From boxing to fasting to fighting, some elephants knew how to go down in history

    All of us know and love Jumbo, but there are quite a few other elephants that have made their mark on history. For example, Pope Leo X had a white pet elephant, Hanno, a gift from King Manuel I of Portugal. Hanno became the Pope's favorite pet. He inspired art, poetry and political satire in the early 1500s. Unfortunately, he died after he became sick and was treated with gold-enriched laxatives.
    But from Disney's Dumbo to an elephant-shaped skyscraper in Bangkok, it is clear that even today, elephants are influential and adored outside of Tufts.

The Circus
    Let's begin with Jumbo and his homeboys: the circus elephants. Each day, Tufts tour guides narrate P.T. Barnum's account of how Jumbo heroically sacrificed his own life to save the circus's dwarf elephant from an incoming train.
    Alumna Susan Wilson (J '79, G '75) wrote in a 2002 Tufts Magazine article about how Jumbo enchanted "children on both sides of the Atlantic and ... ‘Jumbomania' became the watchword of the day. In both England and America, savvy merchants began manufacturing and hawking ‘Jumbo' products to the ravenous public."
    "It's important to note that "jumbo" was not an English word in 1861. It was this African elephant who brought that term to our language, not vice versa," Wilson wrote.
    Lalla Rookh of Dan Rice's circus was the first elephant in the U.S. to consistently perform a head stand and was known for her tightrope walking ability. In 1860, she impressed the public by swimming across the Ohio River.
    Old Bet, America's first circus elephant, was shot and killed by an angry farmer who thought it was sinful that poor people were paying money to watch an elephant perform. The Elephant Hotel, now municipal offices for Somers, New York, was built as a memorial for Old Bet.
    Half a century later, Old John, a circus elephant famous for his boxing performances, made a 53-mile pilgrimage from Madison Square Garden to lay a wreath at Old Bet's grave.

Elephants at War
    Though their tightrope trips may interest audiences, elephants have historically played important roles as human sidekicks, especially during times of war. Their size and weight, trampling force, and ability to cross difficult terrain made them very valuable in early war tactics. In fact, elephants were used in war until the end of the 19th century, when cannon warfare made them easy to target and knock down.
    "One of the most famous occasions goes back to ancient history ... India's war elephants played a major role in stopping Alexander the Great in his expansions and conquests," Professor of History Peter Winn said.
    After he halted his advance into India, Alexander the Great quickly took in war elephants of his own and introduced the practice in Europe. The Carthaginian military commander Hannibal was known for using war elephants and led 37 of them to cross the Rhone and attack Rome in 218 BC. In his book "Origines," Roman historian Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder mentioned that Surus was the bravest elephant in Hannibal's army. In the 1950s, British engineer John Hoyte studied this unbelievable feat in detail by retracing Hannibal's march across the Alps with a female elephant also named Jumbo.

Colossal Gifts
    As exotic and valuable animals, elephants were also exchanged throughout history as presents between rulers. Elephant Abul-Abbas was Charlemagne's luxury-pet-turned-war-weapon and was a gift from Caliph Harun al-Rashid in 797.
    In the 1500s, Suleyman the African elephant was a gift from the King of Portugal to the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Similar to Pope Leo X's elephant, Suleyman inspired songs and folklore during his time.

Religious Elephants
    Elephants also played a role in religion and, to this day, continue to be prevalent in Asian cultures and religions. The Guimet Museum in Paris has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia. From the South Chinese elephant-shaped Zun ritual vessel to a Burmese depiction of an elephant offering, many pieces on display reflect the cultural and religious connections to elephants.
    In 1987, Francis Clines in The New York Times wrote about Raja, "the most celebrated elephant in Asia." Raja annually led a holy procession in Sri Lanka, carrying the country's national treasure: the Tooth Relic of Buddha.

Unique Tails
    Moving past the royalty and the religious, there are some quirky elephants that are also definitely worth mentioning. Batyr lived in a zoo in Kazakhstan and was reportedly able to imitate animal sounds and speak about 20 short phrases in Russian and Kazakh. It is said that in 1980, a recording of Batyr saying "Batyr is good," "Batyr is hungry," and other phrases was played on Kazakhstan's state radio.
    Gajarajan Guruvayoor Kesavan was a beloved elephant in Kerala, India. Kesavan was known for his devout behavior. The story goes that he fasted on the day of his death and dropped down facing the direction of the temple with his trunk raised in a position of submissiveness to the divine. The 1977 Malayalam feature film "Guruvayoor Kesavan" documents the elephant's life.
    Switching gears, here is a more morbid elephant history lesson to ponder: Mary the elephant was the first and only elephant to ever be executed. She was hanged by the neck from a railcar-mounted industrial crane. The execution was a sensation and sparked many animal abuse discussions. As recently as February 2009, The Captive Animals' Protection Society published an article probing the details behind Mary's execution.
    "It happened in my home state of Tennessee, USA, and it remains one of the more enigmatic folktales of the Southeastern United States," Mike Jaynes, the author of the article, wrote.
    And finally, some elephant food for thought: The zoo in Paris's Jardin des Plantes was created after the French Revolution to house the ex-king's exotic animals. According to popular belief, the twin elephants, Castor and Pollux, were the zoo's most popular animals and the pride of Paris back in the mid-1800s. However, during the Prussian Siege of Paris in 1870, people were so starved that they ended up eating Castor and Pollux and auctioning off the body parts.
    "Trunks sold for 45 fr. a lb.; the other parts of the interesting twins fetched about 10 fr. a lb," Henry Labouchère wrote in his "Diary of the Besieged Resident in Paris."
    As a brief history lesson shows, there are plenty of other elephants to appreciate aside from Jumbo. Bon appetit.