Romeo, the Rogue Elephant
Posted by: 
nneuman
N 42° 37.993 W 088° 38.885
16T E 364869 N 4721401
Large memorial statue of Romeo, one of the elephants from the Early Mabie Circus, Delavan WI. Delavan is famous for it's circus history.
Waymark Code: WMDJV7
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2012
Views: 5
In the 1800s more than 25 circuses used Delavan as their winter quarters. It was called the "Circus Capital of the World." The town has chosen to commemorate its heritage oddly, with a life-size statue of its most infamous resident: Romeo, the killer elephant.
Romeo was no misunderstood, one-shot killer. He was a serial murderer, knocking off five people over a period of 15 years. He crushed one, he impaled another with his tusk, he stamped a third to death. Romeo once escaped from his barn and terrorized the countryside for three days. On another occasion, while appearing in Chicago, he nearly tore the theater apart.
We've visited the graves of many circus elephants who were shot, or hanged, or electrocuted after one minor killing. Why was Romeo allowed to live? Perhaps he was spared because of a story, popular at the time, that he was merely acting out his grief after the death of his favorite female companion elephant, Juliet. This sounds reasonable, kind of, except that it was a made-up story from a circus press agent. Romeo was apparently just mean.
Type of Memorial: statue
Type of Animal: other
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Visit Instructions:
Proof of visit is required. The easiest proof is a gps photo of the memorial. GPS photos will always be acceptable proof. Individual waymarks may ask for an alternative type of proof of visit.