THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
529 
Of existing members of the family the Asiatic elephant and the African 
elephant are the representatives. The African elephants differ from their Asiatic 
congeners in having extraordinarily large ears, a forehead convex and prominent, 
a head hanging down, tusks for both male and female, four horny hoofs on 
the fore feet and three on the hind feet, and callosities on the front knees. 
Until comparatively recently it was unknown in Europe. Of the Asiatic elephants 
we may name: The Indian Elephant (. Elephas indicus) , the Ceylon Elephant 
(Elephas cingalensis) , the Sumatran Elephant (, Elephas sumatranus ), and the 
Siamese Elephant [Elephas indicus albino) . The Indian elephant is fifteen feet 
in height, and in color brown, spotted with gray. They live in moist localities 
where they can find a vigorous and abundant vegetation. Their immense size 
justifies their large appetite which requires them frequently to change to new feed- 
ing grounds. They live in herds which are under the patriarchal government of 
an old male. They cover the ground with great quickness, but find it difficult to 
turn or to descend declivities. Their size is about eight feet in height, by ten or 
fifteen in length. They finish their period of adolescence in about twenty-five 
years and the average subsequent duration of life is about fifty years. Some are 
used by royalty and called the koomareah ; some as hunters, merghee ; and the 
so-called white elephants are regarded as sacred and as being protected by the 
spirits of the ancient kings. Of course any positive statement is always met by 
equally positive denial, and therefore many excellent travellers deny that the ele- 
34 • 
