ABOVE: Lin Bing chills out the Bifengxia Panda Base in a video uploaded Jan. 1. Photo: Tuayfoo Linping
The fate of the national superstar panda Lin Bing is as fuzzy as she is while the Chiang Mai Zoo decides whether to bring her back to the country.
China has offered to return Lin Bing and her mate to Thailand for 15 years, but the cost is steep at about THB64 million per year for both pandas, twice the per-panda rate originally paid.
Lin Bing herself was born in the Chiang Mai Zoo in 2009 to giant panda celebrity couple Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui, after which she returned to China to meet her own mate last year when her Thai home-stay agreement expired.
Chinese authorities say the amount is needed to fund panda research and conservation programs in China. This means Thailand will be paying close to a whopping THB1 billion for both pandas if the terms are accepted.
As fans await the return of Lin Bing, Zoological Park Organization executives have yet to decide a course of action for the panda arrangement.
Lin Bing used to star on the 24-hour reality TV show that was “Panda Channel” and has her own fanclub.
