An Action Shot

This rare vintage photo shows the scarier side of lion taming. A lion tamer is photographed lunging toward two snarling lions during a training session. Those lions don’t look too happy to be there, if we’re being honest. To make matters even more stressful, at least two other lions are in the ring with her.

The lion tamer exudes confidence, which is her key to success. Training lions was by no means pleasant for everyone involved. Old-school training methods are considered abusive today. Plenty of lion tamers were injured and even killed by the wild animals they were trying to control. It was definitely one of the more dangerous jobs at the circus.