Clara (rhinoceros)

Clara the rhinoceros (?1738-14 April 1758) was a female Indian rhinoceros who became famous during 17 years of touring Europe in the mid-18th century. She arrived in Europe in Rotterdam in 1741, becoming the fifth living rhinoceros to be seen in Europe in modern times since Dürer's Rhinoceros in 1515. After tours through towns in the Dutch Republic, the Holy Roman Empire, Switzerland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, France, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Papal States, Bohemia and Denmark, she died in Lambeth, England.

In 1738, aged approximately one month, Clara was adopted by Jan Albert Sichterman in India after her mother was killed by Indian hunters. Sichterman was the director of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) in Bengal. She became quite tame, and was allowed to move freely around his residence. In 1740, Sichterman either sold or gave her as a gift to Douwe Mout van der Meer, captain of the Knappenhof, who returned to the Netherlands with Clara. Captain Van der Meer would become Clara's agent and companion until her death.

Clara disembarked at Rotterdam on 22 July 1741 and was immediately exhibited to the public. Clara was exhibited in Antwerp and Brussels in 1743 and in Hamburg in 1744. The exhibitions were so successful that Douwe Mout van der Meer left the VOC in 1744 to tour Europe with his rhinoceros. He had a special wooden carriage built to convey her, and her skin was kept moist with fish oil. The tour started in earnest in spring 1746, and proved to be an outstanding success. Clara visited Hanover and Berlin, where King Frederick II of Prussia saw her on 26 April in Spittelmarkt. The tour continued to Frankfurt an der Oder, Breslau, and Vienna, where Emperor Francis I and Empress Maria-Theresa saw her on 5 November.

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