PATTAYA, Thailand – Khao Kheow Open Zoo celebrated the Loy Krathong festival on November 27 with a variety of activities under the theme “Krathong for Earth, Love for the Environment”. The event aimed to promote positive animal behaviors in accordance with animal welfare standards and to raise awareness about environmental conservation.
The open zoo organized a competition for the creation of animal-friendly krathongs using natural materials, such as banana leaves, bamboo, and flowers. The participants decorated their krathongs with various vegetables, such as bananas, pumpkins, carrots, eggplants, corn, and pandan leaves, to provide a nutritious and delicious treat for the zoo animals. The winners of the competition received prizes and certificates from Naranongwit Chotchoi, the zoo director.
The krathongs were then distributed to different animal enclosures, where the zoo inhabitants enjoyed playing with and eating them. Some of the animals that received the krathongs were capybaras, ring-tailed lemurs, and tapirs. The zoo staff also prepared special fish-shaped krathongs for the penguins, which were released into their pool. The penguins delighted the visitors with their swimming skills and their appetite for the fish treats.
The event also featured a cultural show, where children dressed in traditional Thai attire performed a dance and released their own fish-shaped krathongs into the water. The show aimed to highlight the importance of cultural preservation and to engage tourists in the celebration of the Loy Krathong festival.
Naranongwit expressed his gratitude to everyone who participated and supported the event. He said that Khao Kheow Open Zoo invites tourists to visit and witness the adorable wildlife every day, including public holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. He added that visitors can also get up close with giraffes and have the opportunity to feed white rhinos as part of the zoo’s commitment to promoting natural animal behaviors.
