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===Flora=== | ===Flora and fauna=== | ||
Many of the characteristic [[Audonia]]n species—large mammals such as the {{wp|elephant}}, {{wp|rhinoceros}}, {{wp|giraffe}}, {{wp|zebra}}, and {{wp|antelope}} and predators such as {{wp|lions}} and {{wp|leopards}}—do not exist on Chaukhira. In addition, the island has been spared the great variety of venomous snakes indigenous to the [[Audonia]]n continent. Although it is assumed that most life forms on the island had an [[Audonia]]n origin, isolation has allowed old species—elsewhere extinct—to survive and new species unique to the island to evolve. Thus, a great number of plant, insect, reptile, and fish species are endemic to Chaukhira, and all indigenous land mammal species—66 in all—are unique to the island. | |||
Chaukhira was once covered almost completely by forests, but slash and burn practices for dry rice and rubber cultivation, Secondary growth, which has replaced the original forest and consists to a large extent of {{wp|traveller's trees}}, {{wp|raffia palm}}, and {{wp|baobabs}}, is found in many places. The country has some 900 species of {{wp|orchid}}. {{wp|Bananas}}, {{wp|mangoes}}, {{wp|coconut}}, {{wp|vanilla}}, and other tropical plants grow throughout. | |||
===Fauna=== | ===Fauna=== | ||
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