Did Hannibal go over the Alps with African or Indian elephants?
Hannibal had 37 elephants, which came from Africa. (Carthage itself was located in Africa, on the Bay of Tunis )…there was a point where Hannibal “floated” literally, his elephants across a river, the Rhone I think it was, by filling bladders with air and making them a sort of water wings. Archaeology has identified this species as the African Forest Elephant, a now extinct species of elephant about half as high as the Asian.Below is a link to Livy’s history of Hannibal’s crossing. It doesn’t answer your specific questions…I don’t think any history of the crossing does. [url=http://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/dhsteachers/instructional_staff/wilsonwe/Hannibal%20Crossing%20the%20Alps.htm]www.pickens.k12.sc.
