Almost everyone’s heard of Walt Disney’s Dumbo. However, most of them have never heard of Jumbo, the real-life elephant that Disney’s fictional flying elephant was loosely based on. Jumbo’s incredible story crosses paths with Queen Victoria, P.T. Barnum, and copious amounts of alcohol.
Londoners riding Jumbo in the Regent's Park Zoo, London, 1880. (London Stereoscopic Company Hulton Archive Getty Images)
Writer-director Christine Nielsen called him "The world's first animal superstar." At 11 feet 6 inches and 13,000 pounds the enormous creature drew hordes of crowds, becoming a beloved favorite from the London Zoo to “The Greatest Show On Earth.”
Jumbo lived as the star attraction of the London Zoo for 16 years.
A Tumultuous Beginning
As with many child stars and circus attractions, Jumbo began life with some adversity. After poachers killed his mother in Sudan, he ended up in the care of Lorenzo Casanova, an Italian animal dealer, and explorer (titles you can only have in the 19th century). Casanova then sold Jumbo to the London Zoo in 1865, where he quickly became a sensation. Queen Victoria’s children were especially fond of the “Children’s Giant Pet” as he was known.
Jumbo working with his beloved trainer Matthew Scott watches. (Wikimedia Commons)
A British Treasure
Immediately, the people of England fell in love with Jumbo. “He was exceptional,” said John Hutchinson, a mammal expert from London who examined him. Hutchinson wasn’t alone in that belief. It’s estimated that in his lifetime over 20 million people visited the mammoth elephant and few walked away disappointed. Back then children would literally ride Jumbo, sometimes a dozen at a time.
In London, Zookeeper Matthew Scott cared for Jumbo and became his closest “friend.” His daily diet consisted of 200 pounds of hay, a barrel of potatoes, two bushels of oats, 15 loaves of bread, endless onions, and many, many pails of water.
While Jumbo loved his kegs of beer and liters of whiskey, they probably didn't improve his health.
Health Issues
Despite his best intentions, Jumbo’s keeper Scott did not possess the wealth of information we do today about the care of elephants. In the wild elephants eat sticks and bark that help grind down their teeth and make room for the six different sets of molars they grow over a lifetime. His soft diet led to teething that would have set any of us off.
At night Jumbo would show signs of aggressive behavior at night, which his caretaker tried to assuage with beer and whiskey. While that very 1870’s approach to medicine made sense, it only worsened Jumbo’s condition over time.
Even in death Jumbo could attract a crowd. (Wikimedia Commons)
Coming To America
In 1882, with his health worsening, the Zoo decided to sell Jumbo to P.T Barnum and “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The people of England revolted and thousands of letters rained in demanding Jumbo stay in England. Many even beseeched the Queen to step in. Ultimately, money talked and P.T Barnum’s offer of nearly $275,000 in today’s money earned him Jumbo.
Of course, the elaborate marketer hailed Jumbo as “the largest elephant in the world.” In actuality, Jumbo grew to about 20% larger than the average elephant at the time of his death, which remains unclear.
in life Jumbo was used in many publicity tours, like when he walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to prove to people it was safe.
Death & Final Resting Place
Tragically, after a few years working with “The Greatest Show on Earth,” Jumbo died in an accident. Conspiracy theories surrounding his death persist many decades later. P.T Barnum put forth the story that Jumbo saved a group of smaller elephants from an incoming freight train. Other stories say the elephant purposely walked toward the train. Whether an unscheduled train caused Jumbo’s final demise or unluckily falling on a train spike, we’ll never know for sure.
Naturally, P.T. Barnum couldn’t let Jumbo’s historic body go to waste. Therefore, he stuffed the famous elephant, making him even larger in death than he was in life. The 13 foot stuffed animal rode with the circus until 1889 before being displayed at Tufts University. Eventually, Jumbo made his way to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
