Overweight panda ordered to go on diet to help him mate


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Sunday January 14, 2007

Bangkok- Chiang Mai Zoo officials have put their overweight male panda Xuang Xuang on a diet in hopes that will help him mate with Lin Hui, the Bangkok Post reported Sunday. The giant panda weighs about 150 kilograms, which is about 10 more than average and the extra weight could hurt his ability to mate, head of the zoo's panda research and exhibition section Prasertsak Buntrakulpoontawee said.

Xuang Xuang's weight-loss program includes making him walk around more for his food, which will be a controlled diet of bread loaves and bamboo leaves.

The two pandas arrived on loan from China to huge fanfare in October 2003 when Xuang Xuang was four years old and Lin Hui was two.

Their 1-million-dollar Panda Palace at the Chiang Mai Zoo, 560 kilometres north of Bangkok, is fully air-conditioned with glass walls for viewing.

There are only about 140 captive pandas worldwide, the majority of them in China.


i'll bet he's a herfer......