OF WILD ANIMALS 107 



"Open it again," I said to the keeper. 



He did so, and in the same way, but with a visible increase 

 in irritation, Congo closed it in the same manner as before. 

 Again the keeper opened the door, and this time, with a real 

 exhibition of temper Congo again thrust the ring over his tusk, 

 and brought the door shut with a resounding bang. It was his 

 regular habit to close that door, or to open it, when he felt like 

 more air or less air; and who is there who will say that the act 

 was due to "instinct" in a jungle-bred animal, or anything else 

 than original thought. The ring on his tusk was his own inven- 

 tion, as a means to a desired end. 



Every elephant that we ever have had has become, through 

 his own initiative and experimenting, an expert in unfastening 

 the latches of doors and gates, and in untying chains and ropes. 

 Gunda always knew enough to attack the padlocks on his leg 

 chains, and break them if possible. No ordinary clevis would 

 hold him. When the pin was threaded at one end and screwed 

 into its place, Gunda would work at it, hour by hour, until he 

 would start it to unscrewing, and then his trunk-tip would do 

 the rest. The only clevis that he could not open was one in 

 which a stout cotter phi was passed through the end of the 

 clevis-pin and strongly bent. 



Through reasons emanating in his own savage brain, Gunda 

 took strong dislikes to several of our park people. He hated 

 Dick Richards, the keeper of Alice. He hated a certain mes- 

 senger boy, a certain laborer, a painter and Mr. Ditmars. 

 Toward me he was tolerant, and never rushed at me to kill me, 

 as he always did to his pet aversions. He stood in open fear 

 of his own keeper, Walter Thuman, until he had studied out a 

 plan to catch him off his guard and "get him." Then he 

 launched his long-contemplated attack, and Thuman was 

 almost killed. 



Our present (1921) male African elephant, Kartoum, is not 

 so hostile toward people, but his insatiable desire is to break and 

 to smash all of his environment that can be bent or broken. His 

 ingenuity in finding ways to damage doors and gates, and to bend 



