One of the elephants is shot for its meat in December 1870.
Castor and Pollux were two elephants kept at the zooJardin des Plantes[2] in Paris. They were killed and eaten, along with many other animals from the zoo, in late 1870 during the Siege of Paris. The two elephants may have been siblings, and were named after the twin brothers of Greek and Roman mythology. They had been popular before the siege for giving rides on their backs around the park, but the food shortages caused by the German blockade of the city eventually drove the citizens of Paris to kill them for their meat.
On 19 September 1870, Prussian forces encircled Paris. Rather than bombarding the city into surrender the German high command decided to blockade the city to force a quick surrender. The Parisians managed to hold out until 28 January 1871 (when they surrendered after three days of shelling ordered by Otto von Bismarck who had become tired of the ineffective tactics of the high command). During the siege food became scarce and the populace were forced to turn to unusual sources for their meat.
The Christmas Day menu from a Parisian restaurant featured fine wines and dishes of exotic animals.
When vegetables, butter, milk, cheese and the regularly consumed meats began to run out, the Parisians turned first on the horses, donkeys and mules. Horse meat had been introduced by the butchers of Paris four years earlier as a cheap alternative source of meat for the poor, but under siege conditions it quickly became a luxury item. Though there were large numbers of horses in Paris (estimates suggested between 65,000 and 70,000 were butchered and eaten during the siege) the supplies were ultimately limited. Champion racehorses were not spared (even two horses presented to Napoleon III by Alexander II of Russia were slaughtered) but the meat soon became scarce. Cats, dogs, mice and rats were the next selection for the menu. There was no control over rationing until late in the siege, so while the poor struggled, the wealthy Parisians ate comparatively well; the Jockey Club offered a fine selection of gourmet dishes of the unusual meats including Salmis de rats à la Robert. There were considerably fewer cats and dogs in the city than there had been horses, and the unpalatable mice and rats were difficult to prepare, so, by the end of 1870, the butchers turned their attention to the animals of the zoos. The medium and large sized herbivores, such as the antelope, camels, deer, kangaroo, yaks and zebra were first to be killed. Some animals survived: the monkeys were thought to be too akin to humans to be killed, the lions and tigers were too dangerous, and the hippopotamus of the Jardin des Plantes also escaped because the price of 80,000 francs demanded for it was beyond the reach of any of the butchers. Menus began to offer exotic dishes such as Tête d'Ane Farcie (Stuffed Donkey's Head), Côtes d'Ours (Bear Ribs), Chat flanqué des Rats (Cat with Rats), Cuissot de Loup, Sauce Chevreuil (Haunch of Wolf with a Deer Sauce), Terrine d'Antilope aux truffes (Terrine of Antelope with truffles), Civet de Kangourou (Kangaroo Stew) and Chameau rôti à l'anglaise (Camel roasted à l'anglaise)
The demise of the elephants was recorded in the Lettre-Journal de Paris (commonly known as the Gazette des Absents), a twice-weekly periodical published during the siege by Damase Jouaust and delivered, along with the mail, by balloon to avoid the encircling Prussian forces. The Gazette des Absents reported that Castor had been killed on 29 December 1870 and Pollux the following day, both by explosive steel-tipped bullets fired from a range of 10m by M. Devisme. However, a menu from 25 December was already offering Consommé d'Eléphant so it is likely that the dates are wrong. The elephants were bought by M. Deboos of the Boucherie Anglaise in Boulevard Hausmann for 27,000 francs for the pair. M.Deboos did well out of the purchase: the trunks sold as a delicacy for 40 or 45 francs a pound, the other parts for about 10 to 14 francs a pound.[citation needed]
By all accounts, elephant was not tasty. Thomas Gibson Bowles, who was in Paris during the siege, wrote that he had eaten camel, antelope, dog, donkey, mule and elephant and of those he liked elephant the least. Henry Labouchère recorded:
Yesterday, I had a slice of Pollux for dinner. Pollux and his brother Castor are two elephants, which have been killed. It was tough, coarse, and oily, and I do not recommend English families to eat elephant as long as they can get beef or mutton.[3]
Castor and Pollux are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.
The Jardin des plantes, also known as the Jardin des plantes de Paris when distinguished from other jardins des plantes in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. The term Jardin des plantes is the official name in the present day, but it is in fact an elliptical form of Jardin royal des plantes médicinales, which is related to the original purpose of the garden back in the 17th century.
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products, for recreation ("sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, though most are terrestrial mammals and birds. Fish caught non-commercially are also referred to as game fish.
The Bois de Vincennes, located on the eastern edge of Paris, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III.
The Bois de Boulogne is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by the Emperor Napoleon III to be turned into a public park in 1852.
Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existence, wild horses were hunted as a source of protein.
The siege of Paris took place from 19 September 1870 to 28 January 1871 and ended in the capture of the city by forces of the various states of the North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The siege was the culmination of the Franco-Prussian War, which saw the Second French Empire attempt to reassert its dominance over continental Europe by declaring war on the North German Confederation. The Prussian-dominated North German Confederation had recently emerged victorious in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which led to the questioning of France's status as the dominant power of continental Europe. With a declaration of war by the French parliament on 16 July 1870, Imperial France soon faced a series of defeats at German hands over the following months, leading to the Battle of Sedan, which, on 2 September 1870, saw a decisive defeat of French forces and the capture of the French emperor, Napoleon III.
The Pillar of the Boatmen is a monumental Roman column erected in Lutetia in honour of Jupiter by the guild of boatmen in the 1st century AD. It is the oldest monument in Paris and is one of the earliest pieces of representational Gallo-Roman art to carry a written inscription.
The Aktiengesellschaft Cologne Zoological Garden is the zoo of Cologne, Germany. Being the third oldest zoo in Germany, it features over 10,000 animals of more than 850 species on more than 20 hectares. The internationally renowned zoo with an attached aquarium and invertebrate exhibit is active in preservational breeding of animals that are in danger of becoming extinct. In addition, in-the-wild conservation efforts and research focussing on animals of Madagascar, Wallacea, and Vietnam are actively promoted and supported via cooperation with Cologne University and local projects, such as in the case of Przewalski's horses.
The Jardin d'Acclimatation is a 19-hectare (47-acre) children's amusement park located in the northern part of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, alongside other attractions.
Brigade de cuisine is a system of hierarchy found in restaurants and hotels employing extensive staff, commonly referred to as "kitchen staff" in English-speaking countries.
A famine food or poverty food is any inexpensive or readily available food used to nourish people in times of hunger and starvation, whether caused by extreme poverty, such as during economic depression or war, or by natural disasters such as drought.
The ménagerie du Jardin des plantes is a zoo in Paris, France, belonging to the botanical garden Jardin des Plantes. Founded in 1794, largely with animals brought from the royal zoo of the Palace of Versailles, abandoned because of the French Revolution, it is the second oldest zoological garden in the world. Today, the zoo contains many rare smaller and medium-sized mammals, and a variety of birds and reptiles.
The Parc de la Tête d'or is a large urban park in Lyon, France, with an area of approximately 117 hectares. Located in the northern part of the 6th arrondissement, it features the Jardin botanique de Lyon, as well as a lake on which boating takes place during the summer months. Due to the relatively small number of other parks in Lyon, it receives a huge number of visitors over summer; it is a frequent destination for joggers and cyclists.
Alexandre Étienne Choron was a French chef.
Castor and Pollux may refer to:
Elephant meat is the flesh and other edible parts of elephants.
The Bal Mabille, also known as Jardin Mabille and Mabille Gardens in English, was a fashionable open-air dance establishment on what is now Avenue Montaigne in Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris, extending from 49 to 53 in the modern street numbering. It was opened in 1831, when the area was still largely rural, was struck by shells during the siege of Paris in 1870–71, and closed in 1875. Both the polka and the can-can were reportedly introduced there.
Gérard Gefen was a French musicologist and writer. He was also a journalist and music critic, translator, radio and classical record producer.
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