Tiger Kingdom

January 22, 2014 

The woman running my hostel in Chiang Mai, Thailand recommended Tiger Kingdom. According to the brochures, the tigers were wide awake and treated well.
She arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to bring me there and back. 

When I arrived at Tiger Kingdom, I waited in line to choose what I wanted to see. I could see the biggest tigers, the medium-sized tigers, or the baby tigers. I wanted to see the big ones, but I was told that because it's the most popular option, the wait could be one to two hours. I chose to see the medium-sized tigers, which cost 420 Baht ($11 USD). My wait time was only 30 minutes. 

There were signs posted everywhere, stating explicitly that the tigers were not drugged. I was informed that the reason they weren't active is because tigers rest during the day. There were also signs explaining how to and not to approach and touch the tigers. These signs made me feel like this was a legitimate place that I could trust. It seemed to be like any other zoo, aside from the lack of other animals. 

Because you're not allowed to enter the enclosure alone, I was paired up with a guy from France who was also alone. Then another guy was paired up with us, who happened to also be from France. 
We took pictures of each other posing with four different tigers. I laid my head on the belly of one when he decided to yawn and stretch. My startled expression was captured in a photo. 

I was so excited to show everybody the photos of me petting a real live tiger. The reaction of my friends and family, however, filled me with regret. I was basically accused of promoting the captivity and drugging of innocent wild animals. I felt so guilty and ashamed that I deleted the pictures from Facebook.

If you are planning to visit Thailand, and are interested in seeing wildlife, be sure to do as much research as possible before giving your money to anyone. I, for the record, believe that wild animals like tigers deserve to be protected and unharmed.