Chiang Mai Zoo greets new baby panda

New Panda joins Koalas, Rhinos and Peacocks at Northern Thai Zoo

Jun 13, 2009

Convenient to reach from the city of Chiang Mai, the Chiang Mai Zoo and its 10,000 animals are well cared for.

The birth of a baby panda in Chiang Mai Zoo in May 2009 has brought world attention to one of the lesser-known sights of the popular northern Thai city. After several failed attempts, the baby panda was born by artificial insemination to a panda couple on loan from China since 2003.

It's notoriously difficult to get pandas to breed in captivity. Along with the United States and Japan, Thailand is now the third country outside of China were a panda has been born. A Chinese panda expert, who was in residence for the birth, is so excited by the birth that he plans to get some of the father panda's sperm for artificial insemination. The baby, still unnamed, was conceived by artificial insemination. Under the agreement with China, the panda parents and any offspring must be returned to China in 2013. The panda parents arrived in Thailand in 2003.

Here are some terrific photos of the newborn panda. At 2 grams and a few days old, the pink baby was showing some fuzz and could fit in the palm of the vet's hands. The mother held the baby in her mouth, the baby looked in danger of being swallowed. The Chiang Mai Zoo is also providing updates and a blurry video on its website. At a few weeks old, the cut was sprouting more white fuzz on her blunt snout but looked more like a puppy dog than a panda.

Koalas, Seals and Catfish

The zoo claims to have more than 10,000 animals. They number more than 5,000 birds, 475 mammals and more than 1,000 fish. Chiang Mai Zoo would never pass for Singapore's zoo, but it's not a typical (distressing) Asian zoo either. There's no choice between Bangkok's Dusit Zoo and Chiang Mai Zoo: the latter is much better. At 212 acres, it is far more spacious and the animals are better cared for. Visitors seem less inclined to throw food and other objects at the animals. Expect to observe child and adult visitors teasing the animals by shouting at them.

Among the species native to Thailand are elephants, barking deer, peacocks and many other birds. Gibbons swing freely in the trees on their own little island. Among the species from other parts of the world are: hippopotamus, zebra, giraffes, koala bears, ostriches, Cape Fur seals, Humboldt penguins, a Malayan tapir and an Indian rhinoceros. The fresh-water aquarium features Giant Mekhong and striped catfish, Siamese carp and Ture eel.

Chiang Mai Zoo should not be confused with the notorious Chiang Mai Night Safari, which was carved out of Doi Suthep National Park early in the decade when Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister. In 2008, chatter on internet forums forced the administrators to acknowledge that 300 animals had died in the previous few years. Many of them had been imported from Africa and Australia.

Chiang Mai Zoo Ticket Prices

The traditional Thai racist pricing is in force. The 100% surcharge for adults and 500% for children for general admission may sound steep, but the total isn't as outrageous as some places (such as Siam Ocean World in Bangkok) in Thailand. The skin color/facial feature tax is a little ironic in this case since the zoo was founded in the 1950s by an American, a member of well-known Christian missionary family, the Youngs, that lived in Burma and northern Thailand for generations. Would Christians condone such practices? Besides the pricing below, there are also skin color surcharges for the monorail (150 baht for both off-color children and adults; prices are 70 baht and 50 baht for the right color people). But the extra small fees for the tramcar and adventure park are the same for all colors (20 baht for adults; 10 baht for children).

Senior citizens and disabled of the right color get free entrance. No breaks for other skin shades.

Chiang Mai Zoo Address and Phone

Huay Kaew is the main road jutting out northwest from the city proper. The zoo is a few kilometers beyond Chiang Mai University.

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