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Rajah the Elephant - Auckland Museum

Rajah the Elephant - Auckland Museum Rajah was a bull Indian Elephant, purchased by Auckland Zoo for 125 pounds from Hobart Zoo, who arrived in November 1930, aged 13. He meaured 8 foot 3 (~2.5m) tall, and 9 foot 4 (2.8m~) long. He was a constant source of trouble, and was never trusted by staff. Eventually, his keeper became unable to control him, and he was shot on 9 March 1936. It appears Auckland Zoo was duped by Hobart Zoo, who had previously offered Rajah free to an Australian circus, which had refused due to his unruly behaviour. His untrustworthiness was attributed to not being preoperly cared for in Hobart, and an occassion (also in Hobart) where a visitor passed him a lighted cigarette, burning his trunk. Following his death, Rajah was given to Auckland Zoo, where he was mounted by the taxidermist Charles Dover. He has been on show there ever since, and is in reasonable condition. Info from A Tiger by the Tail: A history of Auckland Zoo 1922-1992 (1992). By Derek Wood.

Rajah the Elephant - Auckland Museum
zooboy28, 21 Oct 2012
    • zooboy28
      Rajah the Elephant - Auckland Museum

      Rajah was a bull Indian Elephant, purchased by Auckland Zoo for 125 pounds from Hobart Zoo, who arrived in November 1930, aged 13. He meaured 8 foot 3 (~2.5m) tall, and 9 foot 4 (2.8m~) long. He was a constant source of trouble, and was never trusted by staff. Eventually, his keeper became unable to control him, and he was shot on 9 March 1936.

      It appears Auckland Zoo was duped by Hobart Zoo, who had previously offered Rajah free to an Australian circus, which had refused due to his unruly behaviour. His untrustworthiness was attributed to not being preoperly cared for in Hobart, and an occassion (also in Hobart) where a visitor passed him a lighted cigarette, burning his trunk.

      Following his death, Rajah was given to Auckland Zoo, where he was mounted by the taxidermist Charles Dover. He has been on show there ever since, and is in reasonable condition.

      Info from A Tiger by the Tail: A history of Auckland Zoo 1922-1992 (1992). By Derek Wood.
      21 Oct 2012
    • FBBird
      Rajah the Elephant

      It seems to have been almost routine to destry maturing bull elephants in the good old days, as soon as they started to try out their strenght. If protected contact had been invented then, perhaps they would have survived. The difficulty with free contact for maturing bulls is they can't test their strength/social skills on humans withoput thingsgoing badly wrong. And before anyone asks, this is all speculation, I've never worked with elephants.
      21 Oct 2012
    • Chlidonias
      after Rajah was shot the keepers put up a screen to block the visitors' view, then the body was skinned and butchered, with the meat later fed to the zoo's carnivores.
      24 Oct 2012
    • zooboy28
      Well they leave that off the signs :D

      I'm not surprised though, it would have been a huge waste otherwise. Where did this info come from?
      24 Oct 2012
    • Chlidonias
      from the Evening Post, 9 March 1936
      from the Evening Post, 11 March 1936
      both recorded here: Auckland Zoo Timeline New Version 1
      24 Oct 2012
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  • Category:
    Auckland War Memorial Museum
    Uploaded By:
    zooboy28
    Date:
    21 Oct 2012
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