China sends team to investigate panda death at Thai zoo accused of poor care
China is sending a team of panda experts to Thailand to investigate the death of Chuang Chuang, a 19-year-old panda who died unexpectedly.
Chuang Chuang collapsed suddenly in his enclosure shortly after finishing a meal of bamboo leaves. Zoo staff have said that black-and-white giant bear showed no signs of illness or injury, and that he had recently passed a health checkup.
He arrived at the Chiang Mai zoo in 2003 with Lin Hui, a female giant panda, on a ten-year loan that was later extended for another decade.
The pair were such a hit that, for years, a 24-hour video feed broadcast their daily lives – napping midday, chomping on bamboo leaves and rolling around.
To foster a romantic spark between the two, Chuang Chuang was even shown videos of pandas mating. In the end, the couple did produce a cub, Lin Ping, in 2009 – but with the help of artificial insemination.
Chuang Chuang’s death has caused an uproar in China, where the internet is abuzz with concern about whether he received proper care while in Thailand.
A social media post by a news aggregator about Chuang Chuang’s passing received 6,000 comments expressing a mix of anger and grief.
“Thailand does not deserve to keep pandas. Look at how worn the bear’s teeth is and you’ll know that he didn’t have a good life,” wrote one user.
Others questioned whether the pandas were being fed an appropriate variety of bamboo soft enough for the bears to chew and digest. A popular conspiracy theory runs that Chuang Chuang might have died from choking on harder bamboo stalks – some types are strong enough to be commonly used as construction scaffolding.
Some called for Thailand to return Lin Hui, the other panda. “Don’t ever lend pandas to Thailand. They didn’t take good care of our national treasure. Poor Lin Hui, please come home.”
China owns all the pandas in the world and loans them to zoos abroad for research and conservation purposes at a hefty cost – roughly $1 million a year for a pair. But Beijing has long used the fuzzy bears in strategic ways to curry favour.
When Mao Zedong was in power, pandas were gifted to the leaders of the UK, US, North Korea and former Soviet Union. From 1972 to 1974, China gifted two dozen bears as “goodwill ambassadors.”
Countries can also lose them if they upset Beijing – two panda cubs were quickly recalled in 2010 after then-President Obama took a meeting with the Dalai Lama despite Chinese objections.
The Chinese consulate in Chiang Mai posted a statement mourning the passing of Chuang Chuang, and said the results of the experts’ investigation would be released to the public, reported state media. An autopsy cannot be performed unless a Chinese panda expert is present as part of the panda loan agreement.
Zoo staff have been ordered to wear black and white clothing for a period of mourning.
