The risks and rewards of being a tiger trainer

By Bambang M

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Suyadi, 30, and his wife have spent seven years in their caravan with their one-year-old baby, moving from one city to another.

They are not gypsies. Suyadi is a tiger trainer with Oriental Circus, one of the biggest circus groups in Indonesia and since his job requires him to keep on the move, he has no better option than to take his family along.

"I have been a tiger trainer for five years," said the dark- skinned, 160cm tall Suyadi. He was in town while his circus group performed for 25 days last month.

Before he joined the circus, Suyadi, a villager from Purwodadi, Central Java was a street vendor. His brother had already worked with the Oriental Circus and he decided to follow suit to seek a better life.

As a new recruit, he worked as an assistant to the group's tiger trainer for two years. When his senior decided to resign, he stepped into his shoes.

He recalled he had to spend the first three months after he was promoted to trainer "introducing" himself to the beasts. What he did was feed the animals.

"You can't be a good tiger trainer if you don't have patience," Suyadi said, "because tigers want gentle treatment. They may attack or even kill a rude trainer."

One thing the trainer must always remember is to be fully alert while with the animals in the cage. "Never turn your back on a tiger. It will attack you," he said.

He remembered being clawed by a tiger just because he forgot the cardinal rule when he was cleaning the cage. He still has the scars on his hands. That was the only incident with his "trainees".

Whenever Oriental Circus conducts shows in a particular city, Suyadi and his family stay in a little caravan that is parked near the main tent -- just like the other crew members. The caravans form a big circle around the main tent, staying side by side with the elephants, dogs, tigers and other animals.

The group usually performs only about one month in a city. Each circus worker has a three-day vacation once every three months.

"Whenever we hold a show near my hometown, I usually visit my parents during my days off," Suyadi said.

When the show takes place far from his hometown, he and his family will spend their vacation at a holiday resort.

"That is one of the advantages of being as a circus worker. I would never be able to go on such vacations if I were still a small vendor in Purwodadi," said Suyadi.

Hard work comes during the rainy season, especially when the crew has to assemble or take down the tents in the rain. "It's extremely hard," he said.

Suyadi starts work early in the morning. After cleaning all the tigers' caravan cages, he plays with the tigers while checking on their health. It is also in this cage that Suyadi usually trains the animals.

At present, Suyadi is training five tigers from India and two lions from Africa. The tigers are named as Ratu, Rani, Rai, Raja and Bayu. The lions' names are Rama and Dini.

For breakfast, Suyadi gives each of them two large chickens, and for lunch they usually have six kilograms of raw meat each. All the tigers and lions are also fed three liters of milk and six eggs each daily.

"I have to use a stick to feed them because tigers are very wild when they are hungry. Otherwise, they will bite my hand because they think we are taking their meat," he said.

Between 12 noon and 4 p.m. in the afternoon, all the crew members rest. The first show begins at 6 p.m. and the second at 8 p.m. for 90 minutes each. They also perform a special show at 10 a.m. every Sunday.

Besides his official duty as a tiger trainer, Suyadi also has additional tasks as a ticket checker and an assistant to the acrobats.

Wearing black trousers, a red shirt, and boots, with a stick in his right hand and a whip in his left, he commands the tigers and lions to crawl on the floor, sit on a chair, stand on two back legs, jump through a burning hoop, and walk on a rope. Suyadi's show lasts 15 minutes.

Suyadi said he is very proud of his job. "Not every man can do this job," he said.

He declined to tell how much he earns and just said, "It's enough to support my family."

Suyadi said his biggest aspiration is to build a permanent house of his own near Prigen Safari Park in Pasuruan, East Java, from where Oriental Circus comes.

Asked what he misses in life, he said, "Visiting my relatives."