page_title: Zarafa (giraffe)
section_title: Other giraffe gifts by Muhammad Ali
hierarchical_section_title: Zarafa (giraffe) / Other giraffe gifts by Muhammad Ali
context_page_description: Zarafa was a female Nubian giraffe who lived in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris for 18 years. A gift from Muhammad Ali of Egypt to King Charles X of France, she was one of three giraffes Muhammad Ali sent to European rulers in 1827. These were the first giraffes to be seen in Europe for over three centuries, since the Medici giraffe was sent to Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence in 1486. She didn't receive the name "Zarafa" until 1985.
context_section_description: Muhammad Ali Pasha also sent two other giraffes as gifts in 1827, one to George IV of the United Kingdom in London and the other to Francis I of Austria in Vienna.  Like the giraffe sent to France, both inspired giraffe crazes in their respective cities.  The Austrian giraffe joined the Emperor's menagerie at Schönbrunn Palace but survived for less than one year.  Nevertheless, it lived on in the form of Giraffeln pastries, served until the beginning of the First World War, and Giraffentorten (giraffe cakes) which still can be found.  The English giraffe (or "cameleopard", echoing the terminology used by Pliny) joined the embryonic London Zoo in Regent's Park.  It was painted as The Nubian Giraffe in 1827 by Jacques-Laurent Agasse, in an image that includes Edward Cross and, in the background, the giraffe's milk cows from Egypt.  The English giraffe survived for less than two years, and was stuffed by John Gould.
caption: The Nubian Giraffe, by Jacques-Laurent Agasse (c.1827); this one of the three giraffes sent to Europe by Mehmet Ali Pasha was received by George IV in London.  The man in the top hat is Edward Cross, Exeter Exchange menagerie proprietor, with the Egyptian attendants and (background) the Egyptian cows that supplied the young giraffe with milk
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