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Virginia Zoo
The Virginia Zoological Park, commonly known as the Virginia Zoo, is a zoo located adjacent to Lafayette Park in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. The zoo opened in 1900, and was accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 1987. History In 1892, the City of Norfolk purchased the that was currently occupied by Lafayette Park. In 1900, the park began acquiring animals to exhibit, and by 1901 its collection exceeded 200 animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles. In 1974, the facility was fenced off from the city park, and renamed Lafayette Zoological Park. Though fenced off, residents of the nearby LaValette Avenue could see the zoo's elephant exhibit from their homes. Newcomers, unfamiliar with the fact that a zoo was in the location, sometimes called the police at the sight of the elephants. Between 1974 and 1980, most of the zoo's old exhibits were renovated. Also in 1974, the Friends of the Zoo was established to act as a support organization for the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city in Virginia and List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous city in the United States. The city holds a strategic position as the historical, urban, financial, and cultural center of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area (sometimes called "Tidewater (region), Tidewater"), which has more than 1.8 million inhabitants and is the Metropolitan statistical area, 37th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Norfolk was established in 1682 as a colonial seaport. Strategically located at the confluence of the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay, it quickly developed into a major center for trade and shipbuilding. During the American Revolution and War of 1812, its port and naval facilities made it a critic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siamang
The siamang (, ; ''Symphalangus syndactylus'') is an endangered 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 in height, and weighing up to . 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'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
Hartmann's mountain zebra (''Equus zebra hartmannae'') is a subspecies of the mountain zebra found in far south-western Angola and western Namibia, easily distinguished from other similar zebra species by its dewlap as well as the lack of stripes on its belly. Habitat and behaviour They are agile climbers and are able to live in arid conditions and steep mountainous country. Hartmann's mountain zebras prefer to live in small groups ranging from as little as 3 individuals to as many as 12. Herds will either be a breeding herd comprising one stallion and potentially many mares or it will be a bachelor group that consists primarily of young males. Young males raised as foals within the breeding herds will generally be kicked out when they are as young as 24 months, whereafter they may become the stallions of their own breeding herds within 5 years. When two breeding herds come into contact with one another, each respective stallion will engage the other in an elaborate posturing r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masai Giraffe
The Masai giraffe (''Giraffa tippelskirchi''), also spelled Maasai giraffe, and sometimes called the Kilimanjaro giraffe, is a species or subspecies of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai giraffe can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania and Uganda. It has distinctive jagged, irregular leaf-like blotches that extend from the hooves to its head. The Masai giraffe is currently the national animal of Tanzania. Taxonomy The IUCN currently recognizes only one species of giraffe with nine subspecies The Masai giraffe was described and given the binomial name ''Giraffa tippelskirchi'' by German zoologist Paul Matschie in 1898, but current taxonomy refers to Masai giraffe as ''Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi''. The Masai giraffe was named in honor of Herr von Tippelskirch, who was a member of a German scientific expedition in German East Africa to what is now northern Tanzania in 1896. Tippelskirch brought back the skin of a female Masai giraffe from ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta or Okavango Grassland is a vast inland delta in Botswana formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an elevation of in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari Desert. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the few interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is largely intact. All the water reaching the delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired. Each year, about of water spreads over the area. Some flood waters drain into Lake Ngami. The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that had mostly dried up by the early Holocene. The Moremi Game Reserve is on the eastern side of the delta. The delta was named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, which were officially declared on 11 February 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. On 22 June 2014, the Okavango Delta became the 1000th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Geograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
The chestnut-breasted malkoha (''Phaenicophaeus curvirostris'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. Found in Southeast Asia from Myanmar through to eastern Java, the Philippines and Borneo, it is a large cuckoo measuring up to with grey and dark green upperparts and chestnut underparts, and a large curved pale upper mandible. The male and female are similar in plumage. Unlike many cuckoos, it builds its nest and raises its own young.Payne, p. 297 Taxonomy The chestnut-breasted malkoha was first described from a specimen collected in western Java by English naturalist George Shaw in 1810 as ''Cuculus curvirostris'', before the genus ''Phaenicophaeus'' was erected by English naturalist James Francis Stephens in 1815. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin words ''curvus'' "curved", and ''rostrum'' "beak". The genus name is derived from the ancient Greek ''phoiniko-'' "crimson", and ' "eyes" or "face", referring to the red-faced malkoha. However, the 'œ' was tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azure-winged Magpie
The azure-winged magpie (''Cyanopica cyanus'') is a bird in the crow family. It is 31–35 cm long and similar in overall shape to the Eurasian magpie (''Pica pica'') but is more slender with proportionately smaller legs and bill. It belongs to the genus '' Cyanopica''. It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long (16–20 cm) tail an azure blue. It inhabits various types of coniferous (mainly pine) and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations. Distribution and habitat It occurs over a large region of eastern Asia in China, Korea, Japan, and north into Mongolia and southern Siberia. The Iberian magpie from southwestern and central parts of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal was formerly thought to be conspecific, but recent genetic analysis has shown them to be distinct at species level, the white-tipped tail be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asian Fairy-bluebird
The Asian fairy-bluebird (''Irena puella'') is a medium-sized, arboreal passerine bird. This fairy-bluebird is found in forests across tropical southern Asia, Indochina and the Greater Sundas. Two or three eggs are laid in a small cup nest in a tree. It was described by British ornithologist John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham in 1790. The only other member of the genus and family is the Philippine fairy-bluebird, ''I. cyanogastra'', which replaces the Asian fairy-bluebird in most of the Philippines. Both species are considered as sacred to the Tagalog people as they are perceived as tigmamanukan omens. The adult Asian fairy bluebird is about . The male has glossy, iridescent blue upperparts, and black underparts and flight feathers. The female and first year male are entirely dull blue-green. The Asian fairy bluebird eats fruits, nectar and some insects. Its call is a liquid two note ''glue-it''. Description The Asian fairy bluebird measures in length. The iris is crimson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinoceros Hornbill
The rhinoceros hornbill (''Buceros rhinoceros'') is a large species of forest hornbill ( Bucerotidae). In captivity it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain forests up to 1,400 metres in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and southern Thailand. Taxonomy The rhinoceros hornbill was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the great hornbill in the genus '' Buceros'' and coined the binomial name ''Buceros rhinoceros''. Linnaeus specified the location as India. The name comes from Ancient Greek βοῦς (''boûs''), meaning "ox", and κέρας (''kéras''), meaning "horn". The specific name ''rhinoceros'' comes from how the species' bill resembles a rhinoceros' horn. Three subspecies are recognised: * ''B. r. borneoensis'' Schlegel & Müller, S, 1845 – Borneo * ''B. r. rhinoceros'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarus Crane
The sarus crane (''Antigone antigone'') is a large nonmigratory Crane (bird), crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to , they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in South Asia, seasonally flooded ''Dipterocarpus'' forests in Southeast Asia, and ''Eucalyptus''-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia. The sarus crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by its overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans, and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps, and dance-like movements. In India, they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Cassowary
The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary, or two-wattled cassowary, is a large Flightless bird, flightless black bird, found in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf cassowary and the northern cassowary. It is a ratite and therefore related to the emu, ostrich, Rhea (bird), rhea and Kiwi (bird), kiwi. The Australian population is listed as Endangered species, Endangered under federal and Queensland state legislation. Taxonomy Presently, most authorities consider the southern cassowary monotypic, but several subspecies have been described. It has proven very difficult to confirm the validity of these due to individual variations, age-related variations, the relatively few available Zoological specimen, specimens (and the bright skin of the head and neck – the basis upon which several subspecies have been described � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Panda
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 with a tail, and it weighs between . It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws. The red panda was formally Species description, described in 1825. The two currently recognised subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, Genetic divergence, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with Procyonidae, raccoons, Mustelidae, weasels, and Mephitidae, skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "Sesamoid bone#Other animals, fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
