Задание №10 — Чтение

It is likely that the modern European bison arose from the steppe bison. Recent research says it appeared as a result of an interbreeding event between the steppe bison and the ancestor of modern cows around 120,000 years ago. At one point, some steppe bison crossbred with the ancestors of the modern yak. After that, a population of steppe bison crossed the Bering Land Bridge to North America. Then the steppe bison spread through the northern parts of North America, where it lived until around 8,000 years ago.

The Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve is one of the smallest in Russia. It covers an area of 4,960 hectares on the terraces of the Oka River valley. This is a unique area with its natural diversity of pine and mixed forests, small rivers, streams and marshes. Here you can observe the life of animals and birds in their natural habitat. The symbol of the reserve is a bison. This is a wild forest bull, which was recently on the verge of extinction. Bison youngsters grown up to two years in the reserve are sent to replenish free-living populations.

Though the American and European bisons are close relatives, it is easy to spot clear differences in their behaviour and build. Adult European bisons are slimmer in build and have longer legs. European bisons tend to graze less and walk around more than their American relatives. This difference in behaviour is reflected in their build. The American bison’s head hangs lower than the European’s does. American bisons are more easily tamed than their European cousins are. They also breed with domestic cattle more readily.

American bisons are known for living on the Great Plains. Bisons were hunted close to extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries, but have since rebounded. The European bison owes its survival, in part, to the Chernobyl disaster. Ironically, the Chernobyl Zone has become a kind of wildlife preserve, though poaching has become a threat in recent years. The American Plains bison is no longer listed as endangered, but this does not mean the species is safe. Their fragmented herds call for active conservation measures.

In the middle of the 19^th century people started realising how important the buffalo was. Reasons for that included not only animal cruelty, but also ecological and future resources. Someone needed to speak out, and over the years they did, but never enough at one time to count. The real extermination of the buffalo was caused by the demands of trade, aided by hunters and Indians. However, the blame really lies with the government, which in all those years permitted a few ignorant Congressmen to block the laws protecting these animals.

There have been several attempts to tame the buffalo, but there are a few things that stand in the way. The buffalo is very aggressive by nature; it can run up to 40 mph and can jump vertically in the air almost their entire height. Imagine trying to teach an angry, prancing sedan to stay still and respect you. All that said, there have been instances of domestic buffalo. This is possible if they are raised from calves to be only with humans. Even then, they seem to be loyal and friendly with a small set of humans, not all humans.

At about the same time they domesticated plants, people in Mesopotamia began to domesticate animals for meat, milk, and hides. Hides were used for clothing, storing things and for building tent shelters. Goats were probably the first animals to be domesticated, followed closely by sheep. Later, people began domesticating larger animals, such as oxen or horses, for ploughing and transportation. These are known as beasts of burden. The easiest animals to domesticate are herbivores that graze on grass, because they are the easiest to feed.