Fuzzy Stripes Ending in Three-Inch Teeth: Tiger Kingdom, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Posted: October 6th, 2013 | Author: ctbideas | Filed under: ATW Updates | No Comments »

One of the reasons I was adamant about visiting Chiang Mai was the tourist attraction, Tiger Kingdom.  Cats, any sort of cats, are one of my favorite animals (though, I’m quite partial to most animals with 4 legs and fur), so I couldn’t turn down the possibility of getting up close & personal with tigers. 

At fist I was concerned with the welfare of the big cats.  Not even for my pleasure would I want any of those magnificent creatures hurt in any way.  Or forced to perform unnatural deeds.  However, when we arrived by tuk-tuk, my fears were put to rest.  I saw no "shows", no signs of drugging or starvation.  The big cats, lounging about in various enclosures, seemed healthy and well-fed, their fur glossy, their eyes alert albeit sleepy.  I didn’t mind the sleepiness.  As a previous cat (of the smaller variety) owner, I knew most cats slept 14 hours a day and tend to have the most energy (aka. insanity) during the night.  As it was around lunchtime, the early hour combined with the constant heat made even me a bit sleepy. 

There are a total of 4 cages, each with a different age group: smallest (the babies, 2-3 months), small (4-8 months), medium (9-12 months), and biggest (13-30 months).  We paid for the 2-cage package, the small and biggest ones, and asked to sign a waiver essentially stating that if we were attacked in any way, we couldn’t sue.  I remembered Rick asking his brother, a doctor specializing in infectious diseases about the possibility of contracting rabies if bitten by a tiger, and his response that if were ever bitten by a tiger, the last thing we needed to worry about was rabies.  Still, I signed my life over into the hands of the pretty young Thai ladies with sweet smiles and a deft hand with the credit card machine. 

We were directed towards the small enclosure first.  The only things we could bring in with us were our wallets and cameras, the rest piled in a heap on a rack outside. Before entering, we were directed to read a list of rules posted up on the wall, among them: approach the tiger from behind, follow the trainer’s instructions at all times, and don’t touch a tiger’s head or front paws.  Each group waiting to enter the cage were assigned their own personal trainer armed with a a very "threatening" wooden stick, bushy broom-like brush extending from one end, as our only protection aside from the inherent training taught to the young tigers.  We followed our trainer to the first young tiger. 

I must apologize for the imminent gushing you will soon be assaulted with.  In fact, the gushing you will read is quite a bit diminished from my initial reactions (though you may not believe me), muted with the hazy overlay of memory.  My first impression of the toddler tigers, aside from squeeing like a teenage fangirl who’s just spotted the faux-tousled hairstyles of a boy band member, was how rough the fur felt underneath my hand, and how springy.  The tiger felt alive, which I know is a strange thing to say since of course the tiger was alive, but I didn’t expect how real the tiger felt underneath my fingers.  It’s different from seeing the pictures of happy white tourists gamboling with striped fur balls and bright eyes.  The warmth soaking into my hand, the hard shift of muscles just underneath the sleek fur, and the feeling of power coiled just beneath skin combine into a deeper realer experience, like a picture coming into focus.  We make our way to each tiger in the enclosure, taking pictures of it and each other.  Our trainer offers to take pictures for us and he handles both our point-and-shoot and my DSLR with an easy confidence of hundreds of tourists before us.  Two tigers snuggle next to each other and another one bats at a tiger tail poking out from a nearby enclosure.  The trainer knows the gender, name, and age of each tiger, their personalities, likes and dislikes.  Too quickly, we’re escorted back out. 

The procedure is repeated at the Biggest cage, except now the tigers are full-sized, fulfilling the potential seen in the young tigers from earlier.  They lounge around, their yellow eyes bright, intelligent, fully aware of the measly humans hovering around them but deigning not to do anything.  Our trainer tells us to lie atop one of them and we gingerly pose, 100% aware the whole entire time that the tiger claws and teeth a mere foot away could rip through our jeans like tissue paper.  However, the tigers do nothing untoward, and slowly, we relax, until the end. 

One tiger is in a playful mood, biting down at the broom end of the stick, jaws clamped down, baring her long white teeth.  The trainer wiggles it, tries pulling the stick away, but she refuses to let go, her nose wrinkling with the effort.  Her eyes are fixed on us, amused at our powerlessness.  It’s a demonstration of her vitality, her strength, and I am left in awe, my heart beating quickly.  For some odd reason, I’m not scared.  A stray thought crosses my mind that if she decided to kill me, it’d be over before I know it, so a calm settles over me and I only stare at her, stare at the tug-of-war game going on between her and the trainer, and am in awe. 

Information:
Tiger Kingdom
Website
Address: Mae-Rim, Chiang Mai.  Any tuk-tuk driver and songthaew driver knows where it is by name since they earn commission from taking tourists there.  We negotiated 160 baht for a round-trip on a tuk-tuk for both of us (the driver waits at the entrance) but be aware that the whole return trip, they’ll be trying to get you to go to the other attractions that offer them commission. 
Hours: M-F 10am-6pm
Prices: Each cage has a different price.  As of writing, it’s 620 baht for the small & smallest, and 420 baht for the medium & biggest.  Our two-cage deal was 800 baht each.  You can choose to have a professional photographer follow you around taking pics and receive a photo CD at the end for 299 baht/cage but the trainers are very enthusiastic about taking pics for you for free (so I guess it depends on the quality of pics you want). 

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