Topic 1
Tagged: animal, animals, bird, cat, fishPeru
Peruvian plant and animal life can be classified according to the three main physiographic regions: the Costa, the Sierra, and the Montaña.
Mecca
Plant and animal life are scarce and consist of species that can withstand the high degree of aridity and heat. Natural vegetation is sparse, and includes tamarisks and various types of acacia. Wild animals include wild cats, wolves, hyenas, foxes, mongooses, and kangaroo rats (jerboas).
Netherlands Antilles
The vegetation of the southern Netherlands Antilles, much overgrazed by animals, is sparse. Cacti and other drought-resistant plants abound. The island of Bonaire is known for its flamingos.
Missouri
Originally, about two-thirds of Missouri was forested, and the remainder was covered with prairie grasses. The river bluffs and valleys of the Ozark Plateau have a wide variety of unusual plants, including fameflower, royal catchfly, Trelease’s larkspur, coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima), gayfeather, and fringed poppy mallow. Trelease’s larkspur and coneflower are found in the wild in Missouri. Elk, deer, bison, and bears once were plentiful, as were such smaller animals as beavers, otters, and mink. After settlement and the development of agriculture, most of the larger animals, with the exception of deer, disappeared, and animals with valuable fur were trapped until near extinction.
Argentina
Argentina’s fauna and flora vary widely from the country’s mountainous zones to its dry and humid plains and its subpolar regions. In heavily settled regions the makeup of animal and plant life has been profoundly modified.
Bahamas
Extensive and beautiful forests of Caribbean pine are found on Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Andros, and New Providence. Hardwood forests, known locally as “coppices,†also occur on some of the islands. Elsewhere, the woody vegetation consists mostly of shrubs and low trees. Animal life is dominated by frogs, lizards, and snakes, all of them nonpoisonous, and several species of bats are found in caves along the more rocky coasts. Larger animals include the agouti, a rodent; the raccoon; the iguana; and the elegant flamingo, the national bird. All of these have been much reduced in numbers and in distribution. In addition, several animals notably sheep, horses, and other livestock have been introduced from Europe. The surrounding waters abound with fish and other edible marine animals, such as conch and crayfish.
Karachi
The natural vegetation is scanty. Seaweed rises in tangles, and mangroves grow along some of the shores. Coarse grass, cactus, and castor plants occur on the plains and hills, and date and coconut palms grow in the river valleys. The common wild animals are wolves, chinkaras (a type of gazelle), hog deer, jackals, wild cats, and hares. Domestic animals include sheep, goats, horses, and cows. Local birds include geese, ducks, snipe, cranes, flamingos, and ibis. Various types of snakes are found in the region, particularly cobras, kraits, vipers, and pythons.
Gambia
The vegetation cover of The Gambia is savanna on the uplands, various kinds of inland swamp in the low-lying areas, and mangrove swamp along the brackish lower Gambia River. Few wild animals are native to the region, and those that survive are under pressure from the human and domestic animal populations. In the middle and upper river areas there are warthogs, monkeys, baboons, antelope, pygmy hippopotamuses, and crocodiles.
Baltic states
Despite being intensively farmed over the centuries, more than one-third of the Baltic region remains forested; in some districts, forests occupy more than one-half of the land. Birches and conifers are common as both adapt well to the often poorly drained, infertile, podzolic soils. Because of the long occupation by humans, animal life is restricted mainly to smaller animals, although elk, bear, roe deer, wolves, and wild boar occur, as do hares and badgers.
Grenada
The island is verdant, with a year-round growing season and a wide variety of tropical fruits, flowering shrubs, and ferns. There are also forests of teak, mahogany, saman (known as the rain tree), and blue mahoe (a strong-fibred tree) in the interior. The animal life is varied and includes such wild animals as the mona monkey (a small, long-tailed, West African species that was introduced by slaves), the manicou (a species of opossum), the agouti (a rabbit-sized rodent, which is brown or grizzled in colour), the iguana, the mongoose, and a variety of turtles and land crabs.
Romania
Forests, which cover about a quarter of Romania’s area, are an important component of the vegetation cover, particularly in the mountains. Up to about 2,600 feet, oaks predominate, followed by beeches between 2,600 and 4,600 feet and conifers between 4,600 and 5,900 feet. At the highest levels, Alpine and sub-Alpine pastures are found. In the tableland and plains regions, the natural vegetation has to a large degree been obliterated by centuries of human settlement and agriculture. The rich and varied Romanian animal life includes some rare species, notably the chamois, which is found on the Alpine heights of the Carpathians. Forest animals include the brown bear, red deer, wolf, fox, wild pig, lynx, and marten and various songbirds. The lower course of the Danube, particularly the delta, is rich in animal, bird, and fish life. Among the fish, the most valuable is undoubtedly the sturgeon, yielding caviar.
Niger
The vegetation of the desert zone clusters around the oases; it includes the date palm and cultivated corn (maize). Animal life, which must be able to endure hunger and thirst, includes the dromedary. In the Sahel zone, where the doum palm and the cram-cram (Cenchrus biflorus, a prickly grass) appear, the vegetation has a short life cycle and is principally used for grazing. Animal life includes the ostrich and the gazelle. In the cultivated zone the vegetation includes acacia trees, doum palms, and palmyra palms, as well as baobabs. Wildlife, which has partially disappeared, includes antelope, elephants, and warthogs; giraffes are found in the Zarmaganda and Damergou regions, and hippopotamuses and crocodiles on the banks of the Niger. The extreme southwest is a savanna region where baobabs, kapok trees, and tamarind trees occur. Animal life is preserved in the “W†National Park, where antelope, lions, buffalo, hippopotamuses, and elephants may be seen.
Kansu
Although vegetation is rather limited in the mountain area, primeval forests still exist in the high mountains of the Liu-p’an range in the eastern part of Kansu. On the floor of the Kansu Corridor, willows and poplars grow along the roads and ditches. Wild animals include marmots, deer, and foxes.
Inner Mongolia
Much of the western territory is barren, while the mountains in the northeast are forested. Large areas of the central region, however, consist of grassland, which provides pasture for sheep, goats, cattle, and the famous Mongolian horses and Bactrian camels. Sheep and goats (roughly in equal proportions) are by far the most important, the most ubiquitous, and the most numerous of the animals raised on the grasslands.
Saudi Arabia
Much of Saudi Arabia’s vegetation belongs to the North African–Indian desert region. Plants are xerophytic and are mostly small herbs and shrubs that are useful as forage. There are a few small areas of grass and trees in southern Asir. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is widespread, though about one-third of the date palms grown are in Ash-SharqÄ«yah province. Animal life includes the wolf, hyena, fox, honey badger, mongoose, porcupine, baboon, hedgehog, hare, sand rat, and jerboa. Larger animals such as the gazelle, oryx, leopard, and mountain goat were relatively numerous until about 1950, when hunting from motor vehicles reduced these animals almost to extinction. Birds include falcons (which are caught and trained for hunting), eagles, hawks, vultures, owls, ravens, flamingos, egrets, pelicans, doves, and quail, as well as sand grouse and bulbuls. There are several species of snakes, many of which are poisonous, and numerous types of lizards. There is a wide variety of marine life in the gulf. Domesticated animals include camels (now little used for transportation), fat-tailed sheep, long-eared goats, salukis, donkeys, and chickens.
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