The Eye of the Tiger

Well, I can now say that I've looked a tiger in the eye. Not something I ever imagined doing, but the opportunity was there.... What surprised me the most was that (1) their heads aren't nearly as big as I'd imagined, despite their huge size, and (2) that their paws were about the size of my head!

So how did all this come about? I'm currently in SE Asia at a conference, and today we had the afternoon free to go on an excursion. There were lots of tempting activities to choose from - ATVs, zip lines, white water rafting, etc - but since Chloe is "my little tiger", I was instructed to come home with a photo of a big tiger standing on its hind legs. Seemed a bit far-fetched, but I almost got that shot! These photos are from a place called Tiger Kingdom, which breeds tigers for zoos. Since they are reared around humans, they are fairly safe until just after they turn 1 year old (at which point they start getting aggressive & unpredictable), when the get turned over to zoos. I'd heard of other places where you could go see tigers, but had heard that they are sedated. Not here. While the guy I was laying on seemed to be sleeping, moments later he is up trotting around and soon decided it was play time! They truly are beautiful and amazing creatures, and I'm thankful that I took advantage of this rare opportunity to get "up close & personal" with them. I hope you enjoy the photos.