Peter the Great, a Central Park Zoo hippopotamus shows off his big mouth and the two intimidating molars, c.1900's
Peter the Great, a Central Park Zoo hippopotamus shows off his big mouth and the two intimidating molars, c.1900's
Peter the Great, a Central Park Zoo hippopotamus shows off his big mouth and the two intimidating molars, c.1900's
Peter the Great, the famous hippopotamus of the Central Park Zoo in New York City was born in 1903. Hippos were especially rare, so Peter quickly became a star attraction. Children and adults alike would flock to see this enormous animal, whose presence was both awe-inspiring and amusing. One popular story about Peter was his enormous appetite. He had a diet that seemed to captivate visitors, as zoo keepers often talked about the sheer volume of food Peter could consume in a single day. Hippos in the wild eat vast amounts of vegetation, and Peter was no exception, devouring large quantities of hay, vegetables, and fruit. Despite being a massive animal, Peter the Great was often described as a docile and gentle creature. Peter lived at the Central Park Zoo for many years and became a fixture in New York City culture at the time. After his passing, he was remembered fondly by many who had seen him as children. His legacy lives on in the stories and postcards from that era, showing how this "gentle giant" helped define the zoo-going experience for many New Yorkers in the early 1900s.