Nelson & His World

Discussion on the life and times of Admiral Lord Nelson
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 Post subject: St. Vincent's pet wolf
PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:21 pm 
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Location: BC, Canada
Unusually I'm going to post here on a subject I actually know something about :D

I was pottering among my older natural history books and stumbled on this:

The naturalist's cabinet: containing interesting sketches of animal history, vol. I. Thomas Smith 1806

[Section on wolves]
"Notwithstanding the savage nature of these animals, they are still capable, when taken young, of being tamed. A singular instance of this was exhibited in a wolf belonging to the late Sir Ashton Lever; which, by proper education, was entirely divested of its ferocious character and manner. . . .
"A wolf, now in the Tower of London, was sent as a present from a Spanish admiral to Lord St. Vincent, with a flag of truce, at the time his lordship was blockading Cadiz. The animal being then young, was permitted to run about the cabin, and used to pick up the crumbs under his noble owner's table, exactly like a dog. About six years ago, Lord St. Vincent presented him to the king; and since his residence in the royal menagerie, a bull bitch has been introduced to his den, which has produced three puppies, one male and two females, bearing strong characteristics of the wolf species. These puppies I saw myself, and compared them with the wolf, towards the latter end of 1805, when they appeared perfectly strong and healthy."

*****

The Tower Menagerie was a London fixture for hundreds of years - from about 1200 (when, IIRC, Henry II imported a few lions) to 1832.

Here's a little more from a rummage in Google BOoks:

***

London; Being an Accurate History and Description of the British Metropolis . .. Volume 2
J. Stratford, 1805
"The Menagerie, Or Collection Of Wild Beasts, &c.
"This repository of ferocious and uncultivated nature is deposited in the south-west corner of the first entrance towards the city.
"After having entered the outer gate, and passed what is called the Spur-guard, the keeper's house is distinguished by the figures of lions over the door.
"The dens are ranged in the form of a half moon. They are rooms about twelve or thirteen feet high, divided into three apartments, a large one above, and two below. In the upper apartment the beasts generally live in the day, and at night retire to the, lower to rest. The animals are seen through large iron grates, with the utmost safety; and arc thus exhibited:
"Miss Fanny, a Lioness, bred in the Tower, is the most ferocious of the lion-tribe now in the Tower.
"Miss Fanny Howe, whelped on the glorious first of June, 1794, and named after the gallant admiral who gained a great victory over the French fleet on that day. "
. . . [tigers, leopards, cheetahs, a hyena, raccoons, a polar bear, etc.]
"A young Wolf, from Mexico, sent in a flag of truce from Admiral Masserano, in Spain, to Admiral Lord St. Vincent, and by him presented to the king."

An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Peruvian Sheep . . . William Walton, 1811
"In the year 1804, it was proved in the Tower of London, that the dog and the wolf would intermix. The dog [i.e., male] wolf had offspring by an English bitch . . . . The wolf used on this occasion,was a tame Mexican animal, presented by the Spanish Admiral Massaredo, to Lord St. Vincent, at the time he was blockading Cadiz; and these experiments have been carried to much greater length, by the late learned Dr. Hunter."

****

They must be referring to Admiral Jose de Mazarredo.

I can say from experience that a tame wolf pup is a winning and lovable creature. But as it gains strength and size it can't be kept confined in small quarters. Immature wolves are usually docile and amiable, but they'll wreck the place. For instance, if a pet wolf hears an interesting squeak inside a couch it will take the couch apart down to the bare frame in about half an hour. (Later on when a tame wolf approaches sexual maturity around 18 months it can become actually dangerous, but I doubt St. V's experiment lasted that long!)

It's rather touching to think of the forbidding St. Vincent being fond of this animal - he must have been fond of it because he didn't simply destroy the wolf when it became impossible to keep it aboard. He took the trouble to ship it to a new home.

I'm amused to think of this young wolf exercising its jaws by gnawing on St. Vincent's stuff. Given this pet's powers of property destruction, maybe Mazarredo thought to undermine St. Vincent rather than overthrow him, LOL...

But seriously... Apart from the natural history aspects, it intrigues me that the Spanish Admiral under blockade would send an exotic pet as a gift under flag of truce.

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Last edited by Galiano on Sun Jun 15, 2014 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: St. Vincent's pet wolf (OT: Nature sidelight)
PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 11:10 pm 
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Posts: 84
Location: BC, Canada
Nature sidelight for anyone who's curious:
St. Vincent's pet Mexican Wolf belonged to the world's southernmost subspecies of wolf - which was very nearly exterminated in the 20th century. In the 1970s, in a last ditch conservation effort, all the remaining Mexican wolves that could be found were taken into captivity. It was almost too late. Only five wolves were captured - four males and a single female. After that, none remained in the wild, and at the time there were no known captive Mexican wolves.
A careful captive breeding program ensued. The captive population is now several hundred and a few of these wolves are being reintroduced into the wild in selected areas (attended with much controversy, like any wolf reintroduction). So we are lucky to still have this unique wolf. An attractive wolf too; although a young Mexican wolf goes through an awkward stage like any pup...
Image
... it is soon quite a handsome animal.
Image

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 Post subject: Re: St. Vincent's pet wolf (OT: Nature sidelight)
PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 6:24 pm 
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Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:11 pm
Posts: 1258
Location: England
Galiano wrote:
So we are lucky to still have this unique wolf.
Wow, four males and a female was a close call! Thanks for that fascinating info, Galiano.

See here: http://www.minotaur.org/minotaur-wreck.htm for the touching tale of another pet wolf, kept on board Minotaur by Lieutenant Salsford, and who both drowned clutching on to each other, when she was wrecked.

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