Trail Off Tuesdays: The Giraffe That Walked to Paris

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Long before viral internet sensations, one extraordinary animal captured the hearts and imaginations of an entire nation. When Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman governor of Egypt, sought to strengthen diplomatic ties with Europe in the 1820s, he chose a gift that would prove unforgettable: a young female giraffe from Sudan. For most Europeans, giraffes existed only in books and drawings, seeing one in the flesh was almost mythical.

The journey itself was as remarkable as the animal. First transported down the Nile on a barge with a hole cut in the deck for her towering neck, she traveled with cows that provided milk and dedicated caretakers who tended to her day and night. After reaching Alexandria, she made the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Marseille on the deck of a ship, sheltered only by canvas during storms. When she finally touched European soil in October 1826, crowds swarmed the port, marvelling at this gentle giant from another world.

Listen now to discover the full tale of the giraffe that walked to Paris and left an indelible mark on European history.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Welcome back to Trail of Tuesdays, the little detour
where we wander down thestrangest paths of history.
Today's story is about agiraffe, not just any giraffe,
but the very first one to setfoot in France.

(00:37):
A giraffe who caused fashiontrends, filled newspapers,
inspired hairstyles and evenmanaged to change the way people
thought about natural world.
This is the tale of the giraffethat walked to Paris.

(00:58):
Our story begins in the early1800s, when Muhammad Ali, the
Ottoman governor of Egypt notthe boxer was trying to

(01:20):
strengthen his political tieswith Europe.
Diplomatic gifts were the usualapproach, but this time he
wanted to gift somethingdifferent, something
unforgettable, and so he chose agiraffe.
At the time, very few Europeanshad ever seen one.

(01:46):
People had read about them inbooks or seen drawings, but the
real thing was almost mythical.
The chosen giraffe was a youngfemale, about two years old,
captured near Senar in Sudan,she was transported down the

(02:07):
Nile on a barge with a hole cutin the deck so her long neck
could poke through.
Sharing the voyage were severalcows whose milk would sustain
her in the long journey, alongwith her caretakers.
They tended to her needs dayand night, and as the barge

(02:29):
drifted on the river, villagerslined the bags.
To marvel at the extraordinarysight, she eventually reached
Alexandria, where preparationswere made for the next stage of
her journey.
From there, she was loaded ontoa ship bound for Marseille.

(02:53):
Once again, she couldn't fitbelow deck, so for the entire
voyage she remained on deck,sheltered from storms by a
canvas canopy.
The sailors doted on hercarrying buckets of milk and
carefully cushioning her footing.
Whenever the seas grew rough,other ships that crossed their

(03:14):
path slowed to stare indisbelief.
A giraffe towering above thedeck was a sight none of them
had ever imagined.
After nearly a month at sea, theship finally reached Marseille
in late October 1826.

(03:34):
Unsurprisingly, crowds gatheredat the port to witness her
coming ashore, astonished by theexotic animal that had
travelled so far.
For the majority it was thefirst giraffe they had ever seen
.
The governor of Marseillereceived her as an honoured

(03:58):
guest, arranging for her to belodged at the botanical gardens,
where she drew many curiousvisitors.
Her presence created an instantsensation, sparking a giraffe
fever that spread through thecity, with pamphlets, souvenirs
and endless fascination with thegentle newcomer.

(04:22):
But Marseille was only thebeginning, because she was
destined for Paris, to bepresented as a gift to King
Charles.

(04:45):
Marseille is about 550 miles, orroughly 900 kilometers from
Paris.
And now you might wonder how doyou move a giraffe across
France?
In the 1820s, when there wereno animal transport trucks, the
answer was actually quite simpleyou walk her.

(05:09):
So in May 1827, after winteringin Marseille, all the
preparations were complete forthis extraordinary trek.
It would take about six weeks,winding through towns, villages
and farmland, with crowdsgathering at every stop to see

(05:33):
the marvel in motion.
Her route carried her north,through Avignon and then Lyon,
where thousands turned out tocatch a glimpse of the exotic
animal.
At each stop, local officialsarranged lodging and feed,
sometimes even staging paradesin her honour.

(05:56):
Before she and her entouragepressed on towards the heart of
France, the fascination withthis magnificent animal was
instant.
People didn't just stare.
They wanted to remember her.
So artists started sketchingher profile, pamphlets were

(06:16):
printed and souvenirs were sold.
The journey was long and tiring, but her care was meticulous.
She was fed hay, oats andleaves, and the cows who
traveled with her all the way toFrance kept her well supplied
with buckets of milk each day.

(06:38):
She even got a custom yellowcoat and specially made shoes to
keep her comfortable for theentire journey.
You can imagine by the time itwas close to Paris.
Tens of thousands of peoplewere following her progress
through newspapers and letters.
It was something like a 19thcentury celebrity road trip or

(07:04):
tour, with crowds getting largerand larger at every stop.
When she finally reached thecapital in late June 1827, the
city erupted with excitement.
Paris had never seen anythinglike it.
The scene was pure chaos, withstreets overflowing as nobles

(07:28):
rubbed shoulders with ordinaryworkers all desperate for a
glimpse.
She instantly became the city'smost famous resident, and soon
after came the giraffe fever.
Women piled their hair intotowering a la giraffe styles to
mimic her long neck, whiledressmakers copied her spots in

(07:53):
fabrics.
Cafes sold giraffe-shapedbiscuits, shopkeepers painted
giraffes on their signs and evenfurniture began to carry
giraffe motifs.
It was for the first time whenan animal, not a general or a
king or even an opera singer,had become a celebrity in France

(08:17):
, and just a few days laterafter her arrival, she was led
to the court of King Charles X.
Crowds followed her processionthrough Paris, pressing against
the streets as she made her waytoward the royal palace, her
long neck swaying gently abovethe heads of the onlookers.

(08:40):
The king, intrigued anddelighted, received her as an
honored gift from Muhammad Aliof Egypt, seeing in her not only
an exotic marvel but also asymbol of diplomatic goodwill.
He was, in fact, so enchantedthat he leaned from a balcony to

(09:08):
watch her approach, laughing atthe sight of her bending low to
enter the palace gates.
For the royal family and theParisian elite, she was a
curiosity from a distant world,and although officially she was
a diplomatic gift, in realityshe became something more A
presence that fascinated thecity and quickly made her one of

(09:31):
its most talked about residents.
She lived 18 years, a long lifefor an exotic animal transported
so far.
She was visited by artists,scientists, children and curious
tourists from across Europecurious tourists from across

(09:54):
Europe.
She never returned to Africa,but she changed the way
Europeans thought about wildanimals.
She wasn't just a specimen in anaturalist's collection.
She was a living, breathingcreature who had walked across
France and captured hearts alongthe way.
When she died in 1845, her bodywas preserved and placed on

(10:16):
display, ensuring that her storywould live on long after her
passing, and remained a reminderof the extraordinary journey
that had brought her from thebanks of the Nile to the
boulevards of Paris.
And so ends the story theGiraffe that Walked to Paris, a

(10:44):
gift of diplomacy that became afashion craze, a roadshow, a
subject of scientific wonder and, finally, a Parisian icon.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of Trail of Tuesdays.
If you'd like more stories likethis, check out ClueTrail on

(11:05):
your favorite podcast platformand for extra episodes, head
over to our patreon.
Until next time, stay safe andstay curious.
Thank you.