Chiang Mai Zoo’s famous pandas Xuang Xuang and Lin Hui, use their poo pulling power for the benefit of the rejuvenated zoo.

The zoo has has apparantely returned to profitability after years in the red thanks to its two star attractions. The two pandas have drawn large numbers of visitors to the zoo, helping it make tens of millions of baht each year since their arrival back in October 2003.

Souvenirs made in the shape of the pandas or adorned with their pictures are popular with visitors.

The zoo also recently discovered a new way to make money by selling souvenirs made from the dung of the pandas. They include paper, books and bookmarks which are all enjoying brisk sales.

But the most popular of them all is just straight panda poo. About 50-100 pieces of panda dung are eagerly snapped up by visitors each day.

Zoo staff said Xuang Xuang and Lin Hui pass waste matter weighing about 20 kilogrammes each day, the content of of which is made up largely of bamboo fibre.

Solid pieces of panda dung are needed to make ideal souvenirs. But the zoo finds only 20-30 of them a day.

The dung is baked to make it dry and hard before being packaged in transparent plastic bags. The panda dung sells for 20 baht apiece. The rest of the dung that is not firm enough is processed into paper, books or bookmarks.

According to zoo staff, panda poop has no bad odour, as the pandas do not eat meat. They are herbivores that feed mainly on bamboo.

Chiang Mai Zoo director Thanaphat Pongpamorn said the zoo is set to build on the success story of the pandas.

He said the zoo is negotiating with zoos in the US to send polar bears and King penguins.

The zoo plans to re-arrange its landscape, plant more flowers and make artificial snow, he said. To protect the zoo against air pollution, Mr Thanaphat said, vehicles will not be allowed to enter the zoo.

An aquarium, said to be the biggest in the North, is also being built and is set to open early next year. An elevated monorail system will also be constructed five metres above ground level to take visitors for scenic rides around the expansive zoo.

Mr Thanaphat said since the arrival of the pandas, the number of visitors has risen to about a million each year, and that number is likely to increase further.

Over the past three years, the zoo has made more than 50 million baht a year.

Located on a 531-rai plot of land in Muang district, Chiang Mai Zoo is home to more than 7,000 animals.

Source: BangkokPost