Maharajah
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in United Kingdom

Biography
dead elephant ☨ ♂ Maharajah  dead elephant


Taxidermy locationManchester Museum, Manchester, United Kingdom

Identification


Description

Species:Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:Male ♂ 17 years old
Origin
Born:* 1865 wild
Birth place: in Asia unspecified location
Death
Dead: 1882
Death location: Belle Vue Zoological Gardens
Death reason: disease: pneumonia
Locations - owners
Present / last location:Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, in United Kingdom

Date of arrival

1872-00-00Belle Vue Zoological Gardens
from Wombwells Travelling Menagerie

1872-00-00Wombwells Travelling Menagerie
from Wombwells Menagerie No.1

Wombwells Menagerie No.1
from Bostock & Wombwells Menagerie (Wombwell No.2 menagerie)

Record history
History of updates2024-03-06

Latest document update2022-09-28 12:02:03
Relevant literature
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† Maharajah is a dead Male ♂ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 1882 at Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, in United Kingdom, . Official death reason described as pneumonia.

Museum locationThe Museum specimen remains of this animal is within the collection at Manchester Museum, in Manchester, United Kingdom, since 1941-00-00.


Affiliated people

1: Lorenzo Lawrence (head-keeper to 1882)



Origin

Maharajah was born wild 1865 at Asia unspecified location.


Comments / pictures

By 1870 Jennison had handed over the running of the Gardens to his sons, with the majority of the work being handled by eldest son George. Under his direction, in 1871 the zoo became the proud owner of its first four giraffes, and the following year a new elephant arrived, Maharajah, who became one of Belle Vue's most famous attractions. He was purchased for £680 from an Edinburgh zoo called Wombwell's Menagerie No.1, when it was closed down.

The initial plan was to transport Maharajah from Edinburgh to Manchester by train, but this idea was abandoned after the elephant destroyed the railway compartment he was intended to travel in. It was decided that Maharajah and his trainer, Lorenzo, should walk to Manchester, which they completed in ten days with little incident. "Lorenzo", whose real name was Lorenzo Lawrence, subsequently became the head elephant-keeper and stayed at Belle Vue for over 40 years.

Maharajah in Belle Vue Zoological Gardens
In line with the Jennison tenet that everything should earn its keep, Maharajah was not left just to look good in an enclosure and get free meals and for ten years he provided "elephant rides" to the public. He also took part in Whitsuntide street processions and there were reports that he was co-opted into grinding coffee and pulling carts of meat and bricks. Maharaja died of pneumonia in 1882 and in order not to waste a free opportunity, his Skeleton was preserved and added to the Garden's Natural History Museum as a large display six years later. Subsequently, in 1941, when the Natural History Museum was decommissioned, the skeleton, along with some other exhibits, was transferred to the Manchester Museum.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL).
It uses material from the Wikipedia article " Maharajah
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in United Kingdom"
.

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2024). Maharajah, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in United Kingdom. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 29 March 2024 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=4599. (archived at the Wayback machine)


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Categories1882 deaths | Manchester Museum Taxidermy | 1865 births | Elephants from Belle Vue Zoological Gardens | United Kingdom | Asian elephants


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