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Scholastic Scope MAY 2015

Literary Nonfiction

150 years
ago, an
African
elephant
named
Jumbo was
the most
famous
creature in
the world.

AS YOU READ,
THINK ABOUT:

How have attitudes about

wild animals changed?

n September 15, 1885, one of the worlds

most beloved celebrities died in a tragic
train accident. News of this event made
headlines around the world. In the
streets of New York City, grown men took
off their hats and wept. In England, a

distraught Queen Victoria proclaimed that she had lost a

most dear friend, a gentle giant.
This beloved hero was not a president or a king. In
fact, he was not even a human being. But he was a giant:
a 6-ton African elephant named Jumbo.
Jumbo was, in the late 1800s, the most famous
creature in the world. As a young elephant, he was the
star attraction of one of the worlds first modern zoos,
the London Zoological Gardens. Queen Victoria visited
him regularly, feeding him sweet rolls made by her
personal chef. Children would line up for hours in the
rain for a chance to ride on his back.
In 1882, Jumbo came to America after he was

By Lauren Tarshis

purchased by circus owner P.T. Barnum. Barnum, a

brilliant showman, made Jumbo into an even bigger star.
He called him the colossus of elephants, the biggest

CREDITS TTK

star
Bella Negron, 13

Illustration by Gary Hanna; Granger, NYC/The Granger Collection (Poster)

and most famous animal in the world! He sent Jumbo

on a tour across the country in
Jumbos Palace Car, a luxurious
private railcar painted red and
gold. Jumbo earned millions

Barnum exaggerated
Jumbos size, claiming
he was the biggest
elephant on Earth.

for Barnum and became a true

phenomenon. His picture was
everywherein newspapers
and magazines, even on
packages of sewing thread,
baking powder, and cigars.

Pop-Culture Icon
Theres no doubt that
Jumbo was a beautiful

scope.scholastic.com MAY 2015

11

thought was given to whether animals should

be taken from the wild, or to their well-being in
captivity. Cages were small and dirty. Diets were
unhealthy. Not surprisingly, many animals died.

Captured by Hunters
Jumbo was probably born in
the area that is now Ethiopia, in
Africa. Today, African elephants
are endangered, and hunting them
is illegal. But in the mid-1800s,
Above: Jumbo was transported to America
in this crate. Right: Visitors to the
London Zoo paid to ride on Jumbos back.

when Jumbo was born, the soulful

trumpeting of elephants rang out in
all corners of the African continent.
Large herds stomped through

famous? He did no special tricks, couldnt juggle balls

jungles, forests, savannas, and deserts.

It is likely that hunters killed Jumbos mother for

with his trunk, or walk on two legs. He was not even

her ivory. A helpless calf, Jumbo was sold to an animal

particularly big. Measuring about 11 feet from the tips

dealer who chained him, packed him into a crate, and

of his padded toes to the tops of his wrinkly shoulders,

shipped him by boat to Europe. Many animals died

he was of average size for a male African elephant.

during such miserable voyages, but Jumbo survived.

In some ways, Jumbo was a pop-culture icon:

a Jennifer Lawrence with a trunk, say, or a 6-ton

He was sold to a zoo in Paris called Jardin des Plantes.

Jumbo was not treated well in Paris. After three

Channing Tatum. Indeed, he was the perfect celebrity

years, he was traded to the London Zoological Gardens,

for the times. People were moving to cities and looking

along with two anteaters, for a rhinoceros. It was a

for new kinds of entertainment. There was great

lucky break for Jumbo, who arrived in London filthy

curiosity about the natural world, especially about

and undernourished. He was put under the care of

exotic creatures from far-off lands few people could

Matthew Scott, a zookeeper who was quiet, unhappy,

hope to visit.

and badly in need of a friend. The scrawny, sickly

Zoos were relatively rare until the 19th century,

elephant and the lonely bachelor hit it off right away.

when hunters, explorers, and rich adventurers from

America and Europe began prowling the wilds of Africa.
They brought home trophies like lion heads, leopard

Sold to the Circus

Its impossible to say whether Jumbo was content in

skins, and prized ivory elephant tusks, the last of which

London, but under Scotts care, he grew. And grew. And

could be carved into treasures or displayed as proof

grew, nearly doubling in size in just a few years. Jumbo

that a hunter had conquered Africas largest beast. Live

became the largest elephant in captivity and one of

animals were captured and sent home to be put on

Englands most cherished citizens. Thats why it was

display for the public.

a shock when, in 1881, the zoo decided to sell Jumbo

A citys status was measured by the variety of

to the American P.T. Barnum. The sale of this national

animals in its zoo. Yet even the most learned scientists

treasure outraged people throughout England. Mobs

did not understand how to care for these animals. Little

showed up at the zoo to protest. They showered Jumbo

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Scholastic Scope MAY 2015

London Stereoscopic Company/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

(Crate); Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS (London Zoo)

animal, strong and majestic. But why did he become so

with sugar buns (which he loved)

Scott screamed for Jumbo to

and huge bouquets of flowers

follow him onto an embankment.

(which he also loved . . . to eat).

Jumbo followed, running so

Zoo directors thought that Jumbo

quickly that he nearly hit a fence.

was too unpredictable. At night, if

In a panic, Jumbo ran back onto

Scott wasnt with him, Jumbo would

the track and was struck by the

have temper tantrums, ramming his

The world mourned Jumbos tragic death.

head against the walls of his cage.

train. He died a few minutes later,

clutching Scotts hand with his

Male elephants can become violent, and more than one

trunk. Scott wept for hours and had to be carried from

director admitted to having nightmares about Jumbo

Jumbos side.

going berserk in the crowded zoo.

So Jumbo was loaded into a special crate and, with
Scott at his side, set sail for his new life in America as

In the Wild
Even in death, Jumbo remained the worlds most

part of Barnums Greatest Show on Earth. For three

famous animal. Barnum donated his hide to a

years, he toured North America, where he looked on

university and his skeleton to the American Museum

calmly (or, some said, with boredom) as Barnums

of Natural History. In 1935, a Broadway musical was

trained elephants marched and pranced around him.

based on Jumbos life, as was a movie in 1962.

Though human interest in the animal world has

Barnum looked forward to decades of riches with

Jumbo; African elephants can live to be 70 years old.
Sadly, Jumbos life was cut short just a few years

continued to grow, there has never been another

animal celebrity quite like Jumbo. Times slowly
changed, and many scientists and animal

after his arrival in the U.S. In September 1885,

the circus was in Canada, and Jumbo was
waiting to be loaded into his private railcar.
Scott heard the sound of an oncoming train
in the distance. According to one account,

Male elephants
stay with their
mothers until they
are 14 years old.
Females may stay
for life.

lovers began to appreciate that taking animals

from the wild can be dangerous and cruel.
Today, conservationists are working hard to
protect elephants in their natural habitat.

The New York Times (Newspaper); Ferrero-Labat/Auscape/

Minden Pictures (Baby Elephant)

Today, elephants are

under threat. Fewer than
500,000 in Africa and
33,000 in Asia remain.

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ESSAY

Say Goodbye
to the Elephants
Americas biggest circus
has decided to stop using
elephants in its shows.
By Adee Braun
more than 140 years, crowds have

that by 2018, elephants will no

gentlemen,

gasped in awe as the enormous

longer be part of the show.

children of all ages

animals balance on two legs, cradle

. . . welcome to the

humans in their trunks, and, like

Greatest Show on Earth! So begins

a squad of 5-ton cheerleaders,

each performance of the Ringling

create formations with one

Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus.

resting its front legs on

And what a show it is! Dancers

anothers back.

and clowns perform in the ring as

Soon, though,

Mood Shift
According to Feld
Entertainment, the company
that owns Ringling Bros.,
the decision to remove
elephants from
the circus was

acrobats flip and soar overhead.

these beloved

Stunt riders zoom motorcycles

performers will

based on a

around inside a metal cage as

be gone.

mood shift

jugglers toss flaming batons into

the air.

Ringling Bros.
has announced

the show are the elephants. For

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Scholastic Scope MAY 2015

goersa
reference to

But none of these performers

are the real stars. The real stars of

among circus

This trick is no longer performed.

It is considered too dangerous.

the publics
growing unease

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images (Circus Elephant);

General Photographic Agency/Getty Images (Balancing)

adies and

with the idea of elephants

currently performing with Ringling

conditions for circus elephants

performing for our entertainment.

Bros. retire, they will go to an

have greatly improved since the

In fact, animal rights advocates

elephant conservation center

days of Jumbo in the 1880s, would

have been calling for circuses to

in Florida that Ringling Bros.

an elephant ever choose to live in

stop using elephants for decades.

has operated since 1995. This

a stall, travel across the country

Many activists believe that wild

200-acre facility, dedicated to

by train, and perform tricks on

animals should

the conservation,

command when it could be

not be used for

breeding, and

roaming the forests of its natural

entertainment.

study of elephants,

habitat?

Some animal

is currently home

welfare organizations

to about 40 Asian

have accused

elephants. Some

Ringling Bros. of
mistreating its
elephantsof leaving
them in chains for
hours on end, for
example, and of
separating babies

As for the lions, tigers, and

other animals in the circus,
Ringling says it has no plans
to retire them. But who
knows? Ringling Bros. wants
to please its customers.
Perhaps the fate of these
animals is up to us.

Ringling Bros. and others have

are retired from

argued that the elephant acts in

performing, while

the circus do more than enthrall

others are still

audiences; they also educate the

growing up. Yet

public about these magnificent

others, according

animals and cultivate concern

to Ringling Bros.,

for their survival in the wild. And

are there because

of the approximately 10 million

from their mothers before they are

they were not comfortable

people who attend a Ringling Bros.

ready. Ringling Bros. denies such

performingthey did not want to

circus each year, many certainly do

accusations. On the contrary, says

join the circus and were not forced

leave with a sense of wonder and

the company, all animals receive

to do so.

love for the animal kingdom.

exceptional care. According to

Mark Gail/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Wonder and Love

It is no doubt true that some

But perhaps weve come to

the Ringling Bros. website, the

elephants take to performing

understand that loving animals

elephants are under the constant

more readily than others. But is it

means setting them free. If we want

care of top-notch veterinarians,

fair to suggest that any elephant

to learn about elephants, there are

receive plenty of fresh food and

would want to join the circus? In

plenty of videos on YouTube, not

water, and enjoy daily baths and

the wild, elephants travel up to 30

to mention hundreds of books and

exercise. Were very proud of our

miles a day. They are highly social

online articles that we can turn to.

animal care,says Stephen Payne of

and intelligent creatures who greet

As for Ringling Bros.? Well

Feld Entertainment.

each other by touching trunks, like

miss the elephants, says Payne.

a handshake; who protect sick and

But there are still going to be lots

injured members of their herds and

of reasons to come to the Greatest

mourn their dead. Even though

Show on Earth.

What Do Elephants Want?

Once the 13 Asian elephants

writing contest
How have attitudes about wild animals changed since the time of Jumbo? Why might
attitudes have changed? Answer both questions using information from both texts. Send
your response to ELEPHANT CONTEST. Five winners will each get a copy of The Zoo at
the Edge of the World by Eric Kahn Gale. See page 2 for details.

Get this
activity
Online

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