Birds and Nature, Vol 10 No. 2 [September 1901]Various
History
Birds and Nature, Vol 10 No. 2 [September 1901]
Various
Birds -- Periodicals; Natural history -- Periodicals
The eyes are small and, probably on account of living in the forest so
much, they are not very sharp-sighted. This defect is counterbalanced by
very acute hearing and sense of smell. In browsing the Elephant is
probably guided altogether by touch and his sense of smell; and in a
dark forest even very sharp eyes are of little value either in selecting
food or detecting enemies, especially in an animal with so short and
heavy a neck.
The feet of an Elephant are great elastic cushions with which he passes
noiselessly through the jungles. When he chooses to stand still it is
almost impossible to distinguish his brown skin from the foliage with
which he is surrounded. But an animal as large and strong as the
Elephant does not need to conceal himself, except from man, his great
enemy, and when a troop of Elephants wish to pass from one place to
another they often charge through the jungles and forest, smashing down
trees and vines and leaving a broad trail behind them. When disturbed or
wounded by hunters they rush furiously through the thickets after their
tormentors, and if they fail to catch and crush them in the first charge
it has often happened that Elephants have returned and smelled them out
as a dog scents a rabbit.
On account of the slow growth of young Elephants it has been found more
satisfactory in India to catch wild Elephants than to breed them in
captivity and wait fifteen years for the young to reach maturity and
usefulness. The plan usually pursued is to build a huge corral in a
tract of forest where wild Elephants roam, usually across an Elephant
path. Where the path enters the corral a heavy gate is made and
suspended over the way, so that it can be instantly dropped and
fastened. Then, when a herd of wild Elephants wanders near enough to the
trap on the gate side an army of native beaters is hastily gathered and
the troop is surrounded on three sides. Each beater is provided with a
tom-tom or torch, and in the confusion of shouting and torch-waving the
whole herd is driven into the enclosure. At first they charge the
stockade wildly, and the natives rush from side to side, resisting their
attacks with fire and uproar. When at last they stand huddled together
in the middle of the enclosure tame Elephants are driven in and allowed
to mix freely with the wild ones. Cautiously they single out an
Elephant, surround him and hold him in place, while men called noosers
slip quietly down from the backs of the tame Elephants and fasten
strong, soft ropes about his feet, after which he is marched out of the
corral between two Elephants and tamed to work as they work, carrying
heavy loads, dragging and piling timber, or perhaps marching in the
splendid processions of Eastern kings.
Dane Coolidge.
THE WILD CLEMATIS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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