Twenty Minutes - Beastly London

Richard Foster explores the exotic animals of London's past, including lions in the Tower, an elephant with toothache in the Strand and a camel dancing on London Bridge. In Darwin's day, before the roar of traffic drowned the streets of London, it might well have been possible to hear the roar of jungle animals. From medieval times, the city has been home to exotic captive creatures from around the world. Many were presented to kings and queens as symbols of royal power, while others were tortured and killed for the entertainment of a bloodthirsty public.