The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-06
LIONS TRAINED, NOT tanned.
THE BIG CAT IN THE ARENA rs A
WILD BEAST STILL.
Ne Yields to the Brain and viii He Fears
and Does Not Understand, but Never
Loves His Master-Always Ready to
pounce when He Knows HIS Strength.

-One Of the most noticeable features
., the taste OF the American public for
.ru.ements has been the increasing in
tsrest shown in recent years in the ex-
bibi,ions of trained animals, especially |
Of animals by nature savage and ferocious.
observed man who had been in the show
business for many years.
-Ye, despite the hundreds OF exhibitions
NJ this sort which have been given, there |
is one point that the sightseeing public |
has entirely failed to comprehend. They |
think the lions, tigers bears and other sharp !
toothed and long-clawed creatures which |
perform so many difficult tricks with such !
apparent willingness, have been tanned.
Not one has, Or in my opinion. ever will be.
They have been trained, an entirely different
nroposition. This natural mistake on the
mart of the spectators is not matter OF
much moment But II an animal trainer
should make the same mistake his career
would he short.
A lion or a tiger may be taught to do all
sorts Of tricks and apparently to yield
ready obedience to his trainer but under
meath this superficial training is the real,
inherited wild beast nature, which sooner
or later is almost certain to crop out
Animals, especially the larger and
stronger ones, are not bright. A lion
does not need to trouble himself about
strategy in order to overcome his prey
or to protect himself. His giant muscles
and wonderful agility settle those problems
for him. For this reason the animal mind
Ia better de veloped in weaker creatures,
who cannot trust to their unaided physical
qualifications to attain their prey or pre-
vent themselves from being the prey OF
others
'To the lion, tiger or jaguar the trainer
il mysterious being He knows that
man is a creature OF strange and wonder
full powers. and the unknown inspires a
feeling Of awe in him. exactly as 1t does In
savage or half-civilized men. To this I'M
known power the lion yields obedience.
but almost always grudgng obedience
Combined with the feeling that man
ia q creature OF mysterious powers goes an
ignorance Of the animals own strength.
A tiger could crush his trainers skull with
one blow of his paw. but the tiger does not
appreciate this fact. 1t Is the lack OF APP
probation. not any affection for his trainer.
that makes the beast seem 30 apparently
tractable and obedient.
.Once let a tiger or a lion appreciate
that his trainer is helpless against him,
and that animals value as a performer il
zone forever. He not only will not 60
through his accustomed tricks. but II any
effort is made TO force him. he Is almost
certain to turn on his trainer Any man
who expects 10 make success Of training
wild animals must devote his whole time to
Studying the peculiarities Of his individual
charges. He thus gradually acquires an
: insight into their characters and DISPOSE
tons which may enable him to tell the
moment when one Of them has suddenly
awakened to realization Of his own
strength.
But animals are cunning, and some-
times q trainer does not realize that this
perception Of their prowess has come to
them until 1t is too late, Then there is
another tragedy.
This ignorance OF their physical strength,
as compared with that Of man, II one OF
the reasons why animals captured il, their
native wilds are more likely to make good
performers than those born In captivity.
A lion born in civilization associates with
men from the moment he opens his eyes
az a furry. playful cub. Man Is not the
strange. awe-inspiring creature to him
that he is to the lion caught when half or
fully grown. This feeling Of familiarity
tends to make the cage-born animal bad
subject for training.
There is another and even more imPor-
tant reason why animals born in captivity
are dangerous pupils. They are almost
81, thoty h and
ability to take care Of themselves. A cub,
for instance, is petted until it attain fair
size Then comes day when. in trying
TO escape from some one who Is holding
ID, the young lion uses its claws. They
are by this time sharp and long enough
to in1ict unpleasant scratches. The cub
finds himself free in an instant. And in
that inst ant he has learned the first lesson
which tends to make him useless AZ a trained
animal-that he has claws and teeth, and
that the use Of them will enable him to es-
cape from dsagreeable surroundings. As
he grows larger and stronger this lesson
is more and more Impressed on his mind
When he has attained his full strength
the only place for him will be behind the
bars Of a strong cage. The instances OF
cage born animals OF the cat TRIBE that
"One Of the mistakes Of the general public
which does not recognize that animals
are trained, not tanned. Ii a belief that
wild beasts in many cases have an Affection
for their keepers and trainers. lion Will
often purr and rub himself against the bars
Of mis- cage at the approach OF his trainer
This is because he Aas become acoustic med
" associate the trainer with the good things
Of life The trainer feeds him, he strokes
the fur ard rubs the back OF the big cat .
and does many other things which the
animal likes. Therefore, the animal Is
glad TO see him
"A lion may show the greatest delight
at the approach Of his trainer and an hour
later, II the trainer happens TO slip and fall
or make some mistake while going through
the performance with his animals, that
same lion will be on him In second. This
70 even more true OF tigers. leopards and
Jag Iars, which are more tTeacherous and
far quicker TO anger than lion
Imitation. endless patience and doing
thesame thing over and over are the secrets
q successful training o. animals. The
nfst thing, Of course, u TO get wild animal
accustomed 10 the presence Of his keeper.
Then from the simplest OF tricks tho lessons
proceed 10 the more complicated ones;
But each step must 10 repeated again and
again until " has become habit
For this reason ths trainer Ii careful
never to vary in the slightest degree the
programme which he goes through at eaoh
performance, az TIE Least difsreDos would
le apt 10 confuse his savage, stupid pupils
II the trainer " In the habit Of carrying q