Last week we were totally attacked by a tiger! Well, maybe that’s a little fib.
The other day I was asked to follow along and document a Tiger Encounter, a private tour-slash-donation that Cougar Mountain Zoo offers. Victoria, fellow photog, friend, and one of my fabulous assistants, loves loves loves animals. She couldn’t wait for the opportunity to donate to her favorite local zoo while also having a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with the incredibly rare tiger babies that were recently transferred to this zoo in Issaquah, Washington. Taj, a VERY rare brown Golden Bengal Tiger (one of 100 in THE WORLD, he’s missing the usual black stripes), and Almos, a rare Royal White Bengal tiger, were full of energy (and claws and teeth) on this overcast but super humid summer day.It’s so easy to forget that these guys will grow up to be the roaring, thundering, 450 pound killers that you see in the wild. For now, they love hunting leg (that’s right, hunting zoo keeper and photographer leg) and playing in the water bucket. Taj was quite the character. He’s a pretty rambunctious feller, so naturally I had my camera glued to my eye. As the shutter was making it’s usually not-so-noticable kshuk, Taj was right up against the glass with his nose, retorting right back with curious chuffs. At one point I feared for my lens’ life- I think there’s some tiger claw scratches in the barrel from a playful and experimental swat from his oversized paw. Who has tiger claw marks on their camera lens anyway? (me!)If you work for a larger company (like Microsoft) and would love the opportunity to donate to a great cause, check into what your employers can do to match your donation, and call the Cougar Mountain Zoo as soon as you can- these little guys are growing so fast that the encounters are becoming a little dangerous and are being limited- “little” Taj could take out any full size dog I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure!Thank you so so so much, Victoria, for choosing to take me behind the scenes (instead of your husband!) and trusting me with this wonderful opportunity-it was definitely once in a lifetime and such an honor!!!
