Harbin: Hai Long Jiang Siberian Tiger Park

Instead of looking at animals in cages, at this wildlife reserve there are over 500 endangered Siberian tigers and others (panthers, leopards and lions) living on vast open acreage (1500 sq. km) and we, the people, are put into a cage (a protected vehicle) and driven through, so that they can look at us with curiousity! I was sitting at the back of the bus and surprisingly, the window opened, which made for better pictures and higher risk of being attacked with a paw!

The tiger in the cage was a younger tiger who was under watch by the park staff. To help pay for their maintenance costs of caring, they sell food (animals) to the tourists. Ranging from $1.00 for a strip of beef, $9.00 for a chicken all the way up to $175.00 for a whole oxen. We settled for the $1 meat strip and he jumped up on the fence to take it. He must have been eight feet tall!