With joining the Kelly Miller Circus six years ago, I fulfilled a dream I held since and worked for through my childhood - to work with wild animals. My fascination with elephants, their history and their management lead me to an open employment position of “tiger groom” on this show, helping with the daily care of the show’s five tigers and all other tasks relating to the daily transportation and display of the tiger act. A great opportunity, studious guidance and hard work propelled me from an apprenticeship under the show's former tiger trainer to that same position which I myself now hold. Since taking control of the act and equipment in 2011, I have made it my own, having replaced and upgraded all the transport and performance equipment, in addition to adding two new young tigers to the act. My “ambush” of tigers currently consists of seven female Bengal / Siberian tigers ranging in age from one to nine years. We travel with the Kelly Miller Circus for the purpose of performing an act with trained behaviors in a traditional circus big top for paying audiences, in addition to educating the public about the biology and behavior of these majestic animals and the threat of extinction they face in their homelands due to poaching and habitat loss.
The Kelly Miller Circus travels roughly half the United States, beginning in southern Texas and making our way north to New England before returning westward through Michigan, onto Chicago and ending in Oklahoma. Traveling to 210+ towns every year, we average 60 miles a day and travel early in the morning, taking advantage of cooler weather and low traffic conditions. When the Kelly Miller Circus arrives in town, local residents are invited out for the day's festivities - the raising of the big top, unloading of the animals and other daily rituals for this traveling community. Thousands of spectators share enjoyment in this rare spectacle, one of the last circuses to show under a tent and the last to use elephant power to raise the structure daily.
Upon arrival, the tigers are quickly unloaded into their erected compound. Cleaned, watered, and fed, they spend the majority of their day sleeping and playing continuously in their secure enclosures with multiple "toys" provided for enrichment - logs for clawing, pools for swimming, cardboard boxes for destroying and even bowling balls. This of course all comes second to the most important mental stimulation for animals and people alike - social interaction. I am often asked, “What is your favorite part of working for the circus?” Hands down, I can say with certainty it is watching my "tigers be tigers," observing their interactions with each other and the environment around them. Come afternoon, we move into the Big Top into the performance arena where we train and practice, along with additional free time for the animals.
In each of the last two years, I have introduced a young female tiger to my act. They both immediately and easily integrated into the already established group of adult female tigers. Their day-to-day training for both husbandry procedures and performing occurs here on the Kelly Miller Circus, both outside and under the Big Top. These sessions, built on a lot of patience and a lot of meat, are open to the public at no charge prior to a required ticket's purchase for the final presentation at show time.
The tigers are trained based on a system known as the Standardized Training and Reinforcement System ( STARS ), originally developed for elephants by animal trainer Richard “Army” Maguire. This system incorporates the fundamentals of operant conditioning and learning theory with knowledge of the anatomy and locomotive behavior of animals. By using specific movements that tigers perform naturally in moving from point to point, the animals are subsequently trained to respond to a variety of cues through audible, visual and tactile stimulus. This interaction is the basis for training subsequent complex behaviors. Often in public presentations with my five year old tiger Zeya, we "paw-in-hand" create tiger foot print impressions on canvas - essentially finger painting with an apex predator. This one-on-one interaction between animal and handler that I can undertake with several of my girls is one of the most rewarding focuses of my chosen lifestyle.
It saddens me to hear the false accusations made against myself and my animals’ care. Boisterous and malevolent individuals feel it is their place to slander and debase the Kelly Miller Circus and its employees. These rogue locals show face once in a while, but more often practice “armchair activism” from behind a computer screen. The staunch and verbocious howling of a dissatisfied vocal minority who wish to impose their holier-than-thou "morals" on others garner a lot of press and suffer no repercussions for their false and hurtful statements. The commentary war between these protestors and circus supporters will continue, but the general public can only make a decision for themselves. It should not be forced upon them, nor should they be swayed by misleading, often false, propaganda. Prior to our arrival, visit ShowMeTigers.com, where you can follow our journey across America. Photos of the tigers’ daily lives, playtime and videos of their training are shared. Make your own observations first hand to my animals’ treatment and training. When the Kelly Miller Circus arrives in your town, stop by the tiger compound to say hello. Ask questions. Learn about both the animals you see here and their cousins in the wild, along with the dangers those distant creatures face every day to survive. Enjoy the beauty and majesty of my animals and come to love them as I love them, not as a blur of black and orange stripes with a fury of ivory teeth and claws, but as unique individuals, each with their own personalities. With wild tiger numbers at an all-time low and further threats encroaching upon their existence every day, it is important for the public to see these animals in person and appreciate their true beauty before they are gone forever.
If you any have questions or comments, please contact me at TigerGuy[at]ShowMeElephants.com.
Ryan Holder
Tiger Trainer
Kelly Miller Circus
