The yak (Bos grunniens and Bos mutus) is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English word "yak" derives from the Tibetan gyag (Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag) – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called a dri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.

 

RAXONOMY

Yaks belong to the genus Bos, and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus). Mitochondrial DNA analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been somewhat ambiguous.

 

The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia, suggesting a possible route by which yak-like ancestors of the modern American bison could have entered the Americas.

 

The species was originally designated as Bos grunniens ("grunting ox") by Linnaeus in 1766, but this name is now generally only considered to refer to the domesticated form of the animal, with Bos mutus ("mute ox") being the preferred name for the wild species. Although some authors still consider the wild yak to be a subspecies, Bos grunniens mutus, the ICZN made an official ruling in 2003 permitting the use of the name Bos mutus for wild yaks, and this is now the more common usage.

Except where the wild yak is considered as a subspecies of Bos grunniens, there are no recognised subspecies of yak.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Wild yaks are among the largest bovids and are second only to the gaur in shoulder height. They are also the largest native animal in their range. Wild yak adults stand about 1.6 to 2.2 m tall at the shoulder and weigh 305–1,000 kg. The head and body length is 2.5 to 3.3 m, not counting the tail of 60 to 100 cm. The females are about one-third the weight and are about 30% smaller in their linear dimensions when compared to bull wild yaks.

 

Domesticated yaks are much smaller, males weighing 350 to 580 kg and females 225 to 255 kg.Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, and rounded cloven hooves. They are the only wild bovids of this size with extremely dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. Wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown, in colouration. However, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream. They have small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth horns that are generally dark in colour. In males, the horns sweep out from the sides of the head, and then curve forward; they typically range from 48 to 99 cm in length. The horns of females are smaller, only 27 to 64 cm in length, and have a more upright shape. Both sexes have a short neck with a pronounced hump over the shoulders, although this is larger and more visible in males. Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.Both sexes have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the cold. Especially in males, this may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. The tail is long and horselike rather than tufted like the tails of cattle or bison. Wild yaks typically have black or dark brown hair over most of the body, with a greyish muzzle, although some wild golden-brown individuals have been reported. Wild yaks with gold coloured hair, known as Wild Golden Yak (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛; pinyin: jinsiyemaoniu) (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛) is considered an endangered subspecies by China, with an estimated population of 170 left in the wild. Domesticated yaks have a wider range of coat colours, with some individuals being white, grey, brown, roan or piebald. The udder in females and the scrotum in males are small and hairy, as protection against the cold. Females have four teats.

 

PHYSIOLOGY

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C. Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

 

Compared with domestic cattle, the rumen of yaks is unusually large, relative to the omasum. This likely allows them to consume greater quantities of low-quality food at a time, and to ferment it longer so as to extract more nutrients. Yak consume the equivalent of 1% of their body weight daily while cattle require 3% to maintain condition.

 

ODOUE

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odour when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak's wool is naturally odour resistant.

 

REPRODUCTION AND LIFE HISTORY

Yaks mate in the summer, typically between July and September, depending on the local environment. For the remainder of the year, many males wander in small bachelor groups away from the large herds, but, as the rut approaches, they become aggressive and regularly fight among each other to establish dominance. In addition to non-violent threat displays, bellowing, and scraping the ground with their horns, male yaks also compete more directly, repeatedly charging at each other with heads lowered or sparring with their horns. Like bison, but unlike cattle, males wallow in dry soil during the rut, often while scent-marking with urine or dung. Females enter oestrus up to four times a year, and females are receptive only for a few hours in each cycle.

 

Gestation lasts between 257 and 270 days, so that the young are born between May and June, and results in the birth of a single calf. The female finds a secluded spot to give birth, but the calf is able to walk within about ten minutes of birth, and the pair soon rejoin the herd. Females of both the wild and domestic forms typically give birth only once every other year, although more frequent births are possible if the food supply is good.

 

Calves are weaned at one year and become independent shortly thereafter. Wild calves are initially brown in colour, and only later develop the darker adult hair. Females generally give birth for the first time at three or four years of age, and reach their peak reproductive fitness at around six years. Yaks may live for more than twenty years in domestication or captivity, although it is likely that this may be somewhat shorter in the wild.

 

WILD YAKS

Wild yaks (Bos grunniens mutus or Bos mutus, Tibetan: འབྲོང་, Wylie: 'brong) usually form herds of between ten and thirty animals. They are insulated by dense, close, matted under-hair as well as their shaggy outer hair. Yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed for food by hunters in China; they are now a vulnerable species.

 

The diet of wild yaks consists largely of grasses and sedges, such as Carex, Stipa, and Kobresia. They also eat a smaller amount of herbs, winterfat shrubs, and mosses, and have even been reported to eat lichen. Historically, the main natural predator of the wild yak has been the Tibetan wolf, but brown bears and snow leopards have also been reported as predators in some areas, likely of young or infirm wild yaks.

 

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, reported on his journey from Kumbum in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950:

 

Before long I was to see the vast herds of drongs with my own eyes. The sight of those beautiful and powerful beasts who from time immemorial have made their home on Tibet's high and barren plateaux never ceased to fascinate me. Somehow these shy creatures manage to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots which is all that nature provides in those parts. And what a wonderful sight it is to see a great herd of them plunging head down in a wild gallop across the steppes. The earth shakes under their heels and a vast cloud of dust marks their passage. At nights they will protect themselves from the cold by huddling up together, with the calves in the centre. They will stand like this in a snow-storm, pressed so close together that the condensation from their breath rises into the air like a column of steam. The nomads have occasionally tried to bring up young drongs as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. Somehow once they live together with human beings they seem to lose their astonishing strength and powers of endurance; and they are no use at all as pack animals, because their backs immediately get sore. Their immemorial relationship with humans has therefore remained that of game and hunter, for their flesh is very tasty.

— Thubten Norbu, Tibet is My Country

 

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Wild yaks are found primarily in northern Tibet and western Qinghai, with some populations extending into the southernmost parts of Xinjiang, and into Ladakh in India. Small, isolated populations of wild yak are also found farther afield, primarily in western Tibet and eastern Qinghai as well as some parts of Sichuan nearer to Huanglong. In historic times, wild yaks were also found in Nepal and Bhutan, but they are now considered extinct in both countries, except as domesticated animals.

 

The primary habitat of wild yaks consists of treeless uplands between 3,000 and 5,500 m, dominated by mountains and plateaus. They are most commonly found in alpine meadows with a relatively thick carpet of grasses and sedges, rather than the more barren steppe country.

 

BEHAVIOUR

Yaks are herd animals. Herds can contain several hundred individuals, although many are much smaller. The herds consist primarily of females and their young, with a smaller number of adult males. The remaining males are either solitary, or found in much smaller groups, averaging around six individuals. Although they can become aggressive when defending young, or during the rut, wild yaks generally avoid humans, and may rapidly flee for great distances if any approach.

 

DOMESTICATED YAKS

Domesticated yaks have been kept for thousands of years, primarily for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried droppings are an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and are often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan Plateau. Yaks transport goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as for climbing and trekking expeditions. "Only one thing makes it hard to use yaks for long journeys in barren regions. They will not eat grain, which could be carried on the journey. They will starve unless they can be brought to a place where there is grass." They also are used to draw ploughs. Yak's milk is often processed to a cheese called chhurpi in Tibetan and Nepali languages, and byaslag in Mongolia. Butter made of yak's milk is an ingredient of the butter tea that Tibetans consume in large quantities, and is also used in lamps and made into butter sculptures used in religious festivities. Yaks grunt and, unlike cattle, are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing (mooing) sound, which inspired the scientific names of both yak variants, bos grunniens (grunting bull) and bos mutus (silent bull).

 

YAK SPORTS

In parts of Tibet and Karakorum, yak racing is a form of entertainment at traditional festivals and is considered an important part of their culture. More recently, sports involving domesticated yaks, such as yak skiing, or yak polo, are being marketed as tourist attractions in Central Asian countries, including Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan.

 

HYBRID YAK

In Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia, domestic cattle are crossbred with yaks. This gives rise to the infertile male dzo as well as fertile females known as dzomo or zhom, which may be crossed again with cattle. The "Dwarf Lulu" breed, "the only Bos primigenius taurus type of cattle in Nepal" has been tested for DNA markers and found to be a mixture of both taurine and zebu types of cattle (B. p. taurus and B. p. indicus) with yak. According to the International Veterinary Information Service, the low productivity of second generation cattle-yak crosses makes them suitable only as meat animals.

 

Crosses between yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) have been recorded in Chinese literature for at least 2,000 years. Successful crosses have also been recorded between yak and American bison, gaur, and banteng, generally with similar results to those produced with domestic cattle.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The yak (Bos grunniens and Bos mutus) is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English word "yak" derives from the Tibetan gyag (Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag) – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called a dri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.

 

RAXONOMY

Yaks belong to the genus Bos, and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus). Mitochondrial DNA analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been somewhat ambiguous.

 

The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia, suggesting a possible route by which yak-like ancestors of the modern American bison could have entered the Americas.

 

The species was originally designated as Bos grunniens ("grunting ox") by Linnaeus in 1766, but this name is now generally only considered to refer to the domesticated form of the animal, with Bos mutus ("mute ox") being the preferred name for the wild species. Although some authors still consider the wild yak to be a subspecies, Bos grunniens mutus, the ICZN made an official ruling in 2003 permitting the use of the name Bos mutus for wild yaks, and this is now the more common usage.

Except where the wild yak is considered as a subspecies of Bos grunniens, there are no recognised subspecies of yak.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Wild yaks are among the largest bovids and are second only to the gaur in shoulder height. They are also the largest native animal in their range. Wild yak adults stand about 1.6 to 2.2 m tall at the shoulder and weigh 305–1,000 kg. The head and body length is 2.5 to 3.3 m, not counting the tail of 60 to 100 cm. The females are about one-third the weight and are about 30% smaller in their linear dimensions when compared to bull wild yaks.

 

Domesticated yaks are much smaller, males weighing 350 to 580 kg and females 225 to 255 kg.Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, and rounded cloven hooves. They are the only wild bovids of this size with extremely dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. Wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown, in colouration. However, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream. They have small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth horns that are generally dark in colour. In males, the horns sweep out from the sides of the head, and then curve forward; they typically range from 48 to 99 cm in length. The horns of females are smaller, only 27 to 64 cm in length, and have a more upright shape. Both sexes have a short neck with a pronounced hump over the shoulders, although this is larger and more visible in males. Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.Both sexes have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the cold. Especially in males, this may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. The tail is long and horselike rather than tufted like the tails of cattle or bison. Wild yaks typically have black or dark brown hair over most of the body, with a greyish muzzle, although some wild golden-brown individuals have been reported. Wild yaks with gold coloured hair, known as Wild Golden Yak (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛; pinyin: jinsiyemaoniu) (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛) is considered an endangered subspecies by China, with an estimated population of 170 left in the wild. Domesticated yaks have a wider range of coat colours, with some individuals being white, grey, brown, roan or piebald. The udder in females and the scrotum in males are small and hairy, as protection against the cold. Females have four teats.

 

PHYSIOLOGY

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C. Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

 

Compared with domestic cattle, the rumen of yaks is unusually large, relative to the omasum. This likely allows them to consume greater quantities of low-quality food at a time, and to ferment it longer so as to extract more nutrients. Yak consume the equivalent of 1% of their body weight daily while cattle require 3% to maintain condition.

 

ODOUE

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odour when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak's wool is naturally odour resistant.

 

REPRODUCTION AND LIFE HISTORY

Yaks mate in the summer, typically between July and September, depending on the local environment. For the remainder of the year, many males wander in small bachelor groups away from the large herds, but, as the rut approaches, they become aggressive and regularly fight among each other to establish dominance. In addition to non-violent threat displays, bellowing, and scraping the ground with their horns, male yaks also compete more directly, repeatedly charging at each other with heads lowered or sparring with their horns. Like bison, but unlike cattle, males wallow in dry soil during the rut, often while scent-marking with urine or dung. Females enter oestrus up to four times a year, and females are receptive only for a few hours in each cycle.

 

Gestation lasts between 257 and 270 days, so that the young are born between May and June, and results in the birth of a single calf. The female finds a secluded spot to give birth, but the calf is able to walk within about ten minutes of birth, and the pair soon rejoin the herd. Females of both the wild and domestic forms typically give birth only once every other year, although more frequent births are possible if the food supply is good.

 

Calves are weaned at one year and become independent shortly thereafter. Wild calves are initially brown in colour, and only later develop the darker adult hair. Females generally give birth for the first time at three or four years of age, and reach their peak reproductive fitness at around six years. Yaks may live for more than twenty years in domestication or captivity, although it is likely that this may be somewhat shorter in the wild.

 

WILD YAKS

Wild yaks (Bos grunniens mutus or Bos mutus, Tibetan: འབྲོང་, Wylie: 'brong) usually form herds of between ten and thirty animals. They are insulated by dense, close, matted under-hair as well as their shaggy outer hair. Yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed for food by hunters in China; they are now a vulnerable species.

 

The diet of wild yaks consists largely of grasses and sedges, such as Carex, Stipa, and Kobresia. They also eat a smaller amount of herbs, winterfat shrubs, and mosses, and have even been reported to eat lichen. Historically, the main natural predator of the wild yak has been the Tibetan wolf, but brown bears and snow leopards have also been reported as predators in some areas, likely of young or infirm wild yaks.

 

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, reported on his journey from Kumbum in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950:

 

Before long I was to see the vast herds of drongs with my own eyes. The sight of those beautiful and powerful beasts who from time immemorial have made their home on Tibet's high and barren plateaux never ceased to fascinate me. Somehow these shy creatures manage to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots which is all that nature provides in those parts. And what a wonderful sight it is to see a great herd of them plunging head down in a wild gallop across the steppes. The earth shakes under their heels and a vast cloud of dust marks their passage. At nights they will protect themselves from the cold by huddling up together, with the calves in the centre. They will stand like this in a snow-storm, pressed so close together that the condensation from their breath rises into the air like a column of steam. The nomads have occasionally tried to bring up young drongs as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. Somehow once they live together with human beings they seem to lose their astonishing strength and powers of endurance; and they are no use at all as pack animals, because their backs immediately get sore. Their immemorial relationship with humans has therefore remained that of game and hunter, for their flesh is very tasty.

— Thubten Norbu, Tibet is My Country

 

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Wild yaks are found primarily in northern Tibet and western Qinghai, with some populations extending into the southernmost parts of Xinjiang, and into Ladakh in India. Small, isolated populations of wild yak are also found farther afield, primarily in western Tibet and eastern Qinghai as well as some parts of Sichuan nearer to Huanglong. In historic times, wild yaks were also found in Nepal and Bhutan, but they are now considered extinct in both countries, except as domesticated animals.

 

The primary habitat of wild yaks consists of treeless uplands between 3,000 and 5,500 m, dominated by mountains and plateaus. They are most commonly found in alpine meadows with a relatively thick carpet of grasses and sedges, rather than the more barren steppe country.

 

BEHAVIOUR

Yaks are herd animals. Herds can contain several hundred individuals, although many are much smaller. The herds consist primarily of females and their young, with a smaller number of adult males. The remaining males are either solitary, or found in much smaller groups, averaging around six individuals. Although they can become aggressive when defending young, or during the rut, wild yaks generally avoid humans, and may rapidly flee for great distances if any approach.

 

DOMESTICATED YAKS

Domesticated yaks have been kept for thousands of years, primarily for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried droppings are an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and are often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan Plateau. Yaks transport goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as for climbing and trekking expeditions. "Only one thing makes it hard to use yaks for long journeys in barren regions. They will not eat grain, which could be carried on the journey. They will starve unless they can be brought to a place where there is grass." They also are used to draw ploughs. Yak's milk is often processed to a cheese called chhurpi in Tibetan and Nepali languages, and byaslag in Mongolia. Butter made of yak's milk is an ingredient of the butter tea that Tibetans consume in large quantities, and is also used in lamps and made into butter sculptures used in religious festivities. Yaks grunt and, unlike cattle, are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing (mooing) sound, which inspired the scientific names of both yak variants, bos grunniens (grunting bull) and bos mutus (silent bull).

 

YAK SPORTS

In parts of Tibet and Karakorum, yak racing is a form of entertainment at traditional festivals and is considered an important part of their culture. More recently, sports involving domesticated yaks, such as yak skiing, or yak polo, are being marketed as tourist attractions in Central Asian countries, including Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan.

 

HYBRID YAK

In Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia, domestic cattle are crossbred with yaks. This gives rise to the infertile male dzo as well as fertile females known as dzomo or zhom, which may be crossed again with cattle. The "Dwarf Lulu" breed, "the only Bos primigenius taurus type of cattle in Nepal" has been tested for DNA markers and found to be a mixture of both taurine and zebu types of cattle (B. p. taurus and B. p. indicus) with yak. According to the International Veterinary Information Service, the low productivity of second generation cattle-yak crosses makes them suitable only as meat animals.

 

Crosses between yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) have been recorded in Chinese literature for at least 2,000 years. Successful crosses have also been recorded between yak and American bison, gaur, and banteng, generally with similar results to those produced with domestic cattle.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The yak (Bos grunniens and Bos mutus) is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English word "yak" derives from the Tibetan gyag (Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag) – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called a dri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.

 

RAXONOMY

Yaks belong to the genus Bos, and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus). Mitochondrial DNA analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been somewhat ambiguous.

 

The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia, suggesting a possible route by which yak-like ancestors of the modern American bison could have entered the Americas.

 

The species was originally designated as Bos grunniens ("grunting ox") by Linnaeus in 1766, but this name is now generally only considered to refer to the domesticated form of the animal, with Bos mutus ("mute ox") being the preferred name for the wild species. Although some authors still consider the wild yak to be a subspecies, Bos grunniens mutus, the ICZN made an official ruling in 2003 permitting the use of the name Bos mutus for wild yaks, and this is now the more common usage.

Except where the wild yak is considered as a subspecies of Bos grunniens, there are no recognised subspecies of yak.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Wild yaks are among the largest bovids and are second only to the gaur in shoulder height. They are also the largest native animal in their range. Wild yak adults stand about 1.6 to 2.2 m tall at the shoulder and weigh 305–1,000 kg. The head and body length is 2.5 to 3.3 m, not counting the tail of 60 to 100 cm. The females are about one-third the weight and are about 30% smaller in their linear dimensions when compared to bull wild yaks.

 

Domesticated yaks are much smaller, males weighing 350 to 580 kg and females 225 to 255 kg.Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, and rounded cloven hooves. They are the only wild bovids of this size with extremely dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. Wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown, in colouration. However, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream. They have small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth horns that are generally dark in colour. In males, the horns sweep out from the sides of the head, and then curve forward; they typically range from 48 to 99 cm in length. The horns of females are smaller, only 27 to 64 cm in length, and have a more upright shape. Both sexes have a short neck with a pronounced hump over the shoulders, although this is larger and more visible in males. Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.Both sexes have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the cold. Especially in males, this may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. The tail is long and horselike rather than tufted like the tails of cattle or bison. Wild yaks typically have black or dark brown hair over most of the body, with a greyish muzzle, although some wild golden-brown individuals have been reported. Wild yaks with gold coloured hair, known as Wild Golden Yak (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛; pinyin: jinsiyemaoniu) (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛) is considered an endangered subspecies by China, with an estimated population of 170 left in the wild. Domesticated yaks have a wider range of coat colours, with some individuals being white, grey, brown, roan or piebald. The udder in females and the scrotum in males are small and hairy, as protection against the cold. Females have four teats.

 

PHYSIOLOGY

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C. Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

 

Compared with domestic cattle, the rumen of yaks is unusually large, relative to the omasum. This likely allows them to consume greater quantities of low-quality food at a time, and to ferment it longer so as to extract more nutrients. Yak consume the equivalent of 1% of their body weight daily while cattle require 3% to maintain condition.

 

ODOUE

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odour when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak's wool is naturally odour resistant.

 

REPRODUCTION AND LIFE HISTORY

Yaks mate in the summer, typically between July and September, depending on the local environment. For the remainder of the year, many males wander in small bachelor groups away from the large herds, but, as the rut approaches, they become aggressive and regularly fight among each other to establish dominance. In addition to non-violent threat displays, bellowing, and scraping the ground with their horns, male yaks also compete more directly, repeatedly charging at each other with heads lowered or sparring with their horns. Like bison, but unlike cattle, males wallow in dry soil during the rut, often while scent-marking with urine or dung. Females enter oestrus up to four times a year, and females are receptive only for a few hours in each cycle.

 

Gestation lasts between 257 and 270 days, so that the young are born between May and June, and results in the birth of a single calf. The female finds a secluded spot to give birth, but the calf is able to walk within about ten minutes of birth, and the pair soon rejoin the herd. Females of both the wild and domestic forms typically give birth only once every other year, although more frequent births are possible if the food supply is good.

 

Calves are weaned at one year and become independent shortly thereafter. Wild calves are initially brown in colour, and only later develop the darker adult hair. Females generally give birth for the first time at three or four years of age, and reach their peak reproductive fitness at around six years. Yaks may live for more than twenty years in domestication or captivity, although it is likely that this may be somewhat shorter in the wild.

 

WILD YAKS

Wild yaks (Bos grunniens mutus or Bos mutus, Tibetan: འབྲོང་, Wylie: 'brong) usually form herds of between ten and thirty animals. They are insulated by dense, close, matted under-hair as well as their shaggy outer hair. Yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed for food by hunters in China; they are now a vulnerable species.

 

The diet of wild yaks consists largely of grasses and sedges, such as Carex, Stipa, and Kobresia. They also eat a smaller amount of herbs, winterfat shrubs, and mosses, and have even been reported to eat lichen. Historically, the main natural predator of the wild yak has been the Tibetan wolf, but brown bears and snow leopards have also been reported as predators in some areas, likely of young or infirm wild yaks.

 

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, reported on his journey from Kumbum in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950:

 

Before long I was to see the vast herds of drongs with my own eyes. The sight of those beautiful and powerful beasts who from time immemorial have made their home on Tibet's high and barren plateaux never ceased to fascinate me. Somehow these shy creatures manage to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots which is all that nature provides in those parts. And what a wonderful sight it is to see a great herd of them plunging head down in a wild gallop across the steppes. The earth shakes under their heels and a vast cloud of dust marks their passage. At nights they will protect themselves from the cold by huddling up together, with the calves in the centre. They will stand like this in a snow-storm, pressed so close together that the condensation from their breath rises into the air like a column of steam. The nomads have occasionally tried to bring up young drongs as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. Somehow once they live together with human beings they seem to lose their astonishing strength and powers of endurance; and they are no use at all as pack animals, because their backs immediately get sore. Their immemorial relationship with humans has therefore remained that of game and hunter, for their flesh is very tasty.

— Thubten Norbu, Tibet is My Country

 

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Wild yaks are found primarily in northern Tibet and western Qinghai, with some populations extending into the southernmost parts of Xinjiang, and into Ladakh in India. Small, isolated populations of wild yak are also found farther afield, primarily in western Tibet and eastern Qinghai as well as some parts of Sichuan nearer to Huanglong. In historic times, wild yaks were also found in Nepal and Bhutan, but they are now considered extinct in both countries, except as domesticated animals.

 

The primary habitat of wild yaks consists of treeless uplands between 3,000 and 5,500 m, dominated by mountains and plateaus. They are most commonly found in alpine meadows with a relatively thick carpet of grasses and sedges, rather than the more barren steppe country.

 

BEHAVIOUR

Yaks are herd animals. Herds can contain several hundred individuals, although many are much smaller. The herds consist primarily of females and their young, with a smaller number of adult males. The remaining males are either solitary, or found in much smaller groups, averaging around six individuals. Although they can become aggressive when defending young, or during the rut, wild yaks generally avoid humans, and may rapidly flee for great distances if any approach.

 

DOMESTICATED YAKS

Domesticated yaks have been kept for thousands of years, primarily for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried droppings are an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and are often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan Plateau. Yaks transport goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as for climbing and trekking expeditions. "Only one thing makes it hard to use yaks for long journeys in barren regions. They will not eat grain, which could be carried on the journey. They will starve unless they can be brought to a place where there is grass." They also are used to draw ploughs. Yak's milk is often processed to a cheese called chhurpi in Tibetan and Nepali languages, and byaslag in Mongolia. Butter made of yak's milk is an ingredient of the butter tea that Tibetans consume in large quantities, and is also used in lamps and made into butter sculptures used in religious festivities. Yaks grunt and, unlike cattle, are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing (mooing) sound, which inspired the scientific names of both yak variants, bos grunniens (grunting bull) and bos mutus (silent bull).

 

YAK SPORTS

In parts of Tibet and Karakorum, yak racing is a form of entertainment at traditional festivals and is considered an important part of their culture. More recently, sports involving domesticated yaks, such as yak skiing, or yak polo, are being marketed as tourist attractions in Central Asian countries, including Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan.

 

HYBRID YAK

In Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia, domestic cattle are crossbred with yaks. This gives rise to the infertile male dzo as well as fertile females known as dzomo or zhom, which may be crossed again with cattle. The "Dwarf Lulu" breed, "the only Bos primigenius taurus type of cattle in Nepal" has been tested for DNA markers and found to be a mixture of both taurine and zebu types of cattle (B. p. taurus and B. p. indicus) with yak. According to the International Veterinary Information Service, the low productivity of second generation cattle-yak crosses makes them suitable only as meat animals.

 

Crosses between yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) have been recorded in Chinese literature for at least 2,000 years. Successful crosses have also been recorded between yak and American bison, gaur, and banteng, generally with similar results to those produced with domestic cattle.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The yak (Bos grunniens and Bos mutus) is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English word "yak" derives from the Tibetan gyag (Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag) – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called a dri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.

 

RAXONOMY

Yaks belong to the genus Bos, and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus). Mitochondrial DNA analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been somewhat ambiguous.

 

The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia, suggesting a possible route by which yak-like ancestors of the modern American bison could have entered the Americas.

 

The species was originally designated as Bos grunniens ("grunting ox") by Linnaeus in 1766, but this name is now generally only considered to refer to the domesticated form of the animal, with Bos mutus ("mute ox") being the preferred name for the wild species. Although some authors still consider the wild yak to be a subspecies, Bos grunniens mutus, the ICZN made an official ruling in 2003 permitting the use of the name Bos mutus for wild yaks, and this is now the more common usage.

Except where the wild yak is considered as a subspecies of Bos grunniens, there are no recognised subspecies of yak.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Wild yaks are among the largest bovids and are second only to the gaur in shoulder height. They are also the largest native animal in their range. Wild yak adults stand about 1.6 to 2.2 m tall at the shoulder and weigh 305–1,000 kg. The head and body length is 2.5 to 3.3 m, not counting the tail of 60 to 100 cm. The females are about one-third the weight and are about 30% smaller in their linear dimensions when compared to bull wild yaks.

 

Domesticated yaks are much smaller, males weighing 350 to 580 kg and females 225 to 255 kg.Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, and rounded cloven hooves. They are the only wild bovids of this size with extremely dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. Wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown, in colouration. However, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream. They have small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth horns that are generally dark in colour. In males, the horns sweep out from the sides of the head, and then curve forward; they typically range from 48 to 99 cm in length. The horns of females are smaller, only 27 to 64 cm in length, and have a more upright shape. Both sexes have a short neck with a pronounced hump over the shoulders, although this is larger and more visible in males. Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.Both sexes have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the cold. Especially in males, this may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. The tail is long and horselike rather than tufted like the tails of cattle or bison. Wild yaks typically have black or dark brown hair over most of the body, with a greyish muzzle, although some wild golden-brown individuals have been reported. Wild yaks with gold coloured hair, known as Wild Golden Yak (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛; pinyin: jinsiyemaoniu) (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛) is considered an endangered subspecies by China, with an estimated population of 170 left in the wild. Domesticated yaks have a wider range of coat colours, with some individuals being white, grey, brown, roan or piebald. The udder in females and the scrotum in males are small and hairy, as protection against the cold. Females have four teats.

 

PHYSIOLOGY

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C. Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

 

Compared with domestic cattle, the rumen of yaks is unusually large, relative to the omasum. This likely allows them to consume greater quantities of low-quality food at a time, and to ferment it longer so as to extract more nutrients. Yak consume the equivalent of 1% of their body weight daily while cattle require 3% to maintain condition.

 

ODOUE

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odour when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak's wool is naturally odour resistant.

 

REPRODUCTION AND LIFE HISTORY

Yaks mate in the summer, typically between July and September, depending on the local environment. For the remainder of the year, many males wander in small bachelor groups away from the large herds, but, as the rut approaches, they become aggressive and regularly fight among each other to establish dominance. In addition to non-violent threat displays, bellowing, and scraping the ground with their horns, male yaks also compete more directly, repeatedly charging at each other with heads lowered or sparring with their horns. Like bison, but unlike cattle, males wallow in dry soil during the rut, often while scent-marking with urine or dung. Females enter oestrus up to four times a year, and females are receptive only for a few hours in each cycle.

 

Gestation lasts between 257 and 270 days, so that the young are born between May and June, and results in the birth of a single calf. The female finds a secluded spot to give birth, but the calf is able to walk within about ten minutes of birth, and the pair soon rejoin the herd. Females of both the wild and domestic forms typically give birth only once every other year, although more frequent births are possible if the food supply is good.

 

Calves are weaned at one year and become independent shortly thereafter. Wild calves are initially brown in colour, and only later develop the darker adult hair. Females generally give birth for the first time at three or four years of age, and reach their peak reproductive fitness at around six years. Yaks may live for more than twenty years in domestication or captivity, although it is likely that this may be somewhat shorter in the wild.

 

WILD YAKS

Wild yaks (Bos grunniens mutus or Bos mutus, Tibetan: འབྲོང་, Wylie: 'brong) usually form herds of between ten and thirty animals. They are insulated by dense, close, matted under-hair as well as their shaggy outer hair. Yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed for food by hunters in China; they are now a vulnerable species.

 

The diet of wild yaks consists largely of grasses and sedges, such as Carex, Stipa, and Kobresia. They also eat a smaller amount of herbs, winterfat shrubs, and mosses, and have even been reported to eat lichen. Historically, the main natural predator of the wild yak has been the Tibetan wolf, but brown bears and snow leopards have also been reported as predators in some areas, likely of young or infirm wild yaks.

 

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, reported on his journey from Kumbum in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950:

 

Before long I was to see the vast herds of drongs with my own eyes. The sight of those beautiful and powerful beasts who from time immemorial have made their home on Tibet's high and barren plateaux never ceased to fascinate me. Somehow these shy creatures manage to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots which is all that nature provides in those parts. And what a wonderful sight it is to see a great herd of them plunging head down in a wild gallop across the steppes. The earth shakes under their heels and a vast cloud of dust marks their passage. At nights they will protect themselves from the cold by huddling up together, with the calves in the centre. They will stand like this in a snow-storm, pressed so close together that the condensation from their breath rises into the air like a column of steam. The nomads have occasionally tried to bring up young drongs as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. Somehow once they live together with human beings they seem to lose their astonishing strength and powers of endurance; and they are no use at all as pack animals, because their backs immediately get sore. Their immemorial relationship with humans has therefore remained that of game and hunter, for their flesh is very tasty.

— Thubten Norbu, Tibet is My Country

 

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Wild yaks are found primarily in northern Tibet and western Qinghai, with some populations extending into the southernmost parts of Xinjiang, and into Ladakh in India. Small, isolated populations of wild yak are also found farther afield, primarily in western Tibet and eastern Qinghai as well as some parts of Sichuan nearer to Huanglong. In historic times, wild yaks were also found in Nepal and Bhutan, but they are now considered extinct in both countries, except as domesticated animals.

 

The primary habitat of wild yaks consists of treeless uplands between 3,000 and 5,500 m, dominated by mountains and plateaus. They are most commonly found in alpine meadows with a relatively thick carpet of grasses and sedges, rather than the more barren steppe country.

 

BEHAVIOUR

Yaks are herd animals. Herds can contain several hundred individuals, although many are much smaller. The herds consist primarily of females and their young, with a smaller number of adult males. The remaining males are either solitary, or found in much smaller groups, averaging around six individuals. Although they can become aggressive when defending young, or during the rut, wild yaks generally avoid humans, and may rapidly flee for great distances if any approach.

 

DOMESTICATED YAKS

Domesticated yaks have been kept for thousands of years, primarily for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried droppings are an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and are often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan Plateau. Yaks transport goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as for climbing and trekking expeditions. "Only one thing makes it hard to use yaks for long journeys in barren regions. They will not eat grain, which could be carried on the journey. They will starve unless they can be brought to a place where there is grass." They also are used to draw ploughs. Yak's milk is often processed to a cheese called chhurpi in Tibetan and Nepali languages, and byaslag in Mongolia. Butter made of yak's milk is an ingredient of the butter tea that Tibetans consume in large quantities, and is also used in lamps and made into butter sculptures used in religious festivities. Yaks grunt and, unlike cattle, are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing (mooing) sound, which inspired the scientific names of both yak variants, bos grunniens (grunting bull) and bos mutus (silent bull).

 

YAK SPORTS

In parts of Tibet and Karakorum, yak racing is a form of entertainment at traditional festivals and is considered an important part of their culture. More recently, sports involving domesticated yaks, such as yak skiing, or yak polo, are being marketed as tourist attractions in Central Asian countries, including Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan.

 

HYBRID YAK

In Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia, domestic cattle are crossbred with yaks. This gives rise to the infertile male dzo as well as fertile females known as dzomo or zhom, which may be crossed again with cattle. The "Dwarf Lulu" breed, "the only Bos primigenius taurus type of cattle in Nepal" has been tested for DNA markers and found to be a mixture of both taurine and zebu types of cattle (B. p. taurus and B. p. indicus) with yak. According to the International Veterinary Information Service, the low productivity of second generation cattle-yak crosses makes them suitable only as meat animals.

 

Crosses between yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) have been recorded in Chinese literature for at least 2,000 years. Successful crosses have also been recorded between yak and American bison, gaur, and banteng, generally with similar results to those produced with domestic cattle.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The yak (Bos grunniens and Bos mutus) is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of southern Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The English word "yak" derives from the Tibetan gyag (Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag) – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called a dri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.

 

RAXONOMY

Yaks belong to the genus Bos, and are therefore related to cattle (Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus). Mitochondrial DNA analyses to determine the evolutionary history of yaks have been somewhat ambiguous.

 

The yak may have diverged from cattle at any point between one and five million years ago, and there is some suggestion that it may be more closely related to bison than to the other members of its designated genus. Apparent close fossil relatives of the yak, such as Bos baikalensis, have been found in eastern Russia, suggesting a possible route by which yak-like ancestors of the modern American bison could have entered the Americas.

 

The species was originally designated as Bos grunniens ("grunting ox") by Linnaeus in 1766, but this name is now generally only considered to refer to the domesticated form of the animal, with Bos mutus ("mute ox") being the preferred name for the wild species. Although some authors still consider the wild yak to be a subspecies, Bos grunniens mutus, the ICZN made an official ruling in 2003 permitting the use of the name Bos mutus for wild yaks, and this is now the more common usage.

Except where the wild yak is considered as a subspecies of Bos grunniens, there are no recognised subspecies of yak.

 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Wild yaks are among the largest bovids and are second only to the gaur in shoulder height. They are also the largest native animal in their range. Wild yak adults stand about 1.6 to 2.2 m tall at the shoulder and weigh 305–1,000 kg. The head and body length is 2.5 to 3.3 m, not counting the tail of 60 to 100 cm. The females are about one-third the weight and are about 30% smaller in their linear dimensions when compared to bull wild yaks.

 

Domesticated yaks are much smaller, males weighing 350 to 580 kg and females 225 to 255 kg.Yaks are heavily built animals with a bulky frame, sturdy legs, and rounded cloven hooves. They are the only wild bovids of this size with extremely dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. Wild yaks are generally dark, blackish to brown, in colouration. However, domestic yaks can be quite variable in colour, often having patches of rusty brown and cream. They have small ears and a wide forehead, with smooth horns that are generally dark in colour. In males, the horns sweep out from the sides of the head, and then curve forward; they typically range from 48 to 99 cm in length. The horns of females are smaller, only 27 to 64 cm in length, and have a more upright shape. Both sexes have a short neck with a pronounced hump over the shoulders, although this is larger and more visible in males. Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.Both sexes have long shaggy hair with a dense woolly undercoat over the chest, flanks, and thighs to insulate them from the cold. Especially in males, this may form a long "skirt" that can reach the ground. The tail is long and horselike rather than tufted like the tails of cattle or bison. Wild yaks typically have black or dark brown hair over most of the body, with a greyish muzzle, although some wild golden-brown individuals have been reported. Wild yaks with gold coloured hair, known as Wild Golden Yak (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛; pinyin: jinsiyemaoniu) (Chinese: 金丝野牦牛) is considered an endangered subspecies by China, with an estimated population of 170 left in the wild. Domesticated yaks have a wider range of coat colours, with some individuals being white, grey, brown, roan or piebald. The udder in females and the scrotum in males are small and hairy, as protection against the cold. Females have four teats.

 

PHYSIOLOGY

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C. Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

 

Compared with domestic cattle, the rumen of yaks is unusually large, relative to the omasum. This likely allows them to consume greater quantities of low-quality food at a time, and to ferment it longer so as to extract more nutrients. Yak consume the equivalent of 1% of their body weight daily while cattle require 3% to maintain condition.

 

ODOUE

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odour when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak's wool is naturally odour resistant.

 

REPRODUCTION AND LIFE HISTORY

Yaks mate in the summer, typically between July and September, depending on the local environment. For the remainder of the year, many males wander in small bachelor groups away from the large herds, but, as the rut approaches, they become aggressive and regularly fight among each other to establish dominance. In addition to non-violent threat displays, bellowing, and scraping the ground with their horns, male yaks also compete more directly, repeatedly charging at each other with heads lowered or sparring with their horns. Like bison, but unlike cattle, males wallow in dry soil during the rut, often while scent-marking with urine or dung. Females enter oestrus up to four times a year, and females are receptive only for a few hours in each cycle.

 

Gestation lasts between 257 and 270 days, so that the young are born between May and June, and results in the birth of a single calf. The female finds a secluded spot to give birth, but the calf is able to walk within about ten minutes of birth, and the pair soon rejoin the herd. Females of both the wild and domestic forms typically give birth only once every other year, although more frequent births are possible if the food supply is good.

 

Calves are weaned at one year and become independent shortly thereafter. Wild calves are initially brown in colour, and only later develop the darker adult hair. Females generally give birth for the first time at three or four years of age, and reach their peak reproductive fitness at around six years. Yaks may live for more than twenty years in domestication or captivity, although it is likely that this may be somewhat shorter in the wild.

 

WILD YAKS

Wild yaks (Bos grunniens mutus or Bos mutus, Tibetan: འབྲོང་, Wylie: 'brong) usually form herds of between ten and thirty animals. They are insulated by dense, close, matted under-hair as well as their shaggy outer hair. Yaks secrete a special sticky substance in their sweat which helps keep their under-hair matted and acts as extra insulation. This secretion is used in traditional Nepalese medicine. Many wild yaks are killed for food by hunters in China; they are now a vulnerable species.

 

The diet of wild yaks consists largely of grasses and sedges, such as Carex, Stipa, and Kobresia. They also eat a smaller amount of herbs, winterfat shrubs, and mosses, and have even been reported to eat lichen. Historically, the main natural predator of the wild yak has been the Tibetan wolf, but brown bears and snow leopards have also been reported as predators in some areas, likely of young or infirm wild yaks.

 

Thubten Jigme Norbu, the elder brother of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, reported on his journey from Kumbum in Amdo to Lhasa in 1950:

 

Before long I was to see the vast herds of drongs with my own eyes. The sight of those beautiful and powerful beasts who from time immemorial have made their home on Tibet's high and barren plateaux never ceased to fascinate me. Somehow these shy creatures manage to sustain themselves on the stunted grass roots which is all that nature provides in those parts. And what a wonderful sight it is to see a great herd of them plunging head down in a wild gallop across the steppes. The earth shakes under their heels and a vast cloud of dust marks their passage. At nights they will protect themselves from the cold by huddling up together, with the calves in the centre. They will stand like this in a snow-storm, pressed so close together that the condensation from their breath rises into the air like a column of steam. The nomads have occasionally tried to bring up young drongs as domestic animals, but they have never entirely succeeded. Somehow once they live together with human beings they seem to lose their astonishing strength and powers of endurance; and they are no use at all as pack animals, because their backs immediately get sore. Their immemorial relationship with humans has therefore remained that of game and hunter, for their flesh is very tasty.

— Thubten Norbu, Tibet is My Country

 

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Wild yaks are found primarily in northern Tibet and western Qinghai, with some populations extending into the southernmost parts of Xinjiang, and into Ladakh in India. Small, isolated populations of wild yak are also found farther afield, primarily in western Tibet and eastern Qinghai as well as some parts of Sichuan nearer to Huanglong. In historic times, wild yaks were also found in Nepal and Bhutan, but they are now considered extinct in both countries, except as domesticated animals.

 

The primary habitat of wild yaks consists of treeless uplands between 3,000 and 5,500 m, dominated by mountains and plateaus. They are most commonly found in alpine meadows with a relatively thick carpet of grasses and sedges, rather than the more barren steppe country.

 

BEHAVIOUR

Yaks are herd animals. Herds can contain several hundred individuals, although many are much smaller. The herds consist primarily of females and their young, with a smaller number of adult males. The remaining males are either solitary, or found in much smaller groups, averaging around six individuals. Although they can become aggressive when defending young, or during the rut, wild yaks generally avoid humans, and may rapidly flee for great distances if any approach.

 

DOMESTICATED YAKS

Domesticated yaks have been kept for thousands of years, primarily for their milk, fibre and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried droppings are an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and are often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan Plateau. Yaks transport goods across mountain passes for local farmers and traders as well as for climbing and trekking expeditions. "Only one thing makes it hard to use yaks for long journeys in barren regions. They will not eat grain, which could be carried on the journey. They will starve unless they can be brought to a place where there is grass." They also are used to draw ploughs. Yak's milk is often processed to a cheese called chhurpi in Tibetan and Nepali languages, and byaslag in Mongolia. Butter made of yak's milk is an ingredient of the butter tea that Tibetans consume in large quantities, and is also used in lamps and made into butter sculptures used in religious festivities. Yaks grunt and, unlike cattle, are not known to produce the characteristic bovine lowing (mooing) sound, which inspired the scientific names of both yak variants, bos grunniens (grunting bull) and bos mutus (silent bull).

 

YAK SPORTS

In parts of Tibet and Karakorum, yak racing is a form of entertainment at traditional festivals and is considered an important part of their culture. More recently, sports involving domesticated yaks, such as yak skiing, or yak polo, are being marketed as tourist attractions in Central Asian countries, including Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan.

 

HYBRID YAK

In Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia, domestic cattle are crossbred with yaks. This gives rise to the infertile male dzo as well as fertile females known as dzomo or zhom, which may be crossed again with cattle. The "Dwarf Lulu" breed, "the only Bos primigenius taurus type of cattle in Nepal" has been tested for DNA markers and found to be a mixture of both taurine and zebu types of cattle (B. p. taurus and B. p. indicus) with yak. According to the International Veterinary Information Service, the low productivity of second generation cattle-yak crosses makes them suitable only as meat animals.

 

Crosses between yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) have been recorded in Chinese literature for at least 2,000 years. Successful crosses have also been recorded between yak and American bison, gaur, and banteng, generally with similar results to those produced with domestic cattle.

 

WIKIPEDIA

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Marziya Shakir is my 23 old month grand daughter who loves eating raw sprouts as much as she loves eating chocolates..I have copied the article below to show you the magical power of sprouts from Isabel Shipards book..

 

Benefits of Sprouts

 

www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-sprout-information/so-goo...

  

This information on herbs is provided free from Isabel Shipard's book "How can I grow and use Sprouts as living food?"

"... ..." have been used to indicate omitted text.

  

My interest in sprouts began over 20 years ago, when I read a riddle that fascinated me. It caught my attention and started my interest in wanting to learn all I could about sprouts. The riddle went &

What will:

 

* grow in any climate at any time of the year

* require neither soil or sunshine, but is still rich in vitamins and minerals

* has not been subject to chemical sprays while growing

* is extremely economical and in preparation has no waste

* rivals meat in nutritive value

* can be grown indoors within a minimum amount of space

* multiplies 400% or more in 5 days

* matures in 3-5 days ... ?

 

The answer ... sprouts!

 

About the same time, I attended a demonstration on growing sprouts, with such a variety of seeds and tasty ways of enjoying them. I discovered that beneficial changes in nutrients take place, when seeds are sprouted:

 

* the starch converts to simple sugars

* the protein provides amino acids

* the fats break down into essential fatty acids

* and minerals chelate or merge with protein in a waythat increases their function.

 

All these actions increase the nutrient value, and enhance digestion and assimilation. Due to these dynamic influences, sprouts are considered predigested food.1

 

As I became more aware of the value of live food, I started to see that little things, like sprouts, can have a big impact on health, as they provide a high degree of vitality and rejuvenation to the body. After I completed writing the book, "How can I use herbs in my daily life?" in 2003, people were interested in knowing more about wheat grass and sprouts, which I had mentioned in the book. I showed them how I grew seeds, particularly fenugreek, which is my favourite sprout. Everyone was keen to know more about how to make sprouts and to learn of the various benefits. So, from that interest, this book on sprouts has come to be.

Sprouts have so many valuable

attributes:

 

*

 

Living sprouts are quality food of high biophotons (bio meaning 'life'; photon meaning 'electromagnetic'), which provide a high bio-energetic value, to energise our body and help the entire organism function, and prevent and repair defects.2 The bio-energetic value of sprouts and live foods has similarities to that of living Bio-genic Nutrition, a concept and way of life originating with Professor Edmond Bordeaux Szekely in California, USA in the 1920's. He classified sprouted seeds and baby greens as the most beneficial foods, calling them life-generating Bio-genic Foods, and recommended that they comprise 25% of our daily food. His four classifications make it easy to understand the true value of life-giving sprouts.

o

 

Bio-genic living foods offer the strongest support for the regeneration of cells (25% of daily food);

o

 

Bio-active foods are life sustaining organic fruit and vegetables (50% of daily food);

o

 

Bio-static foods include cooked foods (85% of the nutrient value may be lost in cooking), which slows down the life process and accelerates ageing (no more than 25% of daily food, but these are certainly not the best for the body);

o

 

Bio-acidic foods are regarded as 'life-destroying' and includes sugar, white flour, and all processed foods.

*

 

Sprouts are a powerful source of antioxidants in the form of vitamins, minerals and enzymes, which assist in protecting the body from free radical damage. Free radicals are created in our body by some foods, some cooking oils, preservatives, artificial colours, flavours, additives, and other substances in our environment. Free radicals are highly unstable oxygen molecules that can travel freely throughout the human body in search of an electron 'partner' and steal electrons from healthy cells. In doing so, they have the ability to create a dangerous chain reaction, breaking down vital, biological structures; and they have the ability to alter the structure of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). These are the vital blueprints and the DNA's messenger, required for the reproduction of cells. This change in the DNA structure is known as per oxidation. Once per oxidation has taken place within the cell, it will only reproduce the altered version.

*

 

Raw foods contain oxygen, and sprouts have an abundance of this element. Oxygen is important for healthy cells, to allow cells to live and breathe. Dr Otto Warburg, twice Nobel Prize winner, 1931 and 1944, found the growth of cancer cells were initiated by a relative lack of oxygen, and that viruses, bacteria and cancer cells could not live in an alkaline and oxygen-rich environment. When we cook food, the oxygen is destroyed. For this reason, eating raw sprouts, regularly, is valuable to health.

*

 

Sprouts are alkaline and have an alkalising affect in the body. If we desire health, the body needs to be alkaline. The immune system is made strong by high alkaline and alkalising foods (see p 19).

*

 

Sprouts provide us with whole foods, full of living enzymes, a vital life-force (see p 20). Sprouts can be growing on your kitchen bench one minute, and transferred to the meal table the next, ready for eating...there is nothing else as fresh as this! We have to realise that fruit and vegetables, which look so colourful and beautifully displayed on supermarket shelves, may have been picked for a week or more and the vital life-force can be very depleted. This life-force energy is believed to correlate with the level of power of the enzymes in living food, and which researchers believe is seen with Kirlian photography as brilliant spikes of light, radiating harmoniously around living produce or plants. However, once the produce is picked and it is no longer growing, the luminescent light diminishes and then gradually disappears, altogether. The nutrients also diminish when food is picked. So, something we grow, pick, and serve fresh from our garden, or sprouts, growing in the kitchen, will definitely serve us with more nutrients, than food that has had a shelf life.

 

What we grow in our garden and in our kitchen can be with organic seeds and fertiliser. Therefore, our food will not have been subject to synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, growth hormones or other chemicals. These chemicals can have a detrimental impact and an accumulative effect, on the environment and our health. We cannot see the toxins, but they are around us and part of our lives & so subtle. Numerous scientific researchers believe they are the cause of an increase in the incidence of asthma, infertility, allergies, neurological damage, immune and endocrine disruptions, and many types of cancer.

 

A. mixed pea and bean sprout salad with epazote sprigs, a good combination with beans for flavour and flatulence (p 58) B. psyllium sprout smoothies flavoured with pineapple, coconut and banana.

 

Organic food generally has a higher vitamin C content, flavonoids, better protein quality and higher mineral and enzyme content, than conventionally grown produce.4 It is interesting too, and has been observed with Kirlian photography, that organic produce glows with a stronger, more dynamic, luminous light than non-organic produce. If we want to 'outsmart' cancer and other diseases that have accelerated in our modern way of life, we must reduce our exposure to chemicals, wherever we can, by looking for organic or biodynamic produce, or by growing our own & so sprouts in the kitchen are an easy way to start.

*

*

 

Sprouts are a good source of essential fatty acids (EFA). The average diet is generally deficient in EFA. These fatty acids are essential to life, perform many vital body functions and play a major role in immune defences (see p 11 and p 105).

*

 

Sprouts are one of the highest food sources of fibre, essential for good health (see p 12). High fibre foods make us chew more slowly and make us feel more satisfied.

*

 

The chlorophyll content of sprouts and seedling microgreens, can perform the remarkable action of converting light energy into chemical energy, a process called photosynthesis. The green chlorophyll pigment of plants closely resembles haemoglobin, the pigment that gives human blood its colour and oxygen-carrying capacity. The difference between the two pigments is that chlorophyll has a core of magnesium and haemoglobin a core of iron.

*

 

Chlorophyll-rich foods are our most powerful blood cleansers and blood builders. Sprouts grown to the chlorophyll-rich two-leaf stage have been shown to be effective in overcoming protein-deficiency anaemia. Some women have found that including chlorophyll-rich foods in their daily diet has given relief from hot flushes of menopause, and also supported hormonal function.

*

 

Sprouts have a generous supply of vitamins . In fact the vitamin content of some seeds can increase from 100% to 2000% in several days of sprouting. Even soaking seeds, overnight, produces massive amounts of vitamin B complex and also of vitamin C.

*

 

The formula for multi-vitamin B and C is hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, together with the life-force and elements in the seeds, this creates a complex carbohydrate, and nutrients are formed. These are the magical substances that provide the miracle of life and increased nutrients in sprouts.

*

 

Sprouts have an excellent array of minerals that the body requires. During sprouting, the minerals are enriched and develop in a chelated form (which are more easily utilised by the body).

*

 

Sprouts can be grown all year round to give a constant supply of food, in the very freshest form possible.

*

 

Eating fresh sprouts provides essential nutrients in an easily assimilable form. Living enzymes, in sprouts, go to work to predigest the protein into their constituent amino acids: this makes them easily digested and absorbed by the body. We can digest sprouts in less than half the time of cooked foods. Cooked foods are acid forming. Continually consuming cooked food can be constipating, as the cellulose necessary for peristalsis has been broken down and softened in cooking.

*

 

Sprouts provide the best nutritional value for money. They are the most economical food we can eat, at just a few cents a serve. We all like good value bargains, and when we find one, we usually like to share the information by passing the details on to family and friends, so they may get the benefits as well. For a few dollars we can purchase seeds that, when sprouted, will increase in volume 8-10 times, and provide many meals. The sprouted seeds also increase in nutrient value in just a few days of growing. Anyone, even on a tight budget, can afford seeds to sprout and get the best of food value.

*

 

Seeds for sprouting store well and can be quickly utilised as food for emergency relief, during times of calamity or scarcity & but make use of them during times of plenty, too, as sprouts provide essential nutrients in the freshest way possible.

*

 

Sprouts provide a good source of protein (for importance of protein see page 7). Many people use sprouts as an alternative to meat protein as ...

o sprouts take less time to digest than meat;

o sprouts are living food; meat is lifeless;

o sprouts are alkaline; meat is acidic;

o sprouts can cut the cost of living; meat is a highly priced item;

o sprouts have no additives; meat may have hormones and chemicals from farming practices;

o sprouts have zero cholesterol, compared to many meats;

o sprouts are a source of oxygen; all cooked foods lack oxygen (meat does however, build red blood cells, which carry 02 molecules);

o people eat sprouts for the health benefits; heavy meat-eaters have higher incidence of colon cancer.

 

Vegetarians, or people who are not heavy meat consumers, have less degenerative diseases. Some researchers say the human body is able to absorb haem iron at a rate 5-10 times higher than it absorbs non-haem iron, which would indicate that iron is better utilised from meat sources, than from sprout and other plant sources. Scientists have established that ascorbic acid can assist in the absorption of non-haem iron. As sprouts are a very good source of vitamin C, this should mean the iron is relatively well utilised.

*

 

Sprouts are low in kilojoules (calories), so are good nutrient-dense food for weight watchers.

*

 

Sprouts have a low glycaemic index (GI), which makes sprouts valuable for health (see p 22).

*

 

Sprouts are preventive medicine . We can know, when we eat sprouts daily, that we are providing building materials for the growth and repair of the body. Our health is very much related to our diet: our choice of foods, determines the quality of our physical wellbeing. Over 2000 years ago, Hippocrates said, "Let food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food". Sprouts literally are super foods to build health and act as a prophylactic from illness. Hippocrates also said, "Each one of the substances of a man's diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way, and upon these changes his whole life depends, whether he be in health, in sickness or convalescence. To be sure, there can be little knowledge more necessary". And to think: Hippocrates said this, long before fertilisers and chemicals were manufactured, before grains were refined and nutrients removed, and before fast foods were ever conceived!

 

Looks normal to me :-)

YouTube link - youtu.be/zoeX7YiYDeU

 

Courtesy of Tom Trust.

 

Note that you can only play the first couple of minutes from the web site. To see the last minute or so you will need to download it – 55mb in all.

 

Notes from Alex Wilson plus update from Tom Trust, 20Feb20:

Length 03:54. Cast in order of appearance – at least those I recognise:

00:00Mick Thomas.

00:01??, Mick Dudding. This bit of filming was before, during and after their last Maths exam, hence the celebrations!.

00:05??, Mick Housden.

00:13Scene through the Dance Hall window of the exam in progress.

00:22Mick Thomas, Jon Naylor Mick Housden.

00:36Keith Unsworth, Bob O’Regan, Mick Cole, John Testa, Nigel Thomas.

00:52Mick Cole, Nigel Thomas (on guitar).

01:00Mick Cole – post-exam de-stressing.

01:21John Testa.

01:29Alex Wilson – state of undress.

01:40Scenes of Zoology III ‘revising’ in one of the Hortensia Road Depository labs.

01:46Cynthia Dunn (later Cynthia McCoig), ??, Flora Abraham, ??.

After Cynthia's first appearance there's a scene with that married bloke, then two unknown girls, Cynthia walking past, then Flora.

02:03Dave Thomson, Tom Trust, Alex Wilson.

02:18John ??, Alex Wilson, ??. The left hand one (John) is the one we pulled his leg about the magnetic effect of the Earth's magnetic field on the iron molecules in the haemoglobin of pigeon brains aiding their navigation!

02:31?? – with test tube. A married guy doing the Fehling's test holding the test tube in his fingers, as we did in those days! No test tube holders, no goggles - how did we survive?

02:46Dave Thomson, Alex Wilson.

02:51?? – with recording drum. Our demonstrator who I believed went on to lecture in Hong Kong University.

02:59Group at the blackboard – Alex Wilson, ??, ??, ??, ??.

03:11Dave Thomson.

03:16Group at the blackboard – ??, ??. ??, Alex Wilson, ??.

03:21Keith Unsworth possibly?

High dome profile. Mantle covers whole body, except posterior of foot protrudes beyond mantle when in motion (1).

Length 11 mm, Menai Strait, Wales. March 2015.

 

Full SPECIES DESCRIPTION BELOW

Sets of OTHER SPECIES:

www.flickr.com/photos/56388191@N08/collections/

 

Acanthodoris pilosa (Abildgaard in Müller, 1789)

Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140627

 

Synonyms: Doris pilosa Abildgaard in Müller, 1789 ; Doris subquadrata Alder & Hancock, 1845; Acanthodoris subquadrata (Alder & Hancock, 1845);

Meaning of name:

Acanthodoris = (Greek akantha )Thorny + Doris (name of a sea nymph).

pilosa (Latin) = pilose / hairy / furry / shaggy

 

GLOSSARY below.

 

Body

Up to 40mm long, exceptionally 55mm; high dome profile. Mantle covers whole body; varies white 1Ap flic.kr/p/MVByj4 , brown 2Ap flic.kr/p/NTLFkr , black,or yellow (P.Lightfoot) flic.kr/p/oJLWhQ . Pale colours may be mottled or freckled darker, especially on juveniles 3Ap flic.kr/p/NrccVy . Translucent pale forms usually reveal pale brown/ yellowish orange viscera 4Ap flic.kr/p/NKYeKt . Long, fine, radially arranged spicules often visible in mantle when viewed from below 5Ap flic.kr/p/NQxsVm ; do not interlock, so body soft and yielding. Soft, tall, thin, conical tubercles on mantle 6Ap flic.kr/p/Nrc9wu give shaggy/ pilose appearance 4Ap flic.kr/p/NKYeKt , but sometimes can be somewhat contracted and less distinctive (J.Anderson) flic.kr/p/Aes3Cj . Alder & Hancock mistakenly based a separate species, Doris subquadrata 1845, on a single specimen with small conical tubercles www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/158/mode/1up

Rhinophores

Long, rising from low sheath with tuberculated rim; base smooth, upper lamellated part often bent backwards 7Ap flic.kr/p/NQxst9 . Approximate number of lamellae on one rhinophore at different body lengths: 10 at 4.4mm, 13 at 6mm, 18 at 11mm, 21 at 17mm, 24 at 30mm; numbers include apical 'nipple' which is lamellae held upwards. Left and right lamellae meet at anterior groove and as posterior 'V' 8Ap flic.kr/p/NKYcGF . Translucent, usually coloured as mantle, lamellae of white specimens often slightly cream yellow 4Ap flic.kr/p/NKYeKt , occasionally bright orange (K.G.Pedersen) flic.kr/p/bSuKzV . Rhinophores often held obliquely sideways 9Ap flic.kr/p/MVXQ3u .

Gills

Up to nine voluminous tripinnate gills in circle around anus 4Ap flic.kr/p/NKYeKt ,10Ap flic.kr/p/NHsoPU & 11Ap flic.kr/p/NQxpeU . Usually translucent and tinted as mantle, with some opaque white along each side of midrib forming a star; sometimes opaque white on lamellae. When disturbed, gills contract separately down to mantle surface 3Ap flic.kr/p/NrccVy ; do not retract in unison into a pocket.

Head

Narrow oral veil extended laterally into broad, flat oral tentacles[4]. Anterior of veil has two protrusions centrally 12Ap flic.kr/p/Nrc6WE .

Foot

Sole translucent white, showing opaque whitish gonads 13Ap flic.kr/p/NHsntC or pale brown 5Ap flic.kr/p/NQxsVm or brownish orange 15Ap flic.kr/p/NQxkbJ viscera centrally . Sometimes a few dark pigment marks on sole 12Ap flic.kr/p/Nrc6WE . Dorsal surface of foot similar to mantle; whitish 14Ap flic.kr/p/MVXK65 freckled sparsely 15Ap flic.kr/p/NQxkbJ or freckled densely 16Ap flic.kr/p/NHsmfq . Anterior and posterior of foot smoothly rounded 13Ap flic.kr/p/NHsntC ; posterior protrudes beyond mantle when in motion 1Ap flic.kr/p/MVByj4 & 17Ap flic.kr/p/NHskGb . Locomotion by monotaxic retrograde waves on sole.

 

Key identification features

Acanthodoris pilosa

1: Soft, tall, thin, conical tubercles on mantle 6Ap flic.kr/p/Nrc9wu , but sometimes contracted/ poorly developed and not so distinctive (J.Anderson) flic.kr/p/Aes3Cj.

2: Body soft and yielding. Usual maximum length 40mm.

3: Voluminous tripinnate gills can contract but not retract into pocket; usually, opaque white along each side of midribs forms a star when gills expanded 4Ap flic.kr/p/NKYeKt .

4: Narrow oral veil extended laterally into broad, flat oral tentacles. Anterior of veil has two protrusions centrally. 12Ap flic.kr/p/Nrc6WE

5: Upper lamellated part of large rhinophores often bent backwards 7Ap flic.kr/p/NQxst9 .

 

Similar species

No other British dorid species has long soft conical tubercles, such large, often bent, rhinophores or its distinctive oral veil/flat oral tentacles, but specimens with contracted or poorly developed tubercles sometimes confused with other white or brownish dorids such as

Onchidoris muricata (O.F.Müller, 1776) :

1: Tubercles shaped as club with flat/slightly rounded tip 19Ap flic.kr/p/MVBhG2 .

2: Body quite firm with many spicules. Usual maximum length 14mm.

3: Simply pinnate small gills can retract into a pocket.

4: Broad rounded oral veil 20Ap flic.kr/p/NTLsRP .

 

Onchidoris proxima (Alder & Hancock, 1854)

1: Tubercles, torpedo shaped club with rounded point 21Ap flic.kr/p/MVBgbX .

2: Body quite firm with many spicules. Usual maximum length 17mm.

3: Simply pinnate small gills can retract into a pocket.

4: Broad rounded oral veil 21Ap flic.kr/p/MVBgbX .

 

Jorunna tomentosa (Cuvier, 1804)

1: Fine spiculose tubercles on mantle, "caryophyllidia" 22Ap flic.kr/p/NTLspB , under microscope somewhat resembling a clove (spice) in structure.

2: Body spiculate, fairly firm. Usual maximum length 60mm.

3. Expanded gills on raised collar 22Ap flic.kr/p/NTLspB around brown anus 23Ap flic.kr/p/MVBdgP . Gills can retract into pocket.

4: Head has small tentacles and no veil 22Ap flic.kr/p/NTLspB .

 

Cadlina laevis (Linnaeus, 1767)

1: Unobtrusive, very small, soft tubercles on mantle (J.Anderson) flic.kr/p/6e53ZS

2: Body has soft texture, a flattened low profile, is shiny white with opaque yellow or white marks near the periphery and, sometimes, has an opaque yellow or white peripheral border. Usual maximum length 32mm.

3: Gills not voluminous, hidden much of the time retracted into pocket.(J.Anderson) flic.kr/p/6e53ZS

4: Head has very small tentacles and no veil.

 

Habits and ecology

On mid- and lower-shore and sublittorally to about 170m.

Feeds on Alcyonidium hirsutum www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=Y1390 on shore, Alcyonidium diaphanum www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=Y1370 sublittorally, and occasionally on Flustrellidra hispida www.unterwasser-welt-ostsee.de/html/rotdorniges_moostierc... . Breeds when 8mm long and larger. Simultaneous hermaphrodite. Spawn (J.Anderson) flic.kr/p/Aes3Cj a convoluted ribbon attached by its edge, deposited in spiral of about two turns. Spawning in all months with maximum in spring (when adults commonest 18Ap flic.kr/p/MVXHi7 ) and secondary peak in autumn. Planktonic veliger larvae for about ten days at 10ºC before metamorphosis.

 

Distribution and status

Iceland to Morocco and western Baltic. Greenland to Virginea, and Alaska to Vancouver. Not within Arctic circle, rare in Mediterranean. GBIF map www.gbif.org/species/2292107 Common and widespread round Britain and Ireland. NBN UK map species.nbnatlas.org/species/NHMSYS0021056240

 

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge and thank Paula Lightfoot, Jim Anderson and Kjetil Pedersen whose greatly valued images have been linked to this account. Jim's exceptionally good website and Flickr Albums can be seen at

www.nudibranch.org/Scottish%20Nudibranchs/

and www.flickr.com/photos/jim-anderson/albums

 

Links and references

Alder, J. & Hancock, A. 1845-1855. A monograph of the British nudibranchiate mollusca. London, Ray Society. www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/152/mode/1up &

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/131598#page/158/mode/1up

 

Catteneo Vietti, R., Angelini, S., Gaggero, L. & Lucchetti, G. 1995. Mineral composition of nudibranch spicules. J. Mollus. Stud. 61 (3): 331-337. Abstract at mollus.oxfordjournals.org/content/61/3/331.abstract

 

Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. Encyclopedia of marine life of Britain and Ireland. [For prey]. www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/index.html

 

Thompson, T.E. & Brown, G.H. 1984. Biology of opisthobranch molluscs 2. London, Ray Society.

 

Current taxonomy: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140627

 

Glossary

cephalic (adj.) = of or on the head.

ELWS = extreme low water spring tide (usually near March and September equinoxes).

lamellae (sing. lamella) = small plates on rhinophores, or leaflets of gill.

mantle (of nudibranchs) = sheet of tissue forming part or all of notum (dorsal body surface).

 

monotaxic (of locomotion waves on foot) = single series of waves across complete width of foot.

 

myoglobin = red oxygen-binding protein in muscle tissue; often in buccal-mass muscles of gastropods. Similar to red haemoglobin in vertebrate blood, but green haemocyanin is usual oxygen-carrier in mollusc blood. See www.researchgate.net/publication/251227038_Radular_myoglo...

 

papilla = (pl. papillae) small cone-shaped protrusion of flesh.

papillate = covered in papillae.

plankton = animals and plants that drift in pelagic zone (main body of water).

retrograde (of locomotion waves on foot) = waves travel from anterior to posterior.

 

rhinophores (pl.) = chemo-receptor tentacles on top of head of nudibranch.

tripinnate (of gill plume) = threefold branching; “boughs, branches, twigs” in one plane like a feather.

 

spicule (in dorid seaslugs) = small, slender, sharp-pointed feature mainly composed of calcite (CaCO3) and brucite (Mg(OH)2) .

 

spiculate = containing spicules.

veliger = shelled larva of marine gastropod or bivalve mollusc which swims by beating cilia of a velum (bilobed flap).

Illustration of the DNA double helix, unwound and unzipped into its two complementary strands, one of which is shown here in close-up. DNA is formed of two sugar-phosphate strands (grey) linked by pairs of bases: adenine (green) binds with thymine (red), and guanine (yellow) binds with cytosine (blue). The sequence of bases along the strands forms a template for the production of proteins. The change from T to A seen here is a point mutation, and can lead to a different amino acid being incorporated into the intended protein, often significantly changing its properties. For example, sickle-cell anaemia is caused by a point mutation in the gene coding for the blood protein beta-haemoglobin.

 

Pomegranate--Rich in anti-oxidants and fibre and good for increasing Haemoglobin levels.Helps to expell cold and cough and increases immunity power. Since ancient days, this is used in Ayurvedic system of medicine. This fruit finds its Historical importance in all Religions and culture. In Christianity , this fruit is given much importance and in many Churches this fruit is drawn on walls

Slideshow of the Tibet 2013, Kham set: www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157635937209655/show

 

The yak (Bos grunniens and Bos mutus) is a long-haired bovid found throughout the Himalaya region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. Most yaks are domesticated, Bos grunniens. There is also a small, vulnerable population of wild yaks, Bos mutus. In the 1990s, a concerted effort was undertaken to help save the wild yak population.

 

The English word "yak" derives from the Tibetan (Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yag), or gyag – in Tibetan this refers only to the male of the species, the female being called a dri or nak. In English, as in most other languages which have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.

 

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C (59 °F). Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

 

Compared with domestic cattle, the rumen of yaks is unusually large, relative to the omasum. This likely allows them to consume greater quantities of low-quality food at a time, and to ferment it longer so as to extract more nutrients. Yak consume the equivalent of 1% of their body weight daily while cattle require 3% to maintain condition. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yak

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia का कारण, लक्षण, निदान, एहतियात और उपचार

  

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia यह एक अनुवांशिक रक्त रोग हैं। इस रोग के कारण रक्त / Haemoglobin निर्माण के कार्य में गड़बड़ी होने के कारण रोगी व्यक्ति को बार-बार रक्त चढ़ाना पड़ता हैं। भारत में हर वर्ष 7 से 10 हजार बच्चे थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia से पीड़ित पैदा होते हैं। यह रोग न केवल रोगी के लिए कष्टदायक होता है बल्कि सम्पूर्ण परिवार के लिए कष्टों का सिलसिला लिए रहता हैं।

 

यह रोग अनुवांशिक होने के कारण पीढ़ी दर पीढ़ी परिवार में चलती रहता हैं। इस रोग में शरीर में लाल रक्त कण / Red Blood Cells (RBC) नहीं बन पाते है और जो थोड़े बन पाते है वह केवल अल्प काल तक ही रहते हैं। थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia से पीड़ित बच्चों को बार-बार खून चढाने की आवश्यकता पड़ती है और ऐसा न करने पर बच्चा जीवित नहीं रह सकता हैं। इस बीमारी की सम्पूर्ण जानकारी और विवाह के पहले विशेष एहतियात बरतने पर हम इसे आनेवाले पीढ़ी को होने से कुछ प्रमाण में रोक सकते हैं।

 

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia रोग का कारण, लक्षण, निदान और उपचार संबंधी अधिक जानकारी निचे दी गयी हैं :

  

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia क्यों होता हैं ?

 

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia यह एक अनुवांशिक रोग है और माता अथवा पिता या दोनों के जींस / Genes में गड़बड़ी के कारण होता हैं। रक्त में हीमोग्लोबिन 2 तरह के प्रोटीन से बनता है - Alpha और Beta ग्लोबिन। इन दोनों में से किसी प्रोटीन के निर्माण वाले जीन्स में गड़बड़ी होने पर थैलासीमिया होता हैं।

 

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia के प्रकार क्या हैं ?

 

ऐसे तो थैलासीमिया के कई प्रकार किया जाते है पर मुख्यतः थैलासीमिया के दो प्रकार हैं।

 

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia Minor : यह बीमारी उन बच्चों को होती है जिन्हे प्रभावित जीन्स (Genes) माता अथवा पिता द्वारा प्राप्त होता हैं। इस प्रकार से पीड़ित थैलासीमिया के रोगियों में अक्सर कोई लक्षण नजर नहीं आता हैं। यह रोगी थैलासीमिया वाहक / Carriers होते हैं। थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia Major : यह बीमारी उन बच्चों को होती है जिनके माता और पिता दोनों के जिंस में गड़बड़ी होती हैं। यदि माता और पिता दोनों थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia Minor हो तो होने वाले बच्चे को थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia Major होने का खतरा अधिक रहता है। Hydrops Fetalis : यह एक बेहद खतरनाक थैलासीमिया का प्रकार है जिसमे गर्भ के अंदर ही बच्चे की मृत्यु हो जाती है या पैदा होने के कुछ समय बाद ही बच्चा मर जाता हैं। थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia के लक्षण क्या हैं ?

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia Minor : इसमें अधिकतर मामलों में कोई लक्षण नजर नहीं आता हैं। कुछ रोगियों में रक्त की कमी या Anaemia हो सकता हैं। थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia Major : जन्म के 3 महीने बाद कभी भी इस बीमारी के लक्षण नजर आ सकते हैं। बच्चों के नाख़ून और जीभ पिली पड़ जाने से पीलिया / Jaundice का भ्रम पैदा हो जाता हैं। बच्चे के जबड़ों और गालों में असामान्यता आ जाती हैं। बच्चे की growth रुक जाती हैं और वह उम्र से काफी छोटा नजर आता हैं। सूखता चेहरा वजन न बढ़ना हमेशा बीमार नजर आना कमजोरी सांस लेने में तकलीफ

 

थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia का निदान कैसे किया जाता हैं ?

  

बच्चे में थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia की आशंका होने पर निदान करने के लिए निचे दिए हुए जांच किये जाते हैं :

 

शारीरिक जांच / Physical Examination : व्यक्ति की शारीरिक जांच और सवाल पूछ कर डॉक्टर थैलासीमिया का अंदाजा लगा सकते है। पीड़ित व्यक्ति में रक्त की कमी के लक्षण, Liver और Spleen में सूजन और शारीरिक विकास में कमी इत्यादि लक्षणों से थैलासीमिया का अंदाजा आ जाता हैं। रक्त की जांच / Blood Test : माइक्रोस्कोप के निचे रक्त की जांच करने पर लाल रक्त कण के आकार में कमी और अनियमितता साथ ही हीमोग्लोबिन की कमी से थैलासीमिया का निदान हो जाता हैं। Hemoglobin Electrophoresis जांच में अनियमित हीमोग्लोबिन का पता चलता हैं। Mutational Analysis जांच करने पर Alpha थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia का निदान किया जाता हैं। थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia का उपचार कैसे किया जाता हैं ?

 

रक्त चढ़ाना / Blood Transfusion : थैलासीमिया / Thalassemia का उपचार करने के लिए नियमित रक्त चढाने की आवश्यकता होती हैं। कुछ रोगियों को हर 10 से 15 दिन में रक्त चढ़ाना पड़ता हैं।ज्यादातर मरीज इसका खर्चा नहीं उठा पाते हैं। सामान्यतः पीड़ित बच्चे की मृत्यु 12 से 15 वर्ष की आयु में हो जाती हैं। सही उपचार लेने पर 25 वर्ष से ज्यादा समय तक जीवित रह सकते हैं। थैलासीमिया से पीड़ित रोगियों में आयु के साथ-साथ रक्त की आवश्यकता भी बढ़ते रहती हैं। मेरा आप सभी से अनुरोध है की अगर आपक रक्त दान कर सकते है तो साल में कम से कम 2 बार ऐच्छिक रक्त दान अवश्य कीजिये ताकि आपके दिए हुए इस अनमोल दान से किसी बच्चे को जीवन दान मिल सकता हैं। रक्त दान कौन और कब कर सकता है इसकी सम्पूर्ण जानकारी लेने के लिए पढ़े - रक्तदान की सम्पूर्ण जानकारी ! Chelation Therapy : बार-बार रक्त चढाने से और लोह तत्व की गोली लेने से रोगी के रक्त में लोह तत्व की मात्रा अधिक हो जाती हैं। Liver, Spleen, तथा ह्रदय / Heart में जरुरत से ज्यादा लोह तत्व जमा होने से ये अंग सामान्य कार्य करना छोड़ देते हैं। रक्त में जमे इस अधिक लोह तत्व को निकालने के प्रक्रिया के लिए इंजेक्शन और दवा दोनों तरह के ईलाज उपलब्ध हैं। Bone Marrow Transplant : Bone Marrow Transplant और Stem Cell का उपयोग कर बच्चों में इस रोग को रोकने पर शोध हो रहा हैं। इनका उपयोग कर बच्चों में इस रोग को रोक जा सकता हैं।

 

थैलासीमिया को रोकने के लिए क्या करना चाहिए ?

  

थैलासीमिया को रोकने के लिए निचे दिए हुए उपाय कर सकते हैं :

 

जागरूकता / Awareness : आज समाज में थैलासीमिया को लेकर अज्ञानता हैं। हमें थैलासीमिया से पीड़ित लोगो में इस रोग संबंधी जागरूकता फैलानी चाहिए ताकि इस रोग के वाहक इस रोग को और अधिक न फैला सके। आप भी इस लेख को सोशल मीडिआ पर शेयर कर थैलासीमिया संबंधी जागरूकता फ़ैलाने में हमारी मदद कर सकते हैं। गर्भावस्था / Pregnancy : अगर माता-पिता थैलासीमिया से ग्रस्त है तो गर्भावस्था के समय प्रथम 3 से 4 माह के भीतर परिक्षण द्वारा होनेवाले बच्चे को थैलासीमिया तो नहीं है इसका परिक्षण करना चाहिए।बच्चे को थैलासीमिया होने पर गर्भपात कराना चाहिए। शादी / Marriage : भारत में अक्सर शादी करने से पहले लड़के और लड़की की कुंडली मिलाई जाती है और फिर शादी की जाती हैं। थैलासीमिया से बचने के लिए शादी से पहले लड़के और लड़की की स्वास्थ्य कुंडली मिलानी चाहिए जिससे पता चल सके की उनका स्वास्थ्य एक दूसरे के अनुकूल है या नहीं। स्वास्थ्य कुंडली में थैलासीमिया, एड्स, हेपेटाइटिस बी और सी, RH फैक्टर इत्यादि की जांच कराना चाहिए। भारत में थैलासीमिया को ग्राहक / carry करनेवाले कुछ विशेष जाती के लोग ज्यादा हैं जैसे की ब्राम्हण, गुजराती, सिंधी, पंजाबी, बोहरा और मुस्लिम जाती के लोगो को रोकथाम के लिए स्वास्थ्य कुंडली का परिक्षण अवश्य कराना चाहिए। आज वैद्यकीय विज्ञान इतना आगे बढ़ चूका है की जागरूक रहकर हम थैलासीमिया जैसे कई खतरनाक बिमारियों से खुद को बचा सकते हैं। इसमें जरा सी लापरवाही हमें बर्बाद कर सकती हैं। यहाँ पर थैलासीमिया से जुडी संक्षिप्त जानकारी दी गयी है। अधिक जानकारी के लिए आप अपने डॉक्टर से संपर्क कर सकते हैं।

Cuttlefish! With jet propulsion, the ability to shoot ink and change colour these creatures are kinda the bomb!

Cool fact? Cuttlefish have three separate hearts, one for each gill and one for the rest of the body. This is because their blood flows more rapidly as it uses the protein hemocyanin which contains much less oxygen than haemoglobin. The hemocyanin also contains copper which makes their blood green.

 

Photography ©Lisa Skelton, all rights reserved.

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Abhay son of Vanita Gota, a 24-year-old first-time mother gave birth in November 2017. Her son Abhay weighed 2.5 kgs at birth. It is hard to imagine now but Vanita was anaemic at the start of her second trimester, with a haemoglobin count of 6.2 gm. A timely intervention in the form of iron sucrose injections administered by doctors at the rural hospital in Korchi, District Gadchiroli, Maharashtra helped her fight anaemia and deliver a healthy baby.UNICEF Is doing its bit to bring down neo-natal mortality and to save the lives of newborns and mothers in the High Priority District of Gadchiroli,

Dated: 04-07-2017, Photo: UNICEF India/Ashutosh Sharma

 

Vanita Gota, a 24-year-old first-time mother gave birth in November 2017. Her son Abhay weighed 2.5 kgs at birth. It is hard to imagine now but Vanita was anaemic at the start of her second trimester, with a haemoglobin count of 6.2 gm. A timely intervention in the form of iron sucrose injections administered by doctors at the rural hospital in Korchi, District Gadchiroli, Maharashtra helped her fight anaemia and deliver a healthy baby.UNICEF Is doing its bit to bring down neo-natal mortality and to save the lives of newborns and mothers in the High Priority District of Gadchiroli,

Dated: 04-07-2017, Photo: UNICEF India/Ashutosh Sharma

 

No known copyright restrictions. Please credit UBC Library as the image source. For more information, see digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/about.

 

Description: Charles Darwin, "Down" to John Burdon-Sanderson. Burdon-Sanderson is conducting some experiments with globulin and haemoglobin for Darwin as well as those with the acids. A.L.S. 1 p.

 

Transcript: Down, Beckenham, Kent. My dear Dr Sanderson I grieve to find that I kept only a few particles of the globulin & of the so-called haemoglobulin; but I don’t think it could be tried on a small ? of the artificial gastric juice. The case, however, interests me so much, (as well as that of the Mucin) that I thought I wd get some more globulin from Dr Moore if the few particles sent do not suffice & if you do not find the much larger parcel previously sent to you. - I

 

Creator: Darwin, Charles, Robert, Sir, 1809-1882

 

Date Created: 1873-11-19

 

Source: Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Woodward Biomedical Library. Charles Woodward Memorial Room. Charles Darwin Letters.

 

Permanent URL: digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/compoundobject/coll...

The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), 3.1 m (10 ft) across the wings and a maximum weight of 14 kg (31 lb), it is the largest Old World vulture and largest member of the Accipitridae family.

 

Aegypius monachus is one of the largest birds of prey and it plays a huge role in its various ecosystems by eating carcasses, and which in turn reduces the spread of diseases. The vultures are constantly exposed to many pathogens because of their eating habits. A study on the gastric and immune defense systems done in 2015, sequenced the entire genome of the cinereous genome. Comparing the vulture and the bald eagle, will allow the study to find positively selected genetic variations associated with respiration and the ability of the vulture's immune defense responses and gastric acid secretion to digest carcasses.

 

The genus name Aegypius is a Greek word (αἰγυπιός) for 'vulture', or a bird not unlike one; Aelian describes the aegypius as "halfway between a vulture (gyps) and an eagle". Some authorities think this a good description of a lammergeier; others do not. Aegypius is the eponym of the species, whatever it was in ancient Greek. The English name 'black vulture' refers to the plumage colour, while 'monk vulture', a direct translation of its German name Mönchsgeier, refers to the bald head and ruff of neck feathers like a monk's cowl. 'Cinereous vulture' (Latin cineraceus, ash-coloured; pale, whitish grey), was a deliberate attempt to rename it with a new name distinct from the American black vulture.

 

This bird is an Old World vulture, and as such is only distantly related to the New World vultures, which are in a separate family, Cathartidae, of the same order. It is, therefore, not closely related to the much smaller American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) despite the similar name and coloration.

 

The cinereous vulture measures 98–120 cm (39–47 in) in total length with a 2.5–3.1 m (8 ft 2 in – 10 ft 2 in) wingspan. Males can weigh from 6.3 to 11.5 kg (14 to 25 lb), whereas females can weigh from 7.5 to 14 kg (17 to 31 lb). It is thus one of the world's heaviest flying birds. Average weights were long not known to have been published for this species but the median weight figures from two sources were 9.42 kg (20.8 lb) and 9.55 kg (21.1 lb). However in a Korean study, a large survey of wild cinereous vultures was found to have weighed an average of 9.6 kg (21 lb) with a mean total length of 113 cm (44 in), this standing as the only attempt to attain the average sizes of free-flying mature birds of the species, as opposed to nestlings or captive specimens. Unlike most accipitrids, males can broadly overlap in size with the females, although not uncommonly the females may be slightly heavier. These are one of the two largest extant Old World vultures and accipitrids, with similar total length and perhaps wingspans recorded in the Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis), as indicated by broadly similar wing and tail proportions, but the cinereous appears to be slightly heavier as well as slightly larger in tarsus and bill length. Superficially similar but unrelated New World condors can either be of similar wing area and bulk or slightly larger in these aspects. Despite limited genetic variation in the species, body size increases from west to east based on standard measurements, with the birds from southwest Europe (Spain and south France) averaging about 10% smaller than the vultures from central Asia (Manchuria, Mongolia and northern China). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 73–89 cm (29–35 in), the tail is 33–41 cm (13–16 in) and the tarsus is 12–14.6 cm (4.7–5.7 in).

 

The cinereous vulture is distinctly dark, with the whole body being brown excepting the pale head in adults, which is covered in fine blackish down. This down is absent in the closely related lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos). The skin of the head and neck is bluish-gray and a paler whitish color above the eye. The adult has brown eyes, a purplish cere, a blue-gray bill and pale blue-gray legs. The primary quills are often actually black. From a distance, flying birds can easily appear all black. The immature plumage is sepia-brown above, with a much paler underside than in adults. Immature cinereous vultures have grey down on the head, a pale mauve cere and grey legs. Its massive bill is one of the largest of any living accipitrid, a feature enhanced by the relatively small skull of the species. The exposed culmen of the cinereous vulture measures 8–9 cm (3.1–3.5 in). Only their cousin, the lappet-faced vulture, with a bill length of up to about 10 cm (3.9 in), can rival or outsize the bill of the cinereous. The wings, with serrated leading edges, are held straight or slightly arched in flight and are broad, sometimes referred to as "barn door wings". Its flight is slow and buoyant, with deep, heavy flaps when necessary. The combination of huge size and dark coloration renders the cinereous vulture relatively distinct, especially against smaller raptors such as eagles or buzzards. The most similar-shaped species, the lappet-faced vulture (with which there might be limited range overlap in the southern Middle East), is distinguished by its bare, pinkish head and contrasting plumage. On the lappet-face, the thighs and belly are whitish in adult birds against black to brownish over the remainder of the plumage. All potential Gyps vultures are distinguished by having paler, often streaky plumage, with bulging wing primaries giving them a less evenly broad-winged form. Cinereous vultures are generally very silent, with a few querulous mewing, roaring or guttural cries solely between adults and their offspring at the nest site.

 

The cinereous vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits of its range are in Spain and inland Portugal, with a reintroduced population in south France. They are found discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East. Their range continues through Afghanistan eastwards to northern India to its eastern limits in central Asia, where they breed in northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea. Their range is fragmented especially throughout their European range. It is generally a permanent resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles when they reach breeding maturity. In the eastern limits of its range, birds from the northernmost reaches may migrate down to southern Korea and China. A limited migration has also been reported in the Middle East but is not common.

 

This vulture is a bird of hilly, mountainous areas, especially favoring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes over much of the range. Nesting usually occurs near the tree line in the mountains. They are always associated with undisturbed, remote areas with limited human disturbance. They forage for carcasses over various kinds of terrain, including steppe, other grasslands, open woodlands, along riparian habitats or any kind or gradient of mountainous habitat. In their current European range and through the Caucasus and Middle East, cinereous vultures are found from 100 to 2,000 m (330 to 6,560 ft) in elevation, while in their Asian distribution, they are typically found at higher elevations. Two habitat types were found to be preferred by the species in China and Tibet. Some cinereous vultures in these areas live in mountainous forests and shrubland from 800 to 3,800 m (2,600 to 12,500 ft), while the others preferred arid or semi-arid alpine meadows and grasslands at 3,800 to 4,500 m (12,500 to 14,800 ft) in elevation. This species can fly at a very high altitude. One cinereous vulture was observed at an elevation of 6,970 m (22,870 ft) on Mount Everest. It has a specialised haemoglobin alphaD subunit of high oxygen affinity which makes it possible to take up oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere.

 

The cinereous vulture is a largely solitary bird, being found alone or in pairs much more frequently than most other Old World vultures. At large carcasses or feeding sites, small groups may congregate. Such groups can rarely include up to 12 to 20 vultures, with some older reports of up to 30 or 40.

 

In Europe, the cinereous vulture return to the nesting ground in January or February. In Spain and Algeria, they start nesting in February in March, in Crimea in early March, in northwestern India in February or April, in northeastern India in January, and in Turkestan in January. They breed in loose colonies, with nests rarely being found in the same tree or rock formation, unlike other Old World vultures which often nest in tight-knit colonies. In Spain, nests have been found from 300 m (980 ft) to 2 km (1.2 mi) apart from each other. The cinereous vulture breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. The breeding season lasts from February until September or October. The most common display consists of synchronous flight movements by pairs. However, flight play between pairs and juveniles is not unusual, with the large birds interlocking talons and spiraling down through the sky. The birds use sticks and twigs as building materials, and males and females cooperate in all matters of rearing the young. The huge nest is 1.45–2 m (4 ft 9 in – 6 ft 7 in) across and 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) deep. The nest increases in size as a pair uses it repeatedly over the years and often comes to be decorated with dung and animal skins. The nests can range up to 1.5 to 12 m (4 ft 11 in to 39 ft 4 in) high in a large tree such as an oak, juniper,[20] wild pear, almond or pine trees. Most nesting trees are found along cliffs. In a few cases, cinereous vultures have been recorded as nesting directly on cliffs. One cliff nest completely filled a ledge that was 3.63 m (11.9 ft) wide and 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in depth. The egg clutch typically only a single egg, though two may be exceptionally laid. The eggs have a white or pale buff base color are often overlaid with red, purplish or red-brown marks, being almost as spotted as the egg of a falcon. Eggs measure from 83.4 to 104 mm (3.28 to 4.09 in) in height and 58 to 75 mm (2.3 to 3.0 in) in width, with an average of 90 mm × 69.7 mm (3.54 in × 2.74 in). The incubation period ranges from 50 to 62 days, averaging 50–56 days, and hatching occurs in April or May in Europe. The young are covered in greyish-white to grey-brown colored down which becomes paler with age. The first flight feathers start growing from the same sockets as the down when the nestling is around 30 days old and completely cover the down by 60 days of age. The parents feed the young by regurgitation and an active nest reportedly becomes very foul and stinking. Weights of nestlings in Mongolia increased from as little as 2 kg (4.4 lb) when they are around a month old in early June to being slightly more massive than their parents at up to nearly 16 kg (35 lb) shortly before fledging in early autumn.

 

The nesting success of cinereous vultures is relatively high, with around 90% of eggs successfully hatching and more than half of yearling birds known to survive to adulthood. They are devoted, active parents, with both members of a breeding pair protecting the nest and feeding the young in shifts via regurgitation. In Mongolia, Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) and the common raven (Corvus corax) are considered potential predators of eggs in potentially both tree and cliff nests. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) and foxes are also mentioned as potential nest predators. There have been witnessed accounts of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) and Spanish imperial eagles (Aquila adalberti) attempting to kill nestlings, but in both cases they were chased off by the parents. There is a single case of a Spanish imperial eagle attacking and killing a cinereous vulture in an act of defense of its own nest in Spain. Golden eagles and Eurasian eagle-owls may rarely attempt to dispatch an older nestling or even adults in an ambush, but the species is not verified prey for either and it would be a rare event in all likelihood if it does occur. This species may live for up to 39 years, though 20 years or less is probably more common, with no regular predators of adults other than man.

 

Like all vultures, the cinereous vulture eats mostly carrion. The cinereous vulture feeds on carrion of almost any type, from the largest mammals available to fish and reptiles. In Tibet, commonly eaten carcasses can include both wild and domestic yaks (Bos mutus and Bos grunniens), Bharal, Tibetan gazelles (Pseudois nayaur), kiangs (Equus kiang), woolly hares (Lepus oiostolus), Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana), domestic sheep (Ovis aries), and even humans, mainly those at their celestial burial grounds. Reportedly in Mongolia, Tarbagan marmots (Marmota sibirica) comprised the largest part of the diet, although that species is now endangered as it is preferred in the diet of local people, wild prey ranging from corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) to Argali (Ovis ammon) may be eaten additionally in Mongolia. Historically, cinereous vultures in the Iberian Peninsula fed mostly on European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) carcasses, but since viral hemorrhagic pneumonia (VHP) devastated the once abundant rabbit population there, the vultures now rely on the carrion of domestic sheep, supplemented by pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) and deer. In Turkey, the dietary preferences were argali (Ovis ammon) (92 carrion items), wild boar (Sus scrofa) (53 items), chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) (27 items), gray wolves (13 items) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (13 items). Unusually, a large amount of plant material was found in pellets from Turkey, especially pine cones. Among the vultures in its range, the cinereous is best equipped to tear open tough carcass skins thanks to its powerful bill. It can even break apart bones, such as ribs, to access the flesh of large animals. It is dominant over other scavengers in its range, even over other large vultures such as Gyps vultures, bearded vultures or fierce ground predators such as foxes. While the noisy Gyps vultures squawk and fly around, the often silent cinereous vultures will keep them well at bay until they are satisfied and have had their own fill. A series of photos taken recently show a cinereous vulture attacking a Himalayan griffon in flight for unknown reasons, although the griffon was not seriously injured. Cinereous vultures frequently bully and dominate steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) when the two species are attracted to the same prey and carrion while wintering in Asia. A rare successful act of kleptoparasitism on a cinereous vulture was filmed in Korea when a Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) stole food from the vulture.

 

Its closest living relative is probably the lappet-faced vulture, which takes live prey on occasion. Occasionally, the cinereous vulture has been recorded as preying on live prey as well. Live animals reportedly taken by cinereous vultures include calves of yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus), piglets, domestic lambs and puppies (Canis lupus familiaris), foxes, lambs of wild sheep, together with nestling and fledglings of large birds such as geese, swans and pheasants, various rodents and rarely amphibians and reptiles. This species has hunted tortoises (which the vultures are likely to kill by carrying in flight and dropping on rocks to penetrate the shell; cf. Aeschylus#Death) and lizards. Although rarely observed in the act of killing ungulates, cinereous vultures have been recorded as flying low around herds and feeding on recently killed wild ungulates they are believed to have killed. Mainly neonatal lambs or calves are hunted, especially sickly ones. Although not normally thought to be a threat to healthy domestic lambs, rare predation on apparently healthy lambs has been confirmed. Species believed to be hunted by cinereous vultures have included argali, saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) and Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii).

 

The cinereous vulture has declined over most of its range in the last 200 years in part due to poisoning by eating poisoned bait put out to kill dogs and other predators, and to higher hygiene standards reducing the amount of available carrion; it is currently listed as Near Threatened. Vultures of all species, although not the target of poisoning operations, may be shot on sight by locals. Trapping and hunting of cinereous vultures is particularly prevalent in China and Russia, although the poaching for trophy hunting are also known for Armenia, and probably other countries in Caucasus. Perhaps an even greater threat to this desolation-loving species is development and habitat destruction. Nests, often fairly low in the main fork of a tree, are relatively easy to access and thus have been historically compromised by egg and firewood collectors regularly. The decline has been the greatest in the western half of the range, with extinction in many European countries (France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Albania, Moldova, Romania) and its entire breeding range in northwest Africa (Morocco and Algeria). They no longer nest in Israel. Turkey holds the second largest population of this species in the Western Palearctic. Despite the recent demographic bottleneck, this population has maintained moderate levels of genetic diversity, with no significant genetic structuring indicating that this is a single meta-population connected by frequent dispersal. More recently, protection and deliberate feeding schemes have allowed some local recoveries in numbers, particularly in Spain, where numbers increased to about 1,000 pairs by 1992 after an earlier decline to 200 pairs in 1970. This colony have now spread its breeding grounds to Portugal. Elsewhere in Europe, very small but increasing numbers breed in Bulgaria and Greece, and a re-introduction scheme is under way in France. Trends in the small populations in Ukraine (Crimea) and European Russia, and in Asian populations, are not well recorded. In the former USSR, it is still threatened by illegal capture for zoos, and in Tibet by rodenticides. It is a regular winter visitor around the coastal areas of Pakistan in small numbers. As of the turn of the 21st century, the worldwide population of cinereous vultures is estimated at 4,500–5,000 individuals.

 

The most recent global population estimate for Cinereous Vulture (according to Bird Life International (2017)) is 7,800-10,500 pairs, roughly equating to 15,600-21,000 mature individuals. This consists of 2,300-2,500 pairs in Europe (2004) and 5,500-8,000 pairs in Asia.

 

The Hebrew word for "eagle" is also used for the cinereous vulture. As such, Biblical passages alluding to eagles might actually be referring to this or other vultures.

The Bar-headed Goose is thought to be one of the world's highest flying birds, having been heard flying across Mount Makalu (the fifth highest mountain on earth at 8,481 metres (27,825 ft)) and apparently seen over Mount Everest (8,848 metres (29,029 ft), although this is a second hand report with no verification). This incredibly demanding migration has long puzzled physiologists and naturalists. In fact bar-headed geese have never been directly tracked (using GPS or satellite logging technology) flying higher than 6,540 metres (21,460 ft), and it is now known that they apparently do take the passes through the mountains. The challenging northward migration from lowland India to breed in the summer on the Tibetan Plateau is undertaken in stages, with the flight across the Himalaya (from sea-level) being undertaken non-stop in as little as seven hours. Surprisingly, despite predictable tail winds that blow up the Himalayas (in the same direction of travel as the geese), bar-headed geese spurn these winds, waiting for them to die down overnight, they then undertake the greatest rates of climbing flight ever recorded for a bird, and sustain these climbs rates for hours on end.

 

The bar-headed goose is known to be well equipped for this incredibly challenging migration. It has a slightly larger wing area for its weight than other geese, which is believed to help the goose fly at high altitudes. Studies have found that they breathe more deeply and efficiently under low oxygen conditions. The haemoglobin of their blood has a higher oxygen affinity than that of other geese.

 

Source: Wikipedia

Smoking might Kills - poster

I.Idea - > poster about smoking

Synonyms for the words:

A)Lungs / Smoking/smoke

health,lungs, veins, cigarettes, lighter, matches, fire

organ, death, cancer, toxins, carbon dioxide

important function, heavy breath, cough, breath

bad habit, oxygen, life, forest

  

II.Lungs - without lungs you can't stay alive. The main function of lungs is respiration.

Respiration is the process of oxygen from air entering the blood. Lungs do a vital job in this process. The air that you breathe in contains several gases, including oxygen that your cells need to function.

In blood haemoglobin picks oxygen up and transports it throughout the body which then carries it to cells. The cells are the building blocks of the body. The cells need fresh oxygen to work so our organs of the body stay healthy.

When we breathe in our lungs contract and pull oxygen and when we breathe out it push the carbon dioxide out.

Without oxygen the organs of our body can't stay alive, so not us. And lungs are the source for our body to get fresh oxygen from the air through the process of respiration.

Lungs are attached with our heart chambers so, in lungs disorder the source of the oxygen for our body get cut off and human being die.

Lungs are made of veins which look like tree crown. It is very delicate and soft structure.

 

III.Smoking – cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the world. Smoking-related deaths are mainly due to cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease.

 

Cigarette smoke contains the nicotine which is a drug that stimulates the brain. Most smokers need to smoke regularly to feel normal, and to prevent nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Another is tar which contains many chemicals. These deposit in the lungs and can get into the blood vessels and are carried to other parts of the body. Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including over 50 known carcinogens (causes of cancer) and other poisons.

The last one is carbon monoxide. This chemical affects the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

 

Smoking often causes worse symptoms include: asthma, colds, flu, chest infections. In effect smoker will start cough. It may be identify with heavy chest or feeling fire in lungs. Just as the fire takes oxygen from the environment, smoking reduces volume of the lungs.

Smoking has a destructive power.

 

IV.Tree crown as lungs.

At the thought comes to me as the lungs are important in our lives as well as the Amazon Rainforest. It is precisely the reason why this forest is called the "Lungs of the World".

More than 20 % of the world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest. Rainforests are one of Earth’s oldest continuous ecosystems and play a significant part in the health of our global environment by digesting and converting carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Rainforests are being destroyed worldwide for the profits same like smoker’s lungs through the tobacco co-producing corporations.

 

V.Choice

You often hear smokers say “smoking is my choice” or “I like to smoke” and even “it’s my right, and it’s nobody’s business but mine”.

The concept of choice when it comes to nicotine addiction is completely false.

The tobacco companies gleefully spread the idea so smokers will forget they’ve fallen into the trap set by the companies themselves! This greatly reduces the risk that their faithful customers will decide to rebel and try to get rid of their addiction. This concept of choice works because it strokes the ego: it’s hard on our pride to see that we’ve been fooled and that, in fact, we really can’t stop using a product that’s killing us bit by bit…

 

Mass media shows smoking as a good way to get whatever we want. The best example are adverts full of pretty women and handsome men with a cigarette in their hand. Do you want to be same like we are? - asking TV advert. Another example are old movies where smoking was notoriously used in stressful situations, as acceptance in the society or even as a form of relaxation.

 

VI.Brands

Marlboro - is the leading tobacco brand in the world. It was introduced in 1924 and since then they have become the largest selling cigarette product in the world due to its high quality cigarettes. It is manufactured by Philip Morris International and Marlboro cigarettes are available in three classic versions i.e. Marlboro Red, Marlboro Silver and Marlboro Gold. In the recent survey Marlboro was named as the highest selling cigarette in Asia, America, Europe and Africa.

 

Choice -> Smoke cigarette -> Destruction started

  

Source:

www.jarrete.qc.ca/en/fiches/continue_smoking.html

 

www.amazonswim.com/main.php?S=1&Folder=1

 

www.tiptoptens.com/2011/05/28/10-most-popular-cigarette-b...

 

www.patient.co.uk/health/Smoking-The-Facts.htm

 

Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157630983897338/s...

 

Photo: It was very quiet, only the yak was grunting.

 

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odor when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak wool is naturally odor resistant.

 

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C (59 °F). Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.

Domesticated yaks are kept primarily for their milk, fiber and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried dung is an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and is often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan plateau.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yak

Today Daw San Mya Khaing (29) and her son, Myo Thant Zin (3) are visiting the clinic to get their blood results. Myo’s blood results today are very good and another sample of blood is taken to test for haemoglobin, liver and kidney function. Last year she tested positive for HIV and for TB. She and her son are now both doing well on antiretroviral therapy (ARVs). Her husband was a manual labourer on construction sites and travelled a lot. He died of an AIDS related illness last year.

She lives with her mother and five sisters in the local township and is open to a few people about her HIV status. She works as a manual worker with no regular or fixed daily wages, often at the fish factory where she can earn 1500K per day ($1.35).

 

​

A more appropriate and colored mode has its honor....Look here.... www.flickr.com/photos/martianhaemoglobin/3781969484/

  

We sail through endless skies

Stars shine like eyes

The black night sighs

The moon in silver trees

Falls down in tears

Light of the night

The earth, a purple blaze

Of sapphire haze

In orbit always

 

While down below the trees

Bathed in cool breeze

Silver starlight breaks down the night

And so we pass on by the crimson eye

Of great God mars

As we travel the universe

   

www.deezer.com/listen-2954928 - Black sabbath - Planet Caravan

  

10.5 hours old

 

Pink with all his glowing foetal haemoglobin, little bubs is weighed. And the verdict:

7 pounds, 14 ounces (3.6kg)

 

And he had seemed so tiny, all curled up in mum's belly.

 

--

From the "Birth" set

La Mussara, Tarragona (Spain).

EnFoCa: 2ª KDD - "Los Castillejos" i La Mussara [22/03/2009].

 

View Large On White

 

ENGLISH

Notonectidae is a cosmopolitan family of aquatic insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly called backswimmers because they swim upside down. They are all predators, up to nearly 2 cm in size. They are similar in appearance to corixidae (Water boatmen), but can be separated by differences in their dorsal-ventral coloration, front legs, and predatory behavior. Their dorsum convex is light colored without cross striations. Their front tarsi are not scoop-shaped and their hind legs are fringed for swimming. There are two subfamilies, Notonectinae and Anisopinae, each containing four genera.

 

The most common genus of backswimmers is Notonecta - streamlined, deep-bodied bugs up to 16 mm long, green, brown or yellowish in colour. As the common name indicates, these aquatic insects swim on their backs, vigorously paddling with their long, hair-fringed hind legs.

 

Backswimmers are predators and attack prey as large as tadpoles and small fish, and can inflict a painful "bite" on a human being (actually, similar to a mosquito "bite", it is a stab with their tubular mouthpart). They inhabit still freshwater, e.g. lakes, pools, marshes, and are sometimes found in garden ponds. They can fly well and so migrate easily to new habitats.

 

The Common Backswimmer is Notonecta glauca, widespread in the United Kingdom (where they are known as water boatmen) and Europe. Another species is N. maculata, distinguished by mottled brick-coloured forewings.

 

In contrast to other aquatic insects that cling to submerged objects, Anisops deanei uses a unique system to stay submerged: using the extra oxygen supply from haemoglobin in their abdomen, instead of using oxygen dissolved in the water. The size of these air bubbles, which provide buoyancy, changes as the nitrogen dissolves into the blood and the oxygen is used in respiration. This allows for regulation of the size of the air bubbles and their concentration of oxygen.

 

More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notonectidae

 

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

 

CASTELLANO

Notonectidae es una familia de insectos acuáticos del orden Hemiptera, comunmente conocidos como "barqueritos", con la característica de nadar al revés. Todos ellos son depredadores, hasta cerca de 2 cm de tamaño. Son similares en apariencia a Corixidae, pero pueden ser diferenciados por diferencias en su coloración dorsal, patas delanteras, y el comportamiento depredador. Su dorso convexo es de color claro sin estrías cruzadas. Sus tarsos delanteros no son en forma de cuchara y sus patas traseras tienen flecos para la natación. Hay dos subfamilias, Notonectinae y Anisopinae, cada uno con cuatro géneros.

 

El género más común de Notonectidae es Notonecta: insectos con forma aerodinámica con un cuerpo gordo, de hasta 16 mm de largo, de color verde, marrón o amarillento. Estos insectos acuáticos nadan sobre sus espaldas, remando vigorosamente con su largas y peludas patas traseras.

 

Son depredadores y atacan a presas tan grandes como renacuajos y peces pequeños, y puede causar una dolorosa picadura a un ser humano.

 

Habitan en agua dulce, por ejemplo, lagos, piscinas, pantanos, y se encuentran a veces en los estanques de jardín. Pueden volar bien y y así migran con facilidad a nuevos hábitats.

 

Una de las especies más comunes de Notoctenidae es Notonecta glauca, muy extendida en el Reino Unido y Europa. Otra especie es N. maculata, que se distingue por las antealas moteadas de color ladrillo.

 

En contraste con otros insectos acuáticos que se aferran a objetos sumergidos, Anisops deanei utiliza un sistema único para permanecer sumergido: usa el suministro extra de oxígeno de la hemoglobina de su abdomen, en lugar de utilizar el oxígeno disuelto en el agua. El tamaño de estas burbujas de aire, que le proporcionan la flotabilidad, van cambiando según el nitrógeno se disuelve en la sangre y el oxígeno se utiliza en la respiración. Esto permite la regulación del tamaño de las burbujas de aire y su concentración de oxígeno.

 

Más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notonectidae

The summer habitat is high altitude lakes where the bird grazes on short grass. The species has been reported as migrating south from Tibet, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia before crossing the Himalaya. The bird has come to the attention of medical science in recent years as having been an early victim of the H5N1 virus, HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza), at Qinghai. It suffers predation from crows, foxes, ravens, sea eagles, gulls and others. The total population may, however, be increasing[citation needed], but it is complex to assess population trends as this species occurs over more than 2.5 million square kilometres.

 

The Bar-headed Goose is thought to be one of the world's highest flying birds, having been heard flying across Mount Makalu (the fifth highest mountain on earth at 8,481 metres (27,825 ft)) and apparently seen over Mount Everest (8,848 metres (29,029 ft), although this is a second hand report with no verification).[2] This incredibly demanding migration has long puzzled physiologists and naturalists: "there must be a good explanation for why the birds fly to the extreme altitudes […] particularly since there are passes through the Himalaya at lower altitudes, and which are used by other migrating bird species" quoted from Black & Tenney (1980).[3] In fact bar-headed geese have never been directly tracked (using GPS or satellite logging technology) flying higher than 6,540 metres (21,460 ft), and it is now believed that they do take the high passes through the mountains. The challenging northward migration from lowland India to breed in the summer on the Tibetan Plateau is undertaken in stages, with the flight across the Himalaya (from sea-level) being undertaken non-stop in as little as seven hours. Surprisingly, despite predictable tail winds that blow up the Himalayas (in the same direction of travel as the geese), bar-headed geese spurn these winds, waiting for them to die down overnight, when they then undertake the greatest rates of climbing flight ever recorded for a bird, and sustain these climbs rates for hours on end[4].

 

The bar-headed goose is known to be well equipped for this incredibly challenging migration. It has a slightly larger wing area for its weight than other geese, which is believed to help the goose fly at high altitudes.[5] Studies have found that they breathe more deeply and efficiently under low oxygen conditions[6] The haemoglobin of their blood has a higher oxygen affinity than that of other geese.[7]

 

The Bar-headed Goose migrates over the Himalayas to spend the winter in parts of India (from Assam to as far south as Tamil Nadu.[8] The winter habitat of the Bar-headed Goose is cultivated fields, where it feeds on barley, rice and wheat, and may damage crops. Birds from Kyrgyzstan have been noted to stopover in western Tibet and southern Tajikistan for 20 to 30 days before migrating further south. Some birds may show high wintering site fidelity.[9]

With Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus at Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India.

 

The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese of the genus Anser by the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in this genus. In flight, its call is a typical goose honking. The adult is 71–76 centimetres (28–30 in) and weighs 1.87–3.2 kilograms (4.1–7.1 lb).

 

It has sometimes been separated from Anser, which has no other member indigenous to the Indian region, nor any at all to the Ethiopian, Australian, or Neotropical regions, and placed in the monotypic genus Eulabeia.

 

They nest mainly on the Tibetan plateau. Intraspecific brood parasitism is noticed with lower rank females attempting to lay their eggs in the nests of higher ranking females.[10]

 

The Bar-headed Goose is often kept in captivity, as it is considered beautiful and breeds readily. Records in Great Britain are frequent, and almost certainly relate to escapes. However, the species has bred on several occasions in recent years and around five pairs were recorded in 2002, the most recent available report of the Rare Birds Breeding Panel. It is possible the species is becoming gradually more established in Great Britain. The bird is sociable and causes no problems for other birds.[citation needed] The "wild" population is believed to be declining in Great Britain due to over-hunting.[citation needed]

I was hanging from a tree unaccustomed to such violence. Jesus looking down on me, I'm prepared for one big silence. How'd I ever end up here, must be through some lack of kindness and it seemed to dawn on me. Haemoglobin is the key. (...)

 

Haemoglobin, PLACEBO.

 

Erythrocyte haemoglobin-filled ectosomes. Scale bars: 1 μm - grey, 200 nm - white. With permission of co-authors: Božič D, Hočevar M, Kisovec M, Jeran M, Pajnič M, Pađen L, Bedina Zavec A, Podobnik M, Kogej K, Iglič A, Kralj-Iglič V, Stability of haemoglobin-filled erythrocyte vesicles, in preparation. We acknowledge support of Ves4US and ARRS P3-0388, P2-0232, P1-0391 and P2-0132.

 

We submit an example of transparent image identification of extracellular vesicles. It comprises genesis and the 3D morphology of vesicles. The scanning electron micrographs of a budding erythrocyte (lower right of the upper left panel, please note the narrowing in the distal region of protrusions allowing fission of the budds from the very tips) and an isolate (lower panels) obtained by differential centrifugation from a sample of washed and in-vitro-aged human erythrocytes (stored in phosphate-buffer-saline-citrate at 4°C for one week, vesicle pelleting and washing step performed at 50 000 g, 70 min, 4 °C). Cryo-electron micrograph (upper right panel) reveals the bilayer membrane with electron-dense cargo. Isolate suspended in isotonic (300 mOsm, middle right panel) and hypotonic (50 mOsm, lower two panels) medium was immobilized on a mixed-cellulose-esters filter membrane; different morphology of vesicles can be appreciated.

First session of the year at Awesome Walls in Sheffield..

Pete & Steph, me & Gareth.. All of us suffering the effects of Christmas, not climbing well at all!

I also claimed the excuse of a low haemoglobin count as I gave blood yesterday!!

We can only get better!

Hopefully going again on Thursday..

 

This is a 14 picture stitch sorted & stitched by 'autostitch'..!

 

awesomewalls.co.uk/climbing-centres/sheffield/sheffield-o...

The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), 3.1 m (10 ft) across the wings and a maximum weight of 14 kg (31 lb), it is the largest Old World vulture and largest member of the Accipitridae family.

 

Aegypius monachus is one of the largest birds of prey and it plays a huge role in its various ecosystems by eating carcasses, and which in turn reduces the spread of diseases. The vultures are constantly exposed to many pathogens because of their eating habits. A study on the gastric and immune defense systems done in 2015, sequenced the entire genome of the cinereous genome. Comparing the vulture and the bald eagle, will allow the study to find positively selected genetic variations associated with respiration and the ability of the vulture's immune defense responses and gastric acid secretion to digest carcasses.

 

The genus name Aegypius is a Greek word (αἰγυπιός) for 'vulture', or a bird not unlike one; Aelian describes the aegypius as "halfway between a vulture (gyps) and an eagle". Some authorities think this a good description of a lammergeier; others do not. Aegypius is the eponym of the species, whatever it was in ancient Greek. The English name 'black vulture' refers to the plumage colour, while 'monk vulture', a direct translation of its German name Mönchsgeier, refers to the bald head and ruff of neck feathers like a monk's cowl. 'Cinereous vulture' (Latin cineraceus, ash-coloured; pale, whitish grey), was a deliberate attempt to rename it with a new name distinct from the American black vulture.

 

This bird is an Old World vulture, and as such is only distantly related to the New World vultures, which are in a separate family, Cathartidae, of the same order. It is, therefore, not closely related to the much smaller American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) despite the similar name and coloration.

 

The cinereous vulture measures 98–120 cm (39–47 in) in total length with a 2.5–3.1 m (8 ft 2 in – 10 ft 2 in) wingspan. Males can weigh from 6.3 to 11.5 kg (14 to 25 lb), whereas females can weigh from 7.5 to 14 kg (17 to 31 lb). It is thus one of the world's heaviest flying birds. Average weights were long not known to have been published for this species but the median weight figures from two sources were 9.42 kg (20.8 lb) and 9.55 kg (21.1 lb). However in a Korean study, a large survey of wild cinereous vultures was found to have weighed an average of 9.6 kg (21 lb) with a mean total length of 113 cm (44 in), this standing as the only attempt to attain the average sizes of free-flying mature birds of the species, as opposed to nestlings or captive specimens. Unlike most accipitrids, males can broadly overlap in size with the females, although not uncommonly the females may be slightly heavier. These are one of the two largest extant Old World vultures and accipitrids, with similar total length and perhaps wingspans recorded in the Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis), as indicated by broadly similar wing and tail proportions, but the cinereous appears to be slightly heavier as well as slightly larger in tarsus and bill length. Superficially similar but unrelated New World condors can either be of similar wing area and bulk or slightly larger in these aspects. Despite limited genetic variation in the species, body size increases from west to east based on standard measurements, with the birds from southwest Europe (Spain and south France) averaging about 10% smaller than the vultures from central Asia (Manchuria, Mongolia and northern China). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 73–89 cm (29–35 in), the tail is 33–41 cm (13–16 in) and the tarsus is 12–14.6 cm (4.7–5.7 in).

 

The cinereous vulture is distinctly dark, with the whole body being brown excepting the pale head in adults, which is covered in fine blackish down. This down is absent in the closely related lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos). The skin of the head and neck is bluish-gray and a paler whitish color above the eye. The adult has brown eyes, a purplish cere, a blue-gray bill and pale blue-gray legs. The primary quills are often actually black. From a distance, flying birds can easily appear all black. The immature plumage is sepia-brown above, with a much paler underside than in adults. Immature cinereous vultures have grey down on the head, a pale mauve cere and grey legs. Its massive bill is one of the largest of any living accipitrid, a feature enhanced by the relatively small skull of the species. The exposed culmen of the cinereous vulture measures 8–9 cm (3.1–3.5 in). Only their cousin, the lappet-faced vulture, with a bill length of up to about 10 cm (3.9 in), can rival or outsize the bill of the cinereous. The wings, with serrated leading edges, are held straight or slightly arched in flight and are broad, sometimes referred to as "barn door wings". Its flight is slow and buoyant, with deep, heavy flaps when necessary. The combination of huge size and dark coloration renders the cinereous vulture relatively distinct, especially against smaller raptors such as eagles or buzzards. The most similar-shaped species, the lappet-faced vulture (with which there might be limited range overlap in the southern Middle East), is distinguished by its bare, pinkish head and contrasting plumage. On the lappet-face, the thighs and belly are whitish in adult birds against black to brownish over the remainder of the plumage. All potential Gyps vultures are distinguished by having paler, often streaky plumage, with bulging wing primaries giving them a less evenly broad-winged form. Cinereous vultures are generally very silent, with a few querulous mewing, roaring or guttural cries solely between adults and their offspring at the nest site.

 

The cinereous vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits of its range are in Spain and inland Portugal, with a reintroduced population in south France. They are found discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East. Their range continues through Afghanistan eastwards to northern India to its eastern limits in central Asia, where they breed in northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea. Their range is fragmented especially throughout their European range. It is generally a permanent resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles when they reach breeding maturity. In the eastern limits of its range, birds from the northernmost reaches may migrate down to southern Korea and China. A limited migration has also been reported in the Middle East but is not common.

 

This vulture is a bird of hilly, mountainous areas, especially favoring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes over much of the range. Nesting usually occurs near the tree line in the mountains. They are always associated with undisturbed, remote areas with limited human disturbance. They forage for carcasses over various kinds of terrain, including steppe, other grasslands, open woodlands, along riparian habitats or any kind or gradient of mountainous habitat. In their current European range and through the Caucasus and Middle East, cinereous vultures are found from 100 to 2,000 m (330 to 6,560 ft) in elevation, while in their Asian distribution, they are typically found at higher elevations. Two habitat types were found to be preferred by the species in China and Tibet. Some cinereous vultures in these areas live in mountainous forests and shrubland from 800 to 3,800 m (2,600 to 12,500 ft), while the others preferred arid or semi-arid alpine meadows and grasslands at 3,800 to 4,500 m (12,500 to 14,800 ft) in elevation. This species can fly at a very high altitude. One cinereous vulture was observed at an elevation of 6,970 m (22,870 ft) on Mount Everest. It has a specialised haemoglobin alphaD subunit of high oxygen affinity which makes it possible to take up oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere.

 

The cinereous vulture is a largely solitary bird, being found alone or in pairs much more frequently than most other Old World vultures. At large carcasses or feeding sites, small groups may congregate. Such groups can rarely include up to 12 to 20 vultures, with some older reports of up to 30 or 40.

 

In Europe, the cinereous vulture return to the nesting ground in January or February. In Spain and Algeria, they start nesting in February in March, in Crimea in early March, in northwestern India in February or April, in northeastern India in January, and in Turkestan in January. They breed in loose colonies, with nests rarely being found in the same tree or rock formation, unlike other Old World vultures which often nest in tight-knit colonies. In Spain, nests have been found from 300 m (980 ft) to 2 km (1.2 mi) apart from each other. The cinereous vulture breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. The breeding season lasts from February until September or October. The most common display consists of synchronous flight movements by pairs. However, flight play between pairs and juveniles is not unusual, with the large birds interlocking talons and spiraling down through the sky. The birds use sticks and twigs as building materials, and males and females cooperate in all matters of rearing the young. The huge nest is 1.45–2 m (4 ft 9 in – 6 ft 7 in) across and 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) deep. The nest increases in size as a pair uses it repeatedly over the years and often comes to be decorated with dung and animal skins. The nests can range up to 1.5 to 12 m (4 ft 11 in to 39 ft 4 in) high in a large tree such as an oak, juniper,[20] wild pear, almond or pine trees. Most nesting trees are found along cliffs. In a few cases, cinereous vultures have been recorded as nesting directly on cliffs. One cliff nest completely filled a ledge that was 3.63 m (11.9 ft) wide and 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in depth. The egg clutch typically only a single egg, though two may be exceptionally laid. The eggs have a white or pale buff base color are often overlaid with red, purplish or red-brown marks, being almost as spotted as the egg of a falcon. Eggs measure from 83.4 to 104 mm (3.28 to 4.09 in) in height and 58 to 75 mm (2.3 to 3.0 in) in width, with an average of 90 mm × 69.7 mm (3.54 in × 2.74 in). The incubation period ranges from 50 to 62 days, averaging 50–56 days, and hatching occurs in April or May in Europe. The young are covered in greyish-white to grey-brown colored down which becomes paler with age. The first flight feathers start growing from the same sockets as the down when the nestling is around 30 days old and completely cover the down by 60 days of age. The parents feed the young by regurgitation and an active nest reportedly becomes very foul and stinking. Weights of nestlings in Mongolia increased from as little as 2 kg (4.4 lb) when they are around a month old in early June to being slightly more massive than their parents at up to nearly 16 kg (35 lb) shortly before fledging in early autumn.

 

The nesting success of cinereous vultures is relatively high, with around 90% of eggs successfully hatching and more than half of yearling birds known to survive to adulthood. They are devoted, active parents, with both members of a breeding pair protecting the nest and feeding the young in shifts via regurgitation. In Mongolia, Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) and the common raven (Corvus corax) are considered potential predators of eggs in potentially both tree and cliff nests. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) and foxes are also mentioned as potential nest predators. There have been witnessed accounts of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) and Spanish imperial eagles (Aquila adalberti) attempting to kill nestlings, but in both cases they were chased off by the parents. There is a single case of a Spanish imperial eagle attacking and killing a cinereous vulture in an act of defense of its own nest in Spain. Golden eagles and Eurasian eagle-owls may rarely attempt to dispatch an older nestling or even adults in an ambush, but the species is not verified prey for either and it would be a rare event in all likelihood if it does occur. This species may live for up to 39 years, though 20 years or less is probably more common, with no regular predators of adults other than man.

 

Like all vultures, the cinereous vulture eats mostly carrion. The cinereous vulture feeds on carrion of almost any type, from the largest mammals available to fish and reptiles. In Tibet, commonly eaten carcasses can include both wild and domestic yaks (Bos mutus and Bos grunniens), Bharal, Tibetan gazelles (Pseudois nayaur), kiangs (Equus kiang), woolly hares (Lepus oiostolus), Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana), domestic sheep (Ovis aries), and even humans, mainly those at their celestial burial grounds. Reportedly in Mongolia, Tarbagan marmots (Marmota sibirica) comprised the largest part of the diet, although that species is now endangered as it is preferred in the diet of local people, wild prey ranging from corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) to Argali (Ovis ammon) may be eaten additionally in Mongolia. Historically, cinereous vultures in the Iberian Peninsula fed mostly on European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) carcasses, but since viral hemorrhagic pneumonia (VHP) devastated the once abundant rabbit population there, the vultures now rely on the carrion of domestic sheep, supplemented by pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) and deer. In Turkey, the dietary preferences were argali (Ovis ammon) (92 carrion items), wild boar (Sus scrofa) (53 items), chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) (27 items), gray wolves (13 items) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (13 items). Unusually, a large amount of plant material was found in pellets from Turkey, especially pine cones. Among the vultures in its range, the cinereous is best equipped to tear open tough carcass skins thanks to its powerful bill. It can even break apart bones, such as ribs, to access the flesh of large animals. It is dominant over other scavengers in its range, even over other large vultures such as Gyps vultures, bearded vultures or fierce ground predators such as foxes. While the noisy Gyps vultures squawk and fly around, the often silent cinereous vultures will keep them well at bay until they are satisfied and have had their own fill. A series of photos taken recently show a cinereous vulture attacking a Himalayan griffon in flight for unknown reasons, although the griffon was not seriously injured. Cinereous vultures frequently bully and dominate steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) when the two species are attracted to the same prey and carrion while wintering in Asia. A rare successful act of kleptoparasitism on a cinereous vulture was filmed in Korea when a Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) stole food from the vulture.

 

Its closest living relative is probably the lappet-faced vulture, which takes live prey on occasion. Occasionally, the cinereous vulture has been recorded as preying on live prey as well. Live animals reportedly taken by cinereous vultures include calves of yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus), piglets, domestic lambs and puppies (Canis lupus familiaris), foxes, lambs of wild sheep, together with nestling and fledglings of large birds such as geese, swans and pheasants, various rodents and rarely amphibians and reptiles. This species has hunted tortoises (which the vultures are likely to kill by carrying in flight and dropping on rocks to penetrate the shell; cf. Aeschylus#Death) and lizards. Although rarely observed in the act of killing ungulates, cinereous vultures have been recorded as flying low around herds and feeding on recently killed wild ungulates they are believed to have killed. Mainly neonatal lambs or calves are hunted, especially sickly ones. Although not normally thought to be a threat to healthy domestic lambs, rare predation on apparently healthy lambs has been confirmed. Species believed to be hunted by cinereous vultures have included argali, saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) and Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii).

 

The cinereous vulture has declined over most of its range in the last 200 years in part due to poisoning by eating poisoned bait put out to kill dogs and other predators, and to higher hygiene standards reducing the amount of available carrion; it is currently listed as Near Threatened. Vultures of all species, although not the target of poisoning operations, may be shot on sight by locals. Trapping and hunting of cinereous vultures is particularly prevalent in China and Russia, although the poaching for trophy hunting are also known for Armenia, and probably other countries in Caucasus. Perhaps an even greater threat to this desolation-loving species is development and habitat destruction. Nests, often fairly low in the main fork of a tree, are relatively easy to access and thus have been historically compromised by egg and firewood collectors regularly. The decline has been the greatest in the western half of the range, with extinction in many European countries (France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Albania, Moldova, Romania) and its entire breeding range in northwest Africa (Morocco and Algeria). They no longer nest in Israel. Turkey holds the second largest population of this species in the Western Palearctic. Despite the recent demographic bottleneck, this population has maintained moderate levels of genetic diversity, with no significant genetic structuring indicating that this is a single meta-population connected by frequent dispersal. More recently, protection and deliberate feeding schemes have allowed some local recoveries in numbers, particularly in Spain, where numbers increased to about 1,000 pairs by 1992 after an earlier decline to 200 pairs in 1970. This colony have now spread its breeding grounds to Portugal. Elsewhere in Europe, very small but increasing numbers breed in Bulgaria and Greece, and a re-introduction scheme is under way in France. Trends in the small populations in Ukraine (Crimea) and European Russia, and in Asian populations, are not well recorded. In the former USSR, it is still threatened by illegal capture for zoos, and in Tibet by rodenticides. It is a regular winter visitor around the coastal areas of Pakistan in small numbers. As of the turn of the 21st century, the worldwide population of cinereous vultures is estimated at 4,500–5,000 individuals.

 

The most recent global population estimate for Cinereous Vulture (according to Bird Life International (2017)) is 7,800-10,500 pairs, roughly equating to 15,600-21,000 mature individuals. This consists of 2,300-2,500 pairs in Europe (2004) and 5,500-8,000 pairs in Asia.

 

The Hebrew word for "eagle" is also used for the cinereous vulture. As such, Biblical passages alluding to eagles might actually be referring to this or other vultures.

1. Pengisian Formulir

Isi formulir data diri. Dari mulai nama lengkap, alamat, usia (17 - 60 tahun), golongan darah, berat badan (minimal 45 kilogram) dan tinggi badan, riwayat penyakit, hingga kesediaan untuk mendonorkan darah. Oia, pendonor pun minimal tidak mendonorkan darahnya dalam 3 bulan terakhir. Nah sebelum nanti akhirnya kecewa karena tidak bisa mendonorkan darah, ada baiknya mengetahui persyaratan seseorang tidak boleh menjadi pendonor darah (PMI, 2002):

- Pernah menderita hepatitis B

- Menderita tuberkulosis, sifilis, epilepsi dan sering kejang

- Ketergantungan obat, alkoholisme akut dan kronik

- Dalam jangka waktu 1 tahun sesudah operasi besar, injeksi terakhir imunisasi rabies terapeutik, atau transplantasi kulit

- Dalam jangka waktu 6 bulan sesudah kontak erat dengan penderita hepatitis, transfusi, tattoo/tindik telinga, persalinan, atau operasi kecil

- Dalam jangka waktu 2 minggu sesudah vaksinasi virus hidup parotitis, measles, tetanus toksoid

- Dalam jangka waktu 1 minggu sesudah gejala alergi menghilang

- Sedang hamil atau menyusui

- Dalam jangka waktu 72 jam sesudah operasi gigi

- Dalam jangka waktu 24 jam sesudah vaksinasi polio, influenza, kolera, tetanus difteri

- Menderita penyakit kulit pada vena (pembuluh darah balik) yang akan ditusuk

- Mempunyai kecenderungan perdarahan atau penyakit darah

- Seseorang yang termasuk kelompok masyarakat yang mempunyai resiko tinggi untuk mendapatkan HIV/AIDS (homoseks, morfinis, berganti-ganti pasangan seks, pemakai jarum suntik tidak steril)

- Pengidap HIV/ AIDS menurut hasil pemeriksaan pada saat donor darah

 

2. Pemeriksaan I

Pendonor menimbang kembali berat badan dan diperiksa golongan darah serta kadar haemoglobin-nya (Hb). Kadar Hemoglobin (Hb) untuk wanita minimal = 12 gr % dan untuk pria minimal = 12,5 gr %. Dalam kasus ini sering ditemukan pendonor yang "tiba-tiba" golongan darahnya berubah lho, misalnya dari O menjadi A (contohnya: saya)

 

3. Pemeriksaan II

Diperiksa tekanan darah. Tanda vital baik: tekanan darah sistol = 110 - 160 mmHg dan diastol = 70 - 100 mmHg; Denyut nadi teratur, yaitu 50 - 100 kali/ menit; Suhu tubuh 36,6 - 37,5 derajat celcius

 

4. Ambil Labu dan Antri

Pendonor akan diberi sebuah kantung (labu) yang berguna sebagai tempat menampung darah yang akan didonorkan nantinya

The domestic yak (Bos grunniens), a descendant of the wild yak (Bos mutus), is a long-haired cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, western and northern China. It is related to the cattle (Bos primigenius).

 

The yak has a bulky frame and dense, long fur that hangs down lower than the belly. The bull can weight up to 255 kg, and has large, curved horns up to 100 cm in length. The cow is smaller and has smaller, upright horns.

 

The yak is well adapted to high altitudes, with thick layer of subcutaneous fat, large lungs and heart and the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life.

 

Yak and their manure have little to no detectable odour and its wool is naturally odour resistant.

 

View On Large

 

The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) is a goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest.

 

The Bar-headed Goose is one of the world's highest flying birds, having been seen at up to 10,175 m (33,382 feet). It has a slightly larger wing area for its weight than other geese and it is believed this helps the goose to fly high. Studies have found that they breathe more efficiently under low oxygen conditions and are able to reduce heat loss. The haemoglobin of their blood has a higher oxygen affinity than that of other geese.

 

Info from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar-headed_Goose

 

© Eddie Chui

An octopus (pl.: octopuses or octopodes[a]) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (/ɒkˈtɒpədə/, ok-TOP-ə-də[3]). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beaked mouth at the centre point of the eight limbs.[b] The soft body can radically alter its shape, enabling octopuses to squeeze through small gaps. They trail their eight appendages behind them as they swim. The siphon is used both for respiration and for locomotion, by expelling a jet of water. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates.

 

Octopuses inhabit various regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, pelagic waters, and the seabed; some live in the intertidal zone and others at abyssal depths. Most species grow quickly, mature early, and are short-lived. In most species, the male uses a specially adapted arm to deliver a bundle of sperm directly into the female's mantle cavity, after which he becomes senescent and dies, while the female deposits fertilised eggs in a den and cares for them until they hatch, after which she also dies. Strategies to defend themselves against predators include the expulsion of ink, the use of camouflage and threat displays, the ability to jet quickly through the water and hide, and even deceit. All octopuses are venomous, but only the blue-ringed octopuses are known to be deadly to humans.

 

Octopuses appear in mythology as sea monsters like the kraken of Norway and the Akkorokamui of the Ainu, and possibly the Gorgon of ancient Greece. A battle with an octopus appears in Victor Hugo's book Toilers of the Sea, inspiring other works such as Ian Fleming's Octopussy. Octopuses appear in Japanese erotic art, shunga. They are eaten and considered a delicacy by humans in many parts of the world, especially the Mediterranean and the Asian seas.

 

Etymology and pluralisation

See also: Plural form of words ending in -us

The scientific Latin term octopus was derived from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktōpous), a compound form of ὀκτώ (oktō, 'eight') and πούς (pous, 'foot'), itself a variant form of ὀκτάπους, a word used for example by Alexander of Tralles (c. 525 – c. 605) for the common octopus.[5][6][7] The standard pluralised form of octopus in English is octopuses;[8] the Ancient Greek plural ὀκτώποδες, octopodes (/ɒkˈtɒpədiːz/), has also been used historically.[9] The alternative plural octopi is usually considered incorrect because it wrongly assumes that octopus is a Latin second-declension -us noun or adjective when, in either Greek or Latin, it is a third-declension noun.[10][11]

 

Historically, the first plural to commonly appear in English language sources, in the early 19th century, is the Latinate form octopi,[12] followed by the English form octopuses in the latter half of the same century. The Hellenic plural is roughly contemporary in usage, although it is also the rarest.[13]

 

Fowler's Modern English Usage states that the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses, that octopi is misconceived, and octopodes pedantic;[14][15][16] the last is nonetheless used frequently enough to be acknowledged by the descriptivist Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary and Webster's New World College Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi, and octopodes, in that order, reflecting frequency of use, calling octopodes rare and noting that octopi is based on a misunderstanding.[17] The New Oxford American Dictionary (3rd Edition, 2010) lists octopuses as the only acceptable pluralisation, and indicates that octopodes is still occasionally used, but that octopi is incorrect.[18]

 

Anatomy and physiology

Size

See also: Cephalopod size

Captured specimen of a giant octopus

A giant Pacific octopus at Echizen Matsushima Aquarium, Japan

The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is often cited as the largest known octopus species. Adults usually weigh 10–50 kg (22–110 lb), with an arm span of up to 4.8 m (16 ft).[19] The largest specimen of this species to be scientifically documented was an animal with a live mass of 71 kg (157 lb).[20] Much larger sizes have been claimed for the giant Pacific octopus:[21] one specimen was recorded as 272 kg (600 lb) with an arm span of 9 m (30 ft).[22] A carcass of the seven-arm octopus, Haliphron atlanticus, weighed 61 kg (134 lb) and was estimated to have had a live mass of 75 kg (165 lb).[23][24] The smallest species is Octopus wolfi, which is around 2.5 cm (1 in) and weighs less than 1 g (0.035 oz).[25]

 

External characteristics

The octopus has an elongated body that is bilaterally symmetrical along its dorso-ventral (back to belly) axis; the head and foot are on the ventral side but act as the anterior (front) of the animal. The heads contains both the mouth and the brain.[26] The mouth has a sharp chitinous beak and is surrounded by and underneath the foot, which evolved into flexible, prehensile cephalopod limbs, known as "arms", which are attached to each other near their base by a webbed structure.[26][27][28] The arms can be described based on side and sequence position (such as L1, R1, L2, R2) and divided into four pairs.[29] The two rear appendages are generally used to walk on the sea floor, while the other six are used to forage for food.[30] The bulbous and hollow mantle is fused to the back of the head and contains most of the vital organs.[28][27] The mantle also has a cavity with muscular walls and a pair of gills; it is connected to the exterior by a funnel or siphon.[26][31]

 

Schematic of external anatomy

Diagram of octopus from side, with gills, funnel, eye, ocellus (eyespot), web, arms, suckers, hectocotylus and ligula labelled.

The skin consists of a thin outer epidermis with mucous cells and sensory cells and a fibrous inner dermis made of collagen and containing various cells allowing colour change.[32] Most of the body is made of soft tissue, allowing it to squeeze through tiny gaps; even the larger species can pass through a gap little more than 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter.[27] Lacking skeletal support, the arms work as muscular hydrostats and contain longitudinal, transverse and circular muscles around a central axial nerve. They can squash and stretch, coil at any place in any direction or stiffen.[33][34]

 

The interior surfaces of the arms are covered with circular, adhesive suckers. The suckers allow the octopus to secure itself in place or to handle objects. Each sucker is usually circular and bowl-like and has two distinct parts: an outer disc-shaped infundibulum and a inner cup-like called an acetabulum, both of which are thick muscles covered in connective tissue. A chitinous cuticle lines the outer surface. When a sucker attaches to a surface, the orifice between the two structures is sealed and the infundibulm flattens. Muscle contractions allow for attachment and detachment.[35][36][33] Each of the eight arms senses and responds to light, allowing the octopus to control the limbs even if its head is obscured.[37]

 

A stubby round sea-creature with short ear-like fins

A finned Grimpoteuthis species with its atypical octopus body plan

The cranium of the octopus has two cartilaginous capsules which contain each of the animal's large eyes, which resemble those of fish. The cornea of the eye is formed from a translucent epidermal layer; the slit-shaped pupil forms a hole in the iris just behind the cornea. The lens hangs behind the pupil; photoreceptive retinal cells lines the back of the eye. The pupil can expand and contract; a retinal pigment screens incident light in bright conditions.[38]

 

Some species differ in form from the typical octopus body shape. Basal species, the Cirrina, have two fins located above the eyes, an internal shell and mostly webbed arms that are lined with fleshy papillae or cirri underneath. Grimpoteuthis in particular has a stout gelatinous body.[39]

 

Circulatory system

Octopuses have a closed circulatory system, in which the blood remains inside blood vessels. Octopuses have three hearts; a systemic or main heart that circulates blood around the body and two branchial or gill hearts that pump it through each of the two gills. The systemic heart becomes inactive when the animal is swimming. Thus, the octopus loses energy quickly and mostly crawls.[40][41] Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein haemocyanin to transport oxygen. This makes the blood very viscous and it requires great pressure to pump it around the body; octopuses' blood pressures can supress 75 mmHg (10 kPa).[42][41][43] In cold conditions with low oxygen levels, haemocyanin transports oxygen more efficiently than haemoglobin.[44] The haemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being carried within blood cells and gives the blood a bluish colour.[42][41][45]

 

The systemic heart has muscular contractile walls and consists of a single ventricle and two atria, which attach it to each of the two gills. The blood vessels consist of arteries, capillaries and veins and are lined with a cellular endothelium which is quite unlike that of most other invertebrates. The blood circulates through the aorta and capillary system, to the venae cavae, after which the blood is pumped through the gills by the branchial hearts and back to the main heart. Much of the venous system is contractile, which helps circulate the blood.[46]

 

Respiration

An octopus on the seabed, its siphon protruding near its eye

Octopus with open siphon. The siphon is used for respiration, waste disposal and discharging ink.

Respiration involves drawing water into the mantle cavity through an aperture, passing it through the gills, and expelling it through the siphon. The ingress of water is achieved by contraction of radial muscles in the mantle wall, and flapper valves shut when strong circular muscles force the water out through the siphon.[47] Extensive connective tissue lattices support the respiratory muscles and allow them to inflate respiratory chamber.[48] The lamella structure of the gills allows for a high oxygen uptake, up to 65% in water at 20 °C (68 °F).[49] Respiration can also play a role in locomotion, and an octopus can propel its body when shooting water out of the siphon.[50][43]

 

The thin skin of the octopus absorbs additional oxygen. When resting, around 41% of an octopus's oxygen absorption is through the skin. Only 33% of oxygen is through the skin when the octopus swims,despite the amount of oxygen absorption increasing as water flows over the body. When it is resting after a meal, absorption through the skin can drop to 3% of its total oxygen uptake.[51]

 

Digestion and excretion

The digestive system of the octopus begins with the buccal mass which consists of the mouth with the beak, the pharynx, radula and salivary glands.[52] The radula is a serrated organ made of chitin.[27] Food is broken down and is forced into the osophagus by two lateral extensions of the esophageal side walls in addition to the radula. From there it is transferred to the gastrointestinal tract, which is mostly suspended from the roof of the mantle cavity. The tract consists of a crop, where the food is stored; a stomach, where it is smushed with other gut material; a caecum where the now sludgy food is separated into particles and liquids and which also absorbs fats; the digestive gland, where liver cells break down and absorb the fluid and become "brown bodies"; and the intestine, where the built-up waste is turned into faecal ropes by secretions and ejected out of the funnel via the rectum.[53]

 

During osmoregulation, fluid is added to the pericardia of the branchial hearts. The octopus has two nephridia (equivalent to vertebrate kidneys) which are associated with the branchial hearts; these and their associated ducts connect the pericardial cavities with the mantle cavity. Each branch of the vena cava have renal appendages which pass over the thin-walled nephridium before reaching to the branchial heart. Urine is first created in the pericardial cavity, and is altered by excretion, of mostly ammonia, and absorption from the renal appendages, as it is passed along the associated duct and through the nephridiopore into the mantle cavity.[54]

 

Duration: 31 seconds.0:31

A common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) moving around. Its nervous system allows the arms to move with some autonomy.

Nervous system and senses

Octopuses and their relatives have a more expansive and complex nervous system than other invertebrates, containing over 500 million neurons, around the same as a dog.[55][56][57] Only part of it is localised in its brain, which is contained in a cartilaginous capsule. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are in the nerve cords of its arms. This allows their arms to perform actions with a level of independence.[58] Learning is mainly done in the brain, but an arm makes a decision when supplied with information.[59] Unlike in many other animals, including other mollusks, the complex motor skills of octopuses and their relatives are not organised in their brains via internal somatotopic maps of their bodies[60] Octopuses have the same jumping genes that are active in the human brain, implying an evolutionary convergence at molecular level.[61]

 

Close up of an octopus showing its eye and an arm with suckers

Eye of common octopus

Like other cephalopods, octopuses have camera-like eyes.[55] Colour vision appears to vary from species to species, for example, being present in O. aegina but absent in O. vulgaris.[62] Opsins in the skin respond to different wavelengths of light and help the animals choose a colouration that camouflages them; the chromatophores in the skin can respond to light independently of the eyes.[63][64] An alternative hypothesis is that cephalopod eyes in species that only have a single photoreceptor protein may use chromatic aberration to turn monochromatic vision into colour vision, though this sacrifices image quality. This would explain pupils shaped like the letter "U", the letter "W", or a dumbbell, as well as the need for colourful mating displays.[65]

 

Attached to the otic capules are two organs called statocysts (sac-like structures containing a mineralised mass and sensitive hairs), that allow the octopus to sense the orientation of its body, relative to both gravity and time (angular acceleration). An autonomic response keeps the octopus's eyes oriented so that the pupil is always horizontal.[38] Octopuses may also use the statocyst to hear sound. The common octopus can hear sounds between 400 Hz and 1000 Hz, and hears best at 600 Hz.[66]

 

Octopuses have an excellent somatosensory system. Their suction cups are equipped with chemoreceptors so they can taste what they touch.[67] Octopus arms move easily because the sensors recognise octopus skin and prevent self-attachment.[68] Octopuses appear to have poor proprioceptive sense and must observe the arms visually to keep track of their position.[69][70]

 

Ink sac

The ink sac of an octopus is located under the digestive gland. A gland attached to the sac produces the ink, and the sac holds it. The sac is close enough to the funnel for the octopus to shoot out the ink with a water jet. As the animal begins to shoot, the ink passes through glands which mix it with mucus and it leaves the funnel as a thick, dark blob which allows the animal to escape from a predator.[71] The main pigment in the ink is melanin, which gives it its black colour.[72] Cirrate octopuses usually lack the ink sac.[39]

 

Life cycle

Reproduction

Drawing of a male octopus with one large arm ending in the sexual apparatus

Adult male Tremoctopus violaceus with hectocotylus

Octopuses have two sexes and have only one gonad (testis in males and ovary in females) which is posteriorly-located. The gonad deposits gametes into an adjacent cavity called the gonocoel. A gonoduct bridges the gonocoel with the mantle cavity.[73] An optic gland creates hormones that cause the octopus to mature and age and stimulate gamete production. The timing of reproduction and lifespan depends on environmental conditions such as temperature, light and nutrition, which trigger the gland.[74][75] The male has a specialised arm called a hectocotylus which it uses to transfer spermatophores (packets of sperm) into the female's mantle cavity.[73] The hectocotylus in Octopus is usually the R3 arm, which has a spoon-shaped depression and a suckerless tip.[76][73] Fertilisation may occur in the mantle cavity or in the surrounding water.[73]

 

The reproduction has been studied in some species. In the giant Pacific octopus, courtship includes changes in skin texture and colour, mostly in the male. The male may cling to the top or side of the female or position himself beside her. There is some speculation that he may first use his hectocotylus to remove any spermatophore or sperm already present in the female. He picks up a spermatophore from his spermatophoric sac with the hectocotylus, inserts it into the female's mantle cavity, and deposits it in the correct location in the opening of the oviduct. Two spermatophores are transferred in this way; these are about one metre (yard) long, and the empty ends may protrude from the female's mantle.[77] A complex hydraulic mechanism releases the sperm from the spermatophore.[73]

 

A female octopus underneath hanging strings of her eggs

Female giant Pacific octopus guarding strings of eggs

The eggs have large yolks; cleavage (division) is relatively shallow and a germinal disc develops at the pole. During gastrulation, the disc and surround the yolk, forming a yolk sac, which eventually forms part of the gut. The embryo forms as the dorsal side of the disc grows upward, with a shell gland, gills, mantle and eyes on its dorsal side. The arms and funnel form on the ventral side of the disc, with the former moving upward to surround the mouth. The embryo consumes the yolk during development.[73]

 

Over a month after mating, Giant Pacific octopuses lay eggs. The species can lay 180,000 eggs in a single clutch, while Octopus rubescens clutches number up to 45,000 eggs and O. vulgaris clutches can number as much as 500,000 eggs.[78]: 75  Fertilised octopus eggs are layed as strings and within a shelter.[77][79] Female giant Pacific octopuses nurture and protect their for five months (160 days) until they hatch.[77] In colder waters, such as those off Alaska, it may take up to ten months for the eggs to completely develop.[78]: 74  In the argonaut (paper nautilus), the female is much larger than the male. She secretes a thin shell shaped like a cornucopia, in which the eggs are deposited and in which she also resides and broods the young while swimming.[80]

 

A microscopic view of a small round-bodied transparent animal with very short arms

Octopus paralarva, a planktonic hatchling

Most young octopuses hatch as paralarvae,[73] Octopus larave in particular are planktonic for weeks or months. Octopus larave feed on shrimps, isopods and amphipods, eventually settling on the ocean floor and developing into adults.[81] Octopus species that produce larger eggs instead hatch as benthic animals similar to the adults.[78]: 74–75  These include the southern blue-ringed, Caribbean reef, California two-spot and Eledone moschata[82]

 

Lifespan

Octopuses have short lifespans living for up to four years,[83] and the lifecycles of some species finish in less than half a year.[84] For most octopuses, the last stage of their life is called senescence. It is the breakdown of cellular function without repair or replacement. It may last from weeks to a few months, at most. Males enter senesce after maturity while for females, it is noticeable after they lay a clutch of eggs. During senescence, an octopus does not feed and quickly weakens and becomes sluggish. Lesions begin to form and the octopus literally degenerates. They may die of starvation or get picked off by predators.[85] Senescence is trigger by the optic glands and experimental removal of them after spawning was found to result in the continuation of their lifecycle and activity as well as longer lifespans. It has been proposed that the naturally short lifespan may prevent rapid overpopulation.[86]

 

Distribution and habitat

An octopus nearly hidden in a crack in some coral

Octopus cyanea in Kona, Hawaii

Octopuses live in every ocean, and different species have adapted to different marine habitats. As juveniles, common octopuses inhabit shallow tide pools. The Hawaiian day octopus (Octopus cyanea) lives on coral reefs; argonauts float in pelagic waters. Abdopus aculeatus is a near-shore species and can be found in seagrass beds. Some species can survive in deeper environments. The spoon-armed octopus (Bathypolypus arcticus) can live 1,000 m (3,300 ft) deep, and Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis lives in depths of 2,000 m (6,600 ft) around hydrothermal vents.[28] Some species, such as Megaleledone setebos and Pareledone charcoti, can surive in the chilling waters of the Antarctic, which reach −1.8 °C (29 °F).[44] No species are known to live in fresh water.[87]

 

The cirrate species are often free-swimming and live in deep-water habitats.[88] Although several species are known to live at bathyal and abyssal depths, there is only a single indisputable record of an octopus in the hadal zone; a species of Grimpoteuthis (dumbo octopus) photographed at 6,957 m (22,825 ft).[89]

 

Behaviour and ecology

Octopuses are considered to be mostly solitary[90] though a few are known to occur in high densities and interact regularly, usually in the context of dominance and reproductive competition. This is likely the result of abundant food supplies combined with less den sites.[91] The Larger Pacific striped octopus has been described as particularly social, living in groups of up to 40 individuals.[92][93] Octopuses hide in dens, which are typically crevices in rocky or other hard structures, including man-made ones. Small species will even use abandoned shells and bottles.[94] They can navigate back to a den without having to retrace their outward route.[95] They are not migratory.[96]

 

Octopuses bring captured prey to the den to eat. Dens are often surrounded by a midden of dead and uneaten food items. These middens may attract scavengers like fish, molluscs and echinoderms.[97] On rare occasions, octopuses hunt cooperatively with other species, with fish as their partners. They regulate the species composition of the hunting group — and the behavior of their partners — by punching them.[98]

 

Feeding

An octopus in an open seashell on a sandy surface, surrounding a small crab with the suckers on its arms

Veined octopus eating a crab

Nearly all octopuses are predatory; bottom-dwelling octopuses eat mainly crustaceans, polychaete worms, and other molluscs such as whelks and clams; open-ocean octopuses eat mainly prawns, fish and other cephalopods.[99] Major items in the diet of the giant Pacific octopus include bivalve molluscs such as the cockle Clinocardium nuttallii, clams and scallops and crustaceans such as crabs and spider crabs. Prey that it is likely to reject include moon snails because they are too large and limpets, rock scallops, chitons and abalone, because they are too securely fixed to the rock.[97] Small cirrate octopuses such as those of the genera Grimpoteuthis and Opisthoteuthis typically prey on polychaetes, copepods, amphipods and isopods.[100]

 

A benthic (bottom-dwelling) octopus typically moves among the rocks and feels through the crevices. The creature may make a jet-propelled pounce on prey and pull it toward the mouth with its arms, the suckers restraining it. Small prey may be completely trapped by the webbed structure. Octopuses usually inject crustaceans like crabs with a paralysing saliva then dismember them with their beaks.[99][101] Octopuses feed on shelled molluscs either by forcing the valves apart, or by drilling a hole in the shell to inject a nerve toxin.[102][101] It used to be thought that the hole was drilled by the radula, but it has now been shown that minute teeth at the tip of the salivary papilla are involved, and an enzyme in the toxic saliva is used to dissolve the calcium carbonate of the shell. It takes about three hours for O. vulgaris to create a 0.6 mm (0.024 in) hole. Once the shell is penetrated, the prey dies almost instantaneously, its muscles relax, and the soft tissues are easy for the octopus to remove. Crabs may also be treated in this way; tough-shelled species are more likely to be drilled, and soft-shelled crabs are torn apart.[103]

 

Some species have other modes of feeding. Grimpoteuthis has a reduced or non-existent radula and swallows prey whole.[39] In the deep-sea genus Stauroteuthis, some of the muscle cells that control the suckers in most species have been replaced with photophores which are believed to fool prey by directing them to the mouth, making them one of the few bioluminescent octopuses.[104]

 

Locomotion

An octopus swimming with its round body to the front, its arms forming a streamlined tube behind

Octopuses swim with their arms trailing behind.

Octopuses mainly move about by relatively slow crawling with some swimming in a head-first position. Jet propulsion or backward swimming, is their fastest means of locomotion, followed by swimming and crawling.[105] When in no hurry, they usually crawl on either solid or soft surfaces. Several arms are extended forward, some of the suckers adhere to the substrate and the animal hauls itself forward with its powerful arm muscles, while other arms may push rather than pull. As progress is made, other arms move ahead to repeat these actions and the original suckers detach. During crawling, the heart rate nearly doubles, and the animal requires 10 or 15 minutes to recover from relatively minor exercise.[33]

 

Most octopuses swim by expelling a jet of water from the mantle through the siphon into the sea. The physical principle behind this is that the force required to accelerate the water through the orifice produces a reaction that propels the octopus in the opposite direction.[106] The direction of travel depends on the orientation of the siphon. When swimming, the head is at the front and the siphon is pointed backward but, when jetting, the visceral hump leads, the siphon points at the head and the arms trail behind, with the animal presenting a fusiform appearance. In an alternative method of swimming, some species flatten themselves dorso-ventrally, and swim with the arms held out sideways; this may provide lift and be faster than normal swimming. Jetting is used to escape from danger, but is physiologically inefficient, requiring a mantle pressure so high as to stop the heart from beating, resulting in a progressive oxygen deficit.[105]

 

Three images in sequence of a two-finned sea creature swimming with an eight-cornered web

Movements of the finned species Cirroteuthis muelleri

Cirrate octopuses cannot produce jet propulsion and rely on their fins for swimming. They have neutral buoyancy and drift through the water with the fins extended. They can also contract their arms and surrounding web to make sudden moves known as "take-offs". Another form of locomotion is "pumping", which involves symmetrical contractions of muscles in their webs producing peristaltic waves. This moves the body slowly.[39]

 

In 2005, Adopus aculeatus and veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) were found to walk on two arms, while at the same time mimicking plant matter.[107] This form of locomotion allows these octopuses to move quickly away from a potential predator without being recognised.[105] Some species of octopus can crawl out of the water briefly, which they may do between tide pools.[108][109] "Stilt walking" is used by the veined octopus when carrying stacked coconut shells. The octopus carries the shells underneath it with two arms, and progresses with an ungainly gait supported by its remaining arms held rigid.[110]

 

Intelligence

Main article: Cephalopod intelligence

A captive octopus with two arms wrapped around the cap of a plastic container

Octopus opening a container by unscrewing its cap

Octopuses are highly intelligent.[111] Maze and problem-solving experiments have shown evidence of a memory system that can store both short- and long-term memory.[112] Young octopuses learn nothing from their parents, as adults provide no parental care beyond tending to their eggs until the young octopuses hatch.[78]: 75 

 

In laboratory experiments, octopuses can readily be trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practise observational learning,[113] although the validity of these findings is contested.[111] Octopuses have also been observed in what has been described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them.[114] Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food.[108][115][116] Growing evidence suggests that octopuses are sentient and capable of experiencing pain.[117] The veined octopus collects discarded coconut shells, then uses them to build a shelter, an example of tool use.[110]

 

Camouflage and colour change

Duration: 54 seconds.0:54

Video of Octopus cyanea moving and changing its colour, shape, and texture

Octopuses use camouflage when hunting and to avoid predators. To do this, they use specialised skin cells that change the appearance of the skin by adjusting its colour, opacity, or reflectivity. Chromatophores contain yellow, orange, red, brown, or black pigments; most species have three of these colours, while some have two or four. Other colour-changing cells are reflective iridophores and white leucophores.[118] This colour-changing ability is also used to communicate with or warn other octopuses.[119] The energy cost of the complete activation of the chromatophore system is very high equally being nearly as much as all the energy used by an octopus at rest.[120]

 

Octopuses can create distracting patterns with waves of dark colouration across the body, a display known as the "passing cloud". Muscles in the skin change the texture of the mantle to achieve greater camouflage. In some species, the mantle can take on the bumpy appearance of algae-covered rocks. Octopuses that are diurnal and live in shallow water have evolved more complex skin than their nocturnal and deep-sea counterparts. In the latter species, skin anatomy is limited to one colour or pattern.[121]

 

A "moving rock" trick involves the octopus mimicking a rock and then inching across the open space with a speed matching that of the surrounding water.[122]

 

Defence

An octopus among coral displaying conspicuous rings of turquoise outlined in black against a sandy background

Warning display of greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata)

Aside from humans, octopuses may be preyed on by fishes, seabirds, sea otters, pinnipeds, cetaceans, and other cephalopods.[123] Octopuses typically hide or disguise themselves by camouflage and mimicry; some have conspicuous warning coloration (aposematism) or deimatic behaviour (“bluffing” a seemingly threatening appearance).[119] An octopus may spend 40% of its time hidden away in its den. When the octopus is approached, it may extend an arm to investigate. 66% of Enteroctopus dofleini in one study had scars, with 50% having amputated arms.[123] The blue rings of the highly venomous blue-ringed octopus are hidden in muscular skin folds which contract when the animal is threatened, exposing the iridescent warning.[124] The Atlantic white-spotted octopus (Callistoctopus macropus) turns bright brownish red with oval white spots all over in a high contrast display.[125] Displays are often reinforced by stretching out the animal's arms, fins or web to make it look as big and threatening as possible.[126]

 

Once they have been seen by a predator, they commonly try to escape but can also create a distraction by ejecting an ink cloud from their ink sac. The ink is thought to reduce the efficiency of olfactory organs, which would aid evasion from predators that employ smell for hunting, such as sharks. Ink clouds of some species might act as pseudomorphs, or decoys that the predator attacks instead.[127]

 

When under attack, some octopuses can perform arm autotomy, in a manner similar to the way skinks and other lizards detach their tails. The crawling arm may distract would-be predators. Such severed arms remain sensitive to stimuli and move away from unpleasant sensations.[128] Octopuses can replace lost limbs.[129]

 

Some octopuses, such as the mimic octopus, can combine their highly flexible bodies with their colour-changing ability to mimic other, more dangerous animals, such as lionfish, sea snakes, and eels.[130][131]

 

Pathogens and parasites

The diseases and parasites that affect octopuses have been little studied, but cephalopods are known to be the intermediate or final hosts of various parasitic cestodes, nematodes and copepods; 150 species of protistan and metazoan parasites have been recognised.[132] The Dicyemidae are a family of tiny worms that are found in the renal appendages of many species;[133] it is unclear whether they are parasitic or endosymbionts. Coccidians in the genus Aggregata living in the gut cause severe disease to the host. Octopuses have an innate immune system; their haemocytes respond to infection by phagocytosis, encapsulation, infiltration, or cytotoxic activities to destroy or isolate the pathogens. The haemocytes play an important role in the recognition and elimination of foreign bodies and wound repair. Captive animals are more susceptible to pathogens than wild ones.[134] A gram-negative bacterium, Vibrio lentus, can cause skin lesions, exposure of muscle and sometimes death.[135]

 

Evolution

Further information: Evolution of cephalopods

The scientific name Octopoda was first coined and given as the order of octopuses in 1818 by English biologist William Elford Leach,[136] who classified them as Octopoida the previous year.[2] The Octopoda consists of around 300 known species[137] and were historically divided into two suborders, the Incirrina and the Cirrina.[88] More recent evidence suggests Cirrina is merely the most basal species, not a unique clade.[138] The incirrate octopuses (the majority of species) lack the cirri and paired swimming fins of the cirrates.[88] In addition, the internal shell of incirrates is either present as a pair of stylets or absent altogether.[139]

 

Fossil history and phylogeny

Fossil of crown group coleoid on a slab of Jurassic rock from Germany

The octopuses evolved from the Muensterelloidea (fossil pictured) in the Jurassic period.[140]

The Cephalopoda evolved from a mollusc resembling the Monoplacophora in the Cambrian some 530 million years ago. The Coleoidea diverged from the nautiloids in the Devonian some 416 million years ago. In turn, the coleoids (including the squids and octopods) brought their shells inside the body and some 276 million years ago, during the Permian, split into the Vampyropoda and the Decabrachia.[141] The octopuses arose from the Muensterelloidea within the Vampyropoda in the Jurassic. The earliest octopus likely lived near the sea floor (benthic to demersal) in shallow marine environments.[141][142][140] Octopuses consist mostly of soft tissue, and so fossils are relatively rare. As soft-bodied cephalopods, they lack the external shell of most molluscs, including other cephalopods like the nautiloids and the extinct Ammonoidea.[143] They have eight limbs like other Coleoidea, but lack the extra specialised feeding appendages known as tentacles which are longer and thinner with suckers only at their club-like ends.[144] The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis) also lacks tentacles but has sensory filaments.[145]

 

The cladograms are based on Sanchez et al., 2018, who created a molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA marker sequences.[138] The position of the Eledonidae is from Ibáñez et al., 2020, with a similar methodology.[146] Dates of divergence are from Kröger et al., 2011 and Fuchs et al., 2019.[141][140]

 

Cephalopods

Nautiloids

Nautilus A spiral nautilus in a blue sea

 

Coleoids

Decabrachia

Squids and cuttlefish A squid

 

Vampyropoda

Vampyromorphida

A strange blood-red octopus, its arms joined by a web

 

Octopods

A brown octopus with wriggly arms

 

155 mya

276 mya

416 mya

530 mya

The molecular analysis of the octopods shows that the suborder Cirrina (Cirromorphida) and the superfamily Argonautoidea are paraphyletic and are broken up; these names are shown in quotation marks and italics on the cladogram.

 

Octopoda

"Cirromorphida" part

Cirroteuthidae

 

Stauroteuthidae

 

"Cirromorphida" part

Opisthoteuthidae

 

Cirroctopodidae

 

Octopodida

"Argonautoidea" part

Tremoctopodidae

 

Alloposidae

 

"Argonautoidea" part

Argonautidae

 

Ocythoidae

 

Octopodoidea

Eledonidae

 

Bathypolypodidae

 

Enteroctopodidae

 

Octopodidae

 

Megaleledonidae

 

Bolitaenidae

 

Amphitretidae

 

Vitreledonellidae

 

RNA editing and the genome

Octopuses, like other coleoid cephalopods but unlike more basal cephalopods or other molluscs, are capable of greater RNA editing, changing the nucleic acid sequence of the primary transcript of RNA molecules, than any other organisms. Editing is concentrated in the nervous system, and affects proteins involved in neural excitability and neuronal morphology. More than 60% of RNA transcripts for coleoid brains are recoded by editing, compared to less than 1% for a human or fruit fly. Coleoids rely mostly on ADAR enzymes for RNA editing, which requires large double-stranded RNA structures to flank the editing sites. Both the structures and editing sites are conserved in the coleoid genome and the mutation rates for the sites are severely hampered. Hence, greater transcriptome plasticity has come at the cost of slower genome evolution.[147][148]

 

The octopus genome is unremarkably bilaterian except for large developments of two gene families: protocadherins, which regulate the development of neurons; and the C2H2 zinc-finger transcription factors. Many genes specific to cephalopods are expressed in the animals' skin, suckers, and nervous system.[55]

 

Relationship to humans

In art, literature, and mythology

An ancient nearly spherical vase with 2 handles by the top, painted all over with an octopus decoration in black

Minoan clay vase with octopus decoration, c. 1500 BC

Ancient seafaring people were aware of the octopus, as evidenced by artworks and designs. For example, a stone carving found in the archaeological recovery from Bronze Age Minoan Crete at Knossos (1900–1100 BC) depicts a fisherman carrying an octopus.[149] The terrifyingly powerful Gorgon of Greek mythology may have been inspired by the octopus or squid, the octopus itself representing the severed head of Medusa, the beak as the protruding tongue and fangs, and its tentacles as the snakes.[150] The kraken is a legendary sea monster of giant proportions said to dwell off the coasts of Norway and Greenland, usually portrayed in art as a giant octopus attacking ships. Linnaeus included it in the first edition of his 1735 Systema Naturae.[151][152] One translation of the Hawaiian creation myth the Kumulipo suggests that the octopus is the lone survivor of a previous age.[153][154][155] The Akkorokamui is a gigantic octopus-like monster from Ainu folklore, worshipped in Shinto.[156]

 

A battle with an octopus plays a significant role in Victor Hugo's 1866 book Travailleurs de la mer (Toilers of the Sea).[157] Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights, and the 1983 James Bond film were partly inspired by Hugo's book.[158] Japanese erotic art, shunga, includes ukiyo-e woodblock prints such as Katsushika Hokusai's 1814 print Tako to ama (The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife), in which an ama diver is sexually intertwined with a large and a small octopus.[159][160] The print is a forerunner of tentacle erotica.[161] The biologist P. Z. Myers noted in his science blog, Pharyngula, that octopuses appear in "extraordinary" graphic illustrations involving women, tentacles, and bare breasts.[162][163]

 

Since it has numerous arms emanating from a common centre, the octopus is often used as a symbol for a powerful and manipulative organisation, company, or country.[164]

 

The Beatles song "Octopus's Garden", on the band's 1969 album Abbey Road, was written by Ringo Starr after he was told about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens.[165]

 

Danger to humans

Coloured drawing of a huge octopus rising from the sea and attacking a sailing ship's three masts with its spiralling arms

Pen and wash drawing of an imagined colossal octopus attacking a ship, by the malacologist Pierre de Montfort, 1801

Octopuses generally avoid humans, but incidents have been verified. For example, a 2.4-metre (8 ft) Pacific octopus, said to be nearly perfectly camouflaged, "lunged" at a diver and "wrangled" over his camera before it let go. Another diver recorded the encounter on video.[166] All species are venomous, but only blue-ringed octopuses have venom that is lethal to humans.[167] Blue-ringed octopuses are among the deadliest animals in the sea; their bites are reported each year across the animals' range from Australia to the eastern Indo-Pacific Ocean. They bite only when provoked or accidentally stepped upon; bites are small and usually painless. The venom appears to be able to penetrate the skin without a puncture, given prolonged contact. It contains tetrodotoxin, which causes paralysis by blocking the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles. This causes death by respiratory failure leading to cerebral anoxia. No antidote is known, but if breathing can be kept going artificially, patients recover within 24 hours.[168][169] Bites have been recorded from captive octopuses of other species; they leave swellings which do not last very long.[170]

 

As a food source

Main article: Octopus as food

 

Octopus sushi

Octopus fisheries exist around the world with total catches varying between 245,320 and 322,999 metric tons from 1986 to 1995.[171] The world catch peaked in 2007 at 380,000 tons, and had fallen by a tenth by 2012.[172] Methods to capture octopuses include pots, traps, trawls, snares, drift fishing, spearing, hooking and hand collection.[171] Octopuses have a food conversion efficiency greater than that of chickens, making octopus aquaculture a possibility.[173] Octopuses compete with human fisheries targeting other species, and even rob traps and nets for their catch; they may, themselves, be caught as bycatch if they cannot get away.[174]

 

Octopus is eaten in many cultures, such as those on the Mediterranean and Asian coasts.[175] The arms and other body parts are prepared in ways that vary by species and geography. Live octopuses or their wriggling pieces are consumed as ikizukuri in Japanese cuisine and san-nakji in Korean cuisine.[176][177] If not prepared properly, however, the severed arms can still choke the diner with their suction cups, causing at least one death in 2010.[178] Animal welfare groups have objected to the live consumption of octopuses on the basis that they can experience pain.[179]

 

In science and technology

In classical Greece, Aristotle (384–322 BC) commented on the colour-changing abilities of the octopus, both for camouflage and for signalling, in his Historia animalium: "The octopus ... seeks its prey by so changing its colour as to render it like the colour of the stones adjacent to it; it does so also when alarmed."[180] Aristotle noted that the octopus had a hectocotyl arm and suggested it might be used in sexual reproduction. This claim was widely disbelieved until the 19th century. It was described in 1829 by the French zoologist Georges Cuvier, who supposed it to be a parasitic worm, naming it as a new species, Hectocotylus octopodis.[181][182] Other zoologists thought it a spermatophore; the German zoologist Heinrich Müller believed it was "designed" to detach during copulation. In 1856, the Danish zoologist Japetus Steenstrup demonstrated that it is used to transfer sperm, and only rarely detaches.[183]

  

Flexible biomimetic 'Octopus' robotics arm. The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, 2011[184]

Octopuses offer many possibilities in biological research, including their ability to regenerate limbs, change the colour of their skin, behave intelligently with a distributed nervous system, and make use of 168 kinds of protocadherins (humans have 58), the proteins that guide the connections neurons make with each other. The California two-spot octopus has had its genome sequenced, allowing exploration of its molecular adaptations.[55] Having independently evolved mammal-like intelligence, octopuses have been compared by the philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith, who has studied the nature of intelligence,[185] to hypothetical intelligent extraterrestrials.[186] Their problem-solving skills, along with their mobility and lack of rigid structure enable them to escape from supposedly secure tanks in laboratories and public aquariums.[187]

 

Due to their intelligence, octopuses are listed in some countries as experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia, a protection usually extended only to vertebrates. In the UK from 1993 to 2012, the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) was the only invertebrate protected under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.[188] In 2012, this legislation was extended to include all cephalopods[189] in accordance with a general EU directive.[190]

 

Some robotics research is exploring biomimicry of octopus features. Octopus arms can move and sense largely autonomously without intervention from the animal's central nervous system. In 2015 a team in Italy built soft-bodied robots able to crawl and swim, requiring only minimal computation.[191][192] In 2017, a German company made an arm with a soft pneumatically controlled silicone gripper fitted with two rows of suckers. It is able to grasp objects such as a metal tube, a magazine, or a ball, and to fill a glass by pouring water from a bottle.[193]

 

See also

My Octopus Teacher – 2020 documentary film by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed

Notes

See § Etymology and pluralisation for variants.

"Tentacle" is a common umbrella term for cephalopod limbs. In teuthological context, octopuses have "arms" with suckers along their entire length while "tentacle" is reserved for appendages with suckers only near the end of the limb, which octopuses lack.[4]

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Wood,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus

Friday gem from the Stoddard – Templeton Design Archive

 

universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/frida...

 

Haemoglobin

 

4 February 2011

The Blackfin Icefish (Chaenocephalus aceratus) is the only vertebrate to lack haemoglobin. As a result, their blood can only carry 10% os a normal ray-finned fishes blood and their blood is translucent. A ray-finned fish is the most common fish in the oceans comprising some 26,000 species. This fish was photographed in a tank at Palmer Station in the Antarctic.

Friday gem from the Stoddard – Templeton Design Archive

 

universityofglasgowlibrary.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/frida...

 

Haemoglobin

 

4 February 2011

The cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in), 3.1 m (10 ft) across the wings and a maximum weight of 14 kg (31 lb), it is the largest Old World vulture and largest member of the Accipitridae family.

 

Aegypius monachus is one of the largest birds of prey and it plays a huge role in its various ecosystems by eating carcasses, and which in turn reduces the spread of diseases. The vultures are constantly exposed to many pathogens because of their eating habits. A study on the gastric and immune defense systems done in 2015, sequenced the entire genome of the cinereous genome. Comparing the vulture and the bald eagle, will allow the study to find positively selected genetic variations associated with respiration and the ability of the vulture's immune defense responses and gastric acid secretion to digest carcasses.

 

The genus name Aegypius is a Greek word (αἰγυπιός) for 'vulture', or a bird not unlike one; Aelian describes the aegypius as "halfway between a vulture (gyps) and an eagle". Some authorities think this a good description of a lammergeier; others do not. Aegypius is the eponym of the species, whatever it was in ancient Greek. The English name 'black vulture' refers to the plumage colour, while 'monk vulture', a direct translation of its German name Mönchsgeier, refers to the bald head and ruff of neck feathers like a monk's cowl. 'Cinereous vulture' (Latin cineraceus, ash-coloured; pale, whitish grey), was a deliberate attempt to rename it with a new name distinct from the American black vulture.

 

This bird is an Old World vulture, and as such is only distantly related to the New World vultures, which are in a separate family, Cathartidae, of the same order. It is, therefore, not closely related to the much smaller American black vulture (Coragyps atratus) despite the similar name and coloration.

 

The cinereous vulture measures 98–120 cm (39–47 in) in total length with a 2.5–3.1 m (8 ft 2 in – 10 ft 2 in) wingspan. Males can weigh from 6.3 to 11.5 kg (14 to 25 lb), whereas females can weigh from 7.5 to 14 kg (17 to 31 lb). It is thus one of the world's heaviest flying birds. Average weights were long not known to have been published for this species but the median weight figures from two sources were 9.42 kg (20.8 lb) and 9.55 kg (21.1 lb). However in a Korean study, a large survey of wild cinereous vultures was found to have weighed an average of 9.6 kg (21 lb) with a mean total length of 113 cm (44 in), this standing as the only attempt to attain the average sizes of free-flying mature birds of the species, as opposed to nestlings or captive specimens. Unlike most accipitrids, males can broadly overlap in size with the females, although not uncommonly the females may be slightly heavier. These are one of the two largest extant Old World vultures and accipitrids, with similar total length and perhaps wingspans recorded in the Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis), as indicated by broadly similar wing and tail proportions, but the cinereous appears to be slightly heavier as well as slightly larger in tarsus and bill length. Superficially similar but unrelated New World condors can either be of similar wing area and bulk or slightly larger in these aspects. Despite limited genetic variation in the species, body size increases from west to east based on standard measurements, with the birds from southwest Europe (Spain and south France) averaging about 10% smaller than the vultures from central Asia (Manchuria, Mongolia and northern China). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 73–89 cm (29–35 in), the tail is 33–41 cm (13–16 in) and the tarsus is 12–14.6 cm (4.7–5.7 in).

 

The cinereous vulture is distinctly dark, with the whole body being brown excepting the pale head in adults, which is covered in fine blackish down. This down is absent in the closely related lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotos). The skin of the head and neck is bluish-gray and a paler whitish color above the eye. The adult has brown eyes, a purplish cere, a blue-gray bill and pale blue-gray legs. The primary quills are often actually black. From a distance, flying birds can easily appear all black. The immature plumage is sepia-brown above, with a much paler underside than in adults. Immature cinereous vultures have grey down on the head, a pale mauve cere and grey legs. Its massive bill is one of the largest of any living accipitrid, a feature enhanced by the relatively small skull of the species. The exposed culmen of the cinereous vulture measures 8–9 cm (3.1–3.5 in). Only their cousin, the lappet-faced vulture, with a bill length of up to about 10 cm (3.9 in), can rival or outsize the bill of the cinereous. The wings, with serrated leading edges, are held straight or slightly arched in flight and are broad, sometimes referred to as "barn door wings". Its flight is slow and buoyant, with deep, heavy flaps when necessary. The combination of huge size and dark coloration renders the cinereous vulture relatively distinct, especially against smaller raptors such as eagles or buzzards. The most similar-shaped species, the lappet-faced vulture (with which there might be limited range overlap in the southern Middle East), is distinguished by its bare, pinkish head and contrasting plumage. On the lappet-face, the thighs and belly are whitish in adult birds against black to brownish over the remainder of the plumage. All potential Gyps vultures are distinguished by having paler, often streaky plumage, with bulging wing primaries giving them a less evenly broad-winged form. Cinereous vultures are generally very silent, with a few querulous mewing, roaring or guttural cries solely between adults and their offspring at the nest site.

 

The cinereous vulture is a Eurasian species. The western limits of its range are in Spain and inland Portugal, with a reintroduced population in south France. They are found discontinuously to Greece, Turkey and throughout the central Middle East. Their range continues through Afghanistan eastwards to northern India to its eastern limits in central Asia, where they breed in northern Manchuria, Mongolia and Korea. Their range is fragmented especially throughout their European range. It is generally a permanent resident except in those parts of its range where hard winters cause limited altitudinal movement and for juveniles when they reach breeding maturity. In the eastern limits of its range, birds from the northernmost reaches may migrate down to southern Korea and China. A limited migration has also been reported in the Middle East but is not common.

 

This vulture is a bird of hilly, mountainous areas, especially favoring dry semi-open habitats such as meadows at high altitudes over much of the range. Nesting usually occurs near the tree line in the mountains. They are always associated with undisturbed, remote areas with limited human disturbance. They forage for carcasses over various kinds of terrain, including steppe, other grasslands, open woodlands, along riparian habitats or any kind or gradient of mountainous habitat. In their current European range and through the Caucasus and Middle East, cinereous vultures are found from 100 to 2,000 m (330 to 6,560 ft) in elevation, while in their Asian distribution, they are typically found at higher elevations. Two habitat types were found to be preferred by the species in China and Tibet. Some cinereous vultures in these areas live in mountainous forests and shrubland from 800 to 3,800 m (2,600 to 12,500 ft), while the others preferred arid or semi-arid alpine meadows and grasslands at 3,800 to 4,500 m (12,500 to 14,800 ft) in elevation. This species can fly at a very high altitude. One cinereous vulture was observed at an elevation of 6,970 m (22,870 ft) on Mount Everest. It has a specialised haemoglobin alphaD subunit of high oxygen affinity which makes it possible to take up oxygen efficiently despite the low partial pressure in the upper troposphere.

 

The cinereous vulture is a largely solitary bird, being found alone or in pairs much more frequently than most other Old World vultures. At large carcasses or feeding sites, small groups may congregate. Such groups can rarely include up to 12 to 20 vultures, with some older reports of up to 30 or 40.

 

In Europe, the cinereous vulture return to the nesting ground in January or February. In Spain and Algeria, they start nesting in February in March, in Crimea in early March, in northwestern India in February or April, in northeastern India in January, and in Turkestan in January. They breed in loose colonies, with nests rarely being found in the same tree or rock formation, unlike other Old World vultures which often nest in tight-knit colonies. In Spain, nests have been found from 300 m (980 ft) to 2 km (1.2 mi) apart from each other. The cinereous vulture breeds in high mountains and large forests, nesting in trees or occasionally on cliff ledges. The breeding season lasts from February until September or October. The most common display consists of synchronous flight movements by pairs. However, flight play between pairs and juveniles is not unusual, with the large birds interlocking talons and spiraling down through the sky. The birds use sticks and twigs as building materials, and males and females cooperate in all matters of rearing the young. The huge nest is 1.45–2 m (4 ft 9 in – 6 ft 7 in) across and 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) deep. The nest increases in size as a pair uses it repeatedly over the years and often comes to be decorated with dung and animal skins. The nests can range up to 1.5 to 12 m (4 ft 11 in to 39 ft 4 in) high in a large tree such as an oak, juniper,[20] wild pear, almond or pine trees. Most nesting trees are found along cliffs. In a few cases, cinereous vultures have been recorded as nesting directly on cliffs. One cliff nest completely filled a ledge that was 3.63 m (11.9 ft) wide and 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in depth. The egg clutch typically only a single egg, though two may be exceptionally laid. The eggs have a white or pale buff base color are often overlaid with red, purplish or red-brown marks, being almost as spotted as the egg of a falcon. Eggs measure from 83.4 to 104 mm (3.28 to 4.09 in) in height and 58 to 75 mm (2.3 to 3.0 in) in width, with an average of 90 mm × 69.7 mm (3.54 in × 2.74 in). The incubation period ranges from 50 to 62 days, averaging 50–56 days, and hatching occurs in April or May in Europe. The young are covered in greyish-white to grey-brown colored down which becomes paler with age. The first flight feathers start growing from the same sockets as the down when the nestling is around 30 days old and completely cover the down by 60 days of age. The parents feed the young by regurgitation and an active nest reportedly becomes very foul and stinking. Weights of nestlings in Mongolia increased from as little as 2 kg (4.4 lb) when they are around a month old in early June to being slightly more massive than their parents at up to nearly 16 kg (35 lb) shortly before fledging in early autumn.

 

The nesting success of cinereous vultures is relatively high, with around 90% of eggs successfully hatching and more than half of yearling birds known to survive to adulthood. They are devoted, active parents, with both members of a breeding pair protecting the nest and feeding the young in shifts via regurgitation. In Mongolia, Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) and the common raven (Corvus corax) are considered potential predators of eggs in potentially both tree and cliff nests. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) and foxes are also mentioned as potential nest predators. There have been witnessed accounts of bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) and Spanish imperial eagles (Aquila adalberti) attempting to kill nestlings, but in both cases they were chased off by the parents. There is a single case of a Spanish imperial eagle attacking and killing a cinereous vulture in an act of defense of its own nest in Spain. Golden eagles and Eurasian eagle-owls may rarely attempt to dispatch an older nestling or even adults in an ambush, but the species is not verified prey for either and it would be a rare event in all likelihood if it does occur. This species may live for up to 39 years, though 20 years or less is probably more common, with no regular predators of adults other than man.

 

Like all vultures, the cinereous vulture eats mostly carrion. The cinereous vulture feeds on carrion of almost any type, from the largest mammals available to fish and reptiles. In Tibet, commonly eaten carcasses can include both wild and domestic yaks (Bos mutus and Bos grunniens), Bharal, Tibetan gazelles (Pseudois nayaur), kiangs (Equus kiang), woolly hares (Lepus oiostolus), Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana), domestic sheep (Ovis aries), and even humans, mainly those at their celestial burial grounds. Reportedly in Mongolia, Tarbagan marmots (Marmota sibirica) comprised the largest part of the diet, although that species is now endangered as it is preferred in the diet of local people, wild prey ranging from corsac fox (Vulpes corsac) to Argali (Ovis ammon) may be eaten additionally in Mongolia. Historically, cinereous vultures in the Iberian Peninsula fed mostly on European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) carcasses, but since viral hemorrhagic pneumonia (VHP) devastated the once abundant rabbit population there, the vultures now rely on the carrion of domestic sheep, supplemented by pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) and deer. In Turkey, the dietary preferences were argali (Ovis ammon) (92 carrion items), wild boar (Sus scrofa) (53 items), chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) (27 items), gray wolves (13 items) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (13 items). Unusually, a large amount of plant material was found in pellets from Turkey, especially pine cones. Among the vultures in its range, the cinereous is best equipped to tear open tough carcass skins thanks to its powerful bill. It can even break apart bones, such as ribs, to access the flesh of large animals. It is dominant over other scavengers in its range, even over other large vultures such as Gyps vultures, bearded vultures or fierce ground predators such as foxes. While the noisy Gyps vultures squawk and fly around, the often silent cinereous vultures will keep them well at bay until they are satisfied and have had their own fill. A series of photos taken recently show a cinereous vulture attacking a Himalayan griffon in flight for unknown reasons, although the griffon was not seriously injured. Cinereous vultures frequently bully and dominate steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) when the two species are attracted to the same prey and carrion while wintering in Asia. A rare successful act of kleptoparasitism on a cinereous vulture was filmed in Korea when a Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) stole food from the vulture.

 

Its closest living relative is probably the lappet-faced vulture, which takes live prey on occasion. Occasionally, the cinereous vulture has been recorded as preying on live prey as well. Live animals reportedly taken by cinereous vultures include calves of yaks and domestic cattle (Bos primigenius taurus), piglets, domestic lambs and puppies (Canis lupus familiaris), foxes, lambs of wild sheep, together with nestling and fledglings of large birds such as geese, swans and pheasants, various rodents and rarely amphibians and reptiles. This species has hunted tortoises (which the vultures are likely to kill by carrying in flight and dropping on rocks to penetrate the shell; cf. Aeschylus#Death) and lizards. Although rarely observed in the act of killing ungulates, cinereous vultures have been recorded as flying low around herds and feeding on recently killed wild ungulates they are believed to have killed. Mainly neonatal lambs or calves are hunted, especially sickly ones. Although not normally thought to be a threat to healthy domestic lambs, rare predation on apparently healthy lambs has been confirmed. Species believed to be hunted by cinereous vultures have included argali, saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) and Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii).

 

The cinereous vulture has declined over most of its range in the last 200 years in part due to poisoning by eating poisoned bait put out to kill dogs and other predators, and to higher hygiene standards reducing the amount of available carrion; it is currently listed as Near Threatened. Vultures of all species, although not the target of poisoning operations, may be shot on sight by locals. Trapping and hunting of cinereous vultures is particularly prevalent in China and Russia, although the poaching for trophy hunting are also known for Armenia, and probably other countries in Caucasus. Perhaps an even greater threat to this desolation-loving species is development and habitat destruction. Nests, often fairly low in the main fork of a tree, are relatively easy to access and thus have been historically compromised by egg and firewood collectors regularly. The decline has been the greatest in the western half of the range, with extinction in many European countries (France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Albania, Moldova, Romania) and its entire breeding range in northwest Africa (Morocco and Algeria). They no longer nest in Israel. Turkey holds the second largest population of this species in the Western Palearctic. Despite the recent demographic bottleneck, this population has maintained moderate levels of genetic diversity, with no significant genetic structuring indicating that this is a single meta-population connected by frequent dispersal. More recently, protection and deliberate feeding schemes have allowed some local recoveries in numbers, particularly in Spain, where numbers increased to about 1,000 pairs by 1992 after an earlier decline to 200 pairs in 1970. This colony have now spread its breeding grounds to Portugal. Elsewhere in Europe, very small but increasing numbers breed in Bulgaria and Greece, and a re-introduction scheme is under way in France. Trends in the small populations in Ukraine (Crimea) and European Russia, and in Asian populations, are not well recorded. In the former USSR, it is still threatened by illegal capture for zoos, and in Tibet by rodenticides. It is a regular winter visitor around the coastal areas of Pakistan in small numbers. As of the turn of the 21st century, the worldwide population of cinereous vultures is estimated at 4,500–5,000 individuals.

 

The most recent global population estimate for Cinereous Vulture (according to Bird Life International (2017)) is 7,800-10,500 pairs, roughly equating to 15,600-21,000 mature individuals. This consists of 2,300-2,500 pairs in Europe (2004) and 5,500-8,000 pairs in Asia.

 

The Hebrew word for "eagle" is also used for the cinereous vulture. As such, Biblical passages alluding to eagles might actually be referring to this or other vultures.

At my 4th chemo-cycle, my blood test came back with red marks (just like a primary school report card) - my red blood cells and haemoglobin counts were dropping slightly below the recommended levels - my oncologist gave me a booster jab to increase these counts but it cost me a bunch of $$, which could probably buy a month's supply of beef!

 

Not wishing to fork another wad of $$ at the next cycle, I'm upping my beef intake for the time being until the chemotreatments are completed.

 

This is one of my favs - a very oriental beef stew with carrots, an assortment of aromatics (onions, chopped red chillies, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, chopped lemon grass), and an assortment of spices (cinnamon stick, star anise, fennel seeds, black peppercorns and 5-spice powder).

 

For complete recipe - check out my blog's post.

Sierra Leonean Community Health Officer Moriba Samai examines four-year-old Fatmate at Gondama Referral Centre (GRC) in Sierra Leone. "Fatmate has a fever and her head and stomach ache", says her mother Agnes Kamera. "This is the third time I've come to the MSF hospital with her. This time too, she has malaria". Fatmate also suffers from anaemia, the most frequent complication of severe malaria. "When Fatmate was checked in yesterday, her haemoglobin count was down to 3. That is life-threateningly low. She was very sleepy and too weak to walk", says Moriba Samai. "We gave her a blood transfusion immediately, as well as drugs for the malaria and anti-worm medication, because of her stomach ache. By this morning, her haemoglobin count was up to 4.7 g/dl. Our goal is to get it up to above 6. At the moment, we are running some tests on her blood in the lab. If necessary, we will give her a second blood transfusion". On average, MSF treats around 750 children in the paediatric ward of the GRC each month. More than half of them have malaria, like Fatmate. The tropical disease is hyperendemic in Sierra Leone and the main cause of death for children under five. Foto: Annika Schaefer

Image made with PyMOL using PDB structure 2dn1.

Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157630983897338/s...

 

Photo: It was very quiet, only the yak was grunting.

 

Contrary to popular belief, yak and their manure have little to no detectable odor when maintained appropriately in pastures or paddocks with adequate access to forage and water. Yak wool is naturally odor resistant.

 

Yak physiology is well adapted to high altitudes, having larger lungs and heart than cattle found at lower altitudes, as well as greater capacity for transporting oxygen through their blood due to the persistence of foetal haemoglobin throughout life. Conversely, yaks do not thrive at lower altitudes, and begin to suffer from heat exhaustion above about 15 °C (59 °F). Further adaptations to the cold include a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, and an almost complete lack of functional sweat glands.

Yaks are highly friendly in nature and can easily be trained. There has been very little documented aggression from yaks towards human beings, although mothers can be extremely protective of their young and will bluff charge if they feel threatened.

Domesticated yaks are kept primarily for their milk, fiber and meat, and as beasts of burden. Their dried dung is an important fuel, used all over Tibet, and is often the only fuel available on the high treeless Tibetan plateau.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yak

No known copyright restrictions. Please credit UBC Library as the image source. For more information, see digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/about.

 

Description: Charles Darwin, 2 Bryanston St., Portman Square, [London] to John Burdon-Sanderson. Burdon-Sanderson is to test proprionic, butyric, valeric acids for artificial digestion to see if one of those is present in Drosera. A.L.S. 1 p.

 

Transcript: drosera; and if you will try these acids for artificial digestion I shall be very much obliged. On my return one I will send the globulin and haemoglobin. Yours very sincerely, Ch Darwin Nov 15th 2 Bryanston St. Portman Square (until early Tuesday morning)

 

Creator: Darwin, Charles, 1809-1976

 

Date Created: [1873]-11-15

 

Source: Original Format: University of British Columbia Library. Woodward Biomedical Library. Charles Woodward Memorial Room. The Darwin-Burdon-Sanderson Letters.

 

Permanent URL: digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/cdm/compoundobject/coll...

The diagram is based on an illustration originally published by Morris [52]. The illustration shows some highly enriched genes identified in this transcriptomic survey (Table 1, Table S3). Many of the genes products are putatively released into, or onto the membrane of epicellular vacuoles (EV) present at the luminal surface of the syncytial epithelium. Three EVs are depicted (EV1–3), each showing different physiological activities proposed to occur in the vacuoles. EV1 depicts haemoglobinolysis pathways. Many proteases are released into the EV, resulting in catabolism of haemoglobin into amino acids or small peptides for uptake. Haem, a byproduct of catabolism, is sequestered into haematin (see illustration in [53]) for subsequent egestion. EV2 depicts a potential series of molecules associated with lysosomal functions, which has been transferred to these vacuolar compartments. EV3 shows a series of membrane proteins, involved in a variety of functions, notably transmembrane transport of metabolites, which would be preferentially associated with the epicellular vacuoles. All three physiological activities may occur in the same vacuole, probably concurrently.

 

Taken from: www.plosntds.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.p...

 

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0001043.g003

Talassemia is a genetic disorders inherited from both parents resulting in a reduction in the amount of haemoglobin produced by the body

for more : karachi.metblogs.com/2008/02/13/hope-kashif-iqbal-thalass...