20. The Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition
Roosevelt left office in March, 1909, and later that same month sailed for Africa as part of a safari intended to obtain specimens for the Smithsonian Institution. The expedition also obtained specimens for the New York-based American Museum of Natural History. It was funded by earnings from Roosevelt’s writings, and by Andrew Carnegie. It was led by Roosevelt, who hired a local hunter-tracker to guide the group on safari, and included staff from the Smithsonian among its permanent members. Roosevelt, who had first learned to hunt big game in the Dakotas when after bison, enjoyed the hunt immensely, despite criticism from some at the time. He defended it as essential to the pursuit of knowledge.
The safari yielded over 11,000 animals which were either trapped or killed, including over 1,000 large animals. Roosevelt or his son Kermit, who was not with the expedition for its entire time, killed between them 512, including 17 lions and 11 elephants. As the safari unfolded animals and skins were shipped to the Smithsonian, preserved in salt, for mounting. Duplicates were loaned to other museums and institutes in the United States. By the time the safari was completed over 23,000 examples of zoological specimens were collected, along with several thousand specimens of plants. Roosevelt followed the safari with a tour of Europe.
