Evening star., 1928-06-17
CalifOrnians Raise Wild Beasts

! together. In one arena of male lions
each one answers to his name and does
his trick. Pluto, the monarch of the
place, one of the first cubs born to Rosie
gives Mr. Gay shampoo by licking the
back of his head. Most Of the man
visitors seem still willing to have their
BARRIERS do their shampooing.
VISITORS enjoy the lion cubs more
than anything else. Mr.. and Mrs.
Gay handle the babies as though they
were kittens, and the little beasts seem
to enjoy thoroughly being the center OF
attraction.
ut hasn't been an easy matter at all
to get our lion farm to Its present con-
dition," said Mr.. Gay. "It has been
particularly hard, because we have had
to do all our own experimenting before
we could tell what procedure was best.
| Another thing which makes 1t diff
cult Is the fact that the lions are very
heavy. Many Of the full-grown beasts
weigh 500 pounds. In the shows, when
they stand up and put their paws on
my shoulders, 1t is hard work.
| asked If he had to be on his guard
all the time.
eyes" said his wife. Lions are as
| temperamental as artists. Some love
to have us around, some just tolerate
| us. and some whole-heartedly hate us.
You noticed in the shows how we were
| perfectly at ease in some arenas, how
we were watchful in some, and how we
didn't even go into others"
| One of the hardest things to combat
| has been sickness. Veterinarians know
nothing about lions, so the Gays have
had to watch and experiment as they
went along They have found that
overfeeding Is the worst of all evils in
lion farming, and that through strict
watch of the diet the health Of the ami
mails can be safeguarded.
| Mrs. Gays control Of the great beasts
is quite as complete as her husbands
One Of the stunts during the daily
show Is for her to go into an arena
where there Is magnificent lioness
/ She rubs its side and the animal lies
down, rolls over on its back and stays
there with all four feet in the air while
she scratches its stomach. Perhaps this
| is because she Is its foster mother, fol-
| this particular lioness was hand raised
on a bottle Sometimes, Of course, both
Mr.. and Mrs. Gay have been nauled
about somewhat, but even on the occa-
sions when they have been really hurt
they do not blame the lions, but rather
their own carelessnesS.
To date only few lions have beer
sold from the farm, for 1t is necessary
to build up the stock. Eventually, how
ever, they will do business with ZOOS
parks and circuses all over the country
Already they have exchanged males with
some Of the country's leading ZOOS, 81
as to prevent inbreeding. When they
are ready to sell lions this will be ar
added source of revenue. for grown, un.
trained beasts are worth about 81 ,50t
apiece.
Besides the lions, there Is corral fol
horses, one for goats and chicken
yard. Chickens are used to feed sicl
| lions and to wean the cubs from mill
| to meat. Every once In while all thu
animals and chickens start voicing theil
opinions at the same time, the throatJ
roar Of the lions mingling with the
neighing of the horses, the cries Of the
goats and the cackling of the chickens
But through 1t all one can easily distin-
gtiish the peculiarly vibrating, blood
curdling roar Of the beasts. One has
only. to shut his eyes TO imagine he is in
the jungle depths OF Africa.