Wednesday, May 02, 2007

From Jim Alexander

Mark and all,
About 15 years ago Luis Palacios presented a Jim Clubb mixed cage act on the Ringling Bros. Circus that included two hyenas. They came in late, sat near the door, and left early without really performing any behaviors. (Behaviors are what marine mammal guys call tricks.)
I recall reading and hearing about hyena acts, or at least presentations, in the early 20th century. They seemed to be based on the powerful jaws of the animals. In one act, a piece of canvas that had been rubbed with fat would be lowered into the arena. The hyenas would latch on and be pulled up, like an "iron jaw" routine.
Jim Alexander

Posted by Buckles at 5/02/2007 09:29:00 PM

14 comments:

24-HOUR-MAN said...

Wasn't there still one in that act when Pat White & John Illig were working it? Or am I halucinating again?

02 May, 2007 23:34
Anonymous said...

Yes Bill, you're hallucinating. That was John's German Shepard, Ivan.. !

Just kidding.. yes there was one hyena still in this same act which was previously worked by Luis and Marcia Palacio. They raised many hyena cubs (puppies?). Sally (Chipperfield) Clubb told me she has raised many baby hyenas, and they are her favorites.

The hyena that John and I had was named Dimitrius. He/she whatever it was took a place in the opening pyramid. Never ever a problem, but I'll tell you when he/she was aggravated about something, the gutteral sing song squealing noise gave me chills! After I got used to this creature, I rather liked it. It ate all sorts of strange things, meat, fruits, vegatables, and Pop-Tarts (only one, Jim. It was cherry. She stole my breakfast.)

The one(s) in this Jim Clubb act were striped hyenas from India, rather than the spotted "laughing" hyenas from Africa. Before I worked that act, I didn't know there were hyenas in India.

Learn something every day!

03 May, 2007 06:33
Anonymous said...

We had 2 hyenas in the mixed act, presented by the Palacios, Spartacus and Demetrius. From these we bred 12 cubs and from the cubs we bred another 8. I still have 1 of the original cubs now in the zoo, which we are trying to pair up with an unrelated male. I always felt that I could have trained the hyenas to do more, but it would have made the act too long. Alfred Court had hyenas in the 1920s and '30s, but left them out before he went to America. The old travelling menageries of Bostock and Wombwelle always featured striped and spotted hyenas. They used to call the mixed group, whcih featured these animals, the "cheap" mixed group, as it contained striped or spotted hyenas, wolves and brown bears. All these animals were cheap to buy, hence the name. The striped were safer to work with than the spotted. I was told this by John Chipperfield, the brother of Dick Snr. He was definitely correct. They were often featured in the French menageries as well. During the '50s and early '60s one of the Tognis had a hyena act. Jean Michon, my old teacher, would often tell me about it, as he worked on the same show as Klants's lions. It featured this trick where they dropped a large wooden spoon shaped prop from above into the centre of the ring. One hyena would grab it and they would lift it in the air to show the strength of its jaws. I have photos of hyenas riding horses as well. They were common in European circuses at one time. My son was seriously bitten in the hand by a hyena that he had hand-raised, but generally they are easy to manage, but incredibly stupid. Wo betide the man or woman that gets between their jaws.

03 May, 2007 10:32
Anonymous said...

Point in question for Jim A.
Wouldn't you say that usually a circus "trick" consists of a number of trained behaviors " i.e.: a back-flipping monkey would need to be trained to wear clothes,sit on a seat. walk on leash to assigned spot and then perform the back-flip. Thus commiting 4 trained "behaviors" to accomplish a single circus "trick" ?
Would you also break it down this way for marine mammal training when speaking to other marine mammal trainers,if you could find any ?

03 May, 2007 11:42
Anonymous said...

Larry, really I'm fine with calling something a trick and I agree that there are often a number of parts to a trick.

When I began working with sea lions I tried to copy trainers like Roland Tiebor, circus trainers who trained tricks. Later on I joined a group of marine animal trainers; many good trainers but they liked to think they were special. They would say that magicians did tricks, Evel Kenivel (sp?) did stunts, and they trained behaviors. As Wally Ross told me, "they want to sound like space pilots". I think it's a bit pretentious but it's a little something that makes them happy. When I'm on the IMATA site I'll say behavior, on Buckles blog I'll say trick (and I won't try to get tricky).

Now a question for Pat and Jim: Although they resemble dogs, hyenas are more closely related to cats. In working with them did they respond more like felines or canines?

03 May, 2007 17:31
Anonymous said...

To Larry and Jim, I have always considered anything an animal, marine or land, does in the course of their life as a natural behavior. Example whales breaching, tigers jumping, elephants sitting, etc. When they are trained to do it, either by voice or hand signals, at a specific time and specific place, it becomes a conditioned behavior, or simply a behavior. Some will have an elephant wave 10 different objects with it's trunk, and call it 10 behaviors. I would only call it one, with 10 different objects. I think unnatural behaviors can be called tricks. I can't think of a reason for a sealion to balance on one flipper, or an elephant to balance on one foot, or a bear to ride a bike, in the course of enviornmental survival. You are so correct Jim, it depends on who you are talking with. A pile of shit becomes fecal matter depending on location. Besides magicians, hookers also use the word "tricks".
Wade Burck

03 May, 2007 22:42
Anonymous said...

Jim A.

Since I'm back on the blog between shows, I'll put in my two cents worth; I only have an opinion, not an answer since my experience is with just one hyena.

"...respond more like canine or feline?" Good question. To my eye, neither. She was alert and cooperative, but moved so unlike either canine or feline I have a hard time comparing.

You have the floor, Mr. Clubb. I'm interested in your answer too...

03 May, 2007 23:56
Anonymous said...

I never remember i8n the times I have spent that trainers used the word trick very seldom. In regard to general bullshit it seemed the word "things" would be used. What things have you trained her to do? Or she does alot of things? I am traching a new thing. That word behavior is fairly new to an old fart like me and I can't make it a part of my vocabuly.

Wade explains it quite well and I can see where Jim would have found its use in that more sophisticated world marine specie educators or whatever they are. Some one pointed out to me that there are hundreds of them out there, so I would assume these animals are not that difficult to educate.

I suppose we all train tricks, but generally we have used that word mostly with dogs. We do train elephants to "crap out". Is that a trick or behavior. I am glad I am now observing from the sidelines, but I do recall training alot of things and educating both human and animal species.

God hyenas are ugly. Who would want to see them perform. Other than those colorful Mandrills of Carmen Hall baboons are ugly to aloing with purebred wplves, coyotes. I like to see handsome animals such as Asian elephants over those other things. Boy what an opionated old grouch I am. Keep up the good work wherever you are and be sure to behave yourselves. Thanks.

04 May, 2007 09:19
Anonymous said...

I agree with Pat, they are neither like dogs or cats. I give them same intelligence as a jaguar, which is not a lot. They behave in a similar way. If they ever bite you they seem to forget how to let go - like a jaguar.

However, with time I am sure they could be taught to do a reasonable routine. Of course, their shape does not permit them to do a lot. In answer to the question on the previous picture, showing the hyena on a leash, I have been asked if I raised the hyenas as cubs with the cats. The answer is no. I trained they hyenss when they were about 2 years old. The lions, tigers and leopards were already working together. I added two hyenas and two wolves, and then two years later added two black bears and then later on a liger.

Hagenbeck's used to raise all the animals together, as babies, for the mixed groups, but then they had an unlimited supply of stock.

04 May, 2007 10:41
Anonymous said...

We teach them things!!!!! Thanks for the chuckle, Col. I remember when you taught that "thing", about where to put a whip. Wade Burck

P.S. If you want to know what grouchy is, have you talked to Jimmy Hall lately? Damn

04 May, 2007 22:07
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Mr. Clubb, did the cats act differently toward Hyenas then a new cat when intrduced to the arena? I mean did they look at them like a food item cause of their size? A captive bred tiger surely doesn't realize a Hyena can hold its own against a male lion, or do they?

04 May, 2007 22:57
Anonymous said...

While working at Marineland and GameFarm for 7 years, with the Hawthorn tigers and elephants, and the Castle Bear's, I had the opportunity to observe and interact with the Marine Mammal trainers very closely. Much of what I observed I was able to integrate into the training of land mammals. For you land mammal trainers, imagine an animal standing off in the distance saying "I don't believe I will come there and do that". Nobody to "poke" or "shove" it to you, no "rope" or "ankus" to pull it to you, no "arena" wall to push it into. Most of us would grit our teeth down to the gum's, and come up with some pretty descriptive words. Patience became a word in my animal training dictionary. In doing 6 shows a day there were 2 land mammal trainers, and 9 marine mammal trainers. Why the large numbers? They like idiots wanted day's of, sick day's, time and a half, vacations, and benifits. We land mammal trainers, were with it, and for it, so large numbers wern't neccessary. Wade Burck

P.S. Larry check out the Sid Kellner elephants pictures, Mr. Woodcock said "behavior". Should we wash his mouth out with soap?

05 May, 2007 09:08
Anonymous said...

Casey:
I'll put in another two cents worth, I'm up to four now. During the time I had the mixed act, I added a lioness who'd worked only in a lion act. She'd had a few years hiatus at Jim's farm. She had to become accustomed to the other lioness, a liger, tigers, leopards, the bears and the hyena. Only the bears buggered her; she was mostly puzzled with the hyena, like "What IS that thing?". I think in the arena, it's such a controlled environment (hopefully!) that any food-source thoughts from the animals are set aside.

At least I've always counted on that, I've never supposed they looked at me like a snack either.

05 May, 2007 16:26
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Thank Ms White,that was what I figured but I wondered if the way a hyena moved would maybe set off the hunt in them. My cats are 99% fine tuned in the arena but every once in awhile a dog or other small animal if running will distract them,, if only till they hear their name. And from what I have seen on animal planet hyenas have a rather strange way of running.
Is a hyena an expensive animal?

06 May, 2007 01:06

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