268 
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
(1) Bots [Cobholdia elephantis) — Are the larval forms of 
various gad-flies (Family CEstridx). The most common gad- 
fly of the elephant is about the size of an ordinary bee, of a dark 
greyish colour, is very soft and easily killed. They are abundant 
during the early rains and grassy places swarm with them. They 
are a veritable pest, hence at these times elephants, bison, 
sambur, etc., keep as much as possible to heavy cover. In the hills 
during continued wet weather these flies are also very troublesome. 
Gad-flies attach their eggs to hairs in various parts of the body : in 
elephants usually the hairs about the mouth, or to the tusk by the 
gums, etc. These are swallowed and the eggs hatch out in the 
stomach, pharynx, etc. Bots adhere by means of cephalic or head 
hooks which they insert into the mucous membrane. After arriving 
at a certain period in their growth they voluntarily release their hold 
and are usually carried down the intestinal canal until they eventually 
escape with the dung. In appearance they resemble whitish red 
grubs, about f to an inch in length ; the body is divided into 
segments and the hooks by which they adhere are visible without the 
aid of a lens. During the passage down the intestinal canal they 
may re-attach themselves. 
It is by no means uncommon to find post-mortem a patch of 
bots often up to one hundred in number in the gut. On escaping 
from the bowels they bury themselves in the ground, where their 
skin shrinks and hardens into a case within which the pupal stage is 
assumed. In the course of a fortnight or six weeks they emerge as 
full-blown gad-flies. 
Bots may also be found in situations other than the stomach and 
intestines, e.g.^ in the gullet, occasionally in quite large numbers, 
also in the pharynx, frontal cavities, etc. 
Steel records that a bot [Pharyngobolus Africanus) has been 
found in the pharynx of the African species. That bots find lodg- 
ment in the pharynx of the elephant in Burma is certain. It is 
not a rare occurrence for an elephant to suddenly commence a sort 
of coughing or sneezing and blow bots out of the trunk. 
Symptoms. — Usually none, but there is little doubt that when 
present in large numbers they cause some mechanical irritation. It 
is however impossible to diagnose the condition unless bots are 
found in the excreta. If treatment is considered desirable a dose of 
physic and a liberal allowance of salt may prove of some service. 
(2) Round worms. — As far as is known the round worms are 
all small, whitish or yellowish in colour, about the thickness of 
ordinary twine. Some kinds may be found in immense numbers in 
the bowels and often in the dung. All round worms are known 
to Indian mahouts as soorti or " chotee." 
