THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED ANIMALS 191 



countenance than its Indian cousin. Ikit was not 

 '^ Jumbo " a native of Africa? And we all know 

 how large and clever and docile he was. He stood 

 11 ft. at the shoulder and weighed 5 tons. As a 

 rule, the African elephants are wild and untameable, 

 but " Jumbo ^' was an exception. 



Elephants were used in battle by Eastern peoples, 

 and Pyrrhus brought them to Europe B.C. 280 to 

 fight against the Romans. 



It would seem that Sir Ray Lankester"^ has 

 solved the problem as to whether the Carthagenians 

 used the African or the Indian species, from the 

 evidence of a Carthagenian coin, on which is 

 represented an elepha,nt with very large ears and a 

 sloping forehead — distinctly the African tj'pe. 



The first elephant brought to England was given 

 by the King of France to Henry III in 12e57, and 

 was kept in the Tower. 



Aristotle put the length of an elephant^s life at 

 200 years, a statement which modern zoologists 

 think is not far from correct. But in spite of their 

 longevity, elephants, as a race, are dying out. Only 

 two species survive of the many elephants, that 

 we know from their fossil remains, must have 

 existed in past times. Thus, though men have 

 regarded the elephant as the emblem of eternity, 

 his is a structure which is not destined to survive. 



The tusks are frequently used for digging up 

 roots for food, one often being a more favourite 

 tool than the other, as men use the right hand 

 more than the left. The tusk thus used is shortened 

 * ' Science from an Easy Chair/ second series, p. 134, Adlard & Son. 



