User:Selintopac/sandbox

Chiang Mai Zoo is a zoo and aquarium that opened in 1977 in Thailand. It is located on Huay Kaew Road and is west of Chiang Mai University. Before it opened up as an official zoo for the public in 1977, it was an area where Harold Mason Young took care of injured animals. He kept the area open to the public so the community could see what he did to take care of the many animals. When the zoo opened up, it was the first commercial zoo in Thailand.

Chiang Mai Zoo has been involved in panda diplomacy multiple times. In 2003, China sent Thailand two very popular pandas, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui. They have been living in Chiang Mai Zoo since then but in 2007 Chuang Chuang was put on a diet due to becoming obese. In September 2019, Chuang Chuang suddenly died which caused a lot of outrage. The public started to blaim this incident on China's panda diplomacy. They thought sending giant animals abroad to other countries was no longer a good idea and was bad for the animals health. It could also make the population of the endangered animals they were sending decrease at a faster rate.