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Saturday, September 30, 2006
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10 comments:
Now this is a trick you just don't see. HIND LEG LEAP Most of the newer acts do the same tricks as another. Jules made a difference that we just now can appriciate. Now a days we are lucky to even have a cat act. To me the main attraction of any circus. The zoos had more time for their acts also. And no tair downs every show, etc. The low pay might make up for that fact also. You could train any time you wanted. You really had to love what you did to live life as an animal trainer.
This looks as to be a fine & stylish , well put togeather presentation - props , wardrobe & the overall setup of the staging & spectators seating along with the feats of the act all combined .
This Lion jumping is interesting - It seams to me ;
Mr. Jacot is " TOP CAT " himself .
Was this Big Cat Act there only animal presentation ? or were there other ones also at the Zoo .
My dad grew up down the road (Hampton Ave) from the St. Louis Zoo and watched Jacot there every week as a teenager. Then when I was a kid, he took me there, too, and Jacot was there (again) in his 70s still doing a tremendous act. Two people inspired me as a kid to work with animals, now a professional biologist: Jules Jacot and Marlin Perkins, both of the St. Louis Zoo. Well, then later as Jim A's assistant with sea lions in Jacot's converted arena, I learned a lot too. I don't think a lot of folks give due credit to animal acts for instilling a love of animals that carries through life.
FYI, back then they had a huge chimp show with Mike Kostial and crew and a big elephant show, too. Each had its own large arena. Chimp and Elephant Arenas are gone; the old Lion Arena is now the Sea Lion Arena since 1970 (is that right, Jim?)
Hi Kevin, I was wondering if you could resist the St Louis stories about the ZOO. SO you know JIM!!! Small, small world. Did you get to visit Circus Flora this year?
Jim, I knew your assistant before I knew you. This blog gets scary sometimes. Kevin has a beautiful web sight. Animals2go might find it interesting as Kevin has snakes and crawly things to.
Rebecca, I was at the zoo from 1975-1980 while in college and worked my last two years there with Jim & the sea lions in the converted Lion Arena. He had been having a hard time finding an assistant with an interest in training and I'd been looking for a spot in the zoo to learn about training--a perfect match. Jim turned out to be like a "zen master" in teaching me. Everyday, he'd quiz me on trainers, styles, techniques, and circus lore. And tell lots of stories. And there were alway animal folks stopping by, or we'd take our lunch hour to visit nearby lots. I never knew when I'd come in to work and there would be Bobby Gibbs sitting there waiting or one of the Halls or whomever. Introduced me to some guy named Buckles, too, at the old Arena across Hwy 40 from the zoo-but I'm sure Buckles doesn't remember that. And Jim won't say it himself, but he was the Jules Jacot of sea lions, because he had a LOT of tricks on those sea lions that were IMPOSSIBLE but only another trainer would know that. Jim, do you remember training the "unknown sea lion" trick with Shorty, training her to put a paper bag on her head like the "unknown comic?" Reminds me of Jacot's snapping turtle trick. I learned more there with Jim than I did in college!
Kevin, that is a fair assesment of Mr. Jim Alexander's training ability. Highly skilled, which our great friend Jimmy Hall, will accept most of the credit for. Right Jim. Wade Burck
While in the Cole Show winter quarters in 1945 my folks were invited to work one of the house owned sea lion acts, with the explanation that if attacked, all you had to do was toss a piece of fish on the floor and the shark would go for the fish rather than your leg.
They both respectfully declined.
Some of the worst bites I have ever seen were caused by a seal. Teeth like razor blades.
Seal bites can also cause a really nasty, very painful infection often called "seal finger." In years past, amputation was often required. More recently, tetracycline has been found to work pretty good. If I'm not mistaken, a former St. Louis Zoo seal keeper who moved out to a zoo in Washington state developed the infection after being bit by one of his charges there during feeding.
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