3. Thomas Jefferson re-gifted the bear cubs sent him by Zebulon Pike
Jefferson kept several pets at the White House and Monticello, including at least four mockingbirds. But when Zebulon Pike sent him a gift of two grizzly bear cubs, he was nonplussed over what to do with them. Jefferson had learned of the ferocity of the western grizzly from the reports of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and sent the bears to a newly developed zoo operated by Charles Wilson Peale. However, during the two months it took to exchange letters and prepare the bears for shipment, they outgrew their enclosures and roamed freely about the lawns of Monticello. Jefferson recorded that they ate mainly bread from maize during their stay.
