The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-07-16


A Trainers Experience With an
Excited Lion.
A famous wild animal trainer, who BY
virtue of many years experience in han
ding wild animals has come to be a sort
of adviser and coach Of animal trainers,
says that in a very large percentage Of
cases injuries suffered from trained anil
mails are the fault of the trainer.
'Inexperience and carelessness are the
great factors in accidents of this kind, =
SAYS the trainer. 1.-THE average young
trainer is too likely to forget that every
one of the big cats has five mouths, as
one may say-one in his head and four
more at the ends of his paws-and each of
those mouths is capable of inficting ter
rible injury. However, we do not place
an animal In the list Of bad animals I'M
less he makes a direct and full attack.
Striking at the trainer with the paws
amounts to little; 1t may be even acci-
dental 1t is the spring that counts.
EVERY trainer expects to be clawed
somewhat. 1t may lay him up for awhile,
but he doesn't lay it up against the
beasts The trainers own arms, legs,
breast and back are deliberately tattooed
with testimonials from his feline friends
of past years. But the beast that springs
must be beaten into submission, or the
trainer must escape from the cage as
soon as possible. If the animal really
means business, 1t Is the mans part to
get out, for no man can stand against the
strength of a lion or tiger or the wonder
full agility of leopard.
1.-THE best defense against a charging
lion or tiger if one has only club Is to
strike the animal on the nose, hitting up
from under, but this is by no means an
easy thing to do, as the creature will
dodge and block with a degree Of skill
that would do credit to a champion of
the ring. Meantime, however, the man
can have been edging into a position
favorable to escape. The felines jump
for the throat, and an agile man If he
sees that the animal is going to leap can
avoid the onset and get in a blow that
may send his assailant cringing to the
other end of the cage.
s'No man who is not agile has any bust
ness with these brutes. If knocked down,
the mans only chance Is to struggle to
the bars and raise himself, for on his
feet he has a chance of controlling the
animals: down, he Is completely at their
mercy, and they have no fear or respect
for him The minute his body touches
the floor he ceases to be the master.
"a number of bad accidents that have
come under my notice have been ascriba-
BILE to drunkenness on the part Of the vic
Tins A half drunken fellow goes into
the cage with desire to show off his
mastery over the animals and, cursing
and swearing at them, puts them through
their PAGES without let up. Every AMI
NAL knows when he is being overworked,
and there is nothing he resents more bit
terly. The animals endure being put
upon for time; then the first thing the
trainer knows one of them has him
pinned, and if he gets out alive it is
more than he deserves.
Zone must bear constantly in mind
the possible effect of his course of action
upon the animals he is handling and the
construction which their reasoning or in
stinct or whatever you choose to call II
Is likely to put upon his acts.
81 had a severe illustration of that in
Kansas City. Owing to an error on the
part of the workmen Nine. Pianska' s
large cage was misplaced, and ! found
that her lions would have to perform in
a similar one This change of stage set
ting is one of the things that performing
animals particularly hate, and she had a
good deal of trouble.
''Finally she got them all working in
the smaller cage except one lioness, usual
ly O good subject, who CHANGED to be
sulky that day. Coaxing wouldn't move
her, so ! was appealed to and went into
IL. ha~
majesty to go over her jumps all right,
and | kept her hustling around the ring
pretty lively to take some Of the temper
out of her.
''In my hand held riding whip, and
just for flourish tapped it smartly on
the ground. There was no sense in the
action, and If l had thought twice
wouldn't have done it. Twenty feet away
from me, near Nine. Pianka, the honess'
mate was standing, watching me with
dubious eyes. Probably he thought when
| tapped the whip on the ground that ]
was laying 1t Oh the lioness. Anyway
he covered the 20 feet in one bound and
pinned me through the f1eshy part Of the
thigh.
Down went. The lion picked me up
and carried me over to Nine. Pianka for
her approval She had in her hand the
revolver which she uses in her act, and
she fired the blank charge close to the
lions ear, at the same time catching him
around the neck.
'That was one of the poses in his act,
and fortunately it caught his mind, and
the force Of habit brought him to instant
obedience. He relaxed his hold, giving
me chance to get to my feet and l ran
him around the cage three or four times
just to show him / was still master and
then went to bed. The teeth hadn't
touched the bone, and was up and
around in three weeks. By the way,
there is nothing in that theory that a
lions bite is poisonous. have been Bit
ten seven times by felines, and the
wounds have always healed without any
complications"