Family Elephantidae (Elephant) is the family of the order Pachyderm, and the only remaining family of the order Proboscidea.
Elephant is one of the animals that exist in Indonesia. Elephants are mammals and is the largest land animal in the world. There are 2 species of elephants in the world, namely:
1. Asian Elephant (formerly known as the Indian Elephant)
2. African Elephant
Elephant Species
African elephants are the largest land animal in the world. Throughout the year there were 55 million 500 known species of elephant and the only two extant species of Asian elephants and African elephants. Species of Asian Elephants and African Elephants initially divided about two million years earlier.
Different Asian elephants than African elephants. Asian elephants have smaller ears less than the African elephant, has a flat forehead, and two tubers at the elephant head is the highest peak, compared with the African elephant has only one hump on the head. In addition, the tip of the Asian elephant’s trunk has only a 1 lip, while African elephants have a 2 lip on the tip of the proboscis. Both sexes have the African elephant ivory while only male Asian elephants have tusks are clearly visible.
Characteristic
Distribution of Asian elephants include India, Southeast Asia including Indonesia and the western part of Sabah (East Malaysia). While African elephants persebaranya includes most of the African mainland in the form of pasture.
In Indonesia, there are elephants in Sumatra (Sumatran elephants) and at the Regency, East Kalimantan (borneo elephant).
Food
Elephants are herbivores. He spends 16 hours a day to collect food crops. Diet consists of at least 50% grasses, coupled with leaves, twigs, roots, and a little fruit, seeds and flowers. Because elephants only digest 40% of which he ate, they must consume food in large quantities. Adult elephant can consume 300 to 600 pounds (140-270 kg) of food per day. Sixty percent of the food left in the body of an elephant or insoluble.
Reproduction
As a member of the class Mammalia, elephant breeding with lambing. Elephant will keep her child until able to stand.
Social Behavior
Elephants live in a structured social order. Social lives of male and female are different. Females spent most of his life in a family group consisting of mothers, daughters, sisters, and aunts. This group is led by the oldest female. While adult male spends his time in his own life (not in groups).
Elephant gestation period is 22 months, the longest compared to other terrestrial animals. Child weight 120 kilograms of elephants in general. An elephant can live for 70 years.
Elephants also been used in war as war elephants, which are used to attack the enemy. Elephants are the only mammals in the world who can not jump.