The Tower Menagerie : $b comprising the natural history of the animals contained in that establishment; with anecdotes of their characters and history.

"The Tower Menagerie: Comprising the Natural History of the Animals Contained in That Establishment" is a scientific publication written in the early 19th century. The work delves into the natural history, characteristics, and anecdotes of various animals housed in the Tower Menagerie, particularly focusing on species such as lions, tigers, leopards, and other exotic creatures. This detailed explorative volume aims to merge art and science, revealing insights into the behavior and habitats of these animals while embodying a fascination with zoology that marks the period's intellectual interests. At the start of the publication, an introduction outlines the historical context of menageries, tracing their origins back to ancient times when wild animals were kept by rulers for amusement and study. The text reflects on the societal evolution of attitudes towards animals from mere objects of display to subjects of scientific inquiry, culminating in a brief overview of the Tower Menagerie's history and its role in contemporary zoological study. This opening provides a foundation for the subsequent chapters, which promise detailed descriptions and evocative anecdotes about specific inhabitants of the menagerie, starting with the majestic Bengal lion and extending to a diverse array of other creatures, emphasizing both their natural characteristics and the human-animal interactions observed within the Tower. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Edward Turner Bennett was an English zoologist and writer. He was the elder brother of the botanist John Joseph Bennett. Bennett was born at Hackney and practiced as a surgeon, but his chief pursuit was always zoology. In 1822, he attempted to establish an entomological society, which later became a zoological society in connection with the Linnean Society. This in turn became the starting point of the Zoological Society of London, of which Bennett was Secretary from 1831 to 1836. His works included The Tower Menagerie (1829) and The Gardens and Menagerie of the Zoological Society (1831). He also wrote, in conjunction with George Tradescant Lay, the section on Fishes in the Zoology of Beechey's Voyage (1839). In 1835, he described a new species of African crocodile, Mecistops leptorhynchus, the validity of which was confirmed in 2018.