Cole Bros. Circus arrives in Bay County
October 20, 2011JESSICA McCARTHY / News Herald Writer
PANAMA CITY BEACH — For the next few days, Frank Brown Park will be the home of a bright red and yellow big top tent covering a 2,000-seat arena that signals fun for children of all ages.
The Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars has come to town.
The circus has balancing acts, clowns, cannons and animals ready to delight spectators this weekend.
The animals hanging out near the tent already were delighting people Thursday morning. Most of the tigers were sleeping after a night of travel, but a few were awake and playful.
Juergen Nerger, a 45-year veteran tiger trainer, said the young tigers love to play just like human children do. He has an area set aside for the tigers to have a playground, but the tigers also play around with each other in the traveling cages.
“I give my young tigers always time for playing around,” Nerger said. “They have to be happy for training. They’re like kids; they want to play around. Then you have time to start training, slowly.”
When Nerger spoke to his tigers, they responded eagerly, vying for his attention and rubbing their heads back and forth across his hands, like you would expect to see a housecat do.
On the other hand, the three elephants lounging outside were not moving around so much. They were eating hay and watching the activity around them with lazy swinging motions of their heads. Within a few hours, they would be the center of attention.
The tent was up, chairs were out and a hushed air of expectation filled the big top. Showtime was on its way.
PANAMA CITY BEACH — For the next few days, Frank Brown Park will be the home of a bright red and yellow big top tent covering a 2,000-seat arena that signals fun for children of all ages.
The Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars has come to town.
The circus has balancing acts, clowns, cannons and animals ready to delight spectators this weekend.
The animals hanging out near the tent already were delighting people Thursday morning. Most of the tigers were sleeping after a night of travel, but a few were awake and playful.
Juergen Nerger, a 45-year veteran tiger trainer, said the young tigers love to play just like human children do. He has an area set aside for the tigers to have a playground, but the tigers also play around with each other in the traveling cages.
“I give my young tigers always time for playing around,” Nerger said. “They have to be happy for training. They’re like kids; they want to play around. Then you have time to start training, slowly.”
When Nerger spoke to his tigers, they responded eagerly, vying for his attention and rubbing their heads back and forth across his hands, like you would expect to see a housecat do.
On the other hand, the three elephants lounging outside were not moving around so much. They were eating hay and watching the activity around them with lazy swinging motions of their heads. Within a few hours, they would be the center of attention.
The tent was up, chairs were out and a hushed air of expectation filled the big top. Showtime was on its way.
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