JOIN USAsha Chowdary talks to Craig Busch, a ‘wild cat trainer’ of twenty-five years, who protects and befriends feral animals and ensures that their species thrive .
Whether he is calming a wild cougar, soothing a white tiger, or appeasing an angry lion, Craig Busch remains unfazed. For the man who takes on wild cats and creates a haven for the endangered species, like the Bengal tiger and the Barbary Lion, it’s all in a day’s work. And how does he train these beautiful cats to submission?
Does he outsmart their wiles? Does he intimidate them till they do his bidding? Of course not! “I don’t use the word ‘train’ when it comes to my animals. I work with the individual nature of each animal and treat them with love and respect. At the same time, you need to be firm, because they’re pretty firm with you too,” he explains.
Busch will feature in Animal Planet’s new TV series, The Lion Man: African Safari, where the self-taught ‘wild cat trainer’ will display his skill with mighty animals. He and a passionate band of animal-loving supporters have been searching missing cheetahs, healing ill tigers and tracking down rhino killers.
Animal instincts
“It is about my life as I work with the cats,” says Busch. “This journey explores the bond between animals and human beings. It’s the start of a series of programmes that will enlighten people on how endangered these animals are. The show has both sad and happy moments.”
According to Busch, wild cats are very receptive to teaching. “They’ve good memory. If you do anything wrong, they’re not going to forget that. And at the right moment they’ll pay you back. It’s best to be their best friend.” As to where his love for animals began, Busch says it goes back to his childhood. “I had wild cats when I was young, and then, as I got older, the cats got bigger and turned into lions and tigers, and here I am today. I’ve worked with them for a quarter of a century.”
But nothing is as easy as it looks, Busch hastens to add. “When you see me working them, you see the special relationship between a human and a big cat that has all its instincts. You can’t take those instincts away. You’ve got to work with them and come up with a mutual agreement. You have to know how high you can go, and at the same time you need to let them know how high they can go.”
Why does he love working with animals? “I like working with them because they are real. Humans have two sides, a right and a wrong side. But with animals, it’s all real. Also because, they need help. And if you have them in captivity, you’ve to give them the life they deserve. All the cats that I have are happy. When I woke up this morning, for instance, they came running to the gates and couldn’t wait for me to see them. If you can get any of them living like that, you’re making a difference in their lives.”
Busch has adopted and raised many orphaned baby animals like a white lion cub named Jabullah. He also lovingly hand-rears several Barbary lion cubs and has been travelling across the world to exchange the cubs in order to enhance the blood lines of some of the rare cats. Busch has been an animal handler in Hollywood films and has worked on several award-winning commercials. He is affectionately called the ‘Lion Man’ in New Zealand, as a television celebrity.
Has he had any bad moments with a wild cat? “Well, I did get bitten now and then,” he says. “But you’ve got to realise that these animals bite each other in a playful way. I get hurt occasionally. It doesn’t bother me as I know, like in any job, you can get hurt. You can have your wits about you, but you can get hurt.” Busch is also known for his association with the Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand. “I don’t have much to do these days there, but I own the cats there,” he says. “I’m better off in a place like Africa where I can be of help to these animals. If somebody wants me to do a project in India to help a species, I would be there.”
Busch is so passionate about his mission that he never stops working. “I work day and night. These animals keep me going. You could say that they are the salt and pepper of my life.”
Feral facts
Busch is full of facts about his beloved wild cats. “Lions hate to change their surroundings. If you do so, they get upset and tell you off. When you work with animals, people think you are in danger. But I’m very much at home with them. If you are scared or nervous, you shouldn’t work with them, because they pick up on that and then you’re in danger.”
As for his plans and hopes, Busch says that he would like to take on as many projects as possible in Africa and around the world. “In the meantime, I’ll carry on doing the best I can in my own sphere. We need more people doing this kind of work. They’re disappearing very fast into the wild.”
The series, ‘The Lion Man: African Safari’, airs from Monday to Saturday at 9 pm, on Animal Planet.