Jumbo Day

Jumbo Day is celebrated on April 9 every year. It is dedicated to paying tribute to Jumbo, the Elephant who is also known as Jumbo the Circus Elephant (an African forest elephant born in Sudan in the 19th century). He was moved from Africa to the French menagerie Jardin des Plantes in Paris and then to the London menagerie. He was purchased by an American merchant and showman who took him to the United States. On September 15, 1885, Jumbo passed away. The appellation of the enormous elephant is the origin of the word ‘jumbo’ and has left its mark on popular culture.

History

On December 25, 1860, Jumbo was born in Sudan. His mother was killed by poachers when he was an infant. Lorenzo Casanova, an Italian animal dealer and explorer, bought Jumbo from the elephant hunter Taher Sheriff of Sudan and the German big-game hunter Johann Schmidt of Germany. The animals that Casanova had bought in Sudan were subsequently transported to Suez and then across the Mediterranean Sea to Trieste, Italy. In the 19th century, Gottlieb Christian Kreutzberg’s “Menagerie Kreutzberg” in Germany purchased Casanova’s collection of creatures.  Subsequently, Jumbo was shipped to the Paris menagerie Jardin des Plantes. He was moved to the London Zoo once more on June 26.

Jumbo was a crowd favourite because of his immense size, and kids, even Queen Victoria, would ride on his back. Matthew Scott, who released an 1885 autobiography chronicling his life with Jumbo, monitored his activities in London. Jumbo broke both of his tusks and when they grew back, he continued to grind them against the enclosure’s stone walls. Abraham Bartlett, the superintendent of the London Zoo in 1882, made headlines and sparked intense debate when he suggested selling Jumbo to an American showman and businessman for £2,000 ($10,000).  Bartlett claimed that the growing aggressiveness and propensity for public disturbance exhibited by Jumbo were major factors in his choice.

Londoners were outraged by the sale of Jumbo because of the devastating impact it would have on the British Empire. One hundred thousand students petitioned Queen Victoria to stop the sale of Jumbo. This, however, was ultimately unsuccessful, and Jumbo and his new owner, an American entertainer and owner of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, P T Barnum, soon departed London. Jumbo died on September 15, 1885.

Significance

Jumbo Day is a throwback to a time when circuses were prominent. It gives us a glimpse of the era when travelling circuses dominated Western culture. Jumbo was a treasure for the nation. Jumbo was such an influential figure in modern history. He was a treasure to the nation and the globe.