British Alpine Hannibal Expedition facts for kids

The British Alpine Hannibal Expedition was a cool experiment in 1959. A British engineer named John Hoyte led a team. They wanted to see if they could re-create parts of Hannibal's famous journey. Hannibal was a general who crossed the Alps mountains with his army and elephants. This happened during the Second Punic War way back in 218 BCE. The expedition successfully took a female Asian elephant named Jumbo from France into Italy. She was borrowed from a zoo in Turin.

Why Hannibal's Journey Matters

One possible invasion route proposed for Hannibal's army

Long ago, there were big wars called the Punic Wars. These were fought between Carthage (a powerful city in North Africa) and Rome. After the First Punic War, Carthage lost. But a Carthaginian general named Hamilcar Barca gained a lot of land in what is now Spain.

His son, Hannibal, became a famous general too. In 218 BCE, at the start of the Second Punic War, Hannibal led a huge army. He had about 50,000 men and 37 war elephants. They marched from Spain all the way to Italy. Hannibal fought against Rome for 15 years.

Instead of going along the coast, Hannibal chose a harder path. He led his army right over the Alps mountains! Ancient historians like Polybius and Livy wrote about his amazing march. But they didn't say exactly which mountain pass he used. People have argued about his exact route for a very long time. In 1955, a book listed 12 possible routes from 30 different books!

The Expedition Begins

In 1955, a newspaper called The Times had a big discussion. People were debating which route Hannibal might have taken over the Alps. This caught the eye of John Hoyte. He was an engineering student at Cambridge University. John loved history and mountain climbing.

In 1956, John and his friends spent a summer hiking in the Alps. They compared different mountain passes to the old descriptions. They thought the Col de Clapier was the most likely pass Hannibal used. Some historians still agree with them today.

Finding an Elephant

A few years later, a friend had a fun idea. Why not test the theory with a real elephant? John Hoyte wrote letters to zoos in France, Switzerland, and Italy. He didn't really expect to find an elephant.

But the Turin Zoo had just gotten a female Asian elephant named Jumbo. She was already trained for the circus. The zoo owner offered Jumbo for the experiment. He even became the first sponsor of the trip!

The Expedition Team

John Hoyte put together a team of eight people. Richard Jolly was the expedition secretary. Colonel John Hickman was a professor of Veterinary Surgery at Cambridge. He knew a lot about elephants from his time in Burma during World War II.

The group got insurance for Jumbo from Lloyd's of London. They also got more money from Life magazine. Life later published a seven-page photo story about their adventure.

The Journey Over the Alps

The originally planned route led over the Col de Clapier

The expedition started in late July 1959. They began in Montmelian, France. They followed the Arc river valley. Then, they started climbing towards the Col de Clapier.

However, the path up to the pass was too narrow and dangerous. There had been rockfall. So, the group had to go back down into the valley. They then crossed the Col du Mont Cenis instead. This was another pass that even the French emperor Napoleon thought Hannibal might have used.

After 10 days of travel, the expedition successfully reached Susa in Italy. It was like a peaceful "invasion"!

All About Jumbo

The team first planned to call the elephant Hannibella. But Jumbo wouldn't respond to the new name. So, she kept her original name. She was 11 years old and weighed about 5,700 pounds (2.6 tons).

Jumbo wore special leather boots and knee pads for the trickiest parts of the journey. She also had a custom-made coat to keep her warm. Her daily diet was huge! She ate about 150 pounds (68 kg) of hay, 50 pounds (23 kg) of apples, 40 pounds (18 kg) of bread, and 20 pounds (9 kg) of carrots. She also got a vitamin B supplement.

Even with all that food, Jumbo lost weight. She lost about 300 pounds (136 kg) in the first four days. In total, she lost almost 500 pounds (227 kg) during the trip. When she arrived in Italy, she enjoyed some cake and a large bottle of Chianti wine!

In 1960, John Hoyte wrote a book about the trip. It was called Trunk Road for Hannibal: With an Elephant Over the Alps. Another team member, Cynthia Pilkington, also wrote a book in 1961 called "Elephant Over the Alps."