Sleep

In his journal, Banks noted: “Calm most of the Day: myself in a boat shooting, in which I had good success, killing cheifly several Gannets or Solan Geese, so like European ones they are hardly distinguishable from them. As it was the humour of the ship to keep Christmas in the old fashiond way, it was resolved of them to make a Goose pye for tomorrows dinner.”

On Christmas Day, Banks recorded that “our goose pye was eaten with great approbation.” – Therefore, it is hardly surprising that none of these specimens found their way to England, considering that a goose is best when fried with the skin on!

Swedish naturalist Daniel Carlsson Solander (1733-1782), who was assistant to Banks, described the bird, naming it Pelecanus chrysocephalus, but later changing it to Pelecanus sectator. Scotsman Sydney Parkinson (c. 1745-1771), who was the official artist on board the Endeavor, illustrated the bird as P. sectator, which was misread as P. serrator by later authorities.

In 1841, English ornithologist John Gould (1804-1881) described specimens of this bird from Tasmania as Sula australis. This name, however, had already been used for the red-footed booby. In 1843, English zoologist George Robert Gray (1808-1872) wrote of the species, using Gould’s name, but later changed it to Sula serrator, based on Parkinson’s drawing. (Source: Medway, D.G. 1993. The type specimen of the Australasian Gannet. Notornis 40: 65-70)

The Australian gannet has since been moved to the genus Morus, together with the northern gannet (M. bassanus) and the African Cape gannet (M. capensis). They are all very similar, but are generally considered to be separate species, although some authorities regard the Australian gannet and the Cape gannet as subspecies of M. bassanus.

Incidentally, the name Morus is derived from the Greek moros (‘foolish’), due to the lack of fear shown by these birds at the breeding ground, making it easy to kill them.

The leopard is described in depth, including the account of a terrible man-eater in northern India, on the page Animals – Mammals: The spotted killer.

The winter months are spent in the southern half of North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, in the major part of Europe and the Middle East, in northern and eastern Africa, and in the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘sharp-pointed’, like the common name alluding to the long, pointed tail.

As a breeding bird, the northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata) is widely distributed across the northern hemisphere, likewise avoiding the harshest areas of the Arctic. It is found from Iceland, the British Isles, Spain, and Morocco eastwards across the taiga belt to the Pacific, and also in Alaska and western North America, southwards almost to the Mexican border.

The winter months are spent in the southern half of North America, in Central America and the Caribbean, in the major part of Europe and the Middle East, in northern and eastern Africa, and in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, southern China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines.

The specific name is Latin, meaning ‘shield-bearing’, alluding to the broad and flat bill.

This species and many other monkeys are described on the page Animals – Mammals: Monkeys and apes.

Participating in Daoist festivals, pilgrims often walk for days from one temple to the next. This is very demanding, so during the festivals you often observe sleeping people, in the temples, which have rooms to house tired pilgrims, or simply in the streets or elsewhere.

My adventures with the Punan people are described on the page Travel episodes – Borneo 1975: Canoe trip with Punan tribals.

While waiting for their customers to return from sightseeing in the Angkor area, Cambodia, these drivers of tuk-tuks, or motorcycle taxis, are napping. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

This breed was named by the British Raj, after the Pariah tribe near Chennai, derived from the Hindi word pahi (‘outsider’), which was Anglicized to pariah or pye. The alternative name Desi dog is derived from Urdu desi (‘native’).

Formerly, elephant seals were hunted extensively for their blubber, from which oil was made. By 1869, the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) had been almost extirpated, and around 1890 only one group, comprising about 100 animals, was known to exist. However, the species managed to survive, and since the early 20th century it has been protected by law in Mexico and the United States. Subsequently, it has now recovered, counting more than 200,000 individuals. Today, it occurs in scattered colonies along the Pacific Coast, from Baja California at least as far north as British Columbia.

With a total population of nearly 700,000, the Eurasian crane is one of the most numerous crane species, only surpassed by the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis). In western Europe, breeding numbers have increased dramatically in several countries, including Sweden with 15,000 to 20,000 pairs, Germany with about 8.000 pairs, and Denmark with about 500 pairs. In 1998, the total number in Europe was estimated at 45,000 pairs, but this number has since increased significantly.

The sandhill crane is described on the page Animals – Birds: Sandhill cranes – a threat to breeding birds. Pictures, depicting various other crane species, are shown in the gallery at Animals: Cranes.

Unlike other bears, giant pandas do not have round pupils, but vertical slits, like cats. This gave rise to the generic name Ailuropoda, from the Greek ailouros (‘cat’) and pous (‘foot’), and also to the Chinese name 大熊猫 (‘big bear-cat’).

Once widespread throughout southern China, as far north as Beijing, and southwards into Southeast Asia, the giant panda is now confined to the Chinese provinces Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. It is highly endangered, numbering only about 2,000 individuals in the wild. An increase in available habitat provides support for the contention that its numbers are increasing. Forest protection and reforestation measures have supported an 11.8% increase in panda-occupied habitat, and a 6.3% increase in unoccupied, but suitable habitat. Although the panda population is currently increasing, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35% of its bamboo habitat in the next 80 years, and thus the population is projected to decline. (Source: iucnredlist.org/details/712/0)

Our adventures in this area are related on the page Travel episodes – Iran 1973: Car breakdown at the Caspian Sea.

Vishnu and other Hindu gods are described on the page Religion: Hinduism.