Me and my human
I do love work. I could watch people working for hours. But when I'm looking at my human - I can't help it, I think he's doing something wrong. He never has time for lying in the sun, nibbling at his claws and thinking about life. Instead he's always running around doing chores. For example, carting tons of food to my mates and me. Admittedly I think that he's a bit too cheap with food; I never get more than 8 to 24 pounds a day, although I could easily eat around 60. Yet my human says that the capacity of my stomach was developed for catching prey only once or twice a week, eating as much as possible, and then fasting for days. So, because he feeds me every day, he says I shouldn't need so much. (He even says I'm too fat. Pfff! It's true that I tend to a certain amount of heftiness, but that's only because I'm big boned!) He's also busy cleaning our wagons; furnishing our enclosures; entertaining us (he calls that "training"); and grooming me for two shows a day. Martin is always at work, and so I wonder: Why doesn't he get himself two or three nice girls to do the work for him?
As far as work is concerned, he could take a leaf out of my book. I've always made sure that I'm properly looked after. Okay, at the beginning of my life I had a little problem: lionesses are rather demanding when it comes to their progeny. Unfortunately, I was the smallest cub in my mother's litter, and she didn't recognize what a great, beautiful lion I was to become. To say it bluntly: she cast me out. It happens quite often with lions. However, even as a baby I was rather smart. I whined loudly and constantly, until the humans, in whose enclosure my mother lived, noticed that I'd like to hit the bottle.
That was in Arabia - and so I am allowed to say that I'm indeed a prince of 1001 nights. Besides, I was born on November 5, 2002, so I am a Scorpio - and my human says it shows in my behaviour.
Shortly after I was born, the Prince with which my family lived attended the circus. There he saw my human with my brown relatives. My human is really good in his job as an animal trainer, and the Prince was so delighted with Martin's act that he decided to give the Circus Krone, and thus my human, something very special: Me.
I was just 14 weeks old as I - of course with an entourage suiting my status - travelled to Germany where Ms Christel Sembach-Krone (she is the owner of the Circus Krone) and my human were already longingly waiting for me.
Ms Sembach-Krone and I immediately got along like a house on fire. I mean, she's smells lovely and she knows exactly how to pet me.
For my human - well, I think I could have done worse. He's tall, and though he hasn't got such a nice mane as mine, human girls seem to think him rather handsome - especially when he's in my company.
Besides, my human is a master in caressing me. He loves cuddling and so do I. He always provides the best scratching posts for me; and yes, it's true that I consume twice as many scratching posts as his other lions. I am especially fond of a good manicure - how could it be otherwise? I'm the star lion in our act, and as such I always need to show perfect claws.
When I was a cub I always had my human with me. I couldn't stand to be left alone, and therefore I even accompanied him to his feedings. I loved it when Ms Sembach-Krone invited us into a restaurant because she's got great taste - not only with lions, but with restaurants, too. Besides, she always made sure that I got something delicious between my milk teeth. Mostly she ordered steak for me. I thought that suiting - hence I decided to always eat steak. Even today as an adult lion I don't want anything else - except chicken. I'm rather fond of chicken. But other food - no, sorry. The normal meat for lions isn't for me. I'm a special lion, so I need special food. Beef is only for those lions not as distinguished as me.
However, I'm not spoiled (though my humans says otherwise). I mean, I'm even modest enough to take my steaks just so, out of the package. I don't demand that my human serve them to me on a silver plate. He's got enough work already, and so, if he would have to polish a silver plate as well, he probably wouldn't have enough time left to play with me ,or to brush my mane before the show.
Oh, speaking of my beauty and its care: I urgently need a nap. I need at least 14 hours of rest every day or I don't look as well as my audience expects me to.
So until next time! Then I'll tell you something about training one's human - or whatever else I'm just thinking about.
As far as work is concerned, he could take a leaf out of my book. I've always made sure that I'm properly looked after. Okay, at the beginning of my life I had a little problem: lionesses are rather demanding when it comes to their progeny. Unfortunately, I was the smallest cub in my mother's litter, and she didn't recognize what a great, beautiful lion I was to become. To say it bluntly: she cast me out. It happens quite often with lions. However, even as a baby I was rather smart. I whined loudly and constantly, until the humans, in whose enclosure my mother lived, noticed that I'd like to hit the bottle.
That was in Arabia - and so I am allowed to say that I'm indeed a prince of 1001 nights. Besides, I was born on November 5, 2002, so I am a Scorpio - and my human says it shows in my behaviour.
Shortly after I was born, the Prince with which my family lived attended the circus. There he saw my human with my brown relatives. My human is really good in his job as an animal trainer, and the Prince was so delighted with Martin's act that he decided to give the Circus Krone, and thus my human, something very special: Me.
I was just 14 weeks old as I - of course with an entourage suiting my status - travelled to Germany where Ms Christel Sembach-Krone (she is the owner of the Circus Krone) and my human were already longingly waiting for me.
Ms Sembach-Krone and I immediately got along like a house on fire. I mean, she's smells lovely and she knows exactly how to pet me.
For my human - well, I think I could have done worse. He's tall, and though he hasn't got such a nice mane as mine, human girls seem to think him rather handsome - especially when he's in my company.
Besides, my human is a master in caressing me. He loves cuddling and so do I. He always provides the best scratching posts for me; and yes, it's true that I consume twice as many scratching posts as his other lions. I am especially fond of a good manicure - how could it be otherwise? I'm the star lion in our act, and as such I always need to show perfect claws.
When I was a cub I always had my human with me. I couldn't stand to be left alone, and therefore I even accompanied him to his feedings. I loved it when Ms Sembach-Krone invited us into a restaurant because she's got great taste - not only with lions, but with restaurants, too. Besides, she always made sure that I got something delicious between my milk teeth. Mostly she ordered steak for me. I thought that suiting - hence I decided to always eat steak. Even today as an adult lion I don't want anything else - except chicken. I'm rather fond of chicken. But other food - no, sorry. The normal meat for lions isn't for me. I'm a special lion, so I need special food. Beef is only for those lions not as distinguished as me.
However, I'm not spoiled (though my humans says otherwise). I mean, I'm even modest enough to take my steaks just so, out of the package. I don't demand that my human serve them to me on a silver plate. He's got enough work already, and so, if he would have to polish a silver plate as well, he probably wouldn't have enough time left to play with me ,or to brush my mane before the show.
Oh, speaking of my beauty and its care: I urgently need a nap. I need at least 14 hours of rest every day or I don't look as well as my audience expects me to.
So until next time! Then I'll tell you something about training one's human - or whatever else I'm just thinking about.