The mammals of Angola

Scientific investigations on the mammals of Angola started over 150 years ago, but information remains scarce and scattered, with only one recent published account. Here we provide a synthesis of the mammals of Angola based on a thorough survey of primary and grey literature, as well as recent unpublished records. We present a short history of mammal research, and provide brief information on each species known to occur in the country. Particular attention is given to endemic and near endemic species. We also provide a zoogeographic outline and information on the conservation of Angolan mammals. We found confirmed records for 291 native species, most of which from the orders Rodentia (85), Chiroptera (73), Carnivora (39), and Cetartiodactyla (33). There is a large number of endemic and near endemic species, most of which are rodents or bats. The large diversity of species is favoured by the wide range of habitats with contrasting environmental conditions, while endemism tends to be associated with unique physiographic settings such as the Angolan Escarpment. The mammal fauna of Angola includes 2 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, 11 Vulnerable, and 14 Near-Threatened species at the global scale. There are also 12 data deficient species, most of which are endemics or near endemics to the countryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Population aging in Cuba: coping with social care deficit

International audienceDemographic aging represents major social and economic challenges for Cuba. This paper examines the responses and coping mechanisms developed in Cuba over the past decades with regards to aging within Fassin's (2009) conceptual framework of moral economy. It demonstrates that the moral economies of social justice and homecare tend to conflict in a context of care deficit (Hochschild, 1995). The paper is based on several rounds of ethnographic fieldwork, participant observation and interviews conducted between 2009 and 2016, in Havana and other parts of Cuba,. It first analyzes the components of demographic aging, namely the increase of life expectancy, the decrease of fertility and migration. It then delves into public policies aiming to respond to the health care needs of the elderly, to foster their community integration, and to mitigate their impoverishment. Finally, it highlights how households develop strategies to cope with the care needs of aging relatives, in a context where market provision and institutional long-term care supplies are still incipient. Although constructed as a public problem and widely documented in Cuba, the pressure aging exerts on care systems has received little attention from social scientists. In this regard, this paper contributes to comparative knowledge on aging in Post-Soviet, Latin American and Caribbean countries