I�ve never hunted the Africa and doubt I ever will but I am reading a novel which raises a question that I hope some of you old Africa hands can answer about elephants.

I am reading Stuart Cloete�s �The Curve and the Tusk�, an extremely interesting and well told story about elephants, elephant hunters, and natives in Mozambique in 1937. Because it was published in the early 1950s it is politically incorrect. Like Robert Ruark�s novels. And exactly like Ruark and C.S. Forester too, Cloete is a storyteller of the first water. My question concerns a statement made in this novel. The context is this: Two of the principle characters are a very old ivory hunter named Carew and a younger hunter, Maniero. Carew has been hunting elephants for so long that he used to carry what he calls a �four pounder�: a four-bore black powder rifle. The main plot involves a hunt by these men for two old, old male elephants. One has tusks so huge that not even Carew believes the sighting reports. The other animal is tuskless. The locals consider these two elephants to be spirits because they�ve been around for such a long time, they are rarely seen, and they walk very carefully in tandem so that they leave just one set of tracks. Cloete, who as a South African would probably know, says that the tuskless elephant of the pair has better eyesight, better hearing, a longer trunk, and is considerably stronger than its tusked mate -- because it has no tusks. So this is my question: Could this be true? Is it generally believed that a tuskless male elephant is stronger than a tusked male? Or is this just an old wives� tale?

Thanks

I asked a PH about this in relation to tuskless cows, and his reply is that their diet is considered inferior to tusked ele as they cannot feed as well, strip bark, etc. But, that they tend to be aggressive and as such do become herd matriarchs. I'd be curious to hear what somebody on the forum like Ganyana has to say.



I don't know how this applies to the tuskless bulls and the story, but I suppose it would be possible for a tuskless bull to have genetics that would allow it to be larger then a tusked bull, regardless of diet. Regarding the better senses, it is common for an "older and wiser bull" to hang out with a younger one (or group), who acts as the sentry. I doubt the part about "walking in tandem". While an ele's rear feet overlap their front tracks, in typical bush conditions having a second ele step in exactly the same place all the time is pretty hard to imagine. But like you said, it makes for a great story!



On a somewhat related note, I was surprised to see the terrain that ele are able to easily navigate. In the Zambezi valley, we followed spoor of herds up/down rather steep mountains and across river beds with practically vertical sides and lose soil, and it was all I could do to keep off the ground. Elephant are amazing animals, and they definitely are able to place their feet with great care.

Whilst a very readable novel, it also quotes wrongly the elephants age. I also own another of Cloete�s works titled "Chetoko", these books were easily obtained here many years ago. Of course now it�s impossible.
Good reading and be careful, the African venom is there...

Bulls with that kind of Ivory are surrounded by mystique and far be it from me to doubt such things, those old timers saw many unusual things in there wanderings, and I have learned not to doubt some of the stories of the tribal elders..

Why would I not want to believe it, I prefer to believe it, simply because its better that way.....

Stuart Cloete's works delight and his Rags of Glory, Fiercest Heart and others are well told stories despite exaggeration and lack of grasp of elephant biology. His successor storyteller is Wilbur Smith whose own books are good airplane, to or from South Africa, reading.

Had the pleasure to meet the late second Ms. Cloete, Tiny, an American who lived near Cape Town when I served in South Africa in the 80s. Her own book Nylon Safari is a chuckle.
Regards, Tim

By the way in their hunt for the two rogue elephants, Maniero uses a .404 bolt rifle and the Englishman Carew uses a .600 double.