Introduction. 
5 
as places of temporary confinement for such wild beasts 
as were likely soon to be required for sport or war. 
Instances where animals have been kept for the purpose 
of observation are rare. Aristotle gained the materials 
for his work on animals in great measure from the large 
collection formed by Alexander the Great during his 
expedition made in search of conquest into distant coun¬ 
tries. Pliny had an opportunity of drawing from life 
in his descriptions of beasts and birds, as there were 
several private collections made by wealthy Romans of 
his time; that he did not fully avail himself of this 
chance is evident from the strange mistakes and absur¬ 
dities that crowd his pages. 
The first English menagerie, according to Mr. 
Bennett (Tower Menagerie , 1829, p. xii.), was at Wood- 
stock, in the time of Henry I. This collection, which 
consisted of lions, leopards, and other wild animals, was 
transferred to the Tower of London in the reign of 
Henry III. There it remained till it was superseded 
by the establishment of the Zoological Gardens in 
the Regent’s Park. Paul Hentzner, in an account of a 
journey into England in 1598, gives a list of the various 
animals which formed the Tower menagerie at that 
date:— 
“ On coming out of the Tower we were led to a small house close 
by, where are kept a variety of creatures, viz. three lionesses, one lion of 
great size, called Edward VI., from his having been born in that reign; 
a tiger, a lynx; a wolf excessively old—this is a very scarce animal in 
England, so that their sheep and cattle stray about in great numbers, 
free from any danger, though without anybody to keep them; there 
is, besides, a porcupine, and an eagle. All these creatures are kept in 
a remote place, fitted up for the purpose with wooden lattices, at the 
queen’s expense.” (JDodsley's Fugitive Pieces , vol. ii. p. 244.) 
Eynes Moryson, in the account of his tour through 
Europe, 1591, describes a menagerie on a small scale at 
Prague in Bohemia. 
