THE ELEPHANT 
ELEPHAS AFRICANUS 
T HIS, at once the most majestic and the largest of all terrestrial 
animals inhabiting the earth to-day, was once found in every 
portion of the African continent, where a sufficiency of the food 
requisite for its subsistence was procurable, its range at one 
time extending from the Gape to Egypt and from Somaliland to 
Senegambia. 
As ivory has always been a very valuable commodity, the African 
elephant has doubtless constantly been hunted for the value of its tusks 
ever since the time when the Phoenicians and Sabseans first entered into 
trading relations with the natives of Africa; but as the weapons employed 
in its pursuit must, in those early days, have been of a very primitive 
character, the number of elephants annually killed was probably not 
very great; for not until fire-arms were brought against them did these 
animals yield one foot of ground to their human foes. 
Since that time, however, the destruction of the African elephant has 
proceeded apace, especially during the past half-century, and had it not 
been that of late years this species has been more or less efficiently pro- 
tected over large areas by the administrations of the various African 
territories, which have been taken possession of by different European 
Powers, the number of fhese animals still surviving would certainly have 
been very much less than it actually is. 
Few people have any idea of the enormous annual consumption of ivory 
in the world to-day. Without professing to give exact statistics, I may say 
that it seems probable that during the last few years the average sales of 
ivory in London, Liverpool, Antwerp, Lisbon and Germany have together 
amounted to not less than 2,500,000 lb. annually. The average weight of 
the tusks which go to make up this enormous total is certainly under 20 lb. 
But if it be taken at that figure, that would give 40 lb. weight of ivory, 
on the average, for each elephant killed, on which basis 62,500 elephants 
would be required to supply the annual toll of 2,500,000 lb. of ivory. 
Even if it can be shown that a considerable amount of this ivory has 
not come from freshly killed elephants, but has long been buried in 
native storehouses, and that in addition a small quantity of Asiatic ivory 
also comes on the European market, it seems impossible to doubt that 
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