Zoo Lujan (part 2)

After the bear feeding, we were pretty much at liberty to walk around wherever we chose and see the different animals. We passed some plump peacocks wandering freely around the zoo like the geese and an aviary of brightly colored macaws on the way to one of the main attractions: the tigers. Two attendants were sitting outside the large cage, inside which were several orange tigers and two lionesses. We asked if we could come in and they said yes, opening the first door to the cage, closing it behind us, and then opening the inner door that lead to the big cats. I felt an odd combination of exhilaration, fear, sadness and awe as I approached the tiger laying sleepily in the straw. The big cats at Zoo Lujan are raised by hand from the time they are born, which is why they are so used to humans and "tame." They were all extremely healthy-looking, and the zoo keeps them well-fed so they (hopefully) never decide to take bite out of a tourist. As a knelt down just behind the tiger to pet it's back, the two attendants watched intently, occasionally stepping in front of a lion or tiger that had decided to walk in my direction (and were taller than me then I was kneeling). One of the attendants fed the tiger from a large bottle, and when we asked what was inside, they said just milk, but people say that they give the animals some kind of sedative, which is certainly possible, although the cats didn't seem drugged out, just sleepy as it was the middle of the day and big cats sleep most of the day anyway. 

Next, we went to the male lions enclosure. The attendants let us in and told us about the two lions inside (one with a full mane and the other just beginning to grow one). These attendants were the friendliest and most helpful of the zoo; most of the people didn't really give us background or explain how they cared for the animals, but these guys did. I was a little more nervous as both of these lions were walking around (and their backs were waist-high to me) instead of napping. I got to feed the bigger lion milk from the large bottle, and he definitely made eye contact with me a few times.