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| Will you play with me? |
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| Get off my hat! |
8,443 Miles GMT +11 Temp -17
We left Khabarovsk at just after 4am, two trains and
just over four hours to reach a small village. After a phone call from Lena we
were picked up about an hour later and I was introduced to Tolenka. We
eventually arrived at our destination and ushered into a wood cabin, which was
effectively the headquarters of a tiger reserve for Amur tigers, who are very
close to disappearing from their native land here, thanks to poachers and Chinese
herbal remedies.
Tolenka took us out to a large fenced area and
introduced us to Anushka and Petrushka, two tiger cubs. We weren’t allowed to
touch them with our bare hands, but that didn’t matter, they ran after us and
hunted our feet and legs, and sounded so pleased with themselves when they
caught us – not a roar or snarl as such, more a sort of squeaky growl of glee.
They might sound like kittens but they don’t feel like them when they catch
you. In less than 2 months they will no longer have human contact, as they will
begin their journey back to the wild.
There was also an adult tiger, a female rescued from
a circus. Tolenka told us she was damaged, not capable of being wild, but she
looked happy in the snow. We didn’t play with her, I think she might have
wanted to do more than chase from the way she eventually ran at us – thankfully
there were two high sturdy wire fences between us and her - but it didn’t stop
the feeling of fear, the adrenalin rush. Seeing her run at us and roaring
directly at us – I dropped the camera, the hairs on the back of my neck didn’t
stand up they hid when she hit the fene. Feeling that wild sound at such close
quarters and tiger spit hit my face, that was scary.
Sadly we could not stay long because of transport,
but it was certainly the highlight of the trip.
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