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.
