17. Theodore Roosevelt had a hyena as a pet while in the White House
When Theodore Roosevelt entered the White House following the death of his predecessor, William McKinley, he brought with him a family including six children and an assortment of pets which continued to grow over time. Though a few were and are considered odd, most were of the normal variety for a family of the size and financial standing of the Roosevelts. There were lizards, chickens, a rooster (with one leg), guinea pigs, parrots, a pony named Algonquin, a pig, several dogs, and other small mammals. There were also a barn owl, which lived on the grounds of the White House, a badger which the children had named Josiah, which were later joined by a hyena.
There have been over its history many strange selections of animals as pets kept in the White House, though probably none as strange as a hyena, which was named Bill and which was a gift to the president from the Emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II. Roosevelt, however, did not entertain a high opinion of hyenas in general, considering them to be little more than cowardly scavengers. Over the protests of his children, who liked to feed the animal scraps from the presidential table, Roosevelt sent Bill to the National Zoo shortly after its arrival.