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CHAPTER XVII. 



ELEPHANTS— [Continued) . 



Thebe are three or four varieties of elephants, eacli possessing 

 some peculiarity or mark ttat denotes the country of its habita- 

 tion, but there are only two species now existing having prominent 

 and conspicuous differences of structure. The one is the inhabi- 

 tant of Asia (Elephas Indicus), the other has its home in Africa 

 {Elephas Africanus). 



Both these species are represented in the collection of the 

 Zoological Society in Regent's Park, and in the illustrations that 

 accompany this work some of the differences in their appearance 

 can be seen. To the unobservant eye there may appear to be but 

 a few minor points whereby the two species can be distinguished, 

 but a closer scrutiny will reveal the fact that there are a number 

 of important variations, and not only are these in their appearance, 

 size, and colour, but they also differ somewhat in their habits 

 and characters. 



The Indian elephant has only comparatively small ears, while 

 the African animal has ones more than three times the size, and 

 that frequently overlap the whole shoulder and descend to the 

 legs. They have been known to measure forty -two inches in 

 length, and thirty inches in width. Some idea may be formed 

 of the great size of these appendages, Andersson remarks, from 

 the fact that when a full-grown bull-elephant advances in full 

 charge, with his ears cocked, his head measures about fourteen 

 feet from the tip of one ear to that of the other, in a direct line 

 across the forehead. Another writer speaks of them as frequently 

 completely hiding the mahout or rider on his back. Dr. Living- 

 stone's party killed one whose ears measured four feet in 



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