186 
HEIGHT OF ELEPHANTS . 
[chap. VII, 
small. The head of the African has a convex front, 
the top of the skull sloping back at a rapid inclination, 
while the head of the Indian elephant exposes a flat 
surface a little above the trunk. The average size of 
the African elephant is larger than those of Ceylon, 
although I have occasionally shot monster rogues in 
the latter country, equal to anything that I have seen 
in Africa. The average height of female elephants in 
Ceylon is about 7 ft. 10 in. at the shoulder, and that of 
the males is -about 9 ft.; but the usual height of the 
African variety I have found, by actual measurement, 
of females to be 9 ft., while that of the bulls is 10 ft. 6 in. 
Thus the females of the African are equal to the males 
of Ceylon. 
They also differ materially in their habits. In Ceylon, 
the elephant seeks the shade of thick forests at the 
rising of the sun, in which he rests until about 5 p.m. 
when he wanders forth upon the plains. In Africa, 
the country being generally more open, the elephant 
remains throughout the day either beneath a solitary 
tree, or exposed to the sun in the vast prairies, where 
the thick grass attains a height of from nine to twelve 
feet. The general food of the African elephant consists 
of the foliage of trees, especially of mimosas. In 
Ceylon, although there are many trees that serve as 
food, the elephant nevertheless is an extensive grass- 
feeder. The African variety, being almost exclusively 
a tree-feeder, requires his tusks to assist him in pro¬ 
curing food. Many of the mimosas are flat-headed, 
about thirty feet high, and the richer portion of the 
foliage confined to the crown; thus the elephant, not 
being able to reach to so great a height, must overturn 
the tree to procure the coveted food. The destruction 
caused by a herd of African elephants in a mimosa 
forest is extraordinary; and I have seen trees uprooted 
of so large a size, that I am convinced no single 
elephant could have overturned them. I have mea¬ 
sured trees four feet six inches in circumference, 
and about thirty feet high, uprooted by elephants. 
