INDIAN ELEPHANT n 9 



and in each herd are elephants of different sizes and different ages in both sexes. 

 When food is scarce these herds sometimes disperse into smaller parties, and some- 

 times the males live alone, though they always belong to a herd, and join it 

 occasionally. Generally the elephants in a herd belong to the same family, and 

 are all closely related to one another, and the leader is in all cases a female. 



The cheek-teeth of the Indian elephant consist of a number of closely 

 approximated thin vertical plates, evidently adapted for masticating grass and 

 leaves; and the food of this species consists almost entirely of grasses and the 

 young shoots and leaves of certain trees and plants, especially palm, bamboo, 

 plantain, and fig, together with wild fruits. Of such food an elephant will con- 

 sume quite 600 lbs. weight every day. Elephants drink only twice a day, once 

 before sunrise and again after sunset. Water as well as solid food is conveyed to 

 the mouth by the trunk, the tufts of grass being torn up and the leaves and shoots 

 plucked off by coiling this instrument round them. Only small objects such as 

 small fruits are grasped by the finger-like process at the tip. When an elephant 

 drinks, the water is sucked up into the two tubes of the trunk for a distance of 

 about 18 inches and then squirted into the mouth. A similar method is employed 

 when an elephant is eating rice or other corn. 



Indian elephants rest during the midday heat, and feed in the mornings and 

 evenings and often far into the night. While grazing, the herd disperses, but 

 immediately musters again at the slightest suspicion of danger. In many districts 

 elephants wander for long distances, probably on account of their food, or perhaps 

 to escape from troublesome insects, these journeys being generally performed in 

 single file. In hot weather, when elephants reach water they take a bath or 

 wallow in the mud, and when heated they squirt water all over their bodies by 

 means of their trunks. They rarely bathe after sunset, and when exposed to the 

 sun and away from water they throw earth and leaves on their backs. 



An elephant can neither gallop, canter, nor trot, its only paces being a walk 

 and a shuffle at the rate of about a mile in four minutes. It cannot jump, and as 

 its stride doe^ not exceed 78 inches a ditch 7 feet wide effectually bars its passage. 

 When ascending or descending slopes, elephants bend their limbs in the manner 

 most suitable to the occasion, and if necessary make holes in the ground to afford 

 a footing. In kneeling an elephant first bends its hind-legs one after the other, 

 and then its fore-legs, stretching them out at the same time ; when rising it begins 

 with the fore-legs. These animals are quite at home in water, in fact, few land 

 mammals are their superiors in swimming. They swim very deep, and at a rate 

 of only about a mile an hour, but they can keep this pace up for at least six hours 

 at a stretch without resting. 



Although an elephant has a very keen sense of smell, its sight and hearing 

 are not particularly good, and its brain is small in proportion to its bulk. The 

 latter feature is, however, characteristic of large animals in general, and must not 

 be taken to indicate inferiority. In disposition the Indian elephant is docile and 

 obedient, and its memory is remarkably retentive. Although in most cases gentle 

 and affectionate, in certain circumstances these animals are highly passionate and 

 vindictive, and often display strong emotion. Fear and anger are denoted 

 by a shrill trumpet-like sound of varying pitch; pain is indicated by a terrific 



