In Estimating The Amount Of Food Necessary For These And Other Large Animals,
Sufficient Attention Has Not Been Paid To The Kinds Chosen.
The elephant,
for instance, is a most dainty feeder, and particularly fond of certain
sweet-tasted trees and fruits.
He chooses the mohonono, the mimosa,
and other trees which contain much saccharine matter, mucilage, and gum.
He may be seen putting his head to a lofty palmyra, and swaying it to and fro
to shake off the seeds; he then picks them up singly and eats them.
Or he may be seen standing by the masuka and other fruit-trees
patiently picking off the sweet fruits one by one. He also digs up
bulbs and tubers, but none of these are thoroughly digested.
Bruce remarked upon the undigested bits of wood seen in their droppings,
and he must have observed, too, that neither leaves nor seeds are changed by
passing through the alimentary canal. The woody fibre of roots and branches
is dropped in the state of tow, the nutritious matter alone
having been extracted. This capability of removing all the nourishment,
and the selection of those kinds of food which contain great quantities
of mucilage and gum, accounts for the fact that herds of elephants
produce but small effect upon the vegetation of a country -
quality being more requisite than quantity. The amount of internal fat
found in them makes them much prized by the inhabitants,
who are all very fond of it, both for food and ointment.
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