Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops, such as wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are native fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, yogurt doogh and whey. Kabuli palaw is the national dish of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is famous for its pomegranates in Asia.
Rhesus macaques are Asian, Old World monkeys. Their natural range includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, and China. A few troops of introduced rhesus macaques now live wild in Florida.
Other wild animals of Afghanistan include Marco Polo sheep, urials, ibex, bears, wolves, foxes, hyenas, jackals, and mongooses. Wild boar, hedgehogs, shrews, hares, mouse hares, bats, and various rodents also occur. More than 380 bird species are found in Afghanistan, with more than 200 breeding there.
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty, named after its eponymous first ruler Gondophares. They ruled parts of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwestern India, during or slightly before the 1st century AD.
Afghanistan has four seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. The largest part of the country has a dry continental climate with hot summers and cold winters. In parts of the lowlands, especially in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the summer temperature can rise to 50°C, but stays around 20°C in the winter.
There are no species of Cacti native to the Middle East, but some have been imported as ornamental plants in gardens, as field crops, or have become naturalised.
Thirteen types of venomous snakes can be found in Afghanistan, including the Oxus cobra (Naja oxiana), Haly's pit viper (Gloydius halys), Levantine viper (Macrovipera lebetina), and the saw-scaled viper (E. carinatus). Many of these snakes also occur in Iran, the report said.
The only confirmed record in Iraq dates to 1887 when a tiger was shot near Mosul, which is considered to have been a migrant from southeastern Turkey. There are also claims of historical tiger presence in the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system in Iraq and Syria.
Source: wikipedia. But leopards and cheetahs and are still roaming around what's called “Middle East”. Leopards are found in southern Arabia high mountains as well as areas south of Caspian sea, while cheetahs are found in Iran. There used to be tigers all over the Middle East, especially the Caspian tiger.
“Certainly, there is no proper habitat for tiger in Iran. Before restoring the Caspian tiger in the country, other species of red and roe deer must be increased; for example, 20 tigers in a hypothetical area may need a population of 10,000 large mammals, which may take several years to expand.
Big cat remains are very scarce, so scarce in fact that only ancient artwork and accounts show that the modern lion inhabited Europe in historic times. There are no actual remains We know that the Caspian Tiger lived in eastern Anatolia and Trans-Caucasia until post medieval times.
Iran lost its last Asiatic or Persian lion almost 80 years ago, and it became extinct in the country due to indiscriminate hunting and habitat loss, but the lion is now back home. Persian lion has now gone extinct in Iran and there are no confirmed modern records of lion presence in the country.
Tigers are found in amazingly diverse habitats: rain forests, grasslands, savannas and even mangrove swamps. Unfortunately, 93% of historical tiger lands have disappeared primarily because of expanding human activity.
Afghanistan is in the middle of Asia. The country is landlocked and mountainous, and has most of the Hindu Kush mountains.
Most scorpions and solpugids prefer to live in arid environments and they are most abundant in the hot desert regions of Afghanistan. Black widow spiders and tarantulas can be encountered throughout Afghanistan. Not all scorpions have venom potent enough to be considered dangerous to humans.
At lower elevations, somewhere between 5,500 and 7,200 feet (1,700 and 2,200 metres), cedar is abundant; below the fir and cedar lines, oak, walnut, alder, ash, and juniper trees can be found. There are also shrubs, several varieties of roses, honeysuckle, hawthorn, and currant and gooseberry bushes.
Snow Leopard. Afghanistan is one of the twelve countries inhabited by the rare and exquisite snow leopard. The species resides in the country's remote and peaceful Wakhan Corridor in the northern province of Badakhshan and at the eastern Afghanistan/Pakistan border in the provinces of Nuristan and Badakhshan.
Africa at a Glance
Gray wolf populations in Africa are minimal with small, endangered populations in Egypt and Ethiopia, based on new genetic findings about the golden jackal (Canis aureus) which is now thought to be a gray wolf (Canis lupus). Also in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) is really a jackal.Afghan pika. The Afghan pika (Ochotona rufescens) is a species of small mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan and the IUCN lists it as being of "least concern".
Like most predators, hyena attacks tend to target women, children, and infirm men, though both species can and do attack healthy adult males on occasion. The spotted hyena is the more dangerous of the two species, being larger, more predatory, and more aggressive than the striped hyena.
Female spotted hyenas are more muscular and more aggressive than their male counterparts. This is because the females have three times as much testosterone in their bodies.
The striped hyena is a primarily nocturnal animal, which typically only leaves its den at the onset of total darkness, returning before sunrise. The species is not as vocal as the spotted hyena, its vocalisations being limited to a chattering laugh and howling.
The striped hyena is not considered very aggressive and usually avoids contact with other animals. Misunderstood and viewed as dangerous or destructive, it is poisoned, trapped, or shot for supposedly preying on livestock or raiding farms.
Spotted hyenas are the largest of three hyena species. Brown and striped hyenas are the other two. Although hyenas appear similar to dogs, they are actually more closely related to cats. They live throughout much of Africa and eastwards through Arabia to India.
The striped hyena is easily tamed and can be fully trained, particularly when young. Although the Ancient Egyptians did not consider striped hyenas sacred, they supposedly tamed them for use in hunting. Although they kill dogs in the wild, striped hyenas raised in captivity can form bonds with them.
Hyenas are not members of the dog or cat families. Instead, they are so unique that they have a family all their own, Hyaenidae. This gives hyenas their distinctive walk, making them seem like they're always limping uphill.
Aardwolf, (Proteles cristatus), insectivorous carnivore that resembles a small striped hyena. The shy, mainly nocturnal aardwolf lives on the arid plains of Africa. There are two geographically separate populations, one centred in South Africa and the other in East Africa.
The striped hyena is easily tamed and can be fully trained, particularly when young. Although the Ancient Egyptians did not consider striped hyenas sacred, they supposedly tamed them for use in hunting. Although they kill dogs in the wild, striped hyenas raised in captivity can form bonds with them.
