query: How many species of sea urchin are there?

title: Sea urchin

text: Sea urchins or urchins (/ˈɜːrtʃɪnz/) are typically spiny, globular animals, echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal to 5,000 metres (16,000ft; 2,700 fathoms).[1] Their tests (hard shells) are round and spiny, typically from 3 to 10cm (1 to 4in) across. Sea urchins move slowly, crawling with their tube feet, and sometimes pushing themselves with their spines. They feed primarily on algae but also eat slow-moving or sessile animals. Their predators include sea otters, starfish, wolf eels, and triggerfish.

title: Polyspermy

text: Electrical polyspermy blocks operate in many animal species, including frogs, clams, and marine worms, but not in the several mammals that have been studied (hamster, rabbit, mouse). In species without an electrical block, polyspermy is usually prevented by secretion of materials that establish a mechanical barrier to polyspermy. Animals such as sea urchins have a two-step polyspermy prevention strategy, with the fast, but transient, electrical block superseded after the first minute or so by a more slowly developing permanent mechanical block. It is thought that electrical blocks evolved in those species where a very fast block to polyspermy is needed, due to the presence of many sperm arriving simultaneously at the egg surface, as occurs in animals such as sea urchins. In sea urchins, fertilization occurs externally in the ocean, such that hundreds of sperm can encounter the egg within several seconds.

title: Echinus esculentus

text: The species name ' means "edible". Sea urchin roe is used as food around the world, but ' is not among the preferred sea urchin species, due to it's white gonads. Sea urchin species with orange gonads are preferred. It is not actually the eggs that are eaten but the gonads, both male and female. Fishing for urchins is undertaken off European coasts and the possibility of aquaculture is being investigated. In a study off the west coast of Scotland it was found that feeding a commercially available salmon feed promoted gonadal growth in the urchins and the practicalities of a fully farmed approach were being assessed.

title: Diadema antillarum

text: Diadema antillarum, also known as the lime urchin, black sea urchin, Grabaskey's bane or the long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the Family Diadematidae.

title: Stomopneustes variolaris

text: Stomopneustes variolaris, the black sea urchin or long-spined sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin, the only one in its genus Stomopneustes and only species still alive in its family Stomopneustidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, with a patchy distribution.

title: Sea urchin

text: Some species of sea urchins, such as the slate pencil urchin (Eucidaris tribuloides), are commonly sold in aquarium stores. Some species are effective at controlling filamentous algae, and they make good additions to an invertebrate tank.[76]

title: Sea otter

text: Many facets of the interaction between sea otters and the human economy are not as immediately felt. Sea otters have been credited with contributing to the kelp harvesting industry via their well-known role in controlling sea urchin populations; kelp is used in the production of diverse food and pharmaceutical products. Although human divers harvest red sea urchins both for food and to protect the kelp, sea otters hunt more sea urchin species and are more consistently effective in controlling these populations. The health of the kelp forest ecosystem is significant in nurturing populations of fish, including commercially important fish species. In some areas, sea otters are popular tourist attractions, bringing visitors to local hotels, restaurants, and sea otter-watching expeditions.

title: Coral reef

text: Sea urchins, "Dotidae" and sea slugs eat seaweed. Some species of sea urchins, such as "Diadema antillarum", can play a pivotal part in preventing algae from overrunning reefs. Researchers are investigating the use of native collector urchins, "Tripneustes gratilla", for their potential as biocontrol agents to mitigate the spread of invasive algae species on coral reefs. "Nudibranchia" and sea anemones eat sponges.

title: Sabinella troglodytes

text: "S. troglodytes" feed and live on the spines of sea urchins. It lives on the body of the slate pencil urchin "Eucidaris tribuloides". Unlike most of its gastropod relatives, "S. troglodyte" has lost its radula so they gain access to all that soft internal spine tissue of a sea urchin by secreting some kind of corrosive substance that eats through the tough walls of the spine. This parasitic snail is not content to simply just feed on the sea urchin, they also alter the urchin's spines to make it a more comfortable home. "Sabinella troglodytes" is one of many species of gall-forming snails that parasitize echinoderms. It is currently unknown how "S. troglodytes" alters the sea urchin's spines, but it could be due to some other components in the snail's saliva. In addition to a corrosive agent to erode the sea urchin's spine, it might also be spitting out growth factors that alter the tissue of the spine. In addition to being a cozy place to feed and hide from threats, these galls seem to be a bit of a love nest for "S. troglodytes" during the summer months.

title: Sea urchin

text: Sea urchins are one of the favourite foods of many lobsters, crabs, triggerfish, California sheephead, sea otter and wolf eels (which specialise in sea urchins). All these animals carry particular adaptations (teeth, pincers, claws) and a strength that allow them to overcome the excellent protective features of sea urchins. Left unchecked by predators, urchins devastate their environments, creating what biologists call an urchin barren, devoid of macroalgae and associated fauna.[27] Sea otters have re-entered British Columbia, dramatically improving coastal ecosystem health.[28]

title: Aleutian Islands

text: Observations have identified sea otters as a keystone species along the coasts of many of the Aleutian Islands. Their presence encourages the growth of kelp forests, as the otters control sea urchin populations (as large populations of sea urchins can create urchin barrens by clearing away kelp stands).

title: Diadema savignyi

text: Diadema savignyi is a species of long-spined sea urchin belonging to the family Diadematidae. Common names include long-spined sea urchin, black longspine urchin and the banded diadem. It is native to the east coast of Africa, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean. It was first described in 1829 by the French naturalist Jean Victoire Audouin. The specific epithet honours the French zoologist Marie Jules César Savigny who described many new marine species from the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. The type locality is Mauritius.

title: Astropyga radiata

text: Astropyga radiata, the red urchin, fire urchin, false fire urchin or blue-spotted urchin, is a species of sea urchin in the family Diadematidae. It is a large species with long spines and is found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. It was first described in 1778 by the German naturalist Nathaniel Gottfried Leske.

title: Overexploitation

text: One of the sea otters’ primary food sources is the sea urchin. When hunters caused sea otter populations to decline, an ecological release of sea urchin populations occurred. The sea urchins then overexploited their main food source, kelp, creating urchin barrens, areas of seabed denuded of kelp, but carpeted with urchins. No longer having food to eat, the sea urchin became locally extinct as well. Also, since kelp forest ecosystems are homes to many other species, the loss of the kelp caused other cascade effects of secondary extinctions.

title: Sea urchin

text: Purple sea urchins at low tide in California. They dig a cavity in the rock to hide from predators during the day. Dermechinus horridus, an abyssal species, at thousands of meters deep Antarctic sea urchin (Sterechinus neumayeri) inhabits frozen seas. The shape of the shingle urchin allows it to stay on wave-beaten cliffs.

title: Gobiesocidae

text: A relatively small number of species shelter in sea urchins or crinoids. Whether this relationship is obligate (clingfish always with a sea urchin or crinoid) or facultative (clingfish sometimes with a sea urchin or crinoid) varies with species. In some, only young clingfish are obligate and gradually move away as they become adult. Three clingfish species, the Australian "Cochleoceps bicolor" and "C. orientalis", and the warm East Atlantic "Diplecogaster tonstricula", are cleaner fish that will cling onto the bodies of larger fish.

title: Cascade effect (ecology)

text: One example of the cascade effect caused by the loss of a top predator has to do with sea otters ("Enhydra lutris"). Starting before the 17th century and not phased out until 1911 when an international treaty was signed to prevent their further exploitation, sea otters were hunted aggressively for their pelts, which caused a cascade effect through the kelp forest ecosystems along the Pacific Coast of North America. One of the sea otters' primary food sources is the sea urchin ("Class:" "Echinoidea"). When hunters caused sea otter populations to decline, an ecological release of sea urchin populations occurred. The sea urchins then overexploited their main food source, kelp, creating urchin barrens where no life exists. No longer having food to eat, the sea urchins populations became locally extinct as well. Also, since kelp forest ecosystems are homes to many other species, the loss of the kelp ultimately caused their extinction as well. In conclusion, the loss of sea otters in local areas along the Pacific coast seems to have caused a cascade effect of secondary extinctions, continuing into the present day.

title: Sea urchin

text: Sea urchins are established in most seabed habitats from the intertidal downwards, at an extremely wide range of depths.[33] Some species, such as Cidaris abyssicola, can live at depths of several thousands metres. Many genera are only found in the abyssal zone, including many cidaroids, most of the genera in the Echinothuriidae family, and the "cactus urchins" Dermechinus. One of the deepest-living families is the Pourtalesiidae,[34] strange bottle-shaped irregular sea urchins that live only in the hadal zone and have been collected as deep as 6850 metres beneath the surface in the Sunda Trench.[35] Nevertheless, this makes sea urchin the class of echinoderms living the least deep, compared to brittle stars, starfish and crinoids that remain abundant below 8,000m (26,250ft) and sea cucumbers which have been recorded from 10,687m (35,100ft).[35]

title: Psammechinus miliaris

text: Psammechinus miliaris is a species of sea urchin in the family Parechinidae. It is sometimes known as the green sea urchin or shore sea urchin. It is found in shallow areas of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.

title: Laminaria hyperborea

text: Kelp beds provide a nursery area for many marine species and a biodiverse habitat. The grazing behaviour of sea urchins, particularly the green sea urchin, "Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis", restricts the development of new growth of "L. hyperborea". If the urchins become too numerous, whole areas normally dominated by kelp may become "urchin barrens", denuded of kelp and supporting a much less biodiverse community based on encrusting coralline algae.

title: Sea urchin skeletogenesis

text: Skeletogenesis is a key morphogenetic event in the embryonic development of vertebrates and is of equal, although transient, importance in the development of the sea urchin, a marine invertebrate. The larval sea urchin does not resemble its adult form, because the sea urchin is an indirect developer, meaning its larva form must undergo metamorphosis to form the juvenile adult. Here, the focus is on skeletogenesis in the sea urchin species "Strongylocentrotus purpuratus", as this species has been most thoroughly studied and characterized.

title: Double Bluff Beach

text: Many species of wildlife may be found here including bald eagles, great blue herons, peregrine falcons, gulls, crows, several species of sea anemone, many species of crab, snails, sea urchins, and barnacles.

title: Collector urchin

text: The collector urchin ("Tripneustes gratilla") is a species of sea urchin. Collector urchins are found at depths of in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii, the Red Sea, and The Bahamas. They can reach in size.

title: Sea urchin

text: Sea urchins move by walking using their many flexible tube feet in a similar way to starfish; regular sea urchins do not have any favourite walking direction.[11] The tube feet protrude through pairs of pores in the test, and are operated by a water vascular system; this works through hydraulic pressure, allowing the sea urchin to pump water into and out of the tube feet. During locomotion, the tube feet are assisted by the spines which can be used for pushing the body along or to lift the test off the substrate. Movement is generally related to feeding, with the red sea urchin (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) managing about 7.5cm (3in) a day when there is ample food, and up to 50cm (20in) a day where there is not. An inverted sea urchin can right itself by progressively attaching and detaching its tube feet and manipulating its spines to roll its body upright.[2] Some species bury themselves in soft sediment using their spines, and Paracentrotus lividus uses its jaws to burrow into soft rocks.[12]

title: Conservation biology

text: Some species, called a "keystone species" form a central supporting hub unique to their ecosystem. The loss of such a species results in a collapse in ecosystem function, as well as the loss of coexisting species. Keystone species are usually predators due to their ability to control the population of prey in their ecosystem. The importance of a keystone species was shown by the extinction of the Steller's sea cow ("Hydrodamalis gigas") through its interaction with sea otters, sea urchins, and kelp. Kelp beds grow and form nurseries in shallow waters to shelter creatures that support the food chain. Sea urchins feed on kelp, while sea otters feed on sea urchins. With the rapid decline of sea otters due to overhunting, sea urchin populations grazed unrestricted on the kelp beds and the ecosystem collapsed. Left unchecked, the urchins destroyed the shallow water kelp communities that supported the Steller's sea cow's diet and hastened their demise. The sea otter was thought to be a keystone species because the coexistence of many ecological associates in the kelp beds relied upon otters for their survival. However this was later questioned by Turvey and Risley, who showed that hunting alone would have driven the Steller's sea cow extinct.

title: Green sea urchin

text: Several species of sea urchin share the name green sea urchin:

title: Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site

text:
The AMB's crest crafted by local Haida artist "Giitsxaa" represents the unique joint management relationship.
The AMB chose the sea otter and the sea urchin because of the creatures' significance in the history and tradition of the protected area and because of their ecological significance.
Populations of sea urchin, a kelp-grazing species, were once kept in check by sea otters, ensuring an abundance of kelp and species that depend upon kelp communities. With the extirpation of sea otters during the Maritime Fur Trade, the natural balance between species in the community was disturbed. As a result, the sea urchin population has increased dramatically over time and the health of kelp forests is threatened. The loss of the sea otter is a powerful reminder of the vulnerability of individual species and entire ecosystems.

title: Ecology

text: Sea otters ("Enhydra lutris") are commonly cited as an example of a keystone species; because, they limit the density of sea urchins that feed on kelp. If sea otters are removed from the system, the urchins graze until the kelp beds disappear, and this has a dramatic effect on community structure. Hunting of sea otters, for example, is thought to have led indirectly to the extinction of the Steller's sea cow ("Hydrodamalis gigas"). While the keystone species concept has been used extensively as a conservation tool, it has been criticized for being poorly defined from an operational stance. It is difficult to experimentally determine what species may hold a keystone role in each ecosystem. Furthermore, food web theory suggests that keystone species may not be common, so it is unclear how generally the keystone species model can be applied.

title: Lytechinus variegatus

text: Lytechinus variegatus, commonly called the green sea urchin or the variegated sea urchin, is a species of sea urchin that can be found in the warm waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

title: Phyllacanthus imperialis

text: Phyllacanthus imperialis, also known as the Sputnik urchin, imperial lance urchin, imperial sea urchin, imperial urchin, pencil sea urchin, lance urchin, knobby sputnik sea urchin, mine urchin, and land mine sea urchin, is a species of sea urchins in the family Cidaridae.

title: Sea urchins of the Gulf of California

text: Approximately 23 species of sea urchins, 3 species of heart urchins, and 9 species of sand dollars call the Gulf of California habitat their home. Where they are found throughout the Gulf of California, can be classified into three biogeographic regions called the Northern Gulf, Central Gulf, and Southern Gulf.


query: Where do Asian elephants live?

title: Asian elephant

text: The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also called Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India and Nepal in the west to Borneo in the south. Three subspecies are recognised—E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.[3] The Asian elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia.[4]

title: Phuket Zoo

text:
In the elephant shows, a group of asian elephants perform tricks and have an opportunity to meet the guests. The elephants start off by doing tricks like kicking a soccer ball and will also do dances and races. At times, the guests will be able to feed the elephants bananas and at the end touch their trunks. The elephants have even be trained to ask for tips.
The elephants the zoo has were formerly logging elephants.

title: Los Angeles Zoo

text: This $42 million exhibit complex at the center of the zoo opened in 2010 and houses Asian elephants and other southeast Asian wildlife. The main elephant enclosure is and has a barn used for medical exams. The complex is divided into several areas, each based on a different country in the elephants' range. The Thai Pavilion teaches visitors about the role of elephant labor in Thailand's economy. Guests can find information about elephant conservation in India at Elephants of India Plaza, which also has a waterfall where the animals can bathe. The Elephants of China section houses sarus crane and Chinese water deer in a marsh habitat and has information about the history of the Dai people and their relationship with elephants.

title: Asian elephant

text: The demand for ivory as a result of rapid economic development during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in East Asia, led to rampant poaching and the serious decline of elephants in many Asian and African range countries. In Thailand, the illegal trade in live elephants and ivory still flourishes. Although the quantity of worked ivory seen openly for sale has decreased substantially since 2001, Thailand still has one of the largest and most active ivory industries seen anywhere in the world. Tusks from Thai poached elephants also enter the market; between 1992 and 1997 at least 24 male elephants were killed for their tusks.[67]

title: Asian elephant

text: Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. It is primarily threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching.[2] In 2003, the wild population was estimated at between 41,410 and 52,345 individuals. Female captive elephants have lived beyond 60 years when kept in semi-natural surroundings, such as forest camps. In zoos, Asian elephants die at a much younger age; captive populations are declining due to a low birth and high death rate.[5]

title: Palaeoloxodon recki

text: Palaeoloxodon recki is an extinct species related to the Asian elephant "Elephas maximus". At up to 14 feet (4.27 metres) in shoulder height, it was one of the largest elephant species to have ever lived. It is believed that "P. recki" ranged throughout Africa between 3.5 and 1 million years ago. The Asian Elephant is the closest living relative of "P. recki". "P. recki" was a successful grass-eating elephant that lived throughout the Pliocene and the Pleistocene until it was pushed to extinction, perhaps by competition with members of the genus "Loxodonta", the African elephants of today.

title: Palm Beach Zoo

text: In the early 1960s, a petting zoo known as "Jett's Petting Zoo" visited South Florida, bringing with a young Asian elephant. Residents of South Florida campaigned for the purchase of the young elephant, now named Toppie, for the zoo. The West Palm Beach Firemen's Benevolent Association helped raise 1,000 books of Top Value Trading Stamps for the purchase, after which the elephant was named. On April 16, 1965, Toppie the four-year-old, 2,000 pound elephant arrived at the zoo where she would live until her later transfer to Lion Country Safari in 1975.

title: Captive elephants

text:
Elephants in captivity are elephants kept in a confining area, such as a zoo, circus, or camp, where they are fed and cared for by humans and usually exhibited for entertainment or educational purposes.
Most captive elephants are taken from the wild, as they breed poorly in captivity. The low rate of captive births cannot balance out captive mortality.
Selective breeding of elephants is impractical due to their long reproductive cycle, so there are no domesticated breeds. Most captives are endangered Asian elephants; African bush elephants and African forest elephants are less amenable to training. Animal rights organizations estimate there are 15,000 to 20,000 elephants in captivity worldwide. For comparison, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates the total population of Asian elephants in the wild to be 40,000 to 50,000, and that of African elephants in the wild to be 400,000 to 600,000.

title: Straight-tusked elephant

text: The straight-tusked elephant ("Palaeoloxodon antiquus") is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (781,000–50,000 years before present). Some experts regard the larger Asian species "Palaeoloxodon namadicus" as a variant or subspecies. It was formerly thought to be closely related to the living Asian elephant; however, in 2016, DNA sequence analysis showed that its closest extant relative is actually the African forest elephant, "Loxodonta cyclotis". It is closer to "L. cyclotis" than "L. cyclotis" is to the African bush elephant, "L. africana", thus invalidating the genus "Loxodonta" as currently recognized. Alternatively, "Palaeoloxodon antiquus" might be more appropriately described as "Loxodonta antiquus".

title: African elephant

text: Between the African elephants and the Asian elephants there is a large variance in genetics; also, within Africa the different species vary in genetics based on where they live. The two African species, Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis, share different gene flow and have limited hybridization with each other.[55]

title: Elephant

text:
Elephants were historically kept for display in the menageries of Ancient Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The Romans in particular pitted them against humans and other animals in gladiator events. In the modern era, elephants have traditionally been a major part of zoos and circuses around the world. In circuses, they are trained to perform tricks. The most famous circus elephant was probably Jumbo (1861 – 15 September 1885), who was a major attraction in the Barnum & Bailey Circus. These animals do not reproduce well in captivity, due to the difficulty of handling musth bulls and limited understanding of female oestrous cycles. Asian elephants were always more common than their African counterparts in modern zoos and circuses. After CITES listed the Asian elephant under Appendix I in 1975, the number of African elephants in zoos increased in the 1980s, although the import of Asians continued. Subsequently, the US received many of its captive African elephants from Zimbabwe, which had an overabundance of the animals. As of 2000, around 1,200 Asian and 700 African elephants were kept in zoos and circuses. The largest captive population is in North America, which has an estimated 370 Asian and 350 African elephants. About 380 Asians and 190 Africans are known to exist in Europe, and Japan has around 70 Asians and 67 Africans.
Keeping elephants in zoos has met with some controversy. Proponents of zoos argue that they offer researchers easy access to the animals and provide money and expertise for preserving their natural habitats, as well as safekeeping for the species. Critics claim that the animals in zoos are under physical and mental stress. Elephants have been recorded displaying stereotypical behaviours in the form of swaying back and forth, trunk swaying, or route tracing. This has been observed in 54% of individuals in UK zoos. Elephants in European zoos appear to have shorter lifespans than their wild counterparts at only 17 years, although other studies suggest that zoo elephants live as long those in the wild.

title: The Elephant Sanctuary (Hohenwald)

text: The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is a non-profit organization licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). Founded in 1995, The Sanctuary has provided a home to 28 elephants, all retired from zoos and circuses. The Elephant Sanctuary provides these elephants with a natural habitat, individualized care for life, and the opportunity to live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their well being. The Sanctuary currently has 7 Asian elephants and 4 African elephants. The Elephant Habitats are not open to the public.

title: Vocal learning

text: Other evidence of vocal learning in elephants occurred in a cross-fostering situation with a captive African elephant. At the Basel Zoo in Switzerland, Calimero, a male African elephant, was kept with two female Asian elephants. Recordings of his cries shows evidence of chirping noises, typically only produced by Asian elephants. The duration and frequency of these calls differs from recorded instances of chirping calls from other African elephants and more closely resembles the chirping calls of Asian elephants.

title: Elephant Parade

text: The elephant sculptures in the Elephant Parade are all unique works donated by the artists, who include both established and emerging, unknowns and celebrities. They are exhibited in the streets of the host city for one or more months and then auctioned off (by a well known auction house such as Christie's or Sotheby's), with the proceeds going to Elephant Family and the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital, home of Mosha, in Lampang., which seeks to save the Asian elephant and return it to its natural habitat. The sculptures are tall; limited-edition miniatures are also made of most, varying in size between ; these are hand-painted in Thailand and sold on the Elephant Parade website, with the proceeds from all online sales associated with the Elephant Parade also going to Elephant Family and FAE . Money raised through Elephant Parade has been used to support projects from elephant medical care to leasing land where elephants have sufficient space to migrate, breed and live in peace.

title: Elephant

text: In 2008, the IUCN listed the Asian elephant as endangered due to a 50% population decline over the past 60–75 years while CITES lists the species under Appendix I. Asian elephants once ranged from Syria and Iraq (the subspecies "Elephas maximus asurus"), to China (up to the Yellow River) and Java. It is now extinct in these areas, and the current range of Asian elephants is highly fragmented. The total population of Asian elephants is estimated to be around 40,000–50,000, although this may be a loose estimate. It is likely that around half of the population is in India. Although Asian elephants are declining in numbers overall, particularly in Southeast Asia, the population in the Western Ghats appears to be increasing.

title: Chili pepper

text: Conflicts between farmers and elephants have long been widespread in African and Asian countries, where elephants nightly destroy crops, raid grain houses, and sometimes kill people. Farmers have found the use of chilies effective in crop defense against elephants. Elephants do not like capsaicin, the chemical in chilies that makes them hot. Because the elephants have a large and sensitive olfactory and nasal system, the smell of the chili causes them discomfort and deters them from feeding on the crops. By planting a few rows of the pungent fruit around valuable crops, farmers create a buffer zone through which the elephants are reluctant to pass. Chilly dung bombs are also used for this purpose. They are bricks made of mixing dung and chili, and are burned, creating a noxious smoke that keeps hungry elephants out of farmers' fields. This can lessen dangerous physical confrontation between people and elephants.

title: Pygmy elephant

text:
Pygmy elephants live in both Africa and Asia. The African pygmy elephant, formerly described as ""Loxodonta pumilio"", is currently considered to be a tiny morph of the African forest elephant ("L. cyclotis").
The Borneo elephant ("Elephas maximus borneensis"), a well-documented variety of elephant, is also called "pygmy elephant." This elephant, inhabiting tropical rainforest in north Borneo (east Sabah and extreme north Kalimantan), was long thought to be identical to the Asian elephant and descended from a captive population. In 2003, DNA comparison revealed them to be probably a new subspecies.

title: List of mammals of Kaziranga National Park

text: The park contains significant stock of three other large herbivores — the Asian elephant, the wild Asian water buffalo and the subspecies eastern swamp deer ("Cervus duvauceli ranjitsinghi"). A census on wild Asiatic buffaloes in March 2001 revealed the presence of 1,666 buffaloes — the largest single population of the species reported in this millennium, up from 677 in the 1984 census. Assam is India's most populous state with respect to Asiatic elephants (an estimated 5,500 out of a total of 10,000 wild Asiatic elephants in India live in Assam), and Kaziranga contains as many as 1,206 elephants (from the 2005 census), up from 1048 individuals (in the 2002 census). The combined Kaziranga - Karbi Anglong Elephant Reserve has as many as 1940 elephants according to the 2005 survey.

title: Pleistocene rewilding

text: During the Pleistocene, large populations of Proboscideans lived in North America, such as the Columbian mammoth and the American mastodon. The mastodons all became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene era, as did the mammoths of North America. However, an extant relative of the mammoth is the Asian elephant. It now resides only in tropical southeastern Asia, but the fossil record shows that it was much more widespread, living in temperate northern China as well as the Middle East (an area bearing an ecological similarity to the southern and central United States). The Asian elephant is possibly a good candidate for Pleistocene rewilding in North America. Asian elephants would do well in the environments previously occupied by the Columbian mammoth. African elephants have also been suggested for introduction into North America.

title: Asian elephant

text: About half of the global zoo elephant population is kept in European zoos, where they have about half the median life span of conspecifics in protected populations in range countries. This discrepancy is clearest in Asian elephants: infant mortality is twice that seen in Burmese timber camps, and adult survivorship in zoos has not improved significantly in recent years. One risk factor for Asian zoo elephants is being moved between institutions, with early removal from the mother tending to have additional adverse effects. Another risk factor is being born into a zoo rather than being imported from the wild, with poor adult survivorship in zoo-born Asians apparently being conferred prenatally or in early infancy. Likely causes for compromised survivorship is stress and/or obesity.[75]

title: Elephant

text: Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus first described the genus "Elephas" and an elephant from Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) under the binomial "Elephas maximus" in 1758. In 1798, Georges Cuvier classified the Indian elephant under the binomial "Elephas indicus". Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck described the Sumatran elephant in 1847 under the binomial "Elephas sumatranus". English zoologist Frederick Nutter Chasen classified all three as subspecies of the Asian elephant in 1940. Asian elephants vary geographically in their colour and amount of depigmentation. The Sri Lankan elephant ("Elephas maximus maximus") inhabits Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant ("E. m. indicus") is native to mainland Asia (on the Indian subcontinent and Indochina), and the Sumatran elephant ("E. m. sumatranus") is found in Sumatra. One disputed subspecies, the Borneo elephant, lives in northern Borneo and is smaller than all the other subspecies. It has larger ears, a longer tail, and straighter tusks than the typical elephant. Sri Lankan zoologist Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala described it in 1950 under the trinomial "Elephas maximus borneensis", taking as his type an illustration in "National Geographic". It was subsequently subsumed under either "E. m. indicus" or "E. m. sumatranus". Results of a 2003 genetic analysis indicate its ancestors separated from the mainland population about 300,000 years ago. A 2008 study found that Borneo elephants are not indigenous to the island but were brought there before 1521 by the Sultan of Sulu from Java, where elephants are now extinct.

title: Elephant

text: Elephants are the largest living terrestrial animals. African bush elephants are the largest species, with males typically being tall at the shoulder and while females stand tall at the shoulder with a body mass of . Male Asian elephants are usually about tall at the shoulder and whereas females are tall at the shoulder and . African forest elephants are the smallest species, usually being around tall at the shoulder and . Male African elephants are typically 23% taller than females, whereas male Asian elephants are only around 15% taller than females. The skeleton of the elephant is made up of 326–351 bones. The vertebrae are connected by tight joints, which limit the backbone's flexibility. African elephants have 21 pairs of ribs, while Asian elephants have 19 or 20 pairs.

title: World Elephant Day

text: The goal of International Elephant Day is to create awareness of the urgent plight of African and Asian elephants, and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants. African elephants are listed as "Vulnerable" and Asian elephants as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. One conservationist has stated that both African and Asian elephants face extinction within twelve years. The current population estimates are about 400,000 for African elephants and 40,000 for Asian elephants, although it has been argued that these numbers are much too high.

title: African forest elephant

text: Elephants have sensitive skin which can make them prone to sunburn, especially when young. The wrinkles in the elephants skin help keep them cool by giving heat a larger surface area through which it can dissipate. The creases in the hide of the elephant trap and absorb moisture longer than one with smooth skin; that prolongs the evaporation process, which sanctions the elephant to release up to 75 percent of its body heat. Since these elephants live in areas where temperatures can reach up to in the daytime, the forest elephants skin is significantly more wrinkled than that of Asian elephants.

title: Raja Gaj

text: Raja Gaj (king elephant) (c. 1936 - 2007?) was a large Asian elephant that lived in the Bardiya National Park in Nepal. He was considered to be the biggest Asian bull elephant of modern times who was estimated to be 11 feet 3 inches (nearly 3.5 metres) tall at the shoulder, some two feet taller than the average Asian elephant. He went missing from his habitat in southwestern Nepal, in December 2007 and was never seen again. He was estimated to be 70 years old at the time of his disappearance.

title: Gabi (elephant)

text: Gabi lived in the same enclosure with his mother Tamar and the zoo's three other female elephants for nearly 5 years. By 2010, however, Gabi was growing increasingly aggressive and anti-social — typical behavior for a 5-year-old bull elephant. The zoo decided to send him to the Gaziantep Zoo in Turkey, where it is hoped he will sire his own offspring and thereby increase the number of Asian elephants in captivity.

title: Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

text: Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel is part of the hotel chain Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, the founder of the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation that was set up to uplift the lives of the Asian elephant in Thailand and the mahout communities. The foundation was established in 2005 in co-operation with Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort. Currently 25 elephants and 60 people are benefitting from the foundation that is funded by Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas as well as from the donations of hotel guests.

title: Palaeoloxodon

text: It has been claimed that a "Palaeoloxodon" population of undetermined species survived in northern China until 3,000 years ago. Li Ji and colleagues from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing argued that teeth previously believed to belong to Asian Elephants were actually those of "Palaeoloxodon". It is unknown whether these belong to a new, distinctive species or actual descendants of "P. namadicus". They also argued that ritual bronze vessels depicting trunks with two "fingers" must be "Palaeoloxodon" (which are only known from bones; we do not know about their trunks) because Asian elephants only have one. Fossil elephant experts Victoria Herridge and Adrian Lister disagree with the assignment, stating that the claimed diagnostic dental features are actually contrast artifacts created due to the low resolution of the figures in the scientific paper, and which are not evident in better quality photographs. Given that we do not know what "Palaeoloxodon" trunks looked like, and the bronze depictions of animals shown in the paper are highly stylized, the argument based on bronze vessels is also unreliable. Thus these elephants are more likely Asian elephants, as originally believed.

title: Asian elephant

text: Three subspecies are currently recognised: the Sri Lankan elephant, the Indian elephant, and the Sumatran elephant.[2][4] In 1950, Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala described the Borneo elephant under the trinomial Elephas maximus borneensis, taking as his type an illustration in National Geographic, but not a living elephant in accordance with the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.[11] E. m. borneensis lives in northern Borneo and is smaller than all the other subspecies, but with larger ears, a longer tail, and straight tusks. Results of genetic analysis indicate that its ancestors separated from the mainland population about 300,000 years ago.[12]

title: Ruby (elephant)

text: In 1996, when she was 22, Ruby was shipped to the Tulsa Zoo to mate with a male elephant named Sneezy (who still lives in Tulsa) and lived in Tulsa for about a year. When she became pregnant in 1997, she was returned to Phoenix. Another female Asian elephant, Indu, was loaned from the Houston Zoo to be Ruby's birthing companion. Indu still lives at the Phoenix Zoo.


query: How heavy is an adult golden jackal?

title: Golden jackal

text: The golden jackal is similar to the gray wolf but is distinguished by its smaller size, lighter weight, more elongated torso, less-prominent forehead, shorter legs and tail, and a muzzle that is narrower and more pointed.[56] The legs are long in relation to its body, and the feet are slender with small pads.[57] Males measure 71–85cm (28–33in) in body length and females 69–73cm (27–29in). Males weigh 6–14kg (13–31lb) and females weigh 7–11kg (15–24lb). The shoulder height is 45–50cm (18–20in) for both.[56] In comparison, the smallest wolf is the Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs), which weighs on average 20kg (44lb).[58]

title: Golden jackal

text: The golden jackal is both a predator and a scavenger,[76] and an omnivorous and opportunistic forager with a diet that varies according to its habitat and the season. In Bharatpur, India, over 60% of its diet was measured to consist of rodents, birds, and fruit. In the Kanha Tiger Reserve, 80% of its diet consists of rodents, reptiles and fruit. Vegetable matter forms part of the jackal diet, and in India they feed intensively on the fruits of buckthorn, dogbane, Java plum, and the pods of mesquite and the golden rain tree. The jackal will scavenge off the kills made by the lion, tiger, leopard, dhole, and gray wolf. In some regions of Bangladesh and India, jackals subsist by scavenging on carrion and garbage, and will cache extra food by burying it.[57] The Irish novelist, playwright and poet, Oliver Goldsmith, wrote about the golden jackal:

title: Golden jackal

text: The golden jackal may have once been tamed in Neolithic Turkey 11,000 years ago, as there is a sculpture of a man cradling a jackal found in Göbekli Tepe.[115] French explorers during the 19thcentury noted that people in the Levant kept golden jackals in their homes.[116] The Kalmyk people near the Caspian Sea were known to frequently cross their dogs with jackals,[116] and Balkan shepherds once crossed their sheepdogs with jackals.[23]

title: Jackal coursing

text: Jackal coursing involves the pursuit of jackals (usually the golden jackal and black-backed jackal) with dogs.

title: Golden jackal

text: In Southeastern Asia, golden jackals have been known to hunt alongside dhole packs.[41] They have been observed in the Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, India, following Indian wolves (Canis lupus pallipes) when these are on a hunt, and they will scavenge off wolf kills without any hostility shown from these wolves.[57] In India, lone jackals expelled from their pack have been known to form commensal relationships with tigers. These solitary jackals, known as kol-bahl, will associate themselves with a particular tiger, trailing it at a safe distance to feed on the big cat's kills. A kol-bahl will even alert a tiger to prey with a loud "pheal". Tigers have been known to tolerate these jackals, with one report describing how a jackal confidently walked in and out between three tigers walking together.[90][91] Golden jackals and wild boar can occupy the same territory.[50]

title: Black-backed jackal

text: In areas where the black-backed jackal is sympatric with the larger side-striped jackal, the former species aggressively drives out the latter from grassland habitats into woodlands. This is unique among carnivores, as larger species commonly displace smaller ones. Black-backed jackal pups are vulnerable to African golden wolves, ratels, and spotted and brown hyenas. Adults have few natural predators, save for leopards and African wild dogs.

title: Golden jackal

text: The jackal's competitors are the red fox, wolf, jungle cat, forest wildcat, and raccoon in the Caucasus, and the steppe wildcat in Central Asia.[65] Wolves dominate jackals, and jackals dominate foxes.[50] In 2017 in Iran, an Indian wolf under study killed a golden jackal.[92] In Europe, the range of wolves and jackals is mutually exclusive, with jackals abandoning their territory with the arrival of a wolf pack. One experiment used loudspeakers to broadcast the calls of jackals, and this attracted wolves at a trotting pace to chase away the perceived competitors. Dogs responded to these calls in the same way while barking aggressively. Unleashed dogs have been observed to immediately chase away jackals when the jackals were detected.[50] In Europe, there are an estimated 12,000 wolves. The jackal's recent expansion throughout eastern and western Europe has been attributed to the extermination of the local wolf populations. The present diffusion of the jackal into the northern Adriatic hinterland is in areas where the wolf is absent or very rare.[68][83] In the past, jackals competed with tigers and leopards, feeding on the remains of their kills and, in one case, on a dead tiger. Leopards once hunted jackals, but today the leopard is rare and the tiger is extinct in the jackal's range.[65]

title: African golden wolf

text: It was previously classified as an African variant of the Eurasian golden jackal, with at least one subspecies ("Canis anthus lupaster") having been classified as a grey wolf. In 2015, a series of analyses on the species' mitochondrial DNA and nuclear genome demonstrated that it was in fact distinct from both the golden jackal and the grey wolf, and more closely related to grey wolves and coyotes. It is nonetheless still close enough to the golden jackal to produce hybrid offspring, as indicated through genetic tests on jackals in Israel and a 19th-century captive crossbreeding experiment. As the IUCN's golden jackal page has not been updated since 2008, it has yet to recognise the distinctiveness of the African golden wolf; thus its conservation status has not been evaluated and no reliable population estimates are available.

title: Golden jackal

text: In Dalmatia, the golden jackal's diet consists of mammals, fruits, vegetables, insects, birds and their eggs, grasses and leaves.[78] Jackals change their diet to more readily available foods. In Serbia, their diet is primarily livestock carcasses that are increasingly prevalent due to a lack of removal, and this may have led to the expansion of their population.[79] In Hungary, 55% of their diet is composed of common voles and bank voles, and 41% is composed of wild boar carcasses.[80] Information on the diet of the golden jackal in northeastern Italy is scant, but it is known to prey on small roe deer and hares.[23] In Israel, golden jackals are significant predators of snakes; during a poisoning campaign against golden jackals there was an increase in human snakebite reports, but a decrease when the poisoning ceased.[81]

title: Golden jackal

text: Outside of India, golden jackals in the Caucasus and Turkey demonstrate the next highest genetic diversity,[26] while those in Europe indicate low genetic diversity,[28][29] confirming their more recent expansion into Europe.[30] Genetic data indicates that the golden jackals of the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece and the Dalmatian coast in Croatia may represent two ancient European populations from 6,000 years ago that have survived into modern times. Jackals were absent from most of Europe until the 19th century, when they started to expand slowly. Jackals were recorded in Hungary with the nearest population known at that time being found in Dalmatia, some 300 kilometers away. This was followed by rapid expansion of jackals towards the end of the 20th century. Golden jackals from both Southeast Europe and the Caucasus are expanding into the Baltic. In the Middle East, golden jackals from Israel have a higher genetic diversity than European jackals. This is thought to be due to Israeli jackals having hybridized with dogs, gray wolves, and African golden wolves,[30] creating a hybrid zone in Israel.[14]

title: Golden jackal

text: Genetic analysis reveals that mating sometimes occurs between female jackals and gray wolves, producing jackal-wolf hybrids that experts cannot visually distinguish from wolves.[31][32] Hybridization also occurs between female golden jackals and male dogs, which produces fertile offspring,[33] a jackal–dog hybrid. There was 11–13% of ancient gene flow into the golden jackal from the population that was ancestral to wolves and dogs, and an additional 3% from extant wolf populations.[34][35] Up to 15% of the Israeli wolf genome is derived from admixture with golden jackals in ancient times.[34]

title: European jackal

text: Surveys taken in the High Adriatic Hinterland indicate that the totality of people with first hand experience of jackals (hunters, game keepers and local people) regularly mistook red foxes affected by sarcoptic mange (or in a problematic state of moult) for golden jackals. The sighting of a true golden jackal however, was always referred to as a wolf, or a little wolf. This was verified both with photo-trapping sessions and with track studies, confirming previous observations on this matter. This erroneous and controversial perception of the golden jackal may be due to the fact that its presence is still not traditional, neither in Italian and Slovenian human culture, nor in hunting and game keeping traditions.[21]

title: African golden wolf

text: It was estimated that the African golden wolf diverged from the wolf–coyote clade 1.0–1.7 million years ago, during the Pleistocene, and therefore its superficial similarity to the Eurasian golden jackal (particularly in East Africa, where African wolves are similar in size to golden jackals) would be a case of parallel evolution. Considering its phylogenetic position and the canid fossil record, it is likely that the African wolf evolved from larger ancestors that became progressively more jackal-like in size upon populating Africa on account of interspecific competition with both larger and smaller indigenous carnivores. Traces of golden wolf DNA were identified in golden jackals in Israel, which adjoins Egypt, thus indicating the presence of a hybrid zone. The study's findings were corroborated that same year by Spanish, Mexican and Moroccan scientists analysing the mtDNA of wolves in Morocco, who found that the specimens analysed were distinct from both Eurasian golden jackals and grey wolves but bore a closer relationship to the latter. Studies on RAD sequences found instances of African wolves hybridizing with both feral dogs and Ethiopian wolves.

title: Golden jackal

text: During British rule in India, sportsmen conducted golden jackal hunting on horseback with hounds, with jackal coursing a substitute for the fox hunting of their native England. They were not considered as beautiful as English red foxes, but were esteemed for their endurance in the chase with one pursuit lasting 31⁄2 hours. India's weather and terrain added further challenges to jackal hunters that were not present in England: the hounds of India were rarely in as good condition as English hounds, and although the golden jackal has a strong odor, the terrain of northern India was not good in retaining scent.[112] Also, unlike foxes, jackals sometimes feigned death when caught and could be ferociously protective of their captured packmates.[62]

title: Golden jackal

text: The golden jackal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution, with it being common throughout its range and with high densities in those areas where food and shelter are abundant.[1] In Europe, golden jackals are not listed under the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora nor the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Golden jackals in Europe fall under various international legal instruments. These include the 1979 Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, and the 1992 European Union Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Council Directive provides both guidance and limits on what participating governments can do when responding to the arrival of expanding jackals. These legislative instruments aim to contribute to conserving native wildlife; some governments argue that the golden jackal is not native wildlife but an invading species.[67] The Golden Jackal informal study Group in Europe (GOJAGE) is an organization that is formed by researchers from across Europe to collect and share information on the golden jackal in Europe. The group also has an interest in the golden jackal's relationship with its environment across Eurasia. Membership is open to anyone who has an interest in golden jackals.[94]

title: Golden jackal

text: Red foxes and golden jackals share similar diets. Red foxes fear jackals, which are three times bigger than red foxes. Red foxes will avoid close proximity to jackals and fox populations decrease where jackals are abundant.[93] Foxes can be found only at the fringes of jackal territory.[50] Striped hyenas prey on golden jackals, and three jackal carcasses were found in one hyena den.[57]

title: Egyptian wolf

text: In 2015, both golden jackals from Africa and Eurasia were found to represent distinct monophyletic lineages separated for more than one million years, sufficient to merit formal recognition as different species: "C. aureus" (Eurasian golden jackal) and "C. anthus" (African golden wolf). It has not been formally recognised as such by MSW3 which, published in 2005, classifies it as a subspecies of golden jackal.

title: Golden jackal

text: The skull is most like that of the dingo, and is closer to that of the coyote (C.latrans) and the gray wolf (C.lupus) than to that of the black-backed jackal (C.mesomalas), the side-striped jackal (C.adustus), and the Ethiopian wolf (C.simensis).[59] Compared with the wolf, the skull of the golden jackal is smaller and less massive, with a lower nasal region and shorter facial region; the projections of the skull are prominent but weaker than those of the wolf; the canine teeth are large and strong but relatively thinner; and its carnassial teeth are weaker.[56] The golden jackal is a less specialized species than the gray wolf, and these skull features relate to the jackal's diet of small birds, rodents, small vertebrates, insects, carrion,[60] fruit, and some vegetable matter.[59] Occasionally, the golden jackal develops a horny growth on the skull referred to as a "jackal's horn", which usually measures 1.3cm (0.51in) in length and is concealed by fur. This feature was once associated with magical powers by the people of Sri Lanka.[61]

title: European jackal

text: The European jackal is the largest of the golden jackals, with animals of both sexes measuring 120–125cm (47–49in) in total length and 10–13kg (20–29lb) in body weight.[8] One adult male in North-Eastern Italy is recorded to have reached 14.9kg (33lb).[9] The fur is coarse, and is generally brightly coloured with blackish tones on the back. The thighs, upper legs, ears and forehead are bright reddish chestnut.[2] Jackals in Northern Dalmatia have broader than average skulls, which is thought to result from human induced isolation from other populations, thus resulting in a new morphotype.[10]

title: Golden jackal

text: A haplotype is a group of genes found in an organism that is inherited from one of its parents.[24][25] A haplogroup is a group of similar haplotypes that share a single mutation inherited from their common ancestor.[9] The mDNA haplotypes of the golden jackal form two haplogroups: the oldest haplogroup is formed by golden jackals from India, and the other, younger, haplogroup diverging from this includes golden jackals from all of the other regions.[26] Indian golden jackals exhibit the highest genetic diversity, and those from northern and western India are the most basal, which indicates that India was the center from which golden jackals spread. The extant golden jackal lineage commenced expanding its population in India 37,000 years ago. During the Last Glacial Maximum, 25,000 to 18,000 years ago, the warmer regions of India and Southeast Asia provided a refuge from colder surrounding areas. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the beginning of the warming cycles, the golden jackal lineage expanded out of India and into Eurasia to reach the Middle East and Europe.[27]

title: Golden jackal

text: Golden jackals are extremely harmful to fur-bearing rodents, such as coypu and muskrats. Coypu can be completely extirpated in shallow water bodies. During 1948–1949 in the Amu Darya, muskrats constituted 12.3% of jackal fecal contents, and 71% of muskrat houses were destroyed by jackals. Jackals also harm the fur industry by eating muskrats caught in traps or taking skins left out to dry.[110]

title: Evolution of the wolf

text: The wolf-like canids (the canid subfamily Caninae) are a group of large carnivores that are genetically closely related because their chromosomes number 78. The group includes genus "Canis", "Cuon" and "Lycaon". The members are the dog "(C. lupus familiaris)", gray wolf ("C. lupus"), coyote ("C. latrans"), golden jackal ("C. aureus"), Ethiopian wolf ("C. simensis"), black-backed jackal ("C. mesomelas"), side-striped jackal ("C. adustus"), dhole ("Cuon alpinus"), and African wild dog ("Lycaon pictus"). Newly proposed members include the red wolf ("Canis rufus"), eastern wolf ("Canis lycaon"), and African golden wolf ("C. anthus"). As they possess 78 chromosomes, all members of the genus "Canis" (coyotes, wolves, jackals) are karyologically indistinguishable from each other, and from the dhole and the African hunting dog. The members of "Canis" can potentially interbreed and there is evidence that the Ethiopian wolf has hybridized with dogs. According to zoologist Reginald Pocock, a dhole interbred with a golden jackal. The African hunting dog is large, highly mobile, known to disperse over large distances and are rare throughout much of their geographical range, making opportunities for hybridization difficult. A study of the maternal mitochondrial DNA of the black-backed jackal could find no evidence of genotypes from the most likely mates – the side-striped jackal nor the golden jackal – indicating that male black-backed jackals had not bred with these. A search of the scientific literature could not find evidence of hybridization for the rare side-striped jackal.

title: Golden jackal

text: Results from two recent studies of mDNA from golden jackals indicate that the specimens from Africa are genetically closer to the gray wolf than are the specimens from Eurasia.[6][13] In 2015 a major DNA study of golden jackals concluded that the six C.aureus subspecies found in Africa should be reclassified under the new species C.anthus (African golden wolf),[14][15][16] reducing the number of golden jackal subspecies to seven. The phylogenetic tree generated from this study shows the golden jackal diverging from the wolf/coyote lineage 1.9million years ago and the African golden wolf diverging 1.3million years ago. The study found that the golden jackal and the African golden wolf shared a very similar skull and body morphology and that this had confused taxonomists into regarding these as one species. The study proposes that the very similar skull and body morphology is due to both species having originated from a larger common ancestor.[14]

title: Golden jackal

text: The ancestor of the golden jackal is believed to be the extinct Arno river dog that lived in Mediterranean Europe 1.9million years ago. It is described as having been a small, jackal-like canine. Genetic studies indicate that the golden jackal expanded from India around 20,000 years ago towards the end of the last ice age. The oldest golden jackal fossil, found at the Ksar Akil rock shelter near Beirut, Lebanon, is 20,000 years old. The oldest golden jackal fossils in Europe were found in Greece and are 7,000 years old. There are seven subspecies of the golden jackal. The golden jackal is more closely related to the gray wolf, coyote, African golden wolf, and Ethiopian wolf than it is to the African black-backed jackal or side-striped jackal. It is capable of producing fertile hybrids with both the gray wolf and the African golden wolf. Jackal–dog hybrids called Sulimov dogs are in service at the Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow where they are deployed by the Russian airline Aeroflot for scent-detection.

title: Golden jackal

text: The Arno river dog (Canis arnensis) is an extinct species of canine that was endemic to Mediterranean Europe during the Early Pleistocene around 1.9million years ago. It is described as a small jackal-like dog and probably the ancestor of modern jackals.[18] Its anatomy and morphology relate it more to the modern golden jackal than to the two African jackal species,[19][20] the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal.

title: Golden jackal

text: The jackal's fur is coarse and relatively short,[59] with the base color golden, varying seasonally from a pale creamy yellow to a dark tawny. The fur on the back is composed of a mixture of black, brown, and white hairs, sometimes giving the appearance of the dark saddle like that seen on the black-backed jackal. The underparts are a light pale ginger to cream color. Individual specimens can be distinguished by their unique light markings on the throat and chest.[57] The coats of jackals from high elevations tend to be more buff-colored than those of their lowland counterparts[48] while those of jackals in rocky, mountainous areas may exhibit a grayer shade. The bushy tail has a tan to black tip.[57] Melanism can cause a dark-colored coat in some golden jackals, a coloring once fairly common in Bengal.[62] Unlike melanistic wolves and coyotes that received their dark pigmentation from interbreeding with domestic dogs, melanism in golden jackals probably stems from an independent mutation that could be an adaptive trait.[63] What is possibly an albino specimen was photographed in southeastern Iran during 2012.[64]

title: Golden jackal

text: Golden jackals exhibit flexible social organization depending on the availability of food. The breeding pair is the basic social unit, and they are sometimes accompanied by their current litter of pups. In India, their distributions are a single jackal, 31%, two jackals, 35%, three jackals, 14%, and more than three jackals, 20%.[57] Family groups of up to 4–5 individuals have been recorded.[82] Scent marking through urination and defecation is common around golden jackal den areas and on the trails they most often use. Scent marking is thought to assist in territorial defense. The hunting ranges of several jackals can overlap. Jackals can travel up to 12–15km (7.5–9.3mi) during a single night in search of either food or more suitable habitat. Non-breeding members of a pack may stay near a distant food source, such as a carcass, for up to several days before returning to their home range. Home range sizes can vary between 1–20km2 (0.39–7.72sqmi), depending on the available food.[57]

title: Golden jackal

text: The word 'jackal' appeared in the English language around 1600. It derives from the Turkish word çakal, which originates from the Persian word šagāl.[118] It is also known as the common jackal, the Asiatic jackal,[57][1] and Eurasian golden jackal.[14]

title: Golden jackal

text: In 2018, whole genome sequencing was used to compare members of the genus Canis. The study supports the African golden wolf being distinct from the golden jackal, and with the Ethiopian wolf being genetically basal to both. There is evidence of gene flow between African golden wolves, golden jackals, and gray wolves. One African golden wolf from the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula showed high admixture with the Middle Eastern gray wolves and dogs, highlighting the role of the land bridge between the African and Eurasian continents in canid evolution. There was evidence of gene flow between golden jackals and Middle Eastern wolves, less so with European and Asian wolves, and least with North American wolves. The study proposes that the golden jackal ancestry found in North American wolves may have occurred before the divergence of the Eurasian and North American wolves.[36]

title: Golden jackal

text: Social interactions such as greetings, grooming, and group howling are common in jackals. Howling is more frequent between December and April when pair bonds are being formed and breeding occurs, which suggests howling has a role in the delineation of territory and for defense.[57] Adult jackals howl standing and the young or subordinate jackals howl sitting.[83] Jackals are easily induced to howl and a single howl may solicit replies from several jackals in the vicinity. Howling begins with 2–3 low-pitched calls that rise to high-pitched calls.[57] The howl consists of a wail repeated 3–4 times on an ascending scale, followed by three short yelps.[52] Jackals typically howl at dawn and in the evening, and sometimes at midday. Adults may howl to accompany the ringing of church bells, with their young responding to sirens or the whistles of steam engines and boats.[84] Social canids such as golden jackals, wolves, and coyotes respond to human imitations of their howls.[85] When there is a change in the weather, jackals will produce a long and continuous chorus.[84] Dominant canids defend their territories against intruders with either a howl to warn them off, approach and confront them, or howl followed by an approach. Jackals, wolves and coyotes will always approach a source of howling.[86] Golden jackals give a warning call that is very different from their normal howling when they detect the presence of large carnivores such as wolves and tigers.[57][52]

title: Golden jackal

text: The oldest golden jackal fossil was found at the Ksar Akil rock shelter located 10km (6.2mi) northeast of Beirut, Lebanon. The fragment of a single tooth is dated approximately 7,600 years ago.[21] The oldest golden jackal fossils found in Europe are from Delphi and Kitsos in Greece and are dated 7,000–6,500 years ago.[22] An unusual fossil of a heel bone found in Azykh Cave, in Nagorno-Karabakh, dates to the Middle Pleistocene and is described as probably belonging to the golden jackal, but its classification is not clear. The fossil is described as being slightly smaller and thinner than the cave lynx, similar to the fox, but too large, and similar to the wolf, but too small. As the golden jackal falls between these two in size, the fossil possibly belongs to a golden jackal.[20] The absence of clearly identified golden jackal fossils in the Caucasus region and Transcaucasia, areas where the species currently resides, indicates that the species is a relatively recent arrival.[23]


query: When was Major General Douglas born?

title: Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

text: Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT,GCB,OM,GCVO,KCIE (/heɪɡ/; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until the end of the war. He was commander during the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras, the Third Battle of Ypres, the German Spring Offensive, and the Hundred Days Offensive.[4][5][6]

title: John Douglas (architect)

text: Douglas practised on his own until 1884, when his son, Colin, became ill. He then took Daniel Porter Fordham into partnership and practised as Douglas & Fordham. Fordham was born around 1846 and had been an assistant in Douglas's office since at least 1872. In 1898, having developed consumption, Fordham retired from the practice and went to live in Bournemouth where he died the following year. He was replaced as partner by Charles Howard Minshull, who had been born in Chester in 1858 and who became articled to Douglas in 1874; the practice became Douglas & Minshull. During the first decade of the 20th century, Douglas became less active but, for reasons which are unknown, the partnership was dissolved in 1909. The practice returned to the title of John Douglas, Architect. Minshull went into partnership with E. J. Muspratt in Foregate Street, Chester. When Douglas died, this partnership worked from the Abbey Square address as Douglas, Minshull & Muspratt.

title: Alec Douglas-Home

text: At the February 1974 general election the Heath government was narrowly defeated. Douglas-Home, then aged 71, stepped down at the second election of that year, called in October by the minority Labour government in the hope of winning a working majority. He returned to the House of Lords at the end of 1974 when he accepted a life peerage, becoming known as Baron Home of the Hirsel, of Coldstream in the County of Berwick.

title: Archibald Douglas (1883–1960)

text: In 1922, Douglas returned to the General Staff as captain and became major there in 1924. He served as chief of staff of the 5th Army Division ("V. arméfördelningen") from 1923 to 1927 when he became major in the Life Regiment Dragoons. Douglas became lieutenant colonel in the Life Regiment of Horse ("Livregementet till häst", K 1) in 1928. He was promoted to colonel and appointed commanding officer of Norrland Dragoon Regiment (K 4) in 1930 and in 1935 Douglas was appointed executive officer of the Life Regiment of Horse. In 1937 Douglas was promoted to major general and appointed commanding officer of Upper Norrland's Troops ("Övre Norrlands trupper") and in 1940 he conducted a study trip to Germany and France. In 1942 he was appointed Inspector of the Swedish Army and the year after he was chairman of the Officer Training Investigation ("Officersutbildningsutredningen"). In 1944, Douglas was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed Chief of the Army. During this time he also served as president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1945 to 1947. Douglas retired from the military in 1948.

title: Archibald Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry

text: Douglas was the son of John Douglas, 7th Marquess of Queensberry, by Sarah Douglas, daughter of Major James Sholto Douglas. He became known by the courtesy title Viscount Drumlanrig when his father succeeded to the marquessate of Queensberry in 1837.

title: Viewpark

text: In 1851, General Sir Thomas Monteath Douglas In 1851, succeeded to the estate of Douglas Support under the entail of the Duchess of Douglas, and took the name Douglas in addition to his own. He never returned to India, but was promoted in due course to be major-general on 20 June 1854, lieutenant-general on 18 March 1856, and full general on 9 April 1865. In March 1865 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in recognition of his long services during the early years of the century. He died at Stonebyres in Lanarkshire in October 1868.

title: Jim Douglas

text: As a result of Ruse’s decision not to run again, only Douglas had filed as a major party candidate for treasurer; in the absence of a Democratic candidate, Douglas won the Democratic nomination by write in vote. In the general election, Douglas faced only token opposition, and received over 91% of the votes.

title: Governor of South Australia

text: The first Australian-born Governor of South Australia was Major-General Sir James Harrison (appointed 1968), and most subsequent governors have been Australian-born. The first South Australian-born governor was Sir Mark Oliphant (appointed 1971), and the first Aboriginal governor was Sir Douglas Nicholls (appointed 1976). The current governor is Hieu Van Le., who commenced when the term of the previous governor, Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce, expired on 7 August 2014. The Governor's official residence is Government House, in Adelaide, the state's capital.

title: Ed Heinemann

text: Heinemann was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but moved to California as a boy and was raised in Los Angeles. A self-taught engineer, he joined Douglas Aircraft as a draftsman in 1926, but was laid off within a year. After stints at International Aircraft, Moreland Aircraft, and the first Northrop Corporation, Heinemann rejoined Douglas when it acquired Northrop. Heinemann became Douglas's Chief Engineer in 1936. He remained with the company through 1960, when he left to join Guidance Technology. In 1962 he joined General Dynamics as Corporate Vice President of Engineering. In this position he oversaw the development of the F-16. He retired in 1973.

title: Douglas Graham (British Army officer)

text: In early April 1940, however, Graham returned to Scotland and was given command of the 27th Infantry Brigade, part of the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division, a second-line TA formation, with the acting rank of brigadier, and the substantive rank of colonel. In August 1940 Graham's brigade changed its designation to the 153rd Infantry Brigade when the 9th Division was reformed as the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division after the original 51st Division was lost in June 1940 during the latter stages of the Battle of France. The new division's first General Officer Commanding (GOC) was Major General Alan Cunningham, who was replaced in October by Major General Neil Ritchie, the latter being succeeded in June 1941 by Major General Douglas Wimberley, who, being a Cameron Highlander, was determined to keep the division commanded only by Highlanders. Graham, being an officer of a Lowland regiment, was the one exception, with Wimberley believing him to be highly competent and Graham retained his position. The next year was spent training, mainly in Scotland, in preparation for a move overseas.

title: George Douglas Wahl

text: Wahl was born in New Orleans on October 15, 1895. His father was Major General Lutz Wahl. Wahl died on March 24, 1981.

title: 1944 Irish general election

text: The Irish general election of 1944 was held on 30 May 1944, having been called on 9 May by President Douglas Hyde on the advice of Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. The general election took place in 34 parliamentary constituencies for 138 seats in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament). Fianna Fáil won an overall majority, and when the newly elected members of the 12th Dáil assembled on 9 June, de Valera was re-elected Taoiseach at the head of a majority government.

title: Hal Douglas

text: Harold "Hal" Douglas was born Harold Cohen in Stamford, Connecticut, on September 1, 1924, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Samuel and Miriam Levenson Cohen. Douglas and his brother Edwin were primarily raised by their grandparents Sarah and Tevya Levenson after their mother died when Douglas was only nine. He served in World War II, and attended the University of Miami in Florida as a drama major.

title: Angus Douglas-Hamilton

text: Born at Brighton in 1863, he was the son of Major General Octavius Douglas-Hamilton and Katherine Macleod, and a great-great-grandson of Lt.Gen.James Douglas-Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon. Douglas-Hamilton was educated at Foster's Naval Preparatory School, and latterly at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

title: Charles W. H. Douglas

text: Douglas served in the Second Boer War from 1899 until early 1901. He was initially Assistant Adjutant-General on the Headquarters staff in South Africa from 9 October 1899, then served as ADC and Chief of Staff to Lord Methuen, the General Officer Commanding 1st Division. It was in this role he took part in the Battle of Modder River (November 1899) and the Battle of Magersfontein (10-11 December 1899), in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British forces amongst heavy casualties for the latter. Douglas was mentioned in the despatch from Lord Methuen describing the battle. He was promoted to the local rank of major general and made Commander of the 9th Infantry Brigade on 10 February 1900, shortly before the Relief of Kimberley. Following the Siege of Mafeking, Douglas was appointed Commander of Mafeking and the adjacent district on 28 August 1900. The rank of major-general was confirmed for "distinguished service in the field" in early 1901 (but dated to the initial appointment on 10 February 1900).

title: David Douglas Wemyss

text: Major general David Douglas Wemyss (1760–1839) was a British Army officer. He was the seventh General Officer Commanding, Ceylon, appointed in 1804. He was succeeded by Thomas Maitland.

title: Howard Douglas

text: In 1797, while in Quebec City, Douglas fathered a daughter, Margaret (or Marguerite), but did not marry the mother, Catherine Normandeau. In 1799, he returned to England, and in July of that year he married Anne Dundas, daughter of James Dundas. They had ten children, Major Charles Douglas, James Dundas Douglas, Howard Douglas, General Sir Robert Percy Douglas, 4th Baronet of Carr, Reverend William Frederick Douglas, Ann Douglas, Christina Douglas, Lucy Douglas, Sarah Mary Harcourt Douglas, and Mary Douglas.

title: Thomas Monteath Douglas

text: In 1851, he succeeded to the estate of "Douglas Support" under the entail of the Duchess of Douglas, and took the name Douglas in addition to his own. He never returned to India, but was promoted in due course to be major-general on 20 June 1854, lieutenant-general on 18 March 1856, and full general on 9 April 1865. In March 1865 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in recognition of his long services during the early years of the century. He died at Stonebyres in Lanarkshire in October 1868.

title: Douglas L. Carver

text: Chaplain (Major General) Douglas Lanier Carver, USA (born September 10, 1951) is a retired American Army officer who served as the 22nd Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army. He was appointed to this assignment on July 12, 2007 and was the first Southern Baptist chaplain to be promoted to the position of Chief of Chaplains in more than 50 years.

title: Henry Kyd Douglas

text: Late in the fall of 1862, when the army was about to go into winter camp, a delegation from his old company approached Douglas and wanted him to take command of the company. After consulting with Stonewall, he accepted a commission as captain of Co. B, 2nd Virginia Vols. Soon thereafter, he also became assistant inspector general of the Stonewall Brigade, while keeping his company command. When Stonewall Jackson fell wounded at Chancellorsville, Douglas visited him and spent an hour talking about the recent battle. After Stonewall's death, Douglas accompanied Mrs. Jackson and the staff with the general's body on the train to Richmond. In the funeral procession, he sat with the other staff officers in the carriage behind Mrs. Jackson and President Jefferson Davis, and saw Stonewall's earthly remains put on lit de parade in the Confederate Capitol. When Douglas returned from Richmond, he accepted an offer from General Edward Johnson, the new commanding officer of the Stonewall Division, to be assistant adjutant general, with the rank of major, on his staff.

title: Alec Douglas-Home

text: Wilson's small majority after the 1964 general election had made the transaction of government business difficult, and in 1966 he called another election in which Labour gained a strong working majority of 96. Some older members of Heath's team, including Lloyd, retired from the front bench, making room for members of the next generation. Heath moved Maudling to the foreign affairs portfolio, and Douglas-Home took over Lloyd's responsibilities as spokesman on Commonwealth relations. Heath was widely seen as ineffective against Wilson, and as the 1970 general election approached there was concern within the party that he would lose, and that Powell would seek to replace him as leader. Maudling and the chief whip, William Whitelaw, believed that if Heath had to resign Douglas-Home would be the safest candidate to keep Powell out. Douglas-Home shared their view that Labour would win the 1970 election, and that Heath might then have to resign, but he declined to commit himself. To the surprise of almost everyone except Heath, the Conservatives won the election, with a majority of 31 seats.

title: John Taylor Douglas

text: He was born in Cumberland, Ontario, the son of John Douglas and Anne Welch, was educated there and came west with his family in 1906, settling in the Laura district of Saskatchewan. Douglas studied agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan and went on to farm near Laura. He was campaign manager for Major James Coldwell in 1935, when Coldwell was elected to the Canadian House of Commons for the CCF. He married Eva Hopkins in 1940. In 1941, Douglas became provincial organizer for the CCF. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Highways and Transportation and as Minister of Public Works. Douglas retired from politics in 1960.

title: Alexander Douglas Campbell

text: Major-General Sir Alexander Douglas Campbell KBE CB DSO MC (20 June 1899 – 3 April 1980) was General Officer Commanding Aldershot District.

title: Doug Racine

text: Douglas A. Racine (born October 7, 1952 in Burlington, Vermont), is former Vermont Secretary of Human Services, a former Vermont State Senator and was the 78th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont. He is a Democrat. Racine was a candidate for the 2010 Democratic nomination for Governor of Vermont. He previously ran for governor in 2002, but lost to Republican Jim Douglas. In an election where no candidate won a majority, Douglas won a 45% plurality, and Racine declined to contest the outcome before the Vermont General Assembly.

title: Henry Kyd Douglas

text: At the end of March 1864, Douglas, through the intervention of General Benjamin Butler, was sent home, although not formally exchanged. On the southbound steamer were not only a number of properly exchanged officers and soldiers, but also one of President Lincoln's sisters-in-law, who returned to Alabama with a special pass from the president. On parole, Douglas could go back to the army before being formally exchanged. It was not until the first day of the battle of the Wilderness that Douglas returned to the service, as assistant adjutant general (AAG) of General Edward Johnson's division, fighting at the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania, where he managed to escape when the general and 3,000 of his men were captured. During the rest of the battle, Douglas served on General Gordon's staff, later being transferred to General Early's division as AAG. Early took command of the Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia at Cold Harbor, taking his staff officers with him to the new command, Douglas becoming the AAG of that corps.

title: James Douglas (British Army officer)

text: He was deputy quartermaster-general in Scotland (1815–22) and in Ireland (1825–30). Douglas was promoted colonel in 1819 and major-general in 1830, when he received the command of the south-western district of Ireland. From 1837 to 1842 he was Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1838, and was made a G.C.B. in 1860. He had been made colonel of the 93rd foot in 1840 and of the 42nd Highlanders in 1850, and was promoted general in 1854. After leaving Guernsey he retired to Clifton, where he died on 6 March 1862, aged 77.

title: Douglas H. Johnston

text: Johnston, the mixed-race son of "Colonel" John Johnston, Sr, and of Mary Ann Cheadle Walker (Chickasaw, 1818 – c. 1863) was born in Skullyville, Indian Territory, at a time when it was the capital of the Choctaw Nation. In the Chickasaw matrilineal kinship system, children were considered born into their mother's clan and took their status from her. Johnston's name is sometimes given as "Douglas "Henry" Johnston", but he was named for General Douglas "Hancock" Cooper. He had two elder brothers, William Worth Johnston and Franklin Pierce Johnston, and one younger, Napoleon Bonapart ["sic"] Johnston.

title: Neil Ritchie

text: Shortly afterwards Ritchie was made BGS with Southern Command, commanded by Lieutenant-General Claude Auchinleck who, like Brooke, thought highly of him. Ritchie was not destined to be there long, however, as, at the relatively young age of forty-three, he received a promotion to the acting rank of major-general on 28 October 1940 and was made General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division on the same date. He held this post until June 1941 when he handed over to Major-General Douglas Wimberley.

title: Stephen A. Douglas ancestry

text: Stephen Arnold Douglas, the presidential aspirant who ran against Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election, was born in Vermont and has an immediate ancestry that is almost entirely from New England. His Douglas ancestors, upon emigrating from England in the early 1600s, settled in Connecticut where they lived for several generations until his grandfather, Benajah Douglas, moved to Stephentown, New York. From there the family moved to Brandon, Vermont, where Stephen A. Douglas was born.

title: Douglas Cooke

text: James Douglas Cooke was born in 1879 in Melbourne, Australia, the eldest son of John Cooke, a pastoralist who had lived in New Zealand. In 1907, Cooke married Elsie Muriel. Together, they had one son and three daughters. Elsie was the daughter of General James Burston and the sister of Major General Samuel Burston of Melbourne. Cooke lived in London until his death in 1949.

title: Douglas' lemma

text: In operator theory, an area of mathematics, Douglas' lemma relates factorization, range inclusion, and majorization of Hilbert space operators. It is generally attributed to Ronald G. Douglas, although Douglas acknowledges that aspects of the result may already have been known. The statement of the result is as follows: