SOUTH AFRICAN LIONS.

Thames Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 17662, 13 August 1929, Page 7

SOUTH AFRICAN LIONS.

GERMAN TRAINER’S WORK

Fourteen young African lions arrived in London recent.y to bo trained us film actors—specialising on. the “talkies.” Mr. C. B. Chapman, a leading wild animal deader, bought them to supply' to three \tal king film companies who consider that the genuine bon roar would make their films the rage, of .the cinemas, writes the Loudon correspondent of the “Cape. Times.’ Already they have artisty designing posters: “Come and hear tne Roaries.” A suave man in a dress suit, with lemon coloured gloves, led a large lion by the ear into a cage in the woods at Tanfieid, a stud farm in Cheshire, where the young ‘S‘outh Africans” will be housed, and showed me how he condocts the “dramatic” school. “LOVED BY THE LIONS.”

He i s Herr Charles Furber, the famous lion tamer, who is credited in his profession with the ability to make a lion cuddle up to him like a specially fattened lamb.

“I have to do this for weeks until they get used to me,” HeiT Furber yawned, sitting down at a table in the middle of the cage and picking up a book, while a big lion, “The Sultan,” curled up at his feet. “This is my protector,” Herr Furber explained in German. “He is as jealous as a. Spaniard and will thrash any lion who is ,rude to me. This is a fact about lions which few people know. After I have been sitting, here for a few days, one of these animals is bound to take a fancy to me—then Heaven help any other who tries to secure my -favour. I never have to illtreat uni*uily beasts —their mates knock them about for me.

“Sultan lost hi s temper the other day with Tiger, who was snarling at me, and gave him a blow with his paw, unfortunately catching my arm on the way as you can see by the bandages.” He suddenly broke off and shouted, “Din Menschvenvressei - !” (Yon maneater!”) at a young lion who came closer and who snarled menacingly when thus insulted. ,HIS BEST PUPIL.

“My best pupil,” said Herr Furber with satisfaction. “The difficulty is to get the lions to roar or snarl at the correct moment for the talkies. I shall have to cast about for weeks until the correct stimulus is found. In this ease a sudden shout of ‘Du men,sehenvresser!’ was enough; soon lie will do it when I pull a face. I will see how well it acts.

"After they are used to me T just lift them on to tubs and teach them to sit there foil* thfeir first lesson. Usually there is one rebel in the the troop, but 1 leave him to my pals. The. next step is leaping through hoops—also quite easy; I just get someone to tickle them .in the rear with a cane. "After that conies the most delicate tuition.—securing the correct expression of ferocity or pleasure, and a suitable nose at the exact instant. The most boring part i s sitting here for a fortnight reading my favourite novels, which are romances about the exciting life of lion tamers. "I prefer lions of this type, because

they are the most intelligent and also the most affectionate, the worst lions being Abyssinian. They are magnificent and black-maned, but are sure to try to lunch-off your arm sooner or later.

WILL DO ANYTHING. “With these youngsters, however,” pointing to the new lions, who had begun to come up and sniff at his clothes. “1 can do anything—make them roar, leap at a dummy, sneak through the bush, and snarl, fall down shot dead—anything, using only my gloves to whack them across the nose ii they are obstinate”

Herr Furber was engaged a , few weeks ago specially to train this “talkie” troop. The manager,,getting impatient because Herr Furber did not turn to an appointment, found him in a. cage of lions he had never see before, while there was only a niglitwntchman about the building. The landed cast of each lion is £l5O and the cost after that depends upon how badly the buyer needs them.