Sumatran Elephant
| Sumatran Elephant | |||
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| スマトラゾウ | |||
| Character Data | |||
| Romaji | Sumatorazou
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| Debut | Kemono Friends Festival | ||
| Animal Data | |||
| Scientific Name | Elephas maximus sumatranus
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| Distribution | Sumatra
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| Diet | Herbivore
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| Avg. Lifespan | 60 years
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| Read More | Sumatran elephant
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| Conservation | 
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| Sumatran Elephant | Festival | Gallery |
The Sumatran Elephant is a type of elephantid Friend first seen in the Gunma Safari Park Collab. She has since been featured in Kemono Friends Festival.
Appearance
Sumatran Elephant has light gray hair with straight-cut bangs, save for a long section in the middle which extends down the middle of her face, past her amber eyes. Her face is framed by two long white pointed locks of hair, curving gently outwards, which evoke an elephant's tusks. Her hair is tied back with red bands into two large pigtails with black ends; she likewise has a black tuft of hair atop her head. On the sides of her head, she has two large light gray elephant ears, accompanied by an elephant's tail at her rear.
Sumatran Elephant wears a red short-sleeved dress shirt, worn unbuttoned and tied in the front to reveal her midriff; a black garment is worn underneath, over her lower chest. She also sports slightly distressed white denim shorts, gray high-top sneakers tied with tufted black bows, and matching accessories in the form of light gray thigh-highs and baggy, elbow-length fingerless gloves.
Akin to other elephantid Friends, Sumatran Elephant possesses a long muffler in which an item, most commonly a piece of fruit, is typically held; her muffler is the same light gray as her hair, and her fruit of choice is a purple mangosteen.
Series Appearances
| Media | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Kemono Friends Festival | ↪ Minor character, obtainable |
In Real Life
The critically-endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus)- so named for its native range, being found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra- is one of three living subspecies of the Asian elephant, and the most endangered of the trio; in 2007, the low-end population estimate was around 2,400 wild individuals, and this number has likely dropped further as poaching and human-elephant habitation conflict have only increased. Reflecting this, the species was listed as critically-endangered in 2011-12. 70% or more of the forests these elephants depend on has been lost within the past two and a half to three decades, and that which remains is in blocks too small to sustain healthy populations.
Sumatran elephants are known to average 2.6 m (8.5 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh an average of 3,000 kg (6,614 lbs); the largest typical specimens may reach shoulder heights of 3.2 m (10.5 ft) and weights of 4,000 kg (8,800 lbs). This makes them the smallest Asian elephant subspecies, on average; they are also the lightest-skinned of the three subspecies, with a much paler skin tone than either of their counterparts.
Sumatran elephants play an important role within the ecology of Sumatra's forest ecosystems, being nutrient recyclers and seed depositors. Their droppings deposit the seeds of the plants they eat far and wide, allowing these plant species to proliferate; furthermore, new soil is created as the droppings themselves break down. Other critically endangered species, such as the Sumatran orangutan and Sumatran tiger, depend on the new forest growth these elephants help to provide.
Trivia
- The mangosteen, Sumatran Elephant's fruit of choice, has been cultivated in her native Sumatra since antiquity.
- Despite being the smallest subspecies of Asian elephant, the Sumatran elephant has more ribs than its counterparts, with 20 pairs; both of its cousins possess only 19.
- Sumatran elephant calves are able to stand on their own within 10 to 30 minutes of being born.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_elephant
- https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sumatran-elephant