MicroFactzzz#0106 · 🏛️ History Gone Off the Rails
During the Siege of Paris, Residents Ate the Zoo Animals — Including the Elephants
During the Prussian siege of Paris in 1870-71, hunger got so bad that exotic zoo animals ended up on Parisians’ dinner plates.
During the Prussian siege of Paris in 1870-1871, food deliveries to the city were nearly entirely cut off, and meat supplies ran out fast.
Facing starvation, Parisian restaurants started serving meat from the Jardin des Plantes zoo — menus featured kangaroos, camels, and even two elephants known to residents by name, Castor and Pollux.
The exotic meat sold at high prices as a delicacy for wealthier Parisians, while the poorer parts of the city had to make do with rats and dogs.
The episode is still remembered today as one of the more grotesque examples of how war and hunger can flip normal social and culinary hierarchies almost overnight.
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Krulicza Nora
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