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Tuesday, August 02, 2016
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9 comments:
This is David Tetzlaff. The photo is taken at Cedar Point.
You're right, Bob. I think these three tigers were trained by Roy, he and I left toward the end of 1977 so I suppose this is not long after; I could be wrong on which tigers these are though. This was the arena in which I worked my first lions in 1976.
I started at the park in '74. Hard to believe that was 40 years ago, seems like... a hundred years ago.
Lots of miles, lots of cats (and other animals), a lot of living since then. No wonder I'm tired. But I wouldn't change a thing.
I've been racking my brain for names- if these tigers are the ones I think they are, their names were Tigger, Sarang and Bhakti.
I think.
Were these Cuneo's cats
Maybe Wade might know
I'm thinking this was the late 1980s when I was around there. Prince, Bengali and I can't think of the third tiger.
Chic, no these weren't Cuneo cats. David did get a couple from Josip after I left and I got my own tiger act started.
Bob
Yes, Pat those were their names, and no Chic, they were not Cuneo's cats. We would have been blessed to have had animals of this quality to work with at Hawthorn. It was the smallest "act" I have ever been fortunate to work with, but one of the best quality wise. Just really nice with all animal's working together. Three tiger spindle, as seen here, three tiger roll over and sit up, three tiger fire jump, etc. and hind leg walks. Roy Wells early work with felines is highly underrated and often overlooked, unless the folks jackpotting have known him for many, many years, as I have, him from the lesser state of South Dakota and myself from the superior state of North Dakota(I'm just saying.....) For some reason, I and many others have never understood why he only worked with felines at Jungle Larry's and then briefly the first "tumultuous" year of two that he was contracted to Hawthorn. Had he continued with felines, from what I saw and worked with at Jungle Larrys that he trained, he would be regarded as one of the best today.
For anyone in this elephant barn, who might be interested in other species, let me mention the tiger Sarang. I remember him well, because he scared me more then any tiger has ever scared me, before or since and that includes lots, and lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of tigers and I hope I never ever get tired. After "Cowboy Roy" left the safari for bigger, but not necessarily better things, as most of us did, Jungle Larry took over the presentation chores. He did well with the lions Numa, Rama, Bakuba and Sulimon, but had trouble with these tiger's and had stopped working with them for some time. When I returned to the safari he asked me to present them. Timidly, he said he would show me one time(I told him it wasn't necessary, to just tell me what they did, but he insisted) what the act was, and as he was using his lion water pistol that sometime had frozen water(folks that were there will know what I am talking about) I immediately saw what his problem was, and told him I had seen enough and that I would start with them the next morning. Contrary to what folks might think or been told, it is not too difficult to take over trained animals, with rare exception of an individual or two. Example, years ago I had a wonderful contact tiger in a Hawthorn act. He did the shoulder stand, rode an elephant, etc and liked every body. One day Charly Baumann came to Marineland in Canada to visit and when that tiger saw him, he went crazy. Roaring, trying to run away, attacking the other tigers. So violent that Charly had to leave. When we were out of his sight Charly asked me if he was a "specialty tiger" and I said yes he was a contact tiger and rode an elephant. Charly said Evy Karolis horse riding tiger also hated him for some reason and he had to stay out of sight when she was working. This was in 1978 and when we went on the Ringling show in 1984 the same thing happened with the same tiger. Charly used to go to the dressing room when the tiger's were brought in, then watched from behind the curtain. If Rajah saw him as they were entering the arena he spent the whole act jumping on and off his seat looking over his shoulder at the place in the curtain the tiger's entered. Just one of those thing's and no one really know's why for sure. We only speculate.
But I digress, back to Sarang. We put the tiger's outside for the night in the bigger outdoor cages with nice big "benches" in the middle for resting on. The next morning someone(maybe David) and I went to the show building to let them in, so I could have a go at them, before "any one else" arrived to "help." :) I opened the door and Tigger and Bahakti ran right in, but Sarang stayed out on the bench. After about 10 mins. and still no result, I decided to go outside and armed with a stick chase Sarang in. He laid on the bench and intently watched me unlock the door, hang the padlock on the mesh, and as I stepped in to say "Sarang house" he flew off the bench so hard and fast he knocked the door into my face with the stick jamed inside. With blood running down my nose I had to fight to keep the door closed as he chewed up the stick(the instant shift I saw in his eyes the moment he sprang was burnt forever into my mind that morning and that instantaneous image in my brain has "saved" me a couple of times over many years.) Needless to say I only practiced with Tigger and Bahakti that day. I left Sarang outside for three day's spending hours feeding him and talking to him before he would come inside. Once he was back with the other two he was fine and the three were a piece of cake and worked flawlessly. First and only tiger I have ever had react to me that way thankfully, because it is in fact a real hair curling, ass snapping situation. Later when I returned to Hawthorn Deiter Wichert worked with them, and then David.
Wade Burck
I took that photo at Cedar Point Park in 1991.
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