Among many animals, especially sea-lions, the mortality of the young, resulting from carelessness or clumsiness on the part of the parent, is very great; but it is very rarely, if ever, that a baby elephant is killed or injured. This is true in the great herds when they are stampeded by various enemies. When on the march, the mothers and young go in advance; but when the note of alarm is sounded, they immediately fall back, the tuskers, or males, going to the front; and an observer at this time would be astonished at the sudden disappearance of the young. At the first alarm, they run to their mother, and place themselves beneath her, shuffling along in this way; yet so careful are these enormous parents, that even in travelling at a rapid rate, and crowded by one another, the babies are never harmed. To this great care on the part of elephants is, undoubtedly, due the safety of men who handle these animals; the great brutes being instinctively careful of all smaller attendants. In wild Asiatic elephants, the greatest number of births are during September, October, and November. When a baby elephant is added to the herd, they remain about the mother for two or three days, to give the little one an opportunity to gain strength. The greatest care is given the youngsters by the mothers. They are assisted over rough places, pushed up hills, and are never an encumbrance to the movements of the body. Perhaps the most amusing sight is witnessed when a herd with young have to swim deep streams. When the mothers are once off bottom, very little of their great bodies shows above the surface; and they often swim or walk with only the tip of the trunk showing. If the infant is very young, or there is danger of its taking cold, the old one takes it in her trunk, and holds it above the water as she swims: others are supported at the surface. Older babies scramble upon the mother’s back, and ride along with only the curious cushions of their feet in the water; while some sit astride the old one’s back, holding on with their legs.