Sir Roger(Not to be confused with King Tusk or Col. Joe)

Sir Roger the Asian elephant is one of Kelvingrove’s oldest and most loved exhibits. He was brought to Glasgow around 1900 in a travelling menagerie (a collection of animals), and transferred to the Scottish Zoo which was in New City Road, Cowcaddens, Glasgow.

The zoo was run by Edward H Bostock, who had a long relationship with the museum and who supplied it with a number of exotic specimens. The Scottish Zoo opened in 1897 and closed in 1909.

Sir Roger developed a condition known as ‘musth’, a hormonal condition which can affect male elephants during the breeding cycle and cause them to become aggressive and dangerous. Sir Roger attacked his keeper and became so unmanageable it was difficult to even feed him, and it was impossible to clean his enclosure. Bostock called on the services of local soldiers to help put Sir Roger down.

The taxidermists who preserved Sir Roger had to remove their shop window to get him out when he was being transported to the museum. As Sir Roger had been a menagerie animal, his tusks had been removed for safety. The taxidermists gave him a set of wooden tusks to add to his majestic appearance.

Sir Roger is now in the west court of Kelvingrove.