From Thomas Barbot Beale 17 December [1868 or later]1
Decr. 17—
Dr Sir
On reading the e⟨ ⟩ ⟨in⟩ the “Pall Mall” of the 16th ⟨ ⟩ to me that the following fac⟨t might⟩ interest you— That tame elephants as a rule do not breed in India is undoubtedly the case—for when the Male becomes “musth” (like the “rutting” of the stag) he is generally so vicious that he is tied up & starved till he becomes quiet—for weeks or perhaps longer— —
I kept 2 Elephants for shooting a full grown male & a Female— They were always fed in my presence on my return from office & afterwards allowed to graze in the compound or ⟨half line⟩ for an hour. ⟨half line⟩ spring of 1855 The ⟨one-third line⟩ ‘musth” as usual but ⟨one-third line⟩ vicious no notice was ⟨taken⟩ & he was allowed his ⟨freedom⟩ ⟨as⟩ usual—& one evening ⟨one-quarter line⟩ chased the Female round the Compound & covered her as a Horse would a Mare— Thinking this an unusual occurrence I sent for 2 of my Friends to come over—& in presence of them & myself he again twice repeated the operation— In due course the female produced a cub but as she had to swim the Ganges & got “panked” or stuck in a quickstand ⟨two-thirds line⟩ violently to get ⟨two-thirds line⟩ caused the cub to ⟨half line⟩ one of my Friends Mr ⟨one-third line⟩ of the Civil Service is still ⟨one-third line⟩ my other Friend Mr A P Car⟨ ⟩ died many years since ⟨ ⟩
I am Dear Sir | Yrs faithfully | Thomas Barbot Beale | formerly of Bengal Civil Service
This occurrence took place at [Goruckpoor]—in the Bengal Residency
Footnotes
Bibliography
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
On why it is said Indian elephants do not breed in captivity; mating habits of male so violent as to require restraint.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13777
- From
- Thomas Barbot Beale
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- unstated
- Source of text
- DAR 160: 102
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp damaged
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13777,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13777.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 16