294 After Big Game in Central Africa 



will be remembered, one of my men only escaped a similar 

 fate by the skin of his teeth. And this list only applies 

 to a small corner of Central Africa. Comprise the whole 

 of the Continent in your estimate, and you will obtain a 

 fairly good idea of the annual mortality caused by elephants, 

 and of the danger there is in facing so redoubtable an 

 adversary. 



I have said that the shot at the head is very 

 difficult. The reason, of course, is that the brain of an 

 elephant is very small. Protected on all sides by bony 

 masses which are as much as nine inches thick, and some 



FIG. 1. SECTION OF AN 

 ELEPHANT'S SKULL. 



A, Brain cavity ; BBB, Bony 

 masses ; C, Ear ; D, Position 

 of the eye. 



FIG. 2. ELEPHANT AT REST. 



A, Position of brain seen from one 

 side ; F, Direction of bullet 

 when facing the animal. 



of which, such as the frontal bone, are exceptionally hard, 

 the brain can only be reached with certainty at a spot 

 which is situated a little above the line joining the eye 

 to the opening of the ear, a spot exactly four inches 

 square. Taking into consideration the distance at which 

 the hunter must stand, the shadow of the trees and vegeta- 

 tion, and the animal's movements, one can realise that this 

 spot is most uncertain. 



Facing the animal, if its head is l>ent down and its trunk 



