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Animal resources from Asia

AnimalAqua — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:41:43 +0000

Domesticated animals-principally sheep and goats, but also cattle, poultry, and pigs in agricultural areas-are the most economically important animal species. Hides, wool, and dairy products are of great economic significance in many areas. In Central Asia the horse and the yak traditionally are the riding animal and the beast of burden, respectively; in Arabia the camel is both. Reindeer herds are kept in the northern tundra of Siberia, where they feed on mosses and shrubs. In India cattle are especially prized as sources of milk and butter, and the oxcart is still ubiquitous in rural areas. In India, Myanmar, and Thailand elephants work as draft animals in the lumbering industry; particularly in Southeast Asia the water buffalo is an important draft animal as well as a source for milk and butter.

Among Asia’s populations of wild animals, the valuable fur-bearing mammals of Siberia have long been hunted. North of the Himalayas, game birds such as ptarmigans, grouse, plovers, and various kinds of waterfowl are found. South of the Himalayas, pigeons, pheasants, and other game birds are taken. Various kinds of hawks and falcons, trained to hunt, have their habitat in Arabia and other parts of Asia.

Fish and other sea creatures and various kinds of crustaceans and mollusks are heavily exploited by the populations of East and Southeast Asia. The coastal areas of India, Bangladesh, and Thailand are being developed for export shrimp farming on a large scale. Numerous freshwater species-such as the sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and the rivers of Siberia, which is prized for its caviar-are also commercially significant, although the Caspian is threatened with polluted water from the Volga and by contaminants and spills from the oil industry. The Indus has its own species of blind dolphin, and the great rivers of South Asia are home to the giant mahseer fish, threatened by pollution, overfishing, and habitat loss.

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Animal resources from South America

AnimalAqua — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:39:27 +0000

Animal resources constitute a major portion of the economies of most South American countries. In pre-Columbian times, relatively few animals were domesticated, and almost none of them extended beyond the geographic limits of their wild ancestors. An exception was the Muscovy duck. Llamas and alpacas were domesticated in the high Andes in Inca times and probably earlier. Guinea pigs were domesticated as a meat source in pre-Inca times in the Andean highlands from Colombia to Argentina. Among animals introduced to the continent were cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and pigs, all of which adapted rapidly and thrived in the New World. Cattle have become especially important in areas such as the Llanos in Venezuela and Colombia, the Argentine Pampas, and the rolling plains of Uruguay, while sheep and goats predominate on the drier, colder grazing lands of the high mountainous areas and Patagonia. Game is plentiful in most habitats, though mammals are few and specialized. Deer are represented by several species. A variety of animals are exported as pets or for zoos.

Several Neotropical animals provide world-famous fur or wool. Chinchilla, native to the high Andes from Peru to northern Argentina, were hunted for their delicate gray fur to the point of near extinction. VicuÃ±as continue to be hunted despite protective laws and a ban placed on the trade of their fur. Efforts are being undertaken to increase their numbers by â€œranchingâ€ vicuÃ±as. The giant otter of the Amazon, several spotted cats such as the ocelot and jaguar, and rodents like the nutria also provide highly prized furs.

The colonies of seabirds along the Peruvian and Chilean coasts produce an accumulation of dung (guano) which is an important fertilizer. Pinnipeds (a suborder of aquatic carnivorous animals, including seals and walruses) are exploited for their oil and furs, particularly in Uruguay. Fur seals and sea lions are found along the southern coasts of South America, although their numbers have been reduced by hunting.

Tags: animal, animals, bird, cat, fish, mammal, pets

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Animal Resources from Africa

AnimalAqua — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:36:50 +0000

Although water buffalo, oxen, horses, mules, donkeys, and camels are used primarily as draft, pack, or riding animals in Africa, they also provide milk, meat, hides, or skins. The water buffalo is an offshoot of the Asiatic buffalo (Bubalus bubalis); it arrived in Africa in relatively recent times and is now found almost exclusively in Egypt. The domesticated African water buffalo is used to cultivate irrigated land (mainly in the Nile delta) and to provide milk and meat. Because of its intractability and wild nature, however, the African elephant-unlike the Asian elephant-is not used for draft or haulage purposes.

Oxen are widely used in Africa for agricultural purposes, especially for plowing and cultivation; they are also trained to thresh grain, pump water, and act as pack animals. Bullock (castrated oxen) plowing is well developed in the countries of North Africa, in Ethiopia and The Sudan, and farther west in Chad, in northern Nigeria, and in the savanna climatic zone of West Africa. Plowing and cultivation by oxen is also well developed in areas of eastern and southern Africa that are free of the deadly tsetse fly. Females used for work may also be milked. Work oxen are often used for meat and to provide hides.

Horses and ponies are principally found in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Egypt, South Africa, and Lesotho. Horses are used as riding or pack animals and in a number of areas are bred with donkeys to produce mules. Few are kept in areas where tsetse flies are present. Five main types of horses inhabit Africa: the Darfur pony, the Dongola horse, the Ethiopian-Galla horse, the Somalia pony, and the South African horse (including the Basuto pony). In North Africa, types also have evolved as a result of selection and crossing with exotic Arab, Barb (Barbary), and Thoroughbred horses. Arab and Thoroughbred influence may also be noted in southern Africa.

The distribution of the ass roughly corresponds to that of the horse, except that it also extends into the livestock areas of eastern and central Africa. Mules are found in Algeria, Ethiopia, Morocco, Somalia, South Africa, and Tunisia, where they provide farm draft power and are used as pack animals and for riding. The ability of mules to perform work in hot, dry climates is superior to that of most other farm animals.

The Arabian camel, or dromedary, is widely dispersed in the drier regions of northern and eastern Africa. Although used principally as a pack animal, it also is used for land cultivation, water pumping, and human transportation. The camel is essentially a bush browser and, if reasonably well fed and watered, may produce about 11 to 13 pounds (5 to 6 kilograms) of milk daily, in addition to that fed to the calf. The milk is prized by the camel herders and their families. Camel meat and camel hides find a ready market among Muslim communities.

Cattle provide hides, and sheep, goats, and pigs provide skins. Skins of the Maradi, Sokoto, and Kano red goats from Niger and Nigeria are greatly prized by the Morocco leather trade. In the areas north and south of the tropical zone, African sheep are covered with wool, but in the tropics they are hairy. In elevated areas, such as Ethiopia, where temperatures are modified by altitude, some sheep may be partially wooled, at least on the back and buttocks. The wooled sheep of North Africa are largely of the woolly Barbary type, which was originally introduced to Africa from the Middle East.

The great herds of wild African herbivores include the principal game animals. African antelope have been important throughout human history as sources of meat and such by-products as hides and bone; and they, along with other large mammals, became prized by trophy hunters. African elephants have been sought for centuries for the ivory in their tusks, but the severe reduction of their numbers by the late 20th century has led to a total ban on hunting them in most African countries.

The most economically useful fish found in the African waters include many species of freshwater fish. Important among the marine fish are flounder, halibut, sole, redfish, bass, conger, jack, mullet, herring, sardine, and anchovy. Crustaceans are important for local consumption and for export, as are oysters (for pearls), trochus shells, corals, and sponges. The most economically important aquatic mammal is the Southern, or Cape, fur seal.

Tags: animal, animals, bird, cat, fish, mammal