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Thomas (goose)
Thomas ( – 6 February 2018) was a goose who lived at the Waimanu Lagoons in Waikanae Beach, in the Kāpiti Coast District of New Zealand's North Island. He had a relationship with a male black-feathered swan, Henry, for approximately 18 to 24 years until a female swan, Henrietta, joined them. Thomas helped raise the cygnets of Henry and Henrietta. Since Henry had a broken wing, Thomas would teach the cygnets how to fly. Thomas was left alone when Henry died in 2009 and Henrietta flew away with another swan. Thomas later met a female goose and had his own offspring, for the first time, in 2011. The offspring were then taken by another goose. After going blind and getting attacked by swans, he was moved in 2013 to the Wellington Bird Rehabilitation Trust in Ohariu, and stayed there until his death in 2018. A plaque was placed at the lagoon to remember him and he was described by BBC News as an "icon of the LGBT community". Life The goose Thomas, who had white feathers, had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domestic Goose
A domestic goose is a goose that humans have domesticated and kept for their meat, eggs, or down feathers, or as companion animals. Domestic geese have been derived through selective breeding from the wild greylag goose (''Anser anser domesticus'') and swan goose (''Anser cygnoides domesticus''). Origins In Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, the original domesticated geese are derived from the greylag goose (''Anser anser''). In eastern Asia, the original domesticated geese are derived from the swan goose (''Anser cygnoides''); these are commonly known as Chinese geese. Both have been widely introduced in more recent times, and modern flocks in both areas (and elsewhere, such as Australia and North America) may consist of either species or hybrids between them. Chinese geese may be readily distinguished from European geese by the large knob at the base of the bill, though hybrids may exhibit every degree of variation between the two species. Charles Darwin remarked in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island), and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed. Māori oral tradition tells that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century. The area was initially settled by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. The disruptions of the Musket Wars led to them being overwhelmed by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early 19th century. Wellington's current form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield's New Zealand Company, in 1840. Smith's plan included a series of inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geese
A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyptian goose, Orinoco goose) are commonly called geese, but are not considered "true geese" taxonomically. More distantly related members of the family Anatidae are swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller. The term "goose" may refer to such bird of either sex, but when paired with "gander", "goose" refers specifically to a female one ("gander" referring to a male). Young birds before fledging are called goslings. The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump. Etymology The word "goose" is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European ''*ǵʰh₂éns''. In Germanic langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individual Birds In New Zealand
An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or goals, rights and responsibilities. The concept of an individual features in many fields, including biology, law, and philosophy. Every individual contributes significantly to the growth of a civilization. Society is a multifaceted concept that is shaped and influenced by a wide range of different things, including human behaviors, attitudes, and ideas. The culture, morals, and beliefs of others as well as the general direction and trajectory of the society can all be influenced and shaped by an individual's activities. Etymology From the 15th century and earlier (and also today within the fields of statistics and metaphysics) ''individual'' meant " indivisible", typically describing any numerically singular thing, but sometimes meanin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waikanae
Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the Wellington, New Zealand. The name is a Māori language, Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the flathead grey mullet, grey mullet". The area surrounding the town is notable for its beach, the Waikanae River estuary, the Kapiti Marine Reserve, and Kapiti Island, which lies offshore in the Tasman Sea. The town is considered one of the top retirement destinations in the Wellington Region, because of it having year-round mild temperatures, moderate rainfall, and less wind than Wellington. The town is northeast of Paraparaumu, and southwest of Ōtaki, New Zealand, Ōtaki. The Waikanae railway station is the northernmost station in the Public transport in the Wellington Region, Metlink passenger rail network, linking with Wellington railway station in Central Wellington. Geography Waikanae lies in a setting of open farmland and forest between the Tasman Sea and the rugged Tararua Range. Prior to human settlemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individual Birds
This is a list of well-known real birds. For famous fictional birds, see list of fictional birds. * Águia Vitória, a bald eagle who serves as the mascot for Portuguese football club S.L. Benfica * Alex (parrot), Alex, a grey parrot who, in studies by Irene Pepperberg, Dr. Irene Pepperberg, demonstrated an ability to count; differentiate categories involving objects, colors, shapes, and materials; and understand the concept of same and different * All Alone (pigeon), All Alone, a Second World War homing pigeon awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross * Anchorage White Raven, a popular leucistic raven that lived in Anchorage, Alaska. * Andy (goose), Andy, a goose born without feet who used sneakers to help him stand and walk. He was killed by an unnamed perpetrator in 1991. * Apollo (parrot), Apollo, a grey parrot and subject of a YouTube channel * B95 (bird), B95, a red knot known for being the oldest known member of his species * Barry (owl) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2018 Animal Deaths
Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2005 Canadian dramatic feature film * 18 (British Board of Film Classification), a film rating in the United Kingdom, also used in Ireland by the Irish Film Classification Office * 18 (''Dragon Ball''), a character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise * "Eighteen", a 2006 episode of the animated television series ''12 oz. Mouse'' Science * Argon, a noble gas in the periodic table * 18 Melpomene, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Music Albums * ''18'' (Moby album), 2002 * ''18'' (Nana Kitade album), 2005 * '' 18...'', 2009 debut album by G.E.M. * ''18'' (Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp album), 2022 Songs * "18" (5 Seconds of Summer song), from their 2014 eponymous debut album * "18" (One Direction song), from their 2014 studio album ''Four'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronze Sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements to be fitted to other objects such as furniture. It is often gilding, gilded to give gilt-bronze or ormolu. Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mould. Then, as the bronze cools, it shrinks a little, making it easier to separate from the mould. Their strength and wikt:ductility, ductility (lack of brittleness) is an advantage when figures in action poses are to be created, especially when compared to various ceramic or stone materials (such as marble sculpture). These qualities allow the creation of extended figures, as in ''Jeté'', or figures that have small cross sections in their support, such as the Richard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves before their death, while others are chosen by those responsible for the burial. An epitaph may be written in prose or in poem verse. Most epitaphs are brief records of the family, and perhaps the career, of the deceased, often with a common expression of love or respect—for example, "beloved father of ..."—but others are more ambitious. From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture, epitaphs for notable people became increasingly lengthy and pompous descriptions of their family origins, career, virtues and immediate family, often in Latin. Notably, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known Ancient Roman epitaph, exceeds almost all of these at 180 lines; it celebrates the virtues of an honored wife (sometimes identified, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peta Mathias
Peta Christine Mathias is a New Zealand food writer and television show presenter and owns a television production company that produces food and travel shows. She is also known for leading gastronomic tours in the south of France, Morocco, Spain and India. Biography Mathias was born in Auckland. She initially trained as a nurse and worked at Auckland Hospital for five years. She then moved to Canada, where she lived for six years in Montreal and Vancouver working as a toxicotherapist in drug and alcohol treatment centres. Mathias then moved to London and to Paris and started working in restaurants, first as a dishwasher and later as a chef; eventually she bought a restaurant there, Rose Blues, and ran it for four years. In 1990, Mathias returned to New Zealand and began to work in food writing and broadcasting. In 2006 she set up a company organising and leading culinary tours, and in 2008 she set up a production company, Red Head Media, to make food and travel television show ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinky Agnew
Pinky Agnew, MNZM (born 1955 in Port Chalmers) is an actor, author and social commentator based in Wellington in New Zealand. She has been a full-time performer and entertainer since 1990. In 2004 she appeared in the New Year's Honours list, becoming a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for her services to entertainment. Agnew appears frequently on radio in New Zealand and has featured in television shows impersonating Jenny Shipley, who served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. Agnew has been a wedding celebrant since 1996 and has been part of several hundred weddings. As well as weddings, she officiates at civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...s, naming ceremonies, and funerals. Plays * Hens' Teeth Women's Comedy Company ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
K Gurunathan
K, or k, is the eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''kay'' (pronounced ), plural ''kays''. The letter K usually represents the voiceless velar plosive. History The letter K comes from the Greek letter Κ (kappa), which was taken from the Semitic kaph, the symbol for an open hand. This, in turn, was likely adapted by Semitic tribes who had lived in Egypt from the hieroglyph for "hand" representing /ḏ/ in the Egyptian word for hand, ⟨ ḏ-r-t⟩ (likely pronounced in Old Egyptian). The Semites evidently assigned it the sound value instead, because their word for hand started with that sound. K was brought into the Latin alphabet with the name ''ka'' /kaː/ to differentiate it from C, named ''ce'' (pronounced /keː/) and Q, named ''qu'' and pronounced /kuː/. In the earliest Latin inscriptions, the letters C, K and Q were all us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
