Marineland used to have the greatest land and sea mammal show in North America. The show opened with the tigers, followed by dolphins, Herta Cuneo and James C. Halls bears, sea lions, elephant seal, elephants, and ending with the Killer whales Nutka and Kandu. Incredible show with one animal act after another. The dolphins were in the holding area on the left, and the killer whales were in the one on the right. The tigers and elephants and bears were kept in the building behind along with Game farm hospital cages and a large holding tank for training and keeping newly caught Killer Whales and dolphins, and the pens for the sea lions and elephant seals. The tigers came down a chute to the arena, and the elephants and bears entered the same way. When the tiger act was finished, as the cage was dismantled, the dolphins were released into the performance pool in front and worked. When they were finished the props were already set for the bears and they came out. After the elephants performed, and as the last elephant left the stage, the Killer Whales were release from the right and they closed the show. A major problem was keeping the floor dry for the tigers, as the whales breaching caused major splashes. Saw dust was used but caused a problem as back wash took it back into the water causing problems with the filtration systems. The incredible thing about Marineland is that all of the salt water is manufactured at the park, with large salt tanks and processing plant underneath the building in which the animals were kept. Business took off in the late 70's and we were doing 6 standing room only shows 7 days a week every 2 hours, first show at 10:AM last one at 8:00PM. Shows ran 1 1/2 hrs with a half hour between to get reset. We opened in Mid June and closed with the land mammals in Mid September. The Marine mammals performed year round, and the trainers stood in snow doing the dolphin and Killer Whale shows. I was there from 1976 to 1984, when the decision was made not to use the land animals, as the amusement park has expanded greatly. There will never be another animal show like that again.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Marineland and Game Farm, Niagara Falls Ontario
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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6 comments:
Wade, if you were at Niagara Falls from 1976 to 1984, were you on tour with circuses from 1985 to 1990? Did you ever bring the Hawthorn white tigers to Detroit? If so, when?
Mary Ann
Mary Ann,
Part of the reason, I may not see "eye to eye" with the circus fraternity, is that I didn't spend a lot of time in the circus. I toured with the Hamid Morton Circus from usually Feb. to June and then went to Marineland, after Sept. we would play the big Texas Shrine dates, all 2 weeks in 5 major cities, and then come home for a couple of months. In 1981 I was on Circus Vargas and didn't play Marineland. The two times I left Hawthorn over "animal issues" I worked at two zoo's for a short time, until Tony did "his thing", and I came back. I only played Detroit one time in 77-78 when we premiered the white tiger act. If you recall I flew into Oklahoma City, from there we played Detroit, Milwaukee, and Chicago, where Tony severely mauled the prop boss, who got too close to the chute, and our elephant Joyce killed one of the grooms. It was a difficult tour to say the least.
Wade
Mary Ann,
Just to complete. I went on Ringling in 1984 to 1988, and came back to Hawthorn and sent the act to Switzerland to Knie. I have told that story before. I was Hawthorns house trainer, until I went to Toronto to train a pig act in 1991 in in June of 1991 was brought back to Ringling and Gunthers tigers until I "retired" from performing in 1994. I never cared much for performing, but I do love training animals so much.
Wade
I assume you were around circses before H-M, so you suggest you never spent alot of time around circuses whichy is hard to believe. Suddenly you are not a circus person. What are you ashamed of? Circus people have been a part of yiur whole professional life.
Anonymous,
Last one. And because I am open, I an letting you post. I never insinuated or suggested I was ashamed. But accusations were leveled at me that I didn't respect my "roots", and that I was somehow UnAmerican by suggesting the great acts that have come from Europe. The purpose of this is to show that my "roots", which didn't start when I was 18, may be very different from the person who suggested I was disrespectful, and my perspective may be so very different. Take pride in your name, and come back soon.
Wade
Were white tiger cubs born at Marineland & Game Farm? I remember seeing their commercials with white tigers for years. When you were in Tokyo were there grand children of Tony in the Ueno Zoo? Are the cross eyed white tigers deliberately crossing their eyes to compensate for the visual pathway abnormality? I remember seeing white tigers in the Knie Circus on TV. Were white tiger cubs born there in Switzerland? Which zoos have you worked at besides Toronto?
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