#139 Pet a Lion or Tiger and Not Get Mauled

Sylvie the tiger whisperer

Don't even ask me why this is on my bucket list because it's ridiculous and frightening as hell. If I had to self diagnose I'd say it's on here because it could kill me therefore making it fun??  I don't know for sure but it's adventurous and hard to do so it finds itself appropriately at slot #139.

I'm not really sure you could ever snuggle an adult tiger in the United States. There are entirely too many rules and regulations here. So while on my trip to Thailand my buddy Sylvie took me to a place in Chiang Mai called Tiger Kingdom where the practice of petting and snuggling up on adult Bengal tigers is totally acceptable. When Sylvie told me the name of the place we would be going I did some quick research and discovered they had 3 serious maulings on tourists in the past 18 months. You would think this would deter me....yea...no not at all. It however did put the fear of god into me about my visit.

When we arrived at the facility they offered packages of visiting various sized tigers. They had little cubs, small tigers, medium sized teenager tigers and then full fledged adults. The most expensive being the cubs and the cheapest being the adults. It totally freaked me out that the ones that can actually maul you or rip half your face off with one clean swipe are the cheapest and most financially accessible to visit. WTH? We choose to visit the adults, teenagers and cubs.

I'll rub your butt....please don't eat my face. 

Being locked in a cage with 3 or more Bengal Tigers is pretty crazy and exhilarating. But you have to keep calm because they will absolutely pick up on how you feel. Sylvie knew I was a bit nervous and quickly reminded me not to blow into the tigers face like I had the elephants trunk on an earlier excursion. Hilarious, Sylvie. Laugh it up.

This was the scariest moment of my life. Sylvie basically rode the thing around the yard making her that much more scary. 

The tigers are huge and they feel like....well....rugs. But when you are with them its awe-inspiring. When you touch them you can feel their energy and life force. It's powerful. It's also scary to know the only thing protecting you if it decides to use it's energy to eat you is a Thai guy with an 8 inch bamboo stick.

Belly rubs

Visiting the teenagers was less scary then the adults and visiting the cubs was entertaining as hell. One cub was clearly the most ill behaved and would not stop attacking the other cubs therefore sealing him in as our favorite. His antics were rather amusing but I noted I was especially happy to have met this tiger while he was a baby rather than when he was full grown.

Also, while there we visited the sole Lion on the premises. You are not allowed to pet this Lion and he is kept just out of reach. He was breathtakingly handsome and his contrast to the tigers was intoxicating. He had such a sense of power I don't think I would have wanted to pet him even if I could have. But lucky for me snuggling with the tigers was enough to get #139 Pet a Lion or Tiger and Not Get Mauled into the books and officially checked off the list.

Read about my other excursions and bucket list items completed in Thailand:

#111 Blow into the Trunk of an Elephant
#67 Travel to Thailand
#114 Fight in Another Country