Lord Byron’s Animal Menagerie
Poet Lord Byron wasn’t allowed to keep his beloved dog at Cambridge University—so he brought a bear instead. Yes, a real bear. The college had no rule against bears, and Byron took perverse pleasure in exploiting the loophole. He even walked it on a leash around campus.
Byron later amassed a bizarre collection of animals, including a crocodile, a fox, and monkeys, which he kept in his home and traveled with. He saw animals as companions superior to people. While others recited verses, Byron lived like a gothic Noah. For him, poetry wasn’t just wild—it came with claws and teeth.
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