MR CARL HAGENBECK.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2904, 29 September 1900, Page 1 (Supplement)

MR CARL HAGENBECK.

The King of Wild Animal Trainers {Tit-Bits.) If there is one man able to speak with authority on the training of wild beasts it is Mr Carl Hagenbeck, of Hamburg. The fact alone that he has successfully trained over 600 large animals, such as lions, tigers, bears and elephants, in his establishment at Hamburg, and the additional fact that most of the lion-tamers of Europe and America have passed through his hands, are sufficient justification for describing our subject as the King of AVild Animal Trainers.

For over thirty years Mr Carl Hagenbeck has given his whole attention to the study of wild animals. He supplies all the zoological gardens, menageries, and game parks in the world with wild and curious exhibits, and it ns almost impossible to mention a zoo that has 1 not obtained animals from his mena- i gerie at Hamburg, where Mr Hagenbeck's collection is certainly a large one. “At present 1 bave in Hamburg,” said Mr Hagenbeck to the writer when questioned about hns interesting menagerie, “ sixteen lions, eight Bengal tigers, seventeen pumas, black panthers, and jaguars, twentyone bears, hyenas, and wolves, two hippopotami, eleven elephants, eignteen wild pigs of different sorts, twenty-seven camels, six dromedaries, eight various llamas, two zebras, three wild asses, eight American bisonbuffaloes, eighteen yaks, and l various buffaloes, twenty-nine various antelopes, thirtythree dber of different varieties, nine various wild sheep and goats, twelve ostriches, sixty - one cranes and storks, one hundred and seventy-two swans, geese, and ducks, lots of monkeys, reptiles, pheasants, vultures,' eagles, and different varieties of small animals,”

Wonderful as such a vast collection of wild animals undoubtedly is, it is the remarkable manner in which these wild beasts are trained that makes their owner stand as the greatest authority on the training of animals. Mr Hagenbeck has trained animals of all kinds since 1870, so he should therefore be able to speak with

A THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF .THE SUBJECT. \

How many animals have passed through his hands it is hard to say. He estimates that number as about 600, though it is probably more. One thing is certain: he has raised the training of animals to a science. He can claim to be the most successful wild beast trainer in the world, and no man has given such serious attention to the subject as he has. His methods are unique: he believes in individual training, and to him a new lion is a beast endowed with distinct characteristics, and therefore demands separate study and attention. Like everything else, the business of training animals has considerably advanced during the last quarter of a century, and whereas it was considered wonderful for an animal —say, a lion—to perform certain tricks, it is now almost essential for the"’ would-be performer to go through a series-, of evolutions with quite a number of--dif-ferent animals. It is not difficult''.to'see that to train one animal is an entirely 'different matter to training a group of, say,:. twenty different beasts. It was Mr Hagenbeck who first conceived the idea of training large groups of various animals, a by no means easy undertaking. ■ . “ The first group of various wild animals, which I had succeeded in training to perform together after many weary months, was exhibited in Londion in 1891. Their performances excited much attention at the time, and thousands came daily to see them. After a few months the animals became very sick, so I took them back to Hamburg. Within six weeks after my return they all died. I found it extremely difficult to get good meat on which to feed them in London. It was a great loss to me, for they had not been exhibited long before two American gentlemen offered me £IO,OOO for the group. After I returned I got another group ready and took them over to Chicago for the World’s Fair, and that proved a , great success. “ At present I have got three groups of trained wild animals, and I am pleased to say that they are all hired out. The first group consists of twenty-one animals, between three and four years of age. It comprises three lions, three'-Bengal tigers, two Indian leopards, two pumas, one hyena, seven bears and three, boarhounds. The second group consistg 1 of three, lions, two tigers, one leopard, three bears, and three boarhounds, all adults; while the third group is made up of two lions, four tigers, six bears and three boarhounds.

“ All the animals in this group, I,may tell yen, are full grown, and they perform some entirely new tricks. Indeed, those who have already seen them go through their performance are simply astonished 1 at the instinct the animals display. This is the group I shall bring to Blackpool tins season, when, no doubt, many people in England will be able to see how efficiently the animals have been trained, and also how amicably the lion, the tiger, and the bear will perform together. “ In addition to these three groups, I have also got a group of eight large trained Polar bears, and another group of eight animals, consisting of one walrus' the only one in captivity, three sea-lions, two seals and two dogs. “ To train a group of wild beasts, such as the one I am showing at Blackpool, takes longer and demands more“atience than many people seem to imagine. ;It took us three years before the various animals in this group thoroughly grasped what was expected of them. Although the group only consists of fifteen animals, I had to buy and train over sixty before I could obtain the fifteen I wanted. The others are practically

USELESS FROM A PERFORMING POINT OF VIEW.

Three men were engaged to do nothing else but attend to this one lot.”

For this group of trained animals Mr Hagenbeckwas recently offered over £BOOO. He declined it, as in fact the animals cost him more than that to get together and train. It is only in Mr Hagenbeck’s establishment that large groups of different kinds of animals are trained to perform tncks together. So much time and expense does it demand that there are very few menageries indeed that could hope to successfully turn out such interesting tableaux. All the principal groups of trained wild animals which have been exhibited in this',' country, in America, in Europe, India, Australia, and South Africa have been trained first in Hamburg. “ My food bill for last year amounted to nearly £30,000. 1 give my carnivorous animals 60001 b of fresh meat every week, while the spa-lions, seals, and walruses consume 40001 b of fish—you can quickly see how the sum is spent. My young lions and monkeys often drink from 500 pints to 700 pints of milk in a week, while a young hippo will swallow thirty pints in a day and bellow for motf'e. Over 10001 bof bread is necessary every week to satisfy the hunger of the bears, while I daresay I spend 30s a day on fowls, ducks and rabbits for my reptiles. Nearly 12,0001 bof hay and straw is consumed for food alone every week.”

Besides the large establishment at Hamburg, which is certainly one of the largest collections of wild animals in the world, Mr Hagenbeck has also two collecting depots in Central Siberia, one in the Caucasus, one iu South Russia, and one in Ceylon. As already stated, Mr Hagenbeck

sum.IKS Aim TIIK I’lllN'CU’AL ZOO LOGICAL GARDKNS

throughout the world with any animal they may care to ask for. A very fine collection leave- Hamburg this month for Sydney, in Australia, while during the last six weeks 524 cages of animals, besides seven elephants and twenty-five camels, left Hamburg for various parts of the United States and Buenos Ayres to complete several zoos and menageries. Those who have had the pleasure of talking with Mr Hagenbeck have been amused at the matter-of-fact way in which he refers to the business of animal training. According to him, anyone who wishes may become a successful lion-tam.n - . He is strongly of opinion that all young animals can be trained to perform tricks and certain evolutions if they are well fed and treated kindly. It

is interesting to note, however, that Mr Ha- I genbeck considers it almost impossible to train a wild-caught adult animal. He con- • aiders that elephants are the most intelligent of animals, and next to them come monkeys. . , It must not be assumed, however, that Mr Hagenbeck is a man who thoughtlessly enters a beast’s cage when he feels so disposed. Should a beast be cross or irritable it does not do toimeddle with it. Naturally, a man who has devoted thirty rears of his life amongst wild animals has many interesting little adventuies to e • . Mr Hagenbeck has had some narrow escapes. Strolling through the grounds one day he came across a pet elephant which he had trained to lift him up with its trunk and place him upon a wooden bamer. Unknown to Mr Hagenbeck, someone had teased the beast, for it tossed him high into the air with its trunk, and brought him down with a terrific force which broke the barrier. The result was that Mr Hagenbeck was unable to get about for nearly three months. On one occasion this daring trainer had

' AN UNPLEASANT HALF-HOUR in a pond with some fifteen alligators. He was pulling some of these creatures out of the pond -mien one of them suddenly struck him a terrific blow with its tail, which sent him flyin <T amongst his companions. Royalty from all parts of the world have visited Mr Hagenbeck’s establishment at Hamburg. Sixteen years ago, Prince Bismarck made a journey to the zoo and talked with its owner for two hours about his various animals. A few months ago his Highness the Russian Prince Alexander of Oldenburg saw Mr Hagenbeck about erecting zoos in Russia, and Mr Hagenbeck is of the opinion that within three or four years from now all' the bigger towns in that vast empire ■ will have their zoo. He has also got applications for erecting complete zoological gardens in America. Mr Hagenbeck is busy preparing a zoo in Btellinger, near Hamburg, which he hopes to have finished by the end of the year. His scheme is to have an open ground for all his animals, wherein they can wander at will. He will build mountains for the deer, lakes and ponds for waterfowl, and caves for the larger beasts to rest in. It will undoubtedly be the most original and singular zoo in the world.