Circus director and lion tamer Gerd Siemoneit-Barum during a performance in Nordenham, Germany in May 1977
Lion taming is the taming and training of lions, either for protection or for use in entertainment, such as the circus. The term often applies to the taming and display of lions and other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and cougars. Lion taming is used as a popular metaphor for any dangerous activity. Lion taming occurs in zoos around the world to enable the keepers to carry out medical procedures and feedings.
George Wombwell (1777–1850), founder of Wombwell's Traveling Menagerie, raised many animals himself, including the first lion bred in captivity in Britain.
Isaac A. Van Amburgh (1811–1865), American animal trainer who developed the first trained wild animal act in modern times.[2]:20 He was known for acts of daring, such as placing his head inside the jaws of a wild cat,[3] and became known as "The Lion King".[2]:17
Siegfried & Roy. Performer duo of Siegfried Fischbacher (1939–2021) and Roy Horn (1944–2020), while primarily known as magicians, they were famous as big cat handlers. Their Las Vegas show featured dozens of white lions and tigers.
Ángel Cristo (1943–2010), the most famous lion and tiger tamer in Spain, known for his numerous accidents under lion and tiger attacks. In 1982 he won the Medalla de Oro del Festival Internacional del Circo ('Golden Medal of the Circus International Festival').[12]
Martin Lacey (born 1947), animal trainer, owner of the Great British Circus, trained most of the tigers used in the ESSO TV advertisements in the 1970s.
The 1941 circus film The Wagons Roll at Night tells the story of the rookie lion tamer Matt Varney. In the finale, the circus manager Nick Coster tries to have him killed in the lion cage by giving Matt an unloaded tamer's gun. A couple of lion tamers are the protagonists of the French film Roselyne and the Lions (1989).
References
↑"Circuses". Captive Animal Protection Society. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
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