HERE KITTY, KITTY British lion trainer Martin Lacey Jr entertains the crowd at the 34th International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in 2010.
WHAT IT IS Establishing mastery over the king of the jungle
WHY YOU WON’T DO IT This isn’t a friendly tabby we’re dealing with here
The classic image of the lion tamer is one of a man in top hat and red tails, cracking a whip and wielding a chair while the king of the beasts does his bidding, in front of a baying crowd beneath the Big Top. Indeed, there was a time when this would have been a pretty accurate representation – today, though, lion taming is much more concerned with building bonds of trust.
The first recognized lion tamer was a Frenchman, Henri Martin, who worked in the early part of the 19th century. A retired horse trainer, his act initially used tigers and only later lions. In some ways he was quite a modern performer, teaching the animals to obey simple instructions after spending much time building up a strong degree of familiarity and trust.
Unfortunately, the act was then developed into the classic ‘whip and chair’ performance by the likes of the Americans Isaac van Amburgh (who emerged onto the scene in 1833) and Clyde Beatty, who brought lion taming to the silver screen in the 1930s. These performers were more concerned with dominating the animals – indeed, van Amburgh is said to have beaten his animals with a crowbar while Beatty performed with a pistol.
Happily, such approaches are now off the agenda: animal rights have come to the fore, and today, most practitioners firmly define themselves as ‘trainers’ rather than ‘tamers’. Even so, some animal rights groups argue that such acts are unjustifiable in the modern age.
A lion has claws up to 7.5 centimetre (3 in) long and a jaw that can lock itself round your head. For those reasons alone, they should always be treated with respect. Any animals you end up performing with are likely to have been born in captivity, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. The key to a successful act is experience, which must be built up over a long period. You will need patience and dedication. This is not the sort of thing you can wing on the day, and theory is no match for real face-to-face exposure. As the famed Greek conductor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, once put it: ‘I never use a score when conducting my orchestra. Does a lion tamer enter a cage with a book on how to tame a lion?’
HERE KITTY, KITTY British lion trainer Martin Lacey Jr entertains the crowd at the 34th International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in 2010.
Nevertheless, it’s also worth taking time to study the animals academically. Consider taking a course in zoology, veterinary science or an associated subject. Anything that helps you better understand how lions live and think is invaluable. Volunteer at a zoo or a safari park so that you can start to interact with the animals.
When you begin learning to ‘tame’, work with an old hand who can advise and guide you. An expert will instruct you on how to build up trust between you and the lion until you can safely inhabit the same space. Needless to say, you won’t be able to walk straight into the lion’s enclosure on Day One – and if you try, you’re unlikely to be walking back out again.
Once you get to a point of familiarity and peaceful coexistence with your new feline friend, you can start to think about how to develop an act. Aside from the danger and unpredictability involved, teaching a lion to follow your instructions is not too different from training any other animal, and involves a process of repetition and positive reinforcement (more often than not in the form of food).
For instance, if you want the lion to turn in a clockwise circle at the click of your fingers, it needs to learn that your clicking is its cue. Every time the lion turns in the right direction when you click, reward it with a treat. The lion eventually learns that your click is its cue to spin, and then results in a reward.
When working with such potentially deadly wild animals, you must be sure to maintain your focus at all times. However skilled you are, lion taming is always dangerous and lion tamers will rue the day they become complacent. Even the best can be at risk – German-American duo Siegfried and Roy were the stars of the most famous big cat show in the world, at the MGM Mirage casino in Las Vegas, and among the most highly paid people in the entertainment industry, until Roy Horn was badly mauled by a tiger called Montecore during a show in 2003. The cause of the animal’s sudden attack has never been satisfactorily established – one theory is that Montecore was actually attempting to pull Horn to safety after he slipped and fell. Once Horn had recovered the duo went on to perform wth it on several more occasions before their eventual retirement.
But it just goes to prove that even the most expertly trained animals retain a wild and unpredictable streak. When you work with a big cat, that should always be your uppermost thought.
