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Tuesday 11 June 2013

Africa Vs Asia

Making a duo between African fauna and Asian fauna.

Many species found in Asia especially in the sub-indian continent can be found in Africa. Africa is the contient that could successfully preserve its megafauna. Most megafauna went extinct in the other part of the world due to a global warming that affected Earth 10,000 years ago especially in Europe and North America. South America being mostly composed of  rainforest doesn't have many large mammals. The largest mammals are species that include lamas and tapirs. The remaining megafauna went extinct some hundred years ago due to human contact. European bison population was severely reduced the same goes for its cousin in North America. 10,000 years ago Europe sheltered big elephants called mammoths, 'wooly) rhinoceros, lions(the last Greek lions died out 2000 years ago and the last in Europe died in the Middle Ages in Eastern Europe, lions are still present in coat of arms), deer, cows(was saved by domestication), bisons, wild horses etc.
Hunting lions in Antic greece-actually the word "leo" for lions
were taken from these lions living in Greece
 At that time Mediterranean sea was much more smaller and some islands connected Italy to North America, the red sea didn't exist yet and Eastern Africa and the Arabic Peninsula were one land. Sahara was more fertile. When the ice melted, many islands in the Mediterranean sea became isolated. The red sea separated Africa from Arabia there was no more migration coming from Eurasia to North America which explain why most Ethiopians descend from the 10,000 BC migration and not earlier. Sri Lanka which was formerly the southern tip of India became an island. Alaska and Siberia were separated by a strait. Indonesia and Southeast Asia which were formerly one big land became thousands of islands. Australasia is a separate continent the only one with Antarctica that do not belong to the Main Land(Africa-Eurasia) which explains why its fauna is 100% marsupial except for the flying ones (bats).The absence of tigers in Sri Lanka shows how tigers population spread from one area. Tigers were not present in present day Borneo, Java, Celebs...at that time so there is no tiger in this part of Indonesia.Tiger populations spread as in Northern China and Southern Siberia. This expansion of tiger suggest the disappearance of a much more powerful predator 10,000 years ago. Tigers are the only species that can hunt humans as prey.

Tigers, present in Persia to India, found in Indonesia to Southern China
and from China to Russia nicknamed "man eater"
 Leopards are widespread throughout Eurasia and Africa but none is found in North America in fact the ice sheet over the Bering strait had long been a barrier to mammals migration and even alter when iy becale a strait. We found no horses, no tigers and no hyenas in the Americas. Also, there is no such a thing as prehistoric animals. Scientists have the tendency to label any large mammal outside Africa as a prehistoric one(tapir, rhino, komodo dragon..). The thing is mass extinction affect large mammals first. Less resources, small number, more time to reproduce versus small mammals that need less resources, are in huge number and take less time to reproduce. This explains why dinosaurs died out while small mammals survived and evolved occupying new niches and turning themselves into large mammals. It also explain why mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, bulls, megaloceros and other large bodied animals went extinct in the last 10,000 years. Even now large mammals are threatened, turn on your TV, they keep talking about elephants, rhinoceros, tigers etc. "Thanks" to domestication the Asian elephant is saved. The Asian buffalo is native to Southern Asia and was domesticated recently.

Comparison of fauna in Africa and Asia

Notice, we have the big fives in both continents.

AFRICA

Elephants


Rhinoceros

Buffalo


Lions


Leopard
Add caption
Striped hyenas



Porcupine

ASIA

Elephants

Rhinoceros

Buffalo

Lions


Leopard


Striped hyena

Porcupine



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