WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



At this time, also, herds consisting only of middle-aged 

 males join other herds; at other times the sexes are 

 strictly separated within the larger groups. The dis- 

 tinctions of sex, of age, and also those of a social nat- 

 ure are presumably not so carefully guarded now as 

 formerly. 



Very old males are mostly found separated from the 

 herds, wandering about alone or in pairs. The propa- 

 gation of the species is left to the middle - aged male 

 animals. 



The young elephant, the mother of which has been 

 killed, is invariably adopted and suckled by other fe- 

 males, which proves the strong family feeling prevail- 

 ing within a herd. 



The young ones are suckled for about two years; 

 the period of gestation is also nearly two years, and a 

 single young one is produced at a birth. The females 

 are able to bear young ones when about fifteen years 

 old, while the males enter the state of puberty some- 

 what earlier. The elephants are full-grown at twenty- 

 five, and often attain a good old age. 



Although the elephants are not plagued very much 

 by ticks, they yet seem to delight in rolling about in 

 the mud, in throwing dust or earth over their backs 

 with their trunks, and in rubbing their skin against 

 trees. In forests composed of larger trees, one may 

 notice hundreds the bark of which is rubbed off at a 

 certain height. On July 23, 1903, I found on trees in 



96 



