Pete

Pete the badger was one of the most unusual pets ever to live at the White House — and he bit everyone who got too close.

Theodore Roosevelt was famous for his love of animals, and his six children inherited that passion. The White House under TR was basically a zoo. There were dogs, cats, birds, snakes, a bear, a hyena, a lion, a zebra, and — most famously — a badger named Pete.

Pete was given to the Roosevelt family by a Kansas rancher. The children were thrilled. Badgers are not known for being friendly, and Pete was no exception. He was grumpy, sharp-toothed, and ready to bite anyone who annoyed him. Which, according to legend, was everyone.

Pete lived in the White House and roamed the grounds. He was known for his love of digging — he'd tear up the lawn looking for bugs and roots. The White House gardeners were not fans. And neither were the White House staff, who learned to keep their distance from the hissing, scratching badger.

Eventually, Pete became too much to handle. He was sent to the Bronx Zoo in New York, where he lived out his days in an enclosure where he couldn't bite visitors. But his legend lived on — Pete the badger remains one of the most memorable pets in White House history.