Tabayara "TABA" Maluenda - Exotic Animal Trainer and Presenter

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Fully Charged 2012
AmericanAirlines Arena Jan. 6th - 16th

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Exotic Animal Trainer and Presenter Tabayara "Taba" Maluenda is one of the greatest animal trainers of his time, though he would never put it that way.Back for his fourth tour with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, Taba, the successor to legendary animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, is ready to energize the audience with three electrifying and dynamic displays of animal husbandry including his world-renowned tigers, his exquisite equines and a newly added Asian Elephant display.

Ask him about performing with 12 Bengal and white tigers and this native of Chile starts by describing the circus. Not just any circus, he's quick to point out, The Greatest Show On Earth! Taba knows something about circuses as the sixth generation of his family to work under the big top. As a child, he used to watch Ringling Bros. -- especially the tigers and the horses -- from between the curtains. Growing up he worked an assortment of circus jobs and found fame on the flying trapeze. But when a door opened to work with the animals, he charged ahead.When the tigers hear his boisterous voice, he says they stand alert, ready to accept his instructions. But they're also really smart. Sometimes, he says, they want to be, like, "I'm the tiger." "It's important the tigers respect you, but it's more important you respect the tigers. Safety comes first, he emphasizes. "You need to check everything." Taba commits to giving 100 percent every performance, with tumbling feats, some two-legged surprises and a signature move: a tiger jumping through his open-legged handstand.

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Entertainment

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• AmericanAirlines
• Arena
• AAarena
• Ringling
• Bros.
• Circus
• Miami