There are two things that most visitors to Thailand want to see; tigers and elephants. As with every country that relies on tourism for a major part of its economy, there are pros and cons for supporting these types of tourist traps. However, it is up to each individual as to what they are willing to support in terms of animal exploitation. Read the reviews for most of these types of places around the world and you will see comments ranging from “The best part of our trip – great experience!” to “ Don’t visit this place – it’s horrid!”. In this little post I will give an honest account of our experiences at Tiger Kingdom, located about a half-hour from Chiangmai by scooter or taxi.
The place makes no bones about what it has to offer. It is very clear from all the ads and reviews that are available across the Internet that this is strictly a place to have your photo taken with a tiger. It is not a conservation site…there are not acres of open land with tigers roaming free. Is it animal exploitation? Definitely! Is it a tourist trap? Of course, what do you expect? A large segment of the population here depends on tourists. However, having said that, it is a great place to get up close and personal with magnificent Asian tigers of all sizes, from young cubs to full-grown adults. If you are not into this type of thing then don’t go. But for those of you that want the chance to see, touch and get close these large beasts, it is an incredible experience.
Tiger Kingdom is a well-run machine. When you arrive, you are given the choice of a variety of packages. You can just walk around and look or you can actually go into the cages and take pictures. There are four different packages available; newborn, small cubs, medium-size cats and full-grown tigers which are $15-20 each per person. You can take your own pictures or opt to have your photos taken by a “professional” photographer and receive a CD of photos when you leave.
My friends and I chose the complete package with the photographer included for an extra ten bucks. We got to go into all the cages and have photos taken with all the tigers. In hindsight, I think it was too much. I would recommend choosing one of the individual packages instead of all of them. You can only have so many pictures taken with tigers before it gets a little old! If I were doing it again, I would have only chosen the medium or big cats.
The tigers are kept in cages that have electric fences in some places to keep them out of certain areas. Everything is very clean and organized, and the handlers were very friendly and did not really rush you at all. When you arrive, you are given a number and just wait until your number is called to enter the various pens. Depending on the crowds, I’m sure this waiting time could vary quite a bit. I read online that the people who buy the full package are pushed to the front of the line but I really didn’t notice.
Our first experience was with the medium size tiger. All the literature you read about the place insists that the animals are not drugged and we would have to concur with this. Our first tiger was neurotic and very wide-awake! The handlers had a little trouble getting him to sit still long enough for us to get a picture with him. It was a little nerve-racking, especially with all the do’s and don’ts. Always approach from the back, don’t get near their faces, be firm when you touch them, don’t use a flash when taking pictures, don’t wear bright or flashy clothing and on and on the list went! You don’t really understand how big these guys are until you are sitting beside on of them. And this one was the only the medium-size tiger. We were getting a little hesitant about getting in the cage with the full-grown adult!
We went to see the little ones next. They were very playful and very similar to large housecats in their actions. They are also the only ones that seem to get carried away at times with playing and can give you a good scratch. But this is the reason that the larger cats are so calm with all the tourists. They are raised from birth with human contact so get very used to having people around.
The last one we visited was the largest. He was very docile and basically one step away from being asleep. Even if he was lying calmly on the ground, I still got a little nervous every time he moved a bit, especially when he turned his head towards me and yawned. Oh, what big teeth they have! The photographer gets you to pose in various ways so they can take some supposedly great shots. One of the classic poses is laying up against the tiger…not the easiest thing to do while staying calm. All the tigers are fed in the morning and they are instinctively nocturnal animals. Sleeping for most of the day is built into their system. Later in the day, after most tourists have disappeared, they become more active. This is probably a good thing!
We certainly didn’t see any abuse while we were there. There is a lot of slapping on the ground with a bamboo stick to get them to move to certain places but that was about it. Any time the animals were actually touched with the sticks, it always seemed pretty gentle. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors?
Anyway, I would recommend this as a great way to spend a couple of hours. It is efficient, clean and tourist friendly. It is a little expensive but where else are you going to have this opportunity. But in conclusion, one size animal is probably enough. Also, the “professional photographer” was no professional. Most of our own photos ended up better than his. Out of all the pictures that were on the CD, only a few were actually good shots. The only good part about having him there is you don’t have to worry about your camera or taking pictures and can just enjoy the tigers. And there is a great buffet restaurant on the grounds where you can watch the tigers as you eat lunch.
