Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi
One of the Tiger Temple's residents. Photo by Roel Meurders.
A tiger enjoys the attention of a visitor, under monastic supervision.
Photo by S. Baker.
Young monk with young cub. Photo by Yodels.
Petting a tiger. Photo by macrider.
Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua, or the Tiger Temple, is a Theravada Buddhist forest temple in western Thailand. It is a sanctuary for numerous animals, including several tame tigers. The tigers walk around freely once a day and can be petted by visitors.
The Tiger Temple is located in the Saiyok district of the Kanchanaburi province, not far from the border with Myanmar, along the 323 highway.
History
The Tiger Temple was founded in 1994 as a forest monastery and sanctuary for numerous wild animals. In 1995, the temple received the Golden Jubilee Buddha Image, made of 80kg in gold.
In 1999 the temple received the first tiger cub; it had been found by villagers and died soon after. Several tiger cubs were later given to the temple, typically when the mothers had been killed by poachers.
As of 2004, three cubs had been born at the temple and the total number of tigers was ten.
What to See
The tigers spend most of the time in cages, being fed with dog food and washed and handled by monks. Once a day, they are led on leashes to a nearby quarry, where they can roam around freely.
Tourists may observe this from some 10m away, and may even pet one of the tigers. So far, there has been one serious attack on a tourist.
The temple collects donations in order to build a larger tiger sanctuary which would allow the animals to live in an almost natural environment all day long, with plans to release some of the animals back into the wild.
- "Tiger Temple." Wikipedia (as of February 2006).
More Information
- Official Website of Tiger Temple (Thai and English) - includes a map to the temple
- Tiger Temple Thailand - Travelhappy (includes photos)
- Temple of the Tigers - Untamed Travel
