Queenie (Melbourne elephant)

Born in the wild, in India around 1900, or perhaps as early as 1895, she arrived at Melbourne Zoo in March 1902—her acquisition funded by Frederick Sheppard Grimwade—and started carrying joy-riders in 1905.

[5] Although carrying people every day was not physically taxing, for an elephant, 40 years of doing so was relentlessly monotonous, for such an intelligent animal.

"On one occasion, a group of about fifteen schoolboys were teasing Queenie by offering her nuts and fruit in turn and then withdrawing the food just as she reached for it.

The boys were delighted with this variation of the game until, as if carrying out a pre-planned attack, she soaked them all thoroughly with a well-aimed spray of dirty water from her pool.

Although withdrawn from service providing rides and found to be dangerous by a coronial inquiry,[6] she initially remained at the zoo, as an exhibit; it was a fodder shortage and the high cost of keeping her fed that led to her death.