The Theravada Buddhist temple also known as Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua is located in the Saiyok district of Thailand's Kanchanaburi province, not far from the border of Myanmar, some 38 km north west of Kanchanaburi along the 323 highway. The most convenient way to book this tour is to simply contact the team at The Best Hotels in Thailand and allow us to pre-arrange this for you very conveniently online. The Tiger Temple is but one of various hand picked Thailand Tours and Excursions we offer to enrich our Clients' experience of Thailand. The Tiger Temple was founded in 1994 as a forest temple and sanctuary for numerous wild animals. In 1995 it received the Golden Jubilee Buddha Image, made of 80 kilograms of gold. According to the abbot and others associated with the Tiger Temple in Thailand, it received the first tiger cub in 1999. It had been found by villagers and died soon after. According to popular belief, several tiger cubs were later given to the temple over time, typically when the mothers had been killed by poachers, people wanting to get rid of their tiger pets or those under pressure to do so as laws and policies became more strict. Since 2007, over 21 cubs have been born at the temple and the total number of tigers now stand at 12 adult tigers and 4 cubs. The subspecies of these tigers is unknown as none of them have been DNA tested, but it is thought that they are Indochinese Tigers, except Mek (a Bengal Tiger). The possibility exist that some of the recently discovered are Malayan Tigers and it is likely that many are cross breeds or hybrids. They spend most of the time in large cages, fed with cooked chicken, beef and dry cat food. The meat is boiled to avoid giving the tigers a taste for blood and also to kill the bird flu that may be present in raw fowl. According to the temple website, the dry cat food replaces nutrients, such as taurine, that are lost when the meat is cooked. The tigers are washed, fed and handled by Thai monks, local staff and international volunteers. Once a day they are walked on leashes to a nearby quarry where they originally roamed free. However, with the increase in visitors and the amount of tigers present, they are kept on chain. The staff closely guide visitors as they greet, sit with, and pet the cats. The staff keep the tigers under control and the abbot will intervene if the tiger gets agitated. If you are less adventurous where it comes to large carnivors, you may view the tigers from behind a fence, approximately 10 meters away. Funds raised by charging entrance fees, is used for feeding, general maintenance and to fund the building of a larger tiger sanctuary in Thailand. This will allow the animals to live in an almost natural environment most of every day. Back to Top |
