Jean Paul Martin, age 12, of Santa Cruz, Calif., for his question:
DO FOREIGN COUNTRIES HAVE NATIONAL PARKS?
The idea of national parks for the public did not take shape until the United States established Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Since then, about 100 countries have established more than 1,200 national parks and similar reserves. There are about 300 areas in the U.S. National Park system today.
Many foreign nations send people to the U.S. for training in park management. The service here also sends advisers to other countries from time to time.
Canada established its first national park in 1885, only a few years after Yellowstone National Park came into being. It was 10 square miles in the Canadian Rockies. This land was the start of Banff National Park.
The largest national park in the world today is Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park, which covers 17,300 square miles. The largest buffalo herd in North America lives in this park.
In Africa there are many national parks and reserves. Among the leading parks are Kafue in Zambia, Kruger in South Africa, Serengeti in Tanzania and Virunga in Zaire.
In the Kazirange Reserve of India and the Chitawan Sanctuary of Nepal you'll find the largest of the Asian rhinoceroses living in the wild. They are called the Indian rhinoceroses.
Popular with tourists in England is the Peak District National Park. It stretches over hills and dales and includes many lakes.
Sandy plains of rolling land plus great forests of birch, oak and pine trees can be found in German's Luneburger Heath. Australia's Royal National Park is known for its rare, beautiful wild flowers.
The broadest worldwide park conservation effort is that of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). It was founded in 1948 and it has headquarters in Morges, Switzerland.
More than 130 national governments and organizations, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, belong to the IUCN. The IUCN points out threats to resources and wildlife in individual countries and assists in park planning.
The IUCN also holds frequent international conferences and publishes books and reports on conservation.
The small number of wild lions still in Asia, outside zoos, make their home in the famous Gir Forest of India.
Tigers and the rare Javan rhinoceroses live in Indonesia's Udjung Reserve.
Japan's famous Mount Fuji is one of the magnificent natural features preserved in national parks. Another is Iguacu Falls, more than two miles wide, on the Argentine Brazilian border.
Since ancient times, rulers and noblemen throughout the world have set aside parklands to preserve outstanding landscapes and wild animals. But these early reserves were not open to the people.