Tigers

The Tiger situation here is quite sad. They have been reduced from thousands to only a couple hundred in the wild. The government and various organizations have tried breeding them and reintroducing them into the wild, but they never make it very long before poachers kill them. The Tiger Temple is a place where monks started receiving baby tigers whose mothers were killed. Through breeding these tigers, they now have around 300. They are moved around throughout the day. Part is spend on chains, then they are walked to the canyon to laze about in the sun, and they stay in cages . They are in the process of building a natural habitat for them that is about 95% done. These animals are simply magnificent up close and personal. Really amazing. It’s quite a different, slightly uncomfortable experience to walk among these huge animals. There are lots of volunteers that help to keep all the vistors far enough away that the Tigers can’t snatch you and to distract the Tigers when needed. A couple of them were eyeing Mathijs and Ashwin and crouching down to get ready to pounce. Even though they couldn't reach them, I quickly made them walk behind me! We did get pictures of all of us petting them, but that was before they were eyeing the boys! We loved having the opportunity to play with 4 months old cubs. They were incredibly cute, but still had very sharp teeth and claws! We also went to the Chiang Mai Zoo today, which was something completely different. You could actually feed the panthers, giraffes, and hippopotamuses! It was the first time in my life that I have ever seen a hippo up close! We are trekking in the jungle tomorrow and spending all day with our very own elephant that we'll to learn to ride and care for. More on that later!