ECCENTRICITIES OF ELEPHANTS 133 



wrinkling of the muscles of the face, the foot half raised, and 

 the body swung back as if for a start ; but she came back 

 slowly to the 'stand at ease/ with the peculiar grumbling 

 which they make when satisfied with anything. This singular 

 experiment was made several times, and always with the 

 same result, and in one instance a red handkerchief was used. 



" Nothing was given to her that evening by us, but the next 

 day she came without any trouble to the verandah, and when 

 called forward, came up and took fruit from our hands with 

 her mouth, as all well-trained elephants do. There is some- 

 thing very much resembling reason in this change in the 

 animal's behaviour ; she got over her fright as soon as she 

 discovered that white and black faces could be made to 

 appear at pleasure." 



When a male makes up to a female and she does not chime 

 in at once with his wishes, he often seizes her by the tail and 

 wrenches it off". I have seen several instances of this. 



Considering that elephants and rhinoceros and buffaloes 

 herd and feed almost together, why the first should have 

 when domesticated such a dread of the second, I cannot 

 think, but it is a fact. They dislike the smell, but the grunt- 

 ing noise made by these thick-skinned beasts they dread far 

 more. I have known an elephant's leg cut to the bone by the 

 tush of a rhinoceros, and also one knocked over by a buffalo. 

 But the shikar elephants in Burma and Assam do not dread 

 the bubali so much, as the tame ones are nearly as large as the 

 feral, and equally savage, but whilst going for Europeans, they 

 take no notice of elephants or of the native children who 

 herd them. 



I have known of a female suckling her own calf and that of 

 another cow that had died. Some say the females are vicious 

 to the calves ; it may be the case with old maids, but I have 

 never seen it in the case of a female who had had young of 

 her own. An old bull elephant will at times knock over a 

 presuming hobbledehoy who annoys him, but generally they 

 are very sociable and peaceable amongst themselves. Full- 

 grown males cannot, however, be trusted to live in amity ; 

 thus, for greater security, the tips of Government elephants' 

 tusks are sawn off". 



