Beasts of Prestige. Elephants in the Saint Petersburg Imperial Menagerie in the Long 19th Century (1796-1917)

0575723 - EÚ 2024 eng A - Abstract
Szczygielska, Marianna - Fedotova, A.
Beasts of Prestige. Elephants in the Saint Petersburg Imperial Menagerie in the Long 19th Century (1796-1917).
[European Society for Environmental History Conference. Bern, 22.08.2023-26.08.2023]
Method of presentation: Prezentace
Event organizer: European Society for Environmental History
URL events: https://www.eseh2023.unibe.ch/ 
Institutional support: RVO:68378076
Keywords : zoological gardens * elephant managment * imperial Russia * diplomatic gifts * wildlife trade * animal welfare * captive care
OECD category: Antropology, ethnology

Between 1796 and 1896 a total of nine elephants arrived in Saint Petersburg. These precious pachyderms were sent to the tsar and his heir as diplomatic gifts by dignitaries from Persia, Bukhara, Ceylon, and Abyssinia. The first arrivals were accommodated in the so-called Hunting Yard, but later a special elephant enclosure was built for them at the Tsarskoye Selo imperial residence. A host of dedicated caretakers and veterinarians attended to the needs of each animal. As tokens of prestige, these elephants were pampered rather than enslaved (Robbins 2002). Many of them continued to serve as valuable gifts even after their death since their bodies were donated to zoological museums. In this paper we explore the regimes of keeping and caring for elephants in the capital of the Russian Empire in the long nineteenth century. We start with discussing the logistics of moving the large mammals from South and Central Asia to North-Eastern Europe. Based on archival records, we follow the lives of these nine elephants, as well as people hired as their keepers to reconstruct the conditions of caring for these animal gifts. By focusing on the elephants’ diets, their veterinary care and welfare, we analyze the production and circulation of knowledge about keeping elephants in imperial Russia. We do so in order to compare elephant captivity in the imperial menagerie with the conditions available for these animals in public zoological gardens and menageries. This comparison will highlight the role of political patronage and resources in captive elephants’ management beyond western colonialism.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0345892