 In 1706 Blair dissected an elephant which had died on the road between Broughty Ferry and Dundee.The elephant (which was a female Indian one, around 26 years old ) was being toured around Scotland and England by a Dutch showman named Abraham Sever; it died on Saturday 27th April 1706  (nb this was the date in the Gregorian calendar, which was at that time 11 days behind the Julian calendar.