Like most American families, U.S. Presidential families have historically owned pets. Some of the pets kept in the White House may have been a bit unusual, however! Would you have considered a silkworm to be a pet? One president did! Read on for some unusual presidential pets through the years.

Silkworms: John Quincy Adams

Serving from 1825 to 1829, John Quincy Adams and his wife Louisa kept silkworms as pets in the White House. They even harvested the silk from the mulberry trees where the silkworms lived on the White House grounds. Adams kept an eye on the progress of the silkworms and their eggs, but Louisa was their primary keeper. She even used the silk to sew garments for herself.

Bear cubs: Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson received two grizzly bear cubs from explorer Zebulon Pike, the man Pike’s Peak is named after. It seems that Jefferson had heard of grizzly bears and how ferocious they were and was afraid to keep the cubs. For a while, the cubs lived in a cage on the lawn of the White House, but it was soon apparent that they would outgrow their habitat. The bears were sent to a museum in Philadelphia where they soon met their end after attacking the curator and his family. No other U.S. President has tried to keep grizzly bears since!

Tiger cubs: Martin Van Buren

The Sultan of Oman gifted Van Buren two tiger cubs early in his Presidency, and they were added to the household right away. Unfortunately, Congress frowned upon the tiger cubs as pets of the President. Because the cubs were shipped prior to the inauguration, Congress viewed them as property of the United States. The cubs were eventually sent to a zoo after Congress won the argument.

Turkey: Abraham Lincoln

The first turkey to be pardoned by a U.S. President, Jack was supposed to be Thanksgiving dinner until he formed a bond with Lincoln’s son Tad. After a tearful Tad begged his father not to eat his friend, Lincoln pardoned the turkey, a tradition that continues over the Thanksgiving holiday to this day. Tad trained Jack to follow him around the White House grounds and he became a family pet. Though other U.S. Presidents have had birds as pets, Lincoln was the only one to have a turkey.

Opossums: Benjamin Harrison

Though he owned several dogs, President Benjamin Harrison and his wife Caroline also had two opossums as pets during their time in the White House. Named Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection, the two opossums were meant to be gifts for his grandchildren, but they were obviously named by Harrison himself. The opossums were well loved and had the run of the White House.

Racoons: Calvin Coolidge

The many pets kept by Calvin Coolidge and his family during his term in office are a story in and of themselves, so let’s focus on the most unusual ones – the raccoons. Eventually given the name Rebecca, the first of Coolidge’s raccoons arrived as a gift for Coolidge and his family from a person in Mississippi. Rebecca was intended to be part of the President’s Thanksgiving meal, but Coolidge found the thought of raccoon meat unappetizing, to say the least. The raccoon was given a pardon and kept as a pet, but was soon relegated to a wooden house outside the White House itself. Coolidge himself walked Rebecca on a leash and even took her on vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Reuben the male raccoon soon joined Rebecca as a companion, but the two did not get along. Eventually both of them were donated to the national zoo.

For more stories about Presidential Pets, click this link to take you to The Presidential Pet Museum.