1.
Ventura County, California
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Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 823,318, Ventura County comprises the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area. It is also considered the southernmost county along the California Central Coast, Ventura County was historically inhabited by the Chumash people, who also settled much of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, with their presence dating back 10, 000-12,000 years. The Chumash were hunter-gatherers, fishermen, and also traders with the Mojave, Yokuts, the Chumash are also known for their rock paintings and for their great basketry. Chumash Indian Museum in Thousand Oaks has several reconstructed Chumash houses and there are several Chumash pictographs in the county, the plank canoe, called a tomol in Chumash, was important to their way of life. Canoe launching points on the mainland for trade with the Chumash of the Channel Islands were located at the mouth of the Ventura River, Mugu Lagoon and this has led to speculations among archeologists of whether the Chumash could have had a pre-historic contact with Polynesians. According to diachronic linguistics, certain words such as tomolo’o could be related to Polynesian languages, the dialect of the Chumash language that was spoken in Ventura County was Ventureño. Others include Point Mugu from the word Muwu, Saticoy from the word Sa’aqtiko’y, in October 1542, the expedition led by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo anchored in an inlet near Point Mugu, its members were the first Europeans to arrive in the area that would become Ventura County. Active occupation of California by Spain began in 1769, gaspar de Portolà led a military expedition by land from San Diego to Monterey, passing through Ventura County in August of that year. A priest with the expedition, Father Juan Crespí, kept a journal of the trip and noted that the area was ideal for a mission to be established, also on this expedition was Father Junípero Serra, who later founded a mission on this site. On March 31,1782, the Mission San Buenaventura was founded by Father Serra and it is named after Saint Bonaventure, one of the early intellectual founders of the Franciscan Order. The town that grew up around the mission, was originally and remains named San Buenaventura, in the 1790s, the Spanish Governor of California began granting land concessions to Spanish Californians who were often retiring soldiers. These concessions were known as ranchos and consisted of thousands of acres of land that were used primarily as ranch land for livestock, in Ventura County, Rancho Simi was granted in 1795 and Rancho El Conejo in 1802. Fernando Tico was granted Ojai and part of Ventura by Gov. Alvarado, California land that had been vested in the King of Spain was now owned by the nation of Mexico. By the 1830s, Mission San Buenaventura was in a decline with fewer neophytes joining the mission, the number of cattle owned by the mission dropped from first to fifteenth ranking in the California Missions. The missions were secularized by the Mexican government in 1834, the Mexican governors began granting land rights to Mexican Californians, often retiring soldiers. By 1846, there were 19 rancho grants in Ventura County, in 1836, Mission San Buenaventura was transferred from the Church to a secular administrator. The natives who had been working at the mission left to work on the ranchos
2.
Los Angeles County, California
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Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, is the most populous county in both the United States and the state of California, the countrys most populous state. Its population is larger than that of 42 individual U. S. states and it has 88 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas and at 4,083 square miles, it is larger than the combined areas of the U. S. states of Delaware and Rhode Island. The county is home to more than one-quarter of California residents and is one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the U. S and its county seat, the City of Los Angeles, is also its most populous city at about four million. Los Angeles County is one of the counties of California. The county originally included parts of what are now Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, as the population increased, sections were split off to organize San Bernardino County in 1853, Kern County in 1866, and Orange County in 1889. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 4,751 square miles, Los Angeles County borders 70 miles of coast on the Pacific Ocean and encompasses mountain ranges, valleys, forests, islands, lakes, rivers, and desert. The western extent of the Mojave Desert begins in the Antelope Valley, most of the population of Los Angeles County is located in the south and southwest, with major population centers in the Los Angeles Basin, San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley. Other population centers are found in the Santa Clarita Valley, Pomona Valley, Crescenta Valley, the county is divided west-to-east by the San Gabriel Mountains, which are part of the Transverse Ranges of southern California, and are contained mostly within the Angeles National Forest. Los Angeles County includes San Clemente Island and Santa Catalina Island, non-Hispanic whites numbered 2,728,321, or 28% of the population. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race numbered 4,687,889, 36% of Los Angeles Countys population was of Mexican ancestry,3. 7% Salvadoran, and 2. 2% Guatemalan heritage. The largest Asian groups of the 1,346,865 Asians in Los Angeles County are 4. 0% Chinese,3. 3% Filipino,2. 2% Korean,1. 0% Japanese,0. 9% Vietnamese,0. 8% Indian, and 0. 3% Cambodian. The racial makeup of the county is 48. 7% White,11. 0% African American,0. 8% Native American,10. 0% Asian,0. 3% Pacific Islander,23. 5% from other races, and 4. 9% from two or more races. 44. 6% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race, the largest European-American ancestry groups are German, Irish, English and Italian. 45. 9% of the population reported speaking only English at home,37. 9% spoke Spanish,2. 22% Tagalog,2. 0% Chinese,1. 9% Korean,1. 87% Armenian,0. 5% Arabic, and 0. 2% Hindi. At the census of 2000, there were 9,519,338 people,3,133,774 households, the population density was 2,344 people per square mile. There were 3,270,909 housing units at a density of 806 per square mile. 25% of all households were made up of individuals and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.61. In the county, the population was out with 28% under the age of 18, 10% from 18 to 24, 33% from 25 to 44, 19% from 45 to 64
3.
Southern California
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Southern California, often abbreviated as SoCal, is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises Californias 10 southernmost counties. The region is described as eight counties, based on demographics and economic ties, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara. The more extensive 10-county definition, which includes Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, is used and is based on historical political divisions. Southern California is an economic center for the state of California. The 8-county and 10-county definitions are not used for the greater Southern California Megaregion, the megaregions area is more expansive, extending east into Las Vegas, Nevada and south across the Mexican border into Tijuana.5 million people. With over 22 million people, Southern California contains roughly 60 percent of Californias population, located east of Southern California is the Colorado Desert and the Colorado River at the border with Arizona. The Mojave Desert is located at the border with the state of Nevada while towards the south is the Mexico–United States border, within Southern California are two major cities, Los Angeles and San Diego, as well as three of the countrys largest metropolitan areas. With a population of 3,792,621, Los Angeles is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States. South of Los Angeles and with a population of 1,307,402 is San Diego, the second most populous city in the state and the eighth most populous in the nation. The counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside are the five most populous in the state, the motion picture, television, and music industry are centered in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. Hollywood, a district within Los Angeles, gives its name to the American motion picture industry, headquartered in Southern California are The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Universal, MGM, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Brothers. Universal, Warner Brothers, and Sony also run major record companies, Southern California is also home to a large homegrown surf and skateboard culture. Companies such as Vans, Volcom, Quiksilver, No Fear, RVCA, some of the worlds biggest action sports events, including the X Games, Boost Mobile Pro, and the U. S. Open of Surfing, are all held in Southern California. Southern California is also important to the world of yachting, the annual Transpacific Yacht Race, or Transpac, from Los Angeles to Hawaii, is one of yachtings premier events. The San Diego Yacht Club held the Americas Cup, the most prestigious prize in yachting, from 1988 to 1995, Southern California is home to many sports franchises and sports networks such as Fox Sports Net. Many locals and tourists frequent the Southern California coast for its popular beaches, the desert city of Palm Springs is popular for its resort feel and nearby open spaces. Southern California is not a geographic designation and definitions of what constitutes Southern California vary. Geographically, Californias North-South midway point lies at exactly 37°958.23 latitude, around 11 miles south of San Jose, however, when the state is divided into two areas, the term Southern California usually refers to the 10 southernmost counties of the state
4.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
Thousand Oaks, California
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Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. It was named after the oak trees that grow in the area. The city forms the core of the Conejo Valley, which includes Thousand Oaks proper, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills. The Los Angeles County–Ventura County line crosses at the eastern border with Westlake Village. The population was estimated to be 129,339 in 2015, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park were part of a master-planned city, created by the Janss Investment Company in the mid-1950s. It included about 1,000 custom home lots,2,000 single-family residences, a shopping center. The median home price is around $669,500, Thousand Oaks was ranked the fourth-safest among cities with a population greater than 100,000 in the United States by the FBIs 2013 Uniform Crime Reports. The area was occupied by the Chumash people, and 2000-year-old cave drawings may still be seen at the Chumash Indian Museum,3290 Lang Ranch Parkway. The Chumash village was known as Sapwi, which means House of the Deer, the areas recorded history dates to 1542 when Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed at Point Mugu and claimed the land for Spain. It eventually became part of the 48,671 acres Rancho El Conejo land grant by the Spanish government and it served as grazing land for vaqueros for the next fifty years. In the late 19th century it was on the route between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. The Stagecoach Inn was built in 1876, and is now a California Historical Landmark, the Janss family, developers of Southern California subdivisions, purchased 10,000 acres in the early 20th century. They eventually created plans for a community and the name remains prominently featured in the city. Jungleland USA was one of Southern Californias first theme parks, wild animal shows entertained thousands in the 1940s and 1950s. Many television and movie productions used the parks trained animals and were filmed there, including Birth of a Nation, Tarzan, jungleland closed in May 1968, in part due to competition from other amusement parks such as Knotts Berry Farm and Disneyland. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center today stands on the site of the park, the City of Thousand Oaks was incorporated on October 7,1964, the first incorporated city in the Conejo Valley. Some sources mistakenly state that Thousand Oaks was incorporated on September 29,1964 and it is known for being a planned community, as the city is one of few that have actually stayed with the master plan
6.
Newbury Park, California
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Newbury Park is a town located mostly within the western Thousand Oaks city limits in Ventura County, California, United States. The unincorporated county island of Casa Conejo is part of Newbury Park, lying within the Conejo Valley in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Newbury Park abuts the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The community is located approximately 35 miles from Downtown Los Angeles and is less than 7 mi from the Los Angeles County border in Westlake Village. The closest coastal city is Malibu,22 mi from Newbury Park, the ZIP code is 91320, and the community is inside area code 805. About 28,000 of Thousand Oaks 110,000 residents reside in Newbury Park, Newbury Park, along with Thousand Oaks proper, have numerous times ranked among the safest and also wealthiest communities in the United States. Money Magazine has ranked Newbury Park as one of the most affluent cities in the United States and it has the 11th highest per-capita income and the fourth-highest median household income in the country. As of 2013, the household income in Newbury Park is $107,302, compared to $60,190 for California as a whole. Newbury Park is named after Egbert Starr Newbury, who was the founder of Newbury Park, Egbert Starr Newbury called his ranch here for “Newbury Park”, which ultimately became the name for the entire town. Egbert Starr Newbury and his family owned thousands of acres in the Conejo Valley and he moved from Michigan to Southern California of health reasons in 1871, opened Conejo Valley’s first post office in 1875, but left California only two years later. The first written material on the Conejo Valley comes from a Chumash folklore told to anthropologist John P. Harrington around 1900 from local Chumash Indians, mammoth fossils have been unearthed in Newbury Park in 1961 and later in 1971, which is at display at the Stagecoach Inn Museum. Newbury Park is believed to first be inhabited by Chumash beginning 6,000,7,000, Newbury Park was home to three Chumash villages, Satwiwa by the southern edge of town, as well as two villages that were located by todays Ventu Park Road. These villages were settled 2,000 years ago, and had a population of 100–200 inhabitants in each village, in addition to those three, a large Chumash village was located just north of Arroyo Conejo Open Space by Wildwood Regional Park. Other nearby villages include Lalimanux at the base of the Conejo Grade by westernmost Newbury Park, Newbury Park also contains many ancient burial sites, most near the Santa Monica Mountains in the southern portion of the community. Many artifacts have been discovered in the area, most notably by Rancho Sierra Vista in southern Newbury Park, Satwiwa, which is Chumash for the bluffs, was the name of a nearby village by the Big Sycamore Canyon. The canyon was a trading route for the Chumash- and Tongva people. These are known as CA-Ven-65, CA-Ven-261, and CA-Ven-260 near the Fieldhouse in Newbury Park, at CA-Ven-261 is an ancient Chumash burial site as suggested by a village of long duration. The Ventureño Chumash first settled in the west end of the Santa Monica Mountains because of its abundant food supply. They had plentiful of roots, berries, seeds, bulbs, acorns, walnuts, shellfish and fish were transported from the nearby Mugu Lagoon across the Santa Monicas
7.
Westlake Village, California
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Westlake Village is a planned community that straddles the Los Angeles and Ventura county line. The eastern portion is the city of Westlake Village, located on the western edge of Los Angeles County. The population was estimated to be at 8,473 in 2014, the headquarters of the Dole Food Company is also located in Westlake Village. The western portion of Westlake Village is a community, within the city limits of Thousand Oaks, the properties and businesses in this portion can be addressed as Westlake Village, as the United States Post Office maps both 91361 and 91362 ZIP codes to this area. The original community was known simply as Westlake, roughly two-thirds of it was annexed by the city of Thousand Oaks in two portions, in 1968 and 1972. In 1981, the third eventually incorporated as the City of Westlake Village. About 3,000 years ago, Chumash Indians moved into the region and lived by hunting rabbits and other game, on-going excavations, archaeological sites, and polychrome rock paintings in the area provide a glimpse into the social and economic complexity of the ancient Chumash world. In January,1770, the first Europeans came to the area, crespi named the place El triunfo del Dulcísimo Nombre de Jesús to a camping place by a creek – todays Triunfo Canyon Road begins between Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Later Spanish travelers also used this route, making it part of El Camino Real, in 1795, the area became part of one of the first Spanish land grants, Rancho Simi, given to the Pico family. When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, Alta California became Mexican territory, at the time California was admitted to the union in 1850, most of the land that later became Ventura County was divided among only 19 families. In 1881, the Russell brothers purchased a portion of the land for cattle ranching. The price per acre was $2.50, the area continued to be known as the Russell Ranch although it was sold in 1925 to William Randolph Hearst and again in 1943 to Fred Albertson. The Russell family leased part of the land to continue its successful cattle ranch operation while the Albertson Company used the vast area as a movie ranch. Many movies and television shows were filmed here, including Robin Hood, King Rat, Laredo, in 1963, Daniel K. C. Martin and Associates. This new city in the country planned to have an economic base including commercial areas, residential neighborhoods. Prominent architects, engineers, and land planners participated in designing the new community, the original tract was divided by the Los Angeles/Ventura county line. In 1968 and 1972, the Ventura County side, two portions of Westlake Village consisting of 8,544 acres, were annexed into the city of Thousand Oaks. In 1981, the Los Angeles County portion of the Westlake Village master community was incorporated as the City of Westlake Village, California state law prevents a city from existing in two separate counties, so the areas in Ventura County remained part of Thousand Oaks
8.
Agoura Hills, California
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Agoura Hills is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Its population was estimated to be at 20,843 in 2014 and it is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains. The city is on the border between the county of Los Angeles to the east, west and south and Ventura County to the north and it is about 30 miles northwest of Downtown Los Angeles and less than 10 miles west of the Los Angeles City limits. Agoura Hills and unincorporated Agoura sit next to Calabasas, Oak Park, the area was first settled by the Chumash Native Americans around 10,000 years ago. In about 1800, Miguel Ortega was granted a Spanish grazing concession called Rancho Las Virgenes or El Rancho de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Las Virgenes. The grant was abandoned after Ortegas death in 1810, and José Maria Dominguez was given Rancho Las Virgenes as a Mexican land grant in 1834, Maria Antonia Machado de Reyes purchased the rancho from Dominguez in 1845. In the 1920s, the community was known as Picture City. Styling himself Don Pierre Agoure, he was a sheep herder and had a reputation as a swashbuckler. Agoura Hills began to grow in the late 1960s after the Ventura Freeway section of U. S. Route 101 was built through the citys heart, the first housing tracts in Agoura were Hillrise, Liberty Canyon and Lake Lindero. Rapid growth continued during the 1970s, when schools were built, in 1978, residents of the Agoura Hills area banded together to lobby Sacramento to widen the Kanan Bridge. Legislation was passed requiring the State Department of Transportation to award contracts for widening of the Kanan Road bridge overpass, over the Ventura Freeway, in 1982, the residents of the City of Agoura Hills voted in favor of cityhood by a 68% majority. Agoura Hills became the 83rd City in Los Angeles County, elected to the first City Council were Mayor Fran Pavley, Mayor Pro Tem Carol Sahm, Councilmembers Ernest Dynda, John Hood, and Vicky Leary. The 1980s was a period of growth, with large land areas being subdivided into housing tracts. In the 1990s, numerous businesses set up shop in the city, in 1995, the murder of Jimmy Farris shook the city and awakened it to a rising drug problem and petty theft crime wave among its young. As a result, the city began sponsoring live music competitions, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.2 square miles. 8.2 square miles of it is land and 0.04 square miles of it is water Agoura Hills has a mountain called Ballard Mountain named after pioneer settler and freed slave John Ballard. The name of the mountain was changed from Negrohead to Ballard in a ceremony on February 20,2010. Ladyface mountain is another prominent mountain on the west side of the Conejo Valley, Agoura Hills is called the Gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
9.
Calabasas, California
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As of the 2010 census, the citys population was 23,058, up from 20,033 at the 2000 census. The city was incorporated in 1991. It is noted for its residents and gated neighborhoods. The Leonis Adobe, a structure in Old Town Calabasas. It is generally accepted that the name of Calabasas is derived from the Spanish calabaza meaning pumpkin, squash, some historians hold the theory that Calabasas is derived from the Chumash word calahoosa which is said to mean where the wild geese fly. Owing to vast presence of wild plants in the area. The following spring, hundreds of pumpkin seeds sprouted alongside the road, the area was named Las Calabasas - the place where the pumpkins fell. The festival has evolved from a fair to a significant annual event. The citys official logo, depicting a red-tailed hawk flying over the Santa Monica Mountains, symbolizes a commitment to preserving the natural beauty. This logo is featured on the Calabasas city flag which is flown in front of City Hall, the city is located in the southwest corner of the San Fernando Valley and comprises a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is 22 miles away from downtown Los Angeles and it is bordered by the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles to the northeast, Topanga to the east, Malibu to the south, Agoura Hills to the west, and Hidden Hills to the north. The historic El Camino Real runs east–west through Calabasas as the Ventura Freeway 101, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.0 square miles. 12.9 square miles of it is land and 0.1 square miles of it is covered by water, in a part of the city near Calabasas High School and A. C. Stelle Middle School, all of the public streets are named patriotically. These include Declaration Ave. America Way, Liberty Bell Rd. Paul Revere Dr. Founders Dr. Bon Homme Rd. one of the oldest neighborhoods in Calabasas is Park Moderne, or the Bird Streets. From Parkway Calabasas, Hidden Hills West, Calabasas Hills, Calabasas Park Estates, from Las Virgenes, Mountain View Estates, Monte Nido, Deer Springs, Stone Creek, El Encanto, Mont Calabasas, Malibu Canyon Park, The Colony at Calabasas, and Avalon Calabasas. Mont Calabasas, a community on Las Virgenes Road, was annexed into the city of Calabasas in 2011, prior to annexation, the neighborhood was located in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. From Lost Hills Road, Calabasas View, Saratoga Hills, Saratoga Ranch, Deer Springs, the 2010 United States Census reported Calabasas to have a population of 23,058. The population density was 1,780.4 people per square mile
10.
Rabbit
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Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are eight different genera in the classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit, cottontail rabbits. There are many species of rabbit, and these, along with pikas and hares. The male is called a buck and the female is a doe, Rabbit habitats include meadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands. Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit, lives in underground burrows, a group of burrows is called a warren. More than half the worlds rabbit population resides in North America and they are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and in parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present, rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange. Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, the European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world. Male rabbits are called bucks, females are called does, an older term for an adult rabbit is coney, while rabbit once referred only to the young animals. Another term for a rabbit is bunny, though this term is often applied informally to rabbits generally, especially domestic ones. More recently, the kit or kitten has been used to refer to a young rabbit. A young hare is called a leveret, this term is sometimes applied to a young rabbit as well. A group of rabbits is known as a colony, or nest, a group of young rabbits with the same parentage is referred to as a litter, and a group of domestic rabbits is sometimes called a herd. Because the rabbits epiglottis is engaged over the soft palate except when swallowing, rabbits have two sets of incisor teeth, one behind the other. This way they can be distinguished from rodents, with which they are often confused, the rabbits long ears, which can be more than 10 cm long, are probably an adaptation for detecting predators. They have large, powerful hind legs, the two front paws have 5 toes, the extra called the dewclaw. The hind feet have 4 toes and they are plantigrade animals while at rest, however, they move around on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade form. Unlike some other paw structures of quadruped mammals, especially those of domesticated pets and their nails are strong and are used for digging, along with their teeth, they are also used for defense
11.
Desert cottontail
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The desert cottontail, also known as Audubons cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. The desert cottontail is found throughout the western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, westwards its range extends to central Nevada and southern California and Baja California. It is found at heights of up to 2,000 m and it is particularly associated with the dry near-desert grasslands of the American southwest, though it is also found in less arid habitats such as pinyon-juniper forest. The desert cottontail is quite similar in appearance to the European rabbit and it is also social among its peers, often gathering in small groups to feed. The desert cottontail uses burrows made by rodents rather than making its own, like all cottontail rabbits, the desert cottontail has a rounded tail with white fur on the underside which is visible as it runs away. It is a light grayish-brown in color, with almost white fur on the belly, adults are 33 to 43 cm long and weigh up to 1.5 kg. The ears are 8 to 10 cm long, and the feet are large. There is little sexual dimorphism, but females tend to be larger than the males, the desert cottontail is not usually active in the middle of the day, but it can be seen in the early morning or late afternoon. It mainly eats grass, but will eat other plants, herbs, vegetables. It rarely needs to drink, getting its water mostly from the plants it eats or from dew, like most lagomorphs, it is coprophagic, re-ingesting and chewing its own feces, this allows more nutrition to be extracted. Southwestern Native Americans hunted them for meat but also used their fur, the cottontails normal anti-predator behavior is to run away in evasive zigzags, it can reach speeds of over 30 km/h. The young are born in a burrow or above ground, but they are helpless when born. Where climate and food supply permit, females can produce several litters a year, unlike the European rabbit, they do not form social burrow systems, but compared with some other leporids, they are extremely tolerant of other individuals in their vicinity. The lifespan of a cottontail averages about two years, depending on the location, unfortunately for the cottontail, almost every living carnivorous creature larger or faster than the Lagomorph is its predator. Cottontail lagomorphs borrow burrows that have been vacated by other animals and she is defenseless against any and all that would get close enough to eat her or her young. Though cottontails are very sexually active creatures, and mated pairs have several offspring many times in all seasons and those that do manage to avoid being eaten, grow very quickly and are considered full grown adults at three months. It can only use its nose to move and adjust the position of the food that it directly in front of its front paws on the ground. The cottontail rabbit will turn the food with its nose to find the cleanest part of the vegetation to begin its meal, the only time a cottontail uses its front paws to enable eating is when vegetation is above its head on a living plant
12.
Chumash people
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They also occupied three of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel, the smaller island of Anacapa was likely inhabited seasonally due to the lack of a consistent water source. Modern place names with Chumash origins include Cayucos, Malibu, Nipomo, Lompoc, Ojai, Pismo Beach, Point Mugu, Port Hueneme, Piru, Lake Castaic, Saticoy, Simi Valley and Somis. Archaeological research demonstrates that the Chumash have deep roots in the Santa Barbara Channel area, the Chumash resided between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the California coasts where rivers and tributaries abound. Inside and around the modern-day Santa Barbara region, the Chumash lived with a bounty of resources, the tribe lived in an area of three environments, the interior, the coast, and the Northern Channel Islands. These provided an array of materials to support the Chumash lifestyle. The interior is composed of the land outside the coast and spanning the plains, rivers. The coast covers the cliffs and land close to the ocean and, in reference to resources, the Northern Channel Islands lie off the coast of the Chumash territory. All of the California coastal-interior has a Mediterranean climate due to the ocean winds. The mild temperatures, save for winter, made gathering easy, during the cold months, what villagers gathered and traded during the seasons changed depending on where they resided. With coasts populated by masses of species of fish and land covered by trees and animals. Abundant resources and a winter rarely harsh enough to cause concern meant the tribe lived a lifestyle in addition to a subsistence existence. Villages in the three aforementioned areas contained remains of sea mammals, indicating that trade networks existed for moving materials throughout the Chumash territory, such connections spread out the land’s wealth, allowing the Chumash to live comfortably without agriculture. The closer a village was to the ocean, the greater its reliance on maritime resources, due to advanced canoe designs, coastal and island people could procure fish and aquatic mammals from farther out. Shellfish were a source of nutrition, relatively easy to find. Many of the favored varieties grew in tidal zones, shellfish grew in abundance during winter to early spring, their proximity to shore made collection easier. Some of the species included mussels, abalone, and a wide array of clams. Haliotis rufescens was harvested this species along the Central California coast in the pre-contact era, the Chumash and other California Indians also used red abalone shells to make a variety of fishhooks, beads, ornaments, and other artifacts. Any village could acquire fish, but the coastal and island communities specialized in catching not just smaller fish and this feat, difficult even for today’s technology, was made possible by the tomol plank canoe
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