• PugJesusOP
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    26 months ago

    Only two of the elephants were killed in the battle; the other eight were captured. One hopes that both mother and calf were counted amongst that eight.

    • livus
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      26 months ago

      Definitely. What would be really good would be if they were both captured and retired from the army.

      • PugJesusOP
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        26 months ago

        Though their fate is unknown after being paraded in the Triumph with the rest of the prisoners of the war, Rome isn’t recorded as using war elephants themselves for almost a century afterwards, and venatio, beast fights, were not yet popular. So hopefully they were used for some more mundane purpose, like a rich guy showing off his fancy pets, or as draft animals.

        • livus
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          26 months ago

          Thanks for telling me, those are good odds. Honestly, it’s a pity Hollywood is so wedded to the star system that they won’t make a historical drama about these elephants.

          Do you write books, PugJesus? I feel like you could write damn good books…

          • PugJesusOP
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            26 months ago

            Heh, I’ve always fancied myself a writer, but as a perfectionist, I’ve yet to finish anything I regarded as suitable for consumption for anyone other than myself. Maybe someday.