Riding The Tiger

I'd say it's real. It seems right up Sriraka's alley. They're becoming rather infamous for their tiger antics. I don't know that the image is from their zoo, but it doesn't seem unreasonable that they or somebody else would try this to entice visitors, especially some small-time zoo or circus.

Or maybe you pay a buck and have your picture taken with a *stuffed* tiger.

There once was a lady from Niger
who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
When they finished the ride,
the lady was inside,
and the smile on the face of the tiger.

--Anonymous (not really, but I don't remember who was the author)

Yah, i'm with big gary on this one.

Hmm, this comes right one day after a very sad event in a Belgian Zoo. A lady there walked into the cheetah cage (she had adopted one of the cheetah's as a pup). And didn't survive that. And what's a cheetah compared to a tiger?

The tiger looks very relaxed. Maybe it's been dosed with something beforehand.

Heh, is it a bit of a worry that when I saw the title of this post I immediately thought of tai chi?

There're a few moves in our tai chi form which involve taming and riding tigers...the venerable old sages who named the moves had to have gotten their inspiration from somewhere, right?

Yeah, I'm sure it could be publicity thing at a zoo...w/ a doped or well trained tiger.

It could be a stuffed tiger, but the fencing makes me think it's alive. Otherwise, wouldn't you display it in a more 'natural' environment?

My friend's wife took a picture with a really tame tiger (I think it was actually declawed) during their honeymoon in the Caribbean.

"My friend's wife took a picture with a really tame tiger (I think it was actually declawed) during their honeymoon in the Caribbean."

Declawed? Yeah, that would make me feel _real_ safe... 😕

Uhhh...That tiger may be doped but not stuffed.

Most taxidermists would never stuff an animal that has that look on his face.

The tiger is clearly getting pissed off. Thinking: "bitch you'd better get off my back!"

Actually that tiger is not upset at all. He looks rather calm and contented to me (and while I'm not tiger expert, I do know cats, and the expression is the same as that on any resting housecat)

Anyways, I actually know some folks in Tennessee who used to keep a pet lion many, many years ago. It was quite safe to be around and behaved like a giant house cat, from what I've heard. Other folks also sometimes keep pet lions or tigers and they never have anything to worry about. I've even heard about one rich eccentric guy who goes swimming with his tigers.

The ones you see in circuses are deliberately NOT correctly tamed, because, let's face it, it's not as interesting to see a lazy, perfectly happy giant housecat purring his face off at the trainer.

yah, but did they sit on their pet tigers?

>>>Other folks also sometimes keep pet lions or tigers and they never have anything to worry about.<<<

I take it, for the sake of supporting your point, that you're deliberately ignoring the fact that several people every year are injured or killed by their pet big cats?

"never have anything to worry about" is a gross misstatement. Tigers, lions, and cheetahs are always wild animals, no matter how tame they may have become, and are always capable of hurting people who don't respect that. Keep thinking of lions as 'big housecats' and you're a good candidate for finding that out the hard way.

Yes; even playing with just a six-pound domesticated cat, I've ended up with the occasional scratch or bite when she got carried away. Plus there's all the times she's playfully pounced on me or swatted at me. If a tiger gets over-excited while playing. . .that would be unpleasant. Big cats can be dangerous even when they don't intend to be.

Yes, it's real. My brother and sister in law did this a couple of months ago in China. I have seen the photos. The tiger is very well fed and does get a bit angry at times, then the handler shoos the tourists out of the pen. I'll ask him exactly (my brother-in-law, not the tiger!) where the tiger is, or direct him to this site, perhaps he can share a pic or two 😊

It's invasive, and not dignified for one of the world's most maginificent creatures, but perhaps better than being eaten, and this time I am talking about the tiger.

I think it's sad to degrade a tiger this much :(

When I was in first grade (Late Cretaceous Period) I went on a class field trip to The Bronx Zoo, and gang-rode a giant tortise with at least half-a-dozen other small humans... I felt bad about it later, not because I thought the stupid mutiple-kid saddle strapped to the big lug hurt him in any way physically, but he did look kinda aware that he was being treated as a beast of baby burden, and the inherant loss of dignity foisted upon him along with our Bosco-stained butts... and he looked at me with that 120-year-old Turtle Eye, y'know? Like: "I'm gonna remember this, you punk... I got a good sense of smell, and I'm gonna slowly follow your ass upstate and kill you in your sleep"... brrr... turtle eyes...

Big GAry, I remember reading that poem many years ago, back in high school I think. I can't remember the author either. And that tiget has that look of "any second now I'll get pissed" on his/her face. Tigers are beautiful, but among cats I prefer the catamount, or puma, or mountain lion, or whatever your local designation is. I wonder, does the park or zoo ro whatever sell insurance before alowing someone to sit on the beast?

Tigers can SEEM tame when raised in captivity, but they always have the instinct of a predator and that instinct can kick in without warning. Working with them is very rewarding, but you are always on your toes! I know when to back away...they let me know if I'm getting too close or if they feel threatened, but I would NEVER try anything as stupid as this. Sitting on their back can make them feel cornered or under attack. It is not a good idea to sit on a tiger's back, even if you're a "trusted" handler. Sooner or later, their instinct will kick in and a human will get mauled or killed because of this ignorance and stupidity.
I really wish I could kick people that think they are house cats. Big cats deserve respect and people should never feel they should be domesticated.


On another note.....why is MOH not being updated as often anymore?????

Craig, you are completely right. Just ask Roy whathisname. Can he even walk yet? Tigers look beautiful but who wants to end up as kitty litter?

Craig, you must've missed the posts where Alex has said that he's busy writing a new book. Meanwhile, Boo (AKA Flora) is helping him keep the main page updated. And if you see any articles which may be MoH-worthy, please forward them on through the <a >contact</a> page.

CC, I saw it coming with S&W. They are idiots. Shows and circuses like that should be banned. I've seen way too many animals come from them abused, mistreated and stressed/depressed...yeah, they get depressed just like us.

Thanks Smerk, I didn't catch it. I did send in something about a month ago but never heard anything or saw anything about it here....

S&R....not W....although he is dumb enough to do that.

I cuddled a tiger.
There is a Buddhist monk run monastery in western Thailand called Tiger Temple. The monks are taming the tigers and tourists can go there to pet, hug and cuddle the tigers and to make some pictures

Christopher sez:
"I wonder, does the park or zoo ro whatever sell insurance before alowing someone to sit on the beast?"

Remind me not to buy stock in any insurance company that sells policies for sitting on the backs of live tigers.
There's a saying in the insurance business, "Never insure a house that's on fire."

Lizzy adds:
"... There have been already some deadly incidents but in general it

Hey BigGary: if you think that hugging a tiger is dangerous, than try flying with an Cambodian air plane!

I did it once - and believe me, it was my last time as well. I could feel a heavy, cold airstream comming from the window, I was afraid the window would break any time; the seat next to me was lose, I could have taken it and put it in the aisle; I coudn't complain to the stewardess as there simply was no staff on the plane. (but I do hope it had at least a pilot!)

Honestly speaking: I would love to go back to the tigers compared to flying a plane in Cambodia.

Big Gary, Lizzie, it's called Death Railway not because of the tigers but because it was built by POW slave labor during WW II and thousands died. The formerly famous movie "The Bridge over the River Kwai" showed part of it, albeit cleaned up Hollywood style.

There are plenty of big cat owners even in the USA that have footage of them riding lions and tigers (seen photos on the web of a USAnian woman riding her pet lion on her ranch). Reputable zoos won't do this sort of thing, lots of Asian animal shows will. Most aren't zoos but breed in bulk, the younger animals are used in shows and photos and the old ones sold for Chinese medicine. There was a really big tiger farm in Thailand doing this. However tame they seem, big cats are never really domestic. Even when they're just playing with you, they can kill you.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_sc/china_tiger_attack_1

Any chance this is the same place. Poor little girl has her parents stick her in with a tiger and she gets eaten.

People are dumb and little girls look like PREY.

Take a look at this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/asia-pacific/6390005.stm
It seems the photo is only too real.

Strange how this just happened, wonder if it was the same tiger

I'm with Big Gary on this one too. There have been stuffed tigers on sale here that's in the size and likeness of the real thing. I guess someone must've plonked a few hundred on one in the name of a practical joke.

I am european but i live in China and i have seen people take pictures with the tigers in the zoo's it is very sad because the tigers are old and they have taken out all their teeth! i am afraid that that picture is real and there is alot of animal crulity involved

Na, just take Sigfried & Roy. It worked... at least until the tiger just couldn't take it anymore and the haldol wore off.

I can believe it. I went to the Panda Refuge Center in Cheng-du a couple years ago and for $100 you could feed a baby Panda. I was pretty sure it was something organized by the staff for their own profit, not by the zoo.

Shadows under the woman's chin, hair, and elbow suggest stronger light from a different direction than shadows under the tigers arms and chin. Notice even the woman's brow casts a shadow on her eye, while the shadows on the tiger suggest a more diffuse light source.

This photo has been used for photomanipulations on Fark.com, Something Awful, and YTMND.com for ages, perhaps for years.

This one is definitely real. I've had my photo taken with my arm around a real tiger's neck - it was at some zoo in Asia around 30 years ago, and yes it was a real tiger, and yes, it cost around a dollar at the time. The tiger was very calm but I noticed the tiger-keeper was watching it very very closely. Now I'm not 20 any more I'd never do it again!

The picture is most likely real. I've had my pictures taken next to a real tiger in Thailand in the famous Sriracha zoo, and have seen a Russian woman taken her picture on another tiger's back. And at a Crodile zoo in the same area even bigger tigers are used as photo props, with handlers making them roar as an adverizement!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb5DARv3-x8

That is so cruel, Tigers backs ARE NOT Built For riding........I HATE THIS WEBSITE

Yes It is real. It is a park run by a temple and the monks take donations for Tiger "experiences". The Tigers a very well fed before anyone is allowed into the temple and their food is laced with something to keep them "Happy". That doesn't mean that its not dangerous, just controlled.