Tiger Kingdom - Chiang Mai

Sitting with a tiger named Jackie Chan

Like an interactive zoo just for tiger lovers! Tiger Kingdom is absolutely amazing, and like nowhere else in the western world. This place lets you get right up close and personal with the tigers. Of course, you have to sign a disclaimer before buying your tickets, stating that you are entering at your own risk, that they are not responsible for your safety. It’s a pretty humbling feeling you get when cuddling up to a 180kg tiger cat (and this is still only half of its potential size when fully grown) as after all, even though they have been raised by humans in captivity, they are all still wild animals, and their natural instinct is to hunt and kill.
                             

SAFETY - Of course, there are basic safety precautions you have to abide by, and listen to the trainers at all times, as they spend a lot of time with these animals, and know how there behaviors better than anyone – so they can keep a look out for you, and get you out of the way, or distract the tigers where needed.

With the "small" sleeping tigers.

THE TIGER’S EXPERIENCE - It’s an indescribable feeling, giving a tiger a bear hug, and resting your head on its stomach, listening to its heart, and hear it breathing in and out, and its stomach gurgling. You are putting yourself in absolute trust of the tiger, that it’s not going to decide it’s had enough of you, and turn around bring you down in one strike of its massive paw. For the most part, they are super sleepy, and just laze around (especially in the heat of the middle of the day) so many people think that they are drugged etc. in order for them to be around people safely, but after spending a few hours there, you start to see the tigers in all the states of their daily cycle. Sometimes they sleep, but that very same tiger 5 minutes later can be pouncing up on a table to get the palm leaves the trainer is hovering around for them (just like  a cat chasing after a ball of string). So you see, that they just sleep when they want, and play when they want, everything revolves around there natural life/sleep cycle. If they do get too overactive, then they can take that particular tiger out into another caged area, and switch it out with another one, as they have many tigers there. This also means that the tigers get some nice time off to themselves, and aren’t being patted and loved all day long, even though you can clearly see that the tigers do truly love human interaction, just like a dog or a cat. Remember that these ones have been bred in captivity, and it’s all that they are used to.

Pamela and the tiger called Jackie Chan

ENDANGERED SPECIES - Bengal tigers are extremely endangered, and very rare to see in the wild, as there are less than 2,500 left in the world, due to poaching, and destruction of their habitats. So this breeding program helps increase numbers of Bengal tigers, and populate our zoos, increasing our knowledge and research on them  – helping this endangered species.

This looks like a good place to lay your head.

Relaxing with the 4-6 week old cubs.

OUR EXPERIENCE - Upon getting to Tiger Kingdom, you can choose what size tigers you want to play with, you can buy a package that includes all sizes if you want: newborn, smallest, small, medium and big. Once you’ve got your ticket, your into the park to visit these amazing animals.

The smallest tigers at Tiger Kingdom. 

We originally played with the smallest, and big, but after visiting the newborns, I (PW) had to play with them as well, and this was for me the best experience by far.  It takes out the humbling and fearsome side of it somewhat, and just lets you enjoy playing with one of the cutest baby animals you will ever see. Seeing how small and vulnerable they are, after just playing with their parents – knowing just how big these babies are going to grow up to be is amazing. They really are like oversized kittens, only with much sharper teeth, and bigger claws!

This tiger loved it when we rubbed his belly.

The small-medium tigers are probably the most dangerous to be around, as they are still young enough to be so playful just like a kitten or puppy, but they are still big enough that if they playfully bite you, it does really hurt, and can be dangerous. ( I got quite a few scratches and teeth marks, but nothing serious!)

You normally visit the tigers for 10-15 mins in small groups of 5 -8 people at a time. But when I went back to visit the newborns, no one else was there – so I had a room full of six 1-1.5 month old tigers all to myself. Dave didn’t want to pay to visit these ones, as they weren’t active enough to interest him so much. So, he did a great job of videoing me with the babies instead! 

Check out the two videos in this post if you haven't already done so. They will show you more than words could ever explain how happy and excited I was to be with the baby tigers. If you are an animal lover, you will want to be on the next plane to Chiang Mai, Thailand.

You've got to see the rest of our pics from Tiger Kingdom: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/TigerKingdom?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Possibly one of the most incredible things you could ever experience in life!

In October we're going to India for a two week tiger safari. Hopefully we'll be able to spot these magnificent animals in the wild and post some pics to prove it. 


Cheers for Now - 

Pamela and Dave