The opinion is widely held in India that elephants, when they feel that death is near, retire to secret places in the jungle, where they die far from the sight of man. Thus is explained the fact, so often cited that the skeletons of elephants are almost never met with except those killed by hunters. The legend is certainly an interesting one, but it must probably be rejected.
    An English hunter has discovered the skeletons of elephants dead from disease in places that were not particularly secret, and a hunter, during several consecutive years, has observed the same skeleton and has been surprised at the rapidity with which it has decayed and disappeared under the influence of exterior conditions. The truth seems to be that the reason why so few elephant’s skeletons are found is that they are so quickly destroyed by atmospheric and other agencies.
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