Album: 04-23 Tiger Kingdom

Album:2015:04-23 Tiger Kingdom

Wow. So, we ended up going to a "Meet Tigers" kind of place. We know there is lots of controversy around them and many of the places are seriously problemed, so we did some research and found a place that seemed to take good care of their tigers. I know enough about cats and animals to know that they are not being abused and they are definitely not sedated. My only concern would be what happens to the adult tigers after they are no longer of a safe age (you can only meet tigers up to 24 months old). They had a few adult tigers in habitats, but certainly not as many that would have gone through the program. They claim that the tigers are sold to zoos, and I hope that is the case.

Wow.
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Arielle and tiger
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Look at that face!
(both of them) ( comments)

Seriously. That's a tiger.
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Rawr!
(These are the medium aged ones, I believe) ( comments)

Kill! (Yawn)
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You need to respect their space.
The generally like petting, but if you push too far they make it clear. Their eyes are incredible. ( comments)

And then happy scratching!
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The trainers actually
got along really well with the animals - there was mutual respect, not fear. ( comments)

Sleepy cat.
But later he got up and roamed around. ( comments)

Napping tiger exposes his belly
[Video, 5.3M] ( comments)

Armpit scratch!
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Big paws hold on to me
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Grawl! :)
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Rawr!
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This is seconds before
this tiger ate Arielle ( comments)

Rolling happy cat
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This cat was finicky.
It took a bit to figure out how he liked to be pet. But then he was rolling. ( comments)

Belly!
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Tiger explains the proper way to pet
[Video, 4.9M] ( comments)

Belly!
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Seriously.
That's a tiger's belly. ( comments)

Post petting nirvana
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This...
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..is Mr. Bang.
Appropriately named. ( comments)

He was actually not
the top age group (I think he was 18 months??) ( comments)

Seriously. That's a bunch of tigers.
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Tiger pile!
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Mr. Bang
decides to move on.
Respect. ( comments)

Cats start to play
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Cats start to tease each other
With Arielle in the back. ( comments)

Their tails were
amazing. And heavy. ( comments)

Paws.
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Meow.
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A king
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Then out came the 'cat toy'
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And it was play time!
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So humbling
and amazing to have this happening a few feet away. ( comments)

Get it!
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Tigers attack the "cat toy"
and then in comes Mr. Bang. [Video, 23.7M] ( comments)

Wow. Teeth.
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Lick.
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That's a big cat.
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We are told that it's good luck
to get 'sprayed' by a tiger. So Arielle got near the lucky a bit. Fortunately not in direct line of fire. ( comments)

Bath time
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Then it's the oldest age group
(24 months?) ( comments)

Taking a stretch
by the pool. ( comments)

Rawr!
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The big cats tended to just go
wherever they wanted. It was almost like they didn't really pay much attention to you, unless they were interested in a scratching/petting ( comments)

Going for water
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Majestic cat
is willing to pose for us for a moment. ( comments)