This January (2018) I had the chance to visit Thailand with my husband for a week and a half. It was SO MUCH FUN! I will write an entire post just on what to do in Thailand later but this post is specifically about my thoughts on Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is a city in Northern Thailand surrounded with gorgeous jungle land and mountains. It was by far our favorite place we went in Thailand. One of the activities we (especially my husband, Robin) were excited to do was visit Tiger Kingdom where we could pet tigers and take stunning pictures of the gorgeous animals.
Paying:
I had heard great things from my co-workers about this place but I had also heard rumors and things online about bad treatment of the animals. I am very much the type of person that has to make my own decision about things. So I went, with my husband, to have a good time and see for myself.
When we got there the first thing I noticed was how pricey it was to see the tigers. It was priced the same as most American or European tourist attractions at about $75.00 a person depending on the package. This was surprising because everything else in Thailand was so much cheaper than western prices. This wasn’t necessarily a bad sign, just surprising. And definitely something to keep in mind when planning your vacations. Is this the place you really want to spend that much money?
After paying you enter the “park” which is a very generous word for what this place is. All the cages are within 10-20 steps of each other. So you walk right up to the lady’s who will take your ticket. Then they find a handler to go into the cage with you. I would really hate to be here when its busy, when we went at 10 in the morning there was almost nobody there.
There was no effort to make this a pleasant place or an experience like our elephant trip, THAT was amazing. But I can overlook these things, they don’t affect the treatment of the animals and it really just shows me that they are there to make money.
Big Tigers:
Since the Tiger Kingdom was super empty we walked right up to the ticket ladies and went right into the big tigers cage without having to wait till our ticket was up in the que. They showed us the rule board and then we enter the cage with about 4-5 gentlemen who work as handlers for the tigers.
Now you are not supposed to touch the tigers head or paws. I am not sure the reasoning but I am not going to question it and risk my life. You are allowed to pet the tigers back though, and when I went to pet the tigers back I evidentially touched the tiger too high on the back.
The tiger simply turned his head to look at me and the handlers jumped right in to draw his attention back to them. I never once felt in danger. However, one of the handlers took it upon themselves to BERATE me for a good minute or two asking why I touched his head? Didn’t I read the rules? Why did I touch his head if I read the rules? I felt like a little child in trouble and did not appreciate this rude behavior. I understand reminding me of the rules but DO NOT treat me so rudely.
Anyway, after that I had a pretty negative tint on the whole experience but I did notice times they would force the big cats to lay down or do cetain things for pictures using their little proding sticks but nothing that was very bad.
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Tiger Cubs:
Next, we went to play with the tiger cubs (I think that is the right word). I LOVED our time with the babies. They were young and playful and just so cute. There were 3 of them and the cage was split in two with a connecting door. When we first got there there was another family in the cage with two cubs and we went into the cage with one cub.
After a few minutes we were the only people in there to see the cubs so they opened the connecting door and let us play with all three! Well, they more played amongst themselves while we watched but it was so cute so who cares! When we were talking to the baby cub handlers they explained that the general philosiphy with the baby cubs is you can pet them if the want to be petted but when they play, you let them play.
I loved this! Because even more than getting a picture with them I want to watch them interact and play up close. They don’t poke and prod them into position, forcing them to lay down all day for tourists. Eventually other people came in for their turn and we had to leave the cage but I FULLY enjoyed this part. Definitely the best part of Tiger Kingdom.
White Tigers:
Lastly, my husband went into the cage of the white tigers. I still had a bad taste in my mouth from the orange tiger so I didn’t buy a ticket for this one. My husband noted that at one point he accidentally touched the cats head and I would just like to point out that he did not get scolded! They simply reminded him not to do that and moved on. Not that I’m bitter or anything.
So to finish off our visit, before we drove back to the main part of Chang Mai we decided to eat at their on site restaurant. It was nothing special but it did the job. Our table happened to overlook the big tigers cages and we got to watch them roam around their cage. Suddenly one of the cats apperantly swiped at something near the fence line.
I don’t know what it was (it looked like just some ropes from where we were sitting) but the handlers were NOT happy. They stormed into the cage and one guy fixed the ropes. The other man however chased after the tiger and SMACKED him a couple of times with those thin sticks they carry around. I was shocked!
Overall, Tiger Kingdom came off to me as overpriced and had horrible treatment of their animals. I had to experience it for myself and I understand if you do too. But I will not be going back to one of these tiger facilities and would not be sad if they went out of business.
Responsible Travel
We have a responsibility as travelers to use our money to support responsible tourism and fair treatment for all. This is not something that should be taken for granted.
If you want a more positive travel experience try reading about my time in Miami, FL which was so so fun!
