Over 140 years ago an Edinburgh elephant made the 200 mile journey to Manchester, grabbing the attention of the British public.
The Asian elephant named Maharajah made his way from Edinburgh to Manchester in 1872 - after wrecking the train that he was meant to ride on.
He was purchased by the Jennison family in 1872, who owned the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in Manchester, which, incidentally, shared the same name as Edinburgh's first zoo, located in the Belle Vue area of the capital.
Maharajah is believed to have cost £680, which is around £30,000 today, and at the time of his journey he was eight years old.
Standing at two metres tall, the animal made the journey by travelling 20 miles each day - apparently lifting a toll gate while on route out of boredom and frustration.
The express train from Waverley was supposed to carry Maharajah, though after he destroyed the carriage he was assigned a helper for his expedition.
The elephant managed to break his head through the wagon he was placed in, and proceeded to smash up the carriage.
After dismounting from the train, Maharajah calmed down - though it was clear that rail travel was not his preferred method of transport.
Lorenzo Lawrence, also known as Lorenzo the lion tamer, was unemployed at the time and jumped at the chance to travel to Edinburgh and walk the 200 miles back to Manchester.
The walk took 10 ten days with the Belle Vue’s other purchases of a baboon, an Asian antelope, and a lioness all speeding to Manchester on the 10.05 express train.
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Lorenzo, being a skilled and experienced animal handler, soothed the elephant and embarked on the journey with him.
He built such a strong relationship with the elephant that it led to a 40 year career at the Belle Vue.
The Manchester zoo knew of an opportunity when they saw it, and the arrival of Maharajah was well advertised.
Exactly on time the elephant plodded in at 2pm on April 20, welcomed by crowds of excited locals.
Before his time in Manchester, the elephant was purchased from a travelling circus.
After ten years of being the main attraction at Belle Vue, Maharajah passed away at the age of 18.
His skeleton was displayed at the zoo for a while, before being moved to the Manchester Museum where he was once again centre stage.
Strangely, Maharajah isn’t the only elephant to cause a stir in Edinburgh.
City archives from 1705 tell the tale of a local man who complained about an animal being housed above his baker’s shop.
The petition claimed his shop and oven were being damaged by dung and water which was leaking through the roof, and after investigation it was discovered an unnamed elephant was living in the above flat.
The animal had toured around Europe in the 1680s, and was being housed in the Fishmarket Close building.
After being rehomed, it's thought that the animal died in Broughty Ferry.
