Thai zoo solves mystery of celebrity panda's death

By Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

FILE PHOTO: Chuang Chuang, a giant panda on loan to Thailand from China, eats bamboo at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai province, north of Bangkok, September 3, 2005. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - When a celebrity giant panda died suddenly last month while on loan to Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo, millions of social media users in China demanded to know "What killed Chuang Chuang?"

 

On Tuesday, they learned it was heart failure, according to a Chinese-assisted autopsy on the death of 19-year-old Chuang Chuang, who had been on loan from China since 2003 with his mate Lin Hui.

 

They were celebrities in Thailand, with media extensively covering their love life - including a "wedding" ceremony in 2005.

 

Chuang Chuang's relatively early demise sparked mourning among Thai fans and an outcry https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-panda/panda-autopsy-preparations-at-thai-zoo-as-chinese-experts-arrive-idUSKBN1W31FV on Chinese social media, where a hashtag seeming to blame Thailand for the death was viewed 250 million times.

 

Pandas generally live 14-20 years in the wild but can live up to 30 years in captivity.

 

The Chiang Mai Zoo said any speculation in China that Chuang Chuang - who was known for being obese - may have died due to careless feeding, neglect or even some kind of attack had proved unfounded.

 

"The autopsy and analysis by Chinese-Thai experts showed that the nutrition health of Giant Panda Chuang Chuang was good, no external wounds were found and no foreign objects were found in his trachea," the zoo said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

"The cause of his death was heart failure, resulting in the lack of oxygen of internal organs and leading to his death."

 

The zoo confirmed that Thailand would nonetheless pay unspecified compensation to Beijing as outlined in the original loan agreement.

 

Chuang Chuang's mate, Lin Hui, would stay at the zoo for the time being, it said.

 

Chuang Chuang famously was put on a diet in 2007 when the zoo was trying to encourage he and Lin Hui to conceive.

 

The zoo even resorted to "panda porn" videos https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-pandas-attn-fahmy/thai-zoo-tries-more-panda-porn-to-foment-lust-idUSBKK10098320070327 of other pandas mating to encourage Chuang Chuang, but Lin Hui eventually conceived through artificial insemination.

 

After Lin Hui gave birth in 2009, their offspring was featured on a 24-hour "Panda Channel" shown on a Thai TV network.

 

Baby pandas are rarely born in captivity, and the offspring was eventually returned to China.

 

Soon after Chuang Chuang's death, footage of Lin Hui alone in her enclosure next to her mate's empty pen was aired around the world and a Chinese official said there was talk she may be returned to China amid concerns she would be lonely.

 

No decision on her future has been made, but the zoo said "in the meantime, Thailand will continue (to) take best care of the remaining panda Lin Hui."

 

(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Susan Fenton)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-10-09

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10 minutes ago, webfact said:

"The cause of his death was heart failure, resulting in the lack of oxygen of internal organs and leading to his death."

Caused by pollution ?

Yeah, yeah, we know, a farang sneezed on it !

yeah, heart failure. And what's the cause of it?

 

most of the time the diagnosis heart failure is used when the real cause of death is unknown

Stupid me, I always thought that Thailand's National animal would be the elephant .... But seeing the pachyderms being neglected and maltreated in all those elephant villages and reading up all that rannygazoo on the Panda ....... I stand corrected ???? 

With one or two notable exceptions, generally clueless about animals.

just another Chinese victim in Thailand going home in a box

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The zoo confirmed that Thailand would nonetheless pay unspecified compensation to Beijing as outlined in the original loan agreement.

The sting in the tail !!!

7 hours ago, webfact said:

the death of 19-year-old Chuang Chuang...

 

...Pandas generally live 14-20 years in the wild but can live up to 30 years in captivity.

Seems conditions at the zoo where so good he felt like he was in the wild...

8 hours ago, sanemax said:

Caused by pollution ?

 

Being from China, that seems unlikely.

Also, Chiang Mai's yearly pollution figures are better than many other places like Bangkok and Pattaya.

I was betting on farang suicide... case closed...

9 hours ago, webfact said:

n outcry https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-panda/panda-autopsy-preparations-at-thai-zoo-as-chinese-experts-arrive-idUSKBN1W31FV on Chinese social media, where a hashtag seeming to blame Thailand for the death was viewed 250 million times.

 

Another Chinese PR disaster......

1 hour ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

Also, Chiang Mai's yearly pollution figures are better than many other places like Bangkok and Pattaya.

You are averaging the figures out, which doesn't make sense in biology. Drinking an entire bottle of whisky is not just twice as likely to kill you as half a bottle. The increase in risk would be something like 20X for the average person.

A temporarily far higher level of exposure to toxins during the 4 really bad months in Chiang Mai causes more damage and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer far more than the lower level of exposure spread more evenly throughout the year, even if the total annual levels for Bangkok seem higher overall.

There is a solid argument that just one week at the extremely high levels we saw in Chiang Mai this year is more dangerous to humans than spending an entire year at, say, half or two-thirds of that level. Each jump of just 10% changes the nature of the risk.

Unlike all but the most impoverished members here, Chuang Chuang did not have the option to leave in January.

"Stopped breathing" is the gold standard here.

Saw them in 2006 with my wife while on holiday in Chiang Mai but what I can remember it appeared to be fully inclosed so IF and that's a big If the air system was maintained then shouldn't be a problem but the enclosure was tiny in my opinion. I would guess bad animal husbandry in taking care of the animals the root cause of death. Over feeding is neglect and I personally see it as animal cruelty (you see it in pets all the time in the west, abused and killed by love). 

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

"Stopped breathing" is the gold standard here.

And that is as valid a diagnosis as heart failure. Saying nothing about the cause (even if we can guess what might cause stopping to breathe in Chiangmai)

It gave up on life due to seeing way too many Hipsters & Vegans in Chaing Mai!