The 16 Strangest Pets United States Presidents Have Owned

United States presidents have kept a series of pets in the White House, from dogs and cats to parrots, and even fish. While those are the traditional pets you’d expect, they have also owned several strange pets that will make you raise your eyebrows in question. It doesn’t help that the strange pets often had equally unusual and comical names too. From laughing hyenas to tobacco-chewing rams, here’s a list of the 16 strangest pets the White House has ever seen. 

Silkworms

President John Quincy Adams didn’t seem to own pets in the White House. However, one of Adams’s diary entries mentioned how his wife kept hundreds of silkworms. She kept them for silk because they naturally produce silk fibers to make cocoons. They might not have been the most fascinating pets in the White House, but they are one of the strangest.

Wild Mice

Nowadays, mice are common pet rodents found for sale in many pet stores, but not at the time President Andrew Johnson kept them. Andrew Johnson befriended a family of white mice he found in his bedroom. He treated the mice as pets, leaving water out and feeding them grounded grain from his mills. Unfortunately, his daughter didn’t feel the same way about the mice and eventually got a cat to deal with them.

Opossums

President Benjamin Harrison and his wife had their fair share of untraditional White House pets. Harrison gifted two opossums to his grandchildren, and they soon became dearly loved members of the family. These strange pets had even stranger names: Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection. The opossums were often seen running around the White House. Herbert Hoover was another President who owned an opossum he adopted and named Billy.

Garter Snake

Theodore Roosevelt and his family were big animal lovers and kept various pets in the White House. They kept several dogs, snakes, and lizards, most of which had unique names. Roosevelt’s daughter Alice kept a Garter Snake named Emily Spinach. Her strange pet got its name for being green like spinach and as thin as her aunt Emily.

Horned Frog

Another one of the Roosevelt family’s strange pets was a Horned Frog they kept in a small box. Theodore Roosevelt would take frequent outdoor trips where he would explore and hunt. This was usually when he would collect strange animals to bring back to his children. The frog, named Bill the Lizard, was one of those “treasures” and described as very cunning in the letters he wrote to his children.

Sheep

Keeping the White House lawn trim was expensive and time-consuming, but Woodrow Wilson’s flock of sheep took care of it for free. One of Wilson’s friends brought a dozen sheep and a few lambs on the president’s behalf. Keeping the lawn trim wasn’t the sheep’s only benefit to the White House, as their wool was sold for thousands of dollars for the Red Cross war fund.

Tiger Cubs

Martin Van Buren is the only U.S. President to own two tiger cubs, but only briefly before they were confiscated. The tiger cubs were gifts from Kabul al Said, the Sultan of Oman. As much as Van Buren wanted to keep the tiger cubs in the White House, the Congress didn’t approve and sent them to a local zoo.

Grizzly Bears

It seems that many U.S. presidents acquired their strange pets as gifts, just as President Thomas Jefferson did. This President was gifted two grizzly bear cubs that he publicly displayed in a cage from the White House. However, Jefferson knew the bear cubs were too dangerous to keep for long, so he sent them to Peale’s Museum.

Bald Eagles

Bald Eagles are the U.S. National Symbol because they symbolize strength, freedom, and the nation itself. James Buchanan supposedly owned a pair of Bald Eagles during his presidency, but they weren’t suited to live in the White House. Instead, the birds were kept in a cage outside Buchanan’s property in Pennsylvania. They had the freedom to leave the cage when they pleased, but they usually didn’t venture very far.

Pygmy Hippo

President Calvin Coolidge was gifted one of the strangest exotic pets, a Pygmy Hippo named Billy. Pygmy Hippos are rare animals found in West African swamps and forests. Although they are slightly smaller than common hippos, they can weigh up to 600 pounds. Coolidge didn’t keep Billy for long and rightfully sent them to the National Zoo, where they quickly became one of the zoo’s most popular animals.

Ram

Other than a flock of sheep, President Woodrow Wilson had a pet ram called Old Ike. This purebred ram had a reputation for being mean and bossy, frequently charging at White House staff. When Old Ike wasn’t scaring the staff, he was seen munching on leftover cigar buds. He reportedly passed from old age chewing his final piece of tobacco gifted by his caretaker.

Kangaroo Rats

At this point, it’s no surprise that the Roosevelt family had a large collection of strange pets. The family also kept two Kangaroo Rats that the Roosevelt children regularly interacted with. Kangaroo Rats are small, nocturnal rodents named after their ability to hop like a kangaroo. These rats have cheek pouches that they use to store food.

Raccoon

President Calvin Coolidge acquired a pet raccoon that was meant to be his Thanksgiving meal. However, Coolidge took a liking to the raccoon and granted it a pardon so that it wasn’t served for dinner. He adopted the pardoned raccoon to be one of his presidential pets, named her Rebecca, and even gifted her a collar for Christmas.

Hyena

The White House has seen many strange pets, including Theodore Roosevelt’s laughing hyena Bill. The hyena was a gift from Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia and was temporarily housed in the White House. Roosevelt wasn’t very happy about his new pet hyena at first but eventually grew to love it. He supposedly fed it table scraps and taught it tricks, which wouldn’t have been difficult since hyenas are highly intelligent.

Bobcat

Bobcats are one of the four species of lynx and fierce predators. They live in a diverse range of habitats, which once included the White House. President Calvin Coolidge kept the bobcat along with a bunch of other strange pets and turned the White House into his personal zoo.

Lion Cubs

Keeping lion cubs as pets is not traditional at all, but they were once a presidential pet. Two lion cubs were gifted to Calvin Coolidge from the mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa. Out of all the names Coolidge could have called the lion cubs, he chose Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau.

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