________________________________________________

 

Spiral & Net

 

II.

___________________________________________________________________________

 

[...] A second reason for the loss of roots is that we are either in progress or in a religious blindness believe that they can look down on shamanic cultures tribal societies. That is a contemptuous attitude also towards our own archaic layers.

 

It turns out that many authors for these people the term " the primitives" used "indigenous" "archaic societies". Indeed, we only certain brain areas more highly developed and it can regenerate other. These in turn are in archaic peoples and their shamans highly developed. In a sense, therefore, we are even the primitives.

 

A third reason for the loss of our roots, our way of dealing with nature. Thus, not only the external environment is concerned, but also his own nature. Often we run over both gross way and are again the primitives themselves. Shamans, however, are closely associated with the inner and outer nature, and draw their strength from it, and they make no distinction between the two aspects.

 

If it can be spoken by a border at all it is fluid.

 

This book will not tell of the neo-shamanism, which has transferred Michael Harner in his shaman schools in our culture. It should show how the original, archaic shamanism millennium old peoples dealt with the dreams and deals and what we, apart from Herne practices that could drag us to the fact. [...] ___________________________________________________________________________

 

Source: Susanne Elsensohn - "Schamanismus und Traum"

Translated by Mr. Google!

Sheep (pl.: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe (/juː/ yoo), an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether, and a young sheep as a lamb.

 

Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing. In Commonwealth countries, ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones; in the United States, meat from both older and younger animals is usually called lamb. Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science.

 

Sheep husbandry is practised throughout the majority of the inhabited world, and has been fundamental to many civilizations. In the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production.

 

There is a large lexicon of unique terms for sheep husbandry which vary considerably by region and dialect. Use of the word sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap. A group of sheep is called a flock. Many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age.

 

Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, and are represented in much modern language and symbolism. As livestock, sheep are most often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery. Sheep figure in many mythologies—such as the Golden Fleece—and major religions, especially the Abrahamic traditions. In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals.

 

History

Main article: History of the domestic sheep

The exact line of descent from wild ancestors to domestic sheep is unclear. The most common hypothesis states that Ovis aries is descended from the Asiatic (O. gmelini) species of mouflon; the European mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) is a direct descendant of this population. Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by humankind (although the domestication of dogs probably took place 10 to 20 thousand years earlier); the domestication date is estimated to fall between 11,000 and 9000 B.C in Mesopotamia and possibly around 7000 BC in Mehrgarh in the Indus Valley. The rearing of sheep for secondary products, and the resulting breed development, began in either southwest Asia or western Europe. Initially, sheep were kept solely for meat, milk and skins. Archaeological evidence from statuary found at sites in Iran suggests that selection for woolly sheep may have begun around 6000 BC, and the earliest woven wool garments have been dated to two to three thousand years later.

 

Sheep husbandry spread quickly in Europe. Excavations show that in about 6000 BC, during the Neolithic period of prehistory, the Castelnovien people, living around Châteauneuf-les-Martigues near present-day Marseille in the south of France, were among the first in Europe to keep domestic sheep. Practically from its inception, ancient Greek civilization relied on sheep as primary livestock, and were even said to name individual animals. Ancient Romans kept sheep on a wide scale, and were an important agent in the spread of sheep raising. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History (Naturalis Historia), speaks at length about sheep and wool. European colonists spread the practice to the New World from 1493 onwards.

 

Characteristics

Domestic sheep are relatively small ruminants, usually with a crimped hair called wool and often with horns forming a lateral spiral. They differ from their wild relatives and ancestors in several respects, having become uniquely neotenic as a result of selective breeding by humans. A few primitive breeds of sheep retain some of the characteristics of their wild cousins, such as short tails. Depending on breed, domestic sheep may have no horns at all (i.e. polled), or horns in both sexes, or in males only. Most horned breeds have a single pair, but a few breeds may have several.

 

Sheep in Turkmenistan

Another trait unique to domestic sheep as compared to wild ovines is their wide variation in color. Wild sheep are largely variations of brown hues, and variation within species is extremely limited. Colors of domestic sheep range from pure white to dark chocolate brown, and even spotted or piebald. Sheep keepers also sometimes artificially paint "smit marks" onto their sheep in any pattern or color for identification. Selection for easily dyeable white fleeces began early in sheep domestication, and as white wool is a dominant trait it spread quickly. However, colored sheep do appear in many modern breeds, and may even appear as a recessive trait in white flocks. While white wool is desirable for large commercial markets, there is a niche market for colored fleeces, mostly for handspinning. The nature of the fleece varies widely among the breeds, from dense and highly crimped, to long and hairlike. There is variation of wool type and quality even among members of the same flock, so wool classing is a step in the commercial processing of the fibre.

  

Suffolks are a medium wool, black-faced breed of meat sheep that make up 60% of the sheep population in the U.S.

Depending on breed, sheep show a range of heights and weights. Their rate of growth and mature weight is a heritable trait that is often selected for in breeding. Ewes typically weigh between 45 and 100 kilograms (100 and 220 lb), and rams between 45 and 160 kilograms (100 and 350 lb). When all deciduous teeth have erupted, the sheep has 20 teeth. Mature sheep have 32 teeth. As with other ruminants, the front teeth in the lower jaw bite against a hard, toothless pad in the upper jaw. These are used to pick off vegetation, then the rear teeth grind it before it is swallowed. There are eight lower front teeth in ruminants, but there is some disagreement as to whether these are eight incisors, or six incisors and two incisor-shaped canines. This means that the dental formula for sheep is either

0.0.3.3

4.0.3.3

or

0.0.3.3

3.1.3.3

There is a large diastema between the incisors and the molars.

 

In the first few years of life one can calculate the age of sheep from their front teeth, as a pair of milk teeth is replaced by larger adult teeth each year, the full set of eight adult front teeth being complete at about four years of age. The front teeth are then gradually lost as sheep age, making it harder for them to feed and hindering the health and productivity of the animal. For this reason, domestic sheep on normal pasture begin to slowly decline from four years on, and the life expectancy of a sheep is 10 to 12 years, though some sheep may live as long as 20 years.

 

Skull

Sheep have good hearing, and are sensitive to noise when being handled. Sheep have horizontal slit-shaped pupils, with excellent peripheral vision; with visual fields of about 270° to 320°, sheep can see behind themselves without turning their heads. Many breeds have only short hair on the face, and some have facial wool (if any) confined to the poll and or the area of the mandibular angle; the wide angles of peripheral vision apply to these breeds. A few breeds tend to have considerable wool on the face; for some individuals of these breeds, peripheral vision may be greatly reduced by "wool blindness", unless recently shorn about the face. Sheep have poor depth perception; shadows and dips in the ground may cause sheep to baulk. In general, sheep have a tendency to move out of the dark and into well-lit areas, and prefer to move uphill when disturbed. Sheep also have an excellent sense of smell, and, like all species of their genus, have scent glands just in front of the eyes, and interdigitally on the feet. The purpose of these glands is uncertain, but those on the face may be used in breeding behaviors. The foot glands might also be related to reproduction, but alternative functions, such as secretion of a waste product or a scent marker to help lost sheep find their flock, have also been proposed.

 

Comparison with goats

Sheep and goats are closely related: both are in the subfamily Caprinae. However, they are separate species, so hybrids rarely occur and are always infertile. A hybrid of a ewe and a buck (a male goat) is called a sheep-goat hybrid, known as geep. Visual differences between sheep and goats include the beard of goats and divided upper lip of sheep. Sheep tails also hang down, even when short or docked, while the short tails of goats are held upwards. Also, sheep breeds are often naturally polled (either in both sexes or just in the female), while naturally polled goats are rare (though many are polled artificially). Males of the two species differ in that buck goats acquire a unique and strong odor during the rut, whereas rams do not.

 

Breeds

The domestic sheep is a multi-purpose animal, and the more than 200 breeds now in existence were created to serve these diverse purposes. Some sources give a count of a thousand or more breeds, but these numbers cannot be verified, according to some sources. However, several hundred breeds of sheep have been identified by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), with the estimated number varying somewhat from time to time: e.g. 863 breeds as of 1993, 1314 breeds as of 1995 and 1229 breeds as of 2006. (These numbers exclude extinct breeds, which are also tallied by the FAO.) For the purpose of such tallies, the FAO definition of a breed is "either a subspecific group of domestic livestock with definable and identifiable external characteristics that enable it to be separated by visual appraisal from other similarly defined groups within the same species or a group for which geographical and/or cultural separation from phenotypically similar groups has led to acceptance of its separate identity." Almost all sheep are classified as being best suited to furnishing a certain product: wool, meat, milk, hides, or a combination in a dual-purpose breed. Other features used when classifying sheep include face color (generally white or black), tail length, presence or lack of horns, and the topography for which the breed has been developed. This last point is especially stressed in the UK, where breeds are described as either upland (hill or mountain) or lowland breeds. A sheep may also be of a fat-tailed type, which is a dual-purpose sheep common in Africa and Asia with larger deposits of fat within and around its tail.

 

Breeds are often categorized by the type of their wool. Fine wool breeds are those that have wool of great crimp and density, which are preferred for textiles. Most of these were derived from Merino sheep, and the breed continues to dominate the world sheep industry. Downs breeds have wool between the extremes, and are typically fast-growing meat and ram breeds with dark faces. Some major medium wool breeds, such as the Corriedale, are dual-purpose crosses of long and fine-wooled breeds and were created for high-production commercial flocks. Long wool breeds are the largest of sheep, with long wool and a slow rate of growth. Long wool sheep are most valued for crossbreeding to improve the attributes of other sheep types. For example: the American Columbia breed was developed by crossing Lincoln rams (a long wool breed) with fine-wooled Rambouillet ewes.

 

Coarse or carpet wool sheep are those with a medium to long length wool of characteristic coarseness. Breeds traditionally used for carpet wool show great variability, but the chief requirement is a wool that will not break down under heavy use (as would that of the finer breeds). As the demand for carpet-quality wool declines, some breeders of this type of sheep are attempting to use a few of these traditional breeds for alternative purposes. Others have always been primarily meat-class sheep.

 

A minor class of sheep are the dairy breeds. Dual-purpose breeds that may primarily be meat or wool sheep are often used secondarily as milking animals, but there are a few breeds that are predominantly used for milking. These sheep produce a higher quantity of milk and have slightly longer lactation curves. In the quality of their milk, the fat and protein content percentages of dairy sheep vary from non-dairy breeds, but lactose content does not.

 

A last group of sheep breeds is that of fur or hair sheep, which do not grow wool at all. Hair sheep are similar to the early domesticated sheep kept before woolly breeds were developed, and are raised for meat and pelts. Some modern breeds of hair sheep, such as the Dorper, result from crosses between wool and hair breeds. For meat and hide producers, hair sheep are cheaper to keep, as they do not need shearing. Hair sheep are also more resistant to parasites and hot weather.

 

With the modern rise of corporate agribusiness and the decline of localized family farms, many breeds of sheep are in danger of extinction. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust of the UK lists 22 native breeds as having only 3,000 registered animals (each), and The Livestock Conservancy lists 14 as either "critical" or "threatened". Preferences for breeds with uniform characteristics and fast growth have pushed heritage (or heirloom) breeds to the margins of the sheep industry. Those that remain are maintained through the efforts of conservation organizations, breed registries, and individual farmers dedicated to their preservation.

 

Diet

Sheep are herbivorous mammals. Most breeds prefer to graze on grass and other short roughage, avoiding the taller woody parts of plants that goats readily consume. Both sheep and goats use their lips and tongues to select parts of the plant that are easier to digest or higher in nutrition. Sheep, however, graze well in monoculture pastures where most goats fare poorly.

 

Ruminant system of a sheep

Like all ruminants, sheep have a complex digestive system composed of four chambers, allowing them to break down cellulose from stems, leaves, and seed hulls into simpler carbohydrates. When sheep graze, vegetation is chewed into a mass called a bolus, which is then passed into the rumen, via the reticulum. The rumen is a 19- to 38-liter (5 to 10 gallon) organ in which feed is fermented. The fermenting organisms include bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. (Other important rumen organisms include some archaea, which produce methane from carbon dioxide.) The bolus is periodically regurgitated back to the mouth as cud for additional chewing and salivation. After fermentation in the rumen, feed passes into the reticulum and the omasum; special feeds such as grains may bypass the rumen altogether. After the first three chambers, food moves into the abomasum for final digestion before processing by the intestines. The abomasum is the only one of the four chambers analogous to the human stomach, and is sometimes called the "true stomach".

 

Other than forage, the other staple feed for sheep is hay, often during the winter months. The ability to thrive solely on pasture (even without hay) varies with breed, but all sheep can survive on this diet. Also included in some sheep's diets are minerals, either in a trace mix or in licks. Feed provided to sheep must be specially formulated, as most cattle, poultry, pig, and even some goat feeds contain levels of copper that are lethal to sheep. The same danger applies to mineral supplements such as salt licks.

 

Grazing behavior

Sheep follow a diurnal pattern of activity, feeding from dawn to dusk, stopping sporadically to rest and chew their cud. Ideal pasture for sheep is not lawnlike grass, but an array of grasses, legumes and forbs. Types of land where sheep are raised vary widely, from pastures that are seeded and improved intentionally to rough, native lands. Common plants toxic to sheep are present in most of the world, and include (but are not limited to) cherry, some oaks and acorns, tomato, yew, rhubarb, potato, and rhododendron.

 

Effects on pasture

Sheep are largely grazing herbivores, unlike browsing animals such as goats and deer that prefer taller foliage. With a much narrower face, sheep crop plants very close to the ground and can overgraze a pasture much faster than cattle. For this reason, many shepherds use managed intensive rotational grazing, where a flock is rotated through multiple pastures, giving plants time to recover. Paradoxically, sheep can both cause and solve the spread of invasive plant species. By disturbing the natural state of pasture, sheep and other livestock can pave the way for invasive plants. However, sheep also prefer to eat invasives such as cheatgrass, leafy spurge, kudzu and spotted knapweed over native species such as sagebrush, making grazing sheep effective for conservation grazing. Research conducted in Imperial County, California compared lamb grazing with herbicides for weed control in seedling alfalfa fields. Three trials demonstrated that grazing lambs were just as effective as herbicides in controlling winter weeds. Entomologists also compared grazing lambs to insecticides for insect control in winter alfalfa. In this trial, lambs provided insect control as effectively as insecticides.

 

Behavior

Sheep are flock animals and strongly gregarious; much sheep behavior can be understood on the basis of these tendencies. The dominance hierarchy of sheep and their natural inclination to follow a leader to new pastures were the pivotal factors in sheep being one of the first domesticated livestock species. Furthermore, in contrast to the red deer and gazelle (two other ungulates of primary importance to meat production in prehistoric times), sheep do not defend territories although they do form home ranges. All sheep have a tendency to congregate close to other members of a flock, although this behavior varies with breed, and sheep can become stressed when separated from their flock members. During flocking, sheep have a strong tendency to follow, and a leader may simply be the first individual to move. Relationships in flocks tend to be closest among related sheep: in mixed-breed flocks, subgroups of the same breed tend to form, and a ewe and her direct descendants often move as a unit within large flocks. Sheep can become hefted to one particular local pasture (heft) so they do not roam freely in unfenced landscapes. Lambs learn the heft from ewes and if whole flocks are culled it must be retaught to the replacement animals.

 

Flock behaviour in sheep is generally only exhibited in groups of four or more sheep; fewer sheep may not react as expected when alone or with few other sheep. Being a prey species, the primary defense mechanism of sheep is to flee from danger when their flight zone is entered. Cornered sheep may charge and butt, or threaten by hoof stamping and adopting an aggressive posture. This is particularly true for ewes with newborn lambs.

 

In regions where sheep have no natural predators, none of the native breeds of sheep exhibit a strong flocking behavior.

 

Herding

Farmers exploit flocking behavior to keep sheep together on unfenced pastures such as hill farming, and to move them more easily. For this purpose shepherds may use herding dogs in this effort, with a highly bred herding ability. Sheep are food-oriented, and association of humans with regular feeding often results in sheep soliciting people for food. Those who are moving sheep may exploit this behavior by leading sheep with buckets of feed.

 

Dominance hierarchy

Sheep establish a dominance hierarchy through fighting, threats and competitiveness. Dominant animals are inclined to be more aggressive with other sheep, and usually feed first at troughs. Primarily among rams, horn size is a factor in the flock hierarchy. Rams with different size horns may be less inclined to fight to establish the dominance order, while rams with similarly sized horns are more so. Merinos have an almost linear hierarchy whereas there is a less rigid structure in Border Leicesters when a competitive feeding situation arises.

 

In sheep, position in a moving flock is highly correlated with social dominance, but there is no definitive study to show consistent voluntary leadership by an individual sheep.

 

Intelligence and learning ability

Sheep are frequently thought of as unintelligent animals. Their flocking behavior and quickness to flee and panic can make shepherding a difficult endeavor for the uninitiated. Despite these perceptions, a University of Illinois monograph on sheep reported their intelligence to be just below that of pigs and on par with that of cattle. Sheep can recognize individual human and ovine faces and remember them for years; they can remember 50 other different sheep faces for over two years; they can recognize and are attracted to individual sheep and humans by their faces, as they possess similar specialized neural systems in the temporal and frontal lobes of their brains to humans and have a greater involvement of the right brain hemisphere. In addition to long-term facial recognition of individuals, sheep can also differentiate emotional states through facial characteristics.[68][69] If worked with patiently, sheep may learn their names, and many sheep are trained to be led by halter for showing and other purposes. Sheep have also responded well to clicker training. Sheep have been used as pack animals; Tibetan nomads distribute baggage equally throughout a flock as it is herded between living sites.

 

It has been reported that some sheep have apparently shown problem-solving abilities; a flock in West Yorkshire, England allegedly found a way to get over cattle grids by rolling on their backs, although documentation of this has relied on anecdotal accounts.

 

Vocalisations

Sounds made by domestic sheep include bleats, grunts, rumbles and snorts. Bleating ("baaing") is used mostly for contact communication, especially between dam and lambs, but also at times between other flock members. The bleats of individual sheep are distinctive, enabling the ewe and her lambs to recognize each other's vocalizations. Vocal communication between lambs and their dam declines to a very low level within several weeks after parturition. A variety of bleats may be heard, depending on sheep age and circumstances. Apart from contact communication, bleating may signal distress, frustration or impatience; however, sheep are usually silent when in pain. Isolation commonly prompts bleating by sheep. Pregnant ewes may grunt when in labor. Rumbling sounds are made by the ram during courting; somewhat similar rumbling sounds may be made by the ewe, especially when with her neonate lambs. A snort (explosive exhalation through the nostrils) may signal aggression or a warning, and is often elicited from startled sheep.

 

Lamb

In sheep breeds lacking facial wool, the visual field is wide. In 10 sheep (Cambridge, Lleyn and Welsh Mountain breeds, which lack facial wool), the visual field ranged from 298° to 325°, averaging 313.1°, with binocular overlap ranging from 44.5° to 74°, averaging 61.7°. In some breeds, unshorn facial wool can limit the visual field; in some individuals, this may be enough to cause "wool blindness". In 60 Merinos, visual fields ranged from 219.1° to 303.0°, averaging 269.9°, and the binocular field ranged from 8.9° to 77.7°, averaging 47.5°; 36% of the measurements were limited by wool, although photographs of the experiments indicate that only limited facial wool regrowth had occurred since shearing. In addition to facial wool (in some breeds), visual field limitations can include ears and (in some breeds) horns, so the visual field can be extended by tilting the head. Sheep eyes exhibit very low hyperopia and little astigmatism. Such visual characteristics are likely to produce a well-focused retinal image of objects in both the middle and long distance. Because sheep eyes have no accommodation, one might expect the image of very near objects to be blurred, but a rather clear near image could be provided by the tapetum and large retinal image of the sheep's eye, and adequate close vision may occur at muzzle length. Good depth perception, inferred from the sheep's sure-footedness, was confirmed in "visual cliff" experiments; behavioral responses indicating depth perception are seen in lambs at one day old. Sheep are thought to have colour vision, and can distinguish between a variety of colours: black, red, brown, green, yellow and white. Sight is a vital part of sheep communication, and when grazing, they maintain visual contact with each other. Each sheep lifts its head upwards to check the position of other sheep in the flock. This constant monitoring is probably what keeps the sheep in a flock as they move along grazing. Sheep become stressed when isolated; this stress is reduced if they are provided with a mirror, indicating that the sight of other sheep reduces stress.

 

Taste is the most important sense in sheep, establishing forage preferences, with sweet and sour plants being preferred and bitter plants being more commonly rejected. Touch and sight are also important in relation to specific plant characteristics, such as succulence and growth form.

 

The ram uses his vomeronasal organ (sometimes called the Jacobson's organ) to sense the pheromones of ewes and detect when they are in estrus. The ewe uses her vomeronasal organ for early recognition of her neonate lamb.

 

Reproduction

Sheep follow a similar reproductive strategy to other herd animals. A group of ewes is generally mated by a single ram, who has either been chosen by a breeder or (in feral populations) has established dominance through physical contest with other rams. Most sheep are seasonal breeders, although some are able to breed year-round. Ewes generally reach sexual maturity at six to eight months old, and rams generally at four to six months. However, there are exceptions. For example, Finnsheep ewe lambs may reach puberty as early as 3 to 4 months, and Merino ewes sometimes reach puberty at 18 to 20 months. Ewes have estrus cycles about every 17 days, during which they emit a scent and indicate readiness through physical displays towards rams.

 

In feral sheep, rams may fight during the rut to determine which individuals may mate with ewes. Rams, especially unfamiliar ones, will also fight outside the breeding period to establish dominance; rams can kill one another if allowed to mix freely. During the rut, even usually friendly rams may become aggressive towards humans due to increases in their hormone levels.

 

After mating, sheep have a gestation period of about five months, and normal labor takes one to three hours. Although some breeds regularly throw larger litters of lambs, most produce single or twin lambs. During or soon after labor, ewes and lambs may be confined to small lambing jugs, small pens designed to aid both careful observation of ewes and to cement the bond between them and their lambs.

  

A lamb's first steps

Ovine obstetrics can be problematic. By selectively breeding ewes that produce multiple offspring with higher birth weights for generations, sheep producers have inadvertently caused some domestic sheep to have difficulty lambing; balancing ease of lambing with high productivity is one of the dilemmas of sheep breeding. In the case of any such problems, those present at lambing may assist the ewe by extracting or repositioning lambs. After the birth, ewes ideally break the amniotic sac (if it is not broken during labor), and begin licking clean the lamb. Most lambs will begin standing within an hour of birth. In normal situations, lambs nurse after standing, receiving vital colostrum milk. Lambs that either fail to nurse or are rejected by the ewe require help to survive, such as bottle-feeding or fostering by another ewe.

 

Most lambs begin life being born outdoors. After lambs are several weeks old, lamb marking (ear tagging, docking, mulesing, and castrating) is carried out. Vaccinations are usually carried out at this point as well. Ear tags with numbers are attached, or ear marks are applied, for ease of later identification of sheep. Docking and castration are commonly done after 24 hours (to avoid interference with maternal bonding and consumption of colostrum) and are often done not later than one week after birth, to minimize pain, stress, recovery time and complications. The first course of vaccinations (commonly anti-clostridial) is commonly given at an age of about 10 to 12 weeks; i.e. when the concentration of maternal antibodies passively acquired via colostrum is expected to have fallen low enough to permit development of active immunity. Ewes are often revaccinated annually about 3 weeks before lambing, to provide high antibody concentrations in colostrum during the first several hours after lambing. Ram lambs that will either be slaughtered or separated from ewes before sexual maturity are not usually castrated. Objections to all these procedures have been raised by animal rights groups, but farmers defend them by saying they save money, and inflict only temporary pain.

 

Homosexuality

Sheep are the only species of mammal except for humans which exhibits exclusive homosexual behavior. About 10% of rams refuse to mate with ewes but readily mate with other rams, and thirty percent of all rams demonstrate at least some homosexual behavior. Additionally, a small number of females that were accompanied by a male fetus in utero (i.e. as fraternal twins) are freemartins (female animals that are behaviorally masculine and lack functioning ovaries).

 

Health

Sheep may fall victim to poisons, infectious diseases, and physical injuries. As a prey species, a sheep's system is adapted to hide the obvious signs of illness, to prevent being targeted by predators. However, some signs of ill health are obvious, with sick sheep eating little, vocalizing excessively, and being generally listless. Throughout history, much of the money and labor of sheep husbandry has aimed to prevent sheep ailments. Historically, shepherds often created remedies by experimentation on the farm. In some developed countries, including the United States, sheep lack the economic importance for drug companies to perform expensive clinical trials required to approve more than a relatively limited number of drugs for ovine use. However, extra-label drug use in sheep production is permitted in many jurisdictions, subject to certain restrictions. In the US, for example, regulations governing extra-label drug use in animals are found in 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 530. In the 20th and 21st centuries, a minority of sheep owners have turned to alternative treatments such as homeopathy, herbalism and even traditional Chinese medicine to treat sheep veterinary problems. Despite some favorable anecdotal evidence, the effectiveness of alternative veterinary medicine has been met with skepticism in scientific journals. The need for traditional anti-parasite drugs and antibiotics is widespread, and is the main impediment to certified organic farming with sheep.

 

Many breeders take a variety of preventive measures to ward off problems. The first is to ensure all sheep are healthy when purchased. Many buyers avoid outlets known to be clearing houses for animals culled from healthy flocks as either sick or simply inferior. This can also mean maintaining a closed flock, and quarantining new sheep for a month. Two fundamental preventive programs are maintaining good nutrition and reducing stress in the sheep. Restraint, isolation, loud noises, novel situations, pain, heat, extreme cold, fatigue and other stressors can lead to secretion of cortisol, a stress hormone, in amounts that may indicate welfare problems. Excessive stress can compromise the immune system. "Shipping fever" (pneumonic mannheimiosis, formerly called pasteurellosis) is a disease of particular concern, that can occur as a result of stress, notably during transport and (or) handling. Pain, fear and several other stressors can cause secretion of epinephrine (adrenaline). Considerable epinephrine secretion in the final days before slaughter can adversely affect meat quality (by causing glycogenolysis, removing the substrate for normal post-slaughter acidification of meat) and result in meat becoming more susceptible to colonization by spoilage bacteria. Because of such issues, low-stress handling is essential in sheep management. Avoiding poisoning is also important; common poisons are pesticide sprays, inorganic fertilizer, motor oil, as well as radiator coolant containing ethylene glycol.

 

Common forms of preventive medication for sheep are vaccinations and treatments for parasites. Both external and internal parasites are the most prevalent malady in sheep, and are either fatal, or reduce the productivity of flocks. Worms are the most common internal parasites. They are ingested during grazing, incubate within the sheep, and are expelled through the digestive system (beginning the cycle again). Oral anti-parasitic medicines, known as drenches, are given to a flock to treat worms, sometimes after worm eggs in the feces has been counted to assess infestation levels. Afterwards, sheep may be moved to a new pasture to avoid ingesting the same parasites. External sheep parasites include: lice (for different parts of the body), sheep keds, nose bots, sheep itch mites, and maggots. Keds are blood-sucking parasites that cause general malnutrition and decreased productivity, but are not fatal. Maggots are those of the bot fly and the blow-fly, commonly Lucilia sericata or its relative L. cuprina. Fly maggots cause the extremely destructive condition of flystrike. Flies lay their eggs in wounds or wet, manure-soiled wool; when the maggots hatch they burrow into a sheep's flesh, eventually causing death if untreated. In addition to other treatments, crutching (shearing wool from a sheep's rump) is a common preventive method. Some countries allow mulesing, a practice that involves stripping away the skin on the rump to prevent fly-strike, normally performed when the sheep is a lamb. Nose bots are fly larvae that inhabit a sheep's sinuses, causing breathing difficulties and discomfort. Common signs are a discharge from the nasal passage, sneezing, and frantic movement such as head shaking. External parasites may be controlled through the use of backliners, sprays or immersive sheep dips.

 

A wide array of bacterial and viral diseases affect sheep. Diseases of the hoof, such as foot rot and foot scald may occur, and are treated with footbaths and other remedies. Foot rot is present in over 97% of flocks in the UK. These painful conditions cause lameness and hinder feeding. Ovine Johne's disease is a wasting disease that affects young sheep. Bluetongue disease is an insect-borne illness causing fever and inflammation of the mucous membranes. Ovine rinderpest (or peste des petits ruminants) is a highly contagious and often fatal viral disease affecting sheep and goats. Sheep may also be affected by primary or secondary photosensitization. Tetanus can also afflict sheep through wounds from shearing, docking, castration, or vaccination. The organism also can be introduced into the reproductive tract by unsanitary humans who assist ewes during lambing.

 

A few sheep conditions are transmissible to humans. Orf (also known as scabby mouth, contagious ecthyma or soremouth) is a skin disease leaving lesions that is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact. Cutaneous anthrax is also called woolsorter's disease, as the spores can be transmitted in unwashed wool. More seriously, the organisms that can cause spontaneous enzootic abortion in sheep are easily transmitted to pregnant women. Also of concern are the prion disease scrapie and the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), as both can devastate flocks. The latter poses a slight risk to humans. During the 2001 FMD pandemic in the UK, hundreds of sheep were culled and some rare British breeds were at risk of extinction due to this.

 

Of the 600,300 sheep lost to the US economy in 2004, 37.3% were lost to predators, while 26.5% were lost to some form of disease. Poisoning accounted for 1.7% of non-productive deaths.

 

Predators

A lamb being attacked by coyotes with a bite to the throat

Other than parasites and disease, predation is a threat to sheep and the profitability of sheep raising. Sheep have little ability to defend themselves, compared with other species kept as livestock. Even if sheep survive an attack, they may die from their injuries or simply from panic. However, the impact of predation varies dramatically with region. In Africa, Australia, the Americas, and parts of Europe and Asia predators are a serious problem. In the United States, for instance, over one third of sheep deaths in 2004 were caused by predation. In contrast, other nations are virtually devoid of sheep predators, particularly islands known for extensive sheep husbandry. Worldwide, canids—including the domestic dog—are responsible for most sheep deaths. Other animals that occasionally prey on sheep include: felines, bears, birds of prey, ravens and feral hogs.

 

Sheep producers have used a wide variety of measures to combat predation. Pre-modern shepherds used their own presence, livestock guardian dogs, and protective structures such as barns and fencing. Fencing (both regular and electric), penning sheep at night and lambing indoors all continue to be widely used. More modern shepherds used guns, traps, and poisons to kill predators, causing significant decreases in predator populations. In the wake of the environmental and conservation movements, the use of these methods now usually falls under the purview of specially designated government agencies in most developed countries.

 

The 1970s saw a resurgence in the use of livestock guardian dogs and the development of new methods of predator control by sheep producers, many of them non-lethal. Donkeys and guard llamas have been used since the 1980s in sheep operations, using the same basic principle as livestock guardian dogs. Interspecific pasturing, usually with larger livestock such as cattle or horses, may help to deter predators, even if such species do not actively guard sheep. In addition to animal guardians, contemporary sheep operations may use non-lethal predator deterrents such as motion-activated lights and noisy alarms.

 

Economic importance

Main article: Agricultural economics

Global sheep stock

in 2019

Number in millions

1. China163.5 (13.19%)

2. India74.3 (5.99%)

3. Australia65.8 (5.31%)

4. Nigeria46.9 (3.78%)

5. Iran41.3 (3.33%)

6. Sudan40.9 (3.3%)

7. Chad35.9 (2.9%)

8. Turkey35.2 (2.84%)

9. United Kingdom33.6 (2.71%)

10. Mongolia32.3 (2.61%)

World total1,239.8

 

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Sheep are an important part of the global agricultural economy. However, their once vital status has been largely replaced by other livestock species, especially the pig, chicken, and cow. China, Australia, India, and Iran have the largest modern flocks, and serve both local and exportation needs for wool and mutton. Other countries such as New Zealand have smaller flocks but retain a large international economic impact due to their export of sheep products. Sheep also play a major role in many local economies, which may be niche markets focused on organic or sustainable agriculture and local food customers. Especially in developing countries, such flocks may be a part of subsistence agriculture rather than a system of trade. Sheep themselves may be a medium of trade in barter economies.

 

Domestic sheep provide a wide array of raw materials. Wool was one of the first textiles, although in the late 20th century wool prices began to fall dramatically as the result of the popularity and cheap prices for synthetic fabrics. For many sheep owners, the cost of shearing is greater than the possible profit from the fleece, making subsisting on wool production alone practically impossible without farm subsidies. Fleeces are used as material in making alternative products such as wool insulation. In the 21st century, the sale of meat is the most profitable enterprise in the sheep industry, even though far less sheep meat is consumed than chicken, pork or beef.

 

Sheepskin is likewise used for making clothes, footwear, rugs, and other products. Byproducts from the slaughter of sheep are also of value: sheep tallow can be used in candle and soap making, sheep bone and cartilage has been used to furnish carved items such as dice and buttons as well as rendered glue and gelatin. Sheep intestine can be formed into sausage casings, and lamb intestine has been formed into surgical sutures, as well as strings for musical instruments and tennis rackets. Sheep droppings, which are high in cellulose, have even been sterilized and mixed with traditional pulp materials to make paper. Of all sheep byproducts, perhaps the most valuable is lanolin: the waterproof, fatty substance found naturally in sheep's wool and used as a base for innumerable cosmetics and other products.

 

Some farmers who keep sheep also make a profit from live sheep. Providing lambs for youth programs such as 4-H and competition at agricultural shows is often a dependable avenue for the sale of sheep. Farmers may also choose to focus on a particular breed of sheep in order to sell registered purebred animals, as well as provide a ram rental service for breeding. A new option for deriving profit from live sheep is the rental of flocks for grazing; these "mowing services" are hired in order to keep unwanted vegetation down in public spaces and to lessen fire hazard.

 

Despite the falling demand and price for sheep products in many markets, sheep have distinct economic advantages when compared with other livestock. They do not require expensive housing, such as that used in the intensive farming of chickens or pigs. They are an efficient use of land; roughly six sheep can be kept on the amount that would suffice for a single cow or horse. Sheep can also consume plants, such as noxious weeds, that most other animals will not touch, and produce more young at a faster rate. Also, in contrast to most livestock species, the cost of raising sheep is not necessarily tied to the price of feed crops such as grain, soybeans and corn. Combined with the lower cost of quality sheep, all these factors combine to equal a lower overhead for sheep producers, thus entailing a higher profitability potential for the small farmer. Sheep are especially beneficial for independent producers, including family farms with limited resources, as the sheep industry is one of the few types of animal agriculture that has not been vertically integrated by agribusiness. However, small flocks, from 10 to 50 ewes, often are not profitable because they tend to be poorly managed. The primary reason is that mechanization is not feasible, so return per hour of labor is not maximized. Small farm flocks generally are used simply to control weeds on irrigation ditches or maintained as a hobby.

 

Shoulder of lamb

Sheep meat and milk were one of the earliest staple proteins consumed by human civilization after the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Sheep meat prepared for food is known as either mutton or lamb, and approximately 540 million sheep are slaughtered each year for meat worldwide. "Mutton" is derived from the Old French moton, which was the word for sheep used by the Anglo-Norman rulers of much of the British Isles in the Middle Ages. This became the name for sheep meat in English, while the Old English word sceap was kept for the live animal. Throughout modern history, "mutton" has been limited to the meat of mature sheep usually at least two years of age; "lamb" is used for that of immature sheep less than a year.

 

In the 21st century, the nations with the highest consumption of sheep meat are the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and Ireland. These countries eat 14–40 lbs (3–18 kg) of sheep meat per capita, per annum. Sheep meat is also popular in France, Africa (especially the Arab world), the Caribbean, the rest of the Middle East, India, and parts of China. This often reflects a history of sheep production. In these countries in particular, dishes comprising alternative cuts and offal may be popular or traditional. Sheep testicles—called animelles or lamb fries—are considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Perhaps the most unusual dish of sheep meat is the Scottish haggis, composed of various sheep innards cooked along with oatmeal and chopped onions inside its stomach. In comparison, countries such as the U.S. consume only a pound or less (under 0.5 kg), with Americans eating 50 pounds (22 kg) of pork and 65 pounds (29 kg) of beef. In addition, such countries rarely eat mutton, and may favor the more expensive cuts of lamb: mostly lamb chops and leg of lamb.

 

Though sheep's milk may be drunk rarely in fresh form, today it is used predominantly in cheese and yogurt making. Sheep have only two teats, and produce a far smaller volume of milk than cows. However, as sheep's milk contains far more fat, solids, and minerals than cow's milk, it is ideal for the cheese-making process. It also resists contamination during cooling better because of its much higher calcium content. Well-known cheeses made from sheep milk include the feta of Bulgaria and Greece, Roquefort of France, Manchego from Spain, the pecorino romano (the Italian word for "sheep" is pecore) and ricotta of Italy. Yogurts, especially some forms of strained yogurt, may also be made from sheep milk. Many of these products are now often made with cow's milk, especially when produced outside their country of origin. Sheep milk contains 4.8% lactose, which may affect those who are intolerant.

 

As with other domestic animals, the meat of uncastrated males is inferior in quality, especially as they grow. A "bucky" lamb is a lamb which was not castrated early enough, or which was castrated improperly (resulting in one testicle being retained). These lambs are worth less at market.

 

In science

Sheep are generally too large and reproduce too slowly to make ideal research subjects, and thus are not a common model organism. They have, however, played an influential role in some fields of science. In particular, the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland used sheep for genetics research that produced groundbreaking results. In 1995, two ewes named Megan and Morag were the first mammals cloned from differentiated cells, also referred to as gynomerogony. A year later, a Finnish Dorset sheep named Dolly, dubbed "the world's most famous sheep" in Scientific American, was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. Following this, Polly and Molly were the first mammals to be simultaneously cloned and transgenic.

 

As of 2008, the sheep genome has not been fully sequenced, although a detailed genetic map has been published, and a draft version of the complete genome produced by assembling sheep DNA sequences using information given by the genomes of other mammals. In 2012, a transgenic sheep named "Peng Peng" was cloned by Chinese scientists, who spliced his genes with that of a roundworm (C. elegans) in order to increase production of fats healthier for human consumption.

 

In the study of natural selection, the population of Soay sheep that remain on the island of Hirta have been used to explore the relation of body size and coloration to reproductive success. Soay sheep come in several colors, and researchers investigated why the larger, darker sheep were in decline; this occurrence contradicted the rule of thumb that larger members of a population tend to be more successful reproductively. The feral Soays on Hirta are especially useful subjects because they are isolated.

 

Domestic sheep are sometimes used in medical research, particularly for researching cardiovascular physiology, in areas such as hypertension and heart failure. Pregnant sheep are also a useful model for human pregnancy, and have been used to investigate the effects on fetal development of malnutrition and hypoxia. In behavioral sciences, sheep have been used in isolated cases for the study of facial recognition, as their mental process of recognition is qualitatively similar to humans.

 

Cultural impact

Sheep have had a strong presence in many cultures, especially in areas where they form the most common type of livestock. In the English language, to call someone a sheep or ovine may allude that they are timid and easily led. In contradiction to this image, male sheep are often used as symbols of virility and power; the logos of the Los Angeles Rams football team and the Dodge Ram pickup truck allude to males of the bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis.

 

Counting sheep is popularly said to be an aid to sleep, and some ancient systems of counting sheep persist today. Sheep also enter in colloquial sayings and idiom frequently with such phrases as "black sheep". To call an individual a black sheep implies that they are an odd or disreputable member of a group. This usage derives from the recessive trait that causes an occasional black lamb to be born into an entirely white flock. These black sheep were considered undesirable by shepherds, as black wool is not as commercially viable as white wool. Citizens who accept overbearing governments have been referred to by the Portmanteau neologism of sheeple. Somewhat differently, the adjective "sheepish" is also used to describe embarrassment.

 

In heraldry

In British heraldry, sheep appear in the form of rams, sheep proper and lambs. These are distinguished by the ram being depicted with horns and a tail, the sheep with neither and the lamb with its tail only. A further variant of the lamb, termed the Paschal lamb, is depicted as carrying a Christian cross and with a halo over its head. Rams' heads, portrayed without a neck and facing the viewer, are also found in British armories. The fleece, depicted as an entire sheepskin carried by a ring around its midsection, originally became known through its use in the arms of the Order of the Golden Fleece and was later adopted by towns and individuals with connections to the wool industry. A sheep on a blue field is depicted on the greater/royal arms of the king of Denmark to represent the Faroe Islands. In 2004 a modernized arms has been adopted by the Faroe Islands, which based on a 15th century coat of arms.

 

Religion and folklore

In antiquity, symbolism involving sheep cropped up in religions in the ancient Near East, the Mideast, and the Mediterranean area: Çatalhöyük, ancient Egyptian religion, the Cana'anite and Phoenician tradition, Judaism, Greek religion, and others. Religious symbolism and ritual involving sheep began with some of the first known faiths: Skulls of rams (along with bulls) occupied central placement in shrines at the Çatalhöyük settlement in 8,000 BCE. In Ancient Egyptian religion, the ram was the symbol of several gods: Khnum, Heryshaf and Amun (in his incarnation as a god of fertility). Other deities occasionally shown with ram features include the goddess Ishtar, the Phoenician god Baal-Hamon, and the Babylonian god Ea-Oannes. In Madagascar, sheep were not eaten as they were believed to be incarnations of the souls of ancestors.

 

There are many ancient Greek references to sheep: that of Chrysomallos, the golden-fleeced ram, continuing to be told through into the modern era. Astrologically, Aries, the ram, is the first sign of the classical Greek zodiac, and the sheep is the eighth of the twelve animals associated with the 12-year cycle of in the Chinese zodiac, related to the Chinese calendar. It is said in Chinese traditions that Hou ji sacrificed sheep. Mongolia, shagai are an ancient form of dice made from the cuboid bones of sheep that are often used for fortunetelling purposes.

 

Sheep play an important role in all the Abrahamic faiths; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and King David were all shepherds. According to the Biblical story of the Binding of Isaac, a ram is sacrificed as a substitute for Isaac after an angel stays Abraham's hand (in the Islamic tradition, Abraham was about to sacrifice Ishmael). Eid al-Adha is a major annual festival in Islam in which sheep (or other animals) are sacrificed in remembrance of this act. Sheep are occasionally sacrificed to commemorate important secular events in Islamic cultures. Greeks and Romans sacrificed sheep regularly in religious practice, and Judaism once sacrificed sheep as a Korban (sacrifice), such as the Passover lamb. Ovine symbols—such as the ceremonial blowing of a shofar—still find a presence in modern Judaic traditions.

 

Collectively, followers of Christianity are often referred to as a flock, with Christ as the Good Shepherd, and sheep are an element in the Christian iconography of the birth of Jesus. Some Christian saints are considered patrons of shepherds, and even of sheep themselves. Christ is also portrayed as the Sacrificial lamb of God (Agnus Dei) and Easter celebrations in Greece and Romania traditionally feature a meal of Paschal lamb. A church leader is often called the pastor, which is derived from the Latin word for shepherd. In many western Christian traditions bishops carry a staff, which also serves as a symbol of the episcopal office, known as a crosier, which is modeled on the shepherd's crook.

 

Sheep are key symbols in fables and nursery rhymes like The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Little Bo Peep, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, and Mary Had a Little Lamb; novels such as George Orwell's Animal Farm and Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase; songs such as Bach's Sheep may safely graze (Schafe können sicher weiden) and Pink Floyd's "Sheep", and poems like William Blake's "The Lamb".

Devil's gold miners. That's how they are called. They are the miners of Ijen, in southern Java, the last sulfur mine in the world in an active volcano. It is anachronistic and incredible to observe their living and working conditions. They leave the base camp at the foot of the volcano and with a three-hour walk they arrive at the top of the mountain and then descend for 300 meters in the mouth of the volcano, two or three times a day. They go back with 70/100 kg of sulfur on their shoulders. The path is steep and at the bottom there is the most dangerous sulfur lake in the world. All this for 12 euros per day. Their average life is 50 years. The more fortunate (few) have anti gas goggles. Most have a rag to cover their mouth. Sulfur exhalations are toxic, burn eyes and lungs and corrode skin and teeth. We went down twice in a week because we could not believe our eyes. We met some of them who told us their story, their health problems related to the calluses that are formed on their shoulders for the inhuman weight they carry. We were upset and hypnotized by this unreal world.

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

Snorkelling with Green Turtles as they effortlessly glide through the water

 

Green Turtle

Chelonia mydas, known as the green turtle is a large sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The range of the species extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Their common name derives from the green fat underneath their shell. The green turtle is a kind of sea turtle, possessing a dorsoventrally-flattened body covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace and a pair of large, paddle-like flippers. It is lightly-colored all around, while its carapace's hues range from olive-brown to black in Eastern Pacific green turtles. Unlike other members of its family such as the hawksbill and loggerhead turtles, Chelonia mydas is mostly herbivorous. The adults are commonly found in shallow lagoons, feeding mostly on various species of seagrass. Like other sea turtles, green turtles are known to migrate long distances between their feeding grounds and the beaches they hatched from. Many islands worldwide have been called Turtle Islands primarily for the large amounts of green turtles that nest on their beaches each year. Female turtles dredge themselves onto beaches and lay eggs in nests that they dig during the night. After a period of time, hatchlings emerge from the nests and head for the water. Those that survive grow to maturity and have an average lifespan of 80 years or longer in the wild. The appearance of the green turtle is that of a typical sea turtle. Chelonia mydas has a dorsoventrally-flattened body, a beaked head at the end of a short neck, and paddle-like arms well-adapted for swimming. Adult green turtles are known to grow to 5 feet (1.5 m) long. The average weight of mature individuals is around 200 kilograms (440 lb). The carapace of the turtle is known to have various color patterns that change over time. Hatchlings of C. mydas, like those of other marine turtles, have mostly black carapaces and light-colored plastrons. Carapaces of juveniles are dark brown to olive, while those of mature adults are either entirely brown, spotted or marbled with variegated rays. Underneath, the turtle's plastron is hued yellow. C. mydas limbs are dark-colored and lined with yellow, and are usually marked with a large dark brown spot in the center of each appendage. Sea turtles spend almost all their lives submerged but must breathe air for the oxygen needed to meet the demands of vigorous activity. With a single explosive exhalation and rapid inhalation, sea turtles can quickly replace the air in their lungs. The lungs are adapted to permit a rapid exchange of oxygen and to prevent gases from being trapped during deep dives. The blood of sea turtles can deliver oxygen efficiently to body tissues even at the pressures encountered during diving. During routine activity green and loggerhead turtles dive for about 4 to 5 minutes and surface to breathe for 1 to 3 seconds. Turtles can rest or sleep underwater for several hours at a time but submergence time is much shorter while diving for food or to escape predators. Breath-holding ability is affected by activity and stress, which is why turtles drown in shrimp trawls and other fishing gear within a relatively short time. As large and well-protected animals, adult green turtles have few enemies and even fewer predators. Only human beings and the larger sharks are known to feed on C. mydas adults. Unlike most sea turtles, which spend most of their adult lives in the ocean, Pacific green turtles are known to willingly crawl onto secluded beaches during the day to bask in the sun.

 

San Cristobal

The fifth largest of the Galapagos Islands in terms of size, Isla San Cristobal has the second largest human settlement of this volcanic island chain. Also known as Chatham Island, Isla San Cristobal is important because it is home to the provincial capital of the Galapagos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno which sits on the island’s southwestern end. Around 560 sq km in size, Isla San Cristobal is named in honor of Christopher Columbus, and is the second most popular island after Isla Santa Cruz, as there is a domestic airport here as well as a number of hotels, tour/travel companies, restaurants, and bars. Home to quite a few endemic wildlife species, this island’s claim to fame is that there is a lot to see and do here. With spectacular landscapes, San Cristobal has the only freshwater lagoon in the Galapagos. El Junco lagoon sits in the highlands about 700m above sea level. A rain filled crater around 6m deep, there are a lot of endemic trees and ferns surrounding the lake, making the views from here quite breathtaking, with some exceptional bird watching opportunities.

 

Galapagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, some 900 km west of Ecuador. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site: wildlife is its most notable feature. Because of the only very recent arrival of man the majority of the wildlife has no fear of humans and will allow visitors to walk right up them, often having to step over Iguanas or Sea Lions.The Galápagos islands and its surrounding waters are part of a province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of around 40,000, which is a 40-fold expansion in 50 years. The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

 

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

 

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

 

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

 

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

 

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

 

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

 

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

 

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

 

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

 

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

 

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

 

This image was taken on a Elding Whale Watch trip from Akureyri in Iceland

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana) youtu.be/L_nNF3h5hvM oo-pah-VEESH-tah cone-AHS-anna) upavistha = seated, sitting kona = angle Step by Step 1. Sit in Dandasana, then lean your torso back slightly on your hands and lift and open your legs to an angle of about 90 degrees (the legs should form an approximate right angle, with the pubis at the apex). Press your hands against the floor and slide your buttocks forward, widening the legs another 10 to 20 degrees. As with Dandasana, if you can't sit comfortably on the floor, raise your buttocks on a folded blanket. 2. Rotate your thighs outwardly, pinning the outer thighs against the floor, so that the knee caps point straight up toward the ceiling. Reach out through your heels and stretch your soles, pressing though the balls of the feet. 3. With your thigh bones pressed heavily into the floor and your knee caps pointing up at the ceiling, walk your hands forward between your legs. Keep your arms long. As with all forward bends, the emphasis is on moving from the hip joints and maintaining the length of the front torso. As soon as you find yourself bending from the waist, stop, re-establish the length from the pubis to the navel, and continue forward if possible. 4. Increase the forward bend on each exhalation until you feel a comfortable stretch in the backs of your legs. Stay in the pose 1 minute or longer. Then come up on an inhalation with a long front torso. To obtain a free download MPG of this class, subscribe to Heart Alchemy Yoga and we will send you the link. About Michelle Goldstein: Michelle has been maintaining a daily yoga practice for 15 years. A protégée of renowned Yoga teacher, Bryan Kest, Michelle has been teaching yoga for 8 years. A devoted student, she has also studied under a wide range of respected teachers including Max Strom, Bryan Kest, Guru Singh, Saul David Raye, Erich Schiffman and others.

pictured with a barrack buster* of cider smoking. He and his mate stumbled past as i had just taken a portrait and slabbered asking me to take their portrait which i duly did. He insisted on unwrapping the cider to show it.

I got lucky with the exhalation of the smoke.

I gave them an invitation to the exhibition telling them not to use it as roach material.

Maybe they'll remember maybe they won't as they were both steaming.

 

*so called because the bottles are the same diameter as home made mortars used by terrorists to attack police stations and army barracks back in the bad old days

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana) youtu.be/L_nNF3h5hvM oo-pah-VEESH-tah cone-AHS-anna) upavistha = seated, sitting kona = angle Step by Step 1. Sit in Dandasana, then lean your torso back slightly on your hands and lift and open your legs to an angle of about 90 degrees (the legs should form an approximate right angle, with the pubis at the apex). Press your hands against the floor and slide your buttocks forward, widening the legs another 10 to 20 degrees. As with Dandasana, if you can't sit comfortably on the floor, raise your buttocks on a folded blanket. 2. Rotate your thighs outwardly, pinning the outer thighs against the floor, so that the knee caps point straight up toward the ceiling. Reach out through your heels and stretch your soles, pressing though the balls of the feet. 3. With your thigh bones pressed heavily into the floor and your knee caps pointing up at the ceiling, walk your hands forward between your legs. Keep your arms long. As with all forward bends, the emphasis is on moving from the hip joints and maintaining the length of the front torso. As soon as you find yourself bending from the waist, stop, re-establish the length from the pubis to the navel, and continue forward if possible. 4. Increase the forward bend on each exhalation until you feel a comfortable stretch in the backs of your legs. Stay in the pose 1 minute or longer. Then come up on an inhalation with a long front torso. To obtain a free download MPG of this class, subscribe to Heart Alchemy Yoga and we will send you the link. About Michelle Goldstein: Michelle has been maintaining a daily yoga practice for 15 years. A protégée of renowned Yoga teacher, Bryan Kest, Michelle has been teaching yoga for 8 years. A devoted student, she has also studied under a wide range of respected teachers including Max Strom, Bryan Kest, Guru Singh, Saul David Raye, Erich Schiffman and others.

The hippopotamus, hippopotamuses or hippopotami, also shortened to hippo, hippos or Hippopotamus amphibius, further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).

 

After elephants and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances.

 

Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).

 

Etymology

The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos), from ἵππος (híppos) 'horse' and ποταμός (potamós) 'river', together meaning 'horse of the river'. In English, the plural is "hippopotamuses", but "hippopotami" is also used.

 

Taxonomy and origins

Classification

The modern hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus are the only living members of the family Hippopotamidae. Some taxonomists place hippos and anthracotheres in the superfamily Anthracotheroidea. Hippopotamidae are classified along with other even-toed ungulates in the order Artiodactyla.

  

Detail of the head

Five subspecies of hippos have been described based on morphological differences in their skulls as well as differences in geographical range:

 

H. a. amphibius – (the nominate subspecies) ranges from Gambia east to Ethiopia and then south to Mozambique and historically ranged as far north as Egypt; its skull is distinguished by a moderately reduced preorbital region, a bulging dorsal surface, elongated mandibular symphysis and larger chewing teeth.

H. a. kiboko – found in Kenya and Somalia; was noted to be smaller and more lightly coloured than other hippos with wider nostrils, somewhat longer snout and more rounded and relatively raised orbits with the space between them being incurved.

H. a. capensis – found in Zambia and South Africa; distinguished by wider orbits.

H. a. tschadensis – ranges between Chad and Niger; featured a slightly shorter but broader face, and pronounced, forward-facing orbits.

H. a. constrictus – ranged from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola and Namibia; skull characterised by a thicker preorbital region, shorter snout, flatter dorsal surface, reduced mandibular symphysis and smaller chewing teeth.

The suggested subspecies above were never widely used or validated by field biologists; the described morphological differences were small enough that they could have resulted from simple variation in nonrepresentative samples. A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations found "low, but significant, genetic differentiation" among H. a. amphibius, H. a. capensis, and H. a. kiboko. Neither H. a. tschadensis nor H. a. constrictus have been tested.

 

Evolution

Until 1909, naturalists classified hippos together with pigs based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular systematics and DNA and the fossil record, show their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The common ancestor of hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetacean and hippo lineages split soon afterwards.

 

Artiodactyla

Tylopoda

Artiofabula

Suina

Cetruminantia

Ruminantia

Whippomorpha

Hippopotamidae

Cetacea

  

Anthracotherium magnum from the Oligocene of Europe

The most recent theory of the origins of Hippopotamidae suggests hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls around 60 million years ago. This hypothesised ancestral group likely split into two branches again around 54 million years ago.

 

One branch would evolve into cetaceans, possibly beginning about 52 million years ago, with the protowhale Pakicetus and other early whale ancestors collectively known as Archaeoceti. This group eventually underwent aquatic adaptation into the completely aquatic cetaceans. The other branch became the anthracotheres, a large family of four-legged beasts, the earliest of which in the late Eocene would have resembled skinny hippos with comparatively smaller, narrower heads. All branches of the anthracotheres, except that which evolved into Hippopotamidae, became extinct during the Pliocene, leaving no descendants.

 

A rough evolutionary lineage of the hippo can thus be traced from Eocene and Oligocene species: from Anthracotherium and Elomeryx to the Miocene species Merycopotamus and Libycosaurus and finally the very latest anthracotheres in the Pliocene. These groups lived across Eurasia and Africa. The discovery of Epirigenys in East Africa, which was likely a descent of Asian anthracotheres and a sister taxon to Hippopotamidae, suggests that hippo ancestors entered Africa from Asia around 35 million years ago. An early hippopotamid is the genus Kenyapotamus, which lived in Africa from 15 to 9 million years ago. Hippopotamid species would spread across Africa and Eurasia, including the modern pygmy hippo. From 7.5 to 1.8 million years ago, a possible ancestor to the modern hippo, Archaeopotamus, lived in Africa and the Middle East. The oldest records of the genus Hippopotamus date to the Pliocene (5.3-2.6 million years ago). The oldest unambiguous records of the modern H. amphibius date to the Middle Pleistocene, though there are possible Early Pleistocene records.

 

Extinct species

Three species of Malagasy hippopotamus became extinct during the Holocene on Madagascar, the last of them within the past 1,000 years. The Malagasy hippos were smaller than the modern hippo, a likely result of the process of insular dwarfism. Fossil evidence indicates many Malagasy hippos were hunted by humans, a factor in their eventual extinction. Isolated individual Malagasy hippos may have survived in remote pockets; in 1976, villagers described a living animal called the kilopilopitsofy, which may have been a Malagasy hippo.

 

Hippopotamus gorgops from the Early Pleistocene-early Middle Pleistocene of Africa and West Asia grew considerably larger than the living hippopotamus, with an estimated body mass of over 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb). Hippopotamus antiquus ranged throughout Europe, extending as far north as Britain during the Early and Middle Pleistocene epochs, before being replaced by the modern H. amphibius in Europe during the latter part of the Middle Pleistocene. The Pleistocene also saw a number of dwarf species evolve on several Mediterranean islands, including Crete (Hippopotamus creutzburgi), Cyprus (the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus, Hippopotamus minor), Malta (Hippopotamus melitensis), and Sicily (Hippopotamus pentlandi). Of these, the Cyprus dwarf hippo survived until the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. Evidence from the archaeological site Aetokremnos continues to cause debate on whether or not the species was driven to extinction, or even encountered, by man.

 

Characteristics

The hippopotamus is a megaherbivore and is exceeded in size among land animals only by elephants and some rhinoceros species. The mean adult weight is around 1,480 kg (3,260 lb) for bulls and 1,365 kg (3,009 lb) for cows. Exceptionally large males have been recorded reaching 2,660 kg (5,860 lb). Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, while females reach maximum weight at around age 25. Hippos measure 2.90 to 5.05 m (9.5 to 16.6 ft) long, including a tail of about 35 to 56 cm (1.15 to 1.84 ft) in length and 1.30 to 1.65 m (4.3 to 5.4 ft) tall at the shoulder, with males and females ranging 1.40 to 1.65 m (4.6 to 5.4 ft) and 1.30 to 1.45 m (4.3 to 4.8 ft) tall at the shoulder respectively. The species has a typical head-body length of 3.3–3.45 m (10.8–11.3 ft) and an average standing height of 1.4 m (4.6 ft) at the shoulder.

 

Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies with short tails and legs, and an hourglass-shaped skull with a long snout.  Their skeletal structures are graviportal, adapted to carrying their enormous weight, and their dense bones and low centre of gravity allows them to sink and move along the bottom of the water. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to other megafauna) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. The toes are webbed and the pelvis rests at an angle of 45 degrees.  Though chubby-looking, hippos have little fat.  The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on the roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged.  The nostrils and ears can close when underwater while nictitating membranes cover the eyes.  The vocal folds of the hippo are more horizontally positioned, much like cetaceans. Underneath are throat tissues, where vibrations are transmitted to produce underwater calls.

  

Characteristic "yawn" of a hippo

The hippo's jaw is powered by huge masseter and digastric muscles which give them large, droopy cheeks. The jaw hinge allows the animal to open its mouth at almost 180°.  A folded orbicularis oris muscle allows the hippo to attain an extreme gape without tearing any tissue. On the lower jaw, the incisors and canines grow continuously, the former reaching 40 cm (1 ft 4 in), while the latter can grow to up to 50 cm (1 ft 8 in). The lower canines are sharpened through contact with the smaller upper canines. The canines and incisors are used mainly for combat instead of feeding. Hippos rely on their flattened, horny lips to grasp and pull grasses which are then ground by the molars.  The hippo is considered to be a pseudoruminant; it has a complex three-chambered stomach, but does not "chew cud".

  

Completely submerged hippo (San Diego Zoo)

Hippo skin is 6 cm (2 in) thick across much of its body with little hair.  The animal is mostly purplish-grey or blue-black, but brownish-pink on the underside and around the eyes and ears. Their skin secretes a natural, red-coloured sunscreen substance that is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colourless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two highly acidic pigments have been identified in the secretions; one red (hipposudoric acid) and one orange (norhipposudoric acid), which inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria and their light-absorption profile peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. Regardless of diet, all hippos secrete these pigments so food does not appear to be their source; rather, they may be synthesised from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine. This natural sunscreen cannot prevent the animal's skin from cracking if it stays out of water too long.

 

The testes of the males do not fully descend and a scrotum is not present. In addition, the penis retracts into the body when not erect. The genitals of the female hippos are unusual in that the vagina is ridged and the vulval vestibule has two large, protruding diverticula. Both of these have an unknown function. 

 

A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years.  Donna the Hippo was one of the oldest living hippos in captivity. She lived at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, in the US until her death in 2012 at the age of 61. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Bertha; she had lived in the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it first opened in 1959. When she died in 2017, her age was estimated to be 65.

 

Distribution and status

During the Middle Pleistocene to the early Late Pleistocene (~500,000–80,000 years ago) Hippopotamus amphibius was present in Europe, extending as far north as England during the Eemian (130–115,000 years ago), with fossils also known from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. The species first entered Europe between 560,000 and 460,000 years ago, while the last H. amphibius remains in Europe are dated to about 30,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.

 

Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching. The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities.

 

As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War. The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, underpaid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local fishermen. The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory.

 

A population of hippos exists in Colombia, descended from captive individuals that escaped from Pablo Escobar's estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation and culling.

 

Behaviour and ecology

Hippos are semiaquatic and require enough water to immerse in, while being close to grass. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. They prefer relatively still waters with gently sloping shores, though male hippos may also be found in very small numbers in more rapid waters with rocky slopes.  Hippos mostly live in freshwater habitat, but can be found in estuaries. Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It rarely enters deep water; when it does, the animal moves by bouncing off the bottom. An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young need to breathe every two to three minutes.

 

Hippos spend most the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to forage on land. Hippos usually trot to move quickly on land and can gallop at 30 km/h (19 mph) when needed. They are incapable of jumping but can walk up steep banks. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in the water. The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land mammals, and usually sleeps on land or in water with the nostrils exposed. Despite this, it may be capable of sleeping while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe without waking. They appear to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals.

 

Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels. By defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting the biogeochemical cycle. On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation. Hippos' stomach anatomy lacks adaptions to carnivory and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients or just an abnormal behaviour.

 

Social life

It is challenging to study the interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually dimorphic, so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field. Hippo pods fluctuate but can contain over 100 hippos. Although they lie close together, adults develop almost no social bonds. Males establish territories in water but not land, and these may range 250–500 m (270–550 yd) in lakes and 50–100 m (55–109 yd) in rivers. Territories are abandoned when the water dries up. The bull has breeding access to all the cows in his territory. Younger bachelors are allowed to stay as long as they defer to him. A younger male may challenge the old bull for control of the territory. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex and status. Bachelor males lounge near other bachelors, females with other females, and the territorial male is on his own. When hippos emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.

  

Male hippos fighting

Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is not well understood. It is unlikely to serve a territorial function, as the animals only establish territories in the water. They may be used as trails between the water and grazing areas.  "Yawning" serves as a threat display. When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons.  When hippos become over-populated or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide, but this behaviour is not common under normal conditions.

 

The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can travel over long distances in air. This call starts as a high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call.  The animals can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react to the wheeze honks of strangers than to those they are more familiar with. When threatened or alarmed, they produce exhalations, and fighting bulls will bellow loudly. Hippos are recorded to produce clicks underwater which may have echolocative properties. They have the unique ability to hold their heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air; individuals respond both above and below water.

 

Reproduction

Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. A study of endocrine systems revealed cows may begin puberty at as early as three or four years. Males reach maturity at around 7.5 years. Both conceptions and births are highest during the wet season. Male hippo always have mobile spermatozoa and can breed year-round.  After becoming pregnant, a female hippo will typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months.

  

Preserved hippopotamus fetus

Hippos mate in the water, with the cow remaining under the surface,  her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Cows give birth in seclusion and return within 10 to 14 days. Calves are born on land or shallow water weighing on average 50 kg (110 lb) and at an average length of around 127 cm (4.17 ft). The female lies on her side when nursing, which can occur underwater or on land. The young are carried on their mothers' backs in deep water. 

 

Mother hippos are very protective of their young, not allowing others to get too close. One cow was recorded protecting a calf's carcass after it had died. Calves may be temporarily kept in nurseries, guarded by one or more adults, and will play amongst themselves. Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists, in this case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of years (rather than many small, poorly developed young several times per year, as is common among small mammals such as rodents). Calves no longer need to suckle when they are a year old. 

 

Interspecies interactions

Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators in their habitats. Nile crocodiles, lions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos. Beyond these, adult hippos are not usually preyed upon by other animals due to their aggression and size. Cases where large lion prides have successfully preyed on adult hippos have been reported, but it is generally rare. Lions occasionally prey on adults at Gorongosa National Park and calves are sometimes taken at Virunga. Crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, probably because they often inhabit the same riparian habitats; crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by hippos. In turn, very large Nile crocodiles have been observed preying occasionally on calves, "half-grown" hippos, and possibly also adult female hippos. Groups of crocodiles have also been observed finishing off still-living male hippos that were previously injured in mating battles with other males.

 

Hippos occasionally visit cleaning stations in order to be cleaned of parasites by certain species of fishes. They signal their readiness for this service by opening their mouths wide. This is an example of mutualism, in which the hippo benefits from the cleaning while the fish receive food. Hippo defecation creates allochthonous deposits of organic matter along the river beds. These deposits have an unclear ecological function. A 2015 study concluded hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for fish and aquatic invertebrates, while a 2018 study found that their dung can be toxic to aquatic life in large quantities, due to absorption of dissolved oxygen in water bodies.

 

The parasitic monogenean flatworm Oculotrema hippopotami infests hippopotamus eyes, mainly the nictitating membrane. It is the only monogenean species (which normally live on fish) documented to live on a mammal.

 

Hippos and humans

The earliest evidence of human interaction with hippos comes from butchery cut marks on hippo bones found at the Bouri Formation and dated to around 160,000 years ago. 4,000–5,000 year art showing hippos being hunted have been found in the Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains of the central Sahara near Djanet. The ancient Egyptians recognised the hippo as a ferocious denizen of the Nile and representations on the tombs of nobles show the animals were hunted by humans.

 

The hippo was also known to the Greeks and Romans. The Greek historian Herodotus described the hippo in The Histories (written circa 440 BC) and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about the hippo in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia (written circa 77 AD). The Yoruba people called the hippo erinmi, which means "elephant of the water". Some individual hippos have achieved international fame. Huberta became a celebrity during the Great Depression for trekking a great distance across South Africa. 

 

Attacks on humans

The hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive and has frequently been reported charging and attacking boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger, a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. Hippos will often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions. These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos.

 

According to the Ptolemaic historian Manetho, the pharaoh Menes was carried off and then killed by a hippopotamus.

 

In zoos

Hippos have long been popular zoo animals. The first record of hippos taken into captivity for display is dated to 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. The first zoo hippo in modern history was Obaysch, who arrived at the London Zoo on 25 May 1850, where he attracted up to 10,000 visitors a day and inspired a popular song, the "Hippopotamus Polka".

 

Hippos generally breed well in captivity; birth rates are lower than in the wild, but this can be attributed to zoos' desire to limit births, since hippos are relatively expensive to maintain. Starting in 2015, the Cincinnati Zoo built a US$73 million exhibit to house three adult hippos, featuring a 250,000 L (66,000 US gal) tank. Modern hippo enclosures also have a complex filtration system for the animal's waste, an underwater viewing area for the visitors, and glass that may be up to 9 cm (3.5 in) thick and capable of holding water under pressures of 31 kPa (4.5 psi).  In 1987, the Toledo Zoo saw the first underwater birth by a captive hippo. The exhibit was so popular, the logo of the Toledo Zoo was updated to feature the hippos.

 

Cultural significance

In Egyptian mythology, the god Set takes the form of a red hippopotamus and fights Horus for control of the land, but is defeated. The goddess Tawaret is depicted as a pregnant woman with a hippo head, representing fierce maternal love. The Ijaw people of the Niger Delta wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practising their water spirit cults, and hippo ivory was used in the divination rituals of the Yoruba. Hippo masks were also used in Nyau funerary rituals of the Chewa of Southern Africa.[97]: 120  According to Robert Baden-Powell, Zulu warriors referred to hippos in war chants. The Behemoth from the Book of Job, is thought to be based on the hippo.

 

Hippos have been the subjects of various African folktales. According to a San story, when the Creator assigned each animal its place in nature, the hippos wanted to live in the water, but were refused out of fear they might eat all the fish. After begging and pleading, the hippos were finally allowed to live in the water on the condition they would eat grass instead of fish, and fling their dung so it can be inspected for fish bones. In a Ndebele tale, the hippo originally had long, beautiful hair, but it was set on fire by a jealous hare and the hippo had to jump into a nearby pool. The hippo lost most of his hair and was too embarrassed to leave the water.

  

The "Hippopotamus Polka"

Hippopotamuses were rarely depicted in European art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, due to less access to specimens by Europeans. One notable exception is Peter Paul Rubens' The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616).  Ever since Obaysch inspired the "Hippopotamus Polka", hippos have been popular animals in Western culture for their rotund appearance, which many consider comical. The Disney film Fantasia featured a ballerina hippo dancing to the opera La Gioconda. The film Hugo the Hippo is set in Tanzania and involves the title character trying to escape being slaughtered with the help of local children. The Madagascar films feature a hippo named Gloria.  Hippos even inspired a popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.

 

Among the most famous poems about the hippo is "The Hippopotamus" by T. S. Eliot, where he uses the animal to represent the Catholic Church. Hippos are mentioned in the novelty Christmas song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that became a hit for child star Gayla Peevey in 1953. They also featured in the popular "The Hippopotamous Song" by Flanders and Swann. 

 

A popular internet myth reports that hippos have pink milk. Biologist David Wynick states, "I think this is an Internet legend that is oft repeated but without any evidence for it that I can find... Like all mammals, hippos produce white or off-white milk for their young.

The hippopotamus, hippopotamuses or hippopotami, also shortened to hippo, hippos or Hippopotamus amphibius, further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).

 

After elephants and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances.

 

Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).

 

Etymology

The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos), from ἵππος (híppos) 'horse' and ποταμός (potamós) 'river', together meaning 'horse of the river'. In English, the plural is "hippopotamuses", but "hippopotami" is also used.

 

Taxonomy and origins

Classification

The modern hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus are the only living members of the family Hippopotamidae. Some taxonomists place hippos and anthracotheres in the superfamily Anthracotheroidea. Hippopotamidae are classified along with other even-toed ungulates in the order Artiodactyla.

  

Detail of the head

Five subspecies of hippos have been described based on morphological differences in their skulls as well as differences in geographical range:

 

H. a. amphibius – (the nominate subspecies) ranges from Gambia east to Ethiopia and then south to Mozambique and historically ranged as far north as Egypt; its skull is distinguished by a moderately reduced preorbital region, a bulging dorsal surface, elongated mandibular symphysis and larger chewing teeth.

H. a. kiboko – found in Kenya and Somalia; was noted to be smaller and more lightly coloured than other hippos with wider nostrils, somewhat longer snout and more rounded and relatively raised orbits with the space between them being incurved.

H. a. capensis – found in Zambia and South Africa; distinguished by wider orbits.

H. a. tschadensis – ranges between Chad and Niger; featured a slightly shorter but broader face, and pronounced, forward-facing orbits.

H. a. constrictus – ranged from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola and Namibia; skull characterised by a thicker preorbital region, shorter snout, flatter dorsal surface, reduced mandibular symphysis and smaller chewing teeth.

The suggested subspecies above were never widely used or validated by field biologists; the described morphological differences were small enough that they could have resulted from simple variation in nonrepresentative samples. A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations found "low, but significant, genetic differentiation" among H. a. amphibius, H. a. capensis, and H. a. kiboko. Neither H. a. tschadensis nor H. a. constrictus have been tested.

 

Evolution

Until 1909, naturalists classified hippos together with pigs based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular systematics and DNA and the fossil record, show their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The common ancestor of hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetacean and hippo lineages split soon afterwards.

 

Artiodactyla

Tylopoda

Artiofabula

Suina

Cetruminantia

Ruminantia

Whippomorpha

Hippopotamidae

Cetacea

  

Anthracotherium magnum from the Oligocene of Europe

The most recent theory of the origins of Hippopotamidae suggests hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls around 60 million years ago. This hypothesised ancestral group likely split into two branches again around 54 million years ago.

 

One branch would evolve into cetaceans, possibly beginning about 52 million years ago, with the protowhale Pakicetus and other early whale ancestors collectively known as Archaeoceti. This group eventually underwent aquatic adaptation into the completely aquatic cetaceans. The other branch became the anthracotheres, a large family of four-legged beasts, the earliest of which in the late Eocene would have resembled skinny hippos with comparatively smaller, narrower heads. All branches of the anthracotheres, except that which evolved into Hippopotamidae, became extinct during the Pliocene, leaving no descendants.

 

A rough evolutionary lineage of the hippo can thus be traced from Eocene and Oligocene species: from Anthracotherium and Elomeryx to the Miocene species Merycopotamus and Libycosaurus and finally the very latest anthracotheres in the Pliocene. These groups lived across Eurasia and Africa. The discovery of Epirigenys in East Africa, which was likely a descent of Asian anthracotheres and a sister taxon to Hippopotamidae, suggests that hippo ancestors entered Africa from Asia around 35 million years ago. An early hippopotamid is the genus Kenyapotamus, which lived in Africa from 15 to 9 million years ago. Hippopotamid species would spread across Africa and Eurasia, including the modern pygmy hippo. From 7.5 to 1.8 million years ago, a possible ancestor to the modern hippo, Archaeopotamus, lived in Africa and the Middle East. The oldest records of the genus Hippopotamus date to the Pliocene (5.3-2.6 million years ago). The oldest unambiguous records of the modern H. amphibius date to the Middle Pleistocene, though there are possible Early Pleistocene records.

 

Extinct species

Three species of Malagasy hippopotamus became extinct during the Holocene on Madagascar, the last of them within the past 1,000 years. The Malagasy hippos were smaller than the modern hippo, a likely result of the process of insular dwarfism. Fossil evidence indicates many Malagasy hippos were hunted by humans, a factor in their eventual extinction. Isolated individual Malagasy hippos may have survived in remote pockets; in 1976, villagers described a living animal called the kilopilopitsofy, which may have been a Malagasy hippo.

 

Hippopotamus gorgops from the Early Pleistocene-early Middle Pleistocene of Africa and West Asia grew considerably larger than the living hippopotamus, with an estimated body mass of over 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb). Hippopotamus antiquus ranged throughout Europe, extending as far north as Britain during the Early and Middle Pleistocene epochs, before being replaced by the modern H. amphibius in Europe during the latter part of the Middle Pleistocene. The Pleistocene also saw a number of dwarf species evolve on several Mediterranean islands, including Crete (Hippopotamus creutzburgi), Cyprus (the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus, Hippopotamus minor), Malta (Hippopotamus melitensis), and Sicily (Hippopotamus pentlandi). Of these, the Cyprus dwarf hippo survived until the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. Evidence from the archaeological site Aetokremnos continues to cause debate on whether or not the species was driven to extinction, or even encountered, by man.

 

Characteristics

The hippopotamus is a megaherbivore and is exceeded in size among land animals only by elephants and some rhinoceros species. The mean adult weight is around 1,480 kg (3,260 lb) for bulls and 1,365 kg (3,009 lb) for cows. Exceptionally large males have been recorded reaching 2,660 kg (5,860 lb). Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, while females reach maximum weight at around age 25. Hippos measure 2.90 to 5.05 m (9.5 to 16.6 ft) long, including a tail of about 35 to 56 cm (1.15 to 1.84 ft) in length and 1.30 to 1.65 m (4.3 to 5.4 ft) tall at the shoulder, with males and females ranging 1.40 to 1.65 m (4.6 to 5.4 ft) and 1.30 to 1.45 m (4.3 to 4.8 ft) tall at the shoulder respectively. The species has a typical head-body length of 3.3–3.45 m (10.8–11.3 ft) and an average standing height of 1.4 m (4.6 ft) at the shoulder.

 

Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies with short tails and legs, and an hourglass-shaped skull with a long snout.  Their skeletal structures are graviportal, adapted to carrying their enormous weight, and their dense bones and low centre of gravity allows them to sink and move along the bottom of the water. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to other megafauna) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. The toes are webbed and the pelvis rests at an angle of 45 degrees.  Though chubby-looking, hippos have little fat.  The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on the roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged.  The nostrils and ears can close when underwater while nictitating membranes cover the eyes.  The vocal folds of the hippo are more horizontally positioned, much like cetaceans. Underneath are throat tissues, where vibrations are transmitted to produce underwater calls.

  

Characteristic "yawn" of a hippo

The hippo's jaw is powered by huge masseter and digastric muscles which give them large, droopy cheeks. The jaw hinge allows the animal to open its mouth at almost 180°.  A folded orbicularis oris muscle allows the hippo to attain an extreme gape without tearing any tissue. On the lower jaw, the incisors and canines grow continuously, the former reaching 40 cm (1 ft 4 in), while the latter can grow to up to 50 cm (1 ft 8 in). The lower canines are sharpened through contact with the smaller upper canines. The canines and incisors are used mainly for combat instead of feeding. Hippos rely on their flattened, horny lips to grasp and pull grasses which are then ground by the molars.  The hippo is considered to be a pseudoruminant; it has a complex three-chambered stomach, but does not "chew cud".

  

Completely submerged hippo (San Diego Zoo)

Hippo skin is 6 cm (2 in) thick across much of its body with little hair.  The animal is mostly purplish-grey or blue-black, but brownish-pink on the underside and around the eyes and ears. Their skin secretes a natural, red-coloured sunscreen substance that is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colourless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two highly acidic pigments have been identified in the secretions; one red (hipposudoric acid) and one orange (norhipposudoric acid), which inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria and their light-absorption profile peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. Regardless of diet, all hippos secrete these pigments so food does not appear to be their source; rather, they may be synthesised from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine. This natural sunscreen cannot prevent the animal's skin from cracking if it stays out of water too long.

 

The testes of the males do not fully descend and a scrotum is not present. In addition, the penis retracts into the body when not erect. The genitals of the female hippos are unusual in that the vagina is ridged and the vulval vestibule has two large, protruding diverticula. Both of these have an unknown function. 

 

A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years.  Donna the Hippo was one of the oldest living hippos in captivity. She lived at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, in the US until her death in 2012 at the age of 61. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Bertha; she had lived in the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it first opened in 1959. When she died in 2017, her age was estimated to be 65.

 

Distribution and status

During the Middle Pleistocene to the early Late Pleistocene (~500,000–80,000 years ago) Hippopotamus amphibius was present in Europe, extending as far north as England during the Eemian (130–115,000 years ago), with fossils also known from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. The species first entered Europe between 560,000 and 460,000 years ago, while the last H. amphibius remains in Europe are dated to about 30,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.

 

Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching. The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities.

 

As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War. The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, underpaid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local fishermen. The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory.

 

A population of hippos exists in Colombia, descended from captive individuals that escaped from Pablo Escobar's estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation and culling.

 

Behaviour and ecology

Hippos are semiaquatic and require enough water to immerse in, while being close to grass. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. They prefer relatively still waters with gently sloping shores, though male hippos may also be found in very small numbers in more rapid waters with rocky slopes.  Hippos mostly live in freshwater habitat, but can be found in estuaries. Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It rarely enters deep water; when it does, the animal moves by bouncing off the bottom. An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young need to breathe every two to three minutes.

 

Hippos spend most the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to forage on land. Hippos usually trot to move quickly on land and can gallop at 30 km/h (19 mph) when needed. They are incapable of jumping but can walk up steep banks. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in the water. The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land mammals, and usually sleeps on land or in water with the nostrils exposed. Despite this, it may be capable of sleeping while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe without waking. They appear to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals.

 

Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels. By defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting the biogeochemical cycle. On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation. Hippos' stomach anatomy lacks adaptions to carnivory and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients or just an abnormal behaviour.

 

Social life

It is challenging to study the interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually dimorphic, so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field. Hippo pods fluctuate but can contain over 100 hippos. Although they lie close together, adults develop almost no social bonds. Males establish territories in water but not land, and these may range 250–500 m (270–550 yd) in lakes and 50–100 m (55–109 yd) in rivers. Territories are abandoned when the water dries up. The bull has breeding access to all the cows in his territory. Younger bachelors are allowed to stay as long as they defer to him. A younger male may challenge the old bull for control of the territory. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex and status. Bachelor males lounge near other bachelors, females with other females, and the territorial male is on his own. When hippos emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.

  

Male hippos fighting

Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is not well understood. It is unlikely to serve a territorial function, as the animals only establish territories in the water. They may be used as trails between the water and grazing areas.  "Yawning" serves as a threat display. When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons.  When hippos become over-populated or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide, but this behaviour is not common under normal conditions.

 

The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can travel over long distances in air. This call starts as a high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call.  The animals can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react to the wheeze honks of strangers than to those they are more familiar with. When threatened or alarmed, they produce exhalations, and fighting bulls will bellow loudly. Hippos are recorded to produce clicks underwater which may have echolocative properties. They have the unique ability to hold their heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air; individuals respond both above and below water.

 

Reproduction

Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. A study of endocrine systems revealed cows may begin puberty at as early as three or four years. Males reach maturity at around 7.5 years. Both conceptions and births are highest during the wet season. Male hippo always have mobile spermatozoa and can breed year-round.  After becoming pregnant, a female hippo will typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months.

  

Preserved hippopotamus fetus

Hippos mate in the water, with the cow remaining under the surface,  her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Cows give birth in seclusion and return within 10 to 14 days. Calves are born on land or shallow water weighing on average 50 kg (110 lb) and at an average length of around 127 cm (4.17 ft). The female lies on her side when nursing, which can occur underwater or on land. The young are carried on their mothers' backs in deep water. 

 

Mother hippos are very protective of their young, not allowing others to get too close. One cow was recorded protecting a calf's carcass after it had died. Calves may be temporarily kept in nurseries, guarded by one or more adults, and will play amongst themselves. Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists, in this case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of years (rather than many small, poorly developed young several times per year, as is common among small mammals such as rodents). Calves no longer need to suckle when they are a year old. 

 

Interspecies interactions

Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators in their habitats. Nile crocodiles, lions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos. Beyond these, adult hippos are not usually preyed upon by other animals due to their aggression and size. Cases where large lion prides have successfully preyed on adult hippos have been reported, but it is generally rare. Lions occasionally prey on adults at Gorongosa National Park and calves are sometimes taken at Virunga. Crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, probably because they often inhabit the same riparian habitats; crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by hippos. In turn, very large Nile crocodiles have been observed preying occasionally on calves, "half-grown" hippos, and possibly also adult female hippos. Groups of crocodiles have also been observed finishing off still-living male hippos that were previously injured in mating battles with other males.

 

Hippos occasionally visit cleaning stations in order to be cleaned of parasites by certain species of fishes. They signal their readiness for this service by opening their mouths wide. This is an example of mutualism, in which the hippo benefits from the cleaning while the fish receive food. Hippo defecation creates allochthonous deposits of organic matter along the river beds. These deposits have an unclear ecological function. A 2015 study concluded hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for fish and aquatic invertebrates, while a 2018 study found that their dung can be toxic to aquatic life in large quantities, due to absorption of dissolved oxygen in water bodies.

 

The parasitic monogenean flatworm Oculotrema hippopotami infests hippopotamus eyes, mainly the nictitating membrane. It is the only monogenean species (which normally live on fish) documented to live on a mammal.

 

Hippos and humans

The earliest evidence of human interaction with hippos comes from butchery cut marks on hippo bones found at the Bouri Formation and dated to around 160,000 years ago. 4,000–5,000 year art showing hippos being hunted have been found in the Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains of the central Sahara near Djanet. The ancient Egyptians recognised the hippo as a ferocious denizen of the Nile and representations on the tombs of nobles show the animals were hunted by humans.

 

The hippo was also known to the Greeks and Romans. The Greek historian Herodotus described the hippo in The Histories (written circa 440 BC) and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about the hippo in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia (written circa 77 AD). The Yoruba people called the hippo erinmi, which means "elephant of the water". Some individual hippos have achieved international fame. Huberta became a celebrity during the Great Depression for trekking a great distance across South Africa. 

 

Attacks on humans

The hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive and has frequently been reported charging and attacking boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger, a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. Hippos will often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions. These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos.

 

According to the Ptolemaic historian Manetho, the pharaoh Menes was carried off and then killed by a hippopotamus.

 

In zoos

Hippos have long been popular zoo animals. The first record of hippos taken into captivity for display is dated to 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. The first zoo hippo in modern history was Obaysch, who arrived at the London Zoo on 25 May 1850, where he attracted up to 10,000 visitors a day and inspired a popular song, the "Hippopotamus Polka".

 

Hippos generally breed well in captivity; birth rates are lower than in the wild, but this can be attributed to zoos' desire to limit births, since hippos are relatively expensive to maintain. Starting in 2015, the Cincinnati Zoo built a US$73 million exhibit to house three adult hippos, featuring a 250,000 L (66,000 US gal) tank. Modern hippo enclosures also have a complex filtration system for the animal's waste, an underwater viewing area for the visitors, and glass that may be up to 9 cm (3.5 in) thick and capable of holding water under pressures of 31 kPa (4.5 psi).  In 1987, the Toledo Zoo saw the first underwater birth by a captive hippo. The exhibit was so popular, the logo of the Toledo Zoo was updated to feature the hippos.

 

Cultural significance

In Egyptian mythology, the god Set takes the form of a red hippopotamus and fights Horus for control of the land, but is defeated. The goddess Tawaret is depicted as a pregnant woman with a hippo head, representing fierce maternal love. The Ijaw people of the Niger Delta wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practising their water spirit cults, and hippo ivory was used in the divination rituals of the Yoruba. Hippo masks were also used in Nyau funerary rituals of the Chewa of Southern Africa.[97]: 120  According to Robert Baden-Powell, Zulu warriors referred to hippos in war chants. The Behemoth from the Book of Job, is thought to be based on the hippo.

 

Hippos have been the subjects of various African folktales. According to a San story, when the Creator assigned each animal its place in nature, the hippos wanted to live in the water, but were refused out of fear they might eat all the fish. After begging and pleading, the hippos were finally allowed to live in the water on the condition they would eat grass instead of fish, and fling their dung so it can be inspected for fish bones. In a Ndebele tale, the hippo originally had long, beautiful hair, but it was set on fire by a jealous hare and the hippo had to jump into a nearby pool. The hippo lost most of his hair and was too embarrassed to leave the water.

  

The "Hippopotamus Polka"

Hippopotamuses were rarely depicted in European art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, due to less access to specimens by Europeans. One notable exception is Peter Paul Rubens' The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616).  Ever since Obaysch inspired the "Hippopotamus Polka", hippos have been popular animals in Western culture for their rotund appearance, which many consider comical. The Disney film Fantasia featured a ballerina hippo dancing to the opera La Gioconda. The film Hugo the Hippo is set in Tanzania and involves the title character trying to escape being slaughtered with the help of local children. The Madagascar films feature a hippo named Gloria.  Hippos even inspired a popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.

 

Among the most famous poems about the hippo is "The Hippopotamus" by T. S. Eliot, where he uses the animal to represent the Catholic Church. Hippos are mentioned in the novelty Christmas song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that became a hit for child star Gayla Peevey in 1953. They also featured in the popular "The Hippopotamous Song" by Flanders and Swann. 

 

A popular internet myth reports that hippos have pink milk. Biologist David Wynick states, "I think this is an Internet legend that is oft repeated but without any evidence for it that I can find... Like all mammals, hippos produce white or off-white milk for their young.

CBRN suit type Zodiak

 

The CBRN suit Zodiak is a multipart protective suit of the German Federal Armed Forces manufactured from sturdy butyl rubber . It is not supplied to all soldiers, especially not to combat units, but is worn by the CBRN defense troops during decontamination activities or similar.

 

The suit consists of a pair of rubber flap trousers, a rubber top with fixed hood, rubber gloves and rubber boots.

 

The trouser's legs are pulled outward over the boots. Metal rings are inserted into the bootleg metal rings to stabilize and strengthen those in order to have a firm and gas-tight connection with the trouser's flexible rubber hem after pulling up the trousers. This compound is by most users considered as the great weak point of the Zodiak, since there often occur leaks while the Zodiak is worn.

 

The pants are connected to top by a roll closure. Pants and top each are equipped with an rubber apron, which are highly wrapped lying one on another. This winding is best to be done in buddy aid, however, it is consiedered as a robust and dense solution without any damageable moving parts like a zipper.

 

In the head cover of the top are three openings separated by rubber webs that can be drawn over the edges of the eye glasses and the filter connection and exhalation valve of the NBC protective mask M65 to give a gas-tight connection to the mask. The M65 mask was - unlike the Zodiak - personal basic equipment of every German soldier. With some inaccuracy of fit the hood can also used wearing the upgraded combat Mask M65z, which next to the filter connecting has a connector for a drinking valve. The latter combination can be used to extend the possible action time wearing the Zodiak suit through intermediate hydration.

 

The gloves manufactured from flexible thinner rubber are pulled onto the stiffened arm ends of the top part of the suit creating a very tight connection.

Mans best friend in the Sahara is the dromedary.

not the dog.

 

The camel gets him places, not even a truck a car a plane can get him, with some reluctance and at times only with

extreme obstinance.

 

I have seen 10 INDIAN men unable to move a Camel into a truck for his journey home from Pushkar.

 

The camel carries tons of things on its back, and needs very little water.

 

God blesses the camel.

 

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a troupe of camels trekking at sunset on the dunes of the Sahara desert.

 

it is one of the most powerful dramatic vistas my eyes have seen, in terms of scenics that is.

  

FACTS ABOUT THE CAMEL PHYSIOLOGICALLY IF YOU CARE AT ALL:

  

their ability to withstand long periods without water is due to a series of physiological adaptations. Their red blood cells have an oval shape, unlike those of other mammals, which are circular. This is to facilitate their flow in a dehydrated state

 

Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water content that would kill most other animals. Evaporation of their sweat takes place at the skin level, not at the surface of their coat, thereby being very efficient at cooling the body compared to the amount of water lost through sweating. This ability to fluctuate body temperature and the efficiency of their sweating allows them to preserve about five litres of water a day.

 

A feature of their nostrils is that a large amount of water vapor in their exhalations is trapped and returned to their body fluids, thereby reducing the amount of water lost through respiration

 

They can withstand at least 20-25% weight loss due to sweating (most mammals can only withstand about 3-4% dehydration before cardiac failure results from the thickened blood)

Camels eating green herbage can ingest sufficient moisture in milder conditions to maintain their bodies' hydrated state without the need for drinking

 

A camel's thick coat reflects sunlight, and also insulates them from the intense heat radiated from desert sand. Camels have been known to swim.[citation needed]

 

Their mouth is very sturdy, able to chew thorny desert plants. Long eyelashes and ear hairs, together with sealable nostrils, form a barrier against sand. Their gait and their widened feet help them move without sinking into the sand.

 

The kidneys and intestines of a camel are very efficient at retaining water. Urine comes out as a thick syrup, and their feces are so dry that they can fuel fires.

  

DOUZ, the SAHARA

  

Photography’s new conscience

linktr.ee/GlennLosack

linktr.ee/GlennLosack

  

glosack.wixsite.com/tbws

  

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

 

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

 

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

 

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

 

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

 

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

 

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

 

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

 

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

 

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

 

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

 

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

 

This image was taken on a Elding Whale Watch trip from Akureyri in Iceland

ZodSqd wearing the CBRN suit "Zodiak" and full field pack of about 21 kgs. Ready to leave for forward patrol.

 

Want to know more about the CBRN suit type Zodiak?

 

The CBRN suit Zodiak is a multipart protective suit of the German Federal Armed Forces manufactured from sturdy butyl rubber . It is not supplied to all soldiers, especially not to combat units, but is worn by the CBRN defense troops during decontamination activities or similar.

 

The suit consists of a pair of rubber flap trousers, a rubber top with fixed hood, rubber gloves and rubber boots.

 

The trouser's legs are pulled outward over the boots. Metal rings are inserted into the bootleg metal rings to stabilize and strengthen those in order to have a firm and gas-tight connection with the trouser's flexible rubber hem after pulling up the trousers. This compound is by most users considered as the great weak point of the Zodiak, since there often occur leaks while the Zodiak is worn.

 

The pants are connected to top by a roll closure. Pants and top each are equipped with an rubber apron, which are highly wrapped lying one on another. This winding is best to be done in buddy aid, however, it is considered as a robust and dense solution without any damageable moving parts like a zipper.

 

In the head cover of the top are three openings separated by rubber webs that can be drawn over the edges of the eye glasses and the filter connection and exhalation valve of the NBC protective mask M65 to give a gas-tight connection to the mask. The M65 mask was - unlike the Zodiak - personal basic equipment of every German soldier. With some inaccuracy of fit the hood can also used wearing the upgraded combat Mask M65z, which next to the filter connecting has a connector for a drinking valve. The latter combination can be used to extend the possible action time wearing the Zodiak suit through intermediate hydration.

 

The gloves manufactured from flexible thinner rubber are pulled onto the stiffened arm ends of the top part of the suit creating a very tight connection.

football game ...mist

James Tate - Dream On

Some people go their whole lives

without ever writing a single poem.

Extraordinary people who don't hesitate

to cut somebody's heart or skull open.

They go to baseball games with the greatest of ease.

and play a few rounds of golf as if it were nothing.

These same people stroll into a church

as if that were a natural part of life.

Investing money is second nature to them.

They contribute to political campaigns

that have absolutely no poetry in them

and promise none for the future.

They sit around the dinner table at night

and pretend as though nothing is missing.

Their children get caught shoplifting at the mall

and no one admits that it is poetry they are missing.

The family dog howls all night,

lonely and starving for more poetry in his life.

Why is it so difficult for them to see

that, without poetry, their lives are effluvial.

Sure, they have their banquets, their celebrations,

croquet, fox hunts, their sea shores and sunsets,

their cocktails on the balcony, dog races,

and all that kissing and hugging, and don't

forget the good deeds, the charity work,

nursing the baby squirrels all through the night,

filling the birdfeeders all winter,

helping the stranger change her tire.

Still, there's that disagreeable exhalation

from decaying matter, subtle but everpresent.

They walk around erect like champions.

They are smooth-spoken and witty.

When alone, rare occasion, they stare

into the mirror for hours, bewildered.

There was something they meant to say, but didn't:

"And if we put the statue of the rhinoceros

next to the tweezers, and walk around the room three times,

learn to yodel, shave our heads, call

our ancestors back from the dead--"

poetrywise it's still a bust, bankrupt.

You haven't scribbled a syllable of it.

You're a nowhere man misfiring

the very essence of your life, flustering

nothing from nothing and back again.

The hereafter may not last all that long.

Radiant childhood sweetheart,

secret code of everlasting joy and sorrow,

fanciful pen strokes beneath the eyelids:

all day, all night meditation, knot of hope,

kernel of desire, pure ordinariness of life

seeking, through poetry, a benediction

or a bed to lie down on, to connect, reveal,

explore, to imbue meaning on the day's extravagant labor.

And yet it's cruel to expect too much.

It's a rare species of bird

that refuses to be categorized.

Its song is barely audible.

It is like a dragonfly in a dream--

here, then there, then here again,

low-flying amber-wing darting upward

then out of sight.

And the dream has a pain in its heart

the wonders of which are manifold,

or so the story is told.

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

Side Plank-- a challenging core strengthening pose, in Sanskrit Vahisthasana - this pose has many variations for the arms & legs. It's important to keep working on increasing the time of holding this posture without compromising your back; practice on both sides of the body. Please keep in mind to always focus on your breath; having consistent and mindful inhalations & exhalations will keep any yogi calm; set crystal clear intentions in every yoga practice; feel stronger every time you step onto the studio.

Equipment

Nikon D90

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

 

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

 

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

 

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

 

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

 

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

 

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

 

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

 

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

 

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

 

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

 

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

 

This image was taken on a Elding Whale Watch trip from Akureyri in Iceland

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

San Simeon California, Elephant seals are very large, oceangoing earless seals in the genus Mirounga. Both species, the northern elephant seal (M. angustirostris) and the southern elephant seal (M. leonina), were hunted to the brink of extinction for oil by the end of the 19th century, but their numbers have since recovered. They are the largest extant carnivorans, weighing up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb).

 

The northern elephant seal, somewhat smaller than its southern relative, ranges over the Pacific coast of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The most northerly breeding location on the Pacific Coast is at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area, at the southern tip of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The southern elephant seal is found in the Southern Hemisphere on islands such as South Georgia and Macquarie Island, and on the coasts of New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa, and Argentina in the Peninsula Valdés. In southern Chile, there is a small colony of 120 animals at Jackson Bay (Bahía Jackson) in Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo) at the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.[1]

 

The oldest known unambiguous elephant seal fossils are fragmentary fossils of a member of the tribe Miroungini described from the late Pliocene Petane Formation of New Zealand.[2] Teeth originally identified as representing an unnamed species of Mirounga have been found in South Africa, and dated to the Miocene epoch;[3][4] however, Boessenecker and Churchill (2016) considered these teeth almost certainly to be misidentified toothed whale (odontocete) teeth.[2] The elephant seals evolved in the Pacific Ocean during the Pliocene period.[2][5][6]

 

Elephant seals breed annually and are seemingly habitual to colonies that have established breeding areas.[7] Wikipedia. Elephant seals are marine mammals classified under the order Pinnipedia, which, in Latin, means feather- or fin-footed.[10] Elephant seals are considered true seals, and fall under the family Phocidae.[11] Phocids (true seals) are characterized by having no external ear and reduced limbs.[11] The reduction of their limbs helps them be more streamlined and move easily in the water.[10] However, it makes navigating on land more difficult because they cannot turn their hind flippers forward to walk like the otariids.[10] In addition, the hind flippers of elephant seals have a lot of surface area, which helps propel them in the water.[10] Elephant seals spend the majority of their life (90%) underwater in search of food, and can cover 100 kilometres (60 miles) a day when they head out to sea.[11] When elephant seals are born, they can weigh up to 36 kilograms (79 pounds) and reach lengths up to 122 cm (4 ft 0 in).[11] Sexual dimorphism is extreme, with male elephant seals weighing up to 10 times more than females,[12] and having a prominent proboscis.[11]

 

Elephant seals take their name from the large proboscis of the adult male (bull), reminiscent of an elephant's trunk, and considered a secondary sexual characteristic.[13] The bull's proboscis is used in producing extraordinarily loud roaring noises, especially during the mating season. More importantly, however, the nose acts as a sort of rebreather, filled with cavities designed to reabsorb moisture from their exhalations.[14] This is important during the mating season when the seals do not leave the beach to feed, and must conserve body moisture as there is no incoming source of water. They are very much larger than other pinnipeds, with southern elephant seal bulls typically reaching a length of 5 m (16 ft) and a weight of 3,000 kg (7,000 lb), and are much larger than the adult females (cows), with some exceptionally large males reaching up to 6 m (20 ft) in length and weighing 4,000 kg (9,000 lb); cows typically measure about 3 m (10 ft) and 900 kg (2,000 lb). Northern elephant seal bulls reach a length of 4.3 to 4.8 m (14 to 16 ft) and the heaviest weigh about 2,500 kg (5,500 lb).[15][16]

 

The northern and southern elephant seal can be distinguished by various external features. On average, the southern elephant seal tends to be larger than the northern species.[12] Adult male elephant seals belonging to the northern species tend to have a larger proboscis, and thick chest area with a red coloration compared to the southern species.[12] Females do not have the large proboscis and can be distinguished between species by looking at their nose characteristics.[12] Southern females tend to have a smaller, blunt nose compared to northern females.[12] Wikipedia

Unfortunately I've spent more time blocking perverts, thieves and malicious idiots than I've spent looking at the wonderful images most of you are sharing. So for those of you who have nothing better to do with your time than fit into one of those three categories, may I draw your attention to the warning in my profile.

 

****************************

 

“The illimitable, silent, never-resting thing called Time, rolling, rushing on, swift, silent, like an all-embracing ocean-tide, on which we and all the universe swim like exhalations, like apparitions which are, and then are not". - Thomas Carlyle

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

 

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

 

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

 

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

 

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

 

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

 

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

 

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

 

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

 

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

 

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

 

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

 

This image was taken on a Elding Whale Watch trip from Akureyri in Iceland

If you were looking for ways to both strengthen and increase stability of the musculature of the spine one could perform various exercises, but there is only one solution that doesn't require any kind of exercise - active sitting on SpinaliS chairs. Strengthen your core muscles while sitting!

 

SpinaliS Spider Series Chair is one of the most popular models in Canada:

www.spinalis-chairs.ca/spinalis-chairs/spider/

 

Any type of prolonged poor posture will, over time, substantially increase the risk of developing back pain. Examples include slouching over a computer keyboard, driving hunched over the steering wheel, lifting improperly. SpinaliS chairs will take care of your bad posture and will improve it very fast.

 

For more info call 844 777 0489

or drop by SpinaliS Vancouver store on

3619 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC, V6R 1P2

 

Core stability refers to a person's ability to stabilise their core. Stability, in this context, should be considered as an ability to control the position and movement of the core. Thus, if a person has greater core stability, they have a greater level of control over the position and movement of this area of their body. The body's core is frequently involved in aiding other movements of the body, such as the limbs, and it is considered that by improving core stability a person's ability to perform these other movements may also be improved i.e. core stability training may help improve someone's running ability. The bodies core region is sometimes referred to as the torso or the trunk, although there are some differences in the muscles identified as constituting them. The major muscles involved in core stability include the pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, multifidus, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis, erector spinae (sacrospinalis) especially the longissimus thoracis, and the diaphragm. The minor muscles involved include the latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, and trapezius. Notably, breathing, including the action of the diaphragm, can significantly influence the posture and movement of the core; this is especially apparent in regard to extreme ranges of inhalation and exhalation. On this basis, how a person is breathing may influence their ability to control their core.

 

Some researchers have argued that the generation of intra-abdominal pressure, caused by the activation of the core muscles and especially the transversus abdominis, may serve to lend support to the lumbar spine.

 

Typically, the core is associated with the body's center of gravity, which is over the region of the second sacral vertebrae groups and stability is associated with isometric or static strength. In addition, it is the lumbar spine that is primarily responsible for posture and stability thus providing the strength needed for the stability especially utilized in dynamic sports.

 

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attendorn - 11/2011

listening to grey reverend - one by one

 

Grey Reverend is the solo project of singer/songwriter/composer L.D. Brown. Based in Brooklyn, New York, L.D. Brown was born in Pennsylvania and raised on a variety of music genres. After developing an affinity for jazz and the emerging indie rock sounds of the ’80′s, like My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr., he began studying music. Beginning with the saxophone, then later shifting his attention to the guitar under the instruction and guidance of his mentor, jazz guitar legend, Pat Martino, L.D. was soon playing guitar exclusively and performing in various jazz, rock, and blues outfits throughout Philadelphia. Though, after immersing himself in music theory and jazz improvisation, he began experiencing problems with his hands and was diagnosed with focal dystonia. While coping with the loss of dexterity in his hands, L.D. found himself drawn towards songwriting in the traditions of acoustic folk and blues musicians such as John Fahey, Bert Jansch, Joni Mitchell, and Mississippi John Hurt. The desire to write his own material combined with the knowledge of musicology prompted L.D. to craft subversive and unique chord structures for his songs within an accessible vernacular.

 

In 2006, L.D. left Philadelphia for New York City. Shortly after settling in Brooklyn, he began to meet and collaborate with different artists and songwriters in his neighborhood, all the while writing and refining his own material. That summer, Brown met and became friends with Jason Swinscoe, the founding member and leader of The Cinematic Orchestra. Swinscoe incorporated L.D. into his musical outfit and began touring in support of the group's 2006 studio album Ma Fleur. Grey Reverend also began supporting the group for shows in the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, Europe, Asia, North and South America. L.D. subsequently wrote his own version of the first single for Ma Fleur titled To Build a Home. It was released in 2007 as a single and limited edition 7″. Brown is still involved with TCO and has been a member for nearly 4 years.

 

L.D. Brown performs Grey Reverend songs primarily as a soloist, using an unaffected acoustic guitar and voice to convey his music to an audience. The devilish detail within the songs creates flashes of allegory in which familiar sentiments simultaneously comfort and unnerve the senses. Compelling and positively ambiguous with reverence for the grey, undefined areas of style, his songs are unconcerned with musical or social expectations. They sit completely outside of time and fashion, the simplicity and honesty of his voice enough to carry them.

 

source: greyreverend.blogspot.com/

At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.

 

This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.

 

But I was on vacation, or not going to work.

 

I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.

 

For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.

 

It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.

 

So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.

 

Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.

 

We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.

 

So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.

 

At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

 

As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.

 

Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.

 

The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.

 

The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.

 

I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.

 

The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.

 

So there I was.

 

Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.

 

This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.

 

I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.

 

Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.

 

I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.

 

It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.

 

I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.

 

I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.

 

It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.

 

I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.

 

I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.

 

The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.

 

I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.

 

And pray.

 

I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.

 

About eight elderly parishioners did, though.

 

I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.

 

I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.

 

After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.

 

He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.

 

By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.

 

Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.

 

I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.

 

At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.

 

With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.

 

She was now done for Christmas too.

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

The red brick church stands on a busy junction at the end of the Pantiles whose patrons it was built to serve in 1678. Within thirty years it had been extended on two occasions to more or less reach its present size. The ceiling bears the date 1678 and is rather domestic in character, based on deep circular domes with putti, palms and swags. The stained glass in the east window is based on a picture by Alex Ender and was designed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in 1901. There is an excellent window under the north gallery designed by Lawrence Lee in 1969. The church was sympathetically restored by Ewan Christian in 1882, when the shallow chancel was added. The woodwork it contains was brought from one of Wren's City of London churches. Outside the west wall of the church, set into the footpath, is a boundary marker to show the former parish boundaries of Tonbridge and Speldhurst.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Tunbridge+Wells+1

 

-------------------------------------------

  

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

 

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

¶The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

Strong and naught

 

Paso superior construido en la llanura manchega para la línea ferroviaria Baeza-Utiel, en el término de Golosalvo (Albacete). Ningún camino lo recorre, nadie tuvo que cruzarlo para sortear las vías, ningún tren pasó como una exhalación bajo sus piedras. Ahí sigue, obstinado.

 

Upper passage built for the failed Baeza-Utiel railway line, near Golosalvo (Albacete, Spain). No path was traced running on it, no one had to cross it over, no train passed as an exhalation under its stones. But it's still there, stubborn.

 

See more at flic.kr/s/aHskFrz6os

At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.

 

This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.

 

But I was on vacation, or not going to work.

 

I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.

 

For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.

 

It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.

 

So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.

 

Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.

 

We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.

 

So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.

 

At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

 

As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.

 

Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.

 

The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.

 

The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.

 

I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.

 

The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.

 

So there I was.

 

Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.

 

This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.

 

I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.

 

Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.

 

I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.

 

It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.

 

I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.

 

I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.

 

It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.

 

I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.

 

I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.

 

The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.

 

I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.

 

And pray.

 

I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.

 

About eight elderly parishioners did, though.

 

I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.

 

I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.

 

After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.

 

He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.

 

By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.

 

Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.

 

I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.

 

At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.

 

With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.

 

She was now done for Christmas too.

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

The red brick church stands on a busy junction at the end of the Pantiles whose patrons it was built to serve in 1678. Within thirty years it had been extended on two occasions to more or less reach its present size. The ceiling bears the date 1678 and is rather domestic in character, based on deep circular domes with putti, palms and swags. The stained glass in the east window is based on a picture by Alex Ender and was designed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in 1901. There is an excellent window under the north gallery designed by Lawrence Lee in 1969. The church was sympathetically restored by Ewan Christian in 1882, when the shallow chancel was added. The woodwork it contains was brought from one of Wren's City of London churches. Outside the west wall of the church, set into the footpath, is a boundary marker to show the former parish boundaries of Tonbridge and Speldhurst.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Tunbridge+Wells+1

 

-------------------------------------------

  

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

 

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

¶The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.

 

This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.

 

But I was on vacation, or not going to work.

 

I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.

 

For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.

 

It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.

 

So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.

 

Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.

 

We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.

 

So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.

 

At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

 

As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.

 

Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.

 

The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.

 

The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.

 

I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.

 

The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.

 

So there I was.

 

Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.

 

This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.

 

I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.

 

Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.

 

I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.

 

It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.

 

I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.

 

I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.

 

It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.

 

I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.

 

I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.

 

The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.

 

I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.

 

And pray.

 

I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.

 

About eight elderly parishioners did, though.

 

I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.

 

I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.

 

After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.

 

He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.

 

By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.

 

Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.

 

I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.

 

At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.

 

With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.

 

She was now done for Christmas too.

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

The red brick church stands on a busy junction at the end of the Pantiles whose patrons it was built to serve in 1678. Within thirty years it had been extended on two occasions to more or less reach its present size. The ceiling bears the date 1678 and is rather domestic in character, based on deep circular domes with putti, palms and swags. The stained glass in the east window is based on a picture by Alex Ender and was designed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in 1901. There is an excellent window under the north gallery designed by Lawrence Lee in 1969. The church was sympathetically restored by Ewan Christian in 1882, when the shallow chancel was added. The woodwork it contains was brought from one of Wren's City of London churches. Outside the west wall of the church, set into the footpath, is a boundary marker to show the former parish boundaries of Tonbridge and Speldhurst.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Tunbridge+Wells+1

 

-------------------------------------------

  

The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

 

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

¶The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

 

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

 

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

 

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

 

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

 

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

 

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

 

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

 

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

 

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

 

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

 

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

 

This image was taken on a Elding Whale Watch trip from Akureyri in Iceland

ZodSqd wearing the CBRN suit "Zodiak" and ready to don the backpack with field pack of about 21 kgs.

 

Want to know more about the CBRN suit type Zodiak?

 

The CBRN suit Zodiak is a multipart protective suit of the German Federal Armed Forces manufactured from sturdy butyl rubber . It is not supplied to all soldiers, especially not to combat units, but is worn by the CBRN defense troops during decontamination activities or similar.

 

The suit consists of a pair of rubber flap trousers, a rubber top with fixed hood, rubber gloves and rubber boots.

 

The trouser's legs are pulled outward over the boots. Metal rings are inserted into the bootleg metal rings to stabilize and strengthen those in order to have a firm and gas-tight connection with the trouser's flexible rubber hem after pulling up the trousers. This compound is by most users considered as the great weak point of the Zodiak, since there often occur leaks while the Zodiak is worn.

 

The pants are connected to top by a roll closure. Pants and top each are equipped with an rubber apron, which are highly wrapped lying one on another. This winding is best to be done in buddy aid, however, it is considered as a robust and dense solution without any damageable moving parts like a zipper.

 

In the head cover of the top are three openings separated by rubber webs that can be drawn over the edges of the eye glasses and the filter connection and exhalation valve of the NBC protective mask M65 to give a gas-tight connection to the mask. The M65 mask was - unlike the Zodiak - personal basic equipment of every German soldier. With some inaccuracy of fit the hood can also used wearing the upgraded combat Mask M65z, which next to the filter connecting has a connector for a drinking valve. The latter combination can be used to extend the possible action time wearing the Zodiak suit through intermediate hydration.

 

The gloves manufactured from flexible thinner rubber are pulled onto the stiffened arm ends of the top part of the suit creating a very tight connection.

Gray overcast skies greeted my morning with perfect conditions for wildflower photography. Not letting the lack of transportation get me down, I set out on a hike. I’ll be heading up into Kings Canyon National Park in a few days to photograph the recovery and re-growth of the Rough Fire area. I thought it might be a good idea to work a bit on my flower and plant photography. A short walk from my front door and I’m standing at the edge of the Morro Bay State Park boundary ready to photograph what wildflowers might still be there.

 

Not too far into my hike a small patch of Pink Sand Verbena caught my eye. I set my gear down and prepared to get to work but was immediately swarmed by mosquitoes. This was going to take a bit of re-thinking. Repacking my gear, I headed back home to put on some insect repellant. A slight delay in my morning photography trek but the mosquito situation needed to be dealt with.

 

Back out at my first stop I tried to think of different angles to capture the essence of Pink Sand Verbena. Its umbrel inflorescence on a slender leafless stalk and low lying attitude call for a simple composition. Simple is better and so I tried various depths of field in an attempt at isolating a single cluster of flowers. I searched for a background free of distractions, detritus and other things that might pull ones eye away from the flowers.

 

After spending a few moments at the Sand Verbena, it was time to move on and look for other flowers to shoot. Not far off the trail several Blue Dicks, a bluish purple herbaceous perennial with an umbrel inflorescence of 2 -15 flowers, stood tall. The flowers grow on single stems that reach a height of about 24 inches. Quite a spectacular flower and I needed to stop to photograph it as well. I searched for a nice background and the bright green color of a California Manroot vine several feet behind served just that purpose.

 

After I photographed the Blue Dicks, I took the trail deeper into the coastal sage scrub habitat. With each step and exhalation my entourage of mosquitoes grew ten fold. My insect repellant held its ground and they flew about slightly confused as to where to seek nourishment. I was thankful. I stopped to photograph the spire of a Coastal Bush Lupine, carefully waded into the scrub to capture the image of a tall Indian Pink, and walked past the ever present Sticky Monkey flower. There were still plenty of wildflowers to capture images of.

 

After a short time, I reached the boundary of the state park and was presented with purplish blue flowers intermingling with poison oak. The Blue Fiesta Flower, a small annual herb with a brittle fleshy stem. This would be the last flower I would photograph on my journey. A breeze began to pick up and my large diffusion of clouds began to go with it. Not a bad day for photographing wildflowers in my opinion.

 

I hiked the trail back home and reviewed my morning excursion. I thought about how lucky I was to have so much here locally to photograph. There was no need to travel far to get to such an exceptional location. How often do we overlook that which is in our own backyard so to speak. I think, no, I know, I’ll be visiting these locations more often.

 

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At 21:47 GMT, the equinox happened, and so from then on, light is destined to win over darkness. Which meant, of course, that the day before then was the shortest "day", or amount of daylight.

 

This is the end of the year, the build up and excitement before Christmas, and at the same time, looking back at the year, and what has happened in the previous 50 or so weeks. So, a time of mixed emotions, good and bad, happy and sad.

 

But I was on vacation, or not going to work.

 

I am not up to date, but I did all the tasks I was supposed to do, threw a few electronic grenades over the walls, and was now happy not to think of that shit for two whole weeks.

 

For Jools, however, there was half a day to do, and then her employers paid for all those employed at the factory to go to a fancy place in Folkestone for lunch, drinks at the bar and a bottle of wine between four folks.

 

It was, in short, a time for celebration. Something I realise has not happened in my job since I left operational quality, to be happy and give thanks to those we work with. And be recognised for the good job we do.

 

So, I was to take Jools to work, and have the car for the day.

 

Jools was conscious that my plan for the day involved driving to the far west of Kent, so realised I needed an early start, and not dropping her off in Hythe at seven.

 

We left after coffee just after six, driving through Dover and Folkestone on the main road and motorway before turning over the downs into Hythe. I dropped her off in the town, so she could get some walking in. She always didn't walk, as waves of showers swept over the town, and me as I drove back home for breakfast and do all the chores before leaving on a mini-churchcrawl.

 

So, back home for breakfast, more coffee, wash up, do the bird feeders and with postcodes, set out for points in the extreme west. Now, Kent is not a big county, not say, Texas big, but it takes some time to get to some parts of the west of the county. Main roads run mainly from London to the coast, so going cross-country or cross-county would take time.

 

At first it was as per normal up the A20 then onto the motorway to Ashford then to Maidstone until the junction before the M26 starts. One of the reasons for going later was to avoid rush hours in and around Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

 

As it was, after turning down the A road, things were fine until I got to Mereworth, but from there the road began to twist and turn until it lead me into Tonbridge. Once upon a time, this was a sleepy village or small town. The the railways came and it became a major junction. The road to Penshurt took me though the one way system, then down the wide High Street, over the river Medway and up the hill the other side.

 

Two more turns took me to my target, through what were once called stockbroker mansions, then down a hill, with the village laid out before me just visible through the trees.

 

The village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, home to the Sidney family since Tudor times. Just about everything is named the Leicester something, the village having its own Leicester Square, though with no cinemas, and all timber framed houses and painfully picturesque.

 

The church lays behind the houses, the tower in golden sandstone topped with four spirelets.

 

I parked the car, and armed with two cameras, several lenses and a photographer's eye, walked to the church.

 

The reason for coming was I can only remember a little about my previous visit, but the Leicester name thing triggered in my head the thought the memorials and tombs might be worth a revisit.

 

So there I was.

 

Gilbert Scott was very busy here, so there is little of anything prior to the 19th century, but the memorials are there. Including one which features the heads of the children of Robert Sidney (d1702) in a cloud. Including the eldest son who died, apparently, so young he wasn't named, and is recorded as being the first born.

 

This is in the Sidney Chapel where the great and good are buried and remembered, it has a colourful roof, or roof beams, and heraldic shields. It has a 15th century font, which, sadly, has been brightly painted so is gaudy in the extreme.

 

I go around getting my shots, leave a fiver for the church. Go back to the car and program Speldhurst into the sat nav.

 

Its just a ten minute drive, but there is no place to park anywhere near the church. I could see from my slow drive-by the porch doors closed, and I convinced myself they were locked and not worth checking out.

 

I went on to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. I had been here before too, but wanted to redo my shots.

 

It was by now pouring with rain, and as dark as twilight, I missed the church on first pass, went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. I turned round, the church looked dark and was almost certainly locked. I told myself.

 

I didn't stop here either, so instead of going to the final village church, I went straigh to Tunbridge Wells where there was another church to revisit.

 

I drove into the town, over the man road and to the car park with no waiting in traffic, how odd, I thought.

 

It was hard to find a parking space, but high up in the parking house there were finally spaced. I parked near the stairs down, grabbed my cameras and went down.

 

I guess I could have parked nearer the church, but once done it would be easier to leave the town as the road back home went past the exit.

 

I ambled down the hill leading to the station, over the bridge and down the narrow streets, all lined with shops. I think its fair to say that it is a richer town than Dover because on one street there were three stores offering beposke designer kitchens.

 

The church is across the road from the Georgian square known at The Pantiles, but it was the church I was here to visit.

 

I go in, and there is a service underway. I decide to sit at the back and observe.

 

And pray.

 

I did not take communion, though. The only one there who didn't.

 

About eight elderly parishioners did, though.

 

I was here to photograph the ceiling, and then the other details I failed to record when we were last here over a decade ago.

 

I was quizzed strongly by a warden as to why I was doing this. I had no answer other than I enjoyed it, and for me that is enough.

 

After getting my shots, I leave and begin the slog back up to the car, but on the way keeping my promise to a young man selling the Big Issue that I would come back and buy a copy. I did better than that in that I gave him a fiver and didn't take a copy.

 

He nearly burst into tears. I said, there is kindness in the world, and some of us do keep our promises.

 

By the time I got to the car park, it was raining hard again. I had two and a half hours to get to Folkestone to pick up Jools after her meal.

 

Traffic into Tunbridge Wells from this was was crazy, miles and miles of queues, so I was more than happy going the other way.

 

I get back to the M20, cruise down to Ashford, stopping at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. I had 90 minutes to kill, so eat, drink and scroll Twitter as I had posted yet more stuff that morning. In other news: nothing changed, sadly.

 

At quarter past four I went to pick up Jools, stopping outside the restaurant. When she got in she declared she had been drinking piña coladas. Just two, but she was bubby and jabbering away all the way home.

 

With Jools having eaten out, and with snacks I had, no dinner was needed, so when suppertime came round, we dined on cheese and crackers, followed by a large slice of Christmas cake.

 

She was now done for Christmas too.

 

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The red brick church stands on a busy junction at the end of the Pantiles whose patrons it was built to serve in 1678. Within thirty years it had been extended on two occasions to more or less reach its present size. The ceiling bears the date 1678 and is rather domestic in character, based on deep circular domes with putti, palms and swags. The stained glass in the east window is based on a picture by Alex Ender and was designed by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in 1901. There is an excellent window under the north gallery designed by Lawrence Lee in 1969. The church was sympathetically restored by Ewan Christian in 1882, when the shallow chancel was added. The woodwork it contains was brought from one of Wren's City of London churches. Outside the west wall of the church, set into the footpath, is a boundary marker to show the former parish boundaries of Tonbridge and Speldhurst.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Tunbridge+Wells+1

 

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The large and populous hamlet or village of TUNBRIDGE-WELLS is situated at the south-east boundary of this parish; part of it only is in Speldhurst, another part in the parish of Tunbridge, and the remainder in that of Fant, in the county of Suffex. It consists of four smaller districts, named from the hills on which they stand, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Sion; the other is called The Wells, from their being within it, which altogether form a considerable town; but the last is the centre of business and pleasure, for there, besides the Wells themselves, are the market, public parades, assembly rooms, taverns, shops, &c. Near the Wells is the chapel, which stands remarkably in the three parishes above mentioned—the pulpit in Speldhurst, the altar in Tunbridge, and the vestry in Fant, and the stream, which parted the two counties of Kent and Suffex, formerly ran underneath it, but is now turned to a further distance from it. The right of patronage is claimed by the rector of Speldhurst, though he has never yet possessed the chapel or presented to it; the value of it is about two hundred pounds per annum, which sum is raised by voluntary subscription; divine service is performed in it every day in summer, and three times a week in winter. Adjoining to it is a charity school, for upwards of fifty poor boys and girls, which is supported by a contribution, collected at the chapel doors, two or three times a year.

 

The trade of Tunbridge-wells is similar to that of Spa, in Germany, and consists chiefly in a variety of toys, made of wood, commonly called Tunbridge ware, which employs a great number of hands. The wood principally used for this purpose is beech and sycamore, with yew and holly inlaid, and beautifully polished. To the market of this place is brought, in great plenty, from the South downs, in Sussex, the little bird, called the wheatear, which, from its delicacy, is usually called the English ortolan. It is not bigger in size than a lark; it is almost a lump of fat, and of a very delicious taste; it is in season only in the midst of summer, when the heat of the weather, and the fatness of it, prevents its being sent to London, which otherwise would, in all likelihood, monopolize every one of them. On the other or Suffex side of the Medway, above a mile from the Wells, are the rocks, which consist of a great number of rude eminences, adjoining to each other, several of which are seventy feet in height; in several places there are cliffs and chasms which lead quite through the midst of them, by narrow gloomy passages, which strike the beholder with astonishment.

 

THESE MEDICINAL WATERS, commonly called TUNBRIDGE-WELLS, lie so near to the county of Suffex that part of them are within it, for which reason they were for some time called Fant-wells, as being within that parish. (fn. 1) Their efficacy is reported to have been accidentally found out by Dudley lord North, in the beginning of the reign of king James I. Whilst he resided at Eridge-house for his health, lord Abergavenny's seat, in this neighbourhood, and that he was entirely cured of the lingering consumptive disorder he laboured under by the use of them.

 

The springs, which were then discovered, seem to have been seven in number, two of the principal of which were some time afterwards, by lord Abergavenny's care, inclosed, and were afterwards much resorted to by many of the middling and lower sort, whose ill health had real occasion for the use of them. In which state they continued till queen Henrietta Maria, wife of king Charles I. having been sent hither by her physicians, in the year 1630, for the reestablishment of her health, soon brought these waters into fashion, and occasioned a great resort to them from that time. In compliment to her doctor, Lewis Rowzee, in his treatise on them, calls these springs the Queen's-wells; but this name lasted but a small time, and they were soon afterwards universally known by that of Tunbridge-wells, which names they acquired from the company usually residing at Tunbridge town, when they came into these parts for the benefit of drinking the waters.

 

The town of Tunbridge being five miles distant from the wells, occasioned some few houses to be built in the hamlets of Southborough and Rusthall, for the accommodation of the company resorting hither, and this place now becoming fashionable, was visited by numbers for the sake of pleasure and dissipation, as well as for the cure of their infirmities; and soon after the Restoration every kind of building, for public amusements, was erected at the two hamlets above mentioned, lodgings and other buildings were built at and near the wells, the springs themselves were secured, and other conveniencies added to them. In 1664, the queen came here by the advice of her physicians, in hopes of reinstating her health, which was greatly impaired by a dangerous fever, and her success, in being perfectly cured by these waters, greatly raised the reputation of them, and the company increasing yearly, it induced the inhabitants to make every accommodation for them adjoining to the Wells, so that both Rusthall and Southborough became ruinous and deserted by all but their native inhabitants. The duke of York, with his duchess, and the two princesses their daughters, visited Tunbridge-wells in the year 1670, which brought much more company than usual to them, and raised their reputation still higher; and the annual increase continuing, it induced the lord of the manor to think of improving this humour of visiting the wells to his own profit as well as the better accommodation of the company. To effect which, he entered into an agreement with his tenants, and hired of them the herbage of the waste of the manor for the term of fifty years, at the yearly rent of ten shillings to each tenant, and then erected shops and houses on and near the walks and springs, in every convenient spot for that purpose; by which means Tunbridge wells became a populous and flourishing village, well inhabited, for whose convenience, and the company resorting thither, a chapel was likewise built, in 1684, by subscription, on some ground given by the lady viscountess Purbeck, which was, about twelve years afterwards, enlarged by an additional subscription, amounting together to near twenty-three hundred pounds.

 

About the year 1726, the building lease, which had been granted by the lord of the manor of Rusthall, in which this hamlet is situated, expiring, the tenants of the manor claimed a share in the buildings, as a compensation for the loss of the herbage, which was covered by his houses. This occasioned a long and very expensive law suit between them, which was at last determined in favour of the tenants, who were adjudged to have a right to a third part of the buildings then erected on the estate, in lieu of their right to the herbage; upon which all the shops and houses, which had been built on the manor waste, were divided into three lots, of which the tenants were to draw one, and the other two were to remain to the lord of the manor; the lot which the tenants drew was the middle one, which included the assembly room on the public walk, which has since turned out much the most advantageous of the three. After which long articles of agreement, in 1739, were entered into between Maurice Conyers, esq. then lord of the manor of Rusthall, and the above mentioned tenants of it, in which, among many other matters, he agreed to permit the public walks and wells, and divers other premises there, to be made use of for the public benefit of the nobility and gentry resorting thereto, and several regulations were made in them concerning the walks, wells, and wastes of the manor, and for the restraining buildings on the waste, between the lord and his tenants, according to a plan therein specified; all which were confirmed and established by an act of parliament, passed in 1740. Since which several of the royal family have honoured these wells with their presence, and numbers of the nobility and persons of rank and fashion yearly resortto them, so that this place is now in a most flourishing state, having great numbers of good houses built for lodgings, and every other necessary accommodation for the company. Its customs are settled; the employment of the dippers regulated; (fn. 2) its pleasures regulated; its markets well and plentifully supplied, at a reasonable rate, with sowl, fish, meat, every other kind of food, and every convenience added that can contribute to give health and pleasure.

 

¶The whole neighbourhood of Tunbridge-wells abounds with springs of mineral water, but as the properties of all are nearly the same, only those two, which at the first discovery of them were adjudged the best, are held in any particular estimation. These two wells are enclosed with a handsome triangular stone wall; over the springs are placed two convenient basons of Portland stone, with perforations at the bottom; one of them being given by queen Anne, and the other by the lord of the manor; through which they receive the water, which at the spring is extremely clear and bright. Its taste is steely, but not disagreeable; it has hardly any smell, though sometimes, in a dense air, its ferruginous exhalations are very distinguishable. In point of heat it is invariably temperate, the spring lying so deep in the earth, that neither the heat of summer, nor the cold of winter, affects it. When this water is first taken up in a large glass, its particles continue at rest till it is warmed to nearly the heat of the atmosphere, then a few airy globules begin to separate themselves, and adhere to the sides of the glass, and in a few hours a light copper coloured scum begins to float on the surface, after which an ochreous sediment settles at the bottom. Long continued rains sometimes give the water a milky appearance, but do not otherwise sensibly affect it. From the experiments of different physicians, it appears that the component parts of this water are, steely particles, marine salts, an oily matter, an ochreous substance, simple water, and a volatile vitriolic spirit, too subtile for any chemical analysis. In weight it is, in seven ounces and a quarter, four grains lighter than the German Spa (to which it is preferable on that account) and ten grains lighter than common water; with syrup of violets this water gives a deep green, as vitriols do. (fn. 3) It requires five drops of oleum sulphuris, or elixir of vitriol, to a quart of water, to preserve its virtues to a distance from the spring.

 

This water is said to be an impregnation of rain in some of the neighbouring eminences, which abound in iron mineral, where it is further enriched with the marine salts and all the valuable ingredients, which constitute it a light and pure chalybeate, which instantly searches the most remote recesses of the human frame, warms and invigorates the relaxed constitution, restores the weakened fibres to their due tone and elasticity, removes those obstructions to which the minuter vessels of the body are liable, and is consequently adapted to most cold chronical disorders, lowness of spirits, weak digestions, and nervous complaints. Dr. Lodowick Rowzee, of Ashford, in this county, wrote a Treatise of the Nature and Virtues of these Waters, printed in 12mo. 1671; and Dr. Patrick Madan wrote a Philosophical and Medical Essay on them, in 1687, in quarto.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp275-300

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

The hippopotamus, hippopotamuses or hippopotami, also shortened to hippo, hippos or Hippopotamus amphibius, further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).

 

After elephants and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances.

 

Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).

 

Etymology

The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos), from ἵππος (híppos) 'horse' and ποταμός (potamós) 'river', together meaning 'horse of the river'. In English, the plural is "hippopotamuses", but "hippopotami" is also used.

 

Taxonomy and origins

Classification

The modern hippopotamus and the pygmy hippopotamus are the only living members of the family Hippopotamidae. Some taxonomists place hippos and anthracotheres in the superfamily Anthracotheroidea. Hippopotamidae are classified along with other even-toed ungulates in the order Artiodactyla.

  

Detail of the head

Five subspecies of hippos have been described based on morphological differences in their skulls as well as differences in geographical range:

 

H. a. amphibius – (the nominate subspecies) ranges from Gambia east to Ethiopia and then south to Mozambique and historically ranged as far north as Egypt; its skull is distinguished by a moderately reduced preorbital region, a bulging dorsal surface, elongated mandibular symphysis and larger chewing teeth.

H. a. kiboko – found in Kenya and Somalia; was noted to be smaller and more lightly coloured than other hippos with wider nostrils, somewhat longer snout and more rounded and relatively raised orbits with the space between them being incurved.

H. a. capensis – found in Zambia and South Africa; distinguished by wider orbits.

H. a. tschadensis – ranges between Chad and Niger; featured a slightly shorter but broader face, and pronounced, forward-facing orbits.

H. a. constrictus – ranged from the southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola and Namibia; skull characterised by a thicker preorbital region, shorter snout, flatter dorsal surface, reduced mandibular symphysis and smaller chewing teeth.

The suggested subspecies above were never widely used or validated by field biologists; the described morphological differences were small enough that they could have resulted from simple variation in nonrepresentative samples. A study examining mitochondrial DNA from skin biopsies taken from 13 sampling locations found "low, but significant, genetic differentiation" among H. a. amphibius, H. a. capensis, and H. a. kiboko. Neither H. a. tschadensis nor H. a. constrictus have been tested.

 

Evolution

Until 1909, naturalists classified hippos together with pigs based on molar patterns. Several lines of evidence, first from blood proteins, then from molecular systematics and DNA and the fossil record, show their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The common ancestor of hippos and whales branched off from Ruminantia and the rest of the even-toed ungulates; the cetacean and hippo lineages split soon afterwards.

 

Artiodactyla

Tylopoda

Artiofabula

Suina

Cetruminantia

Ruminantia

Whippomorpha

Hippopotamidae

Cetacea

  

Anthracotherium magnum from the Oligocene of Europe

The most recent theory of the origins of Hippopotamidae suggests hippos and whales shared a common semiaquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls around 60 million years ago. This hypothesised ancestral group likely split into two branches again around 54 million years ago.

 

One branch would evolve into cetaceans, possibly beginning about 52 million years ago, with the protowhale Pakicetus and other early whale ancestors collectively known as Archaeoceti. This group eventually underwent aquatic adaptation into the completely aquatic cetaceans. The other branch became the anthracotheres, a large family of four-legged beasts, the earliest of which in the late Eocene would have resembled skinny hippos with comparatively smaller, narrower heads. All branches of the anthracotheres, except that which evolved into Hippopotamidae, became extinct during the Pliocene, leaving no descendants.

 

A rough evolutionary lineage of the hippo can thus be traced from Eocene and Oligocene species: from Anthracotherium and Elomeryx to the Miocene species Merycopotamus and Libycosaurus and finally the very latest anthracotheres in the Pliocene. These groups lived across Eurasia and Africa. The discovery of Epirigenys in East Africa, which was likely a descent of Asian anthracotheres and a sister taxon to Hippopotamidae, suggests that hippo ancestors entered Africa from Asia around 35 million years ago. An early hippopotamid is the genus Kenyapotamus, which lived in Africa from 15 to 9 million years ago. Hippopotamid species would spread across Africa and Eurasia, including the modern pygmy hippo. From 7.5 to 1.8 million years ago, a possible ancestor to the modern hippo, Archaeopotamus, lived in Africa and the Middle East. The oldest records of the genus Hippopotamus date to the Pliocene (5.3-2.6 million years ago). The oldest unambiguous records of the modern H. amphibius date to the Middle Pleistocene, though there are possible Early Pleistocene records.

 

Extinct species

Three species of Malagasy hippopotamus became extinct during the Holocene on Madagascar, the last of them within the past 1,000 years. The Malagasy hippos were smaller than the modern hippo, a likely result of the process of insular dwarfism. Fossil evidence indicates many Malagasy hippos were hunted by humans, a factor in their eventual extinction. Isolated individual Malagasy hippos may have survived in remote pockets; in 1976, villagers described a living animal called the kilopilopitsofy, which may have been a Malagasy hippo.

 

Hippopotamus gorgops from the Early Pleistocene-early Middle Pleistocene of Africa and West Asia grew considerably larger than the living hippopotamus, with an estimated body mass of over 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb). Hippopotamus antiquus ranged throughout Europe, extending as far north as Britain during the Early and Middle Pleistocene epochs, before being replaced by the modern H. amphibius in Europe during the latter part of the Middle Pleistocene. The Pleistocene also saw a number of dwarf species evolve on several Mediterranean islands, including Crete (Hippopotamus creutzburgi), Cyprus (the Cyprus dwarf hippopotamus, Hippopotamus minor), Malta (Hippopotamus melitensis), and Sicily (Hippopotamus pentlandi). Of these, the Cyprus dwarf hippo survived until the end of the Pleistocene or early Holocene. Evidence from the archaeological site Aetokremnos continues to cause debate on whether or not the species was driven to extinction, or even encountered, by man.

 

Characteristics

The hippopotamus is a megaherbivore and is exceeded in size among land animals only by elephants and some rhinoceros species. The mean adult weight is around 1,480 kg (3,260 lb) for bulls and 1,365 kg (3,009 lb) for cows. Exceptionally large males have been recorded reaching 2,660 kg (5,860 lb). Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, while females reach maximum weight at around age 25. Hippos measure 2.90 to 5.05 m (9.5 to 16.6 ft) long, including a tail of about 35 to 56 cm (1.15 to 1.84 ft) in length and 1.30 to 1.65 m (4.3 to 5.4 ft) tall at the shoulder, with males and females ranging 1.40 to 1.65 m (4.6 to 5.4 ft) and 1.30 to 1.45 m (4.3 to 4.8 ft) tall at the shoulder respectively. The species has a typical head-body length of 3.3–3.45 m (10.8–11.3 ft) and an average standing height of 1.4 m (4.6 ft) at the shoulder.

 

Hippos have barrel-shaped bodies with short tails and legs, and an hourglass-shaped skull with a long snout.  Their skeletal structures are graviportal, adapted to carrying their enormous weight, and their dense bones and low centre of gravity allows them to sink and move along the bottom of the water. Hippopotamuses have small legs (relative to other megafauna) because the water in which they live reduces the weight burden. The toes are webbed and the pelvis rests at an angle of 45 degrees.  Though chubby-looking, hippos have little fat.  The eyes, ears, and nostrils of hippos are placed high on the roof of their skulls. This allows these organs to remain above the surface while the rest of the body is submerged.  The nostrils and ears can close when underwater while nictitating membranes cover the eyes.  The vocal folds of the hippo are more horizontally positioned, much like cetaceans. Underneath are throat tissues, where vibrations are transmitted to produce underwater calls.

  

Characteristic "yawn" of a hippo

The hippo's jaw is powered by huge masseter and digastric muscles which give them large, droopy cheeks. The jaw hinge allows the animal to open its mouth at almost 180°.  A folded orbicularis oris muscle allows the hippo to attain an extreme gape without tearing any tissue. On the lower jaw, the incisors and canines grow continuously, the former reaching 40 cm (1 ft 4 in), while the latter can grow to up to 50 cm (1 ft 8 in). The lower canines are sharpened through contact with the smaller upper canines. The canines and incisors are used mainly for combat instead of feeding. Hippos rely on their flattened, horny lips to grasp and pull grasses which are then ground by the molars.  The hippo is considered to be a pseudoruminant; it has a complex three-chambered stomach, but does not "chew cud".

  

Completely submerged hippo (San Diego Zoo)

Hippo skin is 6 cm (2 in) thick across much of its body with little hair.  The animal is mostly purplish-grey or blue-black, but brownish-pink on the underside and around the eyes and ears. Their skin secretes a natural, red-coloured sunscreen substance that is sometimes referred to as "blood sweat" but is neither blood nor sweat. This secretion is initially colourless and turns red-orange within minutes, eventually becoming brown. Two highly acidic pigments have been identified in the secretions; one red (hipposudoric acid) and one orange (norhipposudoric acid), which inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria and their light-absorption profile peaks in the ultraviolet range, creating a sunscreen effect. Regardless of diet, all hippos secrete these pigments so food does not appear to be their source; rather, they may be synthesised from precursors such as the amino acid tyrosine. This natural sunscreen cannot prevent the animal's skin from cracking if it stays out of water too long.

 

The testes of the males do not fully descend and a scrotum is not present. In addition, the penis retracts into the body when not erect. The genitals of the female hippos are unusual in that the vagina is ridged and the vulval vestibule has two large, protruding diverticula. Both of these have an unknown function. 

 

A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years.  Donna the Hippo was one of the oldest living hippos in captivity. She lived at the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, in the US until her death in 2012 at the age of 61. The oldest hippo ever recorded was called Bertha; she had lived in the Manila Zoo in the Philippines since it first opened in 1959. When she died in 2017, her age was estimated to be 65.

 

Distribution and status

During the Middle Pleistocene to the early Late Pleistocene (~500,000–80,000 years ago) Hippopotamus amphibius was present in Europe, extending as far north as England during the Eemian (130–115,000 years ago), with fossils also known from Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. The species first entered Europe between 560,000 and 460,000 years ago, while the last H. amphibius remains in Europe are dated to about 30,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out. According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome; the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end of the 19th century. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.

 

Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water. Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and poaching. The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities.

 

As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals. The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s. This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by the Second Congo War. The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, underpaid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups. Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain. As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local fishermen. The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track. Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory.

 

A population of hippos exists in Colombia, descended from captive individuals that escaped from Pablo Escobar's estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation and culling.

 

Behaviour and ecology

Hippos are semiaquatic and require enough water to immerse in, while being close to grass. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. They prefer relatively still waters with gently sloping shores, though male hippos may also be found in very small numbers in more rapid waters with rocky slopes.  Hippos mostly live in freshwater habitat, but can be found in estuaries. Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It rarely enters deep water; when it does, the animal moves by bouncing off the bottom. An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young need to breathe every two to three minutes.

 

Hippos spend most the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to forage on land. Hippos usually trot to move quickly on land and can gallop at 30 km/h (19 mph) when needed. They are incapable of jumping but can walk up steep banks. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in the water. The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land mammals, and usually sleeps on land or in water with the nostrils exposed. Despite this, it may be capable of sleeping while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe without waking. They appear to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals.

 

Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels. By defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting the biogeochemical cycle. On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation. Hippos' stomach anatomy lacks adaptions to carnivory and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients or just an abnormal behaviour.

 

Social life

It is challenging to study the interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually dimorphic, so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field. Hippo pods fluctuate but can contain over 100 hippos. Although they lie close together, adults develop almost no social bonds. Males establish territories in water but not land, and these may range 250–500 m (270–550 yd) in lakes and 50–100 m (55–109 yd) in rivers. Territories are abandoned when the water dries up. The bull has breeding access to all the cows in his territory. Younger bachelors are allowed to stay as long as they defer to him. A younger male may challenge the old bull for control of the territory. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex and status. Bachelor males lounge near other bachelors, females with other females, and the territorial male is on his own. When hippos emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.

  

Male hippos fighting

Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is not well understood. It is unlikely to serve a territorial function, as the animals only establish territories in the water. They may be used as trails between the water and grazing areas.  "Yawning" serves as a threat display. When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons.  When hippos become over-populated or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide, but this behaviour is not common under normal conditions.

 

The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can travel over long distances in air. This call starts as a high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call.  The animals can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react to the wheeze honks of strangers than to those they are more familiar with. When threatened or alarmed, they produce exhalations, and fighting bulls will bellow loudly. Hippos are recorded to produce clicks underwater which may have echolocative properties. They have the unique ability to hold their heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air; individuals respond both above and below water.

 

Reproduction

Cows reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have a gestation period of eight months. A study of endocrine systems revealed cows may begin puberty at as early as three or four years. Males reach maturity at around 7.5 years. Both conceptions and births are highest during the wet season. Male hippo always have mobile spermatozoa and can breed year-round.  After becoming pregnant, a female hippo will typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months.

  

Preserved hippopotamus fetus

Hippos mate in the water, with the cow remaining under the surface,  her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Cows give birth in seclusion and return within 10 to 14 days. Calves are born on land or shallow water weighing on average 50 kg (110 lb) and at an average length of around 127 cm (4.17 ft). The female lies on her side when nursing, which can occur underwater or on land. The young are carried on their mothers' backs in deep water. 

 

Mother hippos are very protective of their young, not allowing others to get too close. One cow was recorded protecting a calf's carcass after it had died. Calves may be temporarily kept in nurseries, guarded by one or more adults, and will play amongst themselves. Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists, in this case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of years (rather than many small, poorly developed young several times per year, as is common among small mammals such as rodents). Calves no longer need to suckle when they are a year old. 

 

Interspecies interactions

Hippos coexist alongside a variety of large predators in their habitats. Nile crocodiles, lions, and spotted hyenas are known to prey on young hippos. Beyond these, adult hippos are not usually preyed upon by other animals due to their aggression and size. Cases where large lion prides have successfully preyed on adult hippos have been reported, but it is generally rare. Lions occasionally prey on adults at Gorongosa National Park and calves are sometimes taken at Virunga. Crocodiles are frequent targets of hippo aggression, probably because they often inhabit the same riparian habitats; crocodiles may be either aggressively displaced or killed by hippos. In turn, very large Nile crocodiles have been observed preying occasionally on calves, "half-grown" hippos, and possibly also adult female hippos. Groups of crocodiles have also been observed finishing off still-living male hippos that were previously injured in mating battles with other males.

 

Hippos occasionally visit cleaning stations in order to be cleaned of parasites by certain species of fishes. They signal their readiness for this service by opening their mouths wide. This is an example of mutualism, in which the hippo benefits from the cleaning while the fish receive food. Hippo defecation creates allochthonous deposits of organic matter along the river beds. These deposits have an unclear ecological function. A 2015 study concluded hippo dung provides nutrients from terrestrial material for fish and aquatic invertebrates, while a 2018 study found that their dung can be toxic to aquatic life in large quantities, due to absorption of dissolved oxygen in water bodies.

 

The parasitic monogenean flatworm Oculotrema hippopotami infests hippopotamus eyes, mainly the nictitating membrane. It is the only monogenean species (which normally live on fish) documented to live on a mammal.

 

Hippos and humans

The earliest evidence of human interaction with hippos comes from butchery cut marks on hippo bones found at the Bouri Formation and dated to around 160,000 years ago. 4,000–5,000 year art showing hippos being hunted have been found in the Tassili n'Ajjer Mountains of the central Sahara near Djanet. The ancient Egyptians recognised the hippo as a ferocious denizen of the Nile and representations on the tombs of nobles show the animals were hunted by humans.

 

The hippo was also known to the Greeks and Romans. The Greek historian Herodotus described the hippo in The Histories (written circa 440 BC) and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote about the hippo in his encyclopedia Naturalis Historia (written circa 77 AD). The Yoruba people called the hippo erinmi, which means "elephant of the water". Some individual hippos have achieved international fame. Huberta became a celebrity during the Great Depression for trekking a great distance across South Africa. 

 

Attacks on humans

The hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive and has frequently been reported charging and attacking boats. Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger, a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. Hippos will often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions. These encounters can be fatal to either humans or hippos.

 

According to the Ptolemaic historian Manetho, the pharaoh Menes was carried off and then killed by a hippopotamus.

 

In zoos

Hippos have long been popular zoo animals. The first record of hippos taken into captivity for display is dated to 3500 BC in Hierakonpolis, Egypt. The first zoo hippo in modern history was Obaysch, who arrived at the London Zoo on 25 May 1850, where he attracted up to 10,000 visitors a day and inspired a popular song, the "Hippopotamus Polka".

 

Hippos generally breed well in captivity; birth rates are lower than in the wild, but this can be attributed to zoos' desire to limit births, since hippos are relatively expensive to maintain. Starting in 2015, the Cincinnati Zoo built a US$73 million exhibit to house three adult hippos, featuring a 250,000 L (66,000 US gal) tank. Modern hippo enclosures also have a complex filtration system for the animal's waste, an underwater viewing area for the visitors, and glass that may be up to 9 cm (3.5 in) thick and capable of holding water under pressures of 31 kPa (4.5 psi).  In 1987, the Toledo Zoo saw the first underwater birth by a captive hippo. The exhibit was so popular, the logo of the Toledo Zoo was updated to feature the hippos.

 

Cultural significance

In Egyptian mythology, the god Set takes the form of a red hippopotamus and fights Horus for control of the land, but is defeated. The goddess Tawaret is depicted as a pregnant woman with a hippo head, representing fierce maternal love. The Ijaw people of the Niger Delta wore masks of aquatic animals like the hippo when practising their water spirit cults, and hippo ivory was used in the divination rituals of the Yoruba. Hippo masks were also used in Nyau funerary rituals of the Chewa of Southern Africa.[97]: 120  According to Robert Baden-Powell, Zulu warriors referred to hippos in war chants. The Behemoth from the Book of Job, is thought to be based on the hippo.

 

Hippos have been the subjects of various African folktales. According to a San story, when the Creator assigned each animal its place in nature, the hippos wanted to live in the water, but were refused out of fear they might eat all the fish. After begging and pleading, the hippos were finally allowed to live in the water on the condition they would eat grass instead of fish, and fling their dung so it can be inspected for fish bones. In a Ndebele tale, the hippo originally had long, beautiful hair, but it was set on fire by a jealous hare and the hippo had to jump into a nearby pool. The hippo lost most of his hair and was too embarrassed to leave the water.

  

The "Hippopotamus Polka"

Hippopotamuses were rarely depicted in European art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, due to less access to specimens by Europeans. One notable exception is Peter Paul Rubens' The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt (1615–1616).  Ever since Obaysch inspired the "Hippopotamus Polka", hippos have been popular animals in Western culture for their rotund appearance, which many consider comical. The Disney film Fantasia featured a ballerina hippo dancing to the opera La Gioconda. The film Hugo the Hippo is set in Tanzania and involves the title character trying to escape being slaughtered with the help of local children. The Madagascar films feature a hippo named Gloria.  Hippos even inspired a popular board game, Hungry Hungry Hippos.

 

Among the most famous poems about the hippo is "The Hippopotamus" by T. S. Eliot, where he uses the animal to represent the Catholic Church. Hippos are mentioned in the novelty Christmas song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that became a hit for child star Gayla Peevey in 1953. They also featured in the popular "The Hippopotamous Song" by Flanders and Swann. 

 

A popular internet myth reports that hippos have pink milk. Biologist David Wynick states, "I think this is an Internet legend that is oft repeated but without any evidence for it that I can find... Like all mammals, hippos produce white or off-white milk for their young.

On Black

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb).

 

The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers off the coasts of Australasia and the Americas.

 

Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time. Its purpose is not clear, though it may have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) each year.

 

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish.

 

Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the bubble net feeding technique. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide.

 

A humpback whale can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tubercles, which are hair follicles, and are characteristic of the species. The fluked tail, which it lifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy trailing edges.

 

The four global populations, all under study, are: North Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean humpbacks, which have distinct populations which complete a migratory round-trip each year, and the Indian Ocean population, which does not migrate, prevented by that ocean's northern coastline.

 

The long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body length, and the pectoral fins have unique patterns, which make individual whales identifiable. Several hypotheses attempt to explain the humpback's pectoral fins, which are proportionally the longest fins of any cetacean.

 

The two most enduring mention the higher maneuverability afforded by long fins, and the usefulness of the increased surface area for temperature control when migrating between warm and cold climates. Humpbacks have 270 to 400 darkly colored baleen plates on each side of their mouths.

 

The plates measure from a mere 18 inches (46 cm) in the front to approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) long in the back, behind the hinge. Ventral grooves run from the lower jaw to the umbilicus about halfway along the underside of the whale. These grooves are less numerous (usually 14–22) than in other rorquals but are fairly wide.

 

The stubby dorsal fin is visible soon after the blow when the whale surfaces, but disappears by the time the flukes emerge. Humpbacks have a 3 metres (9.8 ft), heart-shaped to bushy blow, or exhalation of water through the blowholes.

 

Because humpback whales breathe voluntarily, the whales possibly shut off only half of their brains when sleeping. Early whalers also noted blows from humpback adults to be 10–20 feet (3.0–6.1 m) high.

 

This image was taken on a Elding Whale Watch trip from Akureyri in Iceland

Die Böhmische Schweiz (Bohemian Switzerland) liegt im Nordwesten von Tschechien und ist Teil des Elbsandsteingebirges. Sonnenaufgang im Tal, in der näheren Umgebung des Dorfes Hohen Leipa (Vysoká Lípa).

 

The Photo was taken in the North of the Czech Republic . The Region is called in czech "Ceske Svycarsko" (engl. "Bohemian Switzerland"). It is the czech part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in northern Bohemia.

 

© www.borais.com | Do not use without my permission. Image is under full copyright.

 

This image is online available as a professional Original photo print

under acrylic glass (US and UK) under: Bohemian Switzerland Print

(Premium silicon sealing between acrylic and an aluminium backing board)

 

Das Bild kann online als professioneller Print (aufgezogen) bestellt und geliefert werden: Böhmische Schweiz Abzug

( z. B. Premium-Silikon-Versiegelung unter Acryl aufgebracht auf Aluminiumträger)

   

Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous tourist and archaeological site known for its sculptured temples dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Jain patriarchs, and others. Khajuraho was one of the capitals of the Chandela kings, who from the 9th to the 12th century CE developed a large realm, which at its height included almost all of what is now Madhya Pradesh state. Khajuraho extended over 21 sq. km and contained about 85 temples, built by multiple rulers mostly between 950 to 1050. In the 12th century the Chandelas, in a period of chaos and decline, abandoned Khajuraho and moved to hill forts elsewhere. Khajuraho puttered along until the 14th century (Ibn Batuta was impressed by its temples) but was afterwards largely forgotten and overtaken by jungles, which probably saved it from the desecration that Muslim conquerors sometimes inflicted on Hindu monuments. In 1838 a British army captain, TS Burt, employed by the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, came upon information that led him to the rediscovery of the complex of temples in the jungle in Khajuraho.

 

Of the 85 original temples—most constructed of sandstone—about 20 are still reasonably well preserved. Both internally and externally the temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and often sexually explicit. The temples are divided into three complexes—the western is the largest and best known, containing the magnificent Shaivite temple Kandariya Mahadev, a 31m high agglomeration of porches and turrets culminating in a spire. Khajuraho's name derives from the prevalence of khajur, or date palms, in the area.

 

There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

 

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.

 

However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:

 

1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

 

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.

3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

 

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.

 

5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.

The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.

However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples

www.flickr.com/groups/flickr_united/

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX-Ru1XkNZc&feature=related

The blowhole of the humpback whale like all baleen whales have two openings unlike the toothed whales which have only one.

 

The first sign of whales in an area is usually the 'blow'. Air leaves the blowhole at more than 400 kilometres an hour. When tie whales surface, the exhalation of warm air produces a distinctive cloud, formed by condensation of vapour excelled from the lungs under great pressure. Adult humpbacks have two lungs, each the size of a small car, which they can empty and refill in less than two seconds.

 

Whale breath is quite fishy to smell, and if a blow happens to drift on to an unsuspecting photographer they will find their equipment will have a light smear of oil on it.

 

Note: Mother and Baby Calf swimming north towards Queensland...

  

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Caught between a window and a face-palm, the little ectoparasite spilled her guts in a death slide.

 

Mosquitoes are attracted to CO₂, and they are able to home in on humans by detecting the trace gas in our exhalations, so watch out for that heavy breathing around mosquitoes, and smash them when you can.

 

I watched this one bouncing against the door window for several minutes before I went out and smashed it. I don't know why mosquitoes do that; maybe they can smell us through the windows. Normally, I don't pursue them outside, and give chase only when they invade my space.

 

However, I should add I've killed many mosquitoes outdoors while watching and photographing birds in line with my general strategy: kill all mosquitoes!