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Terai

Terai

The Terai, or Tarai (i.e. " moist land ") is the submontane strip of marshy jungle stretching beneath the lower ranges of the Himalaya in northern India and southern Nepal. This strip may be said to extend roughly from the Jumna river on the west to the Brahmaputra on the east. At its northern edge, where the waterless forest tract of the Bhabhar ends, a series of springs burst from the surface, and these, increasing and uniting in their progress, form the numerous streams that intersect the Terai. The Deoha is the great river of the Terai proper, and is navigable at Pilibhit. Elephants, tigers, bears, leopards and other wild animals are found.

References


- Category:Geography of India Category:Geography of Nepal

Himalaya

. (annotated version)]] The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. By extension, it is also the name of the massive mountain system which includes the Himalaya proper, the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and a host of minor ranges extending from the Pamir Knot. Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to all fourteen of the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, including Mount Everest. To comprehend the enormous scale of Himalayan peaks, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, is the highest peak outside the Himalaya at 22,841 feet (6,962 m), while the Himalayan mountain system is home to over thirty peaks exceeding 25,000 feet (7,620 m). Etymologically Himalaya means "abode of snow" in Sanskrit ( from hima "snow", and alaya "abode"). The correct name for the range is Himalaya, though the plural Himalayas is often used. The Himalaya stretch across five nations — Pakistan, India, China, Bhutan and Nepal. It is the source of three of the world's major river systems — the Indus Basin, the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin and the Yangtze Basin. An estimated 750 million people live in the watershed area of the Himalayan rivers, which also includes Bangladesh.

Geography

Bangladesh lie on the Himalayas.]] The Himalayan (pronounced with a long "a": Himaalayan) range runs for about 2400 km, from Nanga Parbat in the west to Namche Barwa in the east. The width varies between 250-300 km. The Himalayan range comprises three parallel ranges, arranged by elevation and geological age. Nanga Parbat plain is visible as the lighter area near the top.]] The youngest of the three is called the Sub-Himalayan range (Siwalik hills in India) and has an elevation of about 1200 m. This range is made up of erosion material from the rising Himalaya. Running parallel to this is the Lower Himalayan range, which has an elevation between 2000 — 5000 m. A number of Indian hill stations such as Shimla, Nainital and Darjeeling are located here. The northernmost range is called the Higher Himalaya and is also the oldest of the three. It has an elevation of more than 6000 m and contains a large number of the world's highest peaks including the three highest - Mount Everest, K2 and Kanchenjunga. Vegetation across the Himalayan range varies with climate and altitude. While the sub-Himalayan range exhibits deciduous forests, the vegetation graduates to temperate forests, conifers and tundra in the Higher Himalayan range, before giving way to a permanent snow line in the topmost regions. The far eastern Himalaya also have evergreen rainforests. The Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh lie mostly in the Himalayas. The southern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China also lies on the Himalayas.

Origins and growth

China The Himalaya are among the youngest mountain ranges on the planet. According to the modern theory of plate tectonics, their formation is a result of a continental collision or orogeny along the convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The collision began in the Upper Cretaceous period about 70 million years ago, when the north-moving Indo-Australian Plate, moving at about 15 cm/year, collided with the Eurasian Plate. By about 50 million years ago this fast moving Indo-Australian plate had completely closed the Tethys Ocean, whose existence has been determined by sedimentary rocks settled on the ocean floor and the volcanoes that fringed its edges. Since these sediments were light, they crumpled into mountain ranges rather than sinking to the floor. The Indo-Australian plate continues to be driven horizontally below the Tibetan plateau, which forces the plateau to move upwards. The Arakan Yoma highlands in Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal were also formed as a result of this collision. The Indo-Australian plate is still moving at about 5 cm/year, and over the next 10 million years it will travel about 1500 km into Asia. About 2 cm/year of the India-Asia convergence is absorbed by thrusting along the Himalaya southern front. This leads to the Himalaya rising by about 5 mm/year, making them geologically active. The movement of the Indian plate into the Asian plate also makes this region seismically active, leading to earthquakes from time to time.

Glaciers and river systems

The Himalayan range encompasses a very large number of glaciers, notable among which is the Siachen Glacier, the largest in the world outside the polar region. Some of the other more famous glaciers include the Gangotri and Yamunotri (Uttaranchal), Nubra, Biafo and Baltoro (Karakoram region), Zemu (Sikkim) and Khumbu glaciers (Mount Everest region). The higher regions of the Himalaya are snowbound throughout the year in spite of their proximity to the tropics, and they form the sources for several large perennial rivers, most of which combine into two large river systems: perennial
- The western rivers combine into the Indus Basin, of which the Indus River is the largest. The Indus begins in Tibet at the confluence of Sengge and Gar rivers and flows southwest through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. It is fed by the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej rivers, among others.
- Most of the other Himalayan rivers drain the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin. Its two main rivers are the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. The Ganga originates as the Bhagirathi from the Gangotri glacier and flows southeast through the plains of northern India, fed by the Alaknanda and the Yamuna among other tributaries. The Brahmaputra originates as the Tsangpo in western Tibet, and flows east through Tibet and west through the plains of Assam. The Ganga and the Brahmaputra meet in Bangladesh, and drain into the Bay of Bengal through the world's largest river delta. The eastern-most Himalayan rivers feed the Irrawaddy, which originates in eastern Tibet and flows south through Myanmar to drain into the Andaman Sea. The Salween, Mekong, the Yangtze and the Huang He (Yellow River) all originate from parts of the Tibetan plateau that are geologically distinct from the Himalaya mountains, and are therefore not considered true Himalayan rivers. Some geologists refer to all the rivers collectively as the circum-Himalayan rivers [http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EAE03/13617/EAE03-J-13617.pdf]. In recent years scientists have monitored a notable increase in the speed of the glacial melt across the region as a result of global climate change. Although the affect of this won't be known for many years it potentially could mean disaster for the hundreds of thousands of people that rely on the glaciers to feed the rivers of northern India during the dry seasons.

Lakes

India The Himalaya region is dotted with hundreds of lakes. Most lakes are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m, with the size of the lakes diminishing with altitude. The largest lake is the Pangong t'so, which is spread across the border between India and Tibet. It is situated at an altitude of 4,600 m, and is 8 km wide and nearly 134 km long. The highest lake is the Gurudogmar in North Sikkim 5,370 m (17,600 feet). Other major lakes include the Tsongmo lake, near the Indo-China border in Sikkim. The mountain lakes are known to geographers as tarns if they are caused by glacial activity. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya, above 5,500 metres.

Impact on climate

tarns is clearly visible.]] The Himalaya has a profound effect on the climate of the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau. It prevents frigid, dry Arctic winds from blowing south into the subcontinent, which keeps South Asia much warmer than corresponding temperate regions in the other continents. It also forms a barrier for the monsoon winds, keeping them from traveling northwards, and causing heavy rainfall in the Terai region. The Himalaya are also believed to play an important part in the formation of Central Asian deserts such as the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts. Due to the mountain ranges, the western disturbances which appear from Iran during winter are prevented from travelling any further, resulting in snow in Kashmir and rainfall for parts of Punjab and northern India. Despite being a barrier to the cold northernly winter winds, the Brahmaputra valley receives part of the frigid winds, thus lowering the temperature in the northeast Indian states and Bangladesh. These winds also cause the North East monsoon during this season for these parts.

Mountain passes

Bangladesh River valley.]] The rugged terrain of the Himalaya makes few routes through the mountains possible. Some of these routes include:
- Gangtok in Sikkim to Lhasa in Tibet, via the Nathula Pass and Jelepla Passes (offshoots of the ancient Silk Route).
- Bhadgaon in Nepal to Nyalam in Tibet.
- Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, India.
- The road from Srinagar in Kashmir via Leh to Tibet. This pass is now less used because of regional troubles.

Impact on politics and culture

Tibet The Himalaya, due to its large size and expanse, has been a natural barrier to the movement of people for a long time. In particular, this has prevented intermingling of people from the Indian subcontinent with people from China and Mongolia, causing significantly different languages and customs between these regions. The Himalaya has also hindered trade routes and prevented military expeditions across its expanse. For instance, Genghis Khan could not expand his empire south of the Himalaya into the subcontinent.

Himal

Himal is Nepalese for "range" and is used to name the various regions of the Himalaya. In Nepal, these are as follows:
- Annapurna Himal
- Ganesh Himal
- Khumbu Himal
- Langtang Himal
- Manang Himal
- Rolwaling Himal

Notable peaks

Religion and mythology

Rolwaling Himal center for Hindus]] Several places in the Himalaya are of religious significance in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, the Himalaya have also been personified as the god Himavat, the father of Shiva's consort, Parvati.
- Haridwar, the place where the river Ganges enters the plains.
- Badrinath, a temple dedicated to Vishnu.
- Kedarnath, where one of the 12 Jyothirlingas is located.
- Deoprayag, where the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi merge to form the Ganges.
- Rishikesh, has a temple of Lakshmana.
- Mount Kailash, a 6,718 m high peak which is considered to be the abode of the Hindu god Shiva and is also venerated by Buddhists. Lake Manasarowar lies at the base of Mount Kailash, and is the source of the Brahmaputra.
- Amarnath, has a natural Shivalinga of ice which forms for a few weeks each year. Thousands of people visit this cave during these few weeks.
- A number of Tibetan Buddhist sites are situated in the Himalaya, including the residence of the Dalai Lama.
- The Yeti is one of the most famous creatures in cryptozoology. It is a large primate-like creature that is supposed to live in the Himalaya. Most mainstream scientists and experts consider current evidence of the Yeti's existence unpersuasive, and the result of hoaxes, legend or misidentification of mundane creatures.
- Shambhala is a mystical city in Buddhism with various legends associated with it. While some legends consider it to be a real city where secret Buddhist doctrines are being preserved, other legends believe that the city does not physically exist and can only be reached in the mental realm.

Himalaya in fiction


- Shangri-La is a fictional utopia situated somewhere in the Himalaya, based on the legendary Shambhala. It is described in the novel Lost Horizon, written by the British writer James Hilton in 1933.
- The Hollywood movie Vertical Limit (2000), is set in the K2 peak of the Himalaya.

See also


- Eight-thousander - a list of Himalayan peaks over 8000 metres
- List of mountains in Pakistan
- Geography of China
- Trekking peak

Further reading


- Michael Palin, Himalaya, Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated (2004) [ISBN 0297843710]
- John Hunt, Ascent of Everest, Hodder & Stoughton (1956) [ISBN 0898863619]
- Everest, the IMAX movie (1998), [ISBN 0788814931]

External links


- [http://comp1.geol.unibas.ch/zanskar/CHAPITRE2/page23.html The making of the Himalaya and major tectonic subdivisions]
- [http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~wittke/Tibet/Himalaya.html Geology of the Himalayan mountains]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/earth/birth.html Birth of the Himalaya]
- [http://snobear.colorado.edu/Markw/Mountains/03/week11.html Some notes on the formation of the Himalaya]
- [http://www.8000metres.com Guide to the 8000m peaks]
- [http://himachalpardesh.blogspot.com Guide to the North Indian Himalayan state] Category:Asia Category:Biodiversity hotspots Category:Mountain ranges of Asia ko:히말라야 산맥 ms:Himalaya ja:ヒマラヤ山脈 simple:Himalaya th:เทือกเขาหิมาลัย

Nepal

The Kingdom of Nepal ( ) is a landlocked Himalayan country in South Asia, bordering the People's Republic of China to the north and India to the south, east and west. Nepal has the distinction of being the world's only Hindu state, with over eighty percent of the people following this faith. For a relatively small country, the Nepali landscape is uncommonly diverse, ranging from the humid Terai in the south to the lofty Himalayas in the north. Nepal boasts eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest on the border with China. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. The exact origin of the name Nepal is uncertain, but the most popular understanding is that it is derived from Ne (holy) and pal (cave). After a long and rich history, during which the region has splintered and coalesced under a variety of absolute rulers, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy in 1990. This arrangement has been marked by increasing instability, both in the parliament and, since 1996, throughout large swathes of the country that have been fought over by Maoist insurgents . The Maoists have sought to overthrow the monarchy and establish their own form of republic; this has led to a civil war in which more than 12,000 people have died (see Nepalese civil war). On the pretext of quashing the insurgents, who now control about seventy percent of the country, the king unilaterally declared a "state of emergency" early in 2005, closing down the parliament and assuming all executive powers.

History

Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. It appears that people who were probably of Tibeto-Burman ethnicity lived in Nepal 2,500 years ago. Indo-Iranian / Aryan tribes entered the valley around 1500 BCE. Around 1000 BCE, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the region. One of the princes of the Sakya confederation was Siddharta Gautama (563–483 BCE), who renounced his royalty to lead an ascetic life and came to be known as the Buddha ("the enlightened one"). By 250 BCE, the region came under the influence of the Mauryan empire of northern India, and later became a puppet state under the Gupta Dynasty in the fourth century CE. From the late fifth century CE, rulers called the Licchavis governed the area. The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late eighth century and was followed by a Newari era, from 879, although the extent of their control over the entire country is uncertain. By the late 11th century, southern Nepal came under the influence of the Chalukaya Empire of southern India. Under the Chalukayas, Nepal's religious establishment changed as the kings patronised Hinduism instead of the prevailing Buddhism. southern IndiaBy the early 12th century, leaders were emerging whose names ended with the Sanskrit suffix malla ("wrestler"). Initially their reign was marked by upheaval before the kings consolidated their power over the next 200 years. By the late 14th century much of the country began to come under a unified rule. This unity was short-lived: in 1482 the kingdom was carved into three: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhadgaon. Bhadgaon After centuries of petty rivalry between the three kingdoms, in the mid-18th century Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha ruler set out to unify the kingdoms. After seeking arms and aid from India, and buying the neutrality of bordering Indian kingdoms, he embarked on his mission in 1765. After several bloody battles and sieges, he managed to unify Nepal three years later in 1768. This event marked the birth of the modern nation of Nepal. A dispute and subsequently war with Tibet over the control of mountain passes forced the Nepalese to retreat and pay heavy repatriations. Rivalry between Nepal and the British East India Company over the annexation of minor states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepalese War (1815–16), in which Nepal suffered a complete rout. The Treaty of Sugauli was signed ceding parts of the Terrai and Sikkim to the Company in exchange for Nepalese autonomy. Factionalism among the royal family led to a period of instability after the war. In 1846, a discovered plot to overthrow Jang Bahadur, a fast-rising military leader by the reigning queen, led to the Kot Massacre. Armed clashes between military personnel and administrators loyal to the queen led to the execution of several hundred princes and chieftains around the country. Bahadur emerged victorious and founded the Rana lineage. The king was made a titular figure, and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Ranas were staunchly pro-British, and assisted the British during the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857, and later in both World Wars. In 1923 the United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, in which Nepal's independence was recognised by the UK. 1923 In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties in Nepal were critical of the Rana autocracy. Meanwhile, with the annexation of Tibet by the Chinese in 1950, India faced the prospect of an expansive military and was thus keen to avoid instability in Nepal. Forced to act, India sponsored both King Tribhuvan as Nepal's new ruler in 1951, and a new government, mostly comprising the Nepali Congress Party. After years of power wrangling between the king and the government, the democratic experiment was dissolved in 1959, that a "partyless" panchayat system was made to govern Nepal until 1989, when the "Jan Andolan" (People's) Movement forced the monarchy to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament in May 1991. In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) started a bid to replace the parliamentary system with a socialist republic. This has led to the Nepal Civil War with more than 12,000 deaths. On June 1, 2001, the Heir Apparent Crown Prince Dipendra went on a killing spree in the royal palace, a violent response to his parents' refusal to accept his choice of wife. Following the carnage, the throne was inherited by Birendra's brother Gyanendra. In the face of unstable governments and a Maoist siege on the Kathmandu Valley in August 2004, popular support for the monarchy began to wane. On 2005-02-01, Gyanendra dismissed the entire government and assumed full executive powers to quash the Maoist movement. In September 2005, the Maoists declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire. A few weeks later, the government stated that parliamentary elections would be held by 2007.

Geography

2007 Nepal is of roughly rectangular shape, 850 km wide and 200 km broad, with an area of 147,181 km². Although Nepal shares no boundary with Bangladesh, the two countries are separated by a narrow strip of land about 24 km wide, known as the Chicken's Neck. Efforts are underway to try and make this area a free-trade zone. Nepal is commonly divided into three physiographic areas—the Mountain, Hill, and Terai Regions. These ecological belts run east–west and are bisected by Nepal's major river systems. Terai Region The Terai Plains, bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic plains, were formed and are fed by three major rivers: the Koshi, the Narayani (India's Gandak River), and the Karnali. This region has a hot, humid climate. The Hill Region (Pahar in Nepali) abuts the mountains and varies between 1,000 and 4,000 m in altitude. Two low mountain ranges, the Mahabharat Lekh and Shiwalik Range (also known as the Churia Range) dominate the region. The hilly belt includes the Kathmandu Valley, the country's most fertile and urbanised area. Despite its geographical isolation and limited economic potential, the region always has been the political and cultural centre of Nepal. Unlike the heavily populated valleys, elevations above 2,500 m are sparsely populated. The Mountain Region is contiguous with the Hill Region and contains the highest region in the world. The world's highest mountain, Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) 8,850 m is located on the border with China. Eight of the top ten highest mountains in the world are located in Nepal. Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest peak is also located on its eastern border with Sikkim. Deforestation is a major problem in all regions, with resulting erosion and degradation of ecosystems. Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to altitude. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 m, the temperate zone between 1,200 and 2,400 m; the cold zone between 2,400 m and 3,600 m; the subarctic climatic zone between 3,600 and 4,400 m, and the arctic zone above 4,400 m. Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. The Himalaya blocks the cold winds from Central Asia in winter, and forms the northern limit of the monsoon wind patterns.

Economy

Central Asia Nepal is one of the poorest and least developed nations in the world; up to half of its people live below the poverty line. Agriculture provides a livelihood for some 80% of the population and accounts for about 40% of the GDP, With services comprising 40% and industrial output the remainder. Terrain that ranges from hilly to mountainous in the northern two-thirds of the country has made the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. There are just over 4,000 km of paved roads, and one 59 km railway line in the south of the country. Aviation is in a better state, with 46 airports, nine of them with paved runways. There is fewer than one telephone for each 46 people; landline services are poor, although mobile telephony in a reasonable state in some parts of the country. There are around 100,000 Internet connections, but after the imposition of the "state of emergency", intermittent losses of service have been reported. A lack of natural resources, its landlocked location, technological backwardness and the long-running civil war have also prevented Nepal from fully developing its economy. The country receives foreign aid from India, China, the United States, Japan and the European Union. The government's budget is about US$665 million, with expenditures of $1.1bn. The inflation rate has dropped to 2.9% after a period of higher inflation during the 1990s. The Nepalese Rupee has been tied to the Indian Rupee at an exchange rate of 1.6 for many years. Since the loosening of exchange rate controls in the early 1990s, the black market for foreign exchange has all but disappeared. A long-standing economic agreement between Nepal and India underpins a close relationship between the two economies. Indian Rupee The distribution of wealth among the people is consistent with that in many developed and developing countries: the highest 10% of households receive nearly 30% of the national income, and the lowest 10% a little more than a tenth of that. Nepal's workforce of about 10 million suffers from a severe shortage of skilled labour. By sector, agriculture employs 81% of the workforce, services 16% and manufacturing/craft-based industry 3%. Agricultural produce—mostly grown in the Terrai region bordering India—includes rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, and water buffalo meat. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce, including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. The spectacular landscape and deep, exotic culture of Nepal represents considerable potential for tourism, but growth in this export industry has been stifled by recent political events. The rate of unemployment and underemployment approaches half of the working-age population. A lack of employment prospects has encouraged many Nepalese to move to India in search of work. Poverty is acute and many of Nepal's women are sold to Indian brothels, a figure as high as 7,000 each year. Nepal receives US$50 million a year through the Gurkha soldiers who serve in the Indian and British armies and are highly esteemed for their skill and bravery. Nepal's GDP for the year 2005 is estimated to be just over US$37bn (adjusted to Purchasing Power Parity), making it the 83rd largest economy in the world. Per capita income is around US$1,402, ranked 163rd. Nepal's exports of mainly carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain total $568 million. Imports commodities of mainly gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products and fertiliser total US$1.419 bn. India (48.8%), the US (22.3%), and Germany (8.5%) are its main export partners. Nepal's import partners include India (43%), the United Arab Emirates (10%), China (10%), Saudi Arabia (4.4%), and Singapore (4%).

Government and politics

Singapore Until 1990, Nepal was an absolute monarchy under the executive control of the king. In 1990, King Birendra agreed to large-scale political reforms by creating a parliamentary monarchy with the king as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Nepal's legislature is bicameral constituting of a House of Representatives and a National Council. The House of Representatives consists of 205 members directly elected by the people. The National Council has 60 members, 10 nominated by the king, 35 elected by the House of Representatives and the remaining 15 elected by an electoral college made up of chairs of villages and towns. The legislature has a five-year term, but can be dissolved by the king before its term ends. All males and females 18 years and older may vote. The executive comprises the King and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet). The leader of the coalition or party securing the maximum seats in an election is appointed as the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The judiciary is made of the Sarbochha Adalat—the Supreme Court, appellate courts and various district courts. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council. The Nepali Congress Party (NCP), established in the 1940s, is the oldest party in Nepal. Other major parties are the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), the pro-royalist National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-ML), a faction of the CPN-UML. Governments in Nepal have tended to be highly unstable; no government has survived for more than two years, either through internal collapse or parliamentary dissolution by the monarch. In 2005, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other ministers were placed under house arrest, and King Gyanendra dissolved the parliament and declared a "state of emergency" which lasted till April. In August 2005 Deuba was jailed after a Royal Commission found him guilty of corruption. According to a statement by Nepalese government in September 2005, parliamentary elections are to be held within the next two years. August 2005

Military and foreign affairs

:Main articles: Military of Nepal, Foreign relations of Nepal Foreign relations of Nepal Nepal's military consists of the Royal Nepalese Army which includes the Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, (the air force unit under it), and the Nepalese Police Force. Service is voluntary and the minimum age for enlistment is 18 years. Nepal spends $99.2 million (2004) on its military—1.5% of its GDP. The king is the commander-in-chief of the military, which is currently engaged in the civil war against the Maoist insurgents. Most of the equipment and arms are supplied by The Republic of India. Nepal has close ties with both of its neighbours, India and China. In accordance with a long standing treaty, Indian and Nepalese citizens may travel to each others' countries without a passport or visa. Nepalese citizens may work in India without legal restriction. Although Nepal and India typically have close ties, from time to time Nepal becomes caught up in the problematic Sino-Indian relationship. India considers Nepal as part of its realm of influence, and views Chinese aid with concern. Some Indians consider Nepal to be part of a greater pan-Indian state, an attitude that has caused Nepalese antagonism towards India. In 2005, after King Gyanendra took over, Nepalese relations with India, the US, and the UK have worsened. These three foreign countries have been vociferous opponents to the crackdown on civil liberties in Nepal. China mainly seeks cooperation with Nepal on the issues of Tibet.

Subdivisions

Nepal is divided into 14 zones and 75 districts grouped into five development zones. Each district is headed by a chief district officer responsible for maintaining law and order and coordinating the work of field agencies of the various government ministries. Divisions: # Far Western: Mahakali (9), Sethi (14) # Mid Western: Karnali (6) Bheri (2), Rapti (12) # Western: Dhawalagiri (3), Gandaki (4), Lumbini (8) # Central: Bagmati (1), Janakpur (5), Narayani (11) # Eastern: Sagarmatha (13), Kosi (7), Mechi (10)

Demographics

districts Nepal has a total population of 27,676,547 as of July 2005, with a growth rate of 2.2%. 39% of the population is up to 14 years old, 57.3% are aged between 15 and 64, and 3.7% above 65. The median age is 20.07 (19.91 for males and 20.24 for females). There are 1,060 males for every 1,000 females. Life expectancy is 59.8 years (60.9 for males and 59.5 for females). Total literacy rate is 45.2% (62.7% for males and 27.6% for females). The largest ethnic group is the Chhettri (15.5%). Other groups are the Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8%. According to the 2001 census, Hindus constitute 80.6% of the population. Buddhists make up 10.7%, Muslims 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other religions 0.9%. Nepali is the national language with 47.8% of the population speaking it as their first language. Other languages include 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5%. Differences between Hindus and Buddhists have been in general very subtle and academic in nature due to the intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Both share common temples and worship common deities and many of Nepal's Hindus could also be regarded as Buddhists. Buddhists are mostly concentrated in the eastern regions and the central Terrai. Buddhism was relatively more common among the Newar and Tibeto-Nepalese groups. Among the Tibeto-Nepalese, those most influenced by Hinduism were the Magar, Sunwar, and Rai peoples. Hindu influence is less prominent among the Gurung, Limbu, Bhutia, and Thakali groups, who employ Buddhist monks for their religious ceremonies. Hinduism is the official religion of the country, making it the only officially Hindu nation. The northern mountains are sparsely populated. A majority of the population live in the central highlands despite the migration of a significant section of the population to the fertile Terrai belt in recent years. Kathmandu, with a population of 80,000, is the largest city in the country.

Culture

Thakali Culture to the south and Tibetan to the north. Similarities can be observed in the clothing, way of life, language and food. A typical Nepalese meal is dal-bhat, boiled lentils served with rice and usually vegetables. This is consumed twice daily, once in the morning and again after sunset. Between these main meals, snacks such as chiura (beaten rice) and tea are consumed. Meat, eggs, and fish are also consumed, particularly in the mountainous regions, where the diet tends to be richer in protein. Millet-based alcoholic drinks are popular, including jaad and the distilled rakshi. Folklore is an integral part of Nepalese society. Traditional stories are rooted in the reality of day-to-day life—tales of love, affection, battles, and demons and ghosts; they reflect and explain local lifestyles, cultures and belief systems. Many Nepalese folktales are enacted in dance and music. The Newar people are well-known for masked dances that tell stories of the gods and heroes. Music is percussion-based, sometimes with flutes or shawm accompanying the intense, nasal vocal lines. Musical styles are a variety of pop, religious and folk music, among other styles. Musical genres from Tibet and India have had a strong influence on traditional Nepalese music. Women, even of the musician castes, are less likely than men to play music, except in specific situations such as traditional all-female wedding parties. Musical genreThe sarangi, a four-stringed, hand-carved instrument is usually played by wandering minstrels. In recent times, Nepali rock or rock music, sung to Nepali lyrics, has become popular among youth. Soccer is the most popular sport, followed by cricket and kabaddi. The Martyrs Soccer League is the national soccer championship. There is one television service, although many networks, particularly those that originate in India, are available with the installation of increasingly popular satellite dishes. Lack of electrification makes this difficult. Radio is listened to throughout the kingdom; as of 2000, there were 12 radio stations. The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Main holidays include the National Day (birthday of the king) December 28, Prithvi Jayanti, (January 11), and Martyr's Day (February 18) and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as Dashai in autumn, and Tihar late autumn. Most marriages are arranged, and divorce is rare. Polygamy is banned by law; relatively isolated tribes in the north, such as the Dolpo, practise polyandry. Nepal has a rich tradition of ceremonies, such as nwaran (the christening of a child), and the Pasni, the day a child is first fed rice, and bratabandha (the penance ceremony) and gupha for prepubescent boys and girls, respectively. In bel baha, preadolescent girls are "married" to the bel fruit tree, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile. Most houses in rural Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework with mud and cow-dung walls. These dwellings remain cool in summers and retain warmth in winters. Dwellings at higher altitudes are mostly timber based.

See also


- Communications in Nepal
- Foreign Relations of Nepal
- List of political parties in Nepal
- Military of Nepal
- Nepal Civil War
- Politics of Nepal
- Transport in Nepal
- Nepali cricket team

External links


- [http://www.nepalhmg.gov.np His Majesty's Government of Nepal]
- [http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/nptoc.html Library of Congress – Nepal]
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- [http://www.india-defence.com/browse/nepal/0 Latest news reports, analysis and intelligence about Nepal] on India Defence
- [http://www.nepalmonarchy.gov.np/english.php Official Site of the Royal Court of Nepal]
- [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5283.htm United States Department of State Profile of Nepal]
- [http://www.nepalonline.net/nepalimd99/ Nepal Institutional Manpower Directory]

Notes

# [http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/nepal.htm Nepal] # [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GB24Df04.html Asia Times Online]

References


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- Michael Hutt, ed., Himalayan 'people's war' : Nepal's Maoist rebellion, London : C. Hurst, 2004
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- Category:Monarchies Category:SAARC members Category:Landlocked countries zh-min-nan:Nepal ko:네팔 ms:Nepal ja:ネパール simple:Nepal th:ประเทศเนปาล

Jumna

Yamuna is a major river of northern India, with a total length of around 1370 km. It is the largest tributary of the Ganga. Its source is at Yamunotri, in the Uttaranchal Himalaya. It flows through the states of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, before merging with the Ganges at Allahabad. The cities of Delhi, Mathura and Agra lie on its banks. The major tributaries of this river are the Tons, Chambal, Betwa, Sindh and Ken; with the Tons being the largest. There is some evidence indicating Yamuna was a tributary of the Sarasvati river in the ancient past. It chaged its course to east following a tectonic event in north India and became a tributary of the Ganges instead. According to legend the goddess of the river is the sister of the Hindu god of death, Yama and the daughter of Surya, the Sun god. The river Yamuna is also connected to the mythology surrounding the Hindu god Krishna. A little known fact about the Yamuna is that it is the frontier of the Indian elephant. West of the Yamuna, there are no elephants to be found over 900 km of the western Himalayas and their foothills. The forests of the lower Yamuna offer ideal corridors for elephant movement. The principal forests to be found here are of Sal , Khair (Acacia) , and Sissoo (Rosewood) trees, and the Chir Pine forests of the Shivalik Hills. Further more Yamuna is used as a name in the hindu culture. In 2005, award winning documentry Jijivisha was made on Yamuna.

Further reading


- [http://yap.nic.in/yamuna.asp Yamuna Action Plan] Category:Rivers of India

Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. In Sanskrit, it means "son of Brahma". It originates from Mount Kailash in the Himalayan mountains in western Tibet, in China and flows 2900km into the sea in the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It is called Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang or Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh, Luit or Brahmaputra in Assam, and one of its main branches is called Jamuna in Bangladesh. Old sanskrit call it Lauhitya. The Bodos call this river Bhullumbutter, which some have suggested, has been sanskritised to Brahmaputra. This river eventually meets the Ganges (called Padma in Bangladesh) and Meghna rivers to form the largest river delta in the world, most of which is Bangladesh. It is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore. Most Indian rivers bear the name of a female. But this one has a rare male name. (Brahmaputra is a male name since putra in Sanskrit means 'son'). It is navigable for most of its length and the lower reaches are sacred to Hindus. The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt.

See also


- List of rivers in Bangladesh
- List of rivers in China
- List of rivers in India Category:Rivers of India Category:Rivers of China Category:Rivers of Tibet Category:Rivers of Bangladesh ja:ブラマプトラ川

Bhabhar

Bhabhar is the region south of the Lower Himalayas where the alluvial grade merges into the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The name Bhabhar is derived from a local tall growing grass. Bhbahar is a level surface zone at the foothills of the Himalayas 34 km wide where the Himalayan rivers and streams disappear under boulders and gravels due to the porous soil and sub-soil composition of Bhabhar. As a result, the underground water level is very deep in this region. Being at the junction point of Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Bhabhar contains almost all the important trade and commerce hubs of Uttaranchal. Due to the top-soil replenishment every monsoon, is also a very fertile area with significant yields per unit area. South of Bhabhar lies the alluvial stretch called the Terai. Category:Uttaranchal

Pilibhit

Pilibhit is a town which is also the administrative headquarters of Pilibhit districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India. Category:Cities and towns in Uttar Pradesh

Tiger

Tigers (Panthera tigris) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus. A group of tigers is called an "ambush" or a "streak". They are predatory carnivores and the largest of all living cats.
Most tigers live in forests and grasslands (for which their camouflage is ideally suited). Among the big cats, only the tiger and jaguar are strong swimmers, and tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes and rivers. Tigers hunt alone and eat primarily medium-sized herbivores such as deer, wild pigs, and buffalo. However, they will also take larger or smaller prey on occasion. Humans are the tiger's only serious predator but often kill tigers illegally for their fur or penises, which are used as aphrodisiacs in Chinese Medicine rather than for food. Poaching for fur and destruction of habitat have greatly reduced tiger populations and it has been placed on the endangered species list.

Physical characteristics

Although different subspecies of tiger have different characteristics, in general male tigers weigh between 150 and 310 kg (330 lbs and 680 lbs) and females between 100 and 160 kg (220 lbs and 350 lbs). The males are between 2.6 and 3.3 metres (8 ft 6 in and 10 ft 9 in) in length, and the females are between 2.3 and 2.75 metres (7 ft 6 in and 9 ft) in length. Of the more common subspecies, Corbetts Tigers are the smallest and Amur Tigers the largest. metre The ground of the coat may be any colour from yellow to orange-red, with white areas on the chest, neck, and the inside of the legs. A common recessive variant is the white tiger, which may occur with the correct combination of parents; they are not albinos. Black or melanistic tigers have been reported, but no live specimen has ever been captured or photographed. Another variant, the golden tabby tiger (also called the "golden tiger" or "tabby tiger"), has a golden hue, much lighter than the colouration of normal tigers, and brown stripes. This form is very rare and only a handful of golden tabby tigers are known to exist, all in captivity. There are also old texts referring to 'blue'or 'Maltese' tigers, actually a silvery-grey tone, though no reliable evidence has been found. The stripes of most tigers vary from brown or grey to pure black, although white tigers have far fewer apparent stripes. The form and density of stripes differs between subspecies, but most tigers have in excess of 100 stripes. The now extinct Javan Tiger may have had far more than this. The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and thus could potentially be used to identify individuals, much in the same way as fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not, however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger. It seems likely that the purpose of stripes is camouflage, serving to hide these animals from their prey (few large animals have colour vision as capable as that of humans, so the colour is not so great a problem as one might suppose). The stripe pattern is found on a tiger's skin and were you to shave one, you would find that its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

Method of killing

camouflage Tigers use their strength and body size to knock their prey off balance. Tigers overpower their prey from almost any angle, usually from ambush, and bite the neck, often breaking the prey's spinal column or windpipe, or severing the jugular vein or carotid artery, much as the domestic cat does to far-smaller prey. Powerful swimmers, tigers are known to kill prey while swimming. Some tigers have even ambushed boats for the fishermen on board or their catch of fish.

Subspecies

There are nine subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct and one of which is almost certain to become so in the near future. Their historical range (severely diminished today) ran through Russia, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China and southeast Asia, including the Indonesian islands. These are the surviving subspecies, in descending order of wild population: Indonesian islands
- The Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Amur, Manchurian or North China tiger, is confined almost totally to a very restricted part of eastern Russia where it is now protected. There are less than 400 of these tigers in the wild, and many populations are likely to no longer be genetically viable, subject to potentially catastrophic inbreeding. By far the largest subspecies, with males exceeding lengths of 12 feet (3.7 m) and weights of 850 pounds (390 kg), the Siberian Tiger is also noted for its thick coat, distinguished by a paler golden hue and a smaller number of stripes. The Siberian tiger is the most powerful of all living cats. [http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/agarman/tiger.htm]
- The South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger, and will almost certainly become extinct. It seems likely that the last known wild South Chinese tiger was shot and killed in 1994, and no live tigers have been seen in their natural habitat for the last 20 years. In 1959, Mao Zedong declared the tiger to be a pest, and numbers quickly fell from about 4,000 to approximately 200 in 1976. In 1977 the Chinese government reversed the law, and banned the killing of wild tigers, but this appears to have been too late to save the subspecies. There are currently 59 known captive Chinese tigers, all within China, but these are known to be descended from only 6 animals. Thus, the genetic diversity required to maintain the subspecies no longer exists, making its eventual extinction very likely.
- Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), also called Corbett's tiger, is found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Estimates of its population vary between 1,200 to 1,800, but it seems likely that the number is in the lower part of the range. The largest current population is in Malaysia, where illegal poaching is strictly controlled, but all existing populations are at extreme risk from habitat fragmentation and inbreeding. In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed provide stock for Chinese pharmacies. Also the tigers are seen by poor natives as a resource through which they can ease poverty. poverty
- The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The wild population is estimated at between 400 and 500 animals, occurring predominantly in the island’s five national parks. Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence of unique genetic markers, indicating that it may develop into a separate species, if it is not made extinct. This has led to suggestions that Sumatran Tigers should have greater priority for conservation than any other subspecies. Habitat destruction is the main threat to the existing tiger population (logging continues even in the supposedly protected national parks), but 66 tigers were recorded as being shot and killed between 1998 and 2000—nearly 20% of the total population. Habitat destruction
- The Bengal Tiger or the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is largely found in the Sundarbans, a national forest of Bangladesh and of West Bengal, India. According to recent counts in a joint effort of the Bangladesh and Indian governments, there are about 800 tigers in this area. The Bengal Tiger is also found in Nepal and Bhutan. It is the national animal of both Bangladesh and India. Even though this is the most 'common' tiger, these tigers are under severe pressure from both habitat reduction and from poaching. However there is a debate that there aren't as many tigers in the sunderbans, but are more sparsley populated over India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
- The Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), exclusively found in the southern (Malaysian) part of the Malay Peninsula, which until 2004 wasn't considered a subspecies in its own right. The new classification came about after a study by Luo et al from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity Study, part of the National Cancer Institute, US. Recent counts showed there are 600-800 tigers in the wild, making it the largest tiger population other than the Bengal Tiger. The Malayan Tiger is a national icon in Malaysia, appearing on its coat of arms and in logos of Malaysian institutions such as Maybank.

Recently Extinct

:Tigers are uncommon in the fossil record. The distinct fossils of tigers were discovered from Pleistocene deposits—mostly in Asia. Nevertheless remains of described tiger fossils 100,000 years old in Alaska. Possibly because of a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska during the ice ages, this Alaskan tiger might be a North American population of Siberian tiger. In addition scientists discover similarities between tiger bones and those of the American lion: an extinct big cat that dominated much of North America as recently as 10,000 years ago. This controversial observations may lead to the assumption that the American lion was a New World tiger species. Tiger fossils have also turned up in Japan. These fossils prove that the Japanese tiger was no bigger than the island subspecies of tigers of recent ages. This may be due to the phenomenon in which body is related to environmental space, or in the case of a large predator like a tiger, availability of prey.
- The Balinese Tiger (Panthera tigris balica) has always been limited to the island of Bali. These tigers were hunted to extinction—the last Balinese Tiger is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali on 27 September, 1937; this was an adult female. No Balinese Tiger was ever held in captivity. The tiger still plays an important role in Balinese Hindu religion.
- The Javan Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was limited to the Indonesian island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies was made extinct in the 1980s, as a result of hunting and habitat destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely probable from the 1950s onwards (when it is thought that fewer than 25 tigers remained in the wild). The last specimen was sighted in 1979.
- The Caspian Tiger or Persian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) appears to have become extinct in the late 1960s, with the last reliable sighting in 1968. Historically it ranged through Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, the former Soviet Union and Turkey. It was said, such a tiger was last shot dead in the south-eastern-most Turkey in 1970.

Traditional Asian Medicine

Tiger parts are still used in traditional Asian medicine. Many people in Asia still believe myths surrounding tiger parts. Here are some of the myths associated with the tiger’s body parts:
- The tail of the tiger is sometimes ground and mixed with soap to create an ointment for use in treating skin cancer. The bones found from the tip of the tiger’s tail are said to ward off evil spirits.
- Crushed tiger bones added to wine serves as a Taiwanese general tonic.
- Tiger’s skin is said to cure a fever caused by ghosts. In order to use it effectively the user must sit on the tiger’s skin, but beware if too much time is spent on the tiger’s skin the user will become a tiger.
- Adding honey to the gallstones and applying the combination to the hands and feet is said to effectively treat abscesses.
- Burnt tiger hair can drive away centipedes.
- Mixing the brain of a tiger with oil and rubbing the mixture on your body is a cure for both laziness and acne.
- Rolling the eyeballs into pills is a definite remedy for convulsions.
- If whiskers are kept as a charm you will not only be protected against bullets but also have increased courage.
- You will posses courage and shall be protected from sudden fright if you wear a tiger’s claw as a piece of jewelry or carry one in your pocket.
- Strength, cunning, as well as courage can be obtained by consuming a tiger’s heart.
- Floating ribs of a tiger should always be carried as a good luck talisman.
- The tiger’s penis is a most effective aphrodisiac.
- Small bones in a tiger’s feet tied to a child’s wrists are said to be a sure cure convulsions. [http://www.bigcatrescue.org/tiger.htm#]

Tigers in literature and popular culture

Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? William Blake, "The Tyger", Songs of Experience
The word tiger is borrowed from Greek tigris, itself borrowed from Persian ([http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=t&p=11]). American English Tigress first recorded 1611. Tiger's-eye "yellowish-brown quartz" is recorded from 1891. The tiger has certainly managed to appeal to man's imagination. Both Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Books and William Blake in his Songs of Experience depict him as a ferocious, fearful animal. In The Jungle Books, the tiger Shere Khan is the biggest and most dangerous enemy of Mowgli, the uncrowned king of the jungle. Even in the Bill Watterson comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, Hobbes the tiger sometimes escapes his role of cuddly animal. At the other end of the scale there is Tigger, the tiger from A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh stories, who is always happy and never induces fear. In the award winning A Tiger for Malgudi, a Yogi befriends a tiger. Rajah, a pet of the characters Aladdin and Jasmine of Disney's animated feature film Aladdin, is uncharacteristically dog-like in its behavior, but even more oddly Tony the Tiger is renowned for his Frosted Flakes and may be the only cat, real or fictional, who thrives on a vegetarian diet. A stylized tiger was a mascot of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games of Seoul. Humble Oil, a division of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Jersey Standard), used a stylized tiger to promote gasoline and the slogan "Put a Tiger in your Tank". Jersey Standard adopted the use of a real tiger in its advertising when it took the Exxon name company-wide in 1972, and the brand kept the tiger mascot as a part of ExxonMobil when they merged in 1999. Most recently, Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize in 2002 with his novel Life of Pi about an Indian boy castaway on the Pacific Ocean with a Royal Bengal Tiger. In the Chinese novel Water Margin, tigers appeared numerous times as attacking travellers. In the Wu Song story he became famous when slaying a tiger with his barehands who been terrorizing the local towns nearly a decade. In reality, wild tigers, being dwellers of the jungle, have rarely been found in larger human cities in China, where the idea of a tiger on the street can act as a symbol of paranoia or unfounded fear, giving rise to such idioms as three men make a tiger.

See also


- White Tigers
- Smilodon (popularly known as the Sabertooth tiger, but not actually closely related to tigers)
- Tigon, a hybrid of a male tiger and female lion
- Tiger Temple, a Buddhist temple in Thailand famous for its tame tigers
- Siegfried & Roy, two famous tamers of tigers
- Project Tiger

References


- Jim Corbett, Man-eaters of Kumaon, Oxford University Press, 1946

External links


- [http://www.rareearthexplorations.com/wildindia/tiger/saving.htm Sierra Club (A Tiger Conservation project)]
- [http://tadoba.blogspot.com The Tadoba Tiger Forest (India) Experiences Blog]
- [http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger Tiger Territory]
- [http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/tiger/ Enchanted Learning Software - All About Tigers]
- [http://www.thecatsjungle.com/ The Cats Jungle - Information About Cats]
- [http://www.exoticcatz.com/sptiger.html/ Exoticcatz.com - Info on tigers in captivity]
- [http://www.treesfortigers.org/index.html Trees for Tigers] ko:호랑이 ms:Harimau ja:トラ simple:Tiger th:เสือ

Leopard


Leopards (Panthera pardus) are one of the four 'big cats' of the genus Panthera. (The others are the lion, tiger, and jaguar.) They range in size from 1 to almost 2 metres long, and weigh between 30 and 70 kg. Females are typically around two-thirds the size of males. Most leopards are light tan or fawn with black spots, but their coat color is highly variable. The spots tend to be smaller on the head, larger and have pale centres on the body. Originally, it was thought that a leopard was a hybrid between a lion and a panther, and the leopard's common name derives from this belief; leo is the Latin for lion, and pard is an old term meaning panther. In fact, a "panther" can be any of several species of large felid. In North America panther means puma. In South America a panther is a jaguar. Elsewhere in the world a panther is a leopard. Early naturalists distinguished between leopards and panthers not by color (a common misconception), but by the length of the tail - panthers supposedly having longer tails than pards (leopards). A black panther is a melanistic leopard (or melanistic jaguar). These have mutations that cause them to produce more black pigment (eumelanin) than orange-tan pigment (pheomelanin). This results in a chiefly black coat, though the spots of a black panther can still be discerned in certain light as the deposition of pigment is different in the pattern than in the background. There are also white panthers. Despite its size, this largely nocturnal and arboreal predator is difficult to see in the wild. The best location to see leopards in Africa is in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve in South Africa, where leopards are habituated to safari vehicles and are seen on a daily basis at very close range. In Asia perhaps the best site is the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, which has the world's highest density of wild leopards, but even here sightings are by no means guaranteed because more than half the park is closed off to the public, allowing the animals to thrive. The recently reopened Wilpattu National Park (also in Sri Lanka), is another a good destination for leopard watching.

Subspecies

There are between 7-30 subspecies of leopard (one of them extinct) though not all of these are accepted as distinct by all authorities; below is a list of some of the related animals and their latin names.
- African Leopard
- , Panthera pardus pardus (lower risk, least concern)
- Amur Leopard
- , Panthera pardus amurensis (critically endangered)
- Anatolian Leopard, Panthera pardus tulliana (critically endangered or possibly extinct)
- Barbary Leopard, Panthera pardus panthera (critically endangered)
- Indian Leopard
- , Panthera pardus fusca (lower risk, least concern)
- Indo-Chinese Leopard
- , Panthera pardus delacouri
- Iran Leopard
- , Panthera pardus saxicolor
- Java Leopard
- , Panthera pardus meas (endangered)
- North China Leopard
- , Panthera pardus japonensis (endangered)
- Sinai Leopard, Panthera pardus jarvisi
- South Arabian Leopard, Panthera pardus nimr (critically endangered)
- Sri Lanka Leopard
- , Panthera pardus kotiya (endangered)
- Zanzibar Leopard, Panthera pardus adersi (extinct)

Color Morphs

As well as spotted leopards and black leopards there are several other rare mutations. One of the most interesting is the King Leopard (see below). Other color forms include red (erythristic) leopards with chocolate brown markings on a reddish background; buff leopards with orange rosettes on a cream background; pale cream leopards with pale markings and blue eyes, leopards without any distinct rosettes and leopards with striped underparts. In Harmsworth Natural History (1910), R Lydekker wrote of leopards with jaguar-like markings: The typical Indian leopard, as already mentioned, has the rosettes large and extending over most of the fore quarters. In the African leopard, on the other hand, the rosettes are everywhere smaller and more crowded, and on the shoulders and head break up into small solid spots. [...]. In ordinary leopards there are no black dots within the light area enclosed by the rosettes, but in some skins from Siam such dots are present, and thus serve to connect the leopard with the jaguar, in which they are normal.

Hunting techniques

Lydekker Leopards are highly successful predators that hunt a wider variety of African prey than do other big cats from Africa, often feeding on insects, rodents, fish (as do domestic cats, animals with similar hunting techniques) as well as such larger game as antelope. Like domestic cats, but unlike the other great cats, they are known to jump from perches onto prey animals. Large size with the efficiency of the smaller cats makes them extremely dangerous to humans and dogs. Dogs in leopard country should be caged for protection from leopards. In much of its range in Africa leopards compete with animals such as the Spotted Hyena, wild dogs and the lion for prey, and it is not uncommon for them to be chased away from their own kills by other top predators. Like domestic cats, leopards usually hunt at night or at dawn or dusk. They will stalk their prey before making a short run to catch it. They kill mostly by suffocation, by holding onto the animal's throat, though with smaller animals they may break the neck. Some leopards will carry their prey up a tree to avoid losing it to lions and hyenas. They have been observed carrying prey up to three times their own body weight into trees, demonstrating their great strength and power. Opportunistic hunters, leopards will hunt at any time of day or night if they come across suitable prey. Quite often they can make more than one kill in a day, in which case they cache the first kill while stalking their next victim. In Africa, the traditional way to hunt leopards is to place a freshly killed animal carcass near the edge of a clearing as bait. The bait is put out at dusk in an area where leopards are known to live and hunt. Upon the arrival of the leopard, one or more spotlights are used to illuminate the beast, and it is shot in the most humane way possible.

Distinguishing features

The big cats, especially the spotted cats, are easy to confuse for those who see them in captivity or in photographs. The leopard is closely related to, and appears very similar to, the jaguar; it is less often confused with the cheetah. The ranges, habitats, and activities of the three cats make them easy to distinguish in the wild. Since wild leopards live only in Africa and Asia and wild jaguars live only in the Americas, there is no possibility of confusing them in the wild. There are also visual markings that set them apart. Leopards do not have the spots within the rosettes that jaguars always have, and the jaguar's spots are larger than the leopard's (see the photographs in jaguar). The Amur leopard and the North Chinese leopard are occasional exceptions. The leopard is smaller and less stocky than the jaguar, although it is more heavyset than the cheetah. Besides appearance, the leopard and jaguar have similar behavior patterns. Jaguars can adapt to a range of habitats from rainforest to ranchlands while leopards are even more adaptable ranging in from deserts and mountains, savanna and woodlands. The jaguar is native to the Americas, while the leopard is native to Asia and Africa. The cheetah, although its range overlaps extensively with that of the leopard, is easily distinguished. The leopard is heavier, stockier, has a larger head in proportion to the body, and has rosettes rather than spots. The cheetah tends to run rather fast and goes much more quickly than the leopard. The cheetah also has dark 'teardrop'-like markings running down the sides of its face, whereas the leopard does not. Cheetahs are usually diurnal, while leopards are more active at night (nocturnal); cheetahs are also exclusively terrestrial (except when young), while leopards often climb trees.

King Leopard

A pseudo-melanistic leopard has a normal background colour, but its excessive markings have coalesced so that its back seems to be an unbroken expanse of black. In some specimens, the area of solid black extends down the flanks and limbs; only a few lateral streaks of golden-brown indicate the presence of normal background colour. Any spots on the flanks and limbs that have not merged into the mass of swirls and stripes are unusually small and discrete, rather than forming rosettes. The face and underparts are paler and dappled like those of ordinary spotted leopards In a paper about panthers and ounces of Asia, Pocock used a photo of a leopard skin from southern India; it had large black-rimmed blotches, each containing a number of dots and it resembled the pattern of a jaguar or clouded leopard. Another of Pocock's leopard skins from southern India had the normal rosettes broken up and fused and so much additional pigment that the animal looked like a black leopard streaked and speckled with yellow. Most other colour morphs of leopards are known only from paintings or museum specimens. There have been very rare examples where the spots of a normal black leopard have coalesced to give a jet black leopard with no visible markings. Pseudo-melanism (abundism) occurs in leopards. The spots are more densely packed than normal and merge to largely obscure the background colour. They may form swirls and, in some places, solid black areas. Unlike a true black leopard the tawny background colour is visible in places. One pseudo-melanistic leopard had a tawny orange coat with coalescing rosettes and spots, but white belly with normal black spots (like a black-and-tan dog). In Harmsworth Natural History (1910), R Lydekker described pseudo-melanistic leopard: There is, however, a peculiar dark phase in South Africa, a specimen of which was obtained in 1885 in hilly land covered with scrub-jungle, near Grahamstown. The ground-colour of this animal was a rich tawny, with an orange tinge; but the spots, instead of being of the usual rosette-like form, were nearly all small and solid, like those on the head of an ordinary leopard; while from the top of the head to near the root of the tail the spots became almost confluent, producing the appearance of a broad streak of black running down the back. A second skin had the black area embracing nearly the whole of the back and flanks, without showing any trace of the spots, while in those portions of the skin where the latter remained they were of the same form as in the first specimen. Two other specimens are known; the whole four having been obtained from the Albany district. These dark-coloured South African leopards differ from the black leopards of the northern and eastern parts of Africa and Asia in that while in the latter the rosette-like spots are always retained and clearly visible, in the former the rosettes are lost - as, indeed, is to a considerable extent often the case in ordinary African leopards - and all trace of spots disappears from the blacker portions of the skin. Another pseudo-melanistic leopard skin was described in 1915 by Holdridge Ozro Collins who had purchased it in 1912. It had been killed in Malabar, India that same year. The wide black portion, which glistens like the sheen of silk velvet, extends from the top of the head to the extremity of the tail entirely free from any white or tawny hairs ... In the tiger, the stripes are black, of a uniform character, upon a tawny background, and they run in parallel lines from the centre of the back to the belly. In this skin, the stripes are almost golden yellow, without the uniformity and parallelism of the tiger characteristics, and they extend along the sides in labyrinthine graceful curls and circles, several inches below the wide shimmering black continuous course of the back. The extreme edges around the legs and belly are white and spotted like the skin of a leopard ... The skin is larger than that of a leopard but smaller than that of a full grown tiger. In May 1936, the British Natural History Museum exhibited the mounted skin of an unusual Somali leopard. The pelt was richly decorated with an intricate pattern of swirling stripes, blotches, curls and fine-line traceries. This is different than a spotted leopard, but similar to a King Cheetah hence the modern cryptozoology term King Leopard. Between 1885 and 1934, six pseudo-melanistic leopards were recorded in the Albany and Grahamstown districts of South Africa. This indicated a mutation in the local leopard population. Other King Leopards have been recorded from Malabar in southwestern India. Shooting for trophies may have wiped out these populations.

Distribution and conservation

Prior to the human-induced changes of the last few hundred years, Leopards were the most widely distributed of all felids other than the domestic cat: they were found through most of Africa (with the exception of the Sahara Desert), as well as parts of Asia Minor and the Middle East, India, Pakistan, China, Siberia, much of mainland South-East Asia, and the islands of Java, Zanzibar, and Sri Lanka. The leopard is doing surprisingly well for a large predator. It is estimated that there are as many as 500,000 leopards in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. But like many other big cats, leopards are increasingly under threat of habitat loss and are facing increased hunting pressure. Because of their stealthy habits and camouflage, they can go undetected even in close proximity to human settlements. Despite the leopard's abilities, it is no match for habitat destruction and poachers, and several subspecies are endangered, namely, the Amur, Anatolian, Barbary, North Chinese, and South Arabian leopards.

Namesakes


- Leopard was the common name for the VK1602 light tank from Germany during World War II.
- The Leopard tank was another German-designed main battle tank that first entered service in 1965. It was replaced by the Leopard 2.
- Leopard is also the codename for the 10.5 version of Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system, following Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther and Tiger.

External links


- [http://members.aol.com/cattrust/leopard.htm The Cat Survival Trust: Leopard]
- [http://home.globalcrossing.net/~brendel/leopard.html The Cyber Zoomobile: Leopard]
- [http://lynx.uio.no/lynx/catfolk/ssaprd01.htm Catfolk Species Account: Leopard]
- [http://www.amur-leopard.org/ Saving the Amur Leopard]
- [http://www.pperrywildlifephotos.org.sz/ Leopards of Sabi Sand Game Reserve] Category:Panthera Category:Wildlife of Africa ja:ヒョウ simple:Leopard

Category:Geography of Nepal

The geography of Nepal. Nepal Category:Nepal Nepal

Murad I.

Murad I., genannt Khudavendighiar (
- 1319 [1326?]; † 1389) war 1359 bis 1389 Sultan des Osmanischen Reiches. Osmanischen Reiches Murad war der jüngere Sohn von Orhan und der griechischen Prinzessin Nilofer. Als erster türkischer Monarch konnte Murad dauerhaft in Europa Fuß fassen; das Hauptziel während seiner Laufbahn war es, die europäischen Herrschaftsgebiete des Reiches auszudehnen. Die Rebellionen des Fürsten von Karaman behinderten diesen Plan, und mehr als einmal wurden ihm aus dieser Richtung Probleme bereitet, bis in der endgültigen Schlacht von Konya die Macht des Fürsten von Karaman gebrochen wurde. Der Zustand Europas spielte Murad in die Hände: Bürgerkrieg und Anarchie herrschte in den meisten Ländern Zentraleuropas vor, wo das Feudalsystem in den letzten Zügen lag; die kleinen Balkanstaaten waren durch gegenseitige Eifersüchtigkeiten entzweit. Die Einnahme von Adrianopel (die zweitwichtigste byzantinische Stadt), gefolgt von weiteren Eroberungen, brachte eine Koalition unter dem König von Ungarn zusammen, aber sein fähiger Leutnant Lalaschahin, der erste Beylerbey von Rumelien, besiegte 1363 die Verbündeten in der Schlacht von Mariza. Im Jahr 1366 wurde der König von Serbien bei Samakowo geschlagen und gezwungen, Tribut zu zahlen; eine Wiederaufnahme des Kriegs 1381 führte zur Eroberung von Sofia (Bulgarien) zwei Jahre später. Europa war nun aufgerüttelt. Lazar Hrebeljanović, König von Serbien, bildete mit den Bosniern, Albanern, den Ungarn und den Moldauern eine Allianz gegen die Türken. Murad eilte zurück nach Europa und traf im Kosovo auf seine Gegner (siehe Schlacht auf dem Amselfeld). Der Sieg neigte sich schließlich der türkischen Seite zu. Als die Schlappe der Christen sich abzeichnete, schaffte es ein Serbe namens Miloš Obilić, zu Murads Zelt vorzudringen, indem er vorgab er Deserteur zu sein und dem Sultan ein wichtiges Geheimnis mitteilen zu müssen. Dort erstach er Murad. Murad war von selbständigem Charakter und bemerkenswerter Intelligenz. Er mochte das Vergnügen und den Luxus, war unbarmherzig und schlau. Nachdem er lange auf das Kommando einer fernen Provinz in Asien abgeschoben war, während sein Bruder Süleiman einen beneidenswerten Posten in Europa hatte, wurde er rachsüchtig. In der Unterdrückung einer Rebellion seines Sohnes Saudi (dem ersten Mal, dass der Sohn eines Sultans gegen seinen Vater die Waffe erhob) bewies er große Grausamkeit. Murad verlegte den osmanischen Regierungssitz von Bursa nach Adrianopel (in "Edirne" umbenannt), wo er einen Palast baute und die Stadt verschönern ließ. Die Entwicklung des feudalen Timar-Systems und seine Erweiterung nach Europa war im wesentlichen sein Werk. Kategorie:Sultan Kategorie:Osmane Kategorie:Türke Kategorie:Mann Kategorie:Geboren 1319 Kategorie:Gestorben 1389 ja:ムラト1世

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