16 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



the least economical form of transport. How much 

 more extravagant, then, would elephants be ? 



" Elephants require a great deal of water, and many 

 of the caravan routes are very deficient in this, for a good 

 part of the year. 



" It would be sheer waste of money to attempt elephant 

 training without a staff of trained men, who would require 

 high pay.' 



There is certainly no doubt that there are few if any 

 places in Africa where tame elephants could be shackled 

 and turned out to feed as is done in Asia : in the dry 

 season especially, the labour of collecting food, to say 

 nothing of the expense, would be very great. The 

 nutriment adequate to keep them in good condition in a 

 natural state would probably not suffice when the animals 

 were doing hard work. Thus there are grave difficulties 

 to be overcome before this great beast's strength can be 

 made available as an adjunct to labour in Africa : but 

 they are probably not insoluble, and given the necessity, 

 induced by some great shortage of native labour or other 

 causes, could no doubt be surmounted. In the meantime, 

 although there does not appear any urgent demand for 

 forms of transport other than are being generally used, 

 it is to be hoped that elephants may go on receiving the 

 partial protection lately accorded to them, in the hope 

 that they may prove useful, apart from the value of their 

 ivory, at some future date. 



The ivory trade itself, the cause of the enormous 

 destruction of these animals in the past, furnishes good 

 reason why they should not be allowed to be greatly 

 reduced below their present numbers. In former days 

 the whole continent must have swarmed with elephants ; 

 otherwise, taking into consideration the slowness with 

 which they increase, and the huge ivory trade which has 



