Marissa had a chance to photograph the baby tiger, Kashmir, at the Hollywild Animal Park! It is a 7 month old siberian tiger, which was born May 2, 2010. She’ll be doing the rest of this blog.
I loved taking pictures of Kashmir! He was absolutely adorable! He tried to pounce on me several times. One time the trainer didn’t tighten the leash in time and he managed to tag me! His paws were HUGE!
Pretty eyes!
Such a handsome boy! When Kashmir was first born he had a lot of digestive problems. The Hollywild staff had to work hard with the veterinarians to bring him to good health. Now, Kashmir is a bouncing boy with kitten like behavior, and the image of good health, thanks to the team’s hard work and determination to make him well.
Look at that adorable face!
Siberian tigers are considered a critically endangered species according to the IUCN red list. It’s estimated that less than 500 remain in the wild! You can help by donating to conservation efforts such as the Indian Tiger Welfare Society, Russia’s Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Wildlife Fund, or countless other conservation societies. You can also help by simply being more environmentally conscience.
Even big cats are curious and like to explore. He loved pouncing on the plants and then rolling around in them!
He’s on the prowl! Here he is preparing to pounce on me! I put this photo in the Nikon ‘I AM’ photography contest. Please vote for it here!
After all that playing, Kashmir laid down for a little break!
Kashmir is starting to get his adult face. His nose is elongating. He’s also started to roar a little! He is currently 35lbs, full grown he’ll be around 700lbs and have paw prints the size of dinner plates! His paws were already bigger than my hands! Many people think that Lions are the largest of the big cats, but it’s actually the Tiger that is the biggest!
At the end of the photoshoot I sat down for a picture with Kashmir. Not many people get to be so up close with a live tiger! The Hollywild Animal Park has several opportunities for amateur photographers to have the chance to take pictures of Kashmir and other animals in the park. While you may not get as close as I did, it’s still an awesome experience! Check out their website to see upcoming events!
Click here to see a video of the baby tiger!