CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ELEPHAS MAXIMUS, THE INDIAN

17.1 The Living

17.1.1 Zoology The Indian or (fi g. 221) is the second largest land on earth, and without doubt leaves an immense impression on those who meet it in the wild. The Indian elephant is smaller than the , and a bull stands on average 2.75 m tall at the shoulder; cows 2.45 m.1 along the coast opposite to Sri Lanka are said to have been especially tall.2 The ears of the Indian elephant are large, but not as large as those of the African elephant. Its back is round, and not hollow as in the African elephant. The hind feet bear four nails each. Its trunk, ending in a single tip, is not only amazingly strong, but very sensitive at the same time, and injury may even cause death because of shock due to pain. Generally, the males bear a pair of short and strong , while the females bear no tusks or at most very small ones. Tuskless males (makhnas) are, in general, very large in build and have also more devel- oped trunks. Females with large tusks (sakhnis) are very rare. Males with long and slender tusks are not common. The tusks show a large variety in shape and direction. The skin of the Indian elephant is dark but may become lighter with advancing age, and turn greyish-white or even light grey, known as white elephants; this is, however, exceedingly rare. In ancient texts, such as in Bharavi’s Kiratarjuniyam, further distinction is made between forest elephants, which are fond of rivers which they turn turbid especially in summer, and mountain-born elephants, which are described as being covered with though hair on the whole of their

1 The elephants from Sri Lanka and Sumatra are sometimes considered subspecies, recognized by their smaller stature. 2 S. Digby, War-horse and Elephant in the Delhi Sultanate (Oxford: Orient Monographs, 1971). 190 MAXIMUS bodies.3 All elephants grow hairs in the depths of the skin wrinkles, but these hardly reach the surface. In this respect it is interesting to note that these hairs are longer in calves and young elephants all over their body, and especially on their heads. In principle elephants may thus grow longer hairs, although not to the degree as seen in their distinct extinct relative, the woolly (Mammuthus primigenius). It is likely that these mountain-elephants were not a poetic liberty, but a now vanished variety from the higher altitudes of the Himalayas. Elephants are highly intelligent and social . Herds vary from fi ve up to sixty or more animals, consisting of individuals of various sizes and ages. Older males generally live a solitary life, or live together with another male of equal age. Defence of the young is shared by companions, especially when the calf is very young. The mother is then assisted by always the same female, who acts as a guardian of the calf. Elephants are fond of bathing (fi g. 223). They have an acute hearing and smelling, but their sight is very poor. A whisper or gentle foot step are enough to alert them. Despite their huge size and massive feet, elephants are able to walk through the jungle practically without producing a single sound. During the rut, elephant bulls, but sometimes also the cows, reach a certain excited stage (mushth), during which they can hardly be handled. Rutting elephants are described as being fond of giving side-blows to the banks,4 of swimming and dipping in rivers.5 The drops of rut fl uid fl oating on waters resemble the eyes of peacock-feathers,6 in reality, the oily fl uid on the water surface refracts the refl ected light in a rainbow sequence. They are further described as closing their eyes, stretching their trunks on the branches of trees, and sitting down in an easy way.7 Elephants scratch their temples against sandal trees and even break them.8 Special veils were used to cover their faces.9 The population of Indian elephants in the wild has been greatly reduced since prehistoric times. At the beginning of the twentieth cen- tury, larger herds still roamed the south of Mysore, Sri

3 Kir. 3.38 (vanya-dvipa) and 1.36 (agaja-gaja), respectively. 4 Kir. VI.7. 5 Kir. V.25; VI.11; VII.11, 35. 6 Kir. VI.11. 7 Kir. XVI.30. 8 Kir. V.47, VIII.12 and Kir. XII.49, respectively. 9 Kir. XVII.45 (mukhacchada).