Feed The Big Cats
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I recently visited Paradise Wildlife Park and had the fantastic experience of feeding Tikana the male African Lion by hand - I was anxious and excited at first and quite emotional by the end of the experience!
I've seen these animals in the wild in Africa, but nothing prepared me for my face to face meeting with Tikana....
It was a 40th birthday gift and I had the most amazing day - you actually feel the breath of the Lion on your hand as he very gently takes the meat from your hand and then if you're lucky he will actually lick your hand clean - I was on a high all day (& for a long time afterwards !).
The park had also just recently had two unexpected arrivals - 2 baby white lion cubs and these were soooo Cute!
Firstly , you have a briefing from the keeper, who takes you 'round to see the baby lion cubs first, then you hand feed your chosen cat (most choose the Tigers), after which, the keeper takes you 'round the Park to see the rest of the big cats and this virtually guarantees you a face to face with all of them - as soon as the cats hear the keepers, they think it's lunch time, so come running...
All in all an amazing day out - to get so close to these beautiful animals is a real privilege and a memory that will stay with me forever.
I thoroughly recommend this activity to anyone who likes animals, especially cats! The park is run by a great guy who you will probably meet (we did) and all the staff are so excited about working there and their animals, it's highly infectious and you can't fail to have an amazing time.