The female elephant, as in all other animals, is more gentle than the
male, at least we found it so, for the male which we saw in 1771,
was more fierce and untractable than a female we witnessed in 1773;
he would frequently lay hold of, and tear the clothes of those who
approached too near him, and even his keepers were always obliged to
be on their guard, while she was perfectly quiet, and always ready
to obey, nor ever shewed a disposition to be perverse but when they
wanted to put her into a covered waggon for the purpose of conveying
her from one town to another; upon which occasion she would refuse to
go forward, and they had no means of making her advance but by pricking
her behind; this would make her very angry, and being unable to turn,
the only way she had of revenge was to take up water in her trunk and
throw it over them, and which she would do in pretty large quantities.
I formerly remarked, there was a probability, from the situation of the
sexual organs, that these animals did not copulate in the same manner
as other quadrupeds, but this conjecture I understand is not warranted
in fact, for M. Marcel Bles thus expresses himself upon the subject:
"The comte de Buffon, in his excellent work, is deceived in respect to
the copulation of the elephants. In many parts of Asia and Africa they
certainly, during their season of love, retire into the most secret
recesses of the forests; but in the island of Ceylon which is almost
in every part inhabited, and where I have lived twelve years, they
have not that opportunity of concealing themselves. I have frequently
examined them, and from the female organ being nearly in the middle of
the belly there is some reason to conclude as M. de Buffon has done;
however, when inclined to admit the male, I have seen the female bend
her two fore legs upon the root of a tree, lowering, at the same time,
her head and neck, and keeping her hind legs erect, which gave the male
an opportunity of acting in the same manner as other quadrupeds. They
never copulate but in a state of freedom. The males are very furious in
the rutting season, and it is very dangerous to go near them; during
which the females will sometimes make their escape, and seek the wild
males in the woods. A few days after her cornack goes into the woods
in search of her, and she will come to him upon hearing him call her
by name, and quietly suffer herself to be led home again. It was from
these excursions discovered that the females bring forth at the end of
nine months."
I certainly am ready to give full credit to the first remark of M.
Marcel Bless, because he assures us that he has seen the elephant
perform the operation; but I cannot think we ought so perfectly to
acquiesce as to the time of their going with young, since it is the
opinion of all travellers that they do not bring forth in a less period
than two years.