lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession: France ceded to the British its claims to Newfoundland (including its claims to the shores of Hudson Bay) and to the French possessions in Acadia. Afterward, under the supervision of the last French governor, the French population of Plaisance moved to Île Royale (now Cape Breton Island), part of Acadia which remained then under French control.
+In the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), France had acknowledged British ownership of the island. However, in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), control of Newfoundland once again became a major source of conflict between Britain, France and Spain, who all pressed for a share in the valuable fishery there. Britain's victories around the globe led William Pitt to insist nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. A British force under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst recaptured St. John's, which the French had seized three months earlier in a surprise attack.
+
+From 1763 to 1767 James Cook made a detailed survey of the coasts of Newfoundland and southern Labrador while commander of HMS Grenville. (The following year, 1768, Cook began his first circumnavigation of the world.) In 1796 a Franco-Spanish expedition again succeeded in raiding the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, destroying many of the settlements.
+By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), French fishermen gained the right to land and cure fish on the "French Shore" on the western coast. (They had a permanent base on the nearby St. Pierre and Miquelon islands; the French gave up their French Shore rights in 1904.) In 1783 the British signed the Treaty of Paris with the United States that gave American fishermen similar rights along the coast. These rights were reaffirmed by treaties in 1818, 1854 and 1871, and confirmed by arbitration in 1910.
+
+British colony
+The United Irish Conspiracy and Catholic Emancipation
+The founding proprietor of the Province of Avalon, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, intended that it should serve as a refuge for his persecuted Roman Catholic co-religionists. But like his other colony in the Province of Maryland on the American mainland, it soon passed out of the Calvert family's control. The majority Catholic population that developed, thanks to Irish immigration, in St. John's and the Avalon Peninsula, was subjected to same disabilities that applied elsewhere under the British Crown. On visiting St. John's in 1786, Prince William Henry (the future King William IV) noted that "there are ten Roman Catholics to one Protestant", and he counselled against any measure of Catholic relief.Following news of rebellion in Ireland, in June 1798 Governor Vice-Admiral Waldegrave cautioned London that the English constituted but a "small proportion" of the locally raised Regiment of Foot. In an echo of an earlier Irish conspiracy during the French occupation of St. John's in 1762, in April 1800 the authorities had reports that upwards of 400 men had taken an oath as United Irishmen, and that eighty soldiers were committed to killing their officers and seizing their Anglican governors at Sunday service.The abortive mutiny, for which for which eight men (denounced by Catholic Bishop James Louis O'Donel as "favourers of the infidel French") were hanged, may have been less a United Irish plot, than an act of desperation in the face of brutal living conditions and officer tyranny. Many of the Irish reserve soldiers were forced to remain on duty, unable to return to the fisheries that supported their families. Yet the Newfoundland Irish would have been aware of the agitation in the homeland for civil equality and political rights. There were reports of communication with United men in Ireland from before '98 rebellion; of Thomas Paine's pamphlets circulating in St. John's; and, despite the war with France, of hundreds of young Waterford men still making a seasonal migration to the island for the fisheries, among them defeated rebels, said to have "added fuel to the fire" of local grievance.When news reached Newfoundland in May 1829 that the UK Parliament had finally conceded Catholic emancipation, the locals assumed that Catholics would now pass unhindered into the ranks of public office and enjoy equality with Protestants. There was a celebratory parade and mass in St. John's, and a gun salute from vessels in the harbour. But the attorney general and supreme court justices determined that as Newfoundland was a colony, and not a province of the United Kingdom, the Roman Catholic Relief Act did not apply. The discrimination was a matter of local ordinance.It was not until May 1832 that the British Secretary of State for the Colonies formally stated that a new commission would be issued to Governor Cochrane to remove any and all Roman Catholic disabilities in Newfoundland. By then Catholic emancipation was bound up (as in Ireland) with the call for home rule.
+
+Achievement of home rule
+After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, France and other nations re-entered the fish trade and an abundance of cod glutted international markets. Prices dropped, competition increased, and the colony's profits evaporated. A string of harsh winters between 1815 and 1817 made living conditions even more difficult, while fires at St. John's in 1817 left thousands homeless. At the same time a new wave of immigration from Ireland increased the Catholic population. In these circumstances much of the English and Protestant proprietor class tended to shelter behind the appointed, and Anglican, "naval government".A broad home-rule coalition of Irish community leaders and (Scottish and Welsh) Methodists formed in 1828. Expressing, initially, the concerns of a new middle class over taxation, it was led by William Carson, a Scottish physician, and Patrick Morris, an Irish merchant. In 1825 the British government granted Newfoundland and Labrador official colonial status and appointed Sir Thomas Cochrane as its first civil governor. Partly carried by the wave of reform in Britain, a colonial legislature in St. John's, together with the promise of Catholic emancipation, followed in 1832. Carson made his goal for Newfoundland clear: "We shall rise into a national existence, having a national character, a nation's feelings, assuming that rank among our neighbours which the political situation and the extent of our island demand".Standing as Liberals, the reformers sought to break the Anglican monopoly on government patronage and to tax the fisheries to fund the judiciary, road-building projects, and other expenses. They were opposed by the Conservatives (the "Tories"), who largely represented the Anglican establishment and mercantile interests. While Tories dominated the governor's appointed Executive Council, Liberals generally held the majority of seats in the elected House of Assembly.Economic conditions remained harsh. As in Ireland, the potato which made possible a steady growth in population failed as a result of the Phytophthora infestans blight. The number of deaths from the 1846–1848 Newfoundland potato famine remains unknown, but there was pervasive hunger. Along with other half-hearted measures to relieve the distress, Governor John Gaspard Le Marchant declared a "Day of Public Fasting and Humiliation" in hopes the Almighty might pardon their sins and "withdraw his afflicting hand." The wave of post-famine emigration from Ireland notably passed over Newfoundland.
+
+Era of responsible government
+Fisheries revived, and the devolution of responsibilities from London continued. In 1854 the British government established Newfoundland's first responsible government, an executive accountable to the colonial legislature. In 1855, with an Assembly majority, the Liberals under Philip Francis Little (the first Roman Catholic to practise law in St. John's) formed Newfoundland's first parliamentary government (1855–1858). Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada in the 1869 general election. The Islanders were preoccupied with land issues—the Escheat movement with its call to suppress absentee landlordism in favour of the tenant farmer. Canada offered little in the way of solutions.From the 1880s, as cod fishery fell into severe decline, there was large-scale emigration. While some people, working abroad, left their homes on a seasonal or temporary basis more began to leave permanently. Most emigrants (largely Catholic and of Irish descent) moved to Canada, many to find work in the steel plants and coal mines of Nova Scotia. There was also a considerable outflow to the United States and, in particular, to New England.In 1892 St. John's burned. The Great Fire left 12,000 homeless. In 1894, the two commercial banks in Newfoundland collapsed. These bankruptcies left a vacuum that was subsequently filled by Canadian chartered banks, a change that subordinated Newfoundland to Canadian monetary policies.Newfoundland lay outside the direct route of world traffic. St. John's, 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from Liverpool and about 1,000 miles from the east-coast American cities, was not a port of call for Atlantic liners. But with the co-ordination and extension of the railway system, new prospects for development opened in the interior. Paper and pulp mills were established by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Co. at Grand Falls for the supply of the publishing empires in the UK of Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere. Iron ore mines were established at Bell Island.
+
+British Dominion
+Reform and the Fisherman's Union
+In 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status, or self-government, within the British Empire or British Commonwealth. Government of Newfoundland was conducted mostly by a cabinet accountable solely to the legislature in St. John's, subject only to occasional policy changes from the British government, for example vetoing a trade agreement Newfoundland had negotiated with the United States. A new reform-minded government was formed under Edward Morris, a senior Catholic politician who had split from the Liberals to form the People's Party. It extended education provision, introduced old-age pensions, initiated agriculture and trade schemes and, with a trade union act, provided a legal framework for collective bargaining.There had been unions seeking to negotiate wage rates in the shipbuilding trades since the 1850s. Those working the fishing boats were not wage earners but commodity producers, like farmers, reliant on merchant credit. Working in small, competitive, often family, units, scattered in isolated communities, they also had little occasion to gather in large numbers to discuss common concerns. These obstacles to organization were overcome from 1908 by a new co-operative movement, the Fishermen's Protective Union (FPU). Mobilizing more than 21,000 members in 206 councils across the island; more than half of Newfoundland's fishermen, the FPU challenged the economic control of the island's merchantocracy. Despite opposition from the Catholic Church which objected to the FPU's oath taking and alleged socialism, led by William Coaker the candidates for the FPU won 8 of 36 seats in the House of Assembly in the 1913 general election.At the beginning of 1914 economic conditions seemed favourable to reform. In a little over a decade exports, imports and state revenue had more than doubled. Schemes were afoot for the exploitation of coal and mineral resources, and for the utilisation of peat beds for fuel. Benefiting from the settlement of disputes over fishing rights with France in 1904, and with the New England states in 1910, the fishing industry was looking to develop new markets.
+
+World War I and its aftermath
+In August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Out of a total population of about 250,000, Newfoundland offered up some 12,000 men for Imperial service (including 3,000 who joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force). About a third of these were to serve in 1st Newfoundland Regiment, which after service in the Gallipoli Campaign, was nearly wiped out at Beaumont-Hamel on the first day on the Somme, July 1, 1916. The regiment, which the Dominion government had chosen to raise, equip, and train at its own expense, was resupplied and went on to serve with distinction in several subsequent battles, earning the prefix "Royal". The overall fatality and casualty rate for the regiment was high: 1,281 dead, 2,284 wounded.The FPU members joined Edward Patrick Morris' wartime National Government of 1917, but their reputation suffered when they failed to abide by their promise not to support military conscription without a referendum. In 1919, the FPU joined with the Liberals to form the Liberal Reform Party whose success in the 1919 general election allowed Coaker to continue as Fisheries Minister. But there was little he could do to sustain the credibility of the FPU in the face of the post-war slump in fish prices, and the subsequent high unemployment and emigration. At the same time the Dominion's war debt due to the regiment and the cost of the trans-island railway, limited the government's ability to provide relief.In the spring of 1918, in midst of disquiet over wartime inflation and profiteering, there had been protest. The Newfoundland Industrial Workers' Association (NIWA) struck both the rail and steamship operations of the Reid Newfoundland Company, effectively isolating the capital and threatening the annual seal hunt. Central to the eventual settlement were not only wage increases, but "the great principle that employees are entitled to be heard in all matters connected with their welfare".When in January 1919, Sinn Féin formed the Dáil Éireann in Dublin, the Irish question and local sectarian tensions resurfaced in Newfoundland. In the course of 1920 many Catholics of Irish descent in St. John's joined the local branch of the Self-Determination for Ireland League (SDIL). Although tempered by expressions of loyalty to the Empire, the League's vocal support for Irish self-government was opposed by the local Orange Order. Claiming to represent 20,000 "loyal citizens", the Order was composed almost exclusively of Anglicans or Methodists of English descent. Tensions ran sufficiently high that Catholic Archbishop Edward Roche felt constrained to caution League organisers against the hazards of "a sectarian war."Since the early 1800s, Newfoundland and Quebec (or Lower Canada) had been in a border dispute over the Labrador region. In 1927, the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled that the area known as modern-day Labrador was to be considered part of the Dominion of Newfoundland.
+
+Commission government
+The Great Depression and the return of colonial rule
+Following the stock market crash in 1929, the international market for much of Newfoundland and Labrador's goods—saltfish, pulp paper and minerals—decreased dramatically. In 1930, the country earned $40 million from its exports; that number dropped to $23.3 million in 1933. The fishery suffered particularly heavy losses as salted cod that sold for $8.90 a quintal in 1929 fetched only half that amount by 1932. With this precipitous loss of export income, the level of debt Newfoundland carried from the Great War and from construction of the Newfoundland Railway proved unsustainable. In 1931, the Dominion defaulted. Newfoundland survived with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada but, in the summer of 1933, faced with unprecedented economic problems at home, Canada decided against any further support.
+Following retrenchment in all the Dominion's major industries, the government laid off close to one third of its civil servants and cut the wages of those it retained. For the first time since the 1880s malnutrition was facilitating the spread of beriberi, tuberculosis and other diseases.The British had a stark choice: accept financial collapse in Newfoundland or pay the full cost of keeping the country solvent. The solution, accepted by the legislature in 1933, was to accept a de facto return to direct colonial rule. In exchange for loan guarantees by the Crown and a promise that self-government would in time be re-established, the legislature in St. John's voted itself out of existence.: 8–10  On February 16, 1934, the Commission of Government was sworn in, ending 79 years of responsible government. The Commission consisted of seven persons appointed by the British government. For 15 years, no elections took place, and no legislature was convened.Between 1934 and 1939, the Commission of Government managed the situation but the underlying problem, world-wide depression, resisted solution. The dispirited state of the country is said to have been evident in "'the lack of cheering and of visible enthusiasm' in the crowds that came out to see King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their brief visit in June 1939."
+
+World War II
+The situation changed dramatically, after Newfoundland and Labrador, with no responsible government of its own, was automatically committed to war as a result of Britain's ultimatum to Germany in September 1939. Unlike in 1914–1918, when the Dominion government volunteered and financed a full expeditionary regiment, there would be no separate presence overseas and, by implication, no compulsory enlistment. Volunteers filled the ranks of Newfoundland units in both the Royal Artillery and the Royal Air Force, and of the largest single contingent of Newfoundlanders to go overseas, the Newfoundland Forestry Unit. As a result, and taking into account service in the Newfoundland Militia, and in the merchant marine, as in the First World War about 12,000 Newfoundlanders were at one time or another directly or indirectly involved in the war effort.In June 1940, following the defeat of France and the German occupation of most of Western Europe, the Commission of Government, with British approval, authorized Canadian forces to help defend Newfoundland's air bases for the duration of the war. Canada's military commitment greatly increased in 1941 when German submarines began to attack the large numbers of merchant ships in the north-west Atlantic. In addition to reinforcing the bomber squadron at Gander, the Royal Canadian Air Force provided a further squadron of bombers that flew from a new airport Canada built at Torbay (the present St. John's airport). From November 1940, a new airbase at Gander became one of the so called "sally-ports of freedom" with U.S. manufactured aircraft flying in swarms to Britain.Already in March 1941, United Kingdom conceded the United States, then still officially neutral, what were effectively U.S. sovereign base rights. The Americans chose properties at St. John's, where they established an army base (Fort Pepperrell) and a dock facility; at Argentia/Marquise, where they built a naval air base and an army base (Fort McAndrew); and at Stephenville, where they built a large airfield (Ernest Harmon Airbase). As allies after December 1941, the Americans were also accommodated at Torbay, Goose Bay and Gander.This garrisoning of Newfoundland had profound economic, political and social consequences. Enlistment for service abroad and the base building boom at home eliminated the chronic unemployment of the previous decades. By 1942, the country not only enjoyed full employment and could spend more on health, education and housing, it was making interest-free loans of Canadian dollars to the by-then hard-pressed British. At the same time, the presence of so many Canadians and Americans, complete with entertainment and consumer goods, promoted a taste for the more affluent consumerism that had been developing throughout North America.
+
+The National Convention
+When prosperity returned with World War II, agitation began to end the Commission and reinstate responsible government. Instead, the British government created the National Convention in 1946. Chaired by Judge Cyril J. Fox, the Convention consisted of 45 elected members from across the dominion and was formally tasked with advising on the future of Newfoundland.
+Several motions were made by Joey Smallwood (a convention member who later served as the first provincial premier of Newfoundland) to examine joining Canada by sending a delegation to Ottawa. The first motion was defeated, although the Convention later decided to send delegations to both London and Ottawa to explore alternatives. In January 1948, the National Convention voted against adding the issue of Confederation to the referendum 29 to 16, but the British, who controlled the National Convention and the subsequent referendum, overruled this move. Those who supported Confederation were extremely disappointed with the recommendations of the National Convention and organized a petition, signed by more than 50,000 Newfoundlanders, demanding that Confederation with Canada be placed before the people in the upcoming referendum. As most historians agree, the British government keenly wanted Confederation on the ballot and ensured its inclusion.
+
+Canadian province
+The referendums on confederation
+Three main factions actively campaigned during the lead-up to the referendums on confederation with Canada:
+
+The Confederate Association (CA), led by Smallwood, advocated entry into the Canadian Confederation. They campaigned through a newspaper known as The Confederate.
+The Responsible Government League (RGL), led by Peter Cashin, advocated an independent Newfoundland with a return to responsible government. Their newspaper was The Independent.
+The smaller Economic Union Party (EUP), led by Chesley Crosbie, advocated closer economic ties with the United States. A 1947 Gallup poll found 80% of Newfoundland residents wanting to become Americans, but the United States had no interest in the proposal, and preferred Newfoundland join Canada. The EUP failed to gain much support and after the first referendum merged with the RGL.The first referendum took place on June 3, 1948; 44.6% of people voted for responsible government, 41.1% voted for confederation with Canada, while 14.3% voted for the Commission of Government. Since none of the choices had gained more than 50%, a second referendum with only the two more popular choices was held on July 22, 1948. The official outcome of that referendum was 52.3% for confederation with Canada and 47.7% for responsible (independent) government. After the referendum, the British governor named a seven-man delegation to negotiate Canada's offer on behalf of Newfoundland. After six of the delegation signed, the British government passed the British North America Act, 1949 through the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Newfoundland officially joined Canada at midnight on March 31, 1949.As documents in British and Canadian archives became available in the 1980s, it became evident that both Canada and the United Kingdom had wanted Newfoundland to join Canada. Some have charged it was a conspiracy to manoeuvre Newfoundland into Confederation in exchange for forgiveness of Britain's war debt and for other considerations.: 68  Yet, most historians who have examined the relevant documents have concluded that, while Britain engineered the inclusion of a Confederation option in the referendum, Newfoundlanders made the final decision themselves, if by a narrow margin.Following the referendum, there was a rumour that the referendum had been narrowly won by the "responsible government" side, but that the result had been fixed by the British governor.: 225–26  Shortly after the referendum, several boxes of ballots from St. John's were burned by order of Herman William Quinton, one of only two commissioners who supported confederation.: 224  Some have argued that independent oversight of the vote tallying was lacking, though the process was supervised by respected Corner Brook Magistrate Nehemiah Short, who had also overseen elections to the National Convention.: 224–25
+
+1959 Woodworkers' strike
+In 1959, a strike led by the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) that resulted the "most bitter labour dispute in Newfoundland's history." Smallwood, although he had himself been an organizer in the lumber industry, feared that the strike would shut down what had become the province's largest employer. His government introduced emergency legislation that immediately decertified the IWA, prohibited secondary picketing, and made unions liable for illegal acts committed on their behalf.The International Labour Organization, Canadian Labour Congress, and the Newfoundland Federation of Labour condemned the legislation, and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker refused to provide the province with additional police to enforce the legislation. But running out of food and money, the loggers eventually abandoned the strike, joined Smallwood's newly created Newfoundland Brotherhood of Wood Workers, and negotiated a settlement with the logging companies, ending the strike and effectively undermining the IWA.
+
+Resettlement programs
+From the early 1950s the provincial government pursued a policy of population transfer by centralizing the rural population. A resettlement of the many isolated communities scattered along Newfoundland's coasts was seen as a way to save rural Newfoundland by moving people to what were referred to as "growth centres". It was believed this would allow the government to provide more and better public services such as education, health care, roads and electricity. The resettlement policy was also expected to create more employment opportunities outside of the fishery, or in spinoff industries, which meant a stronger and more modern fishing industry for those remaining in it.Three attempts of resettlement were initiated by the Government between 1954 and 1975 which resulted in the abandonment of 300 communities and nearly 30,000 people moved. Denounced as poorly resourced and as an historic injustice, resettlement has been viewed as possibly the most controversial government policy of the post-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador.Many of the remaining small rural outports were hit by the 1992 cod moratorium. Loss of an important source of income caused widespread out-migration. In the 21st century, the Community Relocation Policy allows for voluntary relocation of isolated settlements. Eight communities have moved since 2002. At the end of 2019, the decommissioning of ferry and hydroelectricity services ended settlement on the Little Bay Islands.
+
+21st century
+Climate change
+In the new century, the provincial government is anticipating the challenges of global warming. Locally average annual temperatures are variously estimated to be already between 0.8 °C and 1.5 °C above historical norms and the frequency of hurricanes and tropical storms have doubled in comparison to the last century. As a result, the province is experiencing increased permafrost melt, flooding, and infrastructure damage, reduced sea ice, and greater risk from new invasive species and infectious diseases.The government believes that in just fifty years (2000–2050), temperatures in Newfoundland will have risen by two and a half to three degrees in summer and three and a half to five degrees in winter, and that in Labrador warming will be even more severe. Under those conditions the winter season could shorten by as much as four to five weeks in some locations and that extreme storm events could result in an increase of precipitation by over 20 per cent or more, enhancing the likelihood and magnitude of flooding. Meanwhile, sea levels are anticipated to rise by a half meter, putting coastal infrastructure at risk. Against these hazards, the government sets the province's "vast renewable [wind, sea and hydro] energy resources" with their potential to reduce carbon emissions in the province and elsewhere.In April 2023, following years of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns, a major hydro-generation project at Muskrat Falls, was declared complete with the final testing of the 1100 km transmission link from the site in Labrador to a converter station outside St John's. Theoretically it could replace all the province's existing hydro-carbon sources of electricity. On the other hand, critics note that, in the decade to 2030, the government plans to double offshore oil production, significantly adding to emissions.On January 17, 2020, the province experienced a large blizzard, nicknamed 'Snowmageddon', with winds up to 134 kilometres per hour (83 mph). The communities of St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise, and Torbay declared a state of emergency. On January 18, 2020, Premier Dwight Ball said his request for aid from the Canadian Armed Forces was approved, and troops from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, CFB Halifax, and CFB Gagetown would arrive in the province to assist with snow-clearing and emergency services. An avalanche hit a house in The Battery section of St. John's. St. John's mayor Danny Breen said the storm cost the city $7 million.
+
+The COVID-19 pandemic
+The COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador is ongoing. The province announced its first presumptive case on March 14, 2020, and declared a public health emergency on March 18. Health orders, including the closure of non-essential businesses and mandatory self-isolation for all travellers entering the province (including from within Canada), were enacted over the days that followed.As of February 5, 2022, there have been 18,464 recorded cases of persons testing positive for the virus, including 46 deaths. Restricted entry into the province was lifted on July 1, 2021. Fully vaccinated travellers can now enter the province without having to isolate for 14 days. Those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated will have to isolate for 14 days, and are able to receive a COVID test on days 7 through 9 of their isolation if they wish. On December 21, 2021, the travel requirements had been changed due to the rise in Omicron cases within Newfoundland and Labrador, and across Canada. Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced that effective December 23, 2021, all travellers entering the province, including those who are fully vaccinated, would have to isolate. Fully vaccinated travellers had to isolate for five days and take a rapid test each day. They were allowed to leave isolation after five days (or 120 hours) had passed and if each rapid test returned a negative result. Partially vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers had no change to their isolation requirements. 
+The province's travel requirements can be found on its website.
+
+Demographics
+Population
+As of October 1, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador had a population of 521,758. More than half the population lives on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, site of the capital and historical early settlement. Since 2006, the population of the province has started to increase for the first time since the early 1990s. In the 2006 census the population of the province decreased by 1.5% compared to 2001, and stood at 505,469. But, by the 2011 census, the population had risen by 1.8%.At the beginning of 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador started accepting applications for a Priority Skills immigration program. Focusing on highly educated, highly skilled newcomers with specialized experience in areas where demand has outpaced local training and recruitment, such as technology and ocean sciences occupations, the government hopes the program will attract 2,500 new permanent residents annually.
+
+Ethnicity
+According to the 2001 Canadian census, the largest ethnic group in Newfoundland and Labrador is English (39.4%), followed by Irish (19.7%), Scots (6.0%), French (5.5%) and First Nations (3.2%). While half of all respondents also identified their ethnicity as "Canadian", 38% report their ethnicity as "Newfoundlander" in a 2003 Statistics Canada Ethnic Diversity Survey.More than 100,000 Newfoundlanders have applied for membership in the Qalipu Miꞌkmaq First Nation Band, equivalent to one-fifth of the total population.
+
+Language
+As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (501,135 or 99.81%), French (26,130 or 5.2%), Arabic (2,195 or 0.44%), Spanish (2,085 or 0.42%), Innu (Montagnais) (1,925 or 0.38%), Tagalog (1,810 or 0.36%), Hindi (1,565 or 0.31%), Mandarin (1,170 or 0.23%), German (1,075 or 0.21%), and Punjabi (1,040 or 0.21%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.
+Newfoundland English is a term referring to any of several accents and dialects of the English language found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ substantially from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in neighbouring Canada and the North Atlantic. Many Newfoundland dialects are similar to the dialects of the West Country in England, particularly the city of Bristol and counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset, while other Newfoundland dialects resemble those of Ireland's southeastern counties, particularly Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny and Cork. Still others blend elements of both, and there is also a discernible influence of Scottish English. While the Scots came in smaller numbers than the English and Irish, they had a large influence on Newfoundland society.Local place names in the Irish language include Newfoundland (Talamh an Éisc, Land of the Fish) and St. John's (Baile Sheáin) Ballyhack (Baile Hac), Cappahayden (Ceapach Éidín), Kilbride and St. Bride's (Cill Bhríde), Duntara, Port Kirwan and Skibbereen (Scibirín). While the distinct local dialect of the Irish language in Newfoundland is now extinct, the language is still taught locally and the Gaelic revival organization Conradh na Gaeilge remains active in the province. A distinct local dialect of Scots Gaelic was also once spoken in the Codroy Valley of Newfoundland, following the settlement there, from the middle of the 19th century, of Canadian Gaelic-speakers from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Some 150 years later, the language has not entirely disappeared, although it no longer has any fluent speakers. In Canadian Gaelic, the two main names for Newfoundland are Talamh an Èisg and Eilein a' Trosg.A community of Newfoundland French speakers still exists on the Port au Port Peninsula—a remnant of the "French Shore" along the island's west coast.Several indigenous languages are spoken in the Province, representing the Algonquian (Miꞌkmaq and Innu) and Eskimo-Aleut (Inuktitut) linguistic families.Languages of the population – mother tongue (2011)
+
+Religion
+According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Newfoundland and Labrador included:
+Christianity (413,915 persons or 82.4%)
+Irreligion (80,330 persons or 16.0%)
+Islam (3,995 persons or 0.8%)
+Hinduism (1,200 persons or 0.2%)
+Sikhism (855 persons or 0.2%)
+Buddhism (490 persons or 0.1%)
+Judaism (240 persons or <0.1%)
+Indigenous Spirituality (105 persons or <0.1%)
+Other (965 persons or 0.2%)The largest single religious denomination by number of adherents according to the 2011 National Household Survey was the Roman Catholic Church, at 35.8% of the province's population (181,590 members). The major Protestant denominations made up 57.3% of the population, with the largest groups being the Anglican Church of Canada at 25.1% of the total population (127,255 members), the United Church of Canada at 15.5% (78,380 members), and the Pentecostal churches at 6.5% (33,195 members), with other Protestant denominations in much smaller numbers. Non-Christians constituted only 6.8% of the population, with the majority of those respondents indicating "no religious affiliation" (6.2% of the population).
+
+Economy
+For many years, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced a depressed economy. Following the collapse of the cod fishery during the early 1990s, the province suffered record unemployment rates and the population decreased by roughly 60,000. Due to a major energy and resources boom, the provincial economy has had a major turnaround since the turn of the 21st century. Unemployment rates decreased, the population stabilized and had moderate growth. The province has gained record surpluses, which has rid it of its status as a "have not" province.Economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP), exports, and employment resumed in 2010, after suffering the effects of the late-2000s recession. In 2010, total capital investment in the province grew to C$6.2 billion, an increase of 23.0% compared to 2009. 2010 GDP reached $28.1 billion, compared to $25.0 billion in 2009.
+
+Primary sector
+Oil production from offshore oil platforms on the Hibernia, White Rose and Terra Nova oil fields on the Grand Banks was of 110 million bbl (17 million m3), which contributed to more than 15 per cent of the province's GDP in 2006. Total production from the Hibernia field from 1997 to 2006 was 733 million bbl (116.5 million m3) with an estimated value of $36 billion. This will increase with the inclusion of the latest project, Hebron. Remaining reserves are estimated at almost 2 Gbbl (320 million m3) as of December 31, 2006. Exploration for new reserves is ongoing. On June 16, 2009, provincial premier Danny Williams announced a tentative agreement to expand the Hibernia oil field. The government negotiated a 10 per cent equity stake in the Hibernia South expansion, which will add an estimated $10 billion to Newfoundland and Labrador's treasury.
+The mining sector in Labrador is still growing. The iron ore mine at Wabush/Labrador City, and the nickel mine in Voisey's Bay produced a total of $3.3 billion worth of ore in 2010. A mine at Duck Pond (30 km (19 mi) south of the now-closed mine at Buchans), started producing copper, zinc, silver and gold in 2007, and prospecting for new ore bodies continues. Mining accounted for 3.5% of the provincial GDP in 2006. The province produces 55% of Canada's total iron ore. Quarries producing dimension stone such as slate and granite, account for less than $10 million worth of material per year.The fishing industry remains an important part of the provincial economy, employing roughly 20,000 and contributing over $440 million to the GDP. The combined harvest of fish such as cod, haddock, halibut, herring and mackerel was 92,961 tonnes in 2017, with a combined value of $141 million. Shellfish, such as crab, shrimp and clams, accounted for 101,922 tonnes in the same year, yielding $634 million. The value of products from the seal hunt was $1.9 million. In 2015, aquaculture produced over 22,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon, mussels and steelhead trout worth over $161 million. Oyster production is also forthcoming.Agriculture in Newfoundland is limited to areas south of St. John's, Cormack, Wooddale, areas near Musgravetown and in the Codroy Valley. Potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, carrots and cabbage are grown for local consumption. Poultry, eggs, and dairy are also produced. Wild blueberries, partridgeberries (lingonberries) and bakeapples (cloudberries) are harvested commercially and used in jams and wine making.
+
+Secondary sector
+Newsprint is produced by one paper mill in Corner Brook with a capacity of 420,000 tonnes (460,000 tons) per year. The value of newsprint exports varies greatly from year to year, depending on the global market price. Lumber is produced by numerous mills in Newfoundland. Apart from seafood processing, paper manufacture and oil refining, manufacturing in the province consists of smaller industries producing food, brewing and other beverage production.
+
+Tertiary sector
+Service industries accounted for the largest share of GDP, especially financial services, health care and public administration. Other significant industries are mining, oil production and manufacturing. The total labour force in 2018 was 261,400 people. Per capita GDP in 2017 was $62,573, higher than the national average and third only to Alberta and Saskatchewan out of Canadian provinces.Tourism is also a significant contributor to the province's economy. In 2006 nearly 500,000 non-resident tourists visited Newfoundland and Labrador, spending an estimated $366 million. In 2017, non-resident tourists spent an estimated $575 million. Tourism is most popular throughout the months of June–September, the warmest months of the year with the longest hours of daylight.
+
+Government and politics
+Newfoundland and Labrador is governed by a parliamentary government within the construct of constitutional monarchy; the monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The sovereign is King Charles III, who also serves as head of state of 14 other Commonwealth countries, each of Canada's nine other provinces and the Canadian federal realm; he resides in the United Kingdom. The King's representative in Newfoundland and Labrador is the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, presently Joan Marie Aylward.The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in governance is limited; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Executive Council, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the unicameral, elected House of Assembly. The Council is chosen and headed by the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, the head of government. After each general election, the lieutenant governor will usually appoint as premier the leader of the political party that has a majority or plurality in the House of Assembly. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.Each of the 40 Members of the House of Assembly (MHA) is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district. General elections must be called by the lieutenant governor on the second Tuesday in October four years after the previous election, or may be called earlier, on the advice of the premier, should the government lose a confidence vote in the legislature. Traditionally, politics in the province have been dominated by both the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party. However, in the 2011 provincial election the New Democratic Party, which had only ever attained minor success, had a major breakthrough and placed second in the popular vote behind the Progressive Conservatives.
+
+Culture
+Art
+Before 1950, the visual arts were a minor aspect of Newfoundland cultural life, compared with the performing arts such as music or theatre. Until about 1900, most art was the work of visiting artists, who included members of the Group of Seven, Rockwell Kent and Eliot O'Hara. Artists such as Newfoundland-born Maurice Cullen and Robert Pilot travelled to Europe to study art in prominent ateliers.
+By the turn of the 20th century, amateur art was made by people living and working in the province. These artists included J.W. Hayward and his son Thomas B. Hayward, Agnes Marian Ayre, and Harold B. Goodridge, the last of whom worked on a number of mural commissions, notably one for the lobby of the Confederation Building in St. John's. Local art societies became prominent in the 1940s, particularly The Art Students Club, which opened in 1940.After Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949, government grants fostered a supportive environment for visual artists, primarily painters. The visual arts of the province developed significantly in the second half of the century, with the return of young Newfoundland artists whom had studied abroad. Amongst the first were Rae Perlin, who studied at the Art Students League in New York, and Helen Parsons Shepherd and her husband Reginald Shepherd, who both graduated from the Ontario College of Art. The Shepherds established the province's first art school, the Newfoundland Academy of Art.Newfoundland-born painters Christopher Pratt and Mary Pratt returned to the province in 1961 to work at the newly established Memorial University Art Gallery as its first curator, later transitioning to painting full-time in Salmonier. David Blackwood graduated from the Ontario College of Art in the early 1960s and achieved acclaim with his images of Newfoundland culture and history. Newfoundland-born artist Gerald Squires returned in 1969.The creation of The Memorial University Extension Services and St. Michael's Printshop in the 1960s and 1970s attracted a number of visual artists to the province to teach and create art. Similarly, the school in Hibb's Hole (now Hibb's Cove), established by painter George Noseworthy, brought professional artists such as Anne Meredith Barry to the province. A notable artist during this period is Marlene Creates.
+From 1980 to present, opportunities for artists continued to develop, as galleries such as the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador (which later became The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery), the Resource Centre for the Arts, and Eastern Edge were established. Fine arts education programs were established at post-secondary institutions such as Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, the Western Community College (now College of the North Atlantic) in Stephenville, and the Anna Templeton Centre in St. John's.Newfoundland and Labrador's arts community is recognized nationally and internationally. The creation of Fogo Island Arts in 2008 on Fogo Island created a residency-based contemporary art program for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers, and thinkers. In 2013 and 2015, the province was represented at the Venice Biennale as Official Collateral Projects. In 2015, Philippa Jones became the first Newfoundland and Labrador artist to be included in the National Gallery of Canada contemporary art biennial. Other notable contemporary artists who have received national and international attention include Will Gill, Kym Greeley, Ned Pratt and Peter Wilkins.
+As of 2011, a study documented approximately 1,200 artists, representing 0.47% of the province's labour force.
+
+Music
+Newfoundland and Labrador has a folk musical heritage based on the Irish, English and Scottish traditions that were brought to its shores centuries ago. Though similar in its Celtic influence to neighbouring Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador are more Irish than Scottish, and have more elements imported from English and French music than those provinces. Much of the region's music focuses on the strong seafaring tradition in the area, and includes sea shanties and other sailing songs. Some modern traditional musicians include Great Big Sea, The Ennis Sisters, The Dardanelles, Ron Hynes and Jim Payne.
+The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra began in St. John's in 1962 as a 20-piece string orchestra known as the St. John's Orchestra. A school of music at Memorial University schedules a variety of concerts and has a chamber orchestra and jazz band. Two members of its faculty, Nancy Dahn on violin and Timothy Steeves on piano, perform as Duo Concertante and are responsible for establishing an annual music festival in August, the Tuckamore Festival. Both the school of music and Opera on the Avalon produce operatic works. A leading institution for research in ethnomusicology, Memorial's Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media, and Place, offers academic lectures, scholarly residencies, conferences, symposia, and outreach activities to the province on music and culture.
+The pre-confederation and current provincial anthem is the "Ode to Newfoundland", written by British colonial governor Sir Charles Cavendish Boyle in 1902. It was adopted as the official Newfoundland anthem on May 20, 1904. In 1980, the province re-adopted the song as an official provincial anthem. "The Ode to Newfoundland" is still sung at public events in Newfoundland and Labrador.
+
+Literature
+Margaret Duley (1894–1968) was Newfoundland's first novelist to gain an international audience. Her works include The Eyes of the Gull (1936), Cold Pastoral (1939) and Highway to Valour (1941). Subsequent novelists include Harold Horwood, author of Tomorrow Will Be Sunday (1966) and White Eskimo (1972), and Percy Janes, author of House of Hate (1970). Michael Crummey's debut novel, River Thieves (2001), became a Canadian bestseller. Wayne Johnston's fiction deals primarily with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, often in a historical setting; His novels include The Story of Bobby O'Malley, The Time of Their Lives, The Divine Ryans, and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, a historical portrayal of Newfoundland politician Joey Smallwood. Lisa Moore's first novel, Alligator (2005), is set in St. John's and incorporates her Newfoundland heritage. Other contemporary novelists include Joel Thomas Hynes, author of We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night (2017), Jessica Grant, author of Come Thou Tortoise (2009), and Kenneth J. Harvey, author of The Town That Forgot How to Breathe (2003), Inside (2006) and Blackstrap Hawco (2008).
+
+The earliest works of poetry in British North America, mainly written by visitors and targeted at a European audience, described the new territories in optimistic terms. One of the first works was Robert Hayman's Quodlibets, a collection of verses composed in Newfoundland and published in 1628.
+In the oral tradition of County Waterford, the Munster Irish poet Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Conmara, a former hedge school teacher, is said to have sailed for Newfoundland around 1743, allegedly to escape the wrath of a man whose daughter the poet had impregnated. During the 21st century, however, linguists discovered that several of Donnchadh Ruadh's poems in the Irish language contain multiple Gaelicized words and terms known to be unique to Newfoundland English. For this reason, Donnchadh Ruadh's poems are considered the earliest literature in the Irish language in Newfoundland.After World War II, Newfoundland poet E. J. Pratt described the struggle to make a living from the sea in poems about maritime life and the history of Canada, including in his 1923 "breakthrough collection" Newfoundland Verse. Amongst more recent poets are Tom Dawe, Al Pittman, Mary Dalton, Agnes Walsh, Patrick Warner and John Steffler. Canadian poet Don McKay has resided in St. John's in recent years."1967 marked the opening of the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre and the first all-Canadian Dominion Drama Festival. Playwrights across Canada began writing, and this explosion was also felt in Newfoundland and Labrador. Subregional festivals saw Newfoundland plays compete—Wreakers by Cassie Brown, Tomorrow Will Be Sunday by Tom Cahill, and Holdin' Ground by Ted Russell. Cahill's play went on to receive top honours and a performance at Expo 67 in Montreal. Joining Brown and Cahill in the seventies were Michael Cook and Al Pittman, both prolific writers".
+
+Performing arts
+Rossleys, a "vaudeville-style performance troupe", put on blackface minstrelsy shows which were a popular source of entertainment in Newfoundland between 1911 and 1917. Modern theatre companies include the New Curtain Theatre Company in Clarenville and the New World Theatre Project in Cupids. Shakespeare by the Sea presents outdoor productions of the plays of William Shakespeare, as well as pieces related to the province and culture.Dance in Newfoundland and Labrador comprises dances that are specific to the province, including performance and traditional, and Indigenous dance. The Kittiwake Dance Theatre, founded in 1987, is the oldest non-profit dance company in Newfoundland.
+
+Symbols
+Newfoundland and Labrador's present provincial flag, designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt, was officially adopted by the legislature on May 28, 1980, and first flown on "Discovery Day" that year. The blue is meant to represent the sea, the white represents snow and ice, the red represents the efforts and struggles of the people, and the gold represents the confidence of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The blue triangles are a tribute to the Union Flag, and represent the British heritage of the province. The two red triangles represent Labrador (the mainland portion of the province) and the island. In Pratt's words, the golden arrow points towards a "brighter future".What has commonly but mistakenly been called the Newfoundland tricolour "Pink, White and Green"(sic) is the flag of the Catholic Church affiliated Star of the Sea Association (SOSA). It originated in the late nineteenth century and enjoyed popularity among people who were under the impression that it was the Native Flag of Newfoundland which was created before 1852 by the Newfoundland Natives' Society. The true Native Flag (red-white-green tricolour) was widely flown into the late nineteenth century. Neither tricolour was ever adopted by the Newfoundland government. The "Pink, White and Green"(sic) has been adopted by some residents as a symbol of ties with Irish heritage and as a political statement. Many of the province's Protestants, who make up nearly 60% of the province's total population, may not identify with this heritage. At the same time, many of the province's Catholics, approximately 37% of the total population (with at least 22% of the population claiming Irish ancestry), think the current provincial flag does not satisfactorily represent them. But, a government-sponsored poll in 2005 revealed that 75% of Newfoundlanders rejected adoption of the Tricolour flag as the province's official flag.Labrador has its own unofficial flag, created in 1973 by Mike Martin, former Member of the Legislative Assembly for Labrador South.
+
+Sports
+Newfoundland and Labrador has a somewhat different sports culture from the rest of Canada, owing in part to its long history separate from the rest of Canada and under British rule. Ice hockey, however, remains popular; a minor league professional team called the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL plays at Mary Brown's Centre (formerly Mile One Centre) in St. John's since the 2018–19 season. The area had an intermittent American Hockey League presence with the St. John's Maple Leafs then St. John's IceCaps until 2017, and the Newfoundland Senior Hockey League had teams around the island. Since the departure of the St. John's Fog Devils in 2008, Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada to not have a team in the major junior Canadian Hockey League (should one ever join it would be placed in the QMJHL, which hosted the Fog Devils and has jurisdiction over Atlantic Canada).
+Hurling and other Gaelic games have a very long history in the Province and continue to be played.Association football (soccer) and rugby union are both more popular in Newfoundland and Labrador than the rest of Canada in general. Soccer is hosted at King George V Park, a 6,000-seat stadium built as Newfoundland's national stadium during the time as an independent dominion. Swilers Rugby Park is home of the Swilers RFC rugby union club, as well as the Atlantic Rock, one of the four regional teams in the Canadian Rugby Championship. Other sports facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador include Pepsi Centre, an indoor arena in Corner Brook; and St. Patrick's Park, a baseball park in St. John's.
+Gridiron football, be it either American or Canadian, is almost non-existent; it is the only Canadian province other than Prince Edward Island to have never hosted a Canadian Football League or Canadian Interuniversity Sport game, and it was not until 2013 the province saw its first amateur teams form.
+Cricket was once a popular sport. The earliest mention is in the Newfoundland Mercantile Journal, Thursday September 16, 1824, indicating the St. John's Cricket Club was an established club at this time. The St. John's Cricket club was one of the first cricket clubs in North America. Other centres were at Harbour Grace, Twillingate and Trinity. The heyday of the game was the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, at which time there was league in St. John's, as well as an interschool tournament. John Shannon Munn is Newfoundland's most famous cricketer, having represented Oxford University. After the first World War, cricket declined in popularity and was replaced by soccer and baseball. However, with the arrival of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, cricket is once again gaining interest in the province.
+
+Transportation
+Ferries
+Within the province, the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Works operates or sponsors 15 automobile, passenger and freight ferry routes which connect various communities along the province's significant coastline.A regular passenger and car ferry service, lasting about 90 minutes, crosses the Strait of Belle Isle, connecting the province's island of Newfoundland with the region of Labrador on the mainland. The ferry MV Qajaq W travels from St. Barbe, Newfoundland, on the Great Northern Peninsula, to the port town of Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, located on the provincial border and beside the town of L'Anse-au-Clair, Labrador. The MV Sir Robert Bond once provided seasonal ferry service between Lewisporte on the island and the towns of Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, but has not run since the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway in 2010, allowing access from Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, to major parts of Labrador. Several smaller ferries connect numerous other coastal towns and offshore island communities around the island of Newfoundland and up the Labrador coast as far north as Nain. There are also two ferries, MV Legionnaire and MV Flanders, that operate between Bell Island and Portugal Cove–St. Philips yearly, mainly used by those commuting to St. John's for work. The MV Veteran, a sister ship of MV Legionnaire, operates between Fogo Island, Change Islands, and Farewell.
+
+Inter-provincial ferry services are provided by Marine Atlantic, a federal Crown corporation which operates auto-passenger ferries from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, to the towns of Port aux Basques and Argentia on the southern coast of Newfoundland island.
+
+Aviation
+The St. John's International Airport (YYT) and the Gander International Airport (YQX) are the only airports in the province that are part of the National Airports System. The St. John's International Airport handles nearly 1.2 million passengers a year making it the busiest airport in the province and the fourteenth busiest airport in Canada. YYT airport underwent a major expansion of the terminal building which was completed in 2021. The Deer Lake Airport (YDF) handles over 300,000 passengers a year.
+
+Railway
+The Newfoundland Railway operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of 906 miles (1,458 km), it was the longest 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow-gauge railway system in North America. The railway ended on the June 20, 1988, in the rails for roads deal.Tshiuetin Rail Transportation operates passenger rail service on its Sept-Îles, Quebec, to Schefferville, Quebec, route, passing through Labrador and stopping in several towns.
+
+See also
+Index of Newfoundland and Labrador-related articles
+
+Notes
+References
+Further reading
+External links
+
+Official website of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador 
+Centre for Newfoundland Studies
+Newfoundland and Labrador at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Norwegian elkhound.txt b/data/animals/Norwegian elkhound.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..838ae7ae14937dccc6ab2c0b206b5222089b747d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/Norwegian elkhound.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+The Norwegian Elkhound is one of the Northern Spitz-type breeds of dog and is the National Dog of Norway. The Elkhound has served as a hunter, guardian, herder, and defender. It is known for its courage in tracking and hunting elk and other large game, such as bears or wolves. The Norwegian Elkhound was first presented at a dog exhibition in Norway in 1877.
+The AKC breed name "Norwegian Elkhound" is mistranslated from its original Norwegian name Norsk elghund, meaning "Norwegian moose dog". In Norwegian "elg" means "moose" and "hund" means "dog," as it does in many other Germanic languages. It is Spitz breed, not a "hound" dog. The breed's object in the hunt is to independently track down and hold the moose at bay—jumping in and out toward the moose, distracting its attention, while signaling to the hunters by barking very loudly—until the hunter who follows the sound can arrive to shoot it. The dog will only bark while the moose is stationary, but it can also slowly drive the moose towards shooters lying in wait. The Norwegian Elkhound is also used on a leash. In this mode of hunting, the dog leads the hunter in the direction of the moose while keeping quiet.
+
+Lineage
+The breed falls under the mitochondrial DNA sub-clade referred to as d1 that is only found in northern Scandinavia. It is the result of a female wolf-male dog hybridization that occurred post-domestication. Subclade d1 originated "at most 480–3,000 years ago" and includes all Sami-related breeds: Finnish Lapphund, Swedish Lapphund, Lapponian Herder, Jämthund, Norwegian Elkhound and Hällefors Elkhound. The maternal wolf sequence that contributed to these breeds has not been matched across Eurasia
+
+Description
+Appearance
+According to The Kennel Club breed standard ideally the dog stands about 19.5–20.5 inches (50–52 cm) high and weighs up to 23 kilograms (51 lb). Its grey, white, and black coat is made up of two layers: an underlying dense smooth coat ranging from black at the muzzle, ears, and tip of its tail to silvery grey on its legs, tail, and underbody and an overlying black-tipped protective guard coat. An ideal Elkhound has a tightly curled tail. The Elkhound is a medium-sized dog and extremely hardy.
+
+Temperament
+Norwegian Elkhounds are bred for hunting large game, such as wolf, bear and moose. Although the breed is strong and hardy, the dogs typically have an inseparable bond with their masters and are quite loyal. All Elkhounds have a sharp loud bark which makes them suitable as watchdogs.
+Norwegian Elkhounds are loyal to their "pack" and make excellent family dogs given proper attention. They are bold, playful, independent, alert, extremely intelligent, and, at times, a bit boisterous. They rank 54th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of above average working/obedience intelligence.
+
+Health
+Norwegian Elkhounds sometimes carry a genetic predisposition to suffer from progressive retinal atrophy, or, like many medium and large breeds, hip dysplasia, renal problems, and cysts, particularly in later life; they are also prone to thyroid problems. Overall, however, they are a hardy breed with few health problems.
+Elkhounds are prone to rapid weight gain and must not be overfed.
+They have a lifespan of 12–16 years. There have been reports of elkhounds living to be 18 years old and older.
+
+History
+In Medieval times, it was known as a dyrehund, meaning "animal-dog" in Norwegian, and was highly prized as a hunting dog but rarely seen or bred outside of Norway until its appearance in England in the 19th century. It was officially recognized by The Kennel Club in 1901.
+
+Famous Norwegian Elkhounds
+President Herbert Hoover's "Weegie"
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Tahltan Bear Dog (extinct)
+Norwegian Lundehund
+Old Norwegian sheep
+Icelandic goat
+Norwegian sheep landrace
+Norwegian chicken landrace
+Norwegian forest cat
+Black Norwegian Elkhound
+
+References
+Citations
+BibliographyLynch, Deborah and Jenny Madeoy. 2004 "Man's best research guide: Breeds hold key to shared ailments." presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by Deborah Lynch of the Canine Studies Institute in Aurora, Ohio and Jenny Madeoy of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle. [1]
+Lynch, Deborah and Jenny Madeoy. 2004a "How top dogs took lead 7,000 years ago." presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Seattle by Deborah Lynch of the Canine Studies Institute in Aurora, Ohio and Jenny Madeoy of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in Seattle. [2]
+
+Further reading
+Books
+Norwegian Elkhound (Comprehensive Owner's Guide), 2005. ISBN 978-1-59378-306-8
+Norwegian Elkhounds by Anna Katherine Nicholas. TFH, 1997. ISBN 978-0-7938-2319-2
+The Norwegian Elkhound (Pure Bred) by Nina P. Ross, PhD. Doral, 1995. ISBN 978-0-944875-39-1
+The Elkhound in the British Isles by Anne Roslin-Williams. Witherby & Co., 1993. ISBN 1-85609-050-7
+My 60 Years with Norwegian Elkhounds by Olav P. Campbell, 1988.
+The New Complete Norwegian Elkhound, revised edition, by Olav Wallo. Howell, 1987.
+Norwegian Elkhounds by Anna Katherine Nicholas. TFH, 1983.
+Great Gray Dogs: The Norwegian Elkhound Factbook, 2nd edition. Great Gray Dogs, 1980.
+Your Norwegian Elkhound by Helen E. Franciose and Nancy C. Swanson. Denlinger, 1974.
+How to Raise and Train a Norwegian Elkhound by Glenna Clark Crafts. TFH, 1973. Reprint of the 1964 book with a different cover.
+Magazine Articles
+Dearth, Kim D.R. "The Norwegian Elkhound" Dog World September 1999, Vol. 84 Issue 9, p12-17.
+"Dog of the Vikings" Dog Fancy. April 1998.
+"Norwegian Elkhound". Dog World. July 1997, Vol. 82 Issue 7. p86.
+"Regional occurrence, high frequency but low diversity of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup d1 suggests a recent dog-wolf hybridization in Scandinavia". Klütsch CFC, Seppälä EH, Lohi H, Fall T, Hedhammar Å, Uhlén M, Savolainen P 2010 Animal Genetics, online early.
+
+External links
+Norwegian Elkhound Association of America
+Norwegian Elkhound Club of Great Britain
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Old English sheepdog.txt b/data/animals/Old English sheepdog.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b350a62e1399fea6afb083db6a73e880ef5f6b16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/Old English sheepdog.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+The Old English Sheepdog is a large breed of dog that emerged in England from early types of herding dog. Obsolete names for the breed include Shepherd's Dog and bob-tailed sheep-dog. The nickname Bob-tail (or Bobtail) originates from how dogs of the breed traditionally had their tails docked. Old English Sheepdogs can grow very long coats with fur covering the face and eyes and do not shed unless brushed.
+
+Appearance
+The Old English Sheepdog is a large dog, immediately recognizable by its long, thick, shaggy grey and white coat, with fur covering their face and eyes. The ears lie flat to the head. Historically, the breed's tail was commonly docked (resulting in a panda bear–like rear end), but tailed Old English sheepdogs are now common, as many countries have outlawed cosmetic docking.  When the dog has a tail, it has long fur (feathering), is low set, and normally hangs down. The Old English Sheepdog stands lower at the shoulder than at the loin, and walks with a "bear-like roll from the rear".Height at the withers is at least 61 cm (24 in), with females slightly smaller than males. The body is short and compact, and ideal weights are not specified in the breed standards, but may be as much as 46 kg (101 lb) for large males.Colour of the double coat may be any shade of grey, grizzle, black, blue, or blue merle, with optional white markings. The undercoat is water resistant. Puppies are born with a black and white coat, and it is only after the puppy coat has been shed that the more common grey or silver shaggy hair appears. Old English Sheepdogs only shed when they are brushed.
+
+Docking
+Undocked Old English Sheepdogs are becoming a more common sight as many countries have now banned docking. The Kennel Club (UK) and The Australian National Kennel Council breed standards do not express a preference for (legally) docked or un-docked animals, and either can be shown. The American Kennel Club breed standard states that the tail should be "docked close to the body, when not naturally bob tailed", even though the practice of cosmetic docking is now opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. It is believed that the practice of tail docking came about in the 18th century as a result of taxation laws that required working dogs to be docked as evidence of their working status, but nowadays, in places where the practice is still legal, tail docking is mainly performed for purely cosmetic reasons.
+
+History
+The Old English Sheepdog comes from the pastoral type dogs of England. A small drop-eared dog seen in a 1771 painting by Gainsborough is believed by some to represent the early type of the Old English Sheepdog. In the early 19th century a bobtailed drovers dog, called the Smithfield or Cotswold Cor, was noticed in the southwestern counties of England and may have been an ancestor. Most fanciers agree that the Bearded Collie was among the original stock used in developing today's breed.  Some speculate that the Russian Owtchar was among the breed's ancestors.The Old English Sheepdog was at first called the "Shepherd's Dog" and was exhibited for the first time at a show in Birmingham, England, in 1873. There were only three entries, and the judge felt the quality of the dogs was so poor that he offered only a second placing. From that beginning, the breed became a popular show dog, and, although the shape of the dog itself has changed very little over the years, elaborate grooming including backcombing and powdering the fur was recorded as early as 1907. The breed was exported to the United States in the 1880s, and by the turn of the 20th century, five of the ten wealthiest American families bred and showed the Old English Sheepdog. The breed continues to be a popular show dog today.
+The best recent finish of an Old English Sheepdog at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show was in 2013 when Bugaboo's Picture Perfect was awarded Reserve Best in Show.
+
+Health
+US and UK surveys put the average lifespan of the Old English Sheepdog at 12–15 years.  The Old English Sheepdog Club of America sponsors investigations into diseases encountered in the breed in order to assist breeders in selecting healthy dogs for breeding, and breeders of Old English Sheepdogs who are members of the Old English Sheepdog Club of America must support its Code of Ethics in breeding and selling sheepdogs. Some diseases being investigated include hip dysplasia, cataracts, glaucoma, entropion, thyroid problems, deafness, diabetes, HD, PRA, allergies and skin problems. There is no data on how many dogs are affected, or what percent of the breed is affected by any of these ailments. Heatstroke is also a serious concern in full coated dogs. Cancer is a major cause of death amongst Old English Sheepdogs.
+
+Temperament
+The breed standards describe the ideal Old English Sheepdog as never being nervous or aggressive. The New Zealand Kennel Club adds that "they are sometimes couch potatoes" and "may even try to herd children by gently bumping them." This breed's temperament can be described as intelligent, social and adaptable. The American Kennel Club adds that the breed has "a clownish energy" and "may try to herd people or other objects."With wide open spaces being the ideal setting for an Old English Sheepdog, the breed is a natural fit in a rural setting, such as working on a farm; although, with proper exercise and training, they are perfectly comfortable with a suburban or urban lifestyle. Old English Sheepdogs should not be deprived of the company and the warmth of people.
+
+Activities
+The Old English Sheepdog can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, Rally obedience, Schutzhund, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Old English Sheepdogs that exhibit basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.
+
+Coat care
+The Old English Sheepdog's long coat requires a thorough brushing at least once weekly, which may take one to three hours. Without regular care, the coat can become "a trap for dust, debris, fecal matter, urine and moisture." Matting may become painful to the animal, such as in between the toes, and can restrict movement in severe cases. Prospective owners may be deterred by the level of care required if long hair is desired.
+The preferred method of grooming involves starting from the base of the hairs to keep the thick undercoat hair mat- and tangle-free. The brushing should be started at a very young age to get the dog used to it. A hairband may be used to keep a dog's fur out of its eyes. Many people trim their dogs' coats to a more manageable length. A professional quality electric shear reduces time spent trimming. However, dogs that are being shown in conformation must retain their natural coat.Some people shave their Sheepdog's hair and spin it into yarn.
+
+Dulux dog
+The Old English Sheepdog is the brand mascot for Dulux paint. The dog was first introduced in advertising campaigns in 1961. Since then they have been a constant and highly popular feature of Dulux television and print adverts wherever the paint is sold. So much so, that many people in those markets refer to the breed as a 'Dulux dog' rather than a Sheepdog.
+Over the years, different dogs have appeared in the adverts. However, they all look very similar, due to the carefully managed selection process carried out by ICI's advertising agency. The first Dulux dog was Shepton Daphnis Horsa, pet name Dash, who held the role for eight years, owned by Eva Sharp in Tottenham. His successor, Fernville Lord Digby, was the most famous Dulux dog and also made his owners, Cynthia and Norman Harrison, famous. 
+When filming advertisements, Digby was treated like a star, being driven to the studio in a chauffeur driven car. Barbara Woodhouse was employed to train Digby and his three stunt doubles, who were used whenever specific tricks or actions needed to be filmed. Digby's popularity led him to play the title role in the 1973 British comedy film Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World.
+Gambit - another Dulux dog, was used in a photographic shoot in 1980 for Philips Video and its new generation of video recorders. By the time the shoot was finished, there was enough hair to fill a mattress - the dog was constantly groomed during the shoot. King Hotspur of Amblegait was used from 1974 to 1979 and appeared in over fifty television programmes as well as his public appearances for ICI/Dulux.
+Apart from Dash, all the Dulux dogs have been breed champions, and five of them have won 'Best in Show' prizes.
+The Dulux dog was placed at No. 51 in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Television Adverts".
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+The Shaggy Dog (1959 film)
+The Shaggy D.A.
+The Return of the Shaggy Dog
+The Shaggy Dog (1994 film), remake of the original film
+Mr. Mugs
+Martha My Dear, Beatles' song about Paul McCartney's Old English Sheepdog
+
+References
+External links
+
+Old English Sheepdog at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Pekinese.txt b/data/animals/Pekinese.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..223c2e25d145324dea4deaee8f6e87a2d136af1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/Pekinese.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+The Pekingese (Chinese: 北京狗, in English also spelled Pekinese) is a breed of toy dog, originating in China. The breed was favored by royalty of the Chinese Imperial court as a companion dog, and its name refers to the city of Peking (Beijing) where the Forbidden City is located. The breed has several characteristics and health issues related to its unique appearance. Because of its desirable characteristics, the Pekingese has been part of the development of designer crossbreeds, such as the Peekapoo (crossed with a poodle) and Peke-a-tese (crossed with a Maltese).
+
+Appearance
+Modern breeders and dog show judges seem to prefer the long-haired type over the more traditional spaniel-type coat.
+The Pekingese's flat face and large eyes are some of the breed's most obvious characteristics. The body is compact and low to the ground. Pekingese also have a muscular and durable body. The breed's unusual rolling gait may have been deliberately developed through selective breeding, to prevent the court dogs from wandering in ancient times.
+
+Coat
+All breed standards allow a wide range of color combinations. The majority of Pekingese are gold, red or sable. Cream, black, white, tan, black-and-tan and occasionally 'blue' or slate grey have appeared in the breed. The latter often has poor pigment and light eyes. Albino Pekingese (white with pink eyes) should not be bred due to health problems associated with albinism.
+
+A black mask or a self-colored face is equally acceptable in show dogs. Regardless of coat color, the exposed skin of the muzzle, nose, lips and eye rims is black. Due to heavy shedding and to prevent mats, this double-coated breed requires frequent extensive grooming.Pekingese weigh from 7 to 14 lb (3.2 to 6.4 kg) and stand about 6–9 inches (15–23 cm) at the withers; however, they can be smaller. These smaller Pekingese are commonly referred to as "sleeve" Pekingese or just "sleeves". The name is taken from ancient times, when emperors would carry the smallest of the breed in their sleeves. A Pekingese over 14 lbs. is disqualified in the show ring.
+The Pekingese is slightly longer than tall when measured from the forechest to the rear. The overall outline is an approximate ratio of 3 high to 5 long.
+
+Health
+The Pekingese has a median lifespan of 11.4 years in a UK Kennel Club survey.The leading cause of death for Pekingese, as for many other Toy breeds, is trauma. Primary health concerns include neurological and cardiovascular defects, e.g., congestive heart failure. When diagnosed early and successfully treated with medication, a Pekingese with this condition can live many years. A heart murmur is a potential indicator, and must be evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist. Often the murmur does not surface until the dog is six years old, so it is difficult to screen in a puppy.
+As a result of breeding for an increasingly flattened face, its brachycephaly can lead to health issues in some Pekingese. Therefore other potential concerns in the breed are eye issues and breathing problems, resulting from its tiny skull and flattened face. Furthermore, skin allergies (including hotspots) and eye ulcers may develop spontaneously. Pekingese may also develop keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye) progressive retinal atrophy, along with glaucoma, in which buildup of ocular fluid places pressure on the eye, resulting in drainage. Improper development of the eye's filtration angles is the leading cause.The Pekingese must be kept indoors, as their flattened faces and nasal structure can cause them to develop breathing problems, making it difficult for them to regulate their body temperature in hot weather. Their long spines, relative to their legs, make them vulnerable to back injuries. Care should be taken when picking them up to give adequate support to the back: one hand under the chest, the other under the abdomen. As an achondroplasiac breed, some Pekingese find stairs difficult, and older dogs may not be able to go up or down stairs alone. To avoid injury, they should also be discouraged or prevented from leaping from furniture and other heights; pet ramps may be useful to access beds.
+In an effort to address potential breathing difficulties caused by the breed's flat face, the Kennel Club (UK) significantly changed the breed standard in October 2008, removing the clause that the "profile [should be] flat with nose well up between eyes" and adding instead that the "muzzle must be evident". This was in response to public opinion following the BBC programme, Pedigree Dogs Exposed. The breed standards of two other brachycephalic breeds, the Pug and English Bulldog, were soon also changed.
+
+Care
+Keeping the Pekingese coat healthy and presentable requires daily brushing and a trip to the groomer every 8–12 weeks. Dogs intended as a house pet may be kept in a puppy cut, which requires less maintenance than a show coat. It is important to remove foreign materials from the eyes daily, and clean the creases on the face to prevent sores (hot spots). It is also necessary to keep and maintain the long fur in the rear end (aka the "trousers" or "skirt") clean and well-groomed, as the area is prone to soiling. In cold climates, the trousers may accumulate clumps of snowballs.
+Due to their abundance of fur, it is important to keep the Pekingese cool. The breed is prone to have heatstroke when exposed to high temperatures.
+Pekingese exercise needs are minimal. Due to their extremely short snouts, they are at a higher risk for breathing difficulties (most notably brachycephalic obstructed airway syndrome). Because of this, they are rarely capable of more than 30 minutes of exercise per day. It is important to monitor their breathing while exercising, especially if in the heat. If the Pekingese begins wheezing, exercise should cease immediately. After running, they should rest in a cool place until their breathing returns to normal. They must have access to plenty of water before, during, and after exercise to prevent overheating and dehydration.
+
+History
+The breed emerged in China from several kinds of small dog owned by aristocratic families. Unlike the others, it could only be owned by members of the Chinese Imperial Palace.During the Second Opium War, in 1860, the Old Summer Palace in Beijing was sacked and set ablaze by a combined Anglo-French expeditionary force, after the Xianfeng Emperor had fled with all of his court members to Chengde.
+A British soldier, Captain John Hart Dunne came across a lone pekingese, which he brought back to England. It was the first of the breed to survive the voyage. He presented her to Queen Victoria, who named it Looty.It is often said that during the sack of the palace grounds, a contingent of British and French troops entered one of the palaces. An elderly aunt of the emperor had remained behind, but when the troops entered the palace she committed suicide. She was found dead with five Pekingese beside her body. They were taken by the troops before the Summer Palace was burnt to the ground. Lord John Hay took a pair, later called Schloff and Hytien, and gave them to his sister, the Duchess of Wellington, wife of Henry Wellesley, 3rd Duke of Wellington. Sir George Fitzroy took another pair, and gave them to his cousins, the Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon. The fifth was the one found by captain Dunne. However the tale has no support from contemporary documents, while both Hay and Fitzroy may well have acquired pekes from some source, they were serving Naval officers expected to stay with their ships guarding the entrance to Beijing.The Empress Dowager Cixi presented Pekingese to several Americans, including John Pierpont Morgan and Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, who named it Manchu.
+The first Pekingese in Ireland was introduced by Dr. Heuston. He established smallpox vaccination clinics in China. The effect was dramatic. In gratitude, the Chinese minister, Li Hongzhang presented him with a pair of Pekingese. They were named Chang and Lady Li. Dr. Heuston founded the Greystones kennel.Around the turn of the century, Pekingese dogs became popular in Western countries. They were owned by such arbiters of fashion as Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Edward VII, and Elsie de Wolfe, popular American interior decorator. Later, they were owned by Rumer Godden, who wrote in her autobiography that "I do not like dogs except very large ones and one or two with such character that they cannot be denied; Pekingese are not dogs but something more" and by Auberon Waugh, who on one occasion fancifully boasted that one of his dogs shared his love of The Daily Telegraph and hatred for The Sunday Times.In recent years, their popularity has declined, eclipsed by similar breeds such as the Shih Tzu. However, in 2021 a Pekingese named Wasabi won the Westminster dog show, the fourth time a Pekingese won Best in Show at Westminster.
+
+Sleeve Pekingese
+According to the 1948 publication Dogs In Britain, A Description of All Native Breeds and Most Foreign Breeds in Britain by Clifford LB Hubbard, the Sleeve Pekingese is a true miniature of the standard-sized dog, and was also known as the Miniature Pekingese. The name Sleeve Pekingese came from the custom of carrying these small dogs in the capacious sleeves of the robes worn by members of the Chinese Imperial Household. They were used as a defensive weapon if needed.  Hubbard indicated that this tradition appeared to be early Italian rather than Chinese, but its adoption by the Chinese Imperial Household led to dogs being bred as small as possible and to practices aimed at stunting their growth: giving puppies rice wine, holding newborns tightly for hours at a time or putting the puppies into tight-fitting wire mesh waistcoats. These practices were apparently forbidden by Dowager Empress Cixi.
+In Hubbard's time, the term Sleeve was applied in Britain to a miniature Pekingese no more than 6–7 pounds in weight, often appearing to be only about 3–4 pounds. Mrs Flander's Mai Mai weighed only a little over 4 pounds and many other breeders had bred true miniatures of a similar size. He noted that miniatures may appear in a litter bred from full-sized Pekingese and were exhibited in classes for dogs less than 7 pounds at the major dog shows in Britain. In 1946 (when Hubbard wrote his book), the Sleeve Pekingese had a strong following with the most popular colours being cream and white, with white being considered particularly attractive. He illustrated the description with a white Sleeve Pekingese bred by Mrs Aileen Adam.
+
+Origin myths
+There are two origin stories for the Pekingese. The more common one is The Lion and the Marmoset:
+
+A lion and a marmoset fell in love, but the lion was too large. The Gods intervened to even up their sizes; in one version of the story they shrank the lion down, in another they enlarged the marmoset. The Pekingese was the result.The other originating story is The Butterfly Lions:
+
+A lioness fell in love with a butterfly. But they knew the difference in size was too much to overcome. Together they went to see the Buddha, who allowed their size to meet in the middle. From this, the Pekingese came, as brave as a lion yet as dainty as a butterfly.
+
+In popular culture
+The breed is one of the main contenders in The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles, a humorous poem by T. S. Eliot which was later adapted for the musical Cats.
+In the books and television adaptations of veterinarian James Herriot's semi-autobiographical All Creatures Great and Small, the spoiled yet good-natured Pekingese Trickie Woo is his favorite patient.
+In Crazy Rich Asians, Goh Peik Lin's family owns three Pekingese named Astor, Vanderbilt and Rockefeller.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Lion dance, a dance from China.
+
+References
+Citations
+Bibliography
+Godden, Rumer. The Butterfly Lions: The Pekingese in History, legend and Art. Viking. 1977.
+
+External links
+
+Pekingese at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Saluki.txt b/data/animals/Saluki.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ce10327f19d4df30a4975aecf8272380d9370e13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/Saluki.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+The Saluki is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than strong scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was originally bred in the Fertile Crescent. The modern breed is typically deep-chested and long-legged, and similar dogs appear in medieval and ancient art. The breed is most closely related to the Afghan hound, a basal breed that predates the emergence of modern breeds in the 19th century, and the Saluki has been purebred both in the Middle East, including by royalty, since at least that era, and in the West (especially in Britain and Germany) since the 1840s (with breed standards established in the West and the Middle East around the 1920s–1930s), though as a free-breeding landrace, similar dogs are common as feral animals in the Middle East. A related standardised breed is the north African Sloughi.
+
+Name
+The origins of the name of the breed are not clear.  The Saluki has also been called the gazelle hound, Arabian hound, and the Persian greyhound. One suggested origin of the breed's name is ancient Sumerian salu-ki translating to 'plunge-earth'. However, there is no evidence a breed existed then or was referred to by the Sumerians with this name, nor is it certain what "plunge [to/into] earth" might have meant in reference to dogs. It is suggestive of digging for burrowing prey animals, but there is also a story (see below) of dogs being thrown toward quarry animals by a camel-mounted hunter.
+The name used for the modern breed could be derived from Saluqiyyah (Arabic for "Seleucia", a city of Mesopotamia now in Iraq), appearing in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. However, this is disputed.: 56  British diplomat Terence Clark wrote that the Arabic word saluqi indicates 'person or thing from a place named Saluq'. Arab tradition states that Saluq was an ancient town in Yemen not far from modern Ta'izz, and the Arabs associate this town with the origin of the breed. However, the word saluqi might have been derived from reference to several other places: Saluq in Armenia, and three towns called Saluqiyah. One has become modern Silifke, Turkey; another is near Antioch (modern Antakya), Turkey; and third is located near Baghdad, Iraq. Baghdad eclipsed Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire, which was located some 30 km (20 mi) to the southeast. Ctesiphon itself had replaced and absorbed Seleucia, the first capital of the Seleucid Empire (312 BC – 65 AD).Regardless, the adjective saluqi may have been derived by the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula from the similar-sounding word for Seleucid used in the Aramaic and Syriac languages spoken there by the Assyrians of that part of Mesopotamia, but there is no irrefutable evidence.
+
+Description
+Salukis are sighthounds – hunting by sight more than scent or sound – and run their quarry down to kill or retrieve it. The normal size range for the modern breed is 58–71 centimetres (23–28 in) high at the withers and 16–32 kilograms (35–70 lb) in weight. Female Salukis are slightly smaller than males. The head is long and narrow with large eyes and drop ears. The tail of the breed is long and curved. It has the typical deep-chested, long-legged body of sighthounds. The coat comes in a variety of colors including white, cream, fawn, red, grizzle/tan, black/tan, and tri-color (white, black and tan).The overall appearance of the Saluki is grace and symmetry. Two coat types – smooth and "feathered" – are evident in the breed's gene pool. The latter variety has light fluffing on the back of the legs, thighs, ears, and sometimes the throat. The fur on both types is silky and is low-shedding when compared to other breeds. Salukis bred in the Middle East most commonly have short hair.
+There is a type called "desert Saluki", which descends from bloodlines brought directly from the original region of the breed. It exists in the entire Middle Eastern region. In Israel the type is known as the "Negev Saluki". The desert Saluki does not have influence of western lines and it tends to have a more primitive appearance. It often has a broader skull, shorter muzzle, shorter and more compact body, broader chest, less angulations, and shorter tail than the western equivalent. Some desert Salukis imported from the original region have cropped ears because this is a common tradition in countries such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. However, it is difficult to strictly determine what desert Salukis are because even when the dogs with "original" bloodlines have been bred in the western world for 4 to 5 generations, many people start to call them "western". The type existed in the US already in the 1980s and there has been breeding in France in the 1990s. The first desert Salukis in Finland were imported from Israel in February 2000. After that, more have been imported from countries such as Syria, Oman, Qatar, Turkey. In addition to their countries of birth, they have for example Iranian, Moroccan, Bahraini, and Saudi Arabian "Bedouin Saluki" dogs in their background.
+
+Swiftness and physical capacity
+While the Greyhound is credited as being the fastest dog breed up to distances of around 800 metres (2,600 ft), the Saluki is thought to be faster over longer distances. In 1996, The Guinness Book of Records listed a Saluki as being the fastest dog, capable of reaching a speed of 68.8 km/h (42.8 mph). Due to its heavily padded feet being able to absorb the impact on its body, the Saluki has remarkable stamina when running.Historically, the ancestors of the modern Saluki breed were used for hunting by nomadic tribes. Typical quarry included the gazelle, hare, fox and jackal. While hunting hares, Bedouin hunters would sometimes ride close to their quarry on a camel holding such a dog, which would be thrown towards the prey while at speed to give the dog a running start. Gazelle hunters have also used hawks or falcons to attack the head of the prey so that the dogs could then bring down the distracted animal.
+
+Temperament
+The modern Saluki has retained qualities of hunting hounds and may seem reserved to strangers. The often independent and aloof breed may be difficult to train, and they generally cannot be trusted to return to their owner when off-leash. Training methods have been recommended to be always gentle and patient. Salukis may bore easily and are not an ideal breed to leave unattended for long periods; however, they are well-suited to life in apartments, since they are generally quiet and calm as adults. The saluki does not typically enjoy rough games or activities such as retrieving balls, but does enjoy soft toys. Early socialisation will help prevent timidity and shyness in later life. Given its hunting instincts, the dog is prone to chasing moving objects, such as cats, birds, squirrels, and bugs.
+
+Health
+Salukis have an average lifespan of 12 to 14 years, which is similar to other breeds of their size.In a 2006 breed-specific survey conducted by The Kennel Club and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Scientific Committee, responses highlighted several health issues. The primary cause of death identified was cancer, being responsible for 35.6% of deaths, with the most common forms being liver cancer or lymphoma. The second most common cause was related to cardiac conditions, including heart failure and unspecified heart defects. Cardiomyopathy, heart murmur, and other cardiac issues were present in 17.2% of responses while dermatolic conditions such as dermatitis or alopecia were reported by 10.8% of responses. Old age is listed as the third most frequent cause of death.Hip dysplasia is uncommon in Salukis, with the breed ranking joint lowest in a survey by the British Veterinary Association in 2003. The breed scored an average of 5 points, with a score of 0 being low, while 106 is high.
+
+History
+The Saluki's ancestors were historically bred in the Fertile Crescent, where agriculture originated. Images of running dogs with long, narrow bodies adorn pottery found in Susa, southwest Iran that dates back to 6,000 years ago, despite the depictions bearing erect, pointed ears. Dogs looking similar to Salukis are shown on wall carvings of the Sumerian empire (now Iraq), dating from 6,000 to 7,000 BC. The ancient skeletal remains of a dog identified as being of the greyhound/saluki form was excavated at Tell Brak in modern Syria, and dated to approximately 4,000 years before present. Dogs that look similar to Salukis and Greyhounds were increasingly depicted on Egyptian tombs from the Middle Kingdom (2134 BC–1785 BC) onward,: 55  however it was during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt that Saluki-like dogs rose to prominence, replacing hunting dogs called tesem (thought to be similar to modern pariah dogs or a generic term for a dog) in ancient Egyptian art. The variety spread southward into the Sudan.
+From Iran, such dogs are mentioned in the poetry of Khaghani (1121–1190), depicted in miniature paintings of hunting scenes along with horseback archers by Master Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād (1450–1535), depicted in book illustrations by 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn 'Abd al-Fattah ibn 'Ali (1516).The Silk Road was a trading route that stretched from ancient Iran to China. Examples of dogs that look like Salukis were painted by the Chinese, fifth Ming Emperor Zhū Zhānjī, known more commonly as the Xuande Emperor during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The inscription on the painting reads "playfully painted [by the] imperial brush" in 1427; additional red seals were added in later years by owners of the painting, which also reveals that the painting was in the Imperial Chinese collection in the 18th century.
+Other earlier artifacts place similar Saluki-like dogs further back in Chinese history to the 7th Century Tang dynasty or even before that. The contemporary Chinese sighthound, the Xigou, is considered to have an ancient history which may be linked to historic Silk Road Saluki imports, 
+but it is notable that in a recent genomic comparison of existing dogs, the Xigou was separated from both groups of sighthounds, the Western, as well Eastern (which includes the Saluki).From Europe, the legend maintains that the returning crusaders brought Saluki-type dogs from the Middle East. The painting of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony with his hunting dog, painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1514, shows a dog thought by some to represent an ancestral Saluki. The dog wears a collar decorated with a scallop shell, which is the badge of a pilgrim who has traveled the Way of Saint James in Spain. Saluki-type dogs appear in Paolo Veronese's 1573 work The Adoration of the Magi (also known as the Adoration of the Kings), currently located at the National Gallery, London. Veronese painted such dogs in another two of his religious paintings: The Marriage at Cana and The Finding of Moses.Sheik Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain during the 1930s, was known for a pack of Salukis that accompanied him throughout the Arab world on hunting trips. Following his death, his son Salman ibn Hamad Al Khalifa attempted to keep the lines pure-bred but they became interbred with other breeds. However, the pure-bred lines of the royal kennel were saved by the efforts of Dana Al Khalifa who was given two pure-bred puppies by the King, and about a decade later had pure-bred Salukis registered with the Kennel Club of Bahrain. Today, the breed is still held in high regard throughout the Middle East and were hunting dogs for nobles and rulers around the region. Although Muslims traditionally regarded dogs as unclean, they made an exception for the Saluki to live in the family tent. Salukis were typically never sold, but could be presented as a mark of honor to people. They are considered clean by the Bedouins, and are allowed to be in women's quarters, while other dogs must be kept outside.In 2014, a DNA study compared dogs and wolves for AMY2B (alpha amylase 2B), which is a gene and enzyme that assists with the first step in the digestion of dietary starch and glycogen. An expansion of this gene in dogs would enable early dogs to exploit a starch-rich diet as they fed on refuse from agriculture. Data indicated that the wolves and dingo had just two copies of the gene and the Siberian husky that is associated with hunter-gatherers had just 3–4 copies, "whereas the saluki, which was historically bred in the Fertile Crescent where agriculture originated, has 29 copies".
+
+Breeding in the West
+It was not until 1840 that Salukis were first brought to England. Referred to as a "slughi shami", they and the modern Sloughi were treated as the same breed; however, recent genetic tests have shown that the two breeds are genetically separate. The first successful modern breeding line of Salukis began in 1895, with Florence Amherst (daughter of the 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney). Having seen salukis on a Nile tour in that year, she imported a breeding pair from the Al Salihah area of Lower Egypt. A champion of breed purity, she struggled alone for nearly three decades, and real popularity of the Saluki in Europe did not take hold until the early 1920s, when officers returning from the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I and from the Arab Revolt brought their pet Salukis home with them.One of these was Brigadier General Frederick Lance of the 19th Lancers, and his wife, Gladys, who returned to Britain with two Salukis from Sarona, Palestine, where he had been stationed during the post-war occupation. The Lances were both keen hunters, and rode with their pack of dogs, including both Salukis and terriers, to course jackal and Dorcas gazelle whilst stationed in the desert. They imported a male, named Sarona Kelb, who became an influence on the breed in the West.Together, the Lances with Florence Amherst mounted a campaign for recognition of the Middle Eastern breed, that coincided with the phenomenon of "Tutmania" caused by Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in late 1922. In 1923, the Saluki or Gazelle Hound Club was formed, and the Kennel Club granted official recognition to the breed. The first registered Salukis in the Western studbook were Cyrus and Slongha Peri, imported from Iran and registered with the German kennel club Deutscher Windhundzucht- und Rennverband (DWZRV). DWZRV also recorded the first litter born in the West in 1922.Imports to England during the interwar years were chiefly from areas of British military influence and commerce: Bahrain, Egypt, Transjordan, and Iraq. Both Florence Amherst and the Lances imported breeding stock from the latter two countries. Despite substantial populations of Salukis in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, none of these were imported to England.English Salukis (chiefly descendants of Sarona Kelb) were exported to many countries, but by the mid-1930s, interest slackened, and with the outbreak of World War II, breeding and show activities almost entirely stopped. The number of litters was minimal – just enough to keep the breed alive. Food rationing reserved all edible meat for humans, and to prevent the Salukis from dying from starvation or being killed by bombs, some owners euthanised entire kennels. A small number of Saluki kennels in the West survived the war, and along with fresh imports belonging to a second wave of soldiers returning from the Middle East, the slow process of re-establishing the breed began.Popularity of Salukis dramatically increased, and the Saluki Club of America was founded in 1927. Salukis were recognised by the Kennel Club (UK) in 1923, and by the American Kennel Club in 1929. The breed is also the mascot of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
+The popularity of the Saluki in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club, has remained relatively stable in the 2000s, with the breed ranked 107th in 1999, had decreased to 118th in 2008, but by 2008 had increased once again to 112th. Between 2000 and 2009, 1215 salukis were registered with The Kennel Club in the UK, while this does not approach the numbers of the more popular breeds, it is in line with similar breeds in the hound group such as the Borzoi, which had 1399 puppies registered in the same period. In September 2007, the Kennel Club Art Gallery's 12th exhibition, "The Saluki in Art", celebrated the breed, showing a range of exhibits including terracotta and bronze works, along with contemporary artists and a range of trophies from Saluki breed clubs.
+
+Rescue
+Salukis (or landrace dogs similar to them) are common throughout the Middle East, and are sometimes abandoned. Rescue organisations work with shelters in Qatar, Bahrain, and elsewhere, and directly with a network of rescuers in Kuwait, and Oman, to find the dogs adoptive homes in Europe and North America.
+
+References
+Citations
+
+Bibliography
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+The Scottish Terrier (Scottish Gaelic: Abhag Albannach; also known as the Aberdeen Terrier), popularly called the Scottie, is a breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of terrier that were grouped under the name of Skye Terrier, it is one of five breeds of terrier that originated in Scotland, the other four being the modern Skye, Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, and West Highland White terriers. They are an independent and rugged breed with a wiry outer coat and a soft dense undercoat. The first Earl of Dumbarton nicknamed the breed "the diehard". According to legend, the Earl of Dumbarton gave this nickname because of the Scottish Terriers' bravery, and Scotties were also the inspiration for the name of his regiment, The Royal Scots, Dumbarton’s Diehard. Scottish Terriers were originally bred to hunt vermin on farms.
+They are a small breed of terrier with a distinctive shape and have had many roles in popular culture. They have been owned by a variety of celebrities, including the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose Scottie Fala is included with FDR in a statue in Washington, D.C., as well as by the 43rd president, George W. Bush.  They are also well known for being a playing piece in the board game Monopoly. Described as territorial, feisty dogs, they can make a good watchdog and tend to be very loyal to their family. Healthwise, Scottish Terriers can be more prone to bleeding disorders, joint disorders, autoimmune diseases, allergies, and cancer than some other breeds of dog, and there is a condition named after the breed called Scotty cramp. They are also one of the more successful dog breeds at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show with a best in show in 2010.
+
+Description
+Appearance
+The Scottish Terrier is a small, compact, short-legged, sturdily-built terrier of good bone and substance. They have a hard, wiry, weather-resistant coat and a thick-set, cobby body which is hung between short, heavy legs. These characteristics, joined with their very special keen, piercing, "varminty" expression, and their erect ears and tail are salient features of the breed. According to The Scottish Terrier Club of America's Breed Standard, the eyes should be small, bright and piercing, and almond-shaped not round. Their color can range from black, greyish-black, and even white. The ears should be small, prick, set well up on the skull and pointed, but never cut. They should be covered with short velvety hair.According to the STCA Breed Standard, height at withers for both genders should be roughly 25 cm (9.8 in), and the length of back from withers to tail is roughly 28 cm (11 in). Generally a well-balanced Scottie dog should weigh from 8.5 to 10 kg (19 to 22 lb) and a female from 8 to 9.5 kg (18 to 21 lb). It is about 10 to 11 inches (25 to 28 cm) in height.
+
+Coat
+The Scottish Terrier typically has a hard, wiry outer coat with a soft, dense undercoat. According to the STCA Breed Standard, the coat should be trimmed and blended into the furnishings to give a distinct Scottish Terrier outline. The longer coat on the beard, legs and lower body may be slightly softer than the body coat but should not be or appear fluffy. This longer coat on the legs is often referred to as the skirt of the Scottie and should be brushed daily to avoid knotted or matted fur.
+The coat colours range from dark gray to jet black and brindle, a mix of black and brown. Scotties with wheaten (straw to nearly white) coats sometimes occur, and are similar in appearance to the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier or West Highland White Terrier.
+Many black and brindle Scottish Terrier coats can contain specks of silver and white all throughout or in small patch-like areas of the dog's fur.
+
+Temperament
+Scotties are territorial, alert, quick moving and feisty, perhaps even more so than other terrier breeds. The breed is known to be independent and self-assured, playful, intelligent, and has been nicknamed the 'Diehard' because of its rugged nature and endless determination. The "Diehard" nickname was originally given to it in the 19th century by George, the fourth Earl of Dumbarton. The Earl had a famous pack of Scottish Terriers, so brave that they were named “Diehards”. They were supposed to have inspired the name of his Regiment, The Royal Scots, "Dumbarton’s Diehards".Scotties, while being described as very loving, have also been described as stubborn. They are sometimes described as an aloof breed, although it has been noted that they tend to be very loyal to their family and are known to attach themselves to one or two people.It has been suggested that the Scottish Terrier can make a good watchdog due to its tendency to bark only when necessary and because it is typically reserved with strangers, although this is not always the case. They have been described as a fearless breed that may be aggressive around other dogs unless introduced at an early age. Scottish Terriers were originally bred to hunt and fight Eurasian badgers. Therefore, the Scottie is prone to dig as well as chase small mammals, such as squirrels, rats, and mice. Keeping cats, rabbits, ferrets, and other small Domesticated animals in the home with a Scottish terrier is not advisable due to the fact that this dog breed was specifically bred to hunt small mammals, as mentioned above. Scottish Terriers are also not recommended to cohabitate with small children or children who are inexperienced with dogs.
+
+Health
+Two genetic health concerns seen in the breed are von Willebrand disease (vWD) and craniomandibular osteopathy (CMO); Scottie cramp, patellar luxation and cerebellar abiotrophy are also sometimes seen in this breed. Common eye conditions seen in a variety of breeds such as cataracts and glaucoma can appear in Scotties as they age. There are no specific conditions relating the skin that affect the breed, but they can be affected by common dog related conditions such as parasites and mange. Scotties typically live from 11 to 13 years.
+
+Cancer in Scottish Terriers
+Scottish Terriers have a greater chance of developing some cancers than other purebreds. According to research by the Veterinary Medical Data Program (1986), six cancers that Scotties appeared to be more at risk for (when compared to other breeds) are: (in descending order) bladder cancer and other transitional cell carcinomas of the lower urinary tract; malignant melanoma; gastric carcinoma; squamous cell carcinoma of the skin; lymphosarcoma and nasal carcinoma. Other cancers that are known to commonly affect Scotties include mast cell sarcoma and hemangiosarcoma.Research has suggested that Scottish Terriers are 20 times more likely to get bladder cancer than other breeds and the most common kind of bladder cancer is transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (TCC). Dr. Deborah Knapp of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine has commented "TCC usually occurs in older dogs (average age 11 years) and is more common in females (2:1 ratio of females to males)." Symptoms of TCC are blood in the urine, straining to urinate, and frequent urination—although owners noticing any of these symptoms should also be aware that the same symptoms may also be indicative of a urinary tract infection.The most common and effective form of treatment for TCC is Piroxicam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that "allows the cancer cells to kill themselves."
+
+Scottie cramp
+Scottie cramp is an autosomal recessive hereditary disorder which inhibits the dog's ability to walk. It is caused by a defect in the pathways in the brain that control muscle contraction due to a low level of serotonin in the body. Typically symptoms only show when the particular dog is under some degree of stress. The front legs are pushed out to the side, the back arches and the rear legs overflex, causing the dog to fall should it be moving at speed. The condition is not seizure related, and the dog remains conscious throughout the event, with symptoms abating once the cause of the stress has been removed. Currently, there is no known genetic testing available for Scottie cramp. A diagnosis will come from a veterinarian once diagnostic tests have been conducted. Diagnostic tests for Scottie cramp, include a physical, complete blood count, a biochemistry profile, and a urinalysis.  Although Scottie cramp is an inherited disease, it is a non-painful, non-life threatening, episodic disorder.  Affected dogs with Scotty cramp and their litter mates should not be bred, otherwise this disease can be passed to any future offspring they may have.Vitamin E, Diazepam and Prozac have all been shown to be effective treatments should it be required. Scotty cramp is found in other breeds of terrier, including the Cesky Terrier. "Episodic Falling", a condition found in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels is considered to be similar to this disorder.
+
+Craniomandibular osteopathy
+Also known as "Lion Jaw", "Westie Jaw" or "Scottie Jaw", this condition of craniomandibular osteopathy is caused by excessive bone growth in the bottom jaw, usually occurring between four and seven months of age. Like Scottie Cramp, it is an autosomal recessive hereditary disorder, and can cause discomfort to the dog when it attempts to chew. The progression of the condition usually slows down between eleven and thirteen months of age, and is sometimes followed by a slow partial or complete regression. Craniomandibular osteopathy can affect dogs of the same litter and symptoms of this disease include, difficulty grasping and chewing food, drooling, and swelling of the face, more specifically, swelling around the jaw. Treatment for Craniomandibular osteopathy does not exist, but the use of Prednisone and cortisone can help to ease symptoms. 
+This condition has also been seen in other breeds of dog, such as the West Highland White Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Boston Terrier, as well as some larger breeds such as Bullmastiffs. Genetic testing for craniomandibular osteopathy is available at this time and will help to identify the craniomandibular osteopathy mutation.
+
+von Willebrand's disease
+Von Willebrand's disease is a hereditary bleeding disorder found in both dogs and humans. DNA testing used widespread by what are known as reputable breeders, has caused a huge decrease in affected dogs..Once the mutation is found in a dog, the dog should not be bred. This disease is caused by a lack of von Willebrand factor which plays a role in the clotting process of blood. This can cause abnormal platelet function and prolonged bleeding times. Affected dogs can be prone to nose bleeds, and increased bleeding following trauma or surgery. There are three types of this condition with Type I being the most common, while Type II and III being rarer, but more severe. Type I von Willebrand's disease is relatively common in the Scottish Terrier.Type I is more widespread in Doberman Pinscher, but is as common in the Shetland Sheepdog as the Scottish Terrier. The condition appears in most breeds to some extent, but other breeds with an increased risk include the Golden Retriever, German Shepherd Dog, Basset Hound and Manchester Terrier.
+
+History
+Initial grouping of several of the highland terriers (including the Scottie) under the generic name Skye Terriers caused some confusion in the breed's lineage. There is disagreement over whether the Skye Terriers mentioned in 
+early 16th century records actually descended from forerunners of the Scottie or vice versa. It is certain, however, that Scotties and West Highland White Terriers are closely related—both their forefathers originated from the Blackmount region of Perthshire and the Moor of Rannoch. Scotties were originally bred to hunt and kill vermin on farms and to hunt badgers and foxes in the Highlands of Scotland.The actual origin of a breed as old as the Scottish Terrier is obscure and undocumented. The first written records about a dog of similar description to the Scottish Terrier dates from 1436, when Don Leslie described them in his book The History of Scotland 1436–1561. Two hundred years later, Sir Joshua Reynolds painted a portrait of a young girl caressing a dog similar in appearance to the modern-day Scottie. King James VI of Scotland was an important historical figure featuring in the Scottish Terrier's history. In the 17th century, when King James VI became James I of England, he sent six terriers—thought to be forerunners of the Scottish terrier—to a French monarch as a gift. His love and adoration for the breed increased their popularity throughout the world.Many dog writers after the early 19th century seem to agree that there were two varieties of terrier existing in Britain at the time—a rough-haired so-called Scotch Terrier and a smooth-haired English Terrier. Thomas Brown, in his Biological Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs (1829), states that "the Scotch Terrier is certainly the purest in point of breed and the (smooth) English seems to have been produced by a cross from him".  Brown went on to describe the Scotch Terrier as "low in stature, with a strong muscular body, short stout legs, a head large in proportion to the body" and was "generally of a sandy colour or black" with a "long, matted and hard" coat.  Although the Scotch Terrier described here is more generic than specific to a breed, it asserts the existence of a small, hard, rough-coated terrier developed for hunting small game in the Scottish Highlands in the early 19th century; a description that shares characteristics with what was once known as the Aberdeen Terrier and is today known as the Scottish Terrier. In addition, the paintings of Sir Edwin Landseer and an 1835 lithograph entitled "Scottish Terriers at Work on a Cairn in the West Highlands" both depict Scottie type terriers very similar to those described in the first Scottish Terrier Standard.
+In the 19th century, the Highlands of Scotland, including the Isle of Skye, were abundant with terriers originally known by the generic term "short-haired terriers" or "little Skye Terriers." Towards the end of the 19th century, it was decided to separate these Scottish   terriers and develop pure bloodlines and specific breeds. Originally, the breeds were separated into two categories: Dandie Dinmont Terriers and Skye Terriers (not the Skye Terrier known today, but a generic name for a large group of terriers with differing traits all said to originate from the Isle of Skye). The Birmingham England dog show of 1860 was the first to offer classes for these groups of terriers. They continued to be exhibited in generic groups for several years and these groups included the ancestors of today's Scottish Terrier. Recorded history and the initial development of the breed started in the late 1870s with the development of dog shows. The exhibition and judging  of dogs required comparison to a breed standard and thus the appearance and temperament of the Scottie was written down for the first time. Eventually, the Skye Terriers were further divided into what are known today as the Scottish Terrier, Skye Terrier, West Highland White Terrier and Cairn Terrier.While fanciers sought to identify and standardize the breed and its description through the late 19th century, the Scottish Terrier was known by many different names: the Highland, the Cairn, Diehard, and most often, the Aberdeen Terrier—named because of the abundant number of the dogs in the area and because a J. A. Adamson of Aberdeen successfully exhibited his dogs during the 1870s. Roger Rough, a dog owned by Adamson, Tartan, a dog owned by Mr Paynton Piggott, Bon Accord, owned by Messrs Ludlow and Bromfield, and Splinter II owned by Mr Ludlow, were early winners of dog exhibitions and are the four dogs from which all Scottish Terrier pedigrees ultimately began. It is often said that all present day Scotties stem from a single bitch, Splinter II, and two sires. In her book, The New Scottish Terrier, Cindy Cooke refers to Splinter II as the "foundation matron of the modern Scottish Terrier." Cooke goes on to say "For whatever reason, early breeders line bred on this bitch to the virtual exclusion of all others. Mated to Tartan, she produced Worry, the dam of four champions. Rambler, her son by Bonaccord, sired the two founding sires of the breed, Ch. Dundee (out of Worry) and Ch. Alistair (out of a Dundee daughter)"  Show champions on both sides of the Atlantic descend from  Splinter and her sires.Captain Gordon Murray and S.E. Shirley were responsible for setting the type in 1879. Shortly afterwards, in 1879, Scotties were for the first time exhibited at Alexander Palace in England, while the following year they began to be classified in much the same way as is done today. The first written standard of the breed was drafted by J.B. Morrison and D.J. Thomson Gray and appeared in Vero Shaw's Illustrated Book of The Dog, published in 1880; it was extremely influential in setting both breed type and name. The standard described the breed's colouring as "Grey, Grizzle or Brindle", as the typically Black colouring of Scotties did not become fashionable or favoured until the 20th century.
+In 1881 the "Scottish Terrier Club of England" was founded, being the first club dedicated to the breed. The club secretary, H.J. Ludlow, is responsible for greatly popularising the breed in the southern parts of Great Britain. The "Scottish Terrier Club of Scotland" was not founded until 1888, seven years after the English club. Following the formation of the English and Scottish clubs there followed several years of disagreement regarding the breed's official standard. The issue was finally settled by a revised standard in 1930, which was based on four prepotent dogs. The dogs were Robert and James Chapman's Heather Necessity, Albourne Barty, bred by AG Cowley, Albourne Annie Laurie, bred by Miss Wijk and Miss Wijk's Marksman of Docken (the litter brother of Annie Laurie). These four dogs and their offspring modified the look of the Scottie, particularly the length of the head, closeness to the ground and the squareness of body. Their subsequent success in the show ring led to them becoming highly sought after by the British public and breeders. As such, the modified standard completely revolutionized the breed. This new standard was subsequently recognised by the Kennel Club UK circa 1930.Scotties were introduced to America in the early 1890s, but it was not until the years between World War I and World War II that the breed became popular. The Scottish Terrier Club of America (STCA) was formed in 1900 and a standard written in 1925.  The Scottish Terrier was recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1934. By 1936, Scotties were the third most popular breed in the United States. Although they did not permanently stay in fashion, they continue to enjoy a steady popularity with a large segment of the dog-owning public across the world.  The STCA founded its Health Trust Fund (HTF) in 1995 which supports research on health issues in the breed.
+Scottish Terriers have won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show more than any other breed except for the Wire Fox Terrier, a total of nine times. These victories began in 1911 with a win by Ch. Tickle Em Jock and include recent victories such as in 1995 when Ch. Gaelforce Post Script (Peggy Sue) won, and in 2010 with a victory by Ch. Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot.
+
+Famous Scotties and popular culture
+The Scottie and the German Shepherd are the only breeds of dog that have lived in the White House more than three times. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was renowned for owning a Scottie named Fala, a gift from his distant cousin, Margaret Suckley. The President loved Fala so much that he rarely went anywhere without him. Roosevelt had several Scotties before Fala, including one named Duffy and another named Mr. Duffy. Eleanor Roosevelt had a Scottish Terrier named Meggie when the family entered the White House in 1933. More recently, President George W. Bush has owned two black Scottish Terriers, Barney and Miss Beazley. Barney starred in nine films produced by the White House.
+Other famous people who are known to have owned Scotties include: Queen Victoria, Eva Braun, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ed Whitfield, Rudyard Kipling, Gilbert Chesterton and President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński. Actress Tatum O'Neal owned a Scottish Terrier. She was said to be so saddened by her dog's death to cancer and old age that she relapsed into drugs.
+The Scottie is also renowned for being featured in the popular board game, Monopoly, as a player token. When the game was first created in the 1930s, Scotties were one of the most popular pets in the United States, and it is also one of the most popular Monopoly game tokens, according to Matt Collins, vice president of marketing for Hasbro. Disney's 1955 film Lady and the Tramp, its sequel and its 2019 reboot features a Scottish terrier named Jock is a friend of Lady, the American Cocker Spaniel and Trusty, the bloodhound. A terrier similar to Jock is among the dogs passing the message of Pongo and Perdita Dalmatian's fifteen puppies throughout London on the 1961 Disney movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians. A Scottie named Buster is Fatty's pet in Enyd Blyton's Five Find-Outers and Dog mystery novel series (1943-61). A Scottish Terrier named Dulcinea is a scene-stealer in the 1998 Latin American novel Yo-Yo Boing! by Giannina Braschi. In P. G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster novels, Bertie Wooster’s principal antagonist Aunt Agatha has an Aberdeen terrier called Mackintosh. Scottish Terriers are also prevalent in scenes of Coraline (film). 
+In May 2007, Carnegie Mellon University named the Scottish Terrier its official mascot. The Scottie had been a long-running unofficial mascot of the university, whose founder's Scottish heritage is also honored by the official athletic nickname of "Tartans". Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia also uses the Scottie as their mascot. The amateur athletics organisation Jogscotland has an anthropomorphic Scottish Terrier as its mascot.
+
+See also
+List of domesticated Scottish breeds
+Scotty dog sign (radiological term)
+
+
+== References ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Scottish deerhound.txt b/data/animals/Scottish deerhound.txt
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+The Scottish Deerhound, or simply the Deerhound, is a large breed of sighthound, once bred to hunt the red deer by coursing. In outward appearance, the Scottish Deerhound is similar to the Greyhound, but larger and more heavily boned with a rough-coat.
+
+History
+The Hilton of Cadboll Stone dates from around 1,200 years ago, and depicts at the bottom of the panel a deer that is being chased by two large dogs and two armed horsemen. However, systematic zooarchaeology and genetics have yet to show any connection between those symbolic representations of dog types and the modern breed, which only became widely known as the Scottish Deerhound related to English regional greyhounds, such as the Highland greyhound in the early 19th century. The Deerhound was in earlier times believed to be descended from old Gaelic hounds, and therefore closely related to the Irish Wolfhound, it was in fact the major foundation breed in the late 19th century of the modern Irish Wolfhound.
+The Deerhound was bred to hunt red deer by coursing and deer-stalking until the end of the 19th century. With modern rifles and smaller deer-forests, slower tracking dogs were preferred to fast and far-running Deerhounds. In coursing deer, a single Deerhound or a pair was brought as close as possible to red deer, then released to run one of them down by speed, which if successful would happen within a few minutes — rarely were there successful sustained chases.
+With the eventual demise of the clan systems in Scotland, these hunting dogs became sporting animals for landowners and the nobility, but were also bred and hunted with by common folk when feasible. As fast and silent hunters they made quick work of any game the size of a hare or larger and were highly regarded by nobility and poachers alike. One of the most precarious times in the breed's history seems to have been towards the end of the nineteenth century, when many of the large Scottish estates were split into small estates for sporting purposes, and few then kept Deerhounds. The new fashion was for stalking and shooting, which required only a tracking dog to follow the wounded animal, using a collie or similar breed. Although a few estates still employed Deerhounds for their original work, the breed was left in the hands of a few enthusiasts who made them a show breed.
+Teddy Roosevelt wrote that some Canadian and American hunters used "the greyhound, whether the smooth-haired, or the rough-coated Scotch deer-hound" on the wolf and deer Dr. Q van Hummell also remarks on his Deerhound pack being used on timber wolves and coyotes.
+In Australia, Deerhounds and their cross-breeds such as the Kangaroo Dog have historically been used to hunt the kangaroo as well as wild boar, modern descriptions of such hunts with Deerhounds on kangaroo and emu have been recorded by Kenneth Cassels.
+
+Description
+In outward appearance, the Scottish Deerhound is similar to the Greyhound, but larger and more heavily boned. However, Deerhounds have a number of characteristics that set them apart. While not as fast as a Greyhound on a smooth, firm surface, once the going gets rough or heavy they can outrun a Greyhound. The environment in which they worked, the cool, often wet, and hilly Scottish Highland glens, contributed to the larger, rough-coated appearance of the breed. The Deerhound is closely related to the Irish wolfhound and was a contributor to that breed when it was created at the end of the 19th century.
+The Scottish Deerhound resembles a rough-coated greyhound. It is however, larger in size and bone. Minimum desirable height at withers of males is 30 inches (75–80 cm) or more, weight 85 to 110 pounds (39 to 50 kg); height of females from 28 inches (71 cm) upwards, weight from 75 to 95 pounds (34 to 43 kg). It is one of the tallest sighthounds, with a harsh 3–4-inch (7.6–10 cm) long coat and mane, somewhat softer beard and moustache, and softer hair on breast and belly. It has small, dark "rose" ears which are soft and folded back against the head unless held semi-erect in excitement.
+The harsh, wiry coat in modern dogs is only seen in self-coloured various shades of gray (blue-gray is preferred). Historically, Deerhounds also could be seen with true brindle, yellow, and red fawn coats, or combinations as recorded in the now oldest & most original breed standard, that of the AKC. 19th century Scottish paintings tend to indicate these colours were associated with a wire haired coat, but, with show breeders preferring a dark, longer coat, these genes now appear to be lost. The geneticist R. Jödicke: "During the 20th century the Deerhound evolved to a single-coloured breed by selection for a grey coat. Some other coat colours are documented in historical sources but have definitely been lost (Jödicke 1982). The recent colour of adult Deerhounds shows little variation. i.e. in the degree of darkness of the grey colour and the occurrence of a fawn shade. Altogether the Deerhound must be characterized as the breed with the most uniform colouration within all sighthounds". A white chest and toes are allowed, and a slight white tip to the tail; a white blaze on the head or a white collar are not accepted.
+The head is long, skull flat, with little stop and a tapering muzzle. The eyes are dark, dark brown or hazel in colour. The teeth should form a level, complete scissor bite. The long straight or curved tail, well covered with hair, should almost reach the ground.
+
+Temperament
+The Scottish Deerhound is gentle and extremely friendly. The breed is famed for being docile and eager to please, with a bearing of gentle dignity. It is however a true sighthound which has been selected for generations to pursue game; consequently, most Deerhounds will be eager to chase.
+The Deerhound needs considerable exercise when young to develop properly and to maintain its health and condition. That does not mean it needs a large house to live in; however it should have regular access to free exercise in a large fenced or otherwise "safe" area. Deerhounds should not be raised with access only to leash walking (or any form of "forced" exercise) or a small yard, this would be detrimental to their health and development as their bones grow very quickly and the young dogs need to play and rest according to their instincts.
+Young Deerhounds can sometimes, depending on the individual, be quite destructive especially when they are not given sufficient exercise; however, the average adult Deerhound may want to spend most of the day stretched out on the floor or a couch, sleeping. They do require a stimulus, preferably another Deerhound, and a large area to exercise properly and frequently. They are gentle and docile indoors and are generally good around company and children. However, due to their size, they require supervision with young children.
+
+Health
+Longevity for this breed, according to a US health survey, is 8.4 years for males and 8.9 years for females, and a UK survey puts the average at 8.3 and median at 8.6. The serious health issues in the breed include cardiomyopathy; osteosarcoma; bloat; stomach or splenic torsion, called Gastric dilatation volvulus; cystinuria and some bleeding or clotting disorders. See current health studies.Like other sighthounds, deerhounds have unique anatomical and physiological features likely due to intentional selection for hunting by speed and sight. Laboratory studies have established reference intervals for haematology and serum biochemical profiles in Deerhounds, some of which are shared by all sighthounds, and some of which may be unique to this breed.
+
+Notable Scottish Deerhounds
+"Dusk": one of a couple (including "Dawn"), a wedding gift to the Danish writer Karen Blixen a.k.a. Isak Dinesen and her husband Bror von Blixen-Finecke during her years in Kenya, frequently referenced in Blixen's work and letters, with whom she can be seen in several photos, and represented in the feature film Out of Africa.
+Maida, Sir Walter Scott's dog
+Foxcliffe Hickory Wind
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+List of domesticated Scottish breeds
+
+References
+Further reading
+Almirall, Leon V. Canines and Coyotes. Caldwell, Id.: The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1941.
+Barret, Kay. Living with Deerhounds [1]
+Bell, Weston. The Scottish Deerhound. 1892. (Reprinted by Hoflin Publishing Inc., 4401 Sephyr St., Wheat Ridge, Colorado, U.S.A. 80003.)
+Benbow, Audrey. How To Raise and Train A Scottish Deerhound. Neptune City, N.J.: T.F.H.Publications, 1965, 1993.
+Blaze, Elzear and Byng Hall, Herbert The Sportsman and His Dog London: Darling 1850 [2]
+Cassels, Kenneth. A Most Perfect Creature of Heaven: The Scottish Deerhound. K.A.H.Cassels, 1997.
+Crealock, Lt.-General Henry Hope. Deerstalking in the Highlands of Scotland. London: Longmans & Green, 1892.
+Cunliffe, Juliette. Deerhound. Dorking, Surrey, U.K.: Interpret Publishing, 2002.
+Cupples, George. Scotch Deerhounds and their Masters. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1892. (Reprinted in 1978 by Hoflin Publishing Inc.)
+Dalziel, Hugh. British Dogs – Their Varieties, History, Characteristics, Breeding, Management And Exhibition London: The Bazaar Office circa 1879 [3]
+Grimble, Augustus. Deer-stalking London: Chapman & Hall 1886 [4]
+Hartley, A.N. The Deerhound. 1986. (Available from the Scottish Deerhound Club of America and the Deerhound Club (U.K.))
+Heidenreich, Barbara. Your Scottish Deerhound Primer, Fern Hill, Ontario, 1989,1999,2005,2012,2023.[5]
+Macrae, Alexander. A Handbook of Deer-stalking Edinburgh: William Blackwood 1880 [6]
+Scrope, William. The Art of Deer-stalking. London: John Murray 1839.[7]
+Shaw, Vero. The Illustrated Book of the Dog. London: Cassell 1881 [8]
+St. John, Charles. Sketches of the Wild Sports & Natural History of the Highlands London: John Murray 1878 [9]
+Van Hummell: "The Deerhound", in The American Book of the Dog Editor George O. Shields. Chicago: Rand Mcnally 1891 [10]
+
+External links
+
+How Deerhounds run: "coursing under rules" of blue mountain hare in the breed's terrain of origin
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Sealyham terrier.txt b/data/animals/Sealyham terrier.txt
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@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+The Sealyham Terrier (Welsh: Daeargi Sealyham) is a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier that originated in Wales as a working dog.  It is principally a white-bodied, rough-coated breed, developed in the mid-to-late-19th century by Captain John Edwardes at Sealyham House, Pembrokeshire.
+Following the First World War, it surged in popularity and was associated with Hollywood stars and members of the British royal family. Its numbers have dropped significantly since then, with the breed listed as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club; an all-time low was recorded in 2008 when only 43 puppies were registered in the United Kingdom. This decline has been blamed on an influx of foreign and designer breeds, and the Sealyham's reduced usefulness as a working dog.
+This breed is equally suitable as a family dog or a working terrier, given the right training. It is affected by few breed specific breed disorders, with the only two prevalent conditions being lens luxation and canine degenerative myelopathy.  A DNA test is now readily available to identify dogs who carry the gene that causes lens luxation and breeding programs can be adjusted.
+
+History
+The breed was developed between 1850 and 1891 by Captain John Edwardes, at Sealyham House, near Wolfscastle in the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. Originally the breed was used for pest control, to hunt small game, and to eliminate vermin,  particularly badgers, which he usually relocated. The Welsh Corgi, Fox Terrier (Wire), and the now extinct English White Terrier all played a part in the make up of the Sealyham, although Edwardes did not keep records. He wanted a small white dog with a strong jaw, and a wiry coat. The white coat was particularly prized, as it meant that the hunter in the field could distinguish the dogs from the quarry. Edwardes culled weak dogs, and bred the stronger ones. After Edwardes' death in 1891, other breeders began to work with Sealyhams, including Fred Lewis, who promoted the breed.
+The breed was shown for the first time in 1903, and the Sealyham Terrier club was created in 1908; the breed was officially recognised by the Kennel Club in 1911. The Sealyham Terrier now is recognised by all of the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world. During the early stages of its recognition, the breed was alternatively known as the Welsh Border Terrier, or the Cowley Terrier. The American Sealyham Terrier Club was founded in 1913.During the 1920s and 1930s, Sir Jocelyn Lucas used the dogs to hunt badgers which he usually relocated. At this time he also used Sealyham Terriers for hunting otters, stoats and squirrels. Deciding that he wanted a better hunting dog than the Sealyhams, bred for conformation showing, he cross-bred the dogs with the Norfolk Terrier. This resulted in an unrecognised breed of dog he called the Lucas Terrier, which he described as "death to rats and rabbits".The Sealyham surged in popularity after the First World War in the UK and the United States. Within the Hollywood film industry, the Sealyham became a fashionable dog to own by the Hollywood elite. The terrier was owned by actors Tallulah Bankhead, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, and by writer Agatha Christie. Cary Grant owned one which he named Archie Leach – Grant's real name. Alfred Hitchcock had one of his Sealyham Terriers seen in his 1941 film Suspicion. Alfred Hitchcock can also be seen at the start of his 1963 film, The Birds, walking two of his Sealyham Terriers in a cameo appearance, although he also owned a third Sealyham not featured in the movie. The British royal family also favoured these dogs; King George V owned a dog named Jack. In 1959 one Sunday newspaper reported in the UK: "A notice has been posted in Clarence House and Windsor Castle giving explicit instructions that when Princess Margaret has breakfast in bed, her two Sealyhams must be brought to the room along with her breakfast tray." These two dogs were called Pippin and Johnny, and were looked after by the Queen Mother when Princess Margaret fell ill. In the 1960s, children's author Maurice Sendak owned a Sealyham named Jennie, which he featured in his 1967 work Higglety Pigglety Pop!.
+The Sealyham was once one of the more popular terriers, and one of the best known Welsh breeds. Today, however, the Kennel Club (UK) lists the Sealyham as amongst the most endangered native breeds. In 2008, registrations of new puppies with the Kennel Club dropped to an all-time low of 43, placing it among the bottom three on the list of Vulnerable Native Breeds. In October 2011, British magazine Country Life highlighted the breed on its front cover, with the heading "SOS: Save our Sealyhams", and launched a campaign to save the breed. End of year figures for 2011 showed that 49 puppies were registered with the Kennel Club in the UK, keeping them within the bottom three on the list of most endangered breeds.Another notable Sealyham Terrier, Ch. Efbe's Hidalgo At Goodspice, also known as Charmin, won Best In Show at Crufts in 2009, but his victory was not televised as the BBC had dropped the coverage of the competition earlier that year, following the controversy after the channel showed the documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed. He had previous won the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in the United States in 2007, and the World Dog Show in 2008. While in retirement, Charmin attended many shows as a spectator until he died in October, 2018.
+Sealyham terriers have also been featured on social media channels, contributing to a gain in notoriety of this rare breed. On Facebook, Ivor the Sealyham terrier (2007-2020) posted weekly photos, updates and videos of his walks in Wales, gaining over 20,000 fans worldwide.Harry Parsons, founder of the Working Sealyham Terrier Club, has stated that, "To sustain a breed...you need between 300 to 500 puppies a year". The Kennel Club has blamed the decline of the breed on the availability of designer dogs and newer breeds such as the Shih Tzu, and the banning of tail docking which has reduced their ability as working dogs. Paul Keevil, formerly of the Kennel Club's vulnerable breeds committee explains: "Traditionally, soon after Sealyhams were born, their tails were docked by half their length, because they were small working dogs and they quite often got stuck down holes, meaning that they required short, strong tails for the owner to be able to pull them out." As of 2010, the breed is ranked 152nd out of 168 breeds according to registrations by the American Kennel Club.  By 2017, the breed ranked 150 out of 190 breeds registered by the American Kennel Club.
+
+Appearance
+Sealyhams measurements vary by breed standard according to particular countries. The Kennel Club breed standard states that the height of a Sealyham Terrier should not exceed 12 inches (30 cm), measured at the withers or at the top of the shoulder blade. The ideal weight for a Sealyham is 8 kilograms (18 lb) for females, or 9 kilograms (20 lb) for males.They have a white double coat which requires regular brushing with a wire comb in order to prevent matting. It has a dense undercoat, while the outer coat is wiry and weather resistant. Markings on the face can be in a variety of colours including lemon, black, brown, blue, and badger, which is a mix of brown and black. Heavy body markings or patches or excessive ticking on the coat are discouraged. Sealyhams are low to the ground, and in muddy weather their long coats can become quite dirty. Sealyham coats are groomed by hand stripping, in order to keep the coat from becoming too soft. However, if they are not shown, Sealyhams can be clipped and this is often the preferred grooming approach for pets. As with many terriers, Sealyhams have essentially non-shedding coats.
+
+Temperament
+Although happy in the company of others, they are fine if left alone. Sealyham Terriers are suited for both the town and country. They can be strong willed, occasionally vocal, and boisterous but also full of personality and affectionate. While they make for loyal family companions, they can be trained to be working dogs, making them excellent mousers or ratters. They can also be taught as puppies to get along with other animals, including cats and birds.Harry Parsons described his Sealyhams thus: "They make great companions, and the way they bond with their owners is almost magical. I keep six indoors, and if someone rings about an infestation and asks us to go ratting, they will know and are out of the door in a millisecond. If you train them, they'll retrieve. They'll do anything to please you."
+
+Health
+This is a hardy breed with few breed specific health problems. The main hereditary problem highlighted by the American Sealyham Terrier Club is an eye condition called lens luxation, for which there are DNA tests. Genetic testing can now readily determine if the condition will be passed on and most breeders test both parents before breeding. Lens luxation is a condition in which the lens slips out of position in the eyeball due to the weakening of the fibers that holds it in place.
+This in turn blocks the flow of fluids in the eye, leading to a painful increase in intra-ocular pressure (glaucoma) and often irreparable optic nerve damage, leading to visual field loss and eventual blindness.As of November 2011, the Kennel Club has not highlighted any specific concerns regarding the breed's health to conformation show judges. Due to the low numbers of the breed, two of the most prevalent problems facing the breed today is the popular sire effect and the general problem of genetic diversity within the breed.
+
+References
+General
+Specific
+
+External links
+
+Sealyham Terrier at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/Shetland sheepdog.txt b/data/animals/Shetland sheepdog.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..5afc6a443f027fe9afad7fb8e6d7456dbf11da26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/Shetland sheepdog.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+The Shetland Sheepdog, often known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog that originated in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It was formally recognized by The Kennel Club in 1909. It was originally called the Shetland Collie, but this caused controversy amongst Rough Collie breeders of the time, so the name was changed. It is a small dog, clever, vocal, willing to please and trustworthy. 
+Like the Shetland pony, Shetland cattle and the Shetland sheep, the Shetland Sheepdog is a hardy but diminutive breed developed to thrive amidst the harsh and meagre conditions of its native islands. While the Sheltie still excels at herding, today it is often raised as a working dog and/or family pet.The Sheltie's origins are obscure, but it is not a direct descendant of the Rough Collie, which it largely resembles. Rather, the Sheltie is a descendant of small specimens of the Scottish Collie and the King Charles Spaniel. They were originally a small mixed-breed dog, often only about 20 to 30 centimetres (8 to 12 inches) in height at the shoulder, and it is thought that the original Shetland herding dogs were of the Spitz type, and were crossed with Collies from mainland Britain. In the early 20th century, James Loggie added a small Rough Collie to the breeding stock, and helped establish the breed that would become the modern Shetland Sheepdog.
+
+History
+Unlike many miniature breeds that resemble their larger counterparts, this breed was not developed simply by selectively breeding the Rough Collie for smaller and smaller size. The original sheepdog of Shetland was a Spitz-type dog, probably similar to the modern Icelandic Sheepdog. This dog was crossed with mainland working collies brought to the islands, and then after being brought to England, it was further extensively crossed with the Rough Collie, and other breeds including some or all of the extinct Greenland Yakki, the King Charles Spaniel (not the Cavalier), the Pomeranian,  and possibly the Border Collie.  The original Spitz-type working sheepdog of Shetland is now extinct, having been replaced for herding there by the Border Collie. Shelties were used for herding until commercial livestock farming required larger breeds.When the breed was originally introduced breeders called them Shetland Collies, which upset Rough Collie breeders, so the name was changed to Shetland Sheepdog. During the early 20th century (up until the 1940s), additional crosses were made to Rough Collies to help retain the desired Rough Collie type – in fact, the first English Sheltie champion's dam, Gesta, was a rough Collie.
+The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Sheltie by the English Kennel Club, with the first registered Sheltie being a female called Badenock Rose.  The first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel Club was "Lord Scott" in 1911.
+
+Description
+The general appearance of the Sheltie is that of a miniature Rough Collie. They are a small, double coated, working dog, agile and sturdy. Blue merle Shelties may have blue eyes or one brown and one blue eye, but all others have dark-colored eyes. Their expression should be that of alertness with a gentle and sometimes reserved nature. They are often very good with children. They carry their tail down low, only lifted when alert and never carried over the back. They are an intensely loyal breed, sometimes reserved with strangers but should not be shy or showing timidness as per the AKC breed standard.
+
+Coat and colors
+Shelties have a double coat, which means that they have two layers of fur that make up their coat. The long, rough guard hairs lie on top of a thick, soft undercoat.  The guard hairs are water-repellent, while the undercoat provides relief from both high and low temperatures.
+The English Kennel Club describes three different colors: "tricolor, blue merle, and sable (ranging from golden through mahogany), marked with varying amounts of white and/or tan." Essentially, however, a blue merle dog is a genetically black dog, either black, white, and tan (tricolor). In the show ring, blue merles may have blue eyes; all other colors must have brown eyes.
+
+Basic coat colors
+Sable – Sable is dominant over other colors. May be pure for sable (two sable genes) or may be tri-factored or bi-factored (carrying one sable gene and one tricolor or bicolor gene). "Tri-factored" sable and "shaded" sable are not interchangeable terms. A shaded dog (one with a lot of black overlay on a sable coat) may or may not be tri-factored or bi-factored.
+Tricolor – black, white, and tan. Tricolor is dominant over bi-black, and may carry the factor for bicolor.
+Bi-black – black and white. Bi-black is recessive. A bi-black Sheltie carries two bi-black genes; thus any dog with a bi-black parent is always bi-factored whatever its own coat color is.
+
+"Modified" coat colors
+Any of the above colors may also have a color modification gene. The color modification genes are merling and white factoring. Merling dilutes the base color (sable, tricolor, or bi-black) causing a black dog's coat to show a mix of black, white, and grey hairs, often with black patches.
+
+Blue merle – blue, white and tan. A tricolor with the merling gene. May have blue eyes.
+Bi-blue – blue and white. A bi-black with the merling gene. May have blue eyes.
+Sable merle – faded or mottled sable and white. Often born with a mottled coat of darker brown over lighter brown, they usually present as a faded or lighter sable or can appear as a washed-out blue-merle. Sable merles are shown in the breed ring as sables; therefore, blue eyes are a major fault in AKC. Blue eyes are not faulted in sable merles in UKC.Double merles, a product of breeding two merle Shelties together, have a very high incidence of deafness or blindness.
+There have been reports of a brindle Sheltie but many Sheltie enthusiasts agree that a cross sometime in the ancestry of that specific Sheltie could have produced a brindle. Unacceptable colors in the show ring are a rustiness in a blue or black coat. Colors may not be faded, no conspicuous white spots, and the color cannot be over 50 percent white.
+
+Height and weight
+Shelties normally weigh around 5–11 kilograms (11–24 lb). In general, males are taller and heavier than females. Accepted height ranges may differ depending on country and standard used. In the US and Canada, breed standards state that males and females can be between 33–41 centimetres (13–16 in), all other standards (Australia, New Zealand and UK) specify males: 37 ± 2.5 cm (14+1⁄2 ± 1 in), females: 35.5 ± 2.5 cm (14 ± 1 in) except FCI which specifies females: 36 ± 2.5 cm (14+1⁄4 ± 1 in) at the shoulder (withers), however, some shelties can be found outside of these ranges but are not considered truly representative of the breed. Variation can be found within litters, and height (in the range of 40–50 cm or 16–20 in) is above the breed standard in some lines.
+
+Ears
+To conform to the breed standards, the Shelties' ears should bend slightly or "tip." The ear is to have the top third to a quarter of the ear tipped. If a dog's ears are not bent (referred to as prick ears) some owners brace them into the correct position for several weeks to several months. Wide-set (too much distance between) ears are also not a desired trait, nor are ears which tip too low down (referred to as "hound" ears). The overall expression should convey the breed's alert and intelligent disposition
+
+Grooming
+Shelties have a double coat, and often shed a lot of the time, no matter the season. The topcoat consists of long, straight, water-repellent hair, which provides protection from cold and the elements. The undercoat is short, furry and very dense and helps to keep the dog warm. Mats can be commonly found behind the ears, under the elbow on each front leg, and in the fluffy fur on the hind legs (the "skirts"), as well as around the collar (if worn). The coat is usually shed twice a year, often in spring and autumn. Females will also shed right before or right after giving birth. Male shelties technically shed less than females but fur still comes off constantly. Shaving these dogs is very bad for their skin and some do not regrow any significant amount of hair after being shaved, a condition known as alopecia.  Spaying or neutering can alter coat texture, making it softer, more prone to matting and even more profuse. Shelties shed in clumps which can be pulled or brushed out of the main coat, rather than individual hair. This makes them much easier to groom and clean up after than many smooth-haired dogs, which leave loose fur in their space.
+
+Temperament
+Shelties have a high level of intelligence. According to Dr. Stanley Coren, an expert on animal intelligence, the Shetland Sheepdog is one of the brightest dogs, ranking 6th out of 138 breeds tested. His research found that an average Sheltie could understand a new command in fewer than five repetitions and would obey a command the first time it was given 95% of the time or better.
+
+Health
+For the most part, Shelties are athletic and healthy. Like the Rough Collie, there is a tendency toward inherited malformation and disease of the eyes. Each individual puppy should have its eyes examined by a qualified veterinary ophthalmologist. Some lines may be susceptible to hypothyroidism, epilepsy, hip dysplasia, or skin allergies.
+Shetland Sheepdogs have four times the risk of other dogs of developing transitional cell carcinoma, a cancer of the bladder.Dermatomyositis may occur at the age of 4 to 6 months, and is frequently misdiagnosed by general practice veterinarians as sarcoptic or demodectic mange. The disease manifests itself as alopecia on the top of the head, supra- and suborbital area and forearms as well as the tip of the tail.  If the disease progresses to its more damaging form, it could affect the autonomic nervous system and the dog may have to be euthanised.  This disease is genetically transmitted and recessive, with breeders having no clear methodology for screening except clear bloodline records.  Deep tissue biopsies are required to definitively diagnose dermatomyositis.  Lay assessment of end-stage dermatomyositis is observed difficulty or inability to swallow, even water.
+Von Willebrand disease is an inherited bleeding disorder. In Shelties, affected dogs as a general rule are not viable and do not live long. The Sheltie carries type III of von Willebrands, which is the most severe of the three levels. There are DNA tests that were developed to find von Willebrands in Shelties. It can be done at any age, and it will give three results: affected, carrier or non-affected.Although small breed dogs do not usually suffer unduly from hip dysplasia, it has been identified in Shelties. Hip dysplasia occurs when the head of the femur and the acetabulum do not fit together correctly, frequently causing pain or lameness.  Hip dysplasia is thought to be genetic. Many breeders will have their dogs' hips x-rayed and certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.
+
+Eyes
+The two basic forms of inherited eye diseases/defects in Shelties are Collie eye anomaly (CEA) and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA).
+Collie eye anomaly: An autosomal recessive inherited trait which results in incomplete closure of the embryonic fissure; seen almost exclusively in Collies, Border Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs. CEA can be detected in young puppies by a veterinary ophthalmologist.  The disease involves the retina. It is always bilateral although the severity may be disparate (unequal) between eyes. Other accompanying defects (ophthalmic anomalies) may wrongly indicate a more severe manifestation of CEA. CEA is present at birth and although it cannot be cured, it doesn't progress. Signs of CEA in shelties are small, or deepset eyes. That is, the severity of the disease at birth will not change throughout the dog's life. CEA is scored similar to the way hips are.
+CEA is genetic, inheritance is autosomal recessive, this means that even a dog that shows no phenotypic signs of the condition may be a carrier. Breeders should actively try to breed this disease out by only breeding with dogs that have "clear" eyes or very low scoring eyes.  A CEA score considered too high to breed with may still be low enough not to affect the dog's life. These dogs live happy and healthy lives as pets but should be not used for breeding. The recent development of a DNA test for CEA makes control of this disease much more likely as more breeders take advantage of the test.
+PRA can be detected at any time but usually does not show up until the dog is around two years old. Breeding dogs should be tested for genotype for this condition before breeding and only animals found "clear" should be used for breeding. PRA can occur in most breeds of dog including mix breeds. In most breeds it is also an autosomal recessive condition; however, it has been found in other breeds to be autosomal dominant and sex-linked in others. As the name suggests, it is a progressive disease which will eventually result in total blindness.  Like CEA, an affected dog should not be bred with but these dogs can live happily as pets. Currently there is no treatment for either disease, but as both diseases (CEA and PRA) are hereditary it is possible to eliminate them using selective breeding.
+
+Breeding
+As with all dogs, Shelties should be screened for inheritable genetic diseases before breeding. Both male and female should be tested for thyroid problems, Von Willebrands disease and brucellosis, as well as have hip x-rays and eyes cleared by the relevant national authorities.
+Breeding colours are also a problem for many beginner breeders.  Certain colour combinations can produce unwanted or potentially harmful results, such as mating blue merle to blue merle, which can produce what is called a "double merle", more likely to be deaf or blind. Mating a sable and white to a blue merle can produce a sable merle, which is undesirable for the show ring.  A tri-colour to a pure-for-sable (a sable and white which can produce only other sable and whites), will produce only sable and whites, but they will be tri-factored sable and whites (which means they have the tri-gene.)  There are many more examples of breeding for colour, so a good breeder will research colour genetics prior to breeding.  There are many different genes contributing to the different colours of the Sheltie, including the bi gene, the merling gene, the sable gene, and the tricolour gene.
+
+MDR1 gene mutation
+According to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, the Shetland Sheepdog, and many other herding breeds, have a risk of being born with a MDR1 Gene Mutation, with about 15 percent of individuals affected. Cross-breeds are also affected. Dogs carrying Mdr1-1 share a common ancestor that experienced remarkable evolutionary success, having contributed genetically to at least nine distinct breeds of dog. Due to this genetic mutation, affected dogs may exhibit sensitivity or adverse reactions to many drugs, including acepromazine, butorphanol, doxorubicin, erythromycin, ivermectin, loperamide, milbemycin, moxidectin, rifampin, selamectin, vinblastine, and vincristine.
+
+Working life
+As the name suggests, Shelties can and have been used as sheepdogs and still participate in sheepdog trials to this day. Herding dogs conduct livestock from one place to another by causing fear-flocking and flight behaviour. The instinct to herd is primarily a product of breeding. No amount of training can substitute this trait.Shelties can also be great therapy dogs for those who need comfort during hard times such as natural disasters or severe illness.  This breed is rarely aggressive and tends to do well with children and being handled by them.
+
+Activities
+In their size group, the breed dominates dog agility, obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Shelties exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.
+
+Famous Shetland Sheepdogs
+Ch Halstor's Peter Pumpkin ROM - The Shetland sheepdog sire with the most Champions (160).
+Badenock Rose - the first Shetland sheepdog registered with the English Kennel Club.
+Mickey - main character of Canadian children's series Mickey's Farm
+
+See also
+Shetland animal breeds
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/Siamese cat.txt b/data/animals/Siamese cat.txt
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+The Siamese cat (Thai: แมวไทย, Maeo Thai; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. Derived from the Wichianmat landrace, one of several varieties of cats native to Thailand (formerly known as Siam), the original Siamese became one of the most popular breeds in Europe and North America in the 19th century. The carefully refined, more extreme-featured, modern-style Siamese is characterised by blue almond-shaped eyes; a triangular head shape; large ears; an elongated, slender, and muscular body; and various forms of point colouration. Other than colouration, the modern-style Siamese bears little resemblance to the original stock, and the more moderate, traditional, or "old-style" Siamese, with a much rounder head and body, has been re-established by multiple registries as the Thai cat. The International Cat Association describes the modern Siamese as affectionate, social, intelligent, and playful into adulthood, often enjoying a game of fetch. Siamese tend to seek human interaction and also like companionship from other cats.
+The Siamese (sometimes in the traditional form) is among the foundation stock of several other breeds developed by crossbreeding with other cats; some examples are the Oriental Shorthair and Colorpoint Shorthair, developed to expand the range of coat patterns; the long-haired variant most often dubbed the Himalayan; and hair-mutation breeds, including the Cornish Rex, Sphynx, Peterbald, and blue-point Siamese cat. The Siamese cat comes in two distinct variations: traditional, with a rounded head (though not as rounded as the later American Apple-head mix) and a slightly chubby body; or the modern Siamese, which is very skinny and has a wedge-shaped head. The long-haired Siamese is recognised internationally as a Balinese cat. Siamese cats are one of the more common breeds to have non-white irises.
+
+History
+Origins
+Thailand
+A description and depiction of the Wichienmaat (Siamese cat) first appears in a collection of ancient manuscripts called the Tamra Maew (The Cat-Book Poems), thought to originate from the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351 to 1767 AD). Over a dozen are now kept in the National Library of Thailand, while others have resurfaced outside of Thailand and are now in the British Library and National Library of Australia. In addition to the old Siamese cat, the Tamra Maew also describes other heritage cats of Thailand including the Korat cat (Malet), which is still bred for preservation in Thailand today and has become popular in other countries, and the Konja cat (Black cat), Suphalak (a controversy in Burmese cat).
+When the capital city Ayutthaya was sacked on 7 April 1767 at the end of the Burmese–Siamese war, the Burmese army burned everything in sight. It returned to Burma, taking Siamese noblemen and royal family members with them as captives. Buddha images were hacked apart for their gold, and all the royal treasures were stolen. A Thai legend has it that the King of Burma Hsinbyushin found and read the poem for the Thai cats in the Tamra Maew. The poem describes Thai cats as being as rare as gold, and anyone who owns this cat will become wealthy. He told his army to round up all the Suphalak cats and bring them back to Burma along with the other treasures. Today in Thailand, this legend is told as a humorous explanation of the rarity of Thai cats.
+
+Siamese
+The pointed cat known in the West as "Siamese", recognized for its distinctive markings, is one of several breeds of cats from Siam described and illustrated in manuscripts called "Tamra Maew" (Cat Poems), estimated to have been written from the 14th to the 18th century. In 1878, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes received the first documented Siamese to reach the United States, a cat named "Siam" sent by the American Consul in Bangkok. In 1884, the British Consul-General in Bangkok, Edward Blencowe Gould (1847–1916), brought a breeding pair of the cats, Pho and Mia, back to Britain as a gift for his sister, Lilian Jane Gould (who, married in 1895 as Lilian Jane Veley, went on to co-found the Siamese Cat Club in 1901).  In 1885, Gould's UK cats Pho and Mia produced three Siamese kittens—Duen Ngai, Kalohom, and Khromata—who were shown with their parents that same year at London's Crystal Palace Show. Their unique appearance and distinct behaviour attracted attention, but all three of the kittens died soon after the show, their cause of death not documented.By 1886, another pair (with kittens) was imported to the UK by Eva Forestier Walker (surnamed Vyvyan after 1887 marriage) and her sister, Ada. Compared to the British Shorthair and Persian cats that were familiar to most Britons, these Siamese imports were longer and less "cobby" in body types, had heads that were less rounded with wedge-shaped muzzles and had larger ears. These differences and the pointed coat pattern, which had not been seen before in cats by Westerners, produced a strong impression—one early viewer described them as "an unnatural nightmare of a cat." Over the next several years, fanciers imported a small number of cats, forming the base breeding pool for the entire breed in Britain. It is believed that most Siamese in Britain today are descended from about eleven of these original imports. In their early days in Britain, they were called the "Royal Cat of Siam", reflecting reports that they had previously been kept only by Siamese royalty. Later research has not shown evidence of any organised royal breeding programme in Siam. The original Siamese imports were medium-sized, rather long-bodied, muscular, graceful cats with moderately wedge-shaped heads and ears that were comparatively large but in proportion to the size of the head. The cats ranged from substantial to slender but were not extreme either.
+
+Traditional Siamese versus modern development
+In the 1950s–1960s, as the Siamese was increasing in popularity, many breeders and cat show judges began to favour the more slender look. As a result of generations of selective breeding, they created increasingly long, fine-boned, narrow-headed cats. Eventually, the modern show Siamese was bred to be extremely elongated, with a lean, tubular body, long, slender legs, a very long, very thin tail that tapers gradually into a point, and a long, wedge-shaped head topped by extremely large, wide-set ears.
+By the mid-1980s, cats of the original style had largely disappeared from cat shows. Still, a few breeders, particularly in the UK, continued to breed and register them, resulting in today's two types of Siamese: the modern, "show-style", standardized Siamese, and the "Traditional Siamese", both descended from the same distant ancestors, but with few or no recent ancestors in common, and effectively forming distinct sub-breeds, with some pressure to separate them.
+In addition to the modern Siamese breed category, The International Cat Association (TICA) and the World Cat Federation (WCF) now accept Siamese cats of the less extreme type, and any wichianmat cat imported directly from Thailand, under the new breed name Thai. Other, mostly unofficial, names for the traditional variety are "Old-style Siamese" and "Classic Siamese", with an American variation nicknamed "Applehead" (originally a derogatory nickname due to its extremely rounded features compared to what had become show breed standard Siamese).
+
+Appearance
+The breed standard of the modern Siamese calls for an elongated, tubular, and muscular body and a triangular head, forming a perfect triangle from the tip of the nose to each tip of the ear. The eyes are almond-shaped and light blue, while the ears are large, wide-based, and positioned more towards the side of the head. The breed has a long neck, a slender tail, and fur that is short, glossy, fine and adheres to the body with no undercoat. Its pointed colour scheme and blue eyes distinguish it from the closely related Oriental Shorthair. The modern Siamese shares the pointed colour pattern with the Thai, or traditional Siamese, but they differ in head and body type.
+The pointed pattern is a form of partial albinism, resulting from a mutation in tyrosinase, an enzyme involved in melanin production. The mutated tyrosinase enzyme is heat-sensitive; it fails to work at normal body temperatures but becomes active in cooler (< 33 °C) areas of the skin. This results in dark colouration in the coolest parts of the cat's body, including the extremities and the face, which is cooled by the passage of air through the sinuses. All Siamese kittens, although pure cream or white at birth, develop visible points in the first few months of life in colder parts of their body. By the time a kitten is four weeks old, the points should be sufficiently distinguishable to recognise which colour they are. 
+Siamese cats tend to darken with age, and generally, adult Siamese living in warm climates have lighter coats than those in cool climates. Originally the vast majority of Siamese had seal (extremely dark brown, almost black) points, but occasionally Siamese was born with "blue" (a cool grey) points, genetically a dilution of seal point; chocolate (lighter brown) points, a genetic variation of seal point; or lilac (pale warm grey) points, genetically a diluted chocolate. These colours were considered "inferior" seal points and were not qualified for showing or breeding. These shades were eventually accepted by the breed associations and became more common through breeding programmes specifically aimed at producing these colours. Later, outcrosses with other breeds developed Siamese-mix cats with points in other cat colours and patterns, including red and cream points, lynx (tabby) points, and tortoise-shell ("tortie") points. (For more information on cat coat terminology, see Cat coat genetics.)
+In the United Kingdom, all pointed Siamese-style cats are considered part of the Siamese breed. In the United States, a major cat registry, the Cat Fanciers' Association, considers only the four original fur colours as Siamese:
+
+seal point,
+blue point,
+chocolate point, and
+lilac point.Oriental Shorthair cats with colour points in colours or patterns aside from these four are considered Colourpoint Shorthair in that registry. The World Cat Federation has also adopted this classification, treating the Colourpoint Shorthair as a distinct breed.Many Siamese cats from Thailand had a kink in their tails, but over the years, this trait has been considered a flaw. Breeders have largely eradicated it, but the kinked tail persists among street cats in Thailand.
+
+Temperament
+Siamese are usually very affectionate and intelligent cats, renowned for their social nature. Many enjoy being with people and are sometimes described as "extroverts". Often they bond strongly with a single person. They have a distinctive meow that has been compared to the cries of a human baby and are persistent in demanding attention. These cats are typically active and playful, even as adults, and are often described as more dog-like in behaviour than other cats. Some Siamese are extremely vocal, with a loud, low-pitched voice—known as a "Meezer" - from which they get one of their nicknames.Siamese cats, due to their desire to be near people or other cats, occasionally suffer from depression or separation anxiety if left alone for long periods, and it is for this reason that Siamese cats are often bought in pairs so that they can keep each other company.
+
+Health
+Based on Swedish insurance data, which tracked cats only up to 12.5 years, Siamese and Siamese-derived breeds have a higher mortality rate than other breeds. The median lifespan of the Siamese group was somewhere between 10 and 12.5 years; 68% lived to 10 years or more and 42% to 12.5 years or more. Siamese Scooter holds the record as the world's oldest male cat, dying at the age of 30. The majority of deaths were caused by neoplasms, mainly mammary tumours. The Siamese also has a higher rate of morbidity. They are at higher risk of neoplastic and gastrointestinal problems but have a lower risk of feline lower urinary tract disease. Vet clinic data from England shows a higher median lifespan of 14.2 years.The most common variety of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) in cats (among them the Abyssinian, the Somali, and the big group of Siamese-related breeds) is related to a mutation on the rdAc-gene, for which a DNA test is available.The same albino allele that produces coloured points means that Siamese cats' blue eyes lack a tapetum lucidum, a structure which amplifies dim light in the eyes of other cats. The mutation in the tyrosinase also results in abnormal neurological connections between the eye and the brain. The optic chiasm has abnormal uncrossed wiring; many early Siamese were cross-eyed to compensate, but like the kinked tails, the crossed eyes have been seen as a fault, and due to selective breeding the trait is far less common today. Still, this lack of a tapetum lucidum even in uncross-eyed cats, causes reduced vision for the cat at night. This trait has led to their dependence on and interest in humans, which affects their hunting ability, a desirable trait for many owners. However, it makes them vulnerable to urban dangers such as night-time vehicular traffic. Unlike many other blue-eyed white cats, Siamese cats do not have reduced hearing ability.
+Furthermore, the Siamese cat is more prone than other breeds to lung infections, especially in kittenhood, such as feline osteochondrodysplasia, vestibular disease and feline hyperesthesia syndrome.
+
+Breeds derived from the Siamese
+Balinese – Natural mutation of the Siamese cat; a longhaired Siamese. In the largest US registry, the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) is limited to the four traditional Siamese coat colours of seal point, blue point (a dilute of seal point), chocolate point, and lilac point (a dilute of the chocolate point). Other registries in the US and worldwide recognise a greater diversity of colours.
+Birman – After almost all the individuals of the breed died out during the years of World War II, French breeders reconstructed the breed through interbreeding with various other breeds, including the Siamese. Modern Birman cats have inherited their pointed coat patterns from the Siamese.
+Burmese – is a breed of domesticated cats descended from a specific cat, Wong Mau, who was found in Burma in 1930 by Joseph Cheesman Thompson. She was brought to San Francisco, where she was bred with Siamese.
+Havana Brown – resulted from crossing a chocolate-point Siamese with a black cat.
+Colorpoint Shorthair – a Siamese-type cat registered in CFA with pointed coat colours aside from the traditional CFA Siamese coat colours; originally developed by crosses with other shorthair cats. Considered part of the Siamese breed in most cat associations but considered a separate breed in CFA and WCF. Variations can include lynx points and tortie points.
+Himalayan – Longhaired breed originally derived from crosses of Persians to Siamese and pointed domestic longhair cats to introduce the point markings and the colours chocolate and lilac. After these initial crosses were used to introduce the colours, further breed development was performed by crossing these cats only to the Persian breed. In Europe, they are referred to as colourpoint Persians. In CFA, they are a colour division of the Persian breed.
+Javanese – in CFA, a longhaired version of the Colorpoint Shorthair (i.e. a "Colorpoint Longhair"). In WCF, however, "Javanese" is an alias of the Oriental Longhair.
+Neva Masquerade – derived in Russia by naturally or selectively crossing Siberian cats with Siamese cats or related colourpoint cats. It bears the Siamese colourpoint gene, but the original foundation stock is unclear.
+Ocicat – a spotted cat originally produced by a cross between Siamese and Abyssinian.
+Oriental Shorthair – a Siamese-style cat in non-pointed coat patterns and colours, including solid, tabby, silver/smoke, and tortoise-shell.
+Oriental Longhair – a longhaired version of the Oriental Shorthair. (But see "Javanese" entry, above).
+Ragdoll – selectively bred from "alley cats" foundation stock in the USA. It bears the Siamese colourpoint mutation gene.
+Savannah – The Savannah is a domestic hybrid cat breed. It is a hybridisation between a serval and a domestic cat. (The first was bred with a Siamese)
+Snowshoe – a cream and white breed with blue eyes and some points that were produced through the cross-breeding of the Siamese and bi-coloured American Shorthair in the 1960s.
+Thai Cat – also called the Wichian Mat or Old Style Siamese, the original type of Siamese imported from Thailand in the 19th century and still bred in Thailand today; and throughout the first half of the 20th century, the only type of Siamese.
+Tonkinese – originally a cross between a Siamese cat and a Burmese. Tonkinese × Tonkinese matings can produce kittens with a Burmese sepia pattern, a Siamese pointed pattern, or a Tonkinese mink pattern (which is something in between the first two, with less pattern contrast than the Siamese but greater than the Burmese); often with aqua eyes.
+Toybob – cat breed of Russian origin. It bears the Siamese colourpoint mutation gene.
+Mekong Bobtail (Thai Bobtail)
+
+In media
+In literature and film
+Siamese cats have been protagonists in literature and film for adults and children since the 1930s. Clare Turlay Newberry's Babette features a Siamese kitten escaping from a New York apartment in 1937. British publisher Michael Joseph recorded his relationship with his Siamese cat in Charles: The Story of a Friendship (1943). The "Siamese Cat Song" sequence ("We are Siamese if you please") in Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955), features the cats "Si" and "Am", both titled after the former name of Thailand, where the breed originated. The 1958 film adaptation of Bell, Book and Candle features Kim Novak's Siamese cat "Pyewacket", a witch's familiar. The Incredible Journey (1961) by Sheila Burnford tells the story of three pets, including the Siamese cat "Tao", as they travel 300 miles (480 km) through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved masters. The book was a modest success when first published but became widely known after 1963 when it was loosely adapted into a film of the same name by Walt Disney. Disney also employed the same Siamese in the role of "DC" for its 1965 crime caper That Darn Cat!, with The New York Times commenting "The feline that plays the informant, as the F.B.I. puts it, is superb. [...] This elegant, blue-eyed creature is a paragon of suavity and grace".
+
+See also
+Thai cat, a.k.a. Old-style Siamese or Traditional Siamese
+Colorpoint Shorthair
+List of cat breeds
+
+References
+External links
+
+Siamese Yearbook Articles Old articles on the Siamese
+Siamese and Oriental Database pedigree data base with each cat's health information
+Siamese and Oriental PRA health program Archived 21 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine
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diff --git a/data/animals/Tibetan terrier.txt b/data/animals/Tibetan terrier.txt
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+The Tibetan Terrier is a medium-sized breed of dog that originated in Tibet. Despite its name, it is not a member of the terrier group. The breed was given its English name by European travelers due to its resemblance to known terrier breeds. The Tibetan name for the breed, Tsang Apso, roughly translates to "shaggy or bearded ("apso") dog, from the province of Tsang". Some old travelers' accounts refer to the dog as Dokhi Apso or "outdoor" Apso, indicating a shaggy or bearded working dog which lives outdoors.
+
+History
+Tibetan Terriers have been bred and raised in monasteries of Tibet for 2,000 years.
+Historically, Tibetan Terriers were kept as good luck charms, mascots, watchdogs, herding dogs, and companions. They were also used to retrieve articles that fell down mountainsides.Dr. Agnes Greig of England brought the first Tibetan Terrier to Europe in 1922. She was given a gold and white female puppy named "Bunti" after successfully performing an operation on a patient in Tibet. After acquiring a second male, "Rajah," Dr. Greig established a kennel and began to breed them.
+The first litter was born in 1924 and were registered as Lhasa Terriers. In 1930, the Kennel Club of India changed the breed's name to Tibetan Terrier. The first Tibetan Terriers in the US were imported in 1956 by Dr. Henry and Mrs. Alice Murphy of Great Falls, Virginia, from Dr. Greig's kennel, Lamleh. In 1973, the American Kennel Club recognized the breed, classifying it as part of the non-sporting group.Tibetan Terriers are related to and have contributed to the development of other breeds, including the Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso, Tibetan Spaniel, Polish Lowland Sheepdog, among others.
+
+Appearance
+The Tibetan Terrier is a powerful, medium-sized dog of square proportions, with a shaggy coat. They vary widely in height and weight, ranging from 14 to 16 in (35–41 cm) and is 18–30 lb (8–14 kg), with 20–24 lb (9.5–11 kg) preferred for either sex. All weights are acceptable if in proportion to the size. Fully grown, the Tibetan Terrier resembles a miniaturized Bearded Collie. The head is moderate, with a strong muzzle of medium length, and a skull neither rounded nor flat. The eyes are large, dark, and set fairly far apart. The V-shaped drop ears are well-feathered, and should be set high on the sides of the skull. Although the preferred colour for the nose is black, in showdogs, they are also sometimes brown. The body is well-muscled and compact. The length of the back should be equal to the height at the withers, giving the breed its typical square look. The tail is set high, well-feathered, and carried in a curl over the back. One of the more unusual features of the Tibetan Terrier is their broad, flat feet with hair between the toes, which are ideal for climbing mountains, acting as natural snowshoes.
+The hair of the Tibetan Terrier has a long growth cycle. As a result, their coat grows quite long and pet animals will require occasional trimming. They do not shed like dogs with shorter hair growth cycles, but rather slough hair at a rate similar to that of most humans. The exception is at approximately nine months when puppies slough their entire coat in advance of acquiring their adult coat. The double coat is profuse, with a warm undercoat and a topcoat which has the texture of human hair. It should not be silky or curled, but wavy is acceptable. Long and thick, it is shown natural, but should not be so long as to touch the floor, as is typical in breeds such as the Lhasa Apso or Maltese. A fall of hair covers the face and eyes, but long eyelashes generally prevent hair from getting in the Tibetan Terrier's eyes, and the breed has very good eyesight.
+All colors are permissible, barring liver and chocolate, and none is preferred. Gold is the rarest. Tibetan Terriers are available in any combination of solid, parti-color, tricolor, red sable, or piebald, as long as the nose leather is black and the eyes and eye rims are dark.
+
+Temperament
+The temperament has been one of the most attractive aspects of the breed since it was first established. They are amiable and affectionate family dogs, sensitive to their owners, and gentle with older children if properly introduced. As is fitting for a dog with origins as a watch dog, Tibetans tend to be reserved around strangers, but should never be aggressive or shy with them. The Tibetan Terrier has a deep bark and is prone to excessive barking.
+While suitable for apartment living, the Tibetan is an energetic dog that requires regular exercise. The energy level of the Tibetan is moderate to high and its general nature is happy, active, lively, intelligent, and agile. As a result, they are often well-suited for dog sports such as agility. They are steadfast, determined, and clever, which can lead to them being stubborn. Tibetan Terriers are usually charming and loyal. Some dogs of this breed can often be guarding of their resources, which can make it hard to live with another pet.
+
+Activities
+The Tibetan Terrier can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, rally obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and even herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at non-competitive herding tests. Tibetan Terriers that exhibit basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.
+
+Health
+The American Kennel Club puts the average lifespan of the breed at 15–16 years.  
+It is an athletic, non-sporting breed that has been bred for a natural look, and the Tibetan Terriers are considered a healthy breed.  That said, they can be susceptible to a variety of health problems, especially those related to the eyes and joints. These problems can include canine hip dysplasia, luxating patella, progressive retinal atrophy, lens luxation, cataracts and heart murmurs. Tibetans also have a history of being somewhat allergic to dairy, wheat, and other grains. Because of these potential health conditions, Tibetan Terrier clubs recommend purchasing from breeders who participate in eye and hip testing, such as the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) and Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA).
+In addition, Tibetan Terriers can carry the genetic disease canine neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, called Batten disease in humans. The first symptom of the disease is night blindness. Blindness and neurological signs such as epilepsy, motor abnormalities, dementia, and unexpected aggression may follow some years later. The gene responsible for the disease in Tibetan Terriers was identified in 2009 and there is now a DNA test for it. A German study showed that about one third of Tibetan Terriers in a German Tibetan Terrier club were carriers, but thanks to the use of DNA testing along with a prohibition on carriers from being bred together, none of the club's dogs were affected by the disease.
+
+Notable Owners
+Actor Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and his family own two Tibetans. UK TV presenter Clare Balding specifically chose the breed for being suitable for her wife who is allergic to pet dander.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Dog of Osu
+Tibetan dog breeds
+Tibetan kyi apso
+Lhasa Apso
+Tibetan Mastiff
+Tibetan Spaniel
+Index of Tibet-related articles
+Companion dog
+Companion Dog Group
+Utility Group
+Non-Sporting Group
+
+References
+External links
+
+Tibetan Terrier at Curlie
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diff --git a/data/animals/affenpinscher.txt b/data/animals/affenpinscher.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3b35760a8ff5baf1d81cda67d04bdc728dde1694
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+The Affenpinscher, also known as the Monkey Terrier, is a small-sized terrier-like toy Pinscher breed of dog that originated in Germany. Originally developed as a mouser, the Affenpinscher's distinctive appearance and charming personality has gained popularity as a companion among dog lovers worldwide.The American Kennel Club (AKC) describes the Affenpinscher as loyal, curious, and famously amusing. The breeds personality is described as almost-human, and a fearless comedian.
+
+History
+The breed is German in origin and dates back to the seventeenth century. The name "Affenpinscher" is derived from the German affe (ape, monkey). When translated in English, the name means Monkey Terrier, supposedly so called because the breed's little face looks more than a little simian.Dogs of the Affenpinscher type have been known since about 1600. There were originally thought to be two sizes, the larger size is now extinct. The larger size was approximately 30 to 33 centimetres (12 to 13 in), and came in colors of grey, fawn, black, tan, and red. White feet and chests were also common. The breed was created to be a ratter in homes, working to remove rodents from kitchens, and also granaries and stables. Early breeders crossed the various schnauzers and pinschers with the goal to create a mouser who also was a good companion dog.  Some of the breeds that may have been included to produce the Affenpinscher are pugs, German pinschers, schnauzers and silky pinschers.The breed predates and is ancestral to the Griffon Bruxellois (Brussels Griffon) and Miniature Schnauzer which was thought to be from affenpinschers crossed with standard schnauzers in addition to other breeds. The breed was recognized by the AKC in 1935 and the FCI in 1955.
+Banana Joe V Tani Kazari, a.k.a. Joe, a five-year-old Affenpinscher, was named Best in Show at the 2013 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. This win is notable since it was the first time this breed won Westminster's Best in Show.
+
+Description
+Appearance
+An Affenpinscher generally weighs three to six kilograms (7–13 lb) and stands 23 to 30 centimetres (9 to 12 in) tall at the withers. It has a harsh rough coat when it is not clippered, but if clippered it can be softer and fluffier. It has a notable monkey-like expression (affe is German for monkey). Its coat is shaggier over the head and shoulders forming a mane, with a shorter coat over the back and hind quarters. It is harsh and wiry in texture when properly maintained. The FCI and KC breed standards specifies that the coat must be black, but the AKC also allows grey, silver, red, black and tan, and belge (a mixture of red, brown, black and white hairs); other clubs have their own lists of acceptable colors, with black being the preference. The tail is sometimes docked, but in places like Europe, it is illegal.
+
+Temperament
+Affenpinschers have a distinct appearance that some associate with terriers. They are different from terriers, however, in that they are actually part of the "Group 2, Section 1: Pinschers and Schnauzers" in the FCI classification and so often get along with other dogs and pets. They are active, adventurous, curious, and stubborn, but they are also fun-loving and playful. The breed is confident, lively, affectionate towards family members and is also very protective of them. This loyal little dog enjoys being with its family. It needs consistent, firm training since some can be quite difficult to housebreak. This type of dog easily becomes bored, so training should be varied. The affenpinscher has a terrier-like personality.
+Affenpinschers are somewhat territorial when it comes to their toys and food, so they are not recommended for homes with very small children.  This dog is mostly quiet, but it can become very excited if attacked or threatened and shows no fear toward any aggressor.
+
+Lifespan
+A small sample (N=21) of affenpinschers in a UK survey had a median lifespan of 11.4 years, which is a typical lifespan for a purebred dog, but a bit lower than most breeds of their size. The most common causes of death were old age (24%), urologic (19%), and "combinations" (14%).The affenpinscher is prone to hip dysplasia. As with many small breeds of dog, they are prone to collapsed trachea and luxating patella. Some are prone to fractures, PDA, open fontanel and respiratory problems in hot weather. Ocular conditions such as cataracts are occasionally reported. An emerging concern is syringomyelia, although the incidence is currently unknown.
+
+Shedding
+Affenpinschers often appear on lists of dogs that allegedly do not shed (moult). However, Affenpinscher females are confirmed to be more prone to seasonal flank alopecia, which seems to affect them during the winter. Every hair in the dog coat grows from a hair follicle, which has a three phase cycle, as do most mammals. These cycles are: anagen, growth of normal hair; catagen, growth slows, and hair shaft thins; telegen, hair growth stops, follicle rests, and old hair falls off—is shed. At the end of the telegen phase, the follicle begins the cycle again. The length of time of the growing and shedding cycle varies by breed, age, and by whether the dog is an inside or outside dog.
+Frequent grooming reduces the amount of loose fur in the environment.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Companion Dog Group
+Companion dog
+Toy Group
+Griffon Bruxellois
+
+References
+External links
+
+Affenpinscher at Curlie
+Affenpinscher – Full Breed Profile
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/albatross.txt b/data/animals/albatross.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/albatross.txt
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+Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there and occasional vagrants are found. Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and species of the genus Diomedea (great albatrosses) have the longest wingspans of any extant birds, reaching up to 3.7 m (12 ft). The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species.
+Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great distances with little exertion. They feed on squid, fish, and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing, or diving. Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with several species nesting together. Pair bonds between males and females form over several years, with the use of "ritualised dances", and last for the life of the pair. A breeding season can take over a year from laying to fledging, with a single egg laid in each breeding attempt. A Laysan albatross, named Wisdom, on Midway Island is the oldest-known wild bird in the world; she was first banded in 1956 by Chandler Robbins.
+Of the 22 species of albatrosses recognised by the IUCN, 21 are listed as at some level of concern; two species are Critically Endangered, seven species are Endangered, six species are Vulnerable, and six species are Near Threatened. Numbers of albatrosses have declined in the past due to harvesting for feathers. Albatrosses are threatened by introduced species, such as rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks, and nesting adults; by pollution; by a serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing; and by longline fishing. Longline fisheries pose the greatest threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait, become hooked on the lines, and drown. Identified stakeholders such as governments, conservation organisations, and people in the fishing industry are all working toward reducing this bycatch.
+
+Description
+Taxonomy and evolution
+The "albatross" designation comprises between 13 and 24 species (the number is still a matter of some debate, with 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in four genera. These genera are the great albatrosses (Diomedea), the mollymawks (Thalassarche), the North Pacific albatrosses (Phoebastria), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties (Phoebetria). The North Pacific albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses, while the sooty albatrosses are considered closer to the mollymawks.The taxonomy of the albatross group has been a source of much debate. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy places seabirds, birds of prey, and many others in a greatly enlarged order, the Ciconiiformes, whereas the ornithological organisations in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand retain the more traditional order Procellariiformes. The albatrosses can be separated from the other Procellariiformes both genetically and through morphological characteristics, size, their legs, and the arrangement of their nasal tubes (see below: Morphology and flight).Within the family, the assignment of genera has been debated for over 100 years. Originally placed into a single genus, Diomedea, they were rearranged by Reichenbach into four different genera in 1852, then lumped back together and split apart again several times, acquiring 12 different genus names in total (though never more than eight at one time) by 1965 (Diomedea, Phoebastria, Thalassarche, Phoebetria, Thalassageron, Diomedella, Nealbatrus, Rhothonia, Julietata, Galapagornis, Laysanornis, and Penthirenia).
+By 1965, in an attempt to bring some order back to the classification of albatrosses, they were lumped into two genera, Phoebetria (the sooty albatrosses, which most closely seemed to resemble the procellarids and were at the time considered "primitive" ) and Diomedea (the rest). Though a case was made for the simplification of the family (particularly the nomenclature), the classification was based on the morphological analysis by Elliott Coues in 1866, and paid little attention to more recent studies and even ignored some of Coues's suggestions.Research by Gary Nunn of the American Museum of Natural History (1996) and other researchers around the world studied the mitochondrial DNA of all 14 accepted species, finding four, not two, monophyletic groups within the albatrosses. They proposed the resurrection of two of the old genus names, Phoebastria for the North Pacific albatrosses and Thalassarche for the mollymawks, with the great albatrosses retaining Diomedea and the sooty albatrosses staying in Phoebetria.While some agree on the number of genera, fewer agree on the number of species. Historically, up to 80 different taxa have been described by different researchers; most of these were incorrectly identified juvenile birds.
+Based on the work on albatross genera, Robertson and Nunn went on in 1998 to propose a revised taxonomy with 24 different species, compared to the 14 then accepted. This expanded taxonomy elevated many established subspecies to full species, but was criticised for not using, in every case, peer reviewed information to justify the splits. Since then, further studies have in some instances supported or disproved the splits; a 2004 paper analysing the mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites agreed with the conclusion that the Antipodean albatross and the Tristan albatross were distinct from the wandering albatross, per Robertson and Nunn, but found that the suggested Gibson's albatross, Diomedea gibsoni, was not distinct from the Antipodean albatross. For the most part, an interim taxonomy of 21 species is accepted by ITIS and many other researchers, though by no means all—in 2004 Penhallurick and Wink called for the number of species to be reduced to 13 (including the lumping of the Amsterdam albatross with the wandering albatross), although this paper was itself controversial.Sibley and Ahlquist's molecular study of the evolution of the bird families has put the radiation of the Procellariiformes in the Oligocene period 35–30 million years ago (Mya), though this group probably originated earlier, with a fossil sometimes attributed to the order, a seabird known as Tytthostonyx, being found in late Cretaceous rocks (70 Mya). The molecular evidence suggests that the storm petrels were the first to diverge from the ancestral stock, and the albatrosses next, with the procellarids and diving petrels separating later. The earliest fossil albatrosses were found in Eocene to Oligocene rocks, although some of these are only tentatively assigned to the family and none appear to be particularly close to the living forms. They are Murunkus (Middle Eocene of Uzbekistan), Manu (early Oligocene of New Zealand), and an undescribed form from the Late Oligocene of South Carolina. The oldest widely accepted fossil albatross is Tydea septentrionalis from the early Oligocene of Belgium. Diomedavus knapptonensis is smaller than all extant albatrosses and was found in late Oligocene strata of Washington State, USA. Plotornis was formerly often considered a petrel but is now accepted as an albatross. It is from the Middle Miocene of France, a time when the split between the four modern genera was already underway as evidenced by Phoebastria californica and Diomedea milleri, both being mid-Miocene species from Sharktooth Hill, California. These show that the split between the great albatrosses and the North Pacific albatrosses occurred by 15 Mya. Similar fossil finds in the Southern Hemisphere put the split between the sooties and mollymawks at 10 Mya.The fossil record of the albatrosses in the Northern Hemisphere is more complete than that of the Southern, and many fossil forms of albatross have been found in the North Atlantic, which today has no albatrosses. The remains of a colony of short-tailed albatrosses have been uncovered on the island of Bermuda, and the majority of fossil albatrosses from the North Atlantic have been of the genus Phoebastria (the North Pacific albatrosses); one, Phoebastria anglica, has been found in deposits in both North Carolina and England. Due to convergent evolution in particular of the leg and foot bones, remains of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds (Pelagornithidae) may be mistaken for those of extinct albatrosses; Manu may be such a case, and quite certainly the supposed giant albatross femur from the Early Pleistocene Dainichi Formation at Kakegawa, Japan, actually is from one of the last pseudotooth birds. Aldiomedes angustirostris was a uniquely narrow-beaked species from the Pliocene of New Zealand.
+
+Morphology and flight
+The albatrosses are a group of large to very large birds; they are the largest of the Procellariiformes. The bill is large, strong, and sharp-edged, with the upper mandible terminating in a large hook. This bill is composed of several horny plates, and along the sides are the two "tubes", long nostrils that give the order its former name (Tubinares, or tubenoses). The tubes of all albatrosses are along the sides of the bill, unlike the rest of the Procellariiformes, where the tubes run along the top of the bill. These tubes allow the albatrosses to measure the exact airspeed in flight; the nostrils are analogous to the pitot tubes in modern aircraft. The albatross needs accurate airspeed measurement to perform dynamic soaring. Like other Procellariiformes, they use their uniquely developed sense of smell to locate potential food sources, whereas most birds depend on eyesight. The feet have no hind toe and the three anterior toes are completely webbed. The legs are strong for the Procellariiformes, making them and the giant petrels the only members of that order that can walk well on land.Albatrosses, along with all Procellariiformes, must excrete the salts they ingest in drinking sea water and eating marine invertebrates. All birds have an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill, above their eyes. This gland is inactive in species that do not require it, but in the Procellariiformes, it acts as a salt gland. Scientists are uncertain as to its exact processes, but do know in general terms that it removes salt by secreting a 5% saline solution that drips out of their noses or is forcibly ejected.
+The adult plumage of most of the albatrosses is usually some variation of dark upper-wing and back with white undersides, often compared to that of a gull. The extent of colouration varies: the southern royal albatross is almost completely white except for the ends and trailing edges of the wings in fully mature males, while the Amsterdam albatross has an almost juvenile-like breeding plumage with a great deal of brown, particularly a strong brown band around the chest. Several species of mollymawks and North Pacific albatrosses have face markings like eye patches or have grey or yellow on the head and nape. Three albatross species, the black-footed albatross and the two sooty albatrosses, vary completely from the usual patterns and are almost entirely dark brown (or dark grey in places in the case of the light-mantled albatross). Albatrosses take several years to get their full adult breeding plumage.The wingspans of the largest great albatrosses (genus Diomedea) are the largest of any bird, exceeding 3.40 m (11.2 ft), although the other species' wingspans are considerably smaller at, down to 1.75 m (5.7 ft). The wings are stiff and cambered, with thickened, streamlined leading edges. Albatrosses travel long distances with two techniques used by many long-winged seabirds - dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. The only effort expended is in the turns at the top and bottom of every such loop. This maneuver allows the bird to cover almost 1,000 km/d (620 mi/d) without flapping its wings. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward side of large waves. Albatross have high glide ratios, around 22:1 to 23:1, meaning that for every metre they drop, they can travel forward 22 m (72 ft). They are aided in soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure, a morphological adaptation they share with the giant petrels.
+Albatrosses combine these soaring techniques with the use of predictable weather systems; albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere flying north from their colonies take a clockwise route, and those flying south fly counterclockwise. Albatrosses are so well adapted to this lifestyle that their heart rates while flying are close to their basal heart rate when resting. This efficiency is such that the most energetically demanding aspect of a foraging trip is not the distance covered, but the landings, take-offs and hunting they undertake having found a food source. A common assumption is that Albatrosses must be able to sleep in flight, although no direct evidence has ever been obtained.This efficient long-distance travelling underlies the albatross's success as a long-distance forager, covering great distances and expending little energy looking for patchily distributed food sources. Their adaptation to gliding flight makes them dependent on wind and waves, but their long wings are ill-suited to powered flight and most species lack the muscles and energy to undertake sustained flapping flight. Albatrosses in calm seas rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up again, as using powered flight is not energetically worthwhile, though they are capable of flight to avoid danger. The North Pacific albatrosses can use a flight style known as flap-gliding, where the bird progresses by bursts of flapping followed by gliding. When taking off, albatrosses need to take a run up to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift.The dynamic soaring of albatrosses is inspiring to airplane designers; German aerospace engineer Johannes Traugott and colleagues have charted the albatross's nuanced flight pattern and are looking for ways to apply this to aircraft, especially in the area of drones and unmanned aircraft.
+
+Distribution and range at sea
+Most albatrosses range in the Southern Hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia, South Africa, and South America. The exceptions to this are the four North Pacific albatrosses, of which three occur exclusively in the North Pacific, from Hawaii to Japan, California, and Alaska; and one, the waved albatross, breeds in the Galápagos Islands and feeds off the coast of South America. The need for wind to enable gliding is the reason albatrosses are for the most part confined to higher latitudes; being unsuited to sustained flapping flight makes crossing the doldrums extremely difficult. The exception, the waved albatross, is able to live in the equatorial waters around the Galápagos Islands because of the cool waters of the Humboldt Current and the resulting winds.Why the albatrosses became extinct in the North Atlantic is unknown for certain, although rising sea levels due to an interglacial warming period are thought to have submerged the site of a short-tailed albatross colony that has been excavated in Bermuda. Some southern species have occasionally turned up as vagrants in the North Atlantic and can become exiled, remaining there for decades. One of these exiles, a black-browed albatross named Albert has been observed travelling to gannet colonies in Scotland for at least 50 years in an attempt to breed. Another black-browed albatross nicknamed Albie has been frequently observed across Northern Europe since 2014, and is also believed to be searching for a mate, having been recorded from Germany, Scandinavia and RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, England.The use of satellite tracking is teaching scientists a great deal about the way albatrosses range across the ocean to find food. They undertake no annual migration, but disperse widely after breeding; Southern Hemisphere species often undertake circumpolar trips. Evidence also exists of separate ranges for different species at sea. A comparison of the foraging niches of two related species that breed on Campbell Island, the Campbell albatross and the grey-headed albatross, showed the Campbell albatross primarily fed over the Campbell Plateau, whereas the grey-headed albatross fed in more pelagic, oceanic waters. Wandering albatrosses also react strongly to bathymetry, feeding only in waters deeper than 1000 metres (3000 ft); so rigidly did the satellite plots match this contour that one scientist remarked, "It almost appears as if the birds notice and obey a 'No Entry' sign where the water shallows to less than 1000 [metres]" (3000'). Also, evidence shows different ranges for the two sexes of the same species; a study of Tristan albatrosses breeding on Gough Island showed that males foraged to the west of Gough and females to the east.
+
+Diet
+The albatross diet is predominantly cephalopods, fish, crustaceans, and offal (organ meat), although they also scavenge carrion and feed on other zooplankton. For most species, a comprehensive understanding of diet is known for only the breeding season, when the albatrosses regularly return to land and study is possible. The importance of each of these food sources varies from species to species, and even from population to population; some concentrate on squid alone, others take more krill or fish. Of the two albatross species found in Hawaii, one, the black-footed albatross, takes mostly fish, while the Laysan feeds on squid.The use of data loggers at sea that record ingestion of water against time (providing a likely time of feeding) suggests that albatrosses predominantly feed during the day. Analysis of the squid beaks regurgitated by albatrosses has shown that many of the squid eaten are too large to have been caught alive, and include midwater species likely to be beyond the reach of albatross, suggesting that, for some species (like the wandering albatross), scavenged squid may be an important part of the diet. The source of these dead squid is a matter of debate; some certainly comes from squid fisheries, but in nature it primarily comes from the die-off that occurs after squid spawning and the vomit of squid-eating whales (sperm whales, pilot whales, and southern bottlenose whales). The diet of other species, like the black-browed albatross or the grey-headed albatross, is rich with smaller species of squid that tend to sink after death, and scavenging is not assumed to play a large role in their diet. The waved albatross has been observed practising kleptoparasitism, harassing boobies to steal their food, making it the only member of its order to do so regularly.Until recently, albatrosses were thought to be predominantly surface feeders, swimming at the surface and snapping up squid and fish pushed to the surface by currents, predators, or death. The deployment of capillary depth recorders, which record the maximum dive depth undertaken by a bird, has shown that while some species, such as the wandering albatross, do not dive deeper than a metre, some species, such as the light-mantled albatross, have a mean diving depth of almost 5 m (16 ft) and can dive as deep as 12.5 m (41 ft). In addition to surface feeding and diving, they have also been observed plunge diving from the air to snatch prey.
+
+Breeding and dancing
+Albatrosses are colonial, usually nesting on isolated islands; where colonies are on larger landmasses, they are found on exposed headlands with good approaches from the sea in several directions, like the colony on the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin, New Zealand. Many Buller's albatrosses and black-footed albatrosses nest under trees in open forest. Colonies vary from the very dense aggregations favoured by the mollymawks (black-browed albatross colonies on the Falkland Islands have densities of 70 nests per 100 m2) to the much looser groups and widely spaced individual nests favoured by the sooty and great albatrosses. All albatross colonies are on islands that historically were free of land mammals. Albatrosses are highly philopatric, meaning they usually return to their natal colony to breed. This tendency is so strong that a study of Laysan albatrosses showed that the average distance between hatching site and the site where a bird established its own territory was 22 m (72 ft).Albatrosses live much longer than other birds; they delay breeding for longer and invest more effort into fewer young. Most species survive upwards of 50 years, the oldest recorded being a Laysan albatross named Wisdom that was ringed in 1956 as a mature adult and hatched another chick in February 2021, making her at least 70 years old. She is the oldest confirmed wild bird and the oldest banded bird in the world.Albatrosses reach sexual maturity slowly, after about five years, but even once they have reached maturity, they do not begin to breed for another few years (even up to 10 years for some species). Young nonbreeders attend a colony prior to beginning to breed, spending many years practising the elaborate breeding rituals and "dances" for which the family is famous. Birds arriving back at the colony for the first time already have the stereotyped behaviours that compose albatross language, but can neither "read" that behaviour as exhibited by other birds nor respond appropriately.The repertoire of behaviour involves synchronised performances of various actions such as preening, pointing, calling, bill clacking, staring, and combinations of such behaviours (such as the sky-call).
+Albatrosses are held to undertake these elaborate and painstaking rituals to ensure that the appropriate partner has been chosen and to perfect partner recognition, as egg laying and chick rearing is a huge investment. Even species that can complete an egg-laying cycle in under a year seldom lay eggs in consecutive years. The great albatrosses (i.e. wandering albatross) take over a year to raise a chick from laying to fledging. Albatrosses lay a single subelliptical egg, white with reddish-brown spots, in a breeding season; if the egg is lost to predators or accidentally broken, then no further breeding attempts are made that year. The larger eggs weigh from 200 to 510 g (7.1 to 18.0 oz). The "divorce" of a pair is a rare occurrence, due to the diminished lifetime reproductive success it causes, and usually happens only after several years of breeding failure.All the southern albatrosses create large nests for their egg, using grass, shrubs, soil, peat, and even penguin feathers, whereas the three species in the North Pacific make more rudimentary nests. The waved albatross, though, makes no nest and even moves its egg around the pair's territory, as much as 50 m (160 ft), sometimes causing it to lose the egg. In all albatross species, both parents incubate the egg in stints that last between one day and three weeks. Incubation lasts around 70 to 80 days (longer for the larger albatrosses), the longest incubation period of any bird. It can be an energetically demanding process, with the adult losing as much as 83 g (2.9 oz) of body weight a day.
+
+After hatching, the chick, which is semi-altricial, is brooded and guarded for three weeks until it is large enough to defend and thermoregulate itself. During this period, the parents feed the chick small meals when they relieve each other from duty. After the brooding period is over, the chick is fed in regular intervals by both parents. The parents adopt alternative patterns of short and long foraging trips, providing meals that weigh around 12% of their body weight (around 600 g, or 21 oz). The meals are composed of fresh squid, fish, and krill, as well as stomach oil, an energy-rich food that is lighter to carry than undigested prey items. This oil is created in a stomach organ known as a proventriculus from digested prey items by most Procellariiformes, and gives them their distinctive musty smell.Albatross chicks take a long time to fledge. In the case of the great albatrosses, it can take up to 280 days; even for the smaller albatrosses, it takes between 140 and 170 days. Like many seabirds, albatross chicks will gain enough weight to be heavier than their parents, and prior to fledging, they use these reserves to build up body condition (particularly growing all their flight feathers), usually fledging at the same weight as their parents. Between 15 and 65% of those fledged survive to breed. Albatross chicks fledge on their own and receive no further help from their parents, which return to the nest after fledging, unaware their chick has left. Studies of juveniles dispersing at sea have suggested an innate migration behaviour, a genetically coded navigation route, which helps young birds when they are first out at sea.Hybridization is rare in albatrosses, largely due to the low incidence of breeding-site vagrancy.
+
+Etymology
+The name "albatross" is derived from the Arabic al-qādūs or al-ḡaṭṭās (a pelican; literally, "the diver"), which travelled to English via the Portuguese form alcatraz ("gannet"), which is also the origin of the name of the former prison Alcatraz. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word alcatraz was originally applied to the frigatebird; the modification to albatross was perhaps influenced by Latin albus, meaning "white", in contrast to frigatebirds, which are black.
+They were once commonly known as goonie birds or gooney birds, particularly those of the North Pacific. In the Southern Hemisphere, the name mollymawk is still well established in some areas, which is a corrupted form of malle-mugge, an old Dutch name for the northern fulmar. The name Diomedea, assigned to the albatrosses by Linnaeus, references the mythical metamorphosis of the companions of the Greek warrior Diomedes into birds. Finally, the name for the order, Procellariiformes, comes from the Latin word procella meaning "a violent wind" or "a storm".
+
+In culture
+Albatrosses have been described as "the most legendary of all birds". An albatross is the central emblem in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, representing the innocence and beauty of God's creation. The albatross metaphor is derived from this poem; someone bearing a burden or facing an obstacle is said to have "an albatross around his neck", the punishment given to the mariner who killed the albatross. A widespread myth holds that sailors believe shooting or harming an albatross is disastrous, due in part to the poem; in truth, sailors regularly killed and ate them, as reported by James Cook in 1772. However, other sailors reportedly caught the birds but let them free again, possibly believing that albatrosses were the souls of lost sailors, so killing them would bring bad luck. The head of an albatross being caught with a hook is used as the emblem of the Cape Horners, i.e. sailors who have rounded Cape Horn on freighters under sail; captains of such ships even received themselves the title "albatrosses" in the Cape Horners' organisation.
+A captive albatross tormented by jeering sailors is also a metaphor for the social travails of the sensitive poète maudit in Charles Baudelaire's poem L'Albatros: Le Poète est semblable au prince des nuées
+Qui hante la tempête et se rit de l'archer;
+Exilé sur le sol au milieu des huées,
+
+Ses ailes de géant l'empêchent de marcher.(Translation: The poet is like this prince of the clouds, who haunts the storm and mocks the archer; but exiled on earth surrounded by jeers, his giant wings make him helpless to walk.)
+In golf, shooting three under par on a single hole has been termed scoring an "albatross", as a continuation on the birdie and eagle theme.
+
+Non-European mythologies
+The Māori used the wing bones of the albatross to carve flutes. In Hawaiian mythology, Laysan albatrosses are considered aumakua, being a sacred manifestation of the ancestors, and quite possibly also the sacred bird of Kāne. Japanese mythology, by contrast, refers to the short-tailed albatross as ahodori, "fool bird", due to its habit of disregarding terrestrial predators, making it easy prey for feather collectors.
+
+Birdwatching
+Albatrosses are popular birds for birdwatchers, and their colonies are popular destinations for ecotourists. Regular birdwatching trips are taken out of many coastal towns and cities, such as Monterey, Dunedin, Kaikōura, Wollongong, Sydney, Port Fairy, Hobart, and Cape Town, to see pelagic seabirds. Albatrosses are easily attracted to these sightseeing boats by the deployment of fish oil and burley into the sea. Visits to colonies can be very popular; the northern royal albatross colony at Taiaroa Head in Dunedin, New Zealand, attracts 40,000 visitors a year.
+
+Threats and conservation
+In spite of often being accorded legendary status, albatrosses have not escaped either indirect or direct pressure from humans. Early encounters with albatrosses by Polynesians and Aleuts resulted in hunting and in some cases extirpation from some islands (such as Easter Island). As Europeans began sailing the world, they, too, began to hunt albatross, "fishing" for them from boats to serve at the table or blasting them for sport. This sport reached its peak on emigration lines bound for Australia, and only died down when ships became too fast to fish from, and regulations forbade the discharge of weapons for safety reasons. In the 19th century, albatross colonies, particularly those in the North Pacific, were harvested for the feather trade, leading to the near-extinction of the short-tailed albatross.Of the 22 albatross species recognised by IUCN on their Red List, 15 are threatened with extinction, that is, Critically Endangered (Tristan albatross and waved albatross), Endangered (7 species), or Vulnerable (6 species). Six further species are considered as Near Threatened and only one of Least Concern. One of the main threats is commercial longline fishing, as the albatrosses and other seabirds—which will readily feed on offal—are attracted to the set bait, become hooked on the lines and drown. An estimated 100,000 albatross per year are killed in this fashion. Unregulated pirate fisheries exacerbate the problem. A study showed that potentially illegal longline fishing activities are highly concentrated in areas of illegally-caught fish species, and the risk to bycatch albatrosses is significantly higher in areas where these illegal longline fishing vessels operate.On Midway Atoll, collisions between Laysan albatrosses and aircraft have resulted in human and bird deaths, as well as severe disruptions in military flight operations. Studies were made in the late 1950s and early 1960s that examined the results of control methods such as the killing of birds, the levelling and clearing of land to eliminate updrafts, and the destruction of annual nesting sites. Tall structures such as traffic control and radio towers killed 3000 birds in flight collisions during 1964–1965 before the towers were taken down. Closure of Naval Air Facility Midway in 1993 eliminated the problem of collisions with military aircraft. By 2008, it was noted that reduction in human activity had helped reduce bird deaths, though lead paint pollution near military buildings continued to poison birds by ingestion. Albatross plumes were popular in the early 20th century. In 1909 alone, over 300,000 albatrosses were killed on Midway Island and Laysan Island for their plumes.Another threat to albatrosses is introduced species, such as rats or feral cats, which directly attack albatrosses or their chicks and eggs. Albatrosses have evolved to breed on islands where land mammals are absent and have not developed defences against them. Even species as small as mice can be detrimental; on Gough Island, the chicks of Tristan albatrosses are attacked and eaten alive by introduced house mice. Introduced species can have other indirect effects; cattle overgrazed essential cover on Amsterdam Island, threatening the Amsterdam albatross; on other islands, introduced plants reduce potential nesting habitat.
+Ingestion of plastic flotsam is another problem, one faced by many seabirds. The amount of plastic in the seas has increased dramatically since the first record in the 1960s, coming from waste discarded by ships, offshore dumping, litter on beaches, and waste washed to sea by rivers. It is impossible to digest and takes up space in the stomach or gizzard that should be used for food, or can cause an obstruction that starves the bird directly. Studies of birds in the North Pacific have shown that ingestion of plastics results in declining body weight and body condition. This plastic is sometimes regurgitated and fed to chicks; a study of Laysan albatross chicks on Midway Atoll showed large amounts of ingested plastic in naturally dead chicks compared to healthy chicks killed in accidents. While not the direct cause of death, this plastic causes physiological stress and causes the chick to feel full during feedings, reducing its food intake and the chances of survival.Scientists and conservationists (most importantly BirdLife International and their partners, who run the Save the Albatross campaign) are working with governments and fishermen to find solutions to the threats albatrosses face. Techniques such as setting longline bait at night, dyeing the bait blue, setting the bait underwater, increasing the amount of weight on lines, and using bird scarers can all reduce the seabird bycatch. For example, a collaborative study between scientists and fishermen in New Zealand successfully tested an underwater setting device for longliners, which set the lines below the reach of vulnerable albatross species. The use of some of these techniques in the Patagonian toothfish fishery in the Falkland Islands is thought to have reduced the number of black-browed albatrosses taken by the fleet between 1994 and 2004. Conservationists have also worked on the field of island restoration, removing introduced species that threaten native wildlife, which protects albatrosses from introduced predators.
+One important step towards protecting albatrosses and other seabirds is the 2001 treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, which came into force in 2004 and has been ratified by thirteen countries, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, France, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. The treaty requires these countries to take specific actions to reduce bycatch, pollution and to remove introduced species from nesting islands.
+
+Species
+Since 1996, albatrosses have been divided into four genera. The number of species is a matter of debate. The IUCN and BirdLife International recognise 22 extant species (listed below), ITIS recognise 21 (the 22 below minus T. steadi), and a 2004 paper proposed a reduction to 13 (indicated in parentheses below), comprising the traditional 14 species minus D. amsterdamensis.
+
+See also
+List of albatross breeding locations
+
+Notes
+References
+External links
+
+"Diomedeidae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
+HANZAB complete species list (Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds.)
+BirdLife International Save the Albatross campaign
+The Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP)
+Albatross: Don Roberson's family page
+Tracking Ocean Wanderers. Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine The global distribution of albatrosses and petrels: Results from the Global Procellariiform Tracking Workshop, 1–5 September 2003, Gordon's Bay, South Africa. BirdLife International
+Albatross videos Archived 14 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine on the Internet Bird Collection
+"Recovery plan for albatrosses in the Chatham Islands 2001–2011" (PDF). Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2008.
+ Texts on Wikisource:
+"Albatross". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
+"Albatross". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
+"Albatross". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
+"Albatross". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
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+Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.
+Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. Larger colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.
+
+Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in moist tropical ecosystems and may exceed the combined biomass of wild birds and mammals. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships.
+Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems. These parallels with human societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study. Many human cultures make use of ants in cuisine, medication, and rites. Some species are valued in their role as biological pest control agents. Their ability to exploit resources may bring ants into conflict with humans, however, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. Some species, such as the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) of South America, are regarded as invasive species in other parts of the world, establishing themselves in areas where they have been introduced accidentally.
+
+Etymology
+The word ant and the archaic word emmet are derived from ante, emete of Middle English, which come from ǣmette of Old English; these are all related to Low Saxon e(e)mt, empe and varieties (Old Saxon emeta) and to German Ameise (Old High German āmeiza). All of these words come from West Germanic *ǣmaitjōn, and the original meaning of the word was "the biter" (from Proto-Germanic *ai-, "off, away" + *mait- "cut").The family name Formicidae is derived from the Latin formīca ("ant") from which the words in other Romance languages, such as the Portuguese formiga, Italian formica, Spanish hormiga, Romanian furnică, and French fourmi are derived. It has been hypothesised that a Proto-Indo-European word *morwi- was the root for Sanskrit vamrah, Greek μύρμηξ mýrmēx, Old Church Slavonic mraviji, Old Irish moirb, Old Norse maurr, Dutch mier, Swedish myra, Danish myre, Middle Dutch miere, and Crimean Gothic miera.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+The family Formicidae belongs to the order Hymenoptera, which also includes sawflies, bees, and wasps. Ants evolved from a lineage within the stinging wasps, and a 2013 study suggests that they are a sister group of the Apoidea. In 1966, E. O. Wilson and his colleagues identified the fossil remains of an ant (Sphecomyrma) that lived in the Cretaceous period. The specimen, trapped in amber dating back to around 92 million years ago, has features found in some wasps, but not found in modern ants. The oldest fossils of ants date to the mid-Cretaceous, around 100 million years ago, which belong to extinct stem-groups such as the Haidomyrmecinae, Sphecomyrminae and Zigrasimeciinae, with modern ant subfamilies appearing towards the end of the Cretaceous around 80–70 million years ago. Ants diversified and assumed ecological dominance around 60 million years ago. Some groups, such as the Leptanillinae and Martialinae, are suggested to have diversified from early primitive ants that were likely to have been predators underneath the surface of the soil.
+During the Cretaceous period, a few species of primitive ants ranged widely on the Laurasian supercontinent (the Northern Hemisphere). Their representation in the fossil record is poor, in comparison to the populations of other insects, representing only about 1% of fossil evidence of insects in the era. Ants became dominant after adaptive radiation at the beginning of the Paleogene period. By the Oligocene and Miocene, ants had come to represent 20–40% of all insects found in major fossil deposits. Of the species that lived in the Eocene epoch, around one in 10 genera survive to the present. Genera surviving today comprise 56% of the genera in Baltic amber fossils (early Oligocene), and 92% of the genera in Dominican amber fossils (apparently early Miocene).Termites live in colonies and are sometimes called "white ants", but termites are only distantly related to ants. They are the sub-order Isoptera, and together with cockroaches, they form the order Blattodea. Blattodeans are related to mantids, crickets, and other winged insects that do not undergo full metamorphosis. Like ants, termites are eusocial, with sterile workers, but they differ greatly in the genetics of reproduction. The similarity of their social structure to that of ants is attributed to convergent evolution. Velvet ants look like large ants, but are wingless female wasps.
+
+Distribution and diversity
+Ants have a cosmopolitan distribution. They are found on all continents except Antarctica, and only a few large islands, such as Greenland, Iceland, parts of Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands lack native ant species. Ants occupy a wide range of ecological niches and exploit many different food resources as direct or indirect herbivores, predators and scavengers. Most ant species are omnivorous generalists, but a few are specialist feeders. There is considerable variation in ant abundance across habitats, peaking in the moist tropics to nearly six times that found in less suitable habitats. Their ecological dominance has been examined primarily using estimates of their biomass: myrmecologist E. O. Wilson had estimated in 2009 that at any one time the total number of ants was between one and ten quadrillion (short scale) (i.e., between 1015 and 1016) and using this estimate he had suggested that the total biomass of all the ants in the world was approximately equal to the total biomass of the entire human race. More careful estimates made in 2022 which take into account regional variations puts the global ant contribution at 12 megatons of dry carbon, which is about 20% of the total human contribution, but greater than that of the wild birds and mammals combined. This study also puts a conservative estimate of the ants at about 20 × 1015 (20 quadrillion).Ants range in size from 0.75 to 52 millimetres (0.030–2.0 in), the largest species being the fossil Titanomyrma giganteum, the queen of which was 6 cm (2+1⁄2 in) long with a wingspan of 15 cm (6 in). Ants vary in colour; most ants are yellow to red or brown to black, but a few species are green and some tropical species have a metallic lustre. More than 13,800 species are currently known (with upper estimates of the potential existence of about 22,000; see the article List of ant genera), with the greatest diversity in the tropics. Taxonomic studies continue to resolve the classification and systematics of ants. Online databases of ant species, including AntWeb and the Hymenoptera Name Server, help to keep track of the known and newly described species. The relative ease with which ants may be sampled and studied in ecosystems has made them useful as indicator species in biodiversity studies.
+
+Morphology
+Ants are distinct in their morphology from other insects in having geniculate (elbowed) antennae, metapleural glands, and a strong constriction of their second abdominal segment into a node-like petiole. The head, mesosoma, and metasoma are the three distinct body segments (formally tagmata). The petiole forms a narrow waist between their mesosoma (thorax plus the first abdominal segment, which is fused to it) and gaster (abdomen less the abdominal segments in the petiole). The petiole may be formed by one or two nodes (the second alone, or the second and third abdominal segments). Tergosternal fusion, when the tergite and sternite of a segment fuse together, can occur partly or fully on the second, third and fourth abdominal segment and is used in identification. Fourth abdominal tergosternal fusion was formerly used as character that defined the poneromorph subfamilies, Ponerinae and relatives within their clade, but this is no longer considered a synapomorphic character.Like other arthropods, ants have an exoskeleton, an external covering that provides a protective casing around the body and a point of attachment for muscles, in contrast to the internal skeletons of humans and other vertebrates. Insects do not have lungs; oxygen and other gases, such as carbon dioxide, pass through their exoskeleton via tiny valves called spiracles. Insects also lack closed blood vessels; instead, they have a long, thin, perforated tube along the top of the body (called the "dorsal aorta") that functions like a heart, and pumps haemolymph toward the head, thus driving the circulation of the internal fluids. The nervous system consists of a ventral nerve cord that runs the length of the body, with several ganglia and branches along the way reaching into the extremities of the appendages.
+
+Head
+An ant's head contains many sensory organs. Like most insects, ants have compound eyes made from numerous tiny lenses attached together. Ant eyes are good for acute movement detection, but do not offer a high resolution image. They also have three small ocelli (simple eyes) on the top of the head that detect light levels and polarization. Compared to vertebrates, ants tend to have blurrier eyesight, particularly in smaller species, and a few subterranean taxa are completely blind. However, some ants, such as Australia's bulldog ant, have excellent vision and are capable of discriminating the distance and size of objects moving nearly a meter away.Two antennae ("feelers") are attached to the head; these organs detect chemicals, air currents, and vibrations; they also are used to transmit and receive signals through touch. The head has two strong jaws, the mandibles, used to carry food, manipulate objects, construct nests, and for defence. In some species, a small pocket (infrabuccal chamber) inside the mouth stores food, so it may be passed to other ants or their larvae.
+
+Mesosoma
+Both the legs and wings of the ant are attached to the mesosoma ("thorax"). The legs terminate in a hooked claw which allows them to hook on and climb surfaces. Only reproductive ants (queens and males) have wings. Queens shed their wings after the nuptial flight, leaving visible stubs, a distinguishing feature of queens. In a few species, wingless queens (ergatoids) and males occur.
+
+Metasoma
+The metasoma (the "abdomen") of the ant houses important internal organs, including those of the reproductive, respiratory (tracheae), and excretory systems. Workers of many species have their egg-laying structures modified into stings that are used for subduing prey and defending their nests.
+
+Polymorphism
+In the colonies of a few ant species, there are physical castes—workers in distinct size-classes, called minor, median, and major ergates. Often, the larger ants have disproportionately larger heads, and correspondingly stronger mandibles. These are known as macrergates while smaller workers are known as micrergates. Although formally known as dinergates, such individuals are sometimes called "soldier" ants because their stronger mandibles make them more effective in fighting, although they still are workers and their "duties" typically do not vary greatly from the minor or median workers. In a few species, the median workers are absent, creating a sharp divide between the minors and majors. Weaver ants, for example, have a distinct bimodal size distribution. Some other species show continuous variation in the size of workers. The smallest and largest workers in Carebara diversa show nearly a 500-fold difference in their dry weights.Workers cannot mate; however, because of the haplodiploid sex-determination system in ants, workers of a number of species can lay unfertilised eggs that become fully fertile, haploid males. The role of workers may change with their age and in some species, such as honeypot ants, young workers are fed until their gasters are distended, and act as living food storage vessels. These food storage workers are called repletes. For instance, these replete workers develop in the North American honeypot ant Myrmecocystus mexicanus. Usually the largest workers in the colony develop into repletes; and, if repletes are removed from the colony, other workers become repletes, demonstrating the flexibility of this particular polymorphism. This polymorphism in morphology and behaviour of workers initially was thought to be determined by environmental factors such as nutrition and hormones that led to different developmental paths; however, genetic differences between worker castes have been noted in Acromyrmex sp. These polymorphisms are caused by relatively small genetic changes; differences in a single gene of Solenopsis invicta can decide whether the colony will have single or multiple queens. The Australian jack jumper ant (Myrmecia pilosula) has only a single pair of chromosomes (with the males having just one chromosome as they are haploid), the lowest number known for any animal, making it an interesting subject for studies in the genetics and developmental biology of social insects.
+
+Genome size
+Genome size is a fundamental characteristic of an organism. Ants have been found to have tiny genomes, with the evolution of genome size suggested to occur through loss and accumulation of non-coding regions, mainly transposable elements, and occasionally by whole genome duplication. This may be related to colonisation processes, but further studies are needed to verify this.
+
+Life cycle
+The life of an ant starts from an egg; if the egg is fertilised, the progeny will be female diploid, if not, it will be male haploid. Ants develop by complete metamorphosis with the larva stages passing through a pupal stage before emerging as an adult. The larva is largely immobile and is fed and cared for by workers. Food is given to the larvae by trophallaxis, a process in which an ant regurgitates liquid food held in its crop. This is also how adults share food, stored in the "social stomach". Larvae, especially in the later stages, may also be provided solid food, such as trophic eggs, pieces of prey, and seeds brought by workers.The larvae grow through a series of four or five moults and enter the pupal stage. The pupa has the appendages free and not fused to the body as in a butterfly pupa. The differentiation into queens and workers (which are both female), and different castes of workers, is influenced in some species by the nutrition the larvae obtain. Genetic influences and the control of gene expression by the developmental environment are complex and the determination of caste continues to be a subject of research. Winged male ants, called drones (termed "aner" in old literature), emerge from pupae along with the usually winged breeding females. Some species, such as army ants, have wingless queens. Larvae and pupae need to be kept at fairly constant temperatures to ensure proper development, and so often are moved around among the various brood chambers within the colony.A new ergate spends the first few days of its adult life caring for the queen and young. She then graduates to digging and other nest work, and later to defending the nest and foraging. These changes are sometimes fairly sudden, and define what are called temporal castes. Such age-based task-specialization or polyethism has been suggested as having evolved due to the high casualties involved in foraging and defence, making it an acceptable risk only for ants who are older and likely to die sooner from natural causes. In the Brazilian ant Forelius pusillus, the nest entrance is closed from the outside to protect the colony from predatory ant species at sunset each day. About one to eight workers seal the nest entrance from the outside and they have no chance of returning to the nest and are in effect sacrificed. Whether these seemingly suicidal workers are older workers has not been determined.Ant colonies can be long-lived. The queens can live for up to 30 years, and workers live from 1 to 3 years. Males, however, are more transitory, being quite short-lived and surviving for only a few weeks. Ant queens are estimated to live 100 times as long as solitary insects of a similar size.Ants are active all year long in the tropics; however, in cooler regions, they survive the winter in a state of dormancy known as hibernation. The forms of inactivity are varied and some temperate species have larvae going into the inactive state (diapause), while in others, the adults alone pass the winter in a state of reduced activity.
+
+Reproduction
+A wide range of reproductive strategies have been noted in ant species. Females of many species are known to be capable of reproducing asexually through thelytokous parthenogenesis. Secretions from the male accessory glands in some species can plug the female genital opening and prevent females from re-mating. Most ant species have a system in which only the queen and breeding females have the ability to mate. Contrary to popular belief, some ant nests have multiple queens, while others may exist without queens. Workers with the ability to reproduce are called "gamergates" and colonies that lack queens are then called gamergate colonies; colonies with queens are said to be queen-right.Drones can also mate with existing queens by entering a foreign colony, such as in army ants. When the drone is initially attacked by the workers, it releases a mating pheromone. If recognized as a mate, it will be carried to the queen to mate. Males may also patrol the nest and fight others by grabbing them with their mandibles, piercing their exoskeleton and then marking them with a pheromone. The marked male is interpreted as an invader by worker ants and is killed.Most ants are univoltine, producing a new generation each year. During the species-specific breeding period, winged females and winged males, known to entomologists as alates, leave the colony in what is called a nuptial flight. The nuptial flight usually takes place in the late spring or early summer when the weather is hot and humid. Heat makes flying easier and freshly fallen rain makes the ground softer for mated queens to dig nests. Males typically take flight before the females. Males then use visual cues to find a common mating ground, for example, a landmark such as a pine tree to which other males in the area converge. Males secrete a mating pheromone that females follow. Males will mount females in the air, but the actual mating process usually takes place on the ground. Females of some species mate with just one male but in others they may mate with as many as ten or more different males, storing the sperm in their spermathecae. In Cardiocondyla elegans, workers may transport newly emerged queens to other conspecific nests where wingless males from unrelated colonies can mate with them, a behavioural adaptation that may reduce the chances of inbreeding.
+Mated females then seek a suitable place to begin a colony. There, they break off their wings using their tibial spurs and begin to lay and care for eggs. The females can selectively fertilise future eggs with the sperm stored to produce diploid workers or lay unfertilized haploid eggs to produce drones. The first workers to hatch, known as nanitics, are weaker and smaller than later workers but they begin to serve the colony immediately. They enlarge the nest, forage for food, and care for the other eggs. Species that have multiple queens may have a queen leaving the nest along with some workers to found a colony at a new site, a process akin to swarming in honeybees.
+
+Nests, colonies, and supercolonies
+The typical ant species has a colony occupying a single nest, housing one or more queens, where the brood is raised. There are however more than 150 species of ants in 49 genera that are known to have colonies consisting of multiple spatially separated nests. These polydomous (as opposed to monodomous) colonies have food and workers moving between the nests. Membership to a colony is identified by the response of worker ants which identify whether another individual belongs to their own colony or not. A signature cocktail of body surface chemicals (also known as cuticular hydrocarbons or CHCs) forms the so-called colony odor which other members can recognize. Some ant species appear to be less discriminating and in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile, workers carried from a colony anywhere in the southern US and Mexico are acceptable within other colonies in the same region. Similarly workers from colonies that have established in Europe are accepted by any other colonies within Europe but not by the colonies in the Americas. The interpretation of these observations has been debated and some have been termed these large populations as supercolonies while others have termed the poulations as unicolonial.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Communication
+Ants communicate with each other using pheromones, sounds, and touch. Since most ants live on the ground, they use the soil surface to leave pheromone trails that may be followed by other ants. In species that forage in groups, a forager that finds food marks a trail on the way back to the colony; this trail is followed by other ants, these ants then reinforce the trail when they head back with food to the colony. When the food source is exhausted, no new trails are marked by returning ants and the scent slowly dissipates. This behaviour helps ants deal with changes in their environment. For instance, when an established path to a food source is blocked by an obstacle, the foragers leave the path to explore new routes. If an ant is successful, it leaves a new trail marking the shortest route on its return. Successful trails are followed by more ants, reinforcing better routes and gradually identifying the best path.Ants use pheromones for more than just making trails. A crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone that sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants from farther away. Several ant species even use "propaganda pheromones" to confuse enemy ants and make them fight among themselves. Pheromones are produced by a wide range of structures including Dufour's glands, poison glands and glands on the hindgut, pygidium, rectum, sternum, and hind tibia. Pheromones also are exchanged, mixed with food, and passed by trophallaxis, transferring information within the colony. This allows other ants to detect what task group (e.g., foraging or nest maintenance) other colony members belong to. In ant species with queen castes, when the dominant queen stops producing a specific pheromone, workers begin to raise new queens in the colony.Some ants produce sounds by stridulation, using the gaster segments and their mandibles. Sounds may be used to communicate with colony members or with other species.
+
+Defence
+Ants attack and defend themselves by biting and, in many species, by stinging often injecting or spraying chemicals. Bullet ants (Paraponera), located in Central and South America, are considered to have the most painful sting of any insect, although it is usually not fatal to humans. This sting is given the highest rating on the Schmidt sting pain index.The sting of jack jumper ants can be lethal for humans, and an antivenom has been developed for it. Fire ants, Solenopsis spp., are unique in having a venom sac containing piperidine alkaloids. Their stings are painful and can be dangerous to hypersensitive people. Formicine ants secrete a poison from their glands, made mainly of formic acid.
+Trap-jaw ants of the genus Odontomachus are equipped with mandibles called trap-jaws, which snap shut faster than any other predatory appendages within the animal kingdom. One study of Odontomachus bauri recorded peak speeds of between 126 and 230 km/h (78 and 143 mph), with the jaws closing within 130 microseconds on average. The ants were also observed to use their jaws as a catapult to eject intruders or fling themselves backward to escape a threat. Before striking, the ant opens its mandibles extremely widely and locks them in this position by an internal mechanism. Energy is stored in a thick band of muscle and explosively released when triggered by the stimulation of sensory organs resembling hairs on the inside of the mandibles. The mandibles also permit slow and fine movements for other tasks. Trap-jaws also are seen in other ponerines such as Anochetus, as well as some genera in the tribe Attini, such as Daceton, Orectognathus, and Strumigenys, which are viewed as examples of convergent evolution.
+A Malaysian species of ant in the Camponotus cylindricus group has enlarged mandibular glands that extend into their gaster. If combat takes a turn for the worse, a worker may perform a final act of suicidal altruism by rupturing the membrane of its gaster, causing the content of its mandibular glands to burst from the anterior region of its head, spraying a poisonous, corrosive secretion containing acetophenones and other chemicals that immobilise small insect attackers. The worker subsequently dies.
+In addition to defence against predators, ants need to protect their colonies from pathogens. Secretions from the metapleural gland, unique to the ants, produce a complex range of chemicals including several with antibiotic properties. Some worker ants maintain the hygiene of the colony and their activities include undertaking or necrophoresis, the disposal of dead nest-mates. Oleic acid has been identified as the compound released from dead ants that triggers necrophoric behaviour in Atta mexicana while workers of Linepithema humile react to the absence of characteristic chemicals (dolichodial and iridomyrmecin) present on the cuticle of their living nestmates to trigger similar behaviour.Nests may be protected from physical threats such as flooding and overheating by elaborate nest architecture. Workers of Cataulacus muticus, an arboreal species that lives in plant hollows, respond to flooding by drinking water inside the nest, and excreting it outside. Camponotus anderseni, which nests in the cavities of wood in mangrove habitats, deals with submergence under water by switching to anaerobic respiration.
+
+Learning
+Many animals can learn behaviours by imitation, but ants may be the only group apart from mammals where interactive teaching has been observed. A knowledgeable forager of Temnothorax albipennis can lead a naïve nest-mate to newly discovered food by the process of tandem running. The follower obtains knowledge through its leading tutor. The leader is acutely sensitive to the progress of the follower and slows down when the follower lags and speeds up when the follower gets too close.Controlled experiments with colonies of Cerapachys biroi suggest that an individual may choose nest roles based on her previous experience. An entire generation of identical workers was divided into two groups whose outcome in food foraging was controlled. One group was continually rewarded with prey, while it was made certain that the other failed. As a result, members of the successful group intensified their foraging attempts while the unsuccessful group ventured out fewer and fewer times. A month later, the successful foragers continued in their role while the others had moved to specialise in brood care.
+
+Nest construction
+Complex nests are built by many ant species, but other species are nomadic and do not build permanent structures. Ants may form subterranean nests or build them on trees. These nests may be found in the ground, under stones or logs, inside logs, hollow stems, or even acorns. The materials used for construction include soil and plant matter, and ants carefully select their nest sites; Temnothorax albipennis will avoid sites with dead ants, as these may indicate the presence of pests or disease. They are quick to abandon established nests at the first sign of threats.The army ants of South America, such as the Eciton burchellii species, and the driver ants of Africa do not build permanent nests, but instead, alternate between nomadism and stages where the workers form a temporary nest (bivouac) from their own bodies, by holding each other together.Weaver ant (Oecophylla spp.) workers build nests in trees by attaching leaves together, first pulling them together with bridges of workers and then inducing their larvae to produce silk as they are moved along the leaf edges. Similar forms of nest construction are seen in some species of Polyrhachis.
+Formica polyctena, among other ant species, constructs nests that maintain a relatively constant interior temperature that aids in the development of larvae. The ants maintain the nest temperature by choosing the location, nest materials, controlling ventilation and maintaining the heat from solar radiation, worker activity and metabolism, and in some moist nests, microbial activity in the nest materials.Some ant species, such as those that use natural cavities, can be opportunistic and make use of the controlled micro-climate provided inside human dwellings and other artificial structures to house their colonies and nest structures.
+
+Cultivation of food
+Most ants are generalist predators, scavengers, and indirect herbivores, but a few have evolved specialised ways of obtaining nutrition. It is believed that many ant species that engage in indirect herbivory rely on specialized symbiosis with their gut microbes to upgrade the nutritional value of the food they collect and allow them to survive in nitrogen poor regions, such as rainforest canopies. Leafcutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) feed exclusively on a fungus that grows only within their colonies. They continually collect leaves which are taken to the colony, cut into tiny pieces and placed in fungal gardens. Ergates specialise in related tasks according to their sizes. The largest ants cut stalks, smaller workers chew the leaves and the smallest tend the fungus. Leafcutter ants are sensitive enough to recognise the reaction of the fungus to different plant material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is found to be toxic to the fungus, the colony will no longer collect it. The ants feed on structures produced by the fungi called gongylidia. Symbiotic bacteria on the exterior surface of the ants produce antibiotics that kill bacteria introduced into the nest that may harm the fungi.
+
+Navigation
+Foraging ants travel distances of up to 200 metres (700 ft) from their nest  and scent trails allow them to find their way back even in the dark. In hot and arid regions, day-foraging ants face death by desiccation, so the ability to find the shortest route back to the nest reduces that risk. Diurnal desert ants of the genus Cataglyphis such as the Sahara desert ant navigate by keeping track of direction as well as distance travelled. Distances travelled are measured using an internal pedometer that keeps count of the steps taken and also by evaluating the movement of objects in their visual field (optical flow). Directions are measured using the position of the sun.
+They integrate this information to find the shortest route back to their nest.
+Like all ants, they can also make use of visual landmarks when available as well as olfactory and tactile cues to navigate. Some species of ant are able to use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. The compound eyes of ants have specialised cells that detect polarised light from the Sun, which is used to determine direction.
+These polarization detectors are sensitive in the ultraviolet region of the light spectrum. In some army ant species, a group of foragers who become separated from the main column may sometimes turn back on themselves and form a circular ant mill. The workers may then run around continuously until they die of exhaustion.
+
+Locomotion
+The female worker ants do not have wings and reproductive females lose their wings after their mating flights in order to begin their colonies. Therefore, unlike their wasp ancestors, most ants travel by walking. Some species are capable of leaping. For example, Jerdon's jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator) is able to jump by synchronising the action of its mid and hind pairs of legs. There are several species of gliding ant including Cephalotes atratus; this may be a common trait among arboreal ants with small colonies. Ants with this ability are able to control their horizontal movement so as to catch tree trunks when they fall from atop the forest canopy.Other species of ants can form chains to bridge gaps over water, underground, or through spaces in vegetation. Some species also form floating rafts that help them survive floods. These rafts may also have a role in allowing ants to colonise islands. Polyrhachis sokolova, a species of ant found in Australian mangrove swamps, can swim and live in underwater nests. Since they lack gills, they go to trapped pockets of air in the submerged nests to breathe.
+
+Cooperation and competition
+Not all ants have the same kind of societies. The Australian bulldog ants are among the biggest and most basal of ants. Like virtually all ants, they are eusocial, but their social behaviour is poorly developed compared to other species. Each individual hunts alone, using her large eyes instead of chemical senses to find prey.Some species attack and take over neighbouring ant colonies. Extreme specialists among these slave-raiding ants, such as the Amazon ants, are incapable of feeding themselves and need captured workers to survive. Captured workers of enslaved Temnothorax species have evolved a counter-strategy, destroying just the female pupae of the slave-making Temnothorax americanus, but sparing the males (who do not take part in slave-raiding as adults).
+Ants identify kin and nestmates through their scent, which comes from hydrocarbon-laced secretions that coat their exoskeletons. If an ant is separated from its original colony, it will eventually lose the colony scent. Any ant that enters a colony without a matching scent will be attacked.Parasitic ant species enter the colonies of host ants and establish themselves as social parasites; species such as Strumigenys xenos are entirely parasitic and do not have workers, but instead, rely on the food gathered by their Strumigenys perplexa hosts. This form of parasitism is seen across many ant genera, but the parasitic ant is usually a species that is closely related to its host. A variety of methods are employed to enter the nest of the host ant. A parasitic queen may enter the host nest before the first brood has hatched, establishing herself prior to development of a colony scent. Other species use pheromones to confuse the host ants or to trick them into carrying the parasitic queen into the nest. Some simply fight their way into the nest.A conflict between the sexes of a species is seen in some species of ants with these reproducers apparently competing to produce offspring that are as closely related to them as possible. The most extreme form involves the production of clonal offspring. An extreme of sexual conflict is seen in Wasmannia auropunctata, where the queens produce diploid daughters by thelytokous parthenogenesis and males produce clones by a process whereby a diploid egg loses its maternal contribution to produce haploid males who are clones of the father.
+
+Relationships with other organisms
+Ants form symbiotic associations with a range of species, including other ant species, other insects, plants, and fungi. They also are preyed on by many animals and even certain fungi. Some arthropod species spend part of their lives within ant nests, either preying on ants, their larvae, and eggs, consuming the food stores of the ants, or avoiding predators. These inquilines may bear a close resemblance to ants. The nature of this ant mimicry (myrmecomorphy) varies, with some cases involving Batesian mimicry, where the mimic reduces the risk of predation. Others show Wasmannian mimicry, a form of mimicry seen only in inquilines.
+Aphids and other hemipteran insects secrete a sweet liquid called honeydew, when they feed on plant sap. The sugars in honeydew are a high-energy food source, which many ant species collect. In some cases, the aphids secrete the honeydew in response to ants tapping them with their antennae. The ants in turn keep predators away from the aphids and will move them from one feeding location to another. When migrating to a new area, many colonies will take the aphids with them, to ensure a continued supply of honeydew. Ants also tend mealybugs to harvest their honeydew. Mealybugs may become a serious pest of pineapples if ants are present to protect mealybugs from their natural enemies.Myrmecophilous (ant-loving) caterpillars of the butterfly family Lycaenidae (e.g., blues, coppers, or hairstreaks) are herded by the ants, led to feeding areas in the daytime, and brought inside the ants' nest at night. The caterpillars have a gland which secretes honeydew when the ants massage them. Some caterpillars produce vibrations and sounds that are perceived by the ants. A similar adaptation can be seen in Grizzled skipper butterflies that emit vibrations by expanding their wings in order to communicate with ants, which are natural predators of these butterflies. Other caterpillars have evolved from ant-loving to ant-eating: these myrmecophagous caterpillars secrete a pheromone that makes the ants act as if the caterpillar is one of their own larvae. The caterpillar is then taken into the ant nest where it feeds on the ant larvae. A number of specialized bacteria have been found as endosymbionts in ant guts. Some of the dominant bacteria belong to the order Hyphomicrobiales whose members are known for being nitrogen-fixing symbionts in legumes but the species found in ant lack the ability to fix nitrogen. Fungus-growing ants that make up the tribe Attini, including leafcutter ants, cultivate certain species of fungus in the genera Leucoagaricus or Leucocoprinus of the family Agaricaceae. In this ant-fungus mutualism, both species depend on each other for survival. The ant Allomerus decemarticulatus has evolved a three-way association with the host plant, Hirtella physophora (Chrysobalanaceae), and a sticky fungus which is used to trap their insect prey.
+Lemon ants make devil's gardens by killing surrounding plants with their stings and leaving a pure patch of lemon ant trees, (Duroia hirsuta). This modification of the forest provides the ants with more nesting sites inside the stems of the Duroia trees. Although some ants obtain nectar from flowers, pollination by ants is somewhat rare, one example being of the pollination of the orchid Leporella fimbriata which induces male Myrmecia urens to pseudocopulate with the flowers, transferring pollen in the process. One theory that has been proposed for the rarity of pollination is that the secretions of the metapleural gland inactivate and reduce the viability of pollen. Some plants have special nectar exuding structures, extrafloral nectaries, that provide food for ants, which in turn protect the plant from more damaging herbivorous insects. Species such as the bullhorn acacia (Acacia cornigera) in Central America have hollow thorns that house colonies of stinging ants (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) who defend the tree against insects, browsing mammals, and epiphytic vines. Isotopic labelling studies suggest that plants also obtain nitrogen from the ants. In return, the ants obtain food from protein- and lipid-rich Beltian bodies. In Fiji Philidris nagasau (Dolichoderinae) are known to selectively grow species of epiphytic Squamellaria (Rubiaceae) which produce large domatia inside which the ant colonies nest. The ants plant the seeds and the domatia of young seedling are immediately occupied and the ant faeces in them contribute to rapid growth. Similar dispersal associations are found with other dolichoderines in the region as well. Another example of this type of ectosymbiosis comes from the Macaranga tree, which has stems adapted to house colonies of Crematogaster ants.Many plant species have seeds that are adapted for dispersal by ants. Seed dispersal by ants or myrmecochory is widespread, and new estimates suggest that nearly 9% of all plant species may have such ant associations. Often, seed-dispersing ants perform directed dispersal, depositing the seeds in locations that increase the likelihood of seed survival to reproduction. Some plants in arid, fire-prone systems are particularly dependent on ants for their survival and dispersal as the seeds are transported to safety below the ground. Many ant-dispersed seeds have special external structures, elaiosomes, that are sought after by ants as food. Ants can substantially alter rate of decomposition and nutrient cycling in their nest. By myrmecochory and modification of soil conditions they substantially alter vegetation and nutrient cycling in surrounding ecosystem.A convergence, possibly a form of mimicry, is seen in the eggs of stick insects. They have an edible elaiosome-like structure and are taken into the ant nest where the young hatch.
+Most ants are predatory and some prey on and obtain food from other social insects including other ants. Some species specialise in preying on termites (Megaponera and Termitopone) while a few Cerapachyinae prey on other ants. Some termites, including Nasutitermes corniger, form associations with certain ant species to keep away predatory ant species. The tropical wasp Mischocyttarus drewseni coats the pedicel of its nest with an ant-repellent chemical. It is suggested that many tropical wasps may build their nests in trees and cover them to protect themselves from ants. Other wasps, such as A. multipicta, defend against ants by blasting them off the nest with bursts of wing buzzing. Stingless bees (Trigona and Melipona) use chemical defences against ants.Flies in the Old World genus Bengalia (Calliphoridae) prey on ants and are kleptoparasites, snatching prey or brood from the mandibles of adult ants. Wingless and legless females of the Malaysian phorid fly (Vestigipoda myrmolarvoidea) live in the nests of ants of the genus Aenictus and are cared for by the ants.
+Fungi in the genera Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps infect ants. Ants react to their infection by climbing up plants and sinking their mandibles into plant tissue. The fungus kills the ants, grows on their remains, and produces a fruiting body. It appears that the fungus alters the behaviour of the ant to help disperse its spores  in a microhabitat that best suits the fungus. Strepsipteran parasites also manipulate their ant host to climb grass stems, to help the parasite find mates.A nematode (Myrmeconema neotropicum) that infects canopy ants (Cephalotes atratus) causes the black-coloured gasters of workers to turn red. The parasite also alters the behaviour of the ant, causing them to carry their gasters high. The conspicuous red gasters are mistaken by birds for ripe fruits, such as Hyeronima alchorneoides, and eaten. The droppings of the bird are collected by other ants and fed to their young, leading to further spread of the nematode.
+A study of Temnothorax nylanderi colonies in Germany found that workers parasitized by the tapeworm Anomotaenia brevis (ants are intermediate hosts, the definitive hosts are woodpeckers) lived much longer than unparasitized workers and had a reduced mortality rate, comparable to that of the queens of the same species, which live for as long as two decades.South American poison dart frogs in the genus Dendrobates feed mainly on ants, and the toxins in their skin may come from the ants.Army ants forage in a wide roving column, attacking any animals in that path that are unable to escape. In Central and South America, Eciton burchellii is the swarming ant most commonly attended by "ant-following" birds such as antbirds and woodcreepers. This behaviour was once considered mutualistic, but later studies found the birds to be parasitic. Direct kleptoparasitism (birds stealing food from the ants' grasp) is rare and has been noted in Inca doves which pick seeds at nest entrances as they are being transported by species of Pogonomyrmex. Birds that follow ants eat many prey insects and thus decrease the foraging success of ants. Birds indulge in a peculiar behaviour called anting that, as yet, is not fully understood. Here birds rest on ant nests, or pick and drop ants onto their wings and feathers; this may be a means to remove ectoparasites from the birds.
+Anteaters, aardvarks, pangolins, echidnas and numbats have special adaptations for living on a diet of ants. These adaptations include long, sticky tongues to capture ants and strong claws to break into ant nests. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) have been found to feed on ants. About 12%, 16%, and 4% of their faecal volume in spring, summer and autumn, respectively, is composed of ants.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Ants perform many ecological roles that are beneficial to humans, including the suppression of pest populations and aeration of the soil. The use of weaver ants in citrus cultivation in southern China is considered one of the oldest known applications of biological control. On the other hand, ants may become nuisances when they invade buildings or cause economic losses.
+In some parts of the world (mainly Africa and South America), large ants, especially army ants, are used as surgical sutures. The wound is pressed together and ants are applied along it. The ant seizes the edges of the wound in its mandibles and locks in place. The body is then cut off and the head and mandibles remain in place to close the wound. The large heads of the dinergates (soldiers) of the leafcutting ant Atta cephalotes are also used by native surgeons in closing wounds.Some ants have toxic venom and are of medical importance. The species include Paraponera clavata (tocandira) and Dinoponera spp. (false tocandiras) of South America  and the Myrmecia ants of Australia.In South Africa, ants are used to help harvest the seeds of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), a plant used to make a herbal tea. The plant disperses its seeds widely, making manual collection difficult. Black ants collect and store these and other seeds in their nest, where humans can gather them en masse. Up to half a pound (200 g) of seeds may be collected from one ant-heap.Although most ants survive attempts by humans to eradicate them, a few are highly endangered. These tend to be island species that have evolved specialized traits and risk being displaced by introduced ant species. Examples include the critically endangered Sri Lankan relict ant (Aneuretus simoni) and Adetomyrma venatrix of Madagascar.
+
+As food
+Ants and their larvae are eaten in different parts of the world. The eggs of two species of ants are used in Mexican escamoles. They are considered a form of insect caviar and can sell for as much as US$50 per kg going up to US$200 per kg (as of 2006) because they are seasonal and hard to find. In the Colombian department of Santander, hormigas culonas (roughly interpreted as "large-bottomed ants") Atta laevigata are toasted alive and eaten. In areas of India, and throughout Burma and Thailand, a paste of the green weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) is served as a condiment with curry. Weaver ant eggs and larvae, as well as the ants, may be used in a Thai salad, yam (Thai: ยำ), in a dish called yam khai mot daeng (Thai: ยำไข่มดแดง) or red ant egg salad, a dish that comes from the Issan or north-eastern region of Thailand. Saville-Kent, in the Naturalist in Australia wrote "Beauty, in the case of the green ant, is more than skin-deep. Their attractive, almost sweetmeat-like translucency possibly invited the first essays at their consumption by the human species". Mashed up in water, after the manner of lemon squash, "these ants form a pleasant acid drink which is held in high favor by the natives of North Queensland, and is even appreciated by many European palates".In his First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir notes that the Digger Indians of California ate the tickling, acid gasters of the large jet-black carpenter ants. The Mexican Indians eat the repletes, or living honey-pots, of the honey ant (Myrmecocystus).
+
+As pests
+Some ant species are considered as pests, primarily those that occur in human habitations, where their presence is often problematic. For example, the presence of ants would be undesirable in sterile places such as hospitals or kitchens. Some species or genera commonly categorized as pests include the Argentine ant, immigrant pavement ant, yellow crazy ant, banded sugar ant, pharaoh ant, red wood ant, black carpenter ant, odorous house ant, red imported fire ant, and European fire ant. Some ants will raid stored food, some will seek water sources, others may damage indoor structures, some may damage agricultural crops directly or by aiding sucking pests. Some will sting or bite. The adaptive nature of ant colonies make it nearly impossible to eliminate entire colonies and most pest management practices aim to control local populations and tend to be temporary solutions. Ant populations are managed by a combination of approaches that make use of chemical, biological, and physical methods. Chemical methods include the use of insecticidal bait which is gathered by ants as food and brought back to the nest where the poison is inadvertently spread to other colony members through trophallaxis. Management is based on the species and techniques may vary according to the location and circumstance.
+
+In science and technology
+Observed by humans since the dawn of history, the behaviour of ants has been documented and the subject of early writings and fables passed from one century to another. Those using scientific methods, myrmecologists, study ants in the laboratory and in their natural conditions. Their complex and variable social structures have made ants ideal model organisms. Ultraviolet vision was first discovered in ants by Sir John Lubbock in 1881. Studies on ants have tested hypotheses in ecology and sociobiology, and have been particularly important in examining the predictions of theories of kin selection and evolutionarily stable strategies. Ant colonies may be studied by rearing or temporarily maintaining them in formicaria, specially constructed glass framed enclosures. Individuals may be tracked for study by marking them with dots of colours.The successful techniques used by ant colonies have been studied in computer science and robotics to produce distributed and fault-tolerant systems for solving problems, for example Ant colony optimization and Ant robotics. This area of biomimetics has led to studies of ant locomotion, search engines that make use of "foraging trails", fault-tolerant storage, and networking algorithms.
+
+As pets
+From the late 1950s through the late 1970s, ant farms were popular educational children's toys in the United States. Some later commercial versions use transparent gel instead of soil, allowing greater visibility at the cost of stressing the ants with unnatural light.
+
+In culture
+Anthropomorphised ants have often been used in fables and children's stories to represent industriousness and cooperative effort. They also are mentioned in religious texts. In the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, ants are held up as a good example of hard work and cooperation. Aesop did the same in his fable The Ant and the Grasshopper. In the Quran, Sulayman is said to have heard and understood an ant warning other ants to return home to avoid being accidentally crushed by Sulayman and his marching army.[Quran 27:18], In parts of Africa, ants are considered to be the messengers of the deities. Some Native American mythology, such as the Hopi mythology, considers ants as the very first animals. Ant bites are often said to have curative properties. The sting of some species of Pseudomyrmex is claimed to give fever relief. Ant bites are used in the initiation ceremonies of some Amazon Indian cultures as a test of endurance. In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena turned the maiden Myrmex into an ant when the latter claimed to have invented the plough, when in fact it was Athena's own invention.
+Ant society has always fascinated humans and has been written about both humorously and seriously. Mark Twain wrote about ants in his 1880 book A Tramp Abroad. Some modern authors have used the example of the ants to comment on the relationship between society and the individual. Examples are Robert Frost in his poem "Departmental" and T. H. White in his fantasy novel The Once and Future King. The plot in French entomologist and writer Bernard Werber's Les Fourmis science-fiction trilogy is divided between the worlds of ants and humans; ants and their behaviour is described using contemporary scientific knowledge. H.G. Wells wrote about intelligent ants destroying human settlements in Brazil and threatening human civilization in his 1905 science-fiction short story, The Empire of the Ants. In more recent times, animated cartoons and 3-D animated films featuring ants have been produced including Antz, A Bug's Life, The Ant Bully, The Ant and the Aardvark, Ferdy the Ant and Atom Ant. Renowned myrmecologist E. O. Wilson wrote a short story, "Trailhead" in 2010 for The New Yorker magazine, which describes the life and death of an ant-queen and the rise and fall of her colony, from an ants' point of view. The French neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and eugenicist Auguste Forel believed that ant societies were models for human society. He published a five volume work from 1921 to 1923 that examined ant biology and society.In the early 1990s, the video game SimAnt, which simulated an ant colony, won the 1992 Codie award for "Best Simulation Program".Ants also are quite popular inspiration for many science-fiction insectoids, such as the Formics of Ender's Game, the Bugs of Starship Troopers, the giant ants in the films Them! and Empire of the Ants, Marvel Comics' super hero Ant-Man, and ants mutated into super-intelligence in Phase IV. In computer strategy games, ant-based species often benefit from increased production rates due to their single-minded focus, such as the Klackons in the Master of Orion series of games or the ChCht in Deadlock II. These characters are often credited with a hive mind, a common misconception about ant colonies.
+
+See also
+Glossary of ant terms
+International Union for the Study of Social Insects
+Myrmecological News (journal)
+Task allocation and partitioning in social insects
+
+References
+Cited texts
+Borror DJ, Triplehorn CA, Delong DM (1989). Introduction to the Study of Insects (6th ed.). Saunders College Publishing. ISBN 978-0-03-025397-3.
+Hölldobler B, Wilson EO (1990). The Ants. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-04075-5.
+
+Further reading
+External links
+
+Wilson, Andrew (1878). "Ant" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. II (9th ed.). pp. 94–100.
+AntWeb from The California Academy of Sciences
+AntWiki – Bringing Ants to the World
+Ant Species Fact Sheets from the National Pest Management Association on Argentine, Carpenter, Pharaoh, Odorous, and other ant species
+Ant Genera of the World – distribution maps
+The super-nettles. A dermatologist's guide to ants-in-the-plants
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/axolotl.txt b/data/animals/axolotl.txt
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+The axolotl (; from Classical Nahuatl: āxōlōtl [aːˈʃoːloːtɬ] ) (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. It is unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species was originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City, such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. These lakes were drained by Spanish settlers after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of much of the axolotl's natural habitat.
+As of 2020, the axolotl was near extinction due to urbanization in Mexico City and consequent water pollution, as well as the introduction of invasive species such as tilapia and perch. It is listed as critically endangered in the wild, with a decreasing population of around 50 to 1,000 adult individuals, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate limbs, gills and parts of their eyes and brains. Notably, their ability to regenerate declines with age, but it does not disappear. Axolotls keep modestly growing throughout their life and some consider this trait to be a direct contributor to their regenerative abilities. Further research has been conducted to examine their heart as a model of human single ventricle and excessive trabeculation. Axolotls were also sold as food in Mexican markets and were a staple in the Aztec diet.Axolotls should not be confused with the larval stage of the closely related tiger salamander (A. tigrinum), which are widespread in much of North America and occasionally become paedomorphic. Neither should they be confused with mudpuppies (Necturus spp.), fully aquatic salamanders from a different family that are not closely related to the axolotl but bear a superficial resemblance.
+
+Description
+A sexually mature adult axolotl, at age 18–27 months, ranges in length from 15 to 45 cm (6 to 18 in), although a size close to 23 cm (9 in) is most common and greater than 30 cm (12 in) is rare. Axolotls possess features typical of salamander larvae, including external gills and a caudal fin extending from behind the head to the vent. External gills are usually lost when salamander species mature into adulthood, although the axolotl maintains this feature. This is due to their neoteny evolution, where axolotls are much more aquatic than other salamander species.Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and possess long, thin digits. Males are identified by their swollen cloacae lined with papillae, while females are noticeable for their wider bodies full of eggs. Three pairs of external gill stalks (rami) originate behind their heads and are used to move oxygenated water. The external gill rami are lined with filaments (fimbriae) to increase surface area for gas exchange. Four-gill slits lined with gill rakers are hidden underneath the external gills, which prevent food from entering and allow particles to filter through.
+
+Axolotls have barely visible vestigial teeth, which develop during metamorphosis. The primary method of feeding is by suction, during which their rakers interlock to close the gill slits. External gills are used for respiration, although buccal pumping (gulping air from the surface) may also be used to provide oxygen to their lungs. Buccal pumping can occur in a two-stroke manner that pumps air from the mouth to the lungs, and with four-stroke that reverses this pathway with compression forces.Axolotls have four pigmentation genes; when mutated they create different color variants. The normal wild-type animal is brown/tan with gold speckles and an olive undertone. The five more common mutant colors are leucistic (pale pink with black eyes), golden albino (golden with gold eyes), xanthic (grey with black eyes), albino (pale pink/white with red eyes) which is more common in axolotls than some other creatures, and melanoid (all black/dark blue with no gold speckling or olive tone). In addition, there is wide individual variability in the size, frequency, and intensity of the gold speckling and at least one variant that develops a black and white piebald appearance on reaching maturity. Because pet breeders frequently cross the variant colors, double homozygous mutants are common in the pet trade, especially white/pink animals with pink eyes that are double homozygous mutants for both the albino and leucistic trait. Axolotls also have some limited ability to alter their color to provide better camouflage by changing the relative size and thickness of their melanophores.
+
+Habitat and ecology
+The axolotl is native only to the freshwater of Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in the Valley of Mexico. Lake Chalco no longer exists, having been drained as a flood control measure, and Lake Xochimilco remains a remnant of its former self, existing mainly as canals. The water temperature in Xochimilco rarely rises above 20 °C (68 °F), although it may fall to 6–7 °C (43–45 °F) in the winter, and perhaps lower.Surveys in 1998, 2003, and 2008 found 6,000, 1,000, and 100 axolotls per square kilometer in its Lake Xochimilco habitat, respectively. A four-month-long search in 2013, however, turned up no surviving individuals in the wild. Just a month later, two wild ones were spotted in a network of canals leading from Xochimilco.The wild population has been put under heavy pressure by the growth of Mexico City. The axolotl is currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's annual Red List of threatened species. Non-native fish, such as African tilapia and Asian carp, have also recently been introduced to the waters. These new fish have been eating the axolotls' young, as well as their primary source of food.Axolotls are members of the tiger salamander, or Ambystoma tigrinum, species complex, along with all other Mexican species of Ambystoma. Their habitat is like that of most neotenic species—a high-altitude body of water surrounded by a risky terrestrial environment. These conditions are thought to favor neoteny. However, a terrestrial population of Mexican tiger salamanders occupies and breeds in the axolotl's habitat.
+
+Diet
+The axolotl is carnivorous, consuming small prey such as mollusks, worms, insects, other arthropods, and small fish in the wild. Axolotls locate food by smell, and will "snap" at any potential meal, sucking the food into their stomachs with vacuum force.
+
+Use as a model organism
+Today, the axolotl is still used in research as a model organism, and large numbers are bred in captivity. They are especially easy to breed compared to other salamanders in their family, which are rarely captive-bred due to the demands of terrestrial life. One attractive feature for research is the large and easily manipulated embryo, which allows viewing of the full development of a vertebrate. Axolotls are used in heart defect studies due to the presence of a mutant gene that causes heart failure in embryos. Since the embryos survive almost to hatching with no heart function, the defect is very observable. The axolotl is also considered an ideal animal model for the study of neural tube closure due to the similarities between human and axolotl neural plate and tube formation; the axolotl's neural tube, unlike the frog's, is not hidden under a layer of superficial epithelium. There are also mutations affecting other organ systems some of which are not well characterized and others that are. The genetics of the color variants of the axolotl have also been widely studied.
+
+Regeneration
+The feature of the axolotl that attracts most attention is its healing ability: the axolotl does not heal by scarring and is capable of the regeneration of entire lost appendages in a period of months, and, in certain cases, more vital structures, such as tail, limb, central nervous system, and tissues of the eye and heart. They can even restore less vital parts of their brains. They can also readily accept transplants from other individuals, including eyes and parts of the brain—restoring these alien organs to full functionality. In some cases, axolotls have been known to repair a damaged limb, as well as regenerating an additional one, ending up with an extra appendage that makes them attractive to pet owners as a novelty. In metamorphosed individuals, however, the ability to regenerate is greatly diminished. The axolotl is therefore used as a model for the development of limbs in vertebrates. There are three basic requirements for regeneration of the limb: the wound epithelium, nerve signaling, and the presence of cells from the different limb axes. A wound epidermis is quickly formed by the cells to cover up the site of the wound. In the following days, the cells of the wound epidermis divide and grow quickly forming a blastema, which means the wound is ready to heal and undergo patterning to form the new limb.
+It is believed that during limb generation, axolotls have a different system to regulate their internal macrophage level and suppress inflammation, as scarring prevents proper healing and regeneration. However, this belief has been questioned by other studies. The axolotl's regenerative properties leave the species as the perfect model to study the process of stem cells and its own neoteny feature. Current research can record specific examples of these regenerative properties through tracking cell fates and behaviors, lineage tracing skin triploid cell grafts, pigmentation imaging, electroporation, tissue clearing and lineage tracing from dye labeling. The newer technologies of germline modification and transgenesis are better suited for live imaging the regenerative processes that occur for axolotls.
+
+Genome
+The 32 billion base pair long sequence of the axolotl's genome was published in 2018 and was the largest animal genome completed at the time. It revealed species-specific genetic pathways that may be responsible for limb regeneration. Although the axolotl genome is about 10 times as large as the human genome, it encodes a similar number of proteins, namely 23,251 (the human genome encodes about 20,000 proteins). The size difference is mostly explained by a large fraction of repetitive sequences, but such repeated elements also contribute to increased median intron sizes (22,759 bp) which are 13, 16 and 25 times that observed in human (1,750 bp), mouse (1,469 bp) and Tibetan frog (906 bp), respectively.
+
+Neoteny
+Most amphibians begin their lives as aquatic animals which are unable to live on dry land, often being dubbed as tadpoles. To reach adulthood, they go through a process called metamorphosis, in which they lose their gills and start living on land. However, the axolotl is unusual in that it has a lack of thyroid stimulating hormone, which is needed for the thyroid to produce thyroxine in order for the axolotl to go through metamorphosis; therefore, it keeps its gills and lives in water all its life, even after it becomes an adult and is able to reproduce. Its body has the capacity to go through metamorphosis if given the necessary hormone, but axolotls do not produce it, and must be exposed to it from an external source, after which an axolotl undergoes an artificially-induced metamorphosis and begins living on land. One method of artificial metamorphosis induction is through an injection of iodine, which is used in the production of thyroid hormones.
+An axolotl undergoing metamorphosis experiences a number of physiological changes that help them adapt to life on land. These include increased muscle tone in limbs, the absorption of gills and fins into the body, the development of eyelids, and a reduction in the skin's permeability to water, allowing the axolotl to stay more easily hydrated when on land. The lungs of an axolotl, though present alongside gills after reaching non-metamorphosed adulthood, develop further during metamorphosis.An axolotl that has gone through metamorphosis resembles an adult plateau tiger salamander, though the axolotl differs in its longer toes. The process of artificially inducing metamorphosis can often result in death during or even following a successful attempt, and so casual hobbyists are generally discouraged from attempting to induce metamorphosis in pet axolotls.Neoteny is the term for reaching sexual maturity without undergoing metamorphosis. Many other species within the axolotl's genus are also either entirely neotenic or have neotenic populations. Sirens and Necturus are other neotenic salamanders, although unlike axolotls, they cannot be induced to metamorphose by an injection of iodine or thyroxine hormone.
+The genes responsible for neoteny in laboratory animals may have been identified; however, they are not linked in wild populations, suggesting artificial selection is the cause of complete neoteny in laboratory and pet axolotls.Six adult axolotls (including a leucistic specimen) were shipped from Mexico City to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris in 1863. Unaware of their neoteny, Auguste Duméril was surprised when, instead of the axolotl, he found in the vivarium a new species, similar to the salamander. This discovery was the starting point of research about neoteny. It is not certain that Ambystoma velasci specimens were not included in the original shipment. Vilem Laufberger in Prague used thyroid hormone injections to induce an axolotl to grow into a terrestrial adult salamander. The experiment was repeated by Englishman Julian Huxley, who was unaware the experiment had already been done, using ground thyroids. Since then, experiments have been done often with injections of iodine or various thyroid hormones used to induce metamorphosis.Neoteny has been observed in all salamander families in which it seems to be a survival mechanism, in aquatic environments only of mountain and hill, with little food and, in particular, with little iodine. In this way, salamanders can reproduce and survive in the form of a smaller larval stage, which is aquatic and requires a lower quality and quantity of food compared to the big adult, which is terrestrial. If the salamander larvae ingest a sufficient amount of iodine, directly or indirectly through cannibalism, they quickly begin metamorphosis and transform into bigger terrestrial adults, with higher dietary requirements. In fact, in some high mountain lakes there live dwarf forms of salmonids that are caused by deficiencies in food and, in particular, iodine, which causes cretinism and dwarfism due to hypothyroidism, as it does in humans.
+
+Threats
+Axolotls are only native to the Mexican Central Valley. Although the native axolotl population once extended through most of the lakes and wetlands that make up this region, the Native habitat is now limited to Lake Xochimilco as a result of the expansion of Mexico City. Lake Xochimilco is not a large body of water, but rather a small series of artificial channels, small lakes, and temporary wetlands.
+
+Lake Xochimilco has poor water quality, caused by the region's aquaculture and agriculture demands. It is also maintained by inputs of only partially treated wastewater. Water quality tests reveal a low nitrogen-phosphorus ratio and a high concentration of chlorophyll a, which are indicative of an oxygen-poor environment that is not well-suited for axolotls. In addition, the intensive use of pesticides from agriculture around Lake Xochimilco causes run off into the lake and a reduction of habitat quality for axolotls. The pesticides used contain chemical compounds that studies show to sharply increase mortality in axolotl embryos and larvae. Of the surviving embryo and larvae, there is also an increase of morphological, behavior, and activity abnormalities.Another factor that threatens the native axolotl population is the introduction of invasive species such as the Nile tilapia and common carp. These invasive fish species threaten axolotl populations by eating their eggs or young and by out-competing them for natural resources. The presence of these species has also been shown to change the behavior of axolotls, causing them to be less active to avoid predation. This reduction in activity greatly impacts the axolotls foraging and mating opportunities.With such a small native population, there is a large loss of genetic diversity. This lack of genetic diversity can be dangerous for the remaining population, causing an increase in inbreeding and a decrease in general fitness and adaptive potential. It ultimately raises the axolotl's risk for extinction, something that they are already in danger of. Studies have found indicators of a low interpopulation gene flow and higher rates of genetic drift. These are likely the result of multiple “bottleneck” incidents in which events that kill off several individuals of a population occur and sharply reduce the genetic diversity of the remaining population. The offspring produced after bottleneck events have a greater risk of showing decreased fitness and are often less capable of adaptation down the line. Multiple bottleneck events can have disastrous effects on a population. Studies have also found high rates of relatedness that are indicative of inbreeding. Inbreeding can be especially harmful as it can cause an increase in the presence of deleterious, or harmful, genes within a population.There has been little improvement in the conditions of the lake or the population of native axolotls. Many scientists are focusing their conservation efforts on translocation of captive-bred individuals into new habitats or reintroduction into Lake Xochimilco. The Laboratorio de Restauracion Ecologica (LRE) in the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) has built up a population of more than 100 captive-bred individuals. These axolotls are mostly used for research by the lab but plans of a semi-artificial wetland inside the university have been established and the goal is to establish a viable population of axolotls within it. Studies have shown that captive-bred axolotls that are raised in a semi-natural environment can catch prey, survive in the wild, and have moderate success in escaping predators. These captive-bred individuals can be introduced into unpolluted bodies of water or back into Lake Xochimilco to establish or re-establish a wild population.
+
+Captive care
+The axolotl is a popular exotic pet like its relative, the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). As for all poikilothermic organisms, lower temperatures result in slower metabolism and a very unhealthily reduced appetite. Temperatures at approximately 16 °C (61 °F) to 18 °C (64 °F) are suggested for captive axolotls to ensure sufficient food intake; stress resulting from more than a day's exposure to lower temperatures may quickly lead to disease and death, and temperatures higher than 24 °C (75 °F) may lead to metabolic rate increase, also causing stress and eventually death. Chlorine, commonly added to tapwater, is harmful to axolotls. A single axolotl typically requires a 150-litre (40-US-gallon) tank. Axolotls spend the majority of the time at the bottom of the tank.Salts, such as Holtfreter's solution, are often added to the water to prevent infection.In captivity, axolotls eat a variety of readily available foods, including trout and salmon pellets, frozen or live bloodworms, earthworms, and waxworms. Axolotls can also eat feeder fish, but care should be taken as fish may contain parasites.Substrates are another important consideration for captive axolotls, as axolotls (like other amphibians and reptiles) tend to ingest bedding material together with food and are commonly prone to gastrointestinal obstruction and foreign body ingestion. Some common substrates used for animal enclosures can be harmful for amphibians and reptiles. Gravel (common in aquarium use) should not be used, and is recommended that any sand consists of smooth particles with a grain size of under 1mm. One guide to axolotl care for laboratories notes that bowel obstructions are a common cause of death, and recommends that no items with a diameter below 3 cm (or approximately the size of the animal's head) should be available to the animal.There is some evidence that axolotls might seek out appropriately-sized gravel for use as gastroliths based on experiments conducted at the University of Manitoba axolotl colony, but these studies are outdated and not conclusive. As there is no conclusive evidence pointing to gastrolith use, gravel should be avoided due to the high risk of impaction.
+
+Cultural significance
+The species is named after the Aztec deity Xolotl, the god of fire and lightning, who transformed himself into an axolotl to avoid being sacrificed by fellow gods. They continue to play an outsized cultural role in Mexico. Axólotl also means water monster in the Nahuatl language.
+They appear in the works of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. In 2021, Mexico released a new design for its 50-peso banknote featuring an axolotl along with maize and chinampas on its back. It was recognized as "Bank Note of the Year" by the International Bank Note Society. HD 224693, a star in the equatorial constellation of Cetus, was named Axólotl in 2019.The Pokémon Mudkip and its evolutions, added in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (2002), take some visual inspiration from axolotls. Additionally, the Pokemon Wooper, added in Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal (1999), is directly based on an axolotl. The looks of the dragons Toothless and The Night Fury in the How to Train Your Dragon movies are based on axolotls. They were also added to the video game Minecraft in 2020. It is following Mojang Studios' trend of adding endangered species to the game to raise awareness. They were also added to its spin-off Minecraft: Dungeons in 2022 and are available in Lego Minecraft. An anthropomorphic Axolotl named Axo was also added as a purchasable outfit in Fortnite Battle Royale on August 9, 2020.
+
+See also
+Mudpuppies
+Olm
+Texas salamander
+Texas blind salamander
+Lake Patzcuaro salamander
+Barred tiger salamander
+Amphibious fish
+Handfish
+Regenerative biomedicine
+
+References
+External links
+
+Ambystomatidae at Curlie
+Follow the Eggs, Hatchlings and Juveniles
+Mating Dance and Laying Eggs
+Follow the Eggs and Hatchlings (2nd Batch)
+Indiana U Axolotl Colony
+University of KY Axolotl Colony
+Mystical amphibian venerated by Aztecs nears extinction
+The animal that’s everywhere and nowhere
+"Axolotl" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 63.
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+The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), which occupies the same niche as the bald eagle in the Palearctic. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
+The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down upon and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years.
+Bald eagles are not bald; the name derives from an older meaning of the word, "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males. The yellow beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown.
+The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered, and the species's status was upgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" in 1995, and removed from the list altogether in 2007.
+
+Taxonomy
+The bald eagle is placed in the genus Haliaeetus (sea eagles), and gets both its common and specific scientific names from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head. Bald in the English name is from an older usage meaning "having white on the face or head" rather than "hairless", referring to the white head feathers contrasting with the darker body. The genus name is Neo-Latin: Haliaeetus (from the Ancient Greek: ἁλιάετος, romanized: haliaetos, lit. 'sea eagle'), and the specific name, leucocephalus, is Latinized (Ancient Greek: λευκός, romanized: leukos, lit. 'white') and (κεφαλή, kephalḗ, 'head').
+The bald eagle was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae, under the name Falco leucocephalus.There are two recognized subspecies of bald eagle:
+H. l. leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) is the nominate subspecies. It is found in the southern United States and Baja California Peninsula.
+H. l. washingtoniensis (Audubon, 1827), synonym H. l. alascanus Townsend, 1897, the northern subspecies, is larger than southern nominate leucocephalus. It is found in the northern United States, Canada and Alaska.The bald eagle forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle of Eurasia. This species pair consists of a white-headed and a tan-headed species of roughly equal size; the white-tailed eagle also has overall somewhat paler brown body plumage. The two species fill the same ecological niche in their respective ranges. The pair diverged from other sea eagles at the beginning of the Early Miocene (c. 10 Ma BP) at the latest, but possibly as early as the Early/Middle Oligocene, 28 Ma BP, if the most ancient fossil record is correctly assigned to this genus.
+
+Description
+The plumage of an adult bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species, in that females are 25% larger than males. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow. The legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the hind toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere. The adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range. The closely related African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) (from far outside the bald eagle's range) also has a brown body (albeit of somewhat more rufous hue), white head and tail, but differs from the bald eagle in having a white chest and black tip to the bill.
+The plumage of the immature is a dark brown overlaid with messy white streaking until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity. Immature bald eagles are distinguishable from the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), the only other very large, non-vulturine raptorial bird in North America, in that the former has a larger, more protruding head with a larger beak, straighter edged wings which are held flat (not slightly raised) and with a stiffer wing beat and feathers which do not completely cover the legs. When seen well, the golden eagle is distinctive in plumage with a more solid warm brown color than an immature bald eagle, with a reddish-golden patch to its nape and (in immature birds) a highly contrasting set of white squares on the wing.The bald eagle has sometimes been considered the largest true raptor (accipitrid) in North America. The only larger species of raptor-like bird is the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), a New World vulture which today is not generally considered a taxonomic ally of true accipitrids. However, the golden eagle, averaging 4.18 kg (9.2 lb) and 63 cm (25 in) in wing chord length in its American race (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis), is merely 455 g (1.003 lb) lighter in mean body mass and exceeds the bald eagle in mean wing chord length by around 3 cm (1.2 in). Additionally, the bald eagle's close cousins, the relatively longer-winged but shorter-tailed white-tailed eagle and the overall larger Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), may, rarely, wander to coastal Alaska from Asia.
+The bald eagle has a body length of 70–102 cm (28–40 in). Typical wingspan is between 1.8 and 2.3 m (5 ft 11 in and 7 ft 7 in) and mass is normally between 3 and 6.3 kg (6.6 and 13.9 lb). Females are about 25% larger than males, averaging as much as 5.6 kg (12 lb), and against the males' average weight of 4.1 kg (9.0 lb).The size of the bird varies by location and generally corresponds with Bergmann's rule: the species increases in size further away from the equator and the tropics. For example, eagles from South Carolina average 3.27 kg (7.2 lb) in mass and 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) in wingspan, smaller than their northern counterparts. One field guide in Florida listed similarly small sizes for bald eagles there, at about 4.13 kg (9.1 lb). Of intermediate size, 117 migrant bald eagles in Glacier National Park were found to average 4.22 kg (9.3 lb) but this was mostly (possibly post-dispersal) juvenile eagles, with 6 adults here averaging 4.3 kg (9.5 lb). Wintering eagles in Arizona (winter weights are usually the highest of the year since, like many raptors, they spend the highest percentage of time foraging during winter) were found to average 4.74 kg (10.4 lb).The largest eagles are from Alaska, where large females may weigh more than 7 kg (15 lb) and span 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) across the wings. A survey of adult weights in Alaska showed that females there weighed on average 5.35 kg (11.8 lb), respectively, and males weighed 4.23 kg (9.3 lb) against immatures which averaged 5.09 kg (11.2 lb) and 4.05 kg (8.9 lb) in the two sexes. An Alaskan adult female eagle that was considered outsized weighed some 7.4 kg (16 lb). R.S. Palmer listed a record from 1876 in Wyoming County, New York of an enormous adult bald eagle that was shot and reportedly scaled 8.2 kg (18 lb). Among standard linear measurements, the wing chord is 51.5–69 cm (20.3–27.2 in), the tail is 23–37 cm (9.1–14.6 in) long, and the tarsus is 8 to 11 cm (3.1 to 4.3 in). The culmen reportedly ranges from 3 to 7.5 cm (1.2 to 3.0 in), while the measurement from the gape to the tip of the bill is 7–9 cm (2.8–3.5 in).  The bill size is unusually variable: Alaskan eagles can have up to twice the bill length of birds from the southern United States (Georgia, Louisiana, Florida), with means including both sexes of 6.83 cm (2.69 in) and 4.12 cm (1.62 in) in culmen length, respectively, from these two areas.The call consists of weak staccato, chirping whistles, kleek kik ik ik ik, somewhat similar in cadence to a gull's call. The calls of young birds tend to be more harsh and shrill than those of adults.
+
+Range
+The bald eagle's natural range covers most of North America, including most of Canada, all of the continental United States, and northern Mexico. It is the only sea eagle endemic to North America. Occupying varied habitats from the bayous of Louisiana to the Sonoran Desert and the eastern deciduous forests of Quebec and New England, northern birds are migratory, while southern birds are resident, remaining on their breeding territory all year. At minimum population, in the 1950s, it was largely restricted to Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, northern and eastern Canada, and Florida. From 1966 to 2015 bald eagle numbers increased substantially throughout its winter and breeding ranges, and as of 2018 the species nests in every continental state and province in the United States and Canada.The majority of bald eagles in Canada are found along the British Columbia coast while large populations are found in the forests of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Bald eagles also congregate in certain locations in winter. From November until February, one to two thousand birds winter in Squamish, British Columbia, about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. The birds primarily gather along the Squamish and Cheakamus Rivers, attracted by the salmon spawning in the area. Similar congregations of wintering bald eagles at open lakes and rivers, wherein fish are readily available for hunting or scavenging, are observed in the northern United States.It has occurred as a vagrant twice in Ireland; a juvenile was shot illegally in Fermanagh on January 11, 1973 (misidentified at first as a white-tailed eagle), and an exhausted juvenile was captured near Castleisland, County Kerry on November 15, 1987. There is also a record of it from Llyn Coron, Anglesey, in the United Kingdom, from October 17, 1978; the provenance of this individual eagle has remained in dispute.
+
+Habitat
+The bald eagle occurs during its breeding season in virtually any kind of American wetland habitat such as seacoasts, rivers, large lakes or marshes or other large bodies of open water with an abundance of fish. Studies have shown a preference for bodies of water with a circumference greater than 11 km (7 mi), and lakes with an area greater than 10 km2 (4 sq mi) are optimal for breeding bald eagles.The bald eagle typically requires old-growth and mature stands of coniferous or hardwood trees for perching, roosting, and nesting. Tree species reportedly is less important to the eagle pair than the tree's height, composition and location. Perhaps of paramount importance for this species is an abundance of comparatively large trees surrounding the body of water. Selected trees must have good visibility, be over 20 m (66 ft) tall, an open structure, and proximity to prey. If nesting trees are in standing water such as in a mangrove swamp, the nest can be located fairly low, at as low 6 m (20 ft) above the ground. In a more typical tree standing on dry ground, nests may be located from 16 to 38 m (52 to 125 ft) in height. In Chesapeake Bay, nesting trees averaged 82 cm (32 in) in diameter and 28 m (92 ft) in total height, while in Florida, the average nesting tree stands 23 m (75 ft) high and is 23 cm (9.1 in) in diameter. Trees used for nesting in the Greater Yellowstone area average 27 m (89 ft) high. Trees or forest used for nesting should have a canopy cover of no more than 60%, and no less than 20%, and be in close proximity to water. Most nests have been found within 200 m (660 ft) of open water. The greatest distance from open water recorded for a bald eagle nest was over 3 km (1.9 mi), in Florida.Bald eagle nests are often very large in order to compensate for size of the birds. The largest recorded nest was found in Florida in 1963, and was measured at nearly 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep.In Florida, nesting habitats often consist of Mangrove swamps, the shorelines of lakes and rivers, pinelands, seasonally flooded flatwoods, hardwood swamps, and open prairies and pastureland with scattered tall trees. Favored nesting trees in Florida are slash pines (Pinus elliottii), longleaf pines (P. palustris), loblolly pines (P. taeda) and cypress trees, but for the southern coastal areas where mangroves are usually used. In Wyoming, groves of mature cottonwoods or tall pines found along streams and rivers are typical bald eagle nesting habitats. Wyoming eagles may inhabit habitat types ranging from large, old-growth stands of ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa) to narrow strips of riparian trees surrounded by rangeland. In Southeast Alaska, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) provided 78% of the nesting trees used by eagles, followed by hemlocks (Tsuga) at 20%. Increasingly, eagles nest in human-made reservoirs stocked with fish.
+The bald eagle is usually quite sensitive to human activity while nesting, and is found most commonly in areas with minimal human disturbance. It chooses sites more than 1.2 km (0.75 mi) from low-density human disturbance and more than 1.8 km (1.1 mi) from medium- to high-density human disturbance. However, bald eagles will occasionally nest in large estuaries or secluded groves within major cities, such as Hardtack Island on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon or John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which are surrounded by a great quantity of human activity. Even more contrary to the usual sensitivity to disturbance, a family of bald eagles moved to the Harlem neighborhood in New York City in 2010.While wintering, bald eagles tend to be less habitat and disturbance sensitive. They will commonly congregate at spots with plentiful perches and waters with plentiful prey and (in northern climes) partially unfrozen waters. Alternately, non-breeding or wintering bald eagles, particularly in areas with a lack of human disturbance, spend their time in various upland, terrestrial habitats sometimes quite far away from waterways. In the northern half of North America (especially the interior portion), this terrestrial inhabitance by bald eagles tends to be especially prevalent because unfrozen water may not be accessible. Upland wintering habitats often consist of open habitats with concentrations of medium-sized mammals, such as prairies, meadows or tundra, or open forests with regular carrion access.
+
+Behavior
+The bald eagle is a powerful flier, and soars on thermal convection currents. It reaches speeds of 56–70 km/h (35–43 mph) when gliding and flapping, and about 48 km/h (30 mph) while carrying fish. Its dive speed is between 120–160 km/h (75–99 mph), though it seldom dives vertically. Regarding their flying abilities, despite being morphologically less well adapted to faster flight than golden eagles (especially during dives), the bald eagle is considered surprisingly maneuverable in flight. Bald eagles have also been recorded catching up to and then swooping under geese in flight, turning over and thrusting their talons into the other bird's breast. It is partially migratory, depending on location. If its territory has access to open water, it remains there year-round, but if the body of water freezes during the winter, making it impossible to obtain food, it migrates to the south or to the coast. A number of populations are subject to post-breeding dispersal, mainly in juveniles; Florida eagles, for example, will disperse northwards in the summer. The bald eagle selects migration routes which take advantage of thermals, updrafts, and food resources. During migration, it may ascend in a thermal and then glide down, or may ascend in updrafts created by the wind against a cliff or other terrain. Migration generally takes place during the daytime, usually between the local hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., when thermals are produced by the sun.
+
+Diet and feeding
+The bald eagle is an opportunistic carnivore with the capacity to consume a great variety of prey. Fish often comprise most of the eagle's diet throughout their range. In 20 food habit studies across the species' range, fish comprised 56% of the diet of nesting eagles, birds 28%, mammals 14% and other prey 2%. More than 400 species are known to be included in the bald eagle's prey spectrum, far more than its ecological equivalent in the Old World, the white-tailed eagle, is known to take. Despite its considerably lower population, the bald eagle may come in second amongst all North American accipitrids, slightly behind only the red-tailed hawk, in number of prey species recorded.
+
+Behavior
+To hunt fish, the eagle swoops down over the water and snatches the fish out of the water with its talons. They eat by holding the fish in one claw and tearing the flesh with the other. Eagles have structures on their toes called spicules that allow them to grasp fish. Osprey also have this adaptation. Bird prey may occasionally be attacked in flight, with prey up to the size of Canada geese attacked and killed in mid-air. It has been estimated that the gripping power (pounds by square inch) of the bald eagle is ten times greater than that of a human. Bald eagles can fly with fish at least equal to their own weight, but if the fish is too heavy to lift, the eagle may be dragged into the water. Bald eagles are able to swim, in some cases dragging its catch ashore with its talons, but some eagles drown or succumb to hypothermia. Many sources claim that bald eagles, like all large eagles, cannot normally take flight carrying prey more than half of their own weight unless aided by favorable wind conditions. On numerous occasions, when large prey such as large fish including mature salmon or geese are attacked, eagles have been seen to make contact and then drag the prey in a strenuously labored, low flight over the water to a bank, where they then finish off and dismember the prey. When food is abundant, an eagle can gorge itself by storing up to 1 kg (2.2 lb) of food in a pouch in the throat called a crop. Gorging allows the bird to fast for several days if food becomes unavailable. Occasionally, bald eagles may hunt cooperatively when confronting prey, especially relatively large prey such as jackrabbits or herons, with one bird distracting potential prey, while the other comes behind it in order to ambush it. While hunting waterfowl, bald eagles repeatedly fly at a target and cause it to dive repeatedly, hoping to exhaust the victim so it can be caught (white-tailed eagles have been recorded hunting waterfowl in the same way). When hunting concentrated prey, a successful catch often results in the hunting eagle being pursued by other eagles and needing to find an isolated perch for consumption if it is able to carry it away successfully.They obtain much of their food as carrion or via a practice known as kleptoparasitism, by which they steal prey away from other predators. Due to their dietary habits, bald eagles are frequently viewed in a negative light by humans. Thanks to their superior foraging ability and experience, adults are generally more likely to hunt live prey than immature eagles, which often obtain their food from scavenging. They are not very selective about the condition or origin, whether provided by humans, other animals, auto accidents or natural causes, of a carcass's presence, but will avoid eating carrion where disturbances from humans are a regular occurrence. They will scavenge carcasses up to the size of whales, though carcasses of ungulates and large fish are seemingly preferred. Congregated wintering waterfowl are frequently exploited for carcasses to scavenge by immature eagles in harsh winter weather. Bald eagles also may sometimes feed on material scavenged or stolen from campsites and picnics, as well as garbage dumps (dump usage is habitual mainly in Alaska) and fish-processing plants.
+
+Fish
+In Southeast Alaska, fish comprise approximately 66% of the year-round diet of bald eagles and 78% of the prey brought to the nest by the parents. Eagles living in the Columbia River Estuary in Oregon were found to rely on fish for 90% of their dietary intake.  At least 100 species of fish have been recorded in the bald eagle's diet. From observation in the Columbia River, 58% of the fish were caught alive by the eagle, 24% were scavenged as carcasses and 18% were pirated away from other animals.In the Pacific Northwest, spawning trout and salmon provide most of the bald eagles' diet from late summer throughout fall. Though bald eagles occasionally catch live salmon, they usually scavenge spawned salmon carcass. Southeast Alaskan eagles largely prey on pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), coho salmon (O. kisutch) and, more locally, sockeye salmon (O. nerka), with Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha). Due to the Chinook salmon's large size (12 to 18 kg (26 to 40 lb) average adult size) probably being taken only as carrion and a single carcass can attract several eagles. Also important in the estuaries and shallow coastlines of southern Alaska are Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) and eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus). In Oregon's Columbia River Estuary, the most significant prey species were largescale suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus) (17.3% of the prey selected there), American shad (Alosa sapidissima; 13%) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio; 10.8%). Eagles living in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland were found to subsist largely on American gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) and white bass (Morone chrysops). Floridian eagles have been reported to prey on catfish, most prevalently the brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) and any species in the genus Ictalurus as well as mullet, trout, needlefish, and eels. Chain pickerels (Esox niger) and white suckers (Catostomus commersonii) are frequently taken in interior Maine. Wintering eagles on the Platte River in Nebraska preyed mainly on American gizzard shads and common carp. Bald eagles are also known to eat the following fish species: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), white catfish (Ameiurus catus), rock greenling (Hexagrammos lagocephalus), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), northern pike (Esox lucius), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), dogfish shark (Squalidae.sp) and Blue walleye (Sander vitreus).Fish taken by bald eagles varies in size, but bald eagles take larger fish than other piscivorous birds in North America, typically range from 20 to 75 cm (7.9 to 29.5 in) and prefer 36 cm (14 in) fish. When experimenters offered fish of different sizes in the breeding season around Lake Britton in California, fish measuring 34 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) were taken 71.8% of the time by parent eagles while fish measuring 23 to 27.5 cm (9.1 to 10.8 in) were chosen only 25% of the time. At nests around Lake Superior, the remains of fish (mostly suckers) were found to average 35.4 cm (13.9 in) in total length. In the Columbia River estuary, most preyed on by eagles were estimated to measure less than 30 cm (12 in), but larger fish between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 in) or even exceeding 60 cm (24 in) in length also taken especially during the non-breeding seasons. In Neagle Lake, eagles frequently take Northern pike, up to 80 cm (31 in) long. They can take fish up to at least twice their own weight, such as large salmons, carps, or even adult muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), by dragging its catch with talons and pull toward ashore. Much larger marine fish such as Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) and lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) have been recorded among bald eagle prey though probably are only taken as young, as small, newly mature fish, or as carrion.Benthic fishes such as catfish are usually consumed after they die and float to the surface, though while temporarily swimming in the open may be more vulnerable to predation than most fish since their eyes focus downwards. Bald eagles also regularly exploit water turbines which produce battered, stunned or dead fish easily consumed. Predators who leave behind scraps of dead fish that they kill, such as brown bears (Ursus arctos), gray wolves (Canis lupus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), may be habitually followed in order to scavenge the kills secondarily. Once North Pacific salmon die off after spawning, usually local bald eagles eat salmon carcasses almost exclusively. Eagles in Washington need to consume 489 g (1.078 lb) of fish each day for survival, with adults generally consuming more than juveniles and thus reducing potential energy deficiency and increasing survival during winter.
+
+Birds
+Behind fish, the next most significant prey base for bald eagles are other waterbirds. The contribution of such birds to the eagle's diet is variable, depending on the quantity and availability of fish near the water's surface. Waterbirds can seasonally comprise from 7% to 80% of the prey selection for eagles in certain localities. Overall, birds are the most diverse group in the bald eagle's prey spectrum, with 200 prey species recorded.Bird species most preferred as prey by eagles tend to be medium-sized, such as western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and American coots (Fulica americana) as such prey is relatively easy for the much larger eagles to catch and fly with. American herring gull (Larus smithsonianus) are the favored avian prey species for eagles living around Lake Superior. Black ducks (Anas rubripes), common eiders (Somateria mollissima), and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) are also frequently taken in coastal Maine and velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca) was dominant prey in San Miguel Island.
+Due to easy accessibility and lack of formidable nest defense against eagles by such species, bald eagles are capable of preying on such seabirds at all ages, from eggs to mature adults, and they can effectively cull large portions of a colony. Along some portions of the North Pacific coastline, bald eagles which had historically preyed mainly kelp-dwelling fish and supplementally sea otter (Enhydra lutris) pups are now preying mainly on seabird colonies since both the fish (possibly due to overfishing) and otters (cause unknown) have had steep population declines, causing concern for seabird conservation. Because of this more extensive predation, some biologist has expressed concern that murres are heading for a "conservation collision" due to heavy eagle predation. Eagles have been confirmed to attack nocturnally active, burrow-nesting seabird species such as storm petrels and shearwaters by digging out their burrows and feeding on all animals they find inside. If a bald eagle flies close by, waterbirds will often fly away en masse, though they may seemingly ignore a perched eagle in other cases. when the birds fly away from a colony, this exposes their unprotected eggs and nestlings to scavengers such as gulls.While they usually target small to medium-sized seabirds, larger seabirds such as great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus) and northern gannets (Morus bassanus) and brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) of all ages can successfully taken by bald eagles. Similarly, large waterbirds are occasionally prey as well. Geese such as wintering emperor geese (Chen canagica) and snow geese (C. caerulescens), which gather in large groups, sometimes becoming regular prey. Smaller Ross's geese (Anser rossii) are also taken, as well as large-sized Canada geese (Branta canadensis). Predation on the largest subspecies (Branta canadensis maxima) has been reported. Large wading birds can also fall prey to bald eagles. For the great blue herons (Ardea herodias), bald eagles are their only serious enemies of all ages. Slightly larger Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) can be taken as well. While adult whooping cranes (Grus americana) are too large and formidable, their chicks can fall prey to bald eagles. They even occasionally prey on adult tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus). Young trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) are also taken, and an unsuccessful attack on an adult swan has been photographed.Bald eagles have been recorded as killing other raptors on occasion. In some cases, these may be attacks of competition or kleptoparasitism on rival species but end with the consumption of the dead victims. Nine species each of other accipitrids and owls are known to have been preyed upon by bald eagles. Owl prey species have ranged in size from western screech-owls (Megascops kennicotti) to snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus). Larger diurnal raptors known to have fallen victim to bald eagles have included red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) and black (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura).
+
+Mammals
+Mammalian preys are generally less frequently taken than fish or avian prey. However, in some regions, such as landlocked areas of North America, wintering bald eagles may become habitual predators of medium-sized mammals that occur in colonies or local concentrations, such as prairie dogs (Cynomys sp.) and jackrabbits (Lepus sp.). Bald eagles in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge often hunt in pair to catch rabbits and prairie dogs. They can attack and prey on rabbits and hares of nearly any size, from marsh rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris) to black and white-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus & L. townsendii), and Arctic hares (Lepus arcticus). In San Luis Valley, white-tailed jackrabbits can be important prey. Additionally, rodents such as montane voles (Microtus montanus), brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), nutrias (Myocastor coypus), and various squirrels are taken as supplementary prey. Even American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) are reportedly attacked and killed.Where available, seal colonies can provide a lot of food. On Protection Island, Washington, they commonly feed on harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) afterbirths, still-borns and sickly seal pups. Similarly, bald eagles in Alaska readily prey on sea otter (Enhydra lutris) pups. Terrestrial mammalian carnivores can be taken infrequently. Mustelid from size of American martens (Martes pennanti), and American minks (Neogale vison), to adult North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) and male fisher cats (Pekania pennanti) are taken. Foxes are also taken, including Island foxes ( Urocyon littoralis ), Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus), and grey foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). In one instance, two bald Eagles feed upon a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) that had tried to cross a frozen Delaware Lake. Other medium-sized carnivorans such as striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), American hog-nosed skunks (Conepatus leuconotus), and common raccoons (Procyon lotor) are taken, as well as domestic cats (Felis catus) and dogs (canis familiaris).Other wild mammalian prey include fawns of deer such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and Sitka deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis), which weigh around 3 kg (6.6 lb) can be taken alive by bald eagles. In one instance, a bald eagle was observed carrying 6.8 kg (15 lb) mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawn. Additionally, Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) can be preyed upon but most of them are mainly taken as roadkills due to their nocturnal habits.Together with the golden eagle, bald eagles are occasionally accused of preying on livestock, especially sheep (Ovis aries). There are a handful of proven cases of lamb predation, some specimens weighing up to 11 kg (24 lb), by bald eagles. Still, they are much less likely to attack a healthy lamb than a golden eagle. Both species prefer native, wild prey and are unlikely to cause any extensive detriment to human livelihoods. There is one case of a bald eagle killing and feeding on an adult, pregnant ewe (then joined in eating the kill by at least 3 other eagles), which, weighing on average over 60 kg (130 lb), is much larger than any other known prey taken by this species.
+
+Reptiles and other prey
+Supplemental prey is readily taken given the opportunity. In some areas, reptiles may become regular prey, especially in warm areas such as Florida where reptile diversity is high. Turtles are perhaps the most regularly hunted type of reptile. In coastal New Jersey, 14 of 20 studied eagle nests included remains of turtles. The main species found were common musk turtles (Sternotherus odoratus), diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) and juvenile common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina). In these New Jersey nests, mainly subadult and small adults were taken, ranging in carapace length from 9.2 to 17.1 cm (3.6 to 6.7 in). Similarly, many turtles were recorded in the diet in the Chesapeake Bay. In Texas, softshell turtles are the most frequently taken prey, and a large number of Barbour's map turtles are taken in Torreya State Park. Other reptilian and amphibian prey includes southern alligator lizards (Elgaria multicarinata), snakes such as garter snakes and rattlesnakes, and Greater siren (Siren lacertina).Invertebrates are occasionally taken. In Alaska, eagles feed on sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus sp.), chitons, mussels, and crabs. Other various mollusks such as land snails, abalones, bivalves, periwinkles, blue mussels, squids, and starfishes are taken as well.
+
+Interspecific predatory relationships
+When competing for food, eagles will usually dominate other fish-eaters and scavengers, aggressively displacing mammals such as coyotes (Canis latrans) and foxes, and birds such as corvids, gulls, vultures and other raptors. Occasionally, coyotes, bobcats (Lynx rufus) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) can displace eagles from carrion, usually less confident immature birds, as has been recorded in Maine. Bald eagles are less active, bold predators than golden eagles and get relatively more of their food as carrion and from kleptoparasitism (although it is now generally thought that golden eagles eat more carrion than was previously assumed). However, the two species are roughly equal in size, aggressiveness and physical strength and so competitions can go either way. Neither species is known to be dominant, and the outcome depends on the size and disposition of the individual eagles involved. Wintering bald and golden eagles in Utah both sometimes won conflicts, though in one recorded instance a single bald eagle successfully displaced two consecutive golden eagles from a kill.Though bald eagles face few natural threats, an unusual attacker comes in the form of the common loon (G. immer), which is also taken by eagles as prey. While common loons normally avoid conflict, they are highly territorial and will attack predators and competitors by stabbing at them with their knife-like bill; as the range of the bald eagle has increased following conservation efforts, these interactions have been observed on several occasions, including a fatality of a bald eagle in Maine that is presumed to have come about as a result of it attacking a nest, then having a fatal puncture wound inflicted by one or both loon parents.The bald eagle is thought to be much more numerous in North America than the golden eagle, with the bald species estimated to number at least 150,000 individuals, about twice as many golden eagles there are estimated to live in North America. Due to this, bald eagles often outnumber golden eagles at attractive food sources. Despite the potential for contention between these animals, in New Jersey during winter, a golden eagle and numerous bald eagles were observed to hunt snow geese alongside each other without conflict. Similarly, both eagle species have been recorded, via video-monitoring, to feed on gut piles and carcasses of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in remote forest clearings in the eastern Appalachian Mountains without apparent conflict. Bald eagles are frequently mobbed by smaller raptors, due to their infrequent but unpredictable tendency to hunt other birds of prey. Many bald eagles are habitual kleptoparasites, especially in winters when fish are harder to come by. They have been recorded stealing fish from other predators such as ospreys, herons and even otters. They have also been recorded opportunistically pirating birds from peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), prairie dogs from ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) and even jackrabbits from golden eagles. When they approach scavengers such as dogs, gulls or vultures at carrion sites, they often attack them in an attempt to force them to disgorge their food. Healthy adult bald eagles are not preyed upon in the wild and are thus considered apex predators.
+
+Reproduction
+Bald eagles are sexually mature at four or five years of age. When they are old enough to breed, they often return to the area where they were born. It is thought that bald eagles mate for life. However, if one member of a pair dies or disappears, the survivor will choose a new mate. A pair which has repeatedly failed in breeding attempts may split and look for new mates. Bald eagle courtship involves elaborate, spectacular calls and flight displays by the males. The flight includes swoops, chases, and cartwheels, in which they fly high, lock talons, and free-fall, separating just before hitting the ground. Usually, a territory defended by a mature pair will be 1 to 2 km (0.62 to 1.24 mi) of waterside habitat.
+Compared to most other raptors, which mostly nest in April or May, bald eagles are early breeders: nest building or reinforcing is often by mid-February, egg laying is often late February (sometimes during deep snow in the North), and incubation is usually mid-March and early May. Eggs hatch from mid April to early May, and the young fledge late June to early July. The nest is the largest of any bird in North America; it is used repeatedly over many years and with new material added each year may eventually be as large as 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) across and weigh 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons). One nest in Florida was found to be 6.1 m (20 ft) deep, 2.9 meters (9.5 ft) across, and to weigh 3 short tons (2.7 metric tons). This nest is on record as the largest tree nest ever recorded for any animal. Usually nests are used for under five years, as they either collapse in storms or break the branches supporting them by their sheer weight. However, one nest in the Midwest was occupied continuously for at least 34 years. The nest is built of branches, usually in large trees found near water. When breeding where there are no trees, the bald eagle will nest on the ground, as has been recorded largely in areas largely isolated from terrestrial predators, such as Amchitka Island in Alaska.
+In Sonora, Mexico, eagles have been observed nesting on top of hecho catcuses (Pachycereus pectin-aboriginum). Nests located on cliffs and rock pinnacles have been reported historically in California, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, but currently are only verified to occur only in Alaska and Arizona. The eggs average about 73 mm (2.9 in) long, ranging from 58 to 85 mm (2.3 to 3.3 in), and have a breadth of 54 mm (2.1 in), ranging from 47 to 63 mm (1.9 to 2.5 in). Eggs in Alaska averaged 130 g (4.6 oz) in mass, while in Saskatchewan they averaged 114.4 g (4.04 oz). As with their ultimate body size, egg size tends to increase with distance from the equator. Eagles produce between one and three eggs per year, two being typical. Rarely, four eggs have been found in nests, but these may be exceptional cases of polygyny. Eagles in captivity have been capable of producing up to seven eggs. It is rare for all three chicks to successfully reach the fledgling stage. The oldest chick often bears the advantage of larger size and louder voice, which tends to draw the parents' attention towards it. Occasionally, as is recorded in many large raptorial birds, the oldest sibling sometimes attacks and kills its younger sibling(s), especially early in the nesting period when their sizes are most different. However, nearly half of known bald eagles produce two fledglings (more rarely three), unlike in some other "eagle" species such as some in the genus Aquila, in which a second fledgling is typically observed in less than 20% of nests, despite two eggs typically being laid. Both the male and female take turns incubating the eggs, but the female does most of the sitting. The parent not incubating will hunt for food or look for nesting material during this stage. For the first two to three weeks of the nestling period, at least one adult is at the nest almost 100% of the time. After five to six weeks, the attendance of parents usually drops off considerably (with the parents often perching in trees nearby).
+A young eaglet can gain up to 170 g (6.0 oz) a day, the fastest growth rate of any North American bird. The young eaglets pick up and manipulate sticks, play tug of war with each other, practice holding things in their talons, and stretch and flap their wings. By eight weeks, the eaglets are strong enough to flap their wings, lift their feet off the nest platform, and rise up in the air. The young fledge at anywhere from 8 to 14 weeks of age, though will remain close to the nest and attended to by their parents for a further 6 weeks. Juvenile eagles first start dispersing away from their parents about 8 weeks after they fledge. Variability in departure date related to effects of sex and hatching order on growth and development. For the next four years, immature eagles wander widely in search of food until they attain adult plumage and are eligible to reproduce.On rare occasions, bald eagles have been recorded to adopt other raptor fledglings into their nests, as seen in 2017 by a pair of eagles in Shoal Harbor Migratory Bird Sanctuary near Sidney, British Columbia. The pair of eagles in question are believed to have carried a juvenile red-tailed hawk back to their nest, presumably as prey, whereupon the chick was accepted into the family by both the parents and the eagles' three nestlings. The hawk, nicknamed "Spunky" by biologists monitoring the nest, fledged successfully.
+
+Longevity and mortality
+The average lifespan of bald eagles in the wild is around 20 years, with the oldest confirmed one having been 38 years of age. In captivity, they often live somewhat longer. In one instance, a captive individual in New York lived for nearly 50 years. As with size, the average lifespan of an eagle population appears to be influenced by its location and access to prey. As they are no longer heavily persecuted, adult mortality is quite low. In one study of Florida eagles, adult bald eagles reportedly had 100% annual survival rate. In Prince William Sound in Alaska, adults had an annual survival rate of 88% even after the Exxon Valdez oil spill adversely affected eagles in the area. Of 1,428 individuals from across the range necropsied by National Wildlife Health Center from 1963 to 1984, 329 (23%) eagles died from trauma, primarily impact with wires and vehicles; 309 (22%) died from gunshot; 158 (11%) died from poisoning; 130 (9%) died from electrocution; 68 (5%) died from trapping; 110 (8%) from emaciation; and 31 (2%) from disease; cause of death was undetermined in 293 (20%) of cases. In this study, 68% of mortality was human-caused. Today, eagle-shooting is believed to be considerably reduced due to the species' protected status. In one case, an adult eagle investigating a peregrine falcon nest for prey items sustained a concussion from a swooping parent peregrine, and ultimately died days later from it. An early natural history video depicting a cougar (Puma concolor) ambushing and killing an immature bald eagle feeding at a rabbit carcass is viewable online, although this film may have been staged.Most non-human-related mortality involves nestlings or eggs. Around 50% of eagles survive their first year. However, in the Chesapeake Bay area, 100% of 39 radio-tagged nestlings survived to their first year. Nestling or egg fatalities may be due to nest collapses, starvation, sibling aggression or inclement weather. Another significant cause of egg and nestling mortality is predation. Nest predators include large gulls, corvids (including ravens, crows and magpies), wolverines (Gulo gulo), fishers (Pekania pennanti), red-tailed hawks, owls, other eagles, bobcats, American black bears (Ursus americanus) and raccoons. If food access is low, parental attendance at the nest may be lower because both parents may have to forage, thus resulting in less protection. Nestlings are usually exempt from predation by terrestrial carnivores that are poor tree-climbers, but Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) occasionally snatched nestlings from ground nests on Amchitka Island in Alaska before they were extirpated from the island. The bald eagle will defend its nest fiercely from all comers and has even repelled attacks from bears, having been recorded knocking a black bear out of a tree when the latter tried to climb a tree holding nestlings.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Population decline and recovery
+Once a common sight in much of the continent, the bald eagle was severely affected in the mid-20th century by a variety of factors, among them the thinning of egg shells attributed to use of the pesticide DDT. Bald eagles, like many birds of prey, were especially affected by DDT due to biomagnification. DDT itself was not lethal to the adult bird, but it interfered with their calcium metabolism, making them either sterile or unable to lay healthy eggs; many of their eggs were too brittle to withstand the weight of a brooding adult, making it nearly impossible for them to hatch. It is estimated that in the early 18th century the bald eagle population was 300,000–500,000, but by the 1950s there were only 412 nesting pairs in the 48 contiguous states of the US.
+Other factors in bald eagle population reductions were a widespread loss of suitable habitat, as well as both legal and illegal shooting. In 1930 a New York City ornithologist wrote that in the territory of Alaska in the previous 12 years approximately 70,000 bald eagles had been shot. Many of the hunters killed the bald eagles under the long-held beliefs that bald eagles grabbed young lambs and even children with their talons, yet the birds were innocent of most of these alleged acts of predation (lamb predation is rare, human predation is thought to be non-existent). Illegal shooting was described as "the leading cause of direct mortality in both adult and immature bald eagles" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1978. Leading causes of death in bald eagles include lead pollution, poisoning, collision with motor vehicles, and power-line electrocution. A study published in 2022 in the journal Science found that more than half of adult eagles across 38 US states suffered from lead poisoning. The primary cause is when eagles scavenge carcasses of animals shot by hunters. These are often tainted with lead shotgun pellets or rifle rounds, ammunition fragments.The species was first protected in the U.S. and Canada by the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty, later extended to all of North America. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, approved by the U.S. Congress in 1940, protected the bald eagle and the golden eagle, prohibiting commercial trapping and killing of the birds. The bald eagle was declared an endangered species in the U.S. in 1967, and amendments to the 1940 act between 1962 and 1972 further restricted commercial uses and increased penalties for violators. Perhaps most significant in the species' recovery, in 1972, DDT was banned from usage in the United States due to the fact that it inhibited the reproduction of many birds. DDT was completely banned in Canada in 1989, though its use had been highly restricted since the late 1970s.
+With regulations in place and DDT banned, the eagle population rebounded. The bald eagle can be found in growing concentrations throughout the United States and Canada, particularly near large bodies of water. In the early 1980s, the estimated total population was 100,000 individuals, with 110,000–115,000 by 1992; the U.S. state with the largest resident population is Alaska, with about 40,000–50,000, with the next highest population the Canadian province of British Columbia with 20,000–30,000 in 1992. Obtaining a precise count of the bald eagle population is extremely difficult. The most recent data submitted by individual states was in 2006, when 9789 breeding pairs were reported. For some time, the stronghold breeding population of bald eagles in the lower 48 states was in Florida, where over a thousand pairs have held on while populations in other states were significantly reduced by DDT use. Today, the contiguous state with the largest number of breeding pairs of eagles is Minnesota with an estimated 1,312 pairs, surpassing Florida's most recent count of 1,166 pairs. 23, or nearly half, of the 48 contiguous states now have at least 100 breeding pairs of bald eagles. In Washington State, there were only 105 occupied nests in 1980.  That number increased by about 30 per year, so that by 2005 there were 840 occupied nests. 2005 was the last year that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife counted occupied nests. Further population increases in Washington may be limited by the availability of late winter food, particularly salmon.The bald eagle was officially removed from the U.S. federal government's list of endangered species on July 12, 1995, by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, when it was reclassified from "endangered" to "threatened". On July 6, 1999, a proposal was initiated "To Remove the Bald Eagle in the Lower 48 States From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife". It was de-listed on June 28, 2007. It has also been assigned a risk level of least concern category on the IUCN Red List. In the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 an estimated 247 were killed in Prince William Sound, though the local population returned to its pre-spill level by 1995. In some areas, the increase in eagles has led to decreases in other bird populations and the eagles may be considered a pest.
+
+Killing permits
+In December 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed extending the permits issued to wind generation companies to allow them to kill up to 4,200 bald eagles per year without facing a penalty, four times the previous number. The permits would last 30 years, six times the current 5-year term.
+
+In captivity
+Permits are required to keep bald eagles in captivity in the United States. Permits are primarily issued to public educational institutions, and the eagles that they show are permanently injured individuals that cannot be released to the wild. The facilities where eagles are kept must be equipped with adequate caging, as well as workers experienced in the handling and care of eagles. The bald eagle can be long-lived in captivity if well cared for, but does not breed well even under the best conditions.In Canada and in England a license is required to keep bald eagles for falconry. Bald eagles cannot legally be kept for falconry in the United States, but a license may be issued in some jurisdictions to allow use of such eagles in birds-of-prey flight shows.
+
+Cultural significance
+The bald eagle is important in various Native American cultures and, as the national bird of the United States, is prominent in seals and logos, coinage, postage stamps, and other items relating to the U.S. federal government.
+
+Role in Native American culture
+The bald eagle is a sacred bird in some North American cultures, and its feathers, like those of the golden eagle, are central to many religious and spiritual customs among Native Americans. Eagles are considered spiritual messengers between gods and humans by some cultures. Many pow wow dancers use the eagle claw as part of their regalia as well. Eagle feathers are often used in traditional ceremonies, particularly in the construction of regalia worn and as a part of fans, bustles and head dresses. In the Navajo tradition an eagle feather is represented to be a protector, along with the feather Navajo medicine men use the leg and wing bones for ceremonial whistles. The Lakota, for instance, give an eagle feather as a symbol of honor to person who achieves a task. In modern times, it may be given on an event such as a graduation from college. The Pawnee consider eagles as symbols of fertility because their nests are built high off the ground and because they fiercely protect their young. The Choctaw consider the bald eagle, who has direct contact with the upper world of the sun, as a symbol of peace.
+During the Sun Dance, which is practiced by many Plains Indian tribes, the eagle is represented in several ways. The eagle nest is represented by the fork of the lodge where the dance is held. A whistle made from the wing bone of an eagle is used during the course of the dance. Also during the dance, a medicine man may direct his fan, which is made of eagle feathers, to people who seek to be healed. The medicine man touches the fan to the center pole and then to the patient, in order to transmit power from the pole to the patient. The fan is then held up toward the sky, so that the eagle may carry the prayers for the sick to the Creator.Current eagle feather law stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain or possess bald or golden eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. The constitutionality of these laws has been questioned by Native American groups on the basis that it violates the First Amendment by affecting ability to practice their religion freely.The National Eagle Repository, a division of the FWS, exists as a means to receive, process, and store bald and golden eagles which are found dead and to distribute the eagles, their parts and feathers to federally recognized Native American tribes for use in religious ceremonies.
+
+National bird of the United States
+The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. The founders of the United States were fond of comparing their new republic with the Roman Republic, in which eagle imagery (usually involving the golden eagle) was prominent. On June 20, 1782, the Continental Congress adopted the design for the Great Seal of the United States, depicting a bald eagle grasping 13 arrows and an olive branch with thirteen leaves with its talons.The bald eagle appears on most official seals of the U.S. government, including the presidential seal, the presidential flag, and in the logos of many U.S. federal agencies. Between 1916 and 1945, the presidential flag (but not the seal) showed an eagle facing to its left (the viewer's right), which gave rise to the urban legend that the flag is changed to have the eagle face towards the olive branch in peace, and towards the arrows in wartime.Contrary to popular legend, there is no evidence that Benjamin Franklin ever publicly supported the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), rather than the bald eagle, as a symbol of the United States. However, in a letter written to his daughter in 1784 from Paris, criticizing the Society of the Cincinnati, he stated his personal distaste for the bald eagle's behavior. In the letter Franklin states:
+For my own part. I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly ... besides he is a rank coward: The little king bird not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.
+Franklin opposed the creation of the Society because he viewed it, with its hereditary membership, as a noble order unwelcome in the newly independent Republic, contrary to the ideals of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, for whom the Society was named.  His reference to the two kinds of birds is interpreted as a satirical comparison between the Society of the Cincinnati and Cincinnatus.
+
+Popular culture
+Largely because of its role as a symbol of the United States, but also because of its being a large predator, the bald eagle has many representations in popular culture. In film and television depictions the call of the red-tailed hawk, which is much louder and more powerful, is often substituted for bald eagles.
+
+See also
+American bison
+Besnard Lake
+Eagle lady
+Coat of arms of the Philippines
+Old Abe
+List of national birds
+
+References
+Further reading
+Identification
+Grant, Peter J. (1988) "The Co. Kerry Bald Eagle" Twitching 1(12): 379–80 – describes plumage differences between bald eagle and white-tailed eagle in juveniles
+
+External links
+The National Eagle Center
+American Bald Eagle Foundation
+American Bald Eagle Information Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
+Bald eagle bird sound – Florida Museum of Natural History
+
+Video links
+"Bald eagle media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Bald eagle photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Photo field guide on Flickr
+100+ Bald Eagles Archived November 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
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diff --git a/data/animals/barn spider.txt b/data/animals/barn spider.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dca14b4060c2c6533811e6f6e38c33b22b0637fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/barn spider.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+The barn spider (Araneus cavaticus) is a common orb-weaver spider native to North America. They are around three-quarters of an inch (20 mm) in length and are usually yellow and brown in color. They often construct their webs in wooden human structures, hence their common name. The species is notable for being the basis for the character Charlotte in the book Charlotte's Web by American writer E. B. White.
+
+Description
+Barn spiders are predominantly yellow and brown in coloration with striped legs. Their undersides are typically black with white marks inside, although color ranges can be quite variable. They are about three-quarters of an inch (20 mm) long but can grow up to and above an inch (25 mm) long with large, round abdomens.This species displays sexual dimorphism, and, like most orb-weaver spiders, the females are significantly larger than the males.
+
+Ecology and behavior
+Barn spiders are nocturnal, constructing (under cover of darkness) a web with symmetrical spokes connected by sticky spirals. They then typically retreat to a nearby silk-lined hiding spot, and await an insect becoming ensnared. The females are typically the only ones that build webs.These spiders may or may not have a venomous bite. Their venom is considered non-toxic to most humans on the level of any other non-toxic insect bite.
+These spiders are aggressive toward each other.  They attack each other if in close quarters, though many may inhabit the same structure or area at any given time.   They are most commonly found in rafters and wooden structures in suburban and rural structures or areas, and on boats near lakes, thus getting their name, "barn spider".
+When agitated (by a puff of air, for instance), these spiders sometimes bounce up and down in the center of their webs, possibly in an attempt to look larger and more threatening. This reaction could be due to their response to vibrations in the web when prey is trapped. Barn spiders shake or sway their webs to instigate further reaction from the prey caught within the web or to confirm that it was debris or other environmental disturbances (fallen leaves, sticks, etc.). They are also able to glean information about the object/insect, through the feel of the web as it shakes. If the spider senses a likely meal has been caught, they move to it and immediately begin wrapping it with silk.
+
+Distribution
+They are mostly found in North America in late summer and through autumn.  Barn spiders are most common in the Northeastern United States and the southern prairie parts of Canada.
+
+In popular culture
+This spider was made well known in the book Charlotte's Web by American writer E. B. White, with a particularly interesting point that the spider's full name is Charlotte A. Cavatica, a reference to the barn spider's scientific name, Araneus cavaticus.  In addition, one of Charlotte's daughters, after asking what her mother's middle initial was, names herself Aranea.
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Araneus cavaticus at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Araneus cavaticus at Wikispecies
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/barracouta.txt b/data/animals/barracouta.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..37cacd25c51dd8a1825ae63486f7060f22e30fab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/barracouta.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+Thyrsites atun (Euphrasén, 1791), known as the snoek in South Africa and as the barracouta in Australasia, is a long, thin species of snake mackerel found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere, and a popular food fish in South Africa, particularly along the west and southwest coast. Despite its Australasian name, it is not closely related to the barracuda.
+
+Description
+The fish can reach a length of 200 centimetres (79 in) SL though most do not exceed 75 centimetres (30 in) SL. The maximum recorded weight for this species is 6 kilograms (13 lb). It is very important to commercial fisheries and is also a popular game fish. It is currently the only known member of its genus.T. atun has 19 to 21 dorsal spines and about 113 dorsal rays, 1 anal spine and 10 to 13 anal rays, 35 vertebrae. The body is elongate and compressed, with a single lateral line on the upper body then curving ventrally. Body colour is blue-black on top with a paler belly, first dorsal fin is black.  Contains an anticoagulant in its bite.
+
+Life cycle and feeding
+In the South African population 50% sexual maturity occurs at 3 years at a fork length of about 73 cm.Spawning occurs during winter and spring,  (May to November with a peak from June to October) along the continental shelf break of the western Agulhas bank and the South African west coast, at a depth of between 150 and 400 m. The eggs and larvae are transported by currents to the primary nursery area north of Cape Columbine and the secondary nursery area east of Danger Point, where the juveniles remain until maturity.T. atun eggs hatch about 50 hours after fertilization, and the larvae initially eat phytoplankton, first feeding at 3.5 mm, about 3 to 4 days after hatching. When they reach about 8 mm long, they start eating the larvae of other fishes, which are most abundant during spring and summer in this region.
+After the first year of growth they reach between 33 and 44cm length.The main prey species of the South African population are the Clupeoid fishes sardines, Sardinops sagax and anchovies, Engraulis japonicus, on which it is a major predator in the southern Benguela ecosystem. It consequently affects the zooplankton populations further down the food chain.Juveniles smaller than 24 cm mostly feed on lanternfish (Lampanyctodes hectoris), euphausids (Euphausia lucens), and amphipods (Themisto gaudichaudii). Between 25 and 49 cm, lanternfish , T. gaudichaudii, anchovies, and sardines.  Subadults from 50 to 74 cm, anchovy, euphausids, and sardines. Adults larger than 75 cm, sardines and anchovies. Offshore, snoek eat almost exclusively teleosts of both pelagic and demerssal species, including sardines, roundherring and hake (Merluccius spp). Larger adults eat more hake, sardine and horse-mackerel (Trachurus trachurus). A large number of other species, including a range of invertebrates, have been identified as less frequent prey from analysis of stomach contents.
+
+Predation
+The snoek is a near apex predator. They are known to be taken by South African fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus in South African waters.
+
+Distribution
+Thyrsites atun is widely distributed in the colder waters in the Southern Hemisphere. In the southwest Atlantic, it is known from Uruguay, Argentina and Tierra del Fuego. In the eastern Atlantic, from Tristan da Cunha and South Africa. In the western Indian Ocean, from South Africa and the St. Paul and Amsterdam islands. In the eastern Indian Ocean, Tasmania and the southern coast of continental Australia. In the southwest Pacific, from New Zealand and the southern coast of Australia. In the southeast Pacific, from southern Peru, Chile, and Tierra del Fuego.On the African coast it is found from Moçâmedes in northern Angola, along the coast of Namibia and the coast of the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa as far east as Algoa Bay, but mostly between the Kunene River and Cape Agulhas.Although it is distributed circumglobally, Thyrsites atun lives in coastal waters, and regional populations may consist of discrete stocks. Off New Zealand, three stocks are recognised. Off Australia, the population may made up from three to five stocks, and it is thought that the southern African population may comprise a northern and a southern stock, with some mixing, mostly from north to south.Understanding
+
+Habitat
+T. atun is found near continental shelves or around oceanic islands, and feeds on small fish like anchovy and pilchard,  crustaceans, cephalopods and other invertebrates.
+
+Names
+In South Africa it was originally called the "zeesnoek" (Sea Snoek) by Dutch colonists who arrived in the Cape in 1652. It is said to have reminded them of the freshwater pike (or snoek) found in the Netherlands.In Australia it lives in western and southern Australian waters especially Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania,  where it is called the barracouta.
+In New Zealand, it is more common in the colder waters around the South Island. It is also called barracouta in this region.Off Chile and Argentina it is called the sierra).
+
+Behaviour
+This species will form schools near the bottom or midwater; sometimes even near the surface at night. It prefers sea water temperature between 13 and 18 °C (55 and 64 °F).Thyrsites atun are reputed to attack anything that moves near them in the water.
+
+Fisheries
+T. atun is important as a food fish over a large part of its distribution. It supports moderate fisheries off southern Australia, Chile, and Tristan da Cunha, and major fisheries off New Zealand and southern Africa.The South African snoek fisheries have been of commercial importance since the early 1800s. Originally purely a line-fish, they are also caught by pelagic and demersal trawling.The fish was one of the most important traditional foods of Ngāi Tahu, the Māori people of the South Island of New Zealand. The fish is known in Māori as mangā, or makā in southern dialects. The name mangā is common in Polynesian languages to describe Scombriformes, and fish of a similar appearance.Māori would typically catch Thyrsites atun with lures made of Nothofagus wood and hooks made from bird bones or dog teeth. This practice was adopted by early European settlers, who fashioned "coota sticks" from pieces of wood with bent nails attached. The meat was traditionally slow-cooked in a hāngī over several days, and could be preserved for years in bags of bull kelp sealed with fat. Early European settlers to the South Island relied on Thyrsites atun caught by Māori as a food, and the fish was one of the most common foods eaten by gold diggers during the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s.
+
+Modern-day use as a food
+It is sold fresh, smoked, canned and frozen. It can be cooked by frying, broiling, baking and it can also be microwaved. In South Africa, it is often braaied (a form of barbeque). It is also made and eaten as fishcakes in regions such as Japan. It is prepared most often by grilling, frying or smoking. Snoek is oily, extremely bony (although the bones are large and easily removed from the cooked fish) and has very fine scales which are almost undetectable, making it unnecessary to scale the fish while cleaning. Snoek has a very distinctive taste.
+In South Africa, snoek is caught and consumed along the west and southwestern coastal parts of the country. Commercially, snoek is sold as a prepared and processed food throughout South Africa, usually in the form of packaged smoked snoek, snoek pates and as a canned food.Snoek is usually bought fresh at the quay side. In and around Cape Town, this may be at Hout Bay, Kalk Bay and as far as Gordon's Bay. Up the West coast and down the coast towards Mossel Bay, much of the catch is often salted and air dried for local consumption.
+Fresh snoek is typically barbecued over an open grill or wrapped up in aluminium foil with butter and herbs and served with boiled sweet potatoes and "tamatiesmoor" – a fried up hash of chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs. Another favourite is a kedgeree using smoked snoek.
+In the Cape Malay community snoek is a foundation for many dishes. Dishes include smoorsnoek, snoekbredie (a stew), fish bobotie, and snoek pâtés.
+In the subsistence fishing communities around the Cape's West coast, snoek together with other species of fish are cleaned, sliced and then packed flat and heavily salted with coarse salt. After a few days in this state, the fish are then hung up to air dry. The dried fish forms part of the community's staple diet as well as useful trading commodity. Much in the same way as the Portuguese use dried cod to make bacalhau, in these communities the dried fish is soaked in changes of fresh water until the fish is soft. This fish is then added to soups, stews and casseroles using indigenous and locally grown vegetables and often eaten with a variety of staples – potatoes, yams or rice.
+Though very popular in regions like South Africa, it was not so popular to certain generations of British residents during—and particularly immediately after—the Second World War due to it being considered a food item of deprivation. Canned Snoek was imported in large quantities into Great Britain and government marketing of the product was not successful and may have had a negative effect.  In the end, the vast majority of 10 million tins of snoek from South African along with 9 million tins of Australian barracuda were sold off as cat food.
+
+References
+External links
+"Thyrsites atun". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 April 2006.
+Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999). "Snoek". p. 731
+Snoek fishing in False Bay, South Africa circa 1976 – a black-and-white image gallery featuring commercial fishermen using hand lines to catch snoek.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/basset.txt b/data/animals/basset.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b42868ec7392ba33e22274d87858ff863bf114d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/basset.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+Bassets are a sub-type of scenthound deliberately bred with short legs, that are used for hunting where the hunters accompany the hunting hounds on foot.
+
+History
+Bassets were originally developed in France from where they spread throughout Europe and the world. The name basset is derived from the French word bas which means low, a reference to their stature. It is believed bassets were bred from Saint Hubert-type hounds, with breeders taking advantage of a genetic mutation resulting in short legs to develop smaller statured, deep scenting hounds. These short-legged hounds were deliberately bred to allow hunters to accompany the hunting hounds on foot, as opposed to following hunt from horseback; their smaller stature making them slower and so easier to keep up with on foot.The first description of bassets was in the 16th-century by Jacques du Fouilloux in his work La vénerie, stating they were found in the regions of Artois and Flanders. Du Fouilloux described two types of bassets; the first were short-coated with crooked forelegs and were used to hunt above ground as well as to pursue game below ground; the second were often rough-coated with straighter forelegs and only pursued game above ground. Hunting game on foot with bassets experienced a rapid increase in popularity in France after the French Revolution in the late 18th-century, when hunting with large hounds from horseback was almost eliminated in France as it was traditionally the preserve of the nobility.
+
+Description
+Bassets have a strong resemblance to larger, longer-legged hound breeds, particularly the Bloodhound, despite their much smaller stature. Bassets’ forelegs tend to be either crooked or straight, depending upon the breed; the coat types and colours seen within different basset breeds reflect those seen within the broader scenthound type, with short, long and wiry coats all found.
+
+Use
+Bassets hunt in packs and traditionally are used to hunt in two ways; in the first the hounds trail their quarry noisily to waiting hunters with guns who shoot the game; in the second the hounds pursue the quarry until they catch it. Packs of bassets are still used to hunt various quarry, particularly hare and rabbit, but they are also used to flush gamebirds in a similar manner to spaniels.
+
+Breeds
+Recognised breeds of basset include the French Basset Artésien Normand, Basset Bleu de Gascogne, Basset Fauve de Bretagne, Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen and Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen and the Basset Hound from Great Britain.Other non-French origin breeds often considered basset-adjacent include the Alpine Dachsbracke from Austria, the Berner Niederlaufhund, Jura Niederlaufhund, Luzerner Niederlaufhund and Schwyzer Niederlaufhund from Switzerland, the Drever from Sweden, and the Westphalian Dachsbracke from Germany.
+
+See also
+Beagling
+
+
+== References ==
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+The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to 14 kg (30 lb); the sheep typically weigh up to 143 kg (315 lb). Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: O. c. sierrae.
+Sheep originally crossed to North America over the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia; the population in North America peaked in the millions, and the bighorn sheep entered into the mythology of Native Americans. By 1900, the population had crashed to several thousand due to diseases introduced through European livestock and overhunting.
+
+Taxonomy and genetics
+Ovis canadensis is one of two species of mountain sheep in North America; the other species being O. dalli, the Dall sheep. Wild sheep crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia into Alaska during the Pleistocene (about 750,000 years ago); subsequently, they spread through western North America as far south as Baja California and northwestern mainland Mexico. Divergence from their closest Asian ancestor (snow sheep) occurred about 600,000 years ago. In North America, wild sheep diverged into two extant species — Dall sheep, which occupy Alaska and northwestern Canada, and bighorn sheep, which range from southwestern Canada to Mexico. However, the status of these species is questionable given that hybridization has occurred between them in their recent evolutionary history.
+
+Subspecies
+Former
+In 1940, Ian McTaggart-Cowan split the species into seven subspecies, with the first three being mountain bighorns and the last four being desert bighorns:
+Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, O. c. canadensis, found from British Columbia to Arizona.
+†Badlands bighorn sheep (or Audubon's bighorn sheep), O. c. auduboni, occurred in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska. This subspecies has been extinct since 1925.
+California bighorn sheep, O. c. californiana, found from British Columbia south to California and east to North Dakota. The definition of this subspecies has been updated (see below).
+Nelson's bighorn sheep, O. c. nelsoni, the most common desert bighorn sheep, ranges from California through Arizona.
+Mexican bighorn sheep, O. c. mexicana, ranges from Arizona and New Mexico south to Sonora and Chihuahua.
+Peninsular bighorn sheep O. c. cremnobates, occur in the Peninsular Ranges of California and Baja California
+Weems' bighorn sheep, O. c. weemsi, found in southern Baja California.
+
+Current
+Starting in 1993, Ramey and colleagues, using DNA testing, have shown this division into seven subspecies is largely illusory. Most scientists currently recognize three subspecies of bighorn. This taxonomy is supported by the most extensive genetics (microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA) study to date (2016) which found high divergence between Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, and that these two subspecies both diverged from desert bighorn before or during the Illinoian glaciation (about 315–94 thousand years ago). Thus, the three subspecies of O. canadensis are:
+
+Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (O. c. canadensis) – occupying the U.S. and Canadian Rocky Mountains, and the Northwestern United States.
+Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (O. c. sierrae) – formerly California bighorn sheep, a genetically distinct subspecies that only occurs in the Sierra Nevada in California. However, historic observer records suggest that bighorn sheep may have ranged as far west as the California Coastal Ranges, which are contiguous to the Sierra Nevada via the Transverse Ranges. An account of "wild sheep" in the vicinity of the Mission San Antonio near Jolon, California and the mountains around San Francisco Bay dates to circa 1769.
+Desert bighorn sheep (O. c. nelsoni) – occurring throughout the desert regions of the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. The 2016 genetics study suggested a more modest divergence of this desert bighorn sheep into three lineages consistent with the earlier work of Cowan: Nelson's (O. c. nelsoni), Mexican (O. c. mexicana), and Peninsular (O. c. cremnobates). These three lineages occupy desert biomes that vary significantly in climate, suggesting exposure to different selection regimens.In addition, two populations are currently considered endangered by the United States government:
+Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (O. c. sierrae),
+Peninsular bighorn sheep, a distinct population segment of desert bighorn sheep (O. c. nelsoni)
+
+Description
+Bighorn sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the rams (males). Ewes (females) also have horns, but they are shorter with less curvature. They range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the backs of all four legs. Males typically weigh 58–143 kg (128–315 lb), are 90–105 cm (35–41 in) tall at the shoulder, and 1.6–1.85 m (63–73 in) long from the nose to the tail. Females are typically 34–91 kg (75–201 lb), 75–90 cm (30–35 in) tall, and 1.28–1.58 m (50–62 in) long. Male bighorn sheep have large horn cores, enlarged cornual and frontal sinuses, and internal bony septa. These adaptations serve to protect the brain by absorbing the impact of clashes. Bighorn sheep have preorbital glands on the anterior corner of each eye, inguinal glands in the groin, and pedal glands on each foot. Secretions from these glands may support dominance behaviors.Bighorns from the Rocky Mountains are relatively large, with males that occasionally exceed 230 kg (500 lb) and females that exceed 90 kg (200 lb). In contrast, Sierra Nevada bighorn males weigh up to only 90 kg (198 lb) and females to 60 kg (132 lb). Males' horns can weigh up to 14 kg (30 lb), as much as all the bones in the male's body.
+
+Natural history
+Ecology
+The Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep occupy the cooler mountainous regions of Canada and the United States. In contrast, the desert bighorn sheep subspecies are indigenous to the hot desert ecosystems of the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Bighorn sheep inhabit alpine meadows, grassy mountain slopes, and foothill country near rugged, rocky cliffs and bluffs. Since bighorn sheep cannot move through deep snow, they prefer drier slopes, where the annual snowfall is less than about 150 cm (60 in) per year. A bighorn's winter range usually has lower elevations than its summer range.Bighorn sheep are highly susceptible to certain diseases carried by domestic sheep, such as psoroptic scabies and pneumonia; additional mortality occurs as a result of accidents involving rock falls or falling off cliffs (a hazard of living in steep, rugged terrain). Bighorns are well adapted to climbing steep terrain, where they seek cover from predators. Predation primarily occurs with lambs, which are hunted by coyotes, bobcats, gray foxes, wolverines, jaguars, ocelots, lynxes, and golden eagles.Bighorn sheep of all ages are threatened by black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and especially mountain lions, which are perhaps best equipped with the agility to prey on them in uneven, rocky habitats. Fire suppression techniques may limit visibility through shrublands, and therefore increase cover and predation rates by mountain lions. Bighorn sheep are considered good indicators of land health because the species is sensitive to many human-induced environmental problems. In addition to their aesthetic value, bighorn sheep are considered desirable game animals by hunters.
+Bighorn sheep graze on grasses and browse shrubs, particularly in fall and winter, and seek minerals at natural salt licks. Females tend to forage and walk, possibly to avoid predators and protect lambs, while males tend to eat and then rest and ruminate, which lends to more effective digestion and greater increase in body size.
+
+Social structure and reproduction
+Bighorn sheep live in large herds and do not typically follow a single leader ram, unlike the mouflon, the ancestor of the domestic sheep, which has a strict dominance hierarchy. Before the mating season or "rut", the rams attempt to establish a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes for mating. During the prerut period, most of the characteristic horn clashing occurs between rams, although this behavior may occur to a limited extent throughout the year. Bighorn sheep exhibit agonistic behavior: two competitors walk away from each other and then turn to face each other before jumping and lunging into headbutts. Rams' horns can frequently exhibit damage from repeated clashes. Females exhibit a stable, nonlinear hierarchy that correlates with age. Females may fight for high social status when they are integrated into the hierarchy at one to two years of age.Rocky Mountain bighorn rams employ at least three different courting strategies. The most common and successful is the tending strategy, in which a ram follows and defends an estrous ewe. Tending takes considerable strength and vigilance, and ewes are most receptive to tending males, presumably feeling they are the most fit. Another tactic is coursing, when rams fight for an already tended ewe. Ewes typically avoid coursing males, so the strategy is ineffective. The rams also employ a blocking strategy. They prevent a ewe from accessing tending areas before she even enters estrus.Bighorn ewes have a six-month gestation. In temperate climates, the peak of the rut occurs in November, with one, or rarely two, lambs being born in May. Most births occur in the first two weeks of the lambing period. Pregnant ewes of the Rocky Mountains migrate to alpine areas in spring, presumably to give birth in areas safer from predation, but are away from areas with good quality forage. Lambs born earlier in the season are more likely to survive than lambs born later. Lambs born late may not have access to sufficient milk, as their mothers are lactating at a time when food quality is lower. Newborn lambs weigh from 3.6 to 4.5 kg (8 to 10 lb) and can walk within hours. The lambs are then weaned when they reach four to six months old. The lifespan of ewes is typically 10–14 years and 9–12 years for rams.
+
+Infectious disease
+Many bighorn sheep populations in the United States experience regular outbreaks of infectious pneumonia, which likely result from the introduction of bacterial pathogens (in particular, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, and some strains of Mannheimia haemolytica) carried asymptomatically in domestic sheep. Once introduced, pathogens can transmit rapidly through a bighorn population, resulting in all-age die-offs that sometimes kill up to 90% of the population. In the years following pathogen introduction, bighorn populations frequently experience multiple years of lamb pneumonia outbreaks. These outbreaks can severely limit recruitment and likely play a powerful role in slowing population growth.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Conservation
+Bighorn sheep were widespread throughout the western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico two hundred years ago. The population was estimated to be 150,000 to 200,000. Unregulated hunting, habitat destruction, overgrazing of rangelands, and diseases contracted from domestic livestock all contributed to the decline, the most drastic occurring from about 1870 through 1950.In 1936, the Arizona Boy Scouts mounted a statewide campaign to save the bighorn sheep. The scouts first became interested in the sheep through the efforts of Major Frederick Russell Burnham. Burnham observed that fewer than 150 of these sheep still lived in the Arizona mountains. The National Wildlife Federation, the Izaak Walton League, and the National Audubon Society also joined the effort. On January 18, 1939, over 600,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres) of land were set aside to create the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.Many state and federal agencies have actively pursued the restoration of bighorn sheep since the 1940s. However, these efforts have met with limited success, and most of the historical range of bighorns remains unoccupied. Hunting for male bighorn sheep is allowed, but heavily regulated, in Canada and the United States.
+
+In culture
+Bighorn sheep were among the most admired animals of the Apsaalooka (Crow) people, and what is today called the Bighorn Mountain Range was central to the Apsaalooka tribal lands. In the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area book, storyteller Old Coyote describes a legend related to the bighorn sheep. A man possessed by evil spirits attempts to kill his heir by pushing the young man over a cliff, but the victim is saved by getting caught in trees. Rescued by bighorn sheep, the man takes the name of their leader, Big Metal. The other sheep grant him power, wisdom, sharp eyes, sure-footedness, keen ears, great strength, and a strong heart. Big Metal returns to his people with the message that the Apsaalooka people will survive only so long as the river winding out of the mountains is known as the Bighorn River.Bighorn sheep are hunted for their meat and horns, used in ceremonies, as food, and as hunting trophies. They also serve as a source of ecotourism, as tourists come to see the bighorn sheep in their native habitat.The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is the provincial mammal of Alberta and the state animal of Colorado and, as such, is incorporated into the symbol for the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. The Desert bighorn sheep is the state mammal of Nevada.The Bighorn sheep was featured in the children's book Buford the Little Bighorn (1967) by Bill Peet. The Bighorn sheep named Buford has a huge pair of horns in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, similar to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
+Bighorn sheep were once known by the scientific identification "argali" or "argalia" due to assumption that they were the same animal as the Asiatic argali (Ovis ammon). Lewis and Clark recorded numerous sightings of O. canadensis in the journals of their exploration—sometimes using the name argalia. In addition, they recorded the use of bighorn sheep horns by the Shoshone in making composite bows. William Clark's Track Map produced after the expedition in 1814 indicated a tributary of the Yellowstone River named Argalia Creek and a tributary of the Missouri River named Argalia River, both in what is today Montana. Neither of these tributaries retained these names, however. The Bighorn River, another tributary of the Yellowstone, and its tributary stream, the Little Bighorn River, were both indicated on Clark's map and did retain their names, the latter being the namesake of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.The Bighorn Ram was featured in a series of prints by artist Andy Warhol. In 1983, the artist was commissioned to create a portfolio of ten endangered species to raise environmental awareness. The porfolio, known as "Endangered Species" was created in support of the Endangered Species Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1973. Other animals within the portfolio include the Siberian Tiger, Bald Eagle and the Giant Panda.
+
+Notes
+References
+External links
+
+Photos & Information on Wild Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in Nevada
+BIGHORN.org
+Rocky Mountain bighorn research
+Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide – Bighorn Sheep
+Desert Bighorn Sheep Facts Archived 2012-09-26 at the Wayback Machine California Department of Fish and Game
+Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: Ovis canadensis
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+The black stork (Ciconia nigra) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Measuring on average 95 to 100 cm (37 to 39 in) from beak tip to end of tail with a 145-to-155 cm (57-to-61 in) wingspan, the adult black stork has mainly black plumage, with white underparts, long red legs and a long pointed red beak. A widespread but uncommon species, it breeds in scattered locations across Europe (predominantly in Portugal and Spain, and central and eastern parts), and east across the Palearctic to the Pacific Ocean. It is a long-distance migrant, with European populations wintering in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asian populations in the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing broad expanses of the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east, the Strait of Sicily in the center, or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west. An isolated, non-migratory, population occurs in Southern Africa.
+Unlike the closely related white stork, the black stork is a shy and wary species. It is seen singly or in pairs, usually in marshy areas, rivers or inland waters. It feeds on amphibians, small fish and insects, generally wading slowly in shallow water stalking its prey. Breeding pairs usually build nests in large forest trees—most commonly deciduous but also coniferous—which can be seen from long distances, as well as on large boulders, or under overhanging ledges in mountainous areas. The female lays two to five greyish-white eggs, which become soiled over time in the nest. Incubation takes 32 to 38 days, with both sexes sharing duties, and fledging takes 60 to 71 days.
+The black stork is considered to be a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but its actual status is uncertain. Despite its large range, it is nowhere abundant, and it appears to be declining in parts of its range, such as in India, China and parts of Western Europe, though increasing in others such as the Iberian Peninsula. Various conservation measures have been taken for the black stork, like the Conservation Action Plan for African black storks by Wetlands International. It is also protected under the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
+
+Taxonomy and etymology
+English naturalist Francis Willughby wrote about the black stork in the 17th century, having seen one in Frankfurt. He named it Ciconia nigra, from the Latin words for "stork" and "black" respectively. It was one of the many species originally described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Ardea nigra. It was moved to the new genus Ciconia by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson two years later. The word stork is derived from the Old English word storc, thought to be related to the Old High German storah, meaning "stork", and the Old English stearc, meaning "stiff".
+The black stork is a member of the genus Ciconia, or typical storks, a group of seven extant species, characterised by straight bills and mainly black and white plumage. The black stork was long thought to be most closely related to the white stork (C. ciconia). However, genetic analysis via DNA–DNA hybridization and mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA by Beth Slikas in 1997 found that it was basal (an early offshoot) in the genus Ciconia. Fossil remains have been recovered from Miocene beds on Rusinga and Maboko Islands in Kenya, which are indistinguishable from the white and black storks.
+
+Description
+The black stork is a large bird, measuring between 95 and 100 cm (37 and 39 in) in length with a 145-to-155 cm (57-to-61 in) wingspan, and weighing around 3 kg (6.6 lb). Standing as tall as 102 cm (40 in), it has long red legs, a long neck and a long, straight, pointed red beak. It bears some resemblance to Abdim's stork (C. abdimii), which can be distinguished by its much smaller build, predominantly green bill, legs and feet, and white rump and lower back. The plumage is black with a purplish green sheen, except for the white lower breast, belly, armpits, axillaries and undertail coverts. The breast feathers are long and shaggy, forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The black stork has brown irises, and bare red skin around its eyes. The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. Moulting takes place in spring, with the iridescent sheen brighter in new plumage. It walks slowly and steadily on the ground and like all storks, it flies with its neck outstretched.The juvenile resembles the adult in plumage, but the areas corresponding to the adult black feathers are browner and less glossy. The scapulars, wing and upper tail coverts have pale tips. The legs, bill and bare skin around the eyes are greyish green. It could possibly be confused with the juvenile yellow-billed stork, but the latter has paler wings and mantle, a longer bill and white under the wings.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+During the summer, the black stork is found from Eastern Asia (Siberia and northern China) west to Central Europe, reaching Estonia in the north, Poland, Lower Saxony and Bavaria in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and Greece in the south, with an outlying population in the central-southwest region of the Iberian Peninsula (Extremadura and surrounding provinces of Spain, plus Portugal). It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa and Asia, although certain populations of black storks are sedentary or dispersive. An isolated population exists in Southern Africa, where the species is more numerous in the east, in eastern South Africa and Mozambique, and is also found in Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Botswana and less commonly Namibia.Most of the black storks that summer in Europe migrate to Africa, with those from western Germany and points west heading south via the Iberian Peninsula and the rest via Turkey and the Levant. Those flying via Spain spend winter in the Falémé River basin of eastern Senegal, Guinea, southern Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and western and central Mali, while those flying via the Sinai end up in northern Ethiopia, the Kotto River basin in the Central African Republic, the Mbokou river basin in Chad and northeastern Nigeria. Black storks summering in western Asia migrate to northern and northeastern India, ranging mainly from Punjab south to Karnataka, and Africa. They are occasional visitors to Sri Lanka. Those summering further east in eastern Russia and China winter mainly in southern China, and occasionally in Hong Kong, Myanmar, northern Thailand, and Laos. They were first recorded in western Myanmar in 1998.The black stork prefers more wooded areas than the better-known white stork, and breeds in large marshy wetlands with interspersed coniferous or broadleaved woodlands, but also inhabits hills and mountains with sufficient networks of creeks. It usually inhabits ponds, rivers, edges of lakes, estuaries and other freshwater wetlands. The black stork does inhabit more agricultural areas in the Caspian lowlands, but even here it avoids close contact with people. Its wintering habitat in India comprises reservoirs or rivers with nearby scrub or forest, which provide trees that black storks can roost in at night. In southern Africa it is found in shallow water in rivers or lakes, or swamps, but is occasionally encountered on dry land.After disappearing from Belgium before the onset of the 20th century, it has returned to breed in the Belgian Ardennes, Luxembourg and Burgundy, France, by 2000. It appears to be increasing in numbers in Spain and Portugal, where the population was estimated at 405 to 483 pairs in 2006. The black stork is a rare vagrant to the British Isles, turning up in the warmer months—particularly in spring—generally in the south and east. Sightings have become more common since the 1970s as its breeding range moves northwards. It has been recorded in Scotland six times between 1946 and 1983, including from Shetland, Orkney and the Highlands, as well as the Scottish Borders (Peebles). It is not abundant in the western parts of its distribution, but more densely inhabits eastern Transcaucasia. Further east, it has been recorded from locations across Iran, though little is known about its habits there; breeding has been recorded from near Aliabad in Fars province, Khabr National Park in Kerman province, Karun river in Khuzestan province, Qaranqu River in East Azarbaijan province, and Aliabad river in Razavi Khorasan province. The population has declined in Iran due to draining of wetlands. East of the Ural Mountains, the black stork is patchily found in forested and mountainous areas up to 60°‒63° N across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. South of Siberia, it breeds in Xinjiang, northwestern China, northern Mongolia south to the Altai Mountains, and northeastern China south to the vicinity of Beijing. In the Korean Peninsula, the black stork is an uncommon summer visitor, no longer breeding in the south since 1966. Birds have been seen in the northeast but it is not known whether they breed there. Similarly it has been seen in the summer in Afghanistan, but its breeding status is uncertain.
+
+Migration
+Migration takes place from early August to October, with a major exodus in September. Some of the Iberian populations, and also those in southern Africa, are essentially non-migratory, though they may wander freely in the non-breeding areas. A broad-winged soaring bird, the black stork is assisted by thermals of hot air for long-distance flight, although is less dependent on them than is the white stork. Since thermals only form over land, the black stork, together with large raptors, must cross the Mediterranean at the narrowest points, and many black storks travel south through the Bosphorus, as well as the Sinai and Gibraltar. The trip is around 5,667 km (3,521 mi) via the western route and 7,000 km (4,300 mi) via the eastern route, with satellite tracking yielding an average travel time of 37 and 80 days respectively. The western route goes over the Rock of Gibraltar or over the Bay of Gibraltar, generally on a southwesterly track that takes them to the central part of the strait, from where they reach Morocco. Many birds fly around the Sahara next to the coast. About 10% of the western storks choose the passage between Sicily (Italy) and Cap Bon (Tunisia), crossing the Strait of Sicily.Spain contains several important areas—Monfragüe National Park, Sierra de Gredos Regional Park, National Hunting Reserve in Cíjara, Natural Park of the Sierra Hornachuelos and Doñana National Park—where black storks stop over on the western migration route. Pesticide use has threatened birdlife in nearby Doñana. Further south, Lake Faguibine in Mali is another stopover point but it has been affected by drought in recent years.
+
+Behaviour
+A wary species, the black stork avoids contact with people. It is generally found alone or in pairs, or in flocks of up to 100 birds when migrating or during winter.The black stork has a wider range of calls than the white stork, its main call being a chee leee, which sounds like a loud inhalation. It makes a hissing call as a warning or threat. Displaying males produce a long series of wheezy raptor-like squealing calls rising in volume and then falling. It rarely indulges in mutual bill-clattering when adults meet at the nest. Adults will do so as part of their mating ritual or when angered. The young clatter their bills when aroused.The up-down display is used for a number of interactions with other members of the species. Here a stork positions its body horizontally and quickly bobs its head up from down-facing to around 30 degrees above horizontal and back again, while displaying the white segments of its plumage prominently, and this is repeated several times. The display is used as a greeting between birds, and—more vigorously—as a threat display. The species' solitary nature means that this threat display is rarely witnessed.
+
+Breeding
+The black stork breeds between April and May in the Northern Hemisphere, with eggs usually laid in late April. In southern Africa, breeding takes place in the months between September and March, possibly to take advantage of abundant water prey rendered easier to catch as the rivers dry up and recede—from April and May in Zimbabwe, Botswana and northern South Africa, and as late as July further south.Pairs in courtship have aerial displays that appear to be unique among the storks. Paired birds soared in parallel, usually over the nest territory early in the mornings or late afternoons with one bird splaying the white undertail coverts to the sides of the narrowed black tail and the pair calls to each other. These courtship flights are difficult to see due to the densely forested habitat in which they breed. The nest is large, constructed from sticks and twigs, and sometimes also large branches, at an elevation of 4–25 m (13–82 ft). The black stork prefers to construct its nest in forest trees with large canopies where the nest can be built far from the main trunk—generally in places far from human disturbance. For the most part, deciduous trees are chosen for nesting sites, though conifers are used as well. A 2003 field study in Estonia found that the black stork preferred oak (Quercus robur), European aspen (Populus tremula), and to a lesser extent Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and ignored Norway spruce (Picea abies), in part due to the canopy structure of the trees. Trees with nests averaged around 25.6 ± 5.2 metres (84 ± 17 ft) high and had a diameter at breast height of 66 ± 20 centimetres (26.0 ± 7.9 in). Furthermore, 90% of the trees chosen were at least 80 years old, highlighting the importance of conserving old-growth forests. A 2004 field study of nesting sites in Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli National Park in north-eastern Greece found that it preferred the Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia), which had large side branches that allowed it to build the nest away from the trunk, as well as black pine (Pinus nigra) and to a lesser extent Turkey oak (Quercus cerris). It chose the largest trees in an area, generally on steeper ground and near streams. Trees chosen were on average over 90 years old. In the Iberian peninsula it nests in pine and cork oak (Quercus suber).
+In steeply mountainous areas such as parts of Spain, South Africa and the Carpathian Mountains it nests on cliffs, on large boulders, in caves and under overhanging ledges. The black stork's solitary nests are usually at least 1 km (0.6 mi) apart, even where the species is numerous. Although newly constructed nests may be significantly smaller, older nests can be 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) in diameter. In southern Africa, the black stork may occupy the nests of other bird species such as hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) or Verreaux's eagle (Aquila verreauxi) and commonly reuses them in successive years. They are repaired with earth and grass, and lined with leaves, moss, grass, animal fur, paper, clay and rags. In a clutch, there are two to five, or rarely even six large oval grey-white eggs, which become soiled during incubation. They can be 64–70 mm (2.5–2.8 in) long and 50–53 mm (2.0–2.1 in) wide, averaging about 68 mm (2.7 in) in length and 52 mm (2.0 in) in width. The eggs are laid with an interval of two days. Hatching is asynchronous, and takes place at the end of May. Incubation takes 32 to 38 days, with both sexes sharing duties, which commence after the first or second egg is laid. The young start flying by the end of July. Fledging takes 60 to 71 days, after which the young joins the adults at their feeding grounds. However, for another two weeks, the young continue to return to the nest, to be fed and to roost at night.At least one adult remains in the nest for two to three weeks after hatching to protect the young. Both parents feed the young by regurgitating onto the floor of the nest. Black stork parents have been known to kill one of their fledglings, generally the weakest, in times of food shortage to reduce brood size and hence increase the chance of survival of the remaining nestlings. Stork nestlings do not attack each other, and their parents' method of feeding them (disgorging large amounts of food at once) means that stronger siblings cannot outcompete weaker ones for food directly, hence parental infanticide is an efficient way of reducing brood size. This behaviour has only rarely been observed in the species, although the shyness of the species and difficulties in studying its nesting habits mean that it might not be an uncommon phenomenon.Ringing recovery studies in Europe suggests that nearly 20% of chicks reach the breeding stage, around 3 years, and about 10% live beyond 10 years and about 5% beyond 20 years. Captive individuals have lived for as long as 36 years.
+
+Feeding
+The black stork mainly eats fish, including small cyprinids, pikes, roaches, eels, budds, perches, burbots, sticklebacks and muddy loaches (Misgurnus and Cobitis). It may feed on amphibians, small reptiles, crabs, mammals and birds, and invertebrates such as snails, molluscs, earthworms, and insects like water beetles and their larvae.Foraging for food takes place mostly in fresh water, though the black stork may look for food on dry land at times. The black stork wades patiently and slowly in shallow water, often alone or in a small group if food is plentiful. It has been observed shading the water with its wings while hunting. In India, it often forages in mixed species flocks with the white stork, woolly-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus), demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) and bar-headed goose (Anser indicus). The black stork also follows large mammals such as deer and livestock, presumably to eat the invertebrates and small animals flushed by their presence.
+
+Parasites and symbionts
+More than 12 species of parasitic helminth have been recorded from black storks with Cathaemasia hians and Dicheilonema ciconiae reported to be the most dominant. The juvenile black stork, although having a less diverse helminth population, is parasitized more frequently than the adult. A species of Corynebacterium—C. ciconiae—was isolated and described from the trachea of healthy black storks, and is thought to be part of the natural flora of the species. A herpes virus is known from black storks. Birdlice that have been recorded on the species include Neophilopterus tricolor, Colpocephalum nigrae, and Ardeicola maculatus. A diverse array of predatory mesostigmatid mites—particularly the genera Dendrolaelaps and Macrocheles—have been recovered from black stork nests. Their role is unknown, though they could prey on parasitic arthropods.
+
+Status and conservation
+Since 1998, the black stork 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—more than 20,000 km2 (7,700 mi2)—and because its population is thought not to have declined by 30% over ten years or three generations and thus is not a rapid enough decline to warrant a vulnerable rating. Even so, the state of the population overall is unclear, and although it is widespread, it is not abundant anywhere. Black stork numbers have declined for many years in western Europe, and the species has been extirpated as a breeding bird from the northwestern edge of its range, including the Netherlands and Scandinavia (for example, small numbers used to breed in Denmark and Sweden, but none verified after the 1950s). The population in India—a major wintering ground—is declining. Previously a regular winter visitor to the Mai Po Marshes, it is now seldom seen there, and appears to be in decline in China overall. Its habitat is changing rapidly in much of eastern Europe and Asia. Various conservation measures have been taken, including Wetlands International's Conservation Action Plan for African black storks, which focuses on improving the wintering conditions of the birds which breed in Europe. It is protected by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).Hunters threaten the black stork in some countries of southern Europe and Asia, such as Pakistan, and breeding populations may have been eliminated there. The black stork vanished from the Ticino River valley in northern Italy, with hunting a likely contributor. In 2005, black storks were released into the Parco Lombardo del Ticino in an attempt to re-establish the species there.Since October 2021, the black stork has been classified as Moderately Depleted by the IUCN.
+
+Notes
+References
+Cited texts
+Cramp, Stanley, ed. (1977). Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-857358-6.
+
+External links
+
+Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
+"Black stork media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Black stork photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Audio recordings of Black stork on Xeno-canto.
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diff --git a/data/animals/black swan.txt b/data/animals/black swan.txt
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+The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia.  Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent on climatic conditions. It is a large bird with black plumage and a red bill. It is a monogamous breeder, with both partners sharing incubation and cygnet-rearing duties.
+The black swan was introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s, but has managed to escape and form stable populations. Described scientifically by English naturalist John Latham in 1790, the black swan was formerly placed into a monotypic genus, Chenopis. Black swans can be found singly, or in loose companies numbering into the hundreds or even thousands. It is a popular bird in zoological gardens and bird collections, and escapees are sometimes seen outside their natural range.
+This bird is a regional symbol of both Western Australia, where it is native, and the English town of Dawlish, where it is an introduced species.
+
+Description
+Black swans are black-feathered birds, with white flight feathers. The bill is bright red, with a pale bar and tip; and legs and feet are greyish-black. Cobs (males) are slightly larger than pens (females), with a longer and straighter bill. Cygnets (immature birds) are a greyish-brown with pale-edged feathers.Mature black swans measure between 110 and 142 centimetres (43 and 56 in) in length and weigh 3.7–9 kilograms (8.2–19.8 lb). Their wing span is between 1.6 and 2 metres (5.2 and 6.6 ft). The neck is long (relatively the longest neck among the swans) and curved in an "S"-shape.
+The black swan utters a musical and far reaching bugle-like sound, called either on the water or in flight, as well as a range of softer crooning notes. It can also whistle, especially when disturbed while breeding and nesting.When swimming, black swans hold their necks arched or erect and often carry their feathers or wings raised in an aggressive display. In flight, a wedge of black swans will form as a line or a V, with the individual birds flying strongly with undulating long necks, making whistling sounds with their wings and baying, bugling or trumpeting calls.
+The black swan is unlike any other Australian bird, although in poor light and at long range it may be confused with a magpie goose in flight. However, the black swan can be distinguished by its much longer neck and slower wing beat.One captive population of black swans in Lakeland, Florida has produced a few individuals which are a light mottled grey colour instead of black. White black swans are also known to exist; these individuals, which are leucistic, are believed to occur rarely in the wild.
+
+Distribution
+The black swan is common in the wetlands of southwestern and eastern Australia and adjacent coastal islands. In the south west its range encompasses an area between North West Cape, Cape Leeuwin and Eucla; while in the east it covers a large region bounded by the Atherton Tableland, the Eyre Peninsula and Tasmania, with the Murray Darling Basin supporting very large populations of black swans. It is uncommon in central and northern Australia.
+The black swan's preferred habitat extends across fresh, brackish and salt water lakes, swamps and rivers with underwater and emergent vegetation for food and nesting materials. It also favors permanent wetlands, including ornamental lakes, but can also be found in flooded pastures and tidal mudflats, and occasionally on the open sea near islands or the shore.The black swan was once thought to be sedentary, but is now known to be highly nomadic. There is no set migratory pattern, but rather opportunistic responses to either rainfall or drought. In high rainfall years, emigration occurs from the south west and south east into the interior, with a reverse migration to these heartlands in drier years. When rain does fall in the arid central regions, black swans will migrate to these areas to nest and raise their young. However, should dry conditions return before the young have been raised, the adult birds will abandon the nests and their eggs or cygnets and return to wetter areas.The black swan, like many other water fowl, loses all its flight feathers at once when it moults after breeding and is unable to fly for about a month. During this time it will usually settle on large, open waters for safety.The species has a large range, with figures between 1 and 10 million km2 given as the extent of occurrence. The current global population is estimated to be up to 500,000 individuals.  No threat of extinction or significant decline in population has been identified with this numerous and widespread bird.Black swans were first seen by Europeans in 1697, when Willem de Vlamingh's expedition explored the Swan River, Western Australia.
+
+Introduced populations
+New Zealand
+Before the arrival of the Māori in New Zealand, a related species of swan known as the New Zealand swan had developed there, but was apparently hunted to extinction. In 1864, the Australian black swan was introduced to New Zealand as an ornamental waterfowl and populations are now common on larger coastal or inland lakes, especially Rotorua Lakes, Lake Wairarapa, Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, and the Chatham Islands. Black swans have also naturally flown to New Zealand, leading scientists to consider them a native rather than exotic species, although the present population appears to be largely descended from deliberate introductions.
+
+United Kingdom
+The black swan is also very popular as an ornamental waterbird in western Europe, especially Britain, and escapees are commonly reported. As yet, the population in Britain is not considered to be self-sustaining and so the species is not afforded admission to the official British List, but the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust have recorded a maximum of nine breeding pairs in the UK in 2001, with an estimate of 43 feral birds in 2003–2004.
+A small population of black swans exists on the River Thames at Marlow, on the brook running through the small town of Dawlish  in Devon, near the River Itchen, Hampshire, and the River Tees near Stockton on Tees. The Dawlish population is so well associated with the town that the bird has been the town's emblem for forty years.
+
+Japan
+There are also wild populations in Japan, having originally been imported during 1950–1960.
+
+United States
+Black swans have been reported in Florida, but there is no evidence that they are breeding; persistent sightings may be due to continual releases or escapes. Orange County, California reported black swans in Lake Forest, Irvine and Newport Beach on October 5, 2020, and Santa Ana in December 2021 in the “Versailles on the Lake” apartment community. The "Lake Forest Keys” community bought the original swans about eight to ten years ago and since then there have been many births and gaggles from the original couple" according to a report in the Orange County Register. Black swans formerly resided in the vicinity of Lake Junaluska, a large lake in Waynesville, North Carolina.
+
+Mainland China
+Black swans can also be found in mainland China. In 2018 one group of swans was introduced to the Shenzhen University campus on an artificial lake in Guangdong Province.
+
+Behaviour
+Diet and feeding
+The black swan is almost exclusively herbivorous, and while there is some regional and seasonal variation, the diet is generally dominated by aquatic and marshland plants. In New South Wales the leaf of reedmace (genus Typha) is the most important food of birds in wetlands, followed by submerged algae and aquatic plants such as Vallisneria. In Queensland, aquatic plants such as Potamogeton, stoneworts, and algae are the dominant foods. The exact composition varies with water level; in flood situations where normal foods are out of reach black swans will feed on pasture plants on shore. The black swan feeds in a similar manner to other swans. When feeding in shallow water it will dip its head and neck under the water and it is able to keep its head flat against the bottom while keeping its body horizontal. In deeper water the swan up-ends to reach lower. Black swans are also able to filter feed at the water's surface.
+
+Nesting and reproduction
+Like other swans, the black swan is largely monogamous, pairing for life (about 6% divorce rate). Recent studies have shown that around a third of all broods exhibit extra-pair paternity. An estimated one-quarter of all pairings are homosexual, mostly between males.  They steal nests, or form temporary threesomes with females to obtain eggs, driving away the female after she lays the eggs.Generally, black swans in the Southern hemisphere nest in the wetter winter months (February to September), occasionally in large colonies. A black swan nest is essentially a large heap or mound of reeds, grasses and weeds between 1 and 1.5 metres (3–4+1⁄2 feet) in diameter and up to 1 metre high, in shallow water or on islands. A nest is reused every year, restored or rebuilt as needed. Both parents share the care of the nest.  A typical clutch contains four to eight greenish-white eggs that are incubated for about 35–40 days. Incubation begins after the laying of the last egg, to synchronise the hatching of the chicks. Prior to the commencement of incubation the parent will sit over the eggs without actually warming them. Both sexes incubate the eggs, with the female incubating at night. The change over between incubation periods is marked by ritualised displays by both sexes. If eggs accidentally roll out of the nest both sexes will retrieve the egg using the neck (in other swan species only the female performs this feat). Like all swans, black swans will aggressively defend their nests with their wings and beaks. After hatching, the cygnets are tended by the parents for about nine months until fledging. Cygnets may ride on their parent's back for longer trips into deeper water, but black swans undertake this behaviour less frequently than mute and black-necked swans.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Conservation
+The black swan is protected in New South Wales, Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (s.5). The Black Swan is fully protected in all states and territories of Australia and must not be shot. 
+ It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
+
+Australian culture
+The black swan was a literary or artistic image among Europeans even before their arrival in Australia. Cultural reference has been based on symbolic contrast and as a distinctive motif.
+The black swan's role in Australian heraldry and culture extends to the first founding of the colonies in the eighteenth century. It has often been equated with antipodean identity, the contrast to the white swan of the northern hemisphere indicating 'Australianness'. The black swan is featured on the flag, and is both the state bird and state emblem of Western Australia; it also appears in the Coat of Arms and other iconography of the state's institutions. The Black Swan was the sole postage stamp design of Western Australia from 1854 to 1902.
+
+Indigenous Australia
+The Noongar People of the South-West of Australia call the black swan Kooldjak along the West and South-West coast, Gooldjak in the South East and it is sometimes referred to as maali in language schools.
+
+See also
+Black swan theory, a theory about outlier events (such as Europeans discovering a black swan)
+List of Latin phrases (R): rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno ("a rare bird in the lands, and very like a black swan") Juvenal, Satires, VI
+
+References
+Citations
+Works cited
+Scott, Peter (1972). The Swans. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 978-0-7181-0707-9.
+
+External links
+
+Black Swan videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
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diff --git a/data/animals/black-footed ferret.txt b/data/animals/black-footed ferret.txt
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+The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America.
+The black-footed ferret is roughly the size of a mink and is similar in appearance to the European polecat and the Asian steppe polecat. It is largely nocturnal and solitary, except when breeding or raising litters. Up to 90% of its diet is composed of prairie dogs.The species declined throughout the 20th century, primarily as a result of decreases in prairie dog populations and sylvatic plague. It was declared extinct in 1979, but a residual wild population was discovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1981. A captive-breeding program launched by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in its reintroduction into eight western US states, Canada, and Mexico from 1991 to 2009. As of 2015, over 200 mature individuals are in the wild across 18 populations, with four self-sustaining populations in South Dakota, Arizona, and Wyoming. It was first listed as "endangered" in 1982, then listed as "extinct in the wild" in 1996 before being upgraded back to "endangered" in the IUCN Red List in 2008. In February 2021, the first successful clone of a black-footed ferret, a female named Elizabeth Ann, was introduced to the public.
+
+Evolution
+Like its close relative, the Asian steppe polecat (with which it was once thought to be conspecific), the black-footed ferret represents a more progressive form than the European polecat in the direction of carnivory. The black-footed ferret's most likely ancestor was Mustela stromeri (from which the European and steppe polecats are also derived), which originated in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. Molecular evidence indicates that the steppe polecat and black-footed ferret diverged from M. stromeri between 500,000 and 2,000,000 years ago, perhaps in Beringia. The species appeared in the Great Basin and the Rockies by 750,000 years ago. The oldest recorded fossil find originates from Cathedral Cave, White Pine County, Nevada, and dates back 750,000 to 950,000 years ago. Prairie dog fossils have been found in six sites that yield ferrets, thus indicating that the association between the two species is an old one. Anecdotal observations and 42% of examined fossil records indicated that any substantial colony of medium- to large-sized colonial ground squirrels, such as Richardson's ground squirrels, may provide a sufficient prey base and a source of burrows for black-footed ferrets. This suggests that the black-footed ferret and prairie dogs did not historically have an obligate predator–prey relationship. The species has likely always been rare, and the modern black-footed ferret represents a relict population. A reported occurrence of the species is from a late Illinoian deposit in Clay County, Nebraska, and it is further recorded from Sangamonian deposits in Nebraska and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Fossils have also been found in Alaska dating from the Pleistocene.
+
+Description
+The black-footed ferret has a long, slender body with black outlines on its paws, ears, parts of its face and its tail. The forehead is arched and broad, and the muzzle is short. It has few whiskers, and its ears are triangular, short, erect and broad at the base. The neck is long and the legs short and stout. The toes are armed with sharp, very slightly arched claws. The feet on both surfaces are covered in hair, even to the soles, thus concealing the claws. It combines several physical features common in both members of the subgenus Gale (least and short-tailed weasels) and Putorius (European and steppe polecats). Its skull resembles that of polecats in its size, massiveness and the development of its ridges and depressions, though it is distinguished by the extreme degree of constriction behind the orbits where the width of the cranium is much less than that of the muzzle.
+Although similar in size to polecats, its attenuate body, long neck, very short legs, slim tail, large orbicular ears and close-set pelage is much closer in conformation to weasels and stoats. The dentition of the black-footed ferret closely resembles that of the European and steppe polecat, though the back lower molar is vestigial, with a hemispherical crown which is too small and weak to develop the little cusps which are more apparent in polecats. It differs from the European polecat by the greater contrast between its dark limbs and pale body and the shorter length of its black tail-tip. In contrast, differences from the steppe polecat of Asia are slight, to the point where the two species were once thought to be conspecific. The only noticeable differences between the black-footed ferret and the steppe polecat are the former's much shorter and coarser fur, larger ears, and longer post molar extension of the palate.Males measure 500–533 millimetres (19.7–21.0 in) in body length and 114–127 millimetres (4.5–5.0 in) in tail length, thus constituting 22–25% of its body length. Females are typically 10% smaller than males. It weighs 650–1,400 grams (1.43–3.09 lb). Captive-bred ferrets used for the reintroduction projects were found to be smaller than their wild counterparts, though these animals rapidly attained historical body sizes once released.The base color is pale yellowish or buffy above and below. The top of the head and sometimes the neck is clouded by dark-tipped hairs. The face is crossed by a broad band of sooty black, which includes the eyes. The feet, lower parts of the legs, the tip of the tail and the preputial region are sooty-black. The area midway between the front and back legs is marked by a large patch of dark umber-brown, which fades into the buffy surrounding parts. A small spot occurs over each eye, with a narrow band behind the black mask. The sides of the head and the ears are dirty-white in color.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+Territorial behavior
+The black-footed ferret is solitary, except when breeding or raising litters. It is nocturnal and primarily hunts for sleeping prairie dogs in their burrows. It is most active above ground from dusk to midnight and 4 am to mid-morning. Aboveground activity is greatest during late summer and early autumn when juveniles become independent. Climate generally does not limit black-footed ferret activity, but it may remain inactive inside burrows for up to 6 days at a time during winter.Female black-footed ferrets have smaller home ranges than males. Home ranges of males may sometimes include the home ranges of several females. Adult females usually occupy the same territory every year. A female that was tracked from December to March occupied 39.5 acres (16 ha). Her territory was overlapped by a resident male that occupied 337.5 acres (137 ha) during the same period. The average density of black-footed ferrets near Meeteetse, Wyoming, is estimated at one  black-footed ferret  to 148 acres (60 ha). As of 1985, 40 to 60 black-footed ferrets occupied a total of 6,178 to 7,413 acres (2,500 to 3,000 ha) of white-tailed prairie dog habitat. From 1982 to 1984, the average year-round movement of 15 black-footed ferrets between white-tailed prairie dog colonies was 1.6 miles/night (2.5 km) (with a spread of 1.1 miles or 1.7 km). Movement of black-footed ferrets between prairie dog colonies is influenced by factors including breeding activity, season, sex, intraspecific territoriality, prey density, and expansion of home ranges with declining population density. Movements of black-footed ferrets have been shown to increase during the breeding season; however, snow-tracking from December to March over a 4-year period near Meeteetse, Wyoming revealed that factors other than breeding were responsible for movement distances.Temperature is positively correlated with distance of black-footed ferret movement. Snow-tracking from December to March over a 4-year period near Meeteetse, Wyoming, revealed that movement distances were shortest during winter and longest between February and April, when black-footed ferrets were breeding and white-tailed prairie dogs emerged from hibernation. Nightly movement distance of 170 black-footed ferrets averaged 0.87 miles (1.40 km) (range 0.001 to 6.91 miles (0.0016 to 11.1206 kilometres)). Nightly activity areas of black-footed ferrets ranged from 1 to 337.5 acres (0 to 137 ha)), and were larger from February to March (110.2 acres (45 ha)) than from December to January (33.6 acres (14 ha)). Adult females establish activity areas based on access to food for rearing young. Males establish activity areas to maximize access to females, resulting in larger activity areas than those of females.Prey density may account for movement distances. Black-footed ferrets may travel up to 11 miles (18 km) to seek prey, suggesting that they will interchange freely among white-tailed prairie dog colonies that are less than 11 miles (18 km) apart. In areas of high prey density, black-footed ferret movements were nonlinear in character, probably to avoid predators. From December to March over a 4-year study period, black-footed ferrets investigated 68 white-tailed prairie dog holes per 1 mile (1.6 km) of travel/night. Distance traveled between white-tailed prairie dog burrows from December to March averaged 74.2 feet (22.6 m) over 149 track routes.
+
+Reproduction and development
+The reproductive physiology of the black-footed ferret is similar to that of the European polecat and the steppe polecat. It is probably polygynous, based on data collected from home range sizes, skewed sex ratios, and sexual dimorphism. Mating occurs in February and March. When a male and female in estrus encounter each other, the male sniffs the genital region of the female, but does not mount her until after a few hours have elapsed, which is contrast to the more violent behavior displayed by the male European polecat. During copulation, the male grasps the female by the nape of the neck, with the copulatory tie lasting from 1.5 to 3.0 hours. Unlike other mustelids, the black-footed ferret is a habitat specialist with low reproductive rates. In captivity, gestation of black-footed ferrets lasts 42–45 days. Litter size ranges from one to five kits. Kits are born in May and June in prairie dog burrows. Kits are altricial and are raised by their mother for several months after birth. Kits first emerge above ground in July, at 6 weeks old. They are then separated into individual prairie dog burrows around their mother's burrow. Kits reach adult weight and become independent several months following birth, from late August to October. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of one year.Intercolony dispersal of juvenile black-footed ferrets occurs several months after birth, from early September to early November. Dispersal distances may be short or long. Near Meeteetse, Wyoming, 9 juvenile males and three juvenile females dispersed 1 to 4 mi (1.6 to 6.4 km) following litter breakup. Four juvenile females dispersed a short distance (<0.2 mi (0.32 km)), but remained on their natal area.
+
+Diet
+Up to 90% of the black-footed ferret's diet is composed of prairie dogs. The remaining 10% of their diet is composed of small rodents, and Lagomorphs. Their diet varies depending on geographic location. In western Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, black-footed ferrets are historically associated with white-tailed prairie dogs and were forced to find alternative prey when white-tailed prairie dogs entered their four-month hibernation cycle. In Wyoming, alternative prey items consumed during white-tailed prairie dog hibernation included voles (Microtus spp.) and mice (Peromyscus  and Mus spp.) found near streams. In South Dakota, black-footed ferrets associate with black-tailed prairie dogs. Because black-tailed prairie dogs do not hibernate, little seasonal change in black-footed ferret diet is necessary.
+In Mellette County, South Dakota, black-tailed prairie dog remains occurred in 91% of 82 black-footed ferret scats. Mouse remains occurred in 26% of scats. Mouse remains could not be identified to species; however, deer mice, northern grasshopper mice, and house mice were captured in snap-trap surveys. Potential prey items included thirteen-lined ground squirrels, plains pocket gophers, mountain cottontails, upland sandpipers, horned larks, and western meadowlarks.Based on 86 black-footed ferret scats found near Meeteetse, Wyoming, 87% of their diet was composed of white-tailed prairie dogs. Other food items included deer mice, sagebrush voles, meadow voles, mountain cottontails, and white-tailed jackrabbits. Water is obtained through consumption of prey.A study published in 1983 modeling metabolizable energy requirements estimated that one adult female black-footed ferret and her litter require about 474 to 1,421 black-tailed prairie dogs per year or 412 to 1,236 white-tailed prairie dogs per year for sustenance. They concluded that this dietary requirement would require protection of 91 to 235 acres (37 to 95 ha) of black-tailed prairie dog habitat or 413 to 877 acres (167 to 355 ha) of white-tailed prairie dog habitat for each female black-footed ferret with a litter.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The historical range of the black-footed ferret was closely correlated with, but not restricted to, the range of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.). Its range extended from southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan south to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. As of 2007, the only known wild black-footed ferret population was located on approximately 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares) in the western Big Horn Basin near Meeteetse, Wyoming.  Since 1990, black-footed ferrets have been reintroduced to the following sites: Shirley Basin, Wyoming; UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge and Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Montana; Conata Basin/Badlands, Buffalo Gap National Grassland, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota; Aubrey Valley, Arizona; Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and Wolf Creek in Colorado; Coyote Basin, straddling Colorado and Utah, northern Chihuahua, Mexico, and Grasslands National Park, Canada Historical habitats of the black-footed ferret included shortgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, desert grassland, shrub steppe, sagebrush steppe, mountain grassland, and semi-arid grassland. Black-footed ferrets use prairie dog burrows for raising young, avoiding predators, and thermal cover. Six black-footed ferret nests found near Mellette County, South Dakota, were lined with buffalo grass, prairie threeawn, sixweeks grass, and cheatgrass. High densities of prairie dog burrows provide the greatest amount of cover for black-footed ferrets. Black-tailed prairie dog colonies contain a greater burrow density per acre than white-tailed prairie dog colonies, and may be more suitable for the recovery of black-footed ferrets. The type of prairie dog burrow may be important for occupancy by black-footed ferrets. Black-footed ferret litters near Meeteetse, Wyoming, were associated with mounded white-tailed prairie dog burrows, which are less common than non-mounded burrows. Mounded burrows contain multiple entrances and probably have a deep and extensive burrow system that protects kits. However, black-footed ferrets used non-mounded prairie dog burrows (64%) more often than mounded burrows (30%) near Meeteetse, Wyoming.
+
+Mortality
+Primary causes of mortality include habitat loss, human-introduced diseases, and indirect poisoning from prairie dog control measures. Annual mortality of juvenile and adult black-footed ferrets over a 4-year period ranged from 59 to 83% (128 individuals) near Meeteetse, Wyoming. During fall and winter, 50 to 70% of juveniles and older animals perish. Average lifespan in the wild is probably only one year, but may be up to five years. Males have higher rates of mortality than females because of longer dispersal distances when they are most vulnerable to predators.Given an obligate dependence of black-footed ferrets on prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets are extremely vulnerable to prairie dog habitat loss. Habitat loss results from agriculture, livestock use, and other development.Black-footed ferrets are susceptible to numerous diseases. They are fatally susceptible to canine distemper virus, introduced by striped skunks, common raccoons, red foxes, coyotes, and American badgers. A short-term vaccine for canine distemper is available for captive black-footed ferrets, but no protection is available for young born in the wild. Black-footed ferrets are also susceptible to rabies, tularemia, and human influenza. They can directly contract sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis), and epidemics in prairie dog towns may completely destroy the ferrets' prey base.Predators of black-footed ferrets include golden eagles, great horned owls, coyotes, American badgers, bobcats, prairie falcons, ferruginous hawks, and prairie rattlesnakes.Oil and natural gas exploration and extraction can have detrimental impacts on prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets. Seismic activity collapses prairie dog burrows. Other problems include potential leaks and spills, increased roads and fences, increased vehicle traffic and human presence, and an increased number of raptor perching sites on power poles. Traps set for coyotes, American mink, and other animals may harm black-footed ferrets.
+
+History
+Native American tribes, including the Crow, Blackfoot, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Pawnee, used black-footed ferrets for religious rites and for food. The species was not encountered during the Lewis and Clark Expedition, nor was it seen by Nuttall or Townsend, and it did not become known to modern science until it was first described in John James Audubon and John Bachman's Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America in 1851.
+It is with great pleasure that we introduce this handsome new species; ... [it] inhabits the wooded parts of the country to the Rocky Mountains, and perhaps is found beyond that range... When we consider the very rapid manner in which every expedition that has crossed the Rocky Mountains, has been pushed forward, we cannot wonder that many species have been entirely overlooked... The habits of this species resemble, as far as we have learned, those of [the European polecat]. It feeds on birds, small reptiles and animals, eggs, and various insects, and is a bold and cunning foe to the rabbits, hares, grouse, and other game of our western regions.
+
+Decline
+For a time, the black-footed ferret was harvested for the fur trade, with the American Fur Company having received 86 ferret skins from Pratt, Chouteau, and Company of St. Louis in the late 1830s. During the early years of predator control, black-footed ferret carcasses were likely discarded, as their fur was of low value. This likely continued after the passing of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, for fear of reprisals. The large drop in black-footed ferret numbers began during the 1800s through to the 1900s, as prairie dog numbers declined because of control programs and the conversion of prairies to croplands.Sylvatic plague, a disease caused by Yersinia pestis introduced into North America, also contributed to the prairie dog die-off, though ferret numbers declined proportionately more than their prey, thus indicating other factors may have been responsible. Plague was first detected in South Dakota in a coyote in 2004, and then in about 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of prairie dogs on Pine Ridge Reservation in 2005. Thereafter 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) of prairie dog colonies were treated with insecticide (DeltaDust) and 1,000 acres (400 ha) of black-footed ferret habitat were prophylactically dusted in Conata Basin in 2006–2007. Nevertheless, plague was proven in ferrets in May 2008. Since then each year 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of their Conata Basin habitat is dusted and about 50–150 ferrets are immunized with plague vaccine. Ferrets are unlikely to persist through plague episodes unless there are management efforts that allow access to prey resources at a wider region or actions that could substantially reduce the plague transmission. Implementing efforts to conserve large prairie dog landscapes and plague mitigation tools are very important in conserving the black-footed ferrets' population.Inbreeding depression may have also contributed to the decline, as studies on black-footed ferrets from Meeteetse, Wyoming revealed low levels of genetic variation. Canine distemper devastated the Meeteetse ferret population in 1985. A live virus vaccine originally made for domestic ferrets killed large numbers of black-footed ferrets, thus indicating that the species is especially susceptible to distemper.
+
+Reintroduction and conservation
+The black‐footed ferret experienced a recent population bottleneck in the wild followed by a more than 30-year recovery through ex situ breeding and then reintroduction into its native range. As such, this sole endemic North American ferret allows examining the impact of a severe genetic restriction on subsequent biological form and function, especially on reproductive traits and success. The black‐footed ferret was listed as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1967. Declared extinct in 1979, a residual wild population was discovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 1981. This cohort eventually grew to 130 individuals and was then nearly extirpated by sylvatic plague, Yersinia pestis, and canine distemper virus, Canine morbillivirus, with eventually 18 animals remaining. These survivors were captured from 1985 to 1987 to serve as the foundation for the black‐footed ferret ex situ breeding program. Seven of those 18 animals produced offspring that survived and reproduced, and with currently living descendants, are the ancestors of all black‐footed ferrets now in the ex situ (about 320) and in situ (about 300) populations.The black-footed ferret is an example of a species that benefits from strong reproductive science. A captive-breeding program was initiated in 1987, capturing 18 living individuals and using artificial insemination. This is one of the first examples of assisted reproduction contributing to conservation of an endangered species in nature. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state and tribal agencies, private landowners, conservation groups, and North American zoos have actively reintroduced ferrets back into the wild since 1991. Beginning in Shirley Basin in Eastern Wyoming, reintroduction expanded to Montana, 6 sites in South Dakota in 1994, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Saskatchewan, Canada and Chihuahua, Mexico. The Toronto Zoo has bred hundreds, most of which were released into the wild. Several episodes of Zoo Diaries show aspects of the tightly controlled breeding. In May 2000, the Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the black-footed ferret as being an extirpated species in Canada. A population of 35 animals was released into Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan on October 2, 2009, and a litter of newborn kits was observed in July 2010. Reintroduction sites have experienced multiple years of reproduction from released individuals.
+
+The black-footed ferret was first listed as endangered in 1967 under the Endangered Species Preservation Act, and was re-listed on January 4, 1974, under the Endangered Species Act. In September 2006, South Dakota's ferret population was estimated to be around 420, with 250 (100 breeding adults consisting of 67 females and 33 males) in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, which is 100,000 acres (40,000 ha), less than 3% of the public grasslands in South Dakota, 70 miles (110 km) east of Rapid City, South Dakota, in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland bordering Badlands National Park, 130 ferrets northeast of Eagle Butte, SD, on Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, and about 40 ferrets on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Arizona's Aubrey Valley ferret population was well over 100 and a second reintroduction site with around 50 animals is used. An August 2007 report in the journal Science counted a population of 223 in one area of Wyoming (the original number of reintroduced ferrets, most of which died, was 228), and an annual growth rate of 35% from 2003 to 2006 was estimated. This rate of recovery is much faster than for many endangered species, and the ferret seems to have prevailed over the previous problems of disease and prey shortage that hampered its improvement. As of 2007, the total wild population of black-footed ferrets in the U.S. was well over 650 individuals, plus 250 in captivity. In 2008, the IUCN reclassified the species as "globally endangered", a substantial improvement since the 1996 assessment, when it was considered extinct in the wild, as the species was indeed only surviving in captivity. In 2016, NatureServe considered the species Critically Imperiled.As of 2013, about 1,200 ferrets are thought to live in the wild. These wild populations are possible due to the extensive breeding program that releases surplus animals to reintroduction sites, which are then monitored by USFWS biologists for health and growth. However, the species cannot depend just on ex situ breeding for future survival, as reproductive traits such as pregnancy rate and normal sperm motility and morphology have been steadily declining with time in captivity. These declining markers of individual and population health are thought to be due to increased inbreeding, an occurrence often found with small populations or ones that spend a long time in captivity.Conservation efforts have been opposed by stock growers and ranchers, who have traditionally fought prairie dogs. In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service began poisoning prairie dogs in private land buffer zones of the Conata Basin of Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Because 10–15 ranchers complained the measure was inadequate, the forest service advised by Mark Rey, then Undersecretary of Agriculture, expanded its "prairie-dog management" in September 2006 to all of South Dakota's Buffalo Gap and the Fort Pierre National Grassland, and also to the Oglala National Grassland in Nebraska, against opinions of biologists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Following exposure by conservation groups including the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance and national media public outcry and a lawsuit mobilized federal officials, and the poisoning plan was revoked.
+
+The contradictory mandates of the two federal agencies involved, the USFWS and the U.S. Forest Service, are exemplified in what the Rosebud Sioux tribe experienced: The ferret was reintroduced by the USFWS, which according to the tribe promised to pay more than $1 million a year through 2010. On the other hand, the tribe was also contracted for the U.S. Forest Service prairie dog poisoning program. The increasing numbers of ferrets led to conflicts between the tribe's Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Game, Fish and Parks Department and the Tribal Land Enterprise Organization. When the federal government started an investigation of the tribe's prairie dog management program, threatening to prosecute tribal employees or agents carrying out the management plan in the ferret reintroduction area, the tribal council passed a resolution in 2008, asking the two federal agencies to remove ferrets, and reimburse the tribe for its expenses for the ferret recovery program.Employees of the San Diego Zoo, the conservation organization Revive & Restore, the ViaGen Pets and Equine Company and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have teamed up to clone a black-footed ferret. In 2020, a team of scientists cloned a female named Willa, who died in the mid-1980s and left no living descendants. Her clone, a female named Elizabeth Ann, was born on December 10, 2020, making her the first North American endangered species to be cloned. Scientists hope that the contribution of this individual will alleviate the effects of inbreeding and help black-footed ferrets better cope with plague. Experts estimate that this female's genome contains three times as much genetic diversity as any of the modern black-footed ferrets.In the year 2020, black-footed ferrets were used to test an experimental COVID-19 vaccine in Colorado.
+
+In popular culture
+In 2023 the black-footed ferret was featured on a United States Postal Service Forever stamp as part of the Endangered Species set, based on a photograph from Joel Sartore's Photo Ark. The stamp was dedicated at a ceremony at the National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall, South Dakota.
+
+References
+Notes
+This article incorporates public domain material from Mustela nigripes. United States Department of Agriculture.
+
+Bibliography
+Audubon, John James; Bachman, John (1851). The quadrupeds of North America. Vol. 2. New York, V.G. Audubon.
+Coues, Elliott (1877). Fur-bearing Animals: A Monograph of North American Mustelidae. Government Printing Office.
+Feldhamer, George A.; Thompson, Bruce Carlyle; Chapman, Joseph A. (2003). Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation. JHU Press. ISBN 0-8018-7416-5.
+Kurtén, Björn (1980). Pleistocene mammals of North America. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-03733-3.
+Merriam, Clinton Hart (1896). Synopsis of the weasels of North America. U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture. Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. North American fauna no.11. Washington: Govt. Print. Off. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t3tt4h07f.
+
+Further reading
+Clark, Tim W. (June 1983). "Last of the Black-footed Ferrets?". National Geographic. Vol. 163, no. 6. pp. 828–838. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
+
+External links
+
+Black-footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team website, from a team led by the USFWS
+Black-footed Ferret Video
+Black-footed Ferrets in Arizona Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Arizona Game and Fish Department
+Black-Footed Ferret Recovery – At the Crossroads, a USFWS 1995 article
+Q&A about their reintroduction Archived May 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine into south-central South Dakota, a USFWS 2002 article
+U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile
+COSEWIC Status report – Black-footed ferret, Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
+[1] Archived February 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Black-footed Ferret National Conservation Center
+Smithsonian Institution – North American Mammals: Mustela nigripes
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+The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, rabbits, and since the Middle Ages, for tracking people.  Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, le chien de Saint-Hubert.
+This breed is famed for its ability to discern human scent over great distances, even days later. Its extraordinarily keen sense of smell is combined with a strong and tenacious tracking instinct, producing the ideal scent hound, and it is used by police and law enforcement all over the world to track escaped prisoners, missing people, and lost pets.
+
+Appearance
+Bloodhounds weigh from 36 to 72 kg (80 to 160 lbs). They are 58 to 69 cm (23 to 27 inches) tall at the withers. According to the AKC standard for the breed, larger dogs are preferred by conformation judges. Acceptable colors for bloodhounds are black, liver, and red. Bloodhounds possess an unusually large skeletal structure with most of their weight concentrated in their bones, which are very thick for their length. The coat, typical for a scent hound, is hard and composed of fur alone, with no admixture of hair.
+
+Temperament
+This breed is reported to be gentle and is tireless when following a scent. Because of its strong tracking instinct, it can be willful and somewhat difficult to obedience train and handle on a leash. Bloodhounds are known to have an affectionate and even-tempered nature to humans, with them considered to be excellent family pets.
+
+Colour types
+Up to at least the 17th century, Bloodhounds were of all colors, but in modern times the color range has become more restricted. The colors are usually listed as black and tan, liver and tan, and red. White is not uncommon on the chest and sometimes appears on the feet. Genetically, the main types are determined by the action of two genes, found in many species. One produces an alternation between black and brown (liver). If a hound inherits the black allele (variant) from either parent, it has a black nose, eye rims, and paw pads, and if it has a saddle, it is black. The other allele suppresses black pigment and is recessive, so it must be inherited from both parents. It produces liver noses, eye rims, paw pads, and saddles.
+The second gene determines the coat pattern. It can produce animals with no saddle (essentially all-tan, but called 'red' in Bloodhounds), ones with saddle-marking, or ones largely covered with darker (black or liver) pigment, except for tan lips, eyebrows, forechest, and lower legs. These last are sometimes referred to as 'blanket' or 'full-coat' types. In a pioneering study in 1969, Dennis Piper suggested five alleles in the pattern-marking gene, producing variants from the red or saddleless hound through three different types of progressively greater saddle marking to the 'blanket' type. However, more modern study attributes the variation to three different alleles of the agouti gene.  Ay produces the non saddle-marked "red" hound, As produces saddle-marking, and at produces the blanket or full-coated hound.  Of these Ay  is dominant, and at is recessive to the others. The interaction of these variants of the two genes produces the six basic types shown below.
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+Another source does not recognise as as a separate variant. Instead, it says "at includes tan point and saddle tan, both of which look tan point at birth. Modifier genes in saddle tan puppies cause a gradual reduction of the black area until the saddle tan pattern is achieved." 'Tan point' refers to the blanket type from the typical tan eyebrows, muzzle, and socks.
+It is likely that a third gene determines whether or not there is a melanistic mask. Em, the allele for a mask, is dominant over E, the allele for no mask.
+
+Health
+Illnesses
+Compared to other purebred dogs, Bloodhounds suffer an unusually high rate of gastrointestinal ailments, with gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat) being the most common type of gastrointestinal problem. The breed also suffers an unusually high incidence of eye, skin, and ear ailments; thus these areas should be inspected frequently for signs of developing problems. Owners should be especially aware of the signs of bloat, which is both the most common illness and the leading cause of death of Bloodhounds. The thick coat gives the breed the tendency to overheat quickly.
+
+Lifespan
+Bloodhounds in a 2004 UK Kennel Club survey had a median longevity of 6.75 years, which makes them one of the shortest-lived dog breeds. The oldest of the 82 deceased dogs in the survey died at the age of 12.1 years. Bloat took 34% of the animals, making it the most common cause of death in Bloodhounds. The second leading cause of death in the study was cancer, at 27%; this percentage is similar to other breeds, but the median age of death was unusually young (median of about 8 years). In a 2013 survey, the average age at death for 14 Bloodhounds was 8.25 years.
+
+History
+Chien de Saint-Hubert
+The St. Hubert Hound was, according to legend, first bred ca. AD 1000 by monks at the Saint-Hubert Monastery in Belgium; its likely origins are in France, home of many of modern hounds. It is held to be the ancestor of several other breeds, like the extinct Norman Hound, and Saintongeois, and the modern Grand Bleu de Gascogne, Gascon Saintongeois, Ariegeois and Artois Normande, as well as the Bloodhound. It has been suggested that it was a dog of mixed breeding, not at all uniform in type.Whether they originated there, or what their ancestry was, is uncertain, but from ca. 1200, the monks of the Abbey of St. Hubert annually sent several pairs of black hounds as a gift to the King of France. They were not always highly thought of in the royal pack. Charles IX 1550–74, preferred his white hounds and the larger Chiens-gris, and wrote that the St. Huberts were suitable for people with gout to follow, but not for those who wished to shorten the life of the hunted animal. He described them as pack hounds of medium stature, long in the body, not well sprung in the ribs, and of no great strength. Writing in 1561, Jaques du Fouilloux describes them as strong of body, but with low, short legs. He says they have become mixed in breeding so that they are now of all colors and widely distributed. Charles described the 'true race' of St. Hubert as black, with red/tawny marks above the eyes and legs usually of the same color, suggesting a 'blanket' black and tan (see the section on colour types above). To De Fouilloux, the 'pure black' was the best of this mixed breed. Both writers thought them only useful as leash hounds. They both refer to a white hound, also a St. Hubert, which by their time had disappeared, having been interbred with another white hound, the greffier, to produce the king's preferred pack hound, sometimes called le chien blanc du roi, "the white dog of the king".
+They appear to have been more highly thought of during the reign of Henry IV (1553–1610), who presented a pack to James I of England. By the end of the reign of Louis XIV (1715), they were already rare. In 1788, D'Yauville, who was master of the Royal hounds, says those sent by the St. Hubert monks, once much prized, had degenerated, and scarcely one of the annual gift of six or eight was kept.Upon the French Revolution of 1789, the gifts ceased, and hunting in France went into a decline until the end of the Napoleonic wars. When it recovered during the 19th century, huntsmen, with many breeds to choose from, seem to have had little interest in the St. Hubert. An exception was Baron Le Couteulx de Canteleu, who tried to find them. He reported that there were hardly any in France, and those in the Ardennes were so crossbred that they had lost the characteristics of the breed.Writers on the Bloodhound in the last two centuries generally agreed that the original St. Hubert strain died out in the 19th century, and that the European St. Hubert owes its present existence to the development of the Bloodhound.
+
+Bloodhound
+References to Bloodhounds first appear in English writing in the early to mid-14th century, in contexts that suggest the breed was well established by then. It is often claimed that its ancestors were brought over from Normandy by William the Conqueror, but there is no actual evidence for this. That the Normans brought hounds from Europe during the post-Conquest period is virtually certain, but whether they included the Bloodhound itself, rather than merely its ancestors, is a matter of dispute that probably cannot be resolved on the basis of surviving evidence.
+In Medieval hunting, the typical use of the Bloodhound was as a 'limer', or 'lyam hound', that is a dog handled on a leash or 'lyam', to find the hart or boar before it was hunted by the pack hounds (raches). It was prized for its ability to hunt the cold scent of an individual animal, and, though it did not usually take part in the kill, it was given a special reward from the carcass.It also seems that from the earliest times the Bloodhound was used to track people. There are stories written in medieval Scotland of Robert the Bruce (in 1307), and William Wallace (1270–1305) being followed by 'sleuth hounds'. Whether true or not, these stories show that the sleuth hound was already known as a man-trailer, and it later becomes clear that the sleuth hound and the Bloodhound were the same animal.
+In the 16th century, John Caius, in the most important single source in the history of the Bloodhound, describes its hanging ears and lips, its use in game parks to follow the scent of blood, which gives it its name, its ability to track thieves and poachers by their foot scent, how it casts if it has lost the scent when thieves cross water, and its use on the Scottish borders to track cross-border raiders, known as Border Reivers. This links it to the sleuth hound, and from Caius also comes the information that the English Bloodhound and the sleuth hound were essentially the same, though the Bloodhound was slightly bigger, with more variation in coat color.The adjacent picture was published in Zurich in 1563, in Conrad Gesner's Thierbuch (a compendium of animals) with the captions: 'Englischen Blüthund' and 'Canis Sagax Sanguinarius apud Anglos' (English scent hound with associations of blood). It was drawn by, or under the supervision of, John Caius, and sent to Gesner with other drawings to illustrate his descriptions of British dogs for European readers. It is thus the earliest known picture published specifically to demonstrate the appearance of the Bloodhound. We are told it was done from life, and detail such as the soft hang of the ear indicates it was carefully observed. Fully accurate or not, it suggests changes between the Bloodhound of then and today. The collar and long coiled rope reflect the Bloodhound's typical functions as a limer or leashed man-trailer in that period.
+The earliest known report of a trial of the Bloodhound's trailing abilities comes from the scientist Robert Boyle, who described how a Bloodhound tracked a man seven miles along a route frequented by people, and found him in an upstairs room of a house.With the rise of fox hunting, the decline of deer hunting, and the extinction of the wild boar in Great Britain, as well as a more settled state of society, the use of the Bloodhound diminished. It was kept by the aristocratic owners of a few deer parks and by a few enthusiasts, with some variation in type, until its popularity began to increase again with the rise of dog shows in the 19th century. Numbers, however, have remained low in Britain. Very few survived the Second World War, but the gene pool has gradually been replenished with imports from America. Nevertheless, because of UK quarantine restrictions, importing was expensive and difficult throughout the 20th century, and in the post-war period exports to the US, and to Europe where the population had also been affected by the war, considerably exceeded imports.During the later 19th century, numbers of Bloodhounds were imported from Britain by French enthusiasts, who regretted the extinction of the ancient St. Hubert. They wished to re-establish it, using the Bloodhound, which, despite its developments in Britain, they regarded as the St. Hubert preserved unchanged. Many of the finest specimens were bought and exhibited and bred in France as Chiens de Saint-Hubert, especially by Le Couteulx de Canteleu, who himself bred over 300. Whatever few original St. Huberts remained either died out or were absorbed into the new population. As a result, the Bloodhound became known on parts of the Continent as the Chien de Saint-Hubert. In the mid-20th century, the Brussels-based FCI accepted the claim of Belgium to be the country of origin. There are now annual celebrations in the town of Saint-Hubert, in which handlers in period dress parade their hounds. In Britain, the Bloodhound has continued to be seen as a native breed, with European St. Huberts being accepted by the UK KC as Bloodhounds.In Le Couteulx' book of 1890, we read that 'Le Chien de St Hubert actuel' is very big, from 69 cm to 80 cm (27½–31½in) high. This does not accord with the 16th century descriptions of the St. Hubert given above, nor with the FCI standard, but the idea that the St. Hubert is much bigger (up to 91.5 cm, 36 in) than the Bloodhound persisted well into the 20th century, even among some St. Hubert enthusiasts.When the first Bloodhounds were exported to the US is not known. Bloodhounds were used to track runaway slaves before the American Civil War, but it has been questioned whether the dogs used were genuine Bloodhounds. However, in the later part of the 19th century, and in the next, more pure Bloodhounds were introduced from Britain and bred in America, especially after 1888, when the English breeder, Edwin Brough, brought three of his hounds to exhibit at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City. He went into partnership with Mr. J. L. Winchell who, with other Americans, imported more stock from Britain. Bloodhounds in America have been more widely used in tracking lost people and criminals – often with brilliant success – than in Britain, and the history of the Bloodhound in America is full of the man-trailing exploits of outstanding Bloodhounds and their expert handlers, the most famous hound being Nick Carter. Law enforcement agencies have been much involved in the use of Bloodhounds, and there is a National Police Bloodhound Association, originating in 1962.In Britain, there have been instances from time to time of the successful use of the Bloodhound to track criminals or missing people. However, man-trailing is enjoyed as a sport by British Bloodhound owners, through national working trials, and this enthusiasm has spread to Europe. In addition, while the pure Bloodhound is used to hunt singly, Bloodhound packs use Bloodhounds crossed with foxhounds to hunt the human scent.
+Meanwhile, the Bloodhound has become widely distributed internationally, though numbers are small in most countries, with more in the US than anywhere else. Following the spread of the Bloodhound from Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries, imports and exports and, increasingly, artificial insemination, are maintaining the world population as a common breeding stock, without a great deal of divergence in type in different countries.During the late 19th century, Bloodhounds were frequent subjects for artists such as Edwin Landseer and Briton Riviere; the dogs depicted are close in appearance to modern Bloodhounds, indicating that the essential character of the Bloodhound predates modern dog breeding. However, the dogs depicted by Landseer show less wrinkles and haws than modern dogs.
+
+Origin issues
+Throughout most of its history the Bloodhound was seen as a dog of English or Anglo-Scottish origin, either of unknown ancestry, or, more recently, as developed in part from the St. Hubert. It was only in the 19th century that it was claimed, primarily by Le Couteulx, to be the St. Hubert itself. Medieval hunting pictures show raches and limers, of the general sagax type, with hanging ears and lips, but not having the specific characteristics of the Bloodhound. 16th century descriptions of the St. Hubert as short-legged, and only medium-sized have led to speculation that the main European antecedent of the Bloodhound was rather the Norman hound, which was very large, than the St. Hubert.Others, such as the sleuth hound, the Talbot Hound, the dun hound and the Southern Hound, as well as pack hounds, have also been supposed to have contributed to its make-up. Some writers doubt whether anything certain can be said about specific breed ancestry beyond the last few centuries. The picture given by Le Couteulx and D'Yauville of the St. Hubert was that it changed considerably through mixed breeding, and perhaps degenerated, before its disappearance, while the Bloodhound which replaced it preserved its original character. However, it is apparent from 16th century pictures that the Bloodhound itself has changed considerably.The modern St. Hubert is the English Bloodhound, in descent and type. Generally, national and regional variants of hounds, terriers, spaniels, etc. have been recognised as separate breeds, France in particular having many regional breeds of hound; the Bloodhound's identification as the St. Hubert makes it an anomaly in this respect. Whether the Bloodhound is British or Belgian in origin is ultimately not something one can prove historically, depending as it does on whether one chooses to regard two related animals differing in tradition, and history, and somewhat in type, as separate breeds, or variants of the same one.
+
+Breed standard
+Descriptions of the desirable physical qualities of a hunting hound go back to medieval books on hunting. All dogs used in the hunting field were 'gentle', that is of good breeding (not necessarily pure breeding), and parents were carefully chosen to maintain and improve conformation. In 1896, making some use of wording found in earlier descriptions, Edwin Brough and Dr. J. Sidney Turner published Points and Characteristics of the Bloodhound or Sleuth-Hound.  This was adopted by the newly formed Association of Bloodhound Breeders, and ultimately became, with very little change, the 'official' breed standard of the KC and the AKC.
+Meanwhile, the Belgian or Dutch Comte Henri de Bylandt, or H A Graaf van Bylandt, published Races des Chiens in 1897, a huge and very important illustrated compilation of breed descriptions, or standards. In this French edition, the Bloodhound appears as the Chien de St. Hubert, although the pictures illustrating the standard are all of British Bloodhounds, many of them those of Edwin Brough. The book was revised and reprinted in four languages in 1904, and in this edition the English text of the standard is that of the Association of Bloodhound Breeders, while the French text is closely based on it. However, the present FCI standard uses a quite different layout and wording.
+The AKC standard has hardly been altered from the original of 1896, the principal change being that the colours, 'black and tan', 'red and tan', and 'tawny', have been renamed as 'black and tan', 'liver and tan', and 'red', but the British KC has made considerable changes. Some of these were simply matters of presentation and did not affect content. However, responding to the view that the requirements of some breed standards were potentially detrimental to the health or well-being of the animal, changes have been made affecting the required eye shape and the loose skin, the most recent revision being 2008–9.
+
+Etymology
+The word 'bloodhound' is recorded from c. 1330. Most recent accounts say that its etymological meaning is 'hound of pure or noble blood'. This derives from an original suggestion of Le Couteulx de Canteleu in the 19th century, which has been enthusiastically and uncritically espoused by later writers, perhaps because it absolved this undoubtedly good-natured dog from suggestions of bloodthirstiness. Neither Le Couteulx nor anyone since has offered any historical evidence to support this view. The suggestion sometimes seen that the word derives from 'blooded hound' is without basis, as the expression does not appear in early English, and 'blooded' in this meaning is not found before the late 18th century.
+Before then, 'bloodhound' had been taken to mean, 'hound for blood', or 'blood-seeking hound'. This was the explanation put forward by John Caius, who was one of the most learned men of his time, and had an interest in etymology, in the 16th century. It is supported by considerable historical linguistic evidence, which can be gleaned from such sources as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED): the fact that first uses of the word 'blood' to refer to good breeding in an animal postdate the first use of 'bloodhound'; that other comparable uses, as in 'blood horse' and 'blood stock' appear many centuries later; and that derogatory uses of the word 'bloodhound', which any suggestion of noble breeding would sadly weaken, appear from as early as c. 1400. Other early sources tell us that hounds were supposed to have an interest in blood, and that the Bloodhound was used to follow the trail of a wounded animal.  In the absence of anything in early usage, or any historical evidence whatsoever, to support the modern explanation, the older must be regarded as correct.
+
+Working the Bloodhound
+Scenting ability
+The Bloodhound's physical characteristics account for its ability to follow a scent trail left several days in the past. The olfactory bulb in dogs is roughly 40 times bigger than the olfactory bulb in humans, relative to total brain size, with 125 to 220 million olfactory receptors. Consequently, dogs have an olfactory sense 40 times more sensitive than that of a human.: 246  In some dog breeds, such as Bloodhounds, the olfactory sense has nearly 300 million receptors.The large, long pendent ears serve to prevent wind from scattering nearby skin cells while the dog's nose is on the ground; the folds of wrinkled flesh under the lips and neck—called the shawl—serve to catch stray scent particles in the air or on a nearby branch as the Bloodhound is scenting, reinforcing the scent in the dog's memory and nose. However, not all agree that the long ears and loose skin are functional, some regarding them as a handicap.
+
+Human trailing
+There are many accounts of Bloodhounds successfully following trails many hours, and even several days old,  the record being of a family found dead in Oregon, in 1954, over 330 hours after they had gone missing. The Bloodhound is generally used to follow the individual scent of a fugitive or lost person, taking the scent from a 'scent article' – something the quarry is known to have touched, which could be an item of clothing, a car seat, an identified footprint, etc. Many Bloodhounds will follow the drift of scent a good distance away from the actual footsteps of the quarry, which can enable them to cut corners and reach the end of the trail more quickly. In America, sticking close to the footsteps is called 'tracking', while the freer method is known as 'trailing' (in the UK, 'hunting'), and is held to reflect the Bloodhound's concentration on the individual human scent, rather than that of, say, vegetation crushed by the feet of the quarry. If the scent is lost, a good Bloodhound persistently casts about to recover it. The Bloodhound is handled on a tracking harness, which has a metal ring above the shoulders, to which a leash is attached, so that the hound's neck is not jerked up when the leash becomes taut, as it would with a collar. The leash is at least long enough to allow the hound to cross freely in front of the handler, some handlers preferring quite a short leash, giving better communication with the hound, others liking something longer, maybe 6 to 9 metres (20 to 30 ft).
+
+Training
+It is generally agreed that the basis of initial training is to make the experience enjoyable for the puppy or young hound to keep their enthusiasm high. Whitney preferred waiting until the hound is 18 months old, to start training, but others start as young as possible; say, three months. Training can be started by running short trails on a family member whom the puppy sees walk away, at first remaining visible, and later going out of sight. Even though familiar with the scent of the 'runner', the dog can be given a scent article to sniff, and given the command to follow. The dog can also be introduced to the tracking harness, which is put on just before the trail starts, and removed as soon as it is finished. On reaching the runner, the puppy is given lavish praise and perhaps a reward. Generally in training, the handler must know exactly where the runner went, so that the handler does not encourage the hound to go the wrong way, or 'correct' the hound when the hound is on the scent; however, the handler should not be too ready with corrections if the hound goes astray, or the hound may come to rely on the handler too much. The handler should give the hound time to realise their mistake and put themselves right, if possible. As training progresses the handler learns to 'read' the hound's behaviour. The hound must trust their own nose and the handler must trust the hound. From early hot trails on a familiar person, the young hound progresses to colder trails on the scents of strangers. Later training can be designed to teach particular lessons: crossing trails with false scents, having the runner start out with a companion, who leaves the runner somewhere along the trail, laying a trail on ground frequented by wild animals. This will teach the hound not to change on to other humans, or riot on animal scents (known as 'staying clean' [US], or 'freedom from change' [UK]). The hound also needs to work over a variety of ground and learn to cope with distractions of many kinds, as well as being introduced to 'negative trails': given a scent article which has not been handled by anyone in the area, so that the hound will learn to indicate to a handler that the required scent is not there. If the hound is becoming discouraged they can revert to simpler tasks to recover enthusiasm.
+
+Identification
+Canine identification of a suspect can help police with their inquiries, and evidence of identification is accepted in some courts. The most approved method of identification is for the hound to jump up, and place its paws on the subject's chest. In the case of a lost person or a known fugitive identification will not be significant, and in the case of a potentially violent, possibly armed, fugitive, a Bloodhound handler will not want their dog to approach the quarry for fear of injury to the Bloodhound. Many Bloodhounds reaching the end of a trail will show no interest in the person they have been trailing, and are difficult to train to identify. Leon Whitney recommended a method of initial training in which identification was the first thing learned, based on giving the young hound a scent article from someone who walks a very short distance out of sight into a barn, where they stand with a piece of liver, while another person, also smelling of liver, stands nearby. The hound is led along the 'trail', and if they show an inclination to go to the wrong person, they are chastised, but they get the liver if they go to the right one. When the hound goes to the right person almost infallibly, the number of people is increased, making the choice more difficult, and eventually the brief walks are extended into full trails.
+
+Voice
+A common misconception is that Bloodhounds are employed in packs; while this is sometimes the case in Britain, where foxhound blood is mixed into them to increase speed, in North America, Bloodhounds are used as solitary trackers. When they are on a trail, they are usually silent and do not give voice as do other scent hounds. The original use of the Bloodhound as a leash-hound, to find but not disturb animals, would require silent trailing.Nevertheless, the Bloodhound bay is among the most impressive of hound voices. When hunting in a pack, they are expected to be in full cry. They are more likely to 'give tongue,' 'throw their tongue,' or 'speak' when hunting in a pack than when hunting singly, and more when hunting free than when on the leash. The quality of 'speaking to the line', that is giving tongue when on the correct scent while remaining silent when off it, is valued in British Bloodhound circles, on aesthetic grounds and because it makes it very easy to 'read' the hound's tracking behaviour. As a result, special trophies for speaking to the correct line are on offer at British working trials (where hounds hunt singly), although rarely awarded.
+
+Trials in Britain
+Bloodhound Working Trials, first held in 1898, take place in Britain four times a year, under Kennel Club rules, organised by either the Association of Bloodhound Breeders Archived 2014-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, or The Bloodhound Club. They are run over farm land by permission of the landowners. A line walker (runner) is given a map, and sets off to follow a course marked on it, leaving a scent article ('smeller') attached to a flag marking the beginning of the trail. A hound and its handler start a set time later, and try to follow the trail, while the judge, equipped with a copy of the map, follows behind assessing their performance. When each of the entered hounds has completed a trail, the judge picks a winner. There are a series of 'stakes' of increasing difficulty, the simplest being 1 mile long, ½ an hour cold, and the hardest 3 miles long, 2 hours cold. On winning a stake, a hound moves up to the next one. Hounds may work unleashed if they have passed a test showing they will not bother livestock, especially sheep. Special prizes are on offer for identification and voice ('speaking to the line'). The best hounds may be invited to take part in special stakes, the most difficult being 3 miles long, 24 hours cold.
+
+Bloodhound packs
+The medieval Bloodhound was not primarily a pack hound, but a leash hound, though there may have been packs in different places or at different times. Up to the 19th century, a single hound or a brace was used on deer parks, to find deer for the gun. However, mid-century two packs appeared, that of Thomas Neville, who hunted in the New Forest area, and who preferred very black hounds, and that of Lord Wolverton.
+Both of these hunted semi-domesticated deer ('carted deer'), which were recaptured on being brought to bay and returned home. It was said of Lord Wolverton's hounds that he found it difficult to get them to hunt as a pack, because each liked to follow the scent on his own. Eventually, many were sold to Le Couteulx de Canteleu and taken to France.
+Around the start of the 20th century, several packs existed briefly, following either deer, or the 'clean boot' – individual human scent without any enhancement such as animal blood or aniseed. Since the Second World War there have been several packs, including that of Eric Furness, who introduced a cross to a Dumfriesshire Black and Tan Foxhound into his Peak Bloodhounds.Generally, masters of Bloodhounds since then maintain a level of out-cross breeding in their packs to improve speed and agility, while retaining Bloodhound type. These packs hunt the clean boot and are followed by a field on horseback.
+
+Noteworthy Bloodhounds
+Grafton was the Bloodhound in Landseer's famous painting Dignity and Impudence. Both dogs in the picture belonged to Jacob Bell.Mr. T. A. Jennings' Ch Druid, known as 'Old Druid' was the first Bloodhound champion. Born in 1857, he was later bought by Emperor Napoleon III for his son, Prince Eugene Louis Jean Joseph, and taken to France. Photographs of him, of another famous hound, Cowen's Druid, and a bitch named Countess, appear in a rare book from 1865 in the British Library[1], and may be the oldest photographs of Bloodhounds to have survived.
+A Bloodhound named Nick Carter is frequently cited as the archetype of the trailing Bloodhound and the extensive publicity this dog received may be the source of much Bloodhound-related folklore. Born in 1900, Nick Carter was owned and handled by Captain G. V. Mullikin of Lexington, Kentucky; he is credited with more than 650 finds, including one that required him to follow a trail 300 hours old; that is, 12 days.Ch. Heathers Knock on Wood, known as Knotty, was one of the most awarded Bloodhounds of all time. He received more Best-in-Shows than any other Bloodhound, and is the first liver-and-tan Bloodhound ever to win a Best-in-Show. Knotty was awarded Best-in-Show at the Eukanuba Tournament in 2005 and won the Hound Group in the Westminster Kennel Club Show the same year. Knotty's offspring have also been show dogs, and as a result of many of his puppies receiving the title of "Champion" by the AKC, Knotty was inducted into the AKC's Stud Dog Hall of Fame. He died in the spring of 2008, from a rattlesnake's bite, which he suffered while trying to protect his owner from the snake.On the popular 1960s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies, veteran canine actor Stretch portrayed Jed Clampett's Bloodhound, Duke.Ladybird on the popular animated sitcom King of the Hill is a purebred Georgia Bloodhound belonging to the Hill family.
+The US Army 615th Military Police Company's mascot is a Bloodhound named for the company's pet and mascot during Vietnam named Andy.McGruff the Crime Dog is the mascot of the US National Crime Prevention Council.
+
+Bloodhound
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Dog type
+Hunting the Clean Boot
+Northern (North Country Beagle) and Southern Hounds
+
+References
+Further reading
+Barwick, M.  Aspects of Bloodhound History
+Boitard, Jean-Pierre, Le Chien de Saint-Hubert, éditions Artémis 2002. ISBN 2-84416-155-3
+Dalziel, Hugh.  British Dogs Ch IX
+Fogle, Bruce (2000). The New Encyclopedia of the Dog. Dorling Kindersley (DK). ISBN 0-7894-6130-7.
+Reed, Lena & Brey, Catherine F. (1991). The New Complete Bloodhound. Howell Book House. ISBN 0-87605-077-1.
+Tweedie, Jan (1998). On the Trail!: A Practical Guide to the Working Bloodhound and Other Search and Rescue Dogs. Alpine Publications. ISBN 1-57779-005-7.
+
+External links
+
+"Training Bloodhounds for Police Work". Popular Science, June 1942, pp. 117–119.
+Dalziel, Hugh: British Dogs 1879
+Bloodhound at Curlie
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+The boa constrictor (scientific name also Boa constrictor), also known as the common 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. The species is native to tropical South America. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive. Four subspecies are recognized. This article focuses on the species Boa constrictor as a whole, and on the nominate subspecies B. c. constrictor.
+
+Common names
+Though all boids are constrictors, only this species is properly referred to as the "boa constrictor" — an instance of an animal having the same English common name and scientific binomial. Only one other vertebrate animal shares this trait, the theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex.All 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 the species 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."
+Other common names include chij-chan (Mayan), jiboia (Latin American), and macajuel (Trinidadian).
+
+Subspecies
+Several subspecies of Boa constrictor have been described in the past, 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 on biological differences. Boa imperator, Boa nebulosa, Boa orophias and Boa sigma have all been elevated to full species status.
+
+Several other subspecies have been described at different times, but currently, these are no longer considered to be valid subspecies by many herpetologists and taxonomists. They include:
+
+B. c. amarali Stull, 1932
+B. c. melanogaster Langhammer, 1983: a nomen dubium
+
+Description
+Size and weight
+The 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. 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 München (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. 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.
+
+Coloring
+The 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 subspecies the common name of "red-tailed boas." The coloring works as a very effective camouflage in the jungles and forests of its natural range.
+Some 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". 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.
+Boa 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.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Depending on the subspecies, Boa constrictor can be found through South America north of 35°S (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. Introduced populations exist in Cozumel, extreme southern Florida, and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
+The type locality given is "Indiis"—a mistake, according to Peters and Orejas-Miranda (1970).B. 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.
+
+Behavior
+Boa 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. 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.
+
+Hunting and diet
+Their prey includes a wide variety of small to medium-sized mammals and birds. The bulk of their diet consists of rodents (such as squirrels, mice, rats and agoutis), but larger lizards (such as ameivas, iguanas and tegus) and mammals as big as monkeys, marsupials, 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.  Once a boa constrictor has caught its prey, it will wrap its coils around the animal and constrict it until it suffocates. The boa's powerful muscles allow it to exert a great deal of pressure, and the prey is typically killed within a few minutes.
+Boa 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. 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 4–6 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.
+
+Reproduction and development
+Boa constrictors are viviparous, giving birth to live young. They generally breed in the dry season—between April and August—and 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. 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 constrictor emits pheromones from her cloaca to attract males, which may then wrestle to select one to breed with her. 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 2–3 weeks, which is longer than a normal shed. The gestation period, which is counted from the postovulation shed, is around 100–120 days. The female then gives birth to young that average 15–20 in (38–51 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). At 3–4 years, boa constrictors become sexually mature and reach the adult size of 6–10 feet (1.8–3.0 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 2–4 months.
+
+Captivity
+This 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 of 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. 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.
+
+Economic significance
+Boa 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.
+
+Conservation
+All 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 and Aruba.
+
+See also
+Daletvirus boae
+
+Notes
+References
+Further reading
+Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Boidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I–XXVIII. (Boa constrictor, pp. 117; Boa diviniloqua, p. 118).
+Linnaeus C (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Boa constrictor, new species, p. 215). (in Latin).
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/borzoi.txt b/data/animals/borzoi.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c989afc3715dd79868860171a5141ddd144f8448
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/borzoi.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+The Borzoi or Russian Hunting Sighthound is a Russian breed of hunting dog of sighthound type. It was formerly used for wolf hunting,: 125  and until 1936 was known as the Russian Wolfhound.: 130
+
+Etymology
+The system by which Russians over the ages named their sighthounds was a series of descriptive terms rather than actual names. Borzoi is the masculine singular form of an archaic Russian adjective that means 'fast'. Borzaya sobaka ('fast dog') is the basic term for sighthounds used by Russians, though sobaka is usually dropped. The name psovaya derived from the word psovina, which means 'wavy, silky coat', just as hortaya (as in hortaya borzaya) means shorthaired. In modern Russian, the breed commonly called the Borzoi is officially known as russkaya psovaya borzaya. Other Russian sighthound breeds are stepnaya borzaya (from the steppe), called stepnoi; and krimskaya borzaya (from the Crimea), called krimskoi.
+
+History
+The Borzoi originated in sixteenth-century Russia by crossing Saluki and European sighthounds with thick-coated Russian breeds.The Borzoi was popular with the Tsars before the 1917 revolution. For centuries, Borzois could not be purchased but only given as gifts from the Tsar. Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich of Russia bred countless Borzoi at Perchino, his private estate.: 10 The Russkaya Psovaya Borzaya was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1956.
+
+Description
+Appearance
+Borzois are large Russian sighthounds that resemble some central Asian breeds such as the Afghan hound, Saluki, and the Kyrgyz Taigan. Borzois come in a variety of colours. The Borzoi coat is silky and flat, often wavy or slightly curly. The long top-coat is quite flat, with varying degrees of waviness or curling. The soft undercoat thickens during winter or in cold climates, but is shed in hot weather to prevent overheating. In its texture and distribution over the body, the Borzoi coat is unique. There should be a frill on its neck, as well as feathering on its hindquarters and tail.Borzois are also known for their long snouts, which became the subject of an Internet meme.
+
+Temperament
+The Borzoi is an affectionate and athletic breed of dog with a calm temperament.In terms of obedience, Borzois are selective learners who quickly become bored with repetitive, apparently pointless activity, and they can be very stubborn when they are not properly motivated. For example, food rewards, or "baiting", may work well for some individuals, but not at all for others. Nevertheless, Borzois are definitely capable of enjoying and performing well in competitive obedience and agility trials with the right kind of training.: 113
+
+Health
+Stated life expectancy is 10 to 12 years. Median lifespan based on a UK Kennel Club survey is 9 years 1 month. One in five died of old age, at an average of 10 to 11.5 years. The longest lived dog lived to 14 years 3 months. Dogs that are physically fit and vigorous in their youth through middle age are more vigorous and healthy as elderly dogs, all other factors being equal. In the UK, cancer and cardiac problems seem to be the most frequent causes of premature death.
+
+Coat colours
+
+Notes
+References
+
+
+=== Further reading ===
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/box turtle.txt b/data/animals/box turtle.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..17a5a4a5f13e856db872f37430cecf89ed62fa33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/box turtle.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+Box turtle is the common name for several species of turtle. It may refer to those of the genus Cuora or Pyxidea, which are the Asian box turtles, or more commonly to species of the genus Terrapene, the North American box turtles. They are largely characterized by having a shell shaped like a dome, which is hinged at the bottom, allowing the animal to close its shell tightly to escape predators. Furthermore, the two genera are very different in habitat, behavior and appearance, and are not even classified in the same family. Even though box turtles became very popular pets, their needs in captivity are complex and the capture of turtles can have serious detrimental effects on the wild population.The box turtle commonly lives over twenty years, with verified cases of lifespans exceeding 40 to 50 years. There have been unverified cases of box turtles living for a hundred years and more.
+
+Diet
+Box turtles are omnivorous. Their eagle eyes and keen sense of smell help them find foods such as snails, insects, berries, fungi, slugs, worms, flowers, fish, frogs, salamanders, various rodents, snakes, birds, and eggs. During their first five to six years of life they are primarily carnivorous. Adults tend to be mostly herbivores, but do not feed on leafy greens. Box turtles are known to feed on animals found dead on roadways victims of being struck by a car or other rolling vehicle. Hatchlings and young turtles need more protein and prefer a carnivorous diet, to which, as they grow, they incorporate more and more plants.
+
+Research
+A recent study conducted by Davidson College revealed, among other things, that a box turtle can make sounds with its jaws that exceed 75 dB. This sound can be used to scare away predators and even also as some kind of mating call.
+
+Mating
+While it appears that most matings of Terrapene carolina occur in one-on-one encounters, there are occasions when two males will compete for access to the same female. These encounters, which almost never amount to mortal combat, consist of head-butting, shoving, and perhaps attempts to overturn the other. It is presumed that eventually one of the males exhausts himself and withdraws from the field while the other gains access to the female.
+
+Preservation
+Asian box turtles are in serious danger of extinction in their habitat because they are part of the food base of many Asian countries such as China, where they are captured for local food markets despite captive breeding farms. North American box turtles, on the other hand, are endangered by habitat destruction. The forests converted to farmland greatly reduced the number of turtles in many states. The remaining land is often fragmented with highways and urban projects, destroying the animals' habitat. In an attempt to cross man-made additions, turtles are often killed by cars, animals, and other hazards. They are also facing population decline from a necrotizing bacterial infection first found in this species April 2011.Another serious treatment of these animals in North America is the capture and sale of hatchling box turtles from the wild. A 3-year study conducted in Texas indicated that more than 7000 box turtles were taken from the wild for commercial trade. A similar study in Louisiana found that over a 41-month period, about 30,000 box turtles were taken from the wild for resale. Once captured, the turtles are often kept in poor conditions, in which more than half die. Those that live long enough to be sold usually suffer from conditions such as malnutrition, dehydration, and infection.Indiana and many other states created strict laws against the collection of hatchling turtles from the wild. In many states it is illegal to keep them without a special permit. Collecting wild-hatched box turtles can cause irreversible damage to populations, because these turtles have a low reproductive rate, as they take a long time to find a mate.
+Most turtle and sea-turtle societies do not recommend the use of turtles as pets for young children despite their popularity as such. Box turtles are easily stressed if touched excessively and require more care than is generally thought. Box turtles can be easily injured by dogs and cats so special care must be taken to protect them from household pets and neighborhood animals. Box turtles require an enclosed outdoor location, consistent sun exposure and a varied diet. Without this, a turtle's growth can be stunted and its immune system weakened.
+Finding box turtles in the wild and taking them as pets, even for a short period, can have detrimental effects. Box turtles want to stay within the area where they were hatched. If one is moved more than half a mile from its territory, it may not find its way back, but may spend years searching for it. This exposes the animal to danger and also disrupts the breeding cycle of which it would otherwise have been a part.
+While box turtles are very popular as pets, it is important that they are preserved in the right matter. Keeping them in a more northern area where they can survive the best in ecological and physiological factor to not damage their way of living.
+
+Taxonomy
+North American box turtles
+Family Emydidae
+Genus Terrapene
+Terrapene carolinaEastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina carolina (Linnaeus, 1758)
+Florida box turtle, Terrapene carolina bauri (Taylor, 1894)
+Gulf Coast box turtle, Terrapene carolina major (Agassiz, 1857)
+Three-toed box turtle, Terrapene carolina triunguis (Agassiz, 1857)
+Mexican box turtle, Terrapene carolina mexicana (Gray, 1849)
+Yucatán box turtle, Terrapene carolina yucatana (Boulenger, 1895)
+Coahuilan box turtle, Terrapene coahuila (Schmidt & Owens, 1944)
+Spotted box turtle, Terrapene nelsoni (Stejneger, 1925)
+Terrapene ornataOrnate box turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata (Agassiz, 1857)
+Desert box turtle, Terrapene ornata luteola (Smith & Ramsey, 1952)
+
+Asian box turtles
+Family Geoemydidae
+Genus Cuora
+Amboina box turtle, Cuora amboinensis (Suckow, 1798)
+Yellow-headed box turtle, Cuora aurocapitata (Luo & Zong, 1988)
+Chinese box turtle, Cuora flavomarginata (Gray, 1863)
+Indochinese box turtle, Cuora galbinifrons (Bourret, 1939)
+McCord's box turtle, Cuora mccordi (Ernst, 1988)
+Pan's box turtle, Cuora pani (Song, 1987)
+Golden coin turtle, Cuora trifasciata (Bell, 1825)
+Yunnan box turtle, Cuora yunnanensis (Boulenger, 1906)
+Zhou's box turtle, Cuora zhoui (Zhao, 1990)
+
+Genus Pyxidea
+Keeled box turtle, Pyxidea mouhotii (Gray, 1862)Pyxidea mouhotii mouhotii
+Pyxidea mouhotii obsti
+
+See also
+Turtle
+Tortoise
+Asian box turtle
+
+References
+
+Reptile Database
+Integrated Taxonomic Information Service
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/brambling.txt b/data/animals/brambling.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f5a7456e95855abac414dc3d53b959505f131f5d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/brambling.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+The brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.   It has also been called the cock o' the north and the mountain finch. It is widespread and migratory, often seen in very large flocks.
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1758 Linnaeus included the species in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name, Fringilla montifringilla.  Montifringilla is from Latin mons, montis mountain and fringilla finch. The English name "bramlyng" was used in 1544 by the English naturalist William Turner but later in the 16th century the current spelling "brambling" was used. The etymology of the name is uncertain as the bird is not associated with the bramble or common blackberry Rubus fruticosus.
+
+Description
+The brambling is similar in size and shape to a common chaffinch. Breeding-plumaged male bramblings are very distinctive, with a black head, dark upperparts, orange breast and white belly. Females and younger birds are less distinct, and more similar in appearance to some chaffinches. In all plumages, however, bramblings differs from chaffinches in a number of features:
+
+the brambling has a white rump, whereas that of the common chaffinch is grey-green;
+the breast is orange, contrasting with a white belly, on the brambling, whereas on the common chaffinch, the underparts are more uniformly coloured (pink or buff);
+the brambling's scapular feathers are orange, whereas the common chaffinch's are grey or grey-brown;
+the flanks are dark-spotted on the brambling, plain on the common chaffinch;
+bramblings lack the white outer tail feathers of common chaffinches.An additional difference for all plumages except breeding-plumaged males is the bill colour - yellow in the brambling, dull pinkish in the common chaffinch (breeding-plumaged male bramblings have black bills, common chaffinches in the corresponding plumage have grey bills).Measurements:
+
+Length: 16 cm
+Weight: 23-29 g
+Wingspan: 25–26 cm
+
+Distribution and habitat
+This bird is widespread, in the breeding season, throughout the forests of northern Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in southern Europe, North Africa, northern India, northern Pakistan, China, and Japan.  It frequently strays into Alaska during migration and there are scattered records across the northern United States and southern Canada. The global population of bramblings is about 100 to 200 million, with a decreasing trend.Open coniferous or birch woodland is favoured for breeding.
+
+Migration
+This species is almost entirely migratory. In Europe, it forms large flocks in the winter, sometimes with thousands or even millions of birds in a single flock. Such large gatherings occur especially if beech mast is abundant. Bramblings do not require beech mast in the winter, but winter flocks of bramblings will move until they find it. This may be an adaptation to avoid competition with the common chaffinch.
+
+Behaviour
+Breeding
+Bramblings first breed when they are one year old. The nest is usually placed high in a tree against the trunk. It is built by the female and consists of an outer layer which may contain lichen, grass, heather, cobwebs and strips of bark from birch or juniper trees. It is lined with feathers, soft grass and hair. The eggs are laid at daily intervals. The clutch usually contains 5-7 eggs. They range from light blue to dark olive-brown and have pink to rusty red spots and blotches. On average they measure 19.4 mm × 14.5 mm (0.76 in × 0.57 in) and have a calculated weight of 2.14 g (0.075 oz). Starting after the last egg has been laid, they are incubated by the female and hatch after 11-12 days. The young are fed and cared for by both parents and fledge after 13-14 days. Often only one brood is raised each year but two broods can be raised in northwest Russia.The nests can be predated by the carrion crow (Corvus corone) and the Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus). The nest are often parasitized by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).
+
+Food and feeding
+Bramblings mostly eat seeds in winter, but insects in summer.
+
+References
+Sources
+External links
+
+Internet Bird Collection: Brambling
+Audio recordings from Xeno-canto
+Stamps Belgium, China, Taiwan
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/brown bear.txt b/data/animals/brown bear.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4073e34ddc79a0878ea46af9388e1d71e630a25b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/brown bear.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear's range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, Finland, the Balkans, the Picos de Europa and the Carpathian region (especially Romania), Iran, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries.While the brown bear's range has shrunk, and it has faced local extinctions across its wide range, it remains listed as a least concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a total estimated  population in 2017 of 110,000. As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN, though the large sizes of both bears may be a disadvantage due to increased competition with humans. Populations that were hunted to extinction in the 19th and 20th centuries are the Atlas bear of North Africa and the Californian, Ungavan and Mexican populations of the grizzly bear of North America. Many of the populations in the southern parts of Eurasia are highly endangered as well. One of the smaller-bodied forms, the Himalayan brown bear, is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear of central Italy is one of several currently isolated populations of the Eurasian brown bear and is believed to have a population of just 50 to 60 bears.
+
+Evolution and taxonomy
+The brown bear is sometimes referred to as the bruin, from Middle English. This name originated in the fable History of Reynard the Fox translated by William Caxton from Middle Dutch bruun or bruyn, meaning brown (the color). In the mid-19th century United States, the brown bear was termed "Old Ephraim" and sometimes as "Moccasin Joe".The scientific name of the brown bear, Ursus arctos, comes from the Latin ursus, meaning "bear", and the Greek ἄρκτος/arktos, also meaning "bear".
+
+Generalized names and evolution
+Brown bears are thought to have evolved from Ursus etruscus in Asia. The brown bear, per Kurten (1976), has been stated as "clearly derived from the Asian population of Ursus savini about 800,000 years ago; spread into Europe, to the New World." A genetic analysis indicated that the brown bear lineage diverged from the cave bear species complex approximately 1.2–1.4 million years ago, but did not clarify if U. savini persisted as a paraspecies for the brown bear before perishing. The oldest fossils positively identified as from this species occur in China from about 0.5 million years ago. Brown bears entered Europe about 250,000 years ago and North Africa shortly after. Brown bear remains from the Pleistocene period are common in the British Isles, where it is thought they might have outcompeted cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). The species entered Alaska 100,000 years ago, though they did not move south until 13,000 years ago. It is speculated that brown bears were unable to migrate south until the extinction of the much larger giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus).Several paleontologists suggest the possibility of two separate brown bear migrations. First, the inland brown bears, also known as grizzlies, are thought to stem from narrow-skulled bears which migrated from northern Siberia to central Alaska and the rest of the continent. Moreover, the Kodiak bears descend from broad-skulled bears from Kamchatka, which colonized the Alaskan peninsula. Brown bear fossils discovered in Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky and Labrador show that the species occurred farther east than indicated in historic records. In North America, two types of the subspecies Ursus arctos horribilis are generally recognized—the coastal brown bear and the inland grizzly bear; these two types broadly define the range of sizes of all brown bear subspecies.
+
+Scientific taxonomy
+There are many methods used by scientists to define bear species and subspecies, as no one method is always effective. Brown bear taxonomy and subspecies classification has been described as "formidable and confusing," with few authorities listing the same specific set of subspecies. Genetic testing is now perhaps the most important way to scientifically define brown bear relationships and names. Generally, genetic testing uses the word clade rather than species because a genetic test alone cannot define a biological species. Most genetic studies report on how closely related the bears are (or their genetic distance). There are hundreds of obsolete brown bear subspecies, each with its own name, so this can become confusing. Hall (1981) lists 86 different types, and even as many as 90 have been proposed. However, recent DNA analysis has identified as few as five main clades which contain all extant brown bears, while a 2017 phylogenetic study revealed nine clades, including one representing polar bears. As of 2005, 15 extant or recently extinct subspecies were recognized by the general scientific community.As well as the exact number of overall brown bear subspecies, its precise relationship to the polar bear also remains in debate. The polar bear is a recent offshoot of the brown bear. The point at which the polar bear diverged from the brown bear is unclear, with estimations based on genetics and fossils ranging from 400,000 to 70,000 years ago, but most recent analysis has indicated that the polar bear split somewhere between 275,000 and 150,000 years ago. Under some definitions, the brown bear can be construed as the paraspecies for the polar bear.DNA analysis shows that, apart from recent human-caused population fragmentation, brown bears in North America are generally part of a single interconnected population system, with the exception of the population (or subspecies) in the Kodiak Archipelago, which has probably been isolated since the end of the last Ice Age. These data demonstrate that U. a. gyas, U. a. horribilis, U. a. sitkensis and U. a. stikeenensis are not distinct or cohesive groups, and would more accurately be described as ecotypes. For example, brown bears in any particular region of the Alaska coast are more closely related to adjacent grizzly bears than to distant populations of brown bears, the morphological distinction seemingly driven by brown bears having access to a rich salmon food source, while grizzly bears live at higher elevation, or further from the coast, where plant material is the base of the diet. The history of the bears of the Alexander Archipelago is unusual in that these island populations carry polar bear DNA, presumably originating from a population of polar bears that was left behind at the end of the Pleistocene, but have since been connected with adjacent mainland populations through movement of males, to the point where their nuclear genomes are now more than 90% of brown bear ancestry.Brown bears are apparently divided into five different clades, some of which coexist or co-occur in different regions.
+
+Hybrids
+A grizzly–polar bear hybrid (known either as a pizzly bear or a grolar bear) is a rare ursid hybrid resulting from a crossbreeding of a brown bear and a polar bear. It has occurred both in captivity and in the wild. In 2006, the occurrence of this hybrid in nature was confirmed by testing the DNA of a strange-looking bear that had been shot in the Canadian Arctic, and seven more hybrids have since been confirmed in the same region, all descended from a single female polar bear. Previously, the hybrid had been produced in zoos and was considered a "cryptid" (a hypothesized animal for which there is no scientific proof of existence in the wild).
+Analyses of the genomes of bears have shown that introgression between species was widespread during the evolution of the genus Ursus, including the introgression of polar bear DNA introduced to brown bears during the Pleistocene.
+A bear shot in autumn 1986 in Michigan, US, was thought by some to be a grizzly/American black bear hybrid, due to its unusually large size and its proportionately larger braincase and skull. DNA testing was unable to determine whether it was a large American black bear or a grizzly bear.
+
+Description
+The brown bear is the most variable in size of modern bears. The typical size depends upon which population it is from, and most accepted subtypes vary widely in size. This is in part due to sexual dimorphism, as male brown bears average at least 30% larger in most subtypes. Individual bears also vary in size seasonally, weighing the least in spring due to lack of foraging during hibernation, and the most in late fall, after a period of hyperphagia to put on additional weight to prepare for hibernation. Therefore, a bear may need to be weighed in both spring and fall to get an idea of its mean annual weight.
+Generally brown bears weigh anywhere from 80 to 600 kg (180 to 1,320 lb), with males outweighing females. The normal range of physical dimensions for a brown bear is a head-and-body length of 1.4 to 2.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 9 ft 2 in) and a shoulder height of 70 to 153 cm (2 ft 4 in to 5 ft 0 in). The tail is relatively short, as in all bears, ranging from 6 to 22 cm (2.4 to 8.7 in) in length. The smallest brown bears, females during spring among barren-ground populations, can weigh so little as to roughly match the body mass of males of the smallest living bear species, the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), while the largest coastal populations attain sizes broadly similar to those of the largest living bear species, the polar bear. Interior brown bears are generally smaller than is often perceived, being around the same weight as an average lion, at an estimate average of 180 kg (400 lb) in males and 135 kg (298 lb) in females, whereas adults of the coastal populations weigh about twice as much. The average weight of adult male bears from 19 populations, from around the world and various subspecies (including both large- and small-bodied subspecies), was found to be 217 kg (478 lb) while adult females from 24 populations were found to average 152 kg (335 lb).
+
+Color
+Brown bears are often not fully brown. They have long, thick fur, with a moderately long mane at the back of the neck which varies somewhat across the types. In India, brown bears can be reddish with silver-tipped hairs, while in China brown bears are bicolored, with a yellowish-brown or whitish collar across the neck, chest and shoulders. Even within well-defined subspecies, individuals may show highly variable hues of brown. North American grizzlies can be dark brown (almost black) to cream (almost white) or yellowish-brown and often have darker-colored legs. The common name "grizzly" stems from their typical coloration, with the hairs on their back usually being brownish-black at the base and whitish-cream at the tips, giving them their distinctive "grizzled" color. Apart from the cinnamon subspecies of the American black bear (U. americanus cinnamonum), the brown bear is the only modern bear species to typically appear truly brown. The winter fur is very thick and long, especially in northern subspecies, and can reach 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 in) at the withers. The winter hairs are thin, yet rough to the touch. The summer fur is much shorter and sparser, with its length and density varying geographically.
+
+Cranial morphology and size
+Adults have massive, heavily built concave skulls, which are large in proportion to the body. The forehead is high and rises steeply. The projections of the skull are well developed when compared to those of Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus): the latter have sagittal crests not exceeding more than 19–20% of the total length of the skull, while the former have sagittal crests comprising up to 40–41% of the skull's length. Skull projections are more weakly developed in females than in males. The braincase is relatively small and elongated. There is a great deal of geographical variation in the skull, and presents itself chiefly in dimensions. Grizzlies, for example, tend to have flatter profiles than European and coastal American brown bears. Skull lengths of Russian brown bears tend to be 31.5 to 45.5 centimetres (12.4 to 17.9 in) for males, and 27.5 to 39.7 centimetres (10.8 to 15.6 in) for females. The width of the zygomatic arches in males is 17.5 to 27.7 centimetres (6.9 to 11 in), and 14.7 to 24.7 centimetres (5.8 to 9.7 in) in females. Brown bears have very strong teeth: the incisors are relatively big and the canine teeth are large, the lower ones being strongly curved. The first three molars of the upper jaw are underdeveloped and single crowned with one root. The second upper molar is smaller than the others, and is usually absent in adults. It is usually lost at an early age, leaving no trace of the alveolus in the jaw. The first three molars of the lower jaw are very weak, and are often lost at an early age. The teeth of brown bears reflect their dietary plasticity and are broadly similar to other bears, excluding the two most herbivorous living bears, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), which have blunt, small premolars (ideal for grinding down fibrous plants) compared to the jagged premolars of ursid bears that at least seasonally often rely on flesh as a food source. The teeth are reliably larger than American black bears, but average smaller in molar length than polar bears. Brown bears have the broadest skull of any extant ursine bear; only the aforementioned most herbivorous living bears exceed them in relative breadth of the skull. Another extant ursine bear, the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), has a proportionately longer skull than the brown bear and can match the skull length of even large brown bear subtypes, presumably as an aid for foraging heavily on insect colonies for which a long muzzle is helpful as an evolved feature in several unrelated mammalian groups.
+
+Claws and feet
+Brown bears have very large and curved claws, those present on the forelimbs being longer than those on the hind limbs. They may reach 5 to 6 centimetres (2.0 to 2.4 in) and may measure 7 to 10 centimetres (2.8 to 3.9 in) along the curve. They are generally dark with a light tip, with some forms having completely light claws. Brown bear claws are longer and straighter than those of American black bears (Ursus americanus). The claws are blunt, while those of a black bear are sharp. Due to their claw structure, in addition to their excessive weight, adult brown bears cannot typically climb trees as well as both species of black bear, although in rare cases adult female brown bears have been seen in trees. The claws of a polar bear are also quite different, being notably shorter but broader with a strong curve and sharper point, presumably both as an aid to traveling over ice (sometimes nearly vertically) and procuring active prey. The paws of the brown bear are quite large. The rear feet of adult bears have been found to typically measure 21 to 36 cm (8.3 to 14.2 in) long, while the forefeet tend to measure about 40% less in length. All four feet in average sized brown bears tend to be about 17.5 to 20 cm (6.9 to 7.9 in) in width. In large coastal or Kodiak bear males, the hindfoot may measure up to 40 cm (16 in) in length, 28.5 cm (11.2 in) in width, while outsized Kodiak bears having had confirmed measurements of up to 46 cm (18 in) along their rear foot. Brown bears are the only extant bears with a hump at the top of their shoulder, which is made entirely of muscle, this feature having developed presumably for imparting more force in digging, which is habitual during foraging for most bears of the species and also used heavily in den construction prior to hibernation. The brown bear's strength has been roughly estimated as 2.5 to 5 times that of a human.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Brown bears were once native to Europe, much of Asia, the Atlas Mountains of Africa, and North America, but are now extirpated in some areas, and their populations have greatly decreased in other areas. There are approximately 200,000 brown bears left in the world. The largest populations are in Russia with 120,000, the United States with 32,500, and Canada with around 25,000. Brown bears live in Alaska, east through the Yukon and Northwest Territories, south through British Columbia and through the western half of Alberta. The Alaskan population is estimated at a healthy 32,000 individuals. In the lower 48 states, they are repopulating slowly, but steadily along the Rockies and the western Great Plains.
+In Europe, in 2010, there were 14,000 brown bears in ten fragmented populations, from Spain (estimated at only 20–25 animals in the Pyrenees in 2010, in a range shared between Spain, France and Andorra, and some 210 animals in Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and León, in the Picos de Europa and adjacent areas in 2013) in the west, to Russia in the east, and from Sweden and Finland in the north to Romania (5000–6000), Bulgaria (900–1200), Slovakia (with about 600–800 animals), Slovenia (500–700 animals) and Greece (with Karamanlidis et al. 2015 estimating >450 animals) in the south.
+In Asia, brown bears are found primarily throughout Russia, thence more spottily southwest to parts of the Middle East, including almost all parts of Kurdistan, to as far south as southwestern Iran, and to the southeast in Northeast China. Brown bears are also found in Western China, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. They can also be found on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, which holds the largest number of non-Russian brown bears in eastern Asia with about 2,000–3,000 animals.This species inhabits the broadest range of habitats of any living bear species.
+They seem to have no altitudinal preferences and have been recorded from sea level to an elevation of 5,000 m (16,000 ft) (the latter in the Himalayas). In most of their range, brown bears generally seem to prefer semiopen country, with a scattering of vegetation that can allow them a resting spot during the day. However, they have been recorded as inhabiting every variety of northern temperate forest known to occur.
+
+Conservation status
+While the brown bear's range has shrunk and it has faced local extinctions, it remains listed as a Least concern species by the IUCN, with a total population of approximately 200,000. As of 2012, this and the American black bear are the only bear species not classified as threatened by the IUCN. However, the California grizzly bear, Ungava brown bear, Atlas bear and Mexican grizzly bear, as well as brown bear populations in the Pacific Northwest, were hunted to extinction in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many of the southern Asian subspecies are highly endangered. The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is very rare and it has been extirpated from more than half of its historic range. One of the smallest-bodied subspecies, the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus), is critically endangered, occupying only 2% of its former range and threatened by uncontrolled poaching for its body parts. The Marsican brown bear in central Italy is believed to have a population of just 50–60 bears.
+
+Behavior and life history
+The brown bear is often described as nocturnal. However, it frequently seems to peak in activity in the morning and early evening hours. Studies have shown that activity throughout the range can occur at nearly any time of night or day, with bears who dwell in areas with more extensive human contact being more likely to be fully nocturnal. Furthermore, yearling and newly independent bears are more likely to be active diurnally and many adult bears in low-disturbance areas are largely crepuscular. In summer through autumn, a brown bear can double its weight from the spring, gaining up to 180 kg (400 lb) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not full hibernators and can be woken easily, both sexes like to den in a protected spot during the winter months. Hibernation dens may consist of any spot that provides cover from the elements and that can accommodate their bodies, such as a cave, crevice, cavernous tree roots, or hollow logs.Brown bears have one of the largest brains of any extant carnivoran relative to their body size and have been shown to engage in tool use (e.g., using a barnacle-covered rock to scratch its neck), which requires advanced cognitive abilities. This species is mostly solitary, although bears may gather in large numbers at major food sources (e.g.,  open garbage dumps or rivers holding spawning salmon) and form social hierarchies based on age and size. Adult male bears are particularly aggressive and are avoided by adolescent and subadult males, both at concentrated feeding opportunities and chance encounters. Female bears with cubs rival adult males in aggression and are much more intolerant of other bears than single females. Young adolescent males tend to be least aggressive and have been observed in nonantagonistic interactions with each other. Dominance between bears is asserted by making a frontal orientation, showing off canines, muzzle twisting and neck stretching to which a subordinate will respond with a lateral orientation, by turning away and dropping the head and by sitting or lying down. During combat, bears use their paws to strike their opponents in the chest or shoulders and bite the head or neck.
+
+Communication
+Several different facial expressions have been documented in brown bears. The "relaxed-face" is made in everyday activities and has the ears pointed to the sides and the mouth closed or slackly open. During social play, bears make "relaxed open-mouth face" in which the mouth is open, with a curled upper lip and hanging lower lip, and the ears alert and shifting. When looking at another animal at a distance, the bear makes an "alert face" as the ears are cocked and alert, the eyes wide open but the mouth is closed or only open slightly. The "tense closed mouth face" is made with the ears laid back and the mouth closed and occurs when the bear feels threatened. When approached by another individual, the animal makes a "puckered-lip face" with a protruding upper lip and ears which go from cocked and alert when at a certain distance to laid back when closer or when retreating. The "jaw gape face" consists of an open mouth with visible lower canines and hanging lips while the "biting face" is similar to the "relaxed open-mouth face" except the ears are flattened and the eyes are wide enough to expose the sclera. Both the "jaw gape face" and the "biting face" are made in aggression and bears switch between them.Brown bears also produce various vocalizations. Huffing occurs when the animal is tense while woofing is made when alarmed. Both sounds are produced by exhalations though huffing is harsher and is made continuously (two per second). Growls and roars are made in aggression. Growling is harsh and guttural and can range from a simple grrr to a rumble. A rumbling growl can escalate into a roar when the bear is charging. Roaring is described as "thunderous" and can travel 2 km (1.2 mi). Mothers and cubs wanting physical contact will bawl, which is heard as waugh!, waugh!.
+
+Home ranges
+Brown bears usually occur over vast home ranges; however, they are not highly territorial. Several adult bears often roam freely over the same vicinity without issue, unless rights to a fertile female or food sources are being contested. Males always cover more area than females each year. Despite their lack of traditional territorial behavior, adult males can seem to have a "personal zone" in which other bears are not tolerated if they are seen. Males always wander further than females, due to both increasing access to females and food sources, while females are advantaged by smaller territories in part since it decreases the likelihood of encounters with male bears who may endanger their cubs. In areas where food is abundant and concentrated, such as coastal Alaska, home ranges for females are up to 24 km2 (9.3 sq mi) and for males are up to 89 km2 (34 sq mi). Similarly, in British Columbia, bears of the two sexes travel relatively compact home ranges of 115 km2 (44 sq mi) and 318 km2 (123 sq mi). In Yellowstone National Park, home ranges for females are up to 281 km2 (108 sq mi) and up to 874 km2 (337 sq mi) for males. In Romania, the largest home range was recorded for adult males (3,143 km2, 1214 sq mi). In the central Arctic of Canada, where food sources are quite sparse, home ranges range up to 2,434 km2 (940 sq mi) in females and 8,171 km2 (3,155 sq mi) in males.A study of male-inherited Y chromosome DNA sequence found that brown bears, over the past few 10,000 years, have shown strong male-biased dispersal. That study found surprisingly similar Y chromosomes in brown bear populations as far apart as Norway and coastal Alaska, indicating extensive gene flow across Eurasia and North America. Notably, this contrasts with genetic signals from female-inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), where brown bears of different geographic regions typically show strong differences in their mtDNA, a result of female philopatry.
+
+Reproduction
+The mating season is from mid-May to early July, shifting later the further north the bears are found. Being serially monogamous, brown bears remain with the same mate from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Outside of this narrow time frame, adult male and female brown bears show no sexual interest in each other. Females mature sexually between the age of four and eight years of age, with an average age at sexual maturity of 5.2–5.5 years old, while males first mate about a year later on average, when they are large and strong enough to successfully compete with other males for mating rights. Males will try to mate with as many females as they can; usually a successful one mates with two females in a span of one to three weeks. The adult female brown bear is similarly promiscuous, mating with up to four, rarely even eight, males while in heat and potentially breeding with two males in a single day. Females come into oestrus on average every three to four years, with a full range of 2.4 to 5.7 years. The urine markings of a female in oestrus can attract several males via scent. Paternity DNA tests have shown that littermates do not share the same father in up to 29% of litters. Dominant males may try to sequester a female for her entire oestrus period of approximately two weeks, but usually are unable to retain her for the entire time. Copulation is vigorous and prolonged and can last up to an hour, although the mean time is about 23–24 minutes.
+Males take no part in raising their cubs – parenting is left entirely to the females. Through the process of delayed implantation, a female's fertilized egg divides and floats freely in the uterus for six months. During winter dormancy, the fetus attaches to the uterine wall. The cubs are born eight weeks later while the mother sleeps. If the mother does not gain enough weight to survive through the winter while gestating, the embryo does not implant and is reabsorbed into the body. There have been cases of brown bears with as many as six cubs, although the average litter size is one to three, with more than four being considered uncommon. There are records of females sometimes adopting stray cubs or even trading or kidnapping cubs when they emerge from hibernation (a larger female may claim cubs away from a smaller one). Older and larger females within a population tend to give birth to larger litters. The size of a litter also depends on factors such as geographic location and food supply. At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless and hairless and may weigh from 350 to 510 g (0.77 to 1.12 lb), again reportedly based on the age and condition of the mother. They feed on their mother's milk until spring or even early summer, depending on climate conditions. At this time, the cubs weigh 7 to 9 kg (15 to 20 lb) and have developed enough to follow her over long distances and begin to forage for solid food.
+The cubs are fully dependent on the mother and a close bond is formed. During the dependency stage, the cubs learn (rather than inherit as instincts from birth) survival techniques, such as which foods have the highest nutritional value and where to obtain them; how to hunt, fish and defend themselves; and where to den. Increased brain size in large carnivores has been positively linked to whether a given species is solitary, as is the brown bear, or raises their offspring communally, thus female brown bears have relatively large, well-developed brains, presumably key in teaching behavior. The cubs learn by following and imitating their mother's actions during the period they are with her. Cubs remain with their mother for an average of 2.5 years in North America, uncommonly being independent as early as 1.5 years of age or as late as 4.5 years of age. The stage at which independence is attained may generally be earlier in some parts of Eurasia, as the latest date which mother and cubs were together was 2.3 years, most families separated in under two years in a study from Hokkaido and in Sweden most cubs on their own were still yearlings. Brown bears practice infanticide, as an adult male bear may kill the cubs of another. When an adult male brown bear kills a cub, it is usually because he is trying to bring the female into oestrus, as she will enter that state within two to four days after the death of her cubs. Cubs flee up a tree, if available, when they see a strange male bear and the mother often successfully defends them, even though the male may be twice as heavy as she, although females have been known to die in these confrontations.
+
+Dietary habits
+The brown bear is one of the most omnivorous animals in the world and has been recorded as consuming the greatest variety of foods of any bear. Throughout life, this species is regularly curious about the potential of eating virtually any organism or object that they encounter. Food that is both abundant and easily accessed or caught is preferred. Their jaw structure has evolved to fit their dietary habits. Their diet varies enormously throughout their differing areas based on opportunity.
+Despite their reputation, most brown bears are not highly carnivorous, as they derive up to 90% of their dietary food energy from vegetable matter. They often feed on a variety of plant life, including berries, grasses, flowers, acorns and pine cones, as well as fungi such as mushrooms. Among all bears, brown bears are uniquely equipped to dig for tough foods such as roots, bulbs and shoots. They use their long, strong claws to dig out earth to reach the roots and their powerful jaws to bite through them. In spring, winter-provided carrion, grasses, shoots, sedges, moss and forbs are the dietary mainstays for brown bears internationally. Fruits, including berries, become increasingly important during summer and early autumn. Roots and bulbs become critical in autumn for some inland bear populations if fruit crops are poor. They will also commonly consume animal matter, which in summer and autumn may regularly be in the form of insects, larvae and grubs, including beehives. Bears in Yellowstone eat an enormous number of moths during the summer, sometimes as many as 40,000 Army cutworm moths in a single day, and may derive up to half of their annual food energy from these insects. Brown bears living near coastal regions will regularly eat crabs and clams. In Alaska, bears along the beaches of estuaries regularly dig through the sand for clams. This species may eat birds and their eggs, including almost entirely ground- or rock-nesting species. The diet may be supplemented by rodents or similar smallish mammals, including marmots, ground squirrels, mice, rats, lemmings and voles. With particular regularity, bears in Denali National Park will wait at burrows of Arctic ground squirrels hoping to pick off a few of the 1 kg (2.2 lb) rodents.In the Kamchatka peninsula and several parts of coastal Alaska, brown bears feed mostly on spawning salmon, whose nutrition and abundance explain the enormous size of the bears in these areas. The fishing techniques of bears are well-documented. They often congregate around falls when the salmon are forced to breach the water, at which point the bears will try to catch the fish in mid-air (often with their mouths). They will also wade into shallow waters, hoping to pin a slippery salmon with their claws. While they may eat almost all the parts of the fish, bears at the peak of spawning, when there is usually a glut of fish to feed on, may eat only the most nutrious parts of the salmon (including the eggs and head) and then indifferently leave the rest of the carcass to scavengers, which can include red foxes, bald eagles, common ravens and gulls. Despite their normally solitary habits, brown bears will gather rather closely in numbers at good spawning sites. The largest and most powerful males claim the most fruitful fishing spots and bears (especially males) will sometimes fight over the rights to a prime fishing spot.
+Beyond the regular predation of salmon, most brown bears are not particularly active predators. While perhaps a majority of bears of the species will charge at large prey at one point in their lives and most eat carrion, many predation attempts start with the bear clumsily and half-heartedly pursuing the prey and end with the prey escaping alive. On the other hand, some brown bears are quite self-assured predators who habitually pursue and catch large prey items. Such bears are usually taught how to hunt by their mothers from an early age. Large mammals preyed on can include various ungulate species such as elk, moose, caribou, muskoxen and wild boar. When brown bears attack these large animals, they usually target young or infirm ones, as they are easier to catch. Typically when hunting (especially with young prey), the bear pins its prey to the ground and then immediately tears and eats it alive. It will also bite or swipe some prey to stun it enough to knock it over for consumption. To pick out young or infirm individuals, bears will charge at herds so the slower-moving and more vulnerable individuals will be made apparent. Brown bears may also ambush young animals by finding them via scent. When emerging from hibernation, brown bears, whose broad paws allow them to walk over most ice and snow, may pursue large prey such as moose whose hooves cannot support them on encrusted snow. Similarly, predatory attacks on large prey sometimes occur at riverbeds, when it is more difficult for the prey specimen to run away due to muddy or slippery soil. On rare occasions, while confronting fully-grown, dangerous prey, bears kill them by hitting with their powerful forearms, which can break the necks and backs of large creatures such as adult moose and adult bison. They also feed on carrion, and use their size to intimidate other predators, such as wolves, cougars, tigers, and American black bears from their kills. Carrion is especially important in the early spring (when the bears are emerging from hibernation), much of it comprising winter-killed big game. Cannibalism is not unheard of, though predation is not normally believed to be the primary motivation when brown bears attack each other.When forced to live in close proximity with humans and their domesticated animals, bears may potentially predate any type of domestic animal. Among these, domestic cattle are sometimes exploited as prey. Cattle are bitten on the neck, back or head and then the abdominal cavity is opened for eating. Plants and fruit farmed by humans are readily consumed as well, including corn, wheat, sorghum, melons and any form of berries. They will also feed at domestic bee yards, readily consuming both honey and the brood (grubs and pupae) of the honey bee colony. Human foods and trash are eaten when possible. When an open garbage dump was kept in Yellowstone, brown bears were one of the most voracious and regular scavengers. The dump was closed after both brown and American black bears came to associate humans with food and lost their natural fear of them.
+
+Interspecific predatory relationships
+Adult bears are generally immune to predatory attacks except from large Siberian (Amur) tigers and other bears. Following a decrease of ungulate populations from 1944 to 1959, 32 cases of Siberian tigers attacking both Ussuri brown bears (Ursus arctos lasiotus) and Ussuri black bears (U. thibetanus ussuricus) were recorded in the Russian Far East, and hair of bears were found in several tiger scat samples. Tigers attack black bears less often than brown bears, since the black bears live in more open habitats and are not able to climb trees. In the same time period, four cases of brown bears killing female tigers and young cubs were reported, both in disputes over prey and in self-defense. Tigers mainly feed on the bear's fat deposits, such as the back, hams and groin.When Amur tigers prey on brown bears, they usually target young and sub-adult bears, besides small female adults taken outside their dens, generally when lethargic from hibernation. Predation by tigers on denned brown bears was not detected during a study carried between 1993 and 2002. Ussuri brown bears, along with the smaller black bears constitute 2.1% of the Siberian tiger's annual diet, of which 1.4% are brown bears.The effect the presence of tigers have on a brown bears behavior seems to vary. In the winters of 1970–1973, Yudakov and Nikolaev recorded two cases of bears showing no fear of tigers and another case of a brown bear changing path upon crossing tiger tracks. Other researchers have observed bears following tiger tracks to scavenge tiger kills and to potentially prey on tigers. Despite the threat of predation, some brown bears actually benefit from the presence of tigers by appropriating tiger kills that the bears may not be able to successfully hunt themselves. Brown bears generally prefer to contest the much smaller female tigers. During telemetry research in the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, 44 direct confrontations between bears and tigers were observed, in which bears (not just brown bears) in general were killed in 22 cases, and tigers in 12 cases. There are reports of brown bears specifically targeting Amur leopards and tigers to abstract their prey. In the Sikhote-Alin reserve, 35% of tiger kills were stolen by bears, with tigers either departing entirely or leaving part of the kill for the bear. Some studies show that bears frequently track down tigers to usurp their kills, with occasional fatal outcomes for the tiger. A report from 1973 describes twelve known cases of brown bears killing tigers, including adult males. In all cases, the tigers were subsequently eaten by the bears.Brown bears regularly intimidate wolves to drive them away from their kills. In Yellowstone National Park, bears pirate wolf kills so often, Yellowstone's Wolf Project director Doug Smith wrote, "It's not a matter of if the bears will come calling after a kill, but when." Despite the high animosity between the two species, most confrontations at kill sites or large carcasses end without bloodshed on either side. Though conflict over carcasses is common, on rare occasions, the two predators tolerate each other on the same kill. To date, there is a single case of fully-grown wolves being killed by a grizzly bear. Given the opportunity, however, both species will prey on the other's cubs. Conclusively, the individual power of the bear against the collective strength of the wolf pack usually results in a long battle for kills or domination.
+In some areas, grizzly bears also regularly displace cougars from their kills. Cougars kill small bear cubs on rare occasions, but there was one report of a bear killing a cougar of unknown age and condition between 1993 and 1996. Smaller carnivorous animals, including coyotes, wolverines, lynxes, and any other sympatric carnivores or raptorial birds, are dominated by grizzly bears and generally avoid direct interactions with them, unless attempting to steal scraps of food. However, wolverines have been persistent enough to fend off a grizzly bear as much as ten times their weight off a kill. There is one record of a golden eagle preying on a brown bear cub.Brown bears usually dominate other bear species in areas where they coexist. Due to their smaller size, American black bears are at a competitive disadvantage to grizzly bears in open, unforested areas. Although displacement of black bears by grizzly bears has been documented, actual interspecific killing of black bears by grizzlies has only occasionally been reported. Confrontation is mostly avoided due to the black bear's diurnal habits and preference for heavily forested areas, as opposed to the grizzly's largely nocturnal habits and preference for open spaces. Brown bears may also kill Asian black bears, though the latter species probably largely avoids conflicts with the brown bear, due to similar habits and habitat preferences to the American black species. They will eat the fruit dropped by the Asian black bear from trees, as they themselves are too large and cumbersome to climb.  Improbably, in the Himalayas Brown bears are reportedly intimidated by Asian black bears in confrontations.There has been a recent increase in interactions between brown bears and polar bears, theorized to be caused by climate change. Brown and grizzly bears have been seen moving increasingly northward into territories formerly claimed by polar bears. They tend to dominate polar bears in disputes over carcasses, and dead polar bear cubs have been found in brown bear dens.
+
+Longevity and mortality
+The brown bear has a naturally long life. Wild females have been observed reproducing up to 28 years of age, which is the oldest known age for reproduction of any ursid in the wild. The peak reproductive age for females ranges from four to 20 years old. The lifespan of brown bears of both sexes within minimally hunted populations is estimated at an average of 25 years. The oldest wild brown bear on record was nearly 37 years old. The oldest recorded female in captivity was nearly 40 years old, while males in captivity have been verified to live up to 47 years, with one captive male possibly attaining 50 years of age.While male bears potentially live longer in captivity, female grizzly bears have a greater annual survival rate than males within wild populations per a study done in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Annual mortality for bears of any age is estimated at 10% in most protected areas; however, the average annual mortality rate rises to an estimated 38% in hunted populations. Around 13% to 44% of cubs die within their first year even in well-protected areas. Mortality rates of 75–100% among the cubs of any given year are not uncommon. Beyond predation by large predators including wolves, Siberian tigers and other brown bears, starvation and accidents also claim the lives of cubs. Studies have indicated that the most prevalent source of mortality for first-year cubs is malnutrition. By the second and third years of their lives, the annual mortality rate among cubs in the care of their mothers drops to 10-15%.Even in populations living in protected areas, humans are still the leading cause of mortality for brown bears. The largest amount of legalized brown bear hunting occurs in Canada, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Alaska. Hunting is unregulated in many areas within the range of the brown bear. Even where hunting is legally permitted, most biologists feel that the numbers hunted are excessive considering the low reproduction rate and sparse distribution of the species. Brown bears are also killed in collisions with automobiles, which is a significant cause of mortality in the United States and Europe.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Conflicts between bears and humans
+Brown bears usually avoid areas where extensive development or urbanization has occurred, unlike the smaller, more inoffensive American black bear which can adapt to peri-urban regions. Under many circumstances, extensive human development may cause brown bears to alter their home ranges. High road densities (both paved and gravel roads) are often associated with higher mortality, habitat avoidance and lower bear density. However, brown bears can easily lose their natural cautiousness upon being attracted to human-created food sources, such as garbage dumps, litter bins and dumpsters. Brown bears may even venture into human dwellings or barns in search of food as humans encroach on bear habitats. In other areas, such as Alaska, dumps may continue to be an attractant for brown bears. In different parts of their distribution, brown bears sometimes kill and eat domesticated animals. The saying "A fed bear is a dead bear" has come into use to popularize the idea that allowing a bear to scavenge human garbage, such as trash cans and campers' backpacks, pet food, or other food sources that draw the bear into contact with humans, can result in the bear's death. Results of a 2016 study performed in a southeastern British Columbian valley indicate that areas where attractive bear food and concentrated human settlements overlap, human-bear conflict can create an ecological trap resulting in a lower apparent survival rate for brown bears, as well as attracting additional bears and thereby causing overall population declines.When brown bears come to associate human activity with a "food reward", they are likely to continue to become emboldened; the likelihood of human-bear encounters increases, as they may return to the same location despite relocation. Relocation of the bear has been used to separate the bear from the human environment, but it does not address the problem of the bear's newly learned association of humans with food or the environmental situations which created the human-habituated bear. "Placing a bear in habitat used by other bears may lead to competition and social conflict, and result in the injury or death of the less dominant bear." Yellowstone National Park, a reserve located in the western United States, contains prime habitat for the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) and due to the enormous number of visitors, human-bear encounters are common. The scenic beauty of the area has led to an influx of people moving into the area. In addition, because there are so many bear relocations to the same remote areas of Yellowstone, and because male bears tend to dominate the center of the relocation zone, female bears tend to be pushed to the boundaries of the region and beyond. As a result, a large proportion of repeat offenders, bears that are killed for public safety, are females. This creates a further depressive effect on an already-endangered subspecies. The grizzly bear is officially described as "Threatened" in the U.S.. Although the problem is most significant with regard to grizzlies, these issues affect the other types of brown bears as well.In Europe, part of the problem lies with shepherds; over the past two centuries, many sheep and goat herders have gradually abandoned the more traditional practice of using dogs to guard flocks, which have concurrently grown larger. Typically, they allow the herds to graze freely over sizeable tracts of land. As brown bears reclaim parts of their range, they may eat livestock as sheep and goats are relatively easy for a bear to kill. In some cases, the shepherds shoot the bear, thinking their livelihood is under threat. Many are now better informed about the ample compensation available and will make a claim when they lose livestock to a bear. Another issue in several parts of their range in Europe is supplemental feeding stations where various kind of animal carrion is offered, which are set up mainly in Scandinavia and eastern Europe both to support the locally threatened species and so humans can enjoy watching bears that may otherwise prove evasive. Despite that most stations were cautiously set in remote areas far from human habitations, some brown bears in such areas have become conditioned to associate humans with food and become excessively bold "problem bears". Also, supplemental feeding appears to cause no decrease in livestock predation.
+
+Bear encounters and attacks
+Brown bears rarely attack humans on sight and usually avoid people. In Russia, it is estimated that 1 in 1,000 on-foot encounters with brown bears results in an attack. They are, however, unpredictable in temperament, and may attack if they are surprised or feel threatened. There are an average of two fatal attacks by bears per year in North America. In Scandinavia, there are only four known cases since 1902 of bear encounters which have resulted in death. The two most common causes for bear attack are surprise and curiosity. Some types of bears, such as polar bears, are more likely to attack humans when searching for food, while American black bears are much less likely to attack. Despite their boldness and potential for predation if the bear is hungry, polar bears rarely attack humans, because they are infrequently encountered in the Arctic sea. Aggressive behavior in brown bears is favored by numerous selection variables. Increased aggressiveness also assists female brown bears in better ensuring the survival of their young to reproductive age. Mothers defending cubs are the most prone to attacking, being responsible for 70% of brown bear-caused human fatalities in North America.Sows with cubs account for many attacks on humans by brown bears in North America. Habituated or food-conditioned bears can also be dangerous, as their long-term exposure to humans causes them to lose their natural shyness and, in some cases, to associate humans with food. Small parties of one or two people are more often attacked by brown bears than large groups, with only one known case of an attack on a group of six or more. In that instance, it is thought that due to surprise, the grizzly bear may not have recognized the size of the group. In the majority of attacks resulting in injury, brown bears precede the attack with a growl or huffing sound. In contrast to injuries caused by American black bears, which are usually minor, brown bear attacks more often tend to result in serious injury and, in some cases, death. Brown bears seem to confront humans as they would when fighting other bears: they rise up on their hind legs, and attempt to "disarm" their victims by biting and holding on to the lower jaw to avoid being bitten in turn. Due to the bears' enormous physical strength, even a single bite or swipe can be deadly as in tigers, with some human victims having had their heads completely crushed by a bear bite. Most attacks occur in the months of July, August and September, the time when the number of outdoor recreationalists, such as hikers or hunters, is higher. People who assert their presence through noises tend to be less vulnerable, as they alert bears to their presence. In direct confrontations, people who run are statistically more likely to be attacked than those who stand their ground. Violent encounters with brown bears usually last only a few minutes, though they can be prolonged if the victims fight back. In Alberta, two common behaviors by human hunters, imitating the calls of deer to attract them and carrying ungulate carcasses, seem to court aggressive behavior and lead to a higher rate of attack from grizzly bears.Attacks on humans are considered extremely rare in the former Soviet Union, though exceptions exist in districts where they are not as often pursued by hunters. East Siberian brown bears, for example, tend to be much bolder toward humans than their shyer and more frequently hunted European counterparts. The delineation in Eurasia between areas where aggressiveness of brown bears tends to increase is the Ural Mountains, although the brown bears of eastern Europe are somewhat more aggressive than those of western Europe. In 2008, a platinum mining compound in the Olyutorsky District of northern Kamchatka was besieged by a group of 30 bears, who killed two guards and prevented workers from leaving their homes. 10 people a year on average are killed by brown bears in Russia, more than all the other parts of the brown bear's international range combined, although Russia also holds more brown bears than all other parts of the world combined. In Scandinavia, only three fatal attacks were recorded in the 20th century.In Japan, a large brown bear nicknamed "Kesagake" (袈裟懸け, "kesa-style slasher") made history for causing the worst brown bear attack in Japanese history at Tomamae, Hokkaidō during numerous encounters during December 1915. It killed seven people and wounded three others (with possibly another three previous fatalities to its credit) before being gunned down after a large-scale beast-hunt. Today, there is still a shrine at Rokusensawa (六線沢), where the event took place in memory of the victims of the incident.Within Yellowstone National Park, injuries caused by grizzly attacks in developed areas averaged approximately once per year during the 1930s through to the 1950s, though it increased to four per year during the 1960s. They then decreased to one injury every two years during the 1970s. Between 1980 and 2002, there have been only two human injuries caused by grizzly bears in a developed area. Although grizzly attacks were rare in the backcountry before 1970, the number of attacks increased to an average of approximately one per year during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In Alberta, from 1960 to 1998, the number of attacks by grizzly bears ending in injury were nearly three times more common than attacks ending in injury by American black bears, despite the American black bear being an estimated 38 times more numerous in the province than the grizzly bear.
+
+History of defense from bears
+A study by U.S. and Canadian researchers has found bear spray to be more effective at stopping aggressive bear behavior than guns, working in 92% of studied incidents versus 67% for guns. Carrying pepper spray is highly recommended by many authorities when traveling in bear country; however, carrying two means of deterrent, one of which is a large caliber gun, is also advised. Solid shotgun slugs, or three buckshot rounds, or a pistol of .44 caliber or more is suggested if a heavy hunting rifle is not available. Guns remain a viable, last resort option to be used in defense of life from aggressive brown bears. Too often, people do not carry a proper caliber weapon to neutralize the bear. According to the Alaska Science Center, a 12-gauge shotgun with slugs has been the most effective weapon. There have been fewer injuries as a result of only carrying lethal loads in the shotgun, as opposed to deterrent rounds. State of Alaska Defense of Life or Property (DLP) laws require one to report the kill to the authorities and salvage the hide, skull and claws. A page at the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources website offers information about how to "select a gun that will stop a bear (12-gauge shotgun or .300 mag rifle)".Campers are often told to wear bright-colored red ribbons and bells and carry whistles to ward off bears. They are told to look for grizzly bear dung in camping areas and be careful to carry the bells and whistles in those areas. Grizzly bear dung is difficult to differentiate from American black bear dung, as diet is in a constant state of flux depending on the availability of seasonal food items. If a bear is killed near camp, the bear's carcass must be adequately disposed of, including entrails and blood, if possible. Failure to move the carcass has often resulted in it attracting other bears and further exacerbating a bad situation. Moving camps immediately is another recommended method.
+
+Culture
+Brown bears often figure into the literature of Europe and North America, in particular that which is written for children. "The Brown Bear of Norway" is a Scottish fairy tale telling the adventures of a girl who married a prince magically turned into a bear and who managed to get him back into a human form by the force of her love and after many trials and difficulties. With "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", a story from England, the Three Bears are usually depicted as brown bears. In German-speaking countries, children are often told the fairytale of "Snow White and Rose Red"; the handsome prince in this tale has been transfigured into a brown bear. In the United States, parents often read their preschool age children the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to teach them their colors and how they are associated with different animals.The Russian bear is a common national personification for Russia (as well as the former Soviet Union), despite the country having no officially-designated national animal. The brown bear is Finland's national animal.The grizzly bear is the state animal of Montana. The California golden bear is the state animal of California. Both animals are subspecies of the brown bear and the species was extirpated from the latter state.
+The coat of arms of Madrid depicts a bear reaching up into a madroño or strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) to eat some of its fruit, whereas the Swiss city of Bern's coat of arms also depicts a bear and the city's name is popularly thought to derive from the German word for bear. The brown bear is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 5 kuna coin, minted since 1993.
+The Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has a brown bear mascot named Berni. The Chicago National Football League (NFL) franchise is named the Bears, with no differentiation between American black and brown bears specified. The Boston National Hockey League (NHL) franchise is named the Bruins, a name for brown bears. The school mascot for Bob Jones University, Brown University, Cornell University, George Fox University, the University of Alberta, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Riverside, and numerous American high schools is the brown bear.
+In the town of Prats de Molló, in Vallespir, French Catalonia, a "bear festival" (festa de l'ós) is celebrated annually at the beginning of spring, in which the locals dress up as bears, cover themselves with soot or coal and oil and "attack" the onlookers, attempting to get everyone dirty. The festival ends with the ball de l'ós (bear dance).
+
+See also
+List of fatal bear attacks in North America
+Sankebetsu brown bear incident
+
+References
+Notes
+Bibliography
+Heptner V.G.; Sludskii, A.A. (1992). Mammals of the Soviet Union, Volume II, Part 2. Leiden u.a.: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-08876-4.
+Vaisfeld, M.A. and Chestin I. E., ed. (1993). Bears: Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Asian Black Bear. Distribution, ecology, use and protection (in Russian and English). Moscow: Nauka. ISBN 978-5020035676.
+
+External links
+
+Brown Bear profile from National Geographic
+Bear Hunting Altered Genetics More Than Ice Age Isolation
+Ancient Fossil Offers New Clues To Brown Bears Past
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diff --git a/data/animals/bullfrog.txt b/data/animals/bullfrog.txt
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+Bullfrog is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species.
+Examples of bullfrogs include:
+
+Frog species
+America
+Helmeted water toad (Calyptocephalella gayi), endemic to Chile
+American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), indigenous to North America
+Cane toad (Rhinella marina), a toad indigenous to Central and South America, called 'bullfrog' in the Philippines
+
+Australia
+Limnodynastes dorsalis, found in Southwest Australia
+Limnodynastes dumerilii, found in Eastern Australia
+Giant banjo frog (Limnodynastes interioris), found in Eastern Australia
+
+Africa
+African bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus), found in central and southern Africa
+Calabresi's bullfrog (Pyxicephalus obbianus), found in Somalia
+Crowned bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus occipitalis), found in much of Africa
+Edible bullfrog (Pyxicephalus edulis), found in much of Africa
+
+Asia
+Banded bullfrog (Kaloula pulchra), found in Southeast Asia
+Chinese edible frog (Hoplobatrachus rugulosus) or East Asian Bullfrog, found in China and Southeast Asia
+Hoplobatrachus crassus or Jerdon's bullfrog, found in India
+Hoplobatrachus tigerinus or Indus Valley bullfrog, found in Pakistan and North India
+
+See also
+Bullfrog (disambiguation)
+Frog (disambiguation)
+Cane toads (disambiguation)
+Toad (disambiguation)
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diff --git a/data/animals/cairn.txt b/data/animals/cairn.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/cairn.txt
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+A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn [ˈkʰaːrˠn̪ˠ] (plural càirn [ˈkʰaːrˠɲ]).Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, they were raised as markers, as memorials and as burial monuments (some of which contained chambers). 
+In the modern era, cairns are often raised as landmarks, especially to mark the summits of mountains. Cairns are also used as trail markers. They vary in size from small stone markers to entire artificial hills, and in complexity from loose conical rock piles to elaborate megalithic structures. Cairns may be painted or otherwise decorated, whether for increased visibility or for religious reasons.
+A variant is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America.
+
+History
+Europe
+The building of cairns for various purposes goes back into prehistory in Eurasia, ranging in size from small rock sculptures to substantial human-made hills of stone (some built on top of larger, natural hills). The latter are often relatively massive Bronze Age or earlier structures which, like kistvaens and dolmens, frequently contain burials; they are comparable to tumuli (kurgans), but of stone construction instead of earthworks. Cairn originally could more broadly refer to various types of hills and natural stone piles, but today is used exclusively of artificial ones.
+
+Ireland and Britain
+The word cairn derives from Scots cairn (with the same meaning), in turn from Scottish Gaelic càrn, which is essentially the same as the corresponding words in other native Celtic languages of Britain, Ireland and Brittany, including Welsh carn (and carnedd), Breton karn, Irish carn, and Cornish karn or carn. Cornwall (Kernow) itself may actually be named after the cairns that dot its landscape, such as Cornwall's highest point, Brown Willy Summit Cairn, a 5 m (16 ft) high and 24 m (79 ft) diameter mound atop Brown Willy hill in Bodmin Moor, an area with many ancient cairns. Burial cairns and other megaliths are the subject of a variety of legends and folklore throughout Britain and Ireland. In Scotland, it is traditional to carry a stone up from the bottom of a hill to place on a cairn at its top. In such a fashion, cairns would grow ever larger. An old Scottish Gaelic blessing is Cuiridh mi clach air do chàrn, "I'll put a stone on your cairn". In Highland folklore it is recounted that before Highland clans fought in a battle, each man would place a stone in a pile. Those who survived the battle returned and removed a stone from the pile. The stones that remained were built into a cairn to honour the dead. Cairns in the region were also put to vital practical use. For example, Dún Aonghasa, an all-stone Iron Age Irish hill fort on Inishmore in the Aran Islands, is still surrounded by small cairns and strategically placed jutting rocks, used collectively as an alternative to defensive earthworks because of the karst landscape's lack of soil. In February 2020, ancient cairns dated back to 4,500 year-old used to bury the leaders or chieftains of neolithic tribes people were revealed in the Cwmcelyn in Blaenau Gwent by the Aberystruth Archaeological Society.
+
+Scandinavia and Iceland
+In Scandinavia, cairns have been used for centuries as trail and sea marks, among other purposes, the most notable being the Three-Country Cairn. In Iceland, cairns were often used as markers along the numerous single-file roads or paths that crisscrossed the island; many of these ancient cairns are still standing, although the paths have disappeared. In Norse Greenland, cairns were used as a hunting implement, a game-driving "lane", used to direct reindeer towards a game jump.
+
+Greece and the Balkans
+In the mythology of ancient Greece, cairns were associated with Hermes, the god of overland travel. According to one legend, Hermes was put on trial by Hera for slaying her favorite servant, the monster Argus. All of the other gods acted as a jury, and as a way of declaring their verdict they were given pebbles, and told to throw them at whichever person they deemed to be in the right, Hermes or Hera. Hermes argued so skillfully that he ended up buried under a heap of pebbles, and this was the first cairn.
+In Croatia, in areas of ancient Dalmatia, such as Herzegovina and the Krajina, they are known as gromila.
+
+Portugal
+In Portugal a cairn is called a moledro. In a legend the moledros are enchanted soldiers, and if one stone is taken from the pile and put under a pillow, in the morning a soldier will appear for a brief moment, then will change back to a stone and magically return to the pile. The cairns that mark the place where someone died or cover the graves alongside the roads where in the past people were buried are called Fiéis de Deus. The same name given to the stones was given to the dead whose identity was unknown.
+
+North and northeast Africa
+Cairns (taalo) are a common feature at El Ayo, Haylan, Qa'ableh, Qombo'ul, Heis, Salweyn and Gelweita, among other places. Somaliland in general is home to a lot of such historical settlements and archaeological sites wherein are found numerous ancient ruins and buildings, many of obscure origins. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.Since Neolithic times, the climate of North Africa has become drier. A reminder of the desertification of the area is provided by megalithic remains, which occur in a great variety of forms and in vast numbers in presently arid and uninhabitable wastelands: cairns (kerkour), dolmens and circles like Stonehenge, underground cells excavated in rock, barrows topped with huge slabs, and step pyramid-like mounds.
+
+Middle East
+The Biblical place name Gilead (Genesis 31 etc.) means literally "heap of testimony/evidence" as does its Aramaic translation (ibid.) Yegar Sahaduta. In modern Hebrew, gal-'ed (גל-עד) is the actual word for "cairn". In Genesis 31 the cairn of Gilead was set up as a border demarcation between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban at their last meeting.
+
+Asia and the Pacific
+Starting in the Bronze Age, burial cists were sometimes interred into cairns, which would be situated in conspicuous positions, often on the skyline above the village of the deceased. Though most often found in the British Isles, evidence of Bronze Age cists have been found in Mongolia. The stones may have been thought to deter grave robbers and scavengers. Another explanation is that they were to stop the dead from rising. There remains a Jewish tradition of placing small stones on a person's grave as a token of respect, known as visitation stones, though this is generally to relate the longevity of stone to the eternal nature of the soul and is not usually done in a cairn fashion. Stupas in India and Tibet probably started out in a similar fashion, although they now generally contain the ashes of a Buddhist saint or lama.A traditional and often decorated, heap-formed cairn called an ovoo is made in Mongolia. It primarily serves religious purposes, and finds use in both Tengriist and Buddhist ceremonies. Ovoos were also often used as landmarks and meeting points in traditional nomadic Mongolian culture. Traditional ceremonies still take place at ovoos today, and in a survey conducted, 75 participants out of 144 participants stated that they believe in ovoo ceremonies. However, mining and other industrial operations today threaten the ovoosIn Hawaii, cairns, called by the Hawaiian word ahu, are still being built today. Though in other cultures the cairns were typically used as trail markers and sometimes funerary sites, the ancient Hawaiians also used them as altars or security tower. The Hawaiian people are still building these cairns today, using them as the focal points for ceremonies honoring their ancestors and spirituality.In South Korea cairns are quite prevalent, often found along roadsides and trails, up on mountain peaks, and adjacent to Buddhist temples. Hikers frequently add stones to existing cairns trying to get just one more on top of the pile, to bring good luck. This tradition has its roots in the worship of San-shin, or Mountain Spirit, so often still revered in Korean culture.
+
+The Americas
+Throughout what today are the continental United States and Canada, some Indigenous peoples of the Americas have built structures similar to cairns. In some cases these are general trail markers, and in other cases they mark game-driving "lanes", such as those leading to buffalo jumps.Peoples from some of the Indigenous cultures of arctic North America (i.e. northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland) have built carefully constructed stone sculptures called inuksuit and inunnguat, which serve as landmarks and directional markers. The oldest of these structures are very old and pre-date contact with Europeans. They are iconic of the region (an inuksuk even features on the flag of the Canadian far-northeastern territory, Nunavut).Cairns have been used throughout what is now Latin America, since pre-Columbian times, to mark trails. Even today, in the Andes of South America, the Quechuan peoples build cairns as part of their spiritual and religious traditions.
+
+Modern cairns
+Cairn can be used to mark hiking trails, especially in mountain regions at or above the tree line. Examples can be seen in the lava fields of Volcanoes National Park to mark several hikes. Placed at regular intervals, a series of cairns can be used to indicate a path across stony or barren terrain, even across glaciers. In Acadia National Park, in Maine, the trails are marked by a special type of cairn instituted in the 1890s by Waldron Bates and dubbed Bates cairns.
+
+Sea cairns
+Coastal cairns called sea marks are also common in the northern latitudes, especially in the island-strewn waters of Scandinavia and eastern Canada. They are placed along shores and on islands and islets. Usually painted white for improved offshore visibility, they serve as navigation aids. In Sweden they are called kummel, in Finland kummeli, in Norway varde, and are indicated in navigation charts and maintained as part of the nautical marking system.
+
+Other types
+Chambered cairn
+Clava cairn
+Clearance cairn
+Court cairn
+Pyramid
+Ring cairn
+Stupa
+Tumulus
+Unchambered long cairn
+
+See also
+References
+This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cairn". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
+
+External links
+
+Notes on Building a Cairn (PDF), by Dave Goulder for the DSWA, Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. Practical notes to help those embarking on a cairn-building project.
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diff --git a/data/animals/capuchin.txt b/data/animals/capuchin.txt
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+The ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well adapted to disturbed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
+The species is known by variety of different names, such as ring-tailed cat, miner's cat, civet cat, and cacomistle (or cacomixtle), though the last of these can refer to B. sumichrasti.The ringtail is the state mammal of Arizona.
+
+Description
+The ringtail is black to dark brown in color with pale underparts. The animal has a pointed muzzle with long whiskers, similar to that of a fox (its Latin name means ‘clever little fox’) and its body resembles that of a cat. The ringtail's face resembles a mask as dark brown and black hair surround its eyes.
+These animals are characterized by a long black and white "ringed" tail with 14–16 stripes, which is about the same length as its body.
+Ringtails are primarily nocturnal, with large eyes and upright ears that make it easier for them to navigate and forage in the dark. An adept climber, it uses its long tail for balance. The rings on its tail can also act as a distraction for predators. The white rings act as a target, so when the tail rather than the body is caught, the ringtail has a greater chance of escaping.The claws are short, straight, and semi-retractable, well-suited for climbing.Smaller than a house cat, it is one of the smallest extant procyonids (only the smallest in the olingo species group average smaller). Its body alone measures 30–42 cm (12–17 in) and its tail averages 31–44 cm (12–17 in) from its base. It typically weighs around 0.7 to 1.5 kg (1.5 to 3.3 lb).
+Its dental formula is 3.1.4.23.1.4.2 = 40.The ankle joint is flexible and is able to rotate over 180 degrees, making the animal an agile climber. The long tail provides balance for negotiating narrow ledges and limbs, even allowing individuals to reverse directions by performing a cartwheel. Ringtails also can ascend narrow passages by stemming (pressing all feet on one wall and their back against the other or pressing both right feet on one wall and both left feet on the other), and wider cracks or openings by ricocheting between the walls.As adults, these mammals lead solitary lives, generally coming together only to mate. A typical call is a very loud, plaintive bark. They produce a variety of sounds, including clicks and chatters reminiscent of raccoons.
+Ringtails have been reported to exhibit fecal marking behavior as a form of intraspecific communication to define territory boundaries or attract potential mates. It has been suggested that ringtails use feces as a way to mark territory. In 2003, a study in Mexico City found that ringtails tended to defecate in similar areas in a seemingly nonrandom pattern, mimicking that of other carnivores that utilized excretions to mark territories.Ringtails prefer a solitary existence but may share a den or be found mutually grooming one another. They exhibit limited interaction except during the breeding season, which occurs in the early spring. Ringtails can survive for long periods on water derived from food alone, and have urine which is more concentrated than any other mammal studied, an adaptation that allows for maximum water retention.
+
+Reproduction
+Ringtails mate in the spring. The gestation period is 45–50 days, during which the male will procure food for the female. There will be 2–4 kits in a litter. The cubs open their eyes after one month, and will hunt for themselves after four months. They reach sexual maturity at 10 months. The ringtail's lifespan in the wild is about seven years.
+
+Range and habitat
+The ringtail is commonly found in rocky desert habitats, where it nests in the hollows of trees or abandoned wooden structures. It has been found throughout the Great Basin Desert, which stretches over several states (Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho, and Oregon) as well as the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, and the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico, Texas, and northern Mexico. The ringtail also prefers rocky habitats associated with water, such as the riparian canyons, caves, or mine shafts.In areas with a bountiful source of water, as many as 50 ringtails/sq. mile (20/km2) have been found. Ranging from 50 to 100 acres (20 to 40 ha), the territories of male ringtails occasionally intersect with several females.The ringtail is found in the southwestern United States in southern Oregon, California, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma,  Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, southern Nevada, Utah, Louisiana and Texas. In Mexico it ranges from the northern desert state of Baja California to Oaxaca. Its distribution overlaps that of B. sumichrasti in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.Fossils assigned to B. astutus dating back to the early Pliocene epoch have been found as far north as Washington.
+
+Diet
+Small vertebrates such as passerine birds, rats, mice, squirrels, rabbits, snakes, lizards, frogs, and toads are the most important foods during winters. However, the ringtail is omnivorous, as are all procyonids. Berries and insects are important in the diet year-round, and become the primary part of the diet in spring and summer, along with other fruit.As an omnivore the ringtail enjoys a variety of foods in its diet, the majority of which is made up of animal matter. Insects and small mammals such as rabbits, mice, rats and ground squirrels are some examples of the ringtail's carnivorous tendencies. Occasionally the ringtail will also eat fish, lizards, birds, snakes and carrion. The ringtail also enjoys juniper, hack and black berries, persimmon, prickly pear, and fruit in general. They have even been observed partaking from birdseed feeders, hummingbird feeders, sweet nectar or sweetened water.The results of a study of scat from ringtails on Isla San José, Baja California Sur, showed that the ringtail tended to prey on whatever was most abundant during each respective season. During the spring the ringtail's diet consisted largely of insects, showing up in about 50% of the analyzed feces. Small rodents, snakes, and some lizards were also present. Plant matter was presented in large amounts, around 59% of the collected feces contained some type of plant, with fruits of Phaulothamnus, Lycium, and Solanum most common. The large amount of ironwood seeds and leaves demonstrated that these fleshy fruits were an obvious favorite of the ringtail.
+
+Ecology
+Foxes, coyotes, raccoons, bobcats, hawks, and owls opportunistically prey upon ringtails of all ages, though predominantly on younger, more vulnerable specimens. Also occasional prey to coatis, lynxes, and mountain lions, the ringtail is rather adept at avoiding predators. The ringtail's success in deterring potential predators is largely attributed to its ability to excrete musk when startled or threatened. The main predators of the ringtail are the great horned owl and the red-tailed hawk.Ringtails have occasionally been hunted for their pelts, but the fur is not especially valuable. Fur trapping has slowed down considerably, but current population sizes and growth rates remain unclear.
+
+Tameability
+Ringtail are said to be easily tamed / habituated to humans, and can make an affectionate pet and effective mouser. Miners and settlers once kept pet ringtails to keep their cabins free of vermin; hence, the common name of "miner's cat".
+
+References
+Further reading
+Nowak, R.M., ed. (2005). Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8032-7.
+
+External links
+
+"Bassariscus astutus". Animal Diversity Web.
+"Bassariscus astutus". National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Institution. North American Mammals. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018.
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diff --git a/data/animals/chambered nautilus.txt b/data/animals/chambered nautilus.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/chambered nautilus.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+The chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it is not a golden spiral. The shell exhibits countershading, being light on the bottom and dark on top. This is to help avoid predators, because when seen from above, it blends in with the darkness of the sea, and when seen from below, it blends in with the light coming from above.
+The range of the chambered nautilus encompasses much of the south Pacific; It has been found near reefs and on the seafloor off of the coasts of Australia, Japan, and Micronesia.The eyes of the chambered nautilus, like those of all Nautilus species, are more primitive than those of most other cephalopods; the eye has no lens and thus is comparable to a pinhole camera. The species has about 90 cirri (referred to as "tentacles"; see Nautilus § Cirri) that do not have suckers, differing significantly from the limbs of coleoids. Chambered nautiluses, again like all members of the genus, have a pair of rhinophores located near each eye which detect chemicals, and use olfaction and chemotaxis to find their food.The oldest fossils of the species are known from Early Pleistocene sediments deposited off the coast of Luzon in the Philippines.
+Although once thought to be a living fossil, the chambered nautilus is now considered taxonomically very different from ancient ammonites, and the recent fossil record surrounding the species shows more genetic diversity among nautiluses now than has been found since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Indeed, the taxon of the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius, is actually a grouping of tens of different species of nautilus under one name.All nautilus species are threatened due to overfishing for their shell, which primarily is used for jewelry and other ornamental artifacts. In 2016, they were moved to CITES Appendix II, which restricts international trade, and later the chambered nautilus was recognized as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
+
+Life cycle
+Because of their oceanic habitat, studies of their life cycle have primarily been based on captive animals and their eggs have never been seen in the wild. Although nautilus have been kept at public aquariums since the 1950s, the chambered nautilus was first bred in captivity at the Waikiki Aquarium in 1995 (a couple of other nautilus species had been bred earlier) and captive breeding remains a rare event even today. Unlike most cephalopods, the nautilus lacks a larval stage. The eggs are laid in crevices or between corals by the female. The nautilus shell of the young develops inside the egg and breaches the top of the egg before the nautilus fully emerges. Depending on water temperature, the eggs hatch after between 9 and 15 months. In 2017, it was bred at Monterey Bay Aquarium, which managed to film the young emerging from the egg. Like other nautilus but unlike most other cephalopods, chambered nautilus are relatively long-lived and only reach maturity when about 5 years old.
+
+Diet
+As a carnivore, it feeds on both underwater carrion and detritus, as well as living shellfish and crab. Mainly scavengers, chambered nautiluses have been described as eating "anything that smells". This food is stored in a stomach-like organ known as a crop, which can store food for a great deal of time without it denaturing.
+
+Subspecies
+Two subspecies of N. pompilius have been described: N. p. pompilius and N. p. suluensis.
+N. p. pompilius is by far the most common and widespread of all nautiluses. It is sometimes called the emperor nautilus due to its large size. The distribution of N. p. pompilius covers the Andaman Sea east to Fiji and southern Japan south to the Great Barrier Reef. Exceptionally large specimens with shell diameters up to 254 mm (10.0 in) have been recorded from Indonesia and northern Australia. This giant form was described as Nautilus repertus, but most scientists do not consider it a separate species.
+N. p. suluensis is a much smaller animal, restricted to the Sulu Sea in the southwestern Philippines, after which it is named. The largest known specimen measured 160 mm in shell diameter.
+
+Shell geometry
+The chambered nautilus is often used as an example of the golden spiral. While nautiluses show logarithmic spirals, their ratios range from about 1.24 to 1.43, with an average ratio of about 1.33 to 1. The golden spiral's ratio is 1.618. This is visible when the cut nautilus is inspected.
+
+Shell function
+The shell of the chambered nautilus fulfills the function of buoyancy, which allows the nautilus to dive or ascend at will, by controlling the density and volume of the liquid within its shell chambers. This was found during research done in New Caledonia on nautiluses whose shell chamber fluid densities were tested at various depths, weeks apart. Generally speaking, chambered nautiluses inhabit a depth around 1000 feet, although further tests demonstrated that they can, and do, dive deeper. However, there are hazards associated with extreme depth for the nautilus: the shells of chambered nautiluses slowly fill with water at such depths, and they are only capable of withstanding depths up to 2000 feet before imploding due to pressure.The chambered nautilus inhabits different segments of the shell as it grows, continuously growing new, larger "cells" into which it moves its internal organs as it grows in maturity. All of the smaller chambers, once uninhabited, are used in the method described above to regulate depth.
+
+In literature and art
+Nautilus shells were popular items in the Renaissance cabinet of curiosities and were often mounted by goldsmiths on a thin stem to make extravagant nautilus shell cups, such as the Burghley Nef, mainly intended as decorations rather than for use. Small natural history collections were common in mid-19th-century Victorian homes, and chambered nautilus shells were popular decorations.
+The chambered nautilus is the title and subject of a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in which he admires the "ship of pearl" and the "silent toil/That spread his lustrous coil/Still, as the spiral grew/He left the past year's dwelling for the new." He finds in the mysterious life and death of the nautilus strong inspiration for his own life and spiritual growth. He concludes:
+
+A painting by Andrew Wyeth, entitled Chambered Nautilus, shows a woman in a canopied bed; the composition and proportions of the bed and the window behind it mirror those of a chambered nautilus lying on a nearby table.
+The popular Russian rock band Nautilus Pompilius (Russian: Наутилус Помпилиус) is named after the species.
+American composer and commentator Deems Taylor wrote a cantata entitled The Chambered Nautilus in 1916.
+
+References
+Citations
+General references
+Norman, M. (2000). Cephalopods: A World Guide. Hackenheim: ConchBooks. pp. 30–31.
+Pisor, D. L. (2005). Registry of World Record Size Shells (4th ed.). Snail's Pace Productions and ConchBooks. p. 93.
+Ward, Peter (1988). In Search of Nautilus: Three Centuries of Scientific Adventures in the Deep Pacific to Capture a Prehistoric, Living Fossil. New York: Simon and Schuster.
+Ward, Peter (April 2, 2008). "Chamber of Secrets". New Scientist.
+
+External links
+
+"CephBase: Chambered nautilus". Archived from the original on 2005-08-17. (Nautilus pompilius pompilius)
+"CephBase: Chambered nautilus". Archived from the original on 2005-08-17. (Nautilus pompilius suluensis)
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+The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat with a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Its head is small and rounded, with a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. It reaches 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in and 4 ft 11 in). Adults weigh between 21 and 72 kg (46 and 159 lb). It is the fastest land animal, capable of running at 80 to 98 km/h (50 to 61 mph); it has evolved specialized adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail.
+The cheetah was first described in the late 18th century. Four subspecies are recognised today that are native to Africa and central Iran. An African subspecies was introduced to India in 2022. It is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in northwestern, eastern and southern Africa and central Iran. It lives in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain ranges in the Sahara and hilly desert terrain.
+The cheetah lives in three main social groups: females and their cubs, male "coalitions", and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females. The cheetah is active during the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kg (88 lb), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles. The cheetah typically stalks its prey within 60–100 m (200–330 ft) before charging towards it, trips it during the chase and bites its throat to suffocate it to death. It breeds throughout the year. After a gestation of nearly three months, females give birth to a litter of three or four cubs. Cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to predation by other large carnivores. They are weaned at around four months and are independent by around 20 months of age.
+The cheetah is threatened by habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases. In 2016, the global cheetah population was estimated at 7,100 individuals in the wild; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It has been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation. It was tamed in ancient Egypt and trained for hunting ungulates in the Arabian Peninsula and India. It has been kept in zoos since the early 19th century.
+
+Etymology
+The vernacular name "cheetah" is derived from Hindustani Urdu: چیتا and Hindi: चीता (ćītā). This in turn comes from Sanskrit: चित्रय (Chitra-ya) meaning 'variegated', 'adorned' or 'painted'. In the past, the cheetah was often called "hunting leopard" because they could be tamed and used for coursing. The generic name Acinonyx probably derives from the combination of two Greek words: ἁκινητος (akinitos) meaning 'unmoved' or 'motionless', and ὄνυξ (onyx) meaning 'nail' or 'hoof'. A rough translation is "immobile nails", a reference to the cheetah's limited ability to retract its claws. A similar meaning can be obtained by the combination of the Greek prefix a– (implying a lack of) and κῑνέω (kīnéō) meaning 'to move' or 'to set in motion'. The specific name jubatus is Latin for 'crested, having a mane'.A few old generic names such as Cynailurus and Cynofelis allude to the similarities between the cheetah and canids.
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1777, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber described the cheetah based on a skin from the Cape of Good Hope and gave it the scientific name Felis jubatus. Joshua Brookes proposed the generic name Acinonyx in 1828. In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock placed the cheetah in a subfamily of its own, Acinonychinae, given its striking morphological resemblance to the greyhound and significant deviation from typical felid features; the cheetah was classified in Felinae in later taxonomic revisions.In the 19th and 20th centuries, several cheetah specimens were described; some were proposed as subspecies. An example is the South African specimen known as the "woolly cheetah", named for its notably dense fur—this was described as a new species (Felis lanea) by Philip Sclater in 1877, but the classification was mostly disputed. There has been considerable confusion in the nomenclature of cheetahs and leopards (Panthera pardus) as authors often confused the two; some considered "hunting leopards" an independent species, or equal to the leopard.
+
+Subspecies
+In 1975, five subspecies were considered valid taxa: A. j. hecki, A. j. jubatus, A. j. raineyi, A. j. soemmeringii and A. j. venaticus. In 2011, a phylogeographic study found minimal genetic variation between A. j. jubatus and A. j. raineyi; only four subspecies were identified. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and recognised these four subspecies as valid. Their details are tabulated below:
+
+Phylogeny and evolution
+The cheetah's closest relatives are the cougar (Puma concolor) and the jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi). Together, these three species form the Puma lineage, one of the eight lineages of the extant felids; the Puma lineage diverged from the rest 6.7 mya. The sister group of the Puma lineage is a clade of smaller Old World cats that includes the genera Felis, Otocolobus and Prionailurus.The oldest cheetah fossils, excavated in eastern and southern Africa, date to 3.5–3 mya; the earliest known specimen from South Africa is from the lowermost deposits of the Silberberg Grotto (Sterkfontein). Though incomplete, these fossils indicate forms larger but less cursorial than the modern cheetah. Fossil remains from Europe are limited to a few Middle Pleistocene specimens from Hundsheim (Austria) and Mosbach Sands (Germany). Cheetah-like cats are known from as late as 10,000 years ago from the Old World. The giant cheetah (A. pardinensis), significantly larger and slower compared to the modern cheetah, occurred in Eurasia and eastern and southern Africa in the Villafranchian period roughly 3.8–1.9 mya. In the Middle Pleistocene a smaller cheetah, A. intermedius, ranged from Europe to China. The modern cheetah appeared in Africa around 1.9 mya; its fossil record is restricted to Africa.Extinct North American cheetah-like cats had historically been classified in Felis, Puma or Acinonyx; two such species, F. studeri and F. trumani, were considered to be closer to the puma than the cheetah, despite their close similarities to the latter. Noting this, palaeontologist Daniel Adams proposed Miracinonyx, a new subgenus under Acinonyx, in 1979 for the North American cheetah-like cats; this was later elevated to genus rank. Adams pointed out that North American and Old World cheetah-like cats may have had a common ancestor, and Acinonyx might have originated in North America instead of Eurasia. However, subsequent research has shown that Miracinonyx is phylogenetically closer to the cougar than the cheetah; the similarities to cheetahs have been attributed to convergent evolution.The three species of the Puma lineage may have had a common ancestor during the Miocene (roughly 8.25 mya). Some suggest that North American cheetahs possibly migrated to Asia via the Bering Strait, then dispersed southward to Africa through Eurasia at least 100,000 years ago; some authors have expressed doubt over the occurrence of cheetah-like cats in North America, and instead suppose the modern cheetah to have evolved from Asian populations that eventually spread to Africa. The cheetah is thought to have experienced two population bottlenecks that greatly decreased the genetic variability in populations; one occurred about 100,000 years ago that has been correlated to migration from North America to Asia, and the second 10,000–12,000 years ago in Africa, possibly as part of the Late Pleistocene extinction event.
+
+Genetics
+The diploid number of chromosomes in the cheetah is 38, the same as in most other felids. The cheetah was the first felid observed to have unusually low genetic variability among individuals, which has led to poor breeding in captivity, increased spermatozoal defects, high juvenile mortality and increased susceptibility to diseases and infections. A prominent instance was the deadly feline coronavirus outbreak in a cheetah breeding facility of Oregon in 1983 which had a mortality rate of 60%—higher than that recorded for previous epizootics of feline infectious peritonitis in any felid. The remarkable homogeneity in cheetah genes has been demonstrated by experiments involving the major histocompatibility complex (MHC); unless the MHC genes are highly homogeneous in a population, skin grafts exchanged between a pair of unrelated individuals would be rejected. Skin grafts exchanged between unrelated cheetahs are accepted well and heal, as if their genetic makeup were the same.The low genetic diversity is thought to have been created by two population bottlenecks from c. 100,000 years and c. 12,000 years ago, respectively. The resultant level of genetic variation is around 0.1–4% of average living species, lower than that of Tasmanian devils, Virunga gorillas, Amur tigers, and even highly inbred domestic cats and dogs.
+
+King cheetah
+The king cheetah is a variety of cheetah with a rare mutation for cream-coloured fur marked with large, blotchy spots and three dark, wide stripes extending from the neck to the tail. In Manicaland, Zimbabwe, it was known as nsuifisi and thought to be a cross between a leopard and a hyena. In 1926 Major A. Cooper wrote about a cheetah-like animal he had shot near modern-day Harare, with fur as thick as that of a snow leopard and spots that merged to form stripes. He suggested it could be a cross between a leopard and a cheetah. As more such individuals were observed it was seen that they had non-retractable claws like the cheetah.In 1927, Pocock described these individuals as a new species by the name of Acinonyx rex ("king cheetah"). However, in the absence of proof to support his claim, he withdrew his proposal in 1939. Abel Chapman considered it a colour morph of the normally spotted cheetah. Since 1927 the king cheetah has been reported five more times in the wild in Zimbabwe, Botswana and northern Transvaal; one was photographed in 1975.In 1981, two female cheetahs that had mated with a wild male from Transvaal at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre (South Africa) gave birth to one king cheetah each; subsequently, more king cheetahs were born at the centre. In 2012, the cause of this coat pattern was found to be a mutation in the gene for transmembrane aminopeptidase  (Taqpep), the same gene responsible for the striped "mackerel" versus blotchy "classic" pattern seen in tabby cats. The appearance is caused by reinforcement of a recessive allele; hence if two mating cheetahs are heterozygous carriers of the mutated allele, a quarter of their offspring can be expected to be king cheetahs.
+
+Characteristics
+The cheetah is a lightly built, spotted cat characterised by a small rounded head, a short snout, black tear-like facial streaks, a deep chest, long thin legs and a long tail. Its slender, canine-like form is highly adapted for speed, and contrasts sharply with the robust build of the genus Panthera. Cheetahs typically reach 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in and 4 ft 11 in). The weight can vary with age, health, location, sex and subspecies; adults typically range between 21 and 72 kg (46 and 159 lb). Cubs born in the wild weigh 150–300 g (5.3–10.6 oz) at birth, while those born in captivity tend to be larger and weigh around 500 g (18 oz). Cheetahs are sexually dimorphic, with males larger and heavier than females, but not to the extent seen in other large cats. Studies differ significantly on morphological variations among the subspecies.The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff (darker in the mid-back portion). The chin, throat and underparts of the legs and the belly are white and devoid of markings. The rest of the body is covered with around 2,000 evenly spaced, oval or round solid black spots, each measuring roughly 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in). Each cheetah has a distinct pattern of spots which can be used to identify unique individuals. Besides the clearly visible spots, there are other faint, irregular black marks on the coat. Newly born cubs are covered in fur with an unclear pattern of spots that gives them a dark appearance—pale white above and nearly black on the underside. The hair is mostly short and often coarse, but the chest and the belly are covered in soft fur; the fur of king cheetahs has been reported to be silky. There is a short, rough mane, covering at least 8 cm (3.1 in) along the neck and the shoulders; this feature is more prominent in males. The mane starts out as a cape of long, loose blue to grey hair in juveniles. Melanistic cheetahs are rare and have been seen in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 1877–1878, Sclater described two partially albino specimens from South Africa.The head is small and more rounded compared to other big cats. Saharan cheetahs have canine-like slim faces. The ears are small, short and rounded; they are tawny at the base and on the edges and marked with black patches on the back. The eyes are set high and have round pupils. The whiskers, shorter and fewer than those of other felids, are fine and inconspicuous. The pronounced tear streaks (or malar stripes), unique to the cheetah, originate from the corners of the eyes and run down the nose to the mouth. The role of these streaks is not well understood—they may protect the eyes from the sun's glare (a helpful feature as the cheetah hunts mainly during the day), or they could be used to define facial expressions. The exceptionally long and muscular tail, with a bushy white tuft at the end, measures 60–80 cm (24–31 in). While the first two-thirds of the tail are covered in spots, the final third is marked with four to six dark rings or stripes.The cheetah is superficially similar to the leopard, which has a larger head, fully retractable claws, rosettes instead of spots, lacks tear streaks and is more muscular. Moreover, the cheetah is taller than the leopard. The serval also resembles the cheetah in physical build, but is significantly smaller, has a shorter tail and its spots fuse to form stripes on the back. The cheetah appears to have evolved convergently with canids in morphology and behaviour; it has canine-like features such as a relatively long snout, long legs, a deep chest, tough paw pads and blunt, semi-retractable claws. The cheetah has often been likened to the greyhound, as both have similar morphology and the ability to reach tremendous speeds in a shorter time than other mammals, but the cheetah can attain much higher maximum speeds.
+
+Internal anatomy
+Sharply contrasting with the other big cats in its morphology, the cheetah shows several specialized adaptations for prolonged chases to catch prey at some of the fastest speeds reached by land animals. Its light, streamlined body makes it well-suited to short, explosive bursts of speed, rapid acceleration, and an ability to execute extreme changes in direction while moving at high speed. The large nasal passages, accommodated well due to the smaller size of the canine teeth, ensure fast flow of sufficient air, and the enlarged heart and lungs allow the enrichment of blood with oxygen in a short time. This allows cheetahs to rapidly regain their stamina after a chase. During a typical chase, their respiratory rate increases from 60 to 150 breaths per minute. Moreover, the reduced viscosity of the blood at higher temperatures (common in frequently moving muscles) could ease blood flow and increase oxygen transport. While running, in addition to having good traction due to their semi-retractable claws, cheetahs use their tail as a rudder-like means of steering that enables them to make sharp turns, necessary to outflank antelopes which often change direction to escape during a chase. The protracted claws increase grip over the ground, while rough paw pads make the sprint more convenient over tough ground. The limbs of the cheetah are longer than what is typical for other cats its size; the thigh muscles are large, and the tibia and fibula are held close together making the lower legs less likely to rotate. This reduces the risk of losing balance during runs, but compromises the cat's ability to climb trees. The highly reduced clavicle is connected through ligaments to the scapula, whose pendulum-like motion increases the stride length and assists in shock absorption. The extension of the vertebral column can add as much as 76 cm (30 in) to the stride length.
+
+The cheetah resembles the smaller cats in cranial features, and in having a long and flexible spine, as opposed to the stiff and short one in other large felids. The roughly triangular skull has light, narrow bones and the sagittal crest is poorly developed, possibly to reduce weight and enhance speed. The mouth can not be opened as widely as in other cats given the shorter length of muscles between the jaw and the skull. A study suggested that the limited retraction of the cheetah's claws may result from the earlier truncation of the development of the middle phalanx bone in cheetahs.The cheetah has a total of 30 teeth; the dental formula is 3.1.3.13.1.2.1. The sharp, narrow carnassials are larger than those of leopards and lions, suggesting the cheetah can consume a larger amount of food in a given time period. The small, flat canines are used to bite the throat and suffocate the prey. A study gave the bite force quotient (BFQ) of the cheetah as 119, close to that for the lion (112), suggesting that adaptations for a lighter skull may not have reduced the power of the cheetah's bite. Unlike other cats, the cheetah's canines have no gap behind them when the jaws close, as the top and bottom cheek teeth show extensive overlap; this equips the upper and lower teeth to effectively tear through the meat. The slightly curved claws, shorter and straighter than those of other cats, lack a protective sheath and are partly retractable. The claws are blunt due to lack of protection, but the large and strongly curved dewclaw is remarkably sharp. Cheetahs have a high concentration of nerve cells arranged in a band in the centre of the eyes, a visual streak, the most efficient among felids. This significantly sharpens the vision and enables the cheetah to swiftly locate prey against the horizon. The cheetah is unable to roar due to the presence of a sharp-edged vocal fold within the larynx.
+
+Speed and acceleration
+The cheetah is the world's fastest land animal. Estimates of the maximum speed attained range from 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph). A commonly quoted value is 112 km/h (70 mph), recorded in 1957, but this measurement is disputed. In 2012, an 11-year-old cheetah from the Cincinnati Zoo set a world record by running 100 m (330 ft) in 5.95 seconds over a set run, recording a maximum speed of 98 km/h (61 mph).Cheetahs equipped with GPS collars hunted at speeds during most of the chase much lower than the highest recorded speed; their run was interspersed with a few short bursts of a few seconds when they attained peak speeds. The average speed recorded during the high speed phase was 53.64 km/h (33.3 mph), or within the range 41.4–65.88 km/h (25.7–40.9 mph) including error. The highest recorded value was 93.24 km/h (57.9 mph). A hunt consists of two phases, an initial fast acceleration phase when the cheetah tries to catch up with the prey, followed by slowing down as it closes in on it, the deceleration varying by the prey in question. The peak acceleration observed was 2.5 m/s (8.2 ft/s), while the peak deceleration value was 7.5 m/s (25 ft/s). Speed and acceleration values for a hunting cheetah may be different from those for a non-hunter because while engaged in the chase, the cheetah is more likely to be twisting and turning and may be running through vegetation. The speeds attained by the cheetah may be only slightly greater than those achieved by the pronghorn at 88.5 km/h (55.0 mph) and the springbok at 88 km/h (55 mph), but the cheetah additionally has an exceptional acceleration.One stride of a galloping cheetah measures 4 to 7 m (13 to 23 ft); the stride length and the number of jumps increases with speed. During more than half the duration of the sprint, the cheetah has all four limbs in the air, increasing the stride length. Running cheetahs can retain up to 90% of the heat generated during the chase. A 1973 study suggested the length of the sprint is limited by excessive build-up of body heat when the body temperature reaches 40–41 °C (104–106 °F). However, a 2013 study recorded the average temperature of cheetahs after hunts to be 38.6 °C (101.5 °F), suggesting high temperatures need not cause hunts to be abandoned.The running speed of 71 mph (114 km/h) of the cheetah was obtained as an result of a single run of one individual by dividing the distance traveled for time spent. The run lasted 2.25 seconds and was supposed to have been 73 m (240 ft) long, but was later found to have been 59 m (194 ft) long. It was therefore discredited for a faulty method of measurement.
+Cheetahs have subsequently been measured at running at a speed of 64 mph (103 km/h) as an average of three runs including in opposite direction, for a single individual, over a marked 200 m (220 yd) course, even starting the run 18 m (59 ft) behind the start line, starting the run already running on the course. Again dividing the distance by time, but this time to determine the maximum sustained speed, completing the runs in an average time of 7 seconds. Being a more accurate method of measurement, this test was made in 1965 but published in 1997.
+Subsequently with GPS-IMU collars, running speed was measured for wild cheetahs during hunts with turns and maneuvers, and the maximum speed recorded was 58 mph (93 km/h) sustained for 1–2 seconds. The speed was obtained by dividing the length by the time between footfalls of a stride. Cheetahs can go from 0 to 97 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in less than 3 seconds.There are indirect ways to realize how fast are cheetah running. One case is known of a cheetah that overtook a young male Pronghorn. Cheetahs can overtake a running antelope with head start of 140 m (150 yd). Both animals are assumed to be clocked at 80 km/h (50 mph) by speedometer reading when running alongside a vehicle at full gallop. Cheetahs can easily capture gazelles at full gallop, clocked at 70–80 km/h (43–50 mph).The physiological reasons for speed in cheetahs are:
+
+A tibia and radius longer than the femur and humerus (Femorotibial index: 105; Humeroradial index: 103.3).
+Small head and long lumbar region of the spine, 36.8 % of the presacral vertebral column.
+Elongated and slender long bones of the limbs in general (Especially tibia and radius), as well as the pelvis, specially the ischium.
+A cool nose and enlarged respiratory passages that allow it to inhale and exhale more air with each breath and helping to dissipate body heat.
+A higher concentration of fast-twich muscle fibers than other cats and animals in general.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+Cheetahs are active mainly during the day, whereas other carnivores such as leopards and lions are active mainly at night; These larger carnivores can kill cheetahs and steal their kills; hence, the diurnal tendency of cheetahs helps them avoid larger predators in areas where they are sympatric, such as the Okavango Delta. In areas where the cheetah is the major predator (such as farmlands in Botswana and Namibia), activity tends to increase at night. This may also happen in highly arid regions such as the Sahara, where daytime temperatures can reach 43 °C (109 °F). The lunar cycle can also influence the cheetah's routine—activity might increase on moonlit nights as prey can be sighted easily, though this comes with the danger of encountering larger predators. Hunting is the major activity throughout the day, with peaks during dawn and dusk. Groups rest in grassy clearings after dusk. Cheetahs often inspect their vicinity at observation points such as elevations to check for prey or larger carnivores; even while resting, they take turns at keeping a lookout.
+
+Social organisation
+Cheetahs have a flexible and complex social structure and tend to be more gregarious than several other cats (except the lion). Individuals typically avoid one another but are generally amicable; males may fight over territories or access to females in oestrus, and on rare occasions such fights can result in severe injury and death. Females are not social and have minimal interaction with other individuals, barring the interaction with males when they enter their territories or during the mating season. Some females, generally mother and offspring or siblings, may rest beside one another during the day. Females tend to lead a solitary life or live with offspring in undefended home ranges; young females often stay close to their mothers for life but young males leave their mother's range to live elsewhere.Some males are territorial, and group together for life, forming coalitions that collectively defend a territory which ensures maximum access to females—this is unlike the behaviour of the male lion who mates with a particular group (pride) of females. In most cases, a coalition will consist of brothers born in the same litter who stayed together after weaning, but biologically unrelated males are often allowed into the group; in the Serengeti 30% members in coalitions are unrelated males. If a cub is the only male in a litter he will typically join an existing group, or form a small group of solitary males with two or three other lone males who may or may not be territorial. In the Kalahari Desert around 40% of the males live in solitude.Males in a coalition are affectionate toward each other, grooming mutually and calling out if any member is lost; unrelated males may face some aversion in their initial days in the group. All males in the coalition typically have equal access to kills when the group hunts together, and possibly also to females who may enter their territory. A coalition generally has a greater chance of encountering and acquiring females for mating, however, its large membership demands greater resources than do solitary males. A 1987 study showed that solitary and grouped males have a nearly equal chance of coming across females, but the males in coalitions are notably healthier and have better chances of survival than their solitary counterparts.
+
+Home ranges and territories
+Unlike many other felids, among cheetahs, females tend to occupy larger areas compared to males. Females typically disperse over large areas in pursuit of prey, but they are less nomadic and roam in a smaller area if prey availability in the area is high. As such, the size of their home range depends on the distribution of prey in a region. In central Namibia, where most prey species are sparsely distributed, home ranges average 554–7,063 km2 (214–2,727 sq mi), whereas in the woodlands of the Phinda Game Reserve (South Africa), which have plentiful prey, home ranges are 34–157 km2 (13–61 sq mi) in size. Cheetahs can travel long stretches overland in search of food; a study in the Kalahari Desert recorded an average displacement of nearly 11 km (6.8 mi) every day and walking speeds ranged between 2.5 and 3.8 km/h (1.6 and 2.4 mph).Males are generally less nomadic than females; often males in coalitions (and sometimes solitary males staying far from coalitions) establish territories. Whether males settle in territories or disperse over large areas forming home ranges depends primarily on the movements of females. Territoriality is preferred only if females tend to be more sedentary, which is more feasible in areas with plenty of prey. Some males, called floaters, switch between territoriality and nomadism depending on the availability of females. A 1987 study showed territoriality depended on the size and age of males and the membership of the coalition. The ranges of floaters averaged 777 km2 (300 sq mi) in the Serengeti to 1,464 km2 (565 sq mi) in central Namibia. In the Kruger National Park (South Africa) territories were much smaller. A coalition of three males occupied a territory measuring 126 km2 (49 sq mi), and the territory of a solitary male measured 195 km2 (75 sq mi). When a female enters a territory, the males will surround her; if she tries to escape, the males will bite or snap at her. Generally, the female can not escape on her own; the males themselves leave after they lose interest in her. They may smell the spot she was sitting or lying on to determine if she was in oestrus.
+
+Communication
+The cheetah is a vocal felid with a broad repertoire of calls and sounds; the acoustic features and the use of many of these have been studied in detail. The vocal characteristics, such as the way they are produced, are often different from those of other cats. For instance, a study showed that exhalation is louder than inhalation in cheetahs, while no such distinction was observed in the domestic cat. Listed below are some commonly recorded vocalisations observed in cheetahs:
+
+Chirping: A chirp (or a "stutter-bark") is an intense bird-like call and lasts less than a second. Cheetahs chirp when they are excited, for instance, when gathered around a kill. Other uses include summoning concealed or lost cubs by the mother, or as a greeting or courtship between adults. The cheetah's chirp is similar to the soft roar of the lion, and its churr as the latter's loud roar. A similar but louder call ('yelp') can be heard from up to 2 km (1.2 mi) away; this call is typically used by mothers to locate lost cubs, or by cubs to find their mothers and siblings.
+Churring (or churtling): A churr is a shrill, staccato call that can last up to two seconds. Churring and chirping have been noted for their similarity to the soft and loud roars of the lion. It is produced in similar context as chirping, but a study of feeding cheetahs found chirping to be much more common.
+Purring: Similar to purring in domestic cats but much louder, it is produced when the cheetah is content, and as a form of greeting or when licking one another. It involves continuous sound production alternating between egressive and ingressive airstreams.
+Agonistic sounds: These include bleating, coughing, growling, hissing, meowing and moaning (or yowling). A bleat indicates distress, for instance when a cheetah confronts a predator that has stolen its kill. Growls, hisses and moans are accompanied by multiple, strong hits on the ground with the front paw, during which the cheetah may retreat by a few metres. A meow, though a versatile call, is typically associated with discomfort or irritation.
+Other vocalisations: Individuals can make a gurgling noise as part of a close, amicable interaction. A "nyam nyam" sound may be produced while eating. Apart from chirping, mothers can use a repeated "ihn ihn" is to gather cubs, and a "prr prr" is to guide them on a journey. A low-pitched alarm call is used to warn the cubs to stand still. Bickering cubs can let out a "whirr"—the pitch rises with the intensity of the quarrel and ends on a harsh note.Another major means of communication is by scent—the male will often investigate urine-marked places (territories or common landmarks) for a long time by crouching on his forelegs and carefully smelling the place. Then he will raise his tail and urinate on an elevated spot (such as a tree trunk, stump or rock); other observing individuals might repeat the ritual. Females may also show marking behaviour but less prominently than males do. Among females, those in oestrus will show maximum urine-marking, and their excrement can attract males from far off. In Botswana, cheetahs are frequently captured by ranchers to protect livestock by setting up traps in traditional marking spots; the calls of the trapped cheetah can attract more cheetahs to the place.Touch and visual cues are other ways of signalling in cheetahs. Social meetings involve mutual sniffing of the mouth, anus and genitals. Individuals will groom one another, lick each other's faces and rub cheeks. However, they seldom lean on or rub their flanks against each other. The tear streaks on the face can sharply define expressions at close range. Mothers probably use the alternate light and dark rings on the tail to signal their cubs to follow them.
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+Diet and hunting
+The cheetah is a carnivore that hunts small to medium-sized prey weighing 20 to 60 kg (44 to 132 lb), but mostly less than 40 kg (88 lb). Its primary prey are medium-sized ungulates. They are the major component of the diet in certain areas, such as Dama and Dorcas gazelles in the Sahara, impala in the eastern and southern African woodlands, springbok in the arid savannas to the south and Thomson's gazelle in the Serengeti. Smaller antelopes like the common duiker are frequent prey in the southern Kalahari. Larger ungulates are typically avoided, though nyala, whose males weigh around 120 kg (260 lb), were found to be the major prey in a study in the Phinda Game Reserve. In Namibia cheetahs are the major predators of livestock. The diet of the Asiatic cheetah consists of chinkara, desert hare, goitered gazelle, urial, wild goats and livestock; in India cheetahs used to prey mostly on blackbuck.Prey preferences and hunting success vary with the age, sex and number of cheetahs involved in the hunt and on the vigilance of the prey. Generally, only groups of cheetahs (coalitions or mother and cubs) will try to kill larger prey; mothers with cubs especially look out for larger prey and tend to be more successful than females without cubs. Individuals on the periphery of the prey herd are common targets; vigilant prey which would react quickly on seeing the cheetah are not preferred.Cheetahs are one of the most iconic pursuit predators, hunting primarily throughout the day, sometimes with peaks at dawn and dusk; they tend to avoid larger predators like the primarily nocturnal lion. Cheetahs in the Sahara and Maasai Mara in Kenya hunt after sunset to escape the high temperatures of the day. Cheetahs use their vision to hunt instead of their sense of smell; they keep a lookout for prey from resting sites or low branches. The cheetah will stalk its prey, trying to conceal itself in cover, and approach as close as possible, often within 60 to 70 m (200 to 230 ft) of the prey (or even closer for less alert prey). Alternatively the cheetah can lie hidden in cover and wait for the prey to come nearer. A stalking cheetah assumes a partially crouched posture, with the head lower than the shoulders; it will move slowly and be still at times. In areas of minimal cover, the cheetah will approach within 200 m (660 ft) of the prey and start the chase. The chase typically lasts a minute; in a 2013 study, the length of chases averaged 173 m (568 ft), and the longest run measured 559 m (1,834 ft). The cheetah can give up the chase if it is detected by the prey early or if it cannot make a kill quickly. Being lightly build, cheetahs lack the raw strength to tackle down the prey, and instead catch the prey by performing a kind of foot sweep by hitting the prey's leg or rump with the forepaw or using the strong dewclaw to knock the prey off its balance. Such tripping during a high-speed chase will cause the prey to fall down hard with much force that sometimes even breaks some of its limbs, and allow the cheetah to then pounce on the fallen and vulnerable prey.
+Cheetahs can decelerate dramatically towards the end of the hunt, slowing down from 93 km/h (58 mph) to 23 km/h (14 mph) in just three strides, and can easily follow any twists and turns the prey makes as it tries to flee. To kill medium- to large-sized prey, the cheetah bites the prey's throat to strangle it, maintaining the bite for around five minutes, within which the prey succumbs to asphyxiation and stops struggling. A bite on the nape of the neck or the snout (and sometimes on the skull) suffices to kill smaller prey. Cheetahs have an average hunting success rate of 25–40%, higher for smaller and more vulnerable prey.Once the hunt is over, the prey is taken near a bush or under a tree; the cheetah, highly exhausted after the chase, rests beside the kill and pants heavily for five to 55 minutes. Meanwhile, cheetahs nearby, who did not take part in the hunt, might feed on the kill immediately. Groups of cheetah devour the kill peacefully, though minor noises and snapping may be observed. Cheetahs can consume large quantities of food; a cheetah at the Etosha National Park (Namibia) was found to consume as much as 10 kg (22 lb) within two hours. However, on a daily basis, a cheetah feeds on around 4 kg (8.8 lb) meat. Cheetahs, especially mothers with cubs, remain cautious even as they eat, pausing to look around for fresh prey or for predators who may steal or even robs them of the kill.Cheetahs move their heads from side to side so the sharp carnassial teeth tear the flesh, which can then be swallowed without chewing. They typically begin with the hindquarters, and then progress toward the abdomen and the spine. Ribs are chewed on at the ends, and the limbs are not generally torn apart while eating. Unless the prey is very small, the skeleton is left almost intact after feeding on the meat. Cheetahs might lose 10–15% of their kills to large carnivores such as hyenas and lions (and grey wolves in Iran). To defend itself or its prey, a cheetah will hold its body low to the ground and snarl with its mouth wide open, the eyes staring threateningly ahead and the ears folded backward. This may be accompanied by moans, hisses and growls, and hitting the ground with the forepaws. Cheetahs have rarely been observed scavenging kills; this may be due to vultures and spotted hyena adroitly capturing and consuming heavy carcasses within a short time.
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+Reproduction and life cycle
+Cheetahs are induced ovulators and can breed throughout the year. Females can have their first litter at two to three years of age. Polyestrous, females have an oestrus ("heat") cycle is 12 days long on average, but it can vary from three days to a month. A female can conceive again after 17 to 20 months from giving birth, or even sooner if a whole litter is lost. Males can breed at less than two years of age in captivity, but this may be delayed in the wild until the male acquires a territory. A 2007 study showed that females who gave birth to more litters early in their life often died younger, indicating a trade-off between longevity and yearly reproductive success.Urine-marking in males can become more pronounced when a female in their vicinity comes into oestrus. Males, sometimes even those in coalitions, fight among one another to secure access to the female. Often one male will eventually win dominance over the others and mate with the female, though a female can mate with different males. Mating begins with the male approaching the female, who lies down on the ground; individuals often chirp, purr or yelp at this time. No courtship behaviour is observed; the male immediately secures hold of the female's nape, and copulation takes place. The pair then ignore each other, but meet and copulate a few more times three to five times a day for the next two to three days before finally parting ways.After a gestation of nearly three months, a litter of one to eight cubs is born (though those of three to four cubs are more common). Births take place at 20–25 minute intervals in a sheltered place such as thick vegetation. The eyes are shut at birth, and open in four to 11 days. Newborn cubs might spit a lot and make soft churring noises; they start walking by two weeks. Their nape, shoulders and back are thickly covered with long bluish-grey hair, called a mantle, which gives them a mohawk-type appearance; this fur is shed as the cheetah grows older. A study suggested that this mane gives a cheetah cub the appearance of a honey badger, and could act as camouflage from attacks by these badgers or predators that tend to avoid them.Compared to other felids, cheetah cubs are highly vulnerable to several predators during the first few weeks of their life. Mothers keep their cubs hidden in dense vegetation for the first two months and nurse in the early morning. The mother is extremely vigilant at this stage; she stays within 1 km (0.62 mi) of the lair, frequently visits her cubs, moves them every five to six days, and remains with them after dark. Despite trying to make minimal noise, she cannot generally defend her litter from predators. Predation is the leading cause of mortality in cheetah cubs; a study showed that in areas with a low density of predators (such as Namibian farmlands) around 70% of the cubs make it beyond the age of 14 months, whereas in areas like the Serengeti National Park, where several large carnivores exist, the survival rate was just 17%. Deaths also occur from starvation if their mothers abandon them, fires, or pneumonia because of exposure to bad weather. Generation length of the cheetah is six years.Cubs start coming out of the lair at two months of age, trailing after their mother wherever she goes. At this point the mother nurses less and brings solid food to the cubs; they retreat away from the carcass in fear initially, but gradually start eating it. The cubs might purr as the mother licks them clean after the meal. Weaning occurs at four to six months. To train her cubs in hunting, the mother will catch and let go of live prey in front of her cubs. Cubs' play behaviour includes chasing, crouching, pouncing and wrestling; there is plenty of agility, and attacks are seldom lethal. Playing can improve catching skills in cubs, though the ability to crouch and hide may not develop remarkably.Cubs as young as six months try to capture small prey like hares and young gazelles. However, they may have to wait until as long as 15 months of age to make a successful kill on their own. At around 20 months, offspring become independent; mothers might have conceived again by then. Siblings may remain together for a few more months before parting ways. While females stay close to their mothers, males move farther off. The lifespan of wild cheetahs is 14 to 15 years for females, and their reproductive cycle typically ends by 12 years of age; males generally live as long as ten years.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Cheetahs appear to be less selective in habitat choice than other felids and inhabit a variety of ecosystems; areas with greater availability of prey, good visibility and minimal chances of encountering larger predators are preferred. They seldom occur in tropical forests. Cheetahs have been reported at elevations as high as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). An open area with some cover, such as diffused bushes, is probably ideal for the cheetah because it needs to stalk and pursue its prey over a distance. This also minimises the risk of encountering larger carnivores. Unlike the big cats, the cheetah tends to occur in low densities typically between 0.3 and 3.0 adults per 100 km2 (39 sq mi)—these values are 10–30% of those reported for leopards and lions.Cheetahs in eastern and southern Africa occur mostly in savannas like the Kalahari and Serengeti. In central, northern and western Africa cheetahs inhabit arid mountain ranges and valleys; in the harsh climate of the Sahara, cheetahs prefer high mountains, which receive more rainfall than the surrounding desert. The vegetation and water resources in these mountains support antelopes. Iranian cheetahs occur in hilly terrain of deserts at elevations up to 2,000–3,000 m (6,600–9,800 ft), where annual precipitation is generally below 100 mm (3.9 in); the primary vegetation in these areas is thinly distributed shrubs, less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall.
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+Historical range
+In prehistoric times, the cheetah was distributed throughout Africa, Asia and Europe. It gradually fell to extinction in Europe, possibly because of competition with the lion. Today the cheetah has been extirpated in most of its historical range; the numbers of the Asiatic cheetah had begun plummeting since the late 1800s, long before the other subspecies started their decline. As of 2017, cheetahs occur in just nine per cent of their erstwhile range in Africa, mostly in unprotected areas.In the past until the mid-20th century, the cheetah ranged across vast stretches in Asia, from the Arabian Peninsula in the west to the Indian subcontinent in the east, and as far north as the Aral and Caspian Seas. A few centuries ago the cheetah was abundant in India, and its range coincided with the distribution of major prey like the blackbuck. However, its numbers in India plummeted from the 19th century onward; Divyabhanusinh of the Bombay Natural History Society notes that the last three individuals in the wild were killed by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh of Surguja (a man also noted for holding a record for shooting 1,360 tigers) in 1947. The last confirmed sighting in India was of a cheetah that drowned in a well near Hyderabad in 1957. In Iran there were around 400 cheetahs before World War II, distributed across deserts and steppes to the east and the borderlands with Iraq to the west; the numbers were falling because of a decline in prey. In Iraq, cheetahs were reported from Basra in the 1920s. Conservation efforts in the 1950s stabilised the population, but prey species declined again in the wake of the Iranian Revolution (1979) and the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), leading to a significant contraction of the cheetah's historical range in the region.The first survey of cheetah populations in Africa by Norman Myers in 1975 estimated a population of 15,000 individuals throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. The range covered most of eastern and southern Africa, except for the desert region on the western coast of modern-day Angola and Namibia. In the following years, as their natural habitat has been modified dramatically, cheetah populations across the region have become smaller and more fragmented.
+
+Present distribution
+The cheetah occurs mostly in eastern and southern Africa; its presence in Asia is limited to the central deserts of Iran, though there have been unconfirmed reports of sightings in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan in the last few decades. The global population of cheetahs was estimated at nearly 7,100 mature individuals in 2016. The Iranian population appears to have decreased from 60 to 100 individuals in 2007 to 43 in 2016, distributed in three subpopulations over less than 150,000 km2 (58,000 sq mi) in Iran's central plateau. The largest population of nearly 4,000 individuals is sparsely distributed over Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. Another population in Kenya and Tanzania comprises about 1,000 individuals. All other cheetahs occur in small, fragmented groups of less than 100 individuals each. Populations are feared to be declining.
+
+Threats
+The cheetah is threatened by several factors, like habitat loss and fragmentation of populations. Habitat loss is caused mainly by the introduction of commercial land use, such as agriculture and industry. It is further aggravated by ecological degradation, like bush encroachment, which is common in southern Africa. Moreover, the species apparently requires a sizeable area to live in as indicated by its low population densities. Shortage of prey and conflict with other species such as humans and large carnivores are other major threats. The cheetah appears to be less capable of coexisting with humans than the leopard. With 76% of its range consisting of unprotected land, the cheetah is often targeted by farmers and pastoralists who attempt to protect their livestock, especially in Namibia. Illegal wildlife trade and trafficking is another problem in some places (like Ethiopia). Some tribes, like the Maasai people in Tanzania, have been reported to use cheetah skins in ceremonies. Roadkill is another threat, especially in areas where roads have been constructed near natural habitat or protected areas. Cases of roadkill involving cheetahs have been reported from Kalmand, Touran National Park, and Bafq in Iran. The reduced genetic variability makes cheetahs more vulnerable to diseases; however, the threat posed by infectious diseases may be minor, given the low population densities and hence a reduced chance of infection.
+
+Conservation
+The cheetah has been classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN; it is listed under Appendix I of the CMS and Appendix I of CITES. The Endangered Species Act enlists the cheetah as Endangered.
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+In Africa
+Until the 1970s, cheetahs and other carnivores were frequently killed to protect livestock in Africa. Gradually the understanding of cheetah ecology increased and their falling numbers became a matter of concern. The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre was set up in 1971 in South Africa to provide care for wild cheetahs regularly trapped or injured by Namibian farmers. By 1987, the first major research project to outline cheetah conservation strategies was underway. The Cheetah Conservation Fund, founded in 1990 in Namibia, put efforts into field research and education about cheetahs on the global platform. The CCF runs a cheetah genetics laboratory, the only one of its kind, in Otjiwarongo (Namibia); "Bushblok" is an initiative to restore habitat systematically through targeted bush thinning and biomass utilisation. Several more cheetah-specific conservation programmes have since been established, like Cheetah Outreach in South Africa.The Global Cheetah Action Plan Workshop in 2002 laid emphasis on the need for a rangewide survey of wild cheetahs to demarcate areas for conservation efforts and on creating awareness through training programs. The Range Wide Conservation Program for Cheetah and African Wild Dogs (RWCP) began in 2007 as a joint initiative of the IUCN Cat and Canid Specialist Groups, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Zoological Society of London. National conservation plans have been developed successfully for several African countries. In 2014, the CITES Standing Committee recognised the cheetah as a "species of priority" in their strategies in northeastern Africa to counter wildlife trafficking. In December 2016 the results of an extensive survey detailing the distribution and demography of cheetahs throughout the range were published; the researchers recommended listing the cheetah as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.The cheetah was reintroduced in Malawi in 2017.
+
+In Asia
+In 2001, the Iranian government collaborated with the CCF, the IUCN, Panthera Corporation, UNDP and the Wildlife Conservation Society on the Conservation of Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) to protect the natural habitat of the Asiatic cheetah and its prey. In 2004, the Iranian Centre for Sustainable Development (CENESTA) conducted an international workshop to discuss conservation plans with local stakeholders. Iran declared 31 August as National Cheetah Day in 2006. The Iranian Cheetah Strategic Planning meet in 2010 formulated a five-year conservation plan for Asiatic cheetahs. The CACP Phase II was implemented in 2009, and the third phase was drafted in 2018.During the early 2000s scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Hyderabad) proposed a plan to clone Asiatic cheetahs from Iran for reintroduction in India, but Iran denied the proposal. In September 2009, the Minister of Environment and Forests assigned the Wildlife Trust of India and the Wildlife Institute of India with examining the potential of importing African cheetahs to India. Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary were suggested as reintroduction sites for the cheetah because of their high prey density. However, plans for reintroduction were stalled in May 2012 by the Supreme Court of India because of a political dispute and concerns over introducing a non-native species to the country. Opponents stated the plan was "not a case of intentional movement of an organism into a part of its native range". On 28 January 2020, the Supreme Court allowed the central government to introduce cheetahs to a suitable habitat in India on an experimental basis to see if they can adapt to it. In July 2022, it was announced that eight cheetahs would be transferred from Namibia to India in August. In 2020, India signed a memorandum of understanding with Namibia as part of Project Cheetah. Eight cheetahs have been donated by Namibia that will be introduced to the Kuno National Park. The eight cheetahs were released into Kuno on September 17, 2022, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
+
+Interaction with humans
+Taming
+The cheetah shows little aggression toward humans, and can be tamed easily, as it has been since antiquity. The earliest known depictions of the cheetah are from the Chauvet Cave in France, dating back to 32,000–26,000 BC. According to historians such as Heinz Friederichs and Burchard Brentjes, the cheetah was first tamed in Sumer and this gradually spread out to central and northern Africa, from where it reached India. The evidence for this is mainly pictorial; for instance, a Sumerian seal dating back to c. 3000 BC, featuring a long-legged leashed animal has fueled speculation that the cheetah was first tamed in Sumer. However, Thomas Allsen argues that the depicted animal might be a large dog. Other historians, such as Frederick Zeuner, have opined that ancient Egyptians were the first to tame the cheetah, from where it gradually spread into central Asia, Iran and India.In comparison, theories of the cheetah's taming in Egypt are stronger and include timelines proposed on this basis. Mafdet, one of the ancient Egyptian deities worshiped during the First Dynasty (3100–2900 BC), was sometimes depicted as a cheetah. Ancient Egyptians believed the spirits of deceased pharaohs were taken away by cheetahs. Reliefs in the Deir el-Bahari temple complex tell of an expedition by Egyptians to the Land of Punt during the reign of Hatshepsut (1507–1458 BC) that fetched, among other things, animals called "panthers". During the New Kingdom (16th to 11th centuries BC), cheetahs were common pets for royalty, who adorned them with ornate collars and leashes. The Egyptians would use their dogs to bring the concealed prey out in the open, after which a cheetah would be set upon it to kill it. Rock carvings depicting cheetahs dating back to 2000–6000 years ago have been found in Twyfelfontein; little else has been discovered in connection to the taming of cheetahs (or other cats) in southern Africa.Hunting cheetahs are known in pre-Islamic Arabic art from Yemen. Hunting with cheetahs became more prevalent toward the seventh century AD. In the Middle East, the cheetah would accompany the nobility to hunts in a special seat on the back of the saddle. Taming was an elaborate process and could take a year to complete. The Romans may have referred to the cheetah as the leopardos (λεοπάρδος) or leontopardos (λεοντόπαρδος), believing it to be a hybrid between a leopard and a lion because of the mantle seen in cheetah cubs and the difficulty of breeding them in captivity. A Roman hunting cheetah is depicted in a 4th century mosaic from Lod, Israel. Cheetahs continued to be used into the Byzantine period of the Roman empire, with "hunting leopards" being mentioned in the Cynegetica (283/284 AD).In eastern Asia, records are confusing as regional names for the leopard and the cheetah may be used interchangeably. The earliest depiction of cheetahs from eastern Asia dates back to the Tang dynasty (7th to 10th centuries AD); paintings depict tethered cheetahs and cheetahs mounted on horses. Chinese emperors would use cheetahs and caracals as gifts. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Yuan rulers bought numerous cheetahs from the western parts of the empire and from Muslim merchants. According to the Ming Shilu, the subsequent Ming dynasty (14th to 17th centuries) continued this practice. Tomb figurines from the Mongol empire, dating back to the reign of Kublai Khan (1260–1294 AD), represent cheetahs on horseback. The Mughal ruler Akbar the Great (1556–1605 AD) is said to have kept as many as 1000 khasa (imperial) cheetahs. His son Jahangir wrote in his memoirs, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, that only one of them gave birth. Mughal rulers trained cheetahs and caracals in a similar way as the western Asians, and used them to hunt game, especially blackbuck. The rampant hunting severely affected the populations of wild animals in India; by 1927, cheetahs had to be imported from Africa.
+
+In captivity
+The first cheetah to be brought into captivity in a zoo was at the Zoological Society of London in 1829. Early captive cheetahs showed a high mortality rate, with an average lifespan of 3–4 years. After trade of wild cheetahs was delimited by the enforcement of CITES in 1975, more efforts were put into breeding in captivity; in 2014 the number of captive cheetahs worldwide was estimated at 1730 individuals, with 87% born in captivity.Mortality under captivity is generally high; in 2014, 23% of the captive cheetahs worldwide died under one year of age, mostly within a month of birth. Deaths result from several reasons—stillbirths, birth defects, cannibalism, hypothermia, maternal neglect, and infectious diseases. Compared to other felids, cheetahs need specialised care because of their higher vulnerability to stress-induced diseases; this has been attributed to their low genetic variability and factors of captive life. Common diseases of cheetahs include feline herpesvirus, feline infectious peritonitis, gastroenteritis, glomerulosclerosis, leukoencephalopathy, myelopathy, nephrosclerosis and veno-occlusive disease. High density of cheetahs in a place, closeness to other large carnivores in enclosures, improper handling, exposure to public and frequent movement between zoos can be sources of stress for cheetahs. Recommended management practices for cheetahs include spacious and ample access to outdoors, stress minimisation by exercise and limited handling, and following proper hand-rearing protocols (especially for pregnant females).Wild cheetahs are far more successful breeders than captive cheetahs; this has also been linked to increased stress levels in captive individuals. In a study in the Serengeti, females were found to have a 95% success rate in breeding, compared to 20% recorded for North American captive cheetahs in another study. On 26 November 2017, a female cheetah gave birth to eight cubs in the Saint Louis Zoo, setting a record for the most births recorded by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Chances of successful mating in captive males can be improved by replicating social groups such as coalitions observed in the wild.
+
+Attacks on humans
+There are no documented records of lethal attacks on humans by wild cheetahs. However, there have been instances of people being fatally mauled by captive cheetahs. In 2007, a 37-year-old woman from Antwerp was killed by a cheetah in a Belgian zoo after sneaking into its cage outside of visiting hours. In 2017, a three-year-old child was attacked by a captive cheetah on a farm in Philippolis, South Africa. Despite being airlifted to a hospital in Bloemfontein, the boy succumbed to his injuries.
+
+In culture
+The cheetah has been widely portrayed in a variety of artistic works. In Bacchus and Ariadne, an oil painting by the 16th-century Italian painter Titian, the chariot of the Greek god Dionysus (Bacchus) is depicted as being drawn by two cheetahs. The cheetahs in the painting were previously considered to be leopards. In 1764, English painter George Stubbs commemorated the gifting of a cheetah to George III by the English Governor of Madras, Sir George Pigot in his painting Cheetah with Two Indian Attendants and a Stag. The painting depicts a cheetah, hooded and collared by two Indian servants, along with a stag it was supposed to prey upon. The 1896 painting The Caress by the 19th-century Belgian symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff is a representation of the myth of Oedipus and the Sphinx and portrays a creature with a woman's head and a cheetah's body.
+Two cheetahs are depicted standing upright and supporting a crown in the coat of arms of the Free State (South Africa).In 1969, Joy Adamson, of Born Free fame, wrote The Spotted Sphinx, a biography of her pet cheetah Pippa. Hussein, An Entertainment, a novel by Patrick O'Brian set in the British Raj period in India, illustrates the practice of royalty keeping and training cheetahs to hunt antelopes. The book How It Was with Dooms tells the true story of a family raising an orphaned cheetah cub named Dooms in Kenya. The 2005 film Duma was based loosely on this book. The animated series ThunderCats had a character named "Cheetara", an anthropomorphic cheetah, voiced by Lynne Lipton. Comic book heroine Wonder Woman's chief adversary is Barbara Ann Minerva alias The Cheetah.The Bill Thomas Cheetah American racing car, a Chevrolet-based coupe first designed and driven in 1963, was an attempt to challenge Carroll Shelby's Shelby Cobra in American sports car competition of the 1960s. Because only two dozen or fewer chassis were built, with only a dozen complete cars, the Cheetah was never homologated for competition beyond prototype status; its production ended in 1966. In 1986, Frito-Lay introduced Chester Cheetah, an anthropomorphic cheetah, as the mascot for their snack food Cheetos. The Mac OS X 10.0 was code-named "Cheetah".
+
+See also
+List of largest cats
+
+References
+Further reading
+Mills, M. G. L. & Mills, M. E. J. (2017). Kalahari Cheetahs: Adaptations to an Arid Region. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-871214-5.
+Seidensticker, J. & Lumpkin, S. (1991). Great Cats, Majestic Creatures of the Wild. London: Merehurst. ISBN 9781853911897.
+
+External links
+
+"Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus". IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.
+"Cheetah Conservation Fund".
+"Acinonyx jubatus". Biodiversity Heritage Library.
+"Fake flies and cheating cheetahs: measuring the speed of a cheetah". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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+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 one. 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 40–70 kg (88–154 lb) for males and 27–50 kg (60–110 lb) for females and standing 150 cm (4 ft 11 in).
+The 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. 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.
+The 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. Although many chimpanzees have been kept as pets, their strength, aggressiveness, and unpredictability makes them dangerous in this role. Some hundreds have been kept in laboratories for research, especially in the United States. Many attempts have been made to teach languages such as American Sign Language to chimpanzees, with limited success.
+
+Etymology
+The English word chimpanzee is first recorded in 1738. It is derived from Vili ci-mpenze or Tshiluba language chimpenze, with a meaning of "ape", or "mockman". 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.
+
+Taxonomy and genetics
+The 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.
+
+Evolution
+Despite a large number of Homo fossil finds, Pan fossils were not described until 2005. 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.According to studies published in 2017 by researchers at George Washington University, bonobos, along with chimpanzees, split from the human line about 8 million years ago; then bonobos split from the common chimpanzee line about 2 million years ago. Another 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.
+
+Subspecies and population status
+Four subspecies of the chimpanzee have been recognised, with the possibility of a fifth:
+Central 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.
+Western 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.
+Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (P. troglodytes ellioti (also known as P. t. vellerosus)), that live within forested areas across Nigeria and Cameroon, with 6000–9000 individuals still in existence.
+Eastern 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 180,000–256,000 individuals still existing in the wild.
+Southeastern chimpanzee, P. troglodytes marungensis, in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. 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.
+
+Genome
+A 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.
+
+Characteristics
+Adult chimpanzees have an average standing height of 150 cm (4 ft 11 in). 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 and 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. 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. Chimpanzee skin that is covered with body hair is white, while exposed areas vary with it being white passing with age into a dark muddy colour in Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, freckled on white which with age becomes muddy in colour and heavily mottled  Pan troglodytes troglodytes; and black forming butterfly-shaped white mask that with age darkenings in Pan troglodytes verus. Facial pigmentation increases with age and exposure to ultraviolet light. 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. Their physical strength 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 (440 lb), while other sources claim figures of up to 330 kg (730 lb).
+
+Ecology
+The 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. 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 Taï, 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.
+
+Diet
+The 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 gomphophylla. In addition, 19% of feeding time was spent on arboreal leaves, mostly Broussonetia papyrifera and Celtis mildbraedii. 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. 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. Interactions between them can range from friendly and even stable social bonding, to avoidance, to aggression and predation on part of chimpanzees.
+
+Mortality and health
+The 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. 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.
+Chimpanzees 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. 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.
+
+Behaviour
+Recent 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.
+
+Group structure
+Chimpanzees 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. 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.
+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. Chimpanzee alliances can be very fickle, and one member may suddenly turn on another if it is to his advantage.
+Low-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 Taï 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. 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. 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.
+
+Mating and parenting
+Chimpanzees 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. 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. Male chimpanzees continue to associate with the females they impregnated and interact with and support their offspring. 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. 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.
+
+Communication
+Chimpanzees 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. When in an aggressive mode, a chimpanzee swaggers bipedally, hunched over and arms waving, in an attempt to exaggerate its size. While travelling, chimpanzees keep in contact by beating their hands and feet against the trunks of large trees, an act that is known as "drumming". They also do this when encountering individuals from other communities.Vocalisations are also important in chimpanzee communication. The most common call in adults is the "pant-hoot", which may signal social rank and bond along with keeping groups together. Pant-hoots are made of four parts, starting with soft "hoos", the introduction; that gets louder and louder, the build-up; and climax into screams and sometimes barks; these die down back to soft "hoos" during the letdown phase as the call ends. Grunting is made in situations like feeding and greeting. Submissive individuals make "pant-grunts" towards their superiors. Whimpering is made by young chimpanzees as a form of begging or when lost from the group. Chimpanzees use distance calls to draw attention to danger, food sources, or other community members. "Barks" may be made as "short barks" when hunting and "tonal barks" when sighting large snakes.
+
+Hunting
+When hunting small monkeys such as the red colobus, chimpanzees hunt where the forest canopy is interrupted or irregular. This allows them to easily corner the monkeys when chasing them in the appropriate direction. Chimpanzees may also hunt as a coordinated team, so that they can corner their prey even in a continuous canopy. During an arboreal hunt, each chimpanzee in the hunting groups has a role. "Drivers" serve to keep the prey running in a certain direction and follow them without attempting to make a catch. "Blockers" are stationed at the bottom of the trees and climb up to block prey that takes off in a different direction. "Chasers" move quickly and try to make a catch. Finally, "ambushers" hide and rush out when a monkey nears. While both adults and infants are taken, adult male colobus monkeys will attack the hunting chimps. Male chimpanzees hunt more than females. When caught and killed, the meal is distributed to all hunting party members and even bystanders.
+
+Intelligence and cognition
+Chimpanzees display numerous signs of intelligence, from the ability to remember symbols to cooperation, tool use, and perhaps language. They are among species that have passed the mirror test, suggesting self-awareness. In one study, two young chimpanzees showed retention of mirror self-recognition after one year without access to mirrors. Chimpanzees have been observed to use insects to treat their own wounds and those of others. They catch them and apply them directly to the injury. Chimpanzees also display signs of culture among groups, with the learning and transmission of variations in grooming, tool use and foraging techniques leading to localized traditions.A 30-year study at Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute has shown that chimpanzees are able to learn to recognise the numbers 1 to 9 and their values. The chimpanzees further show an aptitude for eidetic memory, demonstrated in experiments in which the jumbled digits are flashed onto a computer screen for less than a quarter of a second. One chimpanzee, Ayumu, was able to correctly and quickly point to the positions where they appeared in ascending order. Ayumu performed better than human adults who were given the same test.In controlled experiments on cooperation, chimpanzees show a basic understanding of cooperation, and recruit the best collaborators. In a group setting with a device that delivered food rewards only to cooperating chimpanzees, cooperation first increased, then, due to competitive behaviour, decreased, before finally increasing to the highest level through punishment and other arbitrage behaviours.Great apes show laughter-like vocalisations in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, play chasing, or tickling. This is documented in wild and captive chimpanzees. Chimpanzee laughter is not readily recognisable to humans as such, because it is generated by alternating inhalations and exhalations that sound more like breathing and panting. Instances in which nonhuman primates have expressed joy have been reported. Humans and chimpanzees share similar ticklish areas of the body, such as the armpits and belly. The enjoyment of tickling in chimpanzees does not diminish with age.Chimpanzees have displayed different behaviours in response to a dying or dead group member. When witnessing a sudden death, the other group members act in frenzy, with vocalisations, aggressive displays, and touching of the corpse. In one case chimpanzees cared for a dying elder, then attended and cleaned the corpse. Afterward, they avoided the spot where the elder died and behaved in a more subdued manner. Mothers have been reported to carry around and groom their dead infants for several days.Experimenters now and then witness behaviour that cannot be readily reconciled with chimpanzee intelligence or theory of mind. Wolfgang Köhler, for instance, reported insightful behaviour in chimpanzees, but he likewise often observed that they experienced "special difficulty" in solving simple problems. Researchers also reported that, when faced with a choice between two persons, chimpanzees were just as likely to beg food from a person who could see the begging gesture as from a person who could not, thereby raising the possibility that chimpanzees lack theory of mind.
+
+Tool use
+Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools. They modify sticks, rocks, grass, and leaves and use them when foraging for termites and ants, nuts, honey, algae or water. Despite the lack of complexity, forethought and skill are apparent in making these tools. Chimpanzees have used stone tools since at least 4,300 years ago.A chimpanzee from the Kasakela chimpanzee community was the first nonhuman animal reported making a tool, by modifying a twig to use as an instrument for extracting termites from their mound. At Taï, chimpanzees simply use their hands to extract termites. When foraging for honey, chimpanzees use modified short sticks to scoop the honey out of the hive if the bees are stingless. For hives of the dangerous African honeybees, chimpanzees use longer and thinner sticks to extract the honey.Chimpanzees also fish for ants using the same tactic. Ant dipping is difficult and some chimpanzees never master it. West African chimpanzees crack open hard nuts with stones or branches. Some forethought in this activity is apparent, as these tools are not found together or where the nuts are collected. Nut cracking is also difficult and must be learned. Chimpanzees also use leaves as sponges or spoons to drink water.West African chimpanzees in Senegal were found to sharpen sticks with their teeth, which were then used to spear Senegal bushbabies out of small holes in trees. An eastern chimpanzee has been observed using a modified branch as a tool to capture a squirrel.Whilst experimental studies on captive chimpanzees have found that many of their species-typical tool-use behaviours can be individually learnt by each chimpanzees, a 2021 study on their abilities to make and use stone flakes, in a similar way as hypothesised for early hominins, did not find this behaviour across two populations of chimpanzees - suggesting that this behaviour is outside the chimpanzee species-typical range.
+
+Language
+Scientists have attempted to teach human language to several species of great ape. One early attempt by Allen and Beatrix Gardner in the 1960s involved spending 51 months teaching American Sign Language to a chimpanzee named Washoe. The Gardners reported that Washoe learned 151 signs, and had spontaneously taught them to other chimpanzees, including her adopted son, Loulis. Over a longer period of time, Washoe was reported to have learned over 350 signs.Debate is ongoing among scientists such as David Premack about chimpanzees' ability to learn language. Since the early reports on Washoe, numerous other studies have been conducted, with varying levels of success. One involved a chimpanzee jokingly named Nim Chimpsky (in allusion to the theorist of language Noam Chomsky), trained by Herbert Terrace of Columbia University. Although his initial reports were quite positive, in November 1979, Terrace and his team, including psycholinguist Thomas Bever, re-evaluated the videotapes of Nim with his trainers, analyzing them frame by frame for signs, as well as for exact context (what was happening both before and after Nim's signs). In the reanalysis, Terrace and Bever concluded that Nim's utterances could be explained merely as prompting on the part of the experimenters, as well as mistakes in reporting the data. "Much of the apes' behaviour is pure drill", he said. "Language still stands as an important definition of the human species." In this reversal, Terrace now argued Nim's use of ASL was not like human language acquisition. Nim never initiated conversations himself, rarely introduced new words, and mostly imitated what the humans did. More importantly, Nim's word strings varied in their ordering, suggesting that he was incapable of syntax. Nim's sentences also did not grow in length, unlike human children whose vocabulary and sentence length show a strong positive correlation.
+
+Relations with humans
+In culture
+Chimpanzees are rarely represented in African culture, as people find their resemblance to humans discomforting. The Gio people of Liberia and the Hemba people of the Congo have created masks of the animals. Gio masks are crude and blocky, and worn when teaching young people how not to behave. The Hemba masks have a smile that suggests drunken anger, insanity or horror and are worn during rituals at funerals, representing the "awful reality of death". The masks may also serve to guard households and protect both human and plant fertility. Stories have been told of chimpanzees kidnapping and raping women.In Western popular culture, chimpanzees have occasionally been stereotyped as childlike companions, sidekicks or clowns. They are especially suited for the latter role on account of their prominent facial features, long limbs and fast movements, which humans often find amusing. Accordingly, entertainment acts featuring chimpanzees dressed up as humans with lip-synchronised human voices have been traditional staples of circuses, stage shows and TV shows like Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp (1970-1972) and The Chimp Channel (1999). From 1926 until 1972, London Zoo, followed by several other zoos around the world, held a chimpanzees' tea party daily, inspiring a long-running series of advertisements for PG Tips tea featuring such a party. Animal rights groups have urged a stop to such acts, considering them abusive.
+Chimpanzees in media include Judy on the television series Daktari in the 1960s and Darwin on The Wild Thornberrys in the 1990s. In contrast to the fictional depictions of other animals, such as dogs (as in Lassie), dolphins (Flipper), horses (The Black Stallion) or even other great apes (King Kong), chimpanzee characters and actions are rarely relevant to the plot. Depictions of chimpanzees as individuals rather than stock characters, and as central rather than incidental to the plot can be found in science fiction. Robert A. Heinlein's 1947 short story "Jerry Was a Man" concerns a genetically enhanced chimpanzee suing for better treatment. The 1972 film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, the third sequel of the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, portrays a futuristic revolt of enslaved apes led by the only talking chimpanzee, Caesar, against their human masters.
+
+As pets
+Chimpanzees have traditionally been kept as pets in a few African villages, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Virunga National Park in the east of the country, the park authorities regularly confiscate chimpanzees from people keeping them as pets. Outside their range, chimpanzees are popular as exotic pets despite their strength and aggression. Even in places where keeping non-human primates as pets is illegal, the exotic pet trade continues to prosper, leading to injuries from attacks.
+
+Use in research
+Hundreds of chimpanzees have been kept in laboratories for research. Most such laboratories either conduct or make the animals available for invasive research, defined as "inoculation with an infectious agent, surgery or biopsy conducted for the sake of research and not for the sake of the chimpanzee, and/or drug testing". Research chimpanzees tend to be used repeatedly over decades for up to 40 years, unlike the pattern of use of most laboratory animals. Two federally funded American laboratories use chimpanzees: the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southwest National Primate Center in San Antonio, Texas. Five hundred chimpanzees have been retired from laboratory use in the U.S. and live in animal sanctuaries in the U.S. or Canada.A five-year moratorium was imposed by the US National Institutes of Health in 1996, because too many chimpanzees had been bred for HIV research, and it has been extended annually since 2001. With the publication of the chimpanzee genome, plans to increase the use of chimpanzees in America were reportedly increasing in 2006, some scientists arguing that the federal moratorium on breeding chimpanzees for research should be lifted. However, in 2007, the NIH made the moratorium permanent.
+Other researchers argue that chimpanzees either should not be used in research, or should be treated differently, for instance with legal status as persons. Pascal Gagneux, an evolutionary biologist and primate expert at the University of California, San Diego, argues, given chimpanzees' sense of self, tool use, and genetic similarity to human beings, studies using chimpanzees should follow the ethical guidelines used for human subjects unable to give consent. A recent study suggests chimpanzees which are retired from labs exhibit a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. Stuart Zola, director of the Yerkes laboratory, disagrees. He told National Geographic: "I don't think we should make a distinction between our obligation to treat humanely any species, whether it's a rat or a monkey or a chimpanzee. No matter how much we may wish it, chimps are not human."Only one European laboratory, the Biomedical Primate Research Centre in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, used chimpanzees in research. It formerly held 108 chimpanzees among 1,300 non-human primates. The Dutch ministry of science decided to phase out research at the centre from 2001. Trials already under way were however allowed to run their course. Chimpanzees including the female Ai have been studied at the Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, Japan, formerly directed by Tetsuro Matsuzawa, since 1978. Some 12 chimpanzees are currently held at the facility.Two chimpanzees have been sent into outer space as NASA research subjects. Ham, the first great ape in space, was launched in the Mercury-Redstone 2 capsule on 31 January 1961, and survived the suborbital flight. Enos, the third primate to orbit Earth after Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov, flew on Mercury-Atlas 5 on 29 November of the same year.
+
+Field study
+Jane Goodall undertook the first long-term field study of the chimpanzee, begun in Tanzania at Gombe Stream National Park in 1960. Other long-term studies begun in the 1960s include A. Kortlandt's in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Toshisada Nishida's in Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania. Current understanding of the species' typical behaviours and social organisation has been formed largely from Goodall's ongoing 60-year Gombe research study.
+
+Attacks
+Chimpanzees have attacked humans. In Uganda, several attacks on children have happened, some of them fatal. Some of these attacks may have been due to the chimpanzees being intoxicated (from alcohol obtained from rural brewing operations) and becoming aggressive towards humans. Human interactions with chimpanzees may be especially dangerous if the chimpanzees perceive humans as potential rivals. At least six cases of chimpanzees snatching and eating human babies are documented.A chimpanzee's strength and sharp teeth mean that attacks, even on adult humans, can cause severe injuries. This was evident after the attack and near death of former NASCAR driver St. James Davis, who was mauled by two escaped chimpanzees (in the St. James Davis chimpanzee attack) while he and his wife were celebrating the birthday of their former pet chimpanzee. Another example of chimpanzees being aggressive toward humans occurred in 2009 in Stamford, Connecticut, when a 90-kilogram (200 lb), 13-year-old pet chimpanzee named Travis attacked his owner's friend, who lost her hands, eyes, nose, and part of her maxilla from the attack.
+
+Human immunodeficiency virus
+Two primary classes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infect humans: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is the more virulent and easily transmitted, and is the source of the majority of HIV infections throughout the world; HIV-2 is largely confined to west Africa. Both types originated in west and central Africa, jumping from other primates to humans. HIV-1 has evolved from a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVcpz) found in the subspecies P. t. troglodytes of southern Cameroon. Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has the greatest genetic diversity of HIV-1 so far discovered, suggesting the virus has been there longer than anywhere else. HIV-2 crossed species from a different strain of HIV, found in the sooty mangabey monkeys in Guinea-Bissau.
+
+Status and conservation
+The chimpanzee is on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Chimpanzees are legally protected in most of their range and are found both in and outside national parks. Between 172,700 and 299,700 individuals are thought to be living in the wild, a decrease from about a million chimpanzees in the early 1900s. Chimpanzees are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that commercial international trade in wild-sourced specimens is prohibited and all other international trade (including in parts and derivatives) is regulated by the CITES permitting system.The biggest threats to the chimpanzee are habitat destruction, poaching, and disease. Chimpanzee habitats have been limited by deforestation in both West and Central Africa. Road building has caused habitat degradation and fragmentation of chimpanzee populations and may allow poachers more access to areas that had not been seriously affected by humans. Although deforestation rates are low in western Central Africa, selective logging may take place outside national parks.Chimpanzees are a common target for poachers. In Ivory Coast, chimpanzees make up 1–3% of bushmeat sold in urban markets. They are also taken, often illegally, for the pet trade and are hunted for medicinal purposes in some areas. Farmers sometimes kill chimpanzees that threaten their crops; others are unintentionally maimed or killed by snares meant for other animals.Infectious diseases are a main cause of death for chimpanzees. They succumb to many diseases that afflict humans because the two species are so similar. As human populations grow, so does the risk of disease transmission between humans and chimpanzees.
+
+See also
+Notes
+References
+Literature cited
+Goodall, J. (1986). The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-11649-8.
+
+External links
+
+DiscoverChimpanzees.org
+Chimpanzee Genome resources
+Primate Info Net Pan troglodytes Factsheets Archived 13 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
+U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile
+View the Pan troglodytes genome in Ensembl
+Genome of Pan troglodytes (version Clint_PTRv2/panTro6), via UCSC Genome Browser
+Data of the genome of Pan troglodytes, via NCBI
+Data of the genome assembly of Pan troglodytes Clint_PTRv2/panTro6, via NCBI
+Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).
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+Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.
+They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck-rocks, or more formally as loricates, polyplacophorans, and occasionally as polyplacophores.
+Chitons have a shell composed of eight separate shell plates or valves. These plates overlap slightly at the front and back edges, and yet articulate well with one another. Because of this, the shell provides protection at the same time as permitting the chiton to flex upward when needed for locomotion over uneven surfaces, and even allows the animal to curl up into a ball when dislodged from rocks. The shell plates are encircled by a skirt known as a girdle.
+
+Habitat
+Chitons live worldwide, from cold waters through to the tropics. They live on hard surfaces, such as on or under rocks, or in rock crevices.
+Some species live quite high in the intertidal zone and are exposed to the air and light for long periods. Most species inhabit intertidal or subtidal zones, and do not extend beyond the photic zone, but a few species live in deep water, as deep as 6,000 m (20,000 ft).Chitons are exclusively and fully marine, in contrast to the bivalves, which were able to adapt to brackish water and fresh water, and the gastropods which were able to make successful transitions to freshwater and terrestrial environments.
+
+Morphology
+Shell
+All chitons bear a protective dorsal shell that is divided into eight articulating aragonite valves embedded in the tough muscular girdle that surrounds the chiton's body. Compared with the single or two-piece shells of other molluscs, this arrangement allows chitons to roll into a protective ball when dislodged and to cling tightly to irregular surfaces. In some species the valves are reduced or covered by the girdle tissue. The valves are variously colored, patterned, smooth, or sculptured. 
+
+The most anterior plate is crescent-shaped, and is known as the cephalic plate (sometimes called a head plate, despite the absence of a complete head). The most posterior plate is known as the anal plate (sometimes called the tail plate, although chitons do not have tails.)
+The inner layer of each of the six intermediate plates is produced anteriorly as an articulating flange, called the articulamentum. This inner layer may also be produced laterally in the form of notched insertion plates. These function as an attachment of the valve plates to the soft body. A similar series of insertion plates may be attached to the convex anterior border of the cephalic plate or the convex posterior border of the anal plate.The sculpture of the valves is one of the taxonomic characteristics, along with the granulation or spinulation of the girdle.After a chiton dies, the individual valves which make up the eight-part shell come apart because the girdle is no longer holding them together, and then the plates sometimes wash up in beach drift. The individual shell plates from a chiton are sometimes known as butterfly shells due to their shape.
+
+Girdle ornament
+The girdle may be ornamented with scales or spicules which, like the shell plates, are mineralized with aragonite — although a different mineralization process operates in the spicules to that in the teeth or shells (implying an independent evolutionary innovation). This process seems quite simple in comparison to other shell tissue; in some taxa, the crystal structure of the deposited minerals closely resembles the disordered nature of crystals that form inorganically, although more order is visible in other taxa.The protein component of the scales and sclerites is minuscule in comparison with other biomineralized structures, whereas the total proportion of matrix is 'higher' than in mollusc shells. This implies that polysaccharides make up the bulk of the matrix. The girdle spines often bear length-parallel striations.The wide form of girdle ornament suggests it serves a secondary role; chitons can survive perfectly well without them. Camouflage or defence are two likely functions. Certainly species such as some members of the genus Acanthochitona bear conspicuous paired tufts of spicules on the girdle. The spicules are sharp, and if carelessly handled, easily penetrate the human skin, where they detach and remain as a painful irritant.Spicules are secreted by cells that do not express engrailed, but these cells are surrounded by engrailed-expressing cells. These neighbouring cells secrete an organic pellicle on the outside of the developing spicule, whose aragonite is deposited by the central cell; subsequent division of this central cell allows larger spines to be secreted in certain taxa.
+The organic pellicule is found in most polyplacophora (but not basal chitons, such as Hanleya) but is unusual in aplacophora. Developmentally, sclerite-secreting cells arise from pretrochal and postrochal cells: the 1a, 1d, 2a, 2c, 3c and 3d cells. The shell plates arise primarily from the 2d micromere, although 2a, 2b, 2c and sometimes 3c cells also participate in its secretion.
+
+Internal anatomy
+The girdle is often ornamented with spicules, bristles, hairy tufts, spikes, or snake-like scales. The majority of the body is a snail-like foot, but no head or other soft parts beyond the girdle are visible from the dorsal side.
+The mantle cavity consists of a narrow channel on each side, lying between the body and the girdle. Water enters the cavity through openings in either side of the mouth, then flows along the channel to a second, exhalant, opening close to the anus. Multiple gills hang down into the mantle cavity along part or all of the lateral pallial groove, each consisting of a central axis with a number of flattened filaments through which oxygen can be absorbed.The three-chambered heart is located towards the animal's hind end. Each of the two auricles collects blood from the gills on one side, while the muscular ventricle pumps blood through the aorta and round the body.
+The excretory system consists of two nephridia, which connect to the pericardial cavity around the heart, and remove excreta through a pore that opens near the rear of the mantle cavity. The single gonad is located in front of the heart, and releases gametes through a pair of pores just in front of those used for excretion.
+The mouth is located on the underside of the animal, and contains a tongue-like structure called a radula, which has numerous rows of 17 teeth each. The teeth are coated with magnetite, a hard ferric/ferrous oxide mineral. The radula is used to scrape microscopic algae off the substratum. The mouth cavity itself is lined with chitin and is associated with a pair of salivary glands. Two sacs open from the back of the mouth, one containing the radula, and the other containing a protrusible sensory subradular organ that is pressed against the substratum to taste for food.Cilia pull the food through the mouth in a stream of mucus and through the oesophagus, where it is partially digested by enzymes from a pair of large pharyngeal glands. The oesophagus, in turn, opens into a stomach, where enzymes from a digestive gland complete the breakdown of the food. Nutrients are absorbed through the linings of the stomach and the first part of the intestine. The intestine is divided in two by a sphincter, with the latter part being highly coiled and functioning to compact the waste matter into faecal pellets. The anus opens just behind the foot.Chitons lack a clearly demarcated head; their nervous system resembles a dispersed ladder. No true ganglia are present, as in other molluscs, although a ring of dense neural tissue occurs around the oesophagus. From this ring, nerves branch forwards to innervate the mouth and subradula, while two pairs of main nerve cords run back through the body. One pair, the pedal cords, innervate the foot, while the palliovisceral cords innervate the mantle and remaining internal organs.Some species bear an array of tentacles in front of the head.
+
+Senses
+The primary sense organs of chitons are the subradular organ and a large number of unique organs called aesthetes. The aesthetes consist of light-sensitive cells just below the surface of the shell, although they are not capable of true vision. In some cases, however, they are modified to form ocelli, with a cluster of individual photoreceptor cells lying beneath a small aragonite-based lens. Each lens can form clear images, and is composed of relatively large, highly crystallographically aligned grains to minimize light scattering. An individual chiton may have thousands of such ocelli. These aragonite-based eyes make them capable of true vision; though research continues as to the extent of their visual acuity. It is known that they can differentiate between a predator's shadow and changes in light caused by clouds. An evolutionary trade-off has led to a compromise between the eyes and the shell; as the size and complexity of the eyes increase, the mechanical performance of their shells decrease, and vice versa.A relatively good fossil record of chiton shells exists, but ocelli are only present in those dating to 10 million years ago or younger; this would make the ocelli, whose precise function is unclear, likely the most recent eyes to evolve.Although chitons lack osphradia, statocysts, and other sensory organs common to other molluscs, they do have numerous tactile nerve endings, especially on the girdle and within the mantle cavity.
+The order Lepidopleurida also have a pigmented sensory organ called the Schwabe organ. Its function remains largely unknown, and has been suggested to be related to that of a larval eye.However, chitons lack a cerebral ganglion.
+
+Homing ability
+Similar to many species of saltwater limpets, several species of chiton are known to exhibit homing behaviours, journeying to feed and then returning to the exact spot they previously inhabited. The method they use to perform such behaviors has been investigated to some extent, but remains unknown. One theory has the chitons remembering the topographic profile of the region, thus being able to guide themselves back to their home scar by a physical knowledge of the rocks and visual input from their numerous primitive eyespots.
+The sea snail Nerita textilis (like all gastropods) deposits a mucus trail as it moves, which a chemoreceptive organ is able to detect and guide the snail back to its home site. It is unclear if chiton homing functions in the same way, but they may leave chemical cues along the rock surface and at the home scar which their olfactory senses can detect and home in on. Furthermore, older trails may also be detected, providing further stimulus for the chiton to find its home.The radular teeth of chitons are made of magnetite, and the iron crystals within these may be involved in magnetoreception, the ability to sense the polarity and the inclination of the Earth's magnetic field. Experimental work has suggested that chitons can detect and respond to magnetism.
+
+Culinary uses
+Chitons are eaten in several parts of the world. This includes islands in the Caribbean, such as Trinidad, Tobago, The Bahamas, St. Maarten, Aruba, Bonaire, Anguilla and Barbados, as well as in Bermuda. They are also traditionally eaten in certain parts of the Philippines, where it is called kibet if raw and chiton if fried. Native Americans of the Pacific coasts of North America eat chitons. They are a common food on the Pacific coast of South America and in the Galápagos. The foot of the chiton is prepared in a manner similar to abalone. Some islanders living in South Korea also eat chiton, slightly boiled and mixed with vegetables and hot sauce. Aboriginal people in Australia also eat chiton; for example they are recorded in the Narungga Nation Traditional Fishing Agreement.
+
+Life habits
+A chiton creeps along slowly on a muscular foot. It has considerable power of adhesion and can cling to rocks very powerfully, like a limpet.
+Chitons are generally herbivorous grazers, though some are omnivorous and some carnivorous. They eat algae, bryozoans, diatoms, barnacles, and sometimes bacteria by scraping the rocky substrate with their well-developed radulae.
+A few species of chitons are predatory, such as the small western Pacific species Placiphorella velata. These predatory chitons have enlarged anterior girdles. They catch other small invertebrates, such as shrimp and possibly even small fish, by holding the enlarged, hood-like front end of the girdle up off the surface, and then clamping down on unsuspecting, shelter-seeking prey.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+Chitons have separate sexes, and fertilization is usually external. The male releases sperm into the water, while the female releases eggs either individually, or in a long string. In most cases, fertilization takes place either in the surrounding water, or in the mantle cavity of the female. Some species brood the eggs within the mantle cavity, and the species Callistochiton viviparus even retains them within the ovary and gives birth to live young, an example of ovoviviparity.
+The egg has a tough spiny coat, and usually hatches to release a free-swimming trochophore larva, typical of many other mollusc groups. In a few cases, the trochophore remains within the egg (and is then called lecithotrophic – deriving nutrition from yolk), which hatches to produce a miniature adult. Unlike most other molluscs, there is no intermediate stage, or veliger, between the trochophore and the adult. Instead, a segmented shell gland forms on one side of the larva, and a foot forms on the opposite side. When the larva is ready to become an adult, the body elongates, and the shell gland secretes the plates of the shell. Unlike the fully grown adult, the larva has a pair of simple eyes, although these may remain for some time in the immature adult.
+
+Predators
+Animals which prey on chitons include humans, seagulls, sea stars, crabs, lobsters and fish.
+
+Evolutionary origins
+Chitons have a relatively good fossil record, stretching back to the Cambrian, with the genus Preacanthochiton, known from fossils found in Late Cambrian deposits in Missouri, being classified as the earliest known polyplacophoran. However, the exact phylogenetic position of supposed Cambrian chitons is highly controversial, and some authors have instead argued that the earliest confirmed polyplacophorans date back to the Early Ordovician. Kimberella and Wiwaxia of the Precambrian and Cambrian may be related to ancestral polyplacophorans. Matthevia is a Late Cambrian polyplacophoran preserved as individual pointed valves, and sometimes considered to be a chiton, although at the closest, it can only be a stem-group member of the group.
+Based on this and co-occurring fossils, one plausible hypothesis for the origin of polyplacophora has that they formed when an aberrant monoplacophoran was born with multiple centres of calcification, rather than the usual one. Selection quickly acted on the resultant conical shells to form them to overlap into protective armour; their original cones are homologous to the tips of the plates of modern chitons.The chitons evolved from multiplacophora during the Palaeozoic, with their relatively conserved modern-day body plan being fixed by the Mesozoic.The earliest fossil evidence of aesthetes in chitons comes from around 400 Ma, during the Early Devonian.
+
+History of scientific investigation
+Chitons were first studied by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Since his description of the first four species, chitons have been variously classified. They were called Cyclobranchians (round arm) in the early 19th century, and then grouped with the aplacophorans in the subphylum Amphineura in 1876. The class Polyplacophora was named by de Blainville 1816.
+
+Etymology
+The name chiton is Neo-Latin derived from the Ancient Greek word khitōn, meaning tunic (which also is the source of the word chitin). The Ancient Greek word khitōn can be traced to the Central Semitic word *kittan, which is from the Akkadian words kitû or kita'um, meaning flax or linen, and originally the Sumerian word gada or gida.The Greek-derived name Polyplacophora comes from the words poly- (many), plako- (tablet), and -phoros (bearing), a reference to the chiton's eight shell plates.
+
+Taxonomy
+Most classification schemes in use today are based, at least in part, on Pilsbry's Manual of Conchology (1892–1894), extended and revised by Kaas and Van Belle (1985–1990).
+Since chitons were first described by Linnaeus (1758), extensive taxonomic studies at the species level have been made. However, the taxonomic classification at higher levels in the group has remained somewhat unsettled.
+The most recent classification, by Sirenko (2006), is based not only on shell morphology, as usual, but also other important features, including aesthetes, girdle, radula, gills, glands, egg hull projections, and spermatozoids. It includes all the living and extinct genera of chitons.
+Further resolution within the Chitonida has been recovered through molecular analysis.This system is now generally accepted.
+
+Class Polyplacophora de Blainville, 1816
+†Subclass Paleoloricata Bergenhayn, 1955
+†Order Chelodida Bergenhayn, 1943
+†Family Chelodidae Bergenhayn, 1943
+†Chelodes Davidson & King, 1874
+†Euchelodes Marek, 1962
+†Calceochiton Flower, 1968
+†Order Septemchitonida Bergenhayn, 1955
+†Family Gotlandochitonidae Bergenhayn, 1955
+†Gotlandochiton Bergenhayn, 1955
+†Family Helminthochitonidae Van Belle, 1975
+†Kindbladochiton Van Belle, 1975
+†Diadelochiton Hoare, 2000
+†Helminthochiton Salter in Griffith & M'Coy, 1846
+†Echinochiton Pojeta, Eernisse, Hoare & Henderson, 2003
+†Family Septemchitonidae Bergenhayn, 1955
+†Septemchiton Bergenhayn, 1955
+†Paleochiton A. G. Smith, 1964
+†Thairoplax Cherns, 1998
+Subclass Loricata Shumacher, 1817
+Order Lepidopleurida Thiele, 1910
+Suborder Cymatochitonina Sirenko & Starobogatov, 1977
+Family Acutichitonidae Hoare, Mapes & Atwater, 1983
+Acutichiton Hoare, Sturgeon & Hoare, 1972
+Elachychiton Hoare, Sturgeon & Hoare, 1972
+Harpidochiton Hoare & Cook, 2000
+Arcochiton Hoare, Sturgeon & Hoare, 1972
+Kraterochiton Hoare, 2000
+Soleachiton Hoare, Sturgeon & Hoare, 1972
+Asketochiton Hoare & Sabattini, 2000
+Family †Cymatochitonidae Sirenko & Starobogatov, 1977
+†Cymatochiton Dall, 1882
+†Compsochiton Hoare & Cook, 2000
+Family Gryphochitonidae Pilsbry, 1900
+Gryphochiton Gray, 1847
+Family Lekiskochitonidae Smith & Hoare, 1987
+Lekiskochiton Hoare & Smith, 1984
+†Family Permochitonidae Sirenko & Starobogatov, 1977
+†Permochiton Iredale & Hull, 1926
+Suborder Lepidopleurina Thiele, 1910
+Family Abyssochitonidae (synonym: Ferreiraellidae) Dell' Angelo & Palazzi, 1991
+Glaphurochiton Raymond, 1910
+?Pyknochiton Hoare, 2000
+?Hadrochiton Hoare, 2000
+Ferreiraella Sirenko, 1988
+†Family Glyptochitonidae Starobogatov & Sirenko, 1975
+†Glyptochiton Konninck, 1883
+Family Leptochitonidae Dall, 1889
+Colapterochiton Hoare & Mapes, 1985
+Coryssochiton DeBrock, Hoare & Mapes, 1984
+Proleptochiton Sirenko & Starobogatov, 1977
+Schematochiton Hoare, 2002
+Pterochiton (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1882
+Leptochiton Gray, 1847
+Parachiton Thiele, 1909
+Terenochiton Iredale, 1914
+Trachypleura Jaeckel, 1900
+Pseudoischnochiton Ashby, 1930
+Lepidopleurus Risso, 1826
+Hanleyella Sirenko, 1973
+Family †Camptochitonidae Sirenko, 1997
+Camptochiton DeBrock, Hoare & Mapes, 1984
+Pedanochiton DeBrock, Hoare & Mapes, 1984
+Euleptochiton Hoare & Mapes, 1985
+Pileochiton DeBrock, Hoare & Mapes, 1984
+Chauliochiton Hoare & Smith, 1984
+Stegochiton Hoare & Smith, 1984
+Family Nierstraszellidae Sirenko, 1992
+Nierstraszella Sirenko, 1992
+Family Mesochitonidae Dell' Angelo & Palazzi, 1989
+Mesochiton Van Belle, 1975
+Pterygochiton Rochebrune, 1883
+Family Protochitonidae Ashby, 1925
+Protochiton Ashby, 1925
+Deshayesiella (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1879
+Oldroydia Dall, 1894
+Family Hanleyidae Bergenhayn, 1955
+Hanleya Gray, 1857
+Hemiarthrum Dall, 1876
+Order Chitonida Thiele, 1910
+Suborder Chitonina Thiele, 1910
+Superfamily Chitonoidea Rafinesque, 1815
+Family Ochmazochitonidae Hoare & Smith, 1984
+Ochmazochiton Hoare & Smith, 1984
+Family Ischnochitonidae Dall, 1889
+Ischnochiton Gray, 1847
+Stenochiton H. Adams & Angas, 1864
+Stenoplax (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1879
+Lepidozona Pilsbry, 1892
+Stenosemus Middendorff, 1847
+Subterenochiton Iredale & Hull, 1924
+Thermochiton Saito & Okutani, 1990
+Connexochiton Kaas, 1979
+Tonicina Thiele, 1906
+Family Callistoplacidae Pilsbry, 1893
+Ischnoplax Dall, 1879
+Callistochiton Carpenter MS, Dall, 1879
+Callistoplax Dall, 1882
+Ceratozona Dall, 1882
+Calloplax Thiele, 1909
+Family Chaetopleuridae Plate, 1899
+Chaetopleura Shuttleworth, 1853
+Dinoplax Carpenter MS, Dall, 1882
+Family Loricidae Iredale & Hull, 1923
+Lorica H. & A. Adams, 1852
+Loricella Pilsbry, 1893
+Oochiton Ashby, 1929
+Family Callochitonidae Plate, 1901
+Callochiton Gray, 1847
+Eudoxochiton Shuttleworth, 1853
+Vermichiton Kaas, 1979
+Family Chitonidae Rafinesque, 1815
+Subfamily Chitoninae Rafinesque, 1815
+Chiton Linnaeus, 1758
+Amaurochiton Thiele, 1893
+Radsia Gray, 1847
+Sypharochiton Thiele, 1893
+Nodiplax Beu, 1967
+Rhyssoplax Thiele, 1893
+Teguloaplax Iredale & Hull, 1926
+Mucrosquama Iredale, 1893
+Subfamily Toniciinae Pilsbry, 1893
+Tonicia Gray, 1847
+Onithochiton Gray, 1847
+Subfamily Acanthopleurinae Dall, 1889
+Acanthopleura Guilding, 1829
+Liolophura Pilsbry, 1893
+Enoplochiton Gray, 1847
+Squamopleura Nierstrasz, 1905
+Superfamily Schizochitonoidea Dall, 1889
+Family Schizochitonidae Dall, 1889
+Incissiochiton Van Belle, 1985
+Schizochiton Gray, 1847
+Suborder Acanthochitonina Bergenhayn, 1930
+Superfamily Mopalioidea Dall, 1889
+Family Tonicellidae Simroth, 1894
+Subfamily Tonicellinae Simroth, 1894
+Lepidochitona Gray, 1821
+Particulazona Kaas, 1993
+Boreochiton Sars, 1878
+Tonicella Carpenter, 1873
+Nuttallina (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1871
+Spongioradsia Pilsbry, 1894
+Oligochiton Berry, 1922
+Subfamily Juvenichitoninae Sirenko, 1975
+Juvenichiton Sirenko, 1975
+Micichiton Sirenko, 1975
+Nanichiton Sirenko, 1975
+Family Schizoplacidae Bergenhayn, 1955
+Schizoplax Dall, 1878
+Family Mopaliidae Dall, 1889
+Subfamily Heterochitoninae Van Belle, 1978
+Heterochiton Fucini, 1912
+Allochiton Fucini, 1912
+Subfamily Mopaliinae Dall, 1889
+Aerilamma Hull, 1924
+Guildingia Pilsbry, 1893
+Frembleya H. Adams, 1866
+Diaphoroplax Iredale, 1914
+Plaxiphora Gray, 1847
+Placiphorina Kaas & Van Belle, 1994
+Nuttallochiton Plate, 1899
+Mopalia Gray, 1847
+Maorichiton Iredale, 1914
+Placiphorella (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1879
+Katharina Gray, 1847
+Amicula Gray, 1847
+Superfamily Cryptoplacoidea H. & A. Adams, 1858
+Family Acanthochitonidae Pilsbry, 1893
+Subfamily Acanthochitoninae Pilsbry, 1893
+Acanthochitona Gray, 1921
+Craspedochiton Shuttleworth, 1853
+Spongiochiton (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1882
+Notoplax H. Adams, 1861
+Pseudotonicia Ashby, 1928
+Bassethullia Pilsbry, 1928
+Americhiton Watters, 1990
+Choneplax (Carpenter MS) Dall, 1882
+Cryptoconchus (de Blainville MS) Burrow, 1815
+Subfamily Cryptochitoninae Pilsbry, 1893
+Cryptochiton Middendorff, 1847
+Family Hemiarthridae Sirenko, 1997
+Hemiarthrum Carpenter in Dall, 1876
+Weedingia Kaas, 1988
+Family Choriplacidae Ashby, 1928
+Choriplax Pilsbry, 1894
+Family Cryptoplacidae H. & A. Adams, 1858
+Cryptoplax de Blainville, 1818
+Incertae sedis
+Family Scanochitonidae Bergenhayn, 1955
+Scanochiton Bergenhayn, 1955
+Family Olingechitonidae Starobogatov & Sirenko, 1977
+Olingechiton Bergenhayn, 1943
+Family Haeggochitonidae Sirenko & Starobogatov, 1977
+Haeggochiton Bergenhayn, 1955
+Family Ivoechitonidae Sirenko & Starobogatov, 1977
+Ivoechiton Bergenhayn, 1955
+
+References
+External links
+
+Extensive list of species, classified by families
\ No newline at end of file
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+The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species described from around the world; many species remain undescribed.
+Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae, and membranous front wings. They have an exceptionally loud song, produced in most species by the rapid buckling and unbuckling of drum-like tymbals. The earliest known fossil Cicadomorpha appeared in the Upper Permian period; extant species occur all around the world in temperate to tropical climates. They typically live in trees, feeding on watery sap from xylem tissue, and laying their eggs in a slit in the bark. Most cicadas are cryptic. The vast majority of species are active during the day as adults, with some calling at dawn or dusk. Only a rare few species are known to be nocturnal.
+One exclusively North American genus, Magicicada (the periodical cicadas), which spend most of their lives as underground nymphs, emerge in predictable intervals of 13 or 17 years, depending on the species and the location. The unusual duration and synchronization of their emergence may reduce the number of cicadas lost to predation, both by making them a less reliably available prey (so that any predator that evolved to depend on cicadas for sustenance might starve waiting for their emergence), and by emerging in such huge numbers that they will satiate any remaining predators before losing enough of their number to threaten their survival as a species.The annual cicadas are species that emerge every year. Though these cicadas' life cycles  can vary from 1 to 9 or more years as underground nymphs, their emergence above ground as adults is not synchronized, so some members of each species appear every year.Cicadas have been featured in literature since the time of Homer's Iliad and as motifs in art from the Chinese Shang dynasty. They have also been used in myth and folklore as symbols of carefree living and immortality. The cicada is also mentioned in Hesiod's Shield (ll.393–394), in which it is said to sing when millet first ripens. Cicadas are eaten by humans in various parts of the world, including China, Myanmar, Malaysia, central Africa, and Pakistani Balochistan Kangarp
+
+Etymology
+The name is directly from the onomatopoeic Latin cicada.
+
+Taxonomy and diversity
+The superfamily Cicadoidea is a sister of the Cercopoidea (the froghoppers). Cicadas are arranged into two families: the Tettigarctidae and Cicadidae. The two extant species of the Tettigarctidae include one in southern Australia and the other in Tasmania. The family Cicadidae is subdivided into the subfamilies Cicadettinae, Cicadinae, Derotettiginae, Tibicininae (or Tettigadinae), and Tettigomyiinae they are found on all continents except Antarctica. Some previous works also included a family-level taxon called the Tibiceninae. The largest species is the Malaysian emperor cicada Megapomponia imperatoria; its wingspan is up to about 20 cm (8 in). Cicadas are also notable for the great length of time some species take to mature.At least 3,000 cicada species are distributed worldwide, in essentially any habitat that has deciduous trees, with the majority being in the tropics. Most genera are restricted to a single biogeographical region, and many species have a very limited range. This high degree of endemism has been used to study the biogeography of complex island groups such as in Indonesia and Asia. There are several hundred described species in Australia and New Zealand, around 150 in South Africa, over 170 in America north of Mexico, at least 800 in Latin America, and over 200 in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.About 100 species occur in the Palaearctic. A few species are found in southern Europe, and a single species was known from England, the New Forest cicada, Cicadetta montana, which also occurs in continental Europe. Many species await formal description and many well-known species are yet to be studied carefully using modern acoustic analysis tools that allow their songs to be characterized.
+
+Many of the North American species are the annual or jarfly or dog-day cicadas, members of the Neotibicen, Megatibicen, or Hadoa genera, so named because they emerge in late July and August. The best-known North American genus, however, may be Magicicada. These periodical cicadas have an extremely long life cycle of 13 or 17 years, with adults suddenly and briefly emerging in large numbers.Australian cicadas are found on tropical islands and cold coastal beaches around Tasmania, in tropical wetlands, high and low deserts, alpine areas of New South Wales and Victoria, large cities including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and Tasmanian highlands and snowfields. Many of them have common names such as cherry nose, brown baker, red eye, greengrocer, yellow Monday, whisky drinker, double drummer, and black prince. The Australian greengrocer, Cyclochila australasiae, is among the loudest insects in the world.
+More than 40 species from five genera populate New Zealand, ranging from sea level to mountain tops, and all are endemic to New Zealand and its surrounding islands (Kermadec Islands, Chatham Islands). One species is found on Norfolk Island, which technically is part of Australia. The closest relatives of the NZ cicadas live in New Caledonia and Australia.
+
+Palaeontology
+Fossil Cicadomorpha first appeared in the Late Triassic. The superfamily Palaeontinoidea contains three families. The Upper Permian Dunstaniidae are found in Australia and South Africa, and also in younger rocks from China. The Upper Triassic Mesogereonidae are found in Australia and South Africa. This group, though, is currently thought to be more distantly related to Cicadomorpha than previously thought.
+The Palaeontinidae or "giant cicadas" come from the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Eurasia and South America. The first of these was a fore wing discovered in the Taynton Limestone Formation of Oxfordshire, England; it was initially described as a butterfly in 1873, before being recognised as a cicada-like form and renamed Palaeontina oolitica.Most fossil Cicadidae are known from the Cenozoic, and the oldest unambiguously identified specimen is Davispia bearcreekensis (subfamily Tibicininae) from 59–56 million years ago (Mya). One fossil genus and species (Burmacicada protera) based on a first-instar nymph has recently been reported from 98–99 Mya in the Late Cretaceous, although questions remain about its assignment to the Cicadidae.
+
+Biology
+Description
+Cicadas are large insects made conspicuous by the courtship calls of the males. They are characterized by having three joints in their tarsi, and having small antennae with conical bases and three to six segments, including a seta at the tip. The Auchenorrhyncha differ from other hemipterans by having a rostrum that arises from the posteroventral part of the head, complex sound-producing membranes, and a mechanism for linking the wings that involves a down-rolled edging on the rear of the fore wing and an upwardly protruding flap on the hind wing.Cicadas are feeble jumpers, and nymphs lack the ability to jump altogether. Another defining characteristic is the adaptations of the fore limbs of nymphs for underground life. The relict family Tettigarctidae differs from the Cicadidae in having the prothorax extending as far as the scutellum, and by lacking the tympanal apparatus.
+The adult insect, known as an imago, is 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in) in total length in most species. The largest, the empress cicada (Megapomponia imperatoria), has a head-body length around 7 cm (2.8 in), and its wingspan is 18–20 cm (7–8 in). Cicadas have prominent compound eyes set wide apart on the sides of the head. The short antennae protrude between the eyes or in front of them. They also have three small ocelli located on the top of the head in a triangle between the two large eyes; this distinguishes cicadas from other members of the Hemiptera. The mouthparts form a long, sharp rostrum that they insert into the plant to feed. The postclypeus is a large, nose-like structure that lies between the eyes and makes up most of the front of the head; it contains the pumping musculature.The thorax has three segments and houses the powerful wing muscles. They have two pairs of membranous wings that may be hyaline, cloudy, or pigmented. The wing venation varies between species and may help in identification. The middle thoracic segment has an operculum on the underside, which may extend posteriorly and obscure parts of the abdomen. The abdomen is segmented, with the hindermost segments housing the reproductive organs, and terminates in females with a large, saw-edged ovipositor. In males, the abdomen is largely hollow and used as a resonating chamber.The surface of the fore wing is superhydrophobic; it is covered with minute, waxy cones, blunt spikes that create a water-repellent film. Rain rolls across the surface, removing dirt in the process. In the absence of rain, dew condenses on the wings. When the droplets coalesce, they leap several millimetres into the air, which also serves to clean the wings. Bacteria landing on the wing surface are not repelled; rather, their membranes are torn apart by the nanoscale-sized spikes, making the wing surface the first-known biomaterial that can kill bacteria.
+
+Temperature regulation
+Desert cicadas such as Diceroprocta apache are unusual among insects in controlling their temperature by evaporative cooling, analogous to sweating in mammals. When their temperature rises above about 39 °C (102 °F), they suck excess sap from the food plants and extrude the excess water through pores in the tergum at a modest cost in energy. Such a rapid loss of water can be sustained only by feeding on water-rich xylem sap. At lower temperatures, feeding cicadas would normally need to excrete the excess water. By evaporative cooling, desert cicadas can reduce their bodily temperature by some 5 °C. Some non-desert cicada species such as Magicicada tredecem also cool themselves evaporatively, but less dramatically. Conversely, many other cicadas can voluntarily raise their body temperatures as much as 22 °C (40 °F) above ambient temperature.
+
+Song
+The "singing" of male cicadas is produced principally and in the majority of species using a special structure called a tymbal, a pair of which lies below each side of the anterior abdominal region. The structure is buckled by muscular action and, being made of resilin, unbuckles rapidly on muscle relaxation, producing their characteristic sounds. Some cicadas, however, have mechanisms for stridulation, sometimes in addition to the tymbals. Here, the wings are rubbed over a series of midthoracic ridges. In the Chinese species Subpsaltria yangi, both males and females can stridulate. The sounds may further be modulated by membranous coverings and by resonant cavities.The male abdomen in some species is largely hollow, and acts as a sound box. By rapidly vibrating these membranes, a cicada combines the clicks into apparently continuous notes, and enlarged chambers derived from the tracheae serve as resonance chambers with which it amplifies the sound. The cicada also modulates the song by positioning its abdomen toward or away from the substrate. Partly by the pattern in which it combines the clicks, each species produces its own distinctive mating songs and acoustic signals, ensuring that the song attracts only appropriate mates. The tettigarctid (or hairy) cicadas Tettigarcta crinita of Australia and T. tomentosa have rudimentary tymbals in both sexes and do not produce airborne sounds. Both males and females produce vibrations that are transmitted through the tree substrate. They are considered as representing the original state from which other cicada communication has evolved.
+
+Average temperature of the natural habitat for the South American species Fidicina rana is about 29 °C (84 °F). During sound production, the temperature of the tymbal muscles was found to be significantly higher. Many cicadas sing most actively during the hottest hours of a summer day; roughly a 24-hour cycle. Most cicadas are diurnal in their calling and depend on external heat to warm them up, while a few are capable of raising their temperatures using muscle action and some species are known to call at dusk. Kanakia gigas and Froggattoides typicus are among the few that are known to be truly nocturnal and there may be other nocturnal species living in tropical forests.Cicadas call from varying heights on trees. Where multiple species occur, the species may use different heights and timing of calling. While the vast majority of cicadas call from above the ground, two Californian species, Okanagana pallidula and O. vanduzeei are known to call from hollows made at the base of the tree below the ground level. The adaptive significance is unclear, as the calls are not amplified or modified by the burrow structure, but this may avoid predation.Although only males produce the cicadas' distinctive sounds, both sexes have membranous structures called tympana (singular – tympanum) by which they detect sounds, the equivalent of having ears. Males disable their own tympana while calling, thereby preventing damage to their hearing; a necessity partly because some cicadas produce sounds up to 120 dB (SPL) which is among the loudest of all insect-produced sounds. The song is loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss in humans should the cicada be at "close range". In contrast, some small species have songs so high in pitch that they are inaudible to humans.For the human ear, telling precisely where a cicada song originates is often difficult. The pitch is nearly constant, the sound is continuous to the human ear, and cicadas sing in scattered groups. In addition to the mating song, many species have a distinct distress call, usually a broken and erratic sound emitted by the insect when seized or panicked. Some species also have courtship songs, generally quieter, and produced after a female has been drawn to the calling song. Males also produce encounter calls, whether in courtship or to maintain personal space within choruses.The songs of cicadas are considered by entomologists to be unique to a given species, and a number of resources exist to collect and analyse cicada sounds.
+
+Life cycle
+In some species of cicadas, the males remain in one location and call to attract females. Sometimes, several males aggregate and call in chorus. In other species, the males move from place to place, usually with quieter calls, while searching for females. The Tettigarctidae differ from other cicadas in producing vibrations in the substrate rather than audible sounds. After mating, the female cuts slits into the bark of a twig where she deposits her eggs. Both male and female cicadas die within a few weeks after emerging from the soil. Although they have mouthparts and are able to consume some plant liquids for nutrition, the amount eaten is very small and the insects have a natural adult lifespan of less than two months.
+When the eggs hatch, the newly hatched nymphs drop to the ground and burrow. Cicadas live underground as nymphs for most of their lives at depths down to about 2.5 m (8 ft). Nymphs have strong front legs for digging and excavating chambers near to roots, where they feed on xylem sap. In the process, their bodies and interior of the burrow become coated in anal fluids. In wet habitats, larger species construct mud towers above ground to aerate their burrows. In the final nymphal instar, they construct an exit tunnel to the surface and emerge. They then moult (shed their skins) on a nearby plant for the last time, and emerge as adults. The exuviae or abandoned exoskeletons remain, still clinging to the bark of the tree.
+Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts 2–5 years. Some species have much longer life cycles, such as the North American genus, Magicicada, which has a number of distinct "broods" that go through either a 17-year, or in some parts of the region, a 13-year life cycle. The long life cycles may have developed as a response to predators, such as the cicada killer wasp and praying mantis. A specialist predator with a shorter life cycle of at least two years could not reliably prey upon the cicadas. An alternate hypothesis is that these long life cycles evolved during the ice ages so as to overcome cold spells, and that as species co-emerged and hybridized, they left distinct species that did not hybridize having periods matching prime numbers.
+
+Diet
+Cicada nymphs drink sap from the xylem of various species of trees, including oak, cypress, willow, ash, and maple. While common folklore indicates that adults do not eat, they actually do drink plant sap using their sucking mouthparts.
+
+Locomotion
+Cicadas, unlike other Auchenorrhyncha, are not adapted for jumping (saltation). They have the usual insect modes of locomotion, walking and flight, but they do not walk or run well, and take to the wing to travel distances greater than a few centimetres.
+
+Predators, parasites, and pathogens
+Cicadas are commonly eaten by birds and mammals, as well as bats, wasps, mantises, spiders, and robber flies. In times of mass emergence of cicadas, various amphibians, fish, reptiles, mammals, and birds change their foraging habits so as to benefit from the glut. Newly hatched nymphs may be eaten by ants, and nymphs living underground are preyed on by burrowing mammals such as moles. In northern Japan, brown bears prey on final instar nymphs of cicadas during summer by digging up the ground. In Australia, cicadas are preyed on by the Australian cicada killer wasp (Exeirus lateritius), which stings and stuns cicadas high in the trees, making them drop to the ground, where the cicada hunter mounts and carries them, pushing with its hind legs, sometimes over a distance of 100 m, until they can be shoved down into its burrow, where the numb cicadas are placed onto one of many shelves in a "catacomb", to form the food stock for the wasp grub that grows out of the egg deposited there. A katydid predator from Australia is capable of attracting singing male cicadas of a variety of species by imitating the timed click replies of sexually receptive female cicadas, which respond in pair formation by flicking their wings.Several fungal diseases infect and kill adult cicadas, while other fungi in the genera Ophiocordyceps and Isaria attack nymphs. Massospora cicadina specifically attacks the adults of periodical cicadas, the spores remaining dormant in the soil between outbreaks. This fungus is also capable of dosing cicadas with psilocybin, the psychedelic drug found in magic mushrooms, as well as cathinone, an alkaloid similar to various amphetamines. These chemicals alter the behaviour of the cicadas, driving males to copulate, including attempts with males, and is thought to be beneficial to the fungus, as the fungal spores are dispersed by a larger number of infected carriers.Plants can also defend themselves against cicadas. Although cicadas can feed on the roots of gymnosperms, it has been found that resinous conifers such as pine do not allow the eggs of Magicicada to hatch, the resin sealing up the egg cavities.
+
+Antipredator adaptations
+Cicadas use a variety of strategies to evade predators. Large cicadas can fly rapidly to escape if disturbed. Many are extremely well camouflaged to evade predators such as birds that hunt by sight. Being coloured like tree bark and disruptively patterned to break up their outlines, they are difficult to discern; their partly transparent wings are held over the body and pressed close to the substrate. Some cicada species play dead when threatened.
+Some cicadas such as Hemisciera maculipennis display bright deimatic flash coloration on their hind wings when threatened; the sudden contrast helps to startle predators, giving the cicadas time to escape. Most cicadas are diurnal and rely on camouflage when at rest, but some species use aposematism-related Batesian mimicry, wearing the bright colors that warn of toxicity in other animals; the Malaysian Huechys sanguinea has conspicuous red and black warning coloration, is diurnal, and boldly flies about in full view of possible predators.Predators such as the sarcophagid fly Emblemasoma hunt cicadas by sound, being attracted to their songs. Singing males soften their song so that the attention of the listener gets distracted to neighbouring louder singers, or cease singing altogether as a predator approaches. A loud cicada song, especially in chorus, has been asserted to repel predators, but observations of predator responses refute the claim.
+
+In human culture
+In art and literature
+Cicadas have been featured in literature since the time of Homer's Iliad, and as motifs in decorative art from the Chinese Shang dynasty (1766–1122 BCE). They are described by Aristotle in his History of Animals and by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History; their mechanism of sound production is mentioned by Hesiod in his poem "Works and Days": "when the Skolymus flowers, and the tuneful Tettix sitting on his tree in the weary summer season pours forth from under his wings his shrill song". In the classic 14th-century Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Diaochan took her name from the sable (diāo) tails and jade decorations in the shape of cicadas (chán), which adorned the hats of high-level officials.
+In the Japanese novel The Tale of Genji, the title character poetically likens one of his many love interests to a cicada for the way she delicately sheds her robe the way a cicada sheds its shell when molting. Cicada exuviae play a role in the manga Winter Cicada. Cicadas are a frequent subject of haiku, where, depending on type, they can indicate spring, summer, or autumn. Shaun Tan's illustrated book Cicada tells the story of a hardworking but underappreciated cicada working in an office. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play Appropriate takes place on an Arkansas farm in summer, and calls for the sounds of mating cicadas to underscore the entire show.
+
+In fashion
+Being lightweight, and with hooklike legs, the exuviae of cicadas can be used as hair or clothing accessories.
+
+As food and folk medicine
+Cicadas were eaten in Ancient Greece, and are consumed today only in selected regions in China, both as adults and (more often) as nymphs. Cicadas are also eaten in Malaysia, Burma, North America, and central Africa, as well as the Balochistan region of Pakistan, especially in Ziarat. Female cicadas are prized for being meatier. Shells of cicadas are employed in traditional Chinese medicines. The 17-year "Onondaga Brood" Magicicada is culturally important and a particular delicacy to the Onondaga people, and are considered a novelty food item by modern consumers in several states.
+
+In music
+Cicadas are featured in the protest song "Como La Cigarra" ("Like the Cicada") written by Argentinian poet and composer María Elena Walsh. In the song, the cicada is a symbol of survival and defiance against death. The song was recorded by Mercedes Sosa, among other Latin American musicians.
+In North America and Mexico, there is a well-known song, "La Cigarra" ("The Cicada"), written by Raymundo Perez Soto, which is a song in the Mariachi tradition, that romanticises the insect as a creature that sings until it dies.Brazilian artist Lenine with his track "Malvadeza" from the album Chão, creates a song built upon the sound of the cicada that can be heard along the track.Cicada sounds heavily feature on the 2021 album Solar Power by New Zealand artist Lorde. She described cicada song as being emblematic of the New Zealand summer.
+
+In mythology and folklore
+Cicadas have been used as money, in folk medicine, to forecast the weather, to provide song (in China), and in folklore and myths around the world. In France, the cicada represents the folklore of Provence and the Mediterranean cities.The cicada has represented insouciance since classical antiquity. Jean de La Fontaine began his collection of fables Les fables de La Fontaine with the story "La Cigale et la Fourmi" ("The Cicada and the Ant") based on one of Aesop's fables; in it, the cicada spends the summer singing, while the ant stores away food, and finds herself without food when the weather turns bitter.In Chinese tradition, the cicada (蟬, chán) symbolises rebirth and immortality. In the Chinese essay "Thirty-Six Stratagems", the phrase "to shed the golden cicada skin" (simplified Chinese: 金蝉脱壳; traditional Chinese: 金蟬脫殼; pinyin: jīnchán tuōqiào) is the poetic name for using a decoy (leaving the exuviae) to fool enemies. In the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West (16th century), the protagonist Priest of Tang was named the Golden Cicada.In Japan, the cicada is associated with the summer season. For many Japanese people, summer hasn't officially begun until the first songs of the cicada are heard. According to Lafcadio Hearn, the song of Meimuna opalifera, called tsuku-tsuku boshi, is said to indicate the end of summer, and it is called so because of its particular call.In the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, the goddess Aphrodite retells the legend of how Eos, the goddess of the dawn, requested Zeus to let her lover Tithonus live forever as an immortal. Zeus granted her request, but because Eos forgot to ask him to also make Tithonus ageless, Tithonus never died, but he did grow old. Eventually, he became so tiny and shriveled that he turned into the first cicada. The Greeks also used a cicada sitting on a harp as an emblem of music.In Kapampangan mythology in the Philippines, the goddess of dusk, Sisilim, is said to be greeted by the sounds and appearances of cicadas whenever she appears.
+
+As pests
+Cicadas feed on sap; they do not bite or sting in a true sense, but may occasionally mistake a person's arm for a plant limb and attempt to feed. Male cicadas produce very loud calls that can damage human hearing.Cicadas are not major agricultural pests, but in some outbreak years, trees may be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of females laying their eggs in the shoots. Small trees may wilt and larger trees may lose small branches. Although in general, the feeding activities of the nymphs do little damage, during the year before an outbreak of periodic cicadas, the large nymphs feed heavily and plant growth may suffer. Some species have turned from wild grasses to sugarcane, which affects the crop adversely, and in a few isolated cases, females have oviposited on cash crops such as date palms, grape vines, citrus trees, asparagus, and cotton.Cicadas sometimes cause damage to ornamental shrubs and trees, mainly in the form of scarring left on tree branches where the females have laid their eggs. Branches of young trees may die as a result.
+
+See also
+Cicada 3301
+List of Cicadidae genera
+
+Notes
+References
+Further reading
+Clausen, Lucy W. (1954). Insect Fact and Folklore. Macmillan.
+Egan, Rory B. (1994). "Cicada in Ancient Greece". Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
+Hoppensteadt, Frank C; Keller, Joseph B (1976). "Synchronization of periodical cicada emergences" (PDF). Science. 194 (4262): 335–337. Bibcode:1976Sci...194..335H. doi:10.1126/science.987617. PMID 987617.
+Main, Douglas (3 May 2021). "Trillions of cicadas are coming to the U.S. Here's why that's a good thing". National Geographic.
+Myers, JG (1929). Insect Singers: A Natural History of the Cicadas. Routledge.
+Ramel, Gordon (2005). "The Singing Cicadas". Earth Life. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
+Riegel, Garland (1994). Cicada in Chinese Folklore. Melsheimer Entomological Series. Bug bios. Archived from the original on 10 November 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
+Walker, Annette (2000). The Reed Handbook of Common New Zealand Insects. Reed. ISBN 978-0-7900-0718-2.
+
+External links
+
+Cicada Mania – Website dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world
+Massachusetts Cicadas describes behavior, sightings, photos, how to find guide, videos, periodical and annual cicada species information and distribution maps
+Cicadas.uconn.edu/ Brood mapping project – solicits records and observations from the general public
+Song recordings and information of cicadas of the United States and Canada
+Cicadas of Florida, Neocicada hieroglyphica, Tibicen, Diceroprocta and Melampsalta spp. at University of Florida/IFAS Featured Creatures
+Greater Cincinnati Cicada Information & Teaching Resources – College of Mt Saint Joseph Cicada Information Site
+DrMetcalf: a resource on cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, spittlebugs, and treehoppers
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diff --git a/data/animals/cocker spaniel.txt b/data/animals/cocker spaniel.txt
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+Cocker Spaniels are dogs belonging to two breeds of the spaniel dog type: the American Cocker Spaniel and the English Cocker Spaniel, both of which are commonly called simply Cocker Spaniel in their countries of origin. In the early 20th century, Cocker Spaniels also included small hunting spaniels.
+Cocker Spaniels were originally bred as hunting dogs in the UK, with the term "cocker" deriving from their use to hunt the Eurasian woodcock. When the breed was brought to the United States, it was bred to a different standard, which enabled it to specialize in hunting the American woodcock. Further physical changes were bred into the cocker in the United States during the early part of the 20th century.
+Spaniels were first mentioned in the 14th century by Gaston III, Count of Foix in his work the Livre de Chasse. The "cocking" or "cocker spaniel" was a type of field or land spaniel in the 19th century. Prior to 1901, Cocker Spaniels were only separated from Field Spaniels and Springer Spaniels by weight. Two dogs are considered to be the foundation sires of both modern breeds, the English variety are descended from Ch. Obo, while the American breed descends from Obo's son, Ch. Obo II. In the United States, the English Cocker was recognized as separate from the native breed in 1946; in the UK, the American type was recognized as a separate breed in 1970. In addition, a second strain of English Cocker Spaniel, a working strain, is not bred to a standard, but to working ability. Both breeds share similar coat colors and health issues with a few exceptions.
+
+History
+While their origins are unknown, "spaynels" are mentioned in 14th-century writings. They are commonly assumed to have originated in Spain, and Edward, 2nd Duke of York in his 15th-century work The Master of Game introduces them as "Another kind of hound there is that be called hounds for the hawk and spaniels, for their kind cometh from Spain, notwithstanding that there are many in other countries." The Master of Game was mostly an English translation of an earlier 14th century Old French work by Gaston III of Foix-Béarn entitled Livre de Chasse.In 1801, Sydenham Edwards wrote in Cynographia Britannica that the "Land Spaniel" is divided into two types: the hawking, springing/springer and the cocking/cocker spaniel. The term "cocker" came from the dog's use in hunting woodcocks. During the 19th century, a "cocker spaniel" was a type of small Field Spaniel; at the time, this term referred to a number of different spaniel hunting breeds, including the Norfolk Spaniel, Sussex Spaniel, and Clumber Spaniel. While no Sussex Cockers or Clumber Cockers existed, some dogs were known as Welsh Cockers and Devonshire Cockers. The Welsh or Devonshire were considered cockers until 1903, when they were recognized by The Kennel Club as the Welsh Springer Spaniel.
+Prior to the 1870s, the only requirement for a dog to be classed as a Cocker Spaniel was that it needed to weigh less than 25 pounds (11 kg), although breeders separated the cocker from the King Charles Spaniel, which remains a smaller breed of spaniel. This maximum weight limit remained on the Cocker Spaniel until 1900, with larger dogs being classed as Springer Spaniels. The colors of the Devonshire and Welsh Cockers were described by John Henry Walsh under the pseudonym Stonehenge in his book The Dog in Health and Disease as being a deeper shade of liver than that of the Sussex Spaniel. Following the formation of The Kennel Club in the UK in 1873, efforts were made by breeders to record the pedigrees of cockers and springers. In 1892, English Cocker Spaniels and English Springer Spaniels were recognized as separate breeds by The Kennel Club.Two dogs are thought to be the foundation sires of both modern breeds of cocker spaniels. Ch. Obo is considered by breed enthusiasts to be the father of the modern English Cocker Spaniel, while his son, Ch. Obo II, is considered to be the progenitor of the American Cocker Spaniel. Obo was born in 1879, when registration as a cocker was still only by size and not by ancestry. He was the son of a Sussex Spaniel and a Field Spaniel. Although Obo was an English dog, Obo II was born on American shores – his mother was shipped to the United States while pregnant. During his lifetime, Obo II was claimed in advertisements to be the sire or grandsire of nearly every prize-winning cocker in America.
+
+Modern breeds
+The two breeds of cocker spaniel are the English Cocker Spaniel and the American Cocker Spaniel. They were bred as gun dogs, to use their sense of smell to cover low areas near the handler to flush birds into the air to be shot, and to use their eyes and nose to locate the bird once downed, and then to retrieve the bird with a soft mouth. The major differences between the English and American varieties is that the American is smaller with a shorter back, a domed head, and a shorter muzzle, while the English variety is taller with a narrower head and chest.Cocker Spaniel coats occur in a variety of colors, including black, liver, red, and golden in solids. Also, black and tan, and sometimes liver and tan are known, as well as a variety of color mixtures of those solid colors including roans, roan and tans, tricolors, and those solid colors with additional white markings.
+Rare colours can appear unexpectedly in certain lines, for instance while an all-white cocker is usually bred by selective breeding of very light golden strains, they can still appear very uncommonly to parents that are dark-colored. A noted occurrence of this happened in 1943, when a grandson of My Own Brucie, Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1940 and 1941, was born all-white.In its native United States, the American Cocker Spaniel was ranked the 23rd-most popular breed according to registration statistics of the AKC in 2009, a decrease in popularity since 1999, when it was ranked 13th. For 25 years, the American Cocker Spaniel was the most popular dog in America. It was ranked number one first in 1936 prior to the English Cocker Spaniel being recognized as a separate breed, and held onto the spot until 1952, when Beagles became the most popular dogs. It regained the spot in 1983 and held on at number one until 1990. In the UK, the American Cocker Spaniel is far less popular than its English relative, with 322 registrations compared to the English Cocker's 22,211 in 2009.
+
+English Cocker Spaniel
+Called simply Cocker Spaniel in the UK, this is the breed that was originally recognized by The Kennel Club (KC) in 1892. The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized the English Cocker Spaniel as a separate breed in 1946.The size of the English Cocker Spaniel according to the KC is 15.5–16.0 inches (39–41 cm) at the withers for males, and 15.0–15.5 inches (38–39 cm) for females. The weight of a show dog should be 28–32 pounds (13–15 kg).The English Cocker Spaniel is the most successful breed at the most popular dog show in the UK, Crufts, with seven best-in-show wins since the prize was first awarded in 1928. This was mostly due to the success of dog breeder H.S. Lloyd's Ware Kennel, dogs of which won best-in-show on six occasions between 1930–1950. They are the second most popular dog breed in the UK according to statistics released by the KC with 22,211 registrations in 2009, beaten only by the Labrador Retriever with 40,943. In third place was the English Springer Spaniel with 12,700. The English Cocker's popularity has increased steadily since 1999 in the United States when they were ranked 76th in registrations by the AKC, to 2009 when they were ranked 66th.Physical differences exist between the show strain and working strain in the UK. While the show strain is bred to the conformation standard, the working strain is bred for working ability, and as such, several physical differences have appeared. Working-type dogs tend to be larger with flatter heads and shorter ears. The coat also tends to be shorter and finer than the show variety and have less feathering. The working strain seems to be more energetic than the show strain.
+
+American Cocker Spaniel
+American Cocker Spaniels were recognized by the AKC in 1878. Generally smaller than the English, separate classes were created for the two types in America in 1935 and the Cocker Spaniel Club of America discouraged breeding between the two types in 1938. The American Cocker Spaniel was recognized as a separate breed by the KC in the UK in 1970. The American Cocker Spaniel is referred to as the Cocker Spaniel within the United States.The American Cocker Spaniel was bred smaller, as American woodcocks are smaller than their European relatives, and the breed's appearance changed slightly during the first part of the 20th century, as the preference by American breeders was for a more stylish appearance. The standard size according to the AKC is between 14.5 and 15.5 inches (37 and 39 cm) at the withers for males and 13.5–14.5 inches (34–37 cm) for females. The weight of the breed is typically between 24 and 30 pounds (11 and 14 kg).At the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the most prestigious dog show in the United States, the American Cocker Spaniel has won Best in Show on four occasions since its first award in 1907. The most successful breed is the Wire Fox Terrier with 13 wins. The American Cocker Spaniel is judged in three separate breed classes under AKC rules; "black", "parti-color", and "any solid color other than black..." (ASCOB).
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+
+References
+Footnotes
+
+Bibliography
+
+External links
+
+American Cocker Spaniel at Curlie
+English Cocker Spaniel at Curlie
+Cocker Spaniels Ear Cleaning Cocker Spaniel at Curlie
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diff --git a/data/animals/cockroach.txt b/data/animals/cockroach.txt
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+Cockroaches (or roaches) are insects belonging to the order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as pests.
+The cockroaches are an ancient group, with their ancestors, known as "roachoids", originating during the Carboniferous period, some 320 million years ago. Those early ancestors, however, lacked the internal ovipositors of modern roaches. Cockroaches are somewhat generalized insects lacking special adaptations (such as the sucking mouthparts of aphids and other true bugs); they have chewing mouthparts and are probably among the most primitive of living Neopteran insects. They are common and hardy insects capable of tolerating a wide range of climates, from Arctic cold to tropical heat. Tropical cockroaches are often much larger than temperate species.
+Modern cockroaches are not considered to be a monophyletic group, as it has been found based on genetics that termites are deeply nested within the group, with some groups of cockroaches more closely related to termites than they are to other cockroaches, thus rendering Blattaria paraphyletic. Both cockroaches and termites are included into Blattodea.
+Some species, such as the gregarious German cockroach, have an elaborate social structure involving common shelter, social dependence, information transfer and kin recognition. Cockroaches have appeared in human culture since classical antiquity. They are popularly depicted as dirty pests, although the majority of species are inoffensive and live in a wide range of habitats around the world.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Cockroaches are members of the superorder Dictyoptera, which includes the termites and mantids, a group of insects once thought to be separate from cockroaches. Currently, 4,600 species and over 460 genera are described worldwide. The name "cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by 1620s English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach". The scientific name derives from the Latin blatta, "an insect that shuns the light", which in classical Latin was applied not only to cockroaches, but also to mantids.Historically, the name Blattaria was used largely interchangeably with the name Blattodea, but whilst Blattaria was used to refer to 'true' cockroaches exclusively, the Blattodea also includes the termites. The current catalogue of world cockroach species uses the name Blattodea for the group. Another name, Blattoptera, is also sometimes used to refer to extinct cockroach relatives.The earliest cockroach-like fossils ("blattopterans" or "roachoids") are from the Carboniferous period 320 million years ago. Fossil roachoids differ from modern cockroaches in that they had long external ovipositors and are the ancestors of mantises, as well as modern cockroaches. As the body, hind wings and mouthparts are not preserved in fossils frequently, the relationship of these roachoids and modern cockroaches remains disputed. The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appeared in the early Cretaceous.  Recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that cockroaches arose by the  Jurassic.The evolutionary relationships of the Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) shown in the cladogram are based on Inward, Beccaloni and Eggleton (2007). The cockroach families Anaplectidae, Lamproblattidae, and Tryonicidae are not shown but are placed within the superfamily Blattoidea. The cockroach families Corydiidae and Ectobiidae were previously known as the Polyphagidae and Blattellidae.
+Termites were previously regarded as a separate order Isoptera to cockroaches. However, recent genetic evidence strongly suggests that they evolved directly from 'true' cockroaches, and many authors now place them as an "epifamily" of Blattodea. This evidence supported a hypothesis suggested in 1934 that termites are closely related to the wood-eating cockroaches (genus Cryptocercus). This hypothesis was originally based on similarity of the symbiotic gut flagellates in termites regarded as living fossils and wood-eating cockroaches. Additional evidence emerged when F. A. McKittrick (1965) noted similar morphological characteristics between some termites and cockroach nymphs. The similarities among these cockroaches and termites have led some scientists to reclassify termites as a single family, the Termitidae, within the order Blattodea. Other scientists have taken a more conservative approach, proposing to retain the termites as the Termitoidae, an epifamily within the order. Such a measure preserves the classification of termites at family level and below.
+
+Description
+Most species of cockroach are about the size of a thumbnail, but several species are larger. The world's heaviest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach Macropanesthia rhinoceros, which can reach 8 centimetres (3 in) in length and weigh up to 35 grams (1.2 oz). Comparable in size is the Central American giant cockroach Blaberus giganteus. The longest cockroach species is Megaloblatta longipennis, which can reach 97 mm (3+7⁄8 in) in length and 45 mm (1+3⁄4 in) across. A Central and South American species, Megaloblatta blaberoides, has the largest wingspan of up to 185 mm (7+1⁄4 in). At the other end of the size scale, Attaphila cockroaches that live with leaf-cutter ants include some of the world's smallest species, growing to about 3.5 mm in length.
+Cockroaches are generalized insects with few special adaptations, and may be among the most primitive living Neopteran insects. They have a relatively small head and a broad, flattened body, and most species are reddish-brown to dark brown. They have large compound eyes, two ocelli, and long, flexible antennae. The mouthparts are on the underside of the head and include generalized chewing mandibles, salivary glands and various touch and taste receptors.The body is divided into a thorax of three segments and a ten-segmented abdomen. The external surface has a tough exoskeleton which contains calcium carbonate; this protects the inner organs and provides attachment to muscles. This external exoskeleton is coated with wax to repel water. The wings are attached to the second and third thoracic segments. The tegmina, or first pair of wings, are tough and protective; these lay as a shield on top of the membranous hind wings, which are used in flight. All four wings have branching longitudinal veins, as well as multiple cross-veins.The three pairs of legs are sturdy, with large coxae and five claws each. They are attached to each of the three thoracic segments. Of these, the front legs are the shortest and the hind legs the longest, providing the main propulsive power when the insect runs. The spines on the legs were earlier considered to be sensory, but observations of the insect's gait on sand and wire meshes have demonstrated that they help in locomotion on difficult terrain. The structures have been used as inspiration for robotic legs.The abdomen has ten segments, each having a pair of spiracles for respiration. In addition to the spiracles, the final segment consists of a pair of cerci, a pair of anal styles, the anus and the external genitalia. Males have an aedeagus through which they secrete sperm during copulation, while females have spermatheca for storing sperm and an ovipositor through which the oothecae are laid.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Cockroaches are abundant throughout the world and live in a wide range of environments, especially in the tropics and subtropics. Cockroaches can withstand extremely low temperatures, allowing them to live in the Arctic. Some species are capable of surviving temperatures of −122 °C (−188 °F) by manufacturing an antifreeze made out of glycerol. In North America, 50 species separated into five families are found throughout the continent. 450 species are found in Australia. Only about four widespread species are commonly regarded as pests.Cockroaches occupy a wide range of habitats. Many live in leaf litter, among the stems of matted vegetation, in rotting wood, in holes in stumps, in cavities under bark, under log piles and among debris. Some live in arid regions and have developed mechanisms to survive without access to water sources. Others are aquatic, living near the surface of water bodies, including bromeliad phytotelmata, and diving to forage for food. Most of these respire by piercing the water surface with the tip of the abdomen which acts as a snorkel, but some carry a bubble of air under their thoracic shield when they submerge. Others live in the forest canopy where they may be one of the main types of invertebrate present. Here they may hide during the day in crevices, among dead leaves, in bird and insect nests or among epiphytes, emerging at night to feed.
+
+Behavior
+Cockroaches are social insects; a large number of species are either gregarious or inclined to aggregate, and a slightly smaller number exhibit parental care. It used to be thought that cockroaches aggregated because they were reacting to environmental cues, but it is now believed that pheromones are involved in these behaviors. Some species secrete these in their feces with gut microbial symbionts being involved, while others use glands located on their mandibles. Pheromones produced by the cuticle may enable cockroaches to distinguish between different populations of cockroach by odor. The behaviors involved have been studied in only a few species, but German cockroaches leave fecal trails with an odor gradient. Other cockroaches follow such trails to discover sources of food and water, and where other cockroaches are hiding. Thus, cockroaches have emergent behavior, in which group or swarm behavior emerges from a simple set of individual interactions.Daily rhythms may also be regulated by a complex set of hormonal controls of which only a small subset have been understood. In 2005, the role of one of these proteins, pigment dispersing factor (PDF), was isolated and found to be a key mediator in the circadian rhythms of the cockroach.Pest species adapt readily to a variety of environments, but prefer warm conditions found within buildings. Many tropical species prefer even warmer environments. Cockroaches are mainly nocturnal and run away when exposed to light. An exception to this is the Asian cockroach, which flies mostly at night but is attracted to brightly lit surfaces and pale colors.
+
+Collective decision-making
+Gregarious cockroaches display collective decision-making when choosing food sources. When a sufficient number of individuals (a "quorum") exploits a food source, this signals to newcomer cockroaches that they should stay there longer rather than leave for elsewhere. Other mathematical models have been developed to explain aggregation dynamics and conspecific recognition.Cooperation and competition are balanced in cockroach group decision-making behavior.Cockroaches appear to use just two pieces of information to decide where to go, namely how dark it is and how many other cockroaches there are. A study used specially scented roach-sized robots that seem real to the roaches to demonstrate that once there are enough insects in a place to form a critical mass, the roaches accepted the collective decision on where to hide, even if this was an unusually lit place.
+
+Social behavior
+When reared in isolation, German cockroaches show behavior that is different from behavior when reared in a group. In one study, isolated cockroaches were less likely to leave their shelters and explore, spent less time eating, interacted less with conspecifics when exposed to them, and took longer to recognize receptive females. Because these changes occurred in many contexts, the authors suggested them as constituting a behavioral syndrome. These effects might have been due either to reduced metabolic and developmental rates in isolated individuals or the fact that the isolated individuals had not had a training period to learn about what others were like via their antennae.Individual American cockroaches appear to have consistently different "personalities" regarding how they seek shelter. In addition, group personality is not simply the sum of individual choices, but reflects conformity and collective decision-making.The gregarious German and American cockroaches have elaborate social structure, chemical signaling, and "social herd" characteristics. Lihoreau and his fellow researchers stated:
+The social biology of domiciliary cockroaches ... can be characterized by a common shelter, overlapping generations, non-closure of groups, equal reproductive potential of group members, an absence of task specialization, high levels of social dependence, central place foraging, social information transfer, kin recognition, and a meta-population structure.
+There is evidence that a few species of group-living roaches in the genera Melyroidea and Aclavoidea may exhibit a reproductive division of labor, which, if confirmed, would make these the only genuinely eusocial lineage known among roaches, in contrast to the subsocial members of the genus Cryptocercus.
+
+Sounds
+Some species make a buzzing noise while other cockroaches make a chirping noise. Gromphadorhina species and Archiblatta hoeveni produce sound through the modified spiracles on the fourth abdominal segment. In the former species, several different hisses are produced, including disturbance sounds, produced by adults and larger nymphs; and aggressive, courtship and copulatory sounds produced by adult males.Henschoutedenia epilamproides has a stridulatory organ between its thorax and abdomen, but the purpose of the sound produced is unclear.Several Australian species practice acoustic and vibration behaviour as an aspect of courtship. They have been observed producing hisses and whistles from air forced through the spiracles. Furthermore, in the presence of a potential mate, some cockroaches tap the substrate in a rhythmic, repetitive manner. Acoustic signals may be of greater prevalence amongst perching species, particularly those that live on low vegetation in Australia's tropics.
+
+Biology
+Digestive tract
+Cockroaches are generally omnivorous; the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), for example, feeds on a great variety of foodstuffs including bread, fruit, leather, starch in book bindings, paper, glue, skin flakes, hair, dead insects and soiled clothing. Many species of cockroach harbor in their gut symbiotic protozoans and bacteria which are able to digest cellulose. In many species, these symbionts may be essential if the insect is to utilize cellulose; however, some species secrete cellulase in their saliva, and the wood-eating cockroach, Panesthia cribrata, is able to survive indefinitely on a diet of crystallized cellulose while being free of microorganisms.The similarity of these symbionts in the genus Cryptocercus to those in termites are such that these cockroaches have been suggested to be more closely related to termites than to other cockroaches, and current research strongly supports this hypothesis about their relationships. All species studied so far carry the obligate mutualistic endosymbiont bacterium Blattabacterium, with the exception of Nocticola, an Australian cave-dwelling genus without eyes, pigment or wings, which recent genetic studies indicate is a very primitive cockroach. It had previously been thought that all five families of cockroach were descended from a common ancestor that was infected with B. cuenoti. It may be that N. australiensis subsequently lost its symbionts, or alternatively this hypothesis will need to be re-examined.
+
+Tracheae and breathing
+Like other insects, cockroaches breathe through a system of tubes called tracheae which are attached to openings called spiracles on all body segments. When the carbon dioxide level in the insect rises high enough, valves on the spiracles open and carbon dioxide diffuses out and oxygen diffuses in. The tracheal system branches repeatedly, the finest tracheoles bringing air directly to each cell, allowing gaseous exchange to take place.While cockroaches do not have lungs as do vertebrates, and can continue to respire if their heads are removed, in some very large species, the body musculature may contract rhythmically to forcibly move air in and out of the spiracles; this may be considered a form of breathing.
+
+Reproduction
+Cockroaches use pheromones to attract mates, and the males practice courtship rituals, such as posturing and stridulation. Like many insects, cockroaches mate facing away from each other with their genitalia in contact, and copulation can be prolonged. A few species are known to be parthenogenetic, reproducing without the need for males.Female cockroaches are sometimes seen carrying egg cases on the end of their abdomens; the German cockroach holds about 30 to 40 long, thin eggs in a case called an ootheca. She drops the capsule prior to hatching, though live births do occur in rare instances. The egg capsule may take more than five hours to lay and is initially bright white in color. The eggs are hatched from the combined pressure of the hatchlings gulping air. The hatchlings are initially bright white nymphs and continue inflating themselves with air, becoming harder and darker within about four hours. Their transient white stage while hatching and later while molting has led to claims of albino cockroaches. Development from eggs to adults takes three to four months. Cockroaches live up to a year, and the female may produce up to eight egg cases in a lifetime; in favorable conditions, she can produce 300 to 400 offspring. Other species of cockroaches, however, can produce far more eggs; in some cases a female needs to be impregnated only once to be able to lay eggs for the rest of her life.The female usually attaches the egg case to a substrate, inserts it into a suitably protective crevice, or carries it about until just before the eggs hatch. Some species, however, are ovoviviparous, keeping the eggs inside their body, with or without an egg case, until they hatch. At least one genus, Diploptera, is fully viviparous.Cockroaches have incomplete metamorphosis, meaning that the nymphs are generally similar to the adults, except for undeveloped wings and genitalia. Development is generally slow, and may take a few months to over a year. The adults are also long-lived; some have survived for as many as four years in the laboratory.
+
+Parthenogenesis
+When female American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) are housed in groups, this close association promotes parthenogenic reproduction. Oothecae, a type of egg mass, are produced asexually. The parthenogenetic process by which eggs are produced in P. americana is automixis. During automixis, meiosis occurs, but instead of giving rise to haploid gametes as ordinarily occurs, diploid gametes are produced (probably by terminal fusion) that can then develop into female cockroaches.
+
+Hardiness
+Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources, such as the glue from the back of postage stamps. Some can go without air for 45 minutes. Japanese cockroach (Periplaneta japonica) nymphs, which hibernate in cold winters, have survived twelve hours at −5 to −8 °C (23 to 18 °F) in laboratory experiments.Experiments on decapitated specimens of several species of cockroach found a variety of behavioral functionality remained, including shock avoidance and escape behavior, although many insects other than cockroaches are also able to survive decapitation, and popular claims of the longevity of headless cockroaches do not appear to be based on published research. The severed head is able to survive and wave its antennae for several hours, or longer when refrigerated and given nutrients.It is popularly suggested that cockroaches will "inherit the earth" if humanity destroys itself in a nuclear war. While cockroaches do, indeed, have a much higher radiation resistance than vertebrates, with a lethal dose perhaps six to 15 times that for humans, they are not exceptionally radiation-resistant compared to other insects, such as the fruit fly.The cockroach's ability to withstand radiation has been explained through the cell cycle. Cells are most vulnerable to the effects of radiation while they are dividing. A cockroach's cells divide only once each molting cycle (which is weekly, for the juvenile German cockroach). Since not all cockroaches would be molting at the same time, many would be unaffected by an acute burst of radiation, although lingering and more acute radiation would still be harmful.
+
+Relationship with humans
+In research and education
+Because of their ease of rearing and resilience, cockroaches have been used as insect models in the laboratory, particularly in the fields of neurobiology, reproductive physiology and social behavior. The cockroach is a convenient insect to study as it is large and simple to raise in a laboratory environment. This makes it suitable both for research and for school and undergraduate biology studies. It can be used in experiments on topics such as learning, sexual pheromones, spatial orientation, aggression, activity rhythms and the biological clock, and behavioral ecology. Research conducted in 2014 suggests that humans fear cockroaches the most, even more than mosquitoes, due to an evolutionary aversion.
+
+As pests
+The Blattodea include some thirty species of cockroaches associated with humans; these species are atypical of the thousands of species in the order. They feed on human and pet food and can leave an offensive odor. They can passively transport pathogenic microbes on their body surfaces, particularly in environments such as hospitals. Cockroaches are linked with allergic reactions in humans. One of the proteins that trigger allergic reactions is tropomyosin, which can cause cross-reactive allergy to dust mites and shrimp. These allergens are also linked with asthma. Some species of cockroach can live for up to a month without food, so just because no cockroaches are visible in a home does not mean that they are not there. Approximately 20–48% of homes with no visible sign of cockroaches have detectable cockroach allergens in dust.
+
+Control
+Many remedies have been tried in the search for control of the major pest species of cockroaches, which are resilient and fast-breeding. Household chemicals like sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) have been suggested, without evidence for their effectiveness. Garden herbs including bay, catnip, mint, cucumber, and garlic have been proposed as repellents. Poisoned bait containing hydramethylnon or fipronil, and boric acid powder is effective on adults. Baits with egg killers are also quite effective at reducing the cockroach population. Alternatively, insecticides containing deltamethrin or pyrethrin are very effective. In Singapore and Malaysia, taxi drivers use pandan leaves to repel cockroaches in their vehicles. Natural methods of cockroach control have been advanced by several published studies especially by Metarhizium robertsii (syn. M. anisopliae).Some parasites and predators are effective for biological control of cockroaches. Parasitoidal wasps such as Ampulex wasps sting nerve ganglia in the cockroach's thorax, causing temporary paralysis and allowing the wasp to deliver an incapacitating sting into the cockroach's brain. The wasp clips the antennae with its mandibles and drinks some hemolymph before dragging the prey to a burrow, where an egg (rarely two) is laid on it. The wasp larva feeds on the subdued living cockroach. Another wasp considered to be a promising candidate for biological control is the ensign wasp Evania appendigaster, which attacks cockroach oothecae to lay a single egg inside. Ongoing research is still developing technologies allowing for mass-rearing these wasps for application releases. Widow spiders commonly prey on cockroaches.Cockroaches can be trapped in a deep, smooth-walled jar baited with food inside, placed so that cockroaches can reach the opening, for example with a ramp of card or twigs on the outside. An inch or so of water or stale beer (by itself a cockroach attractant) in the jar can be used to drown any insects thus captured. The method works well with the American cockroach, but less so with the German cockroach.A study conducted by scientists at Purdue University concluded that the most common cockroaches in the US, Australia and Europe were able to develop a “cross resistance” to multiple types of pesticide. This contradicted previous understanding that the animals can develop resistance against one pesticide at a time. The scientists suggested that cockroaches will no longer be easily controlled using a diverse spectrum of chemical pesticides and that a mix of other means, such as traps and better sanitation, will need to be employed.Researchers from Heriot-Watt University demonstrated that a power laser can, with high effectiveness, neutralise cockroaches in a home, and suggest it might be an alternative to pesticides.
+
+As food
+Although considered disgusting in Western culture, cockroaches are eaten in many places around the world. Whereas household pest cockroaches may carry bacteria and viruses, cockroaches bred under laboratory conditions can be used to prepare nutritious food. In Thailand and Mexico, the heads and legs are removed, and the remainder may be boiled, sautéed, grilled, dried or diced. Frying makes the insect crispy with soft innards that taste like cottage cheese. Recipes from Taiwan also call for its use in omelets. It can be a feeder insect for pet reptiles.
+
+Medicinal use
+Cockroaches are raised in large quantities in China for the production of traditional medicine and cosmetics. There are about 100 cockroach farms in the country. Running a farm involves relatively low starting and operating costs due to how hardy and easy to process the insects are. Chinese and South Korean researchers are investigating cockroaches for treating baldness, AIDS, cancer, and as a dietary supplement.
+
+Conservation
+While a small minority of cockroaches are associated with human habitats and viewed as repugnant by many people, a few species are of conservation concern. The Lord Howe Island wood-feeding cockroach (Panesthia lata) is listed as endangered by the New South Wales Scientific Committee, but the cockroach may be extinct on Lord Howe Island itself. The introduction of rats, the spread of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and fires are possible reasons for their scarcity. Two species are currently listed as endangered and critically endangered by the IUCN Red List, Delosia ornata and Nocticola gerlachi. Both cockroaches have a restricted distribution and are threatened by habitat loss and rising sea levels. Only 600 Delosia ornata adults and 300 nymphs are known to exist, and these are threatened by a hotel development. No action has been taken to save the two cockroach species, but protecting their natural habitats may prevent their extinction. In the former Soviet Union, cockroach populations have been declining at an alarming rate; this may be exaggerated, or the phenomenon may be temporary or cyclic. One species of roach, Simandoa conserfariam, is considered extinct in the wild.
+
+Cultural depictions
+Cockroaches were known and considered repellent but medicinally useful in Classical times. An insect named in Greek "σίλφη" (silphe) has been identified with the cockroach, though the scientific name Silpha refers to a genus of carrion beetles. It is mentioned by Aristotle, saying that it sheds its skin; it is described as foul-smelling in Aristophanes' play Peace; Euenus called it a pest of book collections, being "page-eating, destructive, black-bodied" in his Analect. Virgil named the cockroach "Lucifuga" ("one that avoids light"). Pliny the Elder recorded the use of "Blatta" in various medicines; he describes the insect as disgusting, and as seeking out dark corners to avoid the light. Dioscorides recorded the use of the "Silphe", ground up with oil, as a remedy for earache.Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904) asserted that "For tetanus cockroach tea is given. I do not know how many cockroaches go to make up the cup; but I find that faith in this remedy is strong among many of the American population of New Orleans. A poultice of boiled cockroaches is placed over the wound." He adds that cockroaches are eaten, fried with garlic, for indigestion.Several cockroach species, such as Blaptica dubia, are raised as food for insectivorous pets. A few cockroach species are raised as pets, most commonly the giant Madagascar hissing cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa. Whilst the hissing cockroaches may be the most commonly kept species, there are many species that are kept by cockroach enthusiasts; there is even a specialist society: the Blattodea Culture Group (BCG), which was a thriving organisation for about 15 years although now appears to be dormant. The BCG provided a source of literature for people interested in rearing cockroaches, which was otherwise limited to either scientific papers, general insect books, or books covering a variety of exotic pets; in the absence of an inclusive book, one member published Introduction to Rearing Cockroaches, which still appears to be the only book dedicated to rearing cockroaches.Cockroaches have been used for space tests. A cockroach given the name Nadezhda was sent into space by Russian scientists as part of a Foton-M mission, during which she mated, and later became the first terrestrial animal to produce offspring that had been conceived in space.Because of their long association with humans, cockroaches are frequently referred to in popular culture. In Western culture, cockroaches are often depicted as dirty pests. In a 1750–1752 journal, Pehr Osbeck noted that cockroaches were frequently seen and found their way to the bakeries, after the sailing ship Gothenburg ran aground and was destroyed by rocks.Donald Harington's satirical novel The Cockroaches of Stay More (Harcourt, 1989) imagines a community of "roosterroaches" in a mythical Ozark town where the insects are named after their human counterparts. Madonna has famously quoted, "I am a survivor. I am like a cockroach, you just can't get rid of me." An urban legend maintains that cockroaches are radiation-resistant, and thus would survive a nuclear war.
+
+References
+External links
+
+Cockroach Species File Online world catalogue of cockroaches.
+Cockroaches chapter in United States Environmental Protection Agency and UF/IFAS National Public Health Pesticide Applicator Training Manual
+Cockroach Studies journal Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine (ISSN 1862-6491)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/coho.txt b/data/animals/coho.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..baa7ac9388ef20922565f5ce70ede25f883d8e6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/coho.txt
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+The coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch; Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name is based on the Russian common name kizhuch (кижуч).
+
+Description
+During their ocean phase, coho salmon have silver sides and dark-blue backs. During their spawning phase, their jaws and teeth become hooked. After entering fresh water, they develop bright-red sides, bluish-green heads and backs, dark bellies and dark spots on their backs. Sexually maturing fish develop a light-pink or rose shading along the belly, and the males may show a slight arching of the back. Mature adults have a pronounced red skin color with darker backs and spots, with females having darker shades than males. Coho Salmon average 20 to 28 inches (50.8 to 71 cm) and 7 to 11 pounds (3.2 to 5.0 kg), occasionally reaching up to 36 pounds (16 kg). Size can vary depending on age and geographic location. Males tend to be slightly larger than females. Mature Adults also develop a large kype (hooked beak) which is used to attract a mate during spawning, with males having a more pronounced kype than females. Coho salmon kypes are lighter shades than other pacific salmon.
+
+Reproduction
+Once the mature coho has reached 3-4 years old, it swim up freshwater rivers and streams to spawn (reproduce). Once reaching a suitable location, females "dig" a divot in the riverbed by flexing her tail and loosing rocks from the riverbed. This will be one of many of her nesting sites (sometimes she will create 6-7), called a redd.  Females are extremely aggressive during this time towards other females over nesting sites, and towards males until she finishes digging. Males will then fight over females for who gets to mate with the female. Once the female has chosen a mate, usually the largest male, she will lay her eggs onto the redd, while the male simultaneously releases milt (sperm) onto the eggs. Other males will also sneak in to release their milt during this time. Once the female has laid all her eggs, she will cover the eggs with rocks and pebbles using her tail. Salmon have a trait called semelparity, where the adults will then stop eating as their body slowly deteriorates until they die.
+
+Life Stages
+The eggs hatch in the late winter or early spring after six to seven weeks in the redd. Once hatched, they remain mostly immobile in the redd during the alevin life stage, which lasts for 6–7 weeks. Alevin no longer have the protective egg shell, or chorion, and rely on their yolk sacs for nourishment during growth. The alevin life stage is very sensitive to aquatic and sedimental contaminants. When the yolk sac is completely resorbed, the alevin leaves the redd. Young coho spend one to two years in their freshwater natal streams, often spending the first winter in off-channel sloughs, before transforming to the smolt stage. Smolts are generally 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) and as their parr marks fade and the adult's characteristic silver scales start to dominate. Smolts migrate to the ocean from late March through July. Some fish leave fresh water in the spring, spend summer in brackish estuarine ponds, and then return to fresh water in the fall. Coho salmon live in salt water for one to three years before returning to spawn. Some precocious males, known as "jacks", return as two-year-old spawners. Spawning males develop kypes, which are strongly hooked snouts and large teeth.
+
+Range
+The traditional range of the coho salmon runs along both sides of the North Pacific Ocean, from Hokkaidō, Japan and eastern Russia, around the Bering Sea to mainland Alaska, and south to Monterey Bay, California. Coho salmon have also been introduced in all the Great Lakes, as well as many landlocked reservoirs throughout the United States. A number of specimens, (more than 20), were caught in waters surrounding Denmark and Norway in 2017. Their source is currently unknown, but the salmon species is farmed at several locations in Europe, making it probable that the animal has slipped the net at such a farm.
+
+Human uses
+Fisheries
+The total North Pacific harvest of coho salmon in 2010 exceeded 6.3 million fish, of which 4.5 million were taken in the United States and 1.7 million in Russia. This corresponds to some 21,000 tonnes in all. Coho salmon are the backbone of the Alaskan troll fishery; however, the majority are caught by the net fishery (gillnet and seine). Coho salmon average 3.5% by fish and 5.9% by weight of the annual Alaska salmon harvest. The total North Pacific yields of the pink salmon, chum salmon and sockeye salmon are some 10–20 fold larger by weight.
+
+Game fish
+In North America, coho salmon is a game fish in fresh and salt water from July to December, especially with light fishing tackle. It is one of the most popular sport fish in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. Its popularity is due in part to the reckless abandon which it frequently displays chasing bait and lure while in salt water, and the large number of coastal streams it ascends during its spawning runs. Its habit of schooling in relatively shallow water, and often near beaches, makes it accessible to anglers on the banks, as well as in boats.It is also pursued by fly fishermen in salt water.
+
+Nutritional value
+Ocean-caught coho is regarded as excellent table fare. It has a moderate to high amount of fat, which is considered to be essential when judging taste. Only spring chinook and sockeye salmon have higher levels of fat in their meat. When smoking coho it is best to use a cold-smoking rather than hot-smoking process, due to their lower fat content compared to sockeye and chinook.
+
+Cultural tradition
+Historically coho, along with other species, has been a staple in the diet of several indigenous peoples, who would also use it to trade with other tribes farther inland. The coho salmon is also a symbol of several tribes, representing life and sustenance.
+
+Ecology
+In their freshwater stages, coho feed on plankton and aquatic invertebrates in the benthos and water column, such as Chironomids, midge larvae, and terrestrial insects that fall into the water. Upon entering the marine environment, they switch to a diet of plankton and fish, with fish making up most of their diets after a certain size. Adult coho feed on a vast variety of prey items that depend on the region they reside in during their second year at sea. Spawning habitats are small streams with stable gravel substrates.
+Salmonid species on the west coast of the United States have experienced dramatic declines in abundance during the past several decades as a result of human-induced and natural factors.
+
+Conservation
+The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has identified seven populations, called Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs), of coho salmon in Washington, Oregon and California. Four of these ESUs are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). These are the Lower Columbia River (threatened), Oregon Coast (threatened), Southern Oregon and Northern California Coasts (threatened), and Central California Coast (endangered). The long-term trend for the listed populations is still downward, though there was one recent good year with an increasing trend in 2001.The Puget Sound/Strait of Georgia ESU in Washington is an NMFS "Species of Concern". Species of Concern are those species for which insufficient information prevents resolving the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's concerns regarding status and threats and whether to list the species under the ESA.
+On May 6, 1997, NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, listed as threatened the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon ESU. The coho salmon population in the Southern Oregon/Northern California region has declined from an estimated 150,000–400,000 naturally spawning fish in the 1940s to fewer than 10,000 naturally producing adults today. These reductions are due to natural and man-made changes, including short-term atmospheric trends (such as El Niño, which causes extremes in annual rainfall on the northern California coast), predation by the California sea lion and Pacific harbor seal, and commercial timber harvesting.More than 680,000 coho salmon returned to Oregon in 2009, double that of 2007. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife required volunteers to herd fish into hatchery pens. Some creeks were reported to have so many fish, "you could literally walk across on the backs of coho," claimed a Portland television station. Lower temperatures in 2008 North Pacific waters brought in fatter plankton, which, along with greater outflows of Columbia River water, fed the resurgent populations. The 2009 run was so large, food banks were able to freeze 40 tonnes (39 long tons; 44 short tons) for later use.
+
+See also
+Pre-spawn mortality in coho salmon
+Inbreeding in fish
+
+Footnotes
+References
+"Oncorhynchus kisutch". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 January 2006.
+Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2005). "Oncorhynchus kisutch" in FishBase. 10 2005 version.
+"Coho salmon in the Great Lakes". Archived from the original on 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
+
+Technical reports
+Use of three microhabitats by juvenile coho salmon in Jordan Creek during the winter, 2004-2005 / by Ryan J. Briscoe. Hosted by the Alaska State Publications Program.
+
+
+== External links ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/colobus.txt b/data/animals/colobus.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3e9b34741e1e8b54357d7998b4aeb37c6706711d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/colobus.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus Piliocolobus. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subspecies. They are generally found in high-density forests where they forage on leaves, flowers and fruit. Social groups of colobus are diverse, varying from group to group. Resident-egalitarian and allomothering relationships have been observed among the female population. Complex behaviours have also been observed in this species, including greeting rituals and varying group sleeping patterns. Colobi play a significant role in seed dispersal.
+
+Etymology
+The word "colobus" comes from Greek κολοβός (kolobós, "docked", "maimed"), so named because the thumb is stump-like.
+
+Taxonomy
+Fossil species
+
+†Colobus flandrini
+†Colobus freedmani
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Colobus habitats include primary and secondary forests, riverine forests, and wooded grasslands; they are found more in higher-density logged forests than in other primary forests. Their ruminant-like digestive systems have enabled them to occupy niches that are inaccessible to other primates: they are herbivorous, eating leaves, fruit, flowers, lichen, herbaceous vegetation and bark. Colobuses are important for seed dispersal through their sloppy eating habits, as well as through their digestive systems.
+Leaf toughness influences colobus foraging efficiency. Tougher leaves correlate negatively with ingestion rate (g/min) as they are costly in terms of mastication, but positively with investment (chews/g). Individuals spend approximately 150 minutes actively feeding each day. In a montane habitat colobus are known to utilise lichen as a fallback food during periods of low food availability.
+
+Social patterns and morphology
+Colobuses live in territorial groups that vary in both size (3-15 individuals) and structure. It was originally believed that the structure of these groups consisted of one male and about 8 female members. However, more recent observations have shown variation in structure and the number of males within groups, with one species forming multi-male, multifemale groups in a multilevel society, and in some populations supergroups form exceeding 500 individuals. There appears to be a dominant male, whilst there is no clear dominance among female members. Relationships among females are considered to be resident-egalitarian, as there is low competition and aggression between them within their own groups. Juveniles are treated as a lower-rank (in regards to authority) than subadults and likewise when comparing subadults to adults. Colobuses do not display any type of seasonal breeding patterns.As suggested by their name, adult colobi have black fur with white features. White fur surrounds their facial region and a "U" shape of long white fur runs along the sides of their body. Newborn colobi are completely white with a pink face. Cases of allomothering are documented, which means members of the troop other than the infant's biological mother care for it. Possible explanations to this are, increasing inclusive fitness or maternal practice which will benefit future offspring.
+
+Social behaviours
+Many members participate in a greeting ritual when they are reunited with familiar individuals, an act of reaffirming. The greeting behaviour is generally carried out by the approaching monkey and often is followed with grooming. They participate in three greeting behaviours of physical contact. This includes mounting, head mounting (grasps the shoulders) and embracing. It seems as though these behaviours do not have any relationship with mating or courting.Black-and-white colobus have complex sleeping patterns. They sleep in trees near a food source, which may serve to save energy. Groups seem to regularly switch up sleeping locations (suggested due to reducing risk of parasites and placement prediction) and generally do not sleep near other groups. They also tend to sleep more tightly together on nights with great visibility. They sleep in mid- to upper sections of tall trees which allows for predator watch as well as protection from ground and aerial predators while they are asleep. Although there is no obvious preference for tree type, they have often been observed in Antiaris toxicaria.
+
+Conservation
+They are prey for many forest predators, and are threatened by hunting for the bushmeat trade, logging, and habitat destruction.
+Individuals are more vigilant (conspecific threat) in low canopy, they also spend less time scanning when they are around familiar group members as opposed to unfamiliar. There are no clear difference in vigilance between male and females. However, there is a positive correlation between mean monthly vigilance and encounter rates. Male vigilance generally increases during mating.
+
+References
+Sources
+External links
+
+Colobus Monkey: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
+Colobus Conservation
+Primate Info Net Colobus Factsheets
+Angolan Black & White Colobus
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/common iguana.txt b/data/animals/common iguana.txt
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/common iguana.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+The green iguana (Iguana iguana), also known as the American iguana or the common green iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana.  Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic area; it is native from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far north as Mexico.
+A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 m (6.6 ft) with bodyweights upward of 20 lb (9.1 kg).
+Commonly found in captivity as a pet due to its calm disposition and bright colors, it can be very demanding to care for properly. Space requirements and the need for special lighting and heat can prove challenging to the hobbyist.
+
+Taxonomy
+The species was first officially described by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Since then, numerous subspecies have been identified, but later classified as merely regional variants of the same species.Using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA-sequence data to explore the phylogenic history of the green iguana, scientists from El Salvador, Mexico, and the United States studied animals collected from 17 countries. The topology of phylogeny indicated that the species originated in South America and eventually radiated through Central America and the Caribbean. The study revealed no unique mitochondrial DNA haplotypes for subspecific status, but did indicate the deep lineage divergence between Central and South American populations.Naturalists once classified the Central American iguanas as a separate subspecies (I. i. rhinolopha), but this classification was later found to be invalid based on mitochondrial DNA, and iguanas with similar nose projections appeared randomly in other populations and interbred freely with those that do not share this trait. Genetic studies in the late 2010s still recovered I. rhinolopha as a distinct species, along with several other cryptic lineages present in I. iguana, and classifying only the South American populations may be the "true" green iguana. Two new insular subspecies (I. i. insularis and I. i. sanctaluciae) endemic to St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada were also identified in 2019; a 2020 study also recovered both these subspecies as part of a distinct species, the southern Antillean horned iguana (I. insularis). The study also found the Saban black iguana (I. melanoderma), described in that study, to be the sister group of South American I. iguana, with the clade containing both being sister to that of I. insularis. The Reptile Database disagrees with these conclusions, and groups all of these within the green iguana, with four subspecies: I. i. melanoderma, I. i. insularis, I. i.sanctaluciae, and I. i. iguana.
+
+Etymology
+The word "iguana" is derived from a Spanish form of the Taíno name for the species: iwana. In some Spanish-speaking countries, males of the species are referred to as garrobo or ministro and juveniles are called iguanita or garrobito.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The native range of the green iguana extends from southern Mexico to central Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia and the Caribbean; specifically Grenada, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Montserrat, Saba and Útila. They have been introduced to Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic), Saint Martin (island), Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Texas, Florida, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Furthermore, green iguanas colonised the island of Anguilla in 1995 after being washed ashore following a hurricane. Though the species is not native to Martinique, a small wild colony of released or escaped green iguanas endures at historic Fort Saint Louis.Green iguana has been introduced from South America to Puerto Rico and is very common throughout the island, where it is colloquially known as gallina de palo ("bamboo chicken" or "chicken of the tree") and considered an invasive species; in the United States, feral populations also exist in South Florida (including the Florida Keys), Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Green iguanas have also successfully colonised the island of Anguilla, arriving on the island in 1995 after rafting across the Caribbean from Guadeloupe, where they were introduced.
+The green iguana has become rare in parts of its native range of Central and South America due to hunting of wild iguanas for food, where iguanas have received the sobriquet gallino de palo ("bamboo chicken" or "chicken of the trees"). Overhunting resulted in a partial closure of markets in Nicaragua in 1976, while the government of Panama had taken action by the late 1960s to protect iguanas.: 15–16 Green iguanas are diurnal, arboreal, and are often found near water. Agile climbers, Iguana iguana can fall up to 50 feet (15 m) and land unhurt (iguanas use their hind leg claws to clasp leaves and branches to break a fall). During cold, wet weather, green iguanas prefer to stay on the ground for greater warmth. When swimming, iguanas remain submerged, letting their legs hang limply against their sides. They propel through the water with powerful tail strokes.While they may often be found in trees, these animals are well-known burrowers. The size of their burrow can range from 0.3 to 2.4 metres (1 ft 0 in to 7 ft 10 in) deep, with a diameter of 10 to 20 centimetres (4 to 7+3⁄4 in). They have been observed burrowing in canals, levees, and dikes and along seawalls in southern Florida. If individuals do not dig their own, they may even use gopher tortoise burrows or usurp those of the Florida burrowing owl.
+
+Description
+The green iguana is a large lizard and is probably the largest species in the iguana family, though a few in the genus Cyclura may match or exceed it in weight. Adults typically grow to 1.2 to 1.7 m (3.9 to 5.6 ft) in length from head to tail. As in all iguanas, the tail comprises much of this length, and the snout-to-vent length of most green iguanas is 30 to 42 cm (12 to 17 in). A typical adult male weighs around 4 kg (8.8 lb) while the smaller adult female typically weighs 1.2 to 3 kg (2.6 to 6.6 lb). A few large males can reach or exceed 8 kg (18 lb) in weight and 2 m (6.6 ft) long. Some specimens have even reportedly been measured at a body weight of greater than 9.1 kg (20 lb).Despite their name, green iguanas occur in different colours and types. In southern countries of their range, such as Peru, green iguanas appear bluish in colour, with bold blue markings. On islands such as Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, and Grenada, a green iguana's colour may vary from green to lavender, black, and even reddish brown. Green iguanas from the western region of Costa Rica are red, and animals of the northern ranges, such as Mexico, appear orange. Juvenile green iguanas from El Salvador are often bright blue, but  lose this color as they get older.Adult iguanas found on most of St. Lucia, mainly on the northeastern coast, Louvette, and Grand Anse, have many differences from other green iguana populations. They are light green with predominant black stripes. Instead of the typical orange dewlap, the iguanas of St. Lucia have a black dewlap. When compared to the common green iguana, females lay about half the number of eggs, 25 instead of 50. Scales to the back of their head, near the jawbone, are smaller. Their irises are white or cream, whereas other green iguanas have yellow irises.Green iguanas possess a row of spines along their backs and tails, which helps to protect them from predators. Their whip-like tails can be used to deliver painful strikes, and like many other lizards, when grabbed by the tail,  iguanas can allow it to break, so they can escape and eventually regenerate a new one. In addition, iguanas have a well-developed dewlap, which helps regulate their body temperature. This dewlap is used in courtships and territorial displays.
+Green iguanas have excellent vision, enabling them to detect shapes and motions at long distances. As green iguanas have only a few rod cells, they have poor vision in low-light conditions. At the same time, they have cells called double-cone cells that give them sharp color vision and enable them to see ultraviolet wavelengths. This ability is highly useful when basking so they can ensure they absorb enough sunlight to produce vitamin D.Green iguanas have a white photosensory organ on the top of their heads called the parietal eye (also called the third eye, pineal eye, or pineal gland), in contrast to most other lizards that have lost this primitive feature. This "eye" has only a rudimentary retina and lens and cannot form images, but is sensitive to changes in light and dark and can detect movement. This helps the iguana detect predators stalking it from above.Green iguanas have very sharp teeth that are capable of shredding leaves and even human skin. These teeth are shaped like a leaf, broad and flat, with serrations on the edge. The similarity of these teeth to those of one of the first dinosaurs discovered led to the dinosaur being named Iguanodon, meaning "iguana tooth", and the incorrect assumption that it had resembled a gigantic iguana. The teeth are situated on the inner sides of the jawbones, which is why they are hard to see in smaller specimens.Primarily herbivorous, green iguanas are presented with a special problem for osmoregulation; plant matter contains more potassium and as it has less dense nutritional content, more must be eaten to meet metabolic needs. As green iguanas are not capable of creating liquid urine more concentrated than their bodily fluids, like birds they excrete nitrogenous wastes as urate salts through a salt gland. As a result, green iguanas have developed a lateral nasal gland to supplement renal salt secretion by expelling excess potassium and sodium chlorides.Green iguanas from Guatemala and southern Mexico (which may belong to the distinct species I. rhinolopha) predominantly have small horns on their snouts between their eyes and their nostrils, whereas others do not.
+
+Ecology
+Reproductive biology
+Male green iguanas have highly developed femoral pores on the underside of their thighs, which secrete a scent (females have femoral pores, but they are smaller in comparison to those of the males). In addition, the dorsal spines that run along a green iguana's back are noticeably longer and thicker in males than they are in females, making the animals somewhat sexually dimorphic.Male green iguanas tend to display more dominant behaviors, such as head bobbing and tail whipping. They also tend to develop a taller dorsal crest than females, as well as taller dorsal spines (or spikes).  Large,  round, very pronounced jowls are generally a male characteristic. Jowls are located under the jaw and are protected by the subtympanic plate, which is a large, green, circular-shaped scale.
+Green iguanas are oviparous, with females laying clutches of 20 to 71 eggs once per year during a synchronized nesting period. The female green iguana gives no parental protection after egg laying, apart from defending the nesting burrow during excavation. In Panama, the green iguana has been observed sharing nest sites with American crocodiles, and in Honduras with spectacled caimans.The hatchlings emerge from the nest after 10–15 weeks of incubation. Once hatched, the young iguanas look similar to the adults in color and shape, resembling adult females more so than males and lacking dorsal spines.Juveniles stay in familial groups for the first year of their lives. Male green iguanas in these groups often use their own bodies to shield and protect females from predators, and it appears to be the only species of reptile to do this.
+
+Behavior
+When frightened by a predator, green iguanas  attempt to flee, and if near a body of water, dive into it and swim away. If cornered by a threat, the green iguana  extends and displays the dewlap under its neck, stiffens and puffs up its body, hisses, and bobs its head at the aggressor. If the threat persists, the iguana can lash with its tail, bite, and use its claws in defense. The wounded are more inclined to fight than uninjured prey.Green iguanas use "head bobs" and dewlaps in a variety of ways in social interactions, such as greeting another iguana or to court a possible mate. The frequency and number of head bobs have particular meanings to other iguanas.Green iguanas are hunted by predatory birds, and their fear of these is exploited as a ploy to catch them in the wild. A hunter imitates the sound of a hawk by whistling or screaming, causing the iguana to freeze and making its capture easier.
+
+Diet
+Green iguanas are primarily herbivores, with captives feeding on leaves such as turnip, mustard, and dandelion greens, flowers, fruit, and growing shoots of upwards of 100 different species of plant. In Panama, one of the green iguana's favorite foods is the wild plum (Spondias mombin).Although they consume a wide variety of foods if offered, green iguanas are naturally herbivorous and require a precise ratio of minerals (two to one calcium to phosphorus) in their diet. Captive iguanas must have a variety of leafy greens along with fruits and vegetables such as turnip greens, collard greens, butternut squash, acorn squash, mango, and parsnip. Juvenile iguanas often eat feces from adults  to acquire the essential microflora to digest their low-quality and hard-to-process vegetation-only diet.Some debate exists as to whether captive green iguanas should be fed animal protein. Some evidence shows wild iguanas eating grasshoppers and tree snails, usually as a byproduct of eating plant material. Wild adult green iguanas have been observed eating birds' eggs and chicks. They occasionally eat a small amount of carrion or invertebrates. Zoologists, such as Adam Britton, believe that such a diet containing protein is unhealthy for the animal's digestive system, resulting in severe long-term health damage, including kidney failure and leading to premature death. On the other side of the argument is that green iguanas at the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Florida, have been observed eating dead fish, and individuals kept in captivity have been known to eat mice without any ill effects. De Vosjoli writes that captive animals have been known to survive and thrive on eating nothing but whole rodent block, or monkey chow, and one instance of romaine lettuce with vitamin and calcium supplements. When found in unnatural habitats, especially those of high human population, they have also been
+known to feed on human garbage and poultry feces. Captive iguanas should not be fed lettuce or meat, and instead receive the vitamins and minerals they need from a purely herbivorous diet.
+
+As an invasive species
+Caribbean
+In the aftermath of Hurricane Luis and Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, a raft of uprooted trees carrying 15 or more green iguanas landed on the eastern side of Anguilla – an island where green iguanas had never been recorded before. These iguanas were apparently accidentally caught on the trees and rafted 320 km (200 mi) across the ocean from Guadeloupe, where green iguanas are an introduced species. Examination of the weather patterns and ocean currents indicated that the iguanas had probably spent three weeks at sea before arriving on Anguilla. Evidence of this new colony breeding on the island was found within two years of its arrival.In February 2012, the government of Puerto Rico proposed that the islands' iguanas, which were said to have a population of 4 million and considered to be a non-native nuisance, be eradicated and sold for meat.Iguanas have especially established introduced populations on islands in the Lesser Antilles, such as most of the French West Indies, Sint Eustatius, and Dominica.
+
+Fiji
+The green iguana is present as an invasive species on some of the islands of Fiji, where it is known as the American iguana. It poses a threat to the native iguanas through the potential spread of disease and to humans by spreading Salmonella. They were initially brought to Qamea in 2000 by an American who wanted them to eat the numerous insects on the island, although they are primarily herbivorous. They are now on the islands of Laucala, Matagi and Taveuni.
+
+United States
+The green iguana is established on Oahu and Maui, Hawaii, as a feral invasive species, despite strict legislation banning the importation of any reptiles, and in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. As most reptiles carry Salmonella spp., this is a concern and a reason legislation has been sought to regulate the trade in green iguanas.Due to a combination of events, the green iguana is considered an invasive species in South Florida, and is found along the east coast, as well as the Gulf Coast, of Florida from Key West to Pinellas County. The original small populations in the Florida Keys were stowaways on ships carrying fruit from South America. Over the years, other iguanas were introduced into the wild, mostly originating through the pet trade. Some escaped and some were intentionally released by their owners; these iguanas survived and then thrived in their new habitat. They commonly hide in the attics of houses and on beaches. They often destroy gardens and landscaping. They seem to be fond of eating a native endangered plant, Cordia globosa, and feeding on nickernut (Caesalpinia) a primary food plant of the endangered Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri); additionally on Marco Island, green iguanas have been observed using the burrows of the Florida burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia floridana), a species of special concern, all of which can make them more of a serious threat to Florida's ecosystem than originally believed. Currently, the damage green iguanas have caused has become significant and expected to increase, but controversy remains on how to deal with the problem.In January 2008, large numbers of iguanas established in Florida dropped from the trees in which they lived, due to unseasonably cold nights that put them in a state of torpor and caused them to lose their grip on the tree branches. Though no specific numbers were provided by local wildlife officials, local media described the phenomenon as a "frozen iguana shower" in which dozens "littered" local bike paths. Upon the return of daytime warmth, many (but not all) of the iguanas "woke up" and resumed their normal activities. This occurred again in January 2010, January 2018, and December 2020 after prolonged cold fronts once again hit southern Florida.
+
+Other countries
+Iguanas are also present in Ishigaki Island, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan.
+
+Captivity
+Green iguanas are by far the most globally traded reptiles, representing 46% of the total reptile trade in the US from 1996 and 2012, with annual imports reaching 1 million in 1996. The American pet trade has put a great demand on the green iguana; 800,000 iguanas were imported into the U.S. in 1995 alone, primarily originating from captive farming operations based in their native countries (Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, and Panama). However, these animals are demanding to care for properly over their lifetimes, and many die within a few years of acquisition.Recently, an increase in illegal trading has been identified, and a trade ban for transport within and out from the Lesser Antilles was suggested.Green iguanas  thrive only in temperatures of 79 °F (26 °C) to 95 °F (35 °C) and must have appropriate sources of UVB and UVA lighting, or else their bodies cannot produce vitamin D that promotes calcium absorption, which can result in a metabolic bone disease that can be fatal.
+In some locales (such as New York City and Hawaii), iguanas are considered exotic pets, and ownership is prohibited. Due to the potential impact of an introduced species on Hawaii's ecosystem, the state has strict regulations regarding the import and possession of green iguanas; violators can spend three years in jail and be fined up to $200,000.
+
+Conservation
+The green iguana is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that international trade is regulated through the CITES permit system. In addition, the green iguana is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a mention of habitat depletion from development being a possible concern for green iguana populations in the future. Historically, green iguana meat and eggs have been eaten as a source of protein throughout their native range, and are prized for their alleged medicinal and aphrodisiac properties. Efforts to raise green iguanas in the past have been made to raise green iguanas in captivity as a food source in an attempt to encourage more sustainable land use in Panama and Costa Rica.In 2020, iguana researchers collaborated to create an extended and 'live' database on genetic variation within the green iguana. The intent of the database is primarily to guide population management, hybrid identification, and monitoring of invasions and illegal trade.
+
+Cultural references
+The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted green iguanas in their art. The green iguana and its relative the black iguana (Ctenosaura similis) have been used as a food source in Central and South America for the past 7,000 years. It is possible that some of the populations in the Caribbean were translocated there from the mainland by various tribes as a food source. In Central and South America, green iguanas are still used as a source of meat and are often referred to as gallina de palo ("bamboo chicken" or "chicken of the tree"), because they are said to taste like chicken.
+
+Gallery
+References
+External links
+
+Green Iguana Society
+Iguana101
+International Iguana Foundation
+Iguana Care: The Comprehensive Guide for Beginner
+Green iguana at Curlie
+Iguana Extermination in South Florida
+Wildlife Management Strategies leading to proliferation of Green Iguanas
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diff --git a/data/animals/common newt.txt b/data/animals/common newt.txt
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+The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown with a spotted underside that ranges in color from orange to white. They reach an average length of 8–11 cm (3.1–4.3 in); males are larger than females. The newts' skins are dry and velvety when they are living on land, but become smooth when they migrate into the water to breed. Males develop a more vivid colour pattern and a conspicuous skin seam (crest) on their back when breeding.
+The smooth newt was originally described by Carl Linnaeus as a lizard, and was then given different genus names before the adoption of its current classification as a member of Lissotriton. There are currently three accepted subspecies of smooth newt. Formerly, there were also four subspecies—all with more restricted ranges—that are now classified as separate species, because they have been found to be distinct genetically as well as in appearance: the Caucasian smooth newt, the Greek smooth newt, Kosswig's smooth newt and Schmidtler's smooth newt. Together with these four species and the Carpathian newt, the smooth newt forms what is known as a species complex: some of the species hybridise with each other.
+For most of the year, smooth newts live on land, are mostly nocturnal, and hide during the day. They can adapt to a wide range of natural or semi-natural habitats, from forests at field edges to parks and gardens. They feed mainly on invertebrates such as insects and earthworms and are themselves eaten mainly by fish, birds and snakes. Between spring and summer, they breed in ponds or similar bodies of water. Males court females with a ritualised underwater display. Females lay their eggs on water plants, and larvae hatch after 10 to 20 days. The larvae develop for around three months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juveniles, at which point they become known as efts. They reach maturity after two to three years, and the adults live for up to 14 years.
+The smooth newt is abundant over much of its range and is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has been negatively affected by habitat destruction and fragmentation and by the introduction of new species of fish. Like other European amphibians, the smooth newt has now been listed as a protected species by the Berne Convention.
+
+Taxonomy
+Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus described the smooth newt in 1758 as Lacerta vulgaris, placing it in the same genus as the green lizards.: 370  It was later re-described under several different species and genus names, including Triton, Molge, Salamandra and Lissotriton, with in total 48 species synonyms published. Most recently, it was included in the genus Triturus, along with most European newts.: 221  This genus was found to be polyphyletic, containing several unrelated lineages, and the small-bodied newts, including the smooth newt, were therefore split off as separate genus in 2004 by García-París and colleagues.: 233  They used the name Lissotriton, introduced by the English zoologist Thomas Bell in 1839 with the smooth newt as type species: 132  but then considered a synonym of Triturus. "Lissotriton" is a combination of the Greek λισσός (lissós), meaning "smooth", and the name of Triton, an ancient Greek god of the sea, while the species epithet vulgaris means "common" in Latin.: 17 Three subspecies are accepted by Pabijan, Wielstra and colleagues: L. v. vulgaris, L. v. ampelensis and L. v. meridionalis. These authors, followed by Amphibian Species of the World, recognise four former subspecies from southern Europe and west Asia as separate species, as they are morphologically and genetically distinct: the Greek smooth newt (L. graecus), Kosswig's smooth newt (L. kosswigi), the Caucasian smooth newt (L. lantzi) and Schmidtler's smooth newt (L. schmidtleri). The five smooth newt species and the Carpathian newt (L. montadoni), which is their sister species, have collectively been referred to as the "smooth newt species complex".To distinguish the smooth newt from its close relatives, the English name "northern smooth newt" has been suggested. Other common names that have been used in the literature include: common newt, great water-newt, common water-newt, warty eft, water eft, common smooth newt, small newt, small eft, small evet, and brown eft.
+
+Evolution
+Molecular phylogenetic analyses have shown that the smooth newt is distinct from its four close relatives – the Caucasian, Greek, Kosswig's, and Schmidtler's smooth newt – which were formerly considered subspecies (see section Taxonomy above). The relationships within this species complex have not been fully resolved. Within the smooth newt itself, genetic groups do not completely match the currently accepted subspecies (ampelensis, meridionalis, vulgaris), described based on morphology. The five smooth newt species collectively were estimated to have diverged from the Carpathian newt around four to six million years ago.Genetic analyses have also demonstrated ongoing gene flow between the smooth newt and its relatives. Although the Carpathian newt is morphologically clearly different, hybridisation between the two species is frequent;: 26  it has been shown that smooth newt mitochondrial DNA has introgressed into and completely replaced that of the Carpathian newt populations. Partial introgression also occurred from the smooth newt to the Greek smooth newt. These patterns are likely due to the range expansion and secondary contact of species after the Last Glacial Maximum, which they likely survived in refugia mainly in southern and eastern Europe. The palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus), although often occurring in the same habitats, almost never hybridises with the smooth newt.: 25  Artificial crosses with even more distant species such as the alpine (Ichthyosaura alpestris) and northern crested (Triturus cristatus) newts were successful in laboratory experiments.: 29
+
+Description
+General characteristics
+Adult males of the smooth newt reach around 9–11 cm (3.5–4.3 in) head-to-tail length and are thus slightly larger than the females, which reach 8–9.5 cm (3.1–3.7 in). The body weight of adults varies between 0.3–5.2 g (0.011–0.183 oz), and decreases during the breeding season. The head is longer than it is wide, with 2–3 longitudinal grooves on the top, and the elongated snout is blunt in the male and rounded in the female. The skin is velvety and water-repellent on land but smooth during the aquatic phase; it contains mucus and toxin glands and its upper layer is shed off regularly.: 80–93 : 233–234 Outside the breeding season, both sexes are yellow-brown, brown or olive-brown. The male has dark, round spots, while the female has smaller spots of the same colour, which sometimes form two or more irregular lines along the back. The male has an orange strip on the tail underside, and the throat and belly in males are orange to white with small dark, rounded spots (these are lighter with smaller spots in the female). Size and colour vary with the environment, and the newts tend to be smaller in northern latitudes.: 80–93 : 233–234  Albinistic and leucistic individuals have been described.: 94 The smooth newt is diploid (i.e. it has two copies of each chromosome), with 24 chromosomes in total.: 107
+
+Breeding characteristics
+During the aquatic breeding season, males develop a skin seam or crest, which runs uninterrupted along the back and the tail. It is 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) high at mid-body, but higher along the tail. The tail also has a lower fin, and its end is pointed. The cloaca (the single digestive, urinary and reproductive orifice) of breeding males is swollen, round and dark-coloured. The hindfeet have more or less developed toe flaps, depending on the subspecies. Colours in general are more vivid than during the land phase. The dark spots grow larger, and the crest often has vertical dark and bright bands. There are five to seven longitudinal stripes on the head. The lower edge of the tail is red with a silver-blue flash and black spots. Females only develop low, straight tail fins but no crest or toe flaps, and are more drably coloured.: 26 : 233–234 Subspecies differ slightly in male secondary characteristics: L. v. ampelensis has strongly developed toe flaps, its tail tapers into a fine thread (but not a distinct filament), and the body is slightly square in cross-section. L. v. meridionalis also has toe flaps and a pointed tail, its crest is smooth-edged, and its body is square-shaped. In the nominate subspecies, L. v. vulgaris, the crest is clearly denticulated, toe flaps are only weakly developed and the body is round.: 234–236
+
+Larvae
+The aquatic larvae are 6.5–7 mm (0.26–0.28 in) long and yellow-brown with two longitudinal stripes at hatching. They initially have, in addition to their gills, only two balancers at the sides of the head, short appendages for attaching to plants which get resorbed within a few days.: 237  As in all salamanders, forelegs develop before the hindlegs. The colour becomes a more cryptic, darkly marbled yellow to brown in the growing larvae. Larvae are very slender and similar to the palmate newt. They develop a skin seam from the neck to the pointed tail; the tail is as long as the head and trunk. The larvae grow to 3–4.5 cm (1.2–1.8 in), which is also the size of the efts (terrestrial juveniles) just after metamorphosis.: 188–192
+
+Similar species
+The smooth newt resembles the other, less widespread Lissotriton species. It can be confused especially with the closely related "smooth newt complex" species (marked with * in the table below) and the more distant palmate newt, which often occurs in the same area.: 25  Females are especially difficult to tell apart, as distinguishing features are mainly observed in the males at breeding season.: 19–41 : 225–235
+
+Distribution
+Native range
+The smooth newt has been described as "the most ubiquitous and widely distributed newt of the Old World".: 237  The nominate subspecies, L. v. vulgaris, is most widespread and ranges natively from Ireland (where the smooth newt is the only newt species): 42  and Great Britain in the west to Siberia and northern Kazakhstan in the east. In the north it reaches central Fennoscandia, and its southern limit is central France, northern Italy, the central Balkans and the dry Eurasian steppe of Ukraine and Russia.: 234–238 : 42–44  The subspecies L. v. ampelensis only occurs in the Carpathians of Ukraine and the Danube delta of northern Romania, and L. v. meridionalis in the northern half of Italy, southern Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia.: 234–235 In the Carpathians, the smooth newt generally prefers lower elevations than the Carpathian newt. In the Balkans, the precise contact zones with the Greek smooth newt and Schmidtler's smooth newt are not yet clear. In central Italy, where the range of the smooth newt subspecies L. v. meridionalis overlaps with that of the Italian newt (L. italicus), it was found that the latter prefers a warmer and drier climate.
+
+Introduced range
+The nominate subspecies, L. v. vulgaris, has been introduced to Australia, which has no native salamander species. The smooth newt was available in the Australian pet trade until 1997, when it was declared a "controlled pest animal" because of the risk of introduction. The first record in the wild was made near Melbourne in 2011, and larvae were later found, indicating successful reproduction. Negative impacts on the native fauna are feared, including predation on and competition with native frogs and freshwater invertebrates, toxicity, and disease spread. The smooth newt could spread further in south-eastern Australia, where wide areas have a suitable climate.Within Europe, the subspecies L. v. meridionalis was introduced north of the Alps near Geneva, where it hybridises with the native L. v. vulgaris.
+
+Habitat and ecology
+Mainly a lowland species, the smooth newt is only exceptionally found above 1,000 m (3,300 ft).: 78–80  Thes species shows a wide habitat breadth, as it's able to thrive in a wide array of terrestrial and aquatic environments. On land, it occurs in wooded areas (dense conifer woods are avoided) but also in more open areas such as damp meadows, field edges, parks and gardens. It can also tolerate human disturbance and urban environments. The newts hide under structures such as logs or stones or in small mammal burrows.: 120–134 : 238  Smooth newts may also climb vegetation, although the exact function of this is not currently known.Freshwater breeding sites are typically sun-exposed, free from fish, stagnant, water-filled permanently or for at least three months of the year, close to similar water bodies, and have shallow areas with abundant water plants. They can range from small puddles to larger ponds or shallow parts of lakes. Water quality is less important; pH values from 4 (more acidic) to 9.6 (more alkaline) are tolerated and in Germany, smooth newts have even been found in slightly brackish water.: 121–129  They often share breeding sites with other amphibians, including other newts; in northern France, ponds with five newt species – smooth, palmate, alpine, northern crested and marbled (T. marmoratus) newt – have been described.: 151–152
+
+Lifecycle and behaviour
+Smooth newts live on land during most of the year and are mainly nocturnal. They also usually hibernate on land, often in congregations of several newts in winter shelters such as under logs or in burrows (but they can be active during mild weather). The efts turn into mature adults at two to three years, and the newts can reach an age of 6–14 years in the wild.: 238  The newts recognise familiar territory using smell and visual cues, but could not orient themselves in experiments when they were transported far away from the home range.
+
+Reproduction
+Migration to the breeding sites occurs as soon as February, but in the northern parts of the range and at higher altitudes, it may not start before summer. After entering the water, the breeding characters, especially the male's crest, take a few weeks to develop.: 238 Mating involves an intricate courtship display: the male attempts to attract a female by swimming in front of her and sniffing her cloaca. He then vibrates his tail against his body, sometimes violently lashing it, thereby fanning pheromones towards her. In the final phase, he moves away from her, the tail quivering. If she is still interested, she will follow him and touch his cloaca with her snout, whereupon he deposits a packet of sperm (a spermatophore). He then guides her over the spermatophore so she picks it up with her cloaca. Males often try to lead females away from displaying competitors.: 238–240 Eggs are fertilised internally, and progeny of one female usually has multiple fathers. Females tend to mate preferentially with unrelated males, probably to avoid inbreeding depression.Females lay 100–500 eggs, usually folding them into waterplants. The eggs are 1.3–1.7 mm (0.051–0.067 in) in diameter (2.7–4 mm (0.11–0.16 in) with jelly capsule) and light brown to greenish or grey in colour. Larvae typically hatch after 10–20 days, depending on temperature, and metamorphose into terrestrial efts after around three months.: 238–240 Paedomorphism, where adults stay aquatic and retain their gills and skin seams or only resorb them partially, occurs regularly but only in a small proportion of individuals. It does not appear to be determined genetically but favoured by cold water, a low density of individuals and abundant aquatic prey. Wild paedomorphic individuals often metamorphosed when they were transferred into an aquarium.: 192–193
+
+Diet, predators and parasites
+Smooth newts, including the larvae, are unselective carnivores, feeding mainly on diverse invertebrates such as earthworms, snails, slugs, bivalves, spiders, ticks, mites, springtails or insects and insect larvae, or smaller plankton. Cannibalism also occurs, mainly by preying on eggs of its own species. Various predators eat smooth newts, including waterbirds, snakes and frogs, but also larger newts such as the northern crested newt.: 238 Various pathogens and parasites have been found to infect smooth newts, including ranaviruses, a picornavirus, various protozoans,: 164  trematodes: 164  (of which Parastrigea robusta was found to cause the local decline of a population in Germany) and at least 31 species of helminths.
+
+Threats and conservation
+The smooth newt is common over much of its range.: 237  The IUCN, in 2008, assessed its threat status as Least Concern and found no general decline in populations. This assessment included subspecies now recognised as separate species (see section Taxonomy above) and needs updating. Despite the overall low concern, the smooth newt is listed in some national red lists, e.g. in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.: 196  Like all amphibians, it is also listed as protected species in the Berne Convention (Appendix III). Disturbance, capture, killing and trade are prohibited in Ireland under the Wildlife Act 1976, and trade in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.Threats to smooth newts are similar to those affecting other amphibians. They include especially the loss of breeding ponds through destruction or introduction of fish, and the fragmentation of population through roads.: 196–197  Secondary habitats can help sustain the species, e.g. former gravel pits or quarries left open.: 204–205  The value of artificial water bodies as habitat can be improved when nearby hiding structures like stones or wood are added on land. Garden ponds are readily colonised if they are sun-exposed, have abundant water plants, no fish, and nearby hiding structures.: 206–218  Artificial hibernation sites ("newt hotels") were readily used in a study in Norway, especially by juveniles.To mark and track individuals and monitor populations, researchers have often amputated phalanges of fingers and toes but these re-grow quickly; a safer and less harmful alternative is recording the individual belly patterns through photography.: 223–224  Researchers have also developed genetic methods based on microsatellite distribution to assess patterns of genetic diversity.
+
+Captivity
+Smooth newts can be kept in captivity, but must come from a legal source under the applicable legislation given their protected status (see above). They need a land and water phase, with hibernation for two to three months at 5–10 °C (41–50 °F).: 210–215  The juveniles remain terrestrial and will only return to water at maturity. Individuals have reached ages of 4–8, exceptionally up to 20 years, in captivity.: 240 
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/cougar.txt b/data/animals/cougar.txt
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+The cougar (Puma concolor) (, KOO-gər), also known as the puma, mountain lion, catamount or panther, is a large cat native to the Americas, second only in size to the stockier jaguar. They are not technically grouped with the "true" big cats, as they are slightly smaller than other big cats, and they lack the vocal physiology to roar (unlike lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars). Its range spans from the Canadian Provinces of the Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta, the Rocky Mountains and areas to the Western United States. Their range extends further south through Mexico, where they are found in nearly every state, to the Amazon Rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. The puma (as it is called in Spanish) inhabits every mainland country in Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed large, wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread on planet Earth. It is an adaptable, generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas. 
+The cougar is largely solitary by nature and considered both nocturnal and crepuscular, although daytime sightings do occur. It is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources are ungulates, particularly deer, but it also hunts smaller prey, such as rodents. Cougars are territorial and live at low population densities. Individual home ranges depend on terrain, vegetation and abundance of prey. While large, it is not always the apex predator in its range, yielding prey it has killed to American black bears, grizzly bears and wolf packs. It is reclusive and mostly avoids people. Fatal attacks on humans are rare but increased in North America as more people entered cougar habitat and built farms.
+Intensive hunting following European colonization of the Americas and ongoing human development into cougar habitat has caused populations to decline in most parts of its historical range. In particular, the eastern cougar population is considered to be mostly locally extinct in eastern North America since the early 20th century, with the exception of the isolated Florida panther subpopulation.
+
+Naming and etymology
+The word cougar is borrowed from the Portuguese çuçuarana, via French; it was originally derived from the Tupi language. A current form in Brazil is suçuarana. In the 17th century, Georg Marcgrave named it cuguacu ara. Marcgrave's rendering was reproduced in 1648 by his associate Willem Piso. Cuguacu ara was then adopted by John Ray in 1693. In 1774, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon converted cuguacu ara to cuguar, which was later modified to "cougar" in English.The cougar holds the Guinness record for the animal with the greatest number of names, with over 40 in English alone. "Puma" is the common name used in Latin America and most parts of Europe. The term puma is also sometimes used in the United States. The first use of puma in English dates to 1777, introduced from Spanish from the Quechua language. In the western United States and Canada, it is also called "mountain lion", a name first used in writing in 1858. Other names include "panther" (although it does not belong to the genus Panthera) and "catamount" (meaning "cat of the mountains").
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Felis concolor was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1771 for a cat with a long tail from Brazil. The second half of the name, "concolor" is Latin for "of uniform color". It was placed in the genus Puma by William Jardine in 1834.
+This genus is part of the Felinae. The cougar is most closely related to the jaguarundi and the cheetah.
+
+Subspecies
+Following Linnaeus's first scientific description of the cougar, 32 cougar zoological specimens were described and proposed as subspecies until the late 1980s. Genetic analysis of cougar mitochondrial DNA indicate that many of these are too similar to be recognized as distinct at a molecular level, but that only six phylogeographic groups exist. The Florida panther samples showed a low microsatellite variation, possibly due to inbreeding. Following this research, the authors of Mammal Species of the World recognized the following six subspecies in 2005:
+P. c. concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) includes the synonyms bangsi, incarum, osgoodi, soasoaranna, sussuarana, soderstromii, suçuaçuara, and wavula
+P. c. puma (Molina, 1782) includes the synonyms araucanus, concolor, patagonica, pearsoni, and puma (Trouessart, 1904)
+P. c. couguar (Kerr, 1792) includes arundivaga, aztecus, browni, californica, floridana, hippolestes, improcera, kaibabensis, mayensis, missoulensis, olympus, oregonensis, schorgeri, stanleyana, vancouverensis, and youngi
+P. c. costaricensis (Merriam, 1901)
+P. c. anthonyi (Nelson and Goldman, 1931) includes acrocodia, borbensis, capricornensis, concolor, greeni, and nigra
+P. c. cabrerae Pocock, 1940 includes hudsonii and puma proposed by Marcelli in 1922In 2006, the Florida panther was still referred to as a distinct subspecies P. c. coryi in research works.As of 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group recognizes only two subspecies as valid:
+P. c. concolor in South America, possibly excluding the region northwest of the Andes
+P. c. couguar in North and Central America and possibly northwestern South America
+
+Evolution
+The family Felidae is believed to have originated in Asia about 11 million years ago (Mya). Taxonomic research on felids remains partial, and much of what is known about their evolutionary history is based on mitochondrial DNA analysis.
+Significant confidence intervals exist with suggested dates. In the latest genomic study of the Felidae, the common ancestor of today's Leopardus, Lynx, Puma, Prionailurus, and Felis lineages migrated across the Bering land bridge into the Americas 8.0 to 8.5 million years ago. The lineages subsequently diverged in that order. North American felids then invaded South America 2–4 Mya as part of the Great American Interchange, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama.The cheetah lineage is suggested by some studies to have diverged from the Puma lineage in the Americas and migrated back to Asia and Africa, while other research suggests the cheetah diverged in the Old World itself.
+A high level of genetic similarity has been found among North American cougar populations, suggesting they are all fairly recent descendants of a small ancestral group. Culver et al. propose the original North American cougar population was extirpated during the Pleistocene extinctions some 10,000 years ago, when other large mammals, such as Smilodon, also disappeared. North America was then repopulated by South American cougars.A coprolite identified as from a cougar was excavated in Argentina's Catamarca Province and dated to 17,002–16,573 years old. It contained Toxascaris leonina eggs. This finding indicates that the cougar and the parasite existed in South America since at least the Late Pleistocene.
+
+Characteristics
+The head of the cougar is round, and the ears are erect. Its powerful forequarters, neck, and jaw serve to grasp and hold large prey. It has four retractile claws on its hind paws and five on its forepaws, of which one is a dewclaw. The larger front feet and claws are adaptations for clutching prey.Cougars are slender and agile members of the Felidae. They are the fourth largest cat species worldwide; adults stand about 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the shoulders. Adult males are around 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) long from nose to tail tip, and females average 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in), with overall ranges between 1.50 to 2.75 m (4 ft 11 in to 9 ft 0 in) nose to tail suggested for the species in general. Of this length, the tail typically accounts for 63 to 95 cm (25 to 37 in). Males generally weigh 53 to 72 kg (117 to 159 lb). Females typically weigh between 34 and 48 kg (75 and 106 lb). Cougar size is smallest close to the equator and larger towards the poles. The largest recorded cougar, shot in 1901, weighed 105.2 kg (232 lb); claims of 125.2 kg (276 lb) and 118 kg (260 lb) have been reported, though they were probably exaggerated. Male cougars in North America average 62 kg (137 lb), while the average female in the same region averages about 42 kg (93 lb). On average, adult male cougars in British Columbia weigh 56.7 kg (125 lb) and adult females 45.4 kg (100 lb), though several male cougars in British Columbia weighed between 86.4 and 95.5 kg (190 and 211 lb).Depending on the locality, cougars can be smaller or bigger than jaguars but are less muscular and not as powerfully built, so on average their weight is less. Whereas the size of cougars tends to increase as distance from the equator increases, which crosses the northern portion of South America, jaguars are generally smaller north of the Amazon River in South America and larger south of it. For example, while South American jaguars are comparatively large, and may exceed 90 kg (200 lb), North American jaguars in Mexico's Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve weigh approximately 50 kg (110 lb), about the same as female cougars.Cougar coloring is plain (hence the Latin concolor ["one color"] in the scientific name) but can vary greatly across individuals, and even siblings. The coat is typically tawny, but it otherwise ranges from silvery-grey to reddish with lighter patches on the underbody, including the jaws, chin, and throat. Infants are spotted and born with blue eyes and rings on their tails; juveniles are pale, and dark spots remain on their flanks. A leucistic individual was seen in Serra dos Órgãos National Park in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 when it was recorded by a camera trap, indicating that pure white individuals do exist within the species, though they are extremely rare.The cougar has large paws and proportionally the largest hind legs in the Felidae, allowing for its great leaping and short-sprint ability. It is capable of leaping from the ground up to 5.5 m (18 ft) high into a tree.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The cougar has the largest range of any wild land animal in the Americas, spanning 110 degrees of latitude from the Yukon Territory in Canada to the southern Andes in Chile. The species was extirpated from eastern North America, aside from Florida, but they may be recolonizing their former range and isolated populations have been documented east of their contemporary ranges in both the Midwestern US and Canada.The cougar lives in all forest types, lowland and mountainous deserts and in open areas with little vegetation up to an elevation of 5,800 m (19,000 ft). In the Santa Ana Mountains, it prefers steep canyons, escarpments, rim rocks and dense brush.
+In Mexico, it was recorded in the Sierra de San Carlos. In the Yucatán Peninsula, it inhabits secondary and semi-deciduous forests in El Eden Ecological Reserve. 
+In El Salvador, it was recorded in lower montane forest in Montecristo National Park and in a river basin in the Morazán Department above 700 m (2,300 ft) in 2019.
+In Colombia, it was recorded in a palm oil plantation close to a riparian forest in the Llanos Basin, and close to water bodies in the Magdalena River Valley.
+In the human-modified landscape of central Argentina, it inhabits bushland with abundant vegetation cover and prey species.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+Cougars are important keystone species in Western Hemisphere ecosystems, linking numerous different species at many trophic levels. In a comprehensive literature review of more than 160 studies on cougar ecology, ecological interactions with 485 other species in cougar-inhabited ecosystems have been shown to involve different areas of interaction, ranging from the use of other species as food sources and prey, fear effects on potential prey, effects from carcass remains left behind, to competitive effects on other predator species in shared habitat. The most common research topic in the literature used here was the diet of the cougar and the regulation of its prey.
+
+Hunting and diet
+The cougar is a generalist hypercarnivore. It prefers large mammals such as mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose, mountain goat and bighorn sheep. It opportunistically takes smaller prey such as rodents, lagomorphs, smaller carnivores, birds and even domestic animals including pets. The mean weight of cougar vertebrate prey increases with its body weight and is lower in areas closer to the equator. A survey of North America research found 68% of prey items were ungulates, especially deer. Only the Florida panther showed variation, often preferring feral hogs and armadillos. Cougars have been known to prey on introduced gemsbok populations in New Mexico. One individual cougar was recorded as hunting 29 gemsbok, which made up 58% of its recorded kills. Most gemsbok kills were neonates, but some adults were also known to have been taken. Elsewhere in the southwestern United States, they have been recorded to also prey on feral horses in the Great Basin, as well as feral donkeys in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.Investigations at Yellowstone National Park showed that elk and mule deer were the cougar's primary targets; the prey base is shared with the park's wolves, with which the cougar competes for resources. A study on winter kills from November to April in Alberta showed that ungulates accounted for greater than 99% of the cougar diet. Learned, individual prey recognition was observed, as some cougars rarely killed bighorn sheep, while others relied heavily on the species.In the Central and South American cougar range, the ratio of deer in the diet declines. Small to mid-sized mammals are preferred, including large rodents such as the capybara. Ungulates accounted for only 35% of prey items in one survey, about half that of North America. Competition with the larger jaguar in South America has been suggested for the decline in the size of prey items. In Central or North America, the cougar and jaguar share the same prey, depending on its abundance. Other listed prey species of the cougar include mice, porcupines, American beavers, raccoons, hares, guanacoes, peccaries, vicuñas, rheas and wild turkeys. Birds and small reptiles are sometimes preyed upon in the south, but this is rarely recorded in North America. Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) constitute the majority of prey items in cougar diet in Patagonia's Bosques Petrificados de Jaramillo National Park and Monte León National Park.Although capable of sprinting, the cougar is typically an ambush predator. It stalks through brush and trees, across ledges, or other covered spots, before delivering a powerful leap onto the back of its prey and a suffocating neck bite. The cougar is capable of breaking the neck of some of its smaller prey with a strong bite and momentum bearing the animal to the ground. Kills are generally estimated around one large ungulate every two weeks. The period shrinks for females raising young, and may be as short as one kill every three days when cubs are nearly mature around 15 months. The cat drags a kill to a preferred spot, covers it with brush, and returns to feed over a period of days. The cougar is generally reported to not be a scavenger, but deer carcasses left exposed for study were scavenged by cougars in California, suggesting more opportunistic behavior.
+
+Interactions with other predators
+Aside from humans, no species preys upon mature cougars in the wild, although conflicts with other predators or scavengers occur. Of the large predators in Yellowstone National Park – the grizzly bear, the black bear, the gray wolf, and the cougar – the massive grizzly bear appears dominant, often (but not always) able to drive a gray wolf pack, an American black bear, and a cougar off their kills. One study found that grizzlies and American black bears visited 24% of cougar kills in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, usurping 10% of carcasses. Bears gained up to 113% and cougars lost up to 26% of their respective daily energy requirements from these encounters. In Colorado and California, American black bears were found to visit 48% and 77% of kills, respectively. In general, cougars are subordinate to American black bears when it comes to kills and when bears are most active, the cats take prey more frequently and spend less time feeding on each kill. Unlike several subordinate predators from other ecosystems, cougars do not appear to take advantage of spatial or temporal refuges to avoid their competitors.The gray wolf and the cougar compete more directly for prey, mostly in winter. Packs of wolves can steal cougars' kills, and there are some documented cases of cougars being killed by them. One report describes a large pack of seven to 11 wolves killing a female cougar and her kittens, while in nearby Sun Valley, Idaho, a 2-year-old male cougar was found dead, apparently killed by a wolf pack. Conversely, one-to-one confrontations tend to be dominated by the cat, and there are various documented accounts where wolves have been ambushed and killed, including adult male specimens. Wolves more broadly affect cougar population dynamics and distribution by dominating territory and prey opportunities, and disrupting the feline's behavior. Preliminary research in Yellowstone, for instance, has shown displacement of the cougar by wolves. One researcher in Oregon noted: "When there is a pack around, cougars are not comfortable around their kills or raising kittens [...] A lot of times a big cougar will kill a wolf, but the pack phenomenon changes the table." Both species are capable of killing mid-sized predators, such as bobcats, Canada lynxes, wolverines and coyotes, and tend to suppress their numbers. Although cougars can kill coyotes, the latter have been documented attempting to prey on cougar cubs.In the southern portion of its range, the cougar and jaguar share overlapping territory. The jaguar tends to take the larger prey where ranges overlap, reducing both the cougar's potential size and the likelihood of direct competition between the two cats. Cougars appear better than jaguars at exploiting a broader prey niche and smaller prey.
+
+Social spacing and interactions
+Like almost all cats, the cougar is a mostly solitary animal. Only mothers and kittens live in groups, with adults meeting rarely. While generally loners, cougars will reciprocally share kills with one another and seem to organize themselves into small communities defined by the territories of dominant males. Cats within these areas socialize more frequently with each other than with outsiders.Home range sizes and overall cougar abundance depend on terrain, vegetation, and prey abundance. Research suggests a lower limit of 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) and upper limit of 1,300 km2 (500 sq mi) of home range for males. Large male home ranges of 150 to 1,000 km2 (58 to 386 sq mi) with female ranges half that size. One female adjacent to the San Andres Mountains was found with a big range of 215 km2 (83 sq mi), necessitated by poor prey abundance. Research has shown cougar abundances from 0.5 animals to as many as seven per 100 km2 (39 sq mi).Male home ranges include or overlap with those of females but, at least where studied, not with those of other males. Home ranges of females overlap slightly. Males create scrapes composed of leaves and duff with their hind feet, and mark them with urine and sometimes feces. When males encounter each other, they vocalize and may engage in violent conflict if neither backs down.Cougars communicate with various vocalizations. Aggressive sounds include growls, spits, snarls and hisses. During the mating season, estrus females produce caterwauls or yowls to attract mates and males respond with similar vocals. Mothers and offspring keep in contact with whistles, chirps and mews.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+Females reach sexual maturity at the age of 18 months to three years and are in estrus for about eight days of a 23-day cycle; the gestation period is approximately 91 days. Both adult males and females may mate with multiple partners and a female's litter can have multiple paternities. Copulation is brief but frequent. Chronic stress can result in low reproductive rates in captivity as well as in the field.Gestation is 82–103 days long. Only females are involved in parenting. Litter size is between one and six cubs; typically two. Caves and other alcoves that offer protection are used as litter dens. Born blind, cubs are completely dependent on their mother at first, and begin to be weaned at around three months of age. As they grow, they begin to go out on forays with their mother, first visiting kill sites, and after six months beginning to hunt small prey on their own. Kitten survival rates are just over one per litter.Juveniles remain with their mothers for one to two years. When a female reaches estrous again, her offspring must disperse or the male will kill them. Males tend to disperse further than females. One study has shown a high mortality rate amongst cougars that travel farthest from their maternal range, often due to conflicts with other cougars. In a study area in New Mexico, males dispersed farther than females, traversed large expanses of non-cougar habitat and were probably most responsible for nuclear gene flow between habitat patches.Life expectancy in the wild is reported at 8 to 13 years, and probably averages 8 to 10; a female of at least 18 years was reported killed by hunters on Vancouver Island. Cougars may live as long as 20 years in captivity. Causes of death in the wild include disability and disease, competition with other cougars, starvation, accidents, and, where allowed, hunting. The feline immunodeficiency virus is well-adapted to the cougar.
+
+Conservation
+The cougar has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. However, it is also listed on CITES Appendix II. Hunting it is prohibited in California, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, French Guiana, Suriname, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and most of Argentina. Hunting is regulated in Canada, Mexico, Peru and the United States. Establishing wildlife corridors and protecting sufficient range areas are critical for the sustainability of cougar populations. Research simulations showed that it faces a low extinction risk in areas larger than 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi). Between one and four new individuals entering a population per decade markedly increases persistence, thus highlighting the importance of habitat corridors.The Florida panther population is afforded protection under the Endangered Species Act.
+The Texas Mountain Lion Conservation Project was launched in 2009 and aimed at raising awareness of local people about the status and ecological role of the cougar, and mitigating conflict between landowners and cougars.The cougar is threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and depletion of its prey base due to poaching. Hunting is legal in western United States. In Florida heavy traffic causes frequent accidents involving cougars. Highways are a major barrier for dispersal of cougars.
+The cougar populations in California are becoming fragmented with the increase of human population and infrastructure growth in the state.Human–wildlife conflict in proximity of 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) of cougar habitat is pronounced in areas with a median human density of 32.48 inhabitants/km2 (84.1 inhabitants/sq mi) and a median livestock population density of 5.3 heads/km2 (14 heads/sq mi). Conflict is generally lower in areas more than 16.1 km (10.0 mi) away from roads and 27.8 km (17.3 mi) away from settlements.
+
+Relationships with humans
+Attacks on humans
+In North America
+Due to the expanding human population, cougar ranges increasingly overlap with areas inhabited by humans. Attacks on humans are very rare, as cougar prey recognition is a learned behavior and they do not generally recognize humans as prey. In a 10-year study in New Mexico of wild cougars who were not habituated to humans, the animals did not exhibit threatening behavior to researchers who approached closely (median distance=18.5 m; 61 feet) except in 6% of cases; 14⁄16 of those were females with cubs. Attacks on people, livestock, and pets may occur when a puma habituates to humans or is in a condition of severe starvation. Attacks are most frequent during late spring and summer, when juvenile cougars leave their mothers and search for new territory.Between 1890 and 1990 in North America there were 53 reported, confirmed attacks on humans, resulting in 48 nonfatal injuries and 10 deaths of humans (the total is greater than 53 because some attacks had more than one victim). By 2004, the count had climbed to 88 attacks and 20 deaths.Within North America, the distribution of attacks is not uniform. The heavily populated state of California saw a dozen attacks 1986 to 2004 (after just three from 1890 to 1985), including three fatalities. Washington state was the site of a fatal attack in 2018, its first since 1924. Lightly populated New Mexico reported an attack in 2008, the first there since 1974.As with many predators, a cougar may attack if cornered, if a fleeing human stimulates their instinct to chase, or if a person "plays dead". Standing still may cause the cougar to consider a person easy prey. Exaggerating the threat to the animal through intense eye contact, loud shouting, and any other action to appear larger and more menacing, may make the animal retreat. Fighting back with sticks and rocks, or even bare hands, is often effective in persuading an attacking cougar to disengage.When cougars do attack, they usually employ their characteristic neck bite, attempting to position their teeth between the vertebrae and into the spinal cord. Neck, head, and spinal injuries are common and sometimes fatal. Children are at greatest risk of attack, and least likely to survive an encounter. Detailed research into attacks prior to 1991 showed that 64% of all victims – and almost all fatalities – were children. The same study showed the highest proportion of attacks to have occurred in British Columbia, particularly on Vancouver Island where cougar populations are especially dense. Preceding attacks on humans, cougars display aberrant behavior, such as activity during daylight hours, a lack of fear of humans, and stalking humans. There have sometimes been incidents of pet cougars mauling people.Research on new wildlife collars may be able to reduce human-animal conflicts by predicting when and where predatory animals hunt. This may save the lives of humans, pets, and livestock as well as the lives of these large predatory mammals that are important to the balance of ecosystems.
+
+In South America
+Pumas in the southern cone of America – often called Argentine cougars by North Americans – are reputed to be extremely reluctant to attack man; in legend, they defended people against jaguars. The nineteenth century naturalists Félix de Azara and William Henry Hudson thought that attacks on people, even children or sleeping adults, did not happen. Hudson, citing anecdotal evidence from hunters, claimed that pumas were positively inhibited from attacking people, even in self-defense. In fact, attacks on humans, although exceedingly rare, have occurred.An early, authenticated, non-fatal case occurred near Lake Viedma, Patagonia in 1877 when a female mauled the Argentine scientist Francisco P. Moreno; Moreno afterwards showed the scars to Theodore Roosevelt. In this instance, however, Moreno had been wearing a guanaco-hide poncho round his neck and head as protection against the cold; in Patagonia the guanaco is the puma's chief prey animal. Another authenticated case occurred in 1997 in Iguazú National Park in northeastern Argentina, when the 20-month-old son of a ranger was killed by a female puma. Forensic analysis found specimens of the child's hair and clothing fibers in the animal's stomach. In this area the coatí is the puma's chief prey. Despite prohibitory signs, coatis are hand-fed by tourists in the park, causing unnatural approximation between cougars and humans. This particular puma had been raised in captivity and released into the wild. On March 13, 2012, Erica Cruz, a 23-year-old shepherdess was found dead in a mountainous area near Rosario de Lerma, Salta Province, in northwestern Argentina. Claw incisions, which severed a jugular vein, indicated that the attacker was a felid; differential diagnosis ruled out other possible perpetrators. There were no bite marks on the victim, who had been herding goats. In 2019 in Córdoba Province, Argentina an elderly man was badly injured by a cougar after he attempted to defend his dog from it, while in neighboring Chile a 28-year-old woman was attacked and killed in Corral, in Los Ríos Region, on October 20, 2020.Fatal attacks by other carnivores such as feral dogs can be misattributed to cougars without appropriate forensic knowledge.
+
+Predation on domestic animals
+During the early years of ranching, cougars were considered on par with wolves in destructiveness. According to figures in Texas in 1990, 86 calves (0.0006% of Texas's 13.4 million cattle and calves), 253 mohair goats, 302 mohair kids, 445 sheep (0.02% of Texas's 2 million sheep and lambs) and 562 lambs (0.04% of Texas's 1.2 million lambs) were confirmed to have been killed by cougars that year. In Nevada in 1992, cougars were confirmed to have killed nine calves, one horse, four foals, five goats, 318 sheep, and 400 lambs. In both reports, sheep were the most frequently attacked. Some instances of surplus killing have resulted in the deaths of 20 sheep in one attack. A cougar's killing bite is applied to the back of the neck, head, or throat and the cat inflicts puncture marks with its claws usually seen on the sides and underside of the prey, sometimes also shredding the prey as it holds on. Coyotes also typically bite the throat, but the work of a cougar is generally clean, while bites inflicted by coyotes and dogs leave ragged edges. The size of the tooth puncture marks also helps distinguish kills made by cougars from those made by smaller predators.Remedial hunting appears to have the paradoxical effect of increased livestock predation and complaints of human-cougar conflicts. In a 2013 study the most important predictor of cougar problems were remedial hunting of cougars the previous year. Each additional cougar on the landscape increased predation and human-cougar complaints by 5%, but each additional animal killed on the landscape during the previous year increased complaints by 50%. The effect had a dose-response relationship with very heavy (100% removal of adult cougars) remedial hunting leading to a 150% – 340% increase in livestock and human conflicts. This effect is attributed to the removal of older cougars that have learned to avoid people and their replacement by younger males that react differently to humans. Remedial hunting enables younger males to enter the former territories of the older animals. Predation by cougars on dogs "is widespread, but occurs at low frequencies".
+
+In mythology
+The grace and power of the cougar have been widely admired in the cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Inca city of Cusco is reported to have been designed in the shape of a cougar, and the animal also gave its name to both Inca regions and people. The Moche people represented the cougar often in their ceramics. The sky and thunder god of the Inca, Viracocha, has been associated with the animal.In North America, mythological descriptions of the cougar have appeared in the stories of the Hocąk language ("Ho-Chunk" or "Winnebago") of Wisconsin and Illinois and the Cheyenne, amongst others. To the Apache and Walapai of the Southwestern United States, the wail of the cougar was a harbinger of death. The Algonquins and Ojibwe believe that the cougar lived in the underworld and was wicked, whereas it was a sacred animal among the Cherokee.
+
+See also
+List of largest cats
+Pumapard—hybrid of cougar and leopard
+Bougar—hybrid of cougar and bobcat
+
+Explanatory notes
+References
+External links
+
+"Cougar Puma concolor". IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.
+Cougar Tracks: How to identify cougar tracks in the wild
+"Puma sounds". National Geographic Society. September 10, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
+Santa Cruz Puma Project
+Eastern Puma Research Network
+Felidae Conservation Fund
+Cougar Rewilding Foundation, formerly "Eastern Cougar Foundation"
+The Cougar Network --Using Science to Understand Cougar Ecology Archived July 31, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
+"Saving America's Lion". Mountain Lion Foundation. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
+SaveTheCougar.org: Sightings of cougars in Michigan
+The Cougar Fund – Protecting America's Greatest Cat. A Definitive Resource About Cougars: Comprehensive, non-profit 501(c)(3) site with extensive information about cougars, from how to live safely in cougar country, to science abstracts, hunting regulations, state-by-state cougar management/policy info, and rare photos and videos of wild cougars.
+Living with California Mountain Lions
+Oregon's first fatal cougar attack in the wild claims hiker near Mount Hood
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+The coyote (Canis latrans) is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia. The coyote is larger and more predatory and was once referred to as the American jackal by a behavioral ecologist. Other historical names for the species include the prairie wolf and the brush wolf.
+The coyote is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to its wide distribution and abundance throughout North America. The species is versatile, able to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans; urban coyotes are common in many cities. The coyote was sighted in eastern Panama (across the Panama Canal from their home range) for the first time in 2013.
+The coyote has 19 recognized subspecies. The average male weighs 8 to 20 kg (18 to 44 lb) and the average female 7 to 18 kg (15 to 40 lb). Their fur color is predominantly light gray and red or fulvous interspersed with black and white, though it varies somewhat with geography. It is highly flexible in social organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. Primarily carnivorous, its diet consists mainly of deer, rabbits, hares, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, though it may also eat fruits and vegetables on occasion. Its characteristic vocalization is a howl made by solitary individuals. Humans are the coyote's greatest threat, followed by cougars and gray wolves. Despite predation by gray wolves, coyotes sometimes mate with them, and with eastern, or red wolves, producing "coywolf" hybrids. In the northeastern regions of North America, the eastern coyote (a larger subspecies, though still smaller than wolves) is the result of various historical and recent matings with various types of wolves. Genetic studies show that most North American wolves contain some level of coyote DNA.
+The coyote is a prominent character in Native American folklore, mainly in Aridoamerica, usually depicted as a trickster that alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or a man. As with other trickster figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The animal was especially respected in Mesoamerican cosmology as a symbol of military might. After the European colonization of the Americas, it was seen in Anglo-American culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike wolves, which have seen their public image improve, attitudes towards the coyote remain largely negative.
+
+Description
+Coyote males average 8 to 20 kg (18 to 44 lb) in weight, while females average 7 to 18 kg (15 to 40 lb),  though size varies geographically. Northern subspecies, which average 18 kg (40 lb), tend to grow larger than the southern subspecies of Mexico, which average 11.5 kg (25 lb). Total length ranges on average from 1.0 to 1.35 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 5 in); comprising a tail length of 40 cm (16 in), with females being shorter in both body length and height. The largest coyote on record was a male killed near Afton, Wyoming, on November 19, 1937, which measured 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) from nose to tail, and weighed 34 kg (75 lb). Scent glands are located at the upper side of the base of the tail and are a bluish-black color.The color and texture of the coyote's fur vary somewhat geographically. The hair's predominant color is light gray and red or fulvous, interspersed around the body with black and white. Coyotes living at high elevations tend to have more black and gray shades than their desert-dwelling counterparts, which are more fulvous or whitish-gray. The coyote's fur consists of short, soft underfur and long, coarse guard hairs. The fur of northern subspecies is longer and denser than in southern forms, with the fur of some Mexican and Central American forms being almost hispid (bristly). Generally, adult coyotes (including coywolf hybrids) have a sable coat color, dark neonatal coat color, bushy tail with an active supracaudal gland, and a white facial mask. Albinism is extremely rare in coyotes. Out of a total of 750,000 coyotes killed by federal and cooperative hunters between March 1938, and June 1945, only two were albinos.The coyote is typically smaller than the gray wolf, but has longer ears and a relatively larger braincase, as well as a thinner frame, face, and muzzle. The scent glands are smaller than the gray wolf's, but are the same color. Its fur color variation is much less varied than that of a wolf. The coyote also carries its tail downwards when running or walking, rather than horizontally as the wolf does.Coyote tracks can be distinguished from those of dogs by their more elongated, less rounded shape. Unlike dogs, the upper canines of coyotes extend past the mental foramina.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+History
+At the time of the European colonization of the Americas, coyotes were largely confined to open plains and arid regions of the western half of the continent. In early post-Columbian historical records, determining whether the writer is describing coyotes or wolves is often difficult. One record from 1750 in Kaskaskia, Illinois, written by a local priest, noted that the "wolves" encountered there were smaller and less daring than European wolves. Another account from the early 1800's in Edwards County mentioned wolves howling at night, though these were likely coyotes. This species was encountered several times during the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), though it was already well known to European traders on the upper Missouri. Meriwether Lewis, writing on 5 May 1805, in northeastern Montana, described the coyote in these terms:
+
+The small wolf or burrowing dog of the prairies are the inhabitants almost invariably of the open plains; they usually associate in bands of ten or twelve sometimes more and burrow near some pass or place much frequented by game; not being able alone to take deer or goat they are rarely ever found alone but hunt in bands; they frequently watch and seize their prey near their burrows; in these burrows, they raise their young and to them they also resort when pursued; when a person approaches them they frequently bark, their note being precisely that of the small dog. They are of an intermediate size between that of the fox and dog, very active fleet and delicately formed; the ears large erect and pointed the head long and pointed more like that of the fox; tale long ... the hair and fur also resembles the fox, tho' is much coarser and inferior. They are of a pale reddish-brown colour. The eye of a deep sea green colour small and piercing. Their [claws] are rather longer than those of the ordinary wolf or that common to the Atlantic states, none of which are to be found in this quarter, nor I believe above the river Plat.
+The coyote was first scientifically described by naturalist Thomas Say in September 1819, on the site of Lewis and Clark's Council Bluffs, 24 km (15 mi) up the Missouri River from the mouth of the Platte during a government-sponsored expedition with Major Stephen Long. He had the first edition of the Lewis and Clark journals in hand, which contained Biddle's edited version of Lewis's observations dated 5 May 1805. His account was published in 1823. Say was the first person to document the difference between a "prairie wolf" (coyote) and on the next page of his journal a wolf which he named Canis nubilus (Great Plains wolf). Say described the coyote as:
+
+Canis latrans. Cinereous or gray, varied with black above, and dull fulvous, or cinnamon; hair at base dusky plumbeous, in the middle of its length dull cinnamon, and at tip gray or black, longer on the vertebral line; ears erect, rounded at tip, cinnamon behind, the hair dark plumbeous at base, inside lined with gray hair; eyelids edged with black, superior eyelashes black beneath, and at tip above; supplemental lid margined with black-brown before, and edged with black brown behind; iris yellow; pupil black-blue; spot upon the lachrymal sac black-brown; rostrum cinnamon, tinctured with grayish on the nose; lips white, edged with black, three series of black seta; head between the ears intermixed with gray, and dull cinnamon, hairs dusky plumbeous at base; sides paler than the back, obsoletely fasciate with black above the legs; legs cinnamon on the outer side, more distinct on the posterior hair: a dilated black abbreviated line on the anterior ones near the wrist; tail bushy, fusiform, straight, varied with gray and cinnamon, a spot near the base above, and tip black; the tip of the trunk of the tail, attains the tip of the os calcis, when the leg is extended; beneath white, immaculate, tail cinnamon towards the tip, tip black; posterior feet four toed, anterior five toed.
+
+Naming and etymology
+The first published usage of the word "coyote" (which is a Spanish borrowing of its Nahuatl name coyōtl ) comes from the historian Francisco Javier Clavijero's Historia de México in 1780. The first time it was used in English occurred in William Bullock's Six months' residence and travels in Mexico (1824), where it is variously transcribed as cayjotte and cocyotie. The word's spelling was standardized as "coyote" by the 1880s.Alternative English names for the coyote include "prairie wolf", "brush wolf", "cased wolf", "little wolf" and "American jackal". Its binomial name Canis latrans translates to "barking dog", a reference to the many vocalizations they produce.
+
+Evolution
+Fossil record
+Xiaoming Wang and Richard H. Tedford, one of the foremost authorities on carnivore evolution, proposed that the genus Canis was the descendant of the coyote-like Eucyon davisi and its remains first appeared in the Miocene 6 million years ago (Mya) in the southwestern US and Mexico. By the Pliocene (5 Mya), the larger Canis lepophagus appeared in the same region and by the early Pleistocene (1 Mya) C. latrans (the coyote) was in existence. They proposed that the progression from Eucyon davisi to C. lepophagus to the coyote was linear evolution.C. latrans and C.  aureus are closely related to C. edwardii, a species that appeared earliest spanning the mid-Blancan (late Pliocene) to the close of the Irvingtonian (late Pleistocene), and coyote remains indistinguishable from C. latrans were contemporaneous with C. edwardii in North America. Johnston describes C. lepophagus as having a more slender skull and skeleton than the modern coyote. Ronald Nowak found that the early populations had small, delicate, narrowly proportioned skulls that resemble small coyotes and appear to be ancestral to C. latrans.C. lepophagus was similar in weight to modern coyotes, but had shorter limb bones that indicate a less cursorial lifestyle. The coyote represents a more primitive form of Canis than the gray wolf, as shown by its relatively small size and its comparatively narrow skull and jaws, which lack the grasping power necessary to hold the large prey in which wolves specialize. This is further corroborated by the coyote's sagittal crest, which is low or totally flattened, thus indicating a weaker bite than the wolves. The coyote is not a specialized carnivore as the wolf is, as shown by the larger chewing surfaces on the molars, reflecting the species' relative dependence on vegetable matter. In these respects, the coyote resembles the fox-like progenitors of the genus more so than the wolf.The oldest fossils that fall within the range of the modern coyote date to 0.74–0.85 Ma (million years) in Hamilton Cave, West Virginia; 0.73 Ma in Irvington, California; 0.35–0.48 Ma in Porcupine Cave, Colorado, and in Cumberland Cave, Pennsylvania. Modern coyotes arose 1,000 years after the Quaternary extinction event. Compared to their modern Holocene counterparts, Pleistocene coyotes (C. l. orcutti) were larger and more robust, likely in response to larger competitors and prey. Pleistocene coyotes were likely more specialized carnivores than their descendants, as their teeth were more adapted to shearing meat, showing fewer grinding surfaces suited for processing vegetation. Their reduction in size occurred within 1,000 years of the Quaternary extinction event, when their large prey died out. Furthermore, Pleistocene coyotes were unable to exploit the big-game hunting niche left vacant after the extinction of the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus), as it was rapidly filled by gray wolves, which likely actively killed off the large coyotes, with natural selection favoring the modern gracile morph.
+
+DNA evidence
+In 1993, a study proposed that the wolves of North America display skull traits more similar to the coyote than wolves from Eurasia. In 2010, a study found that the coyote was a basal member of the clade that included the Tibetan wolf, the domestic dog, the Mongolian wolf and the Eurasian wolf, with the Tibetan wolf diverging early from wolves and domestic dogs.In 2016, a whole-genome DNA study proposed, based on the assumptions made, that all of the North American wolves and coyotes diverged from a common ancestor about 51,000 years ago. However, the proposed timing of the wolf / coyote divergence conflicts with the discovery of a coyote-like specimen in strata dated to 1 Mya. The study also indicated that all North American wolves have a significant amount of coyote ancestry and all coyotes some degree of wolf ancestry, and that the red wolf and eastern wolf are highly admixed with different proportions of gray wolf and coyote ancestry.Genetic studies relating to wolves or dogs have inferred phylogenetic relationships based on the only reference genome available, that of the Boxer dog. In 2017, the first reference genome of the wolf Canis lupus lupus was mapped to aid future research. In 2018, a study looked at the genomic structure and admixture of North American wolves, wolf-like canids, and coyotes using specimens from across their entire range that mapped the largest dataset of nuclear genome sequences against the wolf reference genome.
+The study supports the findings of previous studies that North American gray wolves and wolf-like canids were the result of complex gray wolf and coyote mixing. A polar wolf from Greenland and a coyote from Mexico represented the purest specimens. The coyotes from Alaska, California, Alabama, and Quebec show almost no wolf ancestry. Coyotes from Missouri, Illinois, and Florida exhibit 5–10% wolf ancestry. There was 40% wolf to 60% coyote ancestry in red wolves, 60% wolf to 40% coyote in Eastern timber wolves, and 75% wolf to 25% coyote in the Great Lakes wolves. There was 10% coyote ancestry in Mexican wolves and the Atlantic Coast wolves, 5% in Pacific Coast and Yellowstone wolves, and less than 3% in Canadian archipelago wolves. If a third canid had been involved in the admixture of the North American wolf-like canids, then its genetic signature would have been found in coyotes and wolves, which it has not.In 2018, whole genome sequencing was used to compare members of the genus Canis. The study indicates that the common ancestor of the coyote and gray wolf has genetically admixed with a ghost population of an extinct, unidentified canid. The "ghost" canid was genetically close to the dhole, and had evolved after the divergence of the African wild dog from the other canid species. The basal position of the coyote compared to the wolf is proposed to be due to the coyote retaining more of the mitochondrial genome from the unknown extinct canid.
+
+Subspecies
+As of 2005, 19 subspecies are recognized.
+Geographic variation in coyotes is not great, though taken as a whole, the eastern subspecies (C. l. thamnos and C. l. frustor) are large, dark-colored animals, with a gradual paling in color and reduction in size westward and northward (C. l. texensis, C. l. latrans, C. l. lestes, and C. l. incolatus), a brightening of 'ochraceous' tones – deep orange or brown – towards the Pacific coast (C. l. ochropus, C. l. umpquensis), a reduction in size in Aridoamerica (C. l. microdon, C. l. mearnsi) and a general trend towards dark reddish colors and short muzzles in Mexican and Central American populations.
+
+Hybridization
+Coyotes occasionally mate with domestic dogs, sometimes producing crosses colloquially known as "coydogs". Such matings are rare in the wild, as the mating cycles of dogs and coyotes do not coincide, and coyotes are usually antagonistic towards dogs. Hybridization usually only occurs when coyotes are expanding into areas where conspecifics are few, and dogs are the only alternatives. Even then, pup survival rates are lower than normal, as dogs do not form pair bonds with coyotes, thus making the rearing of pups more difficult. In captivity, F1 hybrids (first generation) tend to be more mischievous and less manageable as pups than dogs, and are less trustworthy on maturity than wolf-dog hybrids.Hybrids vary in appearance, but generally retain the coyote's usual characteristics. F1 hybrids tend to be intermediate in form between dogs and coyotes, while F2 hybrids (second generation) are more varied. Both F1 and F2 hybrids resemble their coyote parents in terms of shyness and intrasexual aggression. Hybrids are fertile and can be successfully bred through four generations. Melanistic coyotes owe their black pelts to a mutation that first arose in domestic dogs. A population of non-albino white coyotes in Newfoundland owe their coloration to a melanocortin 1 receptor mutation inherited from Golden Retrievers.
+Coyotes have hybridized with wolves to varying degrees, particularly in eastern North America. The so-called "eastern coyote" of northeastern North America probably originated in the aftermath of the extermination of gray and eastern wolves in the northeast, thus allowing coyotes to colonize former wolf ranges and mix with the remnant wolf populations. This hybrid is smaller than either the gray or eastern wolf, and holds smaller territories, but is in turn larger and holds more extensive home ranges than the typical western coyote. As of 2010, the eastern coyote's genetic makeup is fairly uniform, with minimal influence from eastern wolves or western coyotes.Adult eastern coyotes are larger than western coyotes, with female eastern coyotes weighing 21% more than male western coyotes. Physical differences become more apparent by the age of 35 days, with eastern coyote pups having longer legs than their western counterparts. Differences in dental development also occurs, with tooth eruption being later, and in a different order in the eastern coyote. Aside from its size, the eastern coyote is physically similar to the western coyote. The four color phases range from dark brown to blond or reddish blond, though the most common phase is gray-brown, with reddish legs, ears, and flanks.No significant differences exist between eastern and western coyotes in aggression and fighting, though eastern coyotes tend to fight less, and are more playful. Unlike western coyote pups, in which fighting precedes play behavior, fighting among eastern coyote pups occurs after the onset of play. Eastern coyotes tend to reach sexual maturity at two years of age, much later than in western coyotes.Eastern and red wolves are also products of varying degrees of wolf-coyote hybridization. The eastern wolf probably was a result of a wolf-coyote admixture, combined with extensive backcrossing with parent gray wolf populations. The red wolf may have originated during a time of declining wolf populations in the Southeastern Woodlands, forcing a wolf-coyote hybridization, as well as backcrossing with local parent coyote populations to the extent that about 75–80% of the modern red wolf's genome is of coyote derivation.
+
+Behavior
+Social and reproductive behaviors
+Like the Eurasian golden jackal, the coyote is gregarious, but not as dependent on conspecifics as more social canid species like wolves are. This is likely because the coyote is not a specialized hunter of large prey as the latter species is. The basic social unit of a coyote pack is a family containing a reproductive female. However, unrelated coyotes may join forces for companionship, or to bring down prey too large to attack singly. Such "nonfamily" packs are only temporary, and may consist of bachelor males, nonreproductive females and subadult young. Families are formed in midwinter, when females enter estrus. Pair bonding can occur 2–3 months before actual copulation takes place.The copulatory tie can last 5–45 minutes. A female entering estrus attracts males by scent marking and howling with increasing frequency. A single female in heat can attract up to seven reproductive males, which can follow her for as long as a month. Although some squabbling may occur among the males, once the female has selected a mate and copulates, the rejected males do not intervene, and move on once they detect other estrous females. Unlike the wolf, which has been known to practice both monogamous and bigamous matings, the coyote is strictly monogamous, even in areas with high coyote densities and abundant food.Females that fail to mate sometimes assist their sisters or mothers in raising their pups, or join their siblings until the next time they can mate. The newly mated pair then establishes a territory and either constructs their own den or cleans out abandoned badger, marmot, or skunk earths. During the pregnancy, the male frequently hunts alone and brings back food for the female. The female may line the den with dried grass or with fur pulled from her belly. The gestation period is 63 days, with an average litter size of six, though the number fluctuates depending on coyote population density and the abundance of food.Coyote pups are born in dens, hollow trees, or under ledges, and weigh 200 to 500 g (0.44 to 1.10 lb) at birth. They are altricial, and are completely dependent on milk for their first 10 days. The incisors erupt at about 12 days, the canines at 16, and the second premolars at 21. Their eyes open after 10 days, by which point the pups become increasingly more mobile, walking by 20 days, and running at the age of six weeks. The parents begin supplementing the pup's diet with regurgitated solid food after 12–15 days. By the age of four to six weeks, when their milk teeth are fully functional, the pups are given small food items such as mice, rabbits, or pieces of ungulate carcasses, with lactation steadily decreasing after two months.Unlike wolf pups, coyote pups begin seriously fighting (as opposed to play fighting) prior to engaging in play behavior. A common play behavior includes the coyote "hip-slam". By three weeks of age, coyote pups bite each other with less inhibition than wolf pups. By the age of four to five weeks, pups have established dominance hierarchies, and are by then more likely to play rather than fight. The male plays an active role in feeding, grooming, and guarding the pups, but abandons them if the female goes missing before the pups are completely weaned. The den is abandoned by June to July, and the pups follow their parents in patrolling their territory and hunting. Pups may leave their families in August, though can remain for much longer. The pups attain adult dimensions at eight months and gain adult weight a month later.
+
+Territorial and sheltering behaviors
+Individual feeding territories vary in size from 0.4 to 62 km2 (0.15 to 24 sq mi), with the general concentration of coyotes in a given area depending on food abundance, adequate denning sites, and competition with conspecifics and other predators. The coyote generally does not defend its territory outside of the denning season, and is much less aggressive towards intruders than the wolf is, typically chasing and sparring with them, but rarely killing them. Conflicts between coyotes can arise during times of food shortage. Coyotes mark their territories by raised-leg urination and ground-scratching.Like wolves, coyotes use a den, usually the deserted holes of other species, when gestating and rearing young, though they may occasionally give birth under sagebrushes in the open. Coyote dens can be located in canyons, washouts, coulees, banks, rock bluffs, or level ground. Some dens have been found under abandoned homestead shacks, grain bins, drainage pipes, railroad tracks, hollow logs, thickets, and thistles. The den is continuously dug and cleaned out by the female until the pups are born. Should the den be disturbed or infested with fleas, the pups are moved into another den. A coyote den can have several entrances and passages branching out from the main chamber. A single den can be used year after year.
+
+Hunting and feeding behaviors
+While the popular consensus is that olfaction is very important for hunting, two studies that experimentally investigated the role of olfactory, auditory, and visual cues found that visual cues are the most important ones for hunting in red foxes and coyotes.
+When hunting large prey, the coyote often works in pairs or small groups. Success in killing large ungulates depends on factors such as snow depth and crust density. Younger animals usually avoid participating in such hunts, with the breeding pair typically doing most of the work. The coyote pursues large prey, typically hamstringing the animal, and subsequently then harassing it until the prey falls. Like other canids, the coyote caches excess food. Coyotes catch mouse-sized rodents by pouncing, whereas ground squirrels are chased. Although coyotes can live in large groups, small prey is typically caught singly.Coyotes have been observed to kill porcupines in pairs, using their paws to flip the rodents on their backs, then attacking the soft underbelly. Only old and experienced coyotes can successfully prey on porcupines, with many predation attempts by young coyotes resulting in them being injured by their prey's quills. Coyotes sometimes urinate on their food, possibly to claim ownership over it. Recent evidence demonstrates that at least some coyotes have become more nocturnal in hunting, presumably to avoid humans.Coyotes may occasionally form mutualistic hunting relationships with American badgers, assisting each other in digging up rodent prey. The relationship between the two species may occasionally border on apparent "friendship", as some coyotes have been observed laying their heads on their badger companions or licking their faces without protest. The amicable interactions between coyotes and badgers were known to pre-Columbian civilizations, as shown on a jar found in Mexico dated to 1250–1300 CE depicting the relationship between the two.Food scraps, pet food, and animal feces may attract a coyote to a trash can.
+
+Communication
+Body language
+Being both a gregarious and solitary animal, the variability of the coyote's visual and vocal repertoire is intermediate between that of the solitary foxes and the highly social wolf. The aggressive behavior of the coyote bears more similarities to that of foxes than it does that of wolves and dogs. An aggressive coyote arches its back and lowers its tail. Unlike dogs, which solicit playful behavior by performing a "play-bow" followed by a "play-leap", play in coyotes consists of a bow, followed by side-to-side head flexions and a series of "spins" and "dives". Although coyotes will sometimes bite their playmates' scruff as dogs do, they typically approach low, and make upward-directed bites.Pups fight each other regardless of sex, while among adults, aggression is typically reserved for members of the same sex. Combatants approach each other waving their tails and snarling with their jaws open, though fights are typically silent. Males tend to fight in a vertical stance, while females fight on all four paws. Fights among females tend to be more serious than ones among males, as females seize their opponents' forelegs, throat, and shoulders.
+
+Vocalizations
+The coyote has been described as "the most vocal of all [wild] North American mammals". Its loudness and range of vocalizations was the cause for its binomial name Canis latrans, meaning "barking dog". At least 11 different vocalizations are known in adult coyotes. These sounds are divided into three categories: agonistic and alarm, greeting, and contact. Vocalizations of the first category include woofs, growls, huffs, barks, bark howls, yelps, and high-frequency whines. Woofs are used as low-intensity threats or alarms and are usually heard near den sites, prompting the pups to immediately retreat into their burrows.Growls are used as threats at short distances but have also been heard among pups playing and copulating males. Huffs are high-intensity threat vocalizations produced by rapid expiration of air. Barks can be classed as both long-distance threat vocalizations and alarm calls. Bark howls may serve similar functions. Yelps are emitted as a sign of submission, while high-frequency whines are produced by dominant animals acknowledging the submission of subordinates. Greeting vocalizations include low-frequency whines, 'wow-oo-wows', and group yip howls. Low-frequency whines are emitted by submissive animals and are usually accompanied by tail wagging and muzzle nibbling.The sound known as 'wow-oo-wow' has been described as a "greeting song". The group yip howl is emitted when two or more pack members reunite and may be the final act of a complex greeting ceremony. Contact calls include lone howls and group howls, as well as the previously mentioned group yip howls. The lone howl is the most iconic sound of the coyote and may serve the purpose of announcing the presence of a lone individual separated from its pack. Group howls are used as both substitute group yip howls and as responses to either lone howls, group howls, or group yip howls.
+
+Ecology
+Habitat
+Prior to the near extermination of wolves and cougars, the coyote was most numerous in grasslands inhabited by bison, pronghorn, elk, and other deer, doing particularly well in short-grass areas with prairie dogs, though it was just as much at home in semiarid areas with sagebrush and jackrabbits or in deserts inhabited by cactus, kangaroo rats, and rattlesnakes. As long as it was not in direct competition with the wolf, the coyote ranged from the Sonoran Desert to the alpine regions of adjoining mountains or the plains and mountainous areas of Alberta. With the extermination of the wolf, the coyote's range expanded to encompass broken forests from the tropics of Guatemala and the northern slope of Alaska.Coyotes walk around 5–16 kilometres (3–10 mi) per day, often along trails such as logging roads and paths; they may use iced-over rivers as travel routes in winter. They are often crepuscular, being more active around evening and the beginning of the night than during the day. However, in urban areas coyotes are known to be more nocturnal, likely to avoid encounters with humans. Like many canids, coyotes are competent swimmers, reported to be able to travel at least 0.8 kilometres (0.5 mi) across water.
+
+Diet
+The coyote is ecologically the North American equivalent of the Eurasian golden jackal. Likewise, the coyote is highly versatile in its choice of food, but is primarily carnivorous, with 90% of its diet consisting of meat. Prey species include bison (largely as carrion), white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, rabbits, hares, rodents, birds (especially galliformes, roadrunners, young water birds and pigeons and doves), amphibians (except toads), lizards, snakes, turtles and tortoises, fish, crustaceans, and insects. Coyotes may be picky over the prey they target, as animals such as shrews, moles, and brown rats do not occur in their diet in proportion to their numbers.Terrestrial animals and/or burrowing small mammals such as ground squirrels and associated species (marmots, prairie dogs, chipmunks) as well as voles, pocket gophers, kangaroo rats and other ground-favoring rodents may be quite common foods, especially for lone coyotes. Examples of specific, primary mammal prey include eastern cottontail rabbits, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, and white-footed mice. More unusual prey include fishers, young black bear cubs, harp seals and rattlesnakes. Coyotes kill rattlesnakes mostly for food, but also to protect their pups at their dens, by teasing the snakes until they stretch out and then biting their heads and snapping and shaking the snakes. Birds taken by coyotes may range in size from thrashers, larks and sparrows to adult wild turkeys and, rarely, brooding adult swans and pelicans.If working in packs or pairs, coyotes may have access to larger prey than lone individuals normally take, such as various prey weighing more than 10 kg (22 lb). In some cases, packs of coyotes have dispatched much larger prey such as adult Odocoileus deer, cow elk, pronghorns and wild sheep, although the young fawn, calves and lambs of these animals are considerably more often taken even by packs, as well as domestic sheep and domestic cattle. In some cases, coyotes can bring down prey weighing up to 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb) or more. When it comes to adult ungulates such as wild deer, they often exploit them when vulnerable such as those that are infirm, stuck in snow or ice, otherwise winter-weakened or heavily pregnant, whereas less wary domestic ungulates may be more easily exploited.Although coyotes prefer fresh meat, they will scavenge when the opportunity presents itself. Excluding the insects, fruit, and grass eaten, the coyote requires an estimated 600 g (1.3 lb) of food daily, or 250 kg (550 lb) annually. The coyote readily cannibalizes the carcasses of conspecifics, with coyote fat having been successfully used by coyote hunters as a lure or poisoned bait. The coyote's winter diet consists mainly of large ungulate carcasses, with very little plant matter. Rodent prey increases in importance during the spring, summer, and fall.The coyote feeds on a variety of different produce, including strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, sarsaparillas, peaches, pears, apples, prickly pears, chapotes, persimmons, peanuts, watermelons, cantaloupes, and carrots. During the winter and early spring, the coyote eats large quantities of grass, such as green wheat blades. It sometimes eats unusual items such as cotton cake, soybean meal, domestic animal droppings, beans, and cultivated grain such as maize, wheat, and sorghum.In coastal California, coyotes now consume a higher percentage of marine-based food than their ancestors, which is thought to be due to the extirpation of the grizzly bear from this region. In Death Valley, coyotes may consume great quantities of hawkmoth caterpillars or beetles in the spring flowering months.
+
+Enemies and competitors
+In areas where the ranges of coyotes and gray wolves overlap, interference competition and predation by wolves has been hypothesized to limit local coyote densities. Coyote ranges expanded during the 19th and 20th centuries following the extirpation of wolves, while coyotes were driven to extinction on Isle Royale after wolves colonized the island in the 1940s. One study conducted in Yellowstone National Park, where both species coexist, concluded that the coyote population in the Lamar River Valley declined by 39% following the reintroduction of wolves in the 1990s, while coyote populations in wolf inhabited areas of the Grand Teton National Park are 33% lower than in areas where they are absent. Wolves have been observed to not tolerate coyotes in their vicinity, though coyotes have been known to trail wolves to feed on their kills.Coyotes may compete with cougars in some areas. In the eastern Sierra Nevada, coyotes compete with cougars over mule deer. Cougars normally outcompete and dominate coyotes, and may kill them occasionally, thus reducing coyote predation pressure on smaller carnivores such as foxes and bobcats. Coyotes that are killed are sometimes not eaten, perhaps indicating that these comprise competitive interspecies interactions, however there are multiple confirmed cases of cougars also eating coyotes. In northeastern Mexico, cougar predation on coyotes continues apace but coyotes were absent from the prey spectrum of sympatric jaguars, apparently due to differing habitat usages.Other than by gray wolves and cougars, predation on adult coyotes is relatively rare but multiple other predators can be occasional threats. In some cases, adult coyotes have been preyed upon by both American black and grizzly bears, American alligators, large Canada lynx and golden eagles. At kill sites and carrion, coyotes, especially if working alone, tend to be dominated by wolves, cougars, bears, wolverines and, usually but not always, eagles (i.e., bald and golden). When such larger, more powerful and/or more aggressive predators such as these come to a shared feeding site, a coyote may either try to fight, wait until the other predator is done or occasionally share a kill, but if a major danger such as wolves or an adult cougar is present, the coyote will tend to flee.Coyotes rarely kill healthy adult red foxes, and have been observed to feed or den alongside them, though they often kill foxes caught in traps. Coyotes may kill fox kits, but this is not a major source of mortality. In southern California, coyotes frequently kill gray foxes, and these smaller canids tend to avoid areas with high coyote densities.In some areas, coyotes share their ranges with bobcats. These two similarly-sized species rarely physically confront one another, though bobcat populations tend to diminish in areas with high coyote densities. However, several studies have demonstrated interference competition between coyotes and bobcats, and in all cases coyotes dominated the interaction. Multiple researchers reported instances of coyotes killing bobcats, whereas bobcats killing coyotes is more rare. Coyotes attack bobcats using a bite-and-shake method similar to what is used on medium-sized prey. Coyotes, both single individuals and groups, have been known to occasionally kill bobcats. In most cases, the bobcats were relatively small specimens, such as adult females and juveniles.Coyote attacks, by an unknown number of coyotes, on adult male bobcats have occurred. In California, coyote and bobcat populations are not negatively correlated across different habitat types, but predation by coyotes is an important source of mortality in bobcats. Biologist Stanley Paul Young noted that in his entire trapping career, he had never successfully saved a captured bobcat from being killed by coyotes, and wrote of two incidents wherein coyotes chased bobcats up trees. Coyotes have been documented to directly kill Canada lynx on occasion, and compete with them for prey, especially snowshoe hares. In some areas, including central Alberta, lynx are more abundant where coyotes are few, thus interactions with coyotes appears to influence lynx populations more than the availability of snowshoe hares.
+
+Range
+Due to the coyote's wide range and abundance throughout North America, it is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The coyote's pre-Columbian range was limited to the Southwest and Plains regions of North America, and northern and central Mexico. By the 19th century, the species expanded north and east, expanding further after 1900, coinciding with land conversion and the extirpation of wolves. By this time, its range encompassed the entire North American continent, including all of the contiguous United States and Mexico, southward into Central America, and northward into most of Canada and Alaska. This expansion is ongoing, and the species now occupies the majority of areas between 8°N (Panama) and 70°N (northern Alaska).Although it was once widely believed that coyotes are recent immigrants to southern Mexico and Central America, aided in their expansion by deforestation, Pleistocene and Early Holocene records, as well as records from the pre-Columbian period and early European colonization show that the animal was present in the area long before modern times. Range expansion occurred south of Costa Rica during the late 1970s and northern Panama in the early 1980s, following the expansion of cattle-grazing lands into tropical rain forests.The coyote is predicted to appear in northern Belize in the near future, as the habitat there is favorable to the species. Concerns have been raised of a possible expansion into South America through the Panamanian Isthmus, should the Darién Gap ever be closed by the Pan-American Highway. This fear was partially confirmed in January 2013, when the species was recorded in eastern Panama's Chepo District, beyond the Panama Canal.A 2017 genetic study proposes that coyotes were originally not found in the area of the eastern United States. From the 1890s, dense forests were transformed into agricultural land and wolf control implemented on a large scale, leaving a niche for coyotes to disperse into. There were two major dispersals from two populations of genetically distinct coyotes. The first major dispersal to the northeast came in the early 20th century from those coyotes living in the northern Great Plains. These came to New England via the northern Great Lakes region and southern Canada, and to Pennsylvania via the southern Great Lakes region, meeting together in the 1940s in New York and Pennsylvania.These coyotes have hybridized with the remnant gray wolf and eastern wolf populations, which has added to coyote genetic diversity and may have assisted adaptation to the new niche. The second major dispersal to the southeast came in the mid-20th century from Texas and reached the Carolinas in the 1980s. These coyotes have hybridized with the remnant red wolf populations before the 1970s when the red wolf was extirpated in the wild, which has also added to coyote genetic diversity and may have assisted adaptation to this new niche as well. Both of these two major coyote dispersals have experienced rapid population growth and are forecast to meet along the mid-Atlantic coast. The study concludes that for coyotes the long range dispersal, gene flow from local populations, and rapid population growth may be inter-related.
+
+Diseases and parasites
+Among large North American carnivores, the coyote probably carries the largest number of diseases and parasites, likely due to its wide range and varied diet. Viral diseases known to infect coyotes include rabies, canine distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, four strains of equine encephalitis, and oral papillomatosis. By the late 1970s, serious rabies outbreaks in coyotes had ceased to be a problem for over 60 years, though sporadic cases every 1–5 years did occur. Distemper causes the deaths of many pups in the wild, though some specimens can survive infection. Tularemia, a bacterial disease, infects coyotes from tick bites and through their rodent and lagomorph prey, and can be deadly for pups.Coyotes can be infected by both demodectic and sarcoptic mange, the latter being the most common. Mite infestations are rare and incidental in coyotes, while tick infestations are more common, with seasonal peaks depending on locality (May–August in the Northwest, March–November in Arkansas). Coyotes are only rarely infested with lice, while fleas infest coyotes from puphood, though they may be more a source of irritation than serious illness. Pulex simulans is the most common species to infest coyotes, while Ctenocephalides canis tends to occur only in places where coyotes and dogs (its primary host) inhabit the same area. Although coyotes are rarely host to flukes, they can nevertheless have serious effects on coyotes, particularly Nanophyetus salmincola, which can infect them with salmon poisoning disease, a disease with a 90% mortality rate. Trematode Metorchis conjunctus can also infect coyotes.Tapeworms have been recorded to infest 60–95% of all coyotes examined. The most common species to infest coyotes are Taenia pisiformis and Taenia crassiceps, which uses cottontail rabbits and rodents as intermediate hosts. The largest species known in coyotes is T. hydatigena, which enters coyotes through infected ungulates, and can grow to lengths of 80 to 400 cm (31 to 157 in). Although once largely limited to wolves, Echinococcus granulosus has expanded to coyotes since the latter began colonizing former wolf ranges.The most frequent ascaroid roundworm in coyotes is Toxascaris leonina, which dwells in the coyote's small intestine and has no ill effects, except for causing the host to eat more frequently. Hookworms of the genus Ancylostoma infest coyotes throughout their range, being particularly prevalent in humid areas. In areas of high moisture, such as coastal Texas, coyotes can carry up to 250 hookworms each. The blood-drinking A. caninum is particularly dangerous, as it damages the coyote through blood loss and lung congestion. A 10-day-old pup can die from being host to as few as 25 A. caninum worms.
+
+Relationships with humans
+In folklore and mythology
+Coyote features as a trickster figure and skin-walker in the folktales of some Native Americans, notably several nations in the Southwestern and Plains regions, where he alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or that of a man. As with other trickster figures, Coyote acts as a picaresque hero who rebels against social convention through deception and humor. Folklorists such as Harris believe coyotes came to be seen as tricksters due to the animal's intelligence and adaptability. After the European colonization of the Americas, Anglo-American depictions of Coyote are of a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike the gray wolf, which has undergone a radical improvement of its public image, Anglo-American cultural attitudes towards the coyote remain largely negative.In the Maidu creation story, Coyote introduces work, suffering, and death to the world. Zuni lore has Coyote bringing winter into the world by stealing light from the kachinas. The Chinook, Maidu, Pawnee, Tohono O'odham, and Ute portray the coyote as the companion of The Creator. A Tohono O'odham flood story has Coyote helping Montezuma survive a global deluge that destroys humanity. After The Creator creates humanity, Coyote and Montezuma teach people how to live. The Crow creation story portrays Old Man Coyote as The Creator. In The Dineh creation story, Coyote was present in the First World with First Man and First Woman, though a different version has it being created in the Fourth World. The Navajo Coyote brings death into the world, explaining that without death, too many people would exist, thus no room to plant corn.
+Prior to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Coyote played a significant role in Mesoamerican cosmology. The coyote symbolized military might in Classic era Teotihuacan, with warriors dressing up in coyote costumes to call upon its predatory power. The species continued to be linked to Central Mexican warrior cults in the centuries leading up to the post-Classic Aztec rule.In Aztec mythology, Huehuecóyotl (meaning "old coyote"), the god of dance, music and carnality, is depicted in several codices as a man with a coyote's head. He is sometimes depicted as a womanizer, responsible for bringing war into the world by seducing Xochiquetzal, the goddess of love. Epigrapher David H. Kelley argued that the god Quetzalcoatl owed its origins to pre-Aztec Uto-Aztecan mythological depictions of the coyote, which is portrayed as mankind's "Elder Brother", a creator, seducer, trickster, and culture hero linked to the morning star.
+
+Attacks on humans
+Coyote attacks on humans are uncommon and rarely cause serious injuries, due to the relatively small size of the coyote, but have been increasingly frequent, especially in California. By the middle of the 19th century, the coyote was already marked as an enemy by humans. (Sharp & Hall, 1978 Pg. 41-54) There have been only two confirmed fatal attacks: one on a three-year-old named Kelly Keen in Glendale, California and another on a nineteen-year-old named Taylor Mitchell in Nova Scotia, Canada. In the 30 years leading up to March 2006, at least 160 attacks occurred in the United States, mostly in the Los Angeles County area. Data from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, the California Department of Fish and Game, and other sources show that while 41 attacks occurred during the period of 1988–1997, 48 attacks were verified from 1998 through 2003. The majority of these incidents occurred in Southern California near the suburban-wildland interface.In the absence of the harassment of coyotes practiced by rural people, urban coyotes are losing their fear of humans, which is further worsened by people intentionally or unintentionally feeding coyotes. In such situations, some coyotes have begun to act aggressively toward humans, chasing joggers and bicyclists, confronting people walking their dogs, and stalking small children. Non-rabid coyotes in these areas sometimes target small children, mostly under the age of 10, though some adults have been bitten.Although media reports of such attacks generally identify the animals in question as simply "coyotes", research into the genetics of the eastern coyote indicates those involved in attacks in northeast North America, including Pennsylvania, New York, New England, and eastern Canada, may have actually been coywolves, hybrids of Canis latrans and C. lupus, not fully coyotes.
+
+Livestock and pet predation
+As of 2007, coyotes were the most abundant livestock predators in western North America, causing the majority of sheep, goat, and cattle losses. For example, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of the 224,000 sheep deaths attributed to predation in 2004. The total number of sheep deaths in 2004 comprised 2.22% of the total sheep and lamb population in the United States, which, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA report, totaled 4.66 million and 7.80 million heads respectively as of July 1, 2005.Because coyote populations are typically many times greater and more widely distributed than those of wolves, coyotes cause more overall predation losses. United States government agents routinely shoot, poison, trap, and kill about 90,000 coyotes each year to protect livestock. An Idaho census taken in 2005 showed that individual coyotes were 5% as likely to attack livestock as individual wolves. In Utah, more than 11,000 coyotes were killed for bounties totaling over $500,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017.Livestock guardian dogs are commonly used to aggressively repel predators and have worked well in both fenced pasture and range operations. A 1986 survey of sheep producers in the USA found that 82% reported the use of dogs represented an economic asset.Re-wilding cattle, which involves increasing the natural protective tendencies of cattle, is a method for controlling coyotes discussed by Temple Grandin of Colorado State University. This method is gaining popularity among producers who allow their herds to calve on the range and whose cattle graze open pastures throughout the year.
+Coyotes typically bite the throat just behind the jaw and below the ear when attacking adult sheep or goats, with death commonly resulting from suffocation. Blood loss is usually a secondary cause of death. Calves and heavily fleeced sheep are killed by attacking the flanks or hindquarters, causing shock and blood loss. When attacking smaller prey, such as young lambs, the kill is made by biting the skull and spinal regions, causing massive tissue and bone damage. Small or young prey may be completely carried off, leaving only blood as evidence of a kill. Coyotes usually leave the hide and most of the skeleton of larger animals relatively intact, unless food is scarce, in which case they may leave only the largest bones. Scattered bits of wool, skin, and other parts are characteristic where coyotes feed extensively on larger carcasses.Tracks are an important factor in distinguishing coyote from dog predation. Coyote tracks tend to be more oval-shaped and compact than those of domestic dogs, and their claw marks are less prominent and the tracks tend to follow a straight line more closely than those of dogs. With the exception of sighthounds, most dogs of similar weight to coyotes have a slightly shorter stride. Coyote kills can be distinguished from wolf kills by less damage to the underlying tissues in the former. Also, coyote scat tends to be smaller than wolf scat.Coyotes are often attracted to dog food and animals that are small enough to appear as prey. Items such as garbage, pet food, and sometimes feeding stations for birds and squirrels attract coyotes into backyards. About three to five pets attacked by coyotes are brought into the Animal Urgent Care hospital of South Orange County (California) each week, the majority of which are dogs, since cats typically do not survive the attacks. Scat analysis collected near Claremont, California, revealed that coyotes relied heavily on pets as a food source in winter and spring.At one location in Southern California, coyotes began relying on a colony of feral cats as a food source. Over time, the coyotes killed most of the cats and then continued to eat the cat food placed daily at the colony site by people who were maintaining the cat colony.
+Coyotes usually attack smaller-sized dogs, but they have been known to attack even large, powerful breeds such as the Rottweiler in exceptional cases. Dogs larger than coyotes, such as greyhounds, are generally able to drive them off and have been known to kill coyotes. Smaller breeds are more likely to suffer injury or death.
+
+Hunting
+Coyote hunting is one of the most common forms of predator hunting that humans partake in. There are not many regulations with regard to the taking of the coyote which means there are many different methods that can be used to hunt the animal. The most common forms are trapping, calling, and hound hunting. Since coyotes are colorblind, seeing only in shades of gray and subtle blues, open camouflages, and plain patterns can be used. As the average male coyote weighs 8 to 20 kg (18 to 44 lbs) and the average female coyote 7 to 18 kg (15 to 40 lbs), a universal projectile that can perform between those weights is the .223 Remington, so that the projectile expands in the target after entry, but before the exit, thus delivering the most energy.Coyotes being the light and agile animals they are, they often leave a very light impression on terrain. The coyote's footprint is oblong, approximately 6.35 cm (2.5-inches) long and 5.08 cm (2-inches) wide. There are four claws in both their front and hind paws. The coyote's center pad is relatively shaped like that of a rounded triangle. Like the domestic dog the coyote's front paw is slightly larger than the hind paw. The coyote's paw is most similar to that of the domestic dog.
+
+Fur uses
+Prior to the mid-19th century, coyote fur was considered worthless. This changed with the diminution of beavers, and by 1860, the hunting of coyotes for their fur became a great source of income (75 cents to $1.50 per skin) for wolfers in the Great Plains. Coyote pelts were of significant economic importance during the early 1950s, ranging in price from $5 to $25 per pelt, depending on locality. The coyote's fur is not durable enough to make rugs, but can be used for coats and jackets, scarves, or muffs. The majority of pelts are used for making trimmings, such as coat collars and sleeves for women's clothing. Coyote fur is sometimes dyed black as imitation silver fox.Coyotes were occasionally eaten by trappers and mountain men during the western expansion. Coyotes sometimes featured in the feasts of the Plains Indians, and coyote pups were eaten by the indigenous people of San Gabriel, California. The taste of coyote meat has been likened to that of the wolf and is more tender than pork when boiled. Coyote fat, when taken in the fall, has been used on occasion to grease leather or eaten as a spread.
+
+Tameability
+Coyotes were likely semidomesticated by various pre-Columbian cultures. Some 19th-century writers wrote of coyotes being kept in native villages in the Great Plains. The coyote is easily tamed as a pup, but can become destructive as an adult. Both full-blooded and hybrid coyotes can be playful and confiding with their owners, but are suspicious and shy of strangers, though coyotes being tractable enough to be used for practical purposes like retrieving and pointing have been recorded. A tame coyote named "Butch", caught in the summer of 1945, had a short-lived career in cinema, appearing in Smoky (1946) and Ramrod (1947) before being shot while raiding a henhouse.
+
+In popular culture
+Wile E. Coyote features prominently in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films.
+The NHL team in Arizona is named the Arizona Coyotes to pay tribute to the large population of coyotes in the region.
+The famous oo-wee-oo-wee-oo wah-wah-wah scream in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) was inspired by the howl of the coyote.
+Copper, a coyote, was one of three mascots for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
+An animated coyote voiced by Johnny Cash plays a pivotal role as a spirit guide to Homer Simpson in the Simpsons episode El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer.
+
+Explanatory notes
+Citations
+General and cited sources
+Cartaino, Carol (2011). Myths & Truths about Coyotes: What You Need to Know about America's Most Misunderstood Predator. Readhowyouwant.com. ISBN 978-1-4587-2668-1. OCLC 876517032.
+Fox, M. W. (1978). The Dog: Its Domestication and Behavior. Garland STPM Press. ISBN 978-0-8240-9858-2. OCLC 3223381.
+Johnston, C. S. (1938). "Preliminary report on the vertebrate type locality of Cita Canyon and the description of an ancestral coyote". American Journal of Science. 5. 35 (209): 383–390. Bibcode:1938AmJS...35..383J. doi:10.2475/ajs.s5-35.209.383.
+Nowak, R. M. (1979). "History and Statistical Analysis of Recent Populations". In Wiley, E. O. (ed.). North American Quaternary Canis. Vol. 6. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Printing Service. ISBN 0-89338-007-5.
+Nowak, R. M. (2003). "Wolf evolution and taxonomy". In Mech, L. David; Boitani, Luigi (eds.). Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. pp. 239–258. ISBN 978-0-226-51696-7.
+Seton, E. T. (1909). Life-histories of northern animals : an account of the mammals of Manitoba. New York: Scribner.
+Tedford, Richard H.; Wang, Xiaoming; Taylor, Beryl E. (2009). "Phylogenetic Systematics of the North American Fossil Caninae (Carnivora: Canidae)" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 325: 1–218. doi:10.1206/574.1. hdl:2246/5999. S2CID 83594819. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 6, 2012.
+Wang, Xiaoming; Tedford, Richard H. (2008). Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13528-3. OCLC 185095648.
+Young, S. P.; Jackson, H. H. T. (1978). The Clever Coyote. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-5893-8. OCLC 3294630.
+
+Further reading
+Books
+Dixon, J. S. (1920). Control of the coyote in California. Berkeley, Cal. : Agricultural Experiment Station
+Flores, D. (2016). Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-05299-8
+Harding, A. R. (1909). Wolf and coyote trapping; an up-to-date wolf hunter's guide, giving the most successful methods of experienced "wolfers" for hunting and trapping these animals, also gives their habits in detail. Columbus, Ohio, A. R. Harding pub. co.
+Kurtén, B (1974). "A history of coyote-like dogs (Canidae, Mammalia)". Acta Zoologica Fennica. 140: 1–38.
+Leydet, François (1988). The Coyote: Defiant Songdog of the West. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-2123-9. OCLC 17106424.
+Morey, Paul (2004). Landscape use and diet of coyotes, Canis latrans, in the Chicago metropolitan area (Thesis). Utah State University.
+Murie, A. (1940). Ecology of the coyote in the Yellowstone. Washington, D.C. : U.S. G.P.O.
+Parker, Gerry. (1995). "Eastern Coyote: Story of Its Success", Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
+Van Nuys, Frank (2015). Varmints and Victims: Predator Control in the American West. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.
+Wagner, M. M. (c. 1920). The autobiography of a tame coyote. San Francisco, Harr Wagner pub. co.
+
+Video
+Shelly, Priya (June 2016). Living with Coyote (18 minutes). Aeon.
+
+Audiobooks
+Olson, Jack (May 2015). The Last Coyote (8 hours). Narrated by Gary MacFadden. Originally published as Slaughter the Animals, Poison the Earth, Simon & Schuster, Oct. 11, 1971. ASIN B00WGUA5HK.
+
+External links
+
+"Coyote" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). 1911.
+"Canis latrans". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved March 23, 2006.
+Arizona Game & Fish Department, "Living with Coyotes" Archived August 2, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
+Western coyote Archived September 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Wolf and Coyote DNA Bank @ Trent University
+View occurrences of Canis latrans in the Biodiversity Heritage Library
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+Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some species are found in brooks and streams, where  fresh water is running, while others thrive in swamps, ditches, and paddy fields. Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some species, such as Procambarus clarkii, are hardier. Crayfish feed on animals and plants, either living or decomposing, and detritus.The term "crayfish" is applied to saltwater species in some countries.
+
+Terminology
+The name "crayfish" comes from the Old French word escrevisse (Modern French écrevisse). The word has been modified to "crayfish" by association with "fish" (folk etymology). The largely American variant "crawfish" is similarly derived.Some kinds of crayfish are known locally as lobsters, crawdads, mudbugs, and yabbies. In the Eastern United States, "crayfish" is more common in the north, while "crawdad" is heard more in central and southwestern regions, and "crawfish" farther south, although considerable overlaps exist.The study of crayfish is called astacology.
+
+Anatomy
+The body of a decapod crustacean, such as a crab, lobster, or prawn (shrimp), is made up of twenty body segments grouped into two main body parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups, these may be reduced or missing. On average, crayfish grow to 17.5 cm (6.9 in) in length. Walking legs have a small claw at the end.
+
+Diet
+Crayfish are opportunistic omnivorous scavengers, with the ability to filter and process mud. In aquaculture ponds using isotope analysis they were shown to build body tissue selectively from the animal protein portion of pelleted food and not the other components of the pellet.They have the potential to eat most foods, even nutrient poor material such as grass, leaves, and paper, but can be highly selective and need variety to balance their diet. The personalities of the individual crayfish can be a key determinant in the food preference behaviour in aquaria.
+Crayfish all over the world can be seen in an ecological role of benthic dwellers, so this is where most of their food is obtained - at the sediment/water interface in ponds, lakes, swamps, or burrows. When the gut contents are analysed, most of the contents is mud: fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) and mixed particles of lignin and cellulose (roots, leaves, bark, wood). Some animal material can also be identified, but this only contributes a small portion of the diet by volume. 
+They feed on submerged vegetable material at times, but their ability to catch large living animal material is restricted. They can feed on interstitial organisms if they can be grasped in the small feeding claws.  They can be lured into traps with an array of baits from dog biscuits, fish heads, meat, etc., all of which reinforces the fact that they are generalist feeders. 
+On a day-to-day basis, they consume what they can acquire in their immediate environment in limited space and time available - detritus. At a microbial level, the FPOM has a high surface area of organic particles and consists of a plethora of substrate and bacteria, fungi, micro-algae, meiofauna, partially decomposed organic material and mucus. This mucus or "slime" is a biofilm and can be felt on the surface of leaves and sticks. Also crayfish have been shown to be coprophagic - eating their own faeces, they also eat their own exuviae (moulted carapace) and each other. They have even been observed leaving the water to graze. 
+Detritus or mud is a mixture of dead plankton (plant and animal), organic wastes from the water column, and debris derived from the aquatic and terrestrial environments. Mostly detritus is in the end phase of decomposition and is recognised as black organic mud. The crayfish usually ingest the material in only a few minutes, as distinct from grazing for many hours. The material is mixed with digestive fluids and sorted by size. The finer particles follow a slower and more exacting route through to the hindgut, compared to the coarser material. The coarser material is eliminated first and often reappears in approximately 10 to 12 hours, whereas the finer material is usually eliminated from 16 to 26 hours after ingestion.All waste products coming out through the hindgut are wrapped in a peritrophic membrane, so they look like a tube. Such an investment in the wrapping of the microbial free faeces in a protein rich membrane is most likely the reason they are coprophagic. Such feeding behaviour based on selection, ingestion, and extreme processing ensures periodic feeding, as distinct from continuous grazing. They tend to eat to satiation and then take many hours to process the material, leaving minimal chance of having more room to ingest other items. Crayfish usually have limited home range and so they rest, digest, and eliminate their waste, most commonly in the same location each day.
+Feeding exposes the crayfish to risk of predation, and so feeding behaviour is often rapid and synchronised with feeding processes that reduce such risks — eat, hide, process and eliminate.
+Knowledge of the diet of these creatures was considered too complex since the first book ever written in the field of zoology, The Crayfish by T.H. Huxley (1879), where they were described as "detritivores". This is why most researchers have not attempted to understand the diet of freshwater crayfish. The most complex study which matched the structure and function of the whole digestive track with ingested material was performed in the 1990s by Brett O'Brien on marron, the least aggressive of the larger freshwater crayfish with aquaculture potential, similar to redclaw and yabbies.
+
+Classification and geographical distribution
+Crayfish are closely related to lobsters, and together they belong to the infraorder Astacidea. Their phylogeny can be shown in the simplified cladogram below:
+Four extant (living) families of crayfish are described, three in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere (Gondwana-distributed) family Parastacidae, with 14 extant genera and two extinct genera, live(d) in South America, Madagascar, and Australasia. They are distinguished by the absence of the first pair of pleopods. Of the other three Northern Hemisphere families (grouped in the superfamily Astacoidea), the four genera of the family Astacidae live in western Eurasia and western North America, the 15 genera of the family Cambaridae live in eastern North America, and the single genus of Cambaroididae live in eastern Asia.
+
+North America
+The greatest diversity of crayfish species is found in southeastern North America, with over 330 species in 15 genera, all in the family Cambaridae. A further genus of astacid crayfish is found in the Pacific Northwest and the headwaters of some rivers east of the Continental Divide. Many crayfish are also found in lowland areas where the water is abundant in calcium, and oxygen rises from underground springs. Crayfish are also found in some non-coastal wetlands; eight species of crayfish live in Iowa, for example.
+In 1983, Louisiana designated the crayfish, or crawfish as they are commonly called, as its official state crustacean. Louisiana produces 100 million pounds (45 million kilograms) of crawfish per year with the red swamp and white river crawfish being the main species harvested. Crawfish are a part of Cajun culture dating back hundreds of years. A variety of cottage industries have developed as a result of commercialized crawfish iconography. Their products include crawfish attached to wooden plaques, T-shirts with crawfish logos, and crawfish pendants, earrings, and necklaces made of gold or silver.
+
+Australia
+Australia has over 100 species in a dozen genera. It is home to the world's three largest freshwater crayfish:
+
+the Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish Astacopsis gouldi, which can achieve a mass over 5 kg (11 lb) and is found in rivers of northern Tasmania
+the Murray crayfish Euastacus armatus, which can reach 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), although  reports of animals up to 3 kg (6.6 lb) have been made. It is found in much of the southern Murray-Darling basin.
+the marron from Western Australia (now believed to be two species, Cherax tenuimanus and C. cainii) which may reach 2.2 kg (4.9 lb)Many of the better-known Australian crayfish are of the genus Cherax, and include the common yabby (C. destructor), western yabby (C. preissii), and red-claw crayfish (C. quadricarinatus).The marron species C. tenuimanus is critically endangered, while other large Australasian crayfish are threatened or endangered.
+
+New Zealand
+In New Zealand, two species of Paranephrops are endemic, and are known by the Māori name kōura.
+
+Other animals
+In Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the term "crayfish" or "cray" generally refers to a saltwater spiny lobster, of the genus Jasus that is indigenous to much of southern Oceania, while the freshwater species are usually called yabbies or kōura, from the indigenous Australian and Māori names for the animal, respectively, or by other names specific to each species. Exceptions include western rock lobster (of the Palinuridae family) found on the west coast of Australia (it is a spiny lobster, but not of Jasus); the Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish (from the Parastacidae family and therefore a true crayfish) found only in Tasmania; and the Murray crayfish found along Australia's Murray River.In Singapore, the term crayfish typically refers to Thenus orientalis, a seawater crustacean from the slipper lobster family. True crayfish are not native to Singapore, but are commonly found as pets, or as an invasive species (Cherax quadricarinatus) in the many water catchment areas, and are alternatively known as freshwater lobsters.In England and Ireland, the terms crayfish or crawfish commonly refer to the European spiny lobster, a saltwater species found in much of the East Atlantic and Mediterranean. The only true crayfish species native to the British Isles is the endangered white clawed crayfish.
+
+Fossil record
+Fossil records of crayfish older than 30 million years are rare, but fossilised burrows have been found from strata as old as the late Palaeozoic or early Mesozoic. The oldest records of the Parastacidae are in Australia, and are 115 million years old and the crayfish Palaeocambarus and Cricoidoscelosus from the Yixian Formation of China are likely around 120 million years old, making them both one of, if not, the oldest known crayfish to date.
+
+Threats to crayfish
+Crayfish are susceptible to infections such as crayfish plague and to environmental stressors including acidification. In Europe, they are particularly threatened by crayfish plague, which is caused by the North American water mold Aphanomyces astaci. This water mold was transmitted to Europe when North American species of crayfish were introduced. Species of the genus Astacus are particularly susceptible to infection, allowing the plague-coevolved signal crayfish (native to western North America) to invade parts of Europe.Acid rain can cause problems for crayfish across the world. In whole-ecosystem experiments simulating acid rain at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, Canada, crayfish populations crashed – probably because their exoskeletons are weaker in acidified environments.
+
+Invasive pest
+In several countries, particularly in Europe, native species of crayfish are under threat by imported species, particularly the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus).  Crayfish are also considered an invasive predatory species, endangering native European species such as the Italian agile frog.
+
+Uses
+Culinary use
+Crayfish are eaten worldwide. Like other edible crustaceans, only a small portion of the body of a crayfish is eaten. In most prepared dishes, such as soups, bisques and étouffées, only the tail portion is served. At crawfish boils or other meals where the entire body of the crayfish is presented, other portions, such as the claw meat, may be eaten.Research shows that crayfish do not die immediately when boiled alive, and respond to pain in a similar way to mammals. Then the stress hormone cortisol is released and this leads to the formation of lactic acid in the muscles, which makes the meat taste sour. Crayfish can be cooked more humanely by first freezing them unconscious for a few hours, then destroying the central nervous system along their abdomen by cutting the crayfish lengthwise with a long knife down the center of the crayfish before cooking it.Global crayfish production is centered in Asia, primarily China. In 2018, Asian production accounted for 95% of the world's crawfish supply. Crayfish is part of Swedish cuisine and is usually eaten in August at special crayfish parties (Swedish Kräftskiva). Documentation of the consumption of crayfish dates to at least the 16th century. On the Swedish west coast, Nephrops norvegicus (Swedish Havskräfta, sea crayfish) is more commonly eaten while various freshwater crayfish are consumed in the rest of the country. Prior to the 1960s, crayfish was largely inaccessible to the urban population in Sweden and consumption was largely limited to the upper classes or farmers holding fishing rights in fresh water lakes. With the introduction of import of frozen crayfish the crayfish party is now widely practiced across all spheres in Sweden and among the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.In the United States, crayfish production is strongly centered in Louisiana, with 93% of crayfish farms located in the state as of 2018. In 1987, Louisiana produced 90% of the crayfish harvested in the world, 70% of which were consumed locally. In 2007, the Louisiana crayfish harvest was about 54,800 tons, almost all of it from aquaculture. About 70–80% of crayfish produced in Louisiana are Procambarus clarkii (red swamp crawfish), with the remaining 20–30% being Procambarus zonangulus (white river crawfish). Optimum dietary nutritional requirement of freshwater crayfish, or crayfish nutrient specifications are now available for aquaculture feed producers Like all crustaceans, crayfish are not kosher because they are aquatic animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are therefore not eaten by observant Jews.
+
+Bait
+Crayfish are preyed upon by a variety of ray-finned fishes, and are commonly used as bait, either live or with only the tail meat. They are a popular bait for catching catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass, perch, pike and muskie. When using live crayfish as bait, anglers prefer to hook them between the eyes, piercing through their hard, pointed beak which causes them no harm; therefore, they remain more active.When using crayfish as bait, it is important to fish in the same environment where they were caught. An Illinois State University report that focused on studies conducted on the Fox River and Des Plaines River watershed stated that rusty crayfish, initially caught as bait in a different environment, were dumped into the water and "outcompeted the native clearwater crayfish". Other studies confirmed that transporting crayfish to different environments has led to various ecological problems, including the elimination of native species. Transporting crayfish as live bait has also contributed to the spread of zebra mussels in various waterways throughout Europe and North America, as they are known to attach themselves to exoskeleton of crayfishes.
+
+Pets
+Crayfish are kept as pets in freshwater aquariums. They prefer foods like shrimp pellets or various vegetables, but will also eat tropical fish food, regular fish food, algae wafers, and small fish that can be captured with their claws. A report by the National Park Service as well as video and anecdotal reports by aquarium owners indicate that crayfish will eat their moulted exoskeleton "to recover the calcium and phosphates contained in it."  As omnivores, crayfish will eat almost anything; therefore, they may explore the edibility of aquarium plants in a fish tank. However, most species of dwarf crayfish, such as Cambarellus patzcuarensis, will not destructively dig or eat live aquarium plants.In some nations, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and New Zealand, imported alien crayfish are a danger to local rivers. The three most widespread American species invasive in Europe are Faxonius limosus, Pacifastacus leniusculus and Procambarus clarkii. Crayfish may spread into different bodies of water because specimens captured for pets in one river are often released into a different catchment. There is a potential for ecological damage when crayfish are introduced into non-native bodies of water: e.g., crayfish plague in Europe, or the introduction of the common yabby (Cherax destructor) into drainages east of the Great Dividing Range in Australia.
+
+Sentinel species
+The Protivin brewery in the Czech Republic uses crayfish outfitted with sensors to detect any changes in their bodies or pulse activity in order to monitor the purity of the water used in their product. The creatures are kept in a fish tank that is fed with the same local natural source water used in their brewing. If three or more of the crayfish have changes to their pulses, employees know there is a change in the water and examine the parameters.Scientists also monitor crayfish in the wild in natural bodies of water to study the levels of pollutants there.
+
+See also
+Arthropods in culture
+Pain in crustaceans
+
+Notes
+References
+O’Brien, B.G. (1994). The natural diet of the freshwater crayfish Cherax tenuimanus (Smith 1912) Decapoda:parastacidae) as determined by gut content analysis.  Freshwater Crayfish 10, 151-162.
+
+Further reading
+External links
+
+International Association of Astacology (IAA)
+America's Crayfish: Crawling In Troubled Waters
+Louisiana Crawfish Research and Promotion Board
+Crayfish Moulting Video on YouTube
+https://ontarionature.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/crayfish_apr08.pdf
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+A carriage dog or coach dog refers to a type of dog rather than a specific breed. Dogs of this type were usually bred and trained to trot alongside carriages to protect the occupants from banditry or other interference. They were usually owned and used by the wealthy or traders and merchants. The dogs were trained to attack highwaymen, giving the humans time to respond to the robbers.
+When the Dalmatian breed was introduced to England in the 18th century, they quickly became the carriage-dog breed of choice. Because of this, "carriage dog" became synonymous with "Dalmatian". The British Carriage Dog Society exists to preserve "the working heritage of the Dalmatian as a coaching dog." Previously any breed with long legs and some weight in the body had been used.
+The number of dogs accompanying any coach could be an indicator of the occupants' wealth or status: some well-situated people would run six or eight dogs.Coach dogs were kennelled in the stables, and bonded with the horses as pups. A more civic usage was as fire-engine escorts, helping to clear the way in crowded streets as well as guarding the very expensive horses in their stables.
+With the demise of horse-drawn transport, the need for the dogs declined, and they became largely ceremonial assets, but were often repurposed as static house and barn guard dogs. Today carriage dogs are valued as loyal pets and companions.
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/dhole.txt b/data/animals/dhole.txt
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+The dhole ( dohl; Cuon alpinus) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It is genetically close to species within the genus Canis,: Fig. 10  but distinct in several anatomical aspects: its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third lower molar and the upper molars sport only a single cusp as opposed to between two and four. During the Pleistocene, the dhole ranged throughout Asia, Europe and North America but became restricted to its historical range 12,000–18,000 years ago.The dhole is a highly social animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females. Such clans usually consist of about 12 individuals, but groups of over 40 are known. It is a diurnal pack hunter which preferentially targets large and medium-sized ungulates. In tropical forests, the dhole competes with the tiger (Panthera tigris) and the leopard (Panthera pardus), targeting somewhat different prey species, but still with substantial dietary overlap.It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as populations are decreasing and estimated to comprise fewer than 2,500 mature individuals. Factors contributing to this decline include habitat loss, loss of prey, competition with other species, persecution due to livestock predation, and disease transfer from domestic dogs.
+
+Etymology and naming
+The etymology of "dhole" is unclear. The possible earliest written use of the word in English occurred in 1808 by soldier Thomas Williamson, who encountered the animal in Ramghur district, India. He stated that dhole was a common local name for the species. In 1827, Charles Hamilton Smith claimed that it was derived from a language spoken in 'various parts of the East'.Two years later, Smith connected this word with Turkish: deli 'mad, crazy', and erroneously compared the Turkish word with Old Saxon: dol and Dutch: dol (cfr. also English: dull; German: toll), which are in fact from the Proto-Germanic *dwalaz 'foolish, stupid'. Richard Lydekker wrote nearly 80 years later that the word was not used by the natives living within the species' range. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary theorises that it may have come from the Kannada: ತೋಳ, romanized: tōḷa, lit. 'wolf'.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Canis alpinus was the binomial name proposed by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811, who described its range as encompassing the upper levels of Udskoi Ostrog in Amurland, towards the eastern side and in the region of the upper Lena River, around the Yenisei River and occasionally crossing into China. This northern Russian range reported by Pallas during the 18th and 19th centuries is "considerably north" of where this species occurs today.Canis primaevus was a name proposed by Brian Houghton Hodgson in 1833 who thought that the dhole was a primitive Canis form and the progenitor of the domestic dog. Hodgson later took note of the dhole's physical distinctiveness from the genus Canis and proposed the genus Cuon.The first study on the origins of the species was conducted by paleontologist Erich Thenius, who concluded in 1955 that the dhole was a post-Pleistocene descendant of a golden jackal-like ancestor. The paleontologist Bjorn Kurten wrote in his 1968 book Pleistocene Mammals of Europe that the primitive dhole Canis majori Del Campana 1913 —the remains of which have been found in Villafranchian era Valdarno, Italy and in China—was almost indistinguishable from the genus Canis. In comparison, the modern species has greatly reduced molars and the cusps have developed into sharply trenchant points. During the Early Middle Pleistocene there arose both Canis majori stehlini that was the size of a large wolf, and the early dhole Canis alpinus Pallas 1811 which first appeared at Hundsheim and Mosbach in Germany. In the Late Pleistocene era the European dhole (C. a. europaeus) was modern-looking and the transformation of the lower molar into a single cusped, slicing tooth had been completed; however, its size was comparable with that of a wolf. This subspecies became extinct in Europe at the end of the late Würm period, but the species as a whole still inhabits a large area of Asia. The European dhole may have survived up until the early Holocene in the Iberian Peninsula. and what is believed to be dhole remains have been found at Riparo Fredian in northern Italy dated 10,800 years old.The vast Pleistocene range of this species also included numerous islands in Asia that this species no longer inhabits, such as Sri Lanka, Borneo and possibly Palawan in the Philippines. Middle Pleistocene dhole fossils have also been found in the Matsukae Cave in northern Kyushu Island in western Japan and in the Lower Kuzuu fauna in Tochigi Prefecture in Honshu Island, east Japan. Dhole fossils from the Late Pleistocene dated to about 10,700 years before present are known from the Luobi Cave or Luobi-Dong cave in Hainan Island in south China where they no longer exist. Additionally, fossils of canidae possibly belonging to dhole have been excavated from Dajia River in Taichung County, Taiwan.The fossil record indicates that the species also occurred in North America, with remains being found in Beringia and Mexico.
+In 2021, the analyses of the mitochondrial genomes extracted from the fossil remains of two extinct European dhole specimens from the Jáchymka cave, Czech Republic dated 35,000–45,000 years old indicate that these were genetically basal to modern dholes and possessed much greater genetic diversity.The dhole's distinctive morphology has been a source of much confusion in determining the species' systematic position among the Canidae. George Simpson placed the dhole in the subfamily Simocyoninae alongside the African wild dog and the bush dog, on account of all three species' similar dentition. Subsequent authors, including Juliet Clutton-Brock, noted greater morphological similarities to canids of the genera Canis, Dusicyon and Alopex than to either Speothos or Lycaon, with any resemblance to the latter two being due to convergent evolution.Some authors consider the extinct Canis subgenus Xenocyon as ancestral to both the genus Lycaon and the genus Cuon.: p149  Subsequent studies on the canid genome revealed that the dhole and African wild dog are closely related to members of the genus Canis. This closeness to Canis may have been confirmed in a menagerie in Madras, where according to zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock there is a record of a dhole that interbred with a golden jackal.
+
+Admixture with the African wild dog
+In 2018, whole genome sequencing was used to compare all members (apart from the black-backed and side-striped jackals) of the genus Canis, along with the dhole and the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). There was strong evidence of ancient genetic admixture between the dhole and the African wild dog. Today, their ranges are remote from each other; however, during the Pleistocene era the dhole could be found as far west as Europe. The study proposes that the dhole's distribution may have once included the Middle East, from where it may have admixed with the African wild dog in North Africa. However, there is no evidence of the dhole having existed in the Middle East nor North Africa.
+
+Subspecies
+Historically, up to ten subspecies of dholes have been recognised. As of 2005, seven subspecies are recognised.However, studies on the dhole's mtDNA and microsatellite genotype showed no clear subspecific distinctions. Nevertheless, two major phylogeographic groupings were discovered in dholes of the Asian mainland, which likely diverged during a glaciation event. One population extends from South, Central and North India (south of the Ganges) into Myanmar, and the other extends from India north of the Ganges into northeastern India, Myanmar, Thailand and the Malaysian Peninsula. The origin of dholes in Sumatra and Java is, as of 2005, unclear, as they show greater relatedness to dholes in India, Myanmar and China rather than with those in nearby Malaysia. However, the Canid Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states that further research is needed because all of the samples were from the southern part of this species' range and the Tien Shan subspecies has distinct morphology.In the absence of further data, the researchers involved in the study speculated that Javan and Sumatran dholes could have been introduced to the islands by humans. Fossils of dhole from the early Middle Pleistocene have been found in Java.
+
+Characteristics
+In appearance, the dhole has been variously described as combining the physical characteristics of the gray wolf and the red fox, and as being "cat-like" on account of its long backbone and slender limbs. It has a wide and massive skull with a well-developed sagittal crest, and its masseter muscles are highly developed compared to other canid species, giving the face an almost hyena-like appearance. The rostrum is shorter than that of domestic dogs and most other canids. The species has six rather than seven lower molars. The upper molars are weak, being one third to one half the size of those of wolves and have only one cusp as opposed to between two and four, as is usual in canids, an adaptation thought to improve shearing ability, thus allowing it to compete more successfully with kleptoparasites. Adult females can weigh from 10 to 17 kg (22 to 37 lb), while the slightly larger male may weigh from 15 to 21 kg (33 to 46 lb). The mean weight of adults from three small samples was 15.1 kg (33 lb). Occasionally, dholes may be sympatric with the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), which is one of the smallest races of the gray wolf, but is still approximately 25% heavier on average.
+The general tone of the fur is reddish, with the brightest hues occurring in winter. In the winter coat, the back is clothed in a saturated rusty-red to reddish colour with brownish highlights along the top of the head, neck and shoulders. The throat, chest, flanks, and belly and the upper parts of the limbs are less brightly coloured, and are more yellowish in tone. The lower parts of the limbs are whitish, with dark brownish bands on the anterior sides of the forelimbs. The muzzle and forehead are greyish-reddish. The tail is very luxuriant and fluffy, and is mainly of a reddish-ocherous colour, with a dark brown tip. The summer coat is shorter, coarser and darker. The dorsal and lateral guard hairs in adults measure 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) in length. Dholes in the Moscow Zoo moult once a year from March to May. A melanistic individual was recorded in the northern Coimbatore Forest Division in Tamil Nadu.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The dhole can be found in Tibet and possibly also in North Korea and Pakistan. It once inhabited the alpine steppes extending into Kashmir to the Ladakh area.
+In Central Asia, the dhole primarily inhabits mountainous areas; in the western part of its range, it lives mostly in alpine meadows and high-montane steppes, while in the east, it mainly ranges in montane taigas, and is sometimes sighted along coastlines. In India, Myanmar, Indochina, Indonesia and China, it prefers forested areas in alpine zones and is occasionally sighted in plains regions.In the Pamir Mountains of southern Kyrgyzstan, the presence of the dhole was confirmed in 2019.The dhole might still be present in the Tunkinsky National Park in extreme southern Siberia near Lake Baikal. It possibly still lives in the Primorsky Krai province in far eastern Russia, where it was considered a rare and endangered species in 2004, with unconfirmed reports in the Pikthsa-Tigrovy Dom protected forest area; no sighting was reported in other areas since the late 1970s.
+Currently, no other recent reports are confirmed of dhole being present in Russia. However, the dhole might be present in the eastern Sayan Mountains and in the Transbaikal region; it has been sighted in Tofalaria in the Irkutsk Oblast, the Republic of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai.One pack was sighted in the Qilian Mountains in 2006.
+In 2011 to 2013, local government officials and herders reported the presence of several dhole packs at elevations of 2,000 to 3,500 m (6,600 to 11,500 ft) near Taxkorgan Nature Reserve in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Several packs and a female adult with pups were also recorded by camera traps at elevations of around 2,500 to 4,000 m (8,200 to 13,100 ft) in Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve in the northern Gansu Province in 2013–2014.
+Dholes have been also reported in the Altyn-Tagh Mountains.In China's Yunnan Province, dholes were recorded in Baima Xueshan Nature Reserve in 2010–2011. Dhole samples were obtained in Jiangxi Province in 2013.
+Confirmed records by camera-trapping since 2008 have occurred in southern and western Gansu province, southern Shaanxi province, southern Qinghai province, southern and western Yunnan province, western Sichuan province, the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region and in the Southeastern Tibet Autonomoous Region. There are also historical records of dhole dating to 1521–1935 in Hainan Island, but the species is no longer present and is estimated to have become extinct around 1942.The dhole occurs in most of India south of the Ganges, particularly in the Central Indian Highlands and the Western and Eastern Ghats. It is also present in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal and in the Indo-Gangetic Plain's Terai region. Dhole populations in the Himalayas and northwest India are fragmented.In 2011, dhole packs were recorded by camera traps in the Chitwan National Park. Its presence was confirmed in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in 2011 by camera traps. In February 2020, dholes were sighted in the Vansda National Park, with camera traps confirming the presence of two individuals in May of the same year. This was the first confirmed sighting of dholes in Gujarat since 1970.In Bhutan, the dhole is present in Jigme Dorji National Park.In Bangladesh, it inhabits forest reserves in the Sylhet area, as well the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast. Recent camera trap photos in the Chittagong in 2016 showed the continued presence of the dhole. These regions probably do not harbour a viable population, as mostly small groups or solitary individuals were sighted.In Myanmar, the dhole is present in several protected areas. In 2015, dholes and tigers were recorded by camera-traps for the first time in the hill forests of Karen State.Its range is highly fragmented in the Malaysian Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Vietnam and Thailand. In 2014, camera trap videos in the montane tropical forests at 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in the Kerinci Seblat National Park in Sumatra revealed its continued presence. A camera trapping survey in the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand from January 2008 to February 2010 documented one healthy dhole pack. In northern Laos, dholes were studied in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area. Camera trap surveys from 2012 to 2017 recorded dholes in the same Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area.In Vietnam, dholes were sighted only in Pu Mat National Park in 1999, in Yok Don National Park in 2003 and 2004; and in Ninh Thuan Province in 2014.In 2019, scat samples collected in the Bek-Tosot Conservancy in Kyrgyzstan confirmed the continued presence of dholes in the area. This was the first record of dholes from the country in almost three decades.A disjunct dhole population was reported in the area of Trabzon and Rize in northeastern Turkey near the border with Georgia in the 1990s. This report was not considered to be reliable. One single individual was claimed to have been shot in 2013 in the nearby Kabardino-Balkaria Republic in the central Caucasus; its remains were analysed in May 2015 by a biologist from the Kabardino-Balkarian State University, who concluded that the skull was indeed that of a dhole. In August 2015, researchers from the National Museum of Natural History and the Karadeniz Technical University started an expedition to track and document this possible Turkish population of dhole. In October 2015, they concluded that no real evidence exists of a living dhole population in Turkey or in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, pending DNA analysis of samples from the original 1994 skins.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+Dholes produce whistles resembling the calls of red foxes, sometimes rendered as coo-coo. How this sound is produced is unknown, though it is thought to help in coordinating the pack when travelling through thick brush. When attacking prey, they emit screaming KaKaKaKAA sounds. Other sounds include whines (food soliciting), growls (warning), screams, chatterings (both of which are alarm calls) and yapping cries. In contrast to wolves, dholes do not howl or bark.Dholes have a complex body language. Friendly or submissive greetings are accompanied by horizontal lip retraction and the lowering of the tail, as well as licking. Playful dholes open their mouths with their lips retracted and their tails held in a vertical position whilst assuming a play bow. Aggressive or threatening dholes pucker their lips forward in a snarl and raise the hairs on their backs, as well as keep their tails horizontal or vertical. When afraid, they pull their lips back horizontally with their tails tucked and their ears flat against the skull.
+
+Social and territorial behaviour
+Dholes are more social than gray wolves, and have less of a dominance hierarchy, as seasonal scarcity of food is not a serious concern for them. In this manner, they closely resemble African wild dogs in social structure. They live in clans rather than packs, as the latter term refers to a group of animals that always hunt together. In contrast, dhole clans frequently break into small packs of three to five animals, particularly during the spring season, as this is the optimal number for catching fawns. Dominant dholes are hard to identify, as they do not engage in dominance displays as wolves do, though other clan members will show submissive behaviour toward them. Intragroup fighting is rarely observed.Dholes are far less territorial than wolves, with pups from one clan often joining another without trouble once they mature sexually. Clans typically number 5 to 12 individuals in India, though clans of 40 have been reported. In Thailand, clans rarely exceed three individuals. Unlike other canids, there is no evidence of dholes using urine to mark their territories or travel routes. When urinating, dholes, especially males, may raise one hind leg or both to result in a handstand. Handstand urination is also seen in bush dogs (Speothos venaticus). They may defecate in conspicuous places, though a territorial function is unlikely, as faeces are mostly deposited within the clan's territory rather than the periphery. Faeces are often deposited in what appear to be communal latrines. They do not scrape the earth with their feet, as other canids do, to mark their territories.
+
+Denning
+Four kinds of den have been described; simple earth dens with one entrance (usually remodeled striped hyena or porcupine dens); complex cavernous earth dens with more than one entrance; simple cavernous dens excavated under or between rocks; and complex cavernous dens with several other dens in the vicinity, some of which are interconnected. Dens are typically located under dense scrub or on the banks of dry rivers or creeks. The entrance to a dhole den can be almost vertical, with a sharp turn three to four feet down. The tunnel opens into an antechamber, from which extends more than one passage. Some dens may have up to six entrances leading up to thirty metres (100 ft) of interconnecting tunnels. These "cities" may be developed over many generations of dholes, and are shared by the clan females when raising young together. Like African wild dogs and dingoes, dholes will avoid killing prey close to their dens.
+
+Reproduction and development
+In India, the mating season occurs between mid-October and January, while captive dholes in the Moscow Zoo breed mostly in February. Unlike wolf packs, dhole clans may contain more than one breeding female. More than one female dhole may den and rear their litters together in the same den. During mating, the female assumes a crouched, cat-like position. There is no copulatory tie characteristic of other canids when the male dismounts. Instead, the pair lie on their sides facing each other in a semicircular formation. The gestation period lasts 60–63 days, with litter sizes averaging four to six pups. Their growth rate is much faster than that of wolves, being similar in rate to that of coyotes.
+The hormone metabolites of five males and three females kept in Thai zoos was studied. The breeding males showed an increased level of testosterone from October to January. The oestrogen level of captive females increases for about two weeks in January, followed by an increase of progesterone. They displayed sexual behaviours during the oestrogen peak of the females.Pups are suckled at least 58 days. During this time, the pack feeds the mother at the den site. Dholes do not use rendezvous sites to meet their pups as wolves do, though one or more adults will stay with the pups at the den while the rest of the pack hunts. Once weaning begins, the adults of the clan will regurgitate food for the pups until they are old enough to join in hunting. They remain at the den site for 70–80 days. By the age of six months, pups accompany the adults on hunts and will assist in killing large prey such as sambar by the age of eight months. Maximum longevity in captivity is 15–16 years.
+
+Hunting behaviour
+Before embarking on a hunt, clans go through elaborate prehunt social rituals involving nuzzling, body rubbing and mounting. Dholes are primarily diurnal hunters, hunting in the early hours of the morning. They rarely hunt nocturnally, except on moonlit nights, indicating they greatly rely on sight when hunting. Although not as fast as jackals and foxes, they can chase their prey for many hours. During a pursuit, one or more dholes may take over chasing their prey, while the rest of the pack keeps up at a steadier pace behind, taking over once the other group tires. Most chases are short, lasting only 500 m (1,600 ft). When chasing fleet-footed prey, they run at a pace of 50 km/h (30 mph). Dholes frequently drive their prey into water bodies, where the targeted animal's movements are hindered.Once large prey is caught, one dhole will grab the prey's nose, while the rest of the pack pulls the animal down by the flanks and hindquarters. They do not use a killing bite to the throat. They occasionally blind their prey by attacking the eyes. Serows are among the only ungulate species capable of effectively defending themselves against dhole attacks, due to their thick, protective coats and short, sharp horns capable of easily impaling dholes. They will tear open their prey's flanks and disembowel it, eating the heart, liver, lungs and some sections of the intestines. The stomach and rumen are usually left untouched. Prey weighing less than 50 kg (110 lb) is usually killed within two minutes, while large stags may take 15 minutes to die. Once prey is secured, dholes will tear off pieces of the carcass and eat in seclusion. Unlike wolf packs, in which the breeding pair monopolises food, dholes give access to the pups at a kill. They are generally tolerant of scavengers at their kills. Both mother and young are provided with regurgitated food by other pack members.
+
+Feeding ecology
+Prey animals in India include chital, sambar deer, muntjac, mouse deer, barasingha, wild boar, gaur, water buffaloes, banteng, cattle, nilgai, goats, Indian hares, Himalayan field rats and langurs. There is one record of a pack bringing down an Indian elephant calf in Assam, despite desperate defense of the mother, resulting in numerous losses to the pack. In Kashmir, they prey on markhor, and thamin in Myanmar, Malayan tapir, Sumatran serow in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula and Javan rusa in Java. In the Tian Shan and Tarbagatai Mountains, dholes prey on Siberian ibexes, arkhar, roe deer, Caspian red deer and wild boar. In the Altai and Sayan Mountains, they prey on musk deer and reindeer. In eastern Siberia, they prey on roe deer, Manchurian wapiti, wild pig, musk deer and reindeer, while in Primorye they feed on sika deer and goral. In Mongolia, they prey on argali and rarely Siberian ibex.Like African wild dogs, but unlike wolves, dholes are not known to attack people. They are known to eat insects and lizards. Dholes eat fruit and vegetable matter more readily than other canids. In captivity, they eat various kinds of grasses, herbs and leaves, seemingly for pleasure rather than just when ill. In summertime in the Tian Shan Mountains, dholes eat large quantities of mountain rhubarb. Although opportunistic, dholes have a seeming aversion to hunting cattle and their calves. Livestock predation by dholes has been a problem in Bhutan since the late 1990s, as domestic animals are often left outside to graze in the forest, sometimes for weeks at a time. Livestock stall-fed at night and grazed near homes are never attacked. Oxen are killed more often than cows, probably because they are given less protection.
+
+Enemies and competitors
+In some areas, dholes are sympatric to tigers and leopards. Competition between these species is mostly avoided through differences in prey selection, although there is still substantial dietary overlap. Along with leopards, dholes typically target animals in the 30–175 kg (66–386 lb) range (mean weights of 35.3 kg [78 lb] for dhole and 23.4 kg [52 lb] for leopard), while tigers selected for prey animals heavier than 176 kg (388 lb) (but their mean prey weight was 65.5 kg [144 lb]). Also, other characteristics of the prey, such as sex, arboreality and aggressiveness, may play a role in prey selection. For example, dholes preferentially select male chital, whereas leopards kill both sexes more evenly (and tigers prefer larger prey altogether), dholes and tigers kill langurs rarely compared to leopards due to the leopards' greater arboreality, while leopards kill wild boar infrequently due to the inability of this relatively light predator to tackle aggressive prey of comparable weight.Tigers are dangerous opponents for dholes, as they have sufficient strength to kill a dhole with a single paw strike. Dhole packs are smaller in areas with higher tiger densities due to tigers directly killing dholes and stealing kills they made. The kleptoparasitism causes dholes to prefer hunting smaller animals because they can eat more of a smaller carcass before a tiger arrives to steal it. Direct predation can lead to lower reproductive and recruitment rates, lower hunting success rates and less food for the pups when a helper is killed, and potentially pack destabilization if one member of the breeding pair is killed.Dhole packs may steal leopard kills, while leopards may kill dholes if they encounter them singly or in pairs. There are numerous records of leopards being treed by dholes. Dholes were once thought to be a major factor in reducing Asiatic cheetah populations, though this is doubtful, as cheetahs live in open areas as opposed to forested areas favoured by dholes. Since leopards are smaller than tigers and are more likely to hunt dholes, dhole packs tend to react more aggressively toward them than they do towards tigers.Dhole packs occasionally attack Asiatic black bears, snow leopards and sloth bears. When attacking bears, dholes will attempt to prevent them from seeking refuge in caves and lacerate their hindquarters.
+Although usually antagonistic toward wolves, they may hunt and feed alongside one another. There is at least one record of a lone wolf associating with a pair of dholes in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, and two observations in Satpura Tiger Reserve. They infrequently associate in mixed groups with golden jackals. Domestic dogs may kill dholes, though they will feed alongside them on occasion.
+
+Diseases and parasites
+Dholes are vulnerable to a number of different diseases, particularly in areas where they are sympatric with other canid species. Infectious pathogens such as Toxocara canis are present in their faeces. They may suffer from rabies, canine distemper, mange, trypanosomiasis, canine parvovirus and endoparasites such as cestodes and roundworms.
+
+Threats
+The dhole only rarely takes domestic livestock. Some ethnic groups like the Kuruba and Mon Khmer-speaking tribes will appropriate dhole kills; some Indian villagers welcome the dhole because of this appropriation of dhole kills. Dholes were persecuted throughout India for bounties until they were given protection by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Methods used for dhole hunting included poisoning, snaring, shooting and clubbing at den sites. Native Indian people killed dholes primarily to protect livestock, while British sporthunters during the British Raj did so under the conviction that dholes were responsible for drops in game populations. Persecution of dholes still occurs with varying degrees of intensity according to the region. Bounties paid for dholes used to be 25 rupees, though this was reduced to 20 in 1926 after the number of presented dhole carcasses became too numerous to maintain the established reward. In Indochina, dholes suffer heavily from nonselective hunting techniques such as snaring.The fur trade does not pose a significant threat to dholes. The people of India do not eat dhole flesh and their fur is not considered overly valuable. Due to their rarity, dholes were never harvested for their skins in large numbers in the Soviet Union and were sometimes accepted as dog or wolf pelts (being labeled as "half wolf" for the latter). The winter fur was prized by the Chinese, who bought dhole pelts in Ussuriysk during the late 1860s for a few silver rubles. In the early 20th century, dhole pelts reached eight rubles in Manchuria. In Semirechye, fur coats made from dhole skin were considered the warmest, but were very costly.
+
+Conservation
+In India, the dhole is protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The creation of reserves under Project Tiger provided some protection for dhole populations sympatric with tigers. In 2014, the Indian government sanctioned its first dhole conservation breeding centre at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) in Visakhapatnam. The dhole has been protected in Russia since 1974, though it is vulnerable to poison left out for wolves. In China, the animal is listed as a category II protected species under the Chinese wildlife protection act of 1988. In Cambodia, the dhole is protected from all hunting, while conservation laws in Vietnam limit extraction and utilisation.In 2016, the Korean company Sooam Biotech was reported to be attempting to clone the dhole using dogs as surrogate mothers to help conserve the species.
+
+In culture and literature
+Three dhole-like animals are featured on the coping stone of the Bharhut stupa dating from 100 BC. They are shown waiting by a tree, with a woman or spirit trapped up it, a scene reminiscent of dholes treeing tigers. The animal's fearsome reputation in India is reflected by the number of pejorative names it possesses in Hindi, which variously translate as "red devil", "devil dog", "jungle devil", or "hound of Kali".Leopold von Schrenck had trouble obtaining dhole specimens during his exploration of Amurland, as the local Gilyaks greatly feared the species. This fear and superstition was not, however, shared by neighbouring Tungusic peoples. It was speculated that this differing attitude towards the dhole was due to the Tungusic people's more nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle.Dholes appear in Rudyard Kipling's Red Dog, where they are portrayed as aggressive and bloodthirsty animals which descend from the Deccan Plateau into the Seeonee Hills inhabited by Mowgli and his adopted wolf pack to cause carnage among the jungle's denizens. They are described as living in packs numbering hundreds of individuals, and that even Shere Khan and Hathi make way for them when they descend into the jungle. The dholes are despised by the wolves because of their destructiveness, their habit of not living in dens and the hair between their toes. With Mowgli and Kaa's help, the Seeonee wolf pack manages to wipe out the dholes by leading them through bee hives and torrential waters before finishing off the rest in battle.
+Japanese author Uchida Roan wrote 犬物語 (Inu monogatari; A dog's tale) in 1901 as a nationalistic critique of the declining popularity of indigenous dog breeds, which he asserted were descended from the dhole.A fictional version of the dhole, imbued with supernatural abilities, appears in the season 6 episode of TV series The X-Files, titled "Alpha".
+In China, the dhole were widely known throughout history and mythology. One notable legendary creature is the Yazi (睚眦), which was believed to be a creature that was part-dhole part-dragon. In modern times, however, the Chinese word for dhole (豺; Chái) is often confused with 'jackal' or 'wolf', resulting in many confusions and mistranslations of dholes as jackals or wolves.Dholes also appear as enemies in the video game Far Cry 4, alongside other predators such as the Bengal tiger, honey badger, snow leopard, clouded leopard, Tibetan wolf and Asian black bear. They can be found hunting the player and other NPCs across the map, but are easily killed, being one of the weakest enemies in the game. They once again appear in the video game Far Cry Primal, where they play similar roles as their counterparts in the previous game, but can now also be tamed and used in combat by Takkar, the main protagonist of the game.
+
+Tameability
+Brian Houghton Hodgson kept captured dholes in captivity, and found, with the exception of one animal, they remained shy and vicious even after 10 months. According to Richard Lydekker, adult dholes are nearly impossible to tame, though pups are docile and can even be allowed to play with domestic dog pups until they reach early adulthood. A dhole may have been presented as a gift to Ibbi-Sin as tribute.
+
+See also
+Wild Dog Diaries
+
+Notes
+References
+Bibliography
+Fox, M.W. (1984). The Whistling Hunters: Field Studies of the Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus). Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0-9524390-6-6.
+Karanth, U.K. (2006). A View From the Machan. Karnataka: Permanent Black. ISBN 978-8-1782413-7-1.
+
+External links
+
+Dhole Home Page (Archive)
+ARKive – images and movies of the dhole
+Saving the dhole: The forgotten 'badass' Asian dog more endangered than tigers, The Guardian (25 June 2015)
+Photos of dhole in Bandipur
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diff --git a/data/animals/diamondback.txt b/data/animals/diamondback.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/diamondback.txt
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+Diamondback rattlesnake may refer to:
+
+Crotalus adamanteus, a.k.a. the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species found in the southeastern United States.
+Crotalus atrox, a.k.a. the western diamondback rattlesnake, a venomous pit viper species found in the southwestern United States and Mexico.
+Crotalus oreganus, a.k.a. the western rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species found in North America in the western United States, parts of British Columbia and northwestern Mexico.
+Crotalus ruber, a.k.a. the red diamond rattlesnake, a venomous pitviper species found in southwestern California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico.
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diff --git a/data/animals/dingo.txt b/data/animals/dingo.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/dingo.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+The dingo (Canis familiaris, Canis familiaris dingo, Canis dingo, or Canis lupus dingo) is an ancient (basal) lineage of dog found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications. It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies, a subspecies of dog or wolf, or a full species in its own right.
+The dingo is a medium-sized canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through the Maritime Southeast Asia to Asia. The oldest remains of dingoes in Australia are around 3,500 years old.
+A dingo pack usually consists of a mated pair, their offspring from the current year, and sometimes offspring from the previous year.
+
+Etymology, synonyms, and usage
+The name "dingo" comes from the Dharug language used by the Indigenous Australians of the Sydney area. 
+The first British colonists to arrive in Australia in 1788 established a settlement at Port Jackson and noted "dingoes" living with indigenous Australians. The name was first recorded in 1789 by Watkin Tench in his Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay:
+
+The only domestic animal they have is the dog, which in their language is called Dingo, and a good deal resembles the fox dog of England. These animals are equally shy of us, and attached to the natives. One of them is now in the possession of the Governor, and tolerably well reconciled to his new master.
+Related Dharug words include "ting-ko" meaning "bitch", and "tun-go-wo-re-gal" meaning "large dog". The dingo has different names in different indigenous Australian languages, such as boolomo, dwer-da, joogoong, kal, kurpany, maliki, mirigung, noggum, papa-inura, and wantibirri. Some authors propose that a difference existed between camp dingoes and wild dingoes as they had different names among indigenous tribes. The people of the Yarralin, Northern Territory, region frequently call those dingoes that live with them walaku, and those that live in the wilderness ngurakin. They also use the name walaku to refer to both dingoes and dogs. The colonial settlers of New South Wales wrote using the name dingo only for camp dogs. It is proposed that in New South Wales the camp dingoes only became wild after the collapse of Aboriginal society.
+
+Taxonomy
+Dogs associated with indigenous people were first recorded by Jan Carstenszoon in the Cape York Peninsula area in 1623. In 1699, Captain William Dampier visited the coast of what is now Western Australia and recorded that "my men saw two or three beasts like hungry wolves, lean like so many skeletons, being nothing but skin and bones". In 1788, the First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay under the command of Australia's first colonial governor, Arthur Phillip, who took ownership of a dingo and in his journal made a brief description with an illustration of the "Dog of New South Wales". In 1793, based on Phillip's brief description and illustration, the "Dog of New South Wales" was classified by Friedrich Meyer as Canis dingo.In 1999, a study of the maternal lineage through the use of mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) as a genetic marker indicates that the dingo and New Guinea singing dog developed at a time when human populations were more isolated from each other. In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World published in 2005, the mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft listed under the wolf Canis lupus its wild subspecies, and proposed two additional subspecies: "familiaris Linnaeus, 1758 [domestic dog]" and "dingo Meyer, 1793 [domestic dog]". Wozencraft included hallstromi—the New Guinea singing dog—as a taxonomic synonym for the dingo. He referred to the mDNA study as one of the guides in forming his decision. The inclusion of familiaris and dingo under a "domestic dog" clade has been noted by other mammalogists, and their classification under the wolf debated.In 2019, a workshop hosted by the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group considered the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo to be feral dogs (Canis familiaris), which therefore should not be assessed for the IUCN Red List.In 2020, the American Society of Mammalogists considered the dingo a synonym of the domestic dog. However, recent DNA sequencing of a 'pure' wild dingo from South Australia suggests that the dingo is 'intermediate' between wolves and domestic dogs.
+
+Domestic status
+The dingo is regarded as a feral dog because it descended from domesticated ancestors. The dingo's relationship with indigenous Australians is one of commensalism, in which two organisms live in close association, but do not depend on each other for survival. They both hunt and sleep together. The dingo is, therefore, comfortable enough around humans to associate with them, but is still capable of living independently. Any free-ranging, unowned dog can be socialised to become an owned dog, as some dingoes do when they join human families. Although the dingo exists in the wild, it associates with humans, but has not been selectively bred similarly to other domesticated animals. Therefore, its status as a domestic animal is not clear. Whether the dingo was a wild or domesticated species was not clarified from Meyer's original description, which translated from the German language reads:
+
+It is not known if it is the only dog species in New South Wales, and if it can also still be found in the wild state; however, so far it appears to have lost little of its wild condition; moreover, no divergent varieties have been discovered.
+
+History
+The earliest known dingo remains, found in Western Australia, date to 3,450 years ago. Based on a comparison of modern dingoes with these early remains, dingo morphology has not changed over thousands of years. This suggests that no artificial selection has been applied over this period and that the dingo represents an early form of dog. They have lived, bred, and undergone natural selection in the wild, isolated from other dogs until the arrival of European settlers, resulting in a unique breed.In 2020, an MDNA study of ancient dog remains from the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins of southern China showed that most of the ancient dogs fell within haplogroup A1b, as do the Australian dingoes and the pre-colonial dogs of the Pacific, but in low frequency in China today. The specimen from the Tianluoshan archaeological site, Zhejiang province dates to 7,000 YBP (years before present) and is basal to the entire haplogroup A1b lineage. The dogs belonging to this haplogroup were once widely distributed in southern China, then dispersed through Southeast Asia into New Guinea and Oceania, but were replaced in China by dogs of other lineages 2,000 YBP.The oldest reliable date for dog remains found in mainland Southeast Asia is from Vietnam at 4,000 YBP, and in Island Southeast Asia from Timor-Leste at 3,000 YBP. The earliest dingo remains in the Torres Straits date to 2,100 YBP. In New Guinea, the earliest dog remains date to 2,500–2,300 YBP from Caution Bay near Port Moresby, but no ancient New Guinea singing dog remains have been found.The earliest dingo skeletal remains in Australia are estimated at 3,450 YBP from the Mandura Caves on the Nullarbor Plain, south-eastern Western Australia; 3,320 YBP from Woombah Midden near Woombah, New South Wales; and 3,170 YBP from Fromme's Landing on the Murray River near Mannum, South Australia. Dingo bone fragments were found in a rock shelter located at Mount Burr, South Australia, in a layer that was originally dated 7,000-8,500 YBP. Excavations later indicated that the levels had been disturbed, and the dingo remains "probably moved to an earlier level." The dating of these early Australian dingo fossils led to the widely held belief that dingoes first arrived in Australia 4,000 YBP and then took 500 years to disperse around the continent. However, the timing of these skeletal remains was based on the dating of the sediments in which they were discovered, and not the specimens themselves.In 2018, the oldest skeletal bones from the Madura Caves were directly carbon dated between 3,348 and 3,081 YBP, providing firm evidence of the earliest dingo and that dingoes arrived later than had previously been proposed. The next-most reliable timing is based on desiccated flesh dated 2,200 YBP from Thylacine Hole, 110 km west of Eucla on the Nullarbor Plain, southeastern Western Australia. When dingoes first arrived, they would have been taken up by indigenous Australians, who then provided a network for their swift transfer around the continent. Based on the recorded distribution time for dogs across Tasmania and cats across Australia once indigenous Australians had acquired them, the dispersal of dingoes from their point of landing until they occupied continental Australia is proposed to have taken only 70 years. The red fox is estimated to have dispersed across the continent in only 60–80 years.At the end of the last glacial maximum and the associated rise in sea levels, Tasmania became separated from the Australian mainland 12,000 YBP, and New Guinea 6,500–8,500 YBP by the inundation of the Sahul Shelf. Fossil remains in Australia date to around 3,500 YBP and no dingo remains have been uncovered in Tasmania, so the dingo is estimated to have arrived in Australia at a time between 3,500 and 12,000 YBP. To reach Australia through Island Southeast Asia even at the lowest sea level of the last glacial maximum, a journey of at least 50 kilometres (31 mi) over open sea between ancient Sunda and Sahul was necessary, so they must have accompanied humans on boats.
+
+Phylogeny
+Whole genome sequencing indicates that, while dogs are a genetically divergent subspecies of the grey wolf, the dog is not a descendant of the extant grey wolf. Rather, these are sister taxa which share a common ancestor from a ghost population of wolves that disappeared at the end of the Late Pleistocene. The dog and the dingo are not separate species. The dingo and the Basenji are basal members of the domestic dog clade.Mitochondrial genome sequences indicate that the dingo falls within the domestic dog clade, and that the New Guinea singing dog is genetically closer to those dingoes that live in southeastern Australia than to those that live in the northwest. The dingo and New Guinea singing dog lineage can be traced back from Island Southeast Asia to Mainland Southeast Asia. Gene flow from the genetically divergent Tibetan wolf forms 2% of the dingo's genome, which likely represents ancient admixture in eastern Eurasia.By the close of the last ice age 11,700 years ago, five ancestral dog lineages had diversified from each other, with one of these being represented today by the New Guinea singing dog. In 2020, the first whole genome sequencing of the dingo and the New Guinea singing dog was undertaken. The study indicates that the ancestral lineage of the dingo/New Guinea singing dog clade arose in southern East Asia, migrated through Island Southeast Asia 9,900 YBP, and reached Australia 8,300 YBP; however, the human population which brought them remains unknown. The dingo's genome indicates that it was once a domestic dog which commenced a process of feralisation since its arrival 8,300 years ago, with the new environment leading to changes in those genomic regions which regulate metabolism, neurodevelopment, and reproduction.A 2016 genetic study shows that the lineage of those dingoes found today in the northwestern part of the Australian continent split from the lineage of the New Guinea singing dog and southeastern dingo 8,300 years ago, followed by a split between the New Guinea singing dog lineage from the southeastern dingo lineage 7,800 years ago. The study proposes that two dingo migrations occurred when sea levels were lower and Australia and New Guinea formed one landmass named Sahul that existed until 6,500–8,000 years ago. Whole genome analysis of the dingo indicates there are three sub-populations which exist in Northeast (Tropical), Southeast (Alpine), and West/Central Australia (Desert). Morphological data showing the dingo skulls from Southeastern Australia (Alpine dingoes) being quite distinct from the other ecotypes. And genomic and mitochondrial DNA sequencing demonstrating at least 2 dingo mtDNA haplotypes colonised Australia.In 2020, a genetic study found that the New Guinea Highland wild dogs were genetically basal to the dingo and the New Guinea singing dog, and therefore the potential originator of both.
+
+Description
+Body
+The dingo is a medium-sized canid with a lean, hardy body that is adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The head is the widest part of the body, wedge-shaped, and large in proportion to the body. Captive dingoes are longer and heavier than wild dingoes, as they have access to better food and veterinary care. The average wild dingo male weighs 15.8 kg (35 lb) and the female 14.1 kg (31 lb), compared with the captive male 18.9 kg (42 lb) and the female 16.2 kg (36 lb). The average wild dingo male length is 125 cm (49 in) and the female 122 cm (48 in), compared with the captive male 136 cm (54 in) and the female 133 cm (52 in). The average wild dingo male stands at the shoulder height of 59 cm (23 in) and the female 56 cm (22 in), compared with the captive male 56 cm (22 in) and the female 53 cm (21 in). Dingoes rarely carry excess fat and the wild ones display exposed ribs. Dingoes from northern and northwestern Australia are often larger than those found in central and southern Australia. The dingo is similar to the New Guinea singing dog in morphology apart from the dingo's greater height at the withers. The average dingo can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour.Compared with the dog, the dingo is able to rotate its wrists and can turn doorknobs or raise latches in order to escape confinement. Dingo shoulder joints are unusually flexible, and they can climb fences, cliffs, trees, and rocks. These adaptations help dingoes climbing in difficult terrain, where they prefer high vantage points. A similar adaptation can be found in the Norwegian Lundehund, which was developed on isolated Norwegian islands to hunt in cliff and rocky areas. Wolves do not have this ability.
+
+Head
+Early studies identified the skull as being more like that of the golden jackal than it is to the wolf or coyote. One study proposes that compared with the skull of the dog, the dingo possesses a longer muzzle, longer carnassial teeth, longer and more slender canine teeth, larger auditory bullae, a flatter cranium with a larger sagittal crest, and larger nuchal lines. In 2014, a study was conducted on pre-20th century dingo specimens that are unlikely to have been influenced by later hybridisation. The dingo skull was found to differ relative to the domestic dog by its larger palatal width, longer rostrum, shorter skull height, and wider sagittal crest. However, this was rebutted with the figures falling within the wider range of the domestic dog and that each dog breed differs from the others in skull measurements. Based on a comparison with the remains of a dingo found at Fromme's Landing, the dingo's skull and skeleton have not changed over the past 3,000 years. Compared to the wolf, the dingo possesses a paedomorphic cranium similar to domestic dogs. However, the dingo has a larger brain size compared to dogs of the same body weight, with the dingo being more comparable with the wolf than dogs are. In this respect, the dingo resembles two similar mesopredators, the dhole and the coyote. The eyes are triangular (or almond-shaped) and are hazel to dark in colour with dark rims. The ears are erect and occur high on the skull.
+
+Coat colour
+The dingo's three main coat colours are described as being light ginger (or tan), black and tan, and creamy white. The ginger colour ranges from a deep rust to a pale cream and can be found in 74% of dingoes. Often, small white markings are seen on the tip of the tail, the feet, and the chest, but with no large white patches. Some do not exhibit white tips. The black and tan dingoes possess a black coat with a tan muzzle, chest, belly, legs, and feet and can be found in 12% of dingoes. Solid white can be found in 2% of dingoes and solid black 1%. Only three genes affect coat colour in the dingo compared with nine genes in the domestic dog. The ginger colour is dominant and carries the other three main colours – black, tan, and white. White dingoes breed true, and black and tan dingoes breed true; when these cross, the result is a sandy colour. The coat is not oily, nor does it have a dog-like odour. The dingo has a single coat in the tropical north of Australia and a double thick coat in the cold mountains of the south, the undercoat being a wolf-grey colour. Patchy and brindle coat colours can be found in dingoes with no dog ancestry and these colours are less common in dingoes of mixed ancestry.
+
+Tail
+The dingo's tail is flattish, tapering after mid-length and does not curve over the back, but is carried low.
+
+Gait
+When walking, the dingo's rear foot steps in line with the front foot, and these do not possess dewclaws.
+
+Lifespan
+Dingoes in the wild live 3–5 years with few living past 7–8 years. Some have been recorded living up to 10 years. In captivity, they live for 14–16 years. One dingo has been recorded to live just under 20 years.
+
+Adaptation
+Hybrids, distribution and habitat
+The wolf-like canids are a group of large carnivores that are genetically closely related because their chromosomes number 78, therefore they can potentially interbreed to produce fertile hybrids. In the Australian wild there exist dingoes, feral dogs, and the crossings of these two, which produce dingo–dog hybrids. Most studies looking at the distribution of dingoes focus on the distribution of dingo-dog hybrids, instead.Dingoes occurred throughout mainland Australia before European settlement. They are not found in the fossil record of Tasmania, so they apparently arrived in Australia after Tasmania had separated from the mainland due to rising sea levels. The introduction of agriculture reduced dingo distribution, and by the early 1900s, large barrier fences, including the Dingo Fence, excluded them from the sheep-grazing areas. Land clearance, poisoning, and trapping caused the extinction of the dingo and hybrids from most of their former range in southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Today, they are absent from most of New South Wales, Victoria, the southeastern third of South Australia, and the southwestern tip of Western Australia. They are sparse in the eastern half of Western Australia and the adjoining areas of the Northern Territory and South Australia. They are regarded as common across the remainder of the continent.The dingo could be considered an ecotype or an ecospecies that has adapted to Australia's unique environment. The dingo's present distribution covers a variety of habitats, including the temperate regions of eastern Australia, the alpine moorlands of the eastern highlands, the arid hot deserts of Central Australia, and the tropical forests and wetlands of Northern Australia. The occupation of, and adaption to, these habitats may have been assisted by their relationship with indigenous Australians.
+
+Prey
+A 20-year study of the dingo's diet was conducted across Australia by the federal and state governments. These examined a total of 13,000 stomach contents and fecal samples. For the fecal samples, determining the matching tracks of foxes and feral cats was possible without including these samples in the study, but in distinguishing between the tracks left by dingoes and those of dingo hybrids or feral dogs was impossible. The study found that these canines prey on 177 species represented by 72.3% mammals (71 species), 18.8% birds (53 species), 3.3% vegetation (seeds), 1.8% reptiles (23 species), and 3.8% insects, fish, crabs, and frogs (28 species). The relative proportions of prey are much the same across Australia, apart from more birds being eaten in the north and south-east coastal regions, and more lizards in Central Australia. Some 80% of the diet consisted of 10 species: red kangaroo, swamp wallaby, cattle, dusky rat, magpie goose, common brushtail possum, long-haired rat, agile wallaby, European rabbit, and common wombat. Of the mammals eaten, 20% could be regarded as large.However, the relative proportions of the size of prey mammals varied across regions. In the tropical coast region of northern Australia, agile wallabies, dusky rats, and magpie geese formed 80% of the diet. In Central Australia, the rabbit has become a substitute for native mammals, and during droughts, cattle carcasses provide most of the diet. On the Barkly Tableland, no rabbits occur nor does any native species dominate the diet, except for long-haired rats that form occasional plagues. In the Fortescue River region, the large red kangaroo and common wallaroo dominate the diet, as few smaller mammals are found in this area. On the Nullarbor Plain, rabbits and red kangaroos dominate the diet, and twice as much rabbit is eaten as red kangaroo. In the temperate mountains of eastern Australia, swamp wallaby and red-necked wallaby dominate the diet on the lower slopes and wombat on the higher slopes. Possums are commonly eaten here when found on the ground. In coastal regions, dingoes patrol the beaches for washed-up fish, seals, penguins, and other birds.Dingoes drink about a litre of water each day in the summer and half a litre in winter. In arid regions during the winter, dingoes may live from the liquid in the bodies of their prey, as long as the number of prey is sufficient. In arid Central Australia, weaned pups draw most of their water from their food. There, regurgitation of water by the females for the pups was observed. During lactation, captive females have no higher need of water than usual, since they consume the urine and feces of the pups, thus recycling the water and keeping the den clean. Tracked dingoes in the Strzelecki Desert regularly visited water-points every 3–5 days, with two dingoes surviving 22 days without water during both winter and summer.
+
+Hunting behaviour
+Dingoes, dingo hybrids, and feral dogs usually attack from the rear as they pursue their prey. They kill their prey by biting the throat, which damages the trachea and the major blood vessels of the neck. The size of the hunting pack is determined by the type of prey targeted, with large packs formed to help hunt large prey. Large prey can include kangaroos, cattle, water buffalo, and feral horses. Dingoes will assess and target prey based on the prey's ability to inflict damage. Large kangaroos are the most commonly killed prey. The main tactic is to sight the kangaroo, bail it up, then kill it. Dingoes typically hunt large kangaroos by having lead dingoes chase the quarry toward the paths of their pack mates, which are skilled at cutting corners in chases. The kangaroo becomes exhausted and is then killed. This same tactic is used by wolves, African wild dogs, and hyenas. Another tactic shared with African wild dogs is a relay pursuit until the prey is exhausted. A pack of dingoes is three times as likely to bring down a kangaroo than an individual because the killing is done by those following the lead chaser, which has also become exhausted. Two patterns are seen for the final stage of the attack. An adult or juvenile kangaroo is nipped at the hamstrings of the hind legs to slow it before an attack to the throat. A small adult female or juvenile is bitten on the neck or back by dingoes running beside it. In one area of Central Australia, dingoes hunt kangaroos by chasing them into a wire fence, where they become temporarily immobilised. The largest male red kangaroos tend to ignore dingoes, even when the dingoes are hunting the younger males and females. A large eastern grey kangaroo successfully fought off an attack by a single dingo that lasted over an hour. Wallabies are hunted in a similar manner to kangaroos, the difference being that a single dingo hunts using scent rather than sight and the hunt may last several hours.Dingo packs may attack young cattle and buffalo, but never healthy, grown adults. They focus on the sick or injured young. The tactics include harassing a mother with young, panicking a herd to separate the adults from the young, or watching a herd and looking for any unusual behaviour that might then be exploited. One 1992 study in the Fortescue River region observed that cattle defend their calves by circling around the calves or aggressively charging dingoes. In one study of 26 approaches, 24 were by more than one dingo and only four resulted in calves being killed. Dingoes often revisited carcasses. They did not touch fresh cattle carcasses until these were largely skin and bone, and even when these were plentiful, they still preferred to hunt kangaroos. Of 68 chases of sheep, 26 sheep were seriously injured, but only eight were killed. The dingoes could outrun the sheep and the sheep were defenceless. However, the dingoes in general appeared not to be motivated to kill sheep, and in many cases just loped alongside the sheep before veering off to chase another sheep. For those that did kill and consume sheep, a large quantity of kangaroo was still in their diet, indicating once again a preference for kangaroo.Lone dingoes can run down a rabbit, but are more successful by targeting kittens near rabbit warrens. Dingoes take nestling birds, in addition to birds that are moulting and therefore cannot fly. Predators often use highly intelligent hunting techniques. Dingoes on Fraser Island have been observed using waves to entrap, tire, and help drown an adult swamp wallaby and an echidna. In the coastal wetlands of northern Australia, dingoes depend on magpie geese for a large part of their diet and a lone dingo sometimes distracts these while a white-breasted sea eagle makes a kill that is too heavy for it to carry off, with the dingo then driving the sea eagle away. They also scavenge on prey dropped from the nesting platforms of sea eagles.  Lone dingoes may hunt small rodents and grasshoppers in grass by using their senses of smell and hearing, then pouncing on them with their forepaws.
+
+Competitors
+Dingoes and their hybrids co-exist with the native quoll. They also co-occur in the same territory as the introduced European red fox and feral cat, but little is known about the relationships between these three. Dingoes and their hybrids can drive off foxes from sources of water and occasionally eat feral cats. Dingoes can be killed by feral water buffalo and cattle goring and kicking them, from snake bite, and predation on their pups (and occasionally adults) by wedge-tailed eagles.
+
+Communication
+Like all domestic dogs, dingoes tend towards phonetic communication. However, in contrast to domestic dogs, dingoes howl and whimper more, and bark less. Eight sound classes with 19 sound types have been identified.
+
+Barking
+Compared to most domestic dogs, the bark of a dingo is short and monosyllabic, and is rarely used. Barking was observed to make up only 5% of vocalisations. Dog barking has always been distinct from wolf barking. Australian dingoes bark mainly in swooshing noises or in a mixture of atonal and tonal sounds. In addition, barking is almost exclusively used for giving warnings. Warn-barking in a homotypical sequence and a kind of "warn-howling" in a heterotypical sequence have also been observed. The bark-howling starts with several barks and then fades into a rising and ebbing howl and is probably (similar to coughing) used to warn the puppies and members of the pack. Additionally, dingoes emit a sort of "wailing" sound, which they mostly use when approaching a watering hole, probably to warn already present dingoes.According to the present state of knowledge, getting Australian dingoes to bark more frequently by putting them in contact with other domestic dogs is not possible. However, German zoologist Alfred Brehm reported a dingo that learned the more "typical" form of barking and how to use it, while its brother did not. Whether dingoes bark or bark-howl less frequently in general is not certain.
+
+Howling
+Dingoes have three basic forms of howling (moans, bark-howls, and snuffs) with at least 10 variations. Usually, three kinds of howls are distinguished: long and persistent, rising and ebbing, and short and abrupt.
+Observations have shown that each kind of howling has several variations, though their purpose is unknown. The frequency of howling varies with the season and time of day, and is also influenced by breeding, migration, lactation, social stability, and dispersal behaviour. Howling can be more frequent in times of food shortage, because the dogs become more widely distributed within their home range.Additionally, howling seems to have a group function, and is sometimes an expression of joy (for example, greeting-howls). Overall, howling was observed less frequently in dingoes than among grey wolves. It may happen that one dog will begin to howl, and several or all other dogs will howl back and bark from time to time. In the wilderness, dingoes howl over long distances to attract other members of the pack, to find other dogs, or to keep intruders at bay. Dingoes howl in chorus with significant pitches, and with increasing number of pack members, the variability of pitches also increases. Therefore, dingoes are suspected to be able to measure the size of a pack without visual contact. Moreover, their highly variable chorus howls have been proposed to generate a confounding effect in the receivers by making pack size appear larger.
+
+Other forms
+Growling, making up about 65% of the vocalisations, is used in an agonistic context for dominance, and as a defensive sound. Similar to many domestic dogs, a reactive usage of defensive growling is only rarely observed. Growling very often occurs in combination with other sounds, and has been observed almost exclusively in swooshing noises (similar to barking).During observations in Germany, dingoes were heard to produce a sound that observers have called Schrappen. It was only observed in an agonistic context, mostly as a defence against obtrusive pups or for defending resources. It was described as a bite intention, during which the receiver is never touched or hurt. Only a clashing of the teeth could be heard.Aside from vocal communication, dingoes communicate, like all domestic dogs, via scent marking specific objects (for example, Spinifex) or places (such as waters, trails, and hunting grounds) using chemical signals from their urine, feces, and scent glands. Males scent mark more frequently than females, especially during the mating season. They also scent rub, whereby a dog rolls its neck, shoulders, or back on something that is usually associated with food or the scent markings of other dogs.Unlike wolves, dingoes can react to social cues and gestures from humans.
+
+Behaviour
+Dingoes tend to be nocturnal in warmer regions, but less so in cooler areas. Their main period of activity is around dusk and dawn. The periods of activity are short (often less than 1 hour) with short times of resting. Dingoes have two kinds of movement: a searching movement (apparently associated with hunting) and an exploratory movement (probably for contact and communication with other dogs). According to studies in Queensland, the wild dogs (dingo hybrids) there move freely at night through urban areas and cross streets and seem to get along quite well.
+
+Social behaviour
+The dingo's social behaviour is about as flexible as that of a coyote or grey wolf, which is perhaps one of the reasons the dingo was originally believed to have descended from the Indian wolf. While young males are often solitary and nomadic in nature, breeding adults often form a settled pack. However, in areas of the dingo's habitat with a widely spaced population, breeding pairs remain together, apart from others. Dingo distributions are a single dingo, 73%; two dingoes, 16%; three dingoes, 5%; four dingoes, 3%; and packs of five to seven dingoes, 3%. A dingo pack usually consists of a mated pair, their offspring from the current year, and sometimes offspring from the previous year.Where conditions are favourable among dingo packs, the pack is stable with a distinct territory and little overlap between neighbours. The size of packs often appears to correspond to the size of prey available in the pack's territory. Desert areas have smaller groups of dingoes with a more loose territorial behaviour and sharing of the water sites. The average monthly pack size was noted to be between three and 12 members.Similar to other canids, a dingo pack largely consists of a mated pair, their current year's offspring, and occasionally a previous year's offspring. Dominance hierarchies exist both between and within males and females, with males usually being more dominant than females. However, a few exceptions have been noted in captive packs. During travel, while eating prey, or when approaching a water source for the first time, the breeding male will be seen as the leader, or alpha. Subordinate dingoes approach a more dominant dog in a slightly crouched posture, ears flat, and tail down, to ensure peace in the pack. Establishment of artificial packs in captive dingoes has failed.
+
+Reproduction
+Dingoes breed once annually, depending on the estrous cycle of the females, which according to most sources, only come in heat once per year. Dingo females can come in heat twice per year, but can only be pregnant once a year, with the second time only seeming to be pregnant.Males are virile throughout the year in most regions, but have a lower sperm production during the summer in most cases. During studies on dingoes from the Eastern Highlands and Central Australia in captivity, no specific breeding cycle could be observed. All were potent throughout the year. The breeding was only regulated by the heat of the females. A rise in testosterone was observed in the males during the breeding season, but this was attributed to the heat of the females and copulation. In contrast to the captive dingoes, captured dingo males from Central Australia did show evidence of a male breeding cycle. Those dingoes showed no interest in females in heat (this time other domestic dogs) outside of the mating season (January to July) and did not breed with them.The mating season usually occurs in Australia between March and May (according to other sources between April and June). During this time, dingoes may actively defend their territories using vocalisations, dominance behaviour, growling, and barking.Most females in the wild start breeding at the age of 2 years. Within packs, the alpha female tends to go into heat before subordinates and actively suppresses mating attempts by other females. Males become sexually mature between the ages of 1 and 3 years. The precise start of breeding varies depending on age, social status, geographic range, and seasonal conditions. Among dingoes in captivity, the pre-estrus was observed to last 10–12 days. However, the pre-estrus may last as long as 60 days in the wild.
+In general, the only dingoes in a pack that successfully breed are the alpha pair, and the other pack members help with raising the pups. Subordinates are actively prevented from breeding by the alpha pair and some subordinate females have a false pregnancy. Low-ranking or solitary dingoes can successfully breed if the pack structure breaks up.The gestation period lasts for 61–69 days and the size of the litter can range from 1 to 10 (usually 5) pups, with the number of males born tending to be higher than that of females. Pups of subordinate females usually get killed by the alpha female, which causes the population increase to be low even in good times. This behaviour possibly developed as an adaptation to the fluctuating environmental conditions in Australia. Pups are usually born between May and August (the winter period), but in tropical regions, breeding can occur at any time of the year.At the age of 3 weeks, the pups leave the den for the first time, and leave it completely at 8 weeks. Dens are mostly underground. Reports exist of dens in abandoned rabbit burrows, rock formations, under boulders in dry creeks, under large spinifex, in hollow logs, and augmented burrows of monitor lizards and wombat burrows. The pups usually stray around the den within a radius of 3 km (2 mi), and are accompanied by older dogs during longer travels. The transition to consuming solid food is normally accomplished by all members of the pack during the age of 9 to 12 weeks. Apart from their own experiences, pups also learn through observation. Young dingoes usually become independent at the age of 3–6 months or they disperse at the age of 10 months, when the next mating season starts.
+
+Migration
+Dingoes usually remain in one area and do not undergo seasonal migrations. However, during times of famine, even in normally "safe" areas, dingoes travel into pastoral areas, where intensive, human-induced control measures are undertaken. In Western Australia in the 1970s, young dogs were found to travel for long distances when necessary. About 10% of the dogs captured—all younger than 12 months—were later recaptured far away from their first location. Among these, the average travelled distance for males was 21.7 km (13.5 mi) and for females 11 km (7 mi). Therefore, travelling dingoes had lower chances of survival in foreign territories, and they are apparently unlikely to survive long migrations through occupied territories. The rarity of long migration routes seemed to confirm this. During investigations in the Nullarbor Plain, even longer migration routes were recorded. The longest recorded migration route of a radio-collared dingo was about 24–32 km (15–20 mi).
+
+Attacks on humans
+Dingoes generally avoid conflict with humans, but they are large enough to be dangerous. Most attacks involve people feeding wild dingoes, particularly on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island), which is a special centre of dingo-related tourism. The vast majority of dingo attacks are minor in nature, but some can be major, and a few have been fatal: the death of two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain in the Northern Territory in 1980 is one of them. Many Australian national parks have signs advising visitors not to feed wildlife, partly because this practice is not healthy for the animals, and partly because it may encourage undesirable behaviour, such as snatching or biting by dingoes, kangaroos, goannas, and some birds.
+
+Impact
+Ecological
+Extinction of thylacines
+Some researchers propose that the dingo caused the extirpation of the thylacine, the Tasmanian devil, and the Tasmanian native hen from mainland Australia because of the correlation in space and time with the dingo's arrival. Recent studies have questioned this proposal, suggesting that climate change and increasing human populations may have been the cause. Dingoes do not seem to have had the same ecological impact that the red fox have in modern times. This might be connected to the dingo's way of hunting and the size of their favoured prey, as well as to the low number of dingoes in the time before European colonisation.The assumption that dingoes and thylacines were competitors for the same prey stems from their external similarities; the thylacine had a stronger and more efficient bite, but was probably dependent on relatively small prey, while the dingo's stronger skull and neck would have allowed it to bring down larger prey. The dingo was probably a superior hunter, as it hunted cooperatively in packs and could better defend resources, while the thylacine was probably more solitary. Also, wild dingo populations might have had demographic support from conspecific living with humans.
+The extinction of the thylacine on the Australian mainland around 2,000 years ago has also been linked to changes in climate and land use by indigenous Australians. Naming the dingo as the cause of the extinction is plausible, but significant morphological differences between the two suggest that the ecological overlapping of the species might be exaggerated. The dingo has the dentition of a generalist, while the thylacine had the dentition of a specialist carnivore without any signs of consumption of carrion or bones.
+This theory does not explain how the Tasmanian devil and the dingo coexisted on the same continent until about 430 years ago, when the dingo supposedly caused the Tasmanian devil's demise. The group dynamics of dingoes should have successfully kept devils away from carrion, and since dingoes are able to break bones, little would have been left for the devils to scavenge. Additionally, devils are successful hunters of small- to medium-sized prey, so overlapping of the species should have occurred in this area, too. Furthermore, the arguments that the dingo caused the extinction of the thylacine, the devil, and the hen are in direct conflict with each other. If the dingo were  really so similar to the thylacine and the Tasmanian devil in its ecological role and suppressed both, then coexisting with both for such an extended time is strange. Although this is a possible result of the dingo's introduction, critics regard the evidence for this as insubstantial.In 2017, a genetic study found that the population of the northwestern dingoes had commenced expanding since 4,000—6,000 years ago. This was proposed to be due either to their first arrival in Australia or to the commencement of the extinction of the thylacine, with the dingo expanding into the thylacine's former range.
+
+Interactions with humans
+The first British colonists who settled at Port Jackson, in 1788, recorded the dingo living with indigenous Australians, and later at Melville Island, in 1818. Furthermore, they were noted at the lower Darling and Murray rivers in 1862, indicating that the dingo was possibly semi-domesticated (or at least utilised in a "symbiotic" manner) by aboriginal Australians. When livestock farming began expanding across Australia, in the early 19th century, dingoes began preying on sheep and cattle. Numerous population-control measures have been implemented since then, including a nation-wide fencing project, with only limited success.In 1976, the Australian Native Dog Training Society of NSW Ltd. was founded, but has now ceased. In 1994, the Australian National Kennel Council recognised a dingo breed standard within its Hounds group. The dingo is not recognised as a dog breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
+
+Dingoes can be very tame when they come in frequent contact with humans. Furthermore, some dingoes live with humans (due to practical, as well as emotional reasons). Many indigenous Australians and early European settlers lived alongside dingoes. Indigenous Australians would take dingo pups from the den and tame them until sexual maturity and the dogs would leave. Alfred Brehm reported cases where dingoes were completely tame and, in some cases, behaved exactly like other domestic dogs (one was used for shepherding heavy livestock), as well as specimens that remained wild and shy. He also reported about dingoes that were aggressive and completely uncontrollable, but he was of the opinion that these reports "should not get more attention than they deserve," since the behaviour depends on how the dingo was raised since early puppyhood. He believed that these dogs could become very decent pets.The ownership of dingoes as pets and their breeding is widely criticised. The main criticism is that the activities and the resulting consequences of the dingo conservation groups, "dingo farms" and legislation for legal ownership of dingoes for people in public, is seen to be an additional threat to the survival of the pure dingoes. This fear exists because the majority of these breeding activities effectively expedite the interbreeding of dingoes and other domestic dogs, so that the identification of a pure dingo is not correct when hybrids are sold as "pure" dingoes.Supporters of breeding programmes are only mildly optimistic about a successful outcome. Success in the form of a population viable for future re-wilding cannot be easily accomplished. According to David Jenkins, a research fellow at Charles Sturt University, the breeding and reintroduction of pure dingoes is no easy option and, as of 2007, there were no studies that seriously dealt with this topic, especially in areas where dingo populations are already present.An additional threat is that breeders may unconsciously select tamer dingoes by breeding individuals who are easier to manage. Therefore, it may happen that, over the years, the tame populations may become less suitable for living in the wild than their ancestors. In addition, a loss of genetic diversity (thus resulting in a higher susceptibility to diseases) might occur due to a small founding population, and negative changes could occur simply because the dogs were captive-bred. Furthermore, some features that are necessary for survival in the wild, such as hunting techniques, might "fade" under the conditions of domestication, because they are no longer needed.
+Pet dingoes are likely to escape.
+
+Interactions with other animals
+The dingo is regarded as part of the native Australian fauna by many environmentalists and biologists, as these dogs existed on the continent before the arrival of the Europeans and a mutual adaptation of the dingoes and their surrounding ecosystems had occurred.
+Much of the present place of wild dogs in the Australian ecosystem, especially in the urban areas, remains unknown. Although the ecological role of dingoes in Northern and Central Australia is well understood, the same does not apply to the role of wild dogs in the east of the continent. In contrast to some claims, dingoes are assumed to have a positive impact on biodiversity in areas where feral foxes are present.Dingoes are regarded as apex predators and possibly perform an ecological key function. Likely (with increasing evidence from scientific research), they control the diversity of the ecosystem by limiting the number of prey and keeping the competition in check. Wild dogs hunt feral livestock such as goats and pigs, as well as native prey and introduced animals. The low number of feral goats in Northern Australia is possibly caused by the presence of the dingoes, but whether they control the goats' numbers is still disputable. Studies from 1995 in the northern wet forests of Australia found the dingoes there did not reduce the number of feral pigs, but their predation only affects the pig population together with the presence of water buffaloes (which hinder the pigs' access to food).Observations concerning the mutual impact of dingoes and red fox and cat populations suggest dingoes limit the access of foxes and cats to certain resources. As a result, a disappearance of the dingoes may cause an increase of red fox and feral cat numbers, and therefore, a higher pressure on native animals. These studies found the presence of dingoes is one of the factors that keep fox numbers in an area low, and therefore reduces pressure on native animals, which then do not disappear from the area. The countrywide numbers of red foxes are especially high where dingo numbers are low, but other factors might be responsible for this, depending on the area. Evidence was found for a competition between wild dogs and red foxes in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, since many overlaps occurred in the spectrum of preferred prey, but only evidence for local competition, not on a grand scale, was found.Also, dingoes can live with red foxes and feral cats without reducing their numbers in areas with sufficient food resources (for example, high rabbit numbers) and hiding places. Nearly nothing is known about the relationship of wild dogs and feral cats, except both mostly live in the same areas. Although wild dogs also eat cats, whether this affects the cat populations is not known.Additionally, the disappearance of dingoes might increase the prevalence of kangaroo, rabbit, and Australian brushturkey numbers. In the areas outside the Dingo Fence, the number of emus is lower than in the areas inside.  However, the numbers changed depending on the habitat. Since the environment is the same on both sides of the fence, the dingo was assumed to be a strong factor for the regulation of these species. Therefore, some people demand that dingo numbers should be allowed to increase or dingoes should be reintroduced in areas with low dingo populations to lower the pressure on endangered populations of native species and to reintroduce them in certain areas. In addition, the presence of the Australian brushturkey in Queensland increased significantly after dingo baiting was conducted.The dingo's habitat covers most of Australia, but they are absent in the southeast and Tasmania, and an area in the southwest (see map). As Australia's largest extant terrestrial predators, dingoes prey on mammals up to the size of the large red kangaroo, in addition to the grey kangaroo, wombat, wallaby, quoll, possum and most other marsupials; they frequently pursue birds, lizards, fish, crabs, crayfish, eels, snakes, frogs, young crocodiles, larger insects, snails, carrion, human refuse, and sometimes fallen fruits or seeds.
+Dingoes can also be of potential benefit to their environment, as they will hunt Australia's many introduced and invasive species. This includes human-introduced animals such as deer and their offspring (sambar, chital, and red deer) and water buffalo, in addition to the highly invasive rabbits, red foxes, feral and domestic cats, some feral dogs, sheep, and calves. Rarely, a pack of dingoes will pursue the larger, stronger and more dangerous dromedary camel, feral donkey, or wild horse (called the "brumby" in Australia); unattended young animals, or sick, weak, or elderly individuals are at greatest risk.
+
+Cultural
+Cultural opinions about the dingo are often based on its perceived "cunning", and the idea that it is an intermediate between civilisation and wildness.Some of the early European settlers looked on dingoes as domestic dogs, while others thought they were more like wolves. Over the years, dingoes began to attack sheep, and their relationship to the Europeans changed very quickly; they were regarded as devious and cowardly, since they did not fight bravely in the eyes of the Europeans, and vanished into the bush. Additionally, they were seen as promiscuous or as devils with a venomous bite or saliva, so they could be killed unreservedly. Over the years, dingo trappers gained some prestige for their work, especially when they managed to kill hard-to-catch dingoes. Dingoes were associated with thieves, vagabonds, bushrangers, and parliamentary opponents. From the 1960s, politicians began calling their opponents "dingo", meaning they were cowardly and treacherous, and it has become a popular form of attack since then. Today, the word "dingo" still stands for "coward" and "cheat", with verb and adjective forms used, as well.The image of the dingo has ranged among some groups from the instructive to the demonic.Ceremonies (like a keen at the Cape York Peninsula in the form of howling) and dreamtime stories are connected to the dingo, which were passed down through the generations.
+The dingo plays a prominent role in the Dreamtime stories of indigenous Australians, but it is rarely depicted in their cave paintings when compared with the extinct thylacine. One of the tribal elders of the people of the Yarralin, Northern Territory region tells that the Dreamtime dingo is the ancestor of both dingoes and humans. The dingoes "are what we would be if we were not what we are."Similar to how Europeans acquired dingoes, the Aboriginal people of Australia acquired dogs from the immigrants very quickly. This process was so fast that Francis Barrallier (surveyor on early expeditions around the colony at Port Jackson) discovered in 1802 that five dogs of European origin were there before him. One theory holds that other domestic dogs adopt the role of the "pure" dingo. Introduced animals, such as the water buffalo and the domestic cat, have been adopted into the indigenous Aboriginal culture in the forms of rituals, traditional paintings, and dreamtime stories.Most of the published myths originate from the Western Desert and show a remarkable complexity. In some stories, dingoes are the central characters, while in others, they are only minor ones. One time, an ancestor from the Dreamtime created humans and dingoes or gave them their current shape. Stories mention creation, socially acceptable behaviour, and explanations why some things are the way they are. Myths exist about shapeshifters (human to dingo or vice versa), "dingo-people", and the creation of certain landscapes or elements of those landscapes, like waterholes or mountains.
+
+Economic
+Livestock farming expanded across Australia from the early 1800s, which led to conflict between the dingo and graziers. Sheep, and to a lesser extent cattle, are an easy target for dingoes. The pastoralists and the government bodies that support this industry have shot, trapped, and poisoned dingoes or destroyed dingo pups in their dens. After two centuries of persecution, the dingo or dingo–dog hybrids can still be found across most of the continent.Research on the real extent of the damage and the reason for this problem only started recently. Livestock can die from many causes, and when the carcass is found, determining with certainty the cause of death is often difficult. Since the outcome of an attack on livestock depends to a high degree on the behaviour and experience of the predator and the prey, only direct observation is certain to determine whether an attack was by dingoes or other domestic dogs. Even the existence of remnants of the prey in the scat of wild dogs does not prove they are pests, since wild dogs also eat carrion.
+
+The cattle industry can tolerate low to moderate, and sometimes high, numbers of wild dogs (therefore dingoes are not so easily regarded as pests in these areas). In the case of sheep and goats, a zero-tolerance attitude is common. The biggest threats are dogs that live inside or near the paddock areas. The extent of sheep loss is hard to determine due to the wide pasture lands in some parts of Australia.
+In 2006, cattle losses in the Northern Territory rangeland grazing areas were estimated to be up to 30%.Therefore, factors such as availability of native prey, as well as the defending behaviour and health of the cattle, play an important role in the number of losses. A study in Central Australia in 2003 confirmed that dingoes only have a low impact on cattle numbers when a sufficient supply of other prey (such as kangaroos and rabbits) is available. In some parts of Australia, the loss of calves is assumed to be minimised if horned cattle are used instead of polled. The precise economic impact is not known, and the rescue of some calves is unlikely to compensate for the necessary costs of control measures. Calves usually suffer less lethal wounds than sheep due to their size and the protection by adult cattle, so they have a higher chance of surviving an attack. As a result, the evidence of a dog attack may only be discovered after the cattle have been herded back into the enclosure, and signs such as bitten ears, tails, and other wounds are discovered.
+The opinions of cattle owners regarding dingoes are more variable than those of sheep owners. Some cattle owners believe that the weakened mother losing her calf is better in times of drought so that she does not have to care for her calf, too. Therefore, these owners are more hesitant to kill dingoes. The cattle industry may benefit from the predation of dingoes on rabbits, kangaroos, and rats. Furthermore, the mortality rate of calves has many possible causes, and discriminating between them is difficult. The only reliable method to assess the damage would be to document all pregnant cows, then observe their development and those of their calves. The loss of calves in observed areas where dingoes were controlled was higher than in other areas. Loss of livestock is, therefore, not necessarily caused by the occurrence of dingoes and is independent from wild dogs. One researcher has stated that for cattle stations where dingoes were controlled, kangaroos were abundant, and this affects the availability of grass.Domestic dogs are the only terrestrial predators in Australia that are big enough to kill fully grown sheep, and only a few sheep manage to recover from the severe injuries. In the case of lambs, death can have many causes apart from attacks by predators, which are blamed for the deaths because they eat from the carcasses. Although attacks by red foxes are possible, such attacks are more rare than previously thought. The fact that the sheep and goat industry is much more susceptible to damage caused by wild dogs than the cattle industry is mostly due to two factors – the flight behaviour of the sheep and their tendency to flock together in the face of danger, and the hunting methods of wild dogs, along with their efficient way of handling goats and sheep.
+Therefore, the damage to the livestock industry does not correlate to the numbers of wild dogs in an area (except that no damage occurs where no wild dogs occur).According to a report from the government of Queensland, wild dogs cost the state about $30 million annually due to livestock losses, the spread of diseases, and control measures. Losses for the livestock industry alone were estimated to be as high as $18 million. In Barcaldine, Queensland, up to one-fifth of all sheep are killed by dingoes annually, a situation which has been described as an "epidemic". According to a survey among cattle owners in 1995, performed by the Park and Wildlife Service, owners estimated their annual losses due to wild dogs (depending on the district) to be from 1.6% to 7.1%.In 2018, a study in northern South Australia indicates that fetal/calf loss averages 18.6%, with no significant reduction due to dingo baiting. The calf losses did not correlate with increased dingo activity, and the cattle diseases pestivirus and leptospirosis were a major cause. Dingoes then scavenged on the carcasses. There was also evidence of dingo predation on calves.Among the indigenous Australians, dingoes were also used as hunting aids, living hot water bottles, and camp dogs. Their scalps were used as a kind of currency, their teeth were traditionally used for decorative purposes, and their fur for traditional costumes.
+Sometimes "pure" dingoes are important for tourism, when they are used to attract visitors. However, this seems to be common only on Fraser Island, where the dingoes are extensively used as a symbol to enhance the attraction of the island. Tourists are drawn to the experience of personally interacting with dingoes. Pictures of dingoes appear on brochures, many websites, and postcards advertising the island.
+
+Legal status
+The dingo is recognised as a native animal under the laws of all Australian jurisdictions. Australia has over 500 national parks of which all but six are managed by the states and territories. As of 2017, the legal status of the dingo varies between these jurisdictions and in some instances it varies between different regions of a single jurisdiction. As of 2008 some of these jurisdictions classify dingoes as an invasive native.
+Australian government: The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 under section 528 defines a native species as one that was present in Australia before the year 1400. The dingo is protected in all Australian government managed national parks and reserves, World Heritage Areas, and other protected areas.
+Australian Capital Territory: The dingo is listed as a "pest animal" in the Pest Plants and Animals (Pest Animals) Declaration 2016 (No 1) made under the Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005, which calls for a management plan for pest animals. The Nature Conservation Act 2014 protects native animals in national parks and reserves but excludes this protection to "pest animals" declared under the Pest Plants and Animals Act 2005.
+New South Wales: The dingo falls under the definition of "wildlife" under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 however it also becomes "unprotected fauna" under Schedule 11 of the act. The Wild Dog Destruction Act (1921) applies only to the western division of the state and includes the dingo in its definition of "wild dogs". The act requires landowners to destroy any wild dogs on their property and any person owning a dingo or half-bred dingo without a permit faces a fine. In other parts of the state, dingoes can be kept as pets under the Companion Animals Act 1998 as a dingo is defined under this act as a "dog". The dingo has been proposed for listing under the Threatened Species Conservation Act because it is argued that these dogs had established populations before the arrival of Europeans, but no decision has been made.
+Northern Territory: The dingo is a "vertebrate that is indigenous to Australia" and therefore "protected wildlife" under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2014. A permit is required for all matters dealing with protected wildlife.
+Queensland: The dingo is listed as "least concern wildlife" in the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, therefore the dingo is protected in National Parks and conservation areas. The dingo is listed as a "pest" in the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Regulation 2003 under the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002, which requires land owners to take reasonable steps to keep their lands free of pests.
+South Australia: The National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 defines a protected animal as one that is indigenous to Australia but then lists the dingo as an "unprotected species" under Schedule 11. The purpose of the Dog Fence Act 1946 is to prevent wild dogs entering into the pastoral and agricultural areas south of the dog-proof fence. The dingo is listed as a "wild dog" under this act, and landowners are required to maintain the fence and destroy any wild dog within the vicinity of the fence by shooting, trapping or baiting. The dingo is listed as an "unprotected species" in the Natural Resources Management Act 2004, which allows landowners to lay baits "to control animals" on their land just north of the dog fence.
+Tasmania: Tasmania does not have a native dingo population. The dingo is listed as a "restricted animal" in the Nature Conservation Act 2002 and cannot be imported without a permit. Once imported into Tasmania, a dingo is listed as a dog under the Dog Control Act 2000.
+Victoria: The dingo is a "vertebrate taxon" that is "indigenous" to Australia and therefore "wildlife" under the Wildlife Act 1975, which protects wildlife. The act mandates that a permit is required to keep a dingo, and that this dingo must not be cross-bred with a dog. The act allows an order to be made to unprotect dingoes in certain areas of the state. The Order in Council made on the 28 September 2010 includes the far north-west of the state and all of the state north-east of Melbourne. It was made to protect stock on private land. The order allows dingoes to be trapped, shot or baited by any person on private land in these regions, while protecting the dingo on state-owned land.
+Western Australia: Dingoes are considered as "unprotected" native fauna under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act. The dingo is recorded as a "declared pest" on the Western Australian Organism List. This list records those species that have been declared as pests under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, and these are regarded as pests across all of Western Australia. Landowners must take the prescribed measures to deal with declared pests on their land. The policy of the WA government is to promote eradication of dingoes in the livestock grazing areas but leave them undisturbed in the rest of the state.
+
+Control measures
+Dingo attacks on livestock led to widescale efforts to repel them from areas with intensive agricultural usage, and all states and territories have enacted laws for the control of dingoes. In the early 20th century, fences were erected to keep dingoes away from areas frequented by sheep, and a tendency to routinely eradicate dingoes developed among some livestock owners. Established methods for the control of dingoes in sheep areas entailed the employment of specific workers on every property. The job of these people (who were nicknamed "doggers") was to reduce the number of dingoes by using steel traps, baits, firearms and other methods. The responsibility for the control of wild dogs lay solely in the hands of the landowners. At the same time, the government was forced to control the number of dingoes. As a result, a number of measures for the control of dingoes developed over time. It was also considered that dingoes travel over long distances to reach areas with richer prey populations, and the control methods were often concentrated along "paths" or "trails" and in areas that were far away from sheep areas. All dingoes were regarded as a potential danger and were hunted.
+Apart from the introduction of the poison 1080 (extensively used for 40 years and nicknamed "doggone"), the methods and strategies for controlling wild dogs have changed little over time. Information concerning cultural importance to indigenous people and the importance of dingoes and the impact of control measures on other species is also lacking in some areas. Historically, the attitudes and needs of indigenous people were not taken into account when dingoes were controlled. Other factors that might be taken into account are the genetic status (degree of interbreeding) of dingoes in these areas, ownership and land usage, as well as a reduction of killing measures to areas outside of the zones. However, most control measures and the appropriate studies are there to minimise the loss of livestock and not to protect dingoes.
+Increasing pressure from environmentalists against the random killing of dingoes, as well as the impact on other animals, demanded that more information needed to be gathered to prove the necessity of control measures and to disprove the claim of unnecessary killings. Today, permanent population control is regarded as necessary to reduce the impact of all wild dogs and to ensure the survival of the "pure" dingo in the wild.
+
+Guardian animals
+To protect livestock, livestock guardian dogs (for example, Maremmas), donkeys, alpacas and llamas are used.
+
+Dingo Fence
+In the 1920s, the Dingo Fence was erected on the basis of the Wild Dog Act (1921) and, until 1931, thousands of miles of Dingo Fences had been erected in several areas of South Australia. In the year 1946, these efforts were directed to a single goal, and the Dingo Fence was finally completed. The fence connected with other fences in New South Wales and Queensland. The main responsibilities in maintaining the Dingo Fence still lies with the landowners whose properties border on the fence and who receive financial support from the government.
+
+Reward system
+A reward system (local, as well from the government) was active from 1846 to the end of the 20th century, but there is no evidence that – despite the billions of dollars spent – it was ever an efficient control method. Therefore, its importance declined over time.Dingo scalping commenced in 1912 with the passage of the Wild Dogs Act by the government of South Australia. In an attempt to reduce depredation on livestock, that government offered a bounty for dingo skins, and this program was later repeated in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. One writer argues that this new legislation and economic driver had significant impacts on Aboriginal society in the region. This act was followed by updates and amendments, including 1931, 1938, and 1948.
+
+Poisoning
+Baits with the poison 1080 are regarded as the fastest and safest method for dog control, since they are extremely susceptible. Even small amounts of poison per dog are sufficient (0.3 mg per kg). The application of aerial baiting is regulated in the Commonwealth by the Civil Aviation Regulations (1988). The assumption that the tiger quoll might be damaged by the poison led to the dwindling of areas where aerial baiting could be performed. In areas where aerial baiting is no longer possible, it is necessary to put down baits.
+From 2004, cyanide-ejectors and protection collars (filled with 1080 on certain spots) have been tested.In 2016, controversy surrounded a plan to inject a population of dingoes on Pelorus Island, off the coast of northern Queensland, Australia, with pills that would release a fatal dose of 1080 poison two years after the dingoes were to be intentionally released to help eradicate goats. The dingoes were dubbed 'death-row dingoes', and the plan was blocked due to concerns for a locally threatened shorebird.
+
+Neutering
+Owners of dingoes and other domestic dogs are sometimes asked to neuter their pets and keep them under observation to reduce the number of stray/feral dogs and prevent interbreeding with dingoes.
+
+Efficiency of measures
+The efficiency of control measures was questioned in the past and is often questioned today, as well as whether they stand in a good cost-benefit ratio. The premium system proved to be susceptible to deception and to be useless on a large scale, and can therefore only be used for getting rid of "problem-dogs". Animal traps are considered inhumane and inefficient on a large scale, due to the limited efficacy of baits. Based on studies, it is assumed that only young dogs that would have died anyway can be captured. Furthermore, wild dogs are capable of learning and sometimes are able to detect and avoid traps quite efficiently. In one case, a dingo bitch followed a dogger and triggered his traps one after another by carefully pushing her paw through the sand that covered the trap.Poisonous baits can be very effective when they are of good meat quality; however, they do not last long and are occasionally taken by red foxes, quolls, ants and birds. Aerial baiting can nearly eliminate whole dingo populations. Livestock guardian dogs can effectively minimise livestock losses, but are less effective on wide open areas with widely distributed livestock. Furthermore, they can be a danger to the livestock or be killed by control measures themselves when they are not sufficiently supervised by their owners. Fences are reliable in keeping wild dogs from entering certain areas, but they are expensive to build, need permanent maintenance, and only cause the problem to be relocated.
+Control measures mostly result in smaller packs and a disruption of pack structure. The measures seem to be rather detrimental to the livestock industry because the empty territories are taken over by young dogs and the predation then increases. Nonetheless, it is regarded as unlikely that the control measures could completely eradicate the dingo in Central Australia, and the elimination of all wild dogs is not considered a realistic option.
+It has been shown that culling a small percentage of immature dingoes on Fraser Island had little significant negative impact on the overall island population, though this is being disputed.
+
+Conservation of purebreds
+Until 2004, the dingo was categorised as of "least concern" on the Red List of Threatened Species. In 2008, it was recategorised as "vulnerable", following the decline in numbers to around 30% of "pure" dingoes, due to crossbreeding with domestic dogs. In 2018, the IUCN regarded the dingo as a feral dog and discarded it from the Red List.Dingoes are reasonably abundant in large parts of Australia, but there is some argument that they are endangered due to interbreeding with other dogs in many parts of their range. Dingoes are not a protected species, but they are regulated under federal law and, thus, their status varies in different states and territories. Dingoes receive varying levels of protection in conservation areas such as national parks and natural reserves in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Victoria, Arnhem Land and other Aboriginal lands, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. In some states, dingoes are regarded as declared pests and landowners are allowed to control the local populations. Throughout Australia, all other wild dogs are considered pests.
+
+Fraser Island is a 1,840 square kilometre World Heritage Site located off Australia's eastern coast. The island is home to a genetically distinct population of dingoes that are free of dog introgression, estimated to number 120. These dingoes are unique because they are closely related to the southeastern dingoes but share a number of genes with the New Guinea singing dog and show some evidence of admixture with the northwestern dingoes. Because of their conservation value, in February 2013, a report on Fraser Island dingo management strategies was released, with options including ending the intimidation of dingoes, tagging practice changes and regular veterinarian checkups, as well as a permanent dingo sanctuary on the island. According to DNA examinations from 2004, the dingoes of Fraser Island are "pure", as opposed to dingo—dog hybrids. However, skull measurements from the mid-1990s had a different result. A 2013 study showed that dingoes living in the Tanami Desert are among the "purest" in Australia.Groups that have devoted themselves to the conservation of the "pure" dingo by using breeding programs include the Australian Native Dog Conservation Society and the Australian Dingo Conservation Association. Presently, the efforts of the dingo conservation groups are considered to be ineffective because most of their dogs are untested or are known to be hybrids.Dingo conservation efforts focus primarily on preventing interbreeding between dingoes and other domestic dogs in order to conserve the population of pure dingoes. This is extremely difficult and costly. Conservation efforts are hampered by the fact that it is not known how many pure dingoes still exist in Australia. Steps to conserve the pure dingo can only be effective when the identification of dingoes and other domestic dogs is absolutely reliable, especially in the case of living specimens. Additionally, conservation efforts are in conflict with control measures.
+Conservation of pure and survivable dingo populations is promising in remote areas, where contact with humans and other domestic dogs is rare. Under New South Wales state policy in parks, reserves and other areas not used by agriculture, these populations are only to be controlled when they pose a threat to the survival of other native species. The introduction of "dog-free" buffer zones around areas with pure dingoes is regarded as a realistic method to stop interbreeding. This is enforced to the extent that all wild dogs can be killed outside of the conservation areas. However, studies from the year 2007 indicate that even an intensive control of core areas is probably not able to stop the process of interbreeding.According to the Dingo Discovery Sanctuary and Research Centre, many studies are finding a case for the re-introduction of the dingo into previously occupied areas in order to return some balance to badly degraded areas as a result of "unregulated and ignorant farming practices".Dingo densities have been measured at up to 3 per square kilometre (0.8/sq mi) in both the Guy Fawkes River region of New South Wales and in South Australia at the height of a rabbit plague.
+
+Hybridisation
+In 2023, a study of 402 wild and captive dingoes using 195,000 points across the dingo genome indicates that past studies of hybridisation were over-estimated and that pure dingoes are more common than they were originally thought to be.In 2021, DNA testing of over 5,000 wild-living canines from across Australia found that 31 were feral domestic dogs and 27 were first generation hybrids. This finding challenges the perception that dingoes are nearly extinct and have been replaced by feral domestic dogs.Coat colour cannot be used to distinguish hybrids. Dingo-like domestic dogs and dingo-hybrids can be generally distinguished by the more dog-typical kind of barking that exists among the hybrids, and differences in the breeding cycle, certain skull characteristics, and genetic analyses can be used for differentiation. Despite all the characteristics that can be used for distinguishing between dingoes and other domestic dogs, there are two problems that should not be underestimated. First, there is no real clarity regarding at what point a dog is regarded as a "pure" dingo, and, secondly, no distinguishing feature is completely reliable — it is not known which characteristics permanently remain under the conditions of natural selection.
+There are two main opinions regarding this process of interbreeding. The first, and likely most common, position states that the "pure" dingo should be preserved via strong controls of the wild dog populations, and only "pure" or "nearly-pure" dingoes should be protected. The second position is relatively new and is of the opinion that people must accept that the dingo has changed and that it is impossible to bring the "pure" dingo back. Conservation of these dogs should therefore be based on where and how they live, as well as their cultural and ecological role, instead of concentrating on precise definitions or concerns about "genetic purity". Both positions are controversially discussed.
+Due to this interbreeding, there is a wider range of fur colours, skull shapes and body size in the modern-day wild dog population than in the time before the arrival of the Europeans. Over the course of the last 40 years, there has been an increase of about 20% in the average wild dog body size. It is currently unknown whether, in the case of the disappearance of "pure" dingoes, remaining hybrids would alter the predation pressure on other animals. It is also unclear what kind of role these hybrids would play in the Australian ecosystems. However, it is unlikely that the dynamics of the various ecosystems will be excessively disturbed by this process.In 2011, a total of 3,941 samples were included in the first continent-wide DNA study of wild dogs. The study found that 46% were pure dingoes which exhibited no dog alleles (gene expressions). There was evidence of hybridisation in every region sampled. In Central Australia only 13% were hybrids; however, in southeastern Australia 99% were hybrids or feral dogs. Pure dingo distribution was 88% in the Northern Territory, intermediate numbers in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, and 1% in New South Wales and Victoria. Almost all wild dogs showed some dingo ancestry, with only 3% of dogs showing less than 80% dingo ancestry. This indicates that domestic dogs have a low survival rate in the wild or that most hybridisation is the result of roaming dogs that return to their owners. No populations of feral dogs have been found in Australia.In 2016, a three dimensional geometric morphometric analysis of the skulls of dingoes, dogs and their hybrids found that dingo-dog hybrids exhibit morphology closer to the dingo than to the parent group dog. Hybridisation did not push the unique Canis dingo cranial morphology towards the wolf phenotype, therefore hybrids cannot be distinguished from dingoes based on cranial measures. The study suggests that the wild dingo morphology is dominant when compared with the recessive dog breed morphology, and concludes that although hybridisation introduces dog DNA into the dingo population, the native cranial morphology remains resistant to change.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+New Guinea singing dog
+Indian pariah dog
+Free-ranging dog
+Carolina Dog
+
+Footnotes
+References
+Bibliography
+Further reading
+
+Aldridge, Ashlee (12 April 2020). "Purebred dingo that dropped out of the sky thrives in new sanctuary home". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
+Sleath, Emma (2 April 2014). "Dingo not strictly a wolf...or a dog". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
+Wakatama, Giselle (9 April 2020). "Friend or foe? Scientists and farmers divided on importance of dingoes". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
+Westcott, Ben (4 November 2019). "Stray puppy found in rural Australian backyard is actually a purebred dingo". CNN.
+"Dingo fence study shows dingo extermination leads to poorer soil". Phys.org. 9 May 2017.
+"Dingo's origins tracked by mitochondrial DNA". BBC News. 2 August 2004.
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+A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Adult dragonflies are characterized by a pair of large, multifaceted, compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each.
+Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related damselflies, which make up the other odonatan infraorder (Zygoptera) and are similar in body plan, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold their wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight.
+Dragonflies are predatory insects, both in their aquatic nymphal stage (also known as "naiads") and as adults. In some species, the nymphal stage lasts up to five years, and the adult stage may be as long as 10 weeks, but most species have an adult lifespan in the order of five weeks or less, and some survive for only a few days. They are fast, agile fliers capable of highly accurate aerial ambush, sometimes migrating across oceans, and often live near water. They have a uniquely complex mode of reproduction involving indirect insemination, delayed fertilization, and sperm competition. During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male's secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming the "heart" or "wheel" posture. Dragonflies make use of motion camouflage when attacking prey or rivals.
+Fossils of very large dragonfly-like insects, sometimes called griffinflies, are found from 325 million years ago (Mya) in Upper Carboniferous rocks; these had wingspans up to about 750 mm (30 in), though they were only distant relatives, not true dragonflies.
+Dragonflies are represented in human culture on artefacts such as pottery, rock paintings, statues, and Art Nouveau jewellery. They are used in traditional medicine in Japan and China, and caught for food in Indonesia. They are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness in Japan, but seen as sinister in European folklore. Their bright colours and agile flight are admired in the poetry of Lord Tennyson and the prose of H. E. Bates.
+
+Etymology
+The infraorder Anisoptera comes from Greek ἄνισος anisos "unequal" and πτερόν pteron "wing" because dragonflies' hindwings are broader than their forewings.
+
+Evolution
+Dragonflies and their relatives are similar in structure to an ancient group, the Meganisoptera or griffinflies, from the 325 Mya Upper Carboniferous of Europe, a group that included the largest insect that ever lived, Meganeuropsis permiana from the Early Permian, with a wingspan around 750 mm (30 in). The Protanisoptera, another ancestral group that lacks certain wing-vein characters found in modern Odonata, lived in the Permian.Modern dragonflies do retain some traits of their distant predecessors, and are in a group known as the Palaeoptera, ancient-winged. They, like the gigantic griffinflies, lack the ability to fold their wings up against their bodies in the way modern insects do, although some evolved their own different way to do so. The forerunners of modern Odonata are included in a clade called the Panodonata, which include the basal Zygoptera (damselflies) and the Anisoptera (true dragonflies). Today, some 3,000 species are extant around the world.The relationships of anisopteran families are not fully resolved as of 2021, but all the families are monophyletic except the Corduliidae, and the Austropetaliidae are sister to the Aeshnoidea:
+
+Distribution and diversity
+About 3,012 species of dragonflies were known in 2010; these are classified into 348 genera in 11 families. The distribution of diversity within the biogeographical regions are summarized below (the world numbers are not ordinary totals, as overlaps in species occur).
+Dragonflies live on every continent except Antarctica. In contrast to the damselflies (Zygoptera), which tend to have restricted distributions, some genera and species are spread across continents. For example, the blue-eyed darner Rhionaeschna multicolor lives all across North America, and in Central America; emperors Anax live throughout the Americas from as far north as Newfoundland to as far south as Bahia Blanca in Argentina, across Europe to central Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. The globe skimmer Pantala flavescens is probably the most widespread dragonfly species in the world; it is cosmopolitan, occurring on all continents in the warmer regions. Most Anisoptera species are tropical, with far fewer species in temperate regions.Some dragonflies, including libellulids and aeshnids, live in desert pools, for example in the Mojave Desert, where they are active in shade temperatures between 18 and 45 °C (64 and 113 °F); these insects were able to survive body temperatures above the thermal death point of insects of the same species in cooler places.Dragonflies live from sea level up to the mountains, decreasing in species diversity with altitude. Their altitudinal limit is about 3700 m, represented by a species of Aeshna in the Pamirs.Dragonflies become scarce at higher latitudes. They are not native to Iceland, but individuals are occasionally swept in by strong winds, including a Hemianax ephippiger native to North Africa, and an unidentified darter species. In Kamchatka, only a few species of dragonfly including the treeline emerald Somatochlora arctica and some aeshnids such as Aeshna subarctica are found, possibly because of the low temperature of the lakes there. The treeline emerald also lives in northern Alaska, within the Arctic Circle, making it the most northerly of all dragonflies.
+
+General description
+Dragonflies (suborder Anisoptera) are heavy-bodied, strong-flying insects that hold their wings horizontally both in flight and at rest. By contrast, damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) have slender bodies and fly more weakly; most species fold their wings over the abdomen when stationary, and the eyes are well separated on the sides of the head.An adult dragonfly has three distinct segments, the head, thorax, and abdomen, as in all insects. It has a chitinous exoskeleton of hard plates held together with flexible membranes. The head is large with very short antennae. It is dominated by the two compound eyes, which cover most of its surface. The compound eyes are made up of ommatidia, the numbers being greater in the larger species. Aeshna interrupta has 22650 ommatidia of two varying sizes, 4500 being large. The facets facing downward tend to be smaller. Petalura gigantea has 23890 ommatidia of just one size. These facets provide complete vision in the frontal hemisphere of the dragonfly. The compound eyes meet at the top of the head (except in the Petaluridae and Gomphidae, as also in the genus Epiophlebia). Also, they have three simple eyes or ocelli. The mouthparts are adapted for biting with a toothed jaw; the flap-like labrum, at the front of the mouth, can be shot rapidly forward to catch prey. The head has a system for locking it in place that consists of muscles and small hairs on the back of the head that grip structures on the front of the first thoracic segment. This arrester system is unique to the Odonata, and is activated when feeding and during tandem flight.
+The thorax consists of three segments as in all insects. The prothorax is small and flattened dorsally into a shield-like disc, which has two transverse ridges. The mesothorax and metathorax are fused into a rigid, box-like structure with internal bracing, and provide a robust attachment for the powerful wing muscles inside. The thorax bears two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs. The wings are long, veined, and membranous, narrower at the tip and wider at the base. The hindwings are broader than the forewings and the venation is different at the base. The veins carry haemolymph, which is analogous to blood in vertebrates, and carries out many similar functions, but which also serves a hydraulic function to expand the body between nymphal stages (instars) and to expand and stiffen the wings after the adult emerges from the final nymphal stage. The leading edge of each wing has a node where other veins join the marginal vein, and the wing is able to flex at this point. In most large species of dragonflies, the wings of females are shorter and broader than those of males. The legs are rarely used for walking, but are used to catch and hold prey, for perching, and for climbing on plants. Each has two short basal joints, two long joints, and a three-jointed foot, armed with a pair of claws. The long leg joints bear rows of spines, and in males, one row of spines on each front leg is modified to form an "eyebrush", for cleaning the surface of the compound eye.
+The abdomen is long and slender and consists of 10 segments. Three terminal appendages are on segment 10; a pair of superiors (claspers) and an inferior. The second and third segments are enlarged, and in males, on the underside of the second segment has a cleft, forming the secondary genitalia consisting of the lamina, hamule, genital lobe, and penis. There are remarkable variations in the presence and the form of the penis and the related structures, the flagellum, cornua, and genital lobes. Sperm is produced at the 9th segment, and is transferred to the secondary genitalia prior to mating. The male holds the female behind the head using a pair of claspers on the terminal segment. In females, the genital opening is on the underside of the eighth segment, and is covered by a simple flap (vulvar lamina) or an ovipositor, depending on species and the method of egg-laying. Dragonflies having simple flaps shed the eggs in water, mostly in flight. Dragonflies having ovipositors use them to puncture soft tissues of plants and place the eggs singly in each puncture they make.Dragonfly nymphs vary in form with species, and are loosely classed into claspers, sprawlers, hiders, and burrowers. The first instar is known as a prolarva, a relatively inactive stage from which it quickly moults into the more active nymphal form. The general body plan is similar to that of an adult, but the nymph lacks wings and reproductive organs. The lower jaw has a huge, extensible labium, armed with hooks and spines, which is used for catching prey. This labium is folded under the body at rest and struck out at great speed by hydraulic pressure created by the abdominal muscles. Both damselsfly and dragonfly nymphs ventilate the rectum, but just some damselfly nymphs have a rectal epithelium that is rich in trachea, relying mostly on three feathery external gills as their major source of respiration. Only dragonfly nymphs have internal gills, called a branchial chamber, located around the fourth and fifth abdominal segments. These internal gills consist originally of six longidudinal folds, each side supported by cross-folds. But this system has been modified in several families. Water is pumped in and out of the abdomen through an opening at the tip. The naiads of some clubtails (Gomphidae) that burrow into the sediment, have a snorkel-like tube at the end of the abdomen enabling them to draw in clean water while they are buried in mud. Naiads can forcefully expel a jet of water to propel themselves with great rapidity.
+
+Coloration
+Many adult dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural colouration, making them conspicuous in flight. Their overall coloration is often a combination of yellow, red, brown, and black pigments, with structural colours. Blues are typically created by microstructures in the cuticle that reflect blue light. Greens often combine a structural blue with a yellow pigment. Freshly emerged adults, known as tenerals, are often pale, and obtain their typical colours after a few days. Some have their bodies covered with a pale blue, waxy powderiness called pruinosity; it wears off when scraped during mating, leaving darker areas.
+Some dragonflies, such as the green darner, Anax junius, have a noniridescent blue that is produced structurally by scatter from arrays of tiny spheres in the endoplasmic reticulum of epidermal cells underneath the cuticle.The wings of dragonflies are generally clear, apart from the dark veins and pterostigmata. In the chasers (Libellulidae), however, many genera have areas of colour on the wings: for example, groundlings (Brachythemis) have brown bands on all four wings, while some scarlets (Crocothemis) and dropwings (Trithemis) have bright orange patches at the wing bases. Some aeshnids such as the brown hawker (Aeshna grandis) have translucent, pale yellow wings.Dragonfly nymphs are usually a well-camouflaged blend of dull brown, green, and grey.
+
+Biology
+Ecology
+Dragonflies and damselflies are predatory both in the aquatic nymphal and adult stages. Nymphs feed on a range of freshwater invertebrates and larger ones can prey on tadpoles and small fish. One species, Gomphus militaris, even live as a parasite, feeding on the gills of gravid mussels. Adults capture insect prey in the air, making use of their acute vision and highly controlled flight. The mating system of dragonflies is complex, and they are among the few insect groups that have a system of indirect sperm transfer along with sperm storage, delayed fertilization, and sperm competition.Adult males vigorously defend territories near water; these areas provide suitable habitat for the nymphs to develop, and for females to lay their eggs. Swarms of feeding adults aggregate to prey on swarming prey such as emerging flying ants or termites.
+Dragonflies as a group occupy a considerable variety of habitats, but many species, and some families, have their own specific environmental requirements. Some species prefer flowing waters, while others prefer standing water. For example, the Gomphidae (clubtails) live in running water, and the Libellulidae (skimmers) live in still water. Some species live in temporary water pools and are capable of tolerating changes in water level, desiccation, and the resulting variations in temperature, but some genera such as Sympetrum (darters)  have eggs and nymphs that can resist drought and are stimulated to grow rapidly in warm, shallow pools, also often benefiting from the absence of predators there. Vegetation and its characteristics including submerged, floating, emergent, or waterside are also important. Adults may require emergent or waterside plants to use as perches; others may need specific submerged or floating plants on which to lay eggs. Requirements may be highly specific, as in Aeshna viridis (green hawker), which lives in swamps with the water-soldier, Stratiotes aloides. The chemistry of the water, including its trophic status (degree of enrichment with nutrients) and pH can also affect its use by dragonflies. Most species need moderate conditions, not too eutrophic, not too acidic; a few species such as Sympetrum danae (black darter) and Libellula quadrimaculata (four-spotted chaser) prefer acidic waters such as peat bogs, while others such as Libellula fulva (scarce chaser) need slow-moving, eutrophic waters with reeds or similar waterside plants.
+
+Behaviour
+Many dragonflies, particularly males, are territorial. Some defend a territory against others of their own species, some against other species of dragonfly and a few against insects in unrelated groups. A particular perch may give a dragonfly a good view over an insect-rich feeding ground; males of many species such as the Pachydiplax longipennis (blue dasher) jostle other dragonflies to maintain the right to alight there. Defending a breeding territory is common among male dragonflies, especially in species that congregate around ponds. The territory contains desirable features such as a sunlit stretch of shallow water, a special plant species, or the preferred substrate for egg-laying. The territory may be small or large, depending on its quality, the time of day, and the number of competitors, and may be held for a few minutes or several hours. Dragonflies including Tramea lacerata (black saddlebags) may notice landmarks that assist in defining the boundaries of the territory. Landmarks may reduce the costs of territory establishment, or might serve as a spatial reference. Some dragonflies signal ownership with striking colours on the face, abdomen, legs, or wings. The Plathemis lydia (common whitetail) dashes towards an intruder holding its white abdomen aloft like a flag. Other dragonflies engage in aerial dogfights or high-speed chases. A female must mate with the territory holder before laying her eggs. There is also conflict between the males and females. Females may sometimes be harassed by males to the extent that it affects their normal activities including foraging and in some dimorphic species females have evolved multiple forms with some forms appearing deceptively like males. In some species females have evolved behavioural responses such as feigning death to escape the attention of males. Similarly, selection of habitat by adult dragonflies is not random, and terrestrial habitat patches may be held for up to 3 months. A species tightly linked to its birth site utilises a foraging area that is several orders of magnitude larger than the birth site.
+
+Reproduction
+Mating in dragonflies is a complex, precisely choreographed process. First, the male has to attract a female to his territory, continually driving off rival males. When he is ready to mate, he transfers a packet of sperm from his primary genital opening on segment 9, near the end of his abdomen, to his secondary genitalia on segments 2–3, near the base of his abdomen. The male then grasps the female by the head with the claspers at the end of his abdomen; the structure of the claspers varies between species, and may help to prevent interspecific mating. The pair flies in tandem with the male in front, typically perching on a twig or plant stem. The female then curls her abdomen downwards and forwards under her body to pick up the sperm from the male's secondary genitalia, while the male uses his "tail" claspers to grip the female behind the head: this distinctive posture is called the "heart" or "wheel"; the pair may also be described as being "in cop".Egg-laying (ovipositing) involves not only the female darting over floating or waterside vegetation to deposit eggs on a suitable substrate, but also the male hovering above her or continuing to clasp her and flying in tandem. The male attempts to prevent rivals from removing his sperm and inserting their own, something made possible by delayed fertilisation and driven by sexual selection. If successful, a rival male uses his penis to compress or scrape out the sperm inserted previously; this activity takes up much of the time that a copulating pair remains in the heart posture. Flying in tandem has the advantage that less effort is needed by the female for flight and more can be expended on egg-laying, and when the female submerges to deposit eggs, the male may help to pull her out of the water.Egg-laying takes two different forms depending on the species. The female in some families (Aeshnidae, Petaluridae) has a sharp-edged ovipositor with which she slits open a stem or leaf of a plant on or near the water, so she can push her eggs inside. In other families such as clubtails (Gomphidae), cruisers (Macromiidae), emeralds (Corduliidae), and skimmers (Libellulidae), the female lays eggs by tapping the surface of the water repeatedly with her abdomen, by shaking the eggs out of her abdomen as she flies along, or by placing the eggs on vegetation. In a few species, the eggs are laid on emergent plants above the water, and development is delayed until these have withered and become immersed.
+
+Life cycle
+Dragonflies are hemimetabolous insects; they do not have a pupal stage and undergo an incomplete metamorphosis with a series of nymphal stages from which the adult emerges. Eggs laid inside plant tissues are usually shaped like grains of rice, while other eggs are the size of a pinhead, ellipsoidal, or nearly spherical. A clutch may have as many as 1500 eggs, and they take about a week to hatch into aquatic nymphs or naiads which moult between six and 15 times (depending on species) as they grow. Most of a dragonfly's life is spent as a nymph, beneath the water's surface. The nymph extends its hinged labium (a toothed mouthpart similar to a lower mandible, which is sometimes termed as a "mask" as it is normally folded and held before the face) that can extend forward and retract rapidly to capture prey such as mosquito larvae, tadpoles, and small fish. They breathe through gills in their rectum, and can rapidly propel themselves by suddenly expelling water through the anus. Some naiads, such as the later stages of Antipodophlebia asthenes, hunt on land.
+The nymph stage of dragonflies lasts up to five years in large species, and between two months and three years in smaller species. When the naiad is ready to metamorphose into an adult, it stops feeding and makes its way to the surface, generally at night. It remains stationary with its head out of the water, while its respiration system adapts to breathing air, then climbs up a reed or other emergent plant, and moults (ecdysis). Anchoring itself firmly in a vertical position with its claws, its exoskeleton begins to split at a weak spot behind the head. The adult dragonfly crawls out of its nymph exoskeleton, the exuvia, arching backwards when all but the tip of its abdomen is free, to allow its exoskeleton to harden. Curling back upwards, it completes its emergence, swallowing air, which plumps out its body, and pumping haemolymph into its wings, which causes them to expand to their full extent.Dragonflies in temperate areas can be categorized into two groups: an early group and a later one. In any one area, individuals of a particular "spring species" emerge within a few days of each other. The springtime darner (Basiaeschna janata), for example, is suddenly very common in the spring, but disappears a few weeks later and is not seen again until the following year. By contrast, a "summer species" emerges over a period of weeks or months, later in the year. They may be seen on the wing for several months, but this may represent a whole series of individuals, with new adults hatching out as earlier ones complete their lifespans.
+
+Sex ratios
+The sex ratio of male to female dragonflies varies both temporally and spatially. Adult dragonflies have a high male-biased ratio at breeding habitats. The male-bias ratio has contributed partially to the females using different habitats to avoid male harassment. As seen in Hine's emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana), male populations use wetland habitats, while females use dry meadows and marginal breeding habitats, only migrating to the wetlands to lay their eggs or to find mating partners. Unwanted mating is energetically costly for females because it affects the amount of time that they are able to spend foraging.
+
+Flight
+Dragonflies are powerful and agile fliers, capable of migrating across the sea, moving in any direction, and changing direction suddenly. In flight, the adult dragonfly can propel itself in six directions: upward, downward, forward, backward, to left and to right. They have four different styles of flight.
+Counter-stroking, with forewings beating 180° out of phase with the hindwings, is used for hovering and slow flight. This style is efficient and generates a large amount of lift.
+Phased-stroking, with the hindwings beating 90° ahead of the forewings, is used for fast flight. This style creates more thrust, but less lift than counter-stroking.
+Synchronised-stroking, with forewings and hindwings beating together, is used when changing direction rapidly, as it maximises thrust.
+Gliding, with the wings held out, is used in three situations: free gliding, for a few seconds in between bursts of powered flight; gliding in the updraft at the crest of a hill, effectively hovering by falling at the same speed as the updraft; and in certain dragonflies such as darters, when "in cop" with a male, the female sometimes simply glides while the male pulls the pair along by beating his wings.The wings are powered directly, unlike most families of insects, with the flight muscles attached to the wing bases. Dragonflies have a high power/weight ratio, and have been documented accelerating at 4 G linearly and 9 G in sharp turns while pursuing prey.Dragonflies generate lift in at least four ways at different times, including classical lift like an aircraft wing; supercritical lift with the wing above the critical angle, generating high lift and using very short strokes to avoid stalling; and creating and shedding vortices. Some families appear to use special mechanisms, as for example the Libellulidae which take off rapidly, their wings beginning pointed far forward and twisted almost vertically. Dragonfly wings behave highly dynamically during flight, flexing and twisting during each beat. Among the variables are wing curvature, length and speed of stroke, angle of attack, forward/back position of wing, and phase relative to the other wings.
+
+Flight speed
+Old and unreliable claims are made that dragonflies such as the southern giant darner can fly up to 97 km/h (60 mph). However, the greatest reliable flight speed records are for other types of insects. In general, large dragonflies like the hawkers have a maximum speed of 36–54 km/h (22–34 mph) with average cruising speed of about 16 km/h (9.9 mph). Dragonflies can travel at 100 body-lengths per second in forward flight, and three lengths per second backwards.
+
+Motion camouflage
+In high-speed territorial battles between male Australian emperors (Hemianax papuensis), the fighting dragonflies adjust their flight paths to appear stationary to their rivals, minimizing the chance of being detected as they approach. To achieve the effect, the attacking dragonfly flies towards his rival, choosing his path to remain on a line between the rival and the start of his attack path. The attacker thus looms larger as he closes on the rival, but does not otherwise appear to move. Researchers found that six of 15 encounters involved motion camouflage.
+
+Temperature control
+The flight muscles need to be kept at a suitable temperature for the dragonfly to be able to fly. Being cold-blooded, they can raise their temperature by basking in the sun. Early in the morning, they may choose to perch in a vertical position with the wings outstretched, while in the middle of the day, a horizontal stance may be chosen. Another method of warming up used by some larger dragonflies is wing-whirring, a rapid vibration of the wings that causes heat to be generated in the flight muscles. The green darner (Anax junius) is known for its long-distance migrations, and often resorts to wing-whirring before dawn to enable it to make an early start.Becoming too hot is another hazard, and a sunny or shady position for perching can be selected according to the ambient temperature. Some species have dark patches on the wings which can provide shade for the body, and a few use the obelisk posture to avoid overheating. This behaviour involves doing a "handstand", perching with the body raised and the abdomen pointing towards the sun, thus minimising the amount of solar radiation received. On a hot day, dragonflies sometimes adjust their body temperature by skimming over a water surface and briefly touching it, often three times in quick succession. This may also help to avoid desiccation.
+
+Feeding
+Adult dragonflies hunt on the wing using their exceptionally acute eyesight and strong, agile flight. They are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating a wide variety of insects ranging from small midges and mosquitoes to butterflies, moths, damselflies, and smaller dragonflies. A large prey item is subdued by being bitten on the head and is carried by the legs to a perch. Here, the wings are discarded and the prey usually ingested head first. A dragonfly may consume as much as a fifth of its body weight in prey per day. Dragonflies are also some of the insect world's most efficient hunters, catching up to 95% of the prey they pursue.The nymphs are voracious predators, eating most living things that are smaller than they are. Their staple diet is mostly bloodworms and other insect larvae, but they also feed on tadpoles and small fish. A few species, especially those that live in temporary waters, are likely to leave the water to feed. Nymphs of Cordulegaster bidentata sometimes hunt small arthropods on the ground at night, while some species in the Anax genus have even been observed leaping out of the water to attack and kill full-grown tree frogs.
+
+Eyesight
+Dragonfly vision is thought to be like slow motion for humans. Dragonflies see faster than humans do; they see around 200 images per second. A dragonfly can see in 360 degrees, and nearly 80 per cent of the insect's brain is dedicated to its sight.
+
+Predators
+Although dragonflies are swift and agile fliers, some predators are fast enough to catch them. These include falcons such as the American kestrel, the merlin, and the hobby; nighthawks, swifts, flycatchers and swallows also take some adults; some species of wasps, too, prey on dragonflies, using them to provision their nests, laying an egg on each captured insect. In the water, various species of ducks and herons eat dragonfly nymphs and they are also preyed on by newts, frogs, fish, and water spiders. Amur falcons, which migrate over the Indian Ocean at a period that coincides with the migration of the globe skimmer dragonfly, Pantala flavescens, may actually be feeding on them while on the wing.
+
+Parasites
+Dragonflies are affected by three groups of parasites: water mites, gregarine protozoa, and trematode flatworms (flukes). Water mites, Hydracarina, can kill smaller dragonfly nymphs, and may also be seen on adults. Gregarines infect the gut and may cause blockage and secondary infection. Trematodes are parasites of vertebrates such as frogs, with complex life cycles often involving a period as a stage called a cercaria in a secondary host, a snail. Dragonfly nymphs may swallow cercariae, or these may tunnel through a nymph's body wall; they then enter the gut and form a cyst or metacercaria, which remains in the nymph for the whole of its development. If the nymph is eaten by a frog, the amphibian becomes infected by the adult or fluke stage of the trematode.
+
+Dragonflies and humans
+Conservation
+Most odonatologists live in temperate areas and the dragonflies of North America and Europe have been the subject of much research. However, the majority of species live in tropical areas and have been little studied. With the destruction of rainforest habitats, many of these species are in danger of becoming extinct before they have even been named.  The greatest cause of decline is forest clearance with the consequent drying up of streams and pools which become clogged with silt. The damming of rivers for hydroelectric schemes and the drainage of low-lying land has reduced suitable habitat, as has pollution and the introduction of alien species.In 1997, the International Union for Conservation of Nature set up a status survey and conservation action plan for dragonflies. This proposes the establishment of protected areas around the world and the management of these areas to provide suitable habitat for dragonflies. Outside these areas, encouragement should be given to modify forestry, agricultural, and industrial practices to enhance conservation. At the same time, more research into dragonflies needs to be done, consideration should be given to pollution control and the public should be educated about the importance of biodiversity.Habitat degradation has reduced dragonfly populations across the world, for example in Japan. Over 60% of Japan's wetlands were lost in the 20th century, so its dragonflies now depend largely on rice fields, ponds, and creeks. Dragonflies feed on pest insects in rice, acting as a natural pest control. Dragonflies are steadily declining in Africa, and represent a conservation priority.The dragonfly's long lifespan and low population density makes it vulnerable to disturbance, such as from collisions with vehicles on roads built near wetlands. Species that fly low and slow may be most at risk.Dragonflies are attracted to shiny surfaces that produce polarization which they can mistake for water, and they have been known to aggregate close to polished gravestones, solar panels, automobiles, and other such structures on which they attempt to lay eggs. These can have a local impact on dragonfly populations; methods of reducing the attractiveness of structures such as solar panels are under experimentation.
+
+In culture
+A blue-glazed faience dragonfly amulet was found by Flinders Petrie at Lahun, from the Late Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt.For the Navajo, dragonflies symbolize pure water. Often stylized in a double-barred cross design, dragonflies are a common motif in Zuni pottery, as well as Hopi rock art and Pueblo necklaces.: 20–26 As a seasonal symbol in Japan, dragonflies are associated with the season of autumn.
+In Japan, they are symbols of rebirth, courage, strength, and happiness. They are also depicted frequently in Japanese art and literature, especially haiku poetry. Japanese children catch large dragonflies as a game, using a hair with a small pebble tied to each end, which they throw into the air. The dragonfly mistakes the pebbles for prey, gets tangled in the hair, and is dragged to the ground by the weight.: 38 In both China and Japan, dragonflies have been used in traditional medicine. In Indonesia, adult dragonflies are caught on poles made sticky with birdlime, then fried in oil as a delicacy.Images of dragonflies are common in Art Nouveau, especially in jewellery designs.  They have also been used as a decorative motif on fabrics and home furnishings. Douglas, a British motorcycle manufacturer based in Bristol, named its innovatively designed postwar 350-cc flat-twin model the Dragonfly.Among the classical names of Japan are Akitsukuni (秋津国), Akitsushima (秋津島), Toyo-akitsushima (豊秋津島). Akitsu is an old word for dragonfly, so one interpretation of Akitsushima is "Dragonfly Island". This is attributed to a legend in which Japan's mythical founder, Emperor Jimmu, was bitten by a mosquito, which was then eaten by a dragonfly.In Europe, dragonflies have often been seen as sinister. Some English vernacular names, such as "horse-stinger", "devil's darning needle", and "ear cutter", link them with evil or injury. Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls.: 25–27  The Norwegian name for dragonflies is Øyenstikker ("eye-poker"), and in Portugal, they are sometimes called tira-olhos ("eyes-snatcher"). They are often associated with snakes, as in the Welsh name gwas-y-neidr, "adder's servant". The Southern United States terms "snake doctor" and "snake feeder" refer to a folk belief that dragonflies catch insects for snakes or follow snakes around and stitch them back together if they are injured. Interestingly, the Hungarian name for dragonfly is szitakötő ("sieve-knitter").
+The watercolourist Moses Harris (1731–1785), known for his The Aurelian or natural history of English insects (1766), published in 1780, the first scientific descriptions of several Odonata including the banded demoiselle, Calopteryx splendens. He was the first English artist to make illustrations of dragonflies accurate enough to be identified to species (Aeshna grandis at top left of plate illustrated), though his rough drawing of a nymph (at lower left) with the mask extended appears to be plagiarised.More recently, dragonfly watching has become popular in America as some birdwatchers seek new groups to observe.In heraldry, like other winged insects, the dragonfly is typically depicted tergiant (with its back facing the viewer), with its head to chief.
+
+In poetry and literature
+Lafcadio Hearn wrote in his 1901 book A Japanese Miscellany  that Japanese poets had created dragonfly haiku "almost as numerous as are the dragonflies themselves in the early autumn." The poet Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) wrote haiku such as "Crimson pepper pod / add two pairs of wings, and look / darting dragonfly", relating the autumn season to the dragonfly. Hori Bakusui (1718–1783) similarly wrote "Dyed he is with the / Colour of autumnal days, / O red dragonfly."The poet Lord Tennyson, described a dragonfly splitting its old skin and emerging shining metallic blue like "sapphire mail" in his 1842 poem "The Two Voices", with the lines "An inner impulse rent the veil / Of his old husk: from head to tail / Came out clear plates of sapphire mail."The novelist H. E. Bates described the rapid, agile flight of dragonflies in his 1937 nonfiction book Down the River:
+I saw, once, an endless procession, just over an area of water-lilies, of small sapphire dragonflies, a continuous play of blue gauze over the snowy flowers above the sun-glassy water. It was all confined, in true dragonfly fashion, to one small space. It was a continuous turning and returning, an endless darting, poising, striking and hovering, so swift that it was often lost in sunlight.
+
+In technology
+A dragonfly has been genetically modified with light-sensitive "steering neurons" in its nerve cord to create a cyborg-like "DragonflEye". The neurons contain genes like those in the eye to make them sensitive to light. Miniature sensors, a computer chip and a solar panel were fitted in a "backpack" over the insect's thorax in front of its wings. Light is sent down flexible light-pipes named optrodes from the backpack into the nerve cord to give steering commands to the insect. The result is a "micro-aerial vehicle that's smaller, lighter and stealthier than anything else that's manmade".
+
+Explanatory notes
+References
+Citations
+General and cited sources
+Berger, Cynthia (2004). Dragonflies. Stackpole Books. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8117-2971-0.
+Corbet, Phillip S. (1999). Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. pp. 559–561. ISBN 978-0-8014-2592-9.
+Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B. (2006). Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. British Wildlife Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9531399-4-1.
+Meister, Cari (2001). Dragonflies. ABDO. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-57765-461-2.
+Powell, Dan (1999). A Guide to the Dragonflies of Great Britain. Arlequin Press. ISBN 978-1-900-15901-2.
+Trueman, John W. H.; Rowe, Richard J. (2009). "Odonata". Tree of Life. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
+
+External links
+ The dictionary definition of dragonfly at Wiktionary
+ Media related to Anisoptera at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Anisoptera at Wikispecies
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+The dugong (; Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.
+The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats which support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong's contemporary stronghold.
+Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs. The forelimbs or flippers are paddle-like. The dugong is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for feeding in benthic seagrass communities. The molar teeth are simple and peg-like, unlike the more elaborate molar dentition of manatees.
+The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries in its modern range, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. The dugong's current distribution is fragmented, and many populations are believed to be close to extinction. The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species limits or bans the trade of derived products. Despite being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic and include fishing-related fatalities, habitat degradation and hunting. With its long lifespan of 70 years or more, and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.
+
+Evolution
+Dugongs are part of the Sirenia order of placental mammals which comprises modern "sea cows" (manatees as well as dugongs) and their extinct relatives. Sirenia are the only extant herbivorous marine mammals and the only group of herbivorous mammals to have become completely aquatic. Sirenians are thought to have a 50-million-year-old fossil record (early Eocene-recent). They attained modest diversity during the Oligocene and Miocene, but subsequently declined as a result of climatic cooling, oceanographic changes, and human interference.
+
+Etymology and taxonomy
+The word "dugong" derives from the Visayan (probably Cebuano) dugung. The name was first adopted and popularized by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, as "dugon" in Histoire Naturelle (1765), after descriptions of the animal from the island of Leyte in the Philippines. The name ultimately derives from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duyuŋ. Despite common misconception, the term does not come from Malay duyung and it does not mean "lady of the sea" (Mermaid).Other common local names include "sea cow", "sea pig" and "sea camel". It is known as the balguja by the Wunambal people of the Mitchell Plateau area in the Kimberley, Western Australia.Dugong dugon is the only extant species of the family Dugongidae, and one of only four extant species of the Sirenia order, the others forming the manatee family. It was first classified by Müller in 1776 as Trichechus dugon, a member of the manatee genus previously defined by Linnaeus. It was later assigned as the type species of Dugong by Lacépède and further classified within its own family by Gray and subfamily by Simpson.Dugongs and other sirenians are not closely related to other marine mammals, being more related to elephants. Dugongs and elephants share a monophyletic group with hyraxes and the aardvark, one of the earliest offshoots of eutherians. The fossil record shows sirenians appearing in the Eocene, where they most likely lived in the Tethys Ocean. The two extant families of sirenians are thought to have diverged in the mid-Eocene, after which the dugongs and their closest relative, the Steller's sea cow, split off from a common ancestor in the Miocene. The Steller's sea cow became extinct in the 18th century. No fossils exist of other members of the Dugongidae.Molecular studies have been made on dugong populations using mitochondrial DNA. The results have suggested that the population of Southeast Asia is distinct from the others. Australia has two distinct maternal lineages, one of which also contains the dugongs from Africa and Arabia. Limited genetic mixing has taken place between those in Southeast Asia and those in Australia, mostly around Timor. One of the lineages stretches all the way from Moreton Bay to Western Australia, while the other only stretches from Moreton Bay to the Northern Territory. There is not yet sufficient genetic data to make clear boundaries between distinct groups.
+
+Anatomy and morphology
+The dugong's body is large with a cylindrical shape that tapers at both ends. It has thick, smooth skin that is a pale cream colour at birth, but darkens dorsally and laterally to brownish-to-dark-grey with age. The colour of a dugong can change due to the growth of algae on the skin. The body is sparsely covered in short hair, a common feature among sirenians which may allow for tactile interpretation of their environment. These hairs are most developed around the mouth, which has a large horseshoe-shaped upper lip forming a highly mobile muzzle. This muscular upper lip aids the dugong in foraging.
+The dugong's tail flukes and flippers are similar to those of dolphins. These flukes are raised up and down in long strokes to move the animal forward, and can be twisted to turn. The forelimbs are paddle-like flippers which aid in turning and slowing. The dugong lacks nails on its flippers, which are only 15% of a dugong's body length. The tail has deep notches.A dugong's brain weighs a maximum of 300 g (11 oz), about 0.1% of the animal's body weight. With very small eyes, dugongs have limited vision, but acute hearing within narrow sound thresholds. Their ears, which lack pinnae, are located on the sides of their head. The nostrils are located on top of the head and can be closed using valves. Dugongs have two teats, one located behind each flipper. There are few differences between sexes; the body structures are almost the same. A male's testes are not externally located, and the main difference between males and females is the location of the genital aperture in relation to the umbilicus and the anus. The lungs in a dugong are very long, extending almost as far as the kidneys, which are also highly elongated in order to cope with the saltwater environment. If the dugong is wounded, its blood will clot rapidly.
+The skull of a dugong is unique. The skull is enlarged with sharply down-turned premaxilla, which are stronger in males. The spine has between 57 and 60 vertebrae. Unlike in manatees, the dugong's teeth do not continually grow back via horizontal tooth replacement. The dugong has two incisors (tusks) which emerge in males during puberty. The female's tusks continue to grow without emerging during puberty, sometimes erupting later in life after reaching the base of the premaxilla. The number of growth layer groups in a tusk indicates the age of a dugong, and the cheekteeth move forward with age. The full dental formula of dugongs is 2.0.3.33.1.3.3, meaning they have two incisors, three premolars, and three molars on each side of their upper jaw, and three incisors, one canine, three premolars, and three molars on each side of their lower jaw. Like other sirenians, the dugong experiences pachyostosis, a condition in which the ribs and other long bones are unusually solid and contain little or no marrow. These heavy bones, which are among the densest in the animal kingdom, may act as a ballast to help keep sirenians suspended slightly below the water's surface.An adult's length rarely exceeds 3 metres (10 ft). An individual this long is expected to weigh around 420 kilograms (930 lb). Weight in adults is typically more than 250 kilograms (550 lb) and less than 900 kilograms (1,980 lb). The largest individual recorded was 4.06 metres (13 ft 4 in) long and weighed 1,016 kilograms (2,240 lb), and was found off the Saurashtra coast of west India. Females tend to be larger than males.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Dugongs are found in warm coastal waters from the western Pacific Ocean to the eastern coast of Africa, along an estimated 140,000 kilometres (87,000 mi) of coastline between 26° and 27° to the north and south of the equator. Their historic range is believed to correspond to that of seagrasses from the Potamogetonaceae and Hydrocharitaceae families. The full size of the former range is unknown, although it is believed that the current populations represent the historical limits of the range, which is highly fractured. Their distributions during warmer periods of Holocene might have been broader than today. Today populations of dugongs are found in the waters of 37 countries and territories. Recorded numbers of dugongs are generally believed to be lower than actual numbers, due to a lack of accurate surveys. Despite this, the dugong population is thought to be shrinking, with a worldwide decline of 20 percent in the last 90 years. They have disappeared from the waters of Hong Kong, Mauritius, and Taiwan, as well as parts of Cambodia, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Further disappearances are likely.Dugongs are generally found in warm waters around the coast with large numbers concentrated in wide and shallow protected bays. The dugong is the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee utilise fresh water to some degree. Nonetheless, they can tolerate the brackish waters found in coastal wetlands, and large numbers are also found in wide and shallow mangrove channels and around leeward sides of large inshore islands, where seagrass beds are common. They are usually located at a depth of around 10 m (33 ft), although in areas where the continental shelf remains shallow dugongs have been known to travel more than ten kilometres (6 mi) from the shore, descending to as far as 37 metres (121 ft), where deepwater seagrasses such as Halophila spinulosa are found. Special habitats are used for different activities. It has been observed that shallow waters are used as sites for calving, minimizing the risk of predation. Deep waters may provide a thermal refuge from cooler waters closer to the shore during winter.
+
+Australia
+Australia is home to the largest population, stretching from Shark Bay in Western Australia to Moreton Bay in Queensland. The population of Shark Bay is thought to be stable with over 10,000 dugongs. Smaller populations exist up the coast, including one in Ashmore reef. Large numbers of dugongs live to the north of the Northern Territory, with a population of over 20,000 in the gulf of Carpentaria alone. A population of over 25,000 exists in the Torres Strait such as off Thursday Island, although there is significant migration between the strait and the waters of New Guinea. The Great Barrier Reef provides important feeding areas for the species; this reef area houses a stable population of around 10,000, although the population concentration has shifted over time. Large bays facing north on the Queensland coast provide significant habitats for dugong, with the southernmost of these being Hervey Bay and Moreton Bay. Dugongs had been occasional visitors along the Gold Coast where a re-establishment of a local population through range expansions has started recently.
+
+Persian Gulf
+The Persian Gulf has the second-largest dugong population in the world, inhabiting most of the southern coast, and the current population is believed to range from 5,800 to 7,300. In the course of a study being carried out in 1986 and 1999 on the Persian Gulf, the largest reported group sighting was made of more than 600 individuals to the west of Qatar. However, recent studies revealed severe declines both in population size and distributions among the region. A 2017 study, for instance, found a nearly 25% drop in population since 1950. Reasons for this drastic population loss include illegal poaching, oil spills and net entanglement.
+
+East Africa and South Asia
+In the late 1960s, herds of up to 500 dugongs were observed off the coast of East Africa and nearby islands. Current populations in this area are extremely small, numbering 50 and below, and it is thought likely they will become extinct. The eastern side of the Red Sea is home to large populations numbering in the hundreds, and similar populations are thought to exist on the western side. In the 1980s, it was estimated there could be as many as 4,000 dugongs in the Red Sea. Dugong populations in Madagascar are poorly studied, but due to widespread exploitation it is thought they may have severely declined, with few surviving individuals. The resident population around Mayotte is thought to number just 10 individuals. In Mozambique, most of the remaining local populations are very small and the largest (about 120 individuals) occurs at Bazaruto Island, but they have become rare in historical habitats such as in Maputo Bay and on Inhaca Island. The Bazaruto Island population is possibly the last long-term viable population in East Africa, with only some of its core territory lying within protected waters. The East African population that is genetically distinct from those of the Red Sea and those off Madagascar. In Tanzania, observations have recently increased around the Mafia Island Marine Park where a hunt was intended by fishermen but failed in 2009. In the Seychelles, dugongs had been regarded as extinct in 18th century until a small number was discovered around the Aldabra Atoll. This population may belong to a different group than that distributed among the inner isles. Dugongs once thrived among the Chagos Archipelago and Sea Cow Island was named after the species, although the species no longer occurs in the region.There are less than 250 individuals scattered throughout Indian waters. A highly isolated breeding population exists in the Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch, the only remaining population in western India. It is 1,500 kilometres (800 nautical miles) from the population in the Persian Gulf, and 1,700 kilometres (900 nmi) from the nearest population in India. Former populations in this area, centered on the Maldives and the Laccadive Islands, are presumed to be extinct. A population exists in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park and the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, but it is seriously depleted. Recoveries of seagrass beds along former ranges of dugongs, such as the Chilika Lake have been confirmed in recent years, raising hopes for re-colorizations of the species. The population around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are known only from a few records, and although the population was large during British rule, it is now believed to be small and scattered. Once distributed throughout the coastal belt in Sri Lanka, the dugong numbers have declined in last two decades.
+
+Southern Pacific outside of Australia
+A small population existed along the southern coast of China, particularly Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf), where efforts were made to protect it, including the establishment of a seagrass sanctuary for dugong and other endangered marine fauna ranging in Guangxi. Despite these efforts, numbers continued to decrease, and in 2007 it was reported that no more dugong could be found on the west coast of the island of Hainan. Historically, dugongs were also present in the southern parts of the Yellow Sea. The last confirmed record of dugongs in Chinese waters was documented in 2008. In August 2022, an article published on Royal Society Open Science concluded that dugongs were functionally extinct in China, which was based on a large-scale interview survey conducted across four southern Chinese maritime provinces (Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian) in the summer of 2019.In Vietnam, dugongs have been restricted mostly to the provinces of Kiên Giang and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu, including Phu Quoc Island and Con Dao Island, which hosted large populations in the past. Con Dao is now the only site in Vietnam where dugong are regularly seen, protected within the Côn Đảo National Park. Nonetheless, dangerously low levels of attention to conservation of marine organisms in Vietnam and Cambodia may result in increased intentional or unintentional catches, and illegal trade is a potential danger for local dugongs. On Phu Quoc, the first 'Dugong Festival' was held in 2014, aiming to raise awareness of these issues.In Thailand, the present distribution of dugongs is restricted to six provinces along the Andaman Sea, and very few dugongs are present in the Gulf of Thailand. The Gulf of Thailand was historically home to large number of the animals, but none have been sighted in the west of the gulf in recent years, and the remaining population in the east is thought to be very small and possibly declining. Dugongs are believed to exist in the Straits of Johor in very small numbers. The waters around Borneo support a small population, with more scattered throughout the Malay archipelago.All the islands of the Philippines once provided habitats for sizeable herds of dugongs. They were common until the 1970s, when their numbers declined sharply due to accidental drownings in fishing gear and habitat destruction of seagrass meadows. Today, only isolated populations survive, most notably in the waters off the Calamian Islands in Palawan, Isabela in Luzon, Guimaras, and Mindanao. The dugong became the first marine animal protected by Philippine law, with harsh penalties for harming them. Recently, local marine trash problem in the archipelago remained unabated and became the biggest threat to the already dwindling population of Dugongs in the country. Litters of plastic waste (single-use sachets, plastic bottles, fast food to-go containers etc.) and other non-biodegradable materials abound in the coastal areas. As these materials may be mistaken as food by dugongs, these may lead to death due to plastic ingestion. Overpopulation and lack of education of all coastal fisherfolk in the Philippines regarding marine trash are clearly harming the coastal environment not only in Palawan but also across the islands of the Philippines.Populations also exist around the Solomon Islands archipelago and New Caledonia, stretching to an easternmost population in Vanuatu. A highly isolated population lives around the islands of Palau.A single dugong lives at Cocos (Keeling) Islands although the animal is thought to be a vagrant.
+
+Northern Pacific
+Today, possibly the smallest and northernmost population of dugongs exists around the Ryukyu islands, and a population formerly existed off Taiwan. An endangered population of 50 or fewer dugongs, possibly as few as three individuals, survives around Okinawa. New sightings of a cow and calf have been reported in 2017, indicating a possible breeding had occurred in these waters. A single individual was recorded at Amami Ōshima, at the northernmost edge of the dugong's historic range, more than 40 years after the last previous recorded sighting. A vagrant strayed into port near Ushibuka, Kumamoto, and died due to poor health. Historically, the Yaeyama Islands held a large concentration of dugongs, with more than 300 individuals. On the Aragusuku Islands, large quantities of skulls are preserved at an utaki that outsiders are strictly forbidden to enter. Dugong populations in these areas were reduced by historical hunts as payments to the Ryukyu Kingdom, before being wiped out because of large-scale illegal hunting and fishing using destructive methods such as dynamite fishing after the Second World War.
+In a research published in August 2022, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported that the Dugong appears to be functionally extinct in Chinese coastal waters.Populations around Taiwan appear to be almost extinct, although remnant individuals may visit areas with rich seagrass beds such as Dongsha Atoll. Some of the last reported sightings were made in Kenting National Park in the 1950s and 60s. There had been occasional records of vagrants at the Northern Mariana Islands prior to 1985. It is unknown how much mixing there was between these populations historically. Some theorize that populations existed independently, for example, that the Okinawan population were isolated members derived from the migration of a Philippine subspecies. Others postulate that the populations formed part of a super-population where migration between Ryukyu, Taiwan, and the Philippines was common.
+
+Extinct Mediterranean population
+It has been confirmed that dugongs once inhabited the water of the Mediterranean possibly until after the rise of civilizations along the inland sea. This population possibly shared ancestry with the Red Sea population, and the Mediterranean population had never been large due to geographical factors and climate changes. The Mediterranean is the region where the Dugongidae originated in the mid-late Eocene, along with Caribbean Sea.
+
+Ecology and life history
+Dugongs are long-lived, and the oldest recorded specimen reached age 73. They have few natural predators, although animals such as crocodiles, killer whales, and sharks pose a threat to the young, and a dugong has also been recorded to have died from trauma after being impaled by a stingray barb. A large number of infections and parasitic diseases affect dugongs. Detected pathogens include helminths, cryptosporidium, different types of bacterial infections, and other unidentified parasites. 30% of dugong deaths in Queensland since 1996 are thought to be because of disease.Although they are social animals, they are usually solitary or found in pairs due to the inability of seagrass beds to support large populations. Gatherings of hundreds of dugongs sometimes happen, but they last only for a short time. Because they are shy, and do not approach humans, little is known about dugong behavior. They can go six minutes without breathing (though about two and a half minutes is more typical), and have been known to rest on their tail to breathe with their heads above water. They can dive to a maximum depth of 39 metres (128 ft); they spend most of their lives no deeper than 10 metres (33 ft). Communication between individuals is through chirps, whistles, barks, and other sounds that echo underwater. Different sounds have been observed with different amplitudes and frequencies, implying different purposes. Visual communication is limited due to poor eyesight, and is mainly used for activities such as lekking for courtship purposes. Mothers and calves are in almost constant physical contact, and calves have been known to reach out and touch their mothers with their flippers for reassurance.Dugongs are semi-nomadic, often traveling long distances in search of food, but staying within a certain range their entire life. Large numbers often move together from one area to another. It is thought that these movements are caused by changes in seagrass availability. Their memory allows them to return to specific points after long travels. Dugong movements mostly occur within a localized area of seagrass beds, and animals in the same region show individualistic patterns of movement. Daily movement is affected by the tides. In areas where there is a large tidal range, dugongs travel with the tide in order to access shallower feeding areas. In Moreton Bay, dugongs often travel between foraging grounds inside the bay and warmer oceanic waters. At higher latitudes dugongs make seasonal travels to reach warmer water during the winter. Occasionally individual dugongs make long-distance travels over many days, and can travel over deep ocean waters. One animal was seen as far south as Sydney. Although they are marine creatures, dugongs have been known to travel up creeks, and in one case a dugong was caught fifteen kilometres (8 nmi) up a creek near Cooktown.
+
+Feeding
+Dugongs, along with other sirenians, are referred to as "sea cows" because their diet consists mainly of seagrass, particularly the genera Halophila and Halodule. When eating they ingest the whole plant, including the roots, although when this is impossible they will feed on just the leaves. A wide variety of seagrass has been found in dugong stomach contents, and evidence exists they will eat algae when seagrass is scarce. Although almost completely herbivorous, they will occasionally eat invertebrates such as jellyfish, sea squirts, and shellfish. Dugongs in Moreton Bay, Australia, are omnivorous, feeding on invertebrates such as polychaetes or marine algae when the supply of their choice grasses decreases. In other southern areas of both western and eastern Australia, there is evidence that dugongs actively seek out large invertebrates. This does not apply to dugongs in tropical areas, in which fecal evidence indicates that invertebrates are not eaten.Most dugongs do not feed on lush areas, but where the seagrass is more sparse. Additional factors such as protein concentration and regenerative ability also affect the value of a seagrass bed. The chemical structure and composition of the seagrass is important, and the grass species most often eaten are low in fiber, high in nitrogen, and easily digestible. In the Great Barrier Reef, dugongs feed on low-fiber high-nitrogen seagrass such as Halophila and Halodule, so as to maximize nutrient intake instead of bulk eating. Seagrasses of a lower seral are preferred, where the area has not fully vegetated. Only certain seagrass meadows are suitable for dugong consumption, due to the dugong's highly specialized diet. There is evidence that dugongs actively alter seagrass species compositions at local levels. Dugongs may search out deeper seagrass. Feeding trails have been observed as deep as 33 metres (108 ft), and dugongs have been seen feeding as deep as 37 metres (121 ft). Dugongs are relatively slow-moving, swimming at around 10 km/h (3 m/s). When moving along the seabed to feed they walk on their pectoral fins.Dugong feeding may favor the subsequent growth of low-fibre, high-nitrogen seagrasses such as Halophilia and Halodule. Species such as Zosteria capricorni are more dominant in established seagrass beds, but grow slowly, while Halophilia and Halodule grow quickly in the open space left by dugong feeding. This behavior is known as cultivation grazing, and favors the rapidly growing, higher nutrient seagrasses that dugongs prefer. Dugongs may also prefer to feed on younger, less fibrous strands of seagrasses, and cycles of cultivation feeding at different seagrass meadows may provide them with a greater number of younger plants.
+Due to their poor eyesight, dugongs often use smell to locate edible plants. They also have a strong tactile sense, and feel their surroundings with their long sensitive bristles. They will dig up an entire plant and then shake it to remove the sand before eating it. They have been known to collect a pile of plants in one area before eating them. The flexible and muscular upper lip is used to dig out the plants. This leaves furrows in the sand in their path.
+
+Reproduction and parental care
+A dugong reaches sexual maturity between the ages of eight and eighteen, older than in most other mammals. The way that females know how a male has reached sexual maturity is by the eruption of tusks in the male since tusks erupt in males when testosterone levels reach a high enough level. The age when a female first gives birth is disputed, with some studies placing the age between ten and seventeen years, while others place it as early as six years. There is evidence that male dugongs lose fertility at older ages. Despite the longevity of the dugong, which may live for 50 years or more, females give birth only a few times during their life, and invest considerable parental care in their young. The time between births is unclear, with estimates ranging from 2.4 to 7 years.Mating behaviour varies between populations located in different areas. In some populations, males will establish a territory which females in estrus will visit. In these areas a male will try to impress the females while defending the area from other males, a practice known as lekking. In other areas many males will attempt to mate with the same female, sometimes inflicting injuries to the female or each other. During this the female will have copulated with multiple males, who will have fought to mount her from below. This greatly increases the chances of conception.Females give birth after a 13- to 15-month gestation, usually to just one calf. Birth occurs in very shallow water, with occasions known where the mothers were almost on the shore. As soon as the young is born the mother pushes it to the surface to take a breath. Newborns are already 1.2 metres (4 ft) long and weigh around 30 kilograms (65 lb). Once born, they stay close to their mothers, possibly to make swimming easier. The calf nurses for 14–18 months, although it begins to eat seagrasses soon after birth. A calf will only leave its mother once it has matured. Calves in captivity have been observed sucking on their flippers as a way of asking to be fed.
+
+Importance to humans
+Dugongs have historically provided easy targets for hunters, who killed them for their meat, oil, skin, and bones. As the anthropologist A. Asbjørn Jøn has noted, they are often considered as the inspiration for mermaids, and people around the world developed cultures around dugong hunting. In some areas it remains an animal of great significance, and a growing ecotourism industry around dugongs has had an economic benefit in some countries.
+There is a 5,000-year-old wall painting of a dugong, apparently drawn by neolithic peoples, in Tambun Cave, Ipoh, Malaysia. This was discovered by Lieutenant R.L Rawlings in 1959 while on a routine patrol.Dugongs feature in Southeast Asian, especially Austronesian, folklore. In languages like Ilocano, Mapun, Yakan, Tausug, and Kadazan Dusun of the Philippines and Sabah, the name for dugongs is a synonym for "mermaid". In Malay, they are sometimes referred to as perempoen laut ("woman of the sea") or putri duyong ("dugong princess"), leading to the misconception that the word "dugong" itself means "lady of the sea".  A common belief found in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, is that dugongs were originally human or part-human (usually women), and that they cry when they are butchered or beached. Because of this, it is considered bad luck if a dugong is killed or accidentally dies in nets or fish corrals in the Philippines, some parts of Sabah (Malaysia), and northern Sulawesi and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia). Dugongs are predominantly not traditionally hunted for food in these regions and they remained plentiful until around the 1970s.Conversely, dugong "tears" are considered aphrodisiacs in other parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Dugong meat is considered luxury food and is also believed to have aphrodisiac properties. They are actively hunted in these regions, in some places to near-extinction.In Palau, dugongs were traditionally hunted with heavy spears from canoes. Although it is illegal and there is widespread disapproval at killing dugongs, poaching remains a major problem. Dugongs are also widely hunted in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia; where their meat and ornaments made from bones and tusks are highly prized in feasts and traditional rituals. However, hunting dugongs is considered taboo in some areas of Vanuatu. Dugong meat and oil have traditionally been some of the most valuable foods of Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. Some Aboriginals regard dugongs as part of their Aboriginality.Local fishermen in Southern China traditionally revered dugongs and regarded them as "miraculous fish". They believed it was bad luck to catch them and they were plentiful in the region prior to the 1960s. Beginning in the 1950s, a wave of immigrants from other regions that do not hold these beliefs resulted in dugongs being hunted for food and traditional Chinese medicine. This led to a steep decline in dugong populations in the Gulf of Tonkin and the sea around Hainan Island. In Japan, dugongs were traditionally hunted in the Ryukyu Islands since prehistoric times. Carved ribs of dugongs in the shape of butterflies (a psychopomp) are found throughout Okinawa. They were commonly hunted throughout Japan up until around the 1970s.Dugongs have also played a role in legends in Kenya, and the animal is known there as the "Queen of the Sea". Body parts are used as food, medicine, and decorations. In the Gulf states, dugongs served not only as a source of food, but their tusks were used as sword handles. Dugong oil is important as a preservative and conditioner for wooden boats to people around the Gulf of Kutch in India, who also believe the meat to be an aphrodisiac.
+
+Conservation
+Dugong numbers have decreased in recent times. For a population to remain stable, 95 percent of adults must survive the span of one year. The estimated percentage of females humans can kill without depleting the population is 1–2%. This number is reduced in areas where calving is minimal due to food shortages. Even in the best conditions, a population is unlikely to increase more than 5% a year, leaving dugongs vulnerable to over-exploitation. The fact that they live in shallow waters puts them under great pressure from human activity. Research on dugongs and the effects of human activity on them has been limited, mostly taking place in Australia. In many countries, dugong numbers have never been surveyed. As such, trends are uncertain, with more data needed for comprehensive management. The only data stretching back far enough to mention population trends comes from the urban coast of Queensland, Australia. The last major worldwide study, made in 2002, concluded that the dugong was declining and possibly extinct in a third of its range, with unknown status in another half.The IUCN Red List lists the dugong as vulnerable, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora regulates and in some areas has banned international trade. Most dugong habitats fall within proposed important marine mammal areas. Regional cooperation is important due to the widespread distribution of the animal, and in 1998 there was strong support for Southeast Asian cooperation to protect dugongs. Kenya has passed legislation banning the hunting of dugongs and restricting trawling, but the dugong is not yet listed under Kenya's Wildlife Act for endangered species. Mozambique has had legislation to protect dugongs since 1955, but this has not been effectively enforced. France has a National Action Plan covering the species, implemented within the Mayotte Marine Natural Park. Many marine parks have been established on the African coast of the Red Sea, and the Egyptian Gulf of Aqaba is fully protected. The United Arab Emirates has banned all hunting of dugongs within its waters, as has Bahrain. The UAE has additionally banned drift net fishing, and has declared an intention to restore coastal ecosystems dugongs rely on. India and Sri Lanka ban the hunting and selling of dugongs and their products. Japan has listed dugongs as endangered and has banned intentional kills and harassment. Hunting, catching, and harassment are banned by the People's Republic of China. The first marine mammal to be protected in the Philippines was the dugong, although monitoring this is difficult. Palau has legislated to protect dugongs, although this is not well enforced and poaching persists. Indonesia lists dugongs as a protected species; however, protection is not always enforced and souvenir products made from dugong parts can be openly found in markets in Bali. The dugong is a national animal of Papua New Guinea, which bans all except traditional hunting. Vanuatu and New Caledonia ban hunting of dugongs. Dugongs are protected throughout Australia, although the rules vary by state; in some areas, indigenous hunting is allowed. Dugongs are listed under the Nature Conservation Act in the Australian state of Queensland as vulnerable. Most currently live in established marine parks, where boats must travel at a restricted speed and mesh net fishing is restricted. The World Wide Fund for Nature has purchased gillnet licences in northern Queensland to reduce the impact of fishing. In Vietnam, an illegal network targeting dugongs had been detected and was shut down in 2012. Potential hunts along Tanzanian coasts by fishermen have raised concerns as well.
+
+Human activity
+Despite being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic and include hunting, habitat degradation, and fishing-related fatalities. Entanglement in fishing nets has caused many deaths, although there are no precise statistics. Most issues with industrial fishing occur in deeper waters where dugong populations are low, with local fishing being the main risk in shallower waters. As dugongs cannot stay underwater for a very long period, they are highly prone to deaths due to entanglement. The use of shark nets has historically caused large numbers of deaths, and they have been eliminated in most areas and replaced with baited hooks. Hunting has historically been a problem too, although in most areas they are no longer hunted, with the exception of certain indigenous communities. In areas such as northern Australia, hunting remains the greatest impact on the dugong population.Vessel strikes have proved a problem for manatees, but the relevance of this to dugongs is unknown. Increasing boat traffic has increased danger, especially in shallow waters. Ecotourism has increased in some countries, although the effects remain undocumented. It has been seen to cause issues in areas such as Hainan due to environmental degradation. Modern farming practices and increased land clearing have also had an impact, and much of the coastline of dugong habitats are undergoing industrialization, with increasing human populations. Dugongs accumulate heavy metal ions in their tissues throughout their lives, more so than other marine mammals. The effects are unknown. While international cooperation to form a conservative unit has been undertaken, socio-political needs are an impediment to dugong conservation in many developing countries. The shallow waters are often used as a source of food and income, problems exacerbated by aid used to improve fishing. In many countries, the legislation does not exist to protect dugongs, and if it does it is not enforced.Oil spills are a danger to dugongs in some areas, as is land reclamation. In Okinawa the small dugong population is threatened by United States military activity. Plans exist to build a military base close to the Henoko reef, and military activity also adds the threats of noise pollution, chemical pollution, soil erosion, and exposure to depleted uranium. The military base plans have been fought in US courts by some Okinawans, whose concerns include the impact on the local environment and dugong habitats. It was later revealed that the government of Japan was hiding evidence of the negative effects of ship lanes and human activities on dugongs observed during surveys carried out off Henoko reef. One of the three individuals has not been observed since June 2015, corresponding to the start of the excavation operations.
+
+Environmental degradation
+If dugongs do not get enough to eat they may calve later and produce fewer young. Food shortages can be caused by many factors, such as a loss of habitat, death and decline in quality of seagrass, and a disturbance of feeding caused by human activity. Sewage, detergents, heavy metal, hypersaline water, herbicides, and other waste products all negatively affect seagrass meadows. Human activity such as mining, trawling, dredging, land reclamation, and boat propeller scarring also cause an increase in sedimentation which smothers seagrass and prevents light from reaching it. This is the most significant negative factor affecting seagrass.Halophila ovalis—one of the dugong's preferred species of seagrass—declines rapidly due to lack of light, dying completely after 30 days. Extreme weather such as cyclones and floods can destroy hundreds of square kilometres of seagrass meadows, as well as washing dugongs ashore. The recovery of seagrass meadows and the spread of seagrass into new areas, or areas where it has been destroyed, can take over a decade. Most measures for protection involve restricting activities such as trawling in areas containing seagrass meadows, with little to no action on pollutants originating from land. In some areas, water salinity is increased due to wastewater, and it is unknown how much salinity seagrass can withstand.Dugong habitat in the Oura Bay area of Henoko, Okinawa, Japan, is currently under threat from land reclamation conducted by Japanese Government in order to build a US Marine base in the area. In August 2014, preliminary drilling surveys were conducted around the seagrass beds there. The construction is expected to seriously damage the dugong population's habitat, possibly leading to local extinction.
+
+Capture and captivity
+The Australian state of Queensland has sixteen dugong protection parks, and some preservation zones have been established where even Aboriginal Peoples are not allowed to hunt. Capturing animals for research has caused only one or two deaths; dugongs are expensive to keep in captivity due to the long time mothers and calves spend together, and the inability to grow the seagrass that dugongs eat in an aquarium. Only one orphaned calf has ever been successfully kept in captivity.Worldwide, only three dugongs are held in captivity. A female from the Philippines lives at Toba Aquarium in Toba, Mie, Japan. A male also lived there until he died on 10 February 2011. The second resides in Sea World Indonesia, after having been rescued from a fisherman's net and treated. The last one, a male, is kept at Sydney Aquarium, where he has resided since he was a juvenile. Sydney Aquarium had a second dugong for many years, until she died in 2018.Gracie, a captive dugong at Underwater World, Singapore, was reported to have died in 2014 at the age of 19, from complications arising from an acute digestive disorder.
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Dugong dugon at Wikimedia Commons
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/echidna.txt b/data/animals/echidna.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..02557a7f1da8b3c556a01f00acfc3ba86e71509a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/echidna.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the American true anteaters or to hedgehogs. Their young are called puggles.
+Echidnas evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land.
+
+Etymology
+Echidnas are possibly named after Echidna, a creature from Greek mythology who was half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles.
+An alternative explanation is a confusion with Ancient Greek: ἐχῖνος, romanized: ekhînos, lit. 'hedgehog, sea urchin'.
+
+Physical characteristics
+Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines. The spines are modified hairs and are made of keratin, the same fibrous protein that makes up fur, claws, nails, and horn sheaths in animals.
+Superficially, they resemble the anteaters of South America and other spiny mammals such as hedgehogs and porcupines. They are usually black or brown in coloration. There have been several reports of albino echidnas with pink eyes and white spines. They have elongated and slender snouts that function as both mouth and nose, and which have electrosensors to find earthworms, termites, ants, and other burrowing prey. This is similar to the platypus, which has 40,000 electroreceptors on its bill, but the long-beaked echidna has only 2,000, while the short-beaked echidna, which lives in a drier environment, has no more than 400 at the tip of its snout.Echidnas have short, strong limbs with large claws, and are powerful diggers. Their hind claws are elongated and curved backwards to aid in digging. Echidnas have tiny mouths and toothless jaws, and feed by tearing open soft logs, anthills and the like, and licking off prey with their long, sticky tongues. The ears are slits on the sides of their heads under the spines. The external ear is created by a large cartilaginous funnel, deep in the muscle. At 33 °C (91.4 °F), echidnas also possess the second-lowest active body temperature of all mammals, behind the platypus.
+Despite their appearance, echidnas are capable swimmers, as they evolved from platypus-like ancestors. When swimming, they expose their snout and some of their spines, and are known to journey to water to bathe.The first European drawing of an echidna was made in Adventure Bay, Tasmania by HMS Providence's third lieutenant George Tobin during William Bligh's second breadfruit voyage.
+
+Diet
+The short-beaked echidna's diet consists mostly of ants and termites, while the Zaglossus (long-beaked) species typically eat worms and insect larvae. The tongues of long-beaked echidnas have sharp, tiny spines that help them capture their prey. They have no teeth, so they break down their food by grinding it between the bottoms of their mouths and their tongues. Echidnas' faeces are 7 cm (3 in) long and are cylindrical in shape; they are usually broken and unrounded, and composed largely of dirt and ant-hill material.Like all mammals, echidnas feed their young on milk, which contains various factors to sustain their growth and development.
+
+Habitat
+Echidnas do not tolerate extreme temperatures; they shelter from harsh weather in caves and rock crevices. Echidnas are found in forests and woodlands, hiding under vegetation, roots or piles of debris. They sometimes use the burrows (both abandoned and in use) of animals such as rabbits and wombats. Individual echidnas have large, mutually overlapping territories.
+
+Anatomy
+Echidnas and platypuses are the only egg-laying mammals, the monotremes.
+The average lifespan of an echidna in the wild is estimated at 14–16 years. Fully grown females can weigh about 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb), the males 33% larger, at about 6 kilograms (13 lb). Though the internal reproductive organs differ, both sexes possess an identical single cloaca opening for urination, defecation, and mating.Male echidnas have non-venomous spurs on the hind feet, similar to the venomous male platypus.Due to their low metabolism and accompanying stress resistance, echidnas are long-lived for their size; the longest recorded lifespan for a captive echidna is 50 years, with anecdotal accounts of wild individuals reaching 45 years.The echidna's brain is half neocortex, compared to 80% of a human brain. Contrary to previous research, the echidna does enter REM sleep, but only in a comfortable temperature around 25 °C (77 °F). At lower or higher temperatures of 15 °C (59 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F), REM sleep is suppressed.
+
+Reproduction
+The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg 22 days after mating, and deposits it directly into her pouch. An egg weighs 1.5 to 2 grams (0.05 to 0.07 oz) and is about 1.4 centimetres (0.55 in) long. While hatching, the baby echidna opens the leather shell with a reptile-like egg tooth. Hatching takes place after 10 days of gestation; the young echidna, called a puggle, born larval and fetus-like, then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the pouch for 45 to 55 days, at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother digs a nursery burrow and deposits the young, returning every five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months. Puggles will stay within their mother's den for up to a year before leaving.Male echidnas have a four-headed penis. During mating, the heads on one side "shut down" and do not grow in size; the other two are used to release semen into the female's two-branched reproductive tract. Each time it copulates, it alternates heads in sets of two. When not in use, the penis is retracted inside a preputial sac in the cloaca. The male echidna's penis is 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long when erect, and its shaft is covered with penile spines. These may be used to induce ovulation in the female.It is a challenge to study the echidna in its natural habitat, and they show no interest in mating while in captivity. Prior to 2007, no one had ever seen an echidna ejaculate. There have been previous attempts, trying to force the echidna to ejaculate through the use of electrically stimulated ejaculation in order to obtain semen samples but this has only resulted in the penis swelling.Breeding season begins in late June and extends through September. During mating season, a female may be followed by a line or "train" of up to 10 males, the youngest trailing last, and some males switching between lines.
+
+Threats
+Echidnas are very timid. When frightened, they attempt to partially bury themselves and curl into a ball similar to a hedgehog. Strong front arms allow echidnas to dig in and hold fast against a predator pulling them from the hole.
+Their many predators include feral cats, foxes, domestic dogs, and goannas. Snakes pose a large threat when they slither into echidna burrows and prey on the spineless young puggles.
+They are easily stressed and injured by handling. Some ways to help echidnas include picking up litter, causing less pollution, planting vegetation for shelter, supervising pets, reporting hurt echidnas, and leaving them undisturbed.
+
+Evolution
+The divergence between oviparous (egg-laying) and viviparous (offspring develop internally) mammals is believed to date to the Triassic period. Most findings from genetics studies (especially of nuclear genes) are in agreement with the paleontological dating, but some other evidence, like mitochondrial DNA, give slightly different dates.Molecular clock data suggest echidnas split from platypuses between 19 and 48 million years ago, so that platypus-like fossils dating back to over 112.5 million years ago represent basal forms, rather than close relatives of the modern platypus. This would imply that echidnas evolved from water-foraging ancestors that returned to land living, which put them in competition with marsupials. Although extant monotremes lack adult teeth (platypuses have teeth only as juveniles), many extinct monotreme species have been identified based on the morphology of their teeth. Of the eight genes involved in tooth development, four have been lost in both platypus and echidna, indicating that the loss of teeth occurred before the echidna-platypus split.Further evidence of water-foraging ancestors can be found in some of the echidna's anatomy, including hydrodynamic streamlining, dorsally projecting hind limbs acting as rudders, and locomotion founded on hypertrophied humeral long-axis rotation, which provides an efficient swimming stroke.Oviparous reproduction in monotremes may give them an advantage over marsupials in some environments. Their observed adaptive radiation contradicts the assumption that monotremes are frozen in morphological and molecular evolution.
+It has been suggested that echidnas originally evolved in New Guinea when it was isolated from Australia and from marsupials. This would explain their rarity in the fossil record, their abundance in present times in New Guinea, and their original adaptation to terrestrial niches, presumably without competition from marsupials.
+
+Taxonomy
+Echidnas are a small clade with two extant genera and four species. The genus Zaglossus includes three extant and two fossil species, with only one extant species from the genus Tachyglossus.
+
+Zaglossus
+The three living Zaglossus species are endemic to New Guinea. They are rare and are hunted for food. They forage in leaf litter on the forest floor, eating earthworms and insects. The species are
+
+Western long-beaked echidna (Z. bruijni), of the highland forests;
+Sir David's long-beaked echidna (Z. attenboroughi), discovered by Western science in 1961 (described in 1998) and preferring a still higher habitat;
+Eastern long-beaked echidna (Z. bartoni), of which four distinct subspecies have been identified.The one fossil species is:
+
+†Zaglossus robustus.
+
+Tachyglossus
+The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is found in southern, southeast and northeast New Guinea, and also occurs in almost all Australian environments, from the snow-clad Australian Alps to the deep deserts of the Outback, essentially anywhere ants and termites are available. It is smaller than the Zaglossus species, and it has longer hair.
+
+Despite the similar dietary habits and methods of consumption to those of an anteater, there is no evidence supporting the idea that echidna-like monotremes have been myrmecophagic (ant or termite-eating) since the Cretaceous. The fossil evidence of invertebrate-feeding bandicoots and rat-kangaroos, from around the time of the platypus–echidna divergence and pre-dating Tachyglossus, show evidence that echidnas expanded into new ecospace despite competition from marsupials.Additionally, extinct echidnas continue to be described by taxonomists;
+
+Megalibgwilia
+The genus Megalibgwilia is known only from fossils:
+
+M. owenii from Late Pleistocene sites in Australia;
+M. robusta from Miocene sites in Australia.
+
+Murrayglossus
+The genus Murrayglossus is known only from fossils:
+M. hacketti (previously classified in the genus Zaglossus) from Pleistocene of Western Australia.
+
+As food
+The Kunwinjku people of Western Arnhem Land (Australia) call the echidna ngarrbek, and regard it as a prized food and "good medicine" (Reverend Peterson Nganjmirra, personal comment). The echidna is hunted at night, gutted, and filled with hot stones and mandak (Persoonia falcata) leaves. According to Larrakia elders, Una Thompson and Stephanie Thompson Nganjmirra, when captured, an echidna is carried attached to the wrist like a thick bangle.
+
+In popular culture
+The echidna appears on the reverse of the Australian five-cent coin.
+Knuckles the Echidna is a popular character from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise, debuting in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
+An echidna named Millie was one of the three official mascots for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
+
+References
+Bibliography
+Ronald M. Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World (6th ed.), Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9, LCCN 98023686
+
+External links
+
+Stewart, Doug (April 2003). "The Enigma of the Echidna". National Wildlife. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
+Parker, J. (1 June 2000). "Echidna Love Trains". ABC Science. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
+Rismiller, Peggy (2005). "Echidna research, Kangaroo island". Pelican Lagoon Research & Wildlife Centre. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
+"Tachyglossidae". NCBI Taxonomy Browser. 9259.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/electric ray.txt b/data/animals/electric ray.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d7f1c6ff68f5446e2816d2f928e7286ade5d597d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/electric ray.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+The electric rays are a group of rays, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, composing the order Torpediniformes . They are known for being capable of producing an electric discharge, ranging from 8 to 220 volts, depending on species, used to stun prey and for defense. There are 69 species in four families.
+Perhaps the best known members are those of the genus Torpedo. The torpedo undersea weapon is named after it. The name comes from the Latin torpere, 'to be stiffened or paralyzed', from the effect on someone who touches the fish.
+
+Description
+Electric rays have a rounded pectoral disc with two moderately large rounded-angular (not pointed or hooked) dorsal fins (reduced in some Narcinidae), and a stout muscular tail with a well-developed caudal fin. The body is thick and flabby, with soft loose skin with no dermal denticles or thorns. A pair of kidney-shaped electric organs are at the base of the pectoral fins. The snout is broad, large in the Narcinidae, but reduced in all other families. The mouth, nostrils, and five pairs of gill slits are underneath the disc.Electric rays are found from shallow coastal waters down to at least 1,000 m (3,300 ft) deep. They are sluggish and slow-moving, propelling themselves with their tails, not by using their pectoral fins as other rays do. They feed on invertebrates and small fish. They lie in wait for prey below the sand or other substrate, using their electricity to stun and capture it.
+
+Relationship to humans
+History of research
+The electrogenic properties of electric rays have been known since antiquity, although their nature was not understood. The ancient Greeks used electric rays to numb the pain of childbirth and operations. In his dialogue Meno, Plato has the character Meno accuse Socrates of "stunning" people with his puzzling questions, in a manner similar to the way the torpedo fish stuns with electricity. Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, recorded the use of torpedo fish for treatment of headaches and gout in his Compositiones Medicae of 46 AD.In the 1770s the electric organs of the torpedo ray were the subject of Royal Society papers by John Walsh, and John Hunter. These appear to have influenced the thinking of Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta – the founders of electrophysiology and electrochemistry.Henry Cavendish proposed that electric rays use electricity; he built an artificial ray consisting of fish shaped Leyden jars to successfully mimic their behaviour in 1773.
+
+In folklore
+The torpedo fish, or electric ray, appears continuously in premodern natural histories as a magical creature, and its ability to numb fishermen without seeming to touch them was a significant source of evidence for the belief in occult qualities in nature during the ages before the discovery of electricity as an explanatory mode.
+
+Bioelectricity
+The electric rays have specialised electric organs. Many species of rays and skates outside the family have electric organs in the tail; however, the electric ray has two large kidney-shaped electric organs on each side of its head, where current passes from the lower to the upper surface of the body. The nerves that signal the organ to discharge branch repeatedly, then attach to the lower side of each plaque in the batteries. These are composed of hexagonal columns, closely packed in a honeycomb formation. Each column consists of 500 to more than 1000 plaques of modified striated muscle, adapted from the branchial (gill arch) muscles. In marine fish, these batteries are connected as a parallel circuit, whereas freshwater batteries are arranged in series. This allows freshwater rays to transmit discharges of higher voltage, as freshwater cannot conduct electricity as well as saltwater. With such a battery, an electric ray may electrocute larger prey with a voltage of between 8 volts in some narcinids to 220 volts in Torpedo nobiliana, the Atlantic torpedo.
+
+Systematics
+The 60 or so species of electric rays are grouped into 12 genera and two families. The Narkinae are sometimes elevated to a family, the Narkidae. The torpedinids feed on large prey, which are stunned using their electric organs and swallowed whole, while the narcinids specialize on small prey on or in the bottom substrate. Both groups use electricity for defense, but it is unclear whether the narcinids use electricity in feeding.
+Family Narcinidae (numbfishes)
+Subfamily Narcininae
+Genus Benthobatis
+Genus Diplobatis
+Genus Discopyge
+Genus Narcine
+Subfamily Narkinae (sleeper rays)
+Genus Crassinarke
+Genus Electrolux
+Genus Heteronarce
+Genus Narke
+Genus Temera
+Genus Typhlonarke
+Family Hypnidae (coffin rays)
+Subfamily Hypninae (coffin rays)
+Genus Hypnos
+Family Torpedinidae (torpedo electric rays)
+Subfamily Torpedininae
+Genus Tetronarce
+Genus Torpedo
+
+See also
+Endangered rays
+Electric fish
+
+
+== References ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/flatworm.txt b/data/animals/flatworm.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2aba2d7663accb1145648f679cb4bf9e62008c99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/flatworm.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, platy, meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), helminth-, meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates. Unlike other bilaterians, they are acoelomates (having no body cavity), and have no specialised circulatory and respiratory organs, which restricts them to having flattened shapes that allow oxygen and nutrients to pass through their bodies by diffusion. The digestive cavity has only one opening for both ingestion (intake of nutrients) and egestion (removal of undigested wastes); as a result, the food cannot be processed continuously.
+In traditional medicinal texts, Platyhelminthes are divided into Turbellaria, which are mostly non-parasitic animals such as planarians, and three entirely parasitic groups: Cestoda, Trematoda and Monogenea; however, since the turbellarians have since been proven not to be monophyletic, this classification is now deprecated. Free-living flatworms are mostly predators, and live in water or in shaded, humid terrestrial environments, such as leaf litter. Cestodes (tapeworms) and trematodes (flukes) have complex life-cycles, with mature stages that live as parasites in the digestive systems of fish or land vertebrates, and intermediate stages that infest secondary hosts. The eggs of trematodes are excreted from their main hosts, whereas adult cestodes generate vast numbers of hermaphroditic, segment-like proglottids that detach when mature, are excreted, and then release eggs. Unlike the other parasitic groups, the monogeneans are external parasites infesting aquatic animals, and their larvae metamorphose into the adult form after attaching to a suitable host.
+Because they do not have internal body cavities, Platyhelminthes were regarded as a primitive stage in the evolution of bilaterians (animals with bilateral symmetry and hence with distinct front and rear ends). However, analyses since the mid-1980s have separated out one subgroup, the Acoelomorpha, as basal bilaterians – closer to the original bilaterians than to any other modern groups. The remaining Platyhelminthes form a monophyletic group, one that contains all and only descendants of a common ancestor that is itself a member of the group. The redefined Platyhelminthes is part of the Lophotrochozoa, one of the three main groups of more complex bilaterians. These analyses had concluded the redefined Platyhelminthes, excluding Acoelomorpha, consists of two monophyletic subgroups, Catenulida and Rhabditophora, with Cestoda, Trematoda and Monogenea forming a monophyletic subgroup within one branch of the Rhabditophora. Hence, the traditional platyhelminth subgroup "Turbellaria" is now regarded as paraphyletic, since it excludes the wholly parasitic groups, although these are descended from one group of "turbellarians".
+Two planarian species have been used successfully in the Philippines, Indonesia, Hawaii, New Guinea, and Guam to control populations of the imported giant African snail Achatina fulica, which was displacing native snails. However, these planarians are themselves a serious threat to native snails and should not be used for biological control. In northwest Europe, there are concerns about the spread of the New Zealand planarian Arthurdendyus triangulatus, which preys on earthworms.
+
+Description
+Distinguishing features
+Platyhelminthes are bilaterally symmetrical animals: their left and right sides are mirror images of each other; this also implies they have distinct top and bottom surfaces and distinct head and tail ends. Like other bilaterians, they have three main cell layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm), while the radially symmetrical cnidarians and ctenophores (comb jellies) have only two cell layers. Beyond that, they are "defined more by what they do not have than by any particular series of specializations." Unlike most other bilaterians, Platyhelminthes have no internal body cavity, so are described as acoelomates. Although the absence of a coelom also occurs in other bilaterians: gnathostomulids, gastrotrichs, xenacoelomorphs, cycliophorans, entoproctans and the parastic mesozoans. They also lack specialized circulatory and respiratory organs, both of these facts are defining features when classifying a flatworm's anatomy. Their bodies are soft and unsegmented.
+
+Features common to all subgroups
+The lack of circulatory and respiratory organs limits platyhelminths to sizes and shapes that enable oxygen to reach and carbon dioxide to leave all parts of their bodies by simple diffusion. Hence, many are microscopic, and the large species have flat ribbon-like or leaf-like shapes. Because there is no circulatory system which can transport nutrients around, the guts of large species have many branches, allowing the nutrients to diffuse to all parts of the body. Respiration through the whole surface of the body makes them vulnerable to fluid loss, and restricts them to environments where dehydration is unlikely: sea and freshwater, moist terrestrial environments such as leaf litter or between grains of soil, and as parasites within other animals.The space between the skin and gut is filled with mesenchyme, also known as parenchyma, a connective tissue made of cells and reinforced by collagen fibers that act as a type of skeleton, providing attachment points for muscles. The mesenchyme contains all the internal organs and allows the passage of oxygen, nutrients and waste products. It consists of two main types of cell: fixed cells, some of which have fluid-filled vacuoles; and stem cells, which can transform into any other type of cell, and are used in regenerating tissues after injury or asexual reproduction.Most platyhelminths have no anus and regurgitate undigested material through the mouth. The genus Paracatenula, whose members include tiny flatworms living in symbiosis with bacteria, is even missing a mouth and a gut. However, some long species have an anus and some with complex, branched guts have more than one anus, since excretion only through the mouth would be difficult for them. The gut is lined with a single layer of endodermal cells that absorb and digest food. Some species break up and soften food first by secreting enzymes in the gut or pharynx (throat).All animals need to keep the concentration of dissolved substances in their body fluids at a fairly constant level. Internal parasites and free-living marine animals live in environments with high concentrations of dissolved material, and generally let their tissues have the same level of concentration as the environment, while freshwater animals need to prevent their body fluids from becoming too dilute. Despite this difference in environments, most platyhelminths use the same system to control the concentration of their body fluids. Flame cells, so called because the beating of their flagella looks like a flickering candle flame, extract from the mesenchyme water that contains wastes and some reusable material, and drive it into networks of tube cells which are lined with flagella and microvilli. The tube cells' flagella drive the water towards exits called nephridiopores, while their microvilli reabsorb reusable materials and as much water as is needed to keep the body fluids at the right concentration. These combinations of flame cells and tube cells are called protonephridia.In all platyhelminths, the nervous system is concentrated at the head end. Other platyhelminths have rings of ganglia in the head and main nerve trunks running along their bodies.
+
+Major subgroups
+Early classification divided the flatworms in four groups: Turbellaria, Trematoda, Monogenea and Cestoda. This classification had long been recognized to be artificial, and in 1985, Ehlers proposed a phylogenetically more correct classification, where the massively polyphyletic "Turbellaria" was split into a dozen orders, and Trematoda, Monogenea and Cestoda were joined in the new order Neodermata. However, the classification presented here is the early, traditional, classification, as it still is the one used everywhere except in scientific articles.
+
+Turbellaria
+These have about 4,500 species, are mostly free-living, and range from 1 mm (0.04 in) to 600 mm (24 in) in length. Most are predators or scavengers, and terrestrial species are mostly nocturnal and live in shaded, humid locations, such as leaf litter or rotting wood. However, some are symbiotes of other animals, such as crustaceans, and some are parasites. Free-living turbellarians are mostly black, brown or gray, but some larger ones are brightly colored. The Acoela and Nemertodermatida were traditionally regarded as turbellarians, but are now regarded as members of a separate phylum, the Acoelomorpha, or as two separate phyla. Xenoturbella, a genus of very simple animals, has also been reclassified as a separate phylum.Some turbellarians have a simple pharynx lined with cilia and generally feed by using cilia to sweep food particles and small prey into their mouths, which are usually in the middle of their undersides. Most other turbellarians have a pharynx that is eversible (can be extended by being turned inside-out), and the mouths of different species can be anywhere along the underside. The freshwater species Microstomum caudatum can open its mouth almost as wide as its body is long, to swallow prey about as large as itself.Most turbellarians have pigment-cup ocelli ("little eyes"); one pair in most species, but two or even three pairs in others. A few large species have many eyes in clusters over the brain, mounted on tentacles, or spaced uniformly around the edge of the body. The ocelli can only distinguish the direction from which light is coming to enable the animals to avoid it. A few groups have statocysts - fluid-filled chambers containing a small, solid particle or, in a few groups, two. These statocysts are thought to function as balance and acceleration sensors, as they perform the same way in cnidarian medusae and in ctenophores. However, turbellarian statocysts have no sensory cilia, so the way they sense the movements and positions of solid particles is unknown. On the other hand, most have ciliated touch-sensor cells scattered over their bodies, especially on tentacles and around the edges. Specialized cells in pits or grooves on the head are most likely smell sensors.Planarians, a subgroup of seriates, are famous for their ability to regenerate if divided by cuts across their bodies. Experiments show that (in fragments that do not already have a head) a new head grows most quickly on those fragments which were originally located closest to the original head. This suggests the growth of a head is controlled by a chemical whose concentration diminishes throughout the organism, from head to tail. Many turbellarians clone themselves by transverse or longitudinal division, whilst others, reproduce by budding.The vast majority of turbellarians are hermaphrodites (they have both female and male reproductive cells) which fertilize eggs internally by copulation. Some of the larger aquatic species mate by penis fencing – a duel in which each tries to impregnate the other, and the loser adopts the female role of developing the eggs. In most species, "miniature adults" emerge when the eggs hatch, but a few large species produce plankton-like larvae.
+
+Trematoda
+These parasites' name refers to the cavities in their holdfasts (Greek τρῆμα, hole), which resemble suckers and anchor them within their hosts. The skin of all species is a syncitium, which is a layer of cells that shares a single external membrane. Trematodes are divided into two groups, Digenea and Aspidogastrea (also known as Aspodibothrea).
+
+Digenea
+These are often called flukes, as most have flat rhomboid shapes like that of a flounder (Old English flóc). There are about 11,000 species, more than all other platyhelminthes combined, and second only to roundworms among parasites on metazoans. Adults usually have two holdfasts: a ring around the mouth and a larger sucker midway along what would be the underside in a free-living flatworm.
+Although the name "Digeneans" means "two generations", most have very complex life cycles with up to seven stages, depending on what combinations of environments the early stages encounter – the most important factor being whether the eggs are deposited on land or in water. The intermediate stages transfer the parasites from one host to another. The definitive host in which adults develop is a land vertebrate; the earliest host of juvenile stages is usually a snail that may live on land or in water, whilst in many cases, a fish or arthropod is the second host. For example, the adjoining illustration shows the life cycle of the intestinal fluke metagonimus, which hatches in the intestine of a snail, then moves to a fish where it penetrates the body and encysts in the flesh, then migrating to the small intestine of a land animal that eats the fish raw, finally generating eggs that are excreted and ingested by snails, thereby completing the cycle. A similar life cycle occurs with Opisthorchis viverrini, which is found in South East Asia and can infect the liver of humans, causing Cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). Schistosomes, which cause the devastating tropical disease bilharzia, also belong to this group.Adults range between 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) and 6 mm (0.24 in) in length. Individual adult digeneans are of a single sex, and in some species slender females live in enclosed grooves that run along the bodies of the males, partially emerging to lay eggs. In all species the adults have complex reproductive systems, capable of producing between 10,000 and 100,000 times as many eggs as a free-living flatworm. In addition, the intermediate stages that live in snails reproduce asexually.Adults of different species infest different parts of the definitive host - for example the intestine, lungs, large blood vessels, and liver. The adults use a relatively large, muscular pharynx to ingest cells, cell fragments, mucus, body fluids or blood. In both the adult and snail-inhabiting stages, the external syncytium absorbs dissolved nutrients from the host. Adult digeneans can live without oxygen for long periods.
+
+Aspidogastrea
+Members of this small group have either a single divided sucker or a row of suckers that cover the underside. They infest the guts of bony or cartilaginous fish, turtles, or the body cavities of marine and freshwater bivalves and gastropods. Their eggs produce ciliated swimming larvae, and the life cycle has one or two hosts.
+
+Cercomeromorpha
+These parasites attach themselves to their hosts by means of disks that bear crescent-shaped hooks. They are divided into the Monogenea and Cestoda groupings.
+
+Monogenea
+Of about 1,100 species of monogeneans, most are external parasites that require particular host species - mainly fish, but in some cases amphibians or aquatic reptiles. However, a few are internal parasites. Adult monogeneans have large attachment organs at the rear, known as haptors (Greek ἅπτειν, haptein, means "catch"), which have suckers, clamps, and hooks. They often have flattened bodies. In some species, the pharynx secretes enzymes to digest the host's skin, allowing the parasite to feed on blood and cellular debris. Others graze externally on mucus and flakes of the hosts' skins. The name "Monogenea" is based on the fact that these parasites have only one nonlarval generation.
+
+Cestoda
+These are often called tapeworms because of their flat, slender but very long bodies – the name "cestode" is derived from the Latin word cestus, which means "tape". The adults of all 3,400 cestode species are internal parasites. Cestodes have no mouths or guts, and the syncitial skin absorbs nutrients – mainly carbohydrates and amino acids – from the host, and also disguises it chemically to avoid attacks by the host's immune system. Shortage of carbohydrates in the host's diet stunts the growth of parasites and may even kill them. Their metabolisms generally use simple but inefficient chemical processes, compensating for this inefficiency by consuming large amounts of food relative to their physical size.In the majority of species, known as eucestodes ("true tapeworms"), the neck produces a chain of segments called proglottids via a process known as strobilation. As a result, the most mature proglottids are furthest from the scolex. Adults of Taenia saginata, which infests humans, can form proglottid chains over 20 metres (66 ft) long, although 4 metres (13 ft) is more typical. Each proglottid has both male and female reproductive organs. If the host's gut contains two or more adults of the same cestode species they generally fertilize each other, however, proglottids of the same worm can fertilize each other and even themselves. When the eggs are fully developed, the proglottids separate and are excreted by the host. The eucestode life cycle is less complex than that of digeneans, but varies depending on the species. For example:
+
+Adults of Diphyllobothrium infest fish, and the juveniles use copepod crustaceans as intermediate hosts. Excreted proglottids release their eggs into the water where the eggs hatch into ciliated, swimming larvae. If a larva is swallowed by a copepod, it sheds the cilia and the skin becomes a syncitium; the larva then makes its way into the copepod's hemocoel (an internal cavity which is the central part of the circulatory system) where it attaches itself using three small hooks. If the copepod is eaten by a fish, the larva metamorphoses into a small, unsegmented tapeworm, drills through to the gut and grows into an adult.
+Various species of Taenia infest the guts of humans, cats and dogs. The juveniles use herbivores – such as pigs, cattle and rabbits – as intermediate hosts. Excreted proglottids release eggs that stick to grass leaves and hatch after being swallowed by a herbivore. The larva then makes its way to the herbivore's muscle tissue, where it metamorphoses into an oval worm about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long, with a scolex that is kept internally. When the definitive host eats infested raw or undercooked meat from an intermediate host, the worm's scolex pops out and attaches itself to the gut, when the adult tapeworm develops.Members of the smaller group known as Cestodaria have no scolex, do not produce proglottids, and have body shapes similar to those of diageneans. Cestodarians parasitize fish and turtles.
+
+Classification and evolutionary relationships
+The relationships of Platyhelminthes to other Bilateria are shown in the phylogenetic tree:
+The internal relationships of Platyhelminthes are shown below. The tree is not fully resolved.
+The oldest confidently identified parasitic flatworm fossils are cestode eggs found in a Permian shark coprolite, but helminth hooks still attached to Devonian acanthodians and placoderms might also represent parasitic flatworms with simple life cycles. The oldest known free-living platyhelminth specimen is a fossil preserved in Eocene age Baltic amber and placed in the monotypic species Micropalaeosoma balticus, whilst the oldest subfossil specimens are schistosome eggs discovered in ancient Egyptian mummies. The Platyhelminthes have very few synapomorphies - distinguishing features that all Platyhelminthes (but no other animals) exhibit. This makes it difficult to work out their relationships with other groups of animals, as well as the relationships between different groups that are described as members of the Platyhelminthes.The "traditional" view before the 1990s was that Platyhelminthes formed the sister group to all the other bilaterians, which include, for instance, arthropods, molluscs, annelids and chordates. Since then, molecular phylogenetics, which aims to work out evolutionary "family trees" by comparing different organisms' biochemicals such as DNA, RNA and proteins, has radically changed scientists' view of evolutionary relationships between animals. Detailed morphological analyses of anatomical features in the mid-1980s, as well as molecular phylogenetics analyses since 2000 using different sections of DNA, agree that Acoelomorpha, consisting of Acoela (traditionally regarded as very simple "turbellarians") and Nemertodermatida (another small group previously classified as "turbellarians") are the sister group to all other bilaterians, including the rest of the Platyhelminthes. However, a 2007 study concluded that Acoela and Nemertodermatida were two distinct groups of bilaterians, although it agreed that both are more closely related to cnidarians (jellyfish, etc.) than other bilaterians are.Xenoturbella, a bilaterian whose only well-defined organ is a statocyst, was originally classified as a "primitive turbellarian". Later studies suggested it may instead be a deuterostome, but more detailed molecular phylogenetics have led to its classification as sister-group to the Acoelomorpha.The Platyhelminthes excluding Acoelomorpha contain two main groups - Catenulida and Rhabditophora - both of which are generally agreed to be monophyletic (each contains all and only the descendants of an ancestor that is a member of the same group). Early molecular phylogenetics analyses of the Catenulida and Rhabditophora left uncertainties about whether these could be combined in a single monophyletic group; a study in 2008 concluded that they could, therefore Platyhelminthes could be redefined as Catenulida plus Rhabditophora, excluding the Acoelomorpha.Other molecular phylogenetics analyses agree the redefined Platyhelminthes are most closely related to Gastrotricha, and both are part of a grouping known as Platyzoa. Platyzoa are generally agreed to be at least closely related to the Lophotrochozoa, a superphylum that includes molluscs and annelid worms. The majority view is that Platyzoa are part of Lophotrochozoa, but a significant minority of researchers regard Platyzoa as a sister group of Lophotrochozoa.It has been agreed since 1985 that each of the wholly parasitic platyhelminth groups (Cestoda, Monogenea and Trematoda) is monophyletic, and that together these form a larger monophyletic grouping, the Neodermata, in which the adults of all members have syncytial skins. However, there is debate about whether the Cestoda and Monogenea can be combined as an intermediate monophyletic group, the Cercomeromorpha, within the Neodermata. It is generally agreed that the Neodermata are a sub-group a few levels down in the "family tree" of the Rhabditophora. Hence the traditional sub-phylum "Turbellaria" is paraphyletic, since it does not include the Neodermata although these are descendants of a sub-group of "turbellarians".
+
+Evolution
+An outline of the origins of the parasitic lifestyle has been proposed; epithelial feeding monopisthocotyleans on fish hosts are basal in the Neodermata and were the first shift to parasitism from free living ancestors. The next evolutionary step was a dietary change from epithelium to blood. The last common ancestor of Digenea + Cestoda was monogenean and most likely sanguinivorous.
+The earliest known fossils confidently classified as tapeworms have been dated to 270 million years ago, after being found in coprolites (fossilised faeces) from an elasmobranch. Putative older fossils include a ribbon-shaped, bilaterally symmetrical organism named Rugosusivitta orthogonia from the Early Cambrian of China, brownish bodies on the bedding planes reported from the Late Ordovician (Katian) Vauréal Formation (Canada) by Knaust & Desrochers (2019), tentatively interpreted as turbellarians (though the authors cautioned that they might ultimately turn out to be fossils of acoelomorphs or nemerteans) and circlets of fossil hooks preserved with placoderm and acanthodian fossils from the Devonian of Latvia, at least some of which might represent parasitic monogeneans.
+
+Interaction with humans
+Parasitism
+Cestodes (tapeworms) and digeneans (flukes) cause diseases in humans and their livestock, whilst monogeneans can cause serious losses of stocks in fish farms. Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia or snail fever, is the second-most devastating parasitic disease in tropical countries, behind malaria. The Carter Center estimated 200 million people in 74 countries are infected with the disease, and half the victims live in Africa. The condition has a low mortality rate, but usually presents as a chronic illness that can damage internal organs. It can impair the growth and cognitive development of children, increasing the risk of bladder cancer in adults. The disease is caused by several flukes of the genus Schistosoma, which can bore through human skin; those most at risk use infected bodies of water for recreation or laundry.In 2000, an estimated 45 million people were infected with the beef tapeworm Taenia saginata and 3 million with the pork tapeworm Taenia solium. Infection of the digestive system by adult tapeworms causes abdominal symptoms that, whilst unpleasant, are seldom disabling or life-threatening. However, neurocysticercosis resulting from penetration of T. solium larvae into the central nervous system is the major cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide. In 2000, about 39 million people were infected with trematodes (flukes) that naturally parasitize fish and crustaceans, but can pass to humans who eat raw or lightly cooked seafood. Infection of humans by the broad fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum occasionally causes vitamin B12 deficiency and, in severe cases, megaloblastic anemia.The threat to humans in developed countries is rising as a result of social trends: the increase in organic farming, which uses manure and sewage sludge rather than artificial fertilizers, spreads parasites both directly and via the droppings of seagulls which feed on manure and sludge; the increasing popularity of raw or lightly cooked foods; imports of meat, seafood and salad vegetables from high-risk areas; and, as an underlying cause, reduced awareness of parasites compared with other public health issues such as pollution. In less-developed countries, inadequate sanitation and the use of human feces (night soil) as fertilizer or to enrich fish farm ponds continues to spread parasitic platyhelminths, whilst poorly designed water-supply and irrigation projects have provided additional channels for their spread. People in these countries usually cannot afford the cost of fuel required to cook food thoroughly enough to kill parasites. Controlling parasites that infect humans and livestock has become more difficult, as many species have become resistant to drugs that used to be effective, mainly for killing juveniles in meat. While poorer countries still struggle with unintentional infection, cases have been reported of intentional infection in the US by dieters who are desperate for rapid weight-loss.
+
+Pests
+There is concern in northwest Europe (including the British Isles) regarding the possible proliferation of the New Zealand planarian Arthurdendyus triangulatus and the Australian flatworm Australoplana sanguinea, both of which prey on earthworms. A. triangulatus is thought to have reached Europe in containers of plants imported by botanical gardens.
+
+Benefits
+In Hawaii, the planarian Endeavouria septemlineata has been used to control the imported giant African snail Achatina fulica, which was displacing native snails; Platydemus manokwari, another planarian, has been used for the same purpose in Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea and Guam. Although A. fulica has declined sharply in Hawaii, there are doubts about how much E. septemlineata contributed to this decline. However, P. manokwari is given credit for severely reducing, and in places exterminating, A. fulica – achieving much greater success than most biological pest control programs, which generally aim for a low, stable population of the pest species. The ability of planarians to take different kinds of prey and to resist starvation may account for their ability to decimate A. fulica. However, these planarians are a serious threat to native snails and should never be used for biological control.A study in La Plata, Argentina, shows the potential for planarians such as Girardia anceps, Mesostoma ehrenbergii, and Bothromesostoma evelinae to reduce populations of the mosquito species Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens. The experiment showed that G. anceps in particular can prey on all instars of both mosquito species yet maintain a steady predation rate over time. The ability of these flatworms to live in artificial containers demonstrated the potential of placing these species in popular mosquito breeding sites, which would ideally reduce the amount of mosquito-borne disease.
+
+See also
+Miracidium
+Regenerative medicine
+Schistosoma
+
+References
+Further reading
+Campbell, Neil A. (1996). Biology (Fourth ed.). New York: Benjamin/Cummings Publishing. p. 599. ISBN 0-8053-1957-3.
+Crawley, John L.; van de Graff, Kent M., eds. (2002). A Photographic Atlas for the Zoology Laboratory (Fourth ed.). Colorado: Morton Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89582-613-5.
+The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (6th ed.). Columbia University Press. 2004. Retrieved 8 February 2005.
+Evers, Christine A.; Starr, Lisa (2006). Biology: Concepts and Applications (6th ed.). United States: Thomson. ISBN 0-534-46224-3.
+Saló, E.; Pineda, D.; Marsal, M.; Gonzalez, J.; Gremigni, V.; Batistoni, R. (2002). "Genetic network of the eye in Platyhelminthes: Expression and functional analysis of some players during planarian regeneration". Gene. 287 (1–2): 67–74. doi:10.1016/S0378-1119(01)00863-0. PMID 11992724.
+
+External links
+
+"Marine flatworms of the world".
+"Phylum Platyhelminthes".
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+The fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, it is sometimes mistaken for American red squirrels or eastern gray squirrels in areas where the species co-exist.
+
+Description
+The fox squirrel's total length measures 20 to 30 in (50.8 to 76.2 cm), with a body length of 10 to 15 in (25.4 to 38.1 cm) and a similar tail length. They range in weight from 1.0 to 2.5 pounds (453.6 to 1,134.0 g). There is no sexual dimorphism in size or appearance. Individuals tend to be smaller in the West. There are three distinct geographical morphs in coloration: In most areas, the animal's upper body is brown-grey to brown-yellow with a typically brownish-orange underside, while in eastern regions, such as the Appalachians, there are more strikingly-patterned dark brown and black squirrels with white bands on the face and tail. In the South, there are isolated communities with uniform black coats. To help with climbing, the squirrels have sharp claws, developed extensors of digits and flexors of forearms, and abdominal musculature. Fox squirrels have excellent vision and well-developed senses of hearing and smell. They use scent-marking to communicate with other fox squirrels. "Fox squirrels also have several sets of vibrissae, hairs or whiskers that are used as touch receptors to sense the environment. These are found above and below their eyes, on their chin and nose, and on each forearm." The dental formula of S. niger is 1.0.1.31.0.1.3 × 2 = 20.
+
+Distribution
+The fox squirrel's natural range extends through most of the eastern United States, north into the southern prairie provinces of Canada, and west to the Dakotas, Colorado, and Texas. They are absent (except for vagrants) in New England, New Jersey, most of New York, northern and eastern Pennsylvania, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces of Canada. They have been introduced to both northern and southern California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and New Mexico, as well as Ontario and British Columbia in Canada. While very versatile in their habitat choices, fox squirrels are most often found in forest patches of 40 hectares or less with an open understory, or in urban neighborhoods with trees. They thrive best among oak, hickory, walnut, pecan and pine trees, storing their nuts for winter. Western range extensions in Great Plains regions such as Kansas are associated with riverine corridors of cottonwood. A subspecies native to several eastern U.S. states is the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel (S. n. cinereus).
+
+Invasiveness
+In Europe, Sciurus niger has been included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.
+
+Habitat
+Fox squirrels are most abundant in open forest stands with little understory vegetation; they are not found in stands with dense undergrowth. Ideal habitat is small stands of large trees interspersed with agricultural land. The size and spacing of pines and oaks are among the important features of fox squirrel habitat. The actual species of pines and oaks themselves may not always be a major consideration in defining fox squirrel habitat. Fox squirrels are often observed foraging on the ground several hundred meters from the nearest woodlot. Fox squirrels also commonly occupy forest edge habitat.Fox squirrels have two types of shelters: leaf nests (dreys) and tree dens. They may have two tree cavity homes or a tree cavity and a leaf nest. Tree dens are preferred over leaf nests during the winter and for raising young. When den trees are scarce, leaf nests are used year-round. Leaf nests are built during the summer months in forks of deciduous trees about 30 feet (9 m) above the ground. Fox squirrels use natural cavities and crotches (forked branches of a tree) as tree dens. Den trees in Ohio had an average diameter at breast height (d.b.h.) of 21 inches (53 cm) and were an average of 58.6 yards (53.6 m) from the nearest woodland border. About 88% of den trees in eastern Texas had an average d.b.h. (diameter at breast height) of 12 inches (30 cm) or more. Dens are usually 6 inches (15 cm) wide and 14–16 inches (36–41 cm) inches deep. Den openings are generally circular and about 2.9 to 3.7 inches (7.4 to 9.4 cm). Fox squirrels may make their own den in a hollow tree by cutting through the interior; however, they generally use natural cavities or cavities created by northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) or red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Crow nests have also been used by fox squirrels.Fox squirrels use leaf nests or tree cavities for shelter and litter rearing. Forest stands dominated by mature to over-mature trees provide cavities and a sufficient number of sites for leaf nests to meet the cover requirements. Overstory trees with an average d.b.h. of 15 inches (38 cm) or more generally provide adequate cover and reproductive habitat. Optimum tree canopy closure for fox squirrels is from 20% to 60%. Optimum conditions of understory closure occur when the shrub-crown closure is 30% or less.Fox squirrels are tolerant of human proximity, and even thrive in crowded urban and suburban environments. They exploit human habitations for sources of food and nesting sites, being as happy nesting in an attic as they are in a hollow tree.
+
+Diet
+Food habits of fox squirrels depend largely on geographic location. In general, fox squirrel foods include mast, tree buds, insects, tubers, bulbs, roots, bird eggs, pine nuts and spring-fruiting trees, and fungi. Agricultural crops such as corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, and fruit are also eaten. Mast eaten by fox squirrels commonly includes turkey oak (Quercus laevis), southern red oak (Quercus falcata), blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica), bluejack oak (Quercus incana), post oak (Quercus stellata), and live oak (Quercus virginiana).In Illinois, fox squirrels rely heavily on hickories from late August through September. Pecans, black walnuts (Juglans nigra), osage orange (Maclura pomifera) fruits, and corn are also important fall foods. In early spring, elm buds and seeds are the most important food. In May and June, mulberries (Morus spp.) are heavily used. By early summer, corn in the milk stage becomes a primary food.During the winter in Kansas, osage orange is a staple item supplemented with seeds of the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), corn, wheat, eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides var. deltoides) bark, ash seeds, and eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) berries. In the spring, fox squirrels feed primarily on buds of elm, maple, and oaks but also on newly sprouting leaves and insect larvae.Fox squirrels in Ohio prefer hickory nuts, acorns, corn, and black walnuts. The squirrels are absent where two or more of these mast trees are missing. Fox squirrels also eat buckeyes, seeds and buds of maple and elm, hazelnuts (Corylus spp.), blackberries (Rubus spp.), and tree bark. In March, they feed mainly on buds and seeds of elm, maple, and willow. In Ohio, eastern fox squirrels have the following order of food preference: white oak (Quercus alba) acorns, black oak (Quercus velutina) acorns, red oak (Quercus rubra) acorns, walnuts, and corn.In eastern Texas, fox squirrels prefer the acorns of bluejack oak, pecans, southern red oak (Q. falcata), and overcup oak (Q. lyrata). The least preferred foods are acorns of swamp chestnut oak (Q. michauxii) and overcup oak. In California, fox squirrels feed on English walnuts (J. regia), oranges, avocados, strawberries, and tomatoes. In midwinter, they feed on eucalyptus seeds.In Michigan, fox squirrels feed on a variety of foods throughout the year. Spring foods are mainly tree buds and flowers, insects, bird eggs, and seeds of red maple (Acer rubrum), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and elms. Summer foods include a variety of berries, plum and cherry pits, fruits of basswood (Tilia americana), fruits of box elder (Acer negundo), black oak acorns, hickory nuts, seeds of sugar (Acer saccharum) and black maple (Acer nigrum), grains, insects, and unripe corn. Autumn foods consist mainly of acorns, hickory nuts, beechnuts, walnuts, butternuts (Juglans cinerea), and hazelnuts. Caches of acorns and hickory nuts are heavily used in winter.
+
+Behavior
+Fox squirrels are strictly diurnal, non-territorial, and spend more of their time on the ground than most other tree squirrels. They are still, however, agile climbers. They construct two types of homes called "dreys", depending on the season. Summer dreys are often little more than platforms of sticks high in the branches of trees, while winter dens are usually hollowed out of tree trunks by a succession of occupants over as many as 30 years. Cohabitation of these dens is not uncommon, particularly among breeding pairs.
+Fox squirrels will form caches by burying food items for later consumption. They like to store foods that are shelled and high in fat, such as acorns and nuts. Shelled foods are favored because they are less likely to spoil than non-shelled foods, and fatty foods are valued for their high energy density.Fox squirrels are not particularly gregarious or playful; in fact, they have been described as solitary and asocial creatures, coming together only in breeding season.  They have a large vocabulary, consisting most notably of an assortment of clucking and chucking sounds, not unlike some "game" birds, and they warn of approaching threats with distress screams. In the spring and autumn, groups of fox squirrels clucking and chucking together can make a small ruckus. They also make high-pitched whines during mating. When threatening another fox squirrel, they will stand upright with their tail over their back and flick it.Fox squirrels are impressive jumpers, easily spanning 15 feet in horizontal leaps and free-falling 20 feet or more to a soft landing on a tree limb or tree trunk.
+
+Reproduction
+Female fox squirrels come into estrus in mid-December or early January, then again in June. They normally produce two litters a year; however, yearling females may only produce one. Females become sexually mature at 10 to 11 months of age and usually produce their first litter when they are 1 year old.Gestation occurs over a period of 44 to 45 days. The earliest litters appear in late January; most births occur in mid-March and July. The average litter size is three, but can vary according to season and food conditions.Tree cavities, usually those formed by woodpeckers, are remodeled into winter dens and often serve as nurseries for late winter litters. If existing trees lack cavities, leaf nests known as dreys are built by cutting twigs with leaves and weaving them into warm, waterproof shelters. Similar leafy platforms are built for summer litters and are often referred to as "cooling beds."Fox squirrels, like other tree squirrels, develop slowly compared to other rodents. At birth, the young are blind, without fur and helpless. Their eyes open at 4 to 5 weeks and their ears open at 6 weeks. Fox squirrels are weaned between 12 and 14 weeks, but may not be self-supporting until 16 weeks. Juveniles usually disperse in September or October, but may den either together or with their mother during their first winter.
+
+Mortality
+In captivity, fox squirrels have been known to live 18 years, but in the wild most fox squirrels die before they become adults. Their maximum life expectancy is typically 12.6 years for females and 8.6 years for males. Because of overhunting and the destruction of mature forests, many subspecies of fox squirrel are endangered. Another major cause of fox squirrel population decline is mange mites (Cnemidoptes spp.) along with severe winter weather.Relatively few natural predators can regularly capture adult fox squirrels. Of these predators, most only take fox squirrels opportunistically. Predators include bobcats (Lynx rufus), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus), great horned owls (Bubo virginianus), barred owls (Strix varia), and coyotes (Canis latrans). Former predators extirpated from most of the fox squirrel's range include cougars (Puma concolor) and wolves (Canis lupus). Nestlings and young fox squirrels are particularly vulnerable to climbing predators such as raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossums (Didelphis virginiana), rat snakes (Pantherophis spp.), and pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus). In those states where fox squirrels are not protected, they are considered a game animal.  Fox squirrels were an important source of meat for European settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries. They are still hunted over most of their range.
+
+See also
+Mexican fox squirrel
+Eastern gray squirrel
+Western gray squirrel
+
+References
+This article incorporates public domain material from Sciurus niger. United States Department of Agriculture.
+
+External links
+
+"Sciurus niger". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2006-03-26.
+Enature treatment: Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
+American Society of Mammalogists: Mammalian species account of Sciurus niger
+Smithsonian: Eastern Fox Squirrel article
+Digimorph: 3D visualization of a Fox Squirrel skull
+The Squirrel Project—UIC study of territorial interleavings of Grey and Fox Squirrels, in urban Chicago
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/frilled lizard.txt b/data/animals/frilled lizard.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d390b6ef18df491473ed737981cf7216e22e0654
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+++ b/data/animals/frilled lizard.txt	
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+The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also known as the frillneck lizard, frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. This species is the only member of the genus Chlamydosaurus. Its common names come from the large frill around its neck, which usually stays folded against the lizard's body. It reaches 90 cm (35 in) from head to tail and can weigh 600 g (1.3 lb). Males are larger and more robust than females. The lizard's body is generally grey, brown, orangish-brown, or black in colour. The frills have red, orange, yellow, or white colours.
+The frilled lizard is largely arboreal, spending most of its time in trees. Its diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates. It is more active during the wet season, when it spends more time near or on the ground. It is less observed during the dry season, during which it seeks shade in the branches of the upper canopy. It breeds in the late dry season and early wet season. The lizard uses its frill to scare off predators and display to other individuals. The species is considered to be of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
+
+Taxonomy
+British zoologist John Edward Gray described the frilled lizard in 1825 as Clamydosaurus kingii. He used a specimen collected by botanist Allan Cunningham at Careening Bay, off north-western Australia, while part of an expedition conducted by Captain Phillip Parker King in HMS Mermaid. The generic name, Chlamydosaurus, is derived from the Ancient Greek chlamydo (χλαμύς), meaning "cloaked" or "mantled", and Latin saurus (sauros), meaning "lizard". The specific name, kingii, is a Latinised form of King. It is the only species classified in its genus.The frilled lizard is classified in the family Agamidae and the subfamily Amphibolurinae. It split from its closest living relatives around 10 million years ago based on genetic evidence. A 2017 mitochondrial DNA analysis of the species across its range revealed three lineages demarcated by the Ord River and the southeast corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria (Carpentarian Gap). One lineage ranged across Queensland and southern New Guinea and is sister to one that ranged from western Queensland to the Ord River. The ancestor of these two split from a lineage that populates the Kimberley. Frilled lizards entered southern New Guinea possibly around 17,000 years ago during a glacial cycle, when sea levels were lower and a land bridge connected the island to Cape York. The study upholds C. kingii as one species with the different populations being "shallow allopatric clades".The following cladogram is based on Pyron and colleagues (2013).
+
+Description
+The frilled lizard grows to a total length of around 90 centimetres (35 in) and a head-body length of 27 cm (11 in), and weighs up to 600 g (1.3 lb). It has a particularly large and wide head; a long neck to accommodate the frill; long legs and a tail that makes most of its total length. The species is sexually dimorphic, males being larger than females and having proportionally bigger frills, heads and jaws. The corners of the frilled lizard's eyes are pointed and the rounded nostrils face away from each other and angle downwards. Most of the lizard's scales are keeled, having a ridge down the centre. From the backbone to the sides, the scales alternate between small and large.The distinctive frill is a flap of skin that extends from the head and neck and contains several folded ridges. When fully extended, the frill is disc-shaped and can reach over four times the length of the animal's torso in diameter. Otherwise it wraps around the body. The frill is laterally symmetrical; the right and left sides are attached at the bottom in a V-shape, and cartilage-like connective tissue (Grey's cartilage) connects the top ends to each side of the head near the ear openings. The frill is supported by rod-like hyoid bones, and is spread out by movements of these bones, the lower jaw and Grey's cartilage. This structure mainly functions as a threat display to predators and for communication between individuals. It can also act as camouflage when folded, but this is unlikely to have been a consequence of selection pressure. The frill may be capable of working like a directional microphone, allowing them to better hear sounds directly in front of them but not around them. There is no evidence for other suggested functions, such as food storage, gliding or temperature regulation.
+Frilled lizards vary between grey, brown, orangish-brown, and black dorsally, the underside being paler white or yellow. Males have a dark belly but a lighter chest. The underside and lateral sides of the species are sprinkled with dark brown markings that merge to create bands on the tail. The colours of the frills vary based on range; lizards west of the Ord River have red-coloured frills, those living between the river and the Carpentarian Gap have orange frills, and those east of the gap have yellow to white frills. New Guinean frilled lizards are yellow-frilled. The more colourful frills have white patches which may add to the display. Colouration is mainly created by carotenoids and pteridine pigments; lizards with red and orange frills have more carotenoids than those with yellow and white frills, the latter two are also lacking in pteridines. Yellow colouration has been linked to higher steroid hormones. Among western lizards, the amount of red or orange colouring correlates with success in display competitions between males of similar size.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The frilled lizard inhabits northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Its Australian range stretches from the Kimberley region of Western Australia east through the Top End of the Northern Territory to Queensland's Cape York Peninsula and nearby islands of Muralug, Badu, and Moa, and south to Brisbane. In New Guinea, it lives in the Trans-Fly ecosystem on both the Papua New Guinean and Indonesian sides of the island. The species mainly inhabits savannahs and sclerophyll woodlands. It prefers highly elevated areas with good soil drainage and a greater variety of tree species, mostly Eucalyptus species, and avoids lower plains with mostly Melaleuca and Pandanus trees. Frilled lizards also prefer areas with less vegetation on the ground, as they can then better spot prey from above.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+The frilled lizard is a diurnal (daytime) and arboreal species, spending over 90% each day up in the trees. It spends as little time on the ground as possible, mostly to feed, interact socially, or to travel to a new tree. Males move around more, 69 m (75 yd) per day on average versus 23 m (25 yd) for females at Kakadu National Park. In the same area, male lizards were found to have an average home range of 1.96 ha (4.8 acres) during the dry season and 2.53 ha (6.3 acres) during the wet season; females used 0.63 ha (1.6 acres) and 0.68 ha (1.7 acres) for the wet and dry seasons, respectively. Male lizards assert their boundaries with frill displays. Frilled lizards are capable of moving bipedally and do so while hunting or to escape from predators. To keep balanced, they lean their heads far back enough, so it lines up behind the tail base.These lizards are more active during the wet season, when they select smaller trees and are more commonly seen near the ground; during the dry season, they use larger trees and are found at greater heights. Frilled lizards do not enter torpidity during the dry season, but they can greatly reduce their energy usage and metabolic rate in response to less food and water. Body temperatures can approach 40 °C (104 °F). The species will bask vertically on the main tree trunk in the morning and near the end of the day, though in the dry season they cease basking at a lower body temperature to better maintain energy and water. When it gets hotter during day, they climb higher in the canopy for shade. Frilled lizards will use large trees and termite mounds as refuges during wildfires. After a forest is burnt, the lizards select trees with more continuous canopies.
+Frilled lizards primarily feed on insects and other invertebrates, and very rarely take vertebrates. Prominent prey includes termites, ants and centipedes; termites are particularly important food during the dry season, and moth larvae become important during the wet season. Consumption of ants drops after early dry season fires but rises following fires later in the season. This species is a sit-and-wait predator: it watches for potential prey from a tree and, upon seeing it, climbs down and rushes towards it on two legs before descending on all four to grab and eat it. After feeding, it retreats back up a tree.Frilled lizards face threats from birds of prey and larger lizards and snakes. When threatened, the species erects its frill to make itself look bigger. This display is accompanied by a gaping mouth, puffing, hissing, and tail lashes. The lizard may also flee and hide from its predators. Several species of nematode infest the gastrointestinal tract. There is at least one record of an individual dying of cryptosporidiosis.Frilled lizards can breed during the late dry and early wet seasons. Competing males display with gaping mouths and spread frills. Fights can ensue, in which the lizards pounce and bite each other's heads. The female digs a shallow cavity to leave her eggs. They can lay multiple clutches per season, and the number of eggs in a clutch can vary from four to over 20. The incubation period can last two to four months, with milder temperatures producing more males and more extreme temperatures producing more females. Hatchlings have proportionally smaller frills than adults. Lizards grow during the wet season when food is more abundant, and males grow faster than females. Juvenile males also disperse further from their hatching area. The species reaches sexual maturity within two years; males live up to six years compared to four years for females.
+
+Conservation
+The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the frilled lizard as of least concern, due to its abundance and wide range, but warns that its population may be locally declining in some areas. It is a popular species in the pet trade, which may threaten some wild populations. Most pet lizards appear to come from Indonesia, as export of them is banned in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Being difficult to breed in captivity, many presumed captive bred lizards are likely to have been taken from the wild. Frilled lizards may also be threatened by feral cats, though they do not appear to be significantly affected by the invasive cane toad. Nevertheless, the Indonesian government themselves have allocated the frilled lizard as a protected species under the Article 20 of the Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation On Types of Protected Plants and Animals.
+
+Relationship with humans
+The frilled lizard is considered to be among the most iconic Australian animals along with the kangaroo and koala. Archaeological evidence indicates that frilled lizards were eaten by some indigenous peoples in ancient times. In the late 19th century, William Saville-Kent brought a live lizard to England where it was observed by fellow biologists. Another specimen was kept at a reptile display in Paris, as reptiles were becoming more popular in captivity.Because of its unique appearance and behaviour, the creature has often been used in media. In Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park, the dinosaur Dilophosaurus was portrayed with a similar neck frill that rose when attacking. Its image has been used in the 1994 LGBT-themed film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The species has been featured on some Australian coins.
+
+
+== References ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/gar.txt b/data/animals/gar.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a5a897e7fa848e5e8c452d816ba5ce12791f22bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/gar.txt
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+Gars are an ancient group of ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. They comprise seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine waters of eastern North America, Central America and Cuba in the Caribbean, though extinct members of the family were more widespread. They are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, a clade of fish which first appeared during the Triassic, over 240 million years ago, and are one of only two surviving groups of holosteian fish, alongside the bowfins, which have a similar distribution.Gars have elongated bodies that are heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. Gars are sometimes referred to as "garpike", but are not closely related to pike, which are in the fish family Esocidae. All of the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) is the largest; the alligator gar often grows to a length over 2 m (6.5 ft) and a weight over 45 kg (100 lb), and specimens of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length have been reported. Unusually, their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, and most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air. Gar flesh is edible and the hard skin and scales of gars are used by humans, but gar eggs are highly toxic.
+
+Etymology
+The name "gar" was originally used for a species of needlefish (Belone belone) found in the North Atlantic and likely took its name from the Old English word for "spear". Belone belone is now more commonly referred to as the "garfish" or "gar fish" to avoid confusion with the North American gars of the family Lepisosteidae. Confusingly, the name "garfish" is also commonly used for a number of other species of the related genera Strongylura, Tylosurus, and Xenentodon of the family Belonidae.
+The generic name Lepisosteus comes from the Greek lepis meaning "scale" and osteon meaning "bone". Atractosteus is similarly derived from Greek, in this case from atraktos, meaning arrow.
+
+Evolution
+Evolutionary history
+Gars are considered to be the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, a group of bony fish that flourished in the Mesozoic. The oldest known ginglymodians appeared during the Middle Triassic, over 240 million years ago. The closest living relatives of gars are the bowfin, with the gars and bowfin together forming the clade Holostei; both lineages diverged during the Late Permian.The closest extinct relatives of gar are the Obaichthyidae, an extinct group of gar-like fishes from the Early Cretaceous of Africa and South America, which likely diverged from the ancestors of true gars during the Late Jurassic. The oldest anatomically modern gar is Nhanulepisosteus from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Mexico, around 157 million years old. Nhanulepisosteus inhabited a marine environment unlike modern gars, indicating that gars may have originally been marine fish prior to invading freshwater habitats before the Early Cretaceous. Although most succeeding gar fossils are known from freshwater environments, at least some marine gars are known to have persisted into the Late Cretaceous, with the likely marine Herreraichthys known from Mexico and the definitely marine Grandemarinus known from Morocco.Gars diversified in western North America throughout the Early Cretaceous. Atractosteus and Lepisosteus had already diverged by the end of the Early Cretaceous, about 105 million years ago. From western North America, gars dispersed to regions as disparate as Africa, India, South America and Europe, and fossil remains of gars were widespread worldwide by the end of the Cretaceous.Several different gar genera survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, although they remained restricted to North America and Europe after this point. One species (Atractosteus grandei, a relative of the modern alligator gar) is the oldest known animal of the Cenozoic, with one fossil specimen dated to just a few thousand years after the Chicxulub impact, indicating a rapid recovery of freshwater ecosystems. Two short-snouted gar genera, Masillosteus and Cuneatus, are known from the Eocene in western North America and Europe, but disappear shortly afterwards. Lepisosteus and Atractosteus show a similar initial distribution and eventual contraction, but both genera dispersed to eastern North America prior to their disappearance from western North America and Europe, with Atractosteus also dispersing further south to the Neotropics. Eastern North America has since served as a vital refugium for gars, with Lepisosteus undergoing a diversification throughout it.
+
+Phylogeny
+The following phylogeny of extant and fossil gar genera was found by Brownstein et al. (2022):
+A slightly different phylogeny was found by Cooper et al (2023):
+
+Distribution
+Fossils indicate that gars formerly had a wider distribution, having been found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Living gars are confined to North America. The distribution of the gars in North America lies mainly in the shallow, brackish waters off of Texas, Louisiana, and the eastern coast of Mexico, as well as in some of the rivers and lakes that flow into them. A few populations are also present in the Great Lakes region of the United States, living in similar shallow waters.
+
+Anatomy
+Scales
+Gar bodies are elongated, heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. Their tails are heterocercal, and the dorsal fins are close to the tail.
+
+Swim bladder
+As their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air, doing so more frequently in stagnant or warm water when the concentration of oxygen in the water is low. Experiments on the swim bladder has shown that the temperature of the water affects which respiration method the gar will use - aerial or aquatic. They increase the aerial breathing rate (breathing air) as the temperature of the water is increased. Gars can live completely submerged in oxygenated water without access to air and remain healthy while also being able to survive in deoxygenated water if allowed access to air. This adaptation can be the result of environmental pressures and behavioral factors. As a result of this organ, they are extremely resilient and able to tolerate conditions that most other fish could not survive.
+
+Pectoral girdle
+The gar has paired pectoral fins and pelvic fins, as well as an anal fin, a caudal fin, and a dorsal fin. The bone structures within the fins are important to study as they can show homology throughout the fossil record. Specifically, the pelvic girdle resembles that of other actinopterygians while still having some of its own characteristics. Gars have a postcleithrun - which is a bone that is lateral to the scapula, but do not have postpectorals. Proximally to the postcleithrum, the supracleithrum is important as it plays a critical role in opening the gar's jaws. This structure has a unique internal coracoid lamina only present in the gar species. Near the supracleithrum is the posttemporal bone, which is significantly smaller than other actinopterygians. Gars also have no clavicle bone, although elongated plates have been observed within the area.
+
+Morphology
+All the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) is the largest. The largest alligator gar ever caught and officially recorded was 8 ft 5 in (2.6 m) long, weighed 327 lb (148 kg), and was 47 in (120 cm) around the girth. Even the smaller species, such as Lepisosteus oculatus, are large, commonly reaching lengths of over 60 cm (2.0 ft), and sometimes much longer.
+
+Ecology
+Gars tend to be slow-moving fish except when striking at their prey. They prefer the shallow and weedy areas of rivers, lakes, and bayous, often congregating in small groups. They are voracious predators, catching their prey in their needle-like teeth with a sideways strike of the head. They feed extensively on smaller fish and invertebrates such as crabs. Gars are found across much of the eastern portion of North America. Although gars are found primarily in freshwater habitats, several species enter brackish waters and a few, most notably Atractosteus tristoechus, are sometimes found in the sea. Some gars travel from lakes and rivers through sewers to get to ponds.
+
+Species and identification
+The gar family contains seven extant species, in two genera:
+Family Lepisosteidae
+
+Genus †Nhanulepisosteus Brito, Alvarado-Ortega & Meunier, 2017
+Genus †Masillosteus Micklich & Kappert, 2001
+Genus †Cuneatus Grande, 2010
+Tribe Lepisosteini
+Genus †Herreraichthys Alvarado-Ortega et al 2016
+Genus †Grandemarinus Cooper et al 2023
+Genus †Oniichthys Cavin & Brito, 2001
+Genus Atractosteus Rafinesque, 1820
+†"Atractosteus" africanus (Arambourg & Joleaud, 1943)  (nomen dubium)
+†Atractosteus grandei (Brownstein, Lyson, 2022)
+Atractosteus spatula (Lacépède, 1803) (alligator gar)
+Atractosteus tristoechus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Cuban gar)
+Atractosteus tropicus Gill, 1863 (tropical gar)
+Genus Lepisosteus Linnaeus, 1758
+†Lepisosteus bemisi Grande, 2010
+†Lepisosteus cominatoi Santos, 1984
+†Lepisosteus fimbriatus (Wood 1846)
+†Lepisosteus indicus (Woodward, 1908)
+†Lepisosteus opertus Estes, 1964
+Lepisosteus oculatus Winchell, 1864 (spotted gar)
+Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus, 1758) (longnose gar)
+Lepisosteus platostomus Rafinesque, 1820 (shortnose gar)
+Lepisosteus platyrhincus DeKay, 1842 (Florida gar)
+
+Alligator gar
+The largest member of the gar family, the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), can measure up to 10 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds. Its body and snout are wide and stocky, and it was named "alligator gar" because locals often mistook it for an alligator. The species can be found in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, the Mississippi River, Ohio, the Missouri river, and the southern drainages into Mexico. Its habitat consists of lakes and bays with slow currents. The gars grow rapidly when young and continue to grow at a slower rate after reaching adulthood. They are deep green or yellow in color. Recreational fishing of the alligator gar became popular due to its massive size and its meat is sold for food. Over five decades of overfishing have brought it close to extinction, and man-made dams have contributed to this loss by restricting the gar's access to the flood plain areas in which it spawns. Some U.S. states have enacted laws to combat overfishing, and reintroduction programs are being carried out in some states, such as Illinois, where human activity has extirpated the gar. Before being released, each gar must meet a length requirement to ensure that it has the best chance of survival in the wild. Some states, such as Texas, restrict the number of gar that may be caught in a day, the season in which they may be caught, and the equipment anglers may use to catch them. Some states also impose a minimum length requirement to prevent gar from being caught at too early an age. Scientists have found that the alligator gar can help maintain ecosystem balance by eating invasive species such as the Asian carp, and their success in a particular area can show scientists that area may also make a suitable habitat for other migratory species.
+
+Florida gar
+The Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) can be found in the Ocklockonee river, Florida, and Georgia,  and prefers muddy or sandy bottoms with bountiful vegetation. It is commonly confused with its cousin, the spotted gar. Uneven black spots cover its head, body, and fins. Green-brown scales run along the back of its body, and the scales on its underbelly are white or yellow. This coloration, which blends well with the gar's surroundings, allows it to ambush its prey. The Florida gar has no ganoid scales on its throat. Female Florida gars grow to lengths between 13 and 34 inches, bigger than their male counterparts.
+
+Spotted gar
+The spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) is a smaller species of gar, measuring just under four feet long and weighing 15 pounds on average. Like Florida gars, female spotted gars are typically larger than male spotted gars. This gar has dark spots covering its head, body, and fins. Its body is compact, and it has a shorter snout. It prefers to live in clearer shallow water with a depth of 3–5 meters, and to surround itself in foliage. Its habitat ranges from the waters of Lake Michigan, the Lake Erie Basin, the Mississippi River System, and river drainages along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the Nueces River in Texas east to the lower Apalachicola River in Florida. It shares its habitat with the alligator gar, its main predator. These smaller gar live an average of 18 years.
+
+Shortnose gar
+The shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) is found in the Mississippi River Basin, Indiana, Wisconsin, Montana, Alabama, and Louisiana. It prefers to live in lakes, swamps, and calm pools. The shortnose gar takes its name from its snout, which is shorter and broader than that of other gar species. Like the longnose gar, it has one row of teeth. The upper jaw is longer than the rest of its head. The shortnose gar is deep green or brown in color, similar to the alligator gar. Depending on the clarity of water, spots can be present on the caudal, dorsal, and anal fins. The shortnose gar has a lifespan of 20 years, reaches up to 5 pounds in weight, and grows to lengths of 24–35 inches. It consumes more invertebrates than any other gar, and their stomachs have been found to contain higher Asian carp content than any other native North American fish.
+
+Longnose gar
+The Longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) has a longer, narrower, more cylindrical body, and can be distinguished from other species of gar by its snout, which is more than twice the length of the rest of its head. It can reach up to 6 feet and 8 inches in length and weigh up to 35–80 pounds. Like the shortnose gar, it has only a single row of teeth. Unlike its relatives, it enters brackish water from time to time. Females are larger and live longer than the male longnose gar. Females live 22 years, and males about half as long. There are spots on the head, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. Depending on the water clarity, the longnose gar comes in two colors. In clear water, they're a dark deep green color. In muddy waters, it is more brown in color. Edges of the ganoid scales and in between are black. These types of gar are occasionally fished by locals, and blamed for eating other fish in the rivers. The longnose gar has a large range of territory in North America, into the Gulf of Mexico. Located in Florida, Quebec, all Great Lakes except Lake Superior, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, and northern Mexico.
+
+Roe
+The flesh of gar is edible, but its eggs contain an ichthyotoxin, a type of protein toxin which is highly toxic to humans. The protein can be denatured when brought to a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius, but as the roe's temperature does not typically reach that level when it is cooked, even cooked roe causes severe symptoms. It was once thought that the production of the toxin in gar roe was an evolutionary adaptation to provide protection for the eggs, but bluegills and channel catfish fed gar eggs in experiments remained healthy, even though they are the natural predators of the gar eggs. Crayfish fed the roe were not immune to the toxin, and most died. The roe's toxicities to humans and crayfish may be coincidences, however, and not the result of explicit natural selection.
+
+Significance to humans
+Several species are traded as aquarium fish. The hard ganoid scales of gars are sometimes used to make jewelry whereas the tough skin is used to make such items as lamp shades. Historically, Native Americans used gar scales as arrowheads, native Caribbeans used the skin for breastplates, and early American pioneers covered the blades of their plows with gar skin. Not much is known about the precise function of the gar in Native American religion and culture other than the ritual "garfish dances" that have been performed by Creek and Chickasaw tribes.
+
+References
+External links
+Family Lepisosteidae
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/garden spider.txt b/data/animals/garden spider.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/garden spider.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+Argiope aurantia is a species of spider, commonly known as the yellow garden spider, black and yellow garden spider, golden garden spider, writing spider, zigzag spider, zipper spider, black and yellow argiope, corn spider, Steeler spider, or McKinley spider. The species was first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1833. It is common to the contiguous United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. It has distinctive yellow and black markings on the abdomen and a mostly white cephalothorax. Its scientific Latin name translates to "gilded silver-face" (the genus name Argiope meaning "silver-face", while the specific epithet aurantia means "gilded"). The body length of males range from 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in); females range from 19–28 mm (0.75–1.10 in). These spiders may bite if disturbed or harassed, but the venom is harmless to non-allergic humans, roughly equivalent to a bumblebee sting in intensity.
+
+Habitat
+Yellow garden spiders often build webs in areas adjacent to open sunny fields where they stay concealed and protected from the wind. The spider can also be found along the eaves of houses and outbuildings or in any tall vegetation where they can securely stretch a web.
+Female Argiope aurantia spiders tend to be somewhat local, often staying in one place throughout much of their lifetime.
+The web of the yellow garden spider is distinctive: a circular shape up to 2 feet (60 cm) in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, in the center. The purpose of the stabilimentum is disputed. It is possible that it acts as camouflage for the spider lurking in the web's center, but it may also attract insect prey, or even warn birds of the presence of the otherwise difficult-to-see web. Only those spiders that are active during the day construct stabilimenta in their webs.
+To construct the web, several radial lines are stretched among four or five anchor points that can be more than three feet apart. The radial lines meet at a central point. The spider makes a frame with several more radial lines and then fills the center with a spiral of silk, leaving a 7.9–9.5 mm (0.31–0.37 in) gap between the spiral rings, starting with the innermost ring and moving outward in a clockwise motion. To ensure that the web is taut, the spider bends the radial lines slightly together while applying the silk spiral. The female builds a substantially larger web than the male's small zigzag web, often found nearby. The spider occupies the center of the web, usually facing straight down, waiting for prey to become ensnared in it. If disturbed by a possible predator, she may drop from the web and hide on the ground nearby. The web normally remains in one location for the entire summer, but spiders can change locations usually early in the season, perhaps to find better protection or better hunting.
+The yellow garden spider can oscillate her web vigorously while she remains firmly attached in the center. This action might prevent predators like wasps and birds from drawing a good bead, and also to fully entangle an insect before it cuts itself loose.
+However, in a case observed in Georgia, Davis witnessed a Vespa crabro fly into the spider's web and get tangled up. Upon looking closer it was found that V. crabro was actually cutting free prey that had been caught in the A. aurantia web. In this case, A. aurantia did not interfere or fight with the European hornet, probably because it dropped from the web and hid nearby.The yellow garden spider does not live in very dense location clusters like other orb spiders such as the golden orb web spider. The yellow garden spider keeps a clean orderly web in comparison to the cluttered series of webs built and abandoned by groups of golden orb spiders.
+
+Distribution
+This spider is found from Canada to Costa Rica,  but less so in the basin and mountain areas of the Rockies.
+
+Venom
+Argiope spiders are not aggressive. They might bite if grabbed, but other than for defense they do not attack large animals. Their venom often contains a library of polyamine toxins with potential as therapeutic medicinal agents. Notable among these is the argiotoxin ArgTX-636.A bite by Argiope aurantia is comparable to a bee sting with redness and swelling. For a healthy adult, a bite is not considered an issue. Though these spiders are not aggressive, people who are very young, elderly, or who have compromised immune systems should exercise caution, just as they would around a beehive or a hornet nest.
+
+Reproduction
+Yellow garden spiders breed twice a year. The males roam in search of a female, building a small web near or actually in the female's web, then court the females by plucking strands on her web. Often, when the male approaches the female, he has a safety drop line ready, in case she attacks him. The male uses the palpal bulbs on his pedipalps to transfer sperm to the female. After inserting the second palpal bulb, the male dies, and is sometimes then eaten by the female.The female lays her eggs at night on a sheet of silky material, then covers them with another layer of silk, then a protective brownish silk. She then uses her legs to form the sheet into a ball with an upturned neck. Egg sacs range from 5/8" to 1" in diameter. The location of the egg sac varies. She sometimes suspends the egg sac near her web or placed several feet from the web. Each spider produces from one to four sacs with perhaps over a thousand eggs inside each. 
+In the spring, the young spiders exit the sac. They are so tiny that they look like dust gathered inside the silk mesh. Some of the spiderlings remain nearby, but others exude a strand of silk that gets caught by the breeze, carrying the spiderling to a more distant area.
+
+Eating habits
+Females of the species are the most commonly seen in gardens. Their webs are usually characterized by a zigzag shaped stabilimentum (an extra thick line of silk) in the middle extending vertically. The spiders spend most of their time in their webs, waiting for prey to become ensnared. When prey becomes caught in the web, the spider may undulate the web back and forth to further trap the insect. When the prey is secure, the spider kills it by injecting its venom and then wraps the prey in a cocoon of silk for later consumption (typically 1–4 hours later). Prey includes small vertebrates, such as geckos and green anoles, as well as insects.
+
+Gallery
+References
+External links
+"Argiope aurantia" at the Encyclopedia of Life 
+Garden Spider Web video CC Licensed
+Garden Spider Posture During Rain - Video
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+Garter snake is the common name for small to medium-sized snakes belonging to the genus Thamnophis in the family Colubridae. Native to North and Central America, species in the genus Thamnophis can be found in all of the lower 48 United States, and nearly all of the Canadian provinces south of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut—with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador. They are found from the subarctic plains of west-central Canada east through Ontario and Quebec; from the Maritime Provinces and south to Florida, across the southern and central U.S. into the arid regions of the southwest and Mexico, Guatemala and south to the neotropics and Costa Rica.
+With about 35 recognized species and subspecies, garter snakes are highly variable in appearance; generally, they have large round eyes with rounded pupils, a slender build, keeled scales (appearing ‘raised’), and a pattern of longitudinal stripes that may or may not include spots (although some have no stripes at all). Certain subspecies have stripes of blue, yellow, or red, mixed with black and beige-tan markings. They also vary significantly in total length, from 18 to 51 in (46 to 130 cm).With no real consensus on the classification of the species of Thamnophis, disagreements between taxonomists and disputed sources (such as field guides) are common. One area of debate, for example, is whether or not two specific types of snake are separate species, or subspecies of the same. Garter snakes are closely related to the genus Nerodia (water snakes), with some species having been moved back and forth between genera.
+
+Taxonomy
+The first garter snake to be scientifically described was the eastern garter snake (now Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis), by zoologist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.  The genus Thamnophis was described by Leopold Fitzinger in 1843 as the genus for the garter snakes and ribbon snakes. Many snakes previously identified as their own genera or species have been reclassified as species or subspecies in Thamnophis. There are currently 35 species in the genus, with several subspecies in some of them.
+
+Habitat
+Garter snakes are present throughout most of North America. Their wide distribution is due to their varied diets and adaptability to different habitats, with varying proximity to water. However, in the western part of North America these snakes are more aquatic than in the eastern portion. Garter snakes live in a variety of habitats, including forests, woodlands, fields, grasslands and lawns, but never far from water, often an adjacent wetland, stream or pond. This reflects the fact that amphibians are a large part of their diet. Garter snakes are often found near small ponds with tall weeds.
+
+Behavior
+Garter snakes have complex systems of pheromonal communication. They can find other snakes by following their pheromone-scented trails. Male and female skin pheromones are so different as to be immediately distinguishable. However, male garter snakes sometimes produce both male and female pheromones. During the mating season, this ability fools other males into attempting to mate with them. This causes the transfer of heat to them in kleptothermy, which is an advantage immediately after hibernation, allowing them to become more active. Male snakes giving off both male and female pheromones have been shown to garner more copulations than normal males in the mating balls that form at the den when females enter the mating melee. A snake hatch can include as many as 57 young.Garter snakes use the vomeronasal organ to communicate via pheromones through the tongue flicking behavior which gathers chemical cues in the environment. Upon entering the lumen of the organ, the chemical molecules will come into contact with the sensory cells which are attached to the neurosensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ.If disturbed a garter snake may coil and strike but typically it will hide its head and flail its tail. These snakes will also discharge a malodorous, musky-scented secretion from a gland near the cloaca. They often use these techniques to escape when ensnared by a predator. They will also slither into the water to escape a predator on land. Hawks, crows, egrets, herons, cranes, raccoons, otters and other snake species (such as coral snakes and kingsnakes) will eat garter snakes, with even shrews and frogs eating the juveniles.
+
+Being heterothermic, like all reptiles, garter snakes bask in the sun to regulate their body temperature. During brumation (the reptile equivalent of hibernation) garter snakes typically occupy large communal sites called hibernacula. These snakes will migrate large distances to brumate. Garter snakes have been recorded actively seeking social agregations; creating an interesting sociality that may have other implications.
+
+Diet
+Garter snakes, like all snakes, are carnivorous. Their diet consists of almost any creature they are capable of overpowering: slugs, earthworms (nightcrawlers, as red wigglers are toxic to garter snakes), leeches, lizards, amphibians (including frog eggs),  minnows, and rodents. When living near water they will eat other aquatic animals. The ribbon snake (Thamnophis saurita) in particular favors frogs (including tadpoles), readily eating them despite their strong chemical defenses. Food is swallowed whole. Garter snakes often adapt to eating whatever they can find and whenever they can find it because food can be either scarce or abundant. Although they feed mostly on live animals they will sometimes eat eggs.
+
+Venom
+Garter snakes were long thought to be non-venomous but discoveries in the early 2000s revealed that they in fact produce a neurotoxic venom. Despite this, garter snakes cannot seriously injure or kill humans with the small amounts of comparatively mild venom they produce and they also lack an effective means of delivering it. In a few cases some swelling and bruising have been reported. They do have enlarged teeth in the back of their mouth but their gums are significantly larger and the secretions of their Duvernoy's gland are only mildly toxic.Evidence suggests that garter snake and newt populations share an evolutionary link in their levels of tetrodotoxin resistance, implying co-evolution between predator and prey. Garter snakes feeding on toxic newts can also retain those toxins in their liver for weeks, making those snakes poisonous as well as venomous.
+
+Conservation status
+Despite the decline in their population from collection as pets (especially in the more northerly regions, in which large groups are collected at hibernation), pollution of aquatic areas, and the introduction of American bullfrogs as potential predators, garter snakes are still some of the most commonly found reptiles in much of their ranges. The San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia), however, has been on the endangered list since 1969. Predation by crayfish has also been responsible for the decline of the narrow-headed garter snake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus). Many breeders have bred all species of garter snakes, making it a popular breed.
+
+Species and subspecies
+Arranged alphabetically by scientific name:
+
+In the above list, a binomial authority or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Thamnophis.
+
+See also
+Narcisse Snake Dens
+List of snakes, overview of all snake families and genera
+
+References
+Further reading
+Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. ISBN 978-0-395-19979-4 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-395-19977-0 (paperback). (Genus Thamnophis, p. 157).
+Fitzinger L (1843). Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Thamnophis, new genus, p. 26). (in Latin).
+Goin, Coleman J., Goin, Olive B.; Zug, George R. (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 978-0-7167-0020-3. (Thamnophis, pp. 132, 156, 326).
+Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Genus Thamnophis, p. 426).
+Ruthven AG (1908). "Variation and Genetic Relationships of the Garter-snakes". Bulletin of the United States National Museum 61: 1–201, 82 figures.
+Schmidt, Karl P.; Davis, D. Dwight (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Genus Thamnophis, p. 236).
+Stebbins RC (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. xiii + 533 pp., 56 plates. ISBN 978-0-395-98272-3. (Genus Thamnophis, pp. 373–374).
+Vandenburgh J, Slevin JR (1918). "The Garter-snakes of Western North America". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 8: 181–270, 11 plates.
+
+External links
+González-Fernández, Andrea; Manjarrez, Javier; García-Vázquez, Uri; D'Addario, Maristella; Sunny, Armando (2018). "Present and future ecological niche modeling of garter snake species from the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt". PeerJ. 6: e4618. doi:10.7717/peerj.4618. PMC 5903425. PMID 29666767.
+
+Anapsid.org: Garter snakes
+Several pictures of a Mexican ribbon snake (Thamnophis proximus rutiloris)
+Plains garter snake - Thamnophis radix. Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
+Eastern garter snake - Thamnophis sirtalis. Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
+Descriptions and biology of garter snakes
+Genus Thamnophis at The Reptile Database
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diff --git a/data/animals/giant panda.txt b/data/animals/giant panda.txt
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+The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), sometimes called a panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes used to distinguish it from the red panda, a neighboring musteloid. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the giant panda is a folivore, with bamboo shoots and leaves making up more than 99% of its diet. Giant pandas in the wild occasionally eat other grasses, wild tubers, or even meat in the form of birds, rodents, or carrion. In captivity, they may receive honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, or bananas along with specially prepared food.The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan, and also in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. As a result of farming, deforestation, and other development, the giant panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived, and it is a conservation-reliant vulnerable species. A 2007 report showed 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. By December 2014, 49 giant pandas lived in captivity outside China, living in 18 zoos in 13 countries. Wild population estimates vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 individuals living in the wild, while a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that this figure could be as high as 2,000 to 3,000. Some reports also show that the number of giant pandas in the wild is on the rise. By March 2015, the wild giant panda population had increased to 1,864 individuals. In 2016, it was reclassified on the IUCN Red List from "endangered" to "vulnerable", affirming decade-long efforts to save the panda. In July 2021, Chinese authorities also reclassified the giant panda as vulnerable.The giant panda has often served as China's national symbol, appeared on Chinese Gold Panda coins since 1982 and as one of the five Fuwa mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing.
+
+Taxonomy
+Classification
+For many decades, the precise taxonomic classification of the giant panda was under debate because it shares characteristics with both bears and raccoons. However in 1985, molecular studies indicate the giant panda is a true bear, part of the family Ursidae. These studies show it diverged about 19 million years ago from the common ancestor of the Ursidae; it is the most basal member of this family and equidistant from all other extant bear species. The giant panda has been referred to as a living fossil.
+
+Etymology
+The word panda was borrowed into English from French, but no conclusive explanation of the origin of the French word panda has been found. The closest candidate is the Nepali word ponya, possibly referring to the adapted wrist bone of the red panda, which is native to Nepal. In many older sources, the name "panda" or "common panda" refers to the red panda (Ailurus fulgens), which was described some 40 years earlier and over that period was the only animal known as a panda. This necessitated the use of "giant" and "lesser/red" prefixes to differentiate the species. Even in 2013, the Encyclopædia Britannica still used "giant panda" or "panda bear" for the bear, and simply "panda" for the red panda.Since the earliest collection of Chinese writings, the Chinese language has given the bear many different names, including mò (貘, ancient Chinese name for giant panda), huāxióng (花熊; "spotted bear") and zhúxióng (竹熊; "bamboo bear"). The most popular names in China today are dàxióngmāo (大熊貓; lit. 'giant bear cat'), or simply xióngmāo (熊貓; lit. 'bear cat'). As with the word panda in English, xióngmāo (熊貓) was originally used to describe just the red panda, but dàxióngmāo (大熊貓) and xiǎoxióngmāo (小熊猫; lit. 'little bear cat') were coined to differentiate between the species.In Taiwan, another popular name for panda is the inverted dàmāoxióng (大貓熊; lit. 'giant cat bear'), though many encyclopedias and dictionaries in Taiwan still use the "bear cat" form as the correct name. Some linguists argue, in this construction, "bear" instead of "cat" is the base noun, making the name more grammatically and logically correct, which may have led to the popular choice despite official writings. This name did not gain its popularity until 1988, when a private zoo in Tainan painted a sun bear black and white and created the Tainan fake panda incident.
+
+Subspecies
+Two subspecies of giant panda have been recognized on the basis of distinct cranial measurements, colour patterns, and population genetics.
+The nominate subspecies, A. m. melanoleuca, consists of most extant populations of the giant panda. These animals are principally found in Sichuan and display the typical stark black and white contrasting colours.
+The Qinling panda, A. m. qinlingensis, is restricted to the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi at elevations of 1,300–3,000 m (4,300–9,800 ft). The typical black and white pattern of Sichuan giant pandas is replaced with a light brown and white pattern. The skull of A. m. qinlingensis is smaller than its relatives, and it has larger molars.A detailed study of the giant panda's genetic history from 2012 confirms that the separation of the Qinlin population occurred about 300,000 years ago, and reveals that the non-Qinlin population further diverged into two groups, named the Minshan and the Qionglai-Daxiangling-Xiaoxiangling-Liangshan group respectively, about 2,800 years ago.
+
+Phylogeny
+Description
+Adults measure around 1.2 to 1.9 metres (3 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 3 inches) long, including a tail of about 10–15 cm (4–6 in), and 60 to 90 cm (24 to 35 in) tall at the shoulder. Males can weigh up to 160 kg (350 lb). Females (generally 10–20% smaller than males) can weigh as little as 70 kg (150 lb), but can also weigh up to 125 kg (276 lb). The average weight for adults is 100 to 115 kg (220 to 254 lb).The giant panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye patches, limbs and shoulders. The rest of the animal's coat is white. The bear's distinctive coat appears to serve as camouflage in both winter and summer environments. The white areas may serve as camouflage in snow, while the black shoulders and legs provide crypsis in shade. Studies in the wild have found that when viewed from a distance, the panda displays disruptive coloration while close up, they rely more on blending in. The black ears may signal aggressive intent, while the eye patches might facilitate them identifying one another. The giant panda's thick, woolly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. The panda's skull shape is typical of durophagous carnivorans. It has evolved from previous ancestors to exhibit larger molars with increased complexity and expanded temporal fossa. A 110.45 kg (243.5 lb) giant panda has a 3D canine teeth bite force of 2603.47 newtons (265kg ) and bite force quotient of 292. Another study had a 117.5 kg (259 lb) giant panda bite of 1298.9 newtons (BFQ 151.4) at canine teeth and 1815.9 newtons (BFQ 141.8) at carnassial teeth.
+The giant panda's paw has a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" – actually a modified sesamoid bone – helps it to hold bamboo while eating. Stephen Jay Gould discusses this feature in his book of essays on evolution and biology, The Panda's Thumb.
+The giant panda's tail, measuring 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in), is the second-longest in the bear family, behind the sloth bear.The giant panda typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity. A female named Jia Jia was the oldest giant panda ever in captivity; she was born in 1978 and died at an age of 38 on 16 October 2016.
+
+Pathology
+A seven-year-old female named Jin Yi died in 2014 in a zoo in Zhengzhou, China, after showing symptoms of gastroenteritis and respiratory disease. It was found that the cause of death was toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by an obligate intracellular parasitic protozoan known as Toxoplasma gondii that infects most warm-blooded animals, including humans.
+
+Genomics
+The giant panda genome was sequenced in 2009 using Illumina dye sequencing. Its genome contains 20 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes.
+
+Ecology
+Diet
+Despite its taxonomic classification as a carnivoran, the giant panda's diet is primarily herbivorous, consisting almost exclusively of bamboo. However, the giant panda still has the digestive system of a carnivore, as well as carnivore-specific genes, and thus derives little energy and little protein from consumption of bamboo. The ability to break down cellulose and lignin is very weak, and their main source of nutrients comes from starch and hemicelluloses. The most important part of their bamboo diet is the shoots, that are rich in starch which they have a higher capability to digest than strict carnivores, and have up to 32% protein content. During the shoot season, which lasts from April to August, they put on a lot of weight, which allows them to get through the nutrient-scarce period from late August to April, when they feed mostly on bamboo leaves. Pandas are born with sterile intestines and require bacteria obtained from their mother's feces to digest vegetation. The giant panda is a highly specialised animal with unique adaptations, and has lived in bamboo forests for millions of years.The average giant panda eats as much as 9 to 14 kg (20 to 31 lb) of bamboo shoots a day to compensate for the limited energy content of its diet. Ingestion of such a large quantity of material is possible and necessary because of the rapid passage of large amounts of indigestible plant material through the short, straight digestive tract. It is also noted, however, that such rapid passage of digesta limits the potential of microbial digestion in the gastrointestinal tract, limiting alternative forms of digestion. Given this voluminous diet, the giant panda defecates up to 40 times a day. The limited energy input imposed on it by its diet has affected the panda's behavior. The giant panda tends to limit its social interactions and avoids steeply sloping terrain to limit its energy expenditures.It has been estimated that an adult panda absorbs 54.8–66.1 mg (0.846–1.020 gr) of cyanide a day through its diet. To prevent poisoning, they have evolved anti-toxic mechanisms to protect themselves. About 80% of the cyanide is metabolized to less toxic thiocyanate and discharged in urine, while the remaining 20% is detoxified by other minor pathways.Two of the panda's most distinctive features, its large size and round face, are adaptations to its bamboo diet. Anthropologist Russell Ciochon observed: "[much] like the vegetarian gorilla, the low body surface area to body volume [of the giant panda] is indicative of a lower metabolic rate. This lower metabolic rate and a more sedentary lifestyle allows the giant panda to subsist on nutrient poor resources such as bamboo." Similarly, the giant panda's round face is the result of powerful jaw muscles, which attach from the top of the head to the jaw. Large molars crush and grind fibrous plant material.
+The morphological characteristics of extinct relatives of the giant panda suggest that while the ancient giant panda was omnivorous 7 million years ago (mya), it only became herbivorous some 2–2.4 mya with the emergence of A. microta. Genome sequencing of the giant panda suggests that the dietary switch could have initiated from the loss of the sole umami taste receptor, encoded by the genes TAS1R1 and TAS1R3 (also known as T1R1 and T1R3), resulting from two frameshift mutations within the T1R1 exons. Umami taste corresponds to high levels of glutamate as found in meat and may have thus altered the food choice of the giant panda. Although the pseudogenisation (conversion into a pseudogene) of the umami taste receptor in Ailuropoda coincides with the dietary switch to herbivory, it is likely a result of, and not the reason for, the dietary change. The mutation time for the T1R1 gene in the giant panda is estimated to 4.2 mya while fossil evidence indicates bamboo consumption in the giant panda species at least 7 mya, signifying that although complete herbivory occurred around 2 mya, the dietary switch was initiated prior to T1R1 loss-of-function.
+Pandas eat any of 25 bamboo species in the wild, such as Fargesia dracocephala and Fargesia rufa. Only a few bamboo species are widespread at the high altitudes pandas now inhabit. Bamboo leaves contain the highest protein levels; stems have less.Because of the synchronous flowering, death, and regeneration of all bamboo within a species, the giant panda must have at least two different species available in its range to avoid starvation. While primarily herbivorous, the giant panda still retains decidedly ursine teeth and will eat meat, fish, and eggs when available. In captivity, zoos typically maintain the giant panda's bamboo diet, though some will provide specially formulated biscuits or other dietary supplements.Pandas will travel between different habitats if they need to, so they can get the nutrients that they need and to balance their diet for reproduction. For six years, scientists studied six pandas tagged with GPS collars at the Foping Reserve in the Qinling Mountains. They took note of their foraging and mating habits and analyzed samples of their food and feces. The pandas would move from the valleys into the Qinling Mountains and would only return to the valleys in autumn. During the summer months, bamboo shoots rich in protein are only available at higher altitudes which causes low calcium rates in the pandas. During breeding season, the pandas would return to lower altitudes to eat bamboo leaves rich in calcium.
+
+Predators
+Although adult giant pandas have few natural predators other than humans, young cubs are vulnerable to attacks by snow leopards, yellow-throated martens, eagles, feral dogs, and the Asian black bear. Sub-adults weighing up to 50 kg (110 lb) may be vulnerable to predation by leopards.
+
+Behavior
+The giant panda is a terrestrial animal and primarily spends its life roaming and feeding in the bamboo forests of the Qinling Mountains and in the hilly province of Sichuan. Giant pandas are generally solitary. Each adult has a defined territory and a female is not tolerant of other females in her range. Social encounters occur primarily during the brief breeding season in which pandas in proximity to one another will gather. After mating, the male leaves the female alone to raise the cub.Pandas were thought to fall into the crepuscular category, those who are active twice a day, at dawn and dusk; however, pandas may belong to a category all of their own, with activity peaks in the morning, afternoon and midnight. The low nutrition quality of bamboo means pandas need to eat more frequently, and due to their lack of major predators they can be active at any time of the day. Activity is highest in June and decreases in late summer to autumn with an increase from November through the following March. Activity is also directly related to the amount of sunlight during colder days.Pandas communicate through vocalisation and scent marking such as clawing trees or spraying urine. They are able to climb and take shelter in hollow trees or rock crevices, but do not establish permanent dens. For this reason, pandas do not hibernate, which is similar to other subtropical mammals, and will instead move to elevations with warmer temperatures. Pandas rely primarily on spatial memory rather than visual memory.Though the panda is often assumed to be docile, it has been known to attack humans.Pandas have been known to cover themselves in horse manure to protect themselves against cold temperatures.
+
+Olfactory communication
+Giant pandas heavily rely on olfactory communication to communicate with one another. Scent marks are used to spread these chemical cues and are placed on landmarks like rocks or trees. Chemical communication in giant pandas plays many roles in their social situations. Scent marks and odors are used to spread information about sexual status, whether a female is in estrus or not, age, gender, individuality, dominance over territory, and choice of settlement.Giant pandas communicate by excreting volatile compounds, or scent marks, through the anogenital gland. These volatile compounds are found in urine and vaginal and anal secretions from the anogenital gland. The anogenital gland secretes short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and aromatics, which are present in the scent marks of giant pandas. Giant pandas have unique positions in which they will scent mark. Males deposit scent marks or urine by lifting their hind leg, rubbing their backside, or standing in order to rub the anogenital gland onto a landmark. Females, however, exercise squatting or simply rubbing their genitals onto a landmark.The season plays a major role in mediating chemical communication. Depending on the season, mainly whether it is breeding season or not, may influence which odors are prioritized. Chemical signals can have different functions in different seasons. During the non-breeding season, females prefer the odors of other females because reproduction is not their primary motivation. However, during breeding season, odors from the opposite sex will be more attractive.Because they are solitary mammals and their breeding season is so brief, female pandas secrete chemical cues in order to let males know their sexual status. The chemical cues female pandas secrete can be considered to be pheromones for sexual reproduction. Females deposit scent marks through their urine which induces an increase in androgen levels in males. Androgen is a sex hormone found in both males and females; testosterone is the major androgen produced by males. Civetone and decanoic acid are chemicals found in female urine which promote behavioral responses in males; both chemicals are considered giant panda pheromones. Male pandas also secrete chemical signals that include information about their sexual reproductivity and age, which is beneficial for a female when choosing a mate. For example, age can be useful for a female to determine sexual maturity and sperm quality. Pandas are also able to determine when the signal was placed, further aiding in the quest to find a potential mate. However, chemical cues are not just used for communication between males and females, pandas can determine individuality from chemical signals. This allows them to be able to differentiate between a potential partner or someone of the same sex, which could be a potential competitor.Chemical cues, or odors, play an important role in how a panda chooses their habitat. Pandas look for odors that tell them not only the identity of another panda, but if they should avoid them or not. Pandas tend to avoid their species for most of the year, breeding season being the brief time of major interaction. Chemical signaling allows for avoidance and competition. Pandas whose habitats are in similar locations will collectively leave scent marks in a unique location which is termed "scent stations." When pandas come across these scent stations, they are able to identify a specific panda and the scope of their habitat. This allows pandas to be able to pursue a potential mate or avoid a potential competitor.Pandas can assess an individual's dominance status, including their age and size, via odor cues and may choose to avoid a scent mark if the signaler's competitive ability outweighs their own. A pandas size can be conveyed through the height of the scent mark. Since larger animals can place higher scent marks, an elevated scent mark advertises a higher competitive ability. Age must also be taken into consideration when assessing a competitor's fighting ability. For example, a mature panda will be larger than a younger, immature panda and possess an advantage during a fight.
+
+Reproduction
+Initially, the primary method of breeding giant pandas in captivity was by artificial insemination, as they seemed to lose their interest in mating once they were captured. This led some scientists to try extreme methods, such as showing them videos of giant pandas mating and giving the males sildenafil (commonly known as Viagra). Only recently have researchers started having success with captive breeding programs, and they have now determined giant pandas have comparable breeding to some populations of the American black bear, a thriving bear species. The normal reproductive rate is considered to be one young every two years.
+Giant pandas reach sexual maturity between the ages of four and eight, and may be reproductive until age 20. The mating season is between March and May, when a female goes into estrus, which lasts for two or three days and only occurs once a year. When mating, the female is in a crouching, head-down position as the male mounts her from behind. Copulation time ranges from 30 seconds to five minutes, but the male may mount her repeatedly to ensure successful fertilisation. The gestation period is somewhere between 95 and 160 days - the variability is due to the fact that the fertilized egg may linger in the reproductive system for a while before implanting on the uterine wall.Giant pandas give birth to twins in about half of pregnancies. If twins are born, usually only one survives in the wild. The mother will select the stronger of the cubs, and the weaker cub will die due to starvation. The mother is thought to be unable to produce enough milk for two cubs since she does not store fat. The father has no part in helping raise the cub.
+When the cub is first born, it is pink, blind, and toothless, weighing only 90 to 130 g (3+1⁄4 to 4+1⁄2 oz), or about 1/800 of the mother's weight, proportionally the smallest baby of any placental mammal. It nurses from its mother's breast six to 14 times a day for up to 30 minutes at a time. For three to four hours, the mother may leave the den to feed, which leaves the cub defenseless. One to two weeks after birth, the cub's skin turns grey where its hair will eventually become black. Slight pink colour may appear on the cub's fur, as a result of a chemical reaction between the fur and its mother's saliva. A month after birth, the colour pattern of the cub's fur is fully developed. Its fur is very soft and coarsens with age. The cub begins to crawl at 75 to 80 days; mothers play with their cubs by rolling and wrestling with them. The cubs can eat small quantities of bamboo after six months, though mother's milk remains the primary food source for most of the first year. Giant panda cubs weigh 45 kg (100 pounds) at one year and live with their mothers until they are 18 months to two years old. The interval between births in the wild is generally two years.
+In July 2009, Chinese scientists confirmed the birth of the first cub to be successfully conceived through artificial insemination using frozen sperm. The cub was born at 07:41 on 23 July that year in Sichuan as the third cub of You You, an 11-year-old. The technique for freezing the sperm in liquid nitrogen was first developed in 1980 and the first birth was hailed as a solution to the dwindling availability of giant panda semen, which had led to inbreeding. Panda semen, which can be frozen for decades, could be shared between different zoos to save the species. It is expected that zoos in destinations such as San Diego in the United States and Mexico City will now be able to provide their own semen to inseminate more giant pandas. In August 2014, a rare birth of panda triplets was announced in China; it was the fourth of such births ever reported.Attempts have also been made to reproduce giant pandas by interspecific pregnancy where cloned panda embryos were implanted into the uterus of an animal of another species. This has resulted in panda fetuses, but no live births.
+
+Human use and interaction
+Early references
+In the past, pandas were thought to be rare and noble creatures – the Empress Dowager Bo was buried with a panda skull in her vault. The grandson of Emperor Taizong of Tang is said to have given Japan two pandas and a sheet of panda skin as a sign of goodwill. Unlike many other animals in Ancient China, pandas were rarely thought to have medical uses. The few known uses include the Sichuan tribal peoples' use of panda urine to melt accidentally swallowed needles, and the use of panda pelts to control menstruation as described in the Qin dynasty encyclopedia Erya.The creature named mo (貘) mentioned in some ancient books has been interpreted as giant panda. The dictionary Shuowen Jiezi (Eastern Han Dynasty) says that the mo, from Shu (Sichuan), is bear-like, but yellow-and-black, although the older Erya describes mo simply as a "white leopard". The interpretation of the legendary fierce creature pixiu (貔貅) as referring to the giant panda is also common.During the reign of the Yongle Emperor (early 15th century), his relative from Kaifeng sent him a captured zouyu (騶虞), and another zouyu was sighted in Shandong. Zouyu is a legendary "righteous" animal, which, similarly to a qilin, only appears during the rule of a benevolent and sincere monarch. It is said to be fierce as a tiger, but gentle and strictly vegetarian, and described in some books as a white tiger with black spots. Puzzled about the real zoological identity of the creature captured during the Yongle era, Dutch Sinologist J. J. L. Duyvendak exclaimed, "Can it possibly have been a Pandah?"
+
+Western discovery
+The West first learned of the giant panda on 11 March 1869, when the French missionary Armand David received a skin from a hunter. The first Westerner known to have seen a living giant panda is the German zoologist Hugo Weigold, who purchased a cub in 1916. Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., became the first Westerners to shoot a panda, on an expedition funded by the Field Museum of Natural History in the 1920s. In 1936, Ruth Harkness became the first Westerner to bring back a live giant panda, a cub named Su Lin who went to live at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. In 1938, Floyd Tangier Smith captured and delivered five giant pandas to London, they arrived on 23 December aboard the SS Antenor. These five were the first on British soil and were transferred to London Zoo. One, named Grandma, only lasted a few days. She was taxidermized by E. Gerrard and Sons and sold to Leeds City Museum where she is currently on display to the public. Another, Ming, became London Zoo's first Giant Panda. Her skull is held by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
+
+Panda diplomacy
+In the 1970s, gifts of giant pandas to American and Japanese zoos formed an important part of the diplomacy of the People's Republic of China (PRC), as it marked some of the first cultural exchanges between China and the West. This practice has been termed "panda diplomacy".By 1984, however, pandas were no longer given as gifts. Instead, China began to offer pandas to other nations only on 10-year loans for a fee of up to US$1,000,000 per year and with the provision that any cubs born during the loan are the property of China. As a result of this change in policy, nearly all the pandas in the world are owned by China, and pandas leased to foreign zoos and all cubs are eventually returned to China. Since 1998, because of a WWF lawsuit, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service only allows U.S. zoo to import a panda if the zoo can ensure China channels more than half of its loan fee into conservation efforts for giant pandas and their habitat.In May 2005, China offered a breeding pair to Taiwan. The issue became embroiled in cross-Strait relations – due to both the underlying symbolism and technical issues such as whether the transfer would be considered "domestic" or "international" or whether any true conservation purpose would be served by the exchange. A contest in 2006 to name the pandas was held in the mainland, resulting in the politically charged names Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan (from simplified Chinese: 团圆; traditional Chinese: 團圓; pinyin: tuanyuan; lit. 'reunion', implying reunification). China's offer was initially rejected by Chen Shui-bian, then President of Taiwan. However, when Ma Ying-jeou assumed the presidency in 2008, the offer was accepted and the pandas arrived in December of that year.
+
+Zoos
+Pandas have been kept in zoos as early as the Western Han Dynasty in China, where the writer Sima Xiangru noted that the panda was the most treasured animal in the emperor's garden of exotic animals in the capital Chang'an (present Xi'an). Not until the 1950s were pandas again recorded to have been exhibited in China's zoos.Chi Chi at the London Zoo became very popular. This influenced the World Wildlife Fund to use a panda as its symbol.A 2006 New York Times article outlined the economics of keeping pandas, which costs five times more than keeping the next most expensive animal, an elephant. American zoos generally pay the Chinese government $1 million a year in fees, as part of a typical ten-year contract. San Diego's contract with China was to expire in 2008, but got a five-year extension at about half of the previous yearly cost. The last contract, with the Memphis Zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, ended in 2013.
+
+Conservation
+The giant panda is a vulnerable species, threatened by continued habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, and by a very low birthrate, both in the wild and in captivity. Its range is currently confined to a small portion on the western edge of its historical range, which stretched through southern and eastern China, northern Myanmar, and northern Vietnam.The giant panda has been a target of poaching by locals since ancient times and by foreigners since it was introduced to the West. Starting in the 1930s, foreigners were unable to poach giant pandas in China because of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, but pandas remained a source of soft furs for the locals. The population boom in China after 1949 created stress on the pandas' habitat and the subsequent famines led to the increased hunting of wildlife, including pandas. During the Cultural Revolution, all studies and conservation activities on the pandas were stopped. After the Chinese economic reform, demand for panda skins from Hong Kong and Japan led to illegal poaching for the black market, acts generally ignored by the local officials at the time.
+
+In 1963, the PRC government set up Wolong National Nature Reserve to save the declining panda population. However, few advances in the conservation of pandas were made at the time, owing to inexperience and insufficient knowledge of ecology. Many believed the best way to save the pandas was to cage them. Because of the destruction of their natural habitat, along with segregation caused by caging, reproduction of wild pandas was severely limited. In the 1990s, however, several laws (including gun control and the removal of resident humans from the reserves) helped their chances of survival. With these renewed efforts and improved conservation methods, wild pandas have started to increase in numbers in some areas, though they still are classified as a rare species.In 2006, scientists reported that the number of pandas living in the wild may have been underestimated at about 1,000. Previous population surveys had used conventional methods to estimate the size of the wild panda population, but using a new method that analyzes DNA from panda droppings, scientists believe the wild population may be as large as 3,000. In 2006, there were 40 panda reserves in China, compared to just 13 reserves in 1998. As the species has been reclassified to "vulnerable" since 2016, the conservation efforts are thought to be working. Furthermore, in response to this reclassification, the State Forestry Administration of China announced that they would not accordingly lower the conservation level for panda, and would instead reinforce the conservation efforts.The giant panda is among the world's most adored and protected rare animals, and is one of the few in the world whose natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, located in the southwest province of Sichuan and covering seven natural reserves, were inscribed onto the World Heritage List in 2006.Not all conservationists agree that the money spent on conserving pandas is well spent. Chris Packham has argued that the breeding of pandas in captivity is "pointless" because "there is not enough habitat left to sustain them". Packham argues that the money spent on pandas would be better spent elsewhere, and has said he would "eat the last panda if I could have all the money we have spent on panda conservation put back on the table for me to do more sensible things with". He also quoted, "The panda is possibly one of the grossest wastes of conservation money in the last half century", though he has apologised for upsetting people who like pandas. However, a 2015 paper found that the giant panda can serve as an umbrella species as the preservation of their habitat also helps other endemic species in China, including 70% of the country's forest birds, 70% of mammals and 31% of amphibians.In 2012, Earthwatch Institute, a global nonprofit that teams volunteers with scientists to conduct important environmental research, launched a program called "On the Trail of Giant Panda". This program, based in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, allows volunteers to work up close with pandas cared for in captivity, and help them adapt to life in the wild, so that they may breed, and live longer and healthier lives. Efforts to preserve the panda bear populations in China have come at the expense of other animals in the region, including snow leopards, wolves, and dholes.In order to improve living and mating conditions for the fragmented populations of pandas, nearly 70 natural reserves have been combined to form the Giant Panda National Park in 2020. With a size of 10,500 square miles, the park is roughly three times as large as Yellowstone National Park and incorporates the Wolong National Nature Reserve. The state-owned Bank of China helped to enable the project with US$1.5 billion.
+One major aim is to permanently keep the panda population stable enough to avoid a relapse to its former IUCN Red List "endangered" status. Especially small, isolated populations run the risk of inbreeding and smaller genetic variety makes the individuals more vulnerable to various defects and genetic mutation. Allowing a larger group of individuals to roam through a larger area freely and choose from a greater variety of mates, helps to enrich genetic diversity of their offspring.In 2020, the panda population of the new national park was already above 1,800 individuals, which is roughly 80 percent of the entire panda population in China. Establishing the new protected area in the Sichuan Province also gives various other endangered or threatened species, like the Siberian tiger, the possibility to improve their living conditions by offering them a habitat. Other species who benefit from the protection of their habitat include the snow leopard, the golden snub-nosed monkey, the red panda and the complex-toothed flying squirrel.
+In July 2021, Chinese conservation authorities announced that giant pandas are no longer endangered in the wild following years of conservation efforts, with a population in the wild exceeding 1,800. China has received international praise for its conservation of the species, which has also helped the country establish itself as a leader in endangered species conservation.: 8
+
+Biofuel
+Microbes in panda waste are being investigated for their use in creating biofuels from bamboo and other plant materials.
+
+Population chart
+See also
+Giant pandas around the world
+List of giant pandas
+Panda tea
+Pygmy giant panda
+Wildlife of China
+List of endangered and protected species of China
+
+References
+Notes
+BibliographyAFP (via Discovery Channel) (20 June 2006). Panda Numbers Exceed Expectations.
+Associated Press (via CNN) (2006). Article link.
+Catton, Chris (1990). Pandas. Christopher Helm.
+Friends of the National Zoo (2006). Panda Cam: A Nation Watches Tai Shan the Panda Cub Grow. New York: Fireside Books.
+Goodman, Brenda (12 February 2006). Pandas Eat Up Much of Zoos' Budgets. The New York Times.
+Lumpkin, Susan; Seidensticker, John (2007). Giant Pandas. London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-120578-1. (An earlier edition is available as The Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas, Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002, ISBN 1-58834-013-9.)
+Panda Facts At a Glance (N.d.). www.wwfchina.org. WWF China.
+Ryder, Joanne (2001). Little panda: The World Welcomes Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo. New York: Simon & Schuster.
+Schaller, George B. (1993). The Last Panda. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-73628-8. (There are also several later reprints)
+Wan, Qiu-Hong; Wu, Hua; Fang, Sheng-Guo (2005). "A New Subspecies of Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) from Shaanxi, China". Journal of Mammalogy. 86 (2): 397–402. doi:10.1644/BRB-226.1. JSTOR 4094359.
+Warren, Lynne (July 2006). "Panda, Inc." National Geographic. (About Mei Xiang, Tai Shan and the Wolong Panda Research Facility in Chengdu China).
+
+External links
+
+BBC Nature: Giant panda news, and video clips from BBC programmes past and present.
+Panda Pioneer: the release of the first captive-bred panda 'Xiang Xiang' in 2006
+WWF – environmental conservation organization
+Pandas International – panda conservation group
+National Zoo Live Panda Cams – Baby Panda Tai Shan and mother Mei Xiang
+Information from Animal Diversity
+NPR News 2007/08/20 – Panda Romance Stems From Bamboo
+View the panda genome on Ensembl.
+Texts and pictures of the Panda exhibition at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin Archived 14 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine
+iPanda-50: annotated image dataset for fine-grained panda identification on Github
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+Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforests from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India to southern China and Indonesia (including the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java).
+Also called the lesser apes, gibbons differ from great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and humans) in being smaller, exhibiting low sexual dimorphism, and not making nests. Like all apes, gibbons are tailless. Unlike most of the great apes, gibbons frequently form long-term pair bonds. Their primary mode of locomotion, brachiation, involves swinging from branch to branch for distances up to 15 m (50 ft), at speeds as fast as 55 km/h (34 mph). They can also make leaps up to 8 m (26 ft), and walk bipedally with their arms raised for balance. They are the fastest of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals.Depending on the species and sex, gibbons' fur coloration varies from dark- to light-brown shades, and any shade between black and white, though a completely "white" gibbon is rare.
+
+Etymology
+The English word "gibbon" is a reborrowing from French and may originally derive from an Orang Asli word.
+
+Evolutionary history
+Whole genome molecular dating analyses indicate that the gibbon lineage diverged from that of great apes around 16.8 million years ago (Mya) (95% confidence interval: 15.9–17.6 Mya; given a divergence of 29 Mya from Old World monkeys). Adaptive divergence associated with chromosomal rearrangements led to rapid radiation of the four genera 5–7 Mya. Each genus comprises a distinct, well-delineated lineage, but the sequence and timing of divergences among these genera has been hard to resolve, even with whole genome data, due to radiative speciations and extensive incomplete lineage sorting. An analysis based on morphology suggests that the four genera are ordered as (Symphalangus, (Nomascus, (Hoolock, Hylobates))).
+A coalescent-based species tree analysis of genome-scale datasets suggests a phylogeny for the four genera ordered as (Hylobates, (Nomascus, (Hoolock, Symphalangus))).
+At the species level, estimates from mitochondrial DNA genome analyses suggest that Hylobates pileatus diverged from H. lar and H. agilis around 3.9 Mya, and H. lar and H. agilis separated around 3.3 Mya. Whole genome analysis suggests divergence of H. pileatus from H. moloch 1.5–3.0 Mya. The extinct Bunopithecus sericus is a gibbon or gibbon-like ape, which until recently, was thought to be closely related to the hoolock gibbons.
+
+Taxonomy
+The family is divided into four genera based on their diploid chromosome number: Hylobates (44), Hoolock (38), Nomascus (52), and Symphalangus (50). Also, three extinct genera currently are recognised: Bunopithecus, Junzi, and Yuanmoupithecus.Family Hylobatidae: gibbons
+Genus Hoolock
+Western hoolock gibbon, H. hoolock
+Eastern hoolock gibbon, H. leuconedys
+Skywalker hoolock gibbon, H. tianxing
+Genus Hylobates: dwarf gibbons
+Lar gibbon or white-handed gibbon, H. lar
+Bornean white-bearded gibbon, H. albibarbis
+Agile gibbon or black-handed gibbon, H. agilis
+Western grey gibbon or Abbott's grey gibbon, H. abbotti
+Eastern grey gibbon or northern grey gibbon, H. funereus
+Müller's gibbon or southern grey gibbon, H. muelleri
+Silvery gibbon, H. moloch
+Pileated gibbon or capped gibbon, H. pileatus
+Kloss's gibbon, Mentawai gibbon or bilou, H. klossii
+Genus Symphalangus
+Siamang, S. syndactylus
+Genus Nomascus: crested gibbons
+Northern buffed-cheeked gibbon, N. annamensis
+Concolor or black crested gibbon, N. concolor
+Eastern black crested gibbon or Cao Vit black crested gibbon, N. nasutus
+Hainan black crested gibbon, N. hainanus
+Northern white-cheeked gibbon, N. leucogenys
+Southern white-cheeked gibbon, N. siki
+Yellow-cheeked gibbon, N. gabriellae
+
+Extinct genera
+Genus Bunopithecus
+Bunopithecus sericus
+Genus Junzi
+Junzi imperialis
+Genus YuanmoupithecusYuanmoupithecus xiaoyuan
+
+Hybrids
+Many gibbons are hard to identify based on fur coloration, so are identified either by song or genetics. These morphological ambiguities have led to hybrids in zoos. Zoos often receive gibbons of unknown origin, so they rely on morphological variation or labels that are impossible to verify to assign species and subspecies names, so separate species of gibbons commonly are misidentified and housed together. Interspecific hybrids, within a genus, are also suspected to occur in wild gibbons where their ranges overlap. No records exist, however, of fertile hybrids between different gibbon genera, either in the wild or in captivity.
+
+Description
+One unique aspect of a gibbon's anatomy is the wrist, which functions something like a ball-and-socket joint, allowing for biaxial movement. This greatly reduces the amount of energy needed in the upper arm and torso, while also reducing stress on the shoulder joint. Gibbons also have long hands and feet, with a deep cleft between the first and second digits of their hands. Their fur is usually black, gray, or brownish, often with white markings on hands, feet and face. Some species such as the siamang have an enlarged throat sac, which inflates and serves as a resonating chamber when the animals call. This structure can become quite large in some species, sometimes equaling the size of the animal's head. Their voices are much more powerful than that of any human singer, although they are at best half a human's height.Gibbon skulls and teeth resemble those of the great apes, and their noses are similar to those of all catarrhine primates. The dental formula is 2.1.2.32.1.2.3. The siamang, which is the largest of the 18 species, is distinguished by having two fingers on each foot stuck together, hence the generic and species names Symphalangus and syndactylus.
+
+Behavior
+Like all primates, gibbons are social animals. They are strongly territorial, and defend their boundaries with vigorous visual and vocal displays. The vocal element, which can often be heard for distances up to 1 km (0.62 mi), consists of a duet between a mated pair, with their young sometimes joining in. In most species, males and some females sing solos to attract mates, as well as advertise their territories. The song can be used to identify not only which species of gibbon is singing, but also the area from which it comes.Gibbons often retain the same mate for life, although they do not always remain sexually monogamous. In addition to extra-pair copulations, pair-bonded gibbons occasionally "divorce".Gibbons are among nature's best brachiators. Their ball-and-socket wrist joints allow them unmatched speed and accuracy when swinging through trees. Nonetheless, their mode of transportation can lead to hazards when a branch breaks or a hand slips, and researchers estimate that the majority of gibbons suffer bone fractures one or more times during their lifetimes. They are the fastest of all tree-dwelling, nonflying mammals. On the ground, gibbons tend to walk bipedally, and their Achilles tendon morphology is more similar to that of humans than that of any other ape.
+
+Diet
+Gibbons' diets are about 60% fruit-based, but they also consume twigs, leaves, insects, flowers, and occasionally birds' eggs.
+
+Genetics
+Gibbons were the first apes to diverge from the common ancestor of humans and apes about 16.8 Mya. With a genome that has a 96% similarity to humans, the gibbon has a role as a bridge between Old World monkeys, such as macaques, and the great apes. According to a study that mapped synteny (genes occurring on the same chromosome) disruptions in the gibbon and human genome, humans and great apes are part of the same superfamily (Hominoidea) with gibbons. The karyotype of gibbons, however, diverged in a much more rapid fashion from the common hominoid ancestor than other apes.
+The common ancestor of hominoids is shown to have a minimum of 24 major chromosomal rearrangements from the presumed gibbon ancestor's karyotype. Reaching the common gibbon ancestor's karyotype from today's various living species of gibbons will require up to 28 additional rearrangements. Adding up, this implies that at least 52 major chromosomal rearrangements are needed to compare the common hominoid ancestor to today's gibbons. No common specific sequence element in the independent rearrangements was found, while 46% of the gibbon-human synteny breakpoints occur in segmental duplication regions. This is an indication that these major differences in humans and gibbons could have had a common source of plasticity or change. Researchers view this unusually high rate of chromosomal rearrangement that is specific in small apes such as gibbons could potentially be due to factors that increase the rate of chromosomal breakage or factors that allow derivative chromosomes to be fixed in a homozygous state while mostly lost in other mammals.
+The whole genome of the gibbons in Southeast Asia was first sequenced in 2014 by the German Primate Center, including Christian Roos, Markus Brameier, and Lutz Walter, along with other international researchers. One of the gibbons that had its genome sequenced is a white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys, NLE) named Asia. The team found that a jumping DNA element named LAVA transposon (also called gibbon-specific retrotransposon) is unique to the gibbon genome apart from humans and the great apes. The LAVA transposon increases mutation rate, thus is supposed to have contributed to the rapid and greater change in gibbons in comparison to their close relatives, which is critical for evolutionary development. The very high rate of chromosomal disorder and rearrangements (such as duplications, deletions or inversions of large stretches of DNA) due to the moving of this large DNA segment is one of the key features that are unique to the gibbon genome.
+A special feature of the LAVA transposon is that it positioned itself precisely between genes that are involved in chromosome segregation and distribution during cell division, which results in a premature termination state leading to an alteration in transcription. This incorporation of the jumping gene near genes involved in chromosome replication is thought to make the rearrangement in the genome even more likely, leading to a greater diversity within the gibbon genera.In addition, some characteristic genes in the gibbon genome had gone through a positive selection and are suggested to give rise to specific anatomical features for gibbons to adapt to their new environment. One of them is TBX5, which is a gene that is required for the development of the front extremities or forelimbs such as long arms. The other is COL1A1, which is responsible for the development of collagen, a protein that is directly involved with the forming of connective tissues, bone, and cartilage. This gene is thought to have a role in gibbons' stronger muscles.
+Researchers have found a coincidence between major environmental changes in Southeast Asia about 5 Mya that caused a cyclical dynamic of expansions and contractions of their forest habitat, an instance of radiation experienced by the gibbon genera. This may have led to the development of a suite of physical characteristics, distinct from their great ape relatives, to adapt to their habitat of dense, canopy forest.These crucial findings in genetics have contributed to the use of gibbons as a genetic model for chromosome breakage and fusion, which is a type of translocation mutation. The unusually high number of structural changes in the DNA and chromosomal rearrangements could lead to problematic consequences in some species. Gibbons, however, not only seemed to be free from problems but let the change help them effectively adapt to their environment. Thus, gibbons are organisms on which genetics research could be focused to broaden the implications to human diseases related to chromosomal changes, such as cancer, including chronic myeloid leukemia.
+
+Conservation status
+Most species are either endangered or critically endangered (the sole exception being H. leuconedys, which is vulnerable), primarily due to degradation or loss of their forest habitats. On the island of Phuket in Thailand, a volunteer-based Gibbon Rehabilitation Center rescues gibbons that were kept in captivity, and are being released back into the wild. The Kalaweit Project also has gibbon rehabilitation centers on Borneo and Sumatra.The IUCN Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group announced 2015 to be the Year of the Gibbon and initiated events to be held around the world in zoos to promote awareness of the status of gibbons.
+
+In traditional Chinese culture
+Sinologist Robert van Gulik concluded gibbons were widespread in central and southern China until at least the Song dynasty, and furthermore, based on an analysis of references to primates in Chinese poetry and other literature and their portrayal in Chinese paintings, the Chinese word yuán (猿) referred specifically to gibbons until they were extirpated throughout most of the country due to habitat destruction (around the 14th century). In modern usage, however, yuán is a generic word for ape. Early Chinese writers viewed the "noble" gibbons, gracefully moving high in the treetops, as the "gentlemen" (jūnzǐ, 君子) of the forest, in contrast to the greedy macaques, attracted by human food. The Taoists ascribed occult properties to gibbons, believing them to be able to live for several hundred years and to turn into humans.Gibbon figurines as old as from the fourth to third centuries BCE (the Zhou dynasty) have been found in China. Later on, gibbons became a popular subject for Chinese painters, especially during the Song dynasty and early Yuan dynasty, when Yì Yuánjí and Mùqī Fǎcháng excelled in painting these apes. From Chinese cultural influence, the Zen motif of the "gibbon grasping at the reflection of the moon in the water" became popular in Japanese art, as well, though gibbons have never occurred naturally in Japan.
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Hylobatidae at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Hylobatidae at Wikispecies
+IUCN SSC PSG Section on Small Apes
+Gibbon Conservation Center
+Gibbon Network and Research Lab
+Gibbon Conservation Alliance
+Gibbon Rehabilitation Project
+View the nomLeu3 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/goldfish.txt b/data/animals/goldfish.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..92fff30613ef45e6cfe0d562ad3bd9a96f853c69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/goldfish.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+The Goldfish (Carassius auratus) is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have become an invasive pest in parts of North America.Native to China, the goldfish is a relatively small member of the carp family (which also includes the Prussian carp and the crucian carp). It was first selectively bred for color in imperial China more than 1,000 years ago, where several distinct breeds were developed. Goldfish breeds vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration, and coloration (various combinations of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black are known).
+
+History
+Various species of carp (collectively known as Asian carp) have been bred and reared as food fish for thousands of years in East Asia. Some of these normally gray or silver species have a tendency to produce red, orange, or  yellow color mutations; this was first recorded in Imperial China, during the Jin dynasty (266–420).During the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907), it was popular to raise carp in ornamental ponds and water gardens. A natural genetic mutation produced gold (actually yellowish orange) rather than silver coloration. People began to selectively breed the gold variety instead of the silver variety, keeping them in ponds or other bodies of water. On special occasions at which guests were expected, they would be moved to a much smaller container for display.By the Song dynasty (AD 960–1279), the selective domestic breeding of goldfish was firmly established. In 1162, the empress of the Song dynasty ordered the construction of a pond to collect the red and gold variety. By this time, people outside the imperial family were forbidden to keep goldfish of the gold (yellow) variety, yellow being the imperial color. The occurrence of other colors (apart from red and gold) was first recorded in 1276.During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), goldfish also began to be raised indoors, which permitted selection for mutations that would not be able to survive in ponds. The first occurrence of -tailed goldfish was recorded in the Ming dynasty. In 1603, goldfish were introduced to Japan. In 1611, goldfish were introduced to Portugal and from there to other parts of Europe.During the 1620s, goldfish were highly regarded in southern Europe because of their metallic scales, and symbolized good luck and fortune. It became a tradition for married men to give their wives a goldfish on their first anniversary, as a symbol for the prosperous years to come. This tradition quickly died, as goldfish became more available, losing their status. Goldfish were first introduced to North America around 1850 and quickly became popular in the United States.
+
+Biology
+Taxonomy
+There has been considerable debate about the taxonomy of the goldfish. Previously, the goldfish was believed to be either a subspecies of the crucian carp (Carassius carassius), or of the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio). However, modern genetic sequencing has suggested otherwise, and that modern goldfish are domesticated varieties of C. auratus that are native to Southern China. C. auratus are differentiated from other Carassius species by several characteristics. C. auratus have a more pointed snout, while the snout of C. carassius is well rounded. C. gibelio often has a grayish/greenish color, while crucian carp are always golden bronze. Juvenile crucian carp have a black spot on the base of the tail, which disappears with age. In C. auratus, this tail spot is never present. C. auratus have fewer than 31 scales along the lateral line, while crucian carp have 33 scales or more.
+Goldfish can hybridize with some other Carassius species of carp. Koi and common carp may also interbreed with goldfish to produce sterile hybrids.
+
+Size
+Wild goldfish typically grow to between 4.7 inches (12 cm) and 8.7 inches (22 cm) but can reach 16 inches (41 cm). When kept in small indoor aquariums, goldfish tend to stay about 1 inch (2.5 cm) to 2 inches (5.1 cm) long. Goldfish may grow larger if moved to bigger fish tanks, but they usually do not grow longer than 6 inches (15 cm).
+As of April 2008, the largest goldfish in the world was believed by the BBC to measure 19 inches (48 cm), in the Netherlands. At the time, a goldfish named "Goldie", kept as a pet in a tank in Folkestone, England, was measured as 15 inches (38 cm) and over 2 pounds (0.91 kg), and named as the second largest in the world behind the Netherlands fish. The secretary of the Federation of British Aquatic Societies (FBAS) stated of Goldie's size, "I would think there are probably a few bigger goldfish that people don't think of as record holders, perhaps in ornamental lakes". In July 2010, a goldfish measuring 16 inches (41 cm) and 5 pounds (2.3 kg) was caught in a pond in Poole, England, thought to have been abandoned there after outgrowing a tank. On November 16, 2020, a 15-inch (38 cm) goldfish weighing 9 pounds (4.1 kg) was found in a 16 acres (6.5 ha) lake in Greenville, South Carolina, while conducting a population survey of Oak Grove Lake.
+
+Vision
+As a domestic fish, thus an easily accessible model organism, goldfish have one of the most studied senses of vision in fishes. Goldfish have four kinds of cone cells, which are respectively sensitive to different colors: red, green, blue and ultraviolet. The ability to distinguish between four different primary colors classifies them as tetrachromats.
+
+Hearing
+Goldfish have one of the most studied senses of hearing in fish. They have two otoliths, permitting the detection of sound particle motion, and Weberian ossicles connecting the swimbladder to the otoliths, facilitating the detection of sound pressure.
+
+Reproduction
+Goldfish can only grow to sexual maturity with enough water and the right nutrition. Most goldfish breed in captivity, particularly in pond settings. Breeding usually happens after a significant temperature change, often in spring. Males chase gravid female goldfish (females carrying eggs), and prompt them to release their eggs by bumping and nudging them.
+Goldfish, like all cyprinids, are egg-layers. Their eggs are adhesive and attach to aquatic vegetation, typically dense plants such as Cabomba or Elodea or a spawning mop. The eggs hatch within 48 to 72 hours.
+Within a week or so, the fry begins to assume its final shape, although a year may pass before they develop a mature goldfish color; until then they are a metallic brown like their wild ancestors. In their first weeks of life, the fry grow quickly—an adaptation born of the high risk of getting devoured by the adult goldfish (or other fish and insects) in their environment.Some highly selectively bred goldfish can no longer breed naturally due to their altered shape. The artificial breeding method called "hand stripping" can assist in breeding, but can harm the fish if not done correctly. In captivity, adults may also eat young that they encounter.
+Breeding goldfish by the hobbyist is the process of selecting adult fish to reproduce, allowing them to reproduce and then raising the resulting offspring while continually removing fish that do not approach the desired pedigree.
+
+Respiration
+Goldfish are able to survive short periods of entirely anoxic conditions. Survival is shorter under higher temperatures, suggesting that this is a cold weather adaptation. Researchers speculate that this is specifically an adaptation to survival in frozen water bodies over winter.
+Energy is obtained from liver glycogen. This process depends upon a pyruvate decarboxylase – the first known in vertebrates.
+
+Salinity
+Although they are a freshwater fish, goldfish have been found in brackish water with a salinity of 17.
+
+Behavior
+Goldfish are gregarious, displaying schooling behavior, as well as displaying the same types of feeding behaviors. Goldfish may display similar behaviors when responding to their reflections in a mirror.Goldfish have learned behaviors, both as groups and as individuals, that stem from native carp behavior. They are a generalist species with varied feeding, breeding, and predator avoidance behaviors that contribute to their success. As fish, they can be described as "friendly" towards each other. Very rarely does a goldfish harm another goldfish, nor do the males harm the females during breeding. The only real threat that goldfish present to each other is competing for food. Commons, comets, and other faster varieties can easily eat all the food during a feeding before  varieties can reach it. This can lead to stunted growth or possible starvation of fancier varieties when they are kept in a pond with their single-tailed brethren. As a result, care should be taken to combine only breeds with similar body type and swim characteristics.
+
+Cognitive abilities
+Goldfish have strong associative learning abilities, as well as social learning skills. In addition, their visual acuity allows them to distinguish between individual humans. Owners may notice that fish react favorably to them (swimming to the front of the glass, swimming rapidly around the tank, and going to the surface mouthing for food) while hiding when other people approach the tank. Over time, goldfish learn to associate their owners and other humans with food, often "begging" for food whenever their owners approach.Goldfish that have constant visual contact with humans also stop considering them to be a threat. After being kept in a tank for several weeks, sometimes months, it becomes possible to feed a goldfish by hand without it shying away.
+Goldfish have a memory-span of at least three months and can distinguish between different shapes, colors, and sounds. By using positive reinforcement, goldfish can be trained to recognize and to react to light signals of different colors or to perform tricks. Fish respond to certain colors most evidently in relation to feeding. Fish learn to anticipate feedings provided they occur at around the same time every day.
+
+Classification
+Western
+As with many other examples of animal, selective breeding of Goldfish over centuries has produced several color variations, some of them far removed from the "golden" color of the original fish. There are also different body shapes, and fin and eye configurations. Some extreme versions of the goldfish live only in aquariums—they are much less hardy than varieties closer to the "wild" original. However, some variations are hardier, such as the Shubunkin. Currently, there are about 300 breeds recognized in China. The vast majority of goldfish breeds today originated from China. Some of the main varieties are:
+
+Chinese
+Chinese tradition classifies goldfish into four main types. These classifications are not commonly used in the West.
+
+Crucian (also called "grass") — Goldfish without  anatomical features, similar to Crucian carp or grass carp except for their coloration. These include the common goldfish, comet goldfish and Shubunkin.
+Wen — Goldfish having a  tail, e.g., Fantails and Veiltails ("Wen" is also the name of the characteristic headgrowth on such strains as Oranda and Lionhead)
+Dragon Eye — Goldfish having extended eyes, e.g., Black Moor, Bubble Eye, and Telescope Eye
+Egg — Goldfish having no dorsal fin, usually with an 'egg-shaped' body, e.g., Lionhead. This group includes a Bubble Eye without a dorsal fin.
+
+Cultivation
+In aquaria
+Like most species in the carp family, goldfish produce a large amount of waste both in their feces and through their gills, releasing harmful chemicals into the water. Build-up of this waste to toxic levels can occur in a relatively short period of time, and can easily cause a goldfish's death. For common and comet varieties, each goldfish should have about 20 US gallons (76 L; 17 imp gal) of water. Goldfish (which are smaller) should have about 10 US gallons (38 L; 8.3 imp gal) per goldfish. The water surface area determines how much oxygen diffuses and dissolves into the water. A general rule is have 1 square foot (0.093 m2). Active aeration by way of a water pump, filter or fountain effectively increases the surface area.The goldfish is classified as a coldwater fish, and can live in unheated aquaria at a temperature comfortable for humans. However, rapid changes in temperature (for example in an office building in winter when the heat is turned off at night) can kill them, especially if the tank is small. Care must also be taken when adding water, as the new water may be of a different temperature. Temperatures under about 10 °C (50 °F) are dangerous to  varieties, though commons and comets can survive slightly lower temperatures. Extremely high temperatures (over 30 °C (86 °F)) can also harm goldfish. However, higher temperatures may help fight protozoan infestations by accelerating the parasite's life-cycle—thus eliminating it more quickly. The optimum temperature for goldfish is between 20 °C (68 °F) and 22 °C (72 °F).Like all fish, goldfish do not like to be petted. In fact, touching a goldfish can endanger its health, because it can cause the protective slime coat to be damaged or removed, exposing the fish's skin to infection from bacteria or water-born parasites. However, goldfish respond to people by surfacing at feeding time, and can be trained or acclimated to taking pellets or flakes from human fingers. The reputation of goldfish dying quickly is often due to poor care. The lifespan of goldfish in captivity can extend beyond 10 years.If left in the dark for a period of time, goldfish gradually change color until they are almost gray. Goldfish produce pigment in response to light, similarly to how human skin becomes tanned in the sun. Fish have cells called chromatophores that produce pigments which reflect light, and give the fish coloration. The color of a goldfish is determined by which pigments are in the cells, how many pigment molecules there are, and whether the pigment is grouped inside the cell or is spaced throughout the cytoplasm.Because goldfish eat live plants, their presence in a planted aquarium can be problematic. Only a few aquarium plant species (for example Cryptocoryne and Anubias) can survive around goldfish, but they require special attention so that they are not uprooted. Plastic plants are more durable.
+
+In ponds
+Goldfish are popular pond fish, since they are small, inexpensive, colorful and very hardy. In an outdoor pond or water garden, they may even survive for brief periods if ice forms on the surface, as long as there is enough oxygen remaining in the water and the pond does not freeze solid. Common, London and Bristol shubunkins, jikin, wakin, comet and some hardier fantail goldfish can be kept in a pond all year round in temperate and subtropical climates. Moor, veiltail, oranda and lionhead can be kept safely in outdoor ponds year-round only in more tropical climates and only in summer elsewhere.
+Compatible fish include rudd, tench, orfe and koi, but the last require specialized care. Ramshorn snails are helpful by eating any algae that grows in the pond. Without some form of animal population control, goldfish ponds can easily become overstocked. Fish such as orfe consume goldfish eggs.
+Ponds small and large are fine in warmer areas (although it ought to be noted that goldfish can "overheat" in small volumes of water in the summer in tropical climates). In frosty climes, the depth should be at least 80 centimeters (31 in) to preclude freezing. During winter, goldfish become sluggish, stop eating and often stay on the bottom of the pond. This is normal; they become active again in the spring. Unless the pond is large enough to maintain its own ecosystem without interference from humans, a filter is important to clear waste and keep the pond clean. Plants are essential as they act as part of the filtration system, as well as a food source for the fish. Plants are further beneficial since they raise oxygen levels in the water.
+Like their wild ancestors, common and comet goldfish as well as shubunkin can survive, and even thrive, in any climate that can support a pond, whereas  goldfish are unlikely to survive in the wild as their bright colors and long fins make them easy prey.
+
+Feeding
+In the wild, the diet of goldfish consists of crustaceans, insects, and various plant matter. Like most fish, they are opportunistic feeders and do not stop eating on their own accord. Overfeeding can be deleterious to their health, typically by blocking the intestines. This happens most often with selectively bred goldfish, which have a convoluted intestinal tract. When excess food is available, they produce more waste and feces, partly due to incomplete protein digestion. Overfeeding can sometimes be diagnosed by observing feces trailing from the fish's cloaca.
+Goldfish-specific food has less protein and more carbohydrate than conventional fish food. Enthusiasts may supplement this diet with shelled peas (with outer skins removed), blanched green leafy vegetables, and bloodworms. Young goldfish benefit from the addition of brine shrimp to their diet. As with all animals, goldfish preferences vary.
+
+For mosquito control
+Like some other well-known aquarium fish, such as the guppy and mosquitofish, goldfish (and other carp) are frequently added to stagnant bodies of water in an attempt to reduce mosquito populations, which spread the vectors of diseases such as West Nile virus, malaria, and dengue. However, introducing goldfish has often had negative consequences for local ecosystems, and their efficacy as pest control has never been compared to those of native fishes.
+
+Market
+The market for live goldfish and other crucian carp usually imported from China was $1.2 million in 2018. Some high quality varieties cost between $125 and $300.
+
+Welfare concerns
+Fishbowls are detrimental to the health of goldfish and are prohibited by animal welfare legislation in several municipalities. The practice of using bowls as permanent fish housing originated from a misunderstanding of Chinese "display" vessels: goldfish which were normally housed in ponds were, on occasion, temporarily displayed in smaller containers to be better admired by guests.Goldfish kept in bowls or "mini-aquariums" suffer from death, disease, and stunting, due primarily to the low oxygen and very high ammonia/nitrite levels inherent in such an environment. In comparison to other common aquarium fish, goldfish have high oxygen needs and produce a large amount of waste due to the fact they lack a stomach; therefore they require a substantial volume of well-filtered water to thrive. In addition, all goldfish varieties have the potential to reach 5 inches (130 mm) in total length, with single-tailed breeds often exceeding 1 foot (0.30 m). Single-tailed varieties include common and comet goldfish.
+In many countries, carnival and fair operators commonly give goldfish away in plastic bags as prizes. In late 2005 Rome banned the use of goldfish and other animals as carnival prizes. Rome has also banned the use of "goldfish bowls", on animal cruelty grounds, as well as Monza, Italy, in 2004. In the United Kingdom, the government proposed banning this practice as part of its Animal Welfare Bill, though this has since been amended to only prevent goldfish being given as prizes to unaccompanied minors.In Japan, during summer festivals and religious holidays (ennichi), a traditional game called goldfish scooping is played, in which a player scoops goldfish from a basin with a special scooper. Sometimes bouncy balls are substituted for goldfish.
+Although edible and closely related to some fairly widely eaten species, goldfish are rarely eaten. A fad among American college students for many years was swallowing goldfish as a stunt and as a fraternity initiation process. The first recorded instance was in 1939 at Harvard University. The practice gradually fell out of popularity over the course of several decades and is rarely practiced today.
+Some animal advocates have called for boycotts of goldfish purchases, citing industrial farming and low survival rates of the fish.
+
+In popular culture
+In Chinese history, goldfish was seen "as a symbol of luck and fortune". Moreover, only members of the Song dynasty could own goldfish. In Iran and among the international Iranian diaspora, goldfish is a traditional part of Nowruz celebrations. Goldfish is usually used in Haft-sin table as the symbol of progress.
+
+See also
+Aquaculture
+List of goldfish varieties
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Carassius auratus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 October 2004.
+Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2004). Carassius auratus auratus in FishBase. September 2004 version.
+Goldfish Types — Description of 50 plus varieties of goldfish with pictures
+Bristol Aquarists' Society: Goldfish — Photographs and descriptions of the different goldfish varieties
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/gorilla.txt b/data/animals/gorilla.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..db0114a224deef106109ec5a8354ff59dcf26975
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/gorilla.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+Gorillas are herbivorous,  predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.
+Gorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres, weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The Eastern gorilla is distinguished from the Western by darker fur colour and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35–40 years in the wild. 
+Gorillas' natural habitats cover tropical or subtropical forest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The mountain gorilla inhabits the Albertine Rift montane cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in altitude from 2,200 to 4,300 metres (7,200 to 14,100 ft). Lowland gorillas live in dense forests and lowland swamps and marshes as low as sea level, with western lowland gorillas living in Central West African countries and eastern lowland gorillas living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near its border with Rwanda.
+There are thought to be around 316,000 western gorillas in the wild, and 5,000 eastern gorillas. Both species are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN; all subspecies are classified as Critically Endangered with the exception of the mountain gorilla, which is classified as Endangered. There are many threats to their survival, such as poaching, habitat destruction, and disease, which threaten the survival of the species. However, conservation efforts have been successful in some areas where they live.
+
+Etymology
+The word gorilla comes from the history of Hanno the Navigator (c.  500 BC), a Carthaginian explorer on an expedition to the west African coast to the area that later became Sierra Leone. Members of the expedition encountered "savage people, the greater part of whom were women, whose bodies were hairy, and whom our interpreters called Gorillae". It is unknown whether what the explorers encountered were what we now call gorillas, another species of ape or monkeys, or humans. Skins of gorillai women, brought back by Hanno, are reputed to have been kept at Carthage until Rome destroyed the city 350 years later at the end of the Punic Wars, 146 BC.
+The American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage and naturalist Jeffries Wyman first described the western gorilla in 1847 from specimens obtained in Liberia. They called it Troglodytes gorilla, using the then-current name of the chimpanzee genus.  The species name was derived from Ancient Greek  Γόριλλαι (gorillai)  'tribe of hairy women', as described by Hanno.
+
+Evolution and classification
+The closest relatives of gorillas are the other two Homininae genera, chimpanzees and humans, all of them having diverged from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago. Human gene sequences differ only 1.6% on average from the sequences of corresponding gorilla genes, but there is further difference in how many copies each gene has.
+Until recently, gorillas were considered to be a single species, with three subspecies: the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla and the mountain gorilla. There is now agreement that there are two species, each with two subspecies. More recently, a third subspecies has been claimed to exist in one of the species. The separate species and subspecies developed from a single type of gorilla during the Ice Age, when their forest habitats shrank and became isolated from each other. Primatologists continue to explore the relationships between various gorilla populations. The species and subspecies listed here are the ones upon which most scientists agree.
+The proposed third subspecies of Gorilla beringei, which has not yet received a trinomen, is the Bwindi population of the mountain gorilla, sometimes called the Bwindi gorilla.
+Some variations that distinguish the classifications of gorilla include varying density, size, hair colour, length, culture, and facial widths. Population genetics of the lowland gorillas suggest that the western and eastern lowland populations diverged around 261 thousand years ago.
+
+Characteristics
+Wild male gorillas weigh 136 to 227 kg (300 to 500 lb), while adult females weigh 68–113 kg (150–250 lb). Adult males are 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 ft 7 in to 5 ft 11 in) tall, with an arm span that stretches from 2.3 to 2.6 m (7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in). Female gorillas are shorter at 1.25 to 1.5 m (4 ft 1 in to 4 ft 11 in), with smaller arm spans. Colin Groves (1970) calculated the average weight of 42 wild adult male gorillas at 144 kg, while Smith and Jungers (1997) found the average weight of 19 wild adult male gorillas to be 169 kg. Adult male gorillas are known as silverbacks due to the characteristic silver hair on their backs reaching to the hips. The tallest gorilla recorded was a 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) silverback with an arm span of 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in), a chest of 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in), and a weight of 219 kg (483 lb), shot in Alimbongo, northern Kivu in May 1938. The heaviest gorilla recorded was a 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) silverback shot in Ambam, Cameroon, which weighed 267 kg (589 lb). Males in captivity can be overweight and reach weights up to 310 kg (683 lb).
+The eastern gorilla is more darkly coloured than the western gorilla, with the mountain gorilla being the darkest of all. The mountain gorilla also has the thickest hair. The western lowland gorilla can be brown or greyish with a reddish forehead. In addition, gorillas that live in lowland forest are more slender and agile than the more bulky mountain gorillas. The eastern gorilla also has a longer face and broader chest than the western gorilla. Like humans, gorillas have individual fingerprints.
+Their eye colour is dark brown, framed by a black ring around the iris. Gorilla facial structure is described as mandibular prognathism, that is, the mandible protrudes farther out than the maxilla. Adult males also have a prominent sagittal crest.
+Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk upright for short distances, typically while carrying food or in defensive situations. A 2018 study investigating the hand posture of 77 mountain gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (8% of the population) found that knuckle walking was done only 60% of the time, and they also supported their weight on their fists, the backs of their hands/feet, and on their palms/soles (with the digits flexed). Such a range of hand postures was previously thought to have been used by only orangutans. Studies of gorilla handedness have yielded varying results, with some arguing for no preference for either hand, and others right-hand dominance for the general population.Studies have shown gorilla blood is not reactive to anti-A and anti-B monoclonal antibodies, which would, in humans, indicate type O blood. Due to novel sequences, though, it is different enough to not conform with the human ABO blood group system, into which the other great apes fit.A gorilla's lifespan is normally between 35 and 40 years, although zoo gorillas may live for 50 years or more. Colo, a female western gorilla at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was the oldest known gorilla at 60 years of age when she died on 17 January 2017. Another gorilla, Ozzie, was 61 years old at the time of his death in January 2022.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Gorillas have a patchy distribution. The range of the two species is separated by the Congo River and its tributaries. The western gorilla lives in west central Africa, while the eastern gorilla lives in east central Africa. Between the species, and even within the species, gorillas live in a variety of habitats and elevations. Gorilla habitat ranges from montane forest to swampland. Eastern gorillas inhabit montane and submontane forests between 650 and 4,000 m (2,130 and 13,120 ft) above sea level.Mountain gorillas live in montane forests at the higher end of the elevation range, while eastern lowland gorillas live in submontane forests at the lower end. In addition, eastern lowland gorillas live in montane bamboo forests, as well as lowland forests ranging from 600–3,308 m (1,969–10,853 ft) in elevation. Western gorillas live in both lowland swamp forests and montane forests, at elevations ranging from sea level to 1,600 m (5,200 ft). Western lowland gorillas live in swamp and lowland forests ranging up to 1,600 m (5,200 ft), and Cross River gorillas live in low-lying and submontane forests ranging from 150–1,600 m (490–5,250 ft).
+
+Ecology
+Diet and foraging
+A gorilla's day is divided between rest periods and travel or feeding periods. Diets differ between and within species. Mountain gorillas mostly eat foliage, such as leaves, stems, pith, and shoots, while fruit makes up a very small part of their diets. Mountain gorilla food is widely distributed and neither individuals nor groups have to compete with one another. Their home ranges vary from 3 to 15 km2 (1.2 to 5.8 sq mi), and their movements range around 500 m (0.31 mi) or less on an average day. Despite eating a few species in each habitat, mountain gorillas have flexible diets and can live in a variety of habitats.
+Eastern lowland gorillas have more diverse diets, which vary seasonally. Leaves and pith are commonly eaten, but fruits can make up as much as 25% of their diets. Since fruit is less available, lowland gorillas must travel farther each day, and their home ranges vary from 2.7 to 6.5 km2 (1.0 to 2.5 sq mi), with day ranges 154–2,280 m (0.096–1.417 mi). Eastern lowland gorillas will also eat insects, preferably ants. Western lowland gorillas depend on fruits more than the others and they are more dispersed across their range. They travel even farther than the other gorilla subspecies, at 1,105 m (0.687 mi) per day on average, and have larger home ranges of 7–14 km2 (2.7–5.4 sq mi). Western lowland gorillas have less access to terrestrial herbs, although they can access aquatic herbs in some areas. Termites and ants are also eaten.
+Gorillas rarely drink water "because they consume succulent vegetation that is comprised of almost half water as well as morning dew", although both mountain and lowland gorillas have been observed drinking.
+
+Nesting
+Gorillas construct nests for daytime and night use. Nests tend to be simple aggregations of branches and leaves about 2 to 5 ft (0.61 to 1.52 m) in diameter and are constructed by individuals. Gorillas, unlike chimpanzees or orangutans, tend to sleep in nests on the ground. The young nest with their mothers, but construct nests after three years of age, initially close to those of their mothers. Gorilla nests are distributed arbitrarily and use of tree species for site and construction appears to be opportunistic. Nest-building by great apes is now considered to be not just animal architecture, but as an important instance of tool use.Gorillas make a new nest to sleep on daily and do not use the previous one. This even if remaining in the same place. Usually, they are made an hour before dusk, to be ready to sleep when night falls. Gorillas sleep longer than humans, an average of 12 hours per day.
+
+Interspecies interactions
+One possible predator of gorillas is the leopard. Gorilla remains have been found in leopard scat, but this may be the result of scavenging. When the group is attacked by humans, leopards, or other gorillas, an individual silverback will protect the group, even at the cost of his own life. Gorillas do not appear to directly compete with chimpanzees in areas where they overlap. When fruit is abundant, gorilla and chimpanzee diets converge, but when fruit is scarce gorillas resort to vegetation. The two apes may also feed on different species, whether fruit or insects. Gorillas and chimpanzees may ignore or avoid each other when feeding on the same tree, but they have also been documented to form social bonds. Conversely, coalitions of chimpanzees have been observed attacking families of gorillas including silverbacks and killing infants.
+
+Behaviour
+Social structure
+Gorillas live in groups called troops. Troops tend to be made of one adult male or silverback, with a harem of multiple adult females and their offspring. However, multiple-male troops also exist. A silverback is typically more than 12 years of age, and is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on his back, which comes with maturity. Silverbacks have large canine teeth that also come with maturity. Both males and females tend to emigrate from their natal groups. For mountain gorillas, females disperse from their natal troops more than males. Mountain gorillas and western lowland gorillas also commonly transfer to second new groups.Mature males also tend to leave their groups and establish their own troops by attracting emigrating females. However, male mountain gorillas sometimes stay in their natal troops and become subordinate to the silverback. If the silverback dies, these males may be able to become dominant or mate with the females. This behaviour has not been observed in eastern lowland gorillas. In a single male group, when the silverback dies, the females and their offspring disperse and find a new troop. Without a silverback to protect them, the infants will likely fall victim to infanticide. Joining a new group is likely to be a tactic against this. However, while gorilla troops usually disband after the silverback dies, female eastern lowlands gorillas and their offspring have been recorded staying together until a new silverback transfers into the group. This likely serves as protection from leopards.
+The silverback is the centre of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflicts, determining the movements of the group, leading the others to feeding sites, and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troop. Younger males subordinate to the silverback, known as blackbacks, may serve as backup protection. Blackbacks are aged between 8 and 12 years and lack the silver back hair. The bond that a silverback has with his females forms the core of gorilla social life. Bonds between them are maintained by grooming and staying close together. Females form strong relationships with males to gain mating opportunities and protection from predators and infanticidal outside males. However, aggressive behaviours between males and females do occur, but rarely lead to serious injury. Relationships between females may vary. Maternally related females in a troop tend to be friendly towards each other and associate closely. Otherwise, females have few friendly encounters and commonly act aggressively towards each other.Females may fight for social access to males and a male may intervene. Male gorillas have weak social bonds, particularly in multiple-male groups with apparent dominance hierarchies and strong competition for mates. Males in all-male groups, though, tend to have friendly interactions and socialise through play, grooming, and staying together, and occasionally they even engage in homosexual interactions. Severe aggression is rare in stable groups, but when two mountain gorilla groups meet the two silverbacks can sometimes engage in a fight to the death, using their canines to cause deep, gaping injuries.
+
+Reproduction and parenting
+Females mature at 10–12 years (earlier in captivity), and males at 11–13 years. A female's first ovulatory cycle occurs when she is six years of age, and is followed by a two-year period of adolescent infertility. The estrous cycle lasts 30–33 days, with outward ovulation signs subtle compared to those of chimpanzees. The gestation period lasts 8.5 months. Female mountain gorillas first give birth at 10 years of age and have four-year interbirth intervals. Males can be fertile before reaching adulthood. Gorillas mate year round.Females will purse their lips and slowly approach a male while making eye contact. This serves to urge the male to mount her. If the male does not respond, then she will try to attract his attention by reaching towards him or slapping the ground. In multiple-male groups, solicitation indicates female preference, but females can be forced to mate with multiple males. Males incite copulation by approaching a female and displaying at her or touching her and giving a "train grunt". Recently, gorillas have been observed engaging in face-to-face sex, a trait once considered unique to humans and bonobos.
+Gorilla infants are vulnerable and dependent, thus mothers, their primary caregivers, are important to their survival. Male gorillas are not active in caring for the young, but they do play a role in socialising them to other youngsters. The silverback has a largely supportive relationship with the infants in his troop and shields them from aggression within the group. Infants remain in contact with their mothers for the first five months and mothers stay near the silverback for protection. Infants suckle at least once per hour and sleep with their mothers in the same nest.Infants begin to break contact with their mothers after five months, but only for a brief period each time. By 12 months old, infants move up to five m (16 ft) from their mothers. At around 18–21 months, the distance between mother and offspring increases and they regularly spend time away from each other. In addition, nursing decreases to once every two hours. Infants spend only half of their time with their mothers by 30 months. They enter their juvenile period at their third year, and this lasts until their sixth year. At this time, gorillas are weaned and they sleep in a separate nest from their mothers. After their offspring are weaned, females begin to ovulate and soon become pregnant again. The presence of play partners, including the silverback, minimizes conflicts in weaning between mother and offspring.
+
+Communication
+Twenty-five distinct vocalisations are recognised, many of which are used primarily for group communication within dense vegetation. Sounds classified as grunts and barks are heard most frequently while traveling, and indicate the whereabouts of individual group members. They may also be used during social interactions when discipline is required. Screams and roars signal alarm or warning, and are produced most often by silverbacks. Deep, rumbling belches suggest contentment and are heard frequently during feeding and resting periods. They are the most common form of intragroup communication.For this reason, conflicts are most often resolved by displays and other threat behaviours that are intended to intimidate without becoming physical. As a result, fights do not occur very frequently. The ritualized charge display is unique to gorillas. The entire sequence has nine steps: (1) progressively quickening hooting, (2) symbolic feeding, (3) rising bipedally, (4) throwing vegetation, (5) chest-beating with cupped hands, (6) one leg kick, (7) sideways running, two-legged to four-legged, (8) slapping and tearing vegetation, and (9) thumping the ground with palms to end display.A gorilla's chest-beat may vary in frequency depending on its size. Smaller ones tend to have higher frequencies, while larger ones tend to be lower. They also do it the most when females are ready to mate.
+
+Intelligence
+Gorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko, have been taught a subset of sign language. Like the other great apes, gorillas can laugh, grieve, have "rich emotional lives", develop strong family bonds, make and use tools, and think about the past and future. Some researchers believe gorillas have spiritual feelings or religious sentiments. They have been shown to have cultures in different areas revolving around different methods of food preparation, and will show individual colour preferences.
+
+Tool use
+The following observations were made by a team led by Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society in September 2005. Gorillas are now known to use tools in the wild. A female gorilla in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo was recorded using a stick as if to gauge the depth of water whilst crossing a swamp. A second female was seen using a tree stump as a bridge and also as a support whilst fishing in the swamp. This means all of the great apes are now known to use tools.In September 2005, a two-and-a-half-year-old gorilla in the Republic of Congo was discovered using rocks to smash open palm nuts inside a game sanctuary. While this was the first such observation for a gorilla, over 40 years previously, chimpanzees had been seen using tools in the wild 'fishing' for termites. Nonhuman great apes are endowed with semiprecision grips, and have been able to use both simple tools and even weapons, such as improvising a club from a convenient fallen branch.
+
+Scientific study
+American physician and missionary Thomas Staughton Savage obtained the first specimens (the skull and other bones) during his time in Liberia. The first scientific description of gorillas dates back to an article by Savage and the naturalist Jeffries Wyman in 1847 in Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, where Troglodytes gorilla is described, now known as the western gorilla. Other species of gorilla were described in the next few years.
+The explorer Paul Du Chaillu was the first westerner to see a live gorilla during his travel through western equatorial Africa from 1856 to 1859. He brought dead specimens to the UK in 1861.The first systematic study was not conducted until the 1920s, when Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural History traveled to Africa to hunt for an animal to be shot and stuffed. On his first trip, he was accompanied by his friends Mary Bradley, a mystery writer, her husband, and their young daughter Alice, who would later write science fiction under the pseudonym James Tiptree Jr. After their trip, Mary Bradley wrote On the Gorilla Trail. She later became an advocate for the conservation of gorillas, and wrote several more books (mainly for children). In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Robert Yerkes and his wife Ava helped further the study of gorillas when they sent Harold Bigham to Africa. Yerkes also wrote a book in 1929 about the great apes.
+After World War II, George Schaller was one of the first researchers to go into the field and study primates. In 1959, he conducted a systematic study of the mountain gorilla in the wild and published his work. Years later, at the behest of Louis Leakey and the National Geographic, Dian Fossey conducted a much longer and more comprehensive study of the mountain gorilla. When she published her work, many misconceptions and myths about gorillas were finally disproved, including the myth that gorillas are violent.
+Western lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla) are believed to be one of the zoonotic origins of HIV/AIDS. The SIVgor Simian immunodeficiency virus that infects them is similar to a certain strain of HIV-1.
+
+Genome sequencing
+The gorilla became the next-to-last great ape genus to have its genome sequenced. The first gorilla genome was generated with short read and Sanger sequencing using DNA from a female western lowland gorilla named Kamilah. This gave scientists further insight into the evolution and origin of humans. Despite the chimpanzees being the closest extant relatives of humans, 15% of the human genome was found to be more like that of the gorilla. In addition, 30% of the gorilla genome "is closer to human or chimpanzee than the latter are to each other; this is rarer around coding genes, indicating pervasive selection throughout great ape evolution, and has functional consequences in gene expression." Analysis of the gorilla genome has cast doubt on the idea that the rapid evolution of hearing genes gave rise to language in humans, as it also occurred in gorillas.
+
+Captivity
+Gorillas became highly prized by western zoos since the 19th century, though the earliest attempts to keep them in captive facilities ended in their early death. In the late 1920s the care of captive gorillas significantly improved. Colo (December 22, 1956 – January 17, 2017) of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was the first gorilla to be born in captivity.Captive gorillas exhibit stereotypic behaviors, including eating disorders – such as regurgitation, reingestion and coprophagy – self-injurious or conspecific aggression, pacing, rocking, sucking of fingers or lip smacking, and overgrooming. Negative vigilance of visitor behaviors have been identified as starting, posturing and charging at visitors. Groups of bachelor gorillas containing young silverbacks have significantly higher levels of aggression and wounding rates than mixed age and sex groups.The use of both internal and external privacy screens on exhibit windows has been shown to alleviate stresses from visual effects of high crowd densities, leading to decreased stereotypic behaviors in the gorillas. Playing naturalistic auditory stimuli as opposed to classical music, rock music, or no auditory enrichment (which allows for crowd noise, machinery, etc. to be heard) has been noted to reduce stress behavior as well. Enrichment modifications to feed and foraging, where clover-hay is added to an exhibit floor, decrease stereotypic activities while simultaneously increasing positive food-related behaviors.Recent research on captive gorilla welfare emphasizes a need to shift to individual assessments instead of a one-size-fits-all group approach to understanding how welfare increases or decreases based on a variety of factors. Individual characteristics such as age, sex, personality and individual histories are essential in understanding that stressors will affect each individual gorilla and their welfare differently.
+
+Conservation status
+All species (and subspecies) of gorilla are listed as endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. All gorillas are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that international export/import of the species, including in parts and derivatives, is regulated. Around 316,000 western lowland gorillas are thought to exist in the wild, 4,000 in zoos, thanks to conservation; eastern lowland gorillas have a population of under 5,000 in the wild and 24 in zoos. Mountain gorillas are the most severely endangered, with an estimated population of about 880 left in the wild and none in zoos. Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and poaching for the bushmeat trade. Gorillas are closely related to humans, and are susceptible to diseases that humans also get infected by. In 2004, a population of several hundred gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped out by the Ebola virus. A 2006 study published in Science concluded more than 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. The researchers indicated in conjunction with commercial hunting of these apes, the virus creates "a recipe for rapid ecological extinction". In captivity, it has also been observed that gorillas can also be infected with COVID-19.Conservation efforts include the Great Apes Survival Project, a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme and the UNESCO, and also an international treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats, concluded under UNEP-administered Convention on Migratory Species. The Gorilla Agreement is the first legally binding instrument exclusively targeting gorilla conservation; it came into effect on 1 June 2008. Governments of countries where gorillas live placed a ban on their killing and trading, but weak law enforcement still poses a threat to them, since the governments rarely apprehend poachers, traders and consumers that rely on gorillas for profit.
+
+Cultural significance
+In Cameroon's Lebialem highlands, folk stories connect people and gorillas via totems; a gorilla's death means the connected person will die also. This creates a local conservation ethic. Many different indigenous peoples interact with wild gorillas. Some have detailed knowledge; the Baka have words to distinguish at least ten types of gorilla individuals, by sex, age, and relationships. In 1861, alongside tales of hunting enormous gorillas, the traveller and anthropologist Paul Du Chaillu reported the Cameroonian story that a pregnant woman who sees a gorilla will give birth to one.In 1911, the anthropologist Albert Jenks noted the Bulu people's knowledge of gorilla behaviour and ecology, and their gorilla stories. In one such story, "The Gorilla and the Child", a gorilla speaks to people, seeking help and trust, and stealing a baby; a man accidentally kills the baby while attacking the gorilla. Even far from where gorillas live, savannah tribes pursue "cult-like worship" of the apes. Some beliefs are widespread among indigenous peoples. The Fang name for gorilla is ngi while the Bulu name is njamong; the root ngi means fire, denoting a positive energy. From the Central African Republic to Cameroon and Gabon, stories of reincarnations as gorillas, totems, and transformations similar to those recorded by Du Chaillu are still told in the 21st century.Since gaining international attention, gorillas have been a recurring element of many aspects of popular culture and media. They were usually portrayed as murderous and aggressive. Inspired by Emmanuel Frémiet's Gorilla Carrying off a Woman, gorillas have been depicted kidnapping human women. This theme was used in films such as Ingagi (1930) and most notably King Kong (1933). The comedic play The Gorilla, which debuted in 1925, featured an escaped gorilla taking a woman from her house. Several films would use the "escaped gorilla" trope including The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942), The Gorilla Man (1943), Gorilla at Large (1954) and the Disney cartoons The Gorilla Mystery (1930) and Donald Duck and the Gorilla (1944).Gorillas have been used as opponents to jungle-themed heroes such as Tarzan and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, as well as superheroes. The DC comics supervillain Gorilla Grodd is an enemy of the Flash. Gorillas also serve as antagonists in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes. More positive and sympathetic portrayals of gorillas include the films Son of Kong (1933), Mighty Joe Young (1949), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Instinct (1999) and the 1992 novel Ishmael. Gorillas have been featured in video games as well, notably Donkey Kong.
+
+See also
+References
+Literature cited
+External links
+
+Animal Diversity Web – includes photos, artwork, and skull specimens of Gorilla gorilla
+Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting International Gorilla Conservation Programme (Video) (archived 5 September 2007)
+Primate Info Net Gorilla Factsheet Archived 22 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine – taxonomy, ecology, behavior and conservation
+San Diego Zoo Gorilla Factsheet – features a video and photos
+World Wildlife Fund: Gorillas – conservation, facts and photos (archived 16 October 2004)
+Gorilla protection – Gorilla conservation (archived 29 November 2010)
+Welcome to the Year of the Gorilla 2009 Archived 18 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine
+Virunga National Park – The Official Website for Virunga National Park, the Last Refuge for Congo's Mountain Gorillas (archived 22 September 2010)
+Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).
+Genome of Gorilla gorilla, via Ensembl
+Genome of Gorilla gorilla (version Kamilah_GGO_v0/gorGor6), via UCSC Genome Browser
+Data of the genome of Gorilla gorilla, via NCBI
+Data of the genome assembly of Gorilla gorilla (version Kamilah_GGO_v0/gorGor6), via NCBI
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+Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
+Grasshoppers are typically ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which allow them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously. Their front leg is shorter and used for grasping food. As hemimetabolous insects, they do not undergo complete metamorphosis; they hatch from an egg into a nymph or "hopper" which undergoes five moults, becoming more similar to the adult insect at each developmental stage. The grasshopper hears through the tympanal organ which can be found in the first segment of the abdomen attached to the thorax; while its sense of vision is in the compound eyes, the change in light intensity is perceived in the simple eyes (ocelli). At high population densities and under certain environmental conditions, some grasshopper species can change color and behavior and form swarms. Under these circumstances, they are known as locusts.
+Grasshoppers are plant-eaters, with a few species at times becoming serious pests of cereals, vegetables and pasture, especially when they swarm in the millions as locusts and destroy crops over wide areas. They protect themselves from predators by camouflage; when detected, many species attempt to startle the predator with a brilliantly coloured wing flash while jumping and (if adult) launching themselves into the air, usually flying for only a short distance. Other species such as the rainbow grasshopper have warning coloration which deters predators. Grasshoppers are affected by parasites and various diseases, and many predatory creatures feed on both nymphs and adults. The eggs are subject to attack by parasitoids and predators. Grasshoppers are diurnal insects—meaning, they are most active during the day time.
+Grasshoppers have had a long relationship with humans. Swarms of locusts can have devastating effects and cause famine, having done so since Biblical times. Even in smaller numbers, the insects can be serious pests. They are used as food in countries such as Mexico and Indonesia. They feature in art, symbolism and literature. The study of grasshopper species is called acridology.
+
+Phylogeny
+Grasshoppers belong to the suborder Caelifera. Although "grasshopper" has been used as a common name for the suborder in general, modern sources restrict it to the more "evolved" families. They may be placed in the infraorder Acrididea and have been referred to as "short-horned grasshoppers" in older texts to distinguish them from the also-obsolete term "long-horned grasshoppers" (now bush-crickets or katydids) with their much longer antennae. The phylogeny of the Caelifera, based on mitochondrial ribosomal RNA of thirty-two taxa in six out of seven superfamilies, is shown as a cladogram. The Ensifera (crickets, etc.), Caelifera and all the superfamilies of grasshoppers except Pamphagoidea appear to be monophyletic.
+In evolutionary terms, the split between the Caelifera and the Ensifera is no more recent than the Permo-Triassic boundary; the earliest insects that are certainly Caeliferans are in the extinct families Locustopseidae and Locustavidae from the early Triassic, roughly 250 million years ago. The group diversified during the Triassic and have remained important plant-eaters from that time to now. The first modern families such as the Eumastacidae, Tetrigidae and Tridactylidae appeared in the Cretaceous, though some insects that might belong to the last two of these groups are found in the early Jurassic. Morphological classification is difficult because many taxa have converged towards a common habitat type; recent taxonomists have concentrated on the internal genitalia, especially those of the male. This information is not available from fossil specimens, and the palaeontological taxonomy is founded principally on the venation of the hindwings.The Caelifera includes some 2,400 valid genera and about 11,000 known species. Many undescribed species probably exist, especially in tropical wet forests. The Caelifera have a predominantly tropical distribution with fewer species known from temperate zones, but most of the superfamilies have representatives worldwide. They are almost exclusively herbivorous and are probably the oldest living group of chewing herbivorous insects.The most diverse superfamily is the Acridoidea, with around 8,000 species. The two main families in this are the Acrididae (grasshoppers and locusts) with a worldwide distribution, and the Romaleidae (lubber grasshoppers), found chiefly in the New World. The Ommexechidae and Tristiridae are South American, and the Lentulidae, Lithidiidae and Pamphagidae are mainly African. The Pauliniids are nocturnal and can swim or skate on water, and the Lentulids are wingless. Pneumoridae are native to Africa, particularly southern Africa, and are distinguished by the inflated abdomens of the males.
+
+Characteristics
+Grasshoppers have the typical insect body plan of head, thorax, and abdomen. The head is held vertically at an angle to the body, with the mouth at the bottom. The head bears a large pair of compound eyes which give all-round vision, three simple eyes which can detect light and dark, and a pair of thread-like antennae that are sensitive to touch and smell. The downward-directed mouthparts are modified for chewing and there are two sensory palps in front of the jaws.The thorax and abdomen are segmented and have a rigid cuticle made up of overlapping plates composed of chitin. The three fused thoracic segments bear three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings. The forewings, known as tegmina, are narrow and leathery while the hindwings are large and membranous, the veins providing strength. The legs are terminated by claws for gripping. The hind leg is particularly powerful; the femur is robust and has several ridges where different surfaces join and the inner ridges bear stridulatory pegs in some species. The posterior edge of the tibia bears a double row of spines and there are a pair of articulated spurs near its lower end. The interior of the thorax houses the muscles that control the wings and legs.
+The abdomen has eleven segments, the first of which is fused to the thorax and contains the tympanal organ and hearing system. Segments two to eight are ring-shaped and joined by flexible membranes. Segments nine to eleven are reduced in size; segment nine bears a pair of cerci and segments ten and eleven have the reproductive organs. Female grasshoppers are normally larger than males, with short ovipositors. The name of the suborder "Caelifera" comes from the Latin and means chisel-bearing, referring to the shape of the ovipositor.Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing a row of pegs on the hind legs against the edges of the forewings (stridulation). These sounds are produced mainly by males to attract females, though in some species the females also stridulate.Grasshoppers may be confused with crickets, but they differ in many aspects; these include the number of segments in their antennae and the structure of the ovipositor, as well as the location of the tympanal organ and the methods by which sound is produced. Ensiferans have antennae that can be much longer than the body and have at least 20–24 segments, while caeliferans have fewer segments in their shorter, stouter antennae.
+
+Biology
+Diet and digestion
+Most grasshoppers are polyphagous, eating vegetation from multiple plant sources, but some are omnivorous and also eat animal tissue and animal faeces. In general their preference is for grasses, including many cereals grown as crops. The digestive system is typical of insects, with Malpighian tubules discharging into the midgut. Carbohydrates are digested mainly in the crop, while proteins are digested in the ceca of the midgut. Saliva is abundant but largely free of enzymes, helping to move food and Malpighian secretions along the gut. Some grasshoppers possess cellulase, which by softening plant cell walls makes plant cell contents accessible to other digestive enzymes. Grasshoppers can also be cannibalistic when swarming.
+
+Sensory organs
+Grasshoppers have a typical insect nervous system, and have an extensive set of external sense organs. On the side of the head are a pair of large compound eyes which give a broad field of vision and can detect movement, shape, colour and distance. There are also three simple eyes (ocelli) on the forehead which can detect light intensity, a pair of antennae containing olfactory (smell) and touch receptors, and mouthparts containing gustatory (taste) receptors. At the front end of the abdomen there is a pair of tympanal organs for sound reception. There are numerous fine hairs (setae) covering the whole body that act as mechanoreceptors (touch and wind sensors), and these are most dense on the antennae, the palps (part of the mouth), and on the cerci at the tip of the abdomen. There are special receptors (campaniform sensillae) embedded in the cuticle of the legs that sense pressure and cuticle distortion. There are internal "chordotonal" sense organs specialized to detect position and movement about the joints of the exoskeleton. The receptors convey information to the central nervous system through sensory neurons, and most of these have their cell bodies located in the periphery near the receptor site itself.
+
+Circulation and respiration
+Like other insects, grasshoppers have an open circulatory system and their body cavities are filled with haemolymph. A heart-like structure in the upper part of the abdomen pumps the fluid to the head from where it percolates past the tissues and organs on its way back to the abdomen. This system circulates nutrients throughout the body and carries metabolic wastes to be excreted into the gut. Other functions of the haemolymph include wound healing, heat transfer and the provision of hydrostatic pressure, but the circulatory system is not involved in gaseous exchange. Respiration is performed using tracheae, air-filled tubes, which open at the surfaces of the thorax and abdomen through pairs of valved spiracles. Larger insects may need to actively ventilate their bodies by opening some spiracles while others remain closed, using abdominal muscles to expand and contract the body and pump air through the system.
+
+Jumping
+Grasshoppers jump by extending their large back legs and pushing against the substrate (the ground, a twig, a blade of grass or whatever else they are standing on); the reaction force propels them into the air. A large grasshopper, such as a locust, can jump about a metre (20 body lengths) without using its wings; the acceleration peaks at about 20 g.They jump for several reasons; to escape from a predator, to launch themselves into flight, or simply to move from place to place. For the escape jump in particular there is strong selective pressure to maximize take-off velocity, since this determines the range. This means that the legs must thrust against the ground with both high force and a high velocity of movement. A fundamental property of muscle is that it cannot contract with high force and high velocity at the same time. Grasshoppers overcome this by using a catapult mechanism to amplify the mechanical power produced by their muscles.The jump is a three-stage process. First, the grasshopper fully flexes the lower part of the leg (tibia) against the upper part (femur) by activating the flexor tibiae muscle (the back legs of the grasshopper in the top photograph are in this preparatory position). Second, there is a period of co-contraction in which force builds up in the large, pennate extensor tibiae muscle, but the tibia is kept flexed by the simultaneous contraction of the flexor tibiae muscle. The extensor muscle is much stronger than the flexor muscle, but the latter is aided by specialisations in the joint that give it a large effective mechanical advantage over the former when the tibia is fully flexed. Co-contraction can last for up to half a second, and during this period the extensor muscle shortens and stores elastic strain energy by distorting stiff cuticular structures in the leg. The extensor muscle contraction is quite slow (almost isometric), which allows it to develop high force (up to 14 N in the desert locust), but because it is slow only low power is needed. The third stage of the jump is the trigger relaxation of the flexor muscle, which releases the tibia from the flexed position. The subsequent rapid tibial extension is driven mainly by the relaxation of the elastic structures, rather than by further shortening of the extensor muscle. In this way the stiff cuticle acts like the elastic of a catapult, or the bow of a bow-and-arrow. Energy is put into the store at low power by slow but strong muscle contraction, and retrieved from the store at high power by rapid relaxation of the mechanical elastic structures.
+
+Stridulation
+Male grasshoppers spend much of the day stridulating, singing more actively under optimal conditions and being more subdued when conditions are adverse; females also stridulate, but their efforts are insignificant when compared to the males. Late-stage male nymphs can sometimes be seen making stridulatory movements, although they lack the equipment to make sounds, demonstrating the importance of this behavioural trait. The songs are a means of communication; the male stridulation seems to express reproductive maturity, the desire for social cohesion and individual well-being. Social cohesion becomes necessary among grasshoppers because of their ability to jump or fly large distances, and the song can serve to limit dispersal and guide others to favourable habitat. The generalised song can vary in phraseology and intensity, and is modified in the presence of a rival male, and changes again to a courtship song when a female is nearby. In male grasshoppers of the family Pneumoridae, the enlarged abdomen amplifies stridulation.
+
+Life cycle
+In most grasshopper species, conflicts between males over females rarely escalate beyond ritualistic displays. Some exceptions include the chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis), where males may fight on top of ovipositing females; engaging in leg grappling, biting, kicking and mounting.The newly emerged female grasshopper has a preoviposition period of a week or two while she increases in weight and her eggs mature. After mating, the female of most species digs a hole with her ovipositor and lays a batch of eggs in a pod in the ground near food plants, generally in the summer. After laying the eggs, she covers the hole with soil and litter. Some, like the semi-aquatic Cornops aquaticum, deposit the pod directly into plant tissue. The eggs in the pod are glued together with a froth in some species. After a few weeks of development, the eggs of most species in temperate climates go into diapause, and pass the winter in this state. Diapause is broken by a sufficiently low ground temperature, with development resuming as soon as the ground warms above a certain threshold temperature. The embryos in a pod generally all hatch out within a few minutes of each other. They soon shed their membranes and their exoskeletons harden. These first instar nymphs can then jump away from predators.Grasshoppers undergo incomplete metamorphosis: they repeatedly moult, each instar becoming larger and more like an adult, with the wing-buds increasing in size at each stage. The number of instars varies between species but is often six. After the final moult, the wings are inflated and become fully functional. The migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes, spends about 25 to 30 days as a nymph, depending on sex and temperature, and lives for about 51 days as an adult.
+
+Swarming
+Locusts are the swarming phase of certain species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae. Swarming behaviour is a response to overcrowding. Increased tactile stimulation of the hind legs causes an increase in levels of serotonin. This causes the grasshopper to change colour, feed more and breed faster. The transformation of a solitary individual into a swarming one is induced by several contacts per minute over a short period.Following this transformation, under suitable conditions dense nomadic bands of flightless nymphs known as "hoppers" can occur, producing pheromones which attract the insects to each other. With several generations in a year, the locust population can build up from localised groups into vast accumulations of flying insects known as plagues, devouring all the vegetation they encounter. The largest recorded locust swarm was one formed by the now-extinct Rocky Mountain locust in 1875; the swarm was 1,800 miles (2,900 km) long and 110 miles (180 km) wide, and one estimate puts the number of locusts involved at 3.5 trillion. An adult desert locust can eat about 2 g (0.1 oz) of plant material each day, so the billions of insects in a large swarm can be very destructive, stripping all the foliage from plants in an affected area and consuming stems, flowers, fruits, seeds and bark.
+
+Predators, parasites, and pathogens
+Grasshoppers have a wide range of predators at different stages of their lives; eggs are eaten by bee-flies, ground beetles and blister beetles; hoppers and adults are taken by other insects such as ants and , robber flies and sphecid wasps, by spiders, and by many birds and small mammals including dogs and cats.The eggs and nymphs are under attack by parasitoids including blow flies, flesh flies, and tachinid flies. External parasites of adults and nymphs include mites. Female grasshoppers parasitised by mites produce fewer eggs and thus have fewer offspring than unaffected individuals.
+The grasshopper nematode (Mermis nigrescens) is a long slender worm that infects grasshoppers, living in the insect's hemocoel. Adult worms lay eggs on plants and the host becomes infected when the foliage is eaten. Spinochordodes tellinii and Paragordius tricuspidatus are parasitic worms that infect grasshoppers and alter the behaviour of their hosts. When the worms are sufficiently developed, the grasshopper is persuaded to leap into a nearby body of water where it drowns, thus enabling the parasite to continue with the next stage of its life cycle, which takes place in water.
+Grasshoppers are affected by diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa. The bacteria Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have both been implicated in causing disease in grasshoppers, as has the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. This widespread fungus has been used to control various pest insects around the world, but although it infects grasshoppers, the infection is not usually lethal because basking in the sun has the result of raising the insect's temperature above a threshold tolerated by the fungus. The fungal pathogen Entomophaga grylli is able to influence the behaviour of its grasshopper host, causing it to climb to the top of a plant and cling to the stem as it dies. This ensures wide dispersal of the fungal spores liberated from the corpse.The fungal pathogen Metarhizium acridum is found in Africa, Australia and Brazil where it has caused epizootics in grasshoppers. It is being investigated for possible use as a microbial insecticide for locust control. The microsporidian fungus Nosema locustae, once considered to be a protozoan, can be lethal to grasshoppers. It has to be consumed by mouth and is the basis for a bait-based commercial microbial pesticide. Various other microsporidians and protozoans are found in the gut.
+
+Anti-predator defences
+Grasshoppers exemplify a range of anti-predator adaptations, enabling them to avoid detection, to escape if detected, and in some cases to avoid being eaten if captured. Grasshoppers are often camouflaged to avoid detection by predators that hunt by sight; some species can change their coloration to suit their surroundings.Several species such as the hooded leaf grasshopper Phyllochoreia ramakrishnai (Eumastacoidea) are detailed mimics of leaves. Stick grasshoppers (Proscopiidae) mimic wooden sticks in form and coloration. Grasshoppers often have deimatic patterns on their wings, giving a sudden flash of bright colours that may startle predators long enough to give time to escape in a combination of jump and flight.Some species are genuinely aposematic, having both bright warning coloration and sufficient toxicity to dissuade predators. Dictyophorus productus (Pyrgomorphidae) is a "heavy, bloated, sluggish insect" that makes no attempt to hide; it has a bright red abdomen. A Cercopithecus monkey that ate other grasshoppers refused to eat the species. Another species, the rainbow or painted grasshopper of Arizona, Dactylotum bicolor (Acridoidea), has been shown by experiment with a natural predator, the little striped whiptail lizard, to be aposematic.
+
+Relationship with humans
+In art and media
+Grasshoppers are occasionally depicted in artworks, such as the Dutch Golden Age painter Balthasar van der Ast's still life oil painting, Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects, c. 1630, now in the National Gallery, London, though the insect may be a bush-cricket.Another orthopteran is found in Rachel Ruysch's still life Flowers in a Vase, c. 1685. The seemingly static scene is animated by a "grasshopper on the table that looks about ready to spring", according to the gallery curator Betsy Wieseman, with other invertebrates including a spider, an ant, and two caterpillars.Grasshoppers are also featured in cinema. The 1957 film Beginning of the End portrayed giant grasshoppers attacking Chicago. In the 1998 Disney/Pixar animated film A Bug's Life, the antagonists are a gang of grasshoppers, with their leader Hopper serving as the main villain.The protagonists of the 1971 tokusatsu series Kamen Rider primarily carry a grasshopper motif (for example Kamen Rider Black's Batta Man form), which continues to serve as the baseline visual template for most entries in the media franchise it has given birth to since.
+
+Symbolism
+Grasshoppers are sometimes used as symbols. During the Greek Archaic Era, the grasshopper was the symbol of the polis of Athens, possibly because they were among the most common insects on the dry plains of Attica. Native Athenians for a while wore golden grasshopper brooches to symbolise that they were of pure Athenian lineage with no foreign ancestors. In addition, Peisistratus hung the figure of a kind of grasshopper before the Acropolis of Athens as apotropaic magic.Another symbolic use of the grasshopper is Sir Thomas Gresham's gilded grasshopper in Lombard Street, London, dating from 1563; the building was for a while the headquarters of the Guardian Royal Exchange, but the company declined to use the symbol for fear of confusion with the locust.When grasshoppers appear in dreams, these have been interpreted as symbols of "Freedom, independence, spiritual enlightenment, inability to settle down or commit to decision". Locusts are taken literally to mean devastation of crops in the case of farmers; figuratively as "wicked men and women" for non-farmers; and "Extravagance, misfortune, & ephemeral happiness" by "gypsies".
+
+As food
+In some countries, grasshoppers are used as food. In southern Mexico, grasshoppers, known as chapulines, are eaten in a variety of dishes, such as in tortillas with chilli sauce. Grasshoppers are served on skewers in some Chinese food markets, like the Donghuamen Night Market. Fried grasshoppers (walang goreng) are eaten in the Gunung Kidul Regency, Yogyakarta, Java in Indonesia. Grasshoppers are a beloved delicacy in Uganda; they are usually eaten fried (most commonly in November and May after the rains). In America, the Ohlone burned grassland to herd grasshoppers into pits where they could be collected as food.It is recorded in the Bible that John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey (Greek: ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον, akrídes kaì méli ágrion) while living in the wilderness. However, because of a tradition of depicting him as an ascetic, attempts have been made to explain that the locusts were in fact a suitably ascetic vegetarian food such as carob beans, notwithstanding the fact that the word ἀκρίδες means plainly grasshoppers.In recent years, with the search for alternative healthy and sustainable protein sources, grasshoppers are being cultivated by commercial companies operating grasshopper farms and are being used as food and protein supplements.
+
+As pests
+Grasshoppers eat large quantities of foliage both as adults and during their development, and can be serious pests of arid land and prairies. Pasture, grain, forage, vegetable and other crops can be affected. Grasshoppers often bask in the sun, and thrive in warm sunny conditions, so drought stimulates an increase in grasshopper populations. A single season of drought is not normally sufficient to stimulate a major population increase, but several successive dry seasons can do so, especially if the intervening winters are mild so that large numbers of nymphs survive. Although sunny weather stimulates growth, there needs to be an adequate food supply for the increasing grasshopper population. This means that although precipitation is needed to stimulate plant growth, prolonged periods of cloudy weather will slow nymphal development.Grasshoppers can best be prevented from becoming pests by manipulating their environment. Shade provided by trees will discourage them and they may be prevented from moving onto developing crops by removing coarse vegetation from fallow land and field margins and discouraging thick growth beside ditches and on roadside verges. With increasing numbers of grasshoppers, predator numbers may increase, but this seldom happens rapidly enough to have much effect on populations. Biological control is being investigated, and spores of the protozoan parasite Nosema locustae can be used mixed with bait to control grasshoppers, being more effective with immature insects. On a small scale, neem products can be effective as a feeding deterrent and as a disruptor of nymphal development. Insecticides can be used, but adult grasshoppers are difficult to kill, and as they move into fields from surrounding rank growth, crops may soon become reinfested.Some grasshopper species, like the Chinese rice grasshopper, are a pest in rice paddies. Ploughing exposes the eggs on the surface of the field, to be destroyed by sunshine or eaten by natural enemies. Some eggs may be buried too deeply in the soil for hatching to take place.Locust plagues can have devastating effects on human populations, causing famines and population upheavals. They are mentioned in both the Qur’an and the Bible and have also been held responsible for cholera epidemics, resulting from the corpses of locusts drowned in the Mediterranean Sea and decomposing on beaches. The FAO and other organisations monitor locust activity around the world. Timely application of pesticides can prevent nomadic bands of hoppers from forming before dense swarms of adults can build up. Besides conventional control using contact insecticides, biological pest control using the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium acridum, which specifically infects grasshoppers, has been used with some success.
+
+Detection  of explosives
+In February 2020, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis announced they had engineered "cyborg grasshoppers" capable of accurately detecting explosives. In the project, funded by the US Office of Naval Research, researchers fitted grasshoppers with lightweight sensor backpacks that recorded and transmitted the electrical activity of their antennal lobes to a computer. According to the researchers, the grasshoppers were able to detect the location of the highest concentration of explosives. The researchers also tested the effect of combining sensorial information from several grasshoppers on detection accuracy. The neural activity from seven grasshoppers yielded an average detection accuracy rate of 80%, whereas a single grasshopper yielded a 60% rate.
+
+In literature
+The Egyptian word for locust or grasshopper was written snḥm in the consonantal hieroglyphic writing system. The pharaoh Ramesses II compared the armies of the Hittites to locusts: "They covered the mountains and valleys and were like locusts in their multitude."One of Aesop's Fables, later retold by La Fontaine, is the tale of The Ant and the Grasshopper. The ant works hard all summer, while the grasshopper plays. In winter, the ant is ready but the grasshopper starves. Somerset Maugham's short story "The Ant and the Grasshopper" explores the fable's symbolism via complex framing. Other human weaknesses besides improvidence have become identified with the grasshopper's behaviour. So an unfaithful woman (hopping from man to man) is "a grasshopper" in "Poprygunya", an 1892 short story by Anton Chekhov, and in Jerry Paris's 1969 film The Grasshopper.
+
+In mechanical engineering
+The name "Grasshopper" was given to the Aeronca L-3 and Piper L-4 light aircraft, both used for reconnaissance and other support duties in World War II. The name is said to have originated when Major General Innis P. Swift saw a Piper making a rough landing and remarked that it looked like a grasshopper for its bouncing progress.Grasshopper beam engines were beam engines pivoted at one end, the long horizontal arm resembling the hind leg of a grasshopper. The type was patented by William Freemantle in 1803.
+
+Notes
+References
+Sources
+Capinera, John L., ed. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology (2nd ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-6242-1.
+Chapman, R. F.; Simpson, Stephen J.; Douglas, Angela E. (2013). The Insects: Structure and Function. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-11389-2.
+Cott, Hugh (1940). Adaptive Coloration in Animals. Oxford University Press.
+Pfadt, Robert E. (1994). Field Guide to Common Western Grasshoppers (2nd ed.). Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station.
+
+External links
+ Media related to Caelifera at Wikimedia Commons
+ Quotations related to Grasshoppers at Wikiquote
+ Data related to Caelifera at Wikispecies
+ The dictionary definition of grasshopper at Wiktionary
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diff --git a/data/animals/great grey owl.txt b/data/animals/great grey owl.txt
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+The great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) (also great gray owl in American English) is an owl, which is the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus Strix found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In some areas it is also called the Phantom of the North, cinereous owl (this name is also used for Strix sartorii), spectral owl, Lapland owl, spruce owl, bearded owl, and sooty owl.
+
+Description
+Adults have large rounded heads with grey faces and yellow eyes with darker circles around them. The underparts are light with dark streaks; the upper parts are grey with pale bars. This owl does not have ear tufts and has the largest facial disc of any raptor. There is a white collar or "bow-tie" just below the beak. The long tail tapers to a rounded end.
+In terms of length, the great grey owl is believed to exceed the Eurasian eagle-owl and the Blakiston's fish owl as the world's largest owl. The great grey is outweighed by those two species as well as several others, including most of the genus Bubo. Much of its size is deceptive, since this species' fluffy feathers, large head and the longest tail of any extant owl obscure a body lighter than that of most other large owls. The length ranges from 61 to 84 cm (24 to 33 in), averaging 72 cm (28 in) for females and 67 cm (26 in) for males. The wingspan can exceed 152 cm (5 ft 0 in), but averages 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) for females and 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) for males. The adult weight ranges from 580 to 1,900 g (1.28 to 4.19 lb), averaging 1,290 g (2.84 lb) for females and 1,000 g (2.2 lb) for males. The males are usually smaller than females, as with most owl species.The call of the adult is a series of very deep, rhythmic 'who's, which is usually given in correlation to their territories or in interactions with their offspring. At other times, adults are normally silent. The young may chatter, shriek, or hiss. Tame owls may produce higher-pitched hoots when given food by humans.
+
+Taxonomy
+There are two recognized subspecies of the great grey owl spread across North America and Eurasia.
+S. n. nebulosa (Forster, 1772): North America from central Alaska eastward across Canada to south-western Quebec, and south to northern California, northern Idaho, western Montana, Wyoming, and north-eastern Minnesota.
+S. n. lapponica (Thunberg, 1798): Northern Eurasia, from Fennoscandia through Siberia to Sakhalin and  Kamchatka Krai to Lithuania, Lake Baikal, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Manchuria and north-eastern China.
+
+Habitat
+In northern areas their breeding habitat is often the dense coniferous forests of the taiga, near open areas, such as meadows or bogs. In Oregon and California this owl has been found nesting in mixed oak woodlands. Once believed to require a cold climate, it is now known that this bird survives in a few areas where summer temperatures exceed 100 °F (38 °C).
+
+Range
+They breed in North America from as far east as Quebec to the Pacific coast and Alaska, and from Finland and Estonia across northern Asia. They are permanent residents, although northerly populations may move south and southeast when food is scarce. In Europe they are found breeding in Norway and Sweden and more numerously through Finland and Russia. Even though the species occurs in Europe, the first great grey owl recognized by science was found in Canada in the late 18th century.
+
+There are sedentary populations in the Pacific states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The great grey owl in this region is found in disjunct areas of appropriate habitat. In winter these birds do not move far but may go downslope to escape deep snow as they must capture their prey on the ground.
+In Oregon, the great grey owl breeding range is scattered from the Siskiyou Mountains in the southwest to the Blue Mountains in the northeast. Two bird festivals each May feature field trips to try to see the species: The Ladd Marsh Festival in La Grande, OR and the Mountain Bird Festival in Ashland, OR.
+A 2015 study in California estimated there were fewer than 300 birds in the state at the time. The species is listed as Endangered under the California Endangered Species Act. The California range for the species includes a small extension of the Oregon population, north of Alturas. In addition breeding has been confirmed in the Tahoe National Forest east of Nevada City; in the Sierra Nevada foothills south of I-80 at around 2,000 feet (610 m) elevation; and for the population clustered around Yosemite. In Yosemite is where the first nest south of Canada was found in 1914. A study of the Yosemite owls shows that this population has been genetically isolated from populations in Oregon and farther north for more than 25,000 years. Biologists working on that study suggest that the Yosemite population should be considered a separate sub-species (Strix nebulosa yosemitensis). Nearby populations at lower elevations were not tested.
+In Washington state, great grey owls are found in the southeast where mountains extend up from Oregon and in the Colville National Forest. Only a handful of great grey owl nests have ever been found in Washington state.
+Farther east in the western United States, great grey owls breed in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as far south as the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.
+
+In northeastern North America, the owls are found year-round in southern Quebec and Ontario, but individuals will sometimes move further south in winter into New York and New England, apparently in pursuit of more abundant prey. Great grey owls are rarely sighted as far south as Pennsylvania and Long Island, New York. In winter 2017, the birds were recorded in northern New York in Robert Moses State Park and central Maine.
+
+Breeding
+Great grey owls do not build nests, so they typically use nests previously used by a large bird, such as a raptor. They will also nest in broken-topped trees and cavities in large trees. In southwestern and northeastern Oregon, the great grey owl has been using man-made platforms for nest sites since the 1980s. The erection of nest platforms for great grey owls was pioneered by Robert Nero in central Canada in the 1970s. Nesting may occur from March to May. Unlike, for example, osprey or white storks, the great grey owl does not predictably re-use nest sites over consecutive years. Four eggs are the usual clutch size. Eggs average 42.7 mm (1.68 in) wide and 53.5 mm (2.11 in) long. The incubation period is about 30 days, ranging from 28 to 36 days. Brooding lasts 2 to 3 weeks, after which the female starts roosting on a tree near nests. The young jump or fall from the nest at 3 to 4 weeks, and start to fly 1 to 2 weeks after this. Immediately after fledging, the white, fuzzy young must use beak and feet to climb back into trees. The female is on guard at this time and may be aggressive toward potential predators. Most offspring remain near their natal sites for many months after fledging. Normally the male hunts for his mate and the young throughout the nesting period. Once the young begin the fly, the female typically withdraws and the male continues to feed the young until they can hunt on their own in the autumn. The young owls go off on their own by winter.
+
+The abundance of food in the area usually affects the number of eggs a female lays, a feature quite common in northern owl species. In years when small mammal populations are very low the great grey owl may not attempt nesting; thus their reproduction is connected to the sometimes extreme fluctuations of small mammal populations. Also, great grey owls may not nest in years of drought. If food is scarce, they may travel a fair distance to find more prey, with considerable movements by large numbers in some years of particularly scarce prey. Though they do not migrate, many are at least somewhat nomadic.
+One alert landowner in northeast Oregon, Andy Huber, helped a female great grey owl raise her four nestlings after a great horned owl killed the male. Huber live-trapped small mammals and then released them at the nest site, and the female took these to the nestlings. As the owlets matured and began flying they came for the prey on their own. Huber and the mother owl raised all four owlets successfully.
+
+Feeding
+These birds wait, listen, and watch for prey, then swoop down; they also may fly low through open areas in search of prey. They frequently hunt from a low listening post which can be a stump, low tree limb, fence post, or road sign. Their large facial discs, also known as "ruffs", focus sound, and the asymmetrical placement of their ears assists them in locating prey, because of the lack of light during the late and early hours in which they hunt. On the nesting grounds, they mainly hunt at night and near dawn and dusk; at other times, they are active mostly during the night.
+They have excellent hearing, and may locate (and then capture) prey moving beneath 60 cm (2.0 ft) of snow in a series of tunnels solely with that sense. They then can crash to a snow depth roughly equal to their own body size to grab their prey. Only this species and, more infrequently, other fairly large owls from the genus Strix are known to "snow-plunge" for prey, a habit that is thought to require superb hearing not possessed by all types of owls.Unlike the more versatile eagle and horned owls, great grey owls rely almost fully upon small rodents. What species they eat depends on which small mammals are most abundant and available. In northern Canada and other parts of Scandinavia, they eat lemmings primarily. In dry parts of California's Sierra Nevada they eat mostly pocket gophers. In some areas voles are the predominant prey. Locally, alternative prey animals (usually comprising less than 20% of prey intake) include squirrels, hares, moles, shrews, weasels, thrushes, grouse, Canada jays, mountain quail, small hawks, ducks, frogs and large beetles. This species is not known to scavenge or steal from other predators. In mated pairs, the male is the primary hunter who provides food for the entire family while the female guards and broods the eggs, nestlings, and flightless fledglings.
+
+Threats
+The harvest of timber from the great grey owl's habitat is, perhaps, the greatest threat to this species. Intensified timber management typically reduces live and dead large-diameter trees used for nesting, leaning trees used by juveniles for roosting before they can fly, and dense canopy closures in stands used by juveniles for cover and protection. If perches are not left in clearcuts, great grey owls cannot readily hunt in them. Although human-made structures (made specifically for use by this species) have been utilized by these owls, the species is far more common in areas protected from logging. Livestock grazing in meadows also adversely affects great grey owls, by reducing habitat for preferred prey species.Other dangers to great grey owls include rodenticides, collisions with vehicles, and the West Nile Virus. The West Nile virus is likely to become more prevalent with climate change. In Ontario and northeastern Oregon there are confirmed great grey owl deaths from the virus. Testing of owls in the Yosemite area since 2005 has found evidence of the virus in that population.
+Due to their large size, great grey owls have few natural predators. Great horned owls, various small carnivores, and black bears have been documented preying on young, but such predators rarely threaten adults, and owls have been known to fend off animals as large as black bears when defending their nests. The only known predator of adult great grey owls is the Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), which occasionally preys on the former in parts of Europe.
+
+Territorial behavior
+The great grey owl is not as aggressive as most other alpha predators. They are less likely to attack each other or potential threats than are other large predatory birds. They do not protect a large nesting territory, nor do they defend hunting territories through aggression. As an exception, the female is aggressive in protecting eggs and owlets. She is especially alert and aggressive when fledglings first leave the nest but cannot yet fly, and thus are extremely vulnerable.
+This lack of territorial aggressiveness makes the great grey owl difficult to find in the field. Most owls respond to their own species calls if played back in a nesting territory. Great grey owls will often ignore such calls. They also do not flush every time a human approaches or drives past. The great grey owl often remains still even if a human is nearby and therefore they are often overlooked or unnoticed.
+
+Provincial bird
+The great grey owl is the provincial bird of Manitoba.
+
+Captivity
+As of 2016, there are four great grey owls captive in Oregon and California. Two live at Blue Mountain Wildlife near Pendleton, Oregon, a third lives at Lindsay Museum in Walnut Creek, California, and the fourth lives at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo, California.A captive wild injured great grey owl, Boris, resides at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka, Alaska. Boris was found north of Anchorage with a trauma to his right wrist, leaving him flightless.The Eurasian subspecies of the grey owl is very commonly kept in European zoos.
+
+References
+Other sources
+Further reading
+Lynch, Wayne (2007). Owls of the United States and Canada. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8687-4.
+Nero, Robert W. (1980). The Great Gray Owl: Phantom of the northern forest. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution.
+Nero, Robert W. (1994). Lady Grayl – Owl with a Mission. Toronto, ON, Canada: Natural Heritage.
+Quinton, Michael S. (July 1984). "The Great Gray Owl". National Geographic magazine. Vol. 166, no. 1. pp. 123–136. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
+Thiemann, Peter J.; Harry Fuller (2015). The Great Gray Owl in California, Oregon, and Washington. Ashland, OR: Nebulosa Press.
+
+External links
+
+"Species stamps". bird-stamps.org. 7810700. For Belarus, Finland, Georgia, Ukraine, United States, with world range map.
+"Great grey owl media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Great gray owl photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Fuller, Harry (30 June 2016). "Great grey owl range maps for California, Oregon, and Washington". EcoWise (blog) – via wordpress.com.
+"Great Gray Owls (Strix nebulosa)". GroWiser.
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diff --git a/data/animals/great white shark.txt b/data/animals/great white shark.txt
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+The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is the only known surviving species of its genus Carcharodon. The great white shark is notable for its size, with the largest preserved female specimen measuring 5.83 m (19.1 ft) in length and around 2,000 kg (4,410 lb) in weight at maturity. However, most are smaller; males measure 3.4 to 4.0 m (11 to 13 ft), and females measure 4.6 to 4.9 m (15 to 16 ft) on average. According to a 2014 study, the lifespan of great white sharks is estimated to be as long as 70 years or more, well above previous estimates, making it one of the longest lived cartilaginous fishes currently known. According to the same study, male great white sharks take 26 years to reach sexual maturity, while the females take 33 years to be ready to produce offspring. Great white sharks can swim at speeds of 25 km/h (16 mph) for short bursts and to depths of 1,200 m (3,900 ft).The great white shark is arguably the world's largest-known extant macropredatory fish, and is one of the primary predators of marine mammals, such as pinnipeds and dolphins. The great white shark is also known to prey upon a variety of other animals, including fish, other sharks, and seabirds. It has only one recorded natural predator, the orca.The species faces numerous ecological challenges which has resulted in international protection. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the great white shark as a vulnerable species, and it is included in Appendix II of CITES. It is also protected by several national governments, such as Australia (as of 2018). Due to their need to travel long distances for seasonal migration and extremely demanding diet, it is not logistically feasible to keep great white sharks in captivity; because of this, while attempts have been made to do so in the past, there are no known aquariums in the world believed to house a live specimen.The great white shark is depicted in popular culture as a ferocious man-eater, largely as a result of the novel Jaws by Peter Benchley and its subsequent film adaptation by Steven Spielberg. Humans are not a preferred prey,  but nevertheless it is responsible for the largest number of reported and identified fatal unprovoked shark attacks on humans. However, attacks are rare, typically occurring fewer than 10 times per year globally.
+
+Taxonomy
+The great white is the sole recognized extant species in the genus Carcharodon, and is one of five extant species belonging to the family Lamnidae. Other members of this family include the mako sharks, porbeagle, and salmon shark. The family belongs to the Lamniformes, the order of mackerel sharks.
+
+Etymology and naming history
+The English name 'white shark' and its Australian variant 'white pointer' is thought to have come from the shark's stark white underside, a characteristic feature most noticeable in beached sharks lying upside down with their bellies exposed. Colloquial use favours the name 'great white shark', with 'great' perhaps stressing the size and prowess of the species, and "white shark" having historically been used to describe the much smaller oceanic white-tipped shark, later referred to for a time as the "lesser white shark". Most scientists prefer 'white shark', as the name "lesser white shark" is no longer used, while some use 'white shark' to refer to all members of the Lamnidae.The scientific genus name Carcharodon literally means "jagged tooth", a reference to the large serrations that appear in the shark's teeth. It is a portmanteau of two Ancient Greek words: the prefix carchar- is derived from κάρχαρος (kárkharos), which means "jagged" or "sharp". The suffix -odon is a romanization of ὀδών (odṓn), a  which translates to "tooth". The specific name carcharias is a Latinization of καρχαρίας (karkharías), the Ancient Greek word for shark.
+The great white shark was one of the species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, in which it was identified as an amphibian and assigned the scientific name Squalus carcharias, Squalus being the genus that he placed all sharks in. By the 1810s, it was recognized that the shark should be placed in a new genus, but it was not until 1838 when Sir Andrew Smith coined the name Carcharodon as the new genus.There have been a few attempts to describe and classify the great white before Linnaeus. One of its earliest mentions in literature as a distinct type of animal appears in Pierre Belon's 1553 book De aquatilibus duo, cum eiconibus ad vivam ipsorum effigiem quoad ejus fieri potuit, ad amplissimum cardinalem Castilioneum. In it, he illustrated and described the shark under the name Canis carcharias based on the jagged nature of its teeth and its alleged similarities with dogs. Another name used for the great white around this time was Lamia, first coined by Guillaume Rondelet in his 1554 book Libri de Piscibus Marinis, who also identified it as the fish that swallowed the prophet Jonah in biblical texts. Linnaeus recognized both names as previous classifications.
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+Fossil ancestry
+Molecular clock studies published between 1988 and 2002 determined the closest living relative of the great white to be the mako sharks of the genus Isurus, which diverged some time between 60 and 43 million years ago. Tracing this evolutionary relationship through fossil evidence, however, remains subject to further paleontological study.The original hypothesis of the great white shark's origin held that it is a descendant of a lineage of mega-toothed sharks, and is closely related to the prehistoric megalodon. These sharks were considerably larger in size, with megalodon attaining an estimated length of up to 14.2–20.3 m (47–67 ft). Similarities between the teeth of great white and mega-toothed sharks, such as large triangular shapes, serrated blades, and the presence of dental bands, led the primary evidence of a close evolutionary relationship. As a result, scientists classified the ancient forms under the genus Carcharodon. Although weaknesses in the hypothesis existed, such as uncertainty over exactly which species evolved into the modern great white and multiple gaps in the fossil record, paleontologists were able to chart the hypothetical lineage back to a 60-million-year-old shark known as Cretalamna as the common ancestor of all sharks within the Lamnidae.
+However, it is now understood that the great white shark holds closer ties to the mako sharks and is descended from a separate lineage as a chronospecies unrelated to the mega-toothed sharks. This was proven with the discovery of a transitional species that connected the great white to an unserrated shark known as Carcharodon hastalis. This transitional species, which was named Carcharodon hubbelli in 2012, demonstrated a mosaic of evolutionary transitions between the great white and C. hastalis, namely the gradual appearance of serrations, in a span of between 8 and 5 million years ago. The progression of C. hubbelli characterized shifting diets and niches; by 6.5 million years ago, the serrations were developed enough for C. hubbelli to handle marine mammals. Although both the great white and C. hastalis were known worldwide, C. hubbelli is primarily found in California, Peru, Chile, and surrounding coastal deposits, indicating that the great white had Pacific origins. C. hastalis continued to thrive alongside the great white until its last appearance around one million years ago and is believed to have possibly sired a number of additional species, including Carcharodon subserratus and Carcharodon plicatilis.However, Yun argued that the tooth fossil remains of C. hastalis and Great White Shark "have been documented from the same deposits, hence the former cannot be a chronospecific ancestor of the latter." He also criticized that the C. hastalis "morphotype has never been tested through phylogenetic analyses," and denoted that as of 2021, the argument that the modern Carcharodon lineage with narrow, serrated teeth evolved from C. hastalis with a broad, unserrated teeth is uncertain.Tracing beyond C. hastalis, another prevailing hypothesis proposes that the great white and mako lineages shared a common ancestor in a primitive mako-like species. The identity of this ancestor is still debated, but a potential species includes Isurolamna inflata, which lived between 65 and 55 million years ago. It is hypothesized that the great white and mako lineages split with the rise of two separate descendants, the one representing the great white shark lineage being Macrorhizodus praecursor.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Great white sharks live in almost all coastal and offshore waters which have water temperature between 12 and 24 °C (54 and 75 °F), with greater concentrations in the United States (Northeast and California), South Africa, Japan, Oceania, Chile, and the Mediterranean including the Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus. One of the densest-known populations is found around Dyer Island, South Africa. Juvenile great white sharks inhabit a more narrow band of temperatures, between 14 and 24 °C (57 and 75 °F), in shallow coastal nurseries. Increased observation of young sharks in areas they were not previously common, such as Monterey Bay on the Central California coast, suggest climate change may be reducing the range of juvenile great white sharks and shifting it toward the poles.The great white is an epipelagic fish, observed mostly in the presence of rich game, such as fur seals (Arctocephalus ssp.), sea lions, cetaceans, other sharks, and large bony fish species. In the open ocean, it has been recorded at depths as great as 1,200 m (3,900 ft). These findings challenge the traditional notion that the great white is a coastal species.According to a recent study, California great whites have migrated to an area between Baja California Peninsula and Hawaii known as the White Shark Café to spend at least 100 days before migrating back to Baja. On the journey out, they swim slowly and dive down to around 900 m (3,000 ft). After they arrive, they change behaviour and do short dives to about 300 m (980 ft) for up to ten minutes. Another white shark that was tagged off the South African coast swam to the southern coast of Australia and back within the year. A similar study tracked a different great white shark from South Africa swimming to Australia's northwestern coast and back, a journey of 20,000 km (12,000 mi; 11,000 nmi) in under nine months.
+These observations argue against traditional theories that white sharks are coastal territorial predators, and open up the possibility of interaction between shark populations that were previously thought to have been discrete. The reasons for their migration and what they do at their destination is still unknown. Possibilities include seasonal feeding or mating.In the Northwest Atlantic, the white shark populations off the New England coast were nearly eradicated due to over-fishing. In recent years, the populations have grown greatly, largely due to the increase in seal populations on Cape Cod, Massachusetts since the enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972. Currently very little is known about the hunting and movement patterns of great whites off Cape Cod, but ongoing studies hope to offer insight into this growing shark population. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (part of the Department of Fish and Game) began a population study in 2014; since 2019, this research has focused on how humans can avoid conflict with sharks.A 2018 study indicated that white sharks prefer to congregate deep in anticyclonic eddies in the North Atlantic Ocean. The sharks studied tended to favour the warm-water eddies, spending the daytime hours at 450 meters and coming to the surface at night.
+
+Anatomy and appearance
+The great white shark has a robust, large, conical snout. The upper and lower lobes on the tail fin are approximately the same size which is similar to some mackerel sharks. A great white displays countershading, by having a white underside and a grey dorsal area (sometimes in a brown or blue shade) that gives an overall mottled appearance. The coloration makes it difficult for prey to spot the shark because it breaks up the shark's outline when seen from the side. From above, the darker shade blends with the sea and from below it exposes a minimal silhouette against the sunlight. Leucism is extremely rare in this species, but has been documented in one great white shark (a pup that washed ashore in Australia and died). Great white sharks, like many other sharks, have rows of serrated teeth behind the main ones, ready to replace any that break off. When the shark bites, it shakes its head side-to-side, helping the teeth saw off large chunks of flesh. Great white sharks, like other mackerel sharks, have larger eyes than other shark species in proportion to their body size. The iris of the eye is a deep blue instead of black.
+
+Size
+In great white sharks, sexual dimorphism is present, and females are generally larger than males. Male great whites on average measure 3.4 to 4.0 m (11 to 13 ft) in length, while females measure 4.6 to 4.9 m (15 to 16 ft). Adults of this species weigh 522–771 kg (1,151–1,700 lb) on average; however, mature females can have an average mass of 680–1,110 kg (1,500–2,450 lb). The largest females have been verified up to 6.1 m (20 ft) in length and an estimated 1,905 kg (4,200 lb) in weight, perhaps up to 2,268 kg (5,000 lb). The maximum size is subject to debate because some reports are rough estimations or speculations performed under questionable circumstances. Among living cartilaginous fish, only the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) and the giant manta ray (Manta birostris), in that order, are on average larger and heavier. These three species are generally quite docile in disposition and given to passively filter-feeding on very small organisms. This makes the great white shark the largest extant macropredatory fish. Great white sharks measure approximately 1.2 m (3.9 ft) when born, and grow about 25 cm (9.8 in) every year.A complete female great white shark specimen in the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne, and claimed by De Maddalena et al. (2003) as the largest preserved specimen, measured 5.83 m (19.1 ft) in total body length with the caudal fin in its depressed position, and is estimated to have weighed 2,000 kg (4,410 lb). According to J. E. Randall, the largest white shark reliably measured was a 5.94 m (19.5 ft) specimen reported from Ledge Point, Western Australia in 1987, but it is unclear whether that length was measured with the caudal fin in its depressed or natural position. Another great white specimen of similar size was a female caught in August 1988 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off Prince Edward Island, by David McKendrick of Alberton, Prince Edward Island. This female great white was 6.1 m (20 ft) long, as verified by the Canadian Shark Research Center.A report of a specimen reportedly measuring 6.4 m (21 ft) in length and with a body mass estimated at 3,175–3,324 kg (7,000–7,328 lb) caught in 1945 off the coast of Cuba was at the time considered reliable by some experts. However, later studies revealed this particular specimen to be around 4.9 m (16 ft) in length, i.e. a specimen within the typical maximum size range.The largest great white recognized by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is one caught by Alf Dean in southern Australian waters in 1959, weighing 1,208 kg (2,663 lb).
+
+Examples of large unconfirmed great whites
+A number of very large unconfirmed great white shark specimens have been recorded. For decades, many ichthyological works, as well as the Guinness Book of World Records, listed two great white sharks as the largest individuals: In the 1870s, a 10.9 m (36 ft) great white captured in southern Australian waters, near Port Fairy, and an 11.3 m (37 ft) shark trapped in a herring weir in New Brunswick, Canada, in the 1930s. However, these measurements were not obtained in a rigorous, scientifically valid manner, and researchers have questioned the reliability of these measurements for a long time, noting they were much larger than any other accurately reported sighting. Later studies proved these doubts to be well-founded. This New Brunswick shark may have been a misidentified basking shark, as the two have similar body shapes. The question of the Port Fairy shark was settled in the 1970s when J. E. Randall examined the shark's jaws and "found that the Port Fairy shark was of the order of 5 m (16 ft) in length and suggested that a mistake had been made in the original record, in 1870, of the shark's length".
+While these measurements have not been confirmed, some great white sharks caught in modern times have been estimated to be more than 7 m (23 ft) long, but these claims have received some criticism. However, J. E. Randall believed that great white shark may have exceeded 6.1 m (20 ft) in length. A great white shark was captured near Kangaroo Island in Australia on 1 April 1987. This shark was estimated to be more than 6.9 m (23 ft) long by Peter Resiley, and has been designated as KANGA. Another great white shark was caught in Malta by Alfredo Cutajar on 16 April 1987. This shark was also estimated to be around 7.13 m (23.4 ft) long by John Abela and has been designated as MALTA. However, Cappo drew criticism because he used shark size estimation methods proposed by J. E. Randall to suggest that the KANGA specimen was 5.8–6.4 m (19–21 ft) long. In a similar fashion, I. K. Fergusson also used shark size estimation methods proposed by J. E. Randall to suggest that the MALTA specimen was 5.3–5.7 m (17–19 ft) long. However, photographic evidence suggested that these specimens were larger than the size estimations yielded through Randall's methods. Thus, a team of scientists—H. F. Mollet, G. M. Cailliet, A. P. Klimley, D. A. Ebert, A. D. Testi, and L. J. V. Compagno—reviewed the cases of the KANGA and MALTA specimens in 1996 to resolve the dispute by conducting a comprehensive morphometric analysis of the remains of these sharks and re-examination of photographic evidence in an attempt to validate the original size estimations and their findings were consistent with them. The findings indicated that estimations by P. Resiley and J. Abela are reasonable and could not be ruled out. A particularly large female great white nicknamed "Deep Blue", estimated measuring at 6.1 m (20 ft) was filmed off Guadalupe during shooting for the 2014 episode of Shark Week "Jaws Strikes Back". Deep Blue would also later gain significant attention when she was filmed interacting with researcher Mauricio Hoyas Pallida in a viral video that Mauricio posted on Facebook on 11 June 2015. Deep Blue was later seen off Oahu in January 2019 while scavenging a sperm whale carcass, whereupon she was filmed swimming beside divers including dive tourism operator and model Ocean Ramsey in open water. A particularly infamous great white shark, supposedly of record proportions, once patrolled the area that comprises False Bay, South Africa, was said to be well over 7 m (23 ft) during the early 1980s. This shark, known locally as the "Submarine", had a legendary reputation that was supposedly well-founded. Though rumours have stated this shark was exaggerated in size or non-existent altogether, witness accounts by the then young Craig Anthony Ferreira, a notable shark expert in South Africa, and his father indicate an unusually large animal of considerable size and power (though it remains uncertain just how massive the shark was as it escaped capture each time it was hooked). Ferreira describes the four encounters with the giant shark he participated in with great detail in his book "Great White Sharks On Their Best Behavior".One contender in maximum size among the predatory sharks is the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). While tiger sharks, which are typically both a few feet smaller and have a leaner, less heavy body structure than white sharks, have been confirmed to reach at least 5.5 m (18 ft) in the length, an unverified specimen was reported to have measured 7.4 m (24 ft) in length and weighed 3,110 kg (6,860 lb), more than two times heavier than the largest confirmed specimen at 1,524 kg (3,360 lb). Some other macropredatory sharks such as the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) and the Pacific sleeper shark (S. pacificus) are also reported to rival these sharks in length (but probably weigh a bit less since they are more slender in build than a great white) in exceptional cases.
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+Reported sizes
+Adaptations
+Great white sharks, like all other sharks, have an extra sense given by the ampullae of Lorenzini which enables them to detect the electromagnetic field emitted by the movement of living animals. Great whites are so sensitive they can detect variations of half a billionth of a volt. At close range, this allows the shark to locate even immobile animals by detecting their heartbeat. Most fish have a less-developed but similar sense using their body's lateral line.
+To more successfully hunt fast and agile prey such as sea lions, the great white has adapted to maintain a body temperature warmer than the surrounding water. One of these adaptations is a "rete mirabile" (Latin for "wonderful net"). This close web-like structure of veins and arteries, located along each lateral side of the shark, conserves heat by warming the cooler arterial blood with the venous blood that has been warmed by the working muscles. This keeps certain parts of the body (particularly the stomach) at temperatures up to 14 °C (25 °F)  above that of the surrounding water, while the heart and gills remain at sea temperature. When conserving energy, the core body temperature can drop to match the surroundings. A great white shark's success in raising its core temperature is an example of gigantothermy. Therefore, the great white shark can be considered an endothermic poikilotherm or mesotherm because its body temperature is not constant but is internally regulated. Great whites also rely on the fat and oils stored within their livers for long-distance migrations across nutrient-poor areas of the oceans. Studies by Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium published on 17 July 2013 revealed that in addition to controlling the sharks' buoyancy, the liver of great whites is essential in migration patterns. Sharks that sink faster during drift dives were revealed to use up their internal stores of energy quicker than those which sink in a dive at more leisurely rates.Toxicity from heavy metals seems to have little negative effects on great white sharks. Blood samples taken from forty-three individuals of varying size, age and sex off the South African coast led by biologists from the University of Miami in 2012 indicates that despite high levels of mercury, lead, and arsenic, there was no sign of raised white blood cell count and granulate to lymphocyte ratios, indicating the sharks had healthy immune systems. This discovery suggests a previously unknown physiological defence against heavy metal poisoning. Great whites are known to have a propensity for "self-healing and avoiding age-related ailments".
+
+Bite force
+A 2007 study from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, used CT scans of a shark's skull and computer models to measure the shark's maximum bite force. The study reveals the forces and behaviours its skull is adapted to handle and resolves competing theories about its feeding behaviour. In 2008, a team of scientists led by Stephen Wroe conducted an experiment to determine the great white shark's jaw power and findings indicated that a specimen massing 3,324 kg (7,328 lb) could exert a bite force of 18,216 newtons (4,095 lbf).
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+This shark's behaviour and social structure are complex. In South Africa, white sharks have a dominance hierarchy depending on the size, sex and squatter's rights: Females dominate males, larger sharks dominate smaller sharks, and residents dominate newcomers. When hunting, great whites tend to separate and resolve conflicts with rituals and displays. White sharks rarely resort to combat although some individuals have been found with bite marks that match those of other white sharks. This suggests that when a great white approaches too closely to another, they react with a warning bite. Another possibility is that white sharks bite to show their dominance. Data acquired from animal-borne telemetry receivers and published in 2022 via the journal Royal Society Publishing suggests that individual great whites may associate so that they can inadvertently share information on the whereabouts of prey or the location of the remains of animals that can be scavenged. As biologging can help to reveal social habits, it allows a better understanding to be made in future studies regarding the full extent of social interactions in large marine animals, including the great white shark.The great white shark is one of only a few sharks known to regularly lift its head above the sea surface to gaze at other objects such as prey. This is known as spy-hopping. This behaviour has also been seen in at least one group of blacktip reef sharks, but this might be learned from interaction with humans (it is theorized that the shark may also be able to smell better this way because smell travels through air faster than through water). White sharks are generally very curious animals, display intelligence and may also turn to socializing if the situation demands it. At Seal Island, white sharks have been observed arriving and departing in stable "clans" of two to six individuals on a yearly basis. Whether clan members are related is unknown, but they get along peacefully enough. In fact, the social structure of a clan is probably most aptly compared to that of a wolf pack, in that each member has a clearly established rank and each clan has an alpha leader. When members of different clans meet, they establish social rank nonviolently through any of a variety of interactions. In 2022, research in South Africa suggested that the great white shark has the ability to change colours to camouflage itself depending on the hormones it gives off. Different hormones would change the colour of the skin from white to grey. Skin dosed with adrenaline would turn lighter, with melanocyte-stimulating hormone causing melanocyte cells to dissipate thus making the shark's skin a darker colour, although hormone mediated color change is not fully validated due to the limited number of test subjects (i.e. great whites). The camo shark hypothesis is supported by the fact that zebra sharks can change their colour as they age, and rainbow sharks can lose colour due to stress and aging.
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+Diet
+Great white sharks are carnivorous and prey upon fish (e.g. tuna, rays, other sharks), cetaceans (i.e., dolphins, porpoises, whales), pinnipeds (e.g. seals, fur seals, and sea lions), sea turtles, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and seabirds. Great whites have also been known to eat objects that they are unable to digest. Juvenile white sharks predominantly prey on fish, including other elasmobranchs, as their jaws are not strong enough to withstand the forces required to attack larger prey such as pinnipeds and cetaceans until they reach a length of 3 m (9.8 ft) or more, at which point their jaw cartilage mineralizes enough to withstand the impact of biting into larger prey species. Upon approaching a length of nearly 4 m (13 ft), great white sharks begin to target predominantly marine mammals for food, though individual sharks seem to specialize in different types of prey depending on their preferences. They seem to be highly opportunistic. These sharks prefer prey with a high content of energy-rich fat. Shark expert Peter Klimley used a rod-and-reel rig and trolled carcasses of a seal, a pig, and a sheep from his boat in the South Farallons. The sharks attacked all three baits but rejected the sheep carcass.Off Seal Island, False Bay in South Africa, the sharks ambush brown fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) from below at high speeds, hitting the seal mid-body. They achieve high speeds that allow them to completely breach the surface of the water. The peak burst speed is estimated to be above 40 km/h (25 mph). They have also been observed chasing prey after a missed attack. Prey is usually attacked at the surface. Shark attacks occur most often in the morning, within two hours of sunrise, when visibility is poor. Their success rate is 55% in the first two hours, falling to 40% in late morning after which hunting stops.Off California, sharks immobilize northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) with a large bite to the hindquarters (which is the main source of the seal's mobility) and wait for the seal to bleed to death. This technique is especially used on adult male elephant seals, which are typically larger than the shark, ranging between 1,500 and 2,000 kg (3,300 and 4,400 lb), and are potentially dangerous adversaries. Most commonly though, juvenile elephant seals are the most frequently eaten at elephant seal colonies. Prey is normally attacked sub-surface. Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are taken from the surface and dragged down until they stop struggling. They are then eaten near the bottom. California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are ambushed from below and struck mid-body before being dragged and eaten.
+In the Northwest Atlantic mature great whites are known to feed on both harbor and grey seals. Unlike adults, juvenile white sharks in the area feed on smaller fish species until they are large enough to prey on marine mammals such as seals.White sharks also attack dolphins and porpoises from above, behind or below to avoid being detected by their echolocation. Targeted species include dusky dolphins (Sagmatias obscurus), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops ssp.), humpback dolphins (Sousa ssp.), harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), and Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli). Groups of dolphins have occasionally been observed defending themselves from sharks with mobbing behaviour. White shark predation on other species of small cetacean has also been observed. In August 1989, a 1.8 m (5.9 ft) juvenile male pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) was found stranded in central California with a bite mark on its caudal peduncle from a great white shark. In addition, white sharks attack and prey upon beaked whales. Cases where an adult Stejneger's beaked whale (Mesoplodon stejnegeri), with a mean mass of around 1,100 kg (2,400 lb), and a juvenile Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), an individual estimated at 3 m (9.8 ft), were hunted and killed by great white sharks have also been observed. When hunting sea turtles, they appear to simply bite through the carapace around a flipper, immobilizing the turtle. The heaviest species of bony fish, the oceanic sunfish (Mola mola), has been found in great white shark stomachs.Whale carcasses comprise an important part of the diet of white sharks. However, this has rarely been observed due to whales dying in remote areas. It has been estimated that 30 kg (66 lb) of whale blubber could feed a 4.5 m (15 ft) white shark for 1.5 months. Detailed observations were made of four whale carcasses in False Bay between 2000 and 2010. Sharks were drawn to the carcass by chemical and odour detection, spread by strong winds. After initially feeding on the whale caudal peduncle and fluke, the sharks would investigate the carcass by slowly swimming around it and mouthing several parts before selecting a blubber-rich area. During feeding bouts of 15–20 seconds the sharks removed flesh with lateral headshakes, without the protective ocular rotation they employ when attacking live prey. The sharks were frequently observed regurgitating chunks of blubber and immediately returning to feed, possibly in order to replace low energy yield pieces with high energy yield pieces, using their teeth as mechanoreceptors to distinguish them. After feeding for several hours, the sharks appeared to become lethargic, no longer swimming to the surface; they were observed mouthing the carcass but apparently unable to bite hard enough to remove flesh, they would instead bounce off and slowly sink. Up to eight sharks were observed feeding simultaneously, bumping into each other without showing any signs of aggression; on one occasion a shark accidentally bit the head of a neighbouring shark, leaving two teeth embedded, but both continued to feed unperturbed. Smaller individuals hovered around the carcass eating chunks that drifted away. Unusually for the area, large numbers of sharks over five metres long were observed, suggesting that the largest sharks change their behaviour to search for whales as they lose the manoeuvrability required to hunt seals. The investigating team concluded that the importance of whale carcasses, particularly for the largest white sharks, has been underestimated.
+In another documented incident, white sharks were observed scavenging on a whale carcass alongside tiger sharks. In 2020, marine biologists Sasha Dines and Enrico Gennari published a documented incident in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research of a group of great white sharks exhibiting pack-like behaviour, successfully attacking and killing a live juvenile 7 m (23 ft) humpback whale. The sharks utilized the classic attack strategy used on pinnipeds when attacking the whale, even utilizing the bite-and-spit tactic they employ on smaller prey items. The whale was an entangled individual, heavily emaciated and thus more vulnerable to the sharks' attacks. The incident is the first known documentation of great whites actively killing a large baleen whale. A second incident regarding great white sharks killing humpback whales involving a single large female great white nicknamed Helen was documented off the coast of South Africa. Working alone, the shark attacked a 33 ft (10 m) emaciated and entangled humpback whale by attacking the whale's tail to cripple it before she managed to drown the whale by biting onto its head and pulling it underwater. The attack was witnessed via aerial drone by marine biologist Ryan Johnson, who said the attack went on for roughly 50 minutes before the shark successfully killed the whale. Johnson suggested that the shark may have strategized its attack in order to kill such a large animal.Stomach contents of great whites also indicates that whale sharks both juvenile and adult may also be included on the animal's menu, though whether this is active hunting or scavenging is not known at present.
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+Reproduction
+Great white sharks were previously thought to reach sexual maturity at around 15 years of age, but are now believed to take far longer; male great white sharks reach sexual maturity at age 26, while females take 33 years to reach sexual maturity. Maximum life span was originally believed to be more than 30 years, but a study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution placed it at upwards of 70 years. Examinations of vertebral growth ring count gave a maximum male age of 73 years and a maximum female age of 40 years for the specimens studied. The shark's late sexual maturity, low reproductive rate, long gestation period of 11 months and slow growth make it vulnerable to pressures such as overfishing and environmental change.Little is known about the great white shark's mating habits, and mating behaviour had not been observed in this species until 1997 and properly documented in 2020. It was assumed previously to be possible that whale carcasses are an important location for sexually mature sharks to meet for mating. According to the testimony of fisherman Dick Ledgerwood, who observed two great white sharks mating in the area near Port Chalmers and Otago Harbor, in New Zealand, it is theorized that great white sharks mate in shallow water away from feeding areas and continually roll belly to belly during copulation. Birth has never been observed, but pregnant females have been examined. Great white sharks are ovoviviparous, which means eggs develop and hatch in the uterus and continue to develop until birth. The great white has an 11-month gestation period. The shark pup's powerful jaws begin to develop in the first month. The unborn sharks participate in oophagy, in which they feed on ova produced by the mother. Delivery is in spring and summer. The largest number of pups recorded for this species is 14 pups from a single mother measuring 4.5 m (15 ft) that was killed incidentally off Taiwan in 2019.
+
+Breaching behaviour
+A breach is the result of a high-speed approach to the surface with the resulting momentum taking the shark partially or completely clear of the water. This is a hunting technique employed by great white sharks whilst hunting seals. This technique is often used on cape fur seals at Seal Island in False Bay, South Africa. Because the behaviour is unpredictable, it is very hard to document. It was first photographed by Chris Fallows and Rob Lawrence who developed the technique of towing a slow-moving seal decoy to trick the sharks to breach. Between April and September, scientists may observe around 600 breaches. The seals swim on the surface and the great white sharks launch their predatory attack from the deeper water below. They can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph) and can at times launch themselves more than 3 m (10 ft) into the air. Just under half of observed breach attacks are successful. In 2011, a 3-m-long shark jumped onto a seven-person research vessel off Seal Island in Mossel Bay. The crew were undertaking a population study using sardines as bait, and the incident was judged not to be an attack on the boat but an accident.
+
+Natural threats
+Interspecific competition between the great white shark and the orca is probable in regions where dietary preferences of both species may overlap. An incident was documented on 4 October 1997, in the Farallon Islands off California in the United States. An estimated 4.7–5.3 m (15–17 ft) female orca immobilized an estimated 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) great white shark. The orca held the shark upside down to induce tonic immobility and kept the shark still for fifteen minutes, causing it to suffocate. The orca then proceeded to eat the dead shark's liver. It is believed that the scent of the slain shark's carcass caused all the great whites in the region to flee, forfeiting an opportunity for a great seasonal feed. Another similar attack apparently occurred there in 2000, but its outcome is not clear. After both attacks, the local population of about 100 great whites vanished. Following the 2000 incident, a great white with a satellite tag was found to have immediately submerged to a depth of 500 m (1,600 ft) and swum to Hawaii.In 2015, a pod of orcas was recorded to have killed a great white shark off South Australia. In 2017, three great whites were found washed ashore near Gansbaai, South Africa, with their body cavities torn open and the livers removed by what is likely to have been orcas. Orcas also generally impact great white distribution. Studies published in 2019 of orca and great white shark distribution and interactions around the Farallon Islands indicate that the cetaceans impact the sharks negatively, with brief appearances by orcas causing the sharks to seek out new feeding areas until the next season. It is unclear whether this is an example of competitive exclusion or ecology of fear. Occasionally, however, some great whites have been seen to swim near orcas without fear.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Shark bite incidents
+Of all shark species, the great white shark is responsible for by far the largest number of recorded shark bite incidents on humans, with 272 documented unprovoked bite incidents on humans as of 2012.More than any documented bite incident, Peter Benchley's best-selling novel Jaws and the subsequent 1975 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg provided the great white shark with the image of being a "man-eater" in the public mind. While great white sharks have killed humans in at least 74 documented unprovoked bite incidents, they typically do not target them: for example, in the Mediterranean Sea there have been 31 confirmed bite incidents against humans in the last two centuries, most of which were non-fatal. Many of the incidents seemed to be "test-bites". Great white sharks also test-bite buoys, flotsam, and other unfamiliar objects, and they might grab a human or a surfboard to identify what it is.
+
+Many bite incidents occur in waters with low visibility or other situations which impair the shark's senses. The species appears to not like the taste of humans, or at least finds the taste unfamiliar. Further research shows that they can tell in one bite whether or not the object is worth predating upon. Humans, for the most part, are too bony for their liking. They much prefer seals, which are fat and rich in protein.Studies published in 2021 by Ryan et al. in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface suggest that mistaken identity is in fact a case for many shark bite incidents perpetrated by great white sharks. Using cameras and footage of seals in aquariums as models and mounted cameras moving at the same speed and angle as a cruising great white shark looking up at the surface from below, the experiment suggests that the sharks are likely colorblind and cannot see in fine enough detail to determine whether the silhouette above them is a pinniped or a swimming human, potentially vindicating the hypothesis.Humans are not appropriate prey because the shark's digestion is too slow to cope with a human's high ratio of bone to muscle and fat. Accordingly, in most recorded shark bite incidents, great whites broke off contact after the first bite. Fatalities are usually caused by blood loss from the initial bite rather than from critical organ loss or from whole consumption. From 1990 to 2011 there have been a total of 139 unprovoked great white shark bite incidents, 29 of which were fatal.However, some researchers have hypothesized that the reason the proportion of fatalities is low is not that sharks do not like human flesh, but because humans are often able to escape after the first bite. In the 1980s, John McCosker, chair of aquatic biology at the California Academy of Sciences, noted that divers who dived solo and were bitten by great whites were generally at least partially consumed, while divers who followed the buddy system were generally rescued by their companion. McCosker and Timothy C. Tricas, an author and professor at the University of Hawaii, suggest that a standard pattern for great whites is to make an initial devastating attack and then wait for the prey to weaken before consuming the wounded animal. Humans' ability to move out of reach with the help of others, thus foiling the attack, is unusual for a great white's prey.
+
+Shark culling
+Shark culling is the deliberate killing of sharks by a government in an attempt to reduce shark attacks; shark culling is often called "shark control". These programs have been criticized by environmentalists and scientists—they say these programs harm the marine ecosystem; they also say such programs are "outdated, cruel, and ineffective". Many different species (dolphins, turtles, etc.) are also killed in these programs (because of their use of shark nets and drum lines)—15,135 marine animals were killed in New South Wales' nets between 1950 and 2008, and 84,000 marine animals were killed by Queensland authorities from 1962 to 2015.Great white sharks are currently killed in both Queensland and New South Wales in "shark control" (shark culling) programs. Queensland uses shark nets and drum lines with baited hooks, while New South Wales only uses nets. From 1962 to 2018, Queensland authorities killed about 50,000 sharks, many of which were great whites. From 2013 to 2014 alone, 667 sharks were killed by Queensland authorities, including great white sharks. In Queensland, great white sharks found alive on the drum lines are shot. In New South Wales, between 1950 and 2008, a total of 577 great white sharks were killed in nets. Between September 2017 and April 2018, fourteen great white sharks were killed in New South Wales.KwaZulu-Natal (an area of South Africa) also has a "shark control" program that kills great white sharks and other marine life. In a 30-year period, more than 33,000 sharks were killed in KwaZulu-Natal's shark-killing program, including great whites.In 2014 the state government of Western Australia led by Premier Colin Barnett implemented a policy of killing large sharks. The policy, colloquially referred to as the Western Australian shark cull, was intended to protect users of the marine environment from shark bite incidents, following the deaths of seven people on the Western Australian coastline in the years 2010–2013. Baited drum lines were deployed near popular beaches using hooks designed to catch great white sharks, as well as bull and tiger sharks. Large sharks found hooked but still alive were shot and their bodies discarded at sea. The government claimed they were not culling the sharks, but were using a "targeted, localised, hazard mitigation strategy". Barnett described opposition as "ludicrous" and "extreme", and said that nothing could change his mind. This policy was met with widespread condemnation from the scientific community, which showed that species responsible for bite incidents were notoriously hard to identify, that the drum lines failed to capture white sharks, as intended, and that the government also failed to show any correlation between their drum line policy and a decrease in shark bite incidents in the region.
+
+Attacks on boats
+Great white sharks infrequently bite and sometimes even sink boats. Only five of the 108 authenticated unprovoked shark bite incidents reported from the Pacific Coast during the 20th century involved kayakers. In a few cases they have bitten boats up to 10 m (33 ft) in length. They have bumped or knocked people overboard, usually biting the boat from the stern. In one case in 1936, a large shark leapt completely into the South African fishing boat Lucky Jim, knocking a crewman into the sea. Tricas and McCosker's underwater observations suggest that sharks are attracted to boats by the electrical fields they generate, which are picked up by the ampullae of Lorenzini and confuse the shark about whether or not wounded prey might be nearby.
+
+In captivity
+Prior to August 1981, no great white shark in captivity lived longer than 11 days. In August 1981, a great white survived for 16 days at SeaWorld San Diego before being released. The idea of containing a live great white at SeaWorld Orlando was used in the 1983 film Jaws 3-D.
+Monterey Bay Aquarium first attempted to display a great white in 1984, but the shark died after 11 days because it did not eat. In July 2003, Monterey researchers captured a small female and kept it in a large netted pen near Malibu for five days. They had the rare success of getting the shark to feed in captivity before its release. Not until September 2004 was the aquarium able to place a great white on long-term exhibit. A young female, which was caught off the coast of Ventura, was kept in the aquarium's 3.8 million L (1 million US gal) Outer Bay exhibit for 198 days before she was released in March 2005. She was tracked for 30 days after release. On the evening of 31 August 2006, the aquarium introduced a juvenile male caught outside Santa Monica Bay. His first meal as a captive was a large salmon steak on 8 September 2006, and as of that date, he was estimated to be 1.72 m (68 in) in length and to weigh approximately 47 kg (104 lb). He was released on 16 January 2007, after 137 days in captivity.
+Monterey Bay Aquarium housed a third great white, a juvenile male, for 162 days between 27 August 2007, and 5 February 2008. On arrival, he was 1.4 m (4.6 ft) long and weighed 30.6 kg (67 lb). He grew to 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and 64 kg (141 lb) before release. A juvenile female came to the Outer Bay Exhibit on 27 August 2008. While she did swim well, the shark fed only once during her stay and was tagged and released on 7 September 2008. Another juvenile female was captured near Malibu on 12 August 2009, introduced to the Outer Bay exhibit on 26 August 2009, and was successfully released into the wild on 4 November 2009. The Monterey Bay Aquarium introduced a 1.4-m-long male into their redesigned "Open Sea" exhibit on 31 August 2011. He was exhibited for 55 days, and was released into the wild on the 25th of October the same year. However, the shark was determined to have died shortly after release via an attached electronic tag. The cause of death is not known.The Monterey Bay Aquarium does not plan to exhibit any more great whites, as the main purpose of containing them was scientific. As data from captive great whites were no longer needed, the institute has instead shifted its focus to study wild sharks.One of the largest adult great whites ever exhibited was at Japan's Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in 2016, where a 3.5 m (11 ft) male was exhibited for three days before dying. Perhaps the most famous captive was a 2.4 m (7.9 ft) female named Sandy, which in August 1980 became the only great white to be housed at the California Academy of Sciences' Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California. She was released because she would not eat and constantly bumped against the walls.Due to the vast amounts of resources required and the subsequent cost to keep a great white shark alive in captivity, their dietary preferences, size, migratory nature, and the stress of capture and containment, permanent exhibition of a great white shark is likely to be unfeasible.
+
+Shark tourism
+Cage diving is most common at sites where great whites are frequent including the coast of South Africa, the Neptune Islands in South Australia, and Guadalupe Island in Baja California. The popularity of cage diving and swimming with sharks is at the focus of a booming tourist industry. A common practice is to chum the water with pieces of fish to attract the sharks. These practices may make sharks more accustomed to people in their environment and to associate human activity with food; a potentially dangerous situation. By drawing bait on a wire towards the cage, tour operators lure the shark to the cage, possibly striking it, exacerbating this problem. Other operators draw the bait away from the cage, causing the shark to swim past the divers.
+At present, hang baits are illegal off Isla Guadalupe and reputable dive operators do not use them. Operators in South Africa and Australia continue to use hang baits and pinniped decoys. In South Australia, playing rock music recordings underwater, including the AC/DC album Back in Black has also been used experimentally to attract sharks.Companies object to being blamed for shark bite incidents, pointing out that lightning tends to strike humans more often than sharks bite humans. Their position is that further research needs to be done before banning practices such as chumming, which may alter natural behaviour. One compromise is to only use chum in areas where whites actively patrol anyway, well away from human leisure areas. Also, responsible dive operators do not feed sharks. Only sharks that are willing to scavenge follow the chum trail and if they find no food at the end then the shark soon swims off and does not associate chum with a meal. It has been suggested that government licensing strategies may help enforce these responsible tourism.
+
+Conservation status
+It is unclear how much of a concurrent increase in fishing for great white sharks has caused the decline of great white shark populations from the 1970s to the present. No accurate global population numbers are available, but the great white shark is now considered vulnerable. Sharks taken during the long interval between birth and sexual maturity never reproduce, making population recovery and growth difficult.The International Union for Conservation of Nature notes that very little is known about the actual status of the great white shark, but as it appears uncommon compared to other widely distributed species, it is considered vulnerable. It is included in Appendix II of CITES, meaning that international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) requires a permit. As of March 2010, it has also been included in Annex I of the CMS Migratory Sharks MoU, which strives for increased international understanding and coordination for the protection of certain migratory sharks. A February 2010 study by Barbara Block of Stanford University estimated the world population of great white sharks to be lower than 3,500 individuals, making the species more vulnerable to extinction than the tiger, whose population is in the same range. According to another study from 2014 by George H. Burgess, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, there are about 2,000 great white sharks near the California coast, which is 10 times higher than the previous estimate of 219 by Barbara Block.Fishermen target many sharks for their jaws, teeth, and fins, and as game fish in general. The great white shark, however, is rarely an object of commercial fishing, although its flesh is considered valuable. If casually captured (it happens for example in some tonnare in the Mediterranean), it is misleadingly sold as smooth-hound shark.
+
+In Australia
+The great white shark was declared vulnerable by the Australian Government in 1999 because of significant population decline and is currently protected under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. The causes of decline prior to protection included mortality from sport fishing harvests as well as being caught in beach protection netting.The national conservation status of the great white shark is reflected by all Australian states under their respective laws, granting the species full protection throughout Australia regardless of jurisdiction. Many states had prohibited the killing or possession of great white sharks prior to national legislation coming into effect. The great white shark is further listed as threatened in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, and as rare or likely to become extinct under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Conservation Act in Western Australia.In 2002, the Australian government created the White Shark Recovery Plan, implementing government-mandated conservation research and monitoring for conservation in addition to federal protection and stronger regulation of shark-related trade and tourism activities. An updated recovery plan was published in 2013 to review progress, research findings, and to implement further conservation actions. A study in 2012 revealed that Australia's white shark population was separated by Bass Strait into genetically distinct eastern and western populations, indicating a need for the development of regional conservation strategies.Presently, human-caused shark mortality is continuing, primarily from accidental and illegal catching in commercial and recreational fishing as well as from being caught in beach protection netting, and the populations of great white shark in Australia are yet to recover.In spite of official protections in Australia, great white sharks continue to be killed in state "shark control" programs within Australia. For example, the government of Queensland has a "shark control" program (shark culling) which kills great white sharks (as well as other marine life) using shark nets and drum lines with baited hooks. In Queensland, great white sharks that are found alive on the baited hooks are shot. The government of New South Wales also kills great white sharks in its "shark control" program. Partly because of these programs, shark numbers in eastern Australia have decreased.The Australasian population of great white sharks is believed to be in excess of 8,000–10,000 individuals according to genetic research studies done by CSIRO, with an adult population estimated to be around 2,210 individuals in both Eastern and Western Australia. The annual survival rate for juveniles in these two separate populations was estimated in the same study to be close to 73 percent, while adult sharks had a 93 percent annual survival rate. Whether or not mortality rates in great white sharks have declined, or the population has increased as a result of the protection of this species in Australian waters is as yet unknown due to the slow growth rates of this species.
+
+In New Zealand
+The great white shark is one of the most commonly found in the waters of New Zealand. As of April 2007, great white sharks were fully protected within 370 km (230 mi) of New Zealand and additionally from fishing by New Zealand-flagged boats outside this range. The maximum penalty is a $250,000 fine and up to six months in prison. In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the great white shark under the New Zealand Threat Classification System as "Nationally Endangered". The species meets the criteria for this classification as there exists a moderate, stable population of between 1000 and 5000 mature individuals. This classification has the qualifiers "Data Poor" and "Threatened Overseas".
+
+In North America
+In 2013, great white sharks were added to California's Endangered Species Act. From data collected, the population of great whites in the North Pacific was estimated to be fewer than 340 individuals. Research also reveals these sharks are genetically distinct from other members of their species elsewhere in Africa, Australia, and the east coast of North America, having been isolated from other populations.A 2014 study estimated the population of great white sharks along the California coastline to be approximately 2,400.In 2015 Massachusetts banned catching, cage diving, feeding, towing decoys, or baiting and chumming for its significant and highly predictable migratory great white population without an appropriate research permit. The goal of these restrictions is to both protect the sharks and public health.
+
+See also
+List of sharks
+List of threatened sharks
+Outline of sharks
+Shark culling
+Western Australian shark cull
+
+Books
+The Devil's Teeth by Susan Casey
+Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo about the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916
+Twelve Days of Terror by Richard Fernicola about the same events
+Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark by Greg Skomal
+
+Notes
+References
+External links
+
+White Shark, NOAA Fisheries
+White Shark Information, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
+White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), Australian Museum
+Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
+White Shark Conservation Trust, New Zealand
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diff --git a/data/animals/green lizard.txt b/data/animals/green lizard.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/green lizard.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+The European green lizard (Lacerta viridis) is a large lizard distributed across European midlatitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey. It is often seen sunning on rocks or lawns, or sheltering amongst bushes.
+
+Taxonomy
+There is an ongoing discussion as to whether Lacerta viridis and Lacerta bilineata are separate species. Genetic data weakly supports their separation into two species but more investigation needs to be done.
+
+Description
+The lizard reaches up to 15 cm (5.9 in) from the tip of the muzzle to the cloaca. The tail can be up to twice the length of the body, total length is up to 40 cm (16 in). This lizard sometimes sheds its tail (autotomy) to evade the grasp of a predator, regrowing it later.
+The male has a larger head and a uniform green coloring punctuated with small spots that are more pronounced upon its back. The throat is bluish in the adult male and to a lesser extent in the female. The female is more slender than the male and has a more uniform coloration, often displaying between two and four light bands bordered by black spots.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The European green lizard is native to southeastern Europe. Its range extends from southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, eastern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia and Greece to southern Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and western Turkey. It has been introduced into the state of Kansas in the United States. Various attempts were made to introduce green lizards into Britain since the late 19th century, and a colony identified as L. bilineata has survived at Bournemouth since the late 1990s. They have also been seen and photographed in Jersey, Channel Islands in the last 20 years. It is known from elevations up to 2,200 m (7,218 ft) above sea level and its typical habitat is dense bushy vegetation in open woodland, hedgerows, field margins, embankments and bramble thickets. In the northern part of its range it may be found on bushy heathland and in the southern part it prefers damp locations.
+
+Behavior
+The European green lizard lives on the ground and in low, dense vegetation and likes to bask in the sun, early and late in the day. It feeds mainly on insects and other small invertebrates but it also sometimes takes fruit, birds’ eggs, fledglings, small lizards and even mice. In spring, the female lays six to twenty eggs which hatch in two to four months. Newly hatched juveniles are pale brown with a snout-to-vent length of 3 to 4 cm (1.2 to 1.6 in). They become mature the following year by which time they will have doubled in size.
+
+Predators
+Predators include red foxes, badgers, domestic cats, birds (such as buzzards, kestrels and crows) and snakes (such as adders).
+
+Status
+The IUCN lists the European green lizard as being of "Least Concern". This is because it has a wide range and is common in at least part of that range. It is an adaptable species and no substantial threats have been identified over most of its range. However, in Turkey it may be affected by the use of pesticides.
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Lacerta viridis at Wikimedia Commons
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diff --git a/data/animals/grey fox.txt b/data/animals/grey fox.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/grey fox.txt	
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+The gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (Urocyon littoralis) of the California Channel Islands, are the only living members of the genus Urocyon, which is considered to be genetically basal to all other living canids. Its species name cinereoargenteus means "ashen silver".
+It was once the most common fox in the eastern United States, and though still found there, human advancement and deforestation allowed the red fox to become the predominant fox-like canid. Despite this post-colonial competition, the gray fox has been able to thrive in urban and suburban environments, one of the best examples being southern Florida. The Pacific States and Great Lakes region still have the gray fox as their prevalent fox.
+
+Etymology
+The genus Urocyon comes from the Latin 'uro' meaning tail, and 'cyon', meaning dog. The species epithet cinereoargenteus is a combination of 'cinereo' meaning ashen, and 'argenteus' (from argentum), meaning 'silver', referencing the color of the tail.
+
+Description
+The gray fox is mainly distinguished from most other canids by its grizzled upper parts, black stripe down its tail and strong neck, ending in a black-tipped tail, while the skull can be easily distinguished from all other North American canids by its widely separated temporal ridges that form a ‘U’-shape. Like other canids, the fox's ears and muzzle are angular and pointed. Its claws tend to be lengthier and curved.
+There is little sexual dimorphism, save for the females being slightly smaller than males. The gray fox ranges from 76 to 112.5 cm (29.9 to 44.3 in) in total length. The tail measures 27.5 to 44.3 cm (10.8 to 17.4 in) of that length and its hind feet measure 100 to 150 mm (3.9 to 5.9 in). The gray fox typically weighs 3.6 to 7 kg (7.9 to 15.4 lb), though exceptionally can weigh as much as 9 kg (20 lb). The grey fox is readily distinguished from the red fox by its obvious lack of the "black stockings" that stand out on the red fox. The grey fox has a stripe of black hair that runs along the middle of its tail, and individual guard hairs that are banded with white, gray, and black. The gray fox displays white on the ears, throat, chest, belly, and hind legs. Gray foxes also have black around their eyes, on the lips, and on their noses.
+In contrast to all Vulpes and related (Arctic and fennec) foxes, the gray fox has oval (instead of slit-like) pupils.(p122) The gray fox also has reddish coloration on parts of its body, including the legs, sides, feet, chest, and back and sides of the head and neck. The stripe on the fox's tail ends in a black tip as well. Their weight can be similar to that of a red fox, but gray foxes appear smaller because their fur is not as long and they have shorter limbs.The dental formula of the U. cinereoargenteus is 3.1.4.23.1.4.3 = 42.
+
+Origin and genetics
+The gray fox appeared in North America during the mid-Pliocene (Hemphillian land animal age) epoch 3.6 million years ago (AEO) with the first fossil evidence found at the lower 111 Ranch site, Graham County, Arizona with contemporary mammals like the giant sloth, the elephant-like Cuvieronius, the large-headed llama, and the early small horses of Nannippus and Equus. Faunal remains at two northern California cave sites confirm the presence of the gray fox during the late Pleistocene. Genetic analysis has shown that the gray fox migrated into the northeastern United States post-Pleistocene in association with the Medieval Climate Anomaly warming trend.Genetic analyses of the fox-like canids confirmed that the gray fox is a distinct genus from the red foxes (Vulpes spp.). The genus Urocyon is considered to be the most basal of the living canids. Genetically, the gray fox often clusters with two other ancient lineages: The east Asian raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and the African bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis).The chromosome number is 66 (diploid) with a fundamental number of 70. The autosomes include 31 pairs of sub-graded subacrocentrics, but one only pair of metacentrics.Recent mitochondrial genetic studies suggests divergence of North American eastern and western gray foxes in the Irvingtonian mid-Pleistocene into separate sister taxa.
+The gray fox's dwarf relative, the island fox, is likely descended from mainland gray foxes. These foxes apparently were transported by humans to the islands and from island to island, and are descended from a minimum of 3–4 matrilineal founders.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The species occurs throughout most rocky, wooded, brushy regions of the southern half of North America from southern Canada (Manitoba through southeastern Quebec) to the northern part of South America (Venezuela and Colombia), excluding the mountains of northwestern United States. It is the only canid whose natural range spans both North and South America. In some areas, high population densities exist near brush-covered bluffs.
+
+Behavior
+The gray fox is specifically adapted to climb trees. Its strong, hooked claws allow it to scramble up trees to escape many predators, such as the domestic dog or the coyote, or to reach tree-bound or arboreal food sources. It can climb branchless, vertical trunks to heights of 18 meters and jump from branch to branch. It descends primarily by jumping from branch to branch, or by descending slowly backwards like a domestic cat. The gray fox is primarily nocturnal or crepuscular and makes its den in hollow trees, stumps or appropriated burrows during the day. Such gray fox tree dens may be located 30 ft above the ground.(p122) For the most part, they rest on the ground rather than higher up in trees.
+Prior to European colonization of North America, the red fox was found primarily in boreal forest and the gray fox in deciduous forest. With the increase in human populations in North America, their habitat selection has adapted: Gray foxes that live near human populations tend to choose areas near hardwood trees, locations used primarily by humans, or roads to utilize as their habitat.
+The increase of coyote populations around North America has reduced certain fox populations, so gray foxes have to choose a habitat that will allow them to escape the coyote threat as much as possible, hence the choice of habitat nearer to areas where humans are active. The larger predators of the gray fox, like coyotes and bobcats, tend to avoid human-use areas and paved roads, making this habitat useful for the gray fox. They heavily utilize the edges of forests as a travel corridor, which is used for primary movement from place to place. Their choices do not change based on sex, the season, or the time of day. They also do the majority of their hunting in edges, and use them to escape from predators as well. Gray foxes are thus known as an “edge species”.
+
+Interspecies competition
+Gray foxes often hunt for the same prey as bobcats and coyotes who occupy the same region. To avoid interspecific competition, the gray fox has developed certain behaviors and habits to increase their survival chances. In regions where gray foxes and coyotes hunt for the same food, the gray fox has been observed to give space to the coyote, staying within its own established range for hunting. Gray foxes might also avoid their competitors by occupying different habitats from them. In California, gray foxes do this by living in chaparral where their competitors are fewer and the low shrubbery provides them a greater chance to escape from a dangerous encounter. It also has been suggested that gray foxes could be more active at night than during the day to avoid their larger, diurnal competitors.Still, gray foxes frequently fall victim to bobcats and coyotes. When killed, the carcasses are often unconsumed, suggesting they are victims of intraguild predation. These gray foxes are often killed on or near the boundary of their established range, when they begin to interfere with their competitors. Gray foxes are known as mesopredators because they are mid-tier predators and their prey consists mostly of smaller mammals, while coyotes are known as de facto apex predators due to the removal of other apex predators, like wolves, in North America. This explains the gray fox's tendency to change behavior in response to the coyote threat, as they are essentially lower on the food chain.
+
+Reproduction
+The gray fox is assumed to be monogamous, like other foxes. The breeding season of the gray fox varies geographically; in Michigan, the gray fox mates in early March, in Alabama, breeding peaks occur in February. The gestation period lasts approximately 53 days. Litter size ranges from 1–7, with a mean of 3.8 young per female.
+
+The sexual maturity of females is around 10 months of age. Kits begin to hunt with their parents at the age of 3 months. By the time that they are 4 months old, the kits will have developed their permanent dentition and can now easily forage on their own. The family group remains together until the autumn, when the young males reach sexual maturity, then they disperse. In a study of 9 juvenile gray foxes, only the males dispersed up to 84 km (52 mi). The juvenile females stayed within proximity of the den within 3 km (1.9 mi) and always returned. On the other hand, adult gray foxes showed no signs of dispersion for either gender. The gray fox will typically live between six and ten years.The annual reproductive cycle of males has been described through epididymal smears and become fertile earlier and remain fertile longer than the fertility of females.Logs, trees, rocks, burrows, or abandoned dwellings serve as suitable den sites. Dens are used at any time during the year but mostly during whelping season. Dens are built in brushy or wooded regions and are better concealed than the dens of the red fox.
+
+Diet
+The gray fox is an omnivorous, solitary hunter. It frequently preys on the eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) in the eastern U.S., though it will readily catch voles, shrews, and birds. In California, the gray fox primarily eats rodents (such as deer mice, woodrats, and cotton rats), followed by lagomorphs, e.g. jackrabbit, brush rabbit, etc. When available, gray foxes may also feed on carrion. In some parts of the Western United States (such as in the Zion National Park in Utah), the gray fox is primarily insectivorous and herbivorous.(p124) Fruit is an important component of the diet of the gray fox and they seek whatever fruits are readily available, generally eating more vegetable matter than does the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Generally, there is an increase in fruits and invertebrates (such as grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies, and moths) within the gray fox's diet in the transition from winter to spring. As nuts, grains, and fruits become more numerous, they are cached by foxes. Typically, they attempt to cover the area with their scent either through their scent glands or urine. This marking serves the dual purpose of allowing them to find the food again later and preventing other animals from taking it.
+
+Ecosystem role
+Since woodrats, cotton rats, and mice make up a large part of the gray fox's diet, they serve as important regulators of small rodent populations.
+In addition to their beneficial predation on rodents, gray foxes are also less welcome hosts to some external and internal parasites, which include fleas, lice, nematodes, and tapeworms. In the United States, the most common parasite of the gray fox is a flea (Pulex simulans); however, several new parasitic arthropods were found in populations in central Mexico, and a warming climate may encourage them to migrate north.
+
+Hunting
+Gray foxes are hunted in the U.S. The intensity of the hunting has correlated with the value of their pelts. Between the 1970–1971 and 1975–1976 hunting seasons, the price of gray fox pelts greatly increased and the number of individuals hunted jumped over six-fold from 26,109 to 163,458. It has been recently reported that over 500,000 gray foxes are killed every year for their fur.
+
+Subspecies
+There are 16 subspecies recognized for the gray fox.
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus borealis (New England)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus californicus (southern California)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus cinereoargenteus (eastern United States)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus costaricensis (Costa Rica)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus floridanus (Gulf states)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus fraterculus (Yucatán)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus furvus (Panama)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus guatemalae (southernmost Mexico south to Nicaragua)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus madrensis (southern Sonora, south-west Chihuahua, and north-west Durango)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus nigrirostris (south-west Mexico)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus ocythous (Central Plains states)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus orinomus (southern Mexico, Isthmus of Tehuantepec)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus peninsularis (Baja California)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus scottii (south-western United States and northern Mexico)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus townsendi (northern California and Oregon)
+Urocyon cinereoargenteus venezuelae (Colombia and Venezuela)
+
+Parasites
+Parasites of gray fox include trematode Metorchis conjunctus. Other common parasites that were collected on gray foxes in Texas were a variety of tapeworms (Mesocestoides litteratus,  Taenia pisiformis, Taenia serialis) and roundworms (Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma braziliense, Haemonchus similis, Spirocerca lupi, Physaloptera rara, Eucoleus aerophilus). T. pisiformis was the most common parasite species and was associated with frequent impacts on health.
+
+See also
+Cozumel fox, a recently/nearly extinct grey fox formerly found on Mexico's Cozumel Island
+South American gray fox, also known as the gray zorro, but only distantly related
+Urocyon progressus, the extinct ancestor of the gray fox
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Skull morphology U. cinereoargenteus". digimorph.org.
+Gray fox filmed in Colorado (video).
+Gray fox filmed in Austin, Texas (video).
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+The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), also known as the grey whale,  gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9 meters (49 ft), a weight of  up to 41 tonnes (90,000 lb) and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be 75–80 years of age. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin.  Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted.  The gray whale is the sole living species in the genus Eschrichtius. It is the sole living genus in the family Eschrichtiidae, however some recent studies classify it as a member of the family Balaenopteridae. This mammal is descended from filter-feeding whales that appeared during the Neogene.
+The gray whale is distributed in a Northeast Pacific (North American), and an endangered Northwest Pacific (Asian), population. North Atlantic populations were extirpated (perhaps by whaling) on the European coast before 500 CE, and on the American and African coast around the late 17th to early 18th centuries. However, in the 2010s there have been a number of sightings of gray whales in the Mediterranean Sea and even off Southern hemisphere Atlantic coasts.
+
+Taxonomy
+The gray whale is traditionally placed as the only living species in its genus and family, Eschrichtius and Eschrichtiidae, but an extinct species was discovered and placed in the genus in 2017, the Akishima whale (E. akishimaensis).  Some recent studies place gray whales as being outside the rorqual clade, but as the closest relatives to the rorquals. But other recent DNA analyses have suggested that certain rorquals of the family Balaenopteridae, such as the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, and fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, are more closely related to the gray whale than they are to some other rorquals, such as the minke whales. The American Society of Mammalogists has followed this classification.John Edward Gray placed it in its own genus in 1865, naming it in honour of physician and zoologist Daniel Frederik Eschricht. The common name of the whale comes from its coloration. The subfossil remains of now extinct gray whales from the Atlantic coasts of England and Sweden were used by Gray to make the first scientific description of a species then surviving only in Pacific waters. The living Pacific species was described by Cope as Rhachianectes glaucus in 1869. Skeletal comparisons showed the Pacific species to be identical to the Atlantic remains in the 1930s, and Gray's naming has been generally accepted since. Although identity between the Atlantic and Pacific populations cannot be proven by anatomical data, its skeleton is distinctive and easy to distinguish from that of all other living whales.Many other names have been ascribed to the gray whale, including desert whale, devilfish, gray back, mussel digger and rip sack. The name Eschrichtius gibbosus is sometimes seen; this is dependent on the acceptance of a 1777 description by Erxleben.
+
+Taxonomic history
+A number of 18th century authors described the gray whale as Balaena gibbosa, the "whale with six bosses", apparently based on a brief note by Dudley 1725:
+The Scrag Whale is near a kin to the Fin-back, but instead of a Fin upon his Back, the Ridge of the Afterpart of his Back is cragged with half a Dozen Knobs or Nuckles; he is nearest the right Whale in Figure and for Quantity of Oil; his Bone is white, but won't split.
+The gray whale was first described as a distinct species by Lilljeborg 1861 based on a subfossil found in the brackish Baltic Sea, apparently a specimen from the now extinct north Atlantic population. Lilljeborg, however, identified it as "Balaenoptera robusta", a species of rorqual.  Gray 1864 realized that the rib and scapula of the specimen was different from those of any known rorquals, and therefore erected a new genus for it, Eschrichtius. Van Beneden & Gervais 1868 were convinced that the bones described by Lilljeborg could not belong to a living species but that they were similar to fossils that Van Beneden had described from the harbour of Antwerp (most of his named species are now considered nomina dubia) and therefore named the gray whale Plesiocetus robustus, reducing Lilljeborg's and Gray's names to synonyms.Charles Melville Scammon  produced one of the earliest descriptions of living Pacific gray whales, and notwithstanding that he was among the whalers who nearly drove them to extinction in the lagoons of the Baja California Peninsula, they were and still are associated with him and his description of the species.  At this time, however, the extinct Atlantic population was considered a separate species (Eschrischtius robustus) from the living Pacific population (Rhachianectes glaucus).Things got increasingly confused as 19th century scientists introduced new species at an alarming rate (e.g. Eschrichtius pusillus, E. expansus, E. priscus, E. mysticetoides), often based on fragmentary specimens, and taxonomists started to use several generic and specific names interchangeably and not always correctly (e.g. Agalephus gobbosus, Balaenoptera robustus, Agalephus gibbosus).  Things got even worse in the 1930s when it was finally realised that the extinct Atlantic population was the same species as the extant Pacific population, and the new combination Eschrichtius gibbosus was proposed.
+
+Description
+The gray whale has a dark slate-gray color and is covered by characteristic gray-white patterns, scars left by parasites which drop off in its cold feeding grounds. Individual whales are typically identified using photographs of their dorsal surface and matching the scars and patches associated with parasites that have fallen off the whale or are still attached. They have two blowholes on top of their head, which can create a distinctive heart-shaped blow at the surface in calm wind conditions.
+Gray whales measure from 4.9 m (16 ft) in length for newborns to 13–15 m (43–49 ft) for adults (females tend to be slightly larger than adult males). Newborns are a darker gray to black in color. A mature gray whale can reach 40 t (44 short tons), with a typical range of 15–33 t (17–36 short tons), making them the ninth largest sized species of cetacean.
+Notable features that distinguish the gray whale from other mysticetes include its baleen that is variously described as cream, off-white, or blond in color and is unusually short. Small depressions on the upper jaw each contain a lone stiff hair, but are only visible on close inspection. Its head's ventral surface lacks the numerous prominent furrows of the related rorquals, instead bearing two to five shallow furrows on the throat's underside. The gray whale also lacks a dorsal fin, instead bearing 6 to 12 dorsal crenulations ("knuckles"), which are raised bumps on the midline of its rear quarter, leading to the flukes. This is known as the dorsal ridge. The tail itself is 3–3.5 m (10–11 ft) across and deeply notched at the center while its edges taper to a point.
+
+Pacific groups
+The two populations of Pacific gray whales (east and west) are morphologically and phylogenically different. Other than DNA structures, differences in proportions of several body parts and body colors including skeletal features, and length ratios of flippers and baleen plates have been confirmed between Eastern and Western populations, and some claims that the original eastern and western groups could have been much more distinct than previously thought, enough to be counted as subspecies. Since the original Asian and Atlantic populations have become extinct, it is difficult to determine the unique features among whales in these stocks.  However, there have been observations of some whales showing distinctive, blackish body colors in recent years. This corresponds with the DNA analysis of last recorded stranding in China. Differences were also observed between Korean and Chinese specimens.
+
+Populations
+North Pacific
+Two Pacific Ocean populations are known to exist: one population that is very low, whose migratory route is presumed to be between the Sea of Okhotsk and southern Korea, and a larger one with a population of about 27,000 individuals in the eastern Pacific traveling between the waters off northernmost Alaska and Baja California Sur. Mothers make this journey accompanied by their calves, usually hugging the shore in shallow kelp beds, and fight viciously to protect their young if they are attacked, earning gray whales the moniker, devil fish.The western population has had a very slow growth rate despite heavy conservation action over the years, likely due to their very slow reproduction rate. The state of the population hit an all-time low in 2010, when no new reproductive females were recorded, resulting in a minimum of 26 reproductive females being observed since 1995. Even a very small number of additional annual female deaths will cause the subpopulation to decline. However, as of 2018, evidence has indicated that the western population is markedly increasing in number, especially off Sakhalin Island. Following this, the IUCN downlisted the population's conservation status from critically endangered to endangered.
+
+North Atlantic
+The gray whale became extinct in the North Atlantic in the 18th century. Other than speculations, large portions of historical characteristic of migration and distribution are unclear such as locations of calving grounds and existences of resident groups.
+They had been seasonal migrants to coastal waters of both sides of Atlantic, including the Baltic Sea, Wadden Sea, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy, Hudson Bay (possibly), and Pamlico Sound.  Radiocarbon dating of subfossil or fossil European (Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom) coastal remains confirms this, with whaling the possible cause. Remains dating from the Roman epoch were found in the Mediterranean during excavation of the antique harbor of Lattara near Montpellier, France, in 1997, raising the question of whether Atlantic gray whales migrated up and down the coast of Europe from Wadden Sea to calve in the Mediterranean. A 2018 study utilizing ancient DNA barcoding and collagen peptide matrix fingerprinting confirmed that Roman era whale bones east of the Strait of Gibraltar were gray whales (and North Atlantic right whales), confirming that gray whales once ranged into the Mediterranean. Similarly, radiocarbon dating of American east coastal subfossil remains confirm that gray whales existed there at least through the 17th century. This population ranged at least from Southampton, New York, to Jupiter Island, Florida, the latest from 1675. In his 1835 history of Nantucket Island, Obed Macy wrote that in the early pre-1672 colony a whale of the kind called "scragg" entered the harbor and was pursued and killed by the settlers. A. B. Van Deinse points out that the "scrag whale", described by P. Dudley in 1725 as one of the species hunted by the early New England whalers, was almost certainly the gray whale.During the 2010s there have been rare sightings of gray whales in the North Atlantic Ocean or the connecting Mediterranean Sea, including one off the coast of Israel and one off the coast of Namibia.  These apparently were migrants from the North Pacific population through the Arctic Ocean.  A 2015 study of DNA from subfossil gray whales indicated that this may not be a historically unique event.  That study suggested that over the past 100,000 years there have been several migrations of gray whales between the Pacific and Atlantic, with the most recent large scale migration of this sort occurring about 5000 years ago.  These migrations corresponded to times of relatively high temperatures in the Arctic Ocean. In 2021, one individual was seen at Rabat, Morocco, followed by sightings at Algeria and Italy.
+
+Prewhaling abundance
+Researchers used a genetic approach to estimate pre-whaling abundance based on samples from 42 gray whales, and reported DNA variability at 10 genetic loci consistent with a population size of 76,000–118,000 individuals, three to five times larger than the average census size as measured through 2007. NOAA has collected surveys of gray whale population since at least the 1960s. They state that "the most recent population estimate [from 2007] was approximately 19,000 whales, with a high probability (88%) that the population is at 'optimum sustainable population' size, as defined by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  They speculate that the ocean ecosystem has likely changed since the prewhaling era, making a return to prewhaling numbers infeasible.  Factors limiting or threatening current population levels include ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and changes in sea-ice coverage associated with climate change.
+
+Integration and recolonization
+Several whales seen off Sakhalin and on Kamchatka Peninsula have been confirmed to migrate towards eastern side of Pacific and join the larger eastern population. In January 2011, a gray whale that had been tagged in the western population was tracked as far east as the eastern population range off the coast of British Columbia. Recent findings from either stranded or entangled specimens indicate that the original western population have become functionally extinct, and possibly all the whales that have appeared on Japanese and Chinese coasts in modern times are vagrants or re-colonizers from the eastern population.In mid-1980, there were three gray whale sightings in the eastern Beaufort Sea, placing them 585 kilometers (364 mi) further east than their known range at the time. Recent increases in sightings are confirmed in Arctic areas of the historic range for Atlantic stocks, most notably on several locations in the Laptev Sea including the New Siberian Islands in the East Siberian Sea, and around the marine mammal sanctuary of the Franz Josef Land, indicating possible earlier pioneers of re-colonizations. These whales were darker in body color than those whales seen in Sea of Okhotsk. In May 2010, a gray whale was sighted off the Mediterranean shore of Israel. It has been speculated that this whale crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Northwest Passage, since an alternative route around Cape Horn would not be contiguous to the whale's established territory. There has been gradual melting and recession of Arctic sea ice with extreme loss in 2007 rendering the Northwest Passage "fully navigable". The same whale was sighted again on May 30, 2010, off the coast of Barcelona, Spain.In May 2013, a gray whale was sighted off Walvis Bay, Namibia. Scientists from the Namibian Dolphin Project confirmed the whale's identity and thus provides the only sighting of this species in the Southern Hemisphere. Photographic identification suggests that this is a different individual than the one spotted in the Mediterranean in 2010. As of July 2013, the Namibian whale was still being seen regularly.In March 2021, a gray whale was sighted near Rabat, the capital of Morocco. In April, additional sightings were made off Algeria and Italy.Genetic analysis of fossil and prefossil gray whale remains in the Atlantic Ocean suggests several waves of dispersal from the Pacific to the Atlantic related to successive periods of climactic warming – during the Pleistocene before the last glacial period and the early Holocene immediately following the opening of the Bering Strait. This information and the recent sightings of Pacific gray whales in the Atlantic, suggest that another range expansion to the Atlantic may be starting.
+
+Life history
+Reproduction
+Breeding behavior is complex and often involves three or more animals. Both male and female whales reach puberty between the ages of 6 and 12 with an average of eight to nine years. Females show highly synchronized reproduction, undergoing oestrus in late November to early December. During the breeding season, it is common for females to have several mates. This single ovulation event is believed to coincide with the species' annual migration patterns, when births can occur in warmer waters. Most females show biennial reproduction, although annual births have been reported. Males also show seasonal changes, experiencing an increase in testes mass that correlates with the time females undergo oestrus. Currently there are no accounts of twin births, although an instance of twins in utero has been reported.The gestation period for gray whales is approximately 13 1⁄2 months, with females giving birth every one to three years. In the latter half of the pregnancy, the fetus experiences a rapid growth in length and mass. Similar to the narrow breeding season, most calves are born within a six-week time period in mid January. The calf is born tail first, and measures about 14–16 ft in length, and a weight of 2,000 lbs. Females lactate for approximately seven months following birth, at which point calves are weaned and maternal care begins to decrease. The shallow lagoon waters in which gray whales reproduce are believed to protect the newborn from sharks and orcas.On 7 January 2014, a pair of newborn or aborted conjoined twin gray whale calves were found dead in the Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon), off the west coast of Mexico. They were joined by their bellies.
+
+Feeding
+The whale feeds mainly on benthic crustaceans (such as amphipods and ghost shrimp), which it eats by turning on its side and scooping up sediments from the sea floor. This unique feeding selection makes gray whales one of the most strongly reliant on coastal waters among baleen whales. It is classified as a baleen whale and has baleen, or whalebone, which acts like a sieve, to capture small sea animals, including amphipods taken in along with sand, water and other material. Off Vancouver Island, gray whales commonly feed on shrimp-like mysids.  When mysids are abundant gray whales are present in fairly large numbers. Despite mysids being a prey of choice, gray whales are opportunistic feeders and can easily switch from feeding planktonically to benthically. When gray whales feed planktonically, they roll onto their right side while their fluke remains above the surface, or they apply the skimming method seen in other baleen whales (skimming the surface with their mouth open). This skimming behavior mainly seems to be used when gray whales are feeding on crab larvae. Other prey items include polychaete worms, herring eggs, various forms of larvae, and small fish.Gray whales feed benthically, by diving to the ocean floor and rolling on to their side, (gray whales, like blue whales seem to favor rolling onto their right side) and suck up prey from the sea floor. Gray whales seem to favor feeding planktonically in their feeding grounds, but benthically along their migration route in shallower water. Mostly, the animal feeds in the northern waters during the summer; and opportunistically feeds during its migration, depending primarily on its extensive fat reserves. Another reason for this opportunistic feeding may be the result of population increases, resulting in the whales taking advantage of whatever prey is available, due to increased competition. Feeding areas during migration seem to include the Gulf of California, Monterey Bay and Baja California Sur. Calf gray whales drink 50–80 lb (23–36 kg) of their mothers' 53% fat milk per day.The main feeding habitat of the western Pacific subpopulation is the shallow (5–15 m (16–49 ft) depth) shelf off northeastern Sakhalin Island, particularly off the southern portion of Piltun Lagoon, where the main prey species appear to be amphipods and isopods. In some years, the whales have also used an offshore feeding ground in 30–35 m (98–115 ft) depth southeast of Chayvo Bay, where benthic amphipods and cumaceans are the main prey species. Some gray whales have also been seen off western Kamchatka, but to date all whales photographed there are also known from the Piltun area.
+
+Migration
+Predicted distribution models indicate that overall range in the last glacial period was broader or more southerly distributed, and inhabitations in waters where species presences lack in present situation, such as in southern hemisphere and south Asian waters and northern Indian Ocean were possible due to feasibility of the environment on those days. Range expansions due to recoveries and re-colonization in the future is likely to be happen and the predicted range covers wider than that of today. The gray whale undergoes the longest migration of any mammal.
+
+Eastern Pacific population
+Each October, as the northern ice pushes southward, small groups of eastern gray whales in the eastern Pacific start a two- to three-month, 8,000–11,000 km (5,000–6,800 mi) trip south. Beginning in the Bering and Chukchi seas and ending in the warm-water lagoons of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and the southern Gulf of California, they travel along the west coast of Canada, the United States and Mexico.Traveling night and day, the gray whale averages approximately 120 km (75 mi) per day at an average speed of 8 km/h (5 mph). This round trip of 16,000–22,000 km (9,900–13,700 mi) is believed to be the longest annual migration of any mammal. By mid-December to early January, the majority are usually found between Monterey and San Diego such as at Morro bay, often visible from shore. The whale watching industry provides ecotourists and marine mammal enthusiasts the opportunity to see groups of gray whales as they migrate.
+By late December to early January, eastern grays begin to arrive in the calving lagoons and bays on the west coast of Baja California Sur. The three most popular are San Ignacio, Magdalena Bay to the south, and, to the north, Laguna Ojo de Liebre (formerly known in English as Scammon's Lagoon after whaleman Charles Melville Scammon, who discovered the lagoons in the 1850s and hunted the grays).Gray whales once ranged into Sea of Cortez and Pacific coasts of continental Mexico south to the Islas Marías, Bahía de Banderas, and Nayarit/Jalisco, and there were two modern calving grounds in Sonora (Tojahui or Yavaros) and Sinaloa (Bahia Santa Maria, Bahia Navachiste, La Reforma, Bahia Altata) until being abandoned in the 1980s.These first whales to arrive are usually pregnant mothers looking for the protection of the lagoons to bear their calves, along with single females seeking mates. By mid-February to mid-March, the bulk of the population has arrived in the lagoons, filling them with nursing, calving and mating gray whales.
+Throughout February and March, the first to leave the lagoons are males and females without new calves. Pregnant females and nursing mothers with their newborns are the last to depart, leaving only when their calves are ready for the journey, which is usually from late March to mid-April. Often, a few mothers linger with their young calves well into May. Whale watching in Baja's lagoons is  particularly popular because the whales often come close enough to boats for tourists to pet them.By late March or early April, the returning animals can be seen from Puget Sound to Canada.
+
+Resident groups
+A population of about 200 gray whales stay along the eastern Pacific coast from Canada to California throughout the summer, not making the farther trip to Alaskan waters. This summer resident group is known as the Pacific Coast feeding group.Any historical or current presence of similar groups of residents among the western population is currently unknown, however, whalers' logbooks and scientific observations indicate that possible year-round occurrences in Chinese waters and Yellow and Bohai basins were likely to be summering grounds. Some of the better documented historical catches show that it was common for whales to stay for months in enclosed waters elsewhere, with known records in the Seto Inland Sea and the Gulf of Tosa. Former feeding areas were once spread over large portions on mid-Honshu to northern Hokkaido, and at least whales were recorded for majority of annual seasons including wintering periods at least along east coasts of Korean Peninsula and Yamaguchi Prefecture. Some recent observations indicate that historic presences of resident whales are possible: a group of two or three were observed feeding in Izu Ōshima in 1994 for almost a month, two single individuals stayed in Ise Bay for almost two months in the 1980s and in 2012, the first confirmed living individuals in Japanese EEZ in the Sea of Japan and the first of living cow-calf pairs since the end of whaling stayed for about three weeks on the coastline of Teradomari in 2014. One of the pair returned to the same coasts at the same time of the year in 2015 again. Reviewing on other cases on different locations among Japanese coasts and islands observed during 2015 indicate that spatial or seasonal residencies regardless of being temporal or permanental staying once occurred throughout many parts of Japan or on other coastal Asia.
+
+Western population
+The current western gray whale population summers in the Sea of Okhotsk, mainly off Piltun Bay region at the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island (Russian Federation). There are also occasional sightings off the eastern coast of Kamchatka (Russian Federation) and in other coastal waters of the northern Okhotsk Sea. Its migration routes and wintering grounds are poorly known, the only recent information being from occasional records on both the eastern and western coasts of Japan and along the Chinese coast. Gray whale had not been observed on Commander Islands until 2016.  The northwestern pacific population consists of approximately 300 individuals, based on photo identification collected off of Sakhalin Island and Kamchatka.The Sea of Japan was once thought not to have been a migration route, until several entanglements were recorded. Any records of the species had not been confirmed since after 1921 on Kyushu. However, there were numerous records of whales along the Genkai Sea off Yamaguchi Prefecture, in Ine Bay in the Gulf of Wakasa, and in Tsushima. Gray whales, along with other species such as right whales and Baird's beaked whales, were common features off the north eastern coast of Hokkaido near Teshio, Ishikari Bay near Otaru, the Shakotan Peninsula, and islands in the La Pérouse Strait such as Rebun Island and Rishiri Island. These areas may also have included feeding grounds. There are shallow, muddy areas favorable for feeding whales off Shiretoko, such as at Shibetsu, the Notsuke Peninsula, Cape Ochiishi on Nemuro Peninsula, Mutsu Bay, along the Tottori Sand Dunes, in the Suou-nada Sea, and Ōmura Bay.
+The historical calving grounds were unknown but might have been along southern Chinese coasts from Zhejiang and Fujian Province to Guangdong, especially south of Hailing Island and to near Hong Kong. Possibilities include Daya Bay, Wailou Harbour on Leizhou Peninsula, and possibly as far south as Hainan Province and Guangxi, particularly around Hainan Island. These areas are at the southwestern end of the known range. It is unknown whether the whales' normal range once reached further south, to the Gulf of Tonkin. In addition, the existence of historical calving ground on Taiwan and Penghu Islands (with some fossil records and captures), and any presence in other areas outside of the known ranges off Babuyan Islands in Philippines and coastal Vietnamese waters in Gulf of Tonkin are unknown. There is only one confirmed record of accidentally killing of the species in Vietnam, at Ngoc Vung Island off Ha Long Bay in 1994 and the skeleton is on exhibition at the Quang Ninh Provincial Historical Museum. Gray whales are known to occur in Taiwan Strait even in recent years.It is also unknown whether any winter breeding grounds ever existed beyond Chinese coasts. For example, it is not known if the whales visited the southern coasts of the Korean Peninsula, adjacent to the Island of Jeju), Haiyang Island, the Gulf of Shanghai, or the Zhoushan Archipelago. There is no evidence of historical presence in Japan south of Ōsumi Peninsula; only one skeleton has been discovered in Miyazaki Prefecture.  Hideo Omura once considered the Seto Inland Sea to be a historical breeding ground, but only a handful of capture records support this idea, although migrations into the sea have been confirmed. Recent studies using genetics and acoustics, suggest that there are several wintering sites for western gray whales such as Mexico and the East China sea. However, their wintering ground habits in the western North Pacific are still poorly understood and additional research is needed.
+
+Recent migration in Asian waters
+Even though South Korea put the most effort into conservation of the species among the Asian nations, there are no confirmed sightings along the Korean Peninsula or even in the Sea of Japan in recent years.
+The last confirmed record in Korean waters was the sighting of a pair off Bangeojin, Ulsan in 1977. Prior to this, the last was of catches of 5 animals off Ulsan in 1966. There was a possible sighting of a whale within the port of Samcheok in 2015.There had been 24 records along Chinese coasts including sighting, stranding, intended hunts, and bycatches since 1933. The last report of occurrence of the species in Chinese waters was of a stranded semi adult female in the Bohai Sea in 1996, and the only record in Chinese waters in the 21st century was of a fully-grown female being killed by entanglement in Pingtan, China in November, 2007. DNA studies indicated that this individual might have originated from the eastern population rather than the western.Most notable observations of living whales after the 1980s were of 17 or 18 whales along Primorsky Krai in late October, 1989 (prior to this, a pair was reported swimming in the area in 1987), followed by the record of 14 whales in La Pérouse Strait on 13th, June in 1982 (in this strait, there was another sighting of a pair in October, 1987). In 2011, presences of gray whales were acoustically detected among pelagic waters in East China Sea between Chinese and Japanese waters.Since the mid-1990s, almost all the confirmed records of living animals in Asian waters were from Japanese coasts. There have been eight to fifteen sightings and stray records including unconfirmed sightings and re-sightings of the same individual, and one later killed by net-entanglement. The most notable of these observations are listed below:
+
+The feeding activities of a group of two or three whales that stayed around Izu Ōshima in 1994 for almost a month were recorded underwater by several researchers and whale photographers.
+A pair of thin juveniles were sighted off Kuroshio, Kōchi, a renowned town for whale-watching tourism of resident and sub-resident populations of Bryde's whales, in 1997. This sighting was unusual because of the location on mid-latitude in summer time.
+Another pair of sub-adults were confirmed swimming near the mouth of Otani River in Suruga Bay in May, 2003.
+A sub-adult whale that stayed in the Ise and Mikawa Bay for nearly two months in 2012 was later confirmed to be the same individual as the small whale observed off Tahara near Cape Irago in 2010, making it the first confirmed constant migration out of Russian waters. The juvenile observed off Owase in Kumanonada Sea in 2009 might or might not be the same individual. The Ise and Mikawa Bay region is the only location along Japanese coasts that has several records since the 1980s (a mortal entanglement in 1968, above mentioned short-stay in 1982, self-freeing entanglement in 2005), and is also the location where the first commercial whaling started. Other areas with several sighting or stranding records in recent years are off the Kumanonada Sea in Wakayama, off  Oshika Peninsula in Tōhoku, and on coastlines close to Tomakomai, Hokkaido.
+Possibly the first confirmed record of living animals in Japanese waters in the Sea of Japan since the end of whaling occurred on 3 April 2014 at Nodumi Beach, Teradomari, Niigata. Two individuals, measuring ten and five metres respectively, stayed near the mouth of Shinano River for three weeks. It is unknown whether this was a cow-calf pair, which would have been a first record in Asia. All of the previous modern records in the Sea of Japan were of by-catches.
+One of the above pair returned on the same beaches at the same time of a year in 2015.
+A juvenile or possibly or not with another larger individual remained in Japanese waters between January or March and May 2015. It was first confirmed occurrences of the species on remote, oceanic islands in Japan. One or more visited waters firstly on Kōzu-shima and Nii-Jima for weeks then adjacent to Miho no Matsubara and behind the Tokai University campus for several weeks. Possibly the same individual was seen off Futo as well. This later was identified as the same individual previously recorded on Sakhalin in 2014, the first re-recording one individual at different Asian locations.
+A young whale was observed by land-based fishermen at Cape Irago in March, 2015.
+One of the above pair appeared in 2015 off southeastern Japan and then reappeared off Tateyama in January, 2016. The identity of this whale was confirmed by Nana Takanawa who photographed the same whale on Niijima in 2015. Likely the same individual was sighted off Futo and half an hour later off Akazawa beach in Itō, Shizuoka on the 14th. The whale then stayed next to a pier on Miyake-jima and later at Habushi beach on Niijima, the same beach the same individual stayed near on the previous year.
+One whale of 9 metres (30 ft) was beached nearby Wadaura on March 4, 2016. Investigations on the corpse indicate that this was likely a different individual from the above animal.
+A 7 metres (23 ft) carcass of young female was firstly reported floating along Atami on 4 April then was washed ashore on Ito on the 6th.
+As of April 20, 2017, one or more whale(s) have been staying within Tokyo Bay since February although at one point another whale if or if not the same individual sighted off Hayama, Kanagawa. It is unclear the exact number of whales included in these sightings; two whales reported by fishermen and Japanese coastal guard reported three whales on 20th or 21st.
+
+Whaling
+North Pacific
+Eastern population
+Humans and orcas are the adult gray whale's only predators, although orcas are the more prominent predator. Aboriginal hunters, including those on Vancouver Island and the Makah in Washington, have hunted gray whales.
+Commercial whaling by Europeans of the species in the North Pacific began in the winter of 1845–46, when two United States ships, the Hibernia and the United States, under Captains Smith and Stevens, caught 32 in Magdalena Bay. More ships followed in the two following winters, after which gray whaling in the bay was nearly abandoned because "of the inferior quality and low price of the dark-colored gray whale oil, the low quality and quantity of whalebone from the gray, and the dangers of lagoon whaling."Gray whaling in Magdalena Bay was revived in the winter of 1855–56 by several vessels, mainly from San Francisco, including the ship Leonore, under Captain Charles Melville Scammon. This was the first of 11 winters from 1855 through 1865 known as the "bonanza period", during which gray whaling along the coast of Baja California reached its peak. Not only were the whales taken in Magdalena Bay, but also by ships anchored along the coast from San Diego south to Cabo San Lucas and from whaling stations from Crescent City in northern California south to San Ignacio Lagoon. During the same period, vessels targeting right and bowhead whales in the Gulf of Alaska, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Western Arctic would take the odd gray whale if neither of the more desirable two species were in sight.In December 1857, Charles Scammon, in the brig Boston, along with his schooner-tender Marin, entered Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Jack-Rabbit Spring Lagoon) or later known as Scammon's Lagoon (by 1860) and found one of the gray's last refuges. He caught 20 whales. He returned the following winter (1858–59) with the bark Ocean Bird and schooner tenders A.M. Simpson and Kate. In three months, he caught 47 cows, yielding 1,700 barrels (270 m3) of oil. In the winter of 1859–60, Scammon, again in the bark Ocean Bird, along with several other vessels, entered San Ignacio Lagoon to the south where he discovered the last breeding lagoon. Within only a couple of seasons, the lagoon was nearly devoid of whales.Between 1846 and 1874, an estimated 8,000 gray whales were killed by American and European whalemen, with over half having been killed in the Magdalena Bay complex (Estero Santo Domingo, Magdalena Bay itself, and Almejas Bay) and by shore whalemen in California and Baja California.
+A second, shorter, and less intensive hunt occurred for gray whales in the eastern North Pacific. Only a few were caught from two whaling stations on the coast of California from 1919 to 1926, and a single station in Washington (1911–21) accounted for the capture of another. For the entire west coast of North America for the years 1919 to 1929, 234 gray whales were caught. Only a dozen or so were taken by British Columbian stations, nearly all of them in 1953 at Coal Harbour. A whaling station in Richmond, California, caught 311 gray whales for "scientific purposes" between 1964 and 1969. From 1961 to 1972, the Soviet Union caught 138 gray whales (they originally reported not having taken any). The only other significant catch was made in two seasons by the steam-schooner California off Malibu, California. In the winters of 1934–35 and 1935–36, the California anchored off Point Dume in Paradise Cove, processing gray whales. In 1936, gray whales became protected in the United States.
+
+Western population
+The Japanese began to catch gray whales beginning in the 1570s. At Kawajiri, Nagato, 169 gray whales were caught between 1698 and 1889. At Tsuro, Shikoku, 201 were taken between 1849 and 1896. Several hundred more were probably caught by American and European whalemen in the Sea of Okhotsk from the 1840s to the early 20th century. Whalemen caught 44 with nets in Japan during the 1890s. The real damage was done between 1911 and 1933, when Japanese whalemen killed 1,449 after Japanese companies established several whaling stations on Korean Peninsula and on Chinese coast such as near the Daya bay and on Hainan Island. By 1934, the western gray whale was near extinction. From 1891 to 1966, an estimated 1,800–2,000 gray whales were caught, with peak catches of between 100 and 200 annually occurring in the 1910s.As of 2001, the Californian gray whale population had grown to about 26,000. As of 2016, the population of western Pacific (seas near Korea, Japan, and Kamchatka) gray whales was an estimated 200.
+
+North Atlantic
+The North Atlantic population may have been hunted to extinction in the 18th century. Circumstantial evidence indicates whaling could have contributed to this population's decline, as the increase in whaling activity in the 17th and 18th centuries coincided with the population's disappearance. A. B. Van Deinse points out the "scrag whale", described by P. Dudley in 1725, as one target of early New England whalers, was almost certainly the gray whale. In his 1835 history of Nantucket Island, Obed Macy wrote that in the early pre-1672 colony, a whale of the kind called "scragg" entered the harbor and was pursued and killed by the settlers. Gray whales (Icelandic sandlægja) were described in Iceland in the early 17th century. Formations of commercial whaling among the Mediterranean basin(s) have been considered to be feasible as well.
+
+Conservation
+Gray whales have been granted protection from commercial hunting by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) since 1949, and are no longer hunted on a large scale.
+Limited hunting of gray whales has continued since that time, however, primarily in the Chukotka region of northeastern Russia, where large numbers of gray whales spend the summer months. This hunt has been allowed under an "aboriginal/subsistence whaling" exception to the commercial-hunting ban. Anti-whaling groups have protested the hunt, saying the meat from the whales is not for traditional native consumption, but is used instead to feed animals in government-run fur farms; they cite annual catch numbers that rose dramatically during the 1940s, at the time when state-run fur farms were being established in the region. Although the Soviet government denied these charges as recently as 1987, in recent years the Russian government has acknowledged the practice. The Russian IWC delegation has said that the hunt is justified under the aboriginal/subsistence exemption, since the fur farms provide a necessary economic base for the region's native population.Currently, the annual quota for the gray whale catch in the region is 140 per year. Pursuant to an agreement between the United States and Russia, the Makah tribe of Washington claimed four whales from the IWC quota established at the 1997 meeting. With the exception of a single gray whale killed in 1999, the Makah people have been prevented from hunting by a series of legal challenges, culminating in a United States federal appeals court decision in December 2002 that required the National Marine Fisheries Service to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. On September 8, 2007, five members of the Makah tribe shot a gray whale using high-powered rifles in spite of the decision. The whale died within 12 hours, sinking while heading out to sea.As of 2018, the IUCN regards the gray whale as being of least concern from a conservation perspective. However, the specific subpopulation in the northwest Pacific is regarded as being critically endangered. The northwest Pacific population is also listed as endangered by the U.S. government's National Marine Fisheries Service under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The IWC Bowhead, Right and Gray Whale subcommittee in 2011 reiterated the conservation risk to western gray whales is large because of the small size of the population and the potential anthropogenic impacts.Gray whale migrations off of the Pacific Coast were observed, initially, by Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes, California. The Gray Whale Census, an official gray whale migration census that has been recording data on the migration of the Pacific gray whale has been keeping track of the population of the Pacific gray whale since 1985. This census is the longest running census of the Pacific gray whale. Census keepers volunteer from December 1 through May, from sun up to sun down, seven days a week, keeping track of the amount of gray whales migrating through the area off of Los Angeles. Information from this census is listed through the American Cetacean Society of Los Angeles (ACSLA).
+South Korea and China list gray whales as protected species of high concern. In South Korea, the Gray Whale Migration Site was registered as the 126th national monument in 1962, although illegal hunts have taken place thereafter, and there have been no recent sightings of the species in Korean waters.
+
+Rewilding proposal
+In 2005, two conservation biologists proposed a plan to airlift 50 gray whales from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. They reasoned that, as Californian gray whales had replenished to a suitable population, surplus whales could be transported to repopulate the extinct British population. As of 2017 this plan has not been undertaken.
+
+Threats
+According to the Government of Canada's Management Plan for gray whales, threats to the eastern North Pacific population of gray whales include: increased human activities in their breeding lagoons in Mexico, climate change, acute noise, toxic spills, aboriginal whaling, entanglement with fishing gear, boat collisions, and possible impacts from fossil fuel exploration and extraction.
+Western gray whales are facing large-scale offshore oil and gas development programs near their summer feeding grounds, as well as fatal net entrapments off Japan during migration, which pose significant threats to the future survival of the population. The substantial nearshore industrialization and shipping congestion throughout the migratory corridors of the western gray whale population represent potential threats by increasing the likelihood of exposure to ship strikes, chemical pollution, and general disturbance.Offshore gas and oil development in the Okhotsk Sea within 20 km (12 mi) of the primary feeding ground off northeast Sakhalin Island is of particular concern. Activities related to oil and gas exploration, including geophysical seismic surveying, pipelaying and drilling operations, increased vessel traffic, and oil spills, all pose potential threats to western gray whales. Disturbance from underwater industrial noise may displace whales from critical feeding habitat. Physical habitat damage from drilling and dredging operations, combined with possible impacts of oil and chemical spills on benthic prey communities also warrants concern. The western gray whale population is considered to be endangered according to IUCN standards.Along Japanese coasts, four females including a cow-calf pair were trapped and killed in nets in the 2000s. There had been a record of dead whale thought to be harpooned by dolphin-hunters found on Hokkaido in the 1990s. Meats for sale were also discovered in Japanese markets as well.2019 has had a record number of gray whale strandings and deaths, with 122 strandings in United States waters and 214 in Canadian waters. The cause of death in some specimens appears to be related to poor nutritional condition. It is hypothesized that some of these strandings are related to changes in prey abundance or quality in the Arctic feeding grounds, resulting in poor feeding. Some scientists suggest that the lack of sea ice has been preventing the fertilization of amphipods, a main source of food for gray whales, so that they have been hunting krill instead, which is far less nutritious. More research needs to be conducted to understand this issue.A recent study provides some evidence that solar activity is correlated to gray whale strandings. When there was a high prevalence of sunspots, gray whales were five times more likely to strand. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that solar storms release a large amount of electromagnetic radiation, which disrupts Earth's magnetic field and/or the whale's ability to analyze it. This may apply to the other species of cetaceans, such as sperm whales. However, there is not enough evidence to suggest that whales navigate through the use of magnetoreception (an organism's ability to sense a magnetic field).
+Orcas are "a prime predator of gray whale calves." Typically three to four orcas ram a calf from beneath in order to separate it from its mother, who defends it. Humpback whales have been observed defending gray whale calves from orcas. Orcas will often arrive in Monterey Bay to intercept gray whales during their northbound migration, targeting females migrating with newborn calves. They will separate the calf from the mother and hold the calf under water to drown it. The tactic of holding whales under water to drown them is certainly used by orcas on adult gray whales as well. It is roughly estimated that 33% of the gray whales born in a given year might be killed by predation.
+
+Captivity
+Because of their size and need to migrate, gray whales have rarely been held in captivity, and then only for brief periods of time. The first captive gray whale, who was captured in Scammon's Lagoon, Baja California in 1965, was named Gigi and died two months later from an infection. The second gray whale, who was captured in 1972 from the same lagoon, was named Gigi II and was released a year later after becoming too large for the facilities. The third gray whale, J.J., first beached herself in Marina del Rey, California where she was rushed to SeaWorld San Diego. After 14 months, she was released because she also grew too large to be cared for in the existing facilities. At 19,200 pounds (8,700 kg) and 31 feet (9.4 m) when she was released, J.J. was the largest marine mammal ever to be kept in captivity.
+
+See also
+Gray Whale Cove State Beach
+Gray Whale Ranch
+List of cetaceans
+
+References
+Sources
+Anderson, J. (1746). Nachrichten von Island, Grönland und der Strasse Davis (in German). Hamburg: Verlegts Georg Christian Grund, Buckdr.
+Barnes, L. G.; McLeod, S. A. (1984). "The Fossil Record and Phyletic Relationships of Gray Whales". In Jones, M. L.; Swartz, S. L.; Leatherwood, S. (eds.). The Gray Whale: Eschrichtius Robustus. Academic Press. pp. 3–28. ISBN 9780080923727.
+Brisson, M. J. (1762). Regnum animale in classes IX. distributum, sive, Synopsis methodica (in Latin and French). Lieden: Apud Theodorum Haak. OCLC 13184910.
+Erxleben, J. C. P. (1777). Systema regni animalis per classes, ordines, genera, species, varietates, cum synonymia et historia animalium. Classis 1: Mammalia (in Latin). Leipzig: Weygandianis. OCLC 22224991. OL 23666710M.
+"Eschrichtius Gray 1864 (gray whale)". Fossilworks.
+Lilljeborg, W. (1861). Öfversigt af de inom Skandinavien (Sverige och Norrige) anträffade Hvalartade Däggdjur (Cetacea) (in Swedish). doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15843. OCLC 670223335.
+Scammon, C. M. (1874). "The California Gray Whale". The marine mammals of the north-western coast of North America. San Franc.: John H. Carmany and Co. pp. 20–33.
+Van Beneden, P. J.; Gervais, P. (1868). Ostéographie des cétacés vivants et fossiles, comprenant la description et l'iconographie du squelette et du système dentaire de ces animaux; ainsi que des documents relatifs à leur histoire naturelle. Paris: A. Bertrand. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.9521.
+"P. J. Van Beneden and P. Gervais 1868". Fossilworks.
+
+Further reading
+Jones, Mary Lou; Swartz, Steven L.; Leatherwood, Stephen (1984). The Gray whale: Eschrichtius robustus. Academic Press. p. 600. ISBN 9780123891808.
+Rice, Dale W.; Wolman, Allen A. (April 30, 1971). The Life History and Ecology of the Gray Whale: Eschrichtius Robustus, Special Publication No. 3. The American Society of Mammalogists. p. 152.
+Swartz, Steven L.; Jones, Mary Lou (June 1987). "Gray Whales". National Geographic. Vol. 171, no. 6. pp. 754–771. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
+Sumich, James (2014). E. robustus: The biology and human history of gray whales (1st ed.). Whale Cove Marine Education. p. 199. ISBN 9780692225424.
+
+External links
+
+US National Marine Fisheries Service Gray Whale web page
+IUCN Redlist listing for Gray Whale
+Arkive – images & video of gray whale
+Society for Marine Mammalogy – Gray Whale Species Account
+The short film The California Gray Whale is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
+Voices in the Sea – Sounds of the Gray Whale Archived 2015-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
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diff --git a/data/animals/ground beetle.txt b/data/animals/ground beetle.txt
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+Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal families. They belong to the Adephaga. Members of the family are primarily carnivorous, but some members are herbivorous or omnivorous.
+
+Description and ecology
+Although their body shapes and coloring vary somewhat, most are shiny black or metallic and have ridged wing covers (elytra). The elytra are fused in some species, particularly the large Carabinae, rendering the beetles unable to fly. The species Mormolyce phyllodes is known as violin beetle due to their peculiarly shaped elytra. All carabids except the quite primitive flanged bombardier beetles (Paussinae) have a groove on their fore leg tibiae bearing a comb of hairs used for cleaning their antennae.
+
+Defensive secretions
+Typical for the ancient beetle suborder Adephaga to which they belong, they have paired pygidial glands in the lower back of the abdomen. These are well developed in ground beetles, and produce noxious or even caustic secretions used to deter would-be predators. In some, commonly known as bombardier beetles, these secretions are mixed with volatile compounds and ejected by a small combustion, producing a loud popping sound and a cloud of hot and acrid gas that can injure small mammals, such as shrews, and is liable to kill invertebrate predators outright.
+To humans, getting "bombed" by a bombardier beetle is a decidedly unpleasant experience. This ability has evolved independently twice, as it seems, in the flanged bombardier beetles (Paussinae), which are among the most ancient ground beetles, and in the typical bombardier beetles (Brachininae), which are part of a more "modern" lineage. The Anthiini, though, can mechanically squirt their defensive secretions for considerable distances and are able to aim with a startling degree of accuracy; in Afrikaans, they are known as oogpisters ("eye-pissers"). In one of the very few known cases of a vertebrate mimicking an arthropod, juvenile Heliobolus lugubris lizards are similar in color to the aposematic oogpister beetles, and move in a way that makes them look surprisingly similar to the insects at a casual glance.A folk story claims that Charles Darwin once found himself on the receiving end of a bombardier beetle's attack, based on a passage in his autobiography. Darwin stated in a letter to Leonard Jenyns that a beetle had attacked him on that occasion, but he did not know what kind:
+
+A Cychrus rostratus once squirted into my eye & gave me extreme pain; & I must tell you what happened to me on the banks of the Cam in my early entomological days; under a piece of bark I found two carabi (I forget which) & caught one in each hand, when lo & behold I saw a sacred Panagæus crux major; I could not bear to give up either of my Carabi, & to lose Panagæus was out of the question, so that in despair I gently seized one of the carabi between my teeth, when to my unspeakable disgust & pain the little inconsiderate beast squirted his acid down my throat & I lost both Carabi & Panagæus!
+
+Ecology
+Common habitats are under the bark of trees, under logs, or among rocks or sand by the edge of ponds and rivers. Most species are carnivorous and actively hunt for any invertebrate prey they can overpower. Some run swiftly to catch their prey; tiger beetles (Cicindelinae) can sustain speeds of 9 km/h (5.6 mph) – in relation to their body length they are among the fastest land animals on Earth. Unlike most Carabidae, which are nocturnal, the tiger beetles are active diurnal hunters and often brightly coloured; they have large eyes and hunt by sight. Ground beetles of the species Promecognathus laevissimus are specialised predators of the cyanide millipede Harpaphe haydeniana, countering the hydrogen cyanide that makes these millipedes poisonous to most carnivores.
+
+Relationship with humans
+As predators of invertebrates, including many pests, most ground beetles are considered beneficial organisms. The caterpillar hunters (Calosoma) are famous for their habit of devouring prey in quantity, eagerly feeding on tussock moth (Lymantriidae) caterpillars, processionary caterpillars (Thaumetopoeidae) and woolly worms (Arctiidae), which, due to their urticating hairs, are avoided by most insectivores. Large numbers of the forest caterpillar hunter (C. sycophanta), native to Europe, were shipped to New England for biological control of the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) as early as 1905.
+A few species are nuisance pests. Zabrus is one of the few herbivorous ground beetle genera, and on rare occasions Zabrus tenebrioides, for example, occurs abundantly enough to cause some damage to grain crops. Large species, usually the Carabinae, can become a nuisance if present in large numbers, particularly during outdoor activities such as camping; they void their defensive secretions when threatened, and in hiding among provisions, their presence may spoil food. Since ground beetles are generally reluctant or even unable to fly, mechanically blocking their potential routes of entry is usually easy. The use of insecticides specifically for carabid intrusion may lead to unfortunate side effects, such as the release of their  secretions, so it generally is not a good idea unless the same applications are intended to exclude ants, parasites or other crawling pests.
+Especially in the 19th century and to a lesser extent today, their large size and conspicuous coloration, as well as the odd morphology of some (e.g. the Lebiini), made many ground beetles a popular object of collection and study for professional and amateur coleopterologists. High prices were paid for rare and exotic specimens, and in the early to mid-19th century, a veritable "beetle craze" occurred in England. As mentioned above, Charles Darwin was an ardent collector of beetles when he was about 20 years old, to the extent that he would rather scour the countryside for rare specimens with William Darwin Fox, John Stevens Henslow, and Henry Thompson than to study theology as his father wanted him to do. In his autobiography, he fondly recalled his experiences with Licinus and Panagaeus, and wrote:
+
+No poet ever felt more delight at seeing his first poem published than I did at seeing in Stephen's Illustrations of British Insects the magic words, "captured by C. Darwin, Esq."
+
+Evolution and systematics
+The Adephaga are documented since the end of the Permian, about 250 million years ago (Mya). Ground beetles evolved in the latter Triassic, having separated from their closest relatives by 200 Mya. The family diversified throughout the Jurassic, and the more advanced lineages, such as the Harpalinae, underwent a vigorous radiation starting in the Cretaceous. The closest living relatives of the ground beetles are the false ground beetles (Trachypachidae) and the tiger beetles (Cicindelidae). They are sometimes even included in the Carabidae as subfamilies or as tribes incertae sedis, but more preferably they are united with the ground beetles in the superfamily Caraboidea, or Geadephaga.Much research has been done on elucidating the phylogeny of the ground beetles and adjusting systematics and taxonomy accordingly. While no completely firm consensus exists, a few points are generally accepted: The ground beetles seemingly consist of a number of more basal lineages and the extremely diverse Harpalinae, which contain over half the described species and into which several formerly independent families had to be subsumed.
+
+Subfamilies
+The taxonomy used here is primarily based on the Catalogue of Life and the Carabcat Database. Other classifications, while generally agreeing with the division into a basal radiation of more primitive lineages and the more advanced group informally called "Carabidae Conjunctae", differ in details. For example, the system used by the Tree of Life Web Project makes little use of subfamilies, listing most tribes as incertae sedis as to subfamily. Fauna Europaea, though, splits rather than lumps the Harpalinae, restricting them to what in the system used here is the tribe Harpalini. The exclusion of Trachypachidae as a separate family is now amply supported, as is the inclusion of Rhysodidae as a subfamily, closely related to Paussinae and Siagoninae.The exclusive Harpalinae is presented here, because the majority of authors presently use this system, following the Carabidae of the World, Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, or the Carabcat Database (which is reflected the Catalogue of Life).Tiger Beetles have historically been treated as a subfamily of Carabidae under the name Cicindelinae, but several studies since 2020 indicated that they should be treated as a family, Cicindelidae, a sister group to Carabidae.
+
+References
+Further reading
+E. Csiki (1946). Die Käferfauna des Karpaten-Beckens [The beetle fauna of the Carparthian basin] (in German). Budapest. pp. 71–546.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
+K. Kult (1947). Klíč k určování brouků čeledi Carabidae Československé republiky [Key to the beetles of family Carabidae of the Czech Republic] (in Czech). Prague.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
+C. H. Lindroth (1942). Coleoptera, Carabidae. Svensk Insectenfauna, Vol. 9 (in Swedish). Stockholm. pp. 1–260.{{cite book}}:  CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
+Edmund Reitter (1908–1917). Die Käfer des Deutschen Reiches [The beetles of the German Empire] (in German). Stuttgart: K. G. Lutz.
+
+External links
+
+Carabidae of the World
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diff --git a/data/animals/guenon.txt b/data/animals/guenon.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/guenon.txt
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+The guenons (UK: , US: ) are Old World monkeys of the genus Cercopithecus (). Not all members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names; also, because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have common names that include the word "guenon". Nonetheless, the use of the term guenon for monkeys of this genus is widely accepted.All members of the genus are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and most are forest monkeys. Many of the species are quite local in their ranges, and some have even more local subspecies. Many are threatened or endangered because of habitat loss. The species currently placed in the genus Chlorocebus, such as vervet monkeys and green monkeys, were formerly considered as a single species in this genus, Cercopithecus aethiops.
+In the English language, the word "guenon" is apparently of French origin. In French, guenon was the common name for all species and individuals, both males and females, from the genus Cercopithecus. In all other monkey and apes species, the French word guenon designates only the females. The 3 species such as the L'hoest's monkey, Preuss's monkey and the sun-tailed monkey were formerly included in the genus and now listed in a different genus Allochrocebus
+
+Classification
+The genus Cercopithecus, derived from the Ancient Greek terms κέρκος (kérkos, “tail”) and πίθηκος (píthēkos, "ape"), was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
+
+Species list
+Hybrids
+The red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) is known to hybridize with the blue monkey (C. mitis) in several locations in the wild in Africa.
+
+References
+Sources
+External links
+
+ Media related to Cercopithecus at Wikimedia Commons
+Primate Info Net Cercopithecus Factsheets
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diff --git a/data/animals/guinea pig.txt b/data/animals/guinea pig.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/guinea pig.txt	
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+The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( KAY-vee), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus Cavia in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word cavy to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts, it is far more commonly referred to by the common name guinea pig. Despite their common name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea, nor are they closely related biologically to pigs, and the origin of the name is still unclear. They originated in the Andes of South America. Studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated animals that do not exist naturally in the wild, descendants of a closely related cavy species such as C. tschudii. They were originally domesticated as livestock for a source of meat, and are still consumed in some parts of the world.
+In Western society, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a pet since its introduction to Europe and North America by European traders in the 16th century. Their docile nature, friendly responsiveness to handling and feeding, and the relative ease of caring for them have continued to make guinea pigs a popular choice of household pet. Organizations devoted to the competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide. Many specialized breeds, with varying coat colors and textures, are selected by breeders.
+Livestock breeds of the guinea pig play an important role in folk culture for many indigenous Andean peoples, especially as a food source. The animals are also used in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. They are raised for their meat and are a culinary staple in the Andes Mountains, where they are known as cuy. In the 1960s a modern breeding program was started in Peru that resulted in large breeds known as cuy mejorados (improved cuy). Marketers tried to increase consumption of the animal outside South America.Biological experimentation on domestic guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century. The animals were used so frequently as model organisms in the 19th and 20th centuries that the epithet guinea pig came into use to describe a human test subject. Since that time, they have been largely replaced by other rodents, such as mice and rats. However, they are still used in research, primarily as models to study such human medical conditions as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy (like humans, they require dietary intake of vitamin C), and pregnancy complications.
+
+History
+Cavia porcellus is not found naturally in the wild; it is likely descended from closely related species of cavies, such as C. aperea, C. fulgida, and C. tschudii, which are still commonly found in various regions of South America. Studies from 2007 to 2010 applied molecular markers, and studied the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, thereby revealing the ancestor to most likely be C. tschudii. Some species of cavy identified in the 20th century, such as C. anolaimae and C. guianae, may be domestic guinea pigs that have become feral by reintroduction into the wild.Wild cavies are found on grassy plains and occupy an ecological niche similar to that of cattle. They are social animals, living in the wild in small groups ("herds") that consist of several females ("sows"), a male ("boar"), and their young ("pups" not "piglets", a break with the preceding porcine nomenclature). Herds of animals move together, eating grass or other vegetation, yet do not store food. While they do not burrow themselves or build nests, they frequently seek shelter in the burrows of other animals, as well as in crevices and tunnels formed by vegetation. They are crepuscular and tend to be most active during dawn and dusk, when it is harder for predators to spot them.Regionally known as cuy, the guinea pig was first domesticated as early as 5000 BC for food by tribes in the Andean region of South America (the present-day southern part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), some thousands of years after the domestication of the South American camelids. Statues dating from circa 500 BC to 500 AD that depict guinea pigs have been unearthed in archaeological digs in Peru and Ecuador. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art.From about 1200 to the Spanish conquest in 1532, the indigenous peoples used selective breeding to develop many varieties of domestic guinea pigs, which formed the basis for some of the modern domestic breeds. They continue to be a food source in the region; many households in the Andean highlands raise the animal, which subsists on the family's vegetable scraps.Folklore traditions involving guinea pigs are numerous; they are exchanged as gifts, used in customary social and religious ceremonies, and frequently referred to in spoken metaphors.  They also are used in traditional healing rituals by folk doctors, or curanderos, who use the animals to diagnose diseases such as jaundice, rheumatism, arthritis, and typhus. They are rubbed against the bodies of the sick, and are seen as a supernatural medium. Black guinea pigs are considered especially useful for diagnoses. The animal may be cut open and its entrails examined to determine whether the cure was effective. These methods are widely accepted in many parts of the Andes, where Western medicine is either unavailable or distrusted.Spanish, Dutch, and English traders took guinea pigs to Europe, where they quickly became popular as exotic pets among the upper classes and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I. The earliest known written account of the guinea pig dates from 1547, in a description of the animal from Santo Domingo. Because cavies are not native to Hispaniola, the animal was believed to have been earlier introduced there by Spanish travelers. However, based on more recent excavations on West Indian islands, the animal must have been introduced to the Caribbean around 500 BC by ceramic-making horticulturalists from South America. It was present in the Ostionoid period on Puerto Rico, for example, long before the advent of the Spaniards.The guinea pig was first described in the West in 1554 by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner. Its binomial scientific name was first used by Erxleben in 1777; it is an amalgam of Pallas' generic designation (1766) and Linnaeus' specific conferral (1758).The earliest-known European illustration of a domestic guinea pig is a painting (artist unknown) in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, dated to 1580, which shows a girl in typical Elizabethan dress holding a tortoise-shell guinea pig in her hands. She is flanked by her two brothers, one of whom holds a pet bird. The picture dates from the same period as the oldest recorded guinea pig remains in England, which are a partial cavy skeleton found at Hill Hall, an Elizabethan manor house in Essex, and dated to around 1575.
+
+Characteristics
+Guinea pigs are large for rodents; the common pet breeds weigh between 700 and 1,200 g (1.5 and 2.6 lb) when fully grown and measure between 20 and 25 cm (8 and 10 in) in length. Some livestock breeds weigh 3 kilograms (6.6 lb) when full grown. Pet breeds live an average of four to five years, but may live as long as eight years. According to Guinness World Records, as of 2006, the longest-lived guinea pig was 14 years, 10 months, and 2 weeks old. Most guinea pigs have fur, but one laboratory breed adopted by some pet owners, the skinny pig, is a mostly furless breed. Some breeds are long-fur breeds such as the Peruvian, the Silkie, and the Texel.
+In the 1990s, a minority scientific opinion emerged proposing that caviomorphs such as guinea pigs, chinchillas, and degus are not actually rodents, and should be reclassified as a separate order of mammals (similar to the rodent-like lagomorphs which includes rabbits). Subsequent research using wider sampling restored the consensus among mammalian biologists regarding the current classification of rodents, including guinea pigs, as monophyletic.Male and female guinea pigs do not differ in appearance apart from general size. The position of the anus is very close to the genitals in both sexes. Sexing animals at a young age must be done by someone who has been trained in the differences. Female genitals are distinguished by a "Y"-shaped configuration formed from a vulvar flap. While male genitals may look similar, with the penis and anus forming a similar shape, the penis will protrude if pressure is applied to the surrounding hair anterior to the genital region. The male's testes may also be visible externally from scrotal swelling.
+
+Behavior
+Guinea pigs can learn complex paths to food, and can accurately remember a learned path for months. Their strongest problem-solving strategy is motion. While guinea pigs can jump small obstacles, they cannot jump very high. Most of them are poor climbers, and are not particularly agile. They startle easily, and when they sense danger either freeze in place for long periods, or run for cover with rapid, darting motions. Larger groups of startled guinea pigs "stampede", running in haphazard directions as a means of confusing predators. When happily excited, guinea pigs may (often repeatedly) perform little hops in the air (a movement known as "popcorning"), analogous to the ferret's war dance or rabbit happy hops. Guinea pigs are also good swimmers, although they do not like being wet and infrequently need bathing.
+Like many rodents, guinea pigs sometimes participate in social grooming, and they regularly self-groom. A milky-white substance is secreted from their eyes and rubbed into the hair during the grooming process. Groups of boars often chew each other's hair, but this is a method of establishing hierarchy within a group, rather than a social gesture. Dominance is also established through biting (especially of the ears), piloerection, aggressive noises, head thrusts, and leaping attacks. Non-sexual simulated mounting for dominance is also common among same-sex groups.Guinea pig eyesight is not as good as that of a human in terms of distance and color, but they have a wider angle of vision (about 340°) and see in partial color (dichromacy). They have well-developed senses of hearing, smell, and touch.
+Guinea pigs have developed a different biological rhythm from their wild counterparts, and have longer periods of activity followed by short periods of sleep in between. Activity is scattered randomly throughout the day; aside from an avoidance of intense light, no regular circadian patterns are apparent.Guinea pigs do not generally thrive when housed with other species. Larger animals may regard guinea pigs as prey, though some dogs and cats can be trained to accept them. Opinion is divided over the cohousing of guinea pigs and rabbits. Some published sources say that guinea pigs and rabbits complement each other well when sharing a cage. However, rabbits have different nutritional requirements; as lagomorphs, they synthesize their own Vitamin C, so the two species will not thrive if fed the same food when housed together. Rabbits may also harbor diseases (such as respiratory infections from Bordetella and Pasteurella), to which guinea pigs are susceptible. Housing guinea pigs with other rodents such as gerbils and hamsters may increase instances of respiratory and other infections, and such rodents may act aggressively toward guinea pigs.
+
+Vocalization
+Vocalization is the primary means of communication between members of the species. These are the most common sounds made by the guinea pig:
+A "wheek" is a loud noise, the name of which is onomatopoeic, also known as a whistle. An expression of general excitement, it may occur in response to the presence of its owner or to feeding. It is sometimes used to find other guinea pigs if they are running. If a guinea pig is lost, it may wheek for assistance. 
+A bubbling or purring sound is made when the guinea pig is enjoying itself, such as when being petted or held. It may also make this sound when grooming, crawling around to investigate a new place, or when given food. 
+A rumbling sound is normally related to dominance within a group, though it can also come as a response to being scared or angry. In the case of being scared, the rumble often sounds higher and the body vibrates shortly. While courting, a male usually purrs deeply, swaying and circling the female in a behavior called rumblestrutting. A low rumble while walking away reluctantly shows passive resistance. 
+Chutting and whining are sounds made in pursuit situations, by the pursuer and pursuee, respectively. 
+A chattering sound is made by rapidly gnashing the teeth, and is generally a sign of warning. Guinea pigs tend to raise their heads when making this sound.
+Squealing or shrieking is a high-pitched sound of discontent, in response to pain or danger. 
+Chirping, a less common sound, likened to bird song, seems to be related to stress or discomfort, or when a baby guinea pig wants to be fed. Very rarely, the chirping will last for several minutes.
+
+Living environment
+Domestic guinea pigs generally live in cages, although some owners of large numbers of cavies dedicate entire rooms to their pets. Wire mesh floors can cause injury and may be associated with an infection commonly known as bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis), so cages with solid bottoms, where the animal walks directly on the bedding, are typically used. Large cages, which allow for adequate running space, can be constructed from wire grid panels and plastic sheeting, a style known as C&C, or "cubes and coroplast".Red cedar (Eastern or Western) and pine, both softwoods, were commonly used as bedding, but now these materials are believed to contain harmful phenols (aromatic hydrocarbons) and oils. Bedding materials made from hardwoods (such as aspen), paper products, and corn cobs are alternatives. Guinea pigs tend to be messy; they often jump into their food bowls or kick bedding and feces into them, and their urine sometimes crystallizes on cage surfaces, making it difficult to remove. After its cage has been cleaned, a guinea pig typically urinates and drags its lower body across the floor of the cage to mark its territory. Male guinea pigs may mark their territory in this way when they are put back into their cages after being taken out.Guinea pigs thrive in groups of two or more; groups of sows, or groups of one or more sows and a neutered boar are common combinations, but boars can sometimes live together. Guinea pigs learn to recognize and bond with other individual guinea pigs, and tests show that a boar's neuroendocrine stress response to a strange environment is significantly lowered in the presence of a bonded female, but not with unfamiliar females. Groups of boars may also get along, provided their cage has enough space, they are introduced at an early age, and no females are present. In Switzerland, where keeping a guinea pig without a companion is illegal, a service to rent guinea pigs (to temporarily replace a dead cage-mate) is available. Sweden has similar laws against keeping a guinea pig by itself.
+
+Nomenclature
+Latin name
+The scientific name of the common species is Cavia porcellus, with porcellus being Latin for "little pig". Cavia is Neo-Latin; it is derived from cabiai, the animal's name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. Cabiai may be an adaptation of the Portuguese çavia (now savia), which is itself derived from the Tupi word saujá, meaning rat.
+
+Guinea pig
+The origin of "guinea" in "guinea pig" is hard to explain. One proposed explanation is that the animals were brought to Europe by way of Guinea, leading people to think they had originated there. "Guinea" was also frequently used in English to refer generally to any far-off, unknown country, so the name may simply be a colorful reference to the animal's exotic origins.Another hypothesis suggests the "guinea" in the name is a corruption of "Guiana", an area in South America. A common misconception is that they were so named because they were sold for the price of a guinea coin. This hypothesis is untenable, because the guinea was first struck in England in 1663, and William Harvey used the term "Ginny-pig" as early as 1653. Others believe "guinea" may be an alteration of the word coney (rabbit); guinea pigs were referred to as "pig coneys" in Edward Topsell's 1607 treatise on quadrupeds.How the animals came to be called "pigs" is not clear. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they spend a large amount of time eating. They can survive for long periods in small quarters, like a "pig pen", and were easily transported by ship to Europe.
+
+Other languages
+Guinea pigs are called quwi or jaca in Quechua and cuy or cuyo (plural cuyes, cuyos) in the Spanish of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.The animal's name alludes to pigs in many European languages. The German word for them is Meerschweinchen, literally "little sea pig", in Polish they are called świnka morska, in Hungarian as tengerimalac, and in Russian: морская свинка, romanized: morskaya svinka. This derives from the Middle High German name merswin. This originally meant "dolphin" and was used because of the animals' grunting sounds (which were thought to be similar).Many other, possibly less scientifically based, explanations of the German name exist. For example, sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat. The French term is cochon d'Inde (Indian pig), or cobaye; the Dutch called it Guinees biggetje (Guinean piglet), or cavia (in some Dutch dialects it is called Spaanse rat); and in Portuguese, the guinea pig is variously referred to as cobaia, from the Tupi word via its Latinization, or as porquinho da Índia (little Indian pig). This association with pigs is not universal among European terms; for example, the common word in Spanish is conejillo de Indias (little rabbit of the Indies).The Chinese refer to the animal as 豚鼠 (túnshǔ, "pig mouse"), and sometimes as 荷蘭豬 (hélánzhū, 'Netherlands pig') or 天竺鼠 (tiānzhúshǔ, "Indian mouse"). The Japanese word for guinea pig is モルモット (morumotto), which derives from the name of another mountain-dwelling rodent, the marmot. This is what the guinea pigs were called by Dutch traders, who first brought them to Nagasaki in 1843. The other, and less common, Japanese word for guinea pig, using kanji, is 天竺鼠 (てんじくねずみ or tenjiku-nezumi), which literally translates as "India rat".
+
+Diet
+The guinea pig's natural diet is grass; their molars are particularly suited for grinding plant matter and grow continuously throughout their life. Most mammals that graze are large and have a long digestive tract; guinea pigs have much longer colons than most rodents, but they must also supplement their diet by eating their feces (coprophagy). However, they do not consume all their feces indiscriminately, but produce special soft pellets, called cecotropes (or caecal pellets), which recycle B vitamins, fiber, and bacteria required for proper digestion. The cecotropes are eaten directly from the anus, unless the guinea pig is pregnant or obese. They share this behaviour with rabbits. In geriatric boars or sows (rarely in young ones), the muscles which allow the softer pellets to be expelled from the anus can become weak. This creates a condition known as fecal impaction, which prevents the animal from redigesting cecotropes even though harder pellets may pass through the impacted mass. The condition may be temporarily alleviated by a human carefully removing the impacted feces from the anus.Guinea pigs benefit from a diet of fresh grass hay, such as timothy hay, in addition to food pellets which are often based on timothy hay. Alfalfa hay is also a popular food choice and most guinea pigs will eat large amounts of alfalfa when offered it, though some controversy exists over offering alfalfa to adult guinea pigs. Some pet owners and veterinary organizations have advised that, as a legume rather than a grass hay, alfalfa consumed in large amounts may lead to obesity, as well as bladder stones from the excess calcium in all animals except for pregnant and very young guinea pigs. However, published scientific sources mention alfalfa as a food source that can replenish protein, amino acids, and fiber.Like humans, but unlike most other mammals, guinea pigs cannot synthesize their own vitamin C and must obtain this vital nutrient from food. If guinea pigs do not ingest enough vitamin C, they can suffer from potentially fatal scurvy. Guinea pigs require about 10 mg of vitamin C daily (20 mg if pregnant), which can be obtained through fresh, raw fruits and vegetables (such as broccoli, apple, cabbage, carrot, celery, and spinach) or through dietary supplements or by eating fresh pellets designed for guinea pigs, if they have been handled properly. Healthy diets for guinea pigs require a complex balance of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and hydrogen ions; but adequate amounts of vitamins A, D, and E are also necessary.Poor diets for guinea pigs have been associated with muscular dystrophy, metastatic calcification, difficulties with pregnancy, vitamin deficiencies, and teeth problems. Guinea pigs tend to be fickle eaters when it comes to fresh fruits and vegetables after having learned early in life what is and is not appropriate to consume, and their eating habits may be difficult to change after maturity. They do not respond well to sudden changes in their diet and they may stop eating and starve rather than accept new food types. A constant supply of hay is generally recommended, as guinea pigs feed continuously and may develop bad habits if food is not present, such as chewing on their hair. Because their teeth grow constantly (as do their nails, like humans), they routinely gnaw on things, lest their teeth become too large for their jaw (a common problem in rodents). Guinea pigs chew on cloth, paper, plastic, and rubber, if they are available.
+A number of plants are poisonous to guinea pigs, including bracken, bryony, buttercup, charlock, deadly nightshade, foxglove, hellebore, hemlock, lily of the valley, mayweed, monkshood, privet, ragwort, rhubarb, speedwell, toadflax (both Linaria vulgaris and Linaria dalmatica), and wild celery. Additionally, any plant which grows from a bulb (e.g., tulip or onion) is normally considered poisonous, as well as ivy and oak tree leaves.
+
+Reproduction
+Males (boars) reach sexual maturity in 3–5 weeks. Similarly, females (sows) can be fertile as early as 4 weeks old, and can carry litters before they are fully-grown adults. A sow is able to breed year-round (with spring being the peak). A sow can have as many as five litters in a year, but six is theoretically possible. Unlike the offspring of most rodents, which are altricial at birth, newborn cavy pups are precocial, and are well-developed with hair, teeth, claws, and partial eyesight. The pups are immediately mobile and begin eating solid food immediately, though they continue to suckle.  Sows can once again become pregnant 6–48 hours after giving birth, but it is not healthy for a female to be constantly pregnant.
+The gestation period lasts from 59–72 days (1.9–2.4 months), with an average of 63–68 days (2.1–2.2 months). Because of the long gestation period and the large size of the pups, pregnant sows may become large and eggplant-shaped, although the change in size and shape varies depending upon the size of the litter. Litter size ranges from one to six, with three being the average; the largest recorded litter size is 9. The guinea pig mother only has two nipples, but she can readily raise the more average-sized litters of 2 to 4 pups. In smaller litters, difficulties may occur during labour due to oversized pups. Large litters result in higher incidences of stillbirth, but because the pups are delivered at an advanced stage of development, lack of access to the mother's milk has little effect on the mortality rate of newborns.Cohabitating females assist in mothering duties if lactating; guinea pigs practice alloparental care, in which a sow may adopt the pups of another. This might take place if the original parents die or are for some reason separated from them. This behavior is common and is seen in many other animal species such as the elephant.Toxemia of pregnancy (hypertension) is a common problem and kills many pregnant females. Signs of toxemia include: anorexia (loss of appetite), lack of energy, excessive salivation, a sweet or fruity breath odor due to ketones, and seizures in advanced cases. Pregnancy toxemia appears to be most common in hot climates. Other serious complications during pregnancy can include a prolapsed uterus, hypocalcaemia, and mastitis.Females that do not give birth may develop an irreversible fusing or calcified cartilage of the pubic symphysis, a joint in the pelvis, which may occur after six months of age.: 72–73  If they become pregnant after this has happened, the birth canal may not widen sufficiently, which may lead to dystocia and death as they attempt to give birth.
+
+Health problems
+Common ailments in domestic guinea pigs include respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, scurvy (vitamin C deficiency, typically characterized by sluggishness), abscesses due to infection (often in the neck, due to hay embedded in the throat, or from external scratches), and infections by lice, mites, or fungus.Mange mites (Trixacarus caviae) are a common cause of hair loss, and other symptoms may also include excessive scratching, unusually aggressive behavior when touched (due to pain), and, in some instances, seizures. Guinea pigs may also suffer from "running lice" (Gliricola porcelli), a small, white insect that can be seen moving through the hair; their eggs, which appear as black or white specks attached to the hair, are sometimes referred to as "static lice". Other causes of hair loss can be due to hormonal upsets caused by underlying medical conditions such as ovarian cysts.
+Foreign bodies, especially small pieces of hay or straw, can become lodged in the eyes of guinea pigs, resulting in excessive blinking, tearing, and in some cases an opaque film over the eye due to corneal ulcer. Hay or straw dust can also cause sneezing. While it is normal for guinea pigs to sneeze periodically, frequent sneezing may be a symptom of pneumonia, especially in response to atmospheric changes. Pneumonia may also be accompanied by torticollis and can be fatal.Because the guinea pig has a stout, compact body, it more easily tolerates excessive cold than excessive heat. Its normal body temperature is 101–104 °F (38–40 °C),  so its ideal ambient air temperature range is similar to a human's, about 65–75 °F (18–24 °C). Consistent ambient temperatures in excess of 90 °F (32 °C) have been linked to hyperthermia and death, especially among pregnant sows. Guinea pigs are not well suited to environments that feature wind or frequent drafts, and respond poorly to extremes of humidity outside of the range of 30–70%.Guinea pigs are prey animals whose survival instinct is to mask pain and signs of illness, and many times health problems may not be apparent until a condition is severe or in its advanced stages. Treatment of disease is made more difficult by the extreme sensitivity guinea pigs have to most antibiotics, including penicillin, which kill off the intestinal flora and quickly bring on episodes of diarrhea and in some cases, death.Similar to the inherited genetic diseases of other breeds of animal (such as hip dysplasia in canines), a number of genetic abnormalities of guinea pigs have been reported. Most commonly, the roan coloration of Abyssinian guinea pigs is associated with congenital eye disorders and problems with the digestive system. Other genetic disorders include "waltzing disease" (deafness coupled with a tendency to run in circles), palsy, and tremor conditions.
+
+As pets
+Social behaviors
+If handled correctly early in life, guinea pigs become amenable to being picked up and carried, and seldom bite or scratch. They are timid explorers and often hesitate to attempt an escape from their cage even when an opportunity presents itself. Still, they show considerable curiosity when allowed to walk freely, especially in familiar and safe terrain. Guinea pigs that become familiar with their owner will whistle on the owner's approach; they will also learn to whistle in response to the rustling of plastic bags or the opening of refrigerator doors, where their food is most commonly stored. In Switzerland, owning a single guinea pig is considered harmful to its well-being and forbidden by law.
+
+Coats and grooming
+Domesticated guinea pigs occur in many breeds, which have been developed since their introduction to Europe and North America. These varieties vary in hair and color composition. The most common varieties found in pet stores are the English shorthair (also known as the American), which have a short, smooth coat, and the Abyssinian, whose coat is ruffled with cowlicks, or rosettes. Also popular among breeders are the Peruvian and the Sheltie (or Silkie), both straight longhair breeds, and the Texel, a curly longhair. Grooming of guinea pigs is primarily accomplished using combs or brushes. Shorthair breeds are typically brushed weekly, while longhair breeds may require daily grooming.
+
+Clubs and associations
+Cavy clubs and associations dedicated to the showing and breeding of guinea pigs have been established worldwide. The American Cavy Breeders Association, an adjunct to the American Rabbit Breeders' Association, is the governing body in the United States and Canada. The British Cavy Council governs cavy clubs in the United Kingdom. Similar organizations exist in Australia (Australian National Cavy Council) and New Zealand (New Zealand Cavy Council). Each club publishes its own standard of perfection and determines which breeds are eligible for showing.
+
+Human allergies
+Allergic symptoms, including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma, have been documented in laboratory animal workers who come into contact with guinea pigs. Allergic reactions following direct exposure to guinea pigs in domestic settings have also been reported. Two major guinea pig allergens, Cav p I and Cav p II, have been identified in guinea pig fluids (urine and saliva) and guinea pig dander. People who are allergic to guinea pigs are usually allergic to hamsters and gerbils, as well. Allergy shots can successfully treat an allergy to guinea pigs, although treatment can take up to 18 months.
+
+In popular culture and media
+As a result of their widespread popularity, especially in households with children, guinea pigs have shown a presence in culture and media. Some noted appearances of the animal in literature include the short story "Pigs Is Pigs" by Ellis Parker Butler, which is a tale of bureaucratic incompetence. Two guinea pigs held at a railway station breed unchecked while humans argue as to whether they are "pigs" or "pets" for the purpose of determining freight charges. Butler's story, in turn, inspired the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", written by David Gerrold. In the Golden Hamster Saga books, two guinea pigs named Enrico and Caruso are modern-day thespians (named after Enrico Caruso) who serve as secondary characters, and often irritate the main character, Freddy Auratus, who strongly dislikes their acting antics.
+
+In children's literature
+The Fairy Caravan, a novel by Beatrix Potter, and Michael Bond's Olga da Polga series for children, both feature guinea pigs as the protagonist. Another appearance is in The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis: in the first (chronologically) of his The Chronicles of Narnia series, a guinea pig is the first creature to travel to the Wood between the Worlds. In Ursula Dubosarsky's Maisie and the Pinny Gig, a little girl has a recurrent dream about a giant guinea pig, while guinea pigs feature significantly in several of Dubosarsky's other books, including the young adult novel The White Guinea Pig and The Game of the Goose.
+
+In film and television
+Guinea pigs have also been featured in film and television. In the TV movie Shredderman Rules, the main character and the main character's crush both have guinea pigs which play a minor part in the plot. A guinea pig named Rodney, voiced by Chris Rock, was a prominent character in the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle, and Linny the Guinea pig is a co-star on Nick Jr.'s Wonder Pets. Guinea pigs were used in some major advertising campaigns in the 1990s and 2000s, notably for Egg Banking plc, Snapple, and Blockbuster Video. In the South Park season 12 episode "Pandemic 2: The Startling", giant guinea pigs dressed in costumes rampage over the Earth. The 2009 Walt Disney Pictures movie G-Force features a group of highly intelligent guinea pigs trained as operatives of the U.S. government. A video game based on the movie was also released. A guinea pig named Bugsy appears in the 2008 film Bedtime Stories. A guinea pig named Cashew features prominently in the second season of the U.S. adaptation of House of Cards. A guinea pig plays a small but pivotal role in Episode 3, Series 4 (2017) of Black Mirror called Crocodile.
+
+As food
+South America
+Guinea pigs (called cuy, cuye, or curí) were originally domesticated for their meat in the Andes. Traditionally, the animal was reserved for ceremonial meals and as a delicacy by indigenous people in the Andean highlands, but since the 1960s, it has become more socially acceptable for consumption by all people. It continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands; it is also eaten in some areas of Ecuador (mainly in the Sierra) and in Colombia, mostly in the southwestern part of the country (Cauca and Nariño departments). Because guinea pigs require much less room than traditional livestock and reproduce extremely quickly, they are a more profitable source of food and income than many traditional stock animals, such as pigs and cattle; moreover, they can be raised in an urban environment. Both rural and urban families raise guinea pigs for supplementary income, and the animals are commonly bought and sold at local markets and large-scale municipal fairs.
+Guinea pig meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, and is described as being similar to rabbit and the dark meat of chicken. The animal may be served fried (chactado or frito), broiled (asado), or roasted (al horno), and in urban restaurants may also be served in a casserole or a fricassee. Ecuadorians commonly consume sopa or locro de cuy, a soup dish. Pachamanca or huatia, a process similar to barbecuing, is also popular, and is usually served with corn beer (chicha) in traditional settings.Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year, and the animal is so entrenched in the culture that one famous painting of the Last Supper in the main cathedral in Cusco shows Christ and the 12 disciples dining on guinea pig. The animal remains an important aspect of certain religious events in both rural and urban areas of Peru. A religious celebration, known as jaca tsariy ("collecting the cuys"), is a major festival in many villages in the Antonio Raimondi province of eastern Peru and is celebrated in smaller ceremonies in Lima. It is a syncretistic event, combining elements of Catholicism and pre-Columbian religious practices, and revolves around the celebration of local patron saints. The exact form the jaca tsariy takes differs from town to town; in some localities, a sirvinti (servant) is appointed to go from door to door, collecting donations of guinea pigs, while in others, guinea pigs may be brought to a communal area to be released in a mock bullfight.  Meals such as cuy chactado are always served as part of these festivities, and the killing and serving of the animal are framed by some communities as a symbolic satire of local politicians or important figures.  In the Tungurahua and Cotopaxi provinces of central Ecuador, guinea pigs are employed in the celebrations surrounding the feast of Corpus Christi as part of the Ensayo, which is a community meal, and the Octava, where castillos (greased poles) are erected with prizes tied to the crossbars, from which several guinea pigs may be hung.  The Peruvian town of Churin has an annual festival that involves dressing guinea pigs in elaborate costumes for competition. There are also guinea pig festivals held in Huancayo, Cusco, Lima, and Huacho, featuring costumes and guinea pig dishes. Most guinea pig celebrations take place on the National Guinea Pig Day (Día Nacional del Cuy) across Peru on the second Friday of October.
+
+Peruvian breeding program
+Peruvian research universities, especially La Molina National Agrarian University, began experimental programs in the 1960s with the intention of breeding larger-sized guinea pigs. Subsequent university efforts have sought to change breeding and husbandry procedures in South America, to make the raising of guinea pigs as livestock more economically sustainable. The variety of guinea pig produced by La Molina is fast-growing and can weigh 3 kilograms (6.6 lb). All the large breeds of guinea pig are known as cuy mejorados and the pet breeds are known as cuy criollos. The three original lines out of Peru were the Perú (weighing 800 grams (28 oz) by 2 weeks), the Andina, and the Inti.
+
+The United States, Europe, and Japan
+Andean immigrants in New York City raise and sell guinea pigs for meat, and some South American restaurants in major cities in the United States serve cuy as a delicacy. In the 1990s and 2000s, La Molina University began exporting large-breed guinea pigs to Europe, Japan, and the United States in the hope of increasing human consumption outside of countries in northern South America.
+
+Sub-Saharan Africa
+Efforts have been made to promote guinea pig husbandry in developing countries of West Africa, where they occur more widely than generally known because they are usually not covered by livestock statistics. However, it has not been known when and where the animals have been introduced to Africa. In Cameroon, they are widely distributed. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they can be found both in peri-urban environments as well as in rural regions, for example, in South Kivu. They are also frequently held in rural households in Iringa Region of southwestern Tanzania.
+
+In scientific research
+The use of guinea pigs in scientific experimentation dates back at least to the 17th century, when the Italian biologists Marcello Malpighi and Carlo Fracassati conducted vivisections of guinea pigs in their examinations of anatomic structures. In 1780, Antoine Lavoisier used a guinea pig in his experiments with the calorimeter, a device used to measure heat production. Guinea pigs played a major role in the establishment of germ theory in the late 19th century, through the experiments of Louis Pasteur, Émile Roux, and Robert Koch. Guinea pigs have been launched into orbital space flight several times, first by the USSR on the Sputnik 9 biosatellite of March 9, 1961 – with a successful recovery. China also launched and recovered a biosatellite in 1990 which included guinea pigs as passengers.Guinea pigs remained popular laboratory animals until the later 20th century: about 2.5 million guinea pigs were used annually in the U.S. for research in the 1960s, but that total decreased to about 375,000 by the mid-1990s. As of 2007, they constitute about 2% of the current total of laboratory animals. In the past, they were widely used to standardize vaccines and antiviral agents; they were also often employed in studies on the production of antibodies in response to extreme allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis. Less common uses included research in pharmacology and irradiation. Since the middle 20th century, they have been replaced in laboratory contexts primarily by mice and rats. This is in part because research into the genetics of guinea pigs has lagged behind that of other rodents, although geneticists W. E. Castle and Sewall Wright made a number of contributions to this area of study, especially regarding coat color.  The guinea pig genome was sequenced in 2008 as part of the Mammalian Genome Project, but the guinea pig sequence scaffolds have not been assigned to chromosomes.The guinea pig was most extensively used in research and diagnosis of infectious diseases. Common uses included identification of brucellosis, Chagas disease, cholera, diphtheria, foot-and-mouth disease, glanders, Q fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and various strains of typhus. They are still frequently used to diagnose tuberculosis, since they are easily infected by human tuberculosis bacteria. Because guinea pigs are one of the few animals which, like humans and other primates, cannot synthesize vitamin C, but must obtain it from their diet, they are ideal for researching scurvy. From the accidental discovery in 1907 that scurvy could be induced in guinea pigs, to their use to prove the chemical structure of the "ascorbutic factor" in 1932, the guinea pig model proved a crucial part of vitamin C research.
+Complement, an important component for serology, was first isolated from the blood of the guinea pig. Guinea pigs have an unusual insulin mutation, and are a suitable species for the generation of anti-insulin antibodies. Present at a level 10 times that found in other mammals, the insulin in guinea pigs may be important in growth regulation, a role usually played by growth hormone. Additionally, guinea pigs have been identified as model organisms for the study of juvenile diabetes and, because of the frequency of pregnancy toxemia, of pre-eclampsia in human females. Their placental structure is similar to that of humans, and their gestation period can be divided into trimesters that resemble the stages of fetal development in humans.Guinea pig strains used in scientific research are primarily outbred strains. Aside from the common American or English stock, the two main outbred strains in laboratory use are the Hartley and Dunkin-Hartley; these English strains are albino, although pigmented strains are also available. Inbred strains are less common and are usually used for very specific research, such as immune system molecular biology. Of the inbred strains that have been created, the two still used with any frequency are, following Sewall Wright's designations, "Strain 2" and "Strain 13".Hairless breeds of guinea pigs have been used in scientific research since the 1980s, particularly for dermatological studies. A hairless and immunodeficient breed was the result of a spontaneous genetic mutation in inbred laboratory strains from the Hartley stock at the Eastman Kodak Company in 1979. An immunocompetent hairless breed was also identified by the Institute Armand Frappier in 1978, and Charles River Laboratories has reproduced this breed for research since 1982. Cavy fanciers then began acquiring hairless breeds, and the pet hairless varieties are referred to as "skinny pigs".
+
+Metaphorical usage
+In English, the term "guinea pig" is commonly used as a metaphor for a subject of scientific experimentation, or in modern times a subject of any experiment or test. This usage dates back to the early 20th century: the earliest examples cited by the Oxford English Dictionary date from 1913 and 1920. In 1933, Consumers Research founders F. J. Schlink and Arthur Kallet wrote a book entitled 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, extending the metaphor to consumer society. The book became a national bestseller in the United States, thus further popularizing the term, and spurred the growth of the consumer protection movement. During World War II, the Guinea Pig Club was established at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex, England, as a social club and mutual support network for the patients of plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe, who were undergoing previously untested reconstruction procedures. The negative connotation of the term was later employed in the novel The Guinea Pigs (1970) by Czech author Ludvík Vaculík as an allegory for Soviet totalitarianism.
+
+See also
+Rodents as pets
+Peter Gurney, guinea pig rights advocate
+Save the Newchurch Guinea Pigs, against breeding for animal research
+Kurloff cell, special cells found in the blood and organs of guinea pigs
+
+References
+Sources
+Morales, Edmundo (1995). The Guinea Pig: Healing, Food, and Ritual in the Andes. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1558-5.
+Richardson, V.C.G. (2000). Diseases of Domestic Guinea Pigs (2nd ed.). Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-632-05209-7.
+Terril, Lizabeth A.; Clemons, Donna J. (1998). The Laboratory Guinea Pig. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2564-9.
+Vanderlip, Sharon (2003). The Guinea Pig Handbook. Barron's. ISBN 978-0-7641-2288-0.
+Wagner, Joseph E.; Manning, Patrick J (1976). The Biology of the Guinea Pig. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-730050-4.
+
+External links
+
+Guinea pig at Curlie
+American Cavy Breeders' Association (ACBA)
+View the guinea pig genome on Ensembl
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+The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. As of April 2017, over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of extant species may exceed 10,000. The order Opiliones includes five suborders: Cyphophthalmi, Eupnoi, Dyspnoi, Laniatores, and Tetrophthalmi, which were named in 2014.Representatives of each extant suborder can be found on all continents except Antarctica.
+Well-preserved fossils have been found in the 400-million-year-old Rhynie cherts of Scotland, and 305-million-year-old rocks in France. These fossils look surprisingly modern, indicating that their basic body shape developed very early on, and, at least in some taxa, has changed little since that time.
+Their phylogenetic position within the Arachnida is disputed; their closest relatives may be the mites (Acari) or the Novogenuata (the Scorpiones, Pseudoscorpiones, and Solifugae). Although superficially similar to and often misidentified as spiders (order Araneae), the Opiliones are a distinct order that is not closely related to spiders. They can be easily distinguished from long-legged spiders by their fused body regions and single pair of eyes in the middle of the cephalothorax. Spiders have a distinct abdomen that is separated from the cephalothorax by a constriction, and they have three to four pairs of eyes, usually around the margins of the cephalothorax.
+English speakers may colloquially refer to species of Opiliones as "daddy longlegs" or "granddaddy longlegs", but this name is also used for two other distantly related groups of arthropods, the crane flies of the superfamily Tipuloidea, and the cellar spiders of the family Pholcidae, (commonly referred to as "daddy long-leg spiders") most likely because of their similar appearance. Harvestmen are also referred to as "shepherd spiders" in reference to how their unusually long legs reminded observers of the ways that some European shepherds used stilts to better observe their wandering flocks from a distance.
+
+Description
+The Opiliones are known for having exceptionally long legs relative to their body size; however, some species are short-legged. As in all Arachnida, the body in the Opiliones has two tagmata, the anterior cephalothorax or prosoma, and the posterior 10-segmented abdomen or opisthosoma. The most easily discernible difference between harvestmen and spiders is that in harvestmen, the connection between the cephalothorax and abdomen is broad, so that the body appears to be a single oval structure. Other differences include the fact that Opiliones have no venom glands in their chelicerae, so pose no danger to humans.
+They also have no silk glands and therefore do not build webs. In some highly derived species, the first five abdominal segments are fused into a dorsal shield called the scutum, which in most such species is fused with the carapace. Some such Opiliones only have this shield in the males. In some species, the two posterior abdominal segments are reduced. Some of them are divided medially on the surface to form two plates beside each other. The second pair of legs is longer than the others and function as antennae or feelers. In short-legged species, this may not be obvious.
+The feeding apparatus (stomotheca) differs from most arachnids in that Opiliones can swallow chunks of solid food, not only liquids. The stomotheca is formed by extensions of the coxae of the pedipalps and the first pair of legs.
+Most Opiliones, except for Cyphophthalmi, have a single pair of eyes in the middle of the head, oriented sideways. Eyes in Cyphophthalmi, when present, are located laterally, near the ozopores. A 305-million-year-old fossilized harvestman with two pairs of eyes was reported in 2014. This find indicates that the eyes in Cyphophthalmi are not homologous to the eyes of other harvestmen. However, some species are eyeless, such as the Brazilian Caecobunus termitarum (Grassatores) from termite nests, Giupponia chagasi (Gonyleptidae) from caves, most species of Cyphophthalmi, and all species of the Guasiniidae.
+Harvestmen have a pair of prosomatic defensive scent glands (ozopores) that secrete a peculiar-smelling fluid when disturbed. In some species, the fluid contains noxious quinones. They do not have book lungs, and breathe through tracheae. A pair of spiracles is located between the base of the fourth pair of legs and the abdomen, with one opening on each side. In more active species, spiracles are also found upon the tibia of the legs. They have a gonopore on the ventral cephalothorax, and the copulation is direct as male Opiliones have a penis, unlike other arachnids. All species lay eggs.
+Typical body length does not exceed 7 mm (0.28 in), and some species are smaller than 1 mm, although the largest known species, Trogulus torosus (Trogulidae), grows as long as 22 mm (0.87 in). The leg span of many species is much greater than the body length and sometimes exceeds 160 mm (6.3 in) and to 340 mm (13 in) in Southeast Asia. Most species live for a year.
+
+Behavior
+Many species are omnivorous, eating primarily small insects and all kinds of plant material and fungi. Some are scavengers, feeding upon dead organisms, bird dung, and other fecal material. Such a broad range is unusual in arachnids, which are typically pure predators. Most hunting harvestmen ambush their prey, although active hunting is also found. Because their eyes cannot form images, they use their second pair of legs as antennae to explore their environment. Unlike most other arachnids, harvestmen do not have a sucking stomach or a filtering mechanism. Rather, they ingest small particles of their food, thus making them vulnerable to internal parasites such as gregarines.Although parthenogenetic species do occur, most harvestmen reproduce sexually. Except from small fossorial species in the suborder Cyphophthalmi, where the males deposit a spermatophore, mating involves direct copulation. The females store the sperm, which is aflagellate and immobile, at the tip of her ovipositor. The eggs are fertilized during oviposition. The males of some species offer a secretion (nuptial gift) from their chelicerae to the female before copulation. Sometimes, the male guards the female after copulation, and in many species, the males defend territories. In some species, males also exhibit post-copulatory behavior in which the male specifically seeks out and shakes the female's sensory leg. This is believed to entice the female into mating a second time.The female lays her eggs shortly after mating to several months later. Some species build nests for this purpose. A unique feature of harvestmen is that some species practice parental care, in which the male is solely responsible for guarding the eggs resulting from multiple partners, often against egg-eating females, and cleaning the eggs regularly. Paternal care has evolved at least three times independently: once in the clade Progonyleptoidellinae + Caelopyginae, once in the Gonyleptinae, and once in the Heteropachylinae. Maternal care in opiliones probably evolved due to natural selection, while paternal care appears to be the result of sexual selection. Depending on circumstances such as temperature, the eggs may hatch at any time after the first 20 days, up to about half a year after being laid. Harvestmen variously pass through four to eight nymphal instars to reach maturity, with most known species having six instars.Most species are nocturnal and colored in hues of brown, although a number of diurnal species are known, some of which have vivid patterns in yellow, green, and black with varied reddish and blackish mottling and reticulation.
+Many species of harvestmen easily tolerate members of their own species, with aggregations of many individuals often found at protected sites near water. These aggregations may number 200 individuals in the Laniatores, and more than 70,000 in certain Eupnoi. Gregarious behavior is likely a strategy against climatic odds, but also against predators, combining the effect of scent secretions, and reducing the probability of any particular individual being eaten.Harvestmen clean their legs after eating by drawing each leg in turn through their jaws.
+
+Antipredator defenses
+Predators of harvestmen include a variety of animals, including some mammals, amphibians, and other arachnids like spiders and scorpions. Opiliones display a variety of primary and secondary defenses against predation, ranging from morphological traits such as body armor to behavioral responses to chemical secretions. Some of these defenses have been attributed and restricted to specific groups of harvestmen.
+
+Primary defenses
+Primary defenses help the harvestmen avoid encountering a potential predator, and include crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry.
+
+Crypsis
+Particular patterns or color markings on harvestmen's bodies can reduce detection by disrupting the animals' outlines or providing camouflage. Markings on legs can cause an interruption of the leg outline and loss of leg proportion recognition. Darker colorations and patterns function as camouflage when they remain motionless. Within the genus Leiobunum are multiple species with cryptic coloration that changes over ontogeny to match the microhabitat used at each life stage. Many species have also been able to camouflage their bodies by covering with secretions and debris from the leaf litter found in their environments. Some hard-bodied harvestmen have epizoic cyanobacteria and liverworts growing on their bodies that suggest potential benefits for camouflage against large backgrounds to avoid detection by diurnal predators.
+
+Aposematism and mimicry
+Some harvestmen have elaborate and brightly colored patterns or appendages which contrast with the body coloration, potentially serving as an aposematic warning to potential predators. This mechanism is thought to be commonly used during daylight, when they could be easily seen by any predators.
+Other harvestmen may exhibit mimicry to resemble other species’ appearances. Some Gonyleptidae individuals that produce translucid secretions have orange markings on their carapaces. This may have an aposematic role by mimicking the coloration of glandular emissions of two other quinone-producing species. Mimicry (Müllerian mimicry) occurring between Brazilian harvestmen that resemble others could be explained by convergent evolution.
+
+Secondary defenses
+Secondary defenses allow for harvestmen to escape and survive from a predator after direct or indirect contact, including thanatosis, freezing, bobbing, autotomy, fleeing, stridulation, retaliation, and chemical secretions.
+
+Thanatosis
+Some animals respond to attacks by simulating an apparent death to avoid either detection or further attacks. Arachnids such as spiders practice this mechanism when threatened or even to avoid being eaten by female spiders after mating. Thanatosis is used as a second line of defense when detected by a potential predator and is commonly observed within the Dyspnoi and Laniatores suborders, with individuals becoming rigid with legs either retracted or stretched.
+
+Freezing
+Freezing – or the complete halt of movement – has been documented in the family Sclerosomatidae. While this can mean an increased likelihood of immediate survival, it also leads to reduced food and water intake.
+
+Bobbing
+To deflect attacks and enhance escape, long-legged species – commonly known as daddy long-legs – from the Eupnoi suborder, use two mechanisms. One is bobbing, for which these particular individuals bounce their bodies. It potentially serves to confuse and deflect any identification of the exact location of their bodies. This can be a deceiving mechanism to avoid predation when they are in a large aggregation of individuals, which are all trembling at the same time. Cellar spiders (Pholcidae) that are commonly mistaken for daddy long-legs (Opiliones) also exhibit this behavior when their webs are disturbed or even during courtship.
+
+Autotomy
+Autotomy is the voluntary amputation of an appendage, and is employed to escape when restrained by a predator. Eupnoi individuals, more specifically sclerosomatid harvestmen, commonly use this strategy in response to being captured. This strategy can be costly because harvestmen do not regenerate their legs, and leg loss reduces locomotion, speed, climbing ability, sensory perception, food detection, and territoriality.Autotomized legs provide a further defense from predators because they can twitch for 60 seconds to an hour after detachment. This can also potentially serve as deflection from an attack and deceive a predator from attacking the animal. It has been shown to be successful against ants and spiders.The legs continue to twitch after they are detached because 'pacemakers' are located in the ends of the first long segment (femur) of their legs. These pacemakers send signals via the nerves to the muscles to extend the leg and then the leg relaxes between signals. While some harvestman's legs twitch for a minute, others have been recorded to twitch up to an hour. The twitching has been hypothesized to function as an evolutionary advantage by keeping the attention of a predator while the harvestman escapes.
+
+Fleeing
+Individuals that are able to detect potential threats can flee rapidly from attack. This is seen with multiple long-legged species in the Leiobunum clade that either drop and run, or drop and remain motionless. This is also seen when disturbing an aggregation of multiple individuals, where they all scatter.
+
+Stridulation
+Multiple species within the Laniatores and Dyspnoi possess stridulating organs, which are used as intraspecific communication and have also been shown to be used as a second line of defense when restrained by a predator.
+
+Retaliation
+Armored harvestmen in Laniatores can often use their modified morphology as weapons. Many have spines on their pedipalps, back legs, or bodies. By pinching with their chelicerae and pedipalps, they can cause harm to a potential predator. Also this has been proven to increase survival against recluse spiders by causing injury, allowing the harvestman to escape from predation.
+
+Chemical
+Harvestmen are well known for being chemically protected. They exude strongly odored secretions from their scent glands, called ozopores, that act as a shield against predators; this is the most effective defense they use which creates a strong and unpleasant taste. In Cyphophthalmi the scent glands release naphthoquinones, chloro-naphthoquinones and aliphatic methyl ketones, Insidiatores use nitrogen-containing substances, terpenes, aliphatic ketones, and phenolics, while Grassatores use alkylated phenolics and benzoquinones, and Palpatores use substances like naphthoquinones, methyl- and ethyl-ketones, and naphthoquinones. These secretions have successfully protected the harvestmen against wandering spiders (Ctenidae), wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and Formica exsectoides ants. However, these chemical irritants are not able to prevent four species of harvestmen being preyed upon by the black scorpion Bothriurus bonariensis (Bothriuridae). These secretions contain multiple volatile compounds that vary among individuals and clades.
+
+Endangered status
+All troglobitic species (of all animal taxa) are considered to be at least threatened in Brazil. Four species of Opiliones are on the Brazilian national list of endangered species, all of them cave-dwelling: Giupponia chagasi, Iandumoema uai, Pachylospeleus strinatii and Spaeleoleptes spaeleus.
+Several Opiliones in Argentina appear to be vulnerable, if not endangered. These include Pachyloidellus fulvigranulatus, which is found only on top of Cerro Uritorco, the highest peak in the Sierras Chicas chain (provincia de Cordoba) and Pachyloides borellii is in rainforest patches in northwest Argentina which are in an area being dramatically destroyed by humans. The cave-living Picunchenops spelaeus is apparently endangered through human action. So far, no harvestman has been included in any kind of a Red List in Argentina, so they receive no protection.
+Maiorerus randoi has only been found in one cave in the Canary Islands. It is included in the Catálogo Nacional de especies amenazadas (National catalog of threatened species) from the Spanish government.
+Texella reddelli and Texella reyesi are listed as endangered species in the United States. Both are from caves in central Texas. Texella cokendolpheri from a cave in central Texas and Calicina minor, Microcina edgewoodensis, Microcina homi, Microcina jungi, Microcina leei, Microcina lumi, and Microcina tiburona from around springs and other restricted habitats of central California are being considered for listing as endangered species, but as yet receive no protection.
+
+Misconception
+An urban legend claims that the harvestman is the most venomous animal in the world but possesses fangs too short or a mouth too round and small to bite a human, rendering it harmless (the same myth applies to Pholcus phalangioides and the crane fly, which are both also called a "daddy longlegs"). This is untrue on several counts. None of the known species of harvestmen have venom glands; their chelicerae are not hollowed fangs but grasping claws that are typically very small and not strong enough to break human skin.
+
+Research
+Harvestmen are a scientifically neglected group. Description of new taxa has always been dependent on the activity of a few dedicated taxonomists. Carl Friedrich Roewer described about a third (2,260) of today's known species from the 1910s to the 1950s, and published the landmark systematic work Die Weberknechte der Erde (Harvestmen of the World) in 1923, with descriptions of all species known to that time. Other important taxonomists in this field include:
+
+Pierre André Latreille (18th century)
+Carl Ludwig Koch, Maximilian Perty (1830s–1850s)
+L. Koch, Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell (1860s–1870s)
+Eugène Simon, William Sørensen (1880s–1890s)
+James C. Cokendolpher, Raymond Forster, Clarence and Marie Goodnight, Jürgen Gruber, Reginald Frederick Lawrence, Jochen Martens, Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão (20th century)
+Gonzalo Giribet, Adriano Brilhante Kury, Tone Novak (21st century)Since the 1990s, study of the biology and ecology of harvestmen has intensified, especially in South America.
+
+Phylogeny
+Harvestmen are ancient arachnids. Fossils from the Devonian Rhynie chert, 410 million years ago, already show characteristics like tracheae and sexual organs, indicating that the group has lived on land since that time. Despite being similar in appearance to, and often confused with, spiders, they are probably closely related to the scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and solifuges; these four orders form the clade Dromopoda. The Opiliones have remained almost unchanged morphologically over a long period. Indeed, one species discovered in China, Mesobunus martensi, fossilized by fine-grained volcanic ash around 165 million years ago, is hardly discernible from modern-day harvestmen and has been placed in the extant family Sclerosomatidae.
+
+Etymology
+The Swedish naturalist and arachnologist Carl Jakob Sundevall (1801–1875) honored the naturalist Martin Lister (1638–1712) by adopting Lister's term Opiliones for this order, known in Lister's days as "harvest spiders" or "shepherd spiders", from Latin opilio, "shepherd"; Lister characterized three species from England (although not formally describing them, being a pre-Linnaean work).
+In England, the Opiliones are called harvestmen, not because they appear at that season, but from a superstitious belief that if one is killed there will be a bad harvest that year.
+
+Systematics
+The interfamilial relationships within Opiliones are not yet fully resolved, although significant strides have been made in recent years to determine these relationships. The following list is a compilation of interfamilial relationships recovered from several recent phylogenetic studies, although the placement and even monophyly of several taxa are still in question.
+
+The family Stygophalangiidae (one species, Stygophalangium karamani) from underground waters in North Macedonia is sometimes misplaced in the Phalangioidea. It is not a harvestman.
+
+Fossil record
+Despite their long history, few harvestman fossils are known. This is mainly due to their delicate body structure and terrestrial habitat, making them unlikely to be found in sediments. As a consequence, most known fossils have been preserved within amber.
+The oldest known harvestman, from the 410-million-year-old Devonian Rhynie chert, displayed almost all the characteristics of modern species, placing the origin of harvestmen in the Silurian, or even earlier. A recent molecular study of Opiliones, however, dated the origin of the order at about 473 million years ago (Mya), during the Ordovician.No fossils of the Cyphophthalmi or Laniatores much older than 50 million years are known, despite the former presenting a basal clade, and the latter having probably diverged from the Dyspnoi more than 300 Mya.
+Naturally, most finds are from comparatively recent times. More than 20 fossil species are known from the Cenozoic, three from the Mesozoic, and at least seven from the Paleozoic.
+
+Paleozoic
+The 410-million-year-old Eophalangium sheari is known from two specimens, one a female, the other a male. The female bears an ovipositor and is about 10 mm (0.39 in) long, whilst the male had a discernable penis. Whether both specimens belong to the same species is not definitely known. They have long legs, tracheae, and no median eyes. Together with the 305-million-year-old Hastocularis argus, it forms the suborder Tetrophthalmi.Brigantibunum listoni from East Kirkton near Edinburgh in Scotland is almost 340 million years old. Its placement is rather uncertain, apart from it being a harvestman.
+From about 300 Mya, several finds are from the Coal Measures of North America and Europe. While the two described Nemastomoides species are currently grouped as Dyspnoi, they look more like Eupnoi.
+Kustarachne tenuipes was shown in 2004 to be a harvestman, after residing for almost one hundred years in its own arachnid order, the "Kustarachnida".
+Some fossils from the Permian are possibly harvestmen, but these are not well preserved.
+
+Described species
+Eophalangium sheari Dunlop, 2004 (Tetrophthalmi) — Early Devonian (Rhynie, Scotland)
+Brigantibunum listoni Dunlop, 2005 (Eupnoi?) — Early Carboniferous (East Kirkton, Scotland)
+Echinopustulus samuelnelsoni Dunlop, 2004 (Dyspnoi?) — Upper Carboniferous (Western Missouri, U.S.)
+Eotrogulus fayoli Thevenin, 1901 (Dyspnoi: † Eotrogulidae) — Upper Carboniferous (Commentry, France)
+Hastocularis argus Garwood, 2014 (Tetrophthalmi) — Upper Carboniferous (Montceau-les-Mines, France)
+Kustarachne tenuipes Scudder, 1890 (Eupnoi?) — Upper Carboniferous (Mazon Creek, U.S.)
+Nemastomoides elaveris Thevenin, 1901 (Dyspnoi: † Nemastomoididae) — Upper Carboniferous (Commentary, France)
+Nemastomoides longipes Petrunkevitch, 1913 (Dyspnoi: † Nemastomoididae) — Upper Carboniferous (Mazon Creek, U.S.)
+
+Mesozoic
+Currently, no fossil harvestmen are known from the Triassic. So far, they are also absent from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil, a Lagerstätte that has yielded many other terrestrial arachnids. An unnamed long-legged harvestman was reported from the Early Cretaceous of Koonwarra, Victoria, Australia, which may be a Eupnoi.A fossil of Halitherses grimaldii, a long-legged Dyspnoi with large eyes, was found in Burmese amber dating from approximately 100 Mya. It has been suggested that this may be related to the Ortholasmatinae (Nemastomatidae).
+
+Cenozoic
+Unless otherwise noted, all species are from the Eocene.
+
+Trogulus longipes Haupt, 1956 (Dyspnoi: Trogulidae) — Geiseltal, Germany
+Philacarus hispaniolensis  (Laniatores: Samoidae?) — Dominican amber
+Kimula species (Laniatores: Kimulidae) — Dominican amber
+Hummelinckiolus silhavyi Cokendolpher & Poinar, 1998 (Laniatores: Samoidae) — Dominican amber
+Caddo dentipalpis  (Eupnoi: Caddidae) — Baltic amber
+Dicranopalpus ramiger (Koch & Berendt, 1854) (Eupnoi: Phalangiidae) — Baltic amber
+Opilio ovalis  (Eupnoi: Phalangiidae?) — Baltic amber
+Cheiromachus coriaceus Menge, 1854 (Eupnoi: Phalangiidae?) — Baltic amber
+Leiobunum longipes  (Eupnoi: Sclerosomatidae) — Baltic amber
+Histricostoma tuberculatum  (Dyspnoi: Nemastomatidae) — Baltic amber
+Mitostoma denticulatum  (Dyspnoi: Nemastomatidae) — Baltic amber
+Nemastoma incertum  (Dyspnoi: Nemastomatidae) — Baltic amber
+Sabacon claviger  (Dyspnoi: Sabaconidae) — Baltic amber
+Petrunkevitchiana oculata (Petrunkevitch, 1922) (Eupnoi: Phalangioidea) — Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, USA (Oligocene)
+Proholoscotolemon nemastomoides  (Laniatores: Cladonychiidae) — Baltic amber
+Siro platypedibus  (Cyphophthalmi: Sironidae) — Bitterfeld amber
+Amauropilio atavus (Cockerell, 1907) (Eupnoi: Sclerosomatidae) — Florissant, USA (Oligocene)
+Amauropilio lacoei (A. lawei?) (Petrunkevitch, 1922) — Florissant, USA (Oligocene)
+Pellobunus proavus Cokendolpher, 1987 (Laniatores: Samoidae) — Dominican amber
+Phalangium species (Eupnoi: Phalangiidae) — near Rome, Italy (Quaternary)
+
+References
+External links
+
+Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog (2005)
+Harvestman: Order Opiliones—Diagnostic photographs and information on North American harvestmen
+Harvestman: Order Opiliones—Diagnostic photographs and information on European harvestmen
+University of Aberdeen: The Rhynie Chert Harvestmen (fossils)
+National Museum page Classification of Opiliones—A synoptic taxonomic arrangement of the order Opiliones, down to family-group level, including some photos of the families
+Pocock, Reginald Innes (1911). "Harvester" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.).
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+The hippopotamus (; pl.: hippopotamuses or hippopotami), also shortened to hippo  (pl.: hippos; Hippopotamus amphibius), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).
+After elephants and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the next  largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances.
+Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).
+
+Etymology
+The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos), from ἵππος (híppos) 'horse' and ποταμός (potamós) 'river', together meaning 'horse of the river'. In English, the plural is "hippopotamuses", but "hippopotami" is also used.
+
+Taxonomy and origins
+Classification
+The modern hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus are the only living members of the family Hippopotamidae. Some taxonomists place hippos and anthracotheres in the superfamily Anthracotheroidea. Hippopotamidae are classified along with other even-toed ungulates in the order Artiodactyla.: 39–40 
+Five subspecies of hippos have been described based on morphological differences in their skulls as well as differences in geographical range:: 3 
+H. a. amphibius – (the nominate subspecies) ranges from Gambia east to Ethiopia and then south to Mozambique and historically ranged as far north as Egypt; its skull is distinguished by a moderately reduced preorbital region, a bulging dorsal surface, elongated mandibular symphysis and larger chewing teeth.
+H. a. kiboko – found in Kenya and Somalia; was noted to be smaller and more lightly coloured than other hippos with wider nostrils, somewhat longer snout and more rounded and relatively raised orbits with the space between them being incurved.
+H. a. capensis – found in Zambia and South Africa; distinguished by wider orbits.
+H. a. tschadensis – ranges between Chad and Niger; featured a slightly shorter but broader face, and pronounced, forward-facing orbits.
+H. a. constrictus – ranged from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola and Namibia; skull characterised by a thicker preorbital region, shorter snout, flatter dorsal surface, reduced mandibular symphysis and smaller chewing teeth.The suggested subspecies above were never widely used or validated by field biologists; the described morphological differences were small enough that they could have resulted from simple variation in nonrepresentative samples.: 2  A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations found "low, but significant, genetic differentiation" among H. a. amphibius, H. a. capensis, and H. a. kiboko. Neither H. a. tschadensis nor H. a. constrictus have been tested.
+
+Evolution
+Until 1909, naturalists classified hippos together with pigs based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular systematics and DNA and the fossil record, show their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The common ancestor of hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetacean and hippo lineages split soon afterwards.
+The most recent theory of the origins of Hippopotamidae suggests hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls around 60 million years ago. This hypothesised ancestral group likely split into two branches again around 54 million years ago.One branch would evolve into cetaceans, possibly beginning about 52 million years ago, with the protowhale Pakicetus and other early whale ancestors collectively known as Archaeoceti. This group eventually underwent aquatic adaptation into the completely aquatic cetaceans. The other branch became the anthracotheres, a large family of four-legged beasts, the earliest of which in the late Eocene would have resembled skinny hippos with comparatively smaller, narrower heads. All branches of the anthracotheres, except that which evolved into Hippopotamidae, became extinct during the Pliocene, leaving no descendants.A rough evolutionary lineage of the hippo can thus be traced from Eocene and Oligocene species: from Anthracotherium and Elomeryx to the Miocene species Merycopotamus and Libycosaurus and finally the very latest anthracotheres in the Pliocene. These groups lived across Eurasia and Africa. The discovery of Epirigenys in East Africa, which was likely a descent of Asian anthracotheres and a sister taxon to Hippopotamidae, suggests that hippo ancestors entered Africa from Asia around 35 million years ago. An early hippopotamid is the genus Kenyapotamus, which lived in Africa from 15 to 9 million years ago. Hippopotamid species would spread across Africa and Eurasia, including the modern pygmy hippo. From 7.5 to 1.8 million years ago, a possible ancestor to the modern hippo, Archaeopotamus, lived in Africa and the Middle East. The oldest remains of H. amphibius are known from Africa, and date to the Early Pleistocene, approximately 2 million years ago.
+
+Extinct species
+Three species of Malagasy hippopotamus became extinct during the Holocene on Madagascar, the last of them within the past 1,000 years. The Malagasy hippos were smaller than the modern hippo, a likely result of the process of insular dwarfism. Fossil evidence indicates many Malagasy hippos were hunted by humans, a factor in their eventual extinction. Isolated individual Malagasy hippos may have survived in remote pockets; in 1976, villagers described a living animal called the kilopilopitsofy, which may have been a Malagasy hippo.An extinct species, Hippopotamus antiquus, ranged throughout Europe, extending as far north as Britain during the Early and Middle Pleistocene epochs, before being replaced by the modern H. amphibius during the latter part of the Middle Pleistocene. The Pleistocene also saw a number of dwarf species evolve on several Mediterranean islands, including Crete (Hippopotamus creutzburgi), Cyprus (the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus, Hippopotamus minor), Malta (Hippopotamus melitensis), and Sicily (Hippopotamus pentlandi). Of these, the Cyprus dwarf hippo survived until the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. Evidence from the archaeological site Aetokremnos continues to cause debate on whether or not the species was driven to extinction, or even encountered, by man.
+
+Characteristics
+The hippopotamus is a megaherbivore and is exceeded in size among land animals only by elephants and some rhinoceros species. The mean adult weight is around 1,480 kg (3,260 lb) for bulls and 1,365 kg (3,009 lb) for cows. Exceptionally large males have been recorded reaching 2,660 kg (5,860 lb). Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, while females reach maximum weight at around age 25. Hippos measure 2.90 to 5.05 m (9.5 to 16.6 ft) long, including a tail of about 35 to 56 cm (1.15 to 1.84 ft) in length and 1.30 to 1.65 m (4.3 to 5.4 ft) tall at the shoulder, with males and females ranging 1.40 to 1.65 m (4.6 to 5.4 ft) and 1.30 to 1.45 m (4.3 to 4.8 ft) tall at the shoulder respectively. The species has a typical head-body length of 3.3–3.45 m (10.8–11.3 ft) and an average standing height of 1.4 m (4.6 ft) at the shoulder.Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies with short tails and legs, and an hourglass-shaped skull with a long snout.: 3, 19  Their skeletal structures are graviportal, adapted to carrying their enormous weight,: 8  and their dense bones and low centre of gravity allows them to sink and move along the bottom of the water. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to other megafauna) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. The toes are webbed and the pelvis rests at an angle of 45 degrees.: 3, 9  Though chubby-looking, hippos have little fat.: 3  The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on the roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged.: 259  The nostrils and ears can close when underwater while nictitating membranes cover the eyes.: 4, 116 
+The hippo's jaw is powered by huge masseter and digastric muscles which give them large, droopy cheeks.: 259  The jaw hinge allows the animal to open its mouth at almost 180°.: 17  A folded orbicularis oris muscle allows the hippo to attain an extreme gape without tearing any tissue. On the lower jaw, the incisors and canines grow continuously, the former reaching 40 cm (1 ft 4 in), while the latter can grow to up to 50 cm (1 ft 8 in). The lower canines are sharpened through contact with the smaller upper canines. The canines and incisors are used mainly for combat instead of feeding. Hippos rely on their flattened, horny lips to grasp and pull grasses which are then ground by the molars.: 259, 263  The hippo is considered to be a pseudoruminant; it has a complex three-chambered stomach, but does not "chew cud".: 22 
+Hippo skin is 6 cm (2 in) thick across much of its body with little hair.: 260  The animal is mostly purplish-grey or blue-black, but brownish-pink on the underside and around the eyes and ears.: 260  Their skin secretes a natural, red-coloured sunscreen substance that is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colourless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two highly acidic pigments have been identified in the secretions; one red (hipposudoric acid) and one orange (norhipposudoric acid), which inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria and their light-absorption profile peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. Regardless of diet, all hippos secrete these pigments so food does not appear to be their source; rather, they may be synthesised from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine. This natural sunscreen cannot prevent the animal's skin from cracking if it stays out of water too long.The testes of the males do not fully descend and a scrotum is not present. In addition, the penis retracts into the body when not erect. The genitals of the female hippos are unusual in that the vagina is ridged and the vulval vestibule has two large, protruding diverticula. Both of these have an unknown function.: 28–29 A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years.: 277  Donna the Hippo was one of the oldest living hippos in captivity. She lived at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, in the US until her death in 2012 at the age of 61. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Bertha; she had lived in the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it first opened in 1959. When she died in 2017, her age was estimated to be 65.
+
+Distribution and status
+During the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene (~500,000–40,000 years ago) Hippopotamus amphibius was present in Europe, extending as far north as England during the Eemian (130–115,000 years ago). Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching. The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities.As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War. The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, underpaid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local fishermen. The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory.A population of hippos exists in Colombia, descended from captive individuals that escaped from Pablo Escobar's estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation and culling.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Hippos are semiaquatic and require enough water to immerse in, while being close to grass. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. They prefer relatively still waters with gently sloping shores, though male hippos may also be found in very small numbers in more rapid waters with rocky slopes.: 264  Hippos mostly live in freshwater habitat, but can be found in estuaries. Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It rarely enters deep water; when it does, the animal moves by bouncing off the bottom. An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young need to breathe every two to three minutes.: 3–4 Hippos spend most the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to forage on land. Hippos usually trot to move quickly on land and can gallop at 30 km/h (19 mph) when needed. They are incapable of jumping but can walk up steep banks. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in the water. The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land mammals, and usually sleeps on land or in water with the nostrils exposed. Despite this, it may be capable of sleeping while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe without waking. They appear to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals.Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels. By defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting the biogeochemical cycle. On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation. Hippos' stomach anatomy lacks adaptions to carnivory and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients or just an abnormal behaviour.: 82–84
+
+Social interaction
+It is challenging to study the interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually dimorphic, so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field. Hippo pods fluctuate but can contain over 100 hippos. Although they lie close together, adults develop almost no social bonds. Males establish territories in water but not land, and these may range 250–500 m (270–550 yd) in lakes and 50–100 m (55–109 yd) in rivers. Territories are abandoned when the water dries up. The bull has breeding access to all the cows in his territory. Younger bachelors are allowed to stay as long as they defer to him. A younger male may challenge the old bull for control of the territory. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex and status. Bachelor males lounge near other bachelors, females with other females, and the territorial male is on his own. When hippos emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.: 4–5, 49–50 
+Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is not well understood. It is unlikely to serve a territorial function, as the animals only establish territories in the water. They may be used as trails between the water and grazing areas.: 5, 51–52  "Yawning" serves as a threat display. When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons.: 259–260  When hippos become over-populated or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide, but this behaviour is not common under normal conditions.The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can travel over long distances in air. This call starts as a high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call.: 5  The animals can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react to the wheeze honks of strangers than to those they are more familiar with. When threatened or alarmed, they produce exhalations, and fighting bulls will bellow loudly.: 5  Hippos are recorded to produce clicks underwater which may have echolocative properties. They have the unique ability to hold their heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air; individuals respond both above and below water.
+
+Reproduction
+Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. A study of endocrine systems revealed cows may begin puberty at as early as three or four years. Males reach maturity at around 7.5 years. Both conceptions and births are highest during the wet season. Male hippo always have mobile spermatozoa and can breed year-round.: 59–61, 66  After becoming pregnant, a female hippo will typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months.
+Hippos mate in the water, with the cow remaining under the surface,: 63  her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Cows  give birth in seclusion and return within 10 to 14 days. Calves are born on land or shallow water weighing on average 50 kg (110 lb) and at an average length of around 127 cm (4.17 ft). The female lies on her side when nursing, which can occur underwater or on land. The young are carried on their mothers' backs in deep water.: 4, 64 Mother hippos are very protective of their young, not allowing others to get too close. One cow was recorded protecting a calf's carcass after it had died. Calves may be temporarily kept in nurseries, guarded by one or more adults, and will play amongst themselves. Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists, in this case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of years (rather than many small, poorly developed young several times per year, as is common among small mammals such as rodents). Calves no longer need to suckle when they are a year old.: 64
+
+Interspecies interactions
+Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators in their habitats. Nile crocodiles, lions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos. Beyond these, adult hippos are not usually preyed upon by other animals due to their aggression and size. Cases where large lion prides have successfully preyed on adult hippos have been reported, but it is generally rare. Lions occasionally prey on adults at Gorongosa National Park and calves are sometimes taken at Virunga. Crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, probably because they often inhabit the same riparian habitats; crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by hippos. In turn, very large Nile crocodiles have been observed preying occasionally on calves, "half-grown" hippos, and possibly also adult female hippos. Groups of crocodiles have also been observed finishing off still-living male hippos that were previously injured in mating battles with other males.Hippos occasionally visit cleaning stations in order to be cleaned of parasites by certain species of fishes. They signal their readiness for this service by opening their mouths wide. This is an example of mutualism, in which the hippo benefits from the cleaning while the fish receive food. Hippo defecation creates allochthonous deposits of organic matter along the river beds. These deposits have an unclear ecological function. A 2015 study concluded hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for fish and aquatic invertebrates, while a 2018 study found that their dung can be toxic to aquatic life in large quantities, due to absorption of dissolved oxygen in water bodies.The parasitic monogenean flatworm Oculotrema hippopotami infests hippopotamus eyes, mainly the nictitating membrane. It is the only monogenean species (which normally live on fish) documented to live on a mammal.
+
+Hippos and humans
+The earliest evidence of human interaction with hippos comes from butchery cut marks on hippo bones found at the Bouri Formation and dated to around 160,000 years ago. 4,000–5,000 year art showing hippos being hunted have been found in the Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains of the central Sahara near Djanet.: 1  The ancient Egyptians recognised the hippo as a ferocious denizen of the Nile and representations on the tombs of nobles show the animals were hunted by humans.The hippo was also known to the Greeks and Romans. The Greek historian Herodotus described the hippo in The Histories (written circa 440 BC) and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about the hippo in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia (written circa 77 AD). The Yoruba people called the hippo erinmi, which means "elephant of the water". Some individual hippos have achieved international fame. Huberta became a celebrity during the Great Depression for trekking a great distance across South Africa.: 111–112
+
+Attacks on humans
+The hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive and has frequently been reported charging and attacking boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger, a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. Hippos will often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions. These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos.According to the Ptolemaic historian Manetho, the pharaoh Menes was carried off and then killed by a hippopotamus.
+
+In zoos
+Hippos have long been popular zoo animals. The first record of hippos taken into captivity for display is dated to 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. The first zoo hippo in modern history was Obaysch, who arrived at the London Zoo on 25 May 1850, where he attracted up to 10,000 visitors a day and inspired a popular song, the "Hippopotamus Polka".Hippos generally breed well in captivity; birth rates are lower than in the wild, but this can be attributed to zoos' desire to limit births, since hippos are relatively expensive to maintain. Starting in 2015, the Cincinnati Zoo built a US$73 million exhibit to house three adult hippos, featuring a 250,000 L (66,000 US gal) tank. Modern hippo enclosures also have a complex filtration system for the animal's waste, an underwater viewing area for the visitors, and glass that may be up to 9 cm (3.5 in) thick and capable of holding water under pressures of 31 kPa (4.5 psi).: 158–159  In 1987, the Toledo Zoo saw the first underwater birth by a captive hippo. The exhibit was so popular, the logo of the Toledo Zoo was updated to feature the hippos.
+
+Cultural significance
+In Egyptian mythology, the god Set takes the form of a red hippopotamus and fights Horus for control of the land, but is defeated. The goddess Tawaret is depicted as a pregnant woman with a hippo head, representing fierce maternal love. The Ijaw people of the Niger Delta wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practising their water spirit cults, and hippo ivory was used in the divination rituals of the Yoruba. Hippo masks were also used in Nyau funerary rituals of the Chewa of Southern Africa.: 120  According to Robert Baden-Powell, Zulu warriors referred to hippos in war chants. The Behemoth from the Book of Job, 40:15–24 is thought to be based on the hippo.Hippos have been the subjects of various African folktales. According to a San story, when the Creator assigned each animal its place in nature, the hippos wanted to live in the water, but were refused out of fear they might eat all the fish. After begging and pleading, the hippos were finally allowed to live in the water on the condition they would eat grass instead of fish, and fling their dung so it can be inspected for fish bones. In a Ndebele tale, the hippo originally had long, beautiful hair, but it was set on fire by a jealous hare and the hippo had to jump into a nearby pool. The hippo lost most of his hair and was too embarrassed to leave the water.
+Hippopotamuses were rarely depicted in European art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, due to less access to specimens by Europeans. One notable exception is Peter Paul Rubens' The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616).: 122–123  Ever since Obaysch inspired the "Hippopotamus Polka", hippos have been popular animals in Western culture for their rotund appearance, which many consider comical. The Disney film Fantasia featured a ballerina hippo dancing to the opera La Gioconda. The film Hugo the Hippo is set in Tanzania and involves the title character trying to escape being slaughtered with the help of local children. The Madagascar films feature a hippo named Gloria.: 128–129  Hippos even inspired a popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.Among the most famous poems about the hippo is "The Hippopotamus" by T. S. Eliot, where he uses the animal to represent the Catholic Church. Hippos are mentioned in the novelty Christmas song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that became a hit for child star Gayla Peevey in 1953. They also featured in the popular "The Hippopotamous Song" by Flanders and Swann.: 128, 136 A popular internet myth reports that hippos have pink milk. Biologist David Wynick states, "I think this is an Internet legend that is oft repeated but without any evidence for it that I can find... Like all mammals, hippos produce white or off-white milk for their young."
+
+See also
+American Hippo bill - 1910 bill that proposed the introduction of hippos into Louisiana
+Armley Hippo fossil H. amphibius specimen from England
+Allenton hippopotamus fossil H. amphibius specimen from England
+Owen and Mzee - hippo and tortoise who bonded
+Fiona - hippo born 6 weeks early at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Hippos: Wildlife summary". African Wildlife Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010.
+"Hippo Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union". International Union for Conservation of Nature. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
+"11 Things You May Not Know About Ancient Egypt: King Tut may have been killed by a hippopotamus". History. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014.
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+The pig (Sus domesticus), often called swine (pl.: swine), hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus Sus, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of Sus scrofa (the wild boar or Eurasian boar) or a distinct species. The pig's head-plus-body length ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 m (3 to 6 ft), and adult pigs typically weigh between 50 and 350 kg (110 and 770 lb), with well-fed individuals even exceeding this range. The size and weight of hogs largely depends on their breed. Compared to other artiodactyls, a pig's head is relatively long and pointed. Most even-toed ungulates are herbivorous, but pigs are omnivores, like their wild relative. Pigs grunt and make snorting sounds.
+When used as livestock, pigs are farmed primarily for the production of meat, called pork. A group of pigs is called a passel, a team, or a sounder. The animal's bones, hide, and bristles are also used in products. Pigs, especially miniature breeds, are kept as pets.
+
+Biology
+The pig typically has a large head, with a long snout which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone and a disk of cartilage at the tip. The snout is used to dig into the soil to find food and is a very acute sense organ. The dental formula of adult pigs is 3.1.4.33.1.4.3, giving a total of 44 teeth. The rear teeth are adapted for crushing. In the male, the canine teeth can form tusks, which grow continuously and are sharpened by constantly being ground against each other.Four hoofed toes are on each foot, with the two larger central toes bearing most of the weight, but the outer two also being used in soft ground.Most pigs have rather a bristled sparse hair covering on their skin, although woolly-coated breeds such as the Mangalitsa exist.Pigs possess both apocrine and eccrine sweat glands, although the latter appear limited to the snout and dorsonasal areas. Pigs, however, like other "hairless" mammals (e.g. elephants, rhinos, and mole-rats), do not use thermal sweat glands in cooling. Pigs are also less able than many other mammals to dissipate heat from wet mucous membranes in the mouth through panting. Their thermoneutral zone is 16 to 22 °C (61 to 72 °F). At higher temperatures, pigs lose heat by wallowing in mud or water via evaporative cooling, although it has been suggested that wallowing may serve other functions, such as protection from sunburn, ecto-parasite control, and scent-marking.Pigs are one of four known mammalian species which possess mutations in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that protect against snake venom. Mongooses, honey badgers, hedgehogs, and pigs all have modifications to the receptor pocket which prevents the snake venom α-neurotoxin from binding. These represent four separate, independent mutations.Pigs have small lungs in relation to their body size, and are thus more susceptible than other domesticated animals to fatal bronchitis and pneumonia. Pigs have a maximum life span of about 27 years.
+
+Genetics and genomics
+The genome of the pig has been sequenced and contains about 22,342 protein-coding genes.
+
+Taxonomy
+The pig is most often considered to be a subspecies of the wild boar, which was given the name Sus scrofa by Carl Linnaeus in 1758; following from this, the formal name of the pig is Sus scrofa domesticus. However, in 1777, Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben classified the pig as a separate species from the wild boar. He gave it the name Sus domesticus, which is still used by some taxonomists. The American Society of Mammalogists considers it a separate species.
+
+History
+Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated from wild boar in the Near East in the Tigris Basin, Çayönü, Cafer Höyük, Nevalı Çori being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 years ago in Cyprus. Those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then. Pigs were separately domesticated in China beginning 8,000 years ago, and have been one of the most important domesticated animals there ever since.In the Near East, pig husbandry spread for the next few millennia. It reduced gradually during the Bronze Age, as rural populations focused instead on commodity-producing livestock. It was sustained in urbanized regions, however.DNA evidence from subfossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs shows that the first domestic pigs in Europe had been brought from the Near East. This stimulated the domestication of local European wild boar, resulting in a third domestication event with the Near Eastern genes dying out in European pig stock. Modern domesticated pigs have involved complex exchanges, with European domesticated lines being exported, in turn, to the ancient Near East. Historical records indicate that Asian pigs were introduced into Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries.In August 2015, a study looked at over 100 pig genome sequences to ascertain their process of domestication, which was assumed to have been initiated by humans, involved few individuals, and relied on reproductive isolation between wild and domestic forms. The study found that the assumption of reproductive isolation with population bottlenecks was not supported. The study indicated that pigs were domesticated separately in Western Asia and China, with Western Asian pigs introduced into Europe, where they crossed with wild boar. A model that fit the data included a mixture with a now extinct ghost population of wild pigs during the Pleistocene. The study also found that despite back-crossing with wild pigs, the genomes of domestic pigs have strong signatures of selection at DNA loci that affect behavior and morphology. The study concluded that human selection for domestic traits likely counteracted the homogenizing effect of gene flow from wild boars and created domestication islands in the genome. The same process may also apply to other domesticated animals. In 2019, a study showed that the pig had arrived in Europe from the Near East 8,500 years ago. Over the next 3,000 years they then admixed with the European wild boar until their genome showed less than 5% Near Eastern ancestry, yet retained their domesticated features.Among the animals that the Spanish introduced to the Chiloé Archipelago in the 16th century, pigs were the most successful to adapt. The pigs benefited from abundant shellfish and algae exposed by the large tides of the archipelago. Pigs were brought to southeastern North America from Europe by de Soto and other early Spanish explorers. Escaped pigs became feral and caused a great deal of disruption to Native Americans.
+Feral pig populations in the southeastern United States have since migrated north and are a growing concern in the Midwest. Considered an invasive species, many state agencies have programs to trap or hunt feral pigs as means of removal. Domestic pigs have become feral in many other parts of the world (e.g. New Zealand and northern Queensland) and have caused substantial environmental damage. Feral hybrids of the European wild boar with the domestic pig are also very disruptive to both environment and agriculture (among the 100 most damaging animal species), especially in southeastern South America from Uruguay to Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo.With around 1 billion individuals alive at any time, the domesticated pig is one of the most numerous large mammals on the planet.
+
+Reproduction
+Female pigs reach sexual maturity at 3–12 months of age and come into estrus every 18–24 days if they are not successfully bred. The variation in ovulation rate can be attributed to intrinsic factors such as age and genotype, as well as extrinsic factors like nutrition, environment, and the supplementation of exogenous hormones. The gestation period averages 112–120 days.
+Estrus lasts two to three days, and the female's displayed receptiveness to mate is known as standing heat. Standing heat is a reflexive response that is stimulated when the female is in contact with the saliva of a sexually mature boar. Androstenol is one of the pheromones produced in the submaxillary salivary glands of boars that will trigger the female's response. The female cervix contains a series of five interdigitating pads, or folds, that will hold the boar's corkscrew-shaped penis during copulation. Females have bicornuate uteruses and two conceptuses must be present in both uterine horns for pregnancy to be established. Maternal recognition of pregnancy in pigs occurs on days 11 to 12 of pregnancy and is marked by progesterone production from a functioning corpus luteum (CL). To avoid luteolysis by PGF2α, rescuing of the CL must occur via embryonic signaling of estradiol 17β and PGE2. This signaling acts on both the endometrium and luteal tissue to prevent the regression of the CL by activation of genes that are responsible for CL maintenance. During mid to late pregnancy, the CL relies primarily on luteinizing hormone (LH) for maintenance until parturition. Animal nutrition is important prior to reproduction and during gestation to ensure optimum reproductive performance is achieved.Archeological evidence indicates that medieval European pigs farrowed, or bore a litter of piglets, once per year. By the nineteenth century, European piglets routinely double-farrowed, or bore two litters of piglets per year. It is unclear when this shift occurred.
+
+Behavior
+In many ways pig behaviour appears to be intermediate between that of other artiodactyls and of carnivores. Pigs seek out the company of other pigs and often huddle to maintain physical contact, although they do not naturally form large herds. They typically live in groups of about 8–10 adult sows, some young individuals, and some single males.Because of their relative lack of sweat glands, pigs often control their body temperature using behavioural thermoregulation. Wallowing, which often consists of coating the body with mud, is a behaviour frequently exhibited by pigs. They do not submerge completely under the mud, but vary the depth and duration of wallowing depending on environmental conditions. Typically, adult pigs start wallowing once the ambient temperature is around 17–21 °C (63–70 °F). They cover themselves from head to toe in mud. Pigs may use mud as a sunscreen, or as a method of keeping parasites away. Most bristled pigs will "blow their coat", meaning that they shed most of the longer, coarser stiff hair once a year, usually in spring or early summer, to prepare for the warmer months ahead.If conditions permit, pigs feed continuously for many hours and then sleep for many hours, in contrast to ruminants which tend to feed for a short time and then sleep for a short time. Pigs are omnivorous, and are highly versatile in their feeding behaviour. As they are foraging animals, they primarily eat leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and flowers. Pigs play an important role in regions where pig toilets are employed. Pigs are highly intelligent animals, on par with dogs, and according to David DiSalvo's writing in Forbes, they are "widely considered the smartest domesticated animal in the world. Pigs have demonstrated the ability to move a cursor on a video screen with their snouts and understand what is happening onscreen, and have learned to distinguish between the scribbles they had seen before and those they were seeing for the first time."
+
+Rooting
+Rooting is an instinctual behavior in pigs that is characterized by a pig nudging its snout into something. Similar to a cat's kneading, rooting is found comforting. It first happens when piglets are born to obtain their mother's milk, and can become a habitual, obsessive behavior which is most prominent in animals weaned too early. Often, pigs will root and dig into the ground to forage for food. By means of rooting, pigs have been used to till farmland.Rooting is known to also be used as a means of communication. Nose rings that pierce the septum of the nose discourage rooting because they make the behavior painful.The breed known as the kunekune hardly ever roots, as it can sustain itself by feeding on nothing other than grass. Not having to root around in the soil to find underground food (e.g. tubers), it thus has evolved to, for the most part, not possess the instinct for rooting.
+
+Nest-building
+A behavioural characteristic of pigs which they share with carnivores is nest-building. Sows root in the ground to create depressions and then build nests in which to give birth. First, the sow digs a depression about the size of her body. She then collects twigs and leaves, and carries these in her mouth to the depression, building them into a mound. She distributes the softer, finer material to the centre of the mound using her feet. When the mound reaches the desired height, she places large branches, up to 2 metres in length, on the surface. She enters into the mound and roots around to create a depression within the gathered material. She then gives birth in a lying position, which, again, is different from other artiodactyls, which usually give birth in a standing position.Nest-building behaviour is an important part in the process of pre and post-partum maternal behaviour. Nest-building will occur during the last 24 hours before the onset of farrowing and becomes most intense during 12 to 6 hours before farrowing. Nest-building is divided into two phases: one of which is the initial phase of rooting in the ground while the second phase is the collecting, carrying and arranging of the nest material. The sow will separate from the group and seek a suitable nest site with some shelter from rain and wind that has well-drained soil. This nest-building behaviour is performed to provide the offspring with shelter, comfort, and thermoregulation. The nest will provide protection against weather and predators while keeping the piglets close to the sow and away from the rest of the herd. This ensures they do not get trampled on and that other piglets are not stealing milk from the sow. Nest-building can be influenced by internal and external stimuli. Internal hormonal changes and the completion of one nesting phase are indicators of this maternal behaviour. The onset is triggered by the rise in prolactin levels, which is caused by a decrease in progesterone and an increase in prostaglandin, while the gathering of the nest material seems to be regulated more by external stimuli such as temperature. The longer time spent on nest-building will increase pre-partum oxytocin.
+
+Nursing and suckling behaviour
+Pigs display complex nursing and suckling behaviour. Nursing occurs every 50–60 minutes, and the sow requires stimulation from piglets before milk let-down. Sensory inputs (vocalisation, odours from mammary and birth fluids, and hair patterns of the sow) are particularly important immediately post-birth to facilitate teat location by the piglets. Initially, the piglets compete for position at the udder; then the piglets massage around their respective teats with their snouts, during which time the sow grunts at slow, regular intervals. Each series of grunts varies in frequency, tone and magnitude, indicating the stages of nursing to the piglets.The phase of competition for teats and of nosing the udder lasts for about one minute and ends when milk flow begins. In the third phase, the piglets hold the teats in their mouths and suck with slow mouth movements (one per second), and the rate of the sow's grunting increases for approximately 20 seconds. The grunt peak in the third phase of suckling does not coincide with milk ejection, but rather the release of oxytocin from the pituitary into the bloodstream. Phase four coincides with the period of main milk flow (10–20 seconds) when the piglets suddenly withdraw slightly from the udder and start sucking with rapid mouth movements of about three per second. The sow grunts rapidly, lower in tone and often in quick runs of three or four, during this phase. Finally, the flow stops and so does the grunting of the sow. The piglets may then dart from teat to teat and recommence suckling with slow movements, or nosing the udder. Piglets massage and suckle the sow's teats after milk flow ceases as a way of letting the sow know their nutritional status. This helps her to regulate the amount of milk released from that teat in future sucklings. The more intense the post-feed massaging of a teat, the greater the future milk release from that teat will be.
+
+Teat order
+In pigs, dominance hierarchies can be formed at a very early age. Piglets are highly precocious and within minutes of being born, or sometimes seconds, will attempt to suckle. The piglets are born with sharp teeth and fight to develop a teat order as the anterior teats produce a greater quantity of milk. Once established, this teat order remains stable with each piglet tending to feed on a particular teat or group of teats. Stimulation of the anterior teats appears to be important in causing milk letdown, so it might be advantageous to the entire litter to have these teats occupied by healthy piglets.
+Using an artificial sow to rear groups of piglets, recognition of a teat in a particular area of the udder depended initially on visual orientation by means of reference points on the udder to find the area, and then the olfactory sense for the more accurate search within that area.
+
+Senses
+Pigs have panoramic vision of approximately 310° and binocular vision of 35° to 50°. It is thought they have no eye accommodation. Other animals that have no accommodation, e.g. sheep, lift their heads to see distant objects. The extent to which pigs have colour vision is still a source of some debate; however, the presence of cone cells in the retina with two distinct wavelength sensitivities (blue and green) suggests that at least some colour vision is present.Pigs have a well-developed sense of smell, and use is made of this in Europe where they are trained to locate underground truffles. Olfactory rather than visual stimuli are used in the identification of other pigs. Hearing is also well developed, and localisation of sounds is made by moving the head. Pigs use auditory stimuli extensively as a means of communication in all social activities. Alarm or aversive stimuli are transmitted to other pigs not only by auditory cues but also by pheromones. Similarly, recognition between the sow and her piglets is by olfactory and vocal cues.
+
+Breeds
+Many breeds of pig exist, with different colors, shapes, and sizes. According to The Livestock Conservancy, as of 2016, three breeds of pig are critically rare (having a global population of fewer than 2000). They are the Choctaw hog, the Mulefoot, and the Ossabaw Island hog. The smallest known pig breed in the world is the Göttingen minipig, typically weighing about 26 kilograms (57 lb) as a healthy, full-grown adult.
+
+In agriculture
+When in use as livestock, the pig is mostly farmed for its meat, pork. Other food products made from pigs include pork sausage (which includes casings that are made from the intestines), bacon, gammon, ham and pork rinds. The head of a pig can be used to make a preserved jelly called head cheese, which is sometimes known as brawn. Liver, chitterlings, blood (for black pudding), and other offal from pigs are also widely used for food. In some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, pork is a taboo food. Approximately 1.5 billion pigs are slaughtered each year for meat.The use of pig milk for human consumption does take place, but as there are certain difficulties in obtaining it, there is little commercial production.
+Livestock pigs are exhibited at agricultural shows, judged either as stud stock compared to the standard features of each pig breed, or in commercial classes where the animals are judged primarily on their suitability for slaughter to provide premium meat.
+The skin of pigs is eaten and used to produce seat covers, apparel, and other items.
+In some developing and developed nations, the pig is usually raised outdoors in yards or fields. In some areas, pigs are allowed to forage in woods where they may be taken care of by swineherds. In industrialized nations such as the United States, pig farming has switched from the traditional pig farm to large-scale intensive pig farms. This has resulted in lower production costs but can cause significant cruelty problems. As consumers have become concerned with the humane treatment of livestock, demand for pasture-raised pork in these nations has increased.
+
+Climate change
+Like all animals, pigs can be suspectible to adverse impacts from climate change, such as experiencing greater levels of heat stress due to increased annual temperatures and more intense heatwaves.
+
+As pets
+Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, a miniature breed of pig, have made popular pets in the United States, beginning in the latter half of the 20th century.
+In many respects, pot-bellied pigs are desirable and entertaining pets. They are considered intelligent, gregarious, and trainable. They lack the genetic hereditary weaknesses which commonly afflict certain pedigree cat and dog breeds, are generally quite sturdy, and have a reasonably affordable diet despite requiring large quantities of food. However, they can be strong-willed, defiant, and independent pets which will sometimes defy training. They require access to an outdoor space at all times, and depending on the individual pig, may become housebroken easily or never settle indoors. While hardy, an injured or sick pig will require costly surgery or larger than average quantities of medicine than most pets.Pigs are highly intelligent, social creatures. They are considered hypoallergenic, and are known to do quite well with people who have the usual animal allergies. Since these animals are known to have a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years, they require a long-term commitment.
+Given pigs are bred primarily as livestock and have not been bred as companion animals for very long, selective breeding for a placid or biddable temperament is not well established. Pigs have radically different psychology to dogs and exhibit fight-or-flight instincts, independent nature, and natural assertiveness which can manifest as aggression towards children and a tendency to panic and lash out with little warning. Cats generally are safe around pigs as neither species has an incentive to express aggression or fear towards the other, although dogs will view pigs as prey animals and in turn, pigs will challenge dogs for food, leading to very violent fights.
+
+Care
+Male and female swine that have not been de-sexed may express unwanted aggressive behavior, and are prone to developing serious health issues. Regular trimming of the hooves is necessary; hooves left untreated cause major pain in the pig, can create malformations in bone structure and may cause the pig to be more susceptible to fungal growth between crevices of the hoof, or between the cracks in a split hoof. Male pigs, especially when left unaltered, can grow large, sharp tusks which may continue growing for years. Domestic owners may wish to keep their pigs' tusks trimmed back, or have them removed entirely.
+As prey animals, pigs' natural instinctive behavior causes them to have a strong fear of being picked up, resulting in the animal expressing stress through struggling and squealing, but they will usually calm down once placed back onto the ground. This instinctual fear may be lessened if the pig has been frequently held since infancy. When holding pigs, supporting them under the legs makes being held not as stressful for the animal. Pigs need enrichment activities to keep their intelligent minds occupied; if pigs get bored, they often become destructive. As rooting is found to be comforting, pigs kept in the house may root household objects, furniture or surfaces. While some owners are known to pierce their pigs' noses to discourage rooting behaviour, the efficacy and humaneness of this practice is questionable. Pet pigs should be let outside daily to allow them to fulfill their natural desire of rooting around.
+
+In human medical applications
+Pigs, both as live animals and a source of post-mortem tissues, are one of the most valuable animal models used in biomedical research today, because of their biological, physiological, and anatomical similarities to human beings. For instance, human skin is very similar to the pigskin, therefore pigskin has been used in many preclinical studies. Porcine are used in finding treatments, cures for diseases, xenotransplantation, and for general education. They are also used in the development of medical instruments and devices, surgical techniques and instrumentation, and FDA-approved research. These animals contribute to the reduction methods for animal research, as they supply more information from fewer animals used, for a lower cost.
+
+Xenotransplantation
+Pigs are currently thought to be the best non-human candidates for organ donation to humans, and to date they are the only animal that has successfully donated an organ to a human body. The first successful donation of a non-human organ to a human body was conducted on 15 September 2021, when a kidney from a pig was transplanted to a brain-dead human and immediately started functioning similarly to a human kidney. The procedure, led by Dr. Robert Montgomery, used a donor pig that was genetically engineered to not have a specific carbohydrate that the human body considers a threat–Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose. This followed an earlier major breakthrough when the carbohydrate was removed from genetically engineered mice.Besides similarity between pig and human organs, pigs are among the best animals suited for human donation due the lower risk of cross-species disease transmission. This is caused by pigs' increased phylogenetic distance from humans. Furthermore, they are readily available, and new infectious agents are less likely since they have been in close contact with humans through domestication for many generations.Some obstacles to successful organ donation from a pig to a human arise from the response of the recipient's immune system—generally more extreme than in allotransplantations, ultimately results in rejection of the xenograft, and in some cases results in the death of the recipient—including hyperacute rejection, acute vascular rejection, cellular rejection, and chronic rejection.
+Examples of viruses carried by pigs include porcine herpesvirus, rotavirus, parvovirus, and circovirus. Of particular concern are PERVs (porcine endogenous retroviruses), vertically transmitted viruses that embed in swine genomes. The risks with xenosis are twofold, as not only could the individual become infected, but a novel infection could initiate an epidemic in the human population. Because of this risk, the FDA has suggested any recipients of xenotransplants shall be closely monitored for the remainder of their life, and quarantined if they show signs of xenosis.Pig cells have been engineered to inactivate all 62 PERVs in the genome using CRISPR Cas9 genome editing technology, and eliminated infection from the pig to human cells in culture.
+
+Folklore
+In the belief of traditional Irish fishermen, the pig is seen as a thing of bad luck and should not be mentioned.
+
+Glossary of terms
+Because the pig is a major domesticated animal, English has many terms unique to the species:
+
+barrow – a castrated male swine
+boar – a mature male swine; often a wild or feral swine
+boneen – a very young pig (Ireland)
+farrow (noun) – a litter of piglets
+farrow (verb) – to give birth to piglets
+gilt – a female pig that has never been pregnant or is pregnant for the first time
+hog – a domestic swine, especially a fully-grown specimen
+parcel – collective noun for pigs
+pig – strictly, an immature swine; more generally, any swine, especially of the domestic variety
+piglet – a very young pig
+queen – a female pig that has never been mated
+savaging – the act of a sow attacking her own piglets, sometimes killing and cannibalising them
+shoat – a young pig, especially one that has been weaned
+sounder – collective noun for pigs
+sow – a mature female swine
+swine (singular and plural) – hogs collectively or generally; also a derogatory epithet
+swineherd – one who tends to swine raised as livestock; a pig farmer
+
+See also
+Farming
+Mycoplasma hyorhinis
+Peccary (domestication)
+List of individual pigs
+Pet
+Pigs in culture
+Truffle hog
+Xenotransfusion
+List of pig breeds
+
+Notes
+Footnotes
+References
+Animal Welfare AVMA Policy on Pregnant Sow Housing
+Bateman, Heather; Curtis, Steve; McAdam, Katy, eds. (2006). Dictionary of Agriculture (3rd ed.). A & C Black. ISBN 978-0-7136-7778-2.
+CAST Scientific Assessment of the Welfare of Dry Sows kept in Individual Accommodations – March 2009 (PDF)
+Keuling, O.; Leus, K. (2019). "Sus scrofa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T41775A44141833. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T41775A44141833.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
+
+External links
+
+An introduction to pig keeping
+British Pig Association
+Globe and Mail article Canada's transgenic Enviropig is stuck in a genetic modification poke
+Information on Micro Pigs Archived 19 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
+JJ Genetics, gilt pig breeders
+JSR Genetics, Pig genetics company
+Pig Sanctuary
+Swine Care
+Swine Study Guide from UC Davis
+The process of pig slaughtery
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diff --git a/data/animals/hognose snake.txt b/data/animals/hognose snake.txt
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+Hognose snake is a common name for several unrelated species of snake with upturned snouts, classified in 2 colubrid snake families and 1 pseudoxyrhophiid snake family.  
+They include the following genera: 
+
+Heterodon, which occur mainly in the United States and northern Mexico
+Leioheterodon, the hognose snakes native to Madagascar
+Lystrophis, the South American hognose snakes.The North American Heterodon species are known for their habit of thanatosis: playing dead when threatened.
+
+Species
+Genus Heterodon:
+
+Mexican hognose snake, Heterodon kennerlyi (Kennicott, 1860)
+Gloyd's hognose snake, Heterodon nasicus gloydi (Edgren, 1952)
+Western hognose snake, Heterodon nasicus (Baird & Girard, 1852)
+Eastern hognose snake, Heterodon platirhinos (Latreille, 1801)
+Southern hognose snake, Heterodon simus (Linnaeus, 1766)Genus Leioheterodon:
+
+Speckled hognose snake, Leioheterodon geayi (Mocquard, 1905)
+Malagasy giant hognose snake, Leioheterodon madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1854)
+Blonde hognose snake, Leioheterodon modestus (Günther, 1863)Genus Lystrophis:
+
+South American hognose snake, Lystrophis dorbignyi (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
+Jan's hognose snake, Lystrophis histricus (Jan, 1863)
+Lystrophis matogrossensis (Scrocchi & Cruz, 1993)
+Lystrophis nattereri (Steindachner, 1867)
+Tricolor hognose snake, Lystrophis pulcher (Jan, 1863)
+Ringed hognose snake, Lystrophis semicinctus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
+
+Description
+The hognose snakes' most distinguishing characteristic is their upturned snout/Rostral scale, which aids in digging in sandy soils by using a sweeping, side to side motion. They also like to burrow in masses of humus. Lieoheterodon species are known to dig up the eggs of lizards.Hognose snakes are extremely variable in color and pattern. Heterodon nasicus and H. kennerlyi tend to be sandy colored with black and white markings, while H. platirhinos varies from reds, greens, oranges, browns, to melanistic (i.e. black) depending on locality. They are sometimes blotched and sometimes solid-colored. Leiohetereodon geayi is a brown or tan colored snake with dark speckling on it.
+There are also many different morphs when bred in captivity.
+
+Behavior
+When threatened, hognose snakes will hiss, flatten their necks and raise their heads off the ground like cobras. They sometimes feign strikes, but actual Heterodon bites are very rare. This behaviour has earned them local common names such as "puff adder", "blowing adder", "flathead", "spreadhead", "spreading adder" or "hissing adder". Note: For Heterodon, "puff adder" is a common name inconsistent with established usage. "Puff adder" is the accepted common name of Bitis arietans, an unrelated, dangerously venomous African species of viper, which incidentally does not flatten its neck in any threat display.
+If this threat display fails to deter a would-be predator, Heterodon species often roll onto their backs and play dead, going so far as to emit a foul musk and fecal matter from their cloaca (in liquid form) and let their tongues hang out of their mouth, sometimes accompanied by small droplets of blood. If they are rolled upright while in this state, they will often roll back as if insisting they really are dead.  It has been observed that the snake, while appearing to be dead, will still watch the threat that caused the death pose. The snake will 'resurrect' sooner if the threat is looking away from it than if the threat is looking at the snake.They are rather timid snakes and commonly hide from predators by burrowing down into leaves, sand, etc.
+
+Diet
+Heterodon are diurnal active foragers that typically consume their prey live without any constriction or body pinning, primarily relying on only their jaws to subdue their prey.
+For most hognose snake species, the bulk of their diet is made up of rodents and lizards. Heterodon platirhinos is an exception, and specializes in feeding on toads, although other food items such as eggs and insects can make up as much as 50% of its diet.
+
+In captivity
+Hognose snakes are frequently found in herpetoculture. Heterodon nasicus is often considered to be the easiest to care for, and captive-bred stock is easily found. Heterodon platirhinos is also commonly found, but their dietary requirements can be a challenge for some keepers, and there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that feeding them a diet of exclusively rodents contributes to liver problems and a shortened life span. Leioheterodon species are imported regularly from Madagascar, but they are not often bred in captivity and get much larger, so they can pose a set of different challenges for care. Lystrophis species are fairly new to the commercial reptile trade, and are now commonly bred in captivity, but can be some of the more expensive hognose snakes available. Some states, such as the state of Colorado, have strict laws on keeping the western hognose snake. It is considered a native species to Colorado, so it is protected by law. The law states that an individual can keep no more than four native snakes, and forbids the shipping, selling, and breeding of them in the state of Colorado.
+
+Toxicity
+Hognose snakes have mildly toxic venomous saliva and are frequently mistaken for the slightly more dangerous rear fanged snakes which possess grooved teeth and saliva intended for dispatching prey.  Hognose saliva fails to meet the definition of a venom because they have no injection system and do not have behaviours typically seen in venomous animals.  Indeed, the teeth of the hognose are smooth and strong without grooves and the mildly toxic duvernoy's secretions are produced by the Duvernoy's gland, well away from the unique evisceration fangs for which the genus is named. Hognose have never been formally documented using their saliva to kill prey, rather they kill by sawing and impaling prey, biting prey from the side rather than at the head to facilitate this process.  Although it is possible that some day one or more species may provide data that alter the current classification of mildly toxic saliva to actual venom, the absence of any injection mechanism and indeed adaptations counter to venom injection will most likely always leave them difficult to classify.  Hognose are perhaps best described as a transitional species with toxic saliva that is only produced during feeding, failing to fall into either of the classic recognisable categories of venomous or non venomous. Although their saliva is not likely to cause serious injury to humans in small amounts, should the toxic feeding saliva make its way into a cut in large enough amounts over an extended period of time the resulting swelling and localized tissue damage can be problematic in at least one species, H. Nasicus.  Such occurrences are rare however as they are uninclined to bite, instead striking with mouth closed or playing dead.  For these reasons they have been popular pets for more than 100 years despite the irritation experienced should they mistake their keeper's hand for food.
+
+References
+External links
+thehognosesnake.co.uk Hognose snakes are really important.
+Hognose.com
+The European Molecular Biology Laboratory Reptile Database
+*Western hognose snake Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
+*Eastern hognose snake Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
+World of Hognose Website for color mutations with pictures, breeders, and advice for the care of hognose snakes
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diff --git a/data/animals/horned viper.txt b/data/animals/horned viper.txt
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+Horned viper may refer to:
+
+Cerastes (genus), North African desert vipers, a group of small, venomous species found in the deserts and semi-deserts of northern North Africa eastward through Arabia and Iran
+Bitis caudalis, the horned puff adder, a venomous species found in the arid region of south-west Africa
+Vipera ammodytes, the sand viper, a venomous species found in southern Europe through to the Balkans and parts of the Middle East
+Viper (hieroglyph)
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diff --git a/data/animals/house finch.txt b/data/animals/house finch.txt
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+The house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is native to western North America and has been introduced to the eastern half of the continent and Hawaii. This species and the other two American rosefinches are placed in the genus Haemorhous.
+
+Description
+This is a moderate-sized finch. Adult birds are 12.5 to 15 centimetres (5 to 6 inches) long, with a wingspan of 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in). Body mass can vary from 16 to 27 g (9⁄16 to 15⁄16 oz), with an average weight of 21 g (3⁄4 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 7 to 8.4 cm (2+3⁄4 to 3+1⁄4 in), the tail is 5.7 to 6.5 cm (2+1⁄4 to 2+1⁄2 in), the culmen is 0.9 to 1.1 cm (3⁄8 to 7⁄16 in) and the tarsus is 1.6 to 1.8 cm (5⁄8 to 11⁄16 in).Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are. In most cases, adult males' heads, necks and shoulders are reddish. This color sometimes extends to the belly and down the back, between the wings. Male coloration varies in intensity with the seasons and is derived from the berries and fruits in its diet. As a result, the colors range from pale straw-yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Adult females have brown upperparts and streaked underparts.
+
+Taxonomy
+This bird belongs to the genus Haemorhous, together with the purple finch and Cassin's finch. These three species are not closely related to the similar Old World Carpodacus rosefinches, although they were formerly included in that genus.
+
+Range and habitat
+These birds are mainly permanent residents throughout their range; some northern and eastern birds migrate south. Their breeding habitat is urban and suburban areas across North America, as well as various semi-open areas in the west from southern Canada to the Mexican state of Oaxaca; the population in central Chiapas may be descended from escaped cagebirds. Analyses of nest records from House Finches in California spanning more than a century found that egg‐laying occurred significantly earlier in warmer springs.Originally only a resident of Mexico and the southwestern United States, they were introduced to eastern North America in the 1940s. The birds were sold illegally in New York City as "Hollywood Finches", a marketing artifice. To avoid prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, vendors and owners released the birds. They have since become naturalized; in largely unforested land across the eastern U.S. they have displaced the native purple finch and even the non-native house sparrow. In 1870 or before, they were introduced to Hawaii and are now abundant on all its major islands.There are estimated to be anywhere from 267 million to 1.7 billion individuals across North America.Instances of naturalization originating in escapes or releases of cage birds have been recorded in Europe, such as in 2020 in Murcia, (Spain).In 2012, house finches positive for West Nile virus were found in northwestern Riverside County, CA.
+
+Feeding
+House finches forage on the ground or in vegetation normally. They primarily eat grains, seeds and berries, being voracious consumers of weed seeds such as nettle and dandelion; included are incidental small insects such as aphids. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders throughout the year, particularly if stocked with sunflower or nyjer seed, and will congregate at hanging nyjer sock feeders. The house finch is known to damage orchard fruit and consume commercially grown grain, but is generally considered an annoyance rather than a significant pest.
+
+Breeding
+Nests are made in cavities, including openings in buildings, hanging plants, and other cup-shaped outdoor decorations. Sometimes nests abandoned by other birds are used. Nests may be re-used for subsequent broods or in following years. The nest is built by the female, sometimes in as little as two days. It is well made of twigs and debris, forming a cup shape, usually 1.8 to 2.7 m (5 ft 11 in to 8 ft 10 in) above the ground.
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+During courtship, the male will touch bills with the female. He may then present the female with choice bits of food, and if she mimics the behavior of a hungry chick, he may actually feed her. The male also feeds the female during breeding and incubation of the eggs, and raising of the young, and the male is the primary feeder of the fledgelings (who can be differentiated from the females by the pin feathers remaining on their heads). Females are typically attracted to the males with the deepest pigment of red to their head, more so than the occasional orange or yellowish-headed males that sometimes occur.The female lays clutches of eggs from February through August, two or more broods per year with 2 to 6 eggs per brood, most commonly 4 or 5. The egg laying usually takes place in the morning, at the rate of one egg per day. The eggs are a pale bluish green with few black spots and a smooth, somewhat glossy surface. In response to mite infestation, which has a more deleterious effect on male chicks than on females, the mother finch may lay eggs containing females first, in order to reduce the length of time male chicks are exposed to mites. This strategy increases the likelihood that representative numbers of both sexes will survive. The female incubates the eggs for 12 to 14 days. Shortly after hatching, she removes the empty eggshells from the nest. The hatchlings are pink with closed eyes and tufts of fluffy down. The female always feeds the young, and the male usually joins in. The young are silent for the first seven or eight days, and subsequently start peeping during feedings. Initially, the mother carries fecal sacs out of the nest, but when the young become older, she no longer carries them all away, allowing droppings to accumulate around the edge of the nest. Before flying, the young often climb into adjacent plants, and usually fledge at about 11 to 19 days after hatching. Dandelion seeds are among the preferred seeds fed to the young. Contrary to the way most birds, even ones with herbivorous leanings as adults, tend to feed their nestlings animal matter in order to give them the protein necessary to grow, house finches are one of the few birds who feed their young only plant matter.House finches are aggressive enough to drive other birds away from places such as feeders.
+
+Parasites
+The house finch may be infected by a number of parasites including Plasmodium relictum and Mycoplasma gallisepticum, which caused the population of house finches in eastern North America to crash during the 1990s.The mite Pellonyssus reedi is often found on house finch nestlings, particularly for nests later in the season.The brown-headed cowbird, a brood parasite, will lay its eggs in house finch nests, although the diet house finches feed their young is inadequate for the young cowbirds, which rarely survive.
+
+References
+External links
+
+Florida's Introduced Birds: House Finch ("Carpodacus mexicanus") Archived 2010-10-07 at the Wayback Machine – University of Florida fact sheet
+House Finch - Carpodacus mexicanus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
+House Finch Sound
+"House Finch media". Internet Bird Collection.
+"House Finch Bird Sound". Florida Museum of Natural History. 27 April 2017. from Hardy, J. W. (1998), Sounds of Florida's Birds
+House Finch photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
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diff --git a/data/animals/howler monkey.txt b/data/animals/howler monkey.txt
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+Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta, monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (Brachyteles), the spider monkeys (Ateles) and woolly monkeys (Lagotrix). The monkeys are native to South and Central American forests. They are famous for their loud howls, which can be heard up to three miles away through dense rain forest. Fifteen species are recognized. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae. They are primarily folivores but also significant frugivores, acting as seed dispersal agents through their digestive system and their locomotion. Threats include human predation, habitat destruction, illegal wildlife trade, and capture for pets or zoo animals.
+
+Classification
+Anatomy and physiology
+Howler monkeys have short snouts and wide-set, round nostrils. Their noses are very keen, and they can smell out food (primarily fruit and nuts)  up to 2 km away. Their noses are usually roundish snout-type, and the nostrils have many sensory hairs growing from the interior. They range in size from 56 to 92 cm (22 to 36 in), excluding their tails, which can be equally long; in fact in some cases the tail has been found to be almost five times the body length. This is a prime characteristic. Like many New World monkeys, they have prehensile tails, which they use while picking fruit and nuts from trees. Unlike other New World monkeys, both male and female howler monkeys have trichromatic color vision. This has evolved independently from other New World monkeys due to gene duplication. They have lifespans of 15 to 20 years. Howler species are dimorphic and can also be dichromatic (i.e. Alouatta caraya). Males are typically 1.5 to 2.0 kg heavier than females.
+
+Males experience an evolutionary trade off between investments in precopulatory traits, larger hyoids but smaller testes, or post-copulatory traits, larger testes and smaller hyoids.The hyoid of Alouatta is pneumatized, one of the few cases of postcranial pneumaticity outside the Saurischia. The volume of the hyoid of male howler monkeys is negatively correlated with the dimensions of their testes, and with the number of males per group. Larger hyoids decrease space between formant, and offers impression of larger body size. They have a flat cranial shape due to a folivorous diet and an advanced vocal system. Their brain growth is posterior  rather than superior or inferior as in other platyrrhines.
+
+Locomotion
+Howler monkeys generally move quadrupedally on the tops of branches, usually grasping a branch with at least two hands or one hand and the tail at all times. Their strong prehensile tails are able to support their entire body weight. Fully grown adult howler monkeys do not often rely on their tails for full-body support, but juveniles do so more frequently. A significant amount of their travel  is done through the ground, with sitting and resting being their most frequent postures.
+
+Behaviour
+Social systems
+Most howler species live in groups of six to 15 animals, with one to three adult males and multiple females. Mantled howler monkeys are an exception, commonly living in groups of 15 to 20 individuals with more than three adult males. The number of males in a given group is inversely correlated with the size of their hyoids and is positively correlated with testes size.  This results in two distinct groups, wherein one male with a larger hyoid and smaller testes copulates exclusively with a group of females, suggesting precopulatory vocal competition. The other group has more males, which have smaller hyoids, and larger testes. The larger the number of males, the smaller the hyoid, and the larger the testes. Female howler monkeys breed with multiple males within their group, with males in neighboring groups, and with solitary males. Central males tie up fellowship with cycling females. Unlike most New World monkeys, in which one sex remains in natal groups, juveniles of both sexes emigrate from their natal groups, such that howler monkeys could spend the majority of their adult lives in association with unrelated monkeys. 
+Physical fighting among group members is infrequent and generally of short duration, but serious injuries can result.  Both males and females rarely fight with each other, but physical aggression is even more rare between sexes. Group size varies by species and by location, with an approximate ratio of one male to four females.
+
+Communication
+As their name suggests, vocal communication forms an important part of their social behavior.  They each have an enlarged basihyal or hyoid bone, which helps them make their loud vocalizations. Group males generally call at dawn and dusk, as well as interspersed times throughout the day. Their main vocals consist of loud, deep, guttural growls or "howls". Howler monkeys are widely considered to be the loudest land animals. According to Guinness Book of World Records, their vocalizations can be heard clearly for 3 mi (4.8 km). The function of howling is thought to relate to intergroup spacing and territory protection, as well as possibly to mate-guarding. Howlers call usually when they are in areas with major feeding sites, which in some sort lead to advertise major feeding sites and their willingness to defend locally available fruit trees. Black howler monkeys incorporate information on resource availability along with neighbors’ current location. And the abundance of flowers are found to be an important factor that influenced behavior. Neighbors are more likely to move towards these calls when resource are scarce, and the reverse is true.
+
+Diet and feeding
+These large and slow-moving monkeys are the only folivores of the New World monkeys. Howlers eat mainly top canopy leaves, together with fruit, buds, flowers, and nuts. They need to be careful not to eat too many leaves of certain species in one sitting, as some contain toxins that can poison them.  Howler monkeys are also known to occasionally raid birds' nests and chicken coops and consume the eggs. When in smaller groups (up to twelve individuals) and low rainfall (up to 2,200 mm (87 in)), they are more frugivorous. In larger groups and increased rainfall, frugivory decreases as a result of competition and fast food depletion. As they digest fruit, more than 90% of the fruits' seeds are excreted without damage, which results in seed dispersal and distribution in tropical forests.
+
+Sleeping
+Howlers use the upper-middle part of their sleeping tree and use large branches on 70% of nights  which potentially allow for grouped sleeping or for resistance to weather conditions and risk of branch breaking. Their sleeping sites are  usually close to  morning feeding sites.
+
+Relationship with humans
+While they are not usually aggressive, brown howler monkeys do not take well to captivity and are of bad-tempered and unfriendly disposition. However, the black howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) is a relatively common pet in contemporary Argentina due to its gentle nature (in comparison to the capuchin monkey's aggressive tendencies), in spite of its lesser intelligence, as well as the liabilities of the size of its droppings and the male monkey’s loud vocalizations.
+John Lloyd Stephens described the howler monkeys at the Maya ruins of Copán as "grave and solemn, almost emotionally wounded, as if officiating as the guardians of consecrated ground". To the Mayas of the Classic period, they were the divine patrons of the artisans, especially scribes and sculptors. They were seen as gods in some tribes, and the long, sleek tail was worshipped for its beauty. Copán, in particular, is famous for its representations of howler monkey gods. Two howler monkey brothers play a role in the myth of the Maya Hero Twins included in the Popol Vuh, a widely feared tale of soul and passion.
+
+References
+External links
+
+Primate Info Net Alouatta Factsheets
+Information about howler monkeys from Belize Zoo (photos, video and audio included)
+"The Loudest Animal in the New World," Smithsonian National Zoological Park
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diff --git a/data/animals/hyena.txt b/data/animals/hyena.txt
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+Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek ὕαινα, hýaina), are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae . With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the class Mammalia. Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components of most African ecosystems.Although phylogenetically closer to felines and viverrids, hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canids in several elements due to convergent evolution: both hyenas and canines are non-arboreal, cursorial hunters that catch prey with their teeth rather than claws. Both eat food quickly and may store it, and their calloused feet with large, blunt, nonretractable claws are adapted for running and making sharp turns. However, hyenas' grooming, scent marking, defecation habits, mating and parental behavior are consistent with the behavior of other feliforms.Hyenas feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures that live alongside them. Hyenas are commonly viewed as frightening and worthy of contempt. In some cultures, hyenas are thought to influence people's spirits, rob graves, and steal livestock and children. Other cultures associate them with witchcraft, using their body parts in traditional medicine.
+
+Evolution
+Origins
+Hyenas originated in the jungles of Miocene Eurasia 22 million years ago, when most early feliform species were still largely arboreal. The first ancestral hyenas were likely similar to the modern African civet; one of the earliest hyena species described, Plioviverrops, was a lithe, civet-like animal that inhabited Eurasia 20–22 million years ago, and is identifiable as a hyaenid by the structure of the middle ear and dentition. The lineage of Plioviverrops prospered, and gave rise to descendants with longer legs and more pointed jaws, a direction similar to that taken by canids in North America.
+Hyenas then diversified into two distinct types: lightly built dog-like hyenas and robust bone-crushing hyenas. Although the dog-like hyenas thrived 15 million years ago (with one taxon having colonised North America), they became extinct after a change in climate, along with the arrival of canids into Eurasia. Of the dog-like hyena lineage, only the insectivorous aardwolf survived, while the bone-crushing hyenas (including the extant spotted, brown and striped hyenas) became the undisputed top scavengers of Eurasia and Africa.
+
+Rise and fall of the dog-like hyenas
+The descendants of Plioviverrops reached their peak 15 million years ago, with more than 30 species having been identified. Unlike most modern hyena species, which are specialised bone-crushers, these dog-like hyenas were nimble-bodied, wolfish animals; one species among them was Ictitherium viverrinum, which was similar to a jackal. The dog-like hyenas were numerous; in some Miocene fossil sites, the remains of Ictitherium and other dog-like hyenas outnumber those of all other carnivores combined. The decline of the dog-like hyenas began 5–7 million years ago during a period of climate change, exacerbated by canids crossing the Bering land bridge to Eurasia. One species, Chasmaporthetes ossifragus, managed to cross the land bridge into North America, being the only hyena to do so. Chasmaporthetes managed to survive for some time in North America by deviating from the endurance-running and bone-crushing niches monopolized by canids, and developing into a cheetah-like sprinter. Most of the dog-like hyenas had died off by 1.5 million years ago.
+
+Bone-crushing hyenas
+By 10–14 million years ago, the hyena family had split into two distinct groups: dog-like hyenas and bone-crushing hyenas. The arrival of the ancestral bone-crushing hyenas coincided with the decline of the similarly built family Percrocutidae. The bone-crushing hyenas survived the changes in climate and the arrival of canids, which wiped out the dog-like hyenas, though they never crossed into North America, as their niche there had already been taken by the dog subfamily Borophaginae. By 5 million years ago, the bone-crushing hyenas had become the dominant scavengers of Eurasia, primarily feeding on large herbivore carcasses felled by sabre-toothed cats. One genus, Pachycrocuta, was a 200 kg (440 lb) mega-scavenger that could splinter the bones of elephants. With the decline of large herbivores by the late ice age, Pachycrocuta was replaced by the smaller Crocuta.
+
+Rise of modern hyenas
+The four extant species are the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), and the aardwolf (Proteles cristata).
+The aardwolf can trace its lineage directly back to Plioviverrops 15 million years ago, and is the only survivor of the dog-like hyena lineage. Its success is partly attributed to its insectivorous diet, for which it faced no competition from canids crossing from North America. It is likely that its unrivaled ability to digest the terpene excretions from soldier termites is a modification of the strong digestive system its ancestors used to consume fetid carrion.The striped hyena may have evolved from Hyaenictitherium namaquensis of Pliocene Africa. Striped hyena fossils are common in Africa, with records going back as far as the Villafranchian. As fossil striped hyenas are absent from the Mediterranean region, it is likely that the species is a relatively late invader to Eurasia, having likely spread outside Africa only after the extinction of spotted hyenas in Asia at the end of the Ice Age. The striped hyena occurred for some time in Europe during the Pleistocene, having been particularly widespread in France and Germany. It also occurred in Montmaurin, Hollabrunn in Austria, the Furninha Cave in Portugal and the Genista Caves in Gibraltar. The European form was similar in appearance to modern populations, but was larger, being comparable in size to the brown hyena.The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) diverged from the striped and brown hyena 10 million years ago. Its direct ancestor was the Indian Crocuta sivalensis, which lived during the Villafranchian. Ancestral spotted hyenas probably developed social behaviours in response to increased pressure from rivals on carcasses, thus forcing them to operate in teams. Spotted hyenas evolved sharp carnassials behind their crushing premolars, therefore they did not need to wait for their prey to die, and thus became pack hunters as well as scavengers. They began forming increasingly larger territories, necessitated by the fact that their prey was often migratory, and long chases in a small territory would have caused them to encroach into another clan's turf. Spotted hyenas spread from their original homeland during the Middle Pleistocene, and quickly colonised a very wide area from Europe, to southern Africa and China. With the decline of grasslands 12,500 years ago, Europe experienced a massive loss of lowland habitats favoured by spotted hyenas, and a corresponding increase in mixed woodlands. Spotted hyenas, under these circumstances, would have been outcompeted by wolves and humans, who were as much at home in forests as in open lands—and in highlands as in lowlands. Spotted hyena populations began to shrink after roughly 20,000 years ago, completely disappearing from Western Europe between 11 and 14 thousand years ago, and earlier in some areas.
+
+Genera of the Hyaenidae (extinct and recent)
+The list follows McKenna and Bell's Classification of Mammals for prehistoric genera (1997) and Wozencraft (2005) in Wilson and Reeders Mammal Species of the World for extant genera. The percrocutids are, in contrast to McKenna and Bell's classification, not included as a subfamily into the Hyaenidae, but as the separate family Percrocutidae (though they are generally grouped as sister-taxa to hyenas). Furthermore, the living brown hyena and its closest extinct relatives are not included in the genus Pachycrocuta, but in the genus Parahyaena.
+
+Family Hyaenidae
+Subfamily Incertae sedis
+†Tongxinictis (Middle Miocene of Asia)
+†Subfamily Ictitheriinae
+†Herpestides (Early Miocene of Africa and Eurasia)
+†Plioviverrops (including Jordanictis, Protoviverrops, Mesoviverrops; Early Miocene to Early Pliocene of Europe, Late Miocene of Asia)
+†Ictitherium (=Galeotherium; including Lepthyaena, Sinictitherium, Paraictitherium; Middle Miocene of Africa, Late Miocene to Early Pliocene of Eurasia)
+†Thalassictis (including Palhyaena, Miohyaena, Hyaenictitherium, Hyaenalopex; Middle to Late Miocene of Asia, Late Miocene of Africa and Europe)
+†Hyaenotherium (Late Miocene to Early Pliocene of Eurasia)
+†Miohyaenotherium(Late Miocene of Europe)
+†Lycyaena (Late Miocene of Eurasia)
+†Tungurictis (Middle Miocene of Africa and Eurasia)
+†Protictitherium (Middle Miocene of Africa and Asia, Middle to Late Miocene of Europe)
+Subfamily Hyaeninae
+†Palinhyaena (Late Miocene of Asia)
+†Ikelohyaena (Early Pliocene of Africa)
+Hyaena (=Euhyaena,=Parahyaena; including striped hyena, Pliohyaena, Pliocrocuta, Anomalopithecus) Early Pliocene (?Middle Miocene) to Recent of Africa, Late Pliocene (?Late Miocene) to Late Pleistocene of Europe, Late Pliocene to recent in Asia
+Parahyaena  (=Hyaena; brown hyena Pliocene to recent of Africa)
+†Hyaenictis (Late Miocene of Asia?, Late Miocene of Europe, Early Pliocene (?Early Pleistocene) of Africa)
+†Leecyaena (Late Miocene and/or Early Pliocene of Asia)
+†Chasmaporthetes (=Ailuriaena; including Lycaenops, Euryboas; Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene of Eurasia, Early Pliocene to Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene of Africa, Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of North America)
+†Pachycrocuta (Pliocene and Pleistocene of Eurasia and Africa)
+†Adcrocuta (Late Miocene of Eurasia)
+Crocuta (=Crocotta; including Eucrocuta; spotted hyena and cave hyena. Late Pliocene to recent of Africa, Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene of Eurasia)
+Subfamily Protelinae
+†Gansuyaena
+Proteles (=Geocyon; aardwolf. Pleistocene to Recent of Africa)
+
+Phylogeny
+The following cladogram illustrates the phylogenetic relationships between extant and extinct hyaenids based on the morphological analysis by Werdelin & Solounias (1991), as updated by Turner et al. (2008).
+A more recent molecular analysis agrees on the phylogenetic relationship between the four extant hyaenidae species (Koepfli et al, 2006).
+
+Characteristics
+Build
+Hyenas have relatively short torsos and are fairly massive and wolf-like in build, but have lower hind quarters, high withers and their backs slope noticeably downward towards their rumps. The forelegs are high, while the hind legs are very short and their necks are thick and short. Their skulls superficially resemble those of large canids, but are much larger and heavier, with shorter facial portions. Hyenas are digitigrade, with the fore and hind paws having four digits each and sporting bulging pawpads. Like canids, hyenas have short, blunt, non-retractable claws. Their pelage is sparse and coarse with poorly developed or absent underfur. Most species have a rich mane of long hair running from the withers or from the head. With the exception of the spotted hyena, hyaenids have striped coats, which they likely inherited from their viverrid ancestors. Their ears are large and have simple basal ridges and no marginal bursa. Their vertebral column, including the cervical region are of limited mobility. Hyenas have no baculum. Hyenas have one more pair of ribs than canids do, and their tongues are rough like those of felids and viverrids. Males in most hyena species are larger than females, though the spotted hyena is an exception, as it is the female of the species that outweighs and dominates the male. Also, unlike other hyenas, the female spotted hyena's external genitalia closely resembles that of the male.Their dentition is similar to that of the canid, but is more specialised for consuming coarse food and crushing bones. The carnassials, especially the upper, are very powerful and are shifted far back to the point of exertion of peak pressure on the jaws. The other teeth, save for the underdeveloped upper molars, are powerful, with broad bases and cutting edges. The canines are short, but thick and robust. Labiolingually, their mandibles are much stronger at the canine teeth than in canids, reflecting the fact that hyenas crack bones with both their anterior dentition and premolars, unlike canids, which do so with their post-carnassial molars. The strength of their jaws is such that both striped and spotted hyenas have been recorded to kill dogs with a single bite to the neck without breaking the skin. The spotted hyena is renowned for its strong bite proportional to its size, but a number of other animals (including the Tasmanian devil) are proportionately stronger. The aardwolf has greatly reduced cheek teeth, sometimes absent in the adult, but otherwise has the same dental formula as the other three species. The dental formula for all hyena species is: 3.1.4.13.1.3.1
+Although hyenas lack perineal scent glands, they have a large pouch of naked skin located at the anal opening. Large anal glands above the anus open into this pouch. Several sebaceous glands are present between the openings of the anal glands and above them. These glands produce a white, creamy secretion that the hyenas paste onto grass stalks. The odor of this secretion is very strong, smelling of boiling cheap soap or burning, and can be detected by humans several meters downwind. The secretions are primarily used for territorial marking, though both the aardwolf and the striped hyena will spray them when attacked.
+
+Behavior
+Hyenas groom themselves often like felids and viverrids, and their way of licking their genitals is very cat-like (sitting on the lower back, legs spread with one leg pointing vertically upward). However, unlike other feliforms, they do not "wash" their faces. They defecate in the same manner as other Carnivora, though they never raise their legs as canids do when urinating, as urination serves no territorial function for them. Instead, hyenas mark their territories using their anal glands, a trait found also in viverrids and mustelids, but not canids and felids. When attacked by lions or dogs, striped and brown hyenas will feign death, though the spotted hyena will defend itself ferociously. The spotted hyena is very vocal, producing a number of different sounds consisting of whoops, grunts, groans, lows, giggles, yells, growls, laughs and whines. The striped hyena is comparatively silent, its vocalizations being limited to a chattering laugh and howling.
+
+Mating between hyenas involves a number of short copulations with brief intervals, unlike canids, who generally engage in a single, drawn out copulation. Spotted hyena cubs are born almost fully developed, with their eyes open and erupting incisors and canines, though lacking adult markings. In contrast, striped hyena cubs are born with adult markings, closed eyes and small ears. Hyenas do not regurgitate food for their young and male spotted hyenas play no part in raising their cubs, though male striped hyenas do so.The striped hyena is primarily a scavenger, though it will also attack and kill any animals it can overcome, and will supplement its diet with fruit. The spotted hyena, though it also scavenges occasionally, is an active pack hunter of medium to large sized ungulates, which it catches by wearing them down in long chases and dismembering them in a canid-like manner. 
+Spotted hyenas may kill as many as 95% of the animals they eat, while striped hyenas are largely scavengers. The aardwolf is primarily an insectivore, specialised for feeding on termites of the genus Trinervitermes and Hodotermes, which it consumes by licking them up with its long, broad tongue. An aardwolf can eat 300,000 Trinervitermes on a single outing. Except for the aardwolf, hyenas are known to drive off larger predators, like lions, from their kills, despite having a reputation in popular culture for being cowardly. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but sometimes venture from their lairs in the early-morning hours. With the exception of the highly social spotted hyena, hyenas are generally not gregarious animals, though the striped and brown hyenas may live in family groups and congregate at kills.
+Spotted hyenas are one of the few mammals other than bats known to survive infection with rabies virus and have showed little or no disease-induced mortality during outbreaks in sympatric carnivores. Despite this perceived unique disease resistance, little is known about the immune system of spotted hyenas, and even less is known about other Hyaenidae species.
+
+Relationships with humans
+Folklore, mythology and literature
+Spotted hyenas vary in their folkloric and mythological depictions, depending on the ethnic group from which the tales originate. It is often difficult to know whether spotted hyenas are the specific hyena species featured in such stories, particularly in West Africa, as both spotted and striped hyenas are often given the same names. In western African tales, spotted hyenas are sometimes depicted as bad Muslims who challenge the local animism that exists among the Beng in Côte d’Ivoire. In East Africa, Tabwa mythology portrays the spotted hyena as a solar animal that first brought the sun to warm the cold earth, while West African folklore generally shows the hyena as symbolizing immorality, dirty habits, the reversal of normal activities, and other negative traits. In Tanzania, there is a belief that witches use spotted hyenas as mounts. In the Mtwara Region of Tanzania, it is believed that a child born at night while a hyena is crying will be likely to grow up to be a thief. In the same area, hyena feces are believed to enable a child to walk at an early age, thus it is not uncommon in that area to see children with hyena dung wrapped in their clothes. The Kaguru of Tanzania and the Kujamaat of Southern Senegal view hyenas as inedible and greedy hermaphrodites. A mythical African tribe called the Bouda is reputed to house members able to transform into hyenas. A similar myth occurs in Mansôa. These "werehyenas" are executed when discovered, but do not revert to their human form when killed.Striped hyenas are often referred to in Middle Eastern literature and folklore, typically as symbols of treachery and stupidity. In the Near and Middle East, striped hyenas are generally regarded as physical incarnations of jinns. Arab writer al-Qazwīnī (1204–1283) spoke of a tribe of people called al-Ḍabyūn meaning "hyena people". In his book ‘Ajā’ib Al-Makhlūqāt he wrote that should one of this tribe be in a group of 1000 people, a hyena could pick him out and eat him. A Persian medical treatise written in 1376 tells how to cure cannibalistic people known as kaftar, who are said to be “half-man, half-hyena”. al-Damīrī in his writings in Ḥawayān al-Kubrā (1406) wrote that striped hyenas were vampiric creatures that attacked people at night and sucked the blood from their necks. He also wrote that hyenas only attacked brave people. Arab folklore tells of how hyenas can mesmerise victims with their eyes or sometimes with their pheromones. In a similar vein to al-Damīrī, the Greeks, until the end of the 19th century, believed that the bodies of werewolves, if not destroyed, would haunt battlefields as vampiric hyenas that drank the blood of dying soldiers. The image of striped hyenas in Afghanistan, India and Palestine is more varied. Though feared, striped hyenas were also symbolic of love and fertility, leading to numerous varieties of love medicine derived from hyena body parts. Among the Baluch and in northern India, witches or magicians are said to ride striped hyenas at night.The striped hyena is mentioned in the Bible. The Arab word for the hyena, ḍab` or ḍabu` (plural ḍibā`), is alluded to in a valley in Israel known as Shaqq-ud-Diba` (meaning "cleft of the hyenas") and Wadi-Abu-Diba` (meaning "valley of the hyenas"). Both places have been interpreted by some scholars as being the Biblical Valley of Tsebo`im mentioned in 1 Samuel 13:18. In modern Hebrew, the word for hyena and hypocrite are both the same: tsavua. Though the Authorized King James Version of the Bible interprets the term "`ayit tsavua`" (which appears in Jeremiah 12:9) as "speckled bird", Henry Baker Tristram argued that it was most likely a hyena being mentioned.The vocalization of the spotted hyena resembling hysterical human laughter has been alluded to in numerous works of literature: "to laugh like a hyæna" was a common simile, and is featured in The Cobbler's Prophecy (1594), Webster's Duchess of Malfy (1623) and Shakespeare's As You Like It, Act IV. Sc.1.Die Strandjutwolf (The brown hyena) is an allegorical poem by the renowned South African poet, N. P. van Wyk Louw, which evokes a sinister and ominous presence.
+
+Attacks on humans
+In ordinary circumstances, striped hyenas are extremely timid around humans, though they may show bold behaviors towards people at night. On rare occasions, striped hyenas have preyed on humans. 
+Among hyenas, only the spotted and striped hyenas have been known to become man-eaters. Hyenas are known to have preyed on humans in prehistory: Human hair has been found in fossilized hyena dung dating back 195,000 to 257,000 years. Some paleontologists believe that competition and predation by cave hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) in Siberia was a significant factor in delaying human colonization of Alaska. Hyenas may have occasionally stolen human kills, or entered campsites to drag off the young and weak, much like modern spotted hyenas in Africa. The oldest Alaskan human remains coincide with roughly the same time cave hyenas became extinct, leading certain paleontologists to infer that hyena predation was what prevented humans crossing the Bering strait earlier. Hyenas readily scavenge from human corpses; in Ethiopia, hyenas were reported to feed extensively on the corpses of victims of the 1960 attempted coup and the Red Terror. Hyenas habituated to scavenging on human corpses may develop bold behaviors towards living people: hyena attacks on people in southern Sudan increased during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when human corpses were readily available to them.Although spotted hyenas have been known to prey on humans in modern times, such incidents are rare. However, attacks on humans by spotted hyenas are likely to be underreported. Man-eating spotted hyenas tend to be very large specimens: A pair of man-eating hyenas, responsible for killing 27 people in Mulanje, Malawi in 1962, weighed in at 72 kg (159 lb) and 77 kg (170 lb) after being shot. A 1903 report describes spotted hyenas in the Mzimba district of Angoniland waiting at dawn outside people's huts to attack them when they opened their doors. Victims of spotted hyenas tend to be women, children and sick or infirm men: Theodore Roosevelt wrote in 1908–1909 in Uganda that spotted hyenas regularly killed sufferers of African sleeping sickness as they slept outside in camps. Spotted hyenas are widely feared in Malawi, where they have been known to attack people at night, particularly during the hot season when people sleep outside. A spate of hyena attacks were reported in Malawi's Phalombe plain, with five deaths recorded in 1956, five in 1957 and six in 1958. This pattern continued until 1961, when eight people were killed. Attacks occurred most commonly in September, when people slept outdoors and bush fires made the hunting of wild game difficult for the hyenas. A 2004 news report stated that 35 people were killed by spotted hyenas in a 12-month period in Mozambique along a 20-km stretch of road near the Tanzanian border.In the 1880s, a hyena was reported to have attacked humans, especially sleeping children, over a three-year period in the Iğdır Province of Turkey, with 25 children and 3 adults being wounded in one year. The attacks provoked local authorities into announcing a reward of 100 rubles for every hyena killed. Further attacks were reported later in some parts of the South Caucasus, particularly in 1908. Instances are known in Azerbaijan of striped hyenas killing children sleeping in courtyards during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1942, a sleeping guard was mauled in his hut by a hyena in Qalıncaq (Golyndzhakh). Cases of children being taken by hyenas by night are known in southeast Turkmenistan's Bathyz Nature Reserve. A further attack on a child was reported around Serakhs in 1948. Several attacks have occurred in India; in 1962, 9 children were thought to have been taken by hyenas in the town of Bhagalpur in the Bihar State in a six-week period, and 19 children up to the age of four were killed by hyenas in Karnataka in 1974. A survey of wild animal attacks during a five-year period in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh reported that hyenas had attacked three people, causing fewer deaths than wolves, gaur, boar, elephants, tigers, leopards and sloth bears.
+
+Hyenas as food and medicine
+Hyenas are used for food and medicinal purposes in Somalia They are considered halal in Islam. This practice dates back to the times of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, who believed that different parts of the hyena's body were effective means to ward off evil and to ensure love and fertility.
+
+References
+Citations
+General and cited references
+Heptner, V. G.; Sludskii, A. A. (1992). Mammals of the Soviet Union: Carnivora (hyaenas and cats), Volume 2. Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation.
+Kruuk, Hans (1972). The Spotted Hyena: A Study of Predation and Social Behaviour. University of California Press.
+Kurtén, Björn (1968). Pleistocene mammals of Europe. Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
+Macdonald, David (1992). The Velvet Claw: A Natural History of the Carnivores. New York: Parkwest. ISBN 0-563-20844-9.
+Mills, Gus; Hofer, Heribert (1998). Hyaenas: status survey and conservation action plan (PDF). IUCN/SSC Hyena Specialist Group. ISBN 2-8317-0442-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 6, 2013.
+Mills, Gus; Mills, Margie (2010). Hyena Nights and Kalahari Days. Jacana Education. ISBN 978-1-77009-811-4.
+Pocock, R. I. (1941). Fauna of British India: Mammals Volume 2. Taylor and Francis.
+Rosevear, Donovan Reginald (1974). The carnivores of West Africa. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). ISBN 0565007238.
+
+Further reading
+Funk, Holdger (2010) Hyaena: On the Naming and Localisation of an Enigmatic Animal, GRIN Verlag, ISBN 3-640-69784-7.
+Lawick, Hugo & Goodall, Jane (1971) Innocent Killers, Houghton Mifflin Company Boston.
+Mills, M. G. L. (2003) Kalahari Hyenas: Comparative Behavioral Ecology of Two Species, The Blackburn Press.
+
+External links
+
+IUCN Conservation Union Hyaena Specialist Group
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+An ibex (pl.: ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus Capra), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa.  The name ibex comes from Latin, borrowed from Iberian or Aquitanian, akin to Old Spanish bezerro "bull", modern Spanish becerro "yearling". Ranging in height from 70 to 110 centimetres (27–43 in) and weighing 90 to 120 kilograms (200–270 lb), ibex can live up to 20 years. Three closely related varieties of goats found in the wild are not usually called ibex: the markhor, western tur, and eastern tur.
+A male ibex is referred to as a buck, a female is a doe, and young juveniles are called kids. An ibex buck is commonly larger and heavier than a doe. The most noticeable difference between the sexes is the larger size of a buck's horns. The doe grows a pair of smaller, thinner horns which develop considerably more slowly than those of a buck. The ibex's horns appear at birth and continue to grow through the rest of its life. Species of wild goats that are called ibex are:
+
+The Asian ibex also known as the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) is a wild goat inhabiting long mountain systems in central Asian deserts and the northwestern Himalayas. The animal is 80–100 cm high at shoulder, and weighs an average 60 kg. The adult males have long pointed beards and scimitar-shaped horns with prominent ridges on the frontal surface. The coat is dark brown with greyish underparts, and a dorsal stripe runs from the neck to tail. Adult males also have grey saddle patches on their backs. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, as the females are smaller with small straight horns that are widely separated at the base. Asiatic ibex is widely distributed over an area stretching from the Hindu-Kush Mountains in Afghanistan to Sayan Mountains in Mongolia. The animals are found most frequently at elevations ranging from 3000 to 5300 m above sea level, but are also known to occur in areas as low as 1000 m in the Altai Mountains. They have a predilection for rugged terrain as an anti-predator strategy.
+The Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex) is found in the European Alps. Alpine ibex are found in France, Bulgaria, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Slovenia, and have been introduced to ranches in the United States, Canada and Argentina.
+The Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica), formerly called Spanish ibex, is restricted to mountainous enclaves of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain, Portugal and including in the French Pyrenees, but in the past it also occurred in southern France. There are approximately 50,000 Spanish ibex on the Iberian Peninsula. Two of its subspecies went extinct, although one, the Pyrenean Ibex, was cloned in 2003 but the resulting individual died very quickly.
+The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana) occurs in the Middle East, in the Red Sea hills of Sudan as well as the highlands in Egypt. They are the smallest ibex species and adapted for arid environments with a tan color, white underbelly and rump, black legs, and dark tail. This species is Vulnerable, with less than 4,500 individuals in the wild. The population is declining through most of its range.
+The Walia or Ethiopian ibex (Capra walie) is found in the Semien Mountains of the Ethiopian Highlands, where it has recently been upgraded from critically endangered to endangered. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of Alpine Ibex. The Ibex was also a national emblem of the Axumite Empire.
+The wild goat (Capra aegagrus), also known as West Asian ibex, is found in Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east, and is the ancestor of the domestic goat.
+
+History
+Evidence of the ibex is widely present in the archaeological record, particularly in the Near East and Mediterranean regions. Ibex motifs are very common on cylinder seals and pottery, both painted and embossed.
+Excavations from Minoan Crete at Knossos, for example, have yielded specimens from c. 1800 BCE, including one cylinder seal depicting an ibex defending himself from a hunting dog. From the similar age a gold jewelry ibex image was found at the Akrotiri archaeological site on Santorini in present day Greece.
+An Iron Age Capra ibex specimen was recovered at the Aq Kupruk Archaeological site in present day Afghanistan, illustrating either domestication or hunting of the ibex by these early peoples. However, archaeological records of ibex can be difficult to separate from those of domestic goats.Earlier evidence of domestication or hunting of the ibex was found identified through DNA analysis of the contents of the stomach of Ötzi, the natural mummy of a  Chalcolithic man discovered in the  Ötztal Alps in 1991, who lived between 3400 and 3100 BCE.  According to DNA reconstruction, the man's penultimate meal contained ibex. There is a myth that says Ibex used to have wings in a time and they used to fly back in dates, by time their wings disappeared and they started climbing the mountain.In Yemen, the ibex is a longstanding symbol of national identity, representing many positive attributes of the Yemeni people. Numbers of the animal – primarily the Nubian ibex – declined significantly from the late 20th century, due to hunting. In 2022, activists and intellectuals urged the declaration of an annual National Ibex Day, on 22 January, along with calls for greater protection of the animal.Further Information: Nubian ibex § Cultural Significance and Human Exploitation
+
+Rescue from extinction
+When firearms spread in the 15th century, the large population of ibex that spanned many of Europe's mountains decreased as they became easy targets for hunters. The ibex was often hunted for its meat, with other body parts used for medicine. The ibex horns were highly sought-after as a remedy for impotence, while its blood was used for treating kidney stones. 
+The relentless hunting of the ibex might have led to its extinction were it not for the foresight of the dukes of Savoy. Charles-Felix, Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia, banned the hunting of the ibex across his estates of the Gran Paradiso after being persuaded by a report on the animal's endangered state. The ban was implemented on 12 September 1821 and its law was soon extended to the rest of the kingdom. In 1856, Victor Emmanuel II, succeeding Charles-Felix as the king, inducted the Gran Paradiso as a protected hunting estate along with appointed gamekeepers to patrol the area.
+
+Footnotes
+References
+Francke, A. H. (1914). Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.
+
+External links
+ Media related to Capra ibex at Wikimedia Commons
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diff --git a/data/animals/ice bear.txt b/data/animals/ice bear.txt
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+The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water. 
+Polar bears are both terrestrial and pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered to be marine mammals due to their dependence on marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on seals, particularly ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich blubber. Other prey include walruses, beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years.
+The polar bear is considered to be a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with an estimated total population of 22,000 to 31,000 individuals. Its biggest threats are climate change, pollution and energy development. Climate change has caused a decline in sea ice, giving the polar bear less access to its favoured prey and increasing the risk of malnutrition and starvation. Less sea ice also means that the bears must spend more time on land, increasing conflicts with people. Polar bears have been hunted, both by native and non-native peoples, for their coats, meat and other items. They have been kept in captivity in zoos and circuses and are prevalent in art, folklore, religion and modern culture.
+
+Naming
+The polar bear was given its common name by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). It was known as the "white bear" in Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, as well as "ice bear", "sea bear" and "Greenland bear". The Norse referred to it as isbjørn ("ice bear") and hvitebjørn ("white bear"). The bear is called nanook by the Inuit. The Netsilik cultures additionally have different names for bears based on certain factors, such as sex and age: these include adult males (anguraq), single adult females (tattaq), gestating females (arnaluk), newborns (hagliaqtug), large adolescents (namiaq) and dormant bears (apitiliit). The scientific name Ursus maritimus is Latin for "sea bear".
+
+Taxonomy
+Carl Linnaeus classified the polar bear as a type of brown bear (Ursus arctos), labelling it as Ursus maritimus albus-major, articus in the 1758 edition of his work Systema Naturae. Constantine John Phipps formally described the polar bear as a distinct species, Ursus maritimus in 1774, following his 1773 voyage towards the North Pole. Due to its adaptations to a marine environment, some taxonomists like Theodore Knottnerus-Meyer have placed the polar bear in its genus Thalarctos. However Ursus is widely considered to be the valid genus for the species based on the fossil record and the fact that it can breed with the brown bear.Different subspecies have been proposed including Ursus maritimus maritimus and U. m. marinus. However these are not supported and the polar bear is considered to be monotypic. One possible fossil subspecies, U. m. tyrannus, was posited in 1964 by Björn Kurtén, who reconstructed the subspecies from a single fragment of an ulna which was approximately 20 percent larger than expected for a polar bear. However, re-evaluation in the 21st century has indicated that the fragment likely comes from a giant brown bear.
+
+Evolution
+The polar bear is one of eight extant species in the bear family Ursidae and of six extant species in the subfamily Ursinae. Ursine bears may have originated around 5 million years ago and show extensive hybridization of species in their lineage. The cladogram below is based on a 2017 genetic study:
+Fossils of polar bears are uncommon. The oldest known fossil is a 130,000- to 110,000-year-old jaw bone, found on Prince Charles Foreland, Norway, in 2004. Scientists in the 20th century surmised that polar bears directly descended from a population of brown bears, possibly in eastern Siberia or Alaska. Mitochondrial DNA studies in the 1990s and 2000s supported the status of the polar bear as a derivative of the brown bear, finding that some brown bear populations were more closely related to polar bears than to other brown bears, particularly the ABC Islands bears of Southeast Alaska. A 2010 study estimated that the polar bear lineage split from other brown bears around 150,000 years ago.
+More extensive genetic studies have refuted the idea that polar bears are directly descended from brown bears and found that the two species are separate sister lineages. The genetic similarities between polar bears and some brown bears were found to be the result of interbreeding. A 2012 study estimated the split between polar and brown bears as occurring around 600,000 years ago. A 2022 study estimated the divergence as occurring even earlier at over one million years ago. Glaciation events over hundreds of thousands of years led to both the origin of polar bears and their subsequent interactions and hybridizations with brown bears.Studies in 2011 and 2012 concluded that gene flow went from brown bears to polar bears during hybridization. In particular, a 2011 study concluded that living polar bear populations derived their maternal lines from now-extinct Irish brown bears. Later studies have clarified that gene flow went from polar to brown bears rather than the reverse. Up to 9 percent of the genome of ABC bears was transferred from polar bears, while Irish bears had up to 21.5 percent polar bear origin. Mass hybridization between the two species appears to have stopped around 200,000 years ago. Modern hybrids are relatively rare in the wild.Analysis of the number of variations of gene copies in polar bears compared with brown bears and American black bears shows distinct adaptions. Polar bears have a less diverse array of olfactory receptor genes, a result of there being fewer odours in their Arctic habitat. With its carnivorous, high-fat diet the species has fewer copies of the gene involved in making amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch, and more selection for genes for fatty acid breakdown and a more efficient circulatory system. The polar bear's thicker coat is the result of more copies of genes involved in keratin-creating proteins.
+
+Characteristics
+The polar bear is the largest living species of bear and land carnivore, though some brown bear subspecies like the Kodiak bear can rival it in size. Males are generally 200–250 cm (6.6–8.2 ft) long with a weight of 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). Females are smaller at 180–200 cm (5.9–6.6 ft) with a weight of 150–300 kg (330–660 lb). Sexual dimorphism in the species is particularly high compared with most other mammals. Male polar bears also have proportionally larger heads than females. The weight of polar bears fluctuates during the year, as they can bulk up on fat and increase their mass by 50 percent. A fattened, pregnant female can weigh as much as 500 kg (1,100 lb). Adults may stand 130–160 cm (4.3–5.2 ft) tall at the shoulder. The tail is 76–126 mm (3.0–5.0 in) long. The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,209 lb), was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960.Compared with the brown bear, this species has a more slender build, with a narrower, flatter and smaller skull, a longer neck, and a lower shoulder hump.  The snout profile is curved, resembling a "Roman nose". They have 34–42 teeth including 12 incisors, 4 canines, 8–16 premolars and 10 molars. The teeth are adapted for a more carnivorous diet than that of the brown bear, having longer, sharper and more spaced out canines, and smaller, more pointed cheek teeth (premolars and molars). The species has a large space or diastema between the canines and cheek teeth, which may allow it to better bite into prey. Since it normally preys on animals much smaller than it, the polar bear does not have a particularly strong bite. Polar bears have large paws, with the front paws being broader than the back. The feet are hairier than in other bear species, providing warmth and friction when stepping on snow and sea ice. The claws are small but sharp and hooked and are used both to snatch prey and climb onto ice.
+The coat consists of dense underfur around 5 cm (2.0 in) long and guard hairs around 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Males have long hairs on their forelegs, which is thought to signal their fitness to females. The outer surface of the hairs has a scaly appearance, and the guard hairs are hollow, which allows the animals to trap heat and float in the water. The transparent guard hairs forward scatter ultraviolet light between the underfur and the skin, leading to a cycle of absorption and re-emission, keeping them warm. The fur appears white due to the backscatter of incident light and the absence of pigment. Polar bears gain a yellowish colouration as they are exposed more to the sun. This is reversed after they moult. It can also be grayish or brownish. Their light fur provides camouflage in their snowy environment. After emerging from the water, the bear can easily shake itself dry before freezing since the hairs are resistant to tangling when wet. The skin, including the nose and lips, is black and absorbs heat. Polar bears have a 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick layer of fat underneath the skin, which provides both warmth and energy. Polar bears maintain their core body temperature at about 36.9 °C (98 °F). Overheating is countered by a layer of highly vascularized striated muscle tissue and finely controlled blood vessels. Bears also cool off by entering the water.The eyes of a polar bear are close to the top of the head, which may allow them to stay out of the water when the animal is swimming at the surface. They are relatively small, which may be an adaption against blowing snow and snow blindness. Polar bears are dichromats, and lack the cone cells for seeing green. They have many rod cells which allow them to see at night. The ears are small, allowing them to retain heat and not get frostbitten. They can hear best at frequencies of 11.2–22.5 kHz, a wider frequency range than expected given that their prey mostly makes low-frequency sounds. The nasal concha creates a large surface area, so more warm air can move through the nasal passages. Their olfactory system is also large and adapted for smelling prey over vast distances. The animal has reniculate kidneys which filter out the salt in their food.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Polar bears inhabit the Arctic and adjacent areas. Their range includes Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway. Polar bears have been recorded 25 km (16 mi) from the North Pole. The southern limits of their range include James Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands of Alaska. They are not permanent residents of Iceland but have been recorded visiting there if they can reach it via sea ice. Due to minimal human encroachment on the bears' remote habitat, they can still be found in much of their original range, more so than any other large land carnivore.Polar bears have been divided into at least 18 subpopulations labelled East Greenland (ES), Barents Sea (BS), Kara Sea (KS), Laptev Sea (LVS), Chukchi Sea (CS), northern and southern Beaufort Sea (SBS and NBS), Viscount Melville (VM), M'Clintock Channel (MC), Gulf of Boothia (GB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Norwegian Bay (NB), Kane Basin (KB), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS), Foxe Basin (FB) and the western and southern Hudson Bay (WHB and SHB) populations. Bears in and around the Queen Elizabeth Islands have been proposed as a subpopulation but this is not universally accepted. A 2022 study has suggested that the bears in southeast Greenland should be considered a different subpopulation based on their geographic isolation and genetics. Polar bear populations can also be divided into four gene clusters: Southern Canadian, Canadian Archipelago, Western Basin (northwestern Canada west to the Russian Far East) and Eastern Basin (Greenland east to Siberia).The polar bear is dependent enough on the ocean to be considered a marine mammal. It is pagophilic and mainly inhabits annual sea ice covering continental shelves and between islands of archipelagos. These areas, known as the "Arctic Ring of Life", have high biological productivity. The species tends to frequent areas where sea ice meets water, such as polynyas and leads, to hunt the seals that make up most of its diet. Polar bears travel in response to changes in ice cover throughout the year. They are forced onto land in summer when the sea ice disappears. Terrestrial habitats used by polar bears include forests, mountains, rocky areas, lakeshores and creeks. In the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, where the sea ice breaks off and floats north during the summer, polar bears generally stay on the ice, though a large portion of the population (15–40%) has been observed spending all summer on land since the 1980s. Some areas have thick multiyear ice that does not completely melt and the bears can stay on all year, though this type of ice has fewer seals and allows for less productivity in the water.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Polar bears may travel areas as small as 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) to as large as 38,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) in a year, while drifting ice allows them to move further. Depending on ice conditions, a bear can travel an average of 12 km (7.5 mi) per day. These movements are powered by their energy-rich diet. Polar bears move by walking and galloping and do not trot. Walking bears tilt their front paws towards each other. They can run at estimated speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph) but typically move at around 5.5 km/h (3.4 mph). Polar bears are also capable swimmers and can swim at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). One study found they can swim for an average of 3.4 days at a time and travel an average of 154.2 km (95.8 mi). They can dive for as long as three minutes.  When swimming, the broad front paws do the paddling, while the hind legs play a role in steering and diving.
+Most polar bears are active year-round. Hibernation occurs only among pregnant females. Non-hibernating bears typically have a normal 24-hour cycle even during days of all darkness or all sunlight, though cycles less than a day are more common during the former. The species is generally diurnal, being most active early in the day. Polar bears sleep close to eight hours a day on average. They will sleep in various positions, including curled up, sitting up, lying on one side, on the back with limbs spread, or on the belly with the rump elevated.  On sea ice, polar bears snooze at pressure ridges where they dig on the sheltered side and lie down. After a snowstorm, a bear may rest under the snow for hours or days. On land, the bears may dig a resting spot on gravel or sand beaches. They will also sleep on rocky outcrops. In mountainous areas on the coast, mothers and subadults will sleep on slopes where they can better spot another bear coming. Adult males are less at risk from other bears and can sleep nearly anywhere.
+
+Social life
+Polar bears are typically solitary, aside from mothers with cubs and mating pairs. On land, they are found closer together and gather around food resources. Adult males, in particular, are more tolerant of each other in land environments and outside the breeding season. They have been recorded forming stable "alliances", travelling, resting and playing together. A dominant hierarchy exists among polar bears with the largest mature males ranking at the top. Adult females outrank subadults and adolescents and younger males outrank females of the same age. In addition, cubs with their mothers outrank those on their own. Females with dependent offspring tend to stay away from males, but are sometimes associated with other female–offspring units, creating "composite families".Polar bears are generally quiet but can produce various sounds. Chuffing, a soft pulsing call, is made by mother bears presumably to keep in contact with their young. During the breeding season, adult males will chuff at potential mates. Unlike other animals where chuffing is passed through the nostrils, in polar bears it is emitted through a partially open mouth. Cubs will cry for attention and produce humming noises while nursing. Teeth chops, jaw pops, blows, huffs, moans, growls and roars are heard in more hostile encounters. A polar bear visually communicates with its eyes, ears, nose and lips. Chemical communication can also be important: bears secrete their scent from their foot pads into their tracks, allowing individuals to keep track of one another.
+
+Diet and hunting
+The polar bear is a hypercarnivore, and the most carnivorous species of bear. It is an apex predator of the Arctic, preying on ice-living seals and consuming their energy-rich blubber. The most commonly taken species is the ringed seal, but they also prey on bearded seals and harp seals. Ringed seals are ideal prey as they are abundant and small enough to be overpowered by even small bears. Bearded seal adults are larger and are more likely to break free from an attacking bear, hence adult male bears are more successful in hunting them. Less common prey are hooded seals, spotted seals, ribbon seals and the more temperate-living harbour seals. Polar bears, mostly adult males, will occasionally hunt walruses, both on land and ice, though they mainly target the young, as adults are too large and formidable, with their thick skin and long tusks.
+Besides seals, bears will prey on cetacean species such as beluga whales and narwhals, as well as reindeer, birds and their eggs, fish and marine invertebrates. They rarely eat plant material as their digestive system is too specialized for animal matter, though they have been recorded eating berries, moss, grass and seaweed. In their southern range, especially near Hudson Bay and James Bay, polar bears endure all summer without sea ice to hunt from and must subsist more on terrestrial foods. Fat reserves allow polar bears to survive for months without eating. Cannibalism is known to occur in the species.Polar bears hunt their prey in several different ways. When a bear spots a seal hauling out on the sea ice, it slowly stalks it with the head and neck lowered, possibly to make its dark nose and eyes less noticeable. As it gets closer, the bear crouches more and eventually charges at a high speed, attempting to catch the seal before it can escape into its ice hole. Some stalking bears need to move through water; traversing through water cavities in the ice when approaching the seal or swimming towards a seal on an ice floe. The polar bear can stay underwater with its nose exposed. When it gets close enough, the animal lunges from the water to attack.During a limited time in spring, polar bears will search for ringed seal pups in their birth lairs underneath the ice. Once a bear catches the scent of a hiding pup and pinpoints its location, it approaches the den quietly to not alert it. It uses its front feet to smash through the ice and then pokes its head in to catch the pup before it can escape. A ringed seal's lair can be more than 1 m (3.3 ft) below the surface of the ice and thus more massive bears are better equipped for breaking in. Some bears may simply stay still near a breathing hole or other spot near the water and wait for prey to come by. This can last hours and when a seal surfaces the bear will try to pull it out with its paws and claws. This tactic is the primary hunting method from winter to early spring.
+Bears hunt walrus groups by provoking them into stampeding and then look for young that have been crushed or separated from their mothers during the turmoil. There are reports of bears trying to kill or injure walruses by throwing rocks and pieces of ice on them. Belugas and narwhals are vulnerable to bear attacks when they are stranded in shallow water or stuck in isolated breathing holes in the ice. When stalking reindeer, polar bears will hide in vegetation before an ambush. On some occasions, bears may try to catch prey in open water, swimming underneath a seal or aquatic bird. Seals in particular, however, are more agile than bears in the water. Polar bears rely on raw power when trying to kill their prey, and will employ bites or paw swipes. They have the strength to pull a mid-sized seal out of the water or haul a beluga carcass for quite some distance. Polar bears only occasionally store food for later—burying it under snow—and only in the short term.Arctic foxes routinely follow polar bears and scavenge scraps from their kills. The bears usually tolerate them but will charge a fox that gets too close when they are feeding. Polar bears themselves will scavenge. Subadult bears will eat remains left behind by others. Females with cubs often abandon a carcass when they see an adult male approaching, though are less likely to if they have not eaten in a long time. Whale carcasses are a valuable food source, particularly on land and after the sea ice melts, and attract several bears. In one area in northeastern Alaska, polar bears have been recorded competing with grizzly bears for whale carcasses. Despite their smaller size, grizzlies are more aggressive and polar bears are likely to yield to them in confrontations. Polar bears will also scavenge at garbage dumps during ice-free periods.
+
+Reproduction and development
+Polar bear mating takes place on the sea ice and during spring, mostly between March and May. Males search for females in estrus and often travel in twisting paths which reduces the chances of them encountering other males while still allowing them to find females. The movements of females remain linear and they travel more widely. The mating system can be labelled as female-defence polygyny, serial monogamy or promiscuity.Upon finding a female, a male will try to isolate and guard her. Courtship can be somewhat aggressive, and a male will pursue a female if she tries to run away. It can take days for the male to mate with the female which induces ovulation. After their first copulation, the couple bond. Undisturbed polar bear pairings typically last around two weeks during which they will sleep together and mate multiple times. Competition for mates can be intense and this has led to sexual selection for bigger males. Polar bear males often have scars from fighting. A male and female that have already bonded will flee together when another male arrives. A female mates with multiple males in a season and a single litter can have more than one father.
+When the mating season ends, the female will build up more fat reserves to sustain both herself and her young. Sometime between August and October, the female constructs and enters a maternity den for winter. Depending on the area, maternity dens can be found in sea ice just off the coastline or further inland and may be dug underneath snow, earth or a combination of both. The inside of these shelters can be around 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide with a ceiling height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) while the entrance may be 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) wide. The temperature of a den can be much higher than the outside. Females hibernate and give birth to their cubs in the dens. Hibernating bears fast and internally recycle bodily waste. Polar bears experience delayed implantation and the fertilized embryo does not start development until the fall, between mid-September and mid-October. With delayed implantation, gestation in the species lasts seven to nine months but actual pregnancy is only two months.Mother polar bears typically give birth to two cubs per litter. As with other bear species, newborn polar bears are tiny and altricial. The newborns have woolly hair and pink skin, with a weight of around 600 g (21 oz). Their eyes remain closed for a month. The mother's fatty milk fuels their growth, and the cubs are kept warm both by the mother's body heat and the den. The mother emerges from the den between late February and early April, and her cubs are well-developed and capable of walking with her. At this time they weigh 10–15 kilograms (22–33 lb). A polar bear family stays near the dens for roughly two weeks; during this time the cubs will move and play around while the mother mostly rests. They eventually head out on the sea ice.
+Cubs under a year old stay close to their mother. When she hunts, they stay still and watch until she calls them back. Observing and imitating the mother helps the cubs hone their hunting skills. After their first year they become more independent and explore. At around two years old, they are capable of hunting on their own. The young suckle their mother as she is lying on her side or sitting on her rump. A lactating female cannot conceive and give birth, and cubs are weaned between two and two-and-a-half years. She may simply leave her weaned young or they may be chased away by a courting male. Polar bears reach sexual maturity at around four years for females and six years for males. Females reach their adult size at 4 or 5 years of age while males are fully grown at twice that age.
+
+Mortality
+Polar bears can live up to 30 years. The bear's long lifespan and ability to consistently produce young offsets cub deaths in a population. Some cubs die in the dens or the womb if the female is not in good condition. Nevertheless, the female has a chance to produce a surviving litter the next spring if she can eat better in the coming year. Cubs will eventually starve if their mothers cannot kill enough prey. Cubs also face threats from wolves and adult male bears. Males kill cubs to bring their mother back into estrus but also kill young outside the breeding season for food. A female and her cubs can flee from the slower male. If the male can get close to a cub, the mother may try to fight him off, sometimes at the cost of her life.Subadult bears, who are independent but not quite mature, have a particularly rough time as they are not as successful hunters as adults. Even when they do succeed, their kill will likely be stolen by a larger bear. Hence subadults have to scavenge and are often underweight and at risk of starvation. At adulthood, polar bears have a high survival rate, though adult males suffer injuries from fights over mates. Polar bears are especially susceptible to Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm they contract through cannibalism.
+
+Conservation status
+In 2015, the IUCN Red List categorized the polar bear as vulnerable due to a "decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat". It estimated the total population to be between 22,000 to 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Threats to polar bear populations include climate change, pollution and energy development.In 2021, the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group labelled four subpopulations (Barents and Chukchi Sea, Foxe Basin and Gulf of Boothia) as "likely stable", two (Kane Basin and M'Clintock Channel) as "likely increased" and three (Southern Beaufort Sea, Southern and Western Hudson Bay) as "likely decreased" over specific periods between the 1980s and 2010s. The remaining ten did not have enough data. A 2008 study predicted two-thirds of the world's polar bears may disappear by 2050, based on the reduction of sea ice, and only one population would likely survive in 50 years. A 2016 study projected a likely decline in polar bear numbers of more than 30 percent over three generations. The study concluded that declines of more than 50 percent are much less likely. A 2012 review suggested that polar bears may become regionally extinct in southern areas by 2050 if trends continue, leaving the Canadian Archipelago and northern Greenland as strongholds.The key danger from climate change is malnutrition or starvation due to habitat loss. Polar bears hunt seals on the sea ice, and rising temperatures cause the ice to melt earlier in the year, driving the bears to shore before they have built sufficient fat reserves to survive the period of scarce food in the late summer and early fall. Thinner sea ice tends to break more easily, which makes it more difficult for polar bears to access seals. Insufficient nourishment leads to lower reproductive rates in adult females and lower survival rates in cubs and juvenile bears. Lack of access to seals also causes bears to find food on land which increases the risk of conflict with humans.
+Reduction in sea ice cover also forces bears to swim longer distances, which further depletes their energy stores and occasionally leads to drowning. Increased ice mobility may result in less stable sites for dens or longer distances for mothers travelling to and from dens on land. Thawing of permafrost would lead to more fire-prone roofs for bears denning underground. Less snow may affect insulation while more rain could cause more cave-ins. The maximum corticosteroid-binding capacity of corticosteroid-binding globulin in polar bear serum correlates with stress in polar bears, and this has increased with climate warming. Disease-causing bacteria and parasites would flourish more readily in a warmer climate.Oil and gas development also affects polar bear habitat. The Chukchi Sea Planning Area of northwestern Alaska, which has had many drilling leases, was found to be an important site for non-denning female bears. Oil spills are also a risk. A 2018 study found that ten percent or less of prime bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea is vulnerable to a potential spill, but a spill at full reach could impact nearly 40 percent of the polar bear population. Polar bears accumulate high levels of persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, due to their position at the top of the ecological pyramid. Many of these chemicals have been internationally banned due to the recognition of their harm to the environment. Traces of them have slowly dwindled in polar bears but persist and have even increased in some populations.Polar bears receive some legal protection in all the countries they inhabit. The species has been labelled as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act since 2008, while the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed it as of 'Special concern' since 1991. In 1973, the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed by all five nations with polar bear populations, Canada, Denmark (of which Greenland is an autonomous territory), Russia (then USSR), Norway and the US. This banned most harvesting of polar bears, allowed indigenous hunting using traditional methods, and promoted the preservation of bear habitat. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna lists the species under Appendix II, which allows regulated trade.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Polar bears have coexisted and interacted with circumpolar peoples for millennia.  "White bears" are mentioned as commercial items in the Japanese book Nihon Shoki in the seventh century. It is not clear if these were polar bears or white-coloured brown bears. During the Middle Ages, Europeans considered white bears to be a novelty and were more familiar with brown- and black-coloured bears. An early written account of the polar bear in its natural environment is found in the 13th-century anonymous Norwegian text Konungs skuggsjá, which mentions that "the white bear of Greenland wanders most of the time on the ice of the sea, hunting seals and whales and feeding on them" and says the bear is "as skillful a swimmer as any seal or whale".
+Over the next centuries, several European explorers would mention polar bears and describe their habits. Such accounts became more accurate after the Enlightenment, and both living and dead specimens were brought back. Nevertheless, some fanciful reports continued, including the idea that polar bears cover their noses during hunts. A relatively accurate drawing of a polar bear is found in Henry Ellis's work A Voyage to Hudson's Bay (1748). Polar bears were formally classified as a species by Constantine Phipps after his 1773 voyage to the Arctic. Accompanying him was a young Horatio Nelson, who was said to have wanted to get a polar bear coat for his father but failed in his hunt. In his 1785 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Comte de Buffon mentions and depicts a "sea bear", clearly a polar bear, and "land bears", likely brown and black bears. This helped promote ideas about speciation. Buffon also mentioned a "white bear of the forest", possibly a Kermode bear.
+
+Exploitation
+Polar bears were hunted as early as 8,000 years ago, as indicated by archaeological remains at Zhokhov Island in the East Siberian Sea. The oldest graphic depiction of a polar bear shows it being hunted by a man with three dogs. This rock art was among several petroglyphs found at Pegtymel in Siberia and dates from the fifth to eighth centuries. Before access to firearms, native people used lances, bows and arrows and hunted in groups accompanied by dogs. Though hunting typically took place on foot, some people killed swimming bears from boats with a harpoon. Polar bears were sometimes killed in their dens. Killing a polar bear was considered a rite of passage for boys in some cultures. Native people respected the animal and hunts were subject to strict rituals.  Bears were harvested for the fur, meat, fat, tendons, bones and teeth. The fur was worn and slept on, while the bones and teeth were made into tools. For the Netsilik, the individual who finally killed the bear had the right to its fur while the meat was passed to all in the party. Some people kept the cubs of slain bears.
+Norsemen in Greenland traded polar bear furs in the Middle Ages. Russia traded polar bear products as early as 1556, with Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land being important commercial centres. Large-scale hunting of bears at Svalbard occurred since at least the 18th century, when no less than 150 bears were killed each year by Russian explorers. In the next century, more Norwegians were harvesting the bears on the island. From the 1870s to the 1970s, around 22,000 of the animals were hunted in total. Over 150,000 polar bears in total were either killed or captured in Russia and Svalbard, from the 18th to the 20th century. In the Canadian Arctic, bears were harvested by commercial whalers especially if they could not get enough whales. The Hudson's Bay Company is estimated to have sold 15,000 polar bear coats between the late 19th century and early 20th century. In the mid-20th century, countries began to regulate polar bear harvesting, culminating in the 1973 agreement.Polar bear meat was commonly eaten as rations by explorers and sailors in the Arctic. Its taste and texture have been described both positively and negatively. Some have called it too coarse with a powerful smell, while others praised it as a "royal dish". The liver was known for being too toxic to eat. This is due to the accumulation of vitamin A from their prey. Polar bear fat was also used in lamps when other fuel was unavailable. Polar bear rugs were almost ubiquitous on the floors of Norwegian churches by the 13th and 14th centuries. In more modern times, classical Hollywood actors would pose on bearskin rugs, notably Marilyn Monroe. Such images often had sexual connotations.
+
+Conflicts
+When the sea ice melts, polar bears, particularly subadults, conflict with humans over resources on land. They are attracted to the smell of human-made foods, particularly at garbage dumps and may be shot when they encroach on private property. In Churchill, Manitoba, local authorities maintain a "polar bear jail" where nuisance bears are held until the sea ice freezes again. Climate change has increased conflicts between the two species. Over 50 polar bears swarmed a town in Novaya Zemlya in February 2019, leading local authorities to declare a state of emergency.From 1870 to 2014, there were an estimated 73 polar bear attacks on humans, which led to 20 deaths. The majority of attacks were by hungry males, typically subadults, while female attacks were usually in defence of the young. In comparison to brown and American black bears, attacks by polar bears were more often near and around where humans lived. This may be due to the bears getting desperate for food and thus more likely to seek out human settlements. As with the other two bear species, polar bears are unlikely to target more than two people at once. Though popularly thought of as the most dangerous bear, the polar bear is no more aggressive to humans than other species.
+
+Captivity
+The polar bear was a particularly sought-after species for exotic animal collectors due to being relatively rare and remote living, and its reputation as a ferocious beast. It is one of the few marine mammals that can reproduce well in captivity. They were originally kept only by royals and elites. The Tower of London got a polar bear as early as 1252 under King Henry III. In 1609, James VI and I of Scotland, England and Ireland were given two polar bear cubs by the sailor Jonas Poole, who got them during a trip to Svalbard. At the end of the 17th century, Frederick I of Prussia housed polar bears in menageries with other wild animals. He had their claws and canines removed to perform mock fights. Around 1726, Catherine I of Russia gifted two polar bears to Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who desired them for his animal collection. Later, polar bears were displayed to the public in zoos and circuses. In early 19th century, the species was exhibited at the Exeter Exchange in London, as well as menageries in Vienna and Paris. The first zoo in North America to exhibit a polar bear was the Philadelphia Zoo in 1859.Polar bear exhibits were innovated by Carl Hagenbeck, who replaced cages and pits with settings that mimicked the animal's natural environment.  In 1907, he revealed a complex panoramic structure at the Tierpark Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg consisting of exhibits made of artificial snow and ice separated by moats. Different polar animals were displayed on each platform, giving the illusion of them living together. Starting in 1975, Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich housed its polar bears in an exhibit which consisted of a glass barrier, a house, concrete platforms mimicking ice floes and a large pool. Inside the house were maternity dens, and rooms for the staff to prepare and store the food. The exhibit was connected to an outdoor yard for extra room. Similar naturalistic and "immersive" exhibits were opened in the early 21st century, such as the "Arctic Ring of Life" at the Detroit Zoo and Ontario's Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat. Many zoos in Europe and North America have stopped keeping polar bears due to the size and costs of their complex exhibits. In North America, the population of polar bears in zoos reached its zenith in 1975 with 229 animals and declined in the 21st century.
+Polar bears have been trained to perform in circuses. Bears in general, being large, powerful, easy to train and human-like in form, were widespread in circuses, and the white coat of polar bears made them particularly attractive. Circuses helped change the polar bear's image from a fearsome monster to something more comical. Performing polar bears were used in 1888 by Circus Krone in Germany and later in 1904 by the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie in England. Circus director Wilhelm Hagenbeck trained up to 75 polar bears to slide into a large tank through a chute. He began performing with them in 1908 and they had a particularly well-received show at the Hippodrome in London. Other circus tricks performed by polar bears involved tightropes, balls, roller skates and motorcycles. One of the most famous polar bear trainers in the second half of the twentieth century was the East German Ursula Böttcher, whose small stature contrasted with that of the large bears. Starting in the late 20th century, most polar bear acts were retired and the use of these bears for the circus is now prohibited in the US.Several captive polar bears gained celebrity status in the late 20th and early 21st century, notably Knut of the Berlin Zoological Garden, who was rejected by his mother and had to be hand-reared by zookeepers. Another bear, Binky of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, became famous for attacking two visitors who got too close. Captive polar bears may pace back and forth, a stereotypical behaviour. In one study, they were recorded to have spent 14 percent of their days pacing. Gus of the Central Park Zoo was prescribed Prozac by a therapist for constantly swimming in his pool. To reduce stereotypical behaviours, zookeepers provide the bears with enrichment items to trigger their play behaviour. Zoo polar bears may appear green due to algae concentrations.
+
+Cultural significance
+Polar bears have prominent roles in Inuit culture and religion. The deity Torngarsuk is sometimes imagined as a giant polar bear. He resides underneath the sea floor in an underworld of the dead and has power over sea creatures. Kalaallit shamans would worship him through singing and dancing and were expected to be taken by him to the sea and consumed if he considered them worthy. Polar bears were also associated with the goddess Nuliajuk who was responsible for their creation, along with other sea creatures. It is believed that shamans could reach the Moon or the bottom of the ocean by riding on a guardian spirit in the form of a polar bear. Some folklore involves people turning into or disguising themselves as polar bears by donning their skins or the reverse, with polar bears removing their  skins. In Inuit astronomy, the Pleiades star cluster is conceived of as a polar bear trapped by dogs while Orion's Belt, the Hyades and Aldebaran represent hunters, dogs and a wounded bear respectively.Nordic folklore and literature have also featured polar bears. In The Tale of Auðun of the West Fjords, written around 1275, a poor man named Auðun spends all his money on a polar bear in Greenland, but ends up wealthy after giving the bear to the king of Denmark. In the 14th-century manuscript Hauksbók, a man named Odd kills and eats a polar bear that killed his father and brother. In the story of The Grimsey Man and the Bear, a mother bear nurses and rescues a farmer stuck on an ice floe and is repaid with sheep meat. 18th-century Icelandic writings mention the legend of a "polar bear king" known as the bjarndýrakóngur. This beast was depicted as a polar bear with "ruddy cheeks" and a unicorn-like horn, which glows in the dark. The king could understand when humans talk and was considered to be very astute. Two Norwegian fairy tales, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" and "White-Bear-King-Valemon", involve white bears turning into men and seducing women.Drawings of polar bears have been featured on maps of the northern regions. Possibly the earliest depictions of a polar bear on a map is the Swedish Carta marina of 1539, which has a white bear on Iceland or "Islandia". A 1544 map of North America includes two polar bears near Quebec. Notable paintings featuring polar bears include François-Auguste Biard's Fighting Polar Bears (1839) and Edwin Landseer's Man Proposes, God Disposes (1864). Polar bears have also been filmed for cinema. An Inuit polar bear hunt was shot for the 1932 documentary Igloo, while the 1974 film The White Dawn filmed a simulated stabbing of a trained bear for a scene. In the film The Big Show (1961), two characters are killed by a circus polar bear. The scenes were shot using animal trainers instead of the actors. In modern literature, polar bears have been characters in both children's fiction, like Hans Beer's Little Polar Bear and the Whales and Sakiasi Qaunaq's The Orphan and the Polar Bear, and fantasy novels, like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. In radio, Mel Blanc provided the vocals for Jack Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael on The Jack Benny Program. The polar bear is featured on flags and coats of arms, like the coat of arms of Greenland, and in many advertisements, notably for Coca-Cola since 1922.As charismatic megafauna, polar bears have been used to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change. Aurora the polar bear is a giant marionette created by Greenpeace for climate protests. The World Wide Fund for Nature has sold plush polar bears as part of its "Arctic Home" campaign. Photographs of polar bears have been featured in National Geographic and Time magazines, including ones of them standing on ice floes, while the climate change documentary and advocacy film An Inconvenient Truth (2006) includes an animated bear swimming. Automobile manufacturer Nissan used a polar bear in one of its commercials, hugging a man for using an electric car. To make a statement about global warming, in 2009 a Copenhagen ice statue of a polar bear with a bronze skeleton was purposely left to melt in the sun.
+
+See also
+2011 Svalbard polar bear attack
+International Polar Bear Day
+List of individual bears – includes individual captive polar bears
+Polar Bears International – conservation organization
+Polar Bear Shores – an exhibit featuring polar bears at Sea World in Australia
+
+Notes
+References
+Bibliography
+External links
+Polar Bears International website
+ARKive — images and movies of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
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+The impala or rooibok (Aepyceros melampus) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus Aepyceros, and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to Europeans by German zoologist Hinrich Lichtenstein in 1812. Two subspecies are recognised—the grassland-dwelling common impala (sometimes referred to as the Kenyan impala), and the larger and darker black-faced impala, which lives in slightly more arid, scrubland environments. The impala reaches 70–92 cm (28–36 in) at the shoulder and weighs 40–76 kg (88–168 lb). It features a glossy, reddish brown coat. The male's slender, lyre-shaped horns are 45–92 cm (18–36 in) long.
+Active mainly during the day, the impala may be gregarious or territorial depending upon the climate and geography. Three distinct social groups can be observed: the territorial males, bachelor herds and female herds. The impala is known for two characteristic leaps that constitute an anti-predator strategy. Browsers as well as grazers, impala feed on monocots, dicots, forbs, fruits and acacia pods (whenever available). An annual, three-week-long rut takes place toward the end of the wet season, typically in May. Rutting males fight over dominance, and the victorious male courts females in oestrus. Gestation lasts six to seven months, following which a single calf is born and immediately concealed in cover. Calves are suckled for four to six months; young males—forced out of the all-female groups—join bachelor herds, while females may stay back.
+The impala is found in woodlands and sometimes on the interface (ecotone) between woodlands and savannahs; it inhabits places near water. While the black-faced impala is confined to southwestern Angola and Kaokoland in northwestern Namibia, the common impala is widespread across its range and has been reintroduced in Gabon and southern Africa. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the impala as a species of least concern; the black-faced subspecies has been classified as a vulnerable species, with fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild as of 2008.
+
+Etymology
+The first attested English name, in 1802, was palla or pallah, from the Tswana phala 'red antelope'; the name impala, also spelled impalla or mpala, is first attested in 1875, and is directly from Zulu. Its Afrikaans name, rooibok 'red buck', is also sometimes used in English.The scientific generic name Aepyceros (lit. ‘high-horned’) comes from Ancient Greek αἰπύς (aipus, 'high, steep') + κέρας (keras, 'horn'); the specific name melampus (lit. ‘black-foot’) from μελάς (melas, 'black') + πούς (pous, 'foot').
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+The impala is the sole member of the genus Aepyceros and belongs to the family Bovidae. It was first described by German zoologist Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein in 1812. In 1984, palaeontologist Elisabeth Vrba opined that the impala is a sister taxon to the alcelaphines, given its resemblance to the hartebeest. A 1999 phylogenetic study by Alexandre Hassanin (of the National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris) and colleagues, based on mitochondrial and nuclear analyses, showed that the impala forms a clade with the suni (Neotragus moschatus). This clade is sister to another formed by the bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis) and the klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus). An rRNA and β-spectrin nuclear sequence analysis in 2003 also supported an association between Aepyceros and Neotragus. The following cladogram is based on the 1999 study:
+Up to six subspecies have been described, although only two are generally recognised on the basis of mitochondrial data. Though morphologically similar, the subspecies show a significant genetic distance between them, and no hybrids between them have been reported.
+A. m. melampus Lichtenstein, 1812: Known as the common impala, it occurs across eastern and southern Africa. The range extends from central Kenya to South Africa and westward into southeastern Angola.
+A. m. petersi Bocage, 1879: Known as the black-faced impala, it is restricted to southwestern Africa, occurring in northwestern Namibia and southwestern Angola.According to Vrba, the impala evolved from an alcelaphine ancestor. She noted that while this ancestor has diverged at least 18 times into various morphologically different forms, the impala has continued in its basic form for at least five million years. Several fossil species have been discovered, including A. datoadeni from the Pliocene of Ethiopia. The oldest fossil discovered suggests its ancient ancestors were slightly smaller than the modern form, but otherwise very similar in all aspects to the latter. This implies that the impala has efficiently adapted to its environment since prehistoric times. Its gregarious nature, variety in diet, positive population trend, defence against ticks and symbiotic relationship with the tick-feeding oxpeckers could have played a role in preventing major changes in morphology and behaviour.
+
+Description
+The impala is a medium-sized, slender-bodied antelope, comparable to the kob, puku and Grant's gazelle in size and build. The head-and-body length is around 130 centimetres (51 in). Males reach approximately 75–92 cm (30–36 in) at the shoulder, while females are 70–85 cm (28–33 in) tall. Males typically weigh 53–76 kilograms (117–168 lb) and females 40–53 kg (88–117 lb). Sexually dimorphic, females are hornless and smaller than males. Males grow slender, lyre-shaped horns 45–92 cm (18–36 in) long. The horns, strongly ridged and divergent, are circular in section and hollow at the base. Their arch-like structure allows interlocking of horns, which helps a male throw off his opponent during fights; horns also protect the skull from damage.The glossy coat of the impala shows two-tone colouration – the reddish brown back and the tan flanks; these are in sharp contrast to the white underbelly. Facial features include white rings around the eyes and a light chin and snout. The ears, 17 cm (6.7 in) long, are tipped with black. Black streaks run from the buttocks to the upper hindlegs. The bushy white tail, 30 cm (12 in) long, features a solid black stripe along the midline. The impala's colouration bears a strong resemblance to the gerenuk, which has shorter horns and lacks the black thigh stripes of the impala. The impala has scent glands covered by a black tuft of hair on the hindlegs. Sebaceous glands concentrated on the forehead and dispersed on the torso of dominant males are most active during the mating season, while those of females are only partially developed and do not undergo seasonal changes. There are four nipples.Of the subspecies, the black-faced impala is significantly larger and darker than the common impala; melanism is responsible for the black colouration. Distinctive of the black-faced impala is a dark stripe, on either side of the nose, that runs upward to the eyes and thins as it reaches the forehead. Other differences include the larger black tip on the ear, and a bushier and nearly 30% longer tail in the black-faced impala.The impala has a special dental arrangement on the front lower jaw similar to the toothcomb seen in strepsirrhine primates, which is used during allogrooming to comb the fur on the head and the neck and remove ectoparasites.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+The impala is diurnal (active mainly during the day), though activity tends to cease during the hot midday hours; they feed and rest at night. Three distinct social groups can be observed – the territorial males, bachelor herds and female herds. The territorial males hold territories where they may form harems of females; territories are demarcated with urine and faeces and defended against juvenile or male intruders. Bachelor herds tend to be small, with less than 30 members. Individuals maintain distances of 2.5–3 m (8.2–9.8 ft) from one another; while young and old males may interact, middle-aged males generally avoid one another except to spar. Female herds vary in size from 6 to 100; herds occupy home ranges of 80–180 ha (200–440 acres; 0.31–0.69 sq mi). The mother–calf bond is weak, and breaks soon after weaning; juveniles leave the herds of their mothers to join other herds. Female herds tend to be loose and have no obvious leadership. Allogrooming is an important means of social interaction in bachelor and female herds; in fact, the impala appears to be the only ungulate to display self-grooming as well as allogrooming. In allogrooming, females typically groom related impalas, while males associate with unrelated ones. Each partner grooms the other six to twelve times.
+Social behaviour is influenced by the climate and geography; as such, the impala are territorial at certain times of the year and gregarious at other times, and the length of these periods can vary broadly among populations. For instance, populations in southern Africa display territorial behaviour only during the few months of the rut, whereas in eastern African populations, territoriality is relatively minimal despite a protracted mating season. Moreover, territorial males often tolerate bachelors, and may even alternate between bachelorhood and territoriality at different times of the year. A study of impala in the Serengeti National Park showed that in 94% of the males, territoriality was observed for less than four months.The impala is an important prey species for Africa's large carnivores, such as cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, lions, hyenas, crocodiles and pythons. The antelope displays two characteristic leaps – it can jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft), over vegetation and even other impala, covering distances of up to 10 m (33 ft); the other type of leap involves a series of jumps in which the animal lands on its forelegs, moves its hindlegs mid-air in a kicking fashion, lands on all fours (stotting) and then rebounds. It leaps in either manner in different directions, probably to confuse predators. At times, the impala may also conceal itself in vegetation to escape the eye of the predator. The most prominent vocalisation is the loud roar, delivered through one to three loud snorts with the mouth closed, followed by two to ten deep grunts with the mouth open and the chin and tail raised; a typical roar can be heard up to 2 km (1.2 mi) away. Scent gland secretions identify a territorial male. Impalas are sedentary; adult and middle-aged males, in particular, can hold their territories for years.
+
+Parasites
+Common ixodid ticks collected from impala include Amblyomma hebraeum, Boophilus decoloratus, Hyalomma marginatum, Ixodes cavipalpus, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and R. evertsi. In Zimbabwe, heavy infestation by ticks such as R. appendiculatus has proved to be a major cause behind the high mortality of ungulates, as they can lead to tick paralysis. Impala have special adaptations for grooming, such as their characteristic dental arrangement, to manage ticks before they engorge; however, the extensive grooming needed to keep the tick load under control involves the risk of dehydration during summer, lower vigilance against predators and gradual wearing out of the teeth. A study showed that impala adjust the time devoted to grooming and the number of grooming bouts according to the seasonal prevalence of ticks.Impala are symbiotically related to oxpeckers, which feed on ticks from those parts of the antelope's body which the animal cannot access by itself (such as the ears, neck, eyelids, forehead and underbelly). The impala is the smallest ungulate with which oxpeckers are associated. In a study it was observed that oxpeckers selectively attended to impala despite the presence of other animals such as Coke's hartebeest, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle and topi. A possible explanation for this could be that because the impala inhabits woodlands (which can have a high density of ticks), the impala could have greater mass of ticks per unit area of the body surface. Another study showed that the oxpeckers prefer the ears over other parts of the body, probably because these parts show maximum tick infestation. The bird has also been observed to perch on the udders of a female and pilfer its milk.Lice recorded from impala include Damalinia aepycerus, D. elongata, Linognathus aepycerus and L. nevilli; in a study, ivermectin (a medication against parasites) was found to have an effect on Boophilus decoloratus and Linognathus species, though not on Damalinia species. In a study of impala in South Africa, the number of worms in juveniles showed an increase with age, reaching a peak when impala turned a year old. This study recorded worms of genera such as Cooperia, Cooperoides, Fasciola, Gongylonema. Haemonchus, Impalaia, Longistrongylus and Trichostrongylus; some of these showed seasonal variations in density.Impala show high frequency of defensive behaviours towards flying insects. This is probably the reason for Vale 1977 and Clausen et al 1998 only finding trace levels of feeding by Glossina (tsetse fly) upon impala.Theileria of impala in Kenya are not cross infectious to cattle: Grootenhuis et al 1975 were not able to induce cattle infection and Fawcett et al 1987 did not find it naturally occurring.
+
+Diet
+Impala browse as well as graze; either may predominate, depending upon the availability of resources. The diet comprises monocots, dicots, forbs, fruits and acacia pods (whenever available). Impala prefer places close to water sources, and resort to succulent vegetation if water is scarce. An analysis showed that the diet of impala is composed of 45% monocots, 45% dicots and 10% fruits; the proportion of grasses in the diet increases significantly (to as high as 90%) after the first rains, but declines in the dry season. Browsing predominates in the late wet and dry season, and diets are nutritionally poor in the mid-dry season, when impala feed mostly on woody dicots. Another study showed that the dicot proportion in the diet is much higher in bachelors and females than in territorial males.Impala feed on soft and nutritious grasses such as Digitaria macroblephara; tough, tall grasses, such as Heteropogon contortus and Themeda triandra, are typically avoided. Impala on the periphery of the herds are generally more vigilant against predators than those feeding in the centre; a foraging individual will try to defend the patch it is feeding on by lowering its head. A study revealed that time spent in foraging reaches a maximum of 75.5% of the day in the late dry season, decreases through the rainy season, and is minimal in the early dry season (57.8%).
+
+Reproduction
+Males are sexually mature by the time they are a year old, though successful mating generally occurs only after four years. Mature males start establishing territories and try to gain access to females. Females can conceive after they are a year and a half old; oestrus lasts for 24 to 48 hours, and occurs every 12–29 days in non-pregnant females. The annual three-week-long rut (breeding season) begins toward the end of the wet season, typically in May. Gonadal growth and hormone production in males begin a few months before the breeding season, resulting in greater aggressiveness and territoriality. The bulbourethral glands are heavier, testosterone levels are nearly twice as high in territorial males as in bachelors, and the neck of a territorial male tends to be thicker than that of a bachelor during the rut. Mating tends to take place between full moons.
+Rutting males fight over dominance, often giving out noisy roars and chasing one another; they walk stiffly and display their neck and horns. Males desist from feeding and allogrooming during the rut, probably to devote more time to garnering females in oestrus; the male checks the female's urine to ensure that she is in oestrus. On coming across such a female, the excited male begins the courtship by pursuing her, keeping a distance of 3–5 metres (9.8–16.4 ft) from her. The male flicks his tongue and may nod vigorously; the female allows him to lick her vulva, and holds her tail to one side. The male tries mounting the female, holding his head high and clasping her sides with his forelegs. Mounting attempts may be repeated every few seconds to every minute or two. The male loses interest in the female after the first copulation, though she is still active and can mate with other males.Gestation lasts six to seven months. Births generally occur in the midday; the female will isolate herself from the herd when labour pain begins. The perception that females can delay giving birth for an additional month if conditions are harsh may however not be realistic. A single calf is born, and is immediately concealed in cover for the first few weeks of its birth. The fawn then joins a nursery group within its mother's herd. Calves are suckled for four to six months; young males, forced out of the group, join bachelor herds, while females may stay back.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The impala inhabits woodlands due to its preference for shade; it can also be found on the interface (ecotone) between woodlands and savannahs. Places near water sources are preferred. In southern Africa, populations tend to be associated with Colophospermum mopane and Acacia woodlands. Habitat choices differ seasonally – Acacia senegal woodlands are preferred in the wet season, and A. drepanolobium savannahs in the dry season. Another factor that could influence habitat choice is vulnerability to predators; impala tend to keep away from areas with tall grasses as predators could be concealed there. A study found that the reduction of woodland cover and creation of shrublands by the African bush elephants has favoured impala population by increasing the availability of more dry season browse. Earlier, the Baikiaea woodland, which has now declined due to elephants, provided minimum browsing for impala. The newly formed Capparis shrubland, on the other hand, could be a key browsing habitat. Impala are generally not associated with montane habitats; however, in KwaZulu-Natal, impala have been recorded at altitudes of up to 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) above sea level.The historical range of the impala – spanning across southern and eastern Africa – has remained intact to a great extent, although it has disappeared from a few places, such as Burundi. The range extends from central and southern Kenya and northeastern Uganda in the east to northern KwaZulu-Natal in the south, and westward up to Namibia and southern Angola. The black-faced impala is confined to southwestern Angola and Kaokoland in northwestern Namibia; the status of this subspecies has not been monitored since the 2000s. The common impala has a wider distribution, and has been introduced in protected areas in Gabon and across southern Africa.
+
+Threats and conservation
+The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classifies the impala as a species of least concern overall. The black-faced impala, however, is classified as a vulnerable species; as of 2008, fewer than 1,000 were estimated in the wild. Though there are no major threats to the survival of the common impala, poaching and natural calamities have significantly contributed to the decline of the black-faced impala. As of 2008, the population of the common impala has been estimated at around two million. According to some studies, translocation of the black-faced impala can be highly beneficial in its conservation.Around a quarter of the common impala populations occur in protected areas, such as the Okavango Delta (Botswana); Masai Mara and Kajiado (Kenya); Kruger National Park (South Africa); the Ruaha and Serengeti National Parks and Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania); Luangwa Valley (Zambia); Hwange, Sebungwe and Zambezi Valley (Zimbabwe). The rare black-faced impala has been introduced into private farms in Namibia and the Etosha National Park. Population densities vary largely from place to place; from less than one impala per square kilometre in Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania) to as high as 135 per square kilometre near Lake Kariba (Zimbabwe).
+
+References
+External links
+
+Impala: Summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
+ITIS Standard Report Page
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diff --git a/data/animals/indigo bunting.txt b/data/animals/indigo bunting.txt
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/data/animals/indigo bunting.txt	
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+The indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea) is a small seed-eating bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. The indigo bunting is closely related to the lazuli bunting and interbreeds with the species where their ranges overlap.
+The indigo bunting is a small bird, with a length of 11.5–13 cm (4.5–5.1 in). It displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is vibrant blue in the summer, with brightly colored  plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. It is brown during the winter months, while the female is brown year-round. Nest-building and incubation are done solely by the female. The diet of the indigo bunting consists primarily of insects during the summer months and seeds during the winter months.
+
+Taxonomy
+The indigo bunting is included in the family Cardinalidae, which is made up of passerine birds found in North and South America, and is one of seven birds in the genus Passerina. It was originally described as Tanagra cyanea by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae. The current genus name, Passerina, is derived from the Latin term passer for true sparrows and similar small birds, while the species name, cyanea, is Latin for cyan, the color of the male's breeding plumage.The indigo bunting is a close relative of the lazuli bunting and interbreeds with the species where their ranges overlap, in the Great Plains. They were declared to form a superspecies by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1983. However, according to sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene of members of the genus Passerina, it was determined that the indigo bunting and lazuli bunting are not, in fact, sister taxa. The indigo bunting is the sister of two sister groups, a "blue" (lazuli bunting and blue grosbeak) and a "painted" (rose-bellied bunting, orange-breasted bunting, varied bunting, and painted bunting) clade. This genetic study shows these species diverged between 4.1 and 7.3 million years ago. This timing, which is consistent with fossil evidence, coincides with a late-Miocene cooling, which caused the evolution of a variety of western grassland habitats. Evolving to reduce size may have allowed buntings to exploit grass seeds as a food source.
+
+Description
+The indigo bunting is a smallish songbird, around the size of a small sparrow. It measures 11.5–15 cm (4.5–5.9 in) long, with a wingspan of 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in). Body mass averages 14.5 g (0.51 oz), with a reported range of 11.2–21.4 g (0.40–0.75 oz). During the breeding season, the adult male appears mostly a vibrant cerulean blue. Only the head is indigo. The wings and tail are black with cerulean blue edges. In fall and winter plumage, the male has brown edges to the blue body and head feathers, which overlap to make the bird appear mostly brown. The adult female is brown on the upperparts and lighter brown on the underparts. It has indistinct wing bars and is faintly streaked with darker markings underneath. The immature bird resembles the female in coloring, although a male may have hints of blue on the tail and shoulders and have darker streaks on the underside. The beak is short and conical. In the adult female, the beak is light brown tinged with blue, and in the adult male the upper half is brownish-black while the lower is light blue. The feet and legs are black or gray.First years and adult males are distinguishable through close observations of the skull and its degree of ossification. Juvenile skulls have a slightly pinkish color that gives under pressure due to its singular layer. Adults instead have a double layer skull, which gives more resistance when applying pressure. First year birds also tend to have a fleshy, yellow gape in the corner of the mouth, apparent in all months except October and November. When comparing males to females that both have brown molt, increased wing length and weight typically indicate a bunting is a male.As indicated by data collected from Charles H. Blake from his banding experiments in Hillsborough, NC, the Indigo Bunting has a weighted annual survival rate of 0.585. Using his own methods (Blake 1967, p. 5) and a pool of 25 indigo buntings captured and observed, it was determined that approximately two out of twenty-five indigo buntings should live up to six years. Using the calculated annual rate of six-year-old birds obtained (2/25 = 0.08), an annual rate of 0.656 was calculated, 12% higher than the annual rate of 0.585, leading to the 1 out of 25 statistic. The oldest recorded bunting was at least 13 years and 3 months old. However, not much emphasis should be placed on these values since the pool of individuals is small, where any individual can affect the weighted average.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The habitat of the indigo bunting is brushy forest edges, open deciduous woods, second growth woodland, and farmland. Increases in population size have been seen in the event of forest clearings and development of land into farms. The breeding range stretches from southern Canada to Maine, south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, and westward to southern Nevada. The winter range begins in southern Florida and central Mexico and stretches south through the West Indies and Central America to northern South America. It has occurred as a vagrant in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Serbia and the United Kingdom.
+
+Ecology and behavior
+Vocalizations
+The indigo bunting communicates through vocalizations and visual cues. A sharp chip! call is used by both sexes, and is used as an alarm call if a nest or chick is threatened. A high-pitched, buzzed zeeep is used as a contact call when the indigo bunting is in flight. The song of the male bird is a high-pitched buzzed sweet-sweet chew-chew sweet-sweet, lasting two to four seconds, sung to mark his territory to other males and to attract females. Each male has a single complex song, which he sings while perched on elevated objects, such as posts, wires, and bush-tops. In areas where the ranges of the lazuli bunting and the indigo bunting overlap, the males defend territories from each another.
+
+Migration
+Migration takes place in April and May and then again in September and October. Previous research indicates that towards the end of August there is a spike in migration, indicated by a rapid surge of captures in the last ten days of August. Migration activities peak in late September and fall off rapidly as October approaches. Only a small percentage of buntings remain as summer residents instead of migrating (7.2% of banded birds in Burke's observation).The Indigo Bunting often migrates during the night, using the stars to navigate. This is not an unusual proposal, for many other birds such as the blackcaps or red-backed shrikes were used to test if birds have orientated migratory behavior or Zugunruhe. Research indicates that Indigo Buntings placed in funnel cages outside on cloudless autumn nights or in artificial planetariums made more southern directional choices. When introduced to increasingly overcast nights, many bunting's abilities to distinctively make southern directional changes decreased, possibly indicating a negative correlation between Zugunruhe and cloud coverage. When in the artificial planetarium scenario and in the presence of a magnetic field similar to Earth's, birds were unable to orientate themselves in a no-star environment, indicating that past hypotheses supporting that birds use geophysical clues as well may be incorrect.Indigo Buntings do not rely on individual stars or the general brightness of groups of stars, but instead use them as clues in navigation. Prior experiments removing certain constellations and stars (Big Dipper, Cassiopeia or Polaris) from the sky had minimal effect on Zugunruhe. Indigo Buntings do use the northern sky to help navigate both in the fall and in the spring. It was thought that the bunting has an internal clock, being able to compensate for the movement of stars. However, temporal compensation for stellar motion is not a part of their migratory methods.In captivity, since it cannot migrate, it experiences disorientation in April and May and in September and October if it cannot see the stars from its enclosure.While debate has occurred over the years about how birds migrate near the Gulf of Mexico, Indigo Buntings migrate to South America by flying both over the Gulf of Mexico and around the Gulf of Mexico, with a majority of buntings choosing the trans-Gulf path. Past evidence indicated that Indigo Buntings did not have a high enough fat content to travel across the Gulf, but that evidence is misleading since most of those birds supporting that study were immature, not having a high body fat content.Since Indigo Buntings and many other birds are at their lightest after mating season, questions arose whether increases in overall weight were attributed to fat or other faucets such as water weight, or carbohydrates. Research indicates that most if not all weight gain are a gain in fat content.Quantitative methods of estimating flight range instead look at metabolic rates of the bunting and how much fat it has to use as fuel. Research indicates that the metabolic rate of a lean 13 g (0.46 oz) Indigo Bunting is 0.64 kcal/hour. With an average speed of 20 mph, 5 extra grams of fat (47.5 kcal of energy) extends a bunting's range to six hundred and eighty-eight miles (1,107 km). 19 g (0.67 oz) is equivalent to eight hundred and twenty-six miles (1,329 km). Given that the trip across the Gulf of Mexico from Florida is approximately six hundred miles (966 km), Buntings weighing at least 18 g could make the trip without any stops.
+
+Breeding
+These birds are generally monogamous but not always faithful to their partner. In the western part of their range, they often hybridize with the lazuli bunting. Nesting sites are located in dense shrub or a low tree, generally 0.3–1 m (0.98–3.28 ft) above the ground, but rarely up to 9 m (30 ft). The nest itself is constructed of leaves, coarse grasses, stems, and strips of bark, lined with soft grass or deer hair and is bound with spider web. It is constructed by the female, who cares for the eggs alone. The clutch consists of one to four eggs, but usually contains three to four. The eggs are white and usually unmarked, though some may be marked with brownish spots, averaging 18.7 mm × 13.7 mm (0.74 in × 0.54 in) in size. The eggs are incubated for 12 to 13 days and the chicks are altricial at hatching. Chicks fledge 10 to 12 days after hatching. Most pairs raise two broods per year, and the male may feed newly fledged young while the females incubate the next clutch of eggs.The brown-headed cowbird may parasitize this species. Indigo buntings abandon their nest if a cowbird egg appears before they lay any of their own eggs, but accept the egg after that point. Pairs with parasitized nests have less reproductive success. The bunting chicks hatch, but have lower survival rates as they must compete with the cowbird chick for food.
+
+Diet
+The indigo bunting forages for food on the ground or in trees or shrubs. In winter, it often feeds in flocks with other indigo buntings, but is a solitary feeder during the breeding season. During the breeding season, the species eats insects, seeds and berries, including caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, beetles, and grass seeds. The seeds of grasses are the mainstay of its diet during the winter, although buds, and insects are eaten when available. The young are fed mainly insects at first, to provide them with protein. The indigo bunting does not drink frequently, generally obtaining sufficient water from its diet.
+
+Predators and parasites
+Indigo bunting nests are vulnerable to a variety of climbing and flying predators, including Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), domestic cat (Felis catus), blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata), eastern racer (Coluber constrictor) and raccoon (Procyon lotor). The bird is also susceptible to parasitism by louse flies.
+
+Conservation status
+The criteria for a change in conservation status are a decline of more than 30% in ten years or over three generations. The species is classified as being of least concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with an estimated range of 5,900,000 km2 (2,300,000 sq mi) and a population of 28 million individuals. Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for a population decline warranting an upgrade in conservation status.
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Indigo bunting media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Indigo bunting photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Indigo bunting bird sound at Florida Museum of Natural History
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diff --git a/data/animals/indri.txt b/data/animals/indri.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/indri.txt
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+The indri ( ; Indri indri), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about 64–72 cm (25–28+1⁄2 in) and a weight of between 6 and 9.5 kg (13 and 21 lb). It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. It is monogamous and lives in small family groups, moving through the canopy, and is herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits, and flowers. The groups are quite vocal, communicating with other groups by singing, roaring and other vocalisations. Besides humans, it is the only mammal found that can use rhythm.It is a diurnal tree-dweller related to the sifakas and, like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It is revered by the Malagasy people and plays an important part in their myths and legends with various stories in existence accounting for its origin. The main threats faced by the indri are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to slash and burn agriculture, fuelwood gathering, and logging. It is also hunted despite taboos against this. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "critically endangered".
+
+Etymology
+The name "indri" most likely comes from a native Malagasy name for the animal, endrina. An oft-repeated, but incorrect story is that the name comes from indry [ˈiɳɖʐʲ], meaning "there" or "there it is".
+French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat, who first described the animal, supposedly heard a Malagasy point out the animal and took the word to be its name. It has been suggested that he may have heard the local name endrina which is used. Another Malagasy name for the animal is babakoto [bəbəˈkut]. Babakoto is most commonly translated as "ancestor" or "father", but several translations are possible. "Koto" is a Malagasy word for "little boy", and "baba" is a term for "father", so the word "babakoto" may be translated as "father of a little boy". The father-son dynamic of many of the babakoto origin myths helps to explain the Malagasy name.
+
+Physical characteristics
+Along with the diademed sifaka, the indri is the largest lemur still in existence; both have average weights of about 6.5 kg. It can weigh up to 9.0 kg (19+3⁄4 lb) to 9.5 kg (21 lb) and perhaps up to 15 kg (33 lb). It has a head-body length of 64–72 cm (2 ft 1 in – 2 ft 4+1⁄2 in) and can reach nearly 120 cm (4 ft) with legs fully extended.The indri is a vertical clinger and leaper and thus holds its body upright when traveling through trees or resting in branches. It has long, muscular legs which it uses to propel itself from trunk to trunk. Its large greenish eyes and black face are framed by round, fuzzy ears. Unlike any other living lemur, the indri has only a rudimentary tail. The silky fur is mostly black with white patches along the limbs, neck, crown, and lower back. Different populations of the species show wide variations in color, with some northern populations consisting of mostly or entirely black individuals. The face is bare with pale black skin, and it is sometimes fringed with white fur.Due to these color variations, Colin Groves listed two subspecies of the indri in 2005: The dark Indri indri indri from the northern part of its range and the relatively pale Indri indri variegatus from the southern part. Later editions of Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell Mittermeier et al. do not recognize this classification, and recent genetic and morphological work suggests the variation in the indri is clinal.
+
+Behavior
+The indri practices long-term monogamy, seeking a new partner only after the death of a mate. It lives in small groups consisting of the mated male and female and their maturing offspring. In the more fragmented forests of their range, the indri may live in larger groups with several generations. Habitat fragmentation limits the mobility and capacity of these large groups to break into smaller units.Like many other species of lemur, indri live in a female dominant society. The dominant female often will displace males to lower branches and poorer feeding grounds, and is typically the one to lead the group during travel.It is common for groups to move 300–700 m daily, with most distance travelled midsummer in search of fruit. Indris sleep in trees about 10–30 m above ground and typically sleep alone or in pairs. It is common for young female indris, occasionally adult females, to silently play wrestle anywhere from a few seconds up to 15 minutes. Members of a single group will urinate and defecate jointly at one of their many selected areas of defecation in their territory.
+
+Reproduction
+Indris reach sexual maturity between the ages of 7 and 9. Females bear offspring every two to three years, with a gestation period around 120–150 days. The single infant is usually born in May or June. The mother is the primary caregiver, though the father assists, remaining with his mate and offspring. Infants are born mostly or completely black and begin to show white coloration (if any) between four and six months of age. The infant clings to its mother's belly until it is four or five months old, at which time it is ready to move onto her back. The indri begins to demonstrate independence at eight months, but it will not be fully independent from its mother until it is at least two years old.
+
+Communication
+The indri makes loud, distinctive songs, which can last from 45 seconds to more than 3 minutes. Song duration and structure varies among and even within groups, but most songs have the following three-phase pattern.Usually, a roaring sequence lasting for several seconds will precede the more characteristic vocalizations. All members of the group except the very young participate in this roar, but the song proper is dominated by the adult pair. They follow the roar with a long note sequence, characterized by notes of up to five seconds in duration. After this is a descending phrase sequence. The wails begin on a high note and become progressively lower-pitched. It is common for two or more indri to coordinate the timing of their descending notes to form a duet.Different indri groups typically sing sequentially, responding to one another. As well as solidifying contacts between groups, the songs may communicate territorial defense and boundaries, environmental conditions, reproductive potential of the group members, and warning signals. The indri may sing after disturbances such as thunder, airplanes, bird calls, and other lemur calls. A group will sing almost every day, up to seven times daily. The peak singing hours are between 7 and 11 am. Daily frequency of song is highest during the indri's breeding season from December to March.Several other indri vocalizations have been identified. The "roar" is also used as a warning signal for aerial predators such as hawks. The indri emit a "hoot" or "honk" to warn of terrestrial predators such as the fossa. Other vocal categories include the "grunt", "kiss", "wheeze", and "hum". The purpose of these is not well understood.Before singing, the indri move to the tree tops, which allows them to be heard up to 4 km away.
+
+Diet and feeding
+The indri is herbivorous and primarily folivorous. It prefers young, tender leaves, but will also eat seeds, fruits, and flowers. Female indri seem to have greater preference for immature leaves than males do and spend more time foraging among them. A wide variety of plant species are consumed, with members of the laurel family featuring prominently in the diet. The indri consumes little nontree vegetation.To feed, the indri plucks off a leaf or other plant part with its teeth. It uses its hands to pull tree branches closer to its mouth.Reproductively mature females have priority access to food sources, therefore they forage higher in the trees than males.
+
+Distribution
+This lemur inhabits the lowland and montane forests along the eastern coast of Madagascar, from the Réserve Spéciale d’Anjanaharibe-Sud in the north to the Mangoro River in the south. They are absent from the Masoala Peninsula and the Marojejy National Park, even though both regions are connected to forests where indri do occur less than 40 km away.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Mythology
+Across Madagascar, the indri is revered and protected by fady (taboos). Countless variations are given on the legend of the indri's origins, but they all treat it as a sacred animal, not to be hunted or harmed.Most legends establish a close relationship between the indri and humans, and many invoke a common ancestry. In some regions, two brothers were believed to have lived together in the forest until one of them decided to leave and cultivate the land. That brother became the first human, and the brother who stayed in the forest became the first indri. The indri cries in mourning for his brother who went astray.Another legend tells of a man who went hunting in the forest and did not return. His absence worried his son, who went out looking for him. When the son also disappeared, the rest of the villagers ventured into the forest seeking the two, but discovered only two large lemurs sitting in the trees: the first indri. The boy and his father had transformed. In some versions, only the son transforms, and the wailing of the babakoto is analogous to the father's wailing for his lost son.Another human-like characteristic of the indri is its behavior in the sun. Like its sifaka relatives, the indri frequently engages in what has been described as sun-bathing or sun-worshipping. As the sun rises each morning, it will sit and face it from a tree branch with its legs crossed, back straight, hands low with palms facing out or resting on its knees, and eyes half-closed. Biologists are hesitant to call this behavior sun worship, as the term may be overly anthropomorphic. However, many Malagasy people do believe that the indri worships the sun.
+
+Conservation
+The first film of indri was obtained using tape lures, on an expedition forming the basis of David Attenborough's 1961 BBC series Zoo Quest to Madagascar.The indri is a critically endangered species. While population estimates are uncertain (1 000 - 10 000 individuals), the population appears to be rapidly shrinking and may diminish by 80% over the next three generations (~36 years). The primary threats to its existence are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to slash and burn agriculture, fuelwood gathering, and logging. This kind of destruction occurs even in protected areas.The indri is also widely hunted, despite the many origin myths and traditional taboos (fady) which hold it sacred. Cultural erosion and immigration are partly to blame for the breakdown of traditional beliefs. In some cases, Malagasy people who resent the protective fady find ways to circumvent them. People whose fady forbid them from eating the indri may still hunt the lemurs and sell their flesh, and those forbidden to kill the indri may still purchase and consume them. Indri meat is prized as a delicacy in some regions.Only one indri has lived over a year in captivity and none have bred successfully while captive.
+
+References
+External links
+
+indri/indri-indri Indri media from ARKive 
+ITIS Indri indri
+Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary – Creature Feature: Indri Lemur
+Primate Info Net Indri Factsheets
+Rare indri lemur born in forest reserve in Madagascar
+Stalking the Rare Indri (archived 21 February 2012)
+Indri: The critically endangered Singing Lemur (archived 27 February 2017)
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+The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. With a body length of up to 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) and a weight of up to 158 kg (348 lb), it is the biggest cat species in the Americas and the third largest in the world. Its distinctively marked coat features pale yellow to tan colored fur covered by spots that transition to rosettes on the sides, although a melanistic black coat appears in some individuals. The jaguar's powerful bite allows it to pierce the carapaces of turtles and tortoises, and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of mammalian prey between the ears to deliver a fatal blow to the brain.
+The modern jaguar's ancestors probably entered the Americas from Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene via the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait. Today, the jaguar's range extends from the Southwestern United States across Mexico and much of Central America, the Amazon rainforest and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. It inhabits a variety of forested and open terrains, but its preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest, wetlands and wooded regions. It is adept at swimming and is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk-and-ambush apex predator. As a keystone species, it plays an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and in regulating prey populations.
+The jaguar is threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, poaching for trade with its body parts and killings in human–wildlife conflict situations, particularly with ranchers in Central and South America. It has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002. The wild population is thought to have declined since the late 1990s. Priority areas for jaguar conservation comprise 51 Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs), defined as large areas inhabited by at least 50 breeding jaguars. The JCUs are located in 36 geographic regions ranging from Mexico to Argentina.
+The jaguar has featured prominently in the mythology of indigenous peoples of the Americas, including those of the Aztec and Maya civilizations.
+
+Etymology
+The word "jaguar" is possibly derived from the Tupi-Guarani word yaguara meaning 'wild beast that overcomes its prey at a bound'. In North America, the word is pronounced disyllabic , while in British English, it is pronounced with three syllables . Because that word also applies to other animals, indigenous peoples in Guyana call it jaguareté, with the added sufix eté, meaning "true beast".
+"Onca" is derived from the Portuguese name onça for a spotted cat that is larger than a lynx; cf. ounce. The word "panther" is derived from classical Latin panthēra, itself from the ancient Greek πάνθηρ (pánthēr).
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Taxonomy
+In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the jaguar in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis onca.In the 19th and 20th centuries, several jaguar type specimens formed the basis for descriptions of subspecies. In 1939, Reginald Innes Pocock recognized eight subspecies based on the geographic origins and skull morphology of these specimens.
+Pocock did not have access to sufficient zoological specimens to critically evaluate their subspecific status but expressed doubt about the status of several. Later consideration of his work suggested only three subspecies should be recognized. The description of P. o. palustris was based on a fossil skull.By 2005, nine subspecies were considered to be valid taxa:
+P. o. onca (Linnaeus, 1758) was a jaguar from Brazil.
+P. o. peruviana (De Blainville, 1843) was a jaguar skull from Peru.
+P. o. hernandesii (Gray, 1857) was a jaguar from Mazatlán in Mexico.
+P. o. palustris (Ameghino, 1888) was a fossil jaguar mandible excavated in the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdova District, Argentina.
+P. o. centralis (Mearns, 1901) was a skull of a male jaguar from Talamanca, Costa Rica.
+P. o. goldmani (Mearns, 1901) was a jaguar skin from Yohatlan in Campeche, Mexico.
+P. o. paraguensis (Hollister, 1914) was a skull of a male jaguar from Paraguay.
+P. o. arizonensis (Goldman, 1932) was a skin and skull of a male jaguar from the vicinity of Cibecue, Arizona.
+P. o. veraecrucis (Nelson and Goldman, 1933) was a skull of a male jaguar from San Andrés Tuxtla in Mexico.Reginald Innes Pocock placed the jaguar in the genus Panthera and observed that it shares several morphological features with the leopard (P. pardus). He, therefore, concluded that they are most closely related to each other. Results of morphological and genetic research indicate a clinal north–south variation between populations, but no evidence for subspecific differentiation. DNA analysis of 84 jaguar samples from South America revealed that the gene flow between jaguar populations in Colombia was high in the past. Since 2017, the jaguar is considered to be a monotypic taxon, though the modern Panthera onca onca is still distinguished from two fossil subspecies, Panthera onca augusta and Panthera onca mesembrina.
+
+Evolution
+The Panthera lineage is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae around 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago to 11.75 to 0.97 million years ago,
+and the geographic origin of the genus is most likely northern Central Asia.
+Some genetic analyses place the jaguar as a sister species to the lion with which it diverged 3.46 to 1.22 million years ago, but other studies place the lion closer to the leopard.The lineage of the jaguar appears to have originated in Africa and spread to Eurasia 1.95–1.77 mya. The modern species may have descended from Panthera gombaszoegensis, which is thought to have entered the American continent via Beringia, the land bridge that once spanned the Bering Strait. Fossils of modern jaguars have been found in North America dating to over 850,000 years ago. Results of mitochondrial DNA analysis of 37 jaguars indicate that current populations evolved between 510,000 and 280,000 years ago in northern South America and subsequently recolonized North and Central America after the extinction of jaguars there during the Late Pleistocene.Two extinct subspecies of jaguar are recognized in the fossil record: the North American P. o. augusta and South American P. o. mesembrina.
+
+Description
+The jaguar is a compact and muscular animal. It is the largest cat native to the Americas and the third largest in the world, exceeded in size only by the tiger and the lion. It stands 57 to 81 cm (22.4 to 31.9 in) tall at the shoulders.
+Its size and weight vary considerably depending on sex and region: weights in most regions are normally in the range of 56–96 kg (123–212 lb). Exceptionally big males have been recorded to weigh as much as 158 kg (348 lb).
+The smallest females from Middle America weigh about 36 kg (79 lb). It is sexually dimorphic, with females typically being 10–20% smaller than males. The length from the nose to the base of the tail varies from 1.12 to 1.85 m (3 ft 8 in to 6 ft 1 in). The tail is 45 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) long and the shortest of any big cat.
+Its muscular legs are shorter than the legs of other Panthera species with similar body weight.Size tends to increase from north to south. Jaguars in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Pacific coast of central Mexico weighed around 50 kg (110 lb).
+Jaguars in Venezuela and Brazil are much larger, with average weights of about 95 kg (209 lb) in males and of about 56–78 kg (123–172 lb) in females.The jaguar's coat ranges from pale yellow to tan or reddish-yellow, with a whitish underside and covered in black spots. The spots and their shapes vary: on the sides, they become rosettes which may include one or several dots. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail where they may merge to form bands near the end and create a black tip. They are elongated on the middle of the back, often connecting to create a median stripe, and blotchy on the belly. These patterns serve as camouflage in areas with dense vegetation and patchy shadows.
+Jaguars living in forests are often darker and considerably smaller than those living in open areas, possibly due to the smaller numbers of large, herbivorous prey in forest areas.The jaguar closely resembles the leopard but is generally more robust, with stockier limbs and a more square head. The rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, darker, fewer in number and have thicker lines, with a small spot in the middle.
+It has powerful jaws with the third-highest bite force of all felids, after the tiger and the lion.
+It has an average bite force at the canine tip of 887.0 Newton and a bite force quotient at the canine tip of 118.6.
+A 100 kg (220 lb) jaguar can bite with a force of 4.939 kN (1,110 lbf) with the canine teeth and 6.922 kN (1,556 lbf) at the carnassial notch.
+
+Color variation
+Melanistic jaguars are also known as black panthers. The black morph is less common than the spotted one.
+Black jaguars have been documented in Central and South America. Melanism in the jaguar is caused by deletions in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene and inherited through a dominant allele. Black jaguars occur at higher densities in tropical rainforest and are more active during the daytime. This suggests that melanism provides camouflage in dense vegetation with high illumination.In 2004, a camera trap in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains photographed the first documented black jaguar in Northern Mexico. Black jaguars were also photographed in Costa Rica's Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve, in the mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca, in Barbilla National Park and in eastern Panama.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+In 1999, the jaguar's historic range at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at 19,000,000 km2 (7,300,000 sq mi), stretching from the southern United States through Central America to southern Argentina. By the turn of the 21st century, its global range had decreased to about 8,750,000 km2 (3,380,000 sq mi), with most declines in the southern United States, northern Mexico, northern Brazil, and southern Argentina.
+Its present range extends from Mexico through Central America to South America comprising Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, particularly on the Osa Peninsula, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. It is considered to be locally extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.Jaguars have been occasionally sighted in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
+Between 2012 and 2015, a male vagrant jaguar was recorded in 23 locations in the Santa Rita Mountains.The jaguar prefers dense forest and typically inhabits dry deciduous forests, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, rainforests and cloud forests in Central and South America; open, seasonally flooded wetlands, dry grassland and historically also oak forests in the United States. It has been recorded at elevations up to 3,800 m (12,500 ft) but avoids montane forests. It favors riverine habitat and swamps with dense vegetation cover. In the Mayan forests of Mexico and Guatemala, 11 GPS-collared jaguars preferred undisturbed dense habitat away from roads; females avoided even areas with low levels of human activity, whereas males appeared less disturbed by human population density. A young male jaguar was also recorded in the semi-arid Sierra de San Carlos at a waterhole.
+
+Former range
+In the 19th century, the jaguar was still sighted at the North Platte River 48–80 km (30–50 mi) north of Longs Peak in Colorado, in coastal Louisiana, northern Arizona and New Mexico.
+Multiple verified zoological reports of the jaguar are known in California, two as far north as Monterey in 1814 and 1826. The only record of an active jaguar den with breeding adults and kittens in the United States was in the Tehachapi Mountains of California prior to 1860. The jaguar persisted in California until about 1860.
+The last confirmed jaguar in Texas was shot in 1948, 4.8 km (3 mi) southeast of Kingsville, Texas.
+In Arizona, a female was shot in the White Mountains in 1963. By the late 1960s, the jaguar was thought to have been extirpated in the United States. Arizona outlawed jaguar hunting in 1969, but by then no females remained, and over the next 25 years only two males were sighted and killed in the state. In 1996, a rancher and hunting guide from Douglas, Arizona came across a jaguar in the Peloncillo Mountains and became a researcher on jaguars, placing trail cameras, which recorded four more jaguars.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+The jaguar is mostly active at night and during twilight.
+However, jaguars living in densely forested regions of the Amazon Rainforest and the Pantanal are largely active by day, whereas jaguars in the Atlantic Forest are primarily active by night.
+The activity pattern of the jaguar coincides with the activity of its main prey species. Jaguars are good swimmers and play and hunt in the water, possibly more than tigers. They have been recorded moving between islands and the shore. Jaguars are also good at climbing trees but do so less often than cougars.
+
+Ecological role
+The adult jaguar is an apex predator, meaning it is at the top of the food chain and is not preyed upon in the wild. The jaguar has also been termed a keystone species, as it is assumed that it controls the population levels of prey such as herbivorous and seed-eating mammals and thus maintains the structural integrity of forest systems.
+However, field work has shown this may be natural variability, and the population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not accepted by all scientists.The jaguar is sympatric with the cougar (Puma concolor). In central Mexico, both prey on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), which makes up 54% and 66% of jaguar and cougar's prey, respectively. In northern Mexico, the jaguar and the cougar share the same habitat, and their diet overlaps dependent on prey availability. Jaguars seemed to prefer deer and calves. In Mexico and Central America, neither of the two cats are considered to be the dominant predator.
+In South America, the jaguar is larger than the cougar and tends to take larger prey, usually over 22 kg (49 lb). The cougar's prey usually weighs between 2 and 22 kg (4 and 49 lb), which is thought to be the reason for its smaller size.
+This situation may be advantageous to the cougar. Its broader prey niche, including its ability to take smaller prey, may give it an advantage over the jaguar in human-altered landscapes.
+
+Hunting and diet
+The jaguar is an obligate carnivore and depends solely on flesh for its nutrient requirements. An analysis of 53 studies documenting the diet of the jaguar revealed that its prey ranges in weight from 1 to 130 kg (2.2 to 286.6 lb); it prefers prey weighing 45–85 kg (99–187 lb), with the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) being the most selected. When available, it also preys on marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla), collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) and black agouti (Dasyprocta fuliginosa). In floodplains, jaguars opportunistically take reptiles such as turtles and caimans. Consumption of reptiles appears to be more frequent in jaguars than in other big cats. One remote population in the Brazilian Pantanal is recorded to primarily feed on aquatic reptiles and fish.
+The jaguar also preys on livestock in cattle ranching areas where wild prey is scarce.
+The daily food requirement of a captive jaguar weighing 34 kg (75 lb) was estimated at 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) of meat.The jaguar's bite force allows it to pierce the carapaces of the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) and the yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus). It employs an unusual killing method: it bites mammalian prey directly through the skull between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain. It kills capybara by piercing its canine teeth through the temporal bones of its skull, breaking its zygomatic arch and mandible and penetrating its brain, often through the ears.
+It has been hypothesized to be an adaptation to cracking open turtle shells; armored reptiles may have formed an abundant prey base for the jaguar following the late Pleistocene extinctions. However, this is disputed, as even in areas where jaguars prey on reptiles, they are still taken relatively infrequently compared to mammals in spite of their greater abundance.Between October 2001 and April 2004, 10 jaguars were monitored in the southern Pantanal. In the dry season from April to September, they killed prey at intervals ranging from one to seven days; and ranging from one to 16 days in the wet season from October to March.The jaguar uses a stalk-and-ambush strategy when hunting rather than chasing prey. The cat will slowly walk down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers and are probably a product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels. After killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at the neck and chest. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders.
+
+Social activity
+The jaguar is generally solitary except for females with cubs. In 1977, groups consisting of a male, female and cubs, and two females with two males were sighted several times in a study area in the Paraguay River valley. In some areas, males may form paired coalitions which together mark, defend and invade territories, find and mate with the same females and search for and share prey. A radio-collared female moved in a home range of 25–38 km2 (9.7–14.7 sq mi), which partly overlapped with another female. The home range of the male in this study area overlapped with several females.The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory.
+The size of home ranges depends on the level of deforestation and human population density. The home ranges of females vary from 15.3 km2 (5.9 sq mi) in the Pantanal to 53.6 km2 (20.7 sq mi) in the Amazon to 233.5 km2 (90.2 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest. Male jaguar home ranges vary from 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) in the Pantanal to 180.3 km2 (69.6 sq mi) in the Amazon to 591.4 km2 (228.3 sq mi) in the Atlantic Forest and 807.4 km2 (311.7 sq mi) in the Cerrado.
+Studies employing GPS telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per 100 km (62 mi) in the Pantanal region, compared with 10 to 11 using traditional methods; this suggests the widely used sampling methods may inflate the actual numbers of individuals in a sampling area. Fights between males occur but are rare, and avoidance behavior has been observed in the wild. In one wetland population with degraded territorial boundaries and more social proximity, adults of the same sex are more tolerant of each other and engage in more friendly and co-operative interactions.
+The jaguar roars/grunts for long-distance communication; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in the wild. This vocalization is described as "hoarse" with five or six guttural notes. Chuffing is produced by individuals when greeting, during courting, or by a mother comforting her cubs. This sound is described as low intensity snorts, possibly intended to signal tranquility and passivity. Cubs have been recorded bleating, gurgling and mewing.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+In captivity, the female jaguar is recorded to reach sexual maturity at the age of about 2.5 years. Estrus lasts 7–15 days with an estrus cycle of 41.8 to 52.6 days. During estrus, she exhibits increased restlessness with rolling and prolonged vocalizations.
+She is an induced ovulator but can also ovulate spontaneously.Gestation lasts 91 to 111 days.
+The male is sexually mature at the age of three to four years.
+His mean ejaculate volume is 8.6±1.3 ml.Generation length of the jaguar is 9.8 years.In the Pantanal, breeding pairs were observed to stay together for up to five days. Females had one to two cubs.
+The young are born with closed eyes but open them after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at the age of three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts.
+Jaguars remain with their mothers for up to two years. They appear to rarely live beyond 11 years, but captive individuals may live 22 years.In 2001, a male jaguar killed and partially consumed two cubs in Emas National Park. DNA paternity testing of blood samples revealed that the male was the father of the cubs. Two more cases of infanticide were documented in the northern Pantanal in 2013. To defend against infanticide, the female may hide her cubs and distract the male with courtship behavior.
+
+Attacks on humans
+The Spanish conquistadors feared the jaguar. According to Charles Darwin, the indigenous peoples of South America stated that people did not need to fear the jaguar as long as capybaras were abundant.
+The first official record of a jaguar killing a human in Brazil dates to June 2008.
+Two children were attacked by jaguars in Guyana.
+The majority of known attacks on people happened when it had been cornered or wounded.
+
+Threats
+The jaguar is threatened by loss and fragmentation of habitat, illegal killing in retaliation for livestock depredation and for illegal trade in jaguar body parts. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as the jaguar population has probably declined by 20–25% since the mid-1990s. Deforestation is a major threat to the jaguar across its range. Habitat loss was most rapid in drier regions such as the Argentine pampas, the arid grasslands of Mexico and the southwestern United States.In 2002, it was estimated that the range of the jaguar had declined to about 46% of its range in the early 20th century. In 2018, it was estimated that its range had declined by 55% in the last century. The only remaining stronghold is the Amazon rainforest, a region that is rapidly being fragmented by deforestation.
+Between 2000 and 2012, forest loss in the jaguar range amounted to 83.759 km2 (32.340 sq mi), with fragmentation increasing in particular in corridors between Jaguar Conservation Units (JCUs).
+By 2014, direct linkages between two JCUs in Bolivia were lost, and two JCUs in northern Argentina became completely isolated due to deforestation.In Mexico, the jaguar is primarily threatened by poaching. Its habitat is fragmented in northern Mexico, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatán Peninsula, caused by changes in land use, construction of roads and tourism infrastructure.
+In Panama, 220 of 230 jaguars were killed in retaliation for predation on livestock between 1998 and 2014.
+In Venezuela, the jaguar was extirpated in about 26% of its range in the country since 1940, mostly in dry savannas and unproductive scrubland in the northeastern region of Anzoátegui.
+In Ecuador, the jaguar is threatened by reduced prey availability in areas where the expansion of the road network facilitated access of human hunters to forests.
+In the Alto Paraná Atlantic forests, at least 117 jaguars were killed in Iguaçu National Park and the adjacent Misiones Province between 1995 and 2008.
+Some Afro-Colombians in the Colombian Chocó Department hunt jaguars for consumption and sale of meat.
+Between 2008 and 2012, at least 15 jaguars were killed by livestock farmers in central Belize.The international trade of jaguar skins boomed between the end of the Second World War and the early 1970s.
+Significant declines occurred in the 1960s, as more than 15,000 jaguars were yearly killed for their skins in the Brazilian Amazon alone; the trade in jaguar skins decreased since 1973 when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species was enacted.
+Interview surveys with 533 people in the northwestern Bolivian Amazon revealed that local people killed jaguars out of fear, in retaliation, and for trade.
+Between August 2016 and August 2019, jaguar skins and body parts were seen for sale in tourist markets in the Peruvian cities of Lima, Iquitos and Pucallpa.Human-wildlife conflict, opportunistic hunting and hunting for trade in domestic markets are key drivers for killing jaguars in Belize and Guatemala.
+Seizure reports indicate that at least 857 jaguars were involved in trade between 2012 and 2018, including 482 individuals in Bolivia alone; 31 jaguars were seized in China.
+Between 2014 and early 2019, 760 jaguar fangs were seized that originated in Bolivia and were destined for China. Undercover investigations revealed that the smuggling of jaguar body parts is run by Chinese residents in Bolivia.
+
+Conservation
+The jaguar is listed on CITES Appendix I, which means that all international commercial trade in jaguars or their body parts is prohibited. Hunting jaguars is prohibited in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States, and Venezuela. Hunting jaguars is restricted in Guatemala and Peru. In Ecuador, hunting jaguars is prohibited, and it is classified as threatened with extinction.
+In Guyana, it is protected as an endangered species, and hunting it is illegal.
+In 1986, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was established in Belize as the world's first protected area for jaguar conservation.
+
+Jaguar Conservation Units
+In 1999, field scientists from 18 jaguar range countries determined the most important areas for long-term jaguar conservation based on the status of jaguar population units, stability of prey base and quality of habitat. These areas, called "Jaguar Conservation Units" (JCUs), are large enough for at least 50 breeding individuals and range in size from 566 to 67,598 km2 (219 to 26,100 sq mi); 51 JCUs were designated in 36 geographic regions including:
+the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra de Tamaulipas in Mexico
+the Selva Maya tropical forests extending over Mexico, Belize and Guatemala
+the Chocó–Darién moist forests from Honduras and Panama to Colombia
+Venezuelan Llanos
+northern Cerrado and Amazon basin in Brazil
+Tropical Andes in Bolivia and Peru
+Misiones Province in ArgentinaOptimal routes of travel between core jaguar population units were identified across its range in 2010 to implement wildlife corridors that connect JCUs. These corridors represent areas with the shortest distance between jaguar breeding populations, require the least possible energy input of dispersing individuals and pose a low mortality risk. They cover an area of 2,600,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi) and range in length from 3 to 1,102 km (1.9 to 684.8 mi) in Mexico and Central America and from 489.14 to 1,607 km (303.94 to 998.54 mi) in South America.
+Cooperation with local landowners and municipal, state, or federal agencies is essential to maintain connected populations and prevent fragmentation in both JCUs and corridors.
+Seven of 13 corridors in Mexico are functioning with a width of at least 14.25 km (8.85 mi) and a length of no more than 320 km (200 mi). The other corridors may hamper passage, as they are narrower and longer.In August 2012, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service set aside 3,392.20 km2 (838,232 acres) in Arizona and New Mexico for the protection of the jaguar. The Jaguar Recovery Plan was published in April 2019, in which Interstate 10 is considered to form the northern boundary of the Jaguar Recovery Unit in Arizona and New Mexico.In Mexico, a national conservation strategy was developed from 2005 on and published in 2016. The Mexican jaguar population increased from an estimated 4,000 individuals in 2010 to about 4,800 individuals in 2018. This increase is seen as a positive effect of conservation measures that were implemented in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental institutions and landowners.An evaluation of JCUs from Mexico to Argentina revealed that they overlap with high-quality habitats of about 1,500 mammals to varying degrees. Since co-occurring mammals benefit from the JCU approach, the jaguar has been called an umbrella species.
+Central American JCUs overlap with the habitat of 187 of 304 regional endemic amphibian and reptile species, of which 19 amphibians occur only in the jaguar range.
+
+Approaches
+In setting up protected reserves, efforts generally also have to be focused on the surrounding areas, as jaguars are unlikely to confine themselves to the bounds of a reservation, especially if the population is increasing in size. Human attitudes in the areas surrounding reserves and laws and regulations to prevent poaching are essential to make conservation areas effective.To estimate population sizes within specific areas and to keep track of individual jaguars, camera trapping and wildlife tracking telemetry are widely used, and feces are sought out with the help of detection dogs to study jaguar health and diet.Current conservation efforts often focus on educating ranch owners and promoting ecotourism. Ecotourism setups are being used to generate public interest in charismatic animals such as the jaguar while at the same time generating revenue that can be used in conservation efforts. A key concern in jaguar ecotourism is the considerable habitat space the species requires. If ecotourism is used to aid in jaguar conservation, some considerations need to be made as to how existing ecosystems will be kept intact, or how new ecosystems will be put into place that are large enough to support a growing jaguar population.Conservationists and professionals in Mexico and the United States have established the 56,000 acres (23,000 ha) Northern Jaguar Reserve in northern Mexico. Advocacy for reintroduction of the jaguar to its former range in Arizona and New Mexico have been supported by documentation of natural migrations by individual jaguars into the southern reaches of both states, the recency of extirpation from those regions by human action, and supportive arguments pertaining to biodiversity, ecological, human, and practical considerations.
+
+In culture and mythology
+In the pre-Columbian Americas, the jaguar was a symbol of power and strength. In the Andes, a jaguar cult disseminated by the early Chavín culture became accepted over most of today's Peru by 900 BC. The later Moche culture in northern Peru used the jaguar as a symbol of power in many of their ceramics. In the Muisca religion in Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the jaguar was considered a sacred animal, and people dressed in jaguar skins during religious rituals.
+The skins were traded with peoples in the nearby Orinoquía Region.
+The name of the Muisca ruler Nemequene was derived from the Chibcha words nymy and quyne, meaning "force of the jaguar".Sculptures with "Olmec were-jaguar" motifs were found on the Yucatán Peninsula in Veracruz and Tabasco; they show stylized jaguars with half-human faces. In the later Maya civilization, the jaguar was believed to facilitate communication between the living and the dead and to protect the royal household. The Maya saw these powerful felines as their companions in the spiritual world, and several Maya rulers bore names that incorporated the Mayan word for jaguar b'alam in many of the Mayan languages. Balam remains a common Maya surname, and it is also the name of Chilam Balam, a legendary author to whom are attributed 17th and 18th-centuries Maya miscellanies preserving much important knowledge. Remains of jaguar bones were discovered in a burial site in Guatemala, which indicates that Mayans may have kept jaguars as pets.The Aztec civilization shared this image of the jaguar as the representative of the ruler and as a warrior. The Aztecs formed an elite warrior class known as the Jaguar warrior. In Aztec mythology, the jaguar was considered to be the totem animal of the powerful deities Tezcatlipoca and Tepeyollotl.A conch shell gorget depicting a jaguar was found in a burial mound in Benton County, Missouri. The gorget shows evenly-engraved lines and measures 104 mm × 98 mm (4.1 in × 3.9 in).
+Rock drawings made by the Hopi, Anasazi and Pueblo all over the desert and chaparral regions of the American Southwest show an explicitly spotted cat, presumably a jaguar, as it is drawn much larger than an ocelot.The jaguar is also used as a symbol in contemporary culture. It is the national animal of Guyana and is featured in its coat of arms.
+The flag of the Department of Amazonas features a black jaguar silhouette leaping towards a hunter.
+The crest of the Argentine Rugby Union features a jaguar.
+
+See also
+List of largest cats
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Jaguar Panthera onca". IUCN Cat Specialist Group.
+"Jaguars: Born free". BBC Natural World. 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
+People and Jaguars a Guide for Coexistence
+Felidae Conservation Fund
+"Jaguar" . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.
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+A junco , genus Junco, is a small North American bird in the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species. Despite having a name that appears to derive from the Spanish term for the plant genus Juncus (rushes), these birds are seldom found among rush plants, which prefer wet ground, while juncos prefer dry soil.
+Their breeding habitat is coniferous or mixed forest areas throughout North America, ranging from subarctic taiga to high-altitude mountain forests in Mexico and Central America south to Panama. Northern birds usually migrate farther south; southern populations are permanent residents or altitudinal migrants, moving only a short distance downslope to avoid severe winter weather in the mountains.
+These birds forage on the ground. In winter, they often forage in flocks. They eat mainly insects and seeds. They usually nest in a well-hidden location on the ground or low in a shrub or tree.
+
+Taxonomy
+The genus Junco was introduced in 1831 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler for a single species, the yellow-eyed junco. The yellow-eyed junco is therefore now the type species. The genus name is from Latin iuncus meaning "rush".The genus contains five species:
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Junco at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Junco at Wikispecies
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+The orca (Orcinus orca) or killer whale, is a toothed whale that is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus. Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, orcas are found in diverse marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
+Orcas are apex predators with a diverse diet. Individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. This includes a variety of fish, sharks, rays, and marine mammals such as seals, other species of dolphin, and whales. They are highly social; some populations are composed of highly stable matrilineal family groups (pods). Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, often specific to a particular group and passed along from generation to generation are considered to be manifestations of animal culture.The International Union for Conservation of Nature assesses the orca's conservation status as data deficient because of the likelihood that two or more orca types are separate species. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to prey depletion, habitat loss, pollution (by PCBs), capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with human fisheries. In late 2005, the southern resident orcas, which swim in British Columbia and Washington waters, were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list.
+Orcas are not usually a threat to humans, and no fatal attack has ever been documented in their natural habitat. There have been cases of captive orcas killing or injuring their handlers at marine theme parks. Orcas feature strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures, and their reputation in different cultures ranges from being the souls of humans to merciless killers.
+
+Naming
+Orcas are commonly referred to as "killer whales", despite being a type of dolphin. Since the 1960s, the use of "orca" instead of "killer whale" has steadily grown in common use.The genus name Orcinus means "of the kingdom of the dead", or "belonging to Orcus". Ancient Romans originally used orca (pl. orcae) for these animals, possibly borrowing Ancient Greek ὄρυξ (óryx). This word referred (among other things) to a whale species, perhaps a narwhal. As part of the family Delphinidae, the species is more closely related to other oceanic dolphins than to other whales.They are sometimes referred to as "blackfish", a name also used for other whale species. "Grampus" is a former name for the species, but is now seldom used. This meaning of "grampus" should not be confused with the genus Grampus, whose only member is Risso's dolphin.
+
+Taxonomy
+Orcinus orca is the only recognized extant species in the genus Orcinus, and one of many animal species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Konrad Gessner wrote the first scientific description of an orca in his Piscium & aquatilium animantium natura of 1558, part of the larger Historia animalium, based on examination of a dead stranded animal in the Bay of Greifswald that had attracted a great deal of local interest.The orca is one of 35 species in the oceanic dolphin family, which first appeared about 11 million years ago. The orca lineage probably branched off shortly thereafter. Although it has morphological similarities with the false killer whale, the pygmy killer whale and the pilot whales, a study of cytochrome b gene sequences indicates that its closest extant relatives are the snubfin dolphins of the genus Orcaella. However, a more recent (2018) study places the orca as a sister taxon to the Lissodelphininae, a clade that includes Lagenorhynchus and Cephalorhynchus. In contrast, a 2019 phylogenetic study found the orca to be the second most basal member of the Delphinidae, with only the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Leucopleurus acutus) being more basal.
+
+Types
+The three to five types of orcas may be distinct enough to be considered different races, subspecies, or possibly even species (see Species problem). The IUCN reported in 2008, "The taxonomy of this genus is clearly in need of review, and it is likely that O. orca will be split into a number of different species or at least subspecies over the next few years." Although large variation in the ecological distinctiveness of different orca groups complicate simple differentiation into types, research off the west coast of North America has identified fish-eating "residents", mammal-eating "transients" and "offshores". Other populations have not been as well studied, although specialized fish and mammal eating orcas have been distinguished elsewhere. Mammal-eating orcas in different regions were long thought likely to be closely related, but genetic testing has refuted this hypothesis.Four types have been documented in the Antarctic, Types A–D. Two dwarf species, named Orcinus nanus and Orcinus glacialis, were described during the 1980s by Soviet researchers, but most cetacean researchers are skeptical about their status. Complete mitochondrial sequencing indicates the two Antarctic groups (types B and C) should be recognized as distinct species, as should the North Pacific transients, leaving the others as subspecies pending additional data. A 2019 study of Type D orcas also found them to be distinct from other populations and possibly even a unique species.
+
+Characteristics
+Orcas are the largest extant members of the dolphin family. Males typically range from 6 to 8 metres (20 to 26 ft) long and weigh in excess of 6 tonnes (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons). Females are smaller, generally ranging from 5 to 7 m (16 to 23 ft) and weighing about 3 to 4 tonnes (3.0 to 3.9 long tons; 3.3 to 4.4 short tons). Orcas may attain larger sizes as males have been recorded at 9.8 m (32 ft) and females at 8.5 m (28 ft).  Calves at birth weigh about 180 kg (400 lb) and are about 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long. The skeleton of the orca is typical for an oceanic dolphin, but more robust.With their distinctive pigmentation, adult orcas are seldom confused with any other species. When seen from a distance, juveniles can be confused with false killer whales or Risso's dolphins. The orca typically has a sharply contrasted black-and-white body; being mostly black on the upper side and white on the underside. The entire lower jaw is white and from here, the colouration stretches across the underside to the genital area; narrowing between the flippers then widening some and extending into lateral flank patches close to the end. The tail fluke (fin) is also white on the underside, while the eyes have white oval-shaped patches behind and above them, and a grey or white "saddle patch" exists behind the dorsal fin and across the back. Males and females also have different patterns of black and white skin in their genital areas. In newborns, the white areas are yellow or orange coloured. Antarctic orcas may have pale grey to nearly white backs. Some Antarctic orcas are brown and yellow due to diatoms in the water. Both albino and melanistic orcas have been documented.
+Orca pectoral fins are large and rounded, resembling paddles, with those of males significantly larger than those of females. Dorsal fins also exhibit sexual dimorphism, with those of males about 1.8 m (5.9 ft) high, more than twice the size of the female's, with the male's fin more like an elongated isosceles triangle, whereas the female's is more curved. In the skull, adult males have longer lower jaws than females, as well as larger occipital crests. The snout is blunt and lacks the beak of other species. The orca's teeth are very strong, and its jaws exert a powerful grip; the upper teeth fall into the gaps between the lower teeth when the mouth is closed. The firm middle and back teeth hold prey in place, while the front teeth are inclined slightly forward and outward to protect them from powerful jerking movements.Orcas have good eyesight above and below the water, excellent hearing, and a good sense of touch. They have exceptionally sophisticated echolocation abilities, detecting the location and characteristics of prey and other objects in the water by emitting clicks and listening for echoes, as do other members of the dolphin family. The mean body temperature of the orca is 36 to 38 °C (97 to 100 °F). Like most marine mammals, orcas have a layer of insulating blubber ranging from 7.6 to 10 cm (3.0 to 3.9 in) thick beneath the skin. The pulse is about 60 heartbeats per minute when the orca is at the surface, dropping to 30 beats/min when submerged.An individual orca can often be identified from its dorsal fin and saddle patch. Variations such as nicks, scratches, and tears on the dorsal fin and the pattern of white or grey in the saddle patch are unique. Published directories contain identifying photographs and names for hundreds of North Pacific animals. Photographic identification has enabled the local population of orcas to be counted each year rather than estimated, and has enabled great insight into life cycles and social structures.
+
+Range and habitat
+Orcas are the most widely distributed of all the cetacea (whales and dolphins) being found in all oceans and most seas. Due to their enormous range, numbers, and density, relative distribution is difficult to estimate, but they clearly prefer higher latitudes and coastal areas over pelagic environments. Areas which serve as major study sites for the species include the coasts of Iceland, Norway, the Valdes Peninsula of Argentina, the Crozet Islands, New Zealand and parts of the west coast of North America, from California to Alaska. Systematic surveys indicate the highest densities of orcas (>0.40 individuals per 100 km2) in the northeast Atlantic around the Norwegian coast, in the north Pacific along the Aleutian Islands, the Gulf of Alaska and in the Southern Ocean off much of the coast of Antarctica. They are considered "common" (0.20–0.40 individuals per 100 km2) in the eastern Pacific along the coasts of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, in the North Atlantic Ocean around Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
+In the Antarctic, orcas range up to the edge of the pack ice and are believed to venture into the denser pack ice, finding open leads much like beluga whales in the Arctic. However, orcas are merely seasonal visitors to Arctic waters, and do not approach the pack ice in the summer. With the rapid Arctic sea ice decline in the Hudson Strait, their range now extends deep into the northwest Atlantic. Occasionally, orcas swim into freshwater rivers. They have been documented 100 mi (160 km) up the Columbia River in the United States. They have also been found in the Fraser River in Canada and the Horikawa River in Japan.Migration patterns are poorly understood. Each summer, the same individuals appear off the coasts of British Columbia and Washington. Despite decades of research, where these animals go for the rest of the year remains unknown. Transient pods have been sighted from southern Alaska to central California.
+
+Population
+Worldwide population estimates are uncertain, but recent consensus suggests a minimum of 50,000 (2006). Local estimates include roughly 25,000 in the Antarctic, 8,500 in the tropical Pacific, 2,250–2,700 off the cooler northeast Pacific and 500–1,500 off Norway. Japan's Fisheries Agency estimated in the 2000s that 2,321 orcas were in the seas around Japan.
+
+Ecotypes
+Due to the variety of range in which orca whales inhabit, orca whales have specialized to the specific needs of their environment. These ecotypes are called the Offshore, Resident, Transient, North Atlantic type 1, North Atlantic type 2, type-A, type-B, type-C, and type-D ecotypes. The Resident, Transient and Offshore whales of the Pacific Northwest, overlap greatly in habitat range, however other ecotypes are more isolated. The North Atlantic whales have some overlapping range with type 1 being fish-specialists and remaining closer to the coastline of northern Scandinavia and type 2 inhabiting deeper waters off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland. These whales differ substantially in both behavior and morphology, with differences similar to those seen in Transient and Residential whales of the Pacific Northwest.Another region of significant diversity is the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, where type-A, type-B, type-C, and type-D orcas reside. Type-A whales, who prefer open waters in the Southern Ocean, have an oversized build similar to Offshore whales. They feed on a wide variety of prey – particularly the Minke whale whose migration patterns they follow in and out of Antarctic waters. Type-B orcas, also called Pack-Ice orcas, inhabit the loosely packed ice around the Antarctic. There are two identifiable subtypes; large and small. Large Pack-Ice whales are well-known for their ‘wave-washing’ hunting behavior in which they use their tails to wash seals off into the surrounding water. These whales also appear pale-yellowish in color due to the presence of diatoms – a form of algae – that grows on their bodies. Small Pack-Ice, called Gerlache whales after the strait that they inhabit, prey on penguins. These whales are significantly smaller and also have pale-yellowish color due to diatoms, than both Large Ice-Pack whales and type-A whales. The smallest ecotypes of the Antarctic region are type-C whales, also called Ross Sea whales. These whales grow to only 6 meters in length (adult males), and like other Antarctic whales have a pale-yellowish coloring. The cape of Ross Sea orcas, however, is darker than the rest of their body, and they sport a very distinctive and dramatically slanted eye patch. These whales have been observed feeding on Antarctic toothfish, but it is still unknown whether or not they are fish-specialists. The final ecotype of the Antarctic region is type-D, which are classified as sub-Antarctic orcas, and are the rarest ecotype of the bunch. Only sighted a handful of times, one of which was a mass-stranding event in New Zealand, these whales also sport a unique appearance with shorter dorsal fins, rounder heads, and the smallest eye patches of any ecotype. Due to the rarity of their sightings, it is still unclear whether these are specialist hunters – they have been seen preying on fish, rays, and sharks.
+
+Feeding
+Orcas are apex predators, meaning that they themselves have no natural predators. They are sometimes called "wolves of the sea", because they hunt in groups like wolf packs. Orcas hunt varied prey including fish, cephalopods, mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles. Different populations or ecotypes may specialize, and some can have a dramatic impact on prey species. However, whales in tropical areas appear to have more generalized diets due to lower food productivity. Orcas spend most of their time at shallow depths, but occasionally dive several hundred metres depending on their prey.
+
+Fish
+Fish-eating orcas prey on around 30 species of fish. Some populations in the Norwegian and Greenland sea specialize in herring and follow that fish's autumnal migration to the Norwegian coast. Salmon account for 96% of northeast Pacific residents' diet, including 65% of large, fatty Chinook. Chum salmon are also eaten, but smaller sockeye and pink salmon are not a significant food item. Depletion of specific prey species in an area is, therefore, cause for concern for local populations, despite the high diversity of prey. On average, an orca eats 227 kilograms (500 lb) each day. While salmon are usually hunted by an individual whale or a small group, herring are often caught using carousel feeding: the orcas force the herring into a tight ball by releasing bursts of bubbles or flashing their white undersides. They then slap the ball with their tail flukes, stunning or killing up to 15 fish at a time, then eating them one by one. Carousel feeding has only been documented in the Norwegian orca population, as well as some oceanic dolphin species. Some dolphins recognize fish eating orcas (usually resident) as harmless and remain in the same area.In New Zealand, sharks and rays appear to be important prey, including eagle rays, long-tail and short-tail stingrays, common threshers, smooth hammerheads, blue sharks, basking sharks, and shortfin makos. With sharks, orcas may herd them to the surface and strike them with their tail flukes, while bottom-dwelling rays are cornered, pinned to the ground and taken to the surface. In other parts of the world, orcas have preyed on broadnose sevengill sharks, small whale sharks and even great white sharks. Competition between orcas and white sharks is probable in regions where their diets overlap. The arrival of orcas in an area can cause white sharks to flee and forage elsewhere. Orcas appear to target the liver of sharks.
+
+Mammals and birds
+Orcas are sophisticated and effective predators of marine mammals. They are recorded to prey on other cetacean species, usually smaller dolphins and porpoises such as common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, dusky dolphins, harbour porpoises and Dall's porpoises. While hunting these species, orcas usually have to chase them to exhaustion. For highly social species, orca pods try to separate an individual from its group. Larger groups have a better chance of preventing their prey from escaping, which is killed by being thrown around, rammed and jumped on. Arctic orcas may attack beluga whales and narwhals stuck in pools enclosed by sea ice, the former are also driven into shallower water where juveniles are grabbed. By contrast, orcas appear to be wary of pilot whales, which have been recorded to mob and chase them.
+Orcas also prey on larger species such as sperm whales, grey whales, humpback whales and minke whales. In 2019, orcas were recorded to have killed a blue whale on three separate occasions off the south coast of Western Australia, including an estimated 18–22-meter (59–72 ft) individual. Large whales require much effort and coordination to kill and orcas often target calves. A hunt begins with a chase followed by a violent attack on the exhausted prey. Large whales often show signs of orca attack via tooth rake marks. Pods of female sperm whales sometimes protect themselves by forming a protective circle around their calves with their flukes facing outwards, using them to repel the attackers. There is also evidence that humpback whales will defend against or mob orcas who are attacking either humpback calves or juveniles as well as members of other species.Prior to the advent of industrial whaling, great whales may have been the major food source for orcas. The introduction of modern whaling techniques may have aided orcas by the sound of exploding harpoons indicating the availability of prey to scavenge, and compressed air inflation of whale carcasses causing them to float, thus exposing them to scavenging. However, the devastation of great whale populations by unfettered whaling has possibly reduced their availability for orcas, and caused them to expand their consumption of smaller marine mammals, thus contributing to the decline of these as well.
+Other marine mammal prey includes seal species such as harbour seals, Weddell seals, elephant seals, California sea lions, Steller sea lions, South American sea lions and walruses. Often, to avoid injury, orcas disable their prey before killing and eating it. This may involve throwing it in the air, slapping it with their tails, ramming it, or breaching and landing on it. In steeply banked beaches off Península Valdés, Argentina, and the Crozet Islands, orcas feed on sea lions and elephant seals in shallow water, even beaching temporarily to grab prey before wriggling back to the sea. Beaching, usually fatal to cetaceans, is not an instinctive behaviour, and can require years of practice for the young. Orcas can then release the animal near juvenile whales, allowing the younger whales to practice the difficult capture technique on the now-weakened prey. In the Antarctic, "wave-hunting" orcas "spy-hop" to locate seals resting on ice floes, and then swim in groups to create waves that wash over the floe. This washes the prey into the water, where other orcas lie in wait.In the Aleutian Islands, a decline in sea otter populations in the 1990s was controversially attributed by some scientists to orca predation, although with no direct evidence. The decline of sea otters followed a decline in seal populations, which in turn may be substitutes for their original prey, now decimated by industrial whaling. Orcas have been observed preying on terrestrial mammals, such as deer swimming between islands off the northwest coast of North America. Orca cannibalism has also been reported based on analysis of stomach contents, but this is likely to be the result of scavenging remains dumped by whalers. One orca was also attacked by its companions after being shot. Although resident orcas have never been observed to eat other marine mammals, they occasionally harass and kill porpoises and seals for no apparent reason.Orcas do consume seabirds but are more likely to kill and leave them uneaten. Penguin species recorded as prey in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters include gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, king penguins and rockhopper penguins. Orcas in many areas may prey on cormorants and gulls. A captive orca at Marineland of Canada discovered it could regurgitate fish onto the surface, attracting sea gulls, and then eat the birds. Four others then learned to copy the behaviour.
+
+Behaviour
+Day-to-day orca behaviour generally consists of foraging, travelling, resting and socializing. Orcas frequently engage in surface behaviour such as breaching (jumping completely out of the water) and tail-slapping. These activities may have a variety of purposes, such as courtship, communication, dislodging parasites, or play. Spyhopping is a behaviour in which a whale holds its head above water to view its surroundings. Resident orcas swim alongside porpoises and other dolphins.Orcas will engage in surplus killing, that is, killing that is not designed to be for food. As an example, a BBC film crew witnessed orca in British Columbia playing with a male Steller sea lion to exhaustion, but not eating it.
+
+Social structure
+Orcas are notable for their complex societies. Only elephants and higher primates live in comparably complex social structures. Due to orcas' complex social bonds, many marine experts have concerns about how humane it is to keep them in captivity.Resident orcas in the eastern North Pacific live in particularly complex and stable social groups. Unlike any other known mammal social structure, resident whales live with their mothers for their entire lives. These family groups are based on matrilines consisting of the eldest female (matriarch) and her sons and daughters, and the descendants of her daughters, etc. The average size of a matriline is 5.5 animals. Because females can reach age 90, as many as four generations travel together. These matrilineal groups are highly stable. Individuals separate for only a few hours at a time, to mate or forage. With one exception, an orca named Luna, no permanent separation of an individual from a resident matriline has been recorded.
+Closely related matrilines form loose aggregations called pods, usually consisting of one to four matrilines. Unlike matrilines, pods may separate for weeks or months at a time. DNA testing indicates resident males nearly always mate with females from other pods. Clans, the next level of resident social structure, are composed of pods with similar dialects, and common but older maternal heritage. Clan ranges overlap, mingling pods from different clans. The highest association layer is the community, which consists of pods that regularly associate with each other but share no maternal relations or dialects.Transient pods are smaller than resident pods, typically consisting of an adult female and one or two of her offspring. Males typically maintain stronger relationships with their mothers than other females. These bonds can extend well into adulthood. Unlike residents, extended or permanent separation of transient offspring from natal matrilines is common, with juveniles and adults of both sexes participating. Some males become "rovers" and do not form long-term associations, occasionally joining groups that contain reproductive females. As in resident clans, transient community members share an acoustic repertoire, although regional differences in vocalizations have been noted.As with residents and transients, the lifestyle of these whales appears to reflect their diet; fish-eating orcas off Norway have resident-like social structures, while mammal-eating orcas in Argentina and the Crozet Islands behave more like transients.Orcas of the same sex and age group may engage in physical contact and synchronous surfacing. These behaviours do not occur randomly among individuals in a pod, providing evidence of "friendships".
+
+Vocalizations
+Like all cetaceans, orcas depend heavily on underwater sound for orientation, feeding, and communication. They produce three categories of sounds: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Clicks are believed to be used primarily for navigation and discriminating prey and other objects in the surrounding environment, but are also commonly heard during social interactions.Northeast Pacific resident groups tend to be much more vocal than transient groups in the same waters. Residents feed primarily on Chinook and chum salmon, which are insensitive to orca calls (inferred from the audiogram of Atlantic salmon). In contrast, the marine mammal prey of transients hear whale calls well and thus transients are typically silent. Vocal behaviour in these whales is mainly limited to surfacing activities and milling (slow swimming with no apparent direction) after a kill.All members of a resident pod use similar calls, known collectively as a dialect. Dialects are composed of specific numbers and types of discrete, repetitive calls. They are complex and stable over time. Call patterns and structure are distinctive within matrilines. Newborns produce calls similar to their mothers, but have a more limited repertoire. Individuals likely learn their dialect through contact with pod members. Family-specific calls have been observed more frequently in the days following a calf's birth, which may help the calf learn them. Dialects are probably an important means of maintaining group identity and cohesiveness. Similarity in dialects likely reflects the degree of relatedness between pods, with variation growing over time. When pods meet, dominant call types decrease and subset call types increase. The use of both call types is called biphonation. The increased subset call types may be the distinguishing factor between pods and inter-pod relations.Dialects also distinguish types. Resident dialects contain seven to 17 (mean = 11) distinctive call types. All members of the North American west coast transient community express the same basic dialect, although minor regional variation in call types is evident. Preliminary research indicates offshore orcas have group-specific dialects unlike those of residents and transients.Norwegian and Icelandic herring-eating orcas appear to have different vocalizations for activities like hunting. A population that live in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica have 28 complex burst-pulse and whistle calls.
+
+Intelligence
+Orcas have the second-heaviest brains among marine mammals (after sperm whales, which have the largest brain of any animal). Orcas have more gray matter and more cortical neurons than any mammal, including humans. They can be trained in captivity and are often described as intelligent, although defining and measuring "intelligence" is difficult in a species whose environment and behavioural strategies are very different from those of humans. Orcas imitate others, and seem to deliberately teach skills to their kin. Off the Crozet Islands, mothers push their calves onto the beach, waiting to pull the youngster back if needed. In March 2023, a female orca was spotted with a newborn pilot whale in Snæfellsnes.
+People who have interacted closely with orcas offer numerous anecdotes demonstrating the whales' curiosity, playfulness, and ability to solve problems. Alaskan orcas have not only learned how to steal fish from longlines, but have also overcome a variety of techniques designed to stop them, such as the use of unbaited lines as decoys. Once, fishermen placed their boats several miles apart, taking turns retrieving small amounts of their catch, in the hope that the whales would not have enough time to move between boats to steal the catch as it was being retrieved. The tactic worked initially, but the orcas figured it out quickly and split into groups.In other anecdotes, researchers describe incidents in which wild orcas playfully tease humans by repeatedly moving objects the humans are trying to reach, or suddenly start to toss around a chunk of ice after a human throws a snowball.The orca's use of dialects and the passing of other learned behaviours from generation to generation have been described as a form of animal culture.
+The complex and stable vocal and behavioural cultures of sympatric groups of killer whales (Orcinus orca) appear to have no parallel outside humans and represent an independent evolution of cultural faculties.
+
+Life cycle
+Female orcas begin to mature at around the age of 10 and reach peak fertility around 20, experiencing periods of polyestrous cycling separated by non-cycling periods of three to 16 months. Females can often breed until age 40, followed by a rapid decrease in fertility. Orcas are among the few animals that undergo menopause and live for decades after they have finished breeding. The lifespans of wild females average 50 to 80 years. Some are claimed to have lived substantially longer: Granny (J2) was estimated by some researchers to have been as old as 105 years at the time of her death, though a biopsy sample indicated her age as 65 to 80 years. It is thought that orcas held in captivity tend to have shorter lives than those in the wild, although this is subject to scientific debate.Males mate with females from other pods, which prevents inbreeding. Gestation varies from 15 to 18 months.  Mothers usually calve a single offspring about once every five years. In resident pods, births occur at any time of year, although winter is the most common. Mortality is extremely high during the first seven months of life, when 37–50% of all calves die. Weaning begins at about 12 months of age, and is complete by two years. According to observations in several regions, all male and female pod members participate in the care of the young.Males sexually mature at the age of 15, but do not typically reproduce until age 21. Wild males live around 29 years on average, with a maximum of about 60 years. One male, known as Old Tom, was reportedly spotted every winter between the 1840s and 1930 off New South Wales, Australia, which would have made him up to 90 years old. Examination of his teeth indicated he died around age 35, but this method of age determination is now believed to be inaccurate for older animals. One male known to researchers in the Pacific Northwest (identified as J1) was estimated to have been 59 years old when he died in 2010. Orcas are unique among cetaceans, as their caudal sections elongate with age, making their heads relatively shorter.Infanticide, once thought to occur only in captive orcas, was observed in wild populations by researchers off British Columbia on December 2, 2016. In this incident, an adult male killed the calf of a female within the same pod, with the adult male's mother also joining in the assault. It is theorized that the male killed the young calf in order to mate with its mother (something that occurs in other carnivore species), while the male's mother supported the breeding opportunity for her son. The attack ended when the calf's mother struck and injured the attacking male. Such behaviour matches that of many smaller dolphin species, such as the bottlenose dolphin.
+
+Conservation
+In 2008, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) changed its assessment of the orca's conservation status from conservation dependent to data deficient, recognizing that one or more orca types may actually be separate, endangered species. Depletion of prey species, pollution, large-scale oil spills, and habitat disturbance caused by noise and conflicts with boats are the most significant worldwide threats. In January 2020, the first orca in England and Wales since 2001 was found dead with a large fragment of plastic in its stomach.Like other animals at the highest trophic levels, the orca is particularly at risk of poisoning from bioaccumulation of toxins, including Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). European harbour seals have problems in reproductive and immune functions associated with high levels of PCBs and related contaminants, and a survey off the Washington coast found PCB levels in orcas were higher than levels that had caused health problems in harbour seals. Blubber samples in the Norwegian Arctic show higher levels of PCBs, pesticides and brominated flame-retardants than in polar bears. A 2018 study published in Science found that global orca populations are poised to dramatically decline due such toxic pollution.In the Pacific Northwest, wild salmon stocks, a main resident food source, have declined dramatically in recent years. In the Puget Sound region, only 75 whales remain with few births over the last few years. On the west coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, seal and sea lion populations have also substantially declined.In 2005, the United States government listed the southern resident community as an endangered population under the Endangered Species Act. This community comprises three pods which live mostly in the Georgia and Haro Straits and Puget Sound in British Columbia and Washington. They do not breed outside of their community, which was once estimated at around 200 animals and later shrank to around 90. In October 2008, the annual survey revealed seven were missing and presumed dead, reducing the count to 83. This is potentially the largest decline in the population in the past 10 years. These deaths can be attributed to declines in Chinook salmon.Scientist Ken Balcomb has extensively studied orcas since 1976; he is the research biologist responsible for discovering U.S. Navy sonar may harm orcas. He studied orcas from the Center for Whale Research, located in Friday Harbor, Washington. He was also able to study orcas from "his home porch perched above Puget Sound, where the animals hunt and play in summer months". In May 2003, Balcomb (along with other whale watchers near the Puget Sound coastline) noticed uncharacteristic behaviour displayed by the orcas. The whales seemed "agitated and were moving haphazardly, attempting to lift their heads free of the water" to escape the sound of the sonars. "Balcomb confirmed at the time that strange underwater pinging noises detected with underwater microphones were sonar. The sound originated from a U.S. Navy frigate 12 miles (19 kilometres) distant, Balcomb said." The impact of sonar waves on orcas is potentially life-threatening. Three years prior to Balcomb's discovery, research in the Bahamas showed 14 beaked whales washed up on the shore. These whales were beached on the day U.S. Navy destroyers were activated into sonar exercise. Of the 14 whales beached, six of them died. These six dead whales were studied, and CAT scans of two of the whale heads showed hemorrhaging around the brain and the ears, which is consistent with decompression sickness.Another conservation concern was made public in September 2008 when the Canadian government decided it was not necessary to enforce further protections (including the Species at Risk Act in place to protect endangered animals along with their habitats) for orcas aside from the laws already in place. In response to this decision, six environmental groups sued the federal government, claiming orcas were facing many threats on the British Columbia Coast and the federal government did nothing to protect them from these threats. A legal and scientific nonprofit organization, Ecojustice, led the lawsuit and represented the David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and the Wilderness Committee. Many scientists involved in this lawsuit, including Bill Wareham, a marine scientist with the David Suzuki Foundation, noted increased boat traffic, water toxic wastes, and low salmon population as major threats, putting approximately 87 orcas on the British Columbia Coast in danger.Underwater noise from shipping, drilling, and other human activities is a significant concern in some key orca habitats, including Johnstone Strait and Haro Strait. In the mid-1990s, loud underwater noises from salmon farms were used to deter seals. Orcas also avoided the surrounding waters. High-intensity sonar used by the Navy disturbs orcas along with other marine mammals. Orcas are popular with whale watchers, which may stress the whales and alter their behaviour, particularly if boats approach too closely or block their lines of travel.The Exxon Valdez oil spill adversely affected orcas in Prince William Sound and Alaska's Kenai Fjords region. Eleven members (about half) of one resident pod disappeared in the following year. The spill damaged salmon and other prey populations, which in turn damaged local orcas. By 2009, scientists estimated the AT1 transient population (considered part of a larger population of 346 transients), numbered only seven individuals and had not reproduced since the spill. This population is expected to die out.Orcas are included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning international trade (including in parts/derivatives) is regulated.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Indigenous cultures
+The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast feature orcas throughout their art, history, spirituality and religion. The Haida regarded orcas as the most powerful animals in the ocean, and their mythology tells of orcas living in houses and towns under the sea. According to these myths, they took on human form when submerged, and humans who drowned went to live with them. For the Kwakwaka'wakw, the orca was regarded as the ruler of the undersea world, with sea lions for slaves and dolphins for warriors. In Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka'wakw mythology, orcas may embody the souls of deceased chiefs. The Tlingit of southeastern Alaska regarded the orca as custodian of the sea and a benefactor of humans.The Maritime Archaic people of Newfoundland also had great respect for orcas, as evidenced by stone carvings found in a 4,000-year-old burial at the Port au Choix Archaeological Site.In the tales and beliefs of the Siberian Yupik people, orcas are said to appear as wolves in winter, and wolves as orcas in summer. Orcas are believed to assist their hunters in driving walrus. Reverence is expressed in several forms: the boat represents the animal, and a wooden carving hung from the hunter's belt. Small sacrifices such as tobacco or meat are strewn into the sea for them.The Ainu people of Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, and southern Sakhalin often referred to orcas in their folklore and myth as Repun Kamuy (God of Sea/Offshore) to bring fortunes (whales) to the coasts, and there had been traditional funerals for stranded or deceased orcas akin to funerals for other animals such as brown bears.
+
+"Killer" stereotype
+In Western cultures, orcas were historically feared as dangerous, savage predators. The first written description of an orca was given by Pliny the Elder circa AD 70, who wrote, "Orcas (the appearance of which no image can express, other than an enormous mass of savage flesh with teeth) are the enemy of [other kinds of whale]... they charge and pierce them like warships ramming." (see citation in section "Naming", above).Of the very few confirmed attacks on humans by wild orcas, none have been fatal. In one instance, orcas tried to tip ice floes on which a dog team and photographer of the Terra Nova Expedition were standing. The sled dogs' barking is speculated to have sounded enough like seal calls to trigger the orca's hunting curiosity. In the 1970s, a surfer in California was bitten, and in 2005, a boy in Alaska who was splashing in a region frequented by harbour seals was bumped by an orca that apparently misidentified him as prey. Unlike wild orcas, captive orcas have made nearly two dozen attacks on humans since the 1970s, some of which have been fatal.Competition with fishermen also led to orcas being regarded as pests. In the waters of the Pacific Northwest and Iceland, the shooting of orcas was accepted and even encouraged by governments. As an indication of the intensity of shooting that occurred until fairly recently, about 25% of the orcas captured in Puget Sound for aquariums through 1970 bore bullet scars. The U.S. Navy claimed to have deliberately killed hundreds of orcas in Icelandic waters in 1956 with machine guns, rockets, and depth charges.
+
+Modern Western attitudes
+Western attitudes towards orcas have changed dramatically in recent decades. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, orcas came to much greater public and scientific awareness, starting with the live-capture and display of an orca known as Moby Doll, a southern resident orca harpooned off Saturna Island in 1964. He was the first ever orca to be studied at close quarters alive, not postmortem. Moby Doll's impact in scientific research at the time, including the first scientific studies of an orca's sound production, led to two articles about him in the journal Zoologica. So little was known at the time, it was nearly two months before the whale's keepers discovered what food (fish) it was willing to eat. To the surprise of those who saw him, Moby Doll was a docile, non-aggressive whale who made no attempts to attack humans.
+Between 1964 and 1976, 50 orcas from the Pacific Northwest were captured for display in aquaria, and public interest in the animals grew. In the 1970s, research pioneered by Michael Bigg led to the discovery of the species' complex social structure, its use of vocal communication, and its extraordinarily stable mother–offspring bonds. Through photo-identification techniques, individuals were named and tracked over decades.Bigg's techniques also revealed the Pacific Northwest population was in the low hundreds rather than the thousands that had been previously assumed. The southern resident community alone had lost 48 of its members to captivity; by 1976, only 80 remained. In the Pacific Northwest, the species that had unthinkingly been targeted became a cultural icon within a few decades.The public's growing appreciation also led to growing opposition to whale–keeping in aquarium. Only one whale has been taken in North American waters since 1976. In recent years, the extent of the public's interest in orcas has manifested itself in several high-profile efforts surrounding individuals. Following the success of the 1993 film Free Willy, the movie's captive star Keiko was returned to the coast of his native Iceland in 2002. The director of the International Marine Mammal Project for the Earth Island Institute, David Phillips, led the efforts to return Keiko to the Iceland waters. Keiko however did not adapt to the harsh climate of the Arctic Ocean, and died a year into his release after contracting pneumonia, at the age of 27. In 2002, the orphan Springer was discovered in Puget Sound, Washington. She became the first whale to be successfully reintegrated into a wild pod after human intervention, crystallizing decades of research into the vocal behaviour and social structure of the region's orcas. The saving of Springer raised hopes that another young orca named Luna, which had become separated from his pod, could be returned to it. However, his case was marked by controversy about whether and how to intervene, and in 2006, Luna was killed by a boat propeller.
+
+Whaling
+The earlier of known records of commercial hunting of orcas date to the 18th century in Japan. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the global whaling industry caught immense numbers of baleen and sperm whales, but largely ignored orcas because of their limited amounts of recoverable oil, their smaller populations, and the difficulty of taking them. Once the stocks of larger species were depleted, orcas were targeted by commercial whalers in the mid-20th century. Between 1954 and 1997, Japan took 1,178 orcas (although the Ministry of the Environment claims that there had been domestic catches of about 1,600 whales between late 1940s to 1960s) and Norway took 987. Extensive hunting of orcas, including an Antarctic catch of 916 in 1979–80 alone, prompted the International Whaling Commission to recommend a ban on commercial hunting of the species pending further research. Today, no country carries out a substantial hunt, although Indonesia and Greenland permit small subsistence hunts (see Aboriginal whaling). Other than commercial hunts, orcas were hunted along Japanese coasts out of public concern for potential conflicts with fisheries. Such cases include a semi-resident male-female pair in Akashi Strait and Harimanada being killed in the Seto Inland Sea in 1957, the killing of five whales from a pod of 11 members that swam into Tokyo Bay in 1970, and a catch record in southern Taiwan in the 1990s.
+
+Cooperation with humans
+Orcas have helped humans hunting other whales. One well-known example was the orcas of Eden, Australia, including the male known as Old Tom. Whalers more often considered them a nuisance, however, as orcas would gather to scavenge meat from the whalers' catch. Some populations, such as in Alaska's Prince William Sound, may have been reduced significantly by whalers shooting them in retaliation.
+
+Whale watching
+Whale watching continues to increase in popularity, but may have some problematic impacts on orcas. Exposure to exhaust gases from large amounts of vessel traffic is causing concern for the overall health of the 75 remaining southern resident orcas (SRKWs) left as of early 2019. This population is followed by approximately 20 vessels for 12 hours a day during the months May–September. Researchers discovered that these vessels are in the line of sight for these whales for 98–99.5% of daylight hours. With so many vessels, the air quality around these whales deteriorates and impacts their health. Air pollutants that bind with exhaust fumes are responsible for the activation of the cytochrome P450 1A gene family. Researchers have successfully identified this gene in skin biopsies of live whales and also the lungs of deceased whales. A direct correlation between activation of this gene and the air pollutants can not be made because there are other known factors that will induce the same gene. Vessels can have either wet or dry exhaust systems, with wet exhaust systems leaving more pollutants in the water due to various gas solubility. A modelling study determined that the lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level (LOAEL) of exhaust pollutants was about 12% of the human dose.As a response to this, in 2017 boats off the British Columbia coast now have a minimum approach distance of 200 metres compared to the previous 100 metres. This new rule complements Washington State's minimum approach zone of 180 metres that has been in effect since 2011. If a whale approaches a vessel it must be placed in neutral until the whale passes. The World Health Organization has set air quality standards in an effort to control the emissions produced by these vessels.
+
+Captivity
+The orca's intelligence, trainability, striking appearance, playfulness in captivity and sheer size have made it a popular exhibit at aquaria and aquatic theme parks. From 1976 to 1997, 55 whales were taken from the wild in Iceland, 19 from Japan, and three from Argentina. These figures exclude animals that died during capture. Live captures fell dramatically in the 1990s, and by 1999, about 40% of the 48 animals on display in the world were captive-born.Organizations such as World Animal Protection and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation campaign against the practice of keeping them in captivity. In captivity, they often develop pathologies, such as the dorsal fin collapse seen in 60–90% of captive males. Captives have vastly reduced life expectancies, on average only living into their 20s. That said, a 2015 study coauthored by staff at SeaWorld and the Minnesota Zoo suggested no significant difference in survivorship between free-ranging and captive orcas. However, in the wild, females who survive infancy live 46 years on average, and up to 70–80 years in rare cases. Wild males who survive infancy live 31 years on average, and up to 50–60 years. Captivity usually bears little resemblance to wild habitat, and captive whales' social groups are foreign to those found in the wild. Critics claim captive life is stressful due to these factors and the requirement to perform circus tricks that are not part of wild orca behaviour, see above. Wild orcas may travel up to 160 kilometres (100 mi) in a day, and critics say the animals are too big and intelligent to be suitable for captivity. Captives occasionally act aggressively towards themselves, their tankmates, or humans, which critics say is a result of stress. Between 1991 and 2010, the bull orca known as Tilikum was involved in the death of three people, and was featured in the critically acclaimed 2013 film Blackfish. Tilikum lived at SeaWorld from 1992 until his death in 2017.In March 2016, SeaWorld announced that they would be ending their orca breeding program and their theatrical shows. However, as of 2020, theatrical shows featuring orcas are still ongoing.
+
+Orca attacks on sailboats and small vessels
+Beginning around 2020 one or more pods of orcas began to attack sailing vessels off the Southern tip of Europe and a few were sunk. At least 15 interactions between orcas and boats off the Iberian coast were reported in 2020. According to the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA) as many as 500 vessels have been damaged between 2020 and 2023. In one  video, an orca can be seen biting on one of the two rudders ripped from a catamaran near Gibraltar. The captain of the vessel reported this was the second attack on a vessel under his command and the orcas focused on the rudders. "Looks like they knew exactly what they are doing. They didn't touch anything else." After an orca repeatedly rammed a vessel off the coast of Norway in 2023, there is a concern the behavior is spreading to other areas. This has led to recommendations that sailors now carry bags of sand. Dropping sand into the water near the rudder is thought to confuse the sonar signal.
+
+See also
+List of marine mammal species
+List of cetaceans
+Livyatan melvillei – occupied a similar ecological niche
+Ingrid Visser (researcher) – a New Zealand biologist who swims with wild orcas
+
+Footnotes
+References
+Works cited
+Baird, Robin W. (2002). Killer Whales of the World. Stillwater, MN.: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2654-1.
+Carwardine, Mark (2001). Killer Whales. London: BBC Worldwide. ISBN 978-0-7894-8266-2.
+Ford, John K. B. (2002). "Killer Whale". Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press. pp. 669–675. ISBN 0-12-551340-2.
+Ford, John K. B.; Ellis, Graeme M.; Balcomb, Kenneth C. (2000). Killer Whales (Second ed.). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0800-2.
+Ford, John K. B.; Ellis, Graeme M. (2006). "Selective foraging by fish-eating killer whales Orcinus orca in British Columbia". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 316: 185–199. Bibcode:2006MEPS..316..185F. doi:10.3354/meps316185.
+Francis, Daniel; Hewlett, Gil (2007). Operation Orca: Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales. Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55017-426-7.
+Heimlich, Sara; Boran, James (2001). Killer Whales. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-89658-545-4.
+Heptner, V. G.; Nasimovich, A. A.; Bannikov, A. G.; Hoffmann, Robert S. (1996). Mammals of the Soviet Union. Vol. II, part 3. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Libraries and National Science Foundation. ISBN 978-1-886106-81-9.
+NMFS (2005). "Conservation Plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca)" (PDF). Seattle, U.S.: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northwest Regional Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
+Obee, Bruce; Ellis, Graeme (1992). Elaine Jones (ed.). Guardians of the Whales: The Quest to Study Whales in the Wild. North Vancouver, British Columbia: Whitecap Books. ISBN 978-1-55110-034-0.
+
+Further reading
+Hoyt, Erich (August 1984). "The Whales Called "Killer"". National Geographic. Vol. 166, no. 2. pp. 220–237. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
+Hoyt, Erich (1998), Orca: The Whale Called Killer Camden House Publishing, ISBN 978-0-920656-25-9
+Kirkevold, B. C.; Lockard, J. S. (1986). Behavioral Biology of Killer Whales. Alan R. Liss Inc. ISBN 978-0-8451-3100-8.
+
+External links
+
+Orca-Live – Orcas in Johnstone Strait, British Columbia
+Salish Sea Hydrophone Network – Listen live to orcas in Washington State, U.S.
+Keep Whales Wild
+Why are orca called killer whales?, HowStuffWorks.com, article by Jacob Silverman
+Voices in the Sea - Sounds of the Orca (Killer Whale)
+Orca devours great white shark
+Orcas Preying On Dolphins (Caught On Drone), off the coast of San Clemente
+Orcas vs Sperm Whales
+Watch: Killer Whales Charge Blue Whale (Rare Drone Footage) | National Geographic
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diff --git a/data/animals/king crab.txt b/data/animals/king crab.txt
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+King crabs are a taxon of decapod crustaceans that are chiefly found in cold seas. Because of their large size and the taste of their meat, many species are widely caught and sold as food with the most common being the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus).
+King crabs are generally thought to be derived from hermit crab ancestors within the Paguridae, which may explain the asymmetry still found in the adult forms. This ancestry is supported by several anatomical peculiarities which are present only in king crabs and hermit crabs. Although some doubt still exists about this hypothesis, king crabs are the most widely quoted example of carcinisation among the Decapoda. The evidence for this explanation comes from the asymmetry of the king crab's abdomen, which is thought to reflect the asymmetry of hermit crabs, which must fit into a spiral shell.
+
+Controversial taxon
+Although formerly classified among the hermit crabs in the superfamily Paguroidea, king crabs are now placed in a separate superfamily, Lithodoidea.
+This is not without controversy, as there is widespread consensus in the scientific community that king crabs are derived from hermit crabs and closely related to pagurid hermit crabs; therefore, a separate superfamily in the classification poorly reflects the phylogenetic relationship of this taxon.
+
+Species
+As of September 2023, 125 species of king crab are known in 10 genera. These include:
+
+Glyptolithodes
+Glyptolithodes is found chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere, but extending as far north as California, although all its closest relatives live in the Northern Hemisphere. Its single species, G. cristatipes, was originally placed in the genus Rhinolithodes.
+
+Paralithodes
+Red (P. camtschaticus) and blue (P. platypus) king crabs are some of the most important fisheries in Alaska. However, populations have fluctuated in the past 25 years, and some areas are currently closed due to overfishing. The two species are similar in size, shape and life history. Habitat is the main factor separating the range of blue and red king crabs in the Bering Sea. Red king crabs prefer shallow, muddy or sandy habitats in Bristol Bay and Norton Sound, while blue king crabs prefer the deeper areas made up of cobble, gravel and rock that occur around the Pribilof, St. Matthew, St. Lawrence, and Diomede Islands.
+Red king crabs have an 11-month brood cycle in their first reproductive year and a 12-month cycle thereafter. Both red and blue king crabs have planktotrophic larvae that undergo 4 zoeal stages in the water column and a non-feeding intermediate glaucothoe stage which seeks appropriate habitat on the sea floor.
+
+Paralithodes camtschaticus
+The red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, is a very large species, sometimes reaching a carapace width of 11 in (28 cm) and a leg span of 6 ft (1.8 m). Its natural range is the Bering Sea around the Kamchatka Peninsula area, between the Aleutian Islands and St. Lawrence Island. It can also be found in the Barents Sea and the European Arctic, where it was intentionally introduced and has now become a pest. By 2022 they had spread to the North Sea, becoming both a lucrative new stock to British fisheries, and an invasive species.
+
+Paralithodes platypus
+The blue king crab, Paralithodes platypus, lives near St. Matthew Island, the Pribilof Islands, and the Diomede Islands, Alaska, and there are populations along the coasts of Japan and Russia. Blue king crabs from the Pribilof Islands are the largest of all the king crabs, sometimes exceeding 18 lb (8 kg) in weight.
+
+Symbiosis
+Juveniles of species of king crabs, including Neolithodes diomedeae, use a species (Scotoplanes Sp. A) of sea cucumber (often known as “sea pigs”) as hosts and can be found on top of and under Scotoplanes. The Scotoplanes reduce the risk of predation for the N. diomedeae, while the Scotoplanes are not harmed from being hosts, which supports the consensus that the two organisms have a commensal relationship.
+
+Parasites
+Some species of king crab, including those of the genera Lithodes, Neolithodes, Paralithodes, and likely Echidnocerus, act as hosts to some parasitic species of careproctus fish. The careproctus lays eggs in the gill chamber of the king crab which serves as a well-protected and aerated area for the eggs to reside until they hatch. On occasion king crabs have been found to be host to the eggs of multiple species of careproctus simultaneously.
+
+See also
+Alaskan king crab fishing
+Deadliest Catch
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Lithodidae at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Lithodidae at Wikispecies
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diff --git a/data/animals/king penguin.txt b/data/animals/king penguin.txt
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+The king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin,  smaller, but somewhat  similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. There are two subspecies: A. p. patagonicus and A. p. halli; patagonicus is found in the South Atlantic and halli in the South Indian Ocean (at the Kerguelen Islands, Crozet Island, Prince Edward Islands, and Heard Island and McDonald Islands) and at Macquarie Island.King penguins mainly eat lanternfish, squid, and krill.  On foraging trips, king penguins repeatedly dive to over 100 metres (300 ft), and have been recorded at depths greater than 300 metres (1,000 ft). Predators of the king penguin include giant petrels, skuas, the snowy sheathbill, the leopard seal, and the orca.
+The king penguin breeds on the Subantarctic islands at the northern reaches of Antarctica, South Georgia, southern Argentina, and other temperate islands of the region. It also lives on Macquarie Island in the Southern Ocean.
+This bird was exploited commercially in the past for its blubber, oil, meat, and feathers. Today, it is fully protected.
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1778 the English illustrator John Frederick Miller included a hand-coloured engraving of the king penguin in his Icones animalium et plantarum. He coined the binomial name Aptenodytes patagonica and specified the type locality as the Mari antarctico, the Antarctic Ocean. The locality was restricted to South Georgia by Gregory Mathews in 1911. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
+
+Appearance
+The king penguin stands at 70 to 100 cm (28 to 39 in) tall and weighs from 9.3 to 18 kg (21 to 40 lb).  Although female and male king penguins are monomorphic they can be separated by their calls. Males are also slightly larger than females. The mean body mass of adults from Marion Island was 12.4 kg (27 lb) for 70 males and 11.1 kg (24 lb) for 71 females. Another study from Marion Island found that the mean mass of 33 adults feeding chicks was 13.1 kg (29 lb). The king penguin is approximately 25% shorter and weighs around a third less than the emperor penguin.At first glance, the king penguin appears very similar to the  larger, closely related emperor penguin, with a broad cheek patch contrasting with surrounding dark feathers and yellow-orange plumage at the top of the chest. However, the cheek patch of the adult king penguin is a solid bright orange whereas that of the emperor penguin is yellow and white, and the upper chest tends to be more orange and less yellowish in the king species. Both have colourful markings along the side of their lower mandible, but these tend towards pink in emperor penguin and orange in king penguin.
+Emperor and king penguins typically do not inhabit the same areas in the wild, with the possible exception of vagrants at sea, but the two can be distinguished from one another by the king's longer, straighter bill, larger flippers, and noticeably sleeker body. The juvenile king penguin with its long bill and heavy dark brown down is completely different in appearance from the mostly grey emperor chick with its black and white mask. Once moulted of its brown juvenile plumage, the king chick resembles the adult, but is somewhat less colourful.
+
+King penguins often breed on the same large, circumpolar islands as at least half of all living penguins, but it is easily distinguished from other species by its much larger size and taller frame, colorful markings, and grizzled sooty-greyish rather than blackish back.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+King penguins breed on subantarctic islands between 45 and 55°S, at the northern reaches of Antarctica, as well as Tierra del Fuego (Argentinian part), the Falkland Islands, and other temperate islands of the region. The total population is estimated to be 2.23 million pairs and is increasing. The largest breeding populations are on the Crozet Islands, with around 455,000 pairs, 228,000 pairs on the Prince Edward Islands, 240,000–280,000 on the Kerguelen Islands, and over 100,000 in the South Georgia archipelago. By the early 1920s, the King penguin population in South Georgia and the Falklands was nearly wiped out by whalers on these islands.
+The Falklands and South Georgia had no trees to use for firewood, so the whalers burned millions of oily, blubber-rich penguins as fuel for the constant fires needed to boil whale blubber to extract the oil; the whalers also used penguin oil for lamps, heating, and cooking, in addition to eating the birds and their eggs. Macquarie Island currently has around 70,000 pairs. The non-breeding range is unknown due to many vagrant birds having been seen on the Antarctic peninsula as well as in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
+One of the largest known King penguin colonies, on Île aux Cochons in the Crozet Islands, is thought to have experienced a massive drop in its population over the last few decades, from about half a million breeding pairs in the 1980s to about 60,000 breeding pairs in 2017. The cause of this decline may be due to changes in the ecosystem related to climate change as their primary source of food is moving farther away from places where the penguins can breed. This may result in population declines and shifts in the locations of the King penguin breeding grounds.The Nature Protection Society released several king penguins in Gjesvær in Finnmark, and Røst in Lofoten in northern Norway in August, 1936. Penguins were seen in the area several times during the 1940s; though none have been officially  recorded since 1949, there were a few unconfirmed sightings of penguins in the area during the early 1950s.
+
+Ecology and behavior
+American zoologist Gerry Kooyman revolutionized the study of penguin foraging behaviour in 1971 when he published his results from attaching automatic dive-recording devices to emperor penguins, and recording a dive of 235 metres (771 ft) by a king penguin in 1982. The current maximum dive recorded is 343 metres in the Falkland Islands region, and a maximum time submerged of 552 seconds was recorded at the Crozet Islands. The king penguin dives to depths of 100–300 meters (350–1000 feet), spending around five minutes submerged, during daylight hours, and less than 30 metres (98 ft) at night.
+The majority (around 88% in one study) of dives undertaken by king penguins are flat-bottomed; that is, the penguin dives to a certain depth and remains there for a period of time hunting (roughly 50% of total dive time) before returning to the surface. They have been described as U-shaped or W-shaped, relating to the course of the dive. The remaining 12% of dives have a V-shaped or "spike" pattern, in which the bird dives at an angle through the water column, reaches a certain depth, and then returns to the surface. In contrast, other penguins dive in this latter foraging pattern. Observations at Crozet Islands revealed most king penguins were seen within 30 km (19 mi) of the colony. Using the average swimming speed, Kooyman estimated the distance travelled to foraging areas at 28 km (17 mi).The king penguin's average swimming speed is 6.5–10 km/h (4–6 mph). On shallower dives under 60 m (200 ft), it averages 2 km/h (1.2 mph) descending and ascending, while on deeper dives over 150 m (490 ft) deep, it averages 5 km/h (3.1 mph) in both directions. King penguins also "porpoise", a swimming technique used to breathe while maintaining speed. On land, the king penguin alternates between walking with a wobbling gait and tobogganing—sliding over the ice on its belly, propelled by its feet and wing-like flippers. Like all penguins, it is flightless.
+
+Diet
+King penguins eat various species  of small fish, squid, and krill. Fish constitute roughly 80% of their diet, except in the winter months of July and August, when they make up only around 30%. Lanternfish are the main fish taken, principally the species Electrona carlsbergi and Krefftichthys anderssoni, as well as Protomyctophum tenisoni. Slender escolar (Paradiplospinus gracilis) of the Gempylidae, and Champsocephalus gunneri, is also consumed. Cephalopods consumed include those of the genus Moroteuthis, the hooked squid or Moroteuthopsis longimana, the sevenstar flying squid (Martialia hyadesii), young Gonatus antarcticus, and Onychoteuthis species.
+
+Predators
+The king penguin's predators include other seabirds and aquatic mammals:
+
+Giant petrels take many chicks of all sizes and some eggs. They will also occasionally kill adult king penguins, but very likely mostly sick or injured birds. Giant petrels also scavenge adult king penguins and chicks which have died from other causes.
+Skua species (Stercorarius spp.) take smaller chicks and eggs. Some studies may have overstated the effect skua predation has on king penguin colonies, but large numbers of chicks and eggs are taken in areas where skua nest close to penguin colonies.
+The snowy sheathbill (Chionis alba) and kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) scavenge for dead chicks and unattended eggs.
+The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) takes adult birds and fledglings at sea.
+Orcas also hunt king penguins.
+Male and especially pre-adult male Antarctic fur seals on Marion Island have also been observed chasing, killing, and eating king penguins on the beach.
+
+Courtship and breeding
+The king penguin is able to breed at three years of age, although only a very small minority (5% recorded at Crozet Islands) actually do then; the average age of first breeding is around 5–6 years. King penguins are serially monogamous. They have only one mate each year, and stay faithful to that mate. However, fidelity between years is less than 30%. The unusually long breeding cycle probably contributes to this low rate.The king penguin has an extremely prolonged breeding cycle, taking around 14–16 months from laying to offspring fledging. Although pairs will attempt to breed annually, they are generally only successful one year in two, or two years in three in a triennial pattern in South Georgia. The reproductive cycle begins in September to November, as birds return to colonies for a prenuptial moult. Those that were unsuccessful in breeding the previous season will usually arrive earlier. They then return to the sea for around three weeks before coming ashore in November or December.
+The female penguin lays one pyriform (pear-shaped) white egg weighing 300 g (⅔ lb). It is initially soft but hardens and darkens to a pale greenish colour. It measures around 10 cm × 7 cm (3.9 in × 2.8 in). The egg is incubated for around 55 days with both birds sharing incubation in shifts of 6–18 days each. Like the closely related  emperor penguin, the king penguin balances the egg on its feet and incubates it in a "brood pouch".
+Hatching may take up to 2–3 days to complete and chicks are born semi-altricial and nidicolous. In other words, they have only a thin covering of down, and are entirely dependent on their parents for food and warmth. The guard phase begins with the hatching of the chick. Similar to the emperor penguin, the young king penguin chick spends its time balanced on its parents' feet, sheltered in the brood pouch formed from the abdominal skin of the latter. During this time, the parents alternate every 3–7 days, one guarding the chick while the other forages for food. The guard phase lasts for 30–40 days. By then the chick has grown much larger and is better able to both keep warm and protect itself against most predators. King chicks are very curious and will wander far when exploring their surroundings. The chicks form a group, called a  crèche and  are watched over by only a few adult birds; most parents  leave their chick in these crèches to forage for themselves and their chick. Other species of penguins also practice this method of communal care for offspring.
+
+By April, the chicks are almost fully grown but lose weight by fasting over the winter months, gaining it again during spring in September. Fledging then takes place in late spring/early summer.
+King penguins form huge breeding colonies; for example, the colony on South Georgia Island at Salisbury Plain holds over 100,000 breeding pairs and the colony at St. Andrew's Bay holds over 100,000 birds. Because of the very long breeding cycle, colonies are continuously occupied year-round with both adult birds and chicks. During breeding, king penguins do not build nests, although they show strong territorial behaviour and keep a pecking distance to neighbouring penguins. Penguin positions in breeding colonies are highly stable over weeks and appear regularly spaced.The king penguin feeds its chicks by eating fish, digesting it slightly, and regurgitating the food into the chick's mouth.
+Because of their large size, king penguin chicks take 14–16 months before they are ready to go to sea. This is markedly different from smaller penguins, who rear their chicks through a single summer when food is plentiful. King penguins time their mating so the chicks will develop over the harshest season for fishing. In this way, by the time the young penguins are finally mature enough to leave their parents, it is summer when food is plentiful and conditions are more favorable for the young to survive alone at sea.
+
+Conservation
+Impact of climate change
+70% of king penguins are expected to abruptly disappear in less than eighty years. Considered sensitive indicators of changes in marine ecosystems, king penguins serve as a key species for understanding the effects of climate change on the marine biome, especially throughout the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic areas.King penguins primarily feed at the Antarctic Convergence, which provides 80% of their food biomass. King penguins currently travel 300–500 km over the course of over a week to complete the journey. However, ocean warming could easily move these fronts further away from breeding grounds. Continuous ocean warming could cause the convergence zone to move polewards, away from king penguin breeding sites like the Falklands and the Crozet Islands. It has been suggested that if carbon emissions continue to rise at their current rate, king penguins will need to travel an additional 200 km in order to reach their feeding areas. Breeding grounds will also suffer from the rise of emissions. Nearly half of the total population will likely lose their breeding grounds by the year 2100.
+
+Resource competition
+King penguins are also threatened by large-scale commercial fishing that could deplete their main source of food: myctophid fish. Over 200,000 tons of myctophid fish were commercially exploited by the beginning of the 1990s in the South Georgia region. Ongoing attempts to further develop this fishery for human consumption close to key penguin foraging areas are likely to have negative impacts on food provisioning.
+
+Research and management
+The Pew Charitable Trust recommends the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) implement "large-scale, fully protected marine reserves in the waters surrounding Antarctica." The Trust also recommends precautionary management of the Antarctic krill fishery in order to protect king penguins’ main source of food. The CCAMLR is made up of 24 countries (plus the European Union), among those are the United States and China, that withhold the authority to enact such protective measures. It has also been suggested that in conservation modeling, special attention be paid to the southernmost breeding locations, given the predicted rise in water temperature in the Southern Ocean, and that complete regular censuses of breeding populations be carried out to detect temporal trends and environmental changes.The species is classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. Since 2004, the IUCN has reported that the population size is large and has increased its breeding rates. Adult king penguins have maintained high survival rates since the 1970s. The steady population of king penguins is due largely to current conservation efforts to protect nesting habitats. Ecotourism and public access to all king penguin breeding sites are heavily restricted in order to prevent outbreaks of disease and general disturbance. All of the colonies in Crozet and Kerguelen Islands are protected under the oversight of the Reserve Naturelle Nationales des Terres australes et Antarctiques Françaises. Additionally, South Georgian penguins reside in a "special protected area within the Environmental Management Plan for South Georgia." And in the Falklands, all wildlife—including the king penguin—is protected under the Conservation of Wildlife and Nature Bill of 1999.
+
+Relationship with humans
+In captivity
+Considered a flagship species, 176 individuals were counted in captivity in North American zoos and aquaria in 1999. The species is exhibited at SeaWorld Orlando, Indianapolis Zoo, Detroit Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky, Edinburgh Zoo and Birdland in the United Kingdom, Berlin Zoological Garden in Germany, Zurich Zoo and Zoo Basel in Switzerland, Diergaarde Blijdorp in the Netherlands, Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, 63 Seaworld in Seoul, South Korea, Melbourne Aquarium in Australia, Mar del Plata Aquarium in Argentina, Loro Parque in Spain and Ski Dubai in United Arab Emirates, Calgary Zoo in Canada, Odense Zoo in Denmark, Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, Japan, and many other collections.
+
+Notable king penguins
+Major General Sir Nils Olav, the Edinburgh-based mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Royal Norwegian Guard
+Misha, a central character and metaphor in two novels by Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov
+The king penguin is also the species of penguin represented by the popular character Pondus, an image found on various paraphernalia in many retail stores throughout Canada. Pondus originates in Danish children's books written and photographed by Ivar Myrhøj and published in 1997 by Lademann publisher in the late 1960s. These penguins appeared in the production of Batman Returns.
+Lala the Penguin became a viral video star after an Animal Planet special featured him venturing to a nearby market in Japan to fetch a fish with a specially made backpack. Lala had been accidentally caught by a fisherman. The fisherman and his family nursed Lala back to health and then adopted him as a pet.
+
+References
+External links
+
+King penguin on PenguinWorld
+Aptenodytes patagonicus, the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web
+King penguin videos, photos & sounds, the Internet Bird Collection
+King penguins pruning video from the Falkland Islands
+https://archive.org/details/s4id13296820/page/n169 Johann R. Forster, "Historia Aptenodytae: Generis Avium Orbi Australi Propri", Commentationes Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Gottingensis (1778), Vol.III, 1781, pp. 211–148.
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diff --git a/data/animals/king snake.txt b/data/animals/king snake.txt
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+Kingsnakes are colubrid New World members of the genus Lampropeltis, which includes 26 species. Among these, about 45 subspecies are recognized. They are nonvenomous and ophiophagous in diet.
+
+Description
+Kingsnakes vary widely in size and coloration. They can be as small as 24" (61 cm) or as long as 60" (152 cm). Some kingsnakes are colored in muted browns to black, while others are brightly marked in white, reds, yellows, grays, and lavenders that form rings, longitudinal stripes, speckles, and saddle-shaped bands.Most kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns. Some species, such as the scarlet kingsnake, Mexican milk snake, and red milk snake, have coloration and patterning that can cause them to be confused with the highly venomous coral snakes. One of the mnemonic rhymes to help people distinguish between coral snakes and their nonvenomous lookalikes in the United States is "red on black, a friend of Jack; red on yellow, kill a fellow". Other variations include "red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black venom lack", and referencing the order of traffic lights "yellow, red, stop!"  All these mnemonics apply only to the three species of coral snakes native to the southern United States: Micrurus fulvius (the eastern or common coral snake), Micrurus tener (the Texas coral snake), and Micruroides euryxanthus (the Arizona coral snake). Coral snakes found in other parts of the world can have distinctly different patterns, such as having red bands touching black bands, having only pink and blue bands, or having no bands at all.
+
+Etymology
+Lampropeltis includes the Greek words for "shiny shield": λαμπρός lampro(s) ("shiny") + πέλτη pelt(ē) ("peltē shield") + -is (a Latin suffix). The name is given to them in reference to their smooth, enamel-like dorsal scales.The "king" in the common name (as with the king cobra) refers to its preying on other snakes.
+
+Taxonomy
+Taxonomic reclassification of kingsnakes, as with many herpetiles and other animals, is a neverending process. Unexpected hybridization between kingsnake species and/or subspecies with adjacent home territories is not uncommon, thus creating new color morphs and variations, and further providing classification challenges for taxonomists; Often, different researchers will “agree to disagree”, one potentially citing a source that proves independent species-status to a group of wild snakes, while another will set out to prove that a discovered group is but a regional subspecies.In the case of L. catalinensis, for example, only a single specimen is known, thus classification is not necessarily finite; this individual could be the lone uniquely-colored snake out of a more uniformly-colored litter, or even be the one documented example of a presently-unknown, localized subspecies. The entire system actively unfolding indefinitely.
+
+Range
+Kingsnakes are native to North America, where they are found all over the United States and into Mexico. This genus has adapted to a wide variety of habitats, including tropical forests, shrublands, and deserts. As a whole, kingsnakes are found coast-to-coast across North America, with some as far north as Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Illinois and Ohio; south of those areas, there are kingsnakes to be found in nearly every corner of the lower-48 United States. Kingsnakes are also found virtually coast-to-coast across México, all the way down to the México-Guatemala border. Further south from there, milksnakes become the more predominant kingsnake in Central America, such as the Honduran milk snake.
+
+Predators
+Kingsnakes are often preyed upon by large vertebrates, such as birds of prey. Tarantulas also sometimes prey on them; however, a considerable threat also comes from other kingsnakes. All species of kingsnakes are known snake- and reptile-eaters, and likely won't turn down a chance to prey on their local competitors.
+
+Behavior and diet
+Kingsnakes are primarily terrestrial, but they are also known to be capable climbers and swimmers.Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic in their diet. They are known to seek out and eat other snakes (ophiophagy), including venomous snakes, like rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, hognoses and copperheads. Some known non-venomous prey species of the kingsnake include gopher snakes, corn snakes, bullsnakes, garter snakes, rosy boa, water snakes, and brown snakes. Kingsnakes also eat many species of lizards, rodents, birds, and eggs. The common kingsnake is known to be immune to the venom of other snakes and does eat rattlesnakes, but it is not necessarily immune to the venom of snakes from different localities.Kingsnakes such as the California kingsnake can exert twice as much constriction force relative to body size as rat snakes and pythons. Scientists believe that such strong coils may be an adaptation to eating snakes, and other reptile prey, which can endure lower blood-oxygen levels before asphyxiating.
+
+List of kingsnake species and subspecies
+Kingsnake species and subspecies include (listed here alphabetically by specific and subspecific name):
+Guatemalan milk snake, Lampropeltis abnorma (Bocourt, 1886)
+Gray-banded kingsnake, Lampropeltis alterna (A. E. Brown, 1901)
+Mexican milk snake, Lampropeltis annulata Kennicott, 1860
+California kingsnake, Lampropeltis californiae (Blainville, 1835)
+Mexican black kingsnake, L. c. nigrita Zweifel & Norris, 1955
+Prairie kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster (Harlan, 1827)
+Santa Catalina Island kingsnake, Lampropeltis catalinensis Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921
+Scarlet kingsnake or scarlet milk snake, Lampropeltis elapsoides (Holbrook, 1838)
+Short-tailed snake, Lampropeltis extenuata (R.E. Brown, 1890)
+Central Plains milk snake, Lampropeltis gentilis (Baird & Girard, 1853)
+Common kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula (Linnaeus, 1766)
+Brooks's kingsnake, L. g. brooksi Barbour, 1919
+Florida kingsnake, L. g. floridana (Blanchard, 1919)
+Eastern kingsnake, L. g. getula (Linnaeus, 1766)
+Apalachicola Lowlands kingsnake, L. g. meansi Krysko & Judd, 2006
+Greer's kingsnake, Lampropeltis greeri (Webb, 1961)
+Speckled kingsnake, Lampropeltis holbrooki Stejneger, 1902
+Madrean mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis knoblochi Taylor, 1940
+Nuevo León kingsnake, Lampropeltis leonis (Günther, 1893)
+Mexican kingsnake, Lampropeltis mexicana (Garman, 1884)
+Ecuadorian milk snake, Lampropeltis micropholis Cope, 1860
+Black kingsnake, Lampropeltis nigra (Yarrow, 1882)
+South Florida mole kingsnake, Lampropeltis occipitolineata Price, 1987
+Atlantic Central American milk snake, Lampropeltis polyzona Cope, 1860
+Arizona mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana (Cope, 1866)
+Utah mountain kingsnake, L. p. infralabialis W. Tanner, 1953
+Arizona mountain kingsnake, L. p. pyromelana (Cope, 1866)
+Mole kingsnake, Lampropeltis rhombomaculata (Holbrook, 1840)
+Ruthven's kingsnake, Lampropeltis ruthveni (Blanchard, 1920)
+Desert kingsnake, Lampropeltis splendida (Baird & Girard, 1853)
+Milk snake, Lampropeltis triangulum (Lacépède, 1789)
+Lampropeltis webbi Bryson, Dixon & Lazcano, 2005
+California mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata (Lockington, 1876 ex Blainville, 1835)
+San Pedro kingsnake, L. z. agalma (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1923)
+Todos Santos Island kingsnake, L. z. herrerae (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1923)
+Sierra Nevada mountain kingsnake, L. z. multicincta (Yarrow, 1882)
+Coast Ranges mountain kingsnake, L. z. multifasciata (Bocourt, 1886)
+San Bernardino mountain kingsnake, L. z. parvirubra Zweifel, 1952
+San Diego mountain kingsnake, L. z. pulchra Zweifel, 1952
+Saint Helena mountain kingsnake, L. z. zonata (Lockington, 1876 ex Blainville, 1835)Additionally, Pyron and Burbrink have argued that the short-tailed snake (Stilosoma extenuatum) (Brown, 1890) should be included in Lampropeltis.
+
+References
+Further reading
+Hubbs, Brian (2009). Common Kingsnakes: A Natural History of Lampropeltis getula. Tempe, Arizona: Tricolor Books.
+
+External links
+
+Desert USA: Common Kingsnake
+Common Kingsnake - Lampropeltis getula Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide
+Kingsnake eating a garter snake
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diff --git a/data/animals/kit fox.txt b/data/animals/kit fox.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2ba37cb1aa8190d180c9a8ef5105325594a36564
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/kit fox.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of Vulpes occurring in North America and are among the smallest of the vulpines worldwide. It has also been called a North American counterpart of the fennec fox due to its large ears.
+
+Taxonomy
+Some mammalogists classify it as conspecific with the swift fox, V. velox, but molecular systematics imply that the two species are distinct.
+Interbreeding between the two species does occur where their ranges overlap (eastern New Mexico and western Texas), but this hybridization is quite restricted in scope.Subspecific designations for the species are not fully addressed. As many as eight subspecies have been recognized, although further analyzes have not found support for any subspecies differentiation. However, although there is a clear need for more subspecific clarification, most available data suggest that kit foxes in the San Joaquin Valley of California are likely to warrant a subspecific designation, V. m. mutica, due to geographical isolation, and that any other kit foxes may be included in a second subspecies, V. m. macrotis.
+
+Subspecies
+The endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) was formerly very common in the San Joaquin Valley and through much of Central California. Its 1990 population was estimated to be 7,000. This subspecies is still endangered, after nearly 50 years of being on the Endangered Species List. Officially, this subspecies was listed March 3, 1967.  On September 26, 2007, Wildlands Inc. announced the designation of the 684 acre (277 ha) Deadman Creek Conservation Bank, which is intended specifically to protect habitat of the San Joaquin kit fox. However, the population continues to decline mostly due to heavy habitat loss. Other factors include competition from red foxes and the extermination of the wolf from California, which has left the coyote as the dominant meso-predator in kit fox territory, bringing an imbalance in ecosystem relationships.
+
+Appearance
+The kit fox is one of the smallest species of the family Canidae found in North America. It has large ears, between 71 and 95 mm (2.8 and 3.7 in), that help the fox dissipate heat and give it exceptional hearing (much like those of the fennec fox). This species exhibits little sexual dimorphism, with the male being slightly larger. The average species weight is between 1.6 and 2.7 kg (3.5 and 6.0 lb). The body length is 455 to 535 mm (17.9 to 21.1 in), with a long tail (about 40% of total length), adding another 260–323 mm (10.2–12.7 in).The color and texture of the coat vary geographically. In general, the dorsal color is grizzled or yellowish-gray. The grizzled appearance is the result of guard hairs that are typically black-tipped or with two black bands separated by a white band. The guard hairs are less than 50 mm long, and particularly prominent in the middle of the back. The soles of the legs are protected by stiff tufts of hair, a trait that improves traction on loose sandy surfaces as well as protection against extreme temperatures; muzzles and vibrissae are generally black to brown. The tail is bushy and gray, with a black tip, and the caudal gland has a pronounced black spot. Unlike the gray fox, it has no stripe along the length of its tail. Its color ranges from yellow to gray, and the back is usually darker than the majority of its coat; its belly and inner ears are usually lighter. It has distinct dark patches around the nose. The ears are tan or gray on the back, turning to buff or orange at the base. The shoulders, the lower sides, the flanks, and the strip about 25 mm wide across the chest range in color from buffy to orange.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The northernmost part of its range is the arid interior of Oregon. Its eastern limit is southwestern Colorado. It can be found south through Nevada, Utah, southeastern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and into western Texas.Kit foxes inhabit arid and semi-arid regions encompassing desert scrub, chaparral, halophytic regions, and grasslands. Generally, areas with sparse ground cover are favored. Vegetation habitats vary with the regional fauna, but some examples are sagebrush Artemisia tridentata and saltbrush Atriplex polycarpa. Loose textured soils may be prioritized for denning. Kit Foxes can also be found in agricultural areas, in particular orchards, on a small basis, and can even inhabit urban areas. They are found at elevations of 400 to 1,900 meters (1,300 to 6,200 ft) above sea level.
+
+Behavior
+Kit foxes are mostly nocturnal and sometimes crepuscular; they escape heat stress during the day by resting in underground dens. Kit foxes normally forage on their own. Kit foxes are not exceptionally territorial, preferring to live in pairs or small groups of relatives.Dens are used during the year for daytime resting, escaping predators, avoiding extreme heat, preserving moisture, and carrying and rearing young. Kit Foxes will dig their own dens, but they can also modify and use the burrows of badgers, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and kangaroo rats. Dens are spread across the home range, and an individual fox usually uses more than 11 dens in a given year. They normally rest in their dens during the day, but sometimes can emerge to bask and, when pups are young, to play.In comparison to many canids that pants only at the resonant frequency of the thorax, kit foxes pants at a rate proportional to the ambient temperature before the rate exceeds the resonant frequency. In doing so, kit foxes exercise the economics of water at the cost of energy. The apparent velocity of kit foxes is essentially an illusion created by their limited size and cryptic coloration, and their incredible ability to evade and change directions. An accurate account clocked a fox kit at around 40 km/h in front of the car, but the fox was easily exhausted.
+
+Diet
+Kit foxes are opportunistic omnivores and scavengers, possibly regulated by prey abundance, but primarily carnivorous. In the Californian deserts, its primary prey is Merriam's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami). Other common prey species include lagomorphs, rodents and insects. Kit foxes also consume birds, reptiles, carrion, fish, and rarely, plant material, such as tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), cactus fruits (Carnegiea gigantea) and other fruits. Different kit fox families can occupy the same hunting grounds, but do not generally go hunting at the same time. Kit foxes are also known to cache food and eat human food. Black-tailed jackrabbits represent the upper size limit of prey.
+
+Mating and reproduction
+The kit fox is a socially monogamous species,  and the mated pair remains together throughout the year. However, polygamous mating relationships have been observed. Female foxes begin searching for natal dens in September and October and usually usable dens are visited and cleaned of debris before the final selection is made. No nest as such is built, but new entrances and tunnels can be added to the den. As with most canids, copulation ends with a "tie" during which the penis is locked in the female's vagina.Females are monoestrous. Male and female kit foxes usually establish mating pairs during October and November, and they mate from December to January-February. Gestation lasts probably around 49–56 days, and the litters are born in February or March; litter size is usually four or five, and the sex ratio is roughly even. They do not emerge from the den until they are at least four weeks old, and are weaned after about eight weeks and become independent at five to six months old. They become sexually mature at 10 months. Both parents take part in raising and protecting their young. Pups emerge from the den at about one month of age and spend several hours each day playing outside the entrance. The male seems to do most of the hunting during this period, and later, both parents provide food until the pups start to forage with them at three to four months of age.Survival and mortality rates of kit foxes can vary significantly year to year. In captivity, they have lived 10 to 12 years; while the average lifespan of a wild kit fox is 5.5 years. One Californian study of 144 kit fox pups showed a 74% mortality rate in pups within the first year.
+
+References
+External links
+
+ARKive – images and movies of the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis)
+NPS - information about Kit Fox in Joshua Tree National Park
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+The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), sometimes called koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is easily recognisable by its stout, tailless body and large head with round, fluffy ears and large, dark nose. The koala has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and weighs 4–15 kg (9–33 lb). Fur colour ranges from silver grey to chocolate brown. Koalas from the northern populations are typically smaller and lighter in colour than their counterparts further south. These populations possibly are separate subspecies, but this is disputed.
+Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxic compounds that deter most other mammals from feeding on it. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring. Adult males communicate with loud bellows that intimidate rivals and attract mates. Males mark their presence with secretions from scent glands located on their chests. Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and koala retrovirus.
+Because of their distinctive appearance, koalas, along with kangaroos, are recognised worldwide as symbols of Australia. They were hunted by Indigenous Australians and depicted in myths and cave art for millennia. The first recorded encounter between a European and a koala was in 1798, and an image of the animal was published in 1810 by naturalist George Perry. Botanist Robert Brown wrote the first detailed scientific description of the koala in 1814, although his work remained unpublished for 180 years. Popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala, introducing the species to the general British public. Further details about the animal's biology were revealed in the 19th century by several English scientists. Koalas are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Among the many threats to their existence are habitat destruction caused by agriculture, urbanisation, droughts, and associated bushfires, some related to climate change.  In February 2022, the koala was officially listed as endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, and Queensland.
+
+Etymology
+The word koala comes from the Dharug gula, meaning no water.  Although the vowel 'u' was originally written in the English orthography as "oo" (in spellings such as coola or koolah — two syllables), the spelling later became "oa" and the word is now pronounced in three syllables, possibly in error.Adopted by white settlers, "koala" became one of several hundred Aboriginal loan words in Australian English, where it was also commonly referred to as "native bear", later "koala bear", for its supposed resemblance to a bear. It is also one of several Aboriginal words that made it into International English, alongside e.g. "didgeridoo" and "kangaroo." The generic name, Phascolarctos, is derived from the Greek words phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear". The specific name, cinereus, is Latin for "ash coloured".
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+The koala was given its generic name Phascolarctos in 1816 by French zoologist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, who would not give it a specific name until further review. In 1819, German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss gave it the binomial Lipurus cinereus. Because Phascolarctos was published first, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it has priority as the official name of the genus.: 58–59  French naturalist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest coined the name Phascolarctos fuscus in 1820, suggesting that the brown-coloured versions were a different species than the grey ones. Other names suggested by European authors included Marodactylus cinereus by Goldfuss in 1820, P. flindersii by René Primevère Lesson in 1827, and P. koala by John Edward Gray in 1827.: 45 The koala is classified with wombats (family Vombatidae) and several extinct families (including marsupial tapirs, marsupial lions and giant wombats) in the suborder Vombatiformes within the order Diprotodontia. The Vombatiformes are a sister group to a clade that includes macropods (kangaroos and wallabies) and possums. The koala's lineage possibly branched off around 40 million years ago during the Eocene.
+The modern koala is the only extant member of Phascolarctidae, a family that includes several extinct genera and species. During the Oligocene and Miocene, koalas lived in rainforests and had more generalised diets. Some species, such as the Riversleigh rainforest koala (Nimiokoala greystanesi) and some species of Perikoala, were around the same size as the modern koala, while others, such as species of Litokoala, were one-half to two-thirds its size. Like the modern species, prehistoric koalas had well developed ear structures which suggests that they also made long-distance vocalisations and had a relatively inactive lifestyle. During the Miocene, the Australian continent began drying out, leading to the decline of rainforests and the spread of open Eucalyptus woodlands. The genus Phascolarctos split from Litokoala in the late Miocene, and had several adaptations that allowed it to live on a specialised eucalyptus diet: a shifting of the palate towards the front of the skull; upper teeth lined by thicker bone, molars located relatively low compared the jaw joint and with broader chewing surfaces; smaller pterygoid fossa; and a larger gap separating the incisor teeth and the molars.: 226 P. cinereus may have emerged as a dwarf form of the giant koala (P. stirtoni), following the disappearance of several giant animals in the late Pleistocene. A 2008 study questions this hypothesis, noting that P. cinereus and P. stirtoni were sympatric during the middle to late Pleistocene, and the major difference in the morphology of their teeth. The fossil record of the modern koala extends back at least to the middle Pleistocene.
+
+Genetics and variations
+Three subspecies are recognised: the Queensland koala (Phascolarctos cinereus adustus, Thomas 1923), the New South Wales koala (Phascolarctos cinereus cinereus, Goldfuss 1817), and the Victorian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus victor, Troughton 1935). These forms are distinguished by pelage colour and thickness, body size, and skull shape. The Queensland koala is the smallest of the three, with silver or grey short hairs and a shorter skull. The Victorian koala is the largest, with shaggier, brown fur and a wider skull.: 7  The geographic limits of these variations are based on state borders, and their status as subspecies is disputed. A 1999 genetic study suggests koalas exist as a cline within a single evolutionarily significant unit with limited gene flow between local populations.Other studies have found that koala populations have high levels of inbreeding and low genetic variation. Such low genetic diversity may have been caused by declines in the population during the late Pleistocene. Rivers and roads have been shown to limit gene flow and contribute to the isolation of southeast Queensland populations. In April 2013, scientists from the Australian Museum and Queensland University of Technology announced they had fully sequenced the koala genome.
+
+Characteristics
+The koala is a robust animal with a large head and vestigial or non-existent tail.: 1  It has a body length of 60–85 cm (24–33 in) and a weight of 4–15 kg (9–33 lb), making it among the largest arboreal marsupials. Koalas from Victoria are twice as heavy as those from Queensland.: 7  The species is sexually dimorphic, with males 50% larger than females. Males are further distinguished from females by their more curved noses and the presence of chest glands, which are visible as bald patches.: 55  The female's pouch opening is secured by a sphincter which holds the young in.The pelage of the koala is denser on the back. The back fur colour varies from light grey to chocolate brown.: 1–2  The belly fur is whitish; on the rump it is mottled whitish and dark. The koala has the most effective insulating back fur of any marsupial and is highly resilient to wind and rain, while the belly fur can reflect solar radiation. The koala's curved, sharp claws are well adapted for climbing trees. The large forepaws have two opposable digits (the first and second, which are opposable to the other three) that allow them to grip small branches. On the hind paws, the second and third digits are fused, a typical condition for members of the Diprotodontia, and the attached claws (which are still separate) function like a comb.: 5  The animal has a robust skeleton and a short, muscular upper body with relatively long upper limbs that contribute to its ability to scale trees. In addition, the thigh muscles are anchored further down the shinbone, increasing its climbing power.: 183 
+For a mammal, the koala has a proportionally small brain,: 81  being 60% smaller than that of a typical diprotodont, weighing only 19.2 g (0.68 oz) on average. The brain's surface is fairly smooth and "primitive".: 52  It does not entirely fill up the cranial cavity, unlike in most mammals,: 81  and is lightened by large amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. It is possible that the fluid protects the brain when animal falls from a tree.: 52–53  The koala's small brain size may be an adaptation to the energy restrictions imposed by its diet, which is insufficient to sustain a larger brain.: 81  Because of its small brain, the koala has a limited ability to perform complex, unusual behaviours. For example, it will not eat plucked leaves on a flat surface, which conflicts with its normal feeding routine.: 234 The koala has a broad, dark nose with a good sense of smell, and it is known to sniff the oils of individual branchlets to assess their edibility.: 81  Its relatively small eyes are unusual among marsupials in that the pupils have vertical slits, an adaptation living on a more vertical plane. Its round ears provide it with good hearing,: 6  and it has a well-developed middle ear. The koala larynx is located relatively low in the vocal tract and can be pulled down ever further. They also possess unique folds in the velum (soft palate), known as velar vocal folds, in addition to the typical vocal folds of the larynx. These features allow the koala to produce deeper sounds than would be possible for their size.
+The koala has several adaptations for its poor, toxic and fibrous diet.: 76  The animal's dentition consists of the incisors and cheek teeth (a single premolar and four molars on each jaw), which are separated by a large gap (a characteristic feature of herbivorous mammals). The koala bites a leave with the incisors and clips it with the premolars at the petiole, before being chewed to pieces by the cusped molars.: 46  Koalas may also store food in their cheek pouches before it is ready to be chewed. The partially worn molars of koalas in their prime are optimal for breaking the leaves into small particles, resulting in more efficient stomach digestion and nutrient absorption in the small intestine,: 231  which digests the eucalyptus leaves to provide most of the animal's energy.: 47  A koala sometimes regurgitates the food into the mouth to be chewed a second time.Koalas are hindgut fermenters, and their digestive retention can last for up to 100 hours in the wild or up to 200 hours in captivity.: 48  This is made possible by their caecum — 200 cm (80 in) long and 10 cm (4 in) in diameter — possibly the largest for an animal when accounting for its size.: 188  Koalas can hold food particles for longer fermentation if needed. They are more likely keep smaller particles as larger ones take longer to digest.: 48  While hindgut is relatively large, only 10% of the animal's energy is obtained from digestion in this chamber. The koala's metabolic rate is only 50% of the typical mammalian rate, owning to its low energy intake.: 77–78  although this can vary between seasons and sexes.: 49  They can digest the toxic plant secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds and terpenes present in eucalyptus leaves due to their production of cytochrome P450, which breaks down these poisons in the liver. The koala maintains water by absorbing it in the caecum, resulting in drier faecal pellets packed with undigested fibre.: 231 : 188  It replaces water in its body at a lower rate then in some other species like some possums.: 231
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The koala's geographic range covers roughly 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi), and 30 ecoregions. It ranges throughout mainland eastern and southeastern Australia, including the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The koala was also introduced to several nearby islands. The population on Magnetic Island represents the northern limit of its range. Fossil evidence shows that the koala's range stretched as far west as southwestern Western Australia during the late Pleistocene. They were likely driven to extinction in these areas by environmental changes and hunting by Indigenous Australians.: 12–13  Koalas were introduced to Western Australia at Yanchep in 2022. Koalas can be found in both tropical and temperate habitats ranging from dense woodlands to more spaced-out forests. In semi-arid climates, they prefer riparian habitats, where nearby streams and creeks provide refuge during times of drought and extreme heat.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Foraging and activities
+Koalas are herbivorous, and while most of their diet consists of eucalypt leaves, they can be found in trees of other genera, such as Acacia, Allocasuarina, Callitris, Leptospermum, and Melaleuca.: 73  Though the foliage of over 600 species of Eucalyptus is available, the koala shows a strong preference for around 30. They prefer plant matter with higher protein over fibre and lignin.: 231  The most favoured species are Eucalyptus microcorys, E. tereticornis, and E. camaldulensis, which, on average, make up more than 20% of their diet. Despite its reputation as a picky eater, the koala is more generalist than some other marsupial species, such as the greater glider. The koala does not need to drink often as it can get enough water in the eucalypt leaves,: 73–74  though larger males may additionally drink water found on the ground or in tree hollows.: 231  When feeding, a koala reaches out to grab leaves with one forepaw while the other paws hang on to the branch. Depending on the size of the individual, a koala can walk to the end of a branch or must stay near the base.: 96  Each day, koalas eat up to 400 grams (14 oz) of leaves, spread over four to six feeding periods.: 187  Despite their adaptations to a low-energy lifestyle, they have meagre fat reserves and need to feed often.: 189 Due to their low-energy diet, koalas limit their activity and sleep 20 hours a day.: 93  They are predominantly active at night and spend most of their waking hours foraging. They typically eat and sleep in the same tree, possibly for as long as a day.: 39  On warm days, a koala may rest with its back against a branch or lie down with its limbs dangling.: 93–94  When it gets very hot, the koala rests lower in the canopy and near the trunk, were the surface is cooler than the surrounding air. It curls up when it gets cold and wet.: 39  A koala will find a lower, thicker branch on which to rest when it gets windy. While it spends most of the time in the tree, the animal descends to the ground to move to another tree, leaping along.: 93–94  The koala usually grooms itself with its hind paws, with their double claws, but sometimes uses its forepaws or mouth.: 97–98
+
+Social spacing
+Koalas are asocial animals and spend just 15 minutes a day on social behaviours. Where there are more koalas and less tree, home ranges are smaller and more clumped while the reserve is true for areas with less animals and more trees.: 98  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. The territories of dominant males are found near breeding females, while younger males must wait until they reach full size to challenge for breeding rights.: 191  Adult males occasionally venture outside their home ranges; when they do so, dominant ones retain their status.: 99  As a male climbs a new tree, he rubs his chest against it and sometimes dribs urine. This scent-marking behaviour probably serves as communication, and individuals are known to sniff the bottom a newly found tree.: 54–56  Chest gland secretions are complex chemical mixtures — about 40 compounds were identified in one analysis — that vary in composition and concentration with the season and the age of the individual.
+Adult males communicate with loud bellows — low pitched sounds that being with gravelly, snort-like inspirations and followed by burping, growl-like   outbursts. Because of their low frequency, these bellows can travel far through the forest.: 56  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 climb a different tree.: 57  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. Squeaking and sqawking are produced when distraught, the former is made by younger animals and the latter by older ones. When another individual climbs over it, a koala makes a low closed-mouth grunt.: 102–03  Koalas also communicate with facial expressions. When snarling, wailing, or squawking, the animal curls the upper lip and points its ears forward. During screams, the lips and ears are pulled back. Females form an oval shape with their lips when annoyed.: 104–05 Agonistic behaviour typically consists of quarrels between individuals that are trying to pass each other in the tree. This occasionally involves biting. Strangers may wrestle, chase, and bite each other.: 102  In extreme situations, a male may try to displace a smaller rival from a tree, chasing, cornering and biting it. Once the individual is driven away, the victor bellows and marks the tree.: 101–02  Pregnant and lactating females are particularly aggressive and attack individuals that come too close. In general, however, koalas tend to avoid fighting due to energy costs.: 191
+
+Reproduction and development
+Koalas are seasonal breeders, and give birth from October to May. Females in oestrus tend lend their heads back and shake their bodies. Despite these obvious signals, males will try to copulate with any female during this period, mounting them from behind. Because of his much larger size, a male can overpower a female. A female may scream and vigorously fight off her suitors but will accept to one that is dominant or familiar. The commotion can attract other males to the scene, obliging the incumbent to delay mating and fight off the intruders. A female may learn who is more dominant during these fights.: 58–60  Older males usually have accumulated scratches, scars, and cuts on the exposed parts of their noses and their eyelids.: 192 Koalas are induced ovulators. The gestation period lasts 33–35 days, and a female gives birth to one joey (although twins do occur). As a marsupial, the young are born tiny and barely formed, weighing no more than 0.5 g (0.02 oz). However, their lips, forelimbs, and shoulders are relatively advanced, and they can breathe, defecate and urinate. The joey crawls into its mother's pouch to continue the rest of its development.: 61  Female koalas do not clean their pouches, an unusual trait among marsupials.: 181 The joey latches on to one of the female's two teats and suckles it.: 61  The female lactates for as long as a year to make up for her low energy production. Unlike in other marsupials, koala milk becomes less fatty as the joey grows in the pouch.: 62  After seven weeks, the joey has a proportionally large head, clear edges around its face, more colouration, and a visible pouch (if female) or scrotum (male). At 13 weeks, the joey weighs around 50 g (1.8 oz) and its head is twice as big as before. The eyes begin to open and hair begins to appear. At 26 weeks, the fully furred animal resembles an adult and can look outside the pouch.: 63 
+At six or seven months of age, the joey weighs 300–500 g (11–18 oz) fully emerges from the pouch for the first time. It explores its new surroundings cautiously, clutching its mother for support.: 65  Around this time, the mother prepares it for an eucalyptus diet by producing a faecal pap that the joey eats from her cloaca. This pap comes from the cecum and is more liquid and filled with bacteria. A nine month old joey has its adult coat colour and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb). Having permanently left the pouch, it rides on its mother's back for transportation, learning to climb by grasping branches.: 65–66  Gradually, it becomes more independent from its mother, who becomes pregnant again after a year and the young is now around 2.5 kg (5.5 lb). Her bond with her previous offspring is permanently severed and she no longer allows it to suckle, but it will stay nearby until it is one-and-a-half to two years old.: 66–67 Females 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 experience spermatogenesis as early as two years.: 68  Males do not start marking their scent until they reach sexual maturity, though their chest glands become functional much earlier. Koalas can breed every year if environmental conditions are good, though the long dependance of the young usually leads to year long gaps in births.: 236
+
+Health and mortality
+Koalas 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 risky lives.: 69  Koalas usually survive falls from trees and can climb back up, but they can get hurt and even die, particularly inexperienced young and fighting males.: 72–73  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 and some birds of prey may take them. Koalas are generally not subject to external parasites, other than ticks around the coast. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei gives koalas mange, while the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans skin ulcers, but even these are uncommon. Internal parasites are few and have little effect.: 71–74  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 taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Queensland, 73.8% of the animals were infected with parasitic protozoal genus Trypanosoma, the most frequent of which was T. irwini.Koalas can be subject to pathogens such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria,: 74–75  which can cause keratoconjunctivitis, urinary tract infection, and reproductive tract infection.: 229–30  Such infections are common on the mainland, but absent in some island populations.: 114  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 north to south, where populations go from being completely infected to being partially uninfected.The animals are vulnerable to bushfires due to their slow speed and the flammability of eucalypt trees.: 26  The koala instinctively seeks refuge in the higher branches, where it is vulnerable to intense heat and flames. Bushfires also break up the animal's habitat, which isolates them, decreases their numbers and creates genetic bottlenecks.: 209–11  Dehydration and overheating can also prove fatal.: 80  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.
+
+Human relations
+History
+The 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, it would first be published in Historical Records of Australia, nearly a century later.: 8  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.: 9–10  Reports of the "Koolah" appeared in the Sydney Gazette in late 1803, and helped provide the impetus for King to send the artist John Lewin to paint watercolours of the animal. Lewin painted three pictures, one of which was used as a print in Georges Cuvier's Le Règne Animal (The Animal Kingdom) (1827).: 12–13 Botanist Robert Brown was the first to write a formal 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.: 16–28   William Paterson, who had befriended Brown and Bauer during their stay in New South Wales, wrote an eyewitness report of his encounters with the animals and this would be the basis for British surgeon Everard Home's anatomical writings on them.: 33–36  Home, who in 1808 published his report in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, coined  the scientific name Didelphis coola.: 36 
+George Perry's would officially publish the first image of the koala in (his 1810) natural history work Arcana.: 37  Perry called it the "New Holland Sloth", and his dislike for the koala, evident in his description of the animal, was reflected the contemporary British attitudes towards Australian animals as strange and primitive:: 40  ...  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 ...
+Naturalist and popular artist John Gould illustrated and described the koala in his three-volume work The Mammals of Australia (1845–1863) and introduced the species, as well as other members of Australia's little-known faunal community, to public.: 87–93  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 an early description of its internal anatomy, and noted its general structural similarity to the wombat.: 94–96  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, and compared it to fossil species  Diprotodon and Nototherium, which had been discovered just recently.: 46–48  Similarly, Gerard Krefft, curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney, noted evolutionary mechanisms at work when comparing the koala to fossil marsupials in his 1871 The Mammals of Australia.: 103–105 Britain finally received a living koala in 1881, which was obtained 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. Forbes dissected the fresh specimen and wrote about the female reproductive system, the brain, and the liver — parts not previously described by Owen, who had access only to preserved specimens.: 105–06  Scottish embryologist William Caldwell — well known in scientific circles for determining the reproductive mechanism of the platypus — described the uterine development of the koala in 1884, and used the new information to convincingly map out the evolutionary timeline of the koala and the monotremes.: 111
+
+Cultural significance
+The koala is well known worldwide and is a major draw for Australian zoos and wildlife parks. It has been featured in popular culture and as soft toys.: ix  It benefited the Australian tourism industry by over $1 billion in 1998, and this has subsequently grown.: 201  Its international popularly rose after World War II, when tourism to Australia increased and the animals were exported to zoos overseas.: 156  In 1997, about 75% of European and Japanese tourists placed the koala at the top of their list of animals to see.: 216  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".: ix  Factors that contribute to the koala's enduring popularity include its teddy bear-like appearance with childlike body proportions.: 3 The koala is featured in the Dreamtime stories and mythology of Indigenous Australians. The Tharawal people believed that the animal helped them get to the continent by rowing the boat.: 21  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.: 17  How the koala lost its tail has been the subject of many tales. In one, a kangaroo cuts it off to punish the koala for its uncouth behaviour.: 28  Tribes in both Queensland and Victoria regarded the koala as a wise animal which gave valuable guidance. Bidjara-speaking people credited the koala for making trees grow in their arid lands.: 41–43  The animal is also depicted in rock carvings, though less so than some other species.: 45–46 Early European settlers in Australia considered the koala to be a creeping sloth-like animal with a "fierce and menacing look".: 143  At the turn of the 20th century, the koala's reputation took a more positive turn. It appears in Ethel Pedley's 1899 book Dot and the Kangaroo, as the "funny native bear".: 144  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.: 147  The most well known 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.: 149–52  The koala first appeared on an Australian stamp in 1930.: 164 
+The song "Ode to a Koala Bear" appears on the B-side of the 1983 Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet single Say Say Say.: 151  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: 155–58  and the Queensland Reds rugby team has a koala as its icon.: 160
+
+Koala diplomacy
+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: 156  At 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. 
+The 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.
+
+Conservation issues
+The 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. 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. 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 only 100,000–43,000. This is compared with 8 to 10 million at the start of the 20th century. The Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee estimated that the 2021 koala population was 92,000, down from 185,000 two decades prior.The koala was heavily hunted by European settlers in the early 20th century,: 121–128  largely for their fur. Australia exported as many as two million pelts by 1924. Koala furs were used to make rugs, coat linings, muffs, and on women's garment trimmings.: 125  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, created the first successful breeding program and earned a reputation as a top expert on the species.: 157–159 One of the biggest anthropogenic threats to the koala is habitat destruction and fragmentation. Near the coast, the main cause of this is urbanisation, while in rural areas, habitat is cleared for agriculture. Its favoured trees are also taken down to be made into wood products.: 104–107  In 2000, Australia had the fifth highest rate of land clearance globally, having removed 564,800 hectares (1,396,000 acres) of native plants.: 222  The distribution of the koala has shrunk by more than 50% since European arrival, largely due to fragmentation of habitat in Queensland. 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. Cars and dogs kill about 4,000 animals every year. 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.  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 was found to be the most frequent cause of admission, followed by symptoms of Chlamydia infection.
+
+See also
+Drop bear - a predatory and dangerous version of the koala in popular folklore
+Fauna of Australia
+List of monotremes and marsupials of Australia
+Sam (koala), a female koala known for being rescued during the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009
+
+References
+External links
+
+Arkive – images and movies of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus
+Animal Diversity Web – Phascolarctos cinereus
+iNaturalist crowdsourced koala sighting photos (mapped, graphed)
+Koala Science Community Archived 5 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
+"Koala Crunch Time" – an ABC documentary (2012)
+"Koalas deserve full protection"
+Cracking the Koala Code – a PBS Nature documentary (2012)
+The Aussie Koala Ark Conservation Project
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/lacewing.txt b/data/animals/lacewing.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..84a502a14f80e3599b37d2daa4b9ce528a1667e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/lacewing.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera is grouped together with the Megaloptera (alderflies, fishflies, and dobsonflies) and Raphidioptera (snakeflies) in the unranked taxon Neuropterida (once known as Planipennia).
+Adult neuropterans have four membranous wings, all about the same size, with many veins. They have chewing mouthparts, and undergo complete metamorphosis.
+Neuropterans first appeared during the Permian period, and continued to diversify through the Mesozoic era. During this time, several unusually large forms evolved, especially in the extinct family Kalligrammatidae, often called "the butterflies of the Jurassic" for their large, patterned wings.
+
+Anatomy and biology
+Neuropterans are soft-bodied insects with relatively few specialized features. They have large lateral compound eyes, and may or may not also have ocelli. Their mouthparts have strong mandibles suitable for chewing, and lack the various adaptations found in most other endopterygote insect groups.
+They have four wings, usually similar in size and shape, and a generalised pattern of veins. Some neuropterans have specialised sense organs in their wings, or have bristles or other structures to link their wings together during flight.The larvae are specialised predators, with elongated mandibles adapted for piercing and sucking. The larval body form varies between different families, depending on the nature of their prey. In general, however, they have three pairs of thoracic legs, each ending in two claws. The abdomen often has adhesive discs on the last two segments.
+
+Life cycle and ecology
+The larvae of most families are predators. Many chrysopids, hemerobiids and coniopterygids eat aphids and other pest insects, and some have been used for biological control (either from commercial distributors, but also abundant and widespread in nature).Larvae in various families cover themselves in debris (sometimes including dead prey insects) as camouflage, taken to an extreme in the ant lions, which bury themselves completely out of sight and ambush prey from "pits" in the soil. Larvae of some Ithonidae are root feeders, and larvae of Sisyridae are aquatic, and feed on freshwater sponges. A few mantispids are parasites of spider egg sacs.
+As in other holometabolic orders, the pupal stage is enclosed in some form of cocoon composed of silk and soil or other debris. The pupa eventually cuts its way out of the cocoon with its mandibles, and may even move about for a short while before undergoing the moult to the adult form.Adults of many groups are also predatory, but some do not feed, or consume only nectar.
+Beetles, wasps, and some lake flies parasitize neuropteran larvae.
+
+Evolution
+Neuropterans first appeared near the end of the Permian period, as shown by fossils of the Permithonidae from the Tunguska basin in Siberia and a similar fauna from Australia.
+The osmylids are of Jurassic or Early Cretaceous origin and may be the most ancient of the Neuropteran groups. The extinct osmylid Protosmylus is fossilized in middle Eocene Baltic amber. The genus Burmaleon is described from two fossils of Cenomanian age Burmese amber, implying crown group radiation in the Early Cretaceous or earlier. The family Kalligrammatidae lived from the Jurassic to Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) periods.Ithonidae are from the Jurassic to Recent, and the extinct lineages of the family were widespread geographically.
+
+Phylogeny
+Molecular analysis in 2018 using mitochondrial rRNA and mitogenomic data places the Megaloptera as sister to Neuroptera, and Raphidioptera as sister to this combined lineage, though these results were considered tentative. The fossil record has contributed to the understanding of the group's phylogeny. Relationships within the Myrmeleontiformia are still in flux.
+A phylogenomic analysis published in 2023 confirmed the topology of the neuropterid orders and found the relationships between the families of Neuropterida as shown in the following phylogenetic tree.
+
+Taxonomy
+Review of the Neropterid group orders by Engel, Winterton, and Breitkreuz (2018) included grouping of the Neuropteran families in a nested set of clades, an abandonment of the paraphyletic suborder "Hemerobiiformia" and redefinition of Myrmeleontiformia as a clade.Neuroptera
+
+Superfamily Coniopterygoidea
+family Coniopterygidae dustywings (Late Jurassic-Present)
+Clade Euneuroptera
+Superfamily Osmyloidea
+Family Osmylidae: osmylids (Early Jurassic-Present)
+Family Sisyridae: spongillaflies (Late Cretaceous-Present)
+Family Nevrorthidae  (Late Cretaceous-Present)
+Family †Archeosmylidae (Permian-Triassic)
+Family †Saucrosmylidae (Middle Jurassic)
+Superfamily Dilaroidea
+Family Dilaridae: pleasing lacewings (Late Cretaceous-Present)
+Superfamily Mantispoidea
+Family Berothidae: beaded lacewings (Late Jurassic-Present)
+Family Mantispidae: mantidflies (including †Dipteromantispidae) (Jurassic-Present)
+Family †Mesoberothidae (including †Mesithonidae) (Triassic)
+Family Rhachiberothidae: thorny lacewings (Early Cretaceous-Recent)
+Clade Neoneuroptera
+Superfamily Hemerobioidea (inc. Chrysopoidea)
+Family †Ascalochrysidae
+Family Chrysopidae: green lacewings (including †Mesochrysopidae)
+Family Hemerobiidae: brown lacewings
+Family †Osmylitidae
+Family †Solenoptilidae
+Clade Geoneuroptera
+Superfamily Ithonioidea
+Family Ithonidae: moth lacewings (includes Rapismatidae and Polystoechotidae)
+Clade Myrmeleontiformia
+Superfamily Myrmeleontoidea (syn Nemopteroidea)
+Family Ascalaphidae: owlflies
+Family †Babinskaiidae
+Family Myrmeleontidae: antlions (includes Palaeoleontidae)
+Family Nemopteridae: spoonwings etc
+Family Nymphidae: split-footed lacewings (includes Myiodactylidae)
+Family †Rafaelianidae
+Superfamily Psychopsoidea
+Family †Aetheogrammatidae
+Family †Kalligrammatidae
+Family †Osmylopsychopidae (syn †Brongniartiellidae)
+Family †Panfiloviidae (syn †Grammosmylidae)
+Family †Prohemerobiidae
+Family Psychopsidae: silky lacewingsThe fossil genus †Mesohemerobius Ping, 1928 from the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous of China has been treated as incertae sedis within Neuroptera, while the fossil families †Permoberothidae and †Permithonidae are treated as a sister group to clade Eidoneuroptera formed by Neuroptera + Megaloptera.
+
+In human culture
+The use of Neuroptera in biological control of insect pests has been investigated, showing that it is difficult to establish and maintain populations in fields of crops.Five species of Neuroptera are among 1681 insect species eaten by humans worldwide.The New Guinea Highland people claim to be able to maintain a muscular build and great stamina despite their low protein intake as a result of eating insects including Neuroptera.
+
+Notes
+References
+External links
+
+Oswald, John D. (2023). Neuropterida Species of the World. Lacewing Digital Library, Research Publication No. 1. (an online catalog that includes data on the Neuroptera species of the world)
+Oswald, John D. (2023). Bibliography of the Neuropterida. Lacewing Digital Library, Research Publication No. 2. (an online bibliography that includes data on the global scientific literature of the order Neuroptera)
+Lacewing Digital Library (a web portal that provides access to a suite of online resources that contain data on the order Neuroptera)
+Illustrated database of Neuroptera (insects)
+Brown lacewings of Florida on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures
+Information on Neuroptera (subscription required) at Web of Science
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/ladybug.txt b/data/animals/ladybug.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cd582a43dae9c4661970b12b1ce2b80137535667
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/ladybug.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. The more than 6,000 described species have a global distribution and are found in a variety of habitats. They are oval beetles with a domed back and flat underside. They are sexually dimorphic; adult females are larger than males. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic (warning) colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they taste bad. 
+Most coccinellid species are carnivorous predators, preying on insects such as aphids and scale insects. They are also known to consume non-animal matter, including plants and fungi. They are promiscuous breeders, reproducing in spring and summer in temperate regions and during the wet season in tropical regions. Many species lay their eggs near colonies of prey, providing their larvae with a food source. Like most insects, they develop from larva to pupa to adult. Temperate species hibernate and diapause during the winter; tropical species are dormant during the dry season. Coccinellids migrate between dormancy and breeding sites.
+Since they prey on agricultural pests, most coccinellids are considered beneficial insects. Several species have been introduced outside their range as biological control agents, with varying degrees of success. Some species are pests themselves and can infest people's homes, particularly in winter. Invasive species like Harmonia axyridis pose a threat to native ones. Other threats to coccinellids include climate change and habitat destruction. These insects have played roles in folklore, religion and poetry, and are particularly popular in nursery rhymes.
+
+Etymology
+The name Coccinellidae, created by Pierre André Latreille in 1807, is derived from the Latin word coccineus meaning 'scarlet'. The common English name ladybird originated in Britain where the insects became known as "Our Lady's birds". Mary ("Our Lady") was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early art, and the seven spots of the species Coccinella septempunctata (the most common in Europe) were said to represent her seven joys and seven sorrows. In the United States, the name was popularly adapted to ladybug. Entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. Names in some other countries may be similar; for example, in Germany they are known as Marienkäfer meaning 'Marybeetle' or 'ladybeetle'.
+
+Description
+Coccinellids range in size from 0.8 to 18 mm (0.03–0.7 in). Females tend to be larger than males. They are generally oval with domed backs and flattened undersides. They have large compound eyes and clubbed antennae with seven to eleven segments. The powerful mandibles (equivalent to jaws) typically have pairs of "teeth" which face each other. The coccinellid prothorax (front of thorax) is broad and convex, and can cover the back of the head. Being beetles, they have hardened, non-overlapping forewings, known as elytrons, which cover up the more fragile hindwings when the insects are not in flight. Their legs are relatively short, with a tarsal formula of 4-4-4 or 3-3-3. The tarsus (end of leg) has two claws at the tip.As adults, these beetles differ from their closest relatives with the following morphological characteristics:
+Five pairs of spiracles (holes) on the abdomen
+A tentorium (internal supports inside the head) with separated branches at the front and no bridge
+No line dividing the frons and clypeus (frontoclypeal suture)
+Maxillary palps with non-needle-shaped tips,
+Divided galea and lacinia (lobes at the end of the mouthparts)
+Smaller molar (flattened) area of the mandible
+Coxal cavities (holes where the leg articulates with the thorax) that open from the back in the front of the thorax and from the front in the middle of the thorax
+Epimeron (corner plates) on the metathorax with parallel edges
+Lines on the second abdominal sternum
+Tube-shaped, siphon-like genitalia in the maleCoccinellids are often distinctively coloured and patterned. The elytron may be light with dark spots or dark with light spots. Light areas are typically yellow, red, orange or brown, and the spots vary in size and shape and numbers. Some species have striped or checkered patterns. The pigment carotene creates the lighter colours, and melanins create darker colours. Other parts of the body also vary in colouration. These colour patterns typically serve as warning colouration, but some can act as camouflage, attract mates or even regulate heat. Several individual species may display polymorphism and even change colour between seasons.Coccinellid larvae are elongated with square heads. They are covered in hairs or setae, the abdominal segments, in particular, each having six divided into pairs, and one to three segmented antennae. Their colouration varies from grey, blue-grey, grey-brown or brown and spotted with white, yellow, red or orange. They tend to brighten as they get closer to adulthood.
+Appearance of different species
+
+Evolution
+Fossil history
+Over 6,000 living species of Coccinellidae have been described. They are sparsely preserved in the fossil record. Although molecular clock estimates have placed their origin in the Cretaceous, the oldest fossils of the group are known from the Oise amber of France, dating to the Early Eocene (Ypresian) around 53 million years ago, which belong to the extant genera Rhyzobius  and Nephus. The greatest number of fossils comes from the younger Eocene Baltic amber, including members of the extant genera Serangium and Rhyzobius as well as extinct genera belonging to the tribes Microweiseini (Baltosidis) and Sticholotidini (Electrolotis).
+
+Phylogeny
+The Coccinellidae are within the superfamily Coccinelloidea, which in turn is part of the infraorder Cucujiformia, a group containing most of the plant-eating beetles. The ladybirds form the majority of the species in the Coccinelloidea; many of the rest are fungus-feeding beetles or scavengers.
+Coccinellidae have historically been divided into up seven subfamilies (Chilocorinae, Coccidulinae, Coccinellinae, Epilachninae,  Microweiseinae, Scymninae and Sticholotidinae) and 35 tribes based on morphology. However, genetics studies have called into question the monophyly (single ancestry) of most of these subfamilies. The monophyly of Coccinellinae has the most support.A 2021 genetic study sampling many species, identified three subfamilies, Microweiseinae (with three tribes), Coccinellinae (26 tribes) and a newly identified group, the Monocoryninae (one tribe). All three subfamilies were strongly supported, but the study noted that although the tribes are mostly monophyletic, their relationships are only weakly supported. The study suggests that the crown group appeared some 143 Mya in the Early Cretaceous, and that the group diversified rapidly during the Late Cretaceous, perhaps because the growth in diversity of angiosperm plants then encouraged the radiation of insects of the clade Sternorrhyncha such as aphids, on which ladybirds could feed.
+An earlier 2009 study concluded that consumption of scale insects is the most basal diet of Coccinellidae. Aphid-eating evolved three separate times and leaf-eating evolved twice, one of which evolved from a clade that contains both aphid-eating and pollen-eating. The fungi-eating also evolved from aphid-eating.
+
+Biology and ecology
+Flight
+Coccinellids mostly fly during the day. Springy, cylindrical veins in the hindwings stiffen when in flight and bend when folding. Folding of the wings is further aided by creases in the membrane. These beetles may migrate long distances to hibernation and breeding sites, and areas with more food. They appear to be drawn to recognisable landmarks. The more crowded an area is, the more individuals leave, but will remain if there are enough prey species to feed on. "Trivial flights" refer to flying while foraging or when finding a place to lay eggs. One study of species in Britain found that coccinellids can fly as far as 120 km (75 mi). They flew at speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) and could reach altitudes close to 1,100 m (3,600 ft).
+Behaviour
+
+Life cycle
+In temperate climates, coccinellids typically breed from late spring to early summer. In warmer temperate regions, reproduction may occur in spring, fall and winter; tropical species reproduce during the wet season. Mating is promiscuous. In some species, females appear to be selective in their partners, preferring males of a certain size and colour. Males produce sperm packets each with 14,000 sperm, and insert three of them into the female, even though she can only hold 18,000 sperm. This is likely a form of sperm competition. Like other insects, coccinellids develop from egg, to larva, to pupa and finally adult. Eggs tend to be bright yellow, and the females lay them close together, standing upright and near where they can access food. The number of eggs in a cluster can vary depending on the species; it is typically in the double digits but some species can lay over a thousand eggs in their lifetime.After hatching, the larvae will begin eating, including the other eggs in their clutch. Certain species lay extra infertile trophic eggs with the fertile eggs, providing a backup food source for the larvae when they hatch. The ratio of infertile to fertile eggs increases with scarcity of food at the time of egg laying. Larvae typically have four instar stages with three moults between them. The larva eventually transitions into a pupa; which involves the development of a hunch, the fusion of the legs to the body, and the attachment of the posterior to the surface.Pupae may be uncovered, partially covered or fully covered by larval skin depending on the species. The pupa is mostly immobile, but the head can move in response to irritation. When the adult emerges, it has its hindwings, while the elytron starts out softer and lighter in colour, with no patterns. The length of each development stage varies based on climate and between species. For Adalia bipunctata, eggs hatch after four to eight days, the larva stage lasts around three weeks and the pupa lasts seven to ten days. Adult coccinellids develop much of their final colouration within hours, but may not fully darken for weeks or months. The lifespan of an adult reaches up to a year.In temperate areas, coccinellids may hibernate or enter diapause during the winter. Individuals during this period gather in clumps, large or small depending on the species. Overwintering insects can be found both in lowland areas, aggregating under dead vegetation, and at the tops of hills, hibernating under rocks and on grass tussocks. In areas with particularly hot summers, the insects experience summer dormancy or aestivation; in the tropics, coccinellids enter dormancy during the dry season.
+Life cycle
+
+Trophic roles
+Coccinellids act both as predators, prey and parasitic hosts in food webs. The majority of coccinellids are carnivorous and predatory, typically preying on Sternorrhyncha insects like aphids, scale insects, whiteflies, psyllids and adelgids. Some species feed on the larvae of moths and other beetles, as well as mites. Since much of their prey are agricultural pests, coccinellids are considered to be beneficial insects. A 2009 metastudy by Hodek and Honěk found that aphid-eaters constituted around 68 percent of species that live in temperate areas but only 20 percent of species worldwide. Around 36 percent of total species mostly feed on scale insects. Larvae and adults eat the same foods, unlike in other insect groups.Ladybird species vary in dietary specificity. An example of a specialist species is those of the genus Stethorus, which feed on spider mites. Aphid-eaters tend to be generalist; they have a high voracity and can multiply quickly in response to outbreaks, and switch to other prey when the ephemeral aphids become scarce. Predators of scale insects tend to be less voracious and are slower breeders and developers; matching their prey. Under pressure from coccinellid predation, aphid species have evolved to become more toxic, forcing coccinellids to develop immunities. Coccinellid predators of aphids need to defend themselves against ants that tend and defend aphids for their honeydew, and coccinellid eggs laid near aphids are disposed of. Some species including Coccinella magnifica and Diomus have adapted to grow within ant nests as larvae, and some like Diomus thoracicus are predators of the brood of the ant Wasmannia auropunctata.Cannibalism has been recorded in several species; which includes larvae eating eggs or other larvae, and adults feeding on individuals of any life stage. Some coccinellids are mostly non-predatory, such as some species in the genera Epilachna and Henosepilachna. The majority of predatory species may also supplement their diet with other sources of food both in their larval and adult stages. Non-animal matter consumed include leaves, pollen, nectar, sap, fungi, and honeydew. Members of the tribe Halyziini of the subfamily Coccinellinae are obligate fungus feeders.Coccinellids of any lifestage are preyed on by predators such as birds, spiders, ants and lacewings. They are also hosts for parasites, including some flies, ticks, mites, hymenopterans and nematodes, and pathogens, including bacteria, fungi and protozoa. Wolbachia bacteria infects eggs and kills male zygotes. The promiscuity of Coccinellids has led to their being affected by sexually transmitted diseases.
+Diet
+
+Defense
+The bright warning colouration of many coccinellids discourage potential predators, warning of their toxicity. A 2015 study of five ladybird species found that their colouration honestly signalled their toxicity, implying the warning is genuine. Species with more contrast with the background environment tended to be more toxic. Coccinellid haemolymph (blood) contains toxic alkaloids, azamacrolides and polyamines, as well as foul-smelling pyrazines. Coccinellids can produce at least 50 types of alkaloids. When disturbed, ladybirds further defend themselves with reflex bleeding, exuding drops from their tibio-femoral (knee) joints, effectively presenting predators with a sample of their toxic and bitter body fluid. Predator-deterring poisons are particularly important for the immobile pupa. Access to food can affect the concentration of both pigments and toxins.The similarity of coccinellid patterning in red and orange with black markings has led to suggestions that they and some species of chrysomelids form Müllerian mimicry rings particularly to defend them from birds. Despite their chemical defenses, coccinellids are preyed on by some clerid beetles in the genus Enoclerus, several species of which are brightly coloured in red and black, and which possibly sequester the toxins of the prey to defend themselves against other predators.As an anti-predator defense, spiders of the genus Eresus, known as ladybird spiders, have evolved to replicate the patterns of coccinellids. This is a form of Batesian mimicry, as the spiders lack the chemicals. This resemblance is limited to adult male spiders which are actively searching for females and exposed – unlike the females and young, which remain sheltered in burrows.
+
+Distribution and status
+Coccinellidae are found on every continent except Antarctica. Asian and African species are less studied than others. Coccinellids can be found in a variety of habitats, both on the ground and in the trees. They may specialise using certain plants. Some species can live in extreme environments such as high mountains, arid deserts and cold regions. Several of the most famous species have wide ranges, but others are more endemic and possibly threatened.Threats to coccinellids include climate change, agriculture, urbanisation, and invasive species. Coccinellid biodiversity will likely be affected by the rising of both average temperatures and heat fluctuations. Climate change may lead to smaller larvae, as well as increase energy and metabolic needs and interspecific predation. Agriculture and urbanisation threatens these insects though habitat destruction and homogenisation and the use of pesticides. Invasive threats include other coccinellids, particularly C. septempunctata in North America and H. axyridis globally. These invaders outcompete the native species as well as eat their eggs.As of 2022, the IUCN Red List does not list the conservation status for any coccinellid, though there is an IUCN SSC Ladybird Specialist Group. Conservationists have suggested several measures for protecting the insects, including citizen science and education programs, habitat preservation and restoration, prevention of the spread of invasive species and a global monitoring program.
+
+Relationship to humans
+Biological control
+Coccinellids have been valued in biological pest control, as they prey on agricultural pests such as aphids and scale insects. Their importance in controlling pests was noted as far back as 1814 in England. Their efficiency can vary: sometimes they have a relatively small effect on aphid populations; at others they cause significant seasonal declines.Several species have been introduced to areas outside their native range; the first being the vedalia beetle, Novius cardinalis. The larva of the species was introduced to California in 1887 from Australia, to protect citrus trees from cottony cushion scale. The project was markedly successful, costing $1,500 in 1889, making it "a textbook example of the great potential of classical biological control as a tactic for suppressing invasive pests." The beetle was then used in 29 countries, again with success; reasons for this include its high prey specificity, fast development, multiple generations each year, efficient discovery of host patches, and larval development completed on a single host insect.There have been many further attempts to use ladybird species against pests, with varying degrees of success. Scale insect-eating coccinellids have been more successfully used than aphid predators. Out of 155 deliberate introductions meant to control aphids by the year 2000, only one was deemed to be "substantially successful". This is due to aphid-eating species being fast-breeding, generalist and voracious, and thus difficult to control.
+
+As pests
+Coccinellids can also act as pests. Harmonia axyridis is native to East Asia, but has been introduced to the Americas, Europe and Africa. In North America, this species begins to appear indoors in the autumn when they leave their summer feeding sites to search out places to stay for winter. Typically, when temperatures warm to the mid-60s °F (around 18 °C) in the late afternoon, they swarm onto or into buildings illuminated by the sun from nearby fields and forests. After an abnormally long period of hot, dry weather in the summer of 1976 in the UK, a marked increase in the aphid population was followed by a "plague" of the native Coccinella septempunctata; there were many reports of people being bitten as the supply of aphids dwindled.H. axyridis, C. septempunctata and Hippodamia convergens are the most common causes of ladybird taint in wine. As few as 1.3 to 1.5 coccinellids per 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of grapes can affect wine quality when they are present during the wine-making process. The Mexican bean beetle is an agricultural pest as it primarily feeds on plants, especially legumes, instead of insects.
+
+In culture
+Coccinellids have had important roles in culture and religion, being associated with luck, love, fertility and prophecy. "Ladybird" is an affectionate term for someone, such as a loved one.  In European folklore, an insect acts as a matchmaker, crawling on a woman and then flying to their true love. Coccinellids have been said to predict the future, particularly weather conditions and how well the crops will grow.In Christianity, coccinellids have been seen as the literal gatekeepers of Heaven. A Swedish name for the insects, Himmelska nycla, means "Keys of Heaven". Jews have referred to the insects as the "Cow of Moses our Teacher". The Cherokee have revered them as the "Great Beloved Woman"; this was used as a title for the highest-ranking woman in the government, who would be painted in the colours and patterns of the insect during ceremonies.Coccinellids have been popularly featured in poems and nursery rhymes, the most famous being Ladybird! Ladybird!. This has come in several forms, including:
+
+References
+Sources
+Hodek, I.; Honěk, A. (1996). Ecology of Coccinellidae (Series Entomologica, 54). Springer. ISBN 978-0792341772.
+Hodek, I; Honěk, A; Van Emden, H. F., eds. (2012). Ecology and Behaviour of the Ladybird Beetles (Coccinellidae). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-22321-5. OCLC 792685088.
+Majerus, M (2016). Roy, H. E.; Brown, P. M. J. (eds.). A Natural History of Ladybird Beetles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-11607-8.
+
+External links
+ Media related to Coccinellidae at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Coccinellidae at Wikispecies
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diff --git a/data/animals/leaf beetle.txt b/data/animals/leaf beetle.txt
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+The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous subfamilies are recognized, but the precise taxonomy and systematics are likely to change with ongoing research.
+Leaf beetles are partially recognizable by their tarsal formula, which appears to be 4-4-4, but is actually 5-5-5 as the fourth tarsal segment is very small and hidden by the third. As with many taxa,  no single character defines the Chrysomelidae; instead, the family is delineated by a set of characters. Some lineages are only distinguished with difficulty from longhorn beetles (family Cerambycidae), namely by the antennae not arising from frontal tubercles.
+Adult and larval leaf beetles feed on all sorts of plant tissue. Many are serious pests of cultivated plants, for example the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), the asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi), the cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus), the mustard beetle (Phaedon cochleariae) and various flea beetles, and a few act as vectors of plant diseases. Others are beneficial due to their use in biocontrol of invasive weeds. Some Chrysomelidae are conspicuously colored, typically in glossy yellow to red or metallic blue-green hues, and some (especially Cassidinae) have spectacularly bizarre shapes. Thus, they are highly popular among insect collectors.
+
+Description
+The imagos of leaf beetles are small to medium-sized, i.e. most species range from 1.0 to 18 mm in length, excluding appendages, with just a few larger species such as Alurnus humeralis, which reaches 35 mm. The bodies of most species are domed, and oval in dorsal view (though some are round or elongated), and they often possess a metallic luster or multiple colors. In most specimens, the antennae are notably shorter than head, thorax, and abdomen, i.e. not more than half their combined length. The second antennal segment is of normal size (which differentiates leaf beetles from the closely related longhorn beetles). In most species, the antennal segments are of a more or less equal shape, at most they gradually widen towards the tip, although some Galerucinae in particular have modified segments, mainly in males. The first segment of the antenna in most cases is larger than the following ones. The pronotum of leaf beetles varies between species. In most, it is slightly to highly domed and trapezoidal to rounded-squarish in dorsal view. In some subfamilies such as the Cassidinae and to a lesser extent the Cryptocephalinae, the head is covered by the pronotum and thus not visible from above. The first three sternites are not fused, instead being linked by mobile sutures. Most species  possess wings, although the level of development and thus flight ability varies widely, including within a single species, and some are flightless with fused elytra.
+
+Subfamilies
+The family includes these subfamilies:
+
+Bruchinae Latreille, 1802 – bean weevils or seed beetles
+Cassidinae Gyllenhaal, 1813 – tortoise beetles; includes the former "Hispinae"
+Chrysomelinae Latreille, 1802 – broad-bodied leaf beetles
+Criocerinae Latreille, 1804 – asparagus beetles, lily beetles, etc.
+Cryptocephalinae Gyllenhaal, 1813 – cylindrical leaf beetles and warty leaf beetles; includes former "Chlamisinae" and "Clytrinae"
+Donaciinae Kirby, 1837 – longhorned leaf beetles
+Eumolpinae Hope, 1840 – oval leaf beetles
+Galerucinae Latreille, 1802 – includes the former "Alticinae" (flea beetles)
+Lamprosomatinae Lacordaire, 1848
+Sagrinae Leach, 1815 – frog-legged beetles or kangaroo beetles
+Spilopyrinae Chapuis, 1874
+Synetinae LeConte & Horn, 1883 – sometimes considered a tribe of EumolpinaeUntil recently, the subfamily Bruchinae was considered a separate family, while two former subfamilies are presently considered families (Orsodacnidae and Megalopodidae). Other commonly recognized subfamilies have recently been grouped with other subfamilies, usually reducing them to tribal rank (e.g., the former Alticinae, Chlamisinae, Clytrinae, and Hispinae). The extinct subfamily Protoscelidinae, containing fossils described from the Middle to Late Jurassic Karabastau Formation, Kazakhstan, has been transferred to the family Anthribidae.
+
+Diet
+Chrysomelidae in general are herbivorous. Adults mostly feed on leaves and flowers of angiosperm plants, while larval diets are diverse.
+Bruchinae larvae are seed-borers, usually in seeds of legumes. Many adults feed on pollen, not necessarily that of the larval host. Some do not feed as adults.
+Cassidinae larvae may be leaf miners (many of the former Hispinae), stem borers (e.g. Estigmena) and external leaf feeders (e.g. Leptispa, Oediopalpa).
+Chrysomelinae generally feed on leaves as adults and larvae, though some species feed on flowers instead.
+Criocerinae larvae are usually leaf miners or feed externally on leaves. Some species are gallers instead.
+Eumolpinae larvae feed on roots.
+Most Cryptocephalinae larvae live and feed in leaf litter, making them detritivores, while a few feed on green leaves. A number of Cryptocephalinae have larvae that live in ant nests (myrmecophily), where they feed on dead plant or even dead animal matter.
+The semi-aquatic Donaciinae have larvae feeding on the sap of roots of aquatic plants. In addition to food, they also obtain oxygen this way, from the plant's intercellular spaces. Adults feed on leaves of aquatic plants.
+Galerucinae are quite varied, with larvae living in soil and feeding on rootlets (e.g. Aulacophora, Cerotoma, Diabrotica), mining leaves (some Monoxia) or feeding externally on plants (e.g. Arima, Galeruca, Galerucella).
+Lamprosomatinae larvae feed on green plant parts or graze on bark.
+Sagrinae larvae mostly form galls in stems of shrubs, though Mecynodera balyi instead feeds inside seed pods of Pandorea vines. Adults feed on pollen.
+Spilopyrinae larvae are external leaf feeders.
+Synetinae larvae feed on roots, mainly of trees in cold northern forests.
+
+Natural enemies
+A Finnish researcher published an exhaustive paper describing the natural enemies of the alder leaf beetle Plagiosterna aenea and other species of leaf beetles observed in the field. Predators of chrysomelid eggs include true bugs such as Anthocorus nemorum and Orthotylus marginalis. Hoverflies (e.g. Parasyrphus nigritarsis) sometimes lay eggs adjacent to beetle egg clutches and when the fly larva hatches it consumes beetle eggs and young larvae. Larval predators include A. nemorum, the bug Rhacognathus punctatus,  and the wasp Symmorphus bifasciatus. Some species of wasps, such as Polistes carolina, have been known to prey upon Chrysomelidae larvae after the eggs are laid in flowers. Adult beetles are consumed by R. punctatus. More information about natural enemies can be found in the articles about the chrysomelid beetles Chrysomela aeneicollis, Phratora laticollis and Phratora vitellinae.
+
+Gallery
+References
+Bibliography
+External links
+
+Chyrsomelidae of northwest Europe
+List of subfamilies of European Chrysomelidae from University of Wrocław
+Brisbane leaf beetles
+Keys to the British genera and species of Chrysomelidae
+Chrysomelidae @ MIZA Archived 2020-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
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diff --git a/data/animals/leatherback turtle.txt b/data/animals/leatherback turtle.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f7b78fd9eb29e163c479eae85ed44a9c561374ee
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+++ b/data/animals/leatherback turtle.txt	
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+The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), sometimes called the lute turtle, leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) and weights of 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Taxonomy
+Dermochelys coriacea is the only species in genus Dermochelys. The genus, in turn, contains the only extant member of the family Dermochelyidae.Domenico Agostino Vandelli named the species first in 1761 as Testudo coriacea after an animal captured at Ostia and donated to the University of Padua by Pope Clement XIII. In 1816, French zoologist Henri Blainville coined the term Dermochelys. The leatherback was then reclassified as Dermochelys coriacea. In 1843, the zoologist Leopold Fitzinger put the genus in its own family, Dermochelyidae. In 1884, the American naturalist Samuel Garman described the species as Sphargis coriacea schlegelii. The two were then united in D. coriacea, with each given subspecies status as D. c. coriacea and D. c. schlegelii. The subspecies were later labeled invalid synonyms of D. coriacea.Both the turtle's common and scientific names come from the leathery texture and appearance of its carapace (Dermochelys coriacea literally translates to "Leathery Skin-turtle"). Older names include "leathery turtle" and "trunk turtle". The common names incorporating "lute" and "luth" compare the seven ridges that run the length of the animal's back to the seven strings on the musical instrument of the same name. But probably more accurately derived from the lute's ribbed back which is in the form of a shell.
+
+Evolution
+Relatives of modern leatherback turtles have existed in relatively the same form since the first true sea turtles evolved over 110 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. The dermochelyids are relatives of the family Cheloniidae, which contains the other six extant sea turtle species. However, their sister taxon is the extinct family Protostegidae that included other species that did not have a hard carapace.
+
+Anatomy and physiology
+Leatherback turtles have the most hydrodynamic body of any sea turtle, with a large, teardrop-shaped body. A large pair of front flippers powers the turtles through the water. Like other sea turtles, the leatherback has flattened forelimbs adapted for swimming in the open ocean. Claws are absent from both pairs of flippers. The leatherback's flippers are the largest in proportion to its body among extant sea turtles. Leatherback's front flippers can grow up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in large specimens, the largest flippers (even in comparison to its body) of any sea turtle.
+The leatherback has several characteristics that distinguish it from other sea turtles. Its most notable feature is the lack of a bony carapace. Instead of scutes, it has thick, leathery skin with embedded minuscule osteoderms. Seven distinct ridges rise from the carapace, crossing from the cranial to caudal margin of the turtle's back. Leatherbacks are unique among reptiles in that their scales lack β-keratin. The entire turtle's dorsal surface is colored dark grey to black, with a scattering of white blotches and spots. Demonstrating countershading, the turtle's underside is lightly colored. Instead of teeth, the leatherback turtle has points on the tomium of its upper lip, with backwards spines in its throat (esophagus) to help it swallow food and to stop its prey from escaping once caught. 
+
+D. coriacea adults average 1–1.75 m (3.3–5.7 ft) in curved carapace length (CCL), 1.83–2.2 m (6.0–7.2 ft) in total length, and 250 to 700 kg (550 to 1,540 lb) in weight. In the Caribbean, the mean size of adults was reported at 384 kg (847 lb) in weight and 1.55 m (5.1 ft) in CCL. Similarly, those nesting in French Guiana, weighed an average of 339.3 kg (748 lb) and measured 1.54 m (5.1 ft) in CCL. The largest verified specimen ever found was discovered on the Pakistani beach of Sandspit and measured 213 cm (6.99 ft) in CCL and 650 kg (1,433 lb) in weight. A previous contender, the "Harlech turtle", was purportedly 256.5 cm (8.42 ft) in CCL and 916 kg (2,019 lb) in weight, however recent inspection of its remains housed at the National Museum Cardiff have found that its true CCL is closer to 1.5 m (4.9 ft), casting doubt on the accuracy of the claimed weight, as well. On the other hand, one scientific paper has claimed that the species can weigh up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) without providing more verifiable detail. The leatherback turtle is scarcely larger than any other sea turtle upon hatching, as they average 61.3 mm (2.41 in) in carapace length and weigh around 46 g (1.6 oz) when freshly hatched.D. coriacea exhibits several anatomical characteristics believed to be associated with a life in cold waters, including an extensive covering of brown adipose tissue, temperature-independent swimming muscles, countercurrent heat exchangers between the large front flippers and the core body, and an extensive network of countercurrent heat exchangers surrounding the trachea.
+
+Mechanical properties
+The carapace of the leatherback sea turtle has a unique design which enables the sea turtles to withstand high hydrostatic pressures as they dive to depths of 1200 m. Unlike other sea turtles, the leatherback sea turtle has a soft, leathery skin which covers the osteoderms rather than a hard keratinous shell. The osteoderms are made up of bone-like hydroxyapatite/collagen tissue and have jagged edges, referred to as teeth. These osteoderms are connected by a configuration of interpenetrating extremities called sutures that provide flexibility to the carapace, enabling in plane and out of plane movement between osteoderms. This is important since the lungs, and thus the carapace, expand when taking in air and contract when deep diving.The sutures connect rigid elements and flexible joints in a zig-zag configuration, so there is no region where teeth can easily penetrate the carapace. There are two main failure mechanisms for the tires in tension: tooth failure corresponding to mineral-brittle failure; and interfacial failure between teeth corresponding to collagen-ductile failure.  The triangular tooth geometry is able to evenly distribute load and absorb energy.  This leads to a high strength in tension since this geometry takes advantage of the tensile strength of bone and the interface. Additionally, the carapace is tough because sutures prevent crack propagation.  Under load, cracks interact with the sutures which can resist crack growth via crack bridging. This phenomenon was observed in sequential compression of osteoderm samples.
+
+Physiology
+Leatherbacks have been viewed as unique among extant non-avian reptiles for their ability to maintain high body temperatures using metabolically generated heat, or endothermy. Initial studies on their metabolic rates found leatherbacks had resting metabolisms around three times higher than expected for reptiles of their size. However, recent studies using reptile representatives encompassing all the size ranges leatherbacks pass through during ontogeny discovered the resting metabolic rate of a large D. coriacea is not significantly different from predicted results based on allometry.Rather than using a high resting metabolism, leatherbacks appear to take advantage of a high activity rate. Studies on wild D. coriacea discovered individuals may spend as little as 0.1% of the day resting. This constant swimming creates muscle-derived heat. Coupled with their countercurrent heat exchangers, insulating fat covering, and large size, leatherbacks are able to maintain high temperature differentials compared to the surrounding water. Adult leatherbacks have been found with core body temperatures that were 18 °C (32 °F) above the water in which they were swimming.Leatherback turtles are one of the deepest-diving marine animals. Individuals have been recorded diving to depths as great as 1,280 m (4,200 ft).
+Typical dive durations are between 3 and 8 minutes, with dives of 30–70 minutes occurring infrequently.They are also the fastest-moving non-avian reptiles. The 1992 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records lists the leatherback turtle moving at 35.28 km/h (21.92 mph) in the water. More typically, they swim at 1.80–10.08 km/h (1.12–6.26 mph).
+
+Distribution
+The leatherback turtle is a species with a cosmopolitan global range. Of all the extant sea turtle species, D. coriacea has the widest distribution, reaching as far north as Alaska and Norway and as far south as Cape Agulhas in Africa and the southernmost tip of New Zealand. The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range extends well into the Arctic Circle.The three major, genetically distinct populations occur in the Atlantic, eastern Pacific, and western Pacific Oceans.  While nesting beaches have been identified in the region, leatherback populations in the Indian Ocean remain generally unassessed and unevaluated.Recent estimates of global nesting populations are that 26,000 to 43,000 females nest annually, which is a dramatic decline from the 115,000 estimated in 1980.
+
+Atlantic subpopulation
+The leatherback turtle population in the Atlantic Ocean ranges across the entire region. They range as far north as the North Sea and to the Cape of Good Hope in the south. Unlike other sea turtles, leatherback feeding areas are in colder waters, where an abundance of their jellyfish prey is found, which broadens their range. However, only a few beaches on both sides of the Atlantic provide nesting sites.Off the Atlantic coast of Canada, leatherback turtles feed in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near Quebec and as far north as Newfoundland and Labrador. The most significant Atlantic nesting sites are in Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana in South America, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, and Gabon in Central Africa. The beaches of Mayumba National Park in Mayumba, Gabon, host the largest nesting population on the African continent and possibly worldwide, with nearly 30,000 turtles visiting its beaches each year between October and April. Off the northeastern coast of the South American continent, a few select beaches between French Guiana and Suriname are primary nesting sites of several species of sea turtles, the majority being leatherbacks. A few hundred nest annually on the eastern coast of Florida. In Costa Rica, the beaches of Gandoca and Parismina provide nesting grounds.
+
+Pacific subpopulation
+Pacific leatherbacks divide into two populations. One population nests on beaches in Papua, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands, and forages across the Pacific in the Northern Hemisphere, along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington in North America. The eastern Pacific population forages in the Southern Hemisphere, in waters along the western coast of South America, nesting in Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, as well as eastern Australia.The continental United States offers two major Pacific leatherback feeding areas. One well-studied area is just off the northwestern coast near the mouth of the Columbia River. The other American area is located in California. Further north, off the Pacific coast of Canada, leatherbacks visit the beaches of British Columbia.Estimates by the WWF suggest only 2,300 adult females of the Pacific leatherback remain, making it the most endangered marine turtle subpopulation.
+
+South China Sea subpopulation
+A third possible Pacific subpopulation has been proposed, those that nest in Malaysia. This subpopulation, however, has effectively been eradicated. The beach of Rantau Abang in Terengganu, Malaysia, once had the largest nesting population in the world, hosting 10,000 nests per year. The major cause of the decline was egg consumption by humans. Conservation efforts initiated in the 1960s were ineffective because they involved excavating and incubating eggs at artificial sites which inadvertently exposed the eggs to high temperatures. It only became known in the 1980s that sea turtles undergo temperature-dependent sex determination; it is suspected that nearly all the artificially incubated hatchlings were female. In 2008, two turtles nested at Rantau Abang, and unfortunately, the eggs were infertile. Additionally, there are small nesting sites in southern Thailand where 18 turtles nested in 2021.
+
+Indian Ocean subpopulation
+While little research has been done on Dermochelys populations in the Indian Ocean, nesting populations are known from Sri Lanka and the Nicobar Islands. These turtles are proposed to form a separate, genetically distinct Indian Ocean subpopulation.
+
+Ecology and life history
+Habitat
+Leatherback sea turtles can be found primarily in the open ocean. Scientists tracked a leatherback turtle that swam from Jen Womom beach of Tambrauw Regency in West Papua of Indonesia to the U.S. in a 20,000 km (12,000 mi) foraging journey over a period of 647 days. Leatherbacks follow their jellyfish prey throughout the day, resulting in turtles "preferring" deeper water in the daytime, and shallower water at night (when the jellyfish rise up the water column). This hunting strategy often places turtles in very frigid waters. One individual was found actively hunting in waters where temperatures were as low as 0.4 °C (32.7 °F). Following each foraging dive, the leatherback would return to warmer (17.5 °C (63.5 °F)) surface waters to regain body heat before continuing to dive into near freezing waters. Leatherback turtles are known to pursue prey deeper than 1000 m—beyond the physiological limits of all other diving tetrapods except for beaked whales and sperm whales.Their favored breeding beaches are mainland sites facing the deep water, and they seem to avoid those sites protected by coral reefs.
+
+Feeding
+Adult D. coriacea turtles subsist almost entirely on jellyfish.  Due to their obligate feeding nature, leatherbacks help control jellyfish populations. Leatherbacks also feed on other soft-bodied organisms, such as other cnidarians (siphonophores), tunicates (salps and pyrosomas) and cephalopods. They're also believed to feed on small crustaceans, fish (possibly symbiotes with jellies), sea urchins and snails.Pacific leatherbacks migrate about 6,000 mi (9,700 km) across the Pacific from their nesting sites in Indonesia to eat California jellyfish. One cause for their endangered state is plastic bags floating in the ocean. Pacific leatherback sea turtles mistake these plastic bags for jellyfish; an estimated one-third of adults have ingested plastic. Plastic enters the oceans along the west coast of urban areas, where leatherbacks forage, with Californians using upward of 19 billion plastic bags every year. Plastic bags were banned in California in 2016.Several species of sea turtles commonly ingest plastic marine debris, and even small quantities of debris can kill sea turtles by obstructing their digestive tracts. Nutrient dilution, which occurs when plastics displace food in the gut, affects the nutrient gain and consequently the growth of sea turtles. Ingestion of marine debris and slowed nutrient gain leads to increased time for sexual maturation that may affect future reproductive behaviors. These turtles have the highest risk of encountering and ingesting plastic bags offshore of San Francisco Bay, the Columbia River mouth, and Puget Sound.
+
+Lifespan
+Very little is known of the species' lifespan. Some reports claim "30 years or more", while others state "50 years or more". Upper estimates exceed 100 years.
+
+Death and decomposition
+Dead leatherbacks that wash ashore are microecosystems while decomposing. In 1996, a drowned carcass held sarcophagid and calliphorid flies after being picked open by a pair of Coragyps atratus vultures. Infestation by carrion-eating beetles of the families Scarabaeidae, Carabidae, and Tenebrionidae soon followed. After days of decomposition, beetles from the families Histeridae and Staphylinidae and anthomyiid flies invaded the corpse, as well. Organisms from more than a dozen families took part in consuming the carcass.
+
+Life history
+Predation
+Leatherback turtles face many predators in their early lives. Eggs may be preyed on by a diversity of coastal predators, including ghost crabs, monitor lizards, raccoons, coatis, dogs, coyotes, genets, mongooses, and shorebirds ranging from small plovers to large gulls. Many of the same predators feed on baby turtles as they try to get to the ocean, as well as frigatebirds and varied raptors. Once in the ocean, young leatherbacks face predation from cephalopods, requiem sharks, and various large fish. Despite their lack of a hard shell, the huge adults face fewer serious predators, though they are occasionally overwhelmed and preyed on by very large marine predators such as killer whales, great white sharks, and tiger sharks. Nesting females have been preyed upon by jaguars in the American tropics. Nesting females in Papua New Guinea are also attacked by saltwater crocodiles.The adult leatherback has been observed aggressively defending itself at sea from predators. A medium-sized adult was observed chasing a shark that had attempted to bite it and then turned its aggression and attacked the boat containing the humans observing the prior interaction. Dermochelys juveniles spend more of their time in tropical waters than do adults.Adults are prone to long-distance migration. Migration occurs between the cold waters where mature leatherbacks feed, to the tropical and subtropical beaches in the regions where they hatch. In the Atlantic, females tagged in French Guiana have been recaptured on the other side of the ocean in Morocco and Spain.
+
+Mating
+Mating takes place at sea. Males never leave the water once they enter it, unlike females, which nest on land. After encountering a female (which possibly exudes a pheromone to signal her reproductive status), the male uses head movements, nuzzling, biting, or flipper movements to determine her receptiveness. Males can mate every year but the females mate every two to three years. Fertilization is internal, and multiple males usually mate with a single female. This polyandry does not provide the offspring with any special advantages.
+Female leatherbacks are known to nest up to 10 times in a single nesting season giving them the shortest internesting interval of all sea turtles.
+
+Offspring
+While other sea turtle species almost always return to their hatching beach, leatherbacks may choose another beach within the region. They choose beaches with soft sand because their softer shells and plastrons are easily damaged by hard rocks. Nesting beaches also have shallower approach angles from the sea. This is a vulnerability for the turtles because such beaches easily erode. They nest at night when the risk of predation and heat stress is lowest. As leatherback turtles spend the vast majority of their lives in the ocean, their eyes are not well adapted to night vision on land. The typical nesting environment includes a dark forested area adjacent to the beach. The contrast between this dark forest and the brighter, moonlit ocean provides directionality for the females. They nest towards the dark and then return to the ocean and the light.
+Females excavate a nest above the high-tide line with their flippers. One female may lay as many as nine clutches in one breeding season. About nine days pass between nesting events. Average clutch size is around 110 eggs, 85% of which are viable. After laying, the female carefully back-fills the nest, disguising it from predators with a scattering of sand. With the average clutch size being around 110, around 50 percent of the eggs don't even develop into hatchlings. This only causes more concern for the species, because it makes management much harder to determine.
+
+Development of offspring
+Cleavage of the cell begins within hours of fertilization, but development is suspended during the gastrulation period of movements and infoldings of embryonic cells, while the eggs are being laid. Development then resumes, but embryos remain extremely susceptible to movement-induced mortality until the membranes fully develop after incubating for 20 to 25 days. The structural differentiation of body and organs (organogenesis) soon follows. The eggs hatch in about 60 to 70 days. As with other reptiles, the nest's ambient temperature determines the sex of the hatchings. After nightfall, the hatchings dig to the surface and walk to the sea. The morphology of offspring has been found to vary with nest incubation temperatures. Higher temperatures resulted in lower mass, smaller appendages, narrower carapace widths, and shorter flipper lengths while lower temperatures resulted in greater mass, wider appendage widths, wider carapace widths, and longer flipper lengths.Leatherback nesting seasons vary by location; it occurs from February to July in Parismina, Costa Rica. Farther east in French Guiana, nesting is from March to August. Atlantic leatherbacks nest between February and July from South Carolina in the United States to the United States Virgin Islands in the Caribbean and to Suriname and Guyana.
+
+Importance to humans
+People around the world still harvest sea turtle eggs. Asian exploitation of turtle nests has been cited as the most significant factor for the species' global population decline. In Southeast Asia, egg harvesting in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia has led to a near-total collapse of local nesting populations. In Malaysia, where the turtle is practically locally extinct, the eggs are considered a delicacy. In the Caribbean, some cultures consider the eggs to be aphrodisiacs.They are also a major jellyfish predator, which helps keep populations in check. This bears importance to humans, as jellyfish diets consist largely of larval fish, the adults of which are commercially fished by humans.
+
+Cultural significance
+The turtle is known to be of cultural significance to tribes all over the world. The Seri people, from the Mexican state of Sonora, find the leatherback sea turtle culturally significant because it is one of their five main creators. The Seri people devote ceremonies and fiestas to the turtle when one is caught and then released back into the environment. The Seri people have noticed the drastic decline in turtle populations over the years and created a conservation movement to help this. The group, made up of both youth and elders from the tribe, is called Grupo Tortuguero Comaac. They use both traditional ecological knowledge and Western technology to help manage the turtle populations and protect the turtle's natural environment.In the Malaysian state of Terengganu, the turtle is the state's main animal and is usually seen in tourism ads.
+On the South Island of New Zealand's Banks Peninsula the leatherback turtle has great spiritual significance to the Koukourārata hapū of te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, as well as wider significance in Te Ao Māori and to the peoples of greater Polynesia according to the protocols of each rohe.  In 2021, a leatherback sea turtle was laid to rest by New Zealand's Department of Conservation in a hilltop cave on the Peninsula's Horomaka Island dug by hapū and in accordance with their rohe's ley lines, according to New Zealand's state broadcaster, Radio New Zealand.
+
+Conservation
+Leatherback turtles have few natural predators once they mature; they are most vulnerable to predation in their early life stages. Birds, small mammals, and other opportunists dig up the nests of turtles and consume eggs. Shorebirds and crustaceans prey on the hatchlings scrambling for the sea. Once they enter the water, they become prey to predatory fish and cephalopods.
+
+Leatherbacks have slightly fewer human-related threats than other sea turtle species, however, turtle-fishery interactions may play a larger role than previously recognized. Their flesh contains too much oil and fat to be considered palatable, reducing the demand. However, human activity still endangers leatherback turtles in direct and indirect ways. Directly, a few are caught for their meat by subsistence fisheries. Nests are raided by humans in places such as Southeast Asia. In the state of Florida, there have been 603 leatherback strandings between 1980 and 2014. Almost one-quarter (23.5%) of leatherback strandings are due to vessel-strike injuries, which is the highest cause of strandings. Light pollution is a serious threat to sea turtle hatchlings which have a strong attraction to light. Human-generated light from streetlights and buildings causes hatchlings to become disoriented, crawling toward the light and away from the beach. Hatchlings are attracted to light because the lightest area on a natural beach is the horizon over the ocean, the darkest area is the dunes or forest. On Florida's Atlantic coast, some beaches with high turtle nesting density have lost thousands of hatchlings due to artificial light.Many human activities indirectly harm Dermochelys populations. As a pelagic species, D. coriacea is occasionally caught as bycatch. Entanglement in lobster pot ropes is another hazard the animals face. As the largest living sea turtles, turtle excluder devices can be ineffective with mature adults. In the eastern Pacific alone, a reported average of 1,500 mature females were accidentally caught annually in the 1990s. Pollution, both chemical and physical, can also be fatal. Many turtles die from malabsorption and intestinal blockage following the ingestion of balloons and plastic bags which resemble their jellyfish prey. Chemical pollution also has an adverse effect on Dermochelys. A high level of phthalates has been measured in their eggs' yolks. Leatherback sea turtles ranging from 1885-2007 were autopsied for the existence of plastic in the gastrointestinal tract. It was discovered that 34% of the cases had plastic blockage.Due to their diet consisting of gelatinous zooplankton, the leatherback sea turtle consumes high amounts of salt. Different life stages of dead individuals from the western Atlantic Ocean were used to test the concentrations of various contaminants found in the salt glands and red blood cells. These contaminants include arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium. The contaminants were found in higher concentrations in the blood compared to the salt gland secretions. The length of the curve in the carapace of a turtle had a direct correlation with cadmium and mercury concentrations. Salt glands and red blood cells are potentially susceptible to high levels of contaminants being found in the oceans.
+
+Global initiatives
+D. coriacea is listed on CITES Appendix I, which makes export/import of this species (including parts) illegal. It has been listed as an EDGE species by the Zoological Society of London.The species is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as VU (Vulnerable), and additionally with the following infraspecific taxa assessments:
+
+East Pacific Ocean subpopulation: CR (Critically Endangered)
+Northeast Indian Ocean subpopulation: DD (Data Deficient)
+Northwest Atlantic Ocean subpopulation: EN (Endangered)
+Southeast Atlantic Ocean subpopulation: DD (Data Deficient)
+Southwest Atlantic Ocean subpopulation CR (Critically Endangered)
+Southwest Indian Ocean subpopulation CR (Critically Endangered)
+West Pacific Ocean subpopulation CR (Critically Endangered)Conserving Pacific and Eastern Atlantic populations were included among the top-ten issues in turtle conservation in the first State of the World's Sea Turtles report published in 2006. The report noted significant declines in the Mexican, Costa Rican, and Malaysian populations. The eastern Atlantic nesting population was threatened by increased fishing pressures from eastern South American countries.The Leatherback Trust was founded specifically to conserve sea turtles, specifically its namesake. The foundation established a sanctuary in Costa Rica, the Parque Marino Las Baulas.
+
+National and local initiatives
+The leatherback sea turtle is subject to different conservation laws in various countries.
+The United States listed it as an endangered species on 2 June 1970. The passing of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ratified its status. In 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration designated 41,914 square miles of Pacific Ocean along California, Oregon, and Washington as "critical habitat". In Canada, the Species at Risk Act made it illegal to exploit the species in Canadian waters. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada classified it as endangered. Ireland and Wales initiated a joint leatherback conservation effort between Swansea University and University College Cork. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Irish Sea Leatherback Turtle Project focuses on research such as tagging and satellite tracking of individuals.Earthwatch Institute, a global nonprofit that teams volunteer with scientists to conduct important environmental research, launched a program called "Trinidad's Leatherback Sea Turtles". This program strives to help save the world's largest turtle from extinction in Matura Beach, Trinidad, as volunteers work side by side with leading scientists and a local conservation group, Nature Seekers. This tropical island off the coast of Venezuela is known for its vibrant ethnic diversity and rich cultural events. It is also the site of one of the most important nesting beaches for endangered leatherback turtles, enormous reptiles that can weigh a ton and dive deeper than many whales. Each year, more than 2,000 female leatherbacks haul themselves onto Matura Beach to lay their eggs. With leatherback populations declining more quickly than any other large animal in modern history, each turtle is precious. On this research project, Dennis Sammy of Nature Seekers and Scott Eckert of Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network work alongside a team of volunteers to help prevent the extinction of leatherback sea turtles.Several Caribbean countries started conservation programs, such as the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network, focused on using ecotourism to highlight the leatherback's plight. On the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, the village of Parismina has one such initiative. Parismina is an isolated sandbar where a large number of leatherbacks lay eggs, but poachers abound. Since 1998, the village has been assisting turtles with a hatchery program. The Parismina Social Club is a charitable organization backed by American tourists and expatriates, which collects donations to fund beach patrols. In Dominica, patrollers from DomSeTCo protect leatherback nesting sites from poachers.
+Mayumba National Park in Gabon, Central Africa, was created to protect Africa's most important nesting beach. More than 30,000 turtles nest on Mayumba's beaches between September and April each year.In mid-2007, the Malaysian Fisheries Department revealed a plan to clone leatherback turtles to replenish the country's rapidly declining population. Some conservation biologists, however, are skeptical of the proposed plan because cloning has only succeeded on mammals such as dogs, sheep, cats, and cattle, and uncertainties persist about cloned animals' health and lifespans. Leatherbacks used to nest in the thousands on Malaysian beaches, including those at Terengganu, where more than 3,000 females nested in the late 1960s. The last official count of nesting leatherback females on that beach was recorded to be a mere two females in 1993.In Brazil, reproduction of the leatherback turtle is being assisted by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources' projeto TAMAR (TAMAR project), which works to protect nests and prevent accidental kills by fishing boats. The last official count of nesting leatherback females in Brazil yielded only seven females. In January 2010, one female at Pontal do Paraná laid hundreds of eggs. Since leatherback sea turtles had been reported to nest only at Espírito Santo's shore, but never in the state of Paraná, this unusual act brought much attention to the area, biologists have been protecting the nests and checking their eggs' temperature, although it might be that none of the eggs are fertile.Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 lists D. coriacea as vulnerable, while Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992 lists it as endangered.
+
+See also
+Threats to sea turtles
+
+References
+Further reading
+Wood, Roger Conant; Johnson-Gove, Jonnie; Gaffney, Eugene S.; Maley, Kevin F. (1996). "Evolution and phylogeny of the leatherback turtles (Dermochelyidae), with descriptions of new fossil taxa". Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 2: 266–286.
+The Leatherback Turtle: Biology and Conservation. United States, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015.
+Rake, Jody Sullivan. Leatherback Sea Turtles. United States, Capstone Press, 2012.
+Hirsch, Rebecca E.. Leatherback Sea Turtles: Ancient Swimming Reptiles. United States, Lerner Publishing Group, 2015.
+
+External links
+National Geographic
+3D animation of an adult Leatherback sea turtle
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+The leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of 92–183 cm (36–72 in) with a 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in). Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb).
+The leopard was first described in 1758, and several subspecies were proposed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, eight subspecies are recognised in its wide range in Africa and Asia. It initially evolved in Africa during the Early Pleistocene, before migrating into Eurasia around the Early–Middle Pleistocene transition. It was present across Europe, but became extinct in the region at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 11,000 years ago.
+It is adapted to a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to steppe, including arid and montane areas. It is an opportunistic predator, hunting mostly ungulates and primates. It relies on its spotted pattern for camouflage as it stalks and ambushes its prey, which it sometimes drags up a tree. It is a solitary animal outside the mating season and when raising cubs. Females usually give birth to a litter of 2–4 cubs once in 15–24 months. Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at the age 2–2.5 years.
+It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because leopard populations are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and are declining in large parts of the global range. Leopards have had cultural roles in Ancient Greece, West Africa and modern Western culture. Leopard skins have been popular in fashion.
+
+Etymology
+The English name "leopard" comes from Old French leupart or Middle French liepart, that derives from Latin leopardus and ancient Greek λέοπάρδος (leopardos). Leopardos could be a compound of λέων (leōn), meaning 'lion', and πάρδος (pardos), meaning 'spotted'. The word λέοπάρδος originally referred to a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)."Panther" is another common name, derived from Latin panther and ancient Greek πάνθηρ (pánthēr); The generic name Panthera originates in Latin panthera, a hunting net for catching wild beasts to be used by the Romans in combats. Pardus is the masculine singular form.
+
+Characteristics
+The leopard's fur is generally soft and thick, notably softer on the belly than on the back. Its skin colour varies between individuals from pale yellowish to dark golden with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its underbelly is white and its ringed tail is shorter than its body. Its pupils are round. Leopards living in arid regions are pale cream, yellowish to ochraceous and rufous in colour; those living in forests and mountains are much darker and deep golden. Spots fade toward the white underbelly and the insides and lower parts of the legs. Rosettes are circular in East African leopard populations, and tend to be squarish in Southern African and larger in Asian leopard populations. The fur tends to be grayish in colder climates, and dark golden in rainforest habitats. Rosette patterns are unique in each individual. This pattern is thought to be an adaptation to dense vegetation with patchy shadows, where it serves as camouflage.Its white-tipped tail is about 60–100 cm (23.6–39.4 in) long, white underneath and with spots that form incomplete bands toward the end of the tail.
+The guard hairs protecting the basal hairs are short, 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) in face and head, and increase in length toward the flanks and the belly to about 25–30 mm (1.0–1.2 in). Juveniles have woolly fur that appear to be dark-coloured due to the densely arranged spots. 
+Its fur tends to grow longer in colder climates.
+The leopard's rosettes differ from those of the jaguar (Panthera onca), which are darker and with smaller spots inside. The leopard has a diploid chromosome number of 38.Melanistic leopards are also known as black panthers. Melanism in leopards is caused by a recessive allele and is inherited as a recessive trait.
+In India, nine pale and white leopards were reported between 1905 and 1967.
+Leopards exhibiting erythrism were recorded between 1990 and 2015 in South Africa's Madikwe Game Reserve and in Mpumalanga. The cause of this morph known as a "strawberry leopard" or "pink panther" is not well understood.
+
+Size
+The leopard is a slender and muscular cat, with relatively short limbs and a broad head. It is sexually dimorphic with males larger and heavier than females. Males stand 60–70 cm (24–28 in) at the shoulder, while females are 57–64 cm (22–25 in) tall. The head-and-body length ranges between 92 and 183 cm (36 and 72 in) with a 66 to 102 cm (26 to 40 in) long tail. Sizes vary geographically. Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb). Occasionally, large males can grow up to 91 kg (201 lb). Leopards from the Cape Province in South Africa are generally smaller, reaching only 20–45 kg (44–99 lb) in males.
+The maximum recorded weight of a wild leopard in Southern Africa was around 96 kg (212 lb), and it measured 262 cm (103 in). In 2016, an Indian leopard killed in Himachal Pradesh measured 261 cm (103 in) with an estimated weight of 78.5 kg (173 lb); it was perhaps the largest known wild leopard in India.The largest recorded skull of a leopard was found in India in 1920 and measured 28 cm (11 in) in basal length, 20 cm (7.9 in) in breadth, and weighed 1 kg (2.2 lb). The skull of an African leopard measured 286 mm (11.3 in) in basal length, and 181 mm (7.1 in) in breadth, and weighed 790 g (28 oz).
+
+Taxonomy
+Felis pardus was the scientific name proposed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
+The generic name Panthera was first used by Lorenz Oken in 1816, who included all the known spotted cats into this group.
+Oken's classification was not widely accepted, and Felis or Leopardus was used as the generic name until the early 20th century.The leopard was designated as the type species of Panthera by Joel Asaph Allen in 1902.
+In 1917, Reginald Innes Pocock also subordinated the tiger (P. tigris), lion (P. leo), and jaguar (P. onca) to Panthera.
+
+Living subspecies
+Following Linnaeus' first description, 27 leopard subspecies were proposed by naturalists between 1794 and 1956. Since 1996, only eight subspecies have been considered valid on the basis of mitochondrial analysis. Later analysis revealed a ninth valid subspecies, the Arabian leopard.In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group recognized the following eight subspecies as valid taxa:
+Results of an analysis of molecular variance and pairwise fixation index of 182 African leopard museum specimens showed that some African leopards exhibit higher genetic differences than Asian leopard subspecies.
+
+Evolution
+Results of phylogenetic studies based on nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that the last common ancestor of the Panthera and Neofelis genera is thought to have lived about 6.37 million years ago. Neofelis diverged about 8.66 million years ago from the Panthera lineage. The tiger diverged about 6.55 million years ago, followed by the snow leopard about 4.63 million years ago and the leopard about 4.35 million years ago. The leopard is a sister taxon to a clade within Panthera, consisting of the lion and the jaguar.Results of a phylogenetic analysis of chemical secretions amongst cats indicated that the leopard is closely related to the lion.
+The geographic origin of the Panthera is most likely northern Central Asia. The leopard-lion clade was distributed in the Asian and African Palearctic since at least the early Pliocene. The leopard-lion clade diverged 3.1–1.95 million years ago. Additionally, a 2016 study revealed that the mitochondrial genomes of the leopard, lion and snow leopard are more similar to each other than their nuclear genomes, indicating that their ancestors hybridized with the snow leopard at some point in their evolution.The oldest unambiguous fossils of the leopard are from Eastern Africa, dating to around 2 million years ago. Leopards first arrived in Eurasia during the late Early-early Middle Pleistocene around 1.2 to 0.6 million years ago.Leopard-like fossil bones and teeth possibly dating to the Pliocene were excavated in Perrier in France, northeast of London, and in Valdarno, Italy. Until 1940, similar fossils dating back to the Pleistocene were excavated mostly in loess and caves at 40 sites in Europe, including Furninha Cave near Lisbon, Genista Caves in Gibraltar, and Santander Province in northern Spain to several sites across France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, in the north up to Derby in England, in the east to Přerov in the Czech Republic and the Baranya in southern Hungary, Leopard fossils dating to the Late Pleistocene were found in Biśnik Cave in south-central Poland. Four European Pleistocene leopard subspecies were proposed. P. p. begoueni from the beginning of the Early Pleistocene was replaced about 0.6 million years ago by P. p. sickenbergi, which in turn was replaced by P. p. antiqua around 0.3 million years ago. The most recent, P. p. spelaea, appeared at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene and survived until about 11,000 years ago in the Iberian Peninsula. Leopard fossils dating to the Pleistocene were also excavated in the Japanese archipelago. Leopard fossils have also been found in Taiwan.
+
+Hybrids
+In 1953, a male leopard and a female lion were crossbred in Hanshin Park in Nishinomiya, Japan. Their offspring known as a leopon was born in 1959 and 1961, all cubs were spotted and bigger than a juvenile leopard. Attempts to mate a leopon with a tigress were unsuccessful.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The leopard has the largest distribution of all wild cats, occurring widely in Africa, the Caucasus and Asia, although populations are fragmented and declining. It is considered to be extirpated in North Africa. It inhabits foremost savanna and rainforest, and areas where grasslands, woodlands, and riverine forests remain largely undisturbed. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is still numerous and surviving in marginal habitats where other large cats have disappeared. There is considerable potential for human-leopard conflict due to leopards preying on livestock.Leopard populations in the Arabian Peninsula are small and fragmented. In southeastern Egypt, a leopard killed in 2017 was the first sighting of the species in this area in 65 years.
+In western and central Asia, it avoids deserts, areas with long snow cover and close proximity to urban centres.In the Indian subcontinent, the leopard is still relatively abundant, with greater numbers than those of other Panthera species. As of 2020, the leopard population within forested habitats in India's tiger range landscapes was estimated at 12,172 to 13,535 individuals. Surveyed landscapes included elevations below 2,600 m (8,500 ft)  in the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic plains, Central India and Eastern Ghats, Western Ghats, the Brahmaputra River basin and hills in Northeast India. Some leopard populations in the country live quite close to human settlements and even in semi-developed areas. Although adaptable to human disturbances, leopards require healthy prey populations and appropriate vegetative cover for hunting for prolonged survival and thus rarely linger in heavily developed areas. Due to the leopard's stealth, people often remain unaware that it lives in nearby areas.In Nepal's Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, a melanistic leopard was photographed at an elevation of 4,300 m (14,100 ft) by a camera trap in May 2012. In Sri Lanka, leopards were recorded in Yala National Park and in unprotected forest patches, tea estates, grasslands, home gardens, pine and eucalyptus plantations.
+In Myanmar, leopards were recorded for the first time by camera traps in the hill forests of Myanmar's Karen State. The Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex in southern Myanmar is considered a leopard stronghold. In Thailand, leopards are present in the Western Forest Complex, Kaeng Krachan-Kui Buri, Khlong Saeng-Khao Sok protected area complexes and in Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary bordering Malaysia. In Peninsular Malaysia, leopards are present in Belum-Temengor, Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Parks.
+In Laos, leopards were recorded in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Area and Nam Kan National Protected Area.
+In Cambodia, leopards inhabit deciduous dipterocarp forest in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and Mondulkiri Protected Forest.
+In southern China, leopards were recorded only in the Qinling Mountains during surveys in 11 nature reserves between 2002 and 2009.In Java, leopards inhabit dense tropical rainforests and dry deciduous forests at elevations from sea level to 2,540 m (8,330 ft). Outside protected areas, leopards were recorded in mixed agricultural land, secondary forest and production forest between 2008 and 2014.In the Russian Far East, it inhabits temperate coniferous forests where winter temperatures reach a low of −25 °C (−13 °F).
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+The leopard is a solitary and territorial animal. It is typically shy and alert when crossing roadways and encountering oncoming vehicles, but may be emboldened to attack people or other animals when threatened. Adults associate only in the mating season. Females continue to interact with their offspring even after weaning and have been observed sharing kills with their offspring when they can not obtain any prey. They produce a number of vocalizations, including growls, snarls, meows, and purrs. The roaring sequence in leopards consists mainly of grunts, also called "sawing", as it resembles the sound of sawing wood. Cubs call their mother with an urr-urr sound.The whitish spots on the back of its ears are thought to play a role in communication.
+It has been hypothesized that the white tips of their tails may function as a 'follow-me' signal in intraspecific communication. However, no significant association were found between a conspicuous colour of tail patches and behavioural variables in carnivores.Leopards are mainly active from dusk till dawn and will rest for most of the day and some hours at night in thickets, among rocks or over tree branches. Leopards have been observed walking 1–25 km (0.62–15.53 mi) across their range at night; wandering up to 75 km (47 mi) if disturbed. In some regions, they are nocturnal. In western African forests, they have been observed to be largely diurnal and hunting during twilight, when their prey animals are active; activity patterns vary between seasons.Leopards can climb trees quite skillfully, often resting on tree branches and descending headfirst.
+They can run at over 58 km/h (36 mph; 16 m/s), leap over 6 m (20 ft) horizontally, and jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) vertically.
+
+Social spacing
+In Kruger National Park, most leopards tend to keep 1 km (0.62 mi) apart. Males occasionally interact with their partners and cubs, and exceptionally this can extend beyond to two generations. Aggressive encounters are rare, typically limited to defending territories from intruders. In a South African reserve, a male was wounded in a male–male territorial battle over a carcass.Males occupy home ranges that often overlap with a few smaller female home ranges, probably as a strategy to enhance access to females. In the Ivory Coast, the home range of a female was completely enclosed within a male's. Females live with their cubs in home ranges that overlap extensively, probably due to the association between mothers and their offspring. There may be a few other fluctuating home ranges belonging to young individuals. It is not clear if male home ranges overlap as much as those of females do. Individuals try to drive away intruders of the same sex.A study of leopards in the Namibian farmlands showed that the size of home ranges was not significantly affected by sex, rainfall patterns or season; the higher the prey availability in an area, the greater the leopard population density and the smaller the size of home ranges, but they tend to expand if there is human interference.
+Sizes of home ranges vary geographically and depending on habitat and availability of prey. In the Serengeti, males have home ranges of 33–38 km2 (13–15 sq mi) and females of 14–16 km2 (5.4–6.2 sq mi); but males in northeastern Namibia of 451 km2 (174 sq mi) and females of 188 km2 (73 sq mi). They are even larger in arid and montane areas. In Nepal's Bardia National Park, male home ranges of 48 km2 (19 sq mi) and female ones of 5–7 km2 (1.9–2.7 sq mi) are smaller than those generally observed in Africa.
+
+Hunting and diet
+The leopard is a carnivore that prefers medium-sized prey with a body mass ranging from 10–40 kg (22–88 lb). Prey species in this weight range tend to occur in dense habitat and to form small herds. Species that prefer open areas and have well-developed anti-predator strategies are less preferred. More than 100 prey species have been recorded. The most preferred species are ungulates, such as impala (Aepyceros melampus), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), common duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) and chital (Axis axis). Primates preyed upon include white-eyelid mangabeys (Cercocebus sp.), guenons (Cercopithecus sp.) and gray langurs (Semnopithecus sp.). Leopards also kill smaller carnivores like black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas), bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), genet (Genetta sp.) and cheetah.The largest prey killed by a leopard was reportedly a male eland weighing 900 kg (2,000 lb). A study in Wolong National Nature Reserve in southern China demonstrated variation in the leopard's diet over time; over the course of seven years, the vegetative cover receded, and leopards opportunistically shifted from primarily consuming tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) to pursuing bamboo rats (Rhizomys sinense) and other smaller prey.The leopard depends mainly on its acute senses of hearing and vision for hunting. It primarily hunts at night in most areas. In western African forests and Tsavo National Park, they have also been observed hunting by day. They usually hunt on the ground. In the Serengeti, they have been seen to ambush prey by descending on it from trees.It stalks its prey and tries to approach as closely as possible, typically within 5 m (16 ft) of the target, and, finally, pounces on it and kills it by suffocation. It kills small prey with a bite to the back of the neck, but holds larger animals by the throat and strangles them. It caches kills up to 2 km (1.2 mi) apart. It is able to take large prey due to its powerful jaw muscles, and is therefore strong enough to drag carcasses heavier than itself up into trees; an individual was seen to haul a young giraffe weighing nearly 125 kg (276 lb) up 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in) into a tree. It eats small prey immediately, but drags larger carcasses over several hundred meters and caches it safely in trees, bushes or even caves; this behaviour allows the leopard to store its prey away from rivals, and offers it an advantage over them. The way it stores the kill depends on local topography and individual preferences, varying from trees in Kruger National Park to bushes in the plain terrain of the Kalahari.Average daily consumption rates of 3.5 kg (7 lb 11 oz) were estimated for males and of 2.8 kg (6 lb 3 oz) for females. In the southern Kalahari Desert, leopards meet their water requirements by the bodily fluids of prey and succulent plants; they drink water every two to three days and feed infrequently on moisture-rich plants such as gemsbok cucumbers (Acanthosicyos naudinianus), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and Kalahari sour grass (Schmidtia kalahariensis).
+
+Enemies and competitors
+In parts of its range, the leopard is sympatric with other large predators such as the tiger (Panthera tigris), lion (P. leo), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), dhole (Cuon alpinus), wolf (Canis lupus) and up to five bear species. Some of these species steal its kills, kill its cubs and even kill adult leopards. Leopards retreat up a tree in the face of direct aggression, and were observed when killing or preying on smaller competitors such as black-backed jackal, African civet (Civettictis civetta), caracal (Caracal caracal) and African wildcat (Felis lybica). Leopards generally seem to avoid encounters with adult bears, killing vulnerable bear cubs instead. In Sri Lanka, a few recorded fights between leopards and sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) apparently result in both animals winding up either dead or grievously injured. Leopards generally avoid large packs of African wild dogs and dholes and will flee up a tree at the sight of them.While interspecies killing of full-grown leopards is generally rare, given the opportunity, both the tiger and lion readily kill and consume both young and adult leopards. In the Kalahari Desert, leopards frequently lose kills to brown hyenas, if they are unable to move the kill up a tree. Single brown hyenas have been observed charging at and displacing male leopards from kills. Lions occasionally fetch leopard kills from trees.Resource partitioning occurs where leopards share their range with tigers. Leopards tend to kill smaller prey, usually less than 75 kg (165 lb), where tigers are present.
+In areas where leopards and tigers are sympatric, coexistence is reportedly not the general rule, with leopards being few where tigers are numerous. Tigers appear to inhabit the deep parts of the forest while leopards are pushed closer to the fringes. In tropical forests, leopards do not always avoid the larger cats by hunting at different times. With relatively abundant prey and differences in the size of the selected prey, tigers and leopards seem to successfully coexist without competitive exclusion or interspecies dominance hierarchies that may be more prevalent in the leopard's co-existence with the lion in savanna habitats.Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) occasionally prey on leopards. In one occasion, a large adult leopard was grabbed and consumed by a large crocodile while attempting to hunt along a river bank in Kruger National Park. Mugger crocodiles (C. palustris) reportedly killed an adult leopard in Rajasthan. An adult leopard was recovered from the stomach of a 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) Burmese python (Python bivittatus). In the Serengeti National Park, troops of around 30–40 olive baboons (Papio anubis) were observed mobbing and attacking a female leopard and her cubs.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+In some areas, leopards mate all year round. In Manchuria and Siberia, they mate during January and February. On average, females begin to breed between the ages of 2½ and three, and males between the ages of two and three. The female's estrous cycle lasts about 46 days, and she is usually in heat for 6–7 days. Gestation lasts for 90 to 105 days. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2–4 cubs. The mortality rate of cubs is estimated at 41–50% during the first year. Lions and spotted hyenas are the biggest cause for leopard cub mortality during their first year. Male leopards are known to cause infanticide, in order to bring the female back into heat. Intervals between births average 15 to 24 months, but can be shorter, depending on the survival of the cubs.Females give birth in a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree or thicket. Newborn cubs weigh 280–1,000 g (9.9–35.3 oz), and are born with closed eyes, which open four to nine days after birth. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also more gray in colour with less defined spots. They begin to eat meat at around nine weeks. Around three months of age, the young begin to follow the mother on hunts. At one year of age, cubs can probably fend for themselves, but will remain with the mother for 18–24 months. After separating from their mother, sibling cubs may travel together for months. Both male and female leopards typically reach sexual maturity at 2–2⅓ years.The generation length of the leopard is 9.3 years.
+The average life span of a leopard is 12–17 years. 
+The oldest leopard was a captive female that died at the age of 24 years, 2 months and 13 days.
+
+Threats
+The leopard is primarily threatened by habitat fragmentation and conversion of forest to agriculturally used land, which lead to a declining natural prey base, human–wildlife conflict with livestock herders and high leopard mortality rates. It is also threatened by trophy hunting and poaching. Contemporary records suggest that the leopard occurs in only 25% of its historical range.Between 2002 and 2012, at least four leopards were estimated to have been poached per week in India for the illegal wildlife trade of its skins and bones.
+In spring 2013, 37 leopard skins were found during a 7-week long market survey in major Moroccan cities. In 2014, 43 leopard skins were detected during two surveys in Morocco. Vendors admitted to have imported skins from sub-Saharan Africa.Surveys in the Central African Republic's Chinko area revealed that the leopard population decreased from 97 individuals in 2012 to 50 individuals in 2017. In this period, transhumant pastoralists from the border area with Sudan moved in the area with their livestock. Rangers confiscated large amounts of poison in the camps of livestock herders who were accompanied by armed merchants. They engaged in poaching large herbivores, sale of bushmeat and trading leopard skins in Am Dafok.In Java, the leopard is threatened by illegal hunting and trade. Between 2011 and 2019, body parts of 51 Javan leopards were seized including six live individuals, 12 skins, 13 skulls, 20 canines and 22 claws.The leopard is locally extinct in Morocco, Mauritania, Togo, Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and most likely in Gambia, Lesotho, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea.
+
+Conservation
+The leopard is listed on CITES Appendix I, and hunting is banned in Botswana and Afghanistan; in 11 sub-Saharan countries, trade is restricted to skins and body parts of 2,560 individuals.
+In 2007, a leopard reintroduction programme was initiated in the Russian Caucasus, where captive bred individuals are reared and trained in 0.5–0.9 ha (1.2–2.2 acres) large enclosures in Sochi National Park; six individuals released into Caucasus Nature Reserve and Alaniya National Park in 2018 survived as of February 2022.
+
+Cultural significance
+Leopards have been featured in art, mythology and folklore of many countries. In Greek mythology, it was a symbol of the god Dionysus, who was depicted wearing leopard skin and using leopards as means of transportation. In one myth, the god was captured by pirates but two leopards rescued him. Numerous Roman mosaics from North African sites depict fauna now found only in tropical Africa. During the Benin Empire, the leopard was commonly represented on engravings and sculptures and was used to symbolise the power of the king or oba, since the leopard was considered the king of the forest. The Ashanti people also used the leopard as a symbol of leadership, and only the king was permitted to have a ceremonial leopard stool. Some African cultures considered the leopard to be a smarter, better hunter than the lion and harder to kill.In Rudyard Kipling's "How the Leopard Got His Spots", one of his Just So Stories, a leopard with no spots in the Highveld lives with his hunting partner, the Ethiopian. When they set off to the forest, the Ethiopian changed his brown skin, and the leopard painted spots on his skin. A leopard played an important role in the 1938 Hollywood film Bringing Up Baby. African chiefs, European queens, Hollywood actors and burlesque dancers wore coats made of leopard skins.The leopard is a frequently used motif in heraldry, most commonly as passant. The heraldic leopard lacks spots and sports a mane, making it visually almost identical to the heraldic lion, and the two are often used interchangeably. Naturalistic leopard-like depictions appear on the coat of arms of Benin, Malawi, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon, the last of which uses a black panther.
+
+Attacks on people
+The Leopard of Rudraprayag killed more than 125 people; the Panar Leopard was thought to have killed over 400 people. Both were shot by British hunter Jim Corbett. The spotted devil of Gummalapur killed about 42 people in Karnataka, India.
+
+In captivity
+The ancient Romans kept leopards in captivity to be slaughtered in hunts as well as execute criminals. In Benin, leopards were kept and paraded as mascots, totems and sacrifices to deities. Several leopards were kept in a menagerie originally established by King John of England at the Tower of London in the 13th century; around 1235, three of these animals were given to Henry III by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In modern times, leopards have been trained and tamed in circuses.
+
+See also
+Leopard pattern
+List of largest cats
+Panther (legendary creature)
+
+References
+Further reading
+Allsen, Thomas T. (2007). "Natural History and Cultural History: The Circulation of Hunting Leopards in Eurasia, Seventh-Seventeenth Centuries". In Mair, Victor H. (ed.). Contact and Exchange in the Ancient World. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2884-4.
+DeRuiter, D. J.; Berger, L. R. (2000). "Leopards as Taphonomic Agents in dolomitic Caves—Implications for bone Accumulations in the Hominid-bearing Deposits of South Africa". Journal of Archaeological Science. 27 (8): 665–684. Bibcode:2000JArSc..27..665D. doi:10.1006/jasc.1999.0470.
+Schaller, G. B. (1972). The Serengeti Lion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73639-6.
+Sanei, A. (2007). Analysis of leopard (Panthera pardus) status in Iran (in Persian). Tehran: Sepehr Publication Center. ISBN 978-964-6123-74-8.
+Sanei, A.; Zakaria, M.; Yusof, E.; Roslan, M. (2011). "Estimation of leopard population size in a secondary forest within Malaysia's capital agglomeration using unsupervised classification of pugmarks" (PDF). Tropical Ecology. 52 (1): 209–217. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-10-02.
+Taylor, P.; Barrientos, S.; Dolan, C. (2005). Beyond Conservation: A Wildland Strategy. Earthscan. ISBN 978-1-84407-197-5.
+Zakaria, M.; Sanei, A. (2011). "Conservation and management prospects of the Persian and Malayan leopards". Asia Life Sciences. Supplement 7: 1–5.
+
+External links
+
+IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group: Panthera pardus in Africa and Panthera pardus in Asia
+"Leopard" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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+The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle and a ringed tail. Its head-to-body length is 51–63.5 cm (20.1–25.0 in) with a 28–48.5 cm (11.0–19.1 in) tail, and it weighs between 3.2 and 15 kg (7.1 and 33.1 lb). It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws.
+The red panda was formally described in 1825. The two currently recognised subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "false thumbs" used for grasping bamboo. The evolutionary lineage of the red panda (Ailuridae) stretches back around 25 to 18 million years ago, as indicated by extinct fossil relatives found in Eurasia and North America.
+The red panda inhabits coniferous forests as well as temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, favouring steep slopes with dense bamboo cover close to water sources. It is solitary and largely arboreal. It feeds mainly on bamboo shoots and leaves, but also on fruits and blossoms. Red pandas mate in early spring, with the females giving birth to litters of up to four cubs in summer. It is threatened by poaching as well as destruction and fragmentation of habitat due to deforestation. The species has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2015. It is protected in all range countries.
+Community-based conservation programmes have been initiated in Nepal, Bhutan and northeastern India; in China, it benefits from nature conservation projects. Regional captive breeding programmes for the red panda have been established in zoos around the world. It is featured in animated movies, video games, comic books and as the namesake of companies and music bands.
+
+Etymology
+The origin of the name panda is uncertain, but one of the most likely theories is that it derived from the Nepali word "ponya". The word पञ्जा pajā or पौँजा pañjā means "ball of the foot" and "claws". The Nepali words "nigalya ponya" has been translated as "bamboo footed" and is thought to be the red panda's Nepali name; in English, it was simply called panda, and was the only animal known under this name for more than 40 years; it became known as the red panda or lesser panda to distinguish it from the giant panda, which was formally described and named in 1869.The genus name Ailurus is adopted from the Ancient Greek word αἴλουρος ailouros meaning 'cat'. The specific epithet fulgens is Latin for 'shining, bright'.
+
+Taxonomy
+The red panda was described and named in 1825 by Frederic Cuvier, who gave it its current scientific name Ailurus fulgens. Cuvier's description was based on zoological specimens, including skin, paws, jawbones and teeth "from the mountains north of India", as well as an account by Alfred Duvaucel. The red panda was described earlier by Thomas Hardwicke in 1821, but his paper was only published in 1827. In 1902, Oldfield Thomas described a skull of a male red panda specimen under the name Ailurus fulgens styani in honour of Frederick William Styan who had collected this specimen in Sichuan.
+
+Subspecies and species
+The modern red panda is the only recognised species in the genus Ailurus. It is traditionally divided into two subspecies: the Himalayan red panda (A. f. fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (A. f. styani). The Himalayan subspecies has a straighter profile, a lighter coloured forehead and ochre-tipped hairs on the lower back and rump. The Chinese subspecies has a more curved forehead and sloping snout, a darker coat with a less white face and more contrast between the tail rings.In 2020, results of a genetic analysis of red panda samples showed that the red panda populations in the Himalayas and China were separated about 250,000 years ago. The researchers suggested that the two subspecies should be treated as distinct species. Red pandas in southeastern Tibet and northern Myanmar were found to be part of styani, while those of southern Tibet were of fulgens in the strict sense. DNA sequencing of 132 red panda faecal samples collected in Northeast India and China also showed two distinct clusters indicating that the Siang River constitutes the boundary between the Himalayan and Chinese red pandas. They probably diverged due to glaciation events on the southern Tibetan Plateau in the Pleistocene.
+
+Phylogeny
+The placement of the red panda on the evolutionary tree has been debated. In the early 20th century, various scientists placed it in the family Procyonidae with raccoons and their allies. At the time, most prominent biologists also considered the red panda to be related to the giant panda, which would eventually be found to be a bear. A 1982 study examined the similarities and differences in the skull between the red panda and the giant panda, other bears and procyonids, and placed the species in its own family Ailuridae. The author of the study considered the red panda to be more closely related to bears. A 1995 mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed that the red panda has close affinities with procyonids. Further genetic studies in 2005, 2018 and 2021 have placed the red panda within the clade Musteloidea, which also includes Procyonidae, Mustelidae (weasels and relatives) and Mephitidae (skunks and relatives).
+
+Fossil record
+The family Ailuridae appears to have evolved in Europe in either the Late Oligocene or Early Miocene, about 25 to 18 million years ago. The earliest member Amphictis is known from its 10 cm (4 in) skull and may have been around the same size as the modern species. Its dentition consists of sharp premolars and carnassials (P4 and m1) and molars adapted for grinding (M1, M2 and m2), suggesting that it had a generalised carnivorous diet. Its placement within Ailuridae is based on the grooves on the side of its canine teeth. Other early or basal ailurids include Alopecocyon and Simocyon, whose fossils have been found throughout Eurasia and North America dating from the Middle Miocene, the latter of which survived into the Early Pliocene.  Both have similar teeth to Amphictis and thus had a similar diet. The puma-sized Simocyon was likely a tree-climber and shared a "false thumb"—an extended wrist bone—with the modern species, suggesting the appendage was an adaptation to arboreal locomotion and not to feed on bamboo.Later and more advanced ailurids are classified in the subfamily Ailurinae and are known as the "true" red pandas. These animals were smaller and more adapted for an omnivorous or herbivorous diet. The earliest known true panda is Magerictis from the Middle Miocene of Spain and known only from one tooth, a lower second molar. The tooth shows both ancestral and new characteristics having a relatively low and simple crown but also a lengthened crushing surface with developed tooth cusps like later species. Later ailurines include Pristinailurus bristoli which lived in eastern North America from the late Miocene to the Early Pliocene and species of the genus Parailurus which first appear in Early Pliocene Europe, spreading across Eurasia into North America. These animals are classified as a sister taxon to the lineage of the modern red panda. In contrast to the herbivorous modern species, these ancient pandas were likely omnivores, with highly cusped molars and sharp premolars.The earliest fossil record of the modern genus Ailurus dates no earlier than the Pleistocene and appears to have been limited to Asia. The modern red panda's lineage became adapted for a specialised bamboo diet, having molar-like premolars and more elevated cusps. The false thumb would secondarily gain a function in feeding.
+
+Genomics
+Analysis of 53 red panda samples from Sichuan and Yunnan showed a high level of genetic diversity. The full genome of the red panda was sequenced in 2017. Researchers have compared it to the genome of the giant panda to learn the genetics of convergent evolution, as both species have false thumbs and are adapted for a specialised bamboo diet despite having the digestive system of a carnivore. Both pandas show modifications to certain limb development genes (DYNC2H1 and PCNT), which may play roles in the development of the thumbs. In switching from a carnivorous to a herbivorous diet, both species have reactivated taste receptor genes used for detecting bitterness, though the specific genes are different.
+
+Description
+The red panda's coat is mainly red or orange-brown with a black belly and legs. The muzzle, cheeks, brows and inner ear margins are mostly white while the bushy tail has red and buff ring patterns and a dark brown tip. The colouration appears to serve as camouflage in habitat with red moss and white lichen-covered trees. The guard hairs are longer and rougher while the dense undercoat is fluffier with shorter hairs. The guard hairs on the back have a circular cross-section and are 47–56 mm (1.9–2.2 in) long. It has moderately long whiskers around the mouth, lower jaw and chin. The hair on the soles of the paws allows the animal to walk in snow.The red panda has a relatively small head, though proportionally larger than in similarly sized raccoons, with a reduced snout and triangular ears, and nearly evenly lengthed limbs. It has a head-body length of 51–63.5 cm (20.1–25.0 in) with a 28–48.5 cm (11.0–19.1 in) tail. The Himalayan red panda is recorded to weigh 3.2–9.4 kg (7.1–20.7 lb), while the Chinese red panda weighs 4–15 kg (8.8–33.1 lb) for females and 4.2–13.4 kg (9.3–29.5 lb) for males. It has five curved digits on each foot, each with curved semi-retractile claws that aid in climbing. The pelvis and hindlimbs have flexible joints, adaptations for an arboreal quadrupedal lifestyle. While not prehensile, the tail helps the animal balance while climbing.The forepaws possess a "false thumb", which is an extension of a wrist bone, the radial sesamoid found in many carnivorans. This thumb allows the animal to grip onto bamboo stalks and both the digits and wrist bones are highly flexible. The red panda shares this feature with the giant panda, which has a larger sesamoid that is more compressed at the sides. In addition, the red panda's sesamoid has a more sunken tip while the giant panda's curves in the middle. These features give the giant panda more developed dexterity.The red panda's skull is wide, and its lower jaw is robust. However, because it eats leaves and stems, which are not as tough, it has smaller chewing muscles than the giant panda. The digestive system of the red panda is only 4.2 times its body length, with a simple stomach, no noticeable divide between the ileum and colon, and no caecum.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The red panda inhabits Nepal, the states of Sikkim, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh in India, Bhutan, southern Tibet, northern Myanmar and China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. The global potential habitat of the red panda has been estimated to comprise 47,100 km2 (18,200 sq mi) at most; this habitat is located in the temperate climate zone of the Himalayas with a mean annual temperature range of 18–24 °C (64–75 °F). Throughout this range, it has been recorded at elevations of 2,000–4,300 m (6,600–14,100 ft).
+In Nepal, it lives in six protected area complexes within the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests ecoregion. The westernmost records to date were obtained in three community forests in Kalikot District in 2019. Panchthar and Ilam Districts represent its easternmost range in the country, where its habitat in forest patches is surrounded by villages, livestock pastures and roads. The metapopulation in protected areas and wildlife corridors in the Kangchenjunga landscape of Sikkim and northern West Bengal is partly connected through old-growth forests outside protected areas. Forests in this landscape are dominated by Himalayan oaks (Quercus lamellosa and Q. semecarpifolia), Himalayan birch, Himalayan fir, Himalayan maple with bamboo, Rhododendron and some black juniper shrub growing in the understoreys. Records in Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh's Pangchen Valley, West Kameng and Shi Yomi districts indicate that it frequents habitats with Yushania and Thamnocalamus bamboo, medium-sized Rhododendron, whitebeam and chinquapin trees. In China, it inhabits the Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests and Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests in the Hengduan, Qionglai, Xiaoxiang, Daxiangling and Liangshan Mountains in Sichuan. In the adjacent Yunnan province, it was recorded only in the northwestern montane part.The red panda prefers microhabitats within 70–240 m (230–790 ft) of water sources. Fallen logs and tree stumps are important habitat features, as they facilitate access to bamboo leaves. Red pandas have been recorded to use steep slopes of more than 20° and stumps exceeding a diameter of 30 cm (12 in). Red pandas observed in Phrumsengla National Park used foremost easterly and southerly slopes with a mean slope of 34° and a canopy cover of 66 per cent that were overgrown with bamboo about 23 m (75 ft) in height. In Dafengding Nature Reserve, it prefers steep south-facing slopes in winter and inhabits forests with bamboo 1.5–2.5 m (4 ft 11 in – 8 ft 2 in) tall. In Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, it inhabits mixed coniferous forest with a dense canopy cover of more than 75 per cent, steep slopes and a density of at least 70 bamboo plants/m2 (6.5 bamboo plants/sq ft). In some parts of China, the red panda coexists with the giant panda. In Fengtongzhai and Yele National Nature Reserves, red panda microhabitat is characterised by steep slopes with lots of bamboo stems, shrubs, fallen logs and stumps, whereas the giant panda prefers gentler slopes with taller but lesser amounts of bamboo and less habitat features overall. Such niche separation lessens competition between the two bamboo-eating species.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+The red panda is difficult to observe in the wild, and most studies on its behaviour have taken place in captivity. The red panda appears to be both nocturnal and crepuscular, sleeping in between periods of activity at night. It typically rests or sleeps in trees or other elevated spaces, stretched out prone on a branch with legs dangling when it is hot, and curled up with its hindlimb over the face when it is cold. It is adapted for climbing and descends to the ground head-first with the hindfeet holding on to the middle of the tree trunk. It moves quickly on the ground by trotting or bounding.
+
+Social spacing
+Adult pandas are generally solitary and territorial. Individuals mark their home range or territorial boundaries with urine, faeces and secretions from the anal and surrounding glands. Scent-marking is usually done on the ground, with males marking more often and for longer periods. In China's Wolong National Nature Reserve, the home range of a radio-collared female was 0.94 km2 (0.36 sq mi), while that of a male was 1.11 km2 (0.43 sq mi). A one-year-long monitoring study of ten red pandas in eastern Nepal showed that the four males had median home ranges of 1.73 km2 (0.67 sq mi) and the six females of 0.94 km2 (0.36 sq mi) within a forest cover of at least 19.2 ha (47 acres). The females travelled 419–841 m (1,375–2,759 ft) per day and the males 660–1,473 m (2,165–4,833 ft). In the mating season from January to March, adults travelled a mean of 795 m (2,608 ft) and subadults a mean of 861 m (2,825 ft). They all had larger home ranges in areas with low forest cover and reduced their activity in areas that were disturbed by people, livestock and dogs.
+
+Diet and feeding
+The red panda is largely herbivorous and feeds primarily on bamboo, mainly the genera Phyllostachys, Sinarundinaria, Thamnocalamus and Chimonobambusa. It also feeds on fruits, blossoms, acorns, eggs, birds and small mammals. Bamboo leaves may be the most abundant food item year-round and the only food they can access during winter. In Wolong National Nature Reserve, leaves of the bamboo species Bashania fangiana were found in nearly 94 per cent of analysed droppings, and its shoots were found in 59 per cent of the droppings found in June.The diet of red pandas monitored at three sites in Singalila National Park for two years consisted of 40–83 per cent Yushania maling and 51–91.2 per cent Thamnocalamus spathiflorus bamboos supplemented by bamboo shoots, Actinidia strigosa fruits and seasonal berries. In this national park, red panda droppings also contained remains of silky rose and bramble fruit species in the summer season, Actinidia callosa in the post-monsoon season, and Merrilliopanax alpinus, the whitebeam species Sorbus cuspidata and tree rhododendron in both seasons. Droppings were found with 23 plant species including the stone oak species Lithocarpus pachyphyllus, Campbell's magnolia, the chinquapin species Castanopsis tribuloides, Himalayan birch, Litsea sericea and the holly species Ilex fragilis. In Nepal's Rara National Park, Thamnocalamus was found in all the droppings sampled, both before and after the monsoon. Its summer diet in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve also includes some lichens and barberries. In Bhutan's Jigme Dorji National Park, red panda faeces found in the fruiting season contained seeds of Himalayan ivy.
+The red panda grabs food with one of its front paws and usually eats sitting down or standing. When foraging for bamboo, it grabs the plant by the stem and pulls it down towards its jaws. It bites the leaves with the side of the cheek teeth and then shears, chews and swallows. Smaller food like blossoms, berries and small leaves are eaten differently, being clipped by the incisors. Having the gastrointestinal tract of a carnivore, the red panda cannot properly digest bamboo, which passes through its gut in two to four hours. Hence, it must consume large amounts of the most nutritious plant matter. It eats over 1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) of fresh leaves or 4 kg (9 lb) of fresh shoots in a day with crude proteins and fats being the most easily digested. Digestion is highest in summer and fall but lowest in winter, and is easier for shoots than leaves. The red panda's metabolic rate is comparable to other mammals of its size, despite its poor diet. The red panda digests almost a third of dry matter, which is more efficient than the giant panda digesting 17 per cent. Microbes in the gut may aid in its processing of bamboo; the microbiota community in the red panda is less diverse than in other mammals.
+
+Communication
+At least seven different vocalisations have been recorded from the red panda, comprising growls, barks, squeals, hoots, bleats, grunts and twitters. Growling, barking, grunting and squealing are produced during fights and aggressive chasing. Hooting is made in response to being approached by another individual. Bleating is associated with scent-marking and sniffing. Males may bleat during mating, while females twitter. During both play fighting and aggressive fighting, individuals curve their backs and tails while slowly moving their heads up and down. They then turn their heads while jaw-clapping, move their heads laterally and lift a forepaw to strike. They stand on their hind legs, raise the forelimbs above the head and then pounce. Two red pandas may "stare" at each other from a distance.
+
+Reproduction and parenting
+Red pandas are long-day breeders, reproducing after the winter solstice as daylight grows longer. Mating thus takes place from January to March, with births occurring from May to August. Reproduction is delayed by six months for captive pandas in the southern hemisphere. Oestrous lasts a day, and females can enter oestrous multiple times a season, but it is not known how long the intervals between each cycle last.As the reproductive season begins, males and females interact more, and will rest, move, and feed near each other. An oestrous female will spend more time marking and males will inspect her anogenital region. Receptive females make tail-flicks and position themselves in a lordosis pose, with the front lowered to the ground and the spine curved. Copulation involves the male mounting the female from behind and on top, though face-to-face matings as well as belly-to-back matings while lying on the sides also occur. The male will grab the female by the sides with his front paws instead of biting her neck. Intromission is 2–25 minutes long, and the couple grooms each other between each bout.Gestation lasts about 131 days. Prior to giving birth, the female selects a denning site, such as a tree, log or stump hollow or rock crevice, and builds a nest using material from nearby, such as twigs, sticks, branches, bark bits, leaves, grass and moss. Litters typically consist of one to four cubs that are born fully furred but blind. They are entirely dependent on their mother for the first three to four months until they first leave the nest. They nurse for their first five months. The bond between mother and offspring lasts until the next mating season. Cubs are fully grown at around 12 months and at around 18 months they reach sexual maturity. Two radio-collared cubs in eastern Nepal separated from their mothers at the age of 7–8 months and left their birth areas three weeks later. They reached new home ranges within 26–42 days and became residents after exploring them for 42–44 days.
+
+Mortality and diseases
+The red panda's lifespan in captivity reaches 14 years. They have been recorded falling prey to leopards in the wild. Faecal samples of red panda collected in Nepal contained parasitic protozoa, amoebozoans, roundworms, trematodes and tapeworms. Roundworms, tapeworms and coccidia were also found in red panda scat collected in Rara and Langtang National Parks. Fourteen red pandas at the Knoxville Zoo suffered from severe ringworm, so the tails of two were amputated. Chagas disease was reported as the cause of death of a red panda kept in a Kansas zoo. Amdoparvovirus was detected in the scat of six red pandas in the Sacramento Zoo. Eight captive red pandas in a Chinese zoo suffered from shortness of breath and fever shortly before they died of pneumonia; autopsy revealed that they had antibodies to the protozoans Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis species indicating that they were intermediate hosts. A captive red panda in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding died of unknown reasons; an autopsy showed that its kidneys, liver and lungs were damaged by a bacterial infection caused by Escherichia coli.
+
+Threats
+The red panda is primarily threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat, the causes of which include increasing human population, deforestation, the unlawful taking of non-wood forest material and disturbances by herders and livestock. Trampling by livestock inhibits bamboo growth, and clearcutting decreases the ability of some bamboo species to regenerate. The cut lumber stock in Sichuan alone reached 2,661,000 m3 (94,000,000 cu ft) in 1958–1960, and around 3,597.9 km2 (1,389.2 sq mi) of red panda habitat were logged between the mid-1970s and late 1990s. Throughout Nepal, the red panda habitat outside protected areas is negatively affected by solid waste, livestock trails and herding stations, and people collecting firewood and medicinal plants. Threats identified in Nepal's Lamjung District include grazing by livestock during seasonal transhumance, human-made forest fires and the collection of bamboo as cattle fodder in winter. Vehicular traffic is a significant barrier to red panda movement between habitat patches.Poaching is also a major threat. In Nepal, 121 red panda skins were confiscated between 2008 and 2018. Traps meant for other wildlife have been recorded killing red pandas. In Myanmar, the red panda is threatened by hunting using guns and traps; since roads to the border with China were built starting in the early 2000s, red panda skins and live animals have been traded and smuggled across the border. In southwestern China, the red panda is hunted for its fur, especially for the highly valued bushy tails, from which hats are produced. The red panda population in China has been reported to have decreased by 40 per cent over the last 50 years, and the population in western Himalayan areas are considered to be smaller. Between 2005 and 2017, 35 live and seven dead red pandas were confiscated in Sichuan, and several traders were sentenced to 3–12 years of imprisonment. A month-long survey of 65 shops in nine Chinese counties in the spring of 2017 revealed only one in Yunnan offered hats made of red panda skins, and red panda tails were offered in an online forum.
+
+Conservation
+The red panda is listed in CITES Appendix I and protected in all range countries; hunting is illegal. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008 because the global population is estimated at 10,000 individuals, with a decreasing population trend. A large extent of its habitat is part of protected areas.
+
+A red panda anti-poaching unit and community-based monitoring have been established in Langtang National Park. Members of Community Forest User Groups also protect and monitor red panda habitats in other parts of Nepal. Community outreach programs have been initiated in eastern Nepal using information boards, radio broadcasting and the annual International Red Panda Day in September; several schools endorsed a red panda conservation manual as part of their curricula.Since 2010, community-based conservation programmes have been initiated in 10 districts in Nepal that aim to help villagers reduce their dependence on natural resources through improved herding and food processing practices and alternative income possibilities. The Nepali government ratified a five-year Red Panda Conservation Action Plan in 2019. From 2016 to 2019, 35 ha (86 acres) of high-elevation rangeland in Merak, Bhutan, was restored and fenced in cooperation with 120 herder families to protect the red panda forest habitat and improve communal land. Villagers in Arunachal Pradesh established two community conservation areas to protect the red panda habitat from disturbance and exploitation of forest resources. China has initiated several projects to protect its environment and wildlife, including Grain for Green, The Natural Forest Protection Project and the National Wildlife/Natural Reserve Construction Project. For the last project, the red panda is not listed as a key species for protection but may benefit from the protection of the giant panda and golden snub-nosed monkey, with which it overlaps in range.
+
+In captivity
+The London Zoo received two red pandas in 1869 and 1876, the first of which was caught in Darjeeling. The Calcutta Zoo received a live red panda in 1877, the Philadelphia Zoo in 1906, and Artis and Cologne Zoos in 1908. In 1908, the first captive red panda cubs were born in an Indian zoo. In 1940, the San Diego Zoo imported four red pandas from India that had been caught in Nepal; their first litter was born in 1941. Cubs that were born later were sent to other zoos; by 1969, about 250 red pandas had been exhibited in zoos. The Taronga Conservation Society started keeping red pandas in 1977.In 1978, a breed registry, the International Red Panda Studbook, was set up, followed by the Red Panda European Endangered Species Programme in 1985. Members of international zoos ratified a global master plan for the captive breeding of the red panda in 1993. By late 2015, 219 red pandas lived in 42 zoos in Japan. The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park participates in the Red Panda Species Survival Plan and kept about 25 red pandas by 2016. By the end of 2019, 182 European zoos kept 407 red pandas. Regional captive breeding programmes have also been established in North American, Australasian and South African zoos.
+
+Cultural significance
+The red panda's role in the culture and folklore of local people is limited. A drawing of a red panda exists on a 13th-century Chinese scroll. In Nepal's Taplejung District, red panda claws are used for treating epilepsy; its skin is used in rituals for treating sick people, making hats, scarecrows and decorating houses. In western Nepal, Magar shamans use its skin and fur in their ritual dresses and believe that it protects against evil spirits. People in central Bhutan consider red pandas to be reincarnations of Buddhist monks. Some tribal people in northeast India and the Yi people believe that it brings good luck to wear red panda tails or hats made of its fur. In China, the fur is used for local cultural ceremonies. At weddings, the bridegroom traditionally carries the hide. Hats made of red panda tails are also used by local newlyweds as a "good-luck charm".The red panda was recognised as the state animal of Sikkim in the early 1990s and was the mascot of the Darjeeling Tea Festival. It has been featured on stamps and coins issued by several red panda range states. Anthropomorphic red pandas feature in animated movies and TV series such as The White Snake Enchantress, Bamboo Bears, Barbie as the Island Princess, DreamWork's Kung Fu Panda franchise, Aggretsuko and Disney/Pixar's Turning Red, and in several video games and comic books. It is the namesake of the Firefox browser and has been used as the namesake of music bands and of companies. Its appearance has been used for plush toys, t-shirts, postcards and other items.
+
+References
+Notes
+External links
+
+Red Panda Network – a non-profit organization committed to the conservation of wild red pandas
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/limpkin.txt b/data/animals/limpkin.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/limpkin.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+The limpkin (Aramus guarauna), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas, from Florida to northern Argentina, but has been spotted as far north as Wisconsin. It feeds on molluscs, with the diet dominated by apple snails of the genus Pomacea. Its name derives from its seeming limp when it walks.
+
+Taxonomy and systematics
+The limpkin is placed in  the family Aramidae, which is in turn placed within the crane and rail order Gruiformes. The limpkin had been suggested to be close to the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, based upon shared bird lice. The Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy of birds, based upon DNA–DNA hybridization, suggested that the limpkin's closest relatives were the Heliornithidae finfoots, and Sibley and Monroe even placed the species in that family in 1990. More recent studies have found little support for this relationship. More recent DNA studies have confirmed a close relationship with particularly the cranes, with the limpkin remaining as a family close to the cranes and the two being sister taxa to the trumpeters.Although the limpkin is the only extant species in the family today, several fossils of extinct Aramidae are known from across the Americas. The earliest known species, Aramus paludigrus, is dated to the middle Miocene, while the oldest supposed members of the family, Aminornis and Loncornis, have been found in early Oligocene deposits in Argentina, although whether these are indeed related is not certain; in fact, Loncornis seems to be a misidentified mammal bone. Another Oligocene fossil from Europe, Parvigrus pohli (family Parvigruidae), has been described as a mosaic of the features shared by the limpkins and the cranes. It shares many morphological features with the cranes and limpkins, but also was much smaller than either group, and was more rail-like in its proportions. In the paper describing the fossil, Gerald Mayr suggested that it was similar to the stem species of the grues (the cranes and limpkins), and that the limpkins evolved massively long bills as a result of the specialisation to feeding on snails. In contrast, the cranes evolved into long-legged forms to walk and probe on open grasslands.
+
+Subspecies
+Between 1856 and 1934, the limpkin was treated as two species, one in South America (Aramus guarauna) and the other found in Central America, the Caribbean, and Florida (Aramus pictus). Today, it is treated as a single species with four subspecies. Along with the nominate subspecies A. g. guarauna,  A. g. dolosus, A. g. elucus (both J. L. Peters, 1925), and A. g. pictus (F. A. A. Meyer, 1794) are recognized. The difference between the subspecies are related to slight differences in size and plumage.
+Aramus guarauna guarauna - South America (except the arid west coast, the Andes and extreme south)
+Aramus guarauna pictus - Florida, Georgia, The Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica
+Aramus guarauna elucus - Hispaniola and (formerly) Puerto Rico
+Aramus guarauna dolosus - Southwestern Mexico to Panama
+
+Description
+The limpkin is a somewhat large bird, 64–73 cm (25–29 in) long, with a wingspan of 101–107 cm (40–42 in). Body mass ranges from 900 to 1,300 g (2.0 to 2.9 lb), averaging 1,080 g (2.38 lb). The males are slightly larger than the females in size, but no difference in plumage is seen. Its plumage is drab—dark brown with an olive luster above. The feathers of the head, neck, wing coverts, and much of the back and underparts (except the rear) are marked with white, making the body look streaked and the head and neck light gray. It has long, dark-gray legs and a long neck. Its bill is long, heavy, and downcurved, yellowish bill with a darker tip. The bill is slightly open near but not at the end to give it a tweezers-like action in removing snails from their shells, and in many individuals the tip curves slightly to the right, like the apple snails' shells. The white markings are slightly less conspicuous in first-year birds. Its wings are broad and rounded and its tail is short. It is often confused with the immature American white ibis.
+This bird is easier to hear than see. Its common vocalization is a loud wild wail or scream with some rattling quality, represented as "kwEEEeeer or klAAAar." This call is most often given at night and at dawn and dusk. Other calls include "wooden clicking", clucks, and in alarm, a "piercing bihk, bihk...".
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The limpkin occurs from peninsular Florida (and the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia) and southern Mexico through the Caribbean and Central America to northern Argentina. In South America, it occurs widely east of the Andes; west of them its range extends only to the Equator.It inhabits freshwater marshes and swamps, often with tall reeds, as well as mangroves. In the Caribbean, it also inhabits dry brushland. In Mexico and northern Central America, it occurs at altitudes up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft). In Florida, the distribution of apple snails is the best predictor of where limpkins can be found.The limpkin undertakes some localized migrations, although the extent of these is not fully understood. In some parts in the northern part of the range, females (and a few males) leave the breeding areas at the end of summer, returning at the end of winter. In Brazil, birds breeding in some seasonal marshes leave during the dry season and return again with the rains. Birds may also migrate between Florida and Cuba, as several limpkins on the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas have been reported, but these records may also represent vagrants or postbreeding dispersal. One study in Florida using wing tags found limpkins dispersed up to 325 km (202 mi) away from the breeding site. This tendency may explain vagrant limpkins seen in other parts of the United States and at sea near the Bahamas.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+Limpkins are active during the day, but also forage at night. Where they are not persecuted, they are also very tame and approachable. Even so, they are usually found near cover. They are not aggressive for the most part, being unconcerned by other species and rarely fighting with members of their own species.Because of their long toes, they can stand on floating water plants. They also swim well, both as adults or as newly hatched chicks, but they seldom do so. They fly strongly, the neck projecting forward and the legs backward, the wings beating shallowly and stiffly, with a jerky upstroke, above the horizontal most of the time.
+
+Feeding
+Limpkins forage primarily in shallow water and on floating vegetation such as water hyacinth and water lettuce. When wading, they seldom go deeper than having half the body underwater, and never are submerged up to the back. They walk slowly with a gait described as "slightly undulating" and "giving the impression of lameness or limping", "high-stepping", or "strolling", looking for food if the water is clear or probing with the bill. They do not associate with other birds in mixed-species feeding flocks, as do some other wading birds, but may forage in small groups with others of their species.The diet of the limpkin is dominated by apple snails (Ampullariidae) of the genus Pomacea. The availability of this one mollusk has a significant effect on the local distribution of the limpkin. Freshwater mussels, including Anodonta cowperiana, Villosa vibex, Elliptio strigosus, E. jayensis, and Uniomerus obesus, as well as other kinds of snails, are a secondary food sources. Less important prey items are insects, frogs, lizards, crustaceans (such as crayfish) and worms, as well as seeds. These prey items may be important in periods of drought or flooding when birds may be pushed into less than optimal foraging areas. In one site in Florida, moon snails and mussels were the most important prey items. Two studies, both in Florida, have looked at the percentage composition of the diet of limpkins. One, looking at stomach contents, found 70% Pomacea apple snails, 3% Campeloma, and 27% unidentified mollusc, probably Pomacea.When a limpkin finds an apple snail, it carries it to land or very shallow water and places it in mud, the opening facing up. It deftly removes the operculum or "lid" and extracts the snail, seldom breaking the shell. The extraction takes 10 to 20 seconds. The orange-yellow yolk gland of female snails is usually shaken loose and not eaten. It often leaves piles of empty shells at favored spots.
+
+Reproduction and breeding
+Males have exclusive territories, which can vary in size from 0.15 to 4.0 ha (0.37 to 9.88 acres). In large, uniform swamps, nesting territories can often be clumped together, in the form of large colonies. These are vigorously defended, with males flying to the territory edges to challenge intruders and passing limpkins being chased out of the territory. Territorial displays between males at boundaries include ritualized charging and wing-flapping. Females may also participate in territorial defense, but usually only against other females or juveniles. Territories may be maintained year-round or abandoned temporarily during the nonbreeding season, usually due to lack of food.Limpkins may be either monogamous, with females joining a male's territory, or serially polyandrous, with two or more females joining a male. With the monogamous pairs, banding studies have shown that a small number of pairs reform the following year (four out of 18 pairs).
+Nests may be built in a wide variety of places – on the ground, in dense floating vegetation, in bushes, or at any height in trees. They are bulky structures of rushes, sticks, or other materials. Nest building is undertaken by the male initially, which constructs the nest in his territory prior to pair-bond formation. Unpaired females visit a number of territories before settling on a male with which to breed. Males may initially challenge and fight off prospective mates, and may not accept first-year females as mates. Pair-bond formation may take a few weeks. Courtship feeding is part of the bonding process, where males catch and process a snail and then feed it to the female.The clutch consists of three to eight eggs, with five to seven being typical and averaging 5.5, which measure 6.0 cm × 4.4 cm (2.4 in × 1.7 in). The egg color is highly variable. Their background color ranges from gray-white through buff to deep olive, and they are marked with light-brown and sometimes purplish-gray blotches and speckles. The eggs are laid daily until the clutch is complete, and incubation is usually delayed until the clutch is completed. Both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but only the female incubates at night. The shift length is variable, but the male incubates for longer during the day. The male remains territorial during incubation, and leaves the clutch to chase off intruders; if this happens, the female returns quickly to the eggs. The incubation period is about 27 days, and all the eggs hatch within 24 hours of each other.The young hatch covered with down, capable of walking, running, and swimming. They follow their parents to a platform of aquatic vegetation, where they are brooded. They are fed by both parents; they reach adult size at 7 weeks and leave their parents at about 16 weeks.
+
+Ecology
+Limpkins are reported to be attacked and eaten by American alligators. Also, adults with serious foot and leg injuries have been reported, suggesting they may have been attacked by turtles while standing on floating vegetation. Their nests are apparently preyed upon by snakes, raccoons, crows, and muskrats. Foraging adults may in times of drought be victims of kleptoparasitism by snail kites, and the attempted theft of apple snails caught by limpkins has also been observed in boat-tailed grackles.Limpkins in Florida were examined for parasites, which included trematodes, nematodes, and biting lice. Two biting lice species were found, Laemobothrion cubense and Rallicola funebris. The trematode Prionosoma serratum was found in the intestines of some birds; this species may enter the bird after first infecting apple snails (this has been shown to be the route of infection for a closely related trematode to infect snail kites). Nematodes Amidostomum acutum and Strongyloides spp. are also ingested and live in the gut.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Many of the limpkin's names across its range are onomatopoeic and reflect the bird's call; for example, carau in Argentina, carrao in Venezuela, and guareáo in Cuba. The species also has a range of common names that refer to its call, for example lamenting bird, or to its supposed gait, crippled bird. The limpkin does not feature much in folklore, although in the Amazon people believe that when the limpkin starts to call, the river will not rise any more. Its call has been used for jungle sound effects in Tarzan films and for the hippogriff in the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Limpkin media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Limpkin Bird Sound at Florida Museum of Natural History
+BirdLife species factsheet for Aramus guarauna
+"Aramus guarauna". Avibase. 
+Limpkin photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Audio recordings of Limpkin on Xeno-canto.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/lion.txt b/data/animals/lion.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/lion.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone predator; although some lions scavenge when opportunities occur and have been known to hunt humans, lions typically do not actively seek out and prey on humans.
+The lion inhabits grasslands, savannahs and shrublands. It is usually more diurnal than other wild cats, but when persecuted, it adapts to being active at night and at twilight. During the Neolithic period, the lion ranged throughout Africa and Eurasia from Southeast Europe to India, but it has been reduced to fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and one population in western India. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 because populations in African countries have declined by about 43% since the early 1990s. Lion populations are untenable outside designated protected areas. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes for concern.
+One of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture, the lion has been extensively depicted in sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoological gardens across the world since the late 18th century. Cultural depictions of lions were prominent in Ancient Egypt, and depictions have occurred in virtually all ancient and medieval cultures in the lion's historic and current range.
+
+Etymology
+The English word lion is derived via Anglo-Norman liun from Latin leōnem (nominative: leō), which in turn was a borrowing from Ancient Greek λέων léōn. The Hebrew word לָבִיא lavi may also be related. The generic name Panthera is traceable to the classical Latin word 'panthēra' and the ancient Greek word πάνθηρ 'panther'.
+
+Taxonomy
+Felis leo was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, who described the lion in his work Systema Naturae. The genus name Panthera was coined by Lorenz Oken in 1816. Between the mid-18th and mid-20th centuries, 26 lion specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, of which 11 were recognised as valid in 2005. They were distinguished mostly by the size and colour of their manes and skins.
+
+Subspecies
+In the 19th and 20th centuries, several lion type specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, with about a dozen recognised as valid taxa until 2017. Between 2008 and 2016, IUCN Red List assessors used only two subspecific names: P. l. leo for African lion populations, and P. l. persica for the Asiatic lion population. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised lion taxonomy, and recognises two subspecies based on results of several phylogeographic studies on lion evolution, namely:
+P. l. leo (Linnaeus, 1758) − the nominate lion subspecies includes the Asiatic lion, the regionally extinct Barbary lion, and lion populations in West and northern parts of Central Africa. Synonyms include P. l. persica (Meyer, 1826), P. l. senegalensis (Meyer, 1826), P. l. kamptzi (Matschie, 1900), and P. l. azandica (Allen, 1924). Multiple authors referred to it as 'northern lion' and 'northern subspecies'.
+P. l. melanochaita (Smith, 1842) − includes the extinct Cape lion and lion populations in East and Southern African regions. Synonyms include P. l. somaliensis (Noack 1891), P. l. massaica (Neumann, 1900), P. l. sabakiensis (Lönnberg, 1910), P. l. bleyenberghi (Lönnberg, 1914), P. l. roosevelti (Heller, 1914), P. l. nyanzae (Heller, 1914), P. l. hollisteri (Allen, 1924), P. l. krugeri (Roberts, 1929), P. l. vernayi (Roberts, 1948), and P. l. webbiensis (Zukowsky, 1964). It has been referred to as 'southern subspecies' and 'southern lion'.However, there seems to be some degree of overlap between both groups in northern Central Africa. DNA analysis from a more recent study indicates, that Central African lions are derived from both northern and southern lions, as they cluster with P. leo leo in mtDNA-based phylogenies whereas their genomic DNA indicates a closer relationship with P. leo melanochaita.Lion samples from some parts of the Ethiopian Highlands cluster genetically with those from Cameroon and Chad, while lions from other areas of Ethiopia cluster with samples from East Africa. Researchers, therefore, assume Ethiopia is a contact zone between the two subspecies. Genome-wide data of a wild-born historical lion sample from Sudan showed that it clustered with P. l. leo in mtDNA-based phylogenies, but with a high affinity to P. l. melanochaita. This result suggested that the taxonomic position of lions in Central Africa may require revision.
+
+Fossil records
+Other lion subspecies or sister species to the modern lion existed in prehistoric times:
+P. l. sinhaleyus was a fossil carnassial excavated in Sri Lanka, which was attributed to a lion. It is thought to have become extinct around 39,000 years ago.
+P. fossilis was larger than the modern lion and lived in the Middle Pleistocene. Bone fragments were excavated in caves in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Czech Republic.
+P. spelaea, or the cave lion, lived in Eurasia and Beringia during the Late Pleistocene. It became extinct due to climate warming or human expansion latest by 11,900 years ago. Bone fragments excavated in European, North Asian, Canadian and Alaskan caves indicate that it ranged from Europe across Siberia into western Alaska. It likely derived from P. fossilis, and was genetically isolated and highly distinct from the modern lion in Africa and Eurasia. It is depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings, ivory carvings, and clay busts.
+P. atrox, or the American lion, ranged in the Americas from Canada to possibly Patagonia. It arose when a cave lion population in Beringia became isolated south of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet about 370,000 years ago. A fossil from Edmonton dates to 11,355 ± 55 years ago.
+
+Evolution
+The Panthera lineage is estimated to have genetically diverged from the common ancestor of the Felidae around 9.32 to 4.47 million years ago to 11.75 to 0.97 million years ago, and the geographic origin of the genus is most likely northern Central Asia.
+Results of analyses differ in the phylogenetic relationship of the lion; it was thought to form a sister group with the jaguar (P. onca) that diverged 3.46 to 1.22 million years ago, but also with the leopard (P. pardus) that diverged 3.1 to 1.95 million years ago to 4.32 to 0.02 million years ago. Hybridisation between lion and snow leopard (P. uncia) ancestors possibly continued until about 2.1 million years ago. The lion-leopard clade was distributed in the Asian and African Palearctic since at least the early Pliocene. The earliest fossils recognisable as lions were found at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and are estimated to be up to 2 million years old.Estimates for the divergence time of the modern and cave lion lineages range from 529,000 to 392,000 years ago based on mutation rate per generation time of the modern lion. There is no evidence for gene flow between the two lineages, indicating that they did not share the same geographic area. The Eurasian and American cave lions became extinct at the end of the last glacial period without mitochondrial descendants on other continents. The modern lion was probably widely distributed in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene and started to diverge in sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Pleistocene. Lion populations in East and Southern Africa became separated from populations in West and North Africa when the equatorial rainforest expanded 183,500 to 81,800 years ago. They shared a common ancestor probably between 98,000 and 52,000 years ago. Due to the expansion of the Sahara between 83,100 and 26,600 years ago, lion populations in West and North Africa became separated. As the rainforest decreased and thus gave rise to more open habitats, lions moved from West to Central Africa. Lions from North Africa dispersed to southern Europe and Asia between 38,800 and 8,300 years ago.Extinction of lions in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East interrupted gene flow between lion populations in Asia and Africa. Genetic evidence revealed numerous mutations in lion samples from East and Southern Africa, which indicates that this group has a longer evolutionary history than genetically less diverse lion samples from Asia and West and Central Africa. A whole genome-wide sequence of lion samples showed that samples from West Africa shared alleles with samples from Southern Africa, and samples from Central Africa shared alleles with samples from Asia. This phenomenon indicates that Central Africa was a melting pot of lion populations after they had become isolated, possibly migrating through corridors in the Nile Basin during the early Holocene.
+
+Hybrids
+In zoos, lions have been bred with tigers to create hybrids for the curiosity of visitors or for scientific purpose. The liger is bigger than a lion and a tiger, whereas most tigons are relatively small compared to their parents because of reciprocal gene effects. The leopon is a hybrid between a lion and leopard.
+
+Description
+The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck and round ears; males have broader heads. The fur varies in colour from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red and dark brown. The colours of the underparts are generally lighter. A new-born lion has dark spots, which fade as the cub reaches adulthood, although faint spots often may still be seen on the legs and underparts. The tail of all lions ends in a dark, hairy tuft that in some lions conceals an approximately 5 mm (0.20 in)-long, hard "spine" or "spur" that is formed from the final, fused sections of tail bone. The functions of the spur are unknown. The tuft is absent at birth and develops at around 5+1⁄2 months of age. It is readily identifiable by the age of seven months.Its skull is very similar to that of the tiger, although the frontal region is usually more depressed and flattened, and has a slightly shorter postorbital region and broader nasal openings than those of the tiger. Due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species.Skeletal muscles of the lion make up 58.8% of its body weight and represent the highest percentage of muscles among mammals.
+
+Size
+Among felids, the lion is second only to the tiger in size. The size and weight of adult lions vary across its range and habitats. Accounts of a few individuals that were larger than average exist from Africa and India.
+
+Mane
+The male lion's mane is the most recognisable feature of the species. It may have evolved around 320,000–190,000 years ago. It grows downwards and backwards covering most of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. The mane is typically brownish and tinged with yellow, rust and black hairs. It starts growing when lions enter adolescence, when testosterone levels increase, and reach their full size at around four years old. Cool ambient temperatures in European and North American zoos may result in a heavier mane. On average, Asiatic lions have sparser manes than African lions.This feature likely evolved to signal the fitness of males to females. The mane of the lion is thought to serve mating purposes. Males with darker manes appear to have greater reproductive success, and are more likely to remain in a pride for longer. They have longer and thicker hairs, higher testosterone levels, but are also more vulnerable to heat stress. Unlike in other felid species, female lions consistently interact with multiple males at once. Another hypothesis suggests that the mane also serves to protect the neck in fights, but this is disputed. During fights, including those involving maneless females and adolescents, the neck is not targeted as much as the face, back and hindquarters. Injured lions also begin to lose their manes.Almost all male lions in Pendjari National Park are either maneless or have very short manes. Maneless lions have also been reported in Senegal, in Sudan's Dinder National Park and in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. Castrated lions often have little to no mane because the removal of the gonads inhibits testosterone production.Rarely, lionesses (in the wild and in captivity) have been observed to grow manes. Increased testosterone may be the cause of maned lionesses reported in northern Botswana.
+
+Colour variation
+The white lion is a rare morph with a genetic condition called leucism which is caused by a double recessive allele. It is not albino; it has normal pigmentation in the eyes and skin. White lions have occasionally been encountered in and around Kruger National Park and the adjacent Timbavati Private Game Reserve in eastern South Africa. They were removed from the wild in the 1970s, thus decreasing the white lion gene pool. Nevertheless, 17 births have been recorded in five prides between 2007 and 2015. White lions are selected for breeding in captivity. They have reportedly been bred in camps in South Africa for use as trophies to be killed during canned hunts.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+African lions live in scattered populations across sub-Saharan Africa. The lion prefers grassy plains and savannahs, scrub bordering rivers and open woodlands with bushes. It rarely enters closed forests. On Mount Elgon, the lion has been recorded up to an elevation of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and close to the snow line on Mount Kenya. Savannahs with an annual rainfall of 300 to 1,500 mm (12 to 59 in) make up the majority of lion habitat in Africa, estimated at 3,390,821 km2 (1,309,203 sq mi) at most, but remnant populations are also present in tropical moist forests in West Africa and montane forests in East Africa. The Asiatic lion now survives only in and around Gir National Park in Gujarat, western India. Its habitat is a mixture of dry savannah forest and very dry, deciduous scrub forest.
+
+Historical range
+In Africa, the range of the lion originally spanned most of the central African rainforest zone and the Sahara desert. In the 1960s, it became extinct in North Africa, except in the southern part of Sudan.In southern Europe and Asia, the lion once ranged in regions where climatic conditions supported an abundance of prey. In Greece, it was common as reported by Herodotus in 480 BC; it was considered rare by 300 BC and extirpated by AD 100. It was present in the Caucasus until the 10th century. It lived in Palestine until the Middle Ages, and in Southwest Asia until the late 19th century. By the late 19th century, it had been extirpated in most of Turkey. The last live lion in Iran was sighted in 1942 about 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Dezful, although the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of the Karun river in Khuzestan province in 1944. It once ranged from Sind and Punjab in Pakistan to Bengal and the Narmada River in central India.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about twenty hours per day. Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place. They spend an average of two hours a day walking and fifty minutes eating.
+
+Group organisation
+The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a group is called a "pride". Groups of male lions are called "coalitions". Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females. The majority of females remain in their birth prides while all males and some females will disperse. The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females and up to four males and their cubs of both sexes. Large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have been observed. The sole exception to this pattern is the Tsavo lion pride that always has just one adult male. Prides act as fission–fusion societies, and members will split into subgroups that keep in contact with roars.Nomadic lions range widely and move around sporadically, either in pairs or alone. Pairs are more frequent among related males. A lion may switch lifestyles; nomads can become residents and vice versa. Interactions between prides and nomads tend to be hostile, although pride females in estrus allow nomadic males to approach them. Males spend years in a nomadic phase before gaining residence in a pride. A study undertaken in the Serengeti National Park revealed that nomadic coalitions gain residency at between 3.5 and 7.3 years of age. In Kruger National Park, dispersing male lions move more than 25 km (16 mi) away from their natal pride in search of their own territory. Female lions stay closer to their natal pride. Therefore, female lions in an area are more closely related to each other than male lions in the same area.The evolution of sociability in lions was likely driven both by high population density and the clumped resources of savannah habitats. The larger the pride, the more high-quality territory they can defend; "hotspots" being near river confluences, where the cats have better access to water, prey and shelter (via vegetation). The area occupied by a pride is called a "pride area" whereas that occupied by a nomad is a "range". Males associated with a pride patrol the fringes. Both males and females defend the pride against intruders, but the male lion is better-suited for this purpose due to its stockier, more powerful build. Some individuals consistently lead the defense against intruders, while others lag behind. Lions tend to assume specific roles in the pride; slower-moving individuals may provide other valuable services to the group. Alternatively, there may be rewards associated with being a leader that fends off intruders; the rank of lionesses in the pride is reflected in these responses. The male or males associated with the pride must defend their relationship with the pride from outside males who may attempt to usurp them. Dominance hierarchies do not appear to exist among individuals of either sex in a pride.Asiatic lion prides differ in group composition. Male Asiatic lions are solitary or associate with up to three males, forming a loose pride while females associate with up to 12 other females, forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. Female and male lions associate only when mating. Coalitions of males hold territory for a longer time than single lions. Males in coalitions of three or four individuals exhibit a pronounced hierarchy, in which one male dominates the others and mates more frequently.
+
+Hunting and diet
+The lion is a generalist hypercarnivore and is considered to be both an apex and keystone predator due to its wide prey spectrum. Its prey consists mainly of ungulates particularly blue wildebeest, plains zebra, African buffalo, common warthog, gemsbok and giraffe. In India, chital and sambar deer are the most common wild prey, while livestock contributes significantly to lion kills outside protected areas. They usually avoid fully grown adult elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotamus and small prey like dik-dik, hyraxes, hares and monkeys. Unusual prey include porcupines and small reptiles. Lions kill other predators but seldom consume them.Young lions first display stalking behaviour at around three months of age, although they do not participate in hunting until they are almost a year old and begin to hunt effectively when nearing the age of two. Single lions are capable of bringing down zebra and wildebeest, while larger prey like buffalo and giraffe are riskier. In Chobe National Park, large prides have been observed hunting African bush elephants up to around 15 years old in exceptional cases, with the victims being calves, juveniles, and even subadults. In typical hunts, each lioness has a favoured position in the group, either stalking prey on the "wing", then attacking, or moving a smaller distance in the centre of the group and capturing prey fleeing from other lionesses. Males attached to prides do not usually participate in group hunting. Some evidence suggests, however, that males are just as successful as females; they are typically solo hunters who ambush prey in small bushland. They may join in the hunting of large, slower-moving prey like buffalo; and even hunt them on their own. Moderately-sized hunting groups generally have higher success rates than lone females and larger groups.Lions are not particularly known for their stamina. For instance, a lioness's heart comprises only 0.57% of her body weight and a male's is about 0.45% of his body weight, whereas a hyena's heart comprises almost 1% of its body weight. Thus, lions run quickly only in short bursts at about 48–59 km/h (30–37 mph) and need to be close to their prey before starting the attack. One study in 2018 recorded a lion running at a top speed of 74.1 km/h (46.0 mph). They take advantage of factors that reduce visibility; many kills take place near some form of cover or at night. The lion's attack is short and powerful; they attempt to catch prey with a fast rush and final leap. They usually pull it down by the rump and kill by a clamping bite to the throat or muzzle.Lions typically consume prey at the location of the hunt but sometimes drag large prey into cover. They tend to squabble over kills, particularly the males. Cubs suffer most when food is scarce but otherwise all pride members eat their fill, including old and crippled lions, which can live on leftovers. Large kills are shared more widely among pride members. An adult lioness requires an average of about 5 kg (11 lb) of meat per day while males require about 7 kg (15 lb). Lions gorge themselves and eat up to 30 kg (66 lb) in one session. If it is unable to consume all of the kill, it rests for a few hours before continuing to eat. On hot days, the pride retreats to shade with one or two males standing guard. Lions defend their kills from scavengers such as vultures and hyenas.Lions scavenge on carrion when the opportunity arises, scavenging animals dead from natural causes such as disease or those that were killed by other predators. Scavenging lions keep a constant lookout for circling vultures, which indicate the death or distress of an animal. Most carrion on which both hyenas and lions feed upon are killed by hyenas rather than lions. Carrion is thought to provide a large part of lion diet.
+
+Predatory competition
+Lions and spotted hyenas occupy a similar ecological niche and compete for prey and carrion; a review of data across several studies indicates a dietary overlap of 58.6%. Lions typically ignore hyenas unless they are on a kill or are being harassed, while the latter tend to visibly react to the presence of lions with or without the presence of food. In the Ngorongoro crater, lions subsist largely on kills stolen from hyenas, causing them to increase their kill rate. In Botswana's Chobe National Park, the situation is reversed as hyenas there frequently challenge lions and steal their kills, obtaining food from 63% of all lion kills. When confronted on a kill, hyenas may either leave or wait patiently at a distance of 30–100 m (98–328 ft) until the lions have finished. Hyenas may feed alongside lions and force them off a kill. The two species attack one another even when there is no food involved for no apparent reason. Lions can account for up to 71% of hyena deaths in Etosha National Park. Hyenas have adapted by frequently mobbing lions that enter their home ranges. When the lion population in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve declined, the spotted hyena population increased rapidly.Lions tend to dominate cheetahs and leopards, steal their kills and kill their cubs and even adults when given the chance. Cheetahs often lose their kills to lions or other predators. A study in the Serengeti ecosystem revealed that lions killed at least 17 of 125 cheetah cubs born between 1987 and 1990. Cheetahs avoid their competitors by hunting at different times and habitats. Leopards take refuge in trees, but lionesses occasionally attempt to climb up and retrieve their kills.Lions similarly dominate African wild dogs, taking their kills and slaying pups or adult dogs. Population densities of wild dogs are low in areas where lions are more abundant. However, there are a few reported cases of old and wounded lion falling prey to wild dogs. Nile crocodiles may also kill and eat lions, evidenced by the occasional lion claw found in crocodile stomachs.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+Most lionesses reproduce by the time they are four years of age. Lions do not mate at a specific time of year and the females are polyestrous. Like those of other cats, the male lion's penis has spines that point backward. During withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may cause ovulation. A lioness may mate with more than one male when she is in heat. Lions of both sexes may be involved in group homosexual and courtship activities. Males will also head-rub and roll around with each other before mounting each other. Generation length of the lion is about seven years. The average gestation period is around 110 days; the female gives birth to a litter of between one and four cubs in a secluded den, which may be a thicket, a reed-bed, a cave, or some other sheltered area, usually away from the pride. She will often hunt alone while the cubs are still helpless, staying relatively close to the den. Lion cubs are born blind, their eyes opening around seven days after birth. They weigh 1.2–2.1 kg (2.6–4.6 lb) at birth and are almost helpless, beginning to crawl a day or two after birth and walking around three weeks of age. To avoid a buildup of scent attracting the attention of predators, the lioness moves her cubs to a new den site several times a month, carrying them one-by-one by the nape of the neck.Usually, the mother does not integrate herself and her cubs back into the pride until the cubs are six to eight weeks old. Sometimes the introduction to pride life occurs earlier, particularly if other lionesses have given birth at about the same time. When first introduced to the rest of the pride, lion cubs lack confidence when confronted with adults other than their mother. They soon begin to immerse themselves in the pride life, however, playing among themselves or attempting to initiate play with the adults. Lionesses with cubs of their own are more likely to be tolerant of another lioness's cubs than lionesses without cubs. Male tolerance of the cubs varies—one male could patiently let the cubs play with his tail or his mane, while another may snarl and bat the cubs away.
+Pride lionesses often synchronise their reproductive cycles and communal rearing and suckling of the young, which suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. The synchronisation of births is advantageous because the cubs grow to being roughly the same size and have an equal chance of survival, and sucklings are not dominated by older cubs. Weaning occurs after six or seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about three years of age and at four to five years are capable of challenging and displacing adult males associated with another pride. They begin to age and weaken at between 10 and 15 years of age at the latest.When one or more new males oust the previous males associated with a pride, the victors often kill any existing young cubs, perhaps because females do not become fertile and receptive until their cubs mature or die. Females often fiercely defend their cubs from a usurping male but are rarely successful unless a group of three or four mothers within a pride join forces against the male. Cubs also die from starvation and abandonment, and predation by leopards, hyenas and wild dogs. Male cubs are excluded from their maternal pride when they reach maturity at around two or three years of age, while some females may leave when they reach the age of two. When a new male lion takes over a pride, adolescents both male and female may be evicted.
+
+Health and mortality
+Lions may live 12–17 years. Although adult lions have no natural predators, evidence suggests most die violently from attacks by humans or other lions. Lions often inflict serious injuries on members of other prides they encounter in territorial disputes or members of the home pride when fighting at a kill. Crippled lions and cubs may fall victim to hyenas and leopards or be trampled by buffalo or elephants. Careless lions may be maimed when hunting prey.Ticks commonly infest the ears, neck and groin regions of the lions. Adult forms of several tapeworm species of the genus Taenia have been isolated from lion intestines, having been ingested as larvae in antelope meat. Lions in the Ngorongoro Crater were afflicted by an outbreak of stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) in 1962, resulting in lions becoming emaciated and covered in bloody, bare patches. Lions sought unsuccessfully to evade the biting flies by climbing trees or crawling into hyena burrows; many died or migrated and the local population dropped from 70 to 15 individuals. A more recent outbreak in 2001 killed six lions.Captive lions have been infected with canine distemper virus (CDV) since at least the mid-1970s. CDV is spread by domestic dogs and other carnivores; a 1994 outbreak in Serengeti National Park resulted in many lions developing neurological symptoms such as seizures. During the outbreak, several lions died from pneumonia and encephalitis. Feline immunodeficiency virus and lentivirus also affect captive lions.
+
+Communication
+When resting, lion socialisation occurs through a number of behaviours; the animal's expressive movements are highly developed. The most common peaceful, tactile gestures are head rubbing and social licking, which have been compared with the role of allogrooming among primates. Head rubbing, nuzzling the forehead, face and neck against another lion appears to be a form of greeting and is seen often after an animal has been apart from others or after a fight or confrontation. Males tend to rub other males, while cubs and females rub females. Social licking often occurs in tandem with head rubbing; it is generally mutual and the recipient appears to express pleasure. The head and neck are the most common parts of the body licked; this behaviour may have arisen out of utility because lions cannot lick these areas themselves.
+
+Lions have an array of facial expressions and body postures that serve as visual gestures. A common facial expression is the "grimace face" or flehmen response, which a lion makes when sniffing chemical signals and involves an open mouth with bared teeth, raised muzzle, wrinkled nose, closed eyes and relaxed ears. Lions also use chemical and visual marking; males spray urine and scrape plots of ground and objects within the territory.The lion's repertoire of vocalisations is large; variations in intensity and pitch appear to be central to communication. Most lion vocalisations are variations of growling, snarling, meowing and roaring. Other sounds produced include purring, puffing, bleating and humming. Roaring is used to advertise its presence. Lions most often roar at night, a sound that can be heard from a distance of 8 kilometres (5 mi). They tend to roar in a very characteristic manner starting with a few deep, long roars that subside into grunts.
+
+Conservation
+The lion is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Indian population is listed on CITES Appendix I and the African population on CITES Appendix II.
+
+In Africa
+Several large and well-managed protected areas in Africa host large lion populations. Where an infrastructure for wildlife tourism has been developed, cash revenue for park management and local communities is a strong incentive for lion conservation. Most lions now live in East and Southern Africa; their numbers are rapidly decreasing, and fell by an estimated 30–50% in the late half of the 20th century. Primary causes of the decline include disease and human interference. In 1975, it was estimated that since the 1950s, lion numbers had decreased by half to 200,000 or fewer. Estimates of the African lion population range between 16,500 and 47,000 living in the wild in 2002–2004.In the Republic of the Congo, Odzala-Kokoua National Park was considered a lion stronghold in the 1990s. By 2014, no lions were recorded in the protected area so the population is considered locally extinct. The West African lion population is isolated from the one in Central Africa, with little or no exchange of breeding individuals. In 2015, it was estimated that this population consists of about 400 animals, including fewer than 250 mature individuals. They persist in three protected areas in the region, mostly in one population in the W A P protected area complex, shared by Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. This population is listed as Critically Endangered. Field surveys in the WAP ecosystem revealed that lion occupancy is lowest in the W National Park, and higher in areas with permanent staff and thus better protection.A population occurs in Cameroon's Waza National Park, where between approximately 14 and 21 animals persisted as of 2009. In addition, 50 to 150 lions are estimated to be present in Burkina Faso's Arly-Singou ecosystem. In 2015, an adult male lion and a female lion were sighted in Ghana's Mole National Park. These were the first sightings of lions in the country in 39 years. In the same year, a population of up to 200 lions that was previously thought to have been extirpated was filmed in the Alatash National Park, Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border.In 2005, Lion Conservation Strategies were developed for West and Central Africa, and or East and Southern Africa. The strategies seek to maintain suitable habitat, ensure a sufficient wild prey base for lions, reduce factors that lead to further fragmentation of populations, and make lion–human coexistence sustainable. Lion depredation on livestock is significantly reduced in areas where herders keep livestock in improved enclosures. Such measures contribute to mitigating human–lion conflict.
+
+In Asia
+The last refuge of the Asiatic lion population is the 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi) Gir National Park and surrounding areas in the region of Saurashtra or Kathiawar Peninsula in Gujarat State, India. The population has risen from approximately 180 lions in 1974 to about 400 in 2010. It is geographically isolated, which can lead to inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity. Since 2008, the Asiatic lion has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. By 2015, the population had grown to 523 individuals inhabiting an area of 7,000 km2 (2,700 sq mi) in Saurashtra. The Asiatic Lion Census conducted in 2017 recorded about 650 individuals.The presence of numerous human habitations close to the National Park results in conflict between lions, local people and their livestock. Some consider the presence of lions a benefit, as they keep populations of crop damaging herbivores in check. The establishment of a second, independent Asiatic lion population in Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Madhya Pradesh was planned but in 2017, the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project seemed unlikely to be implemented.
+
+Captive breeding
+Lions imported to Europe before the middle of the 19th century were possibly foremost Barbary lions from North Africa, or Cape lions from Southern Africa. Another 11 animals thought to be Barbary lions kept in Addis Ababa Zoo are descendants of animals owned by Emperor Haile Selassie. WildLink International in collaboration with Oxford University launched an ambitious International Barbary Lion Project with the aim of identifying and breeding Barbary lions in captivity for eventual reintroduction into a national park in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. However, a genetic analysis showed that the captive lions at Addis Ababa Zoo were not Barbary lions, but rather closely related to wild lions in Chad and Cameroon.In 1982, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums started a Species Survival Plan for the Asiatic lion to increase its chances of survival. In 1987, it was found that most lions in North American zoos were hybrids between African and Asiatic lions. Breeding programs need to note origins of the participating animals to avoid cross-breeding different subspecies and thus reducing their conservation value. Captive breeding of lions was halted to eliminate individuals of unknown origin and pedigree. Wild-born lions were imported to American zoos from Africa between 1989 and 1995. Breeding was continued in 1998 in the frame of an African lion Species Survival Plan.About 77% of the captive lions registered in the International Species Information System in 2006 were of unknown origin; these animals might have carried genes that are extinct in the wild and may therefore be important to the maintenance of the overall genetic variability of the lion.
+
+Interactions with humans
+In zoos and circuses
+Lions are part of a group of exotic animals that have been central to zoo exhibits since the late 18th century. Although many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are more than 1,000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are considered an ambassador species and are kept for tourism, education and conservation purposes. Lions can live over twenty years in captivity; for example, three sibling lions at the Honolulu Zoo lived to the age of 22 in 2007.The first European "zoos" spread among noble and royal families in the 13th century, and until the 17th century were called seraglios. At that time, they came to be called menageries, an extension of the cabinet of curiosities. They spread from France and Italy during the Renaissance to the rest of Europe. In England, although the seraglio tradition was less developed, lions were kept at the Tower of London in a seraglio established by King John in the 13th century; this was probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his hunting lodge in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, where according to William of Malmesbury lions had been stocked.Lions were kept in cramped and squalid conditions at London Zoo until a larger lion house with roomier cages was built in the 1870s. Further changes took place in the early 20th century when Carl Hagenbeck designed enclosures with concrete "rocks", more open space and a moat instead of bars, more closely resembling a natural habitat. Hagenbeck designed lion enclosures for both Melbourne Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo; although his designs were popular, the use of bars and caged enclosures prevailed in many zoos until the 1960s. In the late 20th century, larger, more natural enclosures and the use of wire mesh or laminated glass instead of lowered dens allowed visitors to come closer than ever to the animals; some attractions such as the Cat Forest/Lion Overlook of Oklahoma City Zoological Park placed the den on ground level, higher than visitors.Lion taming has been part of both established circuses and individual acts such as Siegfried & Roy. The practice began in the early 19th century by Frenchman Henri Martin and American Isaac Van Amburgh, who both toured widely and whose techniques were copied by a number of followers. Van Amburgh performed before Queen Victoria in 1838 when he toured Great Britain. Martin composed a pantomime titled Les Lions de Mysore ("the lions of Mysore"), an idea Amburgh quickly borrowed. These acts eclipsed equestrianism acts as the central display of circus shows and entered public consciousness in the early 20th century with cinema. In demonstrating the superiority of human over animal, lion taming served a purpose similar to animal fights of previous centuries. The ultimate proof of a tamer's dominance and control over a lion is demonstrated by the placing of the tamer's head in the lion's mouth. The now-iconic lion tamer's chair was possibly first used by American Clyde Beatty (1903–1965).
+
+Hunting and games
+Lion hunting has occurred since ancient times and was often a royal tradition, intended to demonstrate the power of the king over nature. Such hunts took place in a reserved area in front of an audience. The monarch was accompanied by his men and controls were put in place to increase their safety and ease of killing. The earliest surviving record of lion hunting is an ancient Egyptian inscription dated circa 1380 BC that mentions Pharaoh Amenhotep III killing 102 lions in ten years "with his own arrows". The Assyrian emperor Ashurbanipal had one of his lion hunts depicted on a sequence of Assyrian palace reliefs c. 640 BC, known as the Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal. Lions were also hunted during the Mughal Empire, where Emperor Jahangir is said to have excelled at it. In Ancient Rome, lions were kept by emperors for hunts, gladiator fights and executions.The Maasai people have traditionally viewed the killing of lions as a rite of passage. Historically, lions were hunted by individuals, however, due to reduced lion populations, elders discourage solo lion hunts. During the European colonisation of Africa in the 19th century, the hunting of lions was encouraged because they were considered pests and lion skins were sold for £1 each. The widely reproduced imagery of the heroic hunter chasing lions would dominate a large part of the century. Trophy hunting of lions in recent years has been met with controversy, notably with the killing of Cecil the lion in mid-2015.
+
+Man-eating
+Lions do not usually hunt humans but some (usually males) seem to seek them out. One well-publicised case is the Tsavo maneaters; in 1898, 28 officially recorded railway workers building the Uganda Railway were taken by lions over nine months during the construction of a bridge in Kenya. The hunter who killed the lions wrote a book detailing the animals' predatory behaviour; they were larger than normal and lacked manes, and one seemed to suffer from tooth decay. The infirmity theory, including tooth decay, is not favoured by all researchers; an analysis of teeth and jaws of man-eating lions in museum collections suggests that while tooth decay may explain some incidents, prey depletion in human-dominated areas is a more likely cause of lion predation on humans. Sick or injured animals may be more prone to man-eating but the behaviour is not unusual, nor necessarily aberrant.Lions' proclivity for man-eating has been systematically examined. American and Tanzanian scientists report that man-eating behaviour in rural areas of Tanzania increased greatly from 1990 to 2005. At least 563 villagers were attacked and many eaten over this period. The incidents occurred near Selous Game Reserve in Rufiji River and in Lindi Region near the Mozambican border. While the expansion of villages into bush country is one concern, the authors argue conservation policy must mitigate the danger because in this case, conservation contributes directly to human deaths. Cases in Lindi in which lions seize humans from the centres of substantial villages have been documented. Another study of 1,000 people attacked by lions in southern Tanzania between 1988 and 2009 found that the weeks following the full moon, when there was less moonlight, were a strong indicator of increased night-time attacks on people.According to Robert R. Frump, Mozambican refugees regularly crossing Kruger National Park, South Africa, at night are attacked and eaten by lions; park officials have said man-eating is a problem there. Frump said thousands may have been killed in the decades after apartheid sealed the park and forced refugees to cross the park at night. For nearly a century before the border was sealed, Mozambicans had regularly crossed the park in daytime with little harm.
+
+Cultural significance
+The lion is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. It has been extensively depicted in sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. It appeared as a symbol for strength and nobility in cultures across Europe, Asia and Africa, despite incidents of attacks on people. The lion has been depicted as "king of the jungle" and "king of beasts", and thus became a popular symbol for royalty and stateliness. The lion is also used as a symbol of sporting teams.
+
+Africa
+In sub-Saharan Africa, the lion has been a common character in stories, proverbs and dances, but rarely featured in visual arts. In some cultures, the lion symbolises power and royalty. In the Swahili language, the lion is known as simba which also means "aggressive", "king" and "strong". Some rulers had the word "lion" in their nickname. Sundiata Keita of the Mali Empire was called "Lion of Mali". The founder of the Waalo kingdom is said to have been raised by lions and returned to his people part-lion to unite them using the knowledge he learned from the lions.In parts of West Africa, lions symbolised the top class of their social hierarchies. In more heavily forested areas where lions were rare, the leopard represented the top of the hierarchy. In parts of West and East Africa, the lion is associated with healing and provides the connection between seers and the supernatural. In other East African traditions, the lion represents laziness. In much of African folklore, the lion is portrayed as having low intelligence and is easily tricked by other animals.The ancient Egyptians portrayed several of their war deities as lionesses, which they revered as fierce hunters. Egyptian deities associated with lions include Sekhmet, Bast, Mafdet, Menhit, Pakhet and Tefnut. These deities were often connected with the sun god Ra and his fierce heat, and their dangerous power was invoked to guard people or sacred places. The sphinx, a figure with a lion's body and the head of a human or other creature, represented a pharaoh or deity who had taken on this protective role.
+
+Asia
+The lion was a prominent symbol in ancient Mesopotamia from Sumer up to Assyrian and Babylonian times, where it was strongly associated with kingship. Lions were among the major symbols of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar. The Lion of Babylon was the foremost symbol of the Babylonian Empire. The Lion of Judah is the biblical emblem of the tribe of Judah and the later Kingdom of Judah. Lions are frequently mentioned in the Bible, notably in the Book of Daniel, in which the eponymous hero refuses to worship King Darius and is forced to sleep in the lions' den where he is miraculously unharmed (Dan 6). In the Book of Judges, Samson kills a lion as he travels to visit a Philistine woman.(Judg 14).Indo-Persian chroniclers regarded the lion as keeper of order in the realm of animals. The Sanskrit word mrigendra signifies a lion as king of animals in general or deer in particular. Narasimha, the man-lion, is one of ten avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu. Singh is an ancient Indian vedic name meaning "lion", dating back over 2,000 years. It was originally used only by Rajputs, a Hindu Kshatriya or military caste but is used by millions of Hindu Rajputs and more than twenty million Sikhs today. The Lion Capital of Ashoka, erected by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century CE, depicts four lions standing back to back. It was made the National Emblem of India in 1950. The lion is also symbolic for the Sinhalese people, the term derived from the Sanskrit Sinhala, meaning "of lions" while a sword-wielding lion is the central figure on the national flag of Sri Lanka.The lion is a common motif in Chinese art; it was first used in art during the late Spring and Autumn period (fifth or sixth century BC) and became more popular during the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) when imperial guardian lions started to be placed in front of imperial palaces for protection. Because lions have never been native to China, early depictions were somewhat unrealistic; after the introduction of Buddhist art to China in the Tang dynasty after the sixth century AD, lions were usually depicted wingless with shorter, thicker bodies and curly manes. The lion dance is a traditional dance in Chinese culture in which performers in lion costumes mimic a lion's movements, often with musical accompaniment from cymbals, drums and gongs. They are performed at Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other celebratory occasions for good luck.
+
+Western world
+Lion-headed figures and amulets were excavated in tombs in the Greek islands of Crete, Euboea, Rhodes, Paros and Chios. They are associated with the Egyptian deity Sekhmet and date to the early Iron Age between the 9th and 6th centuries BC. Tfhe lion is featured in several of Aesop's fables, notably The Lion and the Mouse. The Nemean lion was symbolic in ancient Greece and Rome, represented as the constellation and zodiac sign Leo, and described in mythology, where it was killed and worn by the hero Heracles, symbolising victory over death. Lancelot and Gawain were also heroes slaying lions in the Middle Ages. In some medieval stories, lions were portrayed as allies and companions. "Lion" was the nickname of several medieval warrior-rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as Richard the Lionheart.Lions continue to appear in modern literature as characters including the messianic Aslan in the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, and the comedic Cowardly Lion in L. Frank Baum's 1900 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Lion symbolism was used from the advent of cinema; one of the most iconic and widely recognised lions is Leo, which has been the mascot for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios since the 1920s. The 1966 film Born Free features Elsa the lioness and is based on the book Born Free published in 1960. The lion's role as king of the beasts has been used in the 1994 Disney animated feature film The Lion King.Lions are frequently depicted on coats of arms, like on the coat of arms of Finland, either as a device on shields or as supporters, but the lioness is used much less frequently. The heraldic lion is particularly common in British arms. It is traditionally depicted in a great variety of attitudes, although within French heraldry only lions rampant are considered to be lions; felined figures in any other position are instead referred to as leopards.
+
+See also
+Notes
+References
+Citations
+Books
+External links
+
+ Media related to Lion at Wikimedia Commons
+IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. "Lion Panthera leo".
+"Lion Conservation Fund".
+The Portugal News (2014). "Rare desert lion killed in Angola after supplying unprecedented data". Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
+"Lion" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
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diff --git a/data/animals/little blue heron.txt b/data/animals/little blue heron.txt
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+The little blue heron (Egretta caerulea) is a small heron of the genus Egretta. It is a small, darkly colored heron with a two-toned bill. Juveniles are entirely white, bearing resemblance to the snowy egret. During the breeding season, adults develop different coloration on the head, legs, and feet.
+They have a range that encompasses much of the Americas, from the United States to northern South America. Some populations are migratory. Climate change will probably cause their distribution to spread north. They can be found in both saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. Their preference for either one depends on where they live.
+Nesting behaviors are documented by numerous sources. The adults build nests in trees, in colonies with other bird species. The number of eggs laid varies from place to place. The young mature quickly, requiring little attention from adults after about nineteen days of age. Both young and adults are sometimes preyed on by other species. Adults hunt fish, crabs, and other small animals. As with clutch sizes, diet can vary regionally.
+The population of E. caerulea is declining. Many possible reasons for this have been proposed. Exposure to heavy metals has been found to have detrimental effects on young birds.
+
+Taxonomy
+The little blue heron is part of the family Ardeidae, a group whose members can be found throughout much of the world, including the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. It was first described as Ardea caerulea by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is now a member of the genus Egretta. It may be closely related to the snowy egret, another member of its genus, which it greatly resembles when young. Variations of the name include Ardea coerulea, Florida caerulea, and Hydranassa caerulea.Young birds found in a little blue heron nest in North Dakota, at a site heavily populated by cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), which displayed traits of both the former and latter, are believed to be an example of hybridization between the two species. Other species they are known to hybridize with include the tricolored heron, little egret, snowy egret, and black-crowned night heron. Of these four, only the black-crowned night heron is not a member of Egretta.
+
+Description
+Males and females have the same coloration. The adults are darkly colored, with purple-maroon heads and blue bodies. During the breeding season, their heads turn dark red. They have two-toned bills, which are a light blue at the base, with black tips. Their eyes are yellow and their legs are greenish. Juveniles are almost completely white, although the upper primaries are somewhat dark in color. Like adults, their bills are two-toned. Immature birds transitioning from the juvenile to adult phase have a combination of light and dark feathers. Both sexes are about 56–74 centimetres (22–29 in), with a wingspan of 100–105 centimetres (39–41 in). They weigh about 397 grams (14.0 oz).The lores, which are normally a dull green become a shade of turquoise. They also develop long plumes on the crest and back, which can stretch 20–30 centimetres (7.9–11.8 in) past the tail. The legs and feet become black. The eggs are typically smooth, light blue, and unmarked. In size, they are about 31.7–43.2 millimetres (1.25–1.70 in), with a weight of around 23.1 grams (0.81 oz).
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Egretta caerulea can be found regularly in the United States, Mexico, Central America, northern South America (including Venezuela, Colombia, and Peru), and numerous Caribbean islands (including Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola). They have been recorded as a vagrant (a species that appears far outside its natural range) in Greenland, Portugal, and South Africa. Whether or not their range is declining is unknown. In the United States, they can be found from Missouri to Virginia to Florida. They are more common in peninsular Florida than the Florida Panhandle. They can occasionally roam as far north as Canada.Individuals in central Alabama tend to migrate towards South America and the Caribbean, while those from the Mississippi River west travel to Mexico and Central America. One study found that of seven migratory wading bird species, the little blue heron had the greatest mean dispersal distance, of 1,148 kilometres (713 mi).Future climate change is projected to increase its overall range. If global warming continues at its current rate, by the year 2080, its summer range will have increased by 87%. Of its current range, it is expected to lose only 1%. These gains would spread its summer distribution well into more northern parts of the US, such as Michigan and Minnesota, and even into southern Canada.The little blue heron can be found in freshwater and marine environments. These include mangrove forests, bogs, swamps, salt marshes, tidal flats, estuaries, streams, and flooded fields. They are usually found at low elevations, but can be seen at heights of 3,700 metres (12,100 ft) in the Andes.In North America, they tend to favor freshwater habitats, while in the Caribbean, they are more often found in saltwater. Towards the southern extent of their range, in Brazil, they are found almost exclusively along the coast, rarely venturing inland at all.
+
+Regional variations
+Juveniles in San Blas, in the Mexican state of Nayarit have an atypical color-scheme. In these birds, the top of the head is chestnut colored and the wings tips are much darker. Initially, it was suggested that they may be hybrids, however further study concluded they were most likely a natural variation. No other geographic varieties have been observed.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+Little blue herons prefer to stand still and wait when hunting, rather than chase after prey. They walk slowly and search for fish and other prey items, flying to different spots if needed. They tend to move slower than other related species, which can help distinguish them. They are not usually found in large numbers at any body of water. Occasionally, however, they will gather with other herons, especially if they have found a school of fish trapped in shallow water. They sometimes also feeds in grassy fields.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+During courtship, both males and females practice bill-nibling. Males also use a neck-stretch to attract mates.
+
+Nesting
+Little blue herons typically nest in trees alongside other roosting birds. They are colonial nesters (nesting in groups). Examples of species they may nest alongside include the scarlet ibis, yellow-crowned night heron, great egret, black-crowned night heron, and snowy egret.During nest construction, males bring twigs to females, who use them to build the nest. Both males and females help incubate their clutch. They begin incubation after two eggs have been laid, which will cause any later eggs to hatch out of sync. The chicks that hatch later tend to not receive as much food as early-hatching ones, which limits their growth. Clutch sizes vary significantly throughout their range. In Trinidad, there are usually 2–5 eggs, while in Costa Rica, only 2–4 are laid on average. In North America, the mean is 2.67–4.4. The very lowest values are seen in southeastern Brazil and the US states Florida and Georgia, where no more than three are generally laid.Young herons are able to start climbing around the branches by their nests at 15 days old. Due to the young age at which they develop motor skills in their legs, the young do not rely on their parents for anything besides feeding after 19 days, at which point the adults begin foraging away from the nest. By 20–25 days, they can climb to the very top of the tree their nest is built on, or even into other trees. They can fly short distances at around 30 days of age (some take 35–38), but will still be dependent on adults for about two weeks after that. It is in their second year of life that juveniles begin to lose their white feathers.
+
+Predation
+There is circumstantial evidence that young black-crowned night herons and crab-eating raccoons prey on nestling little blue herons. Adults have been observed driving a yellow-headed caracara away from their nests. In the presence of a Harris' hawk, however, the little blue herons fled.
+
+Parasites
+Twenty-four different species of parasitic worms were found on 33 of 35 little blue herons examined in South Florida. These included trematodes, nematodes, acanthocephalans, and one cestode. The most common trematode was Posthodiplostomum macrocotyle, and the most common nematodes were Contracaecum multipapillatum and Contracaecum microcephalum. The acanthocephalan and cestode species could not be identified (in the latter, neither could the genus).
+
+Prey
+On the eastern coast of North America, little blue herons primarily feed on fish, however their diet varies significantly throughout their range. In a study of individuals in mangrove forests in southeastern Brazil, 80% of their diet during the breeding season was found to consist of crabs. Compared to the scarlet ibis, the herons preferred arboreal or semi-arboreal species, such as Aratus pisonii and Metasesarma rubripes, while the former preferred to take burrowing species. This demonstrates their different feeding strategies—scarlet ibises being foragers who hunt using their sense of touch and little blue herons being visual hunters. In another mangrove forest in southwestern Puerto Rico, the entire diet was found to consist of fiddler crabs.
+
+Conservation
+The little blue heron is listed as a least-concern species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, although its numbers are decreasing. Historically, they were not hunted for their feathers as much as other heron species due to their lack of visually attractive plumes.The dangers faced by Egretta caerulea are not well researched. They could include development along coastlines, habitat disturbance, predators, pesticide exposure, and parasites. The metals cadmium and lead have been found to lead to slower growth rates and higher death rates, respectively, of young birds. In Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, little blue herons were found to have relatively high levels of metal contamination in the liver and kidneys.In areas with cattle egrets, little blue herons have been found to nest for shorter amounts of time, and produce fewer young that survive to adulthood. Cattle egrets only begin pairing when most little blue herons already have eggs or live young in their nests. The former species has been observed stealing twigs from nests of the latter. This behavior sometimes leads to the young falling out of the nest or the cattle egrets removing them.
+
+References
+Notes
+External links
+
+Field guide on Flickr
+Florida Bird Sounds - Florida Museum of Natural History
+Little blue heron photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Little blue heron species account at Neotropical Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/loggerhead.txt b/data/animals/loggerhead.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/loggerhead.txt
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+The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown.  The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately 135 kg (298 lb), with the largest specimens weighing in at more than 450 kg (1,000 lb). The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons (lower shells) than the females.
+The loggerhead sea turtle is found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. It spends most of its life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. The loggerhead sea turtle has a low reproductive rate; females lay an average of four egg clutches and then become quiescent, producing no eggs for two to three years. The loggerhead reaches sexual maturity within 17–33 years and has a lifespan of 47–67 years.
+The loggerhead sea turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Its large and powerful jaws serve as an effective tool for dismantling its prey. Young loggerheads are exploited by numerous predators; the eggs are especially vulnerable to terrestrial organisms. Once the turtles reach adulthood, their formidable size limits predation to large marine animals, such as large sharks.
+The loggerhead sea turtle is considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 
+In total, 9 distinct population segments are under the protection of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, with 4 population segments classified as "threatened" and 5 classified as "endangered"
+Commercial international trade of loggerheads or derived products is prohibited by CITES Appendix I.
+Untended fishing gear is responsible for many loggerhead deaths. The greatest threat is loss of nesting habitat due to coastal development, predation of nests, and human disturbances (such as coastal lighting and housing developments) that cause disorientations during the emergence of hatchlings. Turtles may also suffocate if they are trapped in fishing trawls. Turtle excluder devices have been implemented in efforts to reduce mortality by providing an escape route for the turtles. Loss of suitable nesting beaches and the introduction of exotic predators have also taken a toll on loggerhead populations. Efforts to restore their numbers will require international cooperation, since the turtles roam vast areas of ocean and critical nesting beaches are scattered across several countries.
+
+Taxonomy
+Carl Linnaeus gave the loggerhead its first binomial name, Testudo caretta, in 1758. Thirty-five other names emerged over the following two centuries, with the combination Caretta caretta first introduced in 1873 by Leonhard Stejneger. The English common name "loggerhead" refers to the animal's large head. The loggerhead sea turtle belongs to the family Cheloniidae, which includes all extant sea turtles except the leatherback sea turtle. The subspecific classification of the loggerhead sea turtle is debated, but most authors consider it a single polymorphic species. Molecular genetics has confirmed hybridization of the loggerhead sea turtle with the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, and green sea turtles. The extent of natural hybridization is not yet determined; however, second-generation hybrids have been reported, suggesting some hybrids are fertile.
+
+Evolution
+Although evidence is lacking, modern sea turtles probably descended from a single common ancestor during the Cretaceous period. Like all other sea turtles except the leatherback, loggerheads are members of the ancient family Cheloniidae, and appeared about 40 million years ago. Of the six species of living Cheloniidae, loggerheads are more closely related to the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, and the hawksbill turtle than they are to the flatback turtle and the green turtle.
+Around three million years ago, during the Pliocene epoch, Central America emerged from the sea, effectively cutting off currents between the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans. The rerouting of ocean currents led to climatic changes as the Earth entered a glacial cycle. Cold water upwelling around the Cape of Good Hope and reduction in water temperature at Cape Horn formed coldwater barriers to migrating turtles. The result was a complete isolation of the Atlantic and Pacific populations of loggerheads. During the most recent ice age, the beaches of southeastern North America were too cold for sea turtle eggs.  As the Earth began to warm, loggerheads moved farther north, colonizing the northern beaches.  Because of this, turtles nesting between North Carolina and northern Florida represent a different genetic population from those in southern Florida.The distinct populations of loggerheads have unique characteristics and genetic differences. For example, Mediterranean loggerheads are smaller, on average, than Atlantic Ocean loggerheads. North Atlantic and Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles are descendants of colonizing loggerheads from Tongaland, South Africa. South African loggerhead genes are still present in these populations today.
+
+Description
+The loggerhead sea turtle is the world's largest hard-shelled turtle, slightly larger at average and maximum mature weights than the green sea turtle and the Galapagos tortoise. It is also the world's second largest extant turtle after the leatherback sea turtle. Adults have an approximate weight range of 80 to 200 kg (180 to 440 lb), averaging around 135 kg (298 lb), and a straight-line carapace length range of 70 to 95 cm (28 to 37 in). The maximum reported weight is 545 kg (1,202 lb) and the maximum (presumed total) length is 213 cm (84 in). The head and carapace (upper shell) range from a yellow-orange to a reddish brown, while the plastron (underside) is typically pale yellow. The turtle's neck and sides are brown on the tops and yellow on the sides and bottom.The turtle's shell is divided into two sections: carapace and plastron. The carapace is further divided into large plates, or scutes. Typically, 11 or 12 pairs of marginal scutes rim the carapace. Five vertebral scutes run down the carapace's midline, while five pairs of costal scutes border them. The nuchal scute is located at the base of the head. The carapace connects to the plastron by three pairs of inframarginal scutes forming the bridge of the shell. The plastron features paired gular, humeral, pectoral, abdominal, femoral, and anal scutes. The shell serves as external armor, although loggerhead sea turtles cannot retract their heads or flippers into their shells.Sexual dimorphism of the loggerhead sea turtle is only apparent in adults. Adult males have longer tails and claws than females. The males' plastrons are shorter than the females', presumably to accommodate the males' larger tails. The carapaces of males are wider and less domed than the females', and males typically have wider heads than females. The sex of juveniles and subadults cannot be determined through external anatomy, but can be observed through dissection, laparoscopy (an operation performed on the abdomen), histological examination (cell anatomy), and radioimmunological assays (immune study dealing with radiolabeling).Lachrymal glands located behind each eye allow the loggerhead to maintain osmotic balance by eliminating the excess salt obtained from ingesting ocean water. On land, the excretion of excess salt gives the false impression that the turtle is crying. The urea content is high in Caretta caretta tears.The skull is most easily distinguished from other sea turtles by having  maxillae that meet in the mid-line of the palate. The portion of skull behind the eyes is also relatively large and bulbous due to the extensive jaw muscles.
+
+Distribution
+The loggerhead sea turtle has a cosmopolitan distribution, nesting over the broadest geographical range of any sea turtle. It inhabits the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.In the Atlantic Ocean, the greatest concentration of loggerheads is along the southeastern coast of North America and in the Gulf of Mexico. Very few loggerheads are found along the European and African coastlines. Florida is the most popular nesting site, with more than 67,000 nests built per year. Nesting extends as far north as Virginia, as far south as Brazil, and as far east as the Cape Verde Islands. The Cape Verde Islands are the only significant nesting site on the eastern side of the Atlantic. Loggerheads found in the Atlantic Ocean feed from Canada to Brazil.In the Indian Ocean, loggerheads feed along the coastlines of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and in the Arabian Sea. Along the African coastline, loggerheads nest from Mozambique's Bazaruto Archipelago to South Africa's St Lucia estuary. The largest Indian Ocean nesting site is Oman, on the Arabian Peninsula, which hosts around 15,000 nests, giving it the second largest nesting population of loggerheads in the world. Western Australia is another notable nesting area, with 1,000–2,000 nests per year.Pacific loggerheads live in temperate to tropical regions. They forage in the East China Sea, the southwestern Pacific, and along the Baja California Peninsula. Eastern Australia and Japan are the major nesting areas, with the Great Barrier Reef deemed an important nesting area. Pacific loggerheads occasionally nest in Vanuatu and Tokelau. Yakushima Island is the most important site, with three nesting grounds visited by 40% of all nearby loggerheads. After nesting, females often find homes in the East China Sea, while the  Kuroshio Current Extension's Bifurcation region provides important juvenile foraging areas. Eastern Pacific populations are concentrated off the coast of Baja California, where upwelling provides rich feeding grounds for juvenile turtles and subadults. Nesting sites along the eastern Pacific Basin are rare. mtDNA sequence polymorphism analysis and tracking studies suggest 95% of the population along the coast of the Americas hatch on the Japanese Islands in the western Pacific. The turtles are transported by the prevailing currents across the full length of the northern Pacific, one of the longest migration routes of any marine animal. The return journey to the natal beaches in Japan has been long suspected, although the trip would cross unproductive clear water with few feeding opportunities. Evidence of a return journey came from an adult female loggerhead named Adelita, which in 1996, equipped with a satellite tracking device, made the 14,500 km (9,000 mi) trip from Mexico across the Pacific. Adelita was the first animal of any kind ever tracked across an ocean basin.The Mediterranean Sea is a nursery for juveniles, as well as a common place for adults in the spring and summer months. Almost 45% of the Mediterranean juvenile population has migrated from the Atlantic. Loggerheads feed in the Alboran Sea and the Adriatic Sea, with tens of thousands of specimens (mainly sub-adult) seasonally present in the North-Eastern portion of the latter, above all in the area of the Po Delta.
+Greece is the most popular nesting site along the Mediterranean, with more than 3,000 nests per year. Zakynthos hosts the largest Mediterranean nesting with the second one being in Kyparissia Bay. Because of this, Greek authorities do not allow planes to take off or land at night in Zakynthos due to the nesting turtles. In addition to the Greek coast, the coastlines of Cyprus  and Turkey are also common nesting sites.One record of this turtle was made in Ireland when a specimen washed ashore on Ballyhealy Beach in County Wexford. Another records one specimen being washed up on a beach in County Donegal, Ireland.
+
+Habitat
+Loggerhead sea turtles spend most of their lives in the open ocean and in shallow coastal waters. They rarely come ashore besides the females' brief visits to construct nests and deposit eggs. Hatchling loggerhead turtles live in floating mats of Sargassum algae. Adults and juveniles live along the continental shelf as well as in shallow coastal estuaries. In the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, age plays a factor in habitat preference. Juveniles are more frequently found in shallow estuarine habitats with limited ocean access compared to non-nesting adults. Loggerheads occupy waters with surface tempheratures ranging from 13.3–28 °C (56–82 °F) during non-nesting season. Temperatures from 27–28 °C (81–82 °F) are most suitable for nesting females.Juvenile loggerheads share the Sargassum habitat with a variety of other organisms. The mats of Sargassum contain as many as 100 different species of animals on which the juveniles feed. Prey found in Sargassum mats may include barnacles, crab larvae, fish eggs, and hydrozoan colonies. Some prey, such as ants, flies, aphids, leafhoppers, and beetles, are carried by the wind to the mats. Marine mammals and commercial fishes, including tuna and mahi-mahi, also inhabit the Sargassum mats.
+
+Behavior
+Loggerhead sea turtles observed in captivity and in the wild are most active during the day. In captivity, the loggerheads' daily activities are divided between swimming and resting on the bottom. While resting, they spread their forelimbs to about midstroke swimming position. They remain motionless with eyes open or half-shut and are easily alerted during this state. At night, captives sleep in the same position with their eyes tightly shut, and are slow to react. Loggerheads spend up to 85% of their day submerged, with males being the more active divers than females. The average duration of dives is 15–30 min, but they can stay submerged for up to four hours. Juvenile loggerheads and adults differ in their swimming methods. A juvenile keeps its forelimbs pressed to the side of its carapace, and propels itself by kicking with its hind limbs. As the juvenile matures, its swimming method is progressively replaced with the adult's alternating-limb method. They depend entirely on this method of swimming by one year old.Water temperature affects the sea turtle's metabolic rate. Lethargy is induced at temperatures between 13 and 15 °C (55 and 59 °F). The loggerhead takes on a floating, cold-stunned posture when temperatures drop to around 10 °C (50 °F).  However, younger loggerheads are more resistant to cold and do not become stunned until temperatures drop below 9 °C (48 °F). The loggerheads' migration helps to prevent instances of cold-stunning. Higher water temperatures cause an increase in metabolism and heart rate. A loggerhead's body temperature increases in warmer waters more quickly than it decreases in colder water; their critical thermal maximum is currently unknown.  In February 2015, a live loggerhead turtle was found floating in British Columbian waters of 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) with extensive algal growth on its carapace.Female-female aggression, which is fairly rare in other marine vertebrates, is common among loggerheads. Ritualized aggression escalates from passive threat displays to combat. This conflict primarily occurs over access to feeding grounds. Escalation typically follows four steps. First, initial contact is stimulated by visual or tactile cues. Second, confrontation occurs, beginning with passive confrontations characterized by wide head-tail circling. They begin aggressive confrontation when one turtle ceases to circle and directly faces the other. Third, sparring occurs with turtles snapping at each other's jaws. The final stage, separation, is either mutual, with both turtles swimming away in opposite directions, or involves chasing one out of the immediate vicinity. Escalation is determined by several factors, including hormone levels, energy expenditure, expected outcome, and importance of location. At all stages, an upright tail shows willingness to escalate, while a curled tail shows willingness to submit. Because higher aggression is metabolically costly and potentially debilitating, contact is much more likely to escalate when the conflict is over access to good foraging grounds. Further aggression has also been reported in captive loggerheads. The turtles are seemingly territorial, and will fight with other loggerheads and sea turtles of different species.
+
+Feeding
+The loggerhead sea turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on bottom-dwelling invertebrates, such as gastropods, bivalves, decapods, and horseshoe crabs. It has a greater list of known prey than any other sea turtle. Other food items include sponges, corals, sea pens, polychaete worms, tube worms, sea anemones, cephalopods, barnacles, brachiopods, amphipods, isopods, Portuguese men o' war, insects, bryozoans, hydrozoans, sea urchins, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, starfish, tunicates, fish (eggs, juveniles, and adults), hatchling turtles (including members of its own species), algae, and vascular plants. During migration through the open sea, loggerheads eat jellyfish, floating molluscs, floating egg clusters, squid, and flying fish.Loggerheads crush prey with their large and powerful jaws. Projecting scale points on the anterior margin of the forelimbs allow manipulation of the food. These points can be used as "pseudo-claws" to tear large pieces of food in the loggerhead's mouth. The loggerhead will turn its neck sideways to consume the torn food on the scale points. Inward-pointing, mucus-covered papillae found in the fore region of the loggerhead's esophagus filter out foreign bodies, such as fish hooks. The next region of the esophagus is not papillated, with numerous mucosal folds. The digestion rate in loggerheads is temperature-dependent;  it increases as temperature increases.
+
+Predators
+Loggerheads have numerous predators, especially early in their lives. Egg and nestling predators include ghost crabs, oligochaete worms, beetles, fly larvae, ants, flesh flies, snakes, gulls, corvids, opossums, bears, rats, armadillos, mustelids, skunks, canids, procyonids, cats, pigs, and humans. During their migration from their nests to the sea, hatchlings are preyed on by dipteran larvae, crabs, toads, lizards, snakes, seabirds such as frigatebirds, and other assorted birds and mammals. In the ocean, predators of the loggerhead juveniles include portunid crabs and various fishes, such as parrotfishes and moray eels. Adults are more rarely attacked due to their large size, but may be preyed on by large sharks, seals, and killer whales. Nesting females are attacked by flesh flies, feral dogs, and humans. Salt marsh mosquitos can also pester nesting females.In Australia, the introduction of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) by British settlers in the 19th century led to significant reductions in loggerhead sea turtle populations. In one coastal section in eastern Australia during the 1970s, predation of turtle eggs destroyed up to 95% of all clutches laid. Aggressive efforts to destroy foxes in the 1980s and 1990s has reduced this impact; however, it is estimated that it will be the year 2020 before populations will experience complete recovery from such dramatic losses.Along the southeastern coast of the United States, the raccoon (Procyon lotor) is the most destructive predator of nesting sites. Mortality rates of nearly 100% of all clutches laid in a season have been recorded on some Florida beaches. This is attributed to an increase in raccoon populations, which have flourished in urban environments. Aggressive efforts to protect nesting sites by covering them with wire mesh has significantly reduced the impact of raccoon predation on loggerhead sea turtle eggs.Up to 40% of nesting females around the world have wounds believed to come from shark attacks.
+
+Disease and parasites
+Infectious bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Salmonella attack loggerhead hatchlings and eggs. Fungi such as Penicillium infect loggerhead sea turtle nests and cloacae.Fibropapillomatosis disease caused by a form of the herpes-type virus threatens loggerheads with internal and external tumors. These tumors disrupt essential behaviors and, if on the eyes, cause permanent blindness. Trematodes of the family Spirorchiidae inhabit tissues throughout the body of the loggerhead, including vital organs, such as the heart and the brain. Trematode infection can be highly debilitating. For example, inflammatory trematode lesions can cause endocarditis and neurological disease. A nematode, Angiostoma carettae, also infects loggerheads, causing histologic lesions in the respiratory tract.More than 100 species of animals from 13 phyla, as well as 37 kinds of algae, live on loggerheads' backs. These parasitic organisms, which increase drag, offer no known benefit to the turtle, although the dulling effect of organisms on shell color may improve camouflage.In 2018, researchers from Florida State University examined 24 individual turtle carapaces and found an average of 33,000 meiofauna with one turtle having 150,000 organisms living on the shell. A collection of 7,000 nematodes from 111 genera were found on the turtles studied.
+
+Life history
+Early life
+Hatchlings range in color from light brown to almost black, lacking the adult's distinct yellows and reds. Upon hatching, they measure about 4.6 cm (1.8 in) and weigh about 20 g (0.7 oz). The eggs are typically laid on the beach in an area above the high-tide line. The eggs are laid near the water so the hatchlings can return to the sea. The loggerhead's sex is dictated by the temperature of the underground nest. Incubation temperatures generally range from 26–32 °C (79–90 °F). Sea turtle eggs kept at a constant incubating temperature of 32 °C become females. Eggs incubating at 28 °C become males. An incubation temperature of 30 °C results in an equal ratio of male to female hatchlings. Hatchlings from eggs in the middle of the clutch tend to be the largest, grow the fastest, and be the most active during the first few days of sea life.After incubating for around 80 days, hatchlings dig through the sand to the surface, usually at night, when darkness increases the chance of escaping predation and damage from extreme sand surface temperatures is reduced. Hatchlings enter the ocean by navigating toward the brighter horizon created by the reflection of the moon and starlight off the water's surface.Hatchlings can lose up to 20% of their body mass due to evaporation of water as they journey from nest to ocean. They initially use the undertow to push them five to 10 m away from the shore. Once in the ocean, they swim for about 20 hours, taking them far offshore. An iron compound, magnetite, in their brains allows the turtles to perceive the Earth's magnetic field, for navigation.
+Many hatchlings use Sargassum in the open ocean as protection until they reach 45 cm (18 in). Hatchling loggerheads live in this pelagic environment until they reach juvenile age, and then they migrate to nearshore waters.
+
+Maturation
+When ocean waters cool, loggerheads must migrate to warmer areas or hibernate to some degree. In the coldest months, they submerge for up to seven hours at a time, emerging for only seven minutes to breathe. Although outdone by freshwater turtles, these are among the longest recorded dives for any air-breathing marine vertebrate. During their seasonal migration, juvenile loggerheads have the ability to use both magnetic and visual cues. When both aids are available, they are used in conjunction; if one aid is not available, the other suffices. The turtles swim at about 1.6 km/h (0.9 kn; 0.4 m/s) during migration.Like all marine turtles, the loggerhead prepares for reproduction in its foraging area. This takes place several years before the loggerhead migrates to a mating area. Female loggerheads first reproduce at ages 28–33 in Southeastern United States and Australia, and at ages 17–30 in South Africa. Age at first reproduction in the Mediterranean, Oman, Japan, and Brazil are unknown. Nesting loggerheads have a straight carapace length of 70–109 cm (28–43 in). Because of the large range, carapace length is not a reliable indicator of sexual maturity. Their estimated maximum lifespan is 47–67 years in the wild.
+
+Reproduction
+Female loggerheads first reproduce between the ages of 17 and 33, and their mating period may last more than six weeks. They court their mates, but these behaviors have not been thoroughly examined. Male forms of courtship behavior include nuzzling, biting, and head and flipper movements. Studies suggest females produce cloacal pheromones to indicate reproductive ability. Before mating, the male approaches a female and attempts to mount her, while she resists. Next, the male and female begin to circle each other. If the male has competitors, the female may let the males struggle with each other. The winner then mounts the female; the male's curved claws usually damage the shoulders of the female's shell during this process. Other courting males bite the male while he is attempting to copulate, damaging his flippers and tail, possibly exposing bones. Such damage can cause the male to dismount and may require weeks to heal.
+While nesting, females produce an average of 3.9 egg clutches, and then become quiescent, producing no eggs for two to three years. Unlike other sea turtles, courtship and mating usually do not take place near the nesting beach, but rather along migration routes between feeding and breeding grounds. Recent evidence indicates ovulation in loggerheads is mating-induced.  Through the act of mating, the female ovulates eggs which are fertilized by the male. This is unique, as mating-induced ovulation is rare outside of mammals.  In the Northern Hemisphere, loggerheads mate from late March to early June. The nesting season is short, between May and August in the Northern Hemisphere and between October and March in the Southern Hemisphere.Loggerheads may display multiple paternity. Multiple paternity is possible due to sperm storage. The female can store sperm from multiple males in her oviducts until ovulation. A single clutch may have as many as seven fathers, each contributing sperm to a portion of the clutch. Multiple paternity and female size are positively correlated. Two hypotheses explain this correlation. One posits that males favor large females because of their perceived higher fecundity (ability to reproduce). The other states, because larger females are able to swim more quickly to mating grounds, they have longer mating periods.All sea turtles have similar basic nesting behaviors. Females return to lay eggs at intervals of 12–17 days during the nesting season, on or near the beach where they hatched. They exit the water, climb the beach, and scrape away the surface sand to form a body pit. With their hind limbs, they excavate an egg chamber in which the eggs are deposited.  The females then cover the egg chamber and body pit with sand, and finally return to the sea. This process takes one to two hours, and occurs in open sand areas or on top of sand dunes, preferably near dune grasses that the females can use to camouflage the nest. The nesting area must be selected carefully because it affects characteristics such as fitness, emergence ratio, and vulnerability to nest predators. Loggerheads have an average clutch size of 112.4 eggs.
+
+Conservation
+Many human activities have negative effects on loggerhead sea turtle populations. The prolonged time required for loggerheads to reach sexual maturity and the high mortality rates of eggs and young turtles from natural phenomena compound the problems of population reduction as a consequence of human activities.
+
+Threats
+Loggerhead sea turtles were once intensively hunted for their meat and eggs; consumption has decreased, however, due to worldwide legislation. Despite this, turtle meat and eggs are still consumed in countries where regulations are not strictly enforced. In Mexico, turtle eggs are a common meal; locals claim the egg is an aphrodisiac. Eating turtle eggs or meat can cause serious illness due to harmful bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens, and high levels of toxic metals that build up through bioaccumulation.The US West Coast is a critical migratory corridor for the Pacific loggerheads, in which these turtles swim across the Pacific to California's coast from breeding grounds in Japan. Important foraging habitats for juveniles in the central North Pacific have been revealed through telemetry studies. Along with these foraging habitats, high levels of bycatch from industrial-scale fisheries have been found to overlap; with drift gillnets in the past and longline fisheries presently. Many juvenile loggerheads aggregate off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico, where small coastal fisheries  increase these turtles' mortality risk; fishers have reported catching dozens of loggerheads with bottom-set gear per day per boat. The most common commercial fishery that accidentally takes loggerheads are bottom trawls used for shrimp vessels in the Gulf of California. In 2000, between 2,600 and 6,000 loggerheads were estimated to have been killed by pelagic longlining in the Pacific.Fishing gear is the biggest threat to loggerheads in the open ocean. They often become entangled in longlines or gillnets. According to the 2009 status review of loggerheads by the Fisheries Service, drowning from entanglement in longline and gillnet fishing gear is the turtles' primary threat in the North Pacific. They also become stuck in traps, pots, trawls, and dredges. Caught in this unattended equipment, loggerheads risk serious injury or drowning. Turtle excluder devices for nets and other traps reduce the number being accidentally caught.
+Nearly 11 million metric tons of plastic are released into the ocean annually. A number that is projected to increase to 29 million metric tons by 2040. Turtles ingest a wide array of this floating debris, including bags, sheets, pellets, balloons and abandoned fishing line. Loggerheads may mistake the floating plastic for jellyfish, a common food item. The ingested plastic causes numerous health concerns, including intestinal blockage, reduced nutrient absorption and malnutrition, suffocation, ulcerations, or starvation. Ingested plastics release toxic compounds, including polychlorinated biphenyls, which may accumulate in internal tissues. Such toxins may lead to a thinning of eggshells, tissue damage, or deviation from natural behaviors.Artificial lighting discourages nesting and interferes with the hatchlings' ability to navigate to the water's edge. Females prefer nesting on beaches free of artificial lighting. On developed beaches, nests are often clustered around tall buildings, perhaps because they block out the man-made light sources. Loggerhead hatchlings are drawn toward the brighter area over the water which is the consequence of the reflection of moon and star light. Confused by the brighter artificial light, they navigate inland, away from the protective waters, which exposes them to dehydration and predation as the sun rises. Artificial lighting causes tens of thousands of hatchling deaths per year.Destruction and encroachment of habitat by humans is another threat to loggerhead sea turtles. Optimum nesting beaches are open-sand beaches above the high-tide line. However, beach development deprives them of suitable nesting areas, forcing them to nest closer to the surf. Urbanization often leads to the siltation of sandy beaches, decreasing their viability. Construction of docks and marinas can destroy near-shore habitats. Boat traffic and dredging degrades habitat and can also injure or kill turtles when boats collide with turtles at or near the surface.Annual variations in climatic temperatures can affect sex ratios, since loggerheads have temperature-dependent sex determination. High sand temperatures may skew gender ratios in favor of females. Nesting sites exposed to unseasonably warm temperatures over a three-year period produced 87–99% females. This raises concern over the connection between rapid global temperature changes and the possibility of population extinction. A more localized effect on gender skewing comes from the construction of tall buildings, which reduce sun exposure, lowering the average sand temperature, which results in a shift in gender ratios to favor the emergence of male turtles. Construction of new thermal power stations can raise local water temperature, which is also said to be a threat.The increase of temperature and food availability will increase reproduction output of loggerhead turtles.  Many researchers agree that temperature increases due to climate change has a complicated impact on turtles.  At breeding sites when a loggerhead turtle lays multiple clutches in a season, a higher temperature will cause the duration of time between laying two different nests to become shorter.  The amount of food availability makes a difference in reproductive output because when there is a greater amount of food available, the turtles will grow to a larger size.  The larger a turtle is, the more likely they will have a greater reproductive output. The amount of food also has a relationship to temperature.  Researchers have found that an increase of temperature causes feeding grounds to produce more food.Tropical Cyclones have a significant impact on hatchling loss. The associated storm surges push water higher up the beach, flooding nest and drowning the embryos. Strong wave action may eroded away sand, exposing the eggs to drying and predation. The current trend of rising sea surface temperatures and the increase in both numbers and intensities of tropical cyclones as a result of climate change pose a growing threat to turtle populations.
+
+Conservation efforts
+Since the loggerhead occupies such a broad range, successful conservation requires efforts from multiple countries.Loggerhead sea turtles are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, making commercial international trade prohibited. In the United States, the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service classify them as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Loggerheads are listed as endangered under both Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. The Convention on Migratory Species works for the conservation of loggerhead sea turtles on the Atlantic coast of Africa, as well as in the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia. Throughout Japan, the Sea Turtle Association of Japan aids in the conservation of loggerhead sea turtles. Greece's ARCHELON works for their conservation. The Marine Research Foundation works for loggerhead conservation in Oman. Annex 2 of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol of the Cartagena Convention, which deals with pollution that could harm marine ecosystems, also protects them. Conservation organizations worldwide have worked with the shrimp trawling industry to develop turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) to exclude even the largest turtles. TEDs are mandatory for all shrimp trawlers.In many places during the nesting season, workers and volunteers search the coastline for nests, and researchers may also go out during the evening to look for nesting females for tagging studies and gather barnacles and tissues samples. Volunteers may, if necessary, relocate the nests for protection from threats, such as high spring tides and predators, and monitor the nests daily for disturbances. After the eggs hatch, volunteers uncover and tally hatched eggs, undeveloped eggs, and dead hatchlings. Any remaining live hatchlings are released or taken to research facilities. Typically, those that lack the vitality to hatch and climb to the surface die.
+
+United States
+The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), and the Department of the Interior ruled four distinct population segments as threatened (Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, Southeast Indo-Pacific Ocean, and Southwest Indian Ocean) and five as endangered (Mediterranean Sea, North Indian Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, and South Pacific Ocean) effective on October 24, 2011.Off the coast of southern California NMFS, NOAA, and Department of Commerce prohibited fishing with large drift gillnet (DGN) gear in the loggerhead conservation area during the presence of El Niño conditions in order to protect the endangered North Pacific Ocean loggerhead DPS. This ruling effective July 23, 2014 was intended to prevent bycatch of loggerhead sea turtles. A team including sea turtle biologists and oceanographers determined the presence of El Niño conditions based on the El Niño watch issued by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC), anomalies found in sea surface temperature (SST) charts published by NOAA's Coast Watch Program, the presence of loggerhead sea turtles in the Pacific loggerhead conservation area, and reports of loggerhead strandings. The SST data showed higher than average temperatures during summer months off the coast of southern California. This same fisheries closure ruling due to El Niño conditions was again implemented May 29, 2015, and then again June 1, 2016.Critical habitat designation for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean DPS of loggerhead sea turtles specified 38 marine areas that include nearshore reproductive habitat, breeding areas, winter area, constricted migratory corridors, and Sargassum habitat. This ruling was made the NMFS, NOAA, and Department of Commerce effective August 11, 2014. Nesting beaches were identified as critical terrestrial habitat by Fish and Wildlife Services and the Department of the Interior within the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, effective August 11, 2014.  The 2012 BiOp is an integral component to managing the shallow-set fishery, because the one-year incidental take statement (ITS, including reasonable and prudent management measures, and terms and conditions) forms the basis for regulations that specify the annual limits on leatherback and North Pacific loggerhead sea turtle interactions with the fishery that are necessary to manage the impacts of the fishery on sea turtles.Effective January 11, 2010 the NMFS, NOAA, and Department of Commerce removed the limit on the number of fishing gear deployments for the Hawaii-based pelagic shallow-set longline fisheries and simultaneously increased the number of incidental interactions allowed with loggerhead sea turtles. This ruling stated that longline fisheries may not interact with over 46 loggerhead sea turtles a year, a number thought to not interfere with survival and recovery of loggerhead sea turtles. This ruling was revised March 10, 2011 to reduce the number of allowed interactions from 46 a year to 17, a revision aimed to protect the loggerheads and maintain fishery yield. November 18, 2011 the pelagic shallow-set longline fisheries in Hawaii reached the annual limit on physical interactions with turtles and was closed by NMFS. Incidental interaction limit for loggerhead turtles was increased from 17 to 34 interactions a year starting November 5, 2012.
+
+Symbols
+The loggerhead sea turtle appears on the $1000 Colombian peso coin. In the United States, the loggerhead sea turtle is the official state reptile of South Carolina and also the state saltwater reptile of Florida.
+
+See also
+Adelita, the first sea turtle tracked across an ocean basin.
+İztuzu Beach, one of the prime nesting habitats of the loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean
+Sea turtle threats
+
+References
+Footnotes
+Bibliography
+Bowen, B.W.; Abreu-Grobois, F.A.; Balazs, G.H.; Kamezaki, N; Limpus, C.J.; Ferl, R.J. (1995). "Trans-Pacific migrations of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) demonstrated with mitochondrial DNA markers". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 92 (9): 3731–4. Bibcode:1995PNAS...92.3731B. doi:10.1073/pnas.92.9.3731. PMC 42035. PMID 7731974.
+Committee on Sea Turtle Conservation, National Research Council (1990). Decline of the Sea Turtles: Causes and Prevention. The National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/1536. ISBN 0-309-04247-X. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
+Conant, Therese A.; Dutton, Peter H.; Eguchi, Tomoharu; Epperly, Sheryan P.; Fahy, Christina C.; Godfrey, Matthew H.; MacPherson, Sandra L.; Possardt, Earl E.; Schroeder, Barbara A.; Seminoff, Jeffrey A.; Snover, Melissa L.; Upite, Carrie M. & Witherington, Blair E. (August 2009). Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) 2009 Status Review Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (PDF). Loggerhead Biological Review Team. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
+Dodd, C. Kenneth Jr. (May 1988). "Synopsis of the Biological Data on the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus 1758)" (PDF). Biological Report. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 88 (14): 1–83. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
+Ernst, C.H.; Lovich, J.E. (2009). Turtles of the United States and Canada (2nd ed.). JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9121-2. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
+James, Michael C.; Martin, Kathleen; Dutton, Peter H. (2004). "Hybridization Between a Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, and Loggerhead Turtle, Caretta caretta, and the First Record of a Green Turtle in Atlantic Canada" (PDF). Canadian Field- Naturalist. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
+Janzen, Fredric J (August 1994). "Climate change and temperature-dependent sex determination inreptiles". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 91 (16): 7487–7490. Bibcode:1994PNAS...91.7487J. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.16.7487. PMC 44426. PMID 8052608.
+Lorne, Jacquelyn; Salmon, Michael (2007-04-11). "Effects of exposure to artificial lighting on orientation of hatchling sea turtles on the beach and in the ocean". Endangered Species Research. 3: 23–30. doi:10.3354/esr003023.
+Marn, N.; Jusup, M.; legovic, T.; Kooijman, S.A.L.M.; klanjscek, T. (24 September 2017). "Environmental effects on growth, reporduction, and life-history traits of loggerhead turtles ("Caretta caretta")". Ecological Modelling. 360 (360): 163–178. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.07.001. S2CID 90100832.
+Márquez, R. (1990). "Sea Turtles of the World: an Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Sea Turtle Species Known to Date". FAO Fisheries Synopsis. 11 (125). Retrieved 2010-05-31.
+Miller, Jeffrey D.; Limpus, Collin J.; Godfrey, Matthew H. (2003). "Nest site selection, oviposition, eggs, development, hatching and emergence of loggerhead turtles" (PDF). In Bolten, Alan; Witherington, Blair (eds.). Loggerhead Turtles. Smithsonian Books. pp. 125–143. ISBN 1588341364. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
+Peaker, Malcolm; Linzell, J. (1975). Salt Glands in Birds and Reptiles. pp. 1–297. ISBN 0-521-20629-4. PMID 177858. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
+Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara S. (1994). State names, seals, flags, and symbols (2nd ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-28862-3.
+Spotila, James R. (2004). Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press and Oakwood Arts. ISBN 0-8018-8007-6.
+Valente, A. L. S. (2007). Diagnostic Imaging of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Caretta Caretta (PDF). ISBN 978-8469166239. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
+Witherington, Blair (2006). "Ancient Origins". Sea Turtles – An Extraordinary Natural History of Some Uncommon Turtles. St Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7603-2644-4. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
+Wynne, Kate; Schwartz, Malia (1999). Guide to Marine Mammals and Turtles of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. illustrated by Garth Mix (2nd ed.). Rhode Island Sea Grant. ISBN 0-938412-43-4.
+Yntema, C.; Mrosovsky, N. (1982). "Critical periods and pivotal temperatures for sexual differentiation in loggerhead sea turtles" (PDF). Canadian Journal of Zoology. 60 (5): 1012–1016. doi:10.1139/z82-141. ISSN 1480-3283. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
+
+Further reading
+Arnold EN, Burton JA (1978). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. London: Collins. 272 pp. ISBN 0-00-219318-3. (Caretta caretta, p. 95 + Figure 2 on p. 99).
+Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 color plates. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Caretta caretta, pp. 475–476 + Plate 265).
+Bolten, Alan B.; Witherington, Blair E. (2003). Loggerhead Sea Turtles. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-58834-136-4.
+Boulenger GA (1889). Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, Printers). x + 311 pp. + Plates I-III. (Thalassochelys caretta, pp. 184–186).
+Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco, California: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Caretta caretta, pp. 122, 124, 267).
+Gulko D, Eckert KL (2004). Sea Turtles: An Ecological Guide. Honolulu, Hawai'i: Mutual Publishing. ISBN 1-56647-651-8.
+Linnaeus C (1758). Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Testudo caretta, new species, pp. 197–198). (in Latin).
+Lutz, Peter L.; Musick, John A.; Wyneken, Jeanette (1997). The Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume I. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-8422-2.
+Lutz, Peter L.; Musick, John A.; Wyneken, Jeanette (2003). The Biology of Sea Turtles, Volume II. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-1123-3.
+Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Caretta caretta, p. 192 + Plate 14 + Figure 81 on p. 174).
+Smith HM, Brodie ED Jr (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. ISBN 0-307-13666-3. (Caretta caretta, pp. 36–37).
+Stejneger L, Barbour T (1917). A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 125 pp. (Caretta caretta, p. 123).
+
+External links
+
+A 3D animation of a sea turtle. 
+Loggerhead sea turtle media from ARKive 
+Photos of Loggerhead sea turtle on Sealife Collection
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+The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns (whose larvae are often referred to as roundheaded borers), are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body. In various members of the family, however, the antennae are quite short (e.g., Neandra brunnea) and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as the Chrysomelidae. The scientific name of this beetle family goes back to a figure from Greek mythology: after an argument with nymphs, the shepherd Cerambus was transformed into a large beetle with horns.
+Though most species are found in only one biogeographic realm, longhorn beetles are found on all continents except Antarctica.
+
+Description
+Other than the typical long antennal length, the most consistently distinctive feature of adults of this family is that the antennal sockets are located on low tubercles on the face; other beetles with long antennae lack these tubercles, and cerambycids with short antennae still possess them. They otherwise vary greatly in size, shape, sculpture, and coloration. A number of species mimic ants, bees, and wasps, though a majority of species are cryptically colored. The titan beetle (Titanus giganteus) from northeastern South America is often considered the largest insect (though not the heaviest, and not the longest including legs), with a maximum known body length of just over 16.7 cm (6.6 in).Larvae are 0.5–22 cm (0.20–8.66 in) long, elongate in shape and lightly sclerotised. The prothorax is often enlarged and the sides of the body have lateral swellings (ampullae). The head is usually retracted into the prothorax and bears well-sclerotised mouthparts. The legs range from moderately developed to absent. The spiracles are always annular.
+
+Biology
+Diet
+All known longhorn beetle larvae feed on plant tissue such as stems, trunks, or roots of both herbaceous and woody plants, often in injured or weak trees. A few species are serious pests. The larvae, called roundheaded borers, bore into wood, where they can cause extensive damage to either living trees or untreated lumber (or, occasionally, to wood in buildings; the old-house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus, is a particular problem indoors).
+It is known that many longhorns locate and recognize potential hosts by detecting chemical attractants, including monoterpenes (compounds released en masse by woody plants when stressed), ethanol (another compound emitted by damaged plant material), and even bark beetle pheromones. Many scolytinids share the cerambycid's niche of weakened or recently deceased trees; thus, by locating scolytinids, a suitable host can likely be located as well. The arrival of cerambycid larvae is often detrimental to a population of scolytinids, as the cerambycid larvae will typically either outcompete them with their greater size and mobility, or act as direct predators of them (this latter practice is less common, but has been observed in several species, notably Monochamus carolinensis). Cerambycids, in turn, have been found to play a role in attracting other wood-borers to a host. Borgemeister, et al. 1998, recorded that cerambycid activity in girdled twigs released volatiles attractive to some bostrichids, especially Prostephanus truncatus. A few cerambycids, such as Arhopalus sp., are adapted to take advantage of trees recently killed or injured by forest fires by detecting and pursuing smoke volatiles.
+
+Pollination
+In addition to feeding on other plant tissue, some species feed on pollen or nectar and may act as pollinators. Assessing the efficacy of beetle pollinators is difficult. Even if pollination of one species by beetles is shown, that same beetle may also act as a flower predator toward other species. In some cases, beetles may act as both pollinators and predators on the same flowers.Flowers specializing in pollination by beetles typically display a particular set of traits, but pollination by longhorn beetles is not limited to these cantharophilous flowers. A review of angiosperm pollination by beetles shows that Cerambycidae, along with Curculionidae and Scarabaeidae, contains many taxa that are pollinators for not only specialist but also generalist systems.Beetles in the New Zealand genus Zorion are known to feed on pollen and have a specialized structure similar to that of pollen baskets found in bees. Species in this genus are thought to be important pollinator species for native plants such as harakeke.Some orchid species have been found to be largely reliant on longhorn beetles for pollination. The species Alosterna tabacicolor was found to be the main pollinator of a rare orchid species (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) in Poland. Another rare orchid Disa forficaria, found in the Cape Floristic Region in South Africa, relies on the species Chorothyse hessei for pollination. D. forficaria uses sexual deception targeting male C. hessei, possibly indicating a long history of co-evolution with longhorn beetle pollinators.
+The proportion of longhorn beetle species that act as pollinators is unknown. The fact that two species of longhorn species from distinct subfamilies (Lepturinae and Cerambycinae) found on different continents both with significant roles as pollinators could suggest that some capacity for pollination may be common among longhorn beetles.
+
+Predators
+Parasitoids
+In North America some native cerambycids are the hosts of Ontsira mellipes (a parasitoid wasp in the family Braconidae). O. mellipes may be useful in controlling a forestry pest in this same family, Anoplophora glabripennis, that is invasive in North America.
+
+Classification
+As with many large families, different authorities have tended to recognize many different subfamilies, or sometimes split subfamilies off as separate families entirely (e.g., Disteniidae, Oxypeltidae, and Vesperidae); there is thus some instability and controversy regarding the constituency of the Cerambycidae. There are few truly defining features for the group as a whole, at least as adults, as there are occasional species or species groups which may lack any given feature; the family and its closest relatives, therefore, constitute a taxonomically difficult group, and relationships of the various lineages are still poorly understood. The oldest unambiguous fossils of the family are Cretoprionus and Sinopraecipuus from Yixian Formation of Inner Mongolia and Liaoning, China, dating to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 122 million years ago. The former genus was assigned to the subfamily Prioninae in its original description, while the latter could not be placed in any extant subfamily. Qitianniu from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar, dating to approximately 100 million years ago, also could not be placed in any extant subfamily.
+
+Subfamilies
+The eight subfamilies are:
+Cerambycinae Latreille, 1802
+Dorcasominae Lacordaire, 1869 (including former Apatophyseinae Lacordaire, 1869)
+Lamiinae Latreille, 1825
+Lepturinae Latreille, 1802
+Necydalinae Latreille, 1825
+Parandrinae Blanchard, 1845
+Prioninae Latreille, 1802
+Spondylidinae Audinet-Serville, 1832 (including former Aseminae Thomson, 1860)Most species (90.5%) are concentrated in the Cerambycinae and Lamiinae subfamilies.
+
+Notable genera and species
+Acrocinus longimanus – harlequin beetle, a large species where the male has very long front legs
+Anoplophora chinensis – citrus long-horned beetle, a major pest
+Anoplophora glabripennis – Asian long-horned beetle, an invasive pest species
+Aridaeus thoracicus – tiger longicorn (Australia)
+Cacosceles newmannii - Southern African longhorn beetle that is a surgacane pest
+Desmocerus californicus dimorphus – valley elderberry longhorn beetle, a threatened subspecies from California
+Moneilema – cactus longhorn beetles, which are flightless
+Onychocerus albitarsis – the only known beetle with a venomous sting
+Petrognatha gigas – giant African longhorn beetle
+Prionoplus reticularis – huhu beetle, the heaviest beetle in New Zealand
+Rosalia alpina – Rosalia longhorn beetle, a threatened European species
+Tetraopes tetrophthalmus – red milkweed beetle, a toxic species with aposematic colors
+Tetropium fuscum – brown spruce longhorn beetle, an invasive pest species
+Titanus giganteus – titan beetle, one of the largest beetles in the world
+Zorion guttigerum - flower long-horn beetle, an important pollinator species.
+
+See also
+List of longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) species recorded in Britain
+
+References
+Further reading
+Monné, Miguel A. & Hovore, Frank T. (2005) Electronic Checklist of the Cerambycidae of the Western Hemisphere. PDF Cerambycids.com
+
+External links
+
+Photo gallery "Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) of the West Palaearctic Region"
+[1] and [2] Catalogs of New World and Old World Cerambycidae, respectively
+Cerambycidae of French Guiana
+National Museu, Rio, Brazil Holotype images
+Iberodorcadion Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Dorcadion - RedIRIS
+VIDEOS - Longicornes (Dorcadion, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera) 
+Cerambycidae of Borneo pdf
+BugGuide.net - Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae)
+Anoplophora chinensis, citrus longhorned beetle on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
+Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, University of Florida, Dept. of Entomology and Nematology
+Wood-boring beetles of the World
+[3]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/lycaenid.txt b/data/animals/lycaenid.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c274fa9782967abd24c326404b5ed8455168d2e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/lycaenid.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.
+The family comprises seven subfamilies, including the blues (Polyommatinae), the coppers (Lycaeninae), the hairstreaks (Theclinae), and the harvesters (Miletinae).
+
+Description, food, and life cycle
+Adults are small, under 5 cm usually, and brightly coloured, sometimes with a metallic gloss. Lycaenidae wings are generally blue or green. More than half of these butterflies depend on ants in some way.Larvae are often flattened rather than cylindrical, with glands that may produce secretions that attract and subdue ants. Their cuticles tend to be thickened. Some larvae are capable of producing vibrations and low sounds that are transmitted through the substrates they inhabit. They use these sounds to communicate with ants.Adult individuals often have hairy antenna-like tails complete with black and white annulated (ringed) appearance. Many species also have a spot at the base of the tail and some turn around upon landing to confuse potential predators from recognizing the true head orientation. This causes predators to approach from the true head end resulting in early visual detection or to attack the false head ending up with a beak of dusty scales.Lycaenid caterpillars are diverse in their food habits and apart from phytophagy, some are entomophagous, feeding on aphids, scale insects, and ant larvae. Some lycaenids even exploit their association with ants by inducing ants to feed them by regurgitation, a process called trophallaxis. Not all lycaenid butterflies need ants, but about 75% of species associate with ants, a relationship called myrmecophily. These associations can be mutualistic, parasitic, or predatory depending on the species.
+In some species, larvae are attended and protected by ants while feeding on the host plant, and the ants receive sugar-rich honeydew from them, throughout the larval life, and in some species during the pupal stage. In other species, only the first few instars are spent on the plant, and the remainder of the larval lifespan is spent as a predator within the ant nest. It becomes a parasite, feeding on ant regurgitations, or a predator on the ant larvae. The caterpillars pupate inside the ants' nest and the ants continue to look after the pupae. Just before the adults emerge, the wings of the butterfly inside the pupal case detach from it, and the pupa becomes silvery. The adult butterfly emerges from the pupa after three to four weeks, still inside the ant nest. The butterfly must crawl out of the ant nest before it can expand its wings.
+Several evolutionary adaptations enable these associations, including small glands on the skin of the caterpillars called "pore cupola organs". Caterpillars of many species have a gland on the seventh abdominal segment that produces honeydew and is called the "dorsal nectary gland" (also called "Newcomer's gland"). An eversible organ called the "tentacular organ" is present on the eighth abdominal segment and this is cylindrical and topped with a ring of spikes and emits chemical signals which are believed to help in communicating with ants.
+
+Subfamilies
+Many taxonomists only include the Lycaeninae, Theclinae, Polyommatinae, Poritiinae, Miletinae, and Curetinae under the Lycaenidae.
+The Aphnaeinae, which used to be a tribe (Aphnaeini) within the Theclinae, were recently given subfamily rank too.
+Curetinae – sunbeams (Oriental or Palaearctic). Selected species:
+Curetis thetis – Indian sunbeam
+Miletinae – harvesters (mostly African, or Oriental, one Nearctic), probably all feed on aphids or their secretions. Selected species:
+Liphyra brassolis – moth butterfly (largest lycaenid)
+Poritiinae (Oriental and Afrotropical)
+Aphnaeinae (Afrotropical and Oriental)
+Theclinae – hairstreaks (usually tailed) and elfins (not tailed) (global). Selected species:
+Arhopala – oakblues
+Atlides halesus – great purple hairstreak
+Eumaeus atala – Atala
+Satyrium pruni – black hairstreak
+Lycaeninae – coppers (Holarctic). Selected species:
+Iophanus pyrrhias – Guatemalan copper
+Lycaena boldenarum – boulder copper
+Lycaena epixanthe – bog copper
+Lycaena rauparaha – Rauparaha's copper
+Lycaena dispar – large copper
+Lycaena phlaeas – small copper
+Lycaena heteronea – blue copper
+Polyommatinae – blues (global). Selected species:
+Celastrina ladon – spring azure
+Chilades – jewel blues
+Cupido comyntas – eastern tailed-blue
+Cupido minimus – small blue
+Cyaniris semiargus – mazarine blue
+Euphilotes battoides allyni – El Segundo blue
+Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana – Sand Mountain blue
+Glaucopsyche lygdamus – silvery blue
+Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis – Palos Verdes blue
+Glaucopsyche xerces (extinct) – Xerces blue
+Icaricia icarioides fenderi – Fender's blue
+Phengaris arion – large blue
+Polyommatus icarus – common blue
+Pseudozizeeria maha – pale grass blue
+Plebejus argus – silver-studded blue
+Talicada nyseus – red PierrotSome older classifications used to include other subfamilies such as Liphyrinae (now Liphyrini, a tribe within Miletinae), Lipteninae (now Liptenini, a tribe within Poritiinae), or Riodininae (now a separate family: Riodinidae).
+The fossil genus Lithodryas is usually (but not unequivocally) placed here; Lithopsyche is sometimes placed here, but sometimes in the Riodininae.
+
+See also
+List of lycaenid genera
+
+References
+Further reading
+Bridges, Charles A. (1994). Catalogue of the Family-Group, Genus-Group and Species-Group Names of the Riodinidae & Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) of the World. Urbana, Ill.
+Eliot, J. N. (1973). "The higher classification of the Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera): a tentative arrangement". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) (Entomology). 28: 371–505.
+Glassberg, Jeffrey (2001). Butterflies Through Binoculars, The West
+Guppy, Crispin S. & Shepard, Jon H. (2001). Butterflies of British Columbia
+James, David G. and Nunnallee, David (2011). Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies
+Pelham, Jonathan (2008). Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada
+Pyle, Robert Michael (2002). The Butterflies of Cascadia
+
+External links
+
+Tree of Life Web Project
+Bartlett, Troy (18 December 2017). "Family Lycaenidae – Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters". BugGuide. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
+"Family Lycaenidae". Insecta.pro.
+"Lycaenidae". National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
+"Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
+"Lycaenidae" at the Encyclopedia of Life
+Royal Museum for Central Africa Images of Lycaenidae [1]
+Butterflies and Moths of North America
+Butterflies of America
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/lynx.txt b/data/animals/lynx.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..64c3f3ae6eff955c7eaabf050c1de6370c52ed4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/lynx.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+A lynx (; pl.: lynx or lynxes) is any of the four species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild cat genus Lynx. The name originated in Middle English via Latin from the Greek word lynx (λύγξ), derived from the Indo-European root leuk- ("light", "brightness"), in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes.
+
+Appearance
+Lynx have a short tail, characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears, large, padded paws for walking on snow and long whiskers on the face. Under their neck, they have a ruff, which has black bars resembling a bow tie, although this is often not visible.
+Body colour varies from medium brown to goldish to beige-white, and is occasionally marked with dark brown spots, especially on the limbs. All species of lynx have white fur on their chests, bellies and on the insides of their legs, fur which is an extension of the chest and belly fur. The lynx's colouring, fur length and paw size vary according to the climate in their range. In the Southwestern United States, they are short-haired, dark in colour and their paws are smaller and less padded. As climates get colder and more northerly, lynx have progressively thicker fur, lighter colour, and their paws are larger and more padded to adapt to the snow. 
+The smallest species are the bobcat and the Canada lynx, while the largest is the Eurasian lynx, with considerable variations within species.
+
+Species
+The four living species of the genus Lynx are believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis, which lived in Europe and Africa during the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene. The Pliocene felid Felis rexroadensis from North America has been proposed as an even earlier ancestor; however, this was larger than any living species, and is not currently classified as a true lynx.
+
+Eurasian lynx
+Of the four lynx species, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is the largest in size. It is native to European, Central Asian, and Siberian forests. While its conservation status has been classified as "least concern", populations of Eurasian lynx have been reduced or extirpated from much of Europe, where it is now being reintroduced.
+During the summer, the Eurasian lynx has a relatively short, reddish or brown coat which is replaced by a much thicker silver-grey to greyish-brown coat during winter. The lynx hunts by stalking and jumping on its prey, helped by the rugged, forested country in which it resides. A favorite prey for the lynx in its woodland habitat is roe deer. It will feed however on whatever animal appears easiest, as it is an opportunistic predator much like its cousins.
+
+Canada lynx
+The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), or Canadian lynx, is a North American felid that ranges in forest and tundra regions across Canada and into Alaska, as well as some parts of the northern United States.  Historically, the Canadian lynx ranged from Alaska across Canada and into many of the northern U.S. states. In the eastern states, it resided in the transition zone in which boreal coniferous forests yielded to deciduous forests. By 2010, after an 11-year effort, it had been successfully reintroduced into Colorado, where it had become extirpated in the 1970s. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Canada lynx a threatened species in the lower 48 states.The Canada lynx is a good climber and swimmer; it constructs rough shelters under fallen trees or rock ledges. It has a thick coat and broad paws, and is twice as effective as the bobcat at supporting its weight on the snow. The Canada lynx feeds almost exclusively on snowshoe hares; its population is highly dependent on the population of this prey animal. It will also hunt medium-sized mammals and birds if hare numbers fall.
+
+Iberian lynx
+The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is an endangered species native to the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. It was the most endangered cat species in the world, but conservation efforts have changed its status from critical to endangered. According to the Portuguese conservation group SOS Lynx, if this species dies out, it will be the first feline extinction since the Smilodon 10,000 years ago. The species used to be classified as a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx, but is now considered a separate species. Both species occurred together in central Europe in the Pleistocene epoch, being separated by habitat choice. The Iberian lynx is believed to have evolved from Lynx issiodorensis.
+
+Bobcat
+The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a North American wild cat. With 13 recognized subspecies, the bobcat is common throughout southern Canada, the continental United States, and northern Mexico. Like the Eurasian lynx, its conservation status is "least concern." The bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits deciduous, coniferous, or mixed woodlands, but unlike other Lynx, does not depend exclusively on the deep forest, and ranges from swamps and desert lands to mountainous and agricultural areas, its spotted coat serving as camouflage. The population of the bobcat depends primarily on the population of its prey. Nonetheless, the bobcat is often killed by larger predators such as coyotes.The bobcat resembles other species of the genus Lynx, but is on average the smallest of the four. Its coat is variable, though generally tan to grayish brown, with black streaks on the body and dark bars on the forelegs and tail. The ears are black-tipped and pointed, with short, black tufts. There is generally an off-white color on the lips, chin, and underparts. Bobcats in the desert regions of the southwest have the lightest-colored coats, while those in the northern, forested regions have the darkest.
+
+Behavior and diet
+The lynx is usually solitary, although a small group of lynx may travel and hunt together occasionally. Mating takes place in the late winter and once a year the female gives birth to between one and four kittens. The gestation time of the lynx is about 70 days. The young stay with the mother for one more winter, a total of around nine months, before moving out to live on their own as young adults. The lynx creates its den in crevices or under ledges. It feeds on a wide range of animals from white-tailed deer, reindeer, roe deer, small red deer, and chamois, to smaller, more usual prey: snowshoe hares, fish, foxes, sheep, squirrels, mice, turkeys and other birds, and goats. It also eats ptarmigans, voles, and grouse.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The lynx inhabits high altitude forests with dense cover of shrubs, reeds, and tall grass. Although this cat hunts on the ground, it can climb trees and can swim swiftly, catching fish.
+
+Europe and Asia
+The Eurasian lynx ranges from central and northern Europe across Asia up to Northern Pakistan and India. In Iran, they live in Mount Damavand area. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Eurasian lynx was considered extinct in the wild in Slovenia and Croatia. A resettlement project, begun in 1973, has successfully reintroduced lynx to the Slovenian Alps and the Croatian regions of Gorski Kotar and Velebit, including Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park and Risnjak National Park. In both countries, the lynx is listed as an endangered species and protected by law. The lynx was distributed throughout Japan during Jōmon period; with no paleontological evidence thereafter suggesting extinction at that time.Several lynx resettlement projects begun in the 1970s have been successful in various regions of Switzerland. Since the 1990s, there have been numerous efforts to resettle the Eurasian lynx in Germany, and since  2000, a small population can now be found in the Harz mountains near Bad Lauterberg.
+The lynx is found in the Białowieża Forest in northeastern Poland, in Estonia and in the northern and western parts of China, particularly the Tibetan Plateau. In Romania, the numbers exceed 2,000, the largest population in Europe outside of Russia, although most experts consider the official population numbers to be overestimated.The lynx is more common in northern Europe, especially in Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, and the northern parts of Russia. The Swedish population is estimated to be 1200–1500 individuals, spread all over the country, but more common in middle Sweden and in the mountain range. The lynx population in Finland was 1900–2100 individuals in 2008, and the numbers have been increasing every year since 1992. The lynx population in Finland is estimated currently to be larger than ever before. Lynx in Britain were wiped out in the 17th century, but there have been calls to reintroduce them to curb the numbers of deer.The endangered Iberian lynx lives in southern Spain and formerly in eastern Portugal. There is an Iberian lynx reproduction center outside Silves in the Algarve in southern Portugal.
+
+North America
+The two Lynx species in North America, Canada lynx and bobcats, are both found in the temperate zone. While the bobcat is common throughout southern Canada, the continental United States and northern Mexico, the Canada lynx is present mainly in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska.
+
+See also
+Caracal, a small African cat with lynx-like ears
+Lynx (constellation)
+Lynx (mythology)
+Wildcat, a small predator native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa
+
+References
+External links
+ Data related to Lynx at Wikispecies
+ Media related to Lynx at Wikimedia Commons
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/malamute.txt b/data/animals/malamute.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2226bd8bea62c246ebedee65676229b1e5fb7773
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/malamute.txt
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+The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance, to haul heavy freight as a sled dog, and as a hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canadian Eskimo Dog, the Siberian Husky, and the Samoyed.
+
+Lineage
+Although it is believed that the first dogs arrived in the Americas 12,000 years ago, people and their dogs did not settle in the Arctic until the Paleo-Eskimo people 4,500 years ago, followed by the Thule people 1,000 years ago, with both originating from Siberia. Malamutes were thought to be bred by the Malimiut Inupiaq people of Alaska's Norton Sound region.The Malamute has been identified as a basal breed that predates the emergence of the modern breeds in the 19th century. A study in 2013 showed that the Alaskan Malamute has a similar east Asian origin to, but is not clearly related to, the Greenland Dog and the Canadian Eskimo Dog, but contains a possible admixture of the Siberian Husky.In 2015, a study using several genetic markers indicated that the Malamute, the Siberian Husky, and the Alaskan husky share a close genetic relationship between each other and were related to Chukotka sled-dogs from Siberia. They were separate from the two Inuit dogs, the Canadian Eskimo Dog and the Greenland Dog. In North America, the Malamute and the Siberian Husky both had maintained their Siberian lineage and had contributed significantly to the Alaskan husky, which showed evidence of crossing with European breeds that was consistent with this breed being created in post-colonial North America. DNA extracted from a 9,500-year-old dog, Zhokhov, named after the Siberian island, was found to have shared a common ancestor with the Greenland sledge dog, the Alaskan Malamute and the Siberian Husky.
+
+Appearance
+The American Kennel Club (AKC) breed standard describes a natural range of size, with a desired size of 23 inches (58 cm) tall and 75 pounds (34 kg) for females, 25 inches (64 cm) tall and 85 pounds (39 kg) for males. Heavier individuals (90 lb (41 kg)) and dogs smaller than 75 pounds (34 kg) are commonly seen. There is often a marked size difference between males and females. Weights upwards of 100 pounds (45 kg) are also seen.The coat of the Alaskan Malamute is a double coat. The undercoat has an oily and woolly texture and can be as thick as two inches. The outer guard coat is coarse and stands off the body longer at the withers but not more than one inch off the sides of the body. Ears are small in proportion to the head and stand firmly erect when at attention. The Alaskan Malamute is a heavy dog, with a more formidable nature and structure than the Siberian Husky, which is bred for speed. The Alaskan Malamute is bred for power and endurance, which is its original function and what the standard of the breed requires of Alaskan Malamute breeders.
+The usual colors are various shades of grey and white, sable and white, black and white, seal and white, red and white, or solid white. There are a wide range of markings in the breed including face markings, blazes, a splash at the nape of the neck, and a collar or half collar. White is often the predominant color on the body, parts of the legs, feet, and part of the markings of the face. In terms of color variants, some Malamutes exhibit a dark grey to buff-colored undertone around their trimmings and white areas, presenting with a color-linked gene known as Agouti. Two agouti alleles, with the possibility of a third, appear to be found in Malamutes: aw (Agouti Pattern or Wolf/Wild Pattern), at (Tan Point Pattern or Black Pattern), and awat (Heterozygous Agouti or Dark Agouti).
+The eyes of the Alaskan Malamute are almond-shaped and are varied shades of brown; however, the darker eye is preferred. Purebred Alaskan Malamutes will not have blue eyes. The physical build of the Malamute is compact and strong with substance, bone and snowshoe feet.
+According to the AKC breed standard, the Malamute's tail is well furred and is carried over the back like a waving plume. Corkscrew tails are occasionally seen but are faulted in the AKC breed standard (a corkscrew tail is commonly seen in the Akita). The Malamutes well-furred tails aid in keeping them warm when they curl up in the snow. They are often seen wrapping the tail around their nose and face, which presumably helps protect them against harsh weather such as blowing snow. Their ears are generally upright, wedge-shaped, small in proportion to the head and set to the side of the skull. The muzzle is deep and broad, tapering slightly from the skull to the nose. Nose and gums are black but some Malamutes have a snow nose, which is black with a pink undertone that can get darker or lighter, depending on the season.
+
+Temperament
+Alaskan Malamutes are still in use as sled dogs for personal travel, hauling freight, or helping move light objects; some, however, are used for the recreational pursuit of sledding, also known as mushing, as well as for skijoring, bikejoring, carting, and canicross. However, most Malamutes today are kept as family pets or as show or performance dogs in weight pulling, dog agility, or packing. Malamutes are generally slower in long-distance dog sled racing against smaller and faster breeds, so their working usefulness is limited to freighting or traveling over long distances at a far slower rate than required for racing. They can also help move heavy objects over shorter distances. An adult male Alaskan Malamute can pull around 500–1,500 kilograms (1,100–3,300 lb) of weight, depending on build and training.Malamutes, like other Northern and sled dog breeds, can have a high prey drive, due to their origins and breeding. This may mean that in some cases they will chase smaller animals, including other canines, as well as rabbits, squirrels, and cats. While Malamutes are, as a general rule, particularly amicable around people and can be taught to tolerate smaller pets, it is necessary to be mindful of them around smaller animals and small children.
+Malamutes are very fond of people, a trait that makes them particularly sought-after family dogs, but unreliable watchdogs as they do not tend to bark. Malamutes are nimble around furniture and smaller items, making them ideal house dogs, provided they get plenty of time outdoors meeting their considerable exercise requirements. Alaskan Malamutes also often participate in animal therapy programs, like visiting patients in hospitals, due to their soft nature. If they are year-round outdoor dogs, letting them play in a baby pool filled with cold water in summer keeps them cool. In the winter, they prefer snow.
+Malamutes are usually quiet dogs, seldom barking. When a Malamute does vocalize, it often appears to be "talking" by vocalizing a "woo woo" sound. A similar-looking Spitz dog, the Siberian Husky, is much more vocal.
+
+Health
+There is only one known health survey of Alaskan Malamutes, a 2004 UK Kennel Club survey with a small sample size of 14 dogs. The median lifespan of 10.7 years measured in that survey is typical of a breed their size; however, this study had a sample size too small to be considered reliable, and much anecdotal evidence suggests they have on average one of the longest lifespans of large dogs, up to 15 years. The major cause of death was cancer (36%).The most commonly reported health problems of Alaskan Malamutes, in the 2004 UK Kennel Club survey (based on a sample size of 64 dogs) were musculoskeletal (hip dysplasia), and hereditary cataracts. There are additional health issues in the breed, the origins of which are unknown, including seizure disorders, found in young puppies as well as adults, epilepsy, congenital heart problems, kidney problems and skin disorders.Other health issues in Malamutes include elbow dysplasia, inherited polyneuropathy, osteochondrodysplasia, cerebellar hypoplasia, heart defects, and eye problems (particularly cataract and progressive retinal atrophy). A growing problem among arctic dog breeds, including the Alaskan Malamute, but especially their cousin, the Samoyed, is canine diabetes, with onset occurring typically in middle age (5 to 7 years).Another health issue with Malamutes is zinc deficiency. This breed cannot easily absorb zinc, and infections, skin, and coat problems can arise.Thyroid disorders are the most common hormonal issue in dogs, and hypothyroidism is common in Malamutes.
+
+History
+The Alaskan Malamute had a prominent role with their human companions as a utilitarian dog, working, hunting, and living alongside humans. The dogs were renowned for their excellent hunting abilities and were used to hunt large predators such as bears. They also aided their owners in finding seals by alerting them to seal blowholes. The interdependent relationship between the Malamute and their dogs fostered prosperity among both and enabled them to flourish in the inhospitable land above the Arctic Circle.For a brief period during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896, the Malamute and other sled dogs became extremely valuable to recently landed prospectors and settlers and were frequently crossbred with imported breeds.
+
+The Malamute dog has had a distinguished history; aiding Rear Admiral Richard Byrd to the South Pole, and the miners who came to Alaska during the Gold Rush of 1896, as well as serving in World War II primarily as search and rescue dogs in Greenland, although also used as freighting and packing dogs in Europe. This dog was never destined to be a racing sled dog; it was used for heavy freighting, pulling hundreds, perhaps thousands of pounds of supplies to villages and camps in groups of at least four dogs for heavy loads.The University of Washington's Husky mascot is an Alaskan Malamute.In 2010 the Alaskan Malamute was named the official state dog of Alaska.Lathrop High School in Fairbanks, Alaska uses a Malamute as its official mascot.
+
+Research
+In 2018, researchers at the University of Washington recorded the behavior of an Alaskan Malamute by attaching sensors to its paws, torso and tail, allowing them to capture its normal movements. The data was entered into a machine learning system with the aim of predicting the dog's behavior in various situations. The predictive ability of the software was only limited to short time frames, but it was able to identify "walkable" surfaces after observing the dog walk on, or avoid, certain surfaces.
+
+See also
+Alaska portal
+Dogs portal
+Chukotka Sled-Dog
+Alaskan Husky
+List of dog breeds
+Sled dogs
+
+Footnotes
+External links
+
+Alaskan Malamute at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/mantis.txt b/data/animals/mantis.txt
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+Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.
+The closest relatives of mantises are termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other more distantly related insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies (Mantispidae). Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation.
+Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, and Assyria. A cultural trope popular in cartoons imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Over 2,400 species of mantis in about 430 genera are recognized. They are predominantly found in tropical regions, but some live in temperate areas. The systematics of mantises have long been disputed. Mantises, along with stick insects (Phasmatodea), were once placed in the order Orthoptera with the cockroaches (now Blattodea) and ice crawlers (now Grylloblattodea). Kristensen (1991) combined the Mantodea with the cockroaches and termites into the order Dictyoptera, suborder Mantodea. The name mantodea is formed from the Ancient Greek words μάντις (mantis) meaning "prophet", and εἶδος (eidos) meaning "form" or "type". It was coined in 1838 by the German entomologist Hermann Burmeister. The order is occasionally called the mantes, using a Latinized plural of Greek mantis. The name mantid properly refers only to members of the family Mantidae, which was, historically, the only family in the order. The other common name, praying mantis, applied to any species in the order (though in Europe mainly to Mantis religiosa), comes from the typical "prayer-like" posture with folded forelimbs. The vernacular plural "mantises" (used in this article) was confined largely to the US, with "mantids" predominantly used as the plural in the UK and elsewhere, until the family Mantidae was further split in 2002.
+
+Phylogeny
+One of the earliest classifications splitting an all-inclusive Mantidae into multiple families was that proposed by Beier in 1968, recognizing eight families, though it was not until Ehrmann's reclassification into 15 families in 2002 that a multiple-family classification became universally adopted. Klass, in 1997, studied the external male genitalia and postulated that the families Chaeteessidae and Metallyticidae diverged from the other families at an early date. However, as previously configured, the Mantidae and Thespidae especially were considered polyphyletic, so the Mantodea have been revised substantially as of 2019 and now includes 29 families.
+
+Fossil mantises
+Mantises are thought to have evolved from cockroach-like ancestors. The earliest confidently identified mantis fossils date to the Early Cretaceous. Fossils of the group are rare: by 2022, 37 fossil species are known. Fossil mantises, including one from Japan with spines on the front legs as in modern mantises, have been found in Cretaceous amber. Most fossils in amber are nymphs; compression fossils (in rock) include adults. Fossil mantises from the Crato Formation in Brazil include the 10 mm (0.39 in) long Santanmantis axelrodi, described in 2003; as in modern mantises, the front legs were adapted for catching prey. Well-preserved specimens yield details as small as 5 μm through X-ray computed tomography.  Extinct families and genera include:
+
+Similar insects in the Neuroptera
+Because of the superficially similar raptorial forelegs, mantidflies may be confused with mantises, though they are unrelated. Their similarity is an example of convergent evolution; mantidflies do not have tegmina (leathery forewings) like mantises, their antennae are shorter and less thread-like, and the raptorial tibia is more muscular than that of a similar-sized mantis and bends back farther in preparation for shooting out to grasp prey. Another example of confusion caused by convergent evolution is Titanoptera, an order of insect that lived in the Triassic period and also shared the Raptorial forelegs of a mantis.
+
+Biology
+Anatomy
+Mantises have large, triangular heads with a beak-like snout and mandibles. They have two bulbous compound eyes, three small simple eyes, and a pair of antennae. The articulation of the neck is also remarkably flexible; some species of mantis can rotate their heads nearly 180°. 
+The mantis thorax consists of a prothorax, a mesothorax, and a metathorax. In all species apart from the genus Mantoida, the prothorax, which bears the head and forelegs, is much longer than the other two thoracic segments. The prothorax is also flexibly articulated, allowing for a wide range of movements of the head and fore limbs while the remainder of the body remains more or less immobile. Mantises also are unique to the Dictyoptera in that they have tympanate hearing, with two tympana in an auditory chamber in their metathorax. Most mantises can only hear ultrasound.Mantises have two spiked, grasping forelegs ("raptorial legs") in which prey items are caught and held securely. In most insect legs, including the posterior four legs of a mantis, the coxa and trochanter combine as an inconspicuous base of the leg; in the raptorial legs, however, the coxa and trochanter combine to form a segment about as long as the femur, which is a spiky part of the grasping apparatus (see illustration). Located at the base of the femur is a set of discoidal spines, usually four in number, but ranging from none to as many as five depending on the species. These spines are preceded by a number of tooth-like tubercles, which, along with a similar series of tubercles along the tibia and the apical claw near its tip, give the foreleg of the mantis its grasp on its prey. The foreleg ends in a delicate tarsus used as a walking appendage, made of four or five segments and ending in a two-toed claw with no arolium.Mantises can be loosely categorized as being macropterous (long-winged), brachypterous (short-winged), micropterous (vestigial-winged), or apterous (wingless). If not wingless, a mantis has two sets of wings: the outer wings, or tegmina, are usually narrow and leathery. They function as camouflage and as a shield for the hindwings, which are clearer and more delicate.
+The abdomen of all mantises consists of 10 tergites, with a corresponding set of nine sternites visible in males and seven visible in females. The abdomen tends to be slimmer in males than females, but ends in a pair of cerci in both sexes.
+
+Vision
+Mantises have stereo vision. They locate their prey by sight; their compound eyes contain up to 10,000 ommatidia. A small area at the front called the fovea has greater visual acuity than the rest of the eye, and can produce the high resolution necessary to examine potential prey. The peripheral ommatidia are concerned with perceiving motion; when a moving object is noticed, the head is rapidly rotated to bring the object into the visual field of the fovea. Further motions of the prey are then tracked by movements of the mantis's head so as to keep the image centered on the fovea. The eyes are widely spaced and laterally situated, affording a wide binocular field of vision and precise stereoscopic vision at close range. The dark spot on each eye that moves as it rotates its head is a pseudopupil. This occurs because the ommatidia that are viewed "head-on" absorb the incident light, while those to the side reflect it.As their hunting relies heavily on vision, mantises are primarily diurnal. Many species, however, fly at night, and then may be attracted to artificial lights. Mantises in the family Liturgusidae collected at night have been shown to be predominately males; this is probably true for most mantises. Nocturnal flight is especially important to males in locating less-mobile females by detecting their pheromones. Flying at night exposes mantises to fewer bird predators than diurnal flight would. Many mantises also have an auditory thoracic organ that helps them avoid bats by detecting their echolocation calls and responding evasively.
+
+Diet and hunting
+Mantises are generalist predators of arthropods. The majority of mantises are ambush predators that only feed upon live prey within their reach. They either camouflage themselves and remain stationary, waiting for prey to approach, or stalk their prey with slow, stealthy movements. Larger mantises sometimes eat smaller individuals of their own species, as well as small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs, fish, and particularly small birds.Most mantises stalk tempting prey if it strays close enough, and will go further when they are especially hungry. Once within reach, mantises strike rapidly to grasp the prey with their spiked raptorial forelegs. Some ground and bark species pursue their prey in a more active way. For example, members of a few genera such as the ground mantises Entella, Ligaria, and Ligariella run over dry ground seeking prey, much as tiger beetles do.The fore gut of some species extends the whole length of the insect and can be used to store prey for digestion later. This may be advantageous in an insect that feeds intermittently. Chinese mantises live longer, grow faster, and produce more young when they are able to eat pollen.
+
+Antipredator adaptations
+Mantises are preyed on by vertebrates such as frogs, lizards, and birds, and by invertebrates such as spiders, large species of hornets, and ants. Some hunting wasps, such as some species of Tachytes also paralyze some species of mantis to feed their young. Generally, mantises protect themselves by camouflage, most species being cryptically colored to resemble foliage or other backgrounds, both to avoid predators and to better snare their prey. Those that live on uniformly colored surfaces such as bare earth or tree bark are dorsoventrally flattened so as to eliminate shadows that might reveal their presence. The species from different families called flower mantises are aggressive mimics: they resemble flowers convincingly enough to attract prey that come to collect pollen and nectar. Some species in Africa and Australia are able to turn black after a molt towards the end of the dry season; at this time of year, bush fires occur and this coloration enables them to blend in with the fire-ravaged landscape (fire melanism).
+When directly threatened, many mantis species stand tall and spread their forelegs, with their wings fanning out wide. The fanning of the wings makes the mantis seem larger and more threatening, with some species enhancing this effect with bright colors and patterns on their hindwings and inner surfaces of their front legs. If harassment persists, a mantis may strike with its forelegs and attempt to pinch or bite. As part of the bluffing (deimatic) threat display, some species may also produce a hissing sound by expelling air from the abdominal spiracles. Mantises lack chemical protection, so their displays are largely bluff. When flying at night, at least some mantises are able to detect the echolocation sounds produced by bats; when the frequency begins to increase rapidly, indicating an approaching bat, they stop flying horizontally and begin a descending spiral toward the safety of the ground, often preceded by an aerial loop or spin. If caught, they may slash captors with their raptorial legs.Mantises, like stick insects, show rocking behavior in which the insect makes rhythmic, repetitive side-to-side movements. Functions proposed for this behavior include the enhancement of crypsis by means of the resemblance to vegetation moving in the wind. However, the repetitive swaying movements may be most important in allowing the insects to discriminate objects from the background by their relative movement, a visual mechanism typical of animals with simpler sight systems. Rocking movements by these generally sedentary insects may replace flying or running as a source of relative motion of objects in the visual field. As ants may be predators of mantises, genera such as Loxomantis, Orthodera, and Statilia, like many other arthropods, avoid attacking them. Exploiting this behavior, a variety of arthropods, including some early-instar mantises, mimic ants to evade their predators.
+
+Reproduction and life history
+The mating season in temperate climates typically takes place in autumn, while in tropical areas, mating can occur at any time of the year. To mate following courtship, the male usually leaps onto the female's back, clasping her thorax and wing bases with his forelegs. He then arches his abdomen to deposit and store sperm in a special chamber near the tip of the female's abdomen. The female lays between 10 and 400 eggs, depending on the species. Eggs are typically deposited in a froth mass-produced by glands in the abdomen. This froth hardens, creating a protective capsule, which together with the egg mass is called an ootheca. Depending on the species, the ootheca can be attached to a flat surface, wrapped around a plant, or even deposited in the ground. Despite the versatility and durability of the eggs, they are often preyed on, especially by several species of parasitoid wasps. In a few species, mostly ground and bark mantises in the family Tarachodidae, the mother guards the eggs. The cryptic Tarachodes maurus positions herself on bark with her abdomen covering her egg capsule, ambushing passing prey and moving very little until the eggs hatch. An unusual reproductive strategy is adopted by Brunner's stick mantis from the southern United States; no males have ever been found in this species, and the females breed parthenogenetically. The ability to reproduce by parthenogenesis has been recorded in at least two other species, Sphodromantis viridis and Miomantis sp., although these species usually reproduce sexually. In temperate climates, adults do not survive the winter and the eggs undergo a diapause, hatching in the spring.As in closely related insect groups in the superorder Dictyoptera, mantises go through three life stages: egg, nymph, and adult (mantises are among the hemimetabolous insects). For smaller species, the eggs may hatch in 3–4 weeks as opposed to 4–6 weeks for larger species. The nymphs may be colored differently from the adult, and the early stages are often mimics of ants. A mantis nymph grows bigger as it molts its exoskeleton. Molting can happen five to 10 times before the adult stage is reached, depending on the species. After the final molt, most species have wings, though some species remain wingless or brachypterous ("short-winged"), particularly in the female sex. The lifespan of a mantis depends on the species; smaller ones may live 4–8 weeks, while larger species may live 4–6 months.
+
+Sexual cannibalism
+Sexual cannibalism is common among most predatory species of mantises in captivity. It has sometimes been observed in natural populations, where about a quarter of male–female encounters result in the male being eaten by the female. Around 90% of the predatory species of mantises exhibit sexual cannibalism. Adult males typically outnumber females at first, but their numbers may be fairly equivalent later in the adult stage, possibly because females selectively eat the smaller males. In Tenodera sinensis, 83% of males escape cannibalism after an encounter with a female, but since multiple matings occur, the probability of a male's being eaten increases cumulatively.The female may begin feeding by biting off the male's head (as they do with regular prey), and if mating has begun, the male's movements may become even more vigorous in its delivery of sperm. Early researchers thought that because copulatory movement is controlled by a ganglion in the abdomen, not the head, removal of the male's head was a reproductive strategy by females to enhance fertilization while obtaining sustenance. Later, this behavior appeared to be an artifact of intrusive laboratory observation. Whether the behavior is natural in the field or also the result of distractions caused by the human observer remains controversial. Mantises are highly visual organisms and notice any disturbance in the laboratory or field, such as bright lights or moving scientists. Chinese mantises that had been fed ad libitum (so that they were not hungry) actually displayed elaborate courtship behavior when left undisturbed. The male engages the female in a courtship dance, to change her interest from feeding to mating. Under such circumstances, the female has been known to respond with a defensive deimatic display by flashing the colored eyespots on the inside of her front legs.The reason for sexual cannibalism has been debated; experiments show that females on poor diets are likelier to engage in sexual cannibalism than those on good diets. Some hypothesize that submissive males gain a selective advantage by producing offspring; this is supported by a quantifiable increase in the duration of copulation among males which are cannibalized, in some cases doubling both the duration and the chance of fertilization. This is contrasted by a study where males were seen to approach hungry females with more caution, and were shown to remain mounted on hungry females for a longer time, indicating that males that actively avoid cannibalism may mate with multiple females. The same study also found that hungry females generally attracted fewer males than those that were well fed. The act of dismounting after copulation is dangerous for males, for it is the time that females most frequently cannibalize their mates. An increase in mounting duration appears to indicate that males wait for an opportune time to dismount a hungry female, who would be likely to cannibalize her mate. Experiments have revealed that the sex ratio in an environment determines male copulatory behavior of Mantis religiosa which in turn affects the cannibalistic tendencies of the female and support the sperm competition hypothesis because the polyandrous treatment recorded the highest copulation duration time and lowest cannibalism. This further suggests that dismounting the female can make males susceptible to cannibalism.
+
+Relationship with humans
+In culture, literature and art
+One of the earliest mantis references is in the ancient Chinese dictionary Erya, which gives its attributes in poetry, where it represents courage and fearlessness, and a brief description. A later text, the Jingshi Zhenglei Daguan Bencao  ("Great History of Medical Material Annotated and Arranged by Types, Based upon the Classics and Historical Works") from 1108, gives accurate details of the construction of the egg packages, the development cycle, anatomy, and the function of the antennae.
+Although mantises are rarely mentioned in Ancient Greek sources, a female mantis in threat posture is accurately illustrated on a series of fifth-century BC silver coins, including didrachms, from Metapontum in Lucania.
+In the 10th century AD, Byzantine era Adages, Suidas describes an insect resembling a slow-moving green locust with long front legs. He translates Zenobius 2.94 with the words seriphos (maybe a mantis) and graus, an old woman, implying a thin, dried-up stick of a body.Mantises are a common motif in Luna Polychrome ceramics of pre-Columbian Nicaragua, and are believed to represent a deity or spirit called "Madre Culebra".Western descriptions of the biology and morphology of the mantises became more accurate in the 18th century. Roesel von Rosenhof illustrated and described mantises and their cannibalistic behavior in the Insekten-Belustigungen (Insect Entertainments).
+In the early 1900s, people in the United States Ozarks region referred to them as Devil's horses.Aldous Huxley made philosophical observations about the nature of death while two mantises mated in the sight of two characters in his 1962 novel Island (the species was Gongylus gongylodes). The naturalist Gerald Durrell's humorously autobiographical 1956 book My Family and Other Animals includes a four-page account of an almost evenly matched battle between a mantis and a gecko. Shortly before the fatal dénouement, Durrell narrates:
+
+he [Geronimo the gecko] crashed into the mantis and made her reel, and grabbed the underside of her thorax in his jaws. Cicely [the mantis] retaliated by snapping both her front legs shut on Geronimo's hindlegs. They rustled and staggered across the ceiling and down the wall, each seeking to gain some advantage.
+M. C. Escher's woodcut Dream depicts a human-sized mantis standing on a sleeping bishop.A cultural trope imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. The idea is propagated in cartoons by Cable, Guy and Rodd, LeLievre, T. McCracken, and Mark Parisi, among others. It ends Isabella Rossellini's short film about the life of a praying mantis in her 2008 Green Porno season for the Sundance Channel.The Deadly Mantis is a 1957 American science fiction monster film, with a giant mantis threatening mankind.
+
+Martial arts
+Two martial arts separately developed in China have movements and fighting strategies based on those of the mantis. As one of these arts was developed in northern China, and the other in southern parts of the country, the arts are today referred to (both in English and Chinese) as 'Northern Praying Mantis' and 'Southern Praying Mantis'. Both are very popular in China, and have also been exported to the West in recent decades.
+
+In mythology and religion
+According to local beliefs in Africa, this insect brings good luck. The mantis was revered by the southern African Khoi and San in whose cultures man and nature were intertwined; for its praying posture, the mantis was even named Hottentotsgot ("god of the Hottentots") in the Afrikaans language that had developed among the first European settlers. However, at least for the San, the mantis was only one of the manifestations of a trickster-deity, ǀKaggen, who could assume many other forms, such as a snake, hare or vulture. Several ancient civilizations did consider the insect to have supernatural powers; for the Greeks, it had the ability to show lost travelers the way home; in the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the "bird-fly" is a minor god that leads the souls of the dead to the underworld; in a list of 9th-century BC Nineveh grasshoppers (buru), the mantis is named necromancer (buru-enmeli) and soothsayer (buru-enmeli-ashaga). Some pre-Columbian cultures in western Nicaragua have preserved oral traditions of the mantis as "Madre Culebra", a powerful predator and symbol of female symbolic authority.
+
+As pets
+Mantises are among the insects most widely kept as pets. Because the lifespan of a mantis is only about a year, people who want to keep mantises often breed them. In 2013 at least 31 species were kept and bred in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. In 1996 at least 50 species were known to be kept in captivity by members of the Mantis Study Group. The Independent described the "giant Asian praying mantis" as "part stick insect with a touch of Buddhist monk".
+
+For pest control
+Naturally occurring mantis populations provide plant pest control. Gardeners who prefer to avoid pesticides may encourage mantises in the hope of controlling insect pests. However, mantises do not have key attributes of biological pest control agents; they do not specialize in a single pest insect, and do not multiply rapidly in response to an increase in such a prey species, but are general predators. They therefore have "negligible value" in biological control.Two species, the Chinese mantis and the European mantis, were deliberately introduced to North America in the hope that they would serve as pest controls for agriculture; they have spread widely in both the United States and Canada.
+
+Mantis-like robot
+A prototype robot inspired by the forelegs of the praying mantis has front legs that allow the robot to walk, climb steps, and grasp objects. The multi-jointed leg provides dexterity via a rotatable joint. Future models may include a more spiked foreleg to improve the grip and ability to support more weight.
+
+See also
+List of Orthopteroid genera containing species recorded in Europe
+
+References
+External links
+
+Mantis Study Group – Information on mantises, phylogenetics and evolution.
+Mantodea Species File
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diff --git a/data/animals/meerkat.txt b/data/animals/meerkat.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/meerkat.txt
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+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 24–35 cm (9.4–13.8 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.
+Meerkats 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—generally 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.
+They live in rock crevices in stony, often calcareous areas, and in large burrow systems in plains. 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.
+Meerkats 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.
+Commonly living in arid, open habitats with little woody vegetation, meerkats occur in southwestern Botswana, western and southern Namibia, and 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. Meerkats are widely depicted in television, movies and other media.
+
+Etymology
+The 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: मर्कट (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.
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1776, Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber described a meerkat from the Cape of Good Hope, giving it the scientific name Viverra suricatta. The generic name Suricata was proposed by Anselme Gaëtan 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:
+S. s. suricatta (Schreber, 1776) occurs in southern Namibia, southern Botswana, and South Africa.
+S. s. majoriae Bradfield, 1936 occurs in central and northwestern Namibia.
+S. s. iona Crawford-Cabral, 1971 occurs in southwestern Angola.
+
+Phylogeny and evolution
+Meerkat 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 suggests it split into two lineages around the Early Miocene (25.4–18.2 mya)—eusocial 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). 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 22.6–15.6 mya. The phylogenetic relationships of the meerkat are depicted as follows:
+
+Characteristics
+The 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 24–35 cm (9.4–13.8 in), and the weight has been recorded to be between 0.62–0.97 kg (1.4–2.1 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. These hairs are typically between 1.5 and 2 cm (0.59 and 0.79 in), but measure 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 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—the 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. 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 °C (100.9 °F) during the day and 36.3 °C (97.3 °F) at night. As the body temperature falls below the thermoneutral zone, determined to be 30–32.5 °C (86.0–90.5 °F), 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.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+The 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—typically 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. 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. 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.
+
+Social behaviour
+Encounters 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. 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.
+
+Burrowing
+Meerkat 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. 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. Temperatures inside burrows typically vary between 21 and 39 °C (70 and 102 °F) in summer and −4 and 26 °C (25 and 79 °F) in winter; temperatures at greater depths vary to a much lesser extent, with summer temperatures around 22.6 to 23.2 °C (72.7 to 73.8 °F) and winter temperatures around 10 to 10.8 °C (50.0 to 51.4 °F). 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. 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.
+
+Vocalisations
+Meerkats 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. 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. 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.
+
+Diet
+The 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. 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.
+
+Reproduction
+Meerkats 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. 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. 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. 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.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The 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).
+
+Threats and conservation
+The 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.
+
+In culture
+Meerkats are generally tame animals. 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 (2005–2008), 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. Meerkats populated an acidic floating island in the 2012 film Life of Pi.
+
+See also
+The Meerkats, a 2008 documentary feature film
+Compare the Meerkat
+Eusociality
+
+References
+Further reading
+Macdonald, D. (1999). Meerkats. London: New Holland Publishers.
+Ross-Gillespie, A.; Griffin, A. S. (2007). "Meerkats" (PDF). Current Biology. 17 (12): R442–R443. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.045. PMID 17580068.
+Clutton-Brock, T.; Manser, M. Meerkats of the Kalahari: Expedition briefing (PDF) (Report). University of Cambridge. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2007.
+Candea, M. (2010). ""I fell in love with Carlos the meerkat": Engagement and detachment in human-animal relations". American Ethnologist. 37 (2): 241–258. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2010.01253.x.
+
+External links
+
+"Meerkat". Animal Diversity, University of Michigan.
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+A monarch is a head of state for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Usually a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as the throne or the crown) or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may proclaim oneself monarch, which may be backed and legitimated through acclamation, right of conquest or a combination of means.
+If a young child is crowned the monarch, then a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. Monarchs' actual powers vary from one monarchy to another and in different eras; on one extreme, they may be autocrats (absolute monarchy) wielding genuine sovereignty; on the other they may be ceremonial heads of state who exercise little or no direct power or only reserve powers, with actual authority vested in a parliament or other body (constitutional monarchy).
+A monarch can reign in multiple monarchies simultaneously. For example, the 15 Commonwealth realms are all separate  sovereign states, but share the same monarch through personal union.
+
+Characteristics
+Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles – king or queen, prince or princess (e.g., Sovereign Prince of Monaco), emperor or empress (e.g., Emperor of China, Emperor of Ethiopia, Emperor of Japan, Emperor of India), archduke, duke or grand duke (e.g., Grand Duke of Luxembourg), emir (e.g., Emir of Qatar), sultan (e.g., Sultan of Oman), or pharaoh.
+Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is generally (but not always) associated with hereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal family (whose rule over a period of time is referred to as a dynasty) and trained for future duties. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood (male preference or absolute), primogeniture, agnatic seniority, Salic law, etc. While traditionally most monarchs have been male, female monarchs have also ruled, and the term queen regnant refers to a ruling monarch, as distinct from a queen consort, the wife of a reigning king.
+Some monarchies are non-hereditary. In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected but otherwise serves as any other monarch. Historical examples of elective monarchy include the Holy Roman Emperors (chosen by prince-electors, but often coming from the same dynasty) and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Modern examples include the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (lit. "He Who is Made Lord') of Malaysia, who is appointed by the Conference of Rulers every five years or after the king's death, and the pope of the Roman Catholic Church, who serves as sovereign of the Vatican City State and is elected to a life term by the College of Cardinals.
+In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become republics. Advocacy of government by a republic is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is called monarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the immediate continuity of national leadership, as illustrated in the classic phrase "The [old] King is dead. Long live the [new] King!". In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure (e.g., most modern constitutional monarchies), real leadership does not depend on the monarch.
+A form of government may, in fact, be hereditary without being considered a monarchy, such as a family dictatorship.
+
+Classification
+Monarchies take a wide variety of forms, such as the two co-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic bishop of Urgel (Spain) and the elected president of France (although strictly Andorra is a diarchy). Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time.
+
+Succession
+Hereditary succession within one patrilineal family has been most common (but see the Rain Queen), with a preference for children over siblings, and sons over daughters. In Europe, some peoples practiced equal division of land and regalian rights among sons or brothers, as in the Germanic states of the Holy Roman Empire, until after the medieval era and sometimes (e.g., Ernestine duchies) into the 19th century. Other European realms practiced one or another form of primogeniture, in which a lord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, his daughters or sons of daughters.
+The system of tanistry practiced among Celtic tribes was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit.The Salic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the House of Savoy, stipulated that only men could inherit the crown. In most fiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the patrilineage, a female of the family could succeed (semi-Salic law). In most realms, daughters and sisters were eligible to succeed a ruling kinsman before more distant male relatives (male-preference primogeniture), but sometimes the husband of the heiress became the ruler, and most often also received the title, jure uxoris. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture. In more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic.
+As the average life span increased, the eldest son was more likely to reach majority age before the death of his father, and primogeniture became increasingly favored over proximity, tanistry, seniority, and election.
+In 1980, Sweden became the first monarchy to declare equal primogeniture, absolute primogeniture or full cognatic primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne. Other nations have since adopted this practice: Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, Belgium in 1991, Denmark in 2009, and Luxembourg in 2011. The United Kingdom adopted absolute (equal) primogeniture on April 25, 2013, following agreement by the prime ministers of the sixteen Commonwealth Realms at the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.In some monarchies, such as Saudi Arabia, succession to the throne usually first passes to the monarch's next eldest brother and so on through his other brothers, and only after them to the monarch's children (agnatic seniority). In some other monarchies (e.g., Jordan), the monarch chooses who will be his successor within the royal family, who need not necessarily be his eldest son.
+Whatever the rules of succession, there have been many cases of a monarch being overthrown and replaced by a usurper who would often install his own family on the throne.
+
+History
+Monarchs in Africa
+A series of pharaohs ruled Ancient Egypt over the course of three millennia (c. 3150 BC to 31 BC) until it was conquered by the Roman Empire. In the same time period several kingdoms flourished in the nearby Nubia region, with at least one of them, that of the so-called A-Group culture, apparently influencing the customs of Egypt itself. From the 6th to 19th centuries, Egypt was variously part of the Byzantine Empire, Islamic Empire, Mamluk Sultanate, Ottoman Empire and British Empire with a distant monarch. The Sultanate of Egypt was a short-lived protectorate of the United Kingdom from 1914 until 1922 when it became the Kingdom of Egypt and Sultan Fuad I changed his title to King. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the monarchy was dissolved and Egypt became a republic.
+West Africa hosted the Kanem Empire (700–1376) and its successor, the Bornu principality which survives to the present day as one of the traditional states of Nigeria.
+
+In the Horn of Africa, the Kingdom of Aksum and later the Zagwe dynasty, Ethiopian Empire (1270–1974), and Aussa Sultanate were ruled by a series of monarchs. Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia, was deposed in a communist coup. Various Somali Sultanates also existed, including the Adal Sultanate (led by the Walashma dynasty of the Ifat Sultanate), Sultanate of Mogadishu, Ajuran Sultanate, Warsangali Sultanate, Geledi Sultanate, Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo.
+Central and Southern Africa were largely isolated from other regions until the modern era, but they did later feature kingdoms like the Kingdom of Kongo (1400–1914).
+The Zulu people formed a powerful Zulu Kingdom in 1816, one that was subsequently absorbed into the Colony of Natal in 1897. The Zulu king continues to hold a hereditary title and an influential cultural position in contemporary South Africa, although he has no direct political power. Other tribes in the country, such as the Xhosa and the Tswana, have also had and continue to have a series of kings and chiefs  (namely the Inkosis and the Kgosis) whose local precedence is recognised, but who exercise no legal authority.
+As part of the Scramble for Africa, Europeans conquered, bought, or established African kingdoms and styled themselves as monarchs due to them.Currently, the African nations of Morocco, Lesotho, and Eswatini (Swaziland) are sovereign monarchies under dynasties that are native to the continent. Places like St. Helena, Ceuta, Melilla and the Canary Islands are ruled by the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the king of Spain. So-called "sub-national monarchies" of varying sizes can be found all over the rest of the continent, e.g., the Yoruba city-state of Akure in south-western Nigeria is something of an elective monarchy: its reigning Oba, the Deji, has to be chosen by an electoral college of nobles from amongst a finite collection of royal princes of the realm upon the death or removal of an incumbent.
+
+Monarchs in Europe
+Within the Holy Roman Empire different titles were used by nobles exercising various degrees of sovereignty within their borders (see below). Such titles were granted or recognised by the emperor or pope. Adoption of a new title to indicate sovereign or semi-sovereign status was not always recognized by other governments or nations, sometimes causing diplomatic problems.
+During the nineteenth century, many small monarchies in Europe merged with other territories to form larger entities, and following World War I and World War II, many monarchies were abolished, but of those remaining, all except Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Vatican City, and Monaco were headed by a king or queen.
+As of 2022, in Europe there are twelve monarchies: seven kingdoms (Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), one grand duchy (Luxembourg), one papacy (Vatican City), and two principalities (Liechtenstein and Monaco), as well as one diarchy principality (Andorra).
+
+Monarchs in Asia
+In China, before the abolition of the monarchy in 1912, the emperor of China was traditionally regarded as the ruler of "All under heaven". "King" is the usual translation for the term wang (王), the sovereign before the Qin dynasty and during the Ten Kingdoms period. During the early Han dynasty, China had a number of kingdoms, each about the size of a province and subordinate to the Emperor.
+In Korea, Daewang (great king), or Wang (king), was a Chinese royal style used in many states rising from the dissolution of Gojoseon, Buyeo, Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla and Balhae, Goryeo, Joseon. The legendary Dangun Wanggeom founded the first kingdom, Gojoseon. Some scholars maintain that the term Dangun also refers to a title used by all rulers of Gojoseon and that Wanggeom is the proper name of the founder. Gyuwon Sahwa (1675) describes The Annals of the Dangun as a collection of nationalistic legends. The monarchs of Goguryeo and some monarchs of Silla used the title Taewang, meaning  "Greatest King". The early monarchs of Silla used the titles of Geoseogan, Chachaung, Isageum, and finally Maripgan until 503. The title Gun (prince) can refer to the dethroned rulers of the Joseon dynasty as well. Under the Korean Empire (1897–1910), the rulers of Korea were given the title of Hwangje, meaning the "Emperor". Today, Members of the Korean Imperial family continue to participate in numerous traditional ceremonies, and groups exist to preserve Korea's imperial heritage.The Japanese monarchy is now the only monarchy to still use the title of Emperor.
+In modern history, between 1925 and 1979, Iran was ruled by two emperors from the Pahlavi dynasty that used the title of "Shahanshah" (or "King of Kings"). The last Iranian Shahanshah was King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was forced to abdicate the throne as a result of a revolution in Iran. In fact the Persian (Iranian) kingdom goes back to about 2,700 BC (see list of Kings of Persia), but reached its ultimate height and glory when King Cyrus the Great (known as "The Great Kourosh" in Iran) started the Achaemenid dynasty. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia and the Caucasus. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, Cyrus the Great created the largest empire the world had yet seen.
+Thailand and Bhutan are like the United Kingdom in that they are constitutional monarchies ruled by a king. Jordan and many other Middle Eastern monarchies are ruled by a Malik and parts of the United Arab Emirates, such as Dubai, are still ruled by monarchs.
+
+Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab state in Western Asia by land area and the second-largest in the Arab world (after Algeria). It was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud; succession to the throne was limited to sons of Ibn Saud until 2015, when a grandson was elevated to Crown Prince. The Saudi Arabian government has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, and designates itself as Islamic. The King bears the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to the two holiest places in Islam: Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.
+Oman is led by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said. The Kingdom of Jordan is one of the Middle East's more modern monarchies is also ruled by a Malik. In Arab and Arabized countries, Malik (absolute King) is the absolute word to render a monarch and is superior to all other titles. Nepal abolished their monarchy in 2008. Sri Lanka had a complex system of monarchies from 543 BC to 1815. Between 47–42 BC, Anula of Sri Lanka became the country's first female head of state as well as Asia's first head of state.In Malaysia's constitutional monarchy, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Supreme Lord of the Federation) is de facto rotated every five years among the nine Rulers of the Malay states of Malaysia (those nine of the thirteen states of Malaysia that have hereditary royal rulers), elected by Majlis Raja-Raja (Conference of Rulers).
+Under Brunei's 1959 constitution, the Sultan of Brunei is the head of state with full executive authority, including emergency powers, since 1962. The Prime Minister of Brunei is a title held by the Sultan. As the prime minister, the Sultan presides over the cabinet.
+
+Cambodia has been a kingdom since the 1st century. The power of the absolute monarchy was reduced when it became the French Protectorate of Cambodia from 1863 to 1953. It returned to an absolute monarchy from 1953 until the establishment of a republic following the 1970 coup. The monarchy was restored as a constitutional monarchy in 1993 with the king as a largely symbolic figurehead.
+
+In the Philippines, the pre-Colonial Filipino nobility, variously titled the harì (today meaning "king"), Lakan, Raja and Datu belonged to the caste called Uring Maharlika (Noble Class). When the islands were annexed to the Spanish Empire in the late 16th century, the Spanish monarch became the sovereign while local rulers often retained their prestige as part of the Christianised nobility called the Principalía. After the Spanish–American War, the country was ceded to the United States of America and made into a territory and eventually a Commonwealth, thus ending monarchism. While the Philippines is currently a republic, the Sultan of Sulu and Sultan of Maguindanao retain their titles only for ceremonial purposes but are considered ordinary citizens by the 1987 Constitution.
+Bhutan has been an independent kingdom since 1907. The first Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) was elected and thereafter became a hereditary absolute monarchy. It became a constitutional monarchy in 2008.
+Tibet was a monarchy since the Tibetan Empire in the 6th century. It was ruled by the Yuan dynasty following the Mongol invasion in the 13th century and became an effective diarchy with the Dalai Lama as co-ruler. It came under the rule of the Chinese Qing dynasty from 1724 until 1912 when it gained de facto independence. The Dalai Lama became an absolute temporal monarch until the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1951.
+Nepal was a monarchy for most of its history until becoming a federal republic in 2008.
+
+Monarchs in the Americas
+The concept of monarchy existed in the Americas long before the arrival of European colonialists. When the Europeans arrived they referred to these tracts of land within territories of different aboriginal groups to be kingdoms, and the leaders of these groups were often referred to by the Europeans as Kings, particularly hereditary leaders.Pre-colonial titles that were used included:
+
+Cacique – Aboriginal Hispaniola and Borinquen
+Tlatoani – Nahuas
+Ajaw – Maya
+Qhapaq Inka – Tawuantin Suyu (Inca Empire)
+Morubixaba – Tupi tribes
+Sha-quan – King of the world used in some Native American tribesThe first local monarch to emerge in North America after colonization was Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared himself Emperor of Haiti on September 22, 1804. Haiti again had an emperor, Faustin I from 1849 to 1859. In South America, Brazil had a royal house ruling as emperor between 1822 and 1889, under emperors Pedro I and Pedro II.
+Between 1931 and 1983 nine other previous British colonies attained independence as kingdoms. All, including Canada, are in a personal union relationship under a shared monarch. Therefore, though today there are legally ten American monarchs, one person occupies each distinct position.
+In addition to these sovereign states, there are also a number of sub-national ones. In Bolivia, for example, the Afro-Bolivian king claims descent from an African dynasty that was taken from its homeland and sold into slavery. Though largely a ceremonial title today, the position of king of the Afro-Bolivians is officially recognized by the government of Bolivia.
+
+Monarchs in Oceania
+Polynesian societies were ruled by an ariki from ancient times. The title is variously translated as "supreme chief", "paramount chief" or "king".
+The Kingdom of Tahiti was founded in 1788. Sovereignty was ceded to France in 1880 although descendants of the Pōmare dynasty claim the title of King of Tahiti.
+The Kingdom of Hawaii was established in 1795 and overthrown in 1893.
+An independent Kingdom of Rarotonga was established in 1858. It became a protectorate of the United Kingdom at its own request in 1893.
+Seru Epenisa Cakobau ruled the short-lived Kingdom of Fiji, a constitutional monarchy, from 1871 to 1874 when he voluntarily ceded sovereignty of the islands to the United Kingdom. After independence in 1970, the Dominion of Fiji retained the British monarch as head of state until it became a republic following a military coup in 1987.
+Australia, New Zealand (including the Cook Islands and Niue), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu are sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that currently have Charles III as their reigning constitutional monarch.
+The Pitcairn Islands are part of the British Overseas Territories with Charles III as the reigning constitutional monarch.
+Tonga is the only remaining sovereign kingdom in Oceania. It has had a monarch since the 10th century and became a constitutional monarchy in 1875. In 2008, King George Tupou V relinquished most of the powers of the monarchy and the position is now largely ceremonial.
+In New Zealand the position of Māori King was established in 1858. The role is largely cultural and ceremonial and has no legal power.
+Uvea, Alo and Sigave in the French territory of Wallis and Futuna have non-sovereign elective monarchs.
+
+See also
+Lists of monarchs
+
+References
+Sources
+
+Girard, Philippe R. (2011). The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence 1801–1804. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-1732-4.
+Schutt-Ainé, Patricia (1994). Haiti: A Basic Reference Book. Miami, Florida: Librairie Au Service de la Culture. pp. 33–35, 60. ISBN 978-0-9638599-0-7.
+
+External links
+
+A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles
+Regnal Chronologies King lists worldwide (archived 14 November 2007)
+Archontology
+African Kingdoms Imperial Throne Leadership and Enthronements (archived 25 December 2018)
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+The nematodes ( NEM-ə-tohdz or NEEM-; Greek: Νηματώδη; Latin: Nematoda) roundworms or eelworms, constitute the phylum Nematoda. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but there are many that are parasitic. The parasitic worms (helminths) are the cause of soil-transmitted helminthiases.
+They are taxonomically classified along with arthropods, tardigrades and other moulting animals in the clade Ecdysozoa. Unlike the vaguely similar flatworms, nematodes have a tubular digestive system, with openings at both ends. Like tardigrades, they have a reduced number of Hox genes, but their sister phylum Nematomorpha has kept the ancestral protostome Hox genotype, which shows that the reduction has occurred within the nematode phylum.Nematode species can be difficult to distinguish from one another. Consequently, estimates of the number of nematode species are uncertain. A 2013 survey of animal biodiversity published in the mega journal Zootaxa puts this figure at over 25,000. Estimates of the total number of extant species are subject to even greater variation. A widely referenced article published in 1993 estimated there may be over 1 million species of nematode. A subsequent publication challenged this claim, estimating the figure to be at least 40,000 species. Although the highest estimates (up to 100 million species) have since been deprecated, estimates supported by rarefaction curves, together with the use of DNA barcoding and the increasing acknowledgment of widespread cryptic species among nematodes, have placed the figure closer to 1 million species.Nematodes have successfully adapted to nearly every ecosystem: from marine (salt) to fresh water, soils, from the polar regions to the tropics, as well as the highest to the lowest of elevations. They are ubiquitous in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments, where they often outnumber other animals in both individual and species counts, and are found in locations as diverse as mountains, deserts, and oceanic trenches. They are found in every part of the earth's lithosphere, even at great depths, 0.9–3.6 km (3,000–12,000 ft) below the surface of the Earth in gold mines in South Africa. They represent 90% of all animals on the ocean floor.
+In total, 4.4 × 1020 nematodes inhabit the Earth's topsoil, or approximately 60 billion for each human, with the highest densities observed in tundra and boreal forests.
+Their numerical dominance, often exceeding a million individuals per square meter and accounting for about 80% of all individual animals on earth, their diversity of lifecycles, and their presence at various trophic levels point to an important role in many ecosystems.
+They have been shown to play crucial roles in polar ecosystems.
+The roughly 2,271 genera are placed in 256 families.
+The many parasitic forms include pathogens in most plants and animals. A third of the genera occur as parasites of vertebrates; about 35 nematode species occur in humans.
+Nathan Cobb, a nematologist, described the ubiquity of nematodes on Earth thus:In short, if all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represented by a film of nematodes. The location of towns would be decipherable since, for every massing of human beings, there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes. Trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. The location of the various plants and animals would still be decipherable, and, had we sufficient knowledge, in many cases even their species could be determined by an examination of their erstwhile nematode parasites.(p 472)
+
+Etymology
+The word nematode comes from the Modern Latin compound of nemat- "thread" (from Greek nema, genitive nematos "thread," from stem of nein "to spin"; see needle) + -odes "like, of the nature of" (see -oid).
+
+Taxonomy and systematics
+History
+In 1758, Linnaeus described some nematode genera (e.g., Ascaris), then included in the Vermes.
+The name of the group Nematoda, informally called "nematodes", came from Nematoidea, originally defined by Karl Rudolphi (1808), from Ancient Greek νῆμα (nêma, nêmatos, 'thread') and -eiδἠς (-eidēs, 'species'). It was treated as family Nematodes by Burmeister (1837).At its origin, the "Nematoidea" erroneously included Nematodes and Nematomorpha, attributed by von Siebold (1843). Along with Acanthocephala, Trematoda, and Cestoidea, it formed the obsolete group Entozoa, created by Rudolphi (1808). They were also classed along with Acanthocephala in the obsolete phylum Nemathelminthes by Gegenbaur (1859).
+In 1861, K. M. Diesing treated the group as order Nematoda. In 1877, the taxon Nematoidea, including the family Gordiidae (horsehair worms), was promoted to the rank of phylum by Ray Lankester. The first clear distinction between the nemas and gordiids was realized by Vejdovsky when he named a group to contain the horsehair worms the order Nematomorpha. In 1919, Nathan Cobb proposed that nematodes should be recognized alone as a phylum. He argued they should be called "nema" in English rather than "nematodes" and defined the taxon Nemates (later emended as Nemata, Latin plural of nema), listing Nematoidea sensu restricto as a synonym.
+However, in 1910, Grobben proposed the phylum Aschelminthes and the nematodes were included as class Nematoda along with class Rotifera, class Gastrotricha, class Kinorhyncha, class Priapulida, and class Nematomorpha (The phylum was later revived and modified by Libbie Henrietta Hyman in 1951 as Pseudoceolomata, but remained similar). In 1932, Potts elevated the class Nematoda to the level of phylum, leaving the name the same. Despite Potts' classification being equivalent to Cobbs', both names have been used (and are still used today) and Nematode became a popular term in zoological science.Since Cobb was the first to include nematodes in a particular phylum separated from Nematomorpha, some researchers consider the valid taxon name to be Nemates or Nemata, rather than Nematoda, because of the zoological rule that gives priority to the first used term in case of synonyms.
+
+Phylogeny
+The phylogenetic relationships of the nematodes and their close relatives among the protostomian Metazoa are unresolved. Traditionally, they were held to be a lineage of their own, but in the 1990s, they were proposed to form the group Ecdysozoa together with moulting animals, such as arthropods. The identity of the closest living relatives of the Nematoda has always been considered to be well resolved. Morphological characters and molecular phylogenies agree with placement of the roundworms as a sister taxon to the parasitic Nematomorpha; together, they make up the Nematoida. Along with the Scalidophora (formerly Cephalorhyncha), the Nematoida form the clade Cycloneuralia, but much disagreement occurs both between and among the available morphological and molecular data. The Cycloneuralia or the Introverta—depending on the validity of the former—are often ranked as a superphylum.For an up-to-date view (as of 2022), see https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.769565/full.
+
+Nematode systematics
+Due to the lack of knowledge regarding many nematodes, their systematics is contentious. An early and influential classification was proposed by Chitwood and Chitwood—later revised by Chitwood—who divided the phylum into two classes—Aphasmidia and Phasmidia. These were later renamed Adenophorea (gland bearers) and Secernentea (secretors), respectively. The Secernentea share several characteristics, including the presence of phasmids, a pair of sensory organs located in the lateral posterior region, and this was used as the basis for this division. This scheme was adhered to in many later classifications, though the Adenophorea were not in a uniform group.
+Initial studies of incomplete DNA sequences suggested the existence of five clades:
+Dorylaimida
+Enoplia
+Spirurina
+Tylenchina
+RhabditinaThe Secernentea seem to be a natural group of close relatives, while the "Adenophorea" appear to be a paraphyletic assemblage of roundworms that retain a good number of ancestral traits. The old Enoplia do not seem to be monophyletic, either, but do contain two distinct lineages. The old group "Chromadoria" seems to be another paraphyletic assemblage, with the Monhysterida representing a very ancient minor group of nematodes. Among the Secernentea, the Diplogasteria may need to be united with the Rhabditia, while the Tylenchia might be paraphyletic with the Rhabditia.The understanding of roundworm systematics and phylogeny as of 2002 is summarised below:
+Phylum Nematoda
+
+Basal order Monhysterida
+Class Dorylaimida
+Class Enoplea
+Class Secernentea
+Subclass Diplogasteria (disputed)
+Subclass Rhabditia (paraphyletic?)
+Subclass Spiruria
+Subclass Tylenchia (disputed)
+"Chromadorea" assemblageLater work has suggested the presence of 12 clades. The Secernentea—a group that includes virtually all major animal and plant 'nematode' parasites—apparently arose from within the Adenophorea.
+In 2019, a study identified one conserved signature indel (CSI) found exclusively in members of the phylum Nematoda through comparative genetic analyses. The CSI consists of a single amino acid insertion within a conserved region of a Na(+)/H(+) exchange regulatory factor protein NRFL-1 and is a molecular marker that distinguishes the phylum from other species.A major effort by a collaborative wiki called 959 Nematode Genomes is underway to improve the systematics of this phylum.An analysis of the mitochondrial DNA suggests that the following groupings are valid
+subclass Dorylaimia
+orders Rhabditida, Trichinellida and Mermithida
+suborder Rhabditina
+infraorders Spiruromorpha and OxyuridomorphaIn 2022 a new classification of the entire phylum Nematoda was presented by M. Hodda. It was based on current molecular, developmental and morphological evidence.
+
+Anatomy
+Nematodes are very small, slender worms: typically about 5 to 100 µm thick, and 0.1 to 2.5 mm long. The smallest nematodes are microscopic, while free-living species can reach as much as 5 cm (2 in), and some parasitic species are larger still, reaching over 1 m (3 ft) in length.: 271  The body is often ornamented with ridges, rings, bristles, or other distinctive structures.The head of a nematode is relatively distinct. Whereas the rest of the body is bilaterally symmetrical, the head is radially symmetrical, with sensory bristles and, in many cases, solid 'head-shields' radiating outwards around the mouth. The mouth has either three or six lips, which often bear a series of teeth on their inner edges. An adhesive 'caudal gland' is often found at the tip of the tail.The epidermis is either a syncytium or a single layer of cells, and is covered by a thick collagenous cuticle. The cuticle is often of a complex structure and may have two or three distinct layers. Underneath the epidermis lies a layer of longitudinal muscle cells. The relatively rigid cuticle works with the muscles to create a hydroskeleton, as nematodes lack circumferential muscles. Projections run from the inner surface of muscle cells towards the nerve cords; this is a unique arrangement in the animal kingdom, in which nerve cells normally extend fibers into the muscles rather than vice versa.
+
+Digestive system
+The oral cavity is lined with cuticle, which is often strengthened with structures, such as ridges, especially in carnivorous species, which may bear a number of teeth. The mouth often includes a sharp stylet, which the animal can thrust into its prey. In some species, the stylet is hollow and can be used to suck liquids from plants or animals.The oral cavity opens into a muscular, sucking pharynx, also lined with cuticle. Digestive glands are found in this region of the gut, producing enzymes that start to break down the food. In stylet-bearing species, these may even be injected into the prey.No stomach is present, with the pharynx connecting directly to a muscleless intestine that forms the main length of the gut. This produces further enzymes, and also absorbs nutrients through its single-cell-thick lining. The last portion of the intestine is lined by cuticle, forming a rectum, which expels waste through the bunghole just below and in front of the tip of the tail. The movement of food through the digestive system is the result of the body movements of the worm. The intestine has valves or sphincters at either end to help control the movement of food through the body.
+
+Excretory system
+Nitrogenous waste is excreted in the form of ammonia through the body wall, and is not associated with any specific organs. However, the structures for excreting salt to maintain osmoregulation are typically more complex.In many marine nematodes, one or two unicellular 'renette glands' excrete salt through a pore on the underside of the animal, close to the pharynx. In most other nematodes, these specialized cells have been replaced by an organ consisting of two parallel ducts connected by a single transverse duct. This transverse duct opens into a common canal that runs to the excretory pore.
+
+Nervous system
+At the anterior end of the animal a dense, circular nerve ring which serves as the brain surrounds the pharynx. From this ring six labial papillary nerve cords extend anteriorly, while six nerve cords; a large ventral, a smaller dorsal and two pairs of sublateral cords extend posteriorly. Each nerve lies within a cord of connective tissue lying beneath the cuticle and between the muscle cells. The ventral nerve is the largest, and has a double structure forward of the excretory pore. The dorsal nerve is responsible for motor control, while the lateral nerves are sensory, and the ventral combines both functions.The nervous system is also the only place in the nematode body that contains cilia, which are all nonmotile and with a sensory function.The bodies of nematodes are covered in numerous sensory bristles and papillae that together provide a sense of touch. Behind the sensory bristles on the head lie two small pits, or 'amphids'. These are well supplied with nerve cells and are probably chemoreception organs. A few aquatic nematodes possess what appear to be pigmented eye-spots, but whether or not these are actually sensory in nature is unclear.
+
+Reproduction
+Most nematode species are dioecious, with separate male and female individuals, though some, such as Caenorhabditis elegans, are androdioecious, consisting of hermaphrodites and rare males. Both sexes possess one or two tubular gonads. In males, the sperm are produced at the end of the gonad and migrate along its length as they mature. The testis opens into a relatively wide seminal vesicle and then during intercourse into a glandular and muscular ejaculatory duct associated with the vas deferens and cloaca. In females, the ovaries each open into an oviduct (in hermaphrodites, the eggs enter a spermatheca first) and then a glandular uterus. The uteri both open into a common vulva/vagina, usually located in the middle of the morphologically ventral surface.Reproduction is usually sexual, though hermaphrodites are capable of self-fertilization. Males are usually smaller than females or hermaphrodites (often much smaller) and often have a characteristically bent or fan-shaped tail. During copulation, one or more chitinized spicules move out of the cloaca and are inserted into the genital pore of the female. Amoeboid sperm crawl along the spicule into the female worm. Nematode sperm is thought to be the only eukaryotic cell without the globular protein G-actin.
+Eggs may be embryonated or unembryonated when passed by the female, meaning their fertilized eggs may not yet be developed. A few species are known to be ovoviviparous. The eggs are protected by an outer shell, secreted by the uterus. In free-living roundworms, the eggs hatch into larvae, which appear essentially identical to the adults, except for an underdeveloped reproductive system; in parasitic roundworms, the lifecycle is often much more complicated. The structure of the eggshell is complicated and includes several layers; a detailed anatomical and terminological framework has been proposed for these layers in 2023.Nematodes as a whole possess a wide range of modes of reproduction. Some nematodes, such as Heterorhabditis spp., undergo a process called endotokia matricida: intrauterine birth causing maternal death. Some nematodes are hermaphroditic, and keep their self-fertilized eggs inside the uterus until they hatch. The juvenile nematodes then ingest the parent nematode. This process is significantly promoted in environments with a low food supply.The nematode model species C. elegans, C. briggsae, and Pristionchus pacificus, among other species, exhibit androdioecy, which is otherwise very rare among animals. The single genus Meloidogyne (root-knot nematodes) exhibits a range of reproductive modes, including sexual reproduction, facultative sexuality (in which most, but not all, generations reproduce asexually), and both meiotic and mitotic parthenogenesis.
+The genus Mesorhabditis exhibits an unusual form of parthenogenesis, in which sperm-producing males copulate with females, but the sperm do not fuse with the ovum. Contact with the sperm is essential for the ovum to begin dividing, but because no fusion of the cells occurs, the male contributes no genetic material to the offspring, which are essentially clones of the female.
+
+Free-living species
+Different free-living species feed on materials as varied as bacteria, algae, fungi, small animals, fecal matter, dead organisms, and living tissues. Free-living marine nematodes are important and abundant members of the meiobenthos. They play an important role in the decomposition process, aid in recycling of nutrients in marine environments, and are sensitive to changes in the environment caused by pollution. One roundworm of note, C. elegans, lives in the soil and has found much use as a model organism. C. elegans has had its entire genome sequenced, the developmental fate of every cell determined, and every neuron mapped.
+
+Parasitic species
+Nematodes that commonly parasitise humans include ascarids (Ascaris), filarias, hookworms, pinworms (Enterobius), and whipworms (Trichuris trichiura). The species Trichinella spiralis, commonly known as the 'trichina worm', occurs in rats, pigs, bears, and humans, and is responsible for the disease trichinosis. Baylisascaris usually infests wild animals, but can be deadly to humans, as well. Dirofilaria immitis is known for causing heartworm disease by inhabiting the hearts, arteries, and lungs of dogs and some cats. Haemonchus contortus is one of the most abundant infectious agents in sheep around the world, causing great economic damage to sheep. In contrast, entomopathogenic nematodes parasitize insects and are mostly considered beneficial by humans, but some attack beneficial insects.
+One form of nematode is entirely dependent upon fig wasps, which are the sole source of fig fertilization. They prey upon the wasps, riding them from the ripe fig of the wasp's birth to the fig flower of its death, where they kill the wasp, and their offspring await the birth of the next generation of wasps as the fig ripens.
+
+A newly discovered parasitic tetradonematid nematode, Myrmeconema neotropicum, apparently induces fruit mimicry in the tropical ant Cephalotes atratus. Infected ants develop bright red gasters (abdomens), tend to be more sluggish, and walk with their gasters in a conspicuous elevated position. These changes likely cause frugivorous birds to confuse the infected ants for berries, and eat them. Parasite eggs passed in the bird's feces are subsequently collected by foraging C. atratus and are fed to their larvae, thus completing the lifecycle of M. neotropicum.Similarly, multiple varieties of nematodes have been found in the abdominal cavities of the primitively social sweat bee, Lasioglossum zephyrus. Inside the female body, the nematode hinders ovarian development and renders the bee less active, thus less effective in pollen collection.
+
+Agriculture and horticulture
+Depending on its species, a nematode may be beneficial or detrimental to plant health. From agricultural and horticulture perspectives, the two categories of nematodes are the predatory ones, which kill garden pests; and the pest nematodes, which attack plants, or act as vectors spreading plant viruses between crop plants.
+Predatory nematodes include Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita which is a lethal parasite of gastropods such as slugs and snails. Some members of the genus Steinernema such as Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema riobrave are generalist parasites of webworms, cutworms, armyworms, girdlers, some weevils, wood-borers and corn earworm moths. These organisms are grown commercially as biological pest control agents which can be used as an alternative to pesticides; their use is considered very safe. Plant-parasitic nematodes include several groups causing severe crop losses, taking 10% of crops worldwide every year. The most common genera are Aphelenchoides (foliar nematodes), Ditylenchus, Globodera (potato cyst nematodes), Heterodera (soybean cyst nematodes), Longidorus, Meloidogyne (root-knot nematodes), Nacobbus, Pratylenchus (lesion nematodes), Trichodorus, and Xiphinema (dagger nematodes). Several phytoparasitic nematode species cause histological damages to roots, including the formation of visible galls (e.g. by root-knot nematodes), which are useful characters for their diagnostic in the field. Some nematode species transmit plant viruses through their feeding activity on roots. One of them is Xiphinema index, vector of grapevine fanleaf virus, an important disease of grapes, another one is Xiphinema diversicaudatum, vector of arabis mosaic virus. Other nematodes attack bark and forest trees. The most important representative of this group is Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the pine wood nematode, present in Asia and America and recently discovered in Europe. This nematode is transmitted from tree to tree by sawyer beetles (Monochamus).Greenhouse growers use beneficial nematodes to control fungus gnats, the nematodes enter the larva of the gnats by way of their anus, mouth, and spiracles (breathing pores) and  then release a bacteria which kills the gnat larvae; commonly used nematode species to control pests on greenhouse crops include Steinernema feltiae for fungus gnats and western flower thrips, Steinernema carpocapsae used to control shore flies, Steinernema kraussei for control of black vine weevils, and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora to control beetle larvae.Rotations of plants with nematode-resistant species or varieties is one means of managing parasitic nematode infestations. For example, planting Tagetes marigolds as a cover crop just prior to planting a nematode-susceptible plant, has been shown to suppress nematodes. Another is treatment with natural antagonists such as the fungus Gliocladium roseum. Chitosan, a natural biocontrol, elicits plant defense responses to destroy parasitic cyst nematodes on roots of soybean, corn, sugar beet, potato, and tomato crops without harming beneficial nematodes in the soil. Soil steaming is an efficient method to kill nematodes before planting a crop, but indiscriminately eliminates both harmful and beneficial soil fauna.
+The golden nematode Globodera rostochiensis is a particularly harmful variety of nematode pest that has resulted in quarantines and crop failures worldwide. CSIRO has found a 13- to 14-fold reduction of nematode population densities in plots having Chinese mustard Brassica juncea green manure or seed meal in the soil.
+
+Epidemiology
+A number of intestinal nematodes cause diseases affecting human beings, including ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm disease. Filarial nematodes cause filariases. Furthermore, studies have shown that parasitic nematodes infect American eels causing damage to the eel's swim bladder, dairy animals like cattle and buffalo, and all species of sheep.Gastrointestinal nematode infections in humans are common, with approximately 50% of the global population being affected. Developing countries are most heavily impacted, in part due to lack of access to medical care.
+
+Soil ecosystems
+About 90% of nematodes reside in the top 15 cm (6") of soil. Nematodes do not decompose organic matter, but, instead, are parasitic and free-living organisms that feed on living material. Nematodes can effectively regulate bacterial population and community composition—they may eat up to 5,000 bacteria per minute. Also, nematodes can play an important role in the nitrogen cycle by way of nitrogen mineralization.One group of carnivorous fungi, the nematophagous fungi, are predators of soil nematodes. They set enticements for the nematodes in the form of lassos or adhesive structures.
+
+Survivability
+Nematode worms (C. elegans), part of an ongoing research project conducted on the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107, survived the re-entry breakup. It is believed to be the first known life form to survive a virtually unprotected atmospheric descent to Earth's surface. In a research project published in 2012, it was found that the Antarctic Nematodes (P. davidi) was able to withstand intracellular freezing depending on how well it was fed. In 2023 it was reported that nematodes belonging to a species named Panagrolaimus kolymaensis had been revived after 46,000 years in Siberian permafrost.
+
+See also
+Biological pest control – Controlling pests using other organisms
+Capillaria – Genus of roundworms
+List of organic gardening and farming topics – Overview of and topical guide to organic gardening and farmingPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
+List of parasites of humans
+Soil food web
+Toxocariasis – Illness of humans caused by larvae of the dog or the cat roundworm: A helminth infection of humans caused by the dog or cat roundworm, Toxocara canis or Toxocara cati
+Worm bagging – Form of vivipary observed in nematodes.
+
+References
+Further reading
+
+
+== External links ==
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+Night snake may refer to:
+
+Siphlophis, a snake genus, the spotted night snakes
+Hypsiglena, a snake genus
+Hypsiglena torquata, a species within this genus
+Philodryas agassizii, the burrowing night snake
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+Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus Pongo, orangutans were originally considered to be one species. From 1996, they were divided into two species: the Bornean orangutan (P. pygmaeus, with three subspecies) and the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii). A third species, the Tapanuli orangutan (P. tapanuliensis), was identified definitively in 2017. The orangutans are the only surviving species of the subfamily Ponginae, which diverged genetically from the other hominids (gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans) between 19.3 and 15.7 million years ago.
+The most arboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. They have proportionally long arms and short legs, and have reddish-brown hair covering their bodies. Adult males weigh about 75 kg (165 lb), while females reach about 37 kg (82 lb). Dominant adult males develop distinctive cheek pads or flanges and make long calls that attract females and intimidate rivals; younger subordinate males do not and more resemble adult females. Orangutans are the most solitary of the great apes: social bonds occur primarily between mothers and their dependent offspring. Fruit is the most important component of an orangutan's diet; but they will also eat vegetation, bark, honey, insects and bird eggs. They can live over 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity.
+Orangutans are among the most intelligent primates. They use a variety of sophisticated tools and construct elaborate sleeping nests each night from branches and foliage. The apes' learning abilities have been studied extensively. There may be distinctive cultures within populations. Orangutans have been featured in literature and art since at least the 18th century, particularly in works that comment on human society. Field studies of the apes were pioneered by primatologist Birutė Galdikas and they have been kept in captive facilities around the world since at least the early 19th century.
+All three orangutan species are considered critically endangered. Human activities have caused severe declines in populations and ranges. Threats to wild orangutan populations include poaching (for bushmeat and retaliation for consuming crops), habitat destruction and deforestation (for palm oil cultivation and logging), and the illegal pet trade. Several conservation and rehabilitation organisations are dedicated to the survival of orangutans in the wild.
+
+Etymology
+The name "orangutan" (also written orang-utan, orang utan, orangutang, and ourang-outang) is derived from the Malay words orang, meaning "person", and hutan, meaning "forest". The locals originally used the name to refer to actual forest-dwelling human beings, but the word underwent a semantic extension to include apes of the Pongo genus at an early stage in the history of Malay.The word orangutan appears in its older form urangutan, in a variety of premodern sources in the Old Javanese language. The earliest of these is the Kakawin Ramayana, a ninth-century or early tenth-century Javanese adaption of the Sanskrit Ramayana. In these Old Javanese sources, the word urangutan refers only to apes and not to forest-dwelling human beings. The word was not originally Javanese, but was borrowed from an early Malayic language at least a thousand years ago. Hence the ultimate origin of the term "orangutan" as denoting the Pongo ape was most likely Old Malay.In Western sources, the first printed attestation of the word for the apes is in Dutch physician Jacobus Bontius' 1631 Historiae naturalis et medicae Indiae orientalis. He reported that Malays had informed him the ape could talk, but preferred not to "lest he be compelled to labour". The word appeared in several German-language descriptions of Indonesian zoology in the 17th century. It has been argued that the word comes specifically from the Banjarese variety of Malay, but the age of the Old Javanese sources mentioned above make Old Malay a more likely origin for the term. Cribb and colleagues (2014) suggest that Bontius' account referred not to apes (as this description was from Java where the apes were not known from) but to humans suffering some serious medical condition (most likely cretinism) and that his use of the word was misunderstood by Nicolaes Tulp, who was the first to use the term in a publication a decade later.: 10–18 The word was first attested in English in 1693 by physician John Bulwer in the form Orang-Outang, and variants ending with -ng are found in many languages. This spelling (and pronunciation) has remained in use in English up to the present but has come to be regarded as incorrect. The loss of "h" in utan and the shift from -ng to -n has been taken to suggest the term entered English through Portuguese. In Malay, the term was first attested in 1840, not as an indigenous name but referring to how the English called the animal. The word 'orangutan' in Malay and Indonesian today was borrowed from English or Dutch in the 20th century—explaining why the initial 'h' of 'hutan' is also missing.The name of the genus, Pongo, comes from a 16th-century account by Andrew Battel, an English sailor held prisoner by the Portuguese in Angola, which describes two anthropoid "monsters" named Pongo and Engeco. He is now believed to have been describing gorillas, but in the 18th century, the terms orangutan and pongo were used for all great apes. French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède used the term Pongo for the genus in 1799.: 24–25  Battel's "Pongo", in turn, is from the Kongo word mpongi or other cognates from the region: Lumbu pungu, Vili mpungu, or Yombi yimpungu.
+
+Taxonomy and phylogeny
+The orangutan was first described scientifically in 1758 in the Systema Naturae of Carl Linnaeus as Homo troglodytes.: 20  It was renamed Simia pygmaeus in 1760 by his student Christian Emmanuel Hopp and given the name Pongo by Lacépède in 1799.: 24–25  The populations on the two islands were suggested to be separate species when P. abelii was described by French naturalist René Lesson in 1827. In 2001, P. abelii was confirmed as a full species based on molecular evidence published in 1996,: 53  and three distinct populations on Borneo were elevated to subspecies (P. p. pygmaeus, P. p. morio and P. p. wurmbii). The description in 2017 of a third species, P. tapanuliensis, from Sumatra south of Lake Toba, came with a surprising twist: it is more closely related to the Bornean species, P. pygmaeus than to its fellow Sumatran species, P. abelii.
+The Sumatran orangutan genome was sequenced in January 2011. Following humans and chimpanzees, the Sumatran orangutan became the third species of great ape to have its genome sequenced. Subsequently, the Bornean species had its genome sequenced. Bornean orangutans (P. pygmaeus) have less genetic diversity than in Sumatran ones (P. abelii), despite populations being six to seven times higher in Borneo. The researchers hope these data may help conservationists preserve the endangered ape, as well as learn more about human genetic diseases. Similarly to gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans have 48 diploid chromosomes, in contrast to humans, which have 46.: 30 According to molecular evidence, within apes (superfamily Hominoidea), the gibbons diverged during the early Miocene between 24.1 and 19.7 million years ago (mya), and the orangutans diverged from the African great ape lineage between 19.3 and 15.7 mya. Israfil and colleagues (2011) estimated based on mitochondrial, Y-linked, and X-linked loci that the Sumatran and Bornean species diverged 4.9 to 2.9 mya.: Fig. 4  By contrast, the 2011 genome study suggested that these two species diverged as recently as circa 400,000 years ago. The study also found that orangutans evolved at a slower pace than both chimpanzees and humans. A 2017 genome study found that the Bornean and Tapanuli orangutans diverged from Sumatran orangutans about 3.4 mya, and from each other around 2.4 mya. Millions of years ago, orangutans travelled from mainland Asia to Sumatra and then Borneo as the islands were connected by land bridges during the recent glacial periods when sea levels were much lower. The present range of Tapanuli orangutans is thought to be close to where ancestral orangutans first entered what is now Indonesia from mainland Asia.
+
+Fossil record
+The three orangutan species are the only extant members of the subfamily Ponginae. This subfamily also includes extinct apes such as Lufengpithecus, which occurred 8–2 mya in southern China and Thailand.: 50  Indopithecus, which lived in India from 9.2 to 8.6 mya; and Sivapithecus, which lived in India and Pakistan from 12.5 mya until 8.5 mya. These animals likely lived in drier and cooler environments than orangutans do today. Khoratpithecus piriyai, which lived 5–7 mya in Thailand, is believed to be the closest known relative of the living orangutans and inhabited similar environments.: 50  The largest known primate, Gigantopithecus, was also a member of Ponginae and lived in China, from 2 mya to 300,000 years ago.: 50 The oldest known record of Pongo is from the Early Pleistocene of Chongzuo, consisting of teeth ascribed to extinct species P. weidenreichi. Pongo is found as part of the faunal complex in the Pleistocene cave assemblage in Vietnam, alongside Giganopithecus, though it is known only from teeth. Some fossils described under the name P. hooijeri have been found in Vietnam, and multiple fossil subspecies have been described from several parts of southeastern Asia. It is unclear if these belong to P. pygmaeus or P. abelii or, in fact, represent distinct species. During the Pleistocene, Pongo had a far more extensive range than at present, extending throughout Sundaland and mainland Southeast Asia and South China. Teeth of orangutans are known from Peninsular Malaysia that date to 60,000 years ago. The youngest remains from South China, which are teeth assigned to P. weidenreichi, date to between 66 and 57,000 years ago. The range of orangutans had contracted significantly by the end of the Pleistocene, most likely because of the reduction of forest habitat during the Last Glacial Maximum.Though they may have survived into the Holocene in Cambodia and Vietnam.
+
+Characteristics
+Orangutans display significant sexual dimorphism; females typically stand 115 cm (3 ft 9 in) tall and weigh around 37 kg (82 lb), while adult males stand 137 cm (4 ft 6 in) tall and weigh 75 kg (165 lb). Compared to humans, they have proportionally long arms, a male orangutan having an arm span of about 2 m (6.6 ft), and short legs. They are covered in long reddish hair that starts out bright orange and darkens to maroon or chocolate with age, while the skin is grey-black. Though largely hairless, males' faces can develop some hair, giving them a beard.: 13–15 Orangutans have small ears and noses; the ears are unlobed. The mean endocranial volume is 397 cm3. The cranium is elevated relative to the face, which is incurved and prognathous. Compared to chimpanzees and gorillas, the brow ridge of an orangutan is underdeveloped. Females and juveniles have relatively circular skulls and thin faces while mature males have a prominent sagittal crest, large cheek pads or flanges, extensive throat pouches and long canines.: 14  The cheek pads are made mostly of fatty tissue and are supported by the musculature of the face. The throat pouches act as resonance chambers for making long calls.
+Orangutan hands have four long fingers but a dramatically shorter opposable thumb for a strong grip on branches as they travel high in the trees. The resting configuration of the fingers is curved, creating a suspensory hook grip. With the thumb out of the way, the fingers (and hands) can grip securely around objects with a small diameter by resting the tops of the fingers against the inside of the palm, thus creating a double-locked grip. Their feet have four long toes and an opposable big toe, giving them hand-like dexterity. The hip joints also allow for their legs to rotate similarly to their arms and shoulders.: 15 Orangutans move through the trees by both vertical climbing and suspension. Compared to other great apes, they infrequently descend to the ground where they are more cumbersome. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, instead bending their digits and walking on the sides of their hands and feet.Compared to their relatives in Borneo, Sumatran orangutans are more slender with paler and longer hair and a longer face. Tapanuli orangutans resemble Sumatran orangutans more than Bornean orangutans in body build and hair colour. They have shaggier hair, smaller skulls, and flatter faces than the other two species.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+Orangutans are mainly arboreal and inhabit tropical rainforest, particularly lowland dipterocarp and old secondary forest. Populations are more concentrated near riverside habitats, such as freshwater and peat swamp forest, while drier forests away from the flooded areas have fewer apes. Population density also decreases at higher elevations.: 92  Orangutans occasionally enter grasslands, cultivated fields, gardens, young secondary forest, and shallow lakes.Most of the day is spent feeding, resting, and travelling. They start the day feeding for two to three hours in the morning. They rest during midday, then travel in the late afternoon. When evening arrives, they prepare their nests for the night. Potential predators of orangutans include tigers, clouded leopards and wild dogs.: 91  The most common orangutan parasites are nematodes of the genus Strongyloides and the ciliate Balantidium coli. Among Strongyloides, the species S. fuelleborni and S. stercoralis are reported in young individuals. Orangutans also use the plant species Dracaena cantleyi as an anti-inflammatory balm. Captive animals may suffer an upper respiratory tract disease.
+
+Diet and feeding
+Orangutans are primarily fruit-eaters, which can take up 57–80% of their foraging time. Even during times of scarcity, fruit is 16% of their feeding time. Fruits with soft pulp, arils or seed-walls are consumed the most, particularly figs but also drupes and berries.: 65  Orangutans are thought to be the sole fruit disperser for some plant species including the vine species Strychnos ignatii which contains the toxic alkaloid strychnine.Orangutans also include leaves in their diet, which take up 25% of their average foraging time. Leaves are eaten more when fruit is less available, but even during times of fruit abundance, orangutans will eat leaves 11–20% of the time. They appear to depend on the leaf and stem material of Borassodendron borneensis during times of low fruit abundance. Other food items consumed by the apes include bark, honey, bird eggs, insects and small vertebrates including slow lorises.: 65–66 In some areas, orangutans may practise geophagy, which involves consuming soil and other earth substances. They will uproot soil from the ground as well as eat shelter tubes from tree trunks. Orangutans also visit the sides of cliffs or earth depressions for their mineral licks. Orangutans may eat soils for their anti-toxic kaolin minerals, since their diet contains toxic tannins and phenolic acids.: 67
+
+Social life
+The social structure of the orangutan can be best described as solitary but social; they live a more solitary lifestyle than the other great apes. Bornean orangutans are generally more solitary than Sumatran orangutans. Most social bonds occur between adult females and their dependent and weaned offspring. Resident females live with their offspring in defined home ranges that overlap with those of other adult females, which may be their immediate relatives. One to several resident female home ranges are encompassed within the home range of a resident male, who is their main mating partner. Interactions between adult females range from friendly to avoidance to antagonistic. Flanged males are hostile to both other flanged males and unflanged males, while unflanged males are more peaceful towards each other.Orangutans disperse and establish their home ranges by age 11. Females tend to live near their birth range, while males disperse farther but may still visit their birth range within their larger home range. They enter a transient phase, which lasts until a male can challenge and displace a dominant, resident male from his home range. Both resident and transient orangutans aggregate on large fruiting trees to feed. The fruits tend to be abundant, so competition is low and individuals may engage in social interactions. Orangutans will also form travelling groups with members moving between different food sources. They are often consortships between an adult male and a female. Social grooming is uncommon among orangutans.
+
+Communication
+Orangutans communicate with various vocals and sounds. Males will make long calls, both to attract females and to advertise themselves to other males. These calls have three components; they begin with grumbles, peak with pulses and end with bubbles. Both sexes will try to intimidate conspecifics with a series of low frequency noises known collectively as the "rolling call". When uncomfortable, an orangutan will produce a "kiss squeak", which involves sucking in air through pursed lips. Mothers produce throatscrapes to keep in contact with their offspring. Infants make soft hoots when distressed. When building a nest, orangutans will produce smacks or blow raspberries. Orangutan calls display consonant- and vowel-like components and they maintain their meaning over great distances.Mother orangutans and offspring also use several different gestures and expressions such as beckoning, stomping, lower lip pushing, object shaking and "presenting" a body part. These communicate goals such as "acquire object", "climb on me", "climb on you", "climb over", "move away", "play change: decrease intensity", "resume play" and "stop that".
+
+Reproduction and development
+Males become sexually mature at around age 15. They may exhibit arrested development by not developing the distinctive cheek pads, pronounced throat pouches, long fur, or long calls until a resident dominant male is absent. The transformation from unflanged to flanged can occur quickly. Flanged males attract females in oestrous with their characteristic long calls, which may also suppress development in younger males.: 100 Unflanged males wander widely in search of oestrous females and upon finding one, will force copulation on her, the occurrence of which is unusually high among mammals. Females prefer to mate with the fitter flanged males, forming pairs with them and benefiting from their protection. Non-ovulating females do not usually resist copulation with unflanged males, as the chance of conception is low. Homosexual behaviour has been recorded in the context of both affiliative and aggressive interactions.
+Unlike females of other non-human great ape species, orangutans do not exhibit sexual swellings to signal fertility. A female first gives birth around 15 years of age and they have a six to nine year interbirth interval, the longest among the great apes. Gestation is around nine months long and infants are born at a weight of 1.5–2 kg (3.3–4.4 lb).: 99  Usually only a single infant is born; twins are a rare occurrence. Unlike many other primates, male orangutans do not seem to practise infanticide. This may be because they cannot ensure they will sire a female's next offspring, because she does not immediately begin ovulating again after her infant dies. There is evidence that females with offspring under six years old generally avoid adult males.Females do most of the caring of the young. The mother will carry the infant while travelling, suckle it and sleep with it.: 100  During its first four months, the infant is almost never without physical contact and clings to its mother's belly. In the following months, the amount of physical contact the infant has with its mother declines. When an orangutan reaches the age of one-and-a-half years, its climbing skills improve and it will travel through the canopy holding hands with other orangutans, a behaviour known as "buddy travel". After two years of age, juvenile orangutans will begin to move away from their mothers temporarily. They reach adolescence at six or seven years of age and are able to live alone but retain some connections with their mothers.: 100  Females may nurse their offspring for up to eight years, which is more than any mammal. Typically, orangutans live over 30 years both in the wild and in captivity.: 15
+
+Nesting
+Orangutans build nests specialised for either day or night use. These are carefully constructed; young orangutans learn from observing their mother's nest-building behaviour. In fact, nest-building allows young orangutans to become less dependent on their mother. From six months of age onwards, orangutans practise nest-building and gain proficiency by the time they are three years old.Construction of a night nest is done by following a sequence of steps. Initially, a suitable tree is located. Orangutans are choosy about sites, though nests can be found in many tree species. To establish a foundation, the ape grabs the large branches under it and bends them so they join. The orangutan then does the same to smaller, leafier branches to create a "mattress". After this, the ape stands and braids the tips of branches into the mattress. Doing this increases the stability of the nest. Orangutans make their nests more comfortable by creating "pillows", "blankets", "roofs" and "bunk-beds".
+
+Intelligence
+Orangutans are among the most intelligent non-human primates. Experiments suggest they can track the displacement of objects both visible and hidden.  Zoo Atlanta has a touch-screen computer on which their two Sumatran orangutans play games. A 2008 study of two orangutans at the Leipzig Zoo showed orangutans may practise "calculated reciprocity", which involves an individual aiding another with the expectation of being paid back. Orangutans are the first nonhuman species documented to do so.In a 1997 study, two captive adult orangutans were tested with the cooperative pulling paradigm. Without any training, the orangutans succeeded in pulling off an object to get food in the first session. Over the course of 30 sessions, the apes succeeded more quickly, having learned to coordinate. An adult orangutan has been documented to pass the mirror test, indicating self-awareness. Mirror tests with a 2-year-old orangutan failed to reveal self-recognition.Studies in the wild indicate that flanged male orangutans plan their movements in advance and signal them to other individuals. Experiments have also suggested that orangutans can communicate about things that are not present: mother orangutans remain silent in the presence of a perceived threat but when it passes, the mother produces an alarm call to their offspring to teach them about the danger. Orangutans and other great apes show laughter-like vocalisations in response to physical contact such as wrestling, play chasing or tickling. This suggests that laughter derived from a common origin among primate species and therefore evolved before the origin of humans. Orangutans can learn to mimic new sounds by purposely controlling the vibrations of their vocal folds, a trait that led to speech in humans. Bonnie, an orangutan at the US National Zoo, was recorded spontaneously whistling after hearing a caretaker. She appears to whistle without expecting a food reward.
+
+Tool use and culture
+Tool use in orangutans was observed by primatologist Birutė Galdikas in ex-captive populations. Orangutans in Suaq Balimbing were recorded to develop a tool kit for use in foraging which consisted of both insect-extraction sticks for use in the hollows of trees and seed-extraction sticks for harvesting seeds from hard-husked fruit. The orangutans adjusted their tools according to the task at hand, and preference was given to oral tool use. This preference was also found in an experimental study of captive orangutans. Orangutans have been observed to use sticks to poke at catfish, causing them to leap out of the water so the orangutan can grab them. Orangutan have also been documented to keep tools for later. When building a nest, orangutans appear to be able to determine which branches would better support their body weight.Primatologist Carel P. van Schaik and biological anthropologist Cheryl D. Knott further investigated tool use in different wild orangutan populations. They compared geographic variations in tool use related to the processing of Neesia fruit. The orangutans of Suaq Balimbing were found to be avid users of insect and seed-extraction tools when compared to other wild orangutans. The scientists suggested these differences are cultural as they do not correlate with habitat. The orangutans at Suaq Balimbing are closely spaced and relatively tolerant of each other; this creates favourable conditions for the spreading of new behaviours. Further evidence that highly social orangutans are more likely to exhibit cultural behaviours came from a study of leaf-carrying behaviours of formerly captive orangutans that were being rehabilitated on the island of Kaja in Borneo.Wild orangutans in Tuanan, Borneo, were reported to use tools in acoustic communication. They use leaves to amplify the kiss squeak sounds they produce. The apes may employ this method of amplification to deceive the listener into believing they are larger animals. In 2003, researchers from six different orangutan field sites who used the same behavioural coding scheme compared the behaviours of the animals from each site. They found each orangutan population used different tools. The evidence suggested the differences were cultural: first, the extent of the differences increased with distance, suggesting cultural diffusion was occurring, and second, the size of the orangutans' cultural repertoire increased according to the amount of social contact present within the group. Social contact facilitates cultural transmission.
+
+Personhood
+In June 2008, Spain would become the first country to recognise the rights of some non-human great apes, based on the guidelines of the Great Ape Project, which are that chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas not to be used for animal experiments. In December 2014, a court in Argentina ruled that an orangutan named Sandra at the Buenos Aires Zoo must be moved to a sanctuary in Brazil to provide her "partial or controlled freedom". Sandra has since been relocated to The Center for Great Apes in the United States, as it is the only accredited orangutan sanctuary in the American Continent. Animal rights groups like Great Ape Project Argentina argued the ruling should apply to all species in captivity, and legal specialists from the Argentina's Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassatio considered the ruling applicable only to non-human hominids.
+
+Orangutans and humans
+Orangutans were known to the native people of Sumatra and Borneo for millennia. The apes are known as maias in Sarawak and mawas in other parts of Borneo and in Sumatra. While some communities hunted them for food and decoration, others placed taboos on such practices. In central Borneo, some traditional folk beliefs consider it bad luck to look an orangutan in the face. Some folk tales involve orangutans mating with and kidnapping humans. There are even stories of hunters being captured by female orangutans.: 66–71 Europeans became aware of the existence of the orangutan in the 17th century.: 60  Explorers in Borneo hunted them extensively during the 19th century. In 1779, Dutch anatomist Petrus Camper, who observed the animals and dissected some specimens, gave the first scientific description of the orangutan.: 64–65  Camper mistakenly thought that flanged and unflanged male orangutans were different species, a misconception corrected after his death.Little was known about orangutan behaviour until the field studies of Birutė Galdikas, who became a leading authority on the apes. When she arrived in Borneo in 1971, Galdikas settled into a primitive bark-and-thatch hut at a site she dubbed Camp Leakey, in Tanjung Puting. She studied orangutans for the next four years and developed her PhD thesis for UCLA. Galdikas became an outspoken advocate for orangutans and the preservation of their rainforest habitat, which is rapidly being devastated by loggers, palm oil plantations, gold miners, and unnatural forest fires.  Along with Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, Galdikas is considered to be one of Leakey's Angels, named after anthropologist Louis Leakey.
+
+In fiction
+Orangutans first appeared in Western fiction in the 18th century and have been used to comment on human society. Written by the pseudonymous A. Ardra, Tintinnabulum naturae (The Bell of Nature, 1772) is told from the point of view of a human-orangutan hybrid who calls himself the "metaphysician of the woods". Around 50 years later, the anonymously written work The Orang Outang is narrated by a pure orangutan in captivity in the US, writing a letter critiquing Boston society to her friend in Java.: 108–09 Thomas Love Peacock's 1817 novel Melincourt features Sir Oran Haut Ton, an orangutan who lives among English people and becomes a candidate for Member of Parliament. The novel satirises the class and political system of Britain. Oran's purity and status as a "natural man" stand in contrast to the immorality and corruption of the "civilised" humans.: 110–11  In Frank Challice Constable's The Curse of Intellect (1895), the protagonist Reuben Power travels to Borneo and captures an orangutan to train it to speak so he can "know what a beast like that might think of us".: 114–15  Orangutans are featured prominently in the 1963 science fiction novel Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle and the media franchise derived from it. They are typically portrayed as bureaucrats like Dr. Zaius, the science minister.: 118–19, 175–76 Orangutans are sometimes portrayed as antagonists, notably in the 1832 Walter Scott novel Count Robert of Paris and the 1841 Edgar Allan Poe short story The Murders in the Rue Morgue.: 145  Disney's 1967 animated musical adaptation of The Jungle Book added a jazzy orangutan named King Louie, who tries to get Mowgli to teach him how to make fire.: 266  The 1986 horror film Link features an intelligent orangutan which serves a university professor but has sinister motives; he plots against humanity and stalks a female student assistant.: 174–75  Other stories have portrayed orangutans helping humans, such as The Librarian in Terry Pratchett's fantasy novels Discworld and in Dale Smith's 2004 novel What the Orangutan Told Alice.: 123  More comical portrayals of the orangutan include the 1996 film Dunston Checks In.: 181
+
+In captivity
+By the early 19th century, orangutans were being kept in captivity. In 1817, an orangutan joined several other animals in London's Exeter Exchange. The ape was recorded to have rejected the company of other animals, aside from a dog, and preferred to be with humans. He was occasionally taken on coach rides clothed in a smock-frock and hat and even given drinks at an inn where he behaved politely for the hosts.: 64–65  The London Zoo housed a female orangutan named Jenny who was dressed in human clothing and learned to drink tea. She is remembered for her meeting with Charles Darwin who compared her reactions to those of a human child.Zoos and circuses in the Western world would continue to use orangutans and other simians as sources for entertainment, training them to behave like humans at tea parties and to perform tricks. Notable orangutan "character actors" include: Jacob and Rosa of the Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg, Germany, in the early 20th century; Joe Martin of Universal City Zoo in the 1910s and 1920s; and Jiggs of the San Diego Zoo in the 1930s and 1940s.: 187–89, 193–94  Animal rights groups have urged a stop to such acts, considering them abusive. Starting in the 1960s, zoos became more concerned with education and orangutans exhibits were designed to mimic their natural environment and displayed their natural behaviours.: 185, 206 Ken Allen, an orangutan of the San Diego Zoo, became world famous in the 1980s for multiple escapes from his enclosures. He was nicknamed "the hairy Houdini" and was the subject of a fan club, T-shirts, bumper stickers and a song titled The Ballad of Ken Allen.Galdikas reported that her cook was sexually assaulted by a captive male orangutan. The ape may have suffered from a skewed species identity and forced copulation is a standard mating strategy for low-ranking male orangutans. American animal trafficker Frank Buck claimed to have seen human mothers acting as wet nurses to orphaned orangutan babies in hopes of keeping them alive long enough to sell to a trader, which would be an instance of human–animal breastfeeding.
+
+Conservation
+Status and threats
+All three species are critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List of mammals. They are legally protected from capture, harm or killing in both Malaysia and Indonesia, and are listed under Appendix I by CITES, which prohibits their unlicensed trade under international law. The Bornean orangutan range has become more fragmented, with few or no apes documented in the southeast. The largest remaining population is found in the forest around the Sabangau River, but this environment is at risk. The Sumatran orangutan is found only in the northern part of Sumatra, most of the population inhabiting the Leuser Ecosystem. The Tapanuli orangutan is found only in the Batang Toru forest of Sumatra.
+Birutė Galdikas wrote that orangutans were already threatened by poaching and deforestation when she began studying them in 1971. By the 2000s, orangutan habitats decreased rapidly because of logging, mining and fragmentation by roads. A major factor has been the conversion of vast areas of tropical forest to palm oil plantations in response to international demand. Hunting is also a major problem, as is the illegal pet trade.Orangutans may be killed for the bushmeat trade and bones are secretly sold in souvenir shops in several cities in Indonesian Borneo. Conflicts between locals and orangutans also pose a threat. Orangutans that have lost their homes often raid agricultural areas and end up being killed by villagers. Locals may also be motivated to kill orangutans for food or because of their perceived danger. Mother orangutans are killed so their infants can be sold as pets. Between 2012 and 2017, the Indonesian authorities, with the aid of the Orangutan Information Center, seized 114 orangutans, 39 of which were pets.Estimates in the 2000s found that around 6,500 Sumatran orangutans and around 54,000 Bornean orangutans remain in the wild. A 2016 study estimates a population of 14,613 Sumatran orangutans in the wild, twice that of previous population estimates, while 2016 estimates suggest 104,700 Bornean orangutans exist in the wild. A 2018 study found that Bornean orangutans declined by 148,500 individuals from 1999 to 2015. Fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans are estimated to still exist, which puts the species among the most endangered of the great apes.
+
+Conservation centres and organisations
+Several organisations are working for the rescue, rehabilitation and reintroduction of orangutans. The largest of these is the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation, founded by conservationist Willie Smits and which operates projects such as the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Program founded by conservationist Lone Drøscher Nielsen.A female orangutan was rescued from a village brothel in Kareng Pangi village, Central Kalimantan, in 2003. The orangutan was shaved and chained for sexual purposes. Since being freed, the orangutan, named Pony, has been living with the BOS. She has been re-socialised to live with other orangutans. In May 2017, the BOS rescued an albino orangutan from captivity in a remote village in Kapuas Hulu, on the island of Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo. According to volunteers at BOS, albino orangutans are extremely rare (one in ten thousand). This is the first albino orangutan the organisation has seen in 25 years of activity.Other major conservation centres in Indonesia include those at Tanjung Puting National Park, Sebangau National Park, Gunung Palung National Park and Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park in Borneo and the Gunung Leuser National Park and Bukit Lawang in Sumatra. In Malaysia, conservation areas include Semenggoh Wildlife Centre and Matang Wildlife Centre also in Sarawak, and the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary in Sabah. Major conservation centres headquartered outside the orangutans' home countries include Frankfurt Zoological Society, Orangutan Foundation International, which was founded by Galdikas, and the Australian Orangutan Project. Conservation organisations such as the Orangutan Land Trust work with the palm oil industry to improve sustainability and encourages the industry to establish conservation areas for orangutans.
+
+See also
+International Primate Day
+List of individual apes
+Monkey Day
+Orang Pendek
+Orangutan Island
+Skullduggery (1970 film)
+
+References
+External links
+
+Orangutan Foundation International
+AZA's Orangutan Conservation Education Center
+Orangutan Language Project
+The Orangutan Foundation
+Orangutan Land Trust
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/ostrich.txt b/data/animals/ostrich.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a25d362e809eb877aab24cca984e220cf2c12cb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/ostrich.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+Ostriches are large flightless birds. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, with adult common ostriches weighing anywhere between 140-320 lbs and laying the largest eggs of any living land animal. With the ability to run at 70 km/h (43.5 mph), they are the fastest birds on land. They are farmed worldwide, with significant industries in the Philippines and in Namibia. Ostrich leather is a lucrative commodity, and the large feathers are used as plumes for the decoration of ceremonial headgear. Ostrich eggs have been used by humans for millennia.
+Ostriches are of the genus Struthio in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, cassowaries, kiwis and the extinct elephant birds and moas. There are two living species of ostrich: the common ostrich, native to large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa.  The common ostrich used to be native to the Arabian Peninsula, and ostriches were present across Asia as far east as China and Mongolia during the Late Pleistocene and possibly into the Holocene.
+
+Taxonomic history
+The genus Struthio was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus was used by Linnaeus and other early taxonomists to include the emu, rhea, and cassowary, until they each were placed in their own genera. The Somali ostrich (Struthio molybdophanes) has recently become recognized as a separate species by most authorities, while others are still reviewing the evidence.
+
+Evolution
+Struthionidae is a member of the Struthioniformes, a group of paleognath birds which first appeared during the Early Eocene, and includes a variety of flightless forms which were present across the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, Asia and North America) during the Eocene epoch. The closest relatives of Struthionidae within the Struthioniformes are the Ergilornithidae, known from the late Eocene to early Pliocene of Asia. It is therefore most likely that Struthionidae originated in Asia.The earliest fossils of the genus Struthio are from the early Miocene ~21 million years ago of Namibia in Africa, so it is proposed that genus is of African origin. By the middle to late Miocene (5–13 mya) they had spread to and become widespread across Eurasia. While the relationship of the African fossil species is comparatively straightforward, many Asian species of ostrich have been described from fragmentary remains, and their interrelationships and how they relate to the African ostriches are confusing. In India, Mongolia and China, ostriches are known to have become extinct only around, or even after, the end of the last ice age; images of ostriches have been found prehistoric Chinese pottery and petroglyphs.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Today, ostriches are only found natively in the wild in Africa, where they occur in a range of open arid and semi-arid habitats such as savannas and the Sahel, both north and south of the equatorial forest zone. The Somali ostrich occurs in the Horn of Africa, having evolved isolated from the common ostrich by the geographic barrier of the East African Rift. In some areas, the common ostrich's Masai subspecies occurs alongside the Somali ostrich, but they are kept from interbreeding by behavioral and ecological differences. The Arabian ostriches in Asia Minor and Arabia were hunted to extinction by the middle of the 20th century, and in Israel attempts to introduce North African ostriches to fill their ecological role have failed. Escaped common ostriches in Australia have established feral populations.
+
+Species
+In 2008, S. linxiaensis was transferred to the genus Orientornis. Three additional species, S. pannonicus, S. dmanisensis, and S. transcaucasicus, were transferred to the genus Pachystruthio in 2019. Several additional fossil forms are ichnotaxa (that is, classified according to the organism's trace fossils such as footprints rather than its body) and their association with those described from distinctive bones is contentious and in need of revision pending more good material.The species are:
+
+Prehistoric
+†Struthio barbarus Arambourg 1979
+†Struthio brachydactylus Burchak-Abramovich 1939 (Pliocene of Ukraine)
+†Struthio chersonensis (Brandt 1873) Lambrecht 1921 (Pliocene of SE Europe to WC Asia) – oospecies
+†Struthio coppensi Mourer-Chauviré et al. 1996 (Early Miocene of Elizabethfeld, Namibia)
+†Struthio daberasensis Pickford, Senut & Dauphin 1995 (Early – Middle Pliocene of Namibia) – oospecies
+†Struthio kakesiensis Harrison & Msuya 2005 (Early Pliocene of Laetoli, Tanzania) – oospecies
+†Struthio karingarabensis Senut, Dauphin & Pickford 1998 (Late Miocene – Early Pliocene of SW and CE Africa) – oospecies(?)
+†Struthio oldawayi Lowe 1933 (Late Pleistocene of Tanzania) – probably subspecies of S. camelus
+†Struthio orlovi Kuročkin & Lungo 1970 (Late Miocene of Moldavia)
+†Struthio wimani Lowe 1931 (Early Pliocene of China and Mongolia)
+Late Pleistocene – Holocene
+†Struthio anderssoni Lowe 1931, East Asian ostrich (Late Pleistocene of China to Mongolia) –
+†Struthio asiaticus Brodkorb 1863, Asian ostrich (Early Pliocene – Early Holocene of Central Asia to China? and Morocco)
+Struthio camelus, common ostrich
+Struthio camelus camelus, North African ostrich
+Struthio camelus massaicus, Masai ostrich
+Struthio camelus australis, South African ostrich
+†Struthio camelus syriacus, Arabian ostrich
+Struthio molybdophanes, Somali ostrich
+
+Citations
+General references
+Andersson, Johan Gunnar (1943). "Researches into the prehistory of the Chinese". Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. 15: 1–300, plus 200 plates.
+Brands, Sheila (14 Aug 2008). "Taxon: Genus Struthio". Project: The Taxonomicon. Retrieved 12 Jun 2012.
+Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003). "Ostriches". In Hutchins, Michael (ed.). Birds I Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 8 (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7876-5784-0.
+Hou, L.; Zhou, Z.; Zhang, F.; Wang, Z. (Aug 2005). "A Miocene ostrich fossil from Gansu Province, northwest China". Chinese Science Bulletin. 50 (16): 1808–1810. Bibcode:2005ChSBu..50.1808H. doi:10.1360/982005-575. ISSN 1861-9541. S2CID 129449364.
+Janz, Lisa; et al. (2009). "Dating North Asian surface assemblages with ostrich eggshell: Implications for palaeoecology and extirpation". Journal of Archaeological Science. 36 (9): 1982–1989. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2009.05.012.
+"Seagull Publishers:: K-8 segment | Books | Practice manuals". Seagull Learning – A Unit of Seagull Publishers Private Limited. 7.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/otterhound.txt b/data/animals/otterhound.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dce0f00f97e6bff93287bdbca795c684e5f5332c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/otterhound.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+The Otterhound is a British dog breed. It is a scent hound and is currently recognised by the Kennel Club as a Vulnerable Native Breed with around 600 animals worldwide.
+
+Ancestry
+The first recorded Otterhounds known to resemble the current breed are in the North-West of England in the first half of the 19th century – for example, the Hawkstone Otter Hunt and Squire Lomax's Otterhounds. In the second half of the 19th century, French Griffons were outcrossed, including one-eighth Wolf cross/Griffon Vendéen from the Comte de Canteleu in Normandy. In the early 20th century the Griffon Nivernais was crossed into the breed, and one particular dog, Boatman, a Grand Griffon Vendéen/Bloodhound cross, became an ancestor for several kennels.
+
+Appearance
+The Otterhound is a large, rough-coated hound with an imposing head. Originally bred for hunting, it has great strength and a strong body with long striding steps. This makes it able to perform prolonged hard work. The Otterhound hunts its quarry both on land and in water and it has a combination of characteristics unique among hounds; most notably an oily, rough, double coat and substantial webbed feet. They have a nose that can track in the mud and water for over 72 hoursOtterhounds generally weigh between 80 and 115 pounds (36 and 52 kg). They have extremely sensitive noses, which make them inquisitive and perseverant in investigating scents. Consequently, they need particular supervision when outdoors. They are friendly dogs with a unique bass voice which they use frequently.
+
+Hunting
+Otter hunting dates back to the early medieval period, with references to it found as early as 1360. The otterhound, however, can only be traced back as a distinct breed as far as the early 1800s.
+The otter is one of the largest and most intelligent carnivorous mammals in Europe. To be equal to the otter, an Otterhound was said to need "a Bulldog's courage, a Newfoundland's strength in water, a Pointer's nose, a Retriever's sagacity, the stamina of a Foxhound, the patience of a Beagle, and the intelligence of a Collie".
+In 1978, due to the dramatic decline in otter numbers, the otter was placed on the list of protected species in Britain, and otter hunting therefore ceased. It was never banned in Britain, the otter hunts stopped hunting voluntarily, as it was they who realised that otter numbers were dropping dramatically and brought it to the attention of the authorities. By 1977, nine registered packs of otterhounds were still in existence. A few hunts switched to hunting mink or coypu, but many of the original otterhound packs ceased to exist altogether. Hounds were often passed to newly founded minkhound packs. The Pembroke and Carmarthenshire Minkhounds are the only pack today with a pure otterhound pack. As the dogs had been selectively bred for their hunting capabilities, only a few of the bloodlines were suitable for breeding into companion animals.
+
+Health
+The average lifespan of the breed is a little over 10 years. A quarter will live 12 to 15 years. At least one hound is known to have  lived to be 16 years old.
+The Otterhound enjoys considerable exercise, but can also be a couch potato. They can be good family dogs but need to be kept in a secure property since they can jump fences up to 5 feet high, but rarely try.
+In spite of the small gene pool, the Otterhound is generally a healthy breed, but is subject to many of the same complaints as all large, rapidly growing dogs. 
+Common problems that can occur are elbow and hip dysplasia, a malformation of the elbow and hip joints. These are not always painful, but can cause lameness and impair mobility, and result in arthritis. Badly affected hounds should not be bred from, but most Otterhounds have a poor hip and elbow score. The problem can be reduced by making sure that young Otterhounds do not jump down from high places, go up and down the stairs or walk too much on very hard surfaces while bones are still growing. This enables the muscles around the sockets to strengthen and develop, providing more support.
+Specialized care requires strict excersizing routines and constant grooming due to their shaggy coats, as well as having their owners stay on tasks with their care requirements daily. As for conservation efforts, many organizations are working to persevere the Otterhounds breed, but breeding programs maintain effects on the breed’s genetic diversity and overall health.
+Otterhounds have a predisposition to ear problems (as can any breed with this type of ear) and a predisposition to gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat), due to their deep chest.
+Epilepsy and seizures are also known to affect the breed, and can be hereditary. There is ongoing research into the causes of epilepsy in Otterhounds. For reasons currently unknown, epilepsy in Otterhounds in the United States does not appear to be fatal, while epilepsy found Otterhounds from the United Kingdom is frequently untreatable, and is usually fatal.
+
+Endangered breed
+In 2012 it was estimated there were around 600 otterhounds in the world. It is considered to be the most endangered native breed in Britain, with only 41 new registrations in 2016. This is partly because otterhounds have never been numerous, and even in the early 20th century, when otter hunting as a sport was at the height of its popularity, the number of dogs was still small. They are on the list of Vulnerable Native Breeds as identified by the UK Kennel Club, and great efforts are being made to save the breed.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+
+References
+Bibliography
+Leighton, Robert (2004). Dogs and All About Them. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1419116363.
+Cunliffe, Juliet (2003). Otterhound: Rare Breed Special Editions. Kennel Club Books. ISBN 1-84286-058-5.
+
+External links
+ Media related to Otterhound at Wikimedia Commons
+
+Otterhound at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/oystercatcher.txt b/data/animals/oystercatcher.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..980ce28b4682f71582e214acde49b763125ff7d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/oystercatcher.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The exceptions to this are the Eurasian oystercatcher, the South Island oystercatcher, and the Magellanic oystercatcher, which also breed inland, far inland in some cases. In the past there has been a great deal of confusion as to the species limits, with discrete populations of all black oystercatchers being afforded specific status but pied oystercatchers being considered one single species.
+
+Taxonomy
+The genus Haematopus was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae to accommodate a single species, the Eurasian oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus. The genus name Haematopus comes from the Ancient Greek words haima αἳμα meaning blood, and pous πούς meaning foot, referring to the red legs of the Eurasian oystercatcher; it had been in use since Pierre Belon in 1555. The family Haematopodidae was introduced (as the subfamily Haematopodinae) by the French naturalist Charles Bonaparte in 1838.The common name oystercatcher was coined by Mark Catesby in 1731 for the North American species H. palliatus, which he described as eating oysters. Yarrell in 1843 established this as the preferred term, replacing the older name sea pie
+
+Description
+The different species of oystercatcher show little variation in shape or appearance. They range from 39–50 centimetres (15+1⁄2–19+1⁄2 inches) in length and 72–91 cm (28+1⁄2–36 in) in wingspan. The Eurasian oystercatcher is the lightest on average, at 526 grams (1 pound 2+1⁄2 ounces), while the sooty oystercatcher is the heaviest, at 819 g (1 lb 13 oz). The plumage of all species is either all-black, or black (or dark brown) on top and white underneath. The variable oystercatcher is slightly exceptional in being either all-black or pied. They are large, obvious, and noisy plover-like birds, with massive long orange or red bills used for smashing or prying open molluscs. The bill shape varies between species, according to the diet. Those birds with blade-like bill tips pry open or smash mollusc shells, and those with pointed bill tips tend to probe for annelid worms. They show sexual dimorphism, with females being longer-billed and heavier than males.
+
+Feeding
+The diet of oystercatchers varies with location. Species occurring inland feed upon earthworms and insect larvae. The diet of coastal oystercatchers is more varied, although dependent upon coast type; on estuaries, bivalves, gastropods and polychaete worms are the most important part of the diet, whereas rocky shore oystercatchers prey upon limpets, mussels, gastropods, and chitons. Other prey items include echinoderms, fish, and crabs.
+
+Breeding
+Nearly all species of oystercatcher are monogamous, although there are reports of polygamy in the Eurasian oystercatcher. They are territorial during the breeding season (with a few species defending territories year round). There is strong mate and site fidelity in the species that have been studied, with one record of a pair defending the same site for 20 years. A single nesting attempt is made per breeding season, which is timed over the summer months. The nests of oystercatchers are simple affairs, scrapes in the ground which may be lined, and placed in a spot with good visibility. The eggs of oystercatchers are spotted and cryptic. Between one and four eggs are laid, with three being typical in the Northern Hemisphere and two in the south.  Incubation is shared but not proportionally, females tend to take more incubation and males engage in more territory defence. Incubation varies by species, lasting between 24–39 days. Oystercatchers are also known to practice "egg dumping." Like the cuckoo, they sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other species such as seagulls, abandoning them to be raised by those birds.
+
+Conservation
+The Canary Islands oystercatcher became extinct during the 20th century. The Chatham oystercatcher is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand and is listed as endangered by the IUCN, while both the African and Eurasian oystercatchers are considered near threatened. There has been conflict with commercial shellfish farmers, but studies have found that the impact of oystercatchers is much smaller than that of shore crabs.
+
+Species
+The genus contains twelve species.
+Several fossil species are known, including Haematopus sulcatus (Brodkorb, 1955) from the Barstovian of Florida and Zanclean of North Carolina, and which is evidently considered a synonym of the extant species Haematopus palliatus.
+
+References
+External links
+
+ARKive – images and movies of the oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
+Oystercatcher videos on the Internet Bird Collection
+LIVE webcam at the seashore in Namsos, Norway 2013
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/patas.txt b/data/animals/patas.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4cfe3cb01e5059f3b4272d9a7c607ce9e00737f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/patas.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+The common patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas), also known as the hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa.
+
+Taxonomy
+There is some confusion surrounding if there are valid subspecies, with some listing four, others three, and others listing two: the western Erythrocebus patas patas (with a black nose) and the eastern E. patas pyrrhonotus (with a white nose). However, it was later discovered that the nose colour used to separate these subspecies could change to white during pregnancy in females, as well as in general as animals aged, and E. patas pyrrhonotus in Kenya often did not have white noses, thus Mammal Species of the World has classified E. patas as a monotypic species.The genus status of the species has previously been in flux. Colin Groves first argued the species was closely related to Cercopithecus aethiops in 1989, based on anatomical morphology. Phylogenetic evidence from 2003 appeared to validate him, finding the patas monkey to form a clade within the vervet genus Cercopithecus together with C. aethiops and C. lhoesti, and based on this study Erythrocebus was proposed to be sunk into synonymy with Cercopithecus. However, more recent studies have found this interpretation of Cercopithecus to be paraphyletic, and thus many species in Cercopithecus have since been reclassified to numerous new genera and species, with C. aethiops moved to Chlorocebus and C. lhoesti to Allochrocebus. Erythrocebus is thus now thought to be a distinct genus.
+Erythrocebus was previously thought to be a monotypic genus containing only E. patas. However, a 2017 study proposed splitting E. patas into three species (E. patas sensu stricto, E. poliphaeus, and E. baumstarki) based on morphological differences and heavy geographic separation between taxa, with the IUCN Red List and American Society of Mammalogists following through with this.
+
+Description
+The male common patas monkey grows to 60 cm (24 in) to 87 cm (34 in) in length, excluding the tail, which measures 75 cm (30 in). Adult males are considerably larger than adult females, which average 49 cm (19 in) in length. 
+Adult males average 12.4 kg (27.3 lb) and adult females 6.5 kg (14.3 lb), showing a high degree of sexual dimorphism.
+Reaching speeds of 55 km/h (34 mph), it is the fastest runner among the primates.The life span in the wild can be up to about 20 years.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+It is found in many parts of central, western, and eastern Africa. It also has been introduced to Puerto Rico. The species avoids dense woodlands and lives in more open tropical savanna.
+
+Behavior
+The common patas monkey lives in multi-female groups of up to 60 individuals (although much larger aggregations have been reported). The group contains just one adult male for most of the year. During the breeding season, there are multi-male influxes into the group. Once juvenile males reach sexual maturity (around the age of four years) they leave the group, usually joining all-male groups. The adult females in the group initiate movement of the group with the male following their lead.The common patas monkey feeds on insects, gum, seeds, and tubers, a diet more characteristic of much smaller primates.
+
+Female social organization
+Variation in the female social structure of patas monkeys has been observed across different populations. This variation may be dependent on food resources, as conflict between individuals is often a result of competition for limited resources. Higher rates of conflict over dense, but limited, food, such as fruit bushes, is associated with more stable, well defined dominance hierarchies than habitats with more diffuse resources, such as insects. Variation in the availability of these resources has been associated with variation in dominance hierarchies among females.Conflict among females has also shown the presence of recognition among matrilineal relatives. It has been observed that, shortly after conflicts among two females, patas monkeys often act differently toward each other than if they had not been in conflict. Females often reconcile with each other by activities such as sitting together and grooming. While this reconciliatory behavior is observed even between unrelated individuals, it is most common among matrilineal relatives. Dominance structure has relatively little effect on the probability of reconciliation occurring, except that the alpha-female is the least reconciliatory of the females. Affiliation toward matrilineal relatives is common in other primates as well, such as vervet monkeys.
+
+Male social organization
+Mating in common patas monkeys is seasonal and occurs during the wet season. During periods when females are not receptive, relatively stable groups with one adult resident male and several females are the norm. This leaves an excess of males that either form all male groups or live on their own. During the mating season, resident males may be chased away by invading solitary males. This usually results in the formation of multi-male, multi-female groups shortly thereafter, as more males invade a group. The new resident male does not chase away subordinate invading males, but rather focuses on mating with females. At the end of the mating season, one-male, multi-female groups stabilize. One male remains as the resident male and chases other males away. In some instances, submissive males are tolerated by the resident male for short periods of time; however, they rarely remain in the group for more than several days.Young males have been observed to leave their natal groups anywhere from two to four years of age. However, one study showed that most juveniles left before they were three, which is before most males reach sexual maturity. This contrasts with an earlier study in which juveniles were observed to leave later, at sexual maturity, indicating that there may be variation between groups. The reason young males leave their natal group is also contested. Dominant males have been observed to act aggressively toward younger males in captivity. However, observations of wild patas monkeys has shown young males leaving the group in which they were born without any aggressive behavior from the adult male. The juveniles, in the time shortly before they leave, spend increasingly less and less time with the adult females in the group. However, juvenile males do not change the amount of time they spend near the adult male. This may indicate weakening of matrilineal ties, rather than male aggression, as the main reason juveniles disperse from their natal group.
+
+Alarm calls
+Common patas monkeys have several distinct alarm calls that warn members in the group of predators. Different alarm calls are given by different group members (i.e. adult females, adult males, juveniles, etc.) and certain alarm calls are distinctive of different types of predators. Unlike other primates, patas monkeys rarely take refuge from predators in trees. This is most likely due to the relatively sparse tree cover in patas monkey habitats. While patas monkeys usually run on the ground away from predators, individuals have been observed to attack predators such as jackals and wildcats. This behavior has been observed in both males and females.
+
+In popular culture
+The relationship between the patas monkey and the whistling thorn acacia may have inspired The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.
+
+Gallery
+Notes
+References
+Arsuaga, Juan Luis; Ignacio, Martínez (2006) [1997]. The Chosen Species: The Long March of Human Evolution. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-1532-2.
+Enstam, Karin L.; Isbell, Lynne A. (2002). "Comparison of responses to alarm calls by patas (Erythrocebus patas) and vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops) monkeys in relation to habitat structure". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 119 (1): 3–14. doi:10.1002/ajpa.10104. PMID 12209569. S2CID 2743602.
+Hall, K. R. L. (2009). "Behaviour and ecology of the wild Patas monkey, Erythrocebus patas, in Uganda". Journal of Zoology. 148: 15–87. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1966.tb02942.x.
+Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals. London: Academic Press Limited. ISBN 978-0-12-408355-4.
+Isbell, Lynne A. (1998). "Diet for a small primate: Insectivory and gummivory in the (large) patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas pyrrhonotus)". American Journal of Primatology. 45 (4): 381–98. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2345(1998)45:4<381::AID-AJP5>3.0.CO;2-S. PMID 9702283. S2CID 16880971.
+Isbell, L. A.; Young, T. P.; Jaffe, K. E.; Carlson, A. A.; Chancellor, R. L. (2009). "Demography and Life Histories of Sympatric Patas Monkeys, Erythrocebus patas, and Vervets, Cercopithecus aethiops, in Laikipia, Kenya". International Journal of Primatology. 30 (1): 103–124. doi:10.1007/s10764-009-9332-7. PMC 2949556. PMID 20976285.
+Nakagawa, Naofumi (2008). "Despotic wild patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) in Kala Maloue, Cameroon". American Journal of Primatology. 70 (3): 238–46. doi:10.1002/ajp.20481. PMID 17854072. S2CID 36739667.
+Ohsawa, H (2003). "Long-term study of the social dynamics of patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas): Group male supplanting and changes to the multi-male situation". Primates; Journal of Primatology. 44 (2): 99–107. doi:10.1007/s10329-002-0024-6. PMID 12687473. S2CID 31393728.
+Rogers, William; Chism, Janice (2009). "Male dispersal in patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas)". Behaviour. 146 (4): 657. doi:10.1163/156853908X395549. S2CID 84124341.
+York, Alison D.; Rowell, T.E. (1988). "Reconciliation following aggression in patas monkeys, Erythrocebus patas". Animal Behaviour. 36 (2): 502. doi:10.1016/S0003-3472(88)80021-6. S2CID 53158009.
+
+External links
+
+Primate Info Net Erythrocebus patas Factsheet
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+The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or  monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record.
+Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Like other monotremes, the platypus senses prey in cloudy water through electrolocation. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers an extremely painful venom. 
+The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal at first baffled European naturalists. In 1799, the first scientists to examine a preserved platypus body judged it a fake made of several animals sewn together.
+The unique features of the platypus make it important in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia. It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples, who also used to hunt it for food. It has appeared as a national mascot, features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and is an emblem of the state of New South Wales. 
+The platypus was hunted for its fur, but it has been a legally protected species in all states where it occurs since 1912. Its population is not under severe threat, although captive-breeding programs have had slight success, and it is vulnerable to pollution. It is classified as a near-threatened species by the IUCN, but a November 2020 report has recommended that it be upgraded to threatened species under the federal EPBC Act, due to habitat destruction and declining numbers in all states.
+
+Taxonomy and naming
+When the platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales. British scientists' initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax. George Shaw, who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist's Miscellany in 1799, stated it was impossible not to entertain doubts as to its genuine nature, and Robert Knox believed it might have been produced by some Asian taxidermist. It was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal. Shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches.The common name "platypus" literally means 'flat-foot', deriving from the Greek word platúpous (πλατύπους), from platús (πλατύς 'broad, wide, flat') and poús (πούς 'foot'). Shaw initially assigned the species the Linnaean name Platypus anatinus when he described it, but the genus term was quickly discovered to already be in use as the name of the wood-boring ambrosia beetle genus Platypus. It was independently described as Ornithorhynchus paradoxus by Johann Blumenbach in 1800 (from a specimen given to him by Sir Joseph Banks) and following the rules of priority of nomenclature, it was later officially recognised as Ornithorhynchus anatinus.There is no universally-agreed plural form of "platypus" in the English language. Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Alternatively, the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is a form of pseudo-Latin; going by the word's Greek roots the plural would be "platypodes". Early British settlers called it by many names, such as "watermole", "duckbill", and "duckmole". Occasionally it is specifically called the "duck-billed platypus".
+The scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus literally means 'duck-like bird-snout', deriving its genus name from the Greek root ornith- (όρνιθ ornith or ὄρνις órnīs 'bird') and the word rhúnkhos (ῥύγχος 'snout', 'beak'). Its species name is derived from Latin anatinus ('duck-like') from anas 'duck'. The platypus is the sole living representative or  monotypic taxon of its family (Ornithorhynchidae).
+
+Description
+In David Collins's account of the new colony 1788–1801, he describes "an amphibious animal, of the mole species", with a drawing.The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown, biofluorescent fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm. The fur is waterproof, textured like that of a mole. The platypus' tail stores fat reserves, an adaptation also found in the Tasmanian devil. Webbing is more significant on the front feet, which in land walking are folded up in knuckle-walking to protect the webbing. The elongated snout and lower jaw are covered in soft skin, forming the bill. The nostrils are located on the snout's dorsal surface, while the eyes and ears are just behind the snout in a groove which closes underwater. Platypuses can give a low growl when disturbed, and a range of vocalisations have been reported in captivity.
+Size varies considerably in different regions, with average weight from 0.7 to 2.4 kg (1 lb 9 oz to 5 lb 5 oz); males have average length 50 cm (20 in), while females are the smaller at 43 cm (17 in). This variation does not seem to follow any particular climatic rule and may be due to other factors such as predation and human encroachment.The platypus has an average body temperature of about 32 °C (90 °F), lower than the 37 °C (99 °F) typical of placental mammals. Research suggests this has been a gradual adaptation to harsh environmental conditions among the few marginal surviving monotreme species, rather than a general characteristic of past monotremes.In addition to laying eggs, the anatomy, ontogeny, and genetics of monotremes shows traces of similarity to reptiles and birds. The platypus has a reptilian gait with legs on the sides of the body, rather than underneath. The platypus's genes are a possible evolutionary link between the mammalian XY and bird/reptile ZW sex-determination systems, as one of the platypus's five X chromosomes contains the DMRT1 gene, which birds possess on their Z chromosome.As in all true mammals, the tiny bones that conduct sound in the middle ear are fully incorporated into the skull, rather than lying in the jaw as in pre-mammalian synapsids. However, the external opening of the ear still lies at the base of the jaw. The platypus has extra bones in the shoulder girdle, including an interclavicle not found in other mammals. As in many other aquatic and semiaquatic vertebrates, the bones show osteosclerosis, increasing their density to provide ballast.The platypus jaw is constructed differently from that of other mammals, and the jaw-opening muscle is different. Modern platypus young have three teeth in each of the maxillae (one premolar and two molars) and dentaries (three molars), which they lose before or just after leaving the breeding burrow; adults instead develop heavily keratinised food-grinding pads called ceratodontes. The first upper and third lower cheek teeth of platypus nestlings are small, each having one principal cusp, while the other teeth have two main cusps.
+
+Venom
+While both male and female platypuses are born with back ankle spurs, only the males' deliver venom.
+It is powerful enough to kill smaller animals such as dogs, and though it is not lethal to humans, it can inflict weeks of agony. Edema rapidly develops around the wound and gradually spreads through the affected limb, and it may develop into an excruciating hyperalgesia (heightened sensitivity to pain) persisting for days or even months.The venom is composed largely of defensin-like proteins (DLPs) produced by the immune system, three of which are unique to the platypus. In other animals, defensins kill in pathogenic bacteria and viruses, but in platypuses they are also collected into a venom against predators. Venom is produced in the crural glands of the male, which are kidney-shaped alveolar glands connected by a thin-walled duct to a calcaneus spur on each hind limb. The female platypus, in common with echidnas, has rudimentary spur buds that do not develop (dropping off before the end of their first year) and lack functional crural glands. Venom production rises among males during the breeding season, and it may be used to assert dominance.Similar spurs are found on many archaic mammal groups, indicating that this is was an ancient general characteristic among mammals.
+
+Electrolocation
+Monotremes are the only mammals (apart from the Guiana Dolphin) known to have a sense of electroreception, and the platypus's electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme. Feeding by neither sight nor smell, the platypus closes its eyes, ears, and nose when it dives. Digging in the bottom of streams with its bill, its electroreceptors detect tiny electric currents generated by the muscular contractions of its prey, enabling it to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects. Experiments have shown the platypus will even react to an "artificial shrimp" if a small electric current is passed through it.The electroreceptors are located in rostrocaudal rows in the skin of the bill, while mechanoreceptors for touch are uniformly distributed across the bill. The electrosensory area of the cerebral cortex is in the tactile somatosensory area, and some cortical cells receive input from both electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors, suggesting the platypus feels electric fields like touches. These receptors in the bill dominate the somatotopic map of the platypus brain, in the same way human hands dominate the Penfield homunculus map.The platypus can feel the direction of an electric source, perhaps by comparing differences in signal strength across the sheet of electroreceptors, enhanced by the characteristic side-to-side motion of the animal's head while hunting. It may also be able to determine the distance of moving prey from the time lag between their electrical and mechanical pressure pulses.Monotreme electrolocation for hunting in murky waters may be tied to their tooth loss. The extinct Obdurodon was electroreceptive, but unlike the modern platypus it foraged pelagically (near the ocean surface).
+
+Eyes
+In recent studies it has been suggested that the eyes of the platypus are more similar to those of Pacific hagfish or Northern Hemisphere lampreys than to those of most tetrapods. The eyes also contain double cones, unlike most mammals.Although the platypus's eyes are small and not used under water, several features indicate that vision was important for its ancestors. The corneal surface and the adjacent surface of the lens is flat, while the posterior surface of the lens is steeply curved, similar to the eyes of other aquatic mammals such as otters and sea-lions. A temporal (ear side) concentration of retinal ganglion cells, important for binocular vision, indicates a vestigial role in predation, though the actual visual acuity is insufficient for such activities. Limited acuity is matched by low cortical magnification, a small lateral geniculate nucleus, and a large optic tectum, suggesting that the visual midbrain plays a more important role than the visual cortex, as in some rodents. These features suggest that the platypus has adapted to an aquatic and nocturnal lifestyle, developing its electrosensory system at the cost of its visual system. This contrasts with the small number of electroreceptors in the short-beaked echidna, which dwells in dry environments, while the long-beaked echidna, which lives in moist environments, is intermediate between the other two monotremes.
+
+Biofluorescence
+In 2020, research revealed that platypus fur gives a bluish-green biofluorescent glow in black light.
+
+Distribution, ecology, and behaviour
+The platypus is semiaquatic, inhabiting small streams and rivers over an extensive range from the cold highlands of Tasmania and the Australian Alps to the tropical rainforests of coastal Queensland as far north as the base of the Cape York Peninsula.Inland, its distribution is not well known. It was considered extinct on the South Australian mainland, with the last sighting recorded at Renmark in 1975. In the 1980s, John Wamsley created a platypus breeding program in Warrawong Sanctuary (see below), which subsequently closed. In 2017 there were some unconfirmed sightings downstream from the sanctuary, and in October 2020 a nesting platypus was filmed inside the recently reopened sanctuary.There is a population on Kangaroo Island introduced in the 1920s, said to stand at 150 individuals in the Rocky River region of Flinders Chase National Park. In the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, large portions of the island burnt, decimating  wildlife. However, SA Department for Environment and Water recovery teams worked to reinstate their habitat, with a number of sightings reported by April 2020.The platypus is no longer found in the main Murray-Darling Basin, possibly due to  declining water quality from land clearing and irrigation. Along the coastal river systems, its distribution is unpredictable: absent in some relatively healthy rivers, but present in some quite degraded ones, for example the lower Maribyrnong.In captivity, platypuses have survived to 17 years of age, and wild specimens have been recaptured when 11 years old. Mortality rates for adults in the wild appear to be low. Natural predators include snakes, water rats, goannas, hawks, owls, and eagles. Low platypus numbers in northern Australia are possibly due to predation by crocodiles. The introduction of red foxes in 1845 for sport hunting may have had some impact on its numbers on the mainland. The platypus is generally nocturnal and crepuscular, but can be active on overcast days. Its habitat bridges rivers and the riparian zone, where it finds both prey and river banks to dig resting and nesting burrows. It may have a range of up to 7 km (4.3 mi), with a male's home range overlapping those of three or four females.The platypus is an excellent swimmer and spends much of its time in the water foraging for food. It has a swimming style unique among mammals, propelling itself by alternate strokes of the front feet, while the webbed hind feet are held against the body and only used for steering, along with the tail. It can maintain its relatively low body temperature of about 32 °C (90 °F) while foraging for hours in water below 5 °C (41 °F). Dives normally last around 30 seconds, with an estimated aerobic limit of 40 seconds, with 10 to 20 seconds at the surface between dives.The platypus rests in a short, straight burrow in the riverbank about 30 cm (12 in) above water level, its oval entrance-hole often hidden under a tangle of roots. It may sleep up to 14 hours per day, after half a day of diving.
+
+Diet
+The platypus is a carnivore, feeding on annelid worms, insect larvae, freshwater shrimp, and yabby (crayfish) that it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches while swimming. It carries prey to the surface in cheek-pouches before eating it. It eats about 20% of its own weight each day, which requires it to spend an average of 12 hours daily looking for food.
+
+Reproduction
+At first, European naturalists could hardly believe that the female platypus lays eggs, but this was finally confirmed by William Hay Caldwell in 1884.The species has a single breeding season  between June and October, with some local variation. Investigations have found both resident and transient platypuses, and suggest a polygynous mating system. Females are believed to become sexually mature in their second year, with breeding observed in animals over nine years old. The male takes no part in nesting, living in his year-long resting burrow. After mating, the female constructs a deep, elaborate nesting burrow up to 20 m (65 ft) long. It tucks fallen leaves and reeds underneath its curled tail, dragging them to the burrow to soften the tunnel floor with folded wet leaves, and to line the nest at the end with bedding.The female has two ovaries, but only the left one is functional. It lays one to three (usually two) small, leathery eggs (similar to those of reptiles), about 11 mm (7⁄16 in) in diameter and slightly rounder than bird eggs. The eggs develop in utero for about 28 days, with only about 10 days of external incubation (in contrast to a chicken egg, which spends about one day in tract and 21 days externally). The female curls around the incubating eggs, which develop in three phases. In the first, the embryo has no functional organs and relies on the yolk sac for sustenance, until the sac is absorbed. During the second phase, the digits develop, and in the last phase, the egg tooth appears.Most mammal zygotes go through holoblastic cleavage, splitting into multiple divisible daughter cells. However, monotremes like the platypus, along with reptiles and birds, undergo meroblastic cleavage, in which the ovum does not split completely. The cells at the edge of the yolk remain continuous with the egg's cytoplasm, allowing the yolk and embryo, to exchange waste and nutrients with the egg through the cytoplasm.Young platypus are called "puggles". Newly hatched platypuses are vulnerable, blind, and hairless, and are fed by the mother's milk, that provides all the requirements for growth and development. The platypus' mammary glands lack teats, with milk released through pores in the skin. The milk pools in grooves on the mother's abdomen, allowing the young to lap it up. After they hatch, the offspring are milk-fed for three to four months. 
+During incubation and weaning, the mother initially leaves the burrow only for short periods to forage. She leaves behind her a number of thin soil plugs along the length of the burrow, possibly to protect the young from predators; pushing past these on her return squeezes water from her fur and allows the burrow to remain dry. After about five weeks, the mother begins to spend more time away from her young, and at around four months, the young emerge from the burrow. A platypus is born with teeth, but these drop out at a very early age, leaving the horny plates it uses to grind food.
+
+Evolution
+The platypus and other monotremes were very poorly understood, and some of the 19th century myths that grew up around them – for example, that the monotremes were "inferior" or quasireptilian – still endure. In 1947, William King Gregory theorised that placental mammals and marsupials may have diverged earlier, and a subsequent branching divided the monotremes and marsupials, but later research and fossil discoveries have suggested this is incorrect. In fact, modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree, and a later branching is thought to have led to the marsupial and placental groups. Molecular clock and fossil dating suggest platypuses split from echidnas around 19–48 million years ago.
+The oldest discovered fossil of the modern platypus dates back to about 100,000 years ago, during the Quaternary period. The extinct monotremes Teinolophos and Steropodon were once thought to be closely related to the modern platypus, but are now considered more basal taxa. The fossilised Steropodon was discovered in New South Wales and is composed of an opalised lower jawbone with three molar teeth (whereas the adult contemporary platypus is toothless). The molar teeth were initially thought to be tribosphenic, which would have supported a variation of Gregory's theory, but later research has suggested, while they have three cusps, they evolved under a separate process. The fossil is thought to be about 110 million years old, making it the oldest mammal fossil found in Australia. Unlike the modern platypus (and echidnas), Teinolophos lacked a beak.Monotrematum sudamericanum, another fossil relative of the platypus, has been found in Argentina, indicating monotremes were present in the supercontinent of Gondwana when the continents of South America and Australia were joined via Antarctica (until about 167 million years ago). A fossilised tooth of a giant platypus species, Obdurodon tharalkooschild, was dated 5–15 million years ago. Judging by the tooth, the animal measured 1.3 metres long, making it the largest platypus on record.
+Because of the early divergence from the therian mammals and the low numbers of extant monotreme species, the platypus is a frequent subject of research in evolutionary biology. In 2004, researchers at the Australian National University discovered the platypus has ten sex chromosomes, compared with two (XY) in most other mammals. These ten chromosomes form five unique pairs of XY in males and XX in females, i.e. males are X1Y1X2Y2X3Y3X4Y4X5Y5. One of the X chromosomes of the platypus has great homology to the bird Z chromosome. The platypus genome also has both reptilian and mammalian genes associated with egg fertilisation. Though the platypus lacks the mammalian sex-determining gene SRY, a study found that the mechanism of sex determination is the AMH gene on the oldest Y chromosome. A draft version of the platypus genome sequence was published in Nature on 8 May 2008, revealing both reptilian and mammalian elements, as well as two genes found previously only in birds, amphibians, and fish. More than 80% of the platypus's genes are common to the other mammals whose genomes have been sequenced. An updated genome, the most complete on record, was published in 2021, together with the genome of the short-beaked echidna.
+
+Conservation
+Status and threats
+Except for its loss from the state of South Australia, the platypus occupies the same general distribution as it did prior to European settlement of Australia. However, local changes and fragmentation of distribution due to human modification of its habitat are documented. Its historical abundance is unknown and its current abundance difficult to gauge, but it is assumed to have declined in numbers, although as of 1998 was still being considered as common over most of its current range. The species was extensively hunted for its fur until the early years of the 20th century. Although the species gained legal protections beginning in Victoria in 1890 and throughout Australia by 1912, until about 1950 it was still at risk of drowning in the nets of inland fisheries.The International Union for Conservation of Nature recategorised its status as "near threatened" in 2016. The species is protected by law, but the only state in which it is listed as endangered is South Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. In November 2020 a recommendation was made to list the platypus as a vulnerable species across all states with a vulnerable listing being made official in Victoria under the state's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 on 10 January 2021.
+
+Habitat destruction
+The platypus is not considered to be in immediate danger of extinction, because conservation measures have been successful, but it could be adversely affected by habitat disruption caused by dams, irrigation, pollution, netting, and trapping. Reduction of watercourse flows and water levels through excessive droughts and extraction of water for industrial, agricultural, and domestic supplies are also considered a threat. The IUCN lists the platypus on its Red List as "Near Threatened" as assessed in 2016, when it was estimated that numbers had reduced by about 30 percent on average since European settlement. The animal is listed as endangered in South Australia, but it is not covered at all under the federal EPBC Act.Researchers have worried for years that declines have been greater than assumed. In January 2020, researchers from the University of New South Wales presented evidence that the platypus is at risk of extinction, due to a combination of extraction of water resources, land clearing, climate change and severe drought. The study predicted that, considering current threats, the animals' abundance would decline by 47%–66% and metapopulation occupancy by 22%–32% over 50 years, causing "extinction of local populations across about 40% of the range". Under projections of climate change projections to 2070, reduced habitat due to drought would lead to 51–73% reduced abundance and 36–56% reduced metapopulation occupancy within 50 years respectively. These predictions suggested that the species would fall under the "Vulnerable" classification. The authors stressed the need for national conservation efforts, which might include conducting more surveys, tracking trends, reduction of threats and improvement of river management to ensure healthy platypus habitat. Co-author Gilad Bino is concerned that the estimates of the 2016 baseline numbers could be wrong, and numbers may have been reduced by as much as half already.A November 2020 report by scientists from the University of New South Wales, funded by a research grant from the Australian Conservation Foundation in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund Australia and the Humane Society International Australia revealed that that platypus habitat in Australia had shrunk by 22 per cent in the previous 30 years, and recommended that the platypus should be listed as a threatened species under the EPBC Act. Declines in population had been greatest in NSW, in particular in the Murray-Darling Basin.
+
+Disease
+Platypuses generally suffer from few diseases in the wild; however, as of 2008 there was concern in Tasmania about the potential impacts of a disease caused by the fungus Mucor amphibiorum. The disease (termed mucormycosis) affects only Tasmanian platypuses, and had not been observed in platypuses in mainland Australia. Affected platypuses can develop skin lesions or ulcers on various parts of their bodies, including their backs, tails, and legs. Mucormycosis can kill platypuses, death arising from secondary infection and by affecting the animals' ability to maintain body temperature and forage efficiently. The Biodiversity Conservation Branch at the Department of Primary Industries and Water collaborated with NRM north and University of Tasmania researchers to determine the impacts of the disease on Tasmanian platypuses, as well as the mechanism of transmission and spread of the disease.
+
+Wildlife sanctuaries
+Much of the world was introduced to the platypus in 1939 when National Geographic Magazine published an article on the platypus and the efforts to study and raise it in captivity. The latter is a difficult task, and only a few young have been successfully raised since, notably at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria. The leading figure in these efforts was David Fleay, who established a platypusary (a simulated stream in a tank) at the Healesville Sanctuary, where breeding was successful in 1943. In 1972, he found a dead baby of about 50 days old, which had presumably been born in captivity, at his wildlife park at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Healesville repeated its success in 1998 and again in 2000 with a similar stream tank. Since 2008, platypus has bred regularly at Healesville, including second-generation (captive born themselves breeding in captivity). Taronga Zoo in Sydney bred twins in 2003, and breeding was again successful there in 2006.
+
+Captivity
+As of 2019, the only platypuses in captivity outside of Australia are in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in the U.S. state of California. Three attempts were made to bring the animals to the Bronx Zoo, in 1922, 1947, and 1958. Of these, only two of the three animals introduced in 1947, Penelope and Cecil, lived longer than eighteen months.
+
+Human interactions
+Usage
+Aboriginal Australians used to hunt platypuses for food (their fatty tails being particularly nutritious), while, after colonisation, Europeans hunted them for fur from the late 19th century until 1912, when it was prohibited by law. In addition, European researchers captured and killed platypus or removed their eggs, partly in order to increase scientific knowledge, but also to gain prestige and outcompete rivals from different countries.
+
+Cultural references
+The platypus has been a subject in the Dreamtime stories of Aboriginal Australians, some of whom believed the animal was a hybrid of a duck and a water rat.: 57–60 According to one story of the upper Darling River, the major animal groups, the land animals, water animals and birds, all competed for the platypus to join their respective groups, but the platypus ultimately decided to not join any of them, feeling that he did not need to be part of a group to be special,: 83–85  and wished to remain friends with all of those groups. Another Dreaming story emanate of the upper Darling tells of a young duck which ventured too far, ignoring the warnings of her tribe, and was kidnapped by a large water-rat called Biggoon. After managing to escape after some time, she returned and laid two eggs which hatched into strange furry creatures, so they were all banished and went to live in the mountains.
+The platypus is also used by some Aboriginal peoples as a totem, which is to them "a natural object, plant or animal that is inherited by members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem", and the animal holds special meaning as a totem animal for the Wadi Wadi people, who live along the Murray River. Because of their cultural significance and importance in connection to country, the platypus is protected and conserved by these Indigenous peoples.The platypus has often been used as a symbol of Australia's cultural identity. In the 1940s, live platypuses were given to allies in the Second World War, in order to strengthen ties and boost morale.Platypuses have been used several times as mascots: Syd the platypus was one of the three mascots chosen for the Sydney 2000 Olympics along with an echidna and a kookaburra, Expo Oz the platypus was the mascot for World Expo 88, which was held in Brisbane in 1988, and Hexley the platypus is the mascot for the Darwin operating system, the BSD-based core of macOS and other operating systems from Apple Inc.Since the introduction of decimal currency to Australia in 1966, the embossed image of a platypus, designed and sculpted by Stuart Devlin, has appeared on the reverse (tails) side of the 20-cent coin. The platypus has frequently appeared in Australian postage stamps, most recently the 2015 "Native Animals" series and the 2016 "Australian Animals Monotremes" series.In the American animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007–2015), the title characters own a pet bluish-green platypus named Perry who, unknown to them, is a secret agent. Such choices were inspired by media underuse, as well as to exploit the animal's striking appearance; additionally, show creator Dan Povenmire, who also wrote the character's theme song, said that its opening lyrics are based on the introductory sentence of the Platypus article on Wikipedia, copying the "semiaquatic egg-laying mammal" phrase word for word, and appending the phrase "of action". As a character, Perry has been well received by both fans and critics. Coincidentally, real platypuses show a similar cyan color when seen under ultraviolet lighting.
+
+See also
+Henry Burrell
+Ellis Joseph
+Fauna of Australia
+
+Footnotes
+Citations
+References
+Books
+Augee, Michael L. (2001). "Platypus". World Book Encyclopedia.
+Burrell, Harry (1974). The Platypus. Adelaide SA: Rigby. ISBN 978-0-85179-521-8.
+Fleay, David H. (1980). Paradoxical Platypus: Hobnobbing with Duckbills. Jacaranda Press. ISBN 978-0-7016-1364-8.
+Grant, Tom (1995). The platypus: a unique mammal. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-86840-143-0.
+Griffiths, Mervyn (1978). The Biology of the Monotremes. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-12-303850-0.
+Hutch, Michael; McDade, Melissa C., eds. (2004). "Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Lower metazoans and lesser deuterosomes". Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 12: Mammals III. Gale. ISBN 9780787657772. OCLC 1089554968.
+Moyal, Ann Mozley (2004). Platypus: The Extraordinary Story of How a Curious Creature Baffled the World. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8052-0.
+Strahan, Ronald; Van Dyck, Steve (April 2006). Mammals of Australia (3rd ed.). New Holland. ISBN 978-1-877069-25-3.
+
+Documentaries
+"Southern Exposure". Eye of the Storm. 2000. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. DVD EAN 9398710245592
+"El Niño". Eye of the Storm. 2000. Archived from the original on 28 February 2013.
+
+External links
+
+Biodiversity Heritage Library bibliography for Ornithorhynchus anatinus
+Platypus facts (archived 10 September 2019)
+View the platypus genome in Ensembl
+PBS Nature "The Platypus Guardian"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/polecat.txt b/data/animals/polecat.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c9ef8ac03dcba6781ae6541e783971fe1e4f267e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/polecat.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+Polecat is a common name for several mustelid species in the order Carnivora and subfamilies Ictonychinae and Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank (i.e. clade). The name is applied to several species with broad similarities to European polecats, the only polecat species native to the British Isles, such as having a dark mask-like marking across the face.
+In the United States, the term polecat is sometimes applied to the black-footed ferret, a native member of the Mustelinae. In Southern United States dialect, the term polecat is sometimes used as a colloquial nickname for the skunk, which is part of the family Mephitidae.Despite their common name, polecats are more closely related to dogs than to cats.
+
+Taxonomy
+According to the most recent taxonomic scheme proposing eight subfamilies within Mustelidae, polecats are classified as:
+Subfamily Ictonychinae
+
+Genus Ictonyx
+Striped polecat, I. striatus, (native to Central, Southern, and sub-Saharan Africa)
+Saharan striped polecat, I. libycus (Sahara)
+Genus Vormela
+Marbled polecat, V. peregusna (Southeastern Europe to western China)Subfamily Mustelinae
+
+Genus Mustela
+Steppe polecat, M. eversmannii (Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia)
+American polecat (Black-footed ferret) M. nigripes (Southwest United States)
+European polecat, M. putorius (Western Eurasia and North Africa)
+
+See also
+Polecat–mink hybrid
+Polecat–ferret hybrid
+
+
+== References ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/porcupine.txt b/data/animals/porcupine.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8a57877e2f8722503ee6409ea16162a42570ff07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/porcupine.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of the family  Erethizontidae. Both families belong to the infraorder Hystricognathi within the profoundly diverse order Rodentia and display superficially similar coats of rigid or semi-rigid quills, which are modified hairs composed of keratin. Despite this, the two groups are distinct from one another and are not closely related to each other within the Hystricognathi. The largest species of porcupine is the third-largest living rodent in the world, after the capybara and beaver.
+The Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) live in Italy, Asia (western and southern), and most of Africa. They are large, terrestrial, and strictly nocturnal.
+The New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) are indigenous to North America and northern South America. They live in wooded areas and can climb trees, where some species spend their entire lives. They are less strictly nocturnal than their Old World counterparts and generally smaller.
+Most porcupines are about 60–90 cm (25–36 in) long, with a 20–25 cm (8–10 in) long tail. Weighing 5–16 kg (12–35 lb), they are rounded, large, and slow, and use an aposematic strategy of defence. Porcupines' colouration consists of various shades of brown, grey and white. Porcupines' spiny protection resembles that of the only distantly related erinaceomorph hedgehogs and Australian monotreme echidnas as well as tenrecid
+ tenrecs.
+
+Etymology
+The word "porcupine" comes from Latin porcus pig + spina spine, quill, via Old Italian (Italian "porcospino", thorn-pig)—Middle French—Middle English. A regional American name for the animal is "quill-pig".A baby porcupine is a porcupette. When born, a porcupette's quills are soft hair; they harden within a few days, forming the sharp quills of adults.
+
+Evolution
+Fossils belonging to the genus Hystrix date back to the late Miocene of the continent of Africa.
+
+Species
+Taxonomy
+A porcupine is any of 30 species of rodents belonging to the families Erethizontidae (genera: Coendou, Erethizon, and Chaetomys) or Hystricidae (genera: Atherurus, Hystrix, and Trichys). Porcupines vary in size considerably: Rothschild's porcupine of South America weighs less than a kilogram (2.2 lb); the crested porcupine found in Italy, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa can grow to well over 27 kg (60 lb). The two families of porcupines are quite different, and although both belong to the Hystricognathi branch of the vast order Rodentia, they are not closely related.
+
+Old World compared with New World species
+The 11 Old World porcupines tend to be fairly large and have spines grouped in clusters.
+The two subfamilies of New World porcupines are mostly smaller (although the North American porcupine reaches about 85 cm or 33 in in length and 18 kg or 40 lb), have their quills attached singly rather than grouped in clusters, and are excellent climbers, spending much of their time in trees. The New World porcupines evolved their spines independently (through convergent evolution) and are more closely related to several other families of rodents than they are to the Old World porcupines.
+
+Longevity
+Porcupines have a relatively high longevity and hold the record for being the longest-living rodent, with one individual named Cooper living over 32 years.
+
+Diet
+The North American porcupine is a herbivore and often climbs trees for food; it eats leaves, herbs, twigs, and green plants such as clover. In the winter, it may eat bark. The African porcupine is not a climber; instead, it forages on the ground. It is mostly nocturnal but will sometimes forage for food in the day, eating bark, roots, fruits, berries, and farm crops. Porcupines have become a pest in Kenya and are eaten as a delicacy.
+
+Defence
+Defensive behaviour displays in a porcupine depend on sight, scent, and sound. Often, these displays are shown when a porcupine becomes agitated or annoyed. There are four main displays seen in a porcupine: (in order from least to most aggressive) quill erection, teeth clattering, odour emission, and attack. A porcupine's colouring aids in part of its defence as most of the predators are nocturnal and colour blind. A porcupine's markings are black and white. The dark body and coarse hair of the porcupine are a dark brown/black and when quills are raised, present a white strip down its back mimicking the look of a skunk. This, along with the raising of the sharp quills, deters predators. Along with the raising of the quills, porcupines clatter their teeth to warn predators not to approach. The incisors vibrate against each other, the strike zone shifts back, and the cheek teeth clatter. This behaviour is often paired with body shivering, which is used to further display the dangerous quills. The rattling of quills is aided by the hollow quills at the back end of the porcupine. The use of odor is when the sight and sound have failed. An unpleasant scent is produced from the skin above the tail in times of stress and is often seen with quill erection. If these processes fail, the porcupine will attack by running sideways or backwards into predators. A porcupine's tail can also be swung in the direction of the predator; if contact is made, the quills could be impaled into the predator causing injury or death.
+
+Quills
+Porcupines' quills, or spines, take on various forms, depending on the species, but all are modified hairs coated with thick plates of keratin, and embedded in the skin musculature. Old World porcupines  have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines, single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair.
+Quills are released by contact or may drop out when the porcupine shakes its body. New quills grow to replace lost ones. Despite what is commonly believed, porcupines do not have the ability to launch their quills at range.There are some possible antibiotic properties within the quills, specifically associated with the free fatty acids coating the quills. The antibiotic properties are believed to aid a porcupine that has suffered from self-injury.
+
+Uses by humans
+Porcupines are seldom eaten in Western culture but are eaten often in Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, where the prominent use of them as a food source has contributed to declines in porcupine populations.Naturalist William J. Long reported the taste of the North American porcupine as "vile" and "malodorous" and delightful only to a lover of strong cheese. With regards to a Maine state law that restricted the killing of porcupines to keep them available as emergency game for people lost in the woods, he noted: "It is undoubtedly a good law; but I cannot now imagine any one being grateful for it, unless the stern alternative were death or porcupine."More commonly, their quills and guard hairs are used for traditional decorative clothing; for example, their guard hairs are used in the creation of the Native American "porky roach" headdress. The main quills may be dyed, then applied in combination with thread to embellish leather accessories, such as knife sheaths and leather bags. Lakota women would harvest the quills for quillwork by throwing a blanket over a porcupine and retrieving the quills left stuck in the blanket.The presence of barbs, acting like anchors, causes increased pain when removing a quill that has pierced the skin. The shape of the barbs makes the quills effective for penetrating the skin and for remaining in place. The quills have inspired research for such applications as the design of hypodermic needles and surgical staples. In contrast to the current design for surgical staples, the porcupine quill and barb design would allow easy and painless insertion, as the staple would stay in the skin using the anchored barb design rather than being bent under the skin like traditional staples. Porcupines are also sometimes kept as exotic pets.
+
+Habitat
+Porcupines occupy a small range of habitats in tropical and temperate parts of Asia, Southern Europe, Africa, and North and South America. They live in forests and deserts, rocky outcrops, and hillsides. Some New World porcupines live in trees, but Old World porcupines prefer a rocky environment. Porcupines can be found on rocky areas up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) high. They are generally nocturnal but are occasionally active during daylight.
+
+Classification
+Porcupines are distributed into two evolutionarily independent groups within the suborder Hystricomorpha of the Rodentia.
+Infraorder Hystricognathi
+Family Hystricidae: Old World porcupines
+African brush-tailed porcupine, Atherurus africanus
+Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine, Atherurus macrourus
+Crested porcupine, Hystrix cristata
+Cape porcupine, Hystrix africaeaustralis
+Indian porcupine, Hystrix indicus
+Malayan porcupine, Hystrix brachyura
+Himalayan porcupine, Hystrix (brachyura) hodgsoni
+Sunda porcupine, Hystrix javanica
+Sumatran porcupine, Hystrix (Thecurus) sumatrae
+Thick-spined porcupine, Hystrix (Thecurus) crassispinis
+Philippine porcupine, Hystrix (Thecurus) pumilis
+Long-tailed porcupine, Trichys fasciculata
+Parvorder Phiomorpha sensu stricto
+Family Thryonomyidae: cane rats
+Family Petromuridae: Dassie rats
+Family Bathyergidae: African mole-rats
+Parvorder Caviomorpha
+Superfamily Erethizontoidea
+Family Erethizontidae: New World porcupines
+Brazilian porcupine, Coendou prehensilis
+Bicolored-spined porcupine, Coendou bicolor
+Andean porcupine, Coendou quichua
+Black dwarf (Koopman's) porcupine, Coendou nycthemera (koopmani)
+Rothschild's porcupine, Coendou rothschildi
+Santa Marta porcupine, Coendou sanctemartae
+Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou mexicanus
+Paraguaian hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou spinosus
+Bahia porcupine, Coendou insidiosus
+Brown hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou vestitus
+Streaked dwarf porcupine, Coendou ichillus
+Black-tailed hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou melanurus
+Roosmalen's dwarf porcupine, Coendou roosmalenorum
+Frosted hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou pruinosus
+Stump-tailed porcupine, Coendou rufescens
+North American porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum
+Bristle-spined porcupine, Chaetomys subspinosus (sometimes considered an echimyid)
+Superfamily Cavioidea
+Family Hydrochaeridae: capybara
+Family Caviidae: Guinea-pigs
+Family Dasyproctidae: agoutis and acouchis
+Superfamily Octodontoidea
+Family Abrocomidae: chinchilla-rats
+Family Octodontidae: degus
+Family Ctenomyidae: tuco-tucos
+Family Echimyidae: spiny rats
+Family Myocastoridae: nutrias
+Family Capromyidae: hutias
+Superfamily Chinchilloidea
+Family Chinchillidae: chinchillas and allies
+Family Dinomyidae: pacaranas
+
+See also
+Pangolins, another mammal group with protective keratin body coverings
+Armadillos, another mammal group with protective keratin body coverings
+
+References
+External links
+
+Wildlife Conservation: Porcupine – African Wildlife Foundation
+"Resource Cards: What About Porcupines?" – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
+Porcupine control in the western states – University of North Texas Digital Library
+The Complete Resource To Keeping Porcupines As Pets
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/prairie chicken.txt b/data/animals/prairie chicken.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1d8e8c5739af7459a3eaf23ac24cfbb1f8009a9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/prairie chicken.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+Tympanuchus is a small genus of birds in the grouse family. They are commonly referred to as prairie chickens.
+
+Taxonomy
+The genus Tympanuchus was introduced in 1841 by the German zoologist Constantin Wilhelm Lambert Gloger for the greater prairie chicken. The name combines the Ancient Greek tumpanon meaning "kettle-drum" with ēkheō meaning "to sound".The genus contains three species:
+All three are among the smaller grouse, from 40 to 43 cm (16 to 17 in) in length.  They are found in North America in different types of prairie. In courtship display on leks, males make hooting sounds and dance with the head extended straight forward, the tail up, and colorful neck sacks inflated (shown in the photograph at upper right). Tympanuchus comes from Ancient Greek roots and means "holding a drum"; it refers to the membranous neck sacks and the drum-like call of the greater prairie chicken.
+The two prairie chickens are particularly closely related and look extremely similar. But their taxonomy and the evolutionary relationships of the Tympanuchus is still yet to be discover. There are still unknown information about these genus. But one thing we do know is that Tympanuchus are polyphyletic. They have a strong sexual selection (Galla, 2013).
+They are commonly seen in the North American Prairies (Galla, 2013).
+The extinct heath hen of the American East Coast, usually considered a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken, has been considered a separate species.
+
+References
+
+Galla, S. J. (2013). Exploring the evolutionary history of north american prairie grouse using multi-locus coalescent analyses (Order No. 1524962).
+Holloway, Joel Ellis (2003). Dictionary of Birds of the United States: Scientific and Common Names. Timber Press. p. 206. ISBN 0-88192-600-0.
+Peterson, Alan P. (Editor). 1999. Zoological Nomenclature Resource (Zoonomen). Accessed 2007-07-29.
+Sibley, David (2000). The Sibley Guide to Birds. Knopf. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-679-45122-6.
+Storch, Ilse; Bendell, J. F. (2003). "Grouse". In Christopher Perrins (ed.). Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. pp. 184–187. ISBN 1-55297-777-3.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/proboscis monkey.txt b/data/animals/proboscis monkey.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..88c5056ccb166397a2bfabe339018cec103afe31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/proboscis monkey.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+The proboscis monkey or long-nosed monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is an arboreal Old World monkey with an unusually large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail. It is endemic to the southeast Asian island of Borneo and is found mostly in mangrove forests and on the coastal areas of the island.This species co-exists with the Bornean orangutan and monkeys such as the silvery lutung. It belongs in the monotypic genus Nasalis.
+
+Taxonomy
+The Proboscis monkey belongs to the subfamily Colobinae of the Old World monkeys. The two subspecies are:
+N. l. larvatus (Wurmb, 1787), which occupies the whole range of the species from Cambodia to the Philippines
+N. l. orientalis (Chasen, 1940), restricted to north-east KalimantanHowever, the difference between the subspecies is small, and not all authorities recognise N. l. orientalis.The genus name Nasalis comes from the Latin word nasus meaning "nose".This animal was made known to Westerners by Baron Friedrich von Wurmb in 1781, he later sent specimens of it to Stamford Raffles in Europe.
+
+Description
+The proboscis monkey is a large species, being one of the largest monkey species native to Asia. Only the Tibetan macaque and a few of the gray langurs can rival its size.
+Sexual dimorphism is pronounced in the species. Males have a head-body length of 66 to 76.2 cm (26.0 to 30.0 in) and typically weigh 16 to 22.5 kg (35 to 50 lb), with a maximum known weight of 30 kg (66 lb). Females measure 53.3 to 62 cm (21.0 to 24.4 in) in head-and-body length and weigh 7 to 12 kg (15 to 26 lb), with a maximum known mass of 15 kg (33 lb). The male has a red penis with a black scrotum.The proboscis monkey has a long coat; the fur on the back is bright orange, reddish brown, yellowish brown or brick-red. The underfur is light-grey, yellowish, or greyish to light-orange. Infants are born with a blue coloured face that at 2.5 months darkens to grey.  By 8.5 months of age, the face has become cream coloured like the adults. Both sexes have bulging stomachs that give the monkeys what resembles a pot belly. Many of the monkeys' toes are webbed.
+
+Nose
+Further adding to the dimorphism is the large nose or proboscis of the male, which can exceed 10.2 cm (4.0 in) in length, and hangs lower than the mouth. Theories for the extensive length of their nose suggest it may be sexual selection by the females, who prefer louder vocalisations, with the size of the nose increasing the volume of the call.The nose is smaller in the female and is upturned in the young. Nevertheless, the nose of the female is still fairly large for a primate. The skull of the proboscis monkey has specialized nasal cartilages that support the large nose.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The proboscis monkey is endemic to the island of Borneo and can be found on all three nations that divide the island: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is most common in coastal areas and along rivers. This species is restricted to lowland habitats that may experience tides. It favors dipterocarp, mangrove and riverine forests. It can also be found in swamp forests, stunted swamp forests, rubber forests, rubber plantations, limestone hill forests, nypa swamps, nibong swamps, and tall swamp forests, tropical heath forests and steep cliffs. This species usually stays within at least a kilometer from a water source. It is perhaps the most aquatic of the primates and is a fairly good swimmer, capable of swimming up to 20 m (66 ft) underwater. It is known to swim across rivers. Aside from this, the proboscis monkey is largely arboreal and moves quadrupedally and by leaps. It is known to jump off branches and descend into water.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+Social behavior
+Proboscis monkeys generally live in groups composed of one adult male, some adult females and their offspring. All-male groups may also exist. Some individuals are solitary, mostly males. Monkey groups live in overlapping home ranges, with little territoriality, in a fission-fusion society, with groups gathering at sleeping sites as night falls. There exist bands which arise when groups come together and slip apart yet sometimes groups may join to mate and groom. Groups gather during the day and travel together, but individuals only groom and play with those in their own group. One-male groups consist of 3 to 19 individuals, while bands can consist of as many as 60 individuals. Serious aggression is uncommon among the monkeys but minor aggression does occur. Overall, members of the same bands are fairly tolerant of each other. A linear dominance hierarchy exists between females. Males of one-male groups can stay in their groups for six to eight years. Replacements in the resident males appear to occur without serious aggression. Upon reaching adulthood, males leave their natal groups and join all-male groups.  Females also sometimes leave their natal groups, perhaps to avoid infanticide or inbreeding, reduce competition for food, or elevation of their social status.In Sabah, Malaysia, proboscis monkeys have been observed in mixed-species groups with silvery lutungs, and interspecific mating and a possible hybrid has been observed.  Researchers believe this may be a result of the two species being confined to a small patch of riverine forest due to deforestation in order to plant oil palm trees.
+
+Reproduction
+Females become sexually mature at the age of five years. They experience sexual swelling, which involves the genitals becoming pink or reddened.  At one site, matings largely take place between February and November, while births occur between March and May. Copulations tend to last for half a minute.  The male will grab the female by the ankles or torso and mount her from behind. Both sexes will encourage mating, but they are not always successful.  When soliciting, both sexes will make pouted faces. In addition, males will sometimes vocalize and females will present their backsides and shake their head from side to side. Mating pairs are sometimes harassed by subadults. Proboscis monkeys may also engage in mounting with no reproductive purpose, such as playful and same-sex mounting, and females will attempt to initiate copulation even after they have conceived. Gestation usually last 166–200 days or slightly more. Females tend to give birth at night or in the early morning. The mothers then eat the placenta and lick their infants clean. The young begin to eat solid foods at six weeks and are weaned at seven months old. The nose of a young male grows slowly until reaching adulthood. The mother will allow other members of her group to hold her infant. When a resident male in a one-male group is replaced, the infants are at risk of infanticide.
+
+Communication
+Proboscis monkeys are known to make various vocalizations. When communicating the status of group, males will emit honks. They have a special honk emitted towards infants, which is also used for reassurance. Males will also produce alarm calls to signal danger. Both sexes give threat calls, but each are different. In addition, females and immature individuals will emit so-called "female calls" when angry. Honks, roars and snarls are made during low-intensity agonistic encounters. Nonvocal displays include leaping-branch shaking, bare-teeth open mouth threats and erection in males, made in the same situations.
+
+Feeding and activities
+As a seasonal folivore and frugivore, the proboscis monkey eats primarily fruit and leaves. It also eats flowers, seeds and insects to a lesser extent. At least 55 different plant species are consumed, "with a marked preference for Eugenia sp., Ganua motleyana and Lophopetalum javanicum". Young leaves are preferred over mature leaves and unripe fruits are preferred over ripe fruit. Being a seasonal eater, the proboscis monkey eats mostly fruit from January to May and mostly leaves from June to December. Groups usually sleep in adjacent trees. Monkeys tend to sleep near rivers, if they are nearby. Proboscis monkeys will start the day foraging and then rest further inland. Their daily activities consist of resting, traveling, feeding and keeping vigilant.  Occasionally, they chew their cud to allow more efficient digestion and food intake.  As night approaches, the monkeys move back near the river and forage again. Predators (potential or confirmed) of the proboscis monkey include crocodilians likely false gharials and saltwater crocodiles, Sunda clouded leopard, sun bears and reticulated pythons as well as, for probably young or sickly monkeys, eagles, possibly larger Nisaetus, Haliaeetus, crested serpent eagle or black eagles), large owls and monitor lizards. Monkeys will cross rivers at narrows or cross arboreally if possible. This may serve as predator avoidance.
+
+Conservation status
+The proboscis monkey is assessed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and listed in Appendix I of CITES. Its total population has decreased by more than 50% in the past 36–40 years to 2008 due to ongoing habitat loss because of logging and oil palm plantations, and hunting in some areas due to the species being treated as a delicacy, as well as its use in traditional Chinese medicine. The population is fragmented: the largest remaining populations are found in Kalimantan; there are far fewer in Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah. The proboscis monkey is protected by law in all regions of Borneo. In Malaysia, it is protected by a number of laws including the Wildlife Protection Act (federal law), the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 (Chapter 26) and Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 (Sabah state law).
+The proboscis monkey can be found in 16 protected areas: Danau Sentarum National Park, Gunung Palung National Park, Kendawangan Nature Reserve, Kutai National Park, Lesan Protection Forest, Muara Kaman Nature Reserve, Mandor Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesia; Bako National Park, Gunung Pueh Forest Reserve, Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, Klias National Park, Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Sungei Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary and Ulu Segama Reserve in Malaysia.
+
+References
+External links
+
+ARKive – images and movies of the Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus)
+Primate Info Net Nasalis Factsheets
+Save the Proboscis Monkeys Petition and weblog with info on the rare, endangered species.
+A Video about proboscis monkeys by National Geographic
+John C. M. Sha, Ikki Matsuda & Henry Bernard (2011) The Natural History of the Proboscis Monkey
+John C. M. Sha, Henry Bernard, and Senthival Nathan (2008) Status and Conservation of Proboscis Monkeys in Sabah, East Malaysia
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diff --git a/data/animals/puffer.txt b/data/animals/puffer.txt
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+Tetraodontidae is a  family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowers, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, toadle, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlike the thinner, hidden spines of the Tetraodontidae, which are only visible when the fish have puffed up). The scientific name refers to the four large teeth, fused into an upper and lower plate, which are used for crushing the hard shells of crustaceans and mollusks, their natural prey.
+The majority of pufferfish species are toxic, while some are among the most poisonous vertebrates in the world. In certain species, the internal organs, such as the liver, and sometimes the skin, contain tetrodotoxin, and are highly toxic to most animals when eaten; nevertheless, the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan (as 河豚, pronounced fugu), Korea (as 복, bok, or 복어, bogeo), and China (as 河豚, hétún) when prepared by specially trained chefs who know which part is safe to eat and in what quantity. Other pufferfish species with nontoxic flesh, such as the northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculatus, of Chesapeake Bay, are considered a delicacy elsewhere.The species Torquigener albomaculosus was described by David Attenborough as "the greatest artist of the animal kingdom" due to the males' unique habit of wooing females by creating nests in sand composed of complex geometric designs.
+
+Genera
+The Tetraodontidae contain 193 species of puffers in 28 genera:
+
+Morphology
+Pufferfish are typically small to medium in size, although a few species such as the Mbu pufferfish can reach lengths greater than 50 cm (20 in).Tetraodontiformes, or pufferfish, are most significantly characterized by the beak-like four teeth – hence the name combining the Greek terms "tetra" for four and "odous" for tooth. Each of the top and bottom arches is fused together with a visible midsagittal demarcation, which are used to break apart and consume small crustaceans. The lack of ribs, a pelvis, and pectoral fins are also unique to pufferfish. The notably missing bone and fin features are due to the pufferfish' specialized defense mechanism, expanding by sucking in water through an oral cavity.Pufferfish can also have many varied structures of caltrop-like dermal spines, which account for the replacement of typical fish scales, and can range in coverage extent from the entire body, to leaving the frontal surface empty. Tetraodontidae typically have smaller spines than the sister family Diodontidae, with some spines not being visible until inflation.
+
+Distribution
+They are most diverse in the tropics, relatively uncommon in the temperate zone, and completely absent from cold waters.
+
+Ecology and life history
+Most pufferfish species live in marine or brackish waters, but some can enter fresh water.  About 35 species spend their entire lifecycles in fresh water. These freshwater species are found in disjunct tropical regions of South America (Colomesus asellus and Colomesus tocantinensis), Africa (six Tetraodon species), and Southeast Asia (Auriglobus, Carinotetraodon, Dichotomyctere, Leiodon and Pao).
+
+Natural defenses
+The puffer's unique and distinctive natural defenses help compensate for its slow locomotion. It moves by combining pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fin motions. This makes it highly maneuverable, but very slow, so a comparatively easy predation target.  Its tail fin is mainly used as a rudder, but it can be used for a sudden evasive burst of speed that shows none of the care and precision of its usual movements.  The puffer's excellent eyesight, combined with this speed burst, is the first and most important defense against predators.
+
+The pufferfish's secondary defense mechanism, used if successfully pursued, is to fill its extremely elastic stomach with water (or air when outside the water) until it is much larger and almost spherical in shape.  Even if they are not visible when the puffer is not inflated, all puffers have pointed spines, so a hungry predator may suddenly find itself facing an unpalatable, pointy ball rather than a slow, easy meal.  Predators that do not heed this warning (or are "lucky" enough to catch the puffer suddenly, before or during inflation) may die from choking, and predators that do manage to swallow the puffer may find their stomachs full of tetrodotoxin (TTX), making puffers an unpleasant, possibly lethal, choice of prey. This neurotoxin is found primarily in the ovaries and liver, although smaller amounts exist in the intestines and skin, as well as trace amounts in muscle.  It does not always have a lethal effect on large predators, such as sharks, but it can kill humans.
+Larval pufferfish are chemically defended by the presence of TTX on the surface of skin, which causes predators to spit them out.Not all puffers are necessarily poisonous; the flesh of the northern puffer is not toxic (a level of poison can be found in its viscera) and it is considered a delicacy in North America. Takifugu oblongus, for example, is a fugu puffer that is not poisonous, and toxin level varies widely even in fish that are. A puffer's neurotoxin is not necessarily as toxic to other animals as it is to humans, and puffers are eaten routinely by some species of fish, such as lizardfish and sharks.Puffers are able to move their eyes independently, and many species can change the color or intensity of their patterns in response to environmental changes. In these respects, they are somewhat similar to the terrestrial chameleon. Although most puffers are drab, many have bright colors and distinctive markings, and make no attempt to hide from predators. This is likely an example of honestly signaled aposematism.Dolphins have been filmed expertly handling pufferfish amongst themselves in an apparent attempt to get intoxicated or enter a trance-like state.
+
+Reproduction
+Many marine puffers have a pelagic, or open-ocean, life stage. Spawning occurs after males slowly push females to the water surface or join females already present. The eggs are spherical and buoyant. Hatching occurs after roughly four days. The fry are tiny, but under magnification have a shape usually reminiscent of a pufferfish.  They have a functional mouth and eyes, and must eat within a few days.  Brackish-water puffers may breed in bays in a manner similar to marine species, or may breed more similarly to the freshwater species, in cases where they have moved far enough upriver.
+Reproduction in freshwater species varies quite a bit. The dwarf puffers court with males following females, possibly displaying the crests and keels unique to this subgroup of species.  After the female accepts his advances, she will lead the male into plants or another form of cover, where she can release eggs for fertilization. The male may help her by rubbing against her side.  This has been observed in captivity, and they are the only commonly captive-spawned puffer species.
+Target-group puffers have also been spawned in aquaria, and follow a similar courting behavior, minus the crest/keel display. Eggs are laid, though, on a flat piece of slate or other smooth, hard material, to which they adhere. The male will guard them until they hatch, carefully blowing water over them regularly to keep the eggs healthy. His parenting is finished when the young hatch and the fry are on their own.
+In 2012, males of the species Torquigener albomaculosus were documented while carving large and complex geometric, circular structures in the seabed sand in Amami Ōshima, Japan. The structures serve to attract females and to provide a safe place for them to lay their eggs.Information on breeding of specific species is very limited. T. nigroviridis, the green-spotted puffer, has recently been spawned artificially under captive conditions. It is believed to spawn in bays in a similar manner to saltwater species, as their sperm was found to be motile only at full marine salinities, but wild breeding has never been observed. Xenopterus naritus has been reported to be the first bred artificially in Sarawak, Northwestern Borneo, in June 2016, and the main purpose was for development of aquaculture of the species.
+
+Diet
+Pufferfish diets can vary depending on their environment. Traditionally, their diet consists mostly of algae and small invertebrates. They can survive on a completely vegetarian diet if their environment is lacking resources, but prefer an omnivorous food selection. Larger species of pufferfish are able to use their beak-like front teeth to break open clams, mussels, and other shellfish. Some species of pufferfish have also been known to enact various hunting techniques ranging from ambush to open-water hunting.
+Spots, stripes and elaborations
+
+Evolution
+The tetraodontids have been estimated to have diverged from diodontids between 89 and 138 million years ago. The four major clades diverged during the Cretaceous between 80 and 101 million years ago.  The oldest known pufferfish genus is Eotetraodon, from the Lutetian epoch of Middle Eocene Europe, with fossils found in Monte Bolca and the Caucasus Mountains.  The Monte Bolca species, E. pygmaeus, coexisted with several other tetraodontiforms, including an extinct species of diodontid, primitive boxfish (Proaracana and Eolactoria), and other, totally extinct forms, such as Zignoichthys and the spinacanthids.  The extinct genus, Archaeotetraodon is known from Miocene-aged fossils from Europe.
+
+Poisoning
+Pufferfish can be lethal if not served properly. Puffer poisoning usually results from consumption of incorrectly prepared puffer soup, fugu chiri, or occasionally from raw puffer meat, sashimi fugu. While chiri is much more likely to cause death, sashimi fugu often causes intoxication, light-headedness, and numbness of the lips. Pufferfish tetrodotoxin deadens the tongue and lips, and induces dizziness and vomiting, followed by numbness and prickling over the body, rapid heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and muscle paralysis. The toxin paralyzes the diaphragm muscle and stops the person who has ingested it from breathing. People who live longer than 24 hours typically survive, although possibly after a coma lasting several days.
+The source of tetrodotoxin in puffers has been a matter of debate, but it is increasingly accepted that bacteria in the fish's intestinal tract are the source.Saxitoxin, the cause of paralytic shellfish poisoning and red tide, can also be found in certain puffers.
+
+Philippines
+In September 2012, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Philippines issued a warning not to eat puffer fish, after local fishermen died upon consuming puffer fish for dinner. The warning indicated that puffer fish toxin is 100 times more potent than cyanide.
+
+Thailand
+Pufferfish, called pakapao in Thailand, are usually consumed by mistake.  They are often cheaper than other fish, and because they contain inconsistent levels of toxins between fish and season, there is little awareness or monitoring of the danger. Consumers are regularly hospitalized and some even die from the poisoning.
+
+United States
+Cases of neurological symptoms, including numbness and tingling of the lips and mouth, have been reported to rise after the consumption of puffers caught in the area of Titusville, Florida, US. The symptoms generally resolve within hours to days, although one affected individual required intubation for 72 hours.  As a result, Florida banned the harvesting of puffers from certain bodies of water.
+
+Treatment
+Treatment is mainly supportive and consists of intestinal decontamination with gastric lavage and activated charcoal, and life-support until the toxin is metabolized. Case reports suggest anticholinesterases such as edrophonium may be effective.
+
+See also
+OpenBSD – 4.4 BSD based Unix-Like Operating System
+Shimonoseki – Japanese city known for its locally caught pufferfish
+Toado – common Australian name for local varieties of pufferfish
+
+References
+Further reading
+Arreola, V.I.; Westneat, M.W. (1996). "Mechanics of propulsion by multiple fins: kinematics of aquatic locomotion in the burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi)". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 263 (1377): 1689–1696. Bibcode:1996RSPSB.263.1689A. doi:10.1098/rspb.1996.0247. S2CID 109972375.
+Ebert, Klaus (2001): The Puffers of Fresh and Brackish Water, Aqualog, ISBN 3-931702-60-X.
+Gordon, M.S.; Plaut, I.; Kim, D. (1996). "How puffers (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae) swim". Journal of Fish Biology. 49 (2): 319–328. doi:10.1006/jfbi.1996.0157.
+Plaut, I.; Chen, T. (2003). "How small puffers (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae) swim". Ichthyological Research. 50 (2): 149–153. doi:10.1007/s10228-002-0153-3. S2CID 33832068.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/pug.txt b/data/animals/pug.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/pug.txt
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+The Pug is a breed of dog originally from China, with physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most often fawn (light brown) or black, and a compact, square body with well developed and thick muscles all over the body.
+Pugs were brought from China to Europe in the sixteenth century and were popularized in Western Europe by the House of Orange of the Netherlands, and the House of Stuart. In the United Kingdom, in the nineteenth century, Queen Victoria developed a passion for pugs which she passed on to other members of the Royal Family.
+Pugs are known for being sociable and gentle companion dogs. The American Kennel Club describes the breed's personality as "even-tempered and charming". Pugs remain popular into the twenty-first century, with some famous celebrity owners. Pugs are susceptible to various health issues due to their bred traits.
+
+Description
+Physical characteristics
+While the pugs that are depicted in eighteenth century prints tend to be long and lean, modern breed preferences are for a square cobby body, a compact form, a deep chest, and well-developed muscle. Their smooth and glossy coats can be fawn, apricot fawn, silver fawn, or black. The markings are clearly defined and there is a trace of a black line extending from the occiput to the tail. The tail normally curls tightly over the hip.Pugs have two distinct shapes for their ears, "rose" and "button". "Rose" ears are smaller than the standard style of "button" ears, and are folded with the front edge against the side of the head. Breeding preference goes to "button" style ears.Pugs' legs are strong, straight, of moderate length and are set well under. Their shoulders are moderately laid back. Their ankles are strong, their feet are small, their toes are well split-up, and their nails are black. The lower teeth normally protrude further than their upper, resulting in an under-bite.
+
+Temperament
+This breed is often described by the Latin phrase multum in parvo, or "much in little" or "a lot of dog in a small space", alluding to the pug's remarkable and charming personality, despite its small size. Pugs are strong-willed but rarely aggressive, and are suitable for families with children. The majority of the breed is very fond of children and sturdy enough to properly play with them. Depending on their owner's mood, they can be quiet and docile but also vivacious and teasing. Pugs tend to be intuitive and sensitive to the moods of their owners and are usually eager to please them. Pugs are playful and thrive on human companionship. They also tend to have a snoozy nature and spend a lot of time napping. Pugs are often called "shadows" because they follow their owners around and like to stay close to the action, craving attention and affection from their owners.
+
+Birth and reproduction
+Pug pregnancies last an average of 63 days. The average sized litter for pugs is 4 to 6 puppies, though this can vary from 1 to 9 and still be considered normal. Due to the relative size of neonatal skulls to the birth canal, pugs are highly predisposed to cesarean births.
+
+History
+Chinese origins
+Pugs were brought from China to Europe in the sixteenth century. Similar dogs were popular in the Imperial court during the Song Dynasty.In ancient times, pugs were bred to be companions for ruling families in China. The pet pugs were highly valued by Chinese Emperors, and the royal dogs were kept in luxury and guarded by soldiers. Pugs later spread to other parts of Asia. In Tibet, Buddhist monks kept pugs as pets in their monasteries. The breed has retained its affectionate devotion to its owners since ancient times.
+
+16th and 17th centuries
+Pugs were popular at European courts, and reportedly became the official dog of the House of Orange in 1572 after a pug named Pompey saved the life of the Prince of Orange by alerting him to the approach of assassins.A pug traveled with William III and Mary II when they left the Netherlands to accept the throne of England in 1688. During this period, the pug may have been bred with the old type King Charles spaniel, giving the modern King Charles Spaniel its pug-like characteristics.The breed eventually became popular in other European countries as well. Pugs were painted by Goya in Spain, and in Italy they rode up front on private carriages, dressed in jackets and pantaloons that matched those of the coachman. They were used by the military to track animals and people, and were also employed as guard dogs.
+
+18th century to 20th century
+The English painter William Hogarth was the devoted owner of a series of pugs. His 1745 self-portrait, which is now in London's Tate Gallery, includes his pug, Trump. The pug was also well known in Italy. In 1789, author Hester Piozzi wrote in her journal, "The little Pug dog or Dutch mastiff has quitted London for Padua, I perceive. Every carriage I meet here has a Pug in it."The popularity of the pug continued to spread in France during the eighteenth century. Before her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte, Joséphine had her pug Fortune carry concealed messages to her family while she was confined at Les Carmes prison, it having alone been given visiting rights.In nineteenth-century England, the breed flourished under the patronage of Queen Victoria. Her many pugs, which she bred herself, included Olga, Pedro, Minka, Fatima and Venus. Her involvement with dogs in general helped to establish the Kennel Club, which was formed in 1873. Queen Victoria favored apricot and fawn colors. Her passion for pugs was passed on to many other members of the Royal family, including her grandson King George V and his son King Edward VIII. Many responded to the breed's image of anti-functionalism and diminutive size during this period.In paintings and engravings of the 18th and 19th centuries, pugs usually appear with longer legs and noses than today, and sometimes with cropped ears. The modern pug's appearance probably changed after 1860 when a new wave of pugs were imported directly from China. These pugs had shorter legs and the modern-style pug nose. The British aristocrat Lady Brassey is credited with making black pugs fashionable after she brought some back from China in 1886. Ear cropping was made illegal in 1895.Pugs arrived in the United States during the nineteenth century and were soon making their way into the family home and the show ring. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1885. The Pug Dog Club of America was founded in 1931 and was recognized by the American Kennel Club that same year. In 1981, the pug Dhandys Favorite Woodchuck won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in the United States, the only pug to have won there since the show began in 1877.
+
+21st century
+The breeding of pugs led to shorter muzzles and shorter legs over time, with the dogs susceptible to health issues. Hogarth's painting from the 18th century depicts the originally longer muzzle, as well as the picture in a 1927 edition of Brehms Tierleben. Since 2006 there has been a trend in some countries to breed "retro pugs".The World Champion, or Best in Show at the 2004 World Dog Show held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was a pug named Double D Cinoblu's Masterpiece.
+
+Health problems
+Since pugs lack longer snouts and prominent skeletal brow ridges, they are susceptible to eye injuries such as proptosis, scratched corneas, and painful entropion. They also have compact breathing passageways, leaving many prone to breathing difficulties or unable to efficiently regulate their temperature through evaporation from the tongue by panting. A pug's normal body temperature is between 101 °F (38 °C) and 102 °F (39 °C). If this temperature rises to 105 °F (41 °C), oxygen demand is greatly increased and immediate cooling is required. If body temperature reaches 108 °F (42 °C), organ failure can occur. Their breathing problems can be worsened by the stresses of traveling in air cargo, which may involve high temperatures. Following the deaths of pugs and other brachycephalic breeds, several airlines either banned their transport in cargo or enacted seasonal restrictions.
+Pugs that live a mostly sedentary life can be prone to obesity, though this is avoidable with regular exercise and a healthy diet. Obesity should be considered a health priority in pugs because of the high prevalence, associated health problems and reversible nature of the disorder. The median life span of pugs is 11 years, which is in line with other breeds of the same size.
+
+Common conditions
+Pugs are prone to brachycephalic airway obstructive syndrome (BAOS) which causes respiratory distress in short-snouted breeds. Pugs have elongated palates. When excited, they are prone to "reverse sneezing" which causes them to quickly (and seemingly laboriously) gasp and snort. The veterinary name for this is pharyngeal gag reflex and it is caused by fluid or debris getting caught under the palate and irritating the throat or limiting breathing. Reverse sneezing episodes are usually not harmful, and massaging the dog's throat or covering its nose in order to make it breathe through its mouth can often shorten a sneezing fit.Some pugs are also born with stenotic nares (pinched nostrils) which can inhibit their breathing. In serious cases, it makes breathing even more difficult and puts added pressure on the larynx. In some cases, the dog could pass out from blocked airways. If this happens, one should inquire with their veterinarian whether or not surgery is needed to open the nostrils.
+Protruding eyes and eye prolapse is a common problem among pugs and other brachycephalic breeds and can be caused by a trauma to the head or neck. While the eye can usually be pushed back into its socket by the owner or by a vet, veterinary attention is usually advisable. If the prolapse happens on a regular basis, the pug might require surgery.Pugs have many wrinkles in their faces, so owners will often clean inside the creases to avoid irritation and infection. If this is not done, the dog may develop a condition known as skin fold dermatitis.An abnormal formation of the hip socket, known as hip dysplasia, affected nearly 64% of pugs in a 2010 survey performed by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals; the breed was ranked the second worst-affected by this condition out of 157 breeds tested.Pugs are one of several breeds that are more susceptible than other dogs to demodectic mange, also known as "demodex". This condition is caused when parasitic mites, that are often present in a dog's skin without causing symptoms, are allowed to do damage because their host has a weakened immune system. It is a problem for many young pugs, although not usually a major one, and is easily treatable, but some are especially susceptible and present with a systemic form of the condition. This vulnerability is thought to be genetic and breeders will avoid producing puppies from adults who have this condition.In 2008, an investigative documentary carried out by the BBC found significant inbreeding between pedigree dogs, with a study by Imperial College, London, showing that the 10,000 pugs in the UK were so inbred that their gene pool was the equivalent of only 50 individuals.
+
+Serious issues
+Pugs can suffer from necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME), also known as pug dog encephalitis (PDE), an inflammation of the brain and meninges. NME also occurs in other small dogs, such as the Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese, and Chihuahua. There is no known cure for NME, which is believed to be an inherited disease. Dogs usually die or have to be euthanaised within a few months of onset, which, in those susceptible to this condition, is mostly between six months and three years of age.This breed, along with other brachycephalic dogs (e.g., boxers, bulldogs), are also prone to hemivertebrae. The curled tail of a British bulldog is an example of a hemivertebrae, but when it occurs not in the coccygeal vertebrae but in other areas of the spine, it can cause paralysis. The condition occurs when two parts of a spinal vertebra do not fuse properly while a young pug is still growing, resulting in an irregularly shaped spinal cavity which can put pressure on the spinal cord.
+
+Historical depictions of pugs
+In popular culture
+The breed became iconic in India, as it was featured as the mascot in a series of Vodafone (formerly Hutchison Essar) advertising commercials directed by Prakash Varma. The pug that was predominantly featured in the commercials was Cheeka. The advertisement campaign was followed by a rise in the popularity of pugs in India, and the sale of pugs more than doubled within months, with prices for pugs rising considerably. A few other adverts also appeared in the following months, inspired by the idea of a dog following a boy.In Jane Austen's 1814 novel, Mansfield Park,  Lady Bertram, the hero's mother, owned a pet pug and was "thinking more of her pug than her children".The 1989 film The Adventures of Milo and Otis features a pug named Otis, known as "Poosky" in its original 1986 Japanese version The Adventures of Chatran.The Men in Black film series features Frank, a fictional talking pug portrayed by animal actor Mushu.
+
+See also
+Companion dog
+Lap dog
+Order of the Pug
+Canis
+
+References
+External links
+
+Pugs at Curlie
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diff --git a/data/animals/red fox.txt b/data/animals/red fox.txt
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+The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN. Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been introduced to Australia, where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the "world's 100 worst invasive species".The red fox originated from smaller-sized ancestors from Eurasia during the Middle Villafranchian period, and colonised North America shortly after the Wisconsin glaciation. Among the true foxes, the red fox represents a more progressive form in the direction of carnivory. Apart from its large size, the red fox is distinguished from other fox species by its ability to adapt quickly to new environments. Despite its name, the species often produces individuals with other colourings, including leucistic and melanistic individuals. Forty-five subspecies are currently recognised, which are divided into two categories: the large northern foxes and the small, basal southern grey desert foxes of Asia and North Africa.Red foxes are usually found in pairs or small groups consisting of families, such as a mated pair and their young, or a male with several females having kinship ties. The young of the mated pair remain with their parents to assist in caring for new kits. The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target rabbits, squirrels, game birds, reptiles, invertebrates and young ungulates. Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten sometimes. Although the red fox tends to kill smaller predators, including other fox species, it is vulnerable to attack from larger predators, such as wolves, coyotes, golden jackals, large predatory birds such as golden eagles and Eurasian eagle owls, and medium- and large-sized felids.The species has a long history of association with humans, having been extensively hunted as a pest and furbearer for many centuries, as well as being represented in human folklore and mythology. Because of its widespread distribution and large population, the red fox is one of the most important furbearing animals harvested for the fur trade.: 229–230  Too small to pose a threat to humans, it has extensively benefited from the presence of human habitation, and has successfully colonised many suburban and urban areas. Domestication of the red fox is also underway in Russia, and has resulted in the domesticated silver fox.
+
+Terminology
+Males are called tods or dogs, females are called vixens, and young are known as cubs or kits. Although the Arctic fox has a small native population in northern Scandinavia, and while the corsac fox's range extends into European Russia, the red fox is the only fox native to Western Europe, and so is simply called "the fox" in colloquial British English.
+
+Etymology
+The word "fox" comes from Old English, which derived from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz. Compare with West Frisian foks, Dutch vos, and German Fuchs. This, in turn, derives from Proto-Indo-European *puḱ- 'thick-haired; tail'. Compare to the Hindi pū̃ch 'tail', Tocharian B päkā 'tail; chowrie', and Lithuanian paustìs 'fur'. The bushy tail also forms the basis for the fox's Welsh name, llwynog, literally 'bushy', from llwyn 'bush'. Likewise, Portuguese: raposa from rabo 'tail', Lithuanian uodẽgis from uodegà 'tail', and Ojibwe waagosh from waa, which refers to the up and down "bounce" or flickering of an animal or its tail.The scientific term vulpes derives from the Latin word for fox, and gives the adjectives vulpine and vulpecular.
+
+Evolution
+The red fox is considered to be a more specialised form of Vulpes than the Afghan, corsac and Bengal fox species, in regards to their overall size and adaptation to carnivory; the skull displays far fewer neotenous traits than in other foxes, and its facial area is more developed. It is, however, not as adapted for a purely carnivorous diet as the Tibetan fox.The sister lineage to the red fox is the Rüppell's fox, but the two species are surprisingly closely related through mitochondrial DNA markers, with Rüppell's fox nested inside the lineages of red foxes. Such a nesting of one species within another is called paraphyly. Several hypotheses have been suggested to explain this, including (1) recent divergence of Rüppell's fox from a red fox lineage, (2) incomplete lineage sorting, or introgression of mtDNA between the two species. Based on fossil record evidence, the last scenario seems most likely, which is further supported by the clear ecological and morphological differences between the two species.
+
+Origins
+The species is Eurasian in origin, and may have evolved from either Vulpes alopecoides or the related Chinese V. chikushanensis, both of which lived during the Middle Villafranchian of the Pleistocene Epoch. The earliest fossil specimens of V. vulpes were uncovered in Baranya County, Hungary, dating from 3.4 to 1.8 million years ago. The ancestral red fox was likely more diminutive compared to today’s extant foxes, as the earliest red fox fossils have shown a smaller build than living specimens.: 115–116  The earliest fossil remains of the modern species date back to the mid-Pleistocene, found in association with middens and refuse left by early human settlements. This has led to the theory that the red fox was hunted by primitive humans (as both a source of food and pelts); the possibility also exists of red foxes scavenging from middens or butchered animal carcasses.
+
+Colonisation of North America
+Red foxes colonised the North American continent in two waves: before and during the Illinoian glaciation, and during the Wisconsinan glaciation. Gene mapping demonstrates that red foxes in North America have been isolated from their Old World counterparts for over 400,000 years, thus raising the possibility that speciation has occurred, and that the previous binomial name of Vulpes fulva may be valid. In the far north, red fox fossils have been found in Sangamonian Stage deposits near the Fairbanks District, Alaska, and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Fossils dating from the Wisconsinan are present in 25 sites across Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio,  Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Although they ranged far south during the Wisconsinan, the onset of warm conditions shrank their range toward the north, and they have only recently reclaimed their former North American ranges because of human-induced environmental changes. Genetic testing indicates that two distinct red fox refugia exist in North America, which have been separated since the Wisconsinan. The northern (or boreal) refugium occurs in Alaska and western Canada, and consists of the larger subspecies V. v. alascensis, V. v. abietorum, V. v. regalis, and V. v. rubricosa. The southern (or montane) refugium occurs in the subalpine parklands and alpine meadows of the west, from the Rocky Mountains to the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada ranges, consisting of the smaller subspecies V. v. cascadensis, V. v. macroura, V. v. necator, and V. v. patwin. The latter clade has been separated from all other red fox populations since at least the last glacial maximum, and may possess unique ecological or physiological adaptations.Although European foxes (V. v. crucigera) were introduced to portions of the United States in the 1900s, recent genetic investigation indicates an absence of European fox mitochondrial haplotypes in any North American populations. Additionally, introduced eastern North American red foxes have colonised most of inland California, from Southern California to the San Joaquin Valley, Monterey and north-coastal San Francisco Bay Area (including urban San Francisco and adjacent cities). In spite of the red fox’s adaptability  to city life, they are still found in somewhat greater numbers in the northern portions of California (north of the Bay Area) than in the south, as the wilderness is more alpine and isolated. The eastern red foxes appear to have mixed with the Sacramento Valley red fox (V. v. patwin) only in a narrow hybrid zone. In addition, no evidence is seen of interbreeding of eastern American red foxes in California with the montane Sierra Nevada red fox (V. v. necator) or other populations in the Intermountain West (between the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west).
+
+Subspecies
+The 3rd edition of Mammal Species of the World listed 45 subspecies as valid. In 2010, a distinct 46th subspecies, the Sacramento Valley red fox (V. v. patwin), which inhabits the grasslands of the Sacramento Valley, was identified through mitochondrial haplotype studies. Castello (2018) recognized 30 subspecies of the Old World red fox and nine subspecies of the North American red fox as valid.Substantial gene pool mixing between different subspecies is known; British red foxes have crossbred extensively with red foxes imported from Germany, France, Belgium, Sardinia and possibly Siberia and Scandinavia.: 140  However, genetic studies suggest very little differences between red foxes sampled across Europe. Lack of genetic diversity is consistent with the red fox being a highly agile species, with one red fox covering 320 km (200 mi) in under a year's time.Red fox subspecies in Eurasia and North Africa are divided into two categories:
+Northern foxes are large and brightly coloured.
+Southern grey desert foxes include the Asian subspecies V. v. griffithi, V. v. pusilla, and V. v. flavescens. These foxes display transitional features between the northern foxes and other, smaller fox species; their skulls possess more primitive, neotenous traits than the northern foxes and they are much smaller; the maximum sizes attained by southern grey desert foxes are invariably less than the average sizes of northern foxes. Their limbs are also longer and their ears larger.Red foxes living in Middle Asia show physical traits intermediate to the northern foxes and southern grey desert foxes.
+
+Description
+Build
+The red fox has an elongated body and relatively short limbs. The tail, which is longer than half the body length (70 percent of head and body length), is fluffy and reaches the ground when in a standing position. Their pupils are oval and vertically oriented. Nictitating membranes are present, but move only when the eyes are closed. The forepaws have five digits, while the hind feet have only four and lack dewclaws. They are very agile, being capable of jumping over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high fences, and swim well. Vixens normally have four pairs of teats, though vixens with seven, nine, or ten teats are not uncommon. The testes of males are smaller than those of Arctic foxes.Their skulls are fairly narrow and elongated, with small braincases. Their canine teeth are relatively long. Sexual dimorphism of the skull is more pronounced than in corsac foxes, with female red foxes tending to have smaller skulls than males, with wider nasal regions and hard palates, as well as having larger canines. Their skulls are distinguished from those of dogs by their narrower muzzles, less crowded premolars, more slender canine teeth, and concave rather than convex profiles.
+
+Dimensions
+Red foxes are the largest species of the genus Vulpes. However, relative to dimensions, red foxes are much lighter than similarly sized dogs of the genus Canis. Their limb bones, for example, weigh 30 percent less per unit area of bone than expected for similarly sized dogs. They display significant individual, sexual, age and geographical variation in size. On average, adults measure 35–50 cm (14–20 in) high at the shoulder and 45–90 cm (18–35 in) in body length with tails measuring 30–55.5 cm (11.8–21.9 in). The ears measure 7.7–12.5 cm (3.0–4.9 in) and the hind feet 12–18.5 cm (4.7–7.3 in). Weights range from 2.2–14 kg (4.9–30.9 lb), with vixens typically weighing 15–20% less than males. Adult red foxes have skulls measuring 129–167 mm (5.1–6.6 in), while those of vixens measure 128–159 mm (5.0–6.3 in). The forefoot print measures 60 mm (2.4 in) in length and 45 mm (1.8 in) in width, while the hind foot print measures 55 mm (2.2 in) long and 38 mm (1.5 in) wide. They trot at a speed of 6–13 km/h (3.7–8.1 mph), and have a maximum running speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). They have a stride of 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) when walking at a normal pace.: 36  North American red foxes are generally lightly built, with comparatively long bodies for their mass and have a high degree of sexual dimorphism. British red foxes are heavily built, but short, while continental European red foxes are closer to the general average among red fox populations. The largest red fox on record in Great Britain was a 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) long male, that weighed 17.2 kg (38 lb), killed in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in early 2012.
+
+Fur
+The winter fur is dense, soft, silky and relatively long. For the northern foxes, the fur is very long, dense and fluffy, but it is shorter, sparser and coarser in southern forms. Among northern foxes, the North American varieties generally have the silkiest guard hairs,: 231  while most Eurasian red foxes have coarser fur.: 235  The fur in "thermal windows" areas such as the head and the lower legs is kept dense and short all year round, while fur in other areas changes with the seasons. The foxes actively control the peripheral vasodilation and peripheral vasoconstriction in these areas to regulate heat loss. There are three main colour morphs; red, silver/black and cross (see Mutations). In the typical red morph, their coats are generally bright reddish-rusty with yellowish tints. A stripe of weak, diffuse patterns of many brown-reddish-chestnut hairs occurs along the spine. Two additional stripes pass down the shoulder blades, which, together with the spinal stripe, form a cross. The lower back is often a mottled silvery colour. The flanks are lighter coloured than the back, while the chin, lower lips, throat and front of the chest are white. The remaining lower surface of the body is dark, brown or reddish. During lactation, the belly fur of vixens may turn brick red. The upper parts of the limbs are rusty reddish, while the paws are black. The frontal part of the face and upper neck is bright brownish-rusty red, while the upper lips are white. The backs of the ears are black or brownish-reddish, while the inner surface is whitish. The top of the tail is brownish-reddish, but lighter in colour than the back and flanks. The underside of the tail is pale grey with a straw-coloured tint. A black spot, the location of the supracaudal gland, is usually present at the base of the tail. The tip of the tail is white.
+
+Colour morphs
+Atypical colouration in red foxes usually represents stages toward full melanism, and mostly occurs in cold regions.
+
+Senses
+Red foxes have binocular vision, but their sight reacts mainly to movement. Their auditory perception is acute, being able to hear black grouse changing roosts at 600 paces, the flight of crows at 0.25–0.5 km (0.16–0.31 mi) and the squeaking of mice at about 100 m (330 ft). They are capable of locating sounds to within one degree at 700–3,000 Hz, though less accurately at higher frequencies. Their sense of smell is good, but weaker than that of specialised dogs.
+
+Scent glands
+Red foxes have a pair of anal sacs lined by sebaceous glands, both of which open through a single duct. The size and volume of the anal sacs increases with age, ranging in size from 5–40mm in length, 1–3mm in diameter, and with a capacity of 1–5mL. The anal sacs act as fermentation chambers in which aerobic and anaerobic bacteria convert sebum into odorous compounds, including aliphatic acids. The oval-shaped caudal gland is 25 mm (0.98 in) long and 13 mm (0.51 in) wide, and reportedly smells of violets. The presence of foot glands is equivocal. The interdigital cavities are deep, with a reddish tinge and smell strongly. Sebaceous glands are present on the angle of the jaw and mandible.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The red fox is a wide-ranging species. Its range covers nearly 70,000,000 km2 (27,000,000 sq mi) including as far north as the Arctic Circle. It occurs all across Europe, in Africa north of the Sahara Desert, throughout Asia apart from extreme Southeast Asia, and across North America apart from most of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is absent in Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic islands, the most northern parts of central Siberia, and in extreme deserts.
+It is not present in New Zealand and is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, which does not allow import.
+
+Australia
+In Australia, estimates in 2012 indicated that there were more than 7.2 million red foxes, with a range extending throughout most of the continental mainland.: 14  They became established in Australia through successive introductions in 1830s and 1840s, by settlers in the British colonies of Van Diemen's Land (as early as 1833) and the Port Phillip District of New South Wales (as early as 1845), who wanted to foster the traditional English sport of fox hunting. A permanent red fox population did not establish itself on the island of Tasmania, and it is widely held that foxes were out-competed by the Tasmanian devil. On the mainland, however, the species was successful as an apex predator. The fox is generally less common in areas where the dingo is more prevalent, but it has, primarily through its burrowing behaviour, achieved niche differentiation with both the feral dog and the feral cat. Consequently, the fox has become one of the continent's most destructive invasive species.The red fox has been implicated in the extinction or decline of several native Australian species, particularly those of the family Potoroidae, including the desert rat-kangaroo. The spread of red foxes across the southern part of the continent has coincided with the spread of rabbits in Australia, and corresponds with declines in the distribution of several medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals, including brush-tailed bettongs, burrowing bettongs, rufous bettongs, bilbys, numbats, bridled nail-tail wallabies and quokkas. Most of those species are now limited to areas (such as islands) where red foxes are absent or rare. Local fox eradication programs exist, although elimination has proven difficult due to the fox's denning behaviour and nocturnal hunting, so the focus is on management, including the introduction of state bounties. According to the Tasmanian government, red foxes were accidentally introduced to the previously fox-free island of Tasmania in 1999 or 2000, posing a significant threat to native wildlife, including the eastern bettong, and an eradication program was initiated, conducted by the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water.
+
+Sardinia, Italy
+The origin of the ichnusae subspecies in Sardinia, Italy is uncertain, as it is absent from Pleistocene deposits in their current homeland. It is possible it originated during the Neolithic following its introduction to the island by humans. It is likely then that Sardinian fox populations stem from repeated introductions of animals from different localities in the Mediterranean. This latter theory may explain the subspecies' phenotypic diversity.
+
+Behaviour
+Social and territorial behaviour
+Red foxes either establish stable home ranges within particular areas or are itinerant with no fixed abode.: 117  They use their urine to mark their territories. A male fox raises one hind leg and his urine is sprayed forward in front of him, whereas a female fox squats down so that the urine is sprayed in the ground between the hind legs. Urine is also used to mark empty cache sites, used to store found food, as reminders not to waste time investigating them.: 125  Males generally have higher urine marking rates during late summer and autumn, but the rest of the year the rates between male and female are similar.  The use of up to 12 different urination postures allows them to precisely control the position of the scent mark. Red foxes live in family groups sharing a joint territory. In favourable habitats and/or areas with low hunting pressure, subordinate foxes may be present in a range. Subordinate foxes may number one or two, sometimes up to eight in one territory. These subordinates could be formerly dominant animals, but are mostly young from the previous year, who act as helpers in rearing the breeding vixen's kits. Alternatively, their presence has been explained as being in response to temporary surpluses of food unrelated to assisting reproductive success. Non-breeding vixens will guard, play, groom, provision and retrieve kits, an example of kin selection. Red foxes may leave their families once they reach adulthood if the chances of winning a territory of their own are high. If not, they will stay with their parents, at the cost of postponing their own reproduction.: 140–141
+
+Reproduction and development
+Red foxes reproduce once a year in spring. Two months prior to oestrus (typically December), the reproductive organs of vixens change shape and size. By the time they enter their oestrus period, their uterine horns double in size, and their ovaries grow 1.5–2 times larger. Sperm formation in males begins in August–September, with the testicles attaining their greatest weight in December–February. The vixen's oestrus period lasts three weeks, during which the dog-foxes mate with the vixens for several days, often in burrows.  The male's bulbus glandis enlarges during copulation, forming a copulatory tie which may last for more than an hour. The gestation period lasts 49–58 days. Though foxes are largely monogamous, DNA evidence from one population indicated large levels of polygyny, incest and mixed paternity litters. Subordinate vixens may become pregnant, but usually fail to whelp, or have their kits killed postpartum by either the dominant female or other subordinates.
+The average litter size consists of four to six kits, though litters of up to 13 kits have occurred. Large litters are typical in areas where fox mortality is high.: 93  Kits are born blind, deaf and toothless, with dark brown fluffy fur. At birth, they weigh 56–110 g (2.0–3.9 oz) and measure 14.5 cm (5.7 in) in body length and 7.5 cm (3.0 in) in tail length. At birth, they are short-legged, large-headed and have broad chests. Mothers remain with the kits for 2–3 weeks, as they are unable to thermoregulate. During this period, the fathers or barren vixens feed the mothers. Vixens are very protective of their kits, and have been known to even fight off terriers in their defence.: 21–22  If the mother dies before the kits are independent, the father takes over as their provider.: 13  The kits' eyes open after 13–15 days, during which time their ear canals open and their upper teeth erupt, with the lower teeth emerging 3–4 days later. Their eyes are initially blue, but change to amber at 4–5 weeks. Coat colour begins to change at three weeks of age, when the black eye streak appears. By one month, red and white patches are apparent on their faces. During this time, their ears erect and their muzzles elongate. Kits begin to leave their dens and experiment with solid food brought by their parents at the age of 3–4 weeks. The lactation period lasts 6–7 weeks. Their woolly coats begin to be coated by shiny guard hairs after 8 weeks. By the age of 3–4 months, the kits are long-legged, narrow-chested and sinewy. They reach adult proportions at the age of 6–7 months. Some vixens may reach sexual maturity at the age of 9–10 months, thus bearing their first litters at one year of age. In captivity, their longevity can be as long as 15 years, though in the wild they typically do not survive past 5 years of age.
+
+Denning behaviour
+Outside the breeding season, most red foxes favour living in the open, in densely vegetated areas, though they may enter burrows to escape bad weather. Their burrows are often dug on hill or mountain slopes, ravines, bluffs, steep banks of water bodies, ditches, depressions, gutters, in rock clefts and neglected human environments. Red foxes prefer to dig their burrows on well drained soils. Dens built among tree roots can last for decades, while those dug on the steppes last only several years. They may permanently abandon their dens during mange outbreaks, possibly as a defence mechanism against the spread of disease. In the Eurasian desert regions, foxes may use the burrows of wolves, porcupines and other large mammals, as well as those dug by gerbil colonies. Compared to burrows constructed by Arctic foxes, badgers, marmots and corsac foxes, red fox dens are not overly complex. Red fox burrows are divided into a den and temporary burrows, which consist only of a small passage or cave for concealment. The main entrance of the burrow leads downwards (40–45°) and broadens into a den, from which numerous side tunnels branch. Burrow depth ranges from 0.5–2.5 m (1 ft 8 in – 8 ft 2 in), rarely extending to ground water. The main passage can reach 17 m (56 ft) in length, standing an average of 5–7 m (16–23 ft). In spring, red foxes clear their dens of excess soil through rapid movements, first with the forepaws then with kicking motions with their hind legs, throwing the discarded soil over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) from the burrow. When kits are born, the discarded debris is trampled, thus forming a spot where the kits can play and receive food. They may share their dens with woodchucks or badgers. Unlike badgers, which fastidiously clean their earths and defecate in latrines, red foxes habitually leave pieces of prey around their dens.: 15–17  The average sleep time of a captive red fox is 9.8 hours per day.
+
+Communication
+Body language
+Red fox body language consists of movements of the ears, tail and postures, with their body markings emphasising certain gestures. Postures can be divided into aggressive/dominant and fearful/submissive categories. Some postures may blend the two together.: 42–43 
+Inquisitive foxes will rotate and flick their ears whilst sniffing. Playful individuals will perk their ears and rise on their hind legs. Male foxes courting females, or after successfully evicting intruders, will turn their ears outwardly, and raise their tails in a horizontal position, with the tips raised upward. When afraid, red foxes grin in submission, arching their backs, curving their bodies, crouching their legs and lashing their tails back and forth with their ears pointing backwards and pressed against their skulls. When merely expressing submission to a dominant animal, the posture is similar, but without arching the back or curving the body. Submissive foxes will approach dominant animals in a low posture, so that their muzzles reach up in greeting. When two evenly matched foxes confront each other over food, they approach each other sideways and push against each other's flanks, betraying a mixture of fear and aggression through lashing tails and arched backs without crouching and pulling their ears back without flattening them against their skulls. When launching an assertive attack, red foxes approach directly rather than sideways, with their tails aloft and their ears rotated sideways. During such fights, red foxes will stand on each other's upper bodies with their forelegs, using open mouthed threats. Such fights typically only occur among juveniles or adults of the same sex.
+
+Vocalisations
+Red foxes have a wide vocal range, and produce different sounds spanning five octaves, which grade into each other.: 28  Recent analyses identify 12 different sounds produced by adults and 8 by kits. The majority of sounds can be divided into "contact" and "interaction" calls. The former vary according to the distance between individuals, while the latter vary according to the level of aggression.: 28 
+Contact calls: The most commonly heard contact call is a three to five syllable barking "wow wow wow" sound, which is often made by two foxes approaching one another. This call is most frequently heard from December to February (when they can be confused with the territorial calls of tawny owls). The "wow wow wow" call varies according to individual; captive foxes have been recorded to answer pre-recorded calls of their pen-mates, but not those of strangers. Kits begin emitting the "wow wow wow" call at the age of 19 days, when craving attention. When red foxes draw close together, they emit trisyllabic greeting warbles similar to the clucking of chickens. Adults greet their kits with gruff huffing noises.: 28 
+Interaction calls: When greeting one another, red foxes emit high pitched whines, particularly submissive animals. A submissive fox approached by a dominant animal will emit a ululating siren-like shriek. During aggressive encounters with conspecifics, they emit a throaty rattling sound, similar to a ratchet, called "gekkering". Gekkering occurs mostly during the courting season from rival males or vixens rejecting advances.: 28  Both tamed and domesticated foxes have been observed making sounds similar to laughter, which is believed to be used as a contact call when communicating with human owners and handlers.Another call that does not fit into the two categories is a long, drawn-out, monosyllabic "waaaaah" sound. As it is commonly heard during the breeding season, it is thought to be emitted by vixens summoning males. When danger is detected, foxes emit a monosyllabic bark. At close quarters, it is a muffled cough, while at long distances it is sharper. Kits make warbling whimpers when nursing, these calls being especially loud when they are dissatisfied.: 28
+
+Ecology
+Diet, hunting and feeding behaviour
+Red foxes are omnivores with a highly varied diet. Research conducted in the former Soviet Union showed red foxes consuming over 300 animal species and a few dozen species of plants. They primarily feed on small rodents like voles, mice, ground squirrels, hamsters, gerbils, woodchucks, pocket gophers and deer mice. Secondary prey species include birds (with Passeriformes, Galliformes and waterfowl predominating), leporids, porcupines, raccoons, opossums, reptiles, insects, other invertebrates, flotsam (marine mammals, fish and echinoderms) and carrion. On very rare occasions, foxes may attack young or small ungulates. They typically target mammals up to about 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) in weight, and they require 500 g (18 oz) of food daily. Red foxes readily eat plant material and in some areas fruit can amount to 100% of their diet in autumn. Commonly consumed fruits include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, persimmons, mulberries, apples, plums, grapes and acorns. Other plant material includes grasses, sedges and tubers.Red foxes are implicated in the predation of game and song birds, hares, rabbits, muskrats and young ungulates, particularly in preserves, reserves and hunting farms where ground-nesting birds are protected and raised, as well as in poultry farms.While the popular consensus is that olfaction is very important for hunting, two studies that experimentally investigated the role of olfactory, auditory and visual cues found that visual cues are the most important ones for hunting in red foxes and coyotes.Red foxes prefer to hunt in the early morning hours before sunrise and late evening. Although they typically forage alone, they may aggregate in resource-rich environments. When hunting mouse-like prey, they first pinpoint their prey's location by sound, then leap, sailing high above their quarry, steering in mid-air with their tails, before landing on target up to 5 m (16 ft) away. They typically only feed on carrion in the late evening hours and at night. They are extremely possessive of their food and will defend their catches from even dominant animals.: 58  Red foxes may occasionally commit acts of surplus killing; during one breeding season, four red foxes were recorded to have killed around 200 black-headed gulls each, with peaks during dark, windy hours when flying conditions were unfavourable. Losses to poultry and penned game birds can be substantial because of this.: 164  Red foxes seem to dislike the taste of moles, but will nonetheless catch them alive and present them to their kits as playthings.: 41 A 2008–2010 study of 84 red foxes in the Czech Republic and Germany found that successful hunting in long vegetation or under snow appeared to involve an alignment of the red fox with the Earth's magnetic field.
+
+Enemies and competitors
+Red foxes typically dominate other fox species. Arctic foxes generally escape competition from red foxes by living farther north, where food is too scarce to support the larger-bodied red species. Although the red species' northern limit is linked to the availability of food, the Arctic species' southern range is limited by the presence of the former. Red and Arctic foxes were both introduced to almost every island from the Aleutian Islands to the Alexander Archipelago during the 1830s–1930s by fur companies. The red foxes invariably displaced the Arctic foxes, with one male red fox having been reported to have killed off all resident Arctic foxes on a small island in 1866. Where they are sympatric, Arctic foxes may also escape competition by feeding on lemmings and flotsam rather than voles, as favoured by red foxes. Both species will kill each other's kits, given the opportunity. Red foxes are serious competitors of corsac foxes, as they hunt the same prey all year. The red species is also stronger, is better adapted to hunting in snow deeper than 10 cm (3.9 in) and is more effective in hunting and catching medium-sized to large rodents. Corsac foxes seem to only outcompete red foxes in semi-desert and steppe areas. In Israel, Blanford's foxes escape competition with red foxes by restricting themselves to rocky cliffs and actively avoiding the open plains inhabited by red foxes.: 84–85  Red foxes dominate kit and swift foxes. Kit foxes usually avoid competition with their larger cousins by living in more arid environments, though red foxes have been increasing in ranges formerly occupied by kit foxes due to human-induced environmental changes. Red foxes will kill both species and compete with them for food and den sites. Grey foxes are exceptional, as they dominate red foxes wherever their ranges meet. Historically, interactions between the two species were rare, as grey foxes favoured heavily wooded or semiarid habitats as opposed to the open and mesic ones preferred by red foxes. However, interactions have become more frequent due to deforestation, allowing red foxes to colonise grey fox-inhabited areas.Wolves may kill and eat red foxes in disputes over carcasses. In areas in North America where red fox and coyote populations are sympatric, red fox ranges tend to be located outside coyote territories. The principal cause of this separation is believed to be active avoidance of coyotes by the red foxes. Interactions between the two species vary in nature, ranging from active antagonism to indifference. The majority of aggressive encounters are initiated by coyotes, and there are few reports of red foxes acting aggressively toward coyotes except when attacked or when their kits were approached. Foxes and coyotes have sometimes been seen feeding together. In Israel, red foxes share their habitat with golden jackals. Where their ranges meet, the two canids compete due to near-identical diets. Red foxes ignore golden jackal scents or tracks in their territories and avoid close physical proximity with golden jackals themselves. In areas where golden jackals become very abundant, the population of red foxes decreases significantly, apparently because of competitive exclusion.
+Red foxes dominate raccoon dogs, sometimes killing their kits or biting adults to death. Cases are known of red foxes killing raccoon dogs after entering their dens. Both species compete for mouse-like prey. This competition reaches a peak during early spring when food is scarce. In Tatarstan, red fox predation accounted for 11.1% of deaths among 54 raccoon dogs and amounted to 14.3% of 186 raccoon dog deaths in northwestern Russia.Red foxes may kill small mustelids like weasels, stone martens, pine martens (martes martes), stoats, siberian weasels, polecats and young sables. Eurasian badgers may live alongside red foxes in isolated sections of large burrows. It is possible that the two species tolerate each other out of mutualism; red foxes provide Eurasian badgers with food scraps, while Eurasian badgers maintain the shared burrow's cleanliness.: 15  However, cases are known of Eurasian badgers driving vixens from their dens and destroying their litters without eating them. Wolverines may kill red foxes, often while the latter is sleeping or near carrion.: 546  Red foxes, in turn, may kill young wolverines.Red foxes may compete with striped hyenas on large carcasses. Red foxes may give way to striped hyenas on unopened carcasses, as the latter's stronger jaws can easily tear open flesh that is too tough for red foxes. Red foxes may harass striped hyenas, using their smaller size and greater speed to avoid the hyena's attacks. Sometimes, red foxes seem to deliberately torment striped hyenas even when there is no food at stake. Some red foxes may mis-time their attacks and are killed.: 77–79  Red fox remains are often found in striped hyena dens and striped hyenas may steal red foxes from traps.In Eurasia, red foxes may be preyed upon by leopards, caracals and Eurasian lynxes. The Eurasian lynxes chase red foxes into deep snow, where their long legs and larger paws give them an advantage over red foxes, especially when the depth of the snow exceeds one meter. In the Velikoluksky District in Russia, red foxes are absent or are seen only occasionally where Eurasian lynxes establish permanent territories. Researchers consider Eurasian lynxes to represent considerably less danger to red foxes than wolves do. North American felid predators of red foxes include cougars, Canada lynxes and bobcats.Red foxes compete with various birds of prey such as common buzzards (Buteo buteo) and northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) and even steal their kills. In turn, golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) regularly takes young red foxes and prey on adults if needed. Other large eagles such as wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax), eastern imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca), white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), and steller's sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) have also been known to kill red foxes less frequently. Additionally, large owls such as Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo) and snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) will prey on young foxes, and adults on exceptional occasions.
+
+Diseases and parasites
+Red foxes are the most important rabies vector in Europe. In London, arthritis is common in foxes, being particularly frequent in the spine. Foxes may be infected with leptospirosis and tularemia, though they are not overly susceptible to the latter. They may also fall ill from listeriosis and spirochetosis, as well as acting as vectors in spreading erysipelas, brucellosis and tick-borne encephalitis. A mysterious fatal disease near Lake Sartlan in the Novosibirsk Oblast was noted among local red foxes, but the cause was undetermined. The possibility was considered that it was caused by an acute form of encephalomyelitis, which was first observed in captive-bred silver foxes. Individual cases of foxes infected with Yersinia pestis are known.Red foxes are not readily prone to infestation with fleas. Species like Spilopsyllus cuniculi are probably only caught from the fox's prey species, while others like Archaeopsylla erinacei are caught whilst traveling. Fleas that feed on red foxes include Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides canis and Paraceras melis. Ticks such as Ixodes ricinus and I. hexagonus are not uncommon in red foxes, and are typically found on nursing vixens and kits still in their earths. The louse Trichodectes vulpis specifically targets red foxes, but is found infrequently. The mite Sarcoptes scabiei is the most important cause of mange in red foxes. It causes extensive hair loss, starting from the base of the tail and hindfeet, then the rump before moving on to the rest of the body. In the final stages of the condition, red foxes can lose most of their fur, 50% of their body weight and may gnaw at infected extremities. In the epizootic phase of the disease, it usually takes red foxes four months to die after infection. Other endoparasites include Demodex folliculorum, Notoderes, Otodectes cynotis (which is frequently found in the ear canal), Linguatula serrata (which infects the nasal passages) and ringworms.Up to 60 helminth species are known to infect captive-bred foxes in fur farms, while 20 are known in the wild. Several coccidian species of the genera Isospora and Eimeria are also known to infect them. The most common nematode species found in red fox guts are Toxocara canis and Uncinaria stenocephala, Capillaria aerophila and Crenosoma vulpis; the latter two infect their lungs and trachea. Capillaria plica infects the red fox's bladder. Trichinella spiralis rarely affects them. The most common tapeworm species in red foxes are Taenia spiralis and T. pisiformis. Others include Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis. Eleven trematode species infect red foxes, including Metorchis conjunctus.
+
+Relationships with humans
+In folklore, religion and mythology
+Red foxes feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures with which they are sympatric. In Greek mythology, the Teumessian fox, or Cadmean vixen, was a gigantic fox that was destined never to be caught. The fox was one of the children of Echidna.In Celtic mythology, the red fox is a symbolic animal. In the Cotswolds, witches were thought to take the shape of foxes to steal butter from their neighbours. In later European folklore, the figure of Reynard the Fox symbolises trickery and deceit. He originally appeared (then under the name of "Reinardus") as a secondary character in the 1150 poem "Ysengrimus". He reappeared in 1175 in Pierre Saint Cloud's Le Roman de Renart, and made his debut in England in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Nun's Priest's Tale. Many of Reynard's adventures may stem from actual observations on fox behaviour; he is an enemy of the wolf and has a fondness for blackberries and grapes.: 32–33 Chinese folk tales tell of fox-spirits called huli jing that may have up to nine tails, or kumiho as they are known in Korea. In Japanese mythology, the kitsune are fox-like spirits possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others, other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. In Arab folklore, the fox is considered a cowardly, weak, deceitful, and cunning animal, said to feign death by filling its abdomen with air to appear bloated, then lies on its side, awaiting the approach of unwitting prey. The animal's cunning was noted by the authors of the Bible who applied the word "fox" to false prophets (Ezekiel 13:4) and the hypocrisy of Herod Antipas (Luke 13:32).The cunning Fox is commonly found in Native American mythology, where it is portrayed as an almost constant companion to Coyote. Fox, however, is a deceitful companion that often steals Coyote's food. In the Achomawi creation myth, Fox and Coyote are the co-creators of the world, that leave just before the arrival of humans. The Yurok tribe believed that Fox, in anger, captured the Sun, and tied him to a hill, causing him to burn a great hole in the ground. An Inuit story tells of how Fox, portrayed as a beautiful woman, tricks a hunter into marrying her, only to resume her true form and leave after he offends her. A Menominee story tells of how Fox is an untrustworthy friend to Wolf.
+
+Hunting
+The earliest historical records of fox hunting come from the 4th century BC; Alexander the Great is known to have hunted foxes and a seal dated from 350 BC depicts a Persian horseman in the process of spearing a fox. Xenophon, who viewed hunting as part of a cultured man's education, advocated the killing of foxes as pests, as they distracted hounds from hares. The Romans were hunting foxes by AD 80. During the Dark Ages in Europe, foxes were considered secondary quarries, but gradually grew in importance. Cnut the Great re-classed foxes as Beasts of the Chase, a lower category of quarry than Beasts of Venery. Foxes were gradually hunted less as vermin and more as Beasts of the Chase, to the point that by the late 1200s, Edward I had a royal pack of foxhounds and a specialised fox huntsman. In this period, foxes were increasingly hunted above ground with hounds, rather than underground with terriers. Edward, Second Duke of York assisted the climb of foxes as more prestigious quarries in his The Master of Game. By the Renaissance, fox hunting became a traditional sport of the nobility. After the English Civil War caused a drop in deer populations, fox hunting grew in popularity. By the mid-1600s, Great Britain was divided into fox hunting territories, with the first fox hunting clubs being formed (the first was the Charlton Hunt Club in 1737). The popularity of fox hunting in Great Britain reached a peak during the 1700s.: 21  Although already native to North America, red foxes from England were imported for sporting purposes to Virginia and Maryland in 1730 by prosperous tobacco planters. These American fox hunters considered the red fox more sporting than the grey fox.
+The grays furnished more fun, the reds more excitement. The grays did not run so far, but usually kept near home, going in a circuit of six or eight
+miles. 'An old red, generally so called irrespective of age, as a tribute to his prowess, might lead the dogs all day, and end by losing them as evening fell, after taking them a dead stretch for thirty miles. The capture of a gray was what men boasted of; a chase after 'an old red' was what they 'yarned' about.
+Red foxes are still widely persecuted as pests, with human-caused deaths among the highest causes of mortality in the species. Annual red fox kills are: UK 21,500–25,000 (2000); Germany 600,000 (2000–2001); Austria 58,000 (2000–2001); Sweden 58,000 (1999–2000); Finland 56,000 (2000–2001); Denmark 50,000 (1976–1977); Switzerland 34,832 (2001); Norway 17,000 (2000–2001); Saskatchewan (Canada) 2,000 (2000–2001); Nova Scotia (Canada) 491 (2000–2001); Minnesota (US) 4,000–8,000 (average annual trapping harvest 2002–2009); New Mexico (US) 69 (1999–2000).
+
+Fur use
+Red foxes are among the most important fur-bearing animals harvested by the fur trade. Their pelts are used for trimmings, scarfs, muffs, jackets and coats. They are principally used as trimming for both cloth coats and fur garments, including evening wraps.: 229–230  The pelts of silver foxes are popular as capes,: 246  while cross foxes are mostly used for scarves and rarely for trimming.: 252  The number of sold fox scarves exceeds the total number of scarves made from other fur-bearers. However, this amount is overshadowed by the total number of red fox pelts used for trimming purposes.: 229–230  The silver colour morphs are the most valued by furriers, followed by the cross colour morphs and the red colour morphs, respectively.: 207  In the early 1900s, over 1,000 American red fox skins were imported to Great Britain annually, while 500,000 were exported annually from Germany and Russia.: 6  The total worldwide trade of wild red foxes in 1985–86 was 1,543,995 pelts. Red foxes amounted to 45% of U.S. wild-caught pelts worth $50 million. Pelt prices are increasing, with 2012 North American wholesale auction prices averaging $39 and 2013 prices averaging $65.78.North American red foxes, particularly those of northern Alaska, are the most valued for their fur, as they have guard hairs of a silky texture which, after dressing, allow the wearer unrestricted mobility. Red foxes living in southern Alaska's coastal areas and the Aleutian Islands are an exception, as they have extremely coarse pelts that rarely exceed one-third of the price of their northern Alaskan cousins.: 231  Most European peltries have coarse-textured fur compared to North American varieties. The only exceptions are the Nordic and Far Eastern Russian peltries, but they are still inferior to North American peltries in terms of silkiness.: 235
+
+Livestock and pet predation
+Red foxes may on occasion prey on lambs. Usually, lambs targeted by red foxes tend to be physically weakened specimens, but not always. Lambs belonging to small breeds, such as the Scottish Blackface, are more vulnerable than larger breeds, such as the Merino. Twins may be more vulnerable to red foxes than singlets, as ewes cannot effectively defend both simultaneously. Crossbreeding small, upland ewes with larger, lowland rams can cause difficult and prolonged labour for ewes due to the heaviness of the resulting offspring, thus making the lambs more at risk to red fox predation. Lambs born from gimmers (ewes breeding for the first time) are more often killed by red foxes than those of experienced mothers, who stick closer to their young.: 166–167 Red foxes may prey on domestic rabbits and guinea pigs if they are kept in open runs or are allowed to range freely in gardens. This problem is usually averted by housing them in robust hutches and runs. Urban red foxes frequently encounter cats and may feed alongside them. In physical confrontations, the cats usually have the upper hand. Authenticated cases of red foxes killing cats usually involve kittens. Although most red foxes do not prey on cats, some may do so and may treat them more as competitors rather than food.: 180–181
+
+Taming and domestication
+In their unmodified wild state, red foxes are generally unsuitable as pets. Many supposedly abandoned kits are adopted by well-meaning people during the spring period, though it is unlikely that vixens would abandon their young. Actual orphans are rare and the ones that are adopted are likely kits that simply strayed from their den sites. Kits require almost constant supervision; when still suckling, they require milk at four-hour intervals day and night. Once weaned, they may become destructive to leather objects, furniture and electric cables.: 56  Though generally friendly toward people when young, captive red foxes become fearful of humans, save for their handlers, once they reach 10 weeks of age.: 61  They maintain their wild counterparts' strong instinct of concealment and may pose a threat to domestic birds, even when well-fed.: 122  Although suspicious of strangers, they can form bonds with cats and dogs, even ones bred for fox hunting. Tame red foxes were once used to draw ducks close to hunting blinds.: 132–133 White to black individual red foxes have been selected and raised on fur farms as "silver foxes". In the second half of the 20th century, a lineage of domesticated silver foxes was developed by Russian geneticist Dmitry Belyayev who, over a 40-year period, bred several generations selecting only those individuals that showed the least fear of humans. Eventually, Belyayev's team selected only those that showed the most positive response to humans, thus resulting in a population of silver foxes whose behaviour and appearance was significantly changed. After about 10 generations of controlled breeding, these foxes no longer showed any fear of humans and often wagged their tails and licked their human caretakers to show affection. These behavioural changes were accompanied by physical alterations, which included piebald coats, floppy ears in kits and curled tails, similar to the traits that distinguish domestic dogs from grey wolves.
+
+Urban red foxes
+Distribution
+Red foxes have been exceedingly successful in colonising built-up environments, especially lower-density suburbs, although many have also been sighted in dense urban areas far from the countryside. Throughout the 20th century, they have established themselves in many Australian, European, Japanese and North American cities. The species first colonised British cities during the 1930s, entering Bristol and London during the 1940s, and later established themselves in Cambridge and Norwich. In Ireland, they are now common in suburban Dublin. In Australia, red foxes were recorded in Melbourne as early as the 1930s, while in Zurich, Switzerland, they only started appearing in the 1980s. Urban red foxes are most common in residential suburbs consisting of privately owned, low-density housing. They are rare in areas where industry, commerce or council-rented houses predominate. In these latter areas, the distribution is of a lower average density because they rely less on human resources; the home range of these foxes average from 80–90 ha (0.80–0.90 km2; 200–220 acres), whereas those in more residential areas average from 25–40 ha (0.25–0.40 km2; 62–99 acres).In 2006, it was estimated that there were 10,000 red foxes in London. City-dwelling red foxes may have the potential to consistently grow larger than their rural counterparts as a result of abundant scraps and a relative lack of predators. In cities, red foxes may scavenge food from litter bins and bin bags, although much of their diet is similar to rural red foxes.
+
+Behaviour
+Urban red foxes are most active at dusk and dawn, doing most of their hunting and scavenging at these times. It is uncommon to spot them during the day, but they can be caught sunbathing on roofs of houses or sheds. Urban red foxes will often make their homes in hidden and undisturbed spots in urban areas as well as on the edges of a city, visiting at night for sustenance. They sleep at night in dens. While urban red foxes will scavenge successfully in the city (and the red foxes tend to eat anything that humans eat) some urban residents will deliberately leave food out for the animals, finding them endearing. Doing this regularly can attract urban red foxes to one's home; they can become accustomed to human presence, warming up to their providers by allowing themselves to be approached and in some cases even played with, particularly young kits.
+
+Urban red fox control
+Urban red foxes can cause problems for local residents. They have been known to steal chickens, disrupt rubbish bins and damage gardens. Most complaints about urban red foxes made to local authorities occur during the breeding season in late January/early February or from late April to August when the new kits are developing. In the U.K., hunting red foxes in urban areas is banned and shooting them in an urban environment is not suitable. One alternative to hunting urban red foxes has been to trap them, which appears to be a more viable method. However, killing red foxes has little effect on the population in an urban area; those that are killed are very soon replaced, either by new kits during the breeding season or by other red foxes moving into the territory of those that were killed. A more effective method of urban red fox control is to deter them from the specific areas they inhabit. Deterrents such as creosote, diesel oil, or ammonia can be used. Cleaning up and blocking access to den locations can also discourage an urban red fox's return.
+
+Relationship between urban and rural red foxes
+In January 2014 it was reported that "Fleet", a relatively tame urban red fox tracked as part of a wider study by the University of Brighton in partnership with the BBC TV series Winterwatch, had unexpectedly traveled 195 miles in 21 days from his neighbourhood in Hove at the western edge of East Sussex across rural countryside as far as Rye, at the eastern edge of the county. He was still continuing his journey when the GPS collar stopped transmitting due to suspected water damage. Along with setting a record for the longest journey undertaken by a tracked red fox in the United Kingdom, his travels have highlighted the fluidity of movement between rural and urban red fox populations.
+
+References
+Further reading
+Osborn, Dale. J. & Helmy, Ibrahim (1980). "The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including Sinai)". Fieldiana. New Series. Field Museum of Natural History (5).
+Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio; Hoffman, Michael & MacDonald, David W. (2004). Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs – 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. ISBN 978-2-8317-0786-0. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011.
+Spagnesi, Mario & De Marina Marinis, Maria (2002). "Mammiferi d'Italia". Quaderni di Conservazione della Natura. ISSN 1592-2901.
+
+External links
+
+"Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 March 2006.
+Red Fox, National Geographic
+Natural History of the Red Fox, Wildlife Online
+Sacramento Valley red fox info1
+Red Fox, Fletcher Wildlife Garden
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+The red wolf (Canis rufus) is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (Canis latrans) and gray wolf (Canis lupus).The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate species has been contentious for nearly a century, being classified either as a subspecies of the gray wolf Canis lupus rufus, or a coywolf (a genetic admixture of wolf and coyote). Because of this, it is sometimes excluded from endangered species lists, despite its critically low numbers. Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently recognizes the red wolf as an endangered species and grants it protected status. Since 1996, the IUCN has listed the red wolf as a Critically Endangered species; however, it is not listed in the CITES Appendices of endangered species.
+
+History
+Red wolves were originally distributed throughout the southeastern and south-central United States from the Atlantic Ocean to central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Illinois in the west, and in the north from the Ohio River Valley, northern Pennsylvania,  southern New York, and extreme southern Ontario in Canada south to the Gulf of Mexico. The red wolf was nearly driven to extinction by the mid-1900s due to aggressive predator-control programs, habitat destruction, and extensive hybridization with coyotes. By the late 1960s, it occurred in small numbers in the Gulf Coast of western Louisiana and eastern Texas.
+Fourteen of these survivors were selected to be the founders of a captive-bred population, which was established in the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium between 1974 and 1980. After a successful experimental relocation to Bulls Island off the coast of South Carolina in 1978, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild in 1980 to proceed with restoration efforts. In 1987, the captive animals were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on the Albemarle Peninsula in North Carolina, with a second release, since reversed, taking place two years later in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Of 63 red wolves released from 1987 to 1994, the population rose to as many as 100–120 individuals in 2012, but due to the lack of regulation enforcement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the population has declined to 40 individuals in 2018, about 14 in 2019  and 8 as of October 2021. No wild litters were born between 2019 and 2020.Under pressure from conservation groups, the US Fish and Wildlife Service resumed reintroductions and increased protection. Reintroductions resumed in 2021. In 2022, the first wild litter was born since 2018. As of 2023, there are between 15 and 17 wild red wolves in ARNWR.
+
+Description and behavior
+The red wolf's appearance is typical of the genus Canis, and is generally intermediate in size between the coyote and gray wolf, though some specimens may overlap in size with small gray wolves. A study of Canis morphometrics conducted in eastern North Carolina reported that red wolves are morphometrically distinct from coyotes and hybrids. Adults measure 136–165 cm (53.5–65 in) in length, comprising a tail of about 37 cm (14.6 in). Their weight ranges from 20 to 39 kg (44-85 lbs) with males averaging 29 kg (64 lbs) and females 25 kg (55 lbs). Its pelage is typically more reddish and sparsely furred than the coyote's and gray wolf's, though melanistic individuals do occur. Its fur is generally tawny to grayish in color, with light markings around the lips and eyes. The red wolf has been compared by some authors to the greyhound in general form, owing to its relatively long and slender limbs. The ears are also proportionately larger than the coyote's and gray wolf's. The skull is typically narrow, with a long and slender rostrum, a small braincase and a well developed sagittal crest. Its cerebellum is unlike that of other Canis species, being closer in form to that of canids of the Vulpes and Urocyon genera, thus indicating that the red wolf is one of the more plesiomorphic members of its genus.The red wolf is more sociable than the coyote, but less so than the gray wolf. It mates in January–February, with an average of 6-7 pups being born in March, April, and May. It is monogamous, with both parents participating in the rearing of young. Denning sites include hollow tree trunks, along stream banks and the abandoned earths of other animals. By the age of six weeks, the pups distance themselves from the den, and reach full size at the age of one year, becoming sexually mature two years later.Using long-term data on red wolf individuals of known pedigree, it was found that inbreeding among first-degree relatives was rare. A likely mechanism for avoidance of inbreeding is independent dispersal trajectories from the natal pack. Many of the young wolves spend time alone or in small non-breeding packs composed of unrelated individuals. The union of two unrelated individuals in a new home range is the predominant pattern of breeding pair formation. Inbreeding is avoided because it results in progeny with reduced fitness (inbreeding depression) that is predominantly caused by the homozygous expression of recessive deleterious alleles.Prior to its extinction in the wild, the red wolf's diet consisted of rabbits, rodents, and nutria (an introduced species). In contrast, the red wolves from the restored population rely on white-tailed deer, pig, raccoon, rice rats, muskrats, nutria, rabbits and carrion. White-tailed deer were largely absent from the last wild refuge of red wolves on the Gulf Coast between Texas and Louisiana (where specimens were trapped from the last wild population for captive breeding), which likely accounts for the discrepancy in their dietary habits listed here. Historical accounts of wolves in the southeast by early explorers such as William Hilton, who sailed along the Cape Fear River in what is now North Carolina in 1644, also note that they ate deer.
+
+Range and habitat
+The originally recognized red wolf range extended throughout the southeastern United States from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River Valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to Central Texas and southeastern Missouri. Research into paleontological, archaeological and historical specimens of red wolves by Ronald Nowak expanded their known range to include land south of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, along the eastern seaboard, and west to Missouri and mid-Illinois, terminating in the southern latitudes of Central Texas.Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably used a large suite of habitat types at one time. The last naturally occurring population used coastal prairie marshes, swamps, and agricultural fields used to grow rice and cotton. However, this environment probably does not typify preferred red wolf habitat. Some evidence shows the species was found in highest numbers in the once extensive bottom-land river forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. Red wolves reintroduced into northeastern North Carolina have used habitat types ranging from agricultural lands to forest/wetland mosaics characterized by an overstory of pine and an understory of evergreen shrubs. This suggests that red wolves are habitat generalists and can thrive in most settings where prey populations are adequate and persecution by humans is slight.
+
+Extirpation in the wild
+In 1940 the biologist Stanley P. Young noted that the red wolf was still common in eastern Texas, where more than 800 had been caught in 1939 because of their attacks on livestock. He did not believe that they could be exterminated because of their habit of living concealed in thickets. In 1962 a study of skull morphology of wild Canis in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas indicated that the red wolf existed in only a few populations due to hybridization with the coyote. The explanation was that either the red wolf could not adapt to changes to its environment due to human land-use along with its accompanying influx of competing coyotes from the west, or that the red wolf was being hybridized out of existence by the coyote.
+
+Reintroduced habitat
+Since 1987, red wolves have been released into northeastern North Carolina, where they roam 1.7 million acres. These lands span five counties (Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, Washington, and Beaufort) and include three national wildlife refuges, a U.S. Air Force bombing range, and private land. The red wolf recovery program is unique for a large carnivore reintroduction in that more than half of the land used for reintroduction lies on private property. Approximately 680,000 acres (2,800 km2) are federal and state lands, and 1,002,000 acres (4,050 km2) are private lands.
+Beginning in 1991, red wolves were also released into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee. However, due to exposure to environmental disease (parvovirus), parasites, and competition (with coyotes as well as intraspecific aggression), the red wolf was unable to successfully establish a wild population in the park. Low prey density was also a problem, forcing the wolves to leave the park boundaries in pursuit of food in lower elevations. In 1998, the FWS took away the remaining red wolves in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, relocating them to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. Other red wolves have been released on the coastal islands in Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina as part of the captive breeding management plan. St. Vincent Island in Florida is currently the only active island propagation site.
+
+Captive breeding and reintroduction
+After the passage of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, formal efforts backed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began to save the red wolf from extinction, when a captive-breeding program was established at the Point Defiance Zoological Gardens, Tacoma, Washington. Four hundred animals were captured from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas from 1973 to 1980 by the USFWS.Measurements, vocalization analyses, and skull X-rays were used to distinguish red wolves from coyotes and red wolf × coyote hybrids. Of the 400 canids captured, only 43 were believed to be red wolves and sent to the breeding facility. The first litters were produced in captivity in May 1977. Some of the pups were determined to be hybrids, and they and their parents were removed from the program. Of the original 43 animals, only 17 were considered pure red wolves and since three were unable to breed, 14 became the breeding stock for the captive-breeding program. These 14 were so closely related that they had the genetic effect of being only eight individuals.
+In 1996, the red wolf was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a critically endangered species.
+
+20th century releases
+1976 release in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge
+In December 1976, two wolves were released onto Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge's Bulls Island in South Carolina with the intent of testing and honing reintroduction methods. They were not released with the intent of beginning a permanent population on the island. The first experimental translocation lasted for 11 days, during which a mated pair of red wolves was monitored day and night with remote telemetry. A second experimental translocation was tried in 1978 with a different mated pair, and they were allowed to remain on the island for close to nine months. After that, a larger project was executed in 1987 to reintroduce a permanent population of red wolves back to the wild in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on the eastern coast of North Carolina. Also in 1987, Bulls Island became the first island breeding site. Pups were raised on the island and relocated to North Carolina until 2005.1986 release in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
+In September 1987, four male-female pairs of red wolves were released in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, in northeastern North Carolina, and designated as an experimental population. Since then, the experimental population has grown and the recovery area expanded to include four national wildlife refuges, a Department of Defense bombing range, state-owned lands, and private lands, encompassing about 1,700,000 acres (6,900 km2).1989 release on Horn Island, Mississippi
+In 1989, the second island propagation project was initiated with release of a population on Horn Island off the Mississippi coast. This population was removed in 1998 because of a likelihood of encounters with humans. The third island propagation project introduced a population on St. Vincent Island, Florida, offshore between Cape San Blas and Apalachicola, Florida, in 1990, and in 1997, the fourth island propagation program introduced a population to Cape St. George Island, Florida, south of Apalachicola.1991 release in the Great Smoky Mountains
+In 1991, two pairs were reintroduced into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the last known red wolf was killed in 1905. Despite some early success, the wolves were relocated to eastern North Carolina in 1998, ending the effort to reintroduce the species to the park.
+
+21st century status
+Over 30 facilities participate in the red wolf Species Survival Plan and oversee the breeding and reintroduction of over 150 wolves.In 2007, the USFWS estimated that 300 red wolves remained in the world, with 207 of those in captivity. By late 2020, the number of wild individuals had shrunk to only about 7 radio-collared and a dozen uncollared individuals, with no wild pups born since 2018. This decline has been linked to shooting and poisoning of wolves by landowners, and suspended conservation efforts by the USFWS.A 2019 analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity of available habitat throughout the red wolf's former range found that over 20,000 square miles of public land across five sites had viable habitat for red wolves to be reintroduced to in the future. These sites were chosen based on prey levels, isolation from coyotes and human development, and connectivity with other sites. These sites include: the Apalachicola and Osceola National Forests along with the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and nearby protected lands; numerous national parks and national forests in the Appalachian Mountains including the Monongahela, George Washington & Jefferson, Cherokee, Pisgah, Nantahala, Chattahoochee, and Talladega National Forests along with Shenandoah National Park and the lower elevations of Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Croatoan National Forest and Hofmann Forest on the North Carolina coast, and the Ozark, Ouatchita, and Mark Twain National Forests in the central United States.In late 2018, two canids that are largely coyote were found on Galveston Island, Texas with red wolf alleles (gene expressions) left from a ghost population of red wolves. Since these alleles are from a different population from the red wolves in the North Carolina captive breeding program, there has been a proposal to selectively cross-breed the Galveston Island coyotes into the captive red wolf population. Another study published around the same time analyzing canid scat and hair samples in southwestern Louisiana found genetic evidence of red wolf ancestry in about 55% of sampled canids, with one such individual having between 78 and 100% red wolf ancestry, suggesting the possibility of more red wolf genes in the wild that may not be present in the captive population.From 2015 to 2019, there were no red wolves released into the wild. But in March 2020, the FWS released a new breeding pair of red wolves, including a young male red wolf from St. Vincent Island, Florida into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The pair were unsuccessful at producing a litter of pups in the wild. On March 1, 2021, two male red wolves from Florida were paired with two female wild red wolves from eastern North Carolina and released into the wild. One of the male wolves was killed by a car shortly after being released into the wild. On April 30 and May 1, four adult red wolves were released into the wild and four red wolf pups were fostered by a wild female red wolf. In addition to the eight released wolves, the total number of red wolves living in the wild amount to nearly thirty wild individuals, including a dozen other wolves not wearing radio collars.A study published in 2020 reported camera traps recorded "the presence of a large canid possessing wolf-like characters" in northeast Texas and later hair samples and tracks from the area indicated the presence of red wolves.By fall of 2021, a total of six red wolves had been killed, including the four adults that had been released in the spring. Three of the released adults had been killed in vehicle collisions, two had died from unknown cases, and the fourth released adult had been shot by a landowner who feared the wolf was attempting to get his chickens. These losses dropped the number of wolves in the wild down to about 20 wild individuals. In the winter of 2021–2022, the Fish and Wildlife Services selected nine captive adult red wolves to be released into the wild. A family of five red wolves were released into the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, while two new breeding pairs of adult wolves were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The release of these new wolves brought the number of wild red wolves in eastern North Carolina up to less than 30 wild individuals.On April 22, 2022, one of the breeding pairs of adult red wolves produced a litter of six wolf pups, four females and two males. This new litter of red wolf pups became the first litter born in the wild since 2018. As of 2023, there are between 15 and 17 wild red wolves in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
+
+Current population
+In April and May 2023, two captive male red wolves were paired with two wild female wolves in acclamation pens and were later released into the wild. At the same time, the wild breeding pair that produced a litter of pups the previous year gave birth to a second litter of 5 pups, 2 males and 3 females. A male wolf pup from a captive litter was fostered into the pack, and with this new addition, the family of red wolves, which was named the Milltail pack by FWS, has grown to 13 wild individuals. These six new pups has brought the wild population of red wolves up to 23-25 wild individuals.
+In May 2023, two families of red wolves were placed in acclamation pens to be released into the wild in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Tyrrell County. One family consisted of a breeding pair and three pups, while the other consisted of a breeding pair, a yearling female, and four young pups that were born in the acclamation pen. In early June 2023, the two families of red wolves were released into the wild to roam through PLNWR. With the addition of these two separate packs, the wild population of red wolves had increased to about 35 wild individuals. In addition to the wild population, there are approximately 270 red wolves in zoos and captive breeding programs across the U.S.
+
+Coyote × re-introduced red wolf issues
+Interbreeding with the coyote has been recognized as a threat affecting the restoration of red wolves. Currently, adaptive management efforts are making progress in reducing the threat of coyotes to the red wolf population in northeastern North Carolina. Other threats, such as habitat fragmentation, disease, and human-caused mortality, are of concern in the restoration of red wolves. Efforts to reduce the threats are presently being explored.By 1999, introgression of coyote genes was recognized as the single greatest threat to wild red wolf recovery and an adaptive management plan which included coyote sterilization has been successful, with coyote genes being reduced by 2015 to < 4% of the wild red wolf population.Since the 2014 programmatic review, the USFWS ceased implementing the red wolf adaptive management plan that was responsible for preventing red wolf hybridization with coyotes and allowed the release of captive-born red wolves into the wild population. Since then, the wild population has decreased from 100 to 115 red wolves to less than 30. Despite the controversy over the red wolf's status as a unique taxon as well as the USFWS' apparent disinterest towards wolf conservation in the wild, the vast majority of public comments (including NC residents) submitted to the USFWS in 2017 over their new wolf management plan were in favor of the original wild conservation plan.A 2016 genetic study of canid scats found that despite high coyote density inside the Red Wolf Experimental Population Area (RWEPA), hybridization occurs rarely (4% are hybrids).
+
+Contested killing of re-introduced red wolves
+High wolf mortality related to anthropogenic causes appeared to be the main factor limiting wolf dispersal westward from the RWEPA. High anthropogenic wolf mortality similarly limits expansion of eastern wolves outside of protected areas in south-eastern Canada.In 2012, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for jeopardizing the existence of the wild red wolf population by allowing nighttime hunting of coyotes in the five-county restoration area in eastern North Carolina. A 2014 court-approved settlement agreement was reached that banned nighttime hunting of coyotes and requires permitting and reporting coyote hunting. In response to the settlement, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission adopted a resolution requesting the USFWS to remove all wild red wolves from private lands, terminate recovery efforts, and declare red wolves extinct in the wild. This resolution came in the wake of a 2014 programmatic review of the red wolf conservation program conducted by The Wildlife Management Institute. The Wildlife Management Institute indicated the reintroduction of the red wolf was an incredible achievement. The report indicated that red wolves could be released and survive in the wild, but that illegal killing of red wolves threatens the long-term persistence of the population. The report stated that the USFWS needed to update its red wolf recovery plan, thoroughly evaluate its strategy for preventing coyote hybridization and increase its public outreach.In 2014, the USFWS issued the first take permit for a red wolf to a private landowner. Since then, the USFWS issued several other take permits to landowners in the five-county restoration area. During June 2015, a landowner shot and killed a female red wolf after being authorized a take permit, causing a public outcry. In response, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the USFWS for violating the Endangered Species Act.By 2016, the red wolf population of North Carolina had declined to 45–60 wolves. The largest cause of this decline was gunshot.In June 2018, the USFWS announced a proposal that would limit the wolves' safe range to only Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, where only about 35 wolves remain, thus allowing hunting on private land. In November 2018, Chief Judge Terrence W. Boyle found that the USFWS had violated its congressional mandate to protect the red wolf, and ruled that USFWS had no power to give landowners the right to shoot them.
+
+Relationship to humans
+Since before European colonization of the Americas, the red wolf has featured prominently in Cherokee spiritual beliefs, where it is known as wa'ya (ᏩᏯ), and is said to be the companion of Kana'ti - the hunter and father of the Aniwaya or Wolf Clan. Traditionally, Cherokee people generally avoid killing red wolves, as such an act is believed to bring about the vengeance of the killed animals' pack-mates.
+
+Gallery
+Taxonomy
+The taxonomic status of the red wolf is debated. It has been described as either a species with a distinct lineage, a recent hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote, an ancient hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote which warrants species status, or a distinct species that has undergone recent hybridization with the coyote.The naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman were the first to suggest that the wolves of the southern United States were different from wolves in its other regions. In 1851 they recorded the "Black American Wolf" as C. l. var. ater that existed in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Missouri, Louisiana, and northern Texas. They also recorded the "Red Texan Wolf" as C. l. var. rufus that existed from northern Arkansas, through Texas, and into Mexico. In 1912 the zoologist Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. noted that the designation ater was unavailable and recorded these wolves as C. l. floridanus.In 1937, the zoologist Edward Alphonso Goldman proposed a new species of wolf Canis rufus. Three subspecies of red wolf were originally recognized by Goldman, with two of these subspecies now being extinct. The Florida black wolf (Canis rufus floridanus) (Maine to Florida) has been extinct since 1908 and the Mississippi Valley red wolf (Canis rufus gregoryi) (south-central United States) was declared extinct by 1980. By the 1970s, the Texas red wolf (Canis rufus rufus) existed only in the coastal prairies and marshes of extreme southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. These were removed from the wild to form a captive breeding program and reintroduced into eastern North Carolina in 1987.In 1967, the zoologists Barbara Lawrence and William H. Bossert believed that the case for classifying C. rufus as a species was based too heavily on the small red wolves of central Texas, from where it was known that there existed hybridization with the coyote. They said that if an adequate number of specimens had been included from Florida, then the separation of C. rufus from C. lupus would have been unlikely. The taxonomic reference Catalogue of Life classifies the red wolf as a subspecies of Canis lupus. The mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft, writing in Mammal Species of the World (2005), regards the red wolf as a hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote, but due to its uncertain status compromised by recognizing it as a subspecies of the gray wolf Canis lupus rufus.In 2021, the American Society of Mammalogists considered the red wolf as its own species (Canis rufus).
+
+Taxonomic debate
+When European settlers first arrived to North America, the coyote's range was limited to the western half of the continent. They existed in the arid areas and across the open plains, including the prairie regions of the midwestern states. Early explorers found some in Indiana and Wisconsin. From the mid-1800s onward, coyotes began expanding beyond their original range.The taxonomic debate regarding North American wolves can be summarised as follows:
+
+There are two prevailing evolutionary models for North American Canis:
+(i) a two-species model
+that identifies grey wolves (C. lupus) and (western) coyotes (Canis latrans) as distinct species that gave rise to various hybrids, including the Great Lakes-boreal wolf (also known as Great Lakes wolf), the eastern coyote (also known as Coywolf / brush wolf / tweed wolf), the red wolf, and the eastern (Algonquin) wolf;and
+
+(ii) a three-species model
+that identifies the grey wolf, western coyote, and eastern wolf (C. lycaon) as distinct species, where Great Lakes-boreal wolves are the product of grey wolf × eastern wolf hybridization, eastern coyotes are the result of eastern wolf × western coyote hybridization, and red wolves are considered historically the same species as the eastern wolf, although their contemporary genetic signature has diverged owing to a bottleneck associated with captive breeding.
+
+Fossil evidence
+The paleontologist Ronald M. Nowak notes that the oldest fossil remains of the red wolf are 10,000 years old and were found in Florida near Melbourne, Brevard County, Withlacoochee River, Citrus County, and Devil's Den Cave, Levy County. He notes that there are only a few, but questionable, fossil remains of the gray wolf found in the southeastern states. He proposes that following the extinction of the dire wolf, the coyote appears to have been displaced from the southeastern US by the red wolf until the last century, when the extirpation of wolves allowed the coyote to expand its range. He also proposes that the ancestor of all North American and Eurasian wolves was C. mosbachensis, which lived in the Middle Pleistocene 700,000–300,000 years ago.C. mosbachensis was a wolf that once lived across Eurasia before going extinct. It was smaller than most North American wolf populations and smaller than C. rufus, and has been described as being similar in size to the small Indian wolf, Canis lupus pallipes. He further proposes that C. mosbachensis invaded North America where it became isolated by the later glaciation and there gave rise to C. rufus. In Eurasia, C. mosbachensis evolved into C. lupus, which later invaded North America.: 242 The paleontologist and expert on the genus Canis' natural history, Xiaoming Wang, looked at red wolf fossil material but could not state if it was, or was not, a separate species. He said that Nowak had put together more morphometric data on red wolves than anybody else, but Nowak's statistical analysis of the data revealed a red wolf that is difficult to deal with. Wang proposes that studies of ancient DNA taken from fossils might help settle the debate.
+
+Morphological evidence
+In 1771, the English naturalist Mark Catesby referred to Florida and the Carolinas when he wrote that "The Wolves in America are like those of Europe, in shape and colour, but are somewhat smaller." They were described as being more timid and less voracious. In 1791 the American naturalist William Bartram wrote in his book Travels about a wolf which he had encountered in Florida that was larger than a dog, but was black in contrast to the larger yellow-brown wolves of Pennsylvania and Canada. In 1851 the naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman described the "Red Texan Wolf" in detail. They noted that it could be found in Florida and other southeastern states, but it differed from other North American wolves and named it Canis lupus rufus. It was described as being more fox-like than the gray wolf, but retaining the same "sneaking, cowardly, yet ferocious disposition".In 1905, the mammalogist Vernon Bailey referred to the "Texan Red Wolf" with the first use of the name Canis rufus. In 1937 the zoologist Edward Goldman undertook a morphological study of southeastern wolf specimens. He noted that their skulls and dentition differed from those of gray wolves and closely approached those of coyotes. He identified the specimens as all belonging to the one species which he referred to as Canis rufus. Goldman then examined a large number of southeastern wolf specimens and identified three subspecies, noting that their colors ranged from black, gray, and cinnamon-buff.It is difficult to distinguish the red wolf from a red wolf × coyote hybrid. During the 1960s, two studies of the skull morphology of wild Canis in the southeastern states found them to belong to the red wolf, the coyote, or many variations in between. The conclusion was that there has been recent massive hybridization with the coyote. In contrast, another 1960s study of Canis morphology concluded that the red wolf, eastern wolf, and domestic dog were closer to the gray wolf than the coyote, while still remaining clearly distinctive from each other. The study regarded these 3 canines as subspecies of the gray wolf. However, the study noted that "red wolf" specimens taken from the edge of their range which they shared with the coyote could not be attributed to any one species because the cranial variation was very wide. The study proposed further research to ascertain if hybridization had occurred.In 1971, a study of the skulls of C. rufus, C. lupus and C. latrans indicated that C. rufus was distinguishable by being in size and shape midway between the gray wolf and the coyote. A re-examination of museum canine skulls collected from central Texas between 1915 and 1918 showed variations spanning from C. rufus through to C. latrans. The study proposes that by 1930 due to human habitat modification, the red wolf had disappeared from this region and had been replaced by a hybrid swarm. By 1969, this hybrid swarm was moving eastwards into eastern Texas and Louisiana.In the late 19th century, sheep farmers in Kerr County, Texas, stated that the coyotes in the region were larger than normal coyotes, and they believed that they were a gray wolf and coyote cross. In 1970, the wolf mammalogist L. David Mech proposed that the red wolf was a hybrid of the gray wolf and coyote. However, a 1971 study compared the cerebellum within the brain of six Canis species and found that the cerebellum of the red wolf indicated a distinct species, was closest to that of the gray wolf, but in contrast indicated some characteristics that were more primitive than those found in any of the other Canis species. In 2014, a three-dimensional morphometrics study of Canis species accepted only six red wolf specimens for analysis from those on offer, due to the impact of hybridization on the others.
+
+DNA studies
+Different DNA studies may give conflicting results because of the specimens selected, the technology used, and the assumptions made by the researchers.Phylogenetic trees compiled using different genetic markers have given conflicting results on the relationship between the wolf, dog and coyote. One study based on SNPs (a single mutation), and another based on nuclear gene sequences (taken from the cell nucleus), showed dogs clustering with coyotes and separate from wolves. Another study based on SNPS showed wolves clustering with coyotes and separate from dogs. Other studies based on a number of markers show the more widely accepted result of wolves clustering with dogs separate from coyotes. These results demonstrate that caution is needed when interpreting the results provided by genetic markers.
+
+Genetic marker evidence
+In 1980, a study used gel electrophoresis to look at fragments of DNA taken from dogs, coyotes, and wolves from the red wolf's core range. The study found that a unique allele (expression of a gene) associated with Lactate dehydrogenase could be found in red wolves, but not dogs and coyotes. The study suggests that this allele survives in the red wolf. The study did not compare gray wolves for the existence of this allele.Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) passes along the maternal line and can date back thousands of years. In 1991, a study of red wolf mDNA indicates that red wolf genotypes match those known to belong to the gray wolf or the coyote. The study concluded that the red wolf is either a wolf × coyote hybrid or a species that has hybridized with the wolf and coyote across its entire range. The study proposed that the red wolf is a southeastern occurring subspecies of the gray wolf that has undergone hybridization due to an expanding coyote population; however, being unique and threatened that it should remain protected. This conclusion led to debate for the remainder of the decade.
+In 2000, a study looked at red wolves and eastern Canadian wolves. The study agreed that these two wolves readily hybridize with the coyote. The study used eight microsatellites (genetic markers taken from across the genome of a specimen). The phylogenetic tree produced from the genetic sequences showed red wolves and eastern Canadian wolves clustering together. These then clustered next closer with the coyote and away from the gray wolf. A further analysis using mDNA sequences indicated the presence of coyote in both of these two wolves, and that these two wolves had diverged from the coyote 150,000–300,000 years ago. No gray wolf sequences were detected in the samples. The study proposes that these findings are inconsistent with the two wolves being subspecies of the gray wolf, that red wolves and eastern Canadian wolves evolved in North America after having diverged from the coyote, and therefore they are more likely to hybridize with coyotes.In 2009, a study of eastern Canadian wolves using microsatellites, mDNA, and the paternally-inherited yDNA markers found that the eastern Canadian wolf was a unique ecotype of the gray wolf that had undergone recent hybridization with other gray wolves and coyotes. It could find no evidence to support the findings of the earlier 2000 study regarding the eastern Canadian wolf. The study did not include the red wolf.In 2011, a study compared the genetic sequences of 48,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (mutations) taken from the genomes of canids from around the world. The comparison indicated that the red wolf was about 76% coyote and 24% gray wolf with hybridization having occurred 287–430 years ago. The eastern wolf was 58% gray wolf and 42% coyote with hybridization having occurred 546–963 years ago. The study rejected the theory of a common ancestry for the red and eastern wolves. However the next year, a study reviewed a subset of the 2011 study's Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and proposed that its methodology had skewed the results and that the red and eastern wolves are not hybrids but are in fact the same species separate from the gray wolf. The 2012 study proposed that there are three true Canis species in North America - the gray wolf, the western coyote, and the red wolf / eastern wolf, with the eastern wolf represented by the Algonquin wolf, with the Great Lakes wolf being a hybrid of the eastern wolf and the gray wolf, and the eastern coyote being a hybrid of the western coyote and the eastern (Algonquin) wolf.Also in 2011, a scientific literature review was undertaken to help assess the taxonomy of North American wolves. One of the findings proposed was that the eastern wolf is supported as a separate species by morphological and genetic data. Genetic data supports a close relationship between the eastern and red wolves, but not close enough to support these as one species. It was "likely" that these were the separate descendants of a common ancestor shared with coyotes. This review was published in 2012. In 2014, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis was invited by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to provide an independent review of its proposed rule relating to gray wolves. The center's panel findings were that the proposed rule was heavily dependent upon the analysis contained in a scientific literature review conducted in 2011 (Chambers et al.), that this work was not universally accepted, that the issue was "not settled", and that the rule does not represent the "best available science".In early 2016, an mDNA analysis of three ancient (300–1,900 years old) wolf-like samples from the southeastern United States found that they grouped with the coyote clade, although their teeth were wolf-like. The study proposed that the specimens were either coyotes and this would mean that coyotes had occupied this region continuously rather than intermittently, a North American evolved red wolf lineage related to coyotes, or an ancient coyote–wolf hybrid. Ancient hybridization between wolves and coyotes would likely have been due to natural events or early human activities, not landscape changes associated with European colonization because of the age of these samples. Coyote–wolf hybrids may have occupied the southeastern United States for a long time, filling an important niche as a large predator.
+
+Whole-genome evidence
+In July 2016, a whole-genome DNA study proposed, based on the assumptions made, that all of the North American wolves and coyotes diverged from a common ancestor less than 6,000–117,000 years ago. The study also indicated that all North America wolves have a significant amount of coyote ancestry and all coyotes some degree of wolf ancestry, and that the red wolf and Great Lakes region wolf are highly admixed with different proportions of gray wolf and coyote ancestry. One test indicated a wolf/coyote divergence time of 51,000 years before present that matched other studies indicating that the extant wolf came into being around this time. Another test indicated that the red wolf diverged from the coyote between 55,000 and 117,000 years before present and the Great Lakes region wolf 32,000 years before present. Other tests and modelling showed various divergence ranges and the conclusion was a range of less than 6,000 and 117,000 years before present. The study found that coyote ancestry was highest in red wolves from the southeast of the United States and lowest among the Great Lakes region wolves.
+The theory proposed was that this pattern matched the south-to-north disappearance of the wolf due to European colonization and its resulting loss of habitat. Bounties led to the extirpation of wolves initially in the southeast, and as the wolf population declined wolf-coyote admixture increased. Later, this process occurred in the Great Lakes region with the influx of coyotes replacing wolves, followed by the expansion of coyotes and their hybrids across the wider region. The red wolf may possess some genomic elements that were unique to gray wolf and coyote lineages from the American South. The proposed timing of the wolf/coyote divergence conflicts with the finding of a coyote-like specimen in strata dated to 1 million years before present, and red wolf fossil specimens dating back 10,000 years ago. The study concluded by stating that because of the extirpation of gray wolves in the American Southeast, "the reintroduced population of red wolves in eastern North Carolina is doomed to genetic swamping by coyotes without the extensive management of hybrids, as is currently practiced by the USFWS."In September 2016, the USFWS announced a program of changes to the red wolf recovery program and "will begin implementing a series of actions based on the best and latest scientific information". The service will secure the captive population which is regarded as not sustainable, determine new sites for additional experimental wild populations, revise the application of the existing experimental population rule in North Carolina, and complete a comprehensive Species Status Assessment.In 2017, a group of canid researchers challenged the recent finding that the red wolf and the eastern wolf were the result of recent coyote-wolf hybridization. The group highlight that no testing had been undertaken to ascertain the time period that hybridization had occurred and that, by the previous study's own figures, the hybridization could not have occurred recently but supports a much more ancient hybridization. The group found deficiencies in the previous study's selection of specimens and the findings drawn from the different techniques used. Therefore, the group argues that both the red wolf and the eastern wolf remain genetically distinct North American taxa. This was rebutted by the authors of the earlier study. Another study in late 2018 of wild canids in southwestern Louisiana also supported the red wolf as a separate species, citing distinct red wolf DNA within hybrid canids.In 2019, a literature review of the previous studies was undertaken by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The position of the National Academies is that the historical red wolf forms a valid taxonomic species, the modern red wolf is distinct from wolves and coyotes, and modern red wolves trace some of their ancestry to historic red wolves. The species Canis rufus is supported for the modern red wolf, unless genomic evidence from historical red wolf specimens changes this assessment, due to a lack of continuity between the historic and the modern red wolves.
+
+Wolf genome
+Genetic studies relating to wolves or dogs have inferred phylogenetic relationships based on the only reference genome available, that of the Boxer dog. In 2017, the first reference genome of the wolf Canis lupus lupus was mapped to aid future research. In 2018, a study looked at the genomic structure and admixture of North American wolves, wolf-like canids, and coyotes using specimens from across their entire range that mapped the largest dataset of nuclear genome sequences against the wolf reference genome. The study supports the findings of previous studies that North American gray wolves and wolf-like canids were the result of complex gray wolf and coyote mixing. A polar wolf from Greenland and a coyote from Mexico represented the purest specimens. The coyotes from Alaska, California, Alabama, and Quebec show almost no wolf ancestry. Coyotes from Missouri, Illinois, and Florida exhibit 5–10% wolf ancestry. There was 40%:60% wolf to coyote ancestry in red wolves, 60%:40% in Eastern timber wolves, and 75%:25% in the Great Lakes wolves. There was 10% coyote ancestry in Mexican wolves and Atlantic Coast wolves, 5% in Pacific Coast and Yellowstone wolves, and less than 3% in Canadian archipelago wolves.The study shows that the genomic ancestry of red, eastern timber and Great Lakes wolves were the result of admixture between modern gray wolves and modern coyotes. This was then followed by development into local populations. Individuals within each group showed consistent levels of coyote to wolf inheritance, indicating that this was the result of relatively ancient admixture. The eastern timber wolf (Algonquin Provincial Park) is genetically closely related to the Great Lakes wolf (Minnesota, Isle Royale National Park). If a third canid had been involved in the admixture of the North American wolf-like canids, then its genetic signature would have been found in coyotes and wolves, which it has not.Gray wolves suffered a species-wide population bottleneck (reduction) approximately 25,000 YBP during the Last Glacial Maximum. This was followed by a single population of modern wolves expanding out of a Beringia refuge to repopulate the wolf's former range, replacing the remaining Late Pleistocene wolf populations across Eurasia and North America as they did so. This implies that if the coyote and red wolf were derived from this invasion, their histories date only tens of thousands and not hundreds of thousands of years ago, which is consistent with other studies.The Endangered Species Act provides protection to endangered species, but does not provide protection for endangered admixed individuals, even if these serve as reservoirs for extinct genetic variation. Researchers on both sides of the red wolf debate argue that admixed canids warrant full protection under this Act.
+
+Separate species that can be strengthened from hybrids
+In 2020, a study conducted DNA sequencing of canines across southeastern US to detect those with any red wolf ancestry. The study found that red wolf ancestry exists in the coyote populations of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, but also newly detected in North Carolina. The red wolf ancestry of these populations possess unique red wolf alleles not found in the current captive red wolf population. The study proposes that the expanding coyotes admixed with red wolves to gain genetic material that was suited to the southeastern environment and would aid their adaptation to it, and that surviving red wolves admixed with coyotes because the red wolves were suffering from inbreeding.In 2021, a study conducted DNA sequencing of canines across the remnant red wolf hybrid zone of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. The study found red wolf ancestry in the coyote genomes which increases up to 60% in a westward gradient. This was due to introgression from the remnant red wolf population over the past 100 years. The study proposes that coyotes expanded into the gulf region and admixed with red wolves prior to the red wolf going extinct in the wild due to loss of habitat and persecution. In the past two decades the hybrid region has expanded. The study presented the genetic evidence that the red wolf is a separate species, based on the structure of one of the loci of its X-chromosome which is accepted as a marker for distinct species. As such, the study suggested that the introgressed red wolf ancestry could be de-introgressed back as a basis for breeding further red wolves from the hybrids.
+
+Pre-dates the coyote in North America
+In 2021, a study of mitochondrial genomes sourced from specimens dated before the 20th century revealed that red wolves could be found across North America. With the arrival of the gray wolf between 80,000 and 60,000 years ago, the red wolf's range shrank to the eastern forests and California, and the coyote replaced the red wolf mid-continent between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago. The coyote expanded into California at the beginning of the Holocene era 12,000–10,000 years ago and admixed with the red wolf, phenotypically replacing them. The study proposes that the red wolf may pre-date the coyote in North America.
+
+Explanatory footnotes
+References
+Further reading
+"Red Wolf 5-year review" (PDF). USFWS. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
+Nowak, R.M. (1992). "The red wolf is not a hybrid". Conservation Biology. 6 (4): 593–595. doi:10.1046/j.1523-1739.1992.06040593.x.
+Hinton, J.W.; Chamberlain, M.J.; Rabon, D.R. (2013). "Red Wolf (Canis rufus) Recovery: A Review with Suggestions for Future Research". Animals. 3 (3): 722–744. doi:10.3390/ani3030722. PMC 4494459. PMID 26479530.
+Roy, M.S.; Geffen, E.; Smith, D.; Ostrander, E.A.; Wayne, R.K. (1994). "Patterns of differentiation and hybridization in North American wolflike canids, revealed by analysis of micro satellite loci". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 11 (4): 553–570. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040137. PMID 8078397.
+Roy, M.S.; Girman, D.G.; Taylor, A.C.; Wayne, R.K. (1994). "The use of museum specimens to reconstruct the genetic variability and relationships of extinct populations". Experientia. 50 (6): 551–557. doi:10.1007/BF01921724. PMID 8020615. S2CID 38843030.
+Silverstein, A.; Silverstein, V.B.; Silverstein, R.A. (1994). The Red Wolf: Endangered in America. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. ISBN 9781562944162.
+
+External links
+
+Red wolf, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
+"images and movies of the Red wolf (Canis rufus)". ARKive.org. Archived from the original on 2006-02-11.
+"Red Wolf Species Overview". eNature.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-25.
+"Red Wolf". International Wolf Center.
+"The Red Wolf Coalition".
+"Wolf Source".
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/red-backed sandpiper.txt b/data/animals/red-backed sandpiper.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dbe39da919ed0c8720bd323e748f63d72e963f09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/red-backed sandpiper.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+The dunlin (Calidris alpina) is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus Erolia. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East. Birds that breed in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic migrate short distances to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America, although those nesting in northern Alaska overwinter in Asia. Many dunlins winter along the Iberian south coast.
+
+Taxonomy
+The dunlin was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tringa alpina. Linnaeus specified the location as Lapland. This species was formerly placed in the genus Erolia, but is now placed with 23 other sandpipers in the genus Calidris that was introduced in 1804 by the German naturalist Blasius Merrem. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific alpina  is from Latin and means "of high mountains", in this case referring to the Alps.Ten subspecies are recognised:
+C. a. arctica (Schiøler, 1922) — breeds in northeast Greenland
+C. a. schinzii (Brehm & Schilling, 1822) — breeds in southeast Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, Scandinavia & the Baltic
+C. a. alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) — breeds in northern Europe and northwest Siberia
+C. a. centralis (Buturlin, 1932) — breeds in north-central and northeast Siberia
+C. a. sakhalina (Vieillot, 1816) — breeds in eastern Russia to the Chukchi Peninsula
+C. a. kistchinski Tomkovich, 1986 — breeds around the Sea of Okhotsk to Kuril Islands and Kamchatka
+C. a. actites Nechaev & Tomkovich, 1988 — breeds on Sakhalin
+C. a. arcticola (Todd, 1953) — breeds from northwest Alaska to northwest Canada
+C. a. pacifica (Coues, 1861) — breeds in western and southern Alaska
+C. a. hudsonia (Todd, 1953) — breeds in central Canada
+
+Description
+Measurements:
+Length: 16–22 cm (6.3–8.7 in)
+Weight: 48–77 g (1.7–2.7 oz)
+Wingspan: 36–38 cm (14.2–15.0 in)An adult dunlin in breeding plumage shows the distinctive black belly which no other similar-sized wader possesses. The winter dunlin is basically grey above and white below. Juveniles are brown above with two whitish "V" shapes on the back. They usually have black marks on the flanks or belly and show a strong white wingbar in flight. The legs and slightly decurved bill are black. There are a number of subspecies differing mainly in the extent of rufous colouration in the breeding plumage and the bill length. Bill length varies between sexes, the females having longer bills than the males. On the tip of the Dunlin's bill is a soft covering that fills with blood and with many nerve endings, forming a sensitive probe that is used to locate invertebrate prey in mud and sand. Although the bill can look sharp-pointed in dead specimens, in life it is blunt.The call is a typical sandpiper "peep", and the display song a harsh trill.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Dunlin are small migratory waders, however they show strong philopatry with individuals of the Southern Dunlin (Calidris alpina schinzii) in Sweden and Finland returning to, or very close to, their natal patches. Habitat fragmentation has reduced the availability of habitat patches to these birds through reducing patch size and increasing patch isolation. This reduced connectivity between patches has reduced the movements of Dunlin leaving them more susceptible to inbreeding in these locations.
+
+Behaviour
+The dunlin is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches. Large numbers can often be seen swirling in synchronized flight on stop-overs during migration or on their winter habitat.
+This bird is one of the most common waders throughout its breeding and wintering ranges, and it is the species with which other waders tend to be compared. At 17–21 cm (6.7–8.3 in) length and with a 32–36 cm (13–14 in) wingspan, it is similar in size to a common starling, but stouter, with a thicker bill.
+The dunlin moves along the coastal mudflat beaches it prefers with a characteristic "sewing machine" feeding action, methodically picking small food items. Insects form the main part of the dunlin's diet on the nesting grounds; it eats molluscs, worms and crustaceans in coastal areas.
+
+Breeding
+The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground lined with vegetation, into which typically four eggs are laid and incubated by the male and female parents. Chicks are precocial, but are brooded during early development. They start to fly at approximately three weeks of age. The majority of brood care is provided by the male, as the female deserts the brood and often leaves the breeding area.
+Apparent hybrids between this species and the white-rumped sandpiper as well as with the purple sandpiper have been reported from the Atlantic coasts of North America and Europe, respectively.
+
+Status
+The dunlin has an extremely large range and although the population appears to be decreasing, the population is still very large. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has judged that the threat to the species is of "Least concern". The dunlin is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
+
+Gallery
+References
+External links
+
+BirdLife species factsheet for Calidris alpina
+"Calidris alpina". Avibase. 
+"Dunlin media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Dunlin Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
+Dunlin - Calidris alpina - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
+Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.6 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
+Dunlin photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Interactive range map of Calidris alpina at IUCN Red List maps
+Audio recordings of Dunlin on Xeno-canto.
+Calidris alpina in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
+Dunlin media from ARKive
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/red-breasted merganser.txt b/data/animals/red-breasted merganser.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..468ef6aff032f5797886c5be41a1b4784a884254
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/red-breasted merganser.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+The red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) is a duck species that is native to much of the Northern Hemisphere. The red breast that gives the species its common name is only displayed by males in breeding plumage. Individuals fly rapidly, and feed by diving from the surface to pursue aquatic animals underwater, using serrated bills to capture slippery fish. They migrate each year from breeding sites on lakes and rivers to their mostly coastal wintering areas, making them the only species in the genus Mergus to frequent saltwater. They form flocks outside of breeding season that are usually small but can reach 100 individuals. The worldwide population of this species is stable, though it is threatened in some areas by habitat loss and other factors.
+
+Etymology
+The genus name Mergus is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified water bird. The specific epithet serrator is Latin for sawyer and is ultimately from serra, meaning saw. It refers to the saw-like projections on the bird's bill, which enable it to hold on to slippery fish, its most frequent prey.The red-breasted merganser was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name Mergus serrator.
+
+Description
+The adult red-breasted merganser is 51–64 cm (20–25 in) long, has a wingspan of 66–74 cm (26–29 in), and weighs 
+800–1,350 g (28–48 oz).It has a spiky crest and long thin red bill with serrated edges. The male has a dark head with a green sheen, a white neck with a rusty breast, a black back, and white underparts. Adult females have a rusty head and a grayish body. Juveniles look similar to females, but lack the white collar and have smaller white wing patches.
+The range of the red-breasted merganser broadly overlaps with that of the similar and closely related common merganser. The two species can therefore occur in the same place at the same time, though the species often choose different habitats (only the red-breasted frequents saltwater). Breeding male plumages are fairly distinctive, but other plumages such as those born by females, immatures, and non-breeding males can make the two species hard to distinguish. The common merganser displays more contrast between the darker head and lighter breast and has a light chin patch not seen on the red-breasted.
+
+Voice
+During courtship, the female gives a rasping prrak prrak, while the male gives a catlike meow. In flight, the female makes a harsh gruk. At other times this species is largely silent.
+
+Behaviour
+Food and feeding
+Red-breasted mergansers dive and swim underwater. They mainly eat small fish, but also consume aquatic insects, worms, crustaceans, and amphibians.
+
+Breeding
+Its breeding habitat is freshwater lakes and rivers across northern North America, Greenland, Europe, and the Palearctic. It nests in sheltered locations on the ground near water. It is migratory and many northern breeders winter in coastal waters further south. Outside of the breeding season, it forms flocks that can reach 100 individuals, though these flocks are smaller during spring migration than they are in autumn migration and in winter.
+
+Speed record
+The fastest duck ever recorded was a red-breasted merganser that attained a top airspeed of 100 mph (160 km/h) while being pursued by an airplane. This eclipsed the previous speed record held by a canvasback clocked at 72 mph (116 km/h).
+
+Conservation
+The red-breasted merganser is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The species is also considered a game bird under the Migratory Bird Treaty between the United States and Canada. This means that the species gets some protection, though hunting it is legal in North America in certain seasons and places determined by local hunting regulations. However, few hunters are interested in the species and relatively few birds are harvested.The species is widespread and common enough to be categorized as least concern by the IUCN, though populations in some areas may be declining. Threats include habitat loss through wetland destruction, exposure to toxins such as pesticides and lead, and becoming bycatch of commercial fishing operations. Anglers and fish farmers have also persecuted the species, which they regard as a competitor, though the impact of this on the species' population is not known.
+
+Gallery
+References
+External links
+
+Red-breasted Merganser Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
+Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas - Red-breasted Merganser
+"Red-breasted merganser media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Red-breasted merganser photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/ringlet.txt b/data/animals/ringlet.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..38ba7d532b7b7bc808462dbd168a8c8a8d40d1b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/ringlet.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+The ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is only one of the numerous "ringlet" butterflies in the tribe Satyrini.
+
+Range
+The ringlet is a widely distributed species found throughout much of the Palearctic realm. In Europe it is common in most countries but absent from northern Scandinavia, peninsular Italy (found in northern Italy), Portugal, southern and central Spain (found in Cantabrian Mountains and the eastern Pyrenees), the Mediterranean islands and North Africa. In Greece it is found in northern regions (Macedonia, Thessaly). Beyond Europe it is found across much of temperate Asia including Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, China and Korea.
+
+Description
+Aphantopus hyperantus is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of up to 35 to 42 millimeters. The wing upper and lower sides are solid brown with small, yellowish-rimmed eyespots. The newly emerged ringlet has a velvety appearance and is almost black with a white fringe to the wings. The number and size of the eyespots is variable, they may be missing on the upper wing surface. In central Europe and southern England the rare form arete occurs. The eggs are pale yellow when first laid, but become pale brown.
+The caterpillars are about 25 millimeters long. They are gray or light reddish brown and have dark, reddish brown and very fine dots. Dorsally there is a dark longitudinal line, which is widened at the segment boundaries. Toward the rear, this line is more intensely colored. The head is darker and has several faint longitudinal stripes.
+
+Color and wing spot variation
+Subspecies
+ssp. abaensis Yoshino, 2003 - northwestern Sichuan
+ssp. alpheois Fruhstorfer, 1908 - Ural, western Siberia
+ssp. arctica (Seitz, 1909) - northern Europe
+ssp. bieti (Oberthür, 1884) - Sichuan and northern Yunnan
+ssp. hyperantus Linnaeus, 1758 - western Europe, the type locality is Sweden
+ssp. luti Evans, 1915 - southeastern Tibet
+ssp. ocellata (Butler, 1882) (= amurensis Staudinger, 1892; = insularis Kurentzov, 1966) - Amur and Ussuri
+ssp. sajana (O. Bang-Haas, 1906) - Sayan Mountains
+ssp. sibiricus Obraztsov, 1936 - Altai, southern Siberia and Transbaikalia
+
+Habitat
+They live in grassy, moist or dry forest clearings with bushes but not in open places. There is a strong degree of attachment to woodland edges and blackberry bushes. The insect can also be very common where there are creeping thistles (Cirsium arvense) or swamp thistles (Cirsium palustre), oregano (Origanum vulgare), forest scabious (Knautia sylvatica), or hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) which are favorite food plants of the imagos. The males fly in search of newly hatched females in slow, uninterrupted flight and flutter round, about and between grass stems.
+
+Flight period
+A single brood butterfly, the imagines fly from mid-June to late August.
+
+Food of the larva
+The caterpillars feed on many grasses. Among the food plants are:
+
+Development and biology
+The female scatters non-adhesive eggs in a slow low flight over grasslands. The larva is nocturnal. There are four moults. The larva hibernates while in the third instar, breaking diapause to feed on warm winter evenings. Feeding resumes in the spring. The pupa stands generally upright in a flimsy silk cocoon, at the base of a grass tussock. This stage lasts for two  weeks. A. hyperantus is generally considered to have a closed population structure since it occurs in small, well-defined populations.
+
+Etymology
+Hyperantus, of Greek mythology, was one of the 50 sons of Aegyptus, killed by one of the 50 daughters of Danaus.
+
+References
+Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington The Butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa. Nabu-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 *Heiko Bellmann Der neue Kosmos-Schmetterlingsführer, Schmetterlinge, Raupen und Futterpflanzen. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003ISBN 3-440-09330-1
+Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (Hrsg.) Tagfalter. 2. Spezieller Teil: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae. In: Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs. 1. Auflage. Band 2, Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4.
+
+External links
+
+Eurobutterflies Matt Rowlings
+Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
+UK Butterflies
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/ringneck snake.txt b/data/animals/ringneck snake.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b979ac0bf0dc8bc919b9b724d0eb3e6ae519b625
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/ringneck snake.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+Diadophis punctatus, commonly known as the ring-necked snake or ringneck snake, is a harmless species of colubrid snake found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and south-eastern Canada. Ring-necked snakes are secretive, nocturnal snakes, so are rarely seen during the day time. They are best known for their unique defense posture of curling up their tails, exposing their bright red-orange posterior, ventral surface when threatened.
+Ring-necked snakes are believed to be fairly abundant throughout most of their range, though no scientific evaluation supports this hypothesis. Scientific research is lacking for the ring-necked snake, and more in-depth investigations are greatly needed. It is the only species within the genus Diadophis, and currently 14 subspecies are identified, but many herpetologists question the morphologically based classifications.
+
+Description
+Ring-necked snakes are fairly similar in morphology throughout much of their distribution. 
+
+Its dorsal coloration is solid olive, brown, bluish-gray to smoky black, broken only by a distinct yellow, red, or yellow-orange neck band. A few populations in New Mexico, Utah, and other distinct locations do not have the distinctive neck band. Additionally, individuals may have reduced or partially colored neck bands that are hard to distinguish; coloration may also be more of a cream color rather than bright orange or red. Head coloration tends to be slightly darker than the rest of the body, with tendencies to be blacker than grey or olive. Ventrally, the snakes exhibit a yellow-orange to red coloration broken by crescent-shaped black spots along the margins. Some individuals lack the distinct ventral coloration, but typically retain the black spotting. Rarely, do individuals lack both the ventral and neck band coloration; so the use of those two characteristics is the simplest way to distinguish the species.Size also varies across the species' distribution. Typically, adults measure 25–38 cm (10–15 in) in length, except for D. p. regalis, which measures 38–46 cm (15–18 in). Maximum size for D. p. punctatus is reported at 52cm (20.5 in).  First-year juvenile snakes are typically about 20 cm (8 in) and grow about 2–5 cm (1–2 in) a year depending on the developmental stage or resource availability.Ring-necked snakes have smooth scales with 15–17 scale rows at midbody. Males typically have small tubercles on their scales just anterior to the vent, which are usually absent in females.
+
+Distribution
+Ring-necked snakes are fairly common throughout much of the United States extending into southeastern Canada and central Mexico. Eastern populations cover the entire Eastern Seaboard from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence continuous through the Gulf Coast of Texas. Distribution moves inland into northern Minnesota, continuing diagonally through the US to include all of Iowa, eastern Nebraska, and most of Kansas. In the western US, the distribution is significantly less continuous, with spotty, distinct population segments through most of the Pacific Northwest. Populations extend from south-central Washington continuing along the extreme West Coast into Mexico. Population segments extend inland into western Idaho, through southern Nevada, into central Utah, and continuing south through Arizona and central Mexico.
+
+Habitat
+Ring-necked snakes occur in a wide variety of habitats. Preference seems to be determined by areas with abundant cover and denning locations. Northern and western subspecies are found within open woodlands near rocky hillsides, or in wetter environments with abundant cover or woody debris. Southern subspecies exist primarily within riparian and wet environments, especially in more arid habitats. Stebbins (2003) identified the species as a snake of moist habitats, with moist soil conditions the preferred substrate. Ring-necked snakes are also not found above an elevation of 2,200 m (7,200 ft). In northern regions, dens are also important in identifying suitable ring-necked snake habitat. Dens are usually shared communally, and are identifiable by an existent subsurface crevasse or hole deep enough to prevent freezing temperatures. There is intraspecific variation in how den sites are chosen, with aggregate ring-necked snakes choosing dens that are on average 3 degrees celsius above their ideal body temperature, while solitary snakes will choose dens that maintain their ideal body temperature. Since it is a woodland reptile, it can also commonly be found under wood or scraps. Because of hot weather, they tend to make holes and burrows, or they hide under rocks or any suitable material. They are normally found in flatland forests. Though they prefer to remain away from human-made structures, ring-neck snakes are not afraid to utilize urbanized areas as refuge from predators.
+
+Diet
+The diet of the ring-necked snake consists primarily of smaller salamanders, earthworms, and slugs, but they also sometimes eat lizards, frogs, and some juvenile snakes of other species. The frequency at which prey species are chosen is dependent on their availability within the habitat. Michigan populations of the Eastern Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) feed almost exclusively on red-backed salamanders. Ring-necked snakes use a combination of constriction and envenomation to secure their prey. In a study analyzing the dietary habits of this species, age, amount of food consumed, and temperature were conditions that highly affected digestion. The snakes do not have a true venom gland, but they do have an analogous structure called the Duvernoy's gland derived from the same tissue. Most subspecies are rear-fanged with the last maxillary teeth on both sides of the upper jaw being longer and channeled; the notable exception is D. p. edwardsii, which is fangless. The venom is produced in the Duvernoy's gland located directly behind the eye. It then drains out of an opening at the rear of the maxillary tooth. Ring-necked snakes first strike and then secure the prey using constriction. Next, they maneuver their mouths forward, ensuring the last maxillary tooth punctures the skin and allowing the venom to enter the prey's tissue. The secretion significantly affects the righting response of the prey. Ring-necked snakes are rarely aggressive to larger predators, suggesting their venom evolved as a feeding strategy rather than a defense strategy. Rather than trying to bite a predator, the snake winds up its tail into a corkscrew, exposing its brightly colored belly.Ring-necked snakes are primarily nocturnal or highly crepuscular, though some diurnal activity has been observed. Individuals are sometimes found during the day, especially on cloudy days, sunning themselves to gain heat. Yet, most individuals lie directly under surface objects warmed in the sun and use conduction with that object to gain heat. Though ring-necked snakes are highly secretive, they do display some social structure, but the exact social hierarchies have never been evaluated. Many populations have been identified to have large colonies of more than 100 individuals, and some reports indicate some smaller colonies occupy the same microhabitats.
+
+Reproduction
+Ring-necked snakes usually mate in the spring. In some subspecies, though, mating occurs in the fall, and delayed implantation occurs. Females attract males by secreting pheromones from their skin. Once the male finds a female, he starts by moving his closed mouth along the female's body. Then, the male bites the female around her neck ring, maneuvering to align their bodies so sperm can be inserted into the female's vent. Females lay their eggs in loose, aerated soils under a rock or in a rotted log. Three to ten eggs are deposited in early summer and hatch in August or September. The egg is elongated with a white color contrasted by yellow ends. When hatched, juveniles are precocial and fend for themselves without parental care.
+
+Subspecies
+The following 14 subspecies are recognized.
+
+D. p. acricus Paulson, 1966 — Key ring-necked snake
+D. p. amabilis (Baird & Girard, 1853) — Pacific ring-necked snake
+D. p. anthonyi (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1942) — Todos Santos Island ring-necked snake
+D. p. arnyi (Kennicott, 1859) — prairie ring-necked snake
+D. p. dugesii (Villada, 1875) — Dugès' ring-necked snake
+D. p. edwardsii (Merrem, 1820) — northern ring-necked snake
+D. p. modestus (Bocourt, 1866) — San Bernardino ring-necked snake
+D. p. occidentalis (Blanchard, 1923) — northwestern ring-necked snake
+D. p. pulchellus (Baird & Girard, 1853) — coralbelly ring-necked snake
+D. p. punctatus (Linnaeus, 1766) — southern ring-necked snake
+D. p. regalis (Baird & Girard, 1853) — regal ring-necked snake
+D. p. similis (Blanchard, 1923) — San Diego ring-necked snake
+D. p. stictogenys (Cope, 1860) — Mississippi ring-necked snake
+D. p. vandenburgii (Blanchard, 1923) — Monterey ring-necked snake
+
+References
+External links
+Ringneck snake – Diadophis punctatus Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide.
+"Black Snakes": Identification and Ecology – University of Florida fact sheet.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/robin.txt b/data/animals/robin.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..65dc1caff3d946a5af67523f4bfb7ef471820af9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/robin.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin
+because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific coast.
+According to the Partners in Flight database (2019), the American robin is the most abundant landbird in North America (with 370 million individuals), ahead of red-winged blackbirds, introduced European starlings, mourning doves and house finches.
+It has seven subspecies, but only one of them, the San Lucas robin (T. m. confinis) of Baja California Sur, is particularly distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts.
+The American robin is active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night. Its diet consists of invertebrates (such as beetle grubs, earthworms, and caterpillars), fruits, and berries. It is one of the earliest bird species to lay its eggs, beginning to breed shortly after returning to its summer range from its winter range. The robin's nest consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers, and is smeared with mud and often cushioned with grass or other soft materials. It is among the earliest birds to sing at dawn, and its song consists of several discrete units that are repeated.
+The adult robin's main predator is the domestic cat; other predators include hawks and snakes. When feeding in flocks, it can be vigilant, watching other birds for reactions to predators. Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) lay their eggs in robin nests (see brood parasite), but the robins usually reject the egg.
+
+Taxonomy
+This species was first described in 1766 by Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae as Turdus migratorius. The binomial name derives from two Latin words: turdus, "thrush", and migratorius from migrare "to migrate". The term robin for this species has been recorded since at least 1703. There are about 65 species of medium to large thrushes in the genus Turdus, characterized by rounded heads, longish pointed wings, and usually melodious songs.A study of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene indicates that the American robin is not part of the Central/South American clade of Turdus thrushes; instead it shows genetic similarities to the Kurrichane thrush (T. libonyanus) and the olive thrush (T. olivaceus), both African species. This conflicts with a 2007 DNA study of 60 of 65 Turdus species, which places the American robin's closest relative as the rufous-collared thrush (T. rufitorques) of Central America. Though having distinct plumage, the two species are similar in vocalization and behavior. Beyond this, it lies in a small group of four species of otherwise Central American distribution, suggesting it recently spread northwards into North America.Seven subspecies of American robin are recognized. These subspecies intergrade with each other and are only weakly defined.
+The eastern robin (T. m. migratorius), the nominate subspecies, breeds in the U.S. and Canada, other than down the West Coast, to the edge of the tundra from Alaska and northern Canada east to New England and then south to Maryland, northwestern Virginia, and North Carolina. It winters in southern coastal Alaska, southern Canada, most of the U.S., Bermuda, the Bahamas and eastern Mexico.
+The Newfoundland robin (T. m. nigrideus) breeds from coastal northern Quebec to[Labrador and Newfoundland and winters from southern Newfoundland south through most of the eastern U.S. states to southern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and northern Georgia. It is uniformly darker or blackish on the head, with a dark gray back. The underparts are slightly redder than those of the eastern subspecies.
+The southern robin (T. m. achrusterus) breeds from southern Oklahoma east to Maryland and western Virginia and south to northern Florida and the Gulf Coast states. It winters through much of the southern part of the breeding range. It is smaller than the eastern subspecies. The black feathers of the forehead and crown have pale gray tips. The underparts are paler than those of the eastern subspecies.
+The northwestern robin (T. m. caurinus) breeds in southeastern Alaska through coastal British Columbia to Washington and northwestern Oregon. It winters from southwestern British Columbia south to central and southern California and east to northern Idaho. It is slightly smaller than the eastern subspecies and very dark-headed. The white on the tips of the outer two tail feathers is restricted.
+The western robin (T. m. propinquus) breeds from southeastern British Columbia, southern Alberta, and southwestern Saskatchewan south to southern California and northern Baja California. It winters throughout much of the southern breeding range and south to Baja California. It is the same size as, or slightly larger than, the eastern subspecies, but paler and tinged more heavily brownish-gray. It has very little white on the tip of the outermost tail feathers. Some birds, probably females, lack almost any red below. Males are usually darker and may show pale or whitish sides to the head.
+The San Lucas robin (T. m. confinis) breeds above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the highlands of southern Baja California. This subspecies is particularly distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts. It is relatively small, and the palest subspecies, with uniform pale gray-brown on the head, face, and upperparts. It usually lacks any white spots to the tips of the outer tail feathers, which have white edges. It is sometimes classed as a separate species, but the American Ornithologists' Union regards it as only a subspecies, albeit in a different group from the other six subspecies.
+The Mexican robin (T. m. phillipsi) is resident in Mexico south to central Oaxaca. It is slightly smaller than the western subspecies, but has a larger bill; the male's underparts are less brick-red than the eastern subspecies and have a rustier tone.
+
+Description
+The eastern subspecies of the American robin (T. m. migratorius) is 23 to 28 cm (9.1 to 11.0 in) long with a wingspan ranging from 31 to 41 cm (12 to 16 in), with similar size ranges across all subspecies. The species averages about 77 g (2.7 oz) in weight, with males ranging from 72 to 94 g (2.5 to 3.3 oz) and females ranging from 59 to 91 g (2.1 to 3.2 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 11.5 to 14.5 cm (4.5 to 5.7 in), the culmen is 1.8 to 2.2 cm (0.71 to 0.87 in) and the tarsus is 2.9 to 3.3 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in). The head varies from jet black to gray, with white eye arcs and white supercilia. The throat is white with black streaks, and the belly and undertail coverts are white. The American robin has a brown back and a reddish-orange breast, varying from a rich red maroon to peachy orange. The bill is mainly yellow with a variably dark tip, the dusky area becoming more extensive in winter, and the legs and feet are brown.
+The sexes are similar, but females tend to be duller in color than males, with a brown tint to the head, brown upperparts, and less-bright underparts. However, some birds cannot be accurately sexed on the sole basis of plumage. Juveniles are paler in color than adult males and have dark spots on their breasts and whitish wing coverts. First-year birds are not easily distinguishable from adults, but they tend to be duller, and a small percentage retain a few juvenile wing coverts or other feathers.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The American robin breeds throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico. While robins occasionally overwinter in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada, most migrate to winter south of Canada from Florida and the Gulf Coast to central Mexico, as well as along the Pacific Coast. Most depart south by the end of August and begin to return north in February and March (exact dates vary with latitude and climate). The distance by which robins migrate varies significantly depending on their initial habitat; a study found that individual robins tagged in Alaska are known to travel as much as 3.5x further across seasons than robins tagged in Massachusetts.This species is actually a rare vagrant to western Europe, where the majority of records, more than 20, have been in Great Britain. In the autumn of 2003, migration was displaced eastwards leading to massive movements through the eastern U.S., and presumably this is what led to no fewer than three American robins being found in Great Britain, with two attempting to overwinter in 2003–2004, although one was taken by a Eurasian sparrowhawk. A sighting occurred in Great Britain in January 2007. This species has also occurred as a vagrant to Greenland, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Belize. Vagrants to Europe, where identified to subspecies, are the eastern subspecies (T. m. migratorius), but the Greenland birds also included the Newfoundland subspecies (T. m. nigrideus), and some of the southern overshots may have been the southern subspecies (T. m. achrusterus).The American robin's breeding habitat is woodland and more open farmland and urban areas. It becomes less common as a breeder in the southernmost part of the Deep South of the United States and there prefers large shade trees on lawns. Its winter habitat is similar but includes more open areas.
+
+Disease and vaccination
+The American robin is a known reservoir (carrier) for West Nile virus spread by Culex mosquitoes. While crows and jays are often the first noticed deaths in an area with West Nile virus, the American robin is suspected to be a key host and holds a larger responsibility for the transmission of the virus to humans. This is because, while crows and jays die quickly from the virus, the American robin survives the virus longer, hence spreading it to more mosquitoes, which then transmit the virus to humans and other species.A successful West Nile virus vaccine has been administered to six 3-5 week old American robins. A DNA vaccine injected intramuscularly resulted in a 400-fold decrease in average viral load that would likely make robins noninfectious and unable to spread disease. An oral bait is the preferred method of distribution of the vaccine as it would be easier and cheaper than intramuscular injection, but more research would be needed as the existing formulation did not work orally.
+
+Behavior
+The American robin is active mostly during the day, and on its winter grounds, it assembles in large flocks at night to roost in trees in secluded swamps or dense vegetation. The flocks break up during the day when the birds feed on fruits and berries in smaller groups. During the summer, the American robin defends a breeding territory and is less social.
+
+Diet
+The American robin's diet generally consists of around 40 percent small invertebrates (mainly insects), such as earthworms, beetle grubs, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, and 60 percent wild and cultivated fruits and berries. Their ability to switch to berries allows them to winter much farther north than most other North American thrushes. They will flock to fermented Pyracantha berries, and after eating sufficient quantities will exhibit intoxicated behavior, such as falling over while walking. Robins forage primarily on the ground for soft-bodied invertebrates, and find worms by sight (and sometimes by hearing),: 149  pouncing on them and then pulling them up. Nestlings are fed mainly on earthworms and other soft-bodied animal prey. In some areas, robins, particularly of the northwestern subspecies (T. m. caurinus), will feed on beaches, taking insects and small mollusks. American robins are common pests of fruit orchards in North America. Due to their insectivorous and frugivorous diet they have evolved to lose sucrase. Brugger & Nelms 1991 find sucrose is unpalatable to them and can be used by humans as a deterrent.The American robin uses auditory, visual, olfactory and possibly vibrotactile cues to find prey, but vision is the predominant mode of prey detection. It is frequently seen running across lawns picking up earthworms, and its running and stopping behavior is a distinguishing characteristic. In addition to hunting visually, it also has the ability to hunt by hearing. Experiments have discovered that it can find earthworms underground by simply using its listening skills.: 149  It typically will take several short hops and then cock its head left, right or forward to detect movement of its prey. In urban areas, robins will gather in numbers soon after lawns are mowed or where sprinklers are in use.
+
+Threats
+Juvenile robins and eggs are preyed upon by squirrels, snakes, and some birds, such as blue jays, California scrub jays, Steller's jays, common grackles, American crows, and common ravens. Adults are primarily taken by Accipiter hawks, cats, and larger snakes (especially rat snakes and gopher snakes). Mammals, such as foxes and dogs, are mainly likely to grab fledgling young robins from the ground, while raccoons often prey upon nests and small carnivores such as American martens, ring-tailed cats and long-tailed weasels are agile enough to hunt adults. However, the greatest predatory impact (perhaps alongside domestic cats) is probably from raptorial birds. They may be taken by nearly every variety of North American accipitrid, from the smallest, the sharp-shinned hawk, to one of the two largest, the golden eagle, most every North American falcon from the smallest, the American kestrel, to the largest, the gyrfalcon, and almost all owl species from the northern pygmy owl to the snowy owl. Overall, 28 raptorial bird species are known to hunt American robins. Adult robins are most vulnerable when distracted by breeding activities, though they may also be attacked on the ground or even in flight. However, when feeding in flocks, the American robin is able to remain vigilant and watch other flock members for reactions to predators.The American robin is known to be a rejecter of cowbird eggs, so brood parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird is rare. Even when it occurs, the parasite's chick does not normally survive to fledge. In a study of 105 juvenile robins, 77.1% were infected with one or more species of endoparasite, with Syngamus species the most commonly encountered, found in 57.1% of the birds.
+
+Breeding
+The American robin begins to breed shortly after returning to its summer range. It is one of the first North American bird species to lay eggs, and normally has two to three broods per breeding season, which lasts from April to July.The nest is most commonly located 1.5–4.5 m (4.9–14.8 ft) above the ground in a dense bush or in a fork between two tree branches, and is built by the female alone. The outer foundation consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers. This is lined with smeared mud and cushioned with fine grass or other soft materials. A new nest is built for each brood, and in northern areas the first clutch is usually placed in an evergreen tree or shrub, while later broods are placed in deciduous trees. The American robin does not shy away from nesting close to human habitations.A clutch consists of three to five cyan eggs, and is incubated by the female alone. The eggs hatch after 14 days, and the chicks leave the nest a further two weeks later. The altricial chicks are naked and have their eyes closed for the first few days after hatching.The chicks are fed earthworms, insects, and berries. Waste accumulation does not occur in the nest because the adults collect and take it away. Chicks are fed, and then raise tails for elimination of waste, a solid white clump that is collected by a parent prior to flying off. All chicks in the brood leave the nest within two days of each other. Juveniles become capable of sustained flight two weeks after fledging. Chicks become sexually mature at 1 year; of age. Bird banders have found that only 25% of young robins survive their first year. The longest known lifespan of an American robin in the wild is 14 years; the average lifespan is about 2 years.
+
+Vocalization
+The male American robin, as with many thrushes, has a complex and almost continuous song. It is commonly described as a cheery carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between. The song varies regionally, and its style varies by the time of day. The song period is from late February or early March to late July or early August; some birds, particularly in the east, sing occasionally into September or later. They are often among the first songbirds to sing as dawn rises or hours before, and last as evening sets in. It usually sings from a high perch in a tree. The song of the San Lucas subspecies (T. m. confinis) is weaker than that of the eastern subspecies (T. m. migratorius), and lacks any clear notes.The American robin also sings when storms approach and again when storms have passed. In addition to its song, the species has a number of calls used for communicating specific information, such as when a ground predator approaches and when a nest or another American robin is being directly threatened. Even during nesting season, when they exhibit mostly competitive and territorial behavior, they may still band together to drive away a predator.
+
+Conservation status
+The American robin has an extensive range, estimated at 16,000,000 km2 (6,200,000 sq mi), and a large population of about 370 million individuals. The western subspecies (T. m. propinquus) in central California is considered to be expanding its range, as is likely the case elsewhere in the United States. It is threatened by climate change and severe weather, but the population trend appears to be stable, and the species does not approach the vulnerable species thresholds under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations), and therefore International Union for Conservation of Nature evaluated it as least concern.At one point, the bird was killed for its meat, but it is now protected throughout its range in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
+
+In culture
+Robin egg blue is a color named after the color of the bird's eggs.The American robin is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It was also depicted on the 1986 Birds of Canada series Canadian $2 note (this note was subsequently withdrawn.) It has a place in Native American mythology. The story of how the robin got its red breast by fanning the dying flames of a campfire to save a Native American man and a boy is similar to those that surround the European robin. The Tlingit people of northwestern North America held it to be a culture hero created by Raven to please the people with its song. The Peace Bridge robins were a family of American robins that attracted minor publicity in the mid-1930s for their prominent nest on the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo, New York, to Fort Erie, Ontario.The American robin is considered a symbol of spring. A well-known example is a poem by Emily Dickinson titled "I Dreaded That First Robin So". Among other 19th-century poems about the first robin of spring is "The First Robin" by William Henry Drummond, which, according to the author's wife, is based on a Quebec superstition that whoever sees the first robin of spring will have good luck. The association has continued down to the present day, as, for example, in one Calvin and Hobbes cartoon from 1990 that had Calvin celebrating his inevitable wealth and fame after seeing the first robin of spring. The harbinger of spring sobriquet is borne out by the fact that American robins tend to follow the 37 °F (3 °C) isotherm north in spring, but also south in fall.American popular songs featuring this bird include "When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along)", written by Harry M. Woods. Although the comic book superhero Robin was inspired by an N. C. Wyeth illustration of Robin Hood, a later version had his mother nicknaming him Robin because he was born on the first day of spring.
+
+Gallery
+See also
+Australasian robins of the genus Petroica
+
+References
+External links
+
+FieldGuide – eNature.com
+"Robins of a Different Feather" – albinism in robins
+Animal Facts – natural history, maps, and photos at the Washington Nature Mapping Program
+Vocalizations – Journey North
+"American robin media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Sound file – vivanatura.org
+Plans for nesting shelves – Journey North
+Nesting journal – Photo blog following the process from nest building to leaving the nest – Webster's Wobbins
+Florida bird sounds including the American robin – Florida Museum of Natural History
+American robin subspecies Turdus migratorius nigrideus (Aldrich and Nutt)
+American robin growth progress with date stamp
+American robin photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
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diff --git a/data/animals/rock beauty.txt b/data/animals/rock beauty.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..cdcbaf7ce109257beba4d86602b73c467c48d114
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/rock beauty.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+The rock beauty (Holacanthus tricolor), also known as corn sugar, coshubba, rock beasty, catalineta, and yellow nanny, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
+
+Description
+The rock beauty has an deep oval and strongly compressed body, with a short snout, ending in a small mouth equipped with bristle-like teeth. There is a large spine in the angle of the preopercle which has a serrated vertical edge. The bone lying between the preopercle and gill cover has 1-4 large spines. The juveniles are yellowish on their body and fins, with a blue margined black spot on the upper posterior part of the body. As they mature into adults the spot grows, eventually covering most of the body and the lower part of the dorsal fin and the upper part of then anal fin. The head and anterior quarter of the body are yellow, as are the pectoral, pelvic and caudal fins. The mouth is purple. the front edge of the anal fin and margin of operculum are orange. In the eye there is vivid blue on the upper and lower portions of the iris. In the dorsal fin there are 14 spines and 17-19 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 18-20 soft rays. This species attains a maximum total length of 30 centimetres (12 in).
+
+Distribution
+The rock beauty is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean where it ranges from 
+Bermuda  and the waters off Georgia and Florida in southwards through the Caribbean Sea and along the coasts of South America as far as Rio de Janeiro. It is uncommon and localised in the Gulf of Mexico where it only occurs at the Flower Gardens Banks off Texas and off Veracruz and on the Campeche Bank in Mexico.
+
+Habitat and biology
+The rock beauty is found at depths between 3 and 92 metres (9.8 and 301.8 ft). They occur around jetties, rocky reefs and coral reefs, while the juveniles are often seen in areas of fire coral. They feed largely on sponges but will also eat corals, zoantharians, bryozoans, gorgonians, tunicates and algae.
+The adults are normally encountered as pairs and appear to form long term monogamous pairs. These pairs frequently consist of a larger individual and a smaller one, possibly indicating sexual dimorphism, although there is no sexual dichromatism. During mating the pair ascends in the water column, with their abdomens close together while they release eggs and milt into the water. A female can lay between 25,000 and 75,000 eggs in an evening, and up to 10 million in a season. The transparent eggs are pelagic and float in the water, hatching after 15–20 hours. The initial larvae have a large yolk sac and lack functional eyes, gut or fins. After 48 hours the yolk is absorbed and the larvae have more of a resemblance to normal fish. These larvae feed on plankton in the water. They grow rapidly, and after around 3–4 weeks from hatching they settle on the substrate. They are highly territorial but, unlike some related species, they do not act as cleaner fish. Their diet is thought to be plankton, benthic invertebrates and the mucus secreted by other fish.
+
+Systematics
+The rock beauty was first formally described in 1795 as Chaetodon tricolor by the German physician and naturalist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) with the type locality given as Brazil. When Bernard Germain de Lacépède created the genus Holocanthus he used Chaetodon tricolor as the type species. The species is placed by some authorities in the monotypic subgenus Holacanthus, all the others being in the subgenus Angelichthys. The specific name of this species, tricolor, refers to the three colour pattern of some adults which have a yellow front and black rear to the body with ref fin margins.
+
+Utilisation
+The rock beauty is one of the more popular Caribbean marine angelfish in the aquarium trade. It has become available as a captive bred specimens in the 2020s.
+
+References
+External links
+74美國石美人(臺灣、香港)Holacanthus tricolor(Rock Beauty angelfish) on YouTube
+Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Holacanthus tricolor" in FishBase. June 2006 version.
+Photos of Rock beauty on Sealife Collection
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/ruddy turnstone.txt b/data/animals/ruddy turnstone.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6503eb587eca7d33bf73b20d94e54b176f497e6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/ruddy turnstone.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+The ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is a small cosmopolitan wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria.
+It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly migratory bird, breeding in northern parts of Eurasia and North America and flying south to winter on coastlines almost worldwide. It is the only species of turnstone in much of its range and is often known simply as turnstone.
+
+Taxonomy
+The ruddy turnstone was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tringa interpres. The species is now placed together with the black turnstone in the genus Arenaria that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the ruddy turnstone as the type species. The genus name arenaria is from Latin arenarius, "inhabiting sand", from arena, "sand". The specific interpres means "messenger"; when visiting Gotland in 1741, Linnaeus thought that the Swedish word Tolk, meaning "interpreter" applied to this species, but in the local dialect the word means "legs" and is used for the redshank.Two subspecies are recognised:
+A. i. interpres (Linnaeus, 1758) – breeds in northeast Canada, Greenland, north Europe to northeast Siberia and west Alaska; winters in west, south Europe, Africa, south, east Asia, Australasia, Pacific islands, west USA and west Mexico
+A. i. morinella (Linnaeus, 1766) – breeds in northeast Alaska and north Canada; winters in south USA to South America
+
+Description
+It is a fairly small and stocky bird, 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long with a wingspan of 50–57 cm (20–22 in) and a weight of 85–150 g (3.0–5.3 oz). The dark, wedge-shaped bill is 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) long and slightly upturned. The legs are fairly short at 3.5 cm (1.4 in) and are bright orange.In all seasons, the plumage is dominated by a harlequin-like pattern of black and white. Breeding birds have reddish-brown upper parts with black markings. The head is mainly white with black streaks on the crown and a black pattern on the face. The breast is mainly black apart from a white patch on the sides. The rest of the underparts are white. In flight it reveals a white wingbar, white patch near the base of the wing and white lower back, rump and tail with dark bands on the uppertail-coverts and near the tip of the tail. The female is slightly duller than the male and has a browner head with more streaking.Non-breeding adults are duller than breeding birds and have dark grey-brown upperparts with black mottling and a dark head with little white. Juvenile birds have a pale brown head and pale fringes to the upperpart feathers creating a scaly impression.Birds of the subspecies morinella are smaller with darker upperparts and less streaking on the crown.The ruddy turnstone has a staccato, rattling call and also a chattering alarm-call which is mainly given during the breeding season.
+
+Distribution
+The ruddy turnstone breeds in northern latitudes, usually no more than a few kilometres from the sea. The subspecies A. i. morinella occurs in northern Alaska and in Arctic Canada as far east as Baffin Island. A. i. interpres breeds in western Alaska, Ellesmere Island, Greenland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and northern Russia. It formerly bred on the Baltic coast of Germany and has possibly bred in Scotland and the Faroe Islands.In the Americas, the species winters on coastlines from Washington and Massachusetts southwards to the southern tip of South America although it is scarce in southern parts of Chile and Argentina and is only an unconfirmed vagrant in the Falkland Islands. In Europe, it winters in western regions from Iceland, Norway and Denmark southwards. Only small numbers are found on Mediterranean coasts. In Africa, it is common all the way down to South Africa with good numbers on many offshore islands. In Asia, it is widespread in the south with birds wintering as far north as southern China and Japan (mainly in the Ryukyu Islands). It occurs south to Tasmania and New Zealand and is present on many Pacific islands. Some non-breeding birds remain year round in many parts of the wintering range, with some of those birds still taking on breeding plumage in the spring and summer.
+
+Behaviour
+Feeding and diet
+The ruddy turnstone has a varied diet including carrion, eggs, fish and plant material but it feeds mainly on invertebrates. Insects and their larvae are particularly important in the breeding season. At other times it also takes crustaceans, spiders, molluscs and worms. It often flips over stones and other objects to get at prey items hiding underneath; this behaviour is the origin of the name "turnstone". It usually forages in flocks.They have also been observed preying on the eggs of other bird species such as gulls, terns, ducks, and even other turnstones, though this behaviour is uncommon. In the majority of observed cases, turnstones typically go after undefended or unattended nests, puncturing the shells with their beaks to get at the contents within.Ruddy turnstones engage in a variety of behaviours to locate and capture prey. These behaviours can be placed into six general categories:
+Routing: The turnstone manipulates piles of seaweed through flicking, bulldozing, and pecking to expose small crustaceans or gastropod molluscs hidden underneath.
+Turning stones: As suggested by its name, the turnstone flicks stones with its bill to uncover hidden littorinids and gammarid amphipods.
+Digging: With small flicks of its bill, the turnstone creates holes in the ground substrate (usually sand or mud) and then pecks at the exposed prey – often sandhoppers or seaweed flies.
+Probing: The turnstone inserts its bill more than a quarter-length into the ground to get at littorinids and other gastropods.
+Hammer–probing: The turnstone cracks open its prey's shell by using its bill as a hammer, and then extracts the animal inside through pecking and probing.
+Surface pecking: The turnstone uses short, shallow pecks (less than a quarter bill-length) to get at prey at or just below the ground's surface.There is evidence that turnstones vary between these feeding behaviours based on individual preference, sex, and even social status with respect to other turnstones. In one studied population, dominant individuals tended to engage in routing while preventing subordinates from doing the same. When these dominant individuals were temporarily removed, some of the subordinates started to rout, while others enacted no change in foraging strategy.
+
+Aggression and territory defence
+When foraging, turnstones adopt different postures indicative of their level of dominance. A lowered tail and a hunched stance is associated with chasing and aggression, and thus a dominant individual. Dominance in aggression is age-related, with juveniles assuming the subordinate role a disproportionate amount of the time.The plumage patterns of ruddy turnstones exhibit an unusual amount of variation in comparison with other shorebirds. Turnstones use these unique plumage patterns to recognize individuals and discriminate intruders in their territory from neighbours occupying an adjacent territory. When a fake fiberglass turnstone model is placed in a turnstone's territory, the occupant is less likely to respond aggressively if the model is painted to have the plumage pattern of a neighbouring turnstone.
+
+Ecology
+Ruddy turnstones can survive in a wide range of habitats and climatic conditions from Arctic to tropical. The typical breeding habitat is open tundra with water nearby. Outside the breeding season, it is found along coasts, particularly on rocky or stony shores. It is often found on man-made structures such as breakwaters and jetties. It may venture onto open grassy areas near the coast. Small numbers sometimes turn up on inland wetlands, especially during the spring and autumn migrations.In terms of wintering sites, ruddy turnstones are particularly faithful to specific locations. A study published in 2009 examined turnstones wintering along a stretch of coastline in the Firth of Clyde. It found that 95% of birds resident to the area at the end of winter returned the following autumn. The same study also confirmed ruddy turnstones as one of the longest lived wader species, with annual adult mortality rates of under 15%. Their average lifespan is 9 years with 19 years and 2 months being the longest recorded.
+
+Reproduction
+It is a monogamous bird and pairs may remain together for more than one breeding season. The nest is a shallow scrape, often with a lining of leaves. It is about 11 cm (4.3 in) across and 3 cm (1.2 in) deep. It may be built amongst vegetation or on bare stony or rocky ground. Several pairs may nest close together.A single clutch of two to five eggs is laid with four being most common. The eggs measure about 41 mm × 29 mm (1.6 in × 1.1 in) and weigh around 17.9 g (0.63 oz). They are smooth, slightly glossy and oval to pear-shaped. They are variable in colour but are commonly pale green-brown with dark brown markings, densest at the larger end. Incubation begins when the first egg is laid and lasts for about 22–24 days. The female is mainly responsible for incubating the eggs but the male may help towards the end.The young birds are precocial and are able to leave the nest soon after hatching. They are buff above with dark grey markings and are white below. They are able to feed themselves but are protected by the parents, particularly the male. They fledge after 19–21 days.
+
+Status and conservation
+According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the ruddy turnstone population is currently very stable. Environment Canada surveys suggest that they have in fact decreased in abundance relative to the 1970s (up to 50% by one estimate) and face a variety of threats during migration and winter. They estimate that the Canadian population is 100,000–500,000 adults. The Canadian Wildlife Service estimates that the worldwide population of ruddy turnstones is 449,000, and that 235,000 are breeding in North America while the rest are breeding throughout the Arctic regions. They are very common and widespread. Their remote breeding range and widespread winter range should help them remain a common species.
+
+References
+External links
+
+Ruddy turnstone Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
+Ruddy turnstone profile at BirdWeb.org
+Ruddy Turnstone Population Assessment Summary – Environment Canada
+Ruddy turnstone species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
+Encounter between ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres and hermit crab Coenobita perlatus
+Video of ruddy turnstones in Swansea Bay, Wales, U.K.
+BirdLife species factsheet for Arenaria interpres
+"Arenaria interpres". Avibase. 
+"Ruddy turnstone media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Ruddy turnstone photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Ruddy turnstone species account at Neotropical Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
+Interactive range map of Arenaria interpres at IUCN Red List maps
+Audio recordings of Ruddy turnstone on Xeno-canto.
+Arenaria interpres in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr
+Ruddy turnstone media from ARKive
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/ruffed grouse.txt b/data/animals/ruffed grouse.txt
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+The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only species in the genus Bonasa.
+The ruffed grouse is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "partridge", an unrelated phasianid, and occasionally confused with the grey partridge, a bird of open areas rather than woodlands.The ruffed grouse is the state game bird of Pennsylvania, United States.
+
+Taxonomy
+Bonasa umbellus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1766 12th edition of Systema Naturae. He classified it as Tetrao umbellus, placing it in a subfamily with Eurasian grouse. The genus Bonasa was applied by British naturalist John Francis Stephens in 1819. Ruffed grouse is the preferred common name because it applies only to this species. Misleading vernacular names abound, however, and it is often called partridge (sometimes rendered pa'tridge, or shortened to pat), pheasant, or prairie chicken, all of which are properly applied to other birds. Other nicknames for ruffed grouse include drummer or thunder-chicken.The ruffed grouse has 13 recognized subspecies:
+B. u. brunnescens (Conover, 1935) - Vancouver Island (Canada)
+B. u. castanea (Aldrich & Friedmann, 1943) - Olympic Peninsula (USA)
+B. u. incana (Aldrich & Friedmann, 1943) - southeastern Idaho to central Utah (USA)
+B. u. labradorensis (Ouellet, 1991) - Labrador Peninsula (Canada)
+B. u. mediana (Todd, 1940) - north-central USA
+B. u. monticola (Todd, 1940) - central towards east-central USA
+B. u. obscura (Todd, 1947) - northern Ontario (Canada)
+B. u. phaios (Aldrich & Friedmann, 1943) - southeastern British Columbia (Canada) to south-central Idaho and eastern Oregon (USA)
+B. u. sabini (Douglas, 1829) - western coast of Canada and USA
+B. u. togata (Linnaeus, 1766) - north-central and northeastern USA and southeastern Canada
+B. u. umbelloides (Douglas, 1829) - southeastern Alaska (USA) through central Canada to central Oregon and northwestern Wyoming (USA)
+B. u. umbellus (Linnaeus, 1766) - east-central USAB. u. yukonensis (Grinnell, 1916) - Alaska (USA) and northwestern Canada
+
+Description
+Ruffed grouse are chunky, medium-sized birds that weigh from 450–750 g (0.99–1.65 lb), measure from 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) in length and span 50–64 cm (20–25 in) across their short, strong wings. They have two distinct morphs: grey and brown. In the grey morph, the head, neck, and back are grey-brown; the breast is light with barring. There is much white on the underside and flanks. Overall, the birds have a variegated appearance; the throat is often distinctly lighter. The tail is essentially the same brownish grey, with regular barring and a broad black band near the end ("subterminal"). Brown-morph birds have tails of the same color and pattern. However, the rest of the plumage is much more brown, giving the appearance of a more uniform bird with less light plumage below and a conspicuously grey tail. There are all sorts of intergrades between the most typical morphs; warmer and more humid conditions favor browner birds in general.
+
+The ruffs are on the sides of the neck in both sexes. They also have a crest on top of their head, which sometimes lies flat. Both sexes are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. The female often has a broken subterminal tail band. At the same time, males tend to have unbroken tail bands, though the opposite of either can occur. Females may also do a display similar to the male. Another fairly accurate sign is that rump feathers with a single white dot indicate a female; rump feathers with more than one white dot indicate a male.
+The average life span of a ruffed grouse is one year, although some birds are thought to live for as long as eleven years. Ruffed grouse are polygynous, and males may mate with several females during the breeding season.
+
+Ecology
+Like most grouse, they spend most of their time on the ground; mixed woodland rich in aspen seems to be particularly well-liked. These birds forage on the ground or in trees. They are omnivores, eating buds, leaves, berries, seeds, and insects. According to nature writer Don L. Johnson:
+
+More than any other characteristic, it is the ruffed grouse's ability to thrive on a wide range of foods that has allowed it to adapt to such a wide and varied range of habitat on this continent. A complete menu of grouse fare might itself fill a book. One grouse crop yielded a live salamander in a salad of watercress. Another contained a small snake.
+
+Hunting
+Hunting of the ruffed grouse is common in the northern and far western United States as well as Canada, often with shotguns. Dogs may also be used. Hunting of the ruffed grouse can be challenging. This is because the grouse spends most of its time in thick brush, aspen stands, and second growth pines. It is also very hard to detect a foraging grouse bobbing about in the thicket due to their camouflage. With adequate snow cover, they will burrow under the snow. The ruffed grouse will maintain trails through the underbrush and pines like other forest creatures. These can often be found by looking for the bird's feathers on the ground and twigs at the edges of its trail. Hunting of the ruffed grouse requires a good ear and lots of stamina as one will be constantly walking and listening for them in the leaves.
+Ruffed grouse frequently seek gravel and clover along road beds during early morning and late afternoon. These are good areas to walk during this time to flush birds. Also, grouse use sandy roadbeds to dust their feathers to rid themselves of skin pests. Dusting sites are visible as areas of disturbed soils with some signs of feathers. Birds will return to these spots during the late afternoon to bathe in dust and socialize and mate.Minnesota is the top ruffed grouse–producing state in the U.S.
+
+Behavior
+The ruffed grouse differs from other grouse species in its courtship display. The ruffed grouse relies entirely on a non-vocal acoustic display, known as drumming, unlike other grouse species. The drumming itself is a rapid, wing-beating display that creates a low-frequency sound, starting slow and speeding up (thump ... thump ... thump..thump-thump-thump-thump). Even in thick woods, this can be heard for .25 miles (0.40 km) or more.
+The ruffed grouse spends most of its time quietly on the ground, and when surprised, may explode into flight, beating its wings very loudly. They will burrow into the snow for warmth in the winter and may suddenly burst out of the snow when approached too closely.
+The male grouse proclaims his property by engaging in a “drumming” display. This sound is made by beating his wings against the air to create a vacuum. It usually stands on a log, stone or mound of dirt when drumming. It does not strike the log to make the noise, it only uses the “drumming log” as a sort of stage.The ruffed grouse population has a cycle, and follows the cycle no matter how much or how little hunting there is. The cycle has puzzled scientists for years, and is simply referred to as the "grouse cycle". In spite of this historical cycle, populations have been declining in Pennsylvania and management plans adopted. Habitat loss has been a concern for the species, but the introduction of the West Nile virus has been seen to be further increasing mortality.
+
+See also
+State birds
+Sage grouse
+Upland hunting
+
+References
+Further reading
+Henninger, W.F. (1906). "A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 18 (2): 47–60.
+Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist.
+State Symbols of Pennsylvania: State Bird, The Ruffed Grouse PDF fulltext
+
+External links
+
+"Ruffed grouse media". Internet Bird Collection.
+Ruffed grouse photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
+Ruffed Grouse Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
+Ruffed grouse hen video Appalachian Mountains, Floyd Virginia
+Interactive range map of Bonasa umbellus at IUCN Red List maps
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/sea anemone.txt b/data/animals/sea anemone.txt
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+Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra. Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.
+A typical sea anemone is a single polyp attached to a hard surface by its base, but some species live in soft sediment, and a few float near the surface of the water. The polyp has a columnar trunk topped by an oral disc with a ring of tentacles and a central mouth. The tentacles can be retracted inside the body cavity or expanded to catch passing prey. They are armed with cnidocytes (stinging cells). In many species, additional nourishment comes from a symbiotic relationship with single-celled dinoflagellates, with zooxanthellae, or with green algae, zoochlorellae, that live within the cells. Some species of sea anemone live in association with clownfish, hermit crabs, small fish, or other animals to their mutual benefit.
+Sea anemones breed by liberating sperm and eggs through the mouth into the sea. The resulting fertilized eggs develop into planula larvae which, after being planktonic for a while, settle on the seabed and develop directly into juvenile polyps. Sea anemones also breed asexually, by breaking in half or into smaller pieces which regenerate into polyps. Sea anemones are sometimes kept in reef aquariums; the global trade in marine ornamentals for this purpose is expanding and threatens sea anemone populations in some localities, as the trade depends on collection from the wild.
+
+Anatomy
+A typical sea anemone is a sessile polyp attached at the base to the surface beneath it by an adhesive foot, called a basal or pedal disc, with a column-shaped body topped by an oral disc. Most are from 1 to 5 cm (0.4 to 2.0 in) in diameter and 1.5 to 10 cm (0.6 to 3.9 in) in length, but they are inflatable and vary greatly in dimensions. Some are very large; Urticina columbiana and Stichodactyla mertensii can both exceed 1 metre (3.3 ft) in diameter and Metridium farcimen a metre in length. Some species burrow in soft sediment and lack a basal disc, having instead a bulbous lower end, the physa, which anchors them in place.The column or trunk is generally more or less cylindrical and may be plain and smooth or may bear specialised structures; these include solid papillae (fleshy protuberances), adhesive papillae, cinclides (slits), and small protruding vesicles. In some species the part immediately below the oral disc is constricted and is known as the capitulum. When the animal contracts, the oral disc, tentacles and capitulum fold inside the pharynx and are held in place by a strong sphincter muscle part way up the column. There may be a fold in the body wall, known as a parapet, at this point, and this parapet covers and protects the anemone when it is retracted.
+The oral disc has a central mouth, usually slit-shaped, surrounded by one or more whorls of tentacles. The ends of the slit lead to grooves in the wall of the pharynx known as siphonoglyphs; there are usually two of these grooves, but some groups have a single one. The tentacles are generally tapered and often tipped by a pore, but in some species they are branched, club-tipped, or reduced to low knobs. The tentacles are armed with many cnidocytes, cells that are both defensive and used to capture prey. Cnidocytes contain stinging nematocysts, capsule-like organelles capable of everting suddenly, giving the phylum Cnidaria its name. Each nematocyst contains a small venom vesicle filled with actinotoxins, an inner filament, and an external sensory hair. A touch to the hair mechanically triggers a cell explosion, which launches a harpoon-like structure that attaches to the organism that triggered it, and injects a dose of venom in the flesh of the aggressor or prey. 
+At the base of the tentacles in some species lie acrorhagi, elongated inflatable tentacle-like organs armed with cnidocytes, that can flail around and fend off other encroaching anemones; one or both anemones can be driven off or suffer injury in such battles.
+The venom is a mix of toxins, including neurotoxins, that paralyzes the prey so the anemone can move it to the mouth for digestion inside the gastrovascular cavity. Actinotoxins are highly toxic to prey species of fish and crustaceans. However, Amphiprioninae (clownfish), small banded fish in various colours, are not affected by their host anemone's sting and shelter themselves from predators among its tentacles. Several other species have similar adaptions and are also unaffected (see Mutualistic relationships). Most sea anemones are harmless to humans, but a few highly toxic species (notably Actinodendron arboreum, Phyllodiscus semoni and Stichodactyla spp.) have caused severe injuries and are potentially lethal.
+
+Digestive system
+Sea anemones have what can be described as an incomplete gut; the gastrovascular cavity functions as a stomach and possesses a single opening to the outside, which operates as both a mouth and anus. Waste and undigested matter is excreted through this opening. The mouth is typically slit-like in shape, and bears a groove at one or both ends. The groove, termed a siphonoglyph, is ciliated, and helps to move food particles inwards and circulate water through the gastrovascular cavity.The mouth opens into a flattened pharynx. This consists of an in-folding of the body wall, and is therefore lined by the animal's epidermis. The pharynx typically runs for about one third the length of the body before opening into the gastrovascular cavity that occupies the remainder of the body.The gastrovascular cavity itself is divided into a number of chambers by mesenteries radiating inwards from the body wall. Some of the mesenteries form complete partitions with a free edge at the base of the pharynx, where they connect, but others reach only partway across. The mesenteries are usually found in multiples of twelve, and are symmetrically arranged around the central lumen. They have stomach lining on both sides, separated by a thin layer of mesoglea, and include filaments of tissue specialised for secreting digestive enzymes. In some species, these filaments extend below the lower margin of the mesentery, hanging free in the gastrovascular cavity as thread-like acontial filaments. These acontia are armed with nematocysts and can be extruded through cinclides, blister-like holes in the wall of the column, for use in defence.
+
+Musculature and nervous system
+A primitive nervous system, without centralization, coordinates the processes involved in maintaining homeostasis, as well as biochemical and physical responses to various stimuli. There are two nerve nets, one in the epidermis and one in the gastrodermis; these unite at the pharynx, the junctions of the septa with the oral disc and the pedal disc, and across the mesogloea. No specialized sense organs are present, but sensory cells include nematocytes and chemoreceptors.The muscles and nerves are much simpler than those of most other animals, although more specialised than in other cnidarians, such as corals. Cells in the outer layer (epidermis) and the inner layer (gastrodermis) have microfilaments that group into contractile fibers. These fibers are not true muscles because they are not freely suspended in the body cavity as they are in more developed animals. Longitudinal fibres are found in the tentacles and oral disc, and also within the mesenteries, where they can contract the whole length of the body. Circular fibers are found in the body wall and, in some species, around the oral disc, allowing the animal to retract its tentacles into a protective sphincter.Since the anemone lacks a rigid skeleton, the contractile cells pull against the fluid in the gastrovascular cavity, forming a hydrostatic skeleton. The anemone stabilizes itself by flattening its pharynx, which acts as a valve, keeping the gastrovascular cavity at a constant volume and making it rigid. When the longitudinal muscles relax, the pharynx opens and the cilia lining the siphonoglyphs beat, wafting water inwards and refilling the gastrovascular cavity. In general, the sea anemone inflates its body to extend its tentacles and feed, and deflates it when resting or disturbed. The inflated body is also used to anchor the animal inside a crevice, burrow or tube.
+
+Life cycle
+Unlike other cnidarians, anemones (and other anthozoans) entirely lack the free-swimming medusal stage of their life cycle; the polyp produces eggs and sperm, and the fertilized egg develops into a planula larva, which develops directly into another polyp. Both sexual and asexual reproduction can occur.The sexes in sea anemones are separate in some species, while other species are sequential hermaphrodites, changing sex at some stage in their life. The gonads are strips of tissue within the mesenteries. In sexual reproduction, males may release sperm to stimulate females to release eggs, and fertilization occurs, either internally in the gastrovascular cavity or in the water column. The eggs and sperm, or the larvae, usually emerge through the mouth, but in some species, such as Metridium dianthus, may be swept out from the body cavity through the cinclides. In many species the eggs and sperm rise to the surface where fertilisation occurs. The fertilized egg develops into a planula larva, which drifts for a while before sinking to the seabed and undergoing metamorphosis into a juvenile sea anemone. Some larvae preferentially settle onto certain suitable substrates; the mottled anemone (Urticina crassicornis) for example, settles onto green algae, perhaps attracted by a biofilm on the surface.The brooding anemone (Epiactis prolifera) is gynodioecious, starting life as a female and later becoming hermaphroditic, so that populations consist of females and hermaphrodites. As a female, the eggs can develop parthenogenetically into female offspring without fertilisation, and as a hermaphrodite, the eggs are routinely self-fertilised. The larvae emerge from the anemone's mouth and tumble down the column, lodging in a fold near the pedal disc. Here they develop and grow, remaining for about three months before crawling off to start independent lives.Sea anemones have great powers of regeneration and can reproduce asexually, by budding, fragmentation, or longitudinal or transverse binary fission. Some species such as certain Anthopleura divide longitudinally, pulling themselves apart, resulting in groups of individuals with identical colouring and markings. Transverse fission is less common, but occurs in Anthopleura stellula and Gonactinia prolifera, with a rudimentary band of tentacles appearing halfway up the column before it splits horizontally. Some species can also reproduce by pedal laceration. In this process, a ring of material may break off from the pedal disc at the base of the column, which then fragments, the pieces regenerating into new clonal individuals. Alternatively, fragments detach separately as the animal creeps across a surface. In Metridium dianthus, fragmentation rates were higher in individuals living among live mussels than among dead shells, and all the new individuals had tentacles within three weeks.The sea anemone Aiptasia diaphana displays sexual plasticity. Thus asexually produced clones derived from a single founder individual can contain both male and female individuals (ramets).  When eggs and sperm (gametes) are formed, they can produce zygotes derived from "selfing" (within the founding clone) or out-crossing, which then develop into swimming planula larvae. Anemones tend to grow and reproduce relatively slowly. The magnificent sea anemone (Heteractis magnifica), for example, may live for decades, with one individual surviving in captivity for eighty years.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Movement
+A sea anemone is capable of changing its shape dramatically. The column and tentacles have longitudinal, transverse and diagonal sheets of muscle and can lengthen and contract, as well as bend and twist. The gullet and mesenteries can evert (turn inside out), or the oral disc and tentacles can retract inside the gullet, with the sphincter closing the aperture; during this process, the gullet folds transversely and water is discharged through the mouth.
+
+Locomotion
+Although some species of sea anemone burrow in soft sediment, the majority are mainly sessile, attaching to a hard surface with their pedal disc, and tend to stay in the same spot for weeks or months at a time. They can move, however, being able to creep around on their bases; this gliding can be seen with time-lapse photography but the motion is so slow as to be almost imperceptible to the naked eye. The process resembles the locomotion of a gastropod mollusc, a wave of contraction moving from the functionally posterior portion of the foot towards the front edge, which detaches and moves forwards. Sea anemones can also cast themselves loose from the substrate and drift to a new location. Gonactinia prolifera is unusual in that it can both walk and swim; walking is by making a series of short, looping steps, rather like a caterpillar, attaching its tentacles to the substrate and drawing its base closer; swimming is done by rapid movements of the tentacles beating synchronously like oar strokes. Stomphia coccinea can swim by flexing its column, and the sea onion anemone inflates and casts itself loose, adopting a spherical shape and allowing itself to be rolled about by the waves and currents. There are no truly pelagic sea anemones, but some stages in the life cycle post-metamorphosis are able, in response to certain environmental factors, to cast themselves off and have a free-living stage that aids in their dispersal.The sea onion Paranthus rapiformis lives on subtidal mud flats and burrows into the sediment, holding itself in place by expanding its basal disc to form an anchor. If it gets washed out of its burrow by strong currents, it contracts into a pearly glistening ball which rolls about. Tube-dwelling anemones, which live in parchment-like tubes, are in the anthozoan subclass Ceriantharia, and are only distantly related to sea anemones.
+
+Feeding and diet
+Sea anemones are typically predators, ensnaring prey of suitable size that comes within reach of their tentacles and immobilizing it with the aid of their nematocysts. The prey is then transported to the mouth and thrust into the pharynx. The lips can stretch to aid in prey capture and can accommodate larger items such as crabs, dislodged molluscs and even small fish.  Stichodactyla helianthus is reported to trap sea urchins by enfolding them in its carpet-like oral disc. A few species are parasitic on other marine organisms. One of these is Peachia quinquecapitata, the larvae of which develop inside the medusae of jellyfish, feeding on their gonads and other tissues, before being liberated into the sea as free-living juvenile anemones.
+
+Mutualistic relationships
+Although not plants and therefore incapable of photosynthesis themselves, many sea anemones form an important facultative mutualistic relationship with certain single-celled algae species that reside in the animals' gastrodermal cells, especially in the tentacles and oral disc. These algae may be either zooxanthellae, zoochlorellae or both. The sea anemone benefits from the products of the algae's photosynthesis, namely oxygen and food in the form of glycerol, glucose and alanine; the algae in turn are assured a reliable exposure to sunlight and protection from micro-feeders, which the sea anemones actively maintain. The algae also benefit by being protected by the sea anemone's stinging cells, reducing the likelihood of being eaten by herbivores. In the aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), the colour of the anemone is largely dependent on the proportions and identities of the zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae present. The hidden anemone (Lebrunia coralligens) has a whorl of seaweed-like pseudotentacles, rich in zooxanthellae, and an inner whorl of tentacles. A daily rhythm sees the pseudotentacles spread widely in the daytime for photosynthesis, but they are retracted at night, at which time the tentacles expand to search for prey.
+Several species of fish and invertebrates live in symbiotic or mutualistic relationships with sea anemones, most famously the clownfish. The symbiont receives the protection from predators provided by the anemone's stinging cells, and the anemone utilises the nutrients present in its faeces. Other animals that associate with sea anemones include cardinalfish (such as Banggai cardinalfish), juvenile threespot dascyllus, incognito (or anemone) goby, juvenile painted greenling, various crabs (such as Inachus phalangium, Mithraculus cinctimanus and Neopetrolisthes), shrimp (such as certain Alpheus, Lebbeus, Periclimenes and Thor), opossum shrimp (such as Heteromysis and Leptomysis), and various marine snails.Two of the more unusual relationships are those between certain anemones (such as Adamsia, Calliactis and Neoaiptasia) and hermit crabs or snails, and Bundeopsis or Triactis anemones and Lybia boxing crabs. In the former, the anemones live on the shell of the hermit crab or snail. In the latter, the small anemones are carried in the claws of the boxing crab.
+
+Habitats
+Sea anemones are found in both deep oceans and shallow coastal waters worldwide. The greatest diversity is in the tropics, although there are many species adapted to relatively cold waters. The majority of species cling on to rocks, shells or submerged timber, often hiding in cracks or under seaweed, but some burrow into sand and mud, and a few are pelagic.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Sea anemones and their attendant anemone fish can make attractive aquarium exhibits, and both are often harvested from the wild as adults or juveniles. These fishing activities significantly impact the populations of anemones and anemone fish by drastically reducing the densities of each in exploited areas. Besides their collection from the wild for use in reef aquaria, sea anemones are also threatened by alterations to their environment. Those living in shallow-water coastal locations are affected directly by pollution and siltation, and indirectly by the effect these have on their photosynthetic symbionts and the prey on which they feed.In southwestern Spain and Sardinia, the snakelocks anemone (Anemonia viridis) is consumed as a delicacy. The whole animal is marinated in vinegar, then coated in a batter similar to that used to make calamari, and deep-fried in olive oil. Anemones are also a source of food for fisherman communities in the east coast of Sabah, Borneo, as well as the Thousand Islands (as rambu-rambu) in Southeast Asia.
+
+Fossil record
+Most Actiniaria do not form hard parts that can be recognized as fossils, but a few fossils of sea anemones do exist; Mackenzia, from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of Canada, is the oldest fossil identified as a sea anemone.
+
+Taxonomy
+Sea anemones, order Actiniaria, are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. Rodriguez et al. proposed a new classification for the Actiniaria based on extensive DNA results.Suborders and superfamilies included in Actiniaria are: 
+
+Suborder Anenthemonae
+Superfamily Edwardsioidea
+Superfamily Actinernoidea
+Suborder Enthemonae
+Superfamily Actinostoloidea
+Superfamily Actinioidea
+Superfamily Metridioidea
+
+Phylogeny
+External relationships
+Anthozoa contains three subclasses: Hexacorallia, which contains the Actiniaria; Octocorallia; and Ceriantharia. These are monophyletic, but the relationships within the subclasses remain unresolved.†= extinct
+
+Internal relationships
+The relationships of higher-level taxa in Carlgren's classification are re-interpreted as follows:
+
+See also
+AETX
+Cangitoxin
+Halcurin
+Sea anemone dermatitis
+Sea anemone neurotoxin
+
+References
+External links
+
+Order Actiniaria Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
+Actiniaria.com
+Photos of various species of Sea Anemones from the Indopacific
+Anemone Armies Battle to a Standoff
+Sea anemones look like sea flowers but they are animals of the Phylum Cnidaria
+Information about Ricordea Florida Sea anemones & pictures
+Photographic Database of Cambodian Sea Anemones
+Photos of Sea Anemones
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/sea cucumber.txt b/data/animals/sea cucumber.txt
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+Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea (). They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad.  They are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of known holothurian () species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number being in the Asia-Pacific region. Many of these are gathered for human consumption and some species are cultivated in aquaculture systems. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, namako, bêche-de-mer, or balate. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as they help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter, after which bacteria can continue the decomposition process.Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin, calcified structures that are usually reduced to isolated microscopic ossicles (or sclerietes) joined by connective tissue. In some species these can sometimes be enlarged to flattened plates, forming an armour. In pelagic species such as Pelagothuria natatrix (order Elasipodida, family Pelagothuriidae), the skeleton is absent and there is no calcareous ring.Sea cucumbers are named for their resemblance to the fruit of the cucumber plant.
+
+Overview
+Most sea cucumbers, as their name suggests, have a soft and cylindrical body, more or less lengthened, rounded off and occasionally fat in the extremities, and generally without solid appendages. Their shape ranges from almost spherical for "sea apples" (genus Pseudocolochirus) to serpent-like for Apodida or the classic sausage-shape, while others resemble caterpillars. The mouth is surrounded by tentacles, which can be pulled back inside the animal. Holothurians measure generally between 10 and 30 centimetres long, with extremes of some millimetres for Rhabdomolgus ruber and up to more than 3 metres for Synapta maculata. The largest American species, Holothuria floridana, which abounds just below low-water mark on the Florida reefs, has a volume of well over 500 cubic centimeters (31 cu in), and 25–30 cm (10–12 in) long. Most possess five rows of tube feet (called "podia"), but Apodida lacks these and moves by crawling; the podia can be of smooth aspect or provided with fleshy appendages (like Thelenota ananas). The podia on the dorsal surface generally have no locomotive role, and are transformed into papillae. At one of the extremities opens a rounded mouth, generally surrounded with a crown of tentacles which can be very complex in some species (they are in fact modified podia); the anus is postero-dorsal.
+Holothurians do not look like other echinoderms at first glance, because of their tubular body, without visible skeleton nor hard appendixes. Furthermore, the fivefold symmetry, classical for echinoderms, although preserved structurally, is doubled here by a bilateral symmetry which makes them look like chordates. However, a central symmetry is still visible in some species through five 'radii', which extend from the mouth to the anus (just like for sea urchins), on which the tube feet are attached. There is thus no "oral" or "aboral" face as for sea stars and other echinoderms, but the animal stands on one of its sides, and this face is called trivium (with three rows of tube feet), while the dorsal face is named bivium.
+A remarkable feature of these animals is the "catch" collagen that forms their body wall. This can be loosened and tightened at will, and if the animal wants to squeeze through a small gap, it can essentially liquefy its body and pour into the space. To keep itself safe in these crevices and cracks, the sea cucumber will hook up all its collagen fibers to make its body firm again.The most common way to separate the subclasses is by looking at their oral tentacles. Order Apodida have a slender and elongate body lacking tube feet, with up to 25 simple or pinnate oral tentacles. Aspidochirotida are the most common sea cucumbers encountered, with a strong body and 10–30 leaflike or shield-like oral tentacles. Dendrochirotida are filter-feeders, with plump bodies and 8–30 branched oral tentacles (which can be extremely long and complex).
+
+Anatomy
+Sea cucumbers are typically 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 in) in length, although the smallest known species are just 3 mm (0.12 in) long, and the largest can reach 3 meters (10 ft). The body ranges from almost spherical to worm-like, and lacks the arms found in many other echinoderms, such as starfish. The anterior end of the animal, containing the mouth, corresponds to the oral pole of other echinoderms (which, in most cases, is the underside), while the posterior end, containing the anus, corresponds to the aboral pole. Thus, compared with other echinoderms, sea cucumbers can be said to be lying on their side.
+
+Body plan
+The body of a holothurian is roughly cylindrical. It is radially symmetrical along its longitudinal axis, and has weak bilateral symmetry transversely with a dorsal and a ventral surface. As in other Echinozoans, there are five ambulacra separated by five ambulacral grooves, the interambulacra. The ambulacral grooves bear four rows of tube feet but these are diminished in size or absent in some holothurians, especially on the dorsal surface. The two dorsal ambulacra make up the bivium while the three ventral ones are known as the trivium.At the anterior end, the mouth is surrounded by a ring of tentacles which are usually retractable into the mouth. These are modified tube feet and may be simple, branched or arborescent. They are known as the introvert and posterior to them there is an internal ring of large calcareous ossicles. Attached to this are five bands of muscle running internally longitudinally along the ambulacra. There are also circular muscles, contraction of which cause the animal to elongate and the introvert to extend. Anterior to the ossicles lie further muscles, contraction of which cause the introvert to retract.The body wall consists of an epidermis and a dermis and contains smaller calcareous ossicles, the types of which are characteristics which help to identify different species. Inside the body wall is the coelom which is divided by three longitudinal mesenteries which surround and support the internal organs.
+
+Digestive system
+A pharynx lies behind the mouth and is surrounded by a ring of ten calcareous plates. In most sea cucumbers, this is the only substantial part of the skeleton, and it forms the point of attachment for muscles that can retract the tentacles into the body for safety as for the main muscles of the body wall. Many species possess an oesophagus and stomach, but in some the pharynx opens directly into the intestine. The intestine is typically long and coiled, and loops through the body three times before terminating in a cloacal chamber, or directly as the anus.
+
+Nervous system
+Sea cucumbers have no true brain. A ring of neural tissue surrounds the oral cavity, and sends nerves to the tentacles and the pharynx. The animal is, however, quite capable of functioning and moving about if the nerve ring is surgically removed, demonstrating that it does not have a central role in nervous coordination. In addition, five major nerves run from the nerve ring down the length of the body beneath each of the ambulacral areas.Most sea cucumbers have no distinct sensory organs, although there are various nerve endings scattered through the skin, giving the animal a sense of touch and a sensitivity to the presence of light. There are, however, a few exceptions: members of the Apodida order are known to possess statocysts, while some species possess small eye-spots near the bases of their tentacles.
+
+Respiratory system
+Sea cucumbers extract oxygen from water in a pair of "respiratory trees" that branch in the cloaca just inside the anus, so that they "breathe" by drawing water in through the anus and then expelling it. The trees consist of a series of narrow tubules branching from a common duct, and lie on either side of the digestive tract. Gas exchange occurs across the thin walls of the tubules, to and from the fluid of the main body cavity.
+Together with the intestine, the respiratory trees also act as excretory organs, with nitrogenous waste diffusing across the tubule walls in the form of ammonia and phagocytic coelomocytes depositing particulate waste.
+
+Circulatory systems
+Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers possess both a water vascular system that provides hydraulic pressure to the tentacles and tube feet, allowing them to move, and a haemal system. The latter is more complex than that in other echinoderms, and consists of well-developed vessels as well as open sinuses.A central haemal ring surrounds the pharynx next to the ring canal of the water vascular system, and sends off additional vessels along the radial canals beneath the ambulacral areas. In the larger species, additional vessels run above and below the intestine and are connected by over a hundred small muscular ampullae, acting as miniature hearts to pump blood around the haemal system. Additional vessels surround the respiratory trees, although they contact them only indirectly, via the coelomic fluid.Indeed, the blood itself is essentially identical with the coelomic fluid that bathes the organs directly, and also fills the water vascular system. Phagocytic coelomocytes, somewhat similar in function to the white blood cells of vertebrates, are formed within the haemal vessels, and travel throughout the body cavity as well as both circulatory systems. An additional form of coelomocyte, not found in other echinoderms, has a flattened discoid shape, and contains hemoglobin. As a result, in many (though not all) species, both the blood and the coelomic fluid are red in colour.
+
+Vanadium has been reported in high concentrations in holothurian blood, however researchers have been unable to reproduce these results.
+
+Locomotive organs
+Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers possess pentaradial symmetry, with their bodies divided into five nearly identical parts around a central axis. However, because of their posture, they have secondarily evolved a degree of bilateral symmetry. For example, because one side of the body is typically pressed against the substratum, and the other is not, there is usually some difference between the two surfaces (except for Apodida). Like sea urchins, most sea cucumbers have five strip-like ambulacral areas running along the length of the body from the mouth to the anus. The three on the lower surface have numerous tube feet, often with suckers, that allow the animal to crawl along; they are called trivium. The two on the upper surface have under-developed or vestigial tube feet, and some species lack tube feet altogether; this face is called bivium.In some species, the ambulacral areas can no longer be distinguished, with tube feet spread over a much wider area of the body. Those of the order Apodida have no tube feet or ambulacral areas at all, and burrow through sediment with muscular contractions of their body similar to that of worms, however five radial lines are generally still obvious along their body.Even in those sea cucumbers that lack regular tube feet, those that are immediately around the mouth are always present. These are highly modified into retractile tentacles, much larger than the locomotive tube feet.  Depending on the species, sea cucumbers have between ten and thirty such tentacles and these can have a wide variety of shapes depending on the diet of the animal and other conditions.Many sea cucumbers have papillae, conical fleshy projections of the body wall with sensory tube feet at their apices. These can even evolve into long antennae-like structures, especially on the abyssal genus Scotoplanes.
+
+Endoskeleton
+Echinoderms typically possess an internal skeleton composed of plates of calcium carbonate. In most sea cucumbers, however, these have become reduced to microscopic ossicles embedded beneath the skin. A few genera, such as Sphaerothuria, retain relatively large plates, giving them a scaly armour.
+
+Life history and behaviour
+Habitat
+Sea cucumbers can be found in great numbers on the deep seafloor, where they often make up the majority of the animal biomass. At depths deeper than 8.9 km (5.5 mi), sea cucumbers comprise 90% of the total mass of the macrofauna. Sea cucumbers form large herds that move across the bathygraphic features of the ocean, hunting food. The body of some deep water holothurians, such as Enypniastes eximia, Peniagone leander and Paelopatides confundens, is made of a tough gelatinous tissue with unique properties that makes the animals able to control their own buoyancy, making it possible for them to either live on the ocean floor or to actively swim  or float over it in order to move to new locations, in a manner similar to how the group Torquaratoridae floats through water.
+Holothurians appear to be the echinoderms best adapted to extreme depths, and are still very diversified beyond 5,000 m deep: several species from the family Elpidiidae ("sea pigs") can be found deeper than 9,500 m, and the record seems to be some species of the genus Myriotrochus (in particular Myriotrochus bruuni), identified down to 10,687 meters deep.
+In more shallow waters, sea cucumbers can form dense populations. The strawberry sea cucumber (Squamocnus brevidentis) of New Zealand lives on rocky walls around the southern coast of the South Island where populations sometimes reach densities of 1,000 animals/m2 (93 animals/sq ft). For this reason, one such area in Fiordland is called the strawberry fields.
+
+Locomotion
+Some abyssal species in the abyssal order Elasipodida have evolved to a "benthopelagic" behaviour: their body is nearly the same density as the water around them, so they can make long jumps (up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high), before falling slowly back to the ocean floor. Most of them have specific swimming appendages, such as some kind of umbrella (like Enypniastes), or a long lobe on top of the body (Psychropotes). Only one species is known as a true completely pelagic species, that never comes close to the bottom: Pelagothuria natatrix.
+
+Diet
+Holothuroidea are generally scavengers, feeding on debris in the benthic zone of the ocean. Exceptions include some pelagic cucumbers and the species Rynkatorpa pawsoni, which has a commensal relationship with deep-sea anglerfish. The diet of most cucumbers consists of plankton and decaying organic matter found in the sea. Some sea cucumbers position themselves in currents and catch food that flows by with their open tentacles. They also sift through the bottom sediments using their tentacles. Other species can dig into bottom silt or sand until they are completely buried. They then extrude their feeding tentacles, ready to withdraw at any hint of danger.
+In the South Pacific sea cucumbers may be found in densities of 40 individuals/m2 (3.7 individuals/sq ft). These populations can process 19 kilograms per square metre (3.9 lb/sq ft) of sediment per year.The shape of the tentacles is generally adapted to the diet, and to the size of the particles to be ingested: the filter-feeding species mostly have complex arborescent tentacles, intended to maximize the surface area available for filtering, while the species feeding on the substratum will more often need digitate tentacles to sort out the nutritional material; the detritivore species living on fine sand or mud more often need shorter "peltate" tentacles, shaped like shovels. A single specimen can swallow more than 45 kg of sediment a year, and their excellent digestive capacities allow them to reject a finer, purer and homogeneous sediment. Therefore, sea cucumbers play a major role in the biological processing of the sea bed (bioturbation, purge, homogenization of the substratum etc.).
+
+Communication and sociability
+Reproduction
+Most sea cucumbers reproduce by releasing sperm and ova into the ocean water. Depending on conditions, one organism can produce thousands of gametes. Sea cucumbers are typically dioecious, with separate male and female individuals, but some species are protandric. The reproductive system consists of a single gonad, consisting of a cluster of tubules emptying into a single duct that opens on the upper surface of the animal, close to the tentacles.At least 30 species, including the red-chested sea cucumber (Pseudocnella insolens), fertilize their eggs internally and then pick up the fertilized zygote with one of their feeding tentacles. The egg is then inserted into a pouch on the adult's body, where it develops and eventually hatches from the pouch as a juvenile sea cucumber. A few species are known to brood their young inside the body cavity, giving birth through a small rupture in the body wall close to the anus.
+
+Development
+In all other species, the egg develops into a free-swimming larva, typically after around three days of development. The first stage of larval development is known as an auricularia, and is only around 1 mm (39 mils) in length. This larva swims by means of a long band of cilia wrapped around its body, and somewhat resembles the bipinnaria larva of starfish. As the larva grows it transforms into the doliolaria, with a barrel-shaped body and three to five separate rings of cilia. The pentacularia is the third larval stage of sea cucumber, where the tentacles appear. The tentacles are usually the first adult features to appear, before the regular tube feet.
+
+Symbiosis and commensalism
+Numerous small animals can live in symbiosis or commensalism with sea cucumbers, as well as some parasites.
+Some cleaner shrimps can live on the tegument of holothurians, in particular several species of the genus Periclimenes (genus which is specialized in echinoderms), in particular Periclimenes imperator.
+A variety of fish, most commonly pearl fish, have evolved a commensalistic symbiotic relationship with sea cucumbers in which the pearl fish will live in sea cucumber's cloaca using it for protection from predation, a source of food (the nutrients passing in and out of the anus from the water), and to develop into their adult stage of life. Many polychaete worms (family Polynoidae) and crabs (like Lissocarcinus orbicularis) have also specialized to use the mouth or the cloacal respiratory trees for protection by living inside the sea cucumber. Nevertheless, holothurians species of the genus Actinopyga have anal teeth that prevent visitors from penetrating their anus.Sea cucumbers can also shelter bivalvia as endocommensals, such as Entovalva sp.
+
+Predators and defensive systems
+Sea cucumbers are often ignored by most of the marine predators because of the toxins they contain (in particular holothurin) and because of their often spectacular defensive systems. However, they remain a prey for some highly specialized predators which are not affected by their toxins, such as the big mollusks Tonna galea and Tonna perdix, which paralyzes them using powerful poison before swallowing them completely.
+Some other less specialized and opportunist predators can also prey on sea cucumbers sometimes when they cannot find any better food, such as certain species of fish (triggerfish, pufferfish) and crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, hermit crabs).
+Some species of coral-reef sea cucumbers within the order Aspidochirotida can defend themselves by expelling their sticky cuvierian tubules (enlargements of the respiratory tree that float freely in the coelom) to entangle potential predators. When startled, these cucumbers may expel some of them through a tear in the wall of the cloaca in an autotomic process known as evisceration. Replacement tubules grow back in one and a half to five weeks, depending on the species. The release of these tubules can also be accompanied by the discharge of a toxic chemical known as holothurin, which has similar properties to soap. This chemical can kill animals in the vicinity and is one more method by which these sedentary animals can defend themselves.
+
+Estivation
+If the water temperature becomes too high, some species of sea cucumber from temperate seas can aestivate. While they are in this state of dormancy they stop feeding, their gut atrophies, their metabolism slows down and they lose weight. The body returns to its normal state when conditions improve.
+
+Phylogeny and classification
+Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers) are one of five extant classes that make up the phylum Echinodermata. This is one of the most distinctive and diverse phyla, ranging from starfish to urchins to sea cucumbers and many other organisms. The echinoderms are mainly distinguished from other phyla by their body plan and organization. While the organisms in this phylum may not all look the same from the outside, their make-up is another story. The earlliest sea cucumbers are known from the middle Ordovician, over 450 million years ago. The apodida is the sister group to the other orders of sea cucumbers.All echinoderms share three main characteristics. When mature, echinoderms have a pentamerous radial symmetry. While this can easily be seen in a sea star or brittle star, in the sea cucumber it is less distinct and seen in their five primary tentacles. The pentamerous radial symmetry can also be seen in their five ambulacral canals. The ambulacral canals are used in their water vascular system which is another characteristic that binds this phylum together.
+The water vascular system develops from their middle coelom or hydrocoel. Echinoderms use this system for many things including movement by pushing water in and out of their podia or "tube feet". Echinoderms tube feet (including sea cucumbers) can be seen aligned along the side of their axes.
+While echinoderms are invertebrates, meaning they do not have a spine, they do all have an endoskeleton that is secreted by the mesenchyme. This endoskeleton is composed of plates called ossicles. They are always internal but may only be covered by a thin epidermal layer like in sea urchin's spines. In the sea cucumber the ossicles are only found in the dermis, making them a very supple organism. For most echinoderms, their ossicles are found in units making up a three dimensional structure. However, in sea cucumbers the ossicles are found in a two-dimensional network.All echinoderms also possess anatomical feature(s) called mutable collagenous tissues, or MCTs. Such tissues can rapidly change their passive mechanical properties from soft to stiff under the control of the nervous system and coordinated with muscle activity. Different echinoderm classes use MCTs in different ways. The asteroids, sea stars, can detach limbs for self-defense and then regenerate them. The Crinoidea, sea fans, can go from stiff to limp depending on the current for optimal filter feeding. The Echinoidea, sand dollars, use MCTs to grow and replace their rows of teeth when they need new ones. The Holothuroidea, sea cucumbers, use MCTs to eviscerate their gut as a self-defense response. MCTs can be used in many ways but are all similar at the cellular level and in mechanics of function. A common trend in the uses of MCTs is that they are generally used for self-defense mechanisms and in regeneration.Holothurian classification is complex and their paleontological phylogeny relies on a limited number of well-preserved specimens. The modern taxonomy is based first of all on the presence or the shape of certain soft parts (podia, lungs, tentacles, peripharingal crown) to determine the main orders, and secondarily on the microscopic examination of ossicles to determine the genus and the species. Contemporary genetic methods have been helpful in clarifying their classification.
+Taxonomic classification according to World Register of Marine Species:
+
+subclass Actinopoda Ludwig, 1891
+order Dendrochirotida Grube, 1840
+family Cucumariidae Ludwig, 1894
+family Cucumellidae Thandar & Arumugam, 2011
+family Heterothyonidae Pawson, 1970
+family †Monilipsolidae Smith & Gallemí, 1991
+family Paracucumidae Pawson & Fell, 1965
+family Phyllophoridae Östergren, 1907
+family Placothuriidae Pawson & Fell, 1965
+family Psolidae Burmeister, 1837
+family Rhopalodinidae Théel, 1886
+family Sclerodactylidae Panning, 1949
+family Vaneyellidae Pawson & Fell, 1965
+family Ypsilothuriidae Heding, 1942
+order Elasipodida Théel, 1882
+family Elpidiidae Théel, 1882
+family Laetmogonidae Ekman, 1926
+family †Palaeolaetmogonidae Reich, 2012
+family Pelagothuriidae Ludwig, 1893
+family Psychropotidae Théel, 1882
+order Holothuriida Miller, Kerr, Paulay, Reich, Wilson, Carvajal & Rouse, 2017 
+family Holothuriidae Burmeister, 1837
+family Mesothuriidae Smirnov, 2012
+order Molpadida Haeckel, 1896
+family Caudinidae Heding, 1931
+family Eupyrgidae Semper, 1867
+family Gephyrothuriidae Koehler & Vaney, 1905
+family Molpadiidae Müller, 1850
+order Persiculida Miller, Kerr, Paulay, Reich, Wilson, Carvajal & Rouse, 2017 
+family Gephyrothuriidae Koehler & Vaney, 1905
+family Molpadiodemidae Miller, Kerr, Paulay, Reich, Wilson, Carvajal & Rouse, 2017
+family Pseudostichopodidae Miller, Kerr, Paulay, Reich, Wilson, Carvajal & Rouse, 2017
+order Synallactida Miller, Kerr, Paulay, Reich, Wilson, Carvajal & Rouse, 2017 
+family Deimatidae Théel, 1882
+family Stichopodidae Haeckel, 1896
+family Synallactidae Ludwig, 1894
+subclass †ArthrochirotaceaSmirnov, 2012
+order †Arthrochirotida Brandt, 1835
+family †Palaeocucumariidae Frizzell & Exline, 1966
+subclass Paractinopoda Ludwig, 1891
+order Apodida Brandt, 1835
+family Chiridotidae Östergren, 1898
+family Myriotrochidae Théel, 1877
+family Synaptidae Burmeister, 1837
+
+Relation to  humans
+Food
+To supply the markets of Southern China, Makassar trepangers traded with the Indigenous Australians of Arnhem Land from at least the 18th century and probably earlier. This is the first recorded example of trade between the inhabitants of the Australian continent and their Asian neighbours.There are many commercially important species of sea cucumber that are harvested and dried for export for use in Chinese cuisine as hoisam. Some of the more commonly found species in markets include:
+Holothuria nobilis
+Thelenota ananas
+Actinopyga echinites
+Actinopyga palauensis
+Holothuria scabra
+Holothuria fuscogilva
+Actinopyga mauritiana
+Stichius japonicus
+Apostichopus californicus
+Acaudina molpadioides
+Isostichopus fuscus
+
+Medicine
+According to the American Cancer Society, although it has been used in traditional Asian folk medicine for a variety of ailments, "there is little reliable scientific evidence to support claims that sea cucumber is effective in treating cancer, arthritis, and other diseases" but research is examining "whether some compounds made by sea cucumbers may be helpful against cancer".Various pharmaceutical companies emphasize gamat, the Malay traditional medicinal usage of this animal. Extracts are prepared and made into oil, cream or cosmetics. Some products are intended to be taken internally.
+A review article found that chondroitin sulfate and related compounds found in sea cucumbers can help in treating joint-pain, and that dried sea cucumber is "medicinally effective in suppressing arthralgia".Another study suggested that sea cucumbers contain all the fatty acids necessary to play a potentially active role in tissue repair. Sea cucumbers are under investigation for use in treating ailments including colorectal cancer. Surgical probes made of nanocomposite material based on the sea cucumber have been shown to reduce brain scarring. One study found that a lectin from Cucumaria echinata impaired the development of the malaria parasite when produced by transgenic mosquitoes.
+
+Procurement
+Sea cucumbers are harvested from the environment, both legally and illegally, and are increasingly farmed via aquaculture. The harvested animals are normally dried for resale. In 2016, prices on Alibaba ranged up to $1,000/kg.
+
+Commercial harvest
+In recent years, the sea cucumber industry in Alaska has increased due to increased demand for the skins and muscles to China. Wild sea cucumbers are caught by divers. Wild Alaskan sea cucumbers have higher nutritional value and are larger than farmed Chinese sea cucumbers. Larger size and higher nutritional value has allowed the Alaskan fisheries to continue to compete for market share.One of Australia's oldest fisheries is the collection of sea cucumber, harvested by divers from throughout the Coral Sea in far North Queensland, Torres Straits and Western Australia. In the late 1800s as many as 400 divers operated from Cook Town, Queensland.
+Overfishing of sea cucumbers in the Great Barrier Reef is threatening their population. Their popularity as luxury seafood in East Asian countries poses a serious threat.
+
+Black market
+As of 2013 a thriving black market was driven by demand in China where 1 lb (0.5 kg) at its peak might have sold for the equivalent of US$300 and a single sea cucumber for about US$160. A crackdown by governments both in and out of China reduced both prices and consumption, particularly among government officials who had been known to eat (and were able to afford purchasing) the most expensive and rare species. In the Caribbean Sea off the shores of the Yucatán Peninsula near fishing ports such as Dzilam de Bravo, illegal harvesting had devastated the population and resulted in conflict as rival gangs struggled to control the harvest.
+
+Aquaculture
+Overexploitation of sea cucumber stocks in many parts of the world provided motivation for the development of sea cucumber aquaculture in the early 1980s. The Chinese and Japanese were the first to develop successful hatchery technology on Apostichopus japonicus, prized for its high meat content and success in commercial hatcheries. Using techniques pioneered by the Chinese and Japanese, a second species, Holothuria scabra, was cultured for the first time in India in 1988. In recent years Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Maldives, Solomon Islands and Vietnam have successfully cultured H. scabra using the same technology, and now culture other species.
+
+Conservation
+In 2020, the Indian government created the world's first sea cucumber conservation area, the Dr KK Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve, to protect the sea cucumber species. In India, the commercial harvesting and transportation of sea cucumbers is banned.
+
+In popular culture
+Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838), includes in its 20th chapter a long, detailed description of sea cucumbers, which the narrator calls biche de mer.
+In Kir Bulychov's science-fiction novella, "Half a Life", a human being kidnapped by alien machines described her fellow alien prisoners as "trepangs".
+The first movement of French composer Erik Satie's Embryons desséchés is titled "D'Holothournie". It is said to emulate the "purring" of the Holothourian.
+Sea cucumbers have inspired thousands of haiku in Japan, where they are called namako (海鼠), written with characters that can be translated as "sea mice" (an example of gikun). In English translations of these haiku, they are usually called "sea slugs". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English term "sea slug" was originally applied to holothurians during the 18th century. The term is now applied to several groups of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks that have no shell or only a very reduced shell, including the nudibranchs. Almost 1,000 Japanese holothurian haiku translated into English appear in the book Rise, Ye Sea Slugs! by Robin D. Gill.
+Nobel laureate poet Wisława Szymborska wrote a poem which mentions holothurians, titled "Autotomy".
+In the book John Dies at the End, the character Amy Sullivan was nicknamed "Cucumber" by the narrator/author when the two were children. This is assumed by other characters to have a sexual connotation but is actually a reference to her frequent nausea.  The name is in reference to a sea cucumber's use of vomiting as a method of self-defense.
+A descriptive passage in American novelist Cormac McCarthy's 1985 anti-Western Blood Meridian likens cactus embers to holothurians: "In the thorn forest through which they'd passed the little desert wolves yapped and on the dry plain before them others answered and the wind fanned the coals that he watched. The bones of cholla that glowed there in their incandescent basketry pulsed like burning holothurians in the phosphorous dark of the sea's deeps."
+
+See also
+Gamat
+Trepanging
+
+References
+Informational notes
+
+Citations
+
+External links
+
+ Data related to Holothuroidea at Wikispecies
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+Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary time have either completely lost their shells, or have seemingly lost their shells due to having a greatly reduced or internal shell. The name "sea slug" is most often applied to nudibranchs, as well as to a paraphyletic set of other marine gastropods without obvious shells.Sea slugs have an enormous variation in body shape, color, and size. Most are partially translucent. The often bright colors of reef-dwelling species implies that these animals are under constant threat of predators, but the color can serve as a warning to other animals of the sea slug's toxic stinging cells (nematocysts) or offensive taste. Like all gastropods, they have small, razor-sharp teeth, called radulas. Most sea slugs have a pair of rhinophores—sensory tentacles used primarily for the sense of smell—on their head, with a small eye at the base of each rhinophore. Many have feathery structures (cerata) on the back, often in a contrasting color, which act as gills. All species of genuine sea slugs have a selected prey animal on which they depend for food, including certain jellyfish, bryozoans, sea anemones, and plankton as well as other species of sea slugs.Sea slugs have brains. For example, Aplysia californica has a brain of about 20,000 nerve cells.
+
+Shell-less marine gastropods
+The name "sea slug" is often applied to numerous different evolutionary lineages of marine gastropod molluscs or sea snails, specifically those gastropods that are either not conchiferous (shell-bearing) or appear not to be. In evolutionary terms, losing the shell altogether, having a small internal shell, or having a shell so small that the soft parts of the animal cannot retract into it, are all features that have evolved many times independently within the class Gastropoda, on land and in the sea; these features often cause a gastropod to be labeled with the common name "slug".
+
+Nudibranchs (clade Nudibranchia) are a large group of marine gastropods that have no shell at all. These may be the most familiar sort of sea slug. Although most nudibranchs are not large, they are often very eye-catching because so many species have brilliant coloration. In addition to nudibranchs, a number of other taxa of marine gastropods (some easily mistaken for nudibranchs) are also often called "sea slugs".
+
+Gastropod groups
+Within the various groups of gastropods that are called "sea slugs", numerous families are within the informal taxonomic group Opisthobranchia:
+
+The term "sea slug" is perhaps most often applied to nudibranchs, many of which are brightly patterned and conspicuously ornate. For two examples, see the images of Nembrotha aurea and Glossodoris atromarginata within this article.The name "sea slug" is also often applied to the sacoglossans (clade Sacoglossa), the so-called sap-sucking or solar-powered sea slugs which are frequently a shade of green.Another group of main gastropods that are often labeled as "sea slugs" are the various families of headshield slugs and bubble snails within the clade Cephalaspidea.The sea hares, clade Aplysiomorpha, have a small, flat, proteinaceous internal shell.The clades Thecosomata and Gymnosomata are small pelagic gastropods known as "sea butterflies" and "sea angels". Many species of sea butterflies retain their shells. These are commonly known as "pteropods" but are also sometimes called sea slugs; especially the Gymnosomata, which have no shell as adults.There is also one group of "sea slugs" within the informal group Pulmonata:
+
+One very unusual group of marine gastropods that are shell-less are the pulmonate (air-breathing) species in the family Onchidiidae, within the clade Systellommatophora.
+
+Diversity in sea slugs
+Like many nudibranchs, Glaucus atlanticus can store and use stinging cells, or nematocysts, from its prey (Portuguese man o' war) in its finger-like cerata.
+Other species like the Pyjama slug Chromodoris quadricolor may use their striking colors to advertise their foul chemical taste.
+The lettuce sea slug (Elysia crispata) has lettuce-like ruffles that line its body. This slug, like other Sacoglossa uses kleptoplasty, a process in which the slug absorbs chloroplasts from the algae it eats, and uses "stolen" cells to photosynthesize sugars. The ruffles of the lettuce sea slug increase the slug's surface area, allowing the cells to absorb more light.
+Headshield slugs like the Chelidonura varians use their shovel-shaped heads to dig into the sand, where they spend most of their time. The shield also protects sand from entering the mantle during burrowing.
+Peronia indica is a species of air-breathing sea slug, a shell-less marine pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Onchidiidae.The largest species of sea hare, the California black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria can reach a length of 75 centimetres (30 in) and a weight of 14 kilograms (31 lb). Most sea hares have several defenses; in addition to being naturally toxic, they can eject a foul ink or secrete a viscous slime to deter predators.
+Some species of acochlidian sea slugs have made evolutionary transitions to living in freshwater streams and there is at least one evolutionary transition to land.
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/siamang.txt b/data/animals/siamang.txt
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+The siamang (, also UK: ; Symphalangus syndactylus) is an arboreal, black-furred gibbon native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The largest of the gibbons, the siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching 1 m (3.3 ft) in height, and weighing up to 14 kg (31 lb). It is the only species in the genus Symphalangus. Fossils of siamangs date back to the Middle Pleistocene.Two features distinguish the siamang from other gibbons. First, two digits on each foot—the second and third toes—are partially joined by a membrane, hence the specific name syndactylus, from the Ancient Greek σύν, sun-, "with" + δάκτυλος, daktulos, "finger". Second, a large gular sac (throat pouch), found in both males and females of the species, can be inflated to the size of the siamang's head, allowing it to make resonating calls.
+Two subspecies of the siamang  are the nominate Sumatran siamang (S. s. syndactylus) and the Malaysian siamang (S. s. continentis, in Malay peninsula). Otherwise, the Malaysian individuals are only a population. The siamang occurs sympatrically with other gibbons; its two ranges are entirely within the combined ranges of the agile gibbon and the lar gibbon.
+The siamang can live to around 40 years in captivity.While the illegal pet trade takes a toll on wild populations, the principal threat to the siamang is habitat loss in both Indonesia and Malaysia. The palm oil production industry is clearing large swaths of forest, reducing the habitat of the siamang, along with those of other species, such as the Sumatran tiger.
+
+Description
+The siamang has long, dense, shaggy hair, which is the darkest shade of all gibbons. The ape's long, gangling arms are longer than its legs. The average length of a siamang is 90 cm; the largest they have ever grown is 150 cm. The face of this large gibbon is mostly hairless, apart from a thin mustache.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The siamang inhabits the forest remnants of Sumatra Island and the Malay Peninsula, and is widely distributed from lowland forest to mountain forest—even rainforest—and can be found at altitudes up to 3800 m. It lives in groups of up to six individuals (four individuals on average) with an average home range of 23 hectares. Their day ranges are substantially smaller than those of sympatric Hylobates species, often less than 1 km. The siamang's melodious singing breaks the forest's silence in the early morning after the agile gibbons' or lar gibbons' calls. The siamangs in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula are similar in appearance, but some behaviors differ between the two populations.
+
+Ecology and behavior
+Siamangs have an ecology and relationship between two types of gibbons that share the same habitat. Those include the Agile gibbon and Lar gibbon. Both of the gibbons that live with the siamangs are Hylobates rather than Symphalangus. The behavior of a siamang is easily described. When two siamangs meet, they often have a bond with each other. They might also communicate by using their throat pouches and shouts to communicate when they fell excited, relaxed, trying to mate, or threatened. If siamangs use loud sounds, they also use body language to communicate. They use sign language or pointing to make others aware of what they need or what they want to do.
+
+Diet
+The siamang eats mainly various parts of plants. The Sumatran siamang is more frugivorous than its Malayan relative, with fruit making up to 60% of its diet. The siamang eats at least 160 species of plants, from vines to woody plants. Its major food source is figs (Ficus spp. The siamang prefers to eat ripe rather than unripe fruit, and young rather than old leaves. It eats flowers and a few animals, mostly insects. When the siamang eats large flowers, it eats only the corollae (petals), but it eats all parts of smaller flowers, with the small fruit collected in its hand before being consumed. When it eats big and hard seeds or seeds with sharp edges, it peels out the fruit flesh and throws away the seed. Although its diet consists of substantial portions of fruit, it is the most folivorous of all members of Hylobatidae. As it is also the largest gibbon, it fits well with the general primate dietary trend in which larger primates tend to be more folivorous.
+
+Demography and population
+A group of siamangs normally consists of an adult dominant male, an adult dominant female, with offspring, infants, and sometimes a subadult. The subadult usually leaves the group after attaining the age of 6–8 years; subadult females tend to leave the group earlier than subadult males. Siamang gestation period is between 6.2 and 7.9 months; after the infant is born, the mother takes care of the infant for the first year of its life. Siamang males tend to offer more paternal care than do other members of the family Hylobatidae, taking up a major role in carrying an infant after it is about 8 months old. The infant typically returns to its mother to sleep and nurse. The infant begins to travel independently from its parents by its third year of life.Siamangs are generally known to have monogamous mating pairs, which have been documented to spend more time in close proximity to each other, in comparison to other gibbon species. Both monogamous and polyandrous groups, though, are found in South Sumatra. In studying these populations, infants belonging to monogamous groups were found to receive more overall male care than infants in the polyandrous groups. This reduced care is most likely due to reduced certainty of paternity in these groups.Habitat disturbance affects siamang group composition; it is varied in age-sex structure between intact forest and burnt, regrown forest. The burnt, regrown forest population contained more adult and subadults than the intact forest population, which had more infants, small juveniles, and large juveniles. Infant survival rates in burnt, regrown forest groups are lower than in intact forest groups. The number of individuals in the latter is higher than in the former. The siamang in disturbed forests live in small groups and have a density lower than in intact forests because of lack of food resources and trees for living.
+In the 1980s, the Indonesian population of the siamang in the wild was estimated to be 360,000 individuals. This figure may be less in the 21st century: Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is the third-largest protected area (3,568 km2 or 1,378 sq mi) in Sumatra, of which roughly 2,570 km2 (990 sq mi) remain under forest cover inhabited by 22,390 siamangs (in 2002 censuses). In Sumatra, the siamang prefers to inhabit lowland forest between 500 and 1,000 m (1,600 and 3,300 ft) above sea level.
+
+Behavior
+The siamang tends to rest for more than half of its waking period from dawn to dusk, followed by feeding, moving, foraging, and social activities. It takes more rest during midday, taking time to groom others or to play. During resting time, it usually uses a branch of a large tree, lying on its back or belly. Feeding behaviors, foraging, and moving are most often in the morning and after resting. Grooming is one of the most important social interactions among family members. Grooming takes place between adults earlier in the day; the adults groom the juveniles later in the day. Adult males are the most involved in grooming.
+In the dry season, the size of the siamang's daily range is larger than in the rainy season. The siamang in southern Sumatra spends less time foraging than siamangs in other places, as it eats a diet higher in fruit. It thus  consumes more nutrients, which results in less time needed for food acquisition. A siamang may spend an entire day in a single fruiting tree, moving out when it wants to rest and returning to feed.Siamangs are a very social species of primates and exhibit a variety of tactile and visual gestures, along with actions and facial expressions to communicate and increase social bonds within their family group. They are also territorial, and interact with other family groups by making loud calls to let other groups know where their territory is. The calls may be asynchronous, where they are not directed at a particular neighbouring group, or simultaneous group calls may take place across the territory boundary. Males are known to chase one another across the boundary.
+Grooming frequency between males and females has been found to correlate to copulation frequency, as well as bouts of aggression. Pairs copulate over four to five months at intervals of two to three years. The peak of their reproductive activity is often during the time when fruit is most abundant. Dorsoventral copulation is the most common type in siamangs, where the female is squatting and the male hangs by his arms and grips the female with his legs, whereas ventroventral copulation, where both primates are suspended, occurs only one in 60 times on average.
+
+Role of calling
+The siamang starts its day by calling in the early morning; it calls less after midday, with the peak of the calls around 9:00 to 10:00 am. Most of the siamang's calls are directed to its neighbours rather than to those inside its home range. This means the siamang's calling is in response to disturbances and to defend its territory. Calls in the late morning typically happen when it meets or sees another siamang group. The edge of the siamang's home range, which may overlap another, is often the place where calling is made. Counter (co-response) calling occasionally happens near the border or in the overlap area. Calls are numerous when fruit is more abundant rather than when it is less available. Branch shaking, swinging, and moving around the tree crowns accompany the calling. This movement might be to show the other groups where they are.
+The siamang prefers calling in the living, tall, and big trees, possibly where another group is easy to see. Besides that, such trees can support siamang movement. Calling trees are usually near feeding trees, but sometimes they call in the feeding trees.Mated pairs produce loud, well-patterned calling bouts, which are referred to as duetting. These calls advertise the presence and status of a mated pair. Newly formed pairs spend more time singing than an established pair. Advertising the presence of a strong bond is advantageous in territorial defense. Siamang duetting differs from other species because it has a particularly complex vocal structure. Four distinct classes of vocalizations have been documented: booms, barks, ululating screams, and bitonal screams. Females typically produce long barks and males generally produce bitonal screams, but both sexes have been known to produce all four classes of vocalizations.
+
+Seeding
+As a frugivorous animal, the siamang disperses seeds through defecation as it travels across its territory. The siamang can carry seed while digesting, and defecate between 81.9 and 365.9 m (269 and 1,200 ft) from the seed resource, which supports the forest's regeneration and succession.
+
+Threats and conservation
+As an arboreal primate whose survival absolutely depends on the forest, the siamang faces population pressure due to habitat loss, poaching, and hunting.
+
+Habitat loss
+A major threat to the siamang is habitat fragmentation due to plantations, forest fire, illegal logging, encroachment, and human development. Firstly, palm-oil plantations have removed large areas of the siamang's habitat in recent decades. Since 2002, 107,000 km2 of oil palm have been planted, which has replaced much rainforest in Indonesia and Malaysia, where the siamang originally lived. Secondly, in the second decade of the 21st century, forests in the Malay peninsula have been destroyed due to illegal logging. Sixteen out of the 37 permanent forest reserves in Kelantan, in the Malay peninsula, where most of the siamangs live, have been encroached upon by illegal loggers. Thirdly, forest encroachments change forest cover into cultivated land; for example, the rising price of coffee in 1998 encouraged people in Sumatra to replace the forest with coffee plantations. Fourthly, development in many areas requires infrastructure, such as roads, which now divide conservation areas and have caused forest fragmentation and edge effects.
+
+Poaching and hunting
+Unlike other parts of Asia, primates are not hunted for their meat in Indonesia. They are hunted for the illegal pet trade, with hunters preferring infant siamangs. Poachers often kill the mothers first, since siamang females are highly protective of their infants, and removing the infant without first killing the mother requires more effort. Most siamangs on the market are infants, which often die during transportation.
+
+Conservation
+Siamang can be found in at least 11 protected areas:
+
+IndonesiaBukit Barisan Selatan National Park
+Gunung Leuser National Park
+Kerinci Seblat National Park
+Langkat Barat Wildlife Reserve
+Way Kambas National ParkMalaysiaFraser's Hill Reserve
+Gunong Besout Forest Reserve
+Krau Wildlife Reserve
+Ulu Gombak Wildlife ReserveThailandHala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary
+
+References
+External links
+
+Siamang photos
+Siamang songs
+Gibbon Conservation Center
+Primate Info Net Symphalangus syndactylus Factsheet
+http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-siamang.html
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diff --git a/data/animals/sidewinder.txt b/data/animals/sidewinder.txt
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+Crotalus cerastes, known as the sidewinder, horned rattlesnake or sidewinder rattlesnake, is a pit viper species belonging to the genus Crotalus (the rattlesnakes), and is found in the desert regions of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Like all other pit vipers, it is venomous. Three subspecies are currently recognized.
+
+Description
+A small species, adult specimens measure between 43 and 76 cm (17 and 30 in) in length. Most adults are 50–80 cm (19.5–31.5 in) in length. The females are larger than the males, which is unusual for this group of snakes.Usually, 21 rows of keeled dorsal scales occur midbody. Males have 141 or fewer ventral scales; females have 144 or fewer. It is sometimes referred to as the horned rattlesnake because of the raised supraocular scales above its eyes. This adaptation may help shade the eyes or prevent sand drifting over them as the snake lies almost buried in it.The color pattern consists of a ground color that may be cream, buff, yellowish-brown, pink, or ash gray, overlaid with 28–47 dorsal blotches subrhombic or subelliptical in shape. In the nominate subspecies, the belly is white and the proximal lobe of the rattle is brown in adults. Klauber and Neill describe the ability of this species to display different coloration depending on the temperature—a process known as metachrosis.
+
+Common names
+Common names include sidewinder, horned rattlesnake, sidewinder rattlesnake, Mojave Desert sidewinder (for C. c. cerastes), and sidewinder rattler.
+
+Habitat
+In the Southwestern United States, this species is found in the desert region of southeastern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and western Arizona. In northwestern Mexico, it is found in western Sonora and eastern Baja California.
+
+Conservation status
+This species is classified as least concern on the  IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2001). Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because they are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend was stable when assessed in 2007.
+
+Behavior
+The common name sidewinder alludes to its unusual form of locomotion, which is thought to give it traction on windblown desert sand, but this peculiar locomotor specialization is used on any substrate over which the sidewinder can move rapidly. As its body progresses over loose sand, it forms a letter J-shaped impression, with the tip of the hook pointing in the direction of travel. Sidewinding is also the primary mode of locomotion in other desert sand dwellers, such as the horned adder (Bitis caudalis) and Peringuey's adder (Bitis peringueyi), but many other snakes can assume this form of locomotion when on slick substrates (e.g., mud flats). Sidewinder rattlesnakes can use sidewinding to ascend sandy slopes by increasing the portion of the body in contact with the sand to match the reduced yielding force of the inclined sand, allowing them to ascend up to the maximum possible sand slope without slip.  In cybernetics, incorporating this control scheme into a snakebot can enable the robot to replicate sidewinding movement. Activity range does not change with sex or body size.The species is nocturnal during hot months and diurnal during the cooler months of its activity period, which is roughly from November to March (probably longer in the southern part of its range).
+Juveniles use their tails to attract lizard prey, a behavior termed "caudal luring". Adults lose this behavior as they make the transition from lizard prey to their primary diet of desert rodents, birds, and other snakes. Sidewinder juveniles appear to mimic both life stages of lepidopterans in their luring motions. Their fast luring motions resemble the fluttering of a moth, and their slower tail movements resemble a caterpillar. Both movements have been observed to attract prey lizards.Neonatal sidewinders engage in a remarkable behavioral homeothermy that has not been observed in any other type of snake. Following birth, the neonates mass together in their natal burrow. Most often, gravid females select an east-facing, small-diameter rodent burrow for giving birth. For the first week or so of their lives, neonatal sidewinders plug the entrance to this burrow during daylight hours, forming a dynamic multiple-individual mass that takes advantage of the hot exterior environment and the cool interior of the burrow to maintain an average aggregate temperature of 32 °C (the optimal temperature for shedding). The dynamic mass of neonates modifies the thermal environment at the burrow entrance such that the young can occupy a location that would ordinarily become lethally hot for an individual neonate (or even an adult). Because of the constant movements of the neonates, the aggregate assumes stable temperature properties reminiscent of a homeothermic organism (i.e., maintains tight temperature tolerance ± 2 °C).
+
+Reproduction
+Females produce up to 18 young, with an average of about 10 per litter. Like most other viperids, the young are born enveloped in thin embryonic membranes, from which they emerge shortly after being expelled from the mother. The young stay with their mother in a burrow for 7–10 days, shed for the first time, then leave their natal burrow. During this time, the mother is thought to guard and protect them from predators.
+Sidewinders mature at 2–3 years of age, are capable of reproducing annually, and give birth to live young. Some females skip reproductive opportunities. Some might even skip two years if the food supply is scarce. Sidewinders mate in April through May and sometimes in fall. When the male and female mate, the male snake crawls along the female's back, rubbing her with his chin to stimulate or arouse her. The male then will wrap his tail around her tail, and then will try to bring their cloacae together. The cloaca is the posterior body opening through which snakes both excrete waste and reproduce. If the female wants to mate, she lifts her tail and allows him to mate with her. The snakes can mate for several hours, and if one of the snakes decides to move, the other is dragged along. Females might mate with several males in a season. Females give birth to five to 18 young in late summer to early fall. The young are born 6-8 inches long. The birth takes only 2–3 hours altogether. Within a few minutes of being born, the newborn sidewinder escapes from a thin, transparent membrane. The young stay at their natal burrow for 7–10 days until they shed, and then they disappear and have no future contact with their mother or their littermates. While the density of sidewinders can be up to one individual per hectare, they rarely encounter each other except during mating season.Sidewinders have an extraordinarily accelerated lifecycle, with natural life expectancies of females of about 5 years. Males may live quite a bit longer (maximum known natural lifespan of 13 years). Sidewinders can live more than 20 years when well fed in captivity (even females). Thus, energetics apparently factor heavily into natural female mortality, whereas predation might be the primary pressure on males. In the wild, females often die of exhaustion after giving birth, but the lives of sidewinders are also cut short by predation, diseases, and vehicle encounters.
+
+Venom
+These snakes are venomous, but possess a weaker venom than many other rattlesnakes. This, together with the smaller size of their venom glands, makes them less dangerous than their larger relatives. Regardless, any rattlesnake bite can be fatal and should be taken seriously and medical attention sought immediately.
+Norris (2004) lists these venom yields: 33 mg average and 63 mg maximum (Klauber, 1956), and 30 mg average and 80 mg maximum (Glenn & Straight, 1982). Brown (1973) gives a venom yield of 33 mg (Klauber, 1956) and LD50 values for mice of 2.6 mg/kg IV, 3.0, 4.0, 2.3 mg/kg IP and 5.5 mg/kg SC for toxicity. With these figures, Brown calculated that the LD50 for an adult human being weighing 70 kg would be 385 mg (SC).Envenomation can cause pain, swelling, hemorrhagic bleb formation, and ecchymosis (i.e., bruising). Swelling, while not particularly severe, occasionally may involve entire limbs and the trunk. Envenomation's systemic symptoms include nausea, dizziness, chills, coagulopathy (blood disorders), and shock. Klauber (1997) includes an account of a man who had been bitten on the first joint of the index finger of the right hand, with only a single fang penetrating. Although the bite was described as no more painful than a pin prick, a doctor was seen within about 25 minutes, and 10 cm3 of antivenin were administered. Within 2.5 hours, his entire arm was swollen and the pain was severe, "as if the arm were soaked in a bucket of boiling oil."Ovine-derived antivenom, CroFab, for North American pit viper envenomation, has been widely available since 2001. Consultation with a local expert or regional poison control center should be obtained before administering antivenom. The previous antivenin (ACP) is no longer manufactured.
+
+Subspecies
+References
+Further reading
+Hallowell, E. Descriptions of new Reptiles from California. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 91–97.
+
+External links
+
+Crotalus cerastes at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 3 August 2007.
+Crotalus cerastes cerastes at California Reptiles and Amphibians. Accessed 5 February 2007.
+Crotalus cerastes at WildHerps. Accessed 5 February 2007.
+The Sidewinder at VenomousReptiles.org. Accessed 5 February 2007.
+Mojave Desert Sidewinder at Bird and Hike . com. Accessed 5 February 2007.
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diff --git a/data/animals/silky terrier.txt b/data/animals/silky terrier.txt
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+The Australian Silky Terrier or simply Silky Terrier (depending on the breed registry) is a small breed of dog of the terrier dog type. The breed was developed in Australia, although the ancestral types and breeds were from Great Britain. It is closely related to the Australian Terrier and the Yorkshire Terrier. The breed is called the Silky Terrier in North America, but is called the Australian Silky Terrier in its country of origin and in the rest of the world.
+
+Appearance
+The Australian Silky Terrier is a small and compact short-legged terrier, 23 to 26 cm (9.1 to 10.2 in) at the withers, alert and active. The long silky grey and white or blue and tan coat is an identifying feature, hanging straight and parted along the back, and described as "flat, fine and glossy". All proportions and aspects of the body and head as well as desirable shades of grey and white and placement of markings are extensively described in the breed standard.The Silky Terrier should be slightly longer than tall (about one fifth longer than the height at withers). This is a dog that was historically used for hunting and killing rodents and snakes, so its body should have enough substance to fit this role. The coat requires quite a lot of regular grooming and shampooing to retain its silkiness.
+The Silky Terrier has a strong, wedge-shaped head. The eyes are small and almond-shaped. According to the standards, light-colored eyes are considered a fault. The ears are small and carried erect. The Silky Terrier has a high-set tail and small, almost catlike, feet. The coat should be long, but not so long AS to approach floor length. The hair on the face and ears is normally cut.
+
+History
+The ancestors of the Australian Silky Terrier include the Yorkshire Terrier and the Australian Terrier (which descends from the rough coated type terriers brought from Great Britain to Australia in the early 19th century); few records indicate whether early dogs were just Australian Terriers born with silky fur, or whether there was an attempt to create a separate breed. According to the American Kennel Club, the breed was created at the end of the 19th century when Yorkshire Terriers were crossed with Australian Terriers. At first the breed was known as the Sydney Silky, as it was found primarily in the city of Sydney, Australia. Although most other Australian breeds were working dogs, the Silky Terrier was bred primarily to be an urban pet and companion, although it is also known for killing snakes in Australia.Up until 1929 the Australian Terrier, the Australian Silky Terrier, and the Yorkshire Terrier were not clearly defined. Dogs of three different breeds might be born in the same litter, to be separated by appearance into the different types once they were grown. After 1932 in Australia, further crossbreeding was discouraged, and in 1955 the breed's name officially became the Australian Silky Terrier. The breed was recognised by the Australian National Kennel Council in 1958 in the Toy Group.During and after World War II American servicemen who had been stationed in Australia brought back to the United States a few Silky Terriers. Newspaper photographs of the breed in 1954 caused an upsurge of popularity and hundreds of Silkies were imported from Australia to the United States. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed as the Silky Terrier in 1959, as did the United Kennel Club (US) in 1965 where it is shown as a Terrier; it is also recognised as the Silky Terrier by the Canadian Kennel Club. The breed is recognised by all the major kennel clubs in the English speaking world, and internationally by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as breed number 236. It may also be recognised by various minor kennel clubs and internet breed registry businesses.
+
+Breed Groups
+The Australian Silky Terrier is a terrier, but is usually placed in the Toy Group rather than the Terrier Group due to its small size. As breed groupings are done mostly to organise groups of breeds for dog shows, it is safer for the little dogs to be with others their own size, rather than with larger dogs. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale has a special section of the Terrier Group that includes only the smallest dogs, while other kennel clubs place the breed in the Toy Group, but it is universally agreed that the breed's type is Terrier.
+
+Temperament
+The breed standard describe the ideal Australian Silky Terrier temperament as keenly alert and active. They love to be given chances to run and play, but must have a tightly fenced yard. They also enjoy brisk walks and playing ball. The Silky is able to do well in an apartment, although they are also an active indoor breed. It is important they are kept busy and social to discourage boredom. In a survey administered by Dogs 101, ninety-one small breed dogs (16 inches tall and under 22 lbs) were ranked by ability to learn quickly - the Silky Terrier placed in the top twenty. However, training one can be difficult, as this breed is often stubborn and deliberately willful.They are more independent than other toy breeds, yet are affectionate and loyal to their owners. They bark readily, especially when greeting strangers.
+
+Care
+The Silky Terrier's coat is highly susceptible to tangles and matting and requires daily brushing and combing. This breed requires a deep commitment from the owners. To keep the coat lustrous, regular shampooing is necessary. Use of an aloe and oatmeal shampoo helps alleviate the itchy, dry skin of this breed.This particular breed should be groomed regularly. Care should also be taken while grooming near the neck area, and a harness leash should be used to protect the Silky Terrier from tracheal collapse.
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+Yorkshire Terrier
+Australian Terrier
+
+References
+Further reading
+History, Origins and Development of the Australian Silky Terrier George Holmes. One of several essays appearing in Australian Made: Australian Breeds Feature, privately published, mid-1990.
+
+External links
+
+International Australian Silky Terrier database
+Australian Silky Terrier at Curlie
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diff --git a/data/animals/skunk.txt b/data/animals/skunk.txt
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+Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginger colored, but all have warning coloration. 
+While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks have as their closest relatives the Old World stink badgers.
+
+Taxonomy
+In alphabetical order, the living species of skunks are:
+Family Mephitidae
+Genus: Conepatus
+Conepatus chinga – Molina's hog-nosed skunk
+Conepatus humboldtii – Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk
+Conepatus leuconotus – American hog-nosed skunk
+Conepatus semistriatus – striped hog-nosed skunk
+Genus: Mephitis
+Mephitis macroura – hooded skunk
+Mephitis mephitis – striped skunk
+Genus: Spilogale
+Spilogale angustifrons – southern spotted skunk
+Spilogale gracilis – western spotted skunk
+Spilogale putorius – eastern spotted skunk
+Spilogale pygmaea – pygmy spotted skunk
+
+Terminology
+The word skunk is dated from the 1630s, adapted from a southern New England Algonquian language (probably Abenaki) seganku, from Proto-Algonquian *šeka:kwa, from *šek- 'to urinate' + *-a:kw 'fox'. Skunk has historic use as an insult, attested from 1841.In 1634, a skunk was described in The Jesuit Relations:
+
+The other is a low animal, about the size of a little dog or cat. I mention it here, not on account of its excellence, but to make of it a symbol of sin. I have seen three or four of them. It has black fur, quite beautiful and shining; and has upon its back two perfectly white stripes, which join near the neck and tail, making an oval that adds greatly to their grace. The tail is bushy and well furnished with hair, like the tail of a Fox; it carries it curled back like that of a Squirrel. It is more white than black; and, at the first glance, you would say, especially when it walks, that it ought to be called Jupiter's little dog. But it is so stinking and casts so foul an odor, that it is unworthy of being called the dog of Pluto. No sewer ever smelled so bad. I would not have believed it if I had not smelled it myself. Your heart almost fails you when you approach the animal; two have been killed in our court, and several days afterward there was such a dreadful odor throughout our house that we could not endure it. I believe the sin smelled by Saint Catherine de Sienne must have had the same vile odor.
+In Southern United States dialect, the term polecat is sometimes used as a colloquial nickname for a skunk, even though polecats are only distantly related to skunks.
+As a verb, skunk is used to describe the act of overwhelmingly defeating an opponent in a game or competition. Skunk is also used to refer to certain strong-smelling strains of Cannabis whose smell has been compared to that of a skunk's spray.
+
+Description
+Skunk species vary in size from about 15.6 to 37 in (40 to 94 cm) long and in weight from about 1.1 lb (0.50 kg) (spotted skunks) to 18 lb (8.2 kg) (hog-nosed skunks). They have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs and long front claws for digging. They have five toes on each foot.
+
+Although the most common fur color is black and white, some skunks are brown or grey and a few are cream-colored. All skunks are striped, even from birth. They may have a single thick stripe across the back and tail, two thinner stripes, or a series of white spots and broken stripes (in the case of the spotted skunk).
+
+Behavior
+Skunks are crepuscular and solitary animals when not breeding, though in the colder parts of their range, they may gather in communal dens for warmth. During the day they shelter in burrows, which they can dig with their powerful front claws. For most of the year the normal home range for skunks is 0.5 to 2 miles (1 to 3 km) in diameter, with males expanding during breeding season to travel 4 to 5 miles (6 to 8 km) per night.Skunks are not true hibernators in the winter, but do den up for extended periods of time. However, they remain generally inactive and feed rarely, going through a dormant stage. Over winter, multiple females (as many as 12) huddle together; males often den alone. Often, the same winter den is repeatedly used.
+Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing, they have poor vision, being unable to see objects more than about 3 m (10 ft) away, making them vulnerable to death by road traffic. They are short-lived; their lifespan in the wild can reach seven years, with an average of six years. In captivity, they may live for up to 10 years.
+
+Reproduction
+Skunks mate in early spring and are polygynous (that is, successful males are uninhibited from mating with additional females.)
+Before giving birth (usually in May), the female excavates a den to house her litter of four to seven kits.
+Skunks are placental, with a gestation period of about 66 days.When born, skunk kits are blind and deaf, but already covered by a soft layer of fur. About three weeks after birth, they first open their eyes; the kits are weaned about two months after birth. They generally stay with their mother until they are ready to mate, roughly at one year of age.
+The mother is protective of her kits, spraying at any sign of danger. The male plays no part in raising the young.
+
+Diet
+Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material and changing their diets as the seasons change. They eat insects, larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles, and eggs. They also commonly eat berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi and nuts.
+In settled areas, skunks also seek garbage left by humans. Less often, skunks may be found acting as scavengers, eating bird and rodent carcasses left by cats or other animals. Pet owners, particularly those of cats, may experience a skunk finding its way into a garage or basement where pet food is kept. Skunks commonly dig holes in lawns in search of grubs and worms.
+Skunks use their long claws to break apart rotting logs to find insects that live within them. They also use those claws to help dig for insects, which leaves behind pits, which are easy signs of foraging. The claws also help with pinning down live and active prey. Skunks are one of the primary predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. The skunk scratches at the front of the beehive and eats the guard bees that come out to investigate. Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young.
+
+Spray
+Skunks are notorious for their anal scent glands, which they can use as a defensive weapon. They are similar to, though much more developed than, the glands found in species of the family Mustelidae. Skunks have two glands, one on each side of the anus. These glands produce the skunk's spray, which is a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals such as thiols (traditionally called mercaptans), which have an offensive odor. The thiols also make their spray highly flammable.  A skunk's spray is powerful enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers. Muscles located next to the scent glands allow them to spray with a high degree of accuracy, as far as 3 m (10 ft). The spray can also cause irritation and even temporary blindness, and is sufficiently powerful to be detected by a human nose up to 5.6 km (3.5 miles) downwind. Their chemical defense is effective, as illustrated by this extract from Charles Darwin's 1839 book The Voyage of the Beagle:
+
+We saw also a couple of Zorrillos, or skunks—odious animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance, the Zorrillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is forever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distance; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being offshore, we have perceived the odour onboard the Beagle. Certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the Zorrillo.
+Skunks carry just enough for five or six successive sprays – about 15 cm3 – and require up to ten days to produce another supply. Their bold black and white coloration makes their appearance memorable. It is to a skunk's advantage to warn possible predators off without expending scent: black and white aposematic warning coloration aside, threatened skunks will go through an elaborate routine of hisses, foot-stamping, and tail-high deimatic or threat postures before resorting to spraying. Skunks usually do not spray other skunks, except among males in the mating season. If they fight over den space in autumn, they do so with teeth and claws.Most predators of the Americas, such as wolves, foxes, and badgers, seldom attack skunks, presumably out of fear of being sprayed. The exceptions are reckless predators whose attacks fail once they are sprayed, dogs, and the great horned owl, which is the skunk's only regular predator. In one case, the remains of 57 striped skunks were found in a single great horned owl nest.Skunks are common in suburban areas. Frequent encounters with dogs and other domestic animals, and the release of the odor when a skunk is run over, have led to many misconceptions about the removal of skunk odor, including the pervasive idea that tomato juice will neutralize the odor. These household remedies are ineffective, and only appear to work due to olfactory fatigue. The Humane Society of the United States recommends treating dogs using a mixture of dilute hydrogen peroxide (3%), baking soda, and dishwashing liquid.Skunk spray is composed mainly of three low-molecular-weight thiol compounds, (E)-2-butene-1-thiol, 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, and 2-quinolinemethanethiol, as well as acetate thioesters of these. These compounds are detectable by the human nose at concentrations of only 11.3 parts per billion.
+
+Relations with humans
+Bites
+It is rare for a healthy skunk to bite a human, though a tame skunk whose scent glands have been removed (usually on behalf of those who will keep it as a pet) may defend itself by biting. There are, however, few recorded incidents of skunks biting humans.  Skunk bites in humans can result in infection with the rabies virus. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded 1,494 cases of rabies in skunks in the United States for the year 2006—about 21.5% of reported cases in all species. 
+Skunks in fact are less prominent than raccoons as vectors of rabies. (However, this varies regionally in the United States, with raccoons dominating along the Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, while skunks instead predominate throughout the Midwest, including the western Gulf, and in California.)
+
+As pets
+Mephitis mephitis, the striped skunk, is the most social skunk and the one most commonly kept as a pet. In the US, skunks can legally be kept as pets in 17 states. When a skunk is kept as a pet, its scent glands are often surgically removed.
+ In the UK, skunks can be kept as pets, but the Animal Welfare Act 2006 made it illegal to remove their scent glands.
+
+See also
+List of fictional musteloids
+Skunk oil
+
+References
+External links
+
+Skunk at Curlie
+Skunks and the management of skunk damage Archived 13 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
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diff --git a/data/animals/sloth bear.txt b/data/animals/sloth bear.txt
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+The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), also known as the Indian bear, is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. It is the only species in the genus Melursus.
+It has also been called "labiated bear" because of its long lower lip and palate used for sucking up insects. It has long, shaggy fur, a mane around the face, and long, sickle-shaped claws. It is lankier than brown and Asian black bears.
+It shares features of insectivorous mammals and evolved during the Pleistocene from the ancestral brown bear through divergent evolution.
+Sloth bears breed during spring and early summer and give birth near the beginning of winter. When their territories are encroached upon by humans, they sometimes attack them. Historically, humans have drastically reduced these bears' habitat and diminished their population by hunting them for food and products such as their bacula and claws. Sloth bears have been tamed and used as performing animals and as pets.
+
+Taxonomy
+George Shaw in 1791 named the species Bradypus ursinus. In 1793, Meyer named it Melursus lybius, and in 1817, de Blainville named it Ursus labiatus because of its long lips. Illiger named it Prochilus hirsutus, the Greek genus name indicating long lips, while the specific name noted its long and coarse hair. Fischer called it Chondrorhynchus hirsutus, while Tiedemann named it Ursus longirostris.
+
+Subspecies and range
+Evolution
+Sloth bears may have reached their current form in the Early Pleistocene, the time when the bear family specialised and dispersed. A fragment of fossilised humerus from the Pleistocene, found in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool Basin is identical to the humerus of a modern sloth bear. The fossilised skulls of a bear once named Melursus theobaldi found in the Shivaliks from the Early Pleistocene or Early Pliocene are thought by certain authors to represent an intermediate stage between sloth bears and ancestral brown bears. M. theobaldi itself had teeth intermediate in size between sloth bears and other bear species, though its palate was the same size as the former species, leading to the theory that it is the sloth bear's direct ancestor. Sloth bears probably arose during the Middle Pliocene and evolved in the Indian subcontinent. The sloth bear shows evidence of having undergone a convergent evolution similar to that of other ant-eating mammals.
+
+Characteristics
+Sloth bears adults are medium-sized bears. The typical weight range for females is from 55 to 105 kg (121 to 231 lb), and for males is from 80 to 145 kg (176 to 320 lb). Exceptionally large female specimens can reach 124 kg (273 lb) and males up to 192 kg (423 lb). The average weight of sloth bears from the nominate subspecies in Nepal was 95 kg (209 lb) in females and 114 kg (251 lb) in males. Nominate bears in India were found to weigh average 93.2 kg (205 lb) in males and 83.3 kg (184 lb) in female per one study. Specimens from Sri Lanka (M. u. inornatus) may weigh up to 68.2 kg (150 lb) in females and 104.5 kg (230 lb) in males. However six Sri Lankan male sloth bears averaged only 74.8 kg (165 lb), and 57.5 kg (127 lb) was the average for four females, so Sri Lankan bears could be around 30% lighter in body mass than nominate race bears and with more pronounced size sexual dimorphism. They are 60–92 cm (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 0 in) high at the shoulder, and have a body length of 1.4–1.9 m (4 ft 7 in – 6 ft 3 in). Besides being smaller than males, females reportedly typically have more fur between their shoulders.Sloth bear muzzles are thick and long, with small jaws and bulbous snouts with wide nostrils. They have long lower lips which can be stretched over the outer edge of their noses, and they lack upper incisors, thus allowing them to suck up large numbers of insects. The premolars and molars are smaller than in other bears, as they do not chew as much vegetation. In adults, the teeth are usually in poor condition, due to the amount of soil they suck up and chew when feeding on insects. The back of the palate is long and broad, as is typical in other ant-eating mammals. The paws are disproportionately large, and have highly developed, sickle-shaped, blunt claws which measure 10 cm (4 in) in length. Their toe pads are connected by a hairless web. They have the longest tail in the bear family, which can grow to 15–18 cm (6–7 in). Their back legs are not very strong, though they are knee-jointed, and allow them to assume almost any position. The ears are very large and floppy. The sloth bear is the only bear with long hair on its ears.Sloth bear fur is completely black (rusty for some specimens), save for a whitish Y- or V-shaped mark on the chest. This feature is sometimes absent, particularly in Sri Lankan specimens. This feature, which is also present in Asian black bears and sun bears, is thought to serve as a threat display, as all three species are sympatric with tigers (tigers usually do not carry out attacks on an adult bear if the bear is aware or facing the cat). The coat is long, shaggy, and unkempt, despite the relatively warm environment in which the species is found, and is particularly heavy behind the neck and between the shoulders, forming a mane which can be 30 cm (12 in) long. The belly and underlegs can be almost bare. Sloth bears are usually about the same size as an Asian black bear but are immediately distinctive for their shaggier coat, whitish claws, as well as their typically rangier build. Their head and mouth is highly distinct from that of a black bear with a longer, narrower skull shape (particularly the snout), loose-looking, flappier lips and paler muzzle colour. In few areas of overlap, sloth bear confusion with sun bears is unlikely, given the latter species considerably smaller size, much shorter fur, wrinkled folding skin (especially around the back), bolder chest marking and drastically different, more compact head structure and appearance.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The sloth bear's global range includes India, the Terai of Nepal, temperate climatic zones of Bhutan and Sri Lanka. It occurs in a wide range of habitats including moist and dry tropical forests, savannahs, scrublands and grasslands below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) on the Indian subcontinent, and below 300 m (980 ft) in Sri Lanka's dry forests. It is regionally extinct in Bangladesh.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Adult sloth bears may travel in pairs. Males are often observed to be gentle with cubs. They may fight for food. They walk in a slow, shambling motion, with their feet being set down in a noisy, flapping motion. They are capable of galloping faster than running humans. Although they appear slow and clumsy, both young and adult sloth bears are excellent climbers. They occasionally will climb to feed and to rest, though not to escape enemies, as they prefer to stand their ground. Sloth bear mothers carry their cubs up trees as the primary defense against attacks by predators instead of sending them up trees. The cubs can be threatened by predators such as tigers, leopards, and other bears. They are adequate climbers on more accessible trees but cannot climb as quickly or on as varied surfaces as can black bears due to the sloth species' more elongated claw structure. Given their smaller size and still shorter claws, sloth bear cubs probably climb more proficiently than adults (much as brown bear cubs can climb well but not adults). They are good swimmers, and primarily enter water to play.To mark their territories, sloth bears scrape trees with their forepaws, and rub against them with their flanks. Sloth bears are recorded to produce several sounds and vocals. Howls, squeals, screams, barks and trumpet-like calls are made during aggressive encounters while huffing is made as a warning signal. Chuffing calls are made when disturbed. Females keep in contact with their cubs with a grunt-whicker while cubs yelp when separated.
+
+Reproduction
+The breeding season for sloth bears varies according to location: in India, they mate in April, May, and June, and give birth in December and early January, while in Sri Lanka, it occurs all year. Sows gestate for 210 days, and typically give birth in caves or in shelters under boulders. Litters usually consist of one or two cubs, or rarely three. Cubs are born blind, and open their eyes after four weeks. Sloth bear cubs develop quickly compared to most other bear species: they start walking a month after birth, become independent at 24–36 months, and become sexually mature at the age of three years. Young cubs ride on their mother's back when she walks, runs, or climbs trees until they reach a third of her size. Individual riding positions are maintained by cubs through fighting. Intervals between litters can last two to three years.
+
+Dietary habits
+Sloth bears are expert hunters of termites and ants, which they locate by smell. On arriving at a mound, they scrape at the structure with their claws till they reach the large combs at the bottom of the galleries, and disperse the soil with violent puffs. The termites are then sucked up through the muzzle, producing a sucking sound which can be heard 180 m away. Their sense of smell is strong enough to detect grubs 3 ft below ground. Unlike other bears, they do not congregate in feeding groups. Sloth bears may supplement their diets with fruit, plant matter, carrion, and very rarely other mammals. In March and April, they eat the fallen petals of mowha trees and are partial to mangoes, sugar cane, jackfruit, and the pods of the golden shower tree. Sloth bears are extremely fond of honey. When feeding their cubs, sows are reported to regurgitate a mixture of half-digested jack fruit, wood apples, and pieces of honeycomb. This sticky substance hardens into a dark yellow, circular, bread-like mass which is fed to the cubs. This "bear's bread" is considered a delicacy by some of India's natives. Rarely, Sloth bears can become addicted to sweets in hotel waste visiting rubbish bins even inside populated towns all year long. Their diet includes animal flesh.In Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, seeds of six tree species eaten and excreted by sloth bears (Artocarpus hirsuta, A. integrifolia, Cassia fistula, Mangifera indica, Zizyphus oenoplina) did not see significantly different percentages of germination (appearance of cotyledon) when compared to germinated seeds that had not been passed through the gut of the bears. However, seeds germinated much faster after being ingested by bears for three species, Artocarpus hirsuta, Cassia fistula, and Zizyphus oenoplina. This experiment suggests that sloth bears may play an important role in seed dispersal and germination, with effects varying by tree species.
+
+Relationships with other animals
+The large canine teeth of sloth bears, relative to both its overall body size and to the size of the canine teeth of other bear species, and the aggressive disposition of sloth bears, may be a defense in interactions with large, dangerous animals, such as the tiger, elephant, and rhinoceros, as well as prehistoric species such as Megantereon.Bengal tigers occasionally prey on sloth bears. Tigers usually give sloth bears a wide berth, though some specimens may become habitual bear killers, and it is not uncommon to find sloth bear fur in tiger scats. Tigers typically hunt sloth bears by waiting for them near termite mounds, then creeping behind them and seizing them by the back of their necks and forcing them to the ground with their weight. One tiger was reported to simply break its victim's back with its paw, then wait for the paralysed bear to exhaust itself trying to escape before going in for the kill. When confronted by tigers face to face, sloth bears charge at them, crying loudly. A young or already sated tiger usually retreats from an assertive sloth bear, as the bear's claws can inflict serious wounds, and most tigers end the hunt if the bears become aware of the tiger's presence before the pounce. Sloth bears may scavenge on tiger kills. As tigers are known to mimic the calls of sambar deer to attract them, sloth bears react fearfully even to the sounds made by deer themselves. In 2011, a female bear with cubs was observed to stand her ground and prevail in a confrontation against two tigers (one female, one male) in rapid succession.Besides tigers there are few predators of sloth bears. Leopards can also be a threat, as they are able to follow sloth bears up trees. Bear cubs are probably far more vulnerable and healthy adult bears may be avoided by leopards. One leopard killed a three-quarters grown female sloth bear in an apparently lengthy fight that culminated in the trees. Apparently, a sloth bear killed a leopard in a confrontation in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka but was itself badly injured in the fight and was subsequently put down by park rangers. Sloth bears occasionally chase leopards from their kills. Dhole packs may attack sloth bears. When attacking them, dholes try to prevent the bear from retreating into caves. Unlike tigers which prey on sloth bears of all size, there is little evidence that dholes are a threat to fully-grown sloth bears other than exceptionally rare cases. In one case, a golden jackal (a species much smaller and less powerful than a sloth bear and not generally a pack hunter as is the dhole) was seen to aggressively displace an adult bear which passively loped away from the snapping canid, indicating the sloth bear does not regard other carnivores as competition.Sloth bears are sympatric with Asiatic black bears in northern India, and the two species, along with the sun bear, coexist in some of the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. They are also found together in Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram, in the hills south of the Brahmaputra River, the only places occupied by all three bear species. The three species do not act aggressively toward each other. This may be because the three species generally differ in habit and dietary preferences.Asian elephants apparently do not tolerate sloth bears in their vicinity. The reason for this is unknown, as individual elephants known to maintain their composure near tigers have been reported to charge bears. The Indian rhinoceros has a similar intolerance for sloth bears, and will charge at them.
+
+Status and conservation
+IUCN estimates that fewer than 20,000 sloth bears survive in the wilds of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. The sloth bear is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which provides for their legal protection. Commercial international trade of the sloth bear (including 
+parts and derivatives) is prohibited as it is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.To address the human-bear conflict, people may be educated about the conservation ethics, particularly among locals. To resolve this conflict, the basic issue of deteriorating habitat, which is the reason for the conflict between people and bears, improvements through government or community-based reforestation programmes, may be promoted.The population of sloth bears grows when they live in high-profile reserves that protect species, such as tigers and elephants. Directly managed reserves could conserve the sloth bear, hence such reserves must be supported. Managing garbage, especially hotel waste with foods, is essential in situations where sloth bears get used to entering towns with an increase in the number of accidental attacks on humans.The government of India has banned use of sloth bears for entertainment, and a 'Sloth Bear Welfare Project' in the country has the objective of putting an end to their use for entertainment. However, their number in such activity is still large. Many organisations are helping in the conservation and preservation of sloth bears in safe places. Sloth bears previously used for entertainment are being rehabilitated in facilities like Agra Bear Rescue Facility run by Wildlife SOS and others. Major sloth bear sanctuaries in India include the Daroji bear sanctuary, Karnataka.Sloth bears have also been found dead in traps, electrocuted, or killed by other means by poachers, with body parts (i.e. canines, claws, gall bladder, paws, etc) usually removed for the illegal wildlife trade.
+
+Relationships with humans
+Attacks on humans
+Sloth bears are one of the most aggressive extant bears and, due to large human populations often closely surrounding reserves that hold bears, aggressive encounters and attacks are relatively frequent, though in some places, attacks appear to be a reaction to encountering people accidentally. In absolute numbers, this is the species of bear that most regularly attacks humans. Only the Himalayan black bear subspecies of Asian black bear is nearly as dangerous. Sloth bears likely view humans as potential predators, as their reactions to them (roaring, followed by retreat or charging) are similar to those evoked in the presence of tigers and leopards. Their long claws, which are ideally adapted for digging at termite mounds, make adults less capable of climbing trees to escape danger, as are other bears such as Asian black bears. Therefore, sloth bears have seemingly evolved to deal with threats by behaving aggressively. For the same reason, brown bears can be similarly inclined, accounting for the relatively high incidence of seemingly nonpredatory aggression towards humans in these two bear species.According to Robert Armitage Sterndale, in his Mammalia of India (1884, p. 62):
+
+[The sloth bear] is also more inclined to attack man unprovoked than almost any other animal, and casualties inflicted by it are unfortunately very common, the victim being often terribly disfigured even if not killed, as the bear strikes at the head and face. [William Thomas] Blanford was inclined to consider bears more dangerous than tigers...
+Captain Williamson in his Oriental Field Sports wrote of how sloth bears rarely killed their human victims outright, but would suck and chew on their limbs till they were reduced to bloody pulps. One specimen, known as the sloth bear of Mysore, was responsible for the deaths of 12 people and the mutilation of 24 others. It was shot by Kenneth Anderson. Although sloth bears have attacked humans, they rarely become man-eaters. Dunbar-Brander's Wild Animals of Central India mentions a case in which a sow with two cubs began a six-week reign of terror in Chanda, a district of the Central Provinces, during which more than one of their victims had been eaten, while the sloth bear of Mysore partially ate at least three of its victims. R.G. Burton deduced from comparing statistics that sloth bears killed more people than Asian black bears, and Theodore Roosevelt considered them to be more dangerous than American black bears. Unlike some other bear species, which at times make mock charges at humans when surprised or frightened without making physical contact, sloth bears frequently appear to initiate a physical attack almost immediately. When people living near an aggressive population of sloth bears were armed with rifles, it was found that it was an ineffective form of defense, since the bear apparently charges and knocks the victim back (often knocking the rifle away) before the human has the chance to defend themself. In Madhya Pradesh, sloth bear attacks accounted for the deaths of 48 people and the injuring of 686 others between 1989 and 1994, probably due in part to the density of population and competition for food sources. A total of 137 attacks (resulting in 11 deaths) occurred between April 1998 and December 2000 in the North Bilaspur Forest Division of Chhattisgarh. The majority of attacks were perpetrated by single bears, and occurred in kitchen gardens, crop fields, and in adjoining forests during the monsoon season. One Mr. Watts Jones wrote a first-hand account of how it feels to be attacked by a sloth bear, recalling when he failed to score a direct hit against a bear he had targeted:
+
+I do not know exactly what happened next, neither does my hunter who was with me; but I believe, from the marks in the snow, that in his rush the bear knocked me over backwards in fact, knocked me three or four feet away. When next I remember anything, the bear's weight was on me, and he was biting my leg. He bit two or three times. I felt the flesh crush, but I felt no pain at all. It was rather like having a tooth out with gas. I felt no particular terror, though I thought the bear had got me; but in a hazy sort of way I wondered when he would kill me, and thought what a fool I was to get killed by a stupid beast like a bear. The shikari then very pluckily came up and fired a shot into the bear, and he left me. I felt the weight lift off me, and got up. I did not think I was much hurt. ... The main wound was a flap of flesh torn out of the inside of my left thigh and left hanging. It was fairly deep, and I could see all the muscles working underneath when I lifted it up to clean the wound."
+In 2016, according to a forest official, a female bear had killed three people, and hurt five others in Gujarat State's Banaskantha district, near Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary, with some of the casualties being colleagues. At first, an attempt was made to trace and cage it, but this failed, costing the life of one official, and so a team of both officials and policemen shot the bear.In Karnataka's Bellary district, most of the attacks by sloth bears occurred outside forests, when they entered settlements and farmlands in search of food and water.In Mount Abu town in southern Rajasthan, sloth bears attacked people inside towns where they were seeking hotel waste in rubbish bins and encountered people by chance. Though such attacks were concomitant with increasing tourism activity, quite remarkably, local residents have not retaliated against the sloth bears. The absence of retaliation in many locations of India appears related to cultural norms and the dominant religion Hinduism where nature and animals are worshipped as deities.
+
+Hunting and products
+One method of hunting sloth bears involved the use of beaters, in which case, a hunter waiting on a post could either shoot the approaching bear through the shoulder or on the white chest mark if it was moving directly to him. Sloth bears are very resistant to body shots, and can charge hunters if wounded, though someone of steady nerves could score a direct hit from within a few paces of a charging bear. Sloth bears were easy to track during the wet season, as their clear footprints could be followed straight to their lairs. The majority of sloth bears killed in forests were due to chance encounters with them during hunts for other game. In hilly or mountainous regions, two methods were used to hunt them there. One was to lie in wait above the bear's lair at dawn and wait for the bear to return from its nocturnal foraging. Another was to rouse them at daytime by firing flares into the cave to draw them out. Sloth bears were also occasionally speared on horseback. In Sri Lanka, the baculum of a sloth bear was once used as a charm against barrenness.
+
+Tameability
+Officers in British India often kept sloth bears as pets. The wife of Kenneth Anderson kept an orphaned sloth bear cub from Mysore, which she named "Bruno". The bear was fed all sorts of things and was very affectionate toward people. It was even taught numerous tricks, such as cradling a woodblock like a baby or pointing a bamboo stick like a gun.[1]
+Dancing bears were historically a popular entertainment in India, dating back to the 13th century and the pre-Mughal era. The Kalandars, who practised the tradition of capturing sloth bears for entertainment purposes, were often employed in the courts of Mughal emperors to stage spectacles involving trained bears. They were once common in the towns of Calcutta, where they often disturbed the horses of British officers.Despite a ban on the practice that was enacted in 1972, as many as 800 dancing bears were in the streets of India during the latter part of the 20th century, particularly on the highway between Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. Sloth bear cubs, which were usually purchased at the age of six months from traders and poachers, were trained to dance and follow commands through coercive stimuli and starvation. Males were castrated at an early age, and their teeth were knocked out at the age of one year to prevent them from seriously injuring their handlers. The bears were typically fitted with a nose ring attached to a four-foot leash. Some were found to be blind from malnutrition.In 2009, following a seven-year campaign by a coalition of Indian and international animal welfare groups, the last Kalandar dancing bear was set free. The effort to end the practice involved helping the bear handlers find jobs and education, which enabled them to reduce their reliance on dancing-bear income.
+
+Cultural references
+Charles Catton included the bear in his 1788 book Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta, describing it as an "animal of the bear-kind" and saying it was properly called the "Petre Bear".In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Baloo "the sleepy old brown bear" teaches the Law of the Jungle to the wolf cubs of the Seeonee wolf pack, as well as to his most challenging pupil, the "man-cub" Mowgli. Robert Armitage Sterndale, from whom Kipling derived most of his knowledge of Indian fauna, used the Hindustani word bhalu for several bear species, though Daniel Karlin, who edited the Penguin Classics reissue of The Jungle Book in 1989, stated, with the exception of colour, Kipling's descriptions of Baloo are consistent with the sloth bear, as brown bears and Asian black bears do not occur in the Seoni area where the novel takes place. Also, the name "sloth" can be used in the context of sleepiness. Karlin states, however, that Baloo's diet of ".. only roots and nuts and honey" is a trait more common to the Asian black bear than to the sloth bear.Local names:
+
+Gujarati: રીંછ, rīn̄ch; also rinchh
+Hindi: भालू, bhālū; रीछ, rīch
+Odia: ଭାଲୁ, bhālu
+Bengali: শ্লথ ভালুক, ślath bhaluk; kālō bhāluk; also bhaluk
+Sanskrit: ऋक्ष, ṛkṣa; also rikspa
+Kannada: ಕರಡಿ, karaḍi; kaddi
+Tamil: கரடி, karaṭi; kaddi
+Malayalam: കരടി, karaṭi
+Telugu: ఎలుగుబంటి, elugubaṇṭi; also elugu
+Marathi: अस्वल, asval; also aswal
+Gond: yerid, yedjal and asol
+Kol: bana
+Oraon: bir mendi
+Sinhala: වලසා, valasā; also usa
+Nepali: भालु, bhālu
+Punjabi: ਰਿੱਛ, richh
+
+References
+Cited sources
+Brown, Gary (1993). The Great Bear Almanac. Lyons & Burford. ISBN 1558212108.
+Garshelis, D. L.; Joshi, A. R.; Smith, J. L. D. & Rice, C. G. (1999). "Sloth Bear Conservation Action Plan". In Servheen, C.; Herrero, S. & Peyton, B. (eds.). Bears: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Bear Specialist Group. ISBN 2831704626.
+
+External links
+
+PDF1
+PDF2
+Field Trip Earth – Field Trip Earth is a conservation education website operated by the North Carolina Zoological Society.
+Sloth Bear at Animal Diversity Web
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/snow leopard.txt b/data/animals/snow leopard.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6d21182dd7304139045d572f461904c34c26e760
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/snow leopard.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), commonly known as the ounce, is a species of large cat in the genus Panthera of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is mainly threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments. It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000–4,500 m (9,800–14,800 ft), ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. In the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations.
+Taxonomically, the snow leopard was long classified in the monotypic genus Uncia. Since phylogenetic studies revealed the relationships among Panthera species, it has since been considered a member of that genus. Two subspecies were described based on morphological differences, but genetic differences between the two have not yet been confirmed. It is therefore regarded as a monotypic species. The species is widely depicted in Kyrgyz culture.
+
+Naming and etymology
+The Old French word once, which was intended to be used for the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), is where the Latin name uncia and the English word ounce both originate. Once is believed to have originated from a previous form of the word lynx through a process known as false splitting. The word once was originally considered to be pronounced as l'once, where l' stands for the elided form of the word la ('the') in French. Once was then understood to be the name of the animal.
+The word panther derives from the classical Latin panthēra, itself from the ancient Greek πάνθηρ pánthēr, which was used for spotted cats.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+Felis uncia was the scientific name used by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1777 who described a snow leopard based on an earlier description by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, assuming that the cat occurred along the Barbary Coast, in Persia, East India and China. The genus name Uncia was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1854 for Asian cats with a long and thick tail. Felis irbis, proposed by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1830, was a skin of a female snow leopard collected in the Altai Mountains. He also clarified that several leopard (P. pardus) skins were previously misidentified as snow leopard skins. Felis uncioides proposed by Thomas Horsfield in 1855 was a snow leopard skin from Nepal in the collection of the Museum of the East India Company.Uncia uncia was used by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1930 when he reviewed skins and skulls of Panthera species from Asia. He also described morphological differences between snow leopard and leopard skins.Panthera baikalensis-romanii proposed by a Russian scientist in 2000 was a dark brown snow leopard skin from the Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky District in southern Transbaikal.The snow leopard was long classified in the monotypic genus Uncia.
+They were subordinated to the genus Panthera based on results of phylogenetic studies.Until spring 2017, there was no evidence available for the recognition of subspecies. Results of a phylogeographic analysis indicate that three subspecies should be recognised:
+P. u. uncia in the range countries of the Pamir Mountains
+P. u. irbis in Mongolia, and
+P. u. uncioides in the Himalayas and Qinghai.This view has been both contested and supported by different researchers.Additionally, an extinct subspecies Panthera uncia pyrenaica was described in 2022 based on material found in France.
+
+Evolution
+Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the DNA sequence sampled across the living Felidae, the snow leopard forms a sister group with the tiger (P. tigris). The genetic divergence time of this group is estimated at 4.62 to 1.82 million years ago. The snow leopard and the tiger probably diverged between 3.7 to 2.7 million years ago. Panthera originates most likely in northern Central Asia. Panthera blytheae excavated in western Tibet's Ngari Prefecture is the oldest known Panthera species and exhibits skull characteristics similar to the snow leopard.The mitochondrial genomes of the snow leopard, the leopard and the lion (P. leo) are more similar to each other than their nuclear genomes, indicating that their ancestors hybridised at some point in their evolution.
+
+Characteristics
+The snow leopard's fur is whitish to grey with black spots on the head and neck, with larger rosettes on the back, flanks and bushy tail. Its muzzle is short, its forehead domed, and its nasal cavities are large. The fur is thick with hairs measuring 5 to 12 cm (2.0 to 4.7 in) in length, and its underbelly is whitish. They are stocky, short-legged, and slightly smaller than other cats of the genus Panthera, reaching a shoulder height of 56 cm (22 in), and ranging in head to body size from 75 to 150 cm (30 to 59 in). Its tail is 80 to 105 cm (31 to 41 in) long. Males average 45 to 55 kg (99 to 121 lb), and females 35 to 40 kg (77 to 88 lb). Occasionally, large males reaching 75 kg (165 lb) have been recorded, and small females under 25 kg (55 lb).
+Its canine teeth are 28.6 mm (1.13 in) long and are more slender than those of the other Panthera species.
+In relation to the length of their skull and width of their palate, they have large nasal openings, which allow for increasing the volume of air inhaled with each breath, and at the same time for warming and humidifying cold dry air. They are not especially adapted to high-altitude hypoxia.The snow leopard shows several adaptations for living in a cold, mountainous environments. Its small rounded ears help to minimize heat loss. Their broad paws well distribute the body weight for walking on snow, and have fur on their undersides to enhance the grip on steep and unstable surfaces; they also help to minimize heat loss. Its long and flexible tail helps to balance the cat in the rocky terrain. The tail is very thick due to fat storage, and is covered in a thick layer of fur, which allows the cat to use it like a blanket to protect its face when asleep.The snow leopard differs from the other Panthera species by a shorter muzzle, an elevated forehead, a vertical chin and a less developed posterior process of the lower jaw. They cannot roar despite its partly ossified hyoid bone, as their 9 mm (0.35 in) short vocal folds provide little resistance to airflow.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The snow leopard is distributed from the west of Lake Baikal through southern Siberia, in the Kunlun Mountains, Altai Mountains, Sayan and Tannu-Ola Mountains, in the Tian Shan, through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the Hindu Kush in eastern Afghanistan, Karakoram in northern Pakistan, in the Pamir Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau and in the high elevations of the Himalayas in India, Nepal and Bhutan. In Mongolia, they inhabit the Mongolian and Gobi Altai Mountains and the Khangai Mountains. In Tibet, they occur up to the Altyn-Tagh in the north.
+They inhabit alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000 to 4,500 m (9,800 to 14,800 ft), but also lives at lower elevations in the northern part of their range.
+Potential snow leopard habitat in the Indian Himalayas is estimated at less than 90,000 km2 (35,000 sq mi) in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, of which about 34,000 km2 (13,000 sq mi) is considered good habitat, and 14.4% is protected. In the beginning of the 1990s, the Indian snow leopard population was estimated at 200–600 individuals living across about 25 protected areas.In summer, the snow leopard usually lives above the tree line on alpine meadows and in rocky regions at elevations of 2,700 to 6,000 m (8,900 to 19,700 ft). In winter, they descend to elevations around 1,200 to 2,000 m (3,900 to 6,600 ft). They prefer rocky, broken terrain, and can move in 85 cm (33 in) deep snow, but prefers to use existing trails made by other animals.Snow leopards were recorded by camera traps at 16 locations in northeastern Afghanistan's isolated Wakhan Corridor.
+
+Behavior and ecology
+The snow leopard's vocalizations include meowing, grunting, prusten and moaning. They can purr when exhaling.It is solitary and mostly active at dawn till early morning, and again in afternoons and early evenings. They mostly rest near cliffs and ridges that provide vantage points and shade. In Nepal's Shey Phoksundo National Park, the home ranges of five adult radio-collared snow leopards largely overlapped, though they rarely met. Their individual home ranges ranged from 12 to 39 km2 (4.6 to 15.1 sq mi). Males moved between 0.5 and 5.45 km (0.31 and 3.39 mi) per day, and females between 0.2 and 2.25 km (0.12 and 1.40 mi), measured in straight lines between survey points. Since they often zigzagged in the precipitous terrain, they actually moved up to 7 km (4.3 mi) in a single night.
+Up to 10 individuals inhabit an area of 100 km2 (40 sq mi); in habitats with sparse prey, an area of 1,000 km2 (400 sq mi) usually supports only five individuals.A study in the Gobi Desert from 2008 to 2014 revealed that adult males used a mean home range of 144–270 km2 (56–104 sq mi), while adult females ranged in areas of 83–165 km2 (32–64 sq mi). Their home ranges overlapped less than 20%. These results indicate that about 40% of the 170 protected areas in their range countries are smaller than the home range of a single male snow leopard.Snow leopards leave scent marks to indicate their territories and common travel routes. They scrape the ground with the hind feet before depositing urine or feces, but also spray urine onto rocks. Their urine contains many characteristic low molecular weight compounds with diverse functional groups including pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, 3-octanone, nonanal and indole, which possibly play a role in chemical communication.
+
+Hunting and diet
+The snow leopard is a carnivore and actively hunts its prey. Its preferred wild prey species are Himalayan blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), argali (Ovis ammon), markhor (Capra falconeri) and wild goat (C. aegagrus). They also prey on domestic livestock. They prefer prey ranging in weight from 36 to 76 kg (79 to 168 lb), but also hunts smaller mammals such as Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana), pika and vole species. Its diet depends on prey availability and varies across its range and season. In the Himalayas, it preys mostly on Himalayan blue sheep, Siberian ibex (C. sibirica), white-bellied musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). In the Karakoram, Tian Shan, Altai and Mongolia's Tost Mountains, its main prey consists of Siberian ibex, Thorold's deer (Cervus albirostris), Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) and argali. Snow leopard feces collected in northern Pakistan also contained remains of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), Cape hare (Lepus capensis), house mouse (Mus musculus), Kashmir field mouse (Apodemus rusiges), grey dwarf hamster (Cricetulus migratorius) and Turkestan rat (Rattus pyctoris). In 2017, a snow leopard was photographed carrying a freshly killed woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus) near Gangotri National Park. In Mongolia, domestic sheep comprises less than 20% of its diet, although wild prey has been reduced and interactions with people are common.Snow leopards actively pursue prey down steep mountainsides, using the momentum of their initial leap to chase animals for up to 300 m (980 ft). They drag the prey to a safe location and consume all edible parts of the carcass. They can survive on a single Himalayan blue sheep for two weeks before hunting again, and one adult individual apparently needs 20–30 adult blue sheep per year. Snow leopards have been recorded to hunt successfully in pairs, especially mating pairs.The snow leopard is capable of killing most animals in its range, with the probable exception of the adult male yak. They also eat a significant amount of vegetation, including grass and twigs. They have not been reported to attack humans, and is easily driven away from livestock and readily abandons kills, often without defending themselves.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+Snow leopards become sexually mature at two to three years, and normally live for 15–18 years in the wild. In captivity they can live for up to 25 years. Oestrus typically lasts five to eight days, and males tend not to seek out another partner after mating, probably because the short mating season does not allow sufficient time. Paired snow leopards mate in the usual felid posture, from 12 to 36 times a day. They are unusual among large cats in that they have a well-defined birth peak. They usually mate in late winter, marked by a noticeable increase in marking and calling. Females have a gestation period of 90–100 days, and the cubs are born between April and June. 
+A litter usually consists of two to three cubs, in exceptional cases there can be up to seven.The female gives birth in a rocky den or crevice lined with fur shed from her underside. The cubs are born blind and helpless, although already with a thick coat of fur, and weigh 320 to 567 g (11.3 to 20.0 oz). Their eyes open at around seven days, and the cubs can walk at five weeks and are fully weaned by 10 weeks. The cubs leave the den when they are around two to four months of age. Three radio-collared snow leopards in Mongolia's Tost Mountains gave birth between late April and late June. Two female cubs started to part from their mothers at the age of 20 to 21 months, but reunited with them several times for a few days over a period of 4–7 months. One male cub separated from its mother at the age of about 22 months, but stayed in her vicinity for a month and moved out of his natal range at 23 months of age.The snow leopard has a generation length of eight years.
+
+Threats
+Major threats to the population include poaching and illegal trade of its skins and body parts. Between 1999 and 2002, three live snow leopard cubs and 16 skins were confiscated, 330 traps were destroyed and 110 poachers were arrested in Kyrgyzstan. Undercover operations in the country revealed an illegal trade network with links to Russia and China via Kazakhstan. The major skin trade center in the region is the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang. In Tibet and Mongolia, skins are used for traditional dresses, and meat in traditional Tibetan medicine to cure kidney problems; bones are used in traditional Chinese and Mongolian medicine for treating rheumatism, injuries and pain of human bones and tendons. Between 1996 and 2002, 37 skins were found in wildlife markets and tourist shops in Mongolia. Between 2003 and 2016, 710 skins were traded, of which 288 skins were confiscated. In China, an estimated 103 to 236 animals are poached every year, in Mongolia between 34 and 53, in Pakistan between 23 and 53, in India from 21 to 45, and in Tajikistan 20 to 25. In 2016, a survey of Chinese websites revealed 15 advertisements for 44 snow leopard products; the dealers offered skins, canine teeth, claws and a tongue. In September 2014, nine snow leopard skins were found during a market survey in Afghanistan.Greenhouse gas emissions will likely cause a shift of the treeline in the Himalayas and a shrinking of the alpine zone, which may reduce snow leopard habitat by an estimated 30%.Where snow leopards prey on domestic livestock, they are subject to human–wildlife conflict. 
+The loss of natural prey due to overgrazing by livestock, poaching, and defense of livestock are the major drivers for the ever decreasing snow leopard population. Livestock also cause habitat degradation, which, alongside the increasing use of forests for fuel, reduces snow leopard habitat.
+
+Conservation
+The snow leopard is listed in CITES Appendix I. They have been listed as threatened with extinction in Schedule I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals since 1985.
+Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Kyrgyzstan since the 1950s. In India, the snow leopard is granted the highest level of protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and hunting is sentenced with imprisonment of 3–7 years. In Nepal, they have been legally protected since 1973, with penalties of 5–15 years in prison and a fine for poaching and trading them.
+Since 1978, they have been listed in the Soviet Union’s Red Book and is still inscribed today in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation as threatened with extinction. Hunting snow leopards is only permitted for the purposes of conservation and monitoring, and to eliminate a threat to the life of humans and livestock. Smuggling of snow leopard body parts is punished with imprisonment and a fine.
+Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Afghanistan since 1986.
+In China, they have been protected by law since 1989; hunting and trading snow leopards or their body parts constitute a criminal offence that is punishable by the confiscation of property, a fine and a sentence of at least 10 years in prison.
+They have been protected in Bhutan since 1995.At the end of 2020, 35 cameras were installed on the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan in hopes to catch footage of snow leopards. In November 2021, it was announced by the Russian World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that snow leopards were spotted 65 times on these cameras in the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains since the cameras were installed.
+
+Global Snow Leopard Forum
+In 2013, government leaders and officials from all 12 countries encompassing the snow leopard's range (Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) came together at the Global Snow Leopard Forum (GSLF) initiated by the then-President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, and the State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry under the government of Kyrgyzstan. The meeting was held in Bishkek, and all countries agreed that the snow leopard and the high mountain habitat need trans-boundary support to ensure a viable future for snow leopard populations, and to safeguard its fragile environment. The event brought together many partners, including NGOs like the Snow Leopard Conservancy, the Snow Leopard Trust, and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union. Also supporting the initiative were the Snow Leopard Network, the World Bank's Global Tiger Initiative, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Wild Fund for Nature, the United States Agency for International Development, and Global Environment Facility.At the GSLF meeting, the 12 range countries signed the Bishkek Declaration, which stated: "[We] acknowledge that the snow leopard is an irreplaceable symbol of our nations' natural and cultural heritage and an indicator of the health and sustainability of mountain ecosystems; and we recognize that mountain ecosystems inhabited by snow leopards provide essential ecosystem services, including storing and releasing water from the origins of river systems benefitting one-third of the world’s human population; sustaining the pastoral and agricultural livelihoods of local communities which depend on biodiversity for food, fuel, fodder, and medicine; and offering inspiration, recreation, and economic opportunities."
+
+In captivity
+The Moscow Zoo exhibited the first captive snow leopard in 1872 that had been caught in Turkestan. In Kyrgyzstan, 420 live snow leopards were caught between 1936 and 1988 and exported to zoos around the world. The Bronx Zoo housed a live snow leopard in 1903; this was the first ever specimen exhibited in a North American zoo. The first captive bred snow leopard cubs were born in the 1990s in the Beijing Zoo.
+The Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan was initiated in 1984; by 1986, American zoos held 234 individuals.
+
+Cultural significance
+The snow leopard is widely used in heraldry and as an emblem in Central Asia. They have long been used as a political symbol, the Aq Bars ('White Leopard'), by Tatars, Kazakhs, and Bulgars. A snow leopard is depicted on the official seal of Almaty and on the former 10,000 Kazakhstani tenge banknote. A mythical winged Aq Bars is depicted on the national coat of arms of Tatarstan, the seal of the city of Samarqand, Uzbekistan and the old coat of arms of Astana. In Kyrgyzstan, they have been used in highly stylized form in the modern emblem of the capital Bishkek, and the same art has been integrated into the badge of the Kyrgyzstan Girl Scouts Association. They are also considered to be a sacred creature by the Kyrgyz people. A crowned snow leopard features in the arms of Shushensky District in Russia. It is the state animal of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh in India.
+
+See also
+List of largest cats
+
+References
+Further reading
+Jackson, R.; Hillard, D. (June 1986). "Tracking the Elusive Snow Leopard". National Geographic. Vol. 169, no. 6. pp. 793–809. OCLC 643483454.
+Janczewski, D. N.; Modi, W. S.; Stephens, J. C.; O'Brien, S. J. (July 1995). "Molecular Evolution of Mitochondrial 12S RNA and Cytochrome b Sequences in the Pantherine Lineage of Felidae". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 12 (4): 690–707. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040232. PMID 7544865.
+
+External links
+
+"The Snow Leopard Network". Snow Leopard Network.
+"Ensuring Snow Leopard survival and conserving mountain landscapes by expanding environmental awareness and sharing innovative practices through community stewardship and partnerships". Snow Leopard Conservancy.
+"Snow Leopard Program". Panthera. Archived from the original on 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
+"Snow Leopard". IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.
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diff --git a/data/animals/spider monkey.txt b/data/animals/spider monkey.txt
new file mode 100644
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+Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus Ateles, part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The genus consists of seven species, all of which are under threat; the brown spider monkey is critically endangered. They are also notable for their ability to be easily bred in captivity.
+Disproportionately long limbs and long prehensile tails make them one of the largest New World monkeys and give rise to their common name. Spider monkeys live in the upper layers of the rainforest, and forage in the high canopy, from 25 to 30 m (82 to 98 ft). They primarily eat fruits, but will also occasionally consume leaves, flowers, and insects. Due to their large size, spider monkeys require large tracts of moist evergreen forests, and prefer undisturbed primary rainforest. They are social animals and live in bands of up to 35 individuals, but will split up to forage during the day.Recent meta-analyses on primate cognition studies indicated spider monkeys are the most intelligent New World monkeys. They can produce a wide range of sounds and will "bark" when threatened; other vocalisations include a whinny similar to a horse and prolonged screams.They are an important food source due to their large size, so are widely hunted by local human populations; they are also threatened by habitat destruction due to logging and land clearing. Spider monkeys are susceptible to malaria and are used in laboratory studies of the disease. The population trend for spider monkeys is decreasing; the IUCN Red List lists one species as vulnerable, five species as endangered and one species as critically endangered.
+
+Evolutionary history
+Theories abound about the evolution of the atelines; one theory is they are most closely related to the woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles), and most likely split from woolly monkeys (Lagothrix) in the South American lowland forest, to evolve their unique locomotory system. This theory is not supported by fossil evidence. Other theories include Brachyteles, Lagothrix and Ateles in an unresolved trichotomy, and two clades, one composed of Ateles and Lagothrix and the other of Alouatta and Brachyteles. More recent molecular evidence suggests the Atelinae split in the middle to late Miocene (13 Ma), separating spider monkeys from the woolly spider monkeys and the woolly monkeys.
+
+Taxonomic classification
+The genus name Ateles derives from the ancient greek word ἀτέλεια (atéleia), meaning "incomplete, imperfect", in reference to the reduced or non-existent thumbs of spider monkeys.
+The genus contains seven species, and seven subspecies.
+Family Atelidae
+Subfamily Alouattinae: howler monkeys
+Subfamily Atelinae
+Genus Ateles: spider monkeys
+Red-faced spider monkey, Ateles paniscus
+White-fronted spider monkey, Ateles belzebuth
+Peruvian spider monkey, Ateles chamek
+Brown spider monkey, Ateles hybridus
+White-cheeked spider monkey, Ateles marginatus
+Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps
+Brown-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps fusciceps
+Colombian spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps rufiventris
+Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi
+Hooded spider monkey Ateles geoffroyi grisescens
+Yucatan spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis
+Mexican spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus
+Nicaraguan spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi
+Ornate spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi ornatus
+Genus Brachyteles: muriquis (woolly spider monkeys)
+Genus Lagothrix: woolly monkeys
+
+Anatomy and physiology
+Spider monkeys are among the largest New World monkeys; black-headed spider monkeys, the largest spider monkey, have an average weight of 11 kilograms (24 lb) for males and 9.66 kg (21.3 lb) for females. Disproportionately long, spindly limbs inspired the spider monkey's common name. Their deftly prehensile tails, which may be up to 89 cm (35 in) long, have very flexible, hairless tips and skin grooves similar to fingerprints. This adaptation to their strictly arboreal lifestyle serves as a fifth hand. When the monkey walks, its arms practically drag on the ground. Unlike many monkeys, they do not use their arms for balance when walking, instead relying on their tails. The hands are long, narrow and hook-like, and have reduced or non-existent thumbs. The fingers are elongated and recurved.Their hair is coarse, ranging in color from ruddy gold to brown and black, or white in a rare number of specimens. The hands and feet are usually black. Heads are small with hairless faces. The nostrils are very far apart, which is a distinguishing feature of spider monkeys.Spider monkeys are highly agile, and they are said to be second only to the gibbons in this respect. They have been seen in the wild jumping from tree to tree.
+Female spider monkeys have a clitoris that is especially developed; it may be referred to as a pseudo-penis because it has an interior passage, or urethra, that makes it almost identical to the penis, and retains and distributes urine droplets as the female moves around. This urine is emptied at the bases of the clitoris, and collects in skin folds on either side of a groove on the perineal. Researchers and observers of spider monkeys of South America look for a scrotum to determine the animal sex because these female spider monkeys have pendulous and erectile clitorises long enough to be mistaken for a penis; researchers may also determine the animal's sex by identifying scent-marking glands that may be present on the clitoris.
+
+Behavior
+Spider monkeys form loose groups, typically with 15 to 25 individuals, but sometimes up to 30 or 40. During the day, groups break up into subgroups. The size of subgroups and the degree to which they avoid each other during the day depends on food competition and the risk of predation. The average subgroup size is between 2 and 8 but can sometimes be up to 17 animals. Also less common in primates, females rather than males disperse at puberty to join new groups. Males tend to stick together for their whole lives. Hence, males in a group are more likely to be related and have closer bonds than females. The strongest social bonds are formed between females and their young offspring.
+Spider monkeys communicate their intentions and observations using postures and stances, such as postures of sexual receptivity and of attack. When a spider monkey sees a human approaching, it barks loudly similar to a dog. When a monkey is approached, it climbs to the end of the branch it is on and shakes it vigorously to scare away the possible threat. It shakes the branches with its feet, hands, or a combination while hanging from its tail. It may also scratch its limbs or body with various parts of its hands and feet. Seated monkeys may sway and make noise. Males and occasionally adult females growl menacingly at the approach of a human. If the pursuer continues to advance, the monkeys may break off live or dead tree limbs weighing up to 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) and drop them towards the intruder. The monkeys also defecate and urinate toward the intruder.Spider monkeys are diurnal and spend the night sleeping in carefully selected trees. Groups are thought to be directed by a lead female, which is responsible for planning an efficient feeding route each day. Grooming is not as important to social interaction, owing perhaps to a lack of thumbs.Spider monkeys have been observed avoiding the upper canopy of the trees for locomotion. One researcher speculated this was because the thin branches at the tops of trees do not support the monkeys as well.At 107 grams (3.8 oz), the spider monkey brain is twice the size of the brain of a howler monkey of equivalent body size; this is thought to be a result of the spider monkeys' complex social system and their frugivorous diets, which consist primarily of ripe fruit from a wide variety (over 150 species) of plants. This requires the monkeys to remember when and where fruit can be found. The slow development may also play a role: the monkeys may live from 20 to 27 years or more, and females give birth once every 17 to 45 months. Gummy, presumably the oldest spider monkey in captivity, is presumed to have been born wild in 1962 and currently resided at Fort Rickey Childrens Discovery Zoo located in Rome, New York, and died at the age of 61 (about twice as long as the average spider monkey).
+
+Diet
+Spider monkeys eat fleshy fruits 71 to 83 percent of the time. They can live for long periods on only one or two kinds of fruits and nuts. They eat the fruits of many big forest trees, and because they swallow fruits whole, the seeds are eventually excreted and fertilized by the feces. Studies show the diet of spider monkeys changes their reproductive, social, and physical behavioral patterns. Most feeding happens from dawn to 10 am. Afterward, the adults rest while the young play. Through the rest of the day, they may feed infrequently until around 10 pm. If food is scarce, they may eat insects, leaves, bird eggs, bark and honey.Spider monkeys have a unique way of getting food: a lead female is generally responsible for finding food sources. If she cannot find enough food for the group, it splits into smaller groups that forage separately. The traveling groups have four to nine animals. Each group is closely associated with its territory. If the group is big, it spreads out.
+
+Reproduction
+The female chooses a male from her group for mating. Both males and females use "anogenital sniffing" to check their mates for readiness for copulation.  The gestation period ranges from 226 to 232 days. Each female bears only one offspring on average, every three to four years.Until six to ten months of age, infants rely completely on their mothers. Males are not involved in raising the offspring.
+A mother carries her infant around her belly for the first month after birth. After this, she carries it on her lower back. The infant wraps its tail around its mother's and tightly grabs her midsection. Mothers are very protective of their young and are generally attentive mothers. They have been seen grabbing their young and putting them on their backs for protection and to help them navigate from tree to tree. They help the more independent young to cross by pulling branches closer together. Mothers also groom their young.
+Male spider monkeys are one of the few primates that do not have a penis bone (baculum).
+
+Cultural depictions
+Spider monkeys are found in many aspects of the Mesoamerican cultures. In the Aztec 260-day calendar, Spider Monkey (Nahua Ozomatli) serves as the name for the 11th day. In the corresponding Maya calendar, Howler Monkey (Batz) is substituted for Spider Monkey. In present-day Maya religious feasts, spider monkey impersonators serve as a kind of demonic clowns. In Classical Maya art, they are ubiquitous, often shown carrying cacao pods.
+Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys features a spider monkey named Spydor who is the smallest of the crew.
+
+References
+
+
+== External links ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/spiny lobster.txt b/data/animals/spiny lobster.txt
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+Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the Bahamas, called crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish ("kreef" in South Africa), terms which elsewhere are reserved for freshwater crayfish.
+
+Classification
+The furry lobsters (e.g. Palinurellus) were previously separated into a family of their own, the Synaxidae, but are usually considered members of the Palinuridae. The slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) are their next-closest relatives, and these two or three families make up the Achelata. Genera of spiny lobsters include Palinurus and a number of anagrams thereof: Panulirus, Linuparus, etc. (Palinurus was a helmsman in Virgil's Æneid.) In total, 12 extant genera are recognised, containing around 60 living species:
+
+Description
+Although they superficially resemble true lobsters in terms of overall shape and having a hard carapace and exoskeleton, the two groups are not closely related. Spiny lobsters can be easily distinguished from true lobsters by their very long, thick, spiny antennae, by the lack of chelae (claws) on the first four pairs of walking legs, although the females of most species have a small claw on the fifth pair, and by a particularly specialized larval phase called phyllosoma. True lobsters have much smaller antennae and claws on the first three pairs of legs, with the first being particularly enlarged.
+Spiny lobsters typically have a slightly compressed carapace, lacking any lateral ridges. Their antennae lack a scaphocerite, the flattened exopod of the antenna. This is fused to the epistome (a plate between the labrum and the basis of the antenna). The flagellum, at the top of the antenna, is stout, tapering, and very long. The ambulatory legs (pereopods) end in claws (chelae).
+
+Size
+The size of the adults varies from a few centimetres to 30–40 cm. In general, it is said that rarely some individuals can reach 60 cm (Panulirus argus).
+Nevertheless, some reports – the authenticity of which can be questioned – are of much larger lobsters. One such source is Bernard Gorsky's travel book La derniére ile. In this, the author lists the following statements:
+
+According to a 1956 article from the New Caledonian daily newspaper La France Australe (published in Nyoma): "Since yesterday, a so-called porcelain spiny lobster, stuffed, can be seen in the window of Balande. Its length is 2 m, (including its antennae) and it weighed 11 kg.
+Inhabitants of a small island in the Coral Sea caught a 2 m 10 cm, 17 kg porcelain spiny lobster, according to an Australian publication.
+Gorsky himself caught 6–7 kg lobsters with local tribesmen on the Loyalty Islands group's Mouli island and mentioned them in the article in La France Australe. However, according to the locals, even bigger crabs can live there. According to the residents, a man from the Leikigne tribe (they live nearby on the other side of the Fayawa Strait) reported the following: he once went fishing with a friend and the friend drowned. He did not come to the surface, he followed him into the depths. Two legs protruded from a hollow, and in the hollow sat a huge crayfish, and it was eating the fisherman. The crawfish was said to be as thick as the trunk of a full-grown palm tree. (At the time, the locals (the people of Leikigne) gave credence to the report and believed that the victim could not have drowned because he swam "like a dolphin" – but a shark would not have killed him either, because there are usually no sharks in the lagoon there. According to them, only a lobster could be really responsible.) Since one of Gorsky's narrators ("Guy") was 20 years old at the time of the story (1965), and the incident occurred when he was 12, the story must have been around 1957 if true.
+A study was conducted regarding the effect of growth and survival when you change the frequency of feeding the Spiny Lobster and it was determined that if there is increased feed frequency from one to sixteen feeds daily then that is where growth and feed attraction are at the peak of their performance. If the lobsters are fed too much though, more than 16 feeds a day causes decreased feed intake and reduction in overall growth. It was also determined that the rapid leaching of feed suggests that there is a beneficial effect of feeding multiple frequencies on growth and intake.
+
+Fossil record
+The fossil record of spiny lobsters has been extended by the discovery in 1995 of a 110-million-year-old fossil near El Espiñal in Chiapas, Mexico. Workers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico have named the fossil Palinurus palaecosi, and report that it is closest to members of the genus Palinurus currently living off the coasts of Africa.
+
+Ecology
+Spiny lobsters are found in almost all warm seas, including the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea, but are particularly common in Australasia, where they are referred to commonly as crayfish or sea crayfish (Jasus edwardsii), and in South Africa (Jasus lalandii).
+Spiny lobsters tend to live in crevices of rocks and coral reefs, only occasionally venturing out at night to seek snails, clams, sea-hares, crabs, or sea urchins to eat. They sometimes migrate in very large groups in long files of lobsters across the sea floor. These lines may be more than 50 lobsters long. Spiny lobsters navigate using the smell and taste of natural substances in the water that change in different parts of the ocean. It was recently discovered that spiny lobsters can also navigate by detecting the Earth's magnetic field. They keep together by contact, using their long antennae. Potential predators may be deterred from eating spiny lobsters by a loud screech made by the antennae of the spiny lobsters rubbing against a smooth part of the exoskeleton. Spiny lobsters usually exhibit the social habit of being together. However recent studies indicate that healthy lobsters move away from infected ones, leaving the diseased lobsters to fend for themselves.Like true lobsters, spiny lobsters are edible and are an economically significant food source; they are the biggest food export of the Bahamas, for instance.
+
+Sound
+Many spiny lobsters produce rasping sounds to repel predators by rubbing the "plectrum" at the base of the spiny lobster's antennae against a "file". The noise is produced by frictional vibrations – sticking and slipping, similar to rubber materials sliding against hard surfaces. While a number of insects use frictional vibration mechanisms to generate sound, this particular acoustic mechanism is unique in the animal kingdom. Significantly, the system does not rely on the hardness of the exoskeleton, as many other arthropod sounds do, meaning that the spiny lobsters can continue to produce the deterrent noises even in the period following a moult when they are most vulnerable. The stridulating organ is present in all but three genera in the family (Jasus, Projasus, and the furry lobster Palinurellus), and its form can distinguish different species.
+
+See also
+Spiny lobster culture in Vietnam
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Spiny Lobster Factsheet". Waitt Institute. Archived from the original on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
+An audio recording of the rasp of a spiny lobster
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diff --git a/data/animals/spotted salamander.txt b/data/animals/spotted salamander.txt
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/data/animals/spotted salamander.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+The spotted salamander or yellow-spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) is a mole salamander common in eastern United States and Canada. It is the state amphibian of Ohio and South Carolina. The species ranges from Nova Scotia, to Lake Superior, to southern Georgia and Texas. Its embryos have been found to have symbiotic algae living in and around them, the only known example of vertebrate cells hosting an endosymbiont microbe (unless mitochondria are considered).
+
+Description
+The spotted salamander is about 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) long. With Females generally being larger than males. They are stout, like most mole salamanders, and have wide snouts. The spotted salamander's main color is black, but can sometimes be a blueish-black, dark gray, dark green, or even dark brown. Two uneven rows of yellowish-orange spots run from the top of the head (near the eyes) to the tip of the tail (dorso-lateral ranging). The spotted salamander's spots near the top of its head are more orange, while the spots on the rest of its body are more yellow. The underside of the spotted salamander is slate gray and pink. Sexual dimorphism, physical differences between males and females, is displayed in the form of larger-bodied females having brighter-coloured spots.The scientific name Ambystoma maculatum comes from Ambystoma– amblys (Greek) for blunt; -stoma (Greek) meaning mouth; or anabystoma (New Latin) meaning ‘to cram into the mouth’ maculatum – macula (Latin) for spot; maculosus (Latin) for spotted.
+
+Habitat and dispersal
+The spotted salamander usually lives in mature forests with ponds or ephemeral vernal pools for breeding sites. Vernal pools are suitable breeding sites for these amphibians as they dry often enough to exclude fish that eat the salamander eggs and larvae, while retaining water long enough to allow amphibian larvae to complete development and metamorphose into terrestrial adults. A study showed larger pools (as opposed to smaller pools) had more egg masses, higher occupancy, and higher larval survival rates for spotted salamanders. Outside of the breeding season, these salamanders spend their time in forests with well-drained soils that contain many burrows dug by small mammals.Salamander populations from nearby pools form genetically-distinct metapopulations. Subpopulations within 4.8 kilometers share a higher proportion of genes, while populations greater than 4.8 kilometers share a smaller proportion of genes. Inter-population dispersal is likely mediated by both species-specific behaviors and natural limitations.
+
+Behavior
+Spotted salamanders are fossorial, meaning they spend most of their time underground. They rarely come above ground, except after a rain or for foraging and breeding. During the winter, they brumate underground, and are not seen again until breeding season in early March–May.Ambystoma maculatum has several methods of defense, including hiding in burrows or leaf litter, autotomy of the tail, and a toxic milky liquid it excretes when perturbed. This secretion comes from large poison glands around the back and neck. The spotted salamander, like other salamanders, shows great regenerative abilities: if a predator manages to dismember a part of a leg, tail, or even parts of the brain, head, or organs, the salamander can grow back a new one, although this takes a massive amount of energy. As juveniles, they spend most of their time under the leaf litter near the bottom of the pools where their eggs were laid. The larvae tend to occupy refuges in vegetation, and lower their activity in the presence of predators.Ambystoma maculatum tend to follow the same path in their migration to and from their burrows and breeding pools. They accomplish their journey in conditions that lack visual cues, since it is usually during periods of cloud cover. Some studies show evidence of landmark learning in spotted salamanders. Researchers found that spotted salamanders can associate visual landmarks with food. Thus spotted salamanders may learn landmarks in their habitat that are reliable indicators of resource locations or provide orientation clues for migration to and from breeding ponds.
+
+Diet
+Spotted salamanders feed on earthworms, slugs, snails, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, insects, algae and other invertebrates. They sometimes also feed on smaller salamanders, such as the red-backed salamander. The adult spotted salamander uses its sticky tongue to catch food.
+
+Lifecycle
+During the majority of the year, spotted salamanders live in the shelter of leaves or burrows in deciduous forests. However, when the temperature rises and the moisture level is high, the salamanders make their abrupt migration towards their annual breeding ponds. Recent studies, however, indicate that temperature may be a more important factor than precipitation, as precipitation in winter months increase, yet salamanders do not migrate. In just one night, hundreds to thousands of salamanders may make the trip to their ponds for mating. Males will start a dance-like behavior called a liebsspiel, where afterward they lay down their spermatophore. Males will migrate at higher rates than females early in the migration season. This could be due to different responses to temperature between males and females. Mates usually breed in ponds when it is raining in the spring. Females usually lay about 100 eggs in one clutch that cling to the underwater plants and form egg masses.
+The egg masses are round, jelly-like clumps that are usually 6.4–10.2 cm (2.5–4 in) long. The spotted salamander produces a unique polymorphism in the outer jelly layers of its egg masses: one morph has a clear appearance and contains a water-soluble protein, whereas the other morph is white and contains a crystalline hydrophobic protein. This polymorphism is thought to confer advantages in vernal pools with varying dissolved nutrient levels, while also reducing mortality from feeding by wood frog larvae.
+Adults only stay in the water for a few days, then the eggs hatch in one to two months. When the eggs hatch depends on the water temperatures. Eggs of A. maculatum can have a symbiotic relationship with the green alga Oophila amblystomatis. A dense gelatinous matrix surrounds the eggs and prevents the eggs from drying out, but it inhibits oxygen diffusion (required for embryo development). The Oophila alga provides increased oxygen and supplemental nutrition from fixed carbon products via photosynthesis and removes the embryo’s nitrogenous waste (ammonia) in the egg capsule, aiding in the salamander's embryonic development and growth. The developing salamander thus metabolizes the oxygen, producing carbon dioxide (which then the alga consumes). Photosynthetic algae are present within the egg capsule of the developing salamander embryo, enhancing growth. However, the widely used herbicide, atrazine, has been found to significantly lower hatching success rate by eliminating the symbiotic algae associated with the egg masses.  As larvae, they are usually light brown or greenish-yellow. They have small dark spots and are born with external gills. In two to four months, the larvae lose their gills, and become juvenile salamanders that leave the water. Spotted salamanders have been known to live up to 32 years, and normally return to the same vernal pool every year. These pools are seasonal and will usually dry up during the late spring and stay dry until winter.
+Spotted salamanders are often preyed on by raccoons, skunks, turtles, and snakes. For this reason they perform an important function by connecting the food chain. Moreover, one of their predators is humans since they are popularly sought out through the pet trade.
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Ambystoma maculatum at Wikimedia Commons
+Ambystoma maculatum at CalPhotos
+Yellow-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum), Natural Resources Canada
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diff --git a/data/animals/squirrel monkey.txt b/data/animals/squirrel monkey.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/squirrel monkey.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus Saimiri. Saimiri is the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (sai-mirím or çai-mbirín, with sai meaning 'monkey' and mirím meaning 'small') and was also used as an English name by early researchers.Squirrel monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America in the canopy layer. Most species have parapatric or allopatric ranges in the Amazon, while S. oerstedii is found disjunctly in Costa Rica and Panama.
+There are two main groups of squirrel monkeys recognized. They are differentiated based on the shape of the white coloration above the eyes. In total there are 5 recognized species. Squirrel monkeys have short and close fur colored black at the shoulders, green or purple fur along the back and extremities, and white on the face.Squirrel monkeys have determined breeding seasons which involve large fluctuations in hormones and there is evidence of sexual dimorphism in males.Squirrel monkeys can only sweat through the palms of their hands and feet. This can have the effect of making their hands and feet feel damp to the touch. Squirrel monkeys must make use of other thermoregulation techniques such as behavioral changes and urine washing.  These monkeys live in habitats of high temperatures and high humidity, making it essential for them to maintain proper osmoregulation if conditions pass certain thresholds. Color vision studies have also been performed on squirrel monkeys for the purpose of better understanding vision ailments in humans.The common squirrel monkey is commonly captured for the pet trade and for medical research, but it is not threatened. Two squirrel monkey species are endangered: the Central American squirrel monkey and the black squirrel monkey are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.
+
+Evolutionary history
+Taxonomy
+Until 1984, all South American squirrel monkeys were considered part of a single widespread species, and many zoologists considered the Central American squirrel monkey to be a member of that single species as well. The two main groups currently recognized can be separated by the white above the eyes; it is shaped as a Gothic ("pointed") arch in the S. sciureus group, while it is shaped as a Roman ("rounded") arch in the S. boliviensis group. Mammal Species of the World (2005) recognized five species.Subsequent taxonomic research has recognized Saimiri sciureus cassiquiarensis as a separate species Saimiri cassiquiarensis, and also recognized an additional species, Collins' squirrel monkey Saimiri collinsi that had previously been considered to be within S. sciureus.  Some more recent taxonomies also recognize Saimiri sciureus macrodon as a separate species Saimiri macrodon, but others recognize S. macrodon to be a synonym of Saimiri cassiquiarensis.
+Genus Saimiri
+S. sciureus group
+Central American squirrel monkey, Saimiri oerstedii
+Black-crowned Central American squirrel monkey, Saimiri oerstedii oerstedii
+Grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey, Saimiri oerstedii citrinellus
+Guianan squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus
+Saimiri sciureus sciureus
+Saimiri sciureus albigena
+Ecuadorian squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus macrodon
+Humboldt's squirrel monkey, Saimiri cassiquiarensis
+Bare-eared squirrel monkey, Saimiri ustus
+Collins' squirrel monkey, Saimiri collinsi
+S. boliviensis group
+Black-capped squirrel monkey, Saimiri boliviensis
+Bolivian squirrel monkey, Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis
+Peruvian squirrel monkey, Saimiri boliviensis peruviensis
+Black squirrel monkey, Saimiri vanzolinii
+Fossil species
+†Saimiri annectens, Honda Group, Kay and Meldrum 1997
+†Saimiri fieldsi, Honda Group, Stirton 1951
+
+Evolution
+The crown group of the extant squirrel monkeys appears to have diverged around 1.5 million years ago. Diversification of squirrel monkey species appears to have occurred during the Pleistocene Epoch, likely due to climatic changes associated with interglacial periods in South America at the time. The origin of squirrel monkeys in Central America is unclear, but a possible hypothesis is human transport. More genetic work needs to be done on the subject to reveal a true answer.S. boliviensis appears to be the first diverging species in the group. S. oerstedii and S. s. sciureus, are sister species. S. s. macrodon is the sister species to the S. oerstedii / S. s. sciureus clade.
+
+Description
+A squirrel monkey's fur is short and close, coloured black at the shoulders and yellowish orange on its back and extremities. The upper parts of their heads are hairy. This black-and-white face gives them the name "death's head monkey" in several Germanic languages (e.g., German Totenkopfaffen, Swedish dödskalleapor, Dutch doodshoofdaapjes) and Slovenian (smrtoglavka).
+Squirrel monkeys grow from 25 to 35 centimetres (9.8 to 13.8 in) long, plus a 35 to 42 centimetres (14 to 17 in) tail. Male squirrel monkeys weigh 750 to 1,100 grams (26 to 39 oz). Females weigh 500 to 750 grams (18 to 26 oz). Both males and females are equipped with long and hairy tails, flat nails, and pointed claws.Female squirrel monkeys have pseudo-penises, which they use to display dominance over smaller monkeys, in much the same way that the male squirrel monkeys display their dominance.
+
+Behaviour, ecology, and physiology
+Like most of their New World monkey relatives, squirrel monkeys are diurnal and arboreal. Unlike other New World monkeys, their tail is not used for climbing but as a kind of "balancing pole" and also as a tool. Their movements in the branches can be very rapid.
+Squirrel monkeys live together in multi-male/multi-female groups with up to 500 members. These large groups, however, can occasionally break into smaller troupes. The groups have a number of vocal calls, including warning sounds to protect the group from large falcons, which are a natural threat. Their small body size also makes them susceptible to predators such as snakes and felids. For marking territory, squirrel monkeys rub their tail and their skin with their own urine.
+Squirrel monkeys are omnivores, eating primarily fruits and insects. Occasionally, they also eat seeds, leaves, flowers, buds, nuts, and eggs.
+
+Reproduction
+Squirrel monkey mating is subject to seasonal influences. Squirrel monkeys reach sexual maturity at ages of 2–2.5 years for females and age 3.5–4 years for males. Females give birth to young during the rainy season, after a 150- to 170-day gestation. Only the mothers care for the young. Saimiri oerstedti are weaned by 4 months of age, while S. boliviensis are not fully weaned until 18 months old. Squirrel monkeys live to about 15 years old in the wild, and over 20 years in captivity. Menopause in females probably occurs in the mid-teens. Studies show that Saimiri collinsi time the weaning of their young with the period of time when there will be maximum fruit availability in the environment. This reduces the energetic struggles that newly weaned juveniles will face when transitioning from a milk diet where they are dependent on their mother for food to a more diverse diet where they have to forage for food. There is evidence that squirrel monkeys show sexual dimorphism during the breeding season. In the months leading up to breeding and in the months of breeding, sexually mature adult males have been recorded to increase in size by significant amounts relative to females. These size changes are caused by seasonal fluctuations in androgen hormones synthesized in the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal and gonadal axes. The fluctuations include increases in the concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone levels in sexually mature males during the breeding season, peaking in January. Following the breeding season, these androgen concentrations drop. The evolutionary reasoning for these size changes in sexually mature males is suggested to be both intra-sexual selections among males and also female choice selection, as the larger males are more likely to be preferred by females and partake in more copulations. There is not clear evidence yet as to why females choose larger males, but a leading hypothesis is that the larger males are more likely to have better vigilance for their young.
+
+Thermoregulation
+Squirrel monkeys can only sweat through the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. Sweating in these areas alone does not provide enough cooling for the monkeys to survive in the high temperature environments of South and Central America, requiring them to use other methods to thermoregulate. They will use behavioral tactics such as seeking out shaded areas sheltered from the sun and also make use of postural changes to better dissipate heat from their body. They will also make use of a technique to maximize evaporative cooling known as urine washing. The monkeys will urinate on their hands and rub the urine over the soles of their feet. The urine is then evaporated off the body in a cooling process. Studies have shown this behavior to be maximized during times of high temperature, highlighting its importance as a thermoregulatory behavior.
+
+Osmoregulation
+Squirrel monkeys are subject to both high temperatures and high humidity in their natural habitat. The humidity can range from 70% saturation in the 'dry' season up to 90% in the 'wet' season. Squirrel monkeys are able to tolerate up to 75% humidity with small adjustments in behavior and physiology that increase in significance as the humidity goes up. When reaching approximately 95% humidity, the monkeys have more drastic changes in osmoregulation in order to maintain homeostasis. As evaporative water loss decreases at these high levels of saturation, the monkeys will take in less water and create a more concentrated urine in order to maintain proper ion and water levels inside the body.
+
+Cooperation Studies
+Cooperation is largely evident in human primates. Squirrel monkeys do not often display cooperation in the wild, while many other nonhuman primates do. Studies have been done to suggest that female squirrel monkeys show disadvantageous inequity aversion as it pertains to food rewards. However, the same could not be said for male squirrel monkeys. More studies need to be done on squirrel monkey behavior to yield more information regarding why squirrel monkeys rarely show cooperation and if disadvantageous inequity aversion is a relevant factor.
+
+Colour vision
+Colour vision in squirrel monkeys has been extensively studied as a stand-in for human ailments. In humans, two genes for colour vision are found on the X chromosome. Typically, one gene (OPN1LW) produces a pigment that is most sensitive to the 564 nm wavelength, while the other gene (OPN1MW) produces a pigment most sensitive to 534 nm. In squirrel monkeys, there is only one gene on the X chromosome but it exists in three varieties: one is most sensitive to 538 nm, one to 551 nm, and one to 561 nm. Since males have only one X chromosome, they are dichromatic, although with different sensitivities. Females have two X chromosomes, so some of them can have copies of two different alleles. The three alleles seem to be equally common, leading to one-third of females being dichromatic, while two-thirds are trichromatic. Recently, gene therapy has given the human OPN1LW gene to adult male squirrel monkeys, producing behaviour consistent with trichromatic colour vision.
+
+Gallery
+References
+External links
+
+Primate Info Net Saimiri Factsheet Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
+Reforestation for the endemic squirrel monkey of Panama and Costa Rica
+View the squirrel monkey genome in Ensembl
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+Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,900 species of starfish live on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from warm, tropical zones to frigid, polar regions. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, at 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.
+Starfish are marine invertebrates. They typically have a central disc and usually five arms, though some species have a larger number of arms. The aboral or upper surface may be smooth, granular or spiny, and is covered with overlapping plates. Many species are brightly coloured in various shades of red or orange, while others are blue, grey or brown. Starfish have tube feet operated by a hydraulic system and a mouth at the centre of the oral or lower surface. They are opportunistic feeders and are mostly predators on benthic invertebrates. Several species have specialized feeding behaviours including eversion of their stomachs and suspension feeding. They have complex life cycles and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Most can regenerate damaged parts or lost arms and they can shed arms as a means of defense. The Asteroidea occupy several significant ecological roles. Starfish, such as the ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) and the reef sea star (Stichaster australis), have become widely known as examples of the keystone species concept in ecology. The tropical crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) is a voracious predator of coral throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and the Northern Pacific seastar is on the list of the World's 100 Worst Invasive Alien Species.
+The fossil record for starfish is ancient, dating back to the Ordovician around 450 million years ago, but it is rather sparse, as starfish tend to disintegrate after death. Only the ossicles and spines of the animal are likely to be preserved, making remains hard to locate. With their appealing symmetrical shape, starfish have played a part in literature, legend, design and popular culture. They are sometimes collected as curios, used in design or as logos, and in some cultures, despite possible toxicity, they are eaten.
+
+Anatomy
+Most starfish have five arms that radiate from a central disc, but the number varies with the group. Some species have six or seven arms and others have 10–15 arms. The Antarctic Labidiaster annulatus can have over fifty.Mapping the expression patterns of genes that express differently across the body axes suggest that one could think of the body of a starfish as a disembodied head walking about the sea floor on its lips.  The known markers for trunk structures are expressed only in internal tissues rather than on the surface. Only the front part of the axis, which specifies head-related structures, is represented on the body surface.
+
+Body wall
+The body wall consists of a thin cuticle, an epidermis consisting of a single layer of cells, a thick dermis formed of connective tissue and a thin coelomic myoepithelial layer, which provides the longitudinal and circular musculature. The dermis contains an endoskeleton of calcium carbonate components known as ossicles. These are honeycombed structures composed of calcite microcrystals arranged in a lattice. They vary in form, with some bearing external granules, tubercles and spines, but most are tabular plates that fit neatly together in a tessellated manner and form the main covering of the aboral surface. Some are specialised structures such as the madreporite (the entrance to the water vascular system), pedicellariae and paxillae. Pedicellariae are compound ossicles with forceps-like jaws. They remove debris from the body surface and wave around on flexible stalks in response to physical or chemical stimuli while continually making biting movements. They often form clusters surrounding spines. Paxillae are umbrella-like structures found on starfish that live buried in sediment. The edges of adjacent paxillae meet to form a false cuticle with a water cavity beneath in which the madreporite and delicate gill structures are protected. All the ossicles, including those projecting externally, are covered by the epidermal layer.Several groups of starfish, including Valvatida and Forcipulatida, possess pedicellariae. In Forcipulatida, such as Asterias and Pisaster, they occur in pompom-like tufts at the base of each spine, whereas in the Goniasteridae, such as Hippasteria phrygiana, the pedicellariae are scattered over the body surface. Some are thought to assist in defence, while others aid in feeding or in the removal of organisms attempting to settle on the starfish's surface. Some species like Labidiaster annulatus, Rathbunaster californicus and Novodinia antillensis use their large pedicellariae to capture small fish and crustaceans.There may also be papulae, thin-walled protrusions of the body cavity that reach through the body wall and extend into the surrounding water. These serve a respiratory function. The structures are supported by collagen fibres set at right angles to each other and arranged in a three-dimensional web with the ossicles and papulae in the interstices. This arrangement enables both easy flexion of the arms by the starfish and the rapid onset of stiffness and rigidity required for actions performed under stress.
+
+Water vascular system
+The water vascular system of the starfish is a hydraulic system made up of a network of fluid-filled canals and is concerned with locomotion, adhesion, food manipulation and gas exchange. Water enters the system through the madreporite, a porous, often conspicuous, sieve-like ossicle on the aboral surface. It is linked through a stone canal, often lined with calcareous material, to a ring canal around the mouth opening. A set of radial canals leads off this; one radial canal runs along the ambulacral groove in each arm. There are short lateral canals branching off alternately to either side of the radial canal, each ending in an ampulla. These bulb-shaped organs are joined to tube feet (podia) on the exterior of the animal by short linking canals that pass through ossicles in the ambulacral groove. There are usually two rows of tube feet but in some species, the lateral canals are alternately long and short and there appear to be four rows. The interior of the whole canal system is lined with cilia.When longitudinal muscles in the ampullae contract, valves in the lateral canals close and water is forced into the tube feet. These extend to contact the substrate. Although the tube feet resemble suction cups in appearance, the gripping action is a function of adhesive chemicals rather than suction. Other chemicals and relaxation of the ampullae allow for release from the substrate. The tube feet latch on to surfaces and move in a wave, with one arm section attaching to the surface as another releases. Some starfish turn up the tips of their arms while moving which gives maximum exposure of the sensory tube feet and the eyespot to external stimuli.Having descended from bilateral organisms, starfish may move in a bilateral fashion, particularly when hunting or in danger. When crawling, certain arms act as the leading arms, while others trail behind. Most starfish cannot move quickly, a typical speed being that of the leather star (Dermasterias imbricata), which can manage just 15 cm (6 in) in a minute. Some burrowing species from the genera Astropecten and Luidia have points rather than suckers on their long tube feet and are capable of much more rapid motion, "gliding" across the ocean floor. The sand star (Luidia foliolata) can travel at a speed of 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) per minute. When a starfish finds itself upside down, two adjacent arms are bent backwards to provide support, the opposite arm is used to stamp the ground while the two remaining arms are raised on either side; finally the stamping arm is released as the starfish turns itself over and recovers its normal stance.Apart from their function in locomotion, the tube feet act as accessory gills. The water vascular system serves to transport oxygen from, and carbon dioxide to, the tube feet and also nutrients from the gut to the muscles involved in locomotion. Fluid movement is bidirectional and initiated by cilia. Gas exchange also takes place through other gills known as papulae, which are thin-walled bulges on the aboral surface of the disc and arms. Oxygen is transferred from these to the coelomic fluid, which acts as the transport medium for gasses. Oxygen dissolved in the water is distributed through the body mainly by the fluid in the main body cavity; the circulatory system may also play a minor role.
+
+Digestive system and excretion
+The gut of a starfish occupies most of the disc and extends into the arms. The mouth is located in the centre of the oral surface, where it is surrounded by a tough peristomial membrane and closed with a sphincter. The mouth opens through a short oesophagus into a stomach divided by a constriction into a larger, eversible cardiac portion and a smaller pyloric portion. The cardiac stomach is glandular and pouched, and is supported by ligaments attached to ossicles in the arms so it can be pulled back into position after it has been everted. The pyloric stomach has two extensions into each arm: the pyloric caeca. These are elongated, branched hollow tubes that are lined by a series of glands, which secrete digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients from the food. A short intestine and rectum run from the pyloric stomach to open at a small anus at the apex of the aboral surface of the disc.Primitive starfish, such as Astropecten and Luidia, swallow their prey whole, and start to digest it in their cardiac stomachs. Shell valves and other inedible materials are ejected through their mouths. The semi-digested fluid is passed into their pyloric stomachs and caeca where digestion continues and absorption ensues. In more advanced species of starfish, the cardiac stomach can be everted from the organism's body to engulf and digest food. When the prey is a clam or other bivalve, the starfish pulls with its tube feet to separate the two valves slightly, and inserts a small section of its stomach, which releases enzymes to digest the prey. The stomach and the partially digested prey are later retracted into the disc. Here the food is passed on to the pyloric stomach, which always remains inside the disc. The retraction and contraction of the cardiac stomach is activated by a neuropeptide known as NGFFYamide.Because of this ability to digest food outside the body, starfish can hunt prey much larger than their mouths. Their diets include clams and oysters, arthropods, small fish and gastropod molluscs. Some starfish are not pure carnivores, supplementing their diets with algae or organic detritus. Some of these species are grazers, but others trap food particles from the water in sticky mucus strands that are swept towards the mouth along ciliated grooves.The main nitrogenous waste product is ammonia. Starfish have no distinct excretory organs; waste ammonia is removed by diffusion through the tube feet and papulae. The body fluid contains phagocytic cells called coelomocytes, which are also found within the hemal and water vascular systems. These cells engulf waste material, and eventually migrate to the tips of the papulae, where a portion of body wall is nipped off and ejected into the surrounding water. Some waste may also be excreted by the pyloric glands and voided with the faeces.Starfish do not appear to have any mechanisms for osmoregulation, and keep their body fluids at the same salt concentration as the surrounding water. Although some species can tolerate relatively low salinity, the lack of an osmoregulation system probably explains why starfish are not found in fresh water or even in many estuarine environments.
+
+Sensory and nervous systems
+Although starfish do not have many well-defined sense organs, they are sensitive to touch, light, temperature, orientation and the status of the water around them. The tube feet, spines and pedicellariae are sensitive to touch. The tube feet, especially those at the tips of the rays, are also sensitive to chemicals, enabling the starfish to detect odour sources such as food. There are eyespots at the ends of the arms, each one made of 80–200 simple ocelli. These are composed of pigmented epithelial cells that respond to light and are covered by a thick, transparent cuticle that both protects the ocelli and acts to focus light. Many starfish also possess individual photoreceptor cells in other parts of their bodies and respond to light even when their eyespots are covered. Whether they advance or retreat depends on the species.While a starfish lacks a centralized brain, it has a complex nervous system with a nerve ring around the mouth and a radial nerve running along the ambulacral region of each arm parallel to the radial canal. The peripheral nerve system consists of two nerve nets: a sensory system in the epidermis and a motor system in the lining of the coelomic cavity. Neurons passing through the dermis connect the two. The ring nerves and radial nerves have sensory and motor components and coordinate the starfish's balance and directional systems. The sensory component receives input from the sensory organs while the motor nerves control the tube feet and musculature. The starfish does not have the capacity to plan its actions. If one arm detects an attractive odour, it becomes dominant and temporarily over-rides the other arms to initiate movement towards the prey. The mechanism for this is not fully understood.
+
+Circulatory system
+The body cavity contains the circulatory or haemal system. The vessels form three rings: one around the mouth (the hyponeural haemal ring), another around the digestive system (the gastric ring) and the third near the aboral surface (the genital ring). The heart beats about six times a minute and is at the apex of a vertical channel (the axial vessel) that connects the three rings. At the base of each arm are paired gonads; a lateral vessel extends from the genital ring past the gonads to the tip of the arm. This vessel has a blind end and there is no continuous circulation of the fluid within it. This liquid does not contain a pigment and has little or no respiratory function but is probably used to transport nutrients around the body.
+
+Secondary metabolites
+Starfish produce a large number of secondary metabolites in the form of lipids, including steroidal derivatives of cholesterol, and fatty acid amides of sphingosine. The steroids are mostly saponins, known as asterosaponins, and their sulphated derivatives. They vary between species and are typically formed from up to six sugar molecules (usually glucose and galactose) connected by up to three glycosidic chains. Long-chain fatty acid amides of sphingosine occur frequently and some of them have known pharmacological activity. Various ceramides are also known from starfish and a small number of alkaloids have also been identified. The functions of these chemicals in the starfish have not been fully investigated but most have roles in defence and communication. Some are feeding deterrents used by the starfish to discourage predation. Others are antifoulants and supplement the pedicellariae to prevent other organisms from settling on the starfish's aboral surface. Some are alarm pheromones and escape-eliciting chemicals, the release of which trigger responses in conspecific starfish but often produce escape responses in potential prey. Research into the efficacy of these compounds for possible pharmacological or industrial use occurs worldwide.
+
+Life cycle
+Sexual reproduction
+Most species of starfish are gonochorous, there being separate male and female individuals. These are usually not distinguishable externally as the gonads cannot be seen, but their sex is apparent when they spawn. Some species are simultaneous hermaphrodites, producing eggs and sperm at the same time and in a few of these, the same gonad, called an ovotestis, produces both eggs and sperm. Other starfish are sequential hermaphrodites. Protandrous individuals of species like Asterina gibbosa start life as males before changing sex into females as they grow older. In some species such as Nepanthia belcheri, a large female can split in half and the resulting offspring are males. When these grow large enough they change back into females.Each starfish arm contains two gonads that release gametes through openings called gonoducts, located on the central disc between the arms. Fertilization is generally external but in a few species, internal fertilization takes place. In most species, the buoyant eggs and sperm are simply released into the water (free spawning) and the resulting embryos and larvae live as part of the plankton. In others, the eggs may be stuck to the undersides of rocks. In certain species of starfish, the females brood their eggs – either by simply enveloping them or by holding them in specialised structures. Brooding may be done in pockets on the starfish's aboral surface, inside the pyloric stomach (Leptasterias tenera) or even in the interior of the gonads themselves. Those starfish that brood their eggs by "sitting" on them usually assume a humped posture with their discs raised off the substrate. Pteraster militaris broods a few of its young and disperses the remaining eggs, that are too numerous to fit into its pouch. In these brooding species, the eggs are relatively large, and supplied with yolk, and they generally develop directly into miniature starfish without an intervening larval stage. The developing young are called lecithotrophic because they obtain their nutrition from the yolk as opposed to "planktotrophic" larvae that feed in the water column. In Parvulastra parvivipara, an intragonadal brooder, the young starfish obtain nutrients by eating other eggs and embryos in the brood pouch. Brooding is especially common in polar and deep-sea species that live in environments unfavourable for larval development and in smaller species that produce just a few eggs.In the tropics, a plentiful supply of phytoplankton is continuously available for starfish larvae to feed on. Spawning takes place at any time of year, each species having its own characteristic breeding season. In temperate regions, the spring and summer brings an increase in food supplies. The first individual of a species to spawn may release a pheromone that serves to attract other starfish to aggregate and to release their gametes synchronously. In other species, a male and female may come together and form a pair. This behaviour is called pseudocopulation and the male climbs on top, placing his arms between those of the female. When she releases eggs into the water, he is induced to spawn. Starfish may use environmental signals to coordinate the time of spawning (day length to indicate the correct time of the year, dawn or dusk to indicate the correct time of day), and chemical signals to indicate their readiness to breed. In some species, mature females produce chemicals to attract sperm in the sea water.
+
+Larval development
+Most starfish embryos hatch at the blastula stage. The original ball of cells develops a lateral pouch, the archenteron. The entrance to this is known as the blastopore and it will later develop into the anus—together with chordates, echinoderms are deuterostomes, meaning the second (deutero) invagination becomes the mouth (stome); members of all other phyla are protostomes, and their first invagination becomes the mouth. Another invagination of the surface will fuse with the tip of the archenteron as the mouth while the interior section will become the gut. At the same time, a band of cilia develops on the exterior. This enlarges and extends around the surface and eventually onto two developing arm-like outgrowths. At this stage the larva is known as a bipinnaria. The cilia are used for locomotion and feeding, their rhythmic beat wafting phytoplankton towards the mouth.The next stage in development is a brachiolaria larva and involves the growth of three short, additional arms. These are at the anterior end, surround a sucker and have adhesive cells at their tips. Both bipinnaria and brachiolaria larvae are bilaterally symmetrical. When fully developed, the brachiolaria settles on the seabed and attaches itself with a short stalk formed from the ventral arms and sucker. Metamorphosis now takes place with a radical rearrangement of tissues. The left side of the larval body becomes the oral surface of the juvenile and the right side the aboral surface. Part of the gut is retained, but the mouth and anus move to new positions. Some of the body cavities degenerate but others become the water vascular system and the visceral coelom. The starfish is now pentaradially symmetrical. It casts off its stalk and becomes a free-living juvenile starfish about 1 mm (0.04 in) in diameter. Starfish of the order Paxillosida have no brachiolaria stage, with the bipinnaria larvae settling on the seabed and developing directly into juveniles.
+
+Asexual reproduction
+Some species of starfish in the three families Asterinidae, Asteriidae and Solasteridae are able to reproduce asexually as adults either by fission of their central discs or by autotomy of one or more of their arms. Which of these processes occurs depends on the genus. Among starfish that are able to regenerate their whole body from a single arm, some can do so even from fragments just 1 cm (0.4 in) long. Single arms that regenerate a whole individual are called comet forms. The division of the starfish, either across its disc or at the base of the arm, is usually accompanied by a weakness in the structure that provides a fracture zone.The larvae of several species of starfish can reproduce asexually before they reach maturity. They do this by autotomising some parts of their bodies or by budding. When such a larva senses that food is plentiful, it takes the path of asexual reproduction rather than normal development. Though this costs it time and energy and delays maturity, it allows a single larva to give rise to multiple adults when the conditions are appropriate.
+
+Regeneration
+Some species of starfish have the ability to regenerate lost arms and can regrow an entire new limb given time. A few can regrow a complete new disc from a single arm, while others need at least part of the central disc to be attached to the detached part. Regrowth can take several months or years, and starfish are vulnerable to infections during the early stages after the loss of an arm. A separated limb lives off stored nutrients until it regrows a disc and mouth and is able to feed again. Other than fragmentation carried out for the purpose of reproduction, the division of the body may happen inadvertently due to part being detached by a predator, or part may be actively shed by the starfish in an escape response. The loss of parts of the body is achieved by the rapid softening of a special type of connective tissue in response to nervous signals. This type of tissue is called catch connective tissue and is found in most echinoderms. An autotomy-promoting factor has been identified which, when injected into another starfish, causes rapid shedding of arms.
+
+Lifespan
+The lifespan of a starfish varies considerably between species, generally being longer in larger forms and in those with planktonic larvae. For example, Leptasterias hexactis broods a small number of large-yolked eggs. It has an adult weight of 20 g (0.7 oz), reaches sexual maturity in two years and lives for about ten years. Pisaster ochraceus releases a large number of eggs into the sea each year and has an adult weight of up to 800 g (28 oz). It reaches maturity in five years and has a maximum recorded lifespan of 34 years.
+
+Ecology
+Distribution and habitat
+Echinoderms, including starfish, maintain a delicate internal electrolyte balance that is in equilibrium with sea water, making it impossible for them to live in a freshwater habitat. Starfish species inhabit all of the world's oceans. Habitats range from tropical coral reefs, rocky shores, tidal pools, mud, and sand to kelp forests, seagrass meadows and the deep-sea floor down to at least 6,000 m (20,000 ft). The greatest diversity of species occurs in coastal areas.
+
+Diet
+Most species are generalist predators, eating microalgae, sponges, bivalves, snails and other small animals. The crown-of-thorns starfish consumes coral polyps, while other species are detritivores, feeding on decomposing organic material and faecal matter. A few are suspension feeders, gathering in phytoplankton; Henricia and Echinaster often occur in association with sponges, benefiting from the water current they produce. Various species have been shown to be able to absorb organic nutrients from the surrounding water, and this may form a significant portion of their diet.The processes of feeding and capture may be aided by special parts; Pisaster brevispinus, the short-spined pisaster from the West Coast of America, can use a set of specialized tube feet to dig itself deep into the soft substrate to extract prey (usually clams). Grasping the shellfish, the starfish slowly pries open the prey's shell by wearing out its adductor muscle, and then inserts its everted stomach into the crack to digest the soft tissues. The gap between the valves need only be a fraction of a millimetre wide for the stomach to gain entry. Cannibalism has been observed in juvenile sea stars as early as four days after metamorphosis.
+
+Ecological impact
+Starfish are keystone species in their respective marine communities. Their relatively large sizes, diverse diets and ability to adapt to different environments makes them ecologically important. The term "keystone species" was in fact first used by Robert Paine in 1966 to describe a starfish, Pisaster ochraceus. When studying the low intertidal coasts of Washington state, Paine found that predation by P. ochraceus was a major factor in the diversity of species. Experimental removals of this top predator from a stretch of shoreline resulted in lower species diversity and the eventual domination of Mytilus mussels, which were able to outcompete other organisms for space and resources. Similar results were found in a 1971 study of Stichaster australis on the intertidal coast of the South Island of New Zealand. S. australis was found to have removed most of a batch of transplanted mussels within two or three months of their placement, while in an area from which S. australis had been removed, the mussels increased in number dramatically, overwhelming the area and threatening biodiversity.The feeding activity of the omnivorous starfish Oreaster reticulatus on sandy and seagrass bottoms in the Virgin Islands appears to regulate the diversity, distribution and abundance of microorganisms. These starfish engulf piles of sediment removing the surface films and algae adhering to the particles. Organisms that dislike this disturbance are replaced by others better able to rapidly recolonise "clean" sediment. In addition, foraging by these migratory starfish creates diverse patches of organic matter, which may play a role in the distribution and abundance of organisms such as fish, crabs and sea urchins that feed on the sediment.Starfish sometimes have negative effects on ecosystems. Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish have caused damage to coral reefs in Northeast Australia and French Polynesia. A study in Polynesia found that coral cover declined drastically with the arrival of migratory starfish in 2006, dropping from 50% to under 5% in three years. This had a cascading effect on the whole benthic community and reef-feeding fish. Asterias amurensis is one of a few echinoderm invasive species. Its larvae likely arrived in Tasmania from central Japan via water discharged from ships in the 1980s. The species has since grown in numbers to the point where they threaten commercially important bivalve populations. As such, they are considered pests, and are on the Invasive Species Specialist Group's list of the world's 100 worst invasive species.Sea Stars (starfish) are the main predators of kelp-eating sea urchins. Satellite imagery shows that sea urchin populations have exploded due to starfish mass deaths, and that by 2021, sea urchins have destroyed 95% of California's kelp forests.
+
+Threats
+Starfish may be preyed on by conspecifics, sea anemones, other starfish species, tritons, crabs, fish, gulls and sea otters. Their first lines of defence are the saponins present in their body walls, which have unpleasant flavours. Some starfish such as Astropecten polyacanthus also include powerful toxins such as tetrodotoxin among their chemical armoury, and the slime star can ooze out large quantities of repellent mucus. They also have body armour in the form of hard plates and spines. The crown-of-thorns starfish is particularly unattractive to potential predators, being heavily defended by sharp spines, laced with toxins and sometimes with bright warning colours. Other species protect their vulnerable tube feet and arm tips by lining their ambulacral grooves with spines and heavily plating their extremities.
+Several species sometimes suffer from a wasting condition caused by bacteria in the genus Vibrio; however, a more widespread wasting disease, causing mass mortalities among starfish, appears sporadically. A paper published in November 2014 revealed the most likely cause of this disease to be a densovirus the authors named sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV).
+The protozoan Orchitophrya stellarum is known to infect the gonads of starfish and damage tissue. Starfish are vulnerable to high temperatures. Experiments have shown that the feeding and growth rates of P. ochraceus reduce greatly when their body temperatures rise above 23 °C (73 °F) and that they die when their temperature rises to 30 °C (86 °F). This species has a unique ability to absorb seawater to keep itself cool when it is exposed to sunlight by a receding tide. It also appears to rely on its arms to absorb heat, so as to protect the central disc and vital organs like the stomach.Starfish and other echinoderms are sensitive to marine pollution. The common starfish is considered to be a bioindicator for marine ecosystems. A 2009 study found that P. ochraceus is unlikely to be affected by ocean acidification as severely as other marine animals with calcareous skeletons. In other groups, structures made of calcium carbonate are vulnerable to dissolution when the pH is lowered. Researchers found that when P. ochraceus were exposed to 21 °C (70 °F) and 770 ppm carbon dioxide (beyond rises expected in the next century), they were relatively unaffected. Their survival is likely due to the nodular nature of their skeletons, which are able to compensate for a shortage of carbonate by growing more fleshy tissue.
+
+Evolution
+Fossil record
+Echinoderms first appeared in the fossil record in the Cambrian.  The first known asterozoans were the Somasteroidea, which exhibit characteristics of both groups. Starfish are infrequently found as fossils, possibly because their hard skeletal components separate as the animal decays. Despite this, there are a few places where accumulations of complete skeletal structures occur, fossilized in place in Lagerstätten – so-called "starfish beds".By the late Paleozoic, the crinoids and blastoids were the predominant echinoderms, and some limestones from this period are made almost entirely from fragments from these groups. In the two major extinction events that occurred during the late Devonian and late Permian, the blastoids were wiped out and only a few species of crinoids survived. Many starfish species also became extinct in these events, but afterwards the surviving few species diversified rapidly within about sixty million years during the Early Jurassic and the beginning of the Middle Jurassic. A 2012 study found that speciation in starfish can occur rapidly. During the last 6,000 years, divergence in the larval development of Cryptasterina hystera and Cryptasterina pentagona has taken place, the former adopting internal fertilization and brooding and the latter remaining a broadcast spawner.
+
+Diversity
+The scientific name Asteroidea was given to starfish by the French zoologist de Blainville in 1830. It is derived from the Greek aster, ἀστήρ (a star) and the Greek eidos, εἶδος (form, likeness, appearance). The class Asteroidea belongs to the phylum Echinodermata. As well as the starfish, the echinoderms include sea urchins, sand dollars, brittle and basket stars, sea cucumbers and crinoids. The larvae of echinoderms have bilateral symmetry, but during metamorphosis this is replaced with radial symmetry, typically pentameric. Adult echinoderms are characterized by having a water vascular system with external tube feet and a calcareous endoskeleton consisting of ossicles connected by a mesh of collagen fibres. Starfish are included in the subphylum Asterozoa, the characteristics of which include a flattened, star-shaped body as adults consisting of a central disc and multiple radiating arms. The subphylum includes the two classes of Asteroidea, the starfish, and Ophiuroidea, the brittle stars and basket stars. Asteroids have broad-based arms with skeletal support provided by calcareous plates in the body wall while ophiuroids have clearly demarcated slender arms strengthened by paired fused ossicles forming jointed "vertebrae".The starfish are a large and diverse class with over 1,900 living species. There are seven extant orders, Brisingida, Forcipulatida, Notomyotida, Paxillosida, Spinulosida, Valvatida and Velatida and two extinct ones, Calliasterellidae and Trichasteropsida. Living asteroids, the Neoasteroidea, are morphologically distinct from their forerunners in the Paleozoic. The taxonomy of the group is relatively stable but there is ongoing debate about the status of the Paxillosida, and the deep-water sea daisies, though clearly Asteroidea and currently included in Velatida, do not fit easily in any accepted lineage. Phylogenetic data suggests that they may be a sister group, the Concentricycloidea, to the Neoasteroidea, or that the Velatida themselves may be a sister group.
+
+Living groups
+Brisingida (2 families, 17 genera, 111 species) 
+Species in this order have a small, inflexible disc and 6–20 long, thin arms, which they use for suspension feeding. They have a single series of marginal plates, a fused ring of disc plates, a reduced number of aboral plates, crossed pedicellariae, and several series of long spines on the arms. They live almost exclusively in deep-sea habitats, although a few live in shallow waters in the Antarctic. In some species, the tube feet have rounded tips and lack suckers.Forcipulatida (6 families, 63 genera, 269 species) 
+Species in this order have distinctive pedicellariae, consisting of a short stalk with three skeletal ossicles. They tend to have robust bodies and have tube feet with flat-tipped suckers usually arranged in four rows. The order includes well-known species from temperate regions, including the common starfish of North Atlantic coasts and rock pools, as well as cold-water and abyssal species.
+Notomyotida (1 family, 8 genera, 75 species) 
+These starfish are deep-sea dwelling and have particularly flexible arms. The inner dorso-lateral surfaces of the arms contain characteristic longitudinal muscle bands. In some species, the tube feet lack suckers.Paxillosida (7 families, 48 genera, 372 species) 
+This is a primitive order and members do not extrude their stomach when feeding, lack an anus and have no suckers on their tube feet. Papulae are plentiful on their aboral surface and they possess marginal plates and paxillae. They mostly inhabit soft-bottomed areas of sand or mud. There is no brachiolaria stage in their larval development. The comb starfish (Astropecten polyacanthus) is a member of this order.Spinulosida (1 family, 8 genera, 121 species) 
+Most species in this order lack pedicellariae and all have a delicate skeletal arrangement with small or no marginal plates on the disc and arms. They have numerous groups of short spines on the aboral surface. This group includes the red starfish Echinaster sepositus.
+Valvatida (16 families, 172 genera, 695 species) 
+Most species in this order have five arms and two rows of tube feet with suckers. There are conspicuous marginal plates on the arms and disc. Some species have paxillae and in some, the main pedicellariae are clamp-like and recessed into the skeletal plates. This group includes the cushion stars, the leather star and the sea daisies.
+Velatida (4 families, 16 genera, 138 species) 
+This order of starfish consists mostly of deep-sea and other cold-water starfish often with a global distribution. The shape is pentagonal or star-shaped with five to fifteen arms. They mostly have poorly developed skeletons with papulae widely distributed on the aboral surface and often spiny pedicellariae. This group includes the slime star.
+
+Extinct groups
+Extinct groups within the Asteroidea include:
+† Calliasterellidae, with the type genus Calliasterella from the Devonian and Carboniferous
+† Palastericus, a Devonian genus
+† Trichasteropsida, with the Triassic genus Trichasteropsis (at least 2 species)
+
+Phylogeny
+External
+Starfish are deuterostome animals, like the chordates. A 2014 analysis of 219 genes from all classes of echinoderms gives the following phylogenetic tree. The times at which the clades diverged is shown under the labels in millions of years ago (mya).
+
+Internal
+The phylogeny of the Asteroidea has been difficult to resolve, with visible (morphological) features proving inadequate, and the question of whether traditional taxa are clades in doubt. The phylogeny proposed by Gale in 1987 is:
+The phylogeny proposed by Blake in 1987 is:
+Later work making use of molecular evidence, with or without the use of morphological evidence, had by 2000 failed to resolve the argument. In 2011, on further molecular evidence, Janies and colleagues noted that the phylogeny of the echinoderms "has proven difficult", and that "the overall phylogeny of extant echinoderms remains sensitive to the choice of analytical methods". They presented a phylogenetic tree for the living Asteroidea only; using the traditional names of starfish orders where possible, and indicating "part of" otherwise, the phylogeny is shown below. The Solasteridae are split from the Velatida, and the old Spinulosida is broken up.
+
+Human relations
+In research
+Starfish are deuterostomes, closely related, together with all other echinoderms, to chordates, and are used in reproductive and developmental studies. Female starfish produce large numbers of oocytes that are easily isolated; these can be stored in a pre-meiosis phase and stimulated to complete division by the use of 1-methyladenine. Starfish oocytes are well suited for this research as they are large and easy to handle, transparent, simple to maintain in sea water at room temperature, and they develop rapidly. Asterina pectinifera, used as a model organism for this purpose, is resilient and easy to breed and maintain in the laboratory.Another area of research is the ability of starfish to regenerate lost body parts. The stem cells of adult humans are incapable of much differentiation and understanding the regrowth, repair and cloning processes in starfish may have implications for human medicine.Starfish also have an unusual ability to expel foreign objects from their bodies, which makes them difficult to tag for research tracking purposes.
+
+In legend and culture
+An aboriginal Australian fable retold by the Welsh school headmaster William Jenkyn Thomas (1870–1959) tells how some animals needed a canoe to cross the ocean. Whale had one but refused to lend it, so Starfish kept him busy, telling him stories and grooming him to remove parasites, while the others stole the canoe. When Whale realized the trick he beat Starfish ragged, which is how Starfish still is today.In 1900, the scholar Edward Tregear documented The Creation Song, which he describes as "an ancient prayer for the dedication of a high chief" of Hawaii. Among the "uncreated gods" described early in the song are the male Kumulipo ("Creation") and the female Poele, both born in the night, a coral insect, the earthworm, and the starfish.
+Georg Eberhard Rumpf's 1705 The Ambonese Curiosity Cabinet describes the tropical varieties of Stella Marina or Bintang Laut, "Sea Star", in Latin and Malay respectively, known in the waters around Ambon. He writes that the Histoire des Antilles reports that when the sea stars "see thunder storms approaching, [they] grab hold of many small stones with their little legs, looking to ... hold themselves down as if with anchors".Starfish is the title of novels by Peter Watts and Jennie Orbell, and in 2012, Alice Addison wrote a non-fiction book titled Starfish - A year in the life of bereavement and depression. The Starfish and the Spider is a 2006 business management book by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom; its title alludes to the ability of the starfish to regenerate itself because of its decentralized nervous system, and the book suggests ways that a decentralized organisation may flourish.In the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, the eponymous character's best friend is a dim-witted starfish, Patrick Star.
+
+As food
+Starfish are widespread in the oceans, but are only occasionally used as food. There may be good reason for this: the bodies of numerous species are dominated by bony ossicles, and the body wall of many species contains saponins, which have an unpleasant taste, and others contain tetrodotoxins which are poisonous. Some species that prey on bivalve molluscs can transmit paralytic shellfish poisoning. Georg Eberhard Rumpf found few starfish being used for food in the Indonesian archipelago, other than as bait in fish traps, but on the island of "Huamobel"  [sic] the people cut them up, squeeze out the "black blood" and cook them with sour tamarind leaves; after resting the pieces for a day or two, they remove the outer skin and cook them in coconut milk. Starfish are sometimes eaten in China, Japan and in Micronesia.
+
+As collectables
+Starfish are in some cases taken from their habitat and sold to tourists as souvenirs, ornaments, curios or for display in aquariums. In particular, Oreaster reticulatus, with its easily accessed habitat and conspicuous coloration, is widely collected in the Caribbean. In the early to mid 20th century, this species was common along the coasts of the West Indies, but collection and trade have severely reduced its numbers. In the State of Florida, O. reticulatus is listed as endangered and its collection is illegal. Nevertheless, it is still sold throughout its range and beyond. A similar phenomenon exists in the Indo-Pacific for species such as Protoreaster nodosus.
+
+In industry and military history
+With its multiple arms, the starfish provides a popular metaphor for computer networks, companies and software tools. It is also the name of a seabed imaging system and company.Starfish has repeatedly been chosen as a name in military history. Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Starfish: an A-class destroyer launched in 1894; an R-class destroyer launched in 1916; and an S-class submarine launched in 1933 and lost in 1940. In World War II, Starfish sites were large-scale night-time decoys created during The Blitz to simulate burning British cities. Starfish Prime was a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the United States on 9 July 1962.
+
+References
+Bibliography
+External links
+
+Mah, Christopher L. (24 January 2012). "The Echinoblog"., a blog about sea stars by a passionate and professional specialist.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/sulphur butterfly.txt b/data/animals/sulphur butterfly.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..dd99b3cb148cd7d33ae67eeb47d3030bafc772aa
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+++ b/data/animals/sulphur butterfly.txt	
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+Coliadinae, the sulphurs or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies with about 300 described species.
+There are 36 species in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada. In most species, males are easily distinguished from females. For example, in the genera Colias and Gonepteryx), males exhibit brilliant UV reflections that the females lack.
+
+Systematics
+The Coliadinae can be arranged in the three traditional tribes and a basal lineage, with one genus of unclear placement. The taxa—including some selected species—are arranged here in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, from the most ancient lineages to the most modern ones:Basal lineage
+
+Kricogonia Reakirt, 1863
+Nathalis Boisduval, [1836]Euremini
+
+Terias Swainson, 1821
+Pyrisitia Butler, 1870
+Abaeis Hübner, [1819]
+Eurema Hübner, [1819] – grass yellows
+Leucidia Doubleday, [1847]
+Teriocolias Roeber 1909Goniopterygini
+
+Dercas Doubleday, [1847] – sulphurs
+Gonepteryx Leach, [1815] – brimstonesColiadini
+
+Catopsilia Hübner, [1819] – emigrants
+Colias Fabricius, 1807 – clouded yellows
+Zerene Hübner, [1819]
+Zerene eurydice – California dogface butterfly
+Anteos Hübner, [1819] – angled-sulphurs
+Aphrissa Butler, 1873
+Phoebis Hübner, [1819]
+Phoebis sennae – cloudless sulphur
+Phoebis avellaneda – red-splashed sulphur
+Prestonia Schaus, 1920
+Prestonia clarki Schaus, 1920
+Rhabdodryas Godman & Salvin, [1889]
+Rhabdodryas trite (Linnaeus, 1758)Incertae sedis
+
+Gandaca Moore, [1906]
+Gandaca harina (Horsfield, [1829]) – tree yellow
+
+Footnotes
+References
+
+Brower, Andrew V.Z. (2006): Tree of Life Web Project - Coliadinae. Version of November 16, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2008
+Lim, M.L.M. & Li, D. (2005): Extreme ultraviolet sexual dimorphism in jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 89(3): 397–406. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00704.x (HTML abstract)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/sulphur-crested cockatoo.txt b/data/animals/sulphur-crested cockatoo.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..701494ced661c1787b2758ae945bd3e3acf65df5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/sulphur-crested cockatoo.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+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.
+
+Distribution
+In 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, Brisbane and Perth. 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.
+There are four recognised subspecies:
+
+Introduced species
+Within 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. 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.
+
+Description
+Sulphur-crested cockatoos are 44–55 cm (17.5–21.5 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. 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.
+
+Behaviour
+Sulphur-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.
+Being 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. 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 20–40 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.
+The 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 25–27 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 a range of visually observable expressions. 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.
+
+Pest status
+In 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.
+Many have assumed that the human feeding of sulphur-crested cockatoos have caused many issues for the birds, including pest behaviour and disease in many localities. Numerous places around Australia like the Surf Coast in Victoria and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales have had residents complain and rules be constructed to forbid locals and visitors in towns and national parks from hand-feeding cockatoos.
+
+Aviculture
+Sulphur-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.
+One 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. Another 'cocky', born in 1921 and residing in Arncliffe with his owner Charlie Knighton, was 76 years old in the late 1990s. Their longevity can cause a problem of being a beloved pet and bonding to an adult who then, as they age together, dies while the bird is in their prime but has lost their life partner. The deceased owner's children are often faced with the problem of how to rehome the bird. RSPCA in Canberra regularly form large flocks of these birds which are then rehabilitated to the wild as a family unit.
+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.
+
+References
+Bibliography
+Further reading
+Flegg, Jim (2002). Birds of Australia: Photographic Field Guide. Sydney: Reed New Holland. ISBN 1-876334-78-9.
+Higgins, 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. 163–176. ISBN 978-0-19-553071-1.
+
+External links
+
+Sulphur-crested cockatoo videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
+Photograph of "Cocky" Bennett, 115 years old in this photo State Library of Victoria
+SCC research program run out of the Sydney Botanical Gardens
+Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos Guide: Housing - Breeding - Feeding
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/tabby.txt b/data/animals/tabby.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/tabby.txt
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+A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat (Felis catus) with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and characteristic striped, dotted, lined, flecked, banded, or swirled patterns on the body—neck, shoulders, sides, flanks, chest, and abdomen.
+"Tabby" is not a breed of cat, but a coat pattern found in many official cat breeds, and is very common among the general population of mixed-breed cats around the world. The tabby pattern occurs naturally and is connected both to the coat of the domestic cat's direct ancestor and to those of their close relatives: the African wildcat (Felis lybica lybica), the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) and the Asiatic wildcat (Felis lybica ornata), all of which have similar coats, both by pattern and coloration. One genetic study of domestic cats found at least five founders.
+
+Etymology
+The English term tabby originally referred to "striped silk taffeta", from the French word tabis, meaning "a rich watered silk". This can be further traced to the Middle French atabis (14th century), which stemmed from the Arabic term عتابية / ʿattābiyya. This word is a reference to the Attabiya district of Baghdad, noted for its striped cloth and silk; itself named after the Umayyad Governor of Mecca Attab ibn Asid. Such silk cloth became popular in the Muslim world and spread to England, where the word "tabby" became commonly used in the 17th and 18th centuries.Use of the term tabby cat for a cat with a striped coat began in the 1690s and was shortened to tabby in 1774. The notion that tabby indicates a female cat may be due to the feminine proper name Tabby as a nickname of "Tabitha".
+
+Patterns
+The four known distinct patterns, each having a sound genetic explanation, are the mackerel, classic, ticked, and spotted tabby patterns.A fifth pattern is formed by any of the four basic patterns being included as part of a patched pattern. A patched tabby is a cat with calico or tortoiseshell markings combined with patches of tabby coat (such cats are called caliby and torbie, respectively, in cat fancy).All five patterns have been observed in random-bred populations. Several additional patterns are found in specific breeds and so are not as well known. For example, a modified classic tabby is found in the Sokoke breed. Some of these rarer patterns are because of the interaction of wild and domestic genes, as with the rosette and marbled patterns found in the Bengal breed.
+
+Mackerel (striped) tabby
+The mackerel, or striped, tabby pattern is made up of thin vertical, gently curving stripes on the sides of the body. These stripes can be continuous or broken into bars and short segments/spots, especially on the flanks and stomach. Three or five vertical lines in an "M" shape almost always appear on the forehead, along with dark lines from the corners of the eyes, one or more crossing each cheek, and of course many stripes and lines at various angles on the neck and shoulder area, on the flanks, and around the legs and tail, marks which are more or less perpendicular to the length of the body part. Mackerel tabbies are also called 'fishbone tabbies,' probably doubly named after the mackerel fish. Mackerels are the most common among tabbies.
+
+Classic (blotched) tabby
+The classic tabby, also known as blotched tabby, has the 'M' pattern on the forehead but, rather than primarily thin stripes or spots, the body markings are thick curving bands in whorls or a swirled pattern, with a distinctive mark on each side of the body resembling a bullseye. 80% of modern-day cats have the recessive allele responsible for the classic pattern. Black tabbies generally have dark browns, olives, and ochres that stand out more against their black colors. Classic tabbies each have a light-colored "butterfly" pattern on the shoulders and three thin stripes (the center stripe being the darkest) running along the spine. The legs, tail, and cheeks of a classic tabby have thick stripes, bands, and/or bars. The gene responsible for the coloring of a classic tabby is recessive. Many American shorthair cats demonstrate this pattern.
+
+Ticked tabby
+The ticked tabby pattern is due to even fields of agouti hairs, each with distinct bands of color, which break up the tabby patterning into a salt-and-pepper appearance that makes them look sand-like—thus there are few to no stripes or bands. Residual ghost striping and/or barring can often be seen on the lower legs, face, and belly and sometimes at the tail tip, as well as the standard 'M' and a long dark line running along the spine, primarily in ticked tabbies that also carry a mackerel or classic tabby allele. These types of cats come in many forms and colors.
+
+Spotted tabby
+It's thought that the spotted tabby results from a modifier gene that breaks up the mackerel tabby pattern and causes the stripes to appear as spots. Similarly, the classic tabby pattern may be broken by the spotted tabby gene into large spots. One can see both large and small spot patterns in the Australian Mist, Bengal, Serengeti, Savannah, Egyptian Mau, Arabian Mau, Maine Coon, and Ocicat breeds, among others, as well as some crosses. Naturally, the most common spotted tabby looks most similar to the mackerel tabby, including the classic marks on the limbs, tail, and head, as well as the 'M' on the forehead.
+
+Orange tabby
+The orange tabby, also commonly called red or ginger tabby, is a color-variant of the above patterns, having pheomelanin (O allele) instead of eumelanin (o allele). Though generally a mix of orange and white, the ratio between fur color varies, from a few orange spots on the back of a white cat to a completely orange coloring with no white at all. The orange areas can be darker or lighter spots or stripes, but the white is nearly always solid and usually appears on the underbelly, paws, chest, and muzzle.
+The face markings are reminiscent of the mackerel or classic tabby and, with orange/white, inclusion of a white spot on the face that covers the mouth, coming to a point around the forehead. Because a masking gene is present on white fur, its inclusion is often asymmetrical, leading to more or less white fur on each paw or side of the face.About 80% of orange tabby cats are male. The orange coloring is a gene, found on the X chromosome. Females have XX chromosomes to the male's XY. Thus, both the mother and father cat must pass on the genes to the female, but males only need the trait from their mothers.
+
+Torbies and calibies
+Since female cats have two X chromosomes, it is possible for them to have the O (orange) allele on one X chromosome and o (black) on the other. This causes both colors to appear in random patches, either with or without the tabby pattern. When paired with the tabby pattern, these cats are known as torbie cats. If there is also white spotting, the cat is known as a caliby (US English).
+
+Gallery of tabby variations
+
+Genetic explanations
+Two distinct gene loci, the agouti gene locus (two alleles) and the tabby locus (three alleles), and one modifier, spotted (two alleles), cause the four basic tabby patterns. The fifth pattern is emergent, being expressed by female cats with one black and one orange gene on each of their two X chromosomes, and is explained by Barr bodies and the genetics of sex-linked inheritance.The agouti gene, with its two alleles, A and a, controls whether or not the tabby pattern is expressed. The dominant A expresses the underlying tabby pattern, while the recessive non-agouti or "hyper-melanistic" allele, a, does not. Solid-color (black or blue) cats have the aa combination, hiding the tabby pattern, although sometimes a suggestion of the underlying pattern can be seen ("ghost striping"). This underlying pattern, whether classic, mackerel, ticked or spotted, is most easily distinguishable under bright light in the early stages of kittenhood and on the tail in adulthood.
+However, the agouti gene primarily controls the production of black pigment, so a cat with an O allele for orange color will still express the tabby pattern. As a result, both red cats and the patches of red on tortoiseshell cats will always show tabby patterning, though sometimes the stripes are muted—especially in cream and blue/cream cats due to the pigment dilution.
+The mackerel pattern and its Tm allele at the tabby gene locus is dominant over the classic (or blotched) allele, Tb. So a cat with a TmTm or TmTb genotype sets the basic pattern of thin stripes (mackerel tabby) that underlies the coat, while a TbTb cat will express a classic tabby coat pattern with thick bands and a ring or concentric stripes on its sides.
+The ticked tabby pattern is a result of a different allele at the same gene locus as the mackerel and classic tabby patterns and this allele is dominant over the others. So a TaTa genotype as well as TaTm and TaTb genotypes will be ticked tabbies. The ticked tabby coat essentially masks any other tabby pattern, producing a non-patterned, or agouti tabby (much like the wild type agouti coat of many other mammals and the sable coat of dogs), with virtually no stripes or bars. If the ticked allele is present, no other tabby pattern will be expressed. The ticked allele actually shows incomplete dominance: cats homozygous for the ticked allele (TaTa) have less barring than cats heterozygous for the ticked allele (TaTm or TaTb).The spotted gene is a separate locus theorized to be directly connected to the Tm allele; it 'breaks' the lines and thin stripes of a mackerel tabby, creating spots. The spotted gene has a dominant and a recessive allele as well, which means a spotted cat will have an Sp Sp or Sp sp genotype along with at least one Tm allele and at least one A allele at those alleles’ respective loci.
+
+Temperament
+Personality and aggression vary widely from cat to cat, and is multifactorial. A 2015 study from University of California, Davis sought to examine the relationship between coat color and behavior in cats. Researchers ran statistical analyses from 1,274 online surveys completed by cat owners. The owners were asked to rank the cats' aggressiveness during interactions with human aggression, handling aggression, and veterinary aggression. The study concluded that, though aggressive behaviors did show up in different levels between different coats, these were relatively minor. The larger differences in aggression seemed to researchers to be sex-linked, rather than related to any coat pattern or coloring:
+With all coat colors combined, females were identified by their guardians as more aggressive during veterinary visits compared with males (X² = 10.36, p = .001). Analyses showed that gray-and-white and black/brown/gray tabby females were more aggressive than their male counterparts at veterinarians’ offices (X² = 9.28, p = .002, and X² = 5.00, p = .025, respectively).
+A similar study also reported no evidence of a link between a cat's behavior and their coat pattern; however, it suggested that any differences were just how they were being perceived, i.e. people perceive orange cats as "friendly" and white cats as "shy", and then look for confirmation of these perceptions.
+
+History
+Since the tabby pattern is a common wild type, it might be assumed that medieval cats were tabbies. However, one writer believed this to be untrue, at least in England. Sometime after the mid-17th century, the natural philosopher John Aubrey noted that William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury was "a great lover of Cats" and "was presented with some Cyprus-cats, i.e. our Tabby-Cats". He then claimed that "I doe well remember that the common English Catt, was white with some blueish piednesse [i.e. with grey parts]. The race or breed of them is now almost lost." However, most drawings or paintings of cats in medieval manuscripts do show them to be tabbies.
+
+Notable examples
+Due to the pattern being expressed by both pure and mixed-breed cats, a large number of famous cats fall into the "tabby" category. A few of the most notable examples include:
+
+Think Think: one of two cats belonging to the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen.
+The Ithaca Kitty: a grey tabby cat with seven toes on each front foot that inspired one of the first mass-produced stuffed toys.
+Morris the Cat: an orange tabby who began appearing as an advertising mascot for 9Lives cat food in 1969. Morris became an iconic television character in the following decades, being played by three orange tabbies since 1968, all rescued from shelters.
+Maru: a tabby from Japan, and one of the most popular cats in the age of the internet. He once held the Guinness World Record for the most-watched animal on YouTube.
+Orangey: an orange tabby who starred in a number of movie and televisions roles. His most notable role was that of Cat in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, for which he won his second PATSY Award. He is the only cat to win twice, his first win coming in 1951 for Rhubarb.
+
+See also
+Brindle
+Calico cat
+Tortoiseshell cat
+
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Tabby cats at Wikimedia Commons
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/tailed frog.txt b/data/animals/tailed frog.txt
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index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d825fcf8ca100b155f9d86c941b191e4fa89270e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/tailed frog.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+The tailed frogs are two species of frogs in the genus Ascaphus, the only taxon in the family Ascaphidae . The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. The tail is one of two distinctive anatomical features adapting the species to life in fast-flowing streams.  These are the only North American frog species that reproduce by internal fertilization. They are among the most primitive known families of frogs.
+Its scientific name means 'without a spade', from the privative prefix a- and the Ancient Greek skaphís (σκαφίς, 'spade, shovel'), referring to the metatarsal spade, which these frogs do not have.
+
+Taxonomy
+Until 2001, the genus was believed to be monotypic, the single species being the tailed frog (Ascaphus truei Stejneger, 1899). However, in that year, Nielson, Lohman, and Sullivan published evidence that promoted the Rocky Mountain tailed frog (Ascaphus montanus) from a subspecies to its own species. Since then, the former species has been formally called the coastal tailed frog.
+
+General morphology
+The existence of the visible "tail" appendage makes this frog family distinct from all other frogs. Thus, its wider classification is difficult. It is usually classified in the ancient frog suborder Archaeobatrachia, though some say it should be a sister to all other frogs. The "tail" is found only in males, and is actually part of the cloaca, used to insert sperm into the female during mating. This anatomical feature improves breeding success by minimizing loss of sperm in the turbulent, fast-flowing streams inhabited by this species.  Thus, the tailed frogs exhibit internal fertilisation, rather than the external fertilisation found in other frogs.These frogs are primitive in having a greater number of vertebrae than other frogs, in lacking the ability to vocalise, and in possessing free ribs. They are small – around 2.5 to 5.0 cm (0.98 to 1.97 in) long – and are found in steep, fast-flowing streams in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and northern California in the northwest United States, and southeastern British Columbia (Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog) and coastal BC (Coastal Tailed Frog).
+Another primitive trait that tailed frogs contain is a series of antimicrobial peptides called ascaphins. These peptides share minimal genetic characteristics with other peptides secreted by frogs, yet shows some similarities with antibacterial peptides found in African scorpions Pandinus imperator and Opistophthalmus carinatus. The ascaphin peptides are secreted through the skin and imperative in fighting bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus.The tailed frogs share certain characteristics with the Leiopelma, a genus of primitive frogs native to New Zealand, with which they may be phylogenetic sister taxa. The prehistoric Vieraella belongs to the tailed frog family.
+
+Mating practices
+When attempting to mate, males will lunge at the female, wrapping a forelimb around them to secure them initially in a inguinal plexus formation (males wrap their digits around female anterior to the pelvic region, placing their head on the back and close to the rear of the female) and then in a ventral amplexus formation (female is flipped over and male and female venters face each other). From here, the male inserts the "tail" into the female, and squeezes the female to gain leverage before thrusting. During this process the female is relatively still, occasionally kicking during the insertion process.In some situations there is male-male competition for the female. In these situations, both males compete to enter the amplexus formation, eventually one establishing a better hold on the female and expelling the other male from the breeding process.  Usually the male that is larger is more likely to succeed.
+
+General habitat
+The habitat of the tailed frog is cold, fast-moving streams with cobblestone bottoms. They are mostly aquatic, but adults may emerge during cool, wet conditions to forage terrestrially. Breeding season lasts from May through September, and females deposit their eggs in strings under rocks in fast-moving streams. Larvae take one to four years to metamorphose in the cool, fast-moving mountain streams. The amount of cobbles fines in streams have been shown to be good indicators of tadpole abundance, more of each leading to an increase in tadpoles.Thermal tolerance range in adults is exceptionally low relative to other North American anurans. Adults have been observed to exhibit extreme philopatry, however, movements and migrational habits in Ascaphus have not been well documented. Adults forage primarily terrestrially along stream banks, but also occasionally feed underwater. A wide variety of food items is taken, including both aquatic and terrestrial larval and adult insects, other arthropods (especially spiders), and snails. Tadpoles consume small quantities of filamentous green algae and desmids. Large quantities of conifer pollen are consumed seasonally by tadpoles.
+During the day, adults seek cover under submerged substrates in the stream, or occasionally under similar surface objects close to the stream. Individuals have also been found in crevices in spray-drenched cliff walls near waterfalls. During winter, individuals are less active, especially inland, and appear to retreat beneath large logs and boulders. Tadpoles require cool streams with smooth-surfaced stones with a minimum diameter of 55 mm (2.2 in). Tadpoles probably spend most of their time attached to such substrates by a large oral sucker. The large, sucker-like mouth parts of the tadpoles are a second distinctive feature of the species, enabling survival in turbulent water unsuitable for other frogs.  They prefer turbulent water to smooth, swiftly flowing water.
+
+References
+Gissi, Carmela; Diego San Mauro; Graziano Pesole; Rafael Zardoya (February 2006). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of Anura (Amphibia): A case study of congruent phylogenetic reconstruction using amino acid and nucleotide characters". Gene. 366 (2): 228–237. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2005.07.034. PMID 16307849.
+Roelants, Kim; Franky Bossuyt (February 2005). "Archaeobatrachian paraphyly and pangaean diversification of crown-group frogs". Systematic Biology. 54 (1): 111–126. doi:10.1080/10635150590905894. PMID 15805014.
+San Mauro, Diego; Miguel Vences; Marina Alcobendas; Rafael Zardoya; Axel Meyer (May 2005). "Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea" (PDF). American Naturalist. 165 (5): 590–599. doi:10.1086/429523. PMID 15795855. S2CID 17021360.
+Excerpt from Zeiner et al. 1988 describing tailed frogs
+
+External links
+
+ Data related to Leiopelmatidae at Wikispecies
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diff --git a/data/animals/tench.txt b/data/animals/tench.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2d40549436e7c883b27de7c9800f454cc899f4a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/tench.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+The tench or doctor fish (Tinca tinca) is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also found in Lake Baikal. It normally inhabits slow-moving freshwater habitats, particularly lakes and lowland rivers.
+
+Taxonomy
+The tench was formerly classified in the subfamily Leuciscinae with other Eurasian minnows, but more recent phylogenetic studies have supported it belonging to its own family Tincidae.
+
+Ecology
+The tench is most often found in still waters with a clay or muddy substrate and abundant vegetation. This species is rare in clear waters across stony substrate, and is absent altogether from fast-flowing streams. It tolerates water with a low oxygen concentration, being found in waters where even the carp cannot survive.
+Tench feed mostly at night with a preference for animals, such as chironomids, on the bottom of eutrophic waters and snails and pea clams in well-vegetated waters.Breeding takes place in shallow water usually among aquatic plants where the sticky green eggs can be deposited. Spawning usually occurs in summer, and as many as 300,000 eggs may be produced. Growth is rapid, and fish may reach a weight of 0.11 kg (0.25 lb) within the first year.
+
+Morphology
+Tench have a stocky, carp-like shape and olive-green skin, darker above and almost golden below. The tail fin is square in shape. The other fins are distinctly rounded in shape. The mouth is rather narrow and provided at each corner with a very small barbel. Maximum size is 70 cm, though most specimens are much smaller. A record fish caught in 2001 in England had a weight of 15 lb 3 oz (6.89 kg). The eyes are small and red-orange in colour. Sexual dimorphism is absent or weak, limited to the adult females having a more convex ventral profile when compared with males.Males may also possess a very thick and flattened outer ray to the ventral fins. Males are generally smaller than females, but can be recognised by having more curved lower fins and noticeable muscles around the base of the fins generally absent in female.The tench has very small scales, which are deeply embedded in a thick skin, making it as slippery as an eel. Folklore has it that this slime cured any sick fish that rubbed against it, and from this belief arose the name doctor fish.
+
+Golden tench
+An artificially bred variety of tench called the golden tench  is a popular ornamental fish for ponds. This form varies in colour from pale gold through to dark red, and some fish have black or red spots on the flanks and fins. Though somewhat similar to the goldfish, because these fish have such small scales, their quality is rather different.
+
+Economic significance
+Tench are edible, working well in recipes that would otherwise call for carp, but are rarely eaten these days. They are shoaling fish that are popular quarries for coarse angling in rivers, lakes and canals. Tench, particularly golden tench, are also kept as ornamental fish in ponds as they are bottom feeders that help to keep the waterways clean and healthy.
+
+Angling
+Large tench may be found in gravel pits or deep, slow-moving waters with a clayey or silty bottom and copious aquatic vegetation. The best methods and bait to catch tench are float fishing and ledgering with a swim feeder using maggots, sweetcorn, pellets, bread, and worms. Fish over 1 kg (2 lb) in weight are very strong fighters when caught on a rod.
+
+
+== References ==
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diff --git a/data/animals/three-toed sloth.txt b/data/animals/three-toed sloth.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9bb8a2cc13e821e69d48204d5ab88e444d379d49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/three-toed sloth.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+The three-toed or three-fingered sloths are arboreal neotropical mammals. They are the only members of the genus Bradypus (meaning "slow-footed") and the family Bradypodidae. The five living species of three-toed sloths are the brown-throated sloth, the maned sloth, the pale-throated sloth, the southern maned sloth, and the pygmy three-toed sloth. In complete contrast to past morphological studies, which tended to place Bradypus as the sister group to all other folivorans, molecular studies place them nested within the sloth superfamily Megatherioidea, making them the only surviving members of that radiation.
+
+Extant species
+Evolution
+A study of mitochondrial cytochrome b and 16S rRNA sequences suggests that B. torquatus diverged from B. variegatus and B. tridactylus about 12 million years ago, while the latter two split 5 to 6 million years ago. The diversification of B. variegatus lineages was estimated to have started 4 to 5 million years ago.
+
+Relation to the two-toed sloth
+Both types of sloth tend to occupy the same forests; in most areas, a particular species of three-toed sloth and a single species of the somewhat larger and generally faster-moving  two-toed sloth will jointly predominate. Although similar in overall appearance, the two genera are placed in different families. Recent phylogenetic analyses support the morphological data from the 1970s and 1980s that the two genera are not closely related and that each adopted their arboreal lifestyles independently. From morphological studies it was unclear from which ground-dwelling sloth taxa the three-toed sloths evolved or whether they retained their arboreality from the last common ancestor of extant sloths. The two-toed sloths were thought on the basis of morphology to nest phylogenetically within one of the divisions of ground-dwelling Caribbean sloths.Understanding of sloth phylogeny has recently been greatly revised by molecular studies, based on collagen and mitochondrial DNA sequences. These investigations consistently place three-toed sloths within Megatherioidea, close to Megalonyx, megatheriids and nothrotheriids, and two-toed sloths close to mylodontids, while moving the Caribbean sloths to a separate, basal branch of the sloth evolutionary tree.
+These results provide further strong support for the long-held belief that arboreality arose separately in the two genera via convergent paths.
+The following sloth family phylogenetic tree is based on collagen and mitochondrial DNA sequence data (see Fig. 4 of Presslee et al., 2019).
+
+Characteristics
+Famously slow-moving, a sloth travels at an average speed of 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph). Three-toed sloths are about the size of a small dog or a large cat, with the head and body having a combined length of around 45 cm (18 in) and a weight of 3.5–4.5 kg (8–10 lb). Unlike the two-toed sloths, they also have short tails of 6–7 cm (2–3 in), and they have three clawed toes on each limb. All sloths have three digits on their hindlimbs; the difference is found in the number of digits on the forelimbs; thus they are sometimes referred to as three-fingered sloths. However, sloths are generally regarded as quadrupeds.
+
+Behavior
+Like the two-toed sloth, three-toed sloths are agile swimmers. They are still slow in trees. The muscles that sloths use to grip and produce a pulling motion are much more prominent than those that produce a pushing motion. This means that they struggle to support their body weight when walking on all four limbs, so traveling on the ground is a dangerous and laborious process.Three-toed sloths are arboreal (tree-dwelling), with a body adapted to hang by their limbs. Large, curved claws and muscles specifically adapted for strength and stamina help sloths to keep a strong grip on tree branches. The abdominal organs close to their diaphragm (such as their stomach, liver, and kidneys) are attached to their lower ribs (or pelvic girdle in the latter case) by fibrinous adhesions, which prevent the weight of these organs from compressing their lungs when hanging, making inhalation easier.They live high in the canopy but descend once a week to defecate on the forest floor. During this week-long interval, their feces and urine accumulate to about a third of their total body mass.  It takes about a month for a single leaf to pass through its four-chambered stomach and digestive tract. Although they get most of their fluids from the leaves that they eat, they have been observed drinking directly from rivers. Because of their slow metabolism, they do not need to ingest many leaves on a daily basis, but when ambient temperatures are high, the symbiotic microbes and bacteria present in their gut will break down and ferment food at a faster rate. Conversely, when temperatures are lower, sloths will consume less, which is opposite to what has been observed in most other mammals. Only very few species of sloths are found at higher altitudes, and these are found to have thicker coats than those living in lower altitudes. Some of the extinct species of sloths were able to tolerate cooler temperatures, but researchers believe this was probably due to thicker fur, larger size, larger muscle mass, and more access to a constant food supply.Their long, coarse fur often appears greenish, not due to pigment, but to algae growing on it. Sloths' greenish color and their sluggish habits provide an effective camouflage; hanging quietly, sloths resemble a bundle of leaves.
+They move between different trees up to four times a day, although they prefer to keep to a particular type of tree, which varies between individuals, perhaps as a means of allowing multiple sloths to occupy overlapping home ranges without competing with each other.Three-toed sloths are predominantly diurnal, although they can be active at any hour of the day, while two-toed sloths are nocturnal.
+
+Lifecycle
+Members of this genus tend to live around 25 to 30 years, reaching sexual maturation at three to five years of age.
+Three-toed sloths do not have a mating season and breed year-round. Females give birth to a single young after a gestation period of around six months. The offspring cling to their mother's bellies for around nine months. They are weaned around nine months of age when the mother leaves her home territory to her offspring and moves elsewhere. Adults are solitary, and mark their territories using anal scent glands and dung middens.Male three-toed sloths are attracted to females in estrus by their screams echoing throughout the canopy. Sloth copulation lasts an average of 25 minutes. Male three-toed sloths are strongly polygamous and exclude competitors from their territory. Males are also able to compete with one another within small habitable territories.The home ranges used by wild brown-throated three-toed sloths in Costa Rica include cacao, pasture, riparian forests, peri-urban areas, and living fence-rows. For the first few months after giving birth, mothers remain at just one or two trees and guide their young. At about five to seven months of age, when the young have become more independent, mothers expand their resources and leave their young in new areas. During natal dispersion, three-toed sloths prefer tropical forests, often using riparian forest habitat to disperse while avoiding pastures and shade-grown cacao. The home range for mothers is larger than those of young. After separation, only the mothers use the cacao-growing forest, but both use riparian forests. Different types of trees are used by both mother and young, which indicates that this agricultural matrix provides an important habitat type for these animals.
+
+Dentition and skeleton
+Three-toed sloths have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of peg-shaped cheek teeth that are not clearly divided into premolars and molars, and lack homology with those teeth in other mammals, and thus are referred to as molariforms. The molariform dentition in three-toed sloths is simple and can be characterized as dental formula of: 54-5.Three-toed sloths are unusual amongst mammals in possessing as many as nine cervical vertebrae, which may be due to mutations in the homeotic genes. All other mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, other than the two-toed sloth and the manatee, which have only six.
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Three-toed sloth." Passport to Knowledge. 21 Feb. 2009
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diff --git a/data/animals/tiger shark.txt b/data/animals/tiger shark.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..aa691ca4a7c4fef21d61b32371000978a8ee0f8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/tiger shark.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus Galeocerdo and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large macropredator, with females capable of attaining a length of over 5 m (16 ft 5 in). Populations are found in many tropical and temperate waters, especially around central Pacific islands. Its name derives from the dark stripes down its body, which resemble a tiger's pattern, but fade as the shark matures.The tiger shark is a solitary, mostly nocturnal hunter. It is notable for having the widest food spectrum of all sharks, with a range of prey that includes crustaceans, fish, seals, birds, squid, turtles, sea snakes, dolphins, and even other, smaller sharks. It also has a reputation as a "garbage eater", consuming a variety of inedible, man-made objects that linger in its stomach. Tiger sharks have only one recorded natural predator, the orca.  It is considered a near threatened species because of finning and fishing by humans.The tiger shark is second only to the great white in recorded fatal attacks on humans, but these events are still exceedingly rare.
+
+Taxonomy
+The shark was first described by Peron and Lesueur in 1822, and was given the name Squalus cuvier. Müller and Henle in 1837 renamed it Galeocerdo tigrinus. The genus, Galeocerdo, is derived from the Greek galeos, which means shark, and kerdo, the word for fox. It is often colloquially called the man-eater shark.The tiger shark is a member of the order Carcharhiniformes, the most species-rich order of sharks, with more than 270 species also including the small catsharks and hammerhead sharks. Members of this order are characterized by the presence of a nictitating membrane over the eyes, two dorsal fins, an anal fin, and five gill slits. It is the largest member of the order, commonly referred to as ground sharks. It is the only extant member of Galeocerdo, the only member of the family Galeocerdonidae. The oldest remains of Galeocerdo extend back to the Eocene epoch, while the oldest fossils of the modern tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier date to the Middle Miocene, around 13.8 million years ago.
+
+Description
+The tiger shark commonly attains adult length of 3.5 to 4.7 m (11 ft 6 in – 15 ft 5 in) and weighs between 300 and 900 kg (700 and 2,000 lb). It is sexually dimorphic, with females being the larger sex. Mature females are often over 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) while mature males rarely get that large. Exceptionally large females reportedly can measure  over 5 m (16 ft 5 in), and the largest males 4 m (13 ft 1 in). Weights of particularly large female tiger sharks can exceed 1,300 kg (2,900 lb). One pregnant female caught off Australia reportedly measured 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in) long and weighed 1,524 kg (3,360 lb). Even larger unconfirmed catches have been claimed. Some papers have accepted a record of an exceptional 7.4-metre (24 ft 3 in), 3,110-kilogram (6,860 lb) tiger shark, but since this is far larger than any scientifically observed specimen, verification would be needed. A 2019 study suggested that Pliocene tiger sharks could have reached 8 m (26 ft) in maximum length. There is variation in the speed of growth rates of juvenile tiger sharks depending on the region they inhabit, with some growing close to twice as fast as others.Among the largest extant sharks, the tiger shark ranks in average size only behind the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus), and the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). This makes it the second-largest predatory shark, after the great white. Some other species such as megamouth sharks (Megachasma pelagios), Pacific sleeper sharks (Somniosus pacificus), Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus), and bluntnose sixgill sharks (Hexanchus griseus) broadly overlap in size with the tiger shark, but as these species are comparatively poorly studied,  whether their typical mature size matches that of the tiger shark is unclear. The great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran), a member of the same taxonomic order as the tiger shark, has a similar or even greater average body length, but is lighter and less bulky, with a maximum known weight coming from a heavily pregnant 4.4 m (14 ft) long individual at 580 kg (1,280 lb).Tiger shark teeth are unique with very sharp, pronounced serrations and an unmistakable sideways-pointing tip. Such dentition has developed to slice through flesh, bone, and other tough substances such as turtle shells. Like most sharks, its teeth are continually replaced by rows of new teeth throughout the shark's life. Relative to the shark's size, tiger shark teeth are considerably shorter than those of a great white shark, but they are nearly as broad as the root as the great white's teeth and are arguably better suited to slicing through hard-surfaced prey.A tiger shark generally has long fins to provide lift as the shark maneuvers through water, while the long upper tail provides bursts of speed. The tiger shark normally swims using small body movements.
+
+Skin
+The skin of a tiger shark can typically range from blue to light green with a white or light-yellow underbelly. The advantage of this is that when it is hunting for its prey, when prey looks at the shark from above, the shark will be camouflaged, since the water below is darker. When prey is below the shark and looks up the light underbelly will also camouflage the shark with the sunlight. This is known as countershading. Dark spots and stripes are most visible in young sharks and fade as the shark matures. Its head is somewhat wedge-shaped, which makes it easy to turn quickly to one side. They have small pits on the snout which hold electroreceptors called the ampullae of Lorenzini, which enable them to detect electric fields, including the weak electrical impulses generated by prey, which helps them to hunt. Tiger sharks also have a sensory organ called a lateral line which extends on their flanks down most of the length of their sides. The primary role of this structure is to detect minute vibrations in the water. These adaptations allow the tiger shark to hunt in darkness and detect hidden prey.
+
+Vision
+Sharks do not have moveable upper or lower eyelids, but the tiger shark—among other sharks—has a nictitating membrane, a clear eyelid that can cover the eye. A reflective layer behind the tiger shark's retina, called the tapetum lucidum, allows light-sensing cells a second chance to capture photons of visible light. This enhances vision in low-light conditions.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The tiger shark is often found close to the coast, mainly in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world. Its behavior is primarily nomadic, but is guided by warmer currents, and it stays closer to the equator throughout the colder months. It tends to stay in deep waters that line reefs, but it does move into channels to pursue prey in shallower waters. In the western Pacific Ocean, the shark has been found as far north as Japan and as far south as New Zealand. It has also been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea, but rarely, off Malaga (Spain), Sicily (Italy) and Libya.Tiger sharks can be seen in the Gulf of Mexico, North American beaches, and parts of South America. It is also commonly observed in the Caribbean Sea. Other locations where tiger sharks are seen include off Africa, China, India, Australia, and Indonesia. Certain tiger sharks have been recorded at depths just shy of 900 m (3,000 ft).
+
+Feeding
+The tiger shark is an apex predator and has a reputation for eating almost anything. These predators swim close inland to eat at night, and during the day swim out into deeper waters. Young tiger sharks are found to feed largely on small fish, as well as various small jellyfish, and mollusks including cephalopods. Around the time they attain 2.3 m (7.5 ft), or near sexual maturity, their selection expands considerably, and much larger animals become regular prey. Numerous fish, crustaceans, sea birds, sea snakes, marine mammals (e.g. bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops), common dolphins (Delphinus), spotted dolphins (Stenella), dugongs (Dugong dugon), seals and sea lions, and sea turtles (including the three largest species: the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)), are regularly eaten by adult tiger sharks. In fact, adult sea turtles have been found in up to 20.8% of studied tiger shark stomachs, indicating somewhat of a dietary preference for sea turtles where they are commonly encountered. They also eat other sharks (including adult sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus)), as well as rays, and sometimes even other tiger sharks.Due to high risk of predation, dolphins often avoid regions inhabited by tiger sharks. Injured or ailing whales may also be attacked and eaten. A group was documented killing an ailing humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in 2006 near Hawaii. A scavenger, the tiger shark will feed on dead whales, and has been documented doing so alongside great white sharks.Evidence of dugong predation was identified in one study that found dugong tissue in 15 of 85 tiger sharks caught off the Australian coast. Additionally, examination of adult dugongs has shown scars from failed shark attacks. To minimize attacks, dugong microhabitats shift similarly to those of known tiger shark prey when the sharks are abundant.The broad, heavily calcified jaws and nearly terminal mouth, combined with robust, serrated teeth, enable the tiger shark to take on these large prey. In addition, excellent eyesight and acute sense of smell enable it to react to faint traces of blood and follow them to the source. The ability to pick up low-frequency pressure waves enables the shark to advance towards an animal with confidence, even in murky water. The shark circles its prey and studies it by prodding it with its snout. When attacking, the shark often eats its prey whole, although larger prey are often eaten in gradual large bites and finished over time.Notably, terrestrial mammals, including horses (Equus ferus caballus), goats (Capra aegagrus hircus), sheep (Ovis aries), dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), cats (Felis catus), and brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), are fairly common in the stomach contents of tiger sharks around the coasts of Hawaii. In one case, remains of two flying foxes were found in the stomach of this shark. Because of its aggressive and indiscriminate feeding style, it often mistakenly eats inedible objects, such as automobile license plates, oil cans, tires, and baseballs. Due to their habits of eating essentially anything, Tiger sharks are often referred to as the "garbage can of the sea".
+
+Predation by orcas
+Tiger sharks are preyed on by orcas. Orcas have been recorded hunting and killing tiger sharks by holding them upside down to induce tonic immobility in order to drown the shark. The orcas bite off the shark's fins before disemboweling and devouring it.
+
+Swimming efficiency and stealth
+All tiger sharks generally swim slowly, which, combined with cryptic coloration, may make them difficult for prey to detect in some habitats. They are especially well camouflaged against dark backgrounds. Despite their sluggish appearance, tiger sharks are one of the strongest swimmers of the carcharhinid sharks. Once the shark has come close, a speed burst allows it to reach the intended prey before it can escape.
+
+Reproduction
+Males reach sexual maturity at 2.3 to 2.9 m (7.5 to 9.5 ft) and females at 2.5 to 3.5 m (8.2 to 11.5 ft). Typical weight of relatively young sexually mature specimens, which often locally comprise the majority of tiger sharks encountered per game-fishing and scientific studies, is around 80 to 130 kg (180 to 290 lb). Females mate once every three years. They breed by internal fertilization. The male inserts one of his claspers into the female's genital opening (cloaca), acting as a guide for the sperm. The male uses his teeth to hold the female still during the procedure, often causing the female considerable discomfort. Mating in the Northern Hemisphere generally takes place between March and May, with birth between April and June the following year. In the Southern Hemisphere, mating takes place in November, December, or early January. The tiger shark is the only species in its family that is ovoviviparous; its eggs hatch internally and the young are born live when fully developed.
+Tiger Sharks are unique among all sharks in the fact that they employ embrytrophy to nourish their young inside the womb. The young gestate in sacks which are filled with a fluid that nourishes them. This allows for the young to dramatically increase in size, even though they have no placental connection to the mother.The young develop inside the mother's body up to 16 months. Litters range from 10 to 80 pups. A newborn is generally 51 to 76 cm (20 to 30 in) long. How long tiger sharks live is unknown, but they can live longer than 12 years.
+
+Ontogeny
+Tiger shark ontogeny has been little studied until recently, but studies by Hammerschlag et al., indicated that as they grow, their tails become more symmetrical with age. Additionally, while the heads on juvenile tiger sharks are more conical and similar to other requiem sharks, adult tiger sharks have a head which is relatively broader. The reason for the larger caudal fin on juvenile tiger sharks is theorized to be an adaptation to escape predation by larger predators and to catch quicker-moving prey. As tiger sharks mature, their head also becomes much wider and their tails no longer become as large in proportion to their body size as when they are juveniles because they do not face elevated levels of predation risk upon maturity. The results of this study were interpreted as reflecting two ecological transitions: as tiger sharks mature they become more migratory and having a symmetrical tail is more advantageous in long-distance traveling, and that tiger sharks consume more diverse prey items with age, which requires a greater bite force and broader head.
+
+Conservation
+The tiger shark is captured and killed for its fins, flesh, and liver. It is caught regularly in target and nontarget fisheries. Several populations have declined where they have been heavily fished. Continued demand for fins may result in further declines. They are considered a near threatened species due to excessive finning and fishing by humans according to International Union for Conservation of Nature. In June 2018 the New Zealand Department of Conservation classified the tiger shark as "Migrant" with the qualifier "Secure Overseas" under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.While shark fin has very few nutrients, shark liver has a high concentration of vitamin A, which is used in the production of vitamin oils. In addition, the tiger shark is captured and killed for its distinct skin, as well as by big-game fishers.In 2010, Greenpeace International added the tiger shark to its seafood red list, which is a list of commonly sold fish likely to come from unsustainable fisheries.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Although sharks rarely bite humans, the tiger shark is reported to be responsible for a large share of fatal shark-bite incidents, and is regarded as one of the most dangerous shark species. They often visit shallow reefs, harbors, and canals, creating the potential for encounter with humans. The tiger shark also dwells in river mouths and other runoff-rich water. While it ranks second on the list of number of recorded shark attacks on humans, behind only the great white shark, such attacks are few and very seldom fatal. Typically, three to four shark bites occur per year in Hawaii; one notable survivor of such an attack is surfing champion Bethany Hamilton, who lost her left arm at age 13 to a tiger shark in 2003. This bite rate is very low, considering that thousands of people swim, surf, and dive in Hawaiian waters every day. Human interactions with tiger sharks in Hawaiian waters have been shown to increase between September and November, when tiger shark females are believed to migrate to the islands to give birth.On 8 June 2023, a tiger shark attacked and killed a 23-year-old Russian man in the Red Sea off the coast of the Egyptian city of Hurghada. The attack was filmed by onlookers and the recording went viral. The shark was later captured by fishermen and killed. This was the third fatal tiger shark attack in the area since 2022.Between 1959 and 2000, 4,668 tiger sharks were culled in an effort to protect the tourism industry. Despite damaging the shark population, these efforts were shown to be ineffective in decreasing the number of interactions between humans and tiger sharks. Feeding sharks in Hawaii (except for traditional Hawaiian cultural or religious practices) is illegal, and interaction with them, such as cage diving, is discouraged. South African shark behaviorist and shark diver Mark Addison demonstrated divers could interact and dive with them outside of a shark cage in a 2007 Discovery Channel special, and underwater photographer Fiona Ayerst swam with them in the Bahamas. At "Tiger Beach" off Grand Bahama, uncaged diving with – and even the handling of – female tiger sharks has become a routine occurrence.
+
+Mythology
+Tiger sharks are considered to be sacred 'aumākua (ancestor spirits) by some native Hawaiians.
+The Tiger shark, possess a unique significance as 'aumakua, revered as family guardians in Hawaiian culture. The Tiger shark, regarded as an intelligent and highly perceptive spiritual entity, assumes the role of a messenger bridging the gap between humans and the divine. In the Hawaiian belief system, 'aumakua take on various forms, either animals or objects, representing ancestral connections and manifestations of departed family members. This perspective underscores the intricate web of interdependence among plants, animals, elements, and humans, underscoring the imperative to honor and coexist harmoniously with nature.
+
+See also
+List of sharks
+List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera
+
+References
+External links
+
+"Galeocerdo cuvier". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 7 April 2006.
+General information Enchanted Learning. Retrieved January 22, 2005.
+"Different diet information" Shark Info. Retrieved January 22, 2005.
+"Tiger sharks in Hawaii" Research program. Retrieved January 22, 2005.
+"Tiger shark: Fact File" from National Geographic
+Tracking research on tiger sharks
+Pictures of tiger sharks
+Photos of Tiger shark on Sealife Collection
+Diver Has Been Friends With Tiger Shark For 20 Years!
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+The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ungulates, such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and generally a solitary but social predator, requiring large contiguous areas of habitat to support its requirements for prey and rearing of its offspring. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years and then become independent, leaving their mother's home range to establish their own.
+The tiger was first scientifically described in 1758. It once ranged widely from the Eastern Anatolia Region in the west to the Amur River basin in the east, and in the south from the foothills of the Himalayas to Bali in the Sunda Islands. Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and have been extirpated from Western and Central Asia, the islands of Java and Bali, and in large areas of Southeast and South Asia and China. What remains of the range where tigers still roam free is fragmented, stretching in spots from Siberian temperate forests to subtropical and tropical forests on the Indian subcontinent, Indochina and a single Indonesian island, Sumatra.
+The tiger is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. As of 2023, the global wild tiger population is estimated to number 5,574 individuals, with most populations living in small isolated pockets. India hosts the largest tiger population. Major reasons for population decline are habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching. Tigers are also victims of human–wildlife conflict, due to encroachment in countries with a high human population density.
+The tiger is among the most recognisable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range and continues to be depicted in modern films and literature, appearing on many flags, coats of arms and as mascots for sporting teams. The tiger is the national animal of India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and South Korea.
+
+Etymology
+The Middle English tigre and Old English tigras derive from Old French tigre, from Latin tigris. This was a borrowing of Classical Greek τίγρις 'tigris', a foreign borrowing of unknown origin meaning 'tiger' and the river Tigris. The origin may have been the Persian word tigra ('pointed or sharp') and the Avestan word tigrhi ('arrow'), perhaps referring to the speed of the tiger's leap, although these words are not known to have any meanings associated with tigers.The generic name Panthera is derived from the Latin word panthera and the Ancient Greek word πάνθηρ ('panther').
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis tigris. In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris.
+
+Subspecies
+Following Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several tiger specimens were described and proposed as subspecies. The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999. Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size, hence characteristics that vary widely within populations. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia, and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands.This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 by a comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological and molecular traits of all putative tiger subspecies using a combined approach. The authors proposed recognition of only two subspecies, namely P. t. tigris comprising the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South Chinese, Siberian and Caspian tiger populations of continental Asia, and P. t. sondaica comprising the Javan, Bali and Sumatran tiger populations of the Sunda Islands. The continental nominate subspecies P. t. tigris constitutes two clades: a northern clade composed of the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and a southern clade composed of all other mainland populations.The authors of the 2015 study noted that this two-subspecies reclassification will affect tiger conservation management. It would make captive breeding programs and future re-wilding of zoo-born tigers easier, as one tiger population could then be used to bolster the population of another population. However, there is the risk that the loss of subspecies uniqueness could negatively impact protection efforts for specific populations.In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy in accordance with the two-subspecies proposal of the comprehensive 2015 study, and recognized the tiger populations in continental Asia as P. t. tigris, and those in the Sunda Islands as P. t. sondaica.This two-subspecies view is still disputed by researchers, since the currently recognized nine subspecies can be distinguished genetically. Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing of 32 specimens support six monophyletic tiger clades corresponding with the living subspecies and indicate that the most recent common ancestor lived about 110,000 years ago.The following tables are based on the classification of the species Panthera tigris provided in Mammal Species of the World, and also reflect the classification used by the Cat Classification Task Force in 2017:
+
+Evolution
+The tiger's closest living relatives were previously thought to be the Panthera species lion, leopard and jaguar. Results of genetic analysis indicate that about 2.88 million years ago, the tiger and the snow leopard lineages diverged from the other Panthera species, and that both may be more closely related to each other than to the lion, leopard and jaguar. The geographic origin of the Panthera is most likely northern Central Asia. The tiger–snow leopard lineage dispersed in Southeast Asia during the Miocene.Panthera zdanskyi is considered to be a sister taxon of the modern tiger. It lived at the beginning of the Pleistocene about two million years ago, its fossil remains were excavated in Gansu Province, northwestern China. It was smaller and more "primitive", but functionally and ecologically similar to the modern tiger. It is disputed as to whether it had the striping pattern. Northwestern China is thought to be the origin of the tiger lineage. Tigers grew in size, possibly in response to adaptive radiations of prey species like deer and bovids, which may have occurred in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene.Panthera tigris trinilensis lived about 1.2 million years ago and is known from fossils excavated near Trinil in Java. The Wanhsien, Ngandong, Trinil, and Japanese tigers became extinct in prehistoric times. Tigers reached India and northern Asia in the late Pleistocene, reaching eastern Beringia, Japan, and Sakhalin. Some fossil skulls are morphologically distinct from lion skulls, which could indicate tiger presence in Alaska during the last glacial period, about 100,000 years ago.Fossil teeth and bones found in Borneo were attributed to the Bornean tiger and date to about 13,745 to 3,000 years ago. It may have accessed Borneo, when the sea level was low during a glaciation period, and may have survived until about 200 years ago.
+In the Ille Cave on the island of Palawan, two articulated phalanx bones were found amidst an assemblage of other animal bones and stone tools. They were smaller than mainland tiger fossils, possibly due to insular dwarfism. It has been speculated that the tiger parts were either imported from elsewhere, or that the tiger colonised Palawan from Borneo before the Holocene. Fossil remains of tigers were also excavated in Sri Lanka, China, Japan and Sarawak dating to the Late Pliocene, Pleistocene and Early Holocene.Results of a phylogeographic study indicate that all living tigers had a common ancestor 108,000 to 72,000 years ago. The potential tiger range during the late Pleistocene and Holocene was predicted applying ecological niche modelling based on more than 500 tiger locality records combined with bioclimatic data. The resulting model shows a contiguous tiger range at the Last Glacial Maximum, indicating gene flow between tiger populations in mainland Asia. The Caspian tiger population was likely connected to the Bengal tiger population through corridors below elevations of 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Hindu Kush. The tiger populations on the Sunda Islands and mainland Asia were possibly separated during interglacial periods.The tiger's full genome sequence was published in 2013. It was found to have repeat compositions much as other cat genomes and "an appreciably conserved synteny".
+
+Hybrids
+Captive tigers were bred with lions to create hybrids called liger and tigon. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species. Breeding hybrids is now discouraged due to the emphasis on conservation. The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. Ligers are typically between 3 and 3.5 m (10 and 12 ft) in length, and weigh between 350 and 450 kg (800 and 1,000 lb) or more. Because the lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent, ligers grow far larger than either parent species.The less common tigon is a cross between a lioness and a male tiger. Because the male tiger does not pass on a growth-promoting gene and the lioness passes on a growth inhibiting gene, tigons are around the same size as their parents. Some females are fertile and have occasionally given birth to litigons when mated to a male Asiatic lion.
+
+Description
+The tiger has a muscular body with strong forelimbs, a large head and a tail that is about half the length of its body. Its pelage colouration comes in shades of orange and brown with a white underside and distinctive mostly vertical black or dark brown stripes; the patterns of which are unique in each individual. Stripes are likely advantageous for camouflage in vegetation such as long grass with strong vertical patterns of light and shade. The tiger is one of only a few striped cat species; it is not known why spotted patterns and rosettes are the more common camouflage pattern among felids. The orange colour may also aid in camouflage as the tiger's prey are dichromats, and thus may perceive the cat as green and blended in with the vegetation.A tiger's coat pattern is still visible when it is shaved. This is not due to skin pigmentation, but to the stubble and hair follicles embedded in the skin. It has a mane-like heavy growth of fur around the neck and jaws and long whiskers, especially in males. The pupils are circular with yellow irises. The small, rounded ears have a prominent white spot on the back, surrounded by black. These spots are thought to play an important role in intraspecific communication.The tiger's skull is similar to a lion's skull, with the frontal region usually less depressed or flattened, and a slightly longer postorbital region. The lion skull shows broader nasal openings. Due to the variation in skull sizes of the two species, the structure of the lower jaw is a reliable indicator for their identification. The tiger has fairly stout teeth; its somewhat curved canines are the longest among living felids with a crown height of up to 90 mm (3.5 in).
+
+Size
+There is notable sexual dimorphism between male and female tigers, with the latter being consistently smaller. The size difference between them is proportionally greater in the large tiger subspecies, with males weighing up to 1.7 times more than females. Males also have wider forepaw pads, enabling sex to be identified from tracks. It has been hypothesised that body size of different tiger populations may be correlated with climate and be explained by thermoregulation and Bergmann's rule, or by distribution and size of available prey species.Generally, males vary in total length from 220 to 310 cm (87 to 122 in) and weigh between 90 and 300 kg (200 and 660 lb) with skull length ranging from 295 to 383 mm (11.6 to 15.1 in). The largest tiger on record reportedly weighed 423 kg (933 lb). Females vary in total length from 190 to 275 cm (75 to 108 in), weigh 65 to 167 kg (143 to 368 lb) with skull length ranging from 265 to 318 mm (10.4 to 12.5 in). In either sex, the tail represents about 0.6 to 1.1 m (2 ft 0 in to 3 ft 7 in) of the total length. The Bengal and Siberian tigers are the largest, while the Sumatran tiger is smaller and less heavy, rarely exceeding 142 kg (313 lb) in weight.
+
+Colour variations
+There are three other colour variants – white, golden and nearly stripeless snow white – that are now virtually non-existent in the wild due to the reduction of wild tiger populations, but continue in captive populations. The white tiger has white fur and sepia-brown stripes. The golden tiger has a pale golden pelage with a blond tone and reddish-brown stripes. The snow white tiger is a morph with extremely faint stripes and a pale reddish-brown ringed tail.  Both snow white and golden tigers are homozygous for CORIN gene mutations.The white tiger lacks pheomelanin (which creates the orange colour), and has dark sepia-brown stripes and blue eyes. This altered pigmentation is caused by a mutant gene that is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, which is determined by a white locus. It is not an albino, as the dark pigments are scarcely affected. The mutation changes a single amino acid in the transporter protein SLC45A2. Both parents need to have the allele for whiteness to have white cubs. Between the early and mid 20th century, white tigers were recorded and shot in the Indian states of Odisha, Bihar, Assam and in the area of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. The local maharaja started breeding tigers in the early 1950s and kept a white male tiger together with its normal-coloured daughter; they had white cubs. To preserve this recessive trait, only a few white individuals were used in captive breeding, which led to a high degree of inbreeding. Inbreeding depression is the main reason for many health problems of captive white tigers, including strabismus, stillbirth, deformities and premature death. Other physical defects include cleft palate and scoliosis.The Tiger Species Survival Plan has condemned the breeding of white tigers, alleging they are of mixed ancestry and of unknown lineage. The genes responsible for white colouration are represented by 0.001% of the population. The disproportionate growth in numbers of white tigers points to inbreeding among homozygous recessive individuals. This would lead to inbreeding depression and loss of genetic variability.There are also records of pseudo-melanic or black tigers which have thick stripes that merge. In Simlipal National Park, 37% of the tiger population has this condition, which has been linked to isolation and inbreeding.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The tiger historically ranged from eastern Turkey and Transcaucasia to the coast of the Sea of Japan, and from South Asia across Southeast Asia to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. Since the end of the last glacial period, it was probably restricted by periods of deep snow lasting longer than six months. Currently, it occurs in less than 6% of its historical range, as it has been extirpated from Southwest and Central Asia, large parts of Southeast and East Asia. It now mainly occurs in the Indian subcontinent, the Indochinese Peninsula, Sumatra and the Russian Far East, while its status in the Korean Peninsula is unknown.The tiger is essentially associated with forest habitats. Tiger populations thrive where populations of wild cervids, bovids and suids are stable. Records in Central Asia indicate that it occurred foremost in Tugay riverine forests along the Atrek, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Hari, Chu and Ili Rivers and their tributaries. In the Caucasus, it inhabited hilly and lowland forests. Historical records in Iran are known only from the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and adjacent Alborz Mountains. In the Amur-Ussuri region, it inhabits Korean pine and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, where riparian forests provide food and water, and serve as dispersal corridors for both tiger and ungulates. On the Indian subcontinent, it inhabits mainly tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist evergreen forests, tropical dry forests and the swamp forests of the Sundarbans. In the Eastern Himalayas, tigers were documented in temperate forest up to an elevation of 4,200 m (13,800 ft) in Bhutan and of 3,630 m (11,910 ft) in the Mishmi Hills. In Thailand, it lives in deciduous and evergreen forests. In Sumatra, tiger populations range from lowland peat swamp forests to rugged montane forests.
+
+Ecology and behaviour
+Social and daily activities
+When not subject to human disturbance, the tiger is mainly diurnal. It does not often climb trees but cases have been recorded. It is a strong swimmer and often bathes in ponds, lakes and rivers, thus keeping cool in the heat of the day. Individuals can cross rivers up to 7 km (4.3 mi) wide and can swim up to 29 km (18 mi) in a day. During the 1980s, a tiger was observed frequently hunting prey through deep lake water in Ranthambhore National Park.The tiger is a long-ranging species, and individuals disperse over distances of up to 650 km (400 mi) to reach tiger populations in other areas. Radio-collared tigers in Chitwan National Park started dispersing from their natal areas earliest at the age of 19 months. Four females dispersed between 0 and 43.2 km (0.0 and 26.8 mi), and 10 males between 9.5 and 65.7 km (5.9 and 40.8 mi). None of them crossed open cultivated areas that were more than 10 km (6.2 mi) wide, but moved through forested habitat.Adult tigers lead largely solitary lives. They establish and maintain territories but have much wider home ranges within which they roam. Resident adults of either sex generally confine their movements to their home ranges, within which they satisfy their needs and those of their growing cubs. Individuals sharing the same area are aware of each other's movements and activities. The size of the home range mainly depends on prey abundance, geographic area and sex of the individual. In India, home ranges appear to be 50 to 1,000 km2 (19 to 386 sq mi) while in Manchuria, they range from 500 to 4,000 km2 (190 to 1,540 sq mi). In Nepal, defended territories are recorded to be 19 to 151 km2 (7.3 to 58.3 sq mi) for males and 10 to 51 km2 (3.9 to 19.7 sq mi) for females.Young female tigers establish their first territories close to their mother's. The overlap between the female and her mother's territory reduces with time. Males, however, migrate further than their female counterparts and set out at a younger age to mark out their own area. A young male acquires territory either by seeking out an area devoid of other male tigers, or by living as a transient in another male's territory until he is older and strong enough to challenge the resident male. Young males seeking to establish themselves thereby comprise the highest mortality rate (30–35% per year) amongst adult tigers.To identify his territory, the male marks trees by spraying urine, anal gland secretions, marking trails with feces and marking trees or the ground with their claws. Females also use these "scrapes", urine and fecal markings. Scent markings of this type allow an individual to pick up information on another's identity, sex and reproductive status. Females in oestrus will signal their availability by scent marking more frequently and increasing their vocalisations.Although for the most part avoiding each other, tigers are not always territorial and relationships between individuals can be complex. An adult of either sex will sometimes share its kill with others, even with unrelated tigers. George Schaller observed a male share a kill with two females and four cubs. Unlike male lions, male tigers allow females and cubs to feed on the kill before the male is finished with it; all involved generally seem to behave amicably, in contrast to the competitive behaviour shown by a lion pride. Stephen Mills described a social feeding event in Ranthambore National Park:
+
+A dominant tigress they called Padmini killed a 250 kg (550 lb) male nilgai – a very large antelope. They found her at the kill just after dawn with her three 14-month-old cubs, and they watched uninterrupted for the next ten hours. During this period the family was joined by two adult females and one adult male, all offspring from Padmini's previous litters, and by two unrelated tigers, one female the other unidentified. By three o'clock there were no fewer than nine tigers round the kill.
+Male tigers are generally less tolerant of other males within their territories than females are of other females. Territory disputes are usually solved by intimidation rather than outright violence. Several such incidents have been observed in which the subordinate tiger yielded by rolling onto its back and showing its belly in a submissive posture. Once dominance has been established, a male may tolerate a subordinate within his range, as long as they do not live in too close quarters. The most serious disputes tend to occur between two males competing for a female in oestrus, sometimes fighting to the death.
+
+Facial expressions include the "defense threat", where an individual bares its teeth, flattens its ears and its pupils enlarge. Both males and females show a flehmen response, a characteristic grimace, when sniffing urine markings, but flehmen is more often associated with males detecting the markings made by tigresses in oestrus.Tigers roar to signal their presence to other individuals over long distances. This vocalisation is forced through an open mouth as it closes and can be heard 3 km (1.9 mi) away. They may roar three or four times in a row, and other tigers may respond in kind. When tense, tigers will moan, a sound similar to a roar but softer and made when the mouth is at least partially closed. Moaning can be heard 400 m (1,300 ft) away. Aggressive encounters involve growling, snarling and hissing. During an attack, an explosive "coughing roar" or "coughing snarl" is emitted through an open mouth and exposed teeth. Chuffing—soft, low-frequency snorting similar to purring in smaller cats—is heard in more friendly situations. Other vocalisations include grunts, woofs and miaows.
+
+Hunting and diet
+Tigers mostly feed on large and medium-sized mammals, particularly ungulates weighing 60–250 kg (130–550 lb). Range-wide, the most selected prey are  sambar deer, Manchurian wapiti, barasingha and wild boar. Tigers are capable of taking down larger prey like adult gaur and wild water buffalo, but opportunistically eat much smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowl and other ground-based birds, hares, porcupines and fish. They also prey on other predators, including dogs, leopards, bears, snakes and crocodiles. Tiger attacks on adult Asian elephants and Indian rhinoceros have also been reported. More often, tigers take the more vulnerable small calves. When in close proximity to humans, tigers sometimes prey on domestic livestock like cattle, horses and donkeys. Although almost exclusively carnivorous, tigers occasionally eat vegetation for dietary fibre such as fruit of the slow match tree.The tiger is thought to be mainly a nocturnal predator. It generally hunts alone and overpowers its prey from any angle, using its body size and strength to knock the prey off balance. Successful hunts usually require the tiger to almost simultaneously leap onto its quarry, knock it over, and grab the throat or nape with its teeth. Some tigers can reach speeds of about 49–65 km/h (30–40 mph) but only in short bursts; consequently, tigers must be close to their prey before they break cover. If the prey senses the tiger's presence before this, the tiger usually abandons the hunt rather than give chase or battle pre-alerted prey. Horizontal leaps of up to 10 m (33 ft) have been reported, although leaps of around half this distance are more typical. One in 2 to 20 hunts, including stalking near potential prey, ends in a successful kill.
+
+When hunting larger animals, tigers prefer to bite the throat and use their powerful forelimbs to hold onto the prey, often simultaneously wrestling it to the ground. The tiger remains latched onto the neck until its target dies of strangulation. By this method, tigers killed gaurs and water buffaloes weighing over a ton. Although they can kill healthy adults, tigers often select the calves or infirm of very large species. Healthy adult prey of this type can be dangerous to tackle, as long, strong horns, legs and tusks are all potentially fatal to the tiger. No other extant land predator routinely takes on prey this large on its own.With small prey such as monkeys and hares, the tiger bites the nape, often breaking the spinal cord, piercing the windpipe, or severing the jugular vein or common carotid artery. Rarely, tigers have been observed to kill prey by swiping with their paws, which are powerful enough to smash the skulls of domestic cattle, and break the backs of sloth bears.After killing their prey, tigers sometimes drag it to conceal it in vegetation, grasping with their mouths at the site of the killing bite. This, too, can require great physical strength. In one case, after it had killed an adult gaur, a tiger was observed to drag the massive carcass over a distance of 12 m (39 ft). When 13 men simultaneously tried to drag the same carcass later, they were unable to move it. An adult tiger can go for up to two weeks without eating, then gorge on 34 kg (75 lb) of flesh at one time. In captivity, adult tigers are fed 3 to 6 kg (6.6 to 13.2 lb) of meat a day.
+
+Enemies and competitors
+Tigers usually prefer to eat self-killed prey, but eat carrion in times of scarcity and also steal prey from other large carnivores. Although predators typically avoid one another, if a prize is under dispute or a serious competitor is encountered, displays of aggression are common. If these fail, the conflicts may turn violent; tigers may kill or even prey on competitors such as leopards, dholes, striped hyenas, wolves, bears, pythons, and mugger crocodiles on occasion. Crocodiles, bears, and large packs of dholes may win conflicts with tigers, and crocodiles and bears can even kill them.The considerably smaller leopard avoids competition from tigers by hunting at different times of the day and hunting different prey. In India's Nagarhole National Park, most prey selected by leopards were from 30 to 175 kg (66 to 386 lb) against a preference for heavier prey by tigers. The average prey weight in the two respective big cats in India was 37.6 kg (83 lb) against 91.5 kg (202 lb). With relatively abundant prey, tigers and leopards were seen to successfully coexist without competitive exclusion or interspecies dominance hierarchies that may be more common to the African savanna, where the leopard lives beside the lion. Golden jackals may scavenge on tiger kills. Tigers appear to inhabit the deep parts of a forest while smaller predators like leopards and dholes are pushed closer to the fringes.
+
+Reproduction and life cycle
+The tiger mates all year round, but most cubs are born between March and June, with a second peak in September. Gestation ranges from 93 to 114 days, with an average of 103 to 105 days. A female is only receptive for three to six days. Mating is frequent and noisy during that time. The female gives birth in a sheltered location such as in tall grass, in a dense thicket, cave or rocky crevice. The father generally takes no part in rearing. Litters consist of two or three cubs, rarely as many as six. Cubs weigh from 780 to 1,600 g (28 to 56 oz) each at birth, and are born with eyes closed. They open their eyes when they are six to 14 days old. Their milk teeth break through at the age of about two weeks. They start to eat meat at the age of eight weeks. At around this time, females usually shift them to a new den. They make short ventures with their mother, although they do not travel with her as she roams her territory until they are older.  Females lactate for five to six months. Around the time they are weaned, they start to accompany their mother on territorial walks and are taught how to hunt.A dominant cub emerges in most litters, usually a male. The dominant cub is more active than its siblings and takes the lead in their play, eventually leaving its mother and becoming independent earlier. The cubs start hunting on their own earliest at the age of 11 months, and become independent around 18 to 20 months of age. They separate from their mother at the age of two to two and a half years, but continue to grow until the age of five years. Young females reach sexual maturity at three to four years, whereas males at four to five years. Unrelated wandering male tigers often kill cubs to make the female receptive, since the tigress may give birth to another litter within five months if the cubs of the previous litter are lost. The mortality rate of tiger cubs is about 50% in the first two years. Few other predators attack tiger cubs due to the diligence and ferocity of the mother. Apart from humans and other tigers, common causes of cub mortality are starvation, freezing, and accidents. Generation length of the tiger is about eight years. The oldest recorded captive tiger lived for 26 years.Occasionally, male tigers participate in raising cubs, usually their own, but this is extremely rare and not always well understood. In May 2015, Amur tigers were photographed by camera traps in the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve. The photos show a male Amur tiger pass by, followed by a female and three cubs within the span of about two minutes. In Ranthambore, a male Bengal tiger raised and defended two orphaned female cubs after their mother had died of illness. The cubs remained under his care, he supplied them with food, protected them from his rival and sister, and apparently also trained them.
+
+Conservation
+In the 1990s, a new approach to tiger conservation was developed: Tiger Conservation Units (TCUs), which are blocks of habitat that have the potential to host tiger populations in 15 habitat types within five bioregions. Altogether 143 TCUs were identified and prioritized based on size and integrity of habitat, poaching pressure and population status. They range in size from 33 to 155,829 km2 (13 to 60,166 sq mi).In 2016, an estimate of a global wild tiger population of approximately 3,890 individuals was presented during the Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation. The WWF subsequently declared that the world's count of wild tigers had risen for the first time in a century.Major threats to the tiger include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching for fur and body parts, which have simultaneously greatly reduced tiger populations in the wild. In India, only 11% of the historical tiger habitat remains due to habitat fragmentation. Demand for tiger parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine has also been cited as a major threat to tiger populations. Some estimates suggest that there are fewer than 2,500 mature breeding individuals, with no subpopulation containing more than 250 mature breeding individuals.India is home to the world's largest population of wild tigers. A 2014 census estimated a population of 2,226, a 30% increase since 2011. On International Tiger Day 2019, the 'Tiger Estimation Report 2018' was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The report estimates a population of 2967 tigers in India with 25% increase since 2014. Modi said "India is one of the safest habitats for tigers as it has achieved the target of doubling the tiger population from 1411 in 2011 to 2967 in 2019". As of 2022, India accounts for 75 percent of global tiger population. The Tiger Census of 2023 reports tiger population in India at 3167.In 1973, India's Project Tiger, started by Indira Gandhi, established numerous tiger reserves. The project was credited with tripling the number of wild Bengal tigers from some 1,200 in 1973 to over 3,500 in the 1990s, but a 2007 census showed that numbers had dropped back to about 1,400 tigers because of poaching. Following the report, the Indian government pledged $153 million to the initiative, set up measures to combat poaching, promised funds to relocate up to 200,000 villagers in order to reduce human-tiger interactions, and set up eight new tiger reserves in India. India also reintroduced tigers to the Sariska Tiger Reserve and by 2009 it was claimed that poaching had been effectively countered at Ranthambore National Park.In the 1940s, the Siberian tiger was on the brink of extinction with only about 40 animals remaining in the wild in Russia. As a result, anti-poaching controls were put in place by the Soviet Union and a network of protected zones (zapovedniks) were instituted, leading to a rise in the population to several hundred. Poaching again became a problem in the 1990s, when the economy of Russia collapsed. The major obstacle in preserving the species is the enormous territory individual tigers require, up to 450 km (280 mi) needed by a single female and more for a single male. Current conservation efforts are led by local governments and NGO's in concert with international organisations, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Wildlife Conservation Society. The competitive exclusion of wolves by tigers has been used by Russian conservationists to convince hunters to tolerate the big cats. Tigers have less impact on ungulate populations than do wolves, and are effective in controlling the latter's numbers. In 2005, there were thought to be about 360 animals in Russia, though these exhibited little genetic diversity. However, in a decade later, the Siberian tiger census was estimated from 480 to 540 individuals.In China, tigers became the target of large-scale 'anti-pest' campaigns in the early 1950s, where suitable habitats were fragmented following deforestation and resettlement of people to rural areas, who hunted tigers and prey species. Though tiger hunting was prohibited in 1977, the population continued to decline and is considered extinct in southern China since 2001. Having earlier rejected the Western-led environmentalist movement, China changed its stance in the 1980s and became a party to the CITES treaty. By 1993 it had banned the trade in tiger parts, and this diminished the use of tiger bones in traditional Chinese medicine. The Tibetan people's trade in tiger skins has also been a threat to tigers. The pelts were used in clothing, tiger-skin chuba being worn as fashion. In 2006 the 14th Dalai Lama was persuaded to take up the issue. Since then there has been a change of attitude, with some Tibetans publicly burning their chubas.In 1994, the Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Conservation Strategy addressed the potential crisis that tigers faced in Sumatra. The Sumatran Tiger Project (STP) was initiated in June 1995 in and around the Way Kambas National Park to ensure the long-term viability of wild Sumatran tigers and to accumulate data on tiger life-history characteristics vital for the management of wild populations. By August 1999, the teams of the STP had evaluated 52 sites of potential tiger habitat in Lampung Province, of which only 15 these were intact enough to contain tigers. In the framework of the STP a community-based conservation program was initiated to document the tiger-human dimension in the park to enable conservation authorities to resolve tiger-human conflicts based on a comprehensive database rather than anecdotes and opinions.The Wildlife Conservation Society and Panthera Corporation formed the collaboration Tigers Forever, with field sites including the world's largest tiger reserve, the 21,756 km2 (8,400 sq mi) Hukaung Valley in Myanmar. Other reserves were in the Western Ghats in India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Russian Far East covering in total about 260,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi).Tigers have been studied in the wild using a variety of techniques. Tiger population have been estimated using plaster casts of their pugmarks, although this method was criticized as being inaccurate. More recent techniques include the use of camera traps and studies of DNA from tiger scat, while radio-collaring has been used to track tigers in the wild. Tiger spray has been found to be just as good, or better, as a source of DNA than scat.
+
+Relationship with humans
+Tiger hunting
+The tiger has been one of the most sought after game animals of Asia. Tiger hunting took place on a large scale in the early 19th and 20th centuries, being a recognised and admired sport by the British in colonial India, the maharajas and aristocratic class of the erstwhile princely states of pre-independence India. A single maharaja or English hunter could claim to kill over a hundred tigers in their hunting career. Over 80,000 tigers were slaughtered in just 50 years spanning from 1875 to 1925 in British-ruled India. Tiger hunting was done by some hunters on foot; others sat up on machans with a goat or buffalo tied out as bait; yet others on elephant-back. King George V on his visit to Colonial India in 1911 killed 39 tigers in a matter of 10 days One of these is on display at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.Historically, tigers have been hunted at a large scale so their famous striped skins could be collected. The trade in tiger skins peaked in the 1960s, just before international conservation efforts took effect. By 1977, a tiger skin in an English market was considered to be worth US$4,250.
+
+Body part use
+Tiger parts are commonly used as amulets in South and Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, the fossils in Palawan were found besides stone tools. This, besides the evidence for cuts on the bones, and the use of fire, suggests that early humans had accumulated the bones, and the condition of the tiger subfossils, dated to approximately 12,000 to 9,000 years ago, differed from other fossils in the assemblage, dated to the Upper Paleolithic. The tiger subfossils showed longitudinal fracture of the cortical bone due to weathering, which suggests that they had post-mortem been exposed to light and air. Tiger canines were found in Ambangan sites dating to the 10th to 12th centuries in Butuan, Mindanao.Many people in China and other parts of Asia have a belief that various tiger parts have medicinal properties, including as pain killers and aphrodisiacs. There is no scientific evidence to support these beliefs. The use of tiger parts in pharmaceutical drugs in China is already banned, and the government has made some offences in connection with tiger poaching punishable by death. Furthermore, all trade in tiger parts is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and a domestic trade ban has been in place in China since 1993.However, the trading of tiger parts in Asia has become a major black market industry and governmental and conservation attempts to stop it have been ineffective to date. Almost all black marketers engaged in the trade are based in China and have either been shipped and sold within their own country or into Taiwan, South Korea or Japan. The Chinese subspecies was almost completely decimated by killing for commerce due to both the parts and skin trades in the 1950s through the 1970s. Contributing to the illegal trade, there are a number of tiger farms in the country specialising in breeding them for profit. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 captive-bred, semi-tame animals live in these farms today. However, many tigers for traditional medicine black market are wild ones shot or snared by poachers and may be caught anywhere in the tiger's remaining range (from Siberia to India to the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra). In the Asian black market, a tiger penis can be worth the equivalent of around $300 U.S. dollars. In the years of 1990 through 1992, 27 million products with tiger derivatives were found. In July 2014 at an international convention on endangered species in Geneva, Switzerland, a Chinese representative admitted for the first time his government was aware trading in tiger skins was occurring in China.
+
+Man-eating tigers
+Wild tigers that have had no prior contact with humans actively avoid interactions with them. However, tigers cause more human deaths through direct attack than any other wild mammal. Attacks are occasionally provoked, as tigers lash out after being injured while they themselves are hunted. Attacks can be provoked accidentally, as when a human surprises a tiger or inadvertently comes between a mother and her young, or as in a case in rural India when a postman startled a tiger, used to seeing him on foot, by riding a bicycle. Occasionally tigers come to view people as prey. Such attacks are most common in areas where population growth, logging, and farming have put pressure on tiger habitats and reduced their wild prey. Most man-eating tigers are old, missing teeth, and unable to capture their preferred prey. For example, the Champawat Tiger, a tigress found in Nepal and then India, had two broken canines. She was responsible for an estimated 430 human deaths, the most attacks known to be perpetrated by a single wild animal, by the time she was shot in 1907 by Jim Corbett. According to Corbett, tiger attacks on humans are normally in daytime, when people are working outdoors and are not keeping watch. Early writings tend to describe man-eating tigers as cowardly because of their ambush tactics.Man-eaters have been a particular problem in recent decades in India and Bangladesh, especially in Kumaon, Garhwal and the Sundarbans mangrove swamps of Bengal, where some healthy tigers have hunted humans. Because of rapid habitat loss attributed to climate change, tiger attacks have increased in the Sundarbans. The Sundarbans area had 129 human deaths from tigers from 1969 to 1971. In the 10 years prior to that period, about 100 attacks per year in the Sundarbans, with a high of around 430 in some years of the 1960s. Unusually, in some years in the Sundarbans, more humans are killed by tigers than vice versa. In 1972, India's production of honey and beeswax dropped by 50% when at least 29 people who gathered these materials were devoured. In 1986 in the Sundarbans, since tigers almost always attack from the rear, masks with human faces were worn on the back of the head, on the theory that tigers usually do not attack if seen by their prey. This decreased the number of attacks only temporarily. All other means to prevent attacks, such as providing more prey or using electrified human dummies, did not work as well.
+
+In captivity
+In Ancient Roman times, tigers were kept in menageries and amphitheatres to be exhibited, trained and paraded, and were often provoked to fight gladiators and other exotic beasts. Since the 17th century, tigers, being rare and ferocious, were sought after to keep at European castles as symbols of their owners' power. Tigers became central zoo and circus exhibits in the 18th century: a tiger could cost up to 4,000 francs in France (for comparison, a professor of the Beaux-Arts at Lyons earned only 3,000 francs a year), or up to $3,500 in the United States, where a lion cost no more than $1,000.In 2007, over 4,000 captive tigers lived in China, of which 3,000 were held by about 20 larger facilities, with the rest held by some 200 smaller facilities. In 2011, 468 facilities in the USA kept 2,884 tigers. Nineteen US states banned private ownership of tigers, fifteen require a license, and sixteen states have no regulation. Genetic ancestry of 105 captive tigers from fourteen countries and regions showed that forty-nine animals belonged distinctly to five subspecies; fifty-two animals had mixed subspecies origins. Many Siberian tigers in zoos today are actually the result of crosses with Bengal tigers.
+
+Cultural depictions
+Tigers and their superlative qualities have been a source of fascination for mankind since ancient times, and they are routinely visible as important cultural and media motifs. They are also considered one of the charismatic megafauna, and are used as the face of conservation campaigns worldwide. In a 2004 online poll conducted by cable television channel Animal Planet, involving more than 50,000 viewers from 73 countries, the tiger was voted the world's favourite animal with 21% of the vote, narrowly beating the dog.
+
+Mythology and legend
+In Chinese mythology and culture, the tiger is one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. In Chinese art, the tiger is depicted as an earth symbol and equal rival of the Chinese dragon – the two representing matter and spirit respectively. The Southern Chinese martial art Hung Ga is based on the movements of the tiger and the crane. In Imperial China, a tiger was the personification of war and often represented the highest army general (or present day defense secretary), while the emperor and empress were represented by a dragon and phoenix, respectively. The White Tiger (Chinese: 白虎; pinyin: Bái Hǔ) is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (Chinese: 西方白虎), and it represents the west and the autumn season.The tiger's tail appears in stories from countries including China and Korea, it being generally inadvisable to grasp a tiger by the tail. In Korean mythology and culture, the tiger is regarded as a guardian that drives away evil spirits and a sacred creature that brings good luck – the symbol of courage and absolute power. For the people who live in and around the forests of Korea, the tiger considered the symbol of the Mountain Spirit or King of mountain animals. So, Koreans also called the tigers "San Gun" (산군) means Mountain Lord.In Buddhism, the tiger is one of the Three Senseless Creatures, symbolising anger, with the monkey representing greed and the deer lovesickness. The Tungusic peoples considered the Siberian tiger a near-deity and often referred to it as "Grandfather" or "Old man". The Udege and Nanai called it "Amba". The Manchu people considered the Siberian tiger as "Hu Lin", the king. In Hinduism, the god Shiva wears and sits on tiger skin. The ten-armed warrior goddess Durga rides the tigress (or lioness) Damon into battle. In southern India the god Ayyappan was associated with a tiger. Dingu-Aneni is the god in North-East India is also associated with tiger. The weretiger replaces the werewolf in shapeshifting folklore in Asia; in India they were evil sorcerers, while in Indonesia and Malaysia they were somewhat more benign.
+In Taiwanese folk beliefs, Aunt Tiger portrays the story of a tiger, which turns into an old woman, abducts children at night and devours them to satisfy her appetite. In Greco-Roman tradition, the tiger was depicted being ridden by the god Dionysus.
+
+Literature and media
+In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the tiger is fiercer and more ruthless than the lion. William Blake's poem in his Songs of Experience (1794), titled "The Tyger", portrays the tiger as a menacing and fearful animal. In Rudyard Kipling's 1894 The Jungle Book, the tiger Shere Khan is the mortal enemy of the human protagonist Mowgli. Yann Martel's 2001 Booker Prize winning novel Life of Pi, features the title character surviving shipwreck for months on a small boat with a large Bengal tiger while avoiding being eaten. The story was adapted in Ang Lee's 2012 feature film of the same name.Friendly tiger characters include Tigger in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and Hobbes of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, both represented as stuffed animals come to life. Tony the Tiger is a famous mascot for Kellogg's breakfast cereal Frosted Flakes, known for his catchphrase "They're Gr-r-reat!".
+
+Heraldry and emblems
+The tiger is one of the animals displayed on the Pashupati seal of the Indus Valley civilisation. The tiger was the emblem of the Chola Dynasty and was depicted on coins, seals and banners. The seals of several Chola copper coins show the tiger, the Pandyan emblem fish and the Chera emblem bow, indicating that the Cholas had achieved political supremacy over the latter two dynasties. Gold coins found in Kavilayadavalli in the Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh have motifs of the tiger, bow and some indistinct marks. The tiger symbol of Chola Empire was later adopted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the tiger became a symbol of the unrecognised state of Tamil Eelam and Tamil independence movement. The Bengal tiger is the national animal of India and Bangladesh. The Malaysian tiger is the national animal of Malaysia. The Siberian tiger is the national animal of South Korea. The Tiger is featured on the logo of the Delhi Capitals IPL team.
+In European heraldry, the tyger, a depiction of a tiger as imagined by European artists, is among the creatures used in charges and supporters. This creature has several notable differences from real tigers, lacking stripes and having a leonine tufted tail and a head terminating in large, pointed jaws. A more realistic tiger entered the heraldic armory through the British Empire's expansion into Asia, and is referred to as the Bengal tiger to distinguish it from its older counterpart. The Bengal tiger is not a common creature in heraldry, but is used as a supporter in the arms of Bombay and emblazoned on the shield of the University of Madras.
+
+See also
+Siegfried & Roy, two famous tamers of tigers
+List of largest cats
+Tiger King, a 2020 crime documentary series on the exotic pet trade
+
+References
+Further reading
+Marshall, A. (2010). "Tale of the Cat". Time. Archived from the original on 26 February 2010.
+Millward, A. (2020). "Indian tiger study earns its stripes as one of the world's largest wildlife surveys". Guinness World Records Limited.
+Mohan, V. (2015). "India's tiger population increases by 30% in past three years; country now has 2,226 tigers". The Times of India.
+Porter, J. H. (1894). "The Tiger". Wild beasts: a study of the characters and habits of the elephant, lion, leopard, panther, jaguar, tiger, puma, wolf, and grizzly bear. New York: C. Scribner's sons. pp. 196–256.
+Sankhala, K. (1997). Indian Tiger. New Delhi: Roli Books Pvt Limited. ISBN 978-81-7437-088-4.
+Schnitzler, A.; Hermann, L. (2019). "Chronological distribution of the tiger Panthera tigris and the Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica in their common range in Asia". Mammal Review. 49 (4): 340–353. doi:10.1111/mam.12166. S2CID 202040786.
+Yonzon, P. (2010). "Is this the last chance to save the tiger?". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
+
+External links
+ Media related to Panthera tigris (category) at Wikimedia Commons
+ Data related to Panthera tigris at Wikispecies
+ Quotations related to Tigers at Wikiquote
+ Tigers travel guide from Wikivoyage
+"Tiger Panthera tigris". IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group.
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+The wolf (Canis lupus; pl.: wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gray wolves, as popularly understood, only comprise naturally-occurring wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae, and is further distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The wolf's fur is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black, although subspecies in the arctic region may be nearly all white.
+Of all members of the genus Canis, the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly advanced expressive behaviour, including individual or group howling. It travels in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. Offspring may leave to form their own packs on the onset of sexual maturity and in response to competition for food within the pack. Wolves are also territorial, and fights over territory are among the principal causes of mortality. The wolf is mainly a carnivore and feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs. Pathogens and parasites, notably the rabies virus, may infect wolves.
+The global wild wolf population was estimated to be 300,000 in 2003 and is considered to be of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Wolves have a long history of interactions with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of their attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. Although the fear of wolves exists in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies. Wolf attacks on humans are rare because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans because of their experiences with hunters, farmers, ranchers, and shepherds.
+
+Etymology
+The English "wolf" stems from the Old English wulf, which is itself thought to be derived from the Proto-Germanic *wulfaz. The Proto-Indo-European root *wĺ̥kʷos may also be the source of the Latin word for the animal lupus (*lúkʷos). The name "gray wolf" refers to the grayish colour of the species.Since pre-Christian times, Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons took on wulf as a prefix or suffix in their names. Examples include Wulfhere ("Wolf Army"), Cynewulf ("Royal Wolf"), Cēnwulf ("Bold Wolf"), Wulfheard ("Wolf-hard"), Earnwulf ("Eagle Wolf"), Wulfstān ("Wolf Stone") Æðelwulf ("Noble Wolf"), Wolfhroc ("Wolf-Frock"), Wolfhetan ("Wolf Hide"), Scrutolf ("Garb Wolf"), Wolfgang ("Wolf Gait") and Wolfdregil ("Wolf Runner").
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus published in his Systema Naturae the binomial nomenclature. Canis is the Latin word meaning "dog", and under this genus he listed the doglike carnivores including domestic dogs, wolves, and jackals. He classified the domestic dog as Canis familiaris, and the wolf as Canis lupus. Linnaeus considered the dog to be a separate species from the wolf because of its "cauda recurvata" (upturning tail) which is not found in any other canid.
+
+Subspecies
+In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World published in 2005, the mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft listed under C. lupus 36 wild subspecies, and proposed two additional subspecies: familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) and dingo (Meyer, 1793). Wozencraft included hallstromi—the New Guinea singing dog—as a taxonomic synonym for the dingo. Wozencraft referred to a 1999 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) study as one of the guides in forming his decision, and listed the 38 subspecies of C. lupus under the biological common name of "wolf", the nominate subspecies being the Eurasian wolf (C. l. lupus) based on the type specimen that Linnaeus studied in Sweden. Studies using paleogenomic techniques reveal that the modern wolf and the dog are sister taxa, as modern wolves are not closely related to the population of wolves that was first domesticated. In 2019, a workshop hosted by the IUCN/Species Survival Commission's Canid Specialist Group considered the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo to be feral Canis familiaris, and therefore should not be assessed for the IUCN Red List.
+
+Evolution
+The phylogenetic descent of the extant wolf C. lupus from C. etruscus through C. mosbachensis is widely accepted. The earliest fossils of C. lupus were found in what was once eastern Beringia at Old Crow, Yukon, Canada, and at Cripple Creek Sump, Fairbanks, Alaska. The age is not agreed upon but could date to one million years ago. Considerable morphological diversity existed among wolves by the Late Pleistocene. They had more robust skulls and teeth than modern wolves, often with a shortened snout, a pronounced development of the temporalis muscle, and robust premolars. It is proposed that these features were specialized adaptations for the processing of carcass and bone associated with the hunting and scavenging of Pleistocene megafauna. Compared with modern wolves, some Pleistocene wolves showed an increase in tooth breakage similar to that seen in the extinct dire wolf. This suggests they either often processed carcasses, or that they competed with other carnivores and needed to consume their prey quickly. Compared with those found in the modern spotted hyena, the frequency and location of tooth fractures in these wolves indicates they were habitual bone crackers.Genomic studies suggest modern wolves and dogs descend from a common ancestral wolf population that existed 20,000 years ago. A 2021 study found that the Himalayan wolf and the Indian plains wolf are part of a lineage that is basal to other wolves and split from them 200,000 years ago. Other wolves appear to have originated in Beringia in an expansion that was driven by the huge ecological changes during the close of the Late Pleistocene. A study in 2016 indicates that a population bottleneck was followed by a rapid radiation from an ancestral population at a time during, or just after, the Last Glacial Maximum. This implies the original morphologically diverse wolf populations were out-competed and replaced by more modern wolves.A 2016 genomic study suggests that Old World and New World wolves split around 12,500 years ago followed by the divergence of the lineage that led to dogs from other Old World wolves around 11,100–12,300 years ago. An extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the dog, with the dog's similarity to the extant wolf being the result of genetic admixture between the two. The dingo, Basenji, Tibetan Mastiff and Chinese indigenous breeds are basal members of the domestic dog clade. The divergence time for wolves in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia is estimated to be fairly recent at around 1,600 years ago. Among New World wolves, the Mexican wolf diverged around 5,400 years ago.
+
+Admixture with other canids
+In the distant past, there was gene flow between African wolves, golden jackals, and gray wolves. The African wolf is a descendant of a genetically admixed canid of 72% wolf and 28% Ethiopian wolf ancestry. One African wolf from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula showed admixture with Middle Eastern gray wolves and dogs. There is evidence of gene flow between golden jackals and Middle Eastern wolves, less so with European and Asian wolves, and least with North American wolves. This indicates the golden jackal ancestry found in North American wolves may have occurred before the divergence of the Eurasian and North American wolves.The common ancestor of the coyote and the wolf admixed with a ghost population of an extinct unidentified canid. This canid was genetically close to the dhole and evolved after the divergence of the African hunting dog from the other canid species. The basal position of the coyote compared to the wolf is proposed to be due to the coyote retaining more of the mitochondrial genome of this unidentified canid. Similarly, a museum specimen of a wolf from southern China collected in 1963 showed a genome that was 12–14% admixed from this unknown canid. In North America, some coyotes and wolves show varying degrees of past genetic admixture.In more recent times, some male Italian wolves originated from dog ancestry, which indicates female wolves will breed with male dogs in the wild. In the Caucasus Mountains, ten percent of dogs including livestock guardian dogs, are first generation hybrids. Although mating between golden jackals and wolves has never been observed, evidence of jackal-wolf hybridization was discovered through mitochondrial DNA analysis of jackals living in the Caucasus Mountains and in Bulgaria. In 2021, a genetic study found that the dog's similarity to the extant gray wolf was the result of substantial dog-into-wolf gene flow, with little evidence of the reverse.
+
+Description
+The wolf is the largest extant member of the Canidae family, and is further distinguished from coyotes and jackals by a broader snout, shorter ears, a shorter torso and a longer tail. It is slender and powerfully built, with a large, deeply descending rib cage, a sloping back, and a heavily muscled neck. The wolf's legs are moderately longer than those of other canids, which enables the animal to move swiftly, and to overcome the deep snow that covers most of its geographical range in winter. The ears are relatively small and triangular. The wolf's head is large and heavy, with a wide forehead, strong jaws and a long, blunt muzzle. The skull is 230–280 mm (9–11 in) in length and 130–150 mm (5–6 in) in width. The teeth are heavy and large, making them better suited to crushing bone than those of other canids, though they are not as specialized as those found in hyenas. Its molars have a flat chewing surface, but not to the same extent as the coyote, whose diet contains more vegetable matter. Females tend to have narrower muzzles and foreheads, thinner necks, slightly shorter legs, and less massive shoulders than males.
+Adult wolves measure 105–160 cm (41–63 in) in length and 80–85 cm (31–33 in) at shoulder height. The tail measures 29–50 cm (11–20 in) in length, the ears 90–110 mm (3+1⁄2–4+3⁄8 in) in height, and the hind feet are 220–250 mm (8+5⁄8–9+7⁄8 in). The size and weight of the modern wolf increases proportionally with latitude in accord with Bergmann's rule. The mean body mass of the wolf is 40 kg (88 lb), the smallest specimen recorded at 12 kg (26 lb) and the largest at 79.4 kg (175 lb). On average, European wolves weigh 38.5 kg (85 lb), North American wolves 36 kg (79 lb), and Indian and Arabian wolves 25 kg (55 lb). Females in any given wolf population typically weigh 2.3–4.5 kg (5–10 lb) less than males. Wolves weighing over 54 kg (119 lb) are uncommon, though exceptionally large individuals have been recorded in Alaska and Canada. In central Russia, exceptionally large males can reach a weight of 69–79 kg (152–174 lb).
+
+Pelage
+The wolf has very dense and fluffy winter fur, with a short undercoat and long, coarse guard hairs. Most of the undercoat and some guard hairs are shed in spring and grow back in autumn. The longest hairs occur on the back, particularly on the front quarters and neck. Especially long hairs grow on the shoulders and almost form a crest on the upper part of the neck. The hairs on the cheeks are elongated and form tufts. The ears are covered in short hairs and project from the fur. Short, elastic and closely adjacent hairs are present on the limbs from the elbows down to the calcaneal tendons. The winter fur is highly resistant to the cold. Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at −40 °C (−40 °F) by placing their muzzles between the rear legs and covering their faces with their tail. Wolf fur provides better insulation than dog fur and does not collect ice when warm breath is condensed against it.In cold climates, the wolf can reduce the flow of blood near its skin to conserve body heat. The warmth of the foot pads is regulated independently from the rest of the body and is maintained at just above tissue-freezing point where the pads come in contact with ice and snow. In warm climates, the fur is coarser and scarcer than in northern wolves. Female wolves tend to have smoother furred limbs than males and generally develop the smoothest overall coats as they age. Older wolves generally have more white hairs on the tip of the tail, along the nose, and on the forehead. Winter fur is retained longest by lactating females, although with some hair loss around their teats. Hair length on the middle of the back is 60–70 mm (2+3⁄8–2+3⁄4 in), and the guard hairs on the shoulders generally do not exceed 90 mm (3+1⁄2 in), but can reach 110–130 mm (4+3⁄8–5+1⁄8 in).
+A wolf's coat colour is determined by its guard hairs. Wolves usually have some hairs that are white, brown, gray and black. The coat of the Eurasian wolf is a mixture of ochreous (yellow to orange) and rusty ochreous (orange/red/brown) colours with light gray. The muzzle is pale ochreous gray, and the area of the lips, cheeks, chin, and throat is white. The top of the head, forehead, under and between the eyes, and between the eyes and ears is gray with a reddish film. The neck is ochreous. Long, black tips on the hairs along the back form a broad stripe, with black hair tips on the shoulders, upper chest and rear of the body. The sides of the body, tail, and outer limbs are a pale dirty ochreous colour, while the inner sides of the limbs, belly, and groin are white. Apart from those wolves which are pure white or black, these tones vary little across geographical areas, although the patterns of these colours vary between individuals.In North America, the coat colours of wolves follow Gloger's rule, wolves in the Canadian arctic being white and those in southern Canada, the U.S., and Mexico being predominantly gray. In some areas of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, the coat colour is predominantly black, some being blue-gray and some with silver and black. Differences in coat colour between sexes is absent in Eurasia; females tend to have redder tones in North America. Black-coloured wolves in North America acquired their colour from wolf-dog admixture after the first arrival of dogs across the Bering Strait 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. Research into the inheritance of white colour from dogs into wolves has yet to be undertaken.
+
+Ecology
+Distribution and habitat
+Wolves occur across Eurasia and North America. However, deliberate human persecution because of livestock predation and fear of attacks on humans has reduced the wolf's range to about one-third of its historic range; the wolf is now extirpated (locally extinct) from much of its range in Western Europe, the United States and Mexico, and completely in the British Isles and Japan. In modern times, the wolf occurs mostly in wilderness and remote areas. The wolf can be found between sea level and 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Wolves live in forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands (including Arctic tundra), pastures, deserts, and rocky peaks on mountains. Habitat use by wolves depends on the abundance of prey, snow conditions, livestock densities, road densities, human presence and topography.
+
+Diet
+Like all land mammals that are pack hunters, the wolf feeds predominantly on wild herbivorous hoofed mammals that can be divided into large size 240–650 kg (530–1,430 lb) and medium size 23–130 kg (51–287 lb), and have a body mass similar to that of the combined mass of the pack members. The wolf specializes in preying on the vulnerable individuals of large prey, with a pack of 15 able to bring down an adult moose. The variation in diet between wolves living on different continents is based on the variety of hoofed mammals and of available smaller and domesticated prey.In North America, the wolf's diet is dominated by wild large hoofed mammals (ungulates) and medium-sized mammals. In Asia and Europe, their diet is dominated by wild medium-sized hoofed mammals and domestic species. The wolf depends on wild species, and if these are not readily available, as in Asia, the wolf is more reliant on domestic species. Across Eurasia, wolves prey mostly on moose, red deer, roe deer and wild boar. In North America, important range-wide prey are elk, moose, caribou, white-tailed deer and mule deer. Wolves can digest their meal in a few hours and can feed several times in one day, making quick use of large quantities of meat. A well-fed wolf stores fat under the skin, around the heart, intestines, kidneys, and bone marrow, particularly during the autumn and winter.Nonetheless, wolves are not fussy eaters. Smaller-sized animals that may supplement their diet include rodents, hares, insectivores and smaller carnivores. They frequently eat waterfowl and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, they prey on lizards, snakes, frogs, and large insects when available. Wolves in some areas may consume fish and even marine life. Wolves also consume some plant material. In Europe, they eat apples, pears, figs, melons, berries and cherries. In North America, wolves eat blueberries and raspberries. They also eat grass, which may provide some vitamins, but is most likely used mainly to induce vomiting to rid themselves of intestinal parasites or long guard hairs. They are known to eat the berries of mountain-ash, lily of the valley, bilberries, cowberries, European black nightshade, grain crops, and the shoots of reeds.In times of scarcity, wolves will readily eat carrion. In Eurasian areas with dense human activity, many wolf populations are forced to subsist largely on livestock and garbage. As prey in North America continue to occupy suitable habitats with low human density, North American wolves eat livestock and garbage only in dire circumstances. Cannibalism is not uncommon in wolves during harsh winters, when packs often attack weak or injured wolves and may eat the bodies of dead pack members.
+
+Interactions with other predators
+Wolves typically dominate other canid species in areas where they both occur. In North America, incidents of wolves killing coyotes are common, particularly in winter, when coyotes feed on wolf kills. Wolves may attack coyote den sites, digging out and killing their pups, though rarely eating them. There are no records of coyotes killing wolves, though coyotes may chase wolves if they outnumber them. According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1921, the infamous Custer Wolf relied on coyotes to accompany him and warn him of danger. Though they fed from his kills, he never allowed them to approach him. Interactions have been observed in Eurasia between wolves and golden jackals, the latter's numbers being comparatively small in areas with high wolf densities.  Wolves also kill red, Arctic and corsac foxes, usually in disputes over carcasses, sometimes eating them.
+Brown bears typically dominate wolf packs in disputes over carcasses, while wolf packs mostly prevail against bears when defending their den sites. Both species kill each other's young. Wolves eat the brown bears they kill, while brown bears seem to eat only young wolves. Wolf interactions with American black bears are much rarer because of differences in habitat preferences. Wolves have been recorded on numerous occasions actively seeking out American black bears in their dens and killing them without eating them. Unlike brown bears, American black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills. Wolves also dominate and sometimes kill wolverines, and will chase off those that attempt to scavenge from their kills. Wolverines escape from wolves in caves or up trees.Wolves may interact and compete with felids, such as the Eurasian lynx, which may feed on smaller prey where wolves are present and may be suppressed by large wolf populations. Wolves encounter cougars along portions of the Rocky Mountains and adjacent mountain ranges. Wolves and cougars typically avoid encountering each other by hunting at different elevations for different prey (niche partitioning). This is more difficult during winter. Wolves in packs usually dominate cougars and can steal their kills or even kill them, while one-to-one encounters tend to be dominated by the cat, who likewise will kill wolves. Wolves more broadly affect cougar population dynamics and distribution by dominating territory and prey opportunities and disrupting the feline's behaviour. Wolf and Siberian tiger interactions are well-documented in the Russian Far East, where tigers significantly depress wolf numbers, sometimes to the point of localized extinction.In Israel, Palestine, Central Asia and India wolves may encounter striped hyenas, usually in disputes over carcasses. Striped hyenas feed extensively on wolf-killed carcasses in areas where the two species interact. One-to-one, hyenas dominate wolves, and may prey on them, but wolf packs can drive off single or outnumbered hyenas. There is at least one case in Israel of a hyena associating and cooperating with a wolf pack.
+
+Infections
+Viral diseases carried by wolves include: rabies, canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, papillomatosis, and canine coronavirus. In wolves, the incubation period for rabies is eight to 21 days, and results in the host becoming agitated, deserting its pack, and travelling up to 80 km (50 mi) a day, thus increasing the risk of infecting other wolves. Although canine distemper is lethal in dogs, it has not been recorded to kill wolves, except in Canada and Alaska. The canine parvovirus, which causes death by dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and endotoxic shock or sepsis, is largely survivable in wolves, but can be lethal to pups. Bacterial diseases carried by wolves include: brucellosis, Lyme disease, leptospirosis, tularemia, bovine tuberculosis, listeriosis and anthrax. Although lyme disease can debilitate individual wolves, it does not appear to significantly affect wolf populations. Leptospirosis can be contracted through contact with infected prey or urine, and can cause fever, anorexia, vomiting, anemia, hematuria, icterus, and death.Wolves are often infested with a variety of arthropod exoparasites, including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites. The most harmful to wolves, particularly pups, is the mange mite (Sarcoptes scabiei), though they rarely develop full-blown mange, unlike foxes. Endoparasites known to infect wolves include: protozoans and helminths (flukes, tapeworms, roundworms and thorny-headed worms). Most fluke species reside in the wolf's intestines. Tapeworms are commonly found in wolves, which they get though their prey, and generally cause little harm in wolves, though this depends on the number and size of the parasites, and the sensitivity of the host. Symptoms often include constipation, toxic and allergic reactions, irritation of the intestinal mucosa, and malnutrition. Wolves can carry over 30 roundworm species, though most roundworm infections appear benign, depending on the number of worms and the age of the host.
+
+Behaviour
+Social structure
+The wolf is a social animal. Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves, most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs to form their own or join another one. The wolf's basic social unit is the nuclear family consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. The average pack size in North America is eight wolves and in Europe 5.5 wolves. The average pack across Eurasia consists of a family of eight wolves (two adults, juveniles, and yearlings), or sometimes two or three such families, with examples of exceptionally large packs consisting of up to 42 wolves being known. Cortisol levels in wolves rise significantly when a pack member dies, indicating the presence of stress. During times of prey abundance caused by calving or migration, different wolf packs may join together temporarily.Offspring typically stay in the pack for 10–54 months before dispersing. Triggers for dispersal include the onset of sexual maturity and competition within the pack for food. The distance travelled by dispersing wolves varies widely; some stay in the vicinity of the parental group, while other individuals may travel great distances of upwards of 206 km (128 mi), 390 km (240 mi), and 670 km (420 mi) from their natal (birth) packs. A new pack is usually founded by an unrelated dispersing male and female, travelling together in search of an area devoid of other hostile packs. Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold and typically kill them. In the rare cases where other wolves are adopted, the adoptee is almost invariably an immature animal of one to three years old, and unlikely to compete for breeding rights with the mated pair. This usually occurs between the months of February and May. Adoptee males may mate with an available pack female and then form their own pack. In some cases, a lone wolf is adopted into a pack to replace a deceased breeder.Wolves are territorial and generally establish territories far larger than they require to survive assuring a steady supply of prey. Territory size depends largely on the amount of prey available and the age of the pack's pups. They tend to increase in size in areas with low prey populations, or when the pups reach the age of six months when they have the same nutritional needs as adults. Wolf packs travel constantly in search of prey, covering roughly 9% of their territory per day, on average 25 km/d (16 mi/d). The core of their territory is on average 35 km2 (14 sq mi) where they spend 50% of their time. Prey density tends to be much higher on the territory's periphery. Wolves tend to avoid hunting on the fringes of their range to avoid fatal confrontations with neighbouring packs. The smallest territory on record was held by a pack of six wolves in northeastern Minnesota, which occupied an estimated 33 km2 (13 sq mi), while the largest was held by an Alaskan pack of ten wolves encompassing 6,272 km2 (2,422 sq mi). Wolf packs are typically settled, and usually leave their accustomed ranges only during severe food shortages. Territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality, one study concluding that 14–65% of wolf deaths in Minnesota and the Denali National Park and Preserve were due to other wolves.
+
+Communication
+Wolves communicate using vocalizations, body postures, scent, touch, and taste. The phases of the moon have no effect on wolf vocalization, and despite popular belief, wolves do not howl at the Moon. Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances. Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 130 km2 (50 sq mi). Other vocalizations include growls, barks and whines. Wolves do not bark as loudly or continuously as dogs do in confrontations, rather barking a few times and then retreating from a perceived danger. Aggressive or self-assertive wolves are characterized by their slow and deliberate movements, high body posture and raised hackles, while submissive ones carry their bodies low, flatten their fur, and lower their ears and tail.Scent marking involves urine, feces, and anal gland scents. This is more effective at advertising territory than howling and is often used in combination with scratch marks. Wolves increase their rate of scent marking when they encounter the marks of wolves from other packs. Lone wolves will rarely mark, but newly bonded pairs will scent mark the most. These marks are generally left every 240 m (260 yd) throughout the territory on regular travelways and junctions. Such markers can last for two to three weeks, and are typically placed near rocks, boulders, trees, or the skeletons of large animals. Raised leg urination is considered to be one of the most important forms of scent communication in the wolf, making up 60–80% of all scent marks observed.
+
+Reproduction
+Wolves are monogamous, mated pairs usually remaining together for life. Should one of the pair die, another mate is found quickly. With wolves in the wild, inbreeding does not occur where outbreeding is possible. Wolves become mature at the age of two years and sexually mature from the age of three years. The age of first breeding in wolves depends largely on environmental factors: when food is plentiful, or when wolf populations are heavily managed, wolves can rear pups at younger ages to better exploit abundant resources. Females are capable of producing pups every year, one litter annually being the average. Oestrus and rut begin in the second half of winter and lasts for two weeks.
+Dens are usually constructed for pups during the summer period. When building dens, females make use of natural shelters like fissures in rocks, cliffs overhanging riverbanks and holes thickly covered by vegetation. Sometimes, the den is the appropriated burrow of smaller animals such as foxes, badgers or marmots. An appropriated den is often widened and partly remade. On rare occasions, female wolves dig burrows themselves, which are usually small and short with one to three openings. The den is usually constructed not more than 500 m (550 yd) away from a water source. It typically faces southwards where it can be better warmed by sunlight exposure, and the snow can thaw more quickly. Resting places, play areas for the pups, and food remains are commonly found around wolf dens. The odor of urine and rotting food emanating from the denning area often attracts scavenging birds like magpies and ravens. Though they mostly avoid areas within human sight, wolves have been known to nest near domiciles, paved roads and railways. During pregnancy, female wolves remain in a den located away from the peripheral zone of their territories, where violent encounters with other packs are less likely to occur.The gestation period lasts 62–75 days with pups usually being born in the spring months or early summer in very cold places such as on the tundra. Young females give birth to four to five young, and older females from six to eight young and up to 14. Their mortality rate is 60–80%. Newborn wolf pups look similar to German Shepherd Dog pups. They are born blind and deaf and are covered in short soft grayish-brown fur. They weigh 300–500 g (10+1⁄2–17+3⁄4 oz) at birth and begin to see after nine to 12 days. The milk canines erupt after one month. Pups first leave the den after three weeks. At one-and-a-half months of age, they are agile enough to flee from danger. Mother wolves do not leave the den for the first few weeks, relying on the fathers to provide food for them and their young. Pups begin to eat solid food at the age of three to four weeks. They have a fast growth rate during their first four months of life: during this period, a pup's weight can increase nearly 30 times. Wolf pups begin play-fighting at the age of three weeks, though unlike young coyotes and foxes, their bites are gentle and controlled. Actual fights to establish hierarchy usually occur at five to eight weeks of age. This is in contrast to young coyotes and foxes, which may begin fighting even before the onset of play behaviour. By autumn, the pups are mature enough to accompany the adults on hunts for large prey.
+
+Hunting and feeding
+Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs; single wolves have occasionally been observed to kill large prey such as moose, bison and muskoxen unaided. The size of a wolf hunting pack is related to the number of pups that survived the previous winter, adult survival, and the rate of dispersing wolves leaving the pack. The optimal pack size for hunting elk is four wolves, and for bison a large pack size is more successful. Wolves move around their territory when hunting, using the same trails for extended periods. Wolves are nocturnal predators. During the winter, a pack will commence hunting in the twilight of early evening and will hunt all night, traveling tens of kilometres. Sometimes hunting large prey occurs during the day. During the summer, wolves generally tend to hunt individually, ambushing their prey and rarely giving pursuit.When hunting large gregarious prey, wolves will try to isolate an individual from its group. If successful, a wolf pack can bring down game that will feed it for days, but one error in judgement can lead to serious injury or death. Most large prey have developed defensive adaptations and behaviours. Wolves have been killed while attempting to bring down bison, elk, moose, muskoxen, and even by one of their smallest hoofed prey, the white-tailed deer. With smaller prey like beaver, geese, and hares, there is no risk to the wolf. Although people often believe wolves can easily overcome any of their prey, their success rate in hunting hoofed prey is usually low.
+The wolf must give chase and gain on its fleeing prey, slow it down by biting through thick hair and hide, and then disable it enough to begin feeding. Wolves may wound large prey and then lie around resting for hours before killing it when it is weaker due to blood loss, thereby lessening the risk of injury to themselves. With medium-sized prey, such as roe deer or sheep, wolves kill by biting the throat, severing nerve tracks and the carotid artery, thus causing the animal to die within a few seconds to a minute. With small, mouselike prey, wolves leap in a high arc and immobilize it with their forepaws.Once prey is brought down, wolves begin to feed excitedly, ripping and tugging at the carcass in all directions, and bolting down large chunks of it. The breeding pair typically monopolizes food to continue producing pups. When food is scarce, this is done at the expense of other family members, especially non-pups. Wolves typically commence feeding by gorging on the larger internal organs, like the heart, liver, lungs, and stomach lining. The kidneys and spleen are eaten once they are exposed, followed by the muscles. A wolf can eat 15–19% of its body weight in one sitting.
+
+Status and conservation
+The global wild wolf population in 2003 was estimated at 300,000. Wolf population declines have been arrested since the 1970s. This has fostered recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range as a result of legal protection, changes in land use, and rural human population shifts to cities. Competition with humans for livestock and game species, concerns over the danger posed by wolves to people, and habitat fragmentation pose a continued threat to the wolf. Despite these threats, the IUCN classifies the wolf as Least Concern on its Red List due to its relatively widespread range and stable population. The species is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning international trade in the species (including parts and derivatives) is regulated. However, populations of Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan are listed in Appendix I which prohibits commercial international trade in wild-sourced specimens.
+
+North America
+In Canada, 50,000–60,000 wolves live in 80% of their historical range, making Canada an important stronghold for the species. Under Canadian law, First Nations people can hunt wolves without restrictions, but others must acquire licenses for the hunting and trapping seasons. As many as 4,000 wolves may be harvested in Canada each year. The wolf is a protected species in national parks under the Canada National Parks Act. In Alaska, 7,000–11,000 wolves are found on 85% of the state's 1,517,733 km2 (586,000 sq mi) area. Wolves may be hunted or trapped with a license; around 1,200 wolves are harvested annually.In the contiguous United States, wolf declines were caused by the expansion of agriculture, the decimation of the wolf's main prey species like the American bison, and extermination campaigns. Wolves were given protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, and have since returned to parts of their former range thanks to both natural recolonizations and reintroductions in Yellowstone and Idaho. The repopulation of wolves in Midwestern United States has been concentrated in the Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan where wolves number over 4,000 as of 2018. Wolves also occupy much of the northern Rocky Mountains region and the northwest, with a total population over 3,000 as of the 2020s. In Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States, the Mexican and U.S. governments collaborated from 1977 to 1980 in capturing all Mexican wolves remaining in the wild to prevent their extinction and established captive breeding programs for reintroduction. As of 2023, the reintroduced Mexican wolf population numbers over 200 individuals.
+
+Eurasia
+Europe, excluding Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, has 17,000 wolves in more than 28 countries. In many countries of the European Union, the wolf is strictly protected under the 1979 Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Appendix II) and the 1992 Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (Annex II and IV). There is extensive legal protection in many European countries, although there are national exceptions.Wolves have been persecuted in Europe for centuries, having been exterminated in Great Britain by 1684, in Ireland by 1770, in Central Europe by 1899, in France by the 1930s, and in much of Scandinavia by the early 1970s. They continued to survive in parts of Finland, Eastern Europe and Southern Europe. Since 1980, European wolves have rebounded and expanded into parts of their former range. The decline of the traditional pastoral and rural economies seems to have ended the need to exterminate the wolf in parts of Europe. As of 2016, estimates of wolf numbers include: 4,000 in the Balkans, 3,460–3,849 in the Carpathian Mountains, 1,700–2,240 in the Baltic states, 1,100–2,400 in the Italian peninsula, and around 2,500 in the northwest Iberian peninsula as of 2007. In a study of wolf conservation in Sweden, it was found that there was little  opposition between the policies of the European Union and those of the Swedish officials implementing domestic policy.In the former Soviet Union, wolf populations have retained much of their historical range despite Soviet-era large scale extermination campaigns. Their numbers range from 1,500 in Georgia, to 20,000 in Kazakhstan and up to 45,000 in Russia. In Russia, the wolf is regarded as a pest because of its attacks on livestock, and wolf management means controlling their numbers by destroying them throughout the year. Russian history over the past century shows that reduced hunting leads to an abundance of wolves. The Russian government has continued to pay bounties for wolves and annual harvests of 20–30% do not appear to significantly affect their numbers.
+In the Middle East, only Israel and Oman give wolves explicit legal protection. Israel has protected its wolves since 1954 and has maintained a moderately sized population of 150 through effective enforcement of conservation policies. These wolves have moved into neighboring countries. Approximately 300–600 wolves inhabit the Arabian Peninsula. The wolf also appears to be widespread in Iran. Turkey has an estimated population of about 7,000 wolves. Outside of Turkey, wolf populations in the Middle East may total 1,000–2,000.In southern Asia, the northern regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan are important strongholds for wolves. The wolf has been protected in India since 1972. The Indian wolf is distributed across the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. As of 2019, it is estimated that there are around 2,000–3,000 Indian wolves in the country. In East Asia, Mongolia's population numbers 10,000–20,000. In China, Heilongjiang has roughly 650 wolves, Xinjiang has 10,000 and Tibet has 2,000. 2017 evidence suggests that wolves range across all of mainland China. Wolves have been historically persecuted in China but have been legally protected since 1998. The last Japanese wolf was captured and killed in 1905.
+
+Relationships with humans
+In culture
+In folklore, religion and mythology
+The wolf is a common motif in the mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout its historical range. The Ancient Greeks associated wolves with Apollo, the god of light and order. The Ancient Romans connected the wolf with their god of war and agriculture Mars, and believed their city's founders, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by a she-wolf. Norse mythology includes the feared giant wolf Fenrir, and Geri and Freki, Odin's faithful pets.In Chinese astronomy, the wolf represents Sirius and guards the heavenly gate. In China, the wolf was traditionally associated with greed and cruelty and wolf epithets were used to describe negative behaviours such as cruelty ("wolf's heart"), mistrust ("wolf's look") and lechery ("wolf-sex"). In both Hinduism and Buddhism, the wolf is ridden by gods of protection. In Vedic Hinduism, the wolf is a symbol of the night and the daytime quail must escape from its jaws. In Tantric Buddhism, wolves are depicted as inhabitants of graveyards and destroyers of corpses.In the Pawnee creation myth, the wolf was the first animal brought to Earth. When humans killed it, they were punished with death, destruction and the loss of immortality. For the Pawnee, Sirius is the "wolf star" and its disappearance and reappearance signified the wolf moving to and from the spirit world. Both Pawnee and Blackfoot call the Milky Way the "wolf trail". The wolf is also an important crest symbol for clans of the Pacific Northwest like the Kwakwakaʼwakw.The concept of people turning into wolves, and the inverse, has been present in many cultures. One Greek myth tells of Lycaon being transformed into a wolf by Zeus as punishment for his evil deeds. The legend of the werewolf has been widespread in European folklore and involves people willingly turning into wolves to attack and kill others. The Navajo have traditionally believed that witches would turn into wolves by donning wolf skins and would kill people and raid graveyards. The Dena'ina believed wolves were once men and viewed them as brothers.
+
+In fable and literature
+Aesop featured wolves in several of his fables, playing on the concerns of Ancient Greece's settled, sheep-herding world. His most famous is the fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", which is directed at those who knowingly raise false alarms, and from which the idiomatic phrase "to cry wolf" is derived. Some of his other fables concentrate on maintaining the trust between shepherds and guard dogs in their vigilance against wolves, as well as anxieties over the close relationship between wolves and dogs. Although Aesop used wolves to warn, criticize and moralize about human behaviour, his portrayals added to the wolf's image as a deceitful and dangerous animal. The Bible uses an image of a wolf lying with a lamb in a utopian vision of the future. In the New Testament, Jesus is said to have used wolves as illustrations of the dangers his followers, whom he represents as sheep, would face should they follow him.
+Isengrim the wolf, a character first appearing in the 12th-century Latin poem Ysengrimus, is a major character in the Reynard Cycle, where he stands for the low nobility, whilst his adversary, Reynard the fox, represents the peasant hero. Isengrim is forever the victim of Reynard's wit and cruelty, often dying at the end of each story. The tale of "Little Red Riding Hood", first written in 1697 by Charles Perrault, is considered to have further contributed to the wolf's negative reputation in the Western world. The Big Bad Wolf is portrayed as a villain capable of imitating human speech and disguising itself with human clothing. The character has been interpreted as an allegorical sexual predator. Villainous wolf characters also appear in The Three Little Pigs and "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats". The hunting of wolves, and their attacks on humans and livestock, feature prominently in Russian literature, and are included in the works of Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Nikolay Nekrasov, Ivan Bunin, Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev, and others. Tolstoy's War and Peace and Chekhov's Peasants both feature scenes in which wolves are hunted with hounds and Borzois. The musical Peter and the Wolf involves a wolf being captured for eating a duck, but is spared and sent to a zoo.Wolves are among the central characters of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. His portrayal of wolves has been praised posthumously by wolf biologists for his depiction of them: rather than being villainous or gluttonous, as was common in wolf portrayals at the time of the book's publication, they are shown as living in amiable family groups and drawing on the experience of infirm but experienced elder pack members. Farley Mowat's largely fictional 1963 memoir Never Cry Wolf is widely considered to be the most popular book on wolves, having been adapted into a Hollywood film and taught in several schools decades after its publication. Although credited with having changed popular perceptions on wolves by portraying them as loving, cooperative and noble, it has been criticized for its idealization of wolves and its factual inaccuracies.
+
+Conflicts
+Human presence appears to stress wolves, as seen by increased cortisol levels in instances such as snowmobiling near their territory.
+
+Predation on livestock
+Livestock depredation has been one of the primary reasons for hunting wolves and can pose a severe problem for wolf conservation. As well as causing economic losses, the threat of wolf predation causes great stress on livestock producers, and no foolproof solution of preventing such attacks short of exterminating wolves has been found. Some nations help offset economic losses to wolves through compensation programs or state insurance. Domesticated animals are easy prey for wolves, as they have been bred under constant human protection, and are thus unable to defend themselves very well. Wolves typically resort to attacking livestock when wild prey is depleted. In Eurasia, a large part of the diet of some wolf populations consists of livestock, while such incidents are rare in North America, where healthy populations of wild prey have been largely restored.The majority of losses occur during the summer grazing period, untended livestock in remote pastures being the most vulnerable to wolf predation. The most frequently targeted livestock species are sheep (Europe), domestic reindeer (northern Scandinavia), goats (India), horses (Mongolia), cattle and turkeys (North America). The number of animals killed in single attacks varies according to species: most attacks on cattle and horses result in one death, while turkeys, sheep and domestic reindeer may be killed in surplus. Wolves mainly attack livestock when the animals are grazing, though they occasionally break into fenced enclosures.
+
+Competition with dogs
+A review of the studies on the competitive effects of dogs on sympatric carnivores did not mention any research on competition between dogs and wolves. Competition would favour the wolf, which is known to kill dogs; however, wolves usually live in pairs or in small packs in areas with high human persecution, giving them a disadvantage when facing large groups of dogs.Wolves kill dogs on occasion, and some wolf populations rely on dogs as an important food source. In Croatia, wolves kill more dogs than sheep, and wolves in Russia appear to limit stray dog populations. Wolves may display unusually bold behaviour when attacking dogs accompanied by people, sometimes ignoring nearby humans. Wolf attacks on dogs may occur both in house yards and in forests. Wolf attacks on hunting dogs are considered a major problem in Scandinavia and Wisconsin. Although the number of dogs killed each year by wolves is relatively low, it induces a fear of wolves entering villages and farmyards to prey on them. In many cultures, dogs are seen as family members, or at least working team members, and losing one can lead to strong emotional responses such as demanding more liberal hunting regulations.Dogs that are employed to guard sheep help to mitigate human–wolf conflicts, and are often proposed as one of the non-lethal tools in the conservation of wolves. Shepherd dogs are not particularly aggressive, but they can disrupt potential wolf predation by displaying what is to the wolf ambiguous behaviours, such as barking, social greeting, invitation to play or aggression. The historical use of shepherd dogs across Eurasia has been effective against wolf predation, especially when confining sheep in the presence of several livestock guardian dogs. Shepherd dogs are sometimes killed by wolves.
+
+Attacks on humans
+The fear of wolves has been pervasive in many societies, though humans are not part of the wolf's natural prey. How wolves react to humans depends largely on their prior experience with people: wolves lacking any negative experience of humans, or which are food-conditioned, may show little fear of people. Although wolves may react aggressively when provoked, such attacks are mostly limited to quick bites on extremities, and the attacks are not pressed.Predatory attacks may be preceded by a long period of habituation, in which wolves gradually lose their fear of humans. The victims are repeatedly bitten on the head and face, and are then dragged off and consumed unless the wolves are driven off. Such attacks typically occur only locally and do not stop until the wolves involved are eliminated. Predatory attacks can occur at any time of the year, with a peak in the June–August period, when the chances of people entering forested areas (for livestock grazing or berry and mushroom picking) increase. Cases of non-rabid wolf attacks in winter have been recorded in Belarus, Kirov and Irkutsk oblasts, Karelia and Ukraine. Also, wolves with pups experience greater food stresses during this period. The majority of victims of predatory wolf attacks are children under the age of 18 and, in the rare cases where adults are killed, the victims are almost always women. Indian wolves have a history of preying on children, a phenomenon called "child-lifting". They may be taken primarily in the spring and summer periods during the evening hours, and often within human settlements.Cases of rabid wolves are low when compared to other species, as wolves do not serve as primary reservoirs of the disease, but can be infected by animals such as dogs, jackals and foxes. Incidents of rabies in wolves are very rare in North America, though numerous in the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia. Wolves apparently develop the "furious" phase of rabies to a very high degree. This, coupled with their size and strength, makes rabid wolves perhaps the most dangerous of rabid animals. Bites from rabid wolves are 15 times more dangerous than those of rabid dogs. Rabid wolves usually act alone, travelling large distances and often biting large numbers of people and domestic animals. Most rabid wolf attacks occur in the spring and autumn periods. Unlike with predatory attacks, the victims of rabid wolves are not eaten, and the attacks generally occur only on a single day. The victims are chosen at random, though most cases involve adult men. During the fifty years up to 2002, there were eight fatal attacks in Europe and Russia, and more than two hundred in southern Asia.
+
+Human hunting of wolves
+Theodore Roosevelt said wolves are difficult to hunt because of their elusiveness, sharp senses, high endurance, and ability to quickly incapacitate and kill hunting dogs. Historic methods included killing of spring-born litters in their dens, coursing with dogs (usually combinations of sighthounds, Bloodhounds and Fox Terriers), poisoning with strychnine, and trapping.A popular method of wolf hunting in Russia involves trapping a pack within a small area by encircling it with fladry poles carrying a human scent. This method relies heavily on the wolf's fear of human scents, though it can lose its effectiveness when wolves become accustomed to the odor. Some hunters can lure wolves by imitating their calls. In Kazakhstan and Mongolia, wolves are traditionally hunted using eagles and large falcons, though this practice is declining, as experienced falconers are becoming few in number. Shooting wolves from aircraft is highly effective, due to increased visibility and direct lines of fire. Several types of dog, including the Borzoi and Kyrgyz Tajgan, have been specifically bred for wolf hunting.
+
+As pets and working animals
+Wolves and wolf-dog hybrids are sometimes kept as exotic pets. Although closely related to domestic dogs, wolves do not show the same tractability as dogs in living alongside humans, being generally less responsive to human commands and more likely to act aggressively. A person is more likely to be fatally mauled by a pet wolf or wolf-dog hybrid than by a dog.
+
+Notes
+References
+Bibliography
+Busch, R. H. (2007). Wolf Almanac, New and Revised: A Celebration Of Wolves And Their World (3 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-59921-069-8.
+Graves, Will (2007). Wolves in Russia: Anxiety throughout the ages. Detselig Enterprises. ISBN 978-1-55059-332-7.
+Heptner, V. G.; Naumov, N. P. (1998). Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol. II Part 1a, Sirenia and Carnivora (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears). Science Publishers, Inc. USA. ISBN 978-1-886106-81-9.
+Lopez, Barry H. (1978). Of Wolves and Men. J. M. Dent and Sons Limited. ISBN 978-0-7432-4936-2.
+Marvin, Garry (2012). Wolf. Reaktion Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86189-879-1.
+Mech, L. David (1981). The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-1026-6.
+Mech, L. David; Boitani, Luigi, eds. (2003). Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-51696-7.
+Mech, L. David; Smith, Douglas W.; MacNulty, Daniel R. (2015). Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-25514-9.
+
+External links
+
+The International Wolf Center
+Staying Safe in Wolf Country, ADFG (January 2009)
+Watch Death of a Legend and Cry of the Wild by Bill Mason
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diff --git a/data/animals/titi.txt b/data/animals/titi.txt
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/titi.txt
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+The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: Cheracebus, Callicebus, and Plecturocebus. This subfamily also contains the extinct genera Miocallicebus, Homunculus, and Carlocebus.Titi monkeys live in South America, from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, east through Brazil, and south to Bolivia and northern Paraguay.
+
+Description
+Depending on species, titis have a head and body length of 23–46 centimetres (9.1–18.1 in), and a tail, which is longer than the head and body, of 26–56 centimetres (10–22 in). The different titi species vary substantially in coloring, but resemble each other in most other physical ways. They have long, soft fur, and it is usually reddish, brownish, grayish or blackish, and in most species the underside is lighter or more reddish than the upperside. Some species have contrasting blackish or whitish foreheads, while all members of the genus Cheracebus have a white half-collar. The tail is always furry and is not prehensile.
+
+Behaviour
+Diurnal and arboreal, titis predominantly prefer dense forests near water. They easily jump from branch to branch, earning them their German name, Springaffen (jumping monkeys). They sleep at night, but can also take a midday nap.
+Titis are territorial. They live in family groups that consist of parents and their offspring, about two to seven animals in total. They defend their territory by shouting and chasing off intruders, but rarely engage in actual fighting. Their grooming and communication is important for the co-operation of the group. They can typically be seen in pairs sitting or sleeping with tails entwined.
+The diet of the titis consists mainly of fruits, although they also eat leaves, flowers, insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates.Titis are monogamous, mating for life. The female bears a single young after about a five-month gestation. Twins occur rarely, having been documented in only 1.4% of all births in captive groups of Plecturocebus moloch. While the second infant usually does not survive, cases where neighbouring groups have adopted infants are known, suggesting that twins may be reared successfully under certain circumstances. Often it is the father who cares for the young, carrying it and bringing it to the mother only for nursing. Fathers tend to engage in more grooming, food-sharing, inspecting, aggression and playing with infants than mothers. The young are weaned after 5 months and are fully grown after two years. After three or more years, they leave their family group in order to find a mate. While the life expectancy of most species is unclear, the members of the genus Cheracebus may live for up to 12 years in the wild, while members of the P. moloch group have been known to live for more than 25 years in captivity.
+
+Classification
+The number of known species of titis has doubled in recent years, with eight, P. stephennashi, P. bernhardi, P. caquetensis, P. aureipalatii, P. miltoni, P. urubambensis, P. grovesi, and P. parecis being described from the Amazon basin since 2000. Furthermore, the most recent review uses the phylogenetic species concept (thereby not recognizing the concept of subspecies) rather than the 'traditional' biological species concept. The classification presented here is therefore very different from the classifications used twenty years ago. The naming rights to a recently discovered species were auctioned off (with the funds going to a nonprofit organization), and the winner was the online casino GoldenPalace.com, as reflected in both the common and scientific name of P. aureipalatii. While this typically is a highly unusual event in scientific classification, the possibility of naming a species of titi in exchange for a sizable donation to a nonprofit foundation was also presented a few years before, resulting in P. bernhardi being named after Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.
+Historically, titis were monogeneric and formed the genus Callicebus Thomas, 1903. Owing to the great diversity found across titi monkey species, a new genus-level taxonomy was recently proposed that recognises three genera within the subfamily Callicebinae; Cheracebus Byrne et al. (2016) for the species of the torquatus group (Widow titis); Callicebus Thomas, 1903, for species of the Atlantic Forest personatus group; and Plecturocebus Byrne et al. (2016) for the Amazonian and Chaco titis of the moloch and donacophilus groups.Genus Plecturocebus
+P. donacophilus group
+White-eared titi, Plecturocebus donacophilus
+Rio Beni titi, Plecturocebus modestus
+Rio Mayo titi, Plecturocebus oenanthe
+Ollala brothers's titi, Plecturocebus olallae
+White-coated titi, Plecturocebus pallescens
+Urubamba brown titi, Plecturocebus urubambensis
+P. moloch group
+Baptista Lake titi, Plecturocebus baptista
+Prince Bernhard's titi, Plecturocebus bernhardi
+Brown titi, Plecturocebus brunneus
+Ashy black titi, Plecturocebus cinerascens
+Parecis titi, Plecturocebus parecis
+Hoffmanns's titi, Plecturocebus hoffmannsi
+Alta Floresta titi, Plecturocebus grovesi
+Milton's titi, Plecturocebus miltoni
+Red-bellied titi, Plecturocebus moloch
+Vieira's titi, Plecturocebus vieirai
+Toppin's titi, Plecturocebus toppini
+Madidi titi, Plecturocebus aureipalatii
+Chestnut-bellied titi, Plecturocebus caligatus
+Caquetá titi, Plecturocebus caquetensis
+Coppery titi, Plecturocebus cupreus
+White-tailed titi, Plecturocebus discolor
+Hershkovitz's titi, Plecturocebus dubius
+Ornate titi, Plecturocebus ornatus
+Stephen Nash's titi, Plecturocebus stephennashi
+Genus Cheracebus
+Lucifer titi, Cheracebus lucifer
+Black titi, Cheracebus lugens
+Colombian black-handed titi, Cheracebus medemi
+Red-headed titi, Cheracebus regulus
+Collared titi, Cheracebus torquatus
+Genus Callicebus
+Barbara Brown's titi, Callicebus barbarabrownae
+Coimbra Filho's titi, Callicebus coimbrai
+Coastal black-handed titi, Callicebus melanochir
+Black-fronted titi, Callicebus nigrifrons
+Atlantic titi, Callicebus personatus
+Genus †Miocallicebus
+†Miocallicebus villaviejai
+Genus †Carlocebus
+†Carlocebus carmenensis
+†Carlocebus intermedius
+Genus †Homunculus
+†Homunculus patagonicus
+
+
+== References ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/tree frog.txt b/data/animals/tree frog.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/tree frog.txt	
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+A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia suborder have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely related to each other.
+Millions of years of convergent evolution have resulted in very similar morphology even in species that are not very closely related.
+Furthermore, tree frogs in seasonally arid environments have adapted an extra-epidermal layer of lipid and mucus as an evolutionary convergent response to accommodate the periodic dehydration stress.
+
+Description
+As the name implies, these frogs are typically found in trees or other high-growing vegetation. They do not normally descend to the ground, except to mate and spawn, though some build foam nests on leaves and rarely leave the trees at all as adults.
+Tree frogs are usually tiny as their weight has to be carried by the branches and twigs in their habitats. While some reach 10  cm (4  in) or more, they are typically smaller and more slender than terrestrial frogs. Tree frogs typically have well-developed discs at the finger and toe tips, they rely on several attachment mechanisms that vary with circumstances, tree frogs require static and dynamic, adhesive and frictional, reversible and repeatable force generation; the fingers and toes themselves, as well as the limbs, tend to be rather small, resulting in a superior grasping ability. The genus Chiromantis of the Rhacophoridae is most extreme in this respect: it can oppose two fingers to the other two, resulting in a vise-like grip.
+
+Family
+Tree frogs are members of these families or genera:
+
+Hylidae, or "true" treefrogs, occur  in the temperate to tropical parts of Eurasia north of the Himalayas, Australia and the Americas.
+Rhacophoridae, or shrub frogs, are the treefrogs of tropical regions around the Indian Ocean: Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia east to Lydekker's line. A few also occur in East Asia.
+Centrolenidae, or glass frogs, are potentially closely related to hylids; these translucent frogs are native to Central and South America.
+Hyperoliidae, or reed frogs, are closely related to the burrowing Microhylidae; these small frogs are native to sub-Saharan Africa.
+Boophis is a genus of highly arboreal frogs which evolved from the toxic terrestrial Mantellidae of Madagascar.
+
+Gallery
+References
+Bibliography
+Langowski, J. K.; Dodou, D.; Kamperman, M.; van Leeuwen, J. L. (2018). "Tree frog attachment: Mechanisms, challenges, and perspectives". Frontiers in Zoology. 15 (1): 32–32. doi:10.1186/s12983-018-0273-x. PMC 6107968.
+Richardson, C.; Lengagne, T. (2009). "Multiple signals and male spacing affect female preference at cocktail parties in treefrogs". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 277 (1685): 1247–1252. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.1836. PMC 2842810. PMID 20018785.
+
+
+== External links ==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/vizsla.txt b/data/animals/vizsla.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..625f14db76959a4f4833fb0d5f1792a668756dab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/vizsla.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+The Hungarian Vizsla (Hungarian: [ˈviʒlɒ]) is a dog breed from Hungary and belongs to the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) group 7 (Pointing Dogs), the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) group 1 (Sporting group), and the American Kennel Club (Sporting group). The Hungarian or Magyar Vizsla or Smooth-Haired Vizsla are sporting dogs and loyal companions. The Vizsla's medium size is one of the breed's most appealing characteristics. As a hunter of fowl and upland game, the Vizsla has held a prominent position among sporting dogs – that of household companion and family dog.
+The Hungarian Vizsla is a versatile hunting dog that was traditionally and is currently used to hunt, point, and retrieve, referring to the dog's natural ability in tracking, pointing, and retrieving game, including in water. Although they are lively, gentle-mannered, demonstrably affectionate and sensitive, they are also fearless and possess a well-developed protective instinct.
+
+Description
+Appearance
+The Hungarian Vizsla is a short-coated hunting dog of distinguished appearance and bearing. Robust, but rather lightly built, they are lean dogs that have defined muscles.
+Various breeds are often mistaken for Vizslas and vice versa. Redbone Coonhounds, Weimaraners and Rhodesian Ridgebacks are most commonly mixed up. The body structure of a Vizsla is very similar in appearance to a Weimaraner and a Redbone Coonhound, though the Vizsla is typically leaner with a more defined musculature. Weimaraners and Rhodesian Ridgebacks are generally larger than Vizslas.
+The nose of the Vizsla will always have a reddish color that blends with the coat color. Black, brown, light pink, or another color nose is an indication of another breed. A Vizsla's eye and nail color should also blend with the coat color.
+
+Color and coats
+The standard coat is French-row yellow in several shadings. The coat could also be described as a yellow, orange, copper-brown color, russet gold, and dark sandy gold. Solid, dark, mahogany red and pale yellow are considered faults and a disqualification in competitions. Small areas of white on the fore-chest, neck, or tail are permissible but not preferred. Some variations in the Vizsla coat color along their back (saddle-type marks) are typical.
+The American Kennel Club (AKC) breed standards for the Vizsla states that the coat should be short, smooth, dense, and close-lying, without a woolly undercoat. The Vizsla is not suited to being kept outside since, unlike most other breeds, it does not have an undercoat. They are self-cleaning dogs and rarely need to be bathed, if ever. They have little noticeable "dog smell" detectable by humans. After several forays into lakes and streams they will develop an aroma that is a weaker version of the 'wet dog' smell. A quick bath and this odor will vanish.
+
+Size
+The Vizsla is a medium-sized dog, The average height and weight:
+
+Males
+Height: 23–27 in (58–69 cm)
+Weight: 45–66 lb (20–30 kg)
+Females
+Height: 21–24 in (53–61 cm)
+Weight: 40–55 lb (18–25 kg)
+
+Tail
+The Vizsla holds its tail horizontal to the ground and wags it vigorously while charging through rough scrub and undergrowth.
+The American breed standard calls for the tail to be docked to two-thirds of its original length, though docking for cosmetic reasons is opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. UK's Kennel Club breed standard permits both a docked tail or a natural tail; this accommodates laws in England & Wales and in Scotland which outlaw docking for cosmetic reasons but exempt docking in newborn working dogs.The docked tail of the Vizsla is significantly longer than that of other dogs with traditionally docked tails such as the Weimaraner, Dobermann, Boxer, and Australian Shepherd. Since the tail is docked when the puppy is less than three days old, this longer dock can result in some variation in tail length among Vizsla dogs from different breeding programs.
+
+Temperament
+Vizslas are very energetic, gentle-mannered, loyal, caring, and very affectionate. They quickly form close bonds with their owners, children, and even strangers. Often, they are referred to as "velcro" dogs because of their loyalty and affection. Vizslas will cry or whine when they feel neglected or are otherwise unhappy. Some will bark at strangers if they feel that they are invading the "pack" space. They are very good guard dogs when trained to be so.They are natural hunters with an excellent ability to take training. Not only are they great pointers, but they are excellent retrievers as well. They will retrieve on land and in the water making the most of their natural instincts. However, they must be trained gently and without harsh commands or strong physical correction, as they have sensitive temperaments and can be easily damaged if trained too harshly. However the owner must show quiet authority in training, otherwise the dog is likely to take over the training session. 
+
+Vizslas thrive on attention, exercise, and interaction. They are intelligent dogs and need a lot of mental stimulation when young. If left alone for long hours, they can be bored and become destructive. With proper socialization and training, Vizslas are very gentle dogs that can be great around children. The Vizsla wants to be close to its owner as much as possible, and it is commonly observed that vizslas insist on sleeping under the covers in their owner's bed at night.
+
+Health
+The American Kennel Club states that a typical lifespan for the Vizsla is between 12 and 14 years, while a 2008 Vizsla Club of America survey puts the average lifespan of the Vizsla at 9.15 years. The Vizsla is considered to be a robust dog but some localized breeding programs using a small number of dogs have led to heritable illnesses in some offspring including:
+
+Hip dysplasia is very rare but possible.
+Canine epilepsy
+Cancer (mast cell tumors, hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma)
+Sebaceous adenitisResponsible breeders do not select dogs for breeding if they have such inherent problems.
+Vizslas can also suffer from hypothyroidism, dwarfism, persistent right aortic arch, tricuspid valve dysplasia, and progressive retinal atrophy. Major risks include epilepsy and lymphosarcoma. Vizslas can also be prone to skin and food allergies.
+
+History
+The first written reference to the Vizsla dog breed has been recorded in the Illustrated Vienna Chronicle prepared on order of King Louis I of Hungary by the Carmelite Friars in 1357.The Vizsla has survived the Turkish occupation (1526–1696), the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, World War I, World War II and the Hungarian People's Republic. However, Vizslas faced and survived several near-extinctions in their history, including being overrun by English Pointers and German Shorthaired Pointers in the 1800s (Boggs, 2000:19) and again to near-extinction after World War II. A careful search of Hungary and a poll of Hungarian sportsmen revealed only about a dozen Vizslas of the true type still alive in the country. From that minimum stock, the breed rose to prominence once again. The various "strains" of the Vizsla have become somewhat distinctive as individuals bred stock that suited their hunting style. Outside Hungary, vizslas were commonly bred in Romania, Austria, Slovakia, and Serbia.
+The Vizsla started arriving in the United States at the close of World War II. As interest in and devotion to the breed began to increase, owners formed the Vizsla Club of America in order to gain AKC recognition. As a result of registering foundation stock with the AKC, Vizsla owners were able to obtain official recognition on 25 November 1960, as the Vizsla became the 115th breed recognized by the American Kennel Club.The Vizsla was used in development of other breeds, most notably the Weimaraner, Wirehaired Vizsla and German Shorthaired Pointer breeds. There is much conjecture about those same breeds, along with other pointer breeds, being used to reestablish the Vizsla breed at the end of the 19th century.
+
+Vizsla in the UK
+Approximately 4,520 Vizsla puppies are registered with the Kennel Club of Great Britain (KC) each year, making the breed one of the top 50 most popular. The number is steadily rising year after year as more people recognize the breed. There are two breed clubs for the Vizsla in Britain, The Hungarian Vizsla Club and The Hungarian Vizsla Society. The winner of the Best In Show award at Crufts 2010 was a Vizsla named Hungargunn Bear It'n Mind.
+
+In popular culture
+Dana Perino, the former White House Press Secretary and cohost of The Five, had owned a Vizsla, Henry. After the dog's death, Perino got another Vizsla, Jasper. After Jasper's death, she got one more Vizsla, Percy.
+Kubrick the Dog, a 2011 photography book by British fashion photographer and film maker Sean Ellis as a tribute to his Vizsla dog named Kubrick.
+Comedian Drew Lynch had a Vizsla, Stella, as a service dog, until 2022. They hosted a YouTube series called "Dog Vlog".
+Former American professional baseball pitcher Mark Buehrle and his family own three Vizslas: Diesel, Drake, and Duke.
+Professional basketball player Kevin Love owns a Vizsla
+Former George W. Bush White House Communications Director and current MSNBC show host Nicolle Wallace has two Vizslas
+Professional hockey player and former NHL MVP Taylor Hall owns a Vizsla named "Leo".
+
+See also
+Dogs portal
+List of dog breeds
+National symbols of Hungary
+Wirehaired Vizsla, a breed developed in the 1930s by interbreeding Vizsla and German Wirehaired Pointer
+Hungarian dog breeds
+
+References
+Further reading
+Boggs, B. C. The Vizsla; Glenbrier Publishing Company; Revised Edition, 1972. ISBN 0-9608838-0-0.
+Coffman, Marion I. Versatile Vizsla; Alpine Blue Ribbon Books; 2nd edition (May 2004). ISBN 1-57779-056-1.
+Hart, Ernest H. Vizslas; TFH Publications, 1990. ISBN 0-86622-436-X.
+Pinney, Chris C., D.V.M. Vizslas: A Complete Owner's Guide; Barron's, 1898. ISBN 0-7641-0321-0.
+White, Robert L. Hungarian Vizsla; PetLove Books (Published in UK by Interpret Books). ISBN 1-903098-59-9.
+
+External links
+
+Vizsla at Curlie
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/walking stick.txt b/data/animals/walking stick.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f31a9e3469f7d1e655ae5501cf5e5ed563ffa2c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/walking stick.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+A walking stick or walking cane is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion accessory, or are used for self-defense.
+Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes and some have become  collector's items. People with disabilities may use some kinds of walking sticks as a crutch but a walking cane is not designed for full weight support and is instead designed to help with balance. The walking stick has also historically been known to be used as a self defensive weapon and may conceal a knife or sword – as in a swordstick or swordcane.
+Hikers use walking sticks, also known as trekking poles, pilgrim's staffs, hiking poles, or hiking sticks, for a wide variety of purposes: as a support when going uphill or as a brake when going downhill; as a balance point when crossing streams, swamps, or other rough terrain; to feel for obstacles in the path; to test mud and water for depth; to enhance the cadence of striding, and as a defence against animals. An alpenstock, from its origins in mountaineering in the Alps, is equipped with a steel point and may carry a hook or ice axe on top. More ornate sticks may be adorned with small trinkets or medallions depicting visited territory. Wooden walking-sticks are used for outdoor sports, healthy upper-body exercise, and even club, department, and family memorials. They can be individually handcrafted from a number of woods and may be personalised with wood carving or metal engraving plaques. 
+A collector of walking sticks is termed a rabologist.
+
+Origin
+Around the 17th or 18th century, a walking stick became an essential part of the European gentleman's wardrobe. The fashion may have originated with Louis XIV, who favored a walking stick, possibly because he wore high heels.  As a curator of the Detroit Institute of Arts wrote about elaborate walking sticks in their collection:
+There was almost no limit to the sums which people were then willing to spend upon them. Louis XIV had a stick whose eagle knob was set with twenty-four diamonds. The Regent of France, one of the outstanding rakes of the century, had a huge and famous diamond called "the Regent" set as the head of a walking stick. People of fashion spent as much as forty thousand francs a year on walking sticks. Voltaire, who considered that he lived a life free from fashionable nonsense, owned eighty sticks. Rousseau, a poor man and the apostle of the simple life, owned forty. 
+Count Brühl, creator of the famous Brühl Terrace at Dresden, owned three hundred canes, each with a snuff-box to match, one for each of his three hundred suits.
+The fashion spread across the Atlantic to America. Benjamin Franklin had received as a gift a gold-headed walking stick from a French lady admirer when he was ambassador to France. Franklin wrote a codicil to his Will in 1789 bequeathing it to George Washington. It is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
+
+Accessories
+The most common accessory, before or after purchase or manufacture, is a hand strap, to prevent loss of the stick should the hand release its grip. These are often threaded through a hole drilled into the stick rather than tied around.
+A clip-on frame or similar device can be used to stand a stick against the top of a table.
+In cold climates, a metallic cleat may be added to the foot of the cane. This dramatically increases traction on ice. The device is usually designed so it can be easily flipped to the side to prevent damage to indoor flooring.
+Different handles are available to match grips of varying sizes.
+Rubber ferrules give extra traction on most surfaces.
+Nordic walking poles are extremely popular in Europe. Walking with two poles in the correct length radically reduces the stress to the knees, hips and back. These special poles come with straps resembling a fingerless glove, durable metal tips for off-road and removable rubber tips for pavement and other hard surfaces.
+
+Religious use
+Various staffs of office derived from walking sticks or staffs are used by both western and eastern Christian churches.
+In Islam the walking stick ('Asa) is considered a sunnah and Muslims are encouraged to carry one. The imam traditionally delivers the Khutbah while leaning on a stick.
+
+Types
+Ashplant
+a British or Irish walking stick made from the ash tree. In the Royal Tank Regiment, officers carry an ashplant walking stick in reference to World War I when they were used to test the ground's firmness and suitability for tanks.
+
+Blackthorn
+an Irish walking stick, or shillelagh, made from the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).
+
+Shooting stick
+It can fold out into a single-legged seat.
+
+Supplejack
+Made from a tropical American vine, also serves as a cane.
+
+Penang lawyer
+Made from Licuala. After the bark was removed with only a piece of glass, the stick was straightened by fire and polished. The fictional Dr. Mortimer owned one of these in The Hound of the Baskervilles. So did Fitzroy Simpson, the main suspect in "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" (1892), whose lead weighted stick was initially assumed to be the murder weapon.
+
+Makila (or makhila)
+Basque walking stick or staff, usually made from medlar wood. It often features a gold or silver foot and handle, which may conceal a steel blade. The Makila's elaborate engravings are actually carved into the living wood, then allowed to heal before harvesting.
+
+Kebbie
+a rough Scottish walking stick, similar to an Irish shillelagh, with a hooked head.
+
+Whangee
+Asian, made of bamboo, also a riding crop. Such a stick was owned by Charlie Chaplin's character The Tramp.
+
+Malacca
+Malay stick made of rattan palms.
+
+Pike Staff
+Pointed at the end for slippery surfaces.
+
+Scout staff
+Tall stick traditionally carried by Boy Scouts, which has a number of uses
+
+Waddy
+Australian Aboriginal walking stick or war club, about one metre in length, sometimes with a stone head affixed with string and beeswax.
+
+Ziegenhainer
+Knotty German stick, made from European cornel, also used as a melee weapon by a duellist's second. The spiral groove caused by a parasitic vine was often imitated by its maker if not present.
+
+American "walking canes"
+In North America, a walking cane is a walking stick with a curved top much like a shepherd's staff, but shorter. Thus, although they are called "canes", they are usually made of more modern material other than cane, such as wood, metal or carbon fiber.
+In modern times, walking sticks are usually only seen with formal attire. Retractable canes that reveal such properties as hidden compartments, pool sticks, or blades are popular among collectors. Handles have been made from many substances, both natural and manmade. Carved and decorated canes have turned the functional into the fantastic.
+
+The idea of a fancy cane as a fashion accessory to go with top hat and tails has been popularized in many song-and-dance acts, especially by Fred Astaire in several of his films and songs such as Top Hat, White Tie and Tails and Puttin' On the Ritz, where he exhorts "Come, let's mix where Rockefellers walk with sticks or umbrellas in their mitts." He danced with a cane frequently.
+Some canes, known as "tippling canes" or "tipplers", have hollowed-out compartments near the top where flasks or vials of alcohol could be hidden and sprung out on demand.
+When used as a mobility or stability aid, canes are generally used in the hand opposite the injury or weakness. This may appear counter-intuitive, but this allows the cane to be used for stability in a way that lets the user shift much of their weight onto the cane and away from their weaker side as they walk. Personal preference, or a need to hold the cane in their dominant hand, means some cane users choose to hold the cane on their injured side.
+In the U.S. Congress in 1856, Charles Sumner of Massachusetts criticized Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and Andrew Butler of South Carolina for the Kansas–Nebraska Act. When a relative of Andrew Butler, Preston Brooks, heard of it, he felt that Sumner's behavior demanded retaliation, and beat him senseless on the floor of the Senate with a gutta-percha walking cane. Although this event is commonly known as "the caning of Senator Charles Sumner", it was not a caning in the normal (especially British) sense of formal corporal punishment with a much more flexible and usually thinner rattan.
+
+See also
+References
+External links
+ Media related to Canes at Wikimedia Commons
+
+Walking-Stick Papers (Robert Cortes Holliday, 1918) – Project Gutenberg ebook
+Walking Stick & Cane History Published with permission
+Self-Defence with a Walking Stick (Pearson's Magazine, January 1901)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/wallaby.txt b/data/animals/wallaby.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..9f59a14f58da802d963900595de9b0fc581d63a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/data/animals/wallaby.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries.  They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and sometimes the same genus, but kangaroos are specifically categorised into the four largest species of the family. The term "wallaby" is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or a wallaroo that has not been designated otherwise.
+There are nine species (eight extant and one extinct) of the brush wallaby (genus Notamacropus). Their head and body length is 45 to 105 cm (18 to 41 in) and the tail is 33 to 75 cm (13 to 30 in) long. The 19 known species of rock-wallabies (genus Petrogale) live among rocks, usually near water; two species in this genus are endangered.  The two living species of hare-wallabies (genus Lagorchestes; two other species in this genus are extinct) are small animals that have the movements and some of the habits of hares. The three species (two extant and one extinct) of nail-tail wallabies (genus Onychogalea) have one notable feature: a horny spur at the tip of the tail; its function is unknown. The seven species of pademelons or scrub wallabies (genus Thylogale) of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, and Tasmania are small and stocky, with short hind limbs and pointed noses. The swamp wallaby (genus Wallabia) is the only species in its genus.
+Another wallaby that is monotypic is the quokka or short-tailed scrub wallaby (genus Setonix); this species is now restricted to two offshore islands of Western Australia which are free of introduced predators. The seven species of dorcopsises or forest wallabies (genera Dorcopsis (four species, with a fifth as yet undescribed) and Dorcopsulus (two species)) are all native to the island of New Guinea.
+One of the brush wallaby species, the dwarf wallaby (Notamacropus dorcopsulus), also native to New Guinea, is the smallest known wallaby species and one of the smallest known macropods. Its length is about 46 cm (18 in) from the nose to the end of the tail, and it weighs about 1.6 kg (3.5 lb).Wallabies are hunted for meat and fur.
+
+Etymology and terminology
+The name wallaby comes from Dharug walabi or waliba. Another early name for the wallaby, in use from at least 1802, was the brush-kangaroo.Young wallabies are referred to as "joeys", like many other marsupials. Adult male wallabies are referred to as "bucks", "boomers", or "jacks". Adult female wallabies are referred to as "does", "flyers", or "jills". A group of wallabies is called a "mob", "court", or "troupe". Scrub-dwelling and forest-dwelling wallabies are known as "pademelons" (genus Thylogale) and "dorcopsises" (genera Dorcopsis and Dorcopsulus), respectively.
+
+General description
+Although members of most wallaby species are small, some can grow up to approximately two metres in length (from the head to the end of the tail).  Their powerful hind legs are not only used for bounding at high speeds and jumping great heights, but also to administer vigorous kicks to fend off potential predators. The tammar wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii) has elastic storage in the ankle extensor tendons, without which the animal's metabolic rate might be 30–50% greater. It has also been found that the design of spring-like tendon energy savings and economical muscle force generation is key for the two distal muscle–tendon units of the tammar wallaby (Macropus-Eugenii).  Wallabies also have a powerful tail that is used mostly for balance and support.
+
+Diet
+Wallabies are herbivores whose diet consists of a wide range of grasses, vegetables, leaves and other foliage. Due to recent urbanization, many wallabies now feed in rural and urban areas. Wallabies cover vast distances for food and water, which is often scarce in their environment. Mobs of wallabies often congregate around the same water hole during the dry season.
+
+Threats
+Wallabies face several threats. Dingoes, domestic and feral dogs, feral cats, and red foxes are among their predators. Humans also pose a significant threat to wallabies due to increased interaction (wallabies can defend themselves with hard kicks and biting). Many wallabies have been involved in vehicular accidents, as they often feed near roads and urban areas.
+
+Classification
+Wallabies are not a distinct genetic group. Nevertheless, they fall into several broad categories. Brush wallabies of the genus Notamacropus, like the agile wallaby (Notamacropus agilis) and the red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus), are most closely related to the kangaroos and wallaroos and, aside from their size, look very similar. These are the ones most frequently seen, particularly in the southern states.
+
+Rock-wallabies (genus Petrogale), rather like the goats of the Northern Hemisphere, specialise in rugged terrain and have modified feet adapted to grip rock with skin friction rather than dig into soil with large claws. There are at least 19 species and the relationship between several of them is still poorly understood. Several species are endangered. Captive rock-wallaby breeding programs, like the one at Healesville Sanctuary, have had some success and a small number have recently been released into the wild.
+The banded hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus) is thought to be the last remaining member of the once numerous subfamily Sthenurinae, and although once common across southern Australia, it is now restricted to two islands off the Western Australian coast which are free of introduced predators. It is not as closely related to the other hare-wallabies (genus Lagorchestes) as the hare-wallabies are to the other wallabies.
+New Guinea, which was, until fairly recent geological times, part of mainland Australia, has at least five species of wallabies.
+
+Natural range and habitat
+Wallabies are widely distributed across Australia, particularly in more remote, heavily timbered, or rugged areas, less so on the great semi-arid plains that are better suited to the larger, leaner, and more fleet-footed kangaroos. They also can be found on the island of New Guinea.
+
+Introduced populations
+Wallabies of several species have been introduced to other parts of the world, and there are a number of successfully breeding introduced populations, including:
+
+Kawau Island in New Zealand is home to large numbers of tammar, Parma, swamp and brush-tailed rock-wallabies from introductions made around 1870. They are considered pests on the island, but a programme to re-introduce them to Australia has met with only limited success.
+The Lake Tarawera area of New Zealand has a large tammar wallaby population.
+The South Canterbury district of New Zealand has a large population of Bennett's wallabies.
+On the Isle of Man in the Ballaugh Curraghs area, there is a population of around 560 red-necked wallabies, descended from a pair that escaped from the nearby Curraghs Wildlife Park in 1970.
+Hawaii has a small non-native population of wallabies in the upper regions of Kalihi Valley on the island of Oahu arising from an escape of zoo specimens of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) in 1916.
+In the Peak District of England, a population was established around 1940 by five escapees from a local zoo, and as of September 2017, sightings were still being made in the area. At its peak in 1975, the population numbered around 60 individuals.
+The island of Inchconnachan in Loch Lomond, Scotland, has a population of around 28 red-necked wallabies introduced by Lady Colquhoun in the 1920s. Eradication to protect the native capercaillie has been proposed.
+There is also a small population on Lambay Island off the eastern coast of Ireland. Initially introduced in the 1950s and 1960s, more were introduced in the 1980s after a sudden population explosion at the Dublin Zoo.
+Populations in the United Kingdom that, for some periods, bred successfully included one near Teignmouth, Devon, another in the Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, Cornwall and one on the islands of Bute and Lundy. It has recently been reported by walkers in the Lickey Hills Country Park area of Birmingham that a pair of wallabies have been released or are loose there (East Tunnock Rambling Club Meeting, December 2010).
+In France, in the southern part of the Forest of Rambouillet, about 50 km (30 mi) west of Paris, there is a wild group of around 30 Bennett's wallabies. This population has been present since the 1970s, when some individuals escaped from the zoological park of Émancé after a storm.
+
+Species
+The term "wallaby" is not well defined and can mean any macropod of moderate or small size. Therefore, the listing below is arbitrary and taken from the complete list of macropods.
+Genus Notamacropus
+
+Agile wallaby (Notamacropus agilis)
+Black-striped wallaby (Notamacropus dorsalis)
+Parma wallaby (Notamacropus parma) (rediscovered, thought to have been extinct for 100 years)
+Red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus)
+Tammar wallaby (Notamacropus eugenii)
+Toolache wallaby (Notamacropus greyi)  †(extinct)
+Western brush wallaby (Notamacropus irma)
+Whiptail wallaby (Notamacropus parryi)Genus Wallabia
+
+Swamp wallaby or black wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)Genus Petrogale
+
+Allied rock-wallaby (Petrogale assimilis)
+Black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis)
+Brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata)
+Cape York rock-wallaby (Petrogale coenensis)
+Eastern short-eared rock-wallaby (Petrogale wilkinsi)
+Godman's rock-wallaby (Petrogale godmani)
+Herbert's rock-wallaby (Petrogale herberti)
+Mareeba rock-wallaby (Petrogale mareeba)
+Monjon (Petrogale burbidgei)
+Mount Claro rock-wallaby (Petrogale sharmani)
+Nabarlek (Petrogale concinna)
+Proserpine rock-wallaby (Petrogale persephone)
+Purple-necked rock-wallaby (Petrogale purpureicollis)
+Rothschild's rock-wallaby (Petrogale rothschildi)
+Short-eared rock-wallaby (Petrogale brachyotis)
+Unadorned rock-wallaby (Petrogale inornata)
+Yellow-footed rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus)Genus Lagostrophus
+
+Banded hare-wallaby (Lagostrophus fasciatus)Genus Lagorchestes
+
+Eastern hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes leporides) †(extinct)
+Lake Mackay hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes asomatus) †(extinct)
+Rufous hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes hirsutus)
+Spectacled hare-wallaby (Lagorchestes conspicillatus))Genus Onychogalea
+
+Bridled nail-tail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata)
+Crescent nail-tail wallaby (Onychogalea lunata) † (extinct)
+Northern nail-tail wallaby (Onychogalea unguifera)Genus Dorcopsis
+
+Black dorcopsis (Dorcopsis atrata)
+Brown dorcopsis (Dorcopsis muelleri)
+Gray dorcopsis (Dorcopsis luctuosa)
+White-striped dorcopsis (Dorcopsis hageni)Genus Dorcopsulus
+
+Macleay's dorcopsis (Dorcopsulus macleayi)
+Small dorcopsis (Dorcopsulus vanhuemi)Genus Thylogale
+
+Brown's pademelon (Thylogale browni)
+Calaby's pademelon (Thylogale calabyi)
+Dusky pademelon (Thylogale brunii)
+Mountain pademelon (Thylogale lanatus)
+Red-legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica)
+Red-necked pademelon (Thylogale thetis)
+Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii)Genus Setonix
+
+Quokka or short-tailed scrub wallaby (Setonix brachyurus)
+
+References
+External links
+
+Roophilia – photographs of kangaroos and wallabies
+View the macEug2 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser.
+View the wallaby genome in Ensembl
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/data/animals/water buffalo.txt b/data/animals/water buffalo.txt
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+++ b/data/animals/water buffalo.txt	
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Italy, the Balkans, Australia, North America, South America and some African countries.
+Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria: the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans, Egypt and Italy and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east.The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) most likely represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. Results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the river-type water buffalo probably originated in western India and was domesticated about 6,300 years ago, whereas the swamp-type originated independently from Mainland Southeast Asia and was domesticated about 3,000 to 7,000 years ago. The river buffalo dispersed west as far as Egypt, the Balkans, and Italy; while swamp buffalo dispersed to the rest of Southeast Asia and up to the Yangtze River valley.Water buffaloes were traded from the Indus Valley civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, in 2500 BC by the Meluhhas. The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffaloes.Water buffaloes are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat and protein than that of dairy cattle. A large feral population became established in northern Australia in the late 19th century, and there are smaller feral herds in Papua New Guinea, Tunisia and northeastern Argentina. Feral herds are also present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Uruguay.
+
+Taxonomy
+Carl Linnaeus first described the genus Bos and the water buffalo under the binomial Bos bubalis in 1758; the species was known to occur in Asia and was held as a domestic form in Italy. Ellerman and Morrison-Scott treated the wild and domestic forms of the water buffalo as conspecifics, whereas others treated them as different species. The nomenclatorial treatment of the wild and domestic forms has been inconsistent and varies between authors and even within the works of single authors.In March 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature achieved consistency in the naming of the wild and domestic water buffaloes by ruling that the scientific name Bubalus arnee is valid for the wild form. B. bubalis continues to be valid for the domestic form and applies also to feral populations.
+
+Characteristics
+The skin of the river buffalo is black, but some specimens may have dark, slate-coloured skin. Swamp buffaloes have a grey skin at birth, which becomes slate blue later. Albinoids are present in some populations. River buffaloes have longer faces, smaller girths, and bigger limbs than swamp buffaloes. Their dorsal ridges extend further back and taper off more gradually. Their horns grow downward and backward, then curve upward in a spiral. Swamp buffaloes are heavy-bodied and stockily built; the body is short and the belly large. The forehead is flat, the eyes prominent, the face short, and the muzzle wide. The neck is comparatively long, and the withers and croup are prominent. A dorsal ridge extends backward and ends abruptly just before the end of the chest. Their horns grow outward, and curve in a semicircle, but always remain more or less on the plane of the forehead. The tail is short, reaching only to the hocks. Body the size and shape of horns may vary greatly among breeds. Height at the withers is 129–133 cm (51–52 in) for bulls, and 120–127 cm (47–50 in) for cows, but large individuals may attain 160 cm (63 in). Head-lump length at maturity typically ranges from 240–300 cm (94–118 in) with a 60–100 cm (24–39 in) long tail. They range in weight from 300–550 kg (660–1,210 lb), but weights of over 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) have also been observed.Tedong bonga is a piebald water buffalo featuring a unique black and white colouration that is favoured by the Toraja of Sulawesi.The swamp buffalo has 48 chromosomes; the river buffalo has 50 chromosomes. The two types do not readily interbreed, but fertile offspring can occur. Water buffalo-cattle hybrids have not been observed to occur, but the embryos of such hybrids reach maturity in laboratory experiments, albeit at lower rates than non-hybrids.The rumen of the water buffalo differs from the rumen of other ruminants. It contains a larger population of bacteria, particularly the cellulolytic bacteria, lower protozoa, and higher fungi zoospores. In addition, higher rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and higher pH have been found, compared to those in cattle.
+
+Ecology and behavior
+River buffaloes prefer deep water. Swamp buffaloes prefer to wallow in mudholes, which they make with their horns. During wallowing, they acquire a thick coating of mud. Both are well-adapted to a hot and humid climate with temperatures ranging from 0 °C (32 °F) in the winter to 30 °C (86 °F) and greater in the summer. Water availability is important in hot climates, since they need wallows, rivers, or splashing water to assist in thermoregulation. Some water buffalo breeds are adapted to saline seaside shores and saline sandy terrain.
+
+Diet
+Water buffaloes thrive on many aquatic plants. During floods, they graze submerged, raising their heads above the water and carrying quantities of edible plants. Water buffaloes eat reeds, Arundo donax, a kind of Cyperaceae, Eichhornia crassipes, and Juncaceae. Some of these plants are of great value to local peoples. Others, such as E. crassipes and A. donax, are a major problem in some tropical valleys and by eating them, the water buffaloes may help control these invasive plants.
+Green fodders are used widely for intensive milk production and for fattening. Many fodder crops are conserved as hay, chaffed, or pulped. Fodders include alfalfa, the leaves, stems or trimmings of banana, cassava, Mangelwurzel, esparto, Leucaena leucocephala and kenaf, maize, oats, Pandanus, peanut, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, bagasse, and turnips. Citrus pulp and pineapple wastes have been fed safely to buffalo. In Egypt, whole sun-dried dates are fed to milk buffalo up to 25% of the standard feed mixture.
+
+Reproduction
+Swamp buffaloes generally become reproductive at an older age than river breeds. Young males in Egypt, India, and Pakistan are first mated around 3.0–3.5 years of age, but in Italy, they may be used as early as 2 years of age. Successful mating behaviour may continue until the animal is 12 years or even older. A good river buffalo male can impregnate 100 females in a year. A strong seasonal influence on mating occurs. Heat stress reduces libido.Although water buffaloes are polyoestrous, their reproductive efficiency shows wide variation throughout the year. The cows exhibit a distinct seasonal change in displaying oestrus, conception rate, and calving rate. The age at the first oestrus of heifers varies between breeds from 13 to 33 months, but mating at the first oestrus is often infertile and usually deferred until they are 3 years old. Gestation lasts from 281 to 334 days, but most reports give a range between 300 and 320 days. Swamp buffaloes carry their calves for one or two weeks longer than river buffaloes. Finding water buffaloes that continue to work well at the age of 30 is not uncommon, and instances of a working life of 40 years have been recorded.
+
+Domestication and breeding
+The most likely ancestor of domesticated water buffalo is the wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), which is native to the Indian subcontinent and tropical Southeast Asia. Two types of domesticated water buffalo are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo (of the western Indian subcontinent and west to the Levant, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean) and the swamp buffalo (found from Assam and East India in the west, east to the Yangtze Valley of China, and south through Indochina and Southeast Asia).River- and swamp-type water buffalo are believed to have been domesticated independently. Results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the river-type water buffalo probably originated in western India and was likely domesticated about 6,300 years ago; the swamp-type originated independently from Mainland Southeast Asia, being domesticated between 3-7,000 years ago. The river buffalo dispersed west as far as Egypt, southern Europe, the Levant, and the Mediterranean regions; swamp buffalo dispersed in the opposite direction, to the rest of Southeast Asia, and up to the Yangtze River valley in China.Swamp-type water buffalo entered Island Southeast Asia from at least 2,500 years ago through the northern Philippines, where butchered remains of domesticated water buffalo have been recovered from the Neolithic Nagsabaran site (part of the Lal-lo and Gattaran Shell Middens, c. 2200 BCE to 400 CE). These became the ancestors of the distinctly swamp-type carabao buffalo breed of the Philippines which, in turn, spread to Guam, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among other smaller islands.The present-day river buffalo is the result of complex domestication processes involving more than one maternal lineage and a significant maternal gene flow from wild populations after the initial domestication events. Twenty-two breeds of the river buffalo are known, including the Murrah, NiliRavi, Surti, Carabao, Anatolian, Mediterranean, and Egyptian buffaloes. China has a huge variety of water buffalo genetic resources, with 16 local swamp buffalo breeds in various regions.
+
+Genetic studies
+Results of mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the two types were domesticated independently. Sequencing of cytochrome b genes of Bubalus species implies that the water buffalo originated from at least two populations, and that the river-type and the swamp-type have differentiated at the full species level. The genetic distance between the two types is so large that a divergence time of about 1.7 million years has been suggested. The swamp-type was noticed to have the closest relationship with the tamaraw of the northern Philippines.A 2008 DNA analysis of Neolithic water buffalo remains in northern China (previously used as evidence of a Chinese domestication origin) found that the remains were of the extinct Bubalus mephistopheles and are not genetically related to modern domesticated water buffaloes. Another study in 2004 also concluded that the remains were from wild specimens. Both indicate that water buffaloes were first domesticated outside of China. Analyses of mitochondrial DNA and single-nucleotide polymorphism indicate that swamp and river buffaloes were crossbred in China.An analysis of the genomes of 91 swamp and 30 river buffaloes showed that they separated already before domestication about 0.23 million years ago.There have been many attempts at creating hybrids between domestic cattle and domestic water buffaloes, however, to date, none have been successful; the embryos usually only get to the 8th cell stage before failing.
+
+Distribution of populations
+By 2011, the global water buffalo population was about 172 million. The estimated global population of water buffalo is 208,098,759 head distributed in 77 countries in five continents.
+
+In Asia
+More than 95.8% of the world population of water buffaloes are kept in Asia, including both the river-type and the swamp-type. The water buffalo population in India numbered over 97.9 million head in 2003, representing 56.5% of the world population. They are primarily of the river type, with 10 well-defined breeds: the Bhadawari, Banni, Jafarabadi, Marathwadi, Mehsana, Murrah, Nagpuri, Nili-Ravi, Pandharpuri, Surti, and Toda buffaloes. Swamp buffaloes occur only in small areas in northeastern India and are not distinguished into breeds.
+In 2003, the second-largest population lived in China, with 22.76 million head, all of the swamp-type, with many breeds kept only in the lowlands, and other breeds kept only in the mountains; as of 2003, 3.2 million swamp-type carabao buffaloes were in the Philippines, nearly 3 million swamp buffaloes were in Vietnam, and roughly 773,000 buffaloes were in Bangladesh. About 750,000 head were estimated in Sri Lanka in 1997. In Japan, the water buffalo was used as a domestic animal throughout the Ryukyu Islands or Okinawa prefecture, however it is almost extinct now and mainly used as a tourist attraction. Per a 2015 report, about 836,500 water buffaloes were in Nepal.The water buffalo is the main dairy animal in Pakistan, with 23.47 million head in 2010. Of these, 76% are kept in the Punjab. The rest are mostly kept in the province of Sindh. The water buffalo breeds used are the Nili-Ravi, Kundi, and Azi Kheli. Karachi alone has upwards of 400,000 head of water buffalo in 2021, which provide dairy as well as meat to the local poulation.In Thailand, the number of water buffaloes dropped from more than 3 million head in 1996 to less than 1.24 million head in 2011. Slightly over 75% of them are kept in the country's northeastern region. By the beginning of 2012, less than one million were in the country, partly as a result of illegal shipments to neighbouring countries where sales prices are higher than in Thailand.Water buffaloes are also present in the southern region of Iraq in the Mesopotamian Marshes. The draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes by Saddam Hussein was an attempt to punish the south for the 1991 Iraqi uprisings. After 2003 and the Firdos Square statue destruction, these lands were reflooded and a 2007 report on Maysan and Dhi Qar shows a steady increase in the number of water buffaloes. The report puts the number at 40,008 head in those two provinces.
+
+In Europe and the Mediterranean
+Water buffaloes were probably introduced to Europe from India or other eastern sources. In Italy, the Longobard King Agilulf is said to have received water buffaloes around 600 AD. These were probably a present from the Khan of the Avars, a Turkic nomadic tribe that dwelt near the Danube River at the time. Sir H. Johnston knew of a herd of water buffaloes presented by a King of Naples to the Bey of Tunis in the mid-19th century that had resumed the feral state in northern Tunis.European water buffaloes are all of the river-type and considered to be of the same breed named the Mediterranean buffalo. In Italy, the Mediterranean type was particularly selected and is called the Mediterranea Italiana buffalo to distinguish it from other European breeds, which differ genetically. Mediterranean buffalo are also kept in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, with a few hundred in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Hungary. Little exchange of breeding water buffaloes has occurred among countries, so each population has its own phenotypic features and performances. In Bulgaria, they were crossbred with the Indian Murrah breed, and in Romania, some were crossbred with Bulgarian Murrah. As of 2016, about 13,000 buffaloes were in Romania, down from 289,000 in 1989.Populations in Turkey are of the Anatolian buffalo breed.
+
+In Australia
+Between 1824 and 1849, swamp buffaloes were introduced into the Northern Territory, from Timor and Kisar and probably other islands in the Indonesian archipelago, to provide meat and hide. When the third attempt at settlement by the British on the Cobourg Peninsula was abandoned in 1849, the buffaloes were released. In the 1880s, a few river buffaloes were imported from India to Darwin for milk. Water buffalo have been the main grazing animals on the subcoastal plains and river basins between Darwin and Arnhem Land (the "Top End") since the 1880s. They became feral and caused significant environmental damage. Their only natural predators in Australia are crocodiles and dingoes, which can only prey on the younger animals. As a result, they were hunted in the Top End from 1885 until 1980.In the early 1960s, an estimated population of 150,000 to 200,000 water buffaloes was living in the plains and nearby areas. The commencement of the brucellosis and tuberculosis campaign (BTEC) resulted in a huge culling program to reduce water buffalo herds to a fraction of the numbers that were reached in the 1980s. The BTEC was finished when the Northern Territory was declared free of the disease in 1997. Numbers dropped dramatically as a result of the campaign, but had recovered to an estimated 150,000 animals across northern Australia in 2008, and up to an estimated 200,000 by 2022. Both swamp and river buffaloes exist in feral populations, but swamp buffaloes are more prevalent than river buffaloes.
+
+Significance to Aboriginal peoples
+"Nganabbarru" is the Bininj Kunwok word for buffalo, which are represented in rock art paintings at Djabidjbakalloi. The buffalo left behind after the failed British attempt at settlement became a threat to the local Aboriginal peoples, as they had no guns at that time. As the herds expanded across into Arnhem Land, some local people seized the chance to hunt the animals for their hides in the 1880s, as they did not belong to anyone, unlike sheep and cattle. The industry continues to provide employment opportunities and income for traditional owners.
+
+Uses
+During the 1950s, water buffaloes were hunted for their skins and meat, which was exported and used in the local trade. In the late 1970s, live exports were made to Cuba and continued later into other countries. Swamp buffaloes are now crossed with river buffaloes in artificial insemination programs, and are kept in many areas of Australia. Some of these crossbreeds are used for milk production. Melville Island is a popular hunting location, where a steady population up to 4,000 individuals exists. Safari outfits are run from Darwin to Melville Island and other locations in the Top End, often with the use of bush pilots; buffalo horns, which can measure up to a record of 3.1 m (10 ft) tip-to-tip, are prized hunting trophies.Water buffaloes were exported live to Indonesia until 2011, at a rate of about 3,000 per year. After the live export ban that year, the exports dropped to zero, and had not resumed as of June 2013. Tom Dawkins, CEO of NT Buffalo Industry Council, said in May 2022 that culling should be a last resort, given the flourishing and growing live export trade and economic benefits for Aboriginal people. By the end of 2021, cattle exports to Indonesia had dropped to the lowest level since 2012, while demand for buffalo was growing both in Australia and in Southeast Asia.
+
+In South America
+Water buffaloes were introduced into the Amazon River basin in 1895. They are now extensively used there for meat and dairy production. In 2005, the water buffalo herd in the Brazilian Amazon stood at roughly 1.6 million head, of which 460,000 were located in the lower Amazon floodplains. The breeds used include the Mediterranean from Italy, the Murrah and Jafarabadi from India, and the carabao from the Philippines. The official Brazilian herd number in 2019 is 1.39 million head.During the 1970s, small herds were imported to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cayenne, Panama, Suriname, Guyana, and Venezuela.In Argentina, many game ranches raise water buffaloes for commercial hunting.Other important herds in South America are Colombia (>300.000), Argentina (>100.000) and Venezuela with unconfirmed reports ranging from 200 to 500 thousand head.
+
+In North America
+In 1974, four water buffaloes were imported to the United States from Guam to be studied at the University of Florida. In February 1978, the first herd arrived for commercial farming. Until 2002, only one commercial breeder was in the United States. Water buffalo meat is imported from Australia. Until 2011, water buffaloes were raised in Gainesville, Florida, from young obtained from zoo overflow. They were used primarily for meat production, and frequently sold as hamburger. Other U.S. ranchers use them for production of high-quality mozzarella cheese. Water buffaloes are also kept in the Caribbean, specifically in Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba.
+
+Husbandry
+The husbandry system of water buffaloes depends on the purpose for which they are bred and maintained. Most of them are kept by people who work on small farms in family units. Their water buffaloes live in close association with them, and are often their greatest capital asset. The women and girls in India generally look after the milking buffaloes, while the men and boys are concerned with the working animals. Throughout Asia, they are commonly tended by children who are often seen leading or riding their charges to wallows. Water buffaloes are the ideal animals for work in the deep mud of paddy fields because of their large hooves and flexible foot joints. They are often referred to as "the living tractor of the East".  They are the most efficient and economical means of cultivation of small fields. In most rice-producing countries, they are used for threshing and for transporting the sheaves during the rice harvest. They provide power for oilseed mills, sugarcane presses, and devices for raising water. They are widely used as pack animals, and in India and Pakistan, for heavy haulage, also. In their invasions of Europe, the Turks used water buffaloes for hauling heavy battering rams. Their dung is used as a fertilizer, and as a fuel when dried.Around 26 million water buffaloes are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide. They contribute 72 million tonnes of milk and three million tonnes of meat annually to world food, much of it in areas that are prone to nutritional imbalances. In India, river buffaloes are kept mainly for milk production and for transport, whereas swamp buffaloes are kept mainly for work and a small amount of milk.
+
+Dairy products
+Water buffalo milk presents physicochemical features different from those of other ruminant species, such as a higher content of fatty acids and proteins. The physical and chemical parameters of swamp-type and river-type water buffalo milk differ.
+Water buffalo milk contains higher levels of total solids, crude protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus, and slightly higher content of lactose compared with those of cow milk. The high level of total solids makes water buffalo milk ideal for processing into value-added dairy products such as cheese. The conjugated linoleic acid content in water buffalo milk ranged from 4.4 mg/g fat in September to 7.6 mg/g fat in June. Seasons and genetics may play a role in variation of CLA level and changes in gross composition of water buffalo milk.Water buffalo milk is processed into a large variety of dairy products, including:
+
+Cream churns much faster at higher fat levels and gives higher overrun than cow cream.
+Butter from water buffalo cream displays more stability than that from cow cream.
+Ghee from water buffalo milk has a different texture with a bigger grain size than ghee from cow milk.
+Heat-concentrated milk products in the Indian subcontinent include paneer, khoa, rabri, kheer and basundi.
+Fermented milk products include dahi, yogurt and strained yogurt.
+Whey is used for making ricotta and mascarpone in Italy, and alkarish in Syria and Egypt.
+Hard cheeses include braila in Romania, and rahss in Egypt.
+Soft cheeses include mozzarella in Italy, karish, mish and madhfor in Iraq, alghab in Syria, kesong puti in the Philippines, and vladeasa in Romania.
+
+Meat and skin products
+Water buffalo meat, sometimes called "carabeef", is often passed off as beef in certain regions, and is also a major source of export revenue for India. In many Asian regions, water buffalo meat is less preferred due to its toughness; however, recipes have evolved (rendang, for example) where the slow cooking process and spices not only make the meat palatable, but also preserve it, an important factor in hot climates where refrigeration is not always available.Their hides provide tough and useful leather, often used for shoes.
+
+Bone and horn products
+The bones and horns are often made into jewellery, especially earrings. Horns are used for the embouchure of musical instruments, such as ney and kaval.
+
+Environmental effects
+Wildlife conservation scientists have started to recommend and use introduced populations of feral water buffaloes in far-away lands to manage uncontrolled vegetation growth in and around natural wetlands. Introduced water buffaloes at home in such environs provide cheap service by regularly grazing the uncontrolled vegetation and opening up clogged water bodies for waterfowl, wetland birds, and other wildlife. Grazing water buffaloes are sometimes used in Great Britain for conservation grazing, such as in the Chippenham Fen National Nature Reserve. The water buffaloes can better adapt to wet conditions and poor-quality vegetation than cattle.In uncontrolled circumstances, though, water buffaloes can cause environmental damage, such as trampling vegetation, disturbing bird and reptile nesting sites, and spreading exotic weeds.
+
+Research
+In 2007, the development of Southeast Asia's first cloned water buffalo was announced in the Philippines. The Department of Agriculture's Philippine Carabao Center implemented cloning through somatic cell nuclear transfer as a tool for genetic improvement in water buffaloes to produce "super buffalo calves" by multiplying existing germplasms, but without modifying or altering genetic material.In January 2008, the Philippine Carabao Center in Nueva Ecija, per Filipino scientists, initiated a study to breed a super water buffalo that could produce 4 to 18 litres of milk per day, using gene-based technology. Also, the first in vitro river buffalo was born there in 2004 from an in vitro-produced, vitrified embryo, named "Glory" after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Joseph Estrada's most successful project as an opposition senator, the PCC was created through Republic Act 3707, the Carabao Act of 1992.Indian scientists from the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal developed a cloned water buffalo in 2010. The water buffalo calf was named Samrupa. The calf did not survive more than a week, due to genetic defects. A few months later, a second cloned calf named Garima was successfully born. The Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, India's premier research institute on water buffaloes, also became the second institute in the world to successfully clone the water buffalo in 2016.
+
+In culture
+In the Thai and Sinhalese animal and planetary zodiac, the water buffalo is the third animal zodiac of the Thai and the fourth animal zodiac of the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka.
+Some ethnic groups, such as Batak and Toraja in Indonesia and the Derung in China, sacrifice water buffaloes or kerbau (called horbo in Batak or tedong in Toraja) at several festivals.
+The Minangkabau of West Sumatra adorn their houses and clothing with motifs based on the buffalo's horns as a tribute to the legend that pitted a buffalo (kabau) chosen by their kingdom against one by the (traditionally) the Majapahit empire, to which their kingdom won.
+In Chinese tradition, the water buffalo is associated with a contemplative life.
+A water buffalo head was a symbol of death in Tibet.
+The carabao is considered a national symbol of the Philippines, although this has no basis in Philippine law.
+In Indian mythology, evil is often represented by the water buffalo. The Hindu god of death, Yama, rides on a water buffalo.
+A male water buffalo is sacrificed in many parts of India during festivals associated Shaktism sect of Hinduism.
+Legend has it that Chinese philosophical sage Laozi left China through the Hangu Pass riding a water buffalo.
+In Gujarat and some parts of Rajasthan in India, mostly in Rayka, as well as many other communities, many worship the goddess Vihat, who uses a male water buffalo as her Vahana. Also, the goddess Varahi in Indian culture is shown to possess a water buffalo and ride it.
+According to folklore, Mahishasura, a half-buffalo and half-human demon, was killed by the goddess Durga.
+In Vietnam, water buffaloes are often the most valuable possession of poor farmers.
+Many ethnic groups use the horns of water buffaloes as a game trophy, or for musical instruments and ornaments. Similarly, the water buffalo is the second animal zodiac in the Vietnamese zodiac.
+
+Fighting festivals
+The Pasungay Festival is held annually in the town of San Joaquin, Iloilo, the Philippines.
+The Moh juj Water Buffalo Fighting Festival is held every year in Bhogali Bihu in Assam.
+The Do Son Water Buffalo Fighting Festival of Vietnam is held each year on the ninth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar at Do Son Township, Haiphong City, Vietnam. It is one of the most popular Vietnam festivals and events in Haiphong City. The preparations for this buffalo fighting festival begin from the two to three months earlier. The competing water buffalo are selected and methodically trained months in advance. It is a traditional festival of Vietnam attached to a Water God worshiping ceremony and the Hien Sinh custom to show the martial spirit of the local people of Do Son, Haiphong.
+The Hai Luu Water Buffalo Fighting Festival of Vietnam has existed since the second century BC. General Lu Gia, at that time, had the water buffalo slaughtered to give a feast to the local people and the warriors, and organized buffalo fighting for amusement. Eventually, all the fighting water buffaloes will be slaughtered as tributes to the deities.
+The Ko Samui Water Buffalo Fighting Festival of Thailand is a popular event held on special occasions such as New Year's Day in January, and Songkran in mid-April. This festival features head-wrestling bouts in which two male water buffaloes are pitted against one another. Unlike in Spanish-style bullfighting, wherein bulls get killed while fighting sword-wielding men, the festival held at Ko Samui is a fairly harmless contest. The fighting season varies according to ancient customs and ceremonies. The first water buffalo to turn and run away is considered the loser; the winning water buffalo becomes worth several million baht.
+The Ma'Pasilaga Tedong Water Buffalo Fighting Festival, in Tana Toraja Regency of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, is a popular event where the Rambu Solo or a Burial Festival takes place in Tana Toraja.
+
+Racing festivals
+The Carabao Carroza Festival is held annually every May in the town of Pavia, Iloilo, the Philippines.
+The Kambala races of Karnataka, India, take place between October and March. The races are conducted by having the water buffaloes (bulls) run in long parallel slushy ditches, where they are driven by men standing on wooden planks drawn by the water buffaloes. The objectives of the race are to finish first and to raise the water to the greatest height. It is also a rural sport. Kambala races are arranged with competition, as well as without competition, and as a part of thanksgiving (to God) in about 50 villages of coastal Karnataka.
+Chonburi Province of Thailand, and in Pakistan, annual water buffalo races are held.
+The Chon Buri water buffalo racing festival, in downtown Chonburi, 70 km (43 mi) south of Bangkok, an annual water buffalo festival is held in mid-October. About 300 water buffaloes race in groups of five or six, spurred on by bareback jockeys wielding wooden sticks, as hundreds of spectators cheer. The water buffalo has always played an important role in agriculture in Thailand. For the farmers, it is an important festival. It is also a celebration among rice farmers before the rice harvest. At dawn, farmers walk their water buffaloes through the surrounding rice fields, splashing them with water to keep them cool before leading them to the race field.
+The Babulang water buffalo racing festival in Sarawak, Malaysia, is the largest or grandest of the many rituals, ceremonies and festivals of the traditional Bisaya community of Limbang, Sarawak. Highlights are the Ratu Babulang competition and the water buffalo races, which can only be found in this town in Sarawak, Malaysia.
+At the Vihear Suor village water buffalo racing festival, Cambodia, each year, people visit Buddhist temples across the country to honor their deceased loved ones during a 15-day period commonly known as the Festival of the Dead, but in Vihear Suor village, about 22 mi (35 km) northeast of Phnom Penh, citizens each year wrap up the festival with a water buffalo race to entertain visitors and honour a pledge made hundreds of years ago. There was a time when many village cattle which provide rural Cambodians with muscle power to plow their fields and transport agricultural products died from an unknown disease. The villagers prayed to a spirit to help save their animals from the disease and promised to show their gratitude by holding a water buffalo race each year on the last day of the "P'chum Ben" festival, as it is known in Cambodia. The race draws hundreds of spectators, who come to see riders and their animals charge down the racing field, the racers bouncing up and down on the backs of their water buffaloes, whose horns were draped with colorful cloth.
+Buffalo racing in Kerala is similar to the Kambala races.
+
+Religious festival
+The Pulilan Carabao Festival is held annually every 14 and 15 May in the Philippine town of Pulilan in honor of St. Isidore the Laborer, the patron saint of farmers. As thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest every year, farmers parade their carabaos in the main town street, adorning them with garlands and other decorations. One of the highlights of the festival is the kneeling of the carabaos in front of the parish church.
+
+See also
+Cattle in religion
+List of water buffalo breeds
+Italian Mediterranean buffalo
+Bubalus murrensis
+African buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
+Zebu, the common breed of domestic cattle from India
+
+References
+Further reading
+Clutton-Brock, J. 1999. A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-63495-4.
+Fahimuddin, M. 1989. Domestic Water Buffalo. Janpath, New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 81-204-0402-5.
+Guinness Book of Records, 2005.
+The Water Buffalo: New Prospects for an Underutilized Animal. Washington, D.C. 1981. National Academy Press. ISBN 978-0-309-04159-1.
+Nowak, R. M. and Paradiso, J. L. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-2525-3.
+Roth, J. and P. Myers. "Bubalis Bubalis", University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 15 January 2009
+Ruangprim, T. et al. 2007. "Rumen microbes and ecology of male dairy, beef cattle and buffaloes". In: Proceedings Animal Science Annual Meeting, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
+Thu, Nguyen Van and T. R. Preston. 1999. "Rumen environment and feed degradability in swamp buffaloes fed different supplements". Livestock Research for Rural Development 11 (3)
+Voelker, W. 1986. The Natural History of Living Mammals. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-937548-08-1.
+Wilson, D. E. and Reeder, D. M. 1993. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Second Edition. Smithsonian Institution.
+
+External links
+
+Buffalopedia, created by Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes at Hisar city, Haryana state, India.
+Animal Info: Wild Asian (Water) Buffalo
+Creature features: Buffaloes
+Feral buffalo in Australia
+Breeds of Livestock: Murrah
+National Agricultural Innovation Project: Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci for Milk yield, Fat and Protein Percent in Buffaloes Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
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diff --git a/data/animals/water ouzel.txt b/data/animals/water ouzel.txt
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+Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements.  They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.
+
+Taxonomy
+The genus Cinclus was introduced by the German naturalist Moritz Balthasar Borkhausen in 1797 with the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus) as the type species. The name cinclus is from the Ancient Greek word kinklos that was used to describe small tail-wagging birds that resided near water.Cinclus is the only genus in the family Cinclidae. The white-throated dipper and American dipper are also known in Britain and America, respectively, as the water ouzel (sometimes spelt "ousel") – ouzel originally meant the only distantly related but superficially similar Eurasian blackbird (Old English osle).  Ouzel also survives as the name of a relative of the blackbird, the ring ouzel.The genus contains five species:
+White-throated dipper or European dipper, Cinclus cinclus
+Brown dipper Cinclus pallasii
+American dipper Cinclus mexicanus
+White-capped dipper Cinclus leucocephalus
+Rufous-throated dipper Cinclus schulziiA 2002 molecular phylogenetic study of the dippers looked at the DNA sequences of two mitochondrial genes. It found that the Eurasian white-throated dipper and brown dipper are sister species as are the South American  white-capped dipper and rufous-throated dipper. The study also showed that the dipper family, Cinclidae, is most closely related to the thrush family, Turdidae.
+
+Description
+Dippers are small, chunky, stout, short-tailed, short-winged, strong-legged birds. The different species are generally dark brown (sometimes nearly black), or brown and white in colour, apart from the rufous-throated dipper, which is brown with a reddish-brown throat patch.  Sizes range from 14–22 cm (5.5–8.7 in) in length and 40–90 g (1.4–3.2 oz) in weight, with males larger than females.  Their short wings give them a distinctive whirring flight.  They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia.  In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.  They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts.
+
+Adaptations
+Unlike many water birds, dippers are generally similar in form to many terrestrial birds (for example, they do not have webbed feet), but they do have some morphological and physiological adaptations to their aquatic habits. They have evolved solid bones to reduce their buoyancy, and their wings are relatively short but strongly muscled, enabling them to be used as flippers underwater. The plumage is dense with a large preen gland for waterproofing their feathers. Relatively long legs and sharp claws enable them to hold on to rocks in swift water. Their eyes have well-developed focus muscles that can change the curvature of the lens to enhance underwater vision.  They have nasal flaps to prevent water entering their nostrils.The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for 30 seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F).
+
+Behaviour
+Food
+Dippers forage for small animal prey in and along the margins of fast-flowing freshwater streams and rivers.  They perch on rocks and feed at the edge of the water, but they often also grip the rocks firmly and walk down them beneath the water until partly or wholly submerged.  They then search underwater for prey between and beneath stones and debris; they can also swim with their wings.  The two South American species swim and dive less often than the three northern ones.  Their prey consists primarily of invertebrates such as the nymphs or larvae of mayflies, blackflies, stoneflies and caddisflies, as well as small fish and fish eggs.  Molluscs and crustaceans are also consumed, especially in winter when insect larvae are less available.
+
+Breeding
+Linear breeding territories are established by pairs of dippers along suitable rivers, and maintained against incursion by other dippers.  Within their territory the pair must have a good nest site and roost sites, but the main factor affecting the length of the territory is the availability of sufficient food to feed themselves and their broods.  Consequently, the length of a territory may vary from about 300 metres (1,000 feet) to over 2,500 metres (8,200 feet).Dipper nests are usually large, round, domed structures made of moss, with an internal cup of grass and rootlets, and a side entrance hole.  They are often built in confined spaces over, or close to, running water.  The site may be on a ledge or bank, in a crevice or drainpipe, or beneath a bridge.  Tree sites are rare.The usual clutch-size of the three northern dipper species is four or five; those of the South American species is not well known, though some evidence suggests that of the rufous-throated dipper is two.  The incubation period of 16 or 17 days is followed by the hatching of altricial young which are brooded by the female alone for the next 12 to 13 days. The nestlings are fed by both parents and the whole fledging period is about 20–24 days.  Young dippers usually become independent of their parents within a couple of weeks of leaving the nest. Dippers may raise second broods if conditions allow. The maximum recorded age from ring-recovery data of a white-throated dipper is 10 years and 7 months for a bird ringed in Finland. The maximum age for an American dipper is 8 years and 1 month for a bird ringed and recovered in South Dakota.
+
+Communication
+Dippers' calls are loud and high-pitched, being similar to calls made by other birds on fast rivers; the call frequencies lying within a narrow range of 4.0–6.5 kHz, well above the torrent noise frequency of maximum 2 kHz.  Dippers also communicate visually by their characteristic dipping or bobbing movements, as well as by blinking rapidly to expose the white feathers on their upper eyelids as a series of white flashes in courtship and threat displays.
+
+Conservation
+Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites.  They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion.  River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons.  The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct.  In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties.  In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.Despite threats to local populations, the conservation status of most dipper species is considered to be of least concern.  The one exception, the rufous-throated dipper, is classified as vulnerable because of its small, fragmented and declining population which is threatened, especially in Argentina, by changes in river management.
+
+References
+Further reading
+Tyler, Stephanie J. & Ormerod, Stephen J. (1994) The Dippers (Poyser, London) ISBN 0-85661-093-3
+
+External links
+ITIS – Cinclus
+Dipper pictures in nature photographer Janne Heimonen's photo gallery
+Dipper videos on the Internet Bird Collection
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+The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.
+A carnivore, the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, and both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.
+The white stork has been rated as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It benefited from human activities during the Middle Ages as woodland was cleared, but changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw it decline and disappear from parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the white stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has few natural predators, but may harbour several types of parasite; the plumage is home to chewing lice and feather mites, while the large nests maintain a diverse range of mesostigmatic mites. This conspicuous species has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best-known is the story of babies being brought by storks.
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+English naturalist Francis Willughby wrote about the white stork in the 17th century, having seen a drawing sent to him by his friend and natural history enthusiast Sir Thomas Brown of Norwich. He named it Ciconia alba. They noted they were occasional vagrants to England, blown there by storms. It was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Ardea ciconia. It was reclassified to (and was designated the type species of) the new genus Ciconia by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Both the genus and specific epithet, cĭcōnia, are the Latin word for "stork".
+There are two subspecies:
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+C. c. ciconia, the nominate subspecies described by Linnaeus in 1758, breeds from Europe to northwestern Africa and westernmost Asia and in southern Africa, and winters mainly in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, though some birds winter in India.
+C. c. asiatica, described by Russian naturalist Nikolai Severtzov in 1873, breeds in Turkestan and winters from Iran to India. It is slightly larger than the nominate subspecies.The stork family contains six genera in three broad groups: the open-billed and wood storks (Mycteria and Anastomus), the giant storks (Ephippiorhynchus, Jabiru and Leptoptilos) and the "typical" storks (Ciconia). The typical storks include the white stork and six other extant species, which are characterised by straight pointed beaks and mainly black and white plumage. Its closest relatives are the larger, black-billed Oriental stork (Ciconia boyciana) of East Asia, which was formerly classified as a subspecies of the white stork, and the maguari stork (C. maguari) of South America. Close evolutionary relationships within Ciconia are suggested by behavioural similarities and, biochemically, through analysis of both mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization.A Ciconia fossil representing the distal end of a right humerus has been recovered from Miocene beds of Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya. The 24–6 million year old fossil could have originated from either a white stork or a black stork (C. nigra), which are species of about the same size with very similar bone structures. The Middle Miocene beds of Maboko Island have yielded further remains.
+
+Description
+The white stork is a large bird. It has a length of 100–115 cm (39–45 in), and a standing height of 100–125 cm (39–49 in). The wingspan is 155–215 cm (61–85 in) and its weight is 2.3–4.5 kg (5.1–9.9 lb). Like all storks, it has long legs, a long neck and a long straight pointed beak. The sexes are identical in appearance, except that males are larger than females on average. The plumage is mainly white with black flight feathers and wing coverts; the black is caused by the pigment melanin. The breast feathers are long and shaggy forming a ruff which is used in some courtship displays. The irises are dull brown or grey, and the peri-orbital skin is black. The adult has a bright red beak and red legs, the colouration of which is derived from carotenoids in the diet. In parts of Spain, studies have shown that the pigment is based on astaxanthin obtained from an introduced species of crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the bright red beak colours show up even in nestlings, in contrast to the duller beaks of young white storks elsewhere.
+As with other storks, the wings are long and broad enabling the bird to soar. In flapping flight its wingbeats are slow and regular. It flies with its neck stretched forward and with its long legs extended well beyond the end of its short tail. It walks at a slow and steady pace with its neck upstretched. In contrast, it often hunches its head between its shoulders when resting. Moulting has not been extensively studied, but appears to take place throughout the year, with the primary flight feathers replaced over the breeding season.
+Upon hatching, the young white stork is partly covered with short, sparse, whitish down feathers. This early down is replaced about a week later with a denser coat of woolly white down. By three weeks, the young bird acquires black scapulars and flight feathers. On hatching the chick has pinkish legs, which turn to greyish-black as it ages. Its beak is black with a brownish tip. By the time it fledges, the juvenile bird's plumage is similar to that of the adult, though its black feathers are often tinged with brown, and its beak and legs are a duller brownish-red or orange. The beak is typically orange or red with a darker tip. The bills gain the adults' red colour the following summer, although the black tips persist in some individuals. Young storks adopt adult plumage by their second summer.
+
+Similar species
+Within its range the white stork is distinctive when seen on the ground. The winter range of C. c. asiatica overlaps that of the Asian openbill, which has similar plumage but a different bill shape. When seen at a distance in flight, the white stork can be confused with several other species with similar underwing patterns, such as the yellow-billed stork, great white pelican and Egyptian vulture. The yellow-billed stork is identified by its black tail and a longer, slightly curved, yellow beak. The white stork also tends to be larger than the yellow-billed stork. The great white pelican has short legs which do not extend beyond its tail, and it flies with its neck retracted, keeping its head near to its stocky body, giving it a different flight profile. Pelicans also behave differently, soaring in orderly, synchronised flocks rather than in disorganised groups of individuals as the white stork does. The Egyptian vulture is much smaller, with a long wedge-shaped tail, shorter legs and a small yellow-tinged head on a short neck. The common crane, which can also look black and white in strong light, shows longer legs and a longer neck in flight.
+
+Distribution and habitat
+The nominate race of the white stork has a wide although disjunct summer range across Europe, clustered in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa in the west, and much of eastern and central Europe, with 25% of the world's population concentrated in Poland, as well as parts of western Asia. The asiatica population of about 1450 birds is restricted to a region in central Asia between the Aral Sea and Xinjiang in western China. The Xinjiang population is believed to have become extinct around 1980. Migration routes extend the range of this species into many parts of Africa and India. Some populations adhere to the eastern migration route, which passes across Israel into eastern and central Africa.In Africa the white stork may spend the winter in Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Gambia, Guinea, Algeria, and Ghana. A few records of breeding from South Africa have been known since 1933 at Calitzdorp, and about 10 birds have been known to breed since the 1990s around Bredasdorp. A small population of white storks winters in India and is thought to derive principally from the C. c. asiatica population as flocks of up to 200 birds have been observed on spring migration in the early 1900s through the Kurram Valley. However, birds ringed in Germany have been recovered in western (Bikaner) and southern (Tirunelveli) India. An atypical specimen with red orbital skin, a feature of the Oriental white stork, has been recorded and further study of the Indian population is required. North of the breeding range, it is a passage migrant or vagrant in Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden, and west to the Azores and Madeira. Despite their geographical proximity, in Finland the species is rare, while in Estonia there are an estimated 5,000 breeding pairs. In recent years, the range has expanded into western Russia.The white stork's preferred feeding grounds are grassy meadows, farmland and shallow wetlands. It avoids areas overgrown with tall grass and shrubs. In the Chernobyl area of northern Ukraine, white stork populations declined after the 1986 nuclear accident there as farmland was succeeded by tall grass shrubs. In parts of Poland, poor natural foraging grounds have forced birds to seek food at rubbish dumps since 1999. White storks have also been reported foraging in rubbish dumps in the Middle East, North Africa and South Africa.The white stork breeds in greater numbers in areas with open grasslands, particularly grassy areas which are wet or periodically flooded, and less in areas with taller vegetation cover such as forest and shrubland. They make use of grasslands, wetlands, and farmland on the wintering grounds in Africa. White storks were probably aided by human activities during the Middle Ages as woodland was cleared and new pastures and farmland were created, and they were found across much of Europe, breeding as far north as Sweden. The population in Sweden is thought to have established in the 16th century after forests were cut down for agriculture. About 5000 pairs were estimated to breed in the 18th century which declined subsequently. The first accurate census in 1917 found 25 pairs and the last pair failed to breed around 1955. A similar pattern was seen in Denmark where the white stork appears to have become established in the 15th century when forests were being replaced by farmland and meadows, followed by a rapid population increase in the next centuries and then a rapid decline due mainly to modern, high-intensity agriculture in the last 200 years. The white stork has been a rare visitor to the British Isles, with about 20 birds seen in Britain every year, and prior to 2020 there were no records of nesting since a pair nested atop St Giles High Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1416. In 2020, a pair bred in the United Kingdom for the first time in over 600 years, as part of a re-introduction initiative in West Sussex called the White Stork Project.A decline in population began in the 19th century due to industrialisation and changes in agricultural methods. White storks no longer nest in many countries, and the current strongholds of the western population are in Portugal, Spain, Ukraine and Poland. In the Iberian Peninsula, populations are concentrated in the southwest, and have also declined due to agricultural practices. A study published in 2005 found that the Podhale region in the uplands of southern Poland had seen an influx of white storks, which first bred there in 1931 and have nested at progressively higher altitudes since, reaching 890 m (3000 ft) in 1999. The authors proposed that this was related to climate warming and the influx of other animals and plants to higher altitudes. White storks arriving in Poznań province (Greater Poland Voivodeship) in western Poland in spring to breed did so some 10 days earlier in the last twenty years of the 20th century than at the end of the 19th century.
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+Migration
+Systematic research into migration of the white stork began with German ornithologist Johannes Thienemann who commenced bird ringing studies in 1906 at the Rossitten Bird Observatory, on the Curonian Spit in what was then East Prussia. Although not many storks passed through Rossitten itself, the observatory coordinated the large-scale ringing of the species throughout Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Between 1906 and the Second World War about 100,000, mainly juvenile, white storks were ringed, with over 2,000 long-distance recoveries of birds wearing Rossitten rings reported between 1908 and 1954.
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+Routes
+White storks fly south from their summer breeding grounds in Europe in August and September, heading for Africa. There, they spend the winter in savannah from Kenya and Uganda south to the Cape Province of South Africa. In these areas, they congregate in large flocks which may exceed a thousand individuals. Some diverge westwards into western Sudan and Chad, and may reach Nigeria.
+In spring, the birds return north; they are recorded from Sudan and Egypt from February to April. They arrive back in Europe around late March and April, after an average journey of 49 days. By comparison, the autumn journey is completed in about 26 days. Tailwinds and scarcity of food and water en route (birds fly faster over regions lacking resources) increase average speed.
+To avoid a long sea crossing over the Mediterranean, birds from central Europe either follow an eastern migration route by crossing the Bosphorus in Turkey, traversing the Levant, then bypassing the Sahara Desert by following the Nile valley southwards, or follow a western route over the Strait of Gibraltar. These migration corridors maximise help from the thermals and thus save energy.
+In winter 2013–2014, white storks were observed in southern India's Mudumalai National Park for the first time.
+The eastern route is by far the more important with 530,000 white storks using it annually, making the species the second commonest migrant there (after the European honey buzzard). The flocks of migrating raptors, white storks and great white pelicans can stretch for 200 km (125 mi). The eastern route is twice as long as the western, but storks take the same time to reach the wintering grounds by either.Juvenile white storks set off on their first southward migration in an inherited direction but, if displaced from that bearing by weather conditions, they are unable to compensate, and may end up in a new wintering location. Adults can compensate for strong winds and adjust their direction to finish at their normal winter sites, because they are familiar with the location. For the same reason, all spring migrants, even those from displaced wintering locations, can find their way back to the traditional breeding sites. An experiment with young birds raised in captivity in Kaliningrad and released in the absence of wild storks to show them the way revealed that they appeared to have an instinct to fly south, although the scatter in direction was large.
+
+Energetics
+White storks rely on the uplift of air thermals to soar and glide the long distances of their annual migrations between Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. For many, the shortest route would take them over the Mediterranean Sea; however, since air thermals do not form over water, they generally detour over land to avoid the trans-Mediterranean flights that would require prolonged energetic wing flapping. It has been estimated that flapping flight metabolises 23 times more body fat than soaring flight per distance travelled. Thus, flocks spiral upwards on rising warm air until they emerge at the top, up to 1,200–1,500 m (3,900–4,900 ft) above the ground (though one record from Western Sudan observed an altitude of 3,300 m (10,800 ft)).Long flights over water may occasionally be undertaken. A young white stork ringed at the nest in Denmark subsequently appeared in England, where it spent some days before moving on. It was later seen flying over St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, and arrived in a poor condition in Madeira three days later. That island is 500 km (320 mi) from Africa, and twice as far from the European mainland. Migration through the Middle East may be hampered by the khamsin, winds bringing gusty overcast days unsuitable for flying. In these situations, flocks of white storks sit out the adverse weather on the ground, standing and facing into the wind.
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+Behaviour
+The white stork is a gregarious bird; flocks of thousands of individuals have been recorded on migration routes and at wintering areas in Africa. Non-breeding birds gather in groups of 40 or 50 during the breeding season. The smaller dark-plumaged Abdim's stork is often encountered with white stork flocks in southern Africa. Breeding pairs of white stork may gather in small groups to hunt, and colony nesting has been recorded in some areas. However, groups among white stork colonies vary widely in size and the social structure is loosely defined; young breeding storks are often restricted to peripheral nests, while older storks attain higher breeding success while occupying the better quality nests toward the centres of breeding colonies. Social structure and group cohesion is maintained by altruistic behaviours such as allopreening. White storks exhibit this behaviour exclusively at the nest site. Standing birds preen the heads of sitting birds, sometimes these are parents grooming juveniles, and sometimes juveniles preen each other. Unlike most storks, it never adopts a spread-winged posture, though it is known to droop its wings (holding them away from its body with the primary feathers pointing downwards) when its plumage is wet.
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+A white stork's droppings, containing faeces and uric acid, are sometimes directed onto its own legs, making them appear white. The resulting evaporation provides cooling and is termed urohidrosis. Birds that have been ringed can sometimes be affected by the accumulation of droppings around the ring leading to constriction and leg trauma. The white stork has also been noted for tool use by squeezing moss in the beak to drip water into the mouths of its chicks.
+
+Communication
+The adult white stork's main sound is noisy bill-clattering, which has been likened to distant machine gun fire. The bird makes these sounds by rapidly opening and closing its beak so that a knocking sound is made each time its beak closes. The clattering is amplified by its throat pouch, which acts as a resonator. Used in a variety of social interactions, bill-clattering generally grows louder the longer it lasts, and takes on distinctive rhythms depending on the situation—for example, slower during copulation and briefer when given as an alarm call. The only vocal sound adult birds generate is a weak barely audible hiss; however, young birds can generate a harsh hiss, various cheeping sounds, and a cat-like mew they use to beg for food. Like the adults, young also clatter their beaks. The up-down display is used for a number of interactions with other members of the species. Here a stork quickly throws its head backwards so that its crown rests on its back before slowly bringing its head and neck forwards again, and this is repeated several times. The display is used as a greeting between birds, post coitus, and also as a threat display. Breeding pairs are territorial over the summer, and use this display, as well as crouching forward with the tails cocked and wings extended.
+
+Breeding and lifespan
+The white stork breeds in open farmland areas with access to marshy wetlands, building a large stick nest in trees, on buildings, or on purpose-built man-made platforms. Each nest is 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) in depth, 0.8–1.5 m (2.6–4.9 ft) in diameter, and 60–250 kg (130–550 lb) in weight. Nests are built in loose colonies. Not persecuted as it is viewed as a good omen, it often nests close to human habitation; in southern Europe, nests can be seen on churches and other buildings. The nest is typically used year after year especially by older males. The males arrive earlier in the season and choose the nests. Larger nests are associated with greater numbers of young successfully fledged, and appear to be sought after. Nest change is often related to a change in the pairing and failure to raise young the previous year, and younger birds are more likely to change nesting sites. Although a pair may be found to occupy a nest, partners may change several times during the early stages and breeding activities begin only after a stable pairing is achieved.
+Several bird species often nest within the large nests of the white stork. Regular occupants are house sparrows, tree sparrows, and common starlings; less common residents include Eurasian kestrels, little owls, European rollers, white wagtails, black redstarts, Eurasian jackdaws, and Spanish sparrows. Paired birds greet by engaging in up-down and head-shaking crouch displays, and clattering the beak while throwing back the head. Pairs copulate frequently throughout the month before eggs are laid. High-frequency pair copulation is usually associated with sperm competition and high frequency of extra-pair copulation. It has been considered that extra-pair copulation rates were low but a 2016 DNA sample study suggests that extra-pair copulation occasionally occurs in white storks. Despite the relatively high extra-pair paternity occurrence compared to other long-lived monogamous birds, white storks form strong pair bonds and high nest fidelity maintained across years.A white stork pair raises a single brood a year. The female typically lays four eggs, though clutches of one to seven have been recorded. The eggs are white, but often look dirty or yellowish due to a glutinous covering. They typically measure 73 mm × 52 mm (2.9 in × 2.0 in), and weigh 96–129 g (3.4–4.6 oz), of which about 11 g (0.39 oz) is shell. Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, so the brood hatches asynchronously, beginning 33 to 34 days later. The first hatchling typically has a competitive edge over the others. While stronger chicks are not aggressive towards weaker siblings, as is the case in some species, weak or small chicks are sometimes killed by their parents. This behavior occurs in times of food shortage to reduce brood size and hence increase the chance of survival of the remaining nestlings. White stork nestlings do not attack each other, and their parents' feeding method (disgorging large amounts of food at once) means that stronger siblings cannot outcompete weaker ones for food directly, hence parental infanticide is an efficient way of reducing brood size. Despite this, this behavior has not commonly been observed.
+The temperature and weather around the time of hatching in spring is important; cool temperatures and wet weather increase chick mortality and reduce breeding success rates. Somewhat unexpectedly, studies have found that later-hatching chicks which successfully reach adulthood produce more chicks than do their earlier-hatching nestmates. The body weight of the chicks increases rapidly in the first few weeks and reaches a plateau of about 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) in 45 days. The length of the beak increases linearly for about 50 days. Young birds are fed with earthworms and insects, which are regurgitated by the parents onto the floor of the nest. Older chicks reach into the mouths of parents to obtain food. Chicks fledge 58 to 64 days after hatching.White storks generally begin breeding when about four years old, although the age of first breeding has been recorded as early as two years and as late as seven years. The oldest known wild white stork lived for 39 years after being ringed in Switzerland, while captive birds have lived for more than 35 years.
+
+Feeding
+White storks consume a wide variety of animal prey. They prefer to forage in meadows that are within roughly 5 km (3 mi) of their nest and sites where the vegetation is shorter so that their prey is more accessible. Their diet varies according to season, locality and prey availability. Common food items include insects (primarily beetles, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets), earthworms, reptiles, amphibians, particularly frog species such as the edible frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) and common frog (Rana temporaria) and small mammals such as voles, moles and shrews. Less commonly, they also eat bird eggs and young birds, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and scorpions. They hunt mainly during the day, swallowing small prey whole, but killing and breaking apart larger prey before swallowing. Rubber bands are mistaken for earthworms and consumed, occasionally resulting in fatal blockage of the digestive tract.
+Birds returning to Latvia during spring have been shown to locate their prey, moor frogs (Rana arvalis), by homing in on the mating calls produced by aggregations of male frogs.The diet of non-breeding birds is similar to that of breeding birds, but food items are more often taken from dry areas. White storks wintering in western India have been observed to follow blackbuck to capture insects disturbed by them. Wintering white storks in India sometimes forage along with the woolly-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus). Food piracy has been recorded in India with a rodent captured by a western marsh harrier appropriated by a white stork, while Montagu's harrier is known to harass white storks foraging for voles in some parts of Poland. White storks can exploit landfill sites for food during the breeding season, migration period and winter.
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+Parasites and diseases
+White stork nests are habitats for an array of small arthropods, particularly over the warmer months after the birds arrive to breed. Nesting over successive years, the storks bring more material to line their nests and layers of organic material accumulate within them. Not only do their bodies tend to regulate temperatures within the nest, but excrement, food remains and feather and skin fragments provide nourishment for a large and diverse population of free-living mesostigmatic mites. A survey of twelve nests found 13,352 individuals of 34 species, the most common being Macrocheles merdarius, M. robustulus, Uroobovella pyriformis and Trichouropoda orbicularis, which together represented almost 85% of all the specimens collected. These feed on the eggs and larvae of insects and on nematodes, which are abundant in the nest litter. These mites are dispersed by coprophilous beetles, often of the family Scarabaeidae, or on dung brought by the storks during nest construction. Parasitic mites do not occur, perhaps being controlled by the predatory species. The overall effect of the mite population is unclear, the mites may have a role in suppressing harmful organisms (and hence be beneficial), or they may themselves have an adverse effect on nestlings.The birds themselves host species belonging to more than four genera of feather mites. These mites, including Freyanopterolichus pelargicus, and Pelargolichus didactylus live on fungi growing on the feathers. The fungi found on the plumage may feed on the keratin of the outer feathers or on feather oil. Chewing lice such as Colpocephalum zebra tend to be found on the wings, and Neophilopterus incompletus elsewhere on the body.The white stork also carries several types of internal parasites, including Toxoplasma gondii and intestinal parasites of the genus Giardia. A study of 120 white stork carcasses from Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg in Germany yielded eight species of trematode (fluke), four cestode (tapeworm) species, and at least three species of nematode. One species of fluke, Chaunocephalus ferox, caused lesions in the wall of the small intestine in a number of birds admitted to two rehabilitation centres in central Spain, and was associated with reduced weight. It is a recognised pathogen and cause of morbidity in the Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans). More recently, the thorough study performed by J. Sitko and P. Heneberg in the Czech Republic in 1962–2013 suggested that the central European white storks host 11 helminth species. Chaunocephalus ferox, Tylodelphys excavata and Dictymetra discoidea were reported to be the dominant ones. The other species found included Cathaemasia hians, Echinochasmus spinulosus, Echinostoma revolutum, Echinostoma sudanense, Duboisia syriaca, Apharyngostrigea cornu, Capillaria sp. and Dictymetra discoidea. Juvenile white storks were shown to host less species, but the intensity of infection was higher in the juveniles than in the adult storks.West Nile virus (WNV) is mainly a bird infection that is transmitted between birds by mosquitos. Migrating birds appear to be important in spread of the virus, the ecology of which remains poorly known. On 26 August 1998, a flock of about 1,200 migrating white storks that had been blown off course on their southward journey landed in Eilat, in southern Israel. The flock was stressed as it had resorted to flapping flight to return to its migratory route, and a number of birds died. A virulent strain of West Nile virus was isolated from the brains of eleven dead juveniles. Other white storks subsequently tested in Israel have shown anti-WNV antibodies. In 2008 three juvenile white storks from a Polish wildlife refuge yielded seropositive results indicating exposure to the virus, but the context or existence of the virus in Poland is unclear.
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+Conservation
+The white stork's decline due to industrialisation and agricultural changes (principally the draining of wetlands and conversion of meadows to crops such as maize) began in the 19th century: the last wild individual in Belgium was seen in 1895, in Sweden in 1955, in Switzerland in 1950 and in the Netherlands in 1991. However, the species has since been reintroduced to many regions. It has been rated as least concern by the IUCN since 1994, after being evaluated as near threatened in 1988. The white stork is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Parties to the agreement are required to engage in a wide range of conservation strategies described in a detailed action plan. The plan is intended to address key issues such as species and habitat conservation, management of human activities, research, education, and implementation. Threats include the continued loss of wetlands, collisions with overhead power lines, use of persistent pesticides (such as DDT) to combat locusts in Africa, and largely illegal hunting on migration routes and wintering grounds.A large population of white storks breeds in central (Poland, Ukraine and Germany) and southern Europe (Spain and Turkey). In a 2004/05 census, there were 52,500 pairs in Poland, 30,000 pairs in Ukraine, 20,000 pairs in Belarus, 13,000 pairs in Lithuania (the highest known density of this species in the world), 10,700 pairs in Latvia, and 10,200 in Russia. There were around 5,500 pairs in Romania, 5,300 in Hungary and an estimated 4,956 breeding pairs in Bulgaria. In Germany, the majority of the total 4,482 pairs were in the eastern region, especially in the states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1296 and 863 pairs in 2008 respectively). Apart from Spain and Portugal (33,217 and 7,684 pairs in 2004/05 respectively), populations are generally much less stable. In the eastern Mediterranean region Turkey has a sizeable population of 6,195 pairs, and Greece 2,139 pairs. In Western Europe the white stork remains a rare bird despite conservation efforts. In 2004 France had only 973 pairs, and the Netherlands 528 pairs. In Denmark, the species had consistently bred since the 15th century, peaking at several thousands pairs around 1800. Afterwards it began declining mainly due to habitat loss (especially conversion of wetlands and meadows into modern farming), with only a few tens of breeding pairs in 1974 and none in 2008. Since then, it has reestablished itself and the population has slowly started to increase, reaching ten pairs in 2023. In Armenia the population of the white stork slightly increased in the period between 2005 and 2015, and by last data reached 652 pairs.
+In the early 1980s, the population had fallen to fewer than nine pairs in the entire upper Rhine River valley, an area closely identified with the white stork for centuries. Conservation efforts successfully increased the population of birds there to 270 pairs (in 2008), largely due to the actions of the Association for the Protection and Reintroduction of Storks in Alsace and Lorraine. The reintroduction of zoo-reared birds has halted further declines in Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. There were 601 pairs breeding in Armenia and around 700 pairs in the Netherlands in 2008, and few pairs also breed in South Africa, typically recent colonists from within the normal wintering population. In Poland, electric poles have been modified with a platform at the top to prevent the white stork's large nest from disrupting the electricity supply, and sometimes nests are moved from an electric pole to a man-made platform. Introductions of zoo-reared birds in the Netherlands has been followed up by feeding and nest-building programs by volunteers. Similar reintroduction programs are taking place in Sweden, and Switzerland, where 175 pairs were recorded breeding in 2000. Long-term viability of the population in Switzerland is unclear as breeding success rates are low, and supplementary feeding does not appear to be of benefit. However, as of 2017, 470 adults and 757 young ones were recorded in Switzerland. Historically, the species' northern breeding limit was at Estonia, but it has moved slowly northwards (possibly due to warmer temperatures) into Karelia and in 2015 the first ever known breeding happened in Finland.In August 2019, 24 juveniles were released at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex, and others at a site near Tunbridge Wells and at the Wintershall Estate, near Godalming, as part of a project to reintroduce the white stork as a breeding species in South East England, for the first time since 1416. In 2020, the program was successful with the birth of five baby storks.
+
+Cultural associations
+Due to its large size, predation on vermin, and nesting behaviour close to human settlements and on rooftops, the white stork has an imposing presence that has influenced human culture and folklore. The Hebrew word for the white stork is chasidah (חסידה), meaning "merciful" or "kind". Greek and Roman mythology portray storks as models of parental devotion. The 3rd century Roman writer Aelian citing the authority of Alexander of Myndus noted in his De natura animalium (book 3, chapter 23) that aged storks flew away to oceanic islands where they were transformed into humans as a reward for their piety towards their parents. The bird is featured in at least three of Aesop's Fables: The Fox and the Stork, The Farmer and the Stork, and The Frogs Who Desired a King. Storks were also thought to care for their aged parents, feeding them and even transporting them, and children's books depicted them as a model of filial values. A Greek law called Pelargonia, from the Ancient Greek word pelargos for stork, required citizens to take care of their aged parents. The Greeks also held that killing a stork could be punished with death. Storks were allegedly protected in Ancient Thessaly as they hunted snakes, and widely held to be Virgil's "white bird". Roman writers noted the white stork's arrival in spring, which alerted farmers to plant their vines.Followers of Islam revered storks because they made an annual pilgrimage to Mecca on their migration. Some of the earliest understanding on bird migration were initiated by an interest in white storks; Pfeilstörche ("arrow storks") were found in Europe with African arrows embedded in their bodies. A well-known example of such a stork found in the summer of 1822 in the German town of Klütz in Mecklenburg was made into a mounted taxidermy specimen, complete with the ornate African arrow, that is now in the University of Rostock.
+Storks have little fear of humans if not disturbed, and often nest on buildings in Europe. In Germany, the presence of a nest on a house was believed to protect against fires. They were also protected because of the belief that their souls were human. German, Dutch and Polish households would encourage storks to nest on houses, sometimes by constructing purpose-built high platforms, to bring good luck. Across much of Central and Eastern Europe it is believed that storks bring harmony to a family on whose property they nest.The white stork is a popular motif on postage stamps, and it is featured on more than 120 stamps issued by more than 60 stamp-issuing entities. It is the national bird of Lithuania, Belarus and Poland, and it was a Polish mascot at the Expo 2000 Fair in Hanover. Storks nesting in Polish villages such as Żywkowo have made them tourist attractions, drawing 2000–5000 visitors a year in 2014. In the 19th century, storks were also thought to only live in countries having a republican form of government. Polish poet Cyprian Kamil Norwid mentioned storks in his poem Moja piosnka (II) ("My Song (II)"):
+
+In 1942 Heinrich Himmler sought to use storks to carry Nazi propaganda leaflets so as to win support from the Boers in South Africa. The idea for this "Storchbein-Propaganda" plan was a secret that was transmitted by Walter Schellenberg to be examined by the German ornithologist Ernst Schüz at the Rossiten bird observatory, who pointed out that the probability of finding marked storks in Africa was less than one percent, requiring a 1000 birds to transmit 10 leaflets successfully. The plan was then dropped.
+
+Storks and delivery of babies
+According to European folklore, the stork is responsible for bringing babies to new parents. The legend is very ancient, but was popularised by a 19th-century Hans Christian Andersen story called "The Storks". German folklore held that storks found babies in caves or marshes and brought them to households in a basket on their backs or held in their beaks. These caves contained adebarsteine or "stork stones". The babies would then be given to the mother or dropped down the chimney. Households would notify when they wanted children by placing sweets for the stork on the window sill. From there the folklore has spread around the world to the Philippines and countries in South America. Birthmarks on the back of the head of newborn baby, nevus flammeus nuchae, are sometimes referred to as stork-bite.
+In Slavic mythology and pagan religion, storks were thought to carry unborn souls from Vyraj to Earth in spring and summer. This belief still persists in the modern folk culture of many Slavic countries, in the simplified child story that "storks bring children into the world". Storks were seen by Early Slavs as bringing luck, and killing one would bring misfortune.Likewise, in Norse mythology, the god Hœnir, responsible for giving reason to the first humans, Ask and Embla, has been connected with the stork through his epithets long-legs and mud-king, along with Indo-European cognates such as Greek κύκνος 'swan' and Sanskrit शकुन.A long-term study that showed a spurious correlation between the numbers of stork nests and human births is widely used in the teaching of basic statistics as an example to highlight that correlation does not necessarily indicate causation.Psychoanalyst Marvin Margolis suggests the enduring nature of the stork fable of the newborn is linked to its addressing a psychological need, in that it allays the discomfort of discussing sex and procreation with children. Birds have long been associated with the maternal symbols from pagan goddesses such as Juno to the Holy Ghost, and the stork may have been chosen for its white plumage (depicting purity), size, and flight at high altitude (likened to flying between Earth and Heaven). The fable and its relation to the internal world of the child have been discussed by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. In fact, Jung recalled being told the story himself upon the birth of his own sister. The traditional link with the newborn continues with their use in advertising for such products as nappies and baby announcements.There were negative aspects to stork folklore as well; a Polish folk tale relates how God made the stork's plumage white, while the Devil gave it black wings, imbuing it with both good and evil impulses. They were also associated with handicapped or stillborn babies in Germany, explained as the stork having dropped the baby en route to the household, or as revenge or punishment for past wrongdoing. A mother who was confined to bed around the time of childbirth was said to have been "bitten" by the stork. In Denmark, storks were said to toss a nestling off the nest and then an egg in successive years. In medieval England, storks were also associated with adultery, possibly inspired by their courtship rituals. Their preening and posture saw them linked with the attribute of self-conceit. Children of African American slaves were sometimes told that white babies were brought by storks, while black babies were born from buzzard eggs.
+
+See also
+Klepetan and Malena
+
+Notes
+Citations
+Works cited
+Cramp, Stanley, ed. (1977). Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-857358-6.
+Elliott, Andrew (1992). "Family Ciconiidae (Storks)". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Sargatal, Jordi (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-87334-10-8.
+Newton, Ian (2010). Bird Migration. Collins New Naturalist Library. Vol. 113. London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-730732-6.
+Svensson, Lars; Grant, Peter J. (1999). Collins Bird Guide. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-219728-1.
+Snow, David William; Perrin, C.M.; Gillmor, Robert; et al., eds. (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. 1: Non-Passerines (Concise ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-854099-1.
+Van den Bossche, Willem (2002). Eastern European White Stork Populations: Migration Studies and Elaboration of Conservation Measures (PDF). (In collaboration with: Berthold, Peter; Kaatz, Michael; Nowak, Eugeniusz; Querner, Ulrich). Bonn: Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN)/German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.
+
+External links
+
+Audio recordings of White stork on Xeno-canto.
+"Ageing and sexing by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2014-12-02. (4.43 MB)
+Feathers of white stork (Ciconia ciconia)
+Educational video about white stork (Ciconia ciconia)
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diff --git a/data/animals/white wolf.txt b/data/animals/white wolf.txt
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+The Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos), also known as the white wolf, polar wolf, and the Arctic grey wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island. Unlike some populations that move between tundra and forest regions, Arctic wolves spend their entire lives north of the northern treeline. Their distribution to south is limited to the northern fringes of the Middle Arctic tundra on the southern half of Prince of Wales and Somerset Islands. It is a medium-sized subspecies, distinguished from the northwestern wolf by its smaller size, its whiter colouration, its narrower braincase, and larger carnassials. Since 1930, there has been a progressive reduction in size in Arctic wolf skulls, which is likely the result of wolf-dog hybridization.
+
+Taxonomy
+In 1935, the British zoologist Reginald Pocock attributed the subspecies name Canis lupus arctos (Arctic wolf) to a specimen from Melville Island in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada. He wrote that similar wolves could be found on Ellesmere Island. He also attributed the name Canis lupus orion to a Greenland wolf specimen from Cape York, northwest Greenland. Both wolves are recognized as separate subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005).A study by Chambers et al. (2012) using autosomal microsatellite DNA and Mitochondrial DNA data indicate that the Arctic wolf has no unique haplotypes which suggests that its colonization of the Arctic Archipelago from the North American mainland was relatively recent, and thus not sufficient to warrant subspecies status. During a meeting assembled in 2014 by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, one speaker, Robert K. Wayne, mentioned he disagreed with the conclusion that a subspecies had to be genetically distinct, believing that different subspecies could slowly grade into each other - suggesting that although it was impossible to determine if an individual wolf was one subspecies or the next using DNA, the population of Arctic wolves as a whole could be distinguished by the looking at the proportions of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP): i.e. Arctic wolves could be distinguished by having three wolves in the putative population with a specific SNP, whereas another subspecies could be distinguished by having 20 wolves with that SNP. Wayne furthermore stated that he believed the habitat in which the wolf happened to be found was a good enough characteristic to distinguish a subspecies.
+
+Behaviour
+The Arctic wolf is relatively unafraid of people, and can be coaxed to approach people in some areas. The wolves on Ellesmere Island do not fear humans, which is thought to be due to them seeing humans so little, and they will approach humans cautiously and curiously. Otto Sverdrup wrote that during the Fram expedition, a pair of wolves shadowed one of his teammates, who kept them at a distance by waving his ski pole. In 1977, a pair of scientists were approached by six wolves on Ellesmere Island, with one animal leaping at one of the scientists and grazing a cheek. A number of incidents involving aggressive wolves have occurred in Alert, Nunavut, where the wolves have lived in close proximity to the local weather station for decades and became habituated to humans. One of these wolves attacked 3 people, was shot, and tested positive for rabies.
+Very little is known about the movement of the Arctic wolves, mainly due to climate. The only time at which the wolf migrates is during the wintertime when there is complete darkness for 24 hours. This makes Arctic wolf movement hard to research. About 2,250 km (1,400 mi) south of the High Arctic, a wolf movement study took place in the wintertime in complete darkness, when the temperature was as low as −53 °C (−63 °F). The researchers found that wolves prey mainly on the muskoxen. There is no available information of the wolves' movements where the muskoxen were.
+
+Diet
+In the wild, Arctic wolves primarily prey on muskoxen and Arctic hares. They have also been found to prey on lemmings, caribou, Arctic foxes, birds, and beetles. It has been also found that Arctic wolves scavenge through garbage. This sort of food source will not always be found in the Arctic wolf's diet because of regional and seasonal availability. Sometimes there is debate whether the muskox or the Arctic hare is the primary prey for the hare-wolf-muskox predator-prey system. Studies provide evidence that the muskoxen are indeed their primary prey because wolf presence and reproduction seems to be higher when muskox is more available than higher hare availability. More supporting evidence suggests that muskoxen provide long-term viability and other ungulates do not appear in the wolf's diet. Evidence suggesting that Arctic wolves depend more on hares claims that the mature wolf population paralleled the increase of hares rather than muskoxen availability. The study goes on to say that degree of reliance between the two sources of food is uncertain and that the amount of consumption between the two species depends on the season and year. Debate continues when seasonal and diet of young wolves is discussed. According to one study, muskox calves serve as a primary food source because the needs of pups are greater but another study suggests that "when hares were much more plentiful (Mech, 2000), wolves commonly fed them to their pups during summer." These differences may be attributed to location as well. Polar bears are rarely encountered by wolves, though there are two records of wolf packs killing polar bear cubs.
+
+Conservation
+The Arctic wolf is least concern, but it does face threats. In 1997, there was a decline in the Arctic wolf population and its prey, muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), and Arctic hares (Lepus arcticus). This was due to unfavourable weather conditions during the summers for four years. Arctic wolf populations recovered the next summer when weather conditions returned to normal.
+
+References
+Further reading
+L. David Mech (text), Jim Brandenburg (photos) (May 1987). At Home With the Arctic Wolf. National Geographic 171(5):562–593.
+L. David Mech (1997). The Arctic Wolf: 10 Years With the Pack, Voyageur Press, ISBN 0-89658-353-8  .
+
+External links
+
+"Workers in rural Canada were amazed when these wild arctic wolves approached them at their work yard". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22.
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diff --git a/data/animals/wild boar.txt b/data/animals/wild boar.txt
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+The wild boar (Sus scrofa), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is now one of the widest-ranging mammals in the world, as well as the most widespread suiform. It has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due to its wide range, high numbers, and adaptability to a diversity of habitats. It has become an invasive species in part of its introduced range. Wild boars probably originated in Southeast Asia during the Early Pleistocene and outcompeted other suid species as they spread throughout the Old World.As of 2005, up to 16 subspecies are recognized, which are divided into four regional groupings based on skull height and lacrimal bone length. The species lives in matriarchal societies consisting of interrelated females and their young (both male and female). Fully grown males are usually solitary outside the breeding season. The wolf is the wild boar's main predator in most of its natural range except in the Far East and the Lesser Sunda Islands, where it is replaced by the tiger and Komodo dragon respectively. The wild boar has a long history of association with humans, having been the ancestor of most domestic pig breeds and a big-game animal for millennia. Boars have also re-hybridized in recent decades with feral pigs; these boar–pig hybrids have become a serious pest wild animal in the Americas and Australia.
+
+Terminology
+As true wild boars became extinct in Great Britain before the development of Modern English, the same terms are often used for both true wild boar and pigs, especially large or semi-wild ones. The English boar stems from the Old English bār, which is thought to be derived from the West Germanic bair, of unknown origin. Boar is sometimes used specifically to refer to males, and may also be used to refer to male domesticated pigs, especially breeding males that have not been castrated.Sow, the traditional name for a female, again comes from Old English and Germanic; it stems from Proto-Indo-European, and is related to the Latin: sus and Greek hus, and more closely to the New High German Sau. The young may be called piglets or boarlets.The animals' specific name scrofa is Latin for 'sow'.
+
+Hunting
+In hunting terminology, boars are given different designations according to their age:
+
+Taxonomy and evolution
+MtDNA studies indicate that the wild boar originated from islands in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia and the Philippines, and subsequently spread onto mainland Eurasia and North Africa. The earliest fossil finds of the species come from both Europe and Asia, and date back to the Early Pleistocene. By the late Villafranchian, S. scrofa largely displaced the related S. strozzii, a large, possibly swamp-adapted suid ancestral to the modern S. verrucosus throughout the Eurasian mainland, restricting it to insular Asia. Its closest wild relative is the bearded pig of Malacca and surrounding islands.
+
+Subspecies
+As of 2005, 16 subspecies are recognised, which are divided into four regional groupings:
+Western: Includes S. s. scrofa, S. s. meridionalis, S. s. algira, S. s. attila, S. s. lybicus and S. s. nigripes. These subspecies are typically high-skulled (though lybicus and some scrofa are low-skulled), with thick underwool and (excepting scrofa and attila) poorly developed manes.
+Indian: Includes S. s. davidi and S. s. cristatus. These subspecies have sparse or absent underwool, with long manes and prominent bands on the snout and mouth. While S. s. cristatus is high-skulled, S. s. davidi is low-skulled.
+Eastern: Includes S. s. sibiricus, S. s. ussuricus, S. s. leucomystax, S. s. riukiuanus, S. s. taivanus and S. s. moupinensis. These subspecies are characterised by a whitish streak extending from the corners of the mouth to the lower jaw. With the exception of S. s. ussuricus, most are high-skulled. The underwool is thick, except in S. s. moupinensis, and the mane is largely absent.
+Indonesian: Represented solely by S. s. vittatus, it is characterised by its sparse body hair, lack of underwool, fairly long mane, a broad reddish band extending from the muzzle to the sides of the neck. It is the most basal of the four groups, having the smallest relative brain size, more primitive dentition and unspecialised cranial structure.
+
+Domestication
+With the exception of domestic pigs in Timor and Papua New Guinea (which appear to be of Sulawesi warty pig stock), the wild boar is the ancestor of most pig breeds. Archaeological evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated from wild boar as early as 13,000–12,700 BCE in the Near East in the Tigris Basin, being managed in the wild in a way similar to the way they are managed by some modern New Guineans. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BCE in Cyprus. Those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then. There was also a separate domestication in China, which took place about 8,000 years ago.DNA evidence from sub-fossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs shows that the first domestic pigs in Europe had been brought from the Near East. This stimulated the domestication of local European wild boars, resulting in a third domestication event with the Near Eastern genes dying out in European pig stock. Modern domesticated pigs have involved complex exchanges, with European domesticated lines being exported in turn to the ancient Near East. Historical records indicate that Asian pigs were introduced into Europe during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Domestic pigs tend to have much more developed hindquarters than their wild boar ancestors, to the point where 70% of their body weight is concentrated in the posterior, which is the opposite of wild boar, where most of the muscles are concentrated on the head and shoulders.
+
+Synonymous species
+The Heude's pig (Sus bucculentus), also known as the Indochinese warty pig or Vietnam warty pig, was an alleged pig species found in Laos and Vietnam. It was virtually unknown and was feared extinct, until the discovery of a skull from a recently killed individual in the Annamite Range, Laos, in 1995. Subsequent studies indicated that Sus bucculentus was not a valid taxon. As of 2022 the Mammal Diversity Database included it in Sus scrofa.
+
+Description
+The wild boar is a bulky, massively built suid with short and relatively thin legs. The trunk is short and robust, while the hindquarters are comparatively underdeveloped. The region behind the shoulder blades rises into a hump and the neck is short and thick to the point of being nearly immobile. The animal's head is very large, taking up to one-third of the body's entire length. The structure of the head is well suited for digging. The head acts as a plough, while the powerful neck muscles allow the animal to upturn considerable amounts of soil: it is capable of digging 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in) into frozen ground and can upturn rocks weighing 40–50 kg (88–110 lb). The eyes are small and deep-set and the ears long and broad. The species has well developed canine teeth, which protrude from the mouths of adult males. The medial hooves are larger and more elongated than the lateral ones and are capable of quick movements. The animal can run at a maximum speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) and jump at a height of 140–150 cm (55–59 in).Sexual dimorphism is very pronounced in the species, with males being typically 5–10% larger and 20–30% heavier than females. Males also sport a mane running down the back, which is particularly apparent during autumn and winter. The canine teeth are also much more prominent in males and grow throughout life. The upper canines are relatively short and grow sideways early in life, though they gradually curve upwards. The lower canines are much sharper and longer, with the exposed parts measuring 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in) in length. In the breeding period, males develop a coating of subcutaneous tissue, which may be 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) thick, extending from the shoulder blades to the rump, thus protecting vital organs during fights. Males sport a roughly egg-sized sack near the opening of the penis, which collects urine and emits a sharp odour. The function of this sack is not fully understood.
+Adult size and weight is largely determined by environmental factors; boars living in arid areas with little productivity tend to attain smaller sizes than their counterparts inhabiting areas with abundant food and water. In most of Europe, males average 75–100 kg (165–220 lb) in weight, 75–80 cm (30–31 in) in shoulder height and 150 cm (59 in) in body length, whereas females average 60–80 kg (130–180 lb) in weight, 70 cm (28 in) in shoulder height and 140 cm (55 in) in body length. In Europe's Mediterranean regions, males may reach average weights as low as 50 kg (110 lb) and females 45 kg (99 lb), with shoulder heights of 63–65 cm (25–26 in). In the more productive areas of Eastern Europe, males average 110–130 kg (240–290 lb) in weight, 95 cm (37 in) in shoulder height and 160 cm (63 in) in body length, while females weigh 95 kg (209 lb), reach 85–90 cm (33–35 in) in shoulder height, and reach 145 cm (57 in) in body length. In Western and Central Europe, the largest males weigh 200 kg (440 lb) and females 120 kg (260 lb). In Northeastern Asia, large males can reach brown bear-like sizes, weighing 270 kg (600 lb) and measuring 110–118 cm (43–46 in) in shoulder height. Some adult males in Ussuriland and Manchuria have been recorded to weigh 300–350 kg (660–770 lb) and measure 125 cm (49 in) in shoulder height. Adults of this size are generally immune from wolf predation. Such giants are rare in modern times, due to past overhunting preventing animals from attaining their full growth.The winter coat consists of long, coarse bristles underlaid with short brown downy fur. The length of these bristles varies along the body, with the shortest being around the face and limbs and the longest running along the back. These back bristles form the aforementioned mane prominent in males and stand erect when the animal is agitated. Colour is highly variable; specimens around Lake Balkhash are very lightly coloured, and can even be white, while some boars from Belarus and Ussuriland can be black. Some subspecies sport a light-coloured patch running backward from the corners of the mouth. Coat colour also varies with age, with piglets having light brown or rusty-brown fur with pale bands extending from the flanks and back.The wild boar produces a number of different sounds which are divided into three categories:
+
+Contact calls: Grunting noises which differ in intensity according to the situation. Adult males are usually silent, while females frequently grunt and piglets whine. When feeding, boars express their contentment through purring. Studies have shown that piglets imitate the sounds of their mother, thus different litters may have unique vocalisations.
+Alarm calls: Warning cries emitted in response to threats. When frightened, boars make loud huffing ukh! ukh! sounds or emit screeches transcribed as gu-gu-gu.
+Combat calls: High-pitched, piercing cries.Its sense of smell is very well developed to the point that the animal is used for drug detection in Germany. Its hearing is also acute, though its eyesight is comparatively weak, lacking color vision and being unable to recognise a standing human 10–15 metres (33–49 ft) away.
+
+Pigs are one of four known mammalian taxa which possess mutations in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that protect against snake venom. Mongooses, honey badgers, hedgehogs, and pigs all have modifications to the receptor pocket which prevents the snake venom α-neurotoxin from binding. These represent four separate, independent mutations.
+
+Social behaviour and life cycle
+Boars are typically social animals, living in female-dominated sounders consisting of barren sows and mothers with young led by an old matriarch. Male boars leave their sounder at the age of 8–15 months, while females either remain with their mothers or establish new territories nearby. Subadult males may live in loosely knit groups, while adult and elderly males tend to be solitary outside the breeding season.
+The breeding period in most areas lasts from November to January, though most mating only lasts a month and a half. Prior to mating, the males develop their subcutaneous armour in preparation for confronting rivals. The testicles double in size and the glands secrete a foamy yellowish liquid. Once ready to reproduce, males travel long distances in search of a sounder of sows, eating little on the way. Once a sounder has been located, the male drives off all young animals and persistently chases the sows. At this point, the male fiercely fights potential rivals. A single male can mate with 5–10 sows. By the end of the rut, males are often badly mauled and have lost 20% of their body weight, with bite-induced injuries to the penis being common. The gestation period varies according to the age of the expecting mother. For first-time breeders, it lasts 114–130 days, while it lasts 133–140 days in older sows. Farrowing occurs between March and May, with litter sizes depending on the age and nutrition of the mother. The average litter consists of 4–6 piglets, with the maximum being 10–12. The piglets are whelped in a nest constructed from twigs, grasses and leaves. Should the mother die prematurely, the piglets are adopted by the other sows in the sounder.
+Newborn piglets weigh around 600–1,000 grams, lacking underfur and bearing a single milk incisor and canine on each half of the jaw. There is intense competition between the piglets over the most milk-rich nipples, as the best-fed young grow faster and have stronger constitutions. The piglets do not leave the lair for their first week of life. Should the mother be absent, the piglets lie closely pressed to each other. By two weeks of age, the piglets begin accompanying their mother on her journeys. Should danger be detected, the piglets take cover or stand immobile, relying on their camouflage to keep them hidden. The neonatal coat fades after three months, with adult colouration being attained at eight months. Although the lactation period lasts 2.5–3.5 months, the piglets begin displaying adult feeding behaviours at the age of 2–3 weeks. The permanent dentition is fully formed by 1–2 years. With the exception of the canines in males, the teeth stop growing during the middle of the fourth year. The canines in old males continue to grow throughout their lives, curving strongly as they age. Sows attain sexual maturity at the age of one year, with males attaining it a year later. However, estrus usually first occurs after two years in sows, while males begin participating in the rut after 4–5 years, as they are not permitted to mate by the older males. The maximum lifespan in the wild is 10–14 years, though few specimens survive past 4–5 years. Boars in captivity have lived for 20 years.
+
+Behaviour and ecology
+Habitat and sheltering
+The wild boar inhabits a diverse array of habitats from boreal taigas to deserts. In mountainous regions, it can even occupy alpine zones, occurring up to 1,900 m (6,200 ft) in the Carpathians, 2,600 m (8,500 ft) in the Caucasus and up to 3,600–4,000 m (11,800–13,100 ft) in the mountains in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. In order to survive in a given area, wild boars require a habitat fulfilling three conditions: heavily brushed areas providing shelter from predators, water for drinking and bathing purposes and an absence of regular snowfall.The main habitats favored by boars in Europe are deciduous and mixed forests, with the most favorable areas consisting of forest composed of oak and beech enclosing marshes and meadows. In the Białowieża Forest, the animal's primary habitat consists of well-developed broad-leaved and mixed forests, along with marshy mixed forests, with coniferous forests and undergrowths being of secondary importance. Forests made up entirely of oak groves and beeches are used only during the fruit-bearing season. This is in contrast to the Caucasian and Transcaucasian mountain areas, where boars will occupy such fruit-bearing forests year-round. In the mountainous areas of the Russian Far East, the species inhabits nutpine groves, hilly mixed forests where Mongolian oak and Korean pine are present, swampy mixed taiga and coastal oak forests. In Transbaikalia, boars are restricted to river valleys with nut pine and shrubs. Boars are regularly encountered in pistachio groves in winter in some areas of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, while in spring they migrate to open deserts; boar have also colonized deserts in several areas they have been introduced to.On the islands of Komodo and Rinca, the boar mostly inhabits savanna or open monsoon forests, avoiding heavily forested areas unless pursued by humans. Wild boar are known to be competent swimmers, capable of covering long distances. In 2013, one boar was reported to have completed the 11-kilometre (7 mi) swim from France to Alderney in the Channel Islands. Due to concerns about disease, it was shot and incinerated.Wild boar rest in shelters, which contain insulating material like spruce branches and dry hay. These resting places are occupied by whole families (though males lie separately) and are often located in the vicinity of streams, in swamp forests and in tall grass or shrub thickets. Boars never defecate in their shelters and will cover themselves with soil and pine needles when irritated by insects.
+
+Diet
+The wild boar is a highly versatile omnivore, whose diversity in choice of food is comparable to that of humans. Their foods can be divided into four categories:
+
+Rhizomes, roots, tubers and bulbs, all of which are dug up throughout the year in the animal's whole range.
+Nuts, berries and seeds, which are consumed when ripened and are dug up from the snow when necessary.
+Leaves, bark, twigs and shoots, along with garbage.
+Earthworms, insects, mollusks, fish, rodents, insectivores, bird eggs, lizards, snakes, frogs and carrion. Most of these prey items are taken in warm periods.A 50 kg (110 lb) boar needs around 4,000–4,500 calories of food per day, though this required amount increases during winter and pregnancy, with the majority of its diet consisting of food items dug from the ground, like underground plant material and burrowing animals. Acorns and beechnuts are invariably its most important food items in temperate zones, as they are rich in the carbohydrates necessary for the buildup of fat reserves needed to survive lean periods. In Western Europe, underground plant material favoured by boars includes bracken, willow herb, bulbs, meadow herb roots and bulbs and the bulbs of cultivated crops. Such food is favoured in early spring and summer, but may also be eaten in autumn and winter during beechnut and acorn crop failures. Should regular wild foods become scarce, boars will eat tree bark and fungi, as well as visit cultivated potato and artichoke fields. Boar soil disturbance and foraging have been shown to facilitate invasive plants. Boars of the vittatus subspecies in Ujung Kulon National Park in Java differ from most other populations by their primarily frugivorous diet, which consists of 50 different fruit species, especially figs, thus making them important seed dispersers. The wild boar can consume numerous genera of poisonous plants without ill effect, including Aconitum, Anemone, Calla, Caltha, Ferula and Pteridium.Boars may occasionally prey on small vertebrates like newborn deer fawns, leporids and galliform chicks. Boars inhabiting the Volga Delta and near some lakes and rivers of Kazakhstan have been recorded to feed extensively on fish like carp and Caspian roach. Boars in the former area will also feed on cormorant and heron chicks, bivalved molluscs, trapped muskrats and mice. There is at least one record of a boar killing and eating a bonnet macaque in southern India's Bandipur National Park, though this may have been a case of intraguild predation, brought on by interspecific competition for human handouts. There is also at least one recorded case of a group of wild boar attacking, killing, and eating an adult, healthy female axis deer (Axis axis) as a pack.
+
+Predators
+Piglets are vulnerable to attack from medium-sized felids like Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), jungle cats (Felis chaus), and snow leopards (Panthera uncia), as well as other carnivorans like brown bears (Ursus arctos) and yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula).The wolf (Canis lupus) is the main predator of wild boar throughout most of its range. A single wolf can kill around 50 to 80 boars of differing ages in one year. In Italy and Belarus' Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, boars are the wolf's primary prey, despite an abundance of alternative, less powerful ungulates. Wolves are particularly threatening during the winter, when deep snow impedes the boars' movements. In the Baltic regions, heavy snowfall can allow wolves to eliminate boars from an area almost completely. Wolves primarily target piglets and subadults and only rarely attack adult sows. Adult males are usually avoided entirely. Dholes (Cuon alpinus) may also prey on boars, to the point of keeping their numbers down in northwestern Bhutan, despite there being many more cattle in the area.
+Leopards (Panthera pardus) are predators of wild boar in the Caucasus (particularly Transcaucasia), the Russian Far East, India, China and Iran. In most areas, boars constitute only a small part of the leopard's diet. However, in Iran's Sarigol National Park, boars are the second most frequently targeted prey species after mouflon (Ovis gmelini), though adult individuals are generally avoided, as they are above the leopard's preferred weight range of 10–40 kg (22–88 lb). This dependence on wild boar is largely due in part to the local leopard subspecies' large size.Boars of all ages were once the primary prey of the tiger (Panthera tigris) in Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Middle Asia and the Far East up until the late 19th century. In modern times, tiger numbers are too low to have a limiting effect on boar populations. A single tiger can systematically destroy an entire sounder by preying on its members one by one, before moving on to another sounder. Tigers have been noted to chase boars for longer distances than with other prey. In two rare cases, boars were reported to gore a small tiger and a tigress to death in self-defense. A "large male tiger" died of wounds inflicted by an old wild boar it had killed in "a battle royal" between the two animals.: 500 In the Amur region, wild boars are one of the two most important prey species for Siberian tigers, alongside the Manchurian wapiti (Cervus canadensis xanthopygus), with the two species collectively comprising roughly 80% of the felid's prey. In Sikhote Alin, a tiger can kill 30–34 boars a year. Studies of tigers in India indicate that boars are usually secondary in preference to various cervids and bovids, though when boars are targeted, healthy adults are caught more frequently than young and sick specimens.On the islands of Komodo, Rinca and Flores, the boar's main predator is the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).
+
+Distribution and habitat
+Reconstructed range
+The species originally occurred in North Africa and much of Eurasia; from the British Isles to Korea and the Sunda Islands. The northern limit of its range extended from southern Scandinavia to southern Siberia and Japan. Within this range, it was only absent in extremely dry deserts and alpine zones. It was once found in North Africa along the Nile valley up to Khartoum and north of the Sahara. The species occurs on a few Ionian and Aegean Islands, sometimes swimming between islands. The reconstructed northern boundary of the animal's Asian range ran from Lake Ladoga (at 60°N) through the area of Novgorod and Moscow into the southern Urals, where it reached 52°N. From there, the boundary passed Ishim and farther east the Irtysh at 56°N. In the eastern Baraba steppe (near Novosibirsk) the boundary turned steep south, encircled the Altai Mountains and went again eastward including the Tannu-Ola Mountains and Lake Baikal. From here, the boundary went slightly north of the Amur River eastward to its lower reaches at the Sea of Okhotsk. On Sakhalin, there are only fossil reports of wild boar. The southern boundaries in Europe and Asia were almost invariably identical to the seashores of these continents. It is absent in the dry regions of Mongolia from 44 to 46°N southward, in China westward of Sichuan and in India north of the Himalayas. It is absent in the higher elevations of the Pamir and the Tian Shan, though they do occur in the Tarim basin and on the lower slopes of the Tien Shan.
+
+Present range
+In recent centuries, the range of wild boar has changed dramatically, largely due to hunting by humans and more recently because of captive wild boar escaping into the wild. Prior to the 20th century, boar populations had declined in numerous areas, with British populations probably becoming extinct during the 13th century. In the warm period after the ice age, wild boar lived in the southern parts of Sweden and Norway and north of Lake Ladoga in Karelia. It was previously thought that the species did not live in Finland during prehistory because no prehistoric wild boar bones had been found within the borders of the country. It was not until 2013, when a wild boar bone was found in Askola, that the species was found to have lived in Finland more than 8,000 years ago. It is believed, however, that man prevented its establishment by hunting. In Denmark, the last boar was shot at the beginning of the 19th century, and by 1900 they were absent in Tunisia and Sudan and large areas of Germany, Austria and Italy. In Russia, they were extirpated in wide areas by the 1930s. The last boar in Egypt reportedly died on 20 December 1912 in the Giza Zoo, with wild populations having disappeared by 1894–1902. Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein attempted to repopulate Wadi El Natrun with boars of Hungarian stock, but they were quickly exterminated by poachers.A revival of boar populations began in the middle of the 20th century. By 1950, wild boar had once again reached their original northern boundary in many parts of their Asiatic range. By 1960, they reached Leningrad and Moscow and by 1975, they were to be found in Archangelsk and Astrakhan. In the 1970s they again occurred in Denmark and Sweden, where captive animals escaped and now survive in the wild. In England, wild boar populations re-established themselves in the 1990s, after escaping from specialist farms that had imported European stock.
+
+Status in Great Britain
+By the 11th century, wild boars were apparently already becoming rare in Britain. A 1087 forestry law enacted by William the Conqueror punished through blinding the unlawful killing of a boar. Charles I attempted to reintroduce the species into the New Forest, but this population was exterminated in the 17th century during the English Civil War. Between their medieval extinction and the 1980s, when wild boar farming began, only a handful of captive wild boar, imported from the continent, were present in Britain. Occasional escapes of wild boar from wildlife parks have occurred as early as the 1970s, but since the early 1990s significant populations have re-established themselves after escapes from farms, the number of which has increased as the demand for meat from the species has grown. A 1998 MAFF (now DEFRA) study on wild boar living wild in Britain confirmed the presence of two populations of wild boar living in Britain; one in Kent/East Sussex and another in Dorset.Another DEFRA report, in February 2008, confirmed the existence of these two sites as 'established breeding areas' and identified a third in Gloucestershire/Herefordshire; in the Forest of Dean/Ross on Wye area. A 'new breeding population' was also identified in Devon. There is another significant population in Dumfries and Galloway. Populations estimates were as follows:
+
+The largest population, in Kent/East Sussex, was then estimated at 200 animals in the core distribution area.
+The smallest, in west Dorset, was estimated to be fewer than 50 animals.
+Since winter 2005–2006 significant escapes/releases have also resulted in animals colonizing areas around the fringes of Dartmoor, in Devon. These are considered as an additional single 'new breeding population' and currently estimated to be up to 100 animals.Population estimates for the Forest of Dean are disputed as, at the time that the DEFRA population estimate was 100, a photo of a boar sounder in the forest near Staunton with over 33 animals visible was published and at about the same time over 30 boar were seen in a field near the original escape location of Weston under Penyard many kilometres or miles away. In early 2010 the Forestry Commission embarked on a cull, with the aim of reducing the boar population from an estimated 150 animals to 100. By August it was stated that efforts were being made to reduce the population from 200 to 90, but that only 25 had been killed. The failure to meet cull targets was confirmed in February 2011.Wild boars have crossed the River Wye into Monmouthshire, Wales. Iolo Williams, the BBC Wales wildlife expert, attempted to film Welsh boar in late 2012. Many other sightings, across the UK, have also been reported. The effects of wild boar on the U.K.'s woodlands were discussed with Ralph Harmer of the Forestry Commission on the BBC Radio's Farming Today radio programme in 2011. The programme prompted activist writer George Monbiot to propose a thorough population study, followed by the introduction of permit-controlled culling.In Scotland wild boar can be killed legally without a license and are culled by land managers as wild populations appear occasionally.
+
+Introduction to North America
+Wild boars are an invasive species in the Americas, having been introduced by European explorers and settlers in the 16th century to serve as a source of food. Wild boars now cause problems including out-competing native species for food, destroying the nests of ground-nesting species, killing fawns and young domestic livestock, destroying agricultural crops, eating tree seeds and seedlings, destroying native vegetation and wetlands through wallowing, damaging water quality, coming into violent conflict with humans and pets and carrying pig and human diseases including brucellosis, trichinosis and pseudorabies. In some jurisdictions, it is illegal to import, breed, release, possess, sell, distribute, trade, transport, hunt, or trap Eurasian boars. Hunting and trapping is done systematically, to increase the chance of eradication and to remove the incentive to illegally release boars, which have mostly been spread deliberately by sport hunters.
+
+History
+While domestic pigs, both captive and feral (popularly termed "razorbacks"), have been in North America since the earliest days of European colonization, pure wild boars were not introduced into the New World until the 19th century. The suids were released into the wild by wealthy landowners as big game animals. The initial introductions took place in fenced enclosures, though several escapes occurred, with the escapees sometimes intermixing with already established feral pig populations.
+The first of these introductions occurred in New Hampshire in 1890. Thirteen wild boars from Germany were purchased by Austin Corbin from Carl Hagenbeck and released into a 9,500-hectare (23,000-acre) game preserve in Sullivan County. Several of these boars escaped, though they were quickly hunted down by locals. Two further introductions were made from the original stocking, with several escapes taking place due to breaches in the game preserve's fencing. These escapees have ranged widely, with some specimens having been observed crossing into Vermont.In 1902, 15–20 wild boar from Germany were released into a 3,200-hectare (7,900-acre) estate in Hamilton County, New York. Several specimens escaped six years later, dispersing into the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area, with their descendants surviving for at least 20 years.The most extensive boar introduction in the US took place in western North Carolina in 1912, when 13 boars of undetermined European origin were released into two fenced enclosures in a game preserve in Hooper Bald, Graham County. Most of the specimens remained in the preserve for the next decade, until a large-scale hunt caused the remaining animals to break through their confines and escape. Some of the boars migrated to Tennessee, where they intermixed with both free-ranging and feral pigs in the area. In 1924, a dozen Hooper Bald wild pigs were shipped to California and released in a property between Carmel Valley and the Los Padres National Forest. These hybrid boar were later used as breeding stock on various private and public lands throughout the state, as well as in other states like Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia and Mississippi.Several wild boars from Leon Springs and the San Antonio, Saint Louis and San Diego Zoos were released in the Powder Horn Ranch in Calhoun County, Texas, in 1939. These specimens escaped and established themselves in surrounding ranchlands and coastal areas, with some crossing the Espiritu Santo Bay and colonizing Matagorda Island. Descendants of the Powder Horn Ranch boars were later released onto San José Island and the coast of Chalmette, Louisiana.Wild boar of unknown origin were stocked in a ranch in the Edwards Plateau in the 1940s, only to escape during a storm and hybridize with local feral pig populations, later spreading into neighboring counties.Starting in the mid-1980s, several boars purchased from the San Diego Zoo and Tierpark Berlin were released into the United States. A decade later, more specimens from farms in Canada and Białowieża Forest were let loose. In recent years, wild pig populations have been reported in 44 states within the US, most of which are likely wild boar–feral hog hybrids. Pure wild boar populations may still be present, but are extremely localized.
+
+Introduction and lack of control in South America
+In South America, the European boar is believed to have been introduced for the first time in Argentina and Uruguay around the 20th century for breeding purposes. In Brazil, the creation of wild boar and hybrids started on a large scale in the mid-1990s. With the invasion of wild boar that crossed the border and entered Rio Grande do Sul around 1989, and the escape and intentional release by several Brazilian breeders in the late 1990s – in response to a IBAMA decision against the import and breeding of wild boar in 1998 – numerous feral species formed a growing population, which progressively advances in Brazilian territory. The species has no natural predators in Brazil, as it is an exotic species, in addition to breeding with the domestic pig, generating the so-called "javaporco" (neologism created to define this hybrid), factors that contribute to the exaggerated increase in the population. With its population in continuous and uncontrolled growth, without predators, the wild boar causes environmental damage, contributing to the aggradation of river and stream springs, attacking native species feeding on eggs and puppies, causing damage to fauna, flora and to agriculture and livestock, since it also attacks farm animals and can carry various diseases, including zoonosis.
+
+Pest control in Brazil
+As a form of control for the wild boar population (which is considered a pest and harmful species), hunting and killing are allowed for Collectors, Shooters and Hunters (CACs) duly registered by the environmental control agency, IBAMA, which, on the other hand, seeks to encourage the preservation of similar species of native peccaries, such as the "queixada" and the "caititu".
+
+Effect on other habitats
+Wild boars negatively impact other habitats through the destruction of the environment, or homes of wildlife. When wild boars invade new areas, they adapt to the new area by trampling and rooting, as well as displacing many saplings/nutrients. This causes a decrease in growing of many plants and trees. Water is also affected negatively by wild boars. When wild boars are active in streams, or small pools of water, it causes increased turbidity (excessive silt and particle suspension). In some cases, the fecal coliform concentration increases to dangerous levels because of wild boars. Aquatic wildlife is affected, more prominently fish, and amphibians. Wild boars have caused a great decrease in over 300 animal or plant species, 250 being endangered or threatened.The boars cause many habitats to become less diverse because of their feeding behaviors and predation. Wild boars will dig up eggs of species and eat them, as well as killing other wildlife for food. When these boars compete with other species for resources, they usually come out successful. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology was conducted on the results of Feral Swine control. Only two years after the control started, the amount of turtle nests jumped from 57 to 143, and the turtle nest predation percent dropped from 74 to 15. They kill and eat deers, lizards, birds, snakes, and more. These boars are called "opportunist omnivores", which means they eat almost anything. This means they can survive almost anywhere. A big surplus of food and the ability to adapt to any new place causes lots of breeding. All of these factors make it difficult to get rid of wild boars. Wild boars also tend to carry diseases and numerous pathogens. This also adds to the decrease in diversity among species.
+
+Diseases and parasites
+Wild boars are known to host at least 20 different parasitic worm species, with maximum infections occurring in summer. Young animals are vulnerable to helminths like Metastrongylus, which are consumed by boars through earthworms and cause death by parasitising the lungs. Wild boar also carry parasites known to infect humans, including Gastrodiscoides, Trichinella spiralis, Taenia solium, Balantidium coli and Toxoplasma gondii. Wild boar in southern regions are frequently infested with ticks (Dermacentor, Rhipicephalus, and Hyalomma) and hog lice. The species also suffers from blood-sucking flies, which it escapes by bathing frequently or hiding in dense shrubs.Swine plague spreads very quickly in wild boar, with epizootics being recorded in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Belarus, the Caucasus, the Far East, Kazakhstan and other regions. Foot-and-mouth disease can also take on epidemic proportions in boar populations. The species occasionally, but rarely contracts Pasteurellosis, hemorrhagic sepsis, tularemia, and anthrax. Wild boar may on occasion contract swine erysipelas through rodents or hog lice and ticks.
+
+Relationships with humans
+In culture
+The wild boar features prominently in the cultures of Indo-European people, many of which saw the animal as embodying warrior virtues. Cultures throughout Europe and Asia Minor saw the killing of a boar as proof of one's valor and strength. Neolithic hunter gatherers depicted reliefs of ferocious wild boars on their temple pillars at Göbekli Tepe some 11,600 years ago. Virtually all heroes in Greek mythology fight or kill a boar at one point. The demigod Herakles' third labour involves the capture of the Erymanthian Boar, Theseus slays the wild sow Phaea, and a disguised Odysseus is recognised by his handmaiden Eurycleia by the scars inflicted on him by a boar during a hunt in his youth. To the mythical Hyperboreans, the boar represented spiritual authority. Several Greek myths use the boar as a symbol of darkness, death and winter. One example is the story of the youthful Adonis, who is killed by a boar and is permitted by Zeus to depart from Hades only during the spring and summer period. This theme also occurs in Irish and Egyptian mythology, where the animal is explicitly linked to the month of October, therefore autumn. This association likely arose from aspects of the boar's actual nature. Its dark colour was linked to the night, while its solitary habits, proclivity to consume crops and nocturnal nature were associated with evil. The foundation myth of Ephesus has the city being built over the site where Prince Androklos of Athens killed a boar. Boars were frequently depicted on Greek funerary monuments alongside lions, representing gallant losers who have finally met their match, as opposed to victorious hunters as lions are. The theme of the doomed, yet valorous boar warrior also occurred in Hittite culture, where it was traditional to sacrifice a boar alongside a dog and a prisoner of war after a military defeat.
+The boar as a warrior also appears in Germanic cultures, with its image having been frequently engraved on shields and swords. They also feature on Germanic boar helmets, such as the Benty Grange helmet, where it was believed to offer protection to the wearer and has been theorised to have been used in spiritual transformations into swine, similar to berserkers. The boar features heavily in religious practice in Germanic paganism where it is closely associated with Freyr and has also been suggested to have been a totemic animal to the Swedes, especially to the Yngling royal dynasty who claimed descent from the god.According to Tacitus, the Baltic Aesti featured boars on their helmets and may have also worn boar masks. The boar and pig were held in particularly high esteem by the Celts, who considered them to be their most important sacred animal. Some Celtic deities linked to boars include Moccus and Veteris. It has been suggested that some early myths surrounding the Welsh hero Culhwch involved the character being the son of a boar god. Nevertheless, the importance of the boar as a culinary item among Celtic tribes may have been exaggerated in popular culture by the Asterix series, as wild boar bones are rare among Celtic archaeological sites and the few that do occur show no signs of butchery, having probably been used in sacrificial rituals.The boar also appears in Vedic mythology and Hindu mythology. A story present in the Brahmanas has the god Indra slaying an avaricious boar, who has stolen the treasure of the asuras, then giving its carcass to the god Vishnu, who offered it as a sacrifice to the gods. In the story's retelling in the Charaka Samhita, the boar is described as a form of Prajapati and is credited with having raised the Earth from the primeval waters. In the Ramayana and the Puranas, the same boar is portrayed as Varaha, an avatar of Vishnu.
+In Japanese culture, the boar is widely seen as a fearsome and reckless animal, to the point that several words and expressions in Japanese referring to recklessness include references to boars. The boar is the last animal of the Oriental zodiac, with people born during the year of the Pig being said to embody the boar-like traits of determination and impetuosity. Among Japanese hunters, the boar's courage and defiance is a source of admiration and it is not uncommon for hunters and mountain people to name their sons after the animal inoshishi (猪). Boars are also seen as symbols of fertility and prosperity; in some regions, it is thought that boars are drawn to fields owned by families including pregnant women, and hunters with pregnant wives are thought to have greater chances of success when boar hunting. The animal's link to prosperity was illustrated by its inclusion on the ¥10 note during the Meiji period and it was once believed that a man could become wealthy by keeping a clump of boar hair in his wallet.In the folklore of the Mongol Altai Uriankhai tribe, the wild boar was associated with the watery underworld, as it was thought that the spirits of the dead entered the animal's head, to be ultimately transported to the water. Prior to the conversion to Islam, the Kyrgyz people believed that they were descended from boars and thus did not eat pork. In Buryat mythology, the forefathers of the Buryats descended from heaven and were nourished by a boar. In China, the boar is the emblem of the Miao people.The boar (sanglier) is frequently displayed in English, Scottish and Welsh heraldry. As with the lion, the boar is often shown as armed and langued. As with the bear, Scottish and Welsh heraldry displays the boar's head with the neck cropped, unlike the English version, which retains the neck. The white boar served as the badge of King Richard III of England, who distributed it among his northern retainers during his tenure as Duke of Gloucester.
+
+As a game animal and food source
+Humans have been hunting boar for millennia, the earliest artistic depictions of such activities dating back to the Upper Paleolithic. The animal was seen as a source of food among the Ancient Greeks, as well as a sporting challenge and source of epic narratives. The Romans inherited this tradition, with one of its first practitioners being Scipio Aemilianus. Boar hunting became particularly popular among the young nobility during the 3rd century BC as preparation for manhood and battle. A typical Roman boar hunting tactic involved surrounding a given area with large nets, then flushing the boar with dogs and immobilizing it with smaller nets. The animal would then be dispatched with a venabulum, a short spear with a crossguard at the base of the blade. More than their Greek predecessors, the Romans extensively took inspiration from boar hunting in their art and sculpture. With the ascension of Constantine the Great, boar hunting took on Christian allegorical themes, with the animal being portrayed as a "black beast" analogous to the dragon of Saint George.Boar hunting continued after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, though the Germanic tribes considered the red deer to be a more noble and worthy quarry. The post-Roman nobility hunted boar as their predecessors did, but primarily as training for battle rather than sport. It was not uncommon for medieval hunters to deliberately hunt boars during the breeding season when the animals were more aggressive. During the Renaissance, when deforestation and the introduction of firearms reduced boar numbers, boar hunting became the sole prerogative of the nobility, one of many charges brought up against the rich during the German Peasants' War and the French Revolution.During the mid-20th century, 7,000–8,000 boars were caught in the Caucasus, 6,000–7,000 in Kazakhstan and about 5,000 in Central Asia during the Soviet period, primarily through the use of dogs and beats. In Nepal, farmers and poachers eliminate boars by baiting balls of wheat flour containing explosives with kerosene oil, with the animals' chewing motions triggering the devices.Wild boar can thrive in captivity, though piglets grow slowly and poorly without their mothers. Products derived from wild boar include meat, hide and bristles. Apicius devotes a whole chapter to the cooking of boar meat, providing 10 recipes involving roasting, boiling and what sauces to use. The Romans usually served boar meat with garum. Boar's head was the centrepiece of most medieval Christmas celebrations among the nobility. Although growing in popularity as a captive-bred source of food, the wild boar takes longer to mature than most domestic pigs and it is usually smaller and produces less meat. Nevertheless, wild boar meat is leaner and healthier than pork, being of higher nutritional value and having a much higher concentration of essential amino acids. Most meat-dressing organizations agree that a boar carcass should yield 50 kg (110 lb) of meat on average. Large specimens can yield 15–20 kg (33–44 lb) of fat, with some giants yielding 30 kg (66 lb) or more. A boar hide can measure 3 m2 (4,700 sq in) and can yield 350–1,000 grams (12–35 oz) of bristle and 400 grams (14 oz) of underwool.
+
+Crop and garbage raiding
+Boars can be damaging to agriculture in situations where their natural habitat is sparse. Populations living on the outskirts of towns or farms can dig up potatoes and damage melons, watermelons and maize. However, they generally only encroach upon farms when natural food is scarce. In the Belovezh forest for example, 34–47% of the local boar population will enter fields in years of moderate availability of natural foods. While the role of boars in damaging crops is often exaggerated, cases are known of boar depredations causing famines, as was the case in Hachinohe, Japan in 1749, where 3,000 people died of what became known as the "wild boar famine". Still, within Japanese culture, the boar's status as vermin is expressed through its title as "king of pests" and the popular saying (addressed to young men in rural areas) "When you get married, choose a place with no wild boar."In Central Europe, farmers typically repel boars through distraction or fright, while in Kazakhstan it is usual to employ guard dogs in plantations. However, research shows that when compared with other mitigation tactics, hunting is the only strategy to significantly reduce crop damage by boars. Although large boar populations can play an important role in limiting forest growth, they are also useful in keeping pest populations such as June bugs under control. The growth of urban areas and the corresponding decline in natural boar habitats has led to some sounders entering human habitations in search of food. As in natural conditions, sounders in peri-urban areas are matriarchal, though males tend to be much less represented and adults of both sexes can be up to 35% heavier than their forest-dwelling counterparts. As of 2010, at least 44 cities in 15 countries have experienced problems of some kind relating to the presence of habituated wild boar.A 2023 study found that allowing wild pigs to forage on edible garbage in large regional landfills results in those animals getting physically large/heavier, having larger litters of piglets, and causing more wild pig-vehicle collisions in the vicinity of the landfill. The effects of letting these pigs scavenge in these landfills can present unique challenges to population management, control, public safety, and disease transmission. Wild pigs foraging on edible food waste in landfills has also been identified as a vector that facilitates the spread of African swine fever virus.
+
+Attacks on humans
+Actual attacks on humans are rare, but can be serious, resulting in penetrating injuries to the lower part of the body. They generally occur during the boars' rutting season from November to January, in agricultural areas bordering forests or on paths leading through forests. The animal typically attacks by charging and pointing its tusks towards the intended victim, with most injuries occurring on the thigh region. Once the initial attack is over, the boar steps back, takes position and attacks again if the victim is still moving, only ending once the victim is completely incapacitated.Boar attacks on humans have been documented throughout history. The Romans and Ancient Greeks wrote of these attacks (Odysseus was wounded by a boar and Adonis was killed by one). A 2012 study compiling recorded attacks from 1825 to 2012 found accounts of 665 human victims of both wild boars and feral pigs, with the majority (19%) of attacks in the animal's native range occurring in India. Most of the attacks occurred in rural areas during the winter months in non-hunting contexts and were committed by solitary males.
+
+Management
+Managing wild boar is a pressing task in both native and invasive contexts as they can be disrupting to other systems when not addressed. Wild boar find their success through adaptation of daily patterns to circumvent threats. They avoid human contact through nocturnal lifestyles, despite the fact that they are not evolutionarily predisposed, and alter their diets substantially based on what is available. These "adaptive generalists", can survive in a variety of landscapes, making the prediction of their movement patterns and any potential close contact areas crucial to limiting damage. All of these qualities make them equally difficult to manage or limit.
+Within Central Europe, the native habitat of the wild boar, there has been a push to re-evaluate interactions between wild boar and humans, with the priority of fostering positive engagement. Negative media and public perception of wild boar as "crop raiders" have made those living alongside them less willing to accept the economic damages of their behaviors, as wild boar are seen as pests. This media tone impacts management policy, with every 10 negative articles increasing wild boar policy activity by 6.7%. Contrary to this portrayal, wild boar, when managed well within their natural environments, can be a crucial part of forest ecosystems.
+
+Defining the limits of proper management is difficult, but the exclusion of wild boar from rare environments is generally agreed upon, as when not properly managed, they can damage agricultural ventures and harm vulnerable plant life. These damages are estimated at $800 million yearly in environmental and financial costs for the United States alone. The breadth of this damage is due to prior inattention and lack of management tactics for extended lengths of time. Managing wild boar is a complex task, as it involves coordinating a combination of crop harvest techniques, fencing, toxic bait, corrals, and hunting. The most common tactic employed by private land owners in the United States is recreational hunting, however, this is generally not as effective on its own. Management strategies are most successful when they take into account reproduction, dispersion, and the differences between ideal resources for males and females.According to a study, wild boars are causing soil disturbance that, among other problems, globally results in annual carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to that of ~1.1 million passenger vehicles (4.9 Mt, 0.01% of all GHG emissions as of 2022), implying that as of 2021 hunted boar meat – unlike other meat products – has beneficial effects on the environment even though the effect would diminish if boars are introduced for meat production and consistently retaining small populations of boars may be preferable.
+
+See also
+Babirusa
+Boar-baiting
+Boars in heraldry
+
+Notes
+References
+Bibliography
+Cabanau, Laurent (2001). The Hunter's Library: Wild Boar in Europe. Könemann. ISBN 978-3-8290-5528-4.
+Marsan, Andrea; Mattioli, Stefano (2013). Il Cinghiale (in Italian). Il Piviere (collana Fauna selvatica. Biologia e gestione). ISBN 978-88-96348-178.
+Scheggi, Massimo (1999). La bestia nera: Caccia al cinghiale fra mito, storia e attualità (in Italian). Editoriale Olimpia (collana Caccia). ISBN 978-88-253-7904-4.
+
+Further reading
+Apollonio, M. et al. (1988), "The systematics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in Italy", Bolletino di Zoologiaa, 3:213–221
+Carden, R.F. (2012) "Review of the Natural History of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) on the island of Ireland" Archived 17 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Report prepared by Ruth Carden for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Northern Ireland, UK, National Parks & Wildlife Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dublin, Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland – Education & Outreach Department.
+(in French) Durantel, P. (2007), Le sanglier et ses chasses, Editions Artemis, ISBN 2844166032
+Greene, J. (2011), The Golden-Bristled Boar: Last Ferocious Beast of the Forest, University of Virginia Press, ISBN 0-8139-3103-7
+Hatto, A. T. (1957) "Snake‐swords and Boar‐helms in Beowulf". In: English Studies, 38:1–6, 145–160. DOI: 10.1080/00138385708596994
+(in French) Marillier, B. (2003), Le sanglier héraldique, Editions Cheminements, ISBN 2844781845
+Mayer, J. J. & Shedrow, C. B. (2007), Annotated Bibliography of the Wild Pig (Sus scrofa): Environmental Information Document, Washington Savannah River Company
+(in Italian) Padiglione, V. (1989), Il cinghiale cacciatore: Antropologia simbolica della caccia in Sardegna, Armando Editore (collana Antropologia culturale)
+Ronald M. Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World (6th ed.), Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8, LCCN 98023686
+
+External links
+
+BBC profile
+"Boar, Wild" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (9th ed.). 1878.
+Jokelainen, P.; Näreaho, A.; Hälli, O.; Heinonen, M.; Sukura, A. (2012). "Farmed wild boars exposed to Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp". Veterinary Parasitology. 187 (1–2): 323–327. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.12.026. PMID 22244535.
+Species Profile- Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for wild boar.
+View the susScr3 genome assembly in the UCSC Genome Browser.
+A sounder of wild boars
+Wild pigs with piglets – white piglets with black spots
+Sow feeding piglets, Lodz (Poland)
+A wild boar struggling with plastic film, Lodz (Poland
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+Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae (from Ancient Greek  λύκος (lúkos) 'wolf'). They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and usually do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or chasing it over short distances; others wait for passing prey in or near the mouth of a burrow.
+Wolf spiders resemble nursery web spiders (family Pisauridae), but wolf spiders carry their egg sacs by attaching them to their spinnerets, while the Pisauridae carry their egg sacs with their chelicerae and pedipalps. Two of the wolf spider's eight eyes are large and prominent; this distinguishes them from nursery web spiders, whose eyes are all of roughly equal size. This can also help distinguish them from the similar-looking grass spiders.
+
+Description
+The many genera of wolf spiders range in body size (legs not included) from less than 10 to 35 mm (0.4 to 1.38 in). They have eight eyes arranged in three rows. The bottom row consists of four small eyes, the middle row has two very large eyes (which distinguishes them from the Pisauridae), and the top row has two medium-sized eyes. Unlike most other arachnids, which are generally blind or have poor vision, wolf spiders have excellent eyesight.
+The tapetum lucidum is a retroreflective tissue found in eyes. This reflective tissue is only found in four secondary eyes of the wolf spider. Flashing a beam of light over the spider produces eyeshine; this eyeshine can be seen when the lighting source is roughly coaxial with the viewer or sensor. The light from the light source (e.g., a flashlight or sunlight) has been reflected from the spider's eyes directly back toward its source, producing a "glow" that is easily noticed. Wolf spiders possess the third-best eyesight of all spider groups, bettered by jumping spiders of the family Salticidae (which can distinguish colors) and the huntsman spiders of the family Sparassidae.
+
+Wolf spiders are unique in the way that they carry their eggs. The egg sac, a round, silken globe, is attached to the spinnerets at the end of the abdomen, allowing the spider to carry her unhatched young with her. The abdomen must be held in a raised position to keep the egg case from dragging on the ground. Despite this handicap, they are still capable of hunting. Another aspect unique to wolf spiders is their method of care of young. Immediately after the spiderlings emerge from their protective silken case, they clamber up their mother's legs and crowd onto the dorsal side of her abdomen. The mother carries the spiderlings for several weeks before they are large enough to disperse and fend for themselves.
+Because they depend on camouflage for protection, they do not have the flashy appearance of some other kinds of spiders. In general, their coloration is appropriate to their favorite habitat.
+Hogna is the genus with the largest of the wolf spiders. Among the Hogna species in the U.S., the nearly solid dark brown H. carolinensis (Carolina wolf spider) is the largest, with a body that can be more than 2.5 cm (1 in) long. It is sometimes confused with H. helluo, which is somewhat smaller and different in coloration. The underside of H. carolinensis is solid black, but the underside of H. helluo is variegated and has reds, oranges, and yellows with shades of black.
+Some members of the Lycosidae, such as H. carolinensis, make deep, tubular burrows in which they lurk much of the time. Others, such as H. helluo, seek shelter under rocks and other shelters as nature may provide. As with spiders in general, males of almost any species can sometimes be found inside homes and buildings as they wander in search for females during the autumn.
+Wolf spiders play an important role in natural population control of insects and are often considered "beneficial bugs" due to their predation of pest species within farms and gardens.
+
+Venom
+Wolf spiders inject venom if continually provoked. Symptoms of their bites include swelling, mild pain, and itching. In the past, necrotic bites have been attributed to some South American and Australian species, but further investigation has indicated that those problems that did occur were probably due to bites by members of other families or did not induce those effects.
+
+Genera
+As of June 2022, the World Spider Catalog accepts these genera:
+
+Evolutionary history
+Wolf spiders likely originated after the K–Pg extinction event sometime in the late Paleocene, with most main subfamilies likely originating during the Eocene and Early Oligocene between 41 and 32 million years ago.
+
+Habitats
+Wolf spiders are found in a wide range of habitats both coastal and inland. These include shrublands, woodland, wet coastal forest, alpine meadows, suburban gardens, and homes. Spiderlings disperse aerially; consequently, wolf spiders have wide distributions. Although some species have very specific microhabitat needs (such as stream-side gravel beds or montane herb-fields), most are wanderers without permanent homes. Some build burrows which can be left open or have a trap door (depending on species). Arid-zone species construct turrets or plug their holes with leaves and pebbles during the rainy season to protect themselves from flood waters. Often, they are found in man-made locations such as sheds and other outdoor equipment.
+
+Mating behavior
+Many species of wolf spiders possess very complex courtship behaviors and secondary sexual characteristics, such as tufts of bristles on their legs or special colorations, which are most often found on the males of the species. These sexual characteristics vary by species and are most often found as modifications of the first pair of legs. First-leg modifications are often divided into elongated bristles on the legs, increased swelling of leg segments, or the full elongation of the first pair of legs compared to the other three pairs. Some mating behaviors are common between wolf spider genera, and many more that are species-specific. In the most commonly studied genus of wolf spiders, Schizocosa, researchers found that all males engage in a seismic component of their courtship display, either stridulation, or drumming their fore legs on the ground, but some also dependent on visual cues in their courtship display, as well as the seismic signaling, such as waving the front two legs in the air in front of the female, concluding that some Schizocosa species rely on multimodal courtship behaviors.The Lycosidae comprise mainly wandering spiders, and as such, population density and male-to-female sex ratio puts selective pressures on wolf spiders when finding mates. Female wolf spiders that have already mated are more likely to eat the next male that tries to mate with them than those that have not mated yet. Males that have already mated have a higher probability of successfully mating again, but females that have already mated have a lower probability of mating again.
+
+Relationship to humans
+Though wolf spiders do bite humans, their bites are not dangerous. Often times wolf spider bites result in mild redness, itching, ulcers, and if the bite wound isn't cleaned it could lead to infection. However, wolf spiders usually only bite when they feel threatened or mishandled.Wolf spiders have been found to be a vital source of natural pest control for many people's personal gardens or even homes, since the wolf spider predates on perceived pests such as crickets, ants, cockroaches, and in some cases lizards and frogs. In recent years, wolf spiders have been utilized as pest control in agriculture to reduce the amount of pesticides needed on crops. A notable example is the use of wolf spiders in cranberry bogs as a means of controlling unwanted crop destruction.
+
+In culture
+South Carolina designated the Carolina wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis) as the official state spider in 2000 due to the efforts of Skyler B. Hutto, a third-grade student at Sheridan Elementary School in Orangeburg.At the time, South Carolina was the only U.S. state that recognized a state spider. In 2015, efforts began to name an official state spider for neighboring North Carolina.
+
+Gallery
+See also
+List of spiders associated with cutaneous reactions
+
+List of Lycosidae species
+Necrobotics
+
+References
+Further reading
+Platnick, Norman I. (2008): The world spider catalog, version 8.5. American Museum of Natural History.
+
+External links
+
+Wolf Spider Website Comprehensive site with info on a range of subject, from habitat, to life-cycle, to myths and facts about bites. Includes videos of Wolf Spiders in the wild and captivity (Accessed September 7, 2015) Archived Link
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+Cottontail rabbits are the leporid species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas. Most Sylvilagus species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this feature is not present in all Sylvilagus nor is it unique to the genus. 
+The genus is widely distributed across North America, Central America and northern and central South America, though most species are confined to some particular regions. Most species live in nests called forms, and all have altricial young. An adult female averages three litters per year, which can occur in any season; occurrence, and litter size depend on several factors including time of the year, weather, and location. The average litter size is four but can range from as few as two to as many as eight, most of whom do not go on to survive to adulthood.
+Cottontail rabbits show a greater resistance to myxomatosis than European rabbits.
+
+Evolution
+Cottontails are one of several species of Sylvilagus; their closest relative is Brachylagus, the pygmy rabbit. They are more distantly related to the European and other rabbits, and more distantly still to the hares. The cladogram is based on mitochondrial gene analysis.
+
+Lifespan
+The lifespan of a cottontail averages about two years, depending on the location. Almost every living carnivorous creature comparable to or larger in size than these lagomorphs is a potential predator, including such diverse creatures as domestic dogs, cats, humans, snakes, coyotes, mountain lions, foxes, and if the cottontail is showing signs of illness, even squirrels. The cottontail's most frequent predators are various birds of prey. Cottontails can also be parasitized by botfly species including Cuterebra fontinella. Newborn cottontails are particularly vulnerable to these attacks. Cottontails use burrows vacated by other animals, and the burrows are used for long enough periods that predators can learn where the cottontails reside and repeatedly return to prey on the lagomorphs. Though cottontails are prolific animals that can have multiple litters in a year, few of the resulting offspring survive to adulthood. Those that do grow very quickly and are full grown adults at three months.
+
+Eating mechanics
+In contrast to rodents, (squirrels, etc.) which generally sit on their hind legs and hold food with their front paws while feeding, cottontail rabbits eat while on all fours. Cottontail rabbits typically only use their nose to move and adjust the position of the food that it places directly in front of its front paws on the ground. The cottontail will turn the food with its nose to find the cleanest part of the vegetation (free of sand and inedible parts) to begin its meal. The only time a cottontail uses its front paws while feeding is when vegetation is above its head on a living plant, at which point the cottontail will lift its paw to bend the branch to bring the food within reach.Cottontails are rarely found out of their burrows looking for food on windy days, because the wind interferes with their hearing capabilities. Hearing an incoming predator before they get close enough to attack is their primary defense mechanism.
+
+Species
+The subgenera were described in the 19th century based on limited morphological data that have been shown to not be of great use, nor to depict phylogenetic relationships.  Molecular studies (limited in scope to the mitochondrial 12S gene) have shown that the currently accepted subgeneric structure, while of some heuristic value, is unlikely to withstand additional scrutiny.
+
+Prehistoric species
+Sylvilagus hibbardi (Early-Mid Pleistocene)
+Sylvilagus leonensis - Dwarf cottontail (Late Pleistocene)
+Sylvilagus webbi (Pleistocene)
+
+
+== References ==
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