# Natural History: Mammalia/Elephantidæ

Layout 2
Family II. Elephantidæ.
(Elephants.)
In these huge animals there are five toes on each foot, which are perfectly distinct in the skeleton, but are so entirely enveloped in the thick and callous skin of the foot, that there would be no indication of them externally, but for the round box-like nails or hoofs, attached to the extremity of this sort of shoe. There are no canine teeth; nor incisors, properly speaking, but in the incisive bones of the upper jaw are ​implanted two tusks, which project from the jaw and curve upwards, frequently attaining a great length and magnitude. The size of the sockets in which these tusks are imbedded, renders the upper jaws so high and so shortens the bones of the nose, that in the skeleton the nostrils are situated nearly at the top of the face; but during
SECTION OF THE ELEPHANT'S SKULL.
life they are prolonged into a tubular proboscis, which we shall presently describe. The skull is large and greatly elevated, but the size of the ​brain is not correspondent to that of the skull; for in the latter are several great cavities, occupied only by air-cells of thin bone; and thus enlarged surface is afforded for the attachment of the muscles needful to move the proboscis and lower jaw, without increasing the weight of the head, already sufficiently burdened with the massive tusks, and fleshy trunk. There are no incisors in the lower jaw. The mammæ are two, situated on the breast: the young, one of which only is born at a time, suck with the lips, and not with the extremity of the proboscis, as has been erroneously supposed.
But a single living genus belongs to this family; but there is a fossil animal, the Mastodon, which resembled the Elephants in most respects, with some important peculiarities in the structure of the molar teeth. One species,—the remains of which are found in great abundance, and in a wonderful state of preservation, scattered over the prairies of North America,—equalled the Elephant in size, and surpassed it in the massiveness of its proportions.
Genus Elephas. (Linn.)
The proboscis of this sagacious animal demands our first notice. This wonderful organ, which confers upon the Elephant much of the versatile power of the human hand, is composed of an immense number of small muscles variously interlaced, so as to produce the powers of extension, contraction, and motion, in all directions. Cuvier computes the number of muscles having distinct action in this organ, as not far short of ​forty thousand. It is of a lengthened, nearly cylindrical form, pierced through its whole length with two tubes which are the prolongations of the nostrils. "On the upper side of the extremity, immediately above the partition of the nostrils, is an elongated process, which may be considered as a finger; and on the under edge is a sort of tubercle, which acts as an opposible point; in short, as a thumb. Endowed with exquisite sensibility, nearly eight feet in length, and stout in proportion to the massive size of the whole animal, this organ, at the volition of the Elephant, will uproot trees or gather grass, raise a piece of artillery or pick up a comfit, kill a man
ELEPHANT'S HEAD.
or brush off a fly. It conveys the food to the mouth, and pumps up the enormous draughts of water, which by its recurvature are turned into and driven down the capacious throat, or showered over the body. Its length supplies the place ​of along neck, which would have been incompatible with the support of the large head and weighty tusks. A glance at the head of an Elephant will shew the thickness and strength of the trunk at its insertion; and the massy arched bones of the face, and thick muscular neck, are adapted for supporting and working this powerful and wonderful instrument."
In the minute and interesting account given by M. Houel, of two Elephants, male and female, which were placed in the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, in the year 1802, the appearance and functions of the extremity of the proboscis are well noticed, and illustrated by engravings, from which the following are copied. That of the male differed a little in form from that of the female, its outline approaching a square form, while that of the latter was more triangular.
* Male. Female.
* END OF PROBOSCIS.
* The same in profile.
The proboscis is invariably used to collect food; whether leaves are to be plucked, fruits to be gathered, or grass to be cropped, the flexible trunk is the effective organ. Though so large an animal requires an immense quantity of food, and hence must be ​mainly supplied from that which is coarse and common, yet he is fond of delicacies, and the sensible tip of his proboscis is constantly in requisition to select minute dainties, as berries and other small fruits, farinaceous roots, &c. Grass, or similar herbage, is cropped by twisting the trunk spirally round it; and as much muscular power is obtained by this action, it is employed whenever the object grasped offers resistance, as in the dragging down of the boughs of trees to browse on their leaves.
GATHERING STRONG HERBAGE.
Frequently the amount collected by a single action of the trunk is so small as to be unworthy of the trouble of conveying it singly into the mouth; in this case the Elephant places it behind the projecting edge, which answers as a thumb, while with the finger he gathers more. M. Houel thus speaks of this habit:—"One of the Elephants seeing me look at him attentively, stretched out his trunk, as if to ask for something to eat. I looked about, and having found a bunch of carrots, picked out the smallest and gave it to him. He noticed my intention, and made me understand that so small a carrot did not deserve the trouble of folding his trunk in order to carry it to his mouth; for he took the carrot with his
MODE OF HOLDING A ROOT.
The importance of the trunk is well known to the Elephant himself; it is his first care in time of danger. When sustaining the attack of a tiger or other wild beast, the trunk is raised high in the air; he will rarely strike a heavy blow with it, though he will throw stones and clods at distant objects which he dislikes, as he often does at hogs. An Elephant that was accidentally burned to death, at Dublin, in the year 1681, had been so solicitous about this precious organ, that it was found thrust nearly two feet into a very hard ground. Nor is this a needless care. Mr. Williamson saw an Elephant in India, whose trunk had been accidentally cut through with a bill-hook; and though the wound was healed, the animal was perfectly helpless; unable to supply its own food, and incapable of even travelling without danger. He was fed with bundles of grass, which were put into his mouth; had he been in a state of nature, be must have perished.
The incisors, which are found only in the upper jaw, form a conspicuous feature of the Elephant, and are well known by the name of tusks. They project with an outward and upward curve, are round, and terminate in a blunt point; they continue to grow as long as the animal lives, but the ​point is continually wearing by friction. They vary indefinitely in length; but some are recorded of immense magnitude. Several tusks, measured by Eden, were nine feet in length, and one, described by Hartenfels, was in the possession of a Venetian merchant, which exceeded fourteen feet. The same writer has given 325 lbs. as the weight of a tusk, and one is on record as having been sold at Amsterdam, on the authority of Klokner, which weighed 350 lbs. The tusk is hollow for a considerable part of its length, and the cavity contains a living pulp, which is continually supplying new layers of ivory to the interior surface.
As the Elephant's stomach is not endowed with a ruminating power, the herbaceous food destined for its nourishment requires to be well masticated by the grinding action of the molar teeth. The wearing away of their crowns by this constant action would soon reduce them to an useless condition, and hence the life of the animal would be very short, were there not some mode of renewing them. For to an herbivorous animal the wearing away of teeth that cannot be renewed, is precursive of a speedy death, and in most cases the decay of the teeth is simultaneous with a general decay of the constitution; a merciful provision, without which herbivorous animals would inevitably be starved to death. "The teeth of the deer and sheep," observes Sir E. Home, "are worn down in a much less time than fifteen years; those of horned cattle in twenty years; those of the horse in forty or fifty years; while those of the Elephant last a century: if the animal were to grow to double its present size, there is a provision for the continuance of the teeth: but as soon ​as the growth of the jaw is stopped, the succession of the teeth is arrested also, which fixes the duration of the animal's life."
The structure of the teeth will be understood by the following extract from a paper which was subjected to Mr. Corse's revision, in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopædia:—
"The Elephant has no cutting-teeth in either jaw in front; but he is furnished with most powerful grinders, that enable him to bruise the vegetables on which he feeds. These teeth, as in all herbivorous animals, have an uneven surface; but do not rise into points, as in animals which feed on flesh. Each grinder is composed of a number of perpendicular laminæ, which may be considered as so many teeth, each covered with a strong enamel, and joined to one another by a bony substance of the same quality as ivory. This last substance, being much softer than the enamel, wears away faster by the mastication of the food, so that the enamel remains considerably higher; and in this manner, the surface of each grinder acquires a ribbed appearance, as if originally formed with ridges. From very accurate observations which have been made on the Asiatic Elephant, it appears that the first set of grinders, or milk-teeth, begin to cut the jaw eight or ten days after birth, and the grinders of the upper jaw appear before those of the lower one. These milk grinders are not shed, but are gradually worn away during the time the second set are coming forward, and as soon as the body of the grinder is nearly worn away, the fangs begin to be absorbed. From the end of the second to the beginning of the sixth ​year, the third set come gradually forward as the jaw lengthens, not only to fill up this additional space, but also to supply the place of the second set, which are, during the same period, gradually worn away, and have their fangs absorbed. From the beginning of the sixth to the end of the ninth year, the fourth set of grinders come forward to supply the gradual waste of the third set. In this manner, to the end of life, the Elephant obtains a set of new teeth, as the old ones become unfit for the mastication of its food.
"The milk-grinders consist each of four teeth, or laminæ; the second set of grinders of eight or nine laminæ; the third set of twelve or thirteen; the fourth set of fifteen, and so on to the seventh or eighth set, when each grinder consists of twenty-two or twenty-three: and it may be added, that each succeeding grinder takes at least a year more than its predecessor, to be completed."
As each tooth advances, only a small portion pierces the gum at once; one of twelve or fourteen laminæ, for instance, shews only two or three of these through the gum, the remainder being as yet imbedded in the jaw; and in fact the tooth is complete at its fore part, where it is required for mastication, while behind it is still very incomplete; the laminæ are successively perfected as they advance. The molar of an Elephant can never, therefore, be seen in a perfect state; for if it is not worn in front, the back part is not fully formed, and is without fangs; and when the structure of the hinder portion is perfected, the front part is already gone.
If the reader will glance at the section of an Elephant’s skull, represented at page 131, he will see an illustration of these processes: the first ​molar is reduced to minute dimensions by the wearing down of its surface, and by the absorption of its fangs, while it is almost pushed out by the advance of the second. Of this about two-thirds of the surface are partially ground away, while the posterior laminæ are not yet perfected. Behind this is the germ of its successor, as yet inclosed in its membranous capsule, and lodged in the cavity of the jaw.
Two species of Elephant are at present existing; and one is found in a fossil state. Of the former, one is confined to the two peninsulas of India, and the great adjacent islands; the other is spread over the expanse of Africa, from the Desert to the Cape of Good Hope. The specific distinctions are not very conspicuous. The head of the Asiatic species (Elephas Indicus, Cuv.) is oblong, with the forehead concave: the ears are comparatively small, or at least of moderate size; the laminæ on the crowns of the molar teeth present the appearance of transverse parallel ribands with wavy edges; and the hind feet have four hoofs. The Elephant of Africa (£. Africanus, Cuv.) has a rounder head with a convex forehead; ears so large as to cover the whole shoulder; the laminæ of the teeth present lozenge forms; there are but three hoofs to each hind foot; and the tusks are usually larger than in the former.
​In a wild state, these animals associate in large herds, which wander among the succulent herbage of the great forests watered by pools and
YOUNG ELEPHANTS.
unfailing streams, under the conduct of the oldest and largest males. From the most ancient times individuals have been captured, by various stra​tagems, and reduced to captivity, where their power and their docility have made them valuable servants of man. These artifices have undergone little variation for ages. In the present day, when a herd of elephants is discovered, about three hundred men are employed to form a great circle around them, who light fires at each station. Early next morning, one man is despatched from each station to form a second circle outside, in that direction in which they wish to drive the animals. When this is made, the two circles unite into an oblong, and the men behind begin to shout and make as much noise as possible, which causes the elephants leisurely to advance. When they are got within the area of the new circle, its hindmost part is closed up, and the men light fires to pass the night as before. In the morning the same process is repeated, and thus the herd, avoiding the din behind it, gradually advances in the desired line. If really alarmed, the animals could easily break through the circle; but this the hunters carefully avoid; never shewing themselves, and content to annoy the quiet animals by their noise. The fires by night keep them from approaching the circle.
In this manner they are driven to the keddah, an immense inclosure, formed of massive beams, terminating in a second, or even a third inclosure of smaller dimensions, but of similar strength. The last has a narrow outlet, through which only a single elephant can pass at a time. Though the bars of this prison are studiously concealed, much difficulty is often found to induce the sagacious creatures to enter; the herd frequently rushes back, and has to be reassembled by the same ​tedious process. If the leader enters, however, the others all follow.
When once within the enclosure, fires are lighted round the entrance; and by shouts, beating of drums, firing of guns, and all sorts of noises, the hunters endeavour to drive the ensnared herd onwards. These, now infuriated, scream, and endeavour to return, but find the gateway strongly barricaded; and as the ditch which surrounds all the rest of the keddah is interrupted here, a line of fire is kept up within the fence, and fed from the top of the palisade with dried grass and bundles of reeds. Finding but one opening, they at length essay this, and pass into the second inclosure, the gateway of which is instantly shut by beams dropped from above. In the same way as before they are urged onward into the last inclosure, in which they must remain several days. The animals now appear desperate; in their fury they rush towards the ditch in order to break down the palisades, inflating their trunks, screaming shrilly, or growling like the hollow muttering of distant thunder. Water is supplied to this part of the ditch, that the exhausted creatures may quench their thirst, and cool their bodies by spouting it from their trunks. They remain angry, and vigilant, ever seeking to escape; but the fires and clamours of the people repel their attacks at every point.
After two or three days the door of the narrow passage is opened; and one of the elephants is enticed to enter by food thrown down before him. When quite in, the gate is suddenly shut, and two stout beams that stood, one on each side, are dropped across each other in a diagonal po​sition, so as to strengthen the door, and a similar cross is dropped on the opposite side of the door. To make the retreat impossible, horizontal bars are thrust across, through the palisades, both before and behind the crosses. The passage is too narrow to allow an elephant to turn, but as soon as he hears the noise of the shutting of the gate, he pushes himself against it backwards, but without avail. Finding his retreat cut off, he exerts his utmost force to break down other bars, which were previously put across a little farther on, running against them, screaming and roaring, and battering them like a ram, with repeated blows of his head, retreating and advancing with the utmost fury.
* ↑ Penny Cyclop. Art. Elephant.
* ↑ Home's Comp. Anat. i. 215.