Whether its handling giraffes, training beagles or hunting with falcons, animal keepers say there is a 'special link' between them and their charges
THE CONNECTION between keepers and their animals is strong, visceral, mysterious. It's an age-old bond. Those who breed, train or care for animals are unflinching in their commitment and passion. They know they are the keepers of rare and magnificent creatures - be they puck goats, beagles, giraffes or falcons.
Chris Ryan, whose family has been breeding Kerry Beagles in Scarteen, Co Limerick, for 10 generations, says there's "a special link" between animals and those who work with them.
"It's a privilege to have that close a working relationship with an animal. Working with the hunting hounds brings another dimension into it. You are being invited into their world on their terms. They accept you as part of the team where they can look for guidance from you. You are part of a very natural process.
"You are part of their world. It's a very, very special link. Then when you see what the fox can do, the other part of the equation, the most incredible creature, the interplay, it's absolutely fascinating."
Jeremy Nicholson, who trains and hunts with falcons, with over two dozen in his care in Cappoquin, Co Waterford, says the haughty predators "treat you as a servant. They tolerate you . . . You have to get on your knees to the falcon."
Even so, when hunting, he says: "You are so proud of your falcon and yourself and your dog that when it all goes right . . . you can't help but cheering."
After training for over a year, "being out in the field, and you have doubted whether he is ever going to fly for you, on one day, out over the heather, your setter has been on point with a nice breeze blowing, your falcon mounts up to over 1,000 feet, and, with your dog still holding the point, waiting, patient - remember he's a hunting dog but he's trained to point - and on command your dog and yourself flush the cover of grouse and you see your falcon turn into a teardrop, your heart stops and you see the grouse burst like a fanfare, and the falcon coming down so fast you can hear him whistling through the air, it's spectacular."
The joy of the hunt does not blind Nicholson to the character change that occurs in these birds when food comes out. They become "quite aggressive", he states.
"It's their nature to grab," he says matter-of-factly. "Their talons, their feet are their weapons and it's the feet that are dangerous and extremely sharp," he warns as the falcons remain silent and imperious on their perches nearby.
Frank Joy, who has caught the puck goat for the annual Puck Fair in Killorglin, Co Kerry, for the past 18 years, is equally matter-of-fact about the wild goats who live on the Macgillycuddy's Reeks near his farm in the south of the county.Capturing a puck goat is a difficult job that can take days, but, he says, it can be a "nerve- wracking" experience for the goats themselves.
"They get cross-eyed if they are upset. I've seen that. They are very intelligent animals. I like them. They are very strong, even though they are small," he explains.
This year "the rocks were very slippery on the mountain" and it was only on the third day that he and his team of almost 20 helpers managed to capture the puck.
The presence of another puck goat on the farm has made all the difference to the new arrival who was crowned King Puck at the weekend.
For the past year, Joy has kept a wild puck called Ollie as a pet on the farm. He's calm and tame now, "but if I released Ollie with the herd, he'd soon change his mind."
Having Ollie on the farm has had a calming effect on the newly-captured puck. "He's toned down since Friday night. It's amazing. I think it was a great idea to have a second one. Puck goats are different from other animals, they are hardy and they don't take a lot of feeding. They eat the blackberry bush. They keep the place trim. They have a sense of humour."
The puck has been called Ray because he was caught as the sun was setting.
THE MALE GIRAFFE, who "is the most difficult and the most obstinate" creature, is the animal that John McLaughlin, assistant head wildlife warden at Fota Wildlife Park in Cobh, Co Cork, says is his favourite. The baby male giraffe, Finn, who was born in May this year, is already showing signs of this spirited independence. He doesn't need to stay close to his mother but strikes out on his own, says McLaughlin, who finds that the giraffe is the most satisfying to work with of all the hoofed animals in his care, including as the European Bison, the Maras from Patagonia, Brazilian Tapirs and the Scimitar Horned Oryx.
The most difficult to control is the male ostrich when its testosterone is up and he's in full colour. Then, says McLaughlin, "he stands up tall and looks for a fight. He's probably the most dangerous."
Although these creatures are unfathomable in many ways, their keepers all point to their individual personalities and characters. The Kerry Beagles are very friendly, very outgoing and very much at home in a pack," says Ryan, but he adds: "They all have individual characters. Some like to be out front and some out back.
"They are not what you envisage a pet to be. They are a working strain of dog. If you opened the door of the kennel, they'd go off hunting. The Kerry Beagle is a scent hound, unlike greyhounds or lurchers who depend on sight."
Reared and trained on his farm just outside Knocklong in Co Limerick, Ryan's hounds "are famed for their drive, their energy and enthusiasm, and also their voice. They have a tremendous cry that is very much belonging to the Kerry Beagle . . . They are different from the English foxhound. They wouldn't be as big," he says.
The hounds "are kennelled as a pack. This time of the year we are getting them fit for hunting in November. We are on push bikes and they are out like all athletes. You are going up to nine or 10 miles a day, pedalling along at six miles an hour. We count them in twos. We'd take 38 couples. They follow me and I have two whippers-in . We don't have horses until we are hunting. We go out with the first season pups, who are 18 months old now. They are getting used to traffic and what they see on the road."
They are a very popular hound, he says. "They are fully 24 inches at the shoulder and the bitches are about one inch less. They are black and tan in colour. If you go down to Kerry you'll see all colours, but the black and tan colour is the dominant gene in the cross.
"If you see 70 hounds coming down the road, they are all black and tan. People wonder how we can tell them apart, but if you are working with them every day, you get to know them very well. They all know and answer to their names.
"The young pups in a litter carry the first two letters of their mother's name. There's a lot of tradition involved. You can trace back a dam line, which is the mother's side of the family."
ALTHOUGH WILD and fierce, the puck goat has a sense of humour,insists Frank Joy.
"He'll start up on his back legs and he'll go butting you and he wants you to grab him by the horns. In another three to four years, this puck will be massive." After the Puck Fair, King Ray will be released into the wild once again.
"They are strong like wires. This puck has a fine set of horns at five years of age. He's pure white. He's down in the field now grazing with Ollie. If I won the Lotto I'd buy a mountain range to care for them. It has its rewards. When he sees me coming, he'll start making a noise like a dog. I talk to them. They know the difference when a person is friendly. By handling them and feeding them, you can tame them down."
Bringing in a wild puck takes skill, he says. Like the keeper of any wild animal, Joy is fully aware of the goat's basic nature. Like any other handler, he never forgets. "They are not afraid and they will puck you. They will use their horns and they know how to use them. They could take your eye out."
Like any other handler of a spirited creature, he never forgets that nature will always break out - as the seanfhocal says: Briseann an dúchas trí shúille an chait (breeding breaks out through the eyes of a cat).