the death of the panda Lin Hui causes the disarray of the country

Thailand mourns Lin Hui. The 21-year-old giant panda, whose life has captivated the kingdom for years, died on the night of Tuesday April 18 to Wednesday April 19 at Chiang Mai Zoo in the north of the country. On loan from China, Lin Hui had lived under the eye of the cameras in an air-conditioned enclosure at the zoo since 2003.

The female began to bleed from her nose on Tuesday evening and her condition deteriorated overnight until she died. “We helped her as much as possible until Lin Hui left us”said zoo director Wutthichai Muangman. Chinese and Thai experts will jointly carry out an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Baby returned to China in 2013

On loan from the Chinese city of Chengdu as part of “panda diplomacy”, Lin Hui was insured for half a million dollars. It was due in October. For years, everything has been done to promote the mating of Lin Hui and his companion Chuang Chuang, who died of a heart attack in 2019.

After artificial insemination, Lin Hui finally gave birth to Lin Ping in 2009, sparking a real panda mania in the kingdom. The family’s escapades captivated Thailand, and animal lovers followed the ‘panda channel’ live, which ran 24 hours a day from 2009 to 2012. Lin Ping was returned to China a year later . The life expectancy of the species varies from 15 to 20 years in the wild, but they can reach the age of 30 in captivity, according to the WWF.