THE ELEPHANT FAMILY.
ELEPHANT.
ELEPHANT.
ELEPHANT.
The Elephants are the largest animals that live on the earth, as the Whales are the largest that live in the water. And it is said that if size and strength conferred the right of dominion, these two creatures would be able to divide between them the empire of the world.
The proportions of the Elephant are clumsy, its body is thick and bulky, its gait heavy and awkward, but its general appearance is imposing and noble. These giants of creation have three especially remarkable features, their enormous development of skull; their curious trunk, which is in reality a marvellous nasal organ which performs the duties of arm and hand; and their great tusks, which are nothing but their incisive teeth wonderfully elongated.
These tusks protect the trunk, which curls up between them when the animal traverses woods in which there are many thorns, prickles and thick underbrush. The Elephant also uses them for putting aside and holding down branches, when, with its trunk it plucks off the tops of leafy boughs. The ivory obtained from the tusks of the Elephant is remarkable for the fineness of its grain, whiteness, hardness, and the beautiful polish that can be given to it.
Under the feet is a sort of callous sole, thick enough to prevent the hoofs from touching the ground, and the toes remain encrusted and hidden under thick skin.
The Elephants live in the hottest parts of Africa and Asia, spending the greater part of their time in the swamps and forests. Their food consists mainly of herbs, fruit and grains.
For a long time it was asserted that Elephants could not lie down, and that they always slept standing. It is true that among Elephants as among Horses, are found some that can sleep standing, and only rarely lie down; but generally they sleep lying on their side, like the majority of quadrupeds.
The African Elephant has a head much rounder and less broad than the Asiatic Elephant. Its ears are very much longer and its tusks are generally stronger.
African Elephants live like those of India, in troops more or less numerous; yet they are sometimes found alone—these are called rovers or prowlers.
To these should be added the extinct species of the Elephant family, the famous Mammoth of the far north—a carcassof which was found under the ice in Siberia in 1799, and the wonderful Mastodon of Ohio. The bony remains of the Mastodon are found in America and in Central Europe. The tusks of the Mastodon have been found to be almost straight, while those of the Mammoth are curved round until they nearly form a circle.