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Sacramento Zoo
The Sacramento Zoo is a zoo located in William Land Park in Sacramento, California. It opened on June 2, 1927, with 40 animals. At that time, it occupied , which remained the case until the early 1960s when the zoo expanded to its current . , the zoo had just over 500 animals on site. History The zoo opened as the "William Land Park Zoo" on June 2, 1927, with 40 animals brought together from various local parks, including monkeys, raccoons, birds, and deer. In 1948, the ''Sacramento Union'' newspaper sponsored a drive to raise money to buy the zoo an elephant. In the fall of 1949, SUE (the “Sacramento Union Elephant”), so named by local teenage sisters Jacklyn and Carolyn Bolton via a contest sponsored by the Union, arrived at the zoo, much to the delight of area visitors. In 1955, the zoo bought “Winky”, Sue’s companion. The Sacramento Zoological Society formed in 1958 to support and raise funds for the zoo as city funding began to dwindle. The year 1958 also broug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Land Park
William Land Park, frequently referred to as simply "Land Park" is a major city park in Sacramento, California. The park is located between Interstate 5 and State Route 160. William Land was a pioneer who built the Western Hotel at the NE corner of 2nd and K St in 1875 (California Historical Landmark #601). There is an elementary school named after him. He is buried in a Greek temple mausoleum within East Lawn Memorial Park in Sacramento. William Land was a founder of the East Lawn Memorial. There are several city attractions located within the park including: *The Sacramento Zoo *Fairytale Town, a park which has play equipment designed to represent articles from various fairy tales and nursery rhymes (there is a small admission fee). *The William Land Golf Course *Funderland, a small park with several carnival like rides primarily for very young children. "Land Park" can also refer to the surrounding neighborhood. *Vic's Ice Cream – landmark restaurant in the neighborho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giraffe
The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis'', with nine subspecies. Most recently, researchers proposed dividing them into up to eight extant species due to new research into their mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as well as morphological measurements. Seven other extinct species of ''Giraffa'' are known from the fossil record. The giraffe's chief distinguishing characteristics are its extremely long neck and legs, its horn-like ossicones, and its spotted coat patterns. It is classified under the family Giraffidae, along with its closest extant relative, the okapi. Its scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannahs and woodlands. Their food source is leaves, frui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landmarks In Sacramento, California
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or features, that have become local or national symbols. Etymology In old English the word ''landmearc'' (from ''land'' + ''mearc'' (mark)) was used to describe a boundary marker, an "object set up to mark the boundaries of a kingdom, estate, etc.". Starting from approx. 1560, this understanding of landmark was replaced by a more general one. A landmark became a "conspicuous object in a landscape". A ''landmark'' literally meant a geographic feature used by explorers and others to find their way back or through an area. For example, the Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa is used as the landmark to help sailors to navigate around southern tip of Africa during the Age of Exploration. Artificial structures are also sometimes built to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoos In California
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, the study of animals. The term is derived from the Greek , , 'animal', and the suffix , , 'study of'. The abbreviation ''zoo'' was first used of the London Zoological Gardens, which was opened for scientific study in 1828 and to the public in 1847."Landmarks in ZSL History" , Zoological Society of London. In the alone, zoos are visited by over 181 million people annually. Etymology [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Panda
The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle and a ringed tail. Its head-to-body length is with a tail, and it weighs between . It is well adapted to climbing due to its flexible joints and curved semi-retractile claws. The red panda was first formally described in 1825. The two currently recognised subspecies, the Himalayan and the Chinese red panda, genetically diverged about 250,000 years ago. The red panda's place on the evolutionary tree has been debated, but modern genetic evidence places it in close affinity with raccoons, weasels, and skunks. It is not closely related to the giant panda, which is a bear, though both possess elongated wrist bones or "false thumbs" used for grasping bamboo. The evolutionary lineage of the red panda (Ailuridae) stretches back around , as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. It is the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL). In 1976, the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged, adding four franchises to the NBA. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The league's playoff tournament extends into June. , NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest team in the NBA, and the first and only team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento. The team plays its home games at the Golden 1 Center. Their best seasons to date in the city were in the early 2000s, including a very successful 2001–02 season when they had the best record in the NBA at 61–21 (a winning percentage of ). The franchise began with the Rochester Seagrams (a semi-professional team) from Rochester, New York, that formed in 1923 and hosted a number of teams there over the next 20 years. They joined the National Basketball League in 1945 as the renamed Rochester Royals, winning that league's championship in their first season, 1945–46. They later jumped with three other NBL teams ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
The northern red-billed hornbill (''Tockus erythrorhynchus'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found from southern Mauritania through Somalia and northeast Tanzania. There are five species of red-billed hornbills recognized, but all five were once considered conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ... and some authorities still classify the others as subspecies of ''Tockus erythrorhynchus''. References *Kemp, A.C. and W. Delport. 2002. Comments on the status of subspecies in the red-billed hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus) complex (Aves: Bucerotidae), with the description of a new taxon endemic to Tanzania. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 39: 1–8. *Delport, W., A.C. Kemp, and J.W.H. Ferguson. 2004. Structure of an African Red-billed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolf's Guenon
Wolf's mona monkey (''Cercopithecus wolfi''), also called Wolf's guenon, is a colourful Old World monkey in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in central Africa, primarily between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. It lives in primary and secondary lowland rainforest and swamp forest. Taxonomy The species was first described from a living specimen in the Zoological Garden at Dresden. It was brought in 1887 by Dr Ludwig Wolf from somewhere in central west Africa. The species was described in 1891 and named after the collector. This specimen died in October 1891 and the skeletal characteristics were described in 1894. Wolf's mona monkey is in the ''C. mona'' grouping within the genus ''Cercopithecus'' along with Campbell's mona monkey, Dent's mona monkey, Lowe's mona monkey, the mona monkey, and the crested mona monkey. Wolf's mona monkey was previously considered a subspecies of the crested mona monkey. The genus ''Cercopithecus'' is part of the subfamily Cercop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aardvark
The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike most other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food. It roams over most of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. A nocturnal feeder, it subsists on ants and termites, which it will dig out of their hills using its sharp claws and powerful legs. It also digs to create burrows in which to live and rear its young. The animal is listed as "least concern" by the IUCN, although its numbers are decreasing. Aardvarks are afrotheres, a clade which also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes. Name and taxonomy Name The aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the "African ant bear", "anteater" (not to be confused with the anteater, South American anteater), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American River Otters
The North American river otter (''Lontra canadensis''), also known as the northern river otter and river otter, is a semiaquatic mammal that only lives on the North American continent, along its waterways and coasts. An adult North American river otter can weigh between . The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur. The North American river otter, a member of the subfamily Lutrinae in the weasel family (Mustelidae), is equally versatile in the water and on land. It establishes a burrow close to the water's edge in river, lake, swamp, coastal shoreline, tidal flat, or estuary ecosystems. The den typically has many tunnel openings, one of which generally allows the otter to enter and exit the body of water. Female North American river otters give birth in these burrows, producing litters of one to six young. North American river otters, like most predators, prey upon the most readily accessible species. Fish is a favored food among the otter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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