document_title: Designated Survivor (season 2)

question_text: who plays emily rhodes' father on designated survivor

question_tokens: who plays emily rhodes ' father on designated survivor

text: Designated Survivor (season 2)

text: Overview[edit]

text: One year into office, President Thomas Kirkman juggles searching for the mastermind behind the attack on the Capitol Building, dealing with the day-to-day situations that take place at home and abroad, and helping a nation rebuild.

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Kiefer Sutherland as President Thomas "Tom" Kirkman[3]
Natascha McElhone as First Lady Alexandra "Alex" Kirkman[3]
Paulo Costanzo as White House Political Director Lyor Boone[3]
Adan Canto as National Security Advisor Aaron Shore[3]
Italia Ricci as White House Chief of Staff Emily Rhodes[3]
LaMonica Garrett as United States Secret Service Advance Team Leader Mike Ritter[3]
Zoe McLellan as White House Counsel Kendra Daynes[3]
Ben Lawson as Secret Intelligence Service Special Agent Damian Rennett[3]
Kal Penn as White House Press Secretary Seth Wright[3]
Maggie Q as Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Hannah Wells[3]

tag: ul

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Terry Serpico as Patrick Lloyd
Jake Epstein as Chuck Russink
Mckenna Grace as Penny Kirkman
Bonnie Bedelia as Eva Booker
Reed Diamond as John Forstell
Geoff Pierson as Cornelius Moss
Mykelti Williamson as Admiral Chernow
Breckin Meyer as Trey Kirkman[4]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

22
1
"One Year In"
Chris Grismer
Keith Eisner
September 27, 2017 (2017-09-27)
5.50[5]

Kirkman struggles to prevent a possible international crisis when Ukrainian separatists hijack a Russian airplane with American citizens among the passengers; Wells works with MI6 agent Damian Rennett (Ben Lawson) to find the Capitol bombing's chief architect; Emily juggles hiring political consultant Lyor Boone (Paulo Costanzo) and determining where Seth's loyalties lie; the senior staff attempts to keep a visiting writer occupied before his audience with the President.

23
2
"Sting of the Tail"
Frederick E. O. Toye
Keith Eisner
October 4, 2017 (2017-10-04)
4.80[6]

Kirkman works with Wells and Rennett when Patrick Lloyd (Terry Serpico) reemerges and threatens to unleash sarin gas on the D.C. metropolitan area if his demands are not met; Seth struggles to finish Kirkman's speech for the Correspondents' Dinner; the senior staff welcomes White House Counsel Kendra Daynes (Zoe McLellan) into the fold.

24
3
"Outbreak"
Chris Grismer
Ashley Gable
October 11, 2017 (2017-10-11)
4.61[7]

Kirkman works with the Centers for Disease Control to contain a viral outbreak; Wells and Rennett dig deeper into Patrick Lloyd's motives; Kendra attempts to settle a debate about a Confederate statue; the senior staff prepares for the presentation of an Amazonian frog named after the President.

25
4
"Equilibrium"
Joe Lazarov
Paul Redford & Keith Eisner
October 18, 2017 (2017-10-18)
4.34[8]

Kirkman and the senior staff attempt to resolve a border dispute between the United States and Mexico; Wells interrogates Alex about her mother's possible involvement in a decades-old crime; an investigator from the Office of Management and Budget tries to determine who is responsible for breaking a priceless vase.

26
5
"Suckers"
Fred Gerber
Bill Chais
October 25, 2017 (2017-10-25)
3.94[9]

Kirkman and the senior staff work together to regain the public's trust after a private conversation is taken out of context on national television; Wells and Rennett reunite when a visiting British MP is gunned down; Alex becomes emotionally involved in the ongoing investigation against her mother.

27
6
"Two Ships"
Leslie Libman
Jessica Grasl
November 1, 2017 (2017-11-01)
3.92[10]

Kirkman sets out to prevent a potential national security threat after a stranded U.S. Navy ship with a state-of-the-art surveillance system drifts into enemy waters; Wells and Rennett continue investigating Charlotte Thorne's death; Kendra tries to convince Alex's mother to make a difficult decision; Emily reunites with her absentee father.

28
7
"Family Ties"
Milan Cheylov
Pierluigi Cothran
November 15, 2017 (2017-11-15)
4.05[11]

The First Family struggles to prevent a scandal when Leo is sued by a man protesting a Turkish activist; Alex finds herself caught in the middle of a murder investigation; Secretary Moss stonewalls Wells and Rennett as they investigate his relationship with Charlotte Thorne.

29
8
"Home"
Ian Toynton
Pat Cunnane
November 29, 2017 (2017-11-29)
4.03[12]

Kirkman attempts to determine who he can trust as he embarks on a secret trip to Afghanistan and Seth makes a decision that could jeopardize both his political career and his future in the White House.

30
9
"Three-Letter Day"
Jeannot Szwarc
Bill Chais & Ashley Arena
December 6, 2017 (2017-12-06)
3.91[13]

Kirkman's senior staff personally respond to letters requesting that the White House respectively investigate a war hero's legacy, a death row inmate's pardon, and a bee colony's collapse; Wells and Rennett continue to search for evidence that could exonerate Alex; Chuck makes a shattering discovery.

31
10
"Line of Fire"
Chris Grismer
Keith Eisner
December 13, 2017 (2017-12-13)
4.39[14]

Kirkman and the senior staff attempt to save a group of religious extremists who refuse to leave their cabin from a raging forest fire; Wells reels from a stunning betrayal; Alex prepares to testify before Director Forstell; a heartbreaking death promises to change everyone's lives forever.

32
11
"Grief"[15]
Timothy Busfield
Keith Eisner
February 28, 2018 (2018-02-28)
TBD

33
12
"The Final Frontier"[16]
Sharat Raju
Jeff Melvoin
March 7, 2018 (2018-03-07)
TBD

tag: table

text: Production[edit]

text: Designated Survivor was renewed for a second season on May 11, 2017. Former The Good Wife executive producer Keith Eisner will take over as showrunner for the second season.[17] Eisner will be the fourth showrunner for the show, replacing Jeff Melvoin, who was hired as showrunner in December 2016, taking over for Jon Harmon Feldman.[18] The show's original showrunner Amy B. Harris stepped down due to creative differences after the series' official pickup in February 2016.[19]

text: On June 22, 2017, cast member Virginia Madsen announced that she would not be returning for the second season as Kimble Hookstraten as she commented "I guess they had other stories to tell. It's a big show so I wish them well."[20] After the first season finale, Sutherland announced that the show would add three new characters for the second season. Two of the character descriptions was "a “fiery” female White House Counsel and a “ruggedly handsome” MI6 operative who crosses paths with Hannah."[21] TVLine announced on June 29, 2017, that Paulo Costanzo had been cast as a series regular role as Lyor Boone, the new White House Political Director.[22] Deadline reported on July 17, 2017, that Ben Lawson had been cast as the series regular character Damian Rennett, an MI6 operative.[23]

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Air date
Rating/share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)

1
"One Year In"
September 27, 2017
1.1/4
5.50[5]
1.4
5.84
2.5
11.34[24]

2
"Sting of the Tail"
October 4, 2017
0.9/4
4.80[6]
1.2
5.20
2.1
10.00[25]

3
"Outbreak"
October 11, 2017
0.9/4
4.61[7]
1.1
5.07
2.0
9.68[26]

4
"Equilibrium"
October 18, 2017
0.8/3
4.34[8]
1.1
5.00
1.9
9.34[27]

5
"Suckers"
October 25, 2017
0.7/3
3.94[9]
1.0
4.60
1.7
8.54[28]

6
"Two Ships"
November 1, 2017
0.7/3
3.92[10]
0.9
4.31
1.6
8.23[29]

7
"Family Ties"
November 15, 2017
0.8/3
4.05[11]
0.9
4.47
1.7
8.52[30]

8
"Home"
November 29, 2017
0.7/3
4.03[12]
1.0
4.83
1.7
8.86[31]

9
"Three-Letter Day"
December 6, 2017
0.7/3
3.87[13]
0.9
4.60
1.6
8.47[32]

10
"Line of Fire"
December 13, 2017
0.8/3
4.38[14]
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

11
"Grief"
February 28, 2018
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

12
"The Final Frontier"
March 7, 2018
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A


document_title: Chandragupta Maurya

question_text: who is the minister during the regime of chandragupta

root

text: Chandragupta Maurya

text: Biographical sources[edit]

text: The sources which describe the life of Chandragupta Maurya vary in details, and are found in Jain, Buddhist, Brahmanic (Hindu), Latin and Greek literature:[27]

tag: p

text:
Jain sources are Bhadrabahu's Kalpasutra and Hemachandra's Parisishtaparvan.
Brahmanical sources are the Puranas, Chanakya's Arthashastra, Vishakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa, Somadeva's Kathasaritsagara and Kshemendra's Brihatkathamanjari.
Buddhist sources are Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Mahavamsa tika and Mahabodhivamsa.
Greek and Latin sources include those by Nearchus, Onesicritus, Aristobublus, Strabo, Megasthenes, Diodorus, Arrian, Pliny the Elder, Plutarch and Justin.

text: Early life[edit]

text: Chandragupta's ancestry, birth year and family as well as early life are unclear.[28] This contrasts with abundant historical records, both in Indian and classical European sources, that describe his reign and empire.[29] The Greek and Latin literature phonetically transcribes Chandragupta, referring to him with the names "Sandrokottos" or "Androcottus".[14][30] According to Radhakumud Mookerji

text:
The Greek sources are the oldest recorded versions available, and mention his rise in 322/321 BCE after Alexander the Great ended his campaign in early 324 BCE. These sources state Chandragupta to be of non-princely and non-warrior ancestry, to be of a humble commoner birth.[31][32]
The Buddhist sources, written centuries later, claim that both Chandragupta and his grandson, the great patron of Buddhism called Ashoka, were of noble lineage. Some texts link him to the same family of Sakyas from which the Buddha came, adding that his epithet Moriya (Sanskrit: Maurya, Mayura) comes from Mora, which in Pali means peacock. Most Buddhist texts state that Chandragupta was a Kshatriya, the Hindu warrior class in Magadha and a student of Chanakya.[20][2] The Buddhist texts are inconsistent, with some including legends about a city named "Moriya-nagara" where all buildings were made of bricks colored like the peacock's resplendent neck.[33]
The Jain sources, also written centuries later, claim Chandragupta to be the son of a village chief, a village known for raising peacocks.[33]
The Hindu sources are similarly from later centuries. They state that Chandragupta was a student of Chanakya (also called Kautilya) of humble birth.[34] The Puranas composed after about the 3rd century CE mention that Kautilya was a Brahmin, praise Kautilya, mention Chandragupta but most are silent about his lineage or origins.[34] A few Hindu texts state that he was born to a Shudra woman, alternatively in a peacock rearing family – a profession that is neither priestly nor warrior.[34] An Ashokan pillar discovered and excavated in Nandangarh, suggests that a peacock was the emblem of Maurya dynasty and likely linked to the dynastic lineage.[35]

text: According to Kaushik Roy, both Chandragupta Maurya and the Nanda dynasty he replaced were of Shudra lineage.[36] After his birth, he was orphaned and abandoned, raised as a son by a cowherding pastoral family, then, according to Buddhist texts, was picked up, taught and counselled by Chanakya.[2][37] The Buddhist literature, which places the Mauryas in the same royal dynasty as the Buddha, states that Chandragupta, though born near Patna (Bihar) in Magadha, was taken by Chanakya for his training and education to Taxila, a town in what is now northern Pakistan. There he studied for eight years.[37] The Greek and Hindu texts state that Kautilya (Chanakya) was a native of the northwest Indian subcontinent, and Chandragupta was his resident student for eight years.[38][39]

text: Building the Empire[edit]

text: According to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa tika, Chandragupta and his guru Chanakya began recruiting an army after he completed his studies at Taxila (now in Pakistan).[40] This was a period of wars, given that Alexander the Great had invaded the northwest subcontinent from Caucasus Indicus (also called Paropamisadae in ancient texts, now called the Hindu Kush mountain range). Alexander and the Greeks abandoned further campaigns of expansion in 324 BCE, and began a retreat to Greece, leaving a legacy of Indian subcontinent regions ruled by new Greek governors and local rulers. A supply of warriors was already in place, and the future emperor and his teacher chose to build alliances with local rulers and a small mercenary army of their own. Chanakya also identified talent for future administration.[41] By 323 BCE, within a year of Alexander's retreat, this newly formed group had defeated some of the Greek-ruled cities in the northwest subcontinent.[42] Each victory led to an expanded army and territory. Chanakya provided the strategy, Chandragupta the execution, and together they began expanding eastward towards Magadha (Gangetic plains).[43]

text: Eastward expansion and the end of Nanda empire[edit]

text: Historically reliable details of Chandragupta's campaign into Pataliputra are unavailable; the legends written centuries later are inconsistent. According to Buddhist texts such as Milindapanha, which state Chandragupta descended from Sakyas (the family of the Buddha), Magadha was ruled by the evil Nanda dynasty, which Chandragupta, with Chanakya's counsel, easily conquered to restore dhamma.[44][45] In contrast, Hindu and Jain records suggest that campaign was bitterly fought, because the Nanda dynasty had a well trained, powerful army. Chandragupta and Chanakya built alliances and a formidable army of their own first.[46][45]

text: The Mudrarakshasa of Vishakhadatta as well as the Jain work Parishishtaparvan, for example, state that Chandragupta allied with a Himalayan king called Parvatka.[47] It is noted in the Chandraguptakatha that Chandragupta and Chanakya were initially rebuffed by the Nanda forces. Regardless, in the ensuing war, Chandragupta faced off against Bhadrasala, the commander of Dhana Nanda's armies.[48] He was eventually able to defeat Bhadrasala and Dhana Nanda in a series of battles, culminating in the siege of the capital city Pataliputra[49] and the conquest of the Nanda Empire around 322 BCE.[49] With the end of the Nanda dynasty, and possessing the resources of the Gangetic plains, Chandragupta put to work the statecraft strategies of Chanakya.[50] In his efforts to expand and consolidate an empire, Chandragupta may have allied with the King of Simhapura in Rajputana and Gajapati, King of Kalinga (modern day Orissa).[51]

text: The conquest was fictionalised in Mudrarakshasa, a political drama in Sanskrit by Vishakadatta composed 600 years later, probably sometime between 300 CE and 700 CE.[36] In another work, Questions of Milinda, Bhaddasala is named as a Nanda general during the conquest.[36] Plutarch does not discuss this conquest, but does estimate that Chandragupta's army would later number 600,000 by the time it had subdued all of India,[52] an estimate also given by Pliny. Pliny and Plutarch also estimated the Nanda Army strength in the east as 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants. These estimates were based in part of the earlier work of the Seleucid ambassador to the Maurya, Megasthenes.[53]

text: In the fictional work of doubtful historicity Mudrarakshasa, Chandragupta was said to have first acquired Punjab, and then combined forces with a local king named Parvatka under the advice of Chanakya, and advanced upon the Nanda Empire.[54] Chandragupta laid siege to Kusumapura (or Pataliputra, now Patna), the capital of Magadha, with the help of mercenaries from areas already conquered and by deploying guerrilla warfare methods.[36][55] P. K. Bhattacharyya states that the empire was built by a gradual conquest of provinces after the initial consolidation of Magadha.[52]

text: Conquest of Seleucid northwest regions[edit]

text: After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Chandragupta and his Brahmin counsellor and chief minister Chanakya began their empire building in the north-western Indian subcontinent (modern-day Pakistan).[56][57] Alexander had left satrapies (described as "prefects" in classical Western sources) in place in 324 BCE. Chandragupta's mercenaries may have assassinated two of his governors, Nicanor and Philip.[58][49] The satrapies he fought probably included Eudemus, who left the territory in 317 BCE; and Peithon, governing cities near the Indus River until he too left for Babylon in 316 BCE. The Roman historian Justin, about 500 years later, described how "wild lions and elephants" instinctively revered him, and how he conquered the north-west:

text: While he (Sandrocottus [Chandragupta]) was lying asleep, after his fatigue, a lion of great size having come up to him, licked off with his tongue the sweat that was running from him, and after gently waking him, left him. Being first prompted by this prodigy to conceive hopes of royal dignity, he drew together a band of robbers, and solicited the Indians to support his new sovereignty. Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India, when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness; who, after making a league with him, and settling his affairs in the east, proceeded to join in the war against Antigonus. As soon as the forces, therefore, of all the confederates were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight.

text: War and marriage alliance with Seleucus[edit]

text: Seleucus I Nicator, a Macedonian general of Alexander, who, in 312 BCE, established the Seleucid Kingdom with its capital at Babylon, reconquered most of Alexander's former empire in Asia and put under his own authority the eastern territories as far as Bactria and the Indus (Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55),[59] and in 305 BCE he entered into conflict with Chandragupta[60] (in Greek Sandrocottus):

text: Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapuria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus. He crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed before the death of Antigonus and some afterward.

text: According to R. C. Majumdar and D. D. Kosambi, Seleucus appears to have fared poorly, having ceded large territories west of the Indus to Chandragupta. The Maurya Empire added Arachosia (modern Kandahar), Gedrosia (modern Balochistan), Paropamisadae (or Gandhara).[61][62][a]

text: According to Strabo, Chandragupta engaged in a marital alliance with Seleucus to formalise the peace treaty:[64]

text: The Indians occupy in part some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract (Epigamia, Greek: Ἐπιγαμία), and received in return five hundred elephants.

text: The details of the engagement treaty are not known,[67] but since the extensive sources available on Seleucus never mention an Indian princess, it is thought that the marital alliance went the other way, with Chandragupta himself or his son Bindusara marrying a Seleucid princess, in accordance with contemporary Greek practices to form dynastic alliances.[68] An Indian Puranic source, the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana, described the marriage of Chandragupta with a Greek ("Yavana") princess, daughter of Seleucus,[69] before accurately detailing early Mauryan genealogy:

text: "Chandragupta married with a daughter of Suluva, the Yavana king of Pausasa.[70] Thus, he mixed the Buddhists and the Yavanas. He ruled for 60 years. From him, Vindusara was born and ruled for the same number of years as his father. His son was Ashoka.

text: In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, which played a key role in the victory of Seleucus at the Battle of Ipsus.[73][64][74][75] In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later Antiochos sent Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Maurya court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state).[76]

text: According to Greek sources, the two rulers maintained friendly relations and presents continued to be exchanged between them. Classical sources have recorded that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus exchanged presents, such as when Chandragupta sent various aphrodisiacs to Seleucus:[68]

text: "And Theophrastus says that some contrivances are of wondrous efficacy in such matters as to make people more amorous. And Phylarchus confirms him, by reference to some of the presents which Sandrakottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love" Athenaeus of Naucratis, "The deipnosophists" Book I, chapter 32 [77][68]

text: Southern conquest[edit]

text: After annexing Seleucus' provinces west of the Indus river, Chandragupta had a vast empire extending across the northern parts of the Indian Sub-continent, from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. Chandragupta then began expanding his empire further south beyond the barrier of the Vindhya Range and into the Deccan Plateau.[49] By the time his conquests were complete, Chandragupta's empire extended over most of the Indian subcontinent.[78]

text: A "Moriya" war in south is referred three times in the Tamil work Ahananuru, and once in Purananuru. These mention how Moriya army chariots cut through rocks, but it is unclear if this refers to Chandragupta Maurya or the Moriyas in the Deccan region of the 5th century CE.[79]

text: Army[edit]

text: Chandragupta's army was large, well trained and paid directly by the state as suggested by his counsellor Chanakya. It was estimated at hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Greek accounts.[80] For example, his army is mentioned to have 400,000 soldiers, according to Strabo:

text: Megasthenes was in the camp of Sandrocottus, which consisted of 400,000 men.

text: Pliny the Elder, who also drew from Megasthenes' work, gives even larger numbers of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants.[81] Mudrarakshasa mentions that Chandragupta's army consisted of Sakas, Yavanas (Greeks), Kiratas, Kambojas, Parasikas and Bahlikas.[82]

text: Rule, succession and death[edit]

text: Chandragupta Maurya applied the statecraft and economic policies described in Chanakya's Arthashastra.[12][83][84] There are varying accounts in the historic, legendary and hagiographic literature of various Indian religions about Chandragupta, but these claims, state Allchin and Erdosy, are suspect. They add that the evidence is, however, not limited to texts, but include those discovered at archeological sites, epigraphy in the centuries that followed and the numismatic data, and "one cannot but be struck by the many close correspondences between the (Hindu) Arthashastra and the two other major sources the (Buddhist) Asokan inscriptions and (Greek) Megasthenes text".[85]

text: The Maurya rule was a structured administration, where Chandragupta had a council of ministers (amatya), the empire was organized into territories (janapada), centers of regional power were protected with forts (durga), state operations funded with treasury (kosa).[86]

text: Infrastructure projects[edit]

text: Ancient epigraphical evidence suggests that Chandragupta Maurya, under counsel from Chanakya, started and completed many irrigation reservoirs and networks across the Indian subcontinent in order to ensure food supplies for civilian population and the army, a practice continued by his dynastic successors.[85] Regional prosperity in agriculture was one of the required duties of his state officials.[87] Rudradaman inscriptions found in Gujarat mention that it repaired and enlarged, 400 years later, the irrigation infrastructure built by Chandragupta and enhanced by Asoka.[88]

text: Chandragupta's state also started mines, centers to produce goods, and networks for trading these goods. His rule developed land routes for goods transportation within the Indian subcontinent, disfavoring water transport. Chandragupta expanded "roads suitable for carts", preferring these over those narrow tracts that allowed only pack animals.[89]

text: According to Kaushik Roy, the Maurya dynasty rulers, beginning with Chandragupta, were "great road builders".[22] This was a tradition the Greek ambassador Megasthenes credited to Chandragupta with the completion of a thousand-mile-long highway connecting Chandragupta's capital Pataliputra in Bihar to Taxila in the northwest where he studied. The other major strategic road infrastructure credited to this tradition spread from Pataliputra in various directions: one connecting it to Nepal, Kapilavastu, Kalsi (now Dehradun), Sasaram (now Mirzapur), Kalinga (now Odisha), Andhra and Karnataka.[22] This infrastructure not only boosted trade and commerce, states Roy, but also helped move his armies rapidly and more efficiently than ever before.[22]

text: Chandragupta and his counsel Chanakya seeded weapon manufacturing centers, and kept it a monopoly of the state. However, the state encouraged competing private parties to operate mines and supply these centers.[95] They considered economic prosperity as essential to the pursuit of dharma (morality), adopting a policy of avoiding war with diplomacy, yet continuously preparing the army for war to defend its interests, and other ideas in the Arthashastra.[96][97]

text: Arts and architecture[edit]

text: The evidence of arts and architecture during Chandragupta's time is limited, predominantly texts such as those by Megasthenes and Kautilya's Arthashastra. The edict inscriptions and carvings on monumental pillars are attributed to his grandson Ashoka. The texts imply cities, public works and prosperous architecture, but the historicity of these is in question.[98]

text: Archeological discoveries in the modern age, such as Didarganj Yakshi discovered in 1917 buried beneath the banks of the River Ganges suggest exceptional artisanal accomplishment.[90][91] It has been dated to the 3rd century BCE by many scholars,[90][91] but later dates such as 2nd century BCE or the Kushan era (1st-4th century CE) have also been proposed. The competing theories are that the arts linked to Chandragupta Maurya's dynasty was learnt from the Greeks and West Asia in the years Alexander the Great waged war, while the other credits more ancient indigenous Indian tradition. According to Frederick Asher, "we cannot pretend to have definitive answers; and perhaps, as with most art, we must recognize that there is no single answer or explanation".[99]

text: Succession[edit]

text: After Chandragupta's renunciation, his son Bindusara succeeded as the Maurya Emperor. He maintained friendly relations with Greek governors in Asia and Egypt. Bindusara's son Ashoka became one of the most influential rulers in India's history due to his extension of the Empire to the entire Indian subcontinent as well as his role in the worldwide propagation of Buddhism.[citation needed]

text: Death[edit]

text: According to Jain accounts written more than 1,000 years later, such as those in Brihakathā kośa (931 CE) of Harishena, Bhadrabāhu charita (1450 CE) of Ratnanandi, Munivaṃsa bhyudaya (1680 CE) and Rajavali kathe, Chandragupta renounced his throne and followed Jain teacher Bhadrabahu to south India.[100][101][102] He is said to have lived as an ascetic at Shravanabelagola for several years before fasting to death, as per the Jain practice of sallekhana.[103]

text: Along with texts, several Jain monumental inscriptions dating from the 7th-15th century refer to Bhadrabahu and Chandragupta in conjunction. While this evidence is very late and anachronistic, there is no evidence to disprove that Chandragupta converted to Jainism in his later life. Mookerji, in his book, quotes Vincent Smith and concludes that conversion to Jain monk provides adequate explanation to Chandragupta's abdication and sudden exit at a relatively young age and at the height of his power. [103][104] The hill on which Chandragupta is stated in Jain tradition to have performed asceticism is now known as Chandragiri hill, and there is a temple named Chandragupta basadi there.[4]

text: The Hindu texts acknowledge the close relationship between the Jain community in Pataliputra and the royal court, and that the champion of Brahmanism Chanakya himself employed Jains as his emissaries. This also indirectly confirms the possible influence of Jain thought on Chandragupta.[105]

text: According to Kaushik Roy, Chandragupta renounced his wealth and power, crowned his son as his successor about 298 BCE, and died about 297 BCE.[36]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text:
D. L. Roy wrote a Bengali drama named Chandragupta based on the life of Chandragupta. The story of the play is loosely borrowed from the Puranas and the Greek history.[106]
Chanakya's role in the formation of the Maurya Empire is the essence of a historical/spiritual novel The Courtesan and the Sadhu by Dr. Mysore N. Prakash.[107]
The story of Chanakya and Chandragupta was made into a film in Telugu in 1977 titled Chanakya Chandragupta. Akkineni Nageswara Rao played the role of Chanakya, while N. T. Rama Rao portrayed Chandragupta.[108]
The television series Chanakya is an account of the life and times of Chanakya, based on the play "Mudra Rakshasa" (The Signet Ring of "Rakshasa").[109]
In 2011, a television series called Chandragupta Maurya was telecast on Imagine TV in which the titular role was played by Rushiraj Pawar & Ashish Sharma.[110][111][112]
In 2016, television series Chandra Nandini, a fictionalized version of Chandragupta and fictional character Nandini's romance saga. In real life, Chandragupta married only twice, first to Durdhara who died while giving birth to Bindusara and 17 years after his wife's death to Helen, daughter of Seleucus I Nicator in a peace treaty. Fictional Nandini as per show is described as daughter of Mahapadma Nanda which is completely untrue as there exists no evidence in any historical texts. The role of Chandragupta Maurya is played by actor Rajat Tokas [113]
The Indian Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honouring Chandragupta Maurya in 2001.[114]


document_title: Amazon river dolphin

question_text: when did the amazon river dolphin become endangered

text: Amazon river dolphin

text: Taxonomy[edit]

text: The species Inia geoffrensis was described by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in 1817. Originally, the Amazon river dolphin belonged to the superfamily Platanistoidea, which constituted all river dolphins, making them a paraphyletic group.[3] Today, however, the Amazon river dolphin has been reclassified into the superfamily Inioidea.[4] There is no consensus on when and how they penetrated the Amazon basin; they may have done so during the Miocene from the Pacific Ocean, before the formation of the Andes, or from the Atlantic Ocean.[5][6]

text: There is ongoing debate about the classification of species and subspecies with large international bodies being in disagreement. The IUCN recognizes three subspecies:[7]I. g. geoffrensis (Amazon river dolphin), I. g. boliviensis (Bolivian river dolphin) and I. g. humboldtiana (Orinoco river dolphin).[4] While the Committee on Taxonomy of the Society for Marine Mammalogy only recognizes the first two of these.[8]

text: However, based on skull morphology in 1994, it was proposed that I. g. boliviensis was a different species.[9] In 2002, following the analysis of mitochondrial DNA specimens from the Orinoco basin, the Putumayo River (tributary of the Amazon) and the Tijamuchy and Ipurupuru rivers, geneticists proposed that genus Inia be divided into at least two evolutionary lineages: one restricted to the river basins of Bolivia and the other widely distributed in the Orinoco and Amazon.[10][11] A recent study, with more comprehensive sampling of the Madeira system, including above and below the Teotonio Rapids (which were thought to obstruct gene flow), found that the Inia above the rapids did not possess unique mtDNA.[12] As such the species level distinction once held is not supported by current results. Therefore, the Bolivian river dolphin is currently recognized as a subspecies. In addition, a 2014 study identifies a third species in the Araguaia-Tocantins basin,[13] but this designation is not recognized by any international organization and the Committee on Taxonomy of the Society for Marine Mammalogy suggests this analysis is not persuasive.[8]

text: Subspecies[edit]

text: Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis[4] inhabits most of the Amazon River, including rivers Tocantins, Araguaia , low Xingu and Tapajos, the Madeira to the rapids of Porto Velho, and rivers Purus, Yurua, Ica, Caqueta, Branco, and the Rio Negro through the channel of Casiquiare to San Fernando de Atabapo in the Orinoco river, including its tributary: the Guaviare.

text:
Inia geoffrensis boliviensis[4] has populations in the upper reaches of the Madeira River, upstream of the rapids of Teotonio, in Bolivia. It is confined to the Mamore River and its main tributary, the Iténez.[14]
Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana[4] are located in the Orinoco River basin, including the Apure and Meta rivers. This subspecies is restricted, at least during the dry season, to the waterfalls of Rio Negro rapids in the Orinoco between Samariapo and Puerto Ayacucho, and the Casiquiare canal. This subspecies is not recognized by the Committee on Taxonomy of the Society for Marine Mammalogy,[8] but is recognized by the IUCN.[7]

text: Biology and ecology[edit]

text: Description[edit]

text: The Amazon river dolphin is the largest river dolphin. Adult males reach a maximum length and weight of 2.55 metres (8.4 ft) (average 2.32 metres (7.6 ft)) and 185 kilograms (408 lb) (average 154 kilograms (340 lb)), while females reach a length and weight of 2.15 metres (7.1 ft) (mean 2 metres (6.6 ft)) and 150 kilograms (330 lb) (average 100 kilograms (220 lb)). It has very evident sexual dimorphism, with males measuring and weighing between 16% and 55% more than females, making it unique among cetaceans, where females are generally larger than males.[15]

text: The texture of the body is robust and strong but flexible. Unlike oceanic dolphins; the cervical vertebrae are not fused, allowing the head to turn 90 degrees.[16] The flukes are broad and triangular, and the dorsal fin, which is keel-shaped, is short in height but very long, extending from the middle of the body to the caudal region. The pectoral fins are large and paddle-shaped. The length of its fins allows the animal to perform a circular movement, allowing for exceptional maneuverability to swim through the flooded forest but decreasing its speed.[17]

text: The body color varies with age. Newborns and the young have a dark grey tint, which in adolescence transforms into light grey, and in adults turns pink as a result of repeated abrasion of the skin surface. Males tend to be pinker than females due to more frequent trauma from intra-species aggression. The color of adults varies between solid and mottled pink and in some adults the dorsal surface is darker. It is believed that the difference in color depends on the temperature, water transparency, and geographical location. There is one albino on record, kept in an aquarium in Germany.

text: The skull of the species is slightly asymmetrical compared to the other toothed whales. It has a long, thin snout, with 25 to 28 pairs of long and slender teeth to each side of both jaws. Dentition is heterodont, meaning that the teeth differ in shape and length, with differing functions for both grabbing and crushing prey. Anterior teeth are conical and later have ridges on the inside of the crown. Despite small eyes, the species seems to have good eyesight in and out of the water. It has a melon on the head, the shape of which can be modified by muscular control when used for biosonar. Breathing takes place every 30 to 110 seconds.[17]

text: Longevity[edit]

text: Life expectancy of the Amazon river dolphin in the wild is unknown, but in captivity, the longevity of healthy individuals has been recorded at between ten and thirty years. However, the average longevity in captive animals is only 33 months.[18][better source needed] An individual named Apure at Duisburg Zoo, Germany, is estimated to have lived more than forty years, being captured from the wild at age nine.[19]

text: Behavior[edit]

text: The Amazon river dolphin are commonly seen singly or in twos, but may also occur in pods that rarely contain more than eight individuals.[20] Pods as large as 37 individuals have been seen in the Amazon, but average is three. In the Orinoco, the largest observed groups number 30, but average is just above five.[20] Typically, social bonds occur between mother and child, but may also been seen in heterogeneous groups or bachelor groups. The largest congregations are seen in areas with abundant food, and at the mouths of rivers. There is significant segregation during the rainy season, with males occupying the river channels, while females and their offspring are located in flooded areas. However, in the dry season, there is no such separation.[16][21] Due to the high level of prey fish, larger group-sizes are seen in large sections that are directly influenced by whitewater (such as main rivers and lakes, especially during low water season) than in smaller sections influenced by blackwater (such as channels and smaller tributaries).[20] In their freshwater habitat they are apex predators and gatherings depend more on food sources and habitat availability than in oceanic dolphins where protection from larger predators is necessary.[20]

text: Captive studies have shown that the Amazon river dolphin is less shy than the bottlenose dolphin, but also less sociable. It is very curious and has a remarkable lack of fear of foreign objects. However, dolphins in captivity may not show the same behavior that they do in their natural environment, where they have been reported to hold the oars of the fishermen, rub against the boat, pluck underwater plants, and play with sticks, logs, clay, turtles, snakes, and fish.[4]

text: They are slow swimmers; they commonly travel at speeds of 1.5 to 3.2 kilometres per hour (0.93 to 1.99 mph) but have been recorded to swim at speeds up to 14 to 22 kilometres per hour (8.7 to 13.7 mph). When they surface, the tips of the snout, melon and dorsal fins appear simultaneously, the tail rarely showing before diving. They can also shake their fins, and pull their tail fin and head above the water to observe the environment. They occasionally jump out of the water, sometimes as high as a meter (3.14 ft). They are harder to train than most other species of dolphin.[4]

text: Courtship[edit]

text: Adult males have been observed carrying objects in their mouths such as branches or other floating vegetation, or balls of hardened clay. The males appear to carry these objects as a socio-sexual display which is part of their mating system. The behavior is "triggered by an unusually large number of adult males and/or adult females in a group, or perhaps it attracts such into the group. A plausible explanation of the results is that object carrying is aimed at females and is stimulated by the number of females in the group, while aggression is aimed at other adult males and is stimulated by object carrying in the group."[22] Before determining that the species had an evident sexual dimorphism, it was postulated that the river dolphins were monogamous. Later, it was shown that males were larger than females and are documented wielding an aggressive sexual behavior in the wild and in captivity. Males often have a significant degree of damage in the dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins, as well as the blowhole, due to bites and abrasions. They also commonly have numerous secondary teeth-raking scars. This suggests fierce competition for access to females, with a polygynous mating system, though polyandry and promiscuity cannot be excluded.[23]

text: In captivity, courtship and mating foreplay have been documented. The male takes the initiative by nibbling the fins of the female, but reacts aggressively if the female is not receptive. A high frequency of copulations in a couple was observed; they used three different positions: contacting the womb at right angles, lying head to head, or head to tail.[6]

text: Reproduction[edit]

text: Breeding is seasonal, and births occur between May and June. The period of birthing coincides with the flood season, and this may provide an advantage because the females and their offspring remain in flooded areas longer than males. As the water level begins to decrease, the density of food sources in flooded areas increases due to loss of space, providing enough energy for infants to meet the high demands required for growth. Gestation is estimated to be around eleven months and captive births take 4 to 5 hours. At birth, calves are 80 centimetres (31 in) long and in captivity have registered a growth of 0.21 metres (0.69 ft) per year. Lactation takes about a year. The interval between births is estimated between 15 and 36 months, and the young dolphins are thought to become independent within two to three years.[6]

text: The relatively long duration of breastfeeding and parenting suggests a strong mother-child bond. Most couples observed in their natural environment consist of a female and her calf. This suggests that long periods of parental care contribute to learning and development of the young.[6]

text: Diet[edit]

text: The diet of the Amazon river dolphin is the most diverse of the toothed whales. It consists of at least 53 different species of fish, grouped in 19 families. The prey size is between 5 and 80 centimetres (2.0 and 31.5 in), with an average of 20 centimetres (7.9 in). The most frequently consumed fish belong to the families Sciaenidae (croakers), Cichlidae, and Characidae (tetras and piranhas). The dolphin’s dentition allows it to access shells of river turtles and freshwater crabs.[2][4] The diet is more diverse during the wet season, when fish are spread in flooded areas outside riverbeds, thus becoming more difficult to catch. The diet becomes more selective during the dry season when prey density is greater.[17]

text: Usually, these dolphins are active and feeding throughout the day and night. However, they are predominantly crepuscular. They consume about 5.5% of their body weight per day. They sometimes take advantage of the disturbances made by boats to catch disoriented prey. Sometimes, they associate with the distantly-related tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis), and giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) to hunt in a coordinated manner, by gathering and attacking fish stocks at the same time. Apparently, there is little competition for food between these species, as each prefers different prey. It has also been observed that captive dolphins share food.[2][4]

text: Echolocation[edit]

text: Amazonian rivers are often very murky, and the Amazon river dolphin is therefore likely to depend much more on its sense of echolocation than vision when navigating and finding prey. However, echolocation in shallow waters and flooded forests may result in many echoes to keep track of. For each click produced a multitude of echoes are likely to return to the echolocating animal almost on top of each other which makes object discrimination difficult. This may be why the Amazon river dolphin produces less powerful clicks compared to other similar sized toothed whales.[24] By sending out clicks of lower amplitude only nearby objects will cast back detectable echoes, and hence fewer echoes need to be sorted out, but the cost is a reduced biosonar range. Toothed whales generally do not produce a new echolocation click until all relevant echoes from the previous click have been received,[25] so if detectable echoes are only reflected back from nearby objects, the echoes will quickly return, and the Amazon river dolphin is then able to click at a high rate.[24] This in turn allow these animals to have a high acoustic update rate on their surroundings which may aid prey tracking when echolocating in shallow rivers and flooded forests with plenty of hiding places for the prey.

text: Communication[edit]

text: Like other dolphins, river dolphins use whistling tones to communicate. The issuance of these sounds is related to the time they return to the surface before diving, suggesting a link to food. Acoustic analysis revealed that the vocalisations are different in structure from the typical whistles of other species of dolphins.[26]

text: Distribution and population[edit]

text: Amazon river dolphins are the most widespread river dolphins. They are present in six countries in South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, in an area covering about 7,000,000 square kilometres (2,700,000 sq mi). The boundaries are set by waterfalls, such as the Xingu and Tapajós rivers in Brazil, as well as very shallow water. A series of rapids and waterfalls in the Madeira River have isolated one population, recognized as the subspecies I. g. boliviensis, in the southern part of the Amazon basin in Bolivia.[4]

text: They are also distributed in the basin of the Orinoco River, except the Caroni River and the upper Caura River in Venezuela. The only connection between the Orinoco and the Amazon is through the Casiquiare canal. The distribution of dolphins in the rivers and surrounding areas depends on the time of year; in the dry season they are located in the river beds, but in the rainy season, when the rivers overflow, they disperse to the flooded areas, both the forests and the plains.[4]

text: Studies to estimate the population are difficult to analyze due to the difference in the methodology used. In a study conducted in the stretch of the Amazon called Solimões River, with a length of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) between the cities of Manaus and Tabatinga, a total of 332 individuals was sighted ± 55 per inspection. Density was estimated at 0.08- 0.33 animals per square kilometer in the main channels, and 0.49 to 0.93 animals per square kilometer in the branches. In another study, on a stretch of 120 kilometres (75 mi) at the confluence of Colombia, Brazil and Peru, 345 individuals with a density of 4.8 per square km in the tributaries around the islands. 2.7 and 2.0 were observed along the banks. Additionally, another study was conducted in the Amazon at the height of the mouth of the Caqueta River for six days. As a result of the studies conducted, it was found that the density is higher in the riverbanks, 3.7 per km, decreasing towards the center of the river. In studies conducted during the rainy season, the density observed in the flood plain was 18 animals per square km, while on the banks of rivers and lakes ranged from 1.8 to 5.8 individuals per square km. These observations suggest that the Amazon river dolphin is found in higher density than any other cetacean.[4]

text: Habitat[edit]

text: The Amazon river dolphin is located in most of the area's aquatic habitats, including; river basins, major courses of rivers, canals, river tributaries, lakes, and at the ends of rapids and waterfalls. Cyclical changes in the water levels of rivers take place throughout the year. During the dry season, dolphins occupy the main river channels, and during the rainy season, they can move easily to smaller tributaries, to the forest, and to floodplains.[6]

text: Males and females appear to have selective habitat preferences, with the males returning to the main river channels when water levels are still high, while the females and their offspring remain in the flooded areas as long as possible; probably because it decreases the risk of aggression by males toward the young and predation by other species.[6]

text: Migration[edit]

text: In the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve, Peru, photo-identification is used to recognize individuals based on pigmentation patterns, scars and abnormalities in the beak. 72 individuals were recognized, of which 25 were again observed between 1991 and 2000. The intervals between sightings ranged from one day to 7.5 years. The maximum range of motion was 220 kilometres (140 mi), with an average of 60.8 kilometres (37.8 mi). The longest distance in one day was 120 kilometres (75 mi), with an average of 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi).[27] In a previous study conducted at the center of the Amazon River, a dolphin was observed that moved only a few dozen kilometers from the dry season and wet season. However, three of the reviewed 160 animals were observed over 100 kilometres (62 mi) from where they were first registered.[14] Research in 2011 concluded that photo-identification by skilled operatives using high-quality digital equipment could be a useful tool in monitoring population size, movements and social patterns.[28]

text: Interactions with humans[edit]

text: In captivity[edit]

text: The Amazon river dolphin has historically been kept in dolphinariums. Today, only three exist in captivity: one in Acuario de Valencia in Venezuela, one in Zoologico de Guistochoca in Peru, and one in Duisburg Zoo in Germany. Several hundred were captured between the 1950s and 1970s, and were distributed in dolphinariums throughout the US, Europe, and Japan. Around 100 went to US dolphinariums, and of that, only 20 survived; the last died at the Pittsburgh Zoo in 2002.[16]

text: Threats[edit]

text: The region of the Amazon in Brazil has an extension of 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi) containing diverse fundamental ecosystems.[29][30] One of these ecosystems is a floodplain, or a várzea forest, and is home to a large number of fish species which are an essential resource for human consumption.[31] The várzea is also a major source of income through excessive local commercialized fishing.[29][32][33] Várzea consists of muddy river waters containing a vast number and diversity of nutrient rich species.[22] The abundance of distinct fish species lures the Amazon River dolphin into the várzea areas of high water occurrences during the seasonal flooding.[34]

text: In addition to attracting predators such as the Amazon river dolphin, these high-water occurrences are an ideal location to draw in the local fisheries. Human fishing activities directly compete with the dolphins for the same fish species, the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) and the pirapitinga (Piaractus brachypomus), resulting in deliberate or unintentional catches of the Amazon river dolphin.[35][36][37][29][38][39][40][41] The local fishermen overfish and when the Amazon River dolphins remove the commercial catch from the nets and lines, it causes damages to the equipment and the capture, as well as generating ill will from the local fishermen.[37] [39][40] The negative reactions of the local fishermen are also attributed to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources prohibition on killing the Amazon river dolphin, yet not compensating the fishermen for the damage done to their equipment and catch.[41]

text: During the process of catching the commercialized fish, the Amazon river dolphins get caught in the nets and exhaust themselves until they die, or the local fishermen deliberately kill the entangled dolphins.[31] The carcasses are discarded, consumed, or used as bait to attract a scavenger catfish, the piracatinga (Calophysus macropterus).[31][42] The use of the Amazon river dolphin carcass as bait for the piracatinga dates back to 2000.[42] Increasing demand for the piracatinga has created a market for distribution of the Amazon river dolphin carcasses to be used as bait throughout these regions.[41]

text: Of the 15 dolphin carcasses found in the Japurá River in 2010–2011 surveys, 73% of the dolphins were killed for bait, disposed of, or abandoned in entangled gillnets.[31] The data do not fully represent the actual overall number of deaths of the Amazon river dolphins, whether accidental or intentional, because a variety of factors make it extremely complicated to record and medically examine all the carcasses.[31][36][39] Scavenger species feed upon the carcasses, and the complexity of the river currents make it nearly impossible to locate all of the dead animals.[31] More importantly, the local fishermen do not report these deaths out of fear that a legal course of action will be taken against them,[31] as the Amazon river dolphin and other cetaceans are protected under a Brazilian federal law prohibiting any takes, harassments, and kills of the species.[43]

text: Conservation[edit]

text: In 2008, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) expressed concern for captured botos for use as bait in the Central Amazon, which is an emerging problem that has spread on a large scale. The species is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Fauna and Flora (CITES), and Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals,[44] because it has an unfavorable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organized by tailored agreements.

text: According to a previous assessment by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission in 2000, the population of botos appears great and there is little or no evidence of population decline in numbers and range. However, increased human intervention on their habitat is expected to, in the future, be the most likely cause of the decline of its range and population. A series of recommendations were issued to ensure proper follow-up to the species, among which is the implementation and publication of studies on the structure of populations, making a record of the distribution of the species, information about potential threats as the magnitude of fishing operations and location of pipelines.[45]

text: In September 2012, Bolivian President Evo Morales enacted a law to protect the dolphin and declared it a national treasure.[16][46]

text: In 2008, the species was listed on the Red list of endangered species, but in 2011, the IUCN stated it as Data Deficient (DD).[1] The species was previously listed as "vulnerable" but the conservation status changed due to the limited amount of currently available information on threats, ecology, and population trends. In areas where these dolphins have been studied, they appear well extended and relatively abundant. However, these areas represent only a small proportion of the total distribution of the species and are often sites where the animals are protected. Consequently, the information from these areas may not be representative, and may not be valid in the long term.[1]

text: Increasing pollution and gradual destruction of the Amazon rainforest add to the vulnerability of the species. The biggest threats are deforestation and other human activities that contribute to disrupt and alter their environment.[4] Another source of concern is the difficulty in keeping these animals alive in captivity, due to intra-species aggression and low longevity. Captive breeding is not considered a conservation option for this species.[47]

text: In mythology[edit]

text: In traditional Amazon River folklore, at night, an Amazon river dolphin becomes a handsome young man who seduces girls, impregnates them, and then returns to the river in the morning to become a dolphin again. Similarly, the female becomes a beautiful, well - dressed,wealthy - looking and young woman. She goes to the house of a married man, places him under a spell to keep him quiet, and takes him to a thatched hut and visits him every year on the same night she seduced him. On the 7th night of visiting, she changes the man into a female - baby or male, and soon transfers it into his own wife's womb. The mythology is said to be the cycle of a baby. This dolphin shapeshifter is called an encantado. The myth has been suggested to have arisen partly because dolphin genitalia bear a resemblance to those of humans. Others believe the myth served (and still serves) as a way of hiding the incestuous relations which are quite common in some small, isolated communities along the river.[48] In the area, tales relate it is bad luck to kill a dolphin. Legend also states that if a person makes eye contact with an Amazon river dolphin, he or she will have lifelong nightmares. Local legends also state that the dolphin is the guardian of the Amazonian manatee, and that if one should wish to find a manatee, one must first make peace with the dolphin.

text: Associated with these legends is the use of various fetishes, such as dried eyeballs and genitalia.[48] These may or may not be accompanied by the intervention of a shaman. A recent study has shown, despite the claim of the seller and the belief of the buyers, none of these fetishes is derived from the boto. They are derived from Sotalia guianensis, are most likely harvested along the coast and the Amazon River delta, and then are traded up the Amazon River. In inland cities far from the coast, many, if not most, of the fetishes are derived from domestic animals such as sheep and pigs.[49]

text: Gallery[edit]

text:
Amazon river dolphin skull (Inia geoffrensis).

Heart of the Amazon river dolphin

Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis).


document_title: Square (slang)

question_text: what does it mean to call someone square

text: Square (slang)

text: Square is a slang term referring to a person who is conventional and old-fashioned.[1][2][3] This sense of the word “square” originated with the American jazz community in the 1940s, in reference to people out of touch with musical trends.[1] Older senses of the term square referring positively to someone or something honest and upstanding date back to the 16th century.[3][4]

text: History[edit]

text: The English word square dates to the 13th century and derives from the Old French esquire. By the 1570s, it was in use in reference to someone or something honest or fair.[3][4] This positive sense is preserved in phrases such as "fair and square", meaning something done in an honest and straightforward manner,[5] and "square deal", meaning an outcome equitable to all sides.[6]

text: The sense of square as a derogatory reference to someone conventional or old-fashioned dates to the jazz scene of the 1940s; the first known reference is from 1944. There it applied to someone who failed to appreciate the medium of jazz, or more broadly, someone whose tastes were out of date and out of touch. It may derive from the rigid motion of a conductor's hands in a conventional, four-beat rhythm.[3] It is used as both an adjective and a noun.[1][2] A square contrasted with someone who was hep, or in the know.[1]


document_title: No Way Out (1987 film)

question_text: who starred in the movie no way out

question_tokens: who starred in the movie no way out

text: No Way Out (1987 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In a suburban safe house, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell is asked by two men about how he first met Secretary of Defense David Brice. In a flashback, Farrell is invited to an inaugural ball by his college buddy Scott Pritchard, who intends to introduce him to Brice. Pritchard, Brice's General Counsel, hopes that Brice will transfer Farrell to the Pentagon. On meeting Farrell, Brice is unimpressed and virtually ignores him. Moments later, Farrell begins flirting with another guest, Susan Atwell. The two make love in her limousine and begin a secret relationship, even though she admits to also being involved with a married man.

text: Farrell returns to sea and rescues a crewman from being washed overboard during a storm. Brice reads a newspaper story about the rescue and orders Farrell transferred to his intelligence staff. After Susan and Farrell return from a romantic weekend, her married lover - Secretary Brice - arrives at her door. After urging a hurt and jealous Farrell to leave through the back door, Susan assures him that she will leave Brice. Brice sees a man leaving Susan's house but cannot see that it was Farrell. After Susan lets him in, an enraged Brice demands to know the name of her other lover, but Susan refuses and orders him to leave. Brice resists, and ultimately pushes Susan to her death over an upstairs railing. After calling Pritchard, Brice is ready to turn himself in, telling Pritchard about having been seen by Susan's other lover. But Pritchard suggests that if the other man was made out to be a suspected KGB sleeper agent code-named "Yuri", then the other man's elimination could be made a matter of national security. Pritchard cleans Susan's house of all evidence that Brice was there, and discovers a negative side of a Polaroid photograph Susan had taken of Farrell earlier. The negative shows a very poor, unidentifiable image of a man.

text: Unaware that Farrell was in a relationship with Susan, Brice orders him to find and arrest "Yuri" and places him in the ironic position of investigating himself. Farrell is told that the city police have not been informed, and that CID officers, commanded by Major Donovan, have been assigned to conduct the investigation. Meanwhile, to protect his concocted story, Pritchard sends two former CIA assassins to systematically eliminate everyone who knew of Brice's affair with Susan, beginning with her girlfriends. Attempts to enhance the photo negative begin to bear fruit due to Sam Hesselman, a wheelchair-bound computer expert. Meanwhile, Farrell sets out to conclusively link Brice to Susan by searching computer files for evidence that Brice gave her a Government-registered gift from the Moroccan Foreign Minister.

text: Needing more time, Farrell convinces Hesselman to delay the work on the photograph. CID officers bring two witnesses to Donovan who have seen "Yuri" with Susan during their romantic weekend. They cross paths with Farrell in the Pentagon and recognize him. Farrell escapes, but the CID begins a search of the Pentagon, knowing that "Yuri" is somewhere in the building. Farrell continues to elude the search and tells Hesselman that Brice was having a relationship with Susan and killed her. Hesselman helps him find the Moroccan gift registered in the State Department database and initiates a print-out so that Farrell will have physical evidence implicating Brice. Thinking that Farrell is delusional, Hesselman tells Pritchard about Farrell's relationship with Susan and his belief that Brice murdered her. Pritchard thanks Hesselman and then executes him. Still trying to avoid the CID search for him within the Pentagon, Farrell returns to Hesselman's office and seizes the registry printout. Farrell confronts Brice with this evidence and threatens to go to the police if the search for him is not called off. After Donovan reports that Hesselman has been murdered by "Yuri", Pritchard tells Brice that Farrell was Susan's other lover and adds that if the man in the photo is "Yuri" then Farrell is "Yuri". Knowing that Farrell has the registry print-out, Brice improvises a different story: Pritchard, who is homosexual, killed Susan because he was jealous of Brice's relationship with her. A devastated Pritchard commits suicide and is apparently revealed to be "Yuri", concluding the search. Farrell quietly sends the registry printout to Brice's mortal enemy, the Director of the CIA. As Farrell leaves the Pentagon, the image enhancement of the photograph positively identifies him as Susan's other lover.

text: Farrell is picked up by several men while sitting despondently at Susan's grave. The flashback ends back at the safe house, where it is revealed that Farrell is, in fact, the real "Yuri" and the KGB's mole in the Department of Defense. Aware of Brice's affair, the Kremlin had ordered Farrell to seduce his mistress and gather intelligence from her. Implying that he should have blackmailed Brice instead of exposing him, Farrell's interrogators angrily berate him, saying the situation was "poorly handled". Then, Farrell's handler arrives, tells "Yuri" that America is no longer safe for him, and that it is time for him to return to the Soviet Union. Revealing that he genuinely loved Susan, Farrell refuses and tells his handlers that he is finished being a KGB mole. Neither the threat of being shot or the reminder that he is a Hero of the Soviet Union can sway him. After he leaves the KGB's safe house, his handler snaps, "He'll return. Where else does he have to go?"

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Kevin Costner as Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell, U.S. Navy
Gene Hackman as Secretary of Defense David Brice
Will Patton as Scott Pritchard
Sean Young as Susan Atwell
George Dzundza as Sam Hesselman
Howard Duff as Senator Duvall
Jason Bernard as Major Donovan, CID
Fred Dalton Thompson as CIA Director Marshall
Iman as Nina Beka
Michael Shillo as Schiller

text: Release[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film debuted at number 2 at the box office after Stakeout.[1] The film's budget was an estimated $15 million; its total U.S. gross was over $35 million.[2]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: The film was very well received by critics and as of December 4, 2015, holds a 91% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 40 reviews.[3]

text: Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, calling it "truly labyrinthine and ingenious."[4] Richard Schickel of Time wrote, "Viewers who arrive at the movie five minutes late and leave five minutes early will avoid the setup and payoff for the preposterous twist that spoils this lively, intelligent remake of 1948's The Big Clock."[5] Desson Thomson of The Washington Post wrote, "The film makes such good use of Washington and builds suspense so well that it transcends a plot bordering on ridiculous."[6]


document_title: List of The Canterbury Tales characters

question_text: what is the host's name in canterbury tales

question_tokens: what is the host 's name in canterbury tales

text: List of The Canterbury Tales characters

text: Groupings[edit]

text: The pilgrims fall into various groups, the religious group and the military group[2] for example.

text: Also there are important pairs, including the tale pairs - which pair are supposed to be telling their tales on the same night.

text: The Pilgrims and other characters[edit]

text: This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2017)

text: The Host[edit]

text: Harry Bailey is the owner of the Tabard Inn where the pilgrimage starts. He agrees to travel on the pilgrimage, promising to judge the tales, and disputes between the pilgrims.

text: The Knight[edit]

text: The Miller[edit]

text: The Reeve[edit]

text: The Man of Law[edit]

text: The Cook[edit]

text: The Wife of Bath[edit]

text: The Friar[edit]

text: The Summoner[edit]

text: The Cleric[edit]

text: The Merchant[edit]

text: The Squire[edit]

text: The Franklin[edit]

text: The Shipman[edit]

text: The Prioress[edit]

text: The Prioress, or Madame Eglantine, is one of the religious group. She wears a gold brooch inscribed with a Latin motto from Virgil - Amor vincit omnia.

text: The Physician[edit]

text: The Pardoner[edit]

text: The Monk[edit]

text: The Nun's Priest[edit]

text: The Second Nun[edit]

text: The Canon[edit]

text: Not strictly a pilgrim.

text: The Canon's Yeoman[edit]

text: The Manciple[edit]

text: The Parson[edit]


document_title: Cast Away

question_text: where was the final scene of castaway filmed

text: Cast Away

text: Plot[edit]

text: In December 1995, Chuck Noland is a time-obsessed systems engineer who travels worldwide resolving productivity problems at FedEx depots. He is in a long-term relationship with Kelly Frears, with whom he lives in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the couple wants to get married, Chuck's busy schedule interferes with their relationship. A Christmas with relatives is interrupted when Chuck is summoned to resolve a problem in Malaysia. While flying through a violent storm, his plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Chuck escapes the sinking plane and is saved by an inflatable life raft, but loses the emergency locator transmitter. He clings to the life raft, loses consciousness, and floats all night before washing up on an island. After he awakens, he explores the island and soon discovers that it is uninhabited.

text: Several FedEx packages from the crashed plane also wash up on the shore, as well as the corpse of one of the pilots, which he buries. He initially tries to signal for rescue and makes an escape attempt with the remnants of his life raft, but cannot pass the powerful surf and the coral reefs surrounding the island. He searches for food, water, and shelter, and opens the packages, finding a number of useful items. He leaves one package, which has a pair of angel wings stenciled on it, unopened. During a first attempt to make fire, Chuck receives a deep wound to his hand. In anger and pain, he throws several objects, including a Wilson volleyball from one of the packages. A short time later he draws a face in the bloody hand print on the ball, names it Wilson, and begins talking to it. One night, Chuck calculates that in order for the rescue workers to find the site of the plane crash, they will have to search an area twice the size of Texas, making him doubtful he will ever be found.

text: Four years later, Chuck has adapted to the island’s meager living conditions, having become adept at spearing fish and making fires. He also has regular conversations and arguments with Wilson, his only means of socialization. A large section of a portable toilet washes up on the island; Chuck uses it as a sail in the construction of a raft. After spending some time building and stocking the raft and deciding when weather conditions will be optimal (using an analemma he has created in his cave to monitor the time of year), he launches, using the sail to overcome the powerful surf. After some time on the ocean, a storm nearly tears his raft apart. The following day, as Chuck sleeps, Wilson becomes untethered and floats away from the raft. Chuck is wakened by the spray of a sounding whale, sees Wilson, and swims after him, but Wilson has gone too far to safely retrieve. Chuck returns to the raft and collapses in tears. Later, a passing cargo ship finds him, drifting.

text: Upon returning to civilization, Chuck learns that he has long been given up for dead; his family and acquaintances have held a funeral, and Kelly has since married Chuck's onetime dentist and has a daughter. After reuniting, the pair profess their love for each other but, realizing they could not be together because of her commitment to her new family, they sadly part. Kelly gives Chuck the car they once shared.

text: Some time later, after buying a new volleyball, Chuck travels to Canadian, Texas, to return the unopened FedEx package with the angel wings to its sender, a woman named Bettina Peterson. No one is home, so he leaves the package at the door with a note saying that the package saved his life. He departs and stops at a remote crossroads. A friendly woman passing by in a pickup truck stops to explain where each road leads. As she drives away, Chuck notices the angel wings on the back of her truck are similar to those on the parcel. As Chuck is left standing at the crossroads he looks down each road, then smiles faintly as he looks in the direction of the woman's truck.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland
Helen Hunt as Kelly Frears
Nick Searcy as Stan
Jenifer Lewis as Becca Twig
Chris Noth as Jerry Lovett
Lari White as Bettina Peterson
Vince Martin as Albert "Al" Miller
Geoffrey Blake as Maynard Graham
Michael Forest as Jack
Jay Acovone as Petrov

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Tom Hanks once stated in an Actor Roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter that "...I wanted to examine the concept of four years of hopelessness, in which you have none of the requirements for living — food, water, shelter, fire and company". But it took six years to put together the alliance that would actually examine that. [Hanks] only had a third of [the story], and [screenwriter] Bill Broyles only had a third of it, [director] Bob Zemeckis came along and provided that other third. Hanks also went on to say "I had that original idea. I was reading an article about FedEx, and I realized that 747s filled with packages fly across the Pacific three times a day. And I just thought, "What happens if that goes down?"[3]

text: Filming[edit]

text: The film's shooting occurred between 1998 and 2000, but was not shot consecutively. Hanks gained 50 pounds (23 kg) during pre-production, for the purpose of making his transformation more dramatic. After a majority of the film was shot, production was halted for a year so that he could lose the weight and grow his hair and beard to look like he had been living on the island for years. During the year-long hiatus, Zemeckis used the same film crew to make another film, What Lies Beneath.[2]

text: Cast Away was filmed on Monuriki, one of the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji.[4] It is in a subgroup of the Mamanuca archipelago, which is sited off the coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. The island became a tourist attraction following the film's release.  After Chuck's return, it is identified by Kelly as being "about 600 miles south of the Cook Islands," but there is actually no land between the southernmost Cook Islands of Mangaia and Antarctica.

text: The film essentially begins and ends in the same location, on the Arrington Ranch in the Texas Panhandle south of the city of Canadian, Texas.[5]

text: Music[edit]

text: The film's minimal score was composed by Alan Silvestri for which he won a Grammy Award in 2002. The film's soundtrack is most notable for its lack of score and creature sound effects (such as bird song or insect sounds) while Chuck is on the island, which is intended to reinforce the feeling of isolation.[6] Cast Away contains no original musical score until Chuck escapes the island. However, there is a Russian choral piece heard near the start of the film that was not composed or even recorded by Silvestri, so it does not appear on the film's soundtrack list. It is a traditional Russian song written by Lev Knipper called "Oh, My Field" ("Polyushko, Polye") and it is available on various collections of Red Army hymns.

text: The official soundtrack CD is an anthology of musical pieces from all films up to that point directed by Zemeckis and scored by Silvestri. The only track from Cast Away itself is the theme from the end credits.[7]

text: FedEx[edit]

text: FedEx provided access to their facilities (Memphis, Los Angeles, and Moscow) as well as airplanes, trucks, uniforms, and logistical support. A team of FedEx marketers oversaw production through more than two years of filming.[8] FedEx CEO Fred Smith made an appearance as himself for the scene where Chuck is welcomed back, which was filmed on location at FedEx's home facilities in Memphis, Tennessee. The idea of a story based on a FedEx plane crashing gave the company "a heart attack at first," but the overall story was seen as positive. FedEx, which paid no money for product placement in the film,[9] saw an increase in brand awareness in Asia and Europe following the film's release.[10]

text: Wilson the volleyball[edit]

text: In the film, Wilson the volleyball serves as Chuck Noland's personified friend and only companion during the four years that Noland spends alone on a deserted island.[11][12][13] Named after the volleyball's manufacturer, Wilson Sporting Goods, the character was created by screenwriter William Broyles, Jr.. While researching for the film, he consulted with professional survival experts, and then chose to deliberately strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in the Gulf of California, to force himself to search for water and food, and obtain his own shelter. During this time, a volleyball washed up on shore. This was the inspiration for the film's inanimate companion. From a screenwriting point of view, Wilson also serves to realistically allow dialogue in a one-person-only situation.[14][15]

text: One of the original volleyball props was sold at auction for $18,500 to the ex-CEO of FedEx Office, Ken May. At the time of the film's release, Wilson launched its own joint promotion centered on the fact that one of its products was "co-starring" with Tom Hanks. Wilson manufactured a volleyball with a reproduction of the bloodied handprint face on one side. It was sold for a limited time during the film's initial release and continues to be offered on the company's website.[16]

text: Reception[edit]

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, Cast Away has an approval rating of 90% based on 154 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Flawed but fascinating, Cast Away offers an intelligent script, some of Robert Zemeckis' most mature directing, and a showcase performance from Tom Hanks."[17] On Metacritic the film has a score of 73 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]

text: Cast Away opened in 2,774 theaters in North America and grossed $28,883,406 with an average of $10,412 per theater on its opening weekend.[19] For the four-day Christmas long holiday weekend, it took in a total of $39,852,075.[20] The film kept performing well and ended up earning $233,632,142 domestically and $196,000,000 internationally for a total of $429,632,142, well above its production budget of $90 million.[1]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Award

Category

Recipients and nominees

Result

73rd Academy Awards[21]

Best Actor

Tom Hanks

Nominated

Best Sound

Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, Dennis S. Sands and William B. Kaplan

Nominated

54th British Academy Film Awards[22]

Best Actor

Tom Hanks

Nominated

6th Critics' Choice Awards[23]

Best Inanimate Object

Wilson

Won

58th Golden Globe Awards[24]

Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama

Tom Hanks

Won

2001 MTV Movie Awards

Best Action Sequence

Plane crash

Nominated

Best Kiss

Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt

Nominated

Best Male Performance

Tom Hanks

Nominated

Best On-Screen Duo

Tom Hanks and Wilson

Nominated

7th Screen Actors Guild Awards[25]

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Tom Hanks

Nominated

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: A FedEx commercial during the 2003 Super Bowl parodied the final scene of the film, in which Chuck returns a package to its sender. In this version, the woman answers the door, and when Chuck asks what was in the box, the woman replies: "Just a satellite phone, GPS locator, fishing rod, water purifier, and some seeds. Just silly stuff."[26]

text: Media executive Lloyd Braun of ABC Studios first suggested the idea of a Cast Away–type television series at a dinner party in 2003.[27] Thom Sherman later pitched the idea for Cast Away – The Series, but never developed the idea.[27] The concept was later developed and pitched with the title Nowhere, which later turned into the ABC show Lost.[27]


document_title: List of mammalian gestation durations

question_text: what animal has a 9 week gestation period

text: List of mammalian gestation durations

text:
Mammal
Gestation period (days)[1]
Reference

Min
Max
Average

Alpaca

345
[2][3]

Baboon

187

Bear (black)

220
[4]

Bear (grizzly)

215

Bear (polar)

241

Beaver

122

American bison

217

Camel (Bactrian)
360
420
390

Cat (domestic)
58
67
64

Chimpanzee
230
250
240

Chinchilla
105
115
110
[5]

Chipmunk

31

Cow
279
292
286

Deer (white-tailed)

201

Dog (domestic)
58
65
61

Donkey

365

Elephant (Asian)

617

Elephant (African)

645

Elk (wapiti)
240
250
245

European mink
38
76
57
[5]

Ferret (domestic)
41
42
41
[5]

Fox (red)

52

Gerbil
22
26
24
[5]

Giraffe
420
450
430

Goat (domestic)
145
155
150

Gorilla
255
260
257

Guinea pig
56
74
65
[5]

Hamster
16
23
20

Hippopotamus
225
250
237

Horse
330
342
336

Human
259
375
270

Kangaroo

42

Leopard
92
95
93

Lion

108

Llama

330

Mink
40
75
57

Monkey (rhesus)

164

Moose
240
250
245

Mouse (domestic white)

19

Mouse (meadow)

21

Muskrat
28
30
29

Opossum (Virginia)
12
13
12

Otter
60
86
73

Pig (domestic)
112
115
113

Porcupine

210

Puma

90

Rabbit (domestic)
28
35
31
[5]

Raccoon

63

Rat
21
23
22
[6]

Rhinoceros (black)

450

Seal

330

Sea lion (California)

350

Squirrel (gray)
30
40
35

Tiger
105
113
109

Walrus

456

Whale (sperm)
480
590
535

Wolf
60
68
64

Wombat
26
28
27

Zebra (Grant's)
361
390
375