Well, this is at a Tiger Park in Phuket, Thailand. These are raised among humans since they were born.
They are usually harmless as long as you don't provoke the "animal" by following rules.
These rules must be very strictly observed:
1) Never face the animal (perceived threat)
2) Always stay behind the animals
3) Always stay with the trainers
4) Never make sudden movements and run away from the animal
Now what did I do that would have gone wrong most likely...
Image the area where these tigers are sleeping a "L" shaped area.
I was on the short side (images 2 and 3 above) and as were walking back to the other side,
I saw the tiger face about two feet (less than 1 meter) away from at the corner of the "L".
The tiger on the right as you are seeing the picture in image 1 is the one I am talking about.
I had by CZ24-70 on A900 and started shooting (the images) while my wife and trainers moved
on to the the middle of the long "L" about 4-5 meters away.
Suddenly the tiger opened its eyes (perhaps my shutter noise) as I see through the view finder,
I froze with feat as it immediately dawned on my that I broke rules #1, #2, and #3 and almost
tempted to break rule #4. I slowly "slinked" away towards the trainer as the tiger was following
my movement with its eyes. That was longest 3 minutes of my life and was fervently wishing I had
a spare set of undergarments in the car.
