Endangered Tigers: Tiger Kingdom Helps in the Fight Against Extinction.It concerns me to know just how endangered tigers are on out planet. Just 5,000 to 7,000 left in the wild. Tiger Kingdom, 15 kilometers north of Chiang Mai, is helping in the battle to save the tiger from extinction. Here you can play with baby tigers and touch a tiger younger than a year old. By that age, they're starting to grow their huge teeth so visitors are kept separate! Pim,
Also, in Thailand, people are gradually encroaching on the animals territory by building further and further into the forest. This is forcing them to mate with close relatives which can cause the mother to eat her cubs.
So efforts like Tiger Kingdom are clearly essential. I did have mixed feelings on my visit. Ideally, I think, the cats would have a natural tiger habitat to roam in. Yet to have enough space for them to each have their own territory and stop potentially lethal fighting between them would cost a fortune. The space they do have isn't big. There was construction going on and Pim told me they'll have more space soon. You might question whether it's a good thing to have tame tigers that we can touch and hold. Yet without the money raised in this way, there may not be the money available to protect these endangered tigers. Seeing a baby tiger so close was wonderful for me. Touching a much larger 9 month old made me a tad nervous as you might be able to tell from the photo! The week before I visited, a lady from Australia was bitten in the leg by a tiger here. Thankfully, she wasn't injured too seriously. It must be said that a tiger attack from a tame tiger is rare. For sure, it's a difficult balancing act between keeping endangered tigers from extinction and finding a practical way to do that. There's obviously a great opportunity to take up-close pictures of tigers. Don't forget to turn off your flash. For more tiger pics, click here. Getting There and Cost.You don't need to book. Have a look at their website: www.tigerkingdom.com (opens in new window). 15 minutes with the baby tigers costs 500 baht. 20 minutes with the older ones costs 300 baht. A tuk tuk (a small, noisy 3-wheel vehicle) will bring you here from Chiang Mai for about 150 baht one-way. If you're coming by motorbike or car, it's very easy. Take the 107 road north (see Chiang Mai Map). After about 15 kilometers, you'll reach Mae Rim. Go through the town and take the next turn on your left, signposted to Samoeng and Mae Sa Waterfall. Straight away, you'll see a huge Tiger Kingdom sign directing you to take the first right. 500 meters further. You can't miss it. Return from Endangered Tigers to Chiang Mai Thailand
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