190 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



be considered to render it somewhat doubtful. Among 

 others, Mr. James Barnes, of New York City, avers that 

 he has seen at least two bulls 4 or 5 in. higher at the 

 shoulder than Jumbo, and hence over 12 ft. high, and 

 which probably weighed half a ton more than he did, for 

 he was always very gaunt and thin compared to a wild 

 elephant. 



The rival circus show of Barnum and Bailey, the Fore- 

 paugh show, owned a champion Cinghalese elephant named 

 "Bolivar." He measured 9 ft. 8 in. in height, and 

 hence was considerably shorter than his great competitor 

 Jumbo, but he was more massive and was thought to be 

 heavier than the latter. Even when much reduced in 

 weight by illness or moping he tipped the scales at 8,700 

 pounds, but after Adam Forepaugh had presented him to 

 the Zoological Society of Philadelphia, feeling that his 

 circus career was about ended, the change of scene and 

 absence of annoyance improved the animal's health so 

 greatly that he rapidly took on flesh, and although he was 

 never officially weighed, good judges placed his weight 

 at from 10,000 to 12,000 pounds. "Bolivar" lived twenty 

 years in this country, dying July 31, 1908.* 



It is claimed by Colonel Roosevelt that the young of 

 elephants are for a long period defenceless creatures and 

 that many of them are killed by lions, but once an elephant 

 has attained its full growth, its immense bulk and the pro- 

 tection afforded by tusks and trunk render it practically 

 immune from attacks of other animals, even against the 

 lion, rhinoceros, etc. Moreover, the young are in most 

 cases more or less effectually protected by the older animals. 

 This can, therefore, hardly be adduced as a satisfactory 

 explanation of the comparatively small number of these 



*Communicated by Mr. Robert D. Carson, Superintendent of the Zoological Society 

 of Philadelphia. 



