Panda-Painted Elephants Grab Attention

Pandas are black and white furry bears, and elephants are huge, grey, thick-skinned mammals. The two species aren’t much alike, but they were combined for visitors when elephants at the Thai Royal Elephant Kraal were painted as pandas and paraded for visitors.

The elephants were painted in response to a female panda who recently gave birth. The panda newborn has captured the imagination of the public and has led to the construction of a $20 million baht snow house just for the panda family.

The panda-painted elephants were led on a walkabout as a reminder from the elephant keepers to the Thai public that elephants are the symbolic animal of Thailand.

The black and white elephants were shown at the Royal Elephant Kraal in Ayutthaya province 50 miles north of Bangkok late last month. Schoolchildren were on hand to watch the painted creatures. The display was well received by the public.