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Rhinoceros /raɪˈnɒsərəs/, often abbreviated as rhino, is a group of five extant species of knee-less, odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia.
Members of the rhinoceros family are characterized by their large size (they are some of the largest remaining megafauna, with all of the species able to reach one tonne or more in weight); as well as by a herbivorous diet; a thick protective skin, 1.5–5 cm thick, formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure; relatively small brains for mammals this size (400–600 g); and a large horn. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter, if necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths, relying instead on their powerful premolar and molar teeth to grind up plant food.[1]
Rhinoceros are killed by humans for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market, and which are used by some cultures for ornamental or (pseudo-scientific) medicinal purposes. The horns are made of keratin, the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails.[2] Both African species and the Sumatran rhinoceros have two horns, while the Indian and Javan rhinoceros have a single horn.
The IUCN Red List identifies three of the species as critically endangered.
The word rhinoceros is derived through Latin from the Ancient Greek: ῥῑνόκερως, which is composed of ῥῑνο- (rhino-, "nose") and κέρας (keras, "horn"). The plural in English is rhinoceros or rhinoceroses. The collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses is crash or herd.
The five living species fall into three categories. The two African species, the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros, belong to the Dicerotini group, which originated in the middle Miocene, about 14.2 million years ago. The species diverged during the early Pliocene (about 5 million years ago). The main difference between black and white rhinos is the shape of their mouths - white rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing, whereas black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage.
There are two living Rhinocerotini species, the Indian rhinoceros and the Javan rhinoceros, which diverged from one another about 10 million years ago. The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only surviving representative of the most primitive group, the Dicerorhinini, which emerged in the Miocene (about 20 million years ago).[3] The extinct woolly rhinoceros of northern Europe and Asia was also a member of this tribe.
A subspecific hybrid white rhino (Ceratotherium s. simum × C. s. cottoni) was bred at the Dvůr Králové Zoo (Zoological Garden Dvur Kralove nad Labem) in the Czech Republic in 1977. Interspecific hybridisation of black and white rhinoceros has also been confirmed.[4]
While the black rhinoceros has 84 chromosomes (diploid number, 2N, per cell), all other rhinoceros species have 82 chromosomes.
White rhinoceros
Main article: White rhinoceros
There are two subspecies of white rhino: the southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) and the northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). In 2007, the southern subspecies had a wild population of 17,480 (IUCN2008) - 16,266 of which were in South Africa - making them the most abundant rhino subspecies in the world. However, the northern subspecies was critically endangered, with as few as four individuals in the wild; the possibility of complete extinction in the wild having been noted since June 2008.[5] Six are known to be held in captivity, two of which reside in a zoo in San Diego. Four born in a zoo in the Czech Republic were transferred to a wildlife refuge in Kenya in December 2009, in an effort to have the animals reproduce and save the subspecies.[6]
There is no conclusive explanation of the name white rhinoceros. A popular theory that "white" is a distortion of either the Afrikaans word weid or the Dutch word wijd (or its other possible spellings whyde, weit, etc.,) meaning wide and referring to the rhino's square lips is not supported by linguistic studies.[7][8]
The white rhino has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. This rhino can exceed 3,500 kg (7,700 lb), have a head-and-body length of 3.5–4.6 m (11–15 ft) and a shoulder height of 1.8–2 m (5.9–6.6 ft). The record-sized white rhinoceros was about 4,500 kg (10,000 lb).[9] On its snout it has two horns. The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages 90 cm (35 in) in length and can reach 150 cm (59 in). The white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its relatively large head. The colour of this animal can range from yellowish brown to slate grey. Most of its body hair is found on the ear fringes and tail bristles, with the rest distributed rather sparsely over the rest of the body. White rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth that is used for grazing.
Black rhinoceros
Main article: Black rhinoceros
The name black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was chosen to distinguish this species from the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). This can be confusing, as the two species are not really distinguishable by color. There are four subspecies of black rhino: South-central (Diceros bicornis minor), the most numerous, which once ranged from central Tanzania south through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to northern and eastern South Africa; South-western (Diceros bicornis bicornis) which are better adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannas of Namibia, southern Angola, western Botswana and western South Africa; East African (Diceros bicornis michaeli), primarily in Tanzania; and West African (Diceros bicornis longipes) which was declared extinct in November 2011.[10] The native Tswanan name Keitloa is used to describe a South African variation of the black rhino in which the posterior horn is equal to or longer than the anterior horn.[11]
An adult black rhinoceros stands 150–175 cm (59–69 in) high at the shoulder and is 3.5–3.9 m (11–13 ft) in length.[12] An adult weighs from 850 to 1,600 kg (1,900 to 3,500 lb), exceptionally to 1,800 kg (4,000 lb), with the females being smaller than the males. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm long, exceptionally up to 140 cm. Sometimes, a third smaller horn may develop. The black rhino is much smaller than the white rhino, and has a pointed mouth, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding.
During the latter half of the 20th century their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000[13] in the late 1960s to only 2,410 in 1995.[14]
Indian rhinoceros
Main article: Indian rhinoceros
The Indian rhinoceros, or the greater one-horned rhinoceros, (Rhinoceros unicornis) is now found almost exclusively in Nepal and North-Eastern India. The rhino once inhabited many areas ranging from Pakistan to Burma and may have even roamed in China. However, because of human influence, their range has shrunk and now they only exist in several protected areas of India (in Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat and a few pairs in Uttar Pradesh) and Nepal, plus a few pairs in Lal Suhanra National Park in Pakistan. It is confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.
The Indian rhinoceros has thick, silver-brown skin which creates huge folds all over its body. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps, and it has very little body hair. Fully grown males are larger than females in the wild, weighing from 2,500–3,200 kg (5,500–7,100 lb).The Indian rhino stands at 1.75–2.0 metres (5.75–6.5 ft). Female Indian rhinos weigh about 1,900 kg and are 3–4 metres long. The record-sized specimen of this rhino was approximately 3,800 kg. The Indian rhino has a single horn that reaches a length of between 20 and 100 cm. Its size is comparable to that of the white rhino in Africa.
Two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses are now confined to the Kaziranga National Park situated in the Golaghat district of Assam, India.[15]
Javan rhinoceros
Main article: Javan rhinoceros
The Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is one of the rarest and most endangered large mammals anywhere in the world.[16] According to 2002 estimates, only about 60 remain, in Java (Indonesia) and Vietnam. Of all the rhino species, the least is known of the Javan Rhino. These animals prefer dense lowland rain forest, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with large floodplains and mud wallows. Though once widespread throughout Asia, by the 1930s the rhinoceros was nearly hunted to extinction in India, Burma, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra for the supposed medical powers of its horn and blood. As of 2009, there are only 40 of them remaining in Ujung Kulon Conservation, Java, Indonesia. The last rhinoceros in Vietnam was reportedly killed in 2010.[17]
Like the closely related, and larger, Indian rhinoceros, the Javan rhinoceros has a single horn. Its hairless, hazy gray skin falls into folds into the shoulder, back, and rump giving it an armored-like appearance. The Javan rhino's body length reaches up to 3.1–3.2 m (10–10 ft), including its head and a height of 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in) tall. Adults are variously reported to weigh between 900–1,400 kg[18] or 1,360–2,000 kg.[19] Male horns can reach 26 cm in length, while in females they are knobs or are not present at all.[19]
Sumatran rhinoceros
Main article: Sumatran rhinoceros
The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is the smallest extant rhinoceros species, as well as the one with the most hair. It can be found at very high altitudes in Borneo and Sumatra. Due to habitat loss and poaching, its numbers have declined and it is the most threatened rhinoceros. About 275 Sumatran rhinos are believed to remain.
A mature Sumatran rhino typically stands about 130 cm (51 in) high at the shoulder, with a body length of 240–315 cm (94–124 in) and weighing around 700 kg (1,500 lb), though the largest individuals have been known to weigh as much as 1,000 kilograms. Like the African species, it has two horns; the larger is the front (25–79 cm), with the smaller usually less than 10 cm long. The males have much larger horns than the females. Hair can range from dense (the densest hair in young calves) to scarce. The color of these rhinos is reddish brown. The body is short and has stubby legs. They also have a prehensile lip.
Rhinocerotoids diverged from other perissodactyls by the early Eocene. Fossils of Hyrachyus eximus found in North America date to this period. This small hornless ancestor resembled a tapir or small horse more than a rhino. Three families, sometimes grouped together as the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea, evolved in the late Eocene: Hyracodontidae, Amynodontidae and Rhinocerotidae.
Hyracodontidae, also known as 'running rhinos', showed adaptations for speed, and would have looked more like horses than modern rhinos. The smallest hyracodontids were dog-sized; the largest was Indricotherium, believed to be one of the largest land mammals that ever existed. The hornless Indricotherium was almost seven metres high, ten metres long, and weighed as much as 15 tons. Like a giraffe, it ate leaves from trees. The hyracodontids spread across Eurasia from the mid-Eocene to early Miocene.
The Amynodontidae, also known as "aquatic rhinos", dispersed across North America and Eurasia, from the late Eocene to early Oligocene. The amynodontids were hippopotamus-like in their ecology and appearance, inhabiting rivers and lakes, and sharing many of the same adaptations to aquatic life as hippos.
The family of all modern rhinoceros, the Rhinocerotidae, first appeared in the Late Eocene in Eurasia. The earliest members of Rhinocerotidae were small and numerous; at least 26 genera lived in Eurasia and North America until a wave of extinctions in the middle Oligocene wiped out most of the smaller species. However, several independent lineages survived. Menoceras, a pig-sized rhinoceros, had two horns side-by-side. The North American Teleoceras had short legs, a barrel chest and lived until about 5 million years ago. The last rhinos in the Americas became extinct during the Pliocene.
Modern rhinos are believed to have began dispersal from Asia during the Miocene. Two species survived the most recent period of glaciation and inhabited Europe as recently as 10,000 years ago: the woolly rhinoceros and Elasmotherium. The woolly rhinoceros appeared in China around 1 million years ago and first arrived in Europe around 600,000 years ago. It reappeared 200,000 years ago, alongside the woolly mammoth, and became numerous. Eventually it was hunted to extinction by early humans. Elasmotherium, also known as the giant rhinoceros, survived through the middle Pleistocene: it was two meters tall, five meters long and weighed around five tons, with a single enormous horn, hypsodont teeth and long legs for running.
Of the extant rhinoceros species, the Sumatran rhino is the most archaic, first emerging more than 15 million years ago. The Sumatran rhino was closely related to the woolly rhinoceros, but not to the other modern species. The Indian rhino and Javan rhino are closely related and form a more recent lineage of Asian rhino. The ancestors of early Indian and Javan rhino diverged 2–4 million years ago.[21]
The origin of the two living African rhinos can be traced back to the late Miocene (6 mya) species Ceratotherium neumayri. The lineages containing the living species diverged by the early Pliocene (1.5 mya), when Diceros praecox, the likely ancestor of the black rhinoceros, appears in the fossil record.[22] The black and white rhinoceros remain so closely related that they can still mate and successfully produce offspring.
In the wild, adult rhinoceros have few natural predators other than humans. Young rhinos can fall prey to predators such as big cats, crocodiles, wild dogs, and hyenas. Although rhinos are of a large size and have a reputation for being tough, they are actually very easily poached; because it visits water holes daily, the rhinoceros is easily killed while taking a drink. As of December 2009 poaching has been on a global increase whilst efforts to protect the rhinoceros are considered increasingly ineffective. The worst estimate, that only 3% of poachers are successfully countered, is reported of Zimbabwe. Rhino horn is considered to be particularly effective on fevers and even "life saving" by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, which in turn provides a sales market. Nepal is apparently alone in avoiding the crisis while poacher-hunters grow ever more sophisticated.[26] South African officials are calling for urgent action against rhinoceros poaching after poachers killed the last female rhinoceros in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve near Johannesburg.[27] Statistics from South African National Parks show a record 333 rhinoceros have been killed in 2010.[28]
Horns
Rhinoceros horns, unlike those of other horned mammals (which have a bony core), only consist of keratin. Rhinoceros horns are used in traditional Asian medicine, and for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman. Esmond Bradley Martin has reported on the trade for dagger handles in Yemen.[29]
One repeated misconception is that rhinoceros horn in powdered form is used as an aphrodisiac in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as Cornu Rhinoceri Asiatici It is, in fact, prescribed for fevers and convulsions.[30] Neither have been proven by evidence-based medicine. Discussions with TCM practitioners to reduce its use have met with mixed results since some TCM doctors see rhinoceros horn as a life-saving medicine of better quality than substitutes.[31] China has signed the CITES treaty however, and removed rhinoceros horn from the Chinese medicine pharmacopeia, administered by the Ministry of Health, in 1993. In 2011 in the United Kingdom, the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine issued a formal statement condemning the use of rhinoceros horn.[32] A growing number of TCM educators have also spoken out against the practice.[33] To prevent poaching, in certain areas, rhinos have been tranquilized and their horns removed. Armed park rangers, particularly in South Africa, are also working on the front lines to combat poaching, sometimes killing poachers who are caught in the act. A recent spike in rhino killings has made conservationaists concerned about the future of rhino species. During 2011 448 rhino were killed for their horn in South Africa alone.[34] The horn is incredibly valuable: an average sized horn can bring in much as a quarter of a million dollars in Vietnam and many rhino range States have stockpiles of rhino horn.[35][36] Still, poaching is hitting record levels due to demands from China and Vietnam.[37]
Historical representations
Albrecht Dürer created a famous woodcut of a rhinoceros in 1515, based on a written description and brief sketch by an unknown artist of an Indian rhinoceros that had arrived in Lisbon earlier that year. Dürer never saw the animal itself and, as a result, Dürer's Rhinoceros is a somewhat inaccurate depiction.
There are legends about rhinoceros stamping out fire in Malaysia, India, and Burma. The mythical rhinoceros has a special name in Malay, badak api, where badak means rhinoceros and api means fire. The animal would come when a fire is lit in the forest and stamp it out.[38] There are no recent confirmations of this phenomenon. However, this legend has been reinforced by the film The Gods Must Be Crazy, where an African rhinoceros is shown to be putting out two campfires.
Conservation
International Rhino Foundation
Save the Rhino
Nicolaas Jan van Strien
Individual rhinoceroses
Abada
Clara
Rhinoceros of Versailles
See also: Fictional Rhinoceroses
Other
Rhinoceroses in ancient China
A wine vessel in the form of a bronze rhinoceros with silver inlay, from the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) period of China, sporting a saddle on its back
A rhinoceros depicted on a Roman mosaic in Villa Romana del Casale, an archeological site near Piazza Armerina in Sicily, Italy
Dürer's Rhinoceros, in a woodcut from 1515
Monk with rhinoceros horn. Samye, Tibet, 1938.
Indricotherium, the extinct "giant giraffe" rhinoceros. It stood 18 feet tall at the shoulder and weighed up to 20 tonnes (22 short tons).
Coelodonta, the extinct woolly rhinoceros
The thick dermal armour of the Rhinoceros evolved at the same time as shearing tusks[20]
The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the rhino species
Smaller in size than the Indian rhinoceros, the Javan rhinoceros also have a single horn
The Indian rhinoceros has a single horn
The black rhinoceros has a beak shaped lip and is similar in color to the white rhinoceros
The white rhinoceros is actually grey
Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) at the Saint Louis Zoo
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Infraclass:Eutheria
Order:Perissodactyla
Suborder:Ceratomorpha
Superfamily:Rhinocerotoidea
Family:Rhinocerotidae
Gray, 1820
Extant Genera
Ceratotherium
Dicerorhinus
Diceros
Rhinoceros
Extinct genera, see text
NEW DELHI: A total of 631 animals, including 19 rhinos, died in the recent floods in Kaziranga National Park of Assam, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
In a written reply to the House, forest and environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan also said that flood is a natural and recurring phenomenon in Kaziranga and it creates a variety of habitats for different species.
"Mortality of wild animals due to flood has been reported during the year only in Kaziranga Tiger Reserve. As reported by the state, a total of 631 animal deaths, including 19 rhinos, have occurred in Kaziranga due to excess water brought by the flood during June-July 2012," she said.
She also informed the House that the flooding results in damage to infrastructure such as roads, anti-poaching camps, artificial high grounds.
"Similar high floods of 1988 and 1998 recorded animal mortality of 1203 and 652 respectively," Natarajan said.
Replying to a separate question on tiger deaths reported in Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, she said from 2008 till now, there are 19 such incidents of the big cats dying due to natural and other causes.
She said only two incidents of poaching were reported from the national park.
In reply to another question on Tiger Project, she said, "The country level tiger population, estimated once in every four years using the refined methodology, is 1706."
While the lower limit of the tiger population is estimated to be 1520, the upper limit has been fixed at 1909.
Providing details of the 'India State Survey of Forest Report 2011', Natarajan told the House that "Forest and tree cover in the country is 78.29 million hectare, which is 23.81 per cent of the total geographical cover. This includes 2.76 per cent of tree cover."
On the forest cover in hilly and tribal areas, she said, "In the hill and tribal districts of the country, a decrease in forest dover of 548 sq km and 679 sq km respectively has been reported as compared to the previous assessment."
The northeastern states account for one-fourth of the country's forest cover but, "A decline of 549 sq km in forest cover as compared to the previous assessment", she said.
Replying to a query on mangrove cover in the country, Natarajan said there has been an increase of 23.34 sq km during the same period.
More expensive than cocaine, rhino horn is now the party drug of choice among Vietnam’s young things.
Instead of a razor blade and mirror, a textured ceramic bowl is used for grinding down rhinoceros horn into a powder to be mixed with water or wine.
Rhino horn is made of keratin, the same protein as fingernails. Scientists say it has no medicinal value, and users aren’t getting high. The belief in Vietnam is that drinking a tonic made from the horn will detoxify the body after a night of heavy boozing, and prevent a hangover. One Vietnamese news website described rhino horn wine as “the alcoholic drink of millionaires.”
This is the latest twist in South Africa’s devastating rhino poaching crisis, which began with a sudden boom in illegal killings of the endangered animal in 2008 and has worsened every year since. Demand among the newly wealthy in Vietnam is the root of the problem, says TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring group.
Tom Milliken, a rhino expert with TRAFFIC, said that in Vietnam, offering your friends rhino horn at a party has become a fashionable way to show wealth and status.
The way it happens is like this: “I would get my closest friends and we’d go into another room. I would bring out some rhino horn and we’d all take it and then come back to the party,” said Milliken, who studied the phenomenon.
A new TRAFFIC report, co-authored by Milliken, details how surging demand for horn in Vietnam, corruption in South Africa’s wildlife industry, loopholes in regulations and criminal networks have all fed into the poaching epidemic.
Vietnam’s new rich have become the world’s largest consumer group of rhino horn, spurring demand and the continued slaughter of rhinos in South Africa.
Another key group of Vietnamese consumers is people with serious illnesses, in particular cancer, who believe rhino horn can cure them despite the lack of any medical evidence. The TRAFFIC report describes the phenomenon of “rhino horn touts” stalking the corridors at hospitals, seeking out desperate patients with cancer.
An update released by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs said that 339 rhino have been killed illegally in the country since the start of 2012, on track to be the worst year for poaching yet. There have also been 192 poaching-related arrests this year.
South Africa is the primary target for poachers because it is home to 21,000 rhinos, or more than 80 per cent of the world population.
South Africa and Vietnam are beginning to cooperate on the problem, although progress has been slow.
Vietnam’s deputy foreign affairs minister Le Loung Minh visited South Africa last week for talks on illegal trade in wildlife with his counterpart Ebrahim Ebrahim. The two governments are set to sign a memorandum of understanding that would encompass cooperation in criminal investigations. But it has taken a year of sporadic talks to reach this point — a sign of the lack of urgent action.
“South Africa has progressively scaled up its response to rhino crime,” the report noted, pointing to a plan that is being implemented and the recent increase in “high-value arrests.”
South Africa’s environment ministry hired Mavuso Msimang to bring together South Africans in private and public sectors to find the best way to save the rhino.
The project involves studying the potential legalising of the rhino horn trade, a contentious issue. “The government has done a good job of putting their effort behind the saving of the rhino,” Msimang said at the launch of the TRAFFIC report. “It’s got shortcomings, coordination is not always great, but the will to do well is with us,” he said.
Every day in South Africa, a rhinoceros will bleed to death after its horn has been hacked off by poachers. The horns are sold on the black market in Asia, mostly in Vietnam, where they’re believed to have powerful medicinal properties. Dutch veterinarian Martine van Zijl Langhout works together with local wardens to try and protect this threatened species.
Van Zijll Langhout stalks as quietly as possible through the tall grass at Mauricedale Park in the east of South Africa near the famous Kruger Park. She pulls back the trigger on her special tranquiliser rifle, takes aim and fires. The rhinoceros in her sights wobbles groggily for a few minutes before sinking onto its knees and rolling unconscious onto its side. Van Zijll Langhout and her team, carrying a chainsaw, approach the animal cautiously.
Brutal killings
There are some 20,000 rhinos in South Africa, 80 percent of the world population. And every day these animals are slaughtered savagely by poachers. First the rhino is shot to bring it down, and then the horn is hacked off with axes and machetes. The poachers cut as deeply into the animal’s head as possible. Every extra centimetre of horn means more money in their pockets. In 2007, thirteen rhinos in South Africa fell victim to poachers. Last year that number had soared to 448, and the toll so far this year is 312.
Reducing risk
Loud snoring can be heard. The vet blindfolds the rhinoceros and then the park manager starts up the chainsaw and proceeds to slice into the beast’s horn. Van Zijll Langhout monitors its breathing: “This is one way to stop the poachers” she explains. “They want as much horn as possible so rhinos with a small horn are a less attractive target”.
Van Zijll Langhout came to South Africa in 1997 when she was still a student and worked at Kruger Park with lions, elephants and rhinos. She knew she’d found her dream job, and five years ago she returned as a qualified vet. “It’s an unquenchable passion, such an adventure, and every day is different,” she says, “It’s such a privilege to work with African animals and an honour to be able to do something for them”.
No better option
The preventive removal of the rhinoceros’ horn takes about ten minutes. Van Zijll Langhout, an energetic woman in her thirties with wildly curly hair, compares the process to clipping nails or having a haircut: “It’s completely painless; we cut above the blood vessels”. Again she checks the animal’s breathing as its snores echo through the bush. “It’s not nice that we have to do this, but I don’t really see a better option”, she sighs, “and the horn does grow back, otherwise we wouldn’t do it.” The fact that visitors to the park might be disappointed and expect to see rhinos complete with proud curving horns doesn’t bother her: “What matters is the animals’ survival”.
Organised crime
The fight against poaching is a difficult one. “These are professional criminals”, explains Van Zijll Langhout. “This isn’t about poor locals living in huts. Poachers have advanced weapons and sometimes even use helicopters.” The horns are worth more than their weight in gold, so it’s a lucrative trade for organised crime syndicates.
The horn falls to the ground; the team will preserve it and register it. The rhino is given an injection. Within minutes he’s back on his feet and walking off into the bush. His newly weightless head is no guarantee of safety though. A rhino was poached in the park the same week as the horns were sawn off. Even the stump that remains after the procedure is worth big money.
Both black and white rhinoceroses are actually gray. They are different not in color but in lip shape. The black rhino has a pointed upper lip, while its white relative has a squared lip. The difference in lip shape is related to the animals' diets. Black rhinos are browsers that get most of their sustenance from eating trees and bushes. They use their lips to pluck leaves and fruit from the branches. White rhinos graze on grasses, walking with their enormous heads and squared lips lowered to the ground.
White rhinos live on Africa's grassy plains, where they sometimes gather in groups of as many as a dozen individuals. Females reproduce only every two and a half to five years. Their single calf does not live on its own until it is about three years old.
Under the hot African sun, white rhinos take cover by lying in the shade. Rhinos are also wallowers. They find a suitable water hole and roll in its mud, coating their skin with a natural bug repellent and sun block.
Rhinos have sharp hearing and a keen sense of smell. They may find one another by following the trail of scent each enormous animal leaves behind it on the landscape.
White rhinos have two horns, the foremost more prominent than the other. Rhino horns grow as much as three inches (eight centimeters) a year, and have been known to grow up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) long. Females use their horns to protect their young, while males use them to battle attackers.
The prominent horn for which rhinos are so well known has been their downfall. Many animals have been killed for this hard, hair-like growth, which is revered for medicinal use in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The horn is also valued in North Africa and the Middle East as an ornamental dagger handle.
The white rhino once roamed much of sub-Saharan Africa, but today is on the verge of extinction due to poaching fueled by these commercial uses. Only about 11,000 white rhinos survive in the wild, and many organizations are working to protect this much loved animal.Fast Facts
Type:
Mammal
Diet:
Herbivore
Size:
Head and body, 11 to 13.75 ft (3.4 to 4.2 m); tail, 20 to 27.5 in (50 to 70 cm)
Weight:
3,168 to 7,920 lbs (1,440 to 3,600 kg)
Protection status:
Endangered
Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
Both black and white rhinoceroses are actually gray. They are different not in color but in lip shape. The black rhino has a pointed upper lip, while its white relative has a squared lip. The difference in lip shape is related to the animals' diets. Black rhinos are browsers that get most of their sustenance from eating trees and bushes. They use their lips to pluck leaves and fruit from the branches. White rhinos graze on grasses, walking with their enormous heads and squared lips lowered to the ground.
Except for females and their offspring, black rhinos are solitary. Females reproduce only every two and a half to five years. Their single calf does not live on its own until it is about three years old.
Black rhinos feed at night and during the gloaming hours of dawn and dusk. Under the hot African sun, they take cover by lying in the shade. Rhinos are also wallowers. They often find a suitable water hole and roll in its mud, coating their skin with a natural bug repellent and sun block.
Rhinos have sharp hearing and a keen sense of smell. They may find one another by following the trail of scent each enormous animal leaves behind it on the landscape.
Black rhinos boast two horns, the foremost more prominent than the other. Rhino horns grow as much as three inches (eight centimeters) a year, and have been known to grow up to five feet (one and a half meters) long. Females use their horns to protect their young, while males use them to battle attackers.
The prominent horn for which rhinos are so well known has also been their downfall. Many animals have been killed for the hard, hairlike growth, which is revered for medicinal uses in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The horn is also valued in North Africa and the Middle East as an ornamental dagger handle.
The black rhino once roamed most of sub-Saharan Africa, but today is on the verge of extinction due to poaching fueled by commercial demand.
The rifle shot boomed through the darkening forest just as Damien Mander arrived at his campfire after a long day training game ranger recruits in western Zimbabwe's Nakavango game reserve. His thoughts flew to Basta, a pregnant black rhinoceros, and her two-year-old calf. That afternoon one of his rangers had discovered human footprints following the pair's tracks as Basta sought cover in deep bush to deliver the newest member of her threatened species.
Damien, a hard-muscled former Australian Special Forces sniper with an imposing menagerie of tattoos, including "Seek & Destroy" in gothic lettering across his chest, swiveled his head, trying to place the direction of the shot. "There, near the eastern boundary," he pointed into the blackness. "Sounded like a .223," he said, identifying the position and caliber, a habit left over from 12 tours in Iraq. He and his rangers grabbed shotguns, radios, and medical kits and piled into two Land Cruisers. They roared into the night, hoping to cut off the shooter. The rangers rolled down their windows and listened for a second shot, which would likely signal Basta's calf was taken as well.
It was an ideal poacher's setup: half-moon, almost no wind. The human tracks were especially ominous. Poaching crews often pay trackers to find the rhinos, follow them until dusk, then radio their position to a shooter with a high-powered rifle. After the animal is down, the two horns on its snout are hacked off in minutes, and the massive carcass is left to hyenas and vultures. Nearly always the horns are fenced to an Asian buyer; an enterprising crew might also cut out Basta's fetus and the eyes of the mother and calf to sell to black magic or muti practitioners. If this gang was well organized, a group of heavily armed men would be covering the escape route, ready to ambush the rangers.
As the Land Cruiser bucked over rutted tracks, Damien did a quick calculation—between his vehicles he had two antiquated shotguns with about a dozen shells. Based on the sound of the shot, the poachers held an advantage in firepower. If the rangers did pick up a trail and followed on foot, they would have to contend with lions, leopards, and hyenas out hunting in the dark.
In the backseat of one of the speeding Land Cruisers, Benzene, a Zimbabwean ranger who had spent nearly a year watching over Basta and her calf and knew the pair intimately, loaded three shells into his shotgun, flicked on the safety, and chambered a round. As we bounced into the night, he said, "It is better for the poachers if they meet a lion than if they meet us."
AND SO GOES A NIGHT on the front lines of southern Africa's ruthless and murky rhino war, which since 2006 has seen more than a thousand rhinos slaughtered, some 22 poachers gunned down and more than 200 arrested last year in South Africa alone. At the bloody heart of this conflict is the rhino's horn, a prized ingredient in traditional Asian medicines. Though black market prices vary widely, as of last fall dealers in Vietnam quoted prices ranging from $33 to $133 a gram, which at the top end is double the price of gold and can exceed the price of cocaine.
Although the range of the two African species—the white rhino and its smaller cousin, the black rhino—has been reduced primarily to southern Africa and Kenya, their populations had shown encouraging improvement. In 2007 white rhinos numbered 17,470, while blacks had nearly doubled to 4,230 since the mid '90s.
For conservationists these numbers represented a triumph. In the 1970s and '80s, poaching had devastated the two species. Then China banned rhino horn from traditional medicine, and Yemen forbade its use for ceremonial dagger handles. All signs seemed to point to better days. But in 2008 the number of poached rhinos in South Africa shot up to 83, from just 13 in 2007. By 2010 the figure had soared to 333, followed by over 400 last year. Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, found most of the horn trade now leads to Vietnam, a shift that coincided with a swell of rumors that a high-ranking Vietnamese official used rhino horn to cure his cancer.
Meanwhile in South Africa, attracted by spiraling prices—and profits—crime syndicates began adding rhino poaching to their portfolios.
animals architecture art asia australia autumn baby band barcelona beach berlin bike bird birds birthday black blackandwhite blue bw california canada canon car cat chicago china christmas church city clouds color concert dance day de dog england europe fall family fashion festival film florida flower flowers food football france friends fun garden geotagged germany girl graffiti green halloween hawaii holiday house india instagramapp iphone iphoneography island italia italy japan kids la lake landscape light live london love macro me mexico model museum music nature new newyork newyorkcity night nikon nyc ocean old paris park party people photo photography photos portrait raw red river rock san sanfrancisco scotland sea seattle show sky snow spain spring square squareformat street summer sun sunset taiwan texas thailand tokyo travel tree trees trip uk unitedstates urban usa vacation vintage washington water wedding white winter woman yellow zoo
Formed by Soldier Crabs, sifting through the sand for food.
Maroochy River, Maroochydore, Qld. Australia.
This image forms part of the digitised photographs of the Ross and Pat Craig Collection. Ross Craig (1926-2012) was a local historian born in Stockton and dedicated much of his life promoting and conserving the history of Stockton, NSW. He possessed a wealth of knowledge about the suburb and was a founding member of the Stockton Historical Society and co-editor of its magazine. Pat Craig supported her husband’s passion for history, and together they made a great contribution to the Stockton and Newcastle communities. We thank the Craig Family and Stockton Historical Society who have kindly given Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, access to the collection and allowed us to publish the images. Thanks also to Vera Deacon for her liaison in attaining this important collection.
Please contact Cultural Collections at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, if you are the subject of the image, or know the subject of the image, and have cultural or other reservations about the image being displayed on this website and would like to discuss this with us.
Some of the images were scanned from original photographs in the collection held at Cultural Collections, other images were already digitised with no provenance recorded.
You are welcome to freely use the images for study and personal research purposes. Please acknowledge as “Courtesy of the Ross and Pat Craig Collection, University of Newcastle (Australia)" For commercial requests please consider making a donation to the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.
These images are provided free of charge to the global community thanks to the generosity of the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund. If you wish to donate to the Vera Deacon Fund please download a form here: uoncc.wordpress.com/vera-deacon-fund/
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La Malaisie, en forme longue la Fédération de Malaisie, en malais Malaysia, مليسيا, est un pays d'Asie du Sud-Est, constitué de la Malaisie péninsulaire ou Malaisie occidentale (péninsule Malaise) et de la Malaisie orientale (nord de Bornéo). Elle est située à environ 200 km au nord de l'équateur. Sa capitale est Kuala Lumpur et sa superficie est égale à 329 750 km2.
Le pays est composé de deux régions distinctes :
* La Malaisie occidentale ou Malaisie péninsulaire (au sud de la Thaïlande) est divisée du Nord au Sud par une longue chaîne montagneuse dont le point culminant se situe à 2189 m (Mont Tahan) et où subsistent de vastes zones forestières. La côte Ouest est marécageuse et plate, la côte Est est, au contraire, composée de longues plages de sable. Les cultures et plantations sont d'abord situées le long des plaines côtières. Le Nord du pays (Perlis et Kedah) est considéré comme le grenier à riz du pays.
* La Malaisie orientale est composée des territoires du Sarawak et du Sabah et située au Nord de l'Indonésie (Bornéo). Cette partie représente 15 % de la population sur 60 % du territoire. Elle est essentiellement composée de forêts tropicales humides et d'un relief assez élevé (mont Kinabalu, 4100 m).
La Malaisie partage ses frontières terrestres avec le Brunei (381 km), l'Indonésie (1178 km) et la Thaïlande (506 km), et dispose de 4675 km de côtes. Elle est également reliée à Singapour par deux ponts traversant le détroit de Johor.
L'utilisation du nom de « Malaisie » pour désigner la péninsule Malaise est récente. Ce nom est la francisation de Malaya dans l'expression « British Malaya » (Malaisie britannique) de laquelle les Anglais désignaient, à partir de la fin du XIXe siècle, les territoires qu'ils contrôlaient sur la péninsule.
Jusqu'en 1912, le nom de « Fédération de Malaisie » ne s'appliquait qu'à l'entité créée en 1946-48 par les Britanniques et devenue indépendante en 1957, « l'Union malaise » (Malayan Union). Celle-ci regroupait, dans la péninsule Malaise, les États malais, qui avaient auparavant le statut de protectorats, et les Strait Settlements, c'est-à-dire les colonies de Malacca, Penang et Singapour.
Lorsque les territoires britanniques de Bornéo, Sabah (British North Borneo) et Sarawak deviennent indépendants en 1963 et acceptent de rejoindre la Malaisie, la nouvelle entité est baptisée du néologisme de « Malaysia ».
En français, « Malaisie » avait à l'origine un autre sens. En 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposait à la Société de géographie de Paris une organisation de l'Océanie en quatre parties :
* la Polynésie (« les nombreuses îles »),
* la Mélanésie (« les îles noires »),
* la Micronésie (« les petites îles ») et
* la Malaisie.
Par ce dernier nom, Dumont d'Urville entendait une région regroupant l'Indonésie, la Malaisie et les Philippines actuelles. À l'époque en effet, on considérait que les habitants de cette région pouvaient être désignés par le terme englobant de « Malais ».
Au sens strict du terme, les Malais sont les populations qui parlent la langue malaise et qui habitent le littoral oriental de l'île de Sumatra, les îles Riau, la péninsule Malaise et le littoral de l'île de Bornéo.
Le traité de Londres de 1824 entre Anglais et Hollandais se traduira par un partage en deux de ce monde malais. On ne saurait donc identifier celui-ci à la seule Malaisie.
Pour éviter la confusion, on utilise le gentilé « malaisien » pour désigner ce qui relève de la Malaisie comme État, le mot « malais » désignant ce qui relève de la langue, de la culture, de l'ethnie, et couvrant donc un territoire plus vaste. Ainsi, l'expression « monde malais » au sens strict désigne l'aire géographique habitée par les Malais et décrite plus haut.
L'État du Pahang est le plus grand de la Malaisie péninsulaire avec 35964 km². Sa capitale est la ville de Kuantan, située sur la côte est de la mer de Chine méridionale.
Sources : wikipedia
forms part of a mural by residents of a detox centre which I facilitated, depicting their journey. All ideas and imagery was created by the residents themselves, who also did the painting.
... in July 1984 I arrived at the newly formed Admiralty Research Establishment to start my ‘industry year’ as a student, working at their antenna test range near Funtington in West Sussex. I was still living on Hayling Island and used my Beetle to do the daily commute to and from the rural site. At that time the site was justifiably rather self-satisfied, having made some crucial technical contributions during the Falklands crisis. I was teamed up with Brian Worsfold and Phil Cotton who worked on radar cross section measurements. Brian was a very kind and patient leader who taught me a great deal. Phil brimmed with energy and was into fast Ford Mexico’s. The site was split in two. The southern side included the office block and stores and the northern side included the large outdoor test range and anechoic chambers. The distance between these was an awkward 600 metres. Walking was frowned upon due to the busy road. Nevertheless, in the summer months you could go and see Vic Frost in the stores and sign out a plain black utility bicycle to make the micro-journey (they had a stores number painted boldly on the diagonal part of the frame). The stores were seemingly full of every conceivable item; test equipment, nuts, bolts, electronic components, radio valves, stock metals, waveguide, large ropes, buckets, etc. The office block also had labs, including a mechanical workshop. I remember the embarrassment of getting my rather long hair caught in a moving pillar drill; my head was yanked towards it but luckily it stalled and I was able to turn it off. I used the workshop to make a ‘homer’; a 10 GHz waveguide filter. The ‘Civil Service’ day was punctuated by both morning and afternoon tea breaks, somewhat frustrating efficient task progression. Perhaps my easiest day at ‘work’ was sitting at the top of a 20 metre tower, in a hut overlooking the Sussex countryside, adjusting the frequency on a signal generator every 15 minutes – tough work, but someone had to do it. The northern side had some Portakabins inhabited by tweed-jacketed chaps who constructed scale models of ships using brass and copper. These detailed and striking models, perhaps 1.5 metres long, were used to predict the radar cross section of vessels and also model the performance of on-board antenna systems. One of my own projects was to develop an automated system for cancelling out residual reflected signals, for use in RCS measurements. This involved writing a ‘hill climbing’ algorithm in BASIC on a Tandy TRS-80 Model 100 portable computer, interfaced via an IEEE bus to stepper motors and a microwave receiver – what fun! For a short period us students were taught electro-optics by Professor Herbert French O.B.E. but most of that went over my head. In April 1985 my parents moved to a village not far from the site and so, for a few summer months, my commute became a five minute drive down some country lanes. Happy days! …
Schefflera arboricola (Dwarf umbrella plant)
Crinkled leaf form at Makawao Ave Makawao, Maui, Hawaii.
August 14, 2006
Application form for Permit to Engage In Activity Other Than That Permitted By The Status Of Residence Previously Granted
Noticed flurries of activity around our nest box today. And as the temperature is around minus 2 debrees, with frost staying on the grass all day, I wonder if they are checking out a warm place to roost tonight?
Gold Belle Mine and Milling Co.
The Gold Belle Mining and Milling Company was formed around 1900 by Wildmand and Williams near the rough mining town of Wildman. The Gold Belle Co. erected a 50 tone cyanide mill to process the gold ore. Today on the cooling tower and concrete foundation remain as evidence of the short-lived gold rush. At the top of the hill is the cooling tower. Below on what is not the steps, there were two large building which housed the mill. The ore was transported to the mill by means of a 1/4 mile overhead tram-way. No ore was ever processed and to get rid of the mine and mill the owners salted the mine. Gold dust was got into the walls of the mine with a muzzle loaded shot gun. Stock was then sold in the mine at the reported price of one dollar per share. It is said that 270,000 shares where sold.
Derry, Foyle Road area, 2009 --The red-white-blue borders indicate you are in a loyalist neighbourhood.
Topf in Form einer Aga-Kröte (Bufo marinus), ca. 250 - 900 n. Chr., Fundort Baja Verapaz, Guatemala
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Pot in form of a cane toad (Bufo marinus), approx. 250 - 900 AD, found at Baja Verapaz, Guatemala
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1961-08 - Winch handling slip form. Aug 61
KHS - Roy Hamilton Collection
KHS Digital Archive Number:
Digitised with assistance from the Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley
Another embroidery experiment, I wanted to see if I could take one of my favourite layouts and turn it into a wall hanging. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. Layout from Grafik no.143, page 76. I am planning a whole series of these pieces based upon my own layouts, a related much bigger project too. Exciting!
...e como forma de o celebrar vem uma surpresa a caminho:)
"A WonderLandMagicDreams e o blog Breakfast@Tiffany´s vão surpreende-la neste dia da Mulher. Fique atenta!"
:)))
Novidades ainda hoje...para ver tudo aqui no flickr, na minha página do Facebook:
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1447346242#!/Minuxa
e no delicios0 blog da Carmen:
breakfastattiffanys-trendsetter.blogspot.com/
Não percam meninas****
La Norvège (en bokmål : Norge, /ˈnɔ̂rɡə/ — en nynorsk : Noreg), en forme longue le royaume de Norvège (en bokmål : Kongeriket Norge — en nynorsk : Kongeriket Noreg), est un pays d'Europe du Nord. Située dans l'ouest-nord-ouest de la péninsule Scandinave qu'elle partage avec la Suède, elle possède également des frontières avec la Finlande et la Russie au nord-est, et est bordée par l'océan Atlantique à l'ouest-nord-ouest et au sud-est, enfin par l'océan Arctique au nord-est.
Avec 5 millions et demi d'habitants pour 385 199 km2, dont 307 860 km2 de terre, la Norvège est après l'Islande et la Russie le pays le moins densément peuplé d'Europe. Sa capitale, et plus grande ville, est Oslo. La Norvège possède pour langues officielles deux formes du norvégien, le bokmål et le nynorsk, et pour monnaie la couronne norvégienne (NOK).
Le pays compte deux territoires insulaires arctiques : l'archipel de Svalbard et l'île Jan Mayen ; par ailleurs il possède une dépendance externe dans l'hémisphère sud, l'île Bouvet dans l'Atlantique sud. La Norvège revendique l'île Pierre-Ier et la terre de la Reine-Maud en Antarctique, mais ces revendications ne sont pas reconnues internationalement.
Localisation de la Norvège et de ses territoires d'outre-mer.
Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la Norvège a connu une expansion économique très rapide, et compte aujourd'hui parmi les pays les plus riches du monde, avec une politique sociale très développée. Le progrès économique s'explique en partie par la découverte et le développement de grandes réserves de pétrole et de gaz naturel sur sa côte. Depuis plusieurs décennies, la Norvège est classée première sur l'indice de développement humain (IDH)5, inégalité ajustée y compris, et est également considérée comme le pays le plus démocratique au monde avec un indice de démocratie de 9,87 en 2018, selon le groupe de presse britannique The Economist Group. Elle a aussi été déclarée pays le plus pacifique du monde en 2007 par le Global Peace Index6. Elle est membre fondateur de l'OTAN. En matière sportive, la Norvège est la meilleure nation aux Jeux olympiques d'hiver, que ses athlètes dominent depuis la première édition en 1924, comptant au total plus de médailles d'or (148) et de podiums (405) que tous les autres pays participants. En 2022, la Norvège est classée en 22e position pour l'indice mondial de l'innovation.
Beaucoup d'étymologistes pensent que le nom du pays vient de l'expression « chemin du Nord » dans plusieurs langues scandinaves. En vieux norrois, l'expression est « nord veg » ou « norð vegri ». Le nom pour la Norvège en vieux norrois était « Nóreegr », en anglo-saxon « Norþ weg » et en latin médiéval « Nhorvegia ». Le nom actuel de la Norvège est « Norge » en norvégien bokmål et « Noreg » en norvégien nynorsk. Les formes en nynorsk et en vieux norrois sont similaires à un mot same signifiant « le long de la côte » ou « le long de la mer », écrit « nuorrek » en same contemporain. La présence du prosécutif appuie l'idée que le mot same est indigène et non un emprunt des langues scandinaves. Une autre étymologie proposée est « Nór rige », signifiant « royaume de Nór », du nom d'un roi mythique.
Dans les autres langues de la Norvège, le nom du pays est écrit « Norga » (same du Nord), « Vuodna » (same de Lule), « Nøørje » (same du Sud), et « Norja » (kvène/finnois). Le nom officiel, « royaume de Norvège » en français, s'écrit « Kongeriket Norge » en bokmål, « Kongeriket Noreg » en nynorsk, « Norga gonagasriika » en same du Nord, « Vuona gånågisrijkka » en same de Lule, « Nøørjen gånkarijhke » en same du Sud, et « Norjan kuningaskunta » en kvène/finnois.
La Norvège occupe le côté ouest-nord-ouest de la péninsule Scandinave, en Europe du Nord. Les côtes norvégiennes, d’une longueur de plus de 2 500 km (continent uniquement)8 ou 83 000 km (littoral des îles de l'archipel inclus), sont ponctuées de fjords et d’une multitude de petites îles (environ 50 000 au total). La Norvège borde majoritairement l'océan Atlantique en se répartissant sur trois étendues d’eau : le Skagerrak au sud, la mer du Nord au sud-sud-ouest et la mer de Norvège à l’ouest-nord-ouest. Elle baigne en outre l'océan Arctique au nord-est par la mer de Barents. Les frontières terrestres du pays mesurent 2 542 km de long, la plupart avec la Suède, mais aussi avec la Finlande et la Russie au nord-est.
La Norvège est le pays d'Europe le plus septentrional, contenant notamment le très officiel cap Nord, en norvégien Nordkapp, cap situé sur l'île Magerøya dans le Nord du pays. Mais, en fait, d'autres points de sa côte sont légèrement plus au nord.
Le Sognefjord.
Avec 385 155 km2 (Jan Mayen et Svalbard inclus), la Norvège est un peu plus étendue que l'Allemagne. Le relief du pays, constitué de montagnes et de glaciers, est très accidenté. La caractéristique la plus connue de sa géographie est le fjord : la Norvège en compte plusieurs centaines sur sa côte, creusés par les glaciers au cours de la période glaciaire. Le plus long fjord est le Sognefjord. La Norvège abrite également beaucoup de glaciers et de chutes d'eau. À 2 469 m d'altitude, le mont Galdhøpiggen est le point culminant du pays — et de toute la Scandinavie.
Le sol est constitué en grande partie de granite et de gneiss, mais il s'y trouve également beaucoup d'ardoise, de grès, et de calcaire. Les élévations basses contiennent des dépôts marins.
La nation norvégienne affirme pour la première fois son unité et sa volonté d’expansion à l’époque des grands raids vikings, du ixe au xie siècle. Redoutables navigateurs, les Vikings d’origine norvégienne étendent rapidement leur influence aux îles Shetland, aux Orcades, aux Hébrides et à l’île de Man. Depuis les Shetland, ils implantent ensuite des colonies plus durables dans les îles Féroé, en Islande et au Groenland.
Il n'existe toutefois pas encore d’autorité centrale en Norvège elle-même, où les communications se font davantage par voie maritime que terrestre. Au viiie siècle, la Norvège est encore divisée en vingt-neuf petits royaumes indépendants.
Le premier roi réputé avoir régné sur toute la Norvège est Harald Ier aux Beaux Cheveux (872-933), qui l'emporte, selon les sagas, en 872 sur les ducs (jarl). L'aîné de ses fils, Erik « Hache sanglante », est détrôné en 935 par le chef viking Haakon Ier le Bon. Son petit-fils, Olaf Tryggvason (995-1000), lui succède, mais il est chassé par le roi danois Sven « Barbe fourchue ». La Norvège est alors partagée entre Sven et le jarl de Trondheim. Il faut attendre l’an 1016 pour trouver un vrai père fondateur du royaume norvégien, en la personne du roi Olaf Haraldsson, qui établit sa capitale à Trondheim. Olaf, ancien Viking, rapporte de ses nombreux voyages le christianisme, et convertit la population par la force, ce qui lui vaut d’être canonisé en Olaf II.
En 1066, le roi de Norvège Harald Hardrada tente de devenir roi d'Angleterre mais il est battu et tué à Stamford Bridge. Cela profite à Guillaume le Conquérant qui défait l'armée anglaise, affaiblie, à la bataille d'Hastings.
Au xiiie siècle, un jeune aventurier prénommé Sverre Sigurdsson s’empare du pouvoir et fonde une nouvelle dynastie, installée à Bergen. Néanmoins, en raison du pouvoir croissant détenu par la ligue hanséatique dans cette ville, la capitale du pays se fixe finalement à Oslo au début du xive siècle. Au cours du Moyen Âge se forge également l'Empire colonial norvégien.
L'année 1380 voit l’extinction de la dynastie royale norvégienne, avec la mort du roi Håkon VI. Sa femme Margrethe de Danemark, fille du roi de Danemark, obtient la succession et consacre ainsi l'union du Danemark et de la Norvège. La Suède vient s'ajouter à ce domaine en 1397, formant l'« Union de Kalmar ». Le Danemark, au sein de cette union, exerce une nette domination, et la Norvège n’est plus guère alors qu’une province danoise, avec le danois pour langue officielle.
L'émancipation de la Suède, avec la révolte de Gustave Vasa, met un terme à l’Union de Kalmar en 1523. La Norvège reste néanmoins sous domination des Danois. Ces derniers, en 1536, imposent au pays la Réforme luthérienne, ce qui a pour conséquence de tarir le flot des voyageurs se rendant en pèlerinage auprès des reliques de saint Olaf, à Trondheim (anciennement Nidaros), et de couper encore davantage le pays du reste du monde.
En raison de l'alliance contractée par le royaume dano-norvégien avec Napoléon Ier, les puissances coalisées victorieuses attribuent la Norvège continentale à la Suède en 1814.
En réaction, une Convention nationale se réunit à Eidsvoll, dans l'Akershus : elle déclare l’indépendance du royaume de Norvège et adopte une constitution9 (c'est la seconde constitution écrite la plus ancienne encore en vigueur en Europe après celle de Saint-Marin), avant de désigner comme roi le prince danois Christian-Frédéric VIII de Danemark, le 17 mai 1814.
La Norvège devient, ainsi, un royaume distinct, mais en union personnelle avec le roi de Suède Charles XIII. Toutefois, depuis 1810, c'est le prince héritier de Suède, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, qui joue un rôle décisif. Ancien maréchal d'Empire de Napoléon, il prend fait et cause pour son nouveau royaume et mène une brève campagne en Norvège pour réunir les deux couronnes. Il devient roi en 1818 sous le titre de Charles XIV Jean.
L'union personnelle Suède-Norvège, malgré plusieurs concessions, entraîne un mécontentement croissant des Norvégiens au cours du xixe siècle. Elle est dissoute sans effusion de sang le 7 juin 1905. À la suite d'un référendum confirmant la nature monarchique du nouveau régime, le gouvernement offre la couronne à un prince danois, qui est élu par le Parlement sous le nom de Haakon VII.
La Norvège parvient à conserver sa neutralité au cours de la Première Guerre mondiale, en raison de sa puissance navale dissuasive. Il n’en va pas de même pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, au cours de laquelle le pays est envahi par les troupes allemandes dans le cadre de l’opération Weserübung. La résistance armée dure jusqu’à trois mois dans certaines régions. Le roi et le gouvernement choisissent de s’exiler et de continuer la lutte depuis Londres.
La Norvège occupée est dirigée par le chef des forces d'occupation, le Reichskommissar Josef Terboven. Le chef du parti pronazi local, Vidkun Quisling, est autorisé à former à partir de 1942 un gouvernement collaborationniste, sous supervision allemande. Les Allemands et les collaborateurs se heurtent durant cette période à la résistance norvégienne. Après l’intervention des Alliés au sud et au nord — notamment de l'Armée rouge au nord — les forces allemandes capitulent le 8 mai 1945.
L'épisode de l'occupation allemande a rendu les Norvégiens plus sceptiques vis-à-vis du concept de neutralité, et le pays adopte une nouvelle stratégie fondée sur la sécurité collective. Après l'échec de l'instauration d'une union de défense scandinave, la Norvège devient l’un des membres fondateurs de l’OTAN, en 1949, et de l’ONU, à laquelle elle fournit son premier Secrétaire général, Trygve Lie.
La Norvège a refusé à deux reprises par référendum de rejoindre l’Union européenne, en 1972 et en 1994. Le débat européen reste ouvert, avec environ 50 % de la population dans chaque camp. Le pays fait par ailleurs partie, comme l'Islande, de l'Espace économique européen (EEE), ainsi que de l'espace Schengen depuis 2001.
Le 22 juillet 2011, le pays subit deux attaques terroristes marquantes. La première est une explosion à la bombe survenue à Regjeringskvartalet, le quartier gouvernemental de la ville d'Oslo, à 15 h 26. L'explosion tue huit personnes et en blesse plusieurs autres. La seconde attaque suit la première d'environ deux heures dans un camp organisé par la Ligue des jeunes du Parti travailliste norvégien, sur l'île d'Utøya. Anders Behring Breivik, déguisé en policier, ouvre le feu sur les campeurs, tuant 69 participants. Ce drame est le plus meurtrier que la Norvège ait connu depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale, même si le pays avait également été fortement marqué en 1973 par l'assassinat d'Ahmed Bouchiki.
La Norvège est une monarchie constitutionnelle à gouvernement parlementaire.
La famille royale, originaire du Schleswig-Holstein, descend de la famille princière de Glücksburg. Le roi ne joue pour l’essentiel qu’un rôle honorifique, mais il constitue un symbole fort d’unité nationale. Bien que la Constitution de 1814 lui accorde d’importantes prérogatives dans le domaine de l’exécutif, ces dernières sont presque toujours exercées en son nom par le gouvernement. Les pouvoirs dont le monarque est investi par la constitution de la Norvège ont au cours du xxe siècle été largement symboliques, sauf dans quelques cas importants comme pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, où le monarque annonçait qu'il allait abdiquer si le gouvernement capitulait face aux demandes des nazis.
Le gouvernement est composé du ministre d'État et des ministres, tous nommés par le roi. Mais depuis 1884, l’évolution parlementaire du régime fait que le gouvernement doit obtenir un vote de confiance du Parlement : la désignation du gouvernement par le roi n’est donc qu’une formalité quand il y a une majorité claire au Parlement pour un parti en particulier (ou coalition de partis). Après une élection sans majorité claire, le chef du parti le plus susceptible de créer un gouvernement est nommé ministre d'État par le roi. La Norvège a vu plusieurs de ces gouvernements gouverner en minorité. Le roi assiste aux réunions du gouvernement chaque vendredi au palais royal, mais le gouvernement prend ses décisions en avance, à des conférences présidées par le ministre d'État et tenues chaque mardi et jeudi. Chaque année, le roi ouvre le Parlement en septembre. Il accueille les ambassadeurs à la cour et est symboliquement le commandant en chef des Forces de défense norvégiennes et à la tête de l'Église de Norvège.
Le parlement norvégien, le Storting, est monocaméral depuis les élections générales de 2009 (amendement de la Constitution du 20 février 2007) et comprend 169 membres (soit quatre membres de plus à la suite des élections du 12 septembre 2005). Les députés sont élus tous les quatre ans dans chacun des 11 fylker du pays, à la représentation proportionnelle. Il y a 11 sièges, les « sièges égalisants », un par fylke, pour faire que la représentation au parlement corresponde mieux au vote populaire. Il y a un seuil électoral de 4 % pour ces sièges.
L'impeachment est très rare (le dernier cas étant celui du ministre d'État Abraham Berge, acquitté, en 1927), et peut se faire à l'encontre de membres du Conseil d'État, de la Cour suprême, ou du Storting pour des crimes qu'ils auraient commis au pouvoir. Avant l'amendement du 20 février 2007, les accusations étaient formulées au Odelsting et traitées par le Lagting et les juges de la Cour suprême, formant ensemble la « Haute Cour du Royaume ». Dans le nouveau système les impeachments seront traités par les cinq juges les plus importants de la Cour suprême ainsi que six autres personnes, dans l'une des cours de la Cour suprême (avant il se déroulait dans la chambre du Lagting). Les représentants du Storting ne peuvent pas être juges. Les accusations seront formulées par le Storting dans une réunion plénière.
Le Storting fonctionne sinon en tant que parlement unicaméral, la division en Odelsting et Lagting abolie dès les élections de 2009. La législation devra passer par deux, parfois trois, relectures avant d'être approuvée et passée au roi pour son approbation.
À la tête du système juridique se trouve la Cour suprême, ou Høyesterett (composée de 18 juges et d’un chief justice). On trouve ensuite les cours d'appel, les tribunaux ordinaires et les juges de paix. Les juges sont nommés par le roi et le gouvernement, sur proposition du ministre de la Justice.
Jusqu'en 2012, plus de la moitié des membres du gouvernement étaient membres de l'Église de Norvège, soit au moins dix des dix-neuf ministres. Cette disposition a été abrogée, mais la séparation de l'Église et de l'État reste un sujet de controverse en Norvège. Ainsi, le passage de l'école chrétienne à l'école laïque y est débattu depuis 1739, sans qu'une condamnation de l'État norvégien en Cour européenne des droits de l'homme en 200710 ait abouti à une évolution généralisée des structures éducatives.
Norge,[a] offisielt Kongeriket Norge,[b] er et nordisk, europeisk land og en selvstendig stat vest på Den skandinaviske halvøy. Geografisk sett er landet langt og smalt, og på den langstrakte kysten mot Nord-Atlanteren befinner Norges vidkjente fjorder seg. Kongeriket Norge omfatter hovedlandet (fastlandet med tilliggende øyer innenfor grunnlinjen), Jan Mayen og Svalbard. Med disse to arktiske områdene omfatter Norge et landareal på 385 000 km² og har et innbyggerantall på cirka 5,5 millioner (2023). Fastlands-Norge grenser i øst til Sverige, i nordøst til Finland og Russland.
Norge er et parlamentarisk demokrati og konstitusjonelt monarki, hvor Harald V siden 1991 er konge og statsoverhode, og Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) siden 2021 er statsminister. Norge er en enhetsstat, med to administrative nivå under staten: fylker og kommuner. Den samiske delen av befolkningen har, gjennom Sametinget og Finnmarksloven, til en viss grad selvstyre og innflytelse over tradisjonelt samiske områder. Selv om Norge har avvist medlemskap i Den europeiske union gjennom to folkeavstemninger, har Norge gjennom EØS-avtalen tette bånd til unionen, og gjennom NATO med USA. Norge er en betydelig bidragsyter i De forente nasjoner (FN), og har deltatt med soldater i flere utenlandsoperasjoner med mandat fra FN. Norge er blant statene som har vært med fra grunnleggelsen av FN, NATO, Europarådet, OSSE og Nordisk råd, og er i tillegg til disse medlem av EØS, Verdens handelsorganisasjon, Organisasjonen for økonomisk samarbeid og utvikling og er en del av Schengen-området.
Norge er rikt på mange naturressurser som olje, gass, mineraler, tømmer, sjømat, ferskvann og vannkraft. Disse naturgitte forutsetningene har siden begynnelsen av 1900-tallet gitt landet mulighet til en rikdomsøkning få andre land har nytt glede av, og nordmenn har per 2017 verdens tredje høyeste gjennomsnittlige inntekt, målt i BNP per innbygger. Petroleumsindustrien står for omkring 14 % av Norges bruttonasjonalprodukt per 2018. Norge er verdens største produsent av olje og gass per capita utenfor Midtøsten. Antall sysselsatte knyttet til denne næringen sank imidlertid fra ca. 232 000 i 2013 til 207 000 i 2015.
I Norge har disse naturrikdommene blitt fordelt på den ganske befolkningen. Landet opprettholder en velferdsmodell på linje med de andre nordiske landene. Viktige tjenesteområder som helse og høyere utdanning er statsfinansiert, og landet har et omfattende velferdssystem for sine innbyggere. Offentlige utgifter ligger i 2018 på ca. 50 % av BNP, og størstedelen av disse utgiftene er knyttet til undervisning, helsevesen, sosial trygd og velferd.[8] Siden 2001 har FN rangert Norge som verdens beste land å bo i. Fra 2010 er Norge også rangert øverst på EIUs demokratiindeks. Norge ligger på tredjeplass på FNs World Happiness Report for årene 2016–2018, bak Finland og Danmark, en rapport som ble publisert i mars 2019.
Størstedelen av befolkningen er nordisk. De siste par årene har innvandring utgjort mer enn halvparten av befolkningsveksten. De fem største minoritetsgruppene er norsk-polakker, litauere, norsk-svensker, norsk-syrere inkludert Syria-kurdere og norsk-pakistanere.
Norges nasjonaldag er 17. mai, på denne dagen i 1814 ble Norges Grunnlov datert og undertegnet av presidentskapet i Riksforsamlingen på Eidsvoll. Det er fastsatt i lov av 26. april 1947 at 17. mai er nasjonale høytidsdager. Den samiske nasjonaldagen er 6. februar. «Ja, vi elsker dette landet» er Norges nasjonalsang, sangen er skrevet i 1859 av Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910).
«Norge» omdirigerer hit. For andre tydingar, sjå Norge (fleirtyding).
Noreg, offisielt Kongeriket Noreg (bokmål: Kongeriket Norge, nordsamisk: Norgga gonagasriika), er eit nordisk land vest på den fennoskandiske halvøya. Til lands grensar Noreg mot Sverige i aust, Finland og Russland i nordaust, og til havs mot Danmark i sør og Storbritannia i sørvest. Nord for Trøndelag er Noreg langt og smalt, og kysten strekkjer seg langsmed Nordatlanteren med havområda Skagerrak, Nordsjøen, Norskehavet og Barentshavet.
Den arktiske øygruppa Svalbard er under norsk suverenitet med dei avgrensingane som gjeld i Svalbardtraktaten, men Svalbard er til liks med øya Jan Mayen ein del av kongeriket. Bouvetøya i Søratlanteren er derimot eit norsk biland. Noreg gjer òg krav på Peter 1.s øy i det sørlege Stillehavet og territoriet Dronning Maud Land i Antarktis, men båe desse er omfatta av Antarktistraktaten som legg territoriale krav i Antarktis på is.
I vikingtida frå 700-talet til 1000-talet vart områda som no utgjer Noreg, gradvis samla til eitt rike. Kong Harald Hårfagre vann slaget i Hafrsfjord i år 872, og grunnla det fyrste norske kongssetet på Avaldsnes på Karmøy. Skipsleia mellom Karmøy og fastlandet, den såkalla Nordvegen, gav namnet til Noreg.[treng kjelde] Norske vikingar var dyktige sjøfararar og dreiv handel med alle landa kring Nordsjøen, og busette seg òg på dei britiske og nordatlantiske øyane, og på Grønland.
Det er usemje om Noreg vart samla med utgangspunkt i Vestfold og Austlandet. Det tradisjonelle synet er at Harald Hårfagre ervde rike i Vestfold og delar av Austlandet og derifrå la under seg det indre Austlandet, Trøndelag og hærtok Vestlandet gradvis sørover kysten. Det går klårt fram or sogene at ei anna mektig ætt med sete i Trøndelag, ladejarlane, hadde sett i gang ei liknande samling om lag samstundes. Desse ættene fekk vekselsvis støtte frå danekongen. Det verkar likevel som om Hårfagre-ætta vann denne maktkampen med kong Olav (den Heilage) si maktovertaking om lag 1015. Etter dette var Lade-ætta slegen attende.
I 995 grunnla kong Olav Trygvason den fyrste kyrkja på Moster på Bømlo, og byrja kristninga av landet. I 1024 sette kong Olav (seinare kalla Olav den Heilage) og bisp Grimkjell kristenretten på Mostratinget same staden. Ein reknar heile riket som kristna ved slaget på Stiklestad i 1030, der Olav fall. Etter ei lang tid med borgarkrigar (borgarkrigstida) vart den arvelege kongsmakta trygd under Sverreætta. Den norske kongsslekta døydde ut i 1387, og landet gjekk inn i ei unionstid i Kalmarunionen med Danmark og Sverige. Etter 1450 heldt kongsfellesskapet fram med Danmark åleine. Tida vert i Noreg kalla «400-årsnatta», av di Noreg var den svake parten i unionen og vart styrt frå hovudstaden København. Etter at Danmark-Noreg vart tvinga til å alliere seg med Napoleon og dimed kom i hop med taparane i Napoleonskrigane, førte Kiel-traktaten i 1814 til at Noreg vart avstått til Sverige. Men det lukkast å gje landet ei grunnlov 17. mai 1814 og å tryggje norsk sjølvstende òg etter at ein kort krig med Sverige tvinga Noreg inn i personalunion med Sverige.
Aukande norsk misnøye med unionen gjennom 1800-talet førte til oppløysing av den norsk-svenske unionen i 1905, stadfest ved ei folkerøysting. Den norske regjeringa baud den norske krona til danske prins Carl, og etter ei ny folkerøysting kåra Stortinget han til konge. Han tok namnet Haakon VII etter dei gamle norske kongane. Den norske kongefamilien, liksom den danske, høyrer til det nordtyske fyrstehuset Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (ei grein av huset Oldenburg).
Noreg var nøytralt under 1. verdskrigen, men som eit resultat av den tyske invasjonen og okkupasjonen under 2. verdskrigen, vart nordmennene langt meir skeptiske til nøytralitetsprinsippet. Stemninga dreidde mot ei kollektiv tryggingsavtale for landet. Noreg var ei av dei underskrivande partane ved danninga av NATO i 1949 og var mellom landa som grunnla Dei sameinte nasjonane i 1945. Det norske folket har to gonger røysta imot å verta med i EU, nemleg i 1972 (då: EEC) og i 1994 (då: EF). Noreg har likevel ei tilknyting til den europeiske indre marknaden gjennom EØS-avtala.
Noreg er eit konstitusjonelt monarki med eit parlamentarisk regjeringssystem. Etter grunnlova frå 1814 er Kongen statsoverhovud og vel sjølv rådet sitt, men etter riksrettsdomen i 1884 må likevel regjeringa i praksis ikkje få eit fleirtal i Stortinget mot seg. Grunnlova gjev Kongen personleg vidtfemnande rettar, men desse vert ikkje praktiserte i dag, og funksjonen hans er fyrst og fremst vorten seremoniell. Statsrådet, eller regjeringa, er sett saman av ein statsminister og minst sju statsrådar, utnemnde av Kongen. Kongen kan i teorien utnemne kven han vil, men vel alltid den regjeringa statsministeren legg fram.
Det norske parlamentet – Stortinget – har 169 medlemer, som er valde frå 19 fylke for ein fire-årsperiode ut frå eit system med proporsjonal representasjon. Stortinget sine saker vert handsama i plenum, etter saksførebuingar i ulike fagkomitear (justiskomiteen, finanskomiteen, landbrukskomiteen, osb).
Dei regulære rettsinstansane omfattar Høgsterett (18 permanente domarar (per 2004) og ein justitiarius), lagmannsrettane (Borgarting, Eidsivating, Agder, Gulating, Frostating og Hålogaland), tingrettane (tidlegare by- og heradsrettane) og forliksråda (handsamar sivile tvistesaker). I tillegg kjem særdomstolar som Arbeidsretten. Domarane ved dei regulære rettsinstansane og særdomstolane vert utnemnde av regjeringa. Den særskilde Riksretten vurderer spørsmål om brotsverk utført av medlemer i Stortinget, Regjeringa eller Høgsterett som slik.