WEIRDEST PETS EVER KEPT FOR CELEBRITIES

Audrey Hepburn

Sometimes, man’s best friend has to take second place, but it’s not always cats that make the cut.

1. AUDREY HEPBURN

Pet: Deer

For her 1959 romance-adventure flick "Green Mansions", the glamorous movie star had an unusual screen partner - a baby deer. The animal trainer on set suggested she take little Pippin, or Ip for short, home for a few days so the two could bond, and they became inseparable. They went shopping, attended parties and snuggled, much to the jealousy of Hepburn’s other pet. Mr Famous the Yorkshire Terrier.

2. GÉRARD DE NERVAL

Pet: Lobster

They are peaceful, serious creatures. They know the secrets of the sea, they don't bark and they don't gnaw upon one's monadic privacy like dogs do." So wrote 19th-century French poet Gérard De Nerval about his pet of choice. Having snapped up one of the snappers from a net, saving it from the dinner plate. he supposedly walked it around the fashionable Palais-Royal area of Paris with a ribbon of blue silk.

3. LORD BYRON

Pet: Bear

When Byron arrived at the University of Cambridge and discovered that his college, Trinity, forbade students from having dogs in their rooms, he was disgruntled - but determined to find an alternative. The Romantic poet brought a tame bear instead. knowing the rules didn't specifically ban them, so the college would have to bare it. "I have got a new friend. the finest in the world,” he wrote in 1807. The bear stayed in his lodgings and walked with him around the grounds; Byron joked it should even i go for a fellowship

4. ANDREW JACKSON

Pet: Parrot

US presidents have owned some unusual pet - the veritable zoo in the White Horse has included an alligator, a hyena and a wallaby. Andrew Jackson’s contribution was an African Grey Parrot with the unimaginative name Poli. Nothing too wild. it may seem. yet the bird picked up a number of rude words that it would mimic loudly. After Jackson died in 1845. Poli was allowed to be at the funeral, but had to be removed when it let loose a cavalcade of cussing. The mourners, claimed Reverend William Norment, were shocked at the parrofs “lack of reverence”.

5. JOSEPHINE BAKER

Pet: Cheetah

A journalist once recalled going to the cinema with Josephine Baker, the biggest entertainer in 1920s Paris, and seeing cheetahs on the screen. It caused her to smile, as Baker had brought her own pet cheetah along. Chiquita had been a gift to be used in her show, but Baker had kept her. The speedy feline rode in Baker's car, shared her bed and travelled on a world tour, appearing on stage. Chiquita also frequently escaped into the orchestra pit, wreaking havoc.

6. LUCIUS LICINIUS CRASSUS

Pet: Moray Eel

Eels became a popular sight for the elite of Rome. both as a delicacy and as pets. but arguably nobody loved them more than this first century BC cônsul. Crassus dressed his eel in necklaces and earrings. making it far better turned out than the slaves of his household, and he gave it a funeral. He copped criticism from a man named Domitius for weeping at the death of his pet. to which he retorted that Domitius had lost three wives without shedding a tear.

7. TYCHO BRAHE

Pet: Moose or Elk

Astronomers don’t come as eccentric as Tycho Brahe - he wore a metal nose, after all, due to losing his in a duel over a mathematical disagreement. The 16th- century Danish noble also let a tame moose or elk (stories differ) roam the corridors of his castle and enjoyed showing it off at parties, where it drank huge amounts of beer. That is. until it got so drunk that it fell down some Brahe’s moose also liked to stairs and died.

8. BEATRIX POTTER

Pet: Mice, frogs, rabbits...

Many of Beatrix Potter's beloved characters were based on her own pets. She began drawing animais as a girl, not only to admire their cuteness. but due to a fascination with the natural Sciences. Potter strove for anatomical accuracy - blue jackets, aprons and waistcoats aside - so she dissected her pets to make sure she got the muscle tone of her characters right.

9. MOZART

Pet: Starling

Is it that surprising that Mozart would pick a musical pet? He bought a starling in 1784 - after he taught it a few ^ bars from his latest piano concerto while in the pet shop. The bird did get a couple of notes wrong. but Mozart was impressed and jotted down its variation.

For three years, the starling sang along with the great Austrian composer’s playing. When it died, Mozart. who also lost his father a week earlier, held a Service and wrote an epitaph. It began: "Here lies a little fool. whom I held dear.”

10. RAMESSES II

Pet: Lion

Like any good Ancient Egyptian, Ramesses II loved his cats. The long-reigning Pharaoh brought them to his lands in huge numbers and chose the biggest of the lot for a pet. His lion wasn’t for cuddling. though. It fought alongside his chariot at the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC.

Written by Jonny Wilkes in in "History Revealed", UK, August 2018, experts pp. 52-53. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.