Gilmore (lion)

[2] The company gave Turner $15,000 to buy the lion and a plane that was decorated to advertise Gilmore Oil.

[3] The Humane Society petitioned Turner to equip Gilmore with a parachute, which also resulted in enhancing the image of a "flying lion".

When not flying, Gilmore made public appearances including at the golf course and disconcerted the mailman and other visitors to Turner's home when he answered the door.

[2] He spent his last decade at the World Jungle Compound, where Turner continued to pay for his food and visited him,[3] and died on December 17, 1950.

They were then donated by his wife to the Smithsonian Institution where they were exhibited first at the Arts and Industries Building and then at the National Air and Space Museum until 1981.