title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg, also known in English as the Luxembourg Gardens, is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was created beginning in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France, for a new residence she constructed, the Luxembourg Palace. The garden today is owned by the French Senate, which meets in the Palace. It covers 23 hectares and is known for its lawns, tree-lined promenades, flowerbeds, model sailboats on its circular basin, and picturesque Medici Fountain, built in 1620.. The name Luxembourg comes from the Latin Mons Lucotitius,


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: the name of the hill where the garden is located. In 1611, Marie de' Medici, the widow of Henry IV and the regent for the King Louis XIII decided to build a palace in imitation of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence. She purchased the hotel du Luxembourg (today the Petit-Luxembourg palace) and began construction of the new palace. She commissioned Salomon de Brosse to build the palace and a fountain, which still exists. In 1612 she planted 2,000 elm trees, and directed a series of gardeners, most notably Tommaso Francini, to build a park in the style she


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: had known as a child in Florence. Francini planned two terraces with balustrades and parterres laid out along the axis of the chateau, aligned around a circular basin. He also built the Medici Fountain to the east of the palace as a nympheum, an artificial grotto and fountain, without its present pond and statuary. The original garden was just eight hectares in size. In 1630 she bought additional land and enlarged the garden to thirty hectares, and entrusted the work to Jacques Boyceau de la Barauderie, the indendant of the royal gardens of Tuileries and the early garden of Versailles.


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: He was one of the early theorists of the new and more formal garden à la française, and he laid out a series of squares along an east-west alley closed at the east end by the Medici Fountain, and a rectangle of parterres with broderies of flowers and hedges in front of the palace. In the center he placed an octagonal basin with a fountain, with a perspective toward what is now the Paris observatory. Later monarchs largely neglected the garden. In 1780, the Comte de Provence, the future Louis XVIII, sold the eastern part of the garden for real


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: estate development. Following the French Revolution, however, the leaders of the French Directory expanded the garden to forty hectares by confiscating the land of the neighboring religious order of the Carthusian monks. The architect Jean Chalgrin, the architect of the Arc de Triomphe, took on the task of restoring the garden. He remade the Medici Fountain and laid out a long perspective from the palace to the observatory. He preserved the famous pepiniere, or nursery garden of the Carthusian order, and the old vineyards, and kept the garden in a formal French style. During and after the July Monarchy of


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: 1848, the park became the home of a large population of statues; first the Queens and famous women of France, lined along the terraces; then, in 1880s and 1890s, monuments to writers and artists, a small-scale model by Bartholdi of his "Liberty Enlightening the World" (commonly known as the Statue of Liberty) and one modern sculpture by Zadkine. In 1865, during the reconstruction of Paris by Louis Napoleon, the rue de l'Abbé de l'Épée, (now rue Auguste-Comte) was extended into the park, cutting off about seven hectares, including a large part of the old nursery garden. The building of new


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: streets next to the park also required moving and rebuilding the Medici Fountain to its present location. The long basin of the fountain was added at this time, along with the statues at the foot of the fountain. During this reconstruction, the director of parks and promenades of Paris, Gabriel Davioud, built new ornamental gates and fences around the park, and polychrome brick garden houses. He also transformed what remained of the old Chartreux nursery garden, at the south end of the park, into an English garden with winding paths, and planted a fruit garden in the southwest corner. He


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: kept the regular geometric pattern of the paths and alleys, but did create one diagonal alley near the Medici fountain which opened a view of the Pantheon. The garden in the late nineteenth century contained a marionette theater, a music kiosk, greenhouses, an apiary or bee-house; an orangerie also used for displaying sculpture and modern art (used until the 1930s); a rose garden, the fruit orchard, and about seventy works of sculpture. The garden is largely devoted to a green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and centred on a large octagonal basin of water, with a central


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: jet of water; in it children sail model boats. The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. Surrounding the "bassin" on the raised balustraded terraces are a series of statues of former French queens, saints and copies after the Antique. In the southwest corner, there is an orchard of apple and pear trees and the "théâtre des marionnettes" (puppet theatre). The gardens include a large fenced-in playground for young children and their parents and a vintage carousel. In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is a small cafe restaurant nearby, under the


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine. The orangerie displays art, photography and sculptures. The École nationale supérieure des Mines de Paris and the Odéon theatre stand next to the Luxembourg Garden. The central axis of the garden is extended, beyond its wrought iron grill and gates opening to rue Auguste Comte, by the central esplanade of the rue de l'Observatoire, officially the "Jardin Marco Polo", where sculptures of the four "Times of Day" alternate with columns and culminate at the southern end with the 1874 "Fountain of


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: the Observatory", also known as the "Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde" or the "Carpeaux Fountain", for its sculptures by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. It was installed as part of the development of the avenue de l'Observatoire by Gabriel Davioud in 1867. The bronze fountain represents the work of four sculptors: Louis Vuillemot carved the garlands and festoons around the pedestal, Pierre Legrain carved the armillary with interior globe and zodiac band; the animalier Emmanuel Fremiet designed the eight horses, marine turtles and spouting fish. Most importantly Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpted the four nude women supporting the globe, representing the Four Continents of classical iconography. Open


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: hours for the Luxembourg Garden depend on the month: opening between 7:30 and 8:15 am; closing at dusk between 4:45 and 9:45 pm. The garden contains just over a hundred statues, monuments, and fountains, scattered throughout the grounds. Surrounding the central green space are twenty figures of French queens and illustrious women standing on pedestals. They were commissioned by Louis-Philippe in 1848 and include: Anne of Austria, Anne of Brittany, Anne of France, Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, Bertha of Burgundy, Blanche of Castile, Clémence Isaure, Jeanne III of Navarre, Laure de Noves, Louise of Savoy, Margaret of Anjou, Margaret


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: of Provence, Marguerite of Navarre, Marie de' Medici, Mary, Queen of Scots, Matilda, Duchess of Normandy, Saint Bathild, Saint Clotilde, Saint Genevieve, and Valentina Visconti. Other sculpted work includes: The Medici Fountain ("La fontaine Médicis") was built in 1630 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France and regent of King Louis XIII of France. It was designed by Tommaso Francini, a Florentine fountain maker and hydraulic engineer who was brought from Florence to France by King Henry IV. It was in the form of a grotto, a popular feature of the Italian Renaissance garden. It


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: fell into ruins during the 18th century, but in 1811, at the command of Napoleon Bonaparte, the fountain was restored by Jean Chalgrin, the architect of the Arc de Triomphe. In 1864-66, the fountain was moved to its present location, centered on the east front of the Palais du Luxembourg. The long basin of water was built and flanked by plane trees, and the sculptures of the giant Polyphemus surprising the lovers Acis and Galatea, by French classical sculptor Auguste Ottin, were added to the grotto's rockwork. Hidden behind the Medici Fountain is the Fontaine de Léda, (1807), a wall


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: fountain built during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte at the corner of the Rue du Regard and Rue de Vaugirard, with a bas-relief sculpture depicting the legend of Leda and the Swan by Achille Valois. When the original site was destroyed during the prolongation of the Rue de Rennes in 1856 by Louis Napoleon, the fountain was preserved and moved in 1866 to the Luxembourg Gardens and attached to the back of the Medici Fountain. The gardens are featured prominently in Victor Hugo's novel "Les Misérables". It is here that the principal love story of the novel unfolds, as the


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: characters Marius Pontmercy and Cosette first meet. Henry James also uses the gardens, in "The Ambassadors", as the place where his character Lambert Strether has an epiphany about his identity. The final scene of William Faulkner's novel "Sanctuary" is set in the gardens. Patrick Modiano heard the news he had won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature via a mobile phone call from his daughter while walking through Paris, "just next to the Jardin du Luxembourg". Non-literary references include as the setting for a few episodes of "French in Action", the 10th Joe Dassin's 1976 studio album "Le Jardin du


title: "Jardin du Luxembourg" content: Luxembourg", the cover of Tame Impala's 2012 album "Lonerism", the title of a song by the band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger and the gardens and palace being added as a mission in the video game "Assassin's Creed Unity". Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg, also known in English as the Luxembourg Gardens, is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was created beginning in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France, for a new residence she constructed, the Luxembourg Palace. The garden today is owned by the French


title: "Ed Schultz" content: run as a Republican for the United States House of Representatives against Democratic Representative Earl Pomeroy in 1994, but decided against it after visiting with state Republican leaders. In 2005, Schultz began a nationally syndicated radio show with a liberal-leaning perspective; the expansion was funded by the New York-based nonprofit called Democracy Radio. "The Ed Schultz Show" was broadcast from the Fargo, North Dakota, studios of KFGO via the Jones Radio Networks to over 100 radio stations (). The show was syndicated by Dial Global, and could be heard nationwide on Sirius Satellite Radio's "SIRIUS Left" channel, and XM Satellite


title: "Craig's Brother" content: Hrapoff and Heath Konkel reunited around Christmas 2003 and Craig's Brother was reformed, with Sam Prather as their new guitarist. The following year, "E.P.idemic" was released on Takeover Records, a label run by former Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper, with former guitarist Steven Neufeld playing the second guitar. Following its release, Sam left the band. Struggling to find any suiting guitarists, as Steven was often busy working with his own band, HeyMike!, lead singer and songwriter Ted himself took up the role of rhythm guitarist. He was later joined by guitarist Glade Wilson in late 2006. On March 23, 2009 the


title: "Gotthard Günther" content: Gotthard Günther Gotthard Günther (15 June 1900 – 29 November 1984), was a German (Prussian) philosopher. Günther was born in Arnsdorf, Hirschberg im Riesengebirge, Prussian Silesia (modern day Jelenia Góra, Poland). From 1921 to 1933, Günther studied sinology and philosophy at the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin, and wrote his doctor's thesis on Hegel in 1933 under the guidance of Eduard Spranger. From 1935 to 1937, he worked at the institute of Arnold Gehlen at the University of Leipzig, publishing “"Christliche Metaphysik und das Schicksal des modernen Bewusstseins"” (“Christian metaphysics and the fate of modern consciousness”, together with Helmut Schelsky


title: "Indian roller" content: Indian roller The Indian roller ("Coracias benghalensis") is a member of the roller bird family. It occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is best known for its aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is often seen perched along roadside trees and wires and are commonly seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats. It is not migratory, but undertakes some seasonal movements. The largest population occurs in India, and several states in India have chosen it as their state


title: "Indian roller" content: bird. The Indian roller was originally described as belonging to the genus "Corvus". Alternate names for the Indian roller include the Indian blue roller, northern roller and southern blue roller. Three subspecies are recognized: The Indian roller is a stocky bird about 26–27 cm long and can only be confused within its range with the migratory European roller. The breast is brownish and not blue as in the European Roller. The crown and vent are blue. The primaries are deep purplish blue with a band of pale blue. The tail is sky blue with a terminal band of Prussian blue


title: "Indian roller" content: and the central feathers are dull green. The neck and throat are purplish lilac with white shaft streaks. The bare patch around the eye is ochre in colour. The three forward toes are united at the base. Rollers have a long and compressed bill with a curved upper edge and a hooked tip. The nostril is long and exposed and there are long rictal bristles at the base of the bill. Three subspecies are usually recognized. The nominate form is found from western Asia (Iraq, Arabia) east across the Indian Subcontinent, and within India north of the Vindhyas mountain ranges.


title: "Indian roller" content: The subspecies "indicus" is found in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The southern form has a darker reddish collar on the hind neck which is missing in the nominate form. The race "affinis" of northeastern India and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar, Indochina) is sometimes considered a full species, but within the Indian region, it is seen to intergrade with "benghalensis". The form "affinis" is darker, larger and has a purplish brown and unstreaked face and breast. It has underwing coverts in a deeper shade of blue. The Indian roller is distributed across Asia, from Iraq and United Arab Emirates in


title: "Indian roller" content: south-western Asia through the Indian Subcontinent, including Sri Lanka, Lakshadweep islands and Maldive Islands into Southeast Asia. Its main habitat includes cultivated areas, thin forest and grassland. Indian rollers are often seen perched on prominent bare trees or wires. They descend to the ground to capture their prey which may include insects, arachnids, small reptiles, small snakes and amphibians. Fires attract them and they will also follow tractors for disturbed invertebrates. In agricultural habitats in southern India, they have been found at densities of about 50 birds per km. They perch mainly on 3—10 metre high perches and feed mostly


title: "Indian roller" content: on ground insects. Nearly 50% of their prey are beetles and 25% made up by grasshoppers and crickets. The feeding behaviour of this roller and habitat usage are very similar to that of the black drongo. During summer, they may also feed late in the evening and make use of artificial lights and feed on insects attracted to them. They are attracted to swarms of winged termites, and as many as 40 birds have been seen to perch on a 70-metre stretch of electric wires. Its habit of feeding near roadsides sometimes results in collisions with traffic. A decline in


title: "Indian roller" content: the numbers of these birds seen along roadsides in northern India has been noted. A study on roosting behaviour found that immediately after waking up, the birds spend a few minutes preening followed by flying around their roosting sites. Favoured perches include electric or telegraphic wires. They have also been observed perching in trees and shrubs. Rollers tend mostly at a heights of 3–9 m height from where they forage for ground insects. They may also use taller perches and obtain insects from the upper canopy of trees. The display of this bird is an aerobatic display, with the twists


title: "Indian roller" content: and turns that give this species its English name. The breeding season is March to June, slightly earlier in southern India. Displays when perched include bill-up displays, bowing, allopreening, wing drooping and tail fanning. Holes created by woodpeckers or wood boring insects in palms are favoured for nesting in some areas. Nest cavities may also be made by tearing open rotten tree trunks or in cavities in building. The cavity is usually unlined and is made up mainly of debris from the wood. The normal clutch consists of about 3-5 eggs. The eggs are white and broad oval or nearly


title: "Indian roller" content: spherical. Both sexes incubate the eggs for about 17 to 19 days. The young fledge and leave the nest after about a month. Nearly 80% of the eggs hatch and fledge. The call of the Indian roller is a harsh crow-like "chack" sound. It also makes a variety of other sounds, including metallic "boink" calls. It is especially vociferous during the breeding season. The bird bathes in open water by plunge-diving into it, a behaviour often interpreted as fishing. But it may occasionally attempt fishing from water. Blood parasites "Leucocytozoon" of the family Plasmodiidae have been noted in the lung


title: "Indian roller" content: tissues. Parasitic helminth worms "Hadjelia truncata" and "Synhimantus spiralis" were recorded as well. The Indian roller is very common in the populated plains of India and associated with Hindu legends. It is said to be sacred to Vishnu, and used to be caught and released during festivals such as Dussera or the last day of Durga Puja. A local Hindi name is "neelkanth", meaning "blue throat", a name associated with the deity Shiva (who drank poison resulting in the blue throat). Adding its chopped feathers to grass and feeding them to cows was believed to increase their milk yield. The


title: "Indian roller" content: Indian roller has been chosen as the state bird by the Indian states of Odisha, Karnataka and Telangana. Indian roller The Indian roller ("Coracias benghalensis") is a member of the roller bird family. It occurs widely from West Asia to the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is best known for its aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is often seen perched along roadside trees and wires and are commonly seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats. It is not migratory, but undertakes some seasonal


title: "Saltwater crocodile" content: Due to extensive poaching during the 20th century, such individuals are extremely rare today in most areas, as it takes a long time for the crocodiles to attain those sizes. Also, a possible earlier presence of particular genes may have led to such large-sized saltwater crocodiles, genes that were ultimately lost from the overall gene pool due to extensive hide and trophy hunting in the past. However, with recent restoration of saltwater crocodile habitat and reduced poaching, the number of large crocodiles is increasing, especially in Odisha. This species is the only extant crocodilian to regularly reach or exceed .


title: "Porta Nigra" content: Porta Nigra The Porta Nigra (Latin for "black gate") is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name "Porta Nigra" originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as "Porta". The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone after 170 AD.


title: "Porta Nigra" content: The original gate consisted of two four-storeyed towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier. It serves as an entrance to town. In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a


title: "Porta Nigra" content: system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the "Porta Alba" (White Gate) was built in the east, the "Porta Media" (Middle Gate) in the south, and the "Porta Inclyta" (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today. In


title: "Porta Nigra" content: the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also, iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate. After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the "Simeonstift" monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. To save it from further destruction,


title: "Porta Nigra" content: the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: the inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle stories of the former gate were converted into the church naves: the upper story being of the monks and the lower story for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower story of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper story. The church rooms were accessible through


title: "Porta Nigra" content: former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate (the much smaller Simeon Gate) was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times. In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier's numerous churches and monasteries.


title: "Porta Nigra" content: On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept, but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form. In 1986 the Porta Nigra


title: "Porta Nigra" content: was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. It also has crowning cornice and parapet on its top. The gate is today closed to cars,


title: "Porta Nigra" content: but stands right next to one of the main streets of Trier. In addition to the general pollution, the exhaust fumes of the passing cars have been damaging the stones for decades. Generally, however, the Porta Nigra is still in remarkable condition. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors. In summer, guided tours are also offered by an actor dressed up as and portraying a centurion (a Roman army officer) in full armour. New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, is named after the city of Trier, Germany, and New Trier's logo depicts the Porta


title: "Porta Nigra" content: Nigra. Porta Nigra The Porta Nigra (Latin for "black gate") is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name "Porta Nigra" originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as "Porta". The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone after 170


title: "Shot (ice hockey)" content: with, generally, the blade of the stick. The shaft of the stick and even body parts (legs, posterior, chest, back, even head and face) may also alter the trajectory of the puck and result in a valid goal, although scoring this way generally involves as much chance as deliberate effort. Tips careening off an offensive player's skate will count if no deliberate kicking motion was made. At close distance a well-directed tip that maintains some modicum of speed will pass by the goalie and into the net without the keeper having any possibility to react to the change in direction.


title: "Karin Månsdotter" content: a new and expensive wardrobe and her own staff, among them her own former employer: Karin, the wife of Gert Cantor. When her daughter Sigrid was born in 1566, she was treated as a legitimate princess. Before this, the king had several mistresses in parallel, such as Agda Persdotter and Doredi Valentinsdotter, but when Karin entered his life, he dismissed them all. She also received education and learned to read and write. His treatment of her caused much astonishment. The ideas of the time suggested witchcraft and love potions to explain the deep attachment. Karin is reported to have had


title: "White-tailed deer" content: White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer ("Odocoileus virginianus"), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced to New Zealand, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the Lesser Antilles, and some countries in Europe, such as Finland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia. In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate. In North America, the species is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains, but elsewhere, it is mostly replaced


title: "White-tailed deer" content: by the black-tailed or mule deer ("Odocoileus hemionus"). In western North America, it is found in aspen parklands and deciduous river bottomlands within the central and northern Great Plains, and in mixed deciduous riparian corridors, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the northern Rocky Mountain regions from South Dakota and Wyoming to northeastern British Columbia, including the Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands. The conversion of land adjacent to the northern Rockies into agriculture use and partial clear-cutting of coniferous trees (resulting in widespread deciduous vegetation) has been favorable to the white-tailed deer and has pushed its distribution to as


title: "White-tailed deer" content: far north as Fort St. John, British Columbia. Populations of deer around the Great Lakes have also expanded their range northwards, due to conversion of land to agricultural uses favoring more deciduous vegetation, and local caribou and moose populations. The westernmost population of the species, known as the Columbian white-tailed deer, once was widespread in the mixed forests along the Willamette and Cowlitz River valleys of western Oregon and southwestern Washington, but today its numbers have been considerably reduced, and it is classified as near-threatened. Some taxonomists have attempted to separate white-tailed deer into a host of subspecies, based largely


title: "White-tailed deer" content: in morphological differences. Genetic studies, however, suggest fewer subspecies within the animal's range, as compared to the 30 to 40 subspecies that some scientists described in the last century. The Florida Key deer, "O. v. clavium", and the Columbian white-tailed deer, "O. v. leucurus", are both listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In the United States, the Virginia white-tail, "O. v. virginianus", is among the most widespread subspecies. The white-tailed deer species has tremendous genetic variation and is adaptable to several environments. Several local deer populations, especially in the southern states, are descended from white-tailed deer transplanted


title: "White-tailed deer" content: from various localities east of the Continental Divide. Some of these deer populations may have been from as far north as the Great Lakes region to as far west as Texas, yet are also quite at home in the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of the south. These deer, over time, have intermixed with the local indigenous deer ("O. v. virginianus" and/or "O. v. macrourus") populations. Central and South America have a complex number of white-tailed deer subspecies that range from Guatemala to as far south as Peru. This list of subspecies of deer is more exhaustive than the list of


title: "White-tailed deer" content: North American subspecies, and the number of subspecies is also questionable. However, the white-tailed deer populations in these areas are difficult to study, due to overhunting in many parts and a lack of protection. Some areas no longer carry deer, so assessing the genetic difference of these animals is difficult. Some subspecies names, ordered alphabetically: The deer's coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter. The deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail. It raises its tail when it is alarmed to warn the


title: "White-tailed deer" content: predator that it has been detected. A population of white-tailed deer in New York is entirely white (except for areas like their noses and toes)—not albino—in color. The former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, New York, has the largest known concentration of white deer. An indication of a deer age is the length of the snout and the color of the coat, with older deer tending to have longer snouts and grayer coats. Strong conservation efforts have allowed white deer to thrive within the confines of the depot. White-tailed deer's horizontally slit pupils allow for good night vision and color


title: "White-tailed deer" content: vision during the day. The white-tailed deer is highly variable in size, generally following Bergmann's rule that the average size is larger farther away from the Equator. North American male deer (also known as a buck) usually weigh , but in rare cases, bucks in excess of have been recorded. Mature bucks over have been recorded in the northernmost reaches of their native range, specifically, Minnesota and Ontario. In 1926, Carl J. Lenander, Jr., took a white-tailed buck near Tofte, MN, that weighed after it was field-dressed (internal organs and blood removed) and was estimated at when alive. The female


title: "White-tailed deer" content: (doe) in North America usually weighs from . White-tailed deer from the tropics and the Florida Keys are markedly smaller-bodied than temperate populations, averaging , with an occasional adult female as small as . White-tailed deer from the Andes are larger than other tropical deer of this species, and have thick, slightly woolly looking fur. Length ranges from , including a tail of , and the shoulder height is . Including all races, the average summer weight of adult males is and is in adult females. Deer have dichromatic (two-color) vision with blue and yellow primaries; humans normally have trichromatic


title: "White-tailed deer" content: vision. Thus, deer poorly distinguish the oranges and reds that stand out so well to humans. This makes it very convenient to use deer-hunter orange as a safety color on caps and clothing to avoid accidental shootings during hunting seasons. Males regrow their antlers every year. About one in 10,000 females also has antlers, although this is usually associated with freemartinism. Bucks without branching antlers are often termed "spikehorn", "spiked bucks", "spike bucks", or simply "spikes/spikers". The spikes can be quite long or very short. Length and branching of antlers are determined by nutrition, age, and genetics. Rack growth tends


title: "White-tailed deer" content: to be very important from late spring until about a month before velvet sheds. Healthy deer in some areas that are well-fed can have eight-point branching antlers as yearlings (1.5 years old). The number of points, the length, or thickness of the antlers is a general indication of age, but cannot be relied upon for positive aging. Some say spiked-antler deer should be culled from the population to produce larger branching antler genetics (antler size does not indicate overall health), and some bucks' antlers never will be wall trophies. Good antler-growth nutritional needs (calcium) and good genetics combine to produce


title: "White-tailed deer" content: wall trophies in some of their range. Spiked bucks are different from "button bucks" or "nubbin' bucks", that are male fawns and are generally about six to nine months of age during their first winter. They have skin-covered nobs on their heads. They can have bony protrusions up to a half inch in length, but that is very rare, and they are not the same as spikes. Antlers begin to grow in late spring, covered with a highly vascularised tissue known as velvet. Bucks either have a typical or atypical antler arrangement. Typical antlers are symmetrical and the points grow


title: "White-tailed deer" content: straight up off the main beam. Atypical antlers are asymmetrical and the points may project at any angle from the main beam. These descriptions are not the only limitations for typical and atypical antler arrangement. The Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young scoring systems also define relative degrees of typicality and atypicality by procedures to measure what proportion of the antlers is asymmetrical. Therefore, bucks with only slight asymmetry are scored as "typical". A buck's inside spread can be from 3 to 25 in (8–64 cm). Bucks shed their antlers when all females have been bred, from late December


title: "White-tailed deer" content: to February. White-tailed deer are generalists and can adapt to a wide variety of habitats. The largest deer occur in the temperate regions of Canada and United States. The northern white-tailed deer ("O. v. borealis"), Dakota white-tailed deer ("O. v. dacotensis"), and northwest white-tailed deer ("O. v. ochrourus") are some of the largest animals, with large antlers. The smallest deer occur in the Florida Keys and in partially wooded lowlands in the neotropics. Although most often thought of as forest animals depending on relatively small openings and edges, white-tailed deer can equally adapt themselves to life in more open prairie,


title: "White-tailed deer" content: savanna woodlands, and sage communities as in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. These savanna-adapted deer have relatively large antlers in proportion to their body size and large tails. Also, a noticeable difference exists in size between male and female deer of the savannas. The Texas white-tailed deer ("O. v. texanus"), of the prairies and oak savannas of Texas and parts of Mexico, are the largest savanna-adapted deer in the Southwest, with impressive antlers that might rival deer found in Canada and the northern United States. Populations of Arizona ("O. v. couesi") and Carmen Mountains ("O. v. carminis") white-tailed


title: "White-tailed deer" content: deer inhabit montane mixed oak and pine woodland communities. The Arizona and Carmen Mountains deer are smaller, but may also have impressive antlers, considering their size. The white-tailed deer of the Llanos region of Colombia and Venezuela ("O. v. apurensis" and "O. v. gymnotis") have antler dimensions similar to the Arizona white-tailed deer. In western regions of the United States and Canada, the white-tailed deer range overlaps with those of the mule deer. White-tail incursions in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas have resulted in some hybrids. In the extreme north of the range, their habitat is also used by moose


title: "White-tailed deer" content: in some areas. White-tailed deer may occur in areas that are also exploited by elk (wapiti) such as in mixed deciduous river valley bottomlands and formerly in the mixed deciduous forest of eastern United States. In places such as Glacier National Park in Montana and several national parks in the Columbian Mountains (Mount Revelstoke National Park) and Canadian Rocky Mountains, as well as in the Yukon Territory (Yoho National Park and Kootenay National Park), white-tailed deer are shy and more reclusive than the coexisting mule deer, elk, and moose. Central American white-tailed deer prefer tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests,


title: "White-tailed deer" content: seasonal mixed deciduous forests, savanna, and adjacent wetland habitats over dense tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. South American subspecies of white-tailed deer live in two types of environments. The first type, similar to the Central American deer, consists of savannas, dry deciduous forests, and riparian corridors that cover much of Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The other type is the higher elevation mountain grassland/mixed forest ecozones in the Andes Mountains, from Venezuela to Peru. The Andean white-tailed deer seem to retain gray coats due to the colder weather at high altitudes, whereas the lowland savanna forms retain the reddish brown


title: "White-tailed deer" content: coats. South American white-tailed deer, like those in Central America, also generally avoid dense moist broadleaf forests. Since the second half of the 19th century, white-tailed deer have been introduced to Europe. A population in the Brdy area remains stable today. In 1935, white-tailed deer were introduced to Finland. The introduction was successful, and the deer have recently begun spreading through northern Scandinavia and southern Karelia, competing with, and sometimes displacing, native species. The current population of some 30,000 deer originated from four animals provided by Finnish Americans from Minnesota. White-tailed deer eat large amounts of food, commonly eating legumes


title: "White-tailed deer" content: and foraging on other plants, including shoots, leaves, cacti (in deserts), prairie forbs, and grasses. They also eat acorns, fruit, and corn. Their special stomachs allow them to eat some things humans cannot, such as mushrooms and poison ivy. Their diets vary by season according to availability of food sources. They also eat hay, grass, white clover, and other foods they can find in a farm yard. Though almost entirely herbivorous, white-tailed deer have been known to opportunistically feed on nesting songbirds, field mice, and birds trapped in mist nets, if the need arises. A grown deer can eat around


title: "White-tailed deer" content: of vegetable matter annually. A foraging area around 20 deer per square mile can start to destroy the forest environment. The white-tailed deer is a ruminant, which means it has a four-chambered stomach. Each chamber has a different and specific function that allows the deer to eat a variety of different foods, digesting it at a later time in a safe area of cover. The stomach hosts a complex set of microbes that change as the deer's diet changes through the seasons. If the microbes necessary for digestion of a particular food (e.g., hay) are absent, it will not be


title: "White-tailed deer" content: digested. Several natural predators of white-tailed deer occur. Wolves, cougars, American alligators, jaguars (in the tropics), and humans are the most effective natural predators of white-tailed deer. These predators frequently pick out easily caught young or infirm deer (which is believed to improve the genetic stock of a population), but can and do take healthy adults of any size. Bobcats, Canada lynx, bears, wolverines, and packs of coyotes usually prey mainly on fawns. Bears may sometimes attack adult deer, while lynxes, coyotes, and wolverines are most likely to take adult deer when the ungulates are weakened by harsh winter weather.


title: "White-tailed deer" content: Many scavengers rely on deer as carrion, including New World vultures, raptors, foxes, and corvids. Few wild predators can afford to be picky and any will readily consume deer as carrion. Records exist of American crows attempting to prey on white-tailed deer fawns by pecking around their face and eyes, though no accounts of success are given. Occasionally, both golden and bald eagles may capture deer fawns with their talons. In one case, a golden eagle was filmed in Illinois unsuccessfully trying to prey on a large mature white-tailed deer. White-tailed deer typically respond to the presence of potential predators


title: "White-tailed deer" content: by breathing very heavily (also called blowing) and fleeing. When they blow, the sound alerts other deer in the area. As they run, the flash of their white tails warns other deer. This especially serves to warn fawns when their mother is alarmed. Most natural predators of white-tailed deer hunt by ambush, although canids may engage in an extended chase, hoping to exhaust the prey. Felids typically try to suffocate the deer by biting the throat. Cougars and jaguars will initially knock the deer off balance with their powerful forelegs, whereas the smaller bobcats and lynxes will jump astride the


title: "White-tailed deer" content: deer to deliver a killing bite. In the case of canids and wolverines, the predators bite at the limbs and flanks, hobbling the deer, until they can reach vital organs and kill it through loss of blood. Bears, which usually target fawns, often simply knock down the prey and then start eating it while it is still alive. Alligators snatch deer as they try to drink from or cross bodies of water, grabbing them with their powerful jaws and dragging them into the water to drown. Most primary natural predators of white-tailed deer have been basically extirpated in eastern North


title: "White-tailed deer" content: America, with a very small number of reintroduced red wolves, which are nearly extinct, around North Carolina and a small remnant population of Florida panthers, a subspecies of the cougar. Gray wolves, the leading cause of deer mortality where they overlap, co-occur with whitetails in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and parts of Canada. This almost certainly plays a factor in the overpopulation issues with this species. Coyotes, widespread and with a rapidly expanding population, are often the only major nonhuman predator of the species, besides an occasional domestic dog. In some areas, American black bears are also significant predators. In


title: "White-tailed deer" content: northcentral Pennsylvania, black bears were found to be nearly as common predators of fawns as coyotes. Bobcats, still fairly widespread, usually only exploit deer as prey when smaller prey is scarce. Discussions have occurred regarding the possible reintroduction of gray wolves and cougars to sections of the eastern United States, largely because of the apparent controlling effect they have through deer predation on local ecosystems, as has been illustrated in the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and their controlling effect on previously overpopulated elk. However, due to the heavy urban development in much of the East and fear


title: "White-tailed deer" content: for livestock and human lives, such ideas have ultimately been rejected by local communities and/or by government services and have not been carried through. In areas where they are heavily hunted by humans, deer run almost immediately from people and are quite wary even where not heavily hunted. In most areas where hunting may occur deer seem to develop an acute sense of time and a fondness for metro parks and golf courses. This rather odd occurrence is best noted in Michigan, where in the lower peninsula around late August early September they begin to move out of less developed


title: "White-tailed deer" content: areas in favor of living near human settlements. The deer of Virginia can run faster than their predators and have been recorded at speeds of per hour; this ranks them amongst the fastest of all cervids, alongside the Eurasian roe deer. They can also jump high and up to in length. When shot at, the white-tailed deer will run at high speeds with its tail down. If frightened, the deer will hop in a zig-zag with its tail straight up. If the deer feels extremely threatened, however, it may charge the person or predator causing the threat, using its antlers


title: "White-tailed deer" content: or, if none are present, its head to fight off the threat. In certain parts of the eastern United States, high deer densities have caused large reductions in plant biomass, including the density and heights of certain forest wildflowers, tree seedlings, and shrubs. Although they can be seen as a nuisance species, white tail deer also play an important role in biodiversity. At the same time, increases in browse-tolerant grasses and sedges and unpalatable ferns have often accompanied intensive deer herbivory. Changes to the structure of forest understories have, in turn, altered the composition and abundance of forest bird communities


title: "White-tailed deer" content: in some areas. Deer activity has also been shown to increase herbaceous plant diversity, particularly in disturbed areas, by reducing competitively dominant plants; and to increase the growth rates of important canopy trees, perhaps by increased nutrient inputs into the soil. In northeastern hardwood forests, high-density deer populations affect plant succession, particularly following clear-cuts and patch cuts. In succession without deer, annual herbs and woody plants are followed by commercially valuable, shade-tolerant oak and maple. The shade-tolerant trees prevent the invasion of less commercial cherry and American beech, which are stronger nutrient competitors, but not as shade tolerant. Although deer


title: "White-tailed deer" content: eat shade-tolerant plants and acorns, this is not the only way deer can shift the balance in favor of nutrient competitors. Deer consuming earlier-succession plants allows in enough light for nutrient competitors to invade. Since slow-growing oaks need several decades to develop root systems sufficient to compete with faster-growing species, removal of the canopy prior to that point amplifies the effect of deer on succession. High-density deer populations possibly could browse eastern hemlock seedlings out of existence in northern hardwood forests; however, this scenario seems unlikely, given that deer browsing is not considered the critical factor preventing hemlock re-establishment at


title: "White-tailed deer" content: large scales. Ecologists have also expressed concern over the facilitative effect high deer populations have on invasions of exotic plant species. In a study of eastern hemlock forests, browsing by white-tailed deer caused populations of three exotic plants to rise faster than they do in the areas which are absent of deer. Seedlings of the three invading species rose exponentially with deer density, while the most common native species fell exponentially with deer density, because deer were preferentially eating the native species. The effects of deer on the invasive and native plants were magnified in cases of canopy disturbance. Several


title: "White-tailed deer" content: methods have been developed in attempts to curb the population of white-tailed deer, and these can be separated into lethal and nonlethal strategies. Most common in the U.S is the use of extended hunting as population control. In Maryland and many other states, a state agency sets regulations on bag limits and hunting in the area depending on the deer population levels assessed. Hunting seasons may fluctuate in duration, or restrictions may be set to affect how many deer or what type of deer can be hunted in certain regions. For the 2015–2016 white-tailed deer-hunting season, some areas only allow


title: "White-tailed deer" content: for the hunting of antlerless white-tailed deer. These would include young bucks and females, encouraging the culling of does which would otherwise contribute to increasing populations via offspring production. More refined than public hunting is a method referred to as sharpshooting by the Deer Task Force in the city of Bloomington, Indiana. Sharpshooting can be an option when the area inhabited by the deer is unfit for public hunting. This strategy may work in areas close to human populations, since it is done by professional marksmen, and requires a submitted plan of action to the city with details on the


title: "White-tailed deer" content: time and location of the event, as well as number of deer to be culled. Another controversial method involves trapping the deer in a net or other trap, and then administering a chemical euthanizing agent or extermination by firearm. A main issue in questioning the humaneness of this method is the stress that the deer endure while trapped and awaiting extermination. Nonlethal methods include contraceptive injections, sterilization, and translocation of deer. While lethal methods have municipal support as being the most effective in the short term, some opponents to this view suggest no significant impacts of deer extermination on the


title: "White-tailed deer" content: populations occur. Opponents of contraceptive methods point out that fertility control proves ineffective over time as populations in open-field systems move about. Concerns are voiced that the contraceptives have not been adequately researched for the effect they could have on humans who consume the treated venison. Fertility control also does nothing to affect the current population and the effects their grazing may be having on the forest plant make-up. Translocation has been considered overly costly for the little benefit it provides. Deer experience high stress and are at high risk of dying in the process, putting into question its humaneness.


title: "White-tailed deer" content: Another concern in using this method is the possible spread of chronic wasting disease found in the deer family and the lack of research on its effect on human populations. Males compete for the opportunity of breeding females. Sparring among males determines a dominance hierarchy. Bucks attempt to copulate with as many females as possible, losing physical condition, since they rarely eat or rest during the rut. The general geographical trend is for the rut to be shorter in duration at increased latitude. Many factors determine how intense the "rutting season" will be; air temperature is a major one. Any


title: "White-tailed deer" content: time the temperature rises above , the males do much less traveling looking for females, else they will be subject to overheating or dehydrating. Another factor for the strength in rutting activity is competition. If numerous males are in a particular area, then they compete more for the females. If fewer males or more females are present, then the selection process will not need to be as competitive. Females enter estrus, colloquially called the rut, in the autumn, normally in late October or early November, triggered mainly by the declining photoperiod. Sexual maturation of females depends on population density, as


title: "White-tailed deer" content: well as availability of food. Young females often flee from an area heavily populated with males. Some does may be as young as six months when they reach sexual maturity, but the average age of maturity is 18 months. Copulation consists of a brief copulatory jump. Females give birth to one to three spotted young, known as fawns, in mid- to late spring, generally in May or June. Fawns lose their spots during the first summer and weigh from 44 to 77 lb (20 to 35 kg) by the first winter. Male fawns tend to be slightly larger and heavier


title: "White-tailed deer" content: than females. For the first four weeks, fawns are hidden in vegetation by their mothers, who nurse them four to five times a day. This strategy keeps scent levels low to avoid predators. After about a month, the fawns are then able to follow their mothers on foraging trips. They are usually weaned after 8–10 weeks, but cases have been seen where mothers have continued to allow nursing long after the fawns have lost their spots (for several months, or until the end of fall) as seen by rehabilitators and other studies. Males leave their mothers after a year and


title: "White-tailed deer" content: females leave after two. Bucks are generally sexually mature at 1.5 years old and begin to breed even in populations stacked with older bucks. White-tailed deer have many forms of communication involving sounds, scent, body language, and marking. In addition to the aforementioned blowing in the presence of danger, all white-tailed deer are capable of producing audible noises unique to each animal. Fawns release a high-pitched squeal, known as a bleat, to call out to their mothers. This bleat deepens as the fawn grows until it becomes the grunt of the mature deer, a guttural sound that attracts the attention


title: "White-tailed deer" content: of any other deer in the area. A doe makes maternal grunts when searching for her bedded fawns. Bucks also grunt, at a pitch lower than that of the doe; this grunt deepens as the buck matures. In addition to grunting, both does and bucks also snort, a sound that often signals an imminent threat. Mature bucks also produce a grunt-snort-wheeze pattern, unique to each animal, that asserts its dominance, aggression, and hostility. Another way white-tailed deer communicate is through the use of their white tail. When spooked, it will raise its tail to warn the other deer in the


title: "White-tailed deer" content: immediate area. White-tailed deer possess many glands that allow them to produce scents, some of which are so potent they can be detected by the human nose. Four major glands are the preorbital, forehead, tarsal, and metatarsal glands. Secretions from the preorbital glands (in front of the eye) were thought to be rubbed on tree branches, but research suggests this is not so. Scent from the forehead or sudoriferous glands (found on the head, between the antlers and eyes) is used to deposit scent on branches that overhang "scrapes" (areas scraped by the deer's front hooves prior to rub-urination). The


title: "White-tailed deer" content: tarsal glands are found on the upper inside of the hock (middle joint) on each hind leg. Scent is deposited from these glands when deer walk through and rub against vegetation. These scrapes are used by bucks as a sort of "sign-post" by which bucks know which other bucks are in the area, and to let does know a buck is regularly passing through the area—for breeding purposes. The scent from the metatarsal glands, found on the outside of each hind leg, between the ankle and hooves, may be used as an alarm scent. The scent from the interdigital glands,


title: "White-tailed deer" content: which are located between the hooves of each foot, emit a yellow waxy substance with an offensive odor. Deer can be seen stomping their hooves if they sense danger through sight, sound, or smell; this action leaves an excessive amount of odor for the purpose of warning other deer of possible danger. Throughout the year, deer rub-urinate, a process during which a deer squats while urinating so urine will run down the insides of the deer's legs, over the tarsal glands, and onto the hair covering these glands. Bucks rub-urinate more frequently during the breeding season. Secretions from the tarsal


title: "White-tailed deer" content: gland mix with the urine and bacteria to produce a strong-smelling odor. During the breeding season, does release hormones and pheromones that tell bucks a doe is in heat and able to breed. Bucks also rub trees and shrubs with their antlers and heads during the breeding season, possibly transferring scent from the forehead glands to the tree, leaving a scent other deer can detect. Sign-post marking (scrapes and rubs) is a very obvious way white-tailed deer communicate. Although bucks do most of the marking, does visit these locations often. To make a rub, a buck uses his antlers to


title: "White-tailed deer" content: strip the bark off small-diameter trees, helping to mark his territory and polish his antlers. To mark areas they regularly pass through, bucks make scrapes. Often occurring in patterns known as scrape lines, scrapes are areas where a buck has used his front hooves to expose bare earth. They often rub-urinate into these scrapes, which are often found under twigs that have been marked with scent from the forehead glands. By the early 20th century, commercial exploitation and unregulated hunting had severely depressed deer populations in much of their range. For example, by about 1930, the U.S. population was thought


title: "White-tailed deer" content: to number about 300,000. After an outcry by hunters and other conservation ecologists, commercial exploitation of deer became illegal and conservation programs along with regulated hunting were introduced. In 2005, estimates put the deer population in the United States at around 30 million. Conservation practices have proved so successful, in parts of their range, the white-tailed deer populations currently far exceed their cultural carrying capacity and the animal may be considered a nuisance. A reduction in natural predators (which normally cull young, sick, or infirm specimens) has undoubtedly contributed to locally abundant populations. At high population densities, farmers can suffer


title: "White-tailed deer" content: economic damage by deer feeding on cash crops, especially in corn and orchards. It has become nearly impossible to grow some crops in some areas unless very burdensome deer-deterring measures are taken. Deer are excellent fence-jumpers, and their fear of motion and sounds meant to scare them away is soon dulled. Timber harvesting and forest clearance have historically resulted in increased deer population densities, which in turn have slowed the rate of reforestation following logging in some areas. High densities of deer can have severe impacts on native plants and animals in parks and natural areas; however, deer browsing can


title: "White-tailed deer" content: also promote plant and animal diversity in some areas. Deer can also cause substantial damage to landscape plants in suburban areas, leading to limited hunting or trapping to relocate or sterilize them. In parts of the Eastern US with high deer populations and fragmented woodlands, deer often wander into suburban and urban habitats that are less than ideal for the species. White-tailed deer have long been hunted as game, for pure sport and for their commodities. In some areas where their populations are very high, they are considered a pest, and hunting is used as a method to control it.


title: "White-tailed deer" content: In New Zealand, America, and Canada, white-tailed deer are kept as livestock, and are extensively as well as intensively farmed for their meat, antlers, and pelts. Many keep white-tailed deer as pets. They are very smart, affectionate, curious and playful. However, on multiple occasions, during mating season, bucks kept as pets were very aggressive and resulted in severe injuries in their owners. Some areas ban the keeping of white-tailed deer in captivity, while others advocate the trapping and keeping of wild deer as an alternative to hunting due to high populations. However, this is illegal across many U.S. states, as


title: "White-tailed deer" content: it is considered dangerous; a white-tailed deer's large antlers can impale and kill if that is what the deer intends. Any deer found being held captive will be killed by law enforcement officers in order to prevent the spread of any diseases the deer may have obtained. Motor vehicle collisions with deer are a serious problem in many parts of the animal's range, especially at night and during rutting season, causing injuries and fatalities among both deer and humans. Vehicular damage can be substantial in some cases. In the United States, such collisions increased from 200,000 in 1980 to 500,000


title: "White-tailed deer" content: in 1991. By 2009, the insurance industry estimated 2.4 million deer–vehicle collisions had occurred over the past two years, estimating damage cost to be over 7 billion dollars and 300 human deaths. Despite the alarming high rate of these accidents, the effect on deer density is still quite low. Vehicle collisions of deer were monitored for two years in Virginia, and the collective annual mortality did not surpass 20% of the estimated deer population. Many techniques have been investigated to prevent road-side mortality. Fences or road under- or over- passes have been shown to decrease deer-vehicle collisions, but are expensive


title: "White-tailed deer" content: and difficult to implement on a large scale. Roadside habitat modifications could also successfully decrease the number of collisions along roadways. An essential procedure in understanding factors resulting in accidents is to quantify risks, which involves the driver's behavior in terms of and ability to observe the deer. They suggest reducing speed limits during the winter months when deer density is exceptionally high would likely reduce deer-vehicle collisions, but this may be an impractical solution. Another issue that exists with high deer density is the spreading of infectious diseases. Increased deer populations lead to increased transmission of tick-borne diseases, which


title: "White-tailed deer" content: pose a threat to human health, to livestock, and to other deer. Deer are the primary host and vector for the adult black-legged tick, which transmits the Lyme disease bacterium to humans. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the country and is found in twelve states in Eastern America. In 2009, it affected more than 38,000 people. Furthermore, the incidence of Lyme disease seems to reflect deer density in the eastern United States, which suggests a strong correlation. White-tailed deer also serve as intermediate hosts for many diseases that infect humans through ticks, such as Rocky Mountain


title: "White-tailed deer" content: spotted fever. Newer evidence suggests the white footed mouse is the most significant vector. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-reveals-high-infection-white-footed-mice.html In the U.S., the species is the state animal of Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, the wildlife symbol of Wisconsin, and game animal of Oklahoma. The profile of a white-tailed deer buck caps the coat of arms of Vermont and can be seen in the flag of Vermont and in stained glass at the Vermont State House. It is the national animal of Honduras and Costa Rica and the provincial animal of Canadian Saskatchewan and Finnish Pirkanmaa. Texas


title: "White-tailed deer" content: is home to the most white-tailed deer of any U.S. state or Canadian province, with an estimated population of over four million. Notably high populations of white-tailed deer occur in the Edwards Plateau of Central Texas. Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana also boast high deer densities. In 1884, one of the first hunts of white-tailed deer in Europe was conducted in Opočno and Dobříš (Brdy Mountains area), in what is now the Czech Republic. White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer ("Odocoileus virginianus"), also known as the whitetail or


title: "BBC Radio London" content: London News host Emily Maitlis. The overall branding for this was BBC LDN. New recruits to BBC London 94.9 included Jon Gaunt from BBC Three Counties Radio, former GLR presenter Danny Baker, and Sean Rowley (hosting the "Guilty Pleasures" show). Danny Baker hosted a breakfast show, which was co-hosted with American comedian Amy Lamé. Jon Gaunt then hosted the mid-morning phone-in show. Robert Elms was kept at lunchtime. Vanessa Feltz took over Lisa I'Anson's afternoon slot with a phone-in. "Drivetime with Eddie Nestor and Kath Melandri" guide Londoners home with news updates, sport, travel and debates with the public. Specialist


title: "Moss Side" content: is awaiting redevelopment. Established in 2010, the Moss Cider Project is a local community enterprise which takes donations of apples from trees in Moss Side and the surrounding area and makes them into cider and apple juice. Those who donate the apples get a share of what is produced. The northern England office of Aquatech Pressmain, which specialises in the 'supply of fluid pumping equipment to the Building Services, Process and Water Industries', is located in Moss Side. Bridgewater Hospital, on Princess Road, is a private hospital that provides a range of healthcare treatments. In 2007, the Moss Side ward


title: "BBC Hereford & Worcester" content: & in February 2006, a new transmitter was turned on for Redditch (Headless Cross) on 104.4FM, as reception in the town had been unreliable. The main AM transmitter on 738 kHz is on the western edge of Worcester and covers most of the two counties. Originally, there was another AM transmitter for Hereford on 819 kHz. That frequency was given up to accommodate a new commercial station for South Shropshire. However, due to adjacent channel problems with 828 kHz from BBC WM, 855 kHz was used for that licence. There is a more recent addition to AM, a small transmitter


title: "Hollingsworth v. Virginia" content: Hollingsworth v. Virginia Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 378 (1798), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled early in America's history that the President of the United States has no formal role in the process of amending the United States Constitution and that the Eleventh Amendment was binding on cases already pending prior to its ratification. Levi Hollingsworth was a Pennsylvania merchant who owned shares in the Indiana Company, which was heavily involved in land speculation. The Indiana Company was seeking to resolve a land claim with the state of Virginia regarding land in


title: "The Majority Report with Sam Seder" content: On April 8, 2007, Seder aired the show's final broadcast on Friday, April 13, 2007. In November 2010, Seder relaunched "The Majority Report" as a self-produced online podcast, with largely the same format. Seder offers premium subscriptions to listeners (via the show's relaunched website) to help with production expenses (following the business model of Mike Malloy when his program became self-syndicated, and also that of Cenk Uygur of "The Young Turks"). Garofalo once said getting on the radio was an early career goal of hers. One early program advertisement read: "The battle to reclaim America from the forces of darkness


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: Yellow-eyed penguin The yellow-eyed penguin ("Megadyptes antipodes") or hoiho is a penguin native to New Zealand. Previously thought closely related to the little penguin ("Eudyptula minor"), molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus "Eudyptes". Like most other penguins, it is mainly piscivorous. The species breeds along the eastern and south-eastern coastlines of the South Island of New Zealand, as well as Stewart Island, Auckland Islands, and Campbell Islands. Colonies on the Otago Peninsula are a popular tourist venue, where visitors may closely observe penguins from hides, trenches, or tunnels. On the New Zealand mainland,


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: the species has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 years. On the Otago Peninsula, numbers have dropped by 75% since the mid-1990s and population trends indicate the possibility of local extinction in the next 20 to 40 years. While the effect of rising ocean temperatures is still being studied, an infectious outbreak in the mid 2000s played a large role in the drop. Human activities at sea (fisheries, pollution) may have an equal if not greater influence on the species' downward trend. The yellow-eyed penguin is the sole extant species in the genus "Megadyptes". (A smaller, recently extinct


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: species, "M. waitaha", was discovered in 2008.) Previously thought closely related to the little penguin ("Eudyptula minor"), new molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus "Eudyptes". Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA evidence suggests it split from the ancestors of "Eudyptes" around 15 million years ago. The yellow-eyed penguin was described by Jacques Bernard Hombron and Honoré Jacquinot in 1841. The Māori name is "hoiho". This is a mid-sized penguin, measuring long (fourth largest penguin). Weights vary through the year being greatest, 5.5 to 8 kg (12–18 lbs), just before moulting and least, 3 to 6


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: kg (6.6–13.2 lbs), after moulting. The males are larger than the females. It has a pale yellow head and paler yellow iris with black feather shafts. The chin and throat are brownish-black. There is a band of bright yellow running from its eyes around the back of the head. The juvenile has a greyer head with no band and their eyes have a grey iris. The yellow-eyed penguin may be long lived, with some individuals reaching 20 years of age. Males are generally longer lived than females, leading to a sex ratio of 2:1 around the age of 10–12 years.


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: This penguin usually nests in forest or scrub, among native flax ("Phormium tenax") and lupin ("Lupinus arboreus"), on slopes or gullies, or the shore itself, facing the sea. These areas are generally sited in small bays or on headland areas of larger bays. It is found in New Zealand, on the south-east coast of the South Island most notably on Otago Peninsula, Foveaux Strait, Stewart Island, and sub-Antarctic islands of Auckland and Campbell Islands. It expanded its range from the sub-Antarctic islands to the main islands of New Zealand after the extinction of the Waitaha penguin several hundred years ago.


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: In spring 2004, a previously undescribed disease killed off 60% of yellow-eyed penguin chicks on the Otago peninsula and in North Otago. The disease has been linked to an infection of "Corynebacterium", a genus of bacteria that also causes diphtheria in humans. It has recently been described as diphtheritic stomatitis. However, it seems as if this is just a secondary infection. The primary pathogen remains unknown. A similar problem has affected the Stewart Island population. The yellow-eyed penguin forages predominantly over the continental shelf between and offshore, diving to depths of to Breeding penguins usually undertake two kinds of foraging


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: trips: day trips where the birds leave at dawn and return in the evening ranging up to 25 km from their colonies, and shorter evening trips during which the birds are seldom away from their nest longer than four hours or range farther than 7 km. Yellow-eyed penguins are known to be an almost exclusive benthic forager that searches for prey along the seafloor. Accordingly, up to 90% of their dives are benthic dives. This also means that their average dive depths are determined by the water depths within their home ranges. Around 90% of the yellow-eyed penguin's diet is


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: made up of fish, chiefly demersal species that live near the seafloor (e.g. blue cod ("Parapercis colias"), red cod ("Pseudophycis bachus"), opalfish ("Hemerocoetes monopterygius") ). Other species taken are New Zealand blueback sprat ("Sprattus antipodum") and cephalopods such as arrow squid ("Nototodarus sloanii"). Jellyfish including species in the genera "Chrysaora" and "Cyanea" were found to be actively sought-out food items, while they previously had been thought to be only accidentally ingested. Similar preferences were found in the Adélie penguin, little penguin and Magellanic penguin. Whether yellow-eyed penguins are colonial nesters has been an ongoing issue with zoologists in New Zealand.


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: Most Antarctic penguin species nest in large high density aggregations of birds. For an example see the photo of nesting emperor penguin. In contrast yellow-eyed penguins do not nest within visual sight of each other. While they can be seen coming ashore in groups of four to six or more individuals then disperse along track to individual nests sites out of sight of each other. The consensus view of New Zealand penguin workers is that it is preferable to use habitat rather than colony to refer to areas where yellow-eyed penguins nest. Nest sites are selected in August and normally


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: two eggs are laid in September. The incubation duties (lasting 39–51 days) are shared by both parents who may spend several days on the nest at a time. For the first six weeks after hatching, the chicks are guarded during the day by one parent while the other is at sea feeding. The foraging adult returns at least daily to feed the chicks and relieve the partner. After the chicks are six weeks of age, both parents go to sea to supply food to their rapidly growing offspring. Chicks usually fledge in mid-February and are totally independent from then on.


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: Chick fledge weights are generally between 5 and 6 kg. First breeding occurs at three to four years of age and long term partnerships are formed. This species of penguin is endangered, with an estimated population of 4000. It is considered one of the world's rarest penguin species. The main threats include habitat degradation and introduced predators. It may be the most ancient of all living penguins. A reserve protecting more than 10% of the mainland population was established at Long Point in the Catlins in November 2007 by the Department of Conservation and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. In August


title: "Yellow-eyed penguin" content: 2010, the yellow-eyed penguin was granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Several mainland habitats have hides and are relatively easily accessible for those wishing to watch the birds come ashore. These include beaches at Oamaru, Moeraki light-house, a number of beaches near Dunedin, and The Catlins. In addition, commercial tourist operations on Otago Peninsula also provide hides to view yellow-eyed penguins. Yellow-eyed penguin The yellow-eyed penguin ("Megadyptes antipodes") or hoiho is a penguin native to New Zealand. Previously thought closely related to the little penguin ("Eudyptula minor"), molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of


title: "Kevin Blackmore" content: in community events and fundraisers. Kevin Blackmore Kevin Blackmore, who performs under the stage name Buddy Wasisname, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, comedian, and dramatist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Blackmore is best known as leader of the band Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers, who perform mainly Newfoundland music and comedy. Blackmore grew up in Gander, Newfoundland. He studied piano and classical guitar, and after graduating from high school he attended trade school. As a young man, Blackmore worked as an auto mechanic and heavy machinery operator, and later a piano tuner. He started his musical career in 1979


title: "Sea otter" content: Sea otter The sea otter ("Enhydra lutris") is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter is capable of living exclusively in the ocean. The sea otter inhabits nearshore environments, where it dives to the sea floor to


title: "Sea otter" content: forage. It preys mostly on marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various molluscs and crustaceans, and some species of fish. Its foraging and eating habits are noteworthy in several respects. First, its use of rocks to dislodge prey and to open shells makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. In most of its range, it is a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations which would otherwise inflict extensive damage to kelp forest ecosystems. Its diet includes prey species that are also valued by humans as food, leading to conflicts between sea otters and fisheries. Sea otters,


title: "Sea otter" content: whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000–300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range. A subsequent international ban on hunting, conservation efforts, and reintroduction programs into previously populated areas have contributed to numbers rebounding, and the species occupies about two-thirds of its former range. The recovery of the sea otter is considered an important success in marine conservation, although populations in the Aleutian Islands and California have recently declined or have plateaued at depressed levels. For these reasons, the sea otter


title: "Sea otter" content: remains classified as an endangered species. The sea otter is the heaviest (the giant otter is longer, but significantly slimmer) member of the family Mustelidae, a diverse group that includes the 13 otter species and terrestrial animals such as weasels, badgers, and minks. It is unique among the mustelids in not making or burrows, in having no functional anal scent glands, and in being able to live its entire life without leaving the water. The only member of the genus "Enhydra", the sea otter is so different from other mustelid species that, as recently as 1982, some scientists believed it


title: "Sea otter" content: was more closely related to the earless seals. Genetic analysis indicates the sea otter and its closest extant relatives, which include the African speckle-throated otter, European otter, African clawless otter and oriental small-clawed otter, shared an ancestor approximately 5 Mya (million years ago). Fossil evidence indicates the "Enhydra" lineage became isolated in the North Pacific approximately 2 Mya, giving rise to the now-extinct "Enhydra macrodonta" and the modern sea otter, "Enhydra lutris". One related species has been described, "Enhydra reevei", from the Pleistocene of East Anglia. The modern sea otter evolved initially in northern Hokkaidō and Russia, and then spread


title: "Sea otter" content: east to the Aleutian Islands, mainland Alaska, and down the North American coast. In comparison to cetaceans, sirenians, and pinnipeds, which entered the water approximately 50, 40, and 20 Mya, respectively, the sea otter is a relative newcomer to a marine existence. In some respects, though, the sea otter is more fully adapted to water than pinnipeds, which must haul out on land or ice to give birth. The full genome of the northern sea otter ("Enhydra lutris kenyoni") was sequenced in 2017 and may allow for examination of the sea otter's evolutionary divergence from terrestrial mustelids. The first scientific


title: "Sea otter" content: description of the sea otter is contained in the field notes of Georg Steller from 1751, and the species was described by Linnaeus in his "Systema Naturae" of 1758. Originally named "Lutra marina", it underwent numerous name changes before being accepted as "Enhydra lutris" in 1922. The generic name "Enhydra", derives from the Ancient Greek "en"/εν "in" and "hydra"/ύδρα "water", meaning "in the water", and the Latin word "lutris", meaning "otter". The sea otter was formerly sometimes referred to as the "sea beaver", being the marine fur-bearer similar in commercial value to the terrestrial beaver. Rodents (of which the beaver


title: "Sea otter" content: is one) are not closely related to otters, which are carnivorans. It is not to be confused with the marine otter, a rare otter species native to the southern west coast of South America. A number of other otter species, while predominantly living in fresh water, are commonly found in marine coastal habitats. The extinct sea mink of northeast North America is another mustelid that had adapted to a marine environment. Three subspecies of the sea otter are recognized with distinct geographical distributions. "Enhydra lutris lutris" (nominate), the Asian sea otter, ranges from the Kuril Islands north of Japan to


title: "Sea otter" content: Russia's Commander Islands in the western Pacific Ocean. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, "E. l. kenyoni", the northern sea otter, is found from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Oregon and "E. l. nereis", the southern sea otter, is native to central and southern California. The Asian sea otter is the largest subspecies and has a slightly wider skull and shorter nasal bones than both other subspecies. Northern sea otters possess longer mandibles (lower jaws) while southern sea otters have longer rostrums and smaller teeth. The sea otter is one of the smallest marine mammal species, but it is the heaviest mustelid.


title: "Sea otter" content: Male sea otters usually weigh and are in length, though specimens up to have been recorded. Females are smaller, weighing and measuring in length. For its size, the male otter's baculum is very large, massive and bent upwards, measuring in length and at the base. Unlike most other marine mammals, the sea otter has no blubber and relies on its exceptionally thick fur to keep warm. With up to 150,000 strands of hair per square centimeter (nearly one million per sq in), its fur is the densest of any animal. The fur consists of long, waterproof guard hairs and short


title: "Sea otter" content: underfur; the guard hairs keep the dense underfur layer dry. Cold water is kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited. The fur is thick year-round, as it is shed and replaced gradually rather than in a distinct molting season. As the ability of the guard hairs to repel water depends on utmost cleanliness, the sea otter has the ability to reach and groom the fur on any part of its body, taking advantage of its loose skin and an unusually supple skeleton. The coloration of the pelage is usually deep brown with silver-gray speckles, but it


title: "Sea otter" content: can range from yellowish or grayish brown to almost black. In adults, the head, throat, and chest are lighter in color than the rest of the body. The sea otter displays numerous adaptations to its marine environment. The nostrils and small ears can close. The hind feet, which provide most of its propulsion in swimming, are long, broadly flattened, and fully webbed. The fifth digit on each hind foot is longest, facilitating swimming while on its back, but making walking difficult. The tail is fairly short, thick, slightly flattened, and muscular. The front paws are short with retractable claws, with


title: "Sea otter" content: tough pads on the palms that enable gripping slippery prey. The bones show osteosclerosis, increasing their density to reduce buoyancy. The sea otter propels itself underwater by moving the rear end of its body, including its tail and hind feet, up and down, and is capable of speeds of up to 9 km/h (5.6 mph). When underwater, its body is long and streamlined, with the short forelimbs pressed closely against the chest. When at the surface, it usually floats on its back and moves by sculling its feet and tail from side to side. At rest, all four limbs can


title: "Sea otter" content: be folded onto the torso to conserve heat, whereas on particularly hot days, the hind feet may be held underwater for cooling. The sea otter's body is highly buoyant because of its large lung capacity – about 2.5 times greater than that of similar-sized land mammals – and the air trapped in its fur. The sea otter walks with a clumsy, rolling gait on land, and can run in a bounding motion. Long, highly sensitive whiskers and front paws help the sea otter find prey by touch when waters are dark or murky. Researchers have noted when they approach in


title: "Sea otter" content: plain view, sea otters react more rapidly when the wind is blowing towards the animals, indicating the sense of smell is more important than sight as a warning sense. Other observations indicate the sea otter's sense of sight is useful above and below the water, although not as good as that of seals. Its hearing is neither particularly acute nor poor. An adult's 32 teeth, particularly the molars, are flattened and rounded for crushing rather than cutting food. Seals and sea otters are the only carnivores with two pairs of lower incisor teeth rather than three; the adult dental formula


title: "Sea otter" content: is The sea otter has a metabolic rate two or three times that of comparatively sized terrestrial mammals. It must eat an estimated 25 to 38% of its own body weight in food each day to burn the calories necessary to counteract the loss of heat due to the cold water environment. Its digestive efficiency is estimated at 80 to 85%, and food is digested and passed in as little as three hours. Most of its need for water is met through food, although, in contrast to most other marine mammals, it also drinks seawater. Its relatively large kidneys enable


title: "Sea otter" content: it to derive fresh water from sea water and excrete concentrated urine. The sea otter is diurnal. It has a period of foraging and eating in the morning, starting about an hour before sunrise, then rests or sleeps in mid-day. Foraging resumes for a few hours in the afternoon and subsides before sunset, and a third foraging period may occur around midnight. Females with pups appear to be more inclined to feed at night. Observations of the amount of time a sea otter must spend each day foraging range from 24 to 60%, apparently depending on the availability of food


title: "Sea otter" content: in the area. Sea otters spend much of their time grooming, which consists of cleaning the fur, untangling knots, removing loose fur, rubbing the fur to squeeze out water and introduce air, and blowing air into the fur. To casual observers, it appears as if the animals are scratching, but they are not known to have lice or other parasites in the fur. When eating, sea otters roll in the water frequently, apparently to wash food scraps from their fur. The sea otter hunts in short dives, often to the sea floor. Although it can hold its breath for up


title: "Sea otter" content: to five minutes, its dives typically last about one minute and not more than four. It is the only marine animal capable of lifting and turning over rocks, which it often does with its front paws when searching for prey. The sea otter may also pluck snails and other organisms from kelp and dig deep into underwater mud for clams. It is the only marine mammal that catches fish with its forepaws rather than with its teeth. Under each foreleg, the sea otter has a loose pouch of skin that extends across the chest. In this pouch (preferentially the left


title: "Sea otter" content: one), the animal stores collected food to bring to the surface. This pouch also holds a rock, unique to the otter, that is used to break open shellfish and clams. There, the sea otter eats while floating on its back, using its forepaws to tear food apart and bring it to its mouth. It can chew and swallow small mussels with their shells, whereas large mussel shells may be twisted apart. It uses its lower incisor teeth to access the meat in shellfish. To eat large sea urchins, which are mostly covered with spines, the sea otter bites through the


title: "Sea otter" content: underside where the spines are shortest, and licks the soft contents out of the urchin's shell. The sea otter's use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. To open hard shells, it may pound its prey with both paws against a rock on its chest. To pry an abalone off its rock, it hammers the abalone shell using a large stone, with observed rates of 45 blows in 15 seconds. Releasing an abalone, which can cling to rock with a force equal to 4,000 times its own body weight, requires


title: "Sea otter" content: multiple dives. Although each adult and independent juvenile forages alone, sea otters tend to rest together in single-sex groups called rafts. A raft typically contains 10 to 100 animals, with male rafts being larger than female ones. The largest raft ever seen contained over 2000 sea otters. To keep from drifting out to sea when resting and eating, sea otters may wrap themselves in kelp. A male sea otter is most likely to mate if he maintains a breeding territory in an area that is also favored by females. As autumn is the peak breeding season in most areas, males


title: "Sea otter" content: typically defend their territory only from spring to autumn. During this time, males patrol the boundaries of their territories to exclude other males, although actual fighting is rare. Adult females move freely between male territories, where they outnumber adult males by an average of five to one. Males that do not have territories tend to congregate in large, male-only groups, and swim through female areas when searching for a mate. The species exhibits a variety of vocal behaviors. The cry of a pup is often compared to that of a seagull. Females coo when they are apparently content; males may


title: "Sea otter" content: grunt instead. Distressed or frightened adults may whistle, hiss, or in extreme circumstances, scream. Although sea otters can be playful and sociable, they are not considered to be truly social animals. They spend much time alone, and each adult can meet its own needs in terms of hunting, grooming, and defense. Sea otters are polygynous: males have multiple female partners. However, temporary pair-bonding occurs for a few days between a female in estrus and her mate. Mating takes place in the water and can be rough, the male biting the female on the muzzle – which often leaves scars on


title: "Sea otter" content: the nose – and sometimes holding her head under water. Births occur year-round, with peaks between May and June in northern populations and between January and March in southern populations. Gestation appears to vary from four to twelve months, as the species is capable of delayed implantation followed by four months of pregnancy. In California, sea otters usually breed every year, about twice as often as those in Alaska. Birth usually takes place in the water and typically produces a single pup weighing 1.4 to 2.3 kg (3 to 5 lb). Twins occur in 2% of births; however, usually only


title: "Sea otter" content: one pup survives. At birth, the eyes are open, ten teeth are visible, and the pup has a thick coat of baby fur. Mothers have been observed to lick and fluff a newborn for hours; after grooming, the pup's fur retains so much air, the pup floats like a cork and cannot dive. The fluffy baby fur is replaced by adult fur after about 13 weeks. Nursing lasts six to eight months in Californian populations and four to twelve months in Alaska, with the mother beginning to offer bits of prey at one to two months. The milk from a


title: "Sea otter" content: sea otter's two abdominal nipples is rich in fat and more similar to the milk of other marine mammals than to that of other mustelids. A pup, with guidance from its mother, practices swimming and diving for several weeks before it is able to reach the sea floor. Initially, the objects it retrieves are of little food value, such as brightly colored starfish and pebbles. Juveniles are typically independent at six to eight months, but a mother may be forced to abandon a pup if she cannot find enough food for it; at the other extreme, a pup may nurse


title: "Sea otter" content: until it is almost adult size. Pup mortality is high, particularly during an individual's first winter – by one estimate, only 25% of pups survive their first year. Pups born to experienced mothers have the highest survival rates. Females perform all tasks of feeding and raising offspring, and have occasionally been observed caring for orphaned pups. Much has been written about the level of devotion of sea otter mothers for their pups – a mother gives her infant almost constant attention, cradling it on her chest away from the cold water and attentively grooming its fur. When foraging, she leaves


title: "Sea otter" content: her pup floating on the water, sometimes wrapped in kelp to keep it from floating away; if the pup is not sleeping, it cries loudly until she returns. Mothers have been known to carry their pups for days after the pups' deaths. Females become sexually mature at around three or four years of age and males at around five; however, males often do not successfully breed until a few years later. A captive male sired offspring at age 19. In the wild, sea otters live to a maximum age of 23 years, with average lifespans of 10–15 years for males


title: "Sea otter" content: and 15–20 years for females. Several captive individuals have lived past 20 years, and a female at the Seattle Aquarium died at the age of 28 years. Sea otters in the wild often develop worn teeth, which may account for their apparently shorter lifespans. There are several documented cases in which male sea otters have forcibly copulated with juvenile harbor seals, sometimes resulting in death. Similarly, forced copulation by sea otters involving animals other than Pacific harbor seals has occasionally been reported. Sea otters live in coastal waters 15 to 23 meters (50 to 75 ft) deep, and usually stay


title: "Sea otter" content: within a kilometer (⅔ mi) of the shore. They are found most often in areas with protection from the most severe ocean winds, such as rocky coastlines, thick kelp forests, and barrier reefs. Although they are most strongly associated with rocky substrates, sea otters can also live in areas where the sea floor consists primarily of mud, sand, or silt. Their northern range is limited by ice, as sea otters can survive amidst drift ice but not land-fast ice. Individuals generally occupy a home range a few kilometers long, and remain there year-round. The sea otter population is thought to


title: "Sea otter" content: have once been 150,000 to 300,000, stretching in an arc across the North Pacific from northern Japan to the central Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. The fur trade that began in the 1740s reduced the sea otter's numbers to an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 members in 13 colonies. In about two-thirds of its former range, the species is at varying levels of recovery, with high population densities in some areas and threatened populations in others. Sea otters currently have stable populations in parts of the Russian east coast, Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and California, with reports of recolonizations in Mexico


title: "Sea otter" content: and Japan. Population estimates made between 2004 and 2007 give a worldwide total of approximately 107,000 sea otters. Currently, the most stable and secure part of the sea otter's range is Russia. Before the 19th century, around 20,000 to 25,000 sea otters lived near the Kuril Islands, with more near Kamchatka and the Commander Islands. After the years of the Great Hunt, the population in these areas, currently part of Russia, was only 750. By 2004, sea otters had repopulated all of their former habitat in these areas, with an estimated total population of about 27,000. Of these, about 19,000


title: "Sea otter" content: are at the Kurils, 2,000 to 3,500 at Kamchatka and another 5,000 to 5,500 at the Commander Islands. Growth has slowed slightly, suggesting the numbers are reaching carrying capacity. Alaska is the heartland of the sea otter's range. In 1973, the population in Alaska was estimated at between 100,000 and 125,000 animals. By 2006, though, the Alaska population had fallen to an estimated 73,000 animals. A massive decline in sea otter populations in the Aleutian Islands accounts for most of the change; the cause of this decline is not known, although orca predation is suspected. The sea otter population in


title: "Sea otter" content: Prince William Sound was also hit hard by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which killed thousands of sea otters in 1989. Along the North American coast south of Alaska, the sea otter's range is discontinuous. A remnant population survived off Vancouver Island into the 20th century, but it died out despite the 1911 international protection treaty, with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island. This population increased to over 5,600 in 2013 with an estimated annual growth rate