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Siberian Ibex
The Siberian ibex (''Capra sibirica''), also known using regionalized names including Altai ibex, Asian ibex, Central Asian ibex, Gobi ibex, Himalayan ibex, Mongolian ibex or Tian Shan ibex, is a polytypic species of ibex, a wild relative of goats and sheep. It lives in Central Asia, and is, by far, the most widely-distributed species in the genus ''Capra''. In terms of population stability, Siberian ibex are currently ranked as ''Near Threatened'', mostly due to over-hunting (mainly by wealthy, foreign hunters), low densities (in most areas) and overall decline; still, reliable data is minimal and difficult to come by, in addition to the animals’ expansive natural range, so accurate observations are still scant. The Siberian ibex has, formerly, been treated as a subspecies of the Eurasian Alpine ibex, and whether or not it is a single species or a complex of distinct units that stand out as genetically-distinct (at species level) is still not entirely clear. The Siberian ibex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin Zoological Garden
The Berlin Zoological Garden (, ) is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten (park), Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,200 animals, the zoo presents one of the most comprehensive collections of species in the world. The zoo and Aquarium Berlin, its aquarium had more than 3.5 million visitors in 2017. It is the most-visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. Regular animal feedings are among its most famous attractions. Globally known animals like Knut (polar bear), Knut, the polar bear, and , the giant panda have contributed to the zoo's public image. The zoo collaborates with many universities, research institutes, and other zoos around the world. It maintains and promotes European Endangered Species Programme, European breeding programmes, helps safeguard several endangered species, and participates in several species reintroduction programs. History Open ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sayan Mountains
The Sayan Mountains (, ; ) are a mountain range in southern Siberia spanning southeastern Russia (Buryatia, Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tuva and Khakassia) and northern Mongolia. Before the rapid expansion of the Tsardom of Russia, the mountain range served as the border between Mongolian and Russian cultures and cultural influences. The Sayan Mountains' towering peaks and cool lakes southwest of Tuva give rise to the tributaries that merge to become one of Siberia's major rivers, the Yenisei River, which flows north over 3,400 kilometres (2000 mi) to the Arctic Ocean. This is a protected and isolated area, having been kept closed by the Soviet Union since 1944. Geography Western Sayan At 92°E the Western Sayan system is pierced by the Ulug-Khem () or Upper Yenisei River, and at 106°, at its eastern extremity, it terminates above the depression of the Selenga-Orkhon Valley. It stretches almost at a right angle to the Western Sayan for in a roughly northeast/south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south as tropical Africa, including the Arctic, parts of Asia, and Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth. Description Junipers vary in size and shape from tall trees, tall, to columnar or low-spreading shrubs with long, trailing branches. They are evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ... with needle-like and/or scale-like leaves. They can be either monoecious or dioecious. The female Conif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Piceoideae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20 to 60 m (about 60–200 ft) tall when mature, and have Whorl (botany), whorled branches and cone (geometry), conical form. Spruces can be distinguished from other Genus, genera of the family Pinaceae by their pine needle, needles (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures (pulvini or sterigmata) on the branches, and by their seed cone, cones (without any protruding bracts), which hang downwards after they are pollinated. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs. In other similar genera, the branches are fairly smooth. Spruce are used as food pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus davidiana'' – Korean aspen (Eastern Asia) * ''Populus grandidentata'' – Bigtooth aspen (eastern North America, south of ''P. tremuloides'') * ''Populus sieboldii'' – Japanese aspen (Japan) * ''Populus tremula'' – Eurasian aspen (northern Europe and Asia) * ''Populus tremuloides'' – Quaking aspen or trembling aspen (northern and western North America) Habitat and longevity file:20130713Zitterpappel.ogv, The trembling of the leaves of the Populus tremula, trembling aspen Aspen trees are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere, extending south at high-altitude areas such as mountains or high plains. They are all medium-sized deciduous trees reaching tall. In North Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbs
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices. ''Herbs'' generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), while ''spices'' are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, Bark (botany), bark, roots and fruits. Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, aromatic and in some cases, spiritual. General usage of the term "herb" differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs; in medicinal or spiritual use, any parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, root bark, inner bark (and Vascular cambium, cambium), resin and pericarp. The word "herb" is pronounced in Commonwealth English, but is standard among American En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Line
The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low temperatures, extreme snowpack, or associated lack of available moisture). The tree line is sometimes distinguished from a lower timberline, which is the line below which trees form a forest with a closed Canopy (biology), canopy. At the tree line, tree growth is often sparse, stunted, and deformed by wind and cold. This is sometimes known as (German for "crooked wood"). The tree line often appears well-defined, but it can be a more gradual transition. Trees grow shorter and often at lower densities as they approach the tree line, above which they are unable to grow at all. Given a certain latitude, the tree line is approximately 300 to 1000 meters below the permanent snow line and roughly parallel to it. Causes Due to their vertical s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flehmen
The flehmen response (; from German , and Upper Saxon German ), also called the flehmen position, flehmen reaction, flehmen grimace, flehming, or flehmening, is a behavior in which an animal curls back its upper lip exposing its front teeth, inhales with the nostrils usually closed, and then often holds this position for several seconds. It may be performed over a site or substance of particular interest to the animal, or may be performed with the neck stretched and the head held high in the air. Flehmen is performed by a wide range of mammals, including ungulates and felids. The behavior facilitates the transfer of pheromones and other scents into the vomeronasal organ (VNO, or Jacobson's organ) located above the roof of the mouth via a duct which exits just behind the front teeth of the animal. Etymology The word originates from the German verb . It comes from the Upper Saxon German . The word was introduced in 1930 by Karl Max Schneider, director of the Leipzig zoo an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rut (mammalian Reproduction)
The rut (from the Latin ''rugire'', meaning "to roar") is the mating season of certain mammals, which includes ruminants such as deer, sheep, camels, goats, pronghorns, bison, giraffes and antelopes, and extends to others such as skunks and elephants. The rut is characterized in males by an increase in testosterone, exaggerated sexual dimorphisms, increased aggression, and increased interest in females. The males of the species may mark themselves with mud, undergo physiological changes or perform characteristic displays in order to make themselves more visually appealing to the females. Males also use olfaction to entice females to mate using secretions from glands and soaking in their own urine. During the rut (known as the ''rutting period'' and in domestic sheep management as '' tupping''), males often rub their antlers or horns on trees or shrubs, fight with each other, wallow in mud or dust, self-anoint, and herd estrus females together. These displays make the ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. Demographics of Afghanistan, Afghanistan's population is estimated to be between 36 and 50 million. Ancient history of Afghanistan, Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. Popularly referred to as the graveyard of empire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of highest mountains on Earth, 100 peaks exceeding elevations of above sea level lie in the Himalayas. The Himalayas abut on or cross territories of Himalayan states, six countries: Nepal, China, Pakistan, Bhutan, India and Afghanistan. The sovereignty of the range in the Kashmir region is disputed among India, Pakistan, and China. The Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the world's major rivers, the Indus River, Indus, the Ganges river, Ganges, and the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tsangpo–Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra, rise in the vicinity of the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
