Thomas Jefferson’s Grizzly Bears
The author of the Declaration of Independence briefly housed two grizzly bear cubs on the White House lawn. Jefferson received these unusual pets as gifts from explorer Zebulon Pike in 1807. Visitors to the executive mansion watched the caged cubs with fascination as they munched on food scraps. The president studied their behavior before donating them to Charles Willson Peale’s Philadelphia museum when they grew too dangerous.
