Animated Elephant

Diagram of The Animal Behaviour

            This diagram shows the anatomy and the behavior of Malaysian Elephant, I got all the information from my direct observation in the zoo and from the Youtube videos, National Geographic videos and BBC videos as well. I got many information that I already wrote all of them in the report below. As we can see, i divided the anatomy of the Malaysian Elephant into two categories, which is the physical  features and the visual statistic. The physical creatures of Malaysian Elephant is the head including eyes, ears, trunk, tusks, teeth, tongue. The body part have the skin, tail and feet. For the visual statistic there is a clear number that stated there showed the elephants body statistic. The actions that Malaysian Elephant did based on my direct and indirect observation are from their tusks, trunk and diet. 

Malaysian Elephants – from Youtube Video

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

         Asian elephants are smaller than their African counterparts, most easily noted in their ear size. They are more readily tamed than African elephants and have been used as beasts of burden for centuries. Despite their size, their charge speed can reach nearly 50kmph. Wild bulls are solitary, while cows and calves live in small herds. Though the adult Asian elephant has no natural predators, there only around 50,000 left in the wild.

Elephants, being wide-ranging species, need large areas of natural habitat to live and breed. A crucial factor in their survival is, among other things, the availability of large enough areas that are managed sustainably to meet the needs of both human and animal populations. With elephants being squeezed into increasingly smaller habitats only a fraction of its former extensive range, much needed solutions are necessary. 

These elephants live for up to 60 years in the wild and more than 80 years in captivity. They give birth about every 4-6 years, although this period may be extended when conditions are unfavourable for survival, such as during drought. The gestation period is between 19-22 months, almost 2 years! Calves suckle for 3-4 years. Elephants are herbivors, one adult can eat up to 150kg of vegetation per day, feeding mostly on species of palms, grasses, bamboo, legumes, bark, roots, fruits and a variety of tree and plant leaves. A mature adult has a prodigious appetite and requires between 200-300kg of food every day. An elephant’s digestive system is not particularly efficient, digesting less than 50% of its food.

            Of all the extraordinary features that the elephant displays, perhaps the most unique and astonishing is the most incredible feat of evolutionary engineering, the trunk. A nose, an arm, a hand, a voice, a straw, a hose and much more. The elephant's trunk is surely the most versatile and useful appendage on the planet. The trunk is the fusion of an elephant's upper lip and nose and was formed over millions of years of evolution. It is a long, prehensile tube with two nostrils running down the centre and a mass of flesh, muscle, fat, nerves blood and connective tissue that can weigh up to 140kgs.

           

           All elephants display great dexterity with the trunk. The trunk also allows elephants to reach up, down and into difficult spots that they cannot see which is of particular importance as elephants, unlike other browsing and grazing animals, do not use their teeth to directly feed. Instead an elephant will use the trunk's strength and flexibility to rip grass from the ground or fodder from a tree and then place it in its mouth. Trunks also allow an elephant to be selective about what they have gathered - for example, it is common for an elephant to use its trunk to shuck corn before eating the succulent cobs after disposing of its fibrous wrapping.

            Given that they have the largest nose in the world, it is perhaps not surprising that elephants are thought to have the best sense of smell of all animals. The sense of smell is probably the most important of their senses. If you observe elephants for any length of time, you will notice that the tip of their trunks are constantly moving, testing the smells in the air in every direction as we might perhaps use our eyes. Contrary to what is often believed, the elephant does not use its trunk to drink through. It does however play an important role in the act of drinking. The elephant uses the trunk to draw water and then sprays it into the mouth. A typical trunk can hold around four liters of water, although studies have shown that the trunk of a big bull can hold up to 10 liters. Elephants also use the trunk to transfer a layer of dust or mud to their bodies which protects them from insect bites or the ravages of a hot sun. When elephants are very hot and water is not readily available, they will often put their trunks in their mouths, obtain large amounts of saliva and spray it on their bodies.

           
         The trunk is an essential tool for social behaviour and virtually all close elephant interaction involves the trunk. Although it is not the only way they communicate acoustically, elephants can use their trunks to produce a range of sounds. They do this by modifying the size of their nostrils once air has passed over their larynx. Trunk-produced sounds can range from a low snort to high pitched squeaks of excitement or a deafening full blown trumpet. The reason a charging elephant tucks his trunk out of harm's way is to protect it from damage. A functioning trunk is absolutely vital for an elephant's survival. It is a remarkable organ and just one of the reasons that elephants are such exceptional animals.

            Elephants use their tusks for a variety of tasks. Principally, they are formidable weapons against potential predators like the tiger (although tigers will only ever attack young or juvenile elephants) or in battle against other elephants. There is also a display element to tusks and they can attract the interest of females. Evidence suggests that elephants normally prefer one tusk over the other, similar to being left or right handed in humans. The preferred tusk is known as the master tusk.


References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0048586
http://www.rainforestoutdoor.com/2011/02/malaysian-elephants.html
http://www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/asian_elephant/asian_elephant.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/asian-elephant/

Malaysian Elephants – Zoo Negara

Zoo Negara is home to three gentle giants, the Malaysian Elephants. Siti and Sibol (female) and Teriang (male) which originally come from Pahang, currently in their late twenties or early thirties. Although these elephants have long been retired from the elephants show, they are still three superstars in this zoo.

In my trip to Zoo Negara with my classmates on 28 June 2012, I have been asked to do an observation about one animal that I like and I choose elephant. This animal is the biggest animal that I've ever seen. Zoo Negara have 3 elephants which live in huge land and there are two females and one males. Visitors can get the information about any animal in this zoo from the information board that place in front of the animal's cage. What I get from the information board is this animal is the largest land mammals in the world. The height of their body is around 2.5 to 3.0m (at the shoulder) with length around 5.5 to 6.4 m. The weight for females elephants is 3000kg, while the males 5000kg. They also chain the elephants if the keeper is not in the vicinity of the enclosure, when the keeper is feed them to avoid them from fighting with each other, if the elephants on a medical treatment, and when necessary like if there is thunderstorm to keep off the elephants from jump out the guard rail. 

These elephants have a deeply lobed forehead with a prominent twin domed crown. Their eyes are small, because of the position and size of the head and neck. Their ears are smaller than the African elephants with large veins flows beneath the thin covering of skin. These three elephants never stop to move their ears and their tail. They like to interact with people, they will move their trunk straight to people who wants to give them food.

The elephant’s trunk is one of nature most amazing creations. It is made up of six major muscle groups, composed of over 100,000 individual muscle units. The trunk is dexterous and sensitive while at the same time being strong and powerful. An elephant uses its trunk for a multitude of purposes such as, it can lightly pluck a flower or pick up a coin or lift huge logs or elephant calves; it can be used for reaching high branches or rummaging low down on the dirt; it conveys food and water to the mouth and can fill it with huge volume of liquid, expelling it at great force; it is also used to make sounds such as trumpeting. In self-defense, the trunk is a highly formidable weapon that is capable of killing. Last but not least, the trunk houses a keen sense of smell, which is said to be more developed than any other land animal. A damaged trunk is a death sentence to an elephant. The trunk is highly sensitive and they are very careful to protect them, sleeping with trunks tucked up under their chins and will adopt the same position when threatened. Elephant tusks are developed upper incisors. They are used for digging, locating water, balancing large objects and in defense as a potentially lethal weapon. Malaysian elephants commonly have short and light tusks, but they can on occasion be long and slender. The females elephants may have short protrusions called tushes, these are rarely longer than 4 inches.

 Elephant skin is not thick skinned but very sensitive. The skin is heavily grooved, with a loose fitting appearance covered with coarse bristles. It is prone to irritation from insect bites and mites living within the skin folds. That’s why I saw the tail of the elephant is never stop moving to the body, and also the trunk of this elephant once I saw take the sands and frequently blow a covering the body as well to protect themselves from insect menace.. For this reason, regular bathing is vital to the good health of this animal.

               An elephant’s tail can be as long as 1.3m and is tipped by a series of very coarse, wire-like hairs. They have an extraordinary degree of control over tail movement and use them as a fly swat against insects. Their feet usually have 3 or 4 toenails, and the fact is that an elephant’s height at the shoulder is twice the circumference of his foot. Elephants are herbivores and enjoy a range of vegetation including grass, bamboo, a variety of tree and plant leaves, legumes, bark, roots and fruit. A mature adult has a prodigious appetite and requires between 200-300kg of food every day. An elephant's digestive system is not particularly efficient, digesting less than 50% of its food. A healthy adult can drink up to 60 gallons of water a day.

          
             From the video above we can see that the elephants is really active during day time, and they like to interact with other people. They will move their trunk straight to the visitor who give their hand. They like to show off and play with each other.