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Wingham Wildlife Park
Wingham Wildlife Park is a medium-sized wildlife park situated near Wingham in Kent, UK where it covers an area of 26 acres (13 acres of animal housing area and a further 13 acres of car parking and overflow). In 2011 the species count at the park reached 180 species, growing to over 200 in 2013 covering fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and birds. History The park was first opened in 1986 under the name of Wingham Bird Park, with a small collection of aviary birds, waterfowl and a tea room. As new animals were added to the collection to include a variety of mammals (initially starting with farm animals such as African pygmy goats and pigs), the current, more appropriate, name of Wingham Wildlife Park was adopted in around 1996. However, locally it is still commonly referred to as Wingham Bird Park. In February 2008 the park ownership changed hands, with the following 3 years seeing the collection grow by almost 100 new species, including numerous animals whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wingham, Kent
Wingham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, England. The village lies along the ancient coastal road, now the A257, from Richborough to London, and is close to Canterbury. History A settlement at Wingham has existed since the Stone Age but only became established as a village in Roman times. The ''Domesday book'' tells us that during Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times Wingham manor was in possession by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Wingham was the administrative centre of the hundred of Wingham which included Fleet, Kent, Fleet. In 1286, John Peckham, Archbishop Peckham founded a college in Wingham; many other buildings in Wingham date back to this time, including the Grade II listed 'The Dog Inn' and (also listed) 'The Eight Bells'. St Mary's Church, Wingham, St Mary the Virgin, the present Grade I listed church of Wingham, dates from the early 13th century with fabric dating from the Norman to Victorian eras. The East Kent Light Rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf Crocodile
The dwarf crocodile (''Osteolaemus tetraspis''), also known as the African dwarf crocodile, broad-snouted crocodile (a name more often used for the Asian mugger crocodile) or bony crocodile, is an African crocodile that is also the smallest extant (living) species of crocodile. Taxonomy and etymology The second species has had a somewhat convoluted taxonomical history. It was first described as ''Osteoblepharon osborni'' by Schmidt in 1919, based on a few specimens from the Upper Congo River Basin in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, Inger in a 1948 paper found the specimens wanting of characteristics that would justify a generic separation from ''Osteolaemus'' and referred the specimens to '' Osteolaemus osborni''. In 1961, it was reduced to subspecies rank. A study of morphology published in 2007, and studies of DNA in 2009, 2013 and 2015 indicate that three distinctly different populations of ''Osteolaemus'' may merit full species recognition. These are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Wolf
The Eurasian wolf (''Canis lupus lupus''), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Europe and Asia. It was once widespread throughout Eurasia prior to the Middle Ages. Aside from an extensive paleontological record, Indo-European languages typically have several words for "wolf", thus attesting to the animal's abundance and cultural significance.Gamkrelidze, T. V. & Ivanov, V. V. (1995), ''Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and Proto-Culture'', Walter de Gruyter, pp. 413-417, It was held in high regard in Baltic, Celtic, Slavic, Turkic, ancient Greek, Roman, and Thracian cultures, whilst having an ambivalent reputation in early Germanic cultures. It is the largest of Old World grey wolves, averaging in Europe; however, exceptionally large individuals have w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caracals
The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted ears, and long canine teeth. Its coat is uniformly reddish tan or sandy, while the ventral parts are lighter with small reddish markings. It reaches at the shoulder and weighs . It was first scientifically described by German naturalist Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1776. Three subspecies are recognised. Typically nocturnal, the caracal is highly secretive and difficult to observe. It is territorial, and lives mainly alone or in pairs. The caracal is a carnivore that typically preys upon small mammals, birds, and rodents. It can leap higher than and catch birds in midair. It stalks its prey until it is within of it, after which it runs it down and kills its prey with a bite to the throat or to the back of the neck. Both sexes b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Wildcat
The Scottish wildcat is a European wildcat (''Felis silvestris silvestris'') population in Scotland. It was once widely distributed across Great Britain, but the population has declined drastically since the turn of the 20th century due to habitat loss and persecution. It is now limited to northern and eastern Scotland. Camera-trapping surveys carried out in the Scottish Highlands between 2010 and 2013 revealed that wildcats live foremost in mixed woodland, whereas feral and domestic cats (''Felis catus'') were photographed mostly in grasslands. It is listed as Critically Endangered in the United Kingdom and is threatened by hybridization with domestic cats. Since all individuals sampled in recent years showed high levels of hybridisation, this population is thought to undergo extinction. Taxonomy ''Felis grampia'' was the scientific name proposed by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1907 who first described the skin and the skull of a wildcat specimen from Scotland. He argued th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humboldt Penguin
The Humboldt penguin (''Spheniscus humboldti'') is a medium-sized penguin. It resides in South America, its range mainly contains most of coastal Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin. The Humboldt penguin and the cold water current it swims in both are named after the explorer Alexander von Humboldt. The species is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN with no population recovery plan in place. The current population is composed of 32,000 mature individuals and is going down. It is a migrant species. Humboldt penguins nest on islands and rocky coasts, burrowing holes in guano and sometimes using scrapes or caves. In South America the Humboldt penguin is found only along the Pacific coast, and the range of the Humboldt penguin overlaps that of the Magellanic penguin on the central Chilean coast. It is vagrant in Ecuador and Colombia. The Humboldt penguin has been known to live in mixed species colonies with the Magell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Endangered Species Programme
The EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) is a population management and conservation programme by European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) for wild animals living in European zoos. The programme was formerly known as the European Endangered Species Programme. Each EEP has a coordinator who is assisted by a species committee. The coordinator collects information on the status of all the animals kept in EAZA zoos and aquariums of the species for which he or she is responsible, produces a studbook, carries out demographic and genetic analyses, produces a plan for the future management of the species and provides recommendations to participating institutions. Together with the EAZA Species Committee, recommendations are made each year about relocating and breeding animals, and the conditions of such a move (breeding loan, exchange, term free disposition, etc.). Even though EEP participation is mainly reserved for EAZA zoos, it is possible for non-EAZA collections to be included in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-fronted Lemur
The red-fronted lemur (''Eulemur rufifrons''), also known as the red-fronted brown lemur or southern red-fronted brown lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, it was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvus''. In 2001, ''E. fulvus'' was split into several separate species, including ''Eulemur rufus'', in which this species was included. In 2008, ''E. rufus'' was split into two species, the red lemur (''E. rufus'') and the red-fronted lemur (''E. rufifrons''). ''E. rufus'' covers the population on the west coast north of the Tsiribihina River and ''E. rufifrons'' covers the population on the west coast south of the Tsiribihina River and the population in eastern Madagascar. The species split was based on genetic and morphological evidence. Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates that ''E. rufifrons'' may be more closely related to the common brown lemur (''E. fulvus''), white-headed lemur (''E. albifrons'') and Sanford's brown lemur (''E. s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Lesser Bamboo Lemur
The western lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur occidentalis''), also known as the northern bamboo lemur, western gentle lemur, or Sambirano lesser bamboo lemur, is a species of bamboo lemur endemic to Madagascar. Description The total length of this primate is , more than half of which is tail, and average weight is just under . Distribution It lives in several discontinuous areas in northern and western Madagascar including Ankarana and Analamerana in the north, Sambirano and the Ampasindava Peninsula in the north-west, and various areas in the west between the Mahavany and Tsiribihina Rivers. This lemur has been reported from eight national parks ( Ankarana, Baie de Baly, Mananara-Nord, Marojejy, Masoala ''Masoala'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It contains the following species, both endemic to Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, ..., Sahamalaza-Iles R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
The black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata'') is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much smaller population that is spread out, living in lower population densities and reproductively isolated. It also has less coverage and protection in large national parks than the red ruffed lemur. Three subspecies of black-and-white ruffed lemur have been recognized since the red ruffed lemur was elevated to species status in 2001. Together with the red ruffed lemur, they are the largest extant members of the family Lemuridae, ranging in length from and weighing between . They are arboreal, spending most of their time in the high canopy of the seasonal rainforests on the eastern side of the island. They are also diurnal, active exclusively in daylight hours. Quadrupedal locomotion is preferred in the trees and on the ground, and suspensory behavior is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ring-tailed Lemur
The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar and endangered. Known locally in Malagasy as ' (, spelled ' in French) or ', it inhabits gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous and the most terrestrial of extant lemurs. The animal is diurnal, being active exclusively in daylight hours. The ring-tailed lemur is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. It is also female dominant, a trait common among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. The ring-tailed lemur will also sunbathe, sitting upright facing its underside, with its thinner white fur towards the sun. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Mantella
The golden mantella (''Mantella aurantiaca'') is a small, terrestrial frog endemic to Madagascar. It has an extremely restricted distribution in three distinct areas centered on the town of Moramanga - Beparasy and Ambohibary Communes, Torotorofotsy Wetland northwest of Andasibe, and in the area of Ambakoana. ''Mantella aurantiaca'' is one of Madagascar's most threatened amphibian species due to its limited distribution in an area under tremendous anthropogenic pressure. It may also be threatened by over-collection for the pet trade. Description The golden mantella is a uniformly yellow, orange, or red frog measuring 20–26 mm. The inner leg displays red flash marks. The tympanum is visible, but small. Brightly colored skin warns predators that the frog is poisonous. It is thought that the brilliant colors exhibited by the golden mantella are an example of aposematism, warning predators of the poisonous nature of the frog. Ecology and behaviour The golden mantella is hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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