01.jpg (46.52 KB. 450x594 - viewed 3 times.)Man vs. Lion
It's not exactly a PC profession these days — many believe it amounts to animal cruelty — but years ago, lion taming was high entertainment, packing amazed spectators into circus tents. How did these men and women get lions and tigers, among the most dangerous carnivores on Earth, to obey? Take a look at tamers with the big cats they groomed as performers. Pictured: a German tamer keeps a good grip on his whip as he faces down a snarling lion.
02.jpg (61.69 KB. 640x439 - viewed 3 times.)Open Up and Say 'Rowrrr'
A female circus performer, dressed in a leopard-skin gladiator costume, pokes her head into a lion's mouth.
03.jpg (48.62 KB. 456x594 - viewed 3 times.)No Fear at Feeding Time
A lion plucks a lump of meat from the mouth of tamer Captain Jim Roose, whose brother and daughter were killed by this animal's mate.
04.jpg (43.47 KB. 594x433 - viewed 3 times.)One P.O.'d Passenger
A stuntman takes a lioness for a ride, circa 1930.
05.jpg (41.15 KB. 460x594 - viewed 3 times.)Tease at Your Own Risk
In 1962, LIFE profiled Evelyn Currie, a lion and tiger trainer at the Ringling Bros. Circus, who "firmly believes that only love, kindness and filet mignon will tame the savage beast," and thus used no whips. According to LIFE, she was often chased, clawed, and bitten; one scary episode left her with 28 punctures in her torso.
06.jpg (82.31 KB. 567x594 - viewed 3 times.)The MGM Lion
Tanner the lion roars against a black background as he performs the MGM movie studio's trademark roar, 1943. Tanner was the third lion to play the studio's mascot, a position he held from 1934 to 1956.
07.jpg (40.1 KB. 558x594 - viewed 1 times.)Jumping Through Hoops
As two tigers in the background eye the action, a lion leaps through trainer Vojtech Trubka's rings, 1953.
08.jpg (38.99 KB. 594x410 - viewed 1 times.)My, What Big Teeth You Have
09.jpg (49.62 KB. 432x594 - viewed 1 times.)Defenseless Inside the Beast's Jaws
Yes, the trainer's hands are tied behind his back.
10.jpg (39.61 KB. 594x387 - viewed 1 times.)Totally Subdued: A Lion Lets a Trainer Walk All Over It, 1954
11.jpg (64.74 KB. 594x525 - viewed 1 times.)In Formation: Big Cats at a Zoo in Munich, 1930
12.jpg (63.69 KB. 479x594 - viewed 1 times.)Double Trouble, 1949