Characteristics of forage garden vegetation of the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Medan Zoo

Abstract

Medan Zoo is an ex situ conservation area for several wildlife species, covering an area of approximately 30 hectares, most of which are green open space and provide a forage garden for Sumatran elephants. This study aims to determine the characteristics of vegetation and the diversity of natural food types for elephants available in the Medan Zoo. Data collection using purposive sampling method, carried out in the forage garden which located in several points of elephant free-range. Based on the calculation of the Shannon-Wienner index, the overall diversity of plant species at the research location is 3.7 which can be categorized as high. The dominant understorey plants in the elephant forage garden are species from the family of Poaceae, namely Paspalumconjugatum, Eragrotisamabilis, Ottochloanodosa. Meanwhile, for speciesof trees habitus, the dominance for each level of vegetation starting from the tree, poles and saplings were: Meliaazedarach, Hibiscus tiliaceus and Cassia sp. There are types of elephant feed plants, classified into 8 families.The dominant type of natural feed is from the family of Poaceae.