Perilaku dan Pola Asuh Induk (Parental Care) Terhadap Anak Gajah Sumatera (Elephas maximus sumatranus) di Taman Margasatwa Ragunan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36722/sst.v3i4.234Abstract
Abstrak - Gajah Sumatera (Elephas maximus sumatranus) merupakan hewan sosial yang menganut sistem matriarki. Induk akan bersikap protektif, agresif, menemani dan membantu aktivitas keseharian anak gajah seperti bermain, berkomunikasi, dan menyusui. Perilaku pengasuhan anak gajah dapat berbeda antara habitat asli dengan konservasi ex-situ seperti kebun binatang yang memiliki ruang gerak terbatas. Pengamatan ini bertujuan untuk menerangkan perilaku dan pola pengasuhan induk terhadap anak gajah Sumatera di konservasi ex—situ. Tempat pengamatan dilakukan di Taman Margasatwa Ragunan (TMR). Objek pengamatan untuk penelitian ini adalah empat individu gajah Sumatera di Taman Margasatwa Ragunan. Metode yang digunakan adalah ad libitum sampling dan focal animal sampling. Hasil pengamatan perilaku asuh induk yang berjumlah 11 macam menunjukkan tidak ada perbedaan pada setiap induk gajah. Perilaku menyusui lebih banyak dilakukan induk daripada perilaku lainnya. Perilaku allomother pada gajah betina selain induk di TMR kurang terlihat aktif karena tida terlihat faktor yang memicu terjadinya perilaku tersebut. Variasi pola asuh induk gajah di TMR ada 10 macam dan 6 macam pola asuh gajah betina selain induk (allomother). Terjadi perilaku pola asuh abnormal dan kurangnya perkembangan sosial anak gajah terhadap gajah lain selain induk karena ruang gerak dan jumlah gajah dalam satu kandang yang terbatas di TMR.
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Kata kunci - Gajah Sumatera, Elephas maximus, pola asuh, allomother, hewan sosial, matriarki
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Abstract - Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is a social behaviour that have adopts matriarch system. Female elephant will be protective, helping, and always accompanying the elephant calf for activities such as playing, communicating, and berast feeding. Parental care behaviour and pattern of a Sumatran elephant in ex-situ conservation and their habitat could be different. The purpose of this observation was to describe Sumatran elephant parental care behaviour and pattern in ex-situ conservation. This observation is conduct in Ragunan Zoo and the object for this study is four Sumatran elephant. The method in this observation using ad libitum and focal animal sampling. The results showed there are no difference for parental care in Sumatran elephant and there are 11 behaviour of parental care. Allomothering in Ragunan Zoo showed less vissible because there are no factor that require helping to nurture the calf. There are 10 pattern for parental care and 6 pattern for allomotehring. There has an abnormal behaviour to the Sumatran elephant and lack of social development for the calf because of the limit space and other elephants in the enclosure.
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Keywords - Sumatran elephant, Elephas maximus, parental care, allomother, social animal, matriarch
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