i26 THE MAMMALS OF ETHIOPIAN AFRICA 



whereas the Indian species is provided with only one such finger. In addition to 

 these peculiarities, the African elephant has the forehead more vaulted than in its 

 Asiatic relative, and the eyes larger. As a rule, the African species has tusks in 

 both sexes, and those of the males of some races attain dimensions vastly exceeding 

 those of the other species. The general colour of the skin is darker than in the 

 Indian elephant ; and while the hind-feet of the latter are furnished with four nails, 

 those of the African species carry but three. The African animal also stands 

 higher at the shoulder, and is more hollowed in the back. Lastly, the molars, or 

 cheek-teeth, of the African elephant, are of a totally different type from those of 

 the Asiatic species ; to describe them in this work would be out of place, and it 

 must suffice to mention that, compared with those of the Asiatic elephant, they 

 have fewer, lower, and thicker transverse plates, the worn surfaces of which are 

 lozenge-shaped instead of being narrow ellipses. In a word, the African elephant, 

 as regards the structure of its cheek-teeth, makes one step from the Asiatic species 

 in the direction of the aforesaid mastodons, with which it is closely connected 

 by extinct Indian species. 



In regard to the size of the tusks, it may be mentioned that specimens 

 exceeding 11 feet in length along the outer curve are known, although these are 

 not by any means the heaviest on record. Of a remarkably fine pair imported 

 from Zanzibar some years ago, one measured 10 feet 4 inches in length and weighed 

 235 lbs., while the weight of the other was 10 lbs. less. In stature the species may 

 reach between 11 and 12 feet. 



Athough occurring in past epochs in Algeria and Spain, the African elephant 

 is now restricted to the region south of the Sahara, Timbuktu and Abyssinia being 

 the northern limits of its range on the two sides of the continent. South of the 

 karu elephants still survive in Cape Colony in the forest situated between Mossel 

 Bay and Grahamstown, as well as in the Addo Bush, where they are specially 

 protected ; in Zululand there are a few herds round St. Lucia Bay ; some remain 

 in the Transvaal north of Pietermaritzburg, as well as in Gazaland, and between 

 Beira and the Zambesi they begin to be numerous, while northward of that locality 

 there are several districts where they are abundant. On the west coast a few are 

 to be found as far south as Ovampoland. 



Of the numerous local races into which the species has been divided it will 

 suffice to mention a few of the more noteworthy. Among these, the Addo Bush 

 race {Elephas africanus capensis) is characterised by the squared form of the ears, 

 which are not very large. In marked contrast to this are the rounded ears of the 

 south Cameruns race (E. a. cyclotis), which are likewise of comparatively moderate 

 size, and appear to be peculiar in not having the upper margin bent over to the 

 inner side. Proportionately the smallest ears are those of the Masai race (E. a. 

 knochenhaueri) of German East Africa and probably north-eastern Rhodesia, in which 

 these organs are nearly triangular in shape, with the upper border deeply reflected. 

 These elephants attain huge dimensions, but in Rhodesia, at any rate, have relatively 

 small tusks. In the Abyssinian or eastern Sudan race (E. a. oxyotis) the ears 

 attain enormous dimensions, measuring over 6 feet in vertical diameter. In shape 

 they form an elongated triangle with the upper margin rounded and the lower 

 angle narrow and pointed. The bulls of this race — which is to be met with on the 



