I remember when the Shanghai Circus first came out with this atrocity. It caused a sensation in the Circus community. Everybody, and I mean everybody wanted one, and many made inquiries about cost and such. Thankfully it wasn't used for more then 2 years, and the "rush" died down and went away. Like the White Tigers phenomenon, followed by the Champagne Lion phenomenon of today, doing better then, does not seem as important as, having the same as. They are still debating/arguing who had the first Champagne Lion in the Circus.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Shanghai Circus--1984
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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5 comments:
Wade, it's almost incredible that such a highly endangered species was used in a circus.
Mary Ann
Mary Ann,
It was used in the "Shanghai Circus", sponsored and endorsed by the "Chinese" government. It wasn't "the" Circus. I am not proud to admit, if it wasn't for the regulations it would have been used in "the Circus", and not just the "Shanghai Circus." It's about individuals.
Wade
There have been a number of giant pandas in circuses, mostly in China. After all they are bears (that is now settled) and can do bear like acts.
In 1988 the Great Circus of China toured Canada with giant panda "Gong Gong."
The zoo in Fuzhou (I believe that's the one)had (or has) trained giant pandas that gave daily shows.
I have often wondered why Sam Gumpertz (RBBB) did not try to obtain the first one brought to USA by Ruth Harkness at the end of 1936.
She shopped it around before the Brookfield zoo finally decided to buy it. Bronx turned her down.
At the time we were just a year away from the Gargantua air -conditoined cage in which she could have traveled. She would have been the circus sensation of the age.
When Chou en Lai announced that he would send pandas to USA after the Nixon normalization, the Felds tried to get them for RBBB claiming that more children around the country would get to see them with the circus. But as you know they went to the National Zoo.
I wonder how a circus could have the capability to provide for a pandas diet.
Ian
Ian,
Ringling would have been more then capable of shipping in daily from Wolong as long as the ROI warranted it. Anybody else would have given them Saw grass, and tried to convince them it was American Bamboo. Let's just be thankful it didn't happen, or we would be looking for a sanctuary to take them right now, and somebody would have bred one with the black and white reverse and calling them Ying and Yang Pandas resulting in their sale at a southern Sams Club for a couple of g notes.
Wade
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