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Animal Planet

Temple of the Tigers

In the mist-shrouded highlands of northern Thailand, orange-robed monks sit together harmonious in prayer, but once their religious duties are over, they have another duty to fulfil - one that for them is just as important. These monks are the unconventional guardians of 11 wild tigers.

The Temple Of The Tigers centres on the monastery Abbot, Archan Poosit, who, in 1976 was diagnosed with leukaemia. Thinking that his life was about to end, he decided to go into monkhood. Now, 27 years later, he is using his borrowed time to care for and actively breed his adopted tigers that were brought to him by villagers after they had been beaten and abandoned by poachers.

The Abbott is a man of vision. The monks - with the help of the Thai army - are about to dig a deep moat around 20 acres of forest land to create a tiger island within the forest. And the next generation of tigers born here, will be released to boost the dwindling numbers of wild tigers in Thailand.