There have been many stories highlighting the reality behind these tigers...how only a handful of the really well behaved tigers are every left out their cages, how it's only for up to half an hour a day and how the tigers are all drugged.

Besides the entry tickets to see and get a photograph taken withthe temple tigers is high enough for this to be a profit making enterprise rather than a "harmony with nature" project like it's made out to be.

What a facinating story. I think you should also visit Kenya one of this days and watch wild beast crossing the famous mara. Remember its the 7th wonder of the world.

Ive seen this in person. These Tigers are so sedated it is not even funny. They say that this is not the case but the tigers just lay down and are barely active. They don't even show interest in each other. They just lay there in complete apathy. It is kind of sad to see.

What an amazing experience,yes i too have a photograph sitting with a huge tiger in one of the zoos in Bangkok,Chilling to sit next to them yet awsome.I was told that they are heavily fed and this makes them sluggish of sorts but you would still, out of natural instinct give them that respect that they command as one of the prime predators for centuries.

I don't understand. These tigers are being held in captivity, are not being fed, and CNN sent a reporter in there to take the tiger for a walk and photo op? Shameful.

I personally liked the story......gives me visions of what heaven will be like! :-)

As someone who has been to the 'Tiger Temple' I found this story not only boring but uninformative. How about a little information on how the temple aquired these tigers. It's not as if they are native to Buddhist monasteries or Thailand for that matter.
Try telling us about the monk who adopted the first tiger as a young pup and how the rest of the tigers got to be there... tell us about this didn't start as a tourist attraction but a monks love for nature and all the living creatures on this Earth.

Yes, I, too, am disappointed that this set-up– where it has been well documented that the tigers are mightily mistreated–is romanticized here. Tigers can be trained, but not tamed, as I heard one big cat trainer put it. So while these temple tigers may have grown up around people, they only seem tame and "let" one walk around with them because they have been repeatedly drugged out of their minds. Don't wanna believe it? Just ask yourself this: What self-respecting cat would let any old random people off the street pet him whenever they wanted? Not even a fully domesticated house cat allows such intrusions.

You don't need to read German to see the state of the tigers in these pictures taken for an 2008 article on the Temple in the German new magazine Spiegel:
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,562903,00.html

skepticism, mysticism, communism!! why dont we just let people enjoy the moment. at least the cats are alive and who cares if they intake a little catnip once in a while . they will be extinct in a few decades or less. do we have to put reality into every aspect of this mundane world

LEAVE THOSE DAMN TIGERS AND ANIMALS ALONE!! THEY WERE MEANT TO BE IN THE WILD!!!!! IF YOU GET HURT BY ONE.......THEN OH WELL!!!!!!!!!!!
LESSON LEARNED.

That's a cute cat. A great "sleeping beauty" in nature. Sit a side and clap your hands. Ouch! It'll slap not wanting to be disturbed. Please do respect pet's own will and be quiet. (A guide for Africa travellers)

I hope this isn't journalism. I went to Australia and took a picture with a kangaroo and a koala, do I get to blog about it?
Give us an angle instead of an American-centric vacation shot.

We visited the Tiger Temple in August 2008 and we thought that the monks and staff were very kind and loving toward the animals. The tigers were not suffering and did not seem drugged. Remember it's hot in Thailand and cats are not very active during the heat of the day. Even house cats like to lay down in the sun. I'm saddened by all of the negative comments by people who have not even visited this place, this is not Europe or North America and don't expect the same conditions. This is a poor country and the tiger temple seems to be doing the best they can with very little money. Charging western tourists to visit is a smart thing to do. What is the alternative – having the tigers killed in the wild by farmers and poachers?

I was at the Tiger Temple yesterday and did the whole tourist photo thing, It's an amazing experience to hold a tiger's head ... and I loved it. BUT I totally understand the controversy about this place ... even having seen it, it's hard to believe that so many big tigers would just lie peacefully for several hours every day and let hundreds of people pat and cuddle them – or that the authorities would allow this to happen – unless they were sedated in some way. I don't know, but I can't help feeling suspicious.

I personally like this story. Life is not only about wars and earthquakes. I'm a hypocrite though as I would not get so close to a tiger myself. I always wonder when their instinct will kick in and take a little nibble. I'll stay safely behind my laptop and watch others take the risk but enjoy the story from a distance.

You should be ashamed of yourself for not really doing any serious reporting here. In fact, I'd say you're pathetic.

Just because you liked playing with an animal that belongs in the wild doesn't give you any right to promote this horrible place which, if you cared to actually do any research, is suspected of smuggling, drugging, abuse of tigers and lying about the whole thing.

Tigers are not playful pets and the monks have no business profiting from their prisoners. Yes, this is a business and the monks make a ton of money off of unsuspecting, uninformed tourists... the kind that read your articles and think they're doing something that is not unethical.

It's a great shame to see these great cats treated as captured pets for the amusement of tourists and us all to admire, but I suppose it's better this way rather than a trophy on the wall or rug on the floor.

Tigers are the most beautiful species in the cat family on earth, but they are on the verge of existing from the planet. I think these monks have found the way to conserve these species from existance and now with this new monitoring system, the virtual id card it would add to their security.

I believe this mode of Tiger conservation would help creating an ideal Critical Wildlife habitat model for the whole world.

Whether these animals are sedated or not but one should be happy that atleast these beautiful big cats are taken care and protected from poachers secondly this gives more opportunity for the younger generation to know about the big cat and also gets chance to get attracted by their charismatic look so that this will further emphazise the need in the younger minds about the responsibility to save these wonderful animals. When you compare these animals with other parts of the world, yes these animals appear to be healthy and well treated.