CHAPTER XI 



Some Dangers of the Forest 



THE inborn instincts of an animal are 

 difficult to eradicate, yet it is to be 

 expected that constant association with man, 

 his greatest enemy, would result in a con- 

 siderable relaxation of the usual suspicion 

 and caution which are shown in a wild state. 

 And this is no doubt the case. Thus, for 

 instance, when pitfalls are dug in localities 

 frequented by elephants, it is probably the 

 scent of human beings which often provides a 

 safeguard to the intended victim, but this scent 

 would convey no warning of danger to the 

 domesticated animal. In the same way, wild 

 elephants are rarely, if ever, entangled in quick- 

 sands, while the tame elephant, deferring instinct 

 to obedience, is not infrequently engulfed. 

 In the course of many years' wandering in 



