Lion taming is the taming and

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s, either for protection or for use in entertainment, such as the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

. The term often applies to the taming and display of lions and other

big cats The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. All cats descend from the ''Felidae'' family, sharing similar musculature, c ...

such as

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

s, and

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

s. People often use lion taming as a metaphor for any dangerous activity. Lion taming occurs in

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

s around the world to enable the keepers to carry out medical procedures and feedings. The

Captive Animals Protection Society Freedom for Animals (FFA) is the working name of the Captive Animals' Protection Society, a charity registered in England campaigning to end the display of animals in zoos, and the use of animals in entertainment, such as circuses, the exotic p ...

maintains that animal welfare cannot be guaranteed in circuses.

Notable lion tamers

:''In chronological order'' *

George Wombwell George Wombwell (24 December 1777 – 16 November 1850) was a famous menagerie exhibitor in Regency and early Victorian Britain. He founded Wombwell's Travelling Menagerie. Life and work George Wombwell was born at Duddenhoe End, near ...

(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. He was known for acts of daring, such as placing his head inside the jaws of a wild cat,''History Magazine,'
"Step Right Up," October/November 2001 issue
and became known as “The Lion King.”. *

Thomas Macarte Thomas Macarte ( January3, 1872) was a one-armed Lion taming, lion tamer who as ''Massarti the Lion-Tamer'' was attacked and killed during a circus performance in Bolton in Lancashire. Early career Thomas Macarte was born in Cork (city), Cork i ...

(c. 1839–1872), killed during a performance in 1872 *

Martini Maccomo Martini Maccomo (died 11 January 1871) was a lion tamer in Victorian Britain. He performed with William Manders' menagerie from around 1854 and remained the group's key attraction until his death. His act involved pursuing lions and tigers arou ...

(c. 1839–1871), a lion tamer in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Britain *

Carl Hagenbeck Carl Hagenbeck (10 June 1844 – 14 April 1913) was a Germans, German merchant of wild animals who supplied many European zoos, as well as P. T. Barnum. He created the modern zoo with animal enclosures without bars that were closer to their natur ...

(1844–1913), a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

wild animal Wildlife refers to undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also ...

s * Suresh Biswas (1861–1905), Indian circus performer popular in Europe in the 1880s for taming wild animals *

Claire Heliot Klara Haumann (née Pleßke; 3 December 1866 – 9 June 1953), known professionally as Claire Heliot, was a German Lion taming, lion tamer. Biography Klara Pleßke was born in Halle (Saale), Halle on 3 December 1866. Her father was a government ...

(1866–1953), German lion tamer, born Klara Haumann (Huth) *

Tilly Bébé Mathilde Rupp (27 March 187911 April 1932), known by the stage name Tilly Bébé, was an Austrian circus performer. She was noted for her performances with large predators and is considered a pioneer in the performance aspects of lion taming. In ...

(1879–1932), Austrian lion and

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

tamer *

Rose Flanders Bascom Rose Flanders Bascom, born in Contoocook, New Hampshire, Contoocook (a village of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Hopkinton), Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County, New Hampshire, in 1880, was the first United States, American woman lion tam ...

(1880–1915), first American female lion tamer * Mabel Stark (1889–1968), one of the world's first women tiger tamers * Clyde Beatty (1903–1965), one of the pioneers of using a chair in training big cats * Irina Bugrimova (1911–2001), the first female lion tamer in Russia * Gunther Gebel-Williams (1934–2001), a world-famous

animal trainer Animal training is the act of teaching animals specific responses to specific conditions or stimuli. Training may be for purposes such as companionship, detection, protection, and entertainment. The type of training an animal receives will vary ...

for the Red Unit with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. *

Ángel Cristo Ángel Papadopoulos Dordi (17 October 1944 in Huelva – 4 May 2010 in Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metro ...

(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').''El Periódico'' newspaper (May 4, 2010), article about Cristo's death. Resume of his life and rewards (in Spanish).
/ref> *

Martin Lacey Martin Lacey (born 1947) is a circus ringmaster, company director and trainer of wild animals. He trained most of the tigers that were used in the Esso television advertisements in the 1970s. Professional life He has been breeding and training ...

, (born 1947), animal trainer, owner of the

Great British Circus Great British Circus was a company that specialized in circus entertainment. Unusually for a UK-based circus company, it included wild animals such as tigers, camels and lions in its acts. Martin Lacey was the company's owner and Circus Director. ...

, trained most of the tigers used in the

ESSO Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (from the phon ...

TV advertisements in the 1970s. * Martin Lacey Jr., (born 1977), son of

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

, an animal trainer and performer with

Circus Krone Circus Krone, based in Munich, is one of the largest circuses in Europe and one of the few in Western Europe (along with Cirque d'hiver de Paris, Cirque d'hiver d'Amiens and Cirque Royal in Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-C ...

in Munich

References

{{Occupation-stub Animal training Circus skills Animals in entertainment Lions in popular culture Lions and humans