Didn't realise London Museum had a sensitive content policy, so I can't post it for them but here it is anyway.
A sad story about an elephant.
A sad story about an elephant.
October 30, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Didn't realise London Museum had a sensitive content policy, so I can't post it for them but here it is anyway.
A sad story about an elephant.
A sad story about an elephant.
@extracredits.bsky.social / Extra History: "The Origin of Zoos | London After Dark 4 | European History" / #ZoologicalGarden #AnimalCollections #AnimalHusbandry #Elephants #ExtinctInTheWild #Hierakonpolis #Chunee #AnimalCruelty #Conservation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGcT...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGcT...
The Origin of Zoos | London After Dark 4 | European History
YouTube video by Extra History
www.youtube.com
April 20, 2026 at 2:18 AM
@extracredits.bsky.social / Extra History: "The Origin of Zoos | London After Dark 4 | European History" / #ZoologicalGarden #AnimalCollections #AnimalHusbandry #Elephants #ExtinctInTheWild #Hierakonpolis #Chunee #AnimalCruelty #Conservation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGcT...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGcT...
And Chunee got the respectful afterlife he deserved? Well, if you mean being kept in the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons until 1941 when he was reduced to dust when the building was flattened in the Blitz, then, er... yes
March 1, 2026 at 10:27 AM
And Chunee got the respectful afterlife he deserved? Well, if you mean being kept in the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons until 1941 when he was reduced to dust when the building was flattened in the Blitz, then, er... yes
So, then Chunee was allowed to rest in peace? Or got cut into bits, carried out on to the Strand, and “hauled off by an endless caravan of carts, to be delivered to various purveyors of cat’s meat ... an unique meal, consisting of grease, lard, and putrid elephant’s meat”?
No prizes for guessing
No prizes for guessing
March 1, 2026 at 10:26 AM
So, then Chunee was allowed to rest in peace? Or got cut into bits, carried out on to the Strand, and “hauled off by an endless caravan of carts, to be delivered to various purveyors of cat’s meat ... an unique meal, consisting of grease, lard, and putrid elephant’s meat”?
No prizes for guessing
No prizes for guessing
So, poor Chunee finally found dignity in death? No, obviously not. This was the 19th century. They kept charging people to come and see the poor sod where he had fallen – with visitors apparently including Sir Humphry Davy and the Bishop of London
March 1, 2026 at 10:25 AM
So, poor Chunee finally found dignity in death? No, obviously not. This was the 19th century. They kept charging people to come and see the poor sod where he had fallen – with visitors apparently including Sir Humphry Davy and the Bishop of London
So, obviously, they tried to poison him. Chunee happily took several buns, but was too smart to swallow the one full of arsenic. He took no further food, and started bringing down beams and bits of wall again. Keepers armed themselves with swords, and Edward Cross called the army
March 1, 2026 at 10:24 AM
So, obviously, they tried to poison him. Chunee happily took several buns, but was too smart to swallow the one full of arsenic. He took no further food, and started bringing down beams and bits of wall again. Keepers armed themselves with swords, and Edward Cross called the army
The morning after a barrel of ale wasn’t entirely sunny? Remarkable.
By 23rd, Chunee was doing more damage to the den, and owner and keepers worried he’d trash the place so much that he would escape onto London’s streets and take lions, tigers, crocodiles and boa constrictors with him
By 23rd, Chunee was doing more damage to the den, and owner and keepers worried he’d trash the place so much that he would escape onto London’s streets and take lions, tigers, crocodiles and boa constrictors with him
March 1, 2026 at 10:22 AM
The morning after a barrel of ale wasn’t entirely sunny? Remarkable.
By 23rd, Chunee was doing more damage to the den, and owner and keepers worried he’d trash the place so much that he would escape onto London’s streets and take lions, tigers, crocodiles and boa constrictors with him
By 23rd, Chunee was doing more damage to the den, and owner and keepers worried he’d trash the place so much that he would escape onto London’s streets and take lions, tigers, crocodiles and boa constrictors with him
Cross found a new keeper, Richard Carter, and even an American buyer, but couldn’t find (a) a way to get Chunee downstairs, or (b) a ship’s captain willing to transport him. On 20 February 1826, Chunee (Bondeson’s words) “again showed signs of anger and irritation and gored the walls of the den”
March 1, 2026 at 10:20 AM
Cross found a new keeper, Richard Carter, and even an American buyer, but couldn’t find (a) a way to get Chunee downstairs, or (b) a ship’s captain willing to transport him. On 20 February 1826, Chunee (Bondeson’s words) “again showed signs of anger and irritation and gored the walls of the den”
Anyway, by 1825, Chunee had a keeper he liked again, Johann Tietjen, who allowed the elephant to play with the spear he was supposed to use to keep it in line. Sadly, one day while cleaning him, Tietjen told Chunee to turn round, and the beast went too fast, accidentally goring his friend to death
March 1, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Anyway, by 1825, Chunee had a keeper he liked again, Johann Tietjen, who allowed the elephant to play with the spear he was supposed to use to keep it in line. Sadly, one day while cleaning him, Tietjen told Chunee to turn round, and the beast went too fast, accidentally goring his friend to death
By this stage, Edward Cross owned the menagerie, and he and the new keeper hit on the brilliant notion that Chunee’s constipation and hormonal rages could be treated by the same method – yes, obviously: vast quantities of laxative. In the words of Geri Walton:
March 1, 2026 at 10:18 AM
By this stage, Edward Cross owned the menagerie, and he and the new keeper hit on the brilliant notion that Chunee’s constipation and hormonal rages could be treated by the same method – yes, obviously: vast quantities of laxative. In the words of Geri Walton:
This – combined with an infected tusk – caused him to attack his first keeper, Alfred Copps (either in 1815 or 1820, because that’s another thing no one can agree on). Apparently, Copps was rescued by someone who either hit Chunee with a pitchfork or smacked him on the head with a shovel
March 1, 2026 at 10:16 AM
This – combined with an infected tusk – caused him to attack his first keeper, Alfred Copps (either in 1815 or 1820, because that’s another thing no one can agree on). Apparently, Copps was rescued by someone who either hit Chunee with a pitchfork or smacked him on the head with a shovel
Apparently, whoever was on his back looked terrified, and was “holding on for dear life”, but when Chunee was ordered to kneel, he did, and the ‘sultan’ safely dismounted, and it was this success which saw things... go awry
March 1, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Apparently, whoever was on his back looked terrified, and was “holding on for dear life”, but when Chunee was ordered to kneel, he did, and the ‘sultan’ safely dismounted, and it was this success which saw things... go awry
Which sounds more like admirable loyalty and intolerance for bellends than ‘uneven temper’. Either way, the ham shop is a splendid detail, and apparently after several weeks of rehearsal, he went on, with a couple of actors on his back, or possibly a ‘lascar’ (accounts vary)
March 1, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Which sounds more like admirable loyalty and intolerance for bellends than ‘uneven temper’. Either way, the ham shop is a splendid detail, and apparently after several weeks of rehearsal, he went on, with a couple of actors on his back, or possibly a ‘lascar’ (accounts vary)
It was at this time, according to Caroline Grigson (in Menagerie: The History of Exotic Animals in England, 1100-1837) that his “uneven temper” first “became manifest” when one of the sailors who came over with him was walking him from Deptford to Covent Garden for a performance
March 1, 2026 at 10:09 AM
It was at this time, according to Caroline Grigson (in Menagerie: The History of Exotic Animals in England, 1100-1837) that his “uneven temper” first “became manifest” when one of the sailors who came over with him was walking him from Deptford to Covent Garden for a performance
200 years ago today, an elephant died, and not in a dignified manner. The unfortunate ‘Chunee’ had been kept in an upstairs room on the Strand, and was killed because he finally got sick of his confinement and mistreatment and started kicking the shit out of the place 🧵
March 1, 2026 at 10:07 AM
200 years ago today, an elephant died, and not in a dignified manner. The unfortunate ‘Chunee’ had been kept in an upstairs room on the Strand, and was killed because he finally got sick of his confinement and mistreatment and started kicking the shit out of the place 🧵
Poor Chunee. People are such beasts.
March 1, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Poor Chunee. People are such beasts.
Chunee – Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org
May 24, 2026 at 3:09 PM
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October 31, 2024 at 12:18 PM
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Chunee the elephant's death led to public outrage and the founding of the Zoological Society of London in 1826.
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April 29, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Chunee the elephant's death led to public outrage and the founding of the Zoological Society of London in 1826.
In 1826, Bow Street Runner Henry Goddard assisted at the tragic event of a rampaging elephant in the Strand. Chunee was an exhibit kept in terrible conditions in a menagerie. An infected tusk resulted in him breaking up his cage, and Goddard managed the crowds while the poor animal was euthanised.
March 31, 2025 at 11:18 AM
In 1826, Bow Street Runner Henry Goddard assisted at the tragic event of a rampaging elephant in the Strand. Chunee was an exhibit kept in terrible conditions in a menagerie. An infected tusk resulted in him breaking up his cage, and Goddard managed the crowds while the poor animal was euthanised.
1st of March 1776. The famous Indian elephant Chunee was executed at the Exeter Exchange menagerie in London. The event was a significant and widely reported public spectacle due to the difficulty and brutality of the animal's death.
March 1, 2026 at 5:26 AM
1st of March 1776. The famous Indian elephant Chunee was executed at the Exeter Exchange menagerie in London. The event was a significant and widely reported public spectacle due to the difficulty and brutality of the animal's death.