Charles Mayer was an American animal collector, circus supplier, and author who wrote about his wildlife capture adventures in Southeast Asia. Born in Binghamton, New York, Mayer ran away at age seventeen to join the Sells Brothers Circus as an elephant trainer. He was later commissioned to procure elephants from India, eventually spending many years in Trengganu, Malaysia. Operating out of Singapore, Mayer attempted to build an animal-export business supplying American and Australian circuses and menageries, including those of Carl Hagenbeck.
Mayer achieved literary recognition with his 1922 book, Trapping Wild Animals in Malay Jungles. The work was initially well-received for its novelty and was even featured at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. However, the book's credibility was severely damaged when F. N. Chasen, the director of the Raffles Museum, revealed in 1933 that Mayer had extensively plagiarized the writings of G. P. Sanderson, a British elephant-catching specialist in India.
Characterized by a colonial mindset, Mayer's narratives relied heavily on pulp fiction tropes and exaggerated stereotypes. He passed away in New York City in 1927 from what was diagnosed as "Asiatic fever."
