Extinct+Animal+-+Vancea+Marius

__THE MOUNTAIN GORILLA__
There are probably about 600 mountain gorillas left in central Africa. Theydon´t have enough forests to live in.





MGVP was establishedin 1986 as the first organization of its kind, providing veterinary care for free-ranging mountain gorillas. This species lives on the brink of extinction, with no fall-back breeding population in sanctuaries or zoos. The many threats to the mountain gorilla--in addition to naturally-occurring health problems--include poaching, war, and habitat loss, as well as susceptibility to human and domestic animal diseases. For more about our patients and recent events, go

WWF started delivering fuel wood 1 day before UNHCR started distributing food. But they had to interrupt the delivery on 24th/25th January as there were problems with the food distribution. UNHCR spotted some irregularities, stopped the distribution, and then the IDPs became violent. It wasn’t sensible to go into the camp while the IDPs were in a state of unrest so WWF resumed on 28th January.

So the campaign has been a success. Distribution will continue til the money runs out. And by then I hope we are looking at a less violent future in eastern DRC that will enable the thousands upon thousands of IDPs to return to their homes.

//The Kabirizi family will benefit from less pressure on the park.//

=__THE BLACH RHINO__=

Although there were an estimated 20,000 black rhino in Kenya in the 1970s, by 1982 the population was reduced to fewer than 400. Since then, their number has increased and now stands at over 420. The number in fenced areas has risen at an average rate of four percent each year when the conditions are good || All rhinos are4 extremely rare today. But the black rhino, whish lives manily in Zimbabwe, is the most threatened by the illegal trade in rihno horn. There may be less than 3,500 alive today.
 * **Shoulder height** 1.6 meters
 * Mass** 900 to 1,000 kilograms
 * Gestation** 16 months, single calf
 * Speed** 45 km/h maximum
 * Diet** Browser and grazer, preferring long grass. Usually found in thickets, where it eats shrubs, twigs, and leaves. Thorns present no problem.
 * Feces** Usually defecates in piles along various routes. Dung is scattered with the hind legs and is easily identified by its fibrous, woody texture.
 * Spoor** More compact and smaller than that of the white rhino. Urinates backwards against vegetation and then kicks back, often breaking up the vegetation. This action is a form of communicating and is also sexually related. The female will ”spray-kick“ when in season and the male will do it more frequently when consorting a female. ||
 * [[image:http://www.lewa.org/lewa-wildlife-conservancy-pics/community_03.gif width="387" height="32"]] ||
 * [[image:http://www.lewa.org/lewa-wildlife-conservancy-pics/black_rhino_portrait.jpg width="280" height="346" align="center" caption="Black rhinocerous protrait."]] ||
 * [[image:http://www.lewa.org/lewa-wildlife-conservancy-pics/community_03.gif width="387" height="32"]] ||
 * The hook-lipped, or black, rhino has a distinctive prehensile lip. It holds its head higher and is smaller than the wide-lipped, or white, rhino. An agile animal, the black rhino can display considerable aggression, although it is usually shy and solitary. Its eyesight is poor, but it has a good sense of smell and possesses extraordinary hearing. The tail is held erect while running. The black rhino has a wide vocal range and can possibly communicate like an elephant below the range of human hearing. Breathing is an important part of communication. Unlike the white rhino-calf, the black rhino calf normally runs behind its mother.





The rhinoceros or rhino is one of the world's most magnificent creatures with its almost Prehistoric appearance. Sadly the [|five species of rhino] are also among the group of animals most threatened with extinction (endangered). Three of these rhino species are found in Asia: the [|Indian] or one-horned rhino (population about 1 500), the [|Sumatran] (population about 200) and the [|Javan] (population about 50). The three Asian rhino species are well protected and their numbers have remained steady. The other two rhino are found here in Africa: the white rhino (numbering about 4 500 - 5 000) and the black rhino (population about 3 000). The population of the [|black rhino (//Diceros bicornis//)] is steadily declining.
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From a total number of at least 100 000 in 1960, spread across most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, there are today fewer than 3 500 black rhino left. Most of these survive in southern African countries where there are good protection measures e.g. South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. However poachers are managing to kill rhino in all three of these countries, despite protection. Numbers in South Africa have increased from about 100 to almost 700 since 1930.

 Courtship and mating is complex and can take a long time. The male approaches the female with great caution, frequently interrupting his slow progress with a series of snorts. Often the male makes a distinctive display, swinging his head from side to side with his horn sweeping the ground. Sometimes he loses his nerve and runs off, fearful of an attack from the female, only to return once again with his characteristic stiff-legged gait. The courtship may go on in this fashion for several hours. The black rhino tends to be found on its own, except when a female is accompanied by her calf, and this calf leaves when the next calf is born, following a pregnancy of 15 months.

= = = = =THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT=


 * Class: Mammalia**
 * Order: Proboscidae**
 * Family: Elephantidae**
 * Genus species: //Loxodonta// (slanting tooth) //africana// (from Africa)**
 * Size: 3 to 4 m (10 - 13 ft.) tall at shoulder; 6 to 7.25 m long (20 - 24 ft.)**
 * Weight: 3200 to 6400 kg (7000 - 14000 lb.), females are smaller**
 * Description: largest of all land mammals, with large ears, a long trunk, and large tusk**
 * Life Span: up to 70 years**
 * Gestation: 22 to 24 months**
 * Sexual Maturity:** **females (cows) 10 to 11 years, males (bulls) 10 to 20 years**
 * Habitat: found in the forests, grasslands, marshes, scrub, and semi-desert areas of sub-Saharan Africa. There is a distinct sub-species, the forest elephant, found in the tropical forests of central Africa.**
 * Diet: herbivore that eats all types of vegetation such as grasses, leaves, fruits, and bark**
 * Status: listed by USFWS as threatened and protected by CITES**

Oncethere were millons of elephans in Africa. Today only about 600.000 are left. They are killed for their ivory.

The African elephant's most obvious adaptation is its trunk, which is basically an elongated nose. It has many uses, such as sucking up water and spraying it back in its mouth. Its main use, however, is to allow the elephant to reach up in trees to reach the foliage, which it eats. The trunk is tipped with two "fingers," which let the elephant examine, or even pick up, some small objects. The elephant's fan-shaped ears have many small blood vessels through them, which dissipate heat from the blood. The ears can also be used as fans, to keep hot air away from the elephant. The tusks of the African elephant are actually the elephant's incisor teeth. The largest single tusk ever found weighed 236 pounds and was 11 feet and 6 inches long! Legs of the African elephant are columnlike, the same width from top to bottom. Its feet are round and have a pad, almost like the one on a cat's paw, to support the leg. African elephants have five toes on the front feet and three on the back.



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 * The African elephant can be quickly distinguished from the Indian elephant by its greater size and its larger ears, which may reach a length of about 5 ft from top to bottom. The African elephant is tallest at the shoulder, has more wrinkled skin, and bears tusks in both male and female. The Indian elephant is tallest at the arch of the back, bears tusks in the male only, and has one lobe instead of two on its trunk.**
 * Despite their great weight, which in African elephants reaches 15,400 pounds and in Indian elephants reaches 11,000 pounds, elephants walk almost noiselessly and with exceptional grace, their columnar legs keeping their bulk moving forward in smooth, rhythmic strides. A thick cushion of resilient tissue grows on the base of the foot, absorbing the shock of the weight and enabling the animal to walk high on its hooflike toes. Elephants normally walk about about 4 mph and can charge at up to 25 mph.**
 * ||  ||   || Interesting Facts[|(see evolution]
 * Elephant [|trunks] can get very heavy. It is not uncommon to see elephants resting them over a tusk!
 * Elephants cry, play, have incredible memories, and [|laugh]!
 * Elephants are sensitive fellow animals where if a baby complains, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it.
 * Elephants have greeting [|ceremonies] when a friend that has been away for some time returns to the group.
 * Elephants [|grieve] at a loss of a stillborn baby, a family member, and in many cases other elephants.
 * Elephants don't drink with their [|trunks], but use them as "tools" to drink with. This is accomplished by filling the [|trunk] with water and then using it as a hose to pour it into the
 * elephant's mouth.
 * Interestingly, the Asian elephant is more closely related to the extinct mammoth than to the African elephant ||  ||   ||
 * elephant's mouth.
 * Interestingly, the Asian elephant is more closely related to the extinct mammoth than to the African elephant ||  ||   ||