Tiger World

Tiger World is by far one of the best little gems we've found since moving to North Carolina!  We decided to check it out when my sister Jess and her boyfriend Tom came to visit for the weekend.  It's an amazing exotic animal rescue center that makes a perfect little zoo for Calvin.  They started out saving tigers, branched out to other wild cats, and now have bears, wolves, wild dogs, kangaroos, primates, parrots, and various reptiles.  We didn't even make it to the ticket counter before seeing the first tigers and Calvin practicing his roar.

The tigers were absolutely beautiful.  We were there in the morning shortly before their scheduled feeding time, so they were all very active and vocal.  It was SO much fun to see!

White tigers are apparently very rare but Tiger World has seven (or more?) of them!  They also have a liger with with the giant gene (so he is HUGE) as well as a large ti-liger.  This white tiger was paired with the two of them.  They had had a large enclosure but had to be separated to eat, unlike the other pairs, because of safety concerns for all of them.

Once they started feeding the animals, we followed the truck to see it all.  The caretakers explained their diets, fasting schedules, and eating habits along with giving us lots of background information on all the animals.  I loved watching the tigers eat.  The whole chickens were exciting to see, but the tiger growling at us while defending a deer leg was absolutely stunning!

We were pretty excited to find a tiger named Calvin while we were there.  My Calvin was wearing his favorite shirt with a tiger and carrying his Hobbes, so it made taking a picture with the sign even better!

Of course, one of the best parts of the whole experience was that I got to spend time with Jess!  I don't get nearly enough sister time these days, so the weekend felt far too short but wonderful.  And, Calvin absolutely loved having her here...there's nothing quite like getting spoiled by an aunt!