Farming with elephants
When horses go to war, the big boys take over
Alex Q. Arbuckle
WWI-WWII
Original image has been replaced.
Credit: Mashable
In Great Britain, men and horses are at the front, while women — and even elephants — are plowing the ground and making every fertile acre produce. - Popular Mechanics, May 1917
When World War I erupted in Europe, Britain did not just draft men to fight. The government conscripted 1.2 million horses and mules to aid the war effort.This left a shortage of beasts of burden to keep up with farm work on the home front, meaning farmers had to resort to more unconventional help.Circus elephants, with the strength of several work horses, were recruited to help plow fields, stack hay, and cart munitions and other supplies around cities. And, as these pictures show, elephants continued to be employed behind the plow into World War II.
"Baby," an elephant from the Robert Fosset Circus, is used for plowing in order to cultivate the lands near Towcester, in northern England.
Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images
An elephant from the Amar circus plows a field in occupied France.
Credit: Pierre Jahan/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
Credit: Pierre Jahan/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
An elephant from the Amar circus plows a field in occupied France.
Credit: Pierre Jahan/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
Credit: Pierre Jahan/Roger Viollet/Getty Images
Credit: Pierre Jahan/Roger Viollet/Getty Images