 Blackpool Tower Circus 1939, with "Douchka".  |
Sunday, March 04, 2007
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9 comments:
Is this a Clouded Leopard or a Snow?
It's a snow leopard but Gary raises a question. Has anyone ever used clouded leopards in an act. They are smaller than spotted leopards but I've heard of some acts using ocelots. Richard Reynolds, Jim Clubb, others -- I await your reply.
Didn't the Samaells have a cloeded leopard on RBBB in the early 70s ?
No they didn't. They had a spotted leopard and maybe a black leopard and/or puma. I know that sounds kind of shakey but got to know the Samels near the end of their stay and was around the animals.
They did use clouded leopards in the animal show at the San Diego Zoo at one time, late 80s into early 90s.
It needs to be mentioned that this beautiful Snow Leopard, said to be the first to appear in an act in this country, was attacked and killed in the chute by one Bombay, described by Court as a vicious Indian Leopard, during a Madison Square Garden rehearsal prior to the 1940 opening. Another source (I believe the New York Times) gave Bombay's name as "Indo."
I saw a film on one of the cable networks with performing clouded leopards in some permanent setting. This might be the one Jim A. refers to, as I've certainly never seen another one. As anyone knows,these are exceptionally beautiful cats, but I was forewarned early on they are not so bright--so a tip of the jungle helmet to those who trained the ones I saw.
Snow and her name was Douscha. Jim Clubb named his after her. Is this the right spelling Jim?
Richard Reynolds says - -
This is Court with snow leopard "Doutschka"
However,the pohto is mis-identified as Blackpool Tower Circus.
This is one of a series showing Court animals against the "black" background. All of them were shot in Sarasota in early 1940 shortly after Court and his animals arrived. They were for publicity purposes - -wonderful professional 8x10s.
They practiced inside either one of those ring barns built ca. 1938 or in a special round top near the permanent wild animal cages. The public was not allowed to see the acts in rehearsal that winter. The next year they were worked out in the open air in Sarasota qtrs.as shown in others of this series.
Court had another snow leopard at Blackpool named "Niet," giving him two in the act. It died there of pneumonia before the act moved to America.
Alas, as Ole Whitey said, the beautiful "Doutschka" was killed in the Garden during rehearsals by a common leopard before the public ever saw the trained snow leopard. There would not be another until Lucio and Gilda Cristiani presented theirs in an uncaged leopard act.
Court had two snow leopards at Blackpool. The male, Niet, was a bad performer. However, the two never worked together. Niet was always the understudy for Doutschka. As Court was always frightened of an accident, due to fighting. Unfortunately, like Richard mentioned, Niet died of pneumonia.
I do have a photo of Niet performing. You could never touch him in the same way as Doutschka. I also have a photo of me stroking the skin of the original Court's Doutschka. It is in a small private museum, owned by Dr. Frere, who was Court's physician in his later years, when he lived in Nice, France. Court told Dr. Frere whenever another trainer who has trained a snow leopard comes by, please get him to give poor Doutschka a pat, which I did.
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