After we finished up at the elephant camp, we drove to Tiger Kingdom. We had lunch there, a decent buffet with a lot of Thai dishes, and then we visited the tigers. This place has more than 70 tigers, and for a fee you can have your picture taken with them. You also have to sign a release form promising not to sue if a tiger mauls you.
The tigers ranged from very young--the cub Mexica is petting was about 10 weeks old--to fully grown. To get into the cage with the cubs, we had to wash our hands and take off our shoes. We had to wait because they regulated the number of people in with the cubs and that was the most popular place in the Tiger Kingdom. There were a lot of kids in there. The cubs were pretty calm, even lethargic, and that was the state of most of the tigers we saw that were available for petting. I'm pretty sure that they drugged them to keep them calm. The cubs were soft and fluffy, like big kittens, and they had huge paws for their size.
The larger tigers were almost comatose, but it was fun to be able to touch such beautiful animals. I am troubled by the ethical issues--would the tigers be better off in the wild? Probably, that is, if they wouldn't be dead. In Southeast Asia there are fewer people worried about such issues, as the Tiger Kingdom was very busy. The elephant camp gave me no such qualms, as the elephants were animals they had rescued when the logging operations they were working on changed from animal power to machines. The elephants would be dead if they weren't in the camp, and they looked pretty healthy. I didn't see any neurotic action like pacing and the handlers appeared kind. Right or wrong, it was an exciting day, and in one day, we rode elephants and petted tigers, firsts for both of us. A highlight day of our Thai vacation.
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