title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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. The type and size of the prey depends mostly on the size of the crocodile. The diet of young crocodiles is made up largely of insects and other invertebrates, since this is the only prey the same animals can easily take. Cott (1961) studied the food of hatchlings and juveniles


title: "Nile crocodile" content: very extensively in Uganda and Zambia (then called Rhodesia). In that study, more than 100 species and genera (i.e. those could not be specified to species level) of insects were identified amongst the foods of crocodiles of this age. All told, he found that more than 70% of the diet of young crocodiles was made up of insects. Of the insects taken there, beetles made up 58% of the diet composition, with the most frequently identified being water-based varieties such as "Hydrophilus" and "Cybister". Giant water bugs were also frequently recorded, although several largely terrestrial varieties were also found in


title: "Nile crocodile" content: young crocodile’s stomachs, presumably having been caught in riparian vegetation by night, including Orthoptera, such as crickets, and Odonata, such as dragonflies. Arachnids such as "Dolomedes" water spiders are taken, but always secondarily to insects in Uganda and Zambia. Crabs are also largely taken by crocodiles under , especially the genus "Potamonautes", with different species being the primary crustacean food in different areas. Mollusks may occasionally be taken by young crocodiles (they are taken in larger numbers later in life in parts of Uganda and Zambia). In the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the diet was similar but young crocodiles ate a


title: "Nile crocodile" content: broader range of insects and invertebrates, with beetles taken in similar numbers to other, similar prey, both aquatic and terrestrial. In Botswana, arachnids were more often found in young crocodiles than in Uganda and Zambia. In Zimbabwe, the dietary composition was broadly similar to that in other areas. However, in the Ugandan portion of Lake Victoria, true bugs and dragonflies both seem to outnumber beetles notably and up to a length of crocodiles had stomach contents that were made up 70–75% of insects. After Nile crocodiles reach , the significance of most invertebrates in the diet decreases precipitously. An exception


title: "Nile crocodile" content: to this is in Uganda and Zambia, where subadults and adults of even large sizes, up to , may eat very large numbers of snails. Nearly 70% of the crocodiles examined by Cott (1961) had some remains of snails inside their stomachs. Predation on amuplariid water snails was especially heavy in Bangweulu Swamp, Lake Mweru Wantipa, and the Kafue Flats, where mollusks representing 89.1, 87, and 84.7% of all prey in these locations, respectively. Gastropoda (4126 records per Cott) were taken much more than Lamellibranchiata (six records). Notable favorites include "Pila ovata", which lives just under water on rocky surfaces


title: "Nile crocodile" content: (mainly found in crocodiles from Uganda) and "Lanistes ovum", which is found submerged among water plants and on detritus (mainly from stomachs in Zambia). During the time from when they are roughly long (roughly 5 to 9 years old), Nile crocodiles seem to have the broadest diet of any age range. They take more or less much the same small prey as smaller crocodiles, including insects and arachnids, but also take many small to medium-sized vertebrates and quickly become capable taking down prey up to their own weight. Fish become especially significant around this age and size. However, Cott (1961)


title: "Nile crocodile" content: found that the only size range where fish were numerically dominant over other types of food was from . This size range consists of subadult males and a mixture of subadult and adult females. In Lake Turkana, fish were the only food in the stomachs of 45.4% of the crocodiles that did not have empty stomachs, in total 87.8% of the crocodiles that did not have empty stomachs there had fish in their stomachs. Graham (1968) noted that throughout East Africa, crocodile diets are driven by the regional availability of prey. The arid land surrounding Lake Turkana is a relatively


title: "Nile crocodile" content: barren region for diverse or numerous prey other than fish, so fish are an exceptionally important food source to crocodiles there. In Lake Kyoga and Lake Kwana, 73.1% of the crocodiles that did not have empty stomachs had fish in their stomachs. At Lake St. Lucia in South Africa, many Nile crocodile congregate to feed on striped mullet ("Mugil cephalus") as they make their seaward migration for spawning. Here, the crocodiles may line up in dozens across narrow straits of the estuary to effectively force the mullet into easy striking distance, with no observed in-fighting among these crocodile feeding congregations.


title: "Nile crocodile" content: At this time of plenty (before irrigation operations by humans led St. Lucia to have dangerously high saline levels), a crocodile could expect to eat of mullet daily, an exceptionally large daily amount for a crocodile. Larger fish, like catfish and freshwater bass, are preferred by adults more than in length. Particularly small fish are likely to be eaten only in case of sudden encounter, mostly in shallow, dry-season ponds where not much effort is needed to catch the small, agile prey. Most observed fishing by crocodiles takes place in waters less than deep and fish are often caught when


title: "Nile crocodile" content: they swim into contact with the crocodile’s head, even literally right into the reptile’s mouth. Across much of their range, they take any fish they encounter, but largish and relatively sluggish mesopredator fish such as lungfish and "Barbus" carp seem to be most widely reported. Many other genera are taken widely and relatively regularly, including "Tilapia" (which was the most significant prey genus in Lake Turkana), "Clarias", "Haplochromis", and "Mormyrus". In Uganda and Zambia, lungfish comprised nearly two-thirds of the piscivorian diet for crocodiles. Similarly, in Lake Baringo, the lungfish is the crocodile’s main prey and the crocodile is the


title: "Nile crocodile" content: lungfish’s primary predator. In the Okavango Delta, the African pikes ("Hepsetus" spp.) were the leading prey group for subadults, comprising more than a fourth of the diet. Extremely large fish, such as Nile perch ("Lates niloticus"), goliath tigerfish ("Hydrocynus goliath"), and even sharks, are taken on occasion, in addition to big catfish, such as "Bagrus" spp. and "Clarias gariepinus", which are preyed upon quite regularly in areas where they are common. In the Zambezi River and Lake St. Lucia, Nile crocodiles have been known to prey on bull sharks ("Carcharhinus leucas") and sand tiger sharks ("Carcharias taurus"). The largest fishes


title: "Nile crocodile" content: attacked in such cases may potentially weigh more than . When capturing large fish, they often drag the fish onto shore and swing their heads around to smash the fish onto the ground until it is dead or incapacitated. More modestly sized fish are generally swallowed whole. The Nile crocodile has a reputation as a voracious and destructive feeder on freshwater fish, many of which are essential to the livelihoods of local fisherman and the industry of sport fishing. However, this is very much an unearned reputation. As cold-blooded creatures, Nile crocodiles need to eat far less compared to an


title: "Nile crocodile" content: equivalent-weighted warm-blooded animal. The crocodile of consumes an average of fish per day. In comparison, piscivorous water birds from Africa eat far more per day despite being a fraction of the body size of a crocodile, for example a cormorant eats up to per day (about 70% of its own body weight), while a pelican consumes up to per day (about 35% of its own weight). The taking of commercially important fish, such as "Tilapia", has been mentioned as a source of conflict between humans and crocodiles, and used as justification for crocodile-culling operations; however, even a primarily piscivorous crocodile


title: "Nile crocodile" content: needs relatively so little fish that it cannot deplete fish populations on its own without other (often anthropogenic) influences. Additionally, crocodiles readily take dead or dying fish given the opportunity, thus are likely to incidentally improve the health of some fish species’ populations as this lessens their exposure to diseases and infection. Frogs are regionally significant prey for small, young crocodiles in many regions, mainly those in the size range. The main amphibian prey species from Uganda and Zambia was the African common toad ("Amietophrynus regularis") while in Botswana, the main amphibian prey was the reed frog ("Hyperolius viridiflavus"). Even


title: "Nile crocodile" content: the largest frog in the world, the goliath frog ("Conraua goliath"), has reportedly been preyed on by young Nile crocodiles. In general, reptiles become relatively common only in the diet in larger juvenile specimens and subadults. Large reptiles, or armoured reptiles such as turtles, were almost negligible in crocodiles under and most common in the stomachs of crocodiles over in length from Uganda and Zambia. Small species of reptiles are largely ignored as prey at this size. Freshwater turtles are often the most frequently recorded reptilian prey, unsurprisingly perhaps because most other reptiles other than a small handful of "Lycodonomorphus"


title: "Nile crocodile" content: water snakes are more terrestrial than water-based. In a study, the serrated hinged terrapin ("Pelusios sinuatus") (also sometimes referred to as the "water tortoise") was more commonly reported in the stomach contents of adult crocodiles from Kruger National Park than any single mammal species. Other turtle species commonly recorded among Nile crocodile prey include the Speke's hinge-back tortoise ("Kinixys spekii") and East African black mud turtle ("Pelusios subniger"). Beyond their ready availability and respectable size, turtles are favored by big crocodiles due to their slowness, which allows the cumbersome crocodiles to capture them more easily than swifter vertebrates. While adults


title: "Nile crocodile" content: have a sufficient bite force to crush turtle shells, younger crocodiles sometimes are overly ambitious, and one choked to death attempting to swallow a whole large river turtle. A variety of snakes has been preyed on from relatively small, innocuous species such as the common egg-eating snake ("Dasypeltis scabra") to the largest African snakes species, the African rock python ("Python sebae"), which can exceed in length and weigh over . Venomous species, including the puff adder ("Bitis arietans"), the forest cobra ("Naja melanoleuca"), and the black mamba ("Dendroaspis polylepis") have been recorded as Nile crocodile prey. The only frequently recorded


title: "Nile crocodile" content: lizard prey is the large Nile monitor ("Varanus niloticus"), although this mesopredator may be eaten fairly regularly, as they often share similar habitat preferences, whenever a crocodile is able to ambush the stealthy monitor, which is more agile on land than the bulkier crocodile. Numerous birds, including storks, small wading birds, waterfowl, eagles, and even small, swift-flying birds, may be snatched. As a whole, birds are quite secondary prey, rarely comprising more than 10–15% of crocodiles' diets, although are taken fairly evenly across all crocodile size ranges, excluding juveniles less than . Birds most often taken are African darters ("Anhinga


title: "Nile crocodile" content: rufa") and reed ("Microcarbo africanus") and white-breasted cormorants ("Phalacrocorax lucidus"), followed by various waterfowl, including most breeding geese and ducks in Africa. Slow-swimming pelicans are also frequently vulnerable to crocodiles. Nile crocodiles apparently frequently station themselves underneath breeding colonies of darters and cormorants and presumably snatch up fledgling birds as they drop to the water before they can competently escape the saurian, as has been recorded with several other crocodilians. Wading birds, even large and relatively slow-moving types such as the goliath heron ("Ardea goliath"), tend to be highly cautious in avoiding deep water in crocodile-occupied wetlands, whereas cormorants and


title: "Nile crocodile" content: waterfowl forage over deeper water and are easier for crocodiles to ambush, with Egyptian geese ("Alopochen aegyptiaca") and spur-winged geese ("Plectropterus gambensis") recorded as being taken largely while flightless due to molting their flight feathers. On the contrary, several records exist of them capturing wading birds. Guggisberg (1972) saw multiple cases of predation on marabou storks ("Leptoptilos crumenifer") and around Lake Turkana several may frequent heronries to pick off fledglings. In one case, a crocodile was filmed capturing a striated heron ("Butorides striata") in mid-flight. Ospreys ("Pandion haliaetus") are known to be grabbed while they dive for fish as are


title: "Nile crocodile" content: possibly African fish eagles ("Haliaeetus vocifer"), while crowned eagles ("Stephanoaetus coronatus") have reportedly been ambushed on land at carrion. Crocodiles are occasionally successful in grabbing passerines such as weaver birds, including the abundant red-billed quelea ("Quelea quelea"), and swallows, having been observed to breach the water and in a matter of seconds sweep off a branch full of birds with remarkable success. Larger land birds, such as bustards, guineafowl, ground hornbills ("Bucorvus" spp.) and ostriches ("Struthio camelus"), may be taken when they come to water to drink, but like most birds, are seldom harassed and a minor part of the


title: "Nile crocodile" content: diet. Considering the fact that crocodiles defecate in water, making scat analysis impossible, and that the examination of stomach contents is fairly difficult for which capturing of the animals individually is required for analysis, determining anything about the percentage of any specific food item in a crocodile's diet can be difficult. In addition, as an animal that feeds rarely, sometimes only a few times in a year, even the individual stomach content examinations sometimes prove to be unsuccessful. However, as crocodiles grow, relying solely on small and agile food items such as fish becomes difficult, this causes a shift in


title: "Nile crocodile" content: the diet as the animal matures, for energy conservation purposes, as in other predators. Nonetheless, starting around , they can become capable mammalian hunters and their ability to overpower a wide range of mammals increases along with their size. Crocodiles less than may take a variety of medium–sized mammals up to equal their own mass, including various monkeys, duikers, rodents, hares, pangolins, bats, dik-dik, suni ("Neotragus moschatus"), oribi ("Ourebia ourebi") and other small ungulates up to the size of a Thomson's gazelle ("Eudorcas thomsonii"). Rodents and shrews may enter the diet of juvenile crocodiles, i.e. , and become commonplace in


title: "Nile crocodile" content: subadult and small adult crocodiles. Species recorded include the Natal multimammate mouse ("Mastomys natalensis"), African marsh rat ("Dasymys incomtus"), common rufous-nosed rat ("Oenomys hypoxanthus"), and savanna swamp shrew ("Crocidura longipes"). In many areas, the cane rats are a particular favorite mammalian food for crocodiles, particularly the relatively large greater cane rat ("Thryonomys swinderianus"). In Uganda and Zambia, the latter species are the leading overall mammalian prey type for crocodiles and one Kenyan crocodile of in length had 40 greater cane rats in its stomach. Cape porcupines ("Hystrix africaeaustralis") are known to have been preyed on several times in Kruger National


title: "Nile crocodile" content: Park, their quills apparently being an insufficient defense against the tough jaws and digestive systems of crocodiles. Small carnivores are readily taken opportunistically, including both African clawless otters ("Aonyx capensis") and spotted-necked otters ("Hydrictis maculicollis"), as well as water mongoose ("Atilax paludinosus"), African wildcats ("Felis silvestris lybica") and servals ("Leptailurus serval"). Adult Nile crocodiles, i.e. at least , are apex predators. While adults can and will consume nearly all types of prey consumed by the younger specimens, as adult crocodiles gain bulk, they lose much of the necessary maneuverability to capture agile prey such as fish and are not likely


title: "Nile crocodile" content: to meet their dietary needs by consuming small prey and may expel unnecessary amounts of energy, so take them secondarily to larger prey. Primates of various sizes may be taken by subadult or adult crocodiles. In some areas, some number of baboons is taken, such as in Okavango Delta, where chacma baboons ("Papio ursinus") are eaten and Uganda, where olive baboons ("Papio anubis") are taken. No records of them hunting apes (other than humans) have been made, but based on a strong reluctance to cross waters with crocodiles and a violent reaction to the visual stimuli of crocodiles, chimpanzees ("Pan


title: "Nile crocodile" content: troglodytes") and gorillas ("Gorilla beringei") are thought to consider Nile crocodiles a serious threat. Few details are known about the dietary habits of Nile crocodiles living in Madagascar, although they are considered potential predators of several lemur species. Other nonungulate prey known to be attacked by Nile crocodiles includes aardvarks ("Orycteropus afer") and African manatees ("Trichechus senegalensis"). Among the mammals, the bulk of the prey for adults is antelopes. In particular, the genus "Kobus" is often amongst the most vulnerable because it forages primarily in wetland areas and seeks to evade more prolific mammalian predators (such as hyenas, lions, etc.)


title: "Nile crocodile" content: by traveling along waterways. In some cases in Kruger National Park, antelope have been driven into water while being pursued by packs of African wild dogs ("Lycaon pictus"), which hunt by endurance, engaging prey in a grueling chase until it is exhausted (a very successful hunting style), only to be killed by opportunistic crocodiles. While not as extensively aquatic as the genus "Kobus", the reedbucks and the impala ("Aepyceros melampus") have both shown a partiality for grasslands adjoining wetlands and riparian zones, so are also very commonly recorded prey items. In Kruger National Park, over the course of 22 years


title: "Nile crocodile" content: of discontinuous observation, 60% of the large-game kills observed as perpetrated by crocodiles consisted of impala, while more than 15% of observed kills were made up of waterbuck ("Kobus ellipsiprymnus"), the largest of the genus "Kobus" at more than in weight. Elsewhere, the waterbuck appears to be the most significant mammalian prey for large adult crocodiles, such as in Uganda and Zambia (although due to more sporadic general ungulate populations in those countries, ungulates are less common as prey than in some other countries), as well as in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi Park, South Africa. Other antelopes recorded as prey including gazelles, bushbuck


title: "Nile crocodile" content: ("Tragelaphus scriptus"), sitatunga ("Tragelaphus spekii"), kudu ("Tragelaphus strepsiceros"), steenbok ("Raphicerus campestris"), eland ("Taurotragus oryx"), gemsbok ("Oryx gazella"), sable ("Hippotragus niger") and roan antelopes ("Hippotragus equinus"), up to a half dozen types of duiker, topi ("Damaliscus lunatus"), hartebeest ("Alcelaphus buselaphus") and both species of wildebeest ("Connochaetes" sp.). Other ungulates are taken by Nile crocodile more or less opportunistically. These may include Grévy's ("Equus grevyi") and plains zebras ("Equus quagga"), pygmy hippopotamus ("Choeropsis liberiensis"), warthogs ("Phacochoerus africanus"), bushpigs ("Potamochoerus larvatus") and red river hogs ("Potamochoerus porcus"). In Maasai Mara, Tanzania, large crocodiles congregate at river crossings utilized by migrating herds of Burchell’s


title: "Nile crocodile" content: zebras and blue wildebeests ("Connochaetes taurinus"), picking off hundreds of these large ungulates annually. All domesticated ungulates and pet animals will on occasion be hunted by Nile crocodiles, up to the size of dromedary camels ("Camelus dromedarius") and cattle ("Bos taurus") In Tanzania, up to 54 head of cattle may be lost to crocodiles annually, increasing the human-crocodile conflict level. Goats ("Capra aegagrus hircus"), donkeys ("Equus africanus asinus") and dogs ("Canis lupus familiaris") may also rank amongst the most regularly recorded domesticated animals to be taken by Nile crocodiles. Particularly large adults, on occasion, take on even larger prey, such


title: "Nile crocodile" content: as giraffe ("Giraffa camelopardalis"), Cape buffalo ("Syncerus caffer"), and young African bush elephants ("Loxodonta africana"). Even heavier prey, such as black rhinoceros ("Diceros bicornis"), have been killed by crocodiles. In one case in the Tana River of Kenya, as observed by Max Fleishmann (communicated via letter to Theodore Roosevelt), a crocodile was able to bring down one of these huge herbivores by the help of muddy bank terrain, the adult female rhino’s poor decision to enter deeper water rather than retreat to land and finally having been joined in drowning the animal by one to two other crocodiles. An additional


title: "Nile crocodile" content: case of predation on an adult black rhino was reportedly observed in northern Zambia. A bull giraffe that lost his footing on a river bank in Kruger National Park was seen to be killed by a large crocodile, while in another case there, a healthy bull buffalo was seen to be overpowered and killed by an average-sized adult male crocodile measuring after a massive struggle, an incident less commonly seen at this size. Since crocodiles are solitary hunters, the Nile crocodile is the only predator in Africa known to attack full-grown buffaloes alone, compared to the preferred pride attack method


title: "Nile crocodile" content: of lions. Although crocodiles occasionally prey on hippopotamus calves, even large adult crocodiles rarely attack them because of the aggressive defense by mother hippos and the close protection of the herd, which pose a serious threat. Hippopotamus calves have observed to at times act brazenly around crocodiles, foraging without apparent concern and even bumping into the reptiles. However, some large crocodiles have been recorded as predators of subadult hippos; anecdotally, the infamous giant crocodile Gustave was reported to have been seen killing adult female hippos. A specimen from Zambia was found to have eaten a "half-grown hippo". At the no-longer-existent


title: "Nile crocodile" content: Ripon Falls in Uganda, one adult male hippopotamus was seen to be badly injured in a mating battle with a rival bull hippo, and was then subsequently attacked by several crocodiles, causing it to retreat to a reedbed. When the male hippo returned to the water, it was drowned and killed by the group of crocodiles amid "a truly terrifying commotion". However, other than rare instances, adults of megafauna species such as hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, and elephants are not regular prey and are not typically attacked, with the exception of giraffes, since their anatomy makes them vulnerable to attack while taking


title: "Nile crocodile" content: a drink. Nile crocodiles on occasion prey on big cats, especially lions. Even large male cats are helpless if caught off-guard and hit with a crippling powerful crocodile bite. Most confirmed attacks on lions and leopards occur within Kruger National Park, where in some studies "several" have reportedly been taken, as well as the adjacent Londolozi Private Game Reserve, where a male lion who took control with his brother of the oft-televised "Styx pride" was preyed upon by a crocodile. However, felines are usually more intelligent and wary of their surroundings than prey species and are more difficult to catch


title: "Nile crocodile" content: since they usually avoid waters infested with crocodiles. In order to save energy, crocodiles do not prefer such agile animals, as most attacks will end before they can strike. This might explain why lions are targeted more frequently than the more agile leopards. Thus they usually attack agile prey in the absence of regular prey items. Other large carnivores that dwell in Africa near the top of the food chain can also on occasion fall prey to crocodiles. Such predators that can find themselves victim to crocodiles include hyenas (3 out of 4 species reported as prey for Nile crocodiles,


title: "Nile crocodile" content: only the desert-dwelling brown ("Hyaena brunnea") being excluded), African wild dogs, jackals, and cheetahs ("Acinonyx jubatus"). In the Nile crocodile as well as in at least 13 other species of crocodilian, a variety of fruit (mostly fleshy) has been found in stomach content. While these are probably sometimes used as gastroliths, they are likely often ingested for their nutritional value. Based on these findings, it has also been suggested that crocodiles may act as seed dispersers. Living in the rich biosphere of Africa south of the Sahara, the Nile crocodile may come into contact with multiple other large predators. Its


title: "Nile crocodile" content: place in the ecosystems it inhabits is largely 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 terrestrial zones. 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 occasional 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. On


title: "Nile crocodile" content: average, sexual maturity is obtained from 12 to 16 years of age. For males, the onset of sexual maturity occurs when they are about long and mass of , 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 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 . However,


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 although it is questionable whether such clutches would bear healthy hatchlings. According to Bourquin (2008), the average breeding female in southern Africa is between . Earlier studies support that breeding is often inconsistent in females less than and clutch size is smaller, a female at reportedly never lays more than 35 eggs, while a female measuring can expect a clutch of


title: "Nile crocodile" content: up to 95 eggs. In "stunted" newly mature females from Lake Turkana measuring , 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 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 in length. In the Olifants River in South Africa, rainfall influenced the size of nesting females as only


title: "Nile crocodile" content: larger females (greater than ) 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: most other modern crocodilians, female Nile crocodiles bury their eggs in sand or soil rather than incubate them in rotting vegetation. The female may micturate 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: do not utilize 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 , in another 24 in an area of . 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 throw at her back and several authors note her trance-like state while standing near nest, similar to 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,


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 long at first and weigh around . The hatchlings grow


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 the 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: rarely observed than larger specimens, and more seldom seen than the same age young in several other types of crocodilian. Young crocodiles are rather shy and evasive due to the formidable gaunlet of predators that they must face in sub-Saharan Africa, spending little time sunning and moving about nocturnally whenever possible. The two-year-and-younger crocodiles 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 a semi-aquatic mid-sized lizard more so than the very aquatic lives of older crocodiles. At the end of the two


title: "Nile crocodile" content: years, the hatchlings will be about 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 assuredly enter feeding congregations of crocodiles once they attain , 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: captivity. 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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,


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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, very 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 the aggressive disposition they tend to


title: "Nile crocodile" content: bear. While the mother crocodile will react aggressively towards 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. 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: it much easier to kill these potential 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 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 also


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 these dangerous saline levels 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: industry, are the primary cause. Much of the contamination of crocodiles occurs when they consume rancid 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: commercial fish that has declined due to excessive predation. The Nile crocodile also consumes dead animals that would otherwise pollute the waters. Much of the hunting of and general animosity towards 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 may be more than all other crocodilian species combined. While these species are much more aggressive towards people than other living crocodilians (as is statistically supported by estimated numbers of


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 within close proximity to human populations through most of its range, so contact is more frequent. This combined with the species’ large size renders a higher risk of attack. Crocodiles as small as 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: reportedly exceeding 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: in non-fatal attacks was about as opposed to a reported range of or larger for crocodiles responsible for fatal attacks. The average estimated size of Nile crocodiles involved in fatal attacks is . 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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, are wading in shallow waters, actively swimming or have limbs dangling over a boat


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 seemingly higher frequency of deadly attacks by crocodiles than by large mammalian carnivores. Most locals


title: "Nile crocodile" content: 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 require being taken with a "grain of salt". In the past it has been claimed that the largest size that Nile crocodiles can attain is approximately and this can indeed be claimed as the top size normally expected in the species. A relatively modest top length is additionally supported by mummified crocodiles from ancient Egypt which rarely even approach such a size. However most crocodile biologists in recent decades accept that Nile crocodiles can exceptionally


title: "Nile crocodile" content: exceed when not overhunted. The maximum size that the species can attain is a matter of some controversy and reports of outsized Nile crocodiles are met with greater skepticism than those of saltwater crocodiles. As is the case with many outsized animals, the collection of voucher skeletal remains of very big specimens is rather scanty, in part because the understandable difficulty of even transporting such remains, but leaves the possibility of mistakes (such as measuring along the curves which can falsely boost the measured length) and outright exaggerations amidst "hunting stories". specimens and larger have been reported, but since gross


title: "Nile crocodile" content: overestimation of size is common, these reports are suspect. Also, most outsized crocodiles were killed by hunters and leather-collectors without field scientists present to verify and thus one may take these claims with healthy skepticism. In the past, explorers have claimed to have seen massive crocodiles in Africa and Madagascar they estimated from , claims sometimes supported by native hunters and fisherman, however no measurements occurred and these are certain to be vast exaggerations. Currently, via unequivocal, modern scientific verification, the saltwater crocodile is the only crocodilian verified to exceed . Prior to overhunting in the 20th century, other crocodilians


title: "Nile crocodile" content: may have also approached or exceeded , such sizes being somewhat reliably reported in gharials and Orinoco crocodiles in very old reports before both species were decimated by hunting and habitat destruction and reported but unverified in black caimans and American crocodiles (although voucher skulls from the latter species show it does likely exceed such lengths in very rare cases). However, the Nile crocodile is the only modern crocodilian besides the saltwater crocodile where specimens over are merely uncommon rather than rare. As a whole, giants are rarer today; before the heavy hunting of the 1940s and 1950s, a larger


title: "Nile crocodile" content: population base and more extensive wetland habitats meant more giants, as well as possibly diminishing of the genetic lines that fostered enormous sizes. Following is a list of Nile crocodile specimens reportedly taken since 1900 that exceed , well past the "expected" length for a Nile crocodile. The list includes only crocodiles that have been "measured", thus excluding outsized crocodiles that were merely based on eye-witness accounts. The only exception is "Gustave", a male crocodile mentioned due to his notoriety. Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile ("Crocodylus niloticus") is an African crocodile, the largest freshwater predator in Africa, and may be


title: "John Karlen" content: audio dramas, produced by Big Finish Productions. Karlen was born May 28, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Helen Agnes (née Balondowicz) and Adam Marion Karlewicz. He is of Polish descent. He enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts on a scholarship. His first acting experiences were on early television productions such as "From These Roots" and "Kraft Television Theatre". His stage career began in 1959 in "Sweet Bird of Youth". He accumulated roles on both stage and television before winning one of his signature roles in 1967 in the daytime serial "Dark Shadows". It was Karlen's


title: "Jeffrey Hudson" content: between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians in 1642. As Charles led the Royalist army, the Queen took a small number of her retinue, including Hudson, to the Netherlands to raise money and support for him. By selling articles from her palace she raised enough to buy some supplies for the Royalist army but was unsuccessful in obtaining official support from the Protestant Dutch government. She returned to England with her courtiers and they found themselves in the middle of a civil war. They were able to join Royalist forces at Oxford. The Queen appointed Hudson a "Captain of Horse." It


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: Pleopeltis polypodioides Pleopeltis polypodioides (syn. "Polypodium polypodioides"), also known as the resurrection fern, is a species of creeping, coarse-textured fern native to the Americas and Africa. The evergreen fronds of this fern are 25 cm high by 5 cm wide and monomorphic. The leathery, yellow-green pinnae (leaflets) are deeply pinnatifid, oblong to narrowly lanceolate, usually widest near middle, occasionally at or near base. It attaches to the limbs of its host plant with a branching, creeping, slender rhizome, which grows to 2 mm in diameter. The scales are lanceolate, with light brown base and margins, and having a dark central


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: stripe. The gametophytes (the haploid gamete producers) of this plant develop from very small spores that float in the air and are deposited on moist tree branches. These spores are produced in sporangia that develop on the leaves of the fern's sporophyte. The fern can also reproduce by the division of its rhizomes. On the underside of the blades, the sori (reproductive clusters) are round, discrete, and sunken. Their outline can be seen as raised dimples on the upper surface. They are typically near the outer edge, and occur on all but the lowest pinnae of fertile fronds. Indusium is


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: absent. Sporangia are yellow to brown at maturity. Spores are produced from summer to fall. This fern is an epiphyte, or air plant, which means it attaches itself to other plants and gets its nutrients from the air and from water and nutrients that collect on the outer surface of bark. The resurrection fern lives on the branches of large trees such as cypresses and can often be seen carpeting the shady areas on limbs of large oak trees. However, it is known to grow on the surfaces of rocks and dead logs as well. It is often found in


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: the company of other epiphytic plants such as Spanish moss. The "P. polypodioides" resides in the hardwood forests of southeastern United States in areas including Delaware, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida. This fern can also be found in areas such as subtropical America and parts of southern Africa. The resurrection fern gets its name because it can survive long periods of drought by curling up its fronds and appearing desiccated, grey-brown and dead. However, when just a little water is present, the fern will uncurl and reopen, appearing to "resurrect" and restoring itself to a vivid green color within about


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: 24 hours. It has been estimated that these plants could last 100 years without water and still revive after a single exposure. When the fronds "dry", they curl with their bottom sides upwards. In this way, they can rehydrate the quickest when rain comes, as most of the water is absorbed on the underside of the leaf blades. Experiments have shown that they can lose almost all their free water—up to 97%--and remain alive, though more typically they only lose around 76% in dry spells. For comparison, most other plants would die after losing only 8-12%. This fern can lose


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: almost all the water not hydrating the cells in its leaves and survive. When drying, the plant synthesizes dehydrins, which allow the cell walls to fold in a way which can be reversed later. At least one study has shown association between "P. polypodioides" and moss, indicating that this fern may rely on moss for some of its water needs. The fern has spores on the bottom of the fronds, contained in sori. The fern sporulates in Summer and early Fall. Rhizome sections are also viable offspring and can root themselves in new medium. The resurrection fern is also known


title: "Pleopeltis polypodioides" content: by the common names of little gray polypod, scaly polypody and miracle fern. This plant has been taken on a space shuttle mission to watch its resurrection in zero gravity. (reference needed) There are two main species, Pleopeltis michauxiana which may be found throughout the State of Florida. Pleopeltix polypodioides is much less common and is only found in Key Largo in the Florida Keys. Pleopeltis polypodioides Pleopeltis polypodioides (syn. "Polypodium polypodioides"), also known as the resurrection fern, is a species of creeping, coarse-textured fern native to the Americas and Africa. The evergreen fronds of this fern are 25 cm


title: "Alpinia purpurata" content: Alpinia purpurata Alpinia purpurata, red ginger, also called ostrich plume and pink cone ginger, are native Malaysian plants with showy flowers on long brightly colored red bracts. They look like the bloom, but the true flower is the small white flower on top. It has cultivars called Jungle King and Jungle Queen. Red Ginger grows in Hawaii, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Lucia, Panama, Dominica, St. Vincent, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Suriname (where its Dutch name is 'bokkepoot', billy-goat's foot), and many Central American nations, including Belize. It is also found in Samoa, where it is the national flower, and is locally


title: "Alpinia purpurata" content: called "teuila." Red ginger can also be grown in South Florida since, in general, the region does not fall below freezing temperatures. It prefers partial shade and moist humid conditions, although it can tolerate full sun in some climates. It tends to like to be well watered and not left to dry out. Red ginger can also be grown as a houseplant and its cut flowers can be used in arrangements. Red ginger tends to spread. Alpinia purpurata Alpinia purpurata, red ginger, also called ostrich plume and pink cone ginger, are native Malaysian plants with showy flowers on long brightly


title: WinPlus content: WinPlus WinPlus, originally Plus, was a cross-platform clone of the HyperCard application that enabled users to run HyperCard stacks on Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows and OS/2 Presentation Manager. Originally the application was developed by Format Software GmbH (Cologne, Germany) to overcome deficits of Hypercard. It was released for the Mac in 1989, distributed by Olduvai, aimed at HyperCard power-users. Among the many "wish list" features included in Plus were document-like resizable and scrollable windows, 8-bit color support, and the ability to display and work with graphics files stored externally. Plus did not, however, provide for pull-down menu support or allow


title: "Wat Pho" content: Thai medicine approved by the Thai Ministry of Education, and one of the earliest massage schools. It remains the national headquarters and the center of education of traditional Thai medicine and massage to this day. Courses on Thai massage are held in Wat Pho, and these may last a few weeks to a year. Two pavilions at the eastern edge of the Wat Pho compound are used as classrooms for practising Thai traditional massage and herbal massage, and visitors can received massage treatment here for a fee. Foreigners from 135 countries have studied Thai massage at Wat Po. There are


title: "Murder of Kriss Donald" content: Murder of Kriss Donald Kriss Donald (2 July 1988 – 15 March 2004) was a 15-year-old Scottish white male who was kidnapped and murdered in Glasgow in 2004 by a gang of men of Pakistani origin, some of whom fled to Pakistan after the crime. Daanish Zahid, Imran Shahid, Zeeshan Shahid and Mohammed Faisal Mustaq were later found guilty of racially motivated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The case, which featured the first-ever conviction for racially motivated murder in Scotland, is cited in two newspaper articles as an example of the lack of attention the media and society give


title: "Al Williamson" content: by Williamson. From 1955 to 1957, Williamson produced over 400 pages of three-to-five-page stories for Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics, working in various genres but primarily Westerns. He continued to collaborate with Torres and Krenkel, as well as with Gray Morrow, George Woodbridge and Ralph Mayo. With Mayo, one of the first editors to give Williamson work, at Standard Comics, Williamson collaborated on the jungle girl series "Jann of the Jungle" #16–17 (April and June 1957). Following Mayo's death, Williamson drew stories solo for the planned #18, but the series was abruptly canceled before that issue could


title: "Travis Tritt" content: guitar, and he learned more songs from his uncle, Sam Lockhart. Later on, Tritt joined his church band, which occasionally performed at other churches nearby. Tritt began writing music while he was attending Sprayberry High School; his first song composition, entitled "Spend a Little Time", was written about a girlfriend whom he had broken up with. He performed this song for his friends, one of whom complimented him on his songwriting skills. He also founded a bluegrass group with some of his friends, and won second place in a local tournament for playing "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: Giant Schnauzer The Giant Schnauzer is a working breed of dog developed in the 17th century in Germany. It is the largest of the three breeds of Schnauzerthe other two breeds being the Standard Schnauzer and the Miniature Schnauzer. Numerous breeds were used in its development, including the black Great Dane, the Bouvier des Flandres, and the German Pinscher. Originally bred to assist on farms by driving livestock to market and guarding the farmer's property, the breed eventually moved into the city, where it worked guarding breweries, butchers' shops, stockyards and factories. It was unknown outside of Bavaria until it


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: became popular as a military dog during World War I and World War II. They have dense coarse coat that protects them from the weather and from vermin. Giant Schnauzers come in two color patterns: Solid black, and a color known as pepper and salt, with banded hairs of alternating white and black, appearing gray at a distance. Where legal, they are shown with cropped ears and docked tails. Like other schnauzers, they have a distinct beard and eyebrows. Today, the Giant Schnauzer participates in numerous dog sports, including Schutzhund. It is also used as a police dog. The first


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: Giant Schnauzers emerged from Swabia in the German state of Bavaria, and Württemberg in the 17th century. These original Giant Schnauzers were considered a rough-coated version of the German Pinscher breeds, and their hair was thought to help them withstand the harsh German winters and bites from vermin. The origins of the breed are unclear, but sources speculate it originated through some combination of black Great Danes, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermanns, Boxers, Bouvier des Flandres, Thuringian Shepherds, and the Standard Schnauzer. The Giant Schnauzer was originally bred as a multipurpose farm dog for guarding property and driving animals to market.


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: By the turn of the 20th century the Giant Schnauzer was being used as a watchdog at factories, breweries, butcheries, and stockyards throughout Bavaria. It was unknown outside Bavaria until it was used as a military dog in World War I and World War II. The first Giant Schnauzers were imported to America in the 1930s, but they remained rare until the 1960s, when the breed became popular. In 1962, there were 23 new Giant Schnauzers registered with the American Kennel Club; in 1974 this number was 386; in 1984 it was over 800 and in 1987 it was around


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: 1000 animals. In 2012, there were 94 new dogs registered, down from 95 in 2011. In modern times, the Giant Schnauzer is used as a police dog; is trained for obedience, dog agility, herding, search and rescue, and schutzhund; and is shown in conformation shows. They are also used for carting. In Europe, the breed is considered to be more of a working dog than a show dog. The focus in many European Schnauzer clubs is not so much on conformation shows, but on the working ability of the breed. In several countries, including Germany, dogs must achieve a Schutzhund


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: Champion title before they can qualify to be a conformation champion. Although the Giant Schnauzer is called 'Giant', this is not in comparison to other large dog breeds such as the Great Dane or the Rottweiler, but instead in comparison to the Standard and Miniature Schnauzers. The AKC breed standard calls for males to stand from at the withers, and for females to stand from . Giant Schnauzers are square in shape, and should resemble a larger version of the Standard Schnauzer. The tail is long and the ears are small button ears carried high on the head. Where it


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: is legal, it is possibly docked and the ears cropped. The head is 1/2 the length of the dog's back, when the back is measured from the withers to the base of the tail. The cheeks are flat, but well muscled. The coat is dense, wiry, and weather resistant. The fur on the Giant Schnauzer's face forms a distinct "beard" and eyebrows. Its stride is long and crisp. Giant Schnauzers come in two colors: solid black, and a pattern called pepper and salt, where banded hairs of black and white hairs cover the body, giving it the appearance of having


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: been peppered and salted. Giant Schnauzers are usually a quiet breed. Due to its breeding, the Giant Schnauzer is inherently suspicious of strangers and can be very territorial. Once introduced, it is usually accepting of novel people or situations. It has the potential to be aggressive, but Giant Schnauzers are usually reserved - they are "amiable in repose, and a commanding figure when aroused" Giant Schnauzers have been described as trustworthy with children. They are very intelligent, and can become bored easily. They are also very energetic and highly spirited, which, when coupled with boredom, can lead to unwanted and


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: destructive behavior. They are easily trained, and deeply loyal to their owner. Some breeders believe that pepper and salt colored Giant Schnauzers are more docile than their black-furred counterparts. Giant Schnauzers require regular grooming. Their beard can collect drool and food particles, making frequent cleanings essential. If being shown, their coat needs to be stripped every two to four weeks. If they are simply a companion animal, the coat can be clipped instead. Some Giant Schnauzers have an allergy to shampoo. Hip and elbow dysplasia are common. Giant Schnauzers are also prone to eye problems such as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, glaucoma,


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: cataracts, multifocal retinal dysplasia, and generalized progressive retinal atrophy. They are also prone to skin diseases, such as seasonal flank alopecia, vitiligo, and follicular cysts. Cancer of the skin is common in dark-colored dogs, with the most frequently occurring varieties being melanoma of the limbs and digits, and squamous cell carcinoma of the digit. This susceptibility occurs because melanoma is caused by a defect in the melanocytes, the cells that darken the color of the skin. Noncancerous skin tumors are also common. Some Giant Schnauzers develop central diabetes insipidus, autosomal recessive hypothyroidism, selective malabsorption of cobalamin, narcolepsy, cataplexy, and various


title: "Giant Schnauzer" content: seizure disorders. Some are also sensitive to sulphonamides and gold. Bone diseases and joint problems are also an issue. The most common causes of death in Giant Schnauzers are lymphoma and liver cancer, followed by heart attacks and heart failure. Giant Schnauzer The Giant Schnauzer is a working breed of dog developed in the 17th century in Germany. It is the largest of the three breeds of Schnauzerthe other two breeds being the Standard Schnauzer and the Miniature Schnauzer. Numerous breeds were used in its development, including the black Great Dane, the Bouvier des Flandres, and the German Pinscher. Originally


title: "Union Grounds" content: Union Grounds Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15. It was the first baseball park enclosed entirely by a fence, thereby allowing proprietor William Cammeyer or his tenant to charge admission. This permitted paying customers to watch the games from benches in a stand while non-paying spectators could only watch from embankments outside the grounds. The ball grounds was built on a large block bounded by Harrison Avenue, Rutledge Street, Lynch Street, and Marcy Avenue. A writer for the


title: "Jewish cuisine" content: A spread of chopped liver, prepared with onions and often including gribenes, is a popular appetizer, side dish, or snack, especially among Jews on the eastern coast of North America. It is usually served with rye bread or crackers. Holishkes, stuffed cabbage, also known as the cabbage roll, is also a European Jewish dish that emerged from more impoverished times for Jews. Because having a live cow was more valuable than to eat meat in the Middle Ages, Jews used fillers such as breadcrumbs and vegetables to mix with ground beef. This gave the effect of more meat that was


title: "Babruysk fortress" content: Babruysk fortress The Babruysk Fortress (, ) is a historic fortress in the city of Babruysk, Belarus that was built between 1810 and 1836. It is one of the best surviving examples of fortification architecture and design in the first half of the 19th century. The fortress was constructed in the historic center of the city, at the confluence of the Babruyka and Berezina rivers. It was one of the western Russian fortresses. In 1810, Tsar Alexander I sent out his military engineer Teodor Narbutt to find a site suitable for building a fortress somewhere on the Dnieper, between Mogilev


title: "Babruysk fortress" content: and Rogachev in order to prepare for the looming threat in Western Europe. However, after his investigation, Narbut advised his superiors that a more strategic position would be on the shore of the Berezina river near Babruysk. This decision was approved by the Chief of Military Engineers, Count Carl Operman, who at the time had authority over all of Russian forts. On June 4, 1810, the Tsar issued an order for the Babruysk fortress to be constructed. Narbut had to resign for health reasons and was replaced by General Major Gabriel Ignatiev. The early fortress comprised five bastions, multiple soil


title: "Babruysk fortress" content: ridges, and water channels. The basis for the Babruysk fortress was the Babruysk Jesuit house and a smaller Polish fortress, which were built earlier. Only partially completed, the fortress had to face Napoleon's invading army in the summer of 1812. After the French army captured Minsk, General Ignatiev took command of the fort and the city of Babruysk, which served as a holdout for the retreating Russian forces. Soldiers from The Second Russian Army were provided with food and the wounded received medical treatment. After that they were ferried by the Berezina and Dniper to Smolensk, where the main Russian


title: "Babruysk fortress" content: army was stationed. General Ignatiev remained in the fortress and oversaw its defence. The city faced an attack by the forces of General Dombrawski, the Polish Corps Commander of Napoleon's Army. The siege lasted for four months, however the fortress held until the French forces began their retreat. Throughout this time Ignatiev was instrumental in collecting intelligence and forwarding it to the high command of the Russian army. Following the Napoleonic wars, in 1820, the fortress was further rapidly expanded by the addition of 18 more bastions and towers. The fort "Freidrich Wilhelm" was designed according to the plans of


title: "Babruysk fortress" content: the architect A. Staubert in 1822. Tsar Alexander I himself and his brother arrived in Babruysk on September 24, 1825, at the completion of this building phase. By 1900 the fortress lost its military significance and was converted into a jail. It was captured by the Polish I Corps in February 1918 and used by Polish forces during the Polish-Bolshevik War (1919—1920, about 1,000 deaths). During World War 2, it was used as a concentration camp by German occupation forces (about 80,000 deaths). The Babruysk Fortress was registered as a national architectural monument of Belarus. However, the ruins of the


title: "Babruysk fortress" content: Bobruysk fortress were removed in 2008 when the Bobruysk Ice Palace was erected . Babruysk fortress The Babruysk Fortress (, ) is a historic fortress in the city of Babruysk, Belarus that was built between 1810 and 1836. It is one of the best surviving examples of fortification architecture and design in the first half of the 19th century. The fortress was constructed in the historic center of the city, at the confluence of the Babruyka and Berezina rivers. It was one of the western Russian fortresses. In 1810, Tsar Alexander I sent out his military engineer Teodor Narbutt to


title: "Feast of the Cross" content: altar. Those portions of the vespers and matins which in sundry local customs take place before the Icon of the Feast ("e.g.",the chanting of the Polyeleos and the Matins Gospel) instead take place in front of the Holy Table. The bringing out of the cross and the exaltation ceremony occur at matins. The cross remains in the centre of the temple throughout the afterfeast, and the faithful venerate it whenever they enter or leave the church. Finally, on the leave-taking ("apodosis") of the feast, the priest and deacon will incense around the cross, there will be a final veneration of


title: "Trump Tower" content: to pay the workmen for the sculptures, but she was rebuffed. The workers in charge of demolition told her that she could make an appointment to go see the sculptures, but they then canceled several appointments that Stiebel made. The workers later told her that the building's decorative grille had been transported to a New Jersey warehouse, but it was never recovered, and on May 28, Stiebel was informed the grille had been "lost". On June 5, the sculptures were destroyed. Stiebel had received notice of the sculptures' pending demolition, but by the time she reached the Trump Tower site,


title: "Sutton Valence" content: money for the construction of the turnpike road from Maidstone to Tenterden (the current A274). When gas became available and replaced candles and oil lamps, the Filmers encouraged the provision of a gas supply in the village. Many of the older buildings in the village are constructed from "ragstone" which was quarried locally at Boughton Monchelsea between the village and Maidstone. Local Windmills The Sutton Valence Town Mill was a Smock mill built about 1720. In 1796 it was rebuilt and raised a storey following gale damage in which the cap and sails were blown off. In 1918 it was


title: "Hegemonic stability theory" content: there are some attributes it must or is more advantageous to have. First of all, it must have political strength, military force, and superior national power that is necessary for its ability to forge new international laws and organizations. In terms of military force, a standing defensive army is not enough. A superior navy, or air force is. This explains why many hegemons have been geographically situated on peninsulas or islands. Peninsularity and insularity provide added security, and, where naval power is necessary, the ability to project military forces. In some cases, hegemons have not been insular or peninsular. The


title: "Riverside South, Manhattan" content: 1959 and 1975, as well as ABC television studios. At the same time, public housing extended to West End Avenue (across the street from the printing plant and the TV studios), and the Lincoln Towers redevelopment project extended to the rail yard boundary along Freedom Place. In 1962, the railroad proposed a partnership with the Amalgamated Lithographers Union to build a mixed-use development with 5,300 apartments, "Litho City," on a platform over the tracks, with landfill in the Hudson River added for parks and docking facilities. Litho City was conceived as the centerpiece of a grandiose "master plan" for the


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: Fomitopsis betulina Fomitopsis betulina (previously Piptoporus betulinus), commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year. Technically, it is an edible mushroom, with a strong, pleasant "mushroomy" odor but a bitter taste. The velvety cut surface of the fruit body was traditionally used as a strop for finishing the edges on razors, and also as a mounting material for insect collections.


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: The fungus was originally described by Jean Bulliard in 1788 as "Boletus betulinus". It was transferred to the genus "Piptoporus" by Petter Karsten in 1881. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggested that the species was more closely related to "Fomitopsis" than to "Piptoporus", and the fungus was reclassified to "Fomitopsis" in 2016. The specific epithet "betulina" refers to the genus of the host plant ("Betula"). Common names for the fungus include birch bracket, birch polypore, and razorstrop fungus. The fruit bodies (basidiocarps) are pale, with a smooth greyish-brown top surface, while the creamy white underside has hundreds of pores that contain the


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: spores. The fruit body has a rubbery texture, becoming corky with age. Wood decayed by the fungus, and cultures of its mycelium, often smell distinctly of green apples. The spores are cylindrical to ellipsoidal in shape, and measure 3–6 by 1.5–2 μm. "F. betulina" has a bipolar mating system where monokaryons or germinating spores can only mate and form a fertile dikaryon with an individual that possesses a different mating-type factor. There are at least 33 different mating-type factors within the British population of this fungus. These factors are all variants or alleles of a single gene, as opposed to


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: the tetrapolar mating system of some other basidiomycete species, which involves two genes. "Fomitopsis betulinus" is one of the most common species of brown rot fungi. The geographic distribution of "F. betulina" appears to be restricted to the Northern Hemisphere, including Northern America, Europe, and Asia. It is only found on birch trees, including "Betula pendula", "B. pubescens", "B. papyrifera", and "B. obscura". There is some doubt about the ability of isolates from the European continent, North America and the British Isles to interbreed. It is a necrotrophic parasite on weakened birches, and will cause brown rot and eventually death,


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: being one of the most common fungi visible on dead birches. It is likely that the birch bracket fungus becomes established in small wounds and broken branches and may lie dormant for years, compartmentalised into a small area by the tree's own defence mechanisms, until something occurs to weaken the tree. Fire, drought and suppression by other trees are common causes of such stress. In most infections there is only one fungal individual present, but occasionally several individuals may be isolated from a single tree, and in these cases it is possible that the birch bracket fungus entered after something


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: else killed the tree. These fungal "individuals" can sometimes be seen if a slice of brown-rotted birch wood is incubated in a plastic bag for several days. This allows the white mycelium of the fungus to grow out of the surface of the wood. If more than one individual dikaryon is present, lines of intraspecific antagonism form as the two individual mycelia interact and repel each other. The fungus can harbor a large number of species of insects that depend on it for food and as breeding sites. In a large-scale study of over 2600 fruit bodies collected in eastern


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: Canada, 257 species of arthropods, including 172 insects and 59 mites, were found. The fungus is eaten by the caterpillars of the fungus moth "Nemaxera betulinella". Old fruit bodies that have survived the winter are often colonized by the white to pale yellow fungus "Hypocrea pulmonata". "Fomitopsis betulina" has been widely used in traditional medicines, and has been extensively researched for its phytochemistry and pharmacological activity. Phytochemicals include phenolic acids, indole compounds, sterols, and triterpenes. Agaric acid found in the fruit body of the fungus, is poisonous to the parasitic whipworm "Trichuris trichura". The fungus was carried by "Ötzi the


title: "Fomitopsis betulina" content: Iceman" – the 5,300 year old mummy found in Tyrol, with speculation that the fungus may have been used as a laxative to expel whipworm. Fomitopsis betulina Fomitopsis betulina (previously Piptoporus betulinus), commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burst out from the bark of the tree, and these fruit bodies can last for more than a year. Technically, it is an edible mushroom, with a strong, pleasant "mushroomy" odor but a bitter taste. The velvety cut surface


title: "The Ragamuffins" content: The Ragamuffins The Ragamuffins are a British indie pop band based in the North West of England, close to Manchester and Liverpool. The band was formed by David Jaggs and Richard Nicholson in 2007 under the name The Rascallies, but they later decided to change the name to The Ragamuffins due to fellow North West band The Rascals. Paul Heck and Jules Gilchrist joined at the start of 2008 and things began to kick off from there. Richard decided to call it a day in the summer of 2009, his last gig being for Lancashire's "Rock FM" and the band


title: "Deputy Prime Minister of Spain" content: Deputy Prime Minister of Spain The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, officially Vice President of the Government, () is the second in command to the Prime Minister of Spain, filling in for when the Prime Minister is absent or incapable of exercising power. The person for the post is usually handpicked by the Prime Minister from the members of the Cabinet. When there are more than one vice president, they are called "First Vice President", "Second Vice President", etc. The Headquarters of the Vice Presidency of the Government of Spain is the "Edificio Semillas," in La Moncloa Complex. The current


title: Kamianets-Podilskyi content: Paul, Holy Trinity Church, the city hall building, and the numerous fortifications. Ballooning activities in the canyon of the Smotrych River have also brought tourists. Since the late 1990s, the city has grown into one of the chief tourist centers of western Ukraine. Annual Cossack Games ("Kozatski zabavy") and festivals, which include the open ballooning championship of Ukraine, car racing and various music, art and drama activities, attract an estimated 140,000 tourists and stimulate the local economy. More than a dozen privately owned hotels have recently opened, a large number for a provincial Ukrainian city. Kamianets-Podilskyi is twinned with: Kamianets-Podilskyi


title: Antisexualism content: (Antisexual Stronghold) website founded by Yuri Nesterenko. He has been widely recognized as the leading antisexual activist since he launched a FidoNet-based antisexual community in 1995. The community claims to have created the International Antisexual Movement (IAM). While putting forward the slogan "Say No to sex", the spokesmen of the IAM endeavor for people to understand that no sexual urges are so violent that they may not be deterred through mental reason, or else transformed through abstinence. Some members of the IAM say they have successfully overcome the desire for sex. Antisexualism Antisexualism is opposition or hostility towards sexual behavior


title: "Leif Segerstam" content: announced that their marriage would end. In 1999, he was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize for his work as a "tireless champion of Scandinavian Music." Leif Segerstam Leif Selim Segerstam ( , ; born 2 March 1944) is a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist and pianist, especially known for writing 327 symphonies as of September 2018, along with other works in his extensive œuvre. Segerstam has conducted in a variety of orchestras since 1963, mostly American, Australian and European orchestras. He is widely known through his recorded discography, which includes the complete symphonies of Blomdahl, Brahms, Mahler, Nielsen, and


title: "Fistulina hepatica" content: Fistulina hepatica Fistulina hepatica (beefsteak fungus, also known as beefsteak polypore or ox tongue) is an unusual bracket fungus classified in the Agaricales, that is commonly seen in Britain, but can be found in North America, Australia, North Africa, Southern Africa and the rest of Europe. As its name suggests, it looks remarkably similar to a slab of raw meat. It has been used as a meat substitute in the past, and can still be found in some French markets. It has a sour, slightly acidic taste. For eating it must be collected young and it may be tough and


title: "Fistulina hepatica" content: need long cooking. The shape resembles a large tongue, and it is rough-surfaced with a reddish-brown colour. The spores are released from minute pores on the creamy-white underside of the fruit body. A younger "Fistulina hepatica" is a pinkish-red colour, and it darkens with age. It bleeds a dull red juice when cut, with the cut flesh further resembling meat. The underside of the fruiting body, from which the spores are ejected, is a mass of tubules. The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin word fistula and means "small tube", whilst the species name "hepatica" means "liver-like", referring


title: "Fistulina hepatica" content: to the consistency of the flesh. The species is fairly common, and can often be found on oaks and sweet chestnut, from August to the end of autumn, on either living or dead wood. It has a tendency to impart a reddish-brown stain to the living wood of oaks, creating a desirable timber type. In Australia, it can be found growing from wounds on "Eucalyptus" trees. It causes a brown rot on the trees which it infects. "Fistulina" is classified in the family Fistulinaceae; molecular studies suggest close relations to the "agaric" mushroom "Schizophyllum" in the Schizophyllaceae (in the "schizophylloid"


title: "Fistulina hepatica" content: clade), but in the separate sister "fistulinoid" clade. "Fistulina" is a cyphelloid genus, meaning that it is closely related to gilled fungi, but its fertile surface consists of smooth cup-shaped elements instead of gills. The underside (the hymenium) is a mass of tubules which represent a "reduced" form of the ancestral gills. Fistulina hepatica Fistulina hepatica (beefsteak fungus, also known as beefsteak polypore or ox tongue) is an unusual bracket fungus classified in the Agaricales, that is commonly seen in Britain, but can be found in North America, Australia, North Africa, Southern Africa and the rest of Europe. As its


title: "Überlingen" content: anonymous. Other club members also dress up as the figure. Hänsele's costume is noted for its colorful felted squares, its fox's tail, and the incense he wears in his hood. In addition, Hänsele carries a heavy whip; prior to "Fastnacht", groups of uncostumed Hänseles gather in the market square to practice snapping their whips. Wednesdays and Saturdays are traditional market days in Überlingen, and have been since the late 14th century, when the city was granted market rights. Today's 21st century Market Days bring farmers, fruit growers, wine and brandy producers, honey producers, from throughout the region; in addition to


title: "Southern Illinois University Edwardsville" content: duties performed. The Department of Campus Recreation sponsors a wide variety of intramural sports, club sports, and recreation activities such as group fitness classes, aquatic programs, gym and fitness programs, special events, and outdoor recreation activities and trips. The Greek community at SIUE has 19 fraternities and sororities and four governing councils with a tradition of campus leadership and community involvement. In December 2009, the SIU Board of Trustees approved the "Greek Learning and Living Community," authorizing the renovation and conversion of eight buildings in Cougar Village to a Greek Village so as to provide fraternity and sorority houses on-campus


title: "Portage la Prairie (provincial electoral district)" content: Portage la Prairie (provincial electoral district) Portage la Prairie is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It has existed since the province's creation in 1870. Portage la Prairie is located in southern Manitoba. It is bordered to the north by Lake Manitoba, to the south by Carman, to the west by Turtle Mountain, and to the east by Lakeside and Morris. Portage la Prairie itself is in the central part of the riding. Other communities in the riding include Oakville, Newton, St. Marks, and Dakota Plains Wahpeton First Nation. The riding's population in 1996 was 18,785.


title: Nelahozeves content: Nelahozeves Nelahozeves is a village on left bank of the Vltava river, 35 km north of Prague, Czech Republic. In 2015 its population was 1,900. The oldest surviving written document mentioning Nelahozeves dates to 1352. The village has a three-winged Renaissance chateau in the Italianate Northern Mannerist style, featuring elaborate sgraffito designs that depict scenes from Greek mythology and the Old Testament. The castle is an example of the castello fortezza, a design that was considered very modern in the 16th century. Its predominant characteristics are faux architectural defenses, including decorative bastions and an entry bridge without a moat. The


title: Nelahozeves content: most noteworthy of the castle’s interior rooms is the Knight’s Hall, which dates from 1564. Dominated by a large Renaissance stone fireplace, it also features ceiling decorations depicting Livy’s interpretations of five Roman virtues, wall frescoes displaying military figures, and a lunette vault decorated with original stucco reliefs. Construction on Nelahozeves Castle began under the orders of Florian Griesbeck von Griesbach, a Tyrolean aristocrat and adviser to Emperor Ferdinand I, who commissioned the building from royal master builder Bonifaz Wolmut. The castle took more than sixty years to build and was completed at the beginning of the 17th century, more


title: Nelahozeves content: than a decade after Florian's death. However, financial difficulties forced the von Griesbach family to sell the castle to Polyxena, 1st Princess Lobkowicz (1566-1642), in 1623. The castle was severely damaged during the Thirty Years' War, but was reconstructed by Václav Eusebius, 2nd Prince Lobkowicz (1609-1677), who used the castle as the center for administration and management of his estates. However, the castle never served as the Lobkowicz family’s primary residence. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was home to the Order of the Sisters of God's Love, a religious institution for widowed or unmarried noblewomen founded


title: Nelahozeves content: by Princess Wilhelmina Lobkowicz (1863-1945). Nelahozeves Castle was confiscated by the Communist government in 1948, and housed an exhibition of modern socialist art run by the Czech Regional Gallery in the 1970s and 80s. It was returned to the Lobkowicz family in 1993, and now features an exhibition of historical period rooms, demonstrating the lifestyle of a Bohemian noble family in the mid-19th century. The castle also houses part of the Lobkowicz collection of paintings. The 19th-century composer Antonín Dvořák was born in Nelahozeves in 1841, and lived there until the age of 13. In his childhood home, also owned