cuddling a real big tiger..

[Joalaneil]

I have a real passion for these big cats, i have them all over my house, on one thing and another and have adopted one from the WWF.

I have always dreamed of cuddling a real tame one, and would like to know if anyone can help me make my dream come true, or if you know where i can begin with this.

It will be a sad , sad day if these beautiful and magnificent creatures ever became extinct, sadly there are probably more in captivity than there are in the wild, and perhaps i should leave well alone, but i love them and would really love to cuddle and play with one, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Sammy Snake]

You want to PLAY with a tiger!!! I doubt very much that there is anywhere on earth that will let you cuddle one, never mind play with one.

The ones that seem 'tame' have usually had the same keeper for a number of years and therefore have gotten used to them. Even then they can be dangerous, these are just a few examples:

- On the same day in Las Vegas, tiger trainer Roy Horn received near fatal wounds from a �trained� tiger during a performance.
- In Texas, where half of the nation's 10,000 to 15,000 pet tigers and other big cats reside, a 10-year-old girl helping her stepfather groom his tiger died after it clamped her head in its jaws.
- A 3-year-old boy was inside the cage with his grandfather�s tiger when it attacked and killed him

- In the past 5 years, tigers in the U.S. have killed 7 people and mauled 35.

Read more HERE

[Lonnie]

Sammy has given you an excellent link, the thing to remember, is that all cats are wild, try to imagine your ordinary Tabby, the size a Tiger or Lion grows.

[Eleana]

you could look into volunteering work at a rescue shelter which looks after tigers & cubs but that would obviously depend on your location & whether you would be able to get time off work if you are in full-time employment. i dont live in america but i found this site for a rescue centre in florida, maybe there is one like this in the country you live? http://www.mccarthyswildlife.com/VolunteerInfo.htm

[stanleyman]

I'm sure the cat would love it too... Mmmm warm food!

[Joalaneil]

I know this seems like a bizarre wish, and i also know there are risks, even the tamest most friendliest Tiger cannot be completely trusted, but it is just a wish i have had for years, i know there is a place in Australia called Dreamworld, where Tigers can be smoothed, bit far to go though, so is that sanctuary Eleana told me about called McCarthys, since i live in England, and that is in America, mind you, i have always wanted to go to America........Mmmmmmm, me thinks..lol.

Oh well i can dream i suppose, but since i am ambitious and love a challenge, i'll not give up.

[Vics]

Dear Joalaneil - No - I don't think you are crazy - not thinking it. Doing it - Yes !! There is a park called Paradise World (tacky name) near Enfield that specialises in lions and tigers. Like you I think they are absolutely wonderful and they almost give off that "false" majestic calmness that makes you think you could just go and sit down next to them and tickle them under the chin!! I asked the keeper and he said that even they don't go in with them once they are a year old as it is too dangerous. The park does have days where you can follow a keeper around and touch the cubs if there are any. Let me now if you want more details. Until then you will just have to cuddle a stuffed toy tiger. Vics x

[Joalaneil]

Thanks Vics i would love more info, and i have plenty of cuddly Tigers in my bedroom to cuddle, i think this is just one of those dreams that may stay just that, a dream, but i live in hope, i would settle for a few Tiger cubs though, that would make my day.

[orange-gnome]

I don't think you are nuts..I would love to do it myself, I have always said that if I ever get to hold a tigers paw in my hand I would die a happy girl!! I know that Howletts and Port lympne animal parks keepers used to go in with the big cats all the time because they thought the human contact was important, I heard that a keeper was attacked and so I don't know if they still do it. Obviously there are risks...we would be complete idiots if we didnt know that!!! But still, if I could choose a way to go I couldn't think of a better one than being eaten by a tiger!! ; )
Don't give up dreaming, what would we be if we didnt have dreams?!!

[Joalaneil]

Hello Orange Gnome,

At least we could say the Tiger had, had one supreme meal....i suppose, if he were to eat us....lol.

I think i must have been one in a past life, hence the obsession..lol.

Like you i agree, we all need to dream, and if we are optimistic, and do not give up, some can be achieved, i have dropped a lot of hints to my family, i reach the "young" age of 50 in June, and it would be the best pressy i have ever had to get up close to a Tiger, and stroke it, if not i will settle for meeting my beloved fav male singer...Neil Diamond, much as i am fanatical about my Neil, my first dream is the Tiger.

I do wonder about myself, my other ambitions include...being by an erupting volcano, as long as i know the lava flow won't come my way, and it isn't one that will give off ash and pyroclastic flows[ if i have got that word spelt right..i am not sure] i would like to go chasing twisters in Tornado Alley, and i would so love to win the lottery so i can buy my own Animal sanctuary, so i suppose you could say i am ambitious, whether or not they can all/or some come true, is another matter, but i won't give up, i like to try, and if i fail, well at least i know i tried, and that is better than not trying at all.

[rsd2525]

J---- if you can go out and buy todays D Mail 3rd jan then look at page3 , might make you change your mind!! I do agree with you that they are beautiful

[Joalaneil]

Hi rsd2525

Just had a look at that in the Daily Mail, that is awful, and the Tiger is well and truly wild, i would take a gamble with a tame one, i know they are wild in nature and you should never trust one however gentle and tame they appear, it is just something i have always wanted to do, i am probably a bit mad, but in this life we all take risks every day, we do not know what goes on behind our backs when we are out, we could get knocked down by a car, and there's more chance of that happening.

I just like to achieve my goals, dreams and aspirations, and think life without them would be dull, i didn't think i would ever get in a plane, but i did, now i love it, chances are i may never cuddle my Tiger, but i would love to think i might, for now i will just keep dreaming...lol.

[rsd2525]

Joalaneil --- your aspirations remind me of Death Wish 1,2,3,4,and 5 rolled into one

By the way didn't see you at Woburn Abbey years ago or Wembley

[Joalaneil]

Hello again rsd2525

Umm, how would you know if you did, or did not see me, if you don't know me at Woburn or Wembley....LOL.?

Why are you a Neil Diamond fan too, or something?

If you are, like me, you have superb taste in singers.

Joalaneil

[rsd2525]

You could say that, about 35 years now. That Woburn gig was one beautiful evening .

[Joalaneil]

It's about that for me too, we must around the same age then, i saw him here in Bristol where i live last year, he was at Bristol City Football Club ground, Ashton Gate, only a 25 minute walk from my house, has i not gone, i would have moved well away from Bristol for the night, because i would be able to hear him from my house.

He is the best, anyway i am so glad to have met you on here, any fan of Neil's is a friend of mine, it is part of my user name here, as you can see, i named my son after him too, i love all there is to love about him.

[Tammera]

im not sure, but i think some safaris in africa allow you to stroke the hand reared ones that have, my friend did with some cheeters. again its pricey but the whole holiday if you can afford it must be worth more than its weight in gold. but now i think about it not sure they have tigers in africa do they? maybe holiday in india, i dont think its that expensive there. but its certainly not expensive to go to america. we go to california regularly (�550 this year for me and my daughter) and her birthday will be while shes there, she loves dolphins, so ive decided to take her to seaworld to swim with them for her birthday. material objects dont last long these days, memories can be cherished forever. i looked up the price and its only �80ish for an hour and a half in with the dolphins feeding them and everything, thats a fraction of what i thought it would be. i doubt you will do it in england due to the dangerous wild animals act and insurance reasons.

as for being mad, ive had the same wish about pumas and cheeters, when my daughters older and creating her own life, then it will be time for my dreams :) we are all going to die, if i die being mauled by a puma, i can think of worst things to die doing. same as people that do extreme sports, when you love something so much youd rather die doing that than by being hit by a bus or bed ridden.

[Tammera]

ooh i forgot to mention, due to my daughter having a disability i get to go in with her and the dolphins for free :) so i can maybe touch one to :)

[1rovert]

Hi! Joalaneil,

I too subscribe to 'save a tiger', I am a way out catman, I think they are the most beautiful animals on this earth.

At 70 I would very much like to stroke a tiger. I read in the N-O-W the other Sunday, where a woman on Safari saw a lion cub by the edge of the road, and jumped off the landrover, and picked it up. She was last seen being draged screaming into the jungle by the mother, who as any cat person knows, is never far from her cubs.

I also read that in America, a tamer used to put his head into a Tigers Mouth, and it closed it. Althought he did'nt die, I believe they put the Tiger down, which I think was rather unfair, the Tiger was only doing what it's supposed to. I think they should have put the tamer down.

[Toureman]

I have only just read your post about cuddling a Tiger but there is one place in England where you can get realy close to what most people think is a very dangerous animal, you can even take it for a walk and stroke it! These animals have had a realy bad press for hundreds of years.

GO to the "Wolf Conservation trust" website. there you will find out how you can meet wild wolves take them for a long walk in the countryside and stroke them. It is a fascinating experience!

There is no documented evidence of Wolves killing anyone.

[Joalaneil]

Thanks for letting me know Toureman, i am going straight to that website after browsing this forum, i know it isn't a Tiger, nevertheless Wolves are beautiful creatures and that would be an interesting experience......but then give me a place full to bursting point of Animals, and i am a happy woman, i prefer them to some people i know...lol.

I won't give up pursuing my dream though, Tigers are a big love of mine, i just wish i had the money to stop all the poaching that goes on, i cannot envisage a world without these beautiful cats in, there are only around 200 Sumatran Tigers left, and 60 White Tigers in the wild, around 4-5,000 left all together, infact there are more in captivity than in the wild, pity we can't hunt down some morons in the same way, who call themselves human, we are the biggest predator, and most evil species of the whole planet, the way the world is often i am ashamed i am a human being, but i like to think i am one of the nicer of our species, how about you?.......lol.