Trainer
A tamer ( borrowed from French ; to tompter , "tame, tame") is a showman who trains wild - i.e. non- domesticated - animals such as lions , tigers , bears or even elephants to perform tricks and demonstrates them to the public in the ring .
Most animal trainers travel with a circus , some also find engagements in variety shows ; Until the early 20th century, zoological gardens also offered such shows more frequently. Unlike dressage acts with dogs, horses or goats , the entertainment value of a tamer draws its entertainment value not only from the dexterity and possessiveness of the animals, but from their dangerousness. Despite all apparent domestication and routine, wild animals remain unpredictable in their behavior; Experienced tamers are repeatedly attacked or even killed by their animals.
In Germany, animal trainers, trainers and other people who are involved in the keeping, training and use of animals in circuses or similar institutions have been organized in the professional association of animal teachers since 2007 ; Unlike the zoo keeper , however, “animal teacher” is not a state-recognized profession .
Important trainers
- George Wombwell (1777-1850), British animal show operator
- Henri Martin (1793–1882), French tamer and founder of Zoomit
- Isaac van Amburgh (1808–1865), American lion tamer
- Wilhelm Hagenbeck (1850–1910), German predator tamer, showed the first elephant to ride a bike with a lion on its back
- Wilhelm Philadelphia (1854–1921), German elephant and lion tamer
- Julius Seeth (1863–1939), German lion tamer
- Claire Heliot (1866–1953), German tamer
- Miss Senide , d. i. Henriette Willardt (1866–1923), German trainer and circus director
- Richard Sawade (1868–1947), German predator tamer ( Hagenbeck Zoo )
- Dora Friese (1883–1965), German lion and polar bear tamer
- August Mölker (1876–1951), German lion and bear trainer
- Tilly Bébé , d. i. Mathilde Rupp (1879–1931), Austrian tamer, stunt woman and animal trainer
- Werner Winter (1924–2001), Europe's youngest predator tamer in the 1940s
- Ursula Böttcher (1927–2010), German polar bear tamer in the GDR
- Gerd Siemoneit-Barum (* 1931), tamer and circus founder, father of the actress and circus director Rebecca Siemoneit-Barum
- Rüdiger Probst , German tamer ( Circus Probst in the GDR)
- Siegfried Fischbacher (1939–2021) and Roy Horn (1944–2020), known around the world as the Las Vegas stage duo Siegfried and Roy with a mixture of magic and the dressage of white king tigers
- Gunther Gebel-Williams (1934–2001), German-American animal trainer, one of the greatest animal trainers in circus history, partly controversial PETA
- René Strickler (* 1948), Swiss animal trainer with numerous circus engagements and his own predator park
- Martin Lacey Jr. (* 1977), English trainer who has been permanently involved in Circus Krone since 2001 .
literature
- Dietmar Winkler and Gisela Winkler: The big carnivore show . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1974.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Animal trainer. In: Digital dictionary of the German language .
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↑ E.g .: Tiger tears up the trainer during the performance. In: Merkur.de from August 25, 2017;
Circus accident: three tigers mangle trainers in the ring. In: Die Welt Online from December 9, 2009;
"He just wanted to play": Tiger killed the trainer. In: Der Spiegel Online from October 25, 2000; Etc. - ↑ Professional Association of Animal Teachers V. - About us , accessed on September 16, 2017.