Chiang Mai’s giant panda, Chuang Chuang, dies at 19

Chiang Mai Zoo’s resident giant panda Chuang Chuang died aged 19, the zoo’s director said on Monday (September 16).

Pandas normally live for around 20 years.

Chuang Chuang was also known as Thewan in Thai and as Kham Ai in the indigenous Lanna language.

Keepers at the zoo said Chuang Chuang walked brifely after eating a meal in the evening, before he collapsed and was given initial care by the staff, but he never resuscitated.

Chiang Mai Zoo is expected to issue a statement elaborating on Chuang Chuang’s death on Tuesday (September 17).

The late giant panda was born in captivity in China on August 6, 2000, before he was lent to Chiang Mai Zoo as a symbol of bilateral friendship in October 2003.

Giant panda Lin Hui was inseminated with Chuang Chuang’s seed, resulting in the birth of Lin Ping  – the world’s first panda to be born in a tropical climate – on May 27, 2009.