Still playing it, I'm not used to marathon. The elephant tiles haven't come in handy yet (there is a huge food deficit), but I am trading for surplus resources with them, which helps a lot. Of course, I may have to cancel those deals once we get to war elephant capability.
Wheat and two cows; what food deficit? I'd be more interested to see what the surrounding land looks like. I've never seen elephants on plains; I'd like to see what other wacky stuff this map made up also. Good luck.