06-11-2007, 05:32 PM
Quote:Even the elephants used by Carthage are extinct.
Not your main point I know, but this may not actually be true. There still exists an African bush elephant, Loxodonta Africana Cyclotis, the males of which grow to 'only' about 8' feet tall, as compared to the 13' of the Africna savannah elephant. It thus fits the bill of an African elephant smaller than the Indian ones used in Hellenistic armies, as mentioned in the ancient sources. Now limited to a small patch of West Africa, it is likely its range was historically much wider and so available to the Carthaginians.
Although initially thought to be, and classified as a sub-species of the familiar African (savannah) elephant (Loxodonta Africana), further research and DNA profiling suggests that the differences between the two are actually almost as great as that between Loxodonta Africana and the Indian elephant (Elephas Maximus) and really warrants classification as a third species of elephant.
Not that any of this helps you with your reenacting conundrum since you are unlikely to find one on ebay.
Phil Sidnell.
