As we waited for our turn with the tigers, we wandered around to see all the animals.
I was actually surprised by how big it was. Each session includes time with several different tigers and there are lots of different packages to choose from.
If you enjoy people watching, it's a fun place to do it. Some people get pretty nervous when they are in with the tigers. For most, though, it is a fun excursion and the tigers seem deceptively tame.
They had Siberian and White tigers as well as several other species. There were giant ones, big ones, small ones, and babies.
We opted to get tickets for time with the smallest tigers (4 months and 2 months old! They were so cute!), since that is the only size available to kids (under ages 15) and we wanted to go all together. We got a million cute pictures but here are some of our favorites:
We petted them, snuggled with them, and even held them!
They were a bit sleepy (they don't drug them but they are fed right before visits start and since they are nocturnal, they are a bit more sluggish than they would normally be), but a few of them were awake the whole time.
The youngest two were especially frisky, not very interested in sitting for pictures. Funny Guy sat down quietly and one of the tigers came right over and climbed up in his lap!
He thought that was great and cuddled and held him for a few minutes.
The day happened to also be My Man and my 14th wedding anniversary! It was a fun way to spend it (although we are planning a trip to the beach next month to really celebrate, yahoo!).
My Man also opted for some time with the largest tigers. Before he went in, the kids all gave him a big good-bye hug, just in case.
The large tigers were really huge! When we were buying tickets, My Man asked how many tiger attacks they had ever had.
The clerk was quick to say, "Oh no, None!" "Really?" we asked, a little surprised. "If you follow the rules, no problems," she assured us. "Only problems when you no follow the rules."
Hmmm, that made her first answer seem a little less comforting. I wonder how many people haven't followed the rules . . .
We made sure to follow the rules carefully ourselves and are happy to say My Man came back to us all in one piece, even though at one point the tiger he was petting rolled over and pinned My Man to the fence with his (the tiger's) huge back legs.
We enjoyed lunch at the restaurant overlooking the large tiger cages and it was delicious (I had pineapple fried rice with chicken and it came in a grilled pineapple, yum!).
We had invited friends to join us so we ate with them, kids at one table, adults at another. It was great.
When we were all done, we headed home where we watched Harry Potter during the heat of the day, then enjoyed a Thai rice noodles dinner and swimming before saying goodbye to everyone and calling it a night.
A huge thank you to My Man for planning a spectacular day and for keeping things fun for more than 14 years now! And now for a few more pics:
Very cool! They are so cute!
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