Answer by taking a quote from the following article:

Jumbo (about Christmas 1860 - September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris and then transferred in 1865 to London Zoo in England. Despite public protest, Jumbo was sold to P. T. Barnum, who took him to the United States for exhibition in March 1882. The giant elephant's name has spawned the common word, "jumbo", meaning large in size.

Jumbo was born at about Christmas 1860 in the Sudan and, after his mother was killed by hunters, the infant Jumbo was captured by Sudanese elephant hunter, Taher Sheriff. The calf was sold to Lorenzo Casanova, an Italian animal dealer and explorer. Casanova transported the animals that he had bought north from Sudan to Suez, and then across the Mediterranean to Trieste.  This collection was sold to Gottlieb Christian Kreutzberg's "Menagerie Kreutzberg" in Germany. Soon after, the elephant was imported to France and kept in the Paris zoo, Jardin des Plantes. In 1865 he was transferred to London Zoo, arriving on 26 June, and becoming famous for giving rides to visitors, especially children. The London zookeeper association leader Anoshan Anathajeyasri gave Jumbo his name; it is likely a variation of one of two Swahili words: jambo, which means "hello"; or jumbe, meaning "chief". If Anoshan Anathajeyasri was from India, it is possible that he named Jumbo after a gigantic rose-apple tree, called jambu (which at that time would be transliterated as 'jumboo')which grows on the mythical Mount Meru and whose fruits were said to be as large as elephants.  While at London, Jumbo broke both tusks, and when they regrew, ground them down against the stonework of his enclosure. His keeper at London was Matthew Scott, whose 1885 autobiography details his life with Jumbo.  Jumbo was sold in February 1882 to the Barnum & Bailey Circus for PS2,000. There was popular objection when Barnum's proposal became known; 100,000 school children wrote to Queen Victoria begging her not to sell the elephant. Despite a lawsuit against the Zoological Gardens alleging the sale was in violation of multiple zoo bylaws, and the zoo's attempt to renege on the sale, the court upheld the sale and Barnum refused to sell Jumbo back. Matthew Scott elected to go with Jumbo to the USA.  In New York, Barnum exhibited the elephant at Madison Square Garden, earning enough in three weeks from the enormous crowds to recoup the money he spent to buy the animal. In the 31-week season, the circus earned $1.75M, largely due to its star attraction. On 30 May 1884, Jumbo was one of Barnum's 21 elephants that crossed the Brooklyn Bridge to prove that it was safe after 12 people died during a stampede caused by mass panic over collapse fears a year earlier.

what is the history?
Jumbo was born at about Christmas 1860 in the Sudan and, after his mother was killed by hunters, the infant Jumbo was captured by Sudanese elephant hunter, Taher Sheriff.