The Tiger Temple or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua is a Theravada Buddhist temple in Thailand and has been a sanctuary for many endangered animals including several tigers that walk around freely once a day and can be petted by tourists.
The temple received several tiger cubs where the mothers had been killed by poachers. As of 2007, over 21 cubs have been born at the temple and the total number of tigers is about 12 adult tigers and 4 cubs.
The tigers are tamed by being fed with cooked meat to avoid giving them a taste for blood. The staff keep the tigers under control and the abbot will intervene if the tiger gets agitated. They are treated as family members in the temple and visitors are asked to give a donation if they want to take photos with the tigers.
I find it very comforting to know that this place has an intervening abbot who will protect visitors when the tigers get agitated. Like that’s a help!
That seems a little… unnatural!
Wow, I love those kind of pictures.
It’s not such a nice place! Recent reports have unearthed gross abuse of tigers and the trust people placed in their curators. You can learn more here:
http://www.careforthewild.com/news.asp?detail=true&I_ID=578§ion=Latest+News
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/7/15/lifefocus/1535960&sec=lifefocus
I find this fascinating but irresponsible and dangerous, for the animals and for visitors. Tigers are wild, undomesticated creatures, regardless of how they are raised. Humans and animals have the potential to unintentionally harm each other in situations like this, regardless of who is in attendance to try to ensure safety. The animals are being put at high risk for abuse. Why should they be raised on and fed cooked meat when their physiology is designed for raw? Why deny them a proper and natural diet, as well as an environment where they can indulge in natural hunting/playing behaviors without concern for possible (even if inadvertant) harm to tourists? So we can have an exotic petting zoo? The tigers cannot possibly have the appropriate care and at the same time be subjected to daily direct interaction with untrained people for however little time. This is not showing these beautiful, powerful and dangerous creatures the respect to which they are entitled. A dozen trained men could not stop a tiger, during attack or overexuberant play, without causing the animal harm. I recommend these pictures be removed. I think most big cat experts and guardians would agree that this is inappropriate and that popularizing the idea that it is ok and safe (for the humans AND the animals) to interact in such a fashion is a bad one.
Those are some crazy bipeds right there.
With regards to the tiger temple in the kanchanaburi province in thailand the CWI (care for the wild international) undertook and intensive 2 year investigation into the tiger temple in thailand and findings where both horrific and shocking cases included animal cruelty, illegal trade and trafficking, visitor safety risk, malnourishment of the tigers and there are so many other cases. The tigers at the temple are also subjected to beatings by the staff and monks with wooden sticks sometimes metal poles. The tigers at the temple are going through pain and suffering each day and its not right at all. You can read the full CWI report here at http://www.careforthewild.com
I had wondered if maybe they were drugged in order to let people get so close & personal.
If they are mistreating those babies they ought to be taken away & put in the care of someone who knows how to handle Tigers.
Though mom admits she’d love to give a Tiger a belly rub like the lady in the last picture was doing. mol
So sad that people are taken in by this awful place…even the story of how it started is not true.
as for not feeding them raw meat…how ridiculous - behavioural changes??? rubbish! - All it achieves is an incomplete diet for the Tigers…without fresh meat they do not receive the correct nutrition.
Please read the CWI report!!
this is the final report…
http://www.careforthewild.com/files/TigerTemplereport08_final_v11.pdf