Irina Bugrimova

The postal card issued to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Irina Bugrimova. The Russian Post, 2010.

Irina Bugrimova (1910–2001) was the first female lion tamer in the Soviet Union. Called a "circus legend" by sources such as the BBC,[1] Bugrimova was the first woman in Russia and the then-Soviet Union to work with lions, tigers, and ligers in a variety of performing acts,[2] and trained more than 70 big cats during her career.[3]

Origin and early career

Irina Nikolajewna Bugrimova was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 13, 1910.[2] The daughter of a veterinarian and a ballet dancer, she excelled in athletics as a child, including as a champion speed skater.[2] She eventually parlayed her talent into a career as a motorcyclist and gymnast at circuses, among other things.[1]

Animal training

In 1929, Bugrimova transferred to the Moscow State Circus, and it was there she met the animal trainers Nikolaj Gladilstchikow and Boris Eder, who taught her the practice.[3] She made her debut ten years later in 1939, and designed many of her own tricks, such as lions tightrope walking, acts involving motorcycles, and a giant swing which she would leap from with a cat. In one stunt, a lion would run in front of her motorcycle as if in fear, while another would jump onto the back of her seat to ride along. She flirted with danger by swinging on a giant swing with a lion. At the end of the routine the two jumped off the swing together and she fed the animal a piece of meat with her teeth. Her act ended with the lions laying down as she cavorted on a carpet of cats. Later she worked with the Circus Humberto in Czechoslovakia and the East German Circus.[2]

Bugrimova performed in circuses well into her 60s,[1][3] and was decorated several times by the Soviet state.[1] Today there is also an avenue named in her honor in her hometown of Kharkiv, in front of the city's circus.[4]

Perhaps the story that Irian Bugrimova most liked to tell concerned a 1950s incident that occurred outside the ring. One day one of her charges, Demon, caused and unexpected stir. Intending to take a nap before her performance, Bugrimova in her mid-40s at the time, first walked to a window to check on her lions, kept caged in a clearing outside.

"Just then the trailer door flew open," a March issue of the British carnival and circus trade newspaper World's Fair quotes her as recalling. "I spun around in time to see a man nearly falling into the room. He was as pale as a ghost. I could see he was trying to say something. Finally, I made out the word lion.

"Suddenly we heard a woman's piercing scream. I shoved the man aside and threw open the door. There, on a little hillock about five yards away, a huge lion was outlined against the setting sun. A light breeze rippled his mane. He was so magnificent that for a moment I forgot the danger as I admired his beauty. My animals had never seemed so majestic and powerful in their cages or in the ring as he did now.


"He was leaping about playfully, retreating farther and farther away. I realized that he was enjoying his taste of freedom. Then I heard my husband's voice. He was running towards the lion. At the sound of our voices, Demon halted. He suddenly let out a roar in which I detected his dismay and, I thought, his plea for help.


"The cage in which my lions traveled was rolled into the clearing. I walked towards Demon, calling his name softly. When he was convinced that it was really I, he trotted over. I took him by the mane and patted him gently as I headed towards the cage. The mighty beast walked alongside, pressing against my leg, as if seeking protection. Yet a moment before he had caused so many people to panic as he roamed about. They had screamed in terror, though they were all in their trailers, and he could never have opened the doors himself.


"The door of his cage was raised, and Demon darted inside. It was only then that I realized the danger that had been averted. Demon might have easily bumped into someone; he might have killed in anger, too. The only 'weapon' I had was the cloth belt of my bathrobe. There in the cage was that beautiful beast, Demon. He was stretched out, and I could see that he was happy, because he was home at last."

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Russia's lion queen dies". BBC. February 21, 2001.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Martin, Douglas (March 18, 2001). "Irina Bugrimova, 90, an Enchanter of Big Cats". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Irina Bugrimova". The Daily Telegraph. March 8, 2001.
  4. ↑ "ХАРЬКОВСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ЦИРК". Google Maps.