Josiah the Badger Who Lived in the White House

Photo: Archibald B. Roosevelt with pet badger. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.

July 4, 2026

Josiah the Badger Who Lived in the White House

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt was given a baby badger during a trip through Kansas. He named him Josiah and brought him home to the White House.

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt was traveling through Kansas when a 12-year-old girl approached him with a question: Would he like a badger? Roosevelt said yes.

The girl was Pearl Gorsuch, and Roosevelt was stopping in Sharon Springs during a presidential tour of the American West. Pearl returned with her family and a 2-week-old badger, which the president accepted. He named Josiah after Pearl's father.

Not exactly your average presidential gift.

Roosevelt soon wrote to his children about the newest addition to the family, whom he had already nicknamed Josh. The young badger seemed good-natured enough during the journey home and entertained children along the way, although Roosevelt noted one important detail: Josiah sometimes bit legs, but apparently never bit faces.

A special enclosure was built with enough underground space for Josiah to burrow, while Roosevelt sometimes would let him loose around the grounds. The family quickly learned to keep their ankles out of the way.

Roosevelt's 9-year-old son Archie became particularly attached to him and would carry Josiah around by the waist. When his father worried that this put Archie's face within biting distance, the boy reportedly offered the same reassurance: Josiah only bit legs.

As Josiah grew older, life at the White House became less practical. He grew more aggressive, and the Roosevelt family eventually sent him to the Bronx Zoo, where they continued to visit him.

The Roosevelts had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, horses, and a blue macaw named Eli Yale, among many other animals. Josiah may have been the most unusual resident of all.