Premkamon Ketsara braves the big cats at Phuket's Tiger Kingdom today
Photo by phuketwan.com
Thursday, July 11, 2013
PHUKET: Tiger Kingdom opened on Phuket with a roar today, but most of
that roar actually came from the go-karting track next door.
As animal lovers can tell you, there are many kinds of cats. These include big cats, wild cats and scaredy cats.
There were 19 striped big cats and wild cats at Phuket's Tiger Kingdom today plus at least one scaredy cat.
The young generation, raised on Disney movies where the animals all talk and smile sweetly, know no fear and boldly enter the cages at Tiger Kingdom to play with the big cats.
Things were different years ago. Black and white Tarzan movies, where the animals had nothing to say and the humans mostly grunted, became this intrepid reporter's guide to life among wild cats.
As everybody at the local cinema quickly came to understand, the only way you could prevent a tiger from attacking was to wear a mask on the back of your head. That way, the tiger couldn't tell if you had your back turned.
Following this week's news item about the men kept up a tree for five days by wild tigers in the Indonesian jungle, there was no way I was prepared to enter a cage at Tiger Kingdom without a mask, a long, sharp spear, and Tarzan.
These items could not be provided so Disney generation reporter Premkamon Ketsara was sent in instead, as a kind of appetiser.
Even from the other side of the cage, there were several times when tigers fixed me with their gaze. I knew what they were thinking. They knew what they were thinking. Lunch.
There was no way I was prepared to step inside. No way.
Putting to one side all desires to avoid risks, Tiger Kingdom shapes up as a promising addition to Phuket's tourist attractions. The staff are friendly, and so are the tigers.
Those people who were bold enough to go in with the big cats all emerged unscathed. You pay your money and you take your chances.
The tigers are all young animals and the entrance fee varies depending on whether visitors want to share a cage with very large, large or medium-sized cats.
Feeding time comes early and late, and the chickens are stripped of skin to keep the tigers lean and healthy.
It's possible to organise a wedding or a banquet among the striped cats, and on today's opening the theme park looks clean and efficiently run.
Tiger Kingdom, daily 9am-6pm, uphill from the Caltex intersection, Kathu. 076 323311-2. Buffet lunch 550/300 baht. Entrance smallest tigers 1000 baht, small tigers 900 baht, medium/big tigers 800 baht.
As animal lovers can tell you, there are many kinds of cats. These include big cats, wild cats and scaredy cats.
There were 19 striped big cats and wild cats at Phuket's Tiger Kingdom today plus at least one scaredy cat.
The young generation, raised on Disney movies where the animals all talk and smile sweetly, know no fear and boldly enter the cages at Tiger Kingdom to play with the big cats.
Things were different years ago. Black and white Tarzan movies, where the animals had nothing to say and the humans mostly grunted, became this intrepid reporter's guide to life among wild cats.
As everybody at the local cinema quickly came to understand, the only way you could prevent a tiger from attacking was to wear a mask on the back of your head. That way, the tiger couldn't tell if you had your back turned.
Following this week's news item about the men kept up a tree for five days by wild tigers in the Indonesian jungle, there was no way I was prepared to enter a cage at Tiger Kingdom without a mask, a long, sharp spear, and Tarzan.
These items could not be provided so Disney generation reporter Premkamon Ketsara was sent in instead, as a kind of appetiser.
Even from the other side of the cage, there were several times when tigers fixed me with their gaze. I knew what they were thinking. They knew what they were thinking. Lunch.
There was no way I was prepared to step inside. No way.
Putting to one side all desires to avoid risks, Tiger Kingdom shapes up as a promising addition to Phuket's tourist attractions. The staff are friendly, and so are the tigers.
Those people who were bold enough to go in with the big cats all emerged unscathed. You pay your money and you take your chances.
The tigers are all young animals and the entrance fee varies depending on whether visitors want to share a cage with very large, large or medium-sized cats.
Feeding time comes early and late, and the chickens are stripped of skin to keep the tigers lean and healthy.
It's possible to organise a wedding or a banquet among the striped cats, and on today's opening the theme park looks clean and efficiently run.
Tiger Kingdom, daily 9am-6pm, uphill from the Caltex intersection, Kathu. 076 323311-2. Buffet lunch 550/300 baht. Entrance smallest tigers 1000 baht, small tigers 900 baht, medium/big tigers 800 baht.
No comments:
Post a Comment