Tigers: Up Close and Personal
Before coming to live in Chiang Mai I saw photos of a place in Thailand where you could go visit tigers up close and personal. The Tiger Sanctuary is run by Monks, and for a few hours a day they allow visitors to come visit with their tigers.
The tigers are tame, having been raised as babies by the Monks, and are never fed raw meat, only cooked meat. The pictures were amazing, and being the animal lover that I am, that was on my list of “things to do” while in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the Tiger Sanctuary is not close enough for me to go visit, but the second best option is a hop skip and a jump away from Chiang Mai, Tiger Kingdom in Mai Rim.
Yesterday I finally had a chance to go check out the Tiger Kingdom. I went with my daughter-in law Pink, my granddaughter Abigail, and a good friend Terei.
While I have always wanted to check out the Tiger Kingdom, it is still done with a bit of hesitation, I am very opinionated when it comes to animals, and the way we treat them. I do not support animal exploitation for profit, nor do I support the abuse of animals in the farming industry, which is why I choose to be vegetarian.
That being said, I am here to share my experience with you. Colored as it may be by my radical viewpoints.
Tiger Kingdom is free to enter, you can walk around and see the tigers, and have lunch at a Buffet restaurant and watch the tigers while you eat, but you must pay to enter the cages with the tigers.
The tigers are separated into several categories, babies, little, medium, and big. They range in age from 6 months to 2 years old. You can chose to visit just one size, or buy a package and go cage hopping to experience all sizes.
They only allow children into the baby tiger’s cage, so for Pink and Abigail we bought the single ticket. Terei and I decided to go for the package of baby, small, medium and large.
Included with the price of admittance to the cages is an insurance policy. Hmmm, was that a good thing or a bad thing? Nice to know it was there, but would we need it??? How safe was this experience going to be?
The tigers are tame, having been raised as babies by the Monks, and are never fed raw meat, only cooked meat. The pictures were amazing, and being the animal lover that I am, that was on my list of “things to do” while in Thailand.
Unfortunately, the Tiger Sanctuary is not close enough for me to go visit, but the second best option is a hop skip and a jump away from Chiang Mai, Tiger Kingdom in Mai Rim.
Yesterday I finally had a chance to go check out the Tiger Kingdom. I went with my daughter-in law Pink, my granddaughter Abigail, and a good friend Terei.
While I have always wanted to check out the Tiger Kingdom, it is still done with a bit of hesitation, I am very opinionated when it comes to animals, and the way we treat them. I do not support animal exploitation for profit, nor do I support the abuse of animals in the farming industry, which is why I choose to be vegetarian.
That being said, I am here to share my experience with you. Colored as it may be by my radical viewpoints.
Tiger Kingdom is free to enter, you can walk around and see the tigers, and have lunch at a Buffet restaurant and watch the tigers while you eat, but you must pay to enter the cages with the tigers.
The tigers are separated into several categories, babies, little, medium, and big. They range in age from 6 months to 2 years old. You can chose to visit just one size, or buy a package and go cage hopping to experience all sizes.
They only allow children into the baby tiger’s cage, so for Pink and Abigail we bought the single ticket. Terei and I decided to go for the package of baby, small, medium and large.
Included with the price of admittance to the cages is an insurance policy. Hmmm, was that a good thing or a bad thing? Nice to know it was there, but would we need it??? How safe was this experience going to be?
|
Before entering the baby tiger cage, you must wash your hands, exchange your shoes for their flipflops, and read the rules posted outside each cage. No loud noises, no quick movements, you may rub their belly’s and their backs, but do not touch their heads or feet, do not approach from behind, no teasing, listen to the staff, etc.
Entering the baby cage was no problem, they are very playful and cute, so cute Abigail quickly made best friends with one of the cubs. Each tiger has their own trainer closely watching them and monitoring their behavior. They carry 12 inches sticks, and prod the tigers with a light tap to discourage certain behaviors, such as swatting at people with their paws. The tigers are all born at the Kingdom, and raised and trained from birth. According to one of the trainers Terei and I chatted with, the tigers are only kept a couple of years, then sent to a zoo where they are taught to hunt on their own, and are eventually released in the jungles somewhere between Thailand and Cambodia. I don’t know if this is true, seems highly unlikely to me. Seems rather dangerous for the animals to be released in the wild after training them to be comfortable around people. 
Pink With Tiger
|
Sharing a Moment in Time
When I asked him whether they tracked the animals once they released them, he said he did not know, it was his first day on the job. As far as food, when questioned about raw versus cooked meat, he said the tigers were fed raw chicken. You are allowed 10 minutes in with the babies, and 15 minutes with all other sizes. Terei and I moved on to the next size up, while Pink and Abigail walked around the Kingdom, On our way to the Tiger Kingdom that morning, I discovered that Terei had no idea that you could actually go into the cages with the tigers. She thought we would just be observing them from outside the cages. Luckily Terei is an adventurous spirit, and had no problem switching gears from being outside the cage to inside the cage! |
|
For me it was a surreal experience. Seeing the tigers up so close and being able to touch and feel them was amazing, and of course I appreciated the photo opportunity.
As we progressed from one size to the next, my apprehension did grow a little. When we were finally in the cage with the big tiger, I was becoming a bit uncomfortable with the situation. Tigers are nocturnal creatures, sleeping about 18 hours a day. The big tiger was asleep, and the trainer was prodding him with his 12 inch stick to get him to wake up, and the tiger did not seem too pleased about that. My instincts for survival grew as this angry tiger awoke and started moving around the space, which is not all that big to begin with. 
|
Terei with a Tiger
Terei was a lot more comfortable with the big tigers than I was, in fact I think she was more comfortable with all of it than I was. She was very relaxed and enjoyed the experience, I felt like I was a bit removed from the situation, almost in a dream state. After we left, I was able to analysis what had just happened with a clearer mind, and formed my opinion about the Tiger Kingdom. The animals do not seem to be abused per say, and while some say the tigers are fed tranquilizers to keep them calm, the trainers all denied that allegation. |
The tigers spend their day in a small cage being prodded to stay awake so people can come in for a photo opportunity with the tigers. The Kingdom is open from 9:00am to 6:00pm, which seems like a long time for the tigers. From what I understood about the Monk’s Sanctuary, they were only open a couple hours a day, and that seems like a better compromise.
I am really glad I went, it was a unique experience, feeling the size of the tiger underneath your hand is awesome, I was impressed with their massive size and strength. Beautiful, powerful animals. But I would not go back a second time.
Would I recommend visiting Tiger Kingdom while in Chiang Mai? That is totally up to you. For the most part the other people visiting seemed to be enjoying the experience, whether it is fair for the tigers is questionable.
The fact that they only serve a two or three year sentence as props for human curiosity and photo ops is good, but what really happens to them when they become to big and old for even the handlers to safely be around them? Are they really released into the wild?
I am really glad I went, it was a unique experience, feeling the size of the tiger underneath your hand is awesome, I was impressed with their massive size and strength. Beautiful, powerful animals. But I would not go back a second time.
Would I recommend visiting Tiger Kingdom while in Chiang Mai? That is totally up to you. For the most part the other people visiting seemed to be enjoying the experience, whether it is fair for the tigers is questionable.
The fact that they only serve a two or three year sentence as props for human curiosity and photo ops is good, but what really happens to them when they become to big and old for even the handlers to safely be around them? Are they really released into the wild?