THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT 



poor chance of escape on foot, owing to the keen 

 sense of smell possessed by Elephants. 



A native traversing a pathway in the bush met a 

 bull Elephant. It instantly charged him, and the 

 man fled in wild alarm along a pathway in the bush. 

 Losing his scent, the Elephant made a circular detour 

 until he picked it up, whereupon he charged 

 in the direction of the native. The man again 

 doubled and got behind the beast, which again lost 

 the scent. Once again it made off in a wide circle, 

 and the moment it sniffed the tainted air it charged 

 up-wind. Time and again these manoeuvres were 

 repeated by man and beast, until eventually the 

 native reached the neighbourhood of a farmhouse. 

 This old Elephant, having been shot at more than 

 once from this particular farm, was unwilling to 

 again venture into the open in its vicinity, so the 

 native ultimately escaped. 



Although so ponderous and huge, the tread of 

 these animals is soft and inaudible. This and their 

 keen powers of scent make them dangerous beasts 

 to tackle in their forest retreats. 



During the hot weather Elephants sleep in a 

 standing position under the shade of a tree, their 

 large ears moving like punkas all the time to cool 

 their bodies and to drive off winged insect pests. 

 But for the moving ears an elephant would often 

 be passed unnoticed, so closely does the light and 

 shade blend with their earth-coloured bodies. When 

 the foliage is disturbed by a breeze, the moving 



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