𝒩𝑜𝓌 𝐼’𝓂 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 🐯🕌

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This picture is from our trip to Thailand a few years back. Tickets were super cheap at the time, so we just decided, why not!? Never would’ve imagined we’d be this close to a tiger! And this big boy was only 2 years old!

Thankfully, this location is a sanctuary that aims to conserve and protect the tigers, both wild and captive. We did lots of research to ensure that we weren’t supporting animal cruelty, especially after reading up on the drug and physical abuse some of these places inflict upon these poor creatures.

When we were at the sanctuary, we learned that the younger the tiger is, the stronger the bond is with their caretakers, which makes sense since that’s when one is most impressionable. We saw how the caretakers would try to stimulate and play with the tigers using sticks with leaves on it (kind of like a cat toy) and the tigers seemed to love it!

We were instructed not to pet anywhere near the head, after all, these majestic animals are not domesticated in any way. However, there was one tiger that wanted belly rubs. He totally reminded us of our cat, Munchie!

We were petting his back, when he suddenly started stretching and exposing his belly, which showed that he was comfortable with us! He was in that position for some time with two of his paws placed on Long’s leg.

Do you have a fond memory that you never expected to have? We’d love to hear them! ✨🙇🏻‍♂️🙇🏻‍♀️