Dogs and cats are the closest pets of man. They are carnivores turned omnivores. They occurs wild in various parts of the world.
(1) Dogs : Dog was among the earliest animals domesticated by man. A large number of breeds have been produced by intensive inbreeding and artificial selection of a single ancestral dog species. These vary in form colour, size and fur. It has proved to be a faithful companion and guard of its master. The domestic dog, canis familiars, is found in almost all countries. It is useful in many ways.
(i) It can be trained to protect flocks (sheep or goat) and herds (cattle).
(ii) It is helpful in tracking and running down the game such as hare and fox.
(iii) It is a very useful animal for hunting.
(iv) Some breeds, which have sharp sense of smell and sight, are employed to trace the criminals drug peddlers and prowleres.
(v) It can lead the blind persons.
(vi) Eskimos use dogs to pull sledges (wheel less vehicles used over snow or ice).
(vii) Dog raising is a profitable business. Pedigree dogs fetch high return.
(viii) Dog is a symbol of loyalty.
(2) Cats : Cat (Felis domesticus) is a small, furry mammal. It has many breeds. It is domesticated to eradicated rats and mice. It is also a nice pet.
Distinguishing Features : Donkeys (Equus asinus) are smaller than horses but have larger head, longer pinnae and narrower hoofs. Their mane is erect and tail has a tuft of hair at the tip.
Feeding : The donkeys mainly feed on straw and fodder. They are often let free to graze on the roadside.
Breeding : There are two breeds of donkeys in our country : small, dark grey and large, light grey to almost white. The grey donkey occurs in most parts of the country. The white donkey, also called wild ass, occurs in Rann of Kutch. Donkeys have descended from the wild ass Equus asinus of Abyssinia.
Elephants are chiefly found in forests with tall trees where bamboo’s grow in profusion. They have very poor sight but sense of hearing and smell is highly developed.
Feeding : Daily food intake is considerable, but only partially digested and utilization is low. Natural food includes bamboo shoots, leaves and various fruits. Working elephant are fed straw, hay and crushed grain as a supplement.
Breeding : Puberty occurs at between 8 and 12 years. The gestation period is \[2122\] months. The calving interval is 4 years. Elephants may live for up to 90-100 years. Elephants are of two types : African elephants and Indian elephants.
Differences between Indian Elephant and African Elephant
S.No.
Indian elephant (Elephas maximus)
African elephant (Laxodonta africana)
1.
Physical Features
Small ears, High domed forehead with 2 prominance on top of skull. One process on trunk tip Convex backed. Tusks in males only, not always
Fishes are a valuable and easily accessible source of food, rich in protein, highly nutritious and easily digestible. By the aquatic animals, they are abundantly available from sea, rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes.
Aquaculture is the production of useful aquatic plants and animals such as fishes, prawns, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, molluscs by the proper utilization of small and large bodies of water. Pisciculture is the production and breeding of fishes by man in ponds.
India has abundant marine and inland fish resources. It has a cost line extending to 4667 Km long and a continental shelf of 2,59,00 square Km offering good scope for fish production. The fish production has increased many folds since India got independence. During 1990-91 the annual fish production of our country has been 38.22 lakh tons. The per capita consumption of fish in India is estimated at 1.51 Kg/year. India is at present the 6th foremost seafood producing nations in the world.
History : From pre-historic period, fishes have used as protein rich diet for human beings. The popularity of fishes has been mentioned in our religious books like Ramayana and Mahabharata also.
In west Bengal, Bihar and orissa, the fish industry is about 1,500 years old. In Bengal every family traditionally has atleast one pond for fishes.
Cultivable fish species
Distinguishing Features : The horses (Equus cabalus) are solid- hoofed, non-ruminant quadrupeds with long, pendant mane and tail bearing long hair all over. They are intelligent animals. They learn fast are faithful pets and can adapt to all sorts of climatic conditions. It was the first beast of burden. Polo is game played on horse back.
Feeding : Horses are fed on oats, barley, gram and hay. Common salt is also added to their diet. Green grass may also be given if available.
Breeding : If compared to other animals, horses have a low reproductive rate. Controlled natural mating in horses has been in practice in India for a long time. A high professional skill is required for rearing, training and medical care of race horses.
Important breeds of Indian Horses
Lac is the resinous secretion produced by lac insect as protective covering around its body. It belongs to genera Laccifera or Tachardia. Lacifera lacca is the common Indian lac insect. It lives on the trees of fig family namely kikar, ber (Zizyphus mauritiana), babul (Acacia nilotica), dhak or palas (Butea monisperma), kusum (schleichera oleosa), Katha or khair (Acacia catechu), peepal (Ficus religiosa) and gular (Ficus glomerata).
Lac insect feeds upon the sap of its host plant like any other sap sucking insect. It is found in India and Philipine islands.
Male and female chambers : The adult male and female insects live on the tree twigs enclosed in thick capsules or chambers separately. The male chamber are elongated and cigar- shaped. Each male chamber has a branchial aperture in its anterior part.
The female chamber is smaller and rounded. It has a branchial aperture in its anterior part and a tubercular or anal opening in the posterior part.
Male and female lac insects : The female is more degenerated. It has a bag -like body with a small reduced antenna. The eyes legs and wings are lost during metamorphosis. The male lac insect is red in colour. It has an incipient head with antennae and eyes. The thorax has three pairs of legs and abdomen carries genital sheath, penis and a pair of long caudal setae, one on either side of genital sheath.
The wings may be present or absent. Because of the absence of mouth parts, the insect is incapable of feeding.
Life-cycle : The male lac insect crawls out of its chamber by pushing open the operculum reaches the female chamber and fertilizes the female through the anal or tubercular opening of female shell. The male dies soon after copulation. The female secretes more resin forming a large sized chamber. Thus the secretion by females mainly contributes to lac.
Oviposition takes place into a space inside the female chamber made by the contraction of the body of female. This space is called incubating chamber. Each female lays 200-300 eggs. The eggs hatch into red coloured larvae. These crawl out of the female's incubating chamber. The mass emergence of larvae is called swarming.
Each larva is boat-shaped in appearance and is about 1/2 mm in length. Its head bears paired antennae and the ocelli. The mouth parts are of piercing and Sucking type with maxillae and mandibles together forming the sucking tube or proboscis. Its thorax is three segmented and each thoracic segment carries a pair of walking legs. The abdomen bears a pair of long caudal setae.
Attachment of larvae to new shoots : The larvae on emergence craw1 on the twigs of any one of the host trees mentioned earlier and settle down on the undersurface of new shoots. These prefer young succulent shoots. These force their proboscis through the bark and insert it into the phloem tissue and start feeding. Here these metamorphose into the adult more...
Meaning of livestock : The word livestock refers to the domestic animals kept or dealt in for use or profit. It includes cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, mules, donkeys and camels. The most important of these are cattle and buffaloes.
Cattle (Bos indicus), Buffaloes (Bos bubalus) : The word cattle includes cow (adult female), bull (uncastrated adult male), bullock or OX (castrated adult male) and steer (young castrated male).
Importance of cattle and Buffaloes : Cattle and buffalo are most important forms of domesticated animals. They are next to land in use for farmers. They are widely used for :
(1) Agricultural Operations : Cattle are used in agricultural operations such as ploughing, harrowing and levelling land; in harvesting and thrashing ripe crops; and in working wells, etc.
(2) Milk : Cows and buffaloes provide milk, an important human food with all the essential materials.
(3) Transport : Cattle are employed in cart driving to transport men and materials. However, they are being fast replaced by machines.
(4) Manure and fuel : The dung provided by them acts as a valuable manure for maintaining the fertility of the soil. It is also used for preparation of biogas or gobar gas. Dung cakes provide cheap fuel to the poor, but the fields get deprived of an important manure.
(5) Leather : Hides obtained from these animals are used for the preparation of leather goods.
(6) Glue and gelatin : Their bones, horns and hoofs yield glue and gelatin.
(7) Meat : Beef and buffalo meat are eaten by certain people
(8) Hair : Hair are used for making brushes.
(9) Hybridisation : Indian bulls are used for
Breeds of cattle : There are 26 breeds of cattle and 7 breeds of buffaloes in India. They differ in colour, general body build, form of horns, forehead and geographical distribution. The best cattle breeds occur in the drier regions of the country. The most important breeds of milk cows in the United States of America are Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Quernsey, Ayrshire and Brown Swiss. Depending upon the utility, the cattle are classified into the following groups;
(1) Milch breeds that give good milk-producing cows,
(2) Draught breeds which give good working bullocks,
(3) General utility (dual-purpose) breeds the females of these breeds are good milk-producers and the bullocks are good draught animals.
Some Breeds of Indian Cattle
Mule is the hybrid between male ass (jack) and female horse (mare). It has the stamina of ass and size of horse, but is sterile. Similarly, the cross between male horse (stallion) and female ass is called hinny.
Mules are known for their toughness. Since they are sexually sterile, they have to be produce every time a new.
Feeding : They are fed mainly on green fodder, crushed grams and barley. They are also given salt.
Breeding : Indian army has imported male donkeys from Europe for breeding mules. Army uses two type of mules : (a) General service type and (b) Mountain artillery type. The latter are firm footed and can carry heavy loads on steep terrain.
Common Disease of Equines : The horses, donkeys and mules suffer from many diseases. They include pink eye or influenza, strangles, tetanus, colic etc.
History of Pearl Industry : For the first time the idea of pearl industry was evoked in Japan which was carried out in the Bay of Japan located at South coast of Hansoo. But in Japan, pearl culturists feel difficulty due to unfavourable climatic conditions. Kokichi Mikimoto (1858-1954) is referred to be the father of pearl industry. Pearl is a concretion formed by molluscs. It consists of nacre or mother of pearl. It is characterised by iridescence and translucence.
Pearls is produced by the marine molluscs such as pearl oyster and mussel.
Types of pearls : Pearls are of seven types. They are the following -
(1) Lingha pearl : This is the best quality pearl obtained from marine oysters.
(2) Seed pearls : The small pearls are called seed pearls.
(3) Baroque pearls : These are spherical pearls formed inside the body.
(4) Blister pearls : These are pearls attached to the shell. They are half-spherical in shape.
(5) Oriental pearls : These are true pearls with a great lustre, beauty and a smooth surface.
(6) Natural pearls : These are the pearls obtained from pearl oysters of deep oceans.
(7) Cultured pearls : These are the pearls obtained from cultivated species of pearl oysters.
Composition of pearl : Pearl comprises of water, organic matter, calcium carbonate and the residue.
(1) Water \[24\text{ }%\]
(2) Organic matter \[3.55.9\text{ }%\]
(3) Calcium carbonate \[90\text{ }%\]
(4) Residue \[0.10.8\text{ }%\]
The pearl is formed of nacre. The nacre is formed of two substances namely a calcium carbonate which is in the form of argonite or calcite and an albuminoid substance called conchiolin/colchitin
Pearl-producing animals : Pearls are produced by bivalve molluscs. There are marine as well as fresh water animals.
Cultivable species : Pearls are intensively produced by cultivating pearl oysters. The most important molluscs cultivated for pearls are Pinctada vulgaris.
Biology of pearl oysters : Pearl oysters are sedentary animals. They are attached to rocks. They have two valves. One valve is cemented to the rocks and the other free. They spawn twice in a year. The eggs are hatched into free swimming larvae. The larvae sink to the bottom of the water and develop into young oysters called spats. They grow to their maximum size in four or five years.
Pearl formation : The pearl oysters produce pearl as an adaptation against outside materials. When a foreign material such as a sand, grain or a parasite happens to enter the body it adheres with the mantle. The mantle epithelium at once grows over the material in the form of a sac and encloses it. This mantle epithelium starts secreting concentric layers of nacre around the foreign material. The completed structure is called pearl.
Culture of pearls : The culture of pearls is a complex but sensitive process. It involves the following steps.
(1) Collection of oysters more...
Pig, also called hog or swine, is an omnivorous, nonruminant, gregarious mammal of genus Sus. All breeds of pigs have descended from the European wild boar sus scrofa or a crossbreed of this and the Asiatic species, S. indicus. The care and management of pigs is called piggery.
Pigs are the most prolific breeders and quick growers among the domestic animals. A group of 10 sows (Female hog) and one boar may produce over 160 piglets in a year. Pigs are most useful domestic animals, especially of lower classes of society. They are most economical source of meat and animal fat. Pig meat, in general, is known as pork and the meat obtained from different parts of the body have been given different names, for example bacon obtained from the back and sides and ham from the back of the thigh.
Feeding of pigs : Indigenous pigs survive through scavenging on kitchen wastes and farm by products and human faeces. Pig keepers raise them on grass, straw roots and grains. As they can feed on human faeces, they serve as secondary host for tape worms.
Breeds and breeding of pigs : Pig breeding has now started on commercial scale. The improved exotic types, number of which is insignificant is maintained mostly at all the seven Regional Pig Breeding stations of the country. Some breeds of the pigs are given in table.
Important Breeds of Pigs
Oviposition takes place into a space inside the female chamber made by the contraction of the body of female. This space is called incubating chamber. Each female lays 200-300 eggs. The eggs hatch into red coloured larvae. These crawl out of the female's incubating chamber. The mass emergence of larvae is called swarming.
Each larva is boat-shaped in appearance and is about 1/2 mm in length. Its head bears paired antennae and the ocelli. The mouth parts are of piercing and Sucking type with maxillae and mandibles together forming the sucking tube or proboscis. Its thorax is three segmented and each thoracic segment carries a pair of walking legs. The abdomen bears a pair of long caudal setae.
Attachment of larvae to new shoots : The larvae on emergence craw1 on the twigs of any one of the host trees mentioned earlier and settle down on the undersurface of new shoots. These prefer young succulent shoots. These force their proboscis through the bark and insert it into the phloem tissue and start feeding. Here these metamorphose into the adult
Cultivable species : Pearls are intensively produced by cultivating pearl oysters. The most important molluscs cultivated for pearls are Pinctada vulgaris.
Biology of pearl oysters : Pearl oysters are sedentary animals. They are attached to rocks. They have two valves. One valve is cemented to the rocks and the other free. They spawn twice in a year. The eggs are hatched into free swimming larvae. The larvae sink to the bottom of the water and develop into young oysters called spats. They grow to their maximum size in four or five years.
Pearl formation : The pearl oysters produce pearl as an adaptation against outside materials. When a foreign material such as a sand, grain or a parasite happens to enter the body it adheres with the mantle. The mantle epithelium at once grows over the material in the form of a sac and encloses it. This mantle epithelium starts secreting concentric layers of nacre around the foreign material. The completed structure is called pearl.
Culture of pearls : The culture of pearls is a complex but sensitive process. It involves the following steps.
(1) Collection of oysters
