Jumbo

Jumbo
Jumbo and his keeper Matthew Scott
(Circus poster, c. 1882)
SpeciesAfrican bush elephant
SexMale
Born(1860-12-25)December 25, 1860[1]
Sudan
DiedSeptember 15, 1885(1885-09-15) (aged 24)
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Resting placeVarious
OccupationZoo and circus attraction
Years active1862–1885 in captivity
Owner
Weight6.15 metric tons (6.78 short tons)[2]
Height3.23 m (10 ft 7 in)[2] 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m) as promoted by Barnum
Cause of deathRailway accident

Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then transferred in 1865 to London Zoo in England. Despite public protest, Jumbo was sold to P. T. Barnum, who took him to the United States for exhibition in March 1882.

The giant elephant's name spawned the common word "jumbo", meaning large in size.[3] Examples of his lexical impact are phrases like "jumbo jet", "jumbo shrimp," and "jumbotron." Jumbo's shoulder height has been estimated to have been 3.23 metres (10 ft 7 in) at the time of his death,[2] and was claimed to be about 4 m (13 ft 1 in) by Barnum.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chambers(2008) was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Larramendi, A. (2016). "Shoulder height, body mass and shape of proboscideans" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61. doi:10.4202/app.00136.2014. S2CID 2092950.
  3. ^ "Jumbo (adj.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 27 December 2013.

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