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Royal Botanical Gardens (Ontario)

Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) is headquartered in Burlington. RBG is a national historic site of Canada that covers extensive environmentally protected areas, historic sites, and culturally relevant gardens from Burlington to neighbouring Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the major tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and Toronto, as well as being a significant local and regional horticultural, education, conservation, and scientific resource.

RBG's mandate derives from a Provincial Act of 1941 centred on human interaction with the natural world and protection of environmentally significant lands that form the western tip of Lake Ontario. The Gardens cover an area of approximately 10 km by 4 km that is dominated by two coastal wetlands, and landscapes that were carved during the last glaciation, extending from Lake Ontario inland to the plateau of the Niagara Escarpment. The many different gardens and natural areas are accessed through nine public entrance locations. RBG is one of several Prescribed Public Bodies listed under the Ontario Heritage Act.

In 2006, in support of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Royal Botanical Gardens was selected as Canada's National Focal Point for the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The 980 ha of nature sanctuary owned by the Royal Botanical Gardens is largely a remnant of the Dundas Marsh Game Preserve created in 1927. The properties now carry many cultural and environmental designations. Multiple national historic site features are associated with area, with the site featuring prominently as a landing and connection point to other regions of the Great Lakes. It is considered an important plant biodiversity hotspot for Canada, with a very high proportion of the wild plants of Canada in one area; is an Important Bird Area according to Bird Studies Canada; and is part of the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve. More than 1,100 species of plants grow within its boundaries including the Bashful Bulrush (Trichophorum planifolium) which is found nowhere else in Canada, and the largest remaining population of one of Canada's most endangered trees, the Red Mulberry (Morus rubra). Both of these plants are listed as Endangered in Canada under the Species at Risk Act. In 2008, the RBG was designated as an Important Amphibian and Reptile Area by CARCNET, the Canadian Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network. Several plants listed on various Endangered Species Protection programs are held for protection and education purposes in various garden areas.

Unusually, Royal Botanical Gardens is both the owner of the land under the provincially significant Class 1 Wetland, Cootes Paradise, and Grindstone Marsh as well as regulator of activities on the water, despite it being an inlet of Lake Ontario. Water area activity regulation was formerly under the Hamilton Harbour Commission (Now Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority) as part of the areas historical federal port regulation. In the late 1970s the Harbour Commission and Royal Botanical Gardens made an agreement transferring regulation of use of the water area to the Gardens in support of its environmental protection mandate. However, Royal Botanical Gardens has no regulatory control over the quality of water flowing into its wetlands.

History

Royal Botanical Gardens developed as a concept in the 1920s under the City of Hamilton Board of Park Management, led by Thomas McQuesten. Initially the proposed botanical garden was to be located along the south shore of Cootes Paradise Marsh surrounding the Hamilton campus of McMaster University. The proposed botanical garden would also protect extensive natural areas along the marsh.

Formal permission was obtained in 1930 from King George V to call the gardens the "Royal Botanical Gardens". At the same time as the proposal for the botanical gardens was under consideration, the City of Hamilton was undertaking an ambitious program of beautification on the nearby Burlington Heights. The North-Western Entrance to Hamilton project included an extensive set of gardens designed by the Toronto firm of Wilson, Bunnell and Borgstrom. Among these was the Rock Garden created by lining a 5.5 acre abandoned gravel pit with limestone from the Niagara Escarpment. In 1932 the Board of Park Management brought together the Burlington Heights gardens and the south shore of Cootes Paradise as Royal Botanical Gardens.

The original vision of RBG was a mixture of horticultural displays and protected natural forests and wetlands. The first Director of RBG, Dr. Norman Radforth, was appointed in 1947 and was a Professor of Botany at nearby McMaster University. In 1954 Leslie Laking, initially Assistant Director and Horticulturist, was appointed as Director and served until 1981. Under his guidance, the institution developed into the major entity it is today. In the 1960s growth in horticultural expertise enriched the gardens and its programs, including new staff such as taxonomist Dr. James Pringle and Curator Freek Vrugtman. Over the years additional protected lands were added to RBG, including most recently the Berry Tract South property in 2015.

With approximately 1,100 ha (2,700 acres) of property, Royal Botanical Gardens is one of the largest such institutions in North America. In 2006, the Auxiliary of RBG published Love, sweat and soil: a history of Royal Botanical Gardens from 1930 to 1981 authored by Dr. Laking.

Financial
Funding for the institution was initially provided largely by the City of Hamilton and then in the 1940s by the Province of Ontario. By the early 1980s, funding restrictions and the desire to become increasingly self-supported led to charging of an admission fee for the cultivated garden areas. Admission is free to members. The extensive system of nature trails, more than 20 km in length, has remained accessible to the local community within walking distance or by taking public transit. Membership revenues are critical to facilitating access. As of 2006, approximately 40% of the RBG's annual budget comes from support from the Province of Ontario, the City of Hamilton and the Region of Halton. The remainder, 60%, is classed as 'self-generated revenue' and is raised annually from admissions, memberships, donations, summer camps, and fees-for-service.

An organized volunteer group of more than 500 members supports the efforts to fulfill the RBG mandate. Annually, volunteers help raises tens of thousands of dollars and donate tens of thousands of hours in such roles as tour guides, events support, staffing the Archives, and maintaining plant collections.

Attractions
Royal Botanical Gardens presents five garden areas to visitors: Hendrie Park, RBG Centre (which includes the Mediterranean Garden, RBG's only conservatory), The Arboretum, Laking Garden, and the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Rock Garden. Major natural areas include trails through the valley of the lower Grindstone Creek, Rock Chapel, north and south shores of Cootes Paradise, and Princess Point.

Long standing RBG trails on the Niagara Escarpment at Rock Chapel are part of the original founding of the Bruce Trail. In 2010, RBG partnered with Geotrail to bring its trail network to the internet through an interactive website.

The natural lands or nature sanctuaries of Royal Botanical Gardens include some of the most significant wildlife and native plant areas in Canada. The largest area, which includes the wetland called Cootes Paradise or Dundas Marsh, is a major spawning area for native fish species in Lake Ontario, one of the best bird-watching areas in Canada, and is the subject of one of Canada's largest ecological rehabilitation efforts aimed at a wetland, called 'Project Paradise.'

The Arboretum contains one of the world's most diverse lilac collections, the Katie Osborne Lilac Collection. The "Lilac Dell" contains 570 plants of 407 unique varieties and is one of RBG's biggest attractions in late May. Royal Botanical Gardens also holds the second-largest garden show in Canada called The Ontario Garden Show. It comes second only to Canada Blooms which is held in Toronto.

Innovative educational programs are operated from both RBG's main building in Burlington and the Nature Interpretive Centre, located in the Arboretum to the north of Cootes Paradise in Hamilton. More than 18,000 school children per year visit the organized school programs, and over 200 public education offerings include such diverse topics as botanical illustration, organic cooking and basic botany. Aldershot School offers an ECO Studies program in conjunction with the RBG.

Royal Botanical Gardens is a member of the American Public Gardens Association and Botanic Gardens Conservation International and is active in local, regional, national, and international efforts to conserve plant diversity and ensure its sustainable use.

Royal Botanical Gardens's properties span Bayview Junction, hosting several popular locations for railfanning.

title: Royal Botanical Gardens (Ontario)


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American mink

The American mink (Neogale vison) is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human introduction has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink is classed as a least-concern species by the IUCN. The American mink was formerly thought to be the only extant member of the genus Neovison following the extinction of the sea mink (N. macrodon), but recent studies, followed by taxonomic authorities, have reclassified it and the sea mink within the genus Neogale, which also contains a few New World weasel species. The American mink is a carnivore that feeds on rodents, fish, crustaceans, frogs, and birds. In its introduced range in Europe it has been classified as an invasive species linked to declines in European mink, Pyrenean desman, and water vole populations. It is the animal most frequently farmed for its fur, exceeding the silver fox, sable, marten, and skunk in economic importance.

Evolution
As a species, the American mink represents a more specialized form than the European mink in the direction of carnivory, as indicated by the more developed structure of the skull. Fossil records of the American mink go back as far as the Irvingtonian, though the species is uncommon among Pleistocene animals. Its fossil range corresponds with the species' current natural range. The American minks of the Pleistocene did not differ much in size or morphology from modern populations, though a slight trend toward increased size is apparent from the Irvingtonian through to the Illinoian and Wisconsinan periods.

Although superficially similar to the European mink, studies indicate the European mink's closest relative is the Siberian weasel (kolonok) of Asia. The American mink has been recorded to hybridize with European minks and polecats in captivity, though the hybrid embryos of the American and European minks are usually reabsorbed.

Subspecies
, 15 subspecies are recognised.

Build
The American mink differs from members of the genus Mustela (stoats and weasels), as well as the other members of Neogale, by its larger size and stouter form, which closely approach those of martens. It shares with martens a uniformly enlarged, bushy and somewhat tapering tail, rather than a slender, cylindrical tail with an enlarged bushy tip, as is the case in stoats. The American mink is similar in build to the European mink, but the tail is longer (constituting 38–51% of its body length).

The American mink has a long body, which allows the species to enter the burrows of prey. Its streamlined shape helps it to reduce water resistance whilst swimming. The skull is similar to that of the European mink, but is more massive, narrower, and less elongated, with more strongly developed projections and a wider, shorter cranium. The upper molars are larger and more massive than those of the European mink. The dental formula is.

Domestic mink, which are bred in fur farms and are substandard genetically, have 19.6% smaller brains, 8.1% smaller hearts, and 28.2% smaller spleens than wild mink. The feet are broad, with webbed digits. They generally have eight nipples, with one pair of inguinal teats and three pairs of abdominal teats. The adult male's penis is 5.6 cm long, and is covered by a sheath. The baculum is well-developed, being triangular in cross section and curved at the tip.

Males measure 34 – in body length, while females measure 31 - 37.5 cm. The tail measures 15.6 - 24.7 cm in males and 14.8 - 21.5 cm in females. Weights vary with sex and season, with males being heavier than females. In winter, males weigh 500 - 1580 g and females 400 - 780 g. Maximum heaviness occurs in autumn.

Fur
The American mink's winter fur is denser, longer, softer, and more close-fitting than that of the European mink. The winter fur's tone is generally very dark blackish-tawny to light-tawny. Colour is evenly distributed over all the body, with the under side being only slightly lighter than the back. The guard hairs are bright and dark-tawny, often approaching black on the spine. The underfur on the back is very wavy and greyish-tawny with a bluish tint. The tail is darker than the trunk and sometimes becomes pure black on the tip. The chin and lower lip are white. Captive individuals tend to develop irregular white patches on the lower surface of their bodies, though escaped individuals from Tartaria gradually lost these patches. The summer fur is generally shorter, sparser and duller than the winter fur. The thick underfur and oily guard hairs render the pelage water-resistant, with the length of the guard hairs being intermediate between those of otters and polecats, thus indicating the American mink is incompletely adapted to an aquatic life. It moults twice a year, during spring and autumn. It does not turn white in winter. A variety of different colour mutations have arisen from experimental breeding on fur farms.

Locomotion
On land, the American mink moves by a bounding gait, with speeds of up to 6.5 km/h. It also climbs trees and swims well. During swimming, the mink propels itself primarily through undulating movements of the trunk. When diving, it undergoes bradycardia, which is likely an adaptation to conserve oxygen. In warm water (24 C), the American mink can swim for 3 hours without stopping, but in cold water it can die within 27 minutes. It generally dives to depths of 30 cm for 10 seconds, though depths of 3 m lasting 60 seconds have been recorded. It typically catches fish after five- to 20-second chases.

Senses and scent glands
The American mink relies heavily on sight when foraging. Its eyesight is clearer on land than underwater. Its auditory perception is high enough to detect the ultrasonic vocalisations (1–16 kHz) of rodent prey. Its sense of smell is comparatively weak. Its two anal glands are used for scent marking, either through defecation or by rubbing the anal region on the ground. The secretions of the anal glands are composed of 2,2-dimethylthietane, 2-ethylthietane, cyclic disulfide, 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-dithiacyclopentane, and indole. When stressed, the American mink can expel the contents of its anal glands at a distance of 30 cm. Scent glands may also be located on the throat and chest. The smell produced by these scent glands was described by Clinton Hart Merriam as more unbearable than that produced by skunks, and added it was "one of the few substances, of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin, that has, on land or sea, rendered me aware of the existence of the abominable sensation called nausea".

Social and territorial behaviours
American mink territories are held by individual animals with minimal intrasex overlap, but with extensive overlap between animals of the opposite sex. Most territories are in undisturbed, rocky coastal habitats with broad littoral zones and dense cover. Some are on estuaries, rivers and canals near urban areas. Home ranges are typically 1 – long, with male territories larger than females'. As long as it is close to water, the American mink is not fussy about its choice of den. Mink dens typically consist of long burrows in river banks, holes under logs, tree stumps, or roots and hollow trees, though dens located in rock crevices, drains, and nooks under stone piles and bridges are occasionally selected. The burrows they dig themselves are typically about four inches in diameter and may continue along for 10 – at a depth of 2 –. The American mink may nest in burrows dug previously by muskrats, badgers and skunks, and may also dig dens in old ant hills. The nesting chamber is at the end of a four-inch tunnel, and is about a foot in diameter. It is warm, dry, and lined with straw and feathers. The American mink's dens are characterized by a large number of entrances and twisting passages. The number of exits varies from one to eight.

The American mink normally only vocalises during close encounters with other minks or predators. The sounds it emits include piercing shrieks and hisses when threatened and muffled chuckling sounds when mating. Kits squeak repeatedly when separated from their mothers. Ernest Thompson Seton reported hearing minks growl and snarl when confronting a threat. During aggressive interactions, mink assert their dominance by arching their backs, puffing up, lashing out their tails, and stomping and scraping the ground with their feet, while also opening their mouth in a threat-gape. Should this be unsuccessful, fights may result, with injuries to the head and neck.

Reproduction and development
The American mink is a promiscuous animal that does not form pair bonds. The start of mating season ranges from February in its southern range to April in the north. In its introduced range, the American mink breeds one month earlier than the European mink. Males commonly fight during the mating season, which may result in the formation of loose, temporary dominance hierarchies governing access to receptive females. The mating season lasts for three weeks, with ovulation being induced by the presence of males. The mating process is violent, with the male typically biting the female on the nape of the neck and pinning her with his forefeet. Mating lasts from 10 minutes to four hours. Females are receptive for seven- to 10-day intervals during the three-week breeding season, and can mate with multiple males. Along with the striped skunk, the American mink is among the only mammals to mate in spring that have a short delay before implantation. This delayed implantation allows pregnant minks to keep track of environmental conditions and select an ideal time and place for parturition.

The gestation period lasts from 40 to 75 days, with actual embryonic development taking place for 30–32 days, indicating implantation delay can last from eight to 45 days. The young are born from April to June, in litters consisting of four kits on average. The litters are often multiply sired. Exceptionally large litters of 11 kits have been recorded in Tartaria and 16 in the United States. The kits are blind at birth, weighing six grams and possessing a short coat of fine, silver-white hairs. The kits are dependent on their mother's milk, which contains 3.8% lipids, 6.2% protein, 4.6% lactose and 10.66% mineral salts. Their eyes open after 25 days, with weaning occurring after five weeks. The kits begin hunting after 8 weeks of age, but stay close to their mother until autumn, when they become independent. Sexual maturity is attained during the kit's first spring, when they are about 10 months old.

Diet
The American mink is a carnivorous animal that feeds on rodents, fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and birds. It kills vertebrate prey by biting the back of the head or neck, leaving canine puncture marks 9 - 11 mm apart. The American mink often kills birds, including larger species like seagulls and cormorants, by drowning. In its natural range, fish are its primary prey. Although inferior to the North American river otter in hunting fish, Audubon and Bachman once reported seeing a mink carrying a foot-long trout. Mink inhabiting the prairie sloughs primarily target frogs, tadpoles, and mice. It is a formidable predator of muskrats, which are chased underwater and killed in their own burrows. Among the rodents killed by the American mink in its native range are rats and mice of the genera Hesperomys, Microtus, Sigmodon, and Neotoma. Marsh rabbits are frequently taken in marshy or swampy tracts.

In Tartaria, the American mink's most important food items are voles, fish, crustaceans, frogs, and aquatic insects. In winter, aquatic foods predominate, while land-based prey increases in importance during the spring. Within the Altai Mountains, the American mink feeds predominantly on mammals such as rodents, shrews, and moles, as well as birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Among the 11 different bird species preyed upon by minks in Altai are dippers and pine grosbeaks. Among fish, small species predominate in the diet of minks in Altai, and include minnows, gudgeons, and wide-headed sculpins. In the Sverdlovsk and Irkutsk Oblasts, mouse-like rodents are their most important foods, followed by birds, fish and insects. In the Russian Far East, where crustaceans are scarce, the American mink feeds extensively on amphipods. In the British Isles, dietary composition varies seasonally and regionally. European rabbits are the most commonly taken prey in areas where they are common, especially in summer. A range of small rodents and insectivores are preyed upon, but to a lesser degree. European hares are occasionally attacked. Minks in Britain prey on several bird species, with ducks, moorhens, and coots being most frequently targeted on lakes and rivers, while gulls are taken in coastal habitats. Marine species preyed upon in Britain include European eels, rock-pool fish such as blenny, shore crabs and crayfish. American minks have been implicated in the decline of the water vole in the United Kingdom and linked to the decline of waterfowl across their range in Europe. They are now considered vermin in much of Europe and are hunted for the purpose of wildlife management. In South America's Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, mammals, including both native and exotic rodents, are the American mink's main prey throughout the year, though birds are of equal importance during their summer nesting periods.

The American mink may pose a threat to poultry. According to Clinton Hart Merriam and Ernest Thompson Seton, although the American mink is a potential poultry thief, it is overall less damaging than the stoat. Unlike the stoat, which often engages in surplus killing, the mink usually limits itself to killing and eating one fowl during each attack. Studies in Britain indicate poultry and game birds only constitute 1% of the animals' overall diets; small mammals, especially rabbits, tend to dominate, followed by fish and birds, especially moorhens and coots.

Relationships with other predators
The American mink replaces and sometimes kills the European mink wherever their ranges overlap. The decline of European mink populations seems to coincide with the spread of the American mink, but "The early declines in Central Europe and later in Finland took place before the spread of the American mink." The diets of the American mink and European otter overlap to a great extent. In areas where these two species are sympatric, competition with the otter for fish causes the American mink to hunt land-based prey more frequently.

Large birds of prey, such as bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) occasionally hunt American mink. In Finland, white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) have become the main natural control and may inhibit the mink from breeding via heavy predation. Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo) also can be predators of mink in the introduced regions.

Intelligence
An early behavioral study was performed in the 1960s to assess visual learning ability in minks, ferrets, skunks, and house cats. Animals were tested on their ability to recognize objects, learn their valences and make object selections from memory. Minks were found to outperform ferrets, skunks, and cats in this task, but this letter (short paper) fails to account for a possible conflation of a cognitive ability (decision making, associative learning) with a largely perceptual ability (invariant object recognition).

Natural
The species' natural range encompasses most of North America, from Alaska, through Canada and further into the United States except Arizona and the more arid areas of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and West Texas.

Argentina
The American mink was deliberately introduced for commercial fur production in several provinces of Patagonia in 1930. The animals escaped or were released from farms in Chubut Province and now occur in the Chubut and Río Negro Provinces and Tierra del Fuego. In Argentina the mink is one of the major menaces of the Hooded Grebe, which risks becoming extinct.

South Chile
In Chile, American minks were introduced to Magallanes Region in the 1930s. Ever since minks were freed into nature during the crisis of the fur industry the mink has expanded its range across Chile. Actually it ranges from Araucanía Region in the north to Magallanes Region in the south. However, there are isolated territories in between where the mink is not found, probably due to biogeographic barriers. One of the latest areas where the mink has been found is Chiloé Archipelago,- minks were reported there for the first time 2013, making scientists suspect they may have arrived on a ship.

Western Europe
Feral American minks in Europe are thought to be of domesticated stock derived from the N. v. vison, N. v. melampeplus and N. v. ingens subspecies. The first specimens were imported to Europe in 1920 for fur-farming purposes. The American mink was introduced in Italy in the 1950s, and currently resides mostly in the northeastern part of the Italian Peninsula. The majority of these populations do not appear to be self-sufficient, though minks in the Monti Prenestini and Simbruini in Lazio have reproduced successfully.

Escapees of fur farms established a self-sustaining and expanding population on the Iberian peninsula by the second half of the 20th century. In 2013, the Spanish government announced a plan to eradicate the species, as a means to protect the falling populations of European mink and other endangered species affected such as the Pyrenean desman.

The first mink farm in Norway was built in 1927, with escapees establishing wild populations within 30 years of its establishment. The first feral mink populations arose in 1930, establishing territories in southwestern Norway. These feral minks, augmented by further escapees, formed the basis of a strong population in Hordaland by the end of World War II. Feral mink colonised eastern Norway in 1930 and had become established in most southeastern counties in the early 1940s. By 1950, feral mink reached central Norway, with further populations occurring in the northern counties of Nordland and Troms. During the post-World War II period until 1965, mink had colonised most of the country. In modern times, the American mink occupies all of the Norwegian mainland, but is absent on some islands.

The American mink was first imported to Great Britain in 1929, though a series of escapes and releases led to the establishment of a self-sufficient feral population in Devon by the late 1950s, and others by the early 1960s. In Ireland, the American mink was not farmed until the early 1950s, thus feral populations established themselves there much later. The species is now widespread in mainland Great Britain and Ireland, though some places remain uncolonised. It has established itself on a few islands, including Arran and Lewis and Harris. Until 2005, mink hunting with packs of hounds occurred in the UK. The total mink population in Great Britain is estimated at 110,000 (England: 46,750; Scotland: 52,250; Wales: 9,750). This population may be declining as European otter numbers increase. There are no estimates for the mink population in Ireland, but it is thought to be low, because of Ireland's strong otter population.

Former USSR
In 1933, American minks were released into the Voronezh Oblast in European Russia. Until 1963, more minks were introduced in various quantities in the Voronezh and Arkhangelsk Oblasts, Karelia, in Kalininsk, Gorkovsk, Volgograd and Chelyabinsk Oblasts, and into Tatarstan and Bashkir, as well as the Lithuanian and Byelorussian SSRs. Beyond the Urals, American minks were introduced in the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Chita and Irkutsk Oblasts, in the Altai and Krasnoyarsk Krai, in the Tuvan, Buryat and Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, into the Magadan, Kamchatka and Amur Oblasts, into the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krai, into the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and several other locations, including Sakhalin and Urup Island. In the Caucasus region, American minks were released into North Ossetia. In Central Asia they were released in the Tien Shan region. Originally, captive-bred minks were used, but wild specimens were later released to facilitate the species' acclimatisation within Soviet territories. Several years after the first release, introductions into the ranges already held by native European minks were discontinued, with most releases from then on taking place in Siberia and the Far East. Although considerable areas were occupied by the American mink by the early 1960s, the species' Soviet range was never continuous, as most released populations were isolated from one another.

Iceland
The species has been present in Iceland since the 1930s, and has become well established, despite it being heavily hunted since 1939. However, its population underwent a 42% decline during the years 2002–2006, which coincided with a decline in sand eel populations resulting in a drop in the seabird populations on which the minks feed.

Diseases and parasites
The American mink often carries light tick and flea infestations. Tick species known to infest minks include Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes ricinus, and Ixodes acuminatus. Flea species known to infest minks include Palaeopsylla minor, Malaraeus penicilliger, Ctenopthalmus noblis, Megabothris walkeri, Typhloceras poppei, and Nosopsyllus fasciatus. Endoparasites include Skrjabingylus nasicola and Troglotrema acutum. Trematode Metorchis conjunctus can also infect American minks.

Transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) is a prion disease of mink, similar to BSE in cattle and scrapie in sheep. A 1985 outbreak of TME in Stetsonville, Wisconsin resulted in a 60% mortality rate for the minks. Further testing revealed this agent is transmissible between mink, cattle, and sheep. The Stetsonville outbreak may have been due to the mink being fed carcasses or otherwise consuming other infected animals.

Toxoplasma gondii has been recorded in American minks in southern Chile, with 59% seroprevalence in the 73 mink analyzed in one study. Southern river otters of the area were also found to have high T. gondii seroprevalence in this study, showing a high exposure of semiaquatic mustelids to the parasite in this part of Chile.

Decline of wild mink
Because of numerous incidents of domestic mink escaping from fur farms and establishing themselves in the wild, concern has arisen among conservationists of the possible repercussions such escapes may have on natural wild mink populations. Domestic mink are larger than wild mink, which may cause problems with the ecosystem when they escape. Minks are solitary, territorial animals and are intolerant of other minks. In times of overpopulation, they control their own numbers by either killing each other through direct conflict or by causing weaker minks to be driven from territory until starvation sets in. When hundreds or thousands of released domestic minks flood an ecosystem, it causes a great disturbance for the wild minks, resulting in the deaths of the majority of the released mink and many of the wild ones from starvation or injuries incurred while fighting over territory. When a domestic mink survives long enough to reproduce, it may cause problems for the wild mink populations. The adding of weaker domestic mink genes into wild mink populations is believed by some to have contributed to the decline of mink populations in Canada.

A 2006 study in Denmark concluded, due to frequent escapes from existing mink farms, "Closing mink farms may result in a crash of the free-ranging population, or alternatively it may result in the establishment of a better-adapted, truly feral population that may ultimately outnumber the population that was present before farm closures." The study reported more information would be necessary to determine the outcome. Another Danish study reported a significant majority of the "wild" mink were mink which had escaped from fur farms. About 47% had escaped within two months, 31% had escaped prior to two months, and 21% "may or may not have been born in nature." The survival rate for recently released minks is reportedly lower than for wild minks, but if feral minks survive at least two months, their survival rate is the same as for wild minks. The authors suggest this is due to the rapid behavioural adaptation of the animals.

Disease
The American mink and European mink have both been found to transmit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Fur use
American minks are primarily used in manufacturing fur coats, jackets, and capes. Pelts that are not able to be converted into these items are made into trimming for cloth and fur coats. Mink scarves and stoles are also manufactured. Jackets and capes are mostly made from small to medium-sized specimens, usually females and young males, while trimming, scarves and stoles are made from adult males. The most valuable peltries come from eastern Canada which, although the smallest, are the silkiest and darkest.

Trapping
Although difficult to catch, the American mink, prior to being commercially farmed, was among the most frequently trapped furbearers as, unlike other furbearing mammals, it did not hibernate in winter, and could thus be caught on a nightly basis even in the far north. Minks were legally trapped from early November to early April, when their pelts were prime. Minks caught in traps cling to life with great tenacity, having been known to break their teeth in trying to extricate themselves from steel traps. Elliott Coues described a trapped mink thusly:

"One who has not taken a Mink in a steel trap can scarcely form an idea of the terrible expression the animal's face assumes as the captor approaches. It has always struck me as the most nearly diabolical of anything in animal physiognomy. A sullen stare from the crouched, motionless form gives way to a new look of surprise and fear, accompanied with the most violent contortions of the body, with renewed champing of the iron till breathless, with heaving flanks, and open mouth dribbling saliva, the animal settles again, and watches with a look of concentrated hatred, mingled with impotent rage and frightful despair. The countenance of the Mink, its broad, low head, short ears, small eyes, piggish snout, and formidable teeth, is always expressive of the lower and more brutal passions, all of which are intensified at such times. As may well be supposed, the creature must not be incautiously dealt with when in such a frame of mind."

One Native American method involved using a bait (usually a slit open chicken carcass filled with fish oil and oysters) tied to a rope and dragged around an area laden with traps. A mink would thus follow the trail into one of the traps. Another indigenous method involved placing traps scented with muskrat and female mink musk on top of disused muskrat dens by water bodies. Attracted by the scent of food and a female, the mink would get caught in the trap and drown. On the American prairies, only the steel trap was used, due to the lack of timber.

Farming
Breeding American minks for their fur began in the late 19th century, as increasing enthusiasm for mink pelts made the harvesting of wild minks insufficient to meet the new demands. American minks are easily kept in captivity, and breed readily. In 2005, the U.S. ranked fourth in production behind Denmark, China and the Netherlands. Minks typically breed in March, and give birth to their litters in May. Farmers vaccinate the young kits for botulism, distemper, enteritis, and, if needed, pneumonia. They are harvested in late November and December. Methods for killing animals on fur farms, as on all farms, are detailed in the American Veterinary Medical Association's Report on Euthanasia which is used as a voluntary guideline for state departments of agriculture which have jurisdiction over all farms raising domesticated livestock, including minks. In the past, some mink farms successfully provided pools of water for the mink to swim; however, this practice is unheard-of in modern mink production. Minks are motivated to access swimming water, and the absence of water is a source of frustration on modern farms. The ideal diet for farm-bred minks consists of four to five ounces of horse meat and a quarter-pint of milk once daily.

Colour mutations
Selective breeding has produced a number of different colour shades in mink peltries, ranging from pure white, through beiges, browns, and greys, to a brown that is almost black. The two standard strains are brown and "black cross" which, when paired, produce numerous colour variations. When an albino mink is born, it is standard procedure in fur farms to breed it to other colour mutations to produce grey and light-brown pastel shades. The following graph is a simplification of the main colour strains:

As pets
Wild mink can be tamed if caught young, but can be difficult to handle and are usually not handled bare-handed. In the late 19th century, tame American minks were often reared for ratting, much as ferrets were used in Europe. Some modern ratters have revived this practice using farm-raised mink, sometimes alongside ratting dogs. They are sometimes more effective ratters than terriers, as they can enter rat holes and drive rats from their hiding places.

When mink of wild stock are confined with tame ones, the wild invariably dominate the tamed mink. They have also been known to dominate cats in confrontations. Although intelligent, minks are not quick to learn tricks taught to them by their owners. Because of their fondness for bathing, captive American minks may enter kettles or other open water-containing vessels.

Although domestic minks have been bred in captivity for almost a century, they have not been bred to be tame. Domestic minks have been bred for size, fur quality, and color. However, the U.S. Fur Commission claims "mink are truly domesticated animals", based on the number of years they have been kept on fur farms.

Literature
As an invasive species in the United Kingdom, minks have been the subject of at least two novels. Ewan Clarkson's 1968 Break for Freedom (published as Syla, the Mink in the US) tells the story of a female mink escaped from a fur farm in a realistic style. On the other hand, A.R. Lloyd's 1982 Kine is a heroic fantasy with the minks as villains and the weasels and other indigenous animals as heroes.

Indigenous names

 * Abenaki language
 * mosbas
 * Penobscot: mósəpehso
 * sakihpa
 * ilgitux̂
 * no'eihi'
 * eérux
 * íkusana
 * aapssiiyai'kayi or soyii'kayi
 * svki
 * okfincha
 * tthełjus
 * qayχ
 * sâkwes
 * sâkwês ᓵᑫᐧᐢ
 * šâkwêšiw ᔖᑴᔑᐤ
 * shakweshiw ᔕᑴᔑᐤ
 * ᐊᒋᑲᔅ
 * James Bay Cree: achikaash ᐊᒋᑳᔥ
 * baapúxtakbialee
 * Dakelh
 * Nadleh Whut'en: telhjoos
 * Nak'azdli: techus
 * taadle
 * Delaware
 * Halkomelem
 * Hul'q'umi'num: chuchi'q'un'
 * Halqeméylem: ts'qáyex̱iya
 * Haíɫzaqv: kvṇ̓á
 * sa•kih•pa
 * Lushootseed
 * Northern Lushootseed: bəščəb
 * Southern Lushootseed:
 * Nishnaabemwin: zhaangwesh
 * Nlaka'pamuctsin: c̓əx̣lécn
 * t'uka
 * Nuu-chah-nulth
 * Ehattesaht: č̕aastumc
 * Tseshaht: č̓aastimc
 * zhaangweshi
 * Salish: c̓xlicn̓
 * Senćoŧen: ćećiḵen
 * Shashishalhem: ḵáyx̱
 * Secwepemc: ts'exlétsen
 * Sm'álgyax: lis'yaan
 * Tse'khene: tantl'ehe
 * Witsuwittʼen: tëc'ohts'iy
 * Nishnaabemwin: zhaangwesh
 * Nlaka'pamuctsin: c̓əx̣lécn
 * t'uka
 * Nuu-chah-nulth
 * Ehattesaht: č̕aastumc
 * Tseshaht: č̓aastimc
 * zhaangweshi
 * Salish: c̓xlicn̓
 * Senćoŧen: ćećiḵen
 * Shashishalhem: ḵáyx̱
 * Secwepemc: ts'exlétsen
 * Sm'álgyax: lis'yaan
 * Tse'khene: tantl'ehe
 * Witsuwittʼen: tëc'ohts'iy
 * Salish: c̓xlicn̓
 * Senćoŧen: ćećiḵen
 * Shashishalhem: ḵáyx̱
 * Secwepemc: ts'exlétsen
 * Sm'álgyax: lis'yaan
 * Tse'khene: tantl'ehe
 * Witsuwittʼen: tëc'ohts'iy
 * Witsuwittʼen: tëc'ohts'iy
 * Witsuwittʼen: tëc'ohts'iy

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: American mink


text:
The Fontane Sisters

The Fontane Sisters were a trio (Bea, Geri and Marge Rosse) from New Milford, New Jersey.

Early years
Born to an Italian family, their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Bea and Marge started out singing for local functions, doing so well that they were urged to audition in New York City. Originally they performed as a trio with their guitarist brother Frank, under the name the Ross Trio (Rosse with the "e" omitted). The group auditioned for NBC and was soon sent off to work in Cleveland.

When they returned to New York in 1944, Frank was drafted into the Army; he went to France and was mortally wounded by a German sniper. Geri, who had just finished school, took her brother's place, making it an all-girl trio.

The sisters first performed together as The Three Sisters. Sheet music of two of their songs, "I'm Gonna See My Baby", and "Pretty Kitty Blue Eyes", was published by Santly-Joy in 1944.

Success
The now all-female group chose the name of Fontaine from a French-Canadian great-grandmother. They cut two singles for Musicraft Records in 1946, and then worked on sustaining (non-sponsored) programs for NBC, meeting and working with Perry Como soon after he came to the network. Word reached the sisters, then in Chicago for NBC, that "Supper Club" would be making cast changes; they were eager for a chance to join Como's show, which also meant being closer to their home. Beginning in the summer of 1948, they were featured on his radio and TV show known as The Chesterfield Supper Club and later (1950–1954) as The Perry Como Show. The trio also did appearances on Chesterfield Sound Off Time when the program originated from New York; however, the television show lasted only one season.

In 1949 they were signed by RCA Victor and dropped the I from "Fontaine." There they cut a few dozen singles over the next several years, sometimes as backup to Perry Como. These songs were in the typical slow, sedate pop style of the period. In 1951, they had a minor hit with "The Tennessee Waltz", of which bigger selling recordings were made by Patti Page and Les Paul and Mary Ford.

In 1954 they switched to Randy Wood's Dot Records, where they abandoned the slow late 1940s-early 1950s style for faster material aimed at the growing teen/rock-and-roll audience, and they had 18 songs reaching the Billboard pop charts, including ten in the Top 40. Their late 1954 recording, "Hearts of Stone", was the highest charting single of their career as it sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Retirement
The Fontane Sisters released their last significant hit when Chanson D'Amour went to #12 in 1958, and they retired from performing around 1961, when youngest sister Geri was expecting her daughter. The daughter was named after Geri, and as an adult she went by the name 'Geri Fontane Latchford' — 'Latchford' coming from her father's name, Al(bert) Latchford. Neither Bea nor Marge had any children, and the younger Geri was her parents' only child.

With the rise of rock-and-roll in the mid-'50s, most older performers were quickly sidelined and the sisters were tired of touring as well as the direction popular music was headed, and were ready to cede the charts to the younger generation. Geri married Al Latchford, a history professor. Marge was married to Franklin Hobbs, who became a long-time on-air personality at WCCO in Minneapolis-St. Paul.They met while the sisters were still working in Chicago for NBC. She remarried and became Marge Smith, the wife of an advertising executive. Only Marge left the area, relocating to Florida with her second husband. Bea became Mrs. E. Holmes Douglass in 1964.

In 1963, Dot Records released one final album, Tips of my Fingers, and single ("Tips of My Fingers"/"Summertime Love") by The Fontane Sisters. These recordings did not mark a return to performing for the trio, who remained retired despite having agreed to make the recordings.

Deaths
For the next 40 years, The Fontane Sisters remained mostly out of the public's eye. In 2001, RCA Records released a CD compilation of recordings made by the Fontane Sisters and Perry Como, "Perry Como With The Fontane Sisters", containing many of the songs featured on the Como radio and television shows.

In 2004 an article in the New York Daily News reported that Geri Fontane Latchford had received royalties due to her mother and two aunts. It was revealed in this same article that all three of The Fontane Sisters had died: Geri, on September 13, 1993; Bea, on March 25, 2002; and Marge, on December 3, 2003.

Singles

 * "Missouri Waltz/Linger In My Arms A Little Longer" (1946, Musicraft)
 * "It Couldn't Be True (or Could It)/My Fickle Eye" (1946, Musicraft)
 * "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" (w. The Three Suns) (1949, RCA Victor)
 * "The Bumpety Bus" (1949, RCA Victor)
 * "Fairy Tales/The Cinderella Work Song" (1950, RCA Victor)
 * "Can't We Talk It Over" (1950, RCA Victor)
 * "I Wanna Be Loved/I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (1950, RCA Victor)
 * "Jing-A-Ling, Jing-A-Ling/Silver Bells" (1950, RCA Victor)
 * "Tennessee Waltz" (1950, RCA Victor) (bigger hits by Patti Page and Les Paul and Mary Ford)
 * "If I Knew You We're Comin' I'd 'Ve Baked A Cake" (1950, RCA Victor)
 * "Grasshopper Heart (And A Butterfly Brain)/Handsome Stranger" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "A Howdy Doody Christmas/The Popcorn Song" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "Moon, June, Spoon" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "Grand Central Station/Alabama Jubilee" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "Castle Rock/Makin' Like a Train" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "The Fortune Teller Song/The Fifth Wheel On The Wagon (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "I Get The Blues When It Rains/Cold, Cold Heart" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "Let Me In/Hurry Home to Me" (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "River In The Moonlight/Snowflakes (1951, RCA Victor)
 * "Kissing Bridge" (1953, RCA Victor)
 * "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" (1954, this and all subsequent releases on Dot)
 * "Willow Weep For Me" (1954)
 * "Hearts Of Stone" (1954) (their biggest hit, originally recorded by Johnny Torrence and The Jewels; also covered by The Charms)
 * "Rock Love" (1955) (originally recorded by Lula Reed; also covered by Eddie Fontaine)
 * "Most of All (1955) (originally recorded by The Moonglows; also covered by Don Cornell)
 * "Rollin' Stone" (1955), (originally recorded by The Marigolds)
 * "Playmates" (1955) (originally recorded by Kay Kyser in 1940)
 * "Seventeen" (1955) (originally recorded by Boyd Bennett)
 * "Daddy-O" (1955) (originally recorded by "Mary Kath" known as Bonnie Lou)
 * "Adorable" (originally recorded by The Colts; a bigger hit by The Drifters) (1955)
 * "Nuttin' For Christmas" (1955) (also recorded by Art Mooney, Barry Gordon and Stan Freberg the same year)
 * "Eddie My Love" (1956) (originally recorded by The Teen Queens; also covered by The Chordettes)
 * "I'm In Love Again" (1956), (originally recorded by Fats Domino)
 * "Lonesome Lover Blues" (1956) (originally recorded Billy Eckstine in 1946)
 * "Doin' The Rock and Rolla" (1956) (a rewording of the Andrews Sisters, Rum & Coca-Cola)
 * "(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You" (1956) – (Remake of the Stuart Hamblen c/w hit)
 * "Please Don't Leave Me" (1956), (originally recorded by Fats Domino)
 * "Still" (1956), (originally recorded by Lavern Baker)
 * "Voices" (1956)
 * "With a Little Bit of Luck (1957)" (a bigger hit for Harry Belafonte and The Tarriers)
 * "The Banana Boat Song (1957)" (originally recorded by The Tarriers)
 * "I'm Stickin' with You" (1957) (originally recorded by Jimmy Bowen in 1957.
 * "Jealous Heart" (1958) (originally recorded by Tex Ritter in 1945)
 * "Chanson D'Amour" (1958) (bigger hit for Art and Dotty Todd)
 * "Listen To Your Heart/Please Be Kind" (1959)
 * "Darling, It's Wonderful/Theme From A Summer Place" (1959)
 * "(Doin' The) Lovers' Leap/Come Home Eddie" (1960)
 * "Tips of My Fingers"/"Summertime Love" (1963)

Albums

 * The Fontane Sisters/Novelty Orchestra and Organ - Fontaine Sisters And Orchestra (1955)
 * The Fontane's Sing (1955)
 * A Visit With The Fontane Sisters (1957)
 * Tips of My Fingers (1963)

title: The Fontane Sisters


text:
Syed Mir Qasim

Syed Mir Qasim (1921 - 12 December 2004) was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1971 to 1975.

Syed Mir Qasim's political career first began during the British Raj, when he became a leader of the non-sectarian, pro-democracy Quit Kashmir political movement. His advocacy against the monarchical rule of Maharaja Hari Singh resulted in his imprisonment.

After India's independence, Syed Mir Qasim was involved with the drafting of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. He went on to serve in various State and Union positions. He is credited with having established the Indian National Congress in Kashmir. He served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after the death of Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq. He resigned from the office in 1975 in order to pave the way for the return of Sheikh Abdullah after the Indian Government reached an accord with the latter.

In his autobiography, My Life and Times, published in September 1992, Qasim provided interesting historical detail on the struggle of Kashmiris to throw off the yoke of monarchy in the princely state through the Quit Kashmir movement, as well as background on the issue of accession to India rather than choosing to join Pakistan.

Qasim died in an ambulance near India Gate in New Delhi on 12 December 2004 at the age of 83. In accordance with his wishes, he was buried in the village of his birth, Dooru in Kashmir. His funeral was attended by thousands without incident. He was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award by Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2005.

title: Syed Mir Qasim


text:
Panchito

Panchito is a diminutive of the name Pancho, which in turn is a diminutive of the name Francisco. It may refer to:
 * Panchito Alba, stage name of Filipino actor Alfonso Tagle Sr.
 * Panchito Pistoles, Disney cartoon character
 * Francisco Velázquez, former Argentine roller hockey player
 * A Spanish profane term for a Mestizo or an indigenous Central or South American

title: Panchito


text:
File:Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) from "Dr Who".jpg

Summary
Source: http://www.shillpages.com/dw/frankr01.jpg Permission granted for non-commercial use for the promotion of Doctor Who.

Non-free use rationale
The above image is believed to qualify as fair use as it is an image of: a web resolution, and of a lower quality then broadcast/verbatim media releases. The image provides critical commentary in describing the subject of the article. Furthermore it is believed that this image will not impede the copyright owners' ability to profit.


text: Wikipedia:Picture of the day/December 25, 2004


text:
Khwaja Shams-ud-Din

Khwaja Shams-ud-Din (1922 – 19 April 1999) was the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for a brief period of time from 12 October 1963 to 29 February 1964. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1956 and re-elected in 1962, 1967 and 1972. It was during his administration, on 26 December 1963, that the Proposed Prophet's Relic was stolen from the Hazratbal Shrine. Weeks after that incident, he was replaced by Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq.

title: Khwaja Shams-ud-Din


text:
Silver Service

Silver Service is a brand applied by Amtrak to its long-distance trains running along the United States East Coast between New York City and Miami, Florida. It comprises two trains:
 * Silver Meteor
 * Silver Star

The two services follow the same general route between New York City and Miami, but diverge between Selma, NC, and Savannah, GA, as well as at Auburndale, FL. The Silver Meteor takes a more direct, coastal route between Selma and Savannah via Fayetteville, NC, Florence, SC, and Charleston, SC, while the Silver Star travels inland to serve the Carolinas' two state capitals, Raleigh, NC, and Columbia, SC. At Auburndale, FL, the Silver Star continues west to service Lakeland, FL, and Tampa, FL, while the Silver Meteor turns south to go directly to Miami. Amtrak's Palmetto operates over the Silver Meteor's route between New York City and Savannah.

The Silver Meteor and Silver Star are the only single-level routes in the Amtrak system offering full-service dining; all other single-level long-distance routes exclusively serve pre-packaged ready-to-eat meals.

History
The two Silver Service trains were inherited from the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, which originally inherited them from the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, when Amtrak took over most intercity rail service in 1971. They are the sole remnants of numerous long-distance trains that ran between the Northeast and Florida for most of the 20th century. Amtrak originally applied the Florida Fleet brand to the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and the now-discontinued Champion, another train inherited from SCL, in the 1970's.

Prior to 1979, the Silver Meteor travelled between Savannah and Jacksonville, FL, via the Seaboard Coast Line's Everett Subdivision with a stop at Thalmann, GA, for Brunswick, GA. The train was rerouted via Jesup, GA, in late 1979 along the same route as the Silver Star after SCL wanted to abandon the Everett Subdivision. Similarly, the Silver Star ran between Petersburg, VA, and Raleigh via the Norlina Subdivision, with a stop at Henderson, NC, until 1985. When CSX, corporate successor of Seaboard Coast Line, abandoned the line between Petersburg and Norlina, NC, in 1985, the Silver Star was rerouted via Selma en route to Raleigh. Currently, under the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor plan, the Norlina Subdivision will be rebuilt between Petersburg and Norlina, with both the Silver Star and Amtrak's Charlotte–New York Carolinian being rerouted over the line, with the stop at Henderson being reinstated, as well as a new stop being added at La Crosse, VA.

Starting in 1982, Amtrak operated a service called the Silver Palm between Miami and Tampa. This was later discontinued in 1985 due to low ridership. From 1996 to 2002, the Palmetto was renamed Silver Palm, and operated between New York and Miami.

title: Silver Service


text: Wikipedia:Picture of the day/December 26, 2004


text:
Mike Yates

Captain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT, an international organization that defends Earth from alien threats.

Character history
Yates first appears in the Third Doctor serial Terror of the Autons, the latest in a line of Captains assisting Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, although the Doctor implies that he was around for previous stories. He proves more durable than his predecessors, appearing semi-regularly on the programme from 1971 to 1974 alongside the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton. Together with the Doctor and his companions, Yates fights off alien invasions, the machinations of the renegade Time Lord known as the Master, rogue computers and mutated maggots.

Little is known of him outside of his time with UNIT. He is cool under fire, efficient, and both gives and carries out his orders with a minimum of fuss. He appears to have a relatively good rapport with his men, although he does remind Benton on occasion that "rank has its privileges." The Third Doctor's assistant, Jo Grant, is dressed up to go on a night on the town with Mike at the start of The Curse of Peladon, only to be taken on a trip in the TARDIS by the Doctor.

Yates's fall from grace starts when he is brainwashed by the artificial intelligence BOSS in the 1973 serial The Green Death. The brush with ecological disaster apparently made Yates very concerned about the future of the planet, and he is easily recruited by Sir Charles Grover into a conspiracy to reverse time and return Earth to a "golden age" (Invasion of the Dinosaurs). The conspiracy is thwarted by the Doctor, and in return for his past service to UNIT, the Brigadier allows Yates to take medical leave and then quietly resign (actor Richard Franklin believes the initial plan for this story was to kill off Yates ).

Trying to recover, Yates attends a meditation centre where he uncovers strange goings-on, which he reports to Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah communicates this back to the Doctor, leading into the rest of the events of the Third Doctor's last serial, Planet of the Spiders.

Richard Franklin returned as an illusory image of Yates in the 20th Anniversary special "The Five Doctors" and reprised the role of Yates in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time. A photo of Yates meeting Special Space Security agent Sara Kingdom is seen amongst a collection of companion photographs kept by UNIT's Black Archive in the 50th anniversary story, The Day of the Doctor.

In their 1995 book Doctor Who Companions writers and Doctor Who historians David J. Howe and Mark Stammers noted that the character of Yates was created as a possible love interest for Jo Grant, but this was not pursued very far. They also note that early UNIT stories had featured a succession of Captains acting as the Brigadier's second in command and it made sense to standardise this position with one regular character.

As one of the more prominent recurring supporting characters in the television series, Yates is often listed as a companion of the Doctor and indeed is listed as such on the official BBC Doctor Who website. However, he is not always listed as such - John Nathan-Turner's book Doctor Who: The Companions, for instance, excludes Yates.

Other appearances
Mike Yates has appeared in the spin-off novels taking place during his time with UNIT. In the Virgin Missing Adventures novels The Eye of the Giant by Christopher Bulis and The Scales of Injustice by Gary Russell, Yates begins as a sergeant in UNIT together with Benton and is promoted to Captain at the end of Scales, which takes place between the television stories Inferno and Terror of the Autons. The novel implies that he is promoted directly from Sergeant to Captain, which would be unusual if not impossible in most real-world militaries.

In the Past Doctor Adventures novel The Devil Goblins from Neptune by Keith Topping and Martin Day it is established that his full name is Michael Alexander Raymond Yates.

In the Past Doctor Adventures novel Verdigris by Paul Magrs, Yates is rendered amnesiac and subsequently turned two-dimensional. The Third Doctor later arranges for Yates to be restored to normal.

In Past Doctor Adventures novel Deep Blue, it is revealed that Mike had three brothers, and his mum thinks that Mike is the most sensitive.

Stories written as in-universe articles in Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special 1991, (subtitled "UNIT Exposed") describe significant post-UNIT activity for Yates. He founds an organisation called the Cosmic Earth Society; writes a book called Help From the Stars, which details the revelations of past extraterrestrial involvement in human evolution discovered by UNIT at Devil's End, and reveals other UNIT-operations information to a reporter from the Metropolitan. He claims that the actual cause of central London's evacuation was dinosaurs being brought forward in time (part of a plan that he admits to have been involved in and which was, he claimed, the real reason for his discharge from UNIT). This dovetails with Day of the Dinosaurs, an entry in a series of science fiction novels written by former UNIT associate Sarah Jane Smith, which feature an organization called WIN (World Investigative Network) commanded by General Lutwidge-Douglas. This leads another Metropolitan reporter to doubt that Yates is a crackpot as generally believed.

Richard Franklin also wrote an unpublished novel featuring Mike Yates, The Killing Stone, set after the events of Spiders. It was released as an audio book, read by Franklin, by BBV in 2002.

In 2009, Franklin reprised the role of Mike Yates for a series of five audio dramas produced by BBC Audio under the umbrella title Hornets' Nest. The series sees Yates partner with the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker. He reunites with the Fourth Doctor in the subsequent sequel series, Demon Quest and Serpent Crest.

Television

 * Season 8
 * Terror of the Autons
 * The Mind of Evil
 * The Claws of Axos
 * The Dæmons
 * Season 9
 * Day of the Daleks (Episodes 1 – 2 & 4)
 * The Time Monster (Episodes 1 – 4)
 * Season 10
 * The Green Death (Episodes 4 – 6)
 * Season 11
 * Invasion of the Dinosaurs
 * Planet of the Spiders
 * 20th anniversary special
 * "The Five Doctors" (cameo)
 * 30th anniversary special
 * Dimensions in Time

Audio drama

 * The Blue Tooth (adventure related by the character Liz Shaw) by Nigel Fairs
 * The Magician's Oath by Scott Handcock
 * Hornets' Nest
 * Demon Quest
 * Serpent Crest
 * The Rings of Ikiria
 * Destiny of the Doctor: Vengeance of the Stones

Novels

 * Virgin Missing Adventures
 * Dancing the Code by Paul Leonard
 * The Eye of the Giant by Christopher Bulis
 * The Scales of Injustice by Gary Russell
 * Speed of Flight by Paul Leonard

 * Virgin New Adventures
 * Happy Endings by Paul Cornell

 * Virgin sidestep novel
 * Who Killed Kennedy by David Bishop (letter to a UNIT casualty's next-of-kin is signed by Yates)

 * Past Doctor Adventures
 * The Devil Goblins from Neptune by Martin Day and Keith Topping
 * The Face of the Enemy by David A. McIntee
 * Deep Blue by Mark Morris
 * Verdigris by Paul Magrs
 * Rags by Mick Lewis
 * Deadly Reunion by Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts

 * Unlicensed novel, released on CD
 * The Killing Stone by Richard Franklin

Short stories

 * "Brief Encounter--Listening Watch" by Dan Abnett (Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special 1991)
 * "Prisoners of the Sun" by Tim Robins (Decalog; parallel universe version of Yates)
 * "Where the Heart Is" by Andy Lane (Decalog 2: Lost Property)
 * "Housewarming" by David A. McIntee (Decalog 2: Lost Property)
 * "The Switching" by Simon Guerrier (Short Trips: Zodiac)
 * "UNIT Christmas Parties: Christmas Truce" by Terrance Dicks (Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury)
 * "Operation H.A.T.E" by Richard Franklin

title: Mike Yates


text:
Durga Prasad Dhar

Durga Prasad Dhar, commonly known as D. P. Dhar (1918–1975), was an Indian politician and diplomat who is considered as the chief architect of the Indian intervention in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Dhar was a close adviser and confidant of Indira Gandhi. He served as the Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union, and as a minister in the Government of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Government of India.

Early life and education
Dhar was born on May 10, 1918, in Srinagar in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India into a Kashmiri Pandit family. He studied at the Tyndale Biscoe School in Sheikh Bagh. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of the Punjab in Lahore and went on to complete his LLB from the University of Lucknow.

Political
Dhar joined the Quit Kashmir movement in 1946, which was led by Sheikh Abdullah against Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir. He is reported to have played a key role in assisting the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. He helped the Indian officers interact with the population and collect porters, mules and other kinds of administrative help which facilitated the soldiers' job.

Dhar was subsequently appointed the Home Secretary and then the Deputy Home Minister of Jammu and Kashmir in 1948, when Sheikh Abdullah was the Prime Minister. He was a Member of the Jammu and Kashmir State Constituent Assembly from 1951 to 1957 which endorsed Kashmir's accession to India. He was also a Member of the State Assembly from 1957 to 1967, and was appointed Cabinet Minister, in-charge of various portfolios. He was later elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir in 1972. He was appointed as the Union Minister for Planning in July, 1972.

Dhar was a close associate of Indira Gandhi and was instrumental in finalising the 1972 Indo-Bangladesh treaty of peace, friendship and co-operation. He became one of the closest confidants of the Nehru-Gandhi family and also played a significant role in the 1972 Simla agreement between India and Pakistan.

Diplomacy
Dhar was a member of the Indian delegation to the United Nations security council meeting in 1949 and the Indian delegation to United Nations General Assembly in the Paris Session of 1952. He was the ambassador of India to the Soviet Union between 1969-1971 and then again from 1975 till his death.

He negotiated the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and was a principal architect of India's military intervention in neighbouring East Pakistan's civil war, which led to the creation of independent Bangladesh.

The D.P. Dhar Hall at Embassy of India in Moscow is named in his honour.

Death
D.P. Dhar died of a heart attack on 12 June 1975.

Awards
In 2012, Bangladesh president Zillur Rahman conferred the Liberation War Friendship Honour (posthumous) to Durga Prasad Dhar in recognition of his pioneering role in concluding the 1971 Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty, mobilising international support in favour of Bangladesh and playing a special role in support of the Liberation War. Vijay Dhar, son of D.P. Dhar received the honour on his behalf in Dhaka.

title: Durga Prasad Dhar