42 THE ELEPHANT 



often reaches 11 ft. at that point. Moreover, 

 the female of the Indian type possesses no tusks 

 whatsoever, or at best mere embryo defences a few 

 inches in length ; but those of the African female 

 elephant are esteemed as furnishing the finest 

 quality of ivory obtained from this animal. I 

 remember seeing one single male tusk which had 

 been brought for sale to Zanzibar some years ago, 

 and which, so far as I remember, weighed 235 lbs. 

 I speak without authority, but I believe I am 

 right in saying that this was the largest tusk re- 

 corded at that important centre of the ivory 

 trade. Those of females are rarely found to be 

 over 17 or 18 lbs., but their quality is far finer 

 than bull ivory. Returning for a moment to 

 the question of the height of these animals, I 

 understand that one of the African elephants 

 exhibited at the Natural History Museum at 

 South Kensington rather exceeds 11 ft. at the 

 shoulder, a measurement regarded by the 

 Museum authorities as somewhat exceptional. I 

 do not know in what way this opinion has been 

 arrived at, of course, but to my mind the di- 

 mensions of the animal in question are in no way 

 unusual. I have on two occasions shot elephants 

 of greater height, and I am perfectly sure that I 

 have seen others which, if secured, would have 

 given measurements decidedly exceeding that of 

 the South Kensington Museum specimen. The 

 average weight of a full-grown African elephant 

 bull, though extremely difficult to ascertain 

 correctly, has been estimated as being close upon 

 7 tons. 



