| Domestication of donkeys took place much earlier than the domestication of horses. Donkeys were the first animals, which the ancient person used for transportation of cargo. Already, around 4000 BC, the domesticated Nubian donkeys were used in the delta Nile. In Mesopotamia, wild donkeys were domesticated much later. In ancient epochs, donkeys reached Europe. It is known, that Asia Minor donkeys were with the Etruscans. Donkeys reached Greece around 1000 BC.
Initially, donkeys were used for riding and dragging carriages, but with the advent of faster and strong horses, the donkeys were replaced with horses. Since then, references about donkeys in ancient cultures almost disappeared. The use of the donkey decreased to loading with loads. In this work, the donkey had an advantage over horses since the donkey is extremely robust and is in a condition to withstand much longer periods without water and food.
Sometimes, donkeys were used for obtaining meat, milk and skin. In the Middle Ages, asinine skin was considered as the most suitable for parchment manufacturing. Donkeys were to be found to the north of the Alps only from the times of the Romans.
There are two types of African elephant - the African Bush Elephant (Elephant Africana) and the African Forest Elephant (Elephant cyclotis). Some categorizations consider the forest elephants as a subspecies of the bush elephants. The height of the male bush elephants is up to 3.5m, in females – up to 3m, the forest elephants are a little bit smaller. The frontal skull is convex; the ears are larger and the trunk with a 2 finger-shaped growth on the end. Tusks are well developed in males as well as females (with a length up to 3m, and a weight uto 100 kg). They are found in Africa (towards the south from the Sahara) in steppes, forest-steppes and forests. They mainly eat the branches and leaves of trees. In captivity, they can be easily tamed, but they are used seldom as a working animal.
Africa was the ancestral home of elephants, apparently, where (in the vicinity of upper Miocene – lower Pliocene) their most ancient fossils are found. In the middle of the Pliocene, elephant through the Isthmus of the Suez got into Eurasia and have extended almost to the entire continent. In the beginning of the Pleistocene period, the elephant went through the Bering Strait and went to North America. The wide extension of elephants and their adaptation to existence in various climatic conditions - from tropical forests and steppes to the Arctic tundra - have led to the appearance of many kinds and types. Towards the end of the Pleistocene region, elephants quickly become rare; in Holocene, elephants remain only in South Asia and in Africa. The most ancient elephant, found in the territory of the USSR known is from the regions adjoining the upper Pliocene and belong to the species Archidiskodon — the thunder elephant and its descendant - the southern elephants (A. meridionalis).
In the news: The Democratic candidates are leading in 11 of the 15 critical Republican held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives a bit over one month before the national elections, to be held on November 7th. The Democrats are within striking distance of taking control of the House of Representatives. This is according to new polls released on Wednesday by Reuters / Zogby. Republican incumbents appear particularly vulnerable with 7 or 9 trailing their Democratic challengers at this time. The Democrats need to gain 15 seats in order to gain control of the House of Representatives. The polls also indicate that the Republicans are behind in 4 of 6 open seats that they had won in the 2004 election cycle. Pollster John Zogby stated that this is a dismal showing in the polls for Republicans. The polls were taken from September 25th through October 2nd in 15 of the most competitive districts in the United States. The polling overlapped by three days the sex scandal involving former Representative Mark Foley. The sex scandal and questions and concerns about the way in which the GOP leadership handled the matter are mushrooming into a major political crisis for the Republican Party and its candidates. Republican leaders worry that the scandal and its fallout negatively could impact the core supporters of the party - most particularly, the religious and social conservatives. This factor, added with the concerns of voters over the war in Iraq, the economy and the future of the country itself have worked to form a strong environment for the Democrats calls for change in this volatile election year. |
[ Democrats lead in races for 11 of 15 crucial Republican-held U.S.
House seats a month before November 7 elections, putting them within reach of seizing house control, after more
than a decade of Republican rule. ]
