Interviews, Part 2

One of the people I interviewed for my book was Doug Terranova, of Animal Encounters in Dallas, TX. Doug is a personal friend of my husband's; he is the guy who ran the animal rides and presented an elephant information show at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI this summer. Hubby was there as the park clown. Yeah. THAT kind of clown.

Doug is hard to figure out sometimes. Outside he is gruff, talks fast, and tries to give the shortest answer to any question. But he also seems to have a huge heart; not only does he love the animals he works with (elephants, big cats, horses), but he also takes excessively good care of the handlers that work with him. Our last day in Baraboo after Labor Day, he joined us for lunch, and before we left, took home three boxed lunches for the handlers, knowing they would have no other way of getting to eat that day. These little things were almost more telling than the answers he gave to the questions I asked.

He was by far the most difficult interview I had. It was difficult to extract information from him; his mannerisms lead you to think he's not interested in answering the questions. I got further when I threatened to ask a different trainer than him my questions. But the answers were not as in depth as I would have liked; I may indeed have to go out and find another trainer to ask questions of.

I did learn some interesting things; he started out working in a zoo when he was just a kid, and in 1983 at the ripe old age of about 21, he bought his first elephant, Kamba. She was three years old. She is still the baby in many ways, the one he uses in his shows, the one who does the most tricks.

Doug makes a pretty incredible livin doing what he does. It would seem like the overhead would kill him, but apparently it's a pretty good living. He travels the country with his animals, to fairs, circuses, museums, and even to Hollywood where his animals have been in the movies. Most recently Kamba and some of the other animals appeared in Barney's latest movie, which I've had the (dis)pleasure of seeing.

Looking back, I wish I'd been pushier with him, and gotten the kind of interview I needed. I probably have enough with what I have. But I wish I had more.