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V. Observations on the Manners, Habits , and Natural History , of 
the Elephant. By John Corse, Esq. Communicated by the 
Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K. B. P. R. S. 
Read January 24, 1799. 
Since the remotest ages, the elephant, on account of his size, 
his sagacity, and his wonderful docility, has attracted the no- 
tice, and excited the admiration, of philosophers and naturalists, 
both ancient and modern; and few travellers into Asia, or 
Africa, have omitted giving some account of him. 
A residence, however, of more than ten years, in Tiperah, a 
province of Bengal, situated at the eastern extremity of the 
British dominions in Asia, where herds of elephants are taken 
every season, afforded me frequent opportunities of observing, 
not only the methods of taking them, but also the habits and 
manners of this noble animal. 
From the year 1792 till 1797, the elephant hunters were 
entirely under my direction ; so that I had it in my power to 
institute such experiments as I thought likely to discover any 
particulars, not formerly known, in the natural history of the 
elephant. Soon after my arrival at Tiperah, while informing 
myself of the methods of taking wild elephants, I had occasion 
to observe, that many errors, relative to the habits and manners 
of that useful animal, had been stated in the writings of 
European authors, and countenanced by some of the most 
approved writers. 
The elephant has been declared to possess the sentiment of 
