THE SKELETON. 
67 
have found them unanimous in dissenting from the idea of any such 
process of renewal. He also remarks : " I have had many young 
elephants in my charge and never noticed anything of the change 
alluded to.'' I have asked many foresters, Burmese and Karen, 
about this matter ; they are of opinion that the tusks are never 
shed ; I have however also been informed of one or two instances 
of milk tusks being shed and renewed. Blanford * states that the 
incisors (tusks) are preceded by milk teeth, shed at an early age, 
and have enamel only on the tips before these are worn away. 
A small percentage of males have simple tushes^ which are 
similar to those of the female, except that they are a little longer 
and thicker, and some have none at all ; the first are known as han 
(oD$) and the Isitter sls haz'ngs (c:^5§). Some few males have a single 
tusk only. The Burmans consider it lucky to own an animal 
possessing a right tusk only ; such an animal is known as a fai [COcS) 
{see Plate X). Selous remarks it is far from uncommon to meet 
with one-tusked animals amongst elephant cows in South Africa, 
though rarer amongst the bulls. He also states that when an 
elephant has only one tusk the bone on the other side is quite solid 
and shows no sign of a hollow where the fellow ought to be. Males 
occasionally lose a tusk when fighting, or through other injury, but 
some are born with a single tusk. The late Mr. Darwood, who 
owned many elephants, records a case where one of his elephants 
dropped a male calf which grew up with only one tusk. 
Burmans, Karens, and others, when judging the age, carefully 
examine the tusks with regard to their soundness, size, colour, 
sweep, spread, and amount of wear shown. 
Tusks are formidable weapons of offence ; they can be brought 
into use at almost any angle. Tuskers in a herd maintain discipline, 
and are justly feared by the members of it. At times most ghastly 
wounds are inflicted with these weapons ; and when tuskers fight, 
one or other of the combatants is frequently killed, or dies of 
wounds inflicted. Well-trained tuskers are highly valued, as owing 
to the possession of these organs they are enabled to perform a 
variety of work which cannot be undertaken by animals without 
them. Strange as it may appear, there are occasional instances 
where a haing is feared even by powerful tuskers. Mr. C. B. Lacey 
informed me of one or two cases within his knowledge. Mr. Danson 
also informed me of a case, and I myself have met with one instance. 
It is also a generally recognized fact amongst the Burmans. In 
such cases it will usually be found that the haing is an enormously 
powerful elephant with an unusually fine development of the trunk ; 
* Fauna of India : " Mammalia." — Blanford. 
