London Zoo in Victorian Times

"At the dawn of the Victorian era, London Zoo became one of the metropolis' premier attractions.  The crowds drawn to its bear pit included urban promenaders, gentlemen menagerists, Indian shipbuilders and Persian princes -- Charles Darwin himself."(http://www.boydellandbrewer.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=14351)

https://www.zsl.org/about-us/zsl-library-collection/the-zsl-archives

While zoos might be seen as a form of entertainment today, back in Victorian times they "participated in the making of scientific knowledge and its dissemination," according to Takashi Ito (https://miranda.revues.org/6413).  While today's zoos are open to any paying customers, the London Zoo of Victorian times was open only to the London Zoological Society members.  

The baiting of bears, bulls and badgers, once permitted at the London Zoo, was banned by the 1830's. The practice of naming the animals gave the creatures a sense of intelligence and emotion, says Ito. 

  By 1847, the zoo opened its doors to the public.  The first giraffes were brought to Europe in 1836. The London Zoo purchased four of this previously believed to be mythical creature.  The four attracted at least 4,000 spectators.  Attendance that year peaked at 260,000 a figure that wasn't exceeded until the World Exhibition of 1851.

A meeting of the Zoological Society courtesy  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoological_Society_of_London.

In 1859, editors and writers were granted free admission to the London Zoo in an attempt to publicize the place.  The zoo relied on sensationalist stories about its inmates to boost its attendance.  "Science and spectacle became inseparable in Regent's Park," explains Ito.  

The London Zoo started to focus on the breeding of animals.  By the end of the 19th century, as acclimatization started to lose its credibility with scientists, the zoo was no longer seen as a legitimate place to conduct scientific experiments.  Regent's Park became more of a source of entertainment for the public rather than a source of exploration for scientists.

It was at this time that Jumbo the elephant entered the gates of the London Zoo.  Attendance rates soared as Londoners old and young, rich and poor, gravitated towards the zoo.  Just as Charles Darwin visited the site decades before, so too did a young Winston Churchill (see Jumbo the Elephant at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/10/lemon-yogurt-bundt-cake.html).  

While the London Zoo lost Jumbo to the United States, and its scientists to a more legitimate testing ground, its doors remained open.  Today it entertains a new generation of Londoners.

Children ride Jumbo the Elephant courtesy http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2552606/Was-original-Jumbo-murdered-keeper-He-biggest-star-Victorian-age-passed-legend-Now-book-claims-years-abused-death-no-accident.html.

John Ruskin Protests Sale of Jumbo the Elephant

"I...am not in the habit of selling my pets or parting with my old servants because I find them subject occasionally, perhaps even periodically, to fits of ill temper..." (John Rankin)

Many Londoners remember riding in a howdah on the back of Jumbo, the largest elephant in captivity, when they were young.  Many would also remember writing protest letters to Queen Victoria, whose own children probably rode on Jumbo, upon finding out that P. T. Barnum intended on buying the elephant.  The American had plans for Jumbo to tour with The Barnum & Bailey Circus.  But Londoners would not give up without a fight; they thought of the elephant as a pet, not a zoo inmate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbo).

In 1882, London Zoological Society member John Ruskin joined in the protest by writing a letter to the Morning Post.  "I am not in the habit of selling my pets or parting with my old servants because I find them subject occasionally, perhaps even periodically, to fits of ill temper..." explained Ruskin, referring to Jumbo's temper tantrums.  

Legal proceedings were launched to halt the sale of Jumbo.  In the meantime, Ruskin thought:  "there is time for the children to say their say and pay their peace and make Jumbo their own forever."  However, in the end the London court ruled that P. T. Barnum had every right to purchase Jumbo, for which the zoo would receive $10,000.  

One would assume that Queen Victoria sent the schoolchildren's letters to the shredder (if there was such a thing in 1882).  Jumbo's fate was no better:  he was killed by a train in St. Thomas, Ontario three years later.  

Note:  For more information, read "Jumbo the Elephant" at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2014/10/lemon-yogurt-bundt-cake.html.

http://vaheritage.org/category/collections/

Jumbo the Elephant

"He strode along all right until the gate of the garden closed behind them and then lay down in the street.  It was a pure case of elephant obstinacy, and the animal wouldn't budge...The animal marched to the boat.  Weeping women and children lined the way." 

 (Paul Chambers, on the occasion of Jumbo's transfer from the London Zoo to a ship to America)

Jumbo with his trainer Matthew Scott at the London Zoo courtesy https://triviahappy.com/articles/book-review-jumbo-this-being-the-true-story-of-the-greatest-elephant-in-the-world.

It took 200 pounds of hay to fill his tummy.  It took 18 horses to transport him through the streets of London.  It took 150 men to move his body down a hill after he died.  And it took 100,000 schoolchildren to write letters to the queen to lodge a protest against his sale from the London Zoo. His name was Jumbo the Elephant.

Paul Chambers says that:  "A visit to the London Zoo was considered incomplete without a ride on Jumbo".  In fact, in sixteen years at the zoo, 16 million adults and 4 million children rode on the back of the famous elephant.  At 13 feet tall, and 6.5 tonnes, it would take a lot to satisfy the animal captured in the French Sudan in 1863.  His daily diet consisted of:  200 pounds of hay, 1 barrel of potatoes, 2 bushels of oats, 15 loaves of bread, a slew of onions and several pails of water.

Jumbo was named after the Swahili words "jambo", which means hello, and "jumbe" which means chief.  He was a treasured animal at the London Zoo, which the Zoological Society had acquired in a trade with Paris' Jardin des Plantes which included:  a rhino, a jackal, 2 eagles, 2 dingoes, a possum and a kangaroo.  Jumbo's favourite trainer, Matthew Scott, thought at first that the London Zoo had received a raw deal.  Jumbo came to them with a disease that covered his hide and had spread to his eyes; they almost had to be removed.  However, Mr. Scott slowly nursed him back to health. 

Queen Victoria courtesy i.dailymail.co.uk.

Schoolchildren visited the London Zoo by the thousands.  For a price, they could climb up on the back of Jumbo and go for a ride.  It is rumoured that even former Prime Minister Winston Churchill went for a ride.  Soon Londoners saw Jumbo as their own pet.  That's why they were up in arms at the announcement stating circus man P. T. Barnum had offered the zoo $10,000 to buy the elephant and take him to America in 1882.  One hundred thousand British schoolchildren sat down at their desks, dipped their pens into their inkwells and wrote letters to Queen Victoria telling her how much they loved their beloved Jumbo and begging her to stop the sale.  The schoolchildren made such a fuss, that the decision wound up in court, but a judge ruled that the sale was legal and would go ahead.

The schoolchildren weren't the only ones to protest the move:  when the trainers at the zoo tried to take Jumbo off of the property, he would lay down at the zoo gate, refusing to the budge.  It took days to get him into the crate, only after Mr. Scott cajoled him.  A line of Londoners wept as Jumbo was transported through the cobblestone streets to a waiting ship on the River Thames.  The 18 day voyage across the Atlantic brought the elephant to North America.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbo

P. T. Barnum had big plans for Jumbo in New York City.  He wanted to showcase him in "The Greatest Show on Earth", a circus in held in the Hippodrome (later Madison Square Garden). Americans came from far and wide to see the African elephant perform under the Big Top.  It was not long before P. T. Barnum recouped both the money he paid for Jumbo and his transportation overseas.  Jumbomania overtook the nation:  trading cards, hats, jewelry, canes and cigars were among the paraphernalia sold at gift shops.  

After a couple of years, P. T. Barnum's circus went on the road to other states as well as Canada. Jumbo performed for a sold out audience in St. Thomas.  As the trainers were herding the elephants back to the tent, one of the baby elephants ended up on the railroad tracks.  Rumour has it that Jumbo tried to usher the elephant off the tracks when a train approached.  The little elephant was hurled clear of the tracks, but Jumbo was hit full force.  It was like two trains colliding:  the engine and two train cars derailed from the track.

Jumbo at the side of the railroad tracks courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/prtprepress/jumbo/

Jumbo crumpled in a heap at the side of the tracks.  His beloved trainer tried to calm him down. Jumbo wrapped his trunk around his trainer and within half an hour passed away.  P. T. Barnum did not want people to forget about Jumbo.  He took his hide to a taxidermist who stuffed it.  It was mounted in a museum at Tufts University in Boston where the businessman had been a trustee. Jumbo became the beloved mascot of the university.  Rumour has it that if a Tufts student had an upcoming exam, he would put a nickel in Jumbo's trunk for good luck.  The Jumbo's, the university football team members, would rub the elephant's trunk for good luck.  Sadly, a fire burned the stuffed elephant in 1975.  Jumbo's skeleton was reassembled at the Natural Museum of History in New York City where it still is housed today.  Rumour has it that the ashes from Jumbo's hide were placed in a peanut butter jar; before a football game, Tufts players rub the jar for good luck.

Stuffed Jumbo at Tufts University circa 1935 courtesy bostonglobe.com.

So, the next time you complete a "jumbo" crossword puzzle or board a jumbo jet, think of the elephant that inspired the adjective:  Jumbo the Elephant.

Note:  For more information, read:
1.  Jumbo;  The Greatest Elephant in the World (Paul Chambers)
2.  Incredible Jumbo (Barbara Smucker)