Mammology: Any mammal species with a good view in the live camera is fine (Essay Sample)

Mammology: Live View of Animal in a Zoo Student’s Name Department, University Course Professor’s Name Date Mammology: Live View of Animal in a Zoo For this report, the Asian Elephant was observed at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park through a livecam. The Asian elephant, also referred as the Asiatic elephant, is one of the surviving species of the genus Elephas (Saaban, Yasak, Gumal, Oziar, Cheong, Shaari, Tyson & Hedges, 2020). It is found throughout Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, from India in the west to Borneo in the east (WWF, 2018). Its range used to reach as far north as the Yangtze River, but it has been progressively shrinking. The primary intent of the exercise is to observe the behavior of the Asian Elephant. However, the report also offers descriptive information regarding Elephas maximus; description involving its range, habitat, physical characteristics, adaptation, forage, reproductive behavior, and socialization. Further, after the general description, an observation of the animal that was done in a period of 45 minutes is reported. In particular, the observational report section details the animals’ behavior including playing, sleeping, eating, relocating, scratching, hunting, exploring, and other notable patterns. Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Proboscidea Family: Elephantidae Genus: Elephas Species: Elephas maximus Description Asian elephants are divided into three subspecies, each with a unique scientific name. The subspecies are divided according to size and habitat (Saaban et al., 2020). Elephas maximus is the common name for all of them. Elephas maximus maximus, also known as the Sri Lankan elephant, is the biggest Asian elephant and a native of that country. The smallest of the subspecies is the Sumatran elephant, Elephas maximus sumatranus, which is indigenous to the small island of Sumatra (Wong, Campos-Arceiz & Saaban, 2021). The biggest range and a native of mainland Asia is the Indian elephant, Elephas maximus indicus. Asian elephants are huge mammals even though they are smaller than their African counterparts. The largest species is the Sri Lankan variant, and they range in height from 6.6 to 9.8 feet (Qiu, 2022). The weight of these elephants can range from 2.25 to 2.5 tons, making them slightly heavier than a jeep (Saaban et al., 2020). Typically, they are gray or brown. On their ears and faces, these elephants have faint pink blotches where their pigment has faded. They are believed to vary depending on heredity and food. Asian elephants are born with silky red hair that gradually darkens with age. Their lengthy trunk may be their most striking feature. Their trunks have a single muscle that resembles a finger at the end whereas the African elephants have two. They are found in 13 range countries across South and Southeast Asia, and they live in dry to wet forest and grassland habitats (WWF, 2018). Asian elephants have evolved to survive on resources that differ depending on the region, despite preferring to feed on plants. An elephant may spend more than two thirds of its day eating grasses, but it also consumes a significant quantity of tree bark, roots, leaves, and short stems. Further, Asian elephants have small, rounded ears that aid in controlling their body temperature (Qiu, 2022). Asian elephants do not all have tusks. Females lack tusks, although some men have noticeable ones. A lesser kind of tusks known as tushes are present on some males. The African elephant only has one circular dome on the top of its head, whereas they have two. The skin on Asian elephants is smoother, their trunks are firmer, and they only have one finger on the end of their trunks. Observation The observation was done using a livecam provided at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The observation was done in 45 minutes beginning from around midday; 12:00 to 12:45pm. Therefore, it is during the day and three elephants are seen eating food that has is provided in the park. Two of the elephants are huge whereas the third one is young. It is eating close to its mother. After a while, the mother leaves and immediately the mother walks away the other big elephant comes, pushes the young one from the food basket, and continues to eat. The fourth elephant is also seen nearby eating. The fifth one is also observed walking around with a branch held by its hand. The animals spend much of their time eating. They spend a lot of time eating and a few moments walking away and moving around. After 5 minutes the mother and the younger elephant return again to eat. During this time they are seen playing while eating and both showing some form of affection. The young elephant tries to push the mother away from the food and although the mother is very huge it does not resist being pushed away from the food. It demonstrates some affection for the young one. When another huge elephant approaches the two (mother and the young one), it does not come so nearer them but stretches its hand from a distance and moves one of the basket containing food to a distant location from the two so that it can eat. After eating for a while, one of the elephants moved to a source of water and was seen drinking. It stood at the water source for about 3 minutes. There were also some areas where they could lean their bodies on, made like tree trunks. The elephant were also observed stretching, pushing their legs back. Results Table 1 shows the results recorded from the viewing within the 45 minutes. The time spent is calculated in percentile and recorded. Table 1. Frequency of behavior 2700 Seconds Percentage (%) Playing 350 12.9% Sleeping 0 0% Eating 1600 59.2% Drinking water 500 18.5% Scratching 300 11.1% Moving around 1000 37.0% Exploring 100 3.7% Discussion The elephant spent most of their time eating and during this period of observation did not sleep at all. They spent much of their time eating because elephants are likely to consume a lot of food and they do that during the day. Notably, since elephants are loosely diurnal, they are usually awake during the day and mostly sleep during the night. This is the reason why they were not observed sleeping because it was day time. Ano...