At the foot of Doi Suthep is the Chiang Mai Zoo, Covering 200 acres, and with over 7,000 wild animals, Chiang Mai Zoo is an unexpected delight. The entrance topiary's beautifully done.
Everyone in Chiang Mai knows about the two young pandas who came to the Chiang Mai Zoo in 2003 for a ten year visit. Brought here from China as goodwill ambassadors between the peoples of China and Thailand, they were an instant hit. The pandas (Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui) are large, vegetarian bears. They come from the ever-shrinking mountain area in China, and are a highly endangered species.
The panda house is very nicely designed to mimic the cool, moist mountain environment where the pandas live in China. On a hot summer day, it is a cool and refreshing place to visit.
The Zoo is really very large. It would be difficult to see the whole area by walking, but there are frequent buses that make a circuit of the park. It costs only 20 Baht ($0.50) for an all-day bus ticket. By using the buses, and a bit of walking, you will be able to see most of the zoo. You may not see it all in one day, however. It is just too big and has too many activities.
The Chiang Mai Zoo includes all the animals you expect in a world-class zoo. lions and elephants, Hippopotamus and chimpanzees, giraffes and deer. And many species of birds. The Zoo houses a wide variety of birds, including the really big cassowaries, emus, and ostrich, and the colourful macaws.
Best of all is the aviary. This is a huge (2.5 acres) walk-through cage containing over 800 birds. You enter through a curtain of steel chains and swinging gates into a tropical paradise. At the lower levels, you are in the perpetual shade of multiple layers of forest. Climbing up the side of the valley, you enter areas with more and more sunlight. This provides appropriate habitat for a wide variety of bird species. The aviary really feels like a wild place. It is only at the top of the valley that you can see the metal nets that enclose the entire aviary.
If you walk quickly through the aviary, you will see many of the larger birds that feed on the ground. They are quite tame, and will walk along the paths only a few feet from you. But to really enjoy the aviary, you have to stop and sit for a minute and look carefully among the trees. Then you will begin to really see the birds. They are everywhere. They come in flocks through the trees, often flying close enough that you can feel the wind from their wings on your face. As they fly in and out of view, you see flashes of reds and yellows and iridescent greens and blues. There are other birds sitting in the trees, some tending eggs in their nests. Others come to the feeding stations set up around the aviary.
There are many paths that take you through natural areas of the zoo. In some places, you travel over elevated walkways that allow a view of the animals in a wild setting. And, there are other more traditional zoo enclosures. In the children's zoo there are smaller animals like Meerkat and Iguanas that are sized to suit a child. And Deer that children can get close to. There are even Ponies available for the children to ride.
Finally, the Animal Presentation, a show featuring trained animals performing for the audience. The show features a number of birds, including an eagle, a pelican, and two macaws. There was also an environmentally concerned otter who cleaned up the litter on stage, and a gibbon that swings through the audience at an amazing speed. The show only lasts half-hour, but it is well worth the 20 baht entrance fee.