Irina Bugrimova was the first female lion tamer

Lion taming

Lion taming is the practice of taming lions, either for protection, whereby the practice was probably created, or, more commonly, entertainment, particularly in the circus. The term is also often used for the taming and display of other big cats such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, and pumas...

 in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. Called a "circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 legend" by sources such as the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

, 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, and trained more than 70 big cats during her career.

Origin and early career

Irina Nikolajewna Bugrimova was born in Kharkiv

Kharkiv

Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, March 13, 1910. The daughter of a veterinarian

Veterinarian

A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

 and a ballet dancer, she excelled in athletics as a child, including as a champion speed skater. She eventually parlayed her talent into a career as a motorcyclist and gymnast at circuses, among other things.

Animal training

In 1929, Bugrimova transferred to the Moscow State Circus

Moscow State Circus

The title “Moscow State Circus” is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in Moscow, the “” and the “Bolshoi Circus” , or to traveling shows which may or may not be directly related to Russia.The Russian Circus rose to world acclaim during the...

, and it was there she met the animal trainers Nikolaj Gladilstchikow and Boris Eder, who taught her the practice. She made her debut ten years later in 1939, and designed many of her own tricks, such as lions tightrope walking

Tightrope walking

Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...

, acts involving motorcycles, and a giant swing which she would leap from with a cat. Later she worked with the Circus Humberto in Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 and the East German Circus. Bugrimova performed in circuses well into her 60s, and was honored several times by the Soviet state.