1
1
See JAROMIR MALEK, THE CAT IN ANCIENT EGYPT, (University of Pennsylvania
Press 2000).
The earliest records of big cats kept in captivity dates back to
around 2500 B.C. In Egypt, lions, leopards, cheetahs, servals,
and wildcats were depicted in tomb paintings, hieroglyphics,
sculptures, jewelry, and sarcophagi. Egyptian rulers were known
to keep many species of wild animals and some were considered
holy.1 Until recently, it was generally accepted that the Egyptians
were the first to bring wildcats out of the wild and integrate them
Journey through Antiquity
No other creature on earth captivates us quite like the
Felidae family. Lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, pumas, and little
wildcats embrace our fascination, imagination, and hearts with
their beauty, majesty, ferociousness, vitality, spirit, independence,
and elusiveness. From the Pharos in Egypt, the ancient Greeks
and Romans, to Princes in India, Kings in Europe and the
colonists of the New World, wildcats have been and continue to
be cast in a variety of roles in our culture.
This paper explores the history and culture of wildcats in
captivity. It traces their journey from Africa, the Far East, ancient
Greece, the Coliseums in Rome, and the Tower of London, to
their debut in America appearing in menageries, circuses,
zoological parks, Hollywood, and how they ultimately ended up
in urban apartments and suburban backyards.
Introduction
WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Washington, DC
Lisa Ann Tekancic, Esq. and Maria Dunbar-Stewart, Esq.
THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF
WILDCATS IN CAPTIVITY
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
3
J.D. VIGNE ET AL., Early Taming of the Cat in Cyprus, 304 SCIENCE (2004).
MALEK, supra note 1.
4
See ROBERTA ALTMAN, THE QUINTESSENTIAL CAT: A CONNOISSEUR’S GUIDE
TO THE CAT IN HISTORY, ART, LITERATURE, AND LEGEND, (Macmillan 1994).
5
R.J. HOAGE ET AL., Menageries and Zoos to 1900, in NEW WORLDS, NEW
ANIMALS: FROM MENAGERIES TO ZOOLOGICAL PARK IN THE NINETEENTH
CENTURY 9 (R. J. Hoage and William A. Deiss eds., 1996).
6
Id.
7
Id. at 10.
2
into human civilization and culture. However, an excavation of a
human burial site on the island of Cyprus included skeletal
remains of a roughly 8-month old cat. This discovery along with
others suggests that wildcats were present on Cyprus around 9500
years ago.2
Cats were highly revered by the Egyptians because of their
astute hunting of rats which kept their food sources safe. The
Egyptian gods and goddess took on the likeness and attributes of
cats; most notably was Bastet, a woman with a cat’s head and
known as the deity of fertility; Ra the sun god that took the form
of a cat; and Sekhmet, a women with the head of a lioness.
Temples were built in their honor, and cats were mummified and
buried with their owners.3 The Egyptians enacted laws to protect
the cat; killing a cat was considered a crime and punishable by
death.4 Meanwhile, in 2000 B.C. the Kings of Ur, a settlement in
the southern part of Mesopotamia, kept lions in pits or cages.5
In 1500 B.C., Queen Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmose I, as
part of a trading expedition to the Land of Punt (perhaps
Somalia), ordered exotic animals to be brought back to Egypt
including leopards. The animals became part of the palace
menagerie.
Historian Gustave Loisel described it as an
“Acclimatization Garden—a place where the attempt was made to
tame or domesticate wild animals for human use.”6 During the
reigns of Ptolemy I (323-285 B.C.) and Ptolemy II (285-246) a
zoo in Alexandria was founded. Around 285 B.C. Ptolemy II,
organized an animal procession, a day-long parade on the Feast of
Dionysus that included among other animals, 96 elephants
drawing chariots, 24 lions, 14 leopards, and 16 cheetahs.7
The ancient Greeks, from 600 to 300 B.C. had animal
collections that they used for educational purposes which fostered
Aristotle’s work, The History of Animals. Through his travels
2
3
9
Id.
EDITH HAMILTON, MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS AND HEROES, 164
(Little, Brown & Company 1940).
10
HOAGE, supra note 5, at 11.
11
Id. (“Panthers” was also used to describe leopards.)
8
into Persia, Alexander the Great discovered a new source of
animals to include in the collection. Yet, traveling animal shows
that featured dancing bears and lions were popular among the
ancient Greeks.8
Lions, however, were revered in Greek
mythology. Hercules, the greatest of the Greek heroes, was the
strongest man on earth and displayed supreme self-confidence.
At the age of 18, he killed Thespian, a great lion who lived in the
woods of Cithaeron. Hercules wore the great cat’s skin as a
cloak with the head forming a hood. To prevent Hercules from
attaining the kingdom of Mycenae, Eurystheus set Hercules on
twelve labors, the first of which was to slay the Nemean Lion.
“The Lion of Nemea was a beast no weapons would wound. That
difficulty Hercules solved by choking the life out of him. Then
he heaved the large carcass up on his back and carried him into
Mycenae. After that, Eurystheus, a cautious man, would not let
him inside the city. He gave him his orders from afar.”9 The
Lion Gate, which stands at the entrance to the city of Mycenae,
features two lionesses flanking a center column. Story telling was
a treasured tradition in ancient Greece. The most famous
storyteller, Aesop, used the lion as a symbol of great strength and
intelligence as depicted in, The Lion and the Mouse and The
Lion’s Share.
From 669 to 626 B.C. Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, in the
Middle East, “inherited a zoological collection and was known as
an expert on camels and lions.”10 The King of Babylonia,
Nebuchadnezzar, from 605-562 B.C. “was a collector of lions,
and like the Egyptians, the Babylonians kept and trained large
predators that they hunted for amusement. Persian royalty up to
the fourth century B.C. kept large hunting reserves and animal
parks. In the Babylonian region of the Persian Empire, the
reserves were known as paradeisos; they contained many kinds
of animals including lions and panthers.”11 “On arrival at the
destination, the lions would have been placed in an enclosure in
the royal palace or released in semi-liberty in vast, special parks,
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
GUSTAVE LOISEL, HISTOIRE DES MENAGERIES 45 (Paris 1912). (Arrivés à
destination, les lions étaint placés dans l’enceinte du palais royal ou lâchés en
demi-liberté dans vastes parcs spéciaux, plantés de palmier, de vignes, et de
fleurs…)
13
GLADIATORS & CAESARS: THE POWER & SPECTACLE IN ANCIENT ROME (Eckart
Kòohne and Cornelia Ewigleben eds., 2000).
14
Id. at 72-74.
15
HOAGE, supra note 5, at 12.
16
Id.
12
planted with palm trees, vines and flowers…”12 The Assyrian
kings also kept confined animal parks containing freely roaming
lions and herds of gazelle.
One of the most deadly times for captive big cats was during
the festivals and gladiator games of ancient Rome. Around 186
B.C., the first animal fights were seen by Romans, during which
lions and panthers fought against each other in the Circus
Maximus. Conservative Senators, however, did not care for these
spectacles and passed a “senatorial decree prohibiting the import
of wild animals from Africa, but the ban was lifted twenty years
later and imports of exotic animals for the games were
permitted.”13 Men were also pitted against lions, tigers, and
leopards. Known as venatores, they fought on foot with spears
against the big cats. Criminal executions also were carried out
through the use of the big cats. Men were bound to stakes and
driven out on chariots for leopards or lions to attack them.14
The Roman emperors held an extraordinary population of
wild animals and an equally extraordinary number of them were
killed. Octavius Augustus emperor from 29 B.C. to 14 A.D. had
3,500 animals in his collection killed that included 420 tigers, and
260 lions killed; Claudius (37-41 A.D.) had 4 tigers killed; Nero
(54-68 A.D.) had 300 lions; and Domitian (81-96 A.D.) had lions
and tigers killed.15 By 325 A.D., Constantine declared the arena
games illegal but Justinian, who reigned from 527-565 A.D.,
again legalized them. This blood sport remained popular all over
Europe until the end of the sixth century and did not recede until
the decline of the Roman Empire. Constantinople, however,
continued the games until the twelfth century.16
In India, during the thirteenth century, Marco Polo described
a royal menagerie of Kublai Khan that housed leopards, lions,
4
5
17
(‘Leopards’ may also include ‘cheetahs’ which were native to India and were
known as ‘hunting leopards.’)
18
DIVYABHANUSINH, THE END OF THE TRAIL: THE CHEETAH IN INDIA, (Oxford
University Press 1999).
19
See BBC News, Big Cats Prowled London’s Tower, 2009
http://www.bbc.co.uk.
20
HOAGE, supra note 5, at 14.
21
Id.
During Medieval Times, the big cats became part of royal
menageries all over Europe and were given to Kings and
Emperors as gifts. Keeping private collections of big cats became
a symbol of the elite and associated with class, wealth, and
power. In England, King John, who reigned from 1199 to 1216,
was known to have lions and established the Royal Menagerie.
The Duke of Wellington closed the menagerie in 1835 and the
animals were transferred to what is now known as the London
Zoo. A discovery of lion and leopard skulls in the Tower of
London which were recently radiocarbon dated, puts the two lions
and the leopard in the Tower from approximately 1280/1385;
1420/1480; and 1440/1625 respectively.19
“Leopards especially lions were popular with European
monarchs and princes throughout the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries. Rulers of large and small realms all seemed to
have a lion collection of some kind at one time or another, and
gifts of lions occurred regularly between them.”20 In 1450, René,
Count of Anjou and Provence, had a large menagerie at this
château that showcased a lion house. Pope Leo X (1513-1521),
of the Medici family of Florence, established a menagerie at the
Vatican. His collection held lions and leopards.21
In the sixteenth century, menageries began to spring up in
urban centers across Europe and North Africa. “The royal
menagerie founded in Sweden in 1561, persisted into the
From the Olde World to the New World
and lynxes. Hunting with ‘leopards’17 and ‘lynxes’ was an
established sport of the royal court. “The Great Mughal Empire
at its height under Akbar had one thousand cheetahs, and at one
time he was known to have collected some 9,000 cheetahs in his
half century long reign.”18
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
23
Id. at 15.
Id.
24
Id.
25
ELIZABETH HANSON, ANIMAL ATTRACTIONS 79 (Princeton University Press
2002).
22
In the early 1700s, animal collecting became popular in
America; “collectors and dealers in live wild animals rose in
social status from obscure marginal figures to heroes of popular
culture.”25 Most notable among them are Carl Hagenbeck of
Germany and in the United States, Frank Buck. Exotic animals
began making their way into the United States as early as 1716
when the ‘The Lion of Barbary’ arrived. Hagenbeck supplied
thousands of animals to American zoos, “the market for his
exotic, circus, and traveling menageries was so large
that…between 1866 and 1886 he imported over a thousand
From Kings to Performers:
~ Life under the Big Top
eighteenth century when Carl Von Linné, now known as
Linnaeus, created the modern scientific system for naming
animals and plants.22 In 1665, Louis XIV established a grand
menagerie in Versailles, but it fell into decline during the reign of
Louis XV. An uprising during the French Revolution led to the
release and slaughter of part of the collection. The animals that
survived were sent to the botanical garden in Paris, Jardin du Roi
renamed the Jardin de Plantses, which later became a division of
Muséum National d’Historie Naturelle and the first ‘national
menagerie.’23
Exotic animals, especially the big cats, continued to be
viewed as symbols of status, wealth, and power and were caged
and displayed for human entertainment. These displays were not
organized for any scientific or educational value but solely for the
gratification of human curiosity.24 The impending influx of
importing wildcats to America for a new upper social class to
have a ‘royal menagerie’ of their own, provided the means to
create other venues in which to ‘use’ or ‘showcase’ the cats, such
as the birth of the American circus, zoological parks, and with the
development of moving pictures, the film industry.
6
7
28
27
Id.
Id.
Id. at 81.
29
BOB BROOKE, Step Right Up!, HISTORY MAGAZINE (2001).
26
lions.”26 By the mid-1800s it was through animal dealers based
in Germany (including Hagenbeck) that most wildlife from
Africa, South Asia, and the East Indies came to the United
States.27
The success of the early animal dealers came at the same
time as a rise in the number of zoos and circuses. From 1880 and
1930 zoos rose from four to over one hundred and during the
same time period there were more than 650 circuses that featured
a variety of animals and acts. The increase in the demand for
more wild animals such as wildcats and elephants was due to
serious and competition between the circus owners such as P.T.
Barnum and Adam Forepaugh for bigger and better shows.
Animal dealers marketed their animals for sale or lease to zoos
and circuses. Prices for big cats ranged from $90 to $1,600
depending on their age, health, and rarity. In 1913, American
dealer, I.S. Horne had for sale: “1 Male African Lion, 3 years old;
2 African Lioness, 2 ½ years old; 2 male Pumas, 2 years old; and
2 brown bears, 2 years old; arena, all props, shipping cages, etc.
complete” for $5,000.”28
In the mid-1800s traveling menageries were simply wild
animals on exhibit for which an entrance fee was charged. By
increasing the number of animals to their exhibits and providing
some sort of show, it was only a matter of time before the
travelling menageries and circuses merged. Acts or shows
featuring the big cats began around 1833. Issac Van Amburgh
was one of the first ‘lion tamers.’ Dressed like a Roman gladiator
he entered the big cats’ cage in which he confronted a lion, tiger,
leopard, and a panther.
“Van Amburgh emphasized his
domination over the animals by beating them into compliance
with a crowbar and thrusting his arm into their mouths, daring
them to attack. When he came under attack for spreading cruelty
and moral ruin he quoted the Bible.”29 Another popular act was
Alfred Court’s, “Natural Enemies Since the Dawn of Creation,”
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
30
HANSON, supra note 25, at 80-81.
As the cats skedaddled out, helped along by prods
from Junior, Beatty gave his troublemaker a whale of
a clout on top of his murderous head, which made the
lion let go the tiger’s neck long enough for the trainer
to thrust his trusty chair between the two writhing
beasts. The lion turned on him, which was exactly
what he expected it to do, and the tiger bleeding
slightly from the shoulder, scampered to the chute.
Leo, plenty mad, clawed and bit the chair away from
Beatty grabbed a hickory stick that his cage boy,
Junior was quick to push through the bars.
Brandishing it, he rushed the flailing gladiators,
blanking them (firing his gun) square in their snarling
faces. Declaring the act official over, Beatty yelled to
Junior to rattle the exit chute’s iron bars, standard cue
for the animals to leave an arena.
Sleika was just going into her wind-up crouch when
the old lion-tiger jungle hatred flared. A lion sprang
from his high pedestal and landed within inches of the
tiger. The two locked together, kicking up shavings
and mud on the slippery ground, struggling fiercely
for tooth-claw advantage.
The act was almost over. The great trainer had just
coaxed his famous spinning tiger, Sleika, off her
pedestal. The trick is one of the act’s most fearful
features, for the tiger crouches, belly to the ground,
facing Beatty, the trainer’s eyes must be strictly on
her, leaving both he and animal wide open to attack by
the lions. But the real balance of terror, the act’s most
perilous moment, comes when the big cat spins like a
puppy chasing its tail, for this movement greatly
excites the lions.
which included lions, tigers, black jaguars, snow leopards, black
panthers, pumas, leopards, jaguars, and ocelots.30
In the 1920s, Clyde Beatty became a famous wild animal
trainer and achieved his fame through his lion and tiger acts. In
Wild Tigers & Tame Fleas, Bill Ballantine, describes a Beatty
performance, “Lions Hate Tagers,”
8
9
BILL BALLANTINE, Lions Hate Tagers, WILD TIGERS & TAME FLEAS, (Rinehart
& Company, Inc. 1958).
32
JOHN CULHANE, THE AMERICAN CIRCUS, (Henry Holt & Company 1990).
33
Id. at 210.
34
BALLANTINE, supra note 31, at 94.
31
There had been torrential rains; the ring was slippery,
the animals extremely tense. Mabel slipped in the
muddy arena, and the moment she went down a tiger
Sheik leaped upon her ripping into her left thigh,
almost severing the leg above the knee. Another tiger
named Zoo closed in for the kill, and as the tigers tore
and fought over the helpless woman, Terrell Jacobs,
the lion trainer, rushed to her aid. He finally managed
to drive the beasts back into their chute, but not before
Miss Stark had suffered: a badly mangled leg, a torn
and mashed face, an ankle that remained stiff for
many months, a deep hole in her shoulder, a torn
deltoid muscle and a hole in her neck uncomfortably
close to the jugular vein. 34
The animal trainers, however, often found themselves on the
receiving end of a lion or tiger attack. Clyde Beatty was hours
away from death from an infection after he was mauled by one of
his lions. In 1932, Beatty was wrapping up a rehearsal and “all
but three cats had left the cage, a lion named Nero caught Beatty
off guard and knocked him to the ground. By coincidence, it was
Nero that had saved Beatty’s life only the year before by battling
the tiger that had unexpectedly lunged. This time, however, Nero
plunged his long sharp teeth into Betty’s thigh.” 32 “Every good
wild animal trainer knows that there is no such thing as a lion
tamer. Wild animals are never tame. Beatty himself has written
of the big cat: No matter how much affection I lavish on him he
will never lose his basic primitiveness.33
Another famous ‘tiger teacher,’ was Mabel Stark. At one
time she handled sixteen tigers and had a grand mix display of
fourteen tigers and seven lions. Being the only female made her
act even more alluring. Stark too, was a victim of her students.
The worst of the maulings occurred in 1928 in Bangor, Maine
while she was with the John Robinson Circus
Beatty once before the trainer was able to drive the
beast through the exit. 31
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
38
Id.
Id.
CULHANE, supra note 32, at 209-210.
37
BROOKE, supra note 29.
36
35
Stark commented, “when you’re working with tigers, you
watch for those little tail switches that warn of an attack, and you
can usually tell in the eyes, but a tiger attack comes quick and
sudden—not much warning.”35
From the 1920s and into the late 1930s the circuses were in
their heyday and Beatty, Stock, Court, and others continued to
perform with their big cats. However, John Ringling sought to
eliminate such displays; he took into consideration not only the
protests from the people who could not be convinced that cruelty
was not used to train the animals, but also the immense amount of
work entailed in erecting and dismantling three steel arenas and
transferring the animals to shifting dens twice a day. If the
menagerie men did not get the shifting dens right up against the
cages in the rings, there was always a possibility of the animals
escaping. Beatty also was subject to public scrutiny with respect
to whether he employed the use of sharply pointed steel rods or
red-hot irons to train the cats, and there was speculation about
whether he had his cats declawed.36
After a horrific fire under a big tent in 1944 and the traveling
circus in decline, it became apparent the circuses were nearing
their final act. In 1956, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey
gave its last performance under the Big Top. “John Ringling
announced, ‘The tented circus as it exists today is, in my opinion,
a thing of the past, the Big Top was the victim of TV competition,
labor troubles, terrible weather for canvas tents, traffic problems
for audiences trying to get to the circus and increased freight rates
for railroads trying to bring it to them.’ Life magazine
announced, ‘Big Top Bows Out Forever.’37 That same year, Irvin
Feld was able to convince Ringling to move the circus to an
indoor presentation. Ten years later, the Feld family purchased
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey from John Ringling
North.38
In an attempt to ‘legitimize’ a business that is purely
entertainment, the circus now incorporates an ‘education’
component into their shows. For example, Ringling Bros. has a
10
11
See
http://www.ringling.com/FlashSubContent.aspx?id=11660&parentID=320&asse
tFolderID=326.
40
See LARRY GETLEN, Send in the Claws, NEW YORK POST, December 19, 2008
http://www.nypost.com.
39
Another type of big cat act emerged in the late 1960s. A
combination of the circus act and magic tricks provided a new
arena in which the popular Siegfried & Roy rose to fame with
their Vegas act along with others including Roy and Joy Holliday,
known as the ‘Cat Dancers.’ Each act came to its own tragic end.
The Hollidays started with an exotic tiger act when William
Holden gave them a black leopard cub from his animal preserve
in Africa. The couple ran the Cat Dancers ranch in Florida, and
hired Chuck Lizza to work with their cats. In 1998, Lizza was
killed by one of their white tigers. Lizza tripped on a chain-link
fence and fell on the big cat. He grabbed Lizza by the neck and
killed him instantly. Just five weeks later, Joy Holliday was
killed by the same tiger. Ron Holliday recalls, “But with Joy it
was an out-and-out attack. I only remember the cat lunging up at
her, and I don’t remember anything else.”40 After Joy’s fatal
attack, the tiger was killed by authorities.
Siegfried and Roy combined magic with their tiger stunts
and performed on the Las Vegas strip for nearly thirty years. On
October 4, 2003, during an evening performance at the MGM
Fascinating Facts #3
Tigers are an endangered species. They are protected
by international law and national laws all over the
world. In the United States, the acquisition and use of
tigers is tightly controlled. The tigers you see in The
Greatest Show On Earth® were bred in captivity. 39
Beautiful Big Cats - Tigers
The big cats showcased at Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey® have a relationship with their trainers
based on mutual trust and respect. However, our
trainers never forget that these animals are incredibly
strong and fierce. For this reason, the big cats always
perform behind a barrier.
section on their website that provides a synopsis on plight of wild
tigers along with a list of “Fascinating Facts.”
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
Zoos: American Style
41
See Roy of Siegfried and Roy critical after mauling, CNN News October 4,
2003 http://www.cnn.com.
42
HANSON, supra note 25, at 84.
43
VERNON N. KISLING, JR., The Origin and Development of American
Zoological Parks to 1899, NEW WORLDS, NEW ANIMALS: FROM MENAGERIES TO
ZOOLOGICAL PARK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 110 (R. J. Hoage & William A.
Deiss eds., 1996).
The same animal dealers that were supplying the traveling
menageries and circuses with their big cats from around the world
also provided cats for another type of menagerie the—zoological
park. The dealers not only imported cats but acted as middlemen
between the circus cats and the zoo cats with a majority of zoo
cats coming from the circus and private collectors. Likewise,
there was an overlap between dealers, circus, and zoo people. For
instance, Hagenbeck also trained animals and had his own shows;
a showman who performed a lion act in the Forepaugh Circus
wrote to the director of the National Zoo looking for work as a
keeper; and Frank Bostick, who was a dealer, was also a zoo
owner and competed for a time with the Baltimore Zoo. Zoo
directors were suspicious of many animal dealers: “They were
businessmen who were affiliated with circuses, which were
known for numerous forms of swindling. Zoo people always
suspected that collectors and dealers were cheating them.”42
America’s first zoological park, The Philadelphia Zoo,
celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009. The origins of zoos in
America can be traced to early colonial menageries and exhibits.
Ships’ captains who had visited distant and foreign lands were the
first to bring exotic species to colonial ports hoping to make extra
money by selling the animals for a profit.43 In 1716, the people of
Boston, Massachusetts saw the first known lion that was brought
~
Mirage Hotel-Casino, a white tiger, lunged at Roy Horn’s neck
then bit him on the arm. The tiger was on a short leash and got
Horn to the ground and dragged him off the stage by his neck.41
While Horn miraculously survived his attack, the flamboyant duo
has since retired their Vegas show. Following the attack, the tiger
was quarantined but subsequently returned to the performers.
12
VERNON N. KISLING, JR., Zoological Gardens of the United States, ZOO AND
AQUARIUM HISTORY: ANCIENT ANIMAL COLLECTIONS TO ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
147 (Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed., 2001).
45
KISLING supra, note 42, at 111.
46
Id. at 112.
47
Id. at 148.
48
Id. at 147.
49
See id.
50
HANSON, supra note 25, at 15.
51
Id. at 16.
54
53
See id.
Id. at 12, 16.
KISLING, supra note 42, at 114.
55
See id.
56
Id. at 115.
57
HANSON, supra note 25, at 15; KISLING, supra note 42, at 115.
58
HANSON, supra note 25, at 15; KISLING, supra note 42, at 115.
59
HANSON, supra note 25, at 15; KISLING, supra note 42, at 116.
60
KISLING, supra note 42, at 116.
61
HANSON, supra note 25, at 15-16; KISLING, supra note 42, at 115.
62
HANSON, supra note 25, at 13; KISLING, supra note 42, at 115.
52
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
44
14
with nature.52 Zoos were created as part of the increasing interest
in establishing public parks.53
The late nineteenth century also marked a time when
Americans were greatly influenced by and impressed with
European scientific advances and culture.54 However, Americans
also possessed strong nationalistic pride which spurred them to
adopt European ideas with the intent to improve and Americanize
them, including the idea of a zoo.55
William Camac, a doctor from Philadelphia, after traveling
extensively in Europe, returned to America with the desire to
replicate what he saw as the benefits of a zoological park.56 On
March 21, 1859, Dr. Camac held a meeting at his home with
naturalists and civic-minded individuals, and, using the London
Zoo as a model for organization, began what lead to the
incorporation of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia.57
Although the Pennsylvania legislature chartered the
Zoological Society of Philadelphia to begin collecting living
specimens for recreation and educational purposes, the Civil War
put those plans on hold.58 After the Civil War, in March 1872, Dr.
Camac held a reorganization meeting and work to create the first
American zoo began, still looking to the London Zoo for
guidance.59
The Philadelphia Zoo opened on July 1, 1874, with 212
animals including lions and a tiger.60 It was the first animal
collection residing in permanent buildings and managed by
professional, fulltime staff with support from a community-based
The Philadelphia Zoo succeeded in
zoological society.61
distinguishing itself from its menagerie predecessors by its desire
to advance science and educate as well as to entertain.62
13
to America known as ‘The Lion of Barbary.’44 Shipment of other
exotic cats followed including the first leopard in 176845 and the
first tiger in 178946.
Early exhibits of wild animals focused on showcasing the
novelty of captive exotic species with little understanding or
regard for the animal’s welfare. For example, in 1806, two tigers
from India were at Crombie’s Tavern in Salem, Massachusetts.47
The first lion shipped to America, The Lion of Barbary, was
initially kept at the home of Captain Arthur Savage. After four
years, in 1720, the lion was moved to the home of Martha Adams.
Adams housed the lion and invited the public to visit her lion
through a newspaper advertisement and a sign on her door that
read: “The Lion King of Beasts is to be seen here.”48 Six years
later, in 1726, the lion was shipped to the West Indies and
returned the following year and was exhibited in Philadelphia.49
In 1728, records show that the lion was exhibited in New York
and New Jersey and then Connecticut before the trail of the lion
grows cold.
In the late nineteenth century, establishment of the first
American zoos coincided with the industrialization of the
country.50 During America’s move from a rural, agriculturebased society to a more urban-based lifestyle, large numbers of
the population were moving out of the country and into the city.
As a result, there were growing concerns about the negative
impact city life could have on the population.51 In response to the
concerns of urbanization, large parks outside of many cities were
established, affording the people of the city a place to reconnect
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
15
64
HANSON, supra note 25, at 16.
See id.
65
See id.
66
See id.
67
KISLING, supra note 42, at 118.
68
See ASSOCIATION OF ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS, http://www.aza.org.
69
KISLING, supra note 42, at 120.
70
See id.
71
HANSON, supra note 25, at 13.
63
In 1873, Andrew Erkenbrecher, a German-born
businessman, established a zoological society from a community
of prosperous German immigrants in Cincinnati, using German
zoos as a guide.63 The society was organized as a joint stock
company with the purpose of studying and sharing knowledge of
wild animals.64 The members anticipated that not only would the
zoo be a source of civic pride but also turn a profit.65 In order to
ensure success, in 1875, the zoo hired Dr. H. Dorner, who had
previously served as scientific secretary of the Hamburg
Zoological Garden, as its first superintendent.66 The Cincinnati
Zoo open on September 18, 1875 and by 1891, reports indicate
that the collection was the largest and most complete in the
country.67
Meanwhile, the new zoos attempted to distinguish
themselves from menageries by explaining that their purpose was
to educate, promote science and, for some, promote conservation,
as well as to entertain.68 Despite the stated goals of zoos to
educate as well as entertain, most were criticized “for being
glorified menageries rather than zoological parks.”69 The creation
of the National Zoological Park which opened in 1891
represented the first step toward moving zoos further from
menageries and in a new direction.70
By the beginning of the twentieth century, many American
cities had zoos including, Chicago, San Francisco, Cleveland,
Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Pittsburgh, St. Paul,
Buffalo, Toledo, Denver, and New York.71 Many early zoos were
formed through donations or as a solution to dealing with
unwanted private collections and performance animals that
included lions, tigers, leopards, and other wildcats. In 1882,
Cleveland accepted land and a herd of deer as the beginning of its
zoo, and by 1888, other animals joined the collection including
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
KISLING, supra note 42, at 119.
Id. at 121.
HANSON, supra note 25, at 71, 73.
75
See id. at 81.
76
Id. at 166.
77
Id. at 169.
78
Id. at 170.
79
See ASSOCIATION OF ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS, <http://www.aza.org>.
74
73
72
two cougars.72 In 1889, an Atlanta businessman bought the
collection of a bankrupt circus which included two lions, two
cougars and two wildcats and donated the animals to the city.73
Since most zoos did not focus on exhibiting native species
and sought to achieve civic distinction and recognition, zoos also
came to rely on commercial trade in wildlife.74 Zoos used the
same dealers to acquire exotic, non-native species as the circuses
and the varieties of wild animals that performed in circuses were
the same that were housed in zoos.75 World War II ended the era
of large-scale expeditions to collect animals since the war
disrupted trade routes and exportation from newly formed
Subsequently, zoos began to
countries was restricted.76
systematically breed their own animals in order to replenish their
stock.77
However, zoos also had to show the public that they were
not contributing to extinctions in the wild but rather helping to
save the species through captive breeding. Lions and tigers bred
easily in captivity and were bred in captivity as far back as the
1920s. By the 1970s with the implementation of federal
regulations regarding wildlife, zoos changed the way they
managed their collections. Research programs on genetics and
reproduction morphed into a organized system for captive
breeding.78
In 1973, The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)
created the International Species Inventory System (ISIS) to
inventory zoo collections and by 1981, the AZA expanded on the
ISIS program and created Species Survival Plans (SSPs) with a
focus on individual species to prevent extinction through research
and captive breeding programs among zoos and other institutions
to ensure genetic diversity among the various captive wildlife
populations.79
16
17
HANSON, supra note 25, at 176.
81
Id. at 175.
82
Id.
80
Natural settings in which to exhibit wildlife had started to
gain momentum in the 1940s. The Bronx Zoo created an
‘African Plains’ exhibit and displayed predators and prey in close
proximity of each other. Frank Osborne, president of the New
York Zoological Society, felt that the animal exhibits should be
shown and grouped as they are in nature. “Osborne’s view was to
encourage audiences to think of humans as part of natural
systems; he wrote: if man is to fulfill his potential destiny, he
must give thought to his relationship to nature—to his
dependence upon all forms of life that surround him.80
By the late 1970s landscape architects coined a new phase,
‘landscape immersion,’ which they used to “describe exhibits that
attempt to envelop zoo visitors in animals’ environments rather
than setting animals down in parks with trim lawns and potted
plants.”81 The master plan for the renovation of the Woodland
Park Zoo in Seattle, included both the vision of Osborne and the
landscape immersion concept: “Wild animals live in a dynamic
ecological relationship, and although the zoo is only a substitute,
it should attempt to reflect this complex order.”82
The changes that took place at zoos throughout the twentieth
century are all commendable with respect to animal welfare and
the public’s perception. While the wildcats have been given
better exhibits in which to dwell, medical care, and proper
nutrition, the cats nonetheless show us that their wild instincts
remain despite being raised in captive environments. Like the
circus performers and trainers, veterinarians, zoo personnel and
even visitors can and do become prey.
In February 2009, a
veterinarian at the Henry Doorly Zoo, in Omaha was bitten by a
tiger while performing a routine medical examination. The tiger
was anesthetized when it bit the veterinarian’s right foreman three
times. One of the most horrific of zoo incidents occurred in
December 2007 at the San Francisco Zoo. A 300 pound tigress
escaped from her exhibit and attacked three teen-aged boys
killing one and seriously injuring the other two. The tigress was
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
Hooray for Hollywood
See Captive Big Cat Attacks – Summary Reports, WILDCAT CONSERVATION
LEGAL AID SOCIETY, (forthcoming 2010) http://www.wcclas.org.
84
BALLANTINE, supra note 31, at 86.
85
End of the Lion, PEOPLE MAGAZINE (1994) http://www.people.com.
83
With the birth of moving pictures in the late nineteenth
century, the early filmmakers also found the cats to be irresistible
and cast them in a variety of roles: from fictious characters, to
lion-biographies, to historical representations of the gladiator
cats, the wildcats have earned their stars on the Hollywood walk
of fame.
In the early days of motion pictures, the film studios also
found a use for wildcats. The same cats that crossed from private
menageries, circuses, and zoos also found themselves in front of
the camera. Mabel Stark, tiger teacher and circus performer also
crossed over into film with her cats. Stark spent several years
performing for motion pictures working out of the World Jungle
Compound at Thousand Oaks. She lent her ‘ferocious flicker’
assistance to most of the early epics whose scripts called for
‘bloodthirsty tigers,’ including: Sabu (Song of India), Cecil B.
DeMille (The Greatest Show on Earth) and Victor Mature
(Demetrius and the Gladiators). 84
One of the most famous lions of all time is Leo, the MetroGoldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio lion who for decades delighted
audiences by lending his powerful roar at the beginning of every
MGM film. Leo was brought to America by Volney Phifer, an
animal trainer, during World War I and spent the next 23 years
appearing in movies and on promotional tours. The first Leo died
in 1938 and was buried on the grounds of Phifer’s 13-acre farm.85
There have been five lions to promote MGM over the years. Leo
~
killed by authorities. The same tigress attacked a zookeeper the
year before, ripping the flesh from his arm.83
Big or small, the wildcats are by far one of nature’s most
attractive creatures. They embody not only physical beauty and
grace, but at the same time incredible physical strength and
power. These characteristics may be why both men and women
find them irresistible.
18
19
86
MICHAEL J. HERMAN, The Roar Heard Around the World, CAT FANCY
(January 2006).
87
Id.
88
See http://www.mgmgrand.com.
V now resides at the Wildlife Waystation in Angeles National
Forest—in a cage. According to animal trainer, Neil Egland,
“MGM sponsored Leo from the time he was a cub until he was
about 3. For the past four years, MGM has chosen not to sponsor
a lion and has been without a mascot.”86 Paige Taylor, director of
corporate communications for MGM, says, “It’s a matter of
money. When the new regime took over in 2001 they decided the
thousands of dollars each year it costs to have a lion wasn’t worth
it to the studio.”87 By contrast, the MGM Grand Hotel and
Casino sponsors a Lion Habitat, in which lions live in “custom
accommodations on a 8.5 acre ranch 12 miles from the MGM
Grand.”88
Over the years there have been many films featuring wildcat
actors. In 1938, RKO studios released Brining Up Baby, a box
office catastrophe at the time, but today considered a classic,
screwball romantic comedy, starring Katherine Hepburn and Gary
Grant featuring a leopard in the role of Baby. One of the most
notable films, tells the story of perhaps the most famous lioness
of all time, Elsa.
In the mid-1950s, George and Joy Adamson, at their home in
Kenya, raised three female lion cubs. George at the time was a
Senior Game Warden in a Kenyan game reserve. While he and
his crew where in pursuit of a reported ‘man eater,’ they killed a
lioness who had charged them. During their investigation, they
discovered the lioness was protecting her cubs. As the three
female cubs grew, the Adamsons needed to make arrangements
for the three to be taken to zoos because being hand raised they
could not be returned to the wild. Two of the cubs were taken in
by zoos; the other, Elsa, remained with the Adamsons. George
and Joy worked tirelessly to return Elsa to the wild. Elsa was
known to them as the ‘lioness of two worlds.’ She remained
under their careful watch. Elsa did learn to hunt and eventually
had three cubs of her own—Jespah, Gopa, and Little Elsa. When
her cubs were not quite 18 months old, Elsa became infected with
a blood disease from a tick bite and died suddenly at the age of
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
See JOY ADAMSON, BORN FREE-A LIONESS OF TWO WORLDS (Pantheon Books
1960); LIVING FREE-THE STORY OF ELSA AND HER CUBS (Harcourt, Brace &
World 1961); FOREVER FREE-ELSA’S PRIDE (Collins & Harvill Press 1962);
90
See BORN FREE (Open Road Films, Inc. 1965).
91
See JOY ADAMSON, THE SPOTTED SPHINX (Harcourt, Brace & World 1969);
PIPPA’S CHALLENGE (Harcourt, Brace & World 1972); QUEEN OF SHABA-THE
STORY OF AN AFRICAN LEOPARD (Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich 1980); GEORGE
ADAMSON, MY PRIDE & JOY, (Simon & Schuster 1987).
92
See CHRISTIAN THE LION (Bill Travers & James Hill directors 1976); THE
LIONS ARE FREE, (Bill Travers & James Hill 1967).
89
five. The Adamsons watched over Elsa’s cubs and eventually
relocated them to the Serengeti National Park. Joy captured
Elsa’s story in her books: Born Free, Living Free, and Forever
Free. Published in 1960, Born Free came at a time when
attitudes world wide were beginning to change with respect to
wildlife and conservation issues.89
In 1965, the film version of Born Free was released, starring
Virginia McKenna as Joy, and Bill Travers as George.90 The
movie was filmed in Kenya with the help of the Adamsons and a
number of lions and lioness that were brought in from private
owners. The story of Elsa and the making of the film changed the
lives of both Adamsons and the actors who portrayed them.
George retired from his game warden duties and set up a camp in
Kenya to rehabilitate captive lions. George started his ‘pride of
lions’ with a number of the lions that were used in the film. Joy
went on to work with other captive wildcats including Pippa, a
cheetah which she semi-successfully reintroduced to the wild and
wrote about in her books, The Spotted Sphinx and Pippa’s
Challenge. Her final work was with a leopard, Penny, that
culminated in the book Queen of Shaba.91 Bill Travers and
Virginia McKenna, husband and wife, continued their friendship
with the Adamsons. They even brought a lion to George named
Christian. Christian was bought by two young men from
Harrods’s department store. They sought out Travers’ help when
Christian was getting too big to be handled. Travers produced a
documentary film that recounted Christian’s story in Christian the
Lion, and a film titled, The Lions Are Free, which tells the story
of what happened to the lions from the film Born Free and
George’s work in Kenya.92 In 1984 the Travers-McKenna team
founded Zoo Check which subsequently became the Born Free
20
21
94
See http://www.bornfree.org.uk.
See LIVING FREE (Columbia Pictures 1972).
95
See TO WALK WITH LIONS (IAC Holdings Limited 1999).
96
See http://www.tvacres.com-cats_lions_clarence.
97
See http://www.shambala.org.
93
Foundation in England. The Born Free Foundation is “devoted to
compassionate conservation and animal welfare” and continues to
work to protect all wildlife around the world.93 A second movie
on Elsa was also produced, Living Free.94 The movie tells the
story of Elsa and her cubs (book of the same name) and the final
book Forever Free which tells the story of Elsa’s death and the
relocation of her cubs. A television series, Born Free, aired from
September to December 1974 starring Gary Collins as George
and Diana Muldar as Joy. In 1999, Richard Harris starred as
George Adamson in the film To Walk With Lions which tells the
story of George post-Elsa, and his work with his semi-captive
pride of lions up to his tragic death in 1989.95
In 1965, filmmaker, Ivan Tors spotted a curious looking
cross-eyed lion at Africa U.S.A. in Soledad Canyon and created
the MGM feature film Clarence The Cross-Eyed Lion, and a spinoff television series, DAKTARI that ran on CBS from 1966 to
1969. Both the film and series tell the fictional story of Dr.
Marsh Tracy and his daughter/assistant, Paula Tracy who work at
the Wameru Study for Animal Behavior in East Africa and take
in the curious lion. When audiences saw what Clarence saw it
was in double vision. Another, not so friendly lion, doubled for
Clarence. Known as Leo, Clarence’s double was used for
growling and snarling scenes that did not require close proximity
to humans. Leo was brought to Africa U.S.A. from a family in
Utah. His ferocity, in part, was due to mistreatment by his former
owners who repeatedly beat him.96 In another twist of fate,
Africa U.S.A., the former home of Clarence, was subsequently
bought by actress Tippi Hedren. Hedren is founder and president
of The Roar Foundation and Shambala Preserve and works
endlessly to end the suffering, breeding, and private ownership of
all wildcats held in captive environments.97
More recent feature films depicting fictious stories about
wildcats include Duma, and Two Brothers. Duma, set in South
Africa, tells the story of a 12 year old boy who decides to return
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
See DUMA (Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. 2005); TWO BROTHERS
(Universal Pictures 2004).
99
See Fantasy League: An introduction to Narnia’s key characters as described
by the actors who play them, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (2005); THE
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (Walt
Disney Pictures 2005).
100
See GLADIATOR (Dreamworks 2000); (GLADIATOR Extended Edition Disc II
Documentary Bonus Materials: The Heat of the Battle-Production Journals
Dreamworks 2005.)
98
the cheetah he raised as a cub to the wild instead of seeing him
living his life in captivity. Two Brothers, tells the curious tale of
two male tiger cubs who are separated from their parents in the
jungle. Each cub takes its own unique journey in captivity—
Kumal is bold and fierce and is sent off to live in a circus and
trained to jump through hoops of fire. Sangha is shy and gentle,
and he is discovered by a young boy who takes him home.
Sangha is sent to live in a Prince’s royal menagerie where his
spirit is broken and he is forced to fight. In the end fate steps in
and the two brothers are reunited and find their way back to the
jungle.98
Working with live lions and tigers on sets can prove to have
behind the scenes challenges of their own. Producer, Mark
Johnson of the Disney film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion
The Witch and The Wardrobe, mulled over the use of a ‘real lion’
for some scenes, but reconsidered after Roy of Siegfried & Roy
was mauled. Aslan took two years to create. He is mostly
animated and three puppets were used on the set. Actor Liam
Neeson, the voice of Aslan, said of his character, “He’s
approachable—but he’ll bite your head off too.”99
Bringing a piece of ancient history and culture of captive
wildcats to life can be seen in an extraordinary feature film:
Gladiator. In a short but breathtaking scene, tigers are brought
out on chains to fight against the gladiators. Director, Ridley
Scott in a post-production interview on the filming and use of
tigers on the set said, “tigers are not trainable at all…11 feet nose
to tail and 800 pounds they can still move as fast as a house
cat.”100 Paul Reynolds the animal trainer on the set of Gladiator
noted that the only thing about tigers that is predictable is that
they are unpredictable. His job was to make them look tame and
quiet when in reality they are not. They are very dangerous and
22
23
101
Id. (In reference to bite size, “Lost children will be taken to the Lion House,”
is a popular saying among zoo staff.)
Over the past hundred years, great advances have been made
in animal husbandry and welfare within particular institutions.
However, despite an increase in state and federals laws and
How Much is that Kitty in the Window?
will grab at people. Reynolds had to train the crew to stay away
from them. There also were problems when small children were
on the set. Lions and tigers always want to get a hold of kids—
they are ‘bite size’ and very dangerous around children. Tigers
don’t act Reynolds said, they are. If tigers look mad, then they
are mad.101
Lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and other wildcats were
and continue to be cast in a variety of roles for human
entertainment. The Gladiator film takes us somewhat full circle
in our look at the journey of the history and culture of wildcats in
captivity. The film’s depiction of the ancient Roman gladiators
and the fate bestowed on wild tigers, using twenty-first century
captive-bred tigers, sets the stage for another modern arena with
its origin in ancient history. The practice of keeping wildcats
captive today is different than the royal menageries of the past.
First, the royal collections were created using cats taken directly
from the wild, and second the practice was limited to those who
had the wealth and power to accumulate wild animals and
determine their fate. As the trade in wildcats began to extend to
commercial activities, such as circuses, zoos, and other
entertainment venues, and as the practice of breeding in captivity
versus taking the cats out of the wild developed, it became easier
for any private collector to keep wildcats. Private collectors
today include exotic pet owners, pseudo-sanctuaries, exhibitors,
traveling exhibitors, roadside zoos, and backyard breeders. Like
at the turn of twentieth century in which the menageries, circuses,
and zoos were doing business with the same dealers and the same
cats were being circulated among these groups, the same
phenomena continues today, except that the wildcats are all bred
in captivity.
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
102
HANSON, supra note 25, at 167-168.
The practice of breeding wildcats in captivity, is rationalized
by all sources as saving the species from extinction and that it
benefits ‘public education’ if individuals can actually ‘see a
cheetah’ versus watching a cheetah on film. While these efforts
are important, there are some practical considerations. For
example, with habitat loss continuing, will captive populations
have a wild home to return to; are captive bred wildcats able to
return, survive, and reproduce in the wild; and in the meantime,
what happens to the all the surplus animals?
There are more tigers living in captive environments in the
United States than there are in the wild. Recent studies indicate
there are at least 5,000 captive tigers with only 256 in accredited
Back in the 1960s public opinion turned against the
wild animal trade, and articles in the popular press
drew attention to the astonishing loss of life it
perpetuated. Frank Buck’s stories in the 1930s had
matter-of-factly detailed animal deaths on the journey
from jungle to zoo, and they provoked no complaint.
The public mood had changed by the time of a 1968
article in Life magazine. Illustrated with photographs
of animals that had suffocated in transport and others
crammed into small cages, it declared, ‘The enormous
and profitable traffic in wildlife—for food, sport,
skins, zoos, scientific research and even pets—
decimates whole species and threatens to wipe out
those rare specimens from which man derives such
benefit and delight.’102
regulations that ban or limit the private ownership of wildcats,
there are loopholes through which individuals can acquire and
breed wildcats, and through the lack of enforcement of existing
laws, illegal commercial activity is on the rise and the wildcats in
private hands are in a perpetual miserable state.
The practice of breeding wildcats in captivity originated
within the zoological system. In order to keep wild animals in
their collections, the zoos had to initiate breeding programs and
change public opinion about their practices. Instead of being part
of the extinction problem, they were actually saving the species
by no longer taking animals out of the wild.
24
25
(TRAFFIC North America, World Wildlife Fund 2008); Big Cat Rescue
http://www.bigcatrescue.com.
See DOUGLAS F. WILLIAMSON & LEIGH A. HENRY, PAPER TIGERS?: THE ROLE
OF THE U.S. CAPTIVE TIGER POPULATION IN THE TRADE IN TIGER PARTS
103
Unable to find them suitable homes, she turned to a
friend—an Ohio exhibitor whose Animal Finders’
Guide ads read like this: ‘Siberian Tigers Cubs born
2-2-95. Big beautiful fluffy babies. Nicest you will
ever see. $1,000.’ Or this, from two springs later:
‘Liger female, 12 weeks old. Very beautiful and
friendly. Mother is a Siberian tiger, father is an
African lion. $1,500.’ He put Shannon in touch with
a California dealer who for three decades has been
dumping exotic cats into the pet trade and who counts
the Cincinnati Zoo among her suppliers. She knew
just the right person to take Shannon’s animals: the
owner of a top-flight sanctuary in Missouri.
Conversations ensued.
Shannon inspected the
sanctuary. Everything checked out. And weeks later
the sanctuary owner came to haul away two tigers and
a lion, including the Woods & Water pair.
Some of the animals consigned to these auctions are
stuck in an endless loop of misery. In late 1995, for
instance a Michigan sanctuary operator named
Shannon ‘rescued’ an adult male serval and a pair of
two-week old lions that were offered for sale at
Woods & Waters. Shannon fought back the tears as
she recounted the convoluted tale of how she was
forced to give up these lions and some of her other big
cats.
zoos.103 Where are all of these tigers and why is it necessary to
have such an enormous surplus? Lions, leopards, cheetahs,
pumas, jaguars, and servals are all bred in captivity for
commercial purposes.
Because there is no detailed and
centralized reporting system on these cats, the breeding programs
are not being used to ‘stave off extinction’ or to ‘educate.’
In the book, Animal Underworld: Inside American’s Black
Market for Rare and Exotic Species, author Alan Green, recounts
numerous stories of the fate of far too many wildcats.
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Despite the fates suffered by animals sold at auction,
the breeders, dealers, ranchers, and petting zoos keep
shipping them there for sale. 104
Shannon became nervous and starting asking
questions about the sanctuary. She talked to state and
federal investigators, game wardens, and anyone else
who might have information. And as her inquiries
continued, she became increasingly suspicious.
Finally, she was told by someone she won’t name that
some of this sanctuary’s cats had been shipped to
canned hunts; other were killed on site, their meat
packaged and their hides hauled off to a local
taxidermist. What’s more she was told, the remains of
the two lion carcasses were apparently found in a burn
heap.
There was soon trouble however. The owner of the
sanctuary refused Shannon’s request for a visit, saying
the animals had been moved to a satellite facility.
There were more requests, and more refusals. Then
Shannon spotted an advertisement in Animal Finders’
Guide asking for donations of unwanted big cats. The
phone number listed was that of the Missouri
sanctuary.
Shannon at first was troubled by some aspects of the
transfer including the type of truck and cages used for
the long trip back to Missouri. But a month later, she
made a surprise visit to the facility and found her three
big cats in good health. Buoyed by the visit, she
subsequently sent another four lions—including the
second Woods & Water cub—to the Missouri
sanctuary.
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
ALAN GREEN, ANIMAL UNDERWORLD: INSIDE AMERICA’S BLACK MARKET FOR
RARE AND EXOTIC SPECIES (Public Affairs 1999).
104
This is just one story. In 2003, Antoine Yates wanted to
create his own Garden of Eden in his five room apartment in New
York City that included a full grown Bengal-Siberian tiger, a
second tiger and cubs. The New York Post reported that the
Bearcat Hollow Animal Park in Minnesota had records of Yates
buying a lion, jaguar, and puma. Bearcat Hollow had problems of
26
27
105
See supra note 82.
Humans have integrated wildcats into their lives for
thousands of years. Each generation has in some form or another
admired and worshiped them; punished them for being what they
are; and embodied their beauty, power, and strength in religion,
Conclusion
their own including a private action against them when a young
girl was mauled by a tiger at their facility. From the mid-1990s
there have been 288 reported maulings and/or fatal attacks that
occurred at private homes and facilities, zoos, and performance
venues in the United States alone.105
Another problem which results from so many private
individuals, organizations, and institutions breeding wildcats is
in-breeding and cross-breeding or ‘hybrids.’ The zoos that
participate in the AZA’s SSPs at least ensure genetic diversity
among the cats they breed. However, there are far too many
‘commercial breeders’ that are not concerned with genetic
diversity. Nor is this practice regulated at the state or federal
level. Hybrids such as ligers or tigons (male lion with female
tiger or male tiger with female lion) do not naturally occur in the
wild. These are forced couplings by breeders. As a result these
cats suffer physically. They are born sterile and present with
varying mental and physical challenges. Carl Hagenbeck at his
animal park in Germany bred a leopard with a puma resulting in a
‘pumapard.’ These cats were inflicted with a form of dwarfism
and did not reach adulthood.
Are the wildcats in captivity today any better off than the
ones held by the ancient Romans or the Kings and Queens of
Europe and Asia? Their journey through antiquity and into
modern times leaves us with more questions than answers even
though through research and experience we are better educated
than our ancestors. Our modern culture may view the ancient
Roman gladiator games with distain for its abominable cruelty
and brutality, but have our practices in reality really changed that
much? Or are they cloaked under the guise of ‘accepted’
commercial enterprise, conservation, and education?
The History & Culture of Wildcats in Captivity
Journal of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, Summer 2009, Vol. I
literature, art, sport, and entertainment. If the acceptance of
certain practices throughout our history continued, we may not
have had the opportunity to know what a lion or tiger is. The
ancient Romans and successors of the deadly games and hunting
very nearly caused a complete eradication of these majestic cats.
Today, wild populations are depleting rapidly and captive
wildcats are being viewed and used solely as commercial
commodities. Without some sort of intervention with respect to
our current practices, behaviors, and attitudes, the future of all
wildcats is in jeopardy.
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