CHIANG MAI, 19 September 2013 The Zoological Park Organization of Thailand (ZPO) has indicated that the Thai-born panda Lin Ping is in good health and ready for her trip to the Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding in China.
ZPO director Sanchai Chulamon on Wednesday said the 4-year-old panda at Chiang Mai Zoo had already been tagged with microchip to allow precise location monitoring by Chinese and Thai veterinarians during her stay in Chengdu.
Over the past couple of days the panda has been spending as much as 10 hours each day inside a cage, to get her accustomed to the small cage she will be housed in during the upcoming journey. Mr. Sanchai said Lin Ping is not showing signs of panic while locked up in the cage. The panda has also been exposed to airplane and car noises for familiarization purpose.
The giant panda is slated to be transported from Chiang Mai to Chengdu on a chartered flight operated by Thai Airways, on an Airbus 330 aircraft. She will receive almost constant monitoring by veterinarians during the less-than-3 hours flight.
Around 70 fans of giant pandas have so far signed up to travel on the chartered flight, for which Thai Airways is charging 5.5 million baht.
