Friday, March 09, 2012

From Don Koehl

gaertner_bimbo by bucklesw1
gaertner_bimbo, a photo by bucklesw1 on Flickr.

Joy Gärtner send me this picture some years ago, with the bull Bimbo
doing a one hand stand some meters up.

Posted by Buckles at 3/09/2012 06:13:00 AM

9 comments:

Wade G. Burck said...

Dan,
Damn, that's crazy!!!

Wade Burck

09 March, 2012 08:10
John Herriott said...

Fabulous in every way. Who built, trained, and put it together. more info please. johnny

09 March, 2012 08:26
Buckles said...

Victor Julian once told me about a tusker he was on the bill in theaters that did something like this but he described it more like the silver shaft they use in garages to hoist cars up.
He said that he went up a set of steps that partially encompassed the shaft and it was so well timed that as soon as he went into the trick, the the staircase and trainer were whisked away just as the curtain opened.
Could you imagine the audience reaction to something like this?
The shaft would then descend into the floor and the elephant would curtsy (Victor's word) and then go on about his business.
He said this all came to an end when one night he slipped off before the aparatus had completed it's descent and jammed the pipe into his belly.
At that point he drew up a new contract eliminating the part that involved going up staircases.

09 March, 2012 09:17
Wade G. Burck said...

Buckles,
That's exactly along the lines I was thinking. Would the trick/behavior be worth the risk of losing it's balance and coming down. I am sure even Unus fell a time or two, and I wouldn't expect an animal to be perfect.

Wade Burck

09 March, 2012 13:14
Little John said...

If only the Elephant was turning on a revolving spindle with a lion standing up on the elephant’s back and a chimp on the lion’s head, and if the elephant was waving an American flag in his trunk, and a Marilyn Monroe look alike doing the splits in rings hanging down from the elephant’s tusks, then you might have something.

10 March, 2012 06:21
DanKoehl said...

Im not 100%, but I believe it was Joys father, Josef Gärtner who trained and put everything together.

Married to Chiara Gärtner, who was killed by one of the elephants in 1982. In his second marriage Josef became father to Silvia Gärtner, Claudio Gärtner, Joy Gärtner, Christian Gärtner, Alex Gärtner and Sonny Gärtner.

Josef Gärtner was killed by one of the elephants 1996 in Carpentras, France.

http://www.elephant.se/location2.php?location_id=232

10 March, 2012 09:10
R. E. Bradshaw said...

Is this the Bimbo that became Barney and finally Rex?
Rex’s travels:
Captured - Karnataka, India 1968 +/-1yr
Oakland Baby Zoo
Marine World Africa (Redwood shores)
Have Trunk Will Travel (Gary and Kari Johnson) (1978 documented) studbook says 1980 +/-1yr
Trunks and Humps (Bill Swain) 1982 +/-1yr
Circus Vargas
Rex Williams 1983
African Lion Safari 1984-09-03
Oklahoma City Zoo 2011-12-13

01 September, 2015 05:36
DanKoehl said...

No Mr Bradshaw, it isn't, this Bimbo lived and died in Europe, by the Gärtner family.

22 November, 2015 19:11
R. E. Bradshaw said...

Thank you, Dan.

23 November, 2015 19:55

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)