Lallah Rookh
Lallah Rookh (died 11 September 1860)[1] was a female Asian elephant in Dan Rice's circus. She was known for her tightrope walking act.
Lallah started her circus career in
the popular poem by Thomas Moore and she began performing in the show two days after they arrived.[2]
Lallah was the first elephant in the United States to perform a
American flag to hold in her trunk as she continued the rest of the way.[4]
In August 1860, Rice had Lallah Rookh swim across the
Cincinnati, Ohio to drum up publicity for his new "Monster Show." It took her 45 minutes to swim across the river. A month later, Lallah died of a fever brought about by her swim.[5]