Jumbo lived in the London Zoo about 16 years. He was the biggest elephant in captivity. American circus showman P. T. Barnum simply had to have this huge elephant in his circus. He bought Jumbo in 1882. The elephant made his debut in the United States on Easter Sunday 1882 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He toured with Barnum's circus for three years. In September 1885, he was killed in a railroad accident in Canada.