46 B.C.: Julius Caesar ships a GIRAFFE back from Egypt
1252: The king of Norway presents Henry III of England with a “WHITE BEAR“
1799: Josephine, Napoleon’s consort, keeps a pet ORANGUTAN
1923: William Randolph Hearst inaugurates the Hearst Zoo, soon to be the largest private menagerie in the world
1980s: Pablo Escobar imports HIPPOS to his compound in Medell铆n, Colombia
1981: Johnny Cash’s OSTRICHES attack him, breaking three of his ribs
1983: Michael Jackson adopts BUBBLES THE CHIMP
2003: Before filing for bankruptcy, Mike Tyson goes $8,100 in debt for the care of two SIBERIAN TIGERS
2005: Paris Hilton’s face is clawed by her “hot” pet KINKAJOU
2010: Two SNOW LEOPARDS are discovered in deposed Kyrgyzstan leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s palace