A magical blend of true story and popular science, "Jumbo" is the wonderful, colourful biography of the greatest elephant ever known. Born in Africa in 1863, Jumbo was orphaned by ivory-hunters, 'rescued' and taken to France. Mistaken for a runt, he was sold to London Zoo, where he became the favourite of the British populace, from Queen Victoria to the young Winston Churchill - until, talent-spotted by the American circus-owner P.T. Barnum, and despite public outcry and Royal protestations, he was taken across the Atlantic to New York. There, having once more conquered public hearts and now a beast of giant proportions, he 'befriended' a smaller elephant, Tom Thumb - in saving whose life he was to meet a tragic end.This book not only unravels the story, but also looks at Jumbo from a zoologist's point of view. Why was he thought to be a runt? What helped or hindered him in adapting to unfamiliar surroundings from one hemisphere to the other? How was he likely to have reacted to the overwhelming public attention - and to isolation from his natural habitat? The author draws illuminatingly on modern knowledge of elephant behaviour and biology to shed light on the mysteries surrounding Jumbo's life....

Jumbo was a superstar of the Victorian era. Every day tens of thousands of people would visit this adored animal known as “the Children’s Pet” at the London Zoo. When P.T. Barnum purchased him for his Greatest Show on Earth, Jumbo’s transport to the United States made headlines for weeks. In North America, Jumbo became an instant sensation, and his name entered our lexicon as an adjective for oversized things. A half century after his death his still-famous and unrivalled popularity was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Dumbo.
But the story behind the story is more gripping than one could possibly imagine. Jumbo’s moving and surprisingly complex relationship with a junior zookeeper named Matthew Scott is told here for the first time using newly discovered archival material, including Scott’s own diaries. Chambers’ compelling account of Jumbo’s secret history enhances an already magnificent legend....