Escaped Animals | Weird History
The Lie and the Lion in the Sewer
How an escaped lion led to the public of Birmingham being fooled in 1889.
So, first off, what precisely is a menagerie? Think of it as a less health-conscious, safety-minded predecessor to zoos before zoos took over as a place for the general public to catch glimpses of exotic animals they would otherwise likely never see.
By the 19th century, zoos were already becoming a thing though still viewed as too socially exclusive and inaccessible, so traveling menageries continued to be favored over them by the general public. Despite their popularity, however, these traveling collections were not without their hazards. Health was not a top priority, and neither were precautions in safety (i.e., preventing escapes or accidents).
One such owner of a menagerie ultimately landed in the papers for an incident involving one of his exotic beasts and the sewer system of Birmingham. Frank C. Bostock, an already world-famous lion tamer before this incident, came from a long line of animal displayers and a part of the menagerie dynasty of Bostock and Wombwell.
It was in 1889 when, after his show reached Birmingham, and Bostock and his team went to work prepping for a performance that one of his lions…
