The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-05-30
THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT.
A Plea for the Rehabilitation of the AMI
NAL by the Germans


Germany, which feels the want of
reliable beast of burden in her East
African territory more than England,
seems to have resolved on the redomes-
tication of the African elephant. Some
time ago German officer commenced
a series of visits to the Indian s'ked-
dahs," and, after mastering so far as
possible the Indian methods and sys-
tenn of catching and training wild ele-
plants, has hired staff of experienced
Indian catchers and trainers, and is to
establish a government elephant
stud" in German East Africa. Com
menting on the chances of the success
of this enterprise Mr.. Carl Hagenbeck,
proprietor of the geological gardens at
Hamburg and New York, has contrib
uted an interesting article to the Ham
burger Nachrichten.
Mr.. Hagenbeck's paperS IS Ahe
form of plea for the preeservaTlon' of
the African elephant. But with him
preservation is merely the necessary
preliminary to their demonstration,
for the probable success in which he
gives reasons which should be very en-
couraging to those now pledged to the
undertaking. MIR. Hagenbeck writes
with authority on the subject. Out
of two hundred African elephants
brought to Europe in recent years he
has imported one hundred and seventy,
and many of these have remained in
his geological gardens at Hamburg and
in America. With the histories of the
rest since they passed into other hands
he is perfectly familiar. He was re-
Gently able to tell the present writer
the exact number of African elephants
and the owner of each, in the different
countries of Europe; and he has a
national insight into the ways and
means of animal domestication. He
gives 1T as his opinion that the general
belief that African elephants are not
SO strong as, are wilder, and less easily
tanned, and possess less endurance
than, the Indian species, is wrong"
lie maintains, on the contrary, that
they are stronger, and at least as
tractable, and as useful as beasts of
burden or to be ridden as Indian ele-
plants; and he claims to have con-
WINGED the Berlin Geographical society
that this view was correct, as early as
1878, when he had number of African
elephants in that city.
1t will be quite sufficient for practical
purposes if part only of these antici-
pations are realized. If the African
elephant can be trained and made an
obedient slave, it will be factor of
enormous Importance in a district
where the tsetse fly stops all animal
carriage, and where for generations
human-that is, slave-transport has
been the sole means of conveying goods
from the interior to the coast. The
African elephant may well answer this
purpose without becoming such a mar
vel of intelligence and docility as his
Indian relative. Moreover, he is not
only as strong, but far stronger in mere
physique than the Indian, the males
being, on an average, two feet and the
females one foot higher than the Asiatic
species Whether they have quite the
same massive dray-horse build may be
doubted; but for most purposes they
would probably be even more servicea-
BILE as beasts of burden. and the ques-
ton of general constitution would
hardly arise in the case of animals
used in their own country, as these
would be in the German colonies
London Spectator.