Harbin : Day 2 Part 1

It was the day after Christmas (is that called boxing day? I can’t remember) and we had big big plans for how to spend our second day in China’s winter wonderland. We woke up early and followed the public transit directions we got from Google to find our way to the Siberian tiger park. 

This park was absolutely amazing. It was probably the highlight of the trip for me at least. When we got to the ticket window there was a sign listing entry prices of course, but this was accompanied by another sign that was a ‘menu’ of all the live animals you could buy to feed to the tigers. We bought a chicken for 60 RMB.  While we were waiting for the armored bus that would conduct us through tigerland my roommate Gatsby decided to buy me a Christmas present, and for some reason in his mind that meant furry animal hat. So that combined with the age old Roman tradition of wearing a finished piece of taxidermy on one's head (and all the pomp, majesty, and machismo that accompanies that) accounts for my wearing a tiger hat all day. Ok, now that I’ve rationalized myself, back to the story. We all hopped in an armored bus and then we were driven through the enormous park that was filled with tigers at every turn. They would come right up to and in front of the bus. Near the beginning a jeep drove in with our chicken sitting on the roof. One tiger leaped onto the roof of the car causing the chicken to fly down into the hungry waiting jaws of a second 600 pound striped killer.

After the bus tour there was a second section where you could stroll along an elevated covered walkway and look down at the tigers who, when we got there at least, were all napping in a big dog tiger pile. Here there was another opportunity to feed the tigers fresh meat, but this time you could throw it to them yourself. Since opportunities like this are non-existent in the civilized world I bought another live chicken and dangled it over the railing and over 40 hungry tiger mouths. If you’ve ever wondered where the phrase “Voracious as a Siberian tiger in Harbin who has just had the good fortune of expropriating a mouthwatering chicken and is engaged in tearing it to pieces” came from (and who hasn’t wondered that) it came from my head just now, and the spectacle it was coined to describe was pretty awe-inspiring to say the least.

I hand fed THAT meat to THAT tiger! Oh yeah.

One last thing that we saw at the tiger park was the only living white liger and one of only a few living ligers period. It was magical, but that should come as no surprise. After all, that’s what they’re bred for.

Doesn't it look majestic? Or is that smug?