Pandas split up to learn how to love
Pandas Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui are going to live separate lives - in the hope that they can become more than just friends.
They have failed to breed since Chiang Mai Zoo took them on loan from China on October 12, 2003, and have developed a problematic brother-sister relationship. In November, the zoo will provide two separate zones for Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui. The couple will not see each other but will be able to smell and hear each other. They will live together again during each year's breeding season, which is usually from December to February. The zoo's veterinary team decided to separate the couple after the failure of the first breeding attempt at the beginning of this year. In April, vets observed some strange behaviour from Lin Hui and assumed she was pregnant. But ultrasound tests in July showed no signs of pregnancy. "Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui have been brought up closely together for more than three years and have built a brother-sister relationship," said Sophon Dumnui, director of the Zoological Park Organisation. "This does not support their breeding possibilities. Pandas live solitary lives and will live together only when they want to breed." Atsadaporn Kamthai The Nation, Citylife Chiang Mai
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