How are “caged tigers?” VietNamNet Bridge - The iron door opened, C entered into the tiger cage. The four tigers recognized their owner so they rushed to see him. C stroked their heads. At times of high excitement, C slapped continuously onto the face of the biggest tiger, making us shiver ... Slapping tiger! Chicken heads - the food for tigers. Indeed, for those who raise tigers as brothers C and H in Do Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, Nghe An Province, letting strangers into contact with illegally captive tigers is an extremely taboo. To be allowed to see tigers, it was actually not easy to convince the tiger owners. After drinking several cans of beer that we brought, and seeing our desire to see the tigers, C finally agreed to lead us--whom he met for the first time, to his most secret place – the tiger cage. Chicken heads, legs and wings are the main food for tigers in adulthood. The leftover was left near the tiger cage. Before taking us to the cage, C. just told us to not tease the tigers to be safe. C and his four tigers. The tiger cage is located directly behind the living room. Approaching the cage, we smelled burning and a stench that shocked up to the nose. The outside of the cage, piles of chicken heads, wings and legs were still littered. The tiger cage was separated from the outside by an iron door. At first glance, we did not think that's where the tigers were locked up, because it was too close to the toilet. Inside this small room were four adult tigers, which were separated from the human world by an iron door. Seeing humans, the tigers immediately stood up and ran toward the iron gate, leaning up. Seeing their sharp teeth and claws, we could not help but felt chill along the spine. C. pulled the latch and went inside. Recognizing their owner, the four tigers walked around C. C told us to be careful. "These tigers are full grown. I have taken care of them like my babies since they were small, so I know that. Once a tiger suddenly jumped into me, making me fall down. I was so angry and gave it a few slaps. It obediently lied down," C said. C. added although these tigers have been tamed from small and they are fairly gentle, due to the high level of danger that nobody in his family dares to go alone into the barn, only with C. Therefore, for over this last year, C. has never been away from home for more than 2 hours. Because if something happens with the tigers, only he can handle it. Listening to C’s introduction, we wanted to approach the tigers to take some photos as a souvenir.  We thought to ourselves that we were brave, because of C. We stood together, but no one could make sure that the tigers would leave strangers alone. Pulling out tiger whiskers Pulling out tiger whiskers Seeing strangers, a tiger slowly came forward. C, who was holding a plastic tube on his hand, beat the tiger face with the pipe. Purring up, the tiger left in the corner of the room. Strangers like us were freely to pose near the tigers. Witnessing this scene, people would have gooses bumps. As everyone knows, the tiger is a fierce predator. Unfortunately, if one of the tigers causes a problem, the future trouble is unpredictable. We also have heard about tigers attacking staff at the zoo. However, C quickly reassured us: "Don’t be afraid! Unless I’m here, they will not dare to do a thing!" Then he beat the largest tiger with the plastic pipe and laughed. The tiger lied down in front of its “master”. C revealed that he often “taught” his tigers with a whip. We did not dare play any longer in the tiger cage. We walked out of the room to check out the photos that we had just taken. C walked out, closed the door and told us to not open the door because it is very dangerous and left us there. While C was not there, two men in our group began to tease the tigers. They used C’s plastic pipe to stick them out to the door. The tigers seemed to also enjoy the joke. They snatched up the door and chewed on the plastic pipe. Just waiting for that, the two men quickly put their hands into the cage to pull out the largest tiger’s whiskers. The domesticated tiger did not respond before the weird act of strangers.  One of the men showed off a handful of tiger whiskers and said proudly: "People say do not dare to beard the tiger, but I even dare to take the whole bunch of its beard." Phan Song La