Hans
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) at
Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes in France

Biography
dead elephant ☨ ♂ Hans  dead elephant
Hans displayed as museum specimen.
Hans as museum specimen.


Museum locations
Present / last location:Bourges Museum of Natural History, in France
Date of arrival
1931-07-00Bourges Museum of Natural History, Bourges, France
Identification
Description
Species:Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)
Sex and age:Male ♂ 20 years old
Origin
Born:* 1782 wild
Birth place: in Sri Lanka unspecified location
Capture: 1784
Imported:1784 by Dutch East India Company
Freight:by ship from Ceylon, arriving at the port of Flushing in 1786.
Death
Dead: †1802-02-17
Death reason: disease: pneumonia
Locations - owners
Present / last location:Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes, in France
Date of arrival
1798-03-23Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes
from Het Oude Loo menagerie
1786-07-17Het Oude Loo menagerie
from Het kleine Loo menagerie
1784-00-00Het kleine Loo menagerie
from Dutch East India Company
1784-00-00Dutch East India Company
from Port of Colombo
Port of Colombo
from Sri Lanka unspecified location
Record history
History of updates2021-09-16
Latest document update2021-09-15 14:07:48
Google map

† Hans is a dead Male ♂ Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), , who died 1802-02-17 at Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes, in France, . Official death reason described as pneumonia.

Museum locationThe Museum specimen remains of this animal is within the collection at Bourges Museum of Natural History, in Bourges, France, since 1931-07-00.


Origin

Hans was born wild 1782 at Sri Lanka unspecified location, captured 1784 . and imported 1784 by Dutch East India Company, by ship from Ceylon, arriving at the port of Flushing in 1786.


Comments / pictures

The male elephant Hans is the oldest taxidermized specimen of elephant still in existence in France.

History


Around 1783: Born in Ceylon.
1784: Captured with a female (Parkie) and embarked for Holland
1786: Arrival of the two elephants at the port of Flushing. After a visit to Petit Loo, they are kept at the castle of Het Loo, menagerie of the Stadthouder Guillaume V.
Beginning of 1795: Occupation of Belgium and Holland by French troops. Confiscation of the contents of the Cabinet of Natural History and of the living animals of the Stadthouder menagerie.
June 20, 1796: First attempt to transport elephants from The Hague to Paris. Hans breaks his cage to find Parkie.
12 November 1796:Second attempt to transport the elephants. Hans's cart hangs on the iron gate of the park. Jussieu, in Paris, is in despair, he plans to bring the elephants on foot.
September 25, 1797: Third attempt. One hundred horses and a detachment of artillery are mobilized. Elephant carts are mounted on artillery wheels. Most of the route is done by boat, by river but also by sea (they even weather a storm).
March 23, 1798: Three years after the confiscation, and after six months of travel, Hans and Parkie finally arrive at the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes.
May 29, 1798:Concert offered to the two elephants by sixteen musicians from the Conservatory. On the program: Gluck, Rameau, and trendy arias (Ah ça va, etc).
January 6, 1802: Hans dies of pneumonia.
January-February 1802: Cuvier autopsy and dissects Hans. This will result in various anatomical representations.
January 1802 - end of 1803: Naturalization of the specimen by Dufresne and his team. Use of a wooden mannequin.
July 1931: Arrival in Bourges
Beginning of 1989: Restoration
October 2003: Rediscovery of Hans.
Hans in Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes
Reference list

References

Koehl, Dan, (2025). Hans, Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) located at Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes in France. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 28 March 2025 at https://www.elephant.se/database2.php?elephant_id=3523. (archived at the Wayback machine)

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Categories1802 deaths | Bourges Museum of Natural History Taxidermy | 1782 births | Born in Sri Lanka | 1784 captures | 1784 imports | Elephants from Menagerie du Paris Jardin des Plantes | France | Asian elephants




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