Its located on the outskirts of the city here and is not really a very big site. Its not at all a "sanctuary" where the big cats are in a natural environment. And again, its very much a business proposition.
They have over 40 tigers here of all different ages from new-borns to aging adults. The tigers are mostly of the local "Indo-Chinese" sub-species (not the Siberian or the huge Bengal species) and they are very actively being bred. None of the tigers here was caught in the wild, and none of them will ever be returned to the wild either. But thats not that surprising because there is so little native habitat remaining and in the wild, they would just be poached and hunted and be deemed a threat to the massive numbers of humans in this part of the world. So, these animals were all raised by hand in captivity and are very well "habituated" to human contact... That not-withstanding, they are still wild animals and even though they are very well trained and fed and cared for etc, they can still be very dangerous if you do the wrong thing.
Well, I was not sure what to expect really. I had seen the advertising posters all over the tourist section of town, with people cuddling up to kittens and adult tigers alike... So I decided to go see for my-self.
And there are lots of tigers here (not just one or two), and there were three or four of them in an enclosure (not individually), and there were up to a half dozen tourists in there with them (along with three or four trained handlers too of course)... And indeed, people are snuggling right up with them!
As a tourist, you get to choose what sized tiger you want to "meet": large (2 yr and older adult), medium (kinda dog sized young ones) or small (a couple of months old and the size of a big house cat)... Or you can do a package deal and try all of them etc. Once youve paid for the options you want, you go into the larger perimeter caged area and are directed to where the cats of the right size are. Once there, you wait your turn and in the mean time read some very clear instructions... For the full size Tigers, its very important to never approach the cats from in front or touch their heads or fore-paws... If you do, the cats may assume you want to "play" and that can be quite "uncomfortable" as they say... And you can really appreciate what that means once you have been "up close and personal" with them... They have massive tongues and teeth and jaws and claws and muscles!!! And even "playing" (as all cats do) gently would leave you with an immediate need for "medical attention"!
The handlers that are in there with you are always paying 100% attention to the cats body language (ears, tail etc) and are always positioned at the head of the tiger... But its all pretty "low key" and not intimidating.
And then, after youve read the rules and waited while, its your turn to meet the tigers and you are let into the smaller enclosure (say 20m x20m which still has three or four tigers in there at the one time) and you are escorted over to one of the cats and encouraged to approach from the rear and touch and scratch and "snuggle up to"... The big cats are very social and are used to, and enjoy, lots of body contact with both other cats and people too. You can be quite forceful with the contact since they are big and strong and are used to big/strong contact from each other... In fact, you can see plenty of scars and healing scratch marks on them from where they have themselves been a bit too strong with each other and got a warning "swat"... Hmmm best I dont provoke that sort of response from one of them me thinks ! :)
And there is no rush about it. You get to spend pretty much as long as you want (15-20 minutes in reality) with the tiger. And its not just the one cat either, you get to move around and meet several of them. They all seem really docile but Im assured (and I believe them ) that none of them are tranquilized or sedated. Its just that cats are very lazy creatures and can spend up to 18 hours a day sleeping... They only get active to hunt or mate... And these cats are very well fed and if any of the females are "in season" then they are not anywhere near the tourist section of the compound.
So, you get to "interact" for quite a while and it is definitely a privilege to be able to get so close to these amazing animals. I admit I would have liked to spend more time "in front" so to speak (Id love to take a picture of my hand next to their front paw for size comparison etc) but I understand why this is NOT allowed.
And after you have had enough, they let you out of the cage (and someone else goes in) and you can then spend as long as you want wandering around and taking more pictures from outside the small enclosures etc...
... So here are some of my pictures :)
I just love the amazing patterns in their coats! Though when you feel their fur, its not at all like a domestic cat... Its more like a coarse haired dog coat. Not soft and silky at all.
Then I went to visit the kittens... There were a couple that were only one month old and were still quite "wobbly" on their feet (it was their first day meeting visitors!) and also a couple that were two moths old... Too cute :)
Nap time after a big day :)
Eco-assessment!...
OK, so that was the "experience" of it... Now for the "thinking"...
Well, the "farm" is ostensibly intended as the financial support end of a "save the tigers program". Its very modern and well appointed (nothing at all in the place was of "developing world" standard. It was all absolutely top notch). There is a larger "partner" site a few hours further North in Thailand where there are apparently another 200 tigers, but they do not do any "tourist" stuff at all, so this smaller site has to generate the full income to support both sites... Which it does easily by the look of the facilities... Its run by one guy who (having spoken with a few of the temporary volunteer Western staff) seems to be a genuine tiger lover.
But he's definitely making a very tidy profit from the enterprise...
Im really dubious about this sort of thing... Some one gets "official sanction" to breed and keep and show an incredibly rare and endangered species and then gets to "print money" for their personal benefit!... "Eco-profiteering"!! ... and make no mistake, these tigers are not at all living a natural life... Yes its not a cruel or uncomfortable life as far as I could tell, but the reality is that this is nothing more than a "petting zoo" or "circus"; and they are "wild animals" but they live in an entirely artificial and non-natural environment! They say the second farm site is larger and has larger and more natural enclosures, but its still an enormous difference from how tigers live in the wild, ranging over many kilometres of forest each day.
I think its an absolute travesty that such magnificent creatures should be reduced to living an enslaved life in a circus, and I just hope that there is a plan that is being actively pursued that will set aside some sizeable areas of natural habitat for these creatures to eventually be returned to (I suspect this is true though I have no details).
So thats the negative aspect of this Eco-tourist attraction, but there are some clear mitigating factors of course... The obvious point is that with the way the world currently is in the areas of the tigers natural habitat, you can pretty much guarantee that this "capitalist" solution to the immenent extinction of these animals through black-market trade and habitat destruction is probably the ONLY viable option... a stop-gap measure to be sure, but I agree its better than letting them become extinct.
Second point is less obvious, and its that while they are making plenty of profit from the enterprise, they are not being anywhere near as "greedy" as I think they could be!... It costs about $15 - $25 for you to visit and "cuddle" the tigers... Thats pretty cheap I think!! Im pretty sure that they could charge significantly more and still get high attendance... And that is of course the art of business management, but my point is that it seems to me that "maximising" the money making aspect is NOT their highest priority, and I think thats actually a good sign :)
... And one other sort of down side I see is that, while yes, it does allow the "general public" to interact directly with tigers and thereby fosters a greater appreciation for them and hopefully a greater public desire to preserve both them and their habitats; Its doing it in such an "un-natural" way that I think the public ends up with a very distorted picture of what tigers are and what they "should be"... but, Ya gotta start somewhere right?
So, thats my thoughts on it all, with some very serious negatives and some definite positives, but an acknowledgement that, at the moment, I think there is no realistically viable alternate option. .. And with that understanding, I think this particular business appears to be doing a pretty good job at it (from all perspectives) and so I find that on the whole, I am supportive of this version of "eco-tourism"... but NOT as an ongoing future for the tigers... only for the time being!
...and Whats next on my "eco-binge"
