6b' " MUCKNASr 



gives way before them, and in serious fights amongst themselves one or 

 other is frequently killed outright. So great is the dread entertained by all 

 elephants of a tusker, that our stanchest tame females shrank if any of the 

 tame tuskers turned suddenly in their direction. Superiority in a herd 

 appears to attach to the different tuskers in proportion to the size of their 

 tusks ; no tusker thinks of serious rivalry with one of heavier calibre than 

 himself. In the kheddahs in Mysore we found the services of tuskers 

 invaluable ; we had two, amongst others, that were taller and with longer 

 tusks than any wild ones we captured, and their presence was always suffi- 

 cient to awe the most obstreperous wild male whilst the men were securing 

 it. Our tame elephants' tusks were cut and blunt, but we had steel glaives 

 to slip on if necessary, with which they could have killed any elephant in a 

 very short time. 



Tusks are not used to assist the elephant in procuring food. Small 

 trees are overturned by pushing with the curled trunk, or feet if necessary ; 

 and to get at the core of a palm-tree, or break up the plantain, the pressure 

 of his feet alone is used. 



On the continent of India mucknas, or male elephants horn without 

 tusks, are decidedly rare. The word muchna is derived from mookh, the 

 mouth or face, Mucknas can hardly be distinguished from females at the 

 first glance, but if they are full-grown animals their superior size shows 

 their sex. Their tushes or prongs are generally a little longer and thicker 

 than those of female elephants. It is a common belief that mucknas are 

 larger as a rule than tuskers. This is not the case, but they are generally 

 stouter and more vigorous animals. Their good development is sought to 

 be accounted for by their being said to be allowed by their mothers to suck 

 after young tuskers have been driven off, when their sharp little tusks hurt 

 their mothers ; but this, though an ingenious explanation, is not a correct 

 one, as the young tusker can suck without its tusks touching its mother, and 

 I have always seen them suckled as long as the female calves are. 



A common belief that mucknas are usually vicious animals is also 

 groundless. They are generally much iU-treated by the tuskers of the herd, 

 upon whom they are powerless to retaliate, and I have seen one or two 

 decidedly timid in consequence. A timid elephant is always less safe 

 than one of better courage, but I have not found mucknas to be naturally 

 ill-tempered. The absence of tusks appears to be a merely accidental cir- 

 cumstance, as the want of beard or whiskers in a man. Mucknas breed in 

 the herds, and the peculiarity is not hereditary nor transmitted. This is a 

 known fact, and is demonstrated by the occasional occurrence of tuskers, 

 doubtless from tuskless sires, in Ceylon herds, - 



