Barnum Queen
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in United States

Biography

☨ ♀ Barnum Queen

Identification


Description
Species:	Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:	Female ♀ maybe about 48 years old (estimated age)
Origin
Born:	* 1894? wild
Birth place:	in Asia unspecified location
Death
Dead:	†1942?
Death reason:	unknown:
Locations - owners
Present / last location:	Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, in United States

Date of arrival

	Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from Sparks Circus

1923-00-00	Sparks Circus from Carl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Stellingen)

1921-04-00	Carl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Stellingen) from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

1919-00-00	Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from Barnum & Bailey Circus

1894-00-00	Barnum & Bailey Circus from Carl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Neue Pferdemarkt)

	Carl Hagenbecks Tierpark (Neue Pferdemarkt) from Firma Carl Hagenbeck

Record history
History of updates	2025-04-01: direction, staff

Latest document update	2025-03-30 19:21:25

† Barnum Queen is a dead Female ♀ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 1942? at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, in United States, .

Origin

Barnum Queen was born wild 1894? at Asia unspecified location.

Comments / pictures

Apr death year, as well as arrival at Barnum from Hagenbeck 1904.

Records about Barnum Queen from William "Buckles" Woodcocks Blog at http://www.bucklesw.blogspot.com/
This elephant had been imported by the Barnum Show in the mid 1890's, she was included in the Herd that made the European tour, sold back to the Hagenbeck Zoo in April of 1921 along with Jess, Mary and "Vanita" for replenishment of the zoo's stock after WW1 and surprisingly made her fifth crossing of the Atlantic Ocean when purchased by Charlie Sparks in 1923. She is probably best remembered as the "surrogate" mother to the African "pygmies" imported by RBBB in 1936. [...] She was imported to Barnum & Bailey about 1894 and later made the 5 year European Tour with that show. After WW1 she and three more elephants were sold to the Hagenbeck Zoo to replenish their supply of animals and ironically made a fifth crossing of the Atlantic Ocean when purchased by Charlie Sparks in 1923.
I have no further record of her after 1942."

William "Buckles" Woodcock

This performance really did make John Ringling whistle, and our wonderfully trained eighteen polar bears, twelve Bengal tigers and the exotic item with fourteen zebras and camels also pleased him mightily. In due course he wrote us a handsome cheque, in addition transferring to us four elephants out of his American herd, which by steady purchasing in these years since we last met he had built up to some ninety animals.
Animals Are My Life, by Lorenz Hagenbeck

The other three elephants were Veneda, Jess, and Mary. (Maybe this Mary)

Records about Barnum Queen from William "Buckles" Woodcocks Blog at http://www.bucklesw.blogspot.com/
From Buckles Woodcocks blog:
Barnum Queen in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Barnum Queen in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

William "Buckles" Woodcock

Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). Barnum Queen, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in United States. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 6 April 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=1975. (archived at the Wayback machine)