- Photographer and filmmaker Peter Adams captured tigers frolicking at the controversial Tiger Temple
- The wildlife park is linked to the Theravada Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi in western Thailand
- While there are animal welfare concerns associated with the park, Adams was impressed with it
Endangered
Indochinese tigers fight and frolic in the water and between rocks,
doing what comes naturally, in these impressive images from photographer
and filmmaker Peter Adams taken at Thailand's controversial Tiger
Temple.
The
attraction has come under fire from animal welfare groups for the way
their star attractions are treated, but Adams was nothing but impressed
when he visited the park linked to the Theravada Buddhist temple in
Kanchanaburi in western Thailand.
And
while tiger selfies are usually the order of the day, the 55-year-old
from Gloucestershire wanted to capture the young tigers up to mischief
rather than laying about for tourists.
Endangered Indochinese tigers show their power and grace in the water at Thailand's Tiger Temple
Peter Adams
took this series of action images while at Tiger Temple as a tourist
Tigers play - or fight - in the water at the sanctuary
The park is linked to the Theravada Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi in western Thailand.
Adams, 55, of Gloucestershire, wanted to capture the young tigers up to mischief rather than laying about for tourists
'I
spent a day visiting the temple as a normal tourist but was able to get
incredibly close to the tigers,' Adams says. 'They were young and
extremely playful, instigating some of the games with some of the monks
who have brought them up, so they're used to human contact.'
Adams
says he was able to get within touching distance of the tigers while
they played together in their enclosures and watched them get showered
and fed.
'It
seemed incredible to me to get so close to these magnificent creatures,
even to stroke them,' he says. 'It did feel slightly surreal taking
these pictures being so close to something essentially wild and
dangerous and to see their tremendous power as they run towards you.
'My instinct told me to back away, but my urge to get strong photographs was telling me to get closer.'
'There
has been some controversy over the temple as there is with a lot of
wildlife centres, however during my visit the tigers seemed very well
treated and looked after.
'It was a magical experience.'
One tiger surveys the area from the height of a rock, and prepares to pounce on its pals
A tiger
shows how tall it can be on two legs while two others clash with their
huge paws simultaneously catching each other on the face
Nowhere to
go! This clash isn't going to end well for one tiger as the big cat with
the higher ground strikes the other with its paw
Tiger Temple, which was founded in 1994, houses more than 100 tigers and visitors can bottle feed the cubs.
In
a review by Wild International based on a combination of animal welfare
measures along with media coverage and compiled reviews, Tiger Temple
received an 'unacceptable' rating of six out of a possible 50.
They
cite a Care for the Wild investigation in 2008 which 'exposed cruelty
and other serious issues' but they say in recent years opinions on the
attraction are divided.
The Zoo Review score was boosted by positive appraisals from TripAdvisor and Google.
'It
is obvious that many people love the Tiger Temple as it gives them the
chance to get close to the tigers. Many claim not to see evidence of
mistreatment or cruelty,' says the review. 'However, focussing purely on
animal welfare criteria, the Tiger Temple seems to deserve an
Unacceptable rating, as the conditions of the tigers is of extreme
concern.'
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