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Saturday, September 23, 2006
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16 comments:
These look like Grant zebras.
I always thought there was only one breed of ZEBRA. This glut of infomation is hard to keep up with. Makes good reading for lessons about the wonderful animal. Now I will have to find a picture of each brand. I think I sent a picture to Buckles of the one I worked with. [CANDY] I need to find what brand he was. He was not very nice to men, but liked women and children. I really liked him. Used to give him baths with Wisk liquid soap.
To simplify matters, my dad always said they were half mule and half tiger.
It sounds as though your Dad got their temperament pegged pretty accurately. cc
I heard this line from Laura Herriott several years ago regarding ZEBRAS: If it was so easy to train them everyone in Africa would be riding one.
There are several books with photos of the distinct markings of our giraffes and zebras, and make for a very engaging study. They must be on the web by now.
One of these days, we'll get into how many brands of tigers there are. I guess I should say were.
I bought a puma book from Chet Juszyk, listing 30 subspecies for this cat. Don't look at me to tell this many apart, but maybe Frank Phillips, the Mountain Lion King, could have.
i have trainedboth zebras and african elephants and there are and never will be an anna mae or opal among them, or a starless night or american anthem. in the long run your training is all for nought. it seems like african elephants are good ride elephants and I really don't no what the hell zebras are good for.
I MUST APOLOGIZE ABOUT MY LATE COMMENTS ABOUT ZEBRAS AND AFRICAN ELEPHANTS, BUT I MEANT TO IMPLY THAT THE DO NOT HAVE ANY LONGIVITY. NOW IN REGARD TO ZEBRAS AND THE VARIOUS SPECIES. I AM NOT A ZOOLAGEST [AND CAN'T EVEN SPELL THE WORD], AND MAYBE MR. CLUBB AND MORE KNOWLEDGABLE ANIMAL PEOPLE CAN ENLIGHTEN ME. MY FATHER ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT THE CHAPMAN ZEBRA WAS THE BEST TO TRAIN AND THEY WERE BROWN AND WHITE. HE HAD BEEN A YOUNG GUY ON CHRISTY AND AL.G.BARNES WHERE ALOT OF THAT TRAINING WAS DONE. ALSO IN THE MODERN DAY IT SEEMS WE ARE WORKING WITH GRANT SPECIES I GUESS. ALSO I BELIEVE THAT IN ZOOS THE SPECIES ARE BECOMING MIXED SO WE REALLY CAN'T PINPOINT THERE EXACT SPECIE. I DO RECALL SEEING SOME BRED GREVY ZEBRAS AT THE MILWAUKEE ZOO. THE WERE PRETTY BIG WITH VERY THIN STRIPES AND PREDOMINENT FUR IN THEIR EARS. WHAT ABOUT SHADOW STRIPE ? ARE THEY INBRED ? I WOULD ENJOY A REPLY. THANKS.
The Grevy zebras are the largest species of zebra and also probably the most aggressive. They're also an endangered species. I have seen a few Grevys, named after a President of France, in some of Buckles menagerie photos. Normally we see different types or hybrids of Common zebra like the smaller Grant's or larger Chapman's that have a brown "shadow" stripes between the black ones.
A curator in St. Louis was attacked by a male Grevy's several years ago. The zebra grabbed him by his ankle and wouldn't let go (even with different types of encouragement). The ankle bite is a typical method of attack -- your opponet can go far with also those tendons injured. The curator's name, Bruce Read and he's still in the animal business -- just don't ask him to dance.
IN MY RECENT COMMENT I MEANT MIXED BREED NOT INBREED. THANKS, JOHN,
Mr Herriott, I am so glad you joined in on the blog. What took you so long? I enjoy your comments and scan the comment list to read yours first. You add a lot of spice. And your spelling is the only one worser than mine. We do get our point across. Buckles only prints about half of mine. I think I scare him.
Once upon a time at Circus World, perhaps the first time I met Darryl, we were in the stall/paddock of the two Zebras that pulled Günter’s Chariot. It was my day off but a bunch of us clowns went “camping” the night before behind Circus World. I got Toby’s car stuck in the orange grove and so it was my responsibility to get his car pulled out. The old shit truck had been replaced by a suitable front-end loader, so I hiked through the grove to fetch it. To say I was still feeling the effects of the night’s celebrations would be a kind way to say I was still drunk. I found Darryl with the Zebras and he agreed to help me pull Toby’s car out of the sand. Being up close and in the quarters of these muscular striped creatures with their ornery attitude and reputation of biting with keen accuracy was magnificent. Thankfully I was armed with the horse sense that Frank taught me while we tried several times to brake in a comedy horse act at Circus World, so I knew where to stand and how to act.
Oops, it was Axel with the chariot.
REBECCA, THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS. NOW IT COMES TO ME THAT YOU WERE THE REBECCA ANN GARNER THAT WORKED THE CUNEO LEOPARD ACT. ORIGANALY PUT TOGETHER BY CUNEO WIFE AT THAT TIME ELOISE BERCHTOLD AND WORKED LATER BY PAT JAMISON. I SAW IT ON POLACK-INDOOR DATES WORKED BY BOTH LADIES AND IT WAS CERTAINLY IMPRESSIVE WITH LEOPARDS, WHITE WOLVES[GERMAN SHEPHERD] AND ZEBRA. LATER GOING TO DR MILLER AND TO MEXICO WITH YOU AS TRAINER ALONG WITH GENE GARNER. IMPRESSIVE WERE THE TWO SOMERSAULTING DOGS THAT I UNDERSTAND WERE TRAINED BY EITHER FATHER OR SON FAMOUS SOMERSAULT DOG TRAINERS WICK OR BOB LEANARD. ALSO THAT THE LEOPARDS ENTERED AT THE TOP OF THE ARENA RATHER THAN CRAWLING ON THE FLOOR TO GET TO THEIR SEATS. THE ZEBRA WAS VERY WELL TRAINED WITH THE OTHER ANIMALS RIDING ON IT. I HEARD THAT YOU WERE QUITE ATTRACTIVE YOUNG LADY AND DID A GOOD JOB WORKING THE ACT. I UNDERSTOOD THAT GENE GARNER REMAINED WITH CIRCUSES IN MEXICO AS A TRAINER AND HAS A SON THAT ALSO WORKS WITH ANIMALS. NOW AS TO ELOISE, SHE AND MY WIFE WERE YOUNG GIRLS TOGETHER ON KING-CRISTIANI AND BECAME LIFELONG FRIENDS. WE KNOW OF HER CAREER FROM WORKING IN A ZOO TO BECOME A MAJOR TRAINER OF ALL TYPES OF EXOTIC BUT WHAT IS NOT KNOWN IS HER LOVE FOR AND TOTAL DEDICATION TO HER ANIMALS. I RECALL THAT SHE ENLISTED US WITH CAR TO DRIVE HER ALL OVER YOUNGSTOWN TO FIND DISTILLED WATER FOR ONE OF HER BEARS THAT SHE FELT HAD TO HAVE IT. WHEN SHE LEFT CUNEO AND GOT HER OWN ANIMALS AND HAD TO GET THE SEMI-TRAILER BUILT IN TO HAUL THEM SHE NEGLECTED TO BUILD A COMPARTMENT FOR HERSELF,THINKING ONLY OF THE ANIMALS, SO SHE TOOK A MATTRESS AND SLEPT ON TOP OF A BEAR CAGE. TIGER TRAINER, EVELYN CURRIE DID THE SAME THING. NOW WHEN WE HEAR OF THE POOR MISGUIDED SOUL THAT WAS RECENTLY KILLED BY AN ELEPHANT IN TENN. AND REALIZE THAT SHE WAS DEVOUT ANIMAL LOVER BUT HAD BEEN MANEUVERED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE, SO TO SPEAK, IN REGARD TO ANIMAL RIGHTS. IT IS TOO BAD THAT SHE COULD'NT HAVE JOINED WITH US AND LIKE ELOISE AND SO MANY OTHERS HAD THE JOY OF WORKING WITH, HANDLING AND TEACHING FOR A REWARDING EXPERIENCE FOR BOTH ANIMAL AND TEACHER. CAROL BUCKLEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HERSELF FOR SPEWING OUT THAT VENOM AND I FEEL SO SORRY FOR THE GIRLS MISGUIDED PARENTS. ELOISE WOULD NOT HAD ANGER OVER THE ELEPHANT THAT KILLED HER AS WELL. BUCKLES AND MYSELF ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE CIRCUS WITH ANIMAL TRAINER FATHERS BUT THERE ARE SO MANY AMONG US NOT SO BLESSED THAT HAVE DEVOTED AN ENTIRE LIFE TO WORKING WITH ANIMALS AND CARING SO DEEPLY. MY WIFE AMONG THEM AND BOTH REX AND FREDDY COME TO MIND. HERE IN FLORIDA MY DAUGHTER CINDY AN JOANNE WILSON AND TRUDY STRONG HAVE TO DO VARIETY JOBS BUT THEY STILL GIVE ONE HUNDRED PER CENT IN THE CARING AND WELL BEING OF THEIR ANIMALS BEFORE PERSUING THEIR OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. THE ANIMAL RIGHTS PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THAT SIDE OF THE FENCE. THANKS AND ENOUGH FOR NOW. WE ARE IN MOURNING BECAUSE THE BUCS LOST AGAIN.
EQALLY DEDICATED LADIES IN ANIMAL CARE AND WELL BEING ARE MY DAUGHTERS LAURA, HEIDI AND WEINER AND THE ROSAIRE LADIES AND THE ZERBINI SISTERS AMONG SO MANY OTHERS IN THIS BUSINESS. SO I GUESS AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT MAYBE IT IS NOT A MAN'S WORLD AFTER ALL.
Richard Reynolds says - -
There has been a sort of resurgence of trained zebras in recent years. Here we see Pat White with what look to be Grant Zebras (the taxonomists are forever reclassifying them). Then Sacha Houcke had (or still has) the 8 or so he works on RBBB Red in a very beautiful liberty act with horses (reminiscent of the old Jorgen Christiansen carousel thing). Houcke also had a splendid zebra act on the German Circus Barum.
However, for many years the old Al G. Barnes show had trained zebras as a regular part of its performance. They did liberty routines and for a couple of years around 1924 Barnes had four zebras ridden by leopard, dog, monkey, and American black bear. In 1938 the Barnes liberty act was presented by Bob Thornton. I saw it when the Barnes/RBBB combination came to Atlanta that year. I can shut my eyes and still see them trotting around the ring.
John Ringling had a thing for zebras. In 1911 he ordered 23 of them for the Ringling show to be delivered in Chicago but the losses were terrible. Then for 1927 he brought over another 20 to go with those already on hand. He had more success with these (including breeding) to the point that by 1932 the show had 31 zebras on the road (including three notoriously tough Grevys) - -so many they had their own stock car (#33) which rode on the third section. Even that was not enough and more rode on the 4ths section in camel car #26. With all those zebras, RBBB presented zebra liberty acts in the early 1930s.
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