Pandas are not indigenous to Thailand but because of the rather amicable relationship between the two countries, China loaned 2 of them to Thailand and they were an immediate sensation.  If you go to your country's zoos you are no doubt going to have a much wider array of animals than they have in Chiang Mai, Thailand; but i bet there isn't a panda because China doesn't do this for just anyone!

Keep in mind this didn't happen today, it was 5 days ago or so but any news that is embarrassing towards this country is not usually reported and sometimes even suppressed.

 <center> ![CHUANGCHUANG_Header1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/gooddream/EHXx9HF3-CHUANGCHUANG_Header-1.jpg)
[source](http://www.khaosodenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CHUANGCHUANG_Header-1.jpg)
 <sub>CC's 18th birthday celebration.  He would unfortunately only get one more</sub> </center>

Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui arrived in Thailand in October of 2003 and have been the subject of much fan-fare since their arrival.  If you are ever visiting Chiang Mai you will not have to look very far to see some sort of panda statue.  One of my favorite bike trails has them every 50 meters or so.  Let's just say that it was a really big deal that China gave these creatures to Thailand.

<center> ![82136730.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/gooddream/TdtPjIdb-82136730.jpg)
[source](https://online-chiangmai.com/_ld/0/82136730.jpg)</center>

The pandas were so popular from 2003 onward that not only did Chiang Mai see an dramatic increase in tourism specifically related to these animals, there was a television station that was simply a 24-hour television reality show that was just cameras watching them.  Mostly they would just be sleeping or eating bamboo so it was actually pretty boring.  But still!  People would watch this channel for hours to get a glimpse of the big cuties in action.

The thing is, these animals were not _given_ to Thailand, they were sent there on loan - i suppose as some sort of political gesture of goodwill.  The Chinese government is quite upset about this premature death and are sending over their own experts to investigate the cause of death.  There are currently unfounded rumors of negligence.

As is expected (because it is social media afterall) some people are **livid** and are accusing Thailand of improperly looking after the animals during their stay.

> “I hope they cancel the panda lease contract with Thailand, they are not as kind to animals as we think,”

and

> "“Please don’t rent any more pandas to Thailand! No! Chuang Chuang is probably the most bitter panda in the world! What kind of bamboo he was given eat? If you can’t afford [a panda], don’t rent it.”
>  <sub>select comments from [Sina Weibo](www.weibo.com)</sub>

<center> ![download.png](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/gooddream/m6hQrINp-download.png)
[source](https://tvazteca.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/711c22a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/904x508+0+22/resize/968x544!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftvazteca.brightspotcdn.com%2Fdb%2F8b%2F3aab937e49d396ab09cf9480d896%2Fcaptura-de-pantalla-2019-09-22-a-las-19.10.27.png)
 <sub>Chuang Chuang, doing what he loved most - eating bamboo</sub>  </center>

At the moment, very vague information is being released to the public about the cause of death, which is not very unusual over here in Thailand when something controversial happens.

Before he left this world Chuang Chuang did manage to father a child which was named "Lin Ping" in 2009.

 <center>![6a00d8341c630a53ef011571cfabed970b500wi.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/gooddream/TxGpVyvc-6a00d8341c630a53ef011571cfabed970b-500wi.jpg)
[source](https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef011571cfabed970b-500wi)
 <sub>Lin Ping is the one on the left</sub> </center> 

It will be interesting to see what this investigation turns up but one thing that is important to note is that giant pandas on average live 15-20 years in the wild and 20-25 years in captivity (most almost never make it to 30.)  I'm not a zoologist, but I think it might be a little brash to rush to judgement when it is a couple years we are talking about here.