1.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
–
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying. IUCNs mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of resources is equitable. Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to equality, poverty alleviation. Unlike other international NGOs, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation and it tries to influence the actions of governments, business and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, and through lobbying and partnerships. The organization is best known to the public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List. IUCN has a membership of over 1200 governmental and non-governmental organizations, some 11,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis. It employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 60 countries and its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several conventions on nature conservation. It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature, in the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its relations with the business sector have caused controversy. It was previously called the International Union for Protection of Nature, establishment In 1947, the Swiss League for the Protection of Nature organised an international conference on the protection of nature in Brunnen. It is considered to be the first government-organized non-governmental organization, the initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and especially from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. At the time of its founding IUPN was the international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation Early years. Its secretariat was located in Brussels and its first work program focused on saving species and habitats, increasing and applying knowledge, advancing education, promoting international agreements and promoting conservation. Providing a solid base for conservation action was the heart of all activities. IUPN and UNESCO were closely associated and they jointly organized the 1949 Conference on Protection of Nature. In preparation for this conference a list of endangered species was drawn up for the first time
2.
National park
–
A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns, although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea, the conservation of wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, although Yellowstone was not officially termed a national park in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. The first area to use national park in its legislation was the USs Mackinac Island. Australias Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the third official national park. In 1895 ownership of Mackinac Island was transferred to the State of Michigan as a state park, as a result, Australias Royal National Park is by some considerations the second oldest national park now in existence. The largest national park in the meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park. According to the IUCN,6,555 national parks worldwide met its criteria in 2006, IUCN is still discussing the parameters of defining a national park. National parks are almost always open to visitors, in 1971, these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. In 1810, the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a sort of property, in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive. It was known as Hot Springs Reservation, but no authority was established. Federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877, John Muir is today referred to as the Father of the National Parks due to his work in Yosemite. He published two articles in The Century Magazine, which formed the base for the subsequent legislation. President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on July 1,1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley, according to this bill, private ownership of the land in this area was no longer possible. The state of California was designated to manage the park for use, resort. Leases were permitted for up to ten years and the proceeds were to be used for conservation, a public discussion followed this first legislation of its kind and there was a heated debate over whether the government had the right to create parks. The perceived mismanagement of Yosemite by the Californian state was the reason why Yellowstone at its establishment six years later was put under national control, in 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the United States first national park, being also the worlds first national park. In some European countries, however, national protection and nature reserves already existed, such as Drachenfels, Yellowstone was part of a federally governed territory
3.
Spirit Island
–
Spirit Island is a tiny tied island in Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park. This landmark is the destination of boat trips across Maligne Lake, Spirit Island enjoys worldwide reputation, and is one of the most famous and photographed views of the Canadian Rockies. Maligne Lake boat cruises offer close views of the island, when Kodak introduced color film for consumers, a picture of Spirit Island was chosen to be displayed in their ad at Penn Station, New York. Winters are extremely harsh here with the lowest recorded temperature of -58 degree Fahrenheit, average snowfall is six meters in a winter
4.
Maligne Lake
–
Maligne Lake is a lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It is famed for the colour of its water, the surrounding peaks, the lake is located 44 km south of Jasper town, and is accessible by motor vehicle, including shuttle buses from Jasper. Boat tours run to Spirit Island in the spring to autumn season, the 44 km Skyline Trail, Jaspers most popular, highest and above treeline, multi-day hike, begins at Maligne Lake and finishes near the town of Jasper. Other popular day hikes include the Opal Hills and Bald Hills loops, Maligne Lake is approximately 22.5 km long and is 97 m at its deepest point, in the south end of the lake. It averages 35 m in depth and it sits at approximately 1,670 m asl. Easily visible from the Maligne Lake Day Lodge are Leah and Samson Peaks and Mount Paul to the east, the Charlton-Unwin, Maligne, and Coronet glaciers are visible from the lake, which boasts a self-sustaining population of introduced rainbow trout and brook trout. It is a spot for sport fishing, kayaking and canoeing. Parks Canada maintains three camping sites, accessible only by canoe, at HiddenCove, Fishermans Bay and Coronet Creek, Maligne Lake is fed and drained by the Maligne River, which enters the lake on its south side, near Mount Unwin and drains the lake to the north. Maligne Lake, as well as Maligne River, Maligne Mountain, the name was used by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet to describe the turbulent river that flows from the lake, and soon spread to the lake, canyon, pass, mountain and range. It is also possible that early French traders applied the name to the river for its treacherous confluence with the Athabasca River, the lake was well known to First Nations of the area, including Samson Beaver, who knew it as Chaba Imne. He drew the first map of the lake and the route to it for Mary Schaffer in 1907. Schaffer was an explorer and artist of the Rocky Mountains area who, being the first non-native to visit Chabna Imne, was accredited with the discovery, the first European to actually see the lake was Henry McLeod, scouting routes for the CPR in 1875. When he sighted it, he was high in the mountain range, when they arrived at the lake, they explored it with the means of a raft, nicknamed the HMS Chaba. At the request of the Canadian Government, Schaffer returned in 1911 to survey the lake in more detail and she also named several of the mountains and peaks. Mary Schaeffers books of the area attracted tourists from all over the US, for a time, the Maligne Lake Chalet was the largest, most luxurious accommodation in Jasper National Park. The other historic building is the Boathouse, built by Donald Curly Philips in 1928 to accommodate his wilderness guiding and fishing business, in the same year, he finished construction of the first Maligne Lake Tour boat, the Leah. Philips resided in his boathouse until his death in an avalanche. The historic buildings are maintained by Maligne Lake Tours, a company that dates back to Brewsters, Curly Philips is credited with stocking Maligne Lake with rainbow trout, packed overland in barrels
5.
Alberta
–
Alberta is a western province of Canada. With an estimated population of 4,196,457 as of July 1,2015, it is Canadas fourth-most populous province and its area is about 660,000 square kilometres. Alberta and its neighbour Saskatchewan were districts of the Northwest Territories until they were established as provinces on September 1,1905, the premier has been Rachel Notley since May 2015. Alberta is bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U. S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to only a single U. S. state and one of only two landlocked provinces. About 290 km south of the capital is Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, Calgary and Edmonton centre Albertas two census metropolitan areas, both of which have populations exceeding one million, while the province has 16 census agglomerations. Tourist destinations in the province include Banff, Canmore, Drumheller, Jasper, Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Victoria, Queen of Canada, and Albert, Prince Consort. Princess Louise was the wife of John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, Lake Louise and Mount Alberta were also named in her honour. Alberta, with an area of 661,848 km2, is the fourth largest province after Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. To the south, the borders on the 49th parallel north, separating it from the US state of Montana. The province extends 1,223 km north to south and 660 km east to west at its maximum width, with the exception of the semi-arid steppe of the south-eastern section, the province has adequate water resources. There are numerous rivers and lakes used for swimming, fishing, there are three large lakes, Lake Claire in Wood Buffalo National Park, Lesser Slave Lake, and Lake Athabasca which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. The longest river in the province is the Athabasca River which travels 1,538 km from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains to Lake Athabasca, the largest river is the Peace River with an average flow of 2161 m3/s. The Peace River originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows through northern Alberta and into the Slave River, Albertas capital city, Edmonton, is located approximately in the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly city in Canada, and serves as a gateway. The region, with its proximity to Canadas largest oil fields, has most of western Canadas oil refinery capacity, Calgary is located approximately 280 km south of Edmonton and 240 km north of Montana, surrounded by extensive ranching country. Almost 75% of the population lives in the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The land grant policy to the served as a means to populate the province in its early years
6.
Hinton, Alberta
–
Hinton is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. The Town of Hinton was named for William P. Hinton, Vice President, the community was named in 1911 and remained a hamlet for the next 45 years. Settlement in the area was scattered along a line some twelve kilometres in length, a site along Hardisty Creek, is where an aboriginal group from the Jasper area had left members stricken with smallpox while the rest of the group travelled to Lac Ste. Anne to find medical aid for the epidemic which was ravaging the indigenous population in Alberta. The area was thus dubbed Cache Picote in 1870, in 1888 Jack Gregg established a trading post at Prairie Creek to serve travellers along the Jasper trail. The creek is now known as Muskuta Creek after an interpretation of the Cree name by white settlers. The construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway saw the establishment of a camp at the mouth of Prairie Creek in 1908. A trestle was built over the creek and is still in use by CN today, in 1911 the Grand Trunk Pacific built a station house at mile 978 west of Winnipeg. The station was named Hinton, and the community was born, the Canadian Northern Railway also established a station called Bliss in 1914. The Canadian Northern Railway ran north of the Grand Trunk Pacific line, in 1916 when the Grand Trunk Pacific rail line was temporarily closed, Dalehurst became the postal station for Hinton. Entrance, another important centre to Hinton, served as its communications centre, the original site of Entrance is now known as Old Entrance. The Canadian National Railway became the owner of rail lines, the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk pacific and various portions of both lines were used by the new mother company. The company, however, abandoned the use of the line through Bliss in 1926. The population of Hinton experienced a boom during the 1930s when American entrepreneur Frank Seabolt, shortly thereafter, a recession caused the population to dwindle to fewer than 100 people, but the town began to rebound in 1955 with the construction of a pulp mill. The mill brought rapid growth to Hinton and a new village was developed and was named the Village of Drinnan in 1956, the two communities amalgamated on April 1,1957, to form the present Town of Hinton. In 1986,23 people were killed in the Hinton train collision, with a land area of 33.52 km2, it had a population density of 294. 8/km2 in 2016. In the 2011 Census, the Town of Hinton had a population of 9,640 living in 3,781 of its 4,143 total dwellings, with a land area of 33.77 km2, it had a population density of 285. 5/km2 in 2011. The population of the Town of Hinton according to its 2009 municipal census is 9,825, the census originally counted 9,812 people within the town limits but an additional 13 were added when a long-standing annexation application was approved shortly after the census was conducted
7.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
8.
Parks Canada
–
Parks Canada, also known as the Parks Canada Agency, is an agency of the Government of Canada run by a chief executive who answers to the Minister of the Environment. Parks Canada manages 38 National Parks, three National Marine Conservation Areas,171 National Historic Sites, and one National Landmark, the agency also administers lands and waters set aside as potential national parklands, including eight National Park Reserves and one National Marine Conservation Area Reserve. The Canadian Register of Historic Places is supported and managed by Parks Canada, in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, the agency is also the working arm of the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board, which recommends National Historic Sites, Events, and Persons. Parks Canada was established on May 19,1911, as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior, the services activities are regulated under the provisions of the Canada National Parks Act, which was enacted in 1930, and amended in 2000. To mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, Parks Canada is offering free passes to national parks, the Parks Canada Agency was established as a separate service entity in 1998, and falls under the responsibility of Environment Canada. Before 2003, Parks Canada fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Canadian Heritage, from 1979 to 1994, Parks Canada was part of the Department of Environment, and before it was part of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and the Department of the Interior. With the organizational shifts and political leadership in Canada, the priorities of Parks Canada have shifted over the years more towards conservation, starting in the 1960s, Parks Canada has also moved to decentralize its operations. S. C. Marie Canal, Saint-Ours Canal, Chambly Canal, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal, Carillon Canal, Lachine Canal, the Department of Canadian Heritage, which runs federal Museums and more cultural affairs, falls under the control of the Minister of Heritage. They are designated under section 18 of the Canada National Parks Act and have the authority of peace officers and they carry firearms and have access to other use of force options. The Minister may also designate provincial and local enforcement officers under section 19 of the Act for the purpose of enforcing laws within the specified parks and these officers have the power of peace officers only in relation to the Act. In May 2012, it was reported that Park Wardens may be designated to enforce certain wildlife acts administered by Environment Canada. Should the designations go ahead it would only be for Park Wardens that are stationed near existing migratory bird sanctuaries, historical Analysis of Parks Canada and Banff National Park, 1968–1995 List of legislation for which Parks Canada is responsible Lothian, W. F. A History of Canadas National Parks Volumes I-IV Lothian, W. F, a Brief History of Canadas National Parks Lothian, W. F. Histoire des parcs nationaux du Canada Volumes I-IV Lothian, W. F, a Century of Parks Canada, 1911–2011, Free eBook Parks Canada article in the Canadian Encyclopedia National Parks of Canada Electronic Library
9.
National Parks of Canada
–
National Parks of Canada are protected natural spaces throughout the country that represent distinct geographical regions of the nation. Within Parks Canada’s administration is a range of protected areas, encompassing National Historic Sites, National Marine Conservation Areas. Canada’s first national park, located in Banff, was established in 1885, tourism and commercialization dominated early park development, followed closely by resource extraction. Commodifying the parks for the profit of Canada’s national economy as well as conserving the natural areas for public, the process of establishing National Parks has included the often forced displacement of indigenous and non-indigenous residents of areas within the proposed park boundaries. A transition towards developing parks as a place of preservation began with the National Parks Act of 1930 and this event marked a shift in park management practices. Acting as national symbols, Canadas National Parks exist in every province,1885 – Banff National Park established as Canadas first National Park. Originally this park was called Banff Hot Springs Reserve and later the Rocky Mountains National Park, 1908–1912 – Four National Parks established in Alberta and Saskatchewan with a mission akin to national wildlife refuges. All would be abolished by 1947 once their goals were achieved,1911 – Dominion Parks Branch created, the worlds first national park service. Resided in the Department of the Interior, now known as Parks Canada, the governing body of Canadas National Parks. 1930 – Canadas parliament passes the first National Parks Act, regulating protection of the parks,1930 – Transfer of resources agreement signed. 1970s - National Parks System Plan devised with an aim to protect a sample of each of Canadas 39 natural spaces. 1979 – National Parks policy is revised to make preserving ecological integrity the priority in Canadian Parks,1984 – First National Park established through a land claim agreement. 1988 – National Parks Act amended formalizing the principle of integrity in the park system. 1989 – The Endangered Spaces campaign is launched by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the goal of the campaign is to have parks and protected areas which represent each of the countrys natural regions. 2017 - Free National Parks in 2017, In celebration of Canadas 150th birthday on 1 July 2017, Parks Canada is offering free admission to national parks, on July 20,1871, the Crown Colony of British Columbia committed to Confederation with Canada. Under the union’s terms, Canada was to construction of a transcontinental railway to connect the Pacific Coast to the eastern provinces. As the Canadian Pacific Railway went underway in 1875 and surveyors began to study the land, evidence of minerals quickly introduced the construction of mines and resource exploitation in Canada’s previously untouched wilderness. This event brought about the beginning of Canadas movement towards preserving land, may 1911 marked one of the most significant events in the administration and development of National Parks in Canada as the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act were granted royal assent
10.
Canadian Rockies
–
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. They are the part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is a system of multiple ranges of mountains which runs from the Canadian Prairies to the Pacific Coast. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA, in geographic terms the boundary is at the Canada/US border, but in geological terms it might be considered to be at Marias Pass in northern Montana. The northern end is at the Liard River in northern British Columbia, the Canadian Rockies have numerous high peaks and ranges, such as Mount Robson and Mount Columbia. The Canadian Rockies are composed of shale and limestone, much of the range is protected by national and provincial parks, several of which collectively comprise a World Heritage Site. The Canadian Rockies are the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera and they form part of the American Cordillera, an essentially continuous sequence of mountain ranges that runs all the way from Alaska to the very tip of South America. The Cordillera in turn are the part of the Pacific Ring of Fire that runs all the way around the Pacific Ocean. The Canadian Rockies are bounded on the east by the Canadian Prairies, on the west by the Rocky Mountain Trench, contrary to popular misconception, the Rockies do not extend north into Yukon or Alaska, or west into central British Columbia. North of the Liard River, the Mackenzie Mountains, which are a mountain range. The mountain ranges to the west of the Rocky Mountain Trench in southern British Columbia are called the Columbia Mountains, and are not considered to be part of the Rockies by Canadian geologists. Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, but not the highest in British Columbia, since there are higher mountains in the Coast Mountains. Its base is only 985 m above sea level, meaning it has a vertical relief of 2,969 m or nearly 10,000 feet. In addition, it rises the 3 km to its summit in a distance of only 4 km from its base at Kinney Lake, climbing Mount Robson is a challenge suitable for experienced and well-prepared mountaineers, and usually requires a week on the mountain. Mount Columbia is the second-highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and is the highest mountain in Alberta, there is a non-technical route to the top involving only kicking steps in the snow, but the approach is across the Columbia Icefield and requires glacier travel and crevasse rescue knowledge. It is normally done in two days, with a night at camp, but some strong skiers have done it from the highway in a day. On the other hand, many others have been stuck in their tents for days waiting for the weather to clear. From the same camp as for Mount Columbia, it is possible to ascend a number of other high peaks in the area, including North Twin, South Twin, Kitchener, Stutfield. Snow Dome is not a peak by Rockies standards
11.
Banff National Park
–
Banff National Park /ˈbæmf/ is Canadas oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north, Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, the Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banffs early years, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise Chalet, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees from World War I, since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s. Millions more pass through the park on the Trans-Canada Highway, as Banff has over three million visitors annually, the health of its ecosystem has been threatened. In the mid-1990s, Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study, which resulted in management recommendations, Banff National Park has a subarctic climate with three ecoregions, including montane, subalpine, and alpine. The forests are dominated by Lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce in higher ones below the treeline, above which is primarily rocks and ice. Mammal species such as the grizzly, cougar, wolverine, elk, bighorn sheep and moose are found, reptiles and amphibians are also found but only a limited number of species have been recorded. The mountains are formed from rocks which were pushed east. Erosion from water and ice have carved the mountains into their current shapes, throughout its history, Banff National Park has been shaped by tension between conservationist and land exploitation interests. Archaeological evidence found at Vermilion Lakes indicates the first human activity in Banff to 10,300 B. P. Prior to European contact, aboriginals, including the Stoneys, Kootenay, Tsuu Tina, Kainai, Peigans, with the admission of British Columbia to Canada on 20 July 1871, Canada agreed to build a transcontinental railroad. Construction of the began in 1875, with Kicking Horse Pass chosen, over the more northerly Yellowhead Pass. Ten years later, on 7 November 1885, the last spike was driven in Craigellachie, under the Rocky Mountains Park Act, enacted on 23 June 1887, the park was expanded to 674 km2 and named Rocky Mountains Park. This was Canadas first national park, and the established in North America, after Yellowstone. The Canadian Pacific Railway built the Banff Springs Hotel and Lake Louise Chalet to attract tourists, the Stoney First Nations were removed from Banff National Park between the years 1890 and 1920. The park was designed to appeal to sportsmen, and tourists, the exclusionary policy met the goals of sports hunting, tourism, and game conservation, as well as of those attempting to civilize the Indians. Early on, Banff was popular with wealthy European and American tourists, some visitors participated in mountaineering activities, often hiring local guides
12.
Edmonton
–
Edmonton /ˈɛdməntən/ is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, the city anchors the north end of what Statistics Canada defines as the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. The city had a population of 932,546 in 2016, making it Albertas second-largest city, also in 2016, Edmonton had a metropolitan population of 1,321,426, making it the sixth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada. Edmonton is North Americas northernmost city with a population over one million. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian, Edmontons historic growth has been facilitated through the absorption of five adjacent urban municipalities and a series of annexations ending in 1982. Known as the Gateway to the North, the city is a point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta. Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre and it hosts a year-round slate of festivals, reflected in the nickname Canadas Festival City. It is home to North Americas largest mall, West Edmonton Mall, in 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer for the Hudsons Bay Company, may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank as a major trading post for the Hudsons Bay Company. The new forts name was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden. In 1876, Treaty 6, which includes what is now Edmonton, was signed between the Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Queen Victoria as Queen of Canada, as part of the Numbered Treaties of Canada. The agreement includes the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, and other governments of First Nations at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt. The area covered by the treaty represents most of the area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan. The arrival of the CPR and the C&E Railway helped bring settlers and entrepreneurs from eastern Canada, Europe, U. S. the Edmonton areas fertile soil and cheap land attracted settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Some people participating in the Klondike Gold Rush passed through South Edmonton/Strathcona in 1897, in November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth. During the early 1900s, Edmontons rapid growth led to speculation in real estate, in 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River, as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time. Just prior to World War I, the boom ended, many impoverished families moved to subsistence farms outside the city, while others fled to greener pastures in other provinces. Recruitment to the Canadian army during the war contributed to the drop in population
13.
Glacier
–
A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight, it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight, creating crevasses, seracs and they also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines. Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice, between 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran. Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earths land surface, continental glaciers cover nearly 13,000,000 km2 or about 98 percent of Antarcticas 13,200,000 km2, with an average thickness of 2,100 m. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers, Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth. Within high altitude and Antarctic environments, the temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater. A large piece of compressed ice, or a glacier, appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue and this is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue. The other reason for the color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles. Air bubbles, which give a color to ice, are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice. The word Glaceon is a loanword from French and goes back, via Franco-Provençal, to the Vulgar Latin glaciārium, derived from the Late Latin glacia, the processes and features caused by or related to glaciers are referred to as glacial. The process of establishment, growth and flow is called glaciation. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology, Glaciers are important components of the global cryosphere. Glaciers are categorized by their morphology, thermal characteristics, and behavior, cirque glaciers form on the crests and slopes of mountains. A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, a large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field. Ice caps have a less than 50,000 km2 by definition. Glacial bodies larger than 50,000 km2 are called ice sheets or continental glaciers, several kilometers deep, they obscure the underlying topography. Only nunataks protrude from their surfaces, the only extant ice sheets are the two that cover most of Antarctica and Greenland. They contain vast quantities of water, enough that if both melted, global sea levels would rise by over 70 m
14.
Columbia Icefield
–
The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in the Rocky Mountains of North America. It is about 325 square kilometres in area,100 metres to 365 metres in depth, the Columbia Icefield was formed during the Great Glaciation, or Illinoisan period. The initial advancement of the ice field ended during the millennia of the Early Wisconsinan period. The next major advance of the ice occurred during the Late Wisconsinan period. During the Crowfoot Glacier advance, humans learned farming and civilizations began to develop along the Tigris, Euphrates, the last major period of advance occurred during the Little Ice Age, which lasted from about 1,200 to 1900 AD. Around 1800, the Athabasca Glacier peaked, then went through a period of recession, and then advanced again until 1840, the Columbia Icefield was one of the last major geological features to be discovered by man in western Canada, due to its isolation and harsh weather conditions. In April 1827, Scottish botanist David Douglas was crossing Athabasca Pass—a major trading route located north of the Icefield—when he climbed one of the adjacent mountain peaks and he reported his first ascent in his journal, describing it to be 6,000 metres in height. In the summer of 1884, geology professor Arthur Philemon Coleman explored the Great Divide from Banff to Jasper in search of Douglas giant peak, while unsuccessful, he did discover the route that would become the Icefield Parkway. In July 1898, British explorer J. Norman Collie and his friends Hugh Stutfield and Herman Wooley set off in search of Douglas giants, equipped by the famous Banff outfitter Bill Peyto. Collie later wrote, The view that lay before us in the light was one that does not often fall to the lot of modern mountaineers. A new world was spread at our feet, to the westward stretched a vast ice-field probably never seen by the human eye. In 1900, former British clergyman James Outram came to the Canadian Rockies to recover his health after a nervous breakdown, the following year he made the first ascent of Mount Assiniboine, then considered the Matterhorn of the Rockies. In 1902, Outram made ten first ascents of peaks over 3,050 metres, two of his first ascents in 1902 were Mount Columbia and Mount Bryce, one of the most dangerous and difficult summits in the Rocky Mountains. Following World War I, other mountaineering firsts occurred, in 1923, American climbers James Munroe Thorington and W. S. Ladd joined Austrian guide Conrad Kain to summit the daunting North Twin Peak, Mount Columbia, and Mount Saskatchewan in five days. During his sixty-three-day visit to the Columbia Icefield, Ostheimer and his two companions walked over a 1,000 kilometres and climbed thirty peaks—twenty-five of which were first ascents, in March 1932, three men undertook a remarkable skiing journey from Jasper to Banff that covered about 500 kilometres. Their accomplishment played a role in generating worldwide interest in the Canadian Rockies. Today, mountaineers and skiers from around the world come to the Columbia Icefield to explore some of the classic routes discovered by early pioneers of mountaineering. The Athabasca Glacier has receded significantly since its greatest modern-era extent in 1844, during the summer months visitors to the area can travel onto the glacier in the comfort of large snowcoaches
15.
Hot spring
–
A hot spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater that rises from the Earths crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth, while some of these springs contain water that is a safe temperature for bathing, others are so hot that immersion can result in injury or death. The water temperature of a hot spring is usually 6.5 °C or more above mean air temperature, note that by this definition, thermal spring is not synonymous with the term hot spring a spring whose hot water is brought to the surface. The water temperature of the spring is usually 8.3 °C or more above the air temperature. A spring with water above the human body temperature –36.7 °C. suggest that the phrase warm spring is not useful. In general, the temperature of rocks within the earth increases with depth, the rate of temperature increase with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. If water percolates deeply enough into the crust, it will be heated as it comes into contact with hot rocks, the water from hot springs in non-volcanic areas is heated in this manner. In active volcanic zones such as Yellowstone National Park, water may be heated by coming into contact with magma, the high temperature gradient near magma may cause water to be heated enough that it boils or becomes superheated. If the water becomes so hot that it builds steam pressure and erupts in a jet above the surface of the Earth, if the water only reaches the surface in the form of steam, it is called a fumarole. If the water is mixed with mud and clay, it is called a mud pot, note that hot springs in volcanic areas are often at or near the boiling point. People have been seriously scalded and even killed by accidentally or intentionally entering these springs, Warm springs are sometimes the result of hot and cold springs mixing. They may occur within an area or outside of one. One example of a warm spring is Warm Springs, Georgia. Hot springs range in flow rate from the tiniest seeps to veritable rivers of hot water, sometimes there is enough pressure that the water shoots upward in a geyser, or fountain. There are many claims in the literature about the rates of hot springs. It should be noted there are many more high flow non-thermal springs than geothermal springs. For example, there are 33 recognized magnitude one springs (having a flow in excess of 2,800 L/s in Florida alone, silver Springs, Florida has a flow of more than 21,000 L/s. Springs with high flow rates include, The Excelsior Geyser Crater in Yellowstone National Park yields about 4,000 U. S. gal/min
16.
Lake
–
A lake is an area of variable size filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, and therefore are distinct from lagoons, Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams, natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers, in some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them. The word lake comes from Middle English lake, from Old English lacu, from Proto-Germanic *lakō, cognates include Dutch laak, Middle Low German lāke as in, de, Moorlake, de, Wolfslake, de, Butterlake, German Lache, and Icelandic lækur. Also related are the English words leak and leach, none of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure. For this reason, simple size-based definitions are used to separate ponds. One definition of lake is a body of water of 2 hectares or more in area, however, others have defined lakes as waterbodies of 5 hectares and above, or 8 hectares and above. Charles Elton, one of the founders of ecology, regarded lakes as waterbodies of 40 hectares or more. The term lake is used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre. In common usage, many bear names ending with the word pond. One textbook illustrates this point with the following, In Newfoundland, for example, almost every lake is called a pond, whereas in Wisconsin, the majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. Canada, with a drainage system has an estimated 31,752 lakes larger than 3 square kilometres and an unknown total number of lakes. Finland has 187,888 lakes 500 square metres or larger, most lakes have at least one natural outflow in the form of a river or stream, which maintain a lakes average level by allowing the drainage of excess water. Some lakes do not have an outflow and lose water solely by evaporation or underground seepage or both. Many lakes are artificial and are constructed for power generation, aesthetic purposes, recreational purposes, industrial use. Globally, lakes are greatly outnumbered by ponds, of an estimated 304 million standing water bodies worldwide, 91% are 1 hectare or less in area
17.
Waterfall
–
A waterfall is a place where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of drops in the course of a stream or river. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of an iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls are commonly formed in the course of a river. At these times the channel is narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens slowly, as the watercourse increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it plucks material from the riverbed. Whirlpools created in the turbulence as well as sand and stones carried by the increase the erosion capacity. This causes the waterfall to carve deeper into the bed and to recede upstream, often over time, the waterfall will recede back to form a canyon or gorge downstream as it recedes upstream, and it will carve deeper into the ridge above it. The rate of retreat for a waterfall can be as high as one, eventually, the outcropping, more resistant cap rock will collapse under pressure to add blocks of rock to the base of the waterfall. Waterfalls normally form in an area due to erosion. After a long period of being formed, the water falling off the ledge will retreat. Eventually, as the pit grows deeper, the waterfall collapses to be replaced by a steeply sloping stretch of river bed, a river sometimes flows over a large step in the rocks that may have been formed by a fault line. Waterfalls can occur along the edge of a trough, where a stream or river flowing into a glacier continues to flow into a valley after the glacier has receded or melted. The large waterfalls in Yosemite Valley are examples of this phenomenon, another reason hanging valleys may form is where two rivers join and one is flowing faster than the other. Waterfalls can be grouped into ten classes based on the average volume of water present on the fall using a logarithmic scale. Class 10 waterfalls include Niagara Falls, Paulo Afonso Falls and Khone Falls, young Wrote Waterfalls, form and process this work made waterfalls a much more serious topic for research for modern Geoscientists. Ledge waterfall, Water descends vertically over a cliff, maintaining partial contact with the bedrock. Block/Sheet. Classical, Ledge waterfalls where fall height is equal to stream width. Curtain, Ledge waterfalls which descend over a larger than the width of falling water stream
18.
Mountain
–
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is steeper than a hill. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces or volcanism and these forces can locally raise the surface of the earth. Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers, weather conditions, a few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in huge mountain ranges. High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level and these colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains, different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate, mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction and recreation, the highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is 8,850 m above mean sea level. The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars at 21,171 m, there is no universally accepted definition of a mountain. Elevation, volume, relief, steepness, spacing and continuity have been used as criteria for defining a mountain, whether a landform is called a mountain may depend on local usage. The highest point in San Francisco, California, is called Mount Davidson, notwithstanding its height of 300 m, similarly, Mount Scott outside Lawton, Oklahoma is only 251 m from its base to its highest point. Whittows Dictionary of Physical Geography states Some authorities regard eminences above 600 metres as mountains, in addition, some definitions also include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 or 500 feet. For a while, the US defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet or taller, any similar landform lower than this height was considered a hill. However, today, the United States Geological Survey concludes that these terms do not have technical definitions in the US, using these definitions, mountains cover 33% of Eurasia, 19% of South America, 24% of North America, and 14% of Africa. As a whole, 24% of the Earths land mass is mountainous, there are three main types of mountains, volcanic, fold, and block. All three types are formed from plate tectonics, when portions of the Earths crust move, crumple, compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upward, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Volcanoes are formed when a plate is pushed below another plate, at a depth of around 100 km, melting occurs in rock above the slab, and forms magma that reaches the surface. When the magma reaches the surface, it builds a volcanic mountain. Examples of volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, the magma does not have to reach the surface in order to create a mountain, magma that solidifies below ground can still form dome mountains, such as Navajo Mountain in the US
19.
Trading post
–
The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route. Trading posts were also places for people to meet and exchange the news of the world or simply the news from their country in a time when not even newspapers existed. European colonialism traces its roots to ancient Carthage, numerous cities of importance once started their history as trading posts, Venice, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Naples, Rotterdam, Kansas City, etc. The annexation of trading posts along ancient trade routes took place in the 16th and 17th century by European powers like the Dutch and it began with the capture of Ceuta by the Portuguese in 1415. They went on to establish further enclaves as they explored the coasts of Africa, Arabia, India, trading posts were also very common in the early settlements of Canada and the United States for the trade of such things as fur. They were also used in many camps across the United States as places to buy snacks, items, the Hudsons Bay Company set up trading posts around Hudson Bay during the fur trade. Goods were traded for beaver pelts amongst the Europeans and the Native Americans, in the United States in the early 19th century, trading posts used by Native Americans were licensed by the federal government and called factories. In the context of Scouting, trading post usually refers to a store where snacks, craft materials. A trading post can also be referred to as the place where securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange are traded, cash is not accepted, only bartering is allowed. This idea blossomed and by 2004 had grown to become a 4,000 sq. ft. community care center in Springville, New York
20.
North West Company
–
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudsons Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada, with great wealth at stake, tensions between the companies increased to the point where several minor armed skirmishes broke out, and the two companies were forced to merge. In 1987, the trading posts of the Hudsons Bay Company were sold to an employee consortium that revived the name The North West Company in 1990. After the French landed in Quebec in 1608, coureurs des bois spread out, the French competed with the Dutch and English in New York and the English in Hudson Bay. Unlike the French who travelled into the interior, the English were based at trading posts on Hudson Bay. After 1731, La Vérendrye pushed trade west beyond Lake Winnipeg, after the British conquest in 1763, management of the fur trading posts was taken over by English-speakers. These so-called pedlars began to merge because competition cost them money, in the winter of 1783-84, the North West Company was officially created on a long-term basis, with its corporate offices on Vaudreuil Street in Montreal. The wintering partners and the Montreal agents met each July at the Companys depot at Grand Portage on Lake Superior, later moved to Fort William, also under the auspices of the Company, Alexander Mackenzie conducted two important expeditions of exploration. These men pushed into the territories of the Rocky Mountains. The death of Benjamin Frobisher opened the door to a takeover of the North West Company by Simon McTavish, the firm of McTavish, Frobisher and Company, founded in November 1787, effectively controlled eleven of the company’s twenty outstanding shares. At the time the company consisted of 23 partners, but its staff of Agents, factors, clerks, guides, interpreters, in addition to Alexander Mackenzie, this group included Americans Peter Pond and Alexander Henry the elder. Further reorganizations of the partnership occurred in 1795 and 1802, the shares being subdivided each time to provide for more and more wintering partners. Vertical integration of the business was completed in 1792, when Simon McTavish and John Fraser formed a London house to supply goods and market the furs, McTavish, Fraser. While the organization and capitalization of the North West Company came from Anglo-Quebecers, in the northwest, the Company expanded its operations as far north as Great Bear Lake, and westwards beyond the Rocky Mountains. For several years, they tried to sell directly to China, using American ships to avoid the British East India Companys monopoly. The company also expanded into the United States Northwest Territory, in 1796, to better position themselves in the increasingly global market, where politics played a major role, the North West Company briefly established an agency in New York City. The company tried to persuade the British Parliament to change arrangements and it is said that Simon McTavish made a personal petition to Prime Minister William Pitt, but all requests were refused. A few years later, with no relief to the Hudsons Bay Companys stranglehold, McTavish and they organized an overland expedition from Montreal to James Bay and a second expedition by sea
21.
Mammal
–
Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia, a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles by the possession of a neocortex, hair, three middle ear bones and mammary glands. All female mammals nurse their young with milk, secreted from the mammary glands, Mammals include the largest animals on the planet, the great whales. The basic body type is a quadruped, but some mammals are adapted for life at sea, in the air, in trees. The largest group of mammals, the placentals, have a placenta, Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm bumblebee bat to the 30-meter blue whale. With the exception of the five species of monotreme, all modern mammals give birth to live young, most mammals, including the six most species-rich orders, belong to the placental group. The largest orders are the rodents, bats and Soricomorpha, the next three biggest orders, depending on the biological classification scheme used, are the Primates, the Cetartiodactyla, and the Carnivora. Living mammals are divided into the Yinotheria and Theriiformes There are around 5450 species of mammal, in some classifications, extant mammals are divided into two subclasses, the Prototheria, that is, the order Monotremata, and the Theria, or the infraclasses Metatheria and Eutheria. The marsupials constitute the group of the Metatheria, and include all living metatherians as well as many extinct ones. Much of the changes reflect the advances of cladistic analysis and molecular genetics, findings from molecular genetics, for example, have prompted adopting new groups, such as the Afrotheria, and abandoning traditional groups, such as the Insectivora. The mammals represent the only living Synapsida, which together with the Sauropsida form the Amniota clade, the early synapsid mammalian ancestors were sphenacodont pelycosaurs, a group that produced the non-mammalian Dimetrodon. At the end of the Carboniferous period, this group diverged from the line that led to todays reptiles. Some mammals are intelligent, with some possessing large brains, self-awareness, Mammals can communicate and vocalize in several different ways, including the production of ultrasound, scent-marking, alarm signals, singing, and echolocation. Mammals can organize themselves into fission-fusion societies, harems, and hierarchies, most mammals are polygynous, but some can be monogamous or polyandrous. They provided, and continue to provide, power for transport and agriculture, as well as commodities such as meat, dairy products, wool. Mammals are hunted or raced for sport, and are used as model organisms in science, Mammals have been depicted in art since Palaeolithic times, and appear in literature, film, mythology, and religion. Defaunation of mammals is primarily driven by anthropogenic factors, such as poaching and habitat destruction, Mammal classification has been through several iterations since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class. No classification system is accepted, McKenna & Bell and Wilson & Reader provide useful recent compendiums. Though field work gradually made Simpsons classification outdated, it remains the closest thing to a classification of mammals
22.
Species
–
In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
23.
Rocky Mountain elk
–
The Rocky Mountain elk is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America. The winter ranges are most common in forests and floodplain marshes in the lower elevations. In the summer it migrates to the forests and alpine basins. The total wild population is one million individuals. The Rocky Mountain elk was reintroduced in 1913 to Colorado from Wyoming after the extinction of the regional herds. While overhunting is a significant contributing factor, the elk’s near extinction is attributed to human encroachment and destruction of their natural habitats. A year later, twenty-one elk from Jackson Hole, Wyoming were reintroduced to South Dakotas Wind Cave National Park for population increase, Elk numbers continued to increase through the 1990s to the present. All Rocky Mountain elk in Washington are the result of reintroductions conducted in the early 1900s from Yellowstone elk herds and these initial reintroductions have expanded their range and have also been translocated within the State. Not all of these elk have all the habitat to be successful in large numbers, in 1990, feasibility studies were conducted to determine if wild, free-ranging elk still had a place in some of their former eastern haunts. In recent years, elk from Utah have been used to reestablish a population in Kentucky, as of 2010, the Rocky Mountain elk herd has been diagnosed with a serious disorder called Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD affects the brain tissue of infected elk and is similar in symptoms to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, there is no evidence to conclude that elk CWD is transmittable to humans, and research concerning CWD and its effect on the eco-system continues. Environmental and CWD problems in Estes Park, Colorado and, on a scale, throughout the Western U. S. and North America have local, state. The Rocky Mountain National Park and the Estes Park environments are physically disrupted by the migration of the elk, several indigenous butterfly and plant species are harmed, especially the aspen groves that the elk herd of perhaps 3,000 animals decimates in its search for food. The elk population, while taxing the common resources, also adversely affects native species that share the same food supply. Plan for Sharpshooters to Thin Colorado Elk Herd Draws Critics, published, May 28,2006 http, //www. nytimes. com/2006/05/28/us/28elk. html Fibrils in brain of Rocky Mountain elk with chronic wasting disease contain scrapie amyloid. Guiroy DC, Williams ES, Song KJ, Yanagihara R, laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD20892. Guiroy, DC, Williams, ES, Song, KJ, Yanagihara, R, Gajdusek, Fibrils in brain of Rocky Mountain elk with chronic wasting disease contain scrapie amyloid. Neurobiology of Disease, Chronic Wasting Disease of Elk, Transmissibility to Humans Examined by Transgenic Mouse Models, petersen,1 Man-Sun Sy,1 Shu G. Chen,1 and Pierluigi Gambetti1
24.
Boreal woodland caribou
–
The boreal woodland caribou also known as woodland caribou, woodland caribou, forest-dwelling caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou. Boreal woodland caribou are primarily, but not always, sedentary, the woodland caribou is the largest of the caribou subspecies and is darker in colour than the barren-ground caribou. In Geist’s opinion, the inclusion of additional populations obscures the precarious position of the “true” woodland caribou. The national meta-population of this sedentary boreal ecotype spans the boreal forest from the Northwest Territories to Labrador and they prefer lichen-rich mature forests and mainly live in marshes, bogs, lakes, and river regions. Woodland caribou have disappeared from most of their southern range. The boreal woodland was designated as threatened in 2002 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Environment Canada reported in 2011 that there were approximately 34,000 boreal caribou in 51 ranges remaining in Canada. Scientists consider only 30% of Canada’s boreal woodland caribou populations to be self-sustaining and they are extremely sensitive to both natural and human disturbance, and to habitat damage and fragmentation brought about by resource exploration, road building, and other human activity. New forest growth following destruction of vegetation provides habitat and food for other ungulates, compared to barren-ground caribou or Alaskan caribou, boreal woodland caribou do not form large aggregations and are more dispersed particularly at calving time. Their seasonal movements are not as extensive, the name caribou was probably derived from the Mikmaq word xalibu or Qalipu meaning the one who paws. Other early records of caribou include a 45, 500-year-old cranial fragment from the Yukon, most of the subspecies, Rangifer tarandus caribou are now only found in Canada. The subspecies ecotype, boreal woodland caribou, have a height of approximately 1. 0-1.2 m shoulder height. Both male and female caribou have antlers during part of the year. On the males these grow so quickly each year that velvety lumps in March can become a rack measuring more than a metre in length by August, antlers of boreal caribou are flattened, compact, and relatively dense. Boreal caribou antlers are thicker and broader than those of the barren-ground caribou, the boreal woodland Caribou is well-adapted to cold environments with a compact body covered with a thick and long coat. They have a blunt muzzle, short wide ears. Adults have a brown to dark-brown coat in summer, becoming greyer in winter, breeding occurs at the end of September and the beginning of October and the young are born in mid-June, although these dates may be vary based on geographical region. For conservation and herd management purposes, migratory herds are often defined in terms of female natal philopatry or natal homing - the tendency to return to natal calving areas. Female boreal caribou and their calves are more vulnerable to predation than migratory caribou, as they often calve separate from the rest of the herd
25.
Reindeer
–
This includes both sedentary and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare, for this reason, it is considered to be vulnerable by the IUCN. Reindeer vary considerably in colour and size, both sexes can grow antlers annually, although the proportion of females that grow antlers varies greatly between population and season. Antlers are typically larger on males, hunting of wild reindeer and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer are important to several Arctic and Subarctic peoples. In traditional festive legend, Santa Clauss reindeer pull a sleigh through the sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The name Rangifer, which Carl Linnaeus chose for the genus, was used by Albertus Magnus in his De animalibus. This word may go back to a Saami word raingo, for the origin of the word tarandus, which Linnaeus chose as the specific epithet, he made reference to Ulisse Aldrovandis Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia fol. However, Aldrovandi – and before him Konrad Gesner – thought that rangifer, in any case, the tarandos name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus – see In history below. Because of its importance to many cultures, Rangifer tarandus and some of its subspecies have names in many languages, the name rein is of Norse origin. The Finnish name poro may also stem from the same, the word deer was originally broader in meaning, but became more specific over time. In Middle English, der meant a wild animal of any kind. Cognates of Old English dēor in other dead Germanic languages have the sense of animal, such as Old High German tior, Old Norse djúr or dýr, Gothic dius, Old Saxon dier. The name caribou comes, through French, from Mikmaq qalipu, meaning snow shoveler, in Inuktitut, spoken in eastern Arctic North America, the caribou is known by the name tuktu. In the western North American Arctic, the used by the Iñupiat is tuttu. Across the range of a species, individuals may display considerable morphological, genetic, COSEWIC developed Designated Unit attribution to add to classifications already in use. The species taxonomic name Rangifer tarandus was defined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the subspecies taxonomic name, Rangifer tarandus caribou was defined by Gmelin in 1788. Based on Banfields often-cited A Revision of the Reindeer and Caribou, Genus Rangifer, R. t. caboti, R. t. osborni and R. t. terraenovae were considered invalid and included in R. t. caribou. Some recent authorities have considered them all valid, even suggesting that they are quite distinct and he affirms that true woodland caribou is very rare, in very great difficulties and requires the most urgent of attention
26.
Western moose
–
The Western moose is a subspecies of moose that inhabits boreal forests and mixed deciduous forests in western Canada and a few western sections of the northern United States. It is the second largest North American subspecies of moose, second to the Alaskan moose, male Western moose are aggressive during mating season and may injure or kill with provocation. Parks Canada transferred eighteen western moose from Elk Island National Park to Nova Scotias Cape Breton Highlands National Park between 1947 and 1949 for population increase, Cape Breton Islands eastern moose are descendants of these western moose. Western moose eat terrestrial vegetation such as forbs and shoots from willow and birch trees and aquatic plants, including lilies, Western moose can consume up to 9,770 calories a day, about 32 kilograms. The Western moose, like other species, lacks upper front teeth and they also have a tough tongue, gums, and lips to help chew woody vegetation. Male Western moose stand anywhere from 1.9 to 2.0 metres at the shoulder and their antlers span 1.5 to 1.7 metres and they weigh anywhere from 380–720 kilograms. Female Western moose stand at 1.8 metres on average, Western moose do not form social bonds and only come into contact to mate or to battle for a mate. Elevated testosterone levels during mating season mean that bulls may attack anything during mating season, including humans, wolf packs, brown bears, elk and they use a subtle mating call to attract females or to announce to other males that they are in the area. In the event of a fight over mating rights, bull moose risk locking their antlers, Western moose females will have, on average, one or two calves at once. A female may attack if she feels that her calves are threatened, although, with a population of about 950,000 individuals, they are hunted every autumn and winter in both Canada and the United States. Annual quotas vary depending on population estimates and hunter success from the previous season
27.
Mule deer
–
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America, it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. There are believed to be several subspecies including the black-tailed deer, unlike the related white-tailed deer, mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River, and more specifically with the Rocky Mountain region of North America. Mule deer have also introduced to Argentina and Kauai, Hawaii. The most noticeable differences between white-tailed and mule deer are the size of their ears, the color of their tails, in many cases, body size is also a key difference. The mule deers tail is black-tipped, whereas the whitetails is not, mule deer antlers are bifurcated, they fork as they grow, rather than branching from a single main beam, as is the case with white-tails. Each spring, a bucks antlers start to regrow almost immediately after the old antlers are shed, shedding typically takes place in mid-February, with variations occurring by locale. Although capable of running, mule deer are often seen stotting, the mule deer is the larger of the two Odocoileus species on average, with a height of 80–106 cm at the shoulders and a nose-to-tail length ranging from 1.2 to 2.1 m. Of this, the tail may comprise 11.6 to 23 cm, adult bucks normally weigh 55–150 kg, averaging around 92 kg, although trophy specimens may weigh up to 210 kg. Does are rather smaller and typically weigh from 43 to 90 kg, an exception to this is the subspecies, the Sitka black-tailed deer. This race is smaller than other mule deer, with an average weight of 54.5 kg and 36 kg in males and females. In addition to related to available shelter and food, the breeding cycle is important in understanding deer behavior. The rut or mating season begins in the fall as does go into estrus for a period of a few days and males become more aggressive. Does may mate more than one buck and go back into estrus within a month if they did not become pregnant. The gestation period is about 190–200 days, with fawns born in the spring, staying with their mothers during the summer, mule deer females usually give birth to two fawns, although if it is their first time having a fawn, they often have just one. A bucks antlers fall off during the winter, to again in preparation for the next seasons rut. The annual cycle of growth is regulated by changes in the length of the day. For a guide to identify the sex and age class of Rocky Mountain mule deer at various seasons see S1 File, for more information see the main article on deer. The size of mule deer groups follow a seasonal pattern
28.
White-tailed deer
–
The white-tailed deer, also known as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also introduced to New Zealand, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, and some countries in Europe, such as Finland, the Czech Republic. In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate, in North America, the species is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains, but elsewhere, it is mostly replaced by the black-tailed or mule deer. Some taxonomists have attempted to separate white-tailed deer into a host of subspecies, genetic studies, however, suggest fewer subspecies within the animals range, as compared to the 30 to 40 subspecies that some scientists described in the last century. The Florida Key deer, O. virginianus clavium, and the Columbian white-tailed deer, in the United States, the Virginia white-tail, O. virginianus virginianus, is among the most widespread subspecies. The white-tailed deer species has tremendous genetic variation and is adaptable to several environments, several local deer populations, especially in the southern states, are descended from white-tailed deer transplanted from various localities east of the Continental Divide. Some of these populations may have been from as far north as the Great Lakes region to as far west as Texas, yet are also quite at home in the Appalachian. These deer over time have intermixed with the indigenous deer populations. Central and South America have a number of white-tailed deer subspecies that range from Guatemala as far south as Peru. This list of subspecies of deer is more exhaustive than the list of North American subspecies, however, the white-tailed deer populations in these areas are difficult to study, due to overhunting in many parts and a lack of protection. Some areas no longer carry deer, so it is difficult to assess the genetic difference of these animals, the deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail. It raises its tail when it is alarmed to warn the predator that it has been detected, a population of white-tailed deer in New York is entirely white —not albino—in color. The former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus, New York, has the largest known concentration of white deer, strong conservation efforts have allowed white deer to thrive within the confines of the depot. White-tailed deers horizontally slit pupils allow for night vision and color vision during the day. The white-tailed deer is highly variable in size, generally following Bergmanns rule that the size is larger farther away from the Equator. North American male deer usually weigh 45 kilograms, but in rare cases, mature bucks over 180 kilograms have been recorded in the northernmost reaches of their native range, specifically, Minnesota and Ontario. In 1926, Carl J. Lenander, Jr. took a white-tailed buck near Tofte, MN, the female in North America usually weighs from 40 to 90 kg. White-tailed deer from the tropics and the Florida Keys are markedly smaller-bodied than temperate populations, averaging 35 to 50 kg, white-tailed deer from the Andes are larger than other tropical deer of this species and have thick, slightly woolly looking fur
29.
North American porcupine
–
The North American porcupine, also known as the Canadian porcupine or common porcupine, is a large rodent in the New World porcupine family. The beaver is the rodent in North America that is larger than the North American porcupine. The word porcupine comes from the middle or old French word porcespin and its roots derive from the Latin words porcus or pig and spina meaning thorns. Other colloquial names for the animal include quill pig and it is also referred to as the Canadian porcupine or common porcupine. The porcupines scientific name, Erethizon dorsatum, can be translated as the animal with the irritating back. Several Native American names exist, such as the Lakota name pahin meaning quill, the North American porcupine migrated from South America, where all New World porcupines or hystricomorphs evolved. Erethizon appeared in North America shortly after the two joined together in the later Tertiary period. Other hystricomorphs also migrated, but Erethizon was the one to survive north of Mexico. No known fossils are attributed to prior to the late Tertiary period. Some fossils, such as species from the family Paramyidae, show resemblance to the porcupine, South American hystricomorphs first appeared in the Lower Oligocene period. They are thought to have migrated from Africa, ancestors of the Old World porcupines or Hystricidae or they originated based on a migration of the North American Paramyidae. The earliest appearance of E. dorsatum is from the Pleistocene era found along the Arroyo del Cedazo near Aguascalientes, seven subspecies of E. dorsatum are recognized. They are subdivided by different ranges across North America, by far the most common is E. d. dorsatum, which ranges from Nova Scotia to Alberta and from Virginia to the Yukon. E. d. picinum occupies a range in northeastern Quebec. E. d. couesi is the most southern ranging from northern Mexico to Colorado, E. d. bruneri can be found in the midwest from Arkansas to Montana. The last three are western species, from south to north they are E. d. epixanthum, E. d. nigrescens, and E. d. myops. Porcupines are usually brown or black in color, with white highlights. They have a body, a small face, short legs
30.
Canada lynx
–
The Canada lynx or Canadian lynx is a North American mammal of the cat family, Felidae. With a dense coat, ruffed face and tufted ears. It is slightly larger than the bobcat, with which it shares parts of its range, the Canada lynx is one of the four members of the genus Lynx, and is classified under the family Felidae. It was first described by scientific writer Robert Kerr in his 1792 work The Animal Kingdom as Felis lynx canadensis, the taxonomy of lynxes has remained in dispute, it is not even clear if Lynx should be considered an independent genus or a subgenus of Felis. Even the status of the Canada lynx as an independent species is doubted by some authorities, for instance, Renn Tumlinson considers the Canada lynx as a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx in his 1987 account of the Eurasian lynx in Mammalian Species. However, some authorities like zoologist W. Christopher Wozencraft, who revised the classification of carnivorans in 1989 and 1993, Lynx diverged from the Puma, Felis and Prionailurus plus Otocolobus lineages around 3.24 mya. The southern populations gradually evolved into the modern bobcat, L. c. subsolanus Bangs,1897 The Canada lynx is a medium-sized cat, similar in many ways to the bobcat. This lynx is between 80 and 100 centimetres in length, stands 48–56 centimetres tall at the shoulder. Physical proportions do not vary significantly across its range, the Canada lynx is sexually dimorphic, with males larger and heavier than females. This lynx is smaller than the Eurasian lynx by almost two times, probably a naturally selected characteristic to allow the animal to survive on smaller prey, like the bobcat, the Canada lynx has forelimbs shorter than the hindlimbs, so that the back appears to be sloping downward. The stubby tail, typical of lynxes, measures 5–15 centimetres, the coat is generally yellowish brown, the dense, long fur insulates it in its frosty habitat. Though no melanistic or albinistic forms of the Canada lynx are known, black hair tufts, a feature common to all lynxes, emerge from the tips of the ears, which are lined with black. In winter, the hair on the lower cheeks grow so long that it appears to form a ruffle covering the throat, some dark spots can be seen on the underbelly, where the fur is white, there are four nipples. The coat is short and reddish brown to greyish in summer, but becomes longer and greyer in winter, with a mix of greyish brown and buff hairs. The tail is marked with rings and, unlike the tail of the bobcat. The paws, covered in long and thick fur, can support nearly double the weight the paws of a bobcat can bear, the Canada lynx has 28 teeth, same as in other lynxes but unlike other felids, with four long canines for puncturing and gripping. The lynx can feel where it is biting the prey with its canines because they are laced with nerves. The lynx also has four teeth that cut the meat into small pieces
31.
North American beaver
–
The North American beaver is one of two extant beaver species. It is native to North America and introduced to Patagonia in South America, other vernacular names, including American beaver and Canadian beaver, distinguish this species from the other extant beaver species, Castor fiber, which is native to Eurasia. The North American beaver is an animal symbol of Canada. Adults usually weigh from 11 to 32 kg, with 20 kg being typical, the head-and-body length is 74–90 cm, with the tail adding a further 20–35 cm. Very old individuals can exceed normal sizes, weighing more than 40 kg or even as much as 50 kg. Like the capybara, the beaver is semiaquatic, the beaver has many traits suited to this lifestyle. It has a large, flat, paddle-shaped tail and large, the unwebbed front paws are smaller, with claws. The eyes are covered by a membrane which allows the beaver to see under water. The nostrils and ears are sealed while submerged, a thick layer of fat under its skin insulates the beaver from its coldwater environment. The beavers fur consists of long, coarse hairs and short. The fur has a range of colours, but usually is dark brown, scent glands near the genitals secrete an oily substance known as castoreum, which the beaver uses to waterproof its fur. Physician naturalist Edgar Alexander Mearns 1907 report of beaver on the Sonora River may be the southernmost extent of the range of this North American aquatic mammal. However, beavers have also been reported both historically and contemporaneously in Mexico on the Colorado River, Bavispe River, and San Bernardino River, beavers are active mainly at night. They are excellent swimmers and may remain submerged up to 15 minutes, more vulnerable on land, they tend to remain in the water as much as possible. They use their flat, scaly tail both to signal danger by slapping the surface of the water and as a location for fat storage. They construct their homes, or lodges, out of sticks, twigs, rocks, and mud in lakes, streams and these lodges may be surrounded by water, or touching land, including burrows dug into river banks. Beavers are well known for building dams across streams and constructing their lodges in the ponds which form. When building in a pond, the beavers first make a pile of sticks and then eat out one or more underwater entrances, the first is used for drying off
32.
Fox
–
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. Foxes are slightly smaller than a domestic dog, with a flattened skull, upright triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout. Twelve species belong to the group of Vulpes genus of true foxes. Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica, by far the most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox with about 47 recognized subspecies. The global distribution of foxes, together with their reputation for cunning, has contributed to their prominence in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world. The hunting of foxes with packs of hounds, long an established pursuit in Europe, the word fox comes from Old English, which derived from Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz. This in turn derives from Proto-Indo-European *puḱ-, meaning ’thick-haired, tail’. Male foxes are known as dogs, tods or reynards, females as vixens, a group of foxes is referred to as a skulk, leash, or earth. Foxes are generally smaller than members of the family Canidae such as wolves, jackals. For example, in the largest species, the red fox, males weigh on average between 4.1 and 8.7 kg, while the smallest species, the fennec fox, weighs just 0.7 to 1.6 kg. Fox-like features typically include a face, pointed ears, an elongated rostrum. Foxes are digitigrade, and thus, walk on their toes, unlike their dog relatives, foxes have partially retractable claws. Fox vibrissae, or whiskers, are black, the whiskers on the muzzle, mystaciae vibrissae, average 100-110mm long, while the whiskers everywhere else on the head average to be shorter in length. Whiskers are also on the forelimbs and average 40mm long, pointing downward and backward, other physical characteristics vary according to habitat and adaptive significance. Fox species differ in fur color, length, and density, coat colors range from pearly white to black and white to black flecked with white or grey on the underside. Fennec foxes, for example, have ears and short fur to aid in keeping the body cool. Arctic foxes, on the hand, have tiny ears and short limbs as well as thick, insulating fur. Red foxes, by contrast, have a typical auburn pelt, a foxs coat color and texture may vary due to the change in seasons, fox pelts are richer and denser in the colder months and lighter in the warmer months
33.
American marten
–
The American marten or American pine marten is a North American member of the family Mustelidae, sometimes referred to as the pine marten. The name pine marten is derived from the common but distinct Eurasian species of Martes and it differs from the fisher in that it is smaller in size and lighter in colour. The American marten is broadly distributed in northern North America, from north to south its range extends from the northern limit of treeline in arctic Alaska and Canada to northern New Mexico. From east to west its distribution extends from Newfoundland and south west to Napa County, in Canada and Alaska, American marten distribution is vast and continuous. In the western United States, American marten distribution is limited to mountain ranges that provide preferred habitat, the American marten has been reintroduced in several areas where extinction occurred. Small groups of martens live in the Midwest in Minnesota and Wisconsin, trapping and destruction of forest habitat have reduced its numbers, but it is still much more abundant than the larger fisher. The Newfoundland subspecies of this animal is considered to be threatened, compared to other carnivores, American marten population density is low for their body size. One review reports population densities ranging from 0.4 to 2.5 individuals/km2, population density may vary annually or seasonally. Low population densities have been associated with low abundance of prey species, home range size does not appear to be related to body size for either sex. Home range size ranged from 0.04 sq mi in Maine to 6.1 sq mi in Minnesota for males, and 0.04 sq mi in Maine to 3.0 sq mi in Wisconsin for females. Males generally exhibit larger home ranges than females, which some authors suggest is due to more specific requirements of females that limit their ability to shift home range. However, unusually large home ranges were observed for 4 females in two studies, males and females in northeastern California appeared to have approximately equal home range size. Home ranges are indicated by scent-marking, American marten male pelts often show signs of scarring on the head and shoulders, suggesting intrasexual aggression that may be related to home range maintenance. Home range overlap is minimal or nonexistent between adult males but may occur between males and females, adult males and juveniles, and between females. Several authors have reported that home range boundaries appear to coincide with topographical or geographical features, in northeastern California, movements and home range boundaries were influenced by cover, topography, and other American marten. In south-central Alaska, home range boundaries included creeks and a major river, in an area burned 8 years previously in interior Alaska, home range boundaries coincided with transition areas between riparian and nonriparian habitats. The American marten is a long, slender-bodied weasel about the size of a mink with relatively large rounded ears, short limbs, American marten have a roughly triangular head and sharp nose. Their long, silky fur ranges in color from pale buff to tawny brown to almost black
34.
North American river otter
–
The North American river otter, also known as the northern river otter or the common otter, is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to the North American continent found in and along its waterways and coasts. An adult river otter can weigh between 5.0 and 14 kg, the river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. The river otter, a member of the subfamily Lutrinae in the family, is equally versatile in the water. It establishes a close to the waters edge in river, lake, swamp, coastal shoreline, tidal flat. The den typically has many openings, one of which generally allows the otter to enter. Female otters give birth in these burrows, producing litters of one to six young. North American river otters, like most predators, prey upon the most readily accessible species, fish is a favored food among the otters, but they also consume various amphibians, freshwater clams, mussels, snails, small turtles and crayfish. Instances of river otters eating small mammals and occasionally birds have been reported as well, the range of the North American river otter has been significantly reduced by habitat loss, beginning with the European colonization of North America. In some regions, though, their population is controlled to allow the trapping and harvesting of otters for their pelts, River otters are very susceptible to the effects of environmental pollution, which is a likely factor in the continued decline of their numbers. A number of projects have been initiated to help stabilize the reduction in the overall population. The North American river otter was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1777. The mammal was identified as a species of otter and has a variety of names, including North American river otter, northern river otter, common otter and, simply. Other documented common names are American otter, Canada otter, Canadian otter, fish otter, land otter, nearctic river otter, the river otter was first classified in the genus Lutra, Lutra was the early European name. The species name was Lutra canadensis, the species epithet canadensis means of Canada. In a new classification, the species is called Lontra canadensis, molecular biological techniques have been used to determine when the river otter and the giant otter of South America diverged. These analyses suggest they diverged in the Miocene epoch 23.03 to 5.33 million years ago, which is much earlier than indicated in the fossil record. Fossils of a giant river otter dating back 3.5 Mya have been found in the US Midwest, the earliest known fossil of Lontra canadensis, found in the US Midwest, is from the Irvingtonian stage. The oldest fossil record of an Old World river otter comes from the late Pliocene epoch
35.
Mink
–
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as mink, the American mink and the European mink, the extinct sea mink is related to the American mink, but was much larger. The American mink is larger and more adaptable than the European mink, Due to variations in size, an individual mink usually cannot be determined as European or American with certainty without looking at the skeleton. There is one exception to rule, all European minks have a large white patch on their upper lip. Thus, any mink with no such patch is certainly of the American variety, taxonomically, both American and European minks used to be placed in the same genus Mustela, but most recently the American mink has been reclassified as belonging to its own genus Neovison. Its treatment has also been a focus of animal rights and animal welfare activism, American mink have found their way into the wild in Europe and South America, after being released from mink farms by animal rights activists or otherwise escaping from captivity. In the UK, under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, any live mink caught in traps must be humanely killed. American mink are believed by some to have contributed to the decline of the less hardy European mink through competition, trapping is used to control or eliminate feral American mink populations. Mink oil is used in medical products and cosmetics, as well as to treat, preserve. European mink Mustela lutreola American mink Neovison vison Sea mink Neovison macrodon The male weighs about 1 kg and is about 62 cm in length, Farm bred males can reach 3.2 kg. The female weighs about 600 g and reaches a length of about 51 cm, the sizes above do not include the tail which can be from 12.8 centimetres to 22.8 centimetres. A minks rich glossy coat in its state is brown and looks silky, but farm-bred mink can vary from white to almost black. Their pelage is deep, rich brown, with or without white spots on the underparts, the breeding season lasts April to May. Mink show the phenomenon of delayed implantation. Although the true gestation period is 39 days, the embryo may stop developing for a variable period, between 45 and 52 days is normal. There is only one litter per year and they may have between six and ten cubs or kittens per litter. Mink are kept in captivity primarily for the production of their fur and they are often kept in battery cages and frequently exhibit stereotypies. These abnormal, repetitive behaviours increase near their feeding time, specifically pacing and cage biting, stereotypies have also been noted to increase during human presence
36.
American pika
–
The American pika, a diurnal species of pika, is found in the mountains of western North America, usually in boulder fields at or above the tree line. They are herbivorous, smaller relatives of rabbits and hares, the American pika, known in the 19th century as the little chief hare, has a small, round, ovate body. Their body length ranges from 162 to 216 mm and their hind feet range from 25 to 35 mm. They usually weigh about 170 g, body size can vary among populations. In populations with sexual dimorphism, males are larger than females. The American pika is intermediate in size among pikas, the hind legs of the pika do not seem to be much longer than its front legs and its hind feet are relatively short when compared to most other lagomorphs. It has densely furred soles on its feet except for black pads at the ends of the toes, the ears are moderately large and suborbicular and are hairy on both surfaces, normally dark with white margins. The pikas buried tail is longer relative to body size compared to other lagomorphs and it has a slightly rounded skull with a broad and flat preorbital region. The fur color of the pika is the same for both sexes, but varies by subspecies and season, the dorsal fur of the pika ranges from grayish to cinnamon-brown, often colored with tawny or orchraceous hues, during the summer. During winter, the fur becomes grayer and longer, the dense underfur is usually slate-gray or lead-colored. It also has whitish ventral fur, males are called bucks and females are called does like rabbits. Pikas inhabit talus fields that are fringed by suitable vegetation on alpine areas and they also live in piles of broken rock. Sometimes, they live in man-made substrate such as mine tailings, Pikas usually have their den and nest sites below rock around 0. 2–1 m in diameter but often sit on larger and more prominent rocks. They generally reside in scree near or above the tree line, Pikas are restricted to cool moist microhabitats on high peaks or watercourses. Intolerant of high temperatures, in the northern portion of their range they may be found near sea level. Pikas rely on existing spaces in the talus for homes and do not dig burrows, however, they can enlarge their home by digging. The American pika is a generalist herbivore and it eats a large variety of green plants, including different kinds of grasses, sedges, thistles and fireweed. Although pikas can meet their demands from the vegetation they eat
37.
Grizzly bear
–
The grizzly bear, less commonly known as the silvertip bear, is a large subspecies of brown bear inhabiting North America. Scientists generally do not use the name grizzly bear but call it the North American brown bear, on average bears near the coast tend to be larger while inland Grizzlies tend to be smaller. The Ussuri brown bear inhabiting Russia, Northern China, and Korea is sometimes referred to as black grizzly although it is a different subspecies from the bears in America, meriwether Lewis and William Clark named it to be grisley or grizzly, which could have meant grizzled or fear-inspiring. Nonetheless, after study, naturalist George Ord formally classified it in 1815 – not for its hair. Classification has been revised along genetic lines, there are two morphological forms of Ursus arctos, the grizzly and the coastal brown bears, but these morphological forms do not have distinct mtDNA lineages. Brown bears originated in Eurasia and traveled to North America approximately 50,000 years ago, in the 19th century, the grizzly was classified as 86 distinct species. However, by 1928 only seven grizzlies remained and by 1953 only one species remained globally, however, modern genetic testing reveals the grizzly to be a subspecies of the brown bear. Rausch found that North America has but one species of grizzly, therefore, everywhere it is the brown bear, in North America, it is the grizzly, but these are all the same species, Ursus arctos. Kodiak grizzly bears were also at one time considered distinct, therefore, at one time there were five different species of brown bear, including three in North America. Most adult female grizzlies weigh 130–180 kg, while males weigh on average 180–360 kg. Average total length in this subspecies is 198 cm, with a shoulder height of 102 cm. Newborn bears may weigh less than 500 grams, in the Yukon River area, mature female grizzlies can weigh as little as 100 kg. One study found that the weight for an inland male grizzly was around 272 kilograms. For a female, these average weights would be 136 kilograms inland and 227 kilograms coastal, on the other hand, an occasional huge male grizzly has been recorded which greatly exceeds ordinary size, with weights reported up to 680 kg. A large coastal male of this size may stand up to 3 metres tall on its hind legs, although variable in color from blond to nearly black, grizzly bear fur is typically brown with darker legs and commonly white or blond tipped fur on the flank and back. A pronounced hump appears on their shoulders, the hump is a way to distinguish a grizzly bear from a black bear. Aside from the distinguishing hump a grizzly bear can be identified by a dished in profile of their face with short, rounded ears, whereas a black bear has a straight face profile and longer ears. A grizzly bear can also be identified by its rump, which is lower than its shoulders, a grizzly bears front claws measure about 2-4 inches in length and a black bears measure about 1-2 inches in length
38.
Coyote
–
The coyote is a canid native to North America. It is smaller than its relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than its other close relatives, the eastern wolf. It fills much of the ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia, though it is larger. The species is versatile and able to adapt to environments modified by humans, as human activity has altered the landscape, the coyotes range has expanded. In 2013, coyotes were sighted in eastern Panama for the first time, the coyote is more closely related to the common ancestor of wolves and other canids than the gray wolf. As of 2005,19 coyote subspecies are recognized, the average male coyote weighs 8 to 20 kg and the average female 7 to 18 kg. Their fur color is light gray and red or fulvous interspersed with black and white. It is highly flexible in organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. The coyotes characteristic vocalization is a made by solitary individuals. Humans aside, cougars and gray wolves are the only serious enemies. Nevertheless, coyotes do sometimes mate with gray, eastern, or red wolves, Most recent studies show that most wolves contain some level of coyote DNA. As with other figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The animal was especially respected in Mesoamerican cosmology as a symbol of military might, after the European colonization of the Americas, it was reviled in Anglo-American culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike wolves, which have undergone an improvement of their public image, Coyote males average 8 to 20 kg in weight, while females average 7 to 18 kg, though size varies geographically. Northern subspecies, which average 18 kg, tend to larger than the southern subspecies of Mexico. Body length ranges on average from 1.0 to 1.35 m, the largest coyote on record was a male killed near Afton, Wyoming, on November 19,1937, which measured 1.5 m from nose to tail, and weighed 34 kg. Scent glands are located at the side of the base of the tail and are a bluish-black color. The color and texture of the fur varies somewhat geographically
39.
Mountain goat
–
The mountain goat, also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a large hoofed mammal endemic to North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ice. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae that includes antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae, along with 32 other species including goats, sheep, the chamois. The mountain goat is the species in the genus Oreamnos. The name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros mountain, both billy and nanny mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15–28 cm in length, which contain yearly growth rings. They are protected from the elements by their woolly white double coats, the fine, dense wool of their undercoats is covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. Mountain goats molt in spring by rubbing against rocks and trees, with the adult billies shedding their extra wool first and their coats help them to withstand winter temperatures as low as −50 °F and winds of up to 100 mph. A billy stands about 1 m at the shoulder to the waist, male goats also have longer horns and longer beards than females. Mountain goats can weigh between 45 and 140 kg, though even billies will often weigh less than 82 kg, the head-and-body length can range from 120–179 cm, with a small tail adding 10–20 cm. The mountain goats feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes with pitches exceeding 60°, with pads that provide traction. The tips of their feet have sharp dewclaws that keep them from slipping and they have powerful shoulder and neck muscles that help propel them up steep slopes. Its northernmost range is said to be along the fringe of the Chugach Mountains in southcentral Alaska. Introduced populations can also be found in areas as Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota. Mountain goats are the largest mammals found in their high-altitude habitats and they sometimes descend to sea level in coastal areas although they are primarily an alpine and subalpine species. The animals usually stay above the line throughout the year. Winter migrations to low-elevation mineral licks often take them several kilometers through forested areas, daily movements by individual mountain goats are primarily confined to areas on the same mountain face, drainage basin, or alpine opening. Daily movements reflect an individual’s needs for foraging, resting, thermoregulation, seasonal movements primarily reflect nutritional needs, reproductive needs, and climatic influences
40.
Bighorn sheep
–
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep native to North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to 14 kilograms, while the sheep themselves weigh up to 140 kg, recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered, O. c. sierrae. By 1900, the population had crashed to several thousand, due to diseases introduced through European livestock, divergence from their closest Asian ancestor occurred about 600,000 years ago. In North America, wild sheep diverged into two extant species—Dall sheep, which occupy Alaska and northwestern Canada, and bighorn sheep, which range from southern Canada to Mexico. However, the status of species is questionable given that hybridization has occurred between them in their recent evolutionary history. This subspecies has been extinct since 1925, California bighorn sheep, O. c. californiana, are found from British Columbia south to California and east to North Dakota. The definition of this subspecies has been updated, nelsons bighorn sheep, O. c. nelsoni, the most common desert bighorn sheep, ranges from California through Arizona. Mexican bighorn sheep, O. c. mexicana, range from Arizona and New Mexico south to Sonora and Chihuahua. Peninsular bighorn sheep O. c. cremnobates, occur in the Peninsular Ranges of California and Baja California Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, weems bighorn sheep, O. c. weemsi, also are found in Baja California. However, starting in 1993, Ramey and colleagues, using DNA testing, have shown this division into seven subspecies is largely illusory, most scientists currently recognize three subspecies of bighorn. Thus the three subspecies of Ovis canadensis, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep – occupying the U. S. and Canadian Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep – formerly California bighorn sheep, a genetically distinct subspecies that only occurs in the Sierra Nevada in California. However, historic observer records suggest that bighorn sheep may have ranged as far west as the California Coastal Ranges which are contiguous to the Sierra Nevada via the Transverse Ranges. An account of sheep in the vicinity of the Mission San Antonio near Jolon, California. Desert bighorn sheep – occurring throughout the regions of the Southwestern United States. The 2016 genetics study suggested more modest divergence of this desert bighorn sheep into three lineages consistent with the work of Cowan, Nelson, Mexican, and Peninsular. These three lineages occupy desert biomes that vary significantly in climate, suggesting exposure to different selection regimes, Bighorn sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the rams. Ewes also have horns, but they are shorter with less curvature and they range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the backs of all four legs. Males typically weigh 58–143 kg, are 90–105 cm tall at the shoulder, females are typically 34–91 kg, 75–90 cm tall, and 1. 28–1.58 m long
41.
American black bear
–
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continents smallest and most widely distributed bear species, Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in forested areas, but do leave forests in search of food. Sometimes they become attracted to human communities because of the availability of food. The American black bear is the worlds most common bear species, along with the brown bear, it is one of only two of the eight modern bear species not considered globally threatened with extinction by the IUCN. American black bears often mark trees using their teeth and claws as a form of communication with other bears, a behavior common to many species of bears. Despite living in North America, American black bears are not closely related to bears and polar bears. American and Asian black bears are considered sister taxa, and are closely related to each other than to other species of bear. Reportedly, the sun bear is also a recent split from this lineage. A small primitive bear called Ursus abstrusus is the oldest known North American fossil member of the genus Ursus and this suggests that U. abstrusus may be the direct ancestor of the American black bear, which evolved in North America. Although Wolverton and Lyman still consider U. vitabilis an apparent precursor to modern black bears, the ancestors of American black bears and Asiatic black bears diverged from sun bears 4.58 mya. The American black bear then split from the Asian black bear 4.08 mya, the earliest American black bear fossils, which were located in Port Kennedy, Pennsylvania, greatly resemble the Asiatic species, though later specimens grew to sizes comparable to grizzlies. From the Holocene to present, American black bears seem to have shrunk in size, the American black bear lived during the same period as short-faced bears and the Florida spectacled bear. These Tremarctine bears evolved from bears that had emigrated from Asia to North America 7–8 ma, however, both Arctodus and Tremarctos had survived several other ice ages. American black bears are reproductively compatible with several other bear species, according to Jack Hannas Monkeys on the Interstate, a bear captured in Sanford, Florida, was thought to have been the offspring of an escaped female Asian black bear and a male American black bear. In 1859, a bear and a Eurasian brown bear were bred together in the London Zoological Gardens. In the reports published since this date three species have produced young, a black bear shot in autumn 1986 in Michigan was thought by some to be a black bear/grizzly bear hybrid, due to its unusually large size and its proportionately larger braincase and skull. DNA testing was unable to determine whether it was a black bear or grizzly
42.
Northwestern wolf
–
It ranges from Alaska, the upper Mackenzie River Valley, southward into the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan as well as the Northwestern United States. Along with C. l. nubilus, C. l. occidentalis is the most widespread member of the five gray wolf subspecies in North America, the subspecies was first written of by Scottish naturalist Sir John Richardson in 1829. He chose to give it the name occidentalis in reference to its location rather than label it by its color. C. l. occidentalis, the most northwestern subspecies, is descended from the last gray wolves to colonize North America. It likely crossed into North America through the Bering land bridge after the last ice age, displacing C. l. nubilus populations as it advanced, a process which has continued till present times. Northwestern wolves are one of the largest subspecies of wolves with grown males weighing between 105 lb and 135 lb in British Columbia, Canada, the largest of any wolf on record was an Alaskan wolf that weighed 79.4 kilograms. It was killed on 70 Mile River in east-central Alaska on July 12,1939, Sir John Richardson described the northwestern wolf as having a more robust build than the European wolf, with a larger, rounder head and a thicker, more obtuse muzzle. Its ears are shorter, and its fur bushier. In Yellowstone National Park, artificially relocated northwestern wolves have been well-documented feeding on elk and they usually stampede the herd using pack teamwork to separate the younger elk from the adults. They also will charge young calves separated from their parents, winter-weakened or sick elk also play an important part of Yellowstone wolf diets and it is estimated that over 50 percent of winter-weakened or sick elk in Yellowstone are killed by wolves. Of these, about 12 percent of carcasses were scavenged by other predators including, ravens, bald eagles, black bears, grizzly bears, and coyotes. In the same park, wolves also prey on bison, though such attacks usually involve sick animals or calves. They are present in Canadian or British safari parks including Longleat, Woburn, and Parc Omega
43.
Hoary marmot
–
The hoary marmot is a species of marmot that inhabits the mountains of northwest North America. Hoary marmots live near the line on slopes with grasses and forbs to eat. It is the largest North American ground squirrel and is nicknamed the whistler for its high-pitched warning issued to alert other members of the colony to possible danger. The animals are sometimes called whistle pigs, whistler, British Columbia, originally London Mountain because of its heavy fogs and rain, was renamed for these animals to help make it more marketable as a resort. The closest relatives of the species are the yellow-bellied, Olympic, the hoary marmot is a large, bulky, ground squirrel, with short, heavy limbs, and a broad head. Adults range from 62 to 82 cm in length, including a 17 to 25 cm tail. The species is dimorphic, with males being significantly larger than females in most subspecies. A few fall adults can weigh up to 10 kg, with exceptional ones attaining 13.5 kg and it is reportedly the largest member of the squirrel family, though the slightly lighter alpine marmot is sometimes titled this as well. The word hoary refers to the fur on their shoulders and upper back. The head is black on the surface, with a white patch on the muzzle, white fur on the chin and around the lips. The feet and lower legs are black, sometimes white patches on the fore feet. Marmots have long hairs that provide most of the visible colour of their pelage. The greyish underparts of the body lack this underfur, and are sparsely haired than the rest of the body. Hoary marmots moult in the early to mid summer, the feet have slightly curved claws, which are somewhat larger on the fore feet than on the hind feet. The feet have hairless pads, enhancing their grip, the tail is long, slightly flattened, and covered with dense fur. Apart from the size of the males, both sexes have a similar appearance. Females have five pairs of teats, running from the pectoral to the inguinal regions, the hoary marmot inhabits mountainous environments from sea level to 2,500 metres elevation, through much of Alaska, western Canada, and the extreme northwest of the contiguous United States. Fossils are known dating back to the Pleistocene, including some from islands no longer inhabited by the species, predators include golden eagles, grizzly and black bears, wolverines, coyotes, red foxes, lynxes, wolves, and cougars
44.
North American cougar
–
The North American cougar, is the cougar subspecies once commonly found in eastern North America and still prevalent in the western half of the continent. Many extinct populations, such as the Wisconsin cougar, which was extirpated in 1925, are included in the subspecies. It was believed to be extirpated there in the early 1900s, cougars in Michigan were thought to have been killed off and extinct in the early 1900s. Today there is evidence to support that cougars could be on the rise in Mexico, some mainstream scientists believe that small relict populations may exist, especially in the Appalachian Mountains and eastern Canada. Recent scientific findings in hair traps in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick have confirmed the existence of at least three cougars in New Brunswick, the Ontario Puma Foundation estimates that there are currently 850 cougars in Ontario. Reported sightings of cougars in the eastern United States continue today, Wisconsin Genetic analysis of DNA from a cougar sighting in Wisconsin in 2008 indicated that a cougar was in Wisconsin and that it was not captive. It is speculated that the migrated from a native population in the Black Hills of South Dakota, however. It is also uncertain whether there are other, perhaps breeding, a second sighting was reported and tracks were documented in a nearby Wisconsin community. Unfortunately, a genetic analysis could not be done and a determination could not be made and this cougar later made its way south into the northern Chicago suburb of Wilmette. On June 3,2013, a sighting was made in Florence County. The cougar was photographed by a trail camera, and confirmed by DNR biologists in October,2013. Tennessee On September 26,2015, a sample was submitted by a hunter in Carroll County, Tennessee. Illinois On April 14,2008, a cougar triggered a flurry of reports before being cornered and killed in the Chicago neighborhood of Roscoe Village while officers tried to contain it. The cougar was the first sighted in the city limits of Chicago since the city was founded in 1833, on November 22,2013, a cougar was found on a farm near Morrison, Illinois in Whiteside County, Illinois. An Illinois Department of Natural Resource officer subsequently shot and killed the cougar after determining it posed a risk to the public. Connecticut In 2011, a cougar was sighted in Greenwich, Connecticut, while the origin of these animals is unknown, cougar experts believe some are captive animals that have been released or escaped. The Eastern Panther, A Question of Survival, toronto, Clarke, Irwin and Company,1972
45.
Wolverine
–
The wolverine, Gulo gulo, also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more resembling a small bear than other mustelids. The wolverine, an animal, has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size. Its population has declined since the 19th century owing to trapping, range reduction. The wolverine is now absent from the southern end of its European range. Genetic evidence suggests that the wolverine is most closely related to the tayra and martens, within the Gulo genus, a clear separation occurs between two subspecies, the Old World form Gulo gulo gulo and the New World form G. g. luscus. Some authors had described as many as four additional North American subspecies, including ones limited to Vancouver Island, however, the most currently accepted taxonomy recognizes either the two continental subspecies or recognize G. gulo as a single Holarctic taxon. Anatomically, the wolverine is a stocky and muscular animal, with short legs, broad and rounded head, small eyes and short rounded ears, it more closely resembles a bear than it does other mustelids. Though its legs are short, its large, five-toed paws with claws and plantigrade posture enable them to climb up and over steep cliffs, trees. The males are as much as 30% larger than the females, shoulder height is reported from 30 to 45 cm. Wolverines have thick, dark, oily fur which is highly hydrophobic and this has led to its traditional popularity among hunters and trappers as a lining in jackets and parkas in Arctic conditions. A light-silvery facial mask is distinct in some individuals, and a buff stripe runs laterally from the shoulders along the side. Some individuals display prominent white patches on their throats or chests. Like many other mustelids, it has potent anal scent glands used for marking territory, the pungent odor has given rise to the nicknames skunk bear and nasty cat. Wolverines, like other mustelids, possess a special upper molar in the back of the mouth that is rotated 90 degrees and this special characteristic allows wolverines to tear off meat from prey or carrion that has been frozen solid. Wolverines are considered to be primarily scavengers, a majority of the wolverines sustenance is derived from carrion, on which they depend almost exclusively in winter and early spring. Wolverines may find themselves, feed on it after the predator is done feeding or simply take it from another predator. Wolverines are also known to follow wolf and lynx trails, purportedly with the intent of scavenging the remains of their kills, whether eating live prey or carrion, the wolverines feeding style appears voracious, leading to the nickname of glutton
46.
Bird
–
Birds, a subgroup of Reptiles, are the last living examples of Dinosaurs. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the 5 cm bee hummingbird to the 2.75 m ostrich. They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species, at ten thousand. Birds are the closest living relatives of crocodilians, the fossil record indicates that birds evolved from feathered ancestors within the theropod group of saurischian dinosaurs. True birds first appeared during the Cretaceous period, around 100 million years ago, Birds, especially those in the southern continents, survived this event and then migrated to other parts of the world while diversifying during periods of global cooling. Primitive bird-like dinosaurs that lie outside class Aves proper, in the broader group Avialae, have been found dating back to the mid-Jurassic period, around 170 million years ago. Birds have wings which are more or less developed depending on the species, the digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have evolved for swimming. Many species annually migrate great distances, Birds are social, communicating with visual signals, calls, and bird songs, and participating in such social behaviours as cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous or, rarely, Birds produce offspring by laying eggs which are fertilised through sexual reproduction. They are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents, most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching. Some birds, such as hens, lay eggs even when not fertilised, songbirds, parrots, and other species are popular as pets. Guano is harvested for use as a fertiliser, Birds prominently figure throughout human culture. About 120–130 species have become extinct due to human activity since the 17th century, human activity threatens about 1,200 bird species with extinction, though efforts are underway to protect them. Recreational birdwatching is an important part of the ecotourism industry, the first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ray in their 1676 volume Ornithologiae. Carl Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use, Birds are categorised as the biological class Aves in Linnaean taxonomy. Phylogenetic taxonomy places Aves in the dinosaur clade Theropoda, Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria
47.
Bird of prey
–
Bird of prey or predatory bird, also known as raptors, refers to several species of birds that hunt and feed on rodents and other small animals. The term raptor is derived from the Latin word rapere, meaning to seize or take by force and these birds are characterized by keen vision that allows them to detect their prey during flight and powerful talons and beaks. Taken literally, the bird of prey has a wide meaning that includes many birds that hunt and feed on animals. In ornithology, the definition for bird of prey has a meaning, birds that have very good eyesight for finding food, strong feet for holding food. Most birds of prey also have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey, Birds of prey generally prey on vertebrates, which are usually quite large relative to the size of the bird. Most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures, the order Accipitriformes is believed to have originated 44 million years ago when it split from the common ancestor of the secretarybird and the accipitrid species. The phylogeny of Accipitriformes is complex and difficult to unravel, widespread paraphylies were observed in many phylogenetic studies. More recent and detailed studies show similar results, however, according to the findings of a 2014 study, the sister relationship between larger clades of Accipitriformes was well supported. The diurnal birds of prey are formally classified into five families of two orders, the Cathartidae are sometimes placed separately in an enlarged stork family, Ciconiiformes, and may be raised to an order of their own, Cathartiiformes. The secretary bird and/or osprey are sometimes listed as subfamilies of Acciptridae, Sagittariinae and Pandioninae, australias letter-winged kite is a member of the family Accipitridae, although it is a nocturnal bird. He placed all birds of prey into an order, Accipitres, subdividing this into four genera, Vultur, Falco, Strix. This approach was followed by subsequent authors such as Gmelin, Latham, louis Pierre Veillot used additional ranks, order, tribe, family, genus, species. Birds of prey were divided into diurnal and nocturnal tribes, the owls remained monogeneric, thus Veillots families were similar to the Linnaean genera, with the difference that shrikes were no longer included amongst the birds of prey. In addition to the original Vultur and Falco, Veillot adopted four genera from Savigny, Phene, Haliæetus, Pandion and he also introduced five new genera of vultures and eleven new genera of accipitrines. The common names for birds of prey are based on structure. Eagles tend to be large birds with long, broad wings, booted eagles have legs and feet feathered to the toes and build very large stick nests. Ospreys, a species found worldwide that specializes in catching fish. Kites have long wings and relatively weak legs and they spend much of their time soaring
48.
Bald eagle
–
The bald eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States and it is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. The bald eagle is a feeder which subsists mainly on fish. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any species, up to 4 m deep,2.5 m wide. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years, Bald eagles are not actually bald, the name derives from an older meaning of the word, white headed. The adult is brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25 percent larger than males, the beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown, the bald eagle is both the national bird and national animal of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on its seal, in the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered and the species was removed from the U. S. governments list of endangered species on July 12,1995 and it was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28,2007. The plumage of an bald eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head. The tail is long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species. The beak, feet and irises are bright yellow, the legs are feather-free, and the toes are short and powerful with large talons. The highly developed talon of the toe is used to pierce the vital areas of prey while it is held immobile by the front toes. The beak is large and hooked, with a yellow cere, the adult bald eagle is unmistakable in its native range. The closely related African fish eagle also has a body, white head and tail
49.
Golden eagle
–
The golden eagle is one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle, like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. These birds are brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this typically have white on the tail. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and massive, Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2. They build large nests in high places to which they may return for several breeding years, most breeding activities take place in the spring, they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks, typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months. These juvenile golden eagles usually attain full independence in the fall, once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many areas which are now more heavily populated by humans. It is the largest and least populous of the five species of true accipitrid to occur as a species in both the Palearctic and the Nearctic. Due to its prowess, the golden eagle is regarded with great mystic reverence in some ancient. The golden eagle is one of the most extensively studied species of raptor in the world in some parts of its range, such as the Western United States and the Western Palearctic. The golden eagle is a large, dark brown raptor with broad wings, ranging from 66 to 102 cm in length. This species wingspan is the fifth largest amongst extant eagle species, in the largest race males and females weigh typically 4.05 kg and 6.35 kg. In the smallest subspecies, A. c. japonica, males weigh 2.5 kg, in the species overall, males may average around 3.6 kg and females around 5.1 kg. The maximum size of species is a matter of some debate. Large races are the heaviest representatives of the Aquila genus and this species is on average the seventh-heaviest living eagle species, the golden eagle ranks as the second heaviest breeding eagle in North America, Europe and Africa but the fourth heaviest in Asia. For some time, the largest known mass authenticated for a female was the specimen from the nominate race which weighed around 6.7 kg. No comprehensive range of weights are known for the largest subspecies, captive birds have been measured up to a wingspan of 2.81 m and a mass of 12.1 kg, respectively
byRyanSchroeder.jpg)
