THE ELEPHANT 45 



been known to turn en masse and hunt him. The 

 seriousness of such a position will be the better 

 appreciated when it is explained that so dense 

 is the jungle in which these animals occur, that 

 it is only possible to follow (or escape from) 

 them along the tracks which they themselves 

 have made. 



Sir Samuel Baker was of opinion that the 

 elephant does not reach maturity until between 

 his fortieth and fiftieth year, and deduces from 

 certain doubtless well-pondered considerations 

 that he may reach an age of one hundred and fifty 

 years or over. With this view I entirely concur ; 

 indeed, I think that his estimate of the length 

 of the elephant's existence may be taken to be 

 by no means an exaggerated one, judging by 

 some of the immense wrinkled old beasts which 

 have passed close to me from time to time, and 

 have seemed to suggest, by their air of antiquity, 

 that they had long passed their one hundred and 

 fiftieth birthdays. 



Their diet is surprisingly varied, and consists 

 of many different kinds of succulent roots, 

 foliage, fruits, and the inner bark of certain 

 trees. Moreover, as this animal feeds chiefly 

 by night, one more proof is afforded by this fact 

 of the astonishingly penetrating scent which, 

 during the dark hours, guides him in his choice 

 of the trees he particularly affects. He is an in- 

 considerate and wasteful feeder, tearing down large 

 branches, and leaving the greater portion of their 

 foliage untouched, as he will also strip quantities 

 of bark off forest trees, of which he will daintily 



