Tiger Kingdom

On the outskirts of Chiang Mai is Tiger Kingdom. This place houses lots and lots of tigers and is a prime tourist spot. For a fee you can enter the cages with the tigers, petting and watching them, provided you don't touch their heads or approach them from the front. Since I had the chance to pet cheetahs in Africa, I wanted to round out my big cat experience with tigers. The young tigers were adorable, playing together and generally acting like gigantic kittens. Wish I could've taken one home.

The big male tigers were huge! Way bigger than the cheetahs, but I suppose that is to be expected. There were 3 adults in the cage, 2 males and 1 female. One of the males was completely knocked out and dead to the world. The other male seemed a little more alert, but not by much.

The sleepy males made me wonder about drugging, which can happen in some facilities that house tigers and cater to the public. However, the female in the cage seemed very alert, as did the tiger cubs. Perhaps I can chalk it up to lazy males...