Evening star., 1933-01-22

low the Cleverest Animals on the Stage
Are Caught and Prepared for Their
Theatrical Careers in Calf fornia Zoo.
BY ANDREW r. BOONE.

BY ANDREW r. BOONE.
IONS Of ~ sea, hundreds of sleek, well
hammered fellows, entertain many
audiences of the world in circus, ZOO
and theater.
They clap their fippers, speak, bal
ance sticks of fire, catch tiny balls on
the tip Of sharp noses and argue" with their
trainers because two California men have the
fortitude and patience to catch and train them.
They are commonly know as seals but In
reality they're sea lions and they come from
the waters of the Pacific of Southern Cali
fornia. Most of them reach stardom from the
three Coronado Islands 20 miles south OF San
Diego.
S. c. Charles, director Of animal training
for the San Diego Zoo, trains most OF them In
his novel seal school, conducted In the back
yard" of the 110-acre Zoo he weans them away
from the sea- teaches them to be unafraid OF
fire. to be friendly with man, to do as they're
told.
Sounds simple, but Charles takes weeks even
TO become acquainted with new class"
Yet, once he achieves their friendship, they
never forget him.
As soon as his new students" waddle out
of their wire cages in which they are placed
when first they are lifted out of the Pacific
Ocean he "shoos" them into the ZOOS large
outdoor pool There they become acquainted
with older sea lions, animals that have been
in captivity for years. From them the new
comers learn to eat in captivity
CHARLES takes sea lions about three years
~ old for training for then they have reached
a stage in their growth where they are less
liable to become diseased and do not need to
be fed on bottle or with spoon.
But the secrets and tricks of initiating sea
lions into the routine of a theatrical act lie In
- ~kn t1ovS
dogs and Charles never varies the routine or
his commands.
Most sea lions adapt themselves to captivity
easily" Charles explains In order to gain
their confidence I sit quietly on a rock beside
their pool sometimes for days. At last one
comes up touches my hand with his nose, and
soon all of them become my friends. They
then will follow me wherever I 60, in water or
on land
when at last we become acquainted I move
the seven or eight to be trained to q nearby
building and begin their schooling indoors,
for it is necessary that they become accustomed
both to interiors and to people. After all, that's
the life they will lead as professional per-
formers.
I never raise my voice. never make a quick
motion with my hands or feet or head. show
no fear, nor do give them any reason to fear
me. Literally, we become pals.
soon become such fixture among them
that they actually waddle up and try to shove
me out of their way with their noses; and
finally, they bark whenever I appear. They
become lonesome without me.
Nov they're ready to learn. I begin with
simple commands. Fact Is, the commands must
remain simple, for the sea lions begin to asso-
ciate certain sounds of the voice with the trick
they are asked to perform and with the reward
they learn will follow when they perform sue
cf,llv no
with a small bit of fish.
''The fish is all-important for when training
they derive all their food in this way. Thus
they must perform well to eat at all.
This, of course, it not carried to any ridcu-
lous extremes. If some seal hasn't the mental
capacity to learn we return him to the pool,
where he eats his fill with the other dummies"
One of the early steps in training these little
beasts is naming them. Charles had one recent
class of eight, all Of whom would respond to
roll call by barking. You can imagine what a
laugh-getter this is on the stage.
CONFIDENCE, no matter how it may be
~ attained, is the real secret of training sea
lions. Having obtained their confidence,
Charles weeds out those Intellectually deficient,
"demoting" them to the pools, from which
eventually they are removed to some zoo or
circus requiring no acting.
Within three months from the day they leave
the sea the weeding-out process is complete and
advanced training begun. But three years may
elapse before the class graduates" to some
vaudeville act.
And speaking of confidence, Charles convinces
the sea lions that no matter what they attempt
no harm will befan them. Take the flaming
torch for instance. He doesn't toss q burning
wand into ones mouth without long preparation.
He first gives the particular sea lion . bit Of
charred wood, so he'll learn the taste Of fire:
then . red wand, to teach him the color OF