Rossetti's Exotic Pets

Dante Gabriel Rossetti owned a kangaroo, owl, armadillo, llama, and a toucan. He was known for his love of exotic animals and even expressed an impulsive desire to own an elephant and a penguin.

His house at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, also had a white Brahmin bull, monkeys, peacocks, an Australian kingfisher, dormice, a Pomeranian puppy, an Irish wolfhound, hedgehogs, parakeets, chameleons, lizards, salamanders, marmots, a mole, and a raccoon. The raccoon hibernated in a chest of drawers

Rossetti was obsessed with wombats and even had one as a pet. He named it "Top", and it was a regular sight in his home. 

Some of Rossetti's exotic pets led to problems with neighbors, who were often disturbed by noise and smells, and by the way the animals were treated.

Sources: Public Domain Review and Magnet Manchester