What can be inferred from the political cartoon in the passage?

of donkeys and elephants

you may be familiar with the elephant as a symbol for the republican party and the donkey as a representative for the democratic party. but have you ever wondered how these symbols were chosen?
the democratic national convention says it never officially adopted the donkey as its mascot, but it does make use of the symbol. the donkey first made an appearance in the 1828 presidential election. the opponents of andrew jackson called him a donkey. jackson decided to make the image work in his favor by using it on his campaign posters. then, an 1837 political cartoon showed jackson riding a donkey that represented the democratic party. in 1870, thomas nast’s harper’s weekly political cartoon revived the use of the donkey as a symbol for the party. other cartoonists soon adopted this use.
nast also introduced the use of the elephant as a symbol for the republican party. in his 1874 political cartoon, he drew a donkey in lion’s skin scaring away all of the animals at the zoo. the elephant in the cartoon was labeled “the republican vote.”

© 1874 thomas nast harper’s weekly

after that, the use of the elephant symbol stuck with the republican party. when asked what the symbols mean today, democrats respond that the donkey is “smart and brave,” and republicans say the elephant is “strong and dignified.”