Some cool endangered species animals images:
NYC - Brooklyn - Prospect Park Zoo: Discovery Trail - Red Panda
Image by wallyg
The Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat," from a Latinized form of the Greek αιλουρος, ailouros, "cat," and the participial form of the Latin fulgere, "to shine") is also known as the Wah, because of its distinctive cry. It is called a Cat Bear because it was thought to be related to a small bear and washes itself like a cat by licking its entire body. Other names include Bear Cat, Bright Panda, Common Panda, Fire Fox, Red Fox, Fox Bear, Himalayan Raccoon, Lesser Panda, Nigalya Ponya, Panda Chico, Panda Éclatant, Panda Rojo, Petit Panda, Poonya, Crimson Ngo, Red Cat, Sankam, Small Panda, Thokya, Wah, Wokdonka, Woker, and Vetri, and Ye.
The Red Panda is a mostly herbivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat. The Red Panda has semi-retractile claws and, like the Giant Panda, has a "false thumb" which is really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold and hides scent glands. The Red Panda is native to the Himalayas in India and Nepal and southern China.
This taxonomic classification of both the Red Panda and Giant Panda has been under debate for many decades, as both species share characteristics of both bears and raccoon. However, they are only very distantly related by remote common ancestry from the Early Tertiary Period. Its common ancestor can be traced back to tens of millions of years ago with a wide distribution across Eurasia. Fossils of the Red Panda have been unearthed from China in the east to Britain in the west, and most recently a handful of fossils (Pristinailurus bristoli, Miocene considered to be a new genus and species of the Red Panda) have also been discovered in North America.
The Red Panda is classified as an endangered species. There is an estimated population of less than 2,500 mature individuals and this number continues to decline due to severely fragmented populations.
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The Prospect Park Zoo, Brooklyn's only Zoo, is home to nearly 400 animals of more than 80 species. First established as a small menagerie in Prospect Park in the late 1800's, this collection of animals became the more formal Prospect Park Zoo on Flatbush Avenue that opened to the public on July 3, 1935. A Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, the Zoo was part of a massive city-wide park improvement program initiated and executed by former Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. Closed in 1988 for a five year, million dollar renovation program, the zoo was completely replaced save for the exteriors of the 1930's-era buildings. Rededicated on October 5, 1993, it joined Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) world-renowned network of wildlife parks in New York City.
The World of Animals in the southern quadrant of the zoo, features the Discovery Trail. The trail begins in the World of Animals building, but visitors quickly pass to an outdoor path that winds through the southern third of the zoo. Animals from diverse corners of the globe are shown in settings not unlike their natural habitats. Visitors may find along the trail Prairie Dogs, Porcupines, Kangaroos, other animals. Signs often ask challenging questions, reinforcing presentations made in the Zoo's Discovery Center, or alert viewers to look for signs of animal habitation. Though it occupies a compact plot, The Discovery Trail has been carefully designed so that very little of the trail can be seen at one time, permitting visitors to concentrate on just the few exhibits at hand. The trail passes through marsh, open grassland, and wooded areas, featuring animals particular to each biota.
NYC - Bronx - Bronx Zoo: Bactrian Camel
Image by wallyg
The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of eastern Asia. The Bactrian camel has two humps on its back, in contrast to the <A HREF="http://www.flickr.che Bactrian is also stockier than the
Nearly all of the estimated 1.4 million Bactrian Camels alive today are domesticated, but in October 2002 the estimated 950 remaining in the wild in northwest China and Mongolia were placed on the critically endangered species list.
The Bactrian camel was domesticated sometime before 2500 BC in Asia, well after the earliest estimates for the dromedary which were placed between 4000 BC and 2000 BC. It was not until the Islamic conquest of North Africa, however, that these camels became common. While the invasion was accomplished largely on horseback, the new links to the Middle East allowed camels to be imported en masse. These camels were well-suited to long desert journeys and could carry a great deal of cargo. For the first time this allowed substantial trade over the Sahara. The wild population of Bactrian Camels was first described by Nikolai Przhevalsky in the late 19th century.
Bactrian Camels are over 2 meters (7 feet) tall at the hump and weigh in excess of 725 kg (1,600 lb). They are herbivores, eating grass, leaves, and grains, capable of drinking up to 120 litres (32 US gallons) of water at a time. They are supremely adapted to protect themselves against the desert heat and sand, with wide, padded feet and thick leathery pads on the knees and chest, nostrils that can open and close, ears lined with protective hairs, and bushy eyebrows with two rows of long eyelashes. Thick fur and underwool keep the animal warm during cold desert nights and also insulate against daytime heat. In comparison to the The Dromedary, the Bactrian is stockier making it more adept at surviving across extreme and varied climates. A loaded Bactrian Camel moves at about 2.5 mph compared to the 8-9mph a Dromedary can sustain.
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The Bronx Zoo, located within the Bronx Park, is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising 265 acres of parklands and naturalistic habitats and home to over 4,000 animals. Focused on conservation, it opened on November 8, 1899, with 22 exhibits, 843 animals. The zoo's origins date back to 1895, with the establishment of the New york Zoological Society (NYZS), renamed Wild Conservation Scoiety (WCS) in 1993. Only the outer structure of the World of Reptiles remains much as it was in 1899. With the 1941 opening of African Plains, the Bronx Zoo was one of the first U.S. zoos to move away from cages and exhibit animals in naturalistic habitats.
Endangered Species Chocolate
Image by lightsight
The chocolate with cherries is so delicious. The chocolate is smooth
and silky and has a good bite.
