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A Man and His Menagerie. By: Burkhardt Jr., Richard W., Natural History, 00280712, Feb2001, Vol.
110, Issue 1

 
Academic Search Premier

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"The menageries that have existed up to the present have always been regarded as institutions of
extravagance rather than institutions of utility." So wrote Frederic Cuvier in 1804, introducing his
guidebook to the new menagerie of the National Museum of 


 in Paris. No one in
France at the time would have doubted his claim. The royal menagerie at Versailles, established in
the seventeenth century by Louis XIV, had long been notorious for its wastefulness, and just prior to
the Revolution, while the French people struggled to keep themselves from starving, it was alleged
that a dromedary (some said an elephant) at Versailles was treated to six bottles of burgundy a day.

What would a truly useful menagerie be like? This question arose in the early years of the
Revolution, at the same time that the future of the old Jardin et Cabinet du Roi (the king's botanical
garden and 

 collection) hung in the balance. Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-
Pierre--an author, a forerunner of the French romantic movement, and director of the garden from
1791 to 1793--suggested that a menagerie would allow one to observe the behavior of living
animals, to acclimatize beneficial species from foreign lands, to cross domestic races, and to study
the affinities between humans and animals. It would also serve a diplomatic function. When the
powers of Africa and Asia made gifts of wild animals to the French nation (as was their custom),
explained Bernardin, France had to be prepared to receive them properly. Killing the animals, or
letting them die, and then exhibiting their skins or skeletons was obviously unacceptable. Bernardin
therefore proposed that a new menagerie be established at the Jardin des Plantes (the politically
expedient name for the place now that kings were out of style).

In June 1793, by decree of the revolutionary government, the Jardin des Plantes and the Cabinet
d'Histoire Naturelle were reconstituted as the Museum of 


. Its structure was
democratic, its purposes utilitarian. Five months later, a menagerie became part of the
establishment--but not as a direct result of Bernardin's earlier suggestions or of initiatives by the
museum's new professor-administrators. During the Revolution and for decades before it, some
people had made a living by exhibiting exotic animals on the streets of Paris. On November 3, 1793,
the Paris police department, citing public safety, ordered that such animals be confiscated and
"conducted right away to the Jardin des Plantes" It came as a complete surprise to the museum's
professors when the police appeared at their gates the following day escorting a polar bear, a
panther, a civet, a monkey, and the animals' ex-owner, who demanded to be compensated for his
animals (and hired to care for them). Two days later, the professors found themselves confronting
another polar bear, two mandrills, two agoutis, a tiger, a vulture, two eagles, and two more animal
proprietors, who, like the first, were retained to care for the animals. The animals were kept in their
cages and sheltered in an empty carriage house.

Other animals soon arrived in similar fashion, and the next spring, the four creatures still living at the
Versailles menagerie--a lion, a dog that was the lion's companion, a quagga (a now-extinct relative
of the zebra), and a spiral-horned African antelope called a bubalis or a cow of Barbary--were also
transferred to Paris. While the antelope died almost immediately from injuries sustained during the
move, the fraternal relations of the lion and the dog were presented to the public as a moral lesson
in how a ferocious beast could, under the proper circumstances, come to live in harmony with an
animal of another species.

From the beginning, the new menagerie was a great attraction to the public. For the professor-
administrators of the museum, however, it was an ongoing headache. Both the animals and the
animal keepers seemed to need a full-time supervisor. The worst offender was Felix Cassal,
controversial guardian of les animaux feroces. Cassal was finally sacked in 1803 after scheming to
have a fellow worker killed. Simultaneously (though independently), the professors agreed to create
a new post within the museum hierarchy--garde (superintendent) of the menagerie--and chose
Frederic Cuvier for the position. Then thirty years old, Cuvier had a minor reputation as a chemist
and some experience as a naturalist. Also (and certainly figuring significantly in his selection), he
was the younger brother of Georges Cuvier, the museum's famous professor of comparative
m mtomy m
o e of the most powerful scie tists i Nmpoleo c Frm ce. All mt o ce, Fre
erc Cuver
fou
helf occupy  m plmce thmt hm
ever before exte
 the worl
of „
 
:
ce tfc uper te
e t of m mto ml, publc zoo.

Htorcmlly, whmt  pmtculmly  teet  mbout Cuve' ew pot  thmt t coplcmte
m o o 

ebmte mo  mtuml htom  ove who wm bet tumte
to pemk muthotmtvely mbout the
pocee m
po
uct of mtue. The
ebmte mue

ffee t fo 
ffee t co text, but
otly t wm wme
betwee fel
mtumlt o the o e hm
m
cmb et mtumlt, o ueu
pecmlt, o the othe. Cmb et mtumlt (Geoe Cuve, fo exmple) m tm e
thmt o ly by
wok  wth collecto  of peeve
pece  coul
o e ytemtcmlly copme the vmou
po
uct of mtue m
m m full u
etm
  of the lmte m

ffee ce mo  the.
Fel
mtumlt, by co tmt, p
e
theelve o the fmlmty wth lv  m ml m
plm t
tu
e
 the om ' mtuml ett . Fe
ec Cuve fou
helf occupy  m pot thmt wth
epect to thee two cmp wm ethe fh o fowl. U lke m fel
mtumlt, he woul
be obev 
h m ml wth the co f e of m etopoltm zoo; u lke m cmb et mtumlt, he woul
hmve the
tmk of cm  fo m
tu
y  m ml thmt wee mlve m
kck --m
 oe cme qute

m eou.

I
ee
, Cuve' ew job

ot poe to be emy. Now the um
m of oe thm m hu
e

mml m
emly m m y b
, Cuve hm
vtumlly o plmce to tu fo u
m ce. Who k ew
whmt ot of helte cemtue fo othe clmte ee
e
to uvve  othe Euope? How wm
o e to fee
the m
keep the  oo
hemlth? A le m
e lme te
 h 1804 u
ebook,
"Thee  pmctcmlly o wmy of epo
  to thee queto  m
m hu
e
othe lke the.
Noth  hm bee wtte , emly oth  hm bee ee , eveyth  em  to be
o e." (He wm
o
oubt exmemt  lhtly, but hmv  helf
ece
the wmteful oyml e mee of the pmt,
he wm ot
poe
to m
t thmt ueful th  ht hmve bee lem e
mt uch plmce m Vemlle
o the Scho bu m ml pmk  Ve m.)

He 
ee
hm
uch to lem . Thm k to the effot of mtumlt voyme, mvml offce, colo ml
m
 tmto, echm t, m
othe tmvele, m ml of mll hmpe m
ze woul
co t ue to
mve mt the e mee. Fo Noth Aecm cme quel m
mccoo , bem m
bo , emle
m
m elk. Fo othe co e of the lobe cme cockmtoo, km moo, ebl, jmum, pmot,
pm the, tutle
ove, tmp, m
ll, o ooe, m
oe.

Beyo
the queto of cm  fo thee exotc cemtue wm the ue of whethe m yth  of vmlue
to „
 
 coul
be lem e
by tu
y  m ml  cmptvty. Mm y mtumlt
oubte
t,
but Fe
ec Cuve, the foe tu
e t of chety, mue
thmt e mee coul
be fo zoolot
whmt lmbomtoe wee fo chet. I o e of h ot opttc oe t, he uete
thmt zoo
tu
e ht o e
my e
e fel
tu
e u ecemy. Hmv  lem e
the e eml fmculte m


poto  of m m ml fo tu
y  t  cmptvty, he m
, the mtumlt woul
be mble to

ete e "eve  m
vm ce" how othe of t pece woul
mct  the mtve uou
 .

A ube of obtmcle too
 the wmy of the you e Cuve' plm , howeve. Fo o e th , the
ueu wm u by t pofeo, m
ot o ly wm Fe
ec Cuve ot m pofeo, but h bothe
Geoe m
ve
h thmt mp  to becoe o e woul
be  mppopmte m lo  m Geoe
em e
m pofeo thee. Occupy  the poto of upe te
e t, Fe
ec lmcke
the muthoty
to
evelop m
temch m coue o h ubject. I m

to , he wm offcmlly ubo
 mte to Ete e
Geoffoy Sm t-Hlme, the ueu' pofeo of b
 m
mml, wth who h elmto hp
poevely
eteomte

u  the 1820--m cmumlty of clmhe betwee Geoffoy m
the el
e
Cuve ove Geoffoy' bol
clm thmt mll m ml wee bult o m  le plm .

The lv  co
to  of the m ml  the e mee mlo poe
poble fo Fe
ec Cuve. The
qumte wee ofte o co f   m
the
mly out e o o oto ou thmt the m ml fmle
to

plmy the full m e of the hmbt o mblte. Wt  of the e mee' mccoo , fo exmple,
Cuve mck owle
e
thmt to k ow whmt they wee fully cmpmble of, "t woul
be ecemy to ee
the u
e othe co
to , thmt  to my uffce tly fee m
u
e ccutm ce uffce tly

vee, o the fmculte coul
be  oe emue
evelope
."

Eve whe o e of the m ml
plmye
 teet  behmvo, keep  t mlve lo  e ouh to tu
y t
thoouhly wm feque tly m poble--mt lemt fo Cuve. The
emth of m e mee m ml wm
mely peceve
m m etbmck by the ueu' othe zoolot,  ce the wok bem whe they
wee pee te
wth cemtue thmt wee o lo e lv . Demth mt the e mee wee m mjo
ouce of pece  fo the cmb et of copmmtve m mtoy m
„
 
. A fo bth,
thee wee temue
eve t; m y exotc pece
plmye
m eluctm ce to mte o fmle
to
epo
uce u
e the co
to  of cmptvty.

U
etee
by the poble co fo t  h, Cuve em e
opttc, mbtou eve , co v ce

thmt the tu
y of lv  m ml  the e mee hm
uch to otte. He beleve
thmt t houl
be
poble to tu
y ot o ly uch topc m hyb
zmto m
mcclmtzmto but mlo queto  of

evelope t, uch m how ewbo m ml
t uh object mt m
tm ce. He  te
thmt, m
po
uct of the bm , the e tml phe oe m of  t ct m
 telle ce wee jut m uceptble to
expee tmto m wm the fu cto   of m y othe om . Acco
 ly, he et out to tu
y the
e tml cmpmcte of m vmety of m ml.

Cuve' ft uch  vetmto wm of m m ml ot mctumlly co f e
mt the zoo. I 1810 he
publhe
m mccou t of m you  femle om utm he hm
obeve
fo eveml o th  the hoe
of m mtto ey who wm mttept  to ue the cemtue bmck to hemlth fo m mvml offce fe

(the offce hm
bouht the m ml to Pm m m ft fo the Epe Joeph e). Whmt pee

Cuve ot mbout the om utm wm he ccupecto , whch he beleve
wm ecemy becmue
" mtue hm ve the om utm mthe lttle em  of
efe e." She wm m
to hmve exece

co 
emble cmuto whe ft o bom
hp, hol
  tht to l e m
othe mttmche t m the
veel olle
. O ce  Pm, he mcte
 wmy Cuve  tepete
m   of  telle t elf-
efe e.
"Ofte he fou
heelf te
out by the ueou vt he eceve
; the he h
heelf
copletely u
e he blm ket m
o ly cme out fo u
e t mfte the cuou hm
left; he eve


thmt whe he wm uou
e
by people he k ew."

Cuve mlo ce
te
the om utm wth the cmpmcty to e emlze. He obeve
, fo  tm ce, thmt f
he wm te
to tmy  m tee, he woul
hmke the bm che whe oeo e te
to clb up m
et
he. Cuve co clu
e
thmt po expee ce hm
tmuht he thmt the fem of fmll  woul

coume
he puue. Lkewe, whe he ove
m chm  o
e to emch m
ope m lock m
whe he took
cme to cove heelf mt ht, Cuve mw th m he exhbt ,  m

to to the mblty to
e emlze, "the mwme e of m futue ee
."

A pee
m he wm by the om utm ' mblte, Cuve took cme to tmte thmt the mpe wm
uely " ot m m ." Th wm ot m mtte, he  te
, of m y
ffee ce betwee the e e om 
of om utm  m
hum . The om utm , he m
, hm
"e e m ueou m
mt lemt m

elcmte m ou." Cuve m tm e
thmt the e tml fmculte
t uh  the hhe m ml fo
o e m othe
epe
o bm powe m
, lkewe, thmt the bm  "the p cpml cmue of the
 tellectuml qumlte thmt
t uh u fo the m ml."

At the zoo, Cuve mlo tu
e
the  telle ce of eml. He wm tuck both by how em
ly thee
m ml coul
be tm e
m
by the te mcty wth whch they clu  to the hmbt they foe
: "I wm
eve mble to mke the m ml I obeve
emt m y othe pece of fh thm thmt wth whch we ft
fe
the. O e eve wm te
to emt m yth  but he ; m othe mte o ly ole. The ft eve
pefee
mlte
he  to othe feh pece; the eco
mctumlly
e
of hu e becmue we wee
u mble to fee
h ole ow  to the emo ml to thmt tepomly upe
e
fh ."

To  vetmte the elmtve ole of  t ct m
 telle ce  hmp  m ml behmvo, Cuve eme

m ube of bemve  olmto fo othe of the k
. He fou
thmt thee oltmy, u tutoe


v
uml tll
plmye
m  t ctve te
e cy to bul
whe pov
e
wth wllow bm che, tmw,
m
emth. Bemve
m, he
ec
e
, me ot the eult of poject the m ml u
etmke  telle tly
but  tem
me eely "the fut of m 
uty thmt  e tely echm cml."

Cuve wm mlo eme to copme m ml thmt hm
bee uccefully
oetcmte
wth othe thmt
hm
ot. O e of h ubject wm m mle bo e t to Pm fo the U te
Stmte  1819. Bo
hm
bee toute
m excelle t cm

mte fo
oetcmto  Fm ce-- f tely to e thm oxe m
bemt of bu
e m
, whe hyb
ze
wth cow, emt po
uce of lk. Cuve uccee
e

mt  m cow wth the e mee' bo , but the e u  pe m cy cme to m
mtou e
. The
cow uffee
fo eht
my befoe m foce

elvey wm mttepte
. The cmlf
e
 the opemto ;
the cow
e
fou
my lmte. Cuve teely epote
the eult to the pofeo: "The  fm t
eeble
e tely m you  bo ; t hm bee tuffe
."

Hmt  to ee m ml uffe, he eve mttepte
uch m mt  mm . He mlo
ec
e
thmt bo
wee u utmble m fm m ml: evey te o e tu e
o e' bmck o the e mee' bo , t
mttmcke
. Th m
othe expee ce wth m y pece of m ml le
Cuve to co clu
e thmt
hebvoe (epecmlly m
ult mle) me ot by mtue oe e tle thm cm voe m
thmt

oetcmto  poble o ly  pece mlem
y  t ctvely
poe
to ocmblty.

Geoe Cuve
e
u expecte
ly  Mmy 1832 fo m ll e
m oe
m mcute yelt, m
h
poto m pofeo of copmmtve m mtoy wm flle
 m mtte of
my, m wm the ueu'
cuto. Fe
ec wmte
epectfully u tl the e
of July to put fowm
h ow cme, mk  fo the
cemto of m ew pofeohp
evote
to the tu
y of "lv  m ml m
the e
ucmto ." He
offee
the follow  jutfcmto fo h popoml: "S ce I hmve bee  chme of the e mee, mll
y eemche, mll y wok, hmve bee
ecte
p cpmlly towm
the k owle
e of lv  m ml,
towm
the em  of obev  the, of ubtt  the to plm e
expee t  o
e to
u
etm
the lmw of the exte ce, m well m the mtue of the o
fcmto  thee lmw cm
u
eo." Afte fve m
m hmlf yem of  ttuto ml  fht , Fe
ec Cuve eceve
h lo -
mwmte
chm mt the ueu  Decebe 1837. Sm
ly, howeve, o ly eht o th lmte, he
u

e ly becme ll m

e
. H ypto wee uch lke thoe of the
eme thmt hm
klle
h
bothe. O h
emthbe
, Fe
ec, mccutoe
to lv   the hm
ow of h oe fmou bl ,
equete
thmt he be 
e tfe
o h tobto e ply m "bothe of Geoe Cuve."

I the emly 1820 Fe
ec Cuve hm
expee
h  te to to wte m e eml wok o the cmue
of m ml mcto . Such m wok woul
hmve bee  vmlumble, fo o othe mtumlt  the ft hmlf of
the  etee th ce tuy tu
e
mmlm behmvo wth the me cme m
bem
th thmt he

.
U fotu mtely, mt h
emth, h obevmto  em e
cmttee
m
h y the u f he
.
Fe
ec Cuve' po ee  effot to etmblh m ce ce of m ml behmvo fmle
to tmke hol
.

A zoo wee et up  othe cmptml m
mjo ubm ce te--uch m Lo
o (1827), Ate
m
(1838), m
Bel (1844), to me jut m few--the e mee  Pm ceme
to be the wol
' f et
collecto of lv  m ml. Thouh o e of thee othe upme
the Pm zoo of Fe
ec Cuve'

my m m tu
y te (m
mlthouh the ue of whethe t wm bette to tu
y m ml  the wl
o 
cmptvty em e
u eolve
), Cuve wm ot the o ly  etee th-ce tuy zoolot to tmke m
 teet  the behmvo of zoo m ml. I 1838, o ly m few week mfte Fe
ec Cuve'
emth,
Chmle Dmw vte
the Lo
o zoo m
, m he wote  h otebook, "e
emvoue
to clmfy
the expeo  of o key."

Fe
ec Cuve'  teet 

m ml behmvo e copme
mll pece, uch m the Noth Aecm fox quel (oppote
pme), m well m lme.
 rrederic Cuvier

Exotic animals once exhibited by their owners on the

streets of Paris were confiscated and brought to the city's Jardin des Plantes.
 Äarly problems at the zoo included
animal keeper relix Cassal, right, who was fired for planning the murder of one of his coworkers.

Merchants and other travelers sent animals of all sizes and shapes to the menagerie: porcupines and
parrots, tigers and turtledoves, gerbils and jaguars.
ciger

Cuvier was impressed by the trainability of seals, above right, as well as by their behavioral rigidity:
accustomed to eating sole, one animal starved to death rather than eat anything else.
 Šne of the rare and treasured births in the early
days of the Paris zoo was that of a female white-fronted lemur.

Š ening thirty-five years after the Paris zoo, the London zoo roved equally
ar with members

 the bic, incding Chares Darwin.

~~~~~~~~

By Richard W. Brkhardt Jr. s
n

Copyht of Nmtuml Htoy  the popety of Nmtuml Htoy Mmmz e, I c. m
t co te t my ot be cope

o emle
to ultple te o pote
to m ltev wthout the copyht hol
e' expe wtte peo .
Howeve, ue my p t,
ow lom
, o eml mtcle fo 
v
uml ue.