Have you ever seen a tiger this close?

[Giselle]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4066.jpg
I did :)

I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the tiger night house at our zoo this morning.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4070.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4072.jpg

We made enrichment and hid them in the tigers' enclosure (there are two tigers). Walking into the enclosure...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4073.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4074.jpg

Hiding my enrichment box...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4076.jpg

Playing with tiger toys
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4080.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4081.jpg

A tiger's view of the viewing deck:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4082.jpg

[ramanth]

What an awesome experience!! :D

[Giselle]

A human's view FROM the viewing deck (male tiger found our enrichment!):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4083.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4086.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4088.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4089.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/LSophie/IMG_4090.jpg

It was an *amazing* experience!

[cyber-sibes]

Cool!

[Karen]

Wow, that's amazing! The closest we ever got to tigers was probably at the first-ever Pet Talk gathering, we went to the International Exotic Feline Sanctuary in Texas.

[RockyRoad]

Wow, what an experience! You are so lucky to have been able to do that. Tigers are so beautiful.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Wow! you are so lucky!! would love to get that close to such a beautiful animal

[pitc9]

OMG how FUN!!
You're so lucky!
I loved the pics of the male with the box!

[Taz_Zoee]

That is awesome!! What was in the enrichment box??

I pet a Tiger at Marine World years ago. They probably don't let them wander (on leash, of course) around like that anymore though.

[Kirsten]

It's awesome and really special!! Wow! :eek::) How lucky you were!

And it's so cute how the tiger tries to open the package! :love:

Kirsten

[Ginger's Mom]

What was in the enrichment box??

Exactly what I was going to ask. :) I am extremely jealous. Tigers are, without a doubt, my favorite wild animal. I am one of those people who will go to the zoo and then spend the entire day sitting in front of the tiger enclosure watching them play, swim, walk around, or just lounge. What a great experience for you! Was this part of a class?

[boomersooner]

I got to do that as part of an school inservice at the Dallas Zoo a few years ago, but they didn't let us near the tigers..In fact, we went all around their compound but I don't know where they were.....it was fun, and you were very lucky to get to be so near the tigers....beautiful animals!!!

[cassiesmom]

I loved the pics of the male with the box!
Me, too! Wow, what a neat experience! Thank you for sharing with us! I think tigers are beautiful.

[Casper]

Wow, how lucky! It certainly looks like an experience you will never forget.
Tigers are marvelous creatures, aren't they? :)

Years ago, at TCWR (http://www.turpentinecreek.org/index.html) I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with a tiger. Actually being able to touch one and see just how powerful they are is amazing.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

That looks so amazing! Thanks for sharing the pictures. Tigers are such beautiful animals, I bet it was a great experience for you.

I'm also curious about what was in the box! :)

[Giselle]

There was just a piece or two of raw meat/bone in the box. There was some scrap paper, too. To make it more enticing, the keeper sprayed some cheap cologne on the box. It was very cool! The tiger would follow our *scent* tracks, so even if the box was right in front of the tiger, s/he would still follow the scent track and not go for the box itself. Amazing creatures!

As much as I would have liked to touch the tiger, we have very strong feelings regarding animal interaction at our zoo. We rarely do free contact, so that means there is almost always a barrier between the wild animal and the human. It's less entertaining for the human, but it's best for our animals. I think the keepers only touch the tiger with a plastic back-scratcher :p

Ginger's Mom, no, I'm an intern at the zoo, so they give us "enrichment" á la behind-the-scenes tours LOL

[Suki Wingy]

lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky lucky

[anna_66]

OH WOW! That is so amazingly cool that you were able to do that!!!