A visit to the tiger kingdom is a must if you are in Chiang Mai, are they on drugs? The answer is no, this is a strange rumour that has taken hold among countless travellers, many have absconded from visiting this interesting little site because of misinformation. They are very docile and seem to be in a hazy state, but it is simply because they grow up in a small enclosure, interacting with humans from the time they are cubs.
I don’t believe they are domesticated but they are as close to a domestic tiger as you could hope for. The fox was domesticated in about 50 years by the process of selective breeding, perhaps they are trying to achieve this at the tiger kingdom. According to Nat Geo tigers cannot be domesticated but a cub can imprint on the human keepers if fed by hand. Domestication is a change in the genome of an animal, the phenotype expressed is very distinctive just compare your dog to a wolf and you will be able to spot the differences. The relative size of the paws are dramatically different between domestic and wild felines, this is the feature that stands out most in my mind.
The tigers seemed healthy and happy, shiny coats, clear eyes and a relaxed demeanour seemed to be present in the majority of the tiger population of Chiang Mai tiger kingdom. The older tigers defiantly required more room to exercise, but the juveniles were active and happy.
In a quiet corner of the Tiger Kingdom there was a lone male lion, which lead me to the curious idea that they wished to breed some ligers, the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger. Now a liger park that could take off hahahah :). Wishful thinking on my part, all in all tiger kingdom was more good than bad. I would rather there been tigers in an enclosure than no tigers at all.
LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS! http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/ratliff-text
babasimmons 