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5 Tigers News

COPYRIGHT: Agence France Presse, May 10, 2004
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 812 words
HEADLINE: Thai Buddhist monks share temple with endangered tigers
BYLINE: Jack Barton
DATELINE: Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Walking fully grown tigers on a leash is all part of a day's work for a group of Buddhist monks who have taken on the task of protecting the endangered animals by offering them a home within the walls of their temple.

The sanctuary is run by head monk Phusit Khantidharo, who insists all 10 tigers living at the Pha Luang Ba Tua temple in western Kanchanaburi province have adopted peaceful Buddhist ways.

"We are a big family here and we live together, not just with the tigers but many animals," said Phusit, sitting cross-legged on a rock surrounded by five large tigers who take turns to affectionately nuzzle up to their saffron-robed master.

The tigers, with names like Storm, Lightning and Great Sky, live among monkeys, horses, deer, peacocks, geese and wild pigs in a scenic gully where they are free to roam and feed during the day.

Visitors to the remote temple, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Bangkok, are invariably stunned by the sight of the monks frolicking with tigers as if they were ordinary domestic cats.

One monk, who weighed less than half his furry companion, was bold enough to crouch down and mock fight with the big tiger, which gently lunged back with its deadly claws retracted.

The monks have documented the personalities of all the big cats in a booklet with profiles varying from "likes to be a star and loves showing off" to "pretends to be tame and gentle but will bite."

The tigers, say the monks, are at their most frisky around dinner time when tourists are allowed to enter the gully to watch them eat.

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