160 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



compared to the claws of beasts and the talons of 

 birds. 



The elephant, the walrus, the narwhal, many wild 

 pigs, and certain of the deer family, all possess 

 exceptionally-developed teeth, known as tusks, 

 projecting from their jaws. These, which in some 

 instances are prolonged incisors and at other times 

 canines, may arise from either the upper or lower 

 jaw of their owners, or even from both, while, more- 

 over, their presence may be common to both sexes, 

 or merely confined to the males. The elephant is 

 the best known of the tusk-bearing creatures, but 

 it may be as well to state that, in spite of the general 

 belief, its chief weapons are not its tusks but its 

 fore-feet ; the former being utilised more for the 

 purpose of uprooting trees and as a means of sup- 

 port when the creature is engaged in lifting or 

 carrying heavy objects, although, of course, they 

 can be used for defensive and offensive purposes 

 when the need arises. It must not be imagined, 

 however, that an elephant strikes out with its feet 

 when attacking an enemy, for its limbs are far too 

 heavy to allow it to indulge in such a strenuous 

 form of exercise. It employs them as battering- 

 rams with which to pound and crush the life out 

 of an enemy, and in the accomplishment of this 

 deed its trunk serves as a grasping organ and enables 

 the beast k to pin its victim to the ground. 



The tusks of the walrus are very formidable wea- 

 pons, raore especially those of the males, which are 

 stouter and stronger than those of the females. They 

 frequently project from the gums for a length of 



