The Night Safari has become the source of best wildlife atmosphere in Chiang Mai. This can be seen from small and large animals in the country as well as animals from other parts of the world being born from natural breeding such as giraffe, zebra, deer, hippopotamus or even tapir which is considered to be an animal with pregnancy difficulty and delivery complex.

Recently, the mother of Bengal Tiger Wan Yen delivered 4 tiger cubs on 6 May, gender remained unidentified as the mother tiger had been very protective, snuggling with its babies all the time, growling at zookeeper not to get near.

According to Chiang Mai Night Safari executive Dr Sarawut Srisakul large numbers of newborns in the zoo are influenced by perfect condition of rich nature in the forest for breeding to be naturally occurred regardless of animal’s origin. This enhanced the development of their relationships; consequently numerous large and small animals are being born which have broken the statistics of more numbers in newborns compared to deaths. The campaign has also been established with the aim to return the animals to their habitat in the North of Thailand, such as barking deers and the animals that can live naturally in the forest.

Currently Chiang Mai Night Safari has 15 bengal tigers, with 4 males, 7 females and 4 cubs of unidentified gender. The Chiangmai Night Safari will open to public to visit these tiger cubs after they are strong enough to be separated from their mother.

Copyright Acknowleged

Zoo director Tanapattara Pongpamorn said yesterday the project was worth the investment and strictly adheres to international animal welfare guidelines.

Under the project, the zoo will import a pair of polar bears and some king penguins from foreign zoos. The polar animals will be kept in a 71 million baht enclosure, which is now 30% complete. Work will continue on the 2,909-square metre enclosure over the next two years.

The zoo anticipates that the enclosure will boost visitor numbers by half.

Mr Tanapattara dismissed environmentalists’ concerns that conditions at the zoo will harm the polar animals.

“We have done everything to follow the Association of Zoo and Aquarium’s guidelines, especially on natural habitats,” said Mr Tanapattara.

“We have a life support system in case of emergencies, together with plans to reduce the animals’ stress in a new environment.”

The zoo has been negotiating with zoos in Russia and Canada as well as Safari World in Bangkok, where four polar bears are kept.

Mr Tanapattara said he would make sure the polar animals chosen for the zoo were born in captivity, as they would adapt to the new environment easily.

Environmentalists are also worried about the amount of electricity required to run the air-conditioned enclosure.

Mr Tanapattara said the electricity bill would be around 200,000 baht a month.

Veterinarian Kannikar Nimtragul, who will look after the polar bears, said the project is part of an attempt to save the species from extinction, as their natural habitat is threatened by climate change.

Meanwhile, a group of wildlife activists and members of the public gathered at Chiang Mai Zoo yesterday to protest the project.

They handed a petition to the zoo director, urging him to scrap the project, which they said violates animal rights.

Nikom Phutta, secretary-general of the Thai Wildlife Protection Network, said polar bears living in confined spaces are prone to suffer from depression.

The temperature of 18-22 degrees inside the enclosure would be too hot for the animals, which normally live in freezing conditions.

“Polar bears in a Singaporean zoo have reportedly developed heat stress,” he said.

Mr Nikom urged the zoo to abolish the polar animal project and invest the money in wildlife conservation.

Copyright Acknowleged

Lin Ping, who is one year and 10 months old, was due to move to China in May on her second birthday, but she will be allowed to stay in Thailand until 2013, the AFP reported.

The youngster was the first giant panda cub to be born in Thailand after a successful artificial insemination project at Chiang Mai Zoo.

Lin Ping is a national star in Thailand, with a 24-hour Panda Channel allowing nature enthusiasts to follow her every move.

Her name literally means ‘forest of ice’ in Chinese and was decided upon after a 2009 competition yielded 22 million suggestions.

The decision to let Lin Ping stay in Thailand for two more years was announced today (April 7th) by Chinese parliamentary leader Wu Bangguo, who was speaking with visiting Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Written by Alex Cochrane

President and chief executive officer Tjeert Kwant said the complex would be launched under the name Promenada Chiang Mai and was designed to be the first resort/shopping mall in the Northern city.

Construction will commence in November and the complex will be launched in April next year.

The complex is divided into six zones in a three storey building. These are Kids’ World, Edutainment Zone, Fashion & Trendy Bazaar, Sports World, IT World, and Entertainment and Supermarket Zone. There will be 300-330 retail stores, 60 per cent of them foreign owned and the rest are locally owned. Currently 30-40 per cent of the area is open for rental.

ECC Group has signed a contract with the local Tantranont family to launch Rimping Supermarket. It is also negotiating with a major cinema business as well as the biggest bowling business in Thailand. The deal is expected to conclude in February.

Kwant said a similar complex under the name Promenada @ Canary would be launched in Vietnam as well, with an investment of Bt3 billion on 82,000sqm. The first phase is expected to be complete during the third quarter of this year.

Kwant said the company would focus on Southeast Asia because of continuous investment by many foreign firms and government support in each country in the region.

Within the next two to three months the company will launch another project in Thailand, with an investment similar to that for Promenada Chiang Mai on a smaller area.

The company is also considering launching a complex in Cambodia.

Managing director Luenchay Vongvanij said tourism in this major northern destination had slowed down in recent years due largely to the country’s political turmoil.

”Our resort has had an occupancy rate of only 30% on average for two years now,” he said.

Opened eight years ago, the 30-room Jirung Health Village resort and spa is located in Mae Rim.

The group owns 100 rai of land nearby. About 70 rai will be used to build Jirung Residences, with the first phase on 15 rai comprising 75 units sized from 37 square wah and priced from 2.9 million baht apiece.

Target customers will mainly be health-conscious Bangkok residents wanting a second or vacation home at a hillside resort, said Mr Luenchay.

The Vongvanij Group will also offer rental services for customers interested in leasing out their units, with revenue shared 50:50. Sales performance will be analysed before the second phase begins.

Much of the property development in the province is super-luxury projects such as the Minor Group’s Four Seasons Resort and the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, as well as the Azaya Villas residential development priced at more than 20 million baht a unit.

Another segment is Chiang Mai-based property firms developing single house, townhouse and condominium projects aimed particularly at the local foreign communities such as Japanese, Koreans, Americans and Europeans.

”Japanese love living grouped together and near the city because they get lonely, while Westerners love their solitude,” said Mr Luenchay, a 48-year-old Bangkok resident who has spent half his time in Chiang Mai for more than a decade.

Jirung Health Village resort generates annual revenue of 30-40 million baht.

Copyright Acknowleged

Original Story Here

This singular experience begins with a stay at Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, located just outside of town in the beautiful Mae Rim Valley. The Resort’s working rice field, pampering Thai spa, and authentic Thai cooking classes immediately connect you to the rich culture of the area. Chiang Mai itself, over 700 years old with the city centre still surrounded by fortress walls and moats, is brimming with art galleries, workshops and cafés, a perfect place for strolling and shopping. After soaking in this mix of old and new cultures, a helicopter takes you on a thrilling hour-long flight over the thick green carpet of jungle and terraced rice fields and into the heart of the Golden Triangle, the legendary area where Thailand, Burma, and Laos meet. Upon landing on the banks of the Mekong River, a private long-tail boat awaits to carry you onward into the heart of the Thai jungle.

Ride Elephants at Tented Camp

At Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Thailand, voted Best in the World by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine for the last three years, you’ll feel as though you’re an explorer from the 19th century, yet with all the modern comforts of an upscale hideaway. The adventure begins with your private, safari-style tent, outfitted with comfortable, handcrafted furnishings, including hand-hammered copper tubs. In addition to the 90-minute Spa treatment for each guest during their stay, you can also experience visits to nearby hill tribe villages or a boat ride on the Mekong, perhaps with a stop in Laos. But the high point will likely be learning the traditional elephant-handling skills of the mahouts. Interacting with the elephants, and then trekking through the forest atop these magnificent, highly intelligent creatures is both a literal and spiritual journey.

Package for the Ultimate Thai Escape

This package is perfect for a group or even for a romantic honeymoon, and rates start at THB76,810 (US$2,560) per room, per night for two guests. For more information and to book your stay, call 66 53/298-181.

The first pair of twins was males, born in captivity in March.

And the latest ones are females born on October 8th in an elephant nature park in northern Chiang Mai Province.

Visitors say it was worth the trip to see the two jumbos.

[Thawee, Visitor]:
“It took some hours to get here. But after seeing the twins, it is worth going through the difficulty to come and see them.”

The elephants’ owner says he has no plans to sell the two young pachyderms.

[Kupor Sakchinthadakul, Elephant Owner]:
“There are people who wanted to buy the twins and asked me to sell them. But I told them I will never sell the twins. We’ve been keeping elephants since our ancestors, but we’ve never seen and never had twin elephants. So, this is a gift from god. I will do my best to keep them.”

Domesticated elephants in Thailand are often used to attract tourists to earn a living for their owners.

Copyright Acknowleged

Original Story Here

Prasertsak Buntrakulpuntawi, head of Chiang Mai Zoo’s panda research project, said the contract for sending back Lin Ping to China was going to expire in another six months and senior Chinese wildlife conservation officials are to visit Thailand and discuss the issue with Thai officials on Dec 20.

Mr Prasertsak said Thailand had received much praise regarding Lin Bing’s care as well as for that of her parents, now also staying at the same zoo, as well as for research on pandas, and he is full of hope that Chinese officials would allow her to continue staying in this country for an additional two years.

Officials of both countries are also expected to confer on a possibility of setting up a panda research centre in Thailand at a cost of Bt28.5 million which would be requested from the government from its budget expenditure for the 2012 fiscal year which starts October 1, 2011, he said.

Lin Ping was born to Lin Hui and Xuang Xuang on May 27, 2009 at Chiang Mai Zoo through Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT). Her name which means ‘Forest of Ice’ in Chinese was chosen after a nationwide name selection contest that attracted about 22 million votes. “Ping” also sounds similar to the Thai pronounciation of Ping River which flows through northern Thailand near where the zoo is located.

Her birth and subsequent publicity have attracted many tourists to the zoo. As a result, Thai officials commissioned a Bt60 million domed habitation for the cub.

Copyright Acknowleged

Original Story Here

Happily for all, the fight is confined only to dowsing your opponents with as much water as you can from pistols, buckets, hoses, canals and gushing blue pipes (free, courtesy of the town hall!).

The liquid free-for-all clogs city centre streets – especially around the moat and particularly Thapae Gate – and will be seen and felt on every road of northern Thailand until Sunday the 18th.

Yes, it’s a traffic hazard, yes, it’s wildly irresponsible and yes, it’s a great way for all ages to cool down at the hottest time of the year.

But most vitally right now: NO it’s not political and NO it has no signs of any violence.

Certainly, more than the usual number of young Thais have flown north to have fun and get away from the tensions of Bangkok, but the only weapons they packed were giant water pistols. You’ll see red flags on some pick-ups and tuk-tuks, and small scarlet ribbons dangling from the mirrors and aerials of cars, but that is as ‘political’ as this festival gets this year.

While Ministers, Embassies and other ‘Agony Aunts’ wring their hands over tragedy and turbulence in the capital, Chiang Mai continues to be a northern world apart. The only thing we are wringing out here is our hair and our shirts. Whatever the colours.

Article contributed by David Hardcastle, Copyright David Hardcastle 2010

Thailand has received the International Association of Horticultural Producers’ permission to revive the flora festival in Chiang Mai later next year, where over 2 million visitors are expected throughout the 99-day event.

Somchai Charnnarongkul, director general of the Agriculture Department which is in charge of the project, said the “International Horticultural Exposition for His Majesty the King: Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2011″ will take place during November 9, 2011 and February 15, 2012 on a 470-rai area in Mae Hia district.

The event is to mark the 84th birthday of His Majesty in 2011 and the 80th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012 as well as the 60th birthday of HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn in 2012.

He said that the event, featuring over 2.5 million trees and plants, should boost the export and tourism sectors. Initially, at leat 10 countries will join the exhibition.