-- at the SB County Fair
Exotic doesn't begin to describe these creatures. Huge is a mundane place to start. Mysterious, magnificent and deadly, yes, but after watching them, sleepy, playful and bored also come to mind.
Whatever your adjective, the big endangered cats at the Santa Barbara County Fair are still a wonder to watch, whether they're leaping onto a precarious perch, lazily munching grass or swiping playfully at a trainer.
The show itself is not the most exciting big cat show you'll every see, as trainers Barbara and Yaro Hoffmann take a distinctly laissez-fair approach to their animals.
"We don't make the animals do anything they don't want to do," said Barbara, a boisterous woman in fitted silver lame jacket. "There are no whips or fire in this show. We operate with TLC ‹tender loving care."
- Santa Maria Times, CA
the cat's meow at county fair
Barbara and Yaro Hoffman don't train their exotic cats. They figure out what the big felines will do and work it into the act.
The couple's show is playing three times a day during the San Bernardino County Fair.
"You have to find out what it is they do," Barbara Hoffman said. "We're not animal trainers."
The particular behavior of each of the Hoffman's tigers and panthers was identified by watching them play. What started out as a magic act has grown into a exotic cats show with 15 large cats.
An animal lover her whole life, Hoffman tends to collect animals.
Some of the exotic cats they have were rescued from bad situations and some from the fur industry. They also have several dogs, all of which were abandoned or rescued from being put to sleep.
Their collection includes two Siberian lynx that don't perform in the act, but may have been in danger of being killed for their fur.
"We won't use them (in the act) but we'll always keep them," Hoffman said.
Education is a big part of what the Hoffmans do with their act. The show is only a few minutes long, but the couple answers questions from the crowd afterward.
"They enjoy (doing) their behaviors," Barbara Hoffman said of the catst routines.
- Daily Press, Victorville, CA
