Interview 7181 – Caption Index: 171
Were there some situations that stand out?… Read More
Were there some situations that stand out?… Read More
Well, the work with the animals in a circus is straightforward, no problem there. The challenge as I see it is actually with people and that gets back to same old, same old, or communication is the challenge. Circus people have been hammered on from a variety of situations, a… Read More
They may have reasons for that, there are other animals to do the same thing. I had an African gray parrot that hated women. And yet I could do anything I wanted to, and any man could perhaps do the same thing, but they didn’t like… There are pets that… Read More
You talked about, and then when we talk about the elephants, what would you say have been some of the major medical improvements and advancements in dealing with elephant medicine from when you first started?… Read More
I was gonna ask, did you find early on that each one had its own personality, and likes and dislikes?… Read More
They surely do, every animal has their own personality, and elephants are no exception. And there are good elephants, there are bad elephants, and I’m fully aware of all the fatalities that have occurred with elephant accidents and actual, not accidents, but incidents where elephants have been responsible for the… Read More
We had mentioned that circus life is not for every person. Read More
What did you like about working with the circus animals and what was the dislikes of that?… Read More
Was it just, there you’re were at the circus and they were they were?… Read More
(chuckles) Again, the involvement with elephants started with a case. And that case was a young elephant that was brought to the university, to veterinary school, and I was put in charge of it. And I actually developed or diagnosed ascorbic acid deficiency, which is vitamin C. And it turns… Read More
We had two elephants of the Sacramento Zoo, so I had a lot of experience with them, good experiences, they were good elephants, well-trained elephants under free contact. Got spoiled relative to that. I’ve subsequently of when I, at one time looked at the case records of animals that I… Read More
How many circuses, you’ve worked for really have you worked for other circuses?… Read More
Over the years, I’ve worked for maybe three or four different ones, some of which I can’t even name right now, but size, one of the most controversial situations right now relative to elephants, is a company called Have Trunk Will Travel. And I know the Johnsons, I know them… Read More
And Gary or Gary’s dad said, “I’ll take it.” And we tried to rehabilitate it. And it became a usable animal. And in fact, it’s still in use in Europe, it’s been used in circuses over there. Read More
So how did you begin working with elephants?… Read More
I think that the relationship of zoos and circuses, and I appreciate the fact that there are challenges associated with it. I believe that it’s, again, an appreciation for a slightly different approach to medicine. For instance, in elephants, the use of a no contact or protected contact is con… Read More
I really hate to see that situation. The same thing exists with zoos and free ranging wild animals. There’s a conflict there ideologically and philosophically, but by the same token, they need to utilize what’s known in the captive situation to learn more about the wild situation and vice versa. Read More
But there’s a need for both, and we’ve just got to understand each other. Read More
Bill Lindsey invited me to do consulting work with him, and I was just willing to respond first to their calls and then become part of actually their team. And that was a satisfying work, we conducted some elephant schools for veterinarians and others that I was involved with. I… Read More
Dennis Schmidt, who is a reproduction specialist, is now kind of the head of their research program. He’s a university veterinarian for all kinds of domestic large animals. And there’s much that he has taught us. And he’s gone all over the world to learn new techniques for working with… Read More