CHIANG MAI - CHIANG RAI 2005 Part 4

Hi and welcome to the last part of this journey of mine. As I mentioned in the previous parts that the trip was covered both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai province of Thailand. But since I've been to Chiang Mai a few times, this trip, then, focused on Chiang Rai.

You may also like to see the other parts of this series here | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 |

**GIANT PANDAS AT CHIANG MAI ZOO**

The last thing I would like to share with you in this series was my experience at Chiang Mai Zoo and their pandas.

After another night in Chiang Rai, we woke up refreshed from our tough journey on the hills. I drove the poor old rented car back to Chiang Mai. The path was uphill again, the worst for my mom since she has got motion sickness.

We, except my mom ^^, arrived Chiang Mai with the strong will to visit the Chiang Mai Zoo but for the time we had, we couldn't complete the whole zoo, so, we visited the only @ Chiang Mai Zoo (in Thailand), the pandas from China named, Chuang Chuang (M) and Lin Hui (F).

The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, "black-and-white cat-foot") is a mammal classified in the bear family, Ursidae, native to central-western and southwestern China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though belonging to the order Carnivora, the panda has a diet which is 99% bamboo. Pandas may eat other foods such as honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges and bananas.

The Giant Panda is an endangered animal. According to the latest report, China has 239 giant pandas in captivity by Nov 2007, 128 of them in Wolong and 67 in Chengdu, with 27 pandas living outside the country. It also estimated that around 1,590 panda are living in the wild. However, a 2006 study via DNA analysis estimated that there might be as many as 2000-3000 pandas in the wild. Though reports show that the numbers of wild pandas are on the rise, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) believes there is not enough certainty to remove pandas from the endangered animal list.

The giant panda is a favorite of the human public, at least partly because many people find that the species has an appealing baby-like cuteness. Also, it is usually depicted reclining peacefully eating bamboo, as opposed to hunting, which adds to its image of innocence. Though giant pandas are often assumed docile because of their cuteness, they have been known to attack humans, presumably out of irritation rather than predatory behavior. Research shows that in cases in which its offspring may be under threat, the panda can and often will react violently.

The Giant Panda has a paw, with a "thumb" and five fingers; the "thumb" is actually a modified sesamoid bone, which helps the panda to hold bamboo while eating. Stephen Jay Gould wrote an essay about this, then used the title The Panda's Thumb for a book of essays concerned with evolution, punctuated equilibrium, intelligent design, the Piltdown Man hoax, Down's Syndrome, and the relationship between dinosaurs and birds among others. It also has a short tail, approximately 15 cm long. Giant Pandas can usually live to be 20-30 years old in captivity.

Quoted from: WIKIPEDIA

In Thailand, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui caused panda fever effects for the time we received the both of them, 10 years on loan, from the government of China. Countries, except China, that have Pandas (for show) are USA, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. See? It's a very great gift from China to us...I've a clip of them to share with you ^^

They, the Pandas, I mean, were taming in the large air-conditioned room with artificials environments that the zoo try to fool them. I do not think they success because the architecture is too rough. But I think that it's because these 2 pandas were born in the zoo as well. So, it's okay for them I hope. The attendance need to be quiet and stay calm because they are often sleep during day-time...and YES!! Chuang Chuang had woke up....

He, after some yawns, slowly climbed down the slope and drank some water from the pouring man-made spring. Then he directed lazily (it's like he's doing his job) to one small place decided to be his show-off seat. After that, a zoo staff throw him a bamboo and he tried to catched it!!??

'FOOL!! HOW CAN YOU THINK PANDA CAN CATCH A FLYING BAMBOO!!!', I thought and said to my brother 'Hey! What will happen if that dude throw a bamboo to his head'. He replied nothing (-*-). Chuang Chuang was not hit when I was there. He was lazily catching throwed bamboo and eat it. I confess that I thought pandas eat bamboo leafs not hardcore as what I had seen that day...EATING BAMBOO CANE!!

However, he didn't eat it all; after the staff throwed him a new one, he left the one on his hand and eating a new one...again and again...ARE YOU REALLY DOING A ROUTINE JOB....MAN!!!!????

In a sudden, after more than 10 bamboo canes he ate, he left his show-off site and headed to the only one of his kind in Thailand...Lin Hui!!

Lin Hui was sleeping at one corner of the chamber when Chuang Chuang reached her. It seems like she is shyer than Chuang Chuang whom I think likes to show-off. He, then, tried to woke Lin Hui up...to switch with him in this boring show-off job... However, she didn't look like having a mind for. She angried at Chuang Chuang and scared him off... 'POOR OLD PANDA!!!', I thought, 'She doesn't wanna help even for a little'.

Chuang Chuang, then, crept back again to the site show, playing with an man-made equipment...released some poo and started to sit at his show-off seat again. 'WHAT A LAZY GIRL SHE IS, OKAY, I WILL CONTINUE DOING IT FOR NOW!! COME ON MAN...THROW ME SOME BAMBOO!!' he might thnk this way...

After I completed my time with the poor Chuang Chuang, I really had no enough time to walk around the zoo because we needed to return the rented car and hurried back to the airport....

Is this Chiang Mai trip too short? I think so ^_^ if comparing to my standard.

The NEXT trip would be 'PORTUGAL'...yes, PORTUGAL! Keep in touch! I'll share all my experiences there with you...

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