NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



quite a hundred yards away, and he was torn and 

 trampled to pulp. The whole herd broke away and 

 only this one Elephant was left, and all the old 

 natives believe he was the one that killed the hunter. 

 He has been the only one in Zululand from that 

 time. The tusks measure about 7 feet 6 inches. 

 Occasionally Elephants cross the Zululand border 

 from Portuguese territory. 



The African Elephant inhabits the forest districts, 

 but does not confine itself to the dense jungles, as 

 does its Indian cousin. When frequently persecuted 

 it retires deep into the forests, but in districts where 

 it is not subjected to persecution, it wanders in herds 

 through the bush-veld and comparatively open, 

 broken country. They are gregarious, and may 

 sometimes be seen in great herds of from 300 to 400 

 individuals. These large herds are usually com- 

 posed of cows, calves and immature bulls. The 

 adult bulls associate in small herds or bands of half- 

 a-dozen to about a score, or go about in twos, threes, 

 or singly, during the dry season. 



On the apprt)ach of the breeding or mating time, 

 which is during the rainy season, the bulls are found 

 associated with the females. 



Solitary bulls, according to Selous, are not more 

 vicious than others, and are even less aggressive than 

 cows and young bulls. This, however, is not so with 

 the herds of Elephants in the Addo Bush. During 

 the past dozen years several solitary bulls have been 

 shot on account of their savage attacks upon people 



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