Page 89 - All About History - Issue 59-17

One’s Best Friend

EmprEss

JoséphinE

& rosE

An unlikely companionship
in Napoleonic France
Empress Joséphine, the first wife of Napoleon, had a menagerie full of exotic
animals that she loved, but none more so than her orangutan, Rose. Most
likely named after Joséphine’s favourite flower, Rose was presented to the
empress by General Charles Decaen, governor of Pondicherry. She was the
first of her species to arrive in France and quickly demonstrated what an
intelligent creature she was.
Rose was known to wear white cotton chemises and exhibit good
manners, greeting guests of the empress in a dignified manner. She would
normally eat turnips, her favourite food, for dinner and would sit “at the
table with a knife and fork.” To top it off, it was reported that Rose actually
Joséphine was
slept in the same bed alongside Joséphine and Napoleon, which by itself distraught at Rose’s
indicates how important she was to the empress. death and ultimately
Although Joséphine loved her dearly, Rose did not adjust well to a life in donated the
captivity. Just five months after her arrival, she passed away, leaving the orangutan’s body
to science
empress devastated. Having an interest in biology herself, Joséphine sent
Rose’s body to Georges-Frédéric Cuvier, head keeper of the menagerie at the
Natural History Museum in Paris, for him to study.
“Rose was known to wear

white cotton chemises and

exhibit good manners”

Nero would feed
his enemies to his eMPerOr
beloved tigress
nerO &
PHOebe

Tiger, tiger burning bright

While a tiger might not be the obvious choice
for a pet today, for Roman emperor Nero it was
an entirely different story. After being impressed
by a vicious tigress in a wild beast fight at the
Colosseum, the emperor — who is best known
for doing nothing while Rome burned — decided
to rescue the animal and adopt her. Nero called
his new pet Phoebe and she quickly became his
favourite companion, keeping her near him at all
times. Phoebe was allowed to eat her dinner at
the table with the emperor and he had a luxurious
gold cage built for her to sleep in at night.
However, Phoebe was not supposed to be just
a domesticated pet. Known for his ruthlessness,
Nero was happy to give his enemies to Phoebe so
that she could indulge in an impromptu snack —
anyone who offended, opposed or irritated him
was at risk of being eaten alive. Together, Nero and
Phoebe were an extremely dangerous pairing! © Alamy, Getty Images

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