It is recorded that during Caesar’s third consulship, twenty elephants fought in the arena (Plin. HN 8.22), and Emperor Commodus later killed five hippos and two elephants in a spectacle lasting several days (Dio Cass. 73.10.3). To put the sheer scale of this into perspective: in 1850, when a single hippopotamus was brought from Egypt to London for the zoo, it required the construction of a specially made steamship equipped with a two-ton water tank. If transporting just one hippopotamus with early modern technology was such a monumental struggle, how did the Romans manage to move ferocious predators, care-intensive beasts like hippos, and animals as massive as elephants using only sailing ships? More importantly, how did they initially capture so many of these creatures? In this post, we will explore these questions in light of primary sources, focusing primarily on the methods of capture. (And unfortunately, I do not promise an answer for transporting the hippos).

In Rome, games were an effective tool used by politicians who wanted to gain glory, fame, and respect. The more entertaining the games given to the public as gifts (in Latin, munus literally means service, but figuratively means gift or public show), the more respect they brought to the organizer. Therefore, Roman politicians tried to organize shows with as many exotic animals as possible. While it’s impossible to know the exact numbers, it is evident that thousands of animals were slaughtered. Augustus boasted that a total of 3,500 animals fought in the shows he organized throughout his life (Mon. Anc. 22). It’s probably exaggerated, but it is reported that 9,000 animals were killed at the opening of the Colosseum, and 11,000 animals in the games of Trajan in the years 108–109 AD.

Even if we remove one or even two zeros from these numbers, it is clear that there was a huge demand for animals. Therefore, animal hunting for shows became a very profitable and large industry (Petron. Sat. 119.14–18). In addition, among wealthy friends, one of the greatest gifts was to send animals to be used in shows (Sen. Ben. 1.12.3). During his governorship of Cilicia, Cicero was constantly pestered by his friends to send panthers (Cic. Fam. 2.11.2; Att. 6.1.21 et alia). Once, when his friend Caelius asked for a panther, Cicero boasted that all the panthers of Cilicia had fled to Caria because they were the only beings hunted in his province while everyone else lived in peace (Plut. Cic. 36.5). Demand for animals was so high in Rome and other cities that legions, just as Cicero ordered in Cilicia, were directed to hunt animals in their spare time. According to an inscription, a “bear hunter” stationed in Germania captured 50 bears in just six months to be sent to Rome.

The first question that comes to mind is why they did not breed these animals instead of capturing them from the wild. The answer is that they actually did breed beasts like elephants, but the Romans preferred wild, undomesticated animals for the shows. They even had a classification based on this: wild (ferae); domesticated (pecudes, mansuetae); toothed (dentatae), etc.

How did they capture those wild beasts?

Lions

Rome became acquainted with lion fights in approximately 99 BC in shows organized by the aedile Q. Scaevola. This new animal must have been so popular that L. Sulla later organized shows with 100 lions, Pompey with 600, and Caesar with 400. These numbers are likely exaggerated, but they still give us an idea. So, how did they capture these wild and dangerous animals in such numbers? Initially, this was done by luring them into pits. However, during the reign of Emperor Claudius, a much more interesting method was reported: a shepherd from Gaetulia allegedly threw his cloak over the face of a lion charging at him. According to Pliny, when a lion’s eyes are covered, even with a thin cloth, its aggression subsides entirely, and it cannot defend itself. This method was reportedly used both for hunting and in combat against lions in the arena (Plin. HN 8.53–54). Of course, it is highly doubtful whether such a method really works.

While on the subject of big cats, let’s also talk about tigers. The method of capturing tigers is quite interesting too: when the mother is away, hunters capture all the cubs and use a fast horse to escape. When the chasing mother approaches, one cub is thrown to the ground. The mother immediately picks up that cub, returns it to her den, and continues her hunt. When she catches up to the hunters again, another cub is thrown down. The mother returns that cub to her den as well, but by then, the hunter has already escaped with the remaining cubs (Plin. HN 8.66). Yet, the most popular method of hunting should have been setting traps; Cicero mentions in one of his letters (Fam. 2.11.2) that during his governorship in Cilicia, he ordered traps to be set up throughout the province to capture panthers.

Bears

According to Livy (Epit. 44.18.8), the first to introduce bears to the arena were the aediles Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica and Publius Lentulus in 169 BC. They featured forty bears in the games they organized. Pliny mentions that in the games organized by the aedile Domitius Ahenobarbus in 61 BCE, 100 bears were made to fight (NH 8.131). Additionally, Pliny notes that the Annales describe Ahenobarbus’ bears as being of the “Numidian type,” to which he skeptically adds, “How can there be a Numidian bear when there are no bears in Africa?” It seems Pliny was unaware of the existence of the Atlas bear.

The most common method of capturing these animals was by digging pits. In fact, this practice became so widespread that it even made its way into Roman law: “Where persons dig pits for the purpose of catching bears or deer, and do this on the highway, and anything falls into them and is injured, they will be liable under the Lex Aquilia; but they will not be liable if they dug the pits in some other place where this is ordinarily done” (Dig. 9.2.28). Another method involved using nets adorned with bird feathers to startle the animal. The bear, panicked by hunters suddenly appearing with trumpets, would be driven toward these net traps and captured (Opp. Cyneg. 4.349–424).

Hippos and Elephants

The first hippopotamus to be exhibited in the games appeared in 58 BC during the aedileship of M. Scaurus, where it was displayed alongside five crocodiles in a specially constructed canal (Plin. NH 8.96). They were apparently captured using traps, as Pliny mentions that hippos would leave backward footprints when heading out to feed, purposefully avoiding retracing their steps where traps might be set (NH 8.95).

The story of the elephants is unfortunately, quite sad. Their first appearance in the arena occurred in 252 BC, following the capture of a large number of them from the Carthaginians. The Romans, having seized 142 elephants, were unsure of what to do with their prize; they neither dared to gift them to friendly kings nor wanted to bear the exorbitant cost of maintaining such a herd. Consequently, they simply killed them all in the arena with spears (Plin. NH 8.16–17).

The first actual arena hunt, by contrast, took place in 99 BC during the aedileship of Claudius Pulcher. Methods of capture varied by region: in India, hunters would attack an elephant separated from its herd, whipping it until it tired and submitted; in Africa, they employed the same pits used for other animals, or utilized horsemen to drive the elephants into handmade enclosures, where they were eventually starved into submission (Plin. NH 8.25).

How did they transport those wild beasts?

Animals can be captured somehow; the real challenge is bringing them from distant lands to Rome. Animals like bears and lions can be caged and transported. Although laborious, this is a feasible task. On the other hand, transporting colossal animals like elephants must have been quite challenging, especially considering the need to cross the sea. The mentioned 142 elephants were captured in Sicily and transported through the narrow straits using “rafts constructed by laying decks on rows of casks lashed together” (Loeb trans.). The exact meaning of this is unclear. Apart from this, we know that elephants were loaded onto ships and brought over. An interesting anecdote from Pliny (Plin. NH 8.3) states that elephants do not board ships unless they receive assurance of their return from men. How did they manage to bring hippos and crocodiles all the way from Egypt? With sailboats equipped with water tanks? We don’t know for sure. Apparently, the Roman ingenuity, which managed to bring water to their cities from miles away, must have found a solution to this problem as well.

Sources and Further Reading

Loeb editions of ancient texts have been used, following abbreviations from OCD⁴.

Nemesianus, Cynegetica. (A late Roman didactic poem focusing on the rearing of dogs, horses, and hunting equipment).

Oppiananus, Cynegetica. (A Greek poem detailing various ancient hunting techniques, animal lore, and capture methods).

Friedländer, L. (1965). Roman Life and Manners Under the Early Empire.

Futrell, A. (1997). Blood in the arena: The spectacle of Roman Power.

Hopkins, K., Beard, M. (2005). The Colosseum.

Kyle, D. G. (1998). Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome.