When the Philadelphia Zoo opened in 1874, it housed a spectacular collection of 616 animals: camels: elephants, lions, a tiger, a rhinoceros, kangaroos, bears and one aging milk cow.
But this cow was an honored Civil War veteran.
Named Atlanta, the aging bovine had accompanied General William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops during the Union Army’s march through Georgia.
We don’t know how long Atlanta lived and whether it eventually ended up as dinner for the big cats.
Let us end on a happier note by mentioning the Zoo’s first prairie dogs. They regularly escaped from the Zoo by simply burrowing out.