Bangkok Post : No more panda cub displays

News » Local News

WILDLIFE

No more panda cub displays

Published: 7/07/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

CHIANG MAI : Chiang Mai Zoo has decided not to extend the visiting period for a close look at the baby panda during the long holiday.

Prasertsak Buntrakulpuntawi, the zoo director for panda research, said separating the cub from Lin Hui was getting difficult as the mother panda was very protective of its offspring.

The zoo's staff were ordered not to put the cub on display in a separate enclosure from today.

The curtain on the three-day grand celebration fell yesterday amid growing calls to continue with the display for another two days. Thousands of visitors yesterday braved the rain to get a closer glimpse of the fluffy bear.

Mr Prasertsak said about 14,037 people went to see the baby panda over the three-day period, more than double the expected number of around 6,600.

The visits helped the zoo earn more than a million baht.

The cub was born on May 27 to Lin Hui and Xuang Xuang, two giant pandas on a 10-year loan from China since 2003.

The cub now weighs about 2,070 grammes and is about 39cm long.

The panda cub is being used to boost tourism in Chiang Mai which has been hard hit by the economic downturn.

About the author

Writer: CHEEWIN SATTHA

Keep this article in your social bookmark:

Latest stories in this category:

Share your thoughts

For more candid, lengthy, conversational and open discussion between one another, use our Forum

Report objectionable comments click here. Include: discussion #, commenter name, comment date / time as it looks on the page. Example: discussion 15: 09/01/2009 at 10:00 AM.

thinker

Discussion 19 : 08/07/2009 at 01:22 AM19
this is good news for thailand...
that is just great...
keep growing baby panda....
wishing u good life...
muach baby panda...
Panda Welfare First

Discussion 18 : 08/07/2009 at 12:35 AM18
PANDA CUB HAS UNMASKED THE FACE OF A MONEY DEVIL

For Chiangmai Zoo, it's all about zoo visitations and profit more than pandas' wellbeing - as shown by the constant FORCED separation of mother and young cub which is causing unnecessary stress to both.

I thought Buddhism teaches one that animals have feelings too.

Chiangmai Zoo, where is your sense of shame?

And BANGKOK POST by keeping silence to this gross abuse is a partner in this shameless exploitation.

Chiangmai Zoo and Bangkok Post, you gave Buddhism a bad name!
Wombat

Discussion 17 : 07/07/2009 at 06:34 PM17
Dop and Jo.
This is Thailand, remember?
luap Chiang Mai

Discussion 16 : 07/07/2009 at 06:22 PM16
Mr Wombat,

The panda is really one of the 10 senior Thai officials hiding from your story. The disguise is great, so are the BP front pages in covering this story.
Nai

Discussion 15 : 07/07/2009 at 04:32 PM15
Why the the panda is so favored by people?

We should think about other animals while the panda is favored.
Mongkut

Discussion 14 : 07/07/2009 at 04:11 PM14
to Anthony:

From wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda)

For many decades the precise taxonomic classification of the Giant Panda was under debate as both it and the distantly related Red Panda share characteristics of both bears and raccoons. However, molecular studies suggest that the Giant Panda is a true bear and part of the Ursidae family,[21][22
Onnut

Discussion 13 : 07/07/2009 at 03:10 PM13
Andy,
It is a bear.You can Google it.
nickee

Discussion 12 : 07/07/2009 at 03:00 PM12
Ugh, Anthony,
Get your facts straight. Panda it is. A Bear!

"Molecular studies suggest that the Giant Panda is a true bear and part of the Ursidae family".

O'Brien, Nash, Wildt, Bush & Benveniste, A molecular solution to the riddle of the giant panda's phylogeny, Nature 317, 140 - 144 (12 September 1985)

Lindburg, Donald G.; Baragona, Karen (2004). Giant Pandas: Biology and Conservation. University of California Press. ISBN 0520238672.
Wombat

Discussion 11 : 07/07/2009 at 12:46 PM11
And another thing.

BP will put a baby panda on its front page, yet will not (or can not) follow up on what should be REAL headline news regarding the alleged involvement of "10 senior Thai officials" in human trafficking.

Get your priorities right please.
Wombat

Discussion 10 : 07/07/2009 at 12:38 PM10
What a windfall of revenue this small creature is.
And that's what it's all about.
No wonder the zoo is pleading with China for the panda to remain in Chiang Mai for longer.

And what a fantastic amount of free publicity this zoo has received from the likes of Bangkok Post.

Pandamania!!

My Poodle is about to pup.
Thais love poodles, so I think I'll separate it from its mother and put it on show to raise some drinking money. I hope BP will publicize the occasion.

1 2 Next Last