My once in a lifetime..Up close and personal with Kato the tiger!

Hi!

Today, I had one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. I had the exclusive privilege of getting up close and personal with Kato the tiger at Symbio Wildlife Park. 

Symbio Wildlife Park is near Wollongong in NSW. I had never been to this wildlife park before today. I was able to encounter this magnificent creature so close, because I won a competition through Symbio's facebook page for an "Exclusive behind the scenes encounter with a tiger". They don't normally do these kinds of things with the public. This was a once off experience. I was one of two lucky winners. 

I went to the park with my 4 year old son and my mum. We had such a great day! Symbio are renovating their park at the moment, which means some things are closed right now, but my mum, my son and I are planning to go back in a few months when everything is complete! It should look fantastic! They have all sorts of animals there, including; tigers, koalas, tasmanian devils, echidnas, kangaroos, cassowaries, ilamas, dingoes, meerkats.....and the list goes on!

Tigers have always been my favourite animal. For as long as I can remember. My bedroom walls were covered in tiger posters when I was growing up, and I was forever reading about them and trying to learn everything I could! 

Today, I was told that it's expected that by 2020 there will be none of these beautiful creatures left in the wild. This makes me profoundly sad. How could we, the human race, let this happen?? To any species?? It's revolting. We are the ones who put them in this dire situation and now, we are the only ones who can save them. 

Symbio have three tigers at their wildlife park. Two of which are part of the international breeding program, designed to try and sustain tigers for the next 100 years. In captivity at least. I fear it's almost to late to save them from extinction in the wild. 

Below are some photo's from my incredible, once in a lifetime experience! A huge thank you to Symbio Wildlife Park and a huge thank you to Kato, for being so sweet and such a gentleman. You are an amazingly beautiful tiger and it was truly an honour to have met you. I will remember you fondly for the rest of my life. 

Enjoy! xx

Kato