Explorer David Livingstone's letter reveals he ate elephant

A letter that describes how famous Scottish explorer David Livingstone killed and ate an elephant during an African expedition has fetched £28,800 pounds at a London auction.

The explorer wrote the 12-page missive to British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston in November 1861, reports the BBC.

It tells how his party on the famous Zambezi expedition of 1858-1864 killed an elephant for food and then saw the rest of the herd apparently mourning.

The letter fetched more than treble its estimated price at Bonhams in London.

He said the local people appeared to be afraid to kill elephants for the ivory, as the animals were "not disturbed by the presence of man".

"When we killed one for food the rest of the herd stood a mile off for two days. Elsewhere they would not have stood within 30 or 40 miles," he wrote.

The letter describes in detail the trip of August to November 1861.

It reveals a series of incidents, including being robbed by "professional" thieves who struck just before dawn. He told how the expedition came under attack from Ajawa people.

Livingstone also reveals how he sampled an unusual native dish, made of insects "like our smallest gnats".

The letter was expected to sell for between £7,000 to £9,000.