Cuddle a tiger cub in Chiang Mai

Posted by Northerner on November 25th, 2011 filed in Adventure, Attractions

Tiger Kingdom is one of Chiang Mai’s quirkier tourist attractions. It allows visitors to pet young tiger cubs that are just a few months old and to step into the lion’s den, so to speak, of larger tigers. The bigger felines are no more than two years old, as after that they are too big to handle and are sold off to zoos.

The price for admittance to the tiger pens varies with the age of the animal, but is between 420 and 520 Baht. The higher fee gives the opportunity of playing with a cub. This might seem a little steep, but a thought that consoled me was the fact that it was an experience that would be difficult to replicate in any other part of the world. As I had forgotten my camera, I also had to pay an extra fee for the onsite photographer to take a souvenir snapshot.

I was not brave enough to enter the cages of the big cats, yet they did seem docile enough. One of them allowed a visitor to lie down beside him and did not bat an eyelid. Tiger Kingdom’s proprietors say the big cats are not drugged to keep them under control and are in a natural environment.

Tiger Kingdom is open from 10:00 to 18:00 daily. It is north of Chiang Mai on the road to Fang. Signposts indicate the route just beyond Mae Rim.