CityNews – 7th May, Benjapol Nakprasert, Director of the Zooological Park Organisation of Thailand, Nipont Vichairat, Director of the Chiang Mai Zoo, Dr. Boripat Siriarunrat, Head of Panda Research Project Thailand and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sudsan Siriwaitawongse of Chulalongkorn University held a press conference at Chiang Mai Zoo on their efforts to breed the zoo’s two major stars, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui.
The two pandas, already proud parents of Lin Ping, who was repatriated to China in 2013, are being carefully monitored as authorities hope that they will breed by the end of the year. “After inspecting Lin Hui’s reproductive organs with an ultra sound, without using anesthesia, I am happy to say that everything is in working order,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sudsan. “Her womb is 3-4 cms wide, which is the normal size, and her hormones have shown that she could go into heat. She had a miscarriage at the beginning of 2014, but is fully recovered.”
Readers may recall the pandemonium following the arrival of Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang in 2003, leading to years of excitement until Lin Huang gave birth to Lin Ping in 2009, when all eyes were on panda procreation, going so far as one cable company showing a 24 hour reality show featuring the lackadaisical couple spending their days sleeping, eating, scratching and, well, sleeping. After the pandas refused to get procreating, the zoo went as far as to place a television in their enclosure – panda porn, if you will – which is believed to have inspired the pandas into producing Lin Ping. We will keep you abreast of all future panda-related announcements, of which we have no doubt there will be many.
