The Jumbo the Elephant Story

"Jumbo was born around December 25, 1860, in Sudan, and after his mother was killed by poachers, the infant Jumbo was captured by Sudanese elephant poacher Taher Sheriff and German big-game poacher Johann Schmidt. The calf was sold to Lorenzo Casanova, an Italian animal dealer and explorer. Casanova transported the animals that he had bought from Sudan north to Suez, and then across the Mediterranean Sea to Trieste." Jumbo and Matthew Scott giving a ride to children in London Zoo "This collection was sold to Gottlieb Christian Kreutzberg's "Menagerie Kreutzberg" in Germany. Soon after, the elephant was imported to France and kept in the Paris zoo Jardin des Plantes. In 1865, he was transferred to the London Zoo and arrived on 26 June. In the following years, Jumbo became a crowd favorite due to his size and would give rides to children on his back, including those of Queen Victoria. While in London, Jumbo broke both tusks and when they regrew, he ground them down against the stonework of his enclosure. His keeper in London was Matthew Scott, whose 1885 autobiography details his life with Jumbo."