Zoo-venirs
(Panda: Chiang Mai Zoo, Thailand)
To see the Pandas in the zoo we paid double entry fee (200 baht / £3.80) and it was worth every penny. My general experience of European zoos is that although allegedly well stocked, on an average afternoon one can expect to view a meagre percentage of the inhabitants. The British climate in particular is not conducive to tropical animals merrily gambolling about in the pouring rain or chilly breezes. However, the warmth and humidity of Northern Thailand rendered most of the animals docile and content to doze in the sun in full view.
We were rewarded especially by the Pandas as we must have been a mere eight feet away with no glass, so they were fully visible and the male regarded his throngs of visitors with a relaxed curiosity. He crunched bamboo leaves, lounging on his deckchair, belly up, feet out. He completely ignored the collective gasp of delight (and Pete and I with our silent surprise) as he lurched over to shamble to a new vantage point with a fresh set of snacks laid out. I never felt a great deal for Pandas, though they’re endangered; possibly because they always seemed so inept, slightly pathetic and grossly over marketed. Now I have seen them first hand, I recall all prior reservations. I can liken it to the first time I ever saw the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, I had seen her so many times, reproduced to a meaningless brown smudge and copied a thousand times. How could anything so familiar be new and amazing? But she was, she was utterly compelling in the flesh, in a way I couldn’t foresee, just like the Pandas. They were much fuzzier and more round than I imagined and their ears are different from other bears, squarer and… well, cuter.
I did feel a bit strange being there with the security guards holding “quiet please” signs and the ‘zoo-venir’ shop selling panda dung paper and toys. It felt more directly exploitative in a way I haven’t experienced before, or not perceived. The same feeling washed over me tonight seeing an elephant being led along the gutter of a main road in Chiang Mai with a flashing light clipped on its tail like a vehicle. It just made me feel strange; powerless, impotent to change its future.
so cute!!!!