Task: Question Answering
Input (English): Context: Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian peninsula around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats., The northern giraffe ("Giraffa camelopardalis") is a species of giraffe, and is considered the type species of the genus. Whilst three other giraffe species were once considered subspecies of the conglomerate "Giraffa camelopardalis" species, recent studies have identified the northern giraffe as one of the four separate species of a reorganised "Giraffa" genus. This species is composed of three subspecies: the Nubian giraffe ("G. c. camelopardalis"), Kordofan giraffe ("G.c antiquorom") and West African giraffe ("G.c. peralta"). Around 4,550 individuals from all subspecies are currently present in the wild., The Democratic Republic of the Congo , also known as DR Congo, DRC, DROC, East Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo is a country located in Central Africa. From 1971 to 1997 it was named, and is sometimes still called Zaire, and from 1908 to 1960 it was called the Belgian Congo. The DRC borders the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north; Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the east; Zambia and Angola to the south; the Republic of the Congo to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. It is the second-largest country in Africa by area and eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 80 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populated officially Francophone country, the fourth most-populated nation in Africa and the eighteenth most populated country in the world., A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralised government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state., Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer (1 January 1791 Hanover, Brunswick-Lüneburg  7 August 1858 Königsberg, East Prussia) was a German botanist and botanical historian. Born in Hanover, he lectured in Göttingen and in 1826 became a professor of botany at the University of Königsberg, as well as Director of the Botanical Garden. His botanical specialty was the Juncaceae, or family of rushes. His major work was the four-volume "Geschichte der Botanik" (History of Botany, 185457). His history covered ancient authorities such as Aristotle and Theophrastus, explored the beginnings of modern botany in the context of 15th- and 16th-century intellectual practice, and offered a wealth of biographical data on early modern botanists. Julius von Sachs pronounced him no great botanist but admitted that he possessed a clever and cultivated intellect., Johann Fran(t)z Drège (or Jean François Drège) (25 March 1794 Altona, Hamburg, Germany - 3 February 1881 Altona, Hamburg, Germany), commonly referred to by his standard botanical author abbreviation Drège, was a German horticulturalist, botanical collector and explorer of Huguenot descent., The Masai giraffe ("Giraffa tippelskirchi"), also spelled Maasai giraffe, also called Kilimanjaro giraffe, is the largest species of giraffe and the tallest land mammal. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. Once considered a subspecies of the conglomerate "Giraffa camelopardalis" species, in 2007 and 2016 studies identified the Masai giraffe as a separate species of a reorganised "Giraffa" genus. The Rhodesian giraffe (formerly "G. c. thornicrofti") was once considered a separate subspecies, but after genetic analysis it has been subsumed as an ecotype into the Masai giraffe species. Overall, the approximate number of all populations accumulate to 32,550 in the wild, with 550 being of the Rhodesian phenotype., Harare (officially called Salisbury until 1982) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. Situated in the north-east of the country in the heart of historic Mashonaland, the city has an estimated population of 1,606,000 (2009), with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area (2006). Administratively, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates Chitungwiza town and Epworth. It is situated at an elevation of above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category., The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest, the core economic hubs of the country., South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded on the south by of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, on the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and on the east and northeast by Mozambique and Swaziland, and surrounding the kingdom of Lesotho. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with close to 56 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. It is the only country that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (white), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (coloured) ancestry., Maputo, known as Lourenço Marques before independence, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the "City of Acacias", in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues, and the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean". Today, it is a port city, with its economy centered on the harbour. According to the 2007 census, the population is 1,766,184. Cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood are the chief exports. The city manufactures cement, pottery, furniture, shoes, and rubber. The city is surrounded by Maputo Province, but is administered as its own province., Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (German: ), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, a part of less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River (essentially a small bulge in Botswana to achieve a Botswana/Zambia micro-border) separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek, and it is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations., The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict., Windhoek (; German: ""; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the "Khomas Highland" plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 2011 was 325,858, growing continually due to an influx from all over Namibia., Mozambique (or ), officially the Republic of Mozambique (or "") is a country in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. It is separated from Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo (known as "Lourenço Marques" before independence)., Ruminants are mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process typically requires the fermented ingesta (known as cud) to be regurgitated and chewed again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called rumination. The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin "ruminare", which means "to chew over again"., The even-toed ungulates (order Artiodactyla) are ungulates (hoofed animals) whose weight is borne equally by the third and fourth toes. By contrast, odd-toed ungulates, such as horses, bear their weight primarily on their third toe. The aquatic Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) evolved from even-toed ungulate ancestors, and therefore modern taxonomic classification combines Artiodactyla and Cetacea into Cetartiodactyla., Mswati II (c. 18201868), also known as Mswati and Mavuso III, was the king of Swaziland between 1840 and 1868. He was also the eponym of Swaziland. Mswati is considered to be one of the greatest fighting kings of Swaziland. Under his kingship, the territorial boundaries of Swaziland were greatly increased. Mswati was the son of Sobhuza I and Tsandzile Ndwandwe (known as 'LaZidze) who after ruling as Queen Mother became Queen Regent after the death of her son. After the death of Sobhuza, Mswati inherited an area which extended as far as present day Barberton in the north and included the Nomahasha district in the Portuguese territory of Mozambique. Mswatis military power initially suppressed by infighting with his brothers Fokoti, Somcuba and Malambule was increased in the late 1850s and later on. When Mswati's armies attacked organized forces of other Bantu tribes or nations, the goal was initially plunder in the form of cattle and captives, rather than incorporation into one political unit. The arrival of Trekboers in what would become the Transvaal republic marked the first contact with Swazis and European settlers occurred during this period. Mswati greatly extended the boundaries of the Swazi territory beyond that of the present state with military outposts and royal villages outposts such as Mbhuleni, on the upper Komati River at the foot of the Mkongomo Mountains, south of Badplaas, Mekemeke which is east of the Mbayiyane Mountains, situated east of Mantibovu (Lows Creek). The death of Mswati II in July 1868 ended the era of Swazi conquest, territorial expansion and resulted in unification of various people into one nation., Mammals are any vertebrates within the class Mammalia (from Latin "mamma" "breast"), a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles and birds by the possession of a neocortex (a region of the brain), hair, three middle ear bones and mammary glands. The sister group of mammals may be the extinct "Haldanodon." The mammals represent the only living Synapsida, which together with the Sauropsida form the Amniota clade. The mammals consist of the Yinotheria including monotrema and the Theriiformes including the theria., The Bantu languages, technically the Narrow Bantu languages (as opposed to "Wide Bantu", a loosely defined categorization which includes other Bantoid languages), constitute a traditional branch of the NigerCongo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and "Ethnologue" counts 535 languages. Bantu languages are spoken largely east and south of present-day Cameroon, that is, in the regions commonly known as Central Africa, Southeast Africa, and Southern Africa. Parts of the Bantu area include languages from other language families (see map)., The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile. The rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean., Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara desert. According to the UN, it consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara. It contrasts with North Africa, whose territories are part of the League of Arab states within the Arab world. Somalia, Djibouti, Comoros and Mauritania are geographically in Sub-Saharan Africa, but are likewise Arab states and part of the Arab world., Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland (or ; Swazi: "Umbuso weSwatini"; sometimes called kaNgwane or Eswatini), is a sovereign state in Southern Africa. It is neighboured by Mozambique to its northeast and by South Africa to its north, west and south. The country and its people take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule Swazi territory was expanded and unified., Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20.4 % of its total land area. With 1.1 billion people as of 2013, it accounts for about 15% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states (countries), nine territories and two "de facto" independent states with limited or no recognition., Malawi (or ; or [maláwi]), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Malawi is over with an estimated population of 16,777,547 (July 2013 est.). Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa"., Copperbelt Province in Zambia covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the immediate post-independence period, but its economic importance was severely damaged by a crash in global copper prices in 1973. The province adjoins Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is similarly mineral-rich., The giraffe ("Giraffa") is a genus of African even-toed ungulate mammals, the tallest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants. The genus consists of eleven species including "Giraffa camelopardalis", the type species. Seven of these species are extinct, prehistoric species known from fossils, while four are still extant. Whereas "Giraffa" once was thought to contain a single extant species with numerous subspecies, research into the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of "Giraffa" has revealed four to six distinct extant species. The four-species taxonomic classification has the genus "Giraffa" composed of the species "Giraffa giraffa" (southern giraffe), "Giraffa tippelskirchi" (Masai giraffe), "Giraffa reticulata" (reticulated giraffe) and "Giraffa camelopardalis" (northern giraffe)., Aristotle ("Aristotéls"; 384322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidice, on the northern periphery of Classical Greece. His father, Nicomachus, died when Aristotle was a child, whereafter Proxenus of Atarneus became his guardian. At seventeen or eighteen years of age, he joined Plato's Academy in Athens and remained there until the age of thirty-seven (c. 347 BC). His writings cover many subjects  including physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, logic, ethics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, linguistics, politics and government  and constitute the first comprehensive system of Western philosophy. Shortly after Plato died, Aristotle left Athens and, at the request of Philip of Macedon, tutored Alexander the Great beginning in 343 BC., Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the west and southwest, Zambia to the northwest, and Mozambique to the east and northeast. Although it does not border Namibia, less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates it from that country. The capital and largest city is Harare. A country of roughly 13 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used., Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as rush family. It consists of eight genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and sedges. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is "Juncus". Most of the "Juncus" species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes are annuals, but most are perennials., The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's oceans with a total area of about . It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. It separates the "Old World" from the "New World"., Vachellia erioloba ( camel thorn , giraffe thorn , Afrikaans : Kameeldoring , Tswana : Mogôtlhô , Sotho : Mogohlo ) is a southern African legume . Its preferred habitat is the deep dry sandy soils of the Northern Provinces , western Free State , northern Cape Provinces , Botswana , and the western areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia . It is also native to Angola , south - west Mozambique , Zambia , KwaZulu - Natal , and Swaziland . The tree was first described by Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer and Johann Franz Drège in 1836 . The tree can grow up to 17 metres high and is commonly found in Namibia . Its name refers to the fact that giraffe ( kameelperd in Afrikaans ) and camels commonly graze on the harder - to - reach succulent leaves normally out of reach of smaller animals . Giraffe in particular are partial to all vachellias and manifest a specially - adapted tongue and lips that can cope with the vicious thorns . It also grows ear - shaped pods , which are favoured by a large number of herbivores including cattle . The wood is dark reddish - brown in colour and extremely dense and strong . It is slow - growing , very hardy to drought and fairly frost - resistant . The wood is a good fuel for fires , which leads to widespread clearing of dead trees and the felling of healthy trees . According to superstition , lightning will strike at V. erioloba more often than other trees . The camel thorn 's seeds can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee beans . The camel thorn is a protected tree in South Africa ., Angola , officially the Republic of Angola (; Kikongo, Kimbundu and Umbundu: "Repubilika ya Ngola"), is a country in Southern Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa and is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north and east, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to west. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda., Hamburg (local pronunciation ; Low German/Low Saxon: "Hamborg" ), officially "Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg" (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg), is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union. It is the second smallest German state by area. Its population is over 1.7 million people, and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5.1 million inhabitants. The city is situated on the river Elbe., A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. The three surviving species of camel are the dromedary, or one-humped camel ("C. dromedarius"), which inhabits the Middle East and the Horn of Africa; the Bactrian, or two-humped camel ("C. bactrianus"), which inhabits Central Asia; and the critically endangered wild Bactrian camel ("C. ferus") that has limited populations in remote areas of northwest China and Mongolia. Bactrian camels take their name from the historical Bactria region of Central Asia (Yam & Khomeiri, 2015). Both the dromedary and the Bactrian camels have been domesticated; they provide milk, meat, hair for textiles or goods such as felted pouches, and are working animals with tasks ranging from human transport to bearing loads., Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics, and including several countries.
The term "southern Africa" or "Southern Africa", generally includes Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. From a political perspective the region is said to be unipolar with South Africa as a first regional power., Subject: vachellia erioloba, Relation: parent_taxon, Options: (A) acacia (B) area (C) areas (D) artiodactyla (E) bear (F) camel (G) giraffa (H) giraffe (I) human (J) juncaceae (K) mammal (L) namibia (M) plant (N) proxenus (O) sauropsida (P) theria (Q) theriiformes
Output (English): acacia