Question: What is the closest upper taxonomy of this bird?

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White stork. The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100 – 115 (cm) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155 – 215 (cm) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south.

White stork. babies being brought by storks.## Taxonomy and evolution.English naturalist Francis Willughby wrote about the white stork in the 17th century, having seen a drawing sent to him by his friend and natural history enthusiast Sir Thomas Brown of Norwich. He named it "Ciconia alba". They noted they were occasional vagrants to England, blown there by storms. It was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of "Systema Naturae", where it was given the binomial name of "Ardea ciconia". It was reclassified to (and was designated the type species of) the.

White stork. new genus "Ciconia" by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Both the genus and specific epithet, "cĭcōnia", are the Latin word for "stork", originally recorded in the works of Horace and Ovid. The Latin word survives in most Romance languages ("cicogna", "cigüeña", "cegonha" and the like). The word "stork" is derived from the Old English word "storc", and appeared in the 10th-century works the "Erfurt Glossary", where the word is equated with "Ciconia", and Aelfric's "Homilies". The word is related to the Old High German "storah", "stork", and similar words in many other European languages, all of which are.

White stork. and the "typical" storks ("Ciconia"). The typical storks include the white stork and six other extant species, which are characterised by straight pointed beaks and mainly black and white plumage. Its closest relatives are the larger, black-billed Oriental stork ("Ciconia boyciana") of East Asia, which was formerly classified as a subspecies of the white stork, and the maguari stork ("C. maguari") of South America. Close evolutionary relationships within "Ciconia" are suggested by behavioural similarities and, biochemically, through analysis of both mitochondrial cytochrome "b" gene sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization.A "Ciconia" fossil representing the distal end of a right humerus has been.

White stork. shown to locate their prey, moor frogs ("Rana arvalis"), by homing in on the mating calls produced by aggregations of male frogs.The diet of non-breeding birds is similar to that of breeding birds, but food items are more often taken from dry areas. White storks wintering in western India have been observed to follow blackbuck to capture insects disturbed by them. Wintering white storks in India sometimes forage along with the woolly-necked stork ("Ciconia episcopus"). Food piracy has been recorded in India with a rodent captured by a western marsh harrier appropriated by a white stork, while Montagu's harrier is.

White stork. possibly inspired by their courtship rituals. Their preening and posture saw them linked with the attribute of self-conceit. Children of African American slaves were sometimes told that white babies were brought by storks, while black babies were born from buzzard eggs. Klepetan and Malena Feathers of white stork ("Ciconia ciconia") Educational video about white stork ("Ciconia ciconia").


Question: In which year was this facility retired from operational service?

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Battersea Power Station. on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, an inner-city district of South West London, the building comprises two power stations, built in two stages in a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built in the 1930s and Battersea B Power Station, to its east, in the 1950s. They were built to a near-identical design, providing the four-chimney structure.The Power Station was decommissioned between 1975 and 1983 and remained empty until 2014. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1980. In 2007 its listed status was upgraded to Grade II*.The station is.

Battersea Power Station. 32 { "x": 1984, "y": 0 { "x": 1961, "y": 830 ] ], "scales": [ "name": "x", "type": "ordinal", "range": "width", "zero": false, "domain": { "data": "table", "field": "x" }, "name": "y", "type": "linear", "range": "height", "nice": true, "domain": { "data": "table", "field": "y" "axes": [ "type": "x", "scale": "x" { "type": "y", "scale": "y" ], "marks": [ "type": "rect", "from": { "data": "table" "properties": { "enter": { "x": { "scale": "x", "field": "x" "y": { "scale": "y", "field": "y" "y2": { "scale": "y", "value": 0 "fill": { "value": "steelblue" "width": { "scale": "x", "band": "true", "offset": -1}</graph>## Closure and.

Battersea Power Station. heritage site in 1980, when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, awarded the building Grade II listed status. (This was upgraded to Grade II* listed in 2007.) On 31 October 1983 production of electricity at Station B also ended, after nearly 30 years of operation. By then the B Station's generating capacity had fallen to 146 MW. The closure of the two stations was put down largely to the generating equipment becoming outdated, and the preferred choice of fuel for electricity generation shifting from coal toward oil, gas and nuclear power.## Theme park proposal.Following the station's closure,.

Battersea Power Station. the Central Electricity Generating Board had planned to demolish the station and sell the land for housing, but because of the building's then Grade II listed status, they had to pay the high cost of preserving the building. In 1983 they held a competition for ideas on the redevelopment of the site. It was won by a consortium led by developer David Roche and which included John Broome, owner of Alton Towers Ltd. This consortium proposed an indoor theme park, with shops and restaurants. At an estimated cost of £35 million, the scheme was risky and would require over 2.


Question: What is the main food source of this animal?

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Wolf. competition for food within the pack. Wolves are also territorial and fights over territory are among the principal causes of wolf mortality. The wolf is mainly a carnivore and feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs. Pathogens and parasites, notably rabies virus, may infect wolves.The global wild wolf population was estimated to be 300,000 in 2003 and is considered to be of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Wolves have a.

Wolf. long history of interactions with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of their attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. The wolf is also considered the ancestor of the domestic dog. Although the fear of wolves exists in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies. Wolf attacks on humans are rare because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans because of their experiences with hunters, ranchers, and shepherds.## Etymology.The English.

Wolf. and Wolfdregil ("Wolf Runner").## Taxonomy.In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus published in his "Systema Naturae" the binomial nomenclature. "Canis" is the Latin word meaning "dog", and under this genus he listed the doglike carnivores including domestic dogs, wolves, and jackals. He classified the domestic dog as "Canis familiaris", and the wolf as "Canis lupus". Linnaeus considered the dog to be a separate species from the wolf because of its "cauda recurvata" (upturning tail) which is not found in any other canid.## Subspecies.In the third edition of "Mammal Species of the World" published in 2005, the mammalogist W.

Wolf. Christopher Wozencraft listed under "C. lupus" 36 wild subspecies, and proposed two additional subspecies: "familiaris" (Linnaeus, 1758) and "dingo" (Meyer, 1793). Wozencraft included "hallstromi"—the New Guinea singing dog—as a taxonomic synonym for the dingo. Wozencraft referred to a 1999 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) study as one of the guides in forming his decision, and listed the 38 subspecies of "C. lupus" under the biological common name of "wolf", the nominate subspecies being the Eurasian wolf ("C. l. lupus") based on the type specimen that Linnaeus studied in Sweden. Studies using paleogenomic techniques reveal that the modern wolf and the dog are.

Wolf. sister taxa, as modern wolves are not closely related to the population of wolves that was first domesticated. In 2019, a workshop hosted by the IUCN/Species Survival Commission's Canid Specialist Group considered the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo to be feral "Canis familiaris", and therefore should not be assessed for the IUCN Red List.## Evolution.The phylogenetic descent of the extant wolf "C. lupus" from "C. etruscus" through "C. mosbachensis" is widely accepted. The earliest fossils of "C. lupus" were found in what was once eastern Beringia at Old Crow, Yukon, Canada, and at Cripple Creek Sump, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Wolf. often processed carcasses, or that they competed with other carnivores and needed to consume their prey quickly. Compared with those found in the modern spotted hyena, the frequency and location of tooth fractures in these wolves indicates they were habitual bone crackers.Genomic studies suggest modern wolves and dogs descend from a common ancestral wolf population that existed 20,000 years ago. A 2021 study found that the Himalayan wolf and the Indian plains wolf are part of a lineage that is basal to other wolves and split from them 200,000 years ago. Other wolves appear to have originated in Beringia in.

Wolf. an expansion that was driven by the huge ecological changes during the close of the Late Pleistocene. A study in 2016 indicates that a population bottleneck was followed by a rapid radiation from an ancestral population at a time during, or just after, the Last Glacial Maximum. This implies the original morphologically diverse wolf populations were out-competed and replaced by more modern wolves.A 2016 genomic study suggests that Old World and New World wolves split around 12,500 years ago followed by the divergence of the lineage that led to dogs from other Old World wolves around 11,100–12,300 years ago. An.

Wolf. extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the dog, with the dog's similarity to the extant wolf being the result of genetic admixture between the two. The dingo, Basenji, Tibetan Mastiff and Chinese indigenous breeds are basal members of the domestic dog clade. The divergence time for wolves in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia is estimated to be fairly recent at around 1,600 years ago. Among New World wolves, the Mexican wolf diverged around 5,400 years ago.## Admixture with other canids.In the distant past, there has been gene flow between African wolves, golden jackals, and gray.

Wolf. wolves. The African wolf is a descendant of a genetically admixed canid of 72% wolf and 28% Ethiopian wolf ancestry. One African wolf from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula shows admixture with Middle Eastern gray wolves and dogs. There is evidence of gene flow between golden jackals and Middle Eastern wolves, less so with European and Asian wolves, and least with North American wolves. This indicates the golden jackal ancestry found in North American wolves may have occurred before the divergence of the Eurasian and North American wolves.The common ancestor of the coyote and the wolf has admixed with a ghost.

Wolf. population of an extinct unidentified canid. This canid is genetically close to the dhole and evolved after the divergence of the African hunting dog from the other canid species. The basal position of the coyote compared to the wolf is proposed to be due to the coyote retaining more of the mitochondrial genome of this unidentified canid. Similarly, a museum specimen of a wolf from southern China collected in 1963 showed a genome that was 12–14% admixed from this unknown canid. In North America, most coyotes and wolves show varying degrees of past genetic admixture. The red wolf of the.

Wolf. southeastern United States is a hybrid animal with 40%:60% wolf to coyote ancestry. In addition, there was found to be 60%:40% wolf to coyote genetics in Eastern timber wolves, and 75%:25% in the Great Lakes region wolves.In more recent times, some male Italian wolves originated from dog ancestry, which indicates female wolves will breed with male dogs in the wild. In the Caucasus Mountains, ten percent of dogs including livestock guardian dogs, are first generation hybrids. Although mating between golden jackals and wolves has never been observed, evidence of jackal-wolf hybridization was discovered through mitochondrial DNA analysis of jackals living.

Wolf. in the Caucasus Mountains and in Bulgaria.In 2021, a genetic study found that the dog's similarity to the extant gray wolf was the result of substantial dog-into-wolf gene flow, with almost negligible wolf-into-dog gene flow since the dog's domestication. Some gray wolves were related to all ancient and modern dogs.## Description.The wolf is the largest extant member of the Canidae family, and is further distinguished from coyotes and jackals by a broader snout, shorter ears, a shorter torso and a longer tail. It is slender and powerfully built, with a large, deeply descending rib cage, a sloping back, and a.

Wolf. the calcaneal tendons. The winter fur is highly resistant to the cold. Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at -40 (C) by placing their muzzles between the rear legs and covering their faces with their tail. Wolf fur provides better insulation than dog fur and does not collect ice when warm breath is condensed against it.In cold climates, the wolf can reduce the flow of blood near its skin to conserve body heat. The warmth of the foot pads is regulated independently from the rest of the body and is maintained at just above tissue-freezing point.

Wolf. southern Canada, the U.S., and Mexico being predominantly gray. In some areas of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, the coat colour is predominantly black, some being blue-gray and some with silver and black. Differences in coat colour between sexes is absent in Eurasia; females tend to have redder tones in North America. Black-coloured wolves in North America acquired their colour from wolf-dog admixture after the first arrival of dogs across the Bering Strait 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. Research into the inheritance of white colour from dogs into wolves has yet to be undertaken.## Ecology.## Distribution and.

Wolf. habitat.Wolves occur across Eurasia and North America. However, deliberate human persecution because of livestock predation and fear of attacks on humans has reduced the wolf's range to about one-third of its historic range; the wolf is now extirpated (locally extinct) from much of its range in Western Europe, the United States and Mexico, and completely in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In modern times, the wolf occurs mostly in wilderness and remote areas. The wolf can be found between sea level and 3000 (m). Wolves live in forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands (including Arctic tundra), pastures, deserts, and rocky.

Wolf. in diet between wolves living on different continents is based on the variety of hoofed mammals and of available smaller and domesticated prey.In North America, the wolf's diet is dominated by wild large hoofed mammals (ungulates) and medium-sized mammals. In Asia and Europe, their diet is dominated by wild medium-sized hoofed mammals and domestic species. The wolf depends on wild species, and if these are not readily available, as in Asia, the wolf is more reliant on domestic species. Across Eurasia, wolves prey mostly on moose, red deer, roe deer and wild boar. In North America, important range-wide prey are.

Wolf. elk, moose, caribou, white-tailed deer and mule deer. They also prey on bison and muskoxen. Wolves can digest their meal in a few hours and can feed several times in one day, making quick use of large quantities of meat. A well-fed wolf stores fat under the skin, around the heart, intestines, kidneys, and bone marrow, particularly during the autumn and winter.Nonetheless, wolves are not fussy eaters. Smaller-sized animals that may supplement their diet include rodents, rabbits, hares, insectivores and smaller carnivores. They frequently eat waterfowl and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, they prey on lizards, snakes, frogs,.

Wolf. and large insects when available. Wolves in northern Minnesota prey on northern pike in freshwater streams. The diet of coastal wolves in Alaska includes 20% salmon, while those of coastal wolves in British Columbia includes 25% marine sources, and those on the nearby islands 75%.In Europe, wolves eat apples, pears, figs, melons, berries and cherries. In North America, wolves eat blueberries and raspberries. Wolves also eat grass, which may provide some vitamins, but is most likely used mainly to induce vomiting to rid themselves of intestinal parasites or long guard hairs. They are known to eat the berries of mountain-ash,.

Wolf. lily of the valley, bilberries, cowberries, European black nightshade, grain crops, and the shoots of reeds.In times of scarcity, wolves will readily eat carrion. In Eurasian areas with dense human activity, many wolf populations are forced to subsist largely on livestock and garbage. Prey in North America continue to occupy suitable habitats with low human density, the wolves eating livestock and garbage only in dire circumstances. Cannibalism is not uncommon in wolves during harsh winters, when packs often attack weak or injured wolves and may eat the bodies of dead pack members.## Interactions with other predators.Wolves typically dominate other canid.

Wolf. adjacent mountain ranges. Wolves and cougars typically avoid encountering each other by hunting at different elevations for different prey (niche partitioning). In winter, when snow accumulation forces their prey into valleys, interactions between the two species become more likely. Wolves in packs usually dominate cougars and can steal their kills or even kill them, while one-to-one encounters tend to be dominated by the cat. There are several documented cases of cougars killing wolves. Wolves more broadly affect cougar population dynamics and distribution by dominating territory and prey opportunities and disrupting the feline's behaviour. Wolf and Siberian tiger interactions are well-documented.

Wolf. off single or outnumbered hyenas. There is at least one case in Israel of a hyena associating and cooperating with a wolf pack. It is proposed that the hyena could benefit from the wolves' superior ability to hunt large, agile prey. The wolves could benefit from the hyena's superior sense of smell, to locate and dig out tortoises, to crack open large bones, and to tear open discarded food containers like tin cans.## Behaviour.## Social structure.The wolf is a social animal. Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves, most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs.

Wolf. to form their own or join another one. The wolf's basic social unit is the nuclear family consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. The average pack size in North America is eight wolves and in Europe 5.5 wolves. The average pack across Eurasia consists of a family of eight wolves (two adults, juveniles, and yearlings), or sometimes two or three such families, with examples of exceptionally large packs consisting of up to 42 wolves being known. Cortisol levels in wolves rise significantly when a pack member dies, indicating the presence of stress. During times of prey abundance.

Wolf. and the Denali National Park and Preserve were due to other wolves.## Communication.Wolves communicate using vocalizations, body postures, scent, touch, and taste. The phases of the moon have no effect on wolf vocalization, and despite popular belief, wolves do not howl at the moon. Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances. Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 130 (km2). Other vocalizations include.

Wolf. growls, barks and whines. Wolves do not bark as loudly or continuously as dogs do in confrontations, rather barking a few times and then retreating from a perceived danger. Aggressive or self-assertive wolves are characterized by their slow and deliberate movements, high body posture and raised hackles, while submissive ones carry their bodies low, flatten their fur, and lower their ears and tail.Scent marking involves urine, feces, and anal gland scents. This is more effective at advertising territory than howling and is often used in combination with scratch marks. Wolves increase their rate of scent marking when they encounter the.

Wolf. marks of wolves from other packs. Lone wolves will rarely mark, but newly bonded pairs will scent mark the most. These marks are generally left every 240 (m) throughout the territory on regular travelways and junctions. Such markers can last for two to three weeks, and are typically placed near rocks, boulders, trees, or the skeletons of large animals. Raised leg urination is considered to be one of the most important forms of scent communication in the wolf, making up 60–80% of all scent marks observed.## Reproduction.Wolves are monogamous, mated pairs usually remaining together for life. Should one of the.

Wolf. better warmed by sunlight exposure, and the snow can thaw more quickly. Resting places, play areas for the pups, and food remains are commonly found around wolf dens. The odor of urine and rotting food emanating from the denning area often attracts scavenging birds like magpies and ravens. Though they mostly avoid areas within human sight, wolves have been known to nest near domiciles, paved roads and railways. During pregnancy, female wolves remain in a den located away from the peripheral zone of their territories, where violent encounters with other packs are less likely to occur.The gestation period lasts 62–75.

Wolf. blood loss, thereby lessening the risk of injury to themselves. With medium-sized prey, such as roe deer or sheep, wolves kill by biting the throat, severing nerve tracks and the carotid artery, thus causing the animal to die within a few seconds to a minute. With small, mouselike prey, wolves leap in a high arc and immobilize it with their forepaws.Once prey is brought down, wolves begin to feed excitedly, ripping and tugging at the carcass in all directions, and bolting down large chunks of it. The breeding pair typically monopolizes food to continue producing pups. When food is scarce,.

Wolf. wolf attacks on people being attributed to rabid animals. Although canine distemper is lethal in dogs, it has not been recorded to kill wolves, except in Canada and Alaska. The canine parvovirus, which causes death by dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and endotoxic shock or sepsis, is largely survivable in wolves, but can be lethal to pups. Wolves may catch infectious canine hepatitis from dogs, though there are no records of wolves dying from it. Papillomatosis has been recorded only once in wolves, and likely does not cause serious illness or death, though it may alter feeding behaviours. The canine coronavirus has.

Wolf. been recorded in Alaskan wolves, infections being most prevalent in winter months.Bacterial diseases carried by wolves include: brucellosis, Lyme disease, leptospirosis, tularemia, bovine tuberculosis, listeriosis and anthrax. Wolves can catch "Brucella suis" from wild and domestic reindeer. While adult wolves tend not to show any clinical signs, it can severely weaken the pups of infected females. Although lyme disease can debilitate individual wolves, it does not appear to significantly affect wolf populations. Leptospirosis can be contracted through contact with infected prey or urine, and can cause fever, anorexia, vomiting, anemia, hematuria, icterus, and death. Wolves living near farms are more.

Wolf. vulnerable to the disease than those living in the wilderness, probably because of prolonged contact with infected domestic animal waste. Wolves may catch tularemia from lagomorph prey, though its effect on wolves is unknown. Although bovine tuberculosis is not considered a major threat to wolves, it has been recorded to have killed two wolf pups in Canada.## Parasitic.Wolves carry ectoparasites and endoparasites; those in the former Soviet Union have been recorded to carry at least 50 species. Most of these parasites infect wolves without adverse effects, though the effects may become more serious in sick or malnourished specimens. Parasitic infection.

Wolf. in wolves is of particular concern to people. Wolves can spread them to dogs, which in turn can carry the parasites to humans. In areas where wolves inhabit pastoral areas, the parasites can be spread to livestock.Wolves are often infested with a variety of arthropod exoparasites, including fleas, ticks, lice, and mites. The most harmful to wolves, particularly pups, is the mange mite ("Sarcoptes scabiei"), though they rarely develop full-blown mange, unlike foxes. Lice, such as "Trichodectes canis", may cause sickness in wolves, but rarely death. Ticks of the genus "Ixodes" can infect wolves with Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain.

Wolf. spotted fever. The tick "Dermacentor pictus" also infests wolves. Other ectoparasites include chewing lice, sucking lice and the fleas "Pulex irritans" and "Ctenocephalides canis".Endoparasites known to infect wolves include: protozoans and helminths (flukes, tapeworms, roundworms and thorny-headed worms). Of 30,000 protozoan species, only a few have been recorded to infect wolves: "Isospora", "Toxoplasma", "Sarcocystis", "Babesia", and "Giardia". Some wolves carry "Neospora caninum", which can be spread to cattle and is correlated with bovine miscarriages. Among flukes, the most common in North American wolves is "Alaria", which infects small rodents and amphibians which are eaten by wolves. Upon reaching maturity, "Alaria.

Wolf. migrates to the wolf's intestine, but does little harm. "Metorchis conjunctus", which enters wolves through eating fish, infects the wolf's liver or gall bladder, causing liver disease, inflammation of the pancreas, and emaciation. Most other fluke species reside in the wolf's intestine, though "Paragonimus westermani" lives in the lungs. Tapeworms are commonly found in wolves, as their primary hosts are ungulates, small mammals, and fish, which wolves feed upon. Tapeworms generally cause little harm in wolves, though this depends on the number and size of the parasites, and the sensitivity of the host. Symptoms often include constipation, toxic and allergic.

Wolf. intestinal irritation, bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea. Wolves may catch "Dioctophyma renale" from minks, which infects the kidneys, and can grow to lengths of 100 (cm). "D. renale" causes the complete destruction of the kidney's functional tissue and can be fatal if both kidneys are infected. Wolves can tolerate low levels of "Dirofilaria immitis" for many years without showing any ill effects, though high levels can kill wolves through cardiac enlargement and congestive hepatopathy. Wolves probably become infected with "Trichinella spiralis" by eating infected ungulates. Although "T. spiralis" is not known to produce clinical signs in wolves, it can cause emaciation,.

Wolf. salivation, and crippling muscle pains in dogs. Thorny-headed worms rarely infect wolves, though three species have been identified in Russian wolves: "Nicolla skrjabini", "Macracanthorhynchus catulinus", and "Moniliformis moniliformis".## Status and conservation.The global wild wolf population in 2003 was estimated at 300,000. Wolf population declines have been arrested since the 1970s. This has fostered recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range as a result of legal protection, changes in land use, and rural human population shifts to cities. Competition with humans for livestock and game species, concerns over the danger posed by wolves to people, and habitat fragmentation pose.

Wolf. world. His most famous is the fable of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", which is directed at those who knowingly raise false alarms, and from which the idiomatic phrase "to cry wolf" is derived. Some of his other fables concentrate on maintaining the trust between shepherds and guard dogs in their vigilance against wolves, as well as anxieties over the close relationship between wolves and dogs. Although Aesop used wolves to warn, criticize and moralize about human behaviour, his portrayals added to the wolf's image as a deceitful and dangerous animal. The Bible uses an image of a wolf lying.

Wolf. Ivan Bunin, Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev, and others. Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and Chekhov's "Peasants" both feature scenes in which wolves are hunted with hounds and Borzois. The musical "Peter and the Wolf" involves a wolf being captured for eating a duck, but is spared and sent to a zoo.Wolves are among the central characters of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book". His portrayal of wolves has been praised posthumously by wolf biologists for his depiction of them: rather than being villainous or gluttonous, as was common in wolf portrayals at the time of the book's publication, they are shown as living.

Wolf. in amiable family groups and drawing on the experience of infirm but experienced elder pack members. Farley Mowat's largely fictional 1963 memoir "Never Cry Wolf" is widely considered to be the most popular book on wolves, having been adapted into a Hollywood film and taught in several schools decades after its publication. Although credited with having changed popular perceptions on wolves by portraying them as loving, cooperative and noble, it has been criticized for its idealization of wolves and its factual inaccuracies.## Conflicts.Human presence appears to stress wolves, as seen by increased cortisol levels in instances such as snowmobiling near.

Wolf. their territory.## Predation on livestock.Livestock depredation has been one of the primary reasons for hunting wolves and can pose a severe problem for wolf conservation. As well as causing economic losses, the threat of wolf predation causes great stress on livestock producers, and no foolproof solution of preventing such attacks short of exterminating wolves has been found. Some nations help offset economic losses to wolves through compensation programs or state insurance. Domesticated animals are easy prey for wolves, as they have been bred under constant human protection, and are thus unable to defend themselves very well. Wolves typically resort to.

Wolf. attacking livestock when wild prey is depleted. In Eurasia, a large part of the diet of some wolf populations consists of livestock, while such incidents are rare in North America, where healthy populations of wild prey have been largely restored.The majority of losses occur during the summer grazing period, untended livestock in remote pastures being the most vulnerable to wolf predation. The most frequently targeted livestock species are sheep (Europe), domestic reindeer (northern Scandinavia), goats (India), horses (Mongolia), cattle and turkeys (North America). The number of animals killed in single attacks varies according to species: most attacks on cattle and.

Wolf. horses result in one death, while turkeys, sheep and domestic reindeer may be killed in surplus. Wolves mainly attack livestock when the animals are grazing, though they occasionally break into fenced enclosures.## Competition with dogs.A review of the studies on the competitive effects of dogs on sympatric carnivores did not mention any research on competition between dogs and wolves. Competition would favour the wolf, which is known to kill dogs; however, wolves usually live in pairs or in small packs in areas with high human persecution, giving them a disadvantage when facing large groups of dogs.Wolves kill dogs on occasion,.

Wolf. and some wolf populations rely on dogs as an important food source. In Croatia, wolves kill more dogs than sheep, and wolves in Russia appear to limit stray dog populations. Wolves may display unusually bold behaviour when attacking dogs accompanied by people, sometimes ignoring nearby humans. Wolf attacks on dogs may occur both in house yards and in forests. Wolf attacks on hunting dogs are considered a major problem in Scandinavia and Wisconsin. The most frequently killed hunting breeds in Scandinavia are Harriers, older animals being most at risk, likely because they are less timid than younger animals, and react.

Wolf. to the presence of wolves differently. Large hunting dogs such as Swedish Elkhounds are more likely to survive wolf attacks because of their better ability to defend themselves.Although the number of dogs killed each year by wolves is relatively low, it induces a fear of wolves entering villages and farmyards to prey on them. In many cultures, dogs are seen as family members, or at least working team members, and losing one can lead to strong emotional responses such as demanding more liberal hunting regulations.Dogs that are employed to guard sheep help to mitigate human–wolf conflicts, and are often proposed.

Wolf. as one of the non-lethal tools in the conservation of wolves. Shepherd dogs are not particularly aggressive, but they can disrupt potential wolf predation by displaying what is to the wolf ambiguous behaviours, such as barking, social greeting, invitation to play or aggression. The historical use of shepherd dogs across Eurasia has been effective against wolf predation, especially when confining sheep in the presence of several livestock guardian dogs. Shepherd dogs are sometimes killed by wolves.## Attacks on humans.The fear of wolves has been pervasive in many societies, though humans are not part of the wolf's natural prey. How wolves.

Wolf. almost always women. Indian wolves have a history of preying on children, a phenomenon called "child-lifting". They may be taken primarily in the spring and summer periods during the evening hours, and often within human settlements.Cases of rabid wolves are low when compared to other species, as wolves do not serve as primary reservoirs of the disease, but can be infected by animals such as dogs, jackals and foxes. Incidents of rabies in wolves are very rare in North America, though numerous in the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia. Wolves apparently develop the "furious" phase of rabies.

Wolf. to a very high degree. This, coupled with their size and strength, makes rabid wolves perhaps the most dangerous of rabid animals. Bites from rabid wolves are 15 times more dangerous than those of rabid dogs. Rabid wolves usually act alone, travelling large distances and often biting large numbers of people and domestic animals. Most rabid wolf attacks occur in the spring and autumn periods. Unlike with predatory attacks, the victims of rabid wolves are not eaten, and the attacks generally occur only on a single day. The victims are chosen at random, though most cases involve adult men. During.

Wolf. the fifty years up to 2002, there were eight fatal attacks in Europe and Russia, and more than two hundred in southern Asia.## Human hunting of wolves.Theodore Roosevelt said wolves are difficult to hunt because of their elusiveness, sharp senses, high endurance, and ability to quickly incapacitate and kill a dog. Historic methods included killing of spring-born litters in their dens, coursing with dogs (usually combinations of sighthounds, Bloodhounds and Fox Terriers), poisoning with strychnine, and trapping.A popular method of wolf hunting in Russia involves trapping a pack within a small area by encircling it with fladry poles carrying a.

Wolf. human scent. This method relies heavily on the wolf's fear of human scents, though it can lose its effectiveness when wolves become accustomed to the odor. Some hunters can lure wolves by imitating their calls. In Kazakhstan and Mongolia, wolves are traditionally hunted with eagles and falcons, though this practice is declining, as experienced falconers are becoming few in number. Shooting wolves from aircraft is highly effective, due to increased visibility and direct lines of fire. Several types of dog, including the Borzoi and Kyrgyz Tajgan, have been specifically bred for wolf hunting.## As pets and working animals.Wolves and wolf-dog.

Wolf. hybrids are sometimes kept as exotic pets. Although closely related to domestic dogs, wolves do not show the same tractability as dogs in living alongside humans, being generally less responsive to human commands and more likely to act aggressively. A person is more likely to be fatally mauled by a pet wolf or wolf-dog hybrid than by a dog.The International Wolf CenterStaying Safe in Wolf Country, ADFG (January 2009)Watch "Death of a Legend" and "Cry of the Wild" by Bill Mason.


Question: What is the closest parent taxonomy of this animal?

Instruction: Determine the Wikipedia snippet that matches the question of this image.

Baleen whale. Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve planktonic creatures from the water. Mysticeti comprises the families Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals and the gray whale), and Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale). There are currently 16 species of baleen whales. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence instead supports them as a clade of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti).

Baleen whale. around 34 million years ago.Baleen whales range in size from the 6 (m) and 3000 (kg) pygmy right whale to the 31 (m) and 190 (MT) blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. They are sexually dimorphic. Baleen whales can have streamlined or large bodies, depending on the feeding behavior, and two limbs that are modified into flippers. The fin whale is the fastest baleen whale, recorded swimming at 10 (m/s). Baleen whales use their baleen plates to filter out food from the water by either lunge-feeding or skim-feeding. Baleen whales have fused neck vertebrae, and are.

Baleen whale. unable to turn their heads at all. Baleen whales have two blowholes. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water.Although baleen whales are widespread, most species prefer the colder waters of the Arctic and Antarctic. Gray whales are specialized for feeding on bottom-dwelling crustaceans. Rorquals are specialized at lunge-feeding, and have a streamlined body to reduce drag while accelerating. Right whales skim-feed, meaning they use their enlarged head to effectively take in a large amount of water and sieve the.

Baleen whale. slow-moving prey. Males typically mate with more than one female (polygyny), although the degree of polygyny varies with the species. Male strategies for reproductive success vary between performing ritual displays (whale song) or lek mating. Calves are typically born in the winter and spring months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them. Mothers fast for a relatively long period of time over the period of migration, which varies between species. Baleen whales produce a number of infrasonic vocalizations, notably the songs of the humpback whale.The meat, blubber, baleen, and oil of baleen whales have traditionally been used by.

Baleen whale. the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Once relentlessly hunted by commercial industries for these products, cetaceans are now protected by international law. These protections have allowed their numbers to recover. However, the North Atlantic right whale is ranked endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Besides hunting, baleen whales also face threats from marine pollution and ocean acidification. It has been speculated that man-made sonar results in strandings. They have rarely been kept in captivity, and this has only been attempted with juveniles or members of one of the smallest species.## Taxonomy.Baleen whales are cetaceans classified under the.

Baleen whale. parvorder Mysticeti, and consist of three extant families: Balaenidae (right whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals and the gray whale), and Cetotheriidae (pygmy right whale). Balaenids are distinguished by their enlarged head and thick blubber, while rorquals and gray whales generally have a flat head, long throat pleats, and are more streamlined than Balaenids. Rorquals also tend to be longer than the latter. Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and artiodactyls are now classified under the order Cetartiodactyla, often still referred to as Artiodactyla (given that the cetaceans are deeply nested with the artiodactyls). The closest living relatives to baleen whales are toothed whales.

Baleen whale. both from the infraorder Cetacea.## Classification.Balaenidae consists of two genera: "Eubalaena" (right whales) and "Balaena" (the bowhead whale, "B. mysticetus"). Balaenidae was thought to have consisted of only one genus until studies done through the early 2000s reported that bowhead whales and right whales are morphologically (different skull shape) and phylogenically different. According to a study done by H. C. Rosenbaum (of the American Museum of Natural History) and colleagues, the North Pacific ("E. japonica") and Southern right ("E. australis") whales are more closely related to each other than to the North Atlantic right whale ("E. glacialis").Cetotheriidae consists of only.

Baleen whale. one living member: the pygmy right whale ("Caperea marginata"). The first descriptions date back to the 1840s of bones and baleen plates resembling a smaller version of the right whale, and was named "Balaena marginata". In 1864, it was moved into the genus "Caperea" after a skull of another specimen was discovered. Six years later, the pygmy right whale was classified under the family Neobalaenidae. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale is more genetically similar to rorquals and gray whales than to right whales. A study published in 2012, based on bone structure, moved the pygmy right whale from.

Baleen whale. and colleagues suggested that, based on phylogenic criteria, there are four extant genera of rorquals. They recommend that the genus "Balaenoptera" be limited to the fin whale, have minke whales fall under the genus "Pterobalaena", and have "Rorqualus" contain the Sei whale, Bryde's whale, Eden's whale (and by extension Rice's whale), the blue whale, and Omura's whale. The gray whale was formerly classified in its own family. The two populations, one in the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan and the other in eastern Pacific are thought to be genetically and physiologically dissimilar. However, there is some discussion as.

Baleen whale. although obviously more appropriate and occasionally used in the past, has been superseded by "Mysticeti" (junior synonym).Mysticetes are also known as baleen whales because of the presence of baleen. These animals rely on their baleen plates to sieve plankton and other small organisms from the water. The term "baleen" (Middle English "baleyn, ballayne, ballien, bellane", etc.) is an archaic word for "whale", which came from Old French "baleine", derived from the Latin word "balæna", derived itself from the Ancient Greek "φάλλαινα" ("phállaina)".Right whales got their name because of whalers preferring them over other species; they were essentially the "right whale.

Baleen whale. streamlined body. They have callosities, unlike other whales, with the exception of the bowhead whale. Rorquals have a higher proportion of muscle tissue and tend to be negatively buoyant, whereas right whales have a higher proportion of blubber and are positively buoyant. Gray whales are easily distinguished from the other rorquals by their sleet-gray color, dorsal ridges (knuckles on the back), and their gray-white scars left from parasites. As with the other rorquals, their throat pleats increase the capacity of their throats, allowing them to filter larger volumes of water at once. Gray whales are bottom-feeders, meaning they sift through.

Baleen whale. sand to get their food. They usually turn on their sides, scoop up sediment into their mouths and filter out benthic creatures like amphipods, which leave noticeable marks on their heads. The pygmy right whale is easily confused with minke whales because of their similar characteristics, such as their small size, dark gray tops, light gray bottoms, and light eye patches.## Evolutionary history.Molecular phylogeny suggests Mysticeti split from Odontoceti (toothed whales) between 26 and 17 million years ago between the late Oligocene or middle Miocene, but the earliest Mysticeti fossils date to at least 34 million years ago. Their evolutionary.

Baleen whale. link to archaic toothed cetaceans (Archaeoceti) remained unknown until the extinct "Janjucetus hunderi" was discovered in the early 1990s in Victoria, Australia. While, unlike a modern baleen whale, "Janjucetus" lacked baleen in its jaw, the anatomy shows sufficient similarity to baleen whales. It appears to have had very limited apparent biosonar capabilities. Its jaw contained teeth, with incisors and canines built for stabbing and molars and premolars built for tearing. These early mysticetes were exceedingly small compared to modern baleen whales, with species like "Mammalodon" measuring no greater than 10 (ft). It is thought that their size increased with their.

Baleen whale. However, the 2018 discovery of the toothless "Maiabalaena" indicates some lineages evolved toothlessness before baleen."Mystacodon selenensis" is the earliest mysticete, dating back to 37 to 33 million years ago (mya) in the Late Eocene, and, like other early toothed mysticetes, or "archaeomysticetes", "M. selenensis" had heterodont dentition used for suction feeding. Archaeomysticetes from the Oligocene are the Mammalodontidae ("Mammalodon" and "Janjucetus") from Australia. They were small with shortened rostra, and a primitive dental formula (). In baleen whales, it is thought that enlarged mouths adapted for suction feeding evolved before specializations for bulk filter feeding. In the toothed Oligocene mammalodontid.

Baleen whale. "Janjucetus", the symphysis is short and the mouth enlarged, the rostrum is wide, and the edges of the maxillae are thin, indicating an adaptation for suction feeding. The aetiocetid "Chonecetus" still had teeth, but the presence of a groove on the interior side of each mandible indicates the symphysis was elastic, which would have enabled rotation of each mandible, an initial adaptation for bulk feeding like in modern mysticetes.The first toothless ancestors of baleen whales appeared before the first radiation in the late Oligocene. "Eomysticetus" and others like it showed no evidence in the skull of echolocation abilities, suggesting they.

Baleen whale. mainly relied on their eyesight for navigation. The eomysticetes had long, flat rostra that lacked teeth and had blowholes located halfway up the dorsal side of the snout. Though the palate is not well-preserved in these specimens, they are thought to have had baleen and been filter feeders. Miocene baleen whales were preyed upon by larger predators like killer sperm whales and megalodon.The lineages of rorquals and right whales split almost 20 mya. It is unknown where this occurred, but it is generally believed that they, like their descendants, followed plankton migrations. These primitive baleen whales had lost their dentition.

Baleen whale. in favor of baleen, and are believed to have lived on a specialized benthic, plankton, or copepod diet like modern baleen whales. Baleen whales experienced their first radiation in the mid-Miocene. It is thought this radiation was caused by global climate change and major tectonic activity when Antarctica and Australia separated from each other, creating the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Balaenopterids grew bigger during this time, with species like "Balaenoptera sibbaldina" perhaps rivaling the blue whale in terms of size, though other studies disagree that any baleen whale grew that large in the Miocene.The increase in size is likely due to.

Baleen whale. climate change which caused seasonally shifting accumulations of plankton in various parts of the world, necessitating travel over long distances, as well as the ability to feed on large baitballs to make such trips worthwhile. A 2017 analysis of body size based on data from the fossil record and modern baleen whales indicates that the evolution of gigantism in baleen whales occurred rather recently, within the last 3 million years. Before 4.5 million years ago, few baleen whales exceeded 10 (m) in length; the two largest Miocene species were less than 13 (m) in length. The initial evolution of baleen.

Baleen whale. and filter feeding long preceded the evolution of gigantic body size, indicating the evolution of novel feeding mechanisms did not cause the evolution of gigantism. The formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current and its effects on global climate patterns is excluded as being causal for the same reason. Gigantism also was preceded by divergence of different mysticete lineages, meaning multiple lineages arrived at large size independently. It is possible the Plio-Pleistocene increase in seasonally intense upwellings, causing high-prey-density zones, led to gigantism.## Anatomy.## Motion.When swimming, baleen whales rely on their flippers for locomotion in a wing-like manner similar to penguins.

Baleen whale. and sea turtles. Flipper movement is continuous. While doing this, baleen whales use their tail fluke to propel themselves forward through vertical motion while using their flippers for steering, much like an otter. Some species leap out of the water, which may allow them to travel faster. Because of their great size, right whales are not flexible or agile like dolphins, and none can move their neck because of the fused cervical vertebrae; this sacrifices speed for stability in the water. The hind legs are enclosed inside the body, and are thought to be vestigial organs. However, a 2014 study.

Baleen whale. suggests that the pelvic bone serves as support for whale genitalia.Rorquals, needing to build speed to feed, have several adaptions for reducing drag, including a streamlined body; a small dorsal fin, relative to its size; and lack of external ears or long hair. The fin whale is the fastest among baleen whales, having been recorded travelling as fast as 10 (m/s), and sustaining a speed of 2.5 (m/s) for an extended period. While feeding, the rorqual jaw expands to a volume that can be bigger than the whale itself; to do this, the mouth inflates. The inflation of the mouth.

Baleen whale. causes the cavum ventrale, the throat pleats on the underside stretching to the navel, to expand, increasing the amount of water that the mouth can store. The mandible is connected to the skull by dense fibers and cartilage (fibrocartilage), allowing the jaw to swing open at almost a 90° angle. The mandibular symphysis is also fibrocartilaginous, allowing the jaw to bend which lets in more water. To prevent stretching the mouth too far, rorquals have a sensory organ located in the middle of the jaw to regulate these functions.## External anatomy.Baleen whales have two flippers on the front, near the.

Baleen whale. head. Like all mammals, baleen whales breathe air and must surface periodically to do so. Their nostrils, or blowholes, are situated at the top of the cranium. Baleen whales have two blowholes, as opposed to toothed whales which have one. These paired blowholes are longitudinal slits that converge anteriorly and widen posteriorly, which causes a V-shaped blow. They are surrounded by a fleshy ridge that keeps water away while the whale breathes. The septum that separates the blowholes has two plugs attached to it, making the blowholes water-tight while the whale dives.Like other mammals, the skin of baleen whales has.

Baleen whale. an epidermis, a dermis, a hypodermis, and connective tissue. The epidermis, the pigmented layer, is 5 (mm) thick, along with connective tissue. The epidermis itself is only 1 (mm) thick. The dermis, the layer underneath the epidermis, is also thin. The hypodermis, containing blubber, is the thickest part of the skin and functions as a means to conserve heat. Right whales have the thickest hypodermis of any cetacean, averaging 20 (in), though, as in all whales, it is thinner around openings (such as the blowhole) and limbs. Blubber may also be used to store energy during times of fasting. The.

Baleen whale. connective tissue between the hypodermis and muscles allows only limited movement to occur between them. Unlike toothed whales, baleen whales have small hairs on the top of their head, stretching from the tip of the rostrum to the blowhole, and, in right whales, on the chin. Like other marine mammals, they lack sebaceous and sweat glands.The baleen of baleen whales are keratinous plates. They are made of a calcified, hard α-keratin material, a fiber-reinforced structure made of intermediate filaments (proteins). The degree of calcification varies between species, with the sei whale having 14.5% hydroxyapatite, a mineral that coats teeth and.

Baleen whale. bones, whereas minke whales have 1–4% hydroxyapatite. In most mammals, keratin structures, such as wool, air-dry, but aquatic whales rely on calcium salts to form on the plates to stiffen them. Baleen plates are attached to the upper jaw and are absent in the mid-jaw, forming two separate combs of baleen. The plates decrease in size as they go further back into the jaw; the largest ones are called the "main baleen plates" and the smallest ones are called the "accessory plates". Accessory plates taper off into small hairs.Unlike other whales (and most other mammals), the females are larger than.

Baleen whale. the males. Sexual dimorphism is usually reversed, with the males being larger, but the females of all baleen whales are usually five percent larger than males. Sexual dimorphism is also displayed through whale song, notably in humpback whales where the males of the species sing elaborate songs. Male right whales have bigger callosities than female right whales. The males are generally more scarred than females which is thought to be because of aggression during mating season.## Internal systems.The unique lungs of baleen whales are built to collapse under the pressure instead of resisting the pressure which would damage the lungs,.

Baleen whale. enabling some, like the fin whale, to dive to a depth of -1540 (ft). The whale lungs are very efficient at extracting oxygen from the air, usually 80%, whereas humans only extract 20% of oxygen from inhaled air. Lung volume is relatively low compared to terrestrial mammals because of the inability of the respiratory tract to hold gas while diving. Doing so may cause serious complications such as embolism. Unlike other mammals, the lungs of baleen whales lack lobes and are more sacculated. Like in humans, the left lung is smaller than the right to make room for the heart.

Baleen whale. To conserve oxygen, blood is rerouted from pressure-tolerant-tissue to internal organs, and they have a high concentration of myoglobin which allows them to hold their breath longer.The heart of baleen whales functions similarly to other mammals, with the major difference being the size. The heart can reach 1000 (lbs), but is still proportional to the whale's size. The muscular wall of the ventricle, which is responsible for pumping blood out of the heart, can be 3 to 5 (in) thick. The aorta, an artery, can be .75 (in) thick. Their resting heart rate is 60 to 140 beats per minute.

Baleen whale. (bpm), as opposed to the 60 to 100 bpm in humans. When diving, their heart rate will drop to 4 to 15 bpm to conserve oxygen. Like toothed whales, they have a dense network of blood vessels (rete mirabile) which prevents heat-loss. Like in most mammals, heat is lost in their extremities, so, in baleen whales, warm blood in the arteries is surrounded by veins to prevent heat loss during transport. As well as this, heat inevitably given off by the arteries warms blood in the surrounding veins as it travels back into the core. This is otherwise known as.

Baleen whale. countercurrent exchange. To counteract overheating while in warmer waters, baleen whales reroute blood to the skin to accelerate heat-loss. They have the largest blood corpuscles (red and white blood cells) of any mammal, measuring 4.1e-4 (in) in diameter, as opposed to human's 2.8e-4 (in) blood corpuscles.When sieved from the water, food is swallowed and travels through the esophagus where it enters a three-chambered-stomach. The first compartment is known as the fore-stomach; this is where food gets ground up into an acidic liquid, which is then squirted into the main stomach. Like in humans, the food is mixed with hydrochloric acid.

Baleen whale. and protein-digesting enzymes. Then, the partly digested food is moved into the third stomach, where it meets fat-digesting enzymes, and is then mixed with an alkaline liquid to neutralize the acid from the fore-stomach to prevent damage to the intestinal tract. Their intestinal tract is highly adapted to absorb the most nutrients from food; the walls are folded and contain copious blood vessels, allowing for a greater surface area over which digested food and water can be absorbed. Baleen whales get the water they need from their food; however, the salt content of most of their prey (invertebrates) is similar.

Baleen whale. to that of seawater, whereas the salt content of a whale's blood is considerably lower (three times lower) than that of seawater. The whale kidney is adapted to excreting excess salt; however, while producing urine more concentrated than seawater, it wastes a lot of water which must be replaced.Baleen whales have a relatively small brain compared to their body mass. Like other mammals, their brain has a large, folded cerebrum, the part of the brain responsible for memory and processing sensory information. Their cerebrum only makes up about 68% of their brain's weight, as opposed to human's 83%. The cerebellum,.

Baleen whale. the part of the brain responsible for balance and coordination, makes up 18% of their brain's weight, compared to 10% in humans, which is probably due to the great degree of control necessary for constantly swimming. Necropsies on the brains of gray whales revealed iron oxide particles, which may allow them to find magnetic north like a compass.Unlike most animals, whales are conscious breathers. All mammals sleep, but whales cannot afford to become unconscious for long because they may drown. They are believed to exhibit unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, in which they sleep with half of the brain while the other.

Baleen whale. half remains active. This behavior was only documented in toothed whales until footage of a humpback whale sleeping (vertically) was shot in 2014.It is largely unknown how baleen whales produce sound because of the lack of a melon and vocal cords. In a 2007 study, it was discovered that the larynx had U-shaped folds which are thought to be similar to vocal cords. They are positioned parallel to air flow, as opposed to the perpendicular vocal cords of terrestrial mammals. These may control air flow and cause vibrations. The walls of the larynx are able to contract which may generate.

Baleen whale. sound with support from the arytenoid cartilages. The muscles surrounding the larynx may expel air rapidly or maintain a constant volume while diving.## Senses.The eyes of baleen whales are relatively small for their size and are positioned near the end of the mouth. This is probably because they feed on slow or immobile prey, combined with the fact that most sunlight does not pass 30 (ft), and hence they do not need acute vision. A whale's eye is adapted for seeing both in the euphotic and aphotic zones by increasing or decreasing the pupil's size to prevent damage to the.

Baleen whale. eye. As opposed to land mammals which have a flattened lens, whales have a spherical lens. The retina is surrounded by a reflective layer of cells (tapetum lucidum), which bounces light back at the retina, enhancing eyesight in dark areas. However, light is bent more near the surface of the eye when in air as opposed to water; consequently, they can see much better in the air than in the water. The eyeballs are protected by a thick outer layer to prevent abrasions and an oily fluid (instead of tears) on the surface of the eye. Baleen whales appear to.

Baleen whale. have limited color vision, as they lack S-cones.The mysticete ear is adapted for hearing underwater, where it can hear sound frequencies as low as 7 Hz and as high as 22 kHz, distinct from odontocetes whose hearing is optimized for ultrasonic frequencies. It is largely unknown how sound is received by baleen whales. Unlike in toothed whales, sound does not pass through the lower jaw. The auditory meatus is blocked by connective tissue and an ear plug, which connects to the eardrum. The inner-ear bones are contained in the tympanic bulla, a bony capsule. However, this is attached to the.

Baleen whale. skull, suggesting that vibrations passing through the bone is important. Sinuses may reflect vibrations towards the cochlea. It is known that when the fluid inside the cochlea is disturbed by vibrations, it triggers sensory hairs which send electrical current to the brain, where vibrations are processed into sound.Baleen whales have a small, yet functional, vomeronasal organ. This allows baleen whales to detect chemicals and pheromones released by their prey. It is thought that 'tasting' the water is important for finding prey and tracking down other whales. They are believed to have an impaired sense of smell due to the lack.

Baleen whale. of the olfactory bulb, but they do have an olfactory tract. Baleen whales have few if any taste buds, suggesting they have lost their sense of taste. They do retain salt-receptor taste-buds suggesting that they can taste saltiness.## Behavior.## Migration.Most species of baleen whale migrate long distances from high latitude waters during spring and summer months to more tropical waters during winter months. This migration cycle is repeated annually. The gray whale has the longest recorded migration of any mammal, with one traveling 14,000 (mi) from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Baja Peninsula.It is thought that plankton blooms dictate.

Baleen whale. where whales migrate. Many baleen whales feed on the massive plankton blooms that occur in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of polar regions during the sunny spring and summer months. Baleen whales generally then migrate to calving grounds in tropical waters during the winter months when plankton populations are low. Migration is hypothesized to benefit calves in a number of ways. Newborns, born with underdeveloped blubber, would likely otherwise be killed by the cold polar temperatures. Migration to warmer waters may also reduce the risk of calves being predated on by killer whales.Migratory movements may also reflect seasonally shifting patterns of.

Baleen whale. productivity. California blue whales are hypothesized to migrate between dense patches of prey, moving from central California in the summer and fall, to the Gulf of California in the winter, to the central Baja California Pacific coast in spring.## Foraging.All modern mysticetes are obligate filter feeders, using their baleen to strain small prey items (including small fish, krill, copepods, and zooplankton) from seawater. Despite their carnivorous diet, a 2015 study revealed they house gut flora similar to that of terrestrial herbivores. Different kinds of prey are found in different abundances depending on location, and each type of whale is adapted.

Baleen whale. to a specialized way of foraging.There are two types of feeding behaviors: skim-feeding and lunge-feeding, but some species do both depending on the type and amount of food. Lunge-feeders feed primarily on euphausiids (krill), though some lunge feeders also prey on schools of fish. Skim-feeders, like bowhead whales, feed upon primarily smaller plankton such as copepods. They feed alone or in small groups. Baleen whales get the water they need from their food, and their kidneys excrete excess salt.The lunge-feeders are the rorquals. To feed, lunge-feeders expand the volume of their jaw to a volume bigger than the original volume.

Baleen whale. skim-feeding due to the acceleration and deceleration required.The skim-feeders are right whales, gray whales, pygmy right whales, and sei whales (which also lunge feed). To feed, skim-feeders swim with an open mouth, filling it with water and prey. Prey must occur in sufficient numbers to trigger the whale's interest, be within a certain size range so that the baleen plates can filter it, and be slow enough so that it cannot escape. The "skimming" may take place on the surface, underwater, or even at the ocean's bottom, indicated by mud occasionally observed on right whales' bodies. Gray whales feed primarily.

Baleen whale. on the ocean's bottom, feeding on benthic creatures.Foraging efficiency for both lunge feeding and continuous ram filter feeding is highly dependent upon prey density. The efficiency of a blue whale lunge is approximately 30 times higher at krill densities of 4.5 (kg/m3) than at low krill densities of 0.15 (kg/m3). Baleen whale have been observed seeking out highly specific areas within the local environment in order to forage at the highest density prey aggregations.## Predation and parasitism.Baleen whales, primarily juveniles and calves, are preyed on by killer whales. It is thought that annual whale migration occurs to protect the calves.

Baleen whale. from the killer whales. There have also been reports of a pod of killer whales attacking and killing an adult bowhead whale, by holding down its flippers, covering the blowhole, and ramming and biting until death. Generally, a mother and calf pair, when faced with the threat of a killer whale pod, will either fight or flee. Fleeing only occurs in species that can swim away quickly, the rorquals. Slower whales must fight the pod alone or with a small family group. There has been one report of a shark attacking and killing a whale calf. This occurred in 2014.

Baleen whale. during the sardine run when a shiver of dusky sharks attacked a humpback whale calf. Usually, the only shark that will attack a whale is the cookie cutter shark, which leaves a small, non-fatal bite mark.Many parasites and epibiotics latch onto whales, notably whale lice and whale barnacles. Almost all species of whale lice are specialized towards a certain species of whale, and there can be more than one species per whale. Whale lice eat dead skin, resulting in minor wounds in the skin. Whale louse infestations are especially evident in right whales, where colonies propagate on their callosities. Though.

Baleen whale. not a parasite, whale barnacles latch onto the skin of a whale during their larval stage. However, in doing so it does not harm nor benefit the whale, so their relationship is often labeled as an example of commensalism. Some baleen whales will deliberately rub themselves on substrate to dislodge parasites. Some species of barnacle, such as "Conchoderma auritum" and whale barnacles, attach to the baleen plates, though this seldom occurs. A species of copepod, "Balaenophilus unisetus", inhabits baleen plates of whales. A species of Antarctic diatom, "Cocconeis ceticola", forms a film on the skin, which takes a month to.

Baleen whale. develop; this film causes minor damage to the skin. They are also plagued by internal parasites such as stomach worms, cestodes, nematodes, liver flukes, and acanthocephalans.## Reproduction and development.Before reaching adulthood, baleen whales grow at an extraordinary rate. In the blue whale, the largest species, the fetus grows by some 100 (kg) per day just before delivery, and by 80 (kg) per day during suckling. Before weaning, the calf increases its body weight by 17 (tonnes) and grows from 7 to 8 (m) at birth to 13 to 16 (m) long. When it reaches sexual maturity after 5–10 years, it.

Baleen whale. until it has reached about 5 to 5.5 (m) after 6–7 months. Unusual for a baleen whale, female minkes (and humpbacks) can become pregnant immediately after giving birth; in most species, there is a two-to-three-year calving period. In right whales, the calving interval is usually three years. They grow very rapidly during their first year, after which they hardly increase in size for several years. They reach sexual maturity when 13 to 14 (m) long. Baleen whales are K-strategists, meaning they raise one calf at a time, have a long life-expectancy, and a low infant mortality rate. Some 19th century.

Baleen whale. harpoons found in harvested bowheads indicate this species can live more than 100 years. Baleen whales are promiscuous, with none showing pair bonds. They are polygynous, in that a male may mate with more than one female. The scars on male whales suggest they fight for the right to mate with females during breeding season, somewhat similar to lek mating.Baleen whales have fibroelastic (connective tissue) penises, similar to those of artiodactyls. The tip of the penis, which tapers toward the end, is called the "pars intrapraeputialis" or "terminal cone". The blue whale has the largest penis of any organism on.

Baleen whale. the planet, typically measuring 8 – 10 (ft). Accurate measurements of the blue whale are difficult to take because the whale's erect length can only be observed during mating. The penis on a right whale can be up to 2.7 (m) – the testes, at up to 2 (m) in length, 78 (cm) in diameter, and weighing up to 525 (lbs), are also the largest of any animal on Earth.## Whale song.All baleen whales use sound for communication and are known to "sing", especially during the breeding season. Blue whales produce the loudest sustained sounds of any animals: their low-frequency.

Baleen whale. whales are hard to study because of their immense size. Intelligence tests such as the mirror test cannot be done because their bulk and lack of body language make a reaction impossible to be definitive. However, studies on the brains of humpback whales revealed spindle cells, which, in humans, control theory of mind. Because of this, it is thought that baleen whales, or at least humpback whales, have consciousness.## Relationship with humans.## History of whaling.Whaling by humans has existed since the Stone Age. Ancient whalers used harpoons to spear the bigger animals from boats out at sea. People from Norway.

Baleen whale. started hunting whales around 4,000 years ago, and people from Japan began hunting whales in the Pacific at least as early as that. Whales are typically hunted for their meat and blubber by aboriginal groups; they used baleen for baskets or roofing, and made tools and masks out of bones. The Inuit hunt whales in the Arctic Ocean. The Basques started whaling as early as the 11th century, sailing as far as Newfoundland in the 16th century in search of right whales. 18th and 19th century whalers hunted down whales mainly for their oil, which was used as lamp fuel.

Baleen whale. and a lubricant, and baleen (or whalebone), which was used for items such as corsets and skirt hoops. The most successful whaling nations at this time were the Netherlands, Japan, and the United States.Commercial whaling was historically important as an industry well throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Whaling was at that time a sizable European industry with ships from Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, sometimes collaborating to hunt whales in the Arctic. By the early 1790s, whalers, namely the British (Australian) and Americans, started to focus efforts in the South Pacific; in the mid-1900s, over 50,000.

Baleen whale. humpback whale were taken from the South Pacific. At its height in the 1880s, U.S. profits turned to USD10,000,000, equivalent to US$225,000,000 today. Commonly exploited species included arctic whales such as the gray whale, right whale, and bowhead whale because they were close to the main whaling ports, like New Bedford. After those stocks were depleted, rorquals in the South Pacific were targeted by nearly all whaling organizations; however, they often out-swam whaling vessels. Whaling rorquals was not effective until the harpoon cannon was invented in the late 1860s. Whaling basically stopped when stocks of all species were depleted to.

Baleen whale. individuals left)—are considered critically endangered. Three more are classified as endangered (the North Pacific right whale, the blue whale, and the sei whale), one as vulnerable (the fin whale), one as near-threatened (Antarctic minke whale), and one as data deficient (Omura's whale). Species that live in polar habitats are vulnerable to the effects of ongoing climate change, particularly declines in sea ice, as well as ocean acidification.The whale-watching industry and anti-whaling advocates argue that whaling catches "friendly" whales that are curious about boats, as these whales are the easiest to catch. This analysis claims that once the economic benefits of.

Baleen whale. hotels, restaurants and other tourist amenities are considered, hunting whales is a net economic loss. This argument is particularly contentious in Iceland, as it has among the most-developed whale-watching operations in the world and the hunting of minke whales resumed in August 2003. Brazil, Argentina and South Africa argue that whale watching is a growing billion-dollar industry that provides more revenue than commercial whaling would provide. Peru, Uruguay, Australia, and New Zealand also support proposals to permanently forbid whaling south of the Equator, as Solor (an island of Indonesia) is the only place of the Southern Hemisphere that takes whales.

Baleen whale. Anti-whaling groups, such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), claim that countries which support a pro-whaling stance are damaging their economies by driving away anti-whaling tourists.Commercial whaling was historically important for the world economy. All species were exploited, and as one type's stock depleted, another type was targeted. The scale of whale harvesting decreased substantially through the 1960s as all whale stocks had been depleted, and practically stopped in 1988 after the International Whaling Commission placed a moratorium which banned whaling for commercial use. Several species that were commercially exploited have rebounded in numbers; for example, gray whales.

Baleen whale. consists of only ten individuals, making the eastern stock functionally extinct.Baleen whales continue to be harvested. Only three nations take whales: Iceland, Norway, and Japan. All these nations are part of the IWC, with Norway and Iceland rejecting the moratorium and continuing commercial whaling. Japan, being part of the IWC, whales under the Scientific Permit stated in Article VIII in the Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which allows the taking of whales for scientific research. Japan has had two main research programs: the Joint Aquatic Resources Permit Application (JARPA) and the Japanese Research Program in the North (JARPN). JARPN.

Baleen whale. is focused in the North Pacific and JARPA around the Antarctic. JARPA mainly caught Antarctic minke whales, catching nearly 7,000; to a far lesser extent, they also caught fin whales. Animal-rights activist groups, such as the Greenpeace, object to Japan's scientific whaling, with some calling it a substitute for commercial whaling. In 2014, the International Court of Justice (the UN judicial branch) banned the taking of whales for any purpose in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary; however, Japan refuses to stop whaling and has only promised to cut their annual catches by a third (around 300 whales per year).Baleen whales.

Baleen whale. vessel speed correlated with lower collision rates. The ever-increasing amount of ocean noise, including sonar, drowns out the vocalizations produced by whales, notably in the blue whale which produces the loudest vocalization, which makes it harder for them to communicate. Blue whales stop producing foraging D calls once a mid-frequency sonar is activated, even though the sonar frequency range (1–8 kHz) far exceeds their sound production range (25–100 Hz).Poisoning from toxic substances such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is generally low because of their low trophic level. However, oil spills can be a significant threat, especially to small populations; the already.

Baleen whale. endangered Rice's whale was likely devastated by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with some estimates indicating a decline of up to 22% in the species.Some baleen whales can become victims of bycatch, which is especially serious for North Atlantic right whales considering their small number. Right whales feed with a wide-open mouth, risking entanglement in any rope or net fixed in the water column. The rope wraps around their upper jaw, flippers and tail. Some are able to escape, but others remain entangled. If observers notice, they can be successfully disentangled, but others die over a period of months. Other.

Baleen whale. whales, such as humpback whales, can also be entangled.## In captivity.Baleen whales have rarely been kept in captivity. Their large size and appetite make them expensive creatures to maintain. Pools of proper size would also be very expensive to build. For example, a single gray whale calf would need to eat 475 (lbs) of fish per day, and the pool would have to accommodate the 13 (ft) calf, along with ample room to swim. Only gray whales have survived being kept in captivity for over a year. The first gray whale, which was captured in Scammon's Lagoon, Baja California Sur,.

Baleen whale. whales in the nearby bay enclosed by nets. One survived for three months, another (a calf) survived for two weeks, and another was kept for over a month before breaking through the nets.


Question: What is the height of this animal in metre?

Instruction: Determine the Wikipedia snippet that matches the question of this image.

Elephant. in size led to the development and elongation of the mobile trunk to provide reach. The number of premolars, incisors and canines decreased.The cheek teeth (molars and premolars) of proboscideans became larger and more specialized, especially after elephants started to switch from C3-plants to C4-grasses, which caused their teeth to undergo a three-fold increase in teeth height as well as substantial multiplication of lamellae after about five million years ago. Only in the last million years or so did they return to a diet mainly consisting of C3 trees and shrubs. The upper second incisors grew into tusks, which varied.

Elephant. develop gigantism in these conditions. Dwarf elephants are known to have lived in Indonesia, the Channel Islands of California, and several islands of the Mediterranean.## Anatomy.## Size.Elephants are the largest living terrestrial animals. African bush elephants are the largest species, with males being 304 - 336 (cm) tall at the shoulder with a body mass of 5.2 - 6.9 (MT) and females standing 247 - 273 (cm) tall at the shoulder with a body mass of 2.6 - 3.5 (MT). Male Asian elephants are usually about 261 - 289 (cm) tall at the shoulder and 3.5 - 4.6 (MT) whereas.

Elephant. of cracking a peanut shell without breaking the seed. With its trunk, an elephant can reach items at heights of up to 7 (m) and dig for water under mud or sand. Individuals may show lateral preference when grasping with their trunks: some prefer to twist them to the left, others to the right. Elephants are capable of dilating their nostrils at a radius of nearly 30%, increasing the nasal volume by 64%, and can inhale at over 150 (m/s) which is around 30 times the speed of a human sneeze. Elephants can suck up food and water both to.

Elephant. teeth falls out at four to six years old. The third set falls out at 9–15 years of age and set four lasts until 18–28 years of age. The fifth set of teeth falls out at the early 40s. The sixth (and usually final) set must last the elephant the rest of its life. Elephant teeth have loop-shaped dental ridges, which are thicker and more diamond-shaped in African elephants.## Tusks.The tusks of an elephant are modified second incisors in the upper jaw. They replace deciduous milk teeth at 6–12 months of age and grow continuously at about 17 (cm) a.

Elephant. well into a gallop, even accounting for leg length. Spring-like kinetics could explain the difference between the motion of elephants and other animals. During locomotion, the cushion pads expand and contract, and reduce both the pain and noise that would come from a very heavy animal moving. Elephants are capable swimmers. They have been recorded swimming for up to six hours without touching the bottom, and have swum as far as 48 (km) at a stretch and at speeds of up to 2.1 (km/h).## Organs.The brain of an elephant weighs 4.5 – 5.5 (kg) compared to 1.6 (kg) for a.

Elephant. human brain. It is the largest of all terrestrial mammals. While the elephant brain is larger overall, it is proportionally smaller than the human brain when compared to their size. At birth, an elephant's brain already weighs 30–40% of its adult weight. The cerebrum and cerebellum are well developed, and the temporal lobes are so large that they bulge out laterally. Their temporal lobes are proportionally larger than in other animals, including humans. The throat of an elephant appears to contain a pouch where it can store water for later use. The larynx of the elephant is the largest known.

Elephant. among mammals. The vocal folds are long and are attached close to the epiglottis base. When comparing an elephant's vocal folds to those of a human, an elephant's are longer, thicker, and have a larger cross-sectional area. In addition, they are tilted at 45 degrees and positioned more anteriorly than a human's vocal folds.The heart of an elephant weighs 12 – 21 (kg). It has a double-pointed apex, an unusual trait among mammals. In addition, the ventricles separate near the top of the heart, a trait they share with sirenians. When standing, the elephant's heart beats approximately 30 times per.

Elephant. fully erect and has a Y-shaped orifice. The female has a well-developed clitoris at up to 40 (cm). The vulva is located between the hind legs instead of near the tail as in most mammals. Determining pregnancy status can be difficult due to the animal's large abdominal cavity. The female's mammary glands occupy the space between the front legs, which puts the suckling calf within reach of the female's trunk. Elephants have a unique organ, the temporal gland, located in both sides of the head. This organ is associated with sexual behaviour, and males secrete a fluid from it when.

Elephant. and will eat leaves, twigs, fruit, bark, grass and roots. They are born with sterile intestines and require bacteria obtained from their mother's feces to digest vegetation. African elephants are mostly browsers while Asian elephants are mainly grazers. They can consume as much as 150 (kg) of food and 40 (L) of water in a day. Elephants tend to stay near water sources. Major feeding bouts take place in the morning, afternoon and night. At midday, elephants rest under trees and may doze off while standing. Sleeping occurs at night while the animal is lying down. Elephants average 3–4 hours.

Elephant. he matures, a male spends more time at the edge of his group and associates with outside males or even other families. At Amboseli, young males spend over 80% of their time away from their families when they are 14–15. When males permanently leave, they either live alone or with other males. The former is typical of bulls in dense forests. Asian males are usually solitary, but occasionally form groups of two or more individuals; the largest consisted of seven bulls. Larger bull groups consisting of over 10 members occur only among African bush elephants, the largest of which numbered.

Elephant. up to 144 individuals. Bulls only return to the herd to breed or to socialize, they do not provide prenatal care to their offspring but rather play a fatherly role to younger bulls to show dominance.Male elephants can be quite sociable when not competing for dominance or mates, and will form long-term relationships. A dominance hierarchy exists among males, whether they range socially or solitarily. Dominance depends on the age, size and sexual condition, and when in groups, males follow the lead of the dominant bull. Young bulls may seek out the company and leadership of older, more experienced males,.

Elephant. whose presence appears to control their aggression and prevent them from exhibiting "deviant" behaviour. Adult males and females come together for reproduction. Bulls associate with family groups if an oestrous cow is present.## Sexual behaviour.## Musth.Adult males enter a state of increased testosterone known as musth. In a population in southern India, males first enter musth at the age of 15, but it is not very intense until they are older than 25. At Amboseli, bulls under 24 do not go into musth, while half of those aged 25–35 and all those over 35 do. Young bulls appear to enter.

Elephant. season. A cow in oestrus releases chemical signals (pheromones) in her urine and vaginal secretions to signal her readiness to mate. A bull will follow a potential mate and assess her condition with the flehmen response, which requires the male to collect a chemical sample with his trunk and bring it to the vomeronasal organ. The oestrous cycle of a cow lasts 14–16 weeks with a 4–6-week follicular phase and an 8- to 10-week luteal phase. While most mammals have one surge of luteinizing hormone during the follicular phase, elephants have two. The first (or anovulatory) surge, could signal to.

Elephant. males that the female is in oestrus by changing her scent, but ovulation does not occur until the second (or ovulatory) surge. Fertility rates in cows decline around 45–50 years of age.Bulls engage in a behaviour known as mate-guarding, where they follow oestrous females and defend them from other males. Most mate-guarding is done by musth males, and females actively seek to be guarded by them, particularly older ones. Thus these bulls have more reproductive success. Musth appears to signal to females the condition of the male, as weak or injured males do not have normal musths. For young females,.

Elephant. the approach of an older bull can be intimidating, so her relatives stay nearby to provide support and reassurance. During copulation, the male lays his trunk over the female's back. The penis is very mobile, being able to move independently of the pelvis. Before mounting, it curves forward and upward. Copulation lasts about 45 seconds and does not involve pelvic thrusting or ejaculatory pause. Elephant sperm must swim close to 2 (m) to reach the egg. By comparison, human sperm has to swim around only 76.2 (mm).Homosexual behaviour is frequent in both sexes. As in heterosexual interactions, this involves mounting.

Elephant. to groom, drink, and feed itself are fully developed. It still needs its mother for nutrition and protection from predators for at least another year. Suckling bouts tend to last 2–4 min/hr for a calf younger than a year and it continues to suckle until it reaches three years of age or older. Suckling after two years may serve to maintain growth rate, body condition and reproductive ability.Play behaviour in calves differs between the sexes; females run or chase each other while males play-fight. The former are sexually mature by the age of nine years while the latter become mature.

Elephant. around 14–15 years. Adulthood starts at about 18 years of age in both sexes. Elephants have long lifespans, reaching 60–70 years of age. Lin Wang, a captive male Asian elephant, lived for 86 years.## Communication.Touching is an important form of communication among elephants. Individuals greet each other by stroking or wrapping their trunks; the latter also occurs during mild competition. Older elephants use trunk-slaps, kicks, and shoves to discipline younger ones. Individuals of any age and sex will touch each other's mouths, temporal glands, and genitals, particularly during meetings or when excited. This allows individuals to pick up chemical cues.

Elephant. vegetation. They are usually bluffing when performing these actions. Excited elephants may raise their trunks. Submissive ones will lower their heads and trunks, as well as flatten their ears against their necks, while those that accept a challenge will position their ears in a V shape.Elephants produce several vocalisations, usually through the larynx, though some may be modified by the trunk. These include trumpets, roars, barks, snorts, growls and rumbles which may be produced for either short or long range communication. Elephants may produce infrasonic rumbles. For Asian elephants, these calls have a frequency of 14–24 Hz, with sound pressure.

Elephant. in Central Africa, 110,000 in eastern Africa, 204,000 in southern Africa, and 19,000 in western Africa. About 214,000 elephants were estimated to live in the rainforests, fewer than had previously been thought. From 1977 to 1989, elephant populations declined by 74% in East Africa. After 1987, losses in elephant numbers accelerated, and savannah populations from Cameroon to Somalia experienced a decline of 80%. African forest elephants had a total loss of 43%. Population trends in southern Africa were mixed, with anecdotal reports of losses in Zambia, Mozambique and Angola while populations grew in Botswana and Zimbabwe and were stable in.

Elephant. South Africa. Conversely, studies in 2005 and 2007 found populations in eastern and southern Africa were increasing by an average annual rate of 4.0%. The IUCN estimated that total population in Africa is estimated at around to 415,000 individuals for both species combined as of 2016.African elephants receive at least some legal protection in every country where they are found, but 70% of their range exists outside protected areas. Successful conservation efforts in certain areas have led to high population densities. As of 2008, local numbers were controlled by contraception or translocation. Large-scale cullings ceased in 1988 when Zimbabwe abandoned.

Elephant. be around 40,000–50,000, although this may be a loose estimate. Around 60% of the population is in India. Although Asian elephants are declining in numbers overall, particularly in Southeast Asia, the population in the Western Ghats appears to be increasing.## Threats.The poaching of elephants for their ivory, meat and hides has been one of the major threats to their existence. Historically, numerous cultures made ornaments and other works of art from elephant ivory, and its use rivalled that of gold. The ivory trade contributed to the African elephant population decline in the late 20th century. This prompted international bans on.

Elephant. riding on them or to pin the soldier to the ground and impale him.One of the earliest references to war elephants is in the Indian epic "Mahabharata" (written in the 4th century BC, but said to describe events between the 11th and 8th centuries BC). They were not used as much as horse-drawn chariots by either the Pandavas or Kauravas. During the Magadha Kingdom (which began in the 6th century BC), elephants began to achieve greater cultural importance than horses, and later Indian kingdoms used war elephants extensively; 3,000 of them were used in the Nandas (5th and 4th centuries.

Elephant. BC) army while 9,000 may have been used in the Mauryan army (between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC). The "Arthashastra" (written around 300 BC) advised the Mauryan government to reserve some forests for wild elephants for use in the army, and to execute anyone who killed them. From South Asia, the use of elephants in warfare spread west to Persia and east to Southeast Asia. The Persians used them during the Achaemenid Empire (between the 6th and 4th centuries BC) while Southeast Asian states first used war elephants possibly as early as the 5th century BC and continued to.

Elephant. an overabundance of the animals.Keeping elephants in zoos has met with some controversy. Proponents of zoos argue that they offer researchers easy access to the animals and provide money and expertise for preserving their natural habitats, as well as safekeeping for the species. Critics claim that the animals in zoos are under physical and mental stress. Elephants have been recorded displaying stereotypical behaviours in the form of swaying back and forth, trunk swaying, or route tracing. This has been observed in 54% of individuals in UK zoos. Elephants in European zoos appear to have shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts.

Elephant. after cullings in the 1970s and 1980s. Because of the timing, these attacks have been interpreted as vindictive. In parts of India, male elephants regularly enter villages at night, destroying homes and killing people. Elephants killed around 300 people between 2000 and 2004 in Jharkhand while in Assam, 239 people were reportedly killed between 2001 and 2006.Local people have reported their belief that some elephants were drunk during their attacks, although officials have disputed this explanation. Purportedly drunk elephants attacked an Indian village a second time in December 2002, killing six people, which led to the killing of about 200.

Elephant. no similar animals familiar to Western audiences. The use of the elephant as a symbol of the U.S. Republican Party began with an 1874 cartoon by Thomas Nast. As characters, elephants are most common in children's stories, in which they are generally cast as models of exemplary behaviour. They are typically surrogates for humans with ideal human values. Many stories tell of isolated young elephants returning to a close-knit community, such as "The Elephant's Child" from Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories", Disney's "Dumbo," and Kathryn and Byron Jackson's "The Saggy Baggy Elephant". Other elephant heroes given human qualities include Jean.


Question: What is this item named after?

Instruction: You have to find a Wikipedia segment that answers the question about the displayed image.

Rolodex. A Rolodex is a rotating card file device used to store business contact information. Its name, a portmanteau of the words "rolling" and "index", has become somewhat genericized (usually as "rolodex") for any personal organizer performing this function, or as a metonym for the total of an individual's accumulated business contacts. In this usage, it has generally come to describe an effect or characteristic of the small-world network of a business's investors, board of directors, or the value of a CEO's contacts, or in organizational structure. The Rolodex is iconic enough as a piece of ubiquitous business furniture that it.


Question: What has this place crossed over?

Instruction: Retrieve a Wikipedia paragraph that provides an answer to the given query about the image.

Puente de Piedra (Zaragoza). The Puente de Piedra () is a bridge across the river Ebro in Zaragoza, Spain. The Puente de Piedra is also called the Bridge of Lions because since 1991 four lions (symbols of the city) have been placed on the pillars at each end of the bridge. The lion statues were designed by Francisco Rallo Lahoz.## History.Beginning in the 12th century the citizens of Zaragoza tried to build a bridge across the Ebro. In 1401–1440, the Puente de Piedra was built under the direction of Gil de Menestral. The flood in 1643 destroyed two central bridge spans. The bridge then.

Puente de Piedra (Zaragoza). looked as it does in the painting "View of Zaragoza" by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (1647).In 1659 the bridge was reconstructed. Architect restored two destroyed towers and expanded the bridge piers. In 1789, architect Agustín Sanz strengthened the Ebro's bank at the Monastery of St. Lazarus to prevent the risk of flooding of the bridge. The reconstruction of the bridge was of great economic importance for the development of the region and all the country.## Literature.GUITART APARICIO, Cristóbal, «El Puente de Piedra», en Guillermo Fatás Cabeza, (coord.) Guía histórico-artística de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Ayuntamiento (Servicio de acción cultural), 1991, págs.


Question: Who designed this facility?

Instruction: I want to find a paragraph from Wikipedia that answers my question about this image.

Battersea Power Station. Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, and CS Allott & Son Engineers. The architects were J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and decor.The building comprises two power stations, built in two stages, in a.

Battersea Power Station. day at 11 am.## Design and specification.Both of the stations were designed by a team of architects and engineers. The team was headed by Dr. Leonard Pearce, the chief engineer of the London Power Company, but a number of other notable engineers were also involved, including Henry Newmarch Allott, and T. P. O'Sullivan who was later responsible for the Assembly Hall at Filton. J. Theo Halliday was employed as architect, with Halliday & Agate Co. employed as a sub-consultant. Halliday was responsible for the supervision and execution of the appearance of the exterior and interior of the building. Architect Sir.