Thai tourist grabs tiger by genitals for photos at Chiang Mai zoo, causes outrage

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Julia Yeo | September 04, 2020, 12:19 PM

A Thai woman got overly enthusiastic while posing for photos with a tiger in a zoo in Chiang Mai.

Cupped tiger's testicles while posing for photos

Posing with a tiger that was allegedly sedated, Waraschaya Akkarachaiyapas posted a video of herself caressing the tiger, and cupped the testicles of the dazed animal, infuriating people online.

Screenshot from YouTube via Waraschaya Akkarachaiyapas/FB

She was slammed for touching the tiger inappropriately, and some even accused her of "humiliating" the animal, according to Daily Mail.

In response to her grabbing the tiger's genitals, one user wrote: "This is so rude. The tiger did not allow you to touch his privates. You have no right to do that."

Some also warned that it could be dangerous, as the tiger could have attacked her for that.

In a later post, Akkarachaiyapas defended herself, saying that she was an "animal lover", and that it was not her first time "playing with a tiger".

She also added in her post that the keepers at the zoo had given her permission to touch the tiger in its sensitive regions.

Zoo responds to backlash

In response, Pirom Cahntama, the head zookeeper at Tiger Kingdom said that it will not be allowing any visitors to touch the tigers in its sensitive region again, reported Daily Mail.

Cahntama maintained that tourists are not allowed to grab the tigers' testicles, but are allowed to touch any part of the animal's body with the supervision of the zoo's specialists.

Similar zoos in Thailand have been accused of sedating their animals to allow tourists to pose for photos with them.

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Top image via Waraschaya Akkarachaiyapas/FB