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Gemsbok
The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus '' Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Namib Deserts, areas in which it is supremely adapted for survival. Previously, some sources classified the related East African oryx, or beisa oryx (''Oryx beisa''), as a subspecies. Name The name ''gemsbok'' is from Afrikaans, which itself is from the Dutch word of the same spelling, meaning "male chamois", composed of (“chamois”) + (“buck, male goat”). The Dutch is further from German ("chamois"). Although some superficial similarities in appearance (especially in the facial pattern) are noticed, the chamois and the oryx are not closely related. The usual pronunciation in English is . Description Gemsbok are light taupe to tan in color, with lighter patches toward the bottom rear of the rump. Their tails are long and black ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oryx Gazella (Chudop)
The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus ''Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Namib Deserts, areas in which it is supremely adapted for survival. Previously, some sources classified the related East African oryx, or beisa oryx (''Oryx beisa''), as a subspecies. Name The name ''gemsbok'' is from Afrikaans, which itself is from the Dutch word of the same spelling, meaning "male chamois", composed of (“chamois”) + (“buck, male goat”). The Dutch is further from German ("chamois"). Although some superficial similarities in appearance (especially in the facial pattern) are noticed, the chamois and the oryx are not closely related. The usual pronunciation in English is . Description Gemsbok are light taupe to tan in color, with lighter patches toward the bottom rear of the rump. Their tails are long and black in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a large wildlife reserve and conservation biology, conservation area in southern Africa. The park straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana and comprises two adjoining national parks: * Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa * Gemsbok National Park in Botswana The park's total area is . Approximately three-quarters of the park lies in Botswana and one-quarter in South Africa. ''wikt:Kgalagadi, Kgalagadi'' means "place of thirst." In December 2015, media reports claimed that rights for gas-fracking in more than half of the Botswana portion of the park had been sold. The Botswana government later refuted these reports.African News AgencyBotswana dismisses reports of fracking rights in pristine Kgalagadi Transfrontier ParkMining Weekly Location and terrain The park is located largely within the southern Kalahari Desert. The terrain consists of red dunes, sparse vegetation, occasional trees, and the dry riverbeds of the Nossob Riv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oryx
''Oryx'' ( ) is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight and annulated. The exception is the scimitar oryx, which lacks dark markings on the legs, only has faint dark markings on the head, has an ochre neck, and has horns that are clearly decurved. All oryx species prefer near-desert conditions and can survive without water for long periods. The Arabian oryx was only saved from extinction through a captive-breeding program and reintroduction to the wild. The scimitar oryx, which was listed as extinct in the wild, also relied on a captive-breeding program for its survival.Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as extinct in the wild. Etymology The term "oryx" comes from the Greek word ''óryx'' meaning "pickaxe", because its long and pointed horns look similar to the tool's end. The Greek plural f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namib Desert
The Namib ( ; ) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and northwest South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from in the aridest regions to at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world's driest regions, with only western South A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chamois
The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope massif, Pindus, the northeastern mountains of Turkey, and the Caucasus. It has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Some subspecies of chamois are strictly protected in the EU under the European Habitats Directive. Description The chamois is a very small bovid. A fully grown chamois reaches a height of and measures . Males, which weigh , are slightly larger than females, which weigh . Both males and females have short, straightish horns which are hooked backwards near the tip, the horn of the male being thicker. In summer, the fur has a rich brown colour which turns to a light grey in winter. Distinct characteristics are white contrasting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. It was designated as ''Wildschutzgebiet'' in 1958, and was awarded the status of national park in 1967, by an act of parliament of the Republic of South Africa. It spans an area of and was named after the large Etosha pan which is almost entirely within the park. With an area of , the Etosha pan covers 23% of the total area of the national park. The area is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds and reptiles, including several Threatened species, threatened and Endangered species, endangered species such as the black rhinoceros. Sixty-one black rhinoceros were killed during poaching in Namibia during 2022, 46 of which were killed in Etosha. The park is located in the Kunene Region, Kunene region and shares boundaries with the regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity test site lay at the northern end of the Range, in Socorro County near the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio. It then became the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National Park founded in the 1930s is located within the range. Significant events *The missile range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. *On 16 July 1945, the first atomic bomb (code named Trinity) was test detonated at Trinity Site near the northern boundary of the range, seven days after the White Sands Proving Ground was officially established, near the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio. (). *After the conclusion of World War II, 100 long-range German V-2 rockets that were captured by U.S. military troops ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extirpated
Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a change in the ecology of an area. It has sometimes been followed by a replacement of the species taken from other locations, such as with wolf reintroduction. Discussion Glaciation is one factor that leads to local extinction. This was the case during the Pleistocene glaciation event in North America. During this period, most of the native North American species of earthworm were killed in places covered by glaciation. This left them open for colonization by European earthworms brought over in soil from Europe. Species naturally become extinct from islands over time; this can be either local extinction if the species also occurs elsewhere, or in cases of island endemism, outright extinction. The number of species an island can support is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of countries and dependencies by population, population and is the List of African countries by area, seventh-largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an Enclave and exclave, exclave province, the province of Cabinda Province, Cabinda, that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and most populous city is Luanda. Angola has been inhabited since the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Age. After the Bantu expansion reached the region, states were formed by the 13th century and organised into confederations. The Kingdom of Kongo ascended to achieve hegemony among the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shofar
A shofar ( ; from , ) is an ancient musical horn, typically a ram's horn, used for Jewish ritual purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur; it is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish. Bible and rabbinic literature The shofar is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud and rabbinic literature. In the first instance, in , the blast of a shofar emanating from the thick cloud on Mount Sinai makes the Israelites tremble in awe. The shofar was used to announce the new moon and the Jubilee year. The first day of Tishrei (now known as Rosh Hashana) is termed a "memorial of blowing", or "day of blowing", the shofar. Shofars were used for si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
