“going bad”—animal instinct
what those who have charge of wild animals in captivity, and especially trainers, dread most among the large carnivora, is that inexplicable change of temperament on the part of the animal known in the parlance of the menagerie as “going bad.” lions are likely to go bad about the tenth year of life; tigers two or three years earlier. the male tiger is the dread of the profession when he reaches this condition, because he is more likely to go into a frenzy without warning, and, once gone bad, nothing will satisfy him but murder. he will leap for any man within reach, and when once his teeth are on the bone, nothing but fire will make him relinquish it, and not always that.
this “going bad” may come in the nature98 of a sudden attack, or it may develop slowly and be counteracted if taken in time. an old trainer can usually detect the symptoms of this curious ailment. it seems to be in the nature of a disease, and other animals recognize it and shun the affected one. when its progress is apparent the danger is not great; all that is required then is a level head, and the wisdom to refrain from further interference with the animal.
a good trainer never dreams of interfering with an animal in this condition. if attacked, his one aim is to defend himself, until he has a chance to escape from the cage, and to separate the animal from his fellows as soon as possible. sometimes this bad temper will last but a short time, and again it will become the permanent condition of the animal. in that case he is sent to the lonely cage to spend the rest of his life in comparative obscurity, disturbed merely by the passing crowd and his daily meals.
let an animal once acquire a love for blood and he is spoiled for the rest of his life. if the killing instinct once develops it can rarely be eradicated. rajah, a tiger which has already99 killed two men, and severely injured me on more than one occasion, “went bad” suddenly, and his taste for blood having once been aroused, it would have been worse than useless to attempt to do anything with him again, and he is now kept carefully by himself. formerly, he was one of the best trick tigers before the public, but some unknown thing ruffled his nature, he gained a realization of his own brute strength and a taste for blood, and his career as a performer was over.
as a rule, a trainer can also tell when the critical moment has come in this peculiar phase of “going bad.” the man who puts his head in a lion’s mouth, sooner or later, arrives at the point where he feels that to continue would endanger his life. a trainer once had an experience of that kind in england.
he had safely accomplished the hazardous feat for several months without any particular feeling of trepidation. one night he placed his head in the lion’s mouth as usual, and was about to draw it out again when he suddenly had a shuddering, indefinable realization that the lion’s good temper was gone. he knew100 the danger, and prepared for it by bracing all his strength against that of the lion’s jaws.
he removed his head slowly, as usual, for the least hurry might have provoked an attack, but in a second the lion snapped at him while his face was yet within danger. the tip of his chin was caught and lacerated. that was the conclusion of the act with that lion, and he was relegated to solitude like others troubled with the same complaint.
elephants also “go bad,” and there is even more danger with these huge beasts than with lions and tigers; for they may break out and kill and injure a great number of people, besides causing an immense amount of damage by tearing up and destroying property.
most people have heard how many valuable elephants have had to be killed owing to their becoming “rogues.” a rogue elephant is a terrible creature in more ways than one, for his huge bulk and enormous strength make him not only a formidable enemy, but his cunning and viciousness can be appreciated only by those who have come in constant contact with him.
101 there appears to be no special age for an elephant going bad, but the majority of these animals become dangerous after a certain time in captivity. the most tractable and gentle elephant i ever had suddenly “went bad” for no conceivable reason, and although after much coaxing and soothing he appeared to settle down quietly, there were certain indications soon after that he intended mischief. finally, his small eyes became so red and threatening that i considered it wiser to have him killed, rather than run any risk of his sacrificing human lives.
with regard to the instincts of animals, i have had some very curious experiences. just before a disastrous fire at baltimore, when nearly all the poor animals were terribly burned, many in the exhibition noticed how restless and uneasy the animals were, but as there appeared to be no reason for it, we thought nothing more about it.
when the time for the performance came, not one of the animals would move out of its cage. it is not unusual for wild animals to get restless fits sometimes, but it is extremely102 unusual for them all, at one and the same time, absolutely to refuse to come out of their cages at the command of the trainers. the majority of wild-animal trainers are superstitious, and many of them began to wonder what it meant and whether it was a bad omen, for not one in the whole building had the slightest idea that the fire was even then gaining ground.
there was not the faintest smell of smoke or any other indication to give warning that one of the greatest calamities i ever had was just coming upon me. not more than a quarter of an hour before the men had been round, according to the usual custom, to see that everything was safe and in good order, but nothing was noticed out of the way, and until the flames suddenly burst forth no one had any idea that there was the least danger or trouble at hand.
another curious instance of animal instinct occurred in the winter of 1902–03 at ocala, florida. mme. pianka had taken her lions there to perform, and as soon as they arrived every one noticed that the animals, especially103 the lions, were restless and uneasy at night, and that they behaved very strangely.
it is customary, soon after arriving at a place, to turn the animals out into the steel arena for exercise, as, of course, it is quite impossible to give them any exercise at all while on a long journey. the moment the lions entered the arena, instead of stretching themselves luxuriously and pacing up and down in their usual manner, they stopped short, with ears back and noses to the ground, and commenced to sniff in the most peculiar manner.
it was impossible to rouse them up or make them move about. each one would walk a few paces, but always with his head bent down and sniffing the ground. when the time for the performance came on, their behavior was still more curious. these lions were mme. pianka’s favorites, and as she had always been very fond of them, and had had them in training for several years, she had been accustomed to caress them. although the majority of them took this in the grave, dignified manner peculiar to lions, one or two had appeared actually to like her endearments, and had occasionally104 rubbed their huge heads against her face.
but at this time they would not let her touch them. each one let her know that she must keep her distance, or it would be a serious matter. neither would they perform at the accustomed words of command. indeed, their manner grew so forbidding and dangerous that at last she dared not even go near them.
that same night mme. pianka was awakened by the watchman calling to say that the lions were digging large holes in the ground, and that he thought, at the rate they were working, they would very soon dig themselves out altogether. all the assistants were called up, the electric lights were turned on, and it was found that the lions had already dug holes deep enough in the earth to bury themselves.
the danger was doubly great because so unexpected. hyenas and wolves will dig holes in the ground in this manner, but for lions to do so is almost unheard of. the lions were with great difficulty taken out of the cage, with evident reluctance on their part, and put107 once more into their traveling compartments. the ground was securely battened down and covered thickly with fine sand, disinfectant, and sawdust.
queer friends—camel, lionesses, and dromedary
the following night the lions were turned into the arena again, but in a very short time they had scratched away the sand and sawdust and dug up the earth, and it was only just in time that the lions were once more removed to their traveling-cages in exceedingly ugly and dangerous moods.
many solutions were offered by various people,—especially by those who knew nothing whatever about animals,—but no satisfactory one could be found. we thought of the change of climate, of air, scene, and food. the lions had grown accustomed to changes of air and climate, and the food was the same kind that they had been accustomed to in captivity. we next thought of the water; but it was pure and good, and there seemed to be no accounting for this strange freak on the part of the animals. had one or two shown this peculiar propensity, we should naturally have concluded that they had “gone bad,” but as all108 were doing the same thing, and two were quite young lions, this could not be the case.
at last this was mentioned to the chief of police and one or two old residents, and we then discovered that the tent had been pitched directly over an old graveyard in ocala, and although most of the bodies had been removed, there was, of course, every probability that some of the remains were still under the ground.
this, of course, solved the mystery, to our great relief; for, having found out the cause, we very soon applied a remedy, and it was not long before we had the tent and the animals removed some distance off. as soon as the animals were removed, their savage sulkiness vanished, and they at once settled down into their old routine, and were as obedient and good-natured as they had ever been.
