THE GREAT HERBIVORES 163 
a very confined space in the railway van, and had had 
scarcely any rest on the journey. 
In the middle of the night, perhaps about two o'clock, my 
old keeper awoke me with the news that one of the elephants 
was making a rattling noise in its throat and seemed to be 
ill. I was somewhat alarmed and intended to go and in- 
vestigate the matter ; but my fatigue overcame me and | went 
to sleep again. An hour later another keeper knocked and 
brought a similar piece of information ; this time I roused 
myself and was in the stables in a few minutes. But I was 
too late. One elephant was dead and two others lay dying. 
An examination showed that the soles of the feet of the dead 
animal were gnawed through in several places, blood still 
flowing from the wounds. “Rats,” said my old keeper, and 
so it proved to be, for the marks of their sharp teeth could be 
plainly recognised in the horny hide, and the dying elephants 
had similar injuries. Whocould have foreseen such a danger ? 
One can only learn these things from experience. There was 
wooden flooring in the stable, and under these planks the rats 
had made their nests. The next morning we slew nearly 
sixty of the assassins, and, I need hardly say, the wooden 
flooring was promptly removed. 
Many large animals are killed by rats. In the Zoological 
Gardens at Cologne two ostriches were killed by rats during 
the night. Once, too, fourteen rare Australian parrots belong- 
ing to my father were killed by rats at Spielbudenplatz in a 
single night. 
There is no universal rule for the treatment of wild animals. 
Even individuals of the same species, so great is their vari- 
ability of temperament, have to be managed according to the 
particular circumstances of each case. This peculiarity is 
found, as my narrative has already shown, among elephants. 
It exists, in a greater or less degree, among all animals, and 
is a feature in his profession which no successful trainer can 
overlook. 
Moreover, it is difficult to foresee how animals will behave 
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