Tiger kingdom: drugged or not drugged?

As the tiger lowered his neck, his eyes stalked our kids running back and forth outside the cage. I'm sure, given the chance, the tiger would follow it's natural instincts and eat our kids. Of course, this was happening while my husband was petting the back of the tiger.

The kids and I were lucky enough to spend time with the baby tigers.  Could they possibly be any cuter?  We had a great time cuddling and petting the babies.  We even got a picture of Cam petting the tigers.  Although, him being so small had the handlers a bit worried.  Every time the baby tigers made a beeline for Cam they moved the tigers away. I guess he was perfect prey size.

Once you are done petting the tigers you are free to walk the grounds and view all the tigers. The tigers we saw were full of life and playful.  Some were even aggressively marking their territory on other tigers.

We are no experts on tigers (or drugs), but in no way did we think the tigers were drugged. Watching that tiger instinctively watch our kids as they ran outside the cage sent chills down my spine!

Keeping a close eye on our kids...

Cats are cats and they sleep 18 hours a day, just like kitty at home, lazy cat!  These tigers seem well feed and well taken care of.  There are around 50 tigers at Tiger Kingdom and they are rotated so no tiger gets too many hours with an over abundance of people.

Tiger Kingdom is one of the most popular destinations in Chiang Mai.  We rented a songthaew for 200 Baht for the 20 minute  drive there, the wait and then bring us back.  There is an english speaking host out front that will help you figure out your tiger package.  You only get 15 minutes with the tigers so enjoy the moment!

All tigers there are under 2, after 2 people cannot be with the tigers and the tigers are sold to zoos.  So tiger kingdom is a tiger farm.

Tip:  Go early to avoid the crazy long lines.  Eat elsewhere, food is over priced here!  Stop on the way back and get some yummy strawberries but remember to negotiate the price of the strawberries!

Have you been to tiger kingdom?  What did you think?

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The Chiang Mai Zoo is AWESOME!!!

The Chiang Mai Zoo is, AWESOME!!  One of the best zoos I've ever been too.  This is including zoos in just about every country we've been. Right up there with the San Diego Zoo.  What makes this zoo so incredible is the up close and personal experience you get with all the animals.  Of course, you are not cuddling with bears or kissing lions, but you get to feed and sometimes touch a lot of the animals.

There is very little separation between you and the animals.  Being from the US I'm used to 10 layers of separation.  Safety fence, plus safety glass, plus safety moat, plus safety whatever.  At the Chiang Mai zoo you are so close to the animals you get to hand feed them.
























Giraffes would eat long grass and bananas out of your hand while the ostrich tried getting in on the action.  Our kids got into the penguin enclosure and hand feed them fish.  We got to feed the flamingos, deer, elephants and a bunch of other animals.  We even feed the hippos and rhinos although there was a bit of separation and no hand feeding just throwing in their mouths.  And we used a long pole to feed the leopards steak.

Of course, to feeding the animals costs about 20 baht which can really add up, but it's worth every penny!  The kids got a once in a lifetime experience feeding all the animals and had an amazing time.  Entrance fee is 100 baht for adults and 50 baht for kids, can you say bargain?

Meat on a stick

Not a real shark

The cost of feeding animals at the zoo get expensive.  Allowing the public to pay for food and feed the animals helps to subsidize the cost.  Or at least that is what I'm guessing. Pretty smart!

We wish we were in Chiang Mai longer so we could go again.  We did miss the koala cuddle time and panda keeper for a day.  Maybe next time ...

What is your best zoo experience?

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Seeing Orang Utans In The Wild Then At The Zoo

I'm not sure what our kids loved more.  The boat ride, being able to run wild through a long cage tunnel or making out with baby orang utans.  I know for me it was the making out with baby orang utans.  Even Cam got in on the action.

Apparently there are only three places in the entire world where you can see orangutans in their natural habitat, one of which is on Orang Utan Island in Bukit Merah, Malaysia.  Since we rented a car for our last week in Penang, we decided to check out the orang utans then head to the zoo.

About an hour from Penang is a 5 acre island in the middle of a lake.  It's billed as the world's first and only rehabilitation and conservation facility where orang utans roam free.  The island serves as a breeding sanctuary as well as a conservation, research and education center to better understand this endangered species.



We took the 5 minute boat ride across and entered the long cage (think reverse zoo) where the kids proceeded to run wild while we searched for orang utans.  There were several hanging around.  Even some mommies with their cute babies.  The guide threw fruit out for them so they would come closer.  It felt wild but not so much.




As we headed back we passed the kindergarten area where the babies sometimes hang out. This seems more for show and not the wild experience at all but it was super fun to watch all the kids kissing the glass and trying to hug the Orang Utans.  Our kids did not want to leave but eventually we made it back to a boat after missing ours and away we went for the 5 minute ride back.  Very glad we were able to see the orang utans in the wild before we went to the zoo.

Seeing orang utans at the zoo was really depressing. They seemed so overweight and exposed. See if you can pick out which picture below is the orang utan from the zoo

Orang utans are amazing creatures.  Here's some fun facts about orang utans:

• The females have a period
• They are the largest tree dwelling animal in the world
• Orang utan comes from two Malay words that literally translated means “forest people”
• They are an endangered species, with only 20- 27,000 left in the wild
• They can live a long time, some even over 50 years
• Orang utans’ arms are stronger and longer than their legs (1½ times longer)
• They are the largest primates, and can be up to five feet tall with an arm span of 8 feet
• Females only give birth every 7 to 9 years, and their gestation period is about nine months 
• Orang utans eat primarily fruit and range over a large territory to find enough each day
• Adult males lead mostly solitary lives except when mating with females
• They rarely descend from treetops to ground, when they do, they usually walk on all fours
• They live only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra (in Malaysia and Indonesia)

The island is about an hour drive from Penang and getting there will cost you around 6.90RM in tolls.  Adult 35RM Kid 18RM (over 90cm)

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