308 WILD ANIMALS. 



The two Indian elephants now used daily to give children their 

 " elephant-ride " in the gardens belong to the Prince of "Wales, 

 and were brought over by him from India and deposited with the 

 Zoological Society. They came from Nepaul, and arrived on the 

 15th of May, 1876. Their names are " Suffa OuUi " and "Jung 

 Perchad." A photograph of the latter which is a fine male 

 animal will be found illustrating this chapter. " Jung Perchad " 

 was presented to his Royal Highness by Sir Salar Jung Bahawdur, 

 and " Suffa Culh," by his Highness the Maharajah of Bulrampore. 

 In 1882, this couple were the parents of the first elephant ever 

 known to have been born in Europe, at any rate in modern times. 

 In America, however, one was born in 1881 in a travelling 

 menagerie. 



The British rustic frequently evinces considerable ignorance 

 regarding the nature and strength of the wild animals he occa- 

 sionally sees exhibited. A rather absurd illustration of this is 

 recorded in the Blackburn Standard of June, 1860. The article 

 states, "A curious scene occurred here on Monday evening 

 during the performance in the menagerie. A young man, who 

 had for some time been carefully observing the monster elephant, 

 determined, like a mighty gladiator of old, to try the strength of 

 the huge bulk of flesh with his own. There is at the ends of the 

 elephant's tusks, which are of large size, an iron rod, binding one 

 tusk to the other. Our hero seized hold of this, and began to 

 lean his whole weight upon it. The elephant, not altogether 

 liking this sort of treatment, determined for his part to punish 

 the audacious antagonist. He raised his great head aloft and 

 the young fellow was swung from the ground until he almost 

 touched the canvas covering, and was no doubt much higher than 

 his most wild ambition ever carried him. The animal repeated 

 this, and a second time he descended to the ground, when the 

 elephant wrapped his trunk round the hapless and now thoroughly 

 bumbled youth, and very unceremoniously laid him in the mud 

 that overstrew the floor. The wrestle was ended, the elephant 

 coming off" the victor, while his combatant picked himself up, and 

 amidst the hearty laughter of the spectators, vanished." 



