.@rogueclassicist on elephants & the Roman conquest of Britain for #WorldElephantDay: https://rogueclassicism.com/2010/07/28/first-elephant-in-britain/ … (pic=https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolemage/18643674732/ …)pic.twitter.com/4XtUqeSlza
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An elephant on the mid-12thC Otranto cathedral mosaic, Italy #WorldElephantDay https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otranto,_cathedral,_mosaic_08.jpg …pic.twitter.com/Dqszan7Ao4
2 points
1-Africans have never trained elephants
Few cases of short-term African elephant training needed Indian trainers
@rogueclassicist
Pt. 2 Unlike horses, elephants have specific mahouts There are limits on mahout-elephant interchange Based on these 2 points, 3 observations
Keep in mind there were two other species of elephants, esp. the North African forest elephant (used by hannibal); also a Syrian variety
To the best of my knowledge, both the Syrian & NA Forest elephants were creations of historians - and not biologists or fossil experts!
possible ... i'll look into it further when i get a chance
Careful, the ethic diversity trolls will be after for propounding this!!
Hah! I think I did see someone mention elephants in that interminable 'debate' over diversity; was what brought this to mind....!
Not exactly! More a comment on the idiocy of trolls!!
Indeed :)
I've always loved how, as @rogueclassicist points out, Dio's mention of elephants being prepared has gone to Claudius riding around on one!
It's an interpretation Dover Museum went with in their diorama - not sure if it's still there though! Not one I'd commission myself...pic.twitter.com/bOXd1LVpc2
And they would have been Indian elephants not the (untrainable) African variety!!!
Keep in mind there were two other species of elephants, esp. the North African forest elephant (used by hannibal); also a Syrian variety
Both those elephants were introduced from India in the wake of the Alexandrian campaigns. The Romans first encountered them in Pyrrhus' army
the north african elephant was from africa; probably a subspecies of the regular variety ... if Hannibal used them, must be trainable
That's a great elephant - specially love his little feet!
Interesting. Didn't know that.
Always seemed a bit on the slow side.
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