Elephant

(See PROBOSCIDEA.) Including the Mammoth, Mastodon and Dinotherium, there are ab. 30 species, but only two or three are now living. The African species is the tallest, reaching 11 ft.; it has large ears, convex forehead, lozenge shaped areas on the molars, and four toes visible on the pad of the manus and three on the pes. These afford the whitest ivory. They were domesticated by the Cart hag in i ans and Egyptians, but are now all wild. The Indian elephant, distinguished by flat forehead and four toes visible in hind feet, has feebler tusks, rarely present in the female, and is domesticated to a great extent and used for work. Those kept captive do not breed; though in America, since 1880, several young have been born in menageries. The first baby elephant born in America was 34 in. high, weighed 213 lbs., and had a trunk a foot long. The father weighed 4 tons, and was 26 years old. Elephants can live far beyond 100 years. The tusks are upper incisors, without enamel, but growing persistently, and may attain a weight of 200 lbs. Only one, or, at most, two molars are present at once; the anterior fall out when worn, and are replaced by posterior, larger ones, that shove forward. The IMG:content-1288.jpg:[graphic] IMG:content-1289.jpg:[merged small][merged small][graphic][merged small][merged small] high. Dinotherium, the most gigantic of fo il elephants, had lower tusks only. White elephants are albinos. The elephants of Ceylon and Sumatra have tusks rarely and confined to the male; they are gentle. It has been estimated that 100.000 tusks bearing elephants are slain each year to supply the world with ivory. There is great danger of these slow-breeding giants becoming extinct. The period of gestation is 21 months.