To model the decline of the elephant herd, we can use an exponential decay function of the form:
\[ y = y_0 \cdot (1 - r)^t \]
where:
- \( y_0 \) is the initial quantity (in this case, 62 elephants),
- \( r \) is the decay rate (in this case, 4%, which is 0.04 in decimal form),
- \( t \) is the time in years.
Since the herd is declining by 4% each year, we can express \( (1 - r) \) as \( (1 - 0.04) = 0.96 \).
Thus, the exponential decay function becomes:
\[ y = 62 \cdot (0.96)^t \]
Therefore, the correct response is:
\[ y = 62(0.96)^t \]
So the answer is:
y = 62(0.96)^t