Close encounters: Elephants and Tigers of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Rafting between herds of elephants and supper time in the tigers' cage. Certainly a memorable experience for us, although there is a lot to take in here---superficially fun and light-hearted, but also sad. Clearly, both these tigers, who spend at least part of their days in small cages, and these elephants, some with chains around their legs, are not free. We are told because they are habituated, they would not survive if given freedom, and new laws have been put in place to improve their standards of living in the last decade. Our videos merely show the world as we see it; as we were shown it. As always, the reality is full of complexity.
We are Lan & Eric, two front-line clinicians who chose to hit "pause" on our medical careers to live out our dream of traveling all seven continents. Our videos coincide with our photo-journal, explorerswithoutborders.com/, where we have tried to record the many lessons, perspectives and inspiration we have found along the way.

[@anishsingh2848]

Despite being living killing machines
This tiger was clearly abused to be like this and doesn't deserve this treatment or lifestyle
And going to see it is just funding more of this treatment in future for it and other Tigers
Speaking this as an Indian who comes from the country with the most wild Tigers in the world

[@lanric_journeys]

Yes, great point. We were not sure what to make of this. We are told the tigers are well-fed on diets of chicken and pork, and starvation apparently is not used as a discipline tactic (as in some other sites. Not exactly the highest standard). We learned these tigers used to be used for breeding and selling; now that selling is illegal in Thailand, they are apparently taking care of the tigers and making money only on the tourist dollars they bring. They say they are only breeding them or buying new tigers occasionally, to maintain their business. We would certainly much prefer to see them in the wild, where animals belong; but we understand the reality that these semi-habituated tigers could never survive safely if released.
It was humbling and sad to see these tigers in cages even if they truly are giving green space to roam around... just as it was sad to see how many of the elephants passing us in the river had a chain around their leg, as apparently they are placed on a chain leash overnight "for their safety" when living in this populated area. It is probably true that these animals are treated worse in other parts of the world, but that does not make their recently improved treatment here the acceptable standard 😢😢