Going to both Chiang Mai and Bankgok. Anyone been to both and have an opinion of which one is better? Also is a tour better or going on our own is fine? Thank you.
Tiger Kingdom or Tiger Temple
We have been to both in June this year.
The Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi is an open-range style establishment and once you have paid to get in, you are standing in and amongst the tigers which to begin with are chained to trees etc. You can then have your photos taken with them at this stage.
You then get to walk a tiger down into the canyon. After this you get more photo opportunities, andf some of the tigers are taken off their chains.
If you hang around even longer, they do more demonstrations etc.
The Tiger Kingdom is more like a zoo, with caged enclosures etc. You pay each time you want to be in with the tigers, and you can choose to have photos with the cubs and/or the larger ones, all for a cost. This place is very nicely done, and has a restaurant etc which is reasonably priced.
Some people say that the tigers ay the Tiger Temple are drugged and mistreated. Similar accusations have been leveled at the Tiger Kingdom. From our own personal experience we felt the tigers were far more active at the Tiger Kingdom.
There are heaps of other threads that discuss the ethical treatment of the animals at both establishments.
From personal experience, the overall ';experience'; was better at the Tiger Temple, but it was damn hot and in the canyon you are out in the open in direct sunlight the entire time. You can get in and out of the tiger Kingdom in 1-hour compared to 2-3 for the Tiger Temple.
Do your research, read the other threads and make up your own midns like we did.
Tiger Kingdom or Tiger Temple
Redback, thank you for your input. :)
Please read up before you go to these places!!!
The Tiger Temple is a scam, a con a travesty and even the local govt has tried to shut it down.
Gullible tourist are taken for a ride by this place which fallaciously claims to be helping with wildlife conservation when in actual fact it is likely to HINDER efforts, it also may be linked to the illegal trad in Tigers - e.g. to be used as body parts in Chines medicine.
Yikes! I will do more reserach. I wouldn%26#39;t want to support a place that is not looking out for the well being of these animals.
http://www.careforthewild.com/default.asp
check this site out - it has a DETAILED report on the place
Even the province of Kacnchanburi itself encourages tourists to boycott Tiger Temple.
kanchanaburi-info.com/en/saiyok.html#tiger
Hi Hawaii!
We visited Tiger Kingdom, about 20 minutes drive north of Chiang Mai. I%26#39;m afraid I can%26#39;t say we were all that impressed. I%26#39;ve not seen Tiger Temple, the one in Kanchanaburi.
Guests are invited to pay a stiff price, about US$15, to spend a few minutes with tiger cubs. Every single one of the cubs appeared listless with us. They exhibited no signs of any kind of energy, the way a kitten or a puppy might. All they wanted to do was curl up and sleep.
I note that the website for Tiger Kingdom insists that its tigers are not drugged, although it implies that everyone else%26#39;s are drugged. After paying to be with the cubs, I%26#39;m dubious of their claim that they%26#39;re drug-free. If I saw on a competing website the allegation that Tiger Kingdom injects its cubs with drugs before allowing guests to enter, I think I%26#39;d believe that the competition is right.
All this is not necessarily unreasonable. Some guests tend to forget that tigers are dangerous predators that can seriously hurt a human without meaning to. And I saw no evidence that the animals had been ill-treated.
Still, I%26#39;m not convinced of claims that the tigers are drug-free. The ones we saw did not seem to be.
Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further!
David
capetien10@gmail.com
We visited the Tiger Kingdom last December. We paid to spend time ( it was 15 minutes) with the 8month old tigers.
All i will say is that i%26#39;m glad we didn%26#39;t spend time with the baby cubs as they were too playful (all 3). I wouldn%26#39;t say they looked drugged the day we visited.
Decide what you want to do.. CJ
Although allegations of drugging are serious (how would a layman tell anyhow?) - I think that they detract from the real issues which ask why are these institutions here in the first place?
are they serious efforts to conserve Tigers?
are they valid in a conservational sense?
Are they looking after the animals in their care in a responsible way?
Are they achieving anything beyond lining their pockets of the proprietors?
or
Worse still are they actually detrimental to conservation efforts?
I think on each question these places fail to provide the right answer.
I agree 100% with Khunwilko- wild animals should never, EVER be kept in those conditions. the animals are abused, and people are making a hefty sum off selfish tourists wanting a ';Kodak moment';. PLEASE think twice before you visit a place like that.
Maybe a place like the following would make you feel better, knowing that you can help support and care for an animal, not contribute to its abuse
http://www.elephantnaturefoundation.org/
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