The Cat’s Meow – A Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus

If you didn’t know the circus is in town and we were lucky enough to get a special behind-the-scenes pass to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Big Cat presentation with trainer, Alexander Lacey. As we walked back to restricted animal enclosure we got up close and personal real quick with the big cats. It was amazing standing so close, yet kind of unsettling at the same time. I made sure to mark my position just in case something didn’t go as planned. Of course, that was just the over-rector in me because once Alexander and his daughter, Katrina, began our tour I was reassured we were safe.

It was amazing to see how calm and knowledgeable Katrina was around the animals especially at her age. The sense of pride Lacey has for his cats is amazing and I truly gained a lot of respect for the organization and it’s animals. The kids could not get over seeing the lions and tigers, Payton naturally has not stopped speaking of Princess, but Bella was the runner up as Lacey spent some one-on-one time with her in the cage and answered questions as he fed Bella prime-cut steak.

Here is what we learned:

Each morning the cats are fed 16 pounds of food. While on tour, the meat is delivered by the same companies that deliver to local hotels.
The cats require 22 hours of sleep each day. Don’t I wish I could sleep this long!
Lacey communicates with the cats in both English and German. Each cat has it’s own unique behavior, body type, characteristic and sound. He can even recognize the cat by it’s roar, how cool is that?!
The Lacey family has raised over eleven generations of lions and nine generations of tigers and continues to develop methods to maintain the integrity of the various bloodlines within the cats’ lineages.

Lacey demonstrating how he communicates with Bella as he uses the sticks as a form of sign language. Depending on the movement, whether it goes up or down, or from right to left it all means something different. While Lacey is demonstrating his techniques with Bella she is not in the show quite yet because she is not of age. Training the cats begins at four months and this gorgeous girl was actually born while on the road, staying with the Lacey family as they ensured she got enough nutrients since her mama wasn’t producing enough milk.

The children were amazed and truly the adults were too! I gained a better perspective seeing them up close and personal while learning a lot from the big cat master himself.

The behind the scenes wasn’t all about the cats, there were also these gorgeous beauties; mine and Payton’s personal favorites. The Ringling Bros., elephants are Asian elephants and they are simply amazing!

Payton was quick to point out that this elephant was pooping, she learned a lot and suggested that he go in the potty versus the ground. Do you think we’ve had a similar conversation with her?

I urge you to take the family to see the Greatest Show on Earth while it’s in town. Check out this post for information on show times and ticket prices. Or, check out the Ringling Bros. website for more information about Alexander Lacey

Disclaimer: I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, Feld Entertainment has provided me with complimentary tickets to Feld shows and opportunities to attend private Feld pre-Show events. Regardless, I only share 100% of my opinion and services/products that I believe my readers will enjoy.

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