Elk | |
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Population | 60621 |
The elk (Cervus canadensis) or wapiti is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in North America and Northeast Asia. This animal should not be confused with the still larger moose (Alces alces) of North America, alternatively known as "elk" in British English and related names in other European languages (German Elch, Swedish älg, French élan), in reference to populations in Eurasia. Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Males also engage in ritualized mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling (sparring), and bugling, a loud series of vocalizations that establishes dominance over other males and attracts females.
Although it is currently native to North America and eastern Asia, it had a much wider distribution in the past. Populations were present across Eurasia into Western Europe during the Late Pleistocene, and survived into the early Holocene in southern Sweden and the Alps.
Gdynia | |
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Population | 248042 |
Gdynia ( gə-DIN-ee-ə; Polish: [ˈɡdɨɲa] (listen); German: Gdingen; Kashubian: Gdiniô, 1939-1945 Gotenhafen) is a city in northern Poland. Located on Gdańsk Bay on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, it is a major seaport and the second-largest city in Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk. Gdynia has a population of 246,348, which makes it the twelfth-largest city in Poland. It is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of over 1,000,000 people.
Historically and culturally part of Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia for centuries remained a small farming and fishing village. At the beginning of the 20th-century, Gdynia attracted visitors as a seaside resort town, and began to build tourism. The local population increased in response to the change in the economy.
After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the government decided to construct a Polish seaport in Gdynia, between the Free City of Danzig (a semi-autonomous city-state) and German Pomerania, making Gdynia a primary economic hub. In 1926 Gdynia was granted city rights, after which it enjoyed a rapid demographic and architectural development.
This was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, during which the newly built port and shipyard were completely destroyed.