Aquired in 1912, Babe an 8000 pound Indian Elephant was the Toledo Zoo's first paciderm. He was purchased with donation money from Toledo school children and private donations from private citizens and businesses. He was the pride of the Zoo and an indicator in the minds of Zoo trustees that Walbridge Park was becoming a real Toledo attraction. The Zoo has numerous pictures of Babe in his enclosure and even have a life size photo of him in their museum to this day.

What most people dont know is that Babe's tenure at the Toledo Zoo wasn't always so rosy. On Sunday, June 14, 1914, Babe went bezerk. In front of a crowd of over 1000 people, Babe went on a rampage and crushed his trainer, Michael Raddatz, to death as the two were performing for the crowd. Babe knelt on the hapless man and gored him with his tusks which panicked the crowd and sent them screaming for the exits. After the attack, Babe went back to munching hay, his tusks still covered in the trainers blood, as if nothing happened. The Zoo board had to make a tough decision to either keep Babe or sell him. They were offered 1000 dollars from a local circus which was a sizable sum and a good return on their investment. Utimately, they decided that Babe was too valuable to sell. He brought in paying customers. His past crime was forgiven and he stayed at the zoo for several more years.
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