If anyone ever claims to know a stuffed animal in Glasgow more celebrated and beloved than the elephant at Kelvingrove Museum, they’re full of it.
Sir Roger has been the star of Kelvingrove for over 100 years, standing glassy-eyed but as large as life in the West Court, surrounded by all manner of other creatures and topped by a Spitfire.
But the tale of how Sir Roger came to arrive at the west end museum is a tragic one.
The Asian elephant spent the 1890s travelling with the circus company Bostock and Wombwell’s Menagerie before he retired in May 1897, where he was taken in by Edward Henry Bostock at his zoo in Glasgow’s Cowcaddens.
Standing at an estimated 10.5 feet and weighing over 11,500 pounds, Sir Roger was a gentle giant, loved by zoo staff and known to enjoy walks in the countryside with his keeper.
But by 1900, at the age of 27, Sir Roger had developed musth - a dangerous condition of vastly increased testosterone that can happen to older male elephants in heat.
He became so aggressive that he broke the arm and several ribs of his zookeeper and soon after staff refused to enter his enclosure or clear up his dun. Instead they took to throwing his food at him from a safe distance, away from the dangerous elephant and the foul smell.
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Glasgow zoo owner Bostock soon decided enough was enough and ordered the animal to be put down - reportedly even selling tickets so Glaswegian could pay to watch the execution.
One morning in October, a firing squad of four soldiers entered the Cowcaddens enclosure and showered Sir Roger with bullets while he was eating his breakfast. One of the bullet holes is still visible in the elephant’s forehead.
The shooting of Sir Roger made headlines around the world and his body was taken to a taxidermist on Sauchiehall Street when he was stuffed and given artificial tusks. He was so large that when the job was complete, the taxidermist had to remove the storefront to be able to move Roger out to the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, where he has stood for 120 years.
Sir Roger even stayed in the exact same spot he arrived during the museum’s £35million refurbishment. Too large to move during the renovation of the museum, he was simply left in place, protected within a wooden box.
So there you have it, the true story of the elephant in one of Glasgow’s most famous rooms.
