8 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



ing creatures carefully inter the bodies of small animals, but the fact 

 remains that, however much one may wander in a wood, along a 

 lane, upon a common and elsewhere, it is rare to come across the 

 body of a wild creature that has died a natural death. 



Those who study Nature aright are, of course, aware of how 

 remarkably well her sanitary inspectors do their work, and how 

 admirable are he^, laws of cleanliness and sanitation, but, exceptions 

 as there are to every rule, one would imagine that, during their 

 country pilgrimages, the bodies of several wild animals would be 

 located by field naturalists and others whose avocation takes them 

 out of doors, and whose eyes have been trained to observe all kinds 

 of natural phenomena. 



Before leaving the subject of the Elephant's demise, and the 

 age attained in a natural condition, it should be pointed out that, 

 whether in India or Africa, the Elephant is found to be a lover of 

 the forest. The largest land animal now roaming the face of the 

 earth, it is a true denizen of the forest, and there finds a congenial 

 home. The roots, twigs, leaves, young shoots and fruits of trees 

 are greatly relished, as well as grass and other plants. By means 

 of the trunk the leaves are stripped from the branches, and if some 

 unforbidden fruit is beyond reach, and there is no tap-root to give 

 stability, the forest monarch makes small work of uprooting the 

 whole tree. 



Both sexes of the African Elephant bear tusks, but those of the 

 male are the finer of the two. In the Indian species, however, the 

 tusks of the female rarely protrude beyond the jaws, and even among 

 the males instances are frequently forthcoming of their not possess- 

 ing tusks worthy of the name. 



From one to nine or ten feet may be mentioned as the length of 

 a tusk. The girth may be given as about twenty-four inches at the 

 base, and the weight attains as much as 230 lb. 



HIPPOPOTAMUS.— The second kind of animal giant that is 

 entitled to occupy a foremost place in this section is the 

 Hippopotamus. 



This huge, and, when on land, somewhat ungainly monster 

 always attracts considerable attention when on exhibition, and when 

 England was far less sparsely populated than it is to-day the Hippo- 

 potamus roamed about in a wild state on the banks of the Thames. 

 We have indeed lost several mammalian giants, and whilst to-day 

 our largest living British mammal is the Badger, it is as well to 



