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105-463: Two active volcanoes, Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira , are located in the park. They have significantly shaped the national park's diverse habitats and wildlife . More than 3,000 faunal and floral species have been recorded, of which more than 300 are endemic to the Albertine Rift including eastern gorilla ( Gorilla beringei ) and golden monkey ( Cercopithecus kandti ). The park

210-515: A dominance hierarchy . This is maintained in several ways. Cattle often engage in mock fights where they test each other's strength in a non-aggressive way. Licking is primarily performed by subordinates and received by dominant animals. Mounting is a playful behavior shown by calves of both sexes and by bulls and sometimes by cows in estrus, however, this is not a dominance related behavior as has been found in other species. Dominance-associated aggressiveness does not correlate with rank position, but

315-449: A feedlot for "45 days or more in a 12-month period". Historically, the cattle population of Britain rose from 9.8 million in 1878 to 11.7 million in 1908, but beef consumption rose much faster. Britain became the "stud farm of the world" exporting livestock to countries where there were no indigenous cattle. In 1929 80% of the meat trade of the world was products of what were originally English breeds. There were nearly 70 million cattle in

420-439: A natural disaster . The 1977 eruption raised awareness of the unique dangers posed by Nyiragongo, and because of this, in 1991 it was designated a Decade Volcano , worthy of particular study. The 1977 eruption was preceded by the creation of a new small volcanic vent, Murara , a short distance away on the slopes of Nyamuragira . Lava lakes reformed in the crater in eruptions in 1982–1983 and 1994. Another major eruption of

525-789: A "Lion Conservation Unit". The area is considered a potential lion ( Panthera leo ) stronghold, if poaching is curbed and prey species recover. In the national park's northern sector, African leopard ( P. pardus pardus ), marsh mongoose ( Atilax paludinosus ), giant pangolin ( Smutsia gigantea ), tree pangolin ( Phataginus tricuspis ), crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata ), Lord Derby's scaly-tailed squirrel ( Anomalurus derbianus ), Boehm's bush squirrel ( Paraxerus boehmi ), western tree hyrax ( Dendrohyrax dorsalis ), Emin's pouched rat ( Cricetomys emini ) and checkered elephant shrew ( Rhynchocyon cirnei ) were recorded during surveys in 2008. The Semliki River provides habitat for Nile crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus ). Several were observed at

630-583: A civilian convoy. Again in January 2021, armed men killed at least six rangers and wounded several others in an ambush in the national park. On 22 February 2021, Italy's ambassador to the DRC who was travelling with the World Food Programme about 15km north of Goma, Luca Attanasio , as well as Italian military police officer Vittorio Iacovacci and Congolese driver Moustapha Milambo, were killed in

735-415: A cow is about nine months long. The ratio of male to female offspring at birth is approximately 52:48. A cow's udder has two pairs of mammary glands or teats. Farms often use artificial insemination , the artificial deposition of semen in the female's genital tract ; this allows farmers to choose from a wide range of bulls to breed their cattle. Estrus too may be artificially induced to facilitate

840-414: A dairy, which may be onsite at the farm or the milk may be shipped to a dairy plant for eventual sale of a dairy product. Lactation is induced in heifers and spayed cows by a combination of physical and psychological stimulation, by drugs, or by a combination of those methods. For mother cows to continue producing milk, they give birth to one calf per year. If the calf is male, it is generally slaughtered at

945-404: A diurnal pattern, with a stronger preference for clover in the morning, and the proportion of grass increasing towards the evening. When grazing, cattle vary several aspects of their bite, i.e. tongue and jaw movements, depending on characteristics of the plant they are eating. Bite area decreases with the density of the plants but increases with their height. Bite area is determined by the sweep of

1050-619: A learning experiment had higher heart rates, indicating an emotional reaction to their own learning. After separation from their mothers, Holstein calves react, indicating low mood. Similarly, after hot-iron dehorning , calves react to the post-operative pain. The position of the ears has been used as an indicator of emotional state. Cattle can tell when other cattle are stressed by the chemicals in their urine. Cattle are gregarious , and even short-term isolation causes psychological stress . When heifers are isolated, vocalizations, heart rate and plasma cortisol all increase. When visual contact

1155-504: A longer period of time than horses . Oxen are used worldwide, especially in developing countries . There are some 11 million draft oxen in sub-Saharan Africa, while in 1998 India had over 65 million oxen. At the start of the 21st century, about half the world's crop production depended on land preparation by draft animals. Cattle are not often kept solely for hides, and they are usually a by-product of beef production. Hides are used mainly for leather products such as shoes. In 2012, India

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1260-508: A militia attack. Five rangers and a driver were killed in April 2018. Since beginning of the armed conflict, armed groups killed 175 park rangers until April 2018. In May 2018, a ranger was killed when defending two tourists who were kidnapped. They were subsequently released unharmed. As a consequence, the park remained closed to visitors from June 2018 until February 2019. In April 2020 at least 12 park rangers were killed by militia men attacking

1365-633: A misfolded brain protein , in contaminated meat. Among the intestinal parasites of cattle are Paramphistomum flukes, affecting the rumen, and hookworms in the small intestine. Climate change is expected to exacerbate heat stress in cattle, and for longer periods. Heat-stressed cattle may experience accelerated breakdown of adipose tissue by the liver, causing lipidosis . Cattle eat less when heat stressed, resulting in ruminal acidosis , which can lead to laminitis . Cattle can attempt to deal with higher temperatures by panting more often ; this rapidly decreases carbon dioxide concentrations at

1470-681: A mix of taurine cattle, zebu, and yak. The aurochs originally ranged throughout Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia. In historical times, its range became restricted to Europe, and the last known individual died in Mazovia , Poland, around 1627. Breeders have attempted to recreate a similar appearance to the aurochs by crossing traditional types of domesticated cattle, producing the Heck breed . A group of taurine-type cattle exist in Africa; they either represent an independent domestication event or were

1575-768: A powerful greenhouse gas, as a byproduct of enteric fermentation , with each cow belching out 100kg a year. Additional methane is produced by anaerobic fermentation of stored manure . The FAO estimates that in 2015 around 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions were due to cattle, but this is uncertain. Reducing methane emissions quickly helps limit climate change . Concentrated animal feeding operations in particular produce substantial amounts of wastewater and manure, which can cause environmental harms such as soil erosion, human and animal exposure to toxic chemicals, development of antibiotic resistant bacteria and an increase in E. coli contamination. In many world regions, overgrazing by cattle has reduced biodiversity of

1680-505: A quarter of the world's meat comes from cattle. World cattle meat production in 2021 was 72.3 million tons. Certain breeds of cattle, such as the Holstein-Friesian , are used to produce milk , much of which is processed into dairy products such as butter , cheese , and yogurt . Dairy cattle are usually kept on specialized dairy farms designed for milk production. Most cows are milked twice per day, with milk processed at

1785-428: A range of production and behavioral characteristics for both dairy and beef cattle. Cattle have played a key role in human history , having been domesticated since at least the early neolithic age. Archaeozoological and genetic data indicate that cattle were first domesticated from wild aurochs ( Bos primigenius ) approximately 10,500 years ago. There were two major areas of domestication: one in central Anatolia ,

1890-434: A significant role for seed dispersal in the grasslands. The montane forest between 1,800 and 2,800 m (5,900 and 9,200 ft) in the southern sector is dominated by Ficalhoa laurifolia and Podocarpus milanjianus with up to 25 m (82 ft) high trees. African alpine bamboo ( Yushania alpina ) grows at altitudes of 2,300–2,600 m (7,500–8,500 ft). The vegetation above 2,600 m (8,500 ft)

1995-468: A third independent domestication from the North African aurochs. Whether there have been two or three domestications, European, African, and Asian cattle share much of their genomes both through their species ancestry and through repeated migrations of livestock and genetic material between species, as shown in the diagram. Cattle were originally identified as three separate species: Bos taurus ,

2100-456: A wider study mapped a further 4.2% of the cattle genome. Behavioral traits of cattle can be as heritable as some production traits, and often, the two can be related. The heritability of temperament (response to isolation during handling) has been calculated as 0.36 and 0.46 for habituation to handling. Rangeland assessments show that the heritability of aggressiveness in cattle is around 0.36. Quantitative trait loci have been found for

2205-516: A young age to produce veal . Cows produce milk until three weeks before birth. Over the last fifty years, dairy farming has become more intensive to increase the yield of milk produced by each cow. The Holstein-Friesian is the breed of dairy cow most common in the UK, Europe and the United States. It has been bred selectively to produce the highest yields of milk of any cow. The average in the UK

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2310-725: Is a diurnal rhythm in suckling, peaking at roughly 6am, 11:30am, and 7pm. Under natural conditions, calves stay with their mother until weaning at 8 to 11 months. Heifer and bull calves are equally attached to their mothers in the first few months of life. Cattle have a variety of cognitive abilities. They can memorize the locations of multiple food sources, and can retain memories for at least 48 days. Young cattle learn more quickly than adults, and calves are capable of discrimination learning, distinguishing familiar and unfamiliar animals, and between humans, using faces and other cues. Calves prefer their own mother's vocalizations to those of an unfamiliar cow. Vocalizations provide information on

2415-537: Is also home to Tchegera Island . In 1979, the national park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its rich diversity of habitats, exceptional biodiversity and endemism , and its protection of rare mountain gorilla habitat. It has been listed in the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1994 because of civil unrest and increased human presence in the region. There have been several deadly attacks in

2520-471: Is around 22 litres per day. Dairy is a large industry worldwide. In 2023, the 27 European Union countries produced 143 million tons of cow's milk; the United States 104.1 million tons; and India 99.5 million tons. India further produces 94.4 million tons of buffalo milk , making it (in 2023) the world's largest milk producer; its dairy industry employs some 80 million people. Oxen are cattle trained as draft animals . Oxen can pull heavier loads and for

2625-474: Is better than that of horses, but worse at localising sounds than goats, and much worse than dogs or humans. They can distinguish between live and recorded human speech. Olfaction probably plays a large role in their social life, indicating social and reproductive status. Cattle can tell when other animals are stressed by smelling the alarm chemicals in their urine. Cattle can be trained to recognise conspecific individuals using olfaction only. Cattle live in

2730-428: Is closely related to rank distance between individuals. The horns of cattle are honest signals used in mate selection. Horned cattle attempt to keep greater distances between themselves and have fewer physical interactions than hornless cattle, resulting in more stable social relationships. In calves, agonistic behavior becomes less frequent as space allowance increases, but not as group size changes, whereas in adults,

2835-504: Is contentious, and authorities such as the American Society of Mammalogists treat these taxa as separate species. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between taurine cattle and zebu (such as the sanga cattle ( Bos taurus africanus x Bos indicus ), but also between one or both of these and some other members of

2940-488: Is now northern Syria. Although European cattle are largely descended from the taurine lineage, gene flow from African cattle (partially of indicine origin) contributed substantial genomic components to both southern European cattle breeds and their New World descendants. A study on 134 breeds showed that modern taurine cattle originated from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia, and Europe. Some researchers have suggested that African taurine cattle are derived from

3045-451: Is ongoing. As of 2020 , the lake is mostly confined within a broad, steep-sided cinder cone (roughly 18 m (60 ft) high by 180 m (600 ft) wide) on the crater floor. Between 1894 and 1977 the crater contained an active lava lake. On 10 January 1977, the crater walls fractured, and the lava lake drained in less than an hour. The lava flowed down the flanks of the volcano at speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph) on

3150-505: Is re-instated, vocalizations rapidly decline; heart rate decreases more rapidly if the returning cattle are familiar to the previously isolated individual. Mirrors have been used to reduce stress in isolated cattle. The average sleep time of a domestic cow is about 4 hours a day. Cattle do have a stay apparatus , but do not sleep standing up; they lie down to sleep deeply. In 2009, the National Institutes of Health and

3255-499: Is some 25–30 years. Beef cattle go to slaughter at around 18 months, and dairy cows at about five years. Cattle are ruminants , meaning their digestive system is highly specialized for processing plant material such as grass rich in cellulose , a tough carbohydrate polymer which many animals cannot digest. They do this in symbiosis with micro-organisms – bacteria , fungi , and protozoa – that possess cellulases , enzymes that split cellulose into its constituent sugars . Among

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3360-409: Is spread by midges . Psoroptic mange is a disabling skin condition caused by mites . Bovine tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium; it causes disease in humans and in wild animals such as deer and badgers. Foot-and-mouth disease is caused by a virus, affects a range of hoofed livestock and is highly contagious. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is a neurodegenerative disease spread by a prion ,

3465-499: Is subalpine with foremost African redwood ( Hagenia abyssinica ) growing up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft). Tree heath ( Erica arborea ), heather and mosses cover humid slopes up to 3,700 m (12,100 ft) elevation. Senecio and Lobelia species grow on vast clearings and attain heights of up to 8 m (26 ft). Virunga National Park's faunal species include 196 mammals , 706 bird species, 109 reptiles and 65 amphibians as of 2012. Primates present in

3570-624: Is the number of animals within a specified area. High stocking density can affect cattle health, welfare, productivity, and feeding behaviour. Densely-stocked cattle feed more rapidly and lie down sooner, increasing the risk of teat infection, mastitis, and embryo loss . The stress and negative health impacts induced by high stocking density such as in concentrated animal feeding operations or feedlots , auctions, and transport may be detrimental to cattle welfare. To produce milk from dairy cattle , most calves are separated from their mothers soon after birth and fed milk replacement in order to retain

3675-610: The European Commission (EC) recommended a public-private partnership between the country's government and the British non-governmental organisation African Conservation Fund . The latter organisation is responsible for park management since 2010; about 80% of management costs are subsidised by the EC. Park protection efforts were militarised in the following years to deter armed rebel groups and poachers from operating inside

3780-517: The Goma airport and moved towards the city centre of eastern Goma. It was later confirmed by the North Kivu province 's military governor that the eruption was at around 17:00 GMT. A highway to Beni was cut off by lava, and authorities urged residents from the city of Goma to evacuate, causing thousands of people to leave their homes. There was also an electricity cut across large areas following

3885-475: The Kivu region, and the presence of military increased. The First and Second Congo Wars further destabilised the region. Anti- poaching patrols inside the park were obstructed, and park personnel and wildlife were killed. About 850,000 refugees lived around the national park in 1994. Up to 40,000 people entered the park daily in search of firewood and food, and deforested huge areas. In 1994, Virunga National Park

3990-452: The Levant and Western Iran , giving rise to the taurine line, and a second in the area that is now Pakistan, resulting in the indicine line. Modern mitochondrial DNA variation indicates the taurine line may have arisen from as few as 80 aurochs tamed in the upper reaches of Mesopotamia near the villages of Çayönü Tepesi in what is now southeastern Turkey, and Dja'de el-Mughara in what

4095-918: The Levant and Western Iran . A separate domestication event occurred in the Indian subcontinent , which gave rise to zebu. There were over 940 million cattle in the world by 2022. Cattle are responsible for around 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions . They were one of the first domesticated animals to have a fully-mapped genome . The term cattle was borrowed from Anglo-Norman catel (replacing native Old English terms like kine , now considered archaic, poetic, or dialectal), itself from Medieval Latin capitale 'principal sum of money, capital', itself derived in turn from Latin caput 'head'. Cattle originally meant movable personal property , especially livestock of any kind, as opposed to real property (the land, which also included wild or small free-roaming animals such as chickens—they were sold as part of

4200-466: The US Department of Agriculture reported having mapped the bovine genome . Cattle have some 22,000 genes, of which 80% are shared with humans; they have about 1000 genes that they share with dogs and rodents, but not with humans. Using this bovine "HapMap", researchers can track the differences between breeds that affect meat and milk yields. Early research focused on Hereford genetic sequences;

4305-680: The Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift . It is located inside Virunga National Park , in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , about 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu and just west of the border with Rwanda . The main crater is about two kilometres (1 mi) wide and usually contains a lava lake . The crater presently has two distinct cooled lava benches within

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4410-530: The genus Bos – yaks (the dzo or yattle ), banteng , and gaur . Hybrids such as the beefalo breed can even occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison , leading some authors to consider them part of the genus Bos , as well. The hybrid origin of some types may not be obvious – for example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only taurine-type cattle in Nepal, found them to be

4515-647: The miniature Zebu are kept as pets . Taurine cattle are widely distributed across Europe and temperate areas of Asia, the Americas, and Australia. Zebus are found mainly in India and tropical areas of Asia, America, and Australia. Sanga cattle are found primarily in sub-Saharan Africa . These types, sometimes classified as separate species or subspecies, are further divided into over 1,000 recognized breeds . Around 10,500 years ago, taurine cattle were domesticated from wild aurochs progenitors in central Anatolia ,

4620-413: The rumen , reticulum , omasum , and abomasum . The rumen is the largest compartment and it harbours the most important parts of the microbiome. The reticulum, the smallest compartment, is known as the "honeycomb". The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. The abomasum has a similar function to the human stomach. Cattle regurgitate and re-chew their food in

4725-585: The Albertine Rift is influenced by the movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation . March to mid May and September to November are the main rainy seasons. Mean monthly rainfall in the savanna around Lake Edward is 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in); this is the driest part of the landscape. The northern sector receives a monthly mean precipitation of up to 220 mm (8.7 in), and

4830-539: The European or "taurine" cattle (including similar types from Africa and Asia); Bos indicus , the Indicine or "zebu" ; and the extinct Bos primigenius , the aurochs . The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle. They were later reclassified as one species, Bos taurus , with the aurochs ( B. t. primigenius ), zebu ( B. t. indicus ), and taurine ( B. t. taurus ) cattle as subspecies. However, this taxonomy

4935-948: The GVO is in doubt, as the World Bank decided in 2020 to terminate its contributions. Cattle Cattle ( Bos taurus ) are large, domesticated , bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock . They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus Bos . Mature female cattle are called cows and mature male cattle are bulls . Young female cattle are called heifers , young male cattle are oxen or bullocks , and castrated male cattle are known as steers . Cattle are commonly raised for meat , for dairy products , and for leather . As draft animals , they pull carts and farm implements . In India , cattle are sacred animals within Hinduism, and may not be killed. Small breeds such as

5040-765: The January 2002 eruption, the lava lake was recorded at a low of about 2,600 m (8,500 ft), or 900 m (3,000 ft) below the rim. The level has gradually risen since then. Nyiragongo and nearby Nyamuragira are together responsible for 40% of Africa's historical volcanic eruptions . The volcano partly overlaps with two older volcanoes, Baruta and Shaheru, and is also surrounded by hundreds of small volcanic cinder cones from flank eruptions. Nyiragongo's cone consists of pyroclastics and lava flows. Nyiragongo's lavas are low-silica, alkali-rich, ultramafic extrusive rocks essentially free of feldspars . They range from olivine-rich melilitites through leucites to nephelinites , containing, in various proportions mainly

5145-510: The Puemba River valley to the highest peak of Mount Stanley at 5,109 m (16,762 ft) within 30 km (19 mi). The national park's central sector encompasses about two thirds of Lake Edward up to the international border with Uganda in the east. A narrow corridor of 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) width along the lake's western bank connects the northern and southern sectors of the national park. The southern sector stretches to

5250-645: The Rugari–Bukima road section that facilitates access to the Mount Mikeno sector. By 2016, four hydropower dams were constructed that provide electricity to small businesses and benefit more than 200,000 rural people. Since the early 1990s, the protected area was impacted by political turmoil in the African Great Lakes region. Following the Rwandan genocide , thousands of refugees fled to

5355-455: The US by the early 1930s. Cattle have the largest biomass of any animal species on Earth, at roughly 400 million tonnes, followed closely by Antarctic krill at 379 million tonnes and humans at 373 million tonnes. In 2023, the countries with the most cattle were India with 307.5 million (32.6% of the total), Brazil with 194.4 million, and China with 101.5 million, out of a total of 942.6 million in

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5460-457: The age, sex, dominance status and reproductive status of the caller, and may indicate estrus in cows and competitive display in bulls. Cows can categorize images as familiar and unfamiliar individuals. Cloned calves from the same donor form subgroups, suggesting that kin discrimination may be a basis of grouping behaviour. Cattle use visual/brain lateralisation when scanning novel and familiar stimuli. They prefer to view novel stimuli with

5565-676: The available food; foraging velocity decreases and intake rate increases in areas of abundant palatable forage. Cattle avoid grazing areas contaminated by the faeces of other cattle more strongly than they avoid areas contaminated by sheep, but they do not avoid pasture contaminated by rabbits. In cattle, temperament or behavioral disposition can affect productivity, overall health, and reproduction. Five underlying categories of temperament traits have been proposed: shyness–boldness, exploration–avoidance, activity, aggressiveness , and sociability. There are many indicators of emotion in cattle. Holstein–Friesian heifers that had made clear improvements in

5670-479: The bulls weigh 1,000–1,200 kg (2,200–2,600 lb). Before 1790, beef cattle averaged only 160 kg (350 lb) net. Thereafter, weights climbed steadily. Cattle breeds vary widely in size; the tallest and heaviest is the Chianina , where a mature bull may be up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) at the shoulder, and may reach 1,280 kg (2,820 lb) in weight. The natural life of domestic cattle

5775-489: The charcoal consumed by the city of Goma is sourced from the park, representing an annual value of US$ 28–30 million. Both state security services and such groups also resort to armed robberies and kidnapping for income. Efforts at nature conservation have had contradictory effects, for example when farms were destroyed within Kibirizi, and soldiers and park guards were sent in to patrol, people migrated even further within

5880-481: The climate warms, increasing the risk of tick-borne diseases. Both beef and milk production are likely to experience declines due to climate change. Cattle health is at once a veterinary issue (for animal welfare and productivity), a public health issue (to limit the spread of disease), and a food safety issue (to ensure meat and dairy products are safe to eat). These concerns are reflected in farming regulations. These rules can become political matters, as when it

5985-482: The course of increasing tensions, the park's chief warden, Emmanuel de Mérode , was assailed in April 2014. Following international protests, the company stopped exploring activities and consented to refrain from starting similar operations in the vicinity of World Heritage sites. In August 2015, the Minister of Tourism and Culture inaugurated four key initiatives including the tourist destination Tchegera Island and

6090-500: The cows' milk for human consumption. Animal welfare advocates are critical of this practice , stating that this breaks the natural bond between the mother and her calf. The welfare of veal calves is also a concern. Two sports involving cattle are thought to be cruel by animal welfare groups: rodeos and bullfighting . Such groups oppose rodeo activities including bull riding , calf roping and steer roping , stating that rodeos are unnecessary and cause stress, injury, and death to

6195-449: The crater walls – one at about 3,175 m (10,417 ft) and a lower one at about 2,975 m (9,760 ft). Nyiragongo's lava lake has at times been the most voluminous known lava lake in recent history. The depth of the lava lake varies considerably. A maximum elevation of the lava lake was recorded at about 3,250 m (10,660 ft) prior to the January 1977 eruption – a lake depth of about 600 m (2,000 ft). Following

6300-520: The early 1920s, several proponents of the European conservation movement championed the idea of creating a protected area in northeastern Belgian Congo , among them Victor van Straelen , Jean Massart and Jean-Marie Derscheid . When Albert National Park was established in April 1925 as the Congo's first national park , it was conceived as a science-oriented nature reserve with the aim of studying and preserving wildlife and so-called "primitive" hunter-gatherer African Pygmies . In 1926, Derscheid headed

6405-480: The early 1930s and 1961, several expeditions to Albert National Park were carried out by Belgian scientists, the second headed by Gaston-François de Witte . They studied and collected zoological specimens of wildlife for the Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique ; explored the ethnic groups in this area; studied volcanic activity, and fossils . In the late 1950s, Tutsi herders and their cattle entered

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6510-473: The end of the fissure and flowed in a stream 200 to 1,000 metres (660 to 3,280 ft) wide and up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) deep through Goma. Warnings had been given and 400,000 people were evacuated from the city across the Rwandan border into neighbouring Gisenyi during the eruption. Lava covered the northern end of the runway at Goma International Airport , leaving the southern two-thirds usable, and reached Lake Kivu . This raised fears that

6615-545: The eruption. As of 27 May 2021, 37 people were missing and presumed dead, after a lava flow reached the outskirts of the city of Goma . The eruption resulted in at least 32 deaths, mostly caused by car crashes in the ensuing evacuation. The volcano is continuously monitored by a team of scientists at the Goma Volcanic Observatory (GVO), with seismic data produced every four minutes and temperature data produced every ten minutes. Continued funding for

6720-499: The first Belgian mission to map Albert National Park, which encompassed an area of 500 km (190 sq mi) around the extinct volcanoes Mount Karisimbi and Mount Mikeno . The protected area was extended in 1929 by Virunga National Park, which encompassed the Virunga Mountains , parts of the Rutshuru Territory , and the plains south of Lake Edward. Its initial size of 2,920.98 km (1,127.80 sq mi)

6825-504: The gas seeps from the ground at relatively high levels, without the dispersing effects of wind, its effects can be deadly. On 8 March 2016, Goma Volcano Observatory discovered a new vent that opened in the northeast edge of the crater, following local reports of rumblings coming from the volcano. Some fear that this could lead to a flank eruption . Observers in 2020 witnessed a rise in the lava lake and other signs of an impending eruption. An eruption began on 22 May 2021. Lava approached

6930-517: The government undermined that very protection by auctioning oil exploration blocks inside the park by the end of July 2022. Tullow Oil Plc, TotalEnergies , ENI and China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd (CNOOC) were interested in acquiring drilling permissions. Local and global groups, such as Greenpeace , are warning about the social and ecological impact of devastating the forest for oil production. Campaigners trying to create public awareness are threatened and intimidated on social media. In

7035-489: The grazed plants and of animals at different trophic levels in the ecosystem . A well documented consequence of overgrazing is woody plant encroachment in rangelands, which significantly reduces the carrying capacity of the land over time. Cattle husbandry practices including branding , castration , dehorning , ear tagging , nose ringing , restraint, tail docking , the use of veal crates, and cattle prods have raised welfare concerns. Stocking density

7140-538: The gunfire when a militia that had kidnapped their convoy, and had brought them into the park, was met by park rangers who managed to free four people. Virunga National Park is located in the Congo − Nile watershed area. Its northern sector encompasses part of the Semliki River basin, as well as savanna and montane forest of the Albertine Rift . In altitude, this sector ranges from 680 m (2,230 ft) in

7245-697: The land). The word is a variant of chattel (a unit of personal property) and closely related to capital in the economic sense. The word cow came via Anglo-Saxon cū (plural cȳ ), from Common Indo-European gʷōus ( genitive gʷowés ) 'a bovine animal', cf. Persian : gâv , Sanskrit : go- . In older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible, cattle often means livestock, as opposed to deer , which are wild. Cattle are large artiodactyls , mammals with cloven hooves , meaning that they walk on two toes,

7350-569: The lava and earthquakes. Lava covered 13 percent of Goma, about 1.8 square miles (4.7 km ), and nearly 120,000 people were left homeless . Immediately after the eruption stopped, a large number of earthquakes were felt around Goma and Gisenyi. This swarm activity continued for about three months and caused the collapse of more buildings. Six months after the start of the 2002 eruption, Nyiragongo volcano erupted again. Localized carbon dioxide toxicity, known locally as ' mazuku ', has killed children even more recently. In locations where

7455-479: The lava might cause gas-saturated waters deep in the lake to suddenly rise to the surface, releasing lethally large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane  – similar to the disaster at Lake Nyos in Cameroon in 1986. This did not happen, but volcanologists continue to monitor the area closely. About 245 people died in the eruption from asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and buildings collapsing due to

7560-402: The left eye (using the right brain hemisphere), but the right eye for familiar stimuli. Individual cattle have also been observed to display different personality traits, such as fearfulness and sociability. Vision is the dominant sense; cattle obtain almost half of their information visually. Being prey animals, cattle evolved to look out for predators almost all around, with eyes that are on

7665-440: The many bacteria that contribute are Fibrobacter succinogenes , Ruminococcus flavefaciens , and Ruminococcus albus . Cellulolytic fungi include several species of Neocallimastix , while the protozoa include the ciliates Eudiplodinium maggie and Ostracodinium album . If the animal's feed changes over time, the composition of this microbiome changes in response. Cattle have one large stomach with four compartments;

7770-489: The minerals nepheline , leucite , melilite , kalsilite , and clinopyroxene . This very low silica composition results in eruptions with unusually fluid flows. Whereas most lava flows move rather slowly and rarely pose a danger to human life, Nyiragongo's lava flows may race downhill at up to 100 km/h (60 mph). Not much is known about how long the volcano has been erupting, but it has erupted at least 34 times since 1882, including many periods where activity

7875-477: The name Virunga National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. In 1996, the national park was listed as a Ramsar site of international importance . In 2011, the British company Soco International was granted a concession for extracting crude oil in the surroundings of and in large parts of the national park. Government officials supported exploration activities by Soco International mission members, whereas park management opposed. In

7980-621: The national park include mountain gorilla ( G. b. beringei ), common chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ), golden monkey, red-tailed monkey ( Cercopithecus ascanius ), Dent's mona monkey ( C. denti ), blue monkey ( C. mitis ), Hamlyn's monkey ( C. hamlyni ), De Brazza's monkey ( C. neglectus ), Central African red colobus ( Procolobus foai ), mantled guereza ( Colobus guereza ), olive baboon ( Papio anubis ) and grey-cheeked mangabey ( Lophocebus albigena ). African bush elephant ( Loxodonta africana ), hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) and African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ) inhabit

8085-529: The national park's central sector. Okapi ( Okapia johnstoni ), blue duiker ( Philantomba monticola ), bay duiker ( Cephalophus dorsalis ), Weyns's duiker ( C. weynsi ), yellow-backed duiker ( C. silvicultor ), water chevrotain ( Hyemoschus aquaticus ), red river hog ( Potamochoerus porcus ), aardvark ( Orycteropus afer ) and bongo ( Tragelaphus eurycerus ) were recorded in the northern sector in 2008. Harnessed bushbuck ( T. scriptus ) and giant forest hog ( Hylochoerus meinertzhageni ) are present in

8190-491: The national park, whether native or refugees , rely on farming, hunting, fishing, logging and producing charcoal for their livelihoods, all prohibited activities. The local community has no where else to turn for security, and relies on the protection of armed groups, for which fees are levied off the prohibited activities. According to a 2010 report by the United Nations Security Council , 80% of

8295-2824: The northern shore of Lake Edwards in 1988 for the first time. Of the Albertine Rift's endemic birds , Rwenzori turaco , Rwenzori batis , Archer's ground robin , red-throated alethe , Kivu ground thrush , collared apalis , mountain masked apalis , dusky crimson-wing , Shelley's crimsonwing , red-faced woodland warbler , stripe-breasted tit , blue-headed sunbird , regal sunbird , Rwenzori double-collared sunbird , handsome spurfowl and strange weaver were recorded in Virunga National Park's southern sector during surveys in 2004. Non-endemic birds recorded include Wahlberg's eagle , African goshawk , African hobby , harrier hawk , common buzzard , mountain buzzard , hadeda ibis , grey-crowned crane , black-and-white-casqued hornbill , black-billed turaco , African olive pigeon , tambourine dove , blue-spotted wood dove , red-eyed dove , brown-necked parrot , red-chested cuckoo , olive long-tailed cuckoo , barred long-tailed cuckoo , Klaas's cuckoo , Diederik cuckoo , blue-headed coucal , Narina trogon , white-headed wood hoopoe , white-necked raven , white-tailed crested flycatcher , African paradise flycatcher , white-eyed slaty flycatcher , African dusky flycatcher , white-tailed blue flycatcher , mountain oriole , speckled mousebird , cinnamon-chested bee-eater , grey-throated barbet , yellow-billed barbet , western tinkerbird , yellow-rumped tinkerbird , cardinal woodpecker , olive woodpecker , black saw-wing , Angola swallow , Alpine swift , mountain greenbul , yellow-whiskered greenbul , common bulbul , white-starred robin , Archer's ground robin , white-browed robin-chat , African stonechat , rufous thrush , African thrush , olive thrush , grassland pipit , cinnamon bracken warbler , black-faced rufous warbler , mountain yellow warbler , brown woodland warbler , green sandpiper , Chubb's cisticola , banded prinia , chestnut-throated apalis , grey-backed camaroptera , white-browed crombec , black-throated wattle-eye , chinspot batis , mountain illadopsis , grey-chested illadopsis , olive sunbird , bronze sunbird , malachite sunbird , collared sunbird , variable sunbird , yellow white-eye , Mackinnon's shrike , Doherty's bushshrike , Lühder's bushshrike , northern puffback , mountain sooty boubou , tropical boubou , narrow-tailed starling , Sharpe's starling , baglafecht weaver , black bishop , grey-headed nigrita , common waxbill , black-headed waxbill , bronze mannikin , black and white mannikin , pin-tailed whydah , African citril , streaky seedeater and thick-billed seedeater . Ethnic groups living in and around Virunga National Park include: The documentary Virunga documents

8400-647: The number of agonistic encounters increases with group size. Dominance relationships in semi-wild highland cattle are very firm, with few overt aggressive conflicts: most disputes are settled by agonistic (non-aggressive, competitive) behaviors with no physical contact between opponents, reducing the risk of injury. Dominance status depends on age and sex, with older animals usually dominant to young ones and males dominant to females. Young bulls gain superior dominance status over adult cows when they reach about 2 years of age. Cattle eat mixed diets, but prefer to eat approximately 70% clover and 30% grass. This preference has

8505-514: The park by rebel groups, and several park rangers have been killed. There have been plans to drill for oil in the Congo Basin since the 2000s. Preventing these plans the park gained further protection by an agreement sealed between DRCs president Felix Tshisekedi and Boris Johnson at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. To improve the country's economic situation

8610-558: The park to land controlled by the FDLR, where they could rent small plots of land. Clashes occurred in 2015 when a local Mai-Mai group in Binza (north Bwisha) attempted to take back control of region, with the objective of reinstalling fishing activities and allowing the population to return, killing a park guard and 11-15 soldiers. Five rangers were killed in August 2017 near Lake Edward in

8715-481: The park, destroying natural habitat up to an altitude of 3,000 m (9,800 ft), which was thought to threaten the park's gorillas. Land laws were reformed in the 1960s after Belgian Congo became independent as the Republic of the Congo , and the land declared property of the state, much to the disadvantage of local people. Illegal hunting inside protected areas increased. In 1969, the two parks were merged under

8820-687: The park. Park personnel are given paramilitary training and high-quality weaponry, and operate together with the military and state security services. These tactics, criticised as " militarization of conservation", has been blamed for further violence and dispossession faced by local indigenous people . Communities, such as the Mbuti, which previously relied on the lands included in the park for food and shelter have been forced out, or risk being arrested or killed by armed park rangers . Increasing militarisation of nature conservation has been accused of fuelling armed mobilisation of militias. The inhabitants inside

8925-438: The price of increasing pH , respiratory alkalosis . To deal with this, cattle are forced to shed bicarbonate through urination , at the expense of rumen buffering. These two pathologies can both cause lameness . Another specific risk is mastitis . This worsens as Calliphora blowflies increase in number with continued warming, spreading mastitis-causing bacteria. Ticks too are likely to increase in temperate zones as

9030-437: The process of chewing the cud , like most ruminants. While feeding, cows swallow their food without chewing; it goes into the rumen for storage. Later, the food is regurgitated to the mouth, a mouthful at a time, where the cud is chewed by the molars, grinding down the coarse vegetation to small particles. The cud is then swallowed again and further digested by the micro-organisms in the cow's stomach. The gestation period for

9135-483: The process. Copulation lasts several seconds and consists of a single pelvic thrust . Cows seek secluded areas for calving. Semi-wild Highland cattle heifers first give birth at 2 or 3 years of age, and the timing of birth is synchronized with increases in natural food quality. Average calving interval is 391 days, and calving mortality within the first year of life is 5%. Beef calves suckle an average of 5 times per day, spending some 46 minutes suckling. There

9240-482: The result of crossing taurines domesticated elsewhere with local aurochs, but they are genetically distinct; some authors name them as a separate subspecies, Bos taurus africanus . The only pure African taurine breeds remaining are the N'Dama , Kuri and some varieties of the West African Shorthorn. Feral cattle are those that have been allowed to go wild. Populations exist in many parts of

9345-489: The shores of Lake Kivu and encompasses Nyamulagira, Nyiragongo and Mikeno volcanoes with montane forests on their slopes. The northern sector of Virunga National Park is contiguous with Uganda's Semuliki park , the Rwenzori Mountains National Park , and the central sector with Queen Elizabeth National Park . The southern sector borders Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park . The climate in

9450-495: The sides of their head rather than the front. This gives them a field of view of 330°, but limits binocular vision (and therefore stereopsis ) to some 30° to 50°, compared to 140° in humans. They are dichromatic , like most mammals. Cattle avoid bitter-tasting foods, selecting sweet foods for energy. Their sensitivity to sour-tasting foods helps them to maintain optimal ruminal pH . They seek out salty foods by taste and smell to maintain their electrolyte balance. Their hearing

9555-1000: The southern sector of up to 160 mm (6.3 in). Average temperatures in lower altitudes vary from 23–28 °C (73–82 °F), and in higher altitudes from 16–24 °C (61–75 °F), rarely dropping below 14 °C (57 °F). Virunga National Park's flora encompasses 2,077 plant species, including 264 tree species and 230 plants that are endemic to the Albertine Rift. The plains of Virunga National Park are dominated by wetlands and grasslands with papyrus sedge ( Cyperus papyrus ), jointed flatsedge ( C. articulatus ), common reed ( Phragmites mauritanica ), sacaton grasses ( Sporobolus consimilis ), ambatch ( Aeschynomene elaphroxylon ), conkerberry ( Carissa spinarum ), paperbark thorn ( Vachellia sieberiana ) and kowai fruit ( Coccinia grandis ). Remains of dicots such as African caper ( Capparis tomentosa ), Maerua species, wild cucurbits , and nightshades were found in dung balls of African elephants ( Loxodonta ) that play

9660-487: The southern sector. All of the topi ( Damaliscus lunatus jimela ) cluster to the south of Lake Edward in the Ishasha Flats region, and regularly cross the border into Uganda. Other ungulates present include Ugandan kob ( Kobus kob thomasi ), waterbuck ( K. ellipsiprymnus ), and  common warthog ( Phacochoerus africanus ). Virunga National Park together with the adjacent Queen Elizabeth National Park forms

9765-416: The third and fourth digits. Like all bovid species, they can have horns, which are unbranched and are not shed annually. Coloration varies with breed; common colors are black, white, and red/brown, and some breeds are spotted or have mixed colors. Bulls are larger than cows of the same breed by up to a few hundred kilograms. British Hereford cows, for example, weigh 600–800 kg (1,300–1,800 lb), while

9870-419: The tongue; in one study observing 750-kilogram (1,650 lb) steers, bite area reached a maximum of approximately 170 cm (30 sq in). Bite depth increases with the height of the plants. By adjusting their behavior, cattle obtain heavier bites in swards that are tall and sparse compared with short, dense swards of equal mass/area. Cattle adjust other aspects of their grazing behavior in relation to

9975-475: The upper slopes, the fastest lava flow recorded to date, overwhelming villages and killing at least 50 people in the villages of Kibati and Moniki, according to reports made at the time. Within 30 minutes, the lava lake had emptied, flowing north, south, and west of the volcano. Nowhere else in the world does such a steep-sided stratovolcano contain a lake of such fluid lava. Nyiragongo's proximity to heavily populated areas increases its potential for causing

10080-430: The volcano began on 17 January 2002, after several months of increased seismic and fumarolic activity. A 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) fissure opened in the south flank of the volcano, spreading in a few hours from 2,800 to 1,550 metres (9,190 to 5,090 ft) elevation and reaching the outskirts of the city of Goma , the provincial capital on the northern shore of Lake Kivu . Lava streamed from three spatter cones at

10185-516: The work of Virunga National Park rangers and the activities of British oil company Soco International within the park. Ndakasi , a gorilla from the park, was featured in a few television series and movies, including the Netflix documentary. Mount Nyiragongo Mount Nyiragongo ( / ˌ n ɪər ə ˈ ɡ ɒ ŋ ɡ oʊ , - ˈ ɡ ɔː ŋ -/ neer-ə- GONG -go ) is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of 3,470 m (11,385 ft) in

10290-721: The world, sometimes on small islands. Some, such as Amsterdam Island cattle , Chillingham cattle , and Aleutian wild cattle have become sufficiently distinct to be described as breeds. Cattle are often raised by allowing herds to graze on the grasses of large tracts of rangeland . Raising cattle extensively in this manner allows the use of land that might be unsuitable for growing crops. The most common interactions with cattle involve daily feeding , cleaning and milking . Many routine husbandry practices involve ear tagging , dehorning , loading, medical operations , artificial insemination , vaccinations and hoof care, as well as training for agricultural shows and preparations. Around

10395-569: The world, Fulani husbandry rests on behavioural techniques, whereas in Europe, cattle are controlled primarily by physical means, such as fences . Breeders use cattle husbandry to reduce tuberculosis susceptibility by selective breeding and maintaining herd health to avoid concurrent disease. In the United States, many cattle are raised intensively, kept in concentrated animal feeding operations , meaning there are at least 700 mature dairy cows or at least 1000 other cattle stabled or confined in

10500-406: The world. Cattle are kept on farms to produce meat, milk, and leather, and sometimes to pull carts or farm implements. The meat of adult cattle is known as beef , and that of calves as veal . Other body parts are used as food products, including blood, liver , kidney , heart and oxtail . Approximately 300 million cattle, including dairy animals, are slaughtered each year for food. About

10605-429: Was continuous for years at a time, often in the form of a churning lava lake in the crater. The existence of the lava lake had been suspected for some time but was not scientifically confirmed until 1948. At that time, it was measured at nearly 120,000 square metres (1.3 × 10 ^  sq ft). Subsequent expeditions showed that the lake fluctuated in size, depth, and temperature over time. The lava lake activity

10710-541: Was enlarged step by step in subsequent years. Indigenous people lost their traditional land rights in this process, and were evicted from the protected area. Between the late 1930s and 1955, an estimated 85,000 Rwandophone people were moved to nearby Masisi in North Kivu . In 1934, the Institut des Parcs Nationaux du Congo Belge was founded as the governing body for national parks in the Belgian Congo. Between

10815-829: Was entered into the List of World Heritage in Danger. After the Second Congo War was over, confrontations between park personnel and rebel groups continued; 80 park staff were killed between 1996 and 2003. Several armed rebel groups operate in the park, including Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and National Congress for the Defence of the People (FDLR). Latter controlled the Mikeno sector of Virunga National Park between December 2006 and January 2009. In 2005,

10920-507: Was proposed in the UK in 2011 that milk from tuberculosis -infected cattle should be allowed to enter the food chain. Cattle disease attracted attention in the 1980s and 1990s when bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) broke out in the United Kingdom . BSE can cross into humans as the deadly variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease ; 178 people in the UK had died from it by 2010. The gut flora of cattle produce methane ,

11025-415: Was the world's largest producer of cattle hides. Cattle hides account for around 65% of the world's leather production. Cattle are subject to pests including arthropod parasites such as ticks (which can in turn transmit diseases caused by bacteria and protozoa), and diseases caused by pathogens including bacteria and viruses . Some viral diseases are spread by insects - i.e. bluetongue disease

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