ELEPHANTS. 



535 



Paces. 



In regard to movement on land, Mr. Sanderson says that " the 

 only pace of the elephant is the walk, capable of being increased to 

 a fast shuffle of about fifteen miles an hour for very short distances. It can 

 neither trot, canter, nor gallop. It does not move with the legs on the same side 

 together, but nearly so. A very good runner might keep out of an elephant's way 



INDIAN ELEPHANTS ENJOYING THEMSELVES. 



on a smooth piece of turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with, 

 any attempt to escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be 

 unavailing." An elephant is totally unable to leap in either the horizontal or the 

 vertical direction, and since its maximum length of stride is about 6J feet, a 7 -foot 

 ditch forms an effectual barrier to its progress. Elephants are, however, capable 

 of ascending or descending steep and difficult places with great facility, sometimes 

 sliding down on their bent hind-limbs. When a herd of them descends one of the 

 steep alluvial banks bordering most of the Indian rivers, it is surprising how 



