Swedish Man Attacked By Tiger During Visit To Tiger Temple Outside Bangkok

[Nisa]

THere are of course problems with drugging animals - just has anyone who has received medication or taken drugs/alcohol etc. THey wear off - and then follows the after effects.this can be erratic behaviour etc - even when the drugs are supposed to be taking effect the animal cannot be relied upon to behave predictably.

Agree. I don't believe any intelligent and knowledgeable place would drug animals for public display. Sedatives are addictive and they would need to constantly be kept on them and not just be able to dope them during certain hours of the day unless you want irrational behavior. Also, sedatives also sometimes cause aggressive response, especially if taken for prolonged periods .. the same as alcohol which is also a depressant. There are a number of Thai working girls out there who love taking "sleep pills" such as xanax and you'll find they are the least sedated girls around when they take these pills.

I believe simply keeping the animals full and fed would be the more obvious way of keeping them from being aggressive. But as the guy mentioned here, it sounds like the tiger was just playing and as one poster mentioned they actually have a show were the tigers play, appearing aggressive, with the monks.

[jayjay0]

We have a place called TIGER KINGDOM located in a area call MAE RIM just north of CHIANG MAI... I saw these creatures from about 15 feet away and not up close and personal..as others were so daringly doing during session a photo shoot. These are wild animals for sure.. do not be fooled by monks, punks, or drunks...a wild creature is just that.. remove their teeth, their nails (that very hard substance at the end of each toe) and maybe then I will go play with one..

I have been there also. They had a enclosure where people were not allowed to enter. The other enclosures had drugged up Tigers in them. Just laying there waiting for people to pet them lay down beside them and put there head on them. In short. drugged up to the point where they were incapable of aggression. One cage had small ones the size of a large house cat. They did not appear to be drugged up.

They had one tourist one way or another get himself in to the restricted area where he found out why it was restricted. I wonder if he was the same guy.

I have a healthy fear of getting bitten by any animal much less a Tiger but I had no fear of the drugged up ones.

I am curious what kind (construction) this restructed area is/has that allows both the tourist and his guide to easily enter (climb), and presumably exit, the area but not allow more agile tigers to escape ... especially when a Tiger can jump/leap 4 meters in the air.

Yes I was curious about that point myself.

You are correct it did not come from a Swedish news paper it came from a Scandinavian one in the news from Sweden section.

In it he claims he was not afraid. He claims he thought they were playing.

If you are six bricks short of a load you will think a full grown Tiger will not hurt you when it is playing. Take your pick either way a man with serious problems.

[Deeral]

We have a place called TIGER KINGDOM located in a area call MAE RIM just north of CHIANG MAI... I saw these creatures from about 15 feet away and not up close and personal..as others were so daringly doing during session a photo shoot. These are wild animals for sure.. do not be fooled by monks, punks, or drunks...a wild creature is just that.. remove their teeth, their nails (that very hard substance at the end of each toe) and maybe then I will go play with one..

I have been there also. They had a enclosure where people were not allowed to enter. The other enclosures had drugged up Tigers in them. Just laying there waiting for people to pet them lay down beside them and put there head on them. In short. drugged up to the point where they were incapable of aggression. One cage had small ones the size of a large house cat. They did not appear to be drugged up.

They had one tourist one way or another get himself in to the restricted area where he found out why it was restricted. I wonder if he was the same guy.

I have a healthy fear of getting bitten by any animal much less a Tiger but I had no fear of the drugged up ones.

I am curious what kind (construction) this restructed area is/has that allows both the tourist and his guide to easily enter (climb), and presumably exit, the area but not allow more agile tigers to escape ... especially when a Tiger can jump/leap 4 meters in the air.

THe object of health and safety is to try and set things up so they CAN"T happen!!!

Anyone with crowd management experience (or staff for that matter) will know that if something is possible - however remote - given enough people it will happen.Zoos, theme parks pop concerts extra re all set up so people CAN"T walk into dangerous areas - a sign is not sufficient - and not acceptable.safety has to be foolproof - because in any given crowd there are always a certain number of "fools". They can't be let to go and do what they want because it inevitably affects others - or even stops the proceedings altogether. It's not being a "nanny" to them it's protecting the place or event for the others..

None of this applies at the temple where there is a lethal cocktail of tigers, disorganisation and ignorance.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Deeral

[Deeral]

A playful swipe from a Tiger is not something you want to experience - many years ago when I was attending a shoot photographing an adolescent tiger close up - the animal knocked the camera out of the photographer's hand and left a large bruise and grazing on the side of the photographers head. This was clearly nothing more than a playful swipe by a young animal.

THe point being that even when placid, drugged or not these animals are still quite capable of inflicting serious injuries including deep cuts.....if they get agitated - then the situation is considerably more risky.

[TechnikaIII]

Such idiot acts are not isolated to Swedes alone. Nowegians can be pretty 'smart arse' too, when it comes to their view of themselves, as kings of the jungle. They exterminate wolves that wander in from Sweden, and bears are shot on site for .. for being bears. You know the whaling saga, the Norwegians' total disrespect, even hatred for Greenpeace, and cod are fished to near extinction. But some years back, a couple of girls were set upon by a polar bear, in his own domain on Svalbard. (Mid way between Norway mainland and the North Pole) They had nothing more than a light-weight hand gun to fend off the hungry teddy. One girl managed to run back to where she came from, and the other was eaten.

[Deeral]

THere are of course problems with drugging animals - just has anyone who has received medication or taken drugs/alcohol etc. THey wear off - and then follows the after effects.this can be erratic behaviour etc - even when the drugs are supposed to be taking effect the animal cannot be relied upon to behave predictably.

Agree. I don't believe any intelligent and knowledgeable place would drug animals for public display. Sedatives are addictive and they would need to constantly be kept on them and not just be able to dope them during certain hours of the day unless you want irrational behavior. Also, sedatives also sometimes cause aggressive response, especially if taken for prolonged periods .. the same as alcohol which is also a depressant. There are a number of Thai working girls out there who love taking "sleep pills" such as xanax and you'll find they are the least sedated girls around when they take these pills.

I believe simply keeping the animals full and fed would be the more obvious way of keeping them from being aggressive. But as the guy mentioned here, it sounds like the tiger was just playing and as one poster mentioned they actually have a show were the tigers play, appearing aggressive, with the monks.

Ah not quite what I was saying...

"I don't believe any intelligent and knowledgeable place would drug animals for public display"

Firstly this place is NOT intelligent and knowledgeable. the vet admits he knows little about big cats anyhow.

Secondly it is common practice in Thailand to drug animals that are in contact with the public.Most street elephants are drugged - occasionally one witnesses the "comedown" as one runs off int the traffic etc.THe street vendors with there small animals use drugs and many other more cruel methods to make the animals "presentable" to the public.

and when the drugs don't work anymore? well the animals are simply killed.

There have been several Tigers that have "mysteriously disappeared from the Temple's stock without trace.It as been noticed that often when an animal "goes' it is replaced by an animal with the same name.

you have to bear in mind that a tiger's corpse is a valuable commodity - apart from the decorative skin, it can be cut up and sold for body parts for use in Chinese "quack" medicines.

.

From a safety point of view - even a "relaxed" or "playful" tiger is extremely dangerous to humans.

I can also say I have seen the tigers adopting apparently aggressive hunting / stalking behaviour there - this could be vey dangerous if it got out of hand. As I said I don't know, and rather doubt if "drugging" would be sufficient to suppress this behaviour

Edited December 29, 2010 by Deeral

[oldsailor35]

This is news to me, I thought tigers were confined to zoo's and were no longer seen out in the sticks of Thailand...

This dude was lucky the tiger was only having some fun, or he might of ended up with no legs and no life...

this was at the Tiger Temple NW of KANCHANABURI , not in the wild. The tigers are cared for by the monks and brought out every afternoon on a chain and chained to a concrete block, public can then stroke them and have pics taken handling the tigers. These animals are supposed to be comatosed during the middle of the day and only active at night (nocturnal). Around mid to late afternoon, before they become active, they are led back to their compounds. The public have to stand well clear whilst they are led away and anyone wearing RED clothing are not allowed in. Some say that the tigers are really drugged, but who knows ?

[oldsailor35]

Erik the Viking But lucky, definitely.

A bit more like HAGAR the horrible i would say !

[oldsailor35]

I would say the Abbot would be responsible for allowing people near the Tigers, some people have the misconception that the Tigers wont attack because of some strange karma from being in the care of the monks, but these are not "Buddhist Tigers" they are semi domesticated natural born killers.

Everyone who goes near these animals is putting themselves in serious risk. The monks who actually feed them and keep them content are of course are in slightly less danger, until they forget a feed time or the Tiger is in a bad mood.

An anti Tetanus jab and a broad spetrum antibiotic and some pain killers is all he will need.

But lets hope this rings the alarm bells and puts a stop to people keeping animals that only belong in the wild.

:jap:

I always wear my amulet which i paid top price for at the local temple, when i go there. Then i am perfectly safe !

[Deeral]

TIGER VISION

The tiger's retinae have mostly rod receptor cells which are sensitive to low light levels and movement. the cones are few in number and are likely there to improve detail in daylight rather than for color definition.

They do not have many cones - this indicates that they have poor color vision - so why the monks think it is important not to wear red is a mystery.

The dress code at the Temple seems more for the benefit of the monks than the Tigers or visitors, It may also gives them the opportunity to rent out a few garments?

I get the impression that most of the "safety" advice the visitors are given is erroneous and misleading.It isn't really safety advice at all, it's the kind of "showman" spiel that is used in circuses to give the audience an adrenaline rush.Giving fake parameters and hinting sat the danger of the experience is all deigned to enhance the experience rather than truly make it safe.

For centuries it has been known the Tigers are much more difficult to mange in captivity than loins - they are more unpredictable and unlike lions, they are solitary animals and find the proximity of other Tigers disconcerting or even threatening..Tigers at the temple are not "semi-domesticated" they are simply wild animals. (domestication takes centuries of breading)Their familiarity with humans simply means they are more unpredictable and dangerous as they have lost basic survival behaviours and have no fear of humans

Edited December 29, 2010 by Deeral

[chuang]

He climbed into a restricted areas with nine tigers...Brave or Stupid..

[chuang]

Such idiot acts are not isolated to Swedes alone. Nowegians can be pretty 'smart arse' too, when it comes to their view of themselves, as kings of the jungle. They exterminate wolves that wander in from Sweden, and bears are shot on site for .. for being bears. You know the whaling saga, the Norwegians' total disrespect, even hatred for Greenpeace, and cod are fished to near extinction. But some years back, a couple of girls were set upon by a polar bear, in his own domain on Svalbard. (Mid way between Norway mainland and the North Pole) They had nothing more than a light-weight hand gun to fend off the hungry teddy. One girl managed to run back to where she came from, and the other was eaten.

They are not animal lovers i guess..

[QED]

<snip>. This story smacks of another jibe at Thailand. if folk feel that way

then dont come more space for us

How on earth is it a 'jibe' at Thailand????

Some idiot European climbed into the restricted area and got bitten. Every comment is negative about the farang, not one negative comment about Thailand so far.

Jeez man, some of you Thai wannabees are so paranoid.

Somebody at work was complaining it was very hot today, would you take that as a 'jibe' against Thailand and their stupid weather?

[Foggy Bottom]

I'm not sure who needs the "dope" test more - the Swede or the tiger.

[ThiagoBras]

"climbed into a restricted area with nine tigers"

very clever! What 'd you expect??

[Deeral]

"climbed into a restricted area with nine tigers"

very clever! What 'd you expect??

In normal circumstances in a well-run zoo it would be nigh-on impossible for someone to do this.

Stupidity is not just the fault of the person, it cannot be prevented (virtually no-one would post on this forum if that were the case) - however the public can and should be protected from themselves - this is apparently not the case with the Temple.

[Crushdepth]

Given his lack of fear, Eric would make a wonderful "tiger chew toy". Put him back.

[Somtamnication]

I prefer Erik The Bitten.

One of the many reasons for not visiting Phuket Zoo....drugged tiger and stupid and idiotic monkey shows. The owners should all be treated the same on site and taken to the tiger tempen and join Erik.

[moetownblues]

There is a least one born every day.

[tmd5855]

The numerous painful shots that you refer to are history. Nowadays its an initial jab followed by a series of jabs (in the upper arm) every couple of weeks or so.

Were bitten by a dog in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Had the tetanus in the arm but had 6 injections over the abdominal wall, one a day.

The pain was in the bruising it left since the serum is injected as you withdraw the syringe. You could barely bend over to wipe your bum and your stomach was a patchwork of yellow, blue and brown bruising.

Ahhhh the good old days. Wire brush and dettol

Edited December 29, 2010 by tmd5855

[Nisa]

The numerous painful shots that you refer to are history. Nowadays its an initial jab followed by a series of jabs (in the upper arm) every couple of weeks or so.

Were bitten by a dog in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Had the tetanus in the arm but had 6 injections over the abdominal wall, one a day.

The pain was in the bruising it left since the serum is injected as you withdraw the syringe. You could barely bend over to wipe your bum and your stomach was a patchwork of yellow, blue and brown bruising.

Ahhhh the good old days. Wire brush and dettol

Again I could be wrong but I checked the internet and it says shots are still the only way to go in this situation ... there are no pills.

[fredtitmus]

Hahaha too right! I wouldnt be going nowhere near it,no matter how tame they say it is! its like getting in a minibus from bangkok,its just a matter of time!!

It seems Erik is a bit of a bellend to be fair.

[surayu]

There have been several Tigers that have "mysteriously disappeared from the Temple's stock without trace.It as been noticed that often when an animal "goes' it is replaced by an animal with the same name.

you have to bear in mind that a tiger's corpse is a valuable commodity - apart from the decorative skin, it can be cut up and sold for body parts for use in Chinese "quack" medicines.

I had a laugh reading this, because it makes me recall the "chinese legacy" in Italy, there have been numerous investigative reports about the chinese community in Italy, especially in Milan, where people never seems to die, the only deceased cases are of those that are impossible to conceive, such people that dies in hospital or in road accidents, so official reports are compulsory, weird that the tigers here have a similar story, but it makes sense to me

[asiawatcher]

There are only 8 words that cause me any concern when reading this article.

"climbed into a restricted area with nine tigers"

From these words we can deduct that this man made the decision to cross a physical barrier to get to these tigers. Has he just come from Disney World?

Definately worth a nomination for the Darwin award.

What a goose - yes a Darwin nominee for sure. The Tiger Temple is very passive and the tigers ditto but when you get a guy who is about as sharp as a river pebble, you could not expect less than the tigers to react - they are, after all, territorial.

[Arkady]

I guess this must have taken place at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province which has been an accident waiting to happen for years. According to some animal welfare groups overseas the tigers are systematically maltreated by keepers. They are allegedly heavily drugged for their contacts with tourists and savagely beaten when the tourists are not around. The wildlife groups claim that there is inadequate accounting for the funds raised from tourists which are ostensibly to build a much larger sanctuary for the tigers to roam in, rather than living in cages. The NGOs claim that the temple must have raised enough for the sanctuary several times over but there is no sign of work starting on it. Even worse they claim that the older and bad tempered tigers are sold off for parts and replaced with new ones smuggled in Laos that are given the same ones as the tigers they replace to avoid suspicion. Tiger experts condemn the practice of allowing tourists in with tigers as dangerous for the tourists and cruel to the tigers due to the permanent sedation required.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Arkady

[Deeral]

There are only 8 words that cause me any concern when reading this article.

"climbed into a restricted area with nine tigers"

From these words we can deduct that this man made the decision to cross a physical barrier to get to these tigers. Has he just come from Disney World?

Definately worth a nomination for the Darwin award.

What a goose - yes a Darwin nominee for sure. The Tiger Temple is very passive and the tigers ditto but when you get a guy who is about as sharp as a river pebble, you could not expect less than the tigers to react - they are, after all, territorial.

I don't think you know the first thing about tigers and have just made up a few guesses so you can post something - right?

[housepainter]

Just a comment on the quality or rather lack of in the reporting. It reads as if written by a child, and that's without addressing the errors.

[khunhunter]

Is it true that the tigers that are presented to tourists to play with are sedated using drugs so that they appear calm and friendly? If so, maybe this guy went to the restricted area where the tigers had not been sedated and were therefore not suitable for tourists to play with.

DUDE, I have been there as well...Tigers are WILD ANIMALS, THEY ARE CARNIVORS, PREDATORS. You the human are greatly overmatched...best to leave these beautiful creatures alone in their own element ie the jungle

[geriatrickid]

Such idiot acts are not isolated to Swedes alone. Nowegians can be pretty 'smart arse' too, when it comes to their view of themselves, as kings of the jungle. They exterminate wolves that wander in from Sweden, and bears are shot on site for .. for being bears. You know the whaling saga, the Norwegians' total disrespect, even hatred for Greenpeace, and cod are fished to near extinction. But some years back, a couple of girls were set upon by a polar bear, in his own domain on Svalbard. (Mid way between Norway mainland and the North Pole) They had nothing more than a light-weight hand gun to fend off the hungry teddy. One girl managed to run back to where she came from, and the other was eaten.

I like a story with a happy ending.

[TimTang]

The Tiger stopped after only one bite. I guess it was a little too Swede for his taste.