Roosevelt was elected to a full term in 1904 and continued to promote progressive policies, many of which were passed in Congress. He groomed his close friend William Howard Taft to successfully succeed him in the 1908 presidential election. His lifelong interest in zoology began at age seven when he saw a dead seal at a local market; after obtaining the seal's head, Roosevelt and two cousins formed what they called the 'Roosevelt Museum of Natural History'. Having learned the rudiments of taxidermy, he filled his makeshift museum with animals that he killed or caught; he then studied the animals and prepared them for exhibition. At age nine, he recorded his observation of insects in a paper entitled 'The Natural History of Insects'.Roosevelt's father significantly influenced him. After being manhandled by two older boys on a camping trip, he found a boxing coach to teach him to fight and strengthen his body.
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