Thailand Dresses Up Elephants Like Pandas
Elephant is Thailand’s national symbol, But The Country Loves Pandas Now
Written by OddCulture on June 29th, 2009 in Odd Culture.
Tags: bizarre, funny pictures, Odd Creatures, Odd News, travel
Thailand’s national symbol is the elephant, but since a female panda cub was born the country has gone crazy over pandas. This led to some upset zookeepers to parade their elephants out in a panda disguise made up of watercolor paint.
Like an idiot boyfriend trying to dress his new girlfriend up like his old girlfriend, the country of Thailand has adopted the same tactic but in reverse. This time, it’s the old girlfriend (elephants) that is being changed to look like the new girlfriend (panda). Which is really weird… why does idiot boyfriend keep coming around here anyway. CALL THE POLICE.
As the Daily Mail tells the story:
These elephants were painted black and white to look like the pandas who have stolen all their fans. The elephant is Thailand’s national symbol, but the country has gone panda-crazy since the birth of a female panda cub to pandas Lin Hui and Xuang Xuang at Chiang Mai zoo in Bangkok. Sick of all the fuss, keepers at the Ayutthaya-Elephant Kraal decided to take drastic-action, painting five of their neglected giants in watercolour paint, then parading them before schoolchildren.
We are never gonna forget this. Ever.
Hey you... please call the police! Our keepers have gone insane.
This is the last straw. I will crush all of you now. And then I'm coming for the fucking panda.
Odd Culture wishes that the Bangkok Post would stop running stupid stories like this and report on stuff that matters… like did David Carradine really die from autoerotic asphyxiation, and are there any more photos available? We might just have to head on down to the morgue and flash some Euros around to get more info.
Actually, the zookeepers were doing it to make a point. The elephant programs in Thailand are in desperate need of money; however, the new ongoing panda craze is inspiring the government to drop half a million USD on a new air-conditioned panda exhibit for the new family.
It’s more than about mere jealousy of attention. It’s about funding.