THE ELEPHANT. 59" 



THE ELEPHANTS. 



The important family of the Elephantidse is allied, according to the catalogue of the 

 British Museum, to the Elephants, Tapirs, Swine, Hyrax, Rhinoceros, and Hippopotamus. 

 All these animals, however different their aspect, are' nearly related to each other by means of 

 certain members of the family, which, although now extinct, have been recovered through the 

 assistance of geological researches. 



Of Elephants, two distinct species are found in different continents, the one inhabiting 

 Asia, and the other taking up its residence in Africa. According to some zoologists, these 

 animals belong to different genera, but the distinctions between the two creatures are not suffi- 

 ciently determined to warrant such a suggestion. Although the Asiatic and African Elephants 

 are very similar in external form, they may at once be distinguished from each other by the 

 dimensions of the head and the size of the ear. In the Asiatic animal, the head is elongated, 

 the forehead concave, and the ears of ordinary size, while in the African Elephant the head is 

 much shorter, the forehead convex, and the ears of enormous magnitude, nearly meeting on 

 the back of the head, and hanging with their tips below the neck. 



The molar teeth also afford excellent indications of the country to which their owner has 

 belonged, for the enamel upon the surface of the teeth of the Asiatic Elephant is moulded into 

 a number of narrow bands like folded ribands, while that of the African species is formed into 

 five or six diamond or lozenge shaped folds. Indeed, each molar tooth seems to be composed 

 of a number of flat, broad teeth, which are fastened closely together, so as to form a single 

 large mass. Only a portion of each tooth is externally visible, the remainder being hidden in 

 the jaw, and moving forward as the exposed portion is worn away. When the whole tooth is 

 thus worn out, it falls from the jaw, and its place is taken by another which has been forming 

 behind it. In this manner the Elephant sheds its molar teeth six or seven times in the course 

 of its life. The tusks, however, are permanent, and are retained during the whole of the ani- 

 mal's existence. There are a pair of small "milk-tusks" when the Elephant is in its child- 

 hood, but these are soon shed and replaced by the true tusks. In the Indian Elephant only 

 the males are furnished with tusks, and not every individual of that sex, whereas in the Afri- 

 can species both sexes are supplied with these valuable appendages, those of the male being 

 much larger and heavier than those of his mate. 



The Elephant, whether Asiatic or African, always lives in herds, varying greatly in num- 

 bers, and being always found in the deepest forests, or in their near vicinity. Both species 

 are fond of water, and are never found at any great distance from some stream or fountain, 

 although they can and do make tolerably long journeys for the purpose of obtaining the need- 

 ful supply of liquid. They have a curious capability of laying up a store of water in their 

 interior, somewhat after the fashion of the camel, but possess the strange accomplishment of 

 drawing the liquid supply from their stomachs by means of their trunks, and scattering it in 

 a shower over their backs in order to cool their heated bodies. When drinking, the Elephant 

 inserts the tip of his trunk into the stream, fills its cavities with water, and then, turning 

 his trunk so as to get the extremity well into his throat, he discharges its contents fairly into 

 his stomach, where it may be heard to splash by any one who is in near proximity to the 

 animal. 



The strangest portion of the Elephant' s form is the trunk, or proboscis. This wonderful 

 appendage is in fact a development of the upper lips and the nose, and is perforated through 

 its entire length by the nostrils, and is furnished at its extremity with a kind of finger-like 

 appendage, which enables the animal to pluck a single blade of grass, or to pick a minute 

 object from the ground. The value of the proboscis to the Elephant is incredible ; without its 

 aid the creature would soon starve. The short, thick neck woidd prevent it from stooping 

 to graze, while the projecting tusks would effectually hinder it from reaching any vege 



