THE ELEPHANT 41 



instances where elephants I have been following 

 have turned and regarded me suspiciously for 

 several minutes, but on my remaining motionless 

 have resumed their march without making me 

 out. But their keen sense of smell is truly 

 astonishing. I do not know what may be the 

 maximum distance at which they are able to 

 catch the human taint in the air, but I have little 

 doubt that it is fully 800 to 1000 yards, or, with 

 a strong breeze, even considerably more. Some 

 idea of the difficulty of their pursuit may there- 

 fore be formed when account is taken of the fact 

 that in forest country, during the early part of the 

 day, the Ught breeze is variable in the extreme, 

 and may move in half a dozen directions in the 

 short space of half an hour. 



Elephants drink shortly after sunrise, and 

 often bathe during the night in the rivers and 

 pools. They are particularly fond of rolling in 

 mud and damp, sandy soil, whilst in hot weather 

 a favourite habit on emerging from the water is 

 to cover the body with dust blown through the 

 trunk. They are exceedingly fond of salt, and it 

 is a common experience in elephant country to 

 meet ^vith large hills of the blind termite or white 

 ant completely broken down to get at the salty 

 earth within. Several other animals with which I 

 am acquainted have the same weakness. 



The African variety is of course very much 

 larger than his Indian relative, not only in regard 

 to the size and weight of the ivory carried, but 

 also in his height and bulk ; for whereas the latter 

 rarely exceeds 9 ft. 6 in. at the shoulder, the former 



