Sumatran Elephant

Sumatran elephants are the descendants (keturunan) of Asian elephants which can be found only in
the region of Sumatera island. Generally, they have a smaller body size than the Indian elephant.
They are one of the species that are very protected in Indonesia. The protection is done (dilakukan)
because the Sumatran elephant population began to decline (berkurang/menurun), rare (langka),
and endangered species (spesis terancam punah) which will be extinct (punah). According to the
results of the survey conducted(dilakukan) in 2000 there were about 2000 to 2700 species. But now,
65% of the population died due (dikarenakan) to killed by humans by gun (pistol) and poisoned.
Now, the habitats that were inhabited (ditempati) by Sumatran elephants have been (telah) changed
into plantations (perkebunan).
The Sumatran elephants are the largest mammals that exist in Indonesia. They are around 6 tons
and their height is about of 3.5 m. Elephants have a long enough period of pregnancy (Gajah
memiliki cukup lama periode kehamilan). Their pregnancy period is about 22 months and they can
live until 70 years old. Elephants are a kind of smart herbivores because they have bigger brains
than the other mammals. Elephant has ears big enough, and it makes their sense (rasa/merasakan)
of hearing is very good. In addition, the large ears also function as a regulator (pengatur) of body
heat. While their trunk (belalai) works to find or get food and water.

Sumatran elephant has a very structured (terstruktur) in their social order life. The social life between
male and female elephants is quite (sungguh/sama sekali) different. The female is spending
(menghabiskan) her life in a group consisting (terdiri) of mother, daughter (anak betina), sister, and
many more. This family group is led(dipimpin) by the oldest female elephant. Unlike the female

elephant, male elephant often spend their time alone(menyendiri) to live with their groups (darpada
hidup dengan kelompok-kelompok mereka). Though (meskipun ) elephants have a great body they
are very reliable(handal) when they have to (harus) swim. They even(bahkan) can swim for about 6
hours and can travel in a distance of 50km. Elephant tusks (gading) are on the front of the upper jaw
(rahang), which will continue to grow as long as their life. They have a large skull (tengkorak) and
strong, where it contains a very smart brain. No wonder (pantas/tidak heran) that the elephants have
a very strong memory, and they never forget the commands (perintah) that have been taught (yang
telah diajarkan) by the leader. In average, an elephant is able to memorize for about 25 commands.
Elephants are herbivores types. They will at least (paling sedikit/paling tidak) spend about 16 hours
in a day only for collecting the food. Their foods are consists of grass, leaves, twigs (ranting), roots,
flower seeds and little fruits. They will only digest (mencerna) 40% of what they eat, therefore (oleh
karena itu/karenanya) they should consume the food in large numbers. The Sumatran elephants are
the uniqueness of Indonesia and we are the people who have a responsibility (bertanggungjawab) to
protect them.