ELEPHANTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1765, 13 February 1888, Page 3

ELEPHANTS

It is possible, and even probable, that persons now; living oiay ccc the extinction of the elephant as a wild animal. The operation of natural causes haH a ready reduced tbo many npecies of elopbants wh''ch once existed on the earth to two a< d to tbesß two the demands 0! faumtn luxury will probibly before on* prove fatal* It is not, indeed the va< ity of man— or rather, woman— deadly 0 po many of the fuireet things m creation, that threatens tl»e existenoa of .the elephan', but a more soli <, and perhaps a more reasonable cause The tilings which he perishes t> furaish would be called objects of utility rather than of ornament. It ia our table-knives bo rapidly worn out m handle an wo 1 as blade, that destroy him. One firm of Kng'iali cutlers «« believe, ta<es three fourths of the African supply ; and it is from Africa, where both the tp#Je and female animals are 1 envi'y tusked, that most of our ivory comes. It has been calculated that at leust a hqndred thousand elephants are annnaliy aaorificd, for their tanks. Year by year the wild animal Is driven into narrower limits by the Incessant pursuit of tht banter, and tbo day cannot be very far distant when he will perish altogether. Possibly the tuskless auimal of Oeylon, which off irs no such temptation, »nd «hfob it would ba easy to protect, -If it is not already protect eJ — againtt the bp r >rtfm*n, will c jutinue to prolong tho race ; but the extent of Oeylon is comparatively em*!!, and Ita elephant-hetd* are already largely drawn noon to keep up the supply of tho dime-tloaUl anfnr*'. For though the etphant sometimes breeds m captivity, this occurrence Is so rate that It cannot be relied upon for preserving the stock. Consequently, the extinction of the wild antmal implies that witniD no long period Of time the spades will altogether eeaie to eslt'r- "Speotttir,"