Help the tigers

We have a selection of photographs for your enjoyment at
www.
buddhaphotos.co.uk

If you want to donate to help the tigers, see the
temple's website
at www.tigertemple. org/Eng/Donation.
htm ... or donate
online at
www.walking
withtigers.
org/walking.php

Tiger Temple has one dream above all others – to train the cubs for a life in the wild where they can play their part in nature in the jungle along the Thai-Burma border.

And, as part of that dream, the monks also see a natural area where the older tigers – which can never be released – can live in harmony and dignity.

At the centre of that projects is a 12-acre moated island which is being built in the monastery grounds. It will be robust enough to story the tigers escaping, private enough for them to feel relaxed and natural, and controlled enough for the training of the cubs.

On Tiger Island is a building housing night cages for the tigers and, on the floor above, accommodation for visiting academics and others to study and help the tigers. On the outside of the moat, will be a walkway for tourists who want to visit the project. Far more detailed descriptions are published on the temple's website.

At the moment, a vast amount of the work has been done but even more needs to be completed – the project cost is around 20 million bahts (about £282,000 or US$533,000) and 12 million bahts (about £170,000 or US$320,000).

While that total is small compared with Western building costs, it is proving difficult to raise in Thailand and income is spent all the time on the care of the tigers and other animals.

But the monks press on. The photograph above shows one of them, Pra Acharn Sam, on the edge of the moat under construction.

If you can help in any way, the monastery will accept it gratefully.