THE 



ZOOLOGICAL MAGAZINE. 



The ELEPHANT. 



AFTER the numerous histories, compilations, and anecdotes 

 respecting the Elephant which have appeared either as sepa- 

 rate treatises, or in the periodical publications of the day, 

 it may with some reason be supposed that the subject has 

 been already exhausted, and that another description of this, 

 though it be the most stupendous and interesting of quadru- 

 peds, can afford very little either of novelty or entertainment. 

 But a careful review of these several accounts convinces us 

 that an accurate description of the species and varieties of the 

 genus Elephas, and a faithful recital of those qualities which 

 render this sagacious animal so useful an auxiliary to man in 

 the most important of our colonial possessions, may still prove 

 interesting to the lover of zoology at home, and useful, it is 

 hoped, to those who now are, or are likely to become, residents 

 in the East Indies. 



All the accurate knowledge which we at present possess 

 relative to the mode of propagation, the growth, the disposi- 

 tion, and faculties of the elephant, is founded on observations 

 made upon the Asiatic species : and it may be doubted 

 how far we are warranted in referring the attributes of this 

 to the less commonly known elephant, which ranges uncon- 

 trolled in the wilds of Africa. Buffon indeed, and most 

 writers previous to Cuvier, have applied the remarks of ob- 

 servers to both species indiscriminately, for it was not until 

 they had been subjected to the penetrating scrutiny of the 

 latter celebrated naturalist that their real specific difference 

 was distinctly pointed out. 



In this country it naturally happens, from our relations with 

 the East Indies, that the elephant which is most commonly 

 exhibited in menageries is of the Asiatic species. The two 

 young individuals which have been seen to such advantage 

 during the past summer in the Gardens of the Zoological So- 

 ciety are of this kind. In the menagerie at the Jardin des 

 Plantes, however, there is at present a fine young African 

 elephant (Elephas Africanus, Cuv.), as well as a noble 

 Asiatic one (Elephas Indicus,Qv\.), Hence the most ample 

 opportunities have been afforded to the eminent naturalists 

 who have the charge of that truly national establishment 

 ZooL Mag. No. 2. d 



