What do you call a man learning to tame lions?

Answer 1

These days, a man (or a woman) who works with big cats, whether lions or tigers, is usually called a "trainer," since the job of such a person is to train the animals to perform certain tricks. In the old days, the word "lion-tamer" was used because the lion was expected to be an angry beast and the man (it was usually a man back then) had to subdue or "tame" the lion, often by hitting it with a whip or a large stick. Modern trainers do not like to use violent methods on animals, and beating the animal is not as common. Today, the people who work with the big cats use behavior modification-- often giving food rewards to encourage the animal to perform. Thus, today, it is more accurate to call the person learning to tame lions a "big cat trainer."