Can you guess which were the most unusual pets in history?
Pets are cute, heartwarming creatures, and most importantly, valuable companions. We don’t know exactly when people started keeping pets or what the first pets were, but we do know that they have done so for thousands of years now.
In today’s world, almost everybody has pets. In our country, for example, 66% of households own a pet or two. Of course, cats and dogs are among the most popular, but parakeets or fish are also preferred.
Can you believe that back in the day our ancestors used to keep wolves as pets? Sheesh, if that scares you, then be ready to meet some of the most unusual pets that celebrities used to keep in their homes.
Tycho Brahe and his elk
The life of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who is frequently regarded as the best observational astronomer of the pretelescopic era, was quite colorful and very interesting as well. He got into a fight over a mathematical formula and lost his nose.
He was the caregiver of Jepp, a psychic dwarf. If this wasn’t enough, he adopted an elk for a pet—some sources claim it was a moose that was its companion to all banquets and feasts.
Sadly, during one of these feasts, the elk consumed too much beer and fell down the castle stairs, killing it.
Lord Byron and his bear
If Brahe seemed to have an acquired taste when it came to pets, how do you feel about Lord Byron, who decided to adopt a bear as a pet?
One of the greatest poets in English history and a key figure in the Romantic movement, Lord Byron was widely known for being eccentric and flamboyant.
In the early 1800s, he was told that he could not keep his pet dog while attending Trinity College in Cambridge because dogs were not permitted on campus.
He wouldn’t want to let the situation be like this, so what did he do? Since there were no laws prohibiting the keeping of such an animal, he went out and got himself a tame bear.
He even attempted to enroll the bear as a student, but the application was denied, and he would take it for walks around the college grounds. Indeed, this one is among the most unusual pets in history!
Josephine Bonaparte and her orangutan
Of all the historical figures, we couldn’t overlook Josephine, Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, who also had an odd taste in pets.
An orangutan that was treated like a human was her personal favorite. The orangutan was allowed to eat with them! Naturally, the animal was dressed in a white shirt to impress the guests, who also liked the animal due to its wonderful behavior.
Besides the orangutan, she also owned a dog and some unusual pets, a flock of exotic birds.
Salvador Dalí’s Ocelot
There is no possible way; you’re unfamiliar with the one and only Salvador Dali and his amazing, fancy moustache.
He was known for being a flamboyant and eccentric figure in the artistic scene of the time, and perhaps it’s not that weird that he had an ocelot as a pet.
The adorable ocelot was a gift from the president of Colombia, and its name was Babou. Dali loved it so much that he took Babou everywhere, securely kept on a leash and wearing a studded collar.
Josephine Baker and her cheetah
French dancer and singer Josephine Baker, who was born in the United States, grew in popularity in Paris during the 1920s. In addition, she was the first Black woman to play a lead role in a major motion picture.
She is also known as one of those celebrities who had unusual pets because she adopted a cheetah named Chiquita to be her “co-star” whenever she was performing on stage. With her diamond collar and her habit of jumping into the conductor’s pit during performances, Chiquita ascended to fame on her own.
Gérard de Nerval and his lobster
The later surrealist and symbolist movements were greatly influenced by the French Romantic poet Gérard de Nerval.
He was frequently spotted strolling through the Paris Palais-Royal with his pet lobster, Thibault, on the end of a blue silk ribbon. He said, “I have affection for lobsters,” in response to a question concerning his odd pet. They are calm, solemn, and knowledgeable about the sea’s mysteries.
Audrey Hepburn and her deer
Audrey Hepburn and a baby deer named Pippin (or “Ip,” as she called it) had to work together while filming the 1959 adventure romance Green Mansions.
For the sake of the film, Hepburn was persuaded to take care of the baby, and the two quickly became super close. She shared a bed with the deer, fed it from a baby bottle, and even took it to parties and shopping with her.
Hepburn was devastated to have to part ways with Ip after filming; therefore, she adopted the deer as a pet.
Marquis de Lafayette and his American alligator
In 1825 Lafayette brought his pet gator with him to the White House, and the reptile was temporarily housed in a bathtub in the East Room.
Naturally, the presence of the gator was, to put it mildly, unsettling to practically everyone in the White House, especially in the early days when people would unexpectedly enter the restroom and experience a major surprise.
Yet, according to some people, Quincy Adams thought the situation to be quite humorous. However, the gator left the White House with Lafayette, who took his strange pet with him.
Teddy Roosevelt and his multiple unusual pets
Theodore Roosevelt’s family brought an army of pets into the White House when he took office in 1901. Bill the lizard, Eli Yale the blue macaw, Baron Spreckle the hen, Maude the pig, a one-legged rooster, a barn owl, and several guinea pigs, including Admiral Dewey and Fighting Bob Evans, were among them.
On top of that, the Roosevelts also had a hyena named Bill, a small black bear named Jonathan Edwards, and a badger named Josiah as pets. Isn’t that cute? A true animal lover!
Calvin Coolidge and his raccoon
A live raccoon was sent to President Calvin Coolidge by some of his supporters in November 1926 so that the first family could slaughter it and consume it for Thanksgiving dinner.
Of course that didn’t happen because the Coolidge family chose to keep the animal as a pet rather than sacrifice it. After giving it the name Rebecca and building a tiny house for it, they let it roam the White House and its surrounding grounds.
Kirstie Alley and her lemurs
When it comes to odd, exotic pets, Kirstie Alley’s lemurs are the best, especially after it was revealed that she has fourteen of them.
Of course, everybody asked why. In a recent interview, she said that she started out having lemurs because they are great animals, and she was also interested in conservation in Madagascar.
Since Los Angeles and Madagascar have similar climate types, it is very easy to take care of lemurs and give them everything they need.
Are you new to the page? Then you might want to check out another article about facts, this time around about Martin Luther King Jr.
