7. Theodore Roosevelt Donated An Elephant to the Museum

Elephant on display at the American Museum of Natural history

Many know Theodore Roosevelt as a naturalist and fervent lover of the great outdoors. He would often go on hunting trips and return with game. One of his largest donated game was a cow elephant he shot on a 1909 hunting trip with his son Kermit, who shot the elephant’s calf. This elephant is in a display consisting of eight others in the middle of the Akeley Hall of African Mammals. The hall is named after naturalist and taxidermist Carl Akeley, who was also on the trip with Roosevelt. Roosevelt donated more game to the American Museum of Natural History, though most of it just isn’t on display.