Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Antal Donnert



Courtesy of Mike Naghton

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I don't know what it is, maybe sawdust or something, but these two young tigers, particularly the male, are acting very funny with their ears, as well as shaking their heads and "snorting" as if to clear their nostrils. The male is a real sweet heart. Note him "chuffing" at Antal all during the act.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I saw the mirrored globes, I almost stop the video. Sure happy I didn't. Somehow, I see the man's confidence in himself and his animals but he doesn't flaunt it.
Sometimes understatement is better than running around and calling attention to oneself. I also liked the on and off again tiger/horse duet. Dennis Younger

Wade G. Burck said...

Dennis,
I think how an act is presented is dependent on what kind of act it is. A riding act doesn't do much, is for the most part slow, and thus is shown in a more "elegant/understated way. The bounding on, bounding off behavior is quite common in riding act's involving horses, much more common in Europe then they ever were in America. "Historians" have suggested that it is because Americans lacked the "class and sophistication" of equine numbers. I suggest it is more about how fast/quick something could be done. It is a relatively easy matter to put a feline on an elephant, plus they were readily available. A horse/feline riding act takes much longer as the feline has to be allowed to grow to a size where it will look good in a show.
Are you back in the Colonies now, or are you still mucking about in Eden?
Wade

Anonymous said...

Wade
This is why I never pressume anything. After giving 50 years of attention to cage acts I am still learning things.
I am referring to you saying that a big cat jumping on and off a horse wasn't that unusual. I learn, I learn.
I am still in Thailand. Until October 2011 in fact. Same thing happening here as did when I retired to Mexico fifteen years ago. Prices just keep climbing.

No Northern clime snow or cold to deal with but my a/c unit gets a good workout daily. A recent TV report by a foreign group showed big cats and orangs in small cages at the Bangkok zoo and called for more humane living conditions.
The pandas in the Chiang Mai Zoo in Northern Thailand on the other hand have 'plush' air conditioned quarters. It pays to be born 'cute and cudly'. Dennis

Wade G. Burck said...

Dennis,
We are all still learning. The longer you are around the more you see, and the less you are impressed by.
Cold you can get away from, rising cost's is a very different animal.
I love Mexico very much. My goal someday is a modest hacienda in the state of Nayarit in West Central Mexico, a couple of hours drive by pickup to Tepic, and a half day trip by horseback to La Laguna Santa Maria del Oro.
Wade

Anonymous said...

Wade
My first love is Mexico. After a mini-mauling at J.Larry's joint, I spent the insurance money (unexpected, and unasked for) on a two week trip to the big mango, Mexico City. Loved it. Then started taking mini-vacations down there, exploring the hinter-regions. Driving alone. I covered pretty much all but the desert in 15 years. Favorite Oaxcaca. Lived and taught English there a year. Learned the language. A lot easier than Thai.

The hacienda idea sounds great. Dennis

Wade G. Burck said...

Dennis,
I can understand unasked for, but not unexpected. Larry Tezlaff and his company were/are one of the most up and up, do it the right way companies I have had the pleasure of dealing with.
Wade