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Ernest Albrecht
'This part of the interview with the Nicole and Alana Feld(who have done a great job "ramrodding" the show) was interesting as it sounded like a tremendous "patch" to me:
One aspect of the show that has required a lot of patience to develop is the cage act presented by Alexander Lacey of England. The male lion is very young. The plan was always to train him to go on top of the mirror ball, but it is a painstaking process. Nicole points out that this is a brand new act that has never worked anywhere before. Lacey has been breeding a whole new generation of lions and tigers, because his cats were aging and needed to be retired. When he came over, the act had never worked anywhere before. Since there are some very young cats and some very old cats in the act, it is in a constant state of training. He is working on them to learn the tricks of the older cats.
Lacey, like most recent animal trainers with Ringling, wears a body microphone so the audience can hear what he is saying to the cats. “The audience loves him. He speaks proper English so that the audience is really engaged. They get a real understanding of what it takes to train a cat,” Nicole says, and Alana adds, “The way he talks to the cats, it as if he has a classroom full of children and this is relatable to the audience. He has a conversation with them.” Back to Nicole: “And then you see the payoff after all the talk. Anybody who comes in with preconceived notions about training methods, all of that falls by the wayside when they can actually watch somebody doing it. There is nothing negative about it. He is so articulate that it is useful and helpful and educational for the audience, and they should hear what he says to them. He had no problem doing it. It keeps it interesting.”
In addition to being young, these cats have never worked in a soft cage before, never been in these types of holding and transport cages, everything was brand new, the lighting, his costumes and “they adapted so well it was remarkable to watch him during the rehearsal period. The animals are well trained, and he has such a good relationship with them.”
'Additionally, at what age is an elephant "too young" to wear an elephant blanket?'
'This part of the interview with the Nicole and Alana Feld(who have done a great job "ramrodding" the show) was interesting as it sounded like a tremendous "patch" to me:
One aspect of the show that has required a lot of patience to develop is the cage act presented by Alexander Lacey of England. The male lion is very young. The plan was always to train him to go on top of the mirror ball, but it is a painstaking process. Nicole points out that this is a brand new act that has never worked anywhere before. Lacey has been breeding a whole new generation of lions and tigers, because his cats were aging and needed to be retired. When he came over, the act had never worked anywhere before. Since there are some very young cats and some very old cats in the act, it is in a constant state of training. He is working on them to learn the tricks of the older cats.
Lacey, like most recent animal trainers with Ringling, wears a body microphone so the audience can hear what he is saying to the cats. “The audience loves him. He speaks proper English so that the audience is really engaged. They get a real understanding of what it takes to train a cat,” Nicole says, and Alana adds, “The way he talks to the cats, it as if he has a classroom full of children and this is relatable to the audience. He has a conversation with them.” Back to Nicole: “And then you see the payoff after all the talk. Anybody who comes in with preconceived notions about training methods, all of that falls by the wayside when they can actually watch somebody doing it. There is nothing negative about it. He is so articulate that it is useful and helpful and educational for the audience, and they should hear what he says to them. He had no problem doing it. It keeps it interesting.”
In addition to being young, these cats have never worked in a soft cage before, never been in these types of holding and transport cages, everything was brand new, the lighting, his costumes and “they adapted so well it was remarkable to watch him during the rehearsal period. The animals are well trained, and he has such a good relationship with them.”
'Additionally, at what age is an elephant "too young" to wear an elephant blanket?'
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