300kg white tiger tugs war with tourists at the Zoo on the first day of Tet

On the first day of Tet, the Zoo and Botanical Gardens (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) was crowded and bustling with activities of visiting animal cages and playing. In particular, on the first day of the new year, there was an activity of tug of war with white tigers, which many people were excited to participate in.

The white tiger cage area in the middle of the Zoo has many families and tourists gathered outside waiting for the time to watch the tiger tug of war.

According to the management unit, this is a new activity that has been organized for about a year now, three times a week, alternating between feeding the tigers by tug of war and feeding them on a stand.

Visitors who register will experience tug-of-war with a 300kg white tiger inside the cage via a long rope. Each tug can have 5 to 7 participants, with 3 additional animal care staff to guide and support visitors.

A large rope will be passed through a small hole in the wall of the tiger cage, threaded inside so that the staff can tie the bait to the end of the rope inside.

Large pieces of meat will be tied to a rope by zoo staff. The white tiger's daily diet is 5kg of meat, divided into several meals. Each time they tug of war, staff will tie 1kg of meat to a rope to feed the tiger.

After preparing the tug of war rope, the white tiger will be released from the small cage outside the large cage for visitors to see and prepare for the tug of war "competition".

When the tiger sees the prey, it will come to eat it and at the same time bite the rope and pull hard. Outside, tourists will see the tiger pulling the rope and will start pulling back.

The tiger cage is solidly built with large glass walls for outside visitors to observe, the area where the rope is threaded inside is a thick, solid concrete wall to ensure safety for outside visitors.

Adults and children enthusiastically participated in the tug of war with the tiger. With the strength of 5 adults and children, the tiger was not weak but on the contrary, quite leisurely when struggling with the tourists.

Mr. Tran Van Ti (Thu Duc City) was very excited to experience tug of war with a tiger. He said he had just learned about this activity and this was also his first time participating.

"I can't win against the tiger. Three or four people can't even pull it, let alone me. But the tiger seems to be "giving in", so the tug-of-war is very interesting," said Mr. Ti.

According to Ms. Minh Phuong, Head of the Zoo's Wild Animal Group, this is a new activity for visitors to experience when they come to visit the Zoo. It is also an activity to help tigers increase their mobility and develop their muscles.

"Especially with tigers in captivity for a long time, we cannot let them eat and drink in a simple, easy way. Tigers will forget their hunting instincts," Ms. Phuong shared.

On the 4th day of Tet, the tiger tug-of-war activity will continue to be held here, all tourists and locals can participate in the experience and visit.

Currently, at the Zoo, there is only one white tiger participating in tug-of-war activities with visitors. This is also a male tiger born at the Zoo in 2015, belonging to the Felidae family, weighing about 300kg.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/ho-trang-300kg-keo-co-voi-du-khach-trong-thao-cam-vien-mung-1-tet-20240210170145476.htm