Frenchman Thierry Le Portier has been training big cats for the past 49 years . when before the show began , as the lights dimmed , the trainer surprised the teenager by forcing him on to center stage . ` Three of his tigers were used as references for the Oscar-nominated film `` Life of Pi '' Le Portier says training is `` an art '' that takes time and an understanding of the animals . The tiger was trained by a French trainer named Jean de la Fontaine who had worked with lions in Africa, but he died before filming could begin on the movie.
Frenchman Thierry Le Portier has been training big cats for the past 49 years . Three of his tigers were used as references for the Oscar-nominated film `` Life of Pi '' Le Portier says training is `` an art '' that takes time and an understanding of the animals . The tiger was trained by a French trainer named Jean de la Fontaine who had worked with lions in Africa, but he died before filming could begin on the movie.