Concept in Definition ABC

The word territory refers to the defined area that is in legal possession of an individual, organization, institution, State or country.

The concept of territory is broad and diverse. In geography it is widely used, and if in some cases its use has a conception politics, in others it is more intimately linked with variants of landscape, region, space and climate. In physics, for example, territory refers to land surface or relief, and for this reason it is linked to the notions of lithosphere, atmosphere and others. For ecology, the territory is synonymous with the natural environment, the environment of the human being in its relationship with nature. In the astronomy and spatial tradition, the territory no longer contains a political or legal aspect, but has to do with systems understood as places interconnected by networks and flows. For the study of landscaping, to cite another example, territory is synonymous with natural landscape or cultural that involves a relationship with the use that society makes of the land.

Of all these branches and disciplines, the one that has studied the concept of territory with the greatest degree of interest is the political geography. As such, it investigates the use of a territory as a physical space dominated by a person or social group in front of others. Many times the territory is synonymous with the State and national power, closely related to the concepts of territorial organization and administrative division that are inherent to the development of a Nation that prides itself on such.

But the concept of territory is complex and does not always have a connotation of legality. In certain cases or contexts the territory, the land, the land, can be usurped and / or usufruct by individuals or social groups who do not own it and, given the conditions, these individuals may eventually become legal owners of the territory in question.

Such a situation is quite frequent throughout the world, that is, lands that suddenly do not have a present owner and for this reason are occupied by families that in some cases can even get the ownership of the same if in the middle there are no eviction proceedings by the real owners or if after a reasonable time that imposes the law nobody claims them and then those who occupy it become their formal owners even if they have not paid a sum of money for the same, which is the normal modality with which any individual accesses the possession of a land.

National territory

We will speak of national territory to refer to that surface of land that belongs to a certain nation and over which a state will exercise sovereignty. It does not only concern the land space but also the air and sea, if the territory in question has coasts.

Normally, national territories are divided into sub-national portions (cities, provinces, municipalities, among others) that are governed by a administration local, although, it will be subject to the provisions dictated by the national administration.

Animals and territory

Finally, the notion of territory is commonly used to refer to areas controlled or dominated by certain groups of animals. Marking the territory is the practice that many animals - even domestic ones - carry out to delimit that physical space that they assume is their property with respect to other opponents or peers of the same species.

Felines, for example, are a type of animal that show off what is indicated, that is, the defense of their territories.
Adult tigers, to name one of the most recognized cases of this type of situation, are extremely territorial animals that defend their territory with great ferocity.

Female tigers are capable of having a territory of up to 20 square kilometers and not to mention the males that can control an even larger area, which reaches 80 kilometers. It should be noted that tigers usually accept the entry of females into their territory, although not that of males, such a fact they do not tolerate it and this is where they demonstrate their great violence.

Almost always fights between male tigers for territorial reasons are very violent and end with the death of one.

Among the typical actions of felines when marking their territorial property, the one to urinate the trees stands out.

Although we refer exclusively to tigers, as indicated in the paragraphs above, territoriality is a common characteristic of many cats. Domestic cats are also great defenders and watchdogs of their homes and often mark that property also urinating certain limits of the house and rubbing with his whiskers some parts of the property.