Tiger Kingdom is one of THE places to visit in Chiang Mai. There is another place to play with Tigers near Bangkok called Tiger Temple, and I haven't been there so I don't know if this is definitely true but there are a lot of bad reports from there that the tigers are drugged and mistreated. In Tiger Kingdom I didn't see anything like that and there was information around about why it is possible to sit in the cage with the tigers. According to the info in the centre, they are night hunters and in the immense heat of the day they spend their time in slumber. The keepers wake them for the tourists by hanging toys in front of them, seemed to know their stuff and even had a few scars to prove their credibility. This trip was very expensive, but it was completely worth it. We paid for a package to go in with the big, smallest and new-born tigers. The new borns were actually 2 months old but they were so cute. You're not allowed to pick them up, or touch their heads or front paws. With the big ones this isn't a problem but the small ones are so cute and are so much like a normal cat that you can't help but want to! Their fur is rough and the tail of the big one that I picked up was really heavy! Spending an afternoon messing around with tigers = immense fun!
 |
| Furry little critter I noticed on the way in! |
 |
| The big ones are BIG! |
 |
| It's cool, and you want to do it, but up close it is a massive tiger - scary! |
 |
| On our way in the tuk-tuk |
 |
| Smallest ones are about 4-5 months old |
 |
| Babies!! |
 |
| Wongers couldn't come to Thailand with us so we recreated the Tigers for her in a Seoul coffee shop. |
You all look so relaxed - I'd have had the 'willies' if I'd known what you were up to! Pi didn't have such an easy time with'Richard Parker' :-) xxx
ReplyDeletePS: Do all the cubs have 'blue' eyes?
ReplyDelete