This is a president and the elephant he killed. Teddy Roosevelt killed 512 animals in a single
hunting trip. A lion. Like this one — and eight others.
Five common elands, and, oh, a crocodile.
He and his son Kermit killed all of them, and 497 more, on one trip
in 1909. These days, a lot of people aren’t fans
of big hunting trips. So if you made
historical figures explain themselves, how would Teddy Roosevelt defend his massive
kill list? He might say
he explained it all in his 1910 book on the subject.
when he went on the safari, just after his Presidency, he was a conservationist.
He and Kermit only kept 12 animals for themselves and the rest
were eaten or used in a museum. The trip wasn’t for fun — it was sponsored
by the Smithsonian, and they collected more than 11,000 specimens
for science. That’s simply how conservation worked, and
safaris like his were the best way to share animals with the world.
After all, scientists thought the mountain gorilla was a myth until the early 1900s —
so people had a lot to learn. He even wrote that, "game butchery is as objectionable
as any other form of wanton cruelty or barbarity." Still, TR’’s kill list was massive, and
it’s hard for modern conservationists to understand killing 15 zebras.
He also said that creeping after game, “made our veins thrill.”
That leaves it up to you: did TR explain himself? Or was his kill list is an indictment?