Chiang Mai Zoo bids farewell to giant panda Lin Hui, 21

Lin Hui had been under medical care since she displayed unusual symptoms on Tuesday. Her cause of death has yet to be determined, but zoo officials say it was likely natural causes.

The lifespan of a giant panda is 15 to 20 years in the wild, but they sometimes live up to 30 years in captivity.

Chairman of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand, Dechboon Maprasert, confirmed that officials were instructed to immediately treat Lin Hui after she displayed unusual symptoms at 11.30am on Tuesday.

According to Chiang Mai Zoo's statement on Tuesday, her nose was bleeding.

Chiang Mai Zoo contacted several Chinese agencies for help, including the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and the China Consulate General in Chiang Mai, Dechboon said.

"Thai and Chinese experts treated Lin Hui until she died peacefully at 1.10am on Wednesday," he added.

He said Lin Hui likely died from natural causes. Officials in Thailand and China agencies are collaborating to determine the exact cause of her death.

Lin Hui was born on September 28, 2001, and arrived in Thailand with Chuang Chuang on October 12, 2003, on loan from the Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Pandas in Wolong, China.

Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang had been sent from China as goodwill ambassadors. They gave birth to a female panda named Lin Bing on May 27, 2009.

Lin Bing was sent to China on September 28, 2013, but the return of Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang – previously scheduled for the same year – was delayed until this year to demonstrate the strong relationship between Thailand and China.

Chuang Chuang died at the age of 19 on September 16, 2019.

Lin Hui's father and mother were named "Pan Pan" and "Tang Tang", respectively. The female panda was also named "Thewi" in Thai and "Kham Eueng" in Lanna, a language of northern Thailand.